It's October!

The intense heat has finally decided to subside - which makes my husband very happy. He and the lab LOVE cold weather, the chihuahua and I prefer warmer days but I guess it's time. I mean it is October and up until the last few days it has been in the 90s! Wish I had something more fun to post but I'm on pins and needles right now hoping that work doesn't call me in! I love not having to go in and I hate to sound ungrateful but it's hard to relax when you know they could call any minute and you have to leave the warm snuggly nest that is your bed to go to work! Ahh, guess I'm just grateful I have a job :)

Oh! I guess I do have something I could post - some pictures!!! I took some pix of three sweet little girls a few months ago so here are just a few: "Mini Pearl"

Rockabye Baby

Pretty In Pink

How did that happen?

So, I haven't posted in quite a while and while I'm sure there's tons of stuff I could write about it's all probably mundane... However Judah did learn how to swim... sorta. Ok, he learned 'how not to drown' might be a better way of phrasing it. So our beautiful chocolate lab, equipped with the standard webbed feet (I know, I checked) dosen't like to swim. WHAT?!?! I thought labs and water were supposed to go together like a Kardashian and tv drama! So, our inital attempt took place at my in-laws who have a pond in the back yard. After throwing a stick into the pond Judah waded about ankle deep and looked at the stick and back at us like "Um, hey guys, who's gonna go get that?" Several months later my husband absent mindedly threw a stick into the pond not thinking that Judah would go after it since he doesn't like the water. The sound of a huge splash immediately met my ears as Judah had evidently forgotten that he doesn't like to swim and proceeded to jump into the pond and sink like a rock. Chocolate brown fur bobbed back a forth for what seemed like forever as I yelled "Ken, he's drowning!" My husband, Joe Cool, replied calmly "He's not drowning". Another mellenium passed as I watched chocolate fur bob back and forth in the water. Finally, his head popped up out of the water and the poor thing was coughing and huffing as water poured out his nose and is panic-filled eyes met mine. The most ungraceful 'swim' brought him back to the shore. Determined he would not let this incident scar him, my hubby stripped down to his boxers and coaxed Judah back into the water. It took 30 minutes and he still never got deep enough to actually swim but he was in the water. A week later we took Judah to the river. Ken and I both got in and waded to some rocks in the middle. It was deep enough in areas that Judah would have to swim if he wanted to stay with us and he definately wanted to stay with us. My boy can swim! It is still by far the most ungraceful thing I think I have ever seen though!This is Judah's most un-graceful swim! Mommy and Judah He prefers to relax 'near' the water instead of in it!

Also, I feel it neccesary to mention that I seem to be morphing into this weird domestic version of myself: I've decided to try my hand at couponing. So far, I suck. But apparently once I get in the habit I will save us lots of money which means I can spend more money on fun stuff instead of neccesary stuff :)

July Madness

So July started with a 4 day trip to Kiawah with Ken's parents which was nice and relaxing. Of course I had my camera in tow and took advantage of the opportunity to get some good beach pics of me and the hubby. I thought they turned out pretty good if I do say so myself! The short vacation was great! We slept in, we were lazy on the beach, we leisurely rode our bikes around the island and ate.. A LOT! Hehehe. But unfortunately 4 days flew by quickly and since I didn't take any time off from work, it was back to the grind immediately. I worked Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and overtime on Friday. It was a long seven days followed by Ken leaving for an 8-day mission trip that next Saturday and me leaving for the beach with my sister and a bunch of her friends and kids. I took my younger cousin so as not to be the odd man out and to keep me awake while driving since I had to work the night before. With four little girls all under the age of five, our daily schedule usually looked like this: Everybody up and breakfast eaten by 9:30ish, dress and head down to the beach around 10:30ish, Beach it up for an hour or two, head to the pool and swim half an hour or jus long enough to get most of the sand out of your bathing suit, lol. Then back to the house for lunch, chil, maybe head back to the pool til about 4 or 4:30 and back to the house for supper/chillin/roack band, or whatever. This is our group at the beach in the giant hole Shane and I dug: I managed to get everybody back on the beach and all dressed up one night for another photography adventure. The men were a little reluctant but with some loving encouragement from the wives, they agreed it would be a good idea. I took pictures of each individual family and they turned out awesome even thought I was worried it would be a massive fail! See, my camera lenses fogged up from being in the air conditioned house for so long and then being moved into the rediculous heat and humidity. They were not responding well to my initial attempts to de-fog but thankfully they cooperated in the end. Just like Kiawah, it was a lot of fun but the time flew by too fast and it was back to the grind again. However I have just spent the most wonderful last three days at home, with no agenda and it felt wonderful. The apartment is a mess but I don't care! I finally got to spend some time with the hubby who has been gone 4 out of the last 6 weeks! I don't wish summer away by any means but it sure is nice to just stay home for a bit. I forgot how crazy summer can get!

Is June Over Already?!?!?!

So, I forgot to mention in the last blog that I had an old friend from nursing school model for pictures in her wedding dress and they are absolutely gorgeous! I was so excited about how they turned out! And as far as the two weeks that I spent with mama and daddy while Ken wa gone?... It was nice but I'm glad he's home now. We will finally get a vacation soon, we leave to go to Kiawah with his parents on the 5th. We can only stay for 4 days b/c I didn't get any time off work but 4 days is better than none :)

Today Is My Birthday!!!!

As of 10:46am today I was officially 21 years old (with 5 years experience, hehe)! My birthday kinda started on Friday even though it really wasn't until Sunday because this summer is gonna be jam packed and crazy. Ken leaves for beach camp on Sunday so he took me out Friday night to eat ant brought me a beautiful bouquet of lillies. Saturday all the girls got together for Tiffany's bachelorette party. Sunday Ken left for beach camp after church and I am spending the next two weeks with Mama and Daddy. Mama had made me ice cream and cake and most of the family was there for a little birthday get together. The cruise that Ken and I helped chaperone earlier this month was not exactly what I was expecting but I'm glad we went because I met some really great girls and hopefully we will keep in touch!

Truck Gardening

So, I drive a Dodge Ram pickup and I have a tendency to leave stuff in the bed of it. When we moved into our apartment, there was a planter in the back of my truck that had lily bulbs in it. Our apartment doesn't have a porch or balconey so with nowhere to put it, it just stayed in the back of the truck. Fast forward six months. Aparently with the sun and rainwater that naturally occurs outside, my lily bulbs have decided to sprout :) So, I guess they will continue to ride around with me in the back of my truck!

Where's The Light In This Tunnel???

Warning: This blog is kinda boring and mostly me just whining! So, the last thing I need to be doing right now is probably blogging but I am anticipating a rough upcoming week and a half so I'm being selfish and taking a few minutes for myself. I have to work tonight and tomorrow night (mon & tues), my call day is Friday, work Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So out of the next 10 days I have 3 days off ('cause I'm pretty sure I'll have to work my call day). Those three days will fly by. I dunno why I thought Friday would be a good time to schedule my call day. Kuddos to my coworkers that can work 4, 5 and sometimes 6 nights in a row but 3 puts me at my wit's end. So I need to be grocery shopping right now and paying some bills but here I am on my bumper (as my niece calls it) staring at the computer screen. Ken started work today, he has a 10-week internship working under the youth pastor. We're still looking for whatever comes next. I'm just looking forward to Thursday, June 3rd. I will finally be off for a nice little stretch and chaperoning a cruise to the Bahamas! So c'mon June 3rd! You are the light I'm searching for in this tunnel!

The Only Boy Who Could Ever Reach Me Was The Son Of A Preacher Man

It's 2:30 in the morning, I can't sleep. Did I ever mention my husband is in seminary? And for any of you that aren't quite sure what that is, it's not a sperm bank. It is basicly school to be a preacher. So I am married to a man with aspirations to lead a church. ME. A soon-to-be PREACHER'S WIFE! Ha. That ought to get a few good laughs at the 10 year reunion. Needless to say I was not voted "most likely to marry a preacher" in high school. And if you're curious about the title of this blog, his dad is a preacher too. I knew about his calling into the ministry going into our marriage but have kinda innocently put it on the back burner. I mean, he's in school which doesn't technically make him a preacher yet and so technically I'm not a preacher's wife yet, right? Well, he graduates TODAY. And while I'm oh so proud of my preacher man, the reality has slapped me in the face like a hooker on the Jerry Springer Show. What does this mean? How do I continue to be genuinely me while honoring my husband's ministry? To be honest the task before me seems a little bit daunting from this angle. So, like many journies in life I'm expecting some tears, some laughs, some frustration and hopefully a lot of fun. *deep breath* Here we go...

Judah Mann

We named our puppy Judah. A friend of our insisted that dogs should have a middle name as well. After throwing around some ideas, the joke Judah Mann just kinda stuck. You know like, 'you da man'. So, our chocolate lab has reached the ripe old age of 8 months now and just like all people and/or animals has his own list of idiosyncrasies. I am prepared to share some of them with you now:
1) He has, by far, the worst gas I have ever had the displeasure of smelling in my ENTIRE life and I am a nurse, I have smelled some really rank stuff. And when he farts, he jerks around to look at his back side like 'what was that?"
2) He has a oral fixation with underwear and power cords. He has chewed through my computer speaker wires, my iPod ear bud wires and lastly, the vacuum cleaner cord.
3) He's afraid of loud things including but not limited to, the lawn mower, fireworks, the vacuum, garbage disposal, 18 wheelers that pass us on the interstate (he's inside the car).
4) He's afraid of things he doesn't 'know' like for instance, he freaked out when we jogged by a ramp the other day. A moving truck ramp. A completely stationary ramp. He wouldn't even get close enough to smell it.
5) He won't get in the water. Did I mention he's a lab? What kind of 'water dog' refuses to get in the water? He loves a stick though so we tried throwing a stick into the pond. Once he got all four feet wet he turned and looked at us like "Um, who's gonna go get that stick?"
6) He will eat anything, ANYTHING you give him. My four year old niece gets a kick out of feeding him leaves, rocks, sticks, flowers whatever. He WILL NOT eat his heart worm pill. If you will eat a rock or lick the puddle of urine you just peed, how bad can a heart worm pill be?

Despite all his weirdness we love him, some days it's just because we've really invested way to much money in him to get rid of him. He really is a good-looking dog though. I've included some videos of Judah being Judah, enjoy!

KETCHUP... or just catching up :)

So I haven't blogged for the entire month of April, actually it's been nearly 2 months seeing as my last blog was March 10th and today is May 2. Wow how time flies! I know my whole SIX followers have just been dying for this one. HA! Just kidding. But anyway, some fun and note-worthy things have happened in the last two months. I got five baby chicks to use as props for some Easter pictures of kids. My niece ended up adopting two of them and they lived at nana's until a stray cat had chicken dinner. Nana felt bad and so she bought my niece two more (by the way, it was supposed to be temporary. After one day the chicks were supposed to go to my uncles farm which is where the other three went). One of the new two promptly fell over and died (cause of death: too much love from a 4 year old) which caused Nana to buy two MORE. So now, a month after Easter Nana has three growing chicks living at her house.

Let's see, my buddy Leigh graciously volunteered to be my bridal guinea pig and put her wedding dress back on so I could get some practice taking wedding portraits, that was fun! Afterward she and I, along with our husbands, went to eat in downtown greenville (she was still in her dress). What like there's something uncommon about a girl walking around downtown and eating at wild wings in a wedding dress at 3:00 in the afternoon? Maybe it's because the rest of us were wearing street clothes. Thanks Leigh, you're the best!

Ken is almost done with school. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, we are almost at the finish line, it's so close we can taste it. You get my drift? Graduation is 15 days from today which also happens to be our two year anniversary! I am excited and a little scared about where God will take us next. I would love to live in a house though, this renting is getting old and it would be nice to have a small yard that the dogs could run around in. I have started reading an excellent book titled '"You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes" and other advice from an unlikely preacher's wife'. So far it's been great but I'll keep ya posted. I guess I will wrap this one up by informing you that I almost stepped on a snake about an hour ago. I hate snakes, they are satan's babies. I had no idea, Ken and I were walking the dogs and all the sudden he got my attention but seemed to be stumbling over the words. So he just urgently blurted out 'keep walking, just keep walking!' Little did I know that a nearly 5 foot black snake was about one foot away from my leg! Once I realized what was going on I freaked out and did the 'get away from the snake' dance/run. Ugh, my skin is still crawling (no pun intended). Let me be clear, I HATE snakes!

Sunshine and Psueudoephedrine Make Me Happy!

So for the past three days I have been fighting off the remnants of my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad cold with the assistance of Tylenol severe congestion and soaking up this long-awaited warm, sunshiney weather. Day one I realize that there is a very good reason that they have started putting drugs with pseudoephedrine behind the counter and making you show ID as well as sign your life away for it. That stuff is pretty good, possibly the new gateway drug (yikes! Someone should warn the Tylenol company). An hour after taking it, not only could I breathe better but I just didn’t even care that my lungs were full of mucus in the first place. I was sitting in the parking lot of the bank after paying the $2.19 balance on my Visa thinking ‘maybe I shouldn’t drive anywhere for a while’. That paranoid feeling came over me like when you’re 17 and you’ve had a few sips of a Smirnoff Ice for the first time and somehow you know the cops will find out. Otherwise the rest of the day was just all together very pleasant. I believe that the first full sunny day of the year really brought me out of a dark, cold, winter funk and I spent the rest of the daylight hours outside playing with the dogs.
Later that night, my husband and I took in a stray. This little dog that couldn’t have weighed more than 5 pounds was walking around the parking lot with no obvious destination planned. Feeling a little sorry for the thing we took it in with the intention of trying to find its owner the next day. After he marked our trash can, he was escorted to his accommodations for the evening in the bathroom. This dog is ugly by the way. You know the ones that are so ugly they are cute? He’s not one of them, he’s just ugly; eyes bugging out of his head the size of half dollars and a row of crooked teeth lining his obvious under bite. The next morning we went to the leasing office to find that no one had reported a lost dog. However on our way back to the apartment I noticed a lady in her SUV paying obvious attention to the dog so I decided to ask if it was hers. She hesitantly looked at me and at the dog before replying ‘it looks like him’ in a confused manner. Unsure of what to make of the comment I clarified “So, he’s yours then?” She said yes and reluctantly reached for the dog and put him in the passenger seat. The whole interaction was odd, maybe she was taking Tylenol severe congestion too.

Yesterday I decided to drive up to meet Ken for lunch since we haven’t seen a lot of each other over the past few days and we decided to hang out by the Broad river for a while. It was so nice. The weather was not hot and not too cool, there were all these really soft sand banks and seizing the opportunity to be carefree we decided to lie by the water and just relax for a while. In case I’ve never mentioned it before, I am so in love with this man. I don’t deserve such a wonderful husband but there we were by the river pretending that the ‘real world’ wasn’t eagerly waiting to end this moment of simplicity. We talked about fun memories from when we were dating and where the future might lead. I took pictures of our wedding rings in the sand (I love taking pictures and actively look for opportunities/things to photograph). It was just peaceful and wonderful and exactly what I needed. I hope we always take time to do nothing together.

For Granny

My Grandmother has dementia. She has had it for a while. Mosby's medical dictionary defines dementia as a progressive organic mental disorder characterized by chronic personality disintegration, confusion, disorientation, stupor, deterioration of intellectual capacity and function impairment of control of memory, judgment and impulses. To put it plainly; Granny is losing it. We (her family) all knew this was coming, it began slowly with her repeating herself a lot and asking the same questions within a 20 minute time frame. Gradually it got worse, she began forgetting names of family members she didn't see very often and talking about family members that have been dead for well over a decade as if they were still alive. Some days are good but some days are very bad. She forgets that her first husband is dead and that she is married to her now husband (who is in a nursing home). She looks for her children to come home at night, forgetting that they are grown and have children and grandchildren of their own. I try to spin all these blogs from an entertaining if not funny angle and believe me, Granny inadvertently provides laughs from time to time but sometimes you ahve to laugh to keep from crying. It's funny how things come full circle. As a child Granny kept me and I never went to daycare when Mama and Daddy had to work. Now I sign up for my day to keep Granny. We don't call it that in front of her because she gets very angry is she thinks we are there to babysit her. I now watch over the shoulder of the woman who helped teach me how to cook, to make sure she doesn't burn herself or forget to turn off the oven. My mom now 'tucks in' the woman who used to tuck her in as a child and sets the 'granny monitor' before she leaves so she will know if Granny absent mindedly walks outside of her house in the middle of the night looking for her kids. Understanding how this disease works, we know that her condition will only continue to deteriorate but I like to remember the woman who helped mold my childhood. She was a hard worker and always put her family first. She was kind to everyone and always lent a hand. She was amazingly talented as a cook, a seamstress and gardener. She made quilts and crocheted afghans. She created elaborate Halloween costumes and patched, hemmed, took in, or let out countless numbers of pants and shirts. She raised four children, eight grandchildren and a growing number of great-grandchildren with one great, great-grandchild on the way. She was and is so much more than I can put into words. I love this crazy woman and even if the day comes that she doesn't remember me, I will always remember how she played a part in making me the woman I am today.

Sick Days...

I have officially used my first sick day at work. What started out as a sore throat on Wednesday, snowballed into everything but a fever by Saturday. I got up and went to work anyway with a few non-drowsy meds on board but by lunch time they had worn off and the sore throat, cough, sneezing, runny/stopped up nose, chest and nasal congestion had returned. I forewarned my superiors that I might not make it in the next day and alas, after no rest from not being able to comfortably breathe I called in at 3am. How is it that your nose can be ‘stopped up’ and yet still continue to ‘run’? This contradiction boggles my mind. My wonderful husband cooked me some breakfast before heading off to church and my usually mischievous children (the dogs) were actually good while he was gone, allowing me to finally get a few hours of sleep. One day later, here I am, still having all the symptoms of my cold except the sore throat but thankfully to a lesser degree which tells me things are on the up side. I just hope Ken doesn’t get whatever I have. I do find it funny however that on my one venture out of the apartment yesterday, I was in the cold/allergy meds aisle at Target and a polite stranger informed me that the actual medications in the off-brands were the same as the name brands; they just charge more for the name. She then asked me what my symptoms were and what I had been taking for it, dropping in the fact that she is a nurse. I never bothered to tell her that not only did I already know everything she was telling me but I am a nurse as well. Whether she enjoyed the idea that she might be helping me or that she thought she knew more than me I will never know but either way, who am I to rain on her parade?

What the CRAP?!?!

So in our last encounter I told you about Lexi’s less than savory bowel issues and since then thankfully, they have resolved. On Wednesday nights Ken and I go to discipleship class at church that starts at 6pm. I have to leave around 5pm to get there on time and since the class usually last about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, I usually get home around 8:30pm. All of this is fine except on nights when I have to work the next morning. I have to get up at 4:30am and so I try to be in bed by 9:30pm. But when I get home from church at 8:30 and have to cook supper, I’m rarely in the bed by that time. This week I thought I would make a chicken stew before I left for church and leave in on simmer so that it would be ready and waiting when I got home. When I arrived at home I was looking forward to the smell of hot chicken stew greeting me as I walked it. That was NOT the smell that greeted me. As I turned the corner into the bedroom where Judah’s crate is, I realized he had had explosive diarrhea while I was gone. I mean splashing out of the crate onto the carpet and the wall. Not to mention EVERYTHING in the crate was covered with doo. What is it with my children and their apparently over-sensitive digestive systems?

On a different note, on our tight budget I have become an amateur hair stylist and chef so I’m including a few pix from where I cut Ken’s hair and the fruit pizza I made. Not too bad if I do say so myself.

Uh Oh, I've Created A Monster!!!

Let me begin this particular blog my saying those with an extremely weak stomach may want to skip to the second paragraph. My little Lexi has been my 'child' for nearly 6 1/2 years now and thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention. Being an 'only child' she never longed for the company of a bother or sister and life as she knew if was nearly perfect. That is, until we brought home Judah. I knew she wouldn't initially care for him but assumed that she would, in time, just learn to deal with it. However, she has made her stand and is determined not to be moved. She growls when he is even remotely within her vicinity. Lately (here's the weak stomach part but I'm a nurse so nothing seems to bother me anymore) she has had some pretty severe diarrhea. My perfect little princess who could 'hold it' for hours is now waking me up two and three times a night so she can go outside and poop. This is not fun considering we live on the third floor of an apartment complex. So, after three days of this and trying imodium didn't help, we made a visit to the vet where I was informed that they could find nothing physically wrong with her and no cause for the diarrhea. Determined to leave with some sort of answer I asked if her aversion to Judah could have stressed her to this liquid poo point. The vet agreed that it was possible...

As my conversation with the vet progressed, she ever so politely informed me that I was in fact responsible for Lexi's bad behavior. I have pretended for 6 years that my dog is in fact my child and by treating her as such I am upseting her instictual balance to be a pack follower. Apparently Ceasar Millan agrees. After reading parts of his book "Ceasar's Way" I have diagnosed her with 'fear agression' and I do everything concerning her all wrong. I walk her, feed her, discipline her even show affection toward her incorrectly! The vet reassured me that this change would be harder for me than for Lexi but everyone involved would be better and happier for it in the end. She did caution that Lexi would not initially like that I am rocking her majesty's world but not to be discouraged. She also suggested taking Lexi and Judah to obedience school together so they could socialize with each other and other dogs at the same time. So, if Lexi and Judah are not my 'children' why do they cost about as much as a child would?

Why I Miss Nap Time...

Being an 'adult' is not all that I had imagined at times although I don't care to go back to my adolecence. Let me explain, being female, I whole-heartedly believe it requires more paperwork to be married, a nurse, live on your own and be the bread-winner of the family. Those of you reading this probably already know my and my husbands situation but for those of you who don't, my husband is a full-time student therefore we are a single income family. My husband is the best thing that has happened to me this side of heaven (well, second to my salvation) but it is often frustrating that he never seems to have to fill out as much paperwork as me. When we moved from NC back to SC, I filled out all the applications for the apartment and utilities, I had to get a new driver's license which required every piece of paper that ever had my maiden or married name on it. The latest and most frustrating issue has been changing my NC nursing license to SC. I understand that there are policies that must be followed in dealing with these matters but it would really be helpful if the people answering the phones would direct me to someone else who knows the answer to my question or just admit that they don't know. What sould have taken maybe a week (generous amount of time) has strung itself out for nearly a month. So, when is nap time?

Here are the Babies!

Lexi and Judah...

Starting a Blog

You may be asking yourself "Why Sweet Tea & Little Debbies?" Well, to that I say "Why not?" As I was starting this thing it prompted me for a name for this blog and I couldn't come up with anything I really liked so I starting thinking about the things that I really like. So, TAH DAH! The Sweet Tea & Little Debbies blog is born...

So, several people I know have started their own baby blogs... I don't have a baby, not a human one anyway. I do have a Chihuahua and a Chocolate Lab and they are proving to be more like children every day. We frequent the vet as much as you would a pediatrician and without pet insurance, the bills are likely close to what I would pay if I was taking a kid to the pediatrician. We (me and ken) don't have internet in the apartment right now which makes this whole blogging thing even more difficult since I just realized I don't have any pictures with me to post of my 'children' or of me and Ken for that matter. So, basicly what I'm trying to say is, bear with me people and I will eventually learn what it is I'm supposed to be doing here. Amanda, in the meantime, I expect some coaching!