These are the p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ animals in my neighborhood

Sometimes I think I thrive on clutter. I wouldn't necessarily say this about myself, but everywhere you look, I have "decorations."  So maybe the evidence speaks for itself.  I even have decorations in my car.  Here they are:

The turtle was something I got from a family member.  I also have a similar turtle in my bathroom that is from Guatemala.  I don't know where this one came from.

This giraffe is one I have actually had since I first started driving a long, long time ago.  He is very faded from the sun, but I can't bear to get rid of him, because I'm sentimental like that.  One of my clients once named him "Fuzz."

And the above turtle is Tank.  Although he didn't come from Guatemala, he was used in Guatemala by a friend.  She had a leftover when she got back and gave him to me.  Naturally, he's hung out in my car ever since.

And this turtle/air freshener is the newest edition to my car.  I got it while shopping for some lotion.  I decided the new car needed a new critter!

Nate and Erin's Wedding

I'll give the disclaimer that there are a ton of pictures to this post, but really, it's a wedding so you should kind of expect it!  It was a beautiful day for a wedding and a beautiful couple to watch get married.  We blamed some tears on allergies because allergies were running rampant that week.  Those allergies may have only struck the groom and the best man (his brother) and anyone else who can't watch men cry, but we won't talk anymore about it, lest it embarrass said men!  Here is the happy couple in the midst of their vows:

And on their way down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Luketin:

And the cutest ring bearer you could ever have (not biased coming from his aunt at all!)

Bubbles!

I love the look Nate is giving her in this picture:

And a sweet kiss (I'm not usually one to take kissing pictures, but it was sweet!  And hard to be avoided at a wedding)

And a great picture of the back of Erin's dress:

An almost serious family picture, if only we could have gotten Michael to cooperate!

Brothers..and still not serious:

Me and my nephews.  At least someone can be serious in this family!

All ring bearered out!

Grandma and the boys:

Between the wedding and reception, we went to my grandma's house because it was so close to the church.  Nate and Erin and the bridal party took a trolley around to take pictures.  They stopped at Grandma's house to take pictures.  Grandma didn't go to the wedding, for many reasons which aren't all that important here, but it was a big deal that she agreed to come outside to take pictures.  My mom was quick to inform me that Grandma would kill me if she knew I posted these pictures on Facebook that day, and now I'm putting them on my blog.  Lucky for me, my grandma doesn't own a computer.

I almost lost it bawling to see these pictures actually happen.  You'd just have to know my grandma to understand.  It was one of the sweetest moments of the day for me.

Lots of the family stopped by while we waited for the reception.  Here is Meg and I:

I even got to sit next to her during the reception!  This was in the middle of the shenanigans that happened during the reception.  Not that we are a family known for shenanigans, I promise!

My cousin Michele and I:

The three girl cousins.  So many pictures of the three of us.  And now we can honestly say we like each other!  Meg was hit or miss for awhile growing up! :)  What, she was four/five years younger than us and just a little bit of a pest!  But we love her now.  We couldn't fake that in a picture!

Shenanigans may have been happening even before the wedding began.

Michael decided to eat his goldfish with a spoon because we were at a fancy place.

I think they love each other?! :)

Somehow, by the time dinner arrived, Ann ended up with a bunch of knives and a spoon.  But we couldn't really say why...

This kid is a ham.  He has been perfecting his wink, so whenever he does it, he does it with great exaggeration, which makes him all the more adorable.

Again, I promise they love each other!

Passing the time while we waited for dinner: Spoon (or fork) on the nose.  It's a good skill to have!

As you can see from all the pictures, we had a blast celebrating Nate and Erin and spending time with our family!

Bridal Shower, Nate and Erin edition

The first weekend in May I was able to go up to the suburbs to visit family and attend Erin's bridal shower.  She is marrying my cousin Nate in June.  I was blessed to get to see Nate too, since I didn't know he was going to be at the shower.  He stayed for the whole thing and was the unofficial emcee for the event.  He commentated all the gift opening, which was often very entertaining for us!  I'm excited to go back up in June for the wedding.

My Aunt Margaret made them a quilt, because she's crafty like that!

The group of girls ladies that attended.

Sisters!

The cousins.

Michele and I.

A random out of place picture.

The party favors.  My favorite comment of the day was when Ann decided to take a cookie home for John and Michael.  She said it would be fifty/fifty on whether John would eat it, because it's a cookie (Yay!) but it's a dress (Boo!).

Correlation Does Not Equal Causation

Even if it's fun to think so.  Here is the recent correlation that I have made.  I keep telling people and they keep laughing.  Even if I know it is not true, I still think I like the idea!

This month I have lost a few pounds.  This month I have been eating A LOT of free Chick-fil-a breakfast items.  Therefore, the more Chick-fil-a I eat, the more weight I will lose.  Win, win!

I love to re-read books

Sometimes I prefer an old favorite to a new book.  I don't know why.  It baffles many people.  You already know what is going to happen, why would you want to read it again?  I think it's because it's like visiting old friends.  I have an old Jimmy Buffett CD.  As he is introducing an even older song, he says, "It's like visiting an old friend."  I think of that quote when I think of reading a book again and again.  Sure, they are surprisingly doing the same thing they were doing the last time you visited, but you know them and you enjoy their company.  That's what I think it is for me.  I have some books on my shelves that I have read 10-20 times.  Sometimes, even after I finish the book, I page back through and read scenes again.  Which is one reason I just don't want to commit to an e-reader.  How would I ever find those few scenes I want to read?  Whereas, with an actual book, I know what side of the page it was on and about how far into the book it was.  Sometimes I wish I dated a book every time I read it, just so I would know how many times I've read it.  I also used to let people borrow my books all the time.  I wish I had a record of those people who were able to share in that story, kind of like a guest book.  Now I'm going to go pick a book off my shelf to read, since I finished one earlier today.  I can't wait to meet up with those old friends.  I wonder what they are doing today...

 

Beware the Ides of March

I took Latin in high school.  I'm not really sure why.  I had a really good reason at the time, but it didn't really pan out.  No, it didn't have anything to do with a boy.  I think I was told that most languages have their root in Latin and if you can understand Latin, you can understand other languages.  Two problems arose years later from this.  1.  You have to remember the Latin for it to help with other languages.  2.  You have to have an affinity for languages.  Neither was true for me.  So I struggled through college Spanish.

Several "important" things I remember from Latin:
1.  Romulus and Remus (I don't remember the story exactly, but somehow the names have come up a few times)
2. Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March (that's today)
3.  I can still sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in Latin.  I mean, if that is not a workable skill, I don't know what is.  Only on rare occasions could you get me to sing it for you though, even when I make a point of telling you that I can do it.  A singer/performer I am not.
4. Veni. Vidi. Vici.  I came. I saw. I conquered.

Happy March 15th everyone!  Unless you're Julius Caesar, then you should beware this day.

Happy Anniversaries!

A couple anniversaries for this Friday the 13th.

First, today was my 9 year work anniversary!  It's kind of hard to believe.  And very confusing.  I couldn't remember if I had finished my 10th year or was starting  my 10th year.  I tried to do the math, but struggled to figure it out.  People who know my math skills shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, I'm amazed at God's faithfulness in providing me 9 years in one job.  The job has had ups and downs, but for the most part, I have enjoyed it.

Second is my one month anniversary of owning my car was today.  And I passed another milestone (sort of).

Sorry for the blurry picture, but I almost missed the 1100 mile mark.  I missed the 1000 mile mark, so this seemed appropriate, especially since it happened on my one month anniversary of owning the car.

Third, an honorable mention.  And not really an anniversary.  But I recently posted my 1,111th post on my blog.  Kind of crazy.

Celebrations!

Not that I need a reason to get ice cream, but today I did so as a celebration for a friend.  Today one of my dear friends from church had her last radiation treatment.  She has battled breast cancer this past year and has undergone chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation.  She wanted to celebrate so she invited everyone to Dairy Queen at 2:00 to celebrate with her.  I was working and was so sad that I couldn't join her for her celebration, but after work I went straight to the drive-thru in order to get my own ice cream.  I was thinking about 1 Peter 1:6-7: "In this [your salvation] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come, so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."  Janelle has been such a firm and constant encouragement to me as I have watched her rely on her Lord for strength, comfort, and peace throughout this year.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Memories: cassette tapes...Walkman...cousins

Tonight I was driving home and I heard a song on the radio that immediately transported me back to somewhere around 1990/1991, probably Christmas 1990.  I have blogged before about how powerful music is and how easily memories come back when certain music comes on.  You probably don't really care about my memory, unless you are me or my cousin Carin, but I've also told you before that this is my blog and I can do what I want :)

Let me set the stage.  My cousin Carin is about 4 months older than me.  We were inseparable growing up.  When I moved to Georgia, we wrote page upon page of letters back and forth for many years.  So, I'm guessing this was a Christmas break memory.  We were lying on the living room floor in her home, and we were listening to her new cassette tape (yes, we had those) on her Walkman (some people might have to look up what a Walkman is...don't worry, I'll wait for you).  Over and over again.  Whitney Houston's album "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and the song by the same title.  There was a fast part at the end of the song that we were trying to get word perfect.  We had the headphones on and had the lyrics in front of us (from the flap in the cassette tape, not from any lyric website on the Internet).  Over and over we would listen to it until we finally got it.  Success.

It's a great memory and I am so glad I have those memories to look back on.

Kitchen mishaps

Note to self: When the counter tops are all full, the stove might not be the best place to set the Pyrex carrier when you get home.  Hypothetically speaking, your roommate might have just made tea on the burner you decide to use.  And it might not bode well for the carrier or the burner.  But interestingly, it won't smell like anything is burning and it won't cause a fire.  You'll just be out a carrier for your casseroles.  And the jury is out on whether you have to buy a new burner or the melted cloth will come off.  That's a trouble for tomorrow because it's too late to worry about it now.