So, I got lots of nice birthday presents this year, but the one that touched me the most was this figurine by WillowTree
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it is titled “Sisters by Heart.” Kate gave it to me and it came with a card that described it as “Celebrating a treasured friendship of sharing and understanding.” Which is just what we have. True friendship is one of the most important things that we can obtain in this lifetime. I am ‚ fortunate to have Kate in my life and I think that I have been blessed with many good friends. I appreciate the effort that anyone puts forth to know me better and to share their life with me. I feel more successfull as a person with good relationships than I could ever feel from a “career.” So, to my friends reading this, leave a comment and be recognized for your part in my life. Don’t think you’re one of my friends? Well, why not?! Leave me a comment and let’s get to know one another! ‚
It was indeed a happy birthday weekend for me. Josh got off work early on Thursday (Jacob’s last day of 1st grade!) and we all went to Coralville to visit the Wheelers. Kate and I went SHOPPING (I love shopping) and once the kids were all in bed we ROOKed thru the wee hours of the morning. (Girls wiped the floor with the guys!) Friday I got to shop some more and then we headed on to Muscatine (or rather to Fruitland) and had an outdoor party with lots of friends. We had to leave that party a bit early cause Elena was getting tired and the kids were wet, cold, and the mosquitoes were coming out. Saturday morning ‚ I got my hair cut then it was one party after another after another! First was Sammi’s first birthday party and they had a second cake and everything for me! Surprise! From there we ran off to Audrey’s 5th birthday party at McDonalds. When that was over I got to go out with my friends and Josh kept the kids at his folks. I had a blast. Then Sunday we celebrated with my parents–mom made rhubarb coffeecake and Indian chicken, yummy. I tried to take a little nap after lunch to rest up for more partying that night with Josh’s (and now my) friends. We got to see Dan’s new house and Diana’s new house. The kids played in the sprinkler. After that, we drove back to Coralville for another late night of ROOK with the Wheelers (those poor guys, its a wonder they still want to play with us ;)) Now we’re back at home. Elise is at grandma camp and Josh has gone back to work and Rose and Sammi have moved into their new apartment so the house seems pretty empty. Ooh! My new computer just arrived!
Ok, I’ll write more later. G’day all!
On Monday Jack Bauer was captured by the Chinese. I knew that is what was going to happen, because Jack can’t experience happiness for more than 30 minutes. Even that is a stretch. Season 5 was really good and so much has happened. I can’t wait untill it is out on DVD! Thank you to Chris for getting me hooked.
Today I am doing mucho laundry. I am going to start packing so that I am all ready to go for our big weekend! Josh has taken off half of Thursday and all of Friday so that we can go to the eastern side of the state and celebrate birthdays and Memorial Day with friends and family. Thursday is Jacob’s last day of 1st grade and he has early dissmissal so Josh wants to be here when he gets home. Jacob’s class is basically done already, they cleaned out their lockers etc yesterday and today and tomorrow they’re “going” to “Camp Iwannaread.” They’re staying in the classroom but they have fun camplike activities planned and he got to take his sleepingbag, a flashlight, water bottle and a Hershey bar to school today. ‚
There are so many birthdays in May! I am glad that mine is one of them! It’s a beautiful month. So, I am going to run a Mary Kay special for my birthday. Anyone who places an order with me on the 27th (that is this coming Saturday, my birthday :D) ‚ will receive ‚ 29% off your entire order! If you’d like to see the current catalog just go to my website. www.marykay.com/beccathrap
(Or call me to hear what’s coming in June and pre-order to be the first to get the newest products!) You can place your order ‚ over the phone or online. If I will need to mail the product to you, please be sure to leave me your postal address. Thanks!
What a day I had yesterday! Fighting children, pounding headache, strict diet so no comfort from food, last minute changes in our weekend plans (which, really is fine, but anyone who knows me should know that I am a big fan of plans and can get flustered when they change at the last minute), …BUT it was worth it. Because at the end of the day we came home in our brand new used Chrysler Town & Country LE! Jacob started to cry when we told him we were switching vans, and then all the kids (exception: Elena) started arguing about who had to sit in the all-the-way-back and who got to sit in the middle-back. I didn’t tell them that it didn’t matter because I had the coolest seat there was–DRIVER’S! So, I’m not uber-excited that our new van is gold, or that we are going to have a monthly loan payment (which we haven’t had for at least a year now) but, our old van was sooo on its last leg and I am WAY excited to have something newer and hopefully safer/more reliable. It’s also got lots of fun upgrades from our old van like: a driver’s seat in one piece, properly functioning winshield wipers, functioning rear wiper spray, working tape deck (with a feature that if you put in a tape but you need to rewind it or something the radio can still play while the tape rewinds! Love it!), working cruise control–destined to be Josh’s new favorite feature! Not to mention the automatic garage door buttons, heated seats, and 6-disc cd changer! I am so pumped about driving to Muscatine today. It’s gonna be a fun ride! I’ll try (probably after this weekend) to post some pictures here of the new van, and the kids saying good-bye to the old one. BTW, in case you are interested, the final mileage on our old van when we traded it was appx 228, 620! It was a good van, we rode it hard, may it now rest peacefully.
Ok, I am not trying to kill myself, but it sure feels like it! I just did 5 minutes on my eliptical machine on the heart rate setting (youch) and though I was burning after 3 minutes I forced myself to do 5 and I really pushed the last 30 seconds. I am building my stamina so that ‚ I can use the machine daily for a length of time that will actually affect my physique. I am on a weight loss team now and we plan to win! And I’m going to be posting a bit of my progress here and you can all help keep me accountable. I plan to do another 5 minutes sometime this evening and go for a short walk outside this afternoon. I’ve taken my vitamin, brushed my teeth, and eaten fresh fruit for breakfast (which, didn’t taste so good after brushing my teeth, I think I’ll reverse the order of that tomorrow!) I’m drinking ice water and looking forward to a salad with chicken and fat free ranch dressing for lunch eventually. My team is so gonna win and we are gonna be HOT!!! I am already proud of myself. I went grocery shopping last night and I had a list full of fresh fruits, veggies, whole grain bread and staples like skim milk, eggs, cheese, diapers etc. And I walked right passed all the Little Debbies, Krispy Kremes, Oreos, sugar cereals, etc. My cart was spilling with apples and pears and a cantaloupe and tomatoes and celery and carrots and lettuce and mushrooms and(they were out of sprouts :() skinless chicken breast and fat free cottage cheese and shredded mini wheats etc. The only thing I bought that wasn’t originally on my list was some thin sliced sirloin tip beef that was nearing its sell by date so they had it marked way down. But, I don’t eat much red meat, so I’m kinda looking forward to grilling it with a little salt and pepper (I’m boring like that. I don’t get all into the rubs and spices like Josh does). Or, if its too thin for grilling, maybe I’ll stir fry it with mushrooms, celery, and broccoli…mmm. ‚
Mothers Day was yesterday and I wanted to ‚ thank the many wonderful mothers in which I have been blessed to meet. After the sunday school lesson yesterday and listening to Glenn Beck’s radio program on 98.3 WOW FM in Des Moines from 10:00 to 1:00 (I usually only catch about 30 minutes driving to Hy-Vee Corporate) I realized even more how much mothers really do. They take care of the family and the Husbands. They organize our lives and make sure we are presentable. They are unselfish when it comes to watching over the children and Helping others. My wife thinks of others more than I do. She has the ability to understand mostly what I say, when I rarely understand what she really means and still she loves me and lets me try daily to understand her even better. I Know that I will continue to strive to understand my Wife and more importantly ‚ I will strive to show more respect for all women and pay more attention to the many things that they accomplish.
Today is my 3 Year anniversary for being employed by The Weitz Company 2 of which being with Hy-Vee Weitz. I love my Job. I have only been a graduate for 6 months and I am excited to be in my career.