Friday, January 18, 2008

On my way.....

This morning I put on a pair of jeans that I haven't worn since I was living with Jewels! So excited about that. I still consider them to be a pair of 'fat jeans,' but it's better than 'super fat jeans.' I've not been very excited about this workout plan, but I did commit to a 2 year agreement with Fitworks, so I've got to stick with it. Not to mention that I don't care to stay at this weight any longer. I guess I am starting to see results and feel the effects. Thank God for something different! Skinny little leopard string bikini here I come! :)

Thursday, January 17, 2008

The First Week

So there is nothing like breaking into this 'living in community' thing like being sick and ugly. The move went well on Saturday. There were TONS of people that did a great job and worked so hard. I had a cough all day that I thought was just from swallowing funny. I should have known it was the bubonic plague. Sunday I was emotional, cranky, and just wanted my husband....further signs of getting sick. Monday I didn't move out of bed. I just slept, fevered, and coughed all day long. Katie made my mom's chicken noodle soup, which was great. Tuesday I moved down to the living room and watched Home Improvement shows all day long. Rodney stayed in bed all day on Tuesday, but came down to watch American Idol. Everyone went to work on Wednesday, and Dave came home fevering and coughing. Dave went to work today with strict instructions that if his fever worsened at all, he was to go home and go to bed....I told him he would probably get pneumonia and have to go to the hospital if he stayed out in the cold. He's afraid of the hospital, so I think that should work.

The first week is going great! Stress levels aren't even an issue, as we're all just trying to breathe without losing a lung. I think I'm going to look into installing a Lysol filter in the filter. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Bored Site List

A little while ago, I emailed many friends asking them for any website they knew of that could help me occupy my time while bored at work. My brother Seth recommended reading the Bible online only, which his good friend Will echoed, but here is the list of sites recommended from all sorts of people and a short description of the site. If you have sites to add, please email me and let me know!!


Miscellaneous:

http://www.ratingpets.com/ - you rate other people's pet.

www.normandcompany.com/STICKMAN - stickman murder mystery game.

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/ - recipes, articles

http://www.i-am-bored.com/ - all sorts of random time wasters

http://www.foundmagazine.com/ - interesting collection of things 'found'

http://www.freerice.com/ - donate rice with your intelligence

http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/ - ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard


Informational:

http://www.askville.com/ - powered by amazon, this is like yahoo answers. Ask and answer questions on any topic you can think of

http://www.howstuffworks.com/ - everythings on this site!

http://www.slickdeals.net/ - postings of web dealz and other random freebies/sales

http://www.maps.google.com/ - some people enjoy looking at google satellite images

http://www.bargainist.com/ - full of coupons, freebies, and sale news

http://www.snopes.com/ - Snopes is a searchable database of urban legends and myths, email hoaxes, computer virus warnings, and folklore.

www.thethriftshopper.com/index.htm - thriftshopping secrets

http://www.currentcodes.com/ - coupon codes


Focused Group:

http://www.hitchedmag.com/ - website targeted to married people (has great party planning tips)

http://www.makeupalley.com/ - all sorts of make up info

http://www.imdb.com/ - a must have for every movie lover


Food/Recipes:

www.kraftfoods.com/kf - recipes

http://www.allrecipes.com - recipes


Spiritual:

www.stevepavlina.com/index.htm - very "new age" but interesting and inspiring

http://www.yuvalla.com/ - Website based on wellness, in all forms. I mostly use them for their daily quotes. I love to start my day by opening my inbox and reading a short, simply sentence that's enlightening and uplifting.

http://www.ihop.org/ - prayer, not pancakes

http://www.biblegateway.com/ - the Bible

http://www.christianity.com/


Regional:

www.cleveland.com/ - jobs, restaurants, news, the works! Should be supplemented with the following website www.pluggedincleveland.com/ and cleveland.craigslist.org/

http://www.dailycandy.com/ - They don't have one for Cleveland, but they have many for other major cities and then and "everywhere" one. It's just cool new things for women -- food, shopping, culture, etc. An excellent and cute way for new small businesses to word-of-mouth. It's a pretty well known thing here (Chicago).


Humor:

www.youtube.com/results?search_query=coach+hines&search=Search --this is a GREAT website for fun and laughs...no kids allowed, though.

http://www.theonion.com/ (2 recommendations) - good for a laugh, nothing better than sarcastic, fake news

http://www.leasticoulddo.com/ - comic


Blogs:

http://www.blessingsoflove.blogspot.com/ - Donna's blog with links to lots of other stuff

http://www.livingproofministries.blogspot.com/ - Beth's blog

Sunday, January 6, 2008

New Addition to the Romain house!

No, it's not what you think!!! Keep waiting on that one! Next weekend, our dear friends, Rodney and Katie, are moving in with us. I told Dave last night that it almost feels like this is bigger than our wedding. I think the 'stress' of it hit me this week. Maybe not stress, but more of a case of the 'what ifs.' What if this happens? What if that happens? What are we going to do when this happens? Yet, through all of the 'what ifs,' we still feel confident and a Godly peace about the whole thing. My prayer is 'God, we are honored to be a part of this.....let this be constant in my heart.' Dave and I are very excited to share our home with them. Our house is not terribly big, but it is more than big enough to accomodate both families. We have three bedrooms total, so they'll be able to have one for them and one for Gabby (their 4 month old). We also have tons of storage in our house--the attic is accessed through Dave & my room, so that's where we're storing all of our stuff, and there are two cold storage spaces in the basement, as well as open space in the basement and lots of closets and built-in shelving. We've been so pleased with our house. I love the peace in it. It was owned by a God-fearing couple before us, so you can really sense the Spirit of God throughout the house. I think all of my anxiety is just fleshly and spiritual warfare. When I pray about my anxiety, it's like I don't even know what to say to God because it's not coming from Him. Know what I mean? I think the first couple of weeks will be the hardest for me because I like things, umm, my way. :) So getting used to having other people around and their 'stuff' will be an adjustment. But it is just that --an adjustment, and of course there's a fleshly struggle to give and give well when it comes to space. Oh Lord, that you would stretch me and my comfort for your great Glory. I know that Katie is worried about cooking. I think she thinks that I'm going to make her cook everyday. Hmmmm, I could have some fun with that one! It will be fun to learn new cooking ideas with her and teach her what I know. Cooking is such an opportunity to create and communicate love....I just love it. I'm worried that our clutter is going to drive Rodney crazy. Oh, and he won't be able to create lines in the carpet when he vacuums. That could be hard for him. I'm so looking forward to having other people to talk to. Sometimes Dave is really quiet....not the greatest mix when I'm in chatty mode. It'll be good for us to have Gabby around and get used to the baby idea. I am incredibly excited to love better. Rodney and Katie (and God) just draw the love out of people. I know that it's going to stretch all of us. Oh, it's going to be an exciting time! Thank you Jesus for our little home!