HALLELUJAH!! IT'S FRIDAY!!

I am so full of Friday cheer I can barely stand it. It's a beautiful day again in Martinez, GA, and I'm pumped up about the weekend. Josh and I are going on a retreat with about 20 youth starting tonight until Sunday morning. Josh and his friend Martin are both speaking on the topic of sin and temptation in the life of the Christian. We're praying that the weather will hold out on Saturday, because Josh has got a lot of great things planned for Saturday afternoon that all involve being outside. Helping Josh think of activities has taken me back to my youth group days, remembering some things that were really fun and other things that were horrible, like eating really nasty things as fast as you could and playing games where the loser had to do something really embarassing.

Josh and I finally took our first load of stuff over to our new apartment last night. It felt good to at least get the moving process started. We probably have one of the worst cars for packing and moving. We packed so much stuff into our little Civic on the way from Peoria to Augusta when we moved last May. Every spare inch was taken up with something. If there was an empty space, we jammed something into it, like a spatula or a wadded up towel or a set of coasters. Thankfully we're going to have help next weekend from some friends at church, so we won't have to resort to the stuffing into cracks technique. We would be moving stuff for the next 2 months!!

Last night after we dropped our stuff off we had to run to Target to get a camera bag for our new camera so we could take it to the retreat. The Target in Evans is right next door to a Babies R Us, and we went in there just for kicks. Yeesh. Let me tell you, this is like the baby capital of the planet. There you can get the most pimped out baby equipment possible. We were shocked to see how many types of Pack & Play cribs you can buy. Some of the infant baby seats looked like something an astronaut would sit in on a mission to the moon. The baby industry must be booming. It's funny how much money you're encouraged to spend on the smallest little person possible.

Well, here's to hoping for a great weekend! Pray for us!!

Common Office Tasks that Are Quite Enjoyable

As everyone knows, I work as a receptionist for a State Farm agent. My job as a receptionist involves all kinds of different work, some that I like and some that I don't like quite as much. I owe my ability as a receptionist to my sister Emily. I worked under her at DeKroyft-Metz & Co., Inc., the summer between my sophomore and junior year at Covenant. She took me under her wing and taught me what she referred to as the "battery of office skills." We obviously had a wonderful time working together. The skills she taught me to be proficient in included stapling, hole punching, faxing, copying, phone calling, and other such things that are essential to being a good receptionist. So Emily, if you're reading this, thank you- even today you're helping to put food on the table.

So here we go: my list of enjoyable office tasks and ones that I'd rather forget.

GOOD THINGS TO DO IN THE OFFICE.
1. Write e-mails. Whether business-related or not, e-mailing is a lovely way to pass the day.
2. Stock the refrigerator with Coke and water. We keep drinks on hand for our customers when they come into the office, and it's a nice job to make sure that the fridge stays full of drinks.
3. Wash dishes. We have a sink in the kitchen where we wash coffee mugs, utensils, etc. I usually enjoy washing the dishes. Very satisfying feeling.
4. Gather everyone's trash on trash day. I also enjoy gathering trash bags for some reason.
5. Get the mail. Our mailbox is outside of our office right by the road, so it's nice to get some fresh air for a second while grabbing the mail.
6. Write letters. I occasionally write letters and/or postcards for my boss, and I like doing that.
7. Make tea or hot chocolate. It's great to have a mug sitting on your desk, both for something to drink and to boost your professionalism.
8. Answer the phone. You just never know what you're going to get when you pick up the phone. A grab bag, if you will.
9. Sign for UPS packages. Usually our's are full of business supplies, such as homeowner's brochures and State Farm pens.
10. Lock up, turn the air up/heat down, and turn out the lights. This is probably my favorite thing to do!!

BAD THINGS TO DO IN THE OFFICE.
1. Water plants. Depending on what shoes I'm wearing, this task is more or less enjoyable. If I'm wearing some beautiful heels, I usually don't like watering the plants because you have to fill up the watering can a couple of times, and all of that walking on tile gets painful. Even if I'm not wearing heels, I still don't like watering the plants because it's too much responsibility. When they don't look so good, I get the blame.
2. Send faxes. I used to want a job as a fax manager, but I decided that sending faxes is actually a drag. The silly old cover sheet, punching in the number, waiting for it to go through... faxing isn't all it's cracked up to be.
3. Making certain late payment calls. Part of my job is to call people who are behind with their bills. Some of them are fine, but calling the people who owe a lot of money and their insurance is about to cancel is not very pleasurable.
4. Just sit in your chair. Sitting in office chairs, no matter how comfortable, gets uncomfortable after several hours. Sometimes there's just no comfortable way to sit. Then your butt gets numb, and it's all downhill from there.

As you can see, the good definitely outweighs the bad. I usually enjoy my job, but regardless of the type of day I've had, 5:30 is always my favorite time of the workday!!

Thoughts On This Wednesday

Josh and I have divided up the household chores in quite a satisfactory way. He preps the food, I cook it. He makes the deposits, I pay the bills. He chops up raw chicken and onions, two things I despise cutting, I spray the counters. He takes the trash to the dumpster, I religiously and obsessively open the blinds and windows to get fresh air in our apartment. He fills our car up with gas, I clean the bathroom sink. We both share things like laundry, vacuuming, dishes, drying dishes, folding, grocery shopping, etc. It works out quite nicely.

For some reason, I love paying bills. Does anyone else feel this way? Not that I enjoy seeing the money leave our account or giving money to people I don't really even like, but there's something nice about writing a check, putting it in an envelope, sealing it up, putting a stamp on it, and sending it off, knowing that the check won't bounce and that that bill is PAID. I love that. I know that we are reaching a point where this method of bill paying is somewhat antiquated, since I'm sure a lot of people pay their bills online, but paying online isn't nearly as satisfactory. I feel like switching to that would rob me of some of the satisfaction that comes from paying bills as a responsible adult in a timely manner. Looking at a computer screen isn't as nice as looking at a stack of envelopes that are ready to go, bearing inside proof that you are an adult and can be independent. I guess I'm a bill junkie. Maybe I draw more meaning from this routine than I should. But whatever.

Today is my mom's birthday! My mother is one of the best people I know. I love her so much. My mom has a way of taking interest in things that seem inconsequential but together go into making up who you are. I love talking to her. I'm so thankful for our relationship and how it has grown in recent years. Happy Birthday, Mom!! Wish we were there with you!

Today is a beautiful day outside, in honor of my Mom's birthday! I love it so much. Josh and I went home for lunch and it was so beautiful that we couldn't even bear to close the door. So many days recently I've wished that we could take our desks outside and work on the lawn!! I have wished time and time again that I had some kind of window next to my desk so I could open it up, get a good breeze, and take in the fresh air. But I don't. So I can get my fill when I'm home.

Have a great night!!

This & That

Well, the best news of the day is that Josh is doing great! He is back to himself, and I am so thankful. He even got a hair cut yesterday! Look, he has been shorn of his curls!
He said when his haircut was over, it looked like a poodle on the floor. I love his hair long or short, curly or not so curly. I can understand people who say if you've got those amazing curls, flaunt them, but I also love his hair short.

I have been on a serious baking kick for the last few weeks. I can't get enough baking done. Of course Josh and I love the products, but I also find a lot of joy and satisfaction in the process of creation. I've made everything from muffins to cookies to cornbread to yeast bread to cakes and back again. The only baked thing I do not attempt under any circumstances is pie. There are wonderful pie makers in both the Haluska/Fisher and Desch families. My Aunt Martha's pies are all prizewinning. My personal favorites are her coconut cream and butterscotch cream pies. YUM! My mom also makes wonderful strawberry pies. We are notorious for cutting very small pieces at many points in the day, which adds up to one giant piece if you're really honest with yourself. My sister Marnie attempted her first pie over the Labor Day holiday last year, and although it was a trying, exceedingly long project, the results were amazing. Mr. & Mrs. Desch made an apple pie for Christmas that even reasonable people would give a limb for. It was amazing. I never cease to admire pie bakers because I think that is an art that I will never master. But fortunately for me, there are plenty of pie bakers in my family, so the need isn't pressing. Here are my favorite things to bake, in no particular order.

1. Cookies. I love making cookies so much. I made oatmeal raisin cookies on Sunday for our neighbors (and of course we ate some too) and then some white chocolate pumpkin dream cookies too. Those are so amazing. They are Josh's favorite cookies. I love baking cookies because it's not difficult but you still get a very satisfying result. It doesn't take long to make the dough for most cookies, and seeing them cooling on cooling racks is wonderful. To me baking is a wonderful experiment to see what will happen. It's the greatest thing when you make something that other people enjoy.

2. Cornbread. Josh and I both love cornbread. I usually make cornbread muffins. They are so good with just a little bit of butter (or a lot of butter). Yum! I like cornbread just a little sweet, so I usually add some sugar.

3. Yeast bread. Yeast bread is a different beast from goodies. Making yeast bread is definitely a labor of love, because it takes a good amount of work. Getting the dry stuff measured out just right, heating up the liquids to just the right temperature range, kneading (or if you're me, mixing in the mixer) until the dough has just enough flour and isn't sticky, hoping and praying that it rises like it should, shaping the dough into the pans, and hoping for a good result. But the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven makes it all worth it!

4. Cakes. Cakes aren't quite as high on my list because I haven't mastered the amazing cake. It seems to me that my cakes are just a tad on the dry side. I'm not sure what I do to make them like that- maybe beat the batter for too long. But I enjoy baking and decorating cakes. My favorite kinds are spice cake and yellow cake. Frosting is a beautiful thing. I love any combination of butter and sugar. WHOO!!

5. Muffins. I love muffins. They are just a little package of goodness. Josh loves bananas but occasionally lets them go a bit long. The sight of brown bananas on the counter is a cause for rejoicing, because I love mashing them up and putting them into muffins. Muffins with a bit of butter (or a lot of butter) is pretty close to heaven. My favorite kind to make is banana oatmeal.
Here you see some baking in process. YUM!!

In other news, we went to see our doctor yesterday and Baby Desch seems to be doing fine! We got to hear his/her swishy little heart beat and ask the doctor a million questions that have come up in our lamaze class. Baby Desch increasingly been making his/her presence known with a lot of kicking! It's fun and also reassuring to feel those little flutters. We continue to pray that the Lord will watch over our baby and govern his/her development and growth! We can't wait to meet this little person!

OK, one more thing. As we've said before, we are 24 fanatics. That show is so amazing. Jack Bauer never ceases to be heroic. My sister Carrie got Josh a 24 calendar for Christmas, and we thought it was definitely blog-worthy.

How about that face, folks? I'd be afraid of crossing that man. Josh is posing with Audrey, Jack's ex-girlfriend who once thought he was dead and now thinks he's locked away forever in a Chinese prison. It's hard to have a relationship with Jack Bauer.

Have a great evening!

A Weekend in Pictures

Well, we had a good weekend. Josh is still sick but I think he's finally on his way to recovery. We didn't do much apart from sitting around, enjoying the sunshine, getting groceries, etc. Josh has had a hard time getting back on his feet. Whatever this bug is that he's got, it's a tough little thing! I took a picture of him so you could see how pitiful he looks:
Can you tell we're having a great time with our camera? Hmm, what else did we do? I went to Kroger on Saturday afternoon because our refrigerator was basically empty except for some nasty old spinach and milk, and I came back with quite a treasure:LOOK AT THAT STRAWBERRY!! It was HUGE!! We thought this was quite a find and definitely picture-worthy. Even though this looks like the mother ship or something, it was so very good. Josh and I both love strawberries so much. They just taste like summer, and make me think of happy times anticipating the freedom of summer. Strawberries are such a happy fruit.

This is a picture of me actually eating the strawberry. It took 2 hands to eat this freak of nature, folks. I feel like I have an uncanny knack for spilling strawberry juice when I'm eating strawberries. That stuff STAINS!! Josh always treats my shirt immediately and they come out, but this time I didn't want him to have to treat it (and plus, we're out of detergent), so I had to be extra careful with this monster.

Well, I obviously don't have much to write about. We're going to see Baby Desch's doctor later this afternoon, so maybe I'll have something more to write about tomorrow.

Have a great afternoon!!!

Crawling to the Finish Line

I'm so thankful for Fridays. Or I guess it's more fitting to say I'm so thankful for weekends, because Fridays are only good since they signify the beginning of the weekend. Sometimes Friday afternoon c r a w l s . That's how today has been. Josh is still at home sick, but hopefully he'll perk up over the weekend.

I've done my typical Friday afternoon duties. Filled up the candy jar that sits on my desk (I stuffed it with SO many lollipops that I better not have to fill it up again for a long time), made some calls for next week, etc. Today has been one of those days where I just can't get comfortable. You know when there's just no way to sit in your chair that feels good, your pants are too tight and yet falling down at the same time, your shoes feel too tight, and you just want to go home, put something comfortable on, and lay in bed? Yeah, that's me right now. I usually enjoy my job, but I get an itching on Friday afternoon to be free!!

I'm currently scratching my head about dinner tonight- Josh and I haven't done much of anything in way of cooking since he got sick, because for us cooking is usually a joint effort. So I've got to be creative tonight. We've already had most of the low maintenance lunch and dinner entrees this week- sandwiches, frozen pizza, soup, macaroni and cheese, etc.- so I'm not coming up with much for tonight. Maybe Chinese take out!! YUM!! There's this Chinese restaurant right next door to the Kroger we usually shop at and it's called "China." That's all the sign says- some Chinese characters and then the word "China." That always makes us laugh. "I'm going to China for dinner." It's more of a genre of food than a descriptive name for a restaurant.

Friend 1: "Where are you going for dinner tonight?"
Friend 2: "Mexico."
Friend 1: "What?"

See? It just doesn't make sense to name a restaurant the same thing as the country of the food's origin. But we might get take out from China tonight just for fun.

We have the Missions Conference at church this weekend, and in there somewhere we need to make some time to pack. We've packed nothing and have a lot to do seeing that we have to be completely moved out 2 weeks from Sunday. We do have 2 empty boxes though, and that's cool.

Hope ya'll have a fun and restful weekend!

Happy Birthday, Jim Plunk!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!!!!!

Today is our friend Jim Plunk's birthday!! He is currently serving the Lord in Ethiopia. Jim, we hope that this has been a good day for you!!! Jim is an all around great guy. Any of his friends will tell you that. For one thing, he's probably about the easiest person to make laugh in the world. You feel like a comedian when you're Jim's friend because he laughs at the drop of a hat. Thanks for that confidence booster, Jim. Josh lived with him for 3 and a half years at Covenant. That's a long time. We're looking forward to Baby Desch meeting Uncle Jimmy Jim. Jim, we're wearing party hats for you today!!

Today is a pretty nasty day outside. It's one of those really rainy, overcast days. But I guess these have to happen so we can have the sunny, green, beautiful days. Sometimes it's kind of nice to be inside and hear the rain on the roof. Since yesterday was so nice, we enjoyed sleeping with the window open. I've always been a big fan of sleeping with the window open. Feeling a gentle breeze coming in when you're going to sleep is one of my favorite things. Growing up in Peoria, which is quite a humid little place in the summer, I learned that windows being open at night was the key to any sort of ventilation. My parents fell (and probably still fall) into the category of air conditioning dictators, meaning that they hardly ever turned it on unless we were all about to die of heat exhaustion. Although in more recent years I have been more liberal with the thermostat, I still love sleeping with an open window.

I can't believe it's already Thursday! The weeks have just flown by. It seems like once I get into a routine during the week, the days just slip by without my notice. And here we are at Thursday. We have the Missions Conference at church this weekend, which will be really good.

Enjoy your Thursday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JIM!!!!