Cares

I really shouldn't be writing this right now because I have so much to do, but the need to express myself has peaked, thus the shortness of this post.

Once you lose "carefree" does it ever come back?  It is a definite statement that I have lost it.  The "cares" have completely outweighed me.  And if you've read this blog for a while, you know that has been true for a long time. Why does responsibility have to feel so heavy? 

But then I wonder, am I supposed to have a carefree existence?  Jesus wasn't carefree.  Although He had an unfathomably bigger job on Earth than I do.

Maybe I should stop wishing I could be carefree, and start prioritizing my "cares" and make sure they are in the right place.  Maybe my caring is a gift.

But then I feel like I am doing that, but I have too many "cares" to fit in my schedule or in my emotional capacity.  Where is the line between caring and caring too much that I am stretched too thin?

I suppose it would do to explain what I mean by "cares."  Let's make lists, I love lists.
These are just some examples, mind you.

Superficial cares:
- I want to eat whatever I want, but I want to lose weight.
- I want time to myself to read a book, paint my nails, bake, etc. (the list goes on and on)
- I don't want to do chores
- I want to pursue more music
- I will never have enough money to travel like I want to

Not-as-superficial cares in no particular order:
- my husband
- each of my family members, individually and collectively
- my husband's family, who is really my family in my heart
- my grandparents
- fundraising a cure for my sister's disorder
- my voice students
- finances, future, debt (isn't that one a huge bundle)
- my job (that needs its own list)
- each of my precious friends - there are so many and there are like 10 that I can count off the top of my head that I want to pour my life into, talk to every day, be there for every second, and soooo many more that I would love to grow into that kind of relationship
- spending time with my niece and nephew before they grow up too quickly
- those in need in other countries!  the starving children, the homeless, the sex-trafficked children, the women who need me to buy their product to support their new livelihood, the Haitians... that's another list too
- those in need in MY country!
- those in need in my city... in my church...
- friends going on mission trips that I want to support...

I had better stop because I could keep going. 

How do I keep myself from being ripped apart by these cares?  There is no answer but Jesus, and still even though I know that in my heart, I have no idea how.   How do I know where that line is?  Am I supposed to plunge headlong into my cares and give them to Jesus and expect to be emotionally stable?  I am only one little girl, I cannot accomplish all that I can imagine.


"Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." - Psalm 55:22.  

"When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul." - Psalm 94:19

My cares or burdens are absolutely minuscule to what God feels for His people.  He understands what I feel.  I have to start there.

Hope

HOPE is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I ’ve heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me. 

- Emily Dickinson

 

I have tried several times to write a blog in the last three months, but I have not found a way to say the stuff that needs to come out, and all the other stuff seemed too boring to post.  I would really love for this blog to be what I had originally intended it to be: a place where I can write and therefore express some emotion, gather my thoughts, etc.  Unfortunately my emotions and thoughts lately (as in the last several months) have been rather complex and when I think about the energy it would take to try to express myself in a blogpost, I just eat chocolate and watch mindless television instead.  It's not that things have been uniquely terrible in my life, or that I am depressed by any means, I have just been weary.  As I have discussed previously on this blog, I have a demanding job, and that accounts for most of my weariness, both physically and emotionally.  Outside of work, there have been a couple other things to make me emotionally weary, but so many other great things have gone on in the last several months since I previously posted.  

I long to be excitable again.  I long to feel wonder again.  I long to feel creative again.  I long to feel anything but rushed, exhausted, stressed, or sad for long periods of time.  I look at people who have such a positive outlook and excitability to them almost with envy.  How do you people get rid of your heavy burdens?

Ah, but don't I know the answer to that question already?

This is something that my Jesus and I are working through at the moment.  He has showered me with so many blessings: a loving relationship with my dear beloved husband, the most supportive family I could ask for, a great church where I am growing, friends who care and make me smile, enough money to not wonder where the next meal will come from (even if it is popcorn for dinner).... and even in the last 3 months, changes that have been so helpful.  For example, Mr. Man does not work for Black Bear Diner anymore.  He is now working in mobile windshield chip repair, and it is proving a much better choice for the time being.  He also graduated culinary school a couple weeks ago, so we get to see each other again and there is no more homework!  But yet, the overall emotion that shines through every day has been weariness.

I get stuck in the grounded reality of frustration, pain, and earthly suffering.  I am relying on my Jesus to get me through but there is a difference between telling Him about my burdens and asking for His help and completely GIVING Him my burdens.  To be honest and blunt, I don't know how to do that yet.  I have lived the last several years frustrated at the part of the Christian culture that ignores that real pain and real frustration exist.  They try to band-aid it, and expect that one verse will make all the pain go away.  Those of you who have experienced real pain know that it's a healing process.  So in the midst of that healing process, I have somehow held onto my pain too much.

Now, to be clear, I do not think my life is miserable and I do not think my pain is unique or more than anyone else's.  This is something that comes straight from my heart, and I've decided to take the plunge and put it out for public eye, so I would like you as a reader to respect that I am not trying to discuss these issues, just vent.  :)

So I have been learning several things through this, like what real servitude and selflessness means to me as a Christian worker, wife, friend, and family member.  About what true joy looks like.  I am seeking the Lord, His Word, and fellowship with Him to learn how to lay my burdens down.  I have learned how to deal with stress (and have more learning to do).  I have learned even more how to rely on the Lord's provision and plan.

So, really, this post is about hope, about which Emily Dickinson wrote so beautifully.  It's a hope that isn't coming naturally to me at the moment, but I know it is there.  This post is about positive movement, no matter how small the baby steps are.  I hope that I am able to keep up with posting a little bit more, even if it's just pictures of the stuff we've been super busy with (like... hot air ballooning in Napa, for instance).  We will see.

Romans 5:3-5 - "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

the trees are blossoming

I LOVE blossoming trees.  Especially the pink ones. :)  I am grateful to live in the City of Trees so I can see them all. :)

Well February came and went so fast, and I never even posted once!  The first half of February was pretty fun, I had a birthday and we celebrated Valentines.  I made it easy for Mr. Man this year... I looked him straight in the eye and said, "Here's what I want for my birthday.  I want a betta fishy.  I want to go to Michaels and pick out a pretty vase and pretty rocks, then go to Petsmart and pick out my fishy.  And I want to get him a plant and he will be my fishy and I will name him whatever I want."  He was pretty happy to get out of the pressure of gift shopping. :)
So now I have a beautiful betta fish named Giacomo: King of Fishy and Fishy of Kings.

Unfortunately, my fishy is giving me vibes like he hates me.  He doesn't seem to be very content with the food and home I have provided for him.  I feel like I'm keeping my fishy hostage.

Valentines was pretty easy too, we bought each other Little Big Planet 2 (only the coolest video game I've ever played).  I wish I could explain it for those of you who don't know what it is... but maybe this will be better:


We also went for the first time to Tex Wasabi's, one of our new favorite places to eat on the planet.  Tex Wasabi's is officially classified as Sushi BBQ.  They have a full menu of authentic sushi, a full menu of authentic Southern BBQ and THEN they have this section of the menu called "Gringo Sushi" that is TO DIE FOR.  We tried three different ones:

1. "Kemosabe Roll" - "Tapioca rice paper roll with sushi rice, BBQ beef brisket, french fries, crispy onions and a garlic chili mayo sauce" 
2. "Jackass Roll"  -  "Tapioca rice paper roll with sushi rice, avocado, BBQ pork, french fries and a garlic chili mayo sauce" 
3. "Hidden Chicken Roll"  -  "Grilled marinated teriyaki chicken, wrapped with avocado, mandarin oranges, crushed wontons and lettuce in tapioca paper. Served with a teriyaki dipping sauce."

It was seriously the best thing ever.  And Corey hates real sushi.
This is how I felt about this place:

We also went to a Valentine's Dinner at our church, and played the Newlywed Game... and won.  Whaaaat?!
This is us with Pastor Kyle after winning:

...and this is us in the "photo booth"... we decided not to tell each other what we had written on our little chalkboards, and man, did we LAUGH when we saw this picture.  I thought for sure he would write something funny!

The rest of February was pretty uneventful.  I got a cold that knocked me out for 5 days, we worked our butts off, and we battled Corey's homework.

The day-to-day is still pretty difficult, Mr. Man and I don't get a lot of time together, which is fairly normal for a married couple as I understand, but no fun.  And I really really really really miss my galfriends.  Turns out my life is surrounded by boys, and however cool they are, I miss being around women.

A couple cool things, though... we started attending a Life Group on Thursday nights that we LOVE.  The fellowship of like-minded believers is so beautiful.  Also, (I don't remember if I've mentioned this) I now have 5 (FIVE!) voice students.  It's a lot to handle on top of working 40 hours a week at a crazy job, but I LOVE it.  Music and teaching are still my true first loves, and now two nights a week my soul is revitalized.  Overall, we are just SO blessed, and Jesus is taking good care of us. :)

...and I am reminded of that every time I see a blossoming tree. :)

Warning: Sappy Alert

Well I meant to write this post almost a month ago around our anniversary on the 9th.  I never got a chance, but I figger that Valentines Day is right around the corner anyhow. :)

Corey and I have been married for one year.  What a glorious thing.  We recently had some friends ask us, "So tell us what it's like being married for a year!" and we looked at each other pretty puzzled.  One year?! We have been on such a journey in the past year, and if you have been following my blog you've been through it with us, but around our anniversary I decided I wanted to explore that question, "What's it like being married for a year?"

Marriage is "AWESOME!!!" said with a goofy face and a giggle... and maybe my tongue sticking out.  And that's exactly what it is, in every sense of the word "awesome."  Awesome, like the coolest most epic thing ever, and awesome like it makes my jaw drop.  "Like a hundred billion hot dogs, sir."  (If any one gets that reference I'll ask my husband to make you a cookie.)  The way the Lord provides such fulfillment and happiness in a marriage that is based on love and trust and Jesus is awe-some. 

One of the best parts of being married to Corey is that he is my home.  He is my safe place.  He is where all the chaos of my life falls back into place like Mary Poppins cleaning a bedroom.  All I need to do is feel his touch.  And lucky for me, we work at the same place, so when he gets to work late afternoon, after I've already been there all day, I just reach out and with one finger, touch his arm (as more than that constitutes too much PDA at work), and all the tension in my muscles releases. 

Corey keeps me laughing.  Life is hard, and I get dragged down very easily, but my silly husband knows how to make me laugh.  And how to make me silly.  Silly is excellent for your health, you should try it.

There is something to be said for communication (as much as one year of marriage can be witness).  In all the years that Corey and I have been together, we have made it a point to always tell each other how we are feeling.  And there has only been one time in almost 4 years that I would actually call a fight between us.  If one of us is a little unhappy with something, we normally can't keep it in for very long, we end up fixing it within an hour or shorter.  And normally it's stupid stuff about the trash or the dishes.  And normally it's just me being a pouty woman.  (My man is also very patient).

I could just go on and on!  I guess I set myself up by asking a very open ended question of myself with something so deep... but in a nutshell, Corey and I are never as happy, at home, restful, peaceful, mature, or silly as we are when we're together.  We truly complete each other.  I heard that the first year of marriage is supposed to be the hardest?  Um, I can't imagine anything better than this.  And the exciting thing is, I know it WILL get better.  Jesus is good.  I love my husband.

Burgers, Coffee, and Whatever Chef is Making

I am not a dreamer.  I have probably mentioned this before... but I have become too much of a pessimistic realist to do much dreaming.  But today, I had a conversation that sparked a very interesting journey in my brain, and I think it has had a lasting effect on me.  I think that aside from being so pessimistic, I have always felt that I wasn't allowed to dream.  This is the life that Jesus gave me, He knows the future, it's His plan and my dreams or aspirations will get in the way.  I think I have been wrong.  There is nothing wrong with a dream as long as there is the full realization that Jesus decides if it comes true or not, rather than me.  And if I pursue Jesus before my own dreams.

So, I've been dreaming all day! I dreamed up a list of things I would absolutely love to do before I die.  I dreamed up things I would like to see in place in my life in the future.  I dreamed up things as frivolous as the design of a perfect guest room in a future house.  I dreamed about the orphans and needy children I would help if I had the money.  Part of me wants to share some of my list with you because I am so excited about it, but I think I will have to keep it to myself.  Dreams are pretty vulnerable things, you know.  And it might show you how much of a nerd I am.

But it was so liberating!  And the reminder that came along with it was also impressive:  Corey and I have our WHOLE lives ahead of us!  We are not going to be doing the exact same job, living in the exact same apartment, making the exact same money forever.  We could end up doing something we never dreamed (ha) we would like!  How thrilling!  How adventurous!  (If you haven't noticed, this kind of thing is really out of the box for me... adventure? What's that?)

The conversation that sparked my life dreaming was a discussion about career choices.  I am not necessarily searching for a career right now, as I would say I am plenty invested where I am.  But, really though, Corey and I could chose to do anything we want!  I love that idea!  I also love that my Jesus is a loving God who will support the desires of our hearts if they are in line with His plan!

So stay tuned to the adventures of the C. Hunts!  Who knows, maybe 15 years from now we will own a snazzy restaurant called, "Burgers, Coffee, and Whatever Chef is Making."  Or maybe not.

2010 in review

What a year 2010 has been!  I love New Year's because it is a great time to look at the big picture, and remember all the things that have happened!  We are so grateful to Jesus for His infinite love and grace and provision!

• First and biggest, we got MURRIED!! That was obviously my favorite part of the year and the happiest day of my life.  (It will be our anniversary in 7 days... whaaaat?!)
• I got to be a bridesmaid in a bestie's wedding one week before mine. :)
• Corey lost his job and was unemployed for the first 6 months of our marriage.  Yeah, that sucked really badly, but it was a learning experience! 
• Corey started culinary school.
• We got to move out of the terrible living conditions of our Penn Valley garage and into a wonderful apartment in Sac with a door on the bathroom.
• We found an awesome church with great teaching and great people.
• Corey got a job at Chipotle and ate lots and lots of burritos.
• I switched jobs to my ever morphing position for Eve Justice and her businesses, currently the "administrative manager" for Black Bear Diner in Sac.
• Corey switched jobs to work as a line cook at the same Black Bear Diner, and has kicked butt in the last 3 months.
• We got a mini vacation to Yosemite where favorites Jared and Jenny got engaged!
• We worked, worked, and worked some more.
• We went to LA 3 times in the last two months, once to throw Jenny a bridal shower, next for the wedding of favorites Josh and Naomi, and lastly for New Year's Eve wedding of Jared and Jenny!  And Jenny being one of the most special people to me in the whole world... indescribable joy at her happy marriage :)
• We have been able to spend significant time with our families, especially at holidays, and my 2 year old nephew calls me Auntie Coco.  We also found out we have another nephew or niece on the way!
• The roof of our apartment leaked on us right before Christmas, forcing us to sleep in the living room.  We made a Christmas fort out of our whole living room.
• I got to teach one voice student all year and see him progress very far.
• Our cars have done well, which is a praise indeed!
• And now looking back at a year of marriage, we realize we are as giddy and happy as we were before, and infinitely more in love with each other.

Here are some favorite pictures of 2010:

Beautiful January wedding:

So many fun friends:

 honeymoon in Tahoe:

Quick trip to Santa Cruz for a wedding... the hairy days:   

New apartment, bigger sink :)

Adorable nephew:

Yosemite:

 Labor Day:

The Diner opening:

Thanksgiving:

Josh and Naomi

Ma Cherie:

My love and the end of 2010:

On trying to be superwoman

You may notice my lack of posts of late, and the reason is simple.  When I think of writing a blog, I only think of bad things to say.  :(  Work has been extremely life-consuming and enormously frustrating, to be honest.  When I get home, I crash emotionally as well as physically and writing a blog that anyone would want to read sounds like a joke. :)  Of course there are moments when I forget about work, but I am normally enjoying them with Mr. Man and I don't want to leave him to write, as you must understand.  We don't get much time together.


Turns out, I have tried to be superwoman my whole life.  (Not completely without relying on Jesus)

I was the kind of kid that wanted to be a grown up.  I tied my shoes at 2 years old and my parents would hear me yell in my sleep "I DO IT!!"

I have always been the older sibling, and was "babysitting" them for as long as I can remember.  I even helped homeschool them a little bit.  (And the moment I turned 13 I was on everyone in the church's babysitting and housesitting lists).

I was involved in my church, teaching Sunday School, singing in choir, youth group worship team, VBS... the whole nine yards, starting as soon as I became a teenager.

Then in high school I extra-curriculared myself to death: Academic Decathlon, volunteering in the library, clubs... and took Advanced and AP classes... maintained above a 4.0 GPA... perfect attendance.  (Yeah, a lot of you reading already hate me.)  Oh, and I started driving and working right when I turned 16.

Then came college... when I took on a double emphasis in music, took over 18 units almost every semester, worked, was section leader, TA, secretary, and above for choirs... interned with a local Christian school's choral instructor... (and got mono senior year).

THEN I planned my whole wedding (I did have help from some very special ladies).

Insert about 6 months of "down time" where my job was not stressful, but Mr. Man's unemployment and me being moved to part time was.

THEN comes now.  I currently run Black Bear Diner Sacramento's accounts payable, HR (encompassing the MESS that is employee paperwork), and payroll "departments," I work with the inventory system, I have my foot in marketing and banquets, I keep up ordering some supplies for the restaurant, I manage the gift shop inventory and stocking, I field fundraising and advertising opportunities, I chase the managers around with my papers trying to get them to take a second and give me stuff I need to do my job... and I am supposed to be tracking daily sales, deposits, etc. (but that hasn't happened yet).  And that's just the defined stuff.  I was hired to be assistant to the owner, so often I pick up overflow off her enormous plate of stuff she's trying to do.  And I also work a little bit with her other businesses, although that is not happening much right now either.
And the restaurant industry has an element that I have never experienced at this level:  DRAMA.  On top of trying to juggle my duties, I am pulled in to an insane amount of drama, and let me tell you: I. hate. drama.

(oh, and I s'pose housework and laundry doesn't really count)

So there you have it.  And as you might have guessed, my best superwoman impression isn't enough to handle this job right now, and I am worn out.  I am having to learn how to let out aggression and frustration quickly, how to be ok with things not being perfect, and how to be satisfied with my best even when it's not enough. 

I am unspeakably grateful that I have the assurance that this is a learning time period planned by my Jesus, and not just "my life sucks."  Although I struggle with remembering it, He has a perfect plan and reason for everything. :)  And I would be remiss if I didn't mention how grateful I am for my wonderful husband, who has frustrations too working at the same place, but who is a constant encouragement to me.  The Lord is gracious to give us something solid and happy in the midst of such a raging sea of... mess.

(AND it's Christmas, and I am SO incredibly in love with it... when I get a second to remember what day it is.)   :)

So I been a'thinkin'...

You know those people whose "about me" sections are full of fun things like "I love to crunch leaves" or "I love the feeling of kneading dough"?  I always read those and think, "dang, how do they think of things like that, they must be just so full of life." I sigh, and go back to whatever I was doing, knowing that as a pessimist, I'm not very observant to the little things like that, and therefore I can never have a cool "about me" section of a profile.

So tonight I decided to make a list of little things that make me very happy and share them with you!  It was a really rewarding experience to dwell so long on things that make me happy. :)  You should try it.

• singing at the top of my lungs in the car
• the smell of wet trees
• the relief when my lower back cracks
• the moment my husband comes home
• hash browns
• sunsets while I'm driving
• the first few cold days (or sunny days) of the season
• when the grass is frosty and I get to be the first one to walk on it and make it crunch
• the first sip of coffee
• a clean house
• making my sister smile
• dress "shopping" (which really means, go try on a bunch of crazy dresses but don't buy anything)
• pie
• when the sun comes through the clouds in rays
• trees whose leaves turn red in the fall
• fun socks
• waves crashing on a rocky coastline
• days without mascara
• when you bite an apple and the whole piece snaps off
• buttermilk spice muffins from Mimi's
• listening to music my brother wrote
• long calls with galfriends
• the smell of the ocean in the air
• dreaming in French
• writing with purple pen
• birds chirping outside my window
• wearing something new for the first time
• the cello
• hugging my mom
• the smell of jasmine
• a nap on Sundays
• a kitty purring on my tummy
• window shopping at shiny things
• fresh peaches
• my dad or husband playing the guitar
• good hair days
• warm pumpkin scones
• when my nephew calls me "Coco"
• texts in the middle of the day from Mr. Man
• sweat pants and a ponytail
• the way my in-laws' dirt driveway sounds when we drive up
• green apple fruit snacks
• clean sheets
• pictures on my wall
• dark chocolate everything
• when you change lanes without hitting a bump
• choral music

What things make you happy?

A Baking Adventure

This is a very embarrassing tale of what happens when I try to bake while my husband is sleeping.

I have been planning to make banana bread ever since I bought more bananas than I knew I would have time to eat before they rot (rotted?).  This morning, Mr. Man is uncommonly (and a little scarily) exhausted and he is still sleeping, and I couldn't sleep past 8. :(  So I figured I would do a little cute wife-in-the-kitchen thing and make banana bread.  So I put on an old apron, put some music on, and began.

Step one, find a recipe.  I pulled out my America's Test Kitchen Baking cookbook (thank you, Firstbrooks) and found the banana bread recipe.  I had made it once before from this cookbook, so I pulled out a couple ingredients and started pouring dry ingredients into a bowl.  The little voices inside of me (mostly of my Mom and my husband) told me, "The first thing you do when you start a recipe is make sure you have all the ingredients."  ... and I ignored it.  Stupid thing #1. 

I mashed the 'naners and then discovered the recipe calls for plain yogurt.  Oops.  Sorry, Mom.  I looked up a substitution for yogurt: sour cream.  Nope.  Crap. 

At this point I am wishing my mom was available by phone.  Mental note: do not ever bake again by yourself.

Then I spent the next 20 minutes searching for a different recipe for which I had all the ingredients.  I had already measured the dry ingredients for the other recipe, and we're almost out of flour and sugar, so I was trying to find something I could still use my dry mix for.  Almost every recipe I came across needed something random that we don't have in the house (and if I ran to the store real quick, I'm sure Mr. Man would wake up and freak out because I was gone).  I eventually found a recipe that I decided to try even though I didn't have any ginger or shortening, and I had already put in 1/4tsp too much baking soda.  Stupid thing #2?  (We'll find out).  I starting mixing ingredients with my handy-dandy hand mixer, making a fantastic mess.  I substituted butter for the shortening because the internet said I could, and left the ginger out completely. 

I finished mixing everything together and then went to get the chocolate chips to fold in.  ...and I had left them on top of the stove that had been heating up for about 45 minutes.  Stupid thing #3.  Half the chips were completely melted.  And what did I do?  Squeezed the bag, got 1 cup worth of chocolate goo, and "folded" it in anyway.  Stupid thing #4?  ("I didn't come this far to NOT have chocolate in my dang banana bread!")

I stuck the pan in the oven, set the timer for 60 minutes (or so I thought), and then commenced taking care of the rest of the chocolate chip mess.  I squeezed the rest of the goop out into a measuring cup and stared at it, sampled some, and grunted out of frustration a couple times.  I wasted a whole bag of chocolate chips.  So... I grabbed the pretzels out of the pantry and decided maybe I would try to make chocolate dipped pretzels!  Great idea, right?  So I grabbed foil because we have no waxed paper and made another extraordinary mess.  The whole time I am thinking, "I don't think that chocolate chips are meant for this, I bet it's not even gonna work," but I felt valiant for trying to save my mistake.

Somewhere in the middle of that, I realize that I didn't press start on the timer.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!  Ugh.  Really, I'm NEVER cooking again.  I'm so glad Corey is asleep for all of this.

So I commenced cleaning up, making a third mess with the flour, ending up transferring the bag to one container... and then into two because the first one didn't fit it all.  Good grief.

I sat down to begin this blog post, checking on the bread a couple times.  I went to check on Mr. Man a couple minutes ago, making sure he was still breathing, and he woke up and said it smelled good.  I laughed and mumbled something about having a baking adventure and I couldn't tell him all about it until I finished my blog.  He said, "Oh no!  You put cheese in it, didn't you!"  He always knows how to make me feel better.

Then he came out and promptly started eating the pretzels, saying that I should have greased the foil and stuck it in the freezer.  Great.  The chocolate won't completely harden and pulls off the pretzel when you pick one up.  Oh well.  I tried.

The bread is now out of the oven, and I know the center is gooey, but I had to pull it out because the top was burning.  We'll see how it tastes.  I'm a little nervous.

At least I didn't put in baking soda instead of baking powder.

Apparently, when the moon is directly over your head, you weigh slightly less

This has to be a short post, unfortunately, because I NEED to sleep and I am procrastinating hoping that my man will come home before it's REALLY too late to wait up.  He's cooking tonight at the aforeblogged Black Bear Diner that opened yesterday (YAY!).  I put in an 11something hour day, came home, watched some Castle (YES!)... and I'm currently staring at the mess in my apartment wishing I had a little less zombie-ness so I could clean it.

FIRST I would like to blog a very happy birthday to Elizabeth Anne Grover, aka Lizzy, aka Porky.  This woman always puts the biggest smile on my face and laughter in my soul.  She amazes me in her capacity to love all people, animals, and things, and her loyalty to our friendship is my favorite.  I wish you the happiest last 30 minutes of your birthday, dearest, and I hope you are spending it sleeping instead of doing homework.  <3

ANYWHEYS, if you were to ask me how I am and how the diner is doing and you wanted to know the real answer, I would first say "I'm exhausted," which you would be able to tell by the look on my face before I said anything.  I am starting to get to dangerous exhaustion where my body says, "remember that since you had mono 2 years ago I SUCK and you can't handle being this tired?"  My second answer to your question would be "Really, really great!"  Jesus is SO good and I am so blessed with this job, with my family and my husband... Once you shave off the exhaustion, I am really a very happy woman inside.  The diner is doing just fine for being open for 2 days.  We have had busy dinners and not-so-busy breakfast (average lunch).  There's been emergencies, scares, confusion, drama, and mass chaos, but that's part of the package! :)  And overall, I believe guests are having a marvelous experience.


Here is a picature of me, Mr. Man, and Rrrrrandle at the diner, it's my favorite.  (Please note that I was in "casual" dress, as I actually had some time off at that moment.)

Bear-y Busy

So, sadly my blogging has slowed a little... not that you were hanging on the edge of your seat or anything....
BUT I have a good reason.  Let me give you a little update! 

We (meaning my boss and we the management team) are opening a Black Bear Diner in Natomas (W. El Camino and 80) the week of the 28th of this month!  Black Bear Diner, in case you haven't heard of it, originated in Mt. Shasta/Redding area of NorCal and is a cute family oriented, good ol' fashioned family cookin' type restaurant.  The theme, obviously, revolves around black bears, and I hope to take pics once we open of the cute decor and share them for those of you who can't come in person. 

So, naturally, opening a restaurant is a lot of work.  Especially for a relatively small team of people, of which I am one.  It is safe to say I had no idea how much actually goes into opening a business like this and I had no idea what I was signing up for!  While I am not unhappy or regretting "signing up" so to speak, I am thoroughly exhausted.  An average of 6 days a week and 55 hours a week - and a lot of mayhem and chaos.  We've had to postpone our opening a couple times (which is normal), but we are 98% sure of opening the 28th to the public!  My title is officially "Administration" which means I do everything.  I am the go-to, go-between, logistics manager, marketing manager, make-sure-everyone-does-what-they-should-be-doing person, paperwork chief, run-to-Walmart person, call-everyone-on-this-list person, "we haven't ordered that yet??!!" manager, and "let me move that to the top of the bosses priority list" lady.  (and SO much more)

SO, when I get home at night (sometimes 10:30pm) I hurry to relax (dumb) and do my severely neglected housework.  Oh, and sleep.  And thus, my blogging suffers.

BUT there will come a time when the restaurant is open and thriving (Lord willing) and I will be back to 40 hours a week and free-ish evenings.  And maybe a massage and a pedicure, hehe :)

I am definitely not used to working this much, and I have not been this tired since college.  I can't believe I was more than this exhausted for FOUR years!!  No wonder I had mono senior year. 

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that my excellent husband has been hired as a line cook for the Black Bear Diner!  He has already started pre-training at the BBD in Sonoma, and he is rocking the house.  *Beaming*  He quit Chipotle (they were very sad to lose him) and the Diner will provide him with more money and more opportunities.  It's also more along the lines of what he really wants to be doing, working in a real kitchen.  And we kind of get to work at the same place.  Don't worry all you skeptical people, I won't be his boss in any way. =P

Has anybody ever been to a Black Bear before?  I hope that any of you local people will come visit after we are open!  We also have banquet facilities available, because I KNOW all of you have business meetings you need to schedule with us, haha.

Other than work, I have snuck in a little bit of fun with celebrating some birthdays and such, yay!  Here are a few of my pictures from the summer (the rest are on Facebook):

adorable nephew Kaden and Pop at Ikea

Mom, Dad, sister Cathryn, and me at Music Circus - 42nd Street

us'ns around Labor Day at Kaden and Pop's bday party

I don't like not understanding

I originally started this blog thinking that I would post sometimes about "deep thinking stuff."  Like my thoughts on feminism, or the Christian culture, or human pain, or what true love is, or my pet peeves about people...  but honestly, I hate conflict, and posting my deeper thoughts to the public is a recipe for drama.  No thanks.

BUT

When I have spent the last week seeing SO many girls come to apply for a family style restaurant in the most revealing and inappropriate of outfits, I have to think out loud a bit.  I really want to figure it out.  Do girls come to the interviews revealing so much because 1. that's what they wear every day and it's what their "personality" dresses like or 2. do they honestly think that it will impress the men interviewing them enough to score them a job?  OR 3. do they think that looks professional? or best yet, 4. do they even think at all?  Help me here, society, because I really don't get it.  Yeah, ok, so I'm a mildly conservative person and I think wearing revealing clothing is not a good idea in any public situation, but I really thought that a job interview, especially in today's market would bring out the best in people.  Logically.  Especially (if they read the ad) for a family-style restaurant?  Am I old-fashioned?  Let me clarify by saying that the immodesty I am talking about is extreme, supported by the opinions of the hiring managers I am working with.
And of course, if #2 is true, what does that say about the men in our society doing the hiring?  I heard someone postulate today that men hire girls that "dress to please" even for family style restaurants because married men with kids need something nice to look at.  If words could describe the contortions of my face...

Don't even get me started on the guy that came in with a dirty white tee and a big bright bracelet that said "boobies" on it.  That's another vent in and of itself.

Couchin' it up

The plan tonight was to be productive.  We haven't unpacked from our quick weekend trip to LA yet and there's laundry to do and grocery shopping to do... but somehow I can't move from the couch.  The same thing happened last night.  This is not good.  When Mr. Man came home at like 11:15 last night from class, I asked him sheepishly if it bothered him that I wasn't productive and he assured me he didn't mind.  It's nice to have a husband that understands when you worked all day and you just want to stare at the computer screen all evening.... two nights in a row.  All that to say that tonight is definitely not over, and maybe I will get up and do something yet.

My mind is not only fried from working a fairly insane day (a little long too), but it is heavy with concerns for people dear to me.  Several of my friends are experiencing painful life experiences right now and I just wish I could help.  Unfortunately, I live far away and words are all I have (which normally suck and aren't that helpful).  I am glad that they all have Jesus to comfort them.  This world is just so full of pain, I see it everywhere!  I find myself often saying this little motto:  "Life sucks, Marriage is great, and Jesus is best."

By the way, it is National Night Out tonight.  What does that even mean and why have I never heard of it before?  Is it a Sacramento thing?  Our apartment complex is doing some shindig for it (I'm not going because I am husbandless because he's in class, and somehow it just seems weird).

So anywheys, this last weekend we went to LA to see Troy and Melody Rankin tie the knot, and spend all hours in a whirlwind of hanging out with cool people.  It was SO GOOD to see such good friends and SO refreshing.  It was fun to hang out with other couples too.  One of the highlights of the trip for me was spending time with ma cherie Jenny who is getting hitched in December.  I am her Matron of Honor, although I hardly consider myself a Matron.  I have no children and I wouldn't call myself matronly... would you?  Hm... maybe don't answer that.  But anyways, Saturday we were able to buy her super gorgeous wedding dress!  WHAT an honor for me to be there!! YAY!!! We also took an adventure to downtown LA for a bridal shop... we had neither of us been to true downtown LA other than the concert halls.  Let's just say it was interesting and leave it there.  I wish I took more pictures of the whole trip, because then I would share some with you, but alas and woe are we.  No pictures. 

Did I mention we got internet in our apartment?  We are Comcastic now.  It is excellent to have reliable internet again... and it enables me to sit here on the couch and not do laundry.  oops.  

Perspective

So I lay down to try and sleep about 10 minutes ago, hoping that even though Mr. Man isn’t home yet, my body would win over my mind and I could sleep.  I realized that the past two Mondays I had blogged, and I thought that it was a pity that I hadn’t.  Then my mind wandered to all the things I could say, and I had some great perspective changes about my day… my week… my life… you know how that goes.  So here I am, NOT sleeping, and blogging instead.

I am so incredibly happy.  I am living a dream.  My whole life I dreamed of “growing up,” having a job I liked, a husband, and a place of my own.  (Kids are negotiable as of today.)  Our apartment is a dang mess right now.  I have forsaken my wifely self-appointed duties of laundry, dishes, and general picking up for the last few days… and we picked up and moved in a new couch and a dresser from Freecycle today (YAY!), and therefore disarray prevails.  (I didn’t even have the productive means to move the clothes from the bookshelf into the dresser!)  Normally the guilt of not doing my chores weighs on me and I feel like “a bad wife” and I get caught up in the trivial.  Excuse me?  I have my own apartment!  With dishes that CAN be dirty!  And although we’re still living off peanut butter and dry corn flakes, we have food!  And clean water!  AND I have a husband who loves me more than I understand, who is off doing something that he loves (I think he’s doing Floribbean Cuisine tonight)… we both have jobs we enjoy.  Hello, silly self, this is AWESOME!

An Opportunity

I very sincerely miss the beach.  I miss deciding to go out in the heat and the sun and I might even miss the sand between my toes!  There are many things that I don't like about the beach, but it's such an integral part of summer!  There are so many great summer memories at the beach.  I keep feeling like summer is going by way too quickly and I'm missing out on chances to enjoy it.  Unfortunately it is hotter here in Sac than it was growing up in Hollister.  I miss that ocean breeze and the ability to take a night walk down to the park and not get mugged.  Hopefully, Mr. Man and I have a chance this summer to make our own new summer traditions. :)

I have one of those tired brains right now that thinks of plenty of things that I could tell you about, and when I start to type it, I feel like I don't have the energy to write about it.  Ever have one of those days?  I was up at 6 this morning after helping Mr. Man with his homework until late last night.  I needed to do all his typing for him because he overworked his arm muscles last week from cutting too much meat and veggies!  But he did bring me home some awesome Applesauce Cake with walnuts, raisins, cranberries, and a caramel sauce from one of his classes.  It was so interesting helping him with his homework, all of the old frustrations from unclear syllabii or silly petty assignments came rolling back to me.  Corey kept having to remind me that this was HIS homework and not mine, and I didn't have to deal with it, just type it.  :P  I am very happy that I don't have to be in school right now. 

Well, the original reason I began to blog tonight was to ask you to seriously consider supporting my sister and my family members in this year's annual Disneyland 5K and 1/2 Marathon event to support the A-T Children's Project.  I have mentioned this a few times, or at least my sister's disorder, and here is a very real opportunity for you to help.  Your money to support my Mom, Dad, Brother, and Cathryn will go directly to finding a cure for A-T.  Read more HERE.  Corey and I really wanted to participate this year, but we weren't able to because of funds and such.  Next year we plan to be asking you to support US. :)  I really hope that you will actually take a minute and really think about helping.  There are so many people asking for your help these days, and I would never push you to give money, I just would like the justice of you actually seriously thinking about it!  Thank you, friends.  It means a lot to me and my family to have people support us in prayer as well. :)  If you are planning to pray for us or to support, please leave a comment so I know there are some of you out there!

Well, I have to get to some laundry.  I have to do it like 3 times a week because of Mr. Man's uniforms.  Praise Jesus we have a washer and dryer in our apartment!

Everyone should like peach Snapple.

I am currently sitting in Barnes and Noble, listening to my Pandora station featuring Lady Black Mambazo and the Soweto Gospel Choir.  I love this music.  It is relaxing, harmonious, and just cuts straight through to the soul. The guys behind me are studying US History... I do not envy them.  I really am not a history person.  Unless  you're talkin' music history, then I perk up. :)  And I just finished watching an episode of Castle on Hulu, gotta love Nathan Fillon.  Watching Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog is extra hilarious after watching Castle or Firefly.  (If you have not seen Dr. Horrible, it is TIME.)

Sigh.  My man is in class, thus this "free time."  I hate to disappoint you, but I would much rather be hanging out with him, than writing a blog. ;)  He has night class Mon-Thurs this quarter (that started today).  Rough stuff.  It's gonna be a hard 3 months for him (and us).  He is absolutely loving working at Chipotle.  I visited him the other day (I am so grateful I have a flexible job that allows me to do that!!) and I watched him working hard in their exposed kitchen, making "cilantro-lime rice" at the moment I was in line.  I am so very proud of him.  He is so impressive.

Jesus is so good to us, and our situation is finally looking up, after 6 months of marriage (as of last Friday!).  I'm looking back, and it's really amazing how far we've come as individuals and as a couple even just in 6 months.  We've learned a lot, and I'm sure we will continue to learn!  What an adventure.  I saw the other day off I-80 a single sunflower growing as if it was defying the ugly freeway and the dead grass around it, saying "Today is a beautiful day! And you can't stop me from enjoying it!"  I marveled at having even noticed the sunflower in the first place, and then smiled to myself.  Life is beautiful, despite the road being ugly sometimes.

So, I will be trying in the next three months to find something to do with all the time I can't spend with Mr. Man... exercise is on the list, but as you can see, it didn't work tonight.  Read more books is on the list, but I am currently having a rough time getting into Uncle Tom's Cabin, and I hate starting another book when I haven't finished one.  Yeah, I'm one of THOSE people.  Keep the house clean, the laundry done, and the dishes clean are all on the list, so far so good on those.  Cooking/baking will make it on the list when we have more money for ingredients.  Poor Corey had to have an "emergency hot dog and cheese sandwich" on his hour break between long classes today.  And I had corn and an egg for dinner.  So far playing a lot of Animal Crossing has been topping the list... gotta catch all them fish.  Everything else I can think of costs money... so I'll keep brainstorming.

In other news, the documentary featuring Tim Borland running 63 marathons in 63 days for A-T (my sister's disorder, read this post) is coming out on DVD soon!  There has been some great hype about it, including a screening on TV, starring my fabulous sister. :)  If you are interested, click here.

I hope you have been able to see some beautiful things lately.  Even if the road you are on is ugly.  Enjoy some peach Snapple, that oughta cheer you up. :)

Many much excitements

Boy do I have tons to say!!

1. I got a new job, which by now you probably know, but now I finally have time to sit down and explain it to you!  I am now the Marketing and Bookkeeping Manager for the owner of several businesses.  (For you Master's people, it's Morgan Justice's mom!)  It's hard to put a title on it, as it is more like a personal assistant job, and while most of my duties will have to do with bookkeeping and marketing, I will wear many hats. :)  Eve (boss-lady) just has an unbelievable amount of stuff on her plate and she has hired me to help (permanently)!  It feels sort of like I have skipped the whole "work ladder" and am now all the way up in corporate, working right next to the "big boss."  I will be working full time for Eve, and she will pay me much better than any job I was hoping for.  If you are wondering how the heck this came about, Eve and her husband met me on our trip to Israel and Italy last summer.  Their daughter Morgan is in the Chorale and so they came on the trip (as many parents did).  They got to see me "in action" as the Secretary for Chorale, and ever since then, Eve has had me in the back of her mind.  Isn't it amazing how the Lord plans things?  And His timing is perfect too, because working at DMH for a year prepped me immensely for the things Eve needs me for, from Quickbooks to understanding the workings of a small business.  I am currently transitioning out of DMH, because leaving my boss flat at the start of the busy season would have been awful.  We actually hired someone new for my job yesterday, I will be training her 12ish hours a week for the next 3ish weeks and then I will quit.  It will be great to work only for Eve full time because I will be able to concentrate better and get my whole head in the game.  Right now I am working two jobs at once, which takes a lot outa ya. :)  Another wonderful thing about working for Eve is most of the businesses I will be working with are located in Natomas, just down the street from our apartment!  Once I am done at DMH, I will not have to commute 40 minutes anymore! YAY!  So lets review: full time, great pay, working for a great Christian lady, down the street, very elite, (oh and benefits)... So much more than I hoped for!  The Lord is SO great!

2. COREY GOT A JOB!!!  You probably knew this by now also, but it is so worth jumping up and down again. :)  My poor husband has been looking for a job for six months, and a week ago he had his first day of going to work while being married!  If you are a man, I'm sure you understand how important and awesome this is, and if you aren't a man, hopefully you have a good idea.  He is working part time at Chipotle Mexican Grill (which happens to be one of our most favoreet places), it is not the closest one as it takes about 20-30 minutes to get there, but we aren't complaining.  (For local people, it's the one in Loehmann's Plaza in East Sacramento near Sac State)  It's so perfect for him, he gets to be a grill/prep cook and the company is a great company to work for as well.  He even gets medical insurance after 30 days!  We are just soo excited.  He is on a three week break between quarters right now, which is helpful for training.

3. Speaking of school, Corey got all As last quarter!  He excelled in his classes, and one of his chefs asked him to TA for her next quarter! I'm SO PROUD!!

4. Also, my favorite maid-of-honor ever got engaged last weekend!!  To try to make another long story shorter, we went to Yosemite last Sunday to hang out with Jenny and Jared (after spending the first part of the weekend camping with the Hunt family, which was fun.... and dirty).  Jared had contacted me ahead of time about buying the ring, talking to her dad, and planning to propose in Yosemite.  I am so grateful that he included me!  We hiked the Vernal Falls trail, turns out I'm WAY out of shape even though I've been running on the treadmill a lot recently.  Ugh.  We got super wet from all of the mist from the huge waterfall, but it was SO beautiful!  Corey and I stopped a little ways from the top of the stone stairs up to the top of the waterfall because I was too tired and let Jenny and Jared go on alone.  He proposed at the top of the falls and she was so surprised!  And of course just BEAMING happy.  :)  They are still deciding on a date.  This is just such an exciting thing for me to see Jenny so happy.  And of course I like Jared lots too. 

So things are definitely looking up for us, praise Jesus!  He has taught us so much through the past 6 months about ourselves, about our marriage, and about Himself.  We are so grateful! 

Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with Thee;  Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not, as Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;  Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see;   All I have needed Thy hand hath provided— Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

(Lyrics by Thomas Obediah Chisholm)

I am bursting at the seams with gratefulness to the Lord for what he's done in the past couple weeks!  I will have more details later, but I have a new job that is better than anything that I could have dreamed of getting!

Hello, June

So, we've lived in Sacramento for a full month now.  We love our place so much, it is quickly becoming a dear home to us.  We've been able to have people over several times in the last month, and it's not weird because we have a door on the bathroom!  hehe.

And we like living in Sac.  I really am a city person... maybe not a downtown city person, but I enjoy living on concrete and visiting the busy areas.  I looked up a bunch of fun "touristy" things to do in Sac because I want to experience the city I live in: museums and parks and festivals, mostly.  And of course, most all of it costs money, so we'll just add it to the imaginary list of things to do later when we have a magical amount of money!  I think for a city, though, Sacramento is very pretty.  It is, after all, the "City of Trees" (turns out I'm very allergic to trees).

The fact that it's June is a little scary on the job front.  We had expected Corey to get a job much faster once we lived here, and so far no good.  Hopefully the more he sends out resumes, the higher the chances of somebody realizing his potential?  We are just reminded every day that Jesus has a plan, and the need for prayer.  We are hoping to make friends and connections at the new church we've been trying.

There is hope for me to return to full time in the next couple weeks, hopefully sooner than later.  As soon as it gets hot for a couple days, all the commercial stores we deal with will have air conditioning problems and we will have work.  More work = more money = Crystal can work full time!  Yay!

This last long weekend was a lot of fun, we got to hang out with a lot of people!  (and I like hanging out with people... I'm a bit of an extrovert)  The weekend included Turtle, friends from Masters (Majesty!), and the Hunt family we hadn't seen in a while.  Kaden (my almost 2 year old nephew) is getting cuter every day.  Last night he figured out how to say Corey's name!  It sounds a little like "krowee" and every time he said it the whole family burst into happy noises.  I am a little jealous, not gonna lie, but apparently Crystal is a lot harder to say than Corey.  I think he sort of said my name once, and it came out "Co-Co."  I would not mind being Auntie Coco.  I like chocolate.

Living with such little money is a wonderful learning experience about what we really need in life.  True, better furniture and clothes that fit would be nice, but we don't need them.  I have struggled with this idea my whole life.  Not growing up with a lot of money gave me a sort of defiant attitude, telling myself that I would not grow up to be "poor" and that there are things in life that are necessities because everyone else treats them as necessary.  Of course, ironically, you can't follow your dreams and be rich at the same time if you want a life of music and a husband who isn't a doctor. :)  So here I am, with less money then I've ever had in my life, and still very happy!  Thanks to Jesus of course, who saved me from the materialistic wasteland of LA, jobs in retail, and a depraved and selfish mind (still a work in progress).

I'm so excited for summer... especially strawberries and peaches.  Apparently fruit dictates a good portion of my body's happiness.  :P

Fun?

So we were at church today (our second week at a church we like a lot, more on that later) and we were talking to the pastor and he asked me what I like to do for fun.  I paused for a second with an "uhhhh" and realized I had no ready answer!  What do I like to do for fun??  Aside from just hanging out with my wonderful husband, I'm not really sure!  Turns out college and a lifetime of school didn't leave me with much "fun" time, and although it's been a year since school, I'm just now figuring out what I like to do in my "spare time."  Here's what I've been coming up with (of course too late to tell the pastor, I think I just mumbled something about reading...):

What I do for fun:

1. Be busy.  - apparently I don't really like having tons of spare time.  I'm more comfortable in a busier environment.  I am fully aware that my life will once again become busy once the job situations change, so I'm trying to enjoy my time now.
2. Be on the computer - ok, so it's sort of hard to tell people this is what I like to do for fun, they'll think I'm a couch potato or something... but I really enjoy connecting with people and stuff over the internet, especially when none of my friends live nearby.  (including this blog!)
3. Play a select few video games - I've written about this before, Little Big Planet, New Super Mario Bros Wii... most all of them I won't play by myself though, except for Animal Crossing (Wii).
4. Play the piano - this is a recent thing, as we only got a keyboard (a sad substitution for a real piano) from my dad, and it only works about 30% of the time.  But I LOVE to sit down and sight read something out of my easy piano classics book, it is so relaxing.  Corey has been picking up playing a little too, in fact that's what he's doing right now as I write this!
5. Read - I have recently picked up reading again after many years of schooling stealing my reading time.  I used to be a voracious reader when I was young, reading books way ahead of my reading level, devouring them like candy.  And our new apartment has lighting and comfortable conditions that make it easier to read.  I started out reading an old favorite (and an easy read) Martin the Warrior by Brian Jacques, part of the Redwall series.  I own all of the books except a few, and this one was my favorite.  For those of you who don't know Redwall books, they are about woodland animals who fight wars, basic good vs. evil.  Each type of animal has its own dialect or accent that makes it particularly enjoyable.  After reading that, I borrowed A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens from my mom, who loves Dickens.  I had only read a Dickens in high school, and I barely remember even which one it was.  I should really write a whole blog post on A Tale of Two Cities because it was AMAZING.  Dickens has an ability to paint a story like nothing else I have ever read.  I read it in three days, enthralled with the story, the descriptions, the characters, everything!  It was not an easy read, but thoroughly enjoyable.  Next I am going to read Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.  (I enjoy mostly classical fiction)
6. Scrapbooky stuff - I have always enjoyed scrapping, but it is a lot of work and a big mess, so I don't do it that often.  I am thinking I should do it a little more now that I have more time...
7. Shopping - this has always been one of my favorite pastimes, so it must be included on this list.  However, we all know that I cannot afford to do ANY shopping these days... so I need some other hobbies.
8. Watch TV shows online - this is also a problem, since we have basically no internet.  So far I've been to Barnes and Noble a couple times to get my fix.  (Dancing with the Stars final this week! EVAN!!!)

Well that's about it.  As you can see, I need some more stuff on the list.  Unfortunately a lot of the things I like to go out and do cost money, such as going to see the opera (NY Met Broadcasts to the movie theaters) or going out to coffee/dinner with friends.  I also am fully aware that I need to add exercising to the list, but it's really not FUN, so...