It's About Time!! (warning, its a long one)

I have been meaning to (and have been getting bugged to) blog for quite some time now. So I suppose since work is a little slower today that I will blog about our trip to Missouri.

We left at 1:40am on Wednesday night/Thursday morning after we had taken a 3-5 hour nap. Aaron drove the whole time and we took his Dodge Ram truck. It was so nice! I love to travel with him! It made me miss the time I went with him in his semi truck to California last year… Anyway, we got to Saint Louis at about 8am St Louis time. We stopped at a truck stop and I got changed out of my travel clothes into some nice, picture worthy clothes, put on my makeup and put my contacts in. Then off to the Arch we went!! We are such tourists btw… We took all kinds of silly pictures, some we tried to make it look like we were leaning on the Arch or pushing it… then we went into the base of the Arch (we didn’t go up in it because we have both done that before and it was $10 per person) Aaron had to take off his belt to get through the metal detector and he felt so awkward taking it on and off in front of a bunch of people! We walked around the museum and went to a gift shop… got some salt water taffy (yum) and hard candy (turned out to be D-sgusting even though the cashier said it was the best thing in the store). Then when we were walking back to the truck we put our new candies on a bench and took pictures of our spoils… like I said. Tourists.

So then we went to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. When we got out of the truck and started walking in, Aaron accidentally dropped the camera. No big deal right? A camera falling from the hands of a 6’4” man should be fine right? Wrong. All the pictures erased!!! Needless to say we were both disappointed but since its on the way home we made the decision that we would stop on the way back to Michigan on Sunday to take more pictures at the Arch. Then it was on to the Brewery Tour which lasts about an hour. It was pretty neat. Then they give you two “samples” of beer… those are not sample size btw. I hated beer… and still do. Aaron got my sample number 2 (shhhh).

We arrived at Aaron’s friend, Brandon K’s, house later that morning and sat and talked with Brandon and his g/f Toni for a minute. Then B’s mom called. Her truck wouldn’t start. Off we went to the rescue…. The rescue that ended up taking until 2 in the morning!!! No joke!!! So that was day 1.

We woke up the next morning (Friday) and made breakfast then went to the river to ride the “rapids”! apparently this river is usually a category 4 or 5 rapid so I was a little nervous about injuring my foot. They gave me a boat sized raft so I wouldn’t knock it on anything though. We got dropped off at the top of the river and when we got in everyone commented that it seemed a little low but it should get better… yeah, it didn’t… we were pretty much walking (and slipping and falling on the slimy rocks) all the way to the end of the river… not fun. And the water was like swimming in a dirty toilet.

Later that night, after everyone washed the toilet water off, we went to sprint car and modified car races. They race on a dirt track and we had front row seats… Walked away covered in a film of dirt! But it was still fun. Stopped by a local establishment on the way home and played a couple of games of pool then went home and to bed.

July 4, Happy birthday America! We woke up and Toni made breakfast. Then we “went into town” to get some fireworks then to B’s moms to watch the boys shoot each other with said fireworks. We also shot clay pigeons… for those of you who don’t know that’s when they throw clay disks into the air and you shoot them with guns. I was showing the boys up half way through so I took a break and let them finish it off (didn’t want to injure their egos too much). We stayed there until maybe midnight then went back to B’s. At this point I was getting tired of the constant smoke and swearing and was ready to go home.

We left the next day (Sunday) at around 3 Michigan time. Stopped at the arch to take more pictures and stopped a little ways away to have one more experience. Waffle House. Would I say that I am glad that I did it? No. Would I say that the food was good? No. But now I can say I have done it. Overall it was a good vacation. The best parts for me were when Aaron and I were experiencing things together like the arch and the brewery…

I was glad to come home and get away from the swearing and smoke but sitting here at work today (one week since we were in Saint Louis) I have been thinking, my worst day traveling with Aaron is better than my best day waking up at 6am to go to work. I miss it already.

But I am grateful to be able to have times like that! God is amazing for putting me in this place in life and I could not be more thankful for my family, my wonderful BF and my more than amazing BFF (love you boo). Tomorrow is Friday, yay, then onto a relaxing weekend.

Randoms for Rach

So, Ray blogged this list of Randoms… you know what one of her Randoms was? That I blog a list of Randoms. So, here it goes:

1) I have a hard time saying no to my family when they need something from me, even if it conflicts with my schedule.

2) I wish that I could sleep-in every day.

3) I don’t like to clean but I love a clean apartment/house.

4) I have really weird dreams almost every night.

5) I hate taking prescriptions and have stopped taking Vicodin for my foot… even when it hurts, if I can help it.

6) I love being outdoors, and being surrounded by nature.

7) One of my BFF’s hates being surrounded by nature, yet we still love each other.

8) I have a tendency to be impatient when it comes to marriage. Even though my boyfriend is amazing and things are great how they are now.

9) I am learning to rely on God for patience!

10) The more that I blog this the more I realize how different Ray and I are and how grateful I am to have her!!

11) I cry sometimes at night because I am scared of losing my dad. Even though I believe God will heal him... sometimes I cant help it.

12) I pray that my husband someday will be half the man/father that my dad is.

13) I love Lilies.

14) I used to want my future daughter someday to be named Lillyanna and call her Lilly. Now I would settle for a dog named Lilly :)

15) I already have 5 or 6 names picked out for kids someday when I have them.

16) I want to be financially independent.

17) Sometimes I have a really bad memory. I blame it on my mother. Seriously, I can tell her the same thing 5 times in 15 minutes and she will ask me the same question again on minute 16.

18) I love love love the color Green. When I was a kid I would save my green colored pencils for only the most special pictures. Couldn’t waste my favorite color on just any picture :)

19) I learned how to love myself about a year and a half ago but still have relapses sometimes.

20) I love skinny days!

21) I cant wait for my foot to heal completely so I can start exercising again and taking walks.

22) I am almost completely out of debt except for my school loans.

23) I love to shop but never have any money to right now :(

24) I love love love the spring/summer seasons.

25) It is harder than you would think to come up with that many random things.

How was that Ray?

Besides all that, work has been ok this week. I had to work 8-9:30 on Tuesday due to the elections (now I know how JRT feels with her schedule!). Now I am doing a booorrrring project. I am excited for the weekend even though I don’t think I am going to get to sleep in… at all… I will have to take some naps :) And my Physical Therapist, Pam, hurt me this week! Normally you would think a foot message would feel good… apparently not post-surgery when you have about 1235425632 knots in the bottom of your foot… That was Wednesday morning and I am still sore from it! But pain is just weakness leaving the body… right?

Anyway, I woke up in a great mood this morning and I think its partially because its nice to wake up and have it already be light outside. I LOVE the spring/summer!!

Whew!

I am exhausted! Worked on packing up my apartment yesterday so that I can move from one apartment to another in the same complex… yippee! I guess I didn’t realize how tiring that would be with crutches! :) I am a little torn about the move however and here is why. I want to start saving some money and in talking with my Dad last night I really don’t think it would be a huge deal to break my lease if need be (I don’t think it costs that much to do, 1 months rent + any rent up to the date of termination). Then dad said something about how someone needs to start coming over to help him so that Seedie (my step-mom) can have a break once in a while. So he asked if I would come over at night sometimes and help him out… in thinking about it, I wonder if it would almost be better for me to move home in order to assist my dad. So what to do? I need to do a lot of praying about it in the next 3 days!!!

Either way, I am moving out of my current apartment and need to finish packing! Needless to say, I will be doing that all night tonight until my head hits the pillow!
On a side note, did you know that drinking 4 cups of green tea helps burn about 80 calories per day? I have been drinking green tea (instead of coffee) and didn’t even know that. Now I am even happier about my decision to drink it.

Oops

Almost forgot! This weekend will be 1 year since Aaron and my first date!!! And the sparks are still flying :)

Excited!

Wow its been a while since I have blogged (as was so kindly brought to my attention by my bff). So what has been going on in life? Got my cast off a week and a half ago and am walking with one crutch as much as possible. Start physical therapy tomorrow and I want to have a goal of walking with NO crutches by next week.

This week should be busy as I need to start packing up my apartment. I am moving this weekend into a smaller place, although it is still pretty big. I am a little torn about resigning a lease though and here is why… I feel like in a year from now, the possibilities of a pending wedding are pretty good (at least I hope!!) and if that is the case, when I get engaged I would like to move out of my place back home or somewhere that I only have to pay a few hundred per month so I can save for a wedding. If I sign a year lease, then I would have to break my lease… if I sign a 6 month lease, rent will probably be more expensive. Plus, I don’t know what that boy is thinking as far as when our future is going to start and I don’t want to make any assumptions and every time I try to skirt around the question, he doesn’t really get it…. Perhaps I should just come out with it and ask him about it specifically… what do you think?

I am really excited about the future in general right now! More than I have been in a long time. I can’t even explain it. I had a great weekend and learned so much. I think the nicer weather helps too. But, I see what I am doing in business as my future. It is going to be my carrier. I am so excited about blessing so many people’s lives with what I have to share and getting more of my time back. Someday, when I make enough that I don’t have to work anymore, I can volunteer places that I don’t have the time to volunteer at now. Like the ALS association. There are so many lives that I can impact that I cant right now in my job. I have always loved to help and serve others and I don’t have that ability at my job. It will be an avenue to help people financially but most importantly, I will be able to reach so many more people with The Message of God’s love and I will help Grow the Kingdom and Fill the Book of Life. The best part is the love of my life is excited about it too and that gets me even more excited (how many times can I say excited in one blog?). It is just so nice to be on the same page as each other and to dream together and work towards a common goal and purpose together.

I am just happy :)
PS - Ray, you need to tell me what you want for your BIRTHDAY!!!

Silly Boy

What a great weekend it was… well, mostly. I woke up a little grumpy on Saturday mostly because I don’t like it when people don’t plan ahead and I don’t get much forewarning that something is happening. Well, I knew Aaron and his mom and sister wanted to go to Frederick Meijer Gardens this weekend and so did I!! I have never been there and was super excited to see the butterfly’s! However, I did not find out until 8am on Saturday that we were meeting them at 10:30…not the way I planned to be woken up. So then I had to drag my tired butt out of bed and get ready quickly. Then I was going to meet Aaron at his place (where I had planned to have some cereal before leaving) but he calls and decides to meet at Home Depots parking lot. So now I am hungry and grumpy… bad combo. I eat a snack bar and decide I am going to choose to be in a good mood because Aaron doesn’t deserve for me to be a grump at him. Then we get to the gardens and there is NO HANDICAP PARKING LEFT!!!! I was really upset then… they have this massive parking lot and only 2 rows of handicap parking… 2 rows! There were only like 18 spaces for the HUNDREDS of people that were there. Aaron dropped me off at the door and had to park in the boon docks. On top of the only mound of snow still left in Michigan. If I had drove myself there, I would have left because I couldn’t have walked myself in with my foot the way it is. That did not help my mood. But as Aaron was parking the car, I sat outside on a bench in the sun thinking. I prayed about it and decided its not a big deal. Aaron brought me here and is buying me a ticket and lunch and that is something to be grateful for. So when Aaron came back (after it took him a gazillion minutes to park the truck and get back) we got in line to go inside. I apologized and we decided it was going to be a great day!

The butterflies were AH-MAZING! And as soon as we got into the part with the butterflies, one landed on Aaron’s shoulder. I took a few pictures :) then as we were walking one decided to attach itself to the back of my shirt. It hung out for about half an hour until Aaron had to blow on it to get it off my back so we could leave. I told him it didn’t want to leave because I am so sweet :) Then one landed on my coat which was slung over my scooter. Then one landed smack dab on the top of my head and another one on my shoulder. It was really neat! After that we went for a cold walk to see the giant horse. It will be nice to go back there when it is warmer outside. Then we went to the Café and Aaron bought us lunch. It was yummy. We went back to his place and relaxed until church. After church Aaron went home and I went to Cathy Nguyen’s bachelorette party. It was fun but I was soooo tired!

Sunday was nice. I slept in until around 10:30 and then relaxed until about 2:00 when I got in the shower. I went to Aaron’s and cooked dinner. After we ate he started working on the house again trying to finish the trim while I went downstairs and checked my email and fell asleep to the NASCAR race. I was woken up abruptly when I heard Aaron running into the house yelling “Cassie, I need to go to the Med Center!!” give me a heart attack why don’t you. I got on my crutches and went up the stairs as fast as I could to find him bleeding in the kitchen. He cut up is knuckle with the miter saw. Luckily he only got into the fatty tissue and missed anything important. 8 stitches later and he is trying to figure out how to get back to work.

Now its Monday… its also 10 days away from my cast coming off!!! I am soooo ready to walk!
I also miss my boo (not Aaron, my other boo… you know who you are)

Pray For Those Who Curse You

Life has been really good lately. Only 15 days left until I get my cast off!! I know that because an amazing friend of mine made me a countdown calendar!!! I have barely had any pain at all lately and my swelling has been staying under control pretty well. I was just thinking about the amount of pain I was in for the first two weeks and comparing that to how I feel now… I am so glad that part is over! I remember how much it hurt for it not to be elevated like if I wanted to go to the bathroom or take a shower it was excruciating. Now I have no problems… just the inconvenience of having a cast on and needing to use crutches and a scooter.

I have gotten back into reading some personal development books and I didn’t realize how much I missed it! It makes me a better person to read those books and keeps my mind focused on the positive in life and making others feel important. Here is an example. I have already told Ray this story but on of the people in Management in my office has a tendency to talk down on people to their faces and behind their backs to make them feel worthless. I almost feel bad for her because I imagine she does that because of the way she really feels about herself. Anyhow… one of my job responsibilities is to take minutes (official notes) of some of the City Commission’s standing committees. My boss has been busy lately and has not been able to do much proofing of them for me. So I told her about 4 sets I had missing and she finally handed them off to this other woman in management to take care of for me. She finishes the first set and throws them on my desk in front of my and in a snotty voice states “you normally do a better job than this!”… needless to say I didn’t want to be sweet in turn… I kind of wanted to wring her neck… but I kept my composer…. God loves her, God loves her…. So the next day she gives me the other 3 back without saying anything. I proceed to send her an email that says something along the lines of “thank you for getting my minutes back to me so quickly. It really takes some of the weight off my shoulders and I appreciate that”. It made me feel better just to be kind! I am not sure if it made a difference to her at all but it helped me to keep bitterness out of my heart. Bitterness and unforgiveness only separate me from God and she was not worth that!

Its kind of like the saying “Kill them with kindness” and “Pray for your enemies”. The thing that they don’t tell you is that it not only helps the person that wasn’t nice, but it helps you too! I am so glad that I sent that email even though I felt like calling her every name in the book. I would not have thought to do that if I hadn’t read some of the books I’ve read and hung around some of the people I do. Life is good :)

Plus, I had a dream the other night that my dad was walking! He wasn’t 100% but he was walking and that’s good enough for me!!! Btw, praise report: Dad’s fasciculations (muscle spasms) have stopped. That is what they have been focusing on in the healing rooms and now that the twitches are gone, they can focus on other parts of his healing! Woo hoo!