Thursday, October 23, 2008

Our Halloween '08 Costume Idea

Okay, so anyone in their mid to late 20s should fondly remember a show on Nickelodeon called Salute your Shorts. Seriously folks, everyday after school I would come home and eat a small snack and watch Family Double Dare, Salute Your Shorts, and Clarissa Explains It All.

This is the first year that we have decided to do a couples' costume idea. Speaking of which, have you tried searching for couples' costumes???? Every stinkin' girl costume is ridiculous. Just because there is 90% less fabric doesn't mean it is a good costume idea. Sheesh.

So back to our idea. Robbie is going as Bobby Budnick:


And I am going as Dina Alexander:


Actual Pictures soon to follow....

Monday, October 20, 2008

Dogs don't do that in real life...do they?


Our dog Belle never ceases to amaze us, nor let a dull moment occur. I hate to sound like one of those annoying dog owners who thinks that every little poopie or bark is a message from heaven, but Belle really is spectacular. You might want to try asking me this question again after she has chewed on my flip flops, because you will likely hear a different answer. I don't know what it is about my flip flops. She only likes to chew my flip flops. This is why I stopped investing in the expensive pairs a while ago.

Belle has to take 2 pills daily for her urinary incontinence, and she gets a little treat when she takes her pill without problem. Normally she gets kibble-sized training reward treats, but sometimes she gets a Milkbone. For most dogs a Milkbone is nothing to write home about. One gulp and its gone. For Belle its a huge deal and we don't know why. She has to go lay down and hold it between her front paws and eat it as if it were a steak bone.

The other night she did something new, and something we've never seen a dog do in real life. In cartoons or commercials you often see a dog take a bone and bury it in the backyard. Ha ha ha...how cute...but have you ever seen a dog actually do this? I cannot remember a time in my life when I haven't owned a dog, let alone watch one of them bury something in the backyard with or without the intention to get back to it later.

Going back to the Milkbone. Belle received her treat (this time a Milkbone) for taking her medicine. She immediately scratched on the door to go outside this time for whatever reason. She darted out the door with the Milkbone sticking out of her mouth like a cigar and ran to the grass by the porch. Then, as if she was Belle the cartoon dog, began digging with her front paws and dropped the Milkbone in the hole. With pushes of her nose she covered the hole back up with dirt and grass. Robbie and I watched from the window in complete awe. Not that we should have been in shock for a seemingly simple act; but again, we've never seen a dog do this in real life. Plus, we've owned Belle for almost a year and have never witnessed this before.

When Belle was done burying her treasure, she looked around to make sure no one saw where she buried it. Just like on t.v.

The next day she looked around before she went to dig her Milkbone back up (so the squirrels don't find it??) to enjoy eating it like a steak bone on the porch. I guess Belle heard about the economic recession and is doing her part to make her treats last longer.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The disease of news and media

I confess: I used to be a news junkie. Having just graduated from college a year ago, I was (and still am) eager to experience the world. I just had to keep tabs on any and everything around me. I still have an affection for reading the newspaper or other publications whenever I can get my hands on one, but I no longer go out of my way to watch tv news (or internet sources). I've always tried to watch the news from as many sources possible so that I could always get a new or different perspective. (there are always at least 2 sides to a story) And I also confess that I am a believer in government conspiracies, but that is a whole other blog topic! Going back to the topic at hand, I just don't want all that broad-casted junk to get in my head anymore.

One would think that this is due to the economic "crisis" at hand, but I've grown weary of the news and media a while ago. They are like wolves that feed on the warm blood of public fear and irrationality. (I think I just made a new word--and I'm sticking with it!)

There has been a growing buzz around the weakening physical and mental health of the nation. People are overwhelmed with worry and stress because their 401(k)s are not the worth the paper they're printed on. I don't know if its true or not, but I've heard on the news that even suicide is increasingly the forefront of peoples' minds. I feel bad for those people (especially since I have loved ones who are feeling the pain), and I wish I could help them out. I just can't fathom pinning all my hopes and fears on my bank account anymore. Maybe its a good thing that I've never had lots of money, because I just don't know what it would be like to lose it all.

For Robbie and I personally, we've been on "economic lock down" for the past 4 or 5 months due to a change in employment plans. This so called "economic lock down" has been great for us because it has cleared our lives of a lot of junk. On the other hand...not having insurance and worrying about our mortgage have been a little nerve-wracking. The lesson that we have learned through it all: It is ALL His anyways. This is a simple and (overused?) statement in the Christian circle. But I just don't know how to describe it any other way. I remember the exact words that came out of my mouth in conversation before I knew I was going to lose my job: "I need stability. I need a steady income. I just can't live with instability." I hate to paint a picture of a God who seems to sit on a cloud using his binoculars to pick out people who need to be taught a lesson. God doesn't do these things just to punish or prey upon the weak. (Quite the opposite actually!) Sometimes it takes a change in plans to bring about a new life of blessings that people would not have experienced otherwise. When God promises something, He does it. Now, because we are human and can only see our perspective (which is incredibly limited) we tend to expect our own ideas and expectations of "working it all out". Sometimes God works things out how we expect it, and sometimes He chooses a different way; but both outcomes are His.

So where am I going with this blog? I don't know. I'm just sharing my heart. I just wish our society could understand that the love of money is not the reason to live or die. God provides what I need (whether its through a steady job or unexpected unemployment). All that I am, All that I own are His. God gave it to me, and when I have it I need to share it with others; and when the Lord sees fit, He takes it away. But He never leaves me empty or alone.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Are you the father of John "Bee Log" Pate Randolph?

Family history is a pretty exciting thing. My amazing mom has spent years diving into records searching out our lineage. Even before the internet! :) I can remember going to the library with her, and while I read a book she combed over microfilms on some pretty antique machines. She has traced our family back to the 1500s on her parents' side!

I remember my mom once telling me that we could be related to Pocahontas, the infamous Native American woman who fell in love with an Englishman. At the time I thought that the idea was cool, but really didn't think it could be possible. Years passed and I got a bee in my bonnet to read through her massive archive of family genealogy. I decided to check this information out for myself. Not that I didn't trust my mom, I just wanted to see it with my own eyes from multiple sources. Here is the information we have:

John Rolfe Jr. (born 5-6-1585 in Heacham, Norfolk, England; died 3-2-1621 or 1622 in James City, VA) married Matoaka Powhattan "Pocahontas" (born 9-17-1595; died 3-21-1616 or 1617 in Gravesend, England) on 4-5-1614 in Jamestown Island, VA.

Well it turns out that my mom was right (they usually are). This information matched the sources I checked out about the "John Smith & Pocahontas" we all know. I could be 14 generations away from her. It all hangs on the paternity DNA of John "Bee Log" Pate Randolph. "Bee" is my great, great, great, great grandpa on my maternal grandma's side. There is speculation that "Bee" was an illegitimate child, therefore he could break my link to being related to Pocahontas. Sounds like an episode of Maury Povich to me!

Apparently I am not the first and/or only one interested in the paternity of "Bee". Rumors of an impending DNA test are circling. Isn't that crazy??? I hope that he is the child of John Randolph Jr. That way I can have some claim to fame!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Happy Birthday Robbie!


So, technically Robbie's birthday is tomorrow: October 8th...but I didn't know if I would have time to blog it. I just wanted to shout to Robbie:


I've been told that Robbie made a very tiny appearance into the world. He weighed only 4 pounds at birth, and his dad could fit him on one palm. The nurses in the maternity ward gave him the nickname "Little Peanut" and his bottles were baby doll sized.

Not to get too mushy here, but I just want to share how thankful I am for my amazing husband. I am so blessed to have shared another year with him, and look forward to growing old with him. I love that he knows what I need before I say it. I love that he loves me as much as Christ loves the Church.

He eats my cooking, even when the chicken I baked turned into what has now been infamously labeled as "chicken rocks". He is willing to stay up late to make sure my laundry is hung up, so that the next morning I won't have wrinkled clothes. He re-arranges his schedule so that I don't have to drive myself on snow-covered roads. (I'm terrified to drive on snow due to a couple bad experiences) He always knows when ice cream and a chick flick are in order, even when a new action movie is out. He helped to teach me how to snowboard, when really he could have been enjoying precious powder time for himself.

He is the cheese to my macaroni.

Okay, enough of the mush. I love you Robbie! Happy 28th Birthday!!!!