Procrastination

I've never really needed a reason to waste time online, but the middle of the semester brings out the worst in me. And this semester I've discovered Pinterest. So it's all over. Have you seen this site? It's like a virtual bulletin board where people pin images from all over the Internet: food, crafts, clothing, organization, decorating, funny pictures of animals. It's all there. And it's so addictive. If I spent half the time I spend looking at ideas actually doing some of them, I'd be Martha Stewart. :)

Just this week, I actually tried one of my "pins" for the first time. I made this "monster munch" from Our Best Bites and packaged it up as a little Halloween treat for some friends. Because, really, who has time for homework when there are Halloween gifts to be made?

Freedom

A couple of weeks ago, Darby went to a week-long conference. I'm happy that he gets the opportunity to go on trips like that, but I really don't like him being gone. However, I know that moping about it won't help, so I try to look on the bright side when he's gone. I can wake up whenever I want; I can watch whatever I want on TV; I can decide on a whim to go out to dinner with friends, etc., etc. But, even with all of my little pep talks, I still just feel kind of blah when Darby's gone.

I kept asking myself, "Why can't I just enjoy not having to think about anyone but myself for a week?" And then, one day, as I was walking home from the bus stop, feeling mopey that no one would be there to greet me, it hit me. The flip side to not having to think about anyone but myself is that no one's thinking about me. And to me, that about sums up why the benefits of marriage far outweigh any loss of freedom. Sure, there are probably some things I gave up by marrying young. But I can't even begin to explain all of the things I've gained. I have someone at home who cares where I am, who makes sacrifices for me, who is on my team no matter what.

So, I'll still try to make the best of my alone time in the future. But I also won't be so hard on myself when I find that I much prefer interdependence to freedom.

Sugar 'n spice

Our good friends Katy and Jon are back in town visiting for a couple of weeks. They're expecting a baby girl in January, so we threw a baby shower for them at church on Saturday. The theme was "Sugar 'n Spice," so we had tons of candy and cupcakes. It was my ideal shower. :)

The cupcakes. More came later. There were a lot of cupcakes.

The candy bar. The kids at the shower loved this.

The adorable centerpiece Erin made.

The hostesses. Me, Billie, Erin, and Casey. We had so much fun putting everything together.

Jon and Katy opening one of their many gifts. There was such a great turnout at the shower and they got tons of adorable clothes.

Katy, Jon, Darby, and me. Jon's black eye is a long story. Poor guy.

It's been so great having Jon and Katy in town. We haven't seen Jon since last November and Katy since February, and we missed them so much. I really wish they still lived here, so we could be there when their little baby arrives. But, I know they're going to have a great life in San Diego, and hopefully we can go visit them someday (perhaps in the middle of winter!).

100,000

Tonight, just as we pulled into the garage after church, the odometer on our trusty blue Escape turned to 100000. The Escape was a (very generous) high school graduation gift from my parents. I love it. I think it's the perfect size car. It's higher off the ground than a sedan, but it's still short, so it's easy to maneuver into tight parking spaces. And you can fit tons of stuff in the back, especially if you fold the seats down.

I've been very fortunate in that I haven't had to make any major repairs to the car. The brakes make an unsettling noise, but we've been assured by multiple mechanics that there's nothing wrong. My little car even held up quite well the time I was hit by a gas tanker. I'm hoping it continues to hold up, as we have no plans to replace it any time soon.

When it does eventually bite the dust, I'll be so sad to see it go. So many good memories in that car (and some not-so-good, but quite funny ones, like getting a ticket the very first night I drove it, or backing it into a billboard for no apparent reason). That car took me to ACU and back and forth to Waco a million times; it took me to visit friends all over Texas; it took Darby and me on our first real vacation together. It got us to Illinois (and you better believe we used every inch of that trunk space). And now it's taken us to Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee. And I'm hoping that in a couple of years it will take us back to Texas for good. :) I'm planning on driving this baby into the ground, so hopefully you'll be seeing a 200,000 mile post in several years.