My Izzy

Just What I Need...

This song really lifts me up, so I thought I'd document it! We sang it in church this weekend, and it was just what I needed.



In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all-in-all
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that Cross, as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand
Here in the power of Christ alone

I've been dating since I was 15 -- I'm exhausted!! Where is he?!!

So it's no secret I watch TV while I work at home. I always get my work done, so it's not like I'm slacking in the least bit. It's just nice not to have complete silence when you're at home by yourself ALL day. And TV's so much better than radio to have on in the background, because even if they are digital images, it feels like there's real people with you while you work. (Yes I realize I sound delusional, but hey -- it works for me.)

Usually I watch Fox News in the morning, The View mid-morning, Desperate Housewives at lunch and Grey's in the afternoon (my two favs!), and Friends in the late afternoon (and old fav!). Well now, Sex and the City is on! An episode that I love came on today, and I saw this scene that has to be my favorite in the entire series. What girl doesn't just adore Charlotte--and on top of that, what girl can't identify with her here??



The first time I saw that I thought -- "That's me!!" And now, it's funny that I can look back on it as a married woman, thinking "Okay that was me for 10 years..." Yep, had my first date at 15 and met Jeff right before I turned 25. Oh Charlotte, would that you'd know how wise you are!

Mom playing Wii...

For the first time! This is adorable...



This is at Andrea's birthday party in November 2010. Mom, Dad, Andrea, Eric, and some of their friends came over to our place.

I recently got a Wii game all for myself. I know, I'm so excited. I'm not usually a video game person, but I really wanted a way to exercise without simply going running or going to the gym. I really love to dance, and I've been wanting to find a dance class or something, but they cost money, and you have to drag yourself out in the cold, yada yada yada. So instead I bought Just Dance (version 2) - it's so much fun!!

This is my absolute favorite song on there, and it's a blast. It's just so much fun to sing along to while you rock out:

Hello 2011

So I've decided I'm going to not worry about when I write on this thing -- whether it's every other day or every other month -- I'm just going to write when I have time. It's still cool to look back a year later and see where you were and what God did in your life, regardless of how much of your story you recorded. :)

So here's what's up lately. Christmas was busy! Two families, driving 4 hours in the snow on Christmas day, and always doing something or eating something. No down time really! But it was totally worth it, to see my niece and nephew, to spend time with all my siblings and my parents, to see all my new in-laws, and to spend time with my new husband without having to split up and go to different houses like when we were dating. And we got snow! The first white Christmas in Georgia in over 100 years they say. Check out Connell playing in it. So cute!

This month a lot is going on. Jeff and I are moving to a townhouse to save money (they are raising our rent), so soon we'll be living in Woodstock (Cherokee County, weird). It's a cute little place, but mostly I'm excited for the 1,500 square feet, extra bathroom and 1/2, and lots of storage. We move the first weekend in February.

We're going on a retreat with our Newlyweds class at church this weekend. It will be in Gatlinburg! I love snowy, Mountainous areas in the winter. Part of me fantasizes about living in Asheville, NC one day when I retire. This will be fun!

Next weekend I'm going to a seminar conference in DC. I miss DC! But more than that, this conference is a special invitation only event -- we will be sitting down to discuss books that we read and ideas about liberty. I'm really excited because I really need to feel smart again. I miss that feeling in college where, even though you were totally burned out, you felt smart on a daily basis because you generally were studying something new all the time. There's something about reading and studying material that makes me feel smart again.

A um... updated bed

So the original bed wasn't supposed to be ours. The Haverty's lady wanted to get her commission in before the end of the month and realized our mattress wouldn't come in til after the 30th of Sept, so she snuck around the system and sent us another mattress, basically saying we could "exchange" it the next week without a problem. Granted, we got the new one yesterday and there wasn't really a problem getting it exchanged (other than they were very late getting to our place, and I really wanted to get to the DMV to change my license - more on that later), but I was kind of annoyed that she could do that. I liked her in the store, though -- she was nice, and funny, and cut us a deal on delivery charges -- so I figured I'd let it slide as long as the mattress we originally picked out arrived within a week. And yesterday it did! And a bonus: we got to exchange our platform box springs to shorter ones (man, was that first bed high)! Now, as you can see, we don't really have a king size comforter or bed set yet, and we're just making the bed as best we can, but I love this one! It has a pillow top mattress, it's a decent amount lower so we don't have to jump to get on it, and it doesn't make the other furniture look like dresser midgets. BTW -- this is the comforter from my high school waterbed! I really should throw it out soon or put it in the "give guests when they need to make up a bed" pile, but for now I'm kind of happy we have it while in transition to a king bed set. Memories, memories...

On to the license story I promised... I finally got my name changed! I went to the SS office last week, had the feds officially sign off on my Fulcherifficness, and now the DMV gave me an ID confirming I am indeed no longer a Smith. Pretty cool... every girl doodles on her notebook the last name she thinks she'll one day have (even if for the moment the cute boy in front of you in the 7th grade flirts with you -- thanks, Kurt!) but now mine's for real. Woot! Oh, and to top off all the greatness, yesterday was the single most pleasant experience I've ever had with a government worker or even a government facility. I got there, got my ticket to get in line, and before I could sit down to fill out their required form, they called my number! I thought the guy would be annoyed that I hadn't done my form (regardless of whether I just got there -- I mean, we are talking about grouchy government workers), but to my surprise he was very patient. He was even friendly and helpful. I was in and out of there in 10 minutes! Whoa. Now comes the lovely fun of changing my bank account (merging our bank accounts), along with tons of other accounts that still have me listed as a Smith. Should be some interesting stories there.

And we're back

Okay so all the wedding stuff kept me occupied through August, but I have no excuses for September. All I'm gonna say is what can you do? :) I'm back, and will be writing again fairly frequently. I am now officially a 'Mrs.' so there will be lots to share as I figure this whole wife thing out.

Last week we went to our church newlyweds class and I made what my family calls 'pink salad' - it was delish. Frozen strawberries, crushed pineapple, pecans, marshmallows, cream cheese, sugar, and bananas. Freeze it for 3 hours and you're golden. We've had it at family gatherings for years and it's always a hit. When I make it for other people, it makes me feel so domestic and wifey. I love that feeling!

Last week we also got a new bed - it is HUGE! I'm loving it though. I have to jump up just to get on it, and the hubster says I bounce too hard when I get off of it, but I can't help it. Look at the thing! It's awesome...'bout time I got a bed that looks like a 27 year old should be sleeping in it. The rest of our place is coming together, too... just slowly. There's still so many little pieces of clutter here and there - boxes, old tvs and computers, junk given to us over the years - and it'll be so peaceful when we finally have it put together and de-clutterized. It's one of my favorite things to do - de-clutterizing - it's just been so overwhelming with so much of it that it's become less fun and kind of a chore... but I'm learning that my hubster's love language is service so I'm trying to throw myself into it and help him get this place in shape. I'm lucky - most guys just let the woman clean and do stuff around the house - but my babe wants to do stuff. I should always be grateful for that.