When I left off with part four back in October (for heaven's sake!), I had just met a handsome cow farmer in Wal-Mart and he took me on a dinner date. I was head over heels right from the start. Hubs lived about two hours away from me, so we visited each other on weekends. We met in July, and we were engaged the next January, with the wedding set for October.
I quit my job at the end of June or so and moved into the house where we live now. Hubs lived about 10 miles away. My first job here was a part-time position in HR and Training/Development at a nursing home near here. For some reason, there was very little about that job that ended up being a good fit. The straw that broke the camel's back was after I had a conversation with a nurse's aide.
One thing that had been reinforced during orientation was that insurance paperwork was sent out from the corporate offices after the employee had been with the company for a certain amount of time. It came in a plain looking envelope (so as to not attract the attention of would-be identity thieves, I think), and it was stressed to keep an eye out for it and not throw it away, that there was nothing that could be done if it was gone until open enrollment came around again.
You guessed it, the aide tossed her insurance. I told her there wasn't anything that could be done, because I didn't think there was anything that could be done. The interim director called me out on the carpet. I finally realized it didn't make sense to be beating myself up for a job I didn't like. I put my notice in and focused on planning my wedding, which you can read about here.
We had a lovely honeymoon in Colorado and when we returned, I began looking for a new job. I ended up landing an HR job for a local manufacturing plant, working about 25 hours a week. It ended up being a great job, and I really enjoyed working there. The president - my boss - is quite a character. He once told me (mostly jokingly) that he hired me because I was married to a farmer, so he knew I wouldn't be moving away. I told him that I fixed his wagon, because I planned to stay home after having a baby.
I ended up working there for three and a half years and though it was hard work, I enjoyed it for the most part. Of course, all the while, I was learning to be a farm wife, too. Tractors, corn, wheat, cattle, all that. My main interest? The barn cats. And one that Hubs brought home, that we named Nappy.
Next up - being preggo with the Goose and an ice storm that left us without electricity for a week.
Showing posts with label About Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label About Me. Show all posts
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Friday Night "Fun"
I knew something was up when the Honker didn't eat much lunch. That in of itself isn't terribly unusual, except that it included some much-loved tortilla. And she asked for "bedtime" - though she did that a week ago, so it wasn't without entirely precedent either. I gave her a bit of Tylenol and put her down for a nap. She was up about an hour and a half later with a nasty, nasty diaper, and once cleaned up, she asked to lay back down. She slept for around another hour after that, and seemed to have better energy.
Until she wanted "Mama hold you". We cuddled for a while, and I could hear her tummy gurgling. Should have been my first clue, eh? I asked her if she needed to go potty a couple of times, and she kept telling me no. Then she sat up and hurked on me. I guess it surprised me enough that I kind of froze, instead of taking her over to the sink that was just a few feet away. Multiple hurks later, I shook myself out of the daze and we both hopped in the tub, which I think she found hilarious. I left her in there to play while I worked on cleaning the (carpeted) kitchen floor and (upholstered) kitchen chair, and started a load of laundry with our icky, icky clothes.
I just finished cleaning the floor when I heard her cry from the bathroom (it's right off the kitchen, so I felt reasonably OK leaving her - usually I do stay with her while she's in the tub, though). She'd gotten sick again. So, I put her on the potty in case she wasn't done, and started draining the tub and pulling her toys to clean. Thankfully there were no "emergencies" after that, though I kept her in a diaper the rest of the afternoon and evening and she was able to tell me once that she needed to go potty.
Keep in mind that I've been a deal nut for a while... About the tenth time I walked through the kitchen and sighed because I can still smell something yucky, I remembered that I bought a carpet shampooer a while back and it was still in the box downstairs. So, with a little help from Hubs (whom I had to awaken at 8:30PM, another sigh), I got it assembled and running. Let's hope I don't wake up tomorrow to any more icky smells!
Actually, I'm kind of hoping that I don't wake up in the middle of the night to a crying Goose and a mess to clean up, but as she's grown and evolved as a person, I've grown and evolved as a mother right along side her. Two years ago, I would have been nearly paralyzed at the thought of dealing with a sick child during the night. (It didn't help that I was consistently only getting about four to six hours of sleep during a 24 hour period.)
I'll admit it's hard knowing I am no longer able to comfort Goose by nursing her to sleep. However I know now that if she's up during the night, once her need is met, she'll go back to sleep. I know now that even if I have to get up with her multiple times during the night, God will give me the graces to deal with tomorrow on a lack of sleep, to clean up messes, to snuggle a cranky toddler, to do whatever it is that I need to do to fulfill the vocation of motherhood to which He has called me. I'm thankful that I can count on Hubs to help me out, even if it's just to snuggle Goose during the night while I am cleaning up messes. (Or during his pre-bedtime nap, if I need help with carpet shampooer assembly.)
For sure, things are put into perspective when I consider the struggles of people in Haiti right now, and many other parts of the world where day-to-day living is a struggle in of itself. If you'd like to join me in a good cry, watch this video from ABC. I don't know this couple myself, but they went to the same Nebraska college as a high school friend of mine. As a mother, I can scarcely begin to imagine what it was like for Mandy and Matt, not knowing if their nearly adopted daughter was hurt or even alive.
So, like everyone else, I will be including the victims of the earthquake in my prayers, and snuggling my little one just a bit tighter.
Until she wanted "Mama hold you". We cuddled for a while, and I could hear her tummy gurgling. Should have been my first clue, eh? I asked her if she needed to go potty a couple of times, and she kept telling me no. Then she sat up and hurked on me. I guess it surprised me enough that I kind of froze, instead of taking her over to the sink that was just a few feet away. Multiple hurks later, I shook myself out of the daze and we both hopped in the tub, which I think she found hilarious. I left her in there to play while I worked on cleaning the (carpeted) kitchen floor and (upholstered) kitchen chair, and started a load of laundry with our icky, icky clothes.
I just finished cleaning the floor when I heard her cry from the bathroom (it's right off the kitchen, so I felt reasonably OK leaving her - usually I do stay with her while she's in the tub, though). She'd gotten sick again. So, I put her on the potty in case she wasn't done, and started draining the tub and pulling her toys to clean. Thankfully there were no "emergencies" after that, though I kept her in a diaper the rest of the afternoon and evening and she was able to tell me once that she needed to go potty.
Keep in mind that I've been a deal nut for a while... About the tenth time I walked through the kitchen and sighed because I can still smell something yucky, I remembered that I bought a carpet shampooer a while back and it was still in the box downstairs. So, with a little help from Hubs (whom I had to awaken at 8:30PM, another sigh), I got it assembled and running. Let's hope I don't wake up tomorrow to any more icky smells!
Actually, I'm kind of hoping that I don't wake up in the middle of the night to a crying Goose and a mess to clean up, but as she's grown and evolved as a person, I've grown and evolved as a mother right along side her. Two years ago, I would have been nearly paralyzed at the thought of dealing with a sick child during the night. (It didn't help that I was consistently only getting about four to six hours of sleep during a 24 hour period.)
I'll admit it's hard knowing I am no longer able to comfort Goose by nursing her to sleep. However I know now that if she's up during the night, once her need is met, she'll go back to sleep. I know now that even if I have to get up with her multiple times during the night, God will give me the graces to deal with tomorrow on a lack of sleep, to clean up messes, to snuggle a cranky toddler, to do whatever it is that I need to do to fulfill the vocation of motherhood to which He has called me. I'm thankful that I can count on Hubs to help me out, even if it's just to snuggle Goose during the night while I am cleaning up messes. (Or during his pre-bedtime nap, if I need help with carpet shampooer assembly.)
For sure, things are put into perspective when I consider the struggles of people in Haiti right now, and many other parts of the world where day-to-day living is a struggle in of itself. If you'd like to join me in a good cry, watch this video from ABC. I don't know this couple myself, but they went to the same Nebraska college as a high school friend of mine. As a mother, I can scarcely begin to imagine what it was like for Mandy and Matt, not knowing if their nearly adopted daughter was hurt or even alive.
So, like everyone else, I will be including the victims of the earthquake in my prayers, and snuggling my little one just a bit tighter.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
About Me, Part 4
(In case you missed them, you can catch up with part 1, part 2, and part 3. Because I *am* that fascinating.) :>) I plan to be back later today or tomorrow with a reading the whole internet post, but I wanted to get this up because I forgot it earlier in the week.
So when we last left off, the mission was closing and I'd found a new job not far from my hometown. I ought to back up and note that things continued to go downhill with my then-fiance. I was a bridesmaid for one of my college roommates in June, and I'd asked my then-fiance to go to the wedding with me, but I'd made it reasonably clear that things were going to be over after that.
Things really came to a head after the rehearsal dinner. He had wanted to leave so he could watch an NBA game that was one that night. Did I mention the rehearsal dinner was AT A SPORTS BAR with TVs turned to every game imaginable? So I said no to leaving, and had a fun time with college friends I hadn't seen much for a couple of years. On the way home, we had an ugly fight, and I was ready to end it right there but he apologized and I didn't want to deal with that drama. We went to the wedding and things were OK, but when I went to leave on Sunday and said "this is it" he couldn't believe I meant it.
I returned to Colorado Springs, where as I mentioned I had been making friends through the Catholic young adults group. One fellow in particular had taken a liking to me, but I'd made it clear that I wasn't available just yet. We spoke on the phone frequently, though, and the evening I returned from Nebraska was no exception. The next day, both guys sent me flowers at work, from the same flower shop, in the same delivery. Looking back now, it's HILARIOUS - back then, it made me cry. :>)
Back to the rest of my life, I packed my things and headed east. In the town where I lived, there is a hike/bike trail along the Platte River, and I loved to walk it and sort my thoughts. One time shortly after I moved (so it would have been late January or early February), I found myself just feeling *at home* and thinking how absolutely BEAUTIFUL all the shades of brown were. Yes, all the shades of brown. That's when I knew Nebraska was where I belonged.
My new job was writing grants and handling the human resources for a non-profit organization. The organization's mission was providing assistance to migrant and seasonal farm workers, and it had expanded into other services to the Hispanic population. I really, really enjoyed it - I loved the writing, and for the most part, I liked the HR aspect.
One of the best parts of this job, I thought, was that I traveled to the other offices throughout the state. One was west, in the panhandle, another was in the central tri-city area, two more in Lincoln and Omaha, and the final one in northeast Nebraska. I had a good time exploring the state and visiting all these places. That summer, I had to attend a meeting as a representative of the tri-city office. The young lady that was to be in charge of the project was a brand new employee, so the night before the meeting, I killed some time by driving past the meeting location (in a different town) to make sure I could easily find it.
Afterwards, I stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. While browsing the magazine aisle, a handsome fellow approached me and asked what a classy babe like me was doing in a joint like this. Yup, that was my future husband! He was so cute that I couldn't help but chat with him and we went out to dinner that night. I was head over heels from the start.
Coming up - becoming a farm wife. (You can also jump ahead and read about our wedding which was posted in celebration of our anniversary last week.)
So when we last left off, the mission was closing and I'd found a new job not far from my hometown. I ought to back up and note that things continued to go downhill with my then-fiance. I was a bridesmaid for one of my college roommates in June, and I'd asked my then-fiance to go to the wedding with me, but I'd made it reasonably clear that things were going to be over after that.
Things really came to a head after the rehearsal dinner. He had wanted to leave so he could watch an NBA game that was one that night. Did I mention the rehearsal dinner was AT A SPORTS BAR with TVs turned to every game imaginable? So I said no to leaving, and had a fun time with college friends I hadn't seen much for a couple of years. On the way home, we had an ugly fight, and I was ready to end it right there but he apologized and I didn't want to deal with that drama. We went to the wedding and things were OK, but when I went to leave on Sunday and said "this is it" he couldn't believe I meant it.
I returned to Colorado Springs, where as I mentioned I had been making friends through the Catholic young adults group. One fellow in particular had taken a liking to me, but I'd made it clear that I wasn't available just yet. We spoke on the phone frequently, though, and the evening I returned from Nebraska was no exception. The next day, both guys sent me flowers at work, from the same flower shop, in the same delivery. Looking back now, it's HILARIOUS - back then, it made me cry. :>)
Back to the rest of my life, I packed my things and headed east. In the town where I lived, there is a hike/bike trail along the Platte River, and I loved to walk it and sort my thoughts. One time shortly after I moved (so it would have been late January or early February), I found myself just feeling *at home* and thinking how absolutely BEAUTIFUL all the shades of brown were. Yes, all the shades of brown. That's when I knew Nebraska was where I belonged.
My new job was writing grants and handling the human resources for a non-profit organization. The organization's mission was providing assistance to migrant and seasonal farm workers, and it had expanded into other services to the Hispanic population. I really, really enjoyed it - I loved the writing, and for the most part, I liked the HR aspect.
One of the best parts of this job, I thought, was that I traveled to the other offices throughout the state. One was west, in the panhandle, another was in the central tri-city area, two more in Lincoln and Omaha, and the final one in northeast Nebraska. I had a good time exploring the state and visiting all these places. That summer, I had to attend a meeting as a representative of the tri-city office. The young lady that was to be in charge of the project was a brand new employee, so the night before the meeting, I killed some time by driving past the meeting location (in a different town) to make sure I could easily find it.
Afterwards, I stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. While browsing the magazine aisle, a handsome fellow approached me and asked what a classy babe like me was doing in a joint like this. Yup, that was my future husband! He was so cute that I couldn't help but chat with him and we went out to dinner that night. I was head over heels from the start.
Coming up - becoming a farm wife. (You can also jump ahead and read about our wedding which was posted in celebration of our anniversary last week.)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Happy Anniversary, Hubs!
Today is our sixth wedding anniversary! I thought it would be fun to do the marriage meme I've seen floating around. Oh, how I wish I could share pics with you - maybe by our next anniversary, I'll have a working scanner. :>)
1. Where/How did you meet? We met at Wal-Mart. (Holy cow, I just realized I haven't yet published "About Me, Part 4"! Story coming soon!)
2. How long have you known each other? 7.5 years
3. How long after you met did you start dating? About five minutes.
4. How long did you date before you were engaged? About seven months.
5. How long was your engagement? About 10 months.
6. How long have you been married? 6 years.
7. What is your anniversary? October 18, St. Luke's feast day.
8. How many people came to your wedding reception? Not sure . . . 200?
9. What kind of cake did you serve? It had three layers, chocolate, white, and lemon, I think, and one smaller cake. They were frosted in a smooth white frosting and decorated with pinecones, cinnamon stick twigs, and a few small green icing lines to look like pine needles.
The groom's cake was made my my MIL. It said "The Farmer Takes a Wife" and had a plastic couple on it, a toy husky dog (Hubs had a husky named Frosty) a toy tractor and grain cart, and toy cows. Wonder what happened to those???
10. Where was your wedding? St. Luke's Catholic Church in our hometown. My mom just made the connection last night that we got married on St. Luke's feast day at St. Luke's.
11. What did you serve for your meal? Our wedding was at 2 o'clock, so when people got to the reception hall, we had popcorn for them to snack on. For the meal, we served salad, chicken in a champagne mushroom cream sauce, some kind of beef, I think, potatoes, green beans and rolls? It's blurry after the chicken.
12. How many people were in your wedding party? Three attendants each. My sister-in-law was my matron of honor, and Hubs's sisters were my bridesmaids. I asked his middle sister to be in our wedding before I met her, since she lived out of state. :>) One of Hubs's friends was his best man, another friend of his and my brother were groomsmen.
My four-year-old niece was flower girl. No ring bearer. Hubs's cousin was my personal attendant, and I must mention that the music for the ceremony was provided by my family - aunts, uncles, cousins. It was *amazing*.
13. Are you still friends with them all? Yes.
14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? No, but I cried most of the way down the aisle and all during our vows. My SIL handed me a kleenex, I blew my nose, and handed the kleenex to Hubs, and he stuck it in his pocket. My SIL said she knew at that point it was true love.
15. Most special moment of your wedding day? The whole thing was wonderful, from start to finish.
16. Any funny moments? Our "get-away ride" was a trailer pulled by my uncle's old tractor. We put canvas camp chairs on it (including a little one for my niece) and rode it to the reception hall. I was hoping my uncle would cruise main just once, but he went straight there.
17. Any big disasters? None that I remember.
18. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Colorado
19. How long were you gone? A week.
20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? Better photographer and videographer - he was not good. I've heard he's working at Menards now.
21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?: The right side (when looking from the foot of the bed).
22. What size is your bed? Queen.
23. Who pays the bills? He earns 95% of the money, I write the checks.
24. What is your song? You Never Even Call Me By My Name by David Allen Coe?
25. What did you dance your first dance to? The One by Gary Allen.
26. Describe your wedding dress: Ivory, short sleeved, square neckline. My skirt was plain ivory organza, but edged in lace and pearls. Long train. My veil was exactly what I wanted (and cheap!) - it was plain tulle attached to a comb. My mom glued pearls around the edge, and I wore a small tiara type hair piece that had metal flowers and crystals and pearls on it, I think.
27. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? Yellow roses, and cala lilies with a few pieces of wheat. They were real and they weighed a TON. (I'm guessing it was the soaked floral foam.) Tucked in my bouquet was my grandmother's rosary that my mother carried on her wedding day. My bridesmaids carried silk bouquets of fall flowers - mums, sunflowers, etc. with yellow roses and wheat.
28. How old were you when you got married? We were both 27.
OK, a few other memories I can't help but share!
The priest who married us has been at my home parish for several years, and had confirmed me. My mom had talked to him about dates and whatnot, but when I finally got back there and was able to visit with him myself, I proposed to him! I told him that I knew he and my mom had been talking, and I got down on one knee and asked him to marry me . . . and [insert Hubs's name here]. He got a good laugh out of it!
Before our rehearsal, I had an afternoon tea for my attendants. I made shortbread cookies, scones, and a chocolate pound cake, I think. We had a huge assortment of teas, but it was in the mid-80s, so we drank iced chai tea. I gave them each a tea cup . . . and I don't remember what my actual gift to my attendants was, though! (Hubs gave his friends Bill O'Reilly books, and my brother a Patrick McManus book. The priest got a bottle of Crown Royal!)
Our rehearsal dinner was held at a restaurant at a nearby lake. The weather was so beautiful, and it was a delightful night.
Our wedding day dawned a bit early for me - my then-six-month-old niece was up about 4:30. She got a bottle and went back to sleep, but I wasn't so lucky! I think that set me on edge for the rest of the day . . . I felt like I was on display and just not myself. I can tell it watching the video, too.
When I went to get my hair fixed (by the same woman who fixed my cousin's hair for her wedding two months earlier - we had the same cake lady, too!), I was nervous! She had a little stuffed Aflac duck sitting on her counter, and I asked if I could hold it while she curled and tucked and did her thing. She pulled the sides of my hair back in a small braid and curled the rest. Back then, my hair was waist-length.
My wedding day was the first and only time I've worn fake eyelashes. :>)
I did a bunch of internet research and instead of rice or birdseed, we had our guests throw spices as we came out of the church. There are lots of different meanings attached to them!
One of my cousins caught my bouquet - and it was her wedding that we attended this summer on our vacation to Wyoming.
Hubs's family watched my four-year-old niece get beer from the keg like she was a pro - and they didn't say anything, either!
Paging through my wedding album, I'm reminded of how much I loved our decorations - pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, shocks of wheat and corn and grasses. The centerpieces were large round vases with layers of different types of grain with a small votive tucked on top. That's why I love decorating our porch for fall.
That night, we had booked a room at a hotel about 25 miles away that was owned by the son of some friends of my parents. Although he wasn't invited to the wedding, somehow they figured it out and upgraded us to the jacuzzi suite - for FREE - and had a bottle of chilled champange waiting for us.
The next morning, it is custom in my family to have a breakfast, which one of my uncles hosted at his farm. Really, it's an opportunity for everyone to visit just a bit more - I have a *really* big family, and we don't get together that often anymore. My mom is one of 10 and my dad is one of 11. Hubs told me when we met that he has a really big family - his dad is one of 5 and his mom is one of 4. I just chuckled.
Side story - Hubs and I are practically related. :>) My aunt (married to my mom's brother) is an extended cousin of Hubs's cousin's wife. So, not really. But it is a funny story.
When we returned from our honeymoon, there had been some "elves" at work. Lining our front walk were . . . plastic forks stuck in the grass. We'd been forked! They were hidden around our house in some obvious and not-so-obvious places. Hubs's cousins had also brought back some of our decorations and decorated our porch with them. It was a wonderful welcome home!
OK, for those of you who have hung on through this entire post - you deserve a medal! I hope to be back later today with a Reading the Whole Internet post, and look for the fourth installment of "About Me" this week - even though I jumped ahead with this part. :>)
1. Where/How did you meet? We met at Wal-Mart. (Holy cow, I just realized I haven't yet published "About Me, Part 4"! Story coming soon!)
2. How long have you known each other? 7.5 years
3. How long after you met did you start dating? About five minutes.
4. How long did you date before you were engaged? About seven months.
5. How long was your engagement? About 10 months.
6. How long have you been married? 6 years.
7. What is your anniversary? October 18, St. Luke's feast day.
8. How many people came to your wedding reception? Not sure . . . 200?
9. What kind of cake did you serve? It had three layers, chocolate, white, and lemon, I think, and one smaller cake. They were frosted in a smooth white frosting and decorated with pinecones, cinnamon stick twigs, and a few small green icing lines to look like pine needles.
The groom's cake was made my my MIL. It said "The Farmer Takes a Wife" and had a plastic couple on it, a toy husky dog (Hubs had a husky named Frosty) a toy tractor and grain cart, and toy cows. Wonder what happened to those???
10. Where was your wedding? St. Luke's Catholic Church in our hometown. My mom just made the connection last night that we got married on St. Luke's feast day at St. Luke's.
11. What did you serve for your meal? Our wedding was at 2 o'clock, so when people got to the reception hall, we had popcorn for them to snack on. For the meal, we served salad, chicken in a champagne mushroom cream sauce, some kind of beef, I think, potatoes, green beans and rolls? It's blurry after the chicken.
12. How many people were in your wedding party? Three attendants each. My sister-in-law was my matron of honor, and Hubs's sisters were my bridesmaids. I asked his middle sister to be in our wedding before I met her, since she lived out of state. :>) One of Hubs's friends was his best man, another friend of his and my brother were groomsmen.
My four-year-old niece was flower girl. No ring bearer. Hubs's cousin was my personal attendant, and I must mention that the music for the ceremony was provided by my family - aunts, uncles, cousins. It was *amazing*.
13. Are you still friends with them all? Yes.
14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? No, but I cried most of the way down the aisle and all during our vows. My SIL handed me a kleenex, I blew my nose, and handed the kleenex to Hubs, and he stuck it in his pocket. My SIL said she knew at that point it was true love.
15. Most special moment of your wedding day? The whole thing was wonderful, from start to finish.
16. Any funny moments? Our "get-away ride" was a trailer pulled by my uncle's old tractor. We put canvas camp chairs on it (including a little one for my niece) and rode it to the reception hall. I was hoping my uncle would cruise main just once, but he went straight there.
17. Any big disasters? None that I remember.
18. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Colorado
19. How long were you gone? A week.
20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? Better photographer and videographer - he was not good. I've heard he's working at Menards now.
21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?: The right side (when looking from the foot of the bed).
22. What size is your bed? Queen.
23. Who pays the bills? He earns 95% of the money, I write the checks.
24. What is your song? You Never Even Call Me By My Name by David Allen Coe?
25. What did you dance your first dance to? The One by Gary Allen.
26. Describe your wedding dress: Ivory, short sleeved, square neckline. My skirt was plain ivory organza, but edged in lace and pearls. Long train. My veil was exactly what I wanted (and cheap!) - it was plain tulle attached to a comb. My mom glued pearls around the edge, and I wore a small tiara type hair piece that had metal flowers and crystals and pearls on it, I think.
27. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? Yellow roses, and cala lilies with a few pieces of wheat. They were real and they weighed a TON. (I'm guessing it was the soaked floral foam.) Tucked in my bouquet was my grandmother's rosary that my mother carried on her wedding day. My bridesmaids carried silk bouquets of fall flowers - mums, sunflowers, etc. with yellow roses and wheat.
28. How old were you when you got married? We were both 27.
OK, a few other memories I can't help but share!
The priest who married us has been at my home parish for several years, and had confirmed me. My mom had talked to him about dates and whatnot, but when I finally got back there and was able to visit with him myself, I proposed to him! I told him that I knew he and my mom had been talking, and I got down on one knee and asked him to marry me . . . and [insert Hubs's name here]. He got a good laugh out of it!
Before our rehearsal, I had an afternoon tea for my attendants. I made shortbread cookies, scones, and a chocolate pound cake, I think. We had a huge assortment of teas, but it was in the mid-80s, so we drank iced chai tea. I gave them each a tea cup . . . and I don't remember what my actual gift to my attendants was, though! (Hubs gave his friends Bill O'Reilly books, and my brother a Patrick McManus book. The priest got a bottle of Crown Royal!)
Our rehearsal dinner was held at a restaurant at a nearby lake. The weather was so beautiful, and it was a delightful night.
Our wedding day dawned a bit early for me - my then-six-month-old niece was up about 4:30. She got a bottle and went back to sleep, but I wasn't so lucky! I think that set me on edge for the rest of the day . . . I felt like I was on display and just not myself. I can tell it watching the video, too.
When I went to get my hair fixed (by the same woman who fixed my cousin's hair for her wedding two months earlier - we had the same cake lady, too!), I was nervous! She had a little stuffed Aflac duck sitting on her counter, and I asked if I could hold it while she curled and tucked and did her thing. She pulled the sides of my hair back in a small braid and curled the rest. Back then, my hair was waist-length.
My wedding day was the first and only time I've worn fake eyelashes. :>)
I did a bunch of internet research and instead of rice or birdseed, we had our guests throw spices as we came out of the church. There are lots of different meanings attached to them!
One of my cousins caught my bouquet - and it was her wedding that we attended this summer on our vacation to Wyoming.
Hubs's family watched my four-year-old niece get beer from the keg like she was a pro - and they didn't say anything, either!
Paging through my wedding album, I'm reminded of how much I loved our decorations - pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, shocks of wheat and corn and grasses. The centerpieces were large round vases with layers of different types of grain with a small votive tucked on top. That's why I love decorating our porch for fall.
That night, we had booked a room at a hotel about 25 miles away that was owned by the son of some friends of my parents. Although he wasn't invited to the wedding, somehow they figured it out and upgraded us to the jacuzzi suite - for FREE - and had a bottle of chilled champange waiting for us.
The next morning, it is custom in my family to have a breakfast, which one of my uncles hosted at his farm. Really, it's an opportunity for everyone to visit just a bit more - I have a *really* big family, and we don't get together that often anymore. My mom is one of 10 and my dad is one of 11. Hubs told me when we met that he has a really big family - his dad is one of 5 and his mom is one of 4. I just chuckled.
Side story - Hubs and I are practically related. :>) My aunt (married to my mom's brother) is an extended cousin of Hubs's cousin's wife. So, not really. But it is a funny story.
When we returned from our honeymoon, there had been some "elves" at work. Lining our front walk were . . . plastic forks stuck in the grass. We'd been forked! They were hidden around our house in some obvious and not-so-obvious places. Hubs's cousins had also brought back some of our decorations and decorated our porch with them. It was a wonderful welcome home!
OK, for those of you who have hung on through this entire post - you deserve a medal! I hope to be back later today with a Reading the Whole Internet post, and look for the fourth installment of "About Me" this week - even though I jumped ahead with this part. :>)
Friday, September 11, 2009
About Me, Part 3
So during part 2, I related that I had moved to Colorado Springs to coordinate a mission located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. I managed to do OK at my job. The first several times I had to speak at churches were pretty nerve-wracking (I won't even tell you what I blurted out by accident at the first one), but I soon got more comfortable with my speech, myself, and my job and had a lot of fun meeting people and visiting beautiful places. (Also, I had no idea that so many people slept during the sermon at church. You hear about it, but it's a much different thing to see it from the front!)
One of my favorite visits was to Leadville, Colorado. On the twisty, windy drive there, I endured road construction and people in RVs with no agenda and certainly not my sense of urgency. About halfway into my trip, I realized I was NOT going to make it on time. I left a message for the priest, and got there as soon as I could, "sneaking" into the front row once I made it. (Yeah, try doing THAT sometime.) The Gospel reading was on Mary and Martha (Luke 10:39-42). I tossed parts of my carefully-written speech out the proverbial window, and spoke about how I really had Martha's heart that day. I then connected it back with the missioners' work and how they helped me see countless ways to be more like Mary - and it ended up being one of my best talks ever.
Then came September 10, 2001. I don't remember where I was when I received the call; I don't even remember all of the details now. Two of our missioners were in a car accident while attending a funeral. Miraculously, no one else was hurt aside from bumps and bruises, but for a bit, we weren't sure how badly our ladies were injured. I woke up the morning of September 11th with my bags packed, intending to get a plane ticket and travel to Hermosillo as soon as possible. As I was getting ready for work, the morning radio show indicated that something weird had happened in New York. The news kept getting worse and worse with regards to travel and more importantly, with regards to what was happening to our country. I spent many hours over the next several days with our travel agent, but there wasn't anything she could do. We finally put the adult son of one of the missioners on a bus so he could be with his mother.
It seems like forever now, but I think it was sometime within the next day or two that we learned one missioner ruptured her spleen, and after surgery and receiving blood donated by a parishioner, she was stable. The other missioner broke her collarbone and a few teeth. Once air restrictions were lifted, one of my bosses flew down to help sort things out.
I have never felt so inadequate, so unqualified, so ineffective as I did during that time. My seven years of high school and college Spanish didn't go far at all while talking on the phone to hospital staff. I didn't know how to deal with pretty much anything that had happened, let alone help the missioners. Plus there were so many things going on in our country at that time - I remember waking up in the middle of the night and hearing the National Guard planes patrolling the city while the flight ban was still in place. I didn't know at the time that it was the good guys and I was *terrified*.
The two injured missioners returned home, and I did some this-and-that stuff to help them re-acclimate to life here and recuperate from their injuries. I actually managed to recruit one missioner to serve, but with only him and one other female missioner there, the dangers of our neighborhood really began to surface. Again, I don't remember the specifics, but I seem to remember they had some close calls with people trying to break in, likely high on drugs. Around Christmastime, it became clear that it was no longer safe for them to remain in Hermosillo.
Personally, I was so shaken by my inability to perform my job after the accident, I decided it was time for me to move on. I was homesick, and tired of living in a "big city" where I didn't know very many people. (Though I was part of a very wonderful young adults group there . . . I think they are now called Gravity, since they are "grounded in Christ" - very cool!)
Anyway. I found a job about an hour from my hometown back in Nebraska and jumped at the chance to go back home. The teaser for next time - at this point, I was six months away from meeting a certain handsome Lutheran cow farmer. Stay tuned! :>)
Also, please leave a comment - where were you when you learned what was happening on September 11, 2001? How did it affect you?
One of my favorite visits was to Leadville, Colorado. On the twisty, windy drive there, I endured road construction and people in RVs with no agenda and certainly not my sense of urgency. About halfway into my trip, I realized I was NOT going to make it on time. I left a message for the priest, and got there as soon as I could, "sneaking" into the front row once I made it. (Yeah, try doing THAT sometime.) The Gospel reading was on Mary and Martha (Luke 10:39-42). I tossed parts of my carefully-written speech out the proverbial window, and spoke about how I really had Martha's heart that day. I then connected it back with the missioners' work and how they helped me see countless ways to be more like Mary - and it ended up being one of my best talks ever.
Then came September 10, 2001. I don't remember where I was when I received the call; I don't even remember all of the details now. Two of our missioners were in a car accident while attending a funeral. Miraculously, no one else was hurt aside from bumps and bruises, but for a bit, we weren't sure how badly our ladies were injured. I woke up the morning of September 11th with my bags packed, intending to get a plane ticket and travel to Hermosillo as soon as possible. As I was getting ready for work, the morning radio show indicated that something weird had happened in New York. The news kept getting worse and worse with regards to travel and more importantly, with regards to what was happening to our country. I spent many hours over the next several days with our travel agent, but there wasn't anything she could do. We finally put the adult son of one of the missioners on a bus so he could be with his mother.
It seems like forever now, but I think it was sometime within the next day or two that we learned one missioner ruptured her spleen, and after surgery and receiving blood donated by a parishioner, she was stable. The other missioner broke her collarbone and a few teeth. Once air restrictions were lifted, one of my bosses flew down to help sort things out.
I have never felt so inadequate, so unqualified, so ineffective as I did during that time. My seven years of high school and college Spanish didn't go far at all while talking on the phone to hospital staff. I didn't know how to deal with pretty much anything that had happened, let alone help the missioners. Plus there were so many things going on in our country at that time - I remember waking up in the middle of the night and hearing the National Guard planes patrolling the city while the flight ban was still in place. I didn't know at the time that it was the good guys and I was *terrified*.
The two injured missioners returned home, and I did some this-and-that stuff to help them re-acclimate to life here and recuperate from their injuries. I actually managed to recruit one missioner to serve, but with only him and one other female missioner there, the dangers of our neighborhood really began to surface. Again, I don't remember the specifics, but I seem to remember they had some close calls with people trying to break in, likely high on drugs. Around Christmastime, it became clear that it was no longer safe for them to remain in Hermosillo.
Personally, I was so shaken by my inability to perform my job after the accident, I decided it was time for me to move on. I was homesick, and tired of living in a "big city" where I didn't know very many people. (Though I was part of a very wonderful young adults group there . . . I think they are now called Gravity, since they are "grounded in Christ" - very cool!)
Anyway. I found a job about an hour from my hometown back in Nebraska and jumped at the chance to go back home. The teaser for next time - at this point, I was six months away from meeting a certain handsome Lutheran cow farmer. Stay tuned! :>)
Also, please leave a comment - where were you when you learned what was happening on September 11, 2001? How did it affect you?
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
About Me Part 2
Kitchen Tip Tuesday is taking two weeks off, so I thought I'd better come up with *something* else to post about, eh? :>) I managed to come down with a terrible head cold this week and am trying to get more things canned, so that's keeping me busy. Yesterday was a LOOOONG day - I couldn't sleep and finally got up around 4 AM to make salsa, thinking I could get it done and get a nap later. I didn't want to run the food processor thinking it might wake Goose, but by the time I got everything chopped and simmering, she was up for the day anyway.
By the time I put Goose down for her nap yesterday, I was *so* ready to eat my lunch and lay down, but she didn't take a very long nap. When I finally went in to get her, I discovered why - I'd accidentally shut her very best friend, our white cat, in with her. I think they had a good time, but there wasn't much sleeping. We all made it to bedtime without too many trials, thankfully.
So. As noted here in part 1, I knew within a few months of working my first job after college that Sam's Club didn't hold much of a future for me. I worked with head hunters, scoured the classified ads, networked the best I knew how, and applied anywhere and everywhere.
I finally landed at a marketing research company. The president hired me and told me I could pick one of three or four departments to work in, but just kind of tossed me into one of them for the afternoon. They took pity on me and treated me very well, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted. The next morning, I went in and said I wanted to write reports.
That job was actually pretty fun for a "stats geek" like me - and actually, that was my suggestion for the name of our company softball team. In my department, we would get a data file of statistics, create graphs, and then write out explanations. I met a fellow from the neighboring department who was also on the softball team and we began dating. At that point, I was still very lonely, and I fancied myself in love. We wanted to get married, so I co-signed for a diamond ring (and didn't exactly see THAT as a red flag yet, sigh) and he proposed.
My parents were less than impressed, and our co-workers were surprised because we had kept our relationship pretty quiet. I jumped into making wedding plans because I so badly wanted to be in love and married, but within a month, I knew it was never going to happen. I didn't break things off, though. I was in a city where I didn't know many people, and we did have fun. Plus he needed me, and for some reason, women seem to like to be needed.
I commenced another job search that summer. I had piled up my vacation time and spent a month traveling in Mexico. My roommate from the Puebla trip and I traveled La Ruta Maya and visited a number of lovely ruins starting in Cozumel, hitting Chichen Itza, swinging down through Chiapas, across Guatemala, and into Belize. It was an amazing time. I returned about the time of my two-year anniversary with the company and turned in my notice. A former co-worker (who just happens to own a lovely calico cat quite similar to mine) had connected me with a job in Colorado, and I was ready to begin the newest chapter.
Looking back now, I still don't exactly understand why I hadn't broken off my engagement yet. I knew it wasn't going to work out. But as I moved to yet another new city where I knew no one, I needed something familiar.
My job was fascinating - I was hired to coordinate a mission that the three dioceses in Colorado sponsored in Mexico. The office had been at the Archdiocese of Denver but moved to the Diocese of Colorado Springs when I began. I was lucky that a number of women there were nearly old enough to be my mothers, and they took me in.
As part of the job, I traveled around the state speaking at parishes for mission appeals to raise funds for the mission and just to raise awareness of our activities. I wrote articles for the diocesan newspapers. And I got paid to travel to Mexico! Our mission was located in Hermosillo, which is a few hours south of Tucson, Ariz.
Hmm, I think this is a good place to stop for now. Note that I moved to the Springs in 2000, and as a "teaser", I'll tell you that September 10th, 2001 was as significant for me as September 11th, 2001. Until next time . . .
By the time I put Goose down for her nap yesterday, I was *so* ready to eat my lunch and lay down, but she didn't take a very long nap. When I finally went in to get her, I discovered why - I'd accidentally shut her very best friend, our white cat, in with her. I think they had a good time, but there wasn't much sleeping. We all made it to bedtime without too many trials, thankfully.
So. As noted here in part 1, I knew within a few months of working my first job after college that Sam's Club didn't hold much of a future for me. I worked with head hunters, scoured the classified ads, networked the best I knew how, and applied anywhere and everywhere.
I finally landed at a marketing research company. The president hired me and told me I could pick one of three or four departments to work in, but just kind of tossed me into one of them for the afternoon. They took pity on me and treated me very well, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted. The next morning, I went in and said I wanted to write reports.
That job was actually pretty fun for a "stats geek" like me - and actually, that was my suggestion for the name of our company softball team. In my department, we would get a data file of statistics, create graphs, and then write out explanations. I met a fellow from the neighboring department who was also on the softball team and we began dating. At that point, I was still very lonely, and I fancied myself in love. We wanted to get married, so I co-signed for a diamond ring (and didn't exactly see THAT as a red flag yet, sigh) and he proposed.
My parents were less than impressed, and our co-workers were surprised because we had kept our relationship pretty quiet. I jumped into making wedding plans because I so badly wanted to be in love and married, but within a month, I knew it was never going to happen. I didn't break things off, though. I was in a city where I didn't know many people, and we did have fun. Plus he needed me, and for some reason, women seem to like to be needed.
I commenced another job search that summer. I had piled up my vacation time and spent a month traveling in Mexico. My roommate from the Puebla trip and I traveled La Ruta Maya and visited a number of lovely ruins starting in Cozumel, hitting Chichen Itza, swinging down through Chiapas, across Guatemala, and into Belize. It was an amazing time. I returned about the time of my two-year anniversary with the company and turned in my notice. A former co-worker (who just happens to own a lovely calico cat quite similar to mine) had connected me with a job in Colorado, and I was ready to begin the newest chapter.
Looking back now, I still don't exactly understand why I hadn't broken off my engagement yet. I knew it wasn't going to work out. But as I moved to yet another new city where I knew no one, I needed something familiar.
My job was fascinating - I was hired to coordinate a mission that the three dioceses in Colorado sponsored in Mexico. The office had been at the Archdiocese of Denver but moved to the Diocese of Colorado Springs when I began. I was lucky that a number of women there were nearly old enough to be my mothers, and they took me in.
As part of the job, I traveled around the state speaking at parishes for mission appeals to raise funds for the mission and just to raise awareness of our activities. I wrote articles for the diocesan newspapers. And I got paid to travel to Mexico! Our mission was located in Hermosillo, which is a few hours south of Tucson, Ariz.
Hmm, I think this is a good place to stop for now. Note that I moved to the Springs in 2000, and as a "teaser", I'll tell you that September 10th, 2001 was as significant for me as September 11th, 2001. Until next time . . .
Friday, July 17, 2009
About Me
When I meet someone, whether online or in person, I often wonder what their story is. Here's mine. (I'd love to scan and insert a photo from this era but our scanner is broken. Bummer.)
I was born in south-central Nebraska, and my parents, older brother, and I lived on a farm just outside a small town until I was a year old. We then moved to a bigger small town of about 5,000 people in western Nebraska, where I graduated from high school. My parents still live in the same house where I grew up.
During high school, I loved being a big fish in a small pond! I was student manager for volleyball, boys basketball, and boys track, and I played softball. I sang in the choir, participated in drama, and qualified for state speech my senior year. I worked at the local putt-putt hut and baseball concession stands, waited tables, and learned the ins and outs of an office as an administrative assistant.
For college, I chose a small-ish liberal arts school that my brother also attended. It was a much bigger pond, although still pretty small compared to universities, and I struggled a bit. The summer after my junior year, I spent a month studying in Puebla, Mexico. Although my mother had to practically peel a crying me off at the airport (I was SO nervous!), I had a wonderful time, learned a ton, and met some delightful people.
I went on to graduate with a business administration major, a minor in Spanish, and emphasized in management and international business. Although I locked down a job early in my senior year as a manager-in-training for Sam's Club in Omaha, but I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life.
After completing the three-month or so program, I was able to determine that I did not want to be a manager at a Sam's Club! The regional manager had indicated I would be sent to a location in Iowa that, in terms of sales, was the armpit of the region. It was farther away from my family than I wanted to be, and it just generally didn't feel right. I turned in my resignation.
My manager didn't seem particularly surprised, and he offered me a job as a check-out supervisor. I accepted it, and it actually turned out to be a very fun time! I was overqualified, but that made me really good at my job.
Overall, I learned things that you wouldn't imagine: the quickest way to write out a check as a customer; how lousy it is to have to put the store back together at the end of the day; how to push carts in from the lot (although I never learned how to use the rope and hook to steer them - and did I mention that it rained nearly every day that June?); how easy it is to provide friendly customer service; but how hard it is when customers take their frustrations out on you. During my management training, more than once I locked myself in the staff bathroom and cried until I couldn't catch my breath. Not my finest moments.
(Edit: Here's the fastest way to write a check. Start by filling in the store name (pay to the order of ---- line), date, memo line if you're into that sort of thing, and sign it - while you're waiting in line. You can also do it as the cashier is scanning your items, but it's not a bad thing to watch how the prices ring up. Then, once you have your total, write the numbers in the box as normal and on the line where you write the number out do it like this:
Sixty-three-------------------42
You need not put /100 on the cents, you need not write "dollars", you don't need any other information at all. The first time Hubs saw me write out a check, he said "will the bank cash it like that?" :>) Yes, they will.)
As the summer wore on, I found myself really homesick for anything familiar. I was staying with some wonderful friends of my parents and not only did my mom's friend treat me like her own daughter, she was also a valueable mentor as I jumped into the real world. At work, the personnel area where I spent a lot of time was next to the smoking break room (it was over ten years ago - people were still allowed to smoke back then). One of the custodians enjoyed smoking the same brand of pipe tobacco as my grandfather, and just one sniff as he puffed made me want to jump in the car and go home. It was an awkward, growing sort of time. You'd think I'd have done enough of that in my earlier teenage years, but apparently not enough.
By that fall, I had found another job. But that's another post for another time. :>)
I was born in south-central Nebraska, and my parents, older brother, and I lived on a farm just outside a small town until I was a year old. We then moved to a bigger small town of about 5,000 people in western Nebraska, where I graduated from high school. My parents still live in the same house where I grew up.
During high school, I loved being a big fish in a small pond! I was student manager for volleyball, boys basketball, and boys track, and I played softball. I sang in the choir, participated in drama, and qualified for state speech my senior year. I worked at the local putt-putt hut and baseball concession stands, waited tables, and learned the ins and outs of an office as an administrative assistant.
For college, I chose a small-ish liberal arts school that my brother also attended. It was a much bigger pond, although still pretty small compared to universities, and I struggled a bit. The summer after my junior year, I spent a month studying in Puebla, Mexico. Although my mother had to practically peel a crying me off at the airport (I was SO nervous!), I had a wonderful time, learned a ton, and met some delightful people.
I went on to graduate with a business administration major, a minor in Spanish, and emphasized in management and international business. Although I locked down a job early in my senior year as a manager-in-training for Sam's Club in Omaha, but I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life.
After completing the three-month or so program, I was able to determine that I did not want to be a manager at a Sam's Club! The regional manager had indicated I would be sent to a location in Iowa that, in terms of sales, was the armpit of the region. It was farther away from my family than I wanted to be, and it just generally didn't feel right. I turned in my resignation.
My manager didn't seem particularly surprised, and he offered me a job as a check-out supervisor. I accepted it, and it actually turned out to be a very fun time! I was overqualified, but that made me really good at my job.
Overall, I learned things that you wouldn't imagine: the quickest way to write out a check as a customer; how lousy it is to have to put the store back together at the end of the day; how to push carts in from the lot (although I never learned how to use the rope and hook to steer them - and did I mention that it rained nearly every day that June?); how easy it is to provide friendly customer service; but how hard it is when customers take their frustrations out on you. During my management training, more than once I locked myself in the staff bathroom and cried until I couldn't catch my breath. Not my finest moments.
(Edit: Here's the fastest way to write a check. Start by filling in the store name (pay to the order of ---- line), date, memo line if you're into that sort of thing, and sign it - while you're waiting in line. You can also do it as the cashier is scanning your items, but it's not a bad thing to watch how the prices ring up. Then, once you have your total, write the numbers in the box as normal and on the line where you write the number out do it like this:
Sixty-three-------------------42
You need not put /100 on the cents, you need not write "dollars", you don't need any other information at all. The first time Hubs saw me write out a check, he said "will the bank cash it like that?" :>) Yes, they will.)
As the summer wore on, I found myself really homesick for anything familiar. I was staying with some wonderful friends of my parents and not only did my mom's friend treat me like her own daughter, she was also a valueable mentor as I jumped into the real world. At work, the personnel area where I spent a lot of time was next to the smoking break room (it was over ten years ago - people were still allowed to smoke back then). One of the custodians enjoyed smoking the same brand of pipe tobacco as my grandfather, and just one sniff as he puffed made me want to jump in the car and go home. It was an awkward, growing sort of time. You'd think I'd have done enough of that in my earlier teenage years, but apparently not enough.
By that fall, I had found another job. But that's another post for another time. :>)
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