the craziness has begun

Yes, it's true, I've been MIA from the blog world for awhile. I check my friends' blogs regularly and I'm always bummed when they haven't updated, so I figured it was my turn.
The fall is always the most nutty time of year for us Places. Marching band season takes Dameon away a lot and the start of the school year is totally exhausting and time-consuming for both of us. This fall is made even more chaotic by the fact that we've both started new jobs AND Dameon begins classes for his master's degree on Wednesday. That means he has Monday night band rehearsal, Tuesday night band rehearsal on competition weeks, Wednesday night class, Thursday night band rehearsal, Friday night football games (some weeks), and Saturday all-day competitions (some weeks). Couple that with the fact that he has to be at work at 6:30 every morning, and that equals one exhausted guy. I'm trying to find a balance between spending enough time on my new job, being a supportive wife (who gets dinner on the table by 5:00), and squeezing in some down time so I can stay sane. How will we ever introduce kids into this mix?, you ask. That's why I'm going to be a stay-at-home mom :) **And I'd be willing to bet that's an even HARDER job!! :)
Anyway, craziness aside, we are trying to take time every day to be thankful for all the ways the Lord sustains us. One of my favorite parts of my day is my ten minute drive to work. I tune into 101.9 and spend a few brief moments praying for the 25 kids who will be entering my classroom. They come with a lot of big-time needs and a lot of big-time baggage. What if I'm the only glimpse (and I mean GLIMPSE) of the love and mercy of Christ they are exposed to? I'd better sieze every moment to love on them...
Dameon and I both agreed that this move would be a big stretch out of our comfort zone, but we felt confident God had a purpose for us here. In those moments of pure exhaustion or pure frustration, we try to remind each other of that. If you feel led, please pray for our 'mission field' in the Waterloo Public Schools.

two years

(this post is a little belated, but oh well!)

July 28, 2007. Best day of my life :)

Last year Dameon planned an AMAZING one-year anniversary celebration. I'm just realizing I never blogged about it (hadn't even started my blog yet) but, trust me, it was AMAZING. At that time we decided it would be fun to trade off every other year being the planner of the celebration. That means this year was my year. (A new acquaintance brought it to my attention for the first time the other night that I should have thought this through since most of the "big" anniversaries fall on even years. yikes!! The pressure is on, I guess!)

I wanted our two-year anniversary to be a surprise little getaway. Dameon is pretty hard to surprise with anything, but it went off without a hitch! We left home about 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday and headed south on 380. Unfortunately we had to drive separate cars because Dameon had to give a leadership seminar in Des Moines on Wednesday. Anyway, our first stop was the Panera in Coralville. We picked up some to-go lunch and headed over to City Park for a picnic. Surprise #2 came next as we drove to hotelVetro in downtown Iowa City to check in to our room. This was really a splurge, but well worth it since the room was really cool (see pictures above). We hung out there for a bit and then decided to go for a walk and get some ice cream. Dameon chose Cold Stone while I opted for Whitey's. We spent the next while just roaming around the ped mall stopping in different little shops and browsing around. Then we headed back to the hotel with the intention of going swimming. We got our suits on and headed in the direction of the pool but soon found out it was closed for remodeling. Oh well. It was nearing dinner time so we went back to the room to iron our clothes and get ready to eat. We had fun walking to Linn Street Cafe and had a delicious meal. Continuing with the "splurge" theme, we decided to order big. We started with an appetizer of crab cakes and then our soup and salad. Dameon chose the Iowa beef tenderloin and I had a tasty pasta dish. We topped if off with a piece of blackberry white chocolate cheesecake. After dinner we strolled back to the hotel, changed into some comfy clothes and walked right across the street to Capanna coffee house where I enjoyed a vanilla latte and Dameon had a white chocolate hazelnut mocha. Delish! The next morning we had to wake up early and head out, but it was still a great way to wrap up the summer and celebrate our marriage. Can't wait to see what he comes up with next year! :)

New Furniture and New Tricks

Moving into a bigger home has really been exciting. We are loving having so much space, except when we lose our cell phones. It has also, however, kinda forced us to bite the bit (is that the right phrase??) and make some hefty furniture purchases. Now, let me assure you, these decisions were not made in haste. My Dameon can definitely whip out his "official furniture inspector" badge whenever he deems appropriate. Now, me, I'm usually not a very good decision-maker when it comes to home decor. I like to kinda get my feet wet and then sleep on it awhile. For some reason in this latest venture Dameon decided to take that mentality to the extreme. Even to the point that I was the one shouting "UNCLE!" Our search for a dining room table literally spanned the length of 4 months. The search for the couch seemed almost as torturous since we went on a whirlwind tour of about 11 furniture stores in three days. And, it never failed, every sofa, loveseat, table, chair, or ottoman that I even batted an eye at had to undergo Dameon's "Is it sturdy?" test. Keep in mind that he has muscles capable of bench pressing ME, so he's able to make anything wobble. Phew! We finally found something we both felt good about! And, while I'm giving him a hard time in this little write-up, how can I honestly complain about a guy who just wants to make sure we're getting the most for our money? We are super happy with the way our home is coming together.

In other news, we continue to own the cutest puppy in the world. While we come to realize Rufus' pint-sized frame really can't manage to balance while learning "shake" (dang it!) we HAVE realized that's it's not too late to help him with his manners. He does really well with the barking/yipping thing, but he is not so good with the jumping up on new people thing. Believe it or not, it's all our fault. We think it's absolutely adorable when we sit on the couch and he leaps up at our face with his tounge going a million miles an hour. Visitors, however, do not. We can no longer reward this behavior by giving him attention, so the idea is to ignore him when he does this and praise him when he sits. In the end, hopefully sitting becomes his default mode. So far, he's really catching on and he find him sitting a lot more. This results in over-the-top praise, which makes him run wild hot laps all throughout the house. So cute! Okay, now I'm going to attempt to post some pics. I have yet to learn how to paste them throughout my text. (Thanks for the attempted help, Annie, but I couldn't crack the code.) You'll still get the gist, though. Dining room table, new basement couch, Rufus showing nice manners. :) *And by the way, Dameon had to sit/lay on the floor for like 5 hours last night assembling the table and chairs. What an awesome hubby!!

one short day in the emerald city!

Yessssssssssssssssssssss! I just scored great tickets for Mom, Dad, Dameon and I to see Wicked in Des Moines. Dameon and I saw it last summer in Chicago and it totally knocked our socks off! We couldn't stop talking about it!! I can't wait for my parents to see it and hopefully enjoy it as much as we did. I'm gonna go search for my soundtrack right now so I can get pumped up!

My Man

Happy 27th Birthday to my most amazing and handsome husband! On Tuesday I was driving home from picking up a birthday card for Dameon and thinking wonderful thoughts about him while cruising through Waterloo. I found myself pondering this question: How many women out there can say that they are married to a man who loves them for 100% who they are? I wonder if I take for granted that I am COMPLETELY myself with Dameon and that's the person he loves. WOW! I was blown away by this thought. Not only does he love me for who I am (good days and bad), he breathes acceptance into me every single day. God sure does know what He's doing. I am so thankful for the day Dameon was born! Here are some things I love about "my man":

**He has the same sense of humor as me and always gets my jokes.

**He loves our puppy just as much (if not more) than I do.

**His favorite food is anything that I cook. (except that fish that one time...)

**He loves spending time with my family.

**I never, and I mean NEVER, have to beg him to do anything around the house or the yard. (sometimes I even have to ask him to sit down and relax a little)

**He works extremely hard to make sure he is providing for me and doing everything he can to care for me.

**He can clean a kitchen better than anyone I know.

**He's got just the right amount of goofy in him.

**He is an extremely gifted teacher.

**He always holds my hand in public.

**He desires to be a strong, godly leader for our family.

**Pre-fenced in yard, he would always take Rufus out before bed because he knew I was just a tiny bit afraid of being outside alone at nighttime.

**He lets me change the channel rather than forcing me to bear another episode of Deadliest Catch.

I LOVE YOU, DAMEON!!!!!

citylife

(If I were a more savvy blogger, I would link JM's song to this post...or something.)
Living in a town like Williamsburg for 3 years certainly has its perks, but one thing I do NOT miss is driving 20 miles to buy paper towels. Unless I want to waaaay over spend.
On Sunday morning, Dameon and I drove around trying to decide if we should get McDonald's breakfast or Burger King's. I got so excited about all the conveniences the "city" has to offer. I kept exclaiming, "Oooh! Bed, Bath, and Beyond!...Oooh! Gordman's!....Ooooh! Sonic!"
So yesterday I made my first solo venture into the city. We decided I should head to Super Target to get the groceries while Dameon went to the school to check in on the drumline rehearsal. I was about to make 3 very major mistakes.
1.) Cart Selection
Don't ask me how, but I managed to select a shopping cart that was literally ELECTRICALLY CHARGED. No joke, this cart honestly shocked me all the way through the store. Like 5 times per aisle, people. It didn't matter where my skin made contact on the dumb thing, it would shock me. And not even at the point of contact! I would just be holding on and suddenly...SHOCK! It hurt so bad that sometimes I couldn't help but audibly say "OW!" My first attempt at a solution was to keep my focus on not allowing my hands to touch any part of the metal. Just keep my little fingers perched on the red plastic-covered part of the handle. No luck. I finally resorted to giving the cart little shoves and then catching up to it as I made my way down the aisles. Good thing I don't know anyone here!! I considered reporting the issue to the cashier, but knew I'd regret it. My fingers were honestly numb by that point.
2.) Placing large items UNDER the cart
Now when you shop at Target, you of course have to load your bagged purchases back into the blasted cart and make your own way out to your car. I had really loaded up on groceries, so I decided it made the most sense to put my gallon of green tea and my bag of potatoes under the cart. As I "shoved and chased" my cart about half way out into the parking lot I heard this horn repeatedly honking somewhere behind me. Again, I think to myself "I don't know anyone here and surely if my husband has somehow tracked me down, he would know better than to get my attention by blaring his horn." I decide it's in my best interest NOT to turn around. I proceed to shove and chase. The next thing I know, a big SUV has pulled up beside me. A woman rolls down the window and says, "Ma'am!" I look at her. She says, "I think you dropped your juice back there." And sure enough, all the way back near the exit is my gallon of Green Tea AND my bag of potatoes ripped wide open setting in the middle of the lot. ARGH! Thank the lady. Shove and chase back to the fallen items. Next comes classic mistake #3.
3.) Parking space choice
When I had initially arrived at Target, I had pulled into a parking space and then realized the space directly in front of me was empty. I decided to pull on through so I could kinda even myself out a little. Yes, I was driving the Sweet Sable which to me feels like a cross between a pontoon and a conversion van. I pulled through but not quite far enough, which meant my front end wasn't sticking out enough for me to be able to spot it. Yep, you guessed it. Can't find the dumb car ANYWHERE! I'm pretty good at pulling off the "I know exactly where I'm headed" face and body language while my sunglass-covered eyes are scanning the parking lot at a feverish rate. Finally I found her, quickly loaded my groceries into the trunk, kicked the cart back to the cart corral, and headed home.
Phew! better luck next time...

Moving Day

Dameon is so technologically savvy that he single-handedly set up our wireless internet in like 20 minutes. Phew! Connected to the world once again...

Moving day went so smoothly and we felt truly blessed by all the great friends and family who turned out to help us get from Point A to Point B. We were talking about it today and saying, "It wasn't just like we had help. We had GOOD help." Everyone pitched in and sweated it out to help us load, unload, unpack (a little), and even have a cookout/birthday party in the backyard. All in one day!!! I'm going to attach a few pics. Most of them I'll have to keep hidden forever because I look pretty horrible. :) I need to work on my camera skills because many of the pics ended up blurry. Oh well. Come visit us! We'd love to see you and give you the tour.