Life with Gling

Life has been rather busy and work-filled lately. Not much to update on, but plenty has happened. With the increase of prospective students this year, work seems to be getting busier and busier each day. Which I’m really excited about, and I welcome this time of the work year. It’s the time of students making the decision to come to Greenville…and well…I love Greenville! The busier work gets, the more I love it. I live for stressful situations…sort of. I just like finding the way to get everything done…and done well. Maybe that’s just the perfectionist in me.

Jared and I had a nice and relaxing week though, which was much needed. Friday night was spent eating popcorn and watching movies at home. We finally watched the Aviator, and it was really interesting. I spent that night researching the life of Howard Hughes. Biographical movies and documentaries tend to do that to me. I guess that’s the sociological researcher that lives within me. I love people…and I love knowing their stories…it’s something that’s always fascinated me. Thank goodness for the internet…it makes quick research that much easier! Anyway, Saturday morning we slept in..but not too late. We got up and lounged around for a bit and then headed up to the square for lunch at Breities (a 50’s diner)….they have the best pony shoes…mmmmm. After that we checked out all of the antique shops in town…because Jared promised me we could. We bought a few crafty things for the great kitchen remodel that will happen as soon as the weather warms up a bit. We were having a hard time deciding what colors to go with…and what theme. I was leaning toward retro…he wasn’t really sure…but somehow we agreed on Americana. I think it’ll be really cute and cozy once it’s done…but it’ll be another month or so before we get started.

We hung out at the Morford’s house that night, and stayed up entirely way too late. The four of us never seem to lack in the conversation department when we’re all together. Sunday was church…and a great service at that. We picked up some groceries before coming home and cleaned up the house for awhile. Jared and Alan jammed in the basement for a few hours that afternoon as well…which was great. I love that we have our own house that we can be loud in. Even though they’re loud, I love that Jared can play his drums in our house now. He’s so happy when he plays, and I love that.

Anyway, this entry is getting pretty long, so I think I’ll end with that. Maybe if I was more on top of updating, my blogs wouldn’t be this long all the time! See…there I go again! Ok…adios!

So I had an amazing weekend trip. I drove down to Springfield, Mo to visit one of my bestest buddies from high school, Amy. It was such a great weekend to just get away and avoid work. We had a great time hanging out and reconnecting (and shopping too!). She’s one of those friends that I can be away from for months at a time…and we can always pick up right where we left off. Each time I visit with her, I’m more and more thankful for that. We went shopping in Branson at the outlet malls, and I managed to snag several bargains. The best buy of the weekend…a bright pink summer jacket from the Gap. (I love pink…I’m such a girl.) The great weekend was totally worth the 4-hour drive each way…all by myself. So…moral of the story today…go call (or e-mail) a good friend that you rarely get to see…let them know how much you appreciate them!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! and that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)

So Tuesday night we agreed to sit down with some window saleman from Windows USA. We had some friends purchase their windows and were quite pleased with the deal they got. We’re planning on replacing our windows at some point, so we figured…what the heck. (And we got $100 just for listening and a George Forman grill.) Anyway, so the man’s supposed to get to our house around 8:30, which he does. Typical salesman…very friendly and easy to talk with. He starts working on his demonstration and shows us just how crazy-awesome and unique his windows are (at least that’s what he wants us to think.) During the whole thing he keeps calling into his headquarters in Arkansas on his cell phone to talk with one of the “high up guys”. He keeps saying “well john…we’re hardwired now…whatever the heck that means. We just keep smiling and continuing on with his dumb antics. Then..we get to the point when he goes around the house and measures our windows to see how much it’ll cost us. As he does that…he puts these retarded stickers on our windows (I guess to help us want to replace them!?) So he does that…and says “ok…here’s the breakdown on price and the great offer we have for you tonight.” He lets us know…for a mere $10,500…we can replace all 13 of our windows…yay! Execept…hold the phone…that’s an insane amount of money!! (Well…that’s what we’re thinking at least…) We tell him no…that we’re right out of college and that we JUST bought this house…there’s no way in heck we can afford that kind of money. So he lets us know that we won’t have to pay anything for a year…and he can pull some strings and bring the price down to $9,500. Well at this point it’s nearly midnight…and he’s still trying to sell us the dumb windows. We finally say yes (knowing that we have 3 days to cancel the deal)…just go to get him out of the house. We called to cancel (and sent a fax) with the help of our good lawyer friend. Here’s the funny part…another couple we know talked with the company the same night. They have 20 windows in their house…and they were given the exact same price quotes that we were given…and they have 8 more windows! What the heck?!?! Anyway…moral of the story…don’t buy windows from Windows USA…they’re psycho-salesmen that won’t leave you alone (and they get fiesty when you tell them no). We found a local place to buy our windows from (when we do decide to buy them) where we can get the exact same type of window…for less than half of what this guy offered us. Less than $3,000 sounds MUCH better than $10,000. So yes….don’t let them into your house!!! Ok…gotta go now. I need to finish up a few more things at work before I’m taking off for Springfield, MO to see Amy. (I’m taking a much needed break away from work…yes!) Adios!

So my cat is now an “it”…poor Max. He had his surgery yesterday morning and we brought him home that night. He was mad…to say the least. The vet and his wife (his secretary) said that “he sure didn’t like us”. Apparently he hissed and howled when they tried to get him out of his cage. When Jared and I picked him…he hissed and howled at Jared, too. I guess we spoil him too much and he didn’t like being away from home….and getting operated on. I don’t know how we’ve got so attached to that silly cat…but we have. You’d think a family member was in the hospital yesterday..but no…Max was just at the vet getting fixed. Anyway…he was pretty funny when we brought him home. He was all wobbly and he kept falling over….and then he slept most of the day. He’s perfectly fine now. In fact…in typical Max fashion…he attacked my scarf and coat as I was leaving this morning. Here’s to you my little Max!

For anyone that know me well…the know I love dancing. It’s always been a huge part of my life (thanks to 12+ years of ballet). Anywho…I got to go Latin dancing with a few girls from the office last night. I’ve gone once before, and loved it, so we decided to go again. There’s a club in St. Louis (in the Central West End) call Club Vivo. On Thursday nights ladies get in free and they have free dance lessons. I’m not a big club person…but the dancing is great. I learned a few new dances last night, which was cool. I think I’m getting better at it, but who knows. It’s fun anyway! My merengue skills are much better than my attempts at salsa. All in all it was lots of fun…we stayed up way too late…and now I’m quite ready for the work day to be over so I can go home and nap. Adios!

So the weather around here has been blah lately…to say the least. No sun, no warmth…just cold-overcast days. I need one of two things. It either needs to snow…and snow a lot (cause I have a large need to go sledding) or it needs to warm up a little bit and the sun needs to come out. Overcast days aren’t horrible, but they make waking up and getting ready for work a complete disaster. (It’s all dark outside and it makes me oversleep.) It’s been a good week so far. (Aside from my oversleeping due to the weather.) I’ve gotten a lot of things done at work, which always makes me feel better. I found out that we’re rearranging our office layout, but I’m getting new furniture, so I’m ok with it. I haven’t had much time at home, so lots of cleaning and organizing is scheduled for Friday and Saturday. We’re going to superbowl party with all of our small group members, so I need to start planning the food I’m taking. I’m charge of bringing sweet things…which gives me lots of options. So far I’m planning on chocolate chip cookies, cheesecake snack squares, maybe some sugar cookies…and who knows what else. (I’m seriously turning into my mom…she takes cookie trays everywhere she goes!) I love cooking though, so I certainly don’t mind the work. Max is doing well. He’s discovered a new love of plastic grocery bags. (He likes to curl up in them and sleep.) We’ve been trying to discourage this though…I don’t want him to get stuck in one. I had a plastic bag next to the table with some trash in it (I was cleaning up the dining room)…and he somehow (very quietly) took all of the trash out of the bag and curled up inside of it. He’s weird…but I love that silly cat. Anyway…I need to finish this up and get back to work. Adios!