blah days...

for the past week or so i've been kinda "blah." i'm not sure what my deal is. i've been tense, grumpy & sometimes sad. but i love that God is still good, still in love with me and still faithful...even when i'm a grump. 

i don't have anything specific to blog about today. i'm just trying to do a better job of posting. so we'll see what happens :)

you know i love lists. so i'll start with a list of some things that have made me smile lately.

keefee (dr. keefee) & pam hosted a SUPER fun, YUMMY christmas party for the CCC staff last friday. keefee is mean on the grill! thanks to his son aaron, we had some fabulous venison tenderloin and lots of other great stuff. we laughed for 2 hours straight. what a great group of folks.

i love christmas. i love lights, decorations and the music. as soon as i get to work i turn on my pandora christmas station. love it.  the guy i work with does not like christmas music though. so i have to keep it turned down. to me christmas music reminds me of family, my mom wrapping gifts, delightful smells of FOOD!! not aaron - christmas music depresses him. he said it makes him think of a lonely, homeless guy who has no family and won't get any christmas gifts. what?! aaron?  sure, there are lonely sad folks at christmas...and i'm not making light of their situation...but aaron isnt homeless or lonely. i hope one day he'll enjoy some christmas tunes.

jay decided the week of thanksgiving that he was going to lose 10 lbs by christmas. he declared his "diet" sunday night. for breakfast monday morning he had chocolate chip waffles with butter and tons of syrup AND poptarts. he continued to eat all the same things he always does that week PLUS the foolishness that is thanksgiving lunch x3 (counting the 2 plates at lunch & leftovers for supper.)  then that friday after thanksgiving - while i was eating a rice cake he had to go to countrys and get a piece of pecan pie with ice cream. 

keep in mind - i'm not trying to lose weight...but i DO exercise and eat healthy. jay...not so much. i ran a half marathon thanksgiving morning and still didn't eat like jay. i have continued to eat healthy even during the holidays. i exercise 6 days a week, etc. 

so....fast forward to last friday. we were getting dressed for the CCC party and no joke - NONE of my pants fit. everything was tight. WHAAAAAAT?  i was ill. so i threw on leggings and a big ol dress and we headed to target before the party. (target is my happy place.)

we get in the car and jay says "i haven't worn these pants in a while. they've been too tight." really jay?! really???  he lost 6 lbs. my pants wouldn't button. i'll never understand.

we got a good laugh out of it though.

we got to slip away to atlanta last monday & tuesday. it was really fun. we LOVE being together. we don't even turn on the radio in the car (unless i'm doing a concert.) we just talk and laugh. we went to the holocaust museum, ikea, la paz and to a blues club. then we checked in the hyatt and snuggled into our separate double beds hahahaha aren't we romantic?! and slept like babies. 

the next morning jay went down to the lobby cafe and got himself a fat, buttered, toasted bacon/egg & cheese sandwich for bfast and got me a measly apple. seriously, i told him it was like an "apple shot." it was so TINY. it was like a big grape. haha.

anyway, we took our time getting ready and then headed to this place called LottaFrutta that my parents told us about. YUMMMMMMM. it was super good. then we went to bass pro shops. oh Lord. we did see some guys that we are convinced played for the Atlanta Falcons. we couldnt stop looking at them. i almost ran into the back of jay once time trying to get a glimpse. i almost asked for a picture. 

on our way home we texted the folks and got them to meet us for supper. what a perfect way to end our vacation :)  my parents are hilarious. 

jay whined until i put out his snow village this weekend. he's probably the only man in the world who loves snow village. he seriously just stands there and looks at it. it's sweet. but unpacking that mess & packing it back up is a beast. all that styrofoam junk breaks off everywhere. and like those dang captain wafer wrappers, the styrofoam sticks to you so you can't get it off your hands. annoying! this year he decided he wanted it on our entertainment center bookshelf so he can see it all the time. so i moved at least 70 books so he could see his sweet village. last year i named it "cdubberville."  not sure why.

i paid .81 for a book on amazon last week. well done kaci!

i picked up vasa from sunday school sunday. i couldnt help myself. i got to church early and went straight to his room. he saw me come in the door and said "vasa's buddy! i love you!!" and took off running towards me. his precious blonde hair bounced right along with his happy smile. he jumped in my arms, kissed me and told me he'd learned about "jesus & mary" during class.

i've learned a lot from vasa. especially this week while i've been such a dud. i am so proud of his joy & love of life. i'm amazed that no part of him seems sad, hurt or angry about the couple years he spent in an orphanage. he just LOVES life. everything is exciting & new to him. he loves people, he loves playing, and laughing. he's the best. 

i should learn a lot from him. i've had a blessed life. i have a family that loves me and has always been there for me. i have a great home, husband, job, etc. i am healthy and have no reason to complain...yet i do. i get down about my pants being tight. i get selfish about silly things. i don't want to be like that. i want to go at life 100% like vasa. i am so excited that i get to know him and watch him grow up. i cant wait to see who he becomes, to hear his side of this adoption story and see him come to know Jesus as his Savior. i love it. (i can't wait to see that for ALL my nieces & nephews!) 

this is probably the most random...choppy...confusing blog ever. sorry about that!!

to end with more things i love:

free gifts (remind me to blog about giftly)

hearing jay laugh

squirt butter

bedtime

my new bunion splint (which looks like it could be a splint for a "manly part" when its turned sideways!)

when dunkin donuts coffee is on sale

luke smith

God's sense of humor

mangos

sweet potatoes

running with madison :) 

post-it notes

large glasses of unsweet tea

fresh laundry

lunch with my brother

lamps

sweet texts from TAs just to say they love me!

laughing with my growth group girls

running in the rain (it cleans my shoes)

the old guy that walks at lake bottom every day that looks like ziggy (the cartoon)

scarves

when people make fun of cats

and straws (cheese or plastic drinking ones)