thanksgiving trip

david and i are in Indiana this week. we were supposed to drive out yesterday, leave at 7 am and drive the 10 hrs. we've been planning on it for a while...well, things didn't exactly turn out the way we hoped. you see, i worked at the cafe monday, and dave worked at the country club. well, since weather is a very important factor at the golf club, they have a radar that shows weather and storm systems. on my way home from work and last minute shopping, around 4 pm, dave calls me and tells me there is a huge storm heading straight for us. he described it as a wall extending from Louisiana horizontally up to us. we were going to get hit with most likely snow sometime tues. morning. our solution? pack and leave that night. let me tell you...it's not the most pleasant thing to get up at 5:30 am, work 8 hrs., come home and do ALL of the packing, eat a quick dinner, do the dishes (since we'll be gone for 6 days) and then pack the car and be on the road at 9:30 pm with 10 hrs. of driving ahead of you!! but we felt there wasn't much option, according to the weather. we stopped at the cafe on the way out and stocked up on coffee (free coffee is always the best! just thought i'd gloat about that) and away we were! david is an amazing man. he drove the whole way! and we made it in 9 hrs! unfortunately, all of the panera bread's were closed so we couldn't refuel our coffee mugs, but somehow, the LORD kept us awake and energized the whole trip! i slept for about 1 1/2 hrs. around 4 am and we pulled in just before 7. we slept alot yesterday! today is much better...it's snowing here! the first snow we've seen! there's about 1-2 in. on the ground, enough to make it look beautifully white! david is out getting a hair cut from his sister, deb. she has a job at a local salon after working her way through beauty school. anna, his other sister, is here with sandy (dave's mom) baking lots of pies and cookies for tomorrow's feast! i suppose i should go help out...it's so wonderful to be here with family! i hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! enjoy your families and eat lots of turkey!

this week

this week has been a challenging one. david worked monday at the golf course, but because of the bad and cold weather, did not work tuesday, wednesday, thursday or today. in one sense, it's been really nice for him to have so much time off. i worked monday-wednesday, so tuesday and wednesday he came down to the cafe and spent the whole day there reading, studying and journaling. i must confess i've been a little jealous. on the other hand, when he doesn't work, he doesn't get a paycheck! on wednesday, he accidentally set the alarm for p.m. instead of a.m. i was supposed to be at work at 6:30 a.m. but was woken up at 7 by the phone! thankfully my dad wasn't upset. i was an hour late to work, but he knows that accidents happen and they are infrequent indeed! david was very sweet...he felt so bad that he brought me a beautiful red gerbera daisy to cheer me up! we have an awesome little florist's shop next door to us and we like to give each other business. the day ended up being a good one. anyway, back to the financial thing...david has been great with our budget, it's so nice to not have to worry about that. i trust his judgment and he handles our finances wonderfully! he's in the process of trying to find a new job, but that has been difficult since the country club hasn't officially closed. he can't get a new one if the old one isn't done. he still has the roadhouse job, but there is no garaunteed money, so how do set a budget on that?
anyway...God will provide, we feel very confident about that.

on an exciting note, we are going to IN for thanksgiving. we're leaving tuesday and staying until sunday. i can't wait!!! i love his family so much. it's such a wonderful relief to have in-laws that are so much fun to be with! it will be a good vacation for us.
i hope you are all having a good weekend! i miss you all and think of you often. until next time...

work and shopping

well, it's been a while. i figured out how to put links on my page,
although, as you can see, i still have some technical problems.
any advice would be welcomed!
life has been stop and go lately. i've been working monday-wednesday, then thursday and friday off, then work again saturday night. i guess it's been good. work is work.
my day consists of baking for the cafe, preparing the soups for the lunch rush, sometimes shopping at target, sam's club, or michael's for the cafe. i always enjoy getting paid to shop!

www.teaforte.com

today, november 11, marks the 3rd year of business for our cafe.
it's hard to believe it's been that long! now that the colder weather is setting in, we've been getting busier and busier. we've started carrying some unique retail items, such as organic chocolate, vegan bars, a specialty tea in pyramid shaped silk tea bags,
tea cups and saucers, and a couple of other things. we're hoping that the Christmas season will boost our retail sales.

other than work, david and i received a wonderful gift in the mail the other day. someone from IN that he knows sent us a very very
belated wedding card and gift. in it was a gift card to Bed Bath and
Beyond for $100!!!!!! talk about shopping spree! we went out last night and wandered around the store about 2 times before putting anything in the cart, then after trying out every single massage chair they had set out, started figuring out what we were going to get! i picked out a few kitchen items, a great-smelling yankee candle, some card games for our long Indiana trips, a canvas hanging sweater storage thing for the closet and a few other random things. the weird thing was that it was HARD trying to find $100 worth of stuff! you'd think it would be the complete opposite! i don't know what it was, but it was alot more difficult than it should've been! oh well, it was still a blast, and we enjoyed it, b/c we know that won't be happening anytime soon again!

well, i think it is about that time. gotta jet. hope you have a great weekend! love to you all.

a sick week

this week has been a bit of a difficult one. david and i were over at a friend's house monday evening playing knock rook and i started to feel a bit sickly. well...i got hit full blown with a bad sinus infection/head cold thing which made me miserably sick. i must've slept like a full day, all doped up on cold medicines (my husband pursuaded me to take a double dose one night...not the best idea in the world) and wrapped in 4 blankets. but the great part about it all was that my husband got to stay home with me for 2 days and take care of me! the reason for that was simply bad weather. he works at a country club and the golf course closed tues. and wed. due to that ugly wintery weather we had. so we had some quality time together...watched a couple of movies, slept alot. he did alot of cleaning for me and fed me soup. needless to say, i love my husband!!! i feel much much better now and will be back at work tomorrow.

well, the evening here at my parents has come to an end. friday nights i come over and do all our laundry while dave works at the texas roadhouse. but, laundry is done, and i have a half hour drive ahead of me, so i am going to go. hope you have a great weekend!

some friends

just wanted to put some of my friends' home pages up.
check them out. they are cool people.

www.myspace.com/abishagdarling

www.xanga.com/abishagdarling
http://captcool.tripod.com/
http://www.jadongood.com

photography and domestication

i'm not a photographer by any means, but i wish i was. i like to try my hand sometimes, and so here is a sample of what i've taken. this picture was shot in my front yard this spring. they are ferns that haven't opened yet. i think they are beautiful. someone once asked me what my dream job would be if i could do anything i wanted...i would be a traveling photographer for National Geographic. that is if i was a photographer, and if i wasn't married, and if i didn't want to have kids someday! i'd like to study it i think. learn more about angles and lighting and things like that. ash, i know you have an artist's eye for that...maybe you can give me some helpful hints. i never really asked you for that. but now i am! unfortunately, although autumn is my favorite season, and i had been looking forward to some fall hikes through the woods with my camera, the past 9 out of 10 days have been rain, almost non-stop! so at the peak of the season, i'm rained out. oh well...i made pumpkin pie instead. i like being domestic...i love the idea of making homemade pies and soups on cold rainy days. or making the house warm and cozy for my husband when he comes home from working outside. being a wife has been so fulfilling for me. i feel like i am living out the role designed for me. i have no desire to be a career woman. all i want is a husband and a family to raise. one down, one to go! i always joke with david whenever we hear of another friend who is pregnant, or see little babies looking so cute...i'm anxious to start our family, but david is a little more sensible and is helping me wait for the better timing.. david is the best husband i could have asked for. he is understanding and patient, loving and hilarious, gentle and strong. i was thinking today that i am more in love with him than i've ever been before. this tuesday the 18th will be the 10 month marker of our marriage. the best decision i've ever made!

well, on this cool cloudy sunday afternoon, i think i will curl up with my Chronicles of Narnia. i finished The Silver Chair the other day, only one more to go! i hope you have a relaxing rest of the day!

friends on the web

well, this is another quick post. i'm at Northern Light with my husband, having time with him. although being up in the office doing random email and blog stuff doesn't constitute good quality time. however, in an effort to stay in touch, here are 2 links to 2 of my good friends blogs.
ash is my best friend and we were the maid of honor in each other's weddings! what a wonderful privilege it is to know her!
http://ashleywittmer.blogspot.com/
meg and i have known each other for years now, dating back to the good ol' days in college. we have a history of having crazy friends, skydiving (ash was there too!) and lots of road trips!
http://megrothslife.blogspot.com/

well, have a great night!

picture

here is a picture of me and my hubby! his name is david, and he is my best friend. i don't have too much to say today. sunday's are just nice to bum around and relax. i have to say, that some of you may laugh at me, and some may truly understand. you know when you see a show on tv that you used to watch all the time when you were growing up? and how even if you normally wouldn't watch it except that it brings back good memories? well, there is an andy griffeth marathon on today, and i'm hooked. so sorry to make this short, but i'm going back to watch. have a great end of the day!

a day off

well my friends, i know that some of you would like to hear more from me. let me first put this disclaimer...we do not have internet access at our house, and so it creates a huge difficulty in keeping this blog up to date. please be patient with me. i do love this idea and want to keep it going, so i will try harder at it.
that said, let me tell you about my day. both david and i have off work today...well, at least until late afternoon. david works tonight at the texas roadhouse, and i will be off to my parents to catch up on our mountain of laundry. we were able to sleep in today, which was much needed. we are now spending a few hours at northern light having some coffee and reading time. i just finished Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia. what an exciting book! if you have not ever read the chronicles, like me, you should! they are excellent! i could read all day if i was able to. it reminds me of how wonderful being a kid was, with all our imaginations that could come so alive in our own secret playtimes. if i was still 9 or 10, i would be running through the woods with my brothers, acting out the battle scenes in Narnia, saving the country and exalting in Aslan. sometimes i miss being that small with no cares in the world.
well, my time is almost over here at the public computer. so i must go for now.
have a lovely day!
laura

today has been a busy one...i have been at work since 6:30 am. i enjoy work, but some days i feel like a chicken with my head cut off. so much to do, so little time to do it. however, the good news is that i don't have to work for a good 12 days! vacation next week with my husband and our best friends at the nj shore will be a well needed and wonderful time! my lunch break is just about over, so i will have to leave sooner than i'd like.