It's about time...

...for a new blog! It seems like everything else is new in my life right now, so why not write a new blog??

Anyway, the last several months have been a whirlwind for the Martins. Brothers got married on both sides, and we gained two new sisters, which is always fun. Our first child never made it into the world and is now enjoying eternity with Jesus. My car died and we bought a small SUV, which will be perfect for moving things to our new (rented) condo, where we will be moving to September 15th. We also just switched churches due to Joe's new job. Joe started a new semester at school and next week I start a few classes, one through the seminary and one at our new church. Our world is sort of in an upheaval.

During times like this it's usually a big struggle for me emotionally. I tend to hate change. A lot. Not all change, mind you. I love when people's hearts change, my own included, to become more like Christ. It's the things that facilitate this change that I have a harder time with. It's not always easy to trust God with the loss of a child, or when a car breaks down at one of the most inconvenient times financially in our lives. It's hard to start over when you feel comfortable where you have been. I'm sure there are other things that I would have an even harder time trusting God with. However, Romans 8:28-30 has been a huge comfort to me during this time and I am having an easier time adjusting to everything than I normally do. It seems natural almost to draw closer to God when I am hurting or questioning or worrying.

I want to encourage anyone who is struggling in any area of their lives with these verses. God IS good, and He IS in control, and nothing takes Him by surprise. Ultimately, we can take what happens in life and use it to glorify God and become more like him, or we can wallow in our self-pity and heartache. I happen to be much less miserable when I choose the former. It's kind of scary to me when I re-read this; I sound like my parents!

Anyway, I'll leave you all with that. Maybe it won't take me so long to write again.

Blood and the Internet

Being that I'm stuck at work on a beautiful Saturday (or not so beautiful, seeing as how I have no windows here in the lab), I figured I would take this time to update my blog since they have taken down the firewalls on the internet for the time being. I hope they don't put them back up for a long time; I could get used to being able to surf the web at my leisure on my weekends here. So far, my day has consisted of looking at a few things under the microscope, running a few blood tests, facebook stalking, attempting to watch parts of a movie, and checking my email. Maybe I will even try to fix the horrible formatting job I did the last time I updated my blog. Beth's new look for her's has inspired me.

Anyway, not a whole lot has happened since the last time I was on here. Maybe I should've read what I wrote so I would know if that was true or not. I am sending in our taxes finally tonight. They have been done for a long time; I am one of those people that gets them done the day the last W-2 comes in the mail. That is probably because I've always received a large refund in the past. This year we are sending the government a large check, which is why I have held off on sending them in for so long this year. It's sad to me to have to send that in, as I could pay off almost half of one of my student loans with that money, but such is life.

On a brighter note, we are getting some new dishes today. The first year we were married, we did not have a dishwasher and while many of our dishes were in the dishrack drying, our evil cat decided to push the whole thing off the counter and many of them broke or were chipped. We have been setting money aside in a "home improvement" fund and decided that we would finally replace them with these:



I am really excited to have a full set of dishes again. They shouldn't chip as easily, either, since they aren't stoneware. While we're talking about home improvement, I've also had my eye on this for our apartment:


Maybe in a few months:)

For the few who read this, this is what happens when I have too much time on my hands. You get images in your blog postings. Too bad I don't have my own computer so there are no pictures of anything of any real significance. Now I will see if this actually looks halfway decent or not. If not, I guess that's what all this time on my hands is for.

Another day, another dollar

I am done working for a whole week and am ready for the break. Today went by quickly at work, but it was exhausting. I had no help for a few hours and between answering phones and performing one of the main tests we do manually, as our instrument was down for about 8 hours, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I was thankful that I had a long hiatus ahead of me. I have been working around 50 hours a week to help out my boss because the lady who works opposite of me broke her arm and had to have surgery on it, so she really can't do anything that our job requires of her. While the larger paychecks are nice, I am ready for her to come back.

I guess in some ways I have been glad for the extra hours in that it gets me out of the house more. When I'm at work I don't always feel that way, but the house gets lonely during the week sometimes when Joe is at work. There are nights when I am extremely productive-I get lots of cleaning and other things done that I have been wanting to do for a while but haven't had the extra time to do. I already have our taxes finished up for the most part even. However, there are a lot of nights where Riley and I just sit on the futon and watch reruns of Law & Order on Netflix or Gilmore Girls on dvd (I still do plan on sending you season 2, Amy!) Maybe I need to get a new hobby or something. I thought about trying some of the things I've seen on the Bakerella blog. She is so creative with cakes, and the brownie recipe I got from her was amazing! However, since Joe is on a health kick and I am reluctantly attempting to join him, I suppose I shouldn't tempt us in this way. I do really like to vacuum lately with the pink vacuum that Joe isn't necessarily a fan of. While I am amazed at how much dust and hair it picks up every time I use it, I think the thing I like best about it is that it is pink. After all, since I've been married I haven't been able to have many real "girly" things around the house, so it's fun to have one with that sort of flair to it.

Well, now that I've posted a completely random post, I suppose I will move on to another website. It's one of the "futon-with-Riley-watch-Gilmore-Girls-surf-the-web" nights here.

A Winter Wonderland?

I am not leaving my house today. It snowed last night, rained today, and is supposed to snow some more through the night. When I lived in Michigan, this would've been a minor inconvenience. In Louisville, however, I have become like the many who make a run on the grocery stores at any prediction of snowflakes. It isn't that I don't remember how to drive in the snow; if anything, my situation is better as I have a landlord that doesn't let the snow get knee-deep before my driveway is plowed. However, the other drivers here scare me out of my wits. Last weekend it snowed maybe 1.5 inches in about 2 hours. The next day I read in the paper that there were 130 accidents in our county as a result. I saw 5 of those accidents happen in a 10-minute time span.

I am trying to figure out things to do in my house as a result of being "snowed in," for lack of a more fitting term. I don't know why I have a hard time doing this as there always seems to be something to clean, several loads of laundry to do, a dog to be washed, books to read, movies to watch, dinner to cook, friends to call, and other random activities I always wish I had more time to do when I work a lot. When Joe left for work today, however, I had no idea what to do with myself. I did finally shower, which probably was a good thing. I always feel more productive when I feel clean.

A week from Sunday I am going to Lafayette, Indiana for a week-long conference on biblical counseling with my mom and a few people from my old church in Iron Mountain. I am really looking forward to going, and not only because it means I get a whole week off from work:) Since it isn't real practical for me to be taking classes at the seminary right now like Joe is, this is the second best option for me to pursue some sort of ministry in biblical counseling. The speakers at the weekend versions of the conference that I have been to have always been excellent and I am sure this will be no exception. It is also rumored that there is an excellent bookstore on the premises and Joe told me that since this is, in essence, my schooling, I get to buy some "textbooks" for my own reference. I love it! Hopefully the weather will be good for traveling.

Well, maybe I will do something productive, like balance our budget, or take Riley outside, or watch Gilmore Girls...I wonder how mad Joe would be if I made no-bake cookies tonight.

Cookie dough, Pepsi, and allergies...

I am being bad tonight. I just ate raw cookie dough, several cookies worth in fact. I am also having Pepsi when I'm not supposed to. I sort of have an allergy/sinus headache so I'm hoping the caffeine will help cure it. I also had an intense craving for the sugary-sweet taste of my favorite caffeinated beverage...or maybe just my favorite beverage. Honestly, I haven't had Pepsi in a long time. I'll probably regret drinking it in the morning, but there you have it.

Anyway, today was my third week working for the Dare to Care Ministry at our church. It's a sort of food pantry and clothes closet, and at Christmas time it's also a toy shop for children of needy families. Right now the church is also putting together holiday baskets for needy families in the area, and our ministry heads that up as well. I really enjoy it, although it can be sad and disturbing at times. Every week that I've been there, it has been so busy that I haven't had a chance to eat lunch. People are lined up to receive food from the time I get there (usually a little before 10, and it opens earlier than that) till about 4 p.m., and it actually closes at 3:30. Today a single mom came in to get some food. She works full-time at Walmart and has three kids. It's sad to me that she works as hard as she does and she still isn't quite making it. I feel like I have been naive to people living this type of lifestyle until now. Sure, I've heard about it, but I've never actually rubbed shoulders with these people. It doesn't take much to get there, either.

Well, I suppose I should put the cookies away before they get hard. I like to get them in a container as soon as they are cool enough so they stay soft for a longer period of time...and so Pita doesn't get a hold of them. I learned my lesson after she bit the tops off of a dozen blueberry muffins I made from scratch one time. Darn cats, anyway! :)

Autumn

There's just something about autumn that I love...maybe it's a lot of little things combined. The colors of the leaves on the trees, the feel of a warm, cozy bed on a cool morning, the taste of pumpkin breads and pies, chili and beef stew, and other heavier foods, the expansion of my wardrobe to include sweaters and wool peacoats. There is just something about autumn. Overall, I think I have determined that it is my favorite season. Maybe if I still lived in Michigan I wouldn't feel that way, but here in Kentucky it is. In Kentucky, winter is gloomy and there really isn't much snow to make it fun. I thought I would enjoy having a spring but with a real spring I developed allergies and that put a bit of a damper on things. Summer is nice, but very hot and humid, so I really do think I prefer autumn overall.

Maybe part of it is the anticipation of the holidays and all that comes with them. With the changing of the leaves comes the sale of pumpkins and the making of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. This year, I get to spend Thanksgiving with my family in the UP. I haven't been to the UP for holidays in two years now so it will be really nice to be up there. When I get back, I know Joe will drag out the Christmas tree from the storage closet for me so I don't have to deal with the brown recluse spiders I always fear will be hiding in the nooks and crannies. I will have a real fireplace mantle to hang the stockings from this year. We will get to go see Joe's family for several days before Christmas, which we feared would not happen until after New Years since Joe's boss was not going to give him time off in December at all. We may even get to see some snow before we return to the south (I hope)!

All this talk of autumn and holidays has me sitting here in a sweatshirt and pajama pants with a mug of hot chocolate, making music mixes on my computer that seem to correlate with the weather . It sort of leaves me with an urge to go running in the park so I can be surrounded by the colors and the scents---all that is autumn. Maybe I just need Joe to wake up so I will actually be productive around the house.

A New Haircut

I got a haircut today...

This may not seem like much of a big deal to anyone else. After all, people get their hair cut all the time. Usually it isn't that big of a deal for me, either. However, for the last year, I have pretty much been wearing my hair in a ponytail due to my job and not really loving the way my hair has looked. I don't really like having to look for a new stylist because I don't trust that they won't ruin my hair (I have had too many horrible haircuts).

Anyway, Joe made me a hair appointment last night for this morning at 11. We had received a coupon in the mail for a free cut and style at the salon at Macy's so I decided I would try it out seeing as how I needed a haircut desperately and free is always good:) I hadn't found a stylist here in Louisville yet that I loved so I didn't feel like I was betraying anyone by trying someone new. I found a picture of a hairstyle that I liked (and Joe liked) and was all set to go.

Today I showed up a few minutes late at the salon due to my alarm being turned all the way down this morning (I guess that is what happens when you haven't used it in a year) but the girl was real nice about it. She was younger, which I was happy about, as the older ones tend to give me 80s bangs and girl versions of the mullet. She was real friendly, but didn't talk my ear off, and did a wonderful job on my hair. Needless to say, I think I will be going back to her to get my hair cut the next time I need it done. I only wish Riley's new haircut looked as amazing as mine. Joe trimmed his head this past weekend and he looks like his head shrunk. Oh well.

Now that I have an amazing haircut, I want to have amazing nails, brows, clothes...it put me in a shopping and pampering mood. I don't know how excited Joe would be to hear that. I was good though and spent no money, although I DO need new clothes since none of mine fit anymore. The joys of weight loss:) I love when I can tell them that I actually need clothes. hehe.