Time Analysis

As anyone who reads this blog already knows (all six of you), Sarah has jumped from the Blogger ship to start a Wordpress blog. Honestly...I blame Chelsea and her awesome blog for driving her away! With that said, Life on Dayton has been turned over to me. At some point in the near future, it will probably undergo a facelift so that it's really macho! (Rigggggghhhhhhttttt.....if by macho you mean lots of plants and/or fleece. What can I say? I am who I am)

Actually, it will become my gardening journal/blog and I promise myself and you that it will be updated every Monday and Friday at least. I know that the most important thing about having a blog is regularly posting so, that's my promise. I also may ask for input over the next few weeks as I try some different layouts/blog design choices so bear with me. Now, on to the important things...

The theme of this week for our family is time analysis (see also incredibly creative subject line). Sarah and I have both been convicted about where our time "goes" and how (un)productive we are with it. I have also enjoyed the added conviction that my life has become very worldly and I have lost an eternal focus. So, as part of some other things which God is doing in me, I am keeping track of how I spend non-work/non-sleep time this week. It will be instructive and, hopefully, life-changing (CHANGE being the key word there). So, check back here next Monday for a full report.

In the meantime, let me point you to tonight's dinner. Easy, quick, filling, and very good! See you Friday (if not before!)

Fried Rice With Egg

This recipe is a Johnson favorite go-to meal whenever there isn't time to fix a large one because it takes less than 20 minutes.

Leftover rice is ideal but not necessary- it will just be bit more mushy if you haven't refrigerated it.

3 tbsp. oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. ginger

3-4 cups cooked rice

3 eggs lightly beaten

Soy Sauce to taste (I like lots!)

Salt and Pepper

Cook the rice according to package directions.

Place the oil in a large wok or skillet and turn the heat to high. A minute later, add the garlic and ginger, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Turn the heat down a little bit, and add the rice, a little bit at a time, crumbling it with your fingers to eliminate lumps if necessary. Stir frequently for 3 minutes. Make a little whole in the center of the rice and pour in the eggs. Scramble, incorporating them gradually with the rice as you bring bits of the rice back to the center. Add the soy sauce and stir. Add salt and pepper if necessary and serve!

Update on 101 in 1001

Here's an update on what's been going on with my 101 in 1001 list: I have 923 days left...

I've completed 7 items!

#1- We paid off Corolla (in a round about way)

#39- I read the first Harry Potter book

#74- I visited IKEA

#75- I regrouted my shower

#76- I reorganized my bathroom

#94- I completed dressing appropriately for work (and still do)

#97- I got a new pair of glasses thanks to my Mom (they were a birthday present)

I've FAILED at 1 item:

#50- I didn't do a "Wayback Wednesday Post" each Wednesday

I'm currently working on items:

#2- So far, I've saved $70 because of completed items!

#3- So far, I've put back $10 to donate to charity because of my FAIL

#13- I'm working on Week 2 of 24 of walking my dogs twice a week

#19- So far, each dog has gotten their frontline and interceptor each month since July

#42- I got the newest photoshop on my computer at work so I'm learning quickly!

#45- so far I've made A's on my first two tests of the semester

#46- Hopefully, this puts me on track to get A's in half my classes

#48- I'm collecting the photographs of my 7 completed items

#49- This is my October update!

#51- I sent 2 letters this month- only 3 more to go before having 1 out of 6 months completed

#54- We have visited grandparents at least 1x a month since July!

#70- I completed September birthday's which makes 1 out of 10 times

#71- I babysat for my Mom once on August 1st (1 out of 10)

#81- With the calendar I bought from Office Depot, I've made this a habit!

So, that's where I'm at!

Community

At my church, I am currently going through a study called “Redeeming Recovery Step Study.” It is the traditional 12-step program broken down, sifted in with Scripture and put back together. But it isn’t just for people with outwardly addictive behaviors- it’s for anyone that has sin in their life and doesn’t know how to deal with it. The sin, no matter how big or small, how out in the open or how hidden it is, affects everyone and needs to be dealt with in order to achieve that life that God purposed us to live.

Community is something that I personally feel is an important aspect of the body of believers that we, in the present age, neglect. Why do I think this? Humans were created to be in community with each other and with God. You can look at Genesis 2 and see this. God made Adam a helper, Eve, because God saw that it wasn’t good that he was alone. Even though Adam lived in perfect harmony with God in Eden, it still wasn’t good, as everything else had been thus far that God had created. Throughout the New Testament, we are constantly commanded to love others, honor others, serve others, and put others above ourselves. The community I believe we are called to live in should be described as real and authentic, and a place where truth can be spoken in love. When this is the case in the body of believers, we don’t have to feel like we have to put on the “every thing’s fine” face every time we go to church- instead, we can admit that we aren’t okay and it’s okay because it is a safe place. We can quit acting like everything in our life is perfect and be encouraged, rebuked, and helped in this community.

Satan tries to keep us from living in this kind of community. He wants to make us believe that we have to keep all of our junk to ourselves. He wants us to believe that no one cares or wants to deal with our junk. He wants us to keep everything in the dark; but God calls us to live in the light, to confess those things so that they can be forgiven. Not confessing them to others keeps us focused on ourselves and not on God, in an endless loop of self condemnation, and undealt with and this is not how we are called, as Christians to live.

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 3)

Here they are: 7 things you may or may not want to read about on this beautiful Friday afternoon.

1. Apparently, there is something in the water down in the Student Ministry Offices at First Baptist Church (where I work and go to church). Our new Student Minister, Zack, and his wife Autumn are about 3 months pregnant, our Junior High Minister, (also my cousin) Justin, and his wife Amber are almost 5 months pregnant, and the College Ministery, Brady, and his wife Melissa, are just over 1 month pregnant. And NO, I am not pregnant.

2. This has felt like the longest week ever. After getting back late Sunday after an amazing weekend in Galveston, and staying up till 1 am Tuesday working on our budget for Financial Peace University, having the usual Wednesday (which is long because of working and Bible Studies), and being so far behind on homework and trying to catch up that I am so glad that it is Friday today! Sleeeeeeeep!

3. Jim and I continue to love our Nissan Cube! It got us some great gas mileage while driving to Austin/Galveston, made it easy for everyone to find the house we were staying in, and still has that new car smell! We officially have tags for it now, so there is NO turning back!

4. Hopefully, this weekend, sometime, I can type up my September update on 101 in 1001. I've completed about 6 items, so I'm on track, I guess (it's still long way out so hard to tell) with 925 days remaining!

5. This year at the Great State Fair of Texas, they are serving Fried Butter- wow- that's all I have to say about that.

6. Fall is here in North Texas! As are Pumpkin Spice Latte's! This is by far my favorite time of year! I love the colors, the temperature, and getting to where fleece's!

7. I'm apologize that this blog isn't updated more often! I've had to do some prioritizing, and between school, work, and other "adult" stuff, this just gets pushed down the list! After I graduate (MAY 2010) I hope to devote more time to it!

Fall Minestrone

Fall is definitely in the air! And as I listen to a cold front move into the area, I thought I would share a recipe that Jim made last week that was very, well, Fall-ish (and really good!)

Fall Minestrone (Rachel Ray: 365 No Repeats)

2 tbsp. EVOO

1/4 lb. bacon

4 garlic cloves

3 portobello mushroom caps

2 med. onions chopped

2 med. carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 stems fresh rosemary

8 fresh sage leaves

1 med. zucchini, diced

15 oz. can of cannellini beans, drained

14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes

1 qt. chicken stock or broth

2 cups vegetable stock or broth

1 cup ditalini pasta

Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat and add the EVOO. Add the bacon and brown for two minutes. Add the garlic, mushrooms, onions, carrots and celery. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the rosemary and sage. Add the zucchini and chopped greens and stir until all the greens wilt, 2-3 minutes.

Add the beans, tomatoes, and stocks. Place a lid on the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Uncover and add the pasta. Cook for 7-8 minutes at a rolling simmer, uncovered, until the pasta is al dente, with a bite to it. Remove the pot from the heat. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Officially a One Car Family

So Jim and I made the big jump and are officially a one car family.

We had been experimenting with only having one car since the beginning of July, and it worked great! So, we decided to make the plunge. Which car did we get rid? Obviously it was going to be Jim's because his was a little older and didn't have air conditioning. Even though we had a payment on mine, it got better gas mileage, was newer, and had four doors.

But we didn't choose Jim's. Or mine...

Instead, we are now owners of a Cube Mobile Device.

I know- it's different, but hear me out.

We were going to look and just see if we were in a place to purchase a little bit bigger car because in making the jump to one car, it was going to be the one that lasted us until we began to expand our family, something that would last 5 years or so. We went looking at Toyota Rav 4's and Nissan Rogue's. We quickly learned those were just over our price range. After going back to Nissan to see if they could cut us a deal, our salesman said you should really look at the Cube to which Jim said, "I think those are the ugliest cars ever." Our salesman said they are very roomy and that most are surprised so we should at least give it a shot. And, well it we did, and it was awesome. Jim has at least 6 (or more, I haven't actually measured) of head room ABOVE his head (which never happens in a car) and it gets 28 mpg in the city, it has an iPod and Auxiliary input so it makes listening to the iPod or iPhone (which has the Ranger Radio Broadcast app) a BREEZE! We love it! We test drove it overnight, fell more in love with, got the numbers all together, and bargained away (Jim did this- I said nothing and let him make the deal and he did an excellent job!) and got the car Tuesday! We picked it up Thursday!!

So we own a cube and it's our only car!

And the only thing that I was disappointed in: after spending all that money on a car, they don't give you floormats! Really?

Seven Quick Takes (Vol. 2)

Seven things that have nothing to do with each other, but that I want to tell you (whether you want to hear/read them or not).

ONE ONE ONE ONE

Let me reintroduce myself- my name is Sarah Johnson. I've been MIA for a bit because life in the non-blog world has been slightly overwhelming. I won't bore you with the details, but I will say that today I got this beautiful vase of flowers from my bosses today with some awesome hand written cards (can we say "Words of Affirmation" is my love language) and it completely made all of the teary days of almost misery worth it, knowing that I am appreciated. Thanks!

TWO TWO TWO TWO

In an attempt to be more content with my place of residence, I took on a "home improvement" project: re-caulking my tub. It took a weekend (because you have to strip the old caulking, bleach the cracks, let it dry, caulk, let it dry 12 hours, and I added another layer, which then had to set for 24 hours) and I would just like to say that caulking is a LOT harder than it appears. But, I got it finished to a satisfactory level, and we're good to go.

THREE THREE THREE THREE

We had dumpster fire #6 this morning- not a bad one, mostly smoking ashes, but a pain in the you know what, nonetheless. The fire department said they put a camera up to try and catch the person doing it (I think it's our neighbor's grandkids who are usually up to no good anyway (for instance, we've randomly found two tennis balls in our driveway) and they're always banging on things and just look like they're trouble makers) but I'm not really sure I can believe the Fire Department at this point.

FOUR FOUR FOUR FOUR

Current shows I'm DVR'ing- Project Runway & Design Star; Future shows I'm looking forward to DVRing- Biggest Loser and So You Think You Can Dance.

FIVE FIVE FIVE FIVE

I've been playing a lot of Mario Kart on my Wii in the past week- I'm not sure why. I've just kind of been addicted to it. And Since I completely caught up at work finally, I've just wanted to play Mario Kart.

SIX SIX SIX SIX

I am so looking forward to having a three day weekend. I hope I can get a lot done and caught up on my housework.

SEVEN SEVEN SEVEN SEVEN

Jim and I start our first Sunday as small group leaders at our church this Sunday. We are leading a small group of co-ed college students as we go through the book of James. We're really excited but are needing an icebreaker for Sunday. Any ideas?

Behold the goodness!

I think I may have found the one food that makes everything better (for me anyway). GOAT CHEESE!

I have been a fan of goat cheese since I was introduced to it by Veronica (whose blog you can check out here) in Austin three years ago. It is, in fact, the one food I get the most grief over from the Missus. We had been married for about two weeks when I received a package from New Mexico. Marital bliss having no room for secrets, she asked me what it was because I was obviously bursting with excitement. Sheepishly I informed her "Ummm...I ordered goat cheese."

The look I got was one of bemused astonishment.

"You ordered goat cheese?"
"Yeah, I love it! You should try some."
(Crickets chirping)
"From NEW MEXICO?!"

"Umm...yeah, it's organic and the goats are free-range goats!"

Thankfully, the vows had been exchanged at this point because knowing that her future husband was willing to order goat cheese from New Mexico might have been enough to keep that "future" tag on there indefinitely.

Anyway, after throwing some goat cheese on week-old pasta leftovers for lunch today and warming it up so it was a gooey, cheesy, mess, I can tell you with certainty that goat cheese made these leftovers not only palatable but DELICIOUS! And, you can put them on just about any type of cuisine...Tex-Mex, Italian, American, Indian...whatever. I'm pretty sure goat cheese will make it better.

Life-changing this stuff is...

Update on 101 in 1001

So here is an update on how things are going on completing my list:

19. Give the dogs frontline and interceptor on time every month (2/34)

I did this yesterday, and so I continue to stay on track!!

22. Apply to a show on HGTV

I actually did some research on this and you have to live in LA to apply to the shows they are taking applications for. But I have a couple of months, so maybe a new one will come out and they'll let people in Wichita Falls apply.

39. Read the first Harry Potter book

I only have 3 chapters left to read. I like it, but I'm not sure I love it enough to continue reading the series.

50. Do a “Wayback Wednesday” post each week.

So, this is officially the first item I will be unable to complete. It was a lofty goal, I suppose, and I dropped the ball this week. $10 to a charity.

81. Get the Johnson calendar up and look at once a week

I love our calendar. It's so awesome! I love writing on it, and it's been a big help in scheduling.

82. Buy dishwasher

We did some research on getting one and I'm just unsure it's going to fit in our old house cabinets. And, the money we were saving to purchase one now has to go toward paying for school. Oh well...

86. Have a garage sale

As of right now, plans for the garage sale have been tentatively made for Saturday, September 12th.

91. Take 10 road trips more than hour away (1/10)

• Visited Lumberton, Tx July 24-27, 2009
• SPIM (Summer Party in Mansfield) August 15-16, 2009

We spent last weekend in Plano/Mansfield and it was so fun. We were introduced to the game Quelf, and we actually just purchased it for our own game collection. We went and saw Time Traveler's Wife, and just had a really great time! Shout out to the GFED!

94. Dress appropriately for work for an entire week 4 times (1/4)

So, this entire week, I dressed appropriately. Tomorrow is my FAVORITE DAY! JEANS AND T-SHIRT Day!

So, that's all I got. I am still completely swamped at work, but good news is that the new youth minister has hired an assistant and it is awesome!! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

What I think about while cleaning my bathroom...

Before beginning the actual post, I know it's been a while since I blogged. I have been SWAMPED at work. We hired a new youth minister (AWESOME) but right now I'm his assistant too, so I'm essentially administratively assisting FOUR ministries, and it's a little overwhelming at times. Praying for a new assistant for him soon...

Jim gets really mad when I complain about my house. REALLY mad. But, I'm really working on being more content. And as part of that, trying to make every room my own and make it as functional as possible. So, I got to cleaning, and scrubbed and entire wall by hand and a beasty, hard to reach corner. And instead of looking at things as things I hate about my house, I'm going to begin looking at them as things that I will look for in my next house, good and bad.

So, in cleaning the bathroom, here are few of my ideas:

-Charm is a must, and I definitely have plenty of that in this old house. Our shower is nestled inside a little cove that has an arched wall and I love it!

-I think I might prefer NOT having a plastic tub surround. I guess perfect world, it would be a claw foot, but tile is definitely preferred. The plastic is so NOT charming.

-Storage space is a must. We have a weird towel closet that is WAY deep and not very wide, so it can be tricky.

-We have a very updated vanity, which I love.

-We have a window in our bathroom which would be even MORE awesome if it looked outside and not into another room. Maybe next time...

-I am indifferent with the floor- I don't love it, but I don't hate it. It's a linoleum tile, so as long as it is easily scrubbable, I'm happy.

-No weird hard to reach corners for cleaning that are also unused space are a no go for me.

So, I hope Jim is happy that I'm trying to be more content...

Play by Play on my Morning Off

7:30- Finally get out of bed and put on my glasses, wad my hair up, and leave to take my car to the shop.

7:57- Leaving the Toyota Dealership and heading to take Jimbo to work. His grandmother was nice enough to let us borrow her car while ours is being fixed. What's being fixed on it? Well, a few things: first, the oil needing changing, second, the dome light inside only wor

ked when you pushed on it really hard against the ceiling, third, the stripping on the front passenger door was flapping in the wind, and last, there was belt under the hood that was making this shrilling, embarrassing noise. So, hopefully they can get it done quick and it won't be expensive.

8:15- Drop Jim off at work. We were listening to the Kidd Kraddick show and it was really funny! Kenzie had called into J.C.

8:28- I arrive back home, let the dogs back inside and get on the list of things I wanted to do this morning. Cleaning the sunroom is first on the list!

9:00- I get finished with the sunroom and take a break, next on the list- laundry switch and guest bedroom.

10:16- I finished cleaning the guest bedroom, folded and put away about 5 loads of laundry that had piled up on the bed in there, and put the last load of laundry in the dryer. The dealership also called to let me know that the belt and tensioner had gone out and would need to be replaced, but that the belt wasn't covered under warranty: $33. The dome light was going to be completely replaced, and covered under warranty- but couldn't be done until Tuesday. The big surprise was the stripping on the side- $160 and not covered under warranty. The oil change was $30 and I had a $50 deductible. So the stripping on the side of the door gets the hold- everything else will hopefully be done today. Now, time for a break- coconut cream pie and a coke!

10:30- Time to take a shower, since I haven't done that since

Wednesday morning.

10:46- So I got caught up on the computer reading blogs, checking email, and facebook- now I'm really getting in the shower.

11:17- Done with showering and have my hair dried- I get so hot blowdrying my hair, even with a fan blowing on the highest speed possible. It's the reason I don't straighten my hair often. It takes so long and I get so hot that it takes hours to cool back down.

11:25- The dealership called and the car is ready! WAHOO!

11:44- Hair is straightened and make up is on and I'm ready to go!!

Wayback Wednesday

So, here's a side of me you probably didn't know, or for some who might only know some about me, expect: I used to be a cheerleader. In fact, from the time I was in 1st grade until I was going into 8th grade, I did cheerleading! I was a cheerleader for the Jefferson Elementary Colts. I loved cheerleading, but I loved dancing more, and soccer even more than that, so when I had to make the choice of dropping one of 3 sports entering into 8th grade, cheerleading was the one to go. So for all who think I'm strictly a tom boy, I do have a girly side, somewhere.

Sarah on Getting Frustrated

Today was a frustrating day for me. And there isn't really one thing that I can look back and point to that was the reason for the frustrating day, it just was kind of one of those days that starts our aggravating and snowballs to frustrating.

So what did I do to get over it? I cried. Yes, that's right. BOO HOO!

There is only so much that I can take before something just clicks for me. I overreact to everything negative. It's a flaw I have- I know, you didn't think I have any, but I do. And although I can work my way out of a problem, I first have to get all the emotions out by way of tears, and then I'm good. It doesn't even have to be a long one- just a few tears, choking up, and give me a kleenex and I'm back at it.

So that's what I did today with my dear friend Amber. And she listened, and then we moved on. What do you do when you get frustrated?

Over the weekend...

Because I have wasted so much time and have some stuff I need to get done, here are the Johnson weekend happenings, bullet style, as seen by Sarah:

• Friday evening, pedicure and school supply shopping with my mom (which was ridiculous considering she was doing it for 5 kids!)
• Saturday morning- drive to Possum Kingdom Lake, feeling a bit uneasy. Started feeling better and actually got in the water.
• Lunch at the Grille made me very sick.
• Got back in the boat, but it was taking on more water than we were comfortable with
• Waiting in line to load up the boat, I get incredibly sick and needed a bathroom immediately
• An hour later, I'm still in pain, more embarrassed, and can't make myself go to the bathroom to save my life
• Finally was able to go to the bathroom (sorry if it's TMI- such is life with IBS) at a gas station where I took some pepto and bought a roll of toilet paper should any unfortunate stops be required.
• Get into the truck to come home and pray that I fall asleep so as not to think about the pain
• Wake up about 20 minutes from home
• Jim's birthday party with his parents and mine
• Jim's birthday breakfast at the Diner
• Church
• Lunch at Jim's parents
• Washer broke, but my Dad saved the day
• Castaway Cove Waterpark Fun Day with our church
• Home for cleaning/laundrying
• SLEEP!

The end...

Seven Quick Takes (Vol. 1)

I'm not doing ANYTHING at work- like, there isn't even any more jobs to make up for myself to do. I've reorganzied my files, cleaned the office, finished the to do list- nothing to do. So, of course I jump on Google Reader to check out the latest blog posts. My friend Chelsea had written on her blog, and it was a new thing- and so, I'm totally stealing her idea. She is an awesome blogger, and I have a hard enough time coming up with stuff to write, so any help I find is awesome. So without further adu, (and I have NO idea how to spell that) here it is, Volume 1. Seven things that have nothing to do with each other, but that I want to tell you (whether you want to hear/read them or not).

- -> 1 < - -

Sunday is Jim's birthday, and I still haven't finished shopping. We're just having a little family get together tomorrow evening. He's so hard (or maybe I make it hard) to buy for. I've already gotten him 2 things, have an idea for 1 other, and still have $35 bucks to spend.

- -> 2 < - -

I definitely chose sleeping in this morning over getting up and taking a shower. So, my hair is wadded up in a messy bun, pinned back; I didn't do anything besides work and lay in my bed yesterday, so it was completely justifiable in my head.

- -> 3 < - -

I started reading the first Harry Potter book last night. It's on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days; so far, I'm indifferent. Not bored, but not at a point where I can't stop reading. We'll see....

- -> 4< - -

One of the jobs I have to do as an administrative assistant here at church is rotate with the other secretaries on mail duty. I love it (except for when it gets in the way of me taking the day off) because you get to run the mail through this machine that postmarks it, then you have to sort it, and it' just fun to me; I don't know why.

- -> 5 < - -

I'm on the search right now to find a really great facial cleanser that's not expensive and that I don't have to order because I always forget to order, then run out. Right now, I'm using an Aveeno foaming cleanser. I'm not too impressed so far...

- -> 6 < - -

AT&T still hasn't come to pick up our phone line, that I wrote about here. They called to confirm an appointment today that says they'll be coming tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath.

- -> 7 < - -

I made an 82 on my final that I took yesterday for my Summer Class. This gets me a B, assuming I did well on the other things, so I'm happy. Taking a class in 6 weeks while working full time was hard. I'm never doing that again. Hopefully, I won't have to, because I'm set to graduate in May. Praise the Lord...

Timbeerrr....

This past Friday, Jim and I stayed up a little later than normal. I had just gone to bed about 12:30, and Jim was up playing a game on the computer. I must have been in that state where you are dreaming, but not really completely asleep because real world happenings can still effect you- you know where something happens and you can't remember if you dreamed it or it really happened? Well, I thought I had dreamed it, but Jim came into the room and asked if I had heard something. I said, "Oh, maybe I did? I don't know. Go look out back!" And it turns out a tree branch had fallen and taken out a line. Here are the pictures from the next morning.

That window is (well was! I moved my bedroom around Sunday) where our headboard was; like my head literally would have just been on the other side of that window.

And here is the gigantic tree branch that fell. Unfortunately, no damage was done to Topanga, which has been parked since July 5th, so no free insurance money.

Once Jim realized what had happened that night, we called Oncor to come out and check the lines. We didn't know what kind of lines they were, if they were hot, or what. The guy got there about 1:45 and told us it was our telephone/cable line and that we would need to call our phone company. Well, it wasn't our cable line because our internet and cable were still working. Since we don't have landline phone service, it's basically just a useless phoneline. So we called our phone company...wait, we don't have a phone company?

I spend about an hour trying to figure out who to call. I finally resorted to calling 611 on my AT&T cell phone and asked them to transfer me to the landline department. There was NO WHERE on their website (not even under contact me) just a regular customer service number. They made you enter a word to describe your issue (IE Bill) and when I put in phone, they wanted a phone number (which we don't have). I finally spoke with someone who said they would come take care of it the next day, Sunday, to make sure and leave the gate unlocked.

Sunday morning while at church, we got a call saying they were going to come take care of it. It's now Thursday, and the phone line still lays draped across our property.

I do give HUGE compliments to my Jimbo who got out there with an ax and hand chopped that enormous branch apart and hauled it all away. Now, if they would come get the dumb wire...

Wayback Wednesday

I know that it's 10:30 p.m. and I didn't actually get this post up before normal people would read it, but it's still Wednesday, so it still counts towards the 101 in 1001 list. Check this picture out...

Can you pick out which one is me? You can't? Oh, maybe it's because I look like a boy in a dress. I'm the girl with the chili bowl hair cut in front of my little brother in his tux and my cousin Kaleigh, the cute little blonde. That's my Aunt Joy, the beautiful bride who is the aunt we went to visit last week (she now lives in Lumberton!) I remember when we first met Joy, and how cool we thought she was! We were so excited to get to be a part of her big day!

Now, she is an amazing photographer, so if you want to check her stuff out, just visit her site!

Update on Sarah's 101 in 1001

I'm officially on day 24 of my 101 in 1001 project. Here's what's going on with the list:

1. Finish paying of the Toyota Corolla- - ->Now that Jim’s school loans are paid off, we are able to now start putting extra money toward to the principle of my car to pay it off sooner!

19. Give the dog’s frontline and interceptor on time every month - - -> July was on time! Only 33 more months left...

46. Get A’s in 3 of my remaining 6 classes - - -> As of today, I have changed my degree program from a Degree in Sociology (which would have been pretty worthless without a masters) to a Bachelor Degree in Applied Arts and Sciences (which is probably the easiest bachelor degree I can attain at this point). A positive to this is that I now only have 4 classes left and will (crossing my fingers) graduate in May 2010. Yay!

49. Update my blog once each month on 101 in 1001 - - -> Here is my first blog update within the first 30 days of beginning! Again, only 33 more months to go...

50. Do a “My Day in 6 Words” post each week - - -> I'm not as good at this as I thought I was going to be (it's hard to be creative with six words), so it's being changed. I will be doing a Wayback Wednesday post each week instead, becaue those are more interesting! So, check back tomorrow for it!

54. Visit grandparents once a month - - -> I went over to Jim's grandparents last Wednesday to hang out while the Pastor from our church came to visit/meet them. It was a lot of fun! Next month, I'm going to visit my grandfather!

71. Babysit 10 times for my Mom for free - - -> I went and stayed with my brother and sister while my Mom ran some errands on Saturday, August 1st!'

81. Get the Johnson calendar up and look at once a week - - -> I need to take a picture really to prove this one, but it's been up and updated each week!

Take 10 road trips more than hour away - - -> As blogged about previously, we went to Lumberton, Tx July 24 through 27th to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins!

94. Dress appropriately for work for an entire week 4 times - - -> I'm on a streak, so hopefully I can finish it! And, just to clarify, it's not that I ever dress inappropriately for work, I just prefer to wear jeans and a t-shirt, and not business like clothes. No one has ever said I couldn't wear a t-shirt, but, I'm an adult, and should dress like an adult, so I'm working on it.
Monday August 3
Tuesday August 4

So there you have it, lots going on!

On Being (Er, trying to be) Creative

My friend Melissa is a very creative person! She and her husband just bought a house and so, she thought she could be creative and save some money. I wanted to hang out with her, so we decided to take on the project together. Here is what we started with:

Yes; Ugly! I know, and we thought we could make it pretty. It's marbled cardboard. So, we thought about decoupaging. So we got to it. And, here's what came out:

I think we can call this a creative FAIL! BUT, I give us A for effort, and we still got to hang out and have a great time, so although it was a waste of time, our time wasn't wasted. Oh well, better luck next time.