It's official...

...the hubster is unemployed (due to a large layoff). He worked his last 3rd shift last night (I finally get the opportunity to sleep with him every night, not just two nights a week!!). My thoughts on this layoff? It is bittersweet - I am scared. I am excited. I am nervous. I am relieved. I am stressed. I am blessed.

We first heard of this layoff a couple months ago. They said it would take affect between May 29 & June 13 (approximately)..... it seemed so far away when they announced it, and now here we are. At first we were really nervous and the emotions were flowing heavy... scared, sad, anxious, mad, confused, heartbroken, etc. Now that we have had some time to "take it all in" so to speak, things are getting better. We are even having a cookout tonight to "celebrate" (I am a fan of celebrating vs "mourning" if and whenever possible). We have been blessed in the fact that we are able to keep our insurance for 18 months. This is a HUGE blessing for me.... a lapse in insurance would be a tragedy to say the least.... thank you Lupus....

The hubster has been looking around to see what he wants to do. He has a few options but is being very picky. I really can't blame him, but on the other hand I have to gently remind him that he may have to find something he doesn't like for awhile until something better comes along. Especially in this economy... um, hints this layoff.

For now... I am working my no benefits, little income job. But, it's convenient... very convenient... and that is something we need right now... convenience... because this layoff is anything but convenient. Anyways, the hubster? He is taking full advantage of some time off - tinkering in the garage, visiting with family & friends, enjoying nice weather outside, dirtying up the house, etc. (he started practicing for this layoff during a week long shut down they had last week). Is it crazy that I am smiling as I type this? He is such an amazing man and I am so lucky to have him in my life. And no worries, I also gently remind him that he needs to find a kick ass job with benefits that he loves - then I can plan to stay at home when we start our family ;) Ha ha... then he reminds me that he should be the one staying home... crazy ass. We will just have to sit back and wait... see which direction God steers our life.

I need to slow down....

The hubster and I are already coming up on our 1 year anniversary. I can't believe how time flies. We have been so busy this past year and I feel like we haven't gotten anything done. I keep telling myself that I need to slow down... have some more family time... enjoy life more and stress less... I also need to work on strengthening my relationship with God - this is something I have struggled with ever since my Dad died in 2001...

Anyways... this weeks gorgeous weather has kept me positive & motivated to get some things done! I went outside tonight and took a few pictures.... have I mentioned that I am a picture fanatic? I don't have a fancy camera or anything, but I am all about pictures.


The view from my backyard tonight:








God is good... I am so blessed... I just need to slow down and enjoy each day...

Six Word Saturday...

My flowerbeds really need some attention.....

Wordless Wednesday

Brain Potpourri

"Just bits and pieces of mindless matter floating around in my head from the past couple of days..." - Great idea McMommy (check out her May 2 post).

1. Had a very busy weekend. Planted some flowers and veggies for my Grandma. Had a cookout with my Mom. Saw my Uncle who was home visiting from AZ. Didn't get enough sleep.

2. Happy Late Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there! Thank you for all that you do!

3. Went on a date last night with the hubster :) We went out to dinner for the first time in a long time. Had some amazing Mexican food - I could eat that stuff everyday...

4. I have my first follower!! Now I know that I'm not alone in this blogosphere - someone will see my updates! Thanks for the comment and support Andy - I'm really looking forward to learning all the secrets of blogging, finding my "niche" (blog & personal) and having a great time while doing it.

5. Sunday was kinda weird. Sitting in church I found myself reviewing CPR stuff in my head and making sure I would be prepared if the Pastor ever collapsed during church (he has had a couple heart surgeries and still has his "weak" days - he is like a father to me and I worry about him). My Daddy was taken from us in 2001 due to a heart attack, so anything heart related really bothers me.... Anyways, I didn't get my hug from the Pastor after church because the service ran over and he has another service after ours so he hurried out. I felt really weird and even told the hubster that I needed to see him and get a hug. But, it was too late, he was already gone. We left church and continued our day. Then my Mom calls later that evening. The Pastor had collapsed during his second church service! He was taken to one hospital then flown to another. Yeah, it really upset me and freaked me out a little. It's like I had a moment of mother's intuition for my Pastor. Today my Mom let me know that she talked to him and he was home doing much better. It wasn't a heart attack, it was a reaction to some medication - scary! I am so thankful that he is ok. Thank you God for keeping him safe!

6. The hubster & I finally planted our garden tonight! Just in time for the 4 days of rain that we are supposed to be getting... good times. It's awesome now, but we'll see how I feel about it in a month when I am cursing the weeds...

7. Survivor was disappointing on Thursday.... stinkin' Coach. I am so ready for him to be voted off!! I guess there has to be a "villain type" in all the reality shows.

8. One of my friends & I are planning a camping/boating trip for Memorial Day Weekend.... I stopped working out after the honeymoon (April '09).... Now I need to figure out the swimsuit situation. Maybe everyone else will drink enough that they won't even notice my extra bits in my bikini that I bought for the honeymoon because the hubster gave me the puppy dog eyes.... Or maybe I will buy a one piece swimsuit and deal with the hubster's pouting all weekend....

Leave it to me.....

That's right, leave it to me to babble on and on in my first post and not even mention my family. I was just so excited that I wasn't really thinking. Just typing away.

Anyways, here's some info on me & my family :) I am married to the love of my life - The Hubster and a mom to two adorable babies - The Pup & Baby Kitty. We live in small town Indiana and absolutely love it!! (I'm definitely a small town girl). We love to be outside - camping, cooking out, mushrooming, mowing, working in the flowerbeds or garden - we love it all. This nice weather has been a long time coming - I am not a fan of temps in the 30's in April.

Ok, well it is short & sweet tonight - I have a date with a piece of cake and Survivor. The day would end perfectly if they would vote off Coach....

My first post!!

Ok blogosphere, here I am. I finally started the blog that I have been thinking about forever... and I don't know what to do with it! I have been "lurking" (I know, terrible) for awhile now and really enjoy the blog community. I am excited to be here, but wish that I already knew how everything works! Any pointers?

What do you write about in your first post? I really have no idea. So, I will just babble a little. As I have already mentioned, I have been thinking about starting a blog for a long time now. I did a little research on blogging (yeah, I'm a dork) and one thing caught my eye - "Find your niche". Great, now I need a "niche" before I can blog... they make it sound so easy. Well, my "niche" is kind of all over the place. I am a little bit of everything rolled into one. Take a couple of my favorite blogs for example.......

Andy over at Finding Fairy Tales pretty much kicks ass. She will tell it like it is with no reservations. I love that. But, I can't always do that (as much as I would like to). Like now I am thinking, should I put "ass" in my first post? I don't swear a lot... but it happens. What can I say? I am human. I guess that means that yes, "ass" stays.

Jen over at 4tunate is amazing. I went to AWANA with Jen when we were younger. She is an inspiration to me and my desire to become a mother (more to come on that later). She has a strong relationship with God & her family and I absolutely love reading about her gorgeous little boys! Now, Jen can tell it like it is, but in a much milder form.

Andy & Jen are both wonderful woman who, obviously, have mastered the blogosphere and I thank you both for letting me "lurk" (seriously, it's such a terrible word!) and now become part of your blogosphere family :) Eventually, I see my blog "niche" being a good mix of these two.

Sounds good right? Now to figure out how everything works around here... so many buttons...