mandaloo . com

i pulled a five-year-old move this evening and accidentally touched the hot stove. the fingerpads on my right hand are not feeling so well as a result. this does not do much to improve my image in the kitchen. jeromy said that we need to mandy-proof everything. i’ve been a mess of stubbed toes, jammed fingers, bites, bruises, etc. lately. bleh.

guess what i’m doing tomorrow? right… counting more trees. i’m sooooooooooo ready for fall. luckily, my boss doesn’t think we’ll work very late due to the crazy intense heat.

the family reunion this year was awesome. smaller crowd, but it was still good. i love watching all of the older family members and the grace and poise they all have. such a lovely group… and it was nice to be able to write the family name on my name tag this year and not just be a girlfriend. i truly feel so blessed to have become an official part of the bunch. i made a mental note to try to bring something for auction next year, as the auction last weekend didn’t bring in as much as it usually does. jeromy and i were thrilled to have bidded on and won one of the hand-painted saws his aunt brings. from what i understand, the saw was actually used back in the day by jeromy’s grandfather and his grandfather’s brother. the saws have been kept all this time and now, aunt fern paints beautiful scenes with flowers on them. it’s such a great idea and we are tickled to have one to display in our home.

it’s quakecon week this week/weekend. and while i usually go for as much of the event as i can, i don’t know if i’ll be making much of an appearance (at all) this year. i simply have too much to do and there are shoots pretty much every weekend in august. besides… for the last year or so, jeromy and the boys just gripe about things (games not working, computers not working, etc.) the whole time and it makes me feel like i wasted my time (i distinctly remember jeromy saying that he wasn’t going this year after the let-down 2007 was, but that seems to be forgotten). but we’ll see. jeromy and i are making dinner for the missionaries tomorrow night and then he’ll be off to quakecon. gosh knows when i’ll see him after that. he has to sleep sometime, right?

dad has a couple of interviews set up for the near future… we hope that good news shakes out of all that soon.

our dogs are getting lazy … well, lazier than normal. we need to get back into the habit of walking them more. we had taken it a little too hard on turco one night, so we kinda cooled it for a while. but now, they’re getting unusually slothful. then again, they are bassets. doing nothing is what they are good at. heh.

the grass in the yard is almost dead, so jeromy has been doing a good job of trying to water regularly and bring it back to life. it’s crunchy and yellow… just add water?

another word i don’t like… moist. it makes my throat feel funny just to say it.

i’m counting down to some big changes in life right now. it won’t all play out for a good while, but we’re planning and getting ready. just in general, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel gives hope and makes things not seem so bad. happy anticipation is a good thing. there’s a lot to be thankful for in the present and there’s a lot to look forward to in the future.

nina got a job. i’m very very very happy for her – she’s one of the wittiest, smartest, funniest people i know and i’ve been in awe of her and her abilities since i first met her back in the day. i’m super glad for her and hope that this opportunity will be everything she deserves.

how many days till hockey season starts?

a string of updates which will probably take up the leftover energy i have from this week. heh… not really. i’ve been trying to take it a bit easier lately. treated myself last weekend to some much needed hang out time with the friends. saw the new batman flick and LOVED it. it’s highly recommended in my book. i want to see it again actually. i’ve been slowing down my level of effort at work, but that can only happen for so long. i’m sure next week will resume the craziness.

dad has an interview next wednesday. we’re all praying that god will lead him to where he needs to go soon. i played with my dad’s resume earlier this week and he was happy with the improvements.

went to college station for work yesterday. yep… aggieland. i remarkably escaped without losing any IQ points (i think). hahahaha… just kidding.

had dinner with mom and dad last night… she made my favorite – tuna noodle casserole. mmmm mmm! there’s nothing like your momma’s cooking to give you the warm fuzzies. alan is doing well in cosmetology school. he’s making A’s in all of his classes and is vice president of the student council. i’m mega proud of him. he gave his first hair cut earlier this week i think. mom says that he seems happy with what he is learning and getting to do, so that is good.

while at mom’s last night, i learned some random facts about my birth father (probably more than i’ve ever known about him in the last 25 years) – his middle name, his birthday, what he did in the military, etc. to my mom’s knowledge, he never told his family about my existence. i was the first girl born in five generations and they had no clue. i don’t know if they do now or not, but yeah. for some reason, i felt funny. don’t get me wrong – i’m not looking to contact and/or have a relationship with the guy. he made his decision and he got voted off the “dad” island when he signed over his rights to daddy so that i could be adopted. but for some reason – i had always assumed his family knew about me and that his mom, dad, etc. just turned their backs as well. not the case. and it made me sad and confused for a moment.

i looked like an absolute insane dallas stars fan today. i wore my modano shirt since i wanted to be in “comfy” mode after work. when jeromy got home, turco accidentally got out and i was chasing him down the cul de sac yelling “turco!” so yeah… i’m sure anyone familiar with the team would have sat back and said, “now there’s a real fan!” we’re probably going to do a partial set of season tickets this year. ’twill be fun.

we booked a cruise. we’ll leave port on march 2, 2009 and enjoy 5 days of bliss in the western caribbean. it’ll be something fun to celebrate our first anniversary with and will get us out of the house to make some fun memories. i’m beyond stoked. i really haven’t ever gone on a vacation like this before. it definitely is something to look forward to.

i’m ready for summer to be over. doing tree inventories in june and july has not been fun and i’m sure august won’t be much better. i’ll be the first to admit that i’m a heat wimp… any sign of warmth and i’m a sweaty mess (although not as heat sensitive as neo, who i’m sure is part polar bear or something).

family reunion is this weekend. we’ll be leaving for haskell, texas to see everyone. i’m looking forward to it, as i adore all of jeromy’s aunts, uncles, etc. they have always been such sweethearts to me. it will be a nice time to relax and enjoy good company.

poor sarge was in the hospital most of the day – he had chest pains this morning for work and they had an ambulance take him over. lori sent us a picture of him in the bed with his gown and little tubes everywhere. poor guy. they concluded that he did not have a heart attack, but they still don’t know what is wrong. he got to go home tonight, though, so that is good.

the word “slice” bothers me. a lot. don’t know why… always just has. bleh.

managed to get through a trip at fry’s with jeromy this evening without losing my mind. kind of. that place attracts the weirdest people… one guy in a super bright pink shirt with crazy hair that looked like he had just woken up after a week of sleep… then there was fannie-pack guy who looked like he hopped out of a gym from the 1980s… and then there was tank top guy who had some compressed air thingies wedged up in his bare-skin armpit and i thought how oogie it would be if he decided he didn’t want them and then someone would pick them up with his sweaty armpit germs on them. but these are just the things that i notice when jeromy’s trying to find a 12″ connector cord gizmo on a wall of 24″ connector cord gizmos.

jeromy and i walked into family dollar today to get some laundry baskets. somehow, in less than 10 minutes, we walked out with 5 laundry baskets, 3 rugs, 3 metal star wall hangings, 8 wash cloths, 4 hand towels, 8 regular towels, 2 lamps, and 4 packages of rawhide dog bones. yeah… we’re that good. this is why i hate shopping.

my daddy got laid off today. he had no clue that it was going to happen. it comes at a bad time for my family (i guess there is never a good time to lose the only income for a household, but still) and it’s a blow to us all. dad has been there for over nine years and i worked there for over seven before switching jobs last year. the fact that i have such close personal ties to a lot of my former coworkers makes it feel even more weird (even though i know it’s not personal). dad has put in countless late nights and missed out on a lot of memories with his family for the company. i know he’ll find another job and i know that god’s hand is aware of him. but i guess i’m just saddened by the fact that he has taken it really hard. he’s a traditional man with loyalty and commitment for whatever he does. he was already experiencing low confidence in some areas of his life and this has compacted it. it’s going to be a tough time for my family – i pray that they will have the strength to weather this storm until they reach sunnier places. dad supports them all and the clock is ticking. i would appreciate any prayers for my family during this time.

you know what i saw last saturday on tv? beakman’s world. it’s a science show for kids and i was a religious watcher of it back in the day. i still remember all sorts of stuff from that program and i’m sure it was a contributing force in my interest in science and ultimately, my degree in biology. i hadn’t seen it in years and somehow, it’s back on tv. terrific!

the lame-o award for the month goes to the guy that was next to us last friday watching fireworks with his wife and two girls. halfway through the show, he made them pack up and leave because “there were going to be too many people trying to get out afterwards.” the girls both looked way bummed out… so did the wife. they missed out on an amazing finale at the end. it’s a reminder of the kind of parent i do and don’t want to be. i can get carried away at times and become “dictator-like” (which jeromy didn’t hesitate to point out this weekend as we were knocking off items on our “house to do list”), but i really want to make sure that my kids have fun in life.

i’m planning on buying a d300 soon. it has received glowing reviews and i have been impressed with its capabilities and features. it’s a logical move to continue growing red brick and will give me more options (and hopefully make shooting in the back of dimly lit chapels with no flash a bit easier). in addition – it’ll give me capability to have two shooters going plus a backup body. i’ll have the funds in a matter of weeks and the high megapixel, live-viewing, self-cleaning sensor of high ISO goodness will be mine. i’ve heard the manual for it is long, but good. maybe i’ll actually read it this time and learn something, unlike my current camera where i just screwed around with settings. heh. i’ll probably weep with joy when i get it. hopefully more to come on that.

this week at work was a nice pace and enjoyable. i’m having lunch with a former coworker today in fort worth and am looking forward to catching up. not much planned for this weekend… i have a wedding to shoot on saturday and then hope to make some progress with various wedding and bridal edits that i am behind on.

the dogs crack me up… we so enjoy having them at the house and they’re always up to something. turco and bacon are becoming closer friends and i’m glad to see the comradery building.

nothing really going on besides that. it’s been surprisingly quiet in our lives (and it’s actually nice). had dinner with jenny last night after not seeing her for weeks and i realized just how dull everything on my end has been.

Been a busy, productive weekend. First chance to sit down and it seemed appropriate to do a mindless, relaxing survey…

48 ODD Things about you! (stolen from Ann’s Myspace bulletin)

1) Do you like blue cheese?
Yes

2) Do you own a gun?
More than one

3) What flavor do you add to your drink at sonic?
Nothing – I’m lame like that

4) Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
Not typically.

5) What do you think of hot dogs?
I don’t think anything about them… I just eat ‘em

6) Favorite Christmas song?
Oh so many… but I’ll go with “Oh Holy Night”

7) What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Juice – or a Dr. Pepper if it’s one of those mornings

8.) Can you do push ups?
Yes – but probably not many

9) Can you do a chin up?
Ha! NO.

10) What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?
My wedding band … because it means I’m his.

11) Favorite hobby?
Taking pictures of people’s weddings.

12) Ever been in a car wreck?
Yes.

13) Do you have ADD?
Nope

14) What’s one trait that you love about yourself?
What you see is what you get

15) Middle name?
Elizabeth

16) Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
Glad to be sitting down finally. I have shoots to edit. I want a snack.

17) Name 3 things you bought yesterday?
Bed for guest room. A book. And tons of stuff at Lowe’s.

18) Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
Dr. Pepper, water, and apple juice

20) Current worry?
Not enough time to do what I want to do

21) Current hate right now?
Chiggers

22) How did you bring in the New Year?
Had a get together at the house

23) Where would you like to go?
New Zealand or Italy

24) Name three people who will complete this?
Don’t know…

25) Do you own slippers?
Yes – they are fuzzy

26) What shirt are you wearing?
An AFI shirt

27) Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
Yes

28) Can you whistle?
Yes

29) Favorite color?
Red

30) Would you be a pirate?
Do I get a cool name?

31) What songs do you sing in the shower?
When I sing, it is usually hymns

32) Favorite girl’s name?
Chloe, Paisley, Grace…

33) Favorite boy’s name?
Grant, Elijah…

34) Whats in your pocket?
Not a thing

35) Last thing that made you laugh?
My dorky basset hounds

36) Best bed sheets as a child?
Teenage mutant ninja turtles

37) Worst injury you’ve ever had?
Not much… cracked tailbone was probably the worst. Oh – and having a nail go through my foot

38) Do you love where you live?
Certainly

39) How many TVs do you have in your house/apartment?
2

40) Who is your loudest friend?
Hambone

41) How many dogs do you have?
Two – Bacon and Turco

42) Does someone have a crush on you?
The hubby probably does…

43) What is your favorite book?
Is it bad to say I don’t read that much? I totally dig anything by Sandra Cisneros and of course the scriptures are number one.

44) What is your favorite candy?
Reeses peanut butter cups are my weakness

45) Favorite Sports Team?
Dallas Stars

46) What song do you want played at your funeral?
*shrugs* Maybe something by Green Day?

47) What were you doing at 12 AM last night?
Finishing up watching a movie with Jeromy

48) What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
I need to dust, mop the floors, dive in on arranging the garage, etc.

my bridal pics (taken by Littrell Photography at Lake Grapevine after our wedding) are in. Below is a selection:

it was fun to go out to grapevine lake with jeromy all dressed up – it’s such a special place to us so it seemed logical to do a post-wedding bridal session out there. jeromy always looks scared in his photos, which is funny since he’s usually so jovial in every other situation.

this week has been long and tiring. i’ve had a lot of field work and i’m just plum exhausted after this week. i’m so looking forward to this three day weekend… we have tons of little things we want to do around the house. we sat and made a list tonight so that we can stay on track. most of it centers around getting things put away and organized. i’m hoping to dive in on decorating the house this month so that it actually feels like a home – getting curtains, pictures hung, etc. but – for the time being – everything is a mess so we need to conquer that little task first.

i hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of july!

“Oh, It is Love”
~Hellogoodbye

Oh, it is love
From the first time I set my eyes up on yours
Thinking oh, is it love?

Oh dear
It’s been hardly a moment
And you are already missed
There is still a bit of your skin
That I’ve yet to have kissed
Oh say please do not go
But you know, oh, you know that I must
Oh say I love you so
But you know, oh, you know you can trust
We’ll be holding hands once again
All our broken plans I will mend
I will hold you tight so you know
It is love from the first
Time I pressed my hand into yours
Thinking oh is it love?

Oh, dear, it’s been hardly three days
And I’m longing to feel your embrace.
There are several days
Until I can see your sweet face.
Oh say, wouldn’t you like to be older and married with me
Oh say, wouldn’t it be nice to know right now that we’ll be
Someday holding hands in the end
All our broken plans will have been
I will kiss you soft so you know
It is love from the first
Time I pressed my lips against yours
Thinking oh is it love?

Your heart may long for love that is more near
So when I’m gone these words will be here
To ease every fear
And dry up every tear
And make it very clear
I kiss you and I know
It is love from the first
Time I pressed my lips against yours
Thinking oh is it love?

Oh it is love from the first
Time I pressed my lips against yours
Thinking oh is it love?

I kiss you and I know
It is love from the first
Time I pressed my lips onto yours
Thinking oh is it love?

just a quick post before i head off to a bridal session over in rockwall…

this week has been just as mega-crazy as the last few. work was busy monday through thursday, which has become more and more of the norm.

on monday night, jeromy graduated from the hurst citizen’s fire academy. mom and dad came for the festivities, which included dinner and the presentation of their certificates (i’ll post photos soon). we were very proud of jeromy and i know that he’ll have a blast with future volunteering opportunities with the fire department.

we actually managed to go grocery shopping this week – something that had not occurred in months due to a general lack of time. our fridge and pantry are actually stocked with food and we’ve enjoyed being able to stay in and cook meals.

i took this morning off and got my last name officially changed at the social security office and driver’s license place. i’ll hit the bank tomorrow and have jeromy added to my account. it feels good to tie up this one little loose end… jeromy had been calling me by my maiden name all this time bc i hadn’t gotten this taken care of yet.

as mentioned before, i’m about to head to rockwall to do a bridal session. i have another wedding and bridal session scheduled for this weekend, too. crazy, huh? it keeps me busy but i sure love it. it’s like i feel nervous before each and every wedding, but once i get behind the lens, it just all flows. and it’s a uniquely great feeling that comes over me when i take photos for people. i’m nowhere as good as i want to be, but i learn with each session and event…and it’s something that i hope that i can continue to be successful at. i’m amazed at the awesome people i get to meet through this “financially compensating hobby” of mine… i am convinced i have the most amazing clients in the world. i have tons of edits to do (including some of my nephew, joshua), so i’ll be plugging away at those over july 4th weekend in between the various home projects we want to knock out.

dad and jeromy are going to the rangers game tonight. they have super good tickets, so i’m sure it will be a fun night for them both. if anything, it will give them a chance to relax and unwind from all the pressures/stresses in their lives right now.

i’ve been going to bed for the last two nights at 9:30… and it has done wonders for how i feel the next day. i totally have a huge crush on sleep right now. heh. gotta run…

this week has been full of work. i’m still at the office, actually – my mind just needed a break. ’tis been a relentless cycle – early mornings, long days, evenings filled with red brick work or real-job work, bed, and repeat. the next two weekends are chuck full of red brick stuff… which is fine, but i’m honestly wondering when i’m going to ever have time to clean house and take care of the million little things i need to do. we still have a garage full of boxes to be sorted/unpacked as well as two storage units. people point it out to me and anymore, it’s just funny. jeromy and i have been on autopilot and it’s becoming unhealthy… we’re fast food zombies these days and i find myself being able to talk to him less and less. the goal when we get home is to chunk food in our mouths and get to bed asap for well-needed sleep. conversations seem to have shrunken to brief status updates. maybe it’s just a rough time right now… and perhaps this shroud of sleepiness is just making things seem worse than what they really are.

there is a lot of thought about the future. what little bit we have talked has been centered around future plans and i find myself wondering what it is i really want. and i think i’ve found the answer… but it’s nothing like what i thought it would be five years ago. there are some big decisions for us on the horizon and i just need to remember to remain prayerful about it all so my silly human mind doesn’t mess things up.

why do we naturally look backwards when things get hard?

need something interesting to read? there is a woman who is suing victoria’s secret over a “thong malfunction“…. heh. friggin’ amazing.

jeromy’s undergoing a lot of stress at work – his coworker left this week and he’s been scrambling with various problems that have come up. jeromy’s been up late for the last two nights – poor guy. i’ll be gone most of this weekend, so i hope that the down time will be good for the hubby. *throws away the “honey-do” list*

i don’t mean to so negative, especially when i’m usually a “glass half full” individual. i really am so blessed. i have a stable job, a loving family, a roof over my head, and the most amazing spouse a woman could ask for. there’s just this overwhelming feeling that has been on my shoulders lately and i’m ready for it to lighten.

the dogs are doing good. turco and bacon seem to be getting along better and better every day. i’m glad that they each have companionship on long work days. they are so funny with their long ears and blank stares. each has their quirks, but both have adjusted nicely. the other night, though, i was a little alarmed when turco jumped up in to bed with us out of nowhere. i let out a big scream when this mass of 50 pounds landed on me unexpectedly in the dark. ’twas quite the adventure.

i think i best be going on my way now. i’ve killed enough time. happy friday eve!

so turco is a pro at the doggie door. bacon? not so much. she came from a house with a doggie door, but this one has magnets at the bottom and i think the resistance is throwing her off. oh well… maybe with time she’ll get it. poor little girl. everything else with the doggies is good.

i’ve had field work the last two days and i know i sound like a total wimp, but i have over 200 chigger bites from the waist down. ’tis not pleasant. and yes… i had bugspray. the critters just go bonkers for me. my boss probably thinks i’m nuts… i was all scratchy today. and i can deal with several elements separately – being scratched up, heat, bugs, etc. but when they are all combined, i have come to the realization that it’s not a good thing and it causes me to go into girl mode. ugh – hate that. my boss was doing the hard work of actually tagging the trees, which meant he was getting way more cut up by greenbriar than i was. we actually had to use a machete today to get through to the trees. i don’t mean to be debbie downer, but my legs feel like they are on fire – jeromy’s on his way home from work with some medicine stuff (he had the car today so i’m vehicle-less). he’s going to be my knight in shining armor when he walks through that door with campho phenique.

i’m excited because this weekend, i get to ride out with lori. twelve hours of police action. she’s such an amazing sweetie and i think it’s going to be a blast. jeromy’s fire department ride out was not very exciting last weekend (ten hours with no calls… a record for the department) so he may re-attempt this weekend.

i want a tuna sandwich. jeromy just called – he’s around the corner with bread. can he be any more amazing? no.