You know i've been so busy with christmas stuff that I had totally forgotten I even had a blog... so life is nuts... I recently figured out i'm lactose intolerant.... yeah that's a good one... do you know how much more complicated it is to cook when you can't eat milk or cheese? Luckily butter is pretty safe so I can still bake but i'm deff not slathering down my bagel... I've mostly discovered that milk is bad so is cheese and everything else kinda falls in between... gotta love that discovery period though... I basically eat things and see if they make me wanna puke.... yay.... it's not so bad though... except I cannot eat ice cream or chocolate... well chocolate I can handle in small doses if there is tea involved... but I don't usually try it unless i'm really desperate... the good news is I can drink coffee again and since my creamer is lactose free I can wake up every morning to a perfect cup of joe with that nice winter peppermint mocha flavor :).... joel has been quite the trooper... he is rolling with the punches as best he can while I try to adjust to all this... but it is getting better and i'm excited for that...

We are still waiting forour date to training in January... apparently no one bothered to tell Joel we were only on the waiting list for this thing and not actually in it until about a month ago... yeah that's an interesting story but what is really interesting is that Joel finally told me what I thought I had been asking for months... Yes we can go active duty at the end of training but he has to be top of his class... apparently only the top couple people get to go active duty... barring that we could come home and get a job with the newport news police... oh but here's the kicker... they won't make him a job offer till he gets back... lol so my life is a swirling maze of mystery at the moment... but The Lord will provide and we will come through in the end so i'm really not that worried... I'm mostly laughing at this point... cause you know everytime we seem to kinda get comfortable withlife The Lord hands us a new curveball and says "Here this is so you will remember that I am in control and that I will take car of you. Remember that and you will be fine."

You know two weeks ago in church we had some people get up and talk about how much they had sacrificed in the last few months and how they had become so dependent on The Lord and how this transformation had lead them to give up tv and all these other things... and I really just... it upset me a little because I felt like it wasn't totally about the Lord... it was a grab for attention it was a "Oh look how much we have given up because the Lord wants us too"... now granted I have my own issues with the people in that church... mostly because... and I can't believe i'm going to say this but .... they are too toucy feely... don't get me wrong the teaching is solid but the people just really irk me sometimes... we had some woman quote "the message" in the middle of the service the other day and that just really bugged me... and so I sit here trying not to have a bad attitude about the people of this church because I know i'm spoiled and I need to learn to compromise but is it really a compromise worth having if it takes me to a place where fellowship is not all about God? oh well something to ponder over

Stencils

Iv discovered stenciling... not in the way your thinking though.... iv begun making my own stencils for shirts... I managed to aquire the equivalent of a reusable fabric spray painter which I am extremely excited about... I finished my first design yesterday and it was decent... really the biggest challenge is coming up with designs and begin able to find pictures you can work with on the interweb...

The other project that i've been working on is my costume for ren fest... some of you guys know me and a group of friends go to the maryland renaissance festival every year... several years ago we began going in costume and this year is no different... we've decided to go steampunk... which is like if you stick space cowboys and the victorian era and airship pirates and lots of creativity all in a box and shook them up... you would get steampunk... I'm pretty sure i've figured out my costume if I manage to put out a decent model I will take a pic....

Jobs etc

Life is alright... lol life is alright... Joel has a lot of night shifts right now... so he stays out all night and then comes home and sleeps... which is ok cause it means we can pay all the bills and both of us are alright with that right now... we are both hopeful that he will manage to land a manager position at his job... His boss seems to like him very much so as soon as he can get firearm certified i think he may be moving up in the world *squee*... In other news Joel's appointment to test for the police academy has been postponed and he hears that the department is getting a lot of cutbacks so this job may be what we are coming back to after training... but if he gets the promotion we will not have to worry too much... the Lord is providing and I am just very grateful...

God is so good! not only has He provided and well paying job for Joel but He provided a beautiful house for us to live in! well an apt anyways lol I love it and I'm so happy to be moving out of Larchmont I could just sing. Joel's job is great, he is working as a security officer... on a bike lol but he seems to enjoy it and apparently he could come back and work for them while he is a police officer to earn extra money if we need it! The apt is beautiful and it's two bedrooms and it's in Chesapeake which means we are about five minutes from the church and we can be more involved and i'm just way way excited. oh and there is a DISHWASHER!!!!!!! I don't think i've ever been so excited about one lone appliance in my entire life lol...

Ok so I know I stink at keeping up with this thing... I just kinda feel like there's no reason to post unless there is something going on... and in this thing I try to focus on the positive as much as possible... so... positive things in my life... I have a husband who loves me... a job... and a set of adorable pets... lol I know that sounds stupid but i've been trying to focus on all the positive little things in my life lately since our life has become what most people would call challenging... but really in the end I know that the Lord will provide something for us... he brought along a job opportunity just the other day and it looks like we just might get it... it's not perfect or anything... in fact its crappy hours for crappy pay... but that's ok because it is something... a stable job that will provide us with a stable home lol that isn't covered in mold and put food on the table... see I know the Lord is working things out because not only did He bring this job along but he has also made the apartment people desperate enough to hold our apartment for far longer then they should have... part of this new job is that I won't be going to school this semester, mostly because I need to get a job too in order to help out... but that's ok because I know that's the Lord's plan... and seriously who is better at planning life than God? not me that's for sure... so for all you guys who have been praying for us thank you and don't stop... Joel and I need all the prayer we can get lol

life is all about choices and right now there are a lot of choices for me to make... do i want to finish school... do i want to start a family... do i want to switch majors... do i want to move again... do i want chicken or beef for dinner... life is full of choices and some days they just seem to overwhelm me... choices choices choices... but choices are what make up our lives... the ability to make a choice isn't always a good thing... i always seem to waffle a lot between different choices forever.... but this time around i had a wonderful helpful man to help me out... dancing around decisions with Joel was interesting... do we do this... do we do that... I just have faith that the Lord will work it out... I'm glad he's there to watch over me...

Puppy

this is Bella... i want bella to be my puppy... alas i cannot afford her... not yet anyways... joel promised if he gets a steady paying job we would find a way to put up the money to get her... it makes me sad because she wont be around forever and i want bella to be my puppy... what they say is true as soon as its got a name u get attached... *sad face*
I've decided i want a puppy... i found the perfect breed for me too its an ori pei.... its a pug sharpei mix which means its still adorable but it also is bigger than a pug... i found my puppy and she is adorable

so little update... i still have my job... i had to drop my summer classes due to my job constantly making me late to class despite my best efforts... joel has a job... he works for a sports marketing something or other... he basically sells tickets/sports packages/fun time packages to people... does he work on commission you might ask... well yes he does... sort of... see the company he works for likes to give some security to they are paying him a base pay of 1500 a month until he can sell consistently enough that they know he wont bomb out.... so far he is really good at it apprently... its not his dream... but he doesn't hate it... and he gets adorably excited when he has had a good day... i had my first roller derby bout last night... i played quite a bit and was jammer for two jams... we kicked butt at an awesome score of 219 to 81 lol... i got to jam for two jams... scored some points and got clocked in the face... but in the end i think it brought me that much closer to the team cause everyone was mad for me lol... all in all we are doing alright... we get to move out in about a month which is great because i swear if i find any more of my possessions with mold on them i'm gonna scream bloody murder lol... i guess just stay tuned :)

ok so long time lots to say... in a nut shell... finals are done and i managed to pull all A's and B's yay go me... although truth be told there are lots of props to go out to my gorgeous husband who encouraged me every step of the way... i quit my job at gymboree mostly because my boss was a lazy control freak who didn't know what she was doing and was talking about me behind my back... plus i got yelled at twice and no one really cared enough to fix it so... yeah last day is wed... and derby is kicking my butt... and my back ... and my hips... lol but interestingly enough... its ok... i'm doing alright and i'm not upset or bitter or angry at anyone... and to be honest i think that is all the Lord... yep so that's my life for right now... i'll try to keep you all updated

So lately my life has been one giant event... like i'm talking one thing after another... iv got a new boss at work who is amazing but needs an assistant manager badly because she doesn't always know when to say done... and as much as i love her i've had to boot her out of the store on multiple occasions just so she can go home and rest... despite my efforts she is a little burned out and i'm trying to come along and pick up the pieces... which is cutting into my derby life and seeing joel... and you know i'm just not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel yet... as per my usual i'm going about all my stress relieving activities (putting off homework, clothes shopping for children that aren't mine, and trying to buy small animals) but there isn't a lot of help for me these days and i'm starting to wonder if it will ever end... this month and next promised to be such a good time and now it is turning into a disaster... I was supposed to bougt twice next month and now i am no longer eligable for either one which makes me epically sad and i realize thats life but... can't i live the dream for just a little bit? anyways the upside is i'm making a TON of money... enough to finance a new wardrobe for both me and four small children and two big ones lol... anyways if y'all could pray for me that would be nice... i feel like there is a lot and sometimes i feel like i never see joel anymore but i know it will end i just need to keep up the good work on all the improtant things... yay... why does being an adult have to stink?

so quick little ditty here... Lips called yesterday... no her name is not actually Lips her derby name is Thunderlips I believe her real name is Maggie.... but since i'v only had like one "real name" introduction and everyone always goes by their derby name I know her best as Lips... anyways Lips called and told me they want me to start playing for the ALL STARS!!!! exciting stuff... apparently i'm gonna do some double duty for a bit for both the stars and the stripes till they can groom some of the new freshmeat to fill in the positions of the ppl who will be moving up to the stars... my first couple bougts are in NC but if we end up traveling to play DC Rollergirls i'll let everyone know :)

so since i offically passed my eval for derby and became "cheeky monkey" i've gained the status of "rotten meat" lol which is but one step above "fresh meat"... the perks? i get to go to better practices and i'm on the B team the "all stripes"... yeah i think the name is semi lame too but whateves... downside is that i'm still used as the beater skater lol apparently that is my lot in life... but i still love it lol and our first game will be april 18 in Raleigh yay lol...

got a new boss at work too... she is cool very down to earth and hard working... expects a lot out of ppl but still likes to have fun and is very encouraging... ppl seem to be accepting her for the most part and i think i will enjoy working for her....

school is better lol i decided to ignore the children in my classrooms and be the grownup even if it means putting up with crap... apparently i'm not the only one frustrated with these girls... even the teachers are a bit frustrated and that makes me feel better... school is ok for the most part... still very easy assignments but i found the kicker because the assignments are so easy its harder to nit pick them appart so its easier to lose points... yay

anyways in general my life is good... working schooling sleeping derbying... thats my life

people frustrate me... not only am i in a class that is composed mostly of children that looked like they just stepped out of high school... but i have to put up with teammates who acts like they are still in high school... i know i should be sort of expecting this in a 200 level course but really? grow up children... so heres the situation... i have two classes with Mr. Knott and he has divided us into six teams within each class... as the semester progresses we will be learning different sports and competing "as a team"... now this isn't really as much of a problem in my individual sports class... since we only really have to practice as a team... which is frustrating enough when one of your team members decides she is too good to either practice with you or talk to you because your not some stupid jock on a varsity sports team... but to top it off you have ppl in the team sports class who don't even try, or in some ppls case don't even want to acknowledge the rest of our existence, and that is just frustrating because it makes it that much harder on the rest of us... to top it all off you have a showboating soccer player who wont play by the rules and was about this close to eating dirt cause i'd had enough... sheesh i realize that ppl are in class and they think its whatever but if your on a team at least try because your not only killing yourself your killing the rest of us... so tuesday i get blown off and basically called things i can't repeat and thursday i get treated like a high school outcast... are you kidding me? i wonder if some ppl could grow up just a little to make the rest of our lives easier and to make it at least semi pleasant to go to class...

Well I got my eval for derby and I PASSED! yay i am now Cheeky Monkey and i'm totally stoked... joel and i are getting used to our new schedule which includes 11pm practices and 8 am classes... it is interesting but we have been able to work it out so far... it should be a good year though... classes are nice and i'm enjoying that...

so in the last five weeks i have been through finals, acquired a second older guinea pig named lenny, been to christmas at my parents house, and finally made it back just in time to start school once more... finals were a breeze mostly cause they were nonexistent... christmas was wonderful and we had so much fun.... we took the piggies with us which was no small task since Moe had a fungal infection... oh sheesh let me tell you about this thing... the poor baby was so miserable but the third day of having this thing and i was at my wits end as to what to do... i had a pretty good idea of what it was but having never done this before i worried to no end then finally took him in to the vet... who told me what i already knew but did manage to give me a lotion/medicine that healed him up nicely... but long story short Moe couldn't live with Lenny because fungal infections are contagious so they have to live in two separate cages for the trip... which is a minor inconvenience to say the least... but it was totally worth it to see Grace and Cami attach themselves to my babies... every morning when i came downstairs from my room Cami would ask if we could "do feed the dinny pihs Wenny and Moe" lol she was so cute i thought she would be really scared of them but it was adorable... we had a great time while we were there and everyone was incredibly generous to us... thak you all by the way... school starts on mon so we will see what the year holds...yay