Happy Anniversary to my sweetheart

Nick and I are celebrating 6 years of marriage this weekend. On June 1st, 2002, we got married and have enjoyed 6 years of being together since. In honor of the occasion, I thought I would write out the top ten things I love about Nick and being married to him. Of course there are tons more, but these are just a few of the things that I love:

10) I've always got someone to share things with, whether it be popcorn or household chores. Sadly, we can't share clothes because he has me by about 80 pounds and 8 inches.

9) He is a great listener. Anytime I need to tell him something, he is quick to listen to me and give me advice. Of course, since I babble as much as I do, he doesn't always get a word in edgewise!

8) We have fun together. I would choose him over anyone else to just hang out and talk or watch a movie or go to Target with. We enjoy the same things and love getting to experience new things together.

7) He is a shoulder to cry on. When I need it, he is the best at giving me a great big bear hug and letting me cry. I love that about him.

6) I love his smile. He can light up my day just by smiling at me - it melts my heart to see him walk in the door after work grinning at me.

5) He makes me laugh. A lot. He has this way of getting me to laugh, even when I'm furious at him. Which can be frustrating if I want to be mad at him, but it makes our disagreements short and making up fun.

4) Through the struggles of infertility, I've often been saddened by the fact that I don't have anyone in my life that truly understands what I'm going through. Except Nick, who not only knows what it is like for me, but feels the same way I do about it. This fact brings me a lot of comfort when I'm feeling alone.

3) He has a servant's heart. I love that he is always looking out for something to do for others, including me. He has my best interests at heart and is willing to sacrifice his own desires for mine.

2) I love his desire to do all things with excellence. Even if that means a delay of months (or even years) for projects to get done, it is really an admirable quality that he does not want to do things halfheartedly, but with diligence. This shows in all areas of his life.

1) I love having a husband who loves the Lord and puts Him first in his life. He is faithful about praying for our family and for me, and I'm thankful God placed such a strong believer in my life.

Happy anniversary! I love you!

Running

Last summer I began running using the "Couch to 5k" running plan. Basically it takes 9 weeks for someone to be able to run continuously for 30 minutes. I accomplished it and ran all fall and winter, loving every minute of it. Then, because of THIS:

I injured my knee in March and have been unable to run. I was a new skier and twisted it somehow. Just this week, though, I've started my running program again and have run for the past three days without pain or reinjury. I'm so excited to get back into running! My goal is to run in a 5k later this summer.

Peanut butter, mayonnaise, and banana deliciousness!

I bought some bananas at the grocery store today, which I normally don't do, because they end up turning brown on the counter. We can't seem to eat them fast enough and a banana with brown on it is just icky to me. So I end up making banana bread with them, but that means I have to bake, which is not my favorite activity. Nick was asking for bananas a couple of days ago, so I picked up a small bunch at the store. As I was unpacking them from the grocery bag, I suddenly had a lunchtime inspiration! I'll have a peanut butter, mayonnaise, and banana sandwich for lunch today!! YUM!!! This treat is something I don't have often for the reasons stated above, and because if I have it in public, people turn their noses up at it! Even my husband wrinkles his nose when I pull out the ingredients. For the life of me I can't understand why. Peanut butter = good! Mayonnaise = good! Bananas = good! When you put them together = a delightful combination for the taste buds. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it. Mmmmmm!

Lovin' summer, but the school year is hanging on

I'm up to my ears today grading papers, loading grades into my gradebook on the computer, and working on report cards. With the deadline looming to send the report cards to the students, I'm finding that the closer I get to it, the slower I'm becoming. Which is VERY unlike me. I'm more of a "What? Deadline?? I got that done YESTERDAY" kind of gal. But the temptation to sleep in, laze by the pool, read one of my new books, read blogs, or watch a movie is taking over. This coupled with the fact that I have several students with work still yet to be turned in, and others with "special" circumstances where I'll have to do quite a bit of work to get their grades together makes me very tired.

The deadline is June 5, which coincidentally is the day that my grad school classes start back. So my goal is to get it done by the 1st, which will give me the beginning of next week with NOTHING to do. Me? With nothing to do? Nah, I'm sure I'll be able to come up with quite the to do list anyway. But that is a post for another day.

Meal Plan

I'll be posting my meal plans for the week every Thursday, which will more than likely change as the week goes on. But at least it gives me a starting point!

Thursday - Tortellini w/pesto sauce and grilled chicken, salad
Friday - chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, green beans
Saturday - Out to dinner for our 6th anniversary
Sunday - baked beans to church, pizza for dinner
Monday - Chicken stir fry, fried rice, broccoli
Tuesday - Eggs, bacon, hashbrowns
Wednesday - BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, baked potatoes

Deals of the day

This morning I went shopping with a friend and got some great deals. Now that summer is here, I have more time for reading, so we went to Barnes & Noble. I bought "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett, "The Pemberley Chronicles" a sequel to "Pride and Prejudice" by Rebecca Collins and a crossword puzzle book. These cost me nothing because I used a gift card that a student gave me. While I was there, I picked up free coffee from Starbucks using another gift card.

We then went to Target where I got two shirts, mints, 8 boxes of Morningstar Farms frozen veggie products, a cat fur remover, and 4 bottles of Joint Juice. My total before coupons was $54. After all my coupons were rung up, my total was $28, a savings of just under 50%. Very exciting!!

Pressure

Since many of my friends are now bloggers, I decided to join in the fun. I don't have children to blog about, so at times my blog may be about my lack of children. I'll also be sharing my great deals that I get from CVS and other stores, which is my latest obsession. Mostly, this will just be a place for me to write down my thoughts and ideas. So this is the first of (hopefully) many entries and will (also hopefully) not bore anyone to tears.