A Decade in Review

After I finished my last post, I thought about all that's happened not just this past year,but this past decade! All the news websites are doing this type of thing, and it's amazing to do that on a more personal basis..... so here goes:

1999: Graduated high school, started full-time at Tomball College, struggled with headaches and other health issues, tried to figure out what it would take to transfer to Texas A&M, started working at the FLC (Family Life Center) at church working the early morning shift.

2000: Continued my studies at Tomball College, also continued to struggle with health issues and finally had my back surgery, which caused me to take a semester off of school. I started working with Dot Hill as her assistant in Premier Designs, Inc and absolutely loved it. I was in the choir at church and loved being the dancing snowman in the Christmas production.

2001: Got accepted to Texas A&M! That summer I was an intern at Champion Forest and really enjoyed learning more about what it really means to run a youth ministry. I started school and 2 weeks later 9/11 hit and all our lives were changed. I loved my first year at A&M, but found my share of struggles due to lack of a car and cell phone. But boy was I in shape from riding that bike everywhere!

2002: In the Spring I made the Dean's List and that summer I got my certification as an Emergency Medical Technician. I spent some time in the back of ambulances, in firehouses, and many hours (it seemed) in the ER, practicing my skills and observing many amazing things. In the fall I got a job at the on-campus Rec Center as a medic, which is the best job I've ever had.

2003: Continued studying at A&M, but finally had a car! Actually I had the big blue minivan, which was fun taking all my friends all over town in style. In December I received my Aggie Ring, which was an encouragement to me to keep going!

2004: The Spring semester was my last on-campus, and it was a doozy! In the summer I did my internship at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston in the Volunteer Services office. I was in charge of managing all the Junior Volunteers for the summer. It was kind of fun at times, but let's just say I got reeeeeallllly good at fixing paper jams in xerox machines. In August I graduated with my BS in Community Health and a month later started working at The Health Musuem in Houston as a Science Educator. I taught field trip science classes and dissected all sorts of animal organs for an audience. No, actually, that was the best job I've ever had.

2005: Worked at the Health Museum until May, then moved to Indianapolis for a new job at Summex Health Management, now WebM*. And I am still there. Oh and in December I met the man of my dreams.

2006: I dated Mike. That pretty much covers it.

2007: Mike and I were engaged in February and married on July 14th. I have never learned so much about myself in such a short period of time!

2008: I started my Pampered Chef business and celebrated my first anniversary with Mike in the same week! I also switched from Supervisor to Health Coach in my job (which was a step down) but it was totally worth it.

2009: See above post.

Wow, so much! So to sum it up: In 10 years I had a major life-changing surgery, went to college, went to another college, graduated, got my first real job and got my first real boyfriend and husband (all in one!).

A Year in Review

2009 was without question the worst year of my life and I am glad to see it go! There. Got that out of the way!

However, I am glad to say that I came closer to any 2 New Years Resolutions than ever!

1. Reading the Bible. This time last year I resolved to read through the entire Bible in 1 year following a plan from the Discipleship Journal. Due to the looooongness of the Old Testament, I am only about 1.5 months behind! I got up every weekday morning, took a shower, read the Bible, and then ate breakfast. This was made possible by me beginning to work at home in January. I found that sitting on the bathroom floor (with the shower running--- don't judge--- it's my favorite sound in the world) with my Bible was my favorite part of the day. Thank you, Lord!

2. Flossing. Every year I vow to floss my teeth every day, and each year I get better. This year was probably the best for flossing, and it showed at my latest dentist appointment! Score!

This year was full of lots of ups and downs. Pros and cons. Happiness and tears. You get the idea.

The Bad:
** Mike was in England on business for 5 months, when it was originally supposed to last 2 months.
** My PC sales went down the toilet (early in the year) because I didn't care about anything and had to work hard just to get up every day from January through May.
** Work was so stressful that sometimes I just break down in tears because I'm so exhausted, tired of dealing with it!!
** I struggled with more discontent and had more stress than any other time in my life! (see previous bullet point)

The Good:
** I got to travel out of the country (England) for the first time to see Mike. Now I finally have a stamp on my passport!
** My sister Melissa got engaged and married, and we were able to travel to Savannah, GA for the wedding and then a vacation. It was such a special week!
** I learned how very much I love my husband.
** After a rough Spring, my PC sales bounced back up and I met many of my goals!
** In January I started working from home which is a huge blessing, considering how awful winters can be! Life is a lot better when you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to scrape off your car and hope you don't die on your way to work.
** (more recently) Mike and I got to visit Texas for Christmas and I got to see more old friends than any trip in the past!
** I learned how to sew
** I learned how to live as a single-but-married girl for 5 months, which was the hardest thing I've had to do. Looking back on it, I still can't believe we made it! I have a whole new respect for you military wives out there!

So... on to 2010! I am so excited and am really looking forward to all that will be in store for us in the upcoming year. I've been thinking about it all week, trying to come up with resolutions, and honestly I don't have any, except just to keep up what I've been doing... flossing, reading the Bible, exercising, etc.

Do any of my readers have resolutions?

PS: This year, one of my resolutions is NOT to blog more. I always fail at that one!! LOL

Grandma's recipe is always the best

Today I emailed my mom, asking her to find my Mimi's recipe for Sweet potatoes... you know the kind you have on Thanksgiving with the nuts and sugar and marshmallows? As a kid (OK and today...), that was always the dish that I most looked forward to. And since I moved away from home, I don't think I've had it! So this year, I decided that I would make it for the Couts Thanksgiving!

It made me think.... where did Mimi get the recipe? Where did any of our grandmothers get their recipes? Were they all chefs and made them up? Maybe yes, maybe no.

When I have kids and grandkids, they're going to say, "Oh, Mom's recipe (or Grandma's recipe) for (fill in the blank) was the best!"

Little did they know that most of the recipes I use are from some cooking website or a friend.... who probably got it from their grandmother or some cooking website.

So the nagging question.... Which came first: the recipe or the grandma?

It makes me think of "The One with Phoebe's Cookies":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW__D7NY1Yo&NR=1

Ideas

OK. So even though I barely have enough time in my day to remember my name.... I have decided to start a recipe/food blog! Someday I would love to be a good enough cook to make up my own recipes from scratch, but I'm not there yet... so this will be a blog for me to review recipes that are acceptable in the Couts Kitchen.

So now I have to come up with a title for it. Any ideas? I was thinking about something like "Couts Kitchen Approved" or something about food or recipes or something along those lines.

Suggestions are welcome! If you suggest a title and I choose it, I will actually send you a Season's Best Recipe Collection cookbook from The Pampered Chef!

Let's hear 'em.

Correction

In my last post, I mentioned that being a wife is a medium-fun job. As I read it, I thought, "Oh no!" Being a wife is the most fun, but what I meant was that the work it takes is more medium-fun. Just wanted to clear that up!

By the way, I've been thinking about making a cooking blog... basically trying out recipes and giving my reviews. Any thoughts?

Does anybody read this? :)

Balance

I've been struggling a lot recently with this. Balancing a job that is high-stress, low-fun and another job I love that is low-stress, high-fun (Pampered Chef) and my most important job of being a wife, which is high-stress, medium-fun, but by far the most worthwhile and rewarding job. I just have a hard time finding the correct balance.

I spend 8-10 hrs/day on the main job, cook dinner (my outlet), then spend about 45 min-1 hr/night (that I don't have a show) on PC, try to get on the treadmill for 30 minutes, and then spend the rest of the night cleaning. It's amazing the mess that 2 exhausted adults can make in such a short period of time.

I'm completely worn out. After a full day of work, Mike gets to come home, eat dinner, and chill the rest of the night. I don't know the meaning of chill. And when I sit down or lay down for more than a few minutes, I have this feeling of guilt, and the dirty toilet or tub or the fact that the dishwasher is full of clean dishes just won't leave me alone and I eventually get up and take care of it. I like to have it taken care of, it's just that I never get to relax. And we don't have kids yet! Isn't this supposed to be the time that I'm supposed to remember as relaxing? I can only imagine how tough it's going to be if I have to work when we have kids!

Sometimes I feel like I'm still new to this whole "wife" thing, and life is full of adjustments. Another part of the problem is that we are busting out of this apartment and there is just not enough room for all of our stuff, which stresses me out more than anything. I'm having to come to terms with the fact that this apartment will never ever ever ever be really clean until we move... which is hard if your main job is to "keep home." I love Mike so much and want to be the wife he always wanted.

A good step I made is to try to complete a little bit every night instead of waiting until the weekend to have a cleaning fest. That helps out tremendously. And I've also let go of the fact that when Mike helps, he's not going to do it exactly like I do and it's OK. I'd rather have his help!

Can anyone relate? Any ideas? Words of advice? I'd appreciate it so much! Oh, and thanks for listening!

A random thought that came to me last night....

"You know, maybe if I got a cold or the flu, then I would actually get to rest for a few days."

Am I crazy or what? Can you believe I actually thought that? I'm afraid that since I'm so busy and stressed, that it will kill my immune system and this may happen....

let's hope not.