Crying.

I hate sad posts.

I hate depressing posts.

I tend to stop blogging when things aren't happy because I don't really want to dwell on them.

But today is a special case (because it has a (semi) happy ending).

I woke up this morning. Then I went to class. Debate class. It's a part of my western civilization class. It's kind of silly, but in general it's not too bad. We discuss things like "Which had a bigger economic impact, AIDS or the Plague." Yeah. Duh. We sit in these groups and come up with questions for other groups. Here's where it goes sour.

I suggested a question. Some one else said something, and the next thing I know:

I'm crying. Yes. I'm sitting a group with three 20 year old guys, and I'm crying. Why am I crying? Because... I don't know. I can't even explain why I'm crying. Should I say "One day you'll understand." or "Wait till you get married."? Nope, you probably won't understand then either. I spend so much of Sunday crying that social interaction is causing me just enough stress to make me cry. Oh dear.

So, I did manage to get out the words "Failed a few midterms" and "really it's nothing" before one of the afore mentioned 20 something year olds offered me a handkerchief.

What?

Yeah, that zip sound that happens in movies. That happens in my life. It was sweet, but I had to politely decline. Really, he had probably used it to wipe his nose on... or maybe he carries it around to offer to crying married women. Who knows?! I did manage to make it through the rest of my 50 minute class without crying. Yes!

The people, they look like ants, marching

back and forth, where are they going?

Where have they been?

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I finished my project for my class that I had failed the test in. Then spent a good while trying to convince myself that I should go. Cause, ya know, skipping doesn't usually help your grade.

So, I went to class. And I got my test back. It was one page long. I cried. I hyperventilated. I already know what grade I'd gotten. Why was I crying again? I excused myself to the bathroom. Then I sat down. I took slow, deep breaths.

I wasn't going to be able to talk her. Just thinking about this was making me upset. So, I wrote it down. I went through each of her response, and wrote down why I thought that my response was correct. English is such an ambiguous language. Lame. I think I cried during this part too. I guess confrontation causes me stress.

In class we talked about independent learning.

She just gave us a bunch of bottles of stuff and some almonds.

Yeah... this is what we came up with!

It all worked out in the end. I ended up explaining two of them, which she had read differently than I had intended, and she said I could do the other questions again for half credit. So, instead of getting an 8/15, I now have a 13/15. We also had a good chat about the value of grades, and that she knows I work hard, and that as long as I keep participating and turning in my homework, there's no way I will get below an A. Awesome. Could you have told me that on Saturday, when you sent out the "test grades." Yup, muchly appreciated. Then I wouldn't have eaten all of this:

Ok... I didn't actually eat all of that today. And it had nothing to do with Language Development, or classes. Well, it did have to do with classes, but in a round-a-bout kind of way.

I was going to watch a movie. I needed to watch the movie so I could pick an element of Judaism to write about, that was present in the movie. I didn't see any religion. I missed it. I watched the whole thing. We talked about it. Yeah... he's Jewish... but... umm... not so much? I can't write about it. Even I can't BS two pages about nothing! So, thankfully there is another option and I will write about the other movie.

Life is Beautiful. That's the name of the movie. It came out in 1998. It is probably one of the sweetest, most sad movies I have ever seen in my entire life. I ate ice cream. I cuddled the dog. I hid my eyes. I plugged my ears. Then I cried. The main character, a Jewish Italian during the holocaust, is in the camp with his son, whom he hides from the Germans to keep alive. He makes it into this big game of points and hide and go seek, and then....

I can't talk about movies. Go look it up if you want to know. Some people like to know what's happening, and other don't. I must know. Everything. I hate surprises. Yuck.

Any way, I cried. I started to tear up, and B-man looked at me. I cried.

"Don't laugh at me?!"

"I'm trying not to cry too!"

Yup, those were his exact words. So it's not that I'm a crazy-crying lady, oh thank goodness.

My two favorite...men?

And I guess that is where I must end. I am so thankful to the people who have supported me through this miniature meltdown of mine. I don't know what came over me, but it was awful. I should be returning to full health soon, but beware, because I still might cry.

My poor husband. It's not even "that time" and I'm acting like a lunatic!

Rough weekend.

I don't cry a lot. I think I can see a piece of B-man fall apart when I cry. So I try not to. But yesterday, I made up for all the crying I hadn't done previously.

I failed two of my midterms. I knew about one of them a week ago, and I kind of shrugged it off and figured "I'll just work extra hard in that class." and every thing was going to be ok. But then I got the results back from a different test. This one was a take home test that I had spent 4 hours on. Four Hours! Do you know what I could've done with those for hours of my life, had I not wasted them on this stupid test? I could've studied for the other one!

After about noon, when I got my score... I spent the rest of the evening between fits of tears, fits of panic, and maybe even a little anger. This teacher has also been rather ridiculous with regards to grading other things, so I don't know how much talking with her is going to help.

I'm so close. I can taste th graduation cap. I know I will make at least a C in each of these classes. But that's not good enough to me. My 3.4 GPA is going to go down toilet, and my hopes of graduating Cum Laude have been dashed.

Today, I will try not to cry so much. But it will probably happen.

It's hard to be disappointed. It's even worse when the only person you can blame in yourself.

Self esteem boosts rock!

So I have been posting vlogs of me signing recently, and the response has been wonderful. It really makes me feel good to know that people enjoy watching them, as I was worried people would be like "I don't want to take 3 minutes to 'read' you blog!"

Thank you.

The reason I started this blog (again) was because I needed to do something for myself. I was getting so stressed out about school and all of the craziness that was my life, and I just needed a creative outlet, a place to write down to awesome, and lame things in my life.

Now, for some picture evidence of that new TV!

Sizing up the competition!

Our old TV was not small, but it was time. Oh, if you know any one looking to buy a TV... let me know. It comes with the stand and... ummm... you can have the sound system too if you want!

I always think it's going to be exciting opening new things, then I remember I'm doing it with B-man. It's not that he's not exciting... but... he doesn't show any kind of excitement. So I'm jumping around behind the camera doing a happy dance, and he's like "are you really going to take pictures of this???" So umm... this was the only picture I took of the set-up.

I snuck back in there today while he wasn't looking and took a "finale" picture. Now, it's not really final because now we need to find a place to put all of the dishes and things we were storing in that entertainment center! lol. Know any one selling a hutch? haha.

All in all, we're just kind of growing up. We are so thankful to the people who donated to the newlywed cause, but one by one we are growing up, and buying new thing. Let me compare lists for you though:

My List

1. Comfy couch

Yeah... I know, there's really only one thing on my list. But that's because I am pretty satisfied. Here's another list though:

B-man's list

1. Component cables for the Wii
2. upgrade our cable to HD
3. Blueray player
4. Comfy couch.

Now, he hasn't explicitly said he wants a comfy couch, but I think it should be on his list.

Maybe we'll return the TV.... and get a couch instead! lol.

ETA: I wanted to send a special thanks out to Kelsey, who respond to my ASL video, with her own video! AWESOME! I "wrote" back! Ok... I think four hyper-links is enough for one sentence!

The Big Purchase!

Hello, so here's another signed blog entry for you!

B-man and I really did search high and low for this item, but I find kind of amusing is that I really was the driving force in this. I think he was nervous about spending money, especially since I am usually saying "no" to $50 video games. But, it was time, and we were ready! I think he's definitely happy with the purchase now... he's been playing his video games on it!

Next item on the expensive list? A couch.

What are some things on your wishlist that you are hoping to buy soon?

Dishes...

This morning B-man says "What do you want me to do?" I wasn't sure what he meant, but I asked him if he would PLEASE dispose of the copious amount of chocolate cake in out fridge, using whatever method he deemed appropriate. He did not eat it. But, he did proceed to take out the trash, dispose of the cake, wash the dishes, dry them, and put them away.

Then he says, "What do you want me to do?" And I said... "I think my new chair is kind of lopsided... could you take a look at it?" And he did. He took it apart, then put it back together.

Then I got in the shower. When I came out of the bathroom I saw this:

Wait, what's happening?!?!?

Some people may look at this and go "I would love it if my husband cleaned more. Well let me tell you, it's not all hunky doory. Things start to disappear, or you may end up with desk that look like this. I went into the bedroom for one second, and my clothes in the bathroom just disappeared!

I am kind of teasing though. It is frustrating when he just kind of... "put's things away," but at the end of the day, or... at 3:30 in the afternoon, I am so thankful for all of the things my sweet husband does for me. To be honest... I don't really want to wash dishes or do laundry, or vacuum - who does?! But, B-man takes good care of me, and I'm probably among the luckiest girls in the world. Want to know a secret?

Since we've been married, I can count the number of times I've done dishes on one hand. If my hand only had 2 fingers... it would still work. I hate dishes.

He loves me.

Post 1: The Webcam

I figured I would break this up into two posts since I don't want to talk about my pet peeves and my new webcam at the same time!

Yesterday after I had finished volunteering at TSD's middle school, I went to Office Depot. I went there spicifically to buy a webcam. I have been wanting one for almost 6 months now, so I decided it was time. Disregard the fact that I also bought a chair... because... that wasn't on the list.

I did some research before making this purchase, as all good buyers do. And I had decided on buy this sucker!

The Logitech Webcam C600. At Office Depot this one cost About $70, but because I was in the market for a good webcam, and not just a decent one, I was prepared to spend the money. Then, just for kicks, I asked the sales guy what he thought about the available options. And he pointed me to this little number.

Lifecam Cinema. It is a Microsoft product. I am not usually one to steer away from products specifically because of a name, but ya know...Microsoft is more of a "computer program" company than a "quality webcam" company. But, the sales guy showed me that not only did it meet the same specs, but some of them were better than the Logitech. Well... ok. I can go with that.

Plus, this one was on sale. And newer. And (in my opinion) prettier. So, I did it. So much for preparing.

After a little snag with figuring out the associated software (The auto-focus is a nice feature, but when it keeps refocusing in the middle of a SIGNED video, it's almost useless, and hindering. ummm... the instructions were completely useless. If you buy this... you have to unclick the "TrueColor" option, to be able to see the properties window. At that point you can adjust the focus and other elements of the product. Who knew?! ), I am really loving it. It takes great video, as demonstrated in my previous blog video. I really needed something that was going to more than just "justice" for my signing. I needed a camera that would take crisp, big, video, and this definitely does. It also takes a pretty good picture, at 5mega pixels, it's the same size as some point&shoot cameras.

A lot of the extra features are pretty silly, but fun. I also got to webcam-chat with some one for the first time yesterday and that was really neat too, since we were able to sign to each other.

Over all, I am pleased with my purchase, but I wish that the software was a bit more intuitive, or that the instructions where a little bit more clear.

Here's a special new treat!

So, I've been thinking about this a lot for the past week, and I really think I want to include some signed messages in my blog. I know that most of the people that follow my blog are of the hearing variety though, so I have tastefully and carefully captioned every little bit of this, so that it is accessible to any one! I hope you thoroughly enjoy the first installment of Jessica's signed VLOG!

Drop me a line and let me know what you think of this "new" mode of communication. Do any of you know a bit o' sign?

Two of my favorite things:

1. House. I love Me some Dr. House. Yes. I said love.
2. Blogging. I like talking about my attempts at cooking, crafting, sleeping, dog...owning (not sure how to make that one a verb!).

So Sissela Bok over at My Life*: Lady, asked, are there any "original bloggers." And you know, I would have to say yes. This is definitely not "self-promotion." Because before she asked this questions, I was thinking the same thing! I was trying to think about what makes me different from most people, and I guess it could be applied to bloggers as well. These things influence who I am, and in turn that influences what I blog about. I'm still working on this list, but for now it's kind of my own little pep-talk:

• I talk to myself. I talk to myself in my blog. My husband read something in my blog once and said... "Gosh, you really sound like this!" Which to me is fantastic. Yeah, I sound like an idiot! Lol. But honest to goodness, this blog is just a snap shot of the things I love about my life.
• I'm a jack of all trades. It is very unlikely that you could come up with a craft or activity that I haven't done. I love painting, sewing, writing, playing piano, singing, scrapbooking, and a myriad of other things.
• American Sign Language. I don't know how many people know ASL, but I not only know it, I use it every day as part of my passion. I love working with deaf children. It is such a special feeling when you finally see the understanding hit their tiny little brains. (More on this later. I could talk about Deaf kids, and ASL forever... and ever... and ever...)
• I love my dogs. That might not seem special, but the important thing here is that I love MY dogs. They are so precious to me. And their funny. I would keep them around just for that.
• I met my husband in high school, in Germany, when he used to tutor me in math (my least favorite subject ever!). He is one of two people who has seen me cry over math, meaning... I either had to marry him, or kill him - and I'm a gentle hearted person. lol. But seriously, B-man and I have been friends for so long, our relationship is something... a little different from your average romance. Not every one can so quaintly discuss their philosophical views on poop. But we can.
• I'm not a mom... or a foodie.... or a talented photographer. I dabble in most of these things, like... I talk about middle schoolers a lot... or I take pictures of the food I'm making. But I doubt any one would want to try my recipes, or pay for my pictures. Just not my thing.

So... that's the list for the time being. Now, tell me: what makes you unique?!

PS: I also have some pink hair... I guess that's "Special!"

The rest of the night...

So we did go out. But not before witnessing another "neighbor of the year" celebration. The people across the street like to have the firemen come out. Maybe they like the red flashy lights. Who knows. But apparently April 11 is a day worthy of fire works...

Sorry it's not the best picture... but trust me. It was loud and obnoxious. Thankfully we were headed out for the evening and we missed the rest of the show.

First we headed to Olive Garden. I've heard so many people say "Olive Garden is my favorite restaurant." Poop. lol, I guess I am just one to disagree on this. We paid over $30 for undercooked, greasy pasta. I do love the salad and bread sticks, but I have yet to experience a delicious meal from this restaurant.

I got the cheese stuffed pansotti and chicken (the new pyramid shaped pasta). The chicken was comparable to something I could buy at a cafateria, the sauce was completely separated, and the pasta had either sat out too long, or was not cooked, because it was a tad bit crunchy. And... the waitress spilled my drink every time she set it down. I know that's not really food related. But it is annoying. Oh well. Brandan really likes going there, and I can't complain too much if I don't have to cook, OR do dishes... but I think I would rather cook. I don't mind bad service, if the food is good. And if the food is just ok, but the service is great, I and good with that as well. But if both suck, I'm only going to tip 15% (coming from some one who usually tips a bit more).

Ok, enough of that soap box. I (still) don't like Olive Garden.

After B-man's Delicious dinner (he has lasagna... it was good) we went to Target to purchase our contraband.

I always like to have something to snack on at the movies, and it was a late movie! I went with the coca-cola gummies, and B-man got Reese's candy. Go figure!

Here's B-man gearing up to watch Alice in Wonderland.

I had heard quite a few people say that they did not care for the movie, I on the other hand thought it was a pretty good movie. The story is good, and it's a different view of Alice in Wonderland - the cartoon version. It does have some tense parts in it, but it was not a scary movie, and there was only one part where I covered my eyes, but it turned out to be for naught. B-man, who was expecting a kiddo movie was pleasantly surprised, and said that he thoroughly enjoyed it. It is not as weird as some of Tim Burton's other movies.

As we left Hannah Montana fans were lining up to see her newest movie. Oh boy.

Now it's off to bed! Tomorrow I am going to go watch the middle schoolers give their presentations that they (and I) have been working so hard on! Yippee!

So tell me... do you like Olive Garden? What is your favorite restaurant of ALL TIME!?!?

I would also like to know, have you seen Alice in Wonderland? What did you think of it?

Jolly good...

My husband says some really odd things sometimes like:

"Some monkey tried to make the bed, instead he just flung poo on the wall. I'm never contracting my work out to a monkey again!"

Sadly that monkey was my husband, and I ended up making the bed. Thankfully there wasn't any really poo. Again with the poo. Sorry. It's all over now.

I wanted to work on (and finish) those Christmas Stockings I've been talking about.

Sadly, today was not the day.

I did work on them

I did not finish.

Why did I not even make a decent sized dent in this craft project?

I'll tell you why...

Because I had to clean off the desk. This was no small feat.

Bran-man and I got in an argument over this desk piled high with stuff that hadn't seen daylight in months. Then I cried. Then he tried to make the bed. His efforts were thwarted by those poo flinging monkeys.

Here is some of my sewing porn:

The fabric is the same line of fabric I used to make this quilt with my Mom!

Every one loves a good pair of scissors... right?

I sewed about half of the stockings, but I still need to do the stitching on the binding and sew the rest of them together. I'm kind of getting this hand of it now though. :) I wanted to make a tutorial for these stockings, but I don't have very good measurements for them. I need to think this through a little bit more.

I did manage to make a decent lunch. But... now it's dinner time. And I don't really feel like cooking now. I made cashew chicken and rice for lunch. I really like rice.

Something good did happen today though! I rarely chat online any more, but on random chance an old friend of mine (as in, the relationship is old, not the friend) caught me online and we had a good little chat about school and work and babies and life, traveling and honeymoons and dogs and stuff. She lives in England, so I guess that last time I saw her I was...10... that was 12 years ago!

I think we will be going out for dinner. I am feeling kind of tense. My Spring Break is coming to an end. I have some homework due tomorrow.

The End.

Ummm... what?

Me: Why are you picking up the dog?

B: Trying to see if he needs to poop... I would've been more comfortable with it if he were on the ground.

So... apparently the dogs butt gets dilated when he needs to poop. And he's not pooped yet today. Umm... I think I've used the word "poop" enough this month.

Go-go-go-party!

Today I took a moment to love the dogs. I have been rather busy lately with volunteering, finishing up midterms, and trying to sleep. Lately, every time something happens I'm like "stop! I need to grab the camera!" But today the B-man took it upon himself to capture this moment. I'm happy he did, I love those dogs! It was nice to take a break from the "Go-go-go" of life, and just be loved.

After a good snuggle it was time to start in on dinner. We were having four other people over this evening, so I decided to do something easy. I will be honest - I did make too much, but Mr. BH showed up and wasn't hungry... or there would've been less left overs. That ok. So, the ingredient list is as follows:

I also used a few things I already had at home, like Taco Seasoning, and refried beans. I am kind of shocked that I bought pre-shredded lettuce, but to be honest, it was cheaper, the heads of lettuce looked pretty crappy, and it saved me a little work. I'm usually against this. lol.

I ended up being unable to use the avocado, which is a bummer, but it just wasn't ripe enough, and the guacamole turned out kind of gritty. Yuck!

I fried up the onion, made the chicken per the instructions on the taco seasoning, and then mixed the two. Toasted the shells, heated the soft tortillas, put out the diced tomatoes, lettuce, and sour cream, along with salsa, and some refried beans. Ta-da! Taco Bar! lol.

I also made home made chips. Taking the small corn tortillas I cut them so that each tortilla made six chips (not just four), and then I fried them in peanut oil, aid them out to dry on a cookie rack, and salted them. I'll have to get a picture of this rack, it's pretty nifty, as it is like three wracks that stack on top of each other. :)

Any way, we had a bunch of people over, and it was a lot of fun. We played Apples to Apples, and then a couple rounds of Clue. I had not played that game in a long time, so it was kind of interesting.

Now I am just waiting for my dear husband to finish up the dishes. As soon as he finishes we are going to bed. Tomorrow I am volunteering from 9 to... 4 ish... I think. So I should probably go back myself a lunch, and head to bed! Can you imagine, me, waking up before 9!!! Ridiculous!

Spring Break is almost half over... I need to do some of this "relaxing" I've heard so much about. What is your favorite way to relax?

myfacespacebook.com

So when I type in "facebook.com" it sends me to "myspace.com" umm... some one is trying to mess with me... right? This is kind of ridiculous.

Tonight we are having people over. I am making Mexican food, and we are going to play games. Now i need to go take a shower, and then cook dinner, and then... enjoy myself. That last one will be the hardest!

Pancakes, chicken, Moose, and Me

I interviewed Moose today. Since he is the only first hand witness to everything going on in the kitchen, I figured he would be a good interview-ee. Sadly... I don't speak Koi. Bummer. All I got from him was that he didn't want me swimming in his bowl. Which, is completely understandable. I guess I will have to share my food adventures for myself.

Yesterday I made pancakes for breakfast. Rather standard weekend food. I love cooking breakfast, just in case you hadn't noticed. It's probably my favorite meal to cook. These pancakes were not just your average pancakes though, these were super pancakes.

Following the directions on the box I made the batter for the pancakes, per the instructions on the side of the bisquick box. Yup, fancy, I know. I divided the batter in half, so I could make some regular pancakes, and some special pancakes. I added about 2.5 - 3 tbs of cocoa powder to my second half of the batter.

After pouring out my little pancakes, I topped them with Reese's peanut butter chips. Since this is my husband's favorite combination (chocolate and peanut butter) I figured it would be a nice weekend treat!

I usually add a big dollop of sour cream to my pancakes, to make them a little more moist. I didn't this time, and thusly, all of the pancakes were a tad bit dry. This meant we were forced to add syrup, oh the humanity!!! lol.

End of food pictures!

____________________________________

Today I went an volunteered at tsd again. I just love working with those kids so much. Today I was working with one boy that seemed to be apathetic to everything I was saying to him, but Ms. H told me to think of it as monotone. Hmmm... interesting. Regardless, he got a lot of work done. I was thankful that he would make some eye contact, I saw some one else try to work with him, and he kind of just... refused. The other youngin' I worked with was such a perfect ball of energy that he just made me smile. YEAH! We were working on Capitol Letters. Too bad those words don't need them. lol. Editing these papers with these kids is just so much fun, and it's kind of challenging too. But I am so thankful for the chance to work with them.

Last week was crazy. I did very poorly on one of my tests, which is... lame... but I also did very well on my other two tests. Thankfully it is Spring break now. Hopefully this week I will be able to put together my tutorial for making your own Christmas stockings! I'm going to get there! lol.

Saturday!!!

I think Saturday it probably my favorite day of the week. I try not to do, or plan anything on this day, because I really just want a chance to not feel like I am constantly going.

Sadly, there has been a lot of stress in our home this weekend, since we've been talking about future plans, and SOME people in this family like to have plans... and SOME like to just "go with the flow." Trying to meet in the middle, on things like grad school, future jobs, and where we want to live is not the easiest task.

So, needless to say, last week was stressful with our recent conversations and the inevitable stress of midterms. I am still trying to get all of those stress hormones out of my body. Apparently, anxiety does not suit me well. I was working on homework last week, when B-man kindly snapped this picture of me...

As I said, not the most flattering look! Thankfully, it is Spring break right now, so I am trying to lower my stress levels. This week I will be doing a bit of volunteering at the local Deaf School, some sewing, and maybe I'll even get around to playing Sims 3 a little bit this week.

I think I mentioned this previously. But on Friday I was volunteering at TSD, and I was trying to figure out when I needed to leave. On occassion I do wear a watch, but on that day I was wearing a bracelet! I must've looked down at it to try and "tell the time" like 3 times. Yeah, the teacher I was helping definitely got a kick out of it. Oh well. I thought I would share a picture of it though:

My Nanny gave it to me on a family trip down to visit them. I think it is SO pretty.

What else is new at the home of the Reed's? Well, Zuko has decided that he really like Gretel's bed. Thusly, when Zuko sprawls out like a patch of kudzu all over her bed, Gretel has taken to doing this:

Yeah... not my favorite place for her to be. BUT, since Zuko has already managed to tear the couch apart, and her bed is taken... I guess it will be fine for now. She's my baaaaaby, I don't want to so "no" to her! lol.

Some times...

There are times when I feel like every conversation we've ever had just goes right out the passenger window.

Then I say things that I don't really mean, and he says things he doesn't mean either. It's a mess.

But the goal of the conversation was to be productive, and now nothing is being said because no one can say anything nice.

Some times I just can't tell him what's on my mind. It's not a secret, I just don't have the words.

____________________________________________________

On Thursday B-man and I went to Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria. It was good. Good food, and good company. I went as an extra credit oppertunity for one of my classes, but I probably would've gone any ways. It was a good chance to meet some new people and just enjoy a night out with friends. I know it is not as interesting for Bran-man because he doesn't sign, but maybe he'll be motivated to learn a little bit? Maybe?

Then after the dinner/hanging out we went on a scavenger hunt to find this:

That big jar on the right. Ignore my awesome pot-hanging system , and Mr. Moose in the fish bowl. That big jar on the right is the beginning to my awesome kitchen. Yeah, the one I don't have right now, but one day, in the future, will be mine. The one that will be full of windows, and the upper cabinents will be glass so people can see my fun eclectic dishes (that I have not collected yet), and the big island where the whole family can sit to make cookies at Christmas time. Yeah... I'm getting there. One step down, a million more to go.

Birthday Bash, and philosophical thinking on poop.

Some times, when I lose things, I think "If I were Jessica on a good day, where would I logically keep things so that I will remember..." this is how I found my camera, and the batteries today. It only took me 30 minutes. Lies... I've been looking for the batteries for 3 days now. They were in my desk drawers. Duh.

This is going to be a compilation of things. Since I refrained from a real post yesterday, I have plenty to post! Like... Birthday presents! Before I could blog I had to finish writing my 10 page paper about women's equality in Ancient Athens.

What doesn't belong in this picture? In my opinion, I think it's the books! Regardless, on Monday I received a present from my family back in F'burg!!! Yippee! Much happier than paper writing!

What was in the box? Well, I'll tell you!

A cute card that sings "Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate!" Insisting that I don't have to share my chocolate on my birthday. But... I do love my Bran-man, so I shared with him... but not the dogs.

I also received this beautiful blue Vera Bradley Purse! I love it. It is the perfect size to carry... everything! lol. It has a magnetic closure, which is SO nice, and it's reversible!

Inside the bag was this matching wallet, with instructions to take the contents and "pamper myself." I'm not sure what that will be, but I am definitely going to do it!

There was also this set of slippers! No more cold toes! They came in a little bag, which I am now using to store my flat iron and curling iron. :)

I was a pretty happy camper, and I've been carrying the bag ever since! So sitting down to write that paper on Monday was kind of a depressing time. I finished class at 7:45 and was home a little after 8:00pm. I had a long night in front of me. We decided to order pizza.

Best pizza ever... BBQ sauce, chicken, and pineapple. Yumm...

I finished the paper at 5:00 am and went to bed. I woke up around 8:00 am so submit my paper, and go to class. My brain was feeling kind of mushy... so I laid down for a few minutes before dashing to my bowling final!

Then, after a SUPER long day of classes on Tuesday, I arrived home a little bit after 8:00pm again, and there was my sweet husband. He had cleaned up the house, and was making dinner.

Scalloped potatoes and ham. One of my favorite foods. We watched food network, which may seem weird, but it's one of my favorite things to do while eating. Plus, I had not watched TV in over a week. Just been too busy! Brandan also made cake... but he cut it up and served it before I had a chance to take a picture. He forgot to put the candles on it, which... is a tiny bit sad, since I love blowing out candles, but probably for the better because we didn't burn the house down! What came next? Presents!!!

He wrapped them so purty! But that did not last for too long!

First I open this bottle of aromatherapy bath salts. He called it "a bottle of sleep"... since I obviously don't get enough! Lol, it made me laugh, but I am looking forward to using it sometime in the near future!

Then I opened this! B-man can be so cute sometimes, and I love listening to him explain why he picks certain things. A few weeks ago we went to a Bath & Body Works to buy hand soap, but I tried on this scent when we were there, and I loved it. It smells... awesome! So he bought me some. He spoils me.

Then I opened these! Yup, I got I got TWO pairs of slippers for my birthday... that's because my feet are extra cold (and I complain a lot)! These are from L.L. Bean, and sadly, they were a little small. We're going to return them. But, B-man told me "You have a ton of shows, so it's okay to have more than one pair of slippers." True-that!

The last thing he got me was something I had mentioned wanting before. It's for our emergency kit!

It got really good reviews, and it extra useful. It is a radio...

A flash light...

Has a USB port to charge a cell phone...

It runs on batteries, crank power, or solar power. I'm really glad we have this, and I have decided to store it in the window seal... so that is can solar-charge while we're not using it, but we know where it is if we need it.

I'll stop the picture spam now.

On Tuesday Brandan and I were having a conversation. It was kind of about poop. He said he loves everything about me, I asked if that included my poop and he said:

"If the only thing left of you were your

poop, I don't think I'd keep it."

Which.... so be honest sums up my feelings about his poop as well. I'm glad we're on the same page with this. I hope you laughed at that. He cracks me up all the time.

To sum everything up, it's been a fantastic birthday, and it's weird being 22... for some reason this birthday really does feel older than any other birthday I have experienced. If I look at the things I've accomplished in the last year (and the things I will accomplish in the near future), I really have grown up a lot. I'm married, dog-mommy, almost graduate college student who can write a ten page paper! Now, if that's not grown up... I don't know what is!

(ummm... I'm just kidding. There is still more growing to do... but I'm getting there!)