but this one goes to 11...!!

doing: sitting out on the couch in the camera room watching it rain.
feeling: very "new age" blogging on my laptop! if only i had a fancy coffee to sip on!
listening to: the pitter patter (and sometimes loud thumping) from Apples of Gold upstairs.


i've been thinking about this alot for the last few days. actually for no reason at all, it just popped into my head the other day. about how our lives change so much, and how different we are from even just 5 years ago.

5 years ago i was 22, just married a year to the man i wanted to be with, getting into the job i wanted to keep and - wow - just bought ourselves a house! looking back i feel like we had NO clue (and we honestly didn't). but we did know what we wanted. we wanted good jobs that we loved and we wanted a house to have our friends over to and to start our family in. at that time everything seemed so simple. you get married to who you love, you buy a house and you live happily ever after. except, nobody bothered to mention to us that the "happily ever after" part doesn't come until you are like 40, 50 or even 60! thanks for nothing Disney.........

from our wedding day when we were both nearly 21 until right now when we are both 27 we've been struggling. it seems like a constant thing! if you aren't fighing about money you are grouchy because the table isn't cleaned off. then if you aren't fighting about money you are mad because the other person didnt find a babysitter for friday night! nothing seems to match up when its supposed to!

however much we gripe about the fighting there are the good moments, the in between moments, that is what really keeps us going. because lets face it, nobody is running the marriage/life race to be fighting all the time right? its those moments that keep us going, striving and living.

to track back to my title.... 'but this one goes to 11' for those of you who don't know this wonderful quote is from the movie "This is SpinalTap" wonderful flick, should have won oscars! i was thinking about this quote and how it would refer to our lives - me and Matt's - and would our lives go to 11? i think that at one point they did. we all lived to "11" at one point! we had to! as a teenager thats basically what you strive for isn't it? to live life to the fullest, to make your high school experience the best ever, to defy your parents whenever they got on your nerves!

as a newly wed couple, but also one that had been together for a few years beforehand, we wanted to live our lives to 11. because we knew that when we did decide to start that family, or our friends decided to start theirs, our lives wouldn't be 11's anymore. and let me tell you, as a 22 year old that is about the saddest thing ever. to think about growing old?! yuck!!

then we started a family. of course a new baby thrown a wrench in your eating, sleeping, functioning routine whatever age you are. with us our baby changed our lives and it changed our number. suddenly we werent trying to live at 11, we were happy at a 7 or 8 or sometimes a 5. lame right? but its not so bad. our priorities changed and that was okay with us too. we had this little baby that pushed his way to #1 for both of us.

now its 3 years later and that little boy is still our #1. its easier now to find a play date with Grandparents if we want an afternoon to relax. but we still aren't reaching for that 11. i think that our lives can be marked on that scale at a steady 8. we're happy to go out, but we're just as happy to stay in too.

i guess the whole basis behind my thought is that even though we all live at 11 at some point in our lives, we all eventually find that our number isn't quite that high. our priorities change as our life changes and sometimes as often as we change our socks! but in the end we find our perfect "SpinalTap" number that gets us through all of our ups and downs.

"" i took my time, i hurried up.... ""

doing: working on website stuff!! sshhhh its a secret! :)
feeling: worn out big time.
listening to: Simple Plan radio... but its been playing some random songs

so we basically went from being semi-slow here to being totally 100% overwhelmed with work! i haven't been home before 6:30 for a week (except last night) we have started up ball teams and its been crazy. luckily Jeff has been working on and finishing each set of teams at home, and ordering them the next day. so we've been lucky to not have to put any time aside at the studio working on them... plus they come back super fast! which is nice for us and for the teams!

however great that is, we are exhausted! i have a headache right now but i know its because i'm just that tired. on top of this crazy week, for me, i'm also planning the Senior Breakfast at church. its my first time so i've been trying to get all the snippets of info from years past and sometimes thats just too much! but its all coming together. i really just have to go shopping for food supplies... fit that in somewhere between tonight and tomorrow around my appointments. sigh.

not enough hours.

on the bright side, we survived Tulip Time! it was cold and it was miserable.. but we still managed to have a good time!

another bright side... well, for him, is that Ben is now officially overseas! he went with a group on a "photography trip" to Ireland. he told me it was really just his teachers way of going on another trip! he flew out yesterday and even though his NYC flight was an hour late, i'm guessing and hoping that he made it into Dublin! among all the places he'll go he got some information from my Aunt and Uncle (that have researched our family history) and he's going to check out the town where our ancestors came from! too cool right?! i'm jealous for sure. my college never went to cool places like that!! he'll have a great time and i'm sure he'll come back with some sweet pictures!

well, almost time to head out to ball teams...... again!
happy weekend!!

" its falling! its breaking Sesame Street! "

title: a quote from my sweet little boy who is currently playing on the floor. hes got such an imagination and i could probably just sit and listen to it run wild all day!
doing: uploading some pics/videos from last nights youth group progressive dinner!
feeling: crummy.... i wish the damn weather would just get spring like agian already! i'm sick of the cold and wind! didn't we have enough of this crap this winter?! i just want to take my kid to the park or on a walk or something on my day off!

this last month has been a whirlwind. and its already May 10 and i feel like i havent had a chance to enjoy the fact that it is May already! since i basically lost a week in April i feel like i'm behind on everything i need to get done. for the most part i'm really not, but i feel like i'm scrambling to keep afloat! i really hope that things slow down just a little bit very soon!

we've put our house back on the market. this time we have the home warrenty included! thats a new one. but we're trying it again and hoping that this time someone snaches it up! please please please let someone buy it! we aren't in as big of a hurry to get out now, since its still only the 3 of us, but we would like to be out of it so we can start on finding something new to settle into!

last night we had our last gathering for Youth Group. we had a progressive dinner which went over really well! we all had a great time and it was really a good way to end the year! next Sunday is the Senior Breakfast and Graduation Mass. so now i'm trying to get all my ducks in a row to get ready for that!

this weekend Ben graduated from college! so we all got to go to Dubuque overnight to celebrate with him! sadly, he was sickly.. but he sucked it up! we went out to eat Friday night. played in the pool at the hotel at night. we got to see his Senior show on campus on Saturday morning. then we (Greg, Matt, Ethan, Sara and i) wen to the train exhibit while mom and dad stayed for Bens little presentation!
graduation was at 1 and it was a good ceremony! after that we went to eat a late lunch and headed back to Knoxville! as always, i wish we could have stuck around a little longer... but the weather was crappy too so it might not have been too enjoyable.

i suppose i should get something done this morning. clean some part of my house.....maybe??!

"" hey listen cause i'll only say this once.... ""

doing: working like madness on the dance studio memory mates! we're almost done with all of them! just a few more!
listening to: Breaking Benjamin radio. thank you Evans Blue for my Quote title!
feeling: good!

today is the official start of Tulip Time. since we arent directly on the square anymore we're sort of out of the loop as far as the setting up goes. on Tuesday i walked on an errand and was so suprised that the grandstands were up! but.... i didnt get to watch them be put up this year. or any of the stands be pulled in, or the streets start to get blocked off.... its a little wierd!! Libert street is nice and quiet!

either way, i couldn't find a damn place to park today! i parked about halfway between the studio and Jeffs house. found a spot. but tomorrow i wont even bother. i'll just park at his house.

we're going to get ready to go photograph the Queen and Court. it always seems like such a chore, but once we get there its so fun! the girls are always fun and goofy so its one of those - not really a job - kinda things!

life outside of work has been good. the last few weeks have been hard at times, but i just cant express how GOOD i feel! emotionally i'm still a bit of a wreck, but my body feels 100%! i even actually want to go running. i've been wanting it for weeks... but just havent found the time! i hate running with a passion... so i'm sure it wont last but one time. but the one time i'm sure will be great!

matt and ethan have also been great. ethan's got this 3 year old sickness where hes annoying and doesnt do what we ask him to and throws MAJOR fits.... but on his off hours hes wonderful! hes started to read books to himself more. and if he hasnt has us read them first he just makes up stuff! his trucks now talk to each other (like Bob the Builders machines) and its awesome to listen to! i just sit and smile! i'm so happy hes got an overactive imagination. he can tell stories like its nobodys business!

hes been playing soccer this summer, and for the most part loving it! the games are a bit long for him i think and possibly a little pressured. but once hes out there he loves chasing the ball around!

matts been filling his extra time with fishing, garage cleaning, disk golf and other normal and not so normal guy activities.

we are all loving the nice weather! its already going too fast... i'm afraid i'll wake up to snow one of these days soon... and i'll cry!! i'm ready for some heat, some pool time, some tanning time!! ready!!!

well, few more memory mates and then we're off!
have a good one!!

Happy Tulip Time!