Considering These Purchases....

I have been considering these two purchases for quite some time now and  I have spontaneously decided that this is the time to act on both.  Since Ben and I have about 2 more years before we want to have children (that's our plan, at least), then now is the time to get another dog. Yay! Look, I know that the standard poodle isn't exactly everyone's dream dog, (I have deduced this from some of the responses I received from friends such as "Ew." and "Why?") but I think it is the ideal dog for us. Here's why:

1. Pete needs a friend. The poodle will be able to hold its own with Mr. Peterson.

2. I want the standard size because I have enjoyed having a larger dog which is more threatening to intruders. (Not that we have had any intruders, but you know what I mean.)

3. Poodles do not shed. (A huge plus in my book since Pete is a shedder.)

4. Poodles, as a breed, are very smart dogs and are actually in the working dog class. People have made them all fru fru looking with that stupid gigantic pom pom hair cut. No, my poodle will not be pink!

5. My other considerations were a greyhound (adopting a retired racer), an Italian Greyhound (basically a mini greyhound), a Chinese Crested hairless mix (adopted from a shelter), a giant schnauzer, or a Great Dane. So, for various reasons, the poodle won out with the giant schnauzer in a very close second. Well, the greyhound was pretty close. Great Dane's don't live long enough and if we got a Great Dane, where would Pete ride in the car? Oh yeah, and Ben would probably puke at the idea of a Chinese Crested Hairless mix. I didn't even bring that one up in conversation. 

That being said, I put in an application to adopt a standard poodle puppy from a shelter in GA. The chances of me getting one of those puppies is slim to none since I live "2 hours away" and they will not be able to make a "home visit." Anyway, we'll see what happens... 

On to purchase number two....

This is the Canon Rebel XSi.  Back in 2002 I received the 35mm Canon Rebel 2000 as a gift. What a gift, right? Anyway, my parents gave me an awesome zoom lens to go with the Canon Rebel for my 21st birthday.  Not long after I received the lovely 35mm, the digital version came out!  I don't have to tell you the advantages of the digital camera.  Needless to say, I've been drooling over these babies for a while but could hardly consider buying one.  Now is the time. I was going to wait until I had kids to get one of these, but I'm thinking I should go ahead and learn how to use it before they get here.  Otherwise, my good lens is just collecting dust in the closet!  I'm making a trip to Wolfe Camera today so we'll see how it goes.... 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday and she has to spend it traveling to Birmingham for boring meetings.  I'm sad that I'm not off work to be able to drive up and meet her for a birthday lunch.  However, we will be celebrating her birthday, along with Father's Day on our beach vacation coming up at the end of the month! We can't wait!

My mom is a very ambitious and accomplished woman.  She earned 3 college degrees after having us three kiddos. That alone amazes me! My mom takes her job as Special Education Director very seriously, as she should.  She works very hard to be a voice for children who cannot speak up for themselves due to their disabilities.  She has spent endless hours studying reading programs and visiting schools, learning about Autism, and researching solutions to help these children get the most out of life.  My mom has a special gift for loving people that others find difficult to love. 

Not only is my mom good at her job, she is excellent at being a mother.  She is my "go-to woman" for advice on everything in life from planning parties, shopping, decorating tips, cooking, and what to do when I don't know what to do... just to name a few.  I can't tell you how many times I called her during my years of Pharmacy school crying that I wasn't going to make it.  She always knew how to motivate me to keep going. 

Mom and dad both have always put us kids on the top of their priority lists and they made sure we never had to do without. But we weren't spoiled either. :)  They knew when enough was enough. My only hope is that I can be at least half the mom that my mom is to me!  I really can't fathom how she managed to get the three of us kids from soccer to ballet to piano lessons to gymnastics, provide a meal, help with homework, and do it all again the next day. Oh yeah, and she went back to work as soon as all of us were in school. How? How???

So, to my beautiful, funny, loving, smart, and talented mother, Happy Birthday! I love you so much!

Dear God,

Thank you for letting me spot this giant spider in the grass that I was laying in while having my prayer time. 

Love,

Katie

3 Questions

I tend to be a worrier.  For some reason I would be in constant fear that something would happen to someone I loved.  I would think of bad things that could happen and pray that God would take care of everyone.  Not that there's anything wrong with praying for God to take care of your loved ones, I was just constantly concerned about everyone and things that I had no control over.  Then, not long ago my mom shared something with me that has helped me greatly. I thought I'd post it here so it may be of help to other worriers like myself. 

When you are worrying, ask yourself three questions.

1. Is it my business?

2. Is it their business? 

3. Is it God's business? 

There. That's it. Isn't it simple?  I find myself worrying over my family and then I remember, that's God's business.  It really helps to remind me that God is handling it and I can stop worrying.  

Just Call Me the Garden Guru

It all started with a bad case of spring fever that I picked up a few months ago.  My first symptoms appeared in early March when the weather warmed up and I, with the help of my mom, rearranged my whole living room and bought 4, count em, 4 live plants to go inside the house. From the four living room plants I developed a growing need to have my own "herb garden." I went to Wal Mart, Home Depot, and then back to Wal Mart to purchase little pots of basil, cilantro, mint, and chives. From there, I began to tackle the yard.  As in, outside.  And I say "began" as though I started making progress on it right away. Oh no. I was completely overwhelmed.  I visited various nurseries multiple times, I made countless trips to the garden centers of Wal Mart and Home Depot, only to walk away empty handed time after time feeling dizzy and disoriented.  

During these visits I would walk down aisle after aisle of annuals, perennials, and whatever else they had sitting out, having the same conversation with myself each time.  "What needs sun? What needs shade? What is an annual? What is a perennial? What can I keep alive? Where do I begin? How much is this going to cost? I can't do this." And then I would leave. 

Then, the unthinkable happened. I made a purchase! Lo and behold Home Depot had a sale in their garden center.  I made a solid decision that I was going to go in, buy some plants, and then plant them.  I walked away with a butterfly bush, 2 hydrangeas, a gardenia bush, and six little pots of hosta. Awesome. I came home, unloaded them, and placed them in their perspective spots in the yard.  It looked funny. So, since I had to go to Wal Mart anyway, I made a pit stop at their garden center where I picked up 3 lantana bushes and 3 azaleas (which were only 2.50 each!). Then I came home and started digging.  Well, I started digging after I made a second trip to Wal Mart to purchase a shovel.... So, I started digging.  The front yard would not dig. I jumped and jumped on the shovel, but made no progress. Note to self: Ben must dig in the front yard. 

I moved to the back yard where I actually made some progress. Hours later I had planted all of my back yard plants!  I know it looks a little bare right now.  The hydrangeas are really small but they will fill out as well as the other plants there in the picture.  As you can tell by the front yard, those plants are all in pots sitting in their perspective places.  We're pretty much going to have to overhaul the front yard dirt before we can plant anything.  Don't even get me started on the landscaping next to the house... that's another post waiting to happen.  Let's just say when they built our house they put the plants in all wrong and now we have, as you can see, an oddly disproportional landscaping issue.  However, I am proud of my small progress and maybe one day I'll be able to put up pictures of our finished yard.  Coming 2012.

One Year and Counting

June 1, 2008 I was waking up on my first day as Mrs. Lassiter.  The wedding came off without a hitch and I was praising God that it hadn't rained.  That part was crucial seeing as I had no back up plan for foul weather. I had a strong faith that God would answer my daily prayer for a beautiful wedding day.  So much faith, in fact, that when mom and dad suggested getting a tent put up due to the 20% chance of rain on the forecast, I was yelling through my tears, "IT WILL NOT RAIN!" 

It makes me laugh now thinking back on it.  That time in my life was completely crazy. I still don't know what was going through my mind when a week before the wedding I was closing on our house, picking out furniture, picking out appliances, moving, working, and buying a car, along with finishing up programs and making last minute plans for the wedding weekend.  But, it all worked out somehow. 

Ben and I celebrated our first anniversary on a 7 night cruise in the Caribbean! It was a last minute decision.  We booked the cruise Wednesday night and we left Friday morning at 3:00 to catch our ship in Port Canaveral, FL.  The minute I walked on the ship I knew we had made the right decision! We sailed to the Bahamas, the USVI, BVI, and then back to Florida where we stopped and spent a day in Disney World. It was a fantastic way to end our first year together.  The picture above was taken on Solamon's Beach in St. John. You have to get creative with the photos when it's just the two of you there to take them! 

My first year as a wife was fun and challenging a the same time with all of the newly acquired responsibilities. With bills, insurance, working full time, cleaning, cooking, planning around one another's schedule, finding a church, making new friends, fixing up the house, figuring out the budget, life can get more complicated than it needs to be! That took a little bit of getting used to for me. Now, one year in, I'm starting to get used to the swing of things.  I'm learning to not freak out when I vacuum and then the floor needs vacuuming again the very next day. I've learned that I don't have to have a gourmet meal on the table whenever Ben comes home from work. He likes frozen pizza, his expectations are not high.  I've learned that everything does not have to be taken care of all at once! 

On our wedding day, Ben and I used a scripture from the book of Ruth in our vows to each other.  We vowed, "Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your family will be my family, and your God will be my God.  Where you live, I will live. And where you die, there I will be buried. May God deal with me ever so severely if anything but death separates me from you."  

The beautiful and challenging thing about marriage is that you are bonded together for life.  You can't just run away from your spouse when times get tough or when your relationship gets rocky. You work it out. You stick together and you work it out and you grow closer to each other.  I've learned a lot already, but it has only been one year! I am looking forward to the things I will learn and the ways that Ben and I will grow together in the years to come.