A CARD, FLOWERS AND LOTS OF KISSES :)

So, can you believe we hit the one-year anniversary mark? We are excited. Not that we didn't think we would make it but it has flown by and has been wonderful!! A few weeks ago I told Donnie that I just wanted a card, flowers and lots of kisses for our anniversary since we just bought a new car and that was pretty much already my anniversary present! Donnie, like me, has a sense of humor and is a bit of a smarty pants---just like me! First, the Saturday before our anniversary we went out to eat at Hastings Steakhouse in Guthrie. Fancy and yum yum! I love it when you can order a steak and it is soooo flavorful and cooked so perfect that you don't even want any steak sauce! I wanted dessert and the restaurant, knowing it was our anniversary dinner, brought out the most wonderful dessert called "Eve's temptation." Could you guess it was made with apples?! It was a yummy caramel glazed apple dessert in some kind of crunchy bowl you could eat and came with ice cream :) . Anyway, they had taken chocolate and raspberry sauce and written Happer Anniversary around the bowl and decorated so cute! Of course I will have to upload a picture later to show you.

On Monday, our actual anniversary, I made pork chops, rice, cheesy potatoes and bought an Italian creme cake for us to eat. While I was getting dinner ready, Donnie came home. In his hand he had---now remember what I said above that I wanted---a card, flowers and a bag of Hershey kisses! How cute is that...he said "well, you said you wanted lots of kisses and I was trying to think of a cool way to do that besides just kissing you." I thought is was such a cute thing to do that we had a chuckle about and will always remember about our first anniversary. I told Donnie that even though he thinks I'm high maintenance, I love the little sweet things that melt your heart too! I hope we have many more anniversaries like our first!

FOR THOSE WHO ARE WONDERING-PRAYING...

I had my surgery on my hand Monday and had to miss work for two days b/c I am soooo righthanded and soooo NOT lefthanded that I could hardly function! Donnie was so sweet at not letting me do anything. He got mad at me when he found out I managed to make a sandwich! I love it when strong men show their soft sides!! He is so good to me!!!!! Let me tell you, that anesthetic hurt incredibly bad. I wanted to slap somebody. BUT, thanks to my mom and my grandmother, I have a high pain tolerance and as long as I can express out loud that it hurts, I'm good and you can keep hurting me :) Dr. Gelnar was awesome, as usual. I took it slow and easy. The needle was so long I thought it was going to go through the other side of my hand. I didn't know my hand was that deep from top to palm! Anyway, I watched him cut the big chunk out of my palm and watched him stitch me up. Felt the third stitch--YUMMY! They got me all cleaned up and sent me home. Then I was spoiled by my mom who likes to do that and she took me to eat at El Chico and then bought me shoes!! I just love mom's who love shoes almost as much as I do :)

RESULTS:
My biopsy came back negative. PRAISE GOD! If it had not been benign, they would have had to dig deeper in my hand and I am telling you, I type and take care of money and stuff and I would not have been able to work! I thank God for giving me two healthy hands every day! God is good. So, now I just have to watch my lovely fair skin and make sure I don't get sunburned and that I don't have any other suspicious lesions pop up. People, please check you skin and wear your sunscreen. It is so much more important than you realize! It could save your life. Thanks for those of you who prayed for me.

DON'T YOU HATE IT WHEN YOU HAVE TO BUY A NEW CAR?

Well, we did it, we bought a new car! I have become such a tightwad that I was having a harder time biting the bullet than my husband was. He kept saying we could afford it and even though I knew that, I just was not wanting to spend that much on a new car. However, you just can't buy a used car anymore and plan to drive it for five years without having to start putting money into it after about three years. So, we did it. We bought the car we have been wanting since they came out a year ago. We are now the proud owners of a Dodge Nitro SUV. It is a 4x4 like my blazer so I will be nice and safe when the ice comes! Believe it or not, it also gets better gas mileage than my blazer--GO FIGURE! I absolutely love it--satellite radio and all! If you are looking for a new vehicle or even used, I would definitely recommend Norman Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge. Yeah, I know, it is that stupid Norman Nobody guy that advertises but they are a 5-star dealership who gives you more for your trade-in. Helps if you are a little upside down in one which is what I was in my blazer with high mileage. They were terrific and I am so glad we went to them to buy!

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Yes, little Millie, our new dog, is making herself right at home with us. She is a mommy's girl but she is really starting to like daddy. She can cuddle up with him like a teddy bear and she loves it! Bear is starting to enjoy the idea as well---they were both on the bed this morning and he was kissing her--SO CUTE! I do believe she is younger than two years old,however. She is really trying to teeth and stuff that she should have grown out of by now, especially even after being spade! Oh well, we love her just the way she is and she will eventually mature. I'm just glad she hasn't torn up anything of mine since I have all our expensive wedding gifts and picture books and things displayed out! She's a good girl!
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Can't wait for the game tonight--BOOMER SOONER!

BACK TROUBLE AND...WE GOT A PUPPY

Well, I had to take my husband to the ER Monday morning after he woke up and couldn't walk! It is not like Donnie to complain of pain-he has such a high tolerance. However, he could hardly get dressed or as I said, walk. I called in for him...which is definitely something that doesn't happen and took him to the ER. I was afraid it was a kidney stone, as he had some flank pain on the left side that had been bothering him off and on for about a week and since he works in the heat and has been getting dehydrated...i thought maybe a kidney stone. I also wondered about sciatic nerve problem. Anyway, it was kind of confirmed in my mind to be sciatic nerve when he said he was numb all the way down his leg, thus not being able to walk. We got to the ER and found out after a few minutes that yes, his sciatic nerve was severely inflamed! He was given steroids and pain meds and sent home to rest, ice and stretch. I got to take care of him all day(happily when he was sleeping, cause the rest of the time he was complaining about missing work and feeling guilty for it). Who else agrees that men are not the best patients!! Can I get an Amen?! Anyway, he was better after taking the pain meds and sleeping and was even off again Tuesday due to still being real sore and not really thinking he could get around his warehouse very well. Hopefully he will get better and better and be back doing his old stuff again, only this time maybe he will SLOW DOWN!

Changing the subject just a bit--I got a dog! Yeah! We went to adoption at the Pet Cafe on Saturday but they only had medium to large dogs. They told us to go to the Animal Shelter on SE 29th and Bryant and we did. I actually found the smallest dog they had in the place. She is barely seven pounds grown. She is barely two years old and let's just say that place is so depressing. If you can give a dog a home, please go rescue one! She was in the BIG DOG side of the shelter where they were all yelling and barking and crying and she was shaking like everything! I just couldn't stand it. Anyway, I got her card and told Donnie she was the one. She was $25 and had just been spayed the day before and updated on all her shots. She is absolutely a mama's girl and the sweetest lap dog ever! I think Bear likes her just a bit too. Course, he thinks she is a play toy. We are teaching him to be a good big brother. We think she is a maltese but she has a terrier face so we are not sure what she is. Her name is Millie and she is right at home with us. I get to give her a bath tonight--she looks so bad I said if she was a boy I would have named her Scruffy :). It is awful too, she has a girl symbol and a number painted on her tummy for identification and for spading. I think that is horrible--like a concentration camp my husband says. BUT, it's all smooth sailing from here on out with Millie and her new home---Our family is almost complete.....

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!

Well, I went to the doctor last week to follow up on my thyroid and she backed me down to the smallest dose. Seems the medicine is working. And, she told me not to weight anymore because I was getting too depressed about not seeing pounds coming off. She said if I felt better and was doing better with eating and drinking lots of water as well as exercising, it was probably going to be a few more weeks to see difference on scale since I was gaining muscle first. I know this but hearing it from your doctor makes you really listen and take it all in! She also gave me a website called Fitday.com where you can put in anything you like to eat and it tells you calories, etc. , and it's a free website! I have already used it quite a bit to see if I can eat certain foods that I really like and still stay within my calories and I can-YEAH!

My hand surgery was moved up one day to the 20th and I am really wanting to get this over with. I just don't like the thought of my hand getting cut on. Also, I am planning on doing a contest three days later and don't want my hand to be all awkward when holding my microphone. On the other hand, maybe I can bandage it all up and get sympathy votes:) Just kidding_i wouldn't do that!

I am getting excited about having my last bridal pics taken. I have been planning this for some time now and have decided to get a bouquet of sunflowers to use in some of the pics. I wanted sunflowers to be my wedding flowers but callas and cymbidium orchids were much more elegant and really went with the classiness of our ceremony. Sunflowers just weren't soft enough for my dress! But I will have fun with them in pictures! I have to take my dress and get it steamed--AGAIN- for the pics b/c my mom had it hanging at her house but now it is folded in the bag and is probably pretty wrinkled. Thanks to my husband being friends with someone who owns a cleaners, she is going to do it for me free of charge--can we say-WOW! Thanks Jen, you're the best! I will surely post some of the pics up after they are done but it will be about a month down the road so be watching.......

33 AND FEELING LIKE I'M FALLING APART!

I don't know about anyone else but does it seem like you hit '30 and everything just goes downhill? I am very happy except with my body! I don't even eat any amount near what I used to and I try to eat healthy as well and it just doesn't matter--I AM FAT and getting FATTER! My GYN discovered I had a thyroid condition which is a BIG contributor to weight gain...however, I have been on thyroid medication for two months now, eating right and exercising and all for nothing! I have not lost one pound! I am a month behind now on getting pregnant b/c I seriously could not see adding another 25 or so pounds to where I am now nor do I think it would be healthy for the baby! What is a girl to do? I told my husband I was going to be fat and childless for the rest of my life if something didn't give. Of course he loves me for who I am but I am just miserable. I actually look like I am already pregnant when I look in the mirror! Maybe you could call it 'wanting to be pregnant' pounds I have gained...I just don't know but it has got to stop.

I pray that God gives me the strength and with his help I can really do it! And, if he wants us to have a baby and I give it my best, he will see it through...just disappointing.

There is some good news out of all of this, though. The nurse called me today and I am on too much thyroid and they are backing me down to the smallest dose there is....kind of pointless that I have to take it but it really does give me a bit more energy so I guess I really do need it!

I don't think I have really gained that much since the wedding...maybe five pounds or so, but pray for me...i am having some last photos taken in my dress before I put it away forever. I have been thinking about it for months now and am going to do it in September. Hopefully it will be a nice morning and we can find a really cool location....preferably with leaves that I can play in(since our theme was centered around the fall and was in October). Pray that I can drop a few pounds by then so my pictures will be pretty!

HAND SURGERY--IT'S SET

Well, it's official...August 21st I get to have this mole on my hand removed. It is under the skin but Dr. Gelnar said, it is a mole, not a freckle! It is also a precursor for melanoma--YEAH, just what I wanted to hear. So, we will take it out. I just pray it will turn out benign since I have had it for six years now! I am a little concerned about the removal process...it is right by a vein in the palm of my hand and right where my pen rests when I write! I am glad I am not typing full-time anymore...that would stink!

Oh well, we get these things taken care of and we move on,right?! My husband was real sweet, though(he thinks he needs to take off work that day). I told him there was no need but he says, "we'll see." That means in his mind, "i am taking off and there is nothing you can do about it." He has my best interests at heart, I know and just wants to make sure I am okay. The worst part will be getting the local anesthetic injected into my hand. I am glad I am not scared of needles but I don't like pain either. Although, I must say that after my gallbladder surgery, I thought I would be a major wimp and I wasn't. I was in pain and I expressed it but I didn't take any pain medication...just the anti-inflammatory, which does count as a 'pain' med and I did real well. Will be a piece of cake...UMMM, cake sounds good right about now.

SKIN CANCER--ugh!

Great, just what I needed....found out today that I might have a skin cancer on my hand! Did you know when you have a freckle that appears on the palm of your hand or on the bottom of your foot that it could be cancer and probably is? I had someone say that to me a long time ago but have had people that I know have noticed mine and have never seemed concerned. Today, the girl I work with got really freaked out over it and sent me to the office adjoining ours, as he is a general surgeon. He will look at it tomorrow and let me know if he needs to cut it out of my hand. Oh boy, just what I wanted!
Please pray that this is not the case....I know I am a bit predisposed to some form of cancer and if it had to be this little incident in my lifetime just once, I can live with that, but now I am a little concerned as well! I guess it is good that we find out about it now b/c if I want to have a baby I don't want to have this going on at the same time!
Know your body and check your skin real good...you never know what might pop up!

I JUST STARTED BLOGGING

SO...AFTER READING SO MANY BLOGS FROM PEOPLE I KNOW, I DECIDED I SHOULD START. I REALLY WOULD LIKE PEOPLE TO KNOW WHAT GOES ON WITH DONNIE AND I IN OUR LIFE TOGETHER...EVEN IF IT SEEMS AT TIMES THAT IT IS NOT VERY EXCITING! I REALLY LIKE HOW BLOGGING HELPS YOU REALLY GET TO KNOW SOMEONE'S PERSONALITY ESPECIALLY IF YOU DIDN'T REALLY GET TO KNOW THEM VERY WELL WHEN THEY WERE AROUND OR WHEN YOU KNEW THEM IN SCHOOL, ETC.

ANYWAY, ENOUGH OF THAT BORING INTRO...I AM SOOOO ENJOYING THE MARRIED LIFE AND MY HUSBAND! AND...WE TOOK OUR CHILD (FOUR-LEGGED ONE BY THE NAME OF BEAR) TO THE PET CAFE ON SATURDAY. IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN AND YOU LOVE YOUR FURRY FRIENDS, YOU SHOULD GO. IT IS OFF I-35 AND ROBINSON IN NORMAN BY THE BRAUM'S. WE ARE FRIENDS WITH THE OWNERS AND IT IS THE CUTEST PLACE EVER. IT IS A PET SHOP WITH A JAVA DAVE'S ADJOINING SO YOU CAN HAVE YOUR REFRESHMENTS AND YOUR PET HAS AN INVITATION TO SOME TASTY TREATS AS WELL. BEAR LOVED IT A LOT! THEY HAVE BEEN HAVING PET ADOPTIONS ON SATURDAYS AND GARY AND DUSTY, THE OWNERS HAD JUST ADOPTED A LITTLE SCHNAUZER THAT DAY...BEAR AND THE LITTLE GIRL JUST FELL IN LOVE(FUNNY SEEING AS HOW SHE IS A SCHNAUZER AND HE IS A LARGE HUSKY). IT WAS CUTE...I WILL HAVE TO POST THE PICTURES WHEN I GET HOME TONIGHT! VISITING THE PET CAFE IS A MUST.

CHANGING THE SUBJECT A LITTLE....
HAVE ANY OF YOU NOTICED THAT IT IS HARD TO FIND GOOD WORKERS THESE DAYS?! PEOPLE SEEM TO BE SO LAZY AND DON'T WANT TO WORK...OR THEY ARE UNRELIABLE...OR THEY WANT WAY TOO MUCH MONEY FOR THE AMOUNT OF WORK THEY ARE WILLING TO DO! I AM STILL FAIRLY YOUNG BUT WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPEN TO THE OLD DAYS WHERE YOUR JOB WAS ALL ABOUT INTEGRITY AND YOU GAVE YOUR BOSS YOUR ABSOLUTE BEST!!!

WELL, OFF MY SOAPBOX NOW AND ONTO, WELL, I GUESS HOME FOR NOW...