I love the rain

It's all stormy today and I love it! When Spring starts to arrive (and the daffodils are already blooming!), I enjoy the warm rains. Of course it's going to get colder tomorrow but so what. Today it's warm spring-like rains. Ahh - the smells and the freshness, the fact that it washes away old stuff and helps new things grow. So sit back and enjoy the heavens pouring out it's love!

Teddy Bears

I learned something about myself last week when I saw Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman at Whole Foods. I did make a trip to Whole foods just to see them since Jennifer gave me the tip. As I wandered around feeling like I should buy something, I was drawn to a bag of chocolatey teddy bear cookie snacks. YUM! And cheap - $1.99. So I bought them (waiting in line behind Keith and Nicole of course) and enjoyed them on my way home.

It was then that I noticed when it comes to snacks - if I see teddy bear shaped graham cookie snacks anywhere - I will buy them and eat them. (okay not everywhere I go - but if I'm in the mood for a snack - I will go toward the teddy graham isle). I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the cute little teddy bear shape. Or the delicious flavors. Or the delightful bitesize crunch. But I do like those teddy bear cookies.

My Sweet Valentines

Ahh - Valentines Day has come and gone. Nick and I try not to get too swept up in all the hubub by buying expensive gifts but we do love to show how much we love each other. I bought him his favorite - chocolate covered cherries. Target sells Harry & David brand so I bought his a new kind of chocolate covered cherry (and the all famous Moose Munch). He was hesitant but now they are his most favorite (I have a way of doing that to him :) ). Nick, unfortunately, had to work all weekend at the Home Show with his insulation booth. And I mean - all weekend! So Thursday, as I was working the welcome desk at Lampo's blooddrive, Nick shows up with a tasty treat for me - a smoothie from 9 Fruits! Oh how I love THEE! The card was my favorite - it was one of those recordable cards. Then tonight, as he returned home at last, I made him a fantastic pasta dish and dessert nachos (Thanks Nikkie for that idea!). Then we made a fest of chocolate covered strawberries.

I love you Hubby! You're my best friend!

Here's to you Grandma!

You know those foods that you eat and it reminds you of someone or somewhere? Salt & Vinegar chips remind me of my dear grandma. She once ate a whole bag of them because she loved them so much and couldn't stop. So here's to you Grandma as I finish off my bag of baked salt & vinegar chips (from Target)! No - I didn't eat the whole bag...it took me 3 days to finish it.

Oh Inky

Our cat is special. I've been wondering when I would blog about my cat and I just had to do it. This is a picture of Inky at Christmastime at Nick's parents house. That is Bear that he's holding. We gave Inky the bear when he was a kitten so he could take out his agressions on Bear instead of us (he's a very complicated cat). So now Bear is his friend. He sleeps with him and he has drug Bear to our front step (from the backyard) so he could sleep with Bear on the steps.
So anyways, Nick and I were taking a walk last night - it was so beautiful outside! We walk around the neigherborhood into other subdivisions - it takes about 20-30 minutes to walk it. About 1/2 through the walk, we see a cat perched on a post outside of a house (mind you, it was dark out). I said "Oh pretty kitty! Hi kitty! You have a tag like Inky. You have spots like our cat. I think you are our cat. You are our cat. Sigh". Nick scooped him up and carried him all the way home. I think everyone in the neighborhood knows Inky. He has lost 2 break-away collars - both returned by different neighbors. Oh Inky - and here I thought you were just a cat. Nope, you are OUR very special cat.

The place I feel closest to God

You know those days where you dream of a place you want to be someday? Being on the Dave Ramsey plan it's great knowing that you can actually achieve it and not just dream it.
I dream of land! I grew up on a 100 acre farm and I can feel so closed in at times. I imagine that people who grew up in the city are naturally more comfortable with smaller places but not me. I want my own place to walk and get lost in a thought or a prayer - knowing that other people won't be walking by, knowing that I won't be disturbed.
I will pass a big house on lots of land and I imagine myself there. I imagine a huge vegetable garden, flower garden, apple orchard, a bench under the trees and a quite place with God. In fact, this is where I feel closest to God. I would spend hours in the spring and summer laying in the grass, staring at the clouds and having a conversation with God or sit on the back step, playing with the kittens getting lost in my thoughts.
It has been a struggle mentally for me ever since we got married. We moved to a city where we lived in a townhouse where there were people everywhere! I have never felt that I have been able to find that place where I feel closest to God. There isn't a chair in my house or spot in our little backyard that helps me focus. I even miss my country drive to work that I had in Ohio. It took me 30 minutes of smooth country driving to get to work - and I would usually talk to God the whole way. Now I am looking at all the cars around me, making sure I merge lanes, and oh great a traffic jam! At that pace, all I can get out is usually "God protect our driving today". Sigh. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE living in Nashville and being married but this was a challenge I wasn't expecting.
I know it will happen someday, God knows that part of my heart. I've always wanted my kids to have the space to run and play and imagine like I did growing up. What they say is true! You can take the girl out of the country but not the country out of the girl.