survey

stole this off of thesimplewife

What time did you get up this morning? 7:36…had to be at church at 8:30 to help set up the nursery

Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

Last movie you saw in the theater? National Treasure (I’m embarrassed to say)

What is your favorite TV show? The Office

What did you eat for Breakfast? glass of OJ, a peanut-butter chocolate Balance bar, and some grapes

What is your middle name? Spencer Buerke

What food do you dislike? flan

What is your favorite CD at the moment? Dora’s World Adventure… er, I mean Dave Barnes’ Brother Bring the Sun

What kind of car do you drive? Mazda Protege 5

Favorite sandwich? peanut butter and banana (unless a sub counts and then i’d say ultimate boars head from publix on sunflower bread with mustard, mayo, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, lettuce, tomato, green peppers, yellow peppers, black olives, and pickles)

What characteristics do you despise?  fake-ness

Favorite item of clothing?  well, that’s a tricky question right now since i’m wearing maternity clothes and am somewhat limited.  maternity: dark gray gouchos  regular wardrobe: Gap Long & Lean jeans from like 3 years ago

If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? Australia

What color is your bathroom? “sand”

Favorite brand of clothing? probably Old Navy

Where would you retire? close to family (my parents, children, and grand-kids)

Most memorable birthday? probably 22…i was in London…ate at Hard Rock Cafe and saw “FAME”

Favorite sport to watch? Seminole football

When is your birthday? Nov.8

Are you a morning or a night person? neiter, really…

What is your shoe size? 7

What did you want to be when you were little?  a vet and a mommy

What are you today? Wife, mom, photographer

What is your favorite candy? this question is unreasonable…there are like 4 categories of candy

Your favorite flower? tulip

What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?  July 22nd…my due date!

What are you listening to right now? keys clicking and my husband in the shower

What was the last thing you ate? peach yogurt

Do you wish on stars? No

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?  green

What is your pet peeve?  i can’t stand it when the open part of a pillowcase is facing the middle of the bed

Last person you spoke to on the phone?  Amy (and then she came over!  yay!)

Favorite soft drink?  i’d rather have a sweet tea, but probably Sunkist

Favorite restaurant? Outback

Hair Color? dark blonde (i’m still in denial)

Favorite day of the year? selfishly, it’s probably my birthday…

What was your favorite toy as a child? either the trampoline or trapeze we had in the backyard

Summer or winter? in FL, winter…  anywhere else, summer

Hugs or kisses? depends who’s giving ’em.  🙂

Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate-covered vanilla

When was the last time you cried? today when i was finishing The Last Sin-Eater

What is under your bed? snowboards and winter coats

Who is the friend you’ve had the longest?  Sabrina

What did you do last night?  had spaghetti that my sweet husband cooked and then played Tetris and Brain Challenge with friends until like 10:00…

Favorite smell?  Harper’s drool

What are you afraid of?  the ocean at night

How many keys on your key ring? 4

Favorite day of the week?  Sunday (i get a break from Harper – thanks to the church nursery, i love my church, we go out to eat, and get to take a nap)

How many states have you lived in?  2

Do you make friends easily? Yes, once they figure out that i’m not snobby – just reserved…

How many words did spell check have to correct? this thing doesn’t have spell check

books i’ve read so far this year…

my so-called new year’s resolution this year was to try to read more (specifically to try to be in bed by 9:00 every night to read).  i’ve been slacking lately but was doing pretty well for awhile there.  i’ve been trying (very unsuccessfully) since January to figure out how to get a list of books up on my sidebar.  i want to make a list of all the books I’ve read this year and figure my blog is the best place to put it, but I can’t figure it out, so here’s the list.  (If you know how to put in on the sidebar, could you please comment and let me know?)

PS) I am terrible at reading non-fiction, so don’t expect to see alot of that on my list.  The only non-fiction book I’ve read this year is a pregnancy book that i just read out of a few times a month to check up on what crazy stuff is going on inside my baby factory.

Christy by Catherine Marshall…  it takes a few chapters to get used to the style of writing – she writes exactly how the characters would speak (with a serious mountain people accent).  the copy i read had kellie martin (from the mini-series) on the cover and i have to admit that i really did picture her a christy the whole time i was reading the book.  i cried my eyes out several times while reading this book.

A Long Way Gone: Memiors of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah…  i really enjoyed this book.  it was hard to read, as would be expected, but was very well-written and gave great perspective that you probably couldn’t get just from watching a movie (ex: blood diamond).

Child of the Jungle: The true story of a girl caught between two worlds by Sabine Kuegler…  this book is an auto-biography about a little girl whose family leaves their home in germany to go live with an extremely isolated indian tribe in what is now papau new guinea.  they literally live in a house that her dad built in a jungle only accessible by boat or helicoptor.  the jungle was sabine’s home for 12 (?) years starting when she was only 5 years old.  she gives a very thorough interesting picture of what it was like to live with this desolate tribe (explains different customs and beliefs, tells funny stories of cultural mix-ups, and talks all about how she spent her days wandering through the jungle with a bow & arrow).  she eventually moves back to Europe to go to high school and spends much of her 20’s very confused about who she is and where she belongs.  i really enjoyed it.

But Enough About Me: A Jersey girl’s unlikely adventures among the absurdly famous by Jancee Dunn…  this book is hilarious.  i laughed out loud at least once a night when i was reading it.  not long after she graduated from college, jancee (who constantly cracks on herself and her family for being from jersey) got a random interview at rolling stone and landed the job.  she eventually became a go-to girl for big celebrity interviews.  she tells some great stories not only about meeting celebrities, but also about her dating life, friendships, and general feelings about life.  this is not a christian book.  there is cursing and alcohol and drug use, but i couldn’t put it down.

i feel like i’m leaving one out, but that’s my list so far.  i just started The Last Sin-Eater by Francine Rivers (one of my favorite authors), so i’ll let you know how i like it.

okay so it’s been about 15 minutes since i posted this…i was eating a bowl of raisin bran and realized that auto-biographies are technically non-fiction, so nix what i said at the beginning.  i guess what i meant was that i’m no good at reading self-help books or books about the characteristics of god or something.  i wish i was better at it…i really do.

one month…

until harper’s 2nd birthday.  i’ve been working on invitations (design is my favorite form of stress relief/relaxation).  please vote and tell me which one you like the best (and don’t whine the day you get it in the mail if yours doesn’t get picked)…

option 1

option 2

option 3

Z

[this might be a stretch, but…it’s MY blog so i can do what i want]

zeal: it is defined as “Enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance.”  even though i can’t remember the last time i used this word, i think that this is one of my favorite qualities to see in a person.  i wish i had more of it (i barely have energy to dry my hair after a shower…much less have “tireless diligence” for anything).  i think maybe this is one of my favorite qualities in others because i SO lack in it.  i would love for someone to look at my relationship with the Lord and call it “zealous”.  i’ll keep you posted.  🙂

  “….Zion, do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord, your God, is with you, he is mighty to save.” Zephaniah 3:16,17

Y

“yelling” (i.e. cheerleading):  most people who’ve known me for 6 minutes or more find it hard to believe that I was a high school cheerleader.  i still can’t really figure out why it’s so hard to believe, except that i’m kind-of “jocky” and sarcastic and don’t wear alot of makeup.  not only was i a cheerleader for 4 years, i was captain for 2.  cheerleading was a huge part of my life and, as pathetic as it might seem to some, it was very important to me.  [i am not, however, one of those silly people who says it is a sport.]  i played other sports in junior high and during our short “off-season” (track, softball, tennis, volleyball) and i considered myself an athlete.  i never could do a split or get the guts up to do a standing back tuck, but i think i was pretty good.  our football team was incredible and went to state two years in a row, which i think definitely made it more fun.  anyway, it was definitely one of the most impacting, self-helping activities i’ve ever been a part of.  some highlights:  in 11th grade, my coach got slammed up against a chain link fence during a game and broke 2 ribs; various camps and competitions (we basically sat around and made fun of everyone for acting so retarded); all the parents made a rig for our signs out of PVC pipe so that they could literally be two stories high; we got to miss alot of class for stupid reasons!  (the picture below is my sister natalie and i in our rad uniforms…i kept it small for a reason.)

 

“…your God is gracious and compassionate, He will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.” 2 Chron.30:9

Sunday’s comin’!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naajYZSbWdw

(sorry i couldn’t get the actual video to embed)

sweet sidewalk surfers

i’ve had these shoes for about 10 days now.  they are AMAZING.  i tend to use that word alot, but seriously these are THE most comfortable shoes i’ve ever worn…probably even more comfortable than flip-flops…which, for a florida girl, is saying ALOT.  i love them and i want 5 more pair like them (in different colors of course).

the record stands (thank goodness).

harper and i just got back from a week in montana.  if you’ve been reading my blog since august, you know that our last plane trip was not a great experience (i just tried to find it in my archives and can’t…sorry if you never read it).  when we went to montana in august, the day of the trip home was THE worst day of my life (hands down)…hardest day as a mom, pretty much hardest day as a person.  needless to say, i was not looking forward to this trip, but it went really really well (thank you Lord!).  i was definitely prepared for the worst this time…my attitude was a little different, i had my saviour of a friend Kathleen’s dvd player, and we had some Benadryl handy…just in case.  🙂  the trip out couldn’t have gone better…it was actually almost fun…we had no neighbors on either plane (thank you to all the people who decided not to fly that day or missed the flight).  harper loved being on the airplane and it was so much easier because you can explain things to  her and she understands (“see everyone sitting down?  we have to wait until everyone stands up, then you can get out of mommy’s lap”).  she loves the escalators and the moving sidewalks and is obsessed with the underground “train” in the denver airport.  we colored, we read books, we watched dvd’s, we ate snacks. 

on the way home (yesterday) we weren’t quite as lucky.  the first flight was at 6 AM, which meant we had to leave red lodge at 4 AM (EW!!!)  Harper didn’t sleep in the car at all (again), but she slept for about 45 minutes on the first flight…thanks to the saintly woman who gave me her seat (which came with the empty seat next to it).  we were supposed to fly to houston shortly after arriving in denver, but when we got to the gate my heart sank: houston was cancelled…not delayed, NEVER HAPPENING.  “i knew this day was going too well,” i thought.  however, my despair was short-lived.  we were quickly and pleasantly (you know how some of the airline reps can be) re-routed to miami.  i dreaded calling ryan to tell us he had to drive to miami, but he got to leave work early and he made the drive on company gas, so he couldn’t complain too much.  the 3 1/2 hour flight to miami was tough.  it was completly full…no hope for harper getting her own seat, no matter how bad it got.  my lap is shrinking by the day, and harper seems to be growing alot right now, too.  poor kid…she was so squished (actually, most sympathy should go to our unborn daughter…thank goodness for amniotic fluid).  when she watched DVD’s (thank you kathleen!!!), she had to put her feet up on the tray table…there was nowhere else for them to go!  🙂  i so wished i’d had a camera because the lack of space the two of us shared was hilarious.  still, harper was VERY well-behaved (even if some of that was thanks to bribery with candy) and slept for about an hour, which was amazing.

ryan picked us up and we stopped at sweet tomatoes in hollywood to break up the trip home and avoid some traffic.  we didn’t end up getting home until about 8:30, so i was really glad that harper’s body was on mountain time.  after we put harper to bed, i was in the shower replaying the day over in my mind and i caught myself in a really weird mood…i felt mad or something.  i thought about what could be the matter and figure out what it was:  dread.  i had been feeling it for about 3 days and just hadn’t let it go.  i reminded myself that the trip was OVER and it had gone really well and then i finally just relaxed…it almost felt like a physical weight lifted off my shoulders.  whew.

i’m just glad that next time harper HAS to have her own seat.  🙂

thank you to the girls in the green vests…

there are many things in this world that should not be mixed…sadly, i’m on too much of a sugar high right now to slow down and list any.  that’s thanks to these two items (which are absolutely amazingly delicious when blended together):

 thank you edy’s!

4 weddings and a funeral.

well…not exactly.  yesterday i attended 1 wedding and 2 receptions.  ryan and i were invited to both weddings, one was for a friend we’ve known for years (a girl), and the other was for one of ryan’s close friends/Bible study leader (a guy).  ryan was an usher in the guy’s wedding and i went to the girl’s.    the way the timing of the receptions worked, i was able to go to part of the first one and all  of the second one.  anyway, the day of festivities and food and customs got me thinking and i realized some things about myself:

— i enjoyed getting engaged, being engaged, my wedding, my honeymoon, and even being newly married, BUT i don’t think that if i could i would go back.  i am so happy & comfortable in my marriage.  even though it’s always exciting when things are new, i love the relationship that we have now, 5 1/2 years later.  i definitely love him more deeply today than i did in august of 2001.  that’s a good feeling and i thank God for it.

— i am pretty reserved and very bad at “mingling” with people i don’t really know.

— i am SO glad ryan and i didn’t have any dancing at our wedding.  some of my friends were a little upset about it because there was “nothing to do”, but that whole first dance alone thing seems so super awkward to me.  (plus, 9 out of 10 DJ’s are ridiculously corny)

— i get really excited about food without realizing it.  when the ultrasound tech told us a few weeks ago we were having a girl, it was only then that i realized i was disappointed and that i had wanted a boy.  it was sort of like that last night when i took a bite of the wedding cake and realized that each layer had some rasberry gel in between…i hate fruit and cake together.  “darn!”, i thought as i set the barely touched plate back on the table…”i really wanted some good old fashioned plain wedding cake.”  they made up for it by having some amazing chocolate fondue!

— i really really wish we would’ve had InDesign when i was planning our wedding.  i did all our invitations, programs, stickers and what-not on stinkin’ Microsoft Word…sad to think about the world of potential that i didn’t even know existed.  it would’ve been so much fun!

— i’m not a big drinker, and of course, i definitely don’t drink while i’m pregnant, but… alchohol looks so good when it’s FREE!  🙂  (although i wasn’t complaining when i downed two shirley temples in like 15 minutes.)

— lastly, i REALLY like weddings!