6 days and counting!

Yes, the beginning of college football is only 6 days away. The Olympics finally came to a close this evening which tells me my husband will come to bed at a decent time, but only for 6 days. We went hunting for our Husker gear, trying to find the perfect hat for Ted which brings the team luck of course, so we must search high and low for that perfect hat! No, we did not make any purchases, we will resume the hunt on Friday, hitting a few more stores. All in all I look forward to college football, it is a fun time of year!

We went to the Nebraska State Fair on Saturday. We had purchased arm bands for the rides, thinking this would make up for our inability to go to Worlds of Fun this last May. Boy were we WRONG! Ted and I could not stand the mouthy teenagers. Now I know I was a typical teenager, whom was mouthy and so forth, but something has happened to these teens. The fowl language, king/queen of the world syndrome and archaic rudeness to adults is absolutely mind boggling. Teens these days have a sense of entitlement, there is no need to be polite and/or respectful. I was amazed. I think I was amazed because I work with teens! And I have never seen such a display of pubescent hormonal attitude. And as always, girls are much worse than boys. The problem seems to be with the 13-16 year olds, whom cannot keep their tongues in their mouths. Arghhh...as you can see this was quite a disappointment. It seems that we as a society are letting our youth down, by allowing them to be this way. What is the future going to look like? Cheers to all the parents who believe in disciplining their kids and not allowing them to become a sore on society.

Our Baby Plans

I have quite a few friends whom are pregnant or new mothers, which obviously makes me think about babies, much to Ted's dismay! I ask him frequently "Don't you want a baby?" He always says "Of course, but lets wait a little bit". So we have agreed that when we have been married a year, I will go off birth control (welcome to the world of Brienne's amazing hormones!)

I know it makes sense, the logical part of me says wait for 2 years, all the studies show waiting 2 years before children secures the marriage as well, we want to pay off bills and not have so many when we have kids. But the logical me and the emotional/nurturing me do not communicate often and thus I have these intense desires to have children. It is so bad sometimes that I go to the stores and walk up and down the baby aisles. I know I am pathetic. But I am truly glad to be married and enjoy this time before another kid shows up :)

Baby Maisie made her debut!

My dearest and bestest friend Jackie (her husband is Ryan) had little Maisie today(10/20/08) at 3:45pm, she weighs in at 7lbs 8oz. We are so excited to watch Maisie grow (meet her of course, too). I know Ryan and Jackie are going to be fabulous parents!

2 Weeks and Counting!

College football is now 1 week and 6 days away. We look at this as a time when many wives, maybe some husbands become widowed while the other spouse devotes time, money, and energy to the pursuit of college greatness! Fortunately I enjoy watching the games and celebrating the victories, however I do not look forward to the football prep where one must chant the various collegiate songs, go through the ritualistic behavior that accompanies the time of year, and participate in the day long mourning if said team does not follow through victoriously.

We do salute the unfinished projects that our attention will be directed to, the pot of simmering chili on the stove, and the entrance of fall.

On a final note, I must end this post: GO BIG RED!!!!!

PAIN!

Many of you know that I started a new position working as a therapist for the Dept of Corrections, a long with that I have had to complete self defense training, pressure point moves, defense tactics and today was knife defense. Each day that we have had this rigorous training I have been bruised and swollen beyond belief. Today was our last day of training with emphasis on Knife defense. My forearms are in so much pain, not to mention bruised, it looks like I have been in a fight. But the training is over and I begin my career tomorrow. I had on the job training last week which went well, I am excited to jump in an go!

Please be praying for my friend Sarah S. whom is going through testing for possible medical conditions. Jackie is due 8/13, so be praying that all goes well with her impending delivery of Maisie. Sarah K. is still experiencing pregnancy sickness and she is well into her 3rd trimester. Becky is on bed rest, please pray that she will find things to do that she can do, I know she likes to stay busy! Also, Molly is expecting a little boy and seems to finally be through morning sickness, be praying that she has a delightful pregnancy!

Weekend Fun!

I wish I had pictures of our weekend to accompany this post, I will have to get more savvy on how to get pictures on the computer, that is if Ted remembers to take the camera with us when we go on adventures!

This last weekend Ted and I went to the Seward County Fair. I really like county fairs because they remind me of fairs when I was little. The best thing at the fair was the Figure 8 races. In the words of Ted "it's so redneck!" For those who don't know what I am talking about, it is a dirt track with a tractor tire on each end. The "cars" (look like demolition derby cars) drive a figure 8 around each tire. It is really a hoot! They collide and dirt flies. I think what I enjoy most is watching the gaggle of high school girls prance around the ring annoyingly getting the attention of any boy in the area and the "city" girl whose boyfriend sits her in the front row and gets mud/dirt on her every lap.

We also enjoyed looking at the exhibits in the 4-H barn and the adult exhibits in the Ag Pavilion. I was amazed at some of the hand quilts submitted, they were beautiful. Ted is thinking about entering in some of his photography next year, he would really like to go on to the state fair.

We had a good time. We didn't make it to Rib fest in downtown Lincoln, the first time since we have been together. But poor Me kept falling asleep and Ted is too sweet to disturb his sleeping beauty!

Blogging Info

I have realized that for some of my family the idea of blogging is quite new. So I want to take a chance to explain it a little better. Blogging is kind of like a diary (except the really personal stuff is staying locked up) it is a chance for me to communicate to friends and family about what is going on in my life. I have friends and family from all over, this is a local spot for everyone to see what is going on. I decided to create a blog, after seeing a few of my friends and seeing how it commuicates to their friends and family. After seeing how few of my family member's attended our Oregon reception I realized that since I have moved to Nebraska there has been a disconnect, a gap has been created. This is simply an opportunity to bridge that gap. I welcome comments and advice, but know that my typing is a form of processing, getting it out and understanding my own life events.

The Sweetest Thing!

As many of you know, my husband and I have quite different hours. He works 2pm-10pm and I work 8am-4:30pm. He has Friday and Saturdays off, I have Saturday and Sundays off. So as you can imagine this adds a sense of stress to our marriage on the premise that we hardly see each other. My husband knows the kind of stress this puts on me and how much during the week I miss him, so this last Friday, I awoke to breakfast in bed and being told he made my lunch. Isn't that sweet! Sure the food wasn't what I normally eat, but the gesture and thought was so sweet! I am one lucky gal!

Newly Wed Bliss or Blues?

I have been married for about a month and a half, I love being married. But let me tell you, it isn't easy. I am thankful that I have parents who I can discuss marital issues with and get real responses (meaning they always take his side :) ). Whenever it hits about a day or two before my time of the month, I begin to get impatient and highly critical of my spouse. Now I am not blaming my menstrual cycle, however it is an understanding of why I react the way I do.

Before getting married my husband has been living on his own for a long time (he's 37) as well I have been living on my own for a quite a while. So you have two very independent beings, trying to mesh into a cohesive marital unit. And to add on top of it all, I know that I am not a good roommate. I have a certain idea of how things should be. As my mom would say "Brienne you have very high expectations for yourself and those whom live with you." Now I would argue that my high expectations are a learned behavior from my mom, but her wisdom is greatly sought and appreciated. So putting all these factors together: my time of the month, two independent beings, and my high expectations, what do you think happened? My poor unsuspecting husband got the brunt of my frustration this weekend. Granted there are areas he needs to work on, as well as there are areas I need to work on, but instead of approaching him with my therapist tone and patience, he got a snippity wife with emotions flowing!

Thankfully, God made my husband perfect for my emotional state. He understands my emotionality and embraces it as a part of who I am, but doesn't discount the root issue at hand.

My dad also gave me some good advice, he pointed out that since we both have been independent that I need to give it more time. Changes don't happen overnight, it could take a few years. As my dad is telling me this, he says "after all your mom and I have been married for 36 and we finally have each other figured out...for the most part."

So what have I learned? That I have little patience for my personal life and need to work on that area. That I have a true reason for having "super" emotions for a couple days each month. My husband loves me and is committed to our marriage (and change) and that I need to let myself off the hook. I have such high expectations, that even I can't meet them.

Initiation

As most of my family and friends know, blogging is new to me. Before the blogs of my dearest friends, I would have associated blogging as something you did in the marshes wearing wooden shoes and standing under a windmill in a little european country. So why am I giving blogging a try? Well, I really enjoyed having a wedding website and see that it is a great tool to allow family from across distances share in the day to day ongoings in one's life, so here is my attempt at sharing my life and thoughts with all of you.