When I sat down to write this, I saw that my husband is a more consistent blogger than I am. What? Adrian blogs? Who knew?

Actually he doesn't, except for one time a year: our anniversary. Last year he hijacked my blog with a sweet video to me. This year, he tried to do the same, except that the video was huge and couldn't be uploaded. Thus, he is a more consistent blogger than I am - even if it didn't actually end up on the blog. He recorded the video and tried to upload it to share w/ everyone - that's what matters :)

Seeing his blog post in the queue reminded me that another anniversary tradition that is not consistent at the moment - OUR anniversary video. All growing up, my parents and grandparents used to get together and do a video at Christmas about what the previous year held. I wanted us to do that same tradition so our kids could watch us someday and be inspired by the wisdom we possess at such young ages....or laugh at our style, whichever. But, as I sat down to write this post and saw Adrian's video post in the queue, I was reminded that WE DID NOT DO OUR UPDATE VIDEO!! I reminded him of this the day before our anniversary, on our anniversary, the day after our anniversary, both days of the weekend after the anniversary...you see how it goes. Today is Monday. This ordeal started LAST week at this time. I just mentioned doing our video to Adrian (as we have friends over to watch sports), he's working tomorrow night, so perhaps Wednesday. An entire week after I wanted to do it.

Have I ever mentioned we procrastinate sometimes?

On the subject of our anniversary, we had a lovely time celebrating last weekend, thankyouverymuch. We had a little weekend getaway to Monument/Colorado Springs. This year, it was MUCH more difficult to find a good deal on a hotel. We knew we wanted to head West or South - Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains or Colorado Springs and Garden of the Gods. Due to the fact that the places within our budget in Estes Park were ALL decorated like a pioneer museum, we opted to go for the nicer hotel in Monument. We stayed at the Sundance Mountain Lodge and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was quiet, they gave me free margaritas :) and our little patio looked over the pretty waterfall and creek in the courtyard.

During the days, we went hiking at Garden of the Gods and worked through some ministry assessments with the hope of figuring out what the rest of our lives hold....Um. That didn't happen. Monday, as we were leaving the hotel and starting out for breakfast and home, reality hit like a bucket of ice water. Literally. It went from beautiful and sunny to about 38 and sleeting. Kind of reminded me of the week before our wedding when the weather was nasty and depressing and not encouraging for an impending outdoor ceremony.

Our actual anniversary dawned lovely and sunny and...early. I had to go to work (boo) but Adrian and I had a lunch AND dinner date together - pizza, a cinnamon roll and then Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Also in honor of our 2nd anniversary, Adrian wore his wedding suit, during lunch we heard the song I walked down the aisle to, and we got a flat tire - just like the first day of our marriage. It was a nostalgic day :)

So, now that we're into year 2, all I can say is - I. LOVE. THAT. MAN. The Lord has blessed me SO much with an amazing husband, an amazing marriage and a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful example of the Perfect Husband and Perfect Marriage to aspire to.

Now, if we could just aspire to making these traditional anniversary videos actually HAPPEN, then we'd be set...

It's that time of the month again - the time when things are tighter and moods are grumpier.

It's that week that always gets wives in a tizzy and leaves their husbands wanting more.

Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. It's the week before the big P comes to visit and then flits away again.

Surely we're not the only ones who act a little crazy in the days before Pay Day, right? When the budget is as tight as it can go and there are bills yet to be paid, we get a little grumpy. Ok, it's mostly me who gets a little grumpy. Without a solid plan of action for how to feed us for the days leading up to Pay Day, I get all fussed up trying to figure out exactly what the plan is for dinner every night, and inevitably, my last-minute meals of leftovers leave my husband hungry and wanting more to eat.

Thankfully, though we're broke with a capital B, the Lord has faithfully provided (as he always does) for us and our meals this week. Thus, here's our week's "eats on the cheap" plan. I apologize if you have no desire to read our menu for the week, but I'm proud of the planning and how it's going to all work out!

Monday: The seminary where I work provides free food from local grocery stores to seminary families on Saturdays, so while Mom and I were selling stuff at the yard sale this weekend, I was also grabbing some goodies for us to eat this week! I was able to grab a big hunk of beef for a pot roast, as well as some apples and mashed potatoes. While Mom was in town, we also took my first trip to Aldi, where I got a can of Cream of Mushroom soup for $.50. So, for Monday's dinner we had this pot roast with leftover mashed potatoes from last week. Yummy and filling.

Tuesday: Last week at Target, they had a sale ($.99) on eggplant, so along with our staples of pasta, parmesan, eggs and breadcrumbs, I'm going to be making some eggplant parmesan tonight. The only other thing I had to buy was a jar of pasta sauce for $1.40. Altogether, that's a cheap meal, and one that fills us up. One eggplant makes a lot of eggplant parmesan for two people.

Wednesday: I made a pot of black bean soup over the weekend, again, using leftovers and cheap buys from the store. At $.60 a can, I had bought five cans of black beans last week. I combined those with some diced red and yellow onions, some chicken broth, some white wine, a splash of white vinegar, an adobo pepper (for some smoky heat!), some garlic powder and cumin and a little taste of brown sugar. I loosely followed this recipe (you should know by now I don't use recipes as-written. Ever.) For a little added protein, I threw in some shredded, leftover rotisserie chicken. Top with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese and it's delicious! Even my husband, who told me he only likes Panera's black bean soup, said it was his favorite black bean soup ever. We've already gotten one meal off of it, then we'll eat from it again tomorrow and hopefully have just enough left over for Friday.

Thursday: We're going to a conference Wednesday and Thursday and after it finishes on Thursday, A is meeting with a group of men from Summit for their regular church planting cohort. I'm meeting with our Summit Denver family group and hopefully going to Moe's to enjoy a $3 Cinco de Moe's burrito. Check and see if that deal is going on in your area. If it is, enjoy a $3 meal of chips, salsa, water and burrito!

Friday: When Friday rolls around, we almost always do Fajita Fridays. It's a tradition in the VanderHouse, but I always make them with chicken. Since we don't have any chicken (actually, I just remembered we have two breasts in the freezer), I'm going to use the leftover beef from Monday night, simmered in the remnants of the spicy black bean soup. From that, I'll make some other delicious Mexican-y concoction for our Fajita Friday.

Saturday: If the paycheck hasn't come in yet, I'm going to lobby for us to use some gift cards on ourselves. Thanks to generous family members, we're well-stocked with Olive Garden cards. Thanks to Noodles & Co. for taking a long time on a (free!) birthday order, we also have two cards good for free noodle bowls from there. THAT'S some excellent customer service. I'm going to lobby we go there after church and enjoy a free meal of pad thai or the like :)

So, if you're in the throes of the week before Pay Day, too, what are you doing for meals? How do you feed your family on a budget? While I'm proud of this week's menu - I always have room for improvement!

Like a dream, a lovely dream, my train ride and weekend in Charleston have come and gone, and I'm left with memories and mental images. Lucky for you, those mental images are accompanied by ACTUAL images of my train experience and time in S. Carolina. However, as I am in the process of trying to teach myself Lightroom and better photo-editing techniques, I'm not going to share the pictures juuuust yet. When I'm satisfied with the editing I've done, I'll post some here to show you, but until then - practice patience. It's a virtue.

Meanwhile, I just wanted to share some things I am excited about with the impending move to Denver. Although "impending" is often followed by "doom," that is not the message I wish to convey. Rather, I want to you to know that it's getting close and I'm EXCITED! Although we haven't really begun to pack (at all, actually) our things, here are some things I am mentally projecting I will be excited about when we land in the Mile High City. Because lists are always better in 10s, here are ten things (in no particular order) that I'm looking forward to!

I am excited about....
1. Not having to scroll through a gazillion state abbreviations that start with "N" anymore. No kidding - there are SIX state abbreviations that begin with "N" before you get to "NC." It is followed only by North Dakota's abbreviation - "ND." If North Dakota came before North Carolina in the lists, I'd seriously have to throw a fit - no one ever picks "ND," not a single person. They were paying people to stay in-state, so this is a proven fact ;)

2. Not having to deal with mold issues in our home anymore. Excessive humidity is a dastardly thing.

3. Going to eat at this place and this place, both of which were featured on Man vs. Food and look delectable.

4. Being so close to the beautiful Rocky Mountains and going hiking with my boys! That is, if I can tear A away from the Rockies baseball team to visit the Rocky Mountains. I guess I'm excited to go to baseball games too.

5. Learning how to snowshoe (Ang, teach me?)

6. Taking advantage of the proximity to fantastic ski slopes and hopefully skiing lots and lots and lots.

7. In general, I guess I'm looking forward to enjoying God's gorgeous creation.

8. Living life with this amazing community.

9. Being there with this lady and her husband for the beginning of baby Liam's life!

10. Living in a town with an IKEA come fall!!! I love IKEA with a fierce, shopping love and will have to restrain myself from shopping and filling our new home with lesser products until IKEA opens and I can shop till I drop :)

There you have it. If you've made a move recently, what things did you look forward to about your new city? If you're in Denver already, what things should I be excited about that I haven't mentioned?

The old saying, "When it rains, it pours," seems fitting today. After a night filled with rain, the day dawned cold and wet, with no respite in sight for several days.

Yesterday, I had my second appointment at the dentist for some fillings. Far worse than the first, this appointment is proving to be one of the many raindrops in a storm filled with them. I recognize my culpability in scheduling the appointment in the midst of a busy time. However, I can't help but think that were it not for a swollen cheek, a constant headache and pain, the other "raindrops" that have been falling this week would not seem so significant.

If not for the pain, there would not be a propensity toward tears. If not for the pain, I would better be able to rationalize things that should be minor annoyances as nothing more than a steady drip. drip. drip. However, as it is, I'm struggling to see those things as minor when they feel so major. They feel like an onslaught of a storm against us, though in my rational head, I recognize we are all nothing more than sinners saved by grace, hurting one another and throwing ourselves on God's mercy.

For "if you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared." If the Lord sees Jesus' work on the cross in place of MY iniquities, why do I struggle to see Jesus' work on the cross in place of others' iniquities against us? Why, O Lord, can I not recognize that others' sins against us do not compare to the sins we have committed against you?

Far be it for me to cast stones - but I do.

Far be it from me to get hurt by others - but I do.

Far be it from me to punish them for their actions - but I do.

Far be it from me to forget Jesus already took the punishment - but I do.

Minor frustrations, they may be, but the consequences for those actions were major. The consequence was a cross. It was a crucifixion and a death and a pouring out of punishment on the One who is blameless.

So when I cry and complain and fret about life not being fair - please remind me that of course it's not fair. It wasn't fair that Jesus should die - but he did. It wasn't fair that he should take my place - but he did. It wasn't fair that I would be spared eternal punishment - but he did it.

"O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption."

In the absence of any babies or otherwise cute subjects in the house (kidding, my husband is cute, just not happy about being constantly photographed), you can expect to see one furry little model A LOT as I play with my new Canon T2i camera!

So, without further ado, a few of the first few pictures on my newest little gadget :)

Some of you know that my amazing husband and parents and in-laws all pitched in for my birthday/Christmas present - a new camera. A, knowing how I love to bargain shop, put it all on a gift card so when I found the right deal, I could snag it.

Well, after a month of researching, consulting my good friend (and wedding photographer) Courtney with always.autumn.studios, I decided to purchase this steal of a deal on a Canon Rebel T2i with a 18-55mm kit lens for $649.95.

If you've been looking for a great "starter" DSLR camera that will be able to transition well into the "prosumer" market, check this out. It is refurbished, but from what I've read and heard, has been thoroughly checked out and "fixed" before being placed up for sale. Although the lens isn't the best, it's a good starter lens for me to get used to so I can determine what I like and need for future lens purchases. It's a great camera to grow into :) Although this is the newest model of Canon's Rebel series at the moment, rumor has it (over at Canon Rumors) that next month will see the announcement of a new Rebel, maybe dropping the price of the T2i a bit more around March, or whenever the new one is released.

If you don't want to wait till then (and who does? I didn't!), seriously, check out the deal I got from Adorama. All signs point to a great company with a good warranty (1 year return-to-Adorama) for a great little camera. In fact, I was so upset when I missed this deal a couple of weeks ago that I have been stalking their website ever since. Yesterday was my lucky day (as I was home sick.) I saw the deal back up on the site, ran into the bedroom for my giftcard and fast and furiously began the purchasing process.

Because I used a giftcard for a portion of the purchase, and Christmas money in the bank account for the rest, I had to call Adorama directly and purchase through them, which was fine. However, if you're going to buy the camera online and want to save even MORE, go through Ebates first for 2.5% cash back, bringing the grand total to $633.25 (free shipping and no sales tax, too!)!!! Seriously - a steal. DO IT :)

Once the camera gets in (next week!) and I've had some time to get used to it, I'll let you know my thoughts. Until then, happy hunting!

P.S. - Ebates is a GREAT site where you go before you shop online. Click through to the store you're going to buy from, and they give you a check for a portion of what you spend back. I've already gotten one check, and there's another on the way!

It's a cold, blustery day here and it feels like winter. In fact, it has felt like nothing BUT winter here for a couple of weeks. So....with winter comes things like Christmas, New Year's Eve and my birthday. It's the trifecta of great holidays, although A would disagree with me about New Year's Eve being a great holiday. He does not dispute that my birthday is a great holiday because he knows I'd beat him up for that comment.

So, it's birthday week, which means lots and lots of eating out, courtesy of tons of free birthday meals. Check out the bargain blog for that list. For lunch today I ate a dish from Noodle & Co. that was a birthday freebie - Japanese Pan Noodles with sauteed beef. All of the internet experts told me not to eat it, because it sat in our car yesterday for a long time (like 4 hours.....) but I did. I wolfed that food. And I haven't vomited yet, thankyouverymuch. I have an iron stomach. Literally, it's really hard right now. Maybe the noodles and beef aren't sitting as well as I hoped?

But all food talk aside, this birthday week is shaping up marvelously! On Friday, A gave me "a little something" for my birthday, which turned out to be a collective gift from both our parents and him - money for a new DSLR camera. Not so little at all!

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I am WAY excited about getting a good camera! He wanted me to get it now so I could learn from some excellent photographers I work with at Southeastern. So, I've been researching all weekend, checking out some deals, and I think I'm going to go with a package from Canon on a Rebel T2i with two lenses: an 18-55mm and a 55-250mm zoom lens. They'll be refurbished, but I'm OK with that, after having read up on what that means. With discounts and rebates, I'll spend under $700 - a stinking good deal, I think. So, any thoughts, suggestions, etc.?

I am so blessed by the generosity of family, but recognize that human generosity is a shadow of
the generosity that the Lord has extended to me. In this season of gift-giving and presents, I want to remember the greatest gift ever given was a Son who sacrificed his life so I could spend eternity in His perfect presence. That is generosity.

So, in the spirit of the Lord's generosity, I am going to be generous and share some of my food coupons with my husband :) Moe's and Ruby Tuesday's - see you soon for dinner.

Some days are more eventful than others. Some days have more blog fodder than others.

For example, yesterday I could have written a diatribe against hackers in Scranton, Pennsylvania and women who sit in the "ladies lounge" adjacent to the bathroom at work, but I didn't. It just didn't get written.

Today, I could write about things I'm excited about for the future, but I'm not sure I'm 100% ready to announce things in such a public domain.

I scoffed at someone for being too private the other day and not sharing happy news, but in reality, today I know how she feels. Some days I just don't have the energy to be excited, even when things are really exciting. Some days I just feel like weeping for no reason and a long nap and a glass of wine sounds like the best options ever.

Exciting news. Exhaustion. Weepy moods. Wine.

By this point, you were probably thinking that I'm pregnant and just hinting at it and then I probably made you gasp with the wine comment. No, I'm not pregnant. Yes, sometimes I find wine a delicious little treat. No, I will not mix wine with pregnancy whenever that happens.

So, there are some of my thoughts for the day. I think it's been too long of a week, but I'm still looking forward to a Christmas party tomorrow night. I'm sad to be saying goodbye to good friends this week, but anxiously awaiting Saturday morning when I'll get to sleep in. I'm looking forward to seeing family this month, but not relishing all of the driving, flying, money-spending traveling that it entails. Even in a dour, weepy mood like I'm in today though, I'm really really thankful for my Savior. Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free.

That's worth getting excited about. That's worth a toast ;)

True story. Here goes.

Sunday was the concert/shopping trip as a prize for being smarter than a 5th grader. My friend Stephanie went with me, and we had a grand time! We showed up at the new Tanger outlet store in Mebane, excited to get into the VIP tent and (me) excited to pick up my $25 gift card. After battling the thousands of rednecks who came from forever away at the mention of an outlet mall, we parked. I mean, we drove up over the curb and made a spot on the recently-laid grass.

Maybe the redneck tendencies affected me more than I realized.

We got into the VIP tent with our handy little passes and marched right up to the front of the tent with our plates of snacks to wait on Sara Evans to appear. We didn't know what the situation would be, only that we wanted to be close. So, rather than waiting in the line that was snaking around the tent, we just plopped ourselves at the table closest to the front and waited.

When she showed up, everyone made their way through the line for pictures as I happily munched on plate #2 of snacks :) When the line was gone, we jumped up next to her for pictures and a friendly little chat. Actually, Stephanie did more of the chatting. I was so excited to meet someone famous I think I stuttered something like "I'm SO EXCITED. Really. Really excited." I'm smooth.

We don't have any pictures of us meeting her, because they promised they'd post the professional ones for free on her website. Last time I checked, free does not mean $5. Anywho.



The concert started shortly thereafter and we got to enter the special front row section where we stood about 3 feet from the stage. To say my ears were ringing afterwards would be a bit of an understatement. I knew pretty much every song she sang, which was fun, except for one which I'd love to figure out. Help? It's a slow song with the words, "I love you too much..." Any ideas?



All that to say, it was a delightful day, a great concert and a great time hanging out with Steph.

It pays to be a Zanderburg. And to be smarter than a 5th grader.

Well, as many of you know, this weekend/week was supposed to go something like this:

Drop A off at the airport
Pick a good friend up from airport
Go to the International Festival w/ her
Go to Ocean Isle, NC for a high school friend's wedding
Have lunch with my parents
Fly to Haiti for the week

Instead, plans changed. The only thing that stayed the same was my friend coming in and my parents taking me to lunch. I started feeling bad Friday morning and by Saturday afternoon, was at the Urgent Care getting a diagnosis of strep. Thankfully, my parents were about an hour away, so while my friend had taken my car to go to the wedding, they came over to take care of me and hang out with me while I was sick and weepy.

Yesterday I had to make another tough decision and decided that since I was still feeling so yucky, I wouldn't be going to Haiti. I was supposed to go to cover a mission trip for work, but with a 5am departure set for this morning, and an elevated temperature and sore throat remaining, decided to "bag it," as my boss said.

So, with that, I find myself with some time to sit and read, pray and study. A and I really wanted to make this week one of searching and praying and asking the Lord for guidance and direction on our future. We have been thinking about and praying about an opportunity for our ministry and our life, and really want to seek the Lord's face this week about that.

So with that, some thoughts from my crazy, weird and unexpected weekend:
-My husband is an unbelievable blessing, and I hate when we're apart
-I'm thankful for my parents, who urged me to go to the doctor and who came and fixed dinner for me, hung out with me, and took care of me when I was feeling so crappy
-A heartfelt "thank you" goes a long way
-I'm grateful for a job that provides opportunities like Haiti, but even more grateful for a boss who shows grace and understanding when I have strep
-Mostly, I'm thankful for my Lord who pursues me, loves me, showers me with grace, and has adopted me into his family. Jesus is my example of grace and through the Holy Spirit, I learn how to love others even when it's hard.

Sorry for the dry spell, dear friends. It's been a long, slow week at the Vanderburgs', and not necessarily in the best ways.

A got sick on Tuesday (or earlier, that's just when he really started hitting rock bottom) and so I've been trying to help get him well again. This is by far the sickest I've seen him - he missed work three days this week because he felt so awful, and that's been the second time he's called in sick in about 6 years he said. Luckily there are no perfect attendance awards in grown-up world, or I think he would have tried to push through just to say he did. However, with a 100+ degree fever, a horrible hacking cough and lots of headaches, I'm thankful he has been given a chance to rest.

Our little man-child John showed up yesterday. He's a former youth of A's from the church he was at in SC, and now, John's been accepted into the school where I work to go to college. He is so excited to be here and start. However, unlike most college kids I know, there is no big "move-in to the dorms" weekend for John - he's staying on our couch with some clothes and books until he talks to housing and gets moved in.

Tomorrow morning, hopefully, we'll go garage saleing and find some necessities for him before he moves into the dorms - pillow, sheets, bedding, lamps, folders for school, alarm clock, etc.

I've been a college student (not too long ago!) but honestly have no idea how to begin helping him shop for things for his dorm room. A) He's a boy, and boys and girls are fundamentally different in their decorating tastes B) We're starting from ground zero with stuff for him.

We joke a lot about John being our man-child, but honestly, I've never been that great with kids, and suddenly finding myself playing "mom" to someone that is 19 years old is kind of baffling. How do I translate my college experience: Two carloads of stuff, parents, color-coordinated sheets/bedding/decor, tearful goodbyes, etc., with helping this great kid start this phase of his life off right? He's not going to have his parents here to help move him into the dorm. He won't have carloads of stuff to move in. There won't be family with him at the family events, and my heart just breaks for the whole situation.

Pray for us this weekend as A recovers (or tries to) and as we try to figure out how to help this kid with this huge transition in his life. I am thankful that our Lord is bigger than sickness and bigger than college and that he cares for these two guys infinitely better than I will ever be able to.

Thanks to Swagbucks, I have been earning Amazon.com gift cards and stacking them up, waiting to redeem them for this little beauty - a sushi kit of our very own, at NO cost to us! :)


I figured, sushi is delicious, but SO expensive for how little you often get! So, why not get a kit and try to make some at home? So we did. It comes with everything except the fresh fillings and chopsticks!

Saturday afternoon, I started out by cooking the included sushi rice, a semi-confusing process that left me a little worried I'd screw it up big time. However, I finally figured out all it really is is boiling the rice, turning the temp down, turning the burners off, fluffing and re-covering with a towel. After cooking and cooling, the rice gets mixed with some really strong-smelling vinegar. Then, we covered it with a wet cloth and went to worship at our wonderful church.


When we came home - it was on.

A chopped the cucumber and avocado for California Rolls, and some cream cheese for Philadelphia rolls. He's so tough, with that knife and all.

Our first roll didn't look so hot! Here's why. First, the instruction booklet says to "Toast the nori (seaweed sheets) over a medium flame"....Um. We don't have any flames except scented candles. I didn't figure that would be wise. Instead, I put it in the toaster oven on about 200 for a few minutes to warm it up - no idea if it actually helped or not!

Secondly, they tell you to cut the nori in half....however, the "cut in half" dimensions matched the size it already was. So, with our first roll, we cut it in half and rolled it wrong. Thus, we didn't have enough to wrap the rice/fillings. It looked more like a taco shell. We're multi-cultural, even with our sushi.

However, it was delicious!! After watching some ever-helpful YouTube videos and getting frustrated about the mechanics of it all, we finally got some decent looking rolls!

When we finally sat down to eat our feast about an hour and a half later, we had a curious onlooker. Silly dog, sushi's for people.

Maybe he wanted some of our homemade egg-drop soup instead. (Who am I kidding? It wasn't homemade, unless you count dropping an egg into a boiling pot of pre-packaged mix as homemade!)

In the spirit of culture, we mixed some wasabi powder with water and a LOT of soy sauce (that junk is SPICY!) in our honeymoon mug from Mexico! And voile! Our sushi feast!!

We had enough left over rolls for lunch the next day, and enough rice left to make one more roll with some salmon, avocado and cream cheese. That was my favorite.

So, for those of you who have made sushi - tips for next time? Because there WILL be a next time!

I often complain on here about little things that go wrong, and I shouldn't. Although they may be funny, I should spend more time talking about the blessings the Lord has given me and how I evidently see his hand working in my life - for my good and his glory. So, a few little things that happened recently:

1) We had gotten a $700+ bill from the lab that did my blood work and diagnosed me with mono. That was not good. I was fretting about it and quite worried we would have to pay it, but resubmitted it with my insurance provider. Yesterday I got the new bill, post-insurance. $81. God is good. I am so thankful for taking care of that burden and enabling us to continue paying off debt!

2) Last night I also realized God has provided for me providentially, timing-wise. I have doctor's visits once a week, usually on Tuesday afternoons. The other day, A realized next week's visit was on Thursday. I was initially irritated at the interruption to the normal schedule, but last night I realized that Monday and Tuesday, A and I will be at the Advance the Church conference at our church. Praise the Lord, we don't have to leave the conference early to go to my appointment - we'll be able to attend the whole conference!

3) We have been planning to visit SC and go see a former member of A's youth group who will be home on leave for a couple of weeks. After A got home Sunday night, we realized how financially strapped we were this month after the week away. Monday morning, the pastor at A's old church called and asked if A would preach the next two weeks. They'll pay our expenses as well as pay him, so a trip that was going to cost us even more is now taken care of, plus A gets to preach. Plus, we're going to go to the beach and eat some seafood. Praise God ;)

How has the Lord been providing for you?

"It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night." - Psalm 92:1-2

"Lonely, I am so lonely....."

I have a feeling that song will be playing in my head a lot this week. "Why?" you may ask. Well, first of all, I said goodbye to my sweet husband this morning. He left for work in SC until Sunday, so for 5 whole days I'll be by my lonesome with just me and our gnarly, snarly dog (see previous post). It's our first time of any length away from each other - I think we've only been apart for a night (maybe two) since we got married. Speaking of getting married, Sunday is our 6 months anniversary, and our one year engagement anniversary. So, it's even more sad that we'll be in two different states.

What will also make me lonely is the absence of my computer. I know lots of people live without computers, especially laptops, on a regular basis, and millions of people have zero access to computers. However, because of my stupidity and sickness, I'm now joining the ranks - for at least a little while it seems.

This morning, I was struggling a lot with dizziness and not feeling well, and as I stumbled over at one point, I knocked my computer off of the counter - causing it to land on the linoleum. It busted it up and made me freak out. I sat on the bed and got really upset. So, it was the trifecta of a yucky morning: Not feeling well, breaking my MacBook and saying goodbye to my husband. Throw in some hormones to that and you can probably picture how it went.

In good news - my friend and co-worker Courtney happily attacked said broken computer and is trying to fix it for me, since my AppleCare probably won't cover it. He's a whiz with Macs, so I'm hopeful.

In other good news, we paid off half of my credit card this morning, which feels good. Another $1,000 to go and we're halfway out of slavery to debt. Excellent. Also excellent? I beat my all-time high score at solitaire with a whopping 9,731.

Hey - it's the little things.

As many of you know, I happen to like alliteration. This is why you'll often see me using it in my blog titles. Fortunately for me, today's was a no-brainer (score!), especially considering that the three alliterated things are all about food (double score).

Sunday A and I went to the 12:30 service at our new church, The Summit. We were planning on attending a meeting afterward about a new campus closer to us, so I figured I'd make us some BLTs before heading over there.

I've started cooking with real bacon, instead of the pre-cooked stuff that I used to use. It's cheaper and tastes better, but cooking it has proven hazardous. The first time I tried to make some of the real bacon, I put it on a plate in the microwave and ended up starting a mini-fire on the plate (the paper towels did it, I think), and the plastic cracked down the middle. Yikes. So on Sunday, I cooked the bacon in the frying pan, as I have learned to do fairly well.

All was going great until I dropped a fresh piece into the hot pan and SHAZAM! Bacon grease came flying out - straight into my eye. I started screaming because it hurt so flipping bad. A came running over and instructed my to stand over the sink and hold my eye open. He began throwing water into my face (not exactly my eye) to try and flush it all out. For an ex-baseball player, his aim wasn't so hot with the water! Ha. I don't think I made it any easier because I kept squinting and spazzing. Long story short(er), I ended up with no serious injury, except to my make-up, which had to be redone. A told me later he immediately began thinking about what life without sight would be like for me - thank the Lord, that didn't happen that day.

Another food mishap happened today while I was eating lunch in the office. I was watching a highly intelligent show on the computer while I ate (who am I kidding? It was Cougar Town) with my headphones plugged in. I turned my head to sneeze, and the cord for my ear buds knocked over my open water bottle, spilling water all over my desk, my pants, the floor and my lunch. I effectively ruined the second half of my PB&J and chips. After cleaning it all up, I got in my car to treat myself to a Bojangles chicken biscuit (It's been SOO long!). I got there, ordered and pulled the car up to the window, only to realize I had left my wallet on my desk. Stink.

I turned around, went back to the office, grabbed my wallet and went back for a delicious biscuit. Nothing was stopping me once I got that idea in my head! It tasted SO good.

So. There you go - life as a Vanderburg entails so many food mishaps.

Hopefully, this only applies to me, not my husband. As of next week, A will be started manager training at Bruegger's, where he will have access to lots and lots of bagels. College friends - you know what sweet music to my ears that is! I ADORE bagels. The job is really an answer to prayer in so many ways, and we're thankful and excited about it! As his friend Billy told him - "If you're going to bagel, bagel to the glory of God!" I'm looking forward to the new relationships he'll make, the new things he'll learn and all the bagels he'll bring home to me ;)

This is the chronicle of our first Valentine's Day as a married couple!

Ok, ok, maybe it won't be a chronicle, as that would entail me probably telling you every little detail, and my dear husband is a more private person than I am, so here's the highlight reel:

Friday - We volunteered at the Special Olympics of Wake County basketball competition and had a grand time. It was fun to do something like that together and the kids were super sweet and so excited. We watched Couples Retreat (really good) while eating some fajitas (yummy yum yum) and then made a pallet on the floor and watched Zombie Land - which I also enjoyed, minus the face-eating (literally) scenes. Ben snuggled with us all night once we were on his level.

Saturday was a wonderfully slow day - slept in and took a walk in the snow before it melted. We started watching FlashForward, which we're both pretty much hooked on now! Did some cleaning and then made Adrian his chocolate Valentine's day pie and a spicy shrimp pasta for dinner. More FlashForward and then bedtime.

On V-Day itself, we went to the Summit, where we are starting down the road to joining, and then to dinner and a movie (I know you're surprised, haha). It's too cold to do anything random outside, so we went to the theater and watched Mel Gibson kick some butt in "Edge of Darkness." Afterwards was Carabba's, coffee at Caribou and grocery shopping. To cap it off, we watched the "Bride" episode of Smallville.....Um, we both thought it would be more along the lines of a romantic episode, not expecting the bride would be stolen by a beast on her wedding day. Weird.

All in all, it was a great time to relax and spend time together. It's kind of crazy to me how I don't get sick of hanging out with the same person all the time. In fact, I rather enjoy it! I'm so glad the Lord loved us both enough to stand in the gap for us, and I'm so glad he loves us enough to give us good gifts like amazing husbands. Oh, the blessings :)