Another busy weekend…

Once again, the Mrs. and I had another busy weekend. It all started on Friday. I decided to have my birthday dinner on Friday, instead of waiting until Sunday. My dinner was held at Benihana. It was wonderful. 8 of the 13 who were scheduled to come showed. Some people text when we got there saying they couldn’t make it, and some didn’t text at all. So inconsiderate.

The food was delicious. Had the best California Roll in my life at Benihana that night. My friend K.S. ordered some and she left me taste it. It was just so fresh. I also had some Edamame and as my main dish I had the seafood combination, which included shrimp, scallop and lobster. Everything was so tasty!!!

On Saturday, I was still craving California Rolls. I wanted to go to Benihana to get a to-go order, but it is a little out of the way. So, we decided to go to Bangkok Bistro instead. We went by the Family Christian store to get Maya’s christening gift. After that, we went by Michael’s so that I could pick up some yarn. Our friend R. had given me a gift card for my birthday. We chatted with our friend K.S., and made plans to meet up at Bangkok. She didn’t get off work until 5, so we decided to stop by The Snooty Fox. I have been wanting to go there for a long time.

I bought a shirt, a dress and a nice gray sweater. The prices were very good. My wife bought a cordorouy coat for her goddaughter Maya. I can see her rocking it with some pink on with it.

While we were eating my friend Brandi text me to let me know that she would be in Dayton for one day. She was flying to El Paso Sunday morning for work. She asked if we wanted to drive up to Dayton to  meet her. She was driving to Dayton from Cambridge after her grandmother’s retirement dinner. She was to get to Dayton around 9. Then she called back and said 10.

We made plans to go to Therapy Cafe. When we got to Dayton, we found out that they were having Salsa night. So, we decided to go a couple doors down to the wine gallery. I am glad we did. It was nice and quiet in there. We ordered some food to share, and we sat around laughing and talking until 1:30 in the morning.

My wife and I arrived home at 2:30 am and crawled into bed. We had to get up at 7:30 am to drive to Columbus for Maya’s christening. We were all kinds of tired. After the christening we went to Golden Corral for dinner, and then we made the trek home.

Even though the weekend was a very busy one, it was a fun one. Thankful for good friends…and good food. LOL

Peace and Blessings,

Michelle

 

A wonderful surprise…

Today is the 4 month anniversary of my marriage to my wife. It has been a wonderful 4 months, and I am so looking forward to forever with my sweetheart. Today I left a card in her purse so that she could find it when she got to work. It turns out she saw it before she got to work. I wanted to surprise her…instead of just given the card to her when we got up this morning.

When I got home from work, she was cooking dinner. It smelled wonderful in the house. It was a great treat for me, because I usually do the cooking. So, to come home and have her making a meal for me, it felt really good. She was making lasagna. She bought wine, garlic bread and salad. It was a wonderful dinner!

I am so looking forward to what is in store for the two of us. I often sit and think about how our lives will be when we have children. She loves children, and she is wonderful with them. So, I think of how we’ll raise our children, what our challenges will be as a lesbian couple raising children. I don’t know the answer to any of this, but what I do know is that I have a strong, loving woman by my side, and I am so thankful for it!!!

Happy Anniversary babe!!! I love you.

 

True to my word

In my post yesterday, I said that I would start to mail our cards and letters to my friends and family. Well, I wrote two cards out last night. By the time you read this post, they will be in the mail, and on their way to their recipients.

I talked to my brother yesterday and he pretty much said the same thing that I did. He stated that we have gotten too tied up in technology, and we need to get back to writing our friends and family. I told him that I had just done a post on that. I know that the recipients will be surprised when they receive their cards. I can’t wait to hear from them. I plan to get my list together of people to write and send cards.

I originally had these cards made for my wife’s mother. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, and my wife wanted to send her a card once a week to uplift her. So, I found someone on Etsy to make these cards so that she could send them. Her mom is now cancer free, and we had cards left over. So, I will start with these and then make some more of my own.

This card is for Celeste

This is for my cousin Jacqui

So, let’s bring it back y’all…send someone a card today.

Peace and Blessings,

Michelle

 

Time to get back to basics…

I recently had a conversation with a friend about how much technology has caused us to move away from traditional means of keeping in touch with people. I am a big fan of technology. I love it. I tell my friends all the time that I am a technology whore. But, I realize that I have stepped away from the things that I used to do to keep in touch with people. I used to write letters all the time. I used to send cards to friends and family just to let them know that they were on my mind. Somehow I have gotten away from that.

Before I had the conversation with my friend, one thing made me want to start sending letters and cards again. My mother has worked for the Post Office for the last 27 years. About 2 weeks ago she called me to let me know that she may be losing her job as a Mail Flow supervisor because of the drop in mail volume. Thank God she was upgraded to a job as Post Master in a small town. But, I started thinking, my love for technology could have been part of my mother losing her job. So, I have made a vow to myself to start sending mail again. I can’t promise that I will start calling folks because I hate talking on the phone, but I will do my part as far as the US mail is concerned.

I make a plea to each of you…send a loved one a card or a letter. You may be surprised at their response. I am sure most of them will be touched.

Let’s do our part!

Peace and Blessings

Michelle

 

Total Money Makeover…

I am currently reading Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I learned about this book several years back, but did not put the steps into play. I believe that there is a time for everything, and I believe the time for this is now. When I went to college the first time, I was 17 years old. There were credit card offers every where. As a teenager who had not been taught about financial responsibility, I fell for it…hook, line, and sinker. I racked up credit card debt, with only a student work study job to cover payments. Needless to say, that didn’t cover the payments.

When I had to stop school 2 years later, I had this credit card debt, along with some other debt. I started working, but was not making enough to pay the debts off. Eventually, the debts were charged off. When I got back on my feet, I began to pay off the debt that was on my credit report.

Now that I am 36…about to be 37 in one week, I have  debt in my life. It is more managed than it was as a teenager, but still debt nonetheless. As I am reading Dave Ramsey’s book, I understand that debt truly is a bad thing. It shows a lack of maturity on our part. As a society, we pay for things that we cannot afford with credit. Can’t afford that plasma tv, just charge it. Can’t afford that new laptop, just open up a charge. I am in no way judging here, because I am in the same boat. But, this is where I jump ship.

I am about to learn a new habit. I can no longer hold on to the fact that my mother didn’t teach me about financial responsbility. I must take responsibility for it as a grown woman. It is time for me to stand up and take care of business. My goal is to pay off all of my debt.  It isn’t like my debt is monumental or anything. I listen to Dave Ramsey’s show on the radio, and I hear people call in saying they paid of $80,000 in debt in two years. My debt isn’t nearly this high. But, it’s more than I am comfortable with. I want a clean slate. The only “debt” I intend to have will be mortgage payments and household bills. If I cannot afford it, I will not buy it, won’t eat it, and I will not be able to go to an event. I am delaying instant gratification so that I can live a better life later.

Dave doesn’t only teach about getting rid of debt. He also talks about having an emergency savings account with six months living expenses in it. Next you start a savings account that you do not touch. He also talks about building your retirement fund. Now, none of this stuff is new. It’s all common sense stuff. Things that we know we should do, but somehow we don’t.

My wife and I are planning to start our family next year. I want us to be able to do so comfortably. I don’t want to have to worry about not being able to get this or that.  Some friends may not understand why I cannot go out to dinner, or why I can’t go to this or that show, but they will get over it.

We plan to do invetro. That is an expensive process. I want us to be ready. This is where I take the reigns and do what I should have done a long time ago…and that is, be a responsible adult. God charges us to be faithful stewards of His money. When you are faithful over a few things, He will make you a ruler over many.

So, I ask that you pray for me as I start this journey…a very necessary journey.

 

One busy day…

This past Saturday was a very busy one for the Mrs. and I. It was busier for my wife than it was for me. She had to work with her students Saturday morning. So, she was non-stop all day Saturday. We had a wedding reception and the ballet to attend on the same day. My wife’s Muse sister was married in Canada in May, and she and her wife decided to have their reception on Saturday. It was a very lovely event. I love to attend events where people are friendly. Feels like you’ve known them all your life.

The theme was Broadway. The centerpiece at each table was different. Our centerpiece was “Rent”.  The cake was awesome. Here is a pic of it.

The food was very tasty, and the crowd was lively. We did quite a few line dances. We had a soul train line, and they even had Karaoke. My wife got up there 3 different times. Work it Honey!!!

"Endless Love"

You better sing babe!!!

"Charlie's Angels"

After the reception, we had a couple hours to kill. So, we strolled over to Barnes & Nobles at Newport on the Levee. We checked out magazines and books. I picked up the new “bitch” magazine. I know…the title is so raunchy, and I hate that word, but the magazine is quality.

"consumed" issue

Next we headed over to the Cincinnati Ballet. It was my first time attending the ballet, and I really enjoyed it. We saw a collaboration of Ohio dancers, and it was called New Works. My favorite was the third scene. The choreography was awesome, and the music went well with it. The music was done by a local group called Over The Rhine. I just checked out Over The Rhine on iTunes, and they have 6 albums. I probably would never have heard of this group if we had not gone to the ballet. Thanks to my babe for winning the tickets.  It was a great weekend. I love adding a little more “culture” to my life.

I am on the search for our next cultural event. Let me know if you have some suggestions. I am going to watch some TV while I wait for my wife to come home from practice. Have a good night all.

Peace and blessings

Michelle

 

Gay Teens…

A friend of mine posted a question on her facebook page. I answered her question, and so did several of her other friends…some gay and some straight. The question was, “Do you think teenagers should be able to experiment with same sex relationships if they feel they are gay/lesbian” Now, she wasn’t talking about having sex per se, but she meant “dating” the way heterosexual teens do. The conversation became very heated when a lot of the straight men and women/mothers and fathers, stated that they would not want their children coming to them telling them that they’re gay. A lot of them stated that they feel teens nowadays are doing “the gay thing” because it’s the in thing right now. So, I would like to know what you all think. If your child came to you, what would you say to them? What do you think about teens dating someone of the same sex. I look forward to hearing from all of you.

 

Knitting away the days…

A friend of my recently reignited my passion for knitting. I taught myself how to knit several years ago, but after a few completed scarves I never did it again. Then my wife and I met a friend a coffeehouse, and she was knitting a sweater. I remembered how I felt when I would work on knitting projects. Right then and there I decided that I would start knitting again.

The friend who got me fired up about it once again suggested that we, along with another friend, work on a project. So, we are in the process of knitting 10 scarves each for the homeless. I have 2 on my needles now.

Meandering Scarf (the beginning)

Meandering Scarf (moving along nicely)

Ameeta Scarf (just starting out)

So, now that classes are over, I plan to devote a little more time to getting my scarves done. I don’t want winter to roll in and I haven’t completed my task.

I have some items that I would like to work on once I have completed the project. These will end up on my needles soon.

Gotta work on my stomach before I can wear this.

Baby Sophisticate

I really want to learn how to make socks...