2 Blogs in one day! Gheesh! I am going to get burned out on this whole blogging thing! Guess I just have a lot to catch you up on!
Normally, every Sunday evening Drew treks to the local Laundromat with a week's worth of dirty laundry while I go grocery shopping. However, this week, we were unable to accomplish our laundry on Sunday, and thus, I volunteered to do it today on my day off. Laundry became "Drew's Chore" because of the super sketchy and shady laundromat we used to go to that was more like a half-way house than a laundry facility. Drew felt threatened just stepping foot into the building, let alone sitting on a couch/homeless person's abode. Long story short, Drew eventually got so scared that he ventured off to another laundromat. This was a great move! A clean, air-conditioned, affordable, non-sketchy laundromat! Who knew such a place existed? Anyway, this was the only reason why I did laundry today, because I can now feel safe doing so!
So I lugged the huge basket of clothes down our stairs, into my jeep, and eventually into 3 washers and 1 dryer respectfully. So far, so good, except for the minor detail of accidentally purchasing fabric softener instead of detergent (an error easily remedied, mind you). All in all it only took me about an hour to wash and dry said clothes, and then I returned home with a basket of fresh, warm, and still slightly damp clothes (let's be honest, no matter how long you dry 'em, they never fully dry at a laundromat). I have to be honest, I was a bit proud of myself....a bit too proud! I actually enjoyed the quiet hum of the machines. Peace. Solitude. No wonder Drew escapes to the laundromat while I scour the aisles of mass-produced, discounted grocery items, comparing listed prices to my coupons and meal list for the week, with 10,000 other wives and mothers. I nearly have an anxiety attack every time I go down the international aisle! "Laundry is the easy chore!" I said to myself.
It was all fine and dandy until I attempted to rescue my workout pants from the pile of clean, but unfolded clothes. I decided to hold off on folding the items until after Zumba. Big mistake. I now know why Drew folds them as soon as they come out of the dryer at the laundromat. The clothes were a tangled mess! It was like playing a Barrel of Monkeys, but with socks, towels, panties, bras, and of course, stretchy exercise pants! You see, I've always been a bit of a "bull-in-a-china-cabinet" according to my mother, and so instead of patiently un-tangling each item, I just searched for my exercise pants and when I found them, pulled! It was a game of tug-of-war between me and a towel, and I refused to lose! So I pulled, and they stretched, pull, stretch, pull, stretch, and rip! Shoot. Rip? Where did these pants rip? Or was it the towel? I searched every seam in my pants and found no rips, so I naturally assumed that maybe it was the towel after all, or maybe it was just a seam that stretched in my pants. No damage done, so I sighed, put on my workout clothes and headed to Zumba.
3 songs into Zumba, during a side lunge to a salsa song, I noticed a peachy color around my thigh. Hmm...what is that? Upon closer observation I noticed that it was a dime-sized hole on the inseam of my pants. BLAST! Oh well, it was tiny, and I could fix it when I got home. That is, if the hole did not stretch and spread....and it did. Of course it did. A few songs later, I saw in the mirror another hole. NO! When I examined this, I discovered that my entire inseam was coming un-sewn and spreading. It was only a matter of time until the rip made it all the way up my hind side, and I was in the front row with 2 rows of women behind me, and mirrors all the way around the room. NO. WAY. I was not about to show all the ladies behind me such an unfortunate view, while ghetto dancing to a reggaton song. Maybe in a Shakira video such a disgrace would be accepted, but not in my midwestern Zumba class. Not today.
I kindly excused myself from class for the rest of the evening.
See, this is why Drew should stick to laundry.
MB
Monday, September 26, 2011
Life in the Darr House
Why hello! I feel as if I haven't spoken to you in a year! As it turns out, it has been almost a year since I last blogged on this site. I came to the realization that I am not a dedicated blogger. (Duh, you might say). I thought I would attempt blogging again...we shall see!
Here is a quick status update on the Darr casa: Drew is in his second and final year of his Master's in Lit. program at SIU. He is teaching, and thesis-ing, and perhaps striking (turn on the news for more info.)! Lot's of excitement on that end for sure! I am working as an event coordinator with a local company here. We have adopted a kitty named Yeti since I last wrote and he is in fact just a vicious as he is sweet! But we love him none-the-less! We are in the same apartment, but many decorative changes have occurred, in which I will post pictures later! Of course, a few things have remained the same, such as the spider over our front door, Charlotte, whom I blogged about last year. She has remained and even invited a few spider buddies to live with her. Hey, I get it, rent ain't cheap! Can't say I blame her!
Well, I would keep writing, but I have to get ready for Zumba. Yep, I am back on the Zumba bandwagon and I love it. It is truly the only thing I do for fun here and I always look forward to it!
Later!
MB
Here is a quick status update on the Darr casa: Drew is in his second and final year of his Master's in Lit. program at SIU. He is teaching, and thesis-ing, and perhaps striking (turn on the news for more info.)! Lot's of excitement on that end for sure! I am working as an event coordinator with a local company here. We have adopted a kitty named Yeti since I last wrote and he is in fact just a vicious as he is sweet! But we love him none-the-less! We are in the same apartment, but many decorative changes have occurred, in which I will post pictures later! Of course, a few things have remained the same, such as the spider over our front door, Charlotte, whom I blogged about last year. She has remained and even invited a few spider buddies to live with her. Hey, I get it, rent ain't cheap! Can't say I blame her!
Well, I would keep writing, but I have to get ready for Zumba. Yep, I am back on the Zumba bandwagon and I love it. It is truly the only thing I do for fun here and I always look forward to it!
Later!
MB
Sunday, October 10, 2010
So much to say....
Quick Update: My cat is not dead yet. When I wrote my last blog I was under the impression that she was going to be put to sleep the next day. Thankfully, she perked up a little bit. She will not be healed from this, but for now we are just watching her and as soon as she gets worse we will put her down. Thank you for your kind words and prayers. It was a hard week last week. I will be heartbroken when she leaves, but I think I have come to some terms of acceptance.
Tonight Drew and I went to church. Wow. We love our church. It is so alive. Anyway, the past few weeks the pastor has been preaching on Freedom from Sin, but more specifically sin that has been placed on you. How to free victims from tragedy that has attacked them through forgiveness, and what that looks like Biblically. It has been a revolutionary series in my life. I am so broken. My body feels spiritually shredded. I am exhausted. I am sick of carrying the burden of pain on my shoulders. Forgiveness is a constant choice. We have to choose to forgive people who have hurt us again, and again. Each time we are reminded of the pain we must choose to forgive. Forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation though.
I struggle with this. I think everyone does. I need strength to constantly forgive. I need more prayer in my life. I need more focused "God time". I get so easily distracted.
So many times I ask God "Why?". Why did you allow this heartbreak to happen? Why did you allow my family to be so torn to pieces? Why did you allow a beautiful mother, wife, daughter, friend, and cousin to be taken so early? The answer of course is sin, but somehow I am not satisfied with that response. The message on freedom from sin has been teaching us to stop asking "why?", and start asking "what now?". Such a good point. I cannot change what has happened. I can only learn how to proceed and grow. Sometimes I hate that. I want so badly to change outcomes. But I know that God is the only being capable of changing such lives.
In the meantime, a song that has given me both pain and comfort is "Slow fade" by Casting Crowns. Their lyrics in this song are perfect. It encourages me to live a life that I want my own children to follow someday. I want so badly to be an amazing mother, but primarily a woman of God. I saw a quote a few days ago that said "I want to be the kind of woman of God that when I wake up and put my feet on the floor the devil says "Oh crap! She is up!". AMEN. I want to be that. I have a long way to go, but in the mean time these lyrics help me stay reminded and encouraged:
Lyrics to "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns:
Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day
Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
Tonight Drew and I went to church. Wow. We love our church. It is so alive. Anyway, the past few weeks the pastor has been preaching on Freedom from Sin, but more specifically sin that has been placed on you. How to free victims from tragedy that has attacked them through forgiveness, and what that looks like Biblically. It has been a revolutionary series in my life. I am so broken. My body feels spiritually shredded. I am exhausted. I am sick of carrying the burden of pain on my shoulders. Forgiveness is a constant choice. We have to choose to forgive people who have hurt us again, and again. Each time we are reminded of the pain we must choose to forgive. Forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation though.
I struggle with this. I think everyone does. I need strength to constantly forgive. I need more prayer in my life. I need more focused "God time". I get so easily distracted.
So many times I ask God "Why?". Why did you allow this heartbreak to happen? Why did you allow my family to be so torn to pieces? Why did you allow a beautiful mother, wife, daughter, friend, and cousin to be taken so early? The answer of course is sin, but somehow I am not satisfied with that response. The message on freedom from sin has been teaching us to stop asking "why?", and start asking "what now?". Such a good point. I cannot change what has happened. I can only learn how to proceed and grow. Sometimes I hate that. I want so badly to change outcomes. But I know that God is the only being capable of changing such lives.
In the meantime, a song that has given me both pain and comfort is "Slow fade" by Casting Crowns. Their lyrics in this song are perfect. It encourages me to live a life that I want my own children to follow someday. I want so badly to be an amazing mother, but primarily a woman of God. I saw a quote a few days ago that said "I want to be the kind of woman of God that when I wake up and put my feet on the floor the devil says "Oh crap! She is up!". AMEN. I want to be that. I have a long way to go, but in the mean time these lyrics help me stay reminded and encouraged:
Lyrics to "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns:
Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day
Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
Monday, October 4, 2010
Lucy
Today I am writing with tears filling my swollen eyes. These past 72 hours have been horrible. I went home to Atlanta to the weekend to find that my precious kitty cat Lucy was very sick. My mother warned me that she was sick, but for some reason it did not sink in until I took her to the vet on Saturday morning. She weighed only 5 pounds, which is about half of her normal weight. The doctor took some blood tests and we got the results this morning. Her kidneys are failing. She is 12 years old, so I guess this should be somewhat expected, but it was not. I was in no way prepared for this. The vet said that we could give her dialysis 3 times a week, but that it would not cure her. It would only make her last days more comfortable. Knowing this would be painful and difficult for her, he suggested we put her to sleep.
I knew from the vet's expressions on Saturday that she may not have much time left. I spent the entire weekend holding her, kissing her, spoon feeding her tuna and yogurt (her two favorite foods), and Drew suggested we take a photo shoot. I am so thankful we did that. I have some beautiful pictures of she and I.
Lucy was my absolute best friend. That may sound weird considering she was a cat, but I have had her for more than half of my life. I picked her out before she was even born from a litter of a friend's cat. I have spoiled her since she was born. I dressed her up, pushed her in a stroller, played with her outside (which she loved), played with her and her toys, and in return she was ALWAYS there for me. She saw me through childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. She saw me have my heartbroken for the first time. She licked the tears on my cheeks and would lay on my back whenever I cried. It was her way of comforting me. If I was crying in my room, she would find me and lay right next to me. She always made me feel better. She was with me when tragedy struck my family. She was the only one I could tell all of my feelings to. She was with me through high school and when I moved to college she was always waiting for me when I came home for breaks. We were inseparable.
I think she is the most beautiful animal in the world. She has never bitten or scratched a soul. She lets babies rough house with her and she remains incredibly sweet. She always took care of me. She saw me get married and knew that Drew could take care of me now. I think that has a lot to do with her sickness taking over so quickly. I think she held on until she knew I was in good arms. Our last night in Atlanta she spent a lot of time with Drew. She sat in his lap and slept practically on him when we were sleeping. This was weird because I am normally the only person she does that to. I honestly think it was her way of telling him that she trusts him to take care of me now since her time was almost finished.
I cannot imagine life without Lucy. I am beyond heartbroken. I will never have another relationship like that. I will miss her terribly. I dread the next few hours knowing that her time on this earth is limited.
Your prayers are very much appreciated.
MB
I knew from the vet's expressions on Saturday that she may not have much time left. I spent the entire weekend holding her, kissing her, spoon feeding her tuna and yogurt (her two favorite foods), and Drew suggested we take a photo shoot. I am so thankful we did that. I have some beautiful pictures of she and I.
Lucy was my absolute best friend. That may sound weird considering she was a cat, but I have had her for more than half of my life. I picked her out before she was even born from a litter of a friend's cat. I have spoiled her since she was born. I dressed her up, pushed her in a stroller, played with her outside (which she loved), played with her and her toys, and in return she was ALWAYS there for me. She saw me through childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. She saw me have my heartbroken for the first time. She licked the tears on my cheeks and would lay on my back whenever I cried. It was her way of comforting me. If I was crying in my room, she would find me and lay right next to me. She always made me feel better. She was with me when tragedy struck my family. She was the only one I could tell all of my feelings to. She was with me through high school and when I moved to college she was always waiting for me when I came home for breaks. We were inseparable.
I think she is the most beautiful animal in the world. She has never bitten or scratched a soul. She lets babies rough house with her and she remains incredibly sweet. She always took care of me. She saw me get married and knew that Drew could take care of me now. I think that has a lot to do with her sickness taking over so quickly. I think she held on until she knew I was in good arms. Our last night in Atlanta she spent a lot of time with Drew. She sat in his lap and slept practically on him when we were sleeping. This was weird because I am normally the only person she does that to. I honestly think it was her way of telling him that she trusts him to take care of me now since her time was almost finished.
I cannot imagine life without Lucy. I am beyond heartbroken. I will never have another relationship like that. I will miss her terribly. I dread the next few hours knowing that her time on this earth is limited.
Your prayers are very much appreciated.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Charlotte's Web...of Death, Destruction, and Fear
Did you grow up reading the beloved children's story of "Charlotte's Web"? I certainly did. I read the story and loved the animated movie. I used to always rent the movie at the local library. However, now that I am an adult I realize that the author lied to us all. He portrayed Charlotte as some selfless, giving spider who saved a pig's life. Yes, that is very sweet and endearing, but let me tell ya gang....spiders are the devil.
There is a spider whom I refer to as Charlotte, that lives outside and above our front door. (And no she is not a pet, we are not that pathetic!). In the daytime she is completely hidden. I have no idea where she retreats! But at night time it is a completely different story. Charlotte is out and about weaving her miraculous web above our door. I will give it to her, it is a darn good web. It is wide, symmetrical, and I am sure quite beautiful in the eyes of a spider, but to me it is a trap of death, destruction, and fear. Each night she expands her web, but she also likes to vandalize our property (this would be the destruction aspect). We have a mailbox on the bricks next to our door. It has a little metal flap that you can raise and close to conceal your mail. Charlotte loves to play tricks on us and cover the entire mailbox with web....every...single....cotton pickin' night! Every morning when I leave for work I see her web of filth on my mailbox. The poor mail man has to destroy the web just to put mail in our mailbox. I am convinced she does this because she knows it annoys me.
I am not fond of spiders. In fact, I am absolutely terrified of them. I have advanced arachnophobia. If there is a spider of reasonable size in my house and I am alone I leave. I can't even kill it myself. I start having panic attacks and feel like I am going to die. It is so frightening. So Charlotte and I don't have the greatest relationship. I dread coming and going at night because I just know that one of these days she is going to hop onto my head and stifle my breaths with her web of victory.
One positive thing about Charlotte though, she keeps other bugs away. Maybe some day she will right "The Darrs" over our door for us. If she does that, I will consider letting her stay.
Till then,
There is a spider whom I refer to as Charlotte, that lives outside and above our front door. (And no she is not a pet, we are not that pathetic!). In the daytime she is completely hidden. I have no idea where she retreats! But at night time it is a completely different story. Charlotte is out and about weaving her miraculous web above our door. I will give it to her, it is a darn good web. It is wide, symmetrical, and I am sure quite beautiful in the eyes of a spider, but to me it is a trap of death, destruction, and fear. Each night she expands her web, but she also likes to vandalize our property (this would be the destruction aspect). We have a mailbox on the bricks next to our door. It has a little metal flap that you can raise and close to conceal your mail. Charlotte loves to play tricks on us and cover the entire mailbox with web....every...single....cotton pickin' night! Every morning when I leave for work I see her web of filth on my mailbox. The poor mail man has to destroy the web just to put mail in our mailbox. I am convinced she does this because she knows it annoys me.
I am not fond of spiders. In fact, I am absolutely terrified of them. I have advanced arachnophobia. If there is a spider of reasonable size in my house and I am alone I leave. I can't even kill it myself. I start having panic attacks and feel like I am going to die. It is so frightening. So Charlotte and I don't have the greatest relationship. I dread coming and going at night because I just know that one of these days she is going to hop onto my head and stifle my breaths with her web of victory.
One positive thing about Charlotte though, she keeps other bugs away. Maybe some day she will right "The Darrs" over our door for us. If she does that, I will consider letting her stay.
Till then,
Monday, September 13, 2010
Life in the Newlywed house
Tonight was a typical night in the Darr home. It began with Drew working on homework while I cooked dinner. What did I cook you might ask? I made Drew's mom's Enchiladas. Boy are they yummy! But I made a reduced fat version using all light/fat-free ingredients. (Except on Drew's I poured on the cheese! Trying to fatten that boy up!). They were quite tasty, but they never seem to taste as good as Julie's. No, I am not only writing that to suck up, it is actually true. Maybe I have the recipe wrong, but I think it is just something about having a mom cook dinner for you that makes it taste better. Maybe someday when we have kids my cooking will improve.
Moving on...
After that Drew did the dishes and then returned to his homework while I proceeded to catch up on chick-flicks on our movie channels. Tonight was Sex and the City. While I do not condone the behaviors or the content of the movie, I do appreciate the friendship of the ladies and of course, the AMAZING costumes. Fabulous. After watching this movie I wanted an immediate make-over. I have been craving a re-invention of my style for a few weeks now. I feel awkward. My summer clothes are too summery, yet I have no fall clothes since I have been residing in Palm Beach the past 4 years. I did manage to pick up two fall numbers at T.J. Max in Indianapolis this past weekend. I love T.J. Max and we do not have one here or within 60 miles. Major bummer. Anyway, more on my makeover later.
After my movie was over, Drew wanted a break from his homework, so we did what we always do: Busted out the Rummikub. Oh how I love and hate this game all at the same time. Drew typically wins. I typically lose. And then I get frustrated and make Drew pick up the game. We play this probably on average 3-5 times a week. Sometimes more if it is a really slow week. I would love to say that tonight I won, but of course that is laughable because Drew won, yet again.
After my defeat, my confidence was even lower than before we played the game. So I said to myself (and to Drew) "By Ned! I'ma give myself a haircut. Right now!". Now folks, Drew put up a good fight. He hid the scissors, he asked me what Future Mary would say to Impulsive Mary about this idea. But both Future Mary and Impulsive Mary decided the time had come and with two snips I gave myself side-bangs. Nice. Real Nice. But I was left unsatisfied. I needed more. So one giant snip later my hair was about 4 inches shorter on the left. I felt invigorated. I cut the other side. Then I cut the back. Finally I paraded my new "do" to Drew and waved the four-inch wad of hair in his face as if it were a huge fan.
We all new this new "married-woman" haircut was coming. It was just a matter of time and money. In the end this cost me very little time and money. So I say "Job well done Mary!".
Ahh...what we do to pinch the pennys.
For now,
Moving on...
After that Drew did the dishes and then returned to his homework while I proceeded to catch up on chick-flicks on our movie channels. Tonight was Sex and the City. While I do not condone the behaviors or the content of the movie, I do appreciate the friendship of the ladies and of course, the AMAZING costumes. Fabulous. After watching this movie I wanted an immediate make-over. I have been craving a re-invention of my style for a few weeks now. I feel awkward. My summer clothes are too summery, yet I have no fall clothes since I have been residing in Palm Beach the past 4 years. I did manage to pick up two fall numbers at T.J. Max in Indianapolis this past weekend. I love T.J. Max and we do not have one here or within 60 miles. Major bummer. Anyway, more on my makeover later.
After my movie was over, Drew wanted a break from his homework, so we did what we always do: Busted out the Rummikub. Oh how I love and hate this game all at the same time. Drew typically wins. I typically lose. And then I get frustrated and make Drew pick up the game. We play this probably on average 3-5 times a week. Sometimes more if it is a really slow week. I would love to say that tonight I won, but of course that is laughable because Drew won, yet again.
After my defeat, my confidence was even lower than before we played the game. So I said to myself (and to Drew) "By Ned! I'ma give myself a haircut. Right now!". Now folks, Drew put up a good fight. He hid the scissors, he asked me what Future Mary would say to Impulsive Mary about this idea. But both Future Mary and Impulsive Mary decided the time had come and with two snips I gave myself side-bangs. Nice. Real Nice. But I was left unsatisfied. I needed more. So one giant snip later my hair was about 4 inches shorter on the left. I felt invigorated. I cut the other side. Then I cut the back. Finally I paraded my new "do" to Drew and waved the four-inch wad of hair in his face as if it were a huge fan.
We all new this new "married-woman" haircut was coming. It was just a matter of time and money. In the end this cost me very little time and money. So I say "Job well done Mary!".
Ahh...what we do to pinch the pennys.
For now,
Friday, September 3, 2010
Funny Story Gang
Well gang, I got a job today! Oh life has a funny sense of humor (rather the Lord). The job that I was "too professional" for hired me today. Mary (the manager) called me and asked if I was still interested in the job. I said "of course" and then went down to the store for a drug test. When I arrived Mary asked me if I had heard back from any other applications yet, I said no, and said that I was thankful to have this job, because student loans were around the corner. I think she still expects for me to call in before my first shift and say I was hired somewhere else! (Which, trust me, I would if that happened).
Anyway, for now I am thankful. It is a part-time job in a retail shop, but at least it is something. It is a bit of extra cash to help pay for loans.
Onto other news....our dear friend Brett is coming to visit tonight with his lovely girlfriend! We are so excited! We can't wait to see Brett and meet Emily!
As always,
Anyway, for now I am thankful. It is a part-time job in a retail shop, but at least it is something. It is a bit of extra cash to help pay for loans.
Onto other news....our dear friend Brett is coming to visit tonight with his lovely girlfriend! We are so excited! We can't wait to see Brett and meet Emily!
As always,
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