news

I have news.

I'm having a baby!

We found out in December that we will be parents this August. My due date is August 23rd. Last Friday we went to the doctor and were able to hear the heartbeat for the very first time. It was amazing.

I'm sure I'll have many pregnancy stories to share in the months to come. In fact, I have several already.

To be continued...

shortage

We are in the midst of a serious toothpaste shortage right now.

I'm talking dire.

This is the current status of our toothpaste supply:

Do you see the thinness of those tubes? (My secret is I use the soap bottle to flatten them like crazy.) Can you tell the toothpaste is nearly gone and that the outside of the tube is just about pushed all the way through where the toothpaste is supposed to come out?

Let me tell you, I have been following factory recommendations lately and using only a "pea-size amount" for brushing. But we are only days away from a monstrosity, people.

Running out of toothpaste isn't like running out of milk or bread. You can't just say, "Oh, I'll drink some juice" or "Oh, let's eat potatoes." No. When you are out of toothpaste, there are no alternatives.

Although I may have heard somewhere that back in the day people used baking soda? I would have to be pretty desperate to resort to that.

I'm almost there.

You know what this means? Do you know what horrible consequence running out of toothpaste will have?

I will have to go to the store. And I will have to pay full price.

love hard

Last week I was reading something on the internet - I can't even remember what it was now - and the phrase "love hard" jumped out at me.

I'm sure it was some sort of inspirational article regarding the necessary requirements of a happy life, or perhaps the top ten things you should do in 2011, or maybe even a short story about someone's personal experience with a murderer?

Who can say. In any case, it stuck with me.

But what does it mean to love hard? I think it means to love wholly and completely. To love so powerfully that you would give your life for someone. And to love so perfectly that you would be willing to forgive anything.

Like Jesus loves us.

To love hard is...well, hard. There are so few people in the word I would be willing to give my life for. In fact, there are few people in the world I would be willing to give up two hours of my day for. And that's a little bit sad. Actually, it's a lot sad.

What is the Bible without love? Matthew 22:34-40 says:

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisses got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (NIV)

Answer: The Bible without love is incomprehensible. Similarly, our lives without love have no meaning. And I'm not talking about "I should do this out of pity" love, or "I bet I can love the sin right out of them" love. I'm talking about real love.

Imagine John 3:16, one of the most well-known verses of the Bible: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV) How less wonderful would that be if the verse said, "For God felt such pity on the world..." or "For God so badly wanted to correct the world..."

What? What kind of gift is that when it's given in pity or with a desire to improve? That's not real love. Though sadly, it is the kind of love I often display. So not only do I fail to "love hard," but I fail to show a godly love in any substantial quantity.

So how do I fix this? The Bible school 101 answer is "love like Jesus."

Well, duh. Wouldn't that be nice? Unfortunately, no one will ever reach that standard. Instead, perhaps I can say a good start to the solution is to talk to Jesus. Ask Him to help me place others before myself. And not just when I put money in the offering plate, but all the time. Ask Him to teach me to love like He loves. Ask Him to help me love hard.

two years

Today my husband and I have been married for two years.

It's been a crazy two years, I'd have to say. Although this past year of marriage went much more smoothly than the first. There was a lot less yelling. And throwing of things. And breaking of pitchers. So, you know...progression. And all that.

I think once you get used to living with someone, and you figure out which battles are worth it, life definitely gets easier. And also, once he got used to me and my crazy ways (and stopped making me be productive when I just wanted to be lazy) things drastically improved. For instance, Darren now knows:

-cereal, nachos, mac 'n cheese, chocolate, and ice cream are all considered an acceptable dinner. You want something else, make it yourself.

-the bed is going to get made every day. Get over it.

-I will expect help around the house occasionally, so you'll save yourself a lot of trouble if you offer before I get mad.

-sometimes I just need to sit on the couch all day and do nothing. It's a fact of life.

-if you want me to buy you something from the grocery store, you had better write it on the list. I'm not a mind reader.

-if you don't want cookies, don't eat them. Stop telling me not to make them. I want cookies.


And, interestingly enough, I have learned the following:

-laundry doesn't need to be put in the basket. Instead, it's okay to throw it on the floor right next to the basket. What is with this, I'll never know.

-asking someone repeatedly if they're angry, will, in fact, make them angry.

-not mentioning that my car belt is squeaking or that my emergency brake light is on or that the car smells like it's about to explode is a grave sin...

-but somehow asking for an oil change is a big, fat joke.

-bad drivers are either women, old, or both. And it's useless to defend my own sex.

-football Sunday's are sacred. Don't ask to watch Pride and Prejudice during the game. Any game.

-frozen pizza is a staple. It's acceptable to eat it every other day. And death to the wife who lets the supply run low.

-Conversely, crazy is the wife who has ten boxes of Hamburger Helper in the pantry.


All I can say is it's been an experience.

random things i like

-coffee cups big enough to hold a can of soup.

-cracking the seal on a new jar of peanut butter, and that first glorious glob out of the perfectly flat top.

-old VHS movies. None of that fastforward/skip confusion.


-Kraft macaroni and cheese. Yes, I know the cheese is fake. And unhealthy. That's what makes it so delicious.

MIA

I've been terrible about blogging lately.

I get home from work at night and my mind is empty and my body is tired. So I gaze unseeing at the television, as my body slowly molds into the contours of the couch. And there I sit, night after night. Watching useless shows like Cash Cab and House Hunters.

It's beginning to be a problem.

I know I used to be busy every night; I just don't know what happened. There was always something that needed to be done, or something that I wanted to do. But lately it seems like there's just so much nothing.

So I'm going to try to be better. I'm going to try to stimulate my mind and move my body. Or at least try and get the laundry done.

OSA: one year

Today marks my one-year anniversary at work.

Whoop-de-do, right?

But wait! It includes a step increase.

YAY!

However, the increase will be swallowed up by my long-term disability payments and my medical/dental pre-tax expense allotment, which kicked in on the first.

I've learned a lot in a year. There's no way I would ever want to go back to being the new kid on the block. Although there are really only about two other new people underneath me...

But I still wouldn't want to start over. Overall, it's been a good year with OSA.