2013 In Review

So, I have started so many blog posts but either never finished them, became frustrated with some aspect of the post, or had so much to write/research that I didn't know where to start. In order for me to try to get back into blogging again, I decided to do a bit of a "year in review" of sorts.

• In January, I started a new job as an Imaging Systems Administrator (ISA) for the hospital that I have worked for 9 years now. I started with this hospital as the deep night (11pm-7am) CT tech. After 5 years of that, I moved to our off campus imaging center as the supervisor for 3 years. My job currently is considered an IT job handling the applications associated with the radiology department. It has been an incredibly challenging year but I work with an amazing team that has supported, encouraged, and helped me learn a complete new set of skills.

• In March, we took a trip to Alaska. We visited Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Barrow with Kim and Jonathan. We had an amazing time and got to have a couple of those "once in a lifetime" type of experiences. I got to check off one of my "bucket list" experiences...seeing the Aurora Borealis. I loved Alaska so much. I cried much of the way home. I didn't want to leave and I didn't want to leave my sister. :)

Barrow, AK

• On our way home from Alaska, Anthony and I celebrated our first anniversary. :) We had our cake topper once we got home. :)

First Anniversary Cake. It was actually really tasty.

• The choir at our church that Anthony is a member of, recorded a CD and Anthony had a solo.
  Apparently, my little 2nd cousins who my parents take care of as often as they are able, love this CD. The CD is very Southern Gospel and these 2-7 year old kids love this music...I love that. :)

• We both went on the choir trip to Killeen, Texas. The choir performed the music from the CD at two churches, one a large church in Killeen and the other a very small church near Waco. The small church was my favorite. This church was smaller than Malta but reminded me a lot of it. There were probably 4 or 5 times as many people in the choir than the congregation who came that night but they were amazing. One little old lady was so moved by the whole experience that the choir director had her pull a chair up front. We sang a great song that half way through, the little old lady was bawling. By the end of the song, half of us were wiping tears away as well. 

• In October, Anthony and I finally took our "official" honeymoon to Walt Disney World. This was Anthony's first time and he keeps talking about "the next time we go..." LOL He has joined our dark side. Mwahahaha. ;) We had a lovely time. We visited his grandfather while we were in Florida as well. 

Day 1, Magic Kingdom

• Anthony has been given additional duties at work along with a couple of raises this year. I am so proud of him. He is a very hard worker and excels in his position. It isn't the easiest job and can be quite frustrating at times but he does a great job and his coworkers love him. [Note from Anthony: They mostly love me because I bring baked goods.]

• I found out that I have hypothyroidism and that most physicians don't know much about the current research regarding hypothyroidism. I found a physician, thanks to a friend, who did finally diagnose me and would prescribe meds for me. Since being on the medicine, the severe  swelling in my legs and feet, I have suffered with for about 3 years, has all but disappeared. Other physicians I have visited simply ignored or wrote the symptoms off as "just my hormonal cycle." I have had more energy and other symptoms have improved as well. I believe that I have been hypothyroid for most of my life but due to outdated "normal ranges" provided by labs, I have never been considered in the hypo range. As you can tell, I'm not exactly happy with the majority of physicians at this point. 

• In November, we attended the Board Game Geek Convention in Dallas with our friends Alejandro and Jordan. We had a great time, got lots of games, and have decided to make this a "once every two years" thing after next year. The only downside was that there was a Doctor Who convention going on in Dallas at the same time. Oh well. ;) 

Playing Pointless at BGG Con

• Kim and Jonathan came in for Thanksgiving the week we were at the BGG Con. We picked them up at the airport and took them to Chick-fil-A (usually their first stop once getting back into Texas). We brought them home and they wanted to show us a DVD of pics from their trip up the Ice Road and of the house they are buying in Anchorage. The video ended with a picture of an Ultrasound. SHE'S PREGNANT!!!! I bawled and bawled. I am soooooo excited!

• We also attended the Tucker family Thanksgiving reunion this year. This is my mom's side of the family. Every two years, we all get together for a family reunion. This is usually filled with great fellowship, delicious food, games until the wee hour of the morning, and bocce tournaments. We were not able to be at the reunion until late Friday night due to the fact that I was on call on Thanksgiving Day. But Anthony and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, just the two of us. 

Anthony baking his famous rolls.

• The Monday after Thanksgiving, my Granny had a heart attack. Since then, she has had at least one more. She is in a lot of pain and it has taken up to this point to get things regulated for her. In fact, things still aren't great for her, so prayers for her comfort and spirits and prayers of wisdom for the physicians are most appreciated.

• Shortly after Granny's heart attack, Shiloh ran out into the street and was hit by a car. It was a very traumatic night that ended in us having to put her down. We took the day off the next day because we were still so upset and a major ice storm hit that prevented us from leaving the house for several days. With the exception of a hike to the Walgreens for a few things we needed...thank goodness for our Alaska gear. :) We miss our little neurotic buddy, so much. I still tear up sometimes when I come home and she isn't jumping up and down so excited to see me.

• We found out Kim is having a boy. His name is going to be Elijah. I love it!

I think Kim is training Elijah to be a Baylor Bear in utero. ;)

• I have started learning to knit. I made a scarf & hat for my Grandma & a shawl for my Granny. I used a loom for those projects so now I am trying to learn to knit with needles. I've got a nephew on the way & 100's of projects I want to make for him. ;)

My first scarf.

It has been a year filled with challenges, tragedy, stress, excitement, joy, family, and friends. Not much unlike any other year. The best part of it all is that I get to share it with my best friend and love of my life, Anthony.

We totally get each other's silliness.

So what are our hopes for 2014?

• Our church has started a Sunday night service that includes a discipleship time. We are table facilitators during the discipleship time. We are very excited about this new adventure in our church.

• We are really working towards starting a baking business. Our first step is working on some awesome recipes. I've got an AMAZING chocolate chip cookie recipe and adjusted it the other night to make a White Chocolate Cherry cookie that was equally amazing. Anthony sold a fantastic Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake around Thanksgiving. Soooo good. So, if you or anyone you know is looking to purchase some cookies or cakes, we may have an offer. ;) We have a few things we need to work out like, a name for our business, a logo (I'm sure our friend Jordan will help us with that), etc... Also, if you have any requests or suggestions for items to try, please, let me know. :)

White Chocolate Cherry Cookies

• Seeing my nephew sometime in May or June.

• We hope to announce we will be adding to our family as well, but things seem to be going a bit slower than we had hoped. So, prayers on that front are appreciated as well.

• I hope to start writing more and publish some articles (just need to find out how and where). I dream of writing women's Bible studies and speaking at women's seminars. 

• I hope to study theology more and understand God more accurately. 

• We hope to finish our reading through the Bible and find a good resource to go deeper in our daily Bible reading together. Maybe a systematic theology guide or A Baptist Catechism...something to help us understand what it is we claim to believe and "to be able to give a reason for the hope that is within us" (1 Peter 3:15)

• There are other hopes and dreams we have....I guess we will just have to see what God will bring to us. :)

Wow...it's been a while

Wow. I did not realize how long it has been since I updated this blog. Man! Where do I start?

Well, like I said in my last post we got a dog. Her name is Shiloh & the vet is guessing she is about 5 yrs old. She must have had a pretty rough first part of her life because she has some scars to her back end & a broken rib that has healed but pokes out on her left side. 

She is a great dog & loves us so much. She came already trained at playing fetch & it is definitely her favorite past time...sneaking out of our back yard is apparently her second favorite...not one of our favorites. Yes, the police have already shown up at our house once with her. 

She loved every person & kid she has met (so far) & that, I couldn't be happier about. However, she is not a fan of other dogs. Today we took her to a dog park & she put a pretty aggressive pit bull & HUGE German shepherd in their places when she felt they had gotten too close. 

For the first few weeks we had her she had a terrible case of kennel cough that really worried us & we made a couple of trips to the vet & bought tons of pills that were a ton of fun to shove down her throat. Also, the day we got her we took her for a long walk & I fell in a small hole. I thought I was fine but started having pain in my foot a few days later. Two weeks later, Anthony convinced me to see a podiatrist. I ended up in a boot for 5 weeks for sever posterior tibial tendonitis & plantar faciatis. Now I'm awaiting he wants me to have orthotic inserts specially made. This $25 dog is starting to become very expensive.

On another note, Anthony & I finally found a church (Northview Baptist Church) & have joined it. We found a great Sunday school class and, on Wednesdays, I attend a systematic theology class while Anthony is in choir practice. The church is a little bigger than what I grew up in but still small enough that you won't get lost in the crowd. It think the one thing that really pulled me over was that they had the Institute for Creation Research come every Wednesday & a couple of Sundays in October to speak on creation & Genesis. This topic is a major interest to me & that they were open to speak on a controversial subject really impressed me. Also, the new members pastor teaches the theology class I attend & his belief, teaching, & adherence to solid Bible doctrine sealed the deal for me. I really think this is a place we can serve & be served.

We went to Vegas a few weeks ago. Interesting place. Never was on my list of places I wanted to visit but we had the opportunity & we went. We also got to see Kim & Jonathan while we were there which was great too. I am no fan of Vegas. We did go see Cirque de Soliel's "Ka" & it was really cool, we went to the new Bacchanal Buffet at Ceasar's Palace that was really good, & we also visited Hoover Dam which was the highlight of the trip for us. We think we may go back one day if we find pretty cheap tickets just to see another Cirque show, maybe the Blue Man Group, & take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. 

I have now owned our house for 3 years which means we are released from the First Time Home Buyers Credit. Yay! So now we can look for a new house. This house is amazing. We love it. However, it is a bit small for a family...one baby or toddler, maybe but more than that, no way. So, we want something bigger but for less. Sound crazy? Well, we really would like to find a house with 4+ rooms, 2+ baths, a room that could act as an office/school room, single story, yard big enough to have a garden & play in, very little updating (we could paint or add new carpet), decent neighborhood, reasonably close to Anthony's office & our church, & for $100,000 or less. Now do we sound crazy? hahaha Well, we don't have to move out anytime soon or anything so we can wait till we find the right place & there are always houses coming up for foreclosure. We'll just keep praying about it. :)

For the last two weeks, I have planed out our menu for the week & we have made pretty much all our meals (including taking our lunch). We've eaten out I think 3 times & I've had fast food only once, Anthony maybe 2-3 times. This still may not sound great but it is monumental for us. We've been going to the grocery store on the weekends & only popping into one during the week to grab something that wouldn't have lasted long enough or the store didn't have when we went earlier. We are also starting to watch sales & find decent coupons. I must say, shopping has actually been kind of fun & we are trying so many new recipes. We are saving money, eating better, & having fun. What more could you want?

I think I am slowly turning into a hippie. I am starting to become convinced of some of the dangers of some of the chemicals we use on an everyday basis &, since Obamacare doesn't seem to have any chance of being reversed, I am starting to get interested in more alternative/homeopathic medicine. I really believe that now that healthcare has been socialized, if we have any hope of any kind of healthcare, we will need to seek it other places than in the "accepted establishment." Anyway, I have been researching some "DIY cleaners" &, tonight, we bought the ingredients to make our own laundry detergent. According to this girl, it costs approximately $0.02 per load & costs her about $2 a month for her family of 6. That is a heck of a deal. So, I'll keep you posted.

Well, Anthony has already headed to bed so I guess I'll say good night as well. :D

Dog Days of Summer

Sooooo...we're adopting a dog! 

She is getting fixed & microchipped today and tomorrow we get to go pick her up. (The photo to the left is the pic that the Denton Animal Shelter had on their website.)

She is a 8 yr or so Jack Russell. They know very little about her except that they found her as a stray in Corinth. 

Anthony went to see her yesterday (thus the picture on the right) & said that she was pretty skiddish & seemed scared but she came right up to him. They said she has been a bit snippy at the smaller, yappy dogs (who wouldn't be?). 

We are also dog sitting for Anthony's parents for the next week+. Sydney is the sweetest pit bull ever & Sasha is a little, yappy pomeranian. So, we'll be spending most of the next few days getting her socialized to other dogs. She will need to learn to love these two since she'll probably be playing with them a lot in the future.

We aren't really sure what we are going to name her but we are leaning toward Shiloh, which is Hebrew & usually means "His (God's) gift."