A Johnson Christmas

Bryan and I celebrated Christmas this year with his family. We had a wonderful time. It is so great to spend time with family and to be able to relax. We had great food and lots of it! The best thing for me though was spending time with family, oh and sleeping in!
I realize that Bryan and I are blessed to have two sets of loving parents who support us no matter what. The holidays for me are a great time of family togetherness and some of our friends don't have that. For them, the holidays are filled with bickering, fighting and stress. It makes going to visit family a chore, not a blessing.

Christmas isn't just about family and presents. Although Bryan was telling me a story about a little girl who when asked about what Christmas was to her, her response was something like this: " We celebrate Jesus everyday at our house, so Christmas really is all about the presents!". I laughed so hard when he told me that.
Christmas to me is a reminder of what Jesus's life began as and what he was put on this earth to do. For me. For all of us. I admit that sometimes I get lost in the hustle and bustle of shopping and parties. We went to a Christmas Eve service Monday and although it was a little different, I was reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

Over the past few weeks God has really stretched me and I have been able to turn to him easier now, then in the past. I am so glad he chose this time to stretch me because whenever I see Christmas items, I am reminded of what Christmas means to me.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I'll post pictures once we download them from the camera!

How long since my last post?

Hi All! I realize it has been a little bit since my last post. I have been really busy with work and just to tired to do anything by the time I get home. This is usually my busiest time at work, so for those of you who look forward to my posts, just wait a little longer. Hopefully I will have more to write about as well as have more time.

Merry Christmas!

The Reason for Christmas

My wonderful mom-n-law sent this to me and even though I had read it before, I wanted to go ahead and post it because it is a wonderful reminder of what Christmas SHOULD be all about. I must admit that I get so busy sometimes that I forget what Christmas really means to me.
Enjoy!

WHO STARTED CHRISTMAS?

A woman was Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of walking down row after row of toys and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the store elevator with her two children in hand.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, making sure we don’t forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally, the doors opened revealing a crowd in the elevator. She pushed her way in and dragged her two kids and all her bags of stuff in with her.

As the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and blurted out, “Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot.”

From the back of the car, a quiet calm voice responded, “Don’t worry, we’ve already crucified Him.” The rest of the trip down was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don’t forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all would, just think how much better this world would be.

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON. WISE MEN STILL SEEK HIM.

Merry Christmas to all.

Catching Up

I know it has been awhile since my last post, but I have been busy so there is plenty to read about today!
First of all - Thanksgiving Holiday. We spent Thanksgiving this year with my parents and brother in Oklahoma. Even though it was a short trip, we had a great time. Plenty of food galore - Mom, I loved those deviled eggs! - and much needed rest. I didn't realize how tired and stressed out I was until I actually got to rest and then my body wouldn't do anything! All I wanted to do was sleep and sleep I did! I got all rested which was great because on 11/29, I was off to New York with some friends! We had so much fun and now I am trying to recover from that trip! It never ends!

New York - I was there Thursday through Sunday afternoon. The weather was great everyday except for Sunday. That is when it turned really cold and nasty. I saw so much stuff, went shopping and ate ALOT! I'm not ashamed at how much I ate though! My favorite place was this Irish Pub we ate at on our first night. That was the best food (my opinion only) I had in New York with the exception of the cheesecake. I can't begin to describe the cheesecake.
We mastered the subway system pretty well and walked so much. We didn't take in any shows, but we did see the Christmas tree and went all the way to the top of Rockefeller Center. The view from Rockefeller center was amazing. I know I am leaving so much out, but we had so much fun. Another fun thing we did was go to Chinatown, Little Italy and SOHO. What fun! I had so much advise from friends when it came to buying knock-off items in these areas and I appreciated all the advice. Even though I knew what to expect, I was a little concerned at some places the "guides" took us to to see the knock-off merchandise. Let's just say some of the places were a little shady if you know what I mean. We all arrived home safely and I have been trying to recover ever since!

Thanks for reading!

School is in!

So, Kristen e-mailed me the following questions with instructions to e-mail it to everyone I know. I doubt I would ever get that done, so I am blogging about it instead. Now all of my friends are invited to do this as well. You can blog it or e-mail it. Your preference!

1. What is your occupation? Human Resources
2. What color are your socks right now? N/A
3. What are you listening to right now? The clicking of the keys on the keyboard as I type my answers.
4. What is the last thing you ate? Sonic ice
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My husband
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Of course!
9. Favorite drink? Coke, although I am trying to cut back on it
10. Favorite sport to watch? Basketball
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes. It stays dark now, but once I went very blonde.
12. Pets? No
13. Favorite food? Italian
14. What was the last movie you watched? Just Like Heaven
15. What do you do to vent anger? Yell, Cry, if I’m really angry I work out as hard as I can, for as long as I can
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Yogi. It’s a kola bear type thing with white hair. I loved it and still have it somewhere.
17. What is your favorite, spring summer winter or fall? If I was in Arkansas…Fall. Dallas…….Winter. I love to be cold. Not freezing, but cold.
18. Hugs or kisses? Bryan – kisses. Family – Hugs. Others – I can usually do hugs, it’s really there preference.
19. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries
20. Do you want your friends to email you back? They can e-mail or blog
21. Who is most likely to respond? All those with blogs who are struggling with stuff to blog about!
22. Who is least likely to respond? Anyone who doesn’t read my blog, or who are tired of these!
23. What makes you laugh? Usually inappropriate things. I can’t help it, sometimes it is just too funny.
24. When was the last time you cried? A couple of months ago when I went to the doctor and got bad news.
25. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, book bags, clothes
26. Who is the friend you've had the longest that you are sending this? Sara T. and Leigh M. is a close second (she was born last).
27. What did you do last night? Went to small group
28. Favorite smells? Just before it rains
29. What inspires you? Success stories
30. What are you afraid of? Failure (of my goals for myself)
31. Number of keys on your key ring? Which set of keys?
32. Favorite day of the week. The ones that end in “Y”
33. How many states have you lived in? 2, Arkansas and Texas
34. Favorite Holiday? 4th of July!
35. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery? Yes, a friend’s houseboat. It wasn’t pretty. Those things do not “drive” themselves!

Welcome Home Honey!!!

This post is actually me saying how excited I am that Bryan is back home! He has been out of town on business since Monday morning. For those of you who haven't had interaction with me in the morning, I'm not a morning person, so Bryan pretty much just kissed me good-bye before he left at 6:00am. I briefly remember this - I was trying to sleep after all! He has been gone all week and returned yesterday evening. I only got to see him briefly because we run cameras for a local high school football team so I had to wait until we got home. Here is the kicker though.....the game lasted so long! It took 1 1/2 hours for the first 2 quarters! We didn't get home until almost midnight and normally we get home at 10:45. We were so tired. I didn't even get to hear how his week went!
Bonus part?!?!? We get to do it all again tonight! Tonight and next Friday are the last football games we have to do for awhile. I have really enjoyed doing this, but I am ready for a break! Some of you might be saying"It's 1 night a week? How bad can it be?" It's not bad, just exhausting!
Okay, I need to finish up my lunch here and get back to work! Have a great weekend everyone!

One Crowded shopping-filled weekend!

So, I have been planning a trip to Canton's First Mondays for a couple of months and the weekend finally came this past weekend. I'd love to say I bought lots of great stuff, but to be honest...all I bought was food. I did have a great time with Yvette, my fabulous mother-in-law, for those who don't know her! Anyway, it was really crowded. Too close to the Christmas season I guess. We did have a great time though. At least I did! There was a lot to see. I hadn't been to Canton in a few years and I can honestly say I can wait a few more to go back! Everything they had that I really liked I can buy at Hobby Lobby or create myself! Okay, Okay, maybe not everything, but a lot of it.

That's the majority of my weekend. I got to spend time with Bryan's family, which was (and always is) very fun.

That's all I got!

Not just a Dyson, but a PINK Dyson

I have always told Bryan that I want a Dyson, but he doesn't really see the need because we have a vacuum cleaner already that works pretty well. Actually it works very well, but Bryan has been using it to pick up after the painting and ceiling scraping projects and there is white dust all in it and one of the attachments broke. I want a Dyson because they are great! That's reason enough! It is quite the delima at our house.
Anyway, I was browsing through some blogs and I saw an advertisement to win a Dyson! Yeah! Not only would it be free, but it is in honor of breast cancer awareness month and $40 is donated to breast cancer research. Worth it? Absolutely!

You can also click on the link here to enter as well, Good Luck! : http://thedomesticdiva.org/blog/2007/10/21/contest-dyson-pink-vaccuum/

Happy Birthday Bryan!!!!

Saturday Bryan turned 35! He handled the entrance into his mid 30's perfectly! I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday and his response? Six Flags. Since it was his day, away we went with friends in tow! We actually went Friday night, but it was all good. We had a great time. The lines weren't that long and the weather was perfect! Bryan and I both agree that the best parts of the evening were the Titan and Batman rides and going through a haunted house with Amy K! She had us laughing so hard that we didn't have time to be scared. She spent the entire time with her face buried between her husband's should blades! I wish I would have had a camera! I'm cracking up just remembering it!
It was a great evening and I hope Bryan's birthday was everything he wanted!

Things I learned from a pan-peddler....

As I sat in the parking lot of the Micro Center waiting for Bryan to meet me so we could take my car to the mechanics, I saw a little old man peddling for change from the people going into the store. I sat in the car hoping he wouldn't come up to me for various reasons. As I watched him, I thought to myself - How does someone get to that point? What has happened in his life that brought him to his present state? Is he really in need? (I don't mean to be critical, but some people take advantage of others compassion). My heart hurt for him, but at the same time I became incredibly thankful to God for all he has blessed me with. This was his child too, he loved him as much as he loved me; yet our circumstances were completely different. I have so much and I still complain sometimes. Why? I have no idea. I feel disappointed with God when I don't think things are going fairly (my way). I forget that God has a plan and that it is HIS plan done in his timing.

Yesterday was a hard day for me at work. I had posted that I had some opportunities possibly at my work to take on a more leadership role in HR with my company. In a meeting yesterday, things didn't go as I had prayed. I was disappointed and hurt. Also angry. I had been working so hard and I thought it was all for nothing.

This morning Bryan and I got some more bad news from my doctor. I was crushed. I don't know how else to put it. As I sat in the doctor's office in tears, trying to listen to my doctor tell me that it will just take more tests and time to figure out how to fix the cysts. (She is hoping they will go away on their own, but so far they haven't; they have just doubled in size and are causing problems). It's not what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear that I was cured. That everything was now okay. No more problems. That is not what my doctor had to share with us.
Don't get me wrong, I love my doctor. She has been so supportive and has my health as her top priority, which is wonderful. She also saw that my body is trying to resolve the problems on its own and she wants to give it time to do that, if it can. I'm having a problem with the waiting part.

So what does this mean?

It means God is in control, not me. He knows what is happening with my work and what will happen with my future career. He has a plan for Bryan and I's family. In his time and his way. He loves me as much as he loves the peddler I saw last night.

So even though I have been dealt some blows, God is the one constant thing I have and the only thing I need. This is what comforts me and will continue to comfort me. I ask for continued prayers that I will remember (Bryan too) that God's plan is a divine plan and the only one that should be sought.
I will try and keep everyone posted after my follow up (from this follow up) doctor's visit in a couple of weeks. We are hoping that the cysts will resolve on their own. If not, we'll have to go a different route. I don't know what that route is yet. We have a few options.

Thank you for all the prayers thus far with my work and health, and please keep them coming!

My Man!!!

Here is a little bit of info about my main man.......
1. Who is your man? Bryan Craig
2. How long have you been together? 2 1/2 years...maybe 3? We were friends before we dated.
3. How long did you date? We dated 11 months (I think) and had a 4 month engagement.
4. How old is your man? He'll be 35 at the end of the month.
5. Who eats more? Me, no question about it.
6. Who said "I love you" first? He did.
7. Who is taller? He is.
8. Who sings better? He does. Mainly because I don't like to sing. I can, I just don't.
9. Who is smarter? Book smarts - Bryan all the way; Street smarts- me.
10. Whose temper is worse? Mine.
11. Who does the laundry? I do most times, but Bryan usually helps fold and he does all of the ironing.
12. Who takes out the garbage? He does.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does.
14. Who pays the bills? He does mostly.
15. Who is better with the computer? He is
16. Who mows the lawn? He does.
17. Who cooks dinner? I do most of the times, but Bryan is always willing to help out if I ask.
18. Who drives when you are together? It depends on which car we take. If we take mine, I drive and if we take his he drives. Except for road trips, and then we both drive.
19. Who pays when you go out? It all comes out of the same account so whoever gets their card out first.
20. Who is most stubborn? It depends on the topic/event.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? We both can admit when we are wrong.
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Probably his just because they are closer, but we spend more time at my parents house when we visit them.
23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me.
24. Who asked who out? He did.
25. Who proposed? He did. I was completely surprised. We had spent the evening tearing down wallpaper in his kitchen and we were both pretty hot and sticky from wallpaper glue, so I suggested we walk to the park to cool off and he popped the question.
26. Who is more sensitive? It 's a toss up, but I would say he is a little more sensitive, but not overly so. He's got thick skin, he can take it.
27. Who has more friends? I do.
28. Who has more siblings? He does.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? He does, but I'm the belt that keeps the pants up!

I tag anyone who hasn't completed this!

Ragweed

I never had allergies until I moved to Texas. Is Texas the allergy capitol of the world? If so, they should post that underneath the "Welcome to Texas!" message on the signs entering the state. So, I sit here after a weekend of headaches, dry eyes, runny nose and a scratchy throat that won't go away. I blame the high concentration of ragweed I heard about on the news. I realize I am complaining and I realize it won't help, but I have to have something to blog about! Just kidding, sort of.

I hope everyone had a great weekend this past weekend. Even though I was suffering from allergies, it wasn't so bad. My husband (love that man more then I could ever imagine!) basically let me just do whatever I wanted Saturday, which consisted of laying on the couch watching all the shows we have tivo'd. I did other stuff like laundry and clean the kitchen, but that's about it. It was an easy weekend. Which is good because next weekend Bryan and I are so busy. I couldn't even schedule a 20 minute nap at this point. Why do I do this to myself?

A quick question for all who read my blog. I need a hair stylist. My last one moved and I haven't had my hair cut or colored (I'm more concerned aboout the color!) in a long time. Any suggestions?

Still Sleepy....

Well, I am still sleepy, but this time I have a reason. Stress with work. My boss resigned and I have been working a lot the last couple of weeks. I'm happy for my boss because she took an excellent job, but I have come to realize this week that I will be doing a lot more then I am used to during this transition. Don't get me wrong, I am excited about the opportunity, I just wish I could turn my brain off at night so I could get some quality sleep. I can remember a few months ago when I told my boss she worked way too many hours and she needed to take a breather and go home at a decent hour. Since she has resigned I have noticed that she comes in at 9:00 and leaves at 5:00. I have also noticed that I now come in at 8:00 and don't usually leave until after 6:30. I should take my own advice. I'm not complaining (yet), I just think it is incredibly ironic!

There might be some opportunities for me here at my work to expand my role into the next level. I don't want to go into a lot of detail on my blog, but please pray for me. I have been asking God to show me where he needs me to go for a while now because I have wanted to do more with my career.

The past couple of weeks have been emotionally and physically exhausting and hopefully this weekend will give me a chance to relax and regroup.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Family Fun in Fayetteville

Actually it was Muskogee and Fayetteville, but Muskogee didn't start with an "F" so I left it out in the title.
This past weekend, Bryan and I went to see my family. We usually drive to my parents house in Oklahoma and then make the trip over to Arkansas to see my brother, grandmother, Aunt and Uncle and friends I grew up with. However, this trip was a quick one and didn't allow for much time in Fayetteville or Muskogee.
All in all it was a wonderful trip, but very tiring. I am still trying to wake up and it's almost 5:00 pm! By the time I wake up, it will be time for bed. Oh well.

Don't have much else to post. I had a wonderful time with my family and can't wait to see them again soon.

Marathon, TX

Where?!?! That's what I said when we got the invitation to Ryan and Natalie's wedding. I had never heard of Marathon, TX. For those who don't know where it is, it's about 75 miles from Big Bend. Also close to Marfa where you can see the Marfa Lights. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago Bryan and I head west for the wedding. The drive wasn't that bad (about 8.5 hours). We took Tim with us so everyone drove some and then watched movies or listened to random mixes on iPods. The wedding was great and the town was cute and small. Actually quaint would be a better word then cute. Anyway, here are some pictures.

Bryan and I...

Nice Kitty....

The whole town of Marathon.....

The Bride and Groom

Dear Me in 2001....

Is your life at this age what you thought it would be like (when you dreamt ahead as a child). How is it the same and how is it different?

I saw this on another blog and I thought, why not write a letter to myself in 2001? Here goes....

Dear Me in 2001,
Well, you did it! You live in Dallas and are prepared to take on the world and make all your dreams come true. Prepare yourself... I'm about to rip off the band aid and it's going to hurt. Bad.

Your job isn't what you thought or wanted when you dreamed of a career after college. It's long hours, it's hard and you are lonely despite the fact that you go out every night with a ton of people. Cut back on this, you became exhausted which makes your life harder. Respect your boss. He is not to blame. You won't be in this job forever, but it will lay down a solid foundation for your future career (which you love). Take it seriously.

Let Eric go. He is not the one for you and he isn't worth the heartache and tears. His life goes in a different path then the one God has for you. The same goes for Brandon and Shawn. The man who chooses you is everything you dream of and more. He leaves the lights on, but that is okay. He doesn't have an athletic bone in his body and that's okay, because he goes to all your games and is your biggest cheerleader while you are playing sports. He does the dishes, not because he likes it, but because he knows how much you hate it. Most importantly, he LOVES you for you, exactly how you are.

Take a mental picture of yourself. I'm so sorry to say this, but you won't always be tan, blonde and a size 4 because you only weigh 110 lbs. This is probably the only time you will be this small. It's painfully true. Oh, please, please, please do not buy that $360 dress you wear once. You won't care in 2 years when it no longer fits! You'll just be mad that you spent that much money on a piece of material. Also, your husband will think you are beautiful and sexy no matter what size you are.

Last, but not least, take life one day at a time. Don't rush around and try to make everything happen at once. It will come in time. I know, who knew your parents would be right!

Good luck! You'll make mistakes, but it will be alright!
Me in 2007.

I had a lot of fun doing this. Feel free to write a letter to yourself on your blog. If nothing else, it will hopefully put things in prospective for you.

Next time......Move the ladder!

In my last blog (or the blog before last) I told everyone that Bryan and I were painting our front room. We started Wednesday night and things went pretty well. The paint is a dark color and it is going to take several coats to cover the walls. That isn't the point of this blog, but I thought I would share it anyway. So I am painting the crown molding and then we start on the walls. Everything went fine and we went to bed around 10:30 or so. The next morning I woke up and pain was shooting through my neck and left shoulder. I could barley turn my head or wash my hair. Any movement from my left arm was pretty painful. So I am wracking my brain trying to figure out if I slept wrong, fell, or did anything that could explain why my shoulder and neck were giving me problems. I didn't even think about the painting because I have painted the kitchen, bathroom and hallway and never experienced this before. So Bryan points out that it might have had something to do with the fact that I painted the walls normally, but the crown molding......not so normally. Apparently I got tired of moving the ladder so for the last little bit of crown molding I started using my left hand to paint, but my head was angled to the side and my body was turned at an odd angle so that I could reach. I'm grateful that I didn't topple the ladder over because I was reaching REALLY far. Picture me standing on the ladder anchoring my right hand on the ladder and stretching as far as I could. I was definitely abusing the ladder guidelines. So my left arm was using muscles that hadn't been used ever and the way I had my body and necked turned did not coordinate with my body's alignment. End result? Pain yesterday, today and probably tomorrow. Did I let it stop me from painting last night? NO!! Although in hindsight, I probably should have. So tonight, no painting. I am taking the night off to give my body a rest and next time (if ever I paint crown molding again) I'll move the ladder!

I have to say though that I really liked the color we picked. It's darker then I thought, but I love it just the same. I had that rush of "oh no!, this is not the color I wanted" when I first slapped the paint on the walls, but I kept going. I can't wait to show the pictures. I have some taken, but you could see alot of spots where it needed a second and maybe even a third (I hope not) coat of paint.
Have a great weekend!

Overdue Day Off!

Yesterday I took a day off to catch up on being gone for the weekend, (I'll post more about the weekend later) and it was just what I needed! I didn't realize how tired I was. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. I can't describe how much better I feel after a weekend to do nothing but relax. It was great. My house is finally clean which is usually the case, but Bryan and I have been doing a lot of remodeling and it was taking a toll on the house, especially the kitchen which became a dumping ground for tools, paint, trash, etc. It was a mess! Now it is an organized mess in the front room.
The bathroom closet is almost done - Yeah Bryan! - and the front room is about to be painted - Yeah me! I'll post pictures later when it is all said and done.

After cleaning the house and doing some other stuff, I went over to Kristen's house for lunch. It was great (Thanks for making lunch Kristen!). I got to play with Pierce and talk with Kristen for the longest time. It was nice to be able to catch-up on everything that is going on!

After I left Kristen's I went grocery shopping and then went home and made dinner and then relaxed in front of the TV all night!

I know it doesn't sound like much, but it was refreshing for me.

Long Time No Blog

I am so sorry for those who look for new updates on this blog. I have a lot going on, but it's not that exciting. Bryan and I spent the weekend trying to finish up projects around the house. He is finishing up the bathroom closet and I am working on the front room. We picked out the paint and it is going to look great. I'll post some before and after pictures soon. Actually, not soon because it will take me awhile to get it painted. I also picked out the colors for our bedroom and bathroom. (Andi - I am so sorry, I changed the color scheme again - but this time I will stick with the colors!). In reference to the note to Andi, she helped me pick out fabric for the bedroom last year and I have changed my mind about 3 times since then. Hopefully this color will stick.
I'll try and post more!

The reason for the Blog...

One of my friends came across my blog and e-mailed me asking why she couldn't see my personal information about me and why my blog didn't say exactly what all I was doing in my life. So I thought I would state why I started blogging.
I started blogging due to peer pressure! (Just kidding all of my blog friends).
Actually I started blogging as a way to keep my family informed of what I was doing. My family lives in different states and I am horrible at writing letters, e-mails and calling, so I thought blogging was a good compromise. If they want to view it, they can. If not, life will go on! Since most of my family is not computer happy, I decided to make my blog public so that my family wouldn't have to create a Gmail account to view the blog. This is another reason why my personal information isn't posted and will probably never be posted. I also like a little mystery. As far as work goes, I am in HR so I will not post about my job or frustrations with my job. I haven't made this blog knowledge to my co-workers, but it would be just my luck that someone came across it and found a blog where I blasted a bad day at work and then their feelings got hurt. It's just not worth it.
Another reason this blog was created was because Bryan and I were going to start trying for a family. That has been put on hold due to some health issues which I will discuss in another blog. So for all the friends who stumbled onto this blog and for any strangers who have also stumbled on it, this is why my blog is basic. Take it or leave it. It won't hurt my feelings either way!

My meme.........

I've been tagged with this meme thing, so here goes. I hope you find it interesting!

The Rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (**if you’re a non-blogger, you can email them!)

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names

5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1). I love the Ocean or the Sea (yes, there is a difference!). I feel completely at peace just sitting on a beach looking at the ocean or actually in a boat in the middle of the ocean. I can't describe how inspired I feel when I am looking out at a great body of water. Lakes do not count!

This is my friend Laura and I at the North Sea in England.

Little tip: Residents from England do not like it when you call their sea the ocean!

2). I love to be cold when I am outside. Perfect snuggle weather. Not too cold though. Fall weather cold. Let me clarify, Arkansas fall weather cold. Texas weather can be a toss up. It has to be cool enough that you can't go without a blanket, you must have a fire to roast marshmallows, and someone to snuggle up with, but not so cold that your blood begins to freeze!

This isn't Bryan I am snuggling with, but the weather was great. For me anyways.

A little colder and wetter then I normally like, but wonderful just the

same. Monica & Laura probably did not agree with me.

3). I love to procrastinate. Some of my best work/ideas have been the result of busting my buns 2 days before the due date of a project or event. No one else likes it when I procrastinate, or maybe it's me they don't like. Surprisingly, I haven't fallen flat on my face when I have waited to the last minute to get stuff done. It all just works.

4). I love animated movies. 3 of my favorite dates with Bryan was when he took me to see animated kid movies. I love them!!!

5). When I was 8 I had to have 6 "big girl" teeth and 4 "baby" teeth removed to make room in my mouth for all my teeth. Apparently my mouth wasn't big enough. I know. Shocking.

6). I have lived in Texas for 6 years now and have never been to Six Flags. I've always wanted to go, but everyone I know has already been and they don't want to go again.

7). I have been to Dollywood 5 times. Dolloywood is a theme park dedicated to Dolly Parton in Pigeon Forge, TN. I'd go back in a heartbeat if I thought enough people wanted to go.

Check out the website: http://www.dollywood.com/ It's worth it, I promise!

8). Growing up we had a dog named Jason. His registered race name was Amadara Nightwing and when he retired from racing we got him and decided to call him Jason. Go figure.

That's it. Not great, but little things about me. I hope you enjoyed them!

Tag! You're it! (If you have already been tagged then consider yourself extra loved)

Sara T.

Leigh

Phillippa

Addie S.

Ryan S.

Kristin H.

Charity

Mom and Dad (you two can go together)

Remember, if you don't have a blog you can put it in an e-mail.

Still waiting.....

First of all, THANK YOU for all the prayers everyone has said in regards to my health issues. I went to the doctor again Friday and the tests showed some more problems. I'm still dealing with the frustration of the lack of results and new developments, but unfortunately there isn't much news to share. We still have to run some more tests to determine the extent of the cysts. I go back to the doctor in a couple of months. I would like to ask that you continue to pray for me. I know God has this all in his hands and he is teaching me to be patient (something I don't have much of!) and work within his timing and not mine. I wish I had more information that I could share. It's all a little overwhelming and I appreciate everyone's concerns and prayers. I'm doing some research and talking with some friends who have similar issues so that I can better understand what's going on. So please keep up the prayers ( I know I keep asking for this!) and when I'm ready I'll explain in a little more detail what is going on.

Love you all!

What to post......

Well, I would love to say that I have a lot going on to tell everyone about, but the truth is there isn't a whole lot happening in the Johnson household. My parents came in for a few hours before their flight to Seattle for vacation on Saturday. They were really excited about taking a vacation because they haven't had one in a while. They'll be back this Saturday and will stay the night and go to church with us Sunday morning.
My friends had to push their trip back for a couple of months. We were all disappointed, but it actually works out better for me if we meet up later because I wasn't going to be able to take off work to spend time with them. Not that it's all about me, but I did want to spend some time with them while they were here. So hopefully in October we'll meet up with each other.
That's really all I've got. I actually did think of a topic to rant about, but it's a beat down and I don't have that much spare time to write it all out.

Quick Update!

First of all, Thank you for all the prayers the past couple of weeks in regards to my health. I really appreciated them. I am feeling much better and I have an appointment with my doctor on Aug. 17th. Hopefully she will be able to determine what (if anything) needs to be done next.

Also, my friends (see Good Times Ahead entry) will be here Saturday (Leigh) and Sunday (Sara) and will stay through Wednesday. I still have to work while they are here, but at least I can leave a little early to spend time with them. I am so grateful that they could make the trip to Dallas. I suppose our next trip will have to be up north where Sara lives.

Anyway, that's pretty much all that is going on.

One Crazy Weekend...

So this past weekend was supposed to be filled with fun girl time at my friend's parents lake house and the Tim McGraw/Faith Hill concert Sunday night. I had been looking forward to this past weekend for about 3 weeks. So Friday night, Laura and I headed out to Tool, TX to meet up with the rest of the girls. We had a great evening and I crashed around 11:30 pm. I woke up at 3:30 Saturday morning with a pain so intense in my stomach that I passed out and busted my lip and hit my head. OUCH!!! I then crawl back into bed and hope the pain passes. Nope. I wake my friend up who realizes instantly that something is wrong. Laura goes to get Kristin C. while Juanita, who I barely know, carries/drags me to the bathroom because I am about to be sick. Kristin has no idea where the closest hospital is so she calls 911 for an ambulance. The EMT's get there, press on my stomach and tell me that they can take me to a small clinic in Gun Barrrel City. Had I not been in so much pain, I might not have willingly gone to the clinic. So 30 minutes later I'm at the clinic being poked, prodded, blood drawn, and everything else for about an hour. Finally a doctor come in and says she needs to do a CAT Scan and I need to drink some liquid contrast so that the CAT scan will show what's going on and it will be 2 hours before the CAT scan can be done. Huh? Okay, Can I have some food? No. Okay, Can I have some water? No, because in the event that we have to do surgery you can't have anything in your stomach. WHAT?!?! I did not sign up for this. So I get my CAT scan and I'm told I have a kidney infection, urinary tract infection, several ovarian cysts and endometriosis. Here is your prescription for the infection, drink lots of water and call your OBGYN Monday. Uh, Thanks.

So Saturday night I'm home in my own bed with my husband taking great care of me when I spike a fever of 101-102 and the pain comes back in full force. So here it is 11:30 pm Saturday night and Bryan and I are going back to the ER. At least this time it is at Plano Medical Center and not some tiny clinic in Gun Barrel City, TX. We get there and I get to see the doctor who begins asking me what the clinic did. I tell him and he asks if they did a few other things and I said no. Okay, he wants to get another CAT scan to make sure it's not my appendix that was missed by the clinic. The good news was that I didn't have to drink more contrast. So I go for my CAT scan have more blood drawn and then Bryan and I wait for a couple of hours. The good doctor comes back in and says that I have no kidney infection, my bladder and appendix are fine and my urinary tract infection is very mild. However, the pain I am experiencing is from 1 large cyst on my right ovary that is causing all my pain. I have another cyst, but it's on the other side where I have no pain. So he gives me some pain meds (Thank you good doctor) and tells me to call my OBGYN and come back if the pain continues. So Sunday I spent the day in bed and Monday I was able to go to work with very little discomfort. I am still waiting on my OBGYN to call me so I can set up an appointment, but I am feeling much better. Thank you for all the prayers.

Good Times Ahead!

Sara, Leigh Ann and I at my wedding

I'm getting excited! Two of my longest and dearest friends and I are trying to plan a trip for them to come to Dallas for a visit. We are all live in different states and haven't seen each other since last February. Sara and Leigh Ann and I have known each other since birth. We grew up in the same church until we all went our separate ways after college. We have stayed in touch through e-mails, phone calls, weddings and occasional visits.

Leigh Ann is in college finishing up her degree and decided she needed a break from Fayetteville, AR, so she e-mails me. Come on down I said! Then Sara says she might be able to make the trip too! All of this has happened this morning so I might be jumping a head of myself, but I'm hopeful it will happen. We have a small window of opportunity with everyone's schedule's trying to mesh up. Some of you might ask why I am blogging about something that might not happen? Well, I'll tell you. I'm excited about them coming. Oh, and also in case Bryan is reading this he can be prepared to have the house invaded by 2 other women for a few days. I'll blog more when plans are finalized.

Long Over Due

All of us girls.....

I know, I know. It has been a while since my last post. I would like to remind everyone that I said this wouldn't get updated as often as I would like to update it. It's not that I don't want to, it's more like I don't have a lot going on right now. Actually, I have a lot going on, but it's all boring work stuff.
Back to the point of my post. My good friend Samantha (Sam), who I have shamefully lost touch with over the past year or so was in town visiting. I was so excited to be able to see her and catch up on all she is doing. Sam stayed with a friend of mine and Bryan and I went over there Saturday night to have dinner and catch up. **Shout out to my husband who knew no one at this dinner except for Misty and myself. He had only met Sam one other time outside of our wedding and he met Julie and Clint at our wedding. He was a trooper... Love you honey!**

Anyway, we had a great time catching up and I realized how often I let great friendships just fade away because I think I'm too busy to write or call. I feel really convicted as I am blogging about the experience and saying I don't have time to stay connected. Ugh! I will make an effort to be better about staying in touch. Here is a picture of all of us from Saturday evening!

Las Vegas!!

Bryan and I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas the last week in June. I went for work and Bryan tagged along for fun. Even though my days started at 7:00 am and didn't end until 5:00 pm, we had fun. I didn't see Bryan during the day except when we met for lunch, but the evenings were all us. I love Las Vegas. There is so much to see and do.
For those of you who have never been to Vegas you really only need 3 days there. Anything over three days is overkill (my opinion only). Bryan and I were scheduled for 4 1/2 days. That wasn't so bad because I was at the conference 75% of the time. However, our flight got cancelled Wednesday afternoon and we were going to have to stay until Friday or Saturday. No thank you American Airlines! This is not a downer on American Airlines. I'm glad they cancelled the flight for the passengers and crews safety. What I'm disappointed in is that American Airlines wouldn't do anything to help the situation. There response was "Sorry...this is all we can do". Hmmm...... So here Bryan and I are, stuck in Vegas for a couple of days. Not happening. We were ready to go home. So we call Southwest Airlines. I love these people! Southwest brought in a couple of extra planes to help with the congestion. Southwest made a killing because just about everyone switched over to Southwest to fly home on Thursday. Yes, we couldn't get home until Thursday, but that's okay because the flight we were supposed to be on with American didn't get home until Saturday night, late. Really late. My friend was on this flight and she was not happy.

Back to Vegas...I digressed. Bryan and I had a great time in Vegas. We went to some great restaurants and saw Cirque Du Soleil's: KA. Phenomenal. I loved it. We saw alot of the hotels and the dancing waterfalls at the Belagio. I love those fountains.
Anyway, all in all it was a great trip, exhausting as it was.

Quick Update

So sorry for the lack of updates for those who read this blog! I have been busy! I just got back from Las Vegas last week (stay tuned for that update) and I am preparing for family to come for the 4th of July. Give me a couple of days and I will catch my blog up on what I have been doing the past couple of weeks.

One Year Down....

Bryan and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary last Sunday. I can't believe how fast one year has gone by! We celebrated by eating dinner at Pappadeaux and just talking abut all that has gone on this past year. I always hear about how other couples say they struggled a lot their first year of marriage, but that wasn't the case for us. Maybe it was just me that didn't struggle, I can't speak for Bryan! Just kidding, we were both surprised and pleased at how we adjusted to marriage. We are both BIG proponents of just throwing our frustrations out there and dealing with them one at a time until all is resolved, no matter how long it takes. I tend to be more aggressive in my discussions and Bryan is much more.......hhhhmmmm, calm. He's my voice of reason (most times) and I am so grateful for that. We work well together. We both know that we do not deserve God's blessings, yet he continues to bless us everyday!

Practice Run

Okay...This marks my first attempt at blogging. This will probably end up being ignored until kids come along, but we'll see. At least my parents will view it on a regular basis! Picture is a little old, but it's a start. I'm on the right and my husband Bryan, is on the left (for those who don't know us at all).