Yes We Got Married on Valentine's Day

So people can assume whatever they will about why Rob and I chose to get married on Valentine's Day. It's not because we are mushy gushy people who love all the hearts, candy, and roses associated with the over marketed "holiday." It's really just because we decided to get married in February, it was a good day for everyone to show up, and the courthouse had an opening. Besides, it's pretty convenient for both of us! However, we don't usually go out on Valentine's day to celebrate. Mostly because there's way too many people. This year Rob and I are celebrating our 11th year together and we couldn't be happier!

Blog titles, Lent, Bones, Muscles, and Rocking Out...

I don't know why the title of the blog always trips me up. Maybe it's because I think I need to be witty or profound or something when in reality it doesn't even matter what the blog title is, or what I write in the blog. So anyways, since my last blog post I have learned all the bones, muscles, and actions of the shoulder and have moved on to learning the forearm, wrist, and hand. Because of the way my courses are structured I have very little time to learn everything I need to know before the test. Then I take the test and immediately move onto yet another barrage of information. My last test went well because of help from my friends and family readily quizzing me from my flash cards, so thank you for that!

On another note, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Some of you know that I did not grow up in a Presbyterian church and so I have learned many new traditions in the last 5-7 years. I am still learning and I look forward to each "season" to learn more. This year for Lent, I am going to focus on being more consistent in prayer. I am also going to try to go out of my way each day to speak to someone that I might not normally speak to, and make sure I say something more meaningful than "Hi, how are ya!" As for giving something up, I definitely have many vices that I could do without. I am still narrowing one down, but the way I see it, I still have a few hours to decide! If any of you want to know more information about Ash Wednesday, Lent, or anything else I would encourage you to do some research or ask me and I will do my best to answer.

On my last blog post I mentioned a new opportunity that I am excited about and that is that I have been asked to sing with a Christian rock band! I will be singing background and some lead vocals, but more importantly, I will be singing! I went to my first practice tonight and it was really fun and much different from the choral music I am used to for sure. I will keep you all updated on the details but for now I am just happy that I get to do something I love and praise God at the same time.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy days and lives to read my random thoughts!

Here Comes the Homework

As I sit here writing this I am surrounded by books and Rob has his headphones on watching videos for an online class. Rosanna finished up her math homework and went straight to her books, and Layla put in her required reading time before bed. I think I can safely say that this will be the scene at our house on most nights for weeks to come. I have started to learn functional anatomy, which is to know all of the bones and muscles in the body, where they are located, and what action they perform. Rob is learning how to make websites and lots of other stuff related to computers and technology.

The funny thing about this is that we have all asked someone more qualified for help tonight. Layla asked for help choosing a book to read. Rosanna asked both Rob and me for help with her math homework. I asked Rob for help with my anatomy, and he called Lyndsey and Dad for help with his website issues. I also have a faithful study buddy from class who I text back and forth while we are doing our homework in our respected living rooms at the same time each night. I'm so happy that we all have a network of knowledgable people that we can turn to when we don't have the answers. It will definitely make this process much more bearable going forward.

On an entirely different note, I have an exciting opportunity that has presented itself and I can't wait to see how it turns out. Not ready to reveal much about it right now, but I will definitely update you when I am ready to share more! In the meantime, keep reading faithful blog followers!

Eye rolling and slamming doors...

I have a teenage daughter... and she's only eleven. I knew it was coming, I have been warned, and I've been there myself. However, I thought I had at least a couple more years, but tonight as Rosanna huffed and puffed and stomped off to bed (slamming the door on the way there) unhappy about the conversation we had just had, I realized, it has arrived. Don't get me wrong, she is the most awesomely wonderful smart, generous, funny, and beautiful daughter I could ever ask for. Everyday I'm thankful that she turned out the way she did in spite of having ill-prepared and too-young parents. I'm convinced she is partially responsible for parenting herself. Unfortunately, whatever gets into the heads of young girls and convinces them that their mothers have no idea what they are talking about has finally crawled in and infested Rosanna's brain.

Now, I'm going to address this paragraph to my mom, because I know she is reading this and I already know exactly what she is going to say: "She's just like you..." "Now you know what I went through..." and so on. Yeah I get it, I was a total monster as a teenager. I openly admit it. I should probably have gone through some kind of twelve step program for it. I'm sure my being blessed with parenting two girls is a direct result of my behavior as a teenager.

Luckily I have two secret weapons. First, I remember exactly what it was like when I was that age and I will do my best to keep that in mind when we both get irrational. Second, an amazing supportive husband that has a special connection with Rosanna that only they understand. I'm not really sure what he even says to her when they have their serious conversations, but they work. I also know that one day she will grow out of it and realize that her mom is a pretty great person and might even want to hang out with her sometimes, you know, just like I did. Love you mom!

Thankful for groceries!

As some of you already know, I have started clipping coupons to help with the cost of groceries for my family. Before you get the wrong impression, I am not one of those people who can go to the store and get $1000 worth of groceries for $10. However, I have been able to get some very good deals, and also work up a stockpile of a few things such as Macaroni and Cheese, pasta, cereal, toothpaste, Ziploc bags, and laundry detergent.

I get five Sunday papers and spend a couple of hours each week browsing through them and seeing which coupons I will actually use. I also have a binder. I was hesitant to buy one at first because it seems like there is somewhat of a stigma associated with "The Binder" that I wanted to stay away from. Now I could care less if anyone sees me with the binder, because you know what? I am saving money!

I also use an app on my iPhone called Ibotta. It's pretty cool because you just pick which products you are going to buy from the ones offered and they pay you a cash amount depending on the product. For instance, today I bought two different types of Capri Sun drinks for about $2 each. Ibotta paid me $1 for each box. Then I just collect the money and deposit it into my Paypal account. THEN I use my Paypal account to buy fancy homemade soap that is my new splurge item!

Today at the store I got free Chapstick, $0.18 bags of cough drops, and $0.28 jars of peanut butter. While I still spent over $100 dollars, I saved at least $30-40 on the stuff I bought so I am one happy momma!

Even though it is sometimes a lot of work and it takes a big chunk out of my day, I am so thankful that I am able to go to the grocery store and buy the things we need. I know I am blessed because of that and I don't take it for granted at all!

P.S. If you are super inspired and want to start using Ibotta, I get $1 for each person I refer so click on the link on my Facebook page!

Here we go again...

Soooooo.... I've decided that maybe I might start blogging again. I'm not sure why other than somedays I have a lot on my mind and nothing to do with it. If you have looked around my blog then you might notice that my old posts are really old. I also noticed when I logged back in that all of the blogs I follow are equally old. We all must have gone through a fad together!

Anywho, I updated the layout and pictures and thought I'd give you all a rundown of what has been going on lately.

I am in school to be an Occupational Therapy Assistant. I know I said I never wanted to go back to school once I finished at ISU, but apparently I can't seem to stay away from the joys of taking tests and writing papers (you may assume that I am being sarcastic here). My reasons for wanting to become an OTA are varied, but basically I will get to do something awesome and be able to contribute financially to my family. Only 11 months left!

Rob has also decided to go back to school for his Master's degree in Educational Technology (I probably messed up the exact title, but it's something like that). He will be taking classes online from BSU while keeping up with his full time job educating young Surgical Technologist wannabes. Long story short, if you ever wonder where either of us are on any given night, it's probably at home, in front of a laptop, working on homework!

Rosanna is in her last few months of elementary school and busy trying to read every book ever written. I am so proud of her love of reading! She has become very independent over the last year and is quickly transitioning into a young lady. She loves playing soccer, and loves it even more now that she can play indoors! This spring Rob is going to teach her how to golf, which they are both looking forward to.

Layla is busy being Layla! It sounds funny, but those of you who know how she is know that the only way to describe her is "Layla." She has her own unique style and loves putting together her own outfits and hairstyles. This morning she had to wear velvet to school because, can you believe it, none of her classmates knew what velvet was! She loves to sing and has recently started playing soccer at the same indoor place Rosanna goes to.

I know that most of you who might be reading this already know all of this stuff because of our interactions on Facebook. However, as I looked back on my old blog posts I realized that this has become something of a personal journal for me. So I'm going to do my best to keep it up for myself and if I get some followers along the way then that would be great too!

Fell free to leave a comment or be inspired to update your own blog (you know who you are!).