It's 9:24....and I Want to Go to Sleep.

It's New Year's Eve.

At 9:25 pm.

And I'm lying in our bed which just so happens to have no sheets (or anything) on it while Sarah is in the living room flipping between HGTV (no surprise) and PBS which has the New York Philharmonic ringing in the New Year with a special concert.

It's an exciting life we live I tell ya.

This is what's it's all come to. Celie is asleep in her bed/crib/trampoline. Lilly is on the couch snuggled up on a pillow and snoring. I'm wondering what I can eat next....

Oreos - check

Almonds - check

Left over chicken tender - check

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup - check

(what's wrong with me?)

And I love every minute of it. Uh oh, Sarah's making a move. I think she's coming in here. Yep, definitely is. I hear her closing up the armoire. Next, she's going to ask me to put all the bedding on - which I hate doing. Then she's going to cough, deeply exhale, moan a little as she rolls onto the bed, cough, say "I'm so sleepy", cough, ask me, "Do you think my prenatal vitamins are going to make me sick tonight?", and I'll respond, "Probably not since they haven't the last 15 times you've taken them.", cough, ask me again to go get the bedding, cough and go to sleep.

Well folks. Happy New Year to you. Tomorrow, we head to Panama City for a few things. I'm hoping to find the perfect solution for my 1/4 bathroom makeover!!

Have I talked about that yet? I can't remember. Here's the quick and dirty. We have the weirdest, most spatially-challenged 1/4 bath in our laundry room. There's no sink. No towel rack. Just a toilet which happens to be set way too far from the wall. If it weren't set out so far, we could but a nice sink in there and make it a nice functional powder room. Except it's in the laundry room.

"Yes, right this way Mrs. Dinner Guest. The powder room is right through that door. Don't mind the pile of whites there and the Sam's Club purchase of Bleach, Clorox Cleanup, Styrofoam plates and Diet Coke. You can just step right over it."

No.

*Sidenote* Either Sarah just died in the bathroom or the sound she just made was of her famous "throat clearing." You probably heard it in Texas, Alyson.

Anyway, the "powder room" will soon become my new walk-in pantry!!!! More really like a Butler's pantry. I'm going to shelve the entire 66" back wall with five shelves. It will be so awesome. My choir member/church member/friend/plumber is going to take out the toilet and "cap the lines" whatever that means. Then I'll put up the shelves, load the shelves with one million dollars in Sam's purchases and all will be right with the world.

*Sidenote* Our bathroom apparently doubles as the local Bath and Body works. All I smell is Eucalyptus and Mint.

My pantry will be awesome. I can't wait to get it going. I'll blog with you all later.

Have a great, non-drinking-and-driving, safe night!

The Fat Finger

"fat finger"

That phrase is new to me. Well, I should say it's newer to me. I was only recently introduced to it a couple months ago. For those of you who don't know what it means, it's simply a way to describe a typo in an email, text, or any other document generated by using a keyboard.

Sorta like, "Oh, I guess I fat fingered the numbers on that spreadsheet."

Can I just say how much it grosses me out to hear that phrase? I fat fingered it. I mean, what? Your fingers are so fat they hit wrong numbers? My mind goes to so many places (mostly involving fried chicken grease) I can't even tell you.

But this lovely phrase brings up a good point about the infamous typo.

Most of you probably don't know this, but I am acutely aware of really bizarre details like: typing skills, handwriting, nose hair, incessant throat clearing, vocabulary choices, word pronunciation, slouchy socks and a few others. I notice these things right away, which is so strange, but I do.

Nonetheless, my professional, post college work life has solely been with the corporate world. I've always had email, computers and other technology all around me. I say this to convince you of my typing skills. I'm a good typer. I'm a fast typer. I'm an accurate typer. But it's because I've been typing my entire teen through adult life. Typing is like second nature to me. I don't have to look at the keyboard and can totally be doing something else while typing.

I'm not bragging, I promise.

So, when I see others in professional settings who also are using keyboards for their day-to-day work, but aren't so......proficient, I take notice (due to my problem mentioned above.)

Picture this:

I go to the bank to deposit some Christmas money. It consisted of some actual cash and some checks. I handed it all to the teller who starts keying it all in. Well, I notice that she FAT FINGERED (gross) one of the entries because I'm standing there watching her. She counts the money again, looks at the screen very confused, and recounts again. Then I tell her.

"I think you accidentally hit the 2 instead of the 0."

Which I know she did. I watched her.

She looks at me strangely and then back to her computer to see if I was right. Then she started looking at me like I was up to something or like my invisible twin was on the other side of the teller desk watching her. When really, all she needed to know was that it's just one of the things I notice.

I don't know what the point of this post was except to tell you about "fat finger" and some of my obsessive tendencies. However, I'll try to do what most big fancy bloggers who actually earn an income off their blogs do and leave you with a question (which will only receive about 4 responses.)

What are some of your crazy, obsessive tendencies????

Welcome Back!

Whew.....

I feel like a college professor who has recently returned from sabbatical, which, by the way, I've always found particularly intriguing. I mean, to just leave work for like a year, but still get paid and not have to use vacation or sick time? I suppose that's how it works. I wouldn't know because I've never taken sabbatical.

But I digress.

It's been forever since we've last spoken and I wanted to make sure and update you on all that's been going on in our life, which I can say is just SO UNBELIEVABLY EXCITING.

Or not.

But first things first. You may recall this post where I mentioned some big news. It was so funny to read your responses. Everyone thought Sarah was pregnant.

By the way, Sarah is pregnant - due July 24.

But that wasn't the topic of that post because we didn't know she was pregnant. Apparently you all did and have an acute sense of her cycle and for that I salute you. I wish you all would have told me about your secret powers the week we decided to by a convertible VW Beetle and then the next week discover Sarah was pregnant with Celie.

But I'm no grudge holder. Well, sorta I am. But not about this.

Ok, moving on.

I have had the worst conviction recently about lifestyle. We've become a society of "gotta have it now." We have to have the latest and greatest. We blog so people have insight to our lives. We tweet so we know what people are doing every hour of the day. We facebook to "connect" with people we really don't even know that well. All this technology has made us very discontent. Everything in our world that is "consumer driven" is a convenience these days. After pondering this, I sat back and thought about all the things that make me angry.

1. My wool trousers are wrinkled
2. I can't eat pork tenderloin another night
3. My garage is dirty
4. Why can't my driveway be paved
5. How are there still Styrofoam peanuts all over my yard
6. My yard isn't healthy
7. My wireless Internet is slow

And then it hit me. There are people in this world who don't even know if they're going to eat today. There are people in OUR world who don't understand plumbing or clean water or sanitation or medicine or school. There are children who go undernourished every single day.

All they want is something to eat and drink. All they want is a warm house and a bed to sleep in. A mommy and daddy to tell them "I love you." And these basic things - things we take for granted each and every day - are all they yearn for.

So, we decided to help. We have officially become sponsor parents to a little girl in El Salvador. Her name is Ana. She is 10 years old. We decided to use Compassion International to help us make this decision. It only takes $39 per month to give her medications, clothes, food and a spot back in school. Ana still lives with her parents. Her dad continuously goes from job to job in an attempt to provide for their family, but it's rarely enough.

I'm not trying to sound like Sally Strouthers here (speaking of, remember her commercials?), but all I'm saying is $39 can change a life. Can completely change a life. I researched a lot of international aid organizations and Compassion just seemed to be the right fit for us. They're a Christian organization who has received some of the highest ratings for their work.

It's $39 a month. And it completely changes the life of a child.

I'm not asking you to sign up with Compassion, but I am asking you to evaluate what's really important in life. Be thankful for what you have. Be kind. Be patient. Be respectful. Remember to tell people how much you love them. Remember that not everyone has it as easy as you, and chances are, if you're able to read this blog using a computer and an Internet access, you've got it pretty easy in the grand scheme of things.

It's a small contribution to make each month to have such a lasting impact.

So there you have it. That was my big news. We're sponsor parents! (And expecting parents too!!)

Have a great week!