We're Moving!

No not houses..not yet at least. :)

Chad and I are moving to separate new blogs!! :)

For explanations as to why...Check 'em out!

Alyssa

Chad

See ya'll on the other side...

Time - not the kind in a bottle. (chad)

It was brought to Alyssa and I's attention that since we share a blog, it is rather difficult to identify who is actually writing each entry - so I figure I'll put my name in the title and that should clear things up.

That old adage, time flies when you're having fun, couldn't be any more true than right now. The newly assembled Duncan clan (later referred to as ACK (Alyssa, Chad, Kiwi)) has a myriad of events, mostly recurring, all week long. We were talking last night about how different our lives are from just a year ago, mainly how much "fuller" our time is and how important quality time has become. When we first started talking / dating, our time was relatively "free." I spent 5-6 nights a week in the woodshop, talked with Alyssa until late at night almost every night, and worked 50 hours a week. I had a few friends that I would hang out with and I wasn't involved with Meridian Point's Education Ministry, Safety and Security Ministry, or the Pre-school Team. Now I'm lucky to see the shop twice a month (which really makes productivity an issue). There are so many wonderful things going on that it just sometimes busy instead of being fun :/ . Between golf and volleyball, Adult Bible Courses (ABCs), dinner with friends, trying to get to the shop once a week, running around with all the church kids 2 Sundays a month....and the most important activity of all....spending time with my wife.....I think I need to take a step back, breathe deeply, and "relax and enjoy the ride."

Most people see the relaxed and stoic Chad - not the Chad who panics when thinking about buying a house or a car. Alyssa gets the privilege of seeing them both and she is so caring that I'm sure she assumes I can do everything and worry about nothing. I worry. Sometimes I worry more than I should. Being a provider and trying to balance all the spinning plates is difficult sometimes, but to be honest, I feel like I give it a pretty good run every day. God knows EXACTLY how much I can take before I crumble.

Moral of the story: Life is great, time is short, and God is in charge of everything.

Trust

"We've each come from a past that's as long as our arms. But look at all that we've overcome. Look where we are now. Just trust me."

Qualities it takes to overcome all my issues:

Patience
Grace
Kindness
Gentleness
Tenderness
Hope
Faith
Strength
Tough-Skinned

Is my husband all of these things?? No.
Is my husband everything I ever hoped for? No.
Is my husband everything I thought I didn't deserve? No.


HE'S MORE.



While I struggle to adjust to work schedules, a social calendar, making dinner, grocery shopping for two, cleaning house, giving him space so that when he gets home he can participate in some of his hobbies rather than just work and what I want to do...he wraps his arms around me and guides me along with the ease of a husband of 20 years. He knows I struggle with my work sometimes. He knows I am constantly trying to further my relationship with God but sometimes I still get angry, bitter, annoyed, and anxious. He sees me trying and praises me for it. He never complains when I don't cook dinner and when the house isn't spotless even though I've got the time. Instead he comes home and asks me how my day was and puts his own frustrations and headache aside to hear me ramble on for hours about all I did.

So when he asked me last night "Do you trust me?" when it came to a situation that I'd been struggling with...how could I look at that man in the eyes and say, "Yes but..." Of course I trust him. HE just had to remind me that by worrying, I wasn't.

So I turn to The Word this morning in an effort to rid myself of these "fears." My husband is not anyone I have ever dealt with before. He is not any of the atrocities that have been committed against me. He is my husband, my help-mate, my partner...He is the one person that knows my heart. So I have a wonderful husband and a merciful God. This wife has some work to do to show these two how thankful she is. Because I'm not doing a good job of it so far.

Finally!

After many days of applying for loans and getting denied again and again...a way became available to us that was a direct answer to prayer. I woke up one morning with an email from a friend asking to help out with our car situation. I was screaming and crying and shouting with joy so loudly that I'm sure the neighbors thought I was either dying or really excited. From the noises I was making, it could have been either one. :) Well, the ball got rolling a lot faster than I thought it would and yesterday we were able to go pick up my new car!!!! Now to start all the paperwork for re-titling, registration, and insurance. :) But the title has to be faxed here from Texas so I get to wait until next week to start it all. For now, I just get to enjoy it! :) Here's a little info on the new car: [Still undecided on the new car's name. My old car's name was Flomar and it just fit that little car so well. :) I'm thinking Toruk (like from Avatar) but am open to suggestions!]

Stats:

Year: 2004
Make: Saturn
Model: Ion 2 Quad Coupe
Transmission: Automatic
Color: White
Seating Capacity: 4 (as it's a coupe so the back seat has a center console where the middle seat would have been)
MPG: 35 (highway) 26 (city)
Modifications: Dark-tinted windows and an after-market exhaust

Pictures:

Love

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?...And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?"

If I told you that these words came to me as I was out walking Kiwi yesterday, wouldn't you think that I was on to something?! Or if I told you that a famous philosopher or poet thought these words up, wouldn't you say that what they said made sense? I mean, come on, think about it...to love your friends, now that is relatively easy (and I say relatively because sometimes your friends can have their "unlovable" moments.) To say that you love your mom or your dad or your sister or your brother, that is relatively easy as well. (Again I say relatively because this does not apply to all cases in which family members do despicable things to those they SHOULD love. This is a generalization, so work with me here.) To say you love that girl at school who always says your hair looks great or that guy who always has a smile and an uplifting word to pick you up when you're down...these are also relatively easy. Don't deny that you do it either, say you love them. I hear people ALL the time saying, "Oh! So-and-so! I love them! They are soooo sweet!" :) But think how easy it is to do something nice in return to these people when they are always so nice to you. Think how willing you would be to iron your husband's pants or run some soup over to a sick friend when they've always been nice to you. THAT, my friends, is easy.

What is not easy, is to do these same favors for your enemies. If that woman who was gossiping about you behind your back or that guy who was always trying to rat you out at work emailed you and asked you to work a shift for them so that they could take their kid to the doctor, wouldn't you be inclined to give them what they deserve?? They definitely DO NOT deserve kindness and not from you! But I speak for myself when I say that there were many times that I deserved a lot worse than what a I got dealt, whether it be from my parents, husband, a friend, or a sibling. Do you know what that's called? When you deserve something BAD and instead of getting dealt that something BAD you not only get forgiven for it but dealt something nice instead?? That's called GRACE. Think of how much more it says about you if instead of starting rumors about the woman that gossips about you, you approached her and invited her out for a coffee date sometime. THAT, my friends is NOT easy.

Jesus was the man who said the quote at the top of this blog. Don't you think he was on to something??

Obsessive Dog (and socks??)

Posted by Alyssa. [I put this here just for you Stephy!]


Our dog gets really lonely when we leave. What does she do to console herself you ask?? Simple. She does what any dog would do. She gets bills from our office, a sock from the laundry, and curls up on our bed surrounded by happy, familiar things that smell like her Mom and Dad.

Bizarre you say?? Uhhh yeah, I reply. We have a very odd dog. Yes, we do now close all the doors...I'm just wondering WHY she does this. Maybe it's because her parents are weird too. Maybe she's just modeling our odd behavior. But I promise, we definitely don't consider curling up with bills and socks romantic. Maybe, if we did our bills in just our socks, it would be??

Chad socks:



Me socks:



Go ahead and delete that mental picture now.

Amen

–interjection
1. it is so; so be it (used after a prayer, creed, or other formal statement to express solemn ratification or agreement).

–adverb
2. verily; truly.

–noun
3. an utterance of the interjection “amen.”
4. a musical setting for such an utterance.
5. an expression of concurrence or assent.

This is my idea for my first tattoo. Obviously I'm not talking about the entire dictionary.com definition of the word Amen but rather the Arabic writing of the word. I'm looking at getting it on my neck, but I'm still thinking. I want to be absolutely sure before it is permanently etched into my skin. But what better to have etched into my skin than the word which falls so freely from my lips. Amen God. Amen. It would be me saying YES to God. It would be my way of always reminding myself that I concur with God, I don't disagree or fight or rebel against Him. I agree. (Or at least that I should!!)

Another One Bites the Dust

I was prepared to chalk today up to a failure. It was going to get crossed off of the week and taken off of the calendar. Not only did I toss and turn all last night, but I got declined for a car loan (again) and lost my phone. [Chad had an equally long day as well.] That may not seem like a lot to some but for me today, it was just the right amount of disappointment to make me feel sad, grumpy, and upset.

But then, something strange happened. After I moped about and abated my woes with bargains from Hobby Lobby and Target, and after I found my phone, and after I realized that the car I so desperately wanted just wasn't meant to be mine, and after Chad and I ordered pizza and played 9 rounds of Mexican Train Dominoes, and after we laughed over me shoving my face with CinnaStix, and after we snuggled while watching an episode of Angel...I realized that although I don't know God's plan in all of the failures that we experienced today, I do know that if I would have allowed my disappointment to dominate my day...I would have missed a lot of really amazing memories and fun times.

It's a FREAKING hard lesson to learn, but maybe HE does know what is best for me. After all,

"Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying." -Luke 12:22-29

Now I will go rest, and dream, in peace...for I am free of worry and stress. Night all.

Motivation

It took everything I had to get up and workout this morning. I always feel great after the first 5 minutes of exercise and can't fathom why I didn't want to do it in the first place. I have always understood the concept of motivation - the Army has a couple very, very successful techniques that I was on both sides of. First formation while in training was at 0500 - dressed, shaved, and ready to run 6 days a week (and missing that formation singled you out for "extra" physical training for as long as you were awake - ALL DAY). I used to open my eyes and be ready to go without feeling groggy or tired. Not sure what happened between then and now, but waking up is rough!! I never touched a snoozed button in the first 25 years of life - and now that's just a normal reaction when the rooster starts crowing (our alarm is so annoying!! that's the point, I guess). I could understand this feeling if we stayed up late and had to get up early....but we don't stay up!! Very rarely do we stay up past 10:30...so waking up at 5am shouldn't be that bad, right?! The worst is on YogaX days when we get up at 0430....*gulp*

Since starting P90X 7 weeks ago, I do feel more energy during the day and I can tell that changes are taking place in my physique and my mind. The 2 year break after separating from the Army really took it's toll and I am anxious to get back to that level of fitness. I don't want to shrug off 60 lbs and go back to high school weight of 140...looking like a bean sprout (not that there is anything wrong with that), I just want to do some core work and get back to 190. I have so much motivation and am trying to channel it during that first 10 seconds of being awake every day. My guess is that after seeing the complete results in 6 more weeks, I won't have any more "mental" issues with jumping out of bed. We'll see.

I Missed Again

I am just not very good at this everyday blog thing, gosh! It's not that I'm not trying...honest to goodness I am...life just seems to have this very funny way of becoming really busy really quickly. :)

Just before I pulled up my blog page here, I read my daily devotional from this fantastic devotional Bible that I got from Goodwill. Each day has a story written by a different person that corresponds to a verse, or a set of verses in the Bible. I read one of these stories each day. Today's was about a woman who was 30 years old, pregnant, and in the hospital recovering from an appendectomy. A year and a half earlier, she had a miscarriage. Two years before that, her 3-month old son died of congenital heart disease.

Can..you...even....imagine???

I can't. I know I can't. I'd like to think that I know how devastated she felt, but as I don't even have kids yet, I know I'm nowhere close to knowing how she felt. Then, when they baby was born, they discovered he had autism and instead of being bummed, or cursing God for giving her more struggle or getting upset at her circumstances, she quoted Isaiah 40:31, "Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Do you know why she got through those years? Those difficult, trying, heartbreaking years?? Because she relied on God as her strength. On our own, we are WEAK WEAK WEAK. But if we trust in God, we will be able to run endlessly, walk without getting tired, and FLY. That first step, though, is key. We must first trust.

[Louise Tucker Jones is the name of the lady who wrote this incredible story that I read today. She is in inspirational speaker and author. I encourage you to look up some of her work! Also, the name of the devotional Bible that I am reading through is the One Year Life Verse Devotional by: Jay K. Payleitner. There are some incredible stories in here-I encourage you to pick up a copy if you don't have a devotional Bible already!]

Project Bathroom: Complete

The bathroom is done! One thing checked off of my list! Woohoo! [Well, with respect to my perfectionist personality...it is ALMOST done. Other than figuring out what prints are going to hang on the wall above the towel bar and doing the major renovation, it is done. Just wanted to clarify. :) ]

I feel so good walking past that bathroom now knowing that there isn't ancient wallpaper hanging on the walls. I can walk in, pee, look around, and feel accomplished. Ahhhh! What a feeling! :)

Here's proof:

BEFORE:





AFTER:

Where you've been.

My ten year reunion is coming up this summer. Alyssa and I are planning a trip over to Grand Junction so I can show her my "old stompin' grounds" in conjunction with the festivities. I thought for sure that I would never attend one of these things and I guess I'm going to prove myself wrong.

I haven't kept in touch with many people from a decade ago - joining the Army and being away from Colorado for 5 years might have something to do with it. Growing up, getting involved with all kinds of activities, and becoming an adult may be more to blame. As cliche as it sounds, life used to be so easy. So many people complain that high school was so tough, that they struggled with their identity, that their parents didn't understand them, and that they wish they could go back and do things over again. I don't think high school was tough enough, I already had my own identity on lockdown, my parent(s) had their own stuff to deal with and left me to handle my own business, and I don't wish for a second that I could go back and change anything. Tell me that's normal.....

I'm excited to head back down memory lane....and Main street, and White Avenue, and Budlong Street, North Avenue, and Redlands Pkwy. Of all the places I've lived, Grand Junction is the one I have the most memories of and most connections to, even though very few people I still talk to live there. I had a lot of roots put down there - and right before I left, they were all pulled up and moved away. It's taken many years to finally settle down and feel like a place is home. I have that now in Colorado Springs and my restlessness has been put down. My brother and I took a trip to GJ last year for a little over a day. We had fun revisiting childhood landmarks - Lincoln Park, Hastings, Mesa State, Pufferbelly, Orchard Mesa, and of course, Mesa Mall. I'm anxious to walk Alyssa through all of those memories and give her a tour of the place I grew up.

http://www.gjtigers.com/2000/ ---click on Annual, then on Dow. Have yourself a little laugh :)

In a Blog Rut

All I can seem to think of to blog about is my danged bathroom. I think about it, dream about it...ahhh! It's a disease. ;)

Update on bathroom renovation:

New hardware partially installed. (Waiting for patches in wall to dry.)
Hole in wall repaired (Now have to sand it down, spray texture, and paint over the huge white spot on my wall.)
Yellow rug purchased.
Yellow and orange flowers in vase on the counter.
Orange soap pump purchased.
Mirror-still haven't found one that I like for a decent price.

Eventually this thing will get finished...who knew it would take so long?? :)

Today's plans:
Apply for a car loan so that hopefully I can buy a car. YAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!! I can't possibly explain how excited I am. Now I just have to stop praying long enough to actually apply, once the bank opens....until then, there's no place I'd rather be than

ON

MY

KNEES.

"Girl, remember what your knees are for!" -Sugarland

Blogtastic.....is not a word

Given inspiration by multiple people in my small, diverse social circle, I have decided to follow in the footsteps of my wife and start my own "semi-daily" blogging regimen. We'll see how long it lasts :) I have no problem with making the commitment - it's the quantity of topics that I feel capable of writing about on a daily basis that makes me skeptical. I consider myself fairly stoic and can't imagine blathering ALL of my precious thoughts into a computer and the interwebs for the whole, big world to ingest. Then again, maybe there are some things that I could ramble about. As I said, we'll see how long it lasts and maybe, just maybe....I can keep up with Alyssa - who always has something to say.

Please feel free to comment with topics and if one of them jumps out at me, you might be surprised with a whole paragraph (or more) of my thoughts! (*don't let that deter you.....)

Golf-

I have loved the game since I can remember. My grandfather (dad's dad....Grampe) was a California Senior Pro and played 18 holes almost every day for 30+ years. My grandmother was a golf widow, but knew that he was gifted and loved him all the same. He had a lot of influence on my dad's love of the game and encouraged him to play throughout his youth and helped him become Captain of his High School golf team. If not for traumatic back injuries after joining the Air Force, my dad had unlimited potential. This lead directly into my fascination. I had a golf bag and mini clubs shortly after I was capable of upright, bipedalism. As I grew taller, Grampe would take his older clubs and cut them down to my size. I remember taking rides in his golf cart over to Cameron Park Country Club and him letting me hit some balls around the putting green and chipping green. I remember having to wear tucked-in shirts with a collar and khaki pants or shorts. I remember all of my grandparent's friends who would stop by to say hi while we had Roy Rogers in the clubhouse. I remember a childhood full of golf and golf references.

I only played a couple times throughout high school and it tapered off from there. After joining the Army, there just wasn't time. I took a 5 year hiatus and didn't even hit a golf ball between 2000 and 2005. After my reassignment to Colorado Springs, I finally found some time and a good friend to re-energize my golf game. It started with a gift - a bag full of "decent" clubs that Steve had used for a couple years before upgrading to his current Clevelands. By giving me the tools, everything else just fell into place. I started going to the driving range periodically. We played the Silver Spruce Course @ Peterson a couple times and in 2007, Steve surprised me with a tournament at the Broadmoor. If you think their rooms and their food are expensive, you should ask about their "member's only" green fees. Yikes!! It turned out to be one of my most memorable golfing experiences yet. That course hosted the PGA US Senior Open the following year (2008) and it was tough! I still consider myself an amateur and probably will for years to come...but back then....I was a COMPLETE rookie.

So that's the history -

Starting today, I will be playing every Tuesday for the next 12 weeks in an intramural competition that has over 100 players of varying skill level. We will be matched by handicap and then play head-to-head. I'm nervous and excited to see how this plays out. I've played 4 times in the last 3 weeks and I feel like I get a little better every time I swing - and I still need a TON of work. I'd really like to get lessons down the road - that's what the pro's recommend - PRO instruction. They also recommend PRO gear (which gets really expensive). I have a great set of clubs that I'm comfortable with and probably won't outgrow (skill-wise) for a couple years.

Wish me luck today and hopefully this "first" post didn't bore the tears from your eyes.

To tie in to Alyssa's post about my cadence singing this morning:

"I WENT TO MCDONALDS.......TO GET A BURGER AND FRIES......UP JUMPED THE ENEMY!......I HAD TO TAKE HIS LIFE!....AIRBOoooOOOORNE.....rangEEEeeeeEEER!

Who is this Man??

...he lives in the same house as I do...sleeps in the same bed that I sleep in...he usually eats the same meals that I eat...and yet here he is, at 6:30 in the morning singing "cadences" at the top of his lungs. [He said I was only allowed to blog about this if I called them cadences, and not chants...which is what they sounded like to me.] If I remembered half of the things that he was singing about, I would put them all up here for you. Something about being up really early, and marching a lot, and expensive boots and airborne rangers, and etc.

So with my cadence singing husband (who says they had him singing these in the army to expand his lung capacity and build team spirit-who knows why he is singing them now?? ;) off to work and golf this afternoon, I am off to apply the second coat of paint to the bathroom and then pick Melly up for an afternoon of fun. :)

I'm Audi 5000. ;)

I Am My Mother's Daughter

I know I'm my mother's daughter because my day consisted of painting my bathroom (which used to be covered in an icky wallpaper) and a rampage of the Goodwills in the Colorado Springs area. I ended up with books (as always), a really nice women's devotional Bible, a really nice yearly devotional Bible, a shirt, sweatshirt, pair of shoes, picture frames, curtains, a candle, a dish, and a vase. All of this for under $40! What a steal!! Grocery shopping wasn't quite as cheap...but hey, gotta feed the hungry bellies of the Duncan household.

Our main level bathroom is now...what could best be described as...spring green. Yup! Despite a power outage while I was on a stool in my very tiny bathroom with a paint tray and open paint can on the floor...the first coat has been applied! I have to go back tomorrow and do another coat after I go get a straight-edger pad from Lowes and once all four of the walls have dried. Next step in bathroom remodel?? Picking out a nice, new, bright rug and towel to brighten up the space and compliment the vase of orange and yellow flowers that is going to go on the counter. Bright?? You said it! Eventually I'd really like to get a new mirror (but am needing some ideas as to where to get a semi-inexpensive, yet chic oval shaped mirror-possibly with a frame around it), an entirely new vanity (or just a pedestal sink, and turn that icky linoleum floor into nice tile (or hardwood). How can one room possibly need so much work??

That's only the bathroom. The other rooms in our house need a great deal of attention as well. But absolutely NOTHING else will be modified until we for sure buy the house. We don't want to sink any more money into something we don't even own...but once it's ours...I'm gonna go a little nuts!!

Master List of Renovation Tasks:

1. Replace all the linoleum in the house with wood and/or tile.
2. New carpet?
3. Paint ALL the walls. (Tying the blog title in here...;)
4. Remove the wood paneling in the entryway and living room.
5. New hardware in the bathrooms and kitchen.
6. New kitchen counters.
7. Refinish the cabinets?
8. Paint the outside of the house a more attractive color.
9. Build a better deck out back.
10. Build a storage shed for the "garden tools." (Lawnmowers...)
11. Pretty up the front yard with some flowers.
12. New light fixtures in almost every room.
13. New outlets (in WHITE).

Okay, I'll stop there...for now. :) What can I say...it's in my blood!! ;)

Make Up Post

Since I didn't post yesterday, I'm double-posting for today to make up for it. Woot woot!

Today's topic for blogging-a list of my likes and dislikes. I'm a VERY picky, stingy, and opinionated person and today I'm going to share why. ;)

Likes:

1. Watching kittens play--hello?? Baby kittens rolling around on their backs, swipe each other with their teeny paws, and purr while nursing...what's not to love? Especially when one of them is my very own (still to be named, but leaning towards the name Josie)!
2. Playing Wii with my brother--even thought I got whooped, spending time with my quickly maturing brother is priceless!
3. Hand-writing things--it's just so much more enjoyable than typing sometimes. I just like the feel of a pen in my hand and a notebook in my lap.
4. Chuck marathons--that show is SO stinking hilarious. I just wish Sarah and Chuck would date for real already!! (I'm only part-way into episode 2, so anyone who is further, don't ruin this for me!)
5. My sparkler--by that I mean my ring. It's still kind of new to me...so every time I look down at my hand I still smile. :)
6. Chicken--nothing tastes as good as chicken. Fried, baked, strips, sandwiches, nuggets, casserole....I just LOVE chicken!
7. Ketchup--you KNEW this was coming next, admit it! The stuff just tastes so dang good! But even better than just ketchup...organic ketchup!! (Which reminds me, I need to find a place that sells bigger bottles of it than Wal-mart. Any help??)
8. Sermons that speak to my heart--you hypocrite you!! I love it when God slaps me around a little and gives me that icky feeling in my belly because I know when that happens..."Like Barack Obama said, it's time for a change." (Just a song, don't hate the quoter!)
9. My family--yes, I miss them! Okay?? Nothing wrong with missing loud, slightly chaotic, and at times dangerous family gathering with some of the sickest people this side of town!! ;)
10. Sweet notes--"I love listening to you sing! What a gift God has blessed you with. :)" That was on the counter when I got home. Mmm-that makes do one of those little happy sighs...*ahhh*

Dislikes:

1. Weak nails--I know, I know Stephy...I need those vitamins. When I go grocery shopping tomorrow, I'll go buy them. :)
2. Contacts--My mom is the bomb.com for hooking me up in this department. :) I just love not having my face dominated by frames, even if they are cute. :)
3. Headaches from cute hairdo's--all cute things should be pain-free. Yes, this includes child-birth, cute heels, fake rings, and that one shirt that cuts off the circulation in my arms because the sleeves are too tight.
4. Whining--it should be illegal. I should be flayed for ever having done it, for doing it, and for when I will do it in the future.
5. The smell of pee--this may be weird, but oh well. I just hate the smell of walking into the bathroom after someone has peed. It just smells so...fresh and pee-like, eww. Same goes for dog and cat pee of course. It's just all icky.
6. Screaming--it just hurts my ears. Shouldn't some octaves just never have been invented??
7. Those who do not use headlights in fog--isn't this one a DUHHH??!!
8. Huge zits--like the ones that never form a head but just make huge bumps and becomes really painful. I know, this is super gross....but isn't it super true?
9. Flat cherry limeade--so sad!!
10. Woodpeckers--arrrrrg! Their pecking drives me CRAZY!

My hubby is finally home so I'm off to talk his ear off, try to listen, snuggle my socks off, and continue on our Chuck-a-thon. Adios!!

Already Forgetful...and Yet Ridiculously Selfish

I know, I know...I forgot to blog yesterday!! Dang--only a few days into this "blog for a year" thing and I'm already forgetful...Go me! :)

Yesterday was a fun-filled day of sleeping in, Kenpo, Chuck-marathoning, Chipotle, tag-team babysitting the Deutsch kiddos, and Chadley surprising me with a trip through the Sonic drive-through on the way home for limeades. (Speaking of limeades, I couldn't finish my entire drink so it's still in the fridge...maybe I should go get it...mmm!) It was the perfect weekend-day, relaxed and super fun!

You'd think, as much time as Chad and I spend together that we'd be picking at each other all the time, sick of each other, and desperate for time alone. Maybe we're still in the "honeymoon phase"...but we are two of the best friends in the world. He is my video game partner, always teaching me HOW to play them in the first place and then guiding me through step by step, giving me tips on how to get better. He is my comic relief, always coming up with the perfect punch lines to push me to the verge of peeing in my pants. He is my protector, always holding onto my arm when we walk around so that he can stop me when I lose myself in the OH-so-important-and-riveting story that I'm telling to avoid getting run over my cars, crazy shoppers or little kids playing chase with their limitless amounts of energy. He is my teacher, kindly helping me adjust to the fact that the phrase that I've always used "all-of-the-sudden" is actually "all-of-a-sudden." He is my confidence-builder, always boosting my self-esteem when it seems like I was not blessed with ANY natural skills. He is my joy, always making me smile in times when it seems like I don't have anything else to smile about (and then he helps me realize what I DO have to smile about). This guy is one-in-a-million and he is mine...all mine. :)

So...forgetful and selfish, what a combo for today! ;)

New Do

After 5 or so years of rebelling against any form of color in my hair...I've finally asked Stephy to do something stellar with it. I want something different, but not quite as cool as my sisters can pull off. :) She came up with (somewhat) subtle red streaks that just add a little sparkle to my hair in the sunshine. I love them. They're just right on me. :)

So here are some pics to prove that I am no longer an anti-hair-color snob. ;)

What to Say....?

Now that's a problem I don't run into often. :) But alas, it is only Day 2 of my "365-Day Blog Challenge" and I already don't know what to blog about. Go me! :) Started out not feeling too well today, but I think a day of rest and Chuck-marathon-ing with my dear husband made me feel more energized for tomorrow. As long as working out doesn't make me throw-up again, I'll be in business! :)

I honestly have SO many thoughts rolling around in my head right now. There are so many things I COULD talk about, could mention, could throw out there, could bring up....but there are also just as many things that I could just be still about. I am most commonly known as a very loud, vocal, opinionated, and talkative kinda gal. Tonight though, for some reason that I'm sure will become more clear to me the more I reflect and pray on it, I feel the need to be silent.

I feel called to NOT be opinionated and loud and talkative tonight.
I feel the urge to say that sometimes it is better to not respond with the first thought that pops into your head. Sometimes, it IS better to think before you speak. Sometimes your battles DO need choosing.

Because as much as I tend to NOT do this-tonight I am inclined to believe that not EVERYTHING is worth fighting about.

I may have changed my mind about this tomorrow...but for tonight, my lips, my voice, and my overloaded brain are going to take a rest. My body needed rest today and these things needed a rest tonight.

I will see you all on the flip side!

Alyssa

365 Day Challenge

I'm going to blog EVERYDAY for the next year!! Yep, you heard it. Every single day. Why?? Because I am going to try and Facebook less and blog more as I feel Facebook has just become so....much like MySpace. A waste of time. Yes it's nice for connecting with friends and family members that you don't really ever see. I just constantly finding myself wondering why have the people I have as friends are my friends anyway. If my friends are a reflection of who I am, do I honestly want to look like THAT?? I have family on there, old high school friends (some I was never even that good of friends with anyway), friends from Kindergarten, friends of friends, and on and on and on. This is not intended to sound rude, but do I really need to know what some of you really did when you went out last night?? Or who you were with?? Or how you feel about your best-friend's little sister's ex-boyfriend?? In that same vein, I'm sure most of you don't want to know what I am thinking about naming my cat or how much I really do love my husband, again. :) So I will most likely be putting my friend list on a diet and also try to even log-in less. I don't want to be so caught up in what is going on in everyone else's life that I miss what is going on in my own. (That was not designed to be rude either, or selfish. I'm really sorry if it sounded that way!)

I feel like blogging is going to be a better use of my time as it will be more like a journal that I'll keep for forever. I'll be able to look back and see how I felt on which day and what happened when and note all the funny moments in between. :) Then, people who want to read what is going on in my life can subscribe to my blog and those who don't, don't ever have to come to this page. Ta-da!

I'm going to try and post more pictures on here than on Facebook as well. So keep your eyes peeled as I'm going to attempt to get some pictures in the next few days of some of the more awesome parts of my life! :)

For now, that's about it. I'm going to go look up more cat names on Google (yes, I may very well be obsessed) and then later have coffee with a fantastic new friend. :)

Adios, mi amigos!

Deutsch-like

I'm dedicating this post to Tisha and her FANTASTIC Deutschland-blog that I simply have not been able to get enough of today. I am going back and reading all of her posts and they are inspiring the living daylights out of me.

So in honor of Tisha and her fabulous family (which I am now privileged to spend time with twice a month) I am making a short post...on a day which I already made a post on...simply about dinner. My blogs are usually these LOOOOOONG factual descriptions and updates of Chad and I's life, usually only centered around big events, and usually probably slightly boring. ;) [Yes, that slightly awkward sentence was purposeful.]

Here it goes:

No oatmeal cookies today. I opened the kit I had to make them and the brown sugar was hard. I had already dumped it out when my mom told me that I could have microwaved it. Oh well! I did, however, make chicken sandwiches and DELICIOUS homemade french fries that we ate with organic ketchup (which made [Chad] feel better about eating a lot of it).


Speaking of my darling, HFC-conscious husband...

...he crashed after a long day of work and many hours in the sun golfing. Boy-oh-boy, I love that fella!

It's A New Day

Believe it or not, I DID blog about the ENTIRE wedding. I left no detail out and my rendition of the big day was touching, and beautiful, and would have made you felt like you were actually THERE. Then, the web browser crashed, logged me out of blogspot and I lost the ENTIRE thing. I may have cried...maybe, maybe not. :) Soooo....until I get the motivation to re-blog it (which may SEEM easy, but for some reason is actually not)...you'll have to just make do. :)

Since the wedding we have:

1. Been on two different trips.
2. Become the proud owners of a Wii and some of the fantastically fun games that go with it.
3. Made some slight home improvements.
4. Gotten involved with a few more church activities.
5. Cooked some pretty dang good dinners.
6. Tremendously enjoyed spending time with each other.

Honestly, there is no one on this earth that I would rather spend my days with. He knows my habits, my faults, the things that make me squirm, the things that scare me, the things that bother me...Being with him is like being with a less annoying and obnoxious version of myself...*ahhhhh* :)

Slowly but surely we are establishing a routine for our weekdays and weekends, planning future trips (another one to Sacramento this summer), figuring out what our 5-10 year plan is, and growing closer together, towards God DAILY. I have found that in surrendering my will to Him that I am happier, more satisfied, and far more blessed than I could have ever been ALONE.

Until the next blog update, which I am honestly going to try and do more often...:)

Alyssa

Homecoming

No, no, no...not the dance...:) My husband is returning home today!!! Finally after a very long 27 days, 17 hours, 40 minutes...he is coming HOME. :) It may not seem that long, but trust me, it was. Throughout the last 4 weeks, I have replaced toilet seats, unclogged the shower, broken the kitchen light, fixed the screen door, broken the screen door again, picked up a million pounds of dog poop, read over 20 books, watched an entire season of Lost, completed about 25 Sudoku puzzles in 4 days, and spent every night alone. At times I cried, at times I laughed at how silly I was for crying, and even found myself watching Cops at 2am once. Now that's how I knew I was starting to go crazy. ;) Chad has endured a much more busy version of the last 4 weeks. He has been working at least 8-12 hours a day with only an occasional Sunday off of work. He has been diligently working his butt off to make sure he did what he needed to do in the short time that they had him there (I say short, because they wanted to keep him longer). He has been living out of a hotel room, eating out every day (which doesn't sound bad, until you have to do it for a month), and had to spend the month after our wedding in Miami (which is where we were supposed to go for our honeymoon) with Gary, a work friend (and that, much like the eating out, doesn't sound bad until you have to do it for a month-just teasing, Gary)!

I tell you all of that to help explain how the last month has felt for us...which was....like a lifetime! But now that he is finally returning, it feels like the time passed in an instant. I definitely wouldn't want to do this again anytime soon, though! :)

I go to pick him up mid-day today...and as evidence by the earliness of this post (I've been up since 2am)...I am SOOOOOOOOO excited!!!!! I am going to spend my morning primping and fussing with my hair and my makeup and my clothes (yes, yes, I'm suuuuuuch a girl). Then I'm going to go pick him up and enjoy a much needed weekend with my sweet, sweet husband. :) Valentine's is Sunday and we have no plans yet but to relax, cook some yummy food, and then pick up Chad's sister, Alicia, later in the day from DIA. Next week will be spent running around like mad people tying up loose ends before our wedding ceremony on Friday. My Oma and Opa will be driving here from Illinois and will arrive Sunday as well. So here's to a nice, relaxing weekend before all the craziness of next week breaks loose. BUT-the great news?? We'll be in Vegas...(Let me take a minutes to explain...plane tickets to get to Miami, where we were supposed to go for our honeymoon, were getting REALLY expensive and as Chad just spent a month there...we decided to go to Vegas instead. My parents lent us the use of their awesome time-share with Westgate Resorts, and we will be staying the awesome Flamingo Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.)...for a whole week! We plan on trying to check out some cool shows, hit up the M&M factory, and spend a week really relaxing and enjoying ourselves before getting back into work and the swing of things. :)

With all of that said, I am finishing up my last episode of Lost for the morning and then I am off and rolling! See ya'll in a few days when we resurface! :)

Love,
Alyssa and Chad

Married Life...

...so far consists of waking up, showering, getting ready, running errands, cleaning, eating, playing video games, watching the Fast and the Furious Movies in reverse order, building lots of fires, and praying my crazy eyes out! All of these things fun, but all of these things, alone.

I have been Mrs. Alyssa Duncan for 13 days, 1 hours, and 11 minutes...and only got to spend about 15 hours with my husband before he left.

But here's the thing, I'm not telling you this to make you feel sorry for me (us), or to make you think I'm not holding up, or that I don't like being married if this is how it is turning out....Because here's the TRUTH:

I LOVE being married. If there was anything in this world that I know I was meant for, it was this. He is my BEST FRIEND, the man that I love with all of my heart, my sweetheart, my dear. To try and imagine my life without him, is like trying to imagine life without my consistently beating heart. Even from 2000 miles away, he still calls me every night to tell me he's safe and that he loves me, he lets me babble away even though he's worked a 14 hour day and needs rest, and he still comforts me after I've had a bad dream.

Yes, I am counting down the days until he gets home. But I am thankful that he is staying in Miami for now (to assist Southcom). It will make his return trip easier and makes me feel more at ease about his safety. I am also thankful for such an amazing church family. We have received a plethora of prayers for his safety and his general well-being. That means the world to me.

Now the PR guy from Northcom is writing an article about Chad and what he's doing down there to assist Haiti and Southcom. He is with three other guys but they chose to write about him. I am so incredibly proud. The guy who is writing the interview sent him a list of questions to answer about what he is doing. The last question asked him if there was anything else he would like to add. His response was:

"I got married the night before I flew down here to
USSOUTHCOM and my new wife, Alyssa, has been beyond supportive and
understanding during this rough time."

After I wiped away the giant crocodile tear that rolled down my cheek in reading this, I thanked GOD for sending me a wonderful and amazing man. I am so in awe.

In conclusion, married life will be much better after he is HOME. But married life nonetheless, is incredibly fulfilling. And beautiful. So beautiful.

Big News!!

Big news might not even be big enough to describe this one....

GIGANTIC NEWS

There, that's better.

So....here's what's up. I found out on Monday that Chad would have to go to Florida for a week for a Hurricane Preparedness Workshop next week (Jan. 18th through the 22nd). I was bummed that he'd be gone for a week, but oh well. C'est la vie. Well, on Thursday morning I find out that Chad is getting deployed....to Haiti. He has to go down to help re-establish communication in a country that has had 60% of its buildings demolished by a 7.0 earthquake...that number has risen, as well as the number of those found dead. The country is a mess, and they needed Chad (and three other awesome guys from his work) to go down there and do what they could to repair some of the damages. At first, this trip was only going to be fore 2 weeks....then it all of the sudden rose to a month. A MONTH! That meant that he would get back on the 15th of February....which as most of you know...is 4 days before our wedding. He would be exhausted, smelly, and need to relax. I was REALLY bummed, because that meant that I would lose the man that I rely so heavily on for emotional and relational support for a month. There would be little to no communication once he got to Haiti. But God spoke to my heart and said, "Child. Be still. He is going to help. He won't be in danger. Trust me. Calm your fears. I am GOD."

So I resigned myself to this fact, and got ready for a long, hard month. The next morning, I got a call from Chad. Their flight was being postponed until the next morning. He wanted to know if I wanted to go get dinner that night, so that we'd be able to spend a little more time together before he left. (Of course I wanted to!!!) So I called Blair, the girl that I work with, and asked her to switch me shifts (as I was scheduled to work that night). She agreed (which I am so thankful for) and I went into work at 10. As I was working away, I realized we may want to try and get our marriage license while he is here, as I heard that getting it by proxy is a huge pain. So I called the County Clerk and Recorder and asked what the requirements were....turns out we didn't need his SS card after all. All we needed was our id's. BUT-she also told me that once you have the license in your hands, you only have 30 days to get married, get it signed, and then get it back down to the County Clerk and Recorder. CRAP! Our wedding is scheduled for the 19th of February....which is 4 days over a month. Now, yes we could have waited until Chad got back, as he was scheduled to be back 4 days early) BUT-there was also a chance that he wouldn't be back until the day before the wedding (as he told them he HAD to be back by that day). SO-to avoid risking him not being back in time, we went down to get it yesterday AND................................

WE GOT MARRIED.

Yes, you read it right. Let me explain. Like I said, we did this to avoid risking him not being back in time. It was the only (easy) option. It also felt right. I believe God knew what He was doing in nudging us in this direction. Sooo......we took my parents, Chad's mom, and his brother down to the Country Clerk and Recorder's. (Chad was literally driving up as we had to leave to get down there on time, so he was still in work clothes....jeans and a polo....and I put on a short white dress.) We walked in, to the wrong building. We walked in, to the right building, sat down, filled out the paperwork, swore an oath that we weren't lying, gave our information, and then she gave us back a preliminary copy of our Marriage License. To allow us some privacy, she recommended we go out into the lobby and fill out the information on there, sign it, have our witnesses sign it, and then bring it back in. (Colorado is a self-solemnizing state...that means we don't have to have an officiant there, we basically married ourselves in front of God and our family.) We brought it back in, she ran it through the system, put the official seals and signatures on it, and then we were ready to go! We then went out to the lobby again and then exchanged rings under the SUPER cheesy, 80's style-drive-in-chapel-in-Vegas style arch. We kissed, and it was a done deal!

Here are the important details:

We are still having the ceremony on February 19th. We already have family coming into town, I still want to wear my dress, we already have his tux reserved, and we just still really want the WEDDING feel in a ceremony. We didn't want our legal ceremony to be IT. We are also still having our reception/barbecue party in June sometime. So I suppose, if you tilt your head and squint your eyes...we are having 3 weddings. :) That's okay! Weddings are so fun, we not make 3x as much fun! :)

I now live at Chad's house (which is really our house now). I will be here for the month that he is gone, and if he comes back early (there is a slight possibility of this-be praying), I will still live here. We are by all means, MARRIED.

I will be changing my name. I am going to go into the social security office on Tuesday (as Monday is MLK day) and begin the process. That's right. I am now MRS. ALYSSA DUNCAN. Soooo cool. :)

Anyone who doesn't read this blog, will be very confused as to why we are all of the sudden married. Sorry! It is a REALLY long story and a blog seems to be the best way to fill mass amounts of people in about a really complicated (but wonderfully blessed) event in our lives. Even if asked about what is going on, I will most likely say, go read the blog....as I can only tell the story so many times before I lose my voice....;)

Anywhoooo....that is all for now! I will keep ya'll filled in about when I hear from Chad, if he comes back early, and how things are going with February-ceremony-planning. We love you all and are very glad to have you all as a part of our lives!!

I also ask that you don't text/email/call Chad with congratulations at this time. Whereas he will be very happy to hear all of those....when he gets back would be a better time. He is in Florida and will be VERY busy these next few days, weeks...however long he is there before he heads to Haiti. So to avoid overwhelming him with your well wishes right now...I just ask that you wait until he gets back. Thanks so much for being understanding!

God bless and have a wonderful day! (Please, also, keep Chad and the trip and flights and everything in your prayers. Prayers for my sanity would be much appreciated as well!)

Wedding Website!

15 billion hours later....I am done with the wedding website! Yay!
Go check it out, and let me know what you think!.
I definitely welcome any ideas/suggestion for improvement!

http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/AlyssaPruitt&ChadDuncan

As of today....wedding invitations have all been made (and I've decided I'd love to start my own wedding invitation making business, how cool would that be??) but not mailed out yet. As long as Steph and I can get them all addressed today, they should go out tomorrow. Phew! This wedding stuff is hard work....:) I will try and post pictures soon. :)

Signing off with a Chad quote:

"Thanks for being you and thanks for being mine." 12-06-09

The Scoop on the Big Bamboozle

Just in case you didn't know....Bamboozle=wedding in this case. :) So I've had a TON of people ask me, "When's the wedding gonna be?" "Do you know yet?" "How about now?" This is only normal, as we ARE engaged and WOULD like to get married some time in the next century or so....Of course you're all going to be curious!

We got engaged on September 7th, 2009. The wedding date started out as being sometime. :) We didn't know when we'd be able to get a house, and Chad, who has spent his life in barracks, apartments, or with roomies, really wanted to get an actual house. I totally didn't object to that! So the hunt began...a few complications came along the way, and I wasn't really sure if we'd be getting married in the next year. It was hard to find a decent house, with land, close to Peterson, kind of close to my job, with at least 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, garage, etc. We were both becoming discouraged, and then Chad finally told me if he didn't find a house soon, that we would just get an apartment and plan the wedding for some time in the summer. Out of sheer goofiness, I made up a date, March 26th, as being the date that I'd LOVE to get married by. I didn't actually think it would work out that way, but a girl can dream can't she?? :)

Well here's what happened...Chad had it set up with a friend, Braden, of his, for us to stop by Braden's house after I got off of work one night, to look at some furniture he had for us. Braden and his wife just had a baby, and they were looking to get rid of a few things to make room. Chad gave me directions before I went into work and afterward, I followed them to a little house off of Constitution and Peterson. He told me to text him when I pulled up so that he could meet me outside and usher me in, to introduce me to Braden and his family. I did just that, and he came outside, took my hand, and led me in. We got inside and I looked around. There were a few pink couches that matched the ones Michael and Donna gave us, a dining room table, and a bunch of boxes. "Well, what do you think?" He asked me.
"I think everything here will go good with what we have. "
"Well, it is ours."
"Okay, well we should look through it all."
"No, this IS ours. This is our house."
It finally began to sink in....."What???"
"It's ours. I signed for it today."

Then it fully sunk in. I couldn't think, or talk, or laugh...so I cried! Haha! I just started blubbering and crying and walking around in circles. I couldn't believe it!!! After I finally calmed down, he explained the entire story to me...how he had been going around in secret, planning this all for weeks...Michael and Donna let him borrow the trailer to move his stuff out of their storage shed, Gary helped him lift some of the heavy stuff up the stairs, Braden lent the use of his good name....:) I was so amazed! I am such a hard person to surprise (because I'm very good at reading minds ;) and I just couldn't fathom that he actually pulled this off!!! He had been telling me for weeks that my Christmas present was HUGE and I would probably get it early. Never did I imagine, this is what it would be though!

Sooooo.....long story long....we have a house now! It is JUST the right size, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2-car garage, good sized backyard, in town, and close to Peterson. Perfect!!!
Back to the wedding story....:) So because we finally have a house, we were able to start making wedding plans! Yay! We started out with sticking with my "dream date"...March 26th. But then one day, Chad asked me how I felt about getting married Valentine's Day. I thought that sounds amazing! (But then a few days later he decided it sounded too cliche, so we switched to February 13th.) Well, when we called Westgate Resorts to book our honeymoon, the only dates they ended up having open (after 3 phone calls) was the 20th-28th. That meant we had to leave on the morning of the 20th, and therefore, get married on Friday the 19th. :)

There, I said it. Chad and I are getting married on Friday, February 19th. Here's the thing, though. To keep things really small and intimate, we are only inviting family. I'd LOVE to have ALL of the friends I've ever made and all the family I've ever had there...but that requires a great deal of planning, coordination, and a REALLY big church. :) We decided that rather than finagle with all of that, we just wanted to have the closest people in our lives there, to witness the joining of our lives under God. It's not because I don't LOVE all of my amazing friends, or Chad's wonderful friends that I've heard so many great stories about. It's not that at all. We are doing this because it is going to be easy and simple. That's all. :)

BUT-here's some really good news....we DO want to include all of those people who aren't coming to the wedding in the celebrating of our marriage, so sometime in June (when the weather gets warmer), we are going to host a barbecue at the church Chad and I attend (Meridian Point Church here in Falcon, Colorado). We are going to invite ALL (and I do mean all) of our family, friends, and the very special, and important people in our lives. It is going to be a very casual, laid-back, fun-focused party to celebrate our marriage. Let me tell you, it's going to be a blast. Burgers, brats, fruit salad, great music, cake (mmmmmm!), and a knee-slappin' good time!!! :) Be watching for invites in the mail around April or so....:)

So I hope none of you are offended and I hope all of you understand.
We love you all!

Signing off with a Chad quote as always.....
"Life is better knowing WHEN I'm going to marry you. " Chad, 12/09