sick days

i finally succumbed to the all the germs flying around me. i think i've contracted some sort of sinus head cold. at least it's not strep throat. one of the girls at work had that and i really didn't want it. david has been so wonderful taking care of me. the past 2 nights i woke up with chills and he got up to get me more blankets and the heating pad. and then he woke up when i needed more medicine. and he made me cream of wheat and brought me jello and ice pops. he loves taking care of me...and i love being taken care of! it's a win-win situation! i was a bit frustrated that i couldn't do anything. we both had off on thursday and were planning on doing alot of yard work and house cleaning and i wasn't able to do anything. david said maybe God wanted me to slow down a little and just rest. which is bitter-sweet to swallow. on one hand, i love the idea of laying down and sleeping or watching movies all day long. on the other hand, the dishes are piled high, the kitchen floor needs to be mopped, the bathroom needs to be cleaned and the yard needs to be "de-winterized". so david mowed the lawn, changed the oil in the car, bought me ice pops and got movies from the library, grilled hamburgers for dinner and said he'd do the dishes on saturday. i had some time to veg out, which despite being sick, felt really nice to relax so totally. i do think that sometimes God just knows when we need a break, even if we don't think so. or maybe He wants me to be more patient, or maybe just to appreciate my husband more. either way, whatever it is, i am glad for the break, am trying to be patient until this wears off, and i do appreciate all of the love and care from my hubby. i hope that you are all enjoying the wonderful spring weather! have a great weekend!

life updates

i appreciate everyone's encouragement from the last post i had about dave's job situation. i was not sure if i should share all of our struggle's about that, but it was something we were having a rough time with and i wanted to be honest and not portray the "everything is great!" cliche. because it wasn't. but i want to share with you now what God has done for us in the past few days. david finally was able to talk to his manager on tuesday and told him he needed to quit because of the financial strain the job was putting on us and the incompatibility it was with our priorities (ministry internship). he told him that his last day was going to be thursday. his manager tried to cut a deal with him, but we've just had enough, not to mention they only scheduled him for 17 hrs. next week when he's supposed to be at least 35. so thursday he worked and said goodbye. starting monday, he will be full-time at the scranton country club and maybe picking up a night or two at the texas roadhouse again. that alone has been a HUGE answer to prayer. we are relieved and encouraged to have a steady job with a stable income. as far as the heating bill, david called and worked things out. the letter was very misleading and was not what we thought. instead of paying $200 up until august, we just pay $200 this month and next month and then we will be done with the budget plan for this year and just pay what we use from now on. they made it seem like we would be paying more. so that worked out very well and we are relieved about that. as far as my contacts and a new car...we'll see how that works out! it may be that after a few weeks of dave's new job, we'll have enough for me to buy my year's worth of eyesight. God is providing....we're just waiting to see how He will work out the rest. thank you for your encouragement...it means alot!
on another note, i came across this article that i thought would be nice to pass along. it is called, Lunchtime Renewal. just a couple ways to rejuvenate yourself for the second half of your day. i especially like the 'feminine and masculine energy' :) read for yourself!
have a great weekend!

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel2560066&navLevel=3&site=bas

my herb garden

well, i thought that i would add my own thoughts about herbs. last summer i decided to plant a few different kinds in my flower box outside my kitchen window, just above my sink. i had basil, rosemary, spearmint and peppermint. every sunny day i'd open the window and let the smell waft in. it was beautiful! on the days david wanted to grill chicken, i'd go pluck some fresh rosemary, mix it with some olive oil and lemon and marinate it. brush some italian bread slices with rosemary and olive oil, grill it and you've got a tasty meal in minutes. i LOVED making sweet iced tea with fresh spearmint...i felt so domestic! i have been looking forward to this summer just for the fresh herbs. i went to wegmans the other day and bought 2 rosemary plants and 1 basil plant. they were already out of mint. so i am going to try to find that somewhere else. the peppermint was not worth it. it took up too much room and the leaves were too small to do anything useful with. plus i don't like it as much as spearmint anyway. i read on good ol' martha stewart that the terra cotta pots are the best for growing herbs, but if you don't like them, to use the plastic version. the flower boxes can keep too much water in it, promoting the roots to get too soggy. so this year i won't the box. i just bought some terra cotta pots to try them. i know ash and alicia said they didn't like them, but i'm gonna try my hand at it. i like the look of them. i'll let you know what happens. i encourage you to try growing some herbs if you've never tried it before. it's so much cheaper than buying them at the store, and you can do so many things with them that you never would do otherwise. if you can find plants that have already started growing, it is alot easier to work with. the ones i grew were low maintenance. just water them and pick the leaves when they get kind of big (for new ones to come). i am excited to hear about the 'herb tales' to come! pass on recipes when you come across a good one. good luck growing!

spring days

today has been a nice lazy day so far. david and i slept in for the first time all week. it was also the first morning we've had together for a while, so we got up, had some coffee and watched this week's episode of LOST that my mom taped for us. we are so addicted to that show! then dave read part of John 9 and prayed for our day. he had to get ready to be at work by 12 noon, and i left the house early to come down here to the cafe before i work at 3:45. i am sipping some chai tea and working on some office stuff for the cafe here on my new computer! it is a beautiful day out, not at all like yesterday. it was very rainy and dreary, but i'm not complaining. apparently, PA is in a bit of a drought. we've been asked to cut our usage of water back by 5%. so this week's rain was much needed. it's so nice to be outside without coats now. i've broken out the flip-flops and short sleeves. the buds are coming out on our lilac tree and the grass is a bit greener. and it smells so good outside! so earthy and grassy. i love it! it's invigorating after a long winter.
david and i are in the midst of trying to figure out where God is leading us too right now. it seems like the job at Staples is just not going to work out. they've been so wishy-washy with what they've offered him and how much they'll pay him and what hours he would work. it has become very clear to both of us that it is just not compatible with dave's ministry here at our church. so he has been trying to talk to the manager there but has been unable to see him, due to various reasons. there is a good possibility he will be able to have his job back at the country club, which would fulfill all of those criteria he needs. but we're still trying to connect with the manager there as well. he may have to pick up shifts again at the roadhouse (he had quit for the summer there, but he can go back anytime). the ulitmate goal for dave's jobs is to enable me to either cut back my hours or quit altogether. this past year has been stressful in ways that i didn't realize, but now the stress is taking a toll on my body. i talked to my doctor this week, and she advised me to find outlets for stress and to reach the goal we have. it's not necessarily the job that is stressful as much as it is working in general. i know that i am not a working woman, and i've been living that way for so long that i'm having a hard time handling it now. in the middle of all this, God has really been testing our faith regarding our financial situation. it just seems that one thing on top of another has been coming. but the weird thing is that it all came after we bought our laptop with our tax return money. since then, it seems God is testing us in various ways. 3 examples: first, i desperately need new contacts. i've stretched the last pair i have as long as i can and my insurance doesn't cover very much. glasses are not in any way practical for me now and not any cheaper; second, yesterday we got our monthly gas bill in the mail (we've been on the budget plan this year, paying about $80/month up until this august) and they sent a letter saying that they may have miscalculated how much we were using and were raising our monthly bill to $208/month!!! no warning that we might be using too much, nothing, until they raised it over 100% more than what we were paying; and the third, we need a new car. dave's has almost 200,000 miles and we aren't sure how many more trips to indiana it'll make.
i tell you all this, not to make you feel bad for us, but because we know that somehow God has to provide. we know our needs, we feel that we haven't been spending foolishly and we know that He is leading us somewhere for our good. sometimes it's difficult, and sometimes it's ok. but however God works, i will be sure to let you know! we are praying that it is obvious and that we will make the right choices. i think this is getting pretty long, so i will get going. have a blessed Easter!

Our new computer!!!

well, we finally did it. we used the bulk of our tax return to buy a new laptop. i know this isn't the clearest picture, so here is a link to the website where you can see it with a 360 degree rotation thingy! http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/entnb_e1505?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
so yesterday we got it and we LOVE it!!! right now, i am at the cafe, working. really!! well, at the moment i am typing this blog, but i am working on typing some manuals and stuff for the cafe. but i wanted to put this up quick so you all can see. what it means to you is that now i will once again be able to keep in touch a little bit better. hopefully in a few months we'll be able to afford internet at home, and then it will be even better! so, i am excited. and ash, i hope you find a good one too! i am sorry you lost yours...that's a bummer. but we can have new laptops together!
it is a beautiful spring day out, and i am going to take my lunch break outside. have a great day!

interesting picture

so...who do you think this looks like? let me tell you the story behind this picture. you see, it was a nice thursday night, and we were getting ready for bed. i walked into the bathroom and david is in front of the mirror with a comb, trying out all the hair styles he could think of. mind you, it's about 11 pm and we are tired. so i start giggling, which only egged him on some more. so i ran and grabbed my phone (my new cingular camera phone!) and snapped this picture. kind of a sleezy disco 70's look. he thinks he's an ashton kutcher look alike. maybe...not really sure. unfortunately i don't have a nice picture to put up after this so you will have to be scarred with this image until i can rescue you later. hope you are having a lovely weekend!

our secret names

Ok, so this email has been going around, and i think it's pretty funny. so here it is. i did dave's and mine. mine is in blue and dave's is in red.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name)
Puppy Madison Jack Madison

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your either side, your favorite candy)
Marie Butterfinger Elmore Snickers

3. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your middle name)
Leli Dand

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite animal, favorite color)
Doggy Green Dog Blue

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Elizabeth Boonton Andrew Argus

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name)
Sielasjeb Sieeselan

7. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards)
Htebazile Salguod Werdna Eseiw

8. PORN STAR NAME: (middle name, street you grew up on)
Elizabeth Elcock Andrew Center

9. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, the automoblie you drive)

The Green Blazer The Blue Lumina