I have a good feeling...

Today, my mom and I will be going to two stores looking for centerpiece stuff. I have the main part of the centerpiece already figured out (a 3X7 pillar candle wrapped with a lilac and a silver ribbon), just need to get a mirror, and something to add substance! I have a very good feeling that we will find the perfect piece to finish the whole look! Yay!!!

~Peanut


"Credit buying is much like being drunk. The buzz happens immediately and gives you a lift.... The hangover comes the day after."
-Joyce Brothers

You know something???

In the process of preparing my blog for my friends' story, I found out that some fellow parishioners at my church may be visiting my blog. I had decided that I would attempt to "clean up" some of the posts, but then again, that would take away from the character of the blog itself!!! Having said that...if you venture farther into my blog then just the first page, and you are offended by anything, I whole-heartedly apologize. Also, feel free to leave me your comments on any story you may read here. I LOVE to hear what everyone has to say!

~Peanut


"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."
-William Wordsworth

This...is good!!!

Suzanna Gratia-Hupp: What the Second Amendment is REALLY For.

This lady is right on...enjoy!!!

~Peanut


"Safety doesn't happen by accident."
-Author Unknown

I have an idea!!!

I know I've posted about this before, but it's still super annoying! Here's my idea. Why don't we just change the speed limit on every single road, including freeways/expressways/highways to 35 mph? It seems that just about everyone in the lovely state of Michigan is already STUCK at that speed forcing everyone that wants to drive the speed limit - be it 45 or 55 mph - to drive 35. OR...make every road at least 2 lanes in each direction. Highly unlikely, but hey...I can dream!!! lol

~Peanut


"Each year it seems to take less time to fly across the ocean and longer to drive to work."
-Author Unknown

Coming soon...

I have a good friend that deserves to be in the spotlight for a bit. Hopefully I'll be able to post his story very soon, so keep your eyes open! :-) There might be a couple more to follow after his, but his will definitely be first.

Today, I'm going to David's to pick up my sisters' bridesmaid dresses, and I'll be trying on bridesmaid dresses for my girlfriends wedding as well. My mom will also be there trying on mother's dresses for my wedding. Should be good times! Oh yeah...and Cletus is outside shoveling the extra 4" of snow we got last night after he had already shoveled 3"!!!

~Peanut


"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."
-Edith Sitwell

Malfunction in Human

I got this in an email from the DRE (Director of Religious Education) at my church. It's a pretty good read!

RECALL NOTICE: The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart.

This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units.

This defect has been technically termed 'Sub-sequential Internal Non-Morality,' or more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.

Some of the symptoms include:
1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion in the mental component
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9.Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this defect.

The Repair Technician, Jesus, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required.

The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R. Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.

No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:
1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self control

Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (Believers' Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on Jesus.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention!

- GOD

P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by 'Knee Mail'.

Kudos to whoever wrote this!!!

~Peanut


"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."
-Erma Bombeck

This song...

This song helps to keep me grounded sometimes. Every time it comes on my play list, I just sit and listen...

Destiny's Child
Gospel Medley: You've Been So Good/Now Behold the Lamb/Jesus Loves me

Thank you, Lord, Hallelujah
You've been so good to me
Thank you, Lord, Hallelujah
I'm grateful for my blessings

I'm grateful for my struggles
Trials and tribulations
I've been through
I've realized no one can love like You do

Thank you, Lord, Hallelujah
I feel your presence near
Thank you, Lord, Hallelujah
I won't hold back my tears

I gave You my trust
And You took me out of the dark rain
My Lord, I survived it
I give You the praise

Lord, You've been so good
You've been so good to me
I'm so grateful for my blessings
Giving you all the praise

Lord, You've been so good
You've been so good to me
I'm so grateful for my blessings
Giving you all the praise

Jesus loves me, oh yes, He does
Jesus loves me, oh yes, He does
Jesus loves me, oh yes, He does
For the Bible tells me

So, so, my Jesus loves me
I know he does
Amen, amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen, amen


It's a really powerful song...in my opinion! I love it!

~Peanut


"Any fool can count the seeds in an apple. Only God can count all the apples in one seed."
-Robert H. Schuller

Wow, it's getting close!!!

So, today was the Betrothal Ceremony at church. We went to the 12:15 mass, and all (well, most) of the engaged couples in the parish were there to receive a blessing and to be prayed over. At one point they had us turn and face our soon-to-be husband or wife, and look each other in the eyes as they prayed for us. It was such an incredible feeling. It felt so right...so REAL, and I think I finally realized that this is really happening. It's one thing to be putting deposits down on reception halls, flowers, DJ's, limo's and all that...but to be standing in front of an entire parish, in the sanctuary, staring into the eyes of the one that you're about to promise yourself to for life...wow. It felt amazing!!! I got a little teary a couple of times, and so did Michael. I was picturing us standing there: me in my gown, him in his tux, reciting our vows and it hit me. This is the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. The one I will start my own family with. The one I will share all of me with. I haven't felt that happy...ever. Then, him being the goof ball he is, started winking at me. He's so silly. :-)

Wednesday, we headed to Target to start registering. When we got there, they explained to us what to do to get started. Once we were done with the first part, we headed back over to the service desk to get our scanner. The girl gave us a little "pouch" that had suggestions of items to register for, along with a couple of coupons, and the tickets to include in the invitations. It was fantastic! They were so helpful, and we were done within a couple of hours. I printed the registry off on Thursday when I went to work so we have a record of it. Then, Friday, we went to Sears to register also. Let me tell you...it was a pain in the butt!!! The first lady we talked to, just said "Go upstairs, the gift registry is in the children's department". We headed upstairs and went to the first counter we saw (not even realizing that we had just walked past the computer that is used to start the registry). When we got to the counter, the conversation went something like this:
Guy 1: Can I help you?
Me: Yes, we need to create a wedding registry.
Guy 1: How many items to you need to add.
Me: I don't know, we haven't started yet.
Guy 1: Did you already go through the steps on the computer?
Me: No, we need to start one. We haven't started one yet.
Guy 1: Oh, well go over there and put all your information in, and we'll add the items for you.
Me: So when we're done with this, are we going to get tickets or something to include in the invitations?
Guy 1: They will have to pull up your information online to see your registry.
Hmm...o...k...So we go over to the computer and start the registry. Putting in name, address, blah, blah, blah. We printed out the sheet and took it back to the guy at the counter. The next conversation went something like this:
Guy 1: Let me call someone who knows how to do this.
He gets on the phone and talks to someone about how to work the scanner (it obviously wasn't working properly for him), and another guy comes over to the counter. He gets the scanner working and:
Guy 1: They want to know if they'll get tickets or something to include in the invitations.
Guy2: No, they will have to log in to your registry to view it.
Me: Ok, but do we get something to include in the invitations to let people know that we're registered here?
Guy 2: No, they have to log in to it.
Me: O...K...
So we took the scanner and headed out. The first 10 minutes we felt like we were in the clearance department or something. We started scanning things, and before we knew it we were getting a message on the scanner saying something like "Non registry-eligible item scanned". Hmm...try it again. Same message. Oh well, moving on. We got that message 5 or 6 times throughout the night. It was annoying...along with a couple of "Item not found" or "No price found" messages. We wound up with 6 or 7 things that we couldn't scan and add. The last message was the best though..."Thank you for adding your items. Your registry has been updated." Now, this was AS WE WERE SCANNING an item to add. Ok, screw it...we're done. We headed back to the cash register again with the scanner:
Guy 1: All set?
Us: Sure, we guess.
Guy 1: Ok, your registry should be available online now.
Me: So, we don't get anything to put into the invitations to let people know we're registered here?
Guy 1: I don't think so, but let me check with her (another employee).
He called the lady over and said: Do they get anything with their registry?
Lady: No, just this.
Me: So no tickets? (By now I probably sound anal, but it just makes sense!!!)
Lady: No, we used to do that but they stopped for some reason.
Me: Ok, so how do we let people know we're registered here?
Lady: You'll have to give them your user name and password, and they'll just log into your registry.
OMG YOU'RE KIDDING ME!?!? Ok, fine. So we left the store with a little brochure, and a price ticket with a bunch of things written on that we couldn't add at the store. They have all since been added though. I have also discovered that you don't have to log into OUR registry to view it... Oh well...it was frustrating, and by the time we left the store my feet were killing me, and I was cranky.

We are officially 4 months and 5 days away!!! Yay!!!

~Peanut


"Happiness is the feeling you're feeling when you want to keep feeling it."
-Author Unknown

YIPPEEE!!!

Ok, now the fun begins!!! Cletus and I are going to register at one of 2 stores tonight, and the other will be done Saturday morning!!! Yay!!! I can't wait!!! We're getting so close now...where has the time gone? It seems like just 6 months ago Cletus popped the question and here we are, 15 months later, and 4 months away from the wedding!!! We're pretty much down to all the nitty gritty details, and that's the fun stuff!

The last couple of days have been fantastic in so many ways. Monday, I went home sick (not that fantastic, right? lol). Well, there was an item on eBay that I wanted for the wedding. It's what I'm using for my hair, and I LOVE IT!!! I actually won it for $9.99 plus $4.99 shipping, and it went out yesterday! I can't wait to get it...one more thing checked off the list! And, it will help with having no more wedding nightmares. lol Yeah...I had one a little while back. I dreamt that I was going to get my hair done, had the veil, but didn't have the other part of the "hair accessories". I'm being vague cause Cletus can't know what it is :-D Now, back to the fantastic-ness...

1) Got the cake picked out, and it's GORGEOUS...I love it...
2) Got my final hair "thing" picked out, and it's on the way
3) We've finally decided on the shower location and date, but it's not reserved yet
4) The rest of the pillar candles are ordered and on the way thanks to my wonderful PartyLite consultant cousin :-)
5) We're registering tonight!!!
6) Got an email from David's that my 2 sisters' bridesmaid dresses are in about 4 weeks early
7) The map sheets that I made up for the invitations are going to work great
8) I'm LOVING the wedding program that I made too...yeah, I'm kind of tooting my own horn lol

Anyways...I gotta get back to work.

Oh yeah, and I have 3 followers now!!! Yay! I'm popular!!! NOT lol Although, I don't know who "Saucy Patients" is...??

~Peanut


"Happiness pulses with every beat of my heart."
-Emily Logan Decens

Welcome, 2009!!!

The New Year's Eve party was so much fun! There were 8 of us here last night, with maybe just a little too much alcohol. We played euchre for a few hours, switching teams after each game. I think my partner and I really only made it through a game and a half cause we were laughing way too hard most of the time!!! We all stopped playing cards around 11:57, and rang in the new year watching the ball drop on TV. Phone calls were made, text messages were sent, and within an hour and a half, we had an empty house and headed to bed!!! I haven't slept that soundly in a really long time! I didn't get out of bed until 11:45 this afternoon! HA!

Well, now we say good-bye to 2008, and we welcome in a new year, new hopes, new dreams. We say hello to the opportunity to change ourselves in one way or another with the typical New Year's Resolution. More often than not, these resolutions are dropped after the first month or so, but I'm going to do my best to keep mine going for more than just this year.

My hopes for 2009 (in no particular order):
1) that Cletus will either be called back to work, or will find a new job with a little more stability.
2) that my whole family (immediate and extended) will be healthy, happy, and loved by anyone and everyone.
3) that my friend Adam will overcome his fight with cancer, and recover completely.
4) that my mom will find the happiness that she deserves.
5) that our wedding will go off without anything major going wrong!!! lol
6) that Cletus and I will be blessed with 'good news' sometime after the wedding! :-)
7) that my oldest sister will be able to complete her Nursing Program with even more flying colors than she already has.
8) that my brother will be able to accomplish what he needs to faster than he is expecting.
9) that my other sister will also be able to do well in school.
10) that my step-mom will get better, completely.
11) that this wonderful country will be able to pull out of this economic slump.
12) that my car won't die!! lol

Now, for my New Year's resolutions...yes, more than one. This year, I will get back into my exercise routine. I stopped doing it when I moved out of my apartment and into the house at the end of August. I know I can do it, I just need to drag my butt out of bed in the morning!!! I will also do my best to understand other people's situations before I take things personally, and I will work harder at work.

I can do all of this! I know it!!! Now that it's in writing...I have to!!! lol

Happy New Year everyone. May this year be more positive for you than last year.

God Bless

~Peanut


"I do think New Year's resolutions can't technically be expected to begin on New Year's Day, don't you? Since, because it's an extension of New Year's Eve, smokers are already on a smoking roll and cannot be expected to stop abruptly on the stroke of midnight with so much nicotine in the system. Also dieting on New Year's Day isn't a good idea as you can't eat rationally but really need to be free to consume whatever is necessary, moment by moment, in order to ease your hangover. I think it would be much more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second."
-Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones's Diary