Catch-Up

So basically this is what I need to do. Catch up. A lot has happened since I last updated! Well when I last updated, Mike was out of the country on business again, and alas, he is still gone. This was supposed to be a 7 week adventure, and it has turned into more like a 13 week nightmare... OK maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit. It's so hard to have your sweetie gone so much, it's like every hour of those first few days he's gone just drags. Almost on the edge of tears the whole time. It never gets easy.

This time when he left, though, I prayed probably harder than any other time... I prayed that God would show me strength I'd never seen before, and give both of us the endurance to get through this one last trip overseas. That day was one of the best work days I've had in a long time (that's saying a LOT), and I kept saying to myself all day, "Wow. I can't believe you're OK. You're not crying." I was shocked. But you know? That's exactly what I prayed for! So why was I shocked again??....

One of the best things about Mike being gone is that I got to visit him! March 19-24 I spent in Birmingham, England with my honey. This was my first trip overseas!
Day 1: I arrived looking dissheveled, wondering what day it was, and after a shower and a cat-nap I was as good as new! He showed me around the area where he's living, a rich suburb of Birmingham called Solihull. There's a mall and a library right across the street from the hotel so I was hooked up.
Day 2: LONDON Baby! We spent the entire day in London, and, I'm pretty sure we saw it all. It helps when you don't do anything that costs money. We walked for-EVER and saw all the highlights! We even took a flight on the London Eye, the amazing ferris-wheel-like ride that gives you a birds-eye view of the city! Amazing! We took a train from Solihull to London and did the following: Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Oxford Street, Oxford Circus, Palace of the Guard, Big Ben/Westminster Abbey/Houses of Parliament, Scotland Yard, posed in a phone booth, took the Tube most places, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Harrod's, Picadilly Circus, Hyde Park, and I think that's it. Actually I had been suffering from an acute case of plantar fasciitis before we left (foot pain) and after London, my foot pain was gone! Who knew? It was a great day.
Day 3: Well we were going to Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare's home, but when we woke up Sunday morning, walking around like 90 year olds (sore from walking), we decided against it. Instead we drove to downtown Birmingham and I haven't been that scared in a long time. Mike was right... driving in England is like driving on a go-kart track. All I could say was "PLEASE just get me a blindfold and a cigarette." SCARY.
Day 4: Mike went to work and I milled around town... ate lunch at the mall, read some, saw a movie at the mall, ran on the treadmill at the hotel and shopped some more. There was even a Pilates class there at the hotel gym, but for 3 pounds I passed it up. Are you kidding me?
Day 5: I left. And cried a river. I was so pathetic, sitting in that foreign airport, with tears running down my face.

But Mike returned just a few days later! Yay! If only for a few weeks, but these days I'll take what I can get. Having him here is so wonderful, and it's great to know that the next time he comes, he'll be back for GOOD. In the past when he would come back, it was like I was just holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Now, he MINE!

This has been one of the biggest growing periods of my entire life. But I've found that each time I go through a growing period it seems like it's the biggest one. Looking back, I can totally see some of the ways that God was providing for us by having Mike away during this time... most of all, we were planning on buying a house this year! But the Lord is making us wait another year b/c there's NO way that we would have saved enough, and no way that I would have wanted to or should have gone thru the home buying process without Mike.

Also, the Lord is always growing me, and I shouldn't be surprised because I ask for it... for the first time, I'm actually looking forward to this last trip without Mike in a way because I'm able to use it for God's glory! I have SO much time to spend encouraging my friends and I also have 5 cooking shows scheduled for the month of May! Wow! AND on top of that, it allows me more freedom to work all the required overtime my company has laid on us.

Praise the Lord for his faithfulness! Let me share a song that has encouraged me in the past few weeks, just the chorus actually. Some of you may know that I am a super-huge fan of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, so here goes:

Still I will trust you
Still I will follow
Still I will listen to your every calling
While the storm rages on
And I can't find my way
Still I will trust you Lord

YES!!

Never felt like this before

The past 7 weeks have been by far the most difficult I've ever endured in my life. Yep, that's how long Mike's been gone, and we found out yesterday that they want him to stay another 3 weeks. After he told me the news yesterday, I was so devastated that I actually had to take the rest of the day off, I couldn't work.

Never in my life have I experienced a depression, but I feel like this is it. I haven't felt like cleaning, cooking (crazy, I know), or even shopping, things that usually make me feel better. I haven't even had that much motivation with Pampered Chef either. See? Weird. It's all I can do to get out of bed to work each day, and I try to stay busy, but I just haven't felt like doing anything. Normally I would NOT be OK with the kitchen counter being dirty before I hit the sack at night, but recently I just didn't care. 

My FT job is extremely exhausting, physically and mentally, and I really depend on Mike's physical support every day and it hasn't been there. When he's here and I'm out either running errands or out doing my own thing, I can hardly wait to walk thru the door and see his face and get a giant hug and kiss. But I'm starved for that. It seems like the stress of him not being here has aged me and is starting to affect my immune system.

I know all this will pass after March 27th, but I never wanted to be one to just live for the future and not for the present. But the present kind of sucks.

HOWEVER in the midst of all of this, I have been shown the most amazing grace, comfort, peace, and closeness to my Heavenly Father EVER. With Mike gone, it has given me more opportunities to serve God by volunteering in various activities and it has also given me more time to spend with Him in the morning. And one of my biggest fears after marriage didn't come true: I was always afraid that after we got married, I would lose many of my girlfriends and after this time without Mike, I have learned that my girls are still out there and we're still close.

I feel like during this time, the Lord has spoken to me in ways that I may not hear if Mike were here. I have had plenty of alone time to hear Him, but it has most usually been in the form of song. Last night I was on the way to Bible study and the songs, "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood and "He Will Carry Me" by Mark Schultz came on my iPod and I just started bawling! And at Bible study some verses were brought to my attention that really made my day.

So, in summary, life has been massively difficult, but there is a silver lining. He is coming home eventually. Oh, and I get to go visit next month. :) And Jesus is STILL faithful. Apparently He knows we can handle it, otherwise He wouldn't give us this challenge. 

PRAISE GOD FOR HIS FAITHFULNESS!!!!

~~Fear not, for I AM WITH THEE!~~

Chloraseptic?

Yesterday when I was on the phone with one of my health education participants, I was in the middle of explaining something and he asked, "Do you use a lot of Chloraseptic in your job?" I asked, "No, why?" and he replied, "Because you must get sore throats all the time."

Thanks, dude.

Recent happenings

So I guess one of those New Years Resolutions hasn't exactly worked out so well, but it isn't even February yet... I will not give up! I will blog!

At least the other ones are doing well... I've been pretty good about walking and doing other forms of exercise on a regular basis in preparation for the Mini in May. I have also read my Bible every single day, following a Bible-reading program suggested by Pastor Mark. It's going very well and I'm enjoying my time with the Lord every day! One resolution that I didn't post was a repeat from last year: floss every day. I think since 1/1/09 I have only missed one night! Not bad! I was great last year until our vacation in July and I'm determined to do it the whole year this go-round!

I have so many things to write about, I think about it almost every day.... recent movies I've seen, TV shows, books I'm reading, the election (I have some fierce political views, but am determined to retain my Christian integrity and not be too honest about my feelings about the current president), and still more on grocery shopping and money-saving.

The biggest thing going on in my life recently has been the departure of my sweetie to the UK on business for the past almost-3-weeks. He left on 1/12 and it had to be the worst day of my life. I cried quite literally all day long, most of the week. In the 17 days since he left, I would say that hardly a day goes by when I don't cry at least a little. The first week he was gone I slept with his pillow so that I could pick up the smell of his deodorant, cologne, etc. I'm a little better now, though, but I miss him terribly. I'm not sure I knew how much I loved him until he walked away from us at the airport. I immediately had this hollow feeling in my chest that is still there. Going to church is so hard, I feel like only half of me is actually there.

On the other hand..... this apartment has never been cleaner. Seriously. Not as much laundry, not as many dishes, and I know where everything is, just where I left it the last time! Now don't get me wrong... I would much rather have him here, but at least I can have some good clean fun while he's gone! I've also had time to go out with my girlfriends, and I even had a decent crowd over on Saturday night for a Soup & Slippers party!

But that's about all that has been going on in the past few weeks. Maybe pictures will come later tonight.

Rachel <><

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (I sang, does that count?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (does Enchanted Rock count? It was tall)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept in an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight (I am a girl, right?)
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (solar)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (with Jessica and Nicole!)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (Yay Pampered Chef!)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (Troop #10321, 1988-1989... not a good year for me economically)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (blankie)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt (my t-shirt quilt is amazing!)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone’s life (every day, baby)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (a few times, but I met David Caruso from CSI last year at the ACSM conference! He was cool)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (OK well we didn't exactly swim in it, but walked right up to it and were almost consumed by the flies so we turned around and went back to the city)
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

In review: I have never been anywhere, and I've done a bunch of random stuff. This is a good Bucket List, of things to do before you "kick the bucket!" Man if I could just go to Europe I could cross off like 19 more! Someday when we're rich....

Thanks-mas

OMG it has been way too long since I last posted! But we have been insanely busy with holidays, family, friends, and Pampered Chef!! Haha! So I have decided to title this post "Thanks-mas," stealing the name from our friends Adam and Laura.

My parents came to visit the week of my 28th birthday, and it was so nice to see them after 11 whole months! For the record, that is FAR too long! We carved pumpkins, laid around, went shopping, while the men went shooting. They left and I cried like a baby, but don't I always?

Thanksgiving came and went like usual, but we were once again reminded of how blessed we are to live in the USA and have such wonderful and secure jobs. Mike and I took most of the week off, and it was just the vacation we needed, except I found myself doing nothing but cooking, cleaning, and organizing all week long... at least I wasn't at my real job! We had Thanksgiving dinner at Ryan & Laurel's (sister-in-law and brother-in-law) house with many visitors who were unrelated, but it was great. Laurel gave us an idea for a tradition that I would like to start once we start a family, based on the tradition of going around the table and saying what we are thankful for. Everyone had 3 small kernels of unpopped popcorn at their placesetting, without any explanation. At the end of the meal, Ryan passed a little bowl around the table, and one at a time, we had to say something that we are thankful for. The bowl went around 3 times, and hearing everyone's thanks really inspired each one of us to be thankful for everything in our lives.

In these economic times, especially with all the layoffs happening all over the country, Mike and I are very grateful for our jobs, even though we may not be happy in them all the time. Mike is in his dream job, while I'm still waiting for mine. He has been placed on a new project and will start that venture next month, which will bring many changes to his job description and to be honest, he's pumped. My company has hired about 60 people in the past 3 months, with no sign of slowing down. A big change for me is that starting on January 12, I will be working from home! This is something that I've been wanting to do for quite some time, mostly because I hate hate hate hate Indiana weather and don't see the point in risking my life each day in icy traffic to do a job that doesn't need to be performed in an office. Home will work just fine for me, thank you. Goodbye to the days of getting up 30 minutes earlier to scrape off the car and dig it out of the snow. Bring on work in the jammies. Bring it on.

The day after Thanksgiving Mike headed out to the stores to do his Black Friday shopping and I decided last minute (when I learned how cold it was and how early it was) that I would stay in the rack. I told him to call me if and only if he absolutely needed my help. Well, about 20 minutes later I got a call, and he needed some shopping help. I went to Meijer and struck out on the digital photo frames... all gone. Then I headed to the DVD section.... struck out again. Then he asked me to wait in line outside Target and he would meet me there.... well I was not dressed to wait in line outside... but I did it anyway... and we got the TV!!!! Plus, Mike had a $300 gift card so we barely spent a dime! YES! After that I headed to HH Gregg to get a digital photo frame for Nanny and Papa and finally had the sweet taste of success! Then I headed home and went back to bed. Nice.

Since then I have been super-busy with Christmas parties, baking, Pampered Chef Christmas orders, and getting ready for our TX trip. December absolutely flew.

On Thursday, 12/18 Mike and I headed to Texas to spend some time with my family down there. What a sweet time it was. I got to hang out with my sisters who I love more than anything and enjoy being a complete goofball. We got to double-date with Erin & Ryan Welsh, do lunch with homeschool girls, and see old church friends! And can you say LOS CUCOS? FREEBIRDS? RUDY'S? Oh it was wonderful! Finally some good food! I really did not want to come back to Indy.... every time I go back to Texas, I think to myself, "Now this is where I belong," even though I know that's not true. It's hard to be left out of so many relationships that I grew for so many years. I miss people's weddings.... babies.... new families... life events.... I hate it. If a family member happened to die, I would probably just have to stay in Indiana and deal with it. And I have 3 grandparents who are getting older every day.... and it stinks to think that every Christmas may be the last time I see them. However, I know that God has me here for a reason, and that is to do a good job at work, serve Him, and love Mike. Sounds easy, huh?

Anyway.... here we are, back in Indiana. Today is my first day back at work and BOY it was hard getting out of bed today! There was a bright spot this morning though... I walked into the office and saw my picture on our "Wall of Fame," where I was named "Health Educator of the Month" for October 2008! They spelled my first name wrong, but hey! Its still me!

Here are some other random things that have been going on since I last blogged:
-I'm in a great new Bible study with girls from church. It is Beth Moore's newest study, "Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman." It has been so nice to gather with these wonderful ladies and study this amazing book!
-I've been reading books like crazy recently, which is weird because growing up, reading was something I really hated doing. In the past few months I read: The Secret Life of Bees, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Get Out of That Pit, Corrie TenBoom, and I'm currently reading Mistaken Identity. Next up are Marley and Me, 90 Minutes in Heaven and Fahrenheit 451. Good luck, huh?
-Pampered Chef has been going amazingly well and God has really shown me that it is where he wants me. I would give my right arm to do it full-time, but part-time will work for now! I had a lot of shows and individual sales in November and December, and all of the money goes straight to our house savings!! Yes!! It's so good to know that I'm doing something so fun to contribute to our new home. Pampered Chef has allowed me to get out of the house and meet new people, and cook for them! Cooking is truly something that relaxes me, I'm just not crazy about the dishes.... I hit my $5000 in career sales in November, which was encouraging. I really love this business and all the ladies I've met along the way. They encourage me in what I do and give me constant affirmations, because I don't receive those very often in my regular job. If you would like to order anything or host a show, feel free to visit my website! www.pamperedchef.biz/mrscouts. I'd love to help you pamper yourself!

I am excited for the year to come, and I even have some New Years Resolutions! There are only 3 right now, and knowing me, this list is sure to grow.

1. Train for and compete in my 2nd half-marathon in May (2009 500 Festival Mini-Marathon)
2. Blog more (haha we'll see)
3. Read the Bible more consistently (hopefully this will be easier as I start working from home)

OK that's it for now. That was a long one, but hey it's been a long time since I last posted. Maybe pictures some other day. Then again, maybe not. No promises. Love to all my homies!!!

Rachel <><

The Great Grocery Debate

In the past few months I've become a lean, mean, grocery shopping, money saving, coupon clipping machine! It's become a new obsession to find the best deal in town on just about anything! 

And there's more to it than just the shopping trip! I used to go to the grocery store (Wal-Mart) on Saturday mornings, along with every other crazy person in town. I bolted thru that store and huffed at every person who got in my way. Mike told me that I needed to go to the bike section, buy a horn and put it on my cart. It would put me in the worst mood, and it really damaged my thinking. I was struck by something that our new pastor said earlier this year. When his family was moving from Michigan to Indiana, his wife said that her goal was to get through the moving process without sinning.... thus began my quest to hit the grocery store each week without sinning.

First I decided to try another store, and see if it would help my mood. And boy did it work. So here is my comparison of 3 major markets in our area, with the pros and cons:

Wal-Mart

Pros:

  1 mile away from home

  I know the aisles like the back of my hand

  I can get groceries AND home care AND personal care items AND clothing in the same store

  Open 24 hours

  Relatively clean shopping carts

  Very good prices

Cons:

  Every crazy person in town decides to show up when I'm there

  Very few decent product specials

  Warehouse feel

  Lackluster produce

Meijer

Pros:

  Clean atmosphere, don't feel like I'm in a warehouse

  1 mile away from home

  Good selection of hard-to-find foods (International)

  Beautiful produce, lots of variety

  GREAT specials

  Good coupons at the register

  Nice big shopping carts with a cup holder and a little tray for my calculator

  I can get food, clothing, and personal care items in the same store. And this is higher quality      than Wal-Mart!

Cons:

  Prices may be a tad higher than other stores

Kroger (I went for the first time tonight!)

Pros:

  Savings with the Kroger Plus Card

  The most gigantic shopping cart I've ever seen in my life

  GREAT specials

  3 miles away from home

  Decent prices

  Dollar sales

Cons:

  Kind of icky-feeling inside the store

  Not the best produce selection, but it had what I needed for the most part and what they had    was gorgeous

So there you have it, folks. I haven't quite made a decision on which one I will go to each week, maybe it will be a different one every time! Probably will depend on what kind of specials they have and also my selection of coupons!

Since we got married and I had to start cooking for someone else besides just me, I got into meal planning and it's been the best habit! Every Thursday or Friday afternoon I come up with a menu for every night of the following week, make the grocery list, and go for it! It's extremely helpful when we come home from work and know exactly what's for dinner!

Anyway, Mike just turned on Ironman so I'd better go. Great movie.