Changin' things up...

Two nights in a row - that's got to be a record! Anyway, at the request of a certain family member (who shall remain nameless), tonight's entry will be less "philosophical make me cry at 7:30 in the morning" and more of a "laugh until I cry" post.

Ok, so maybe it won't make you laugh until you cry. Let's be honest, I'm not exactly a comedian. Instead, we'll try for an update so you all can catch up with David and I and our most recent excursions and adventures. Here goes...

The job hunt is still on. Every day we hear thousands of additional jobs have been lost, making it that much more difficult for David to find a full time job. However, the newest information is that David has started an unpaid internship for BleacherReport.com. It's actually a win-win for us because he doesn't have to travel and it's an internship within his chosen field, so it will pad his resume and gives him something to do during the day. He's working as an online editor, reviewing articles submitted to readers and subscribers and gets to write an article every once in a while. He's also still working for the Lincoln Journal Star.

Of course, I'm still working with the same company and am enjoying myself. I just got back from sunny, warm Scottsdale Ariz. I headed southwest for the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show and definitely enjoyed my time out there. Of course, I still love my stock horses, but it was interesting to see how the "other half" shows.

We have also recently had a visitor: my mom finally made it out to Lincoln. And, her visit is the reason for tonight's title.

After living on a farm her entire life and spending all of her time recently working on the store, coming out here with nothing to do made life a little boring for her. Of course, she did some antiquing (poor David only had a little cubby hole to sit in when the three of us headed home to Illinois for the weekend), but she also felt the need to give David and I a little change. After a trip to the mall and some new curtains for our living room, Mom asked if I would mind if she rearranged our furniture - she had some ideas that might change things up a little bit.

Knowing that my mother's taste is infinitely better than mine, I gave her full lisence to do whatever she would like. When I left for work Friday morning, she was already hard at work, moving furniture. As usual, she made things look absolutely fabulous.

Mom moved some furniture from the dining room to the living room and moved some living room furniture to the kitchen. She also hung some new curtains and gave us some ideas for decorating later on. David was a little shocked when he wandered out of the bedroom after finishing his internship up for the day, but has decided that he does like the new changes.

Following Mom's visit, David and Mom and I headed back to Illinois Valentine's Day weekend. David and I hdeaded to Bloomington with a couple of friends to see Jeff Dunham (which was absolutely hilarious) and spent some time trying to catch up with everyone. Unfortunately, we weren't very effective because I never made it over to see Grandma Shirley - or anybody else for that matter.

This week, David's mom will be here to visit. She's going to drive through Lincoln on her way out to Denver and pick David up for his niece's birthday. David is so excited about going out there and seeing his "little ones." I swear, the three of them have Uncle Dave wrapped around their tiny little fingers.

I'm not sure when we'll be home again, but I have to say it may be a little while. After driving home every other weekend for wedding stuff, it has been really nice (and money-saving) to stay here on the weekends and just hang out.

Other than that, I can't think of any other new information. But, as promised, I'll try to keep this up in a more regular fashion.

Have a good night!

Without you...

...I'm a drift.

Now, before you go and yell at me for incorrectly spelling the word 'adrift,' you need to know why I spelled it that way.

I have a coffee cup. It's blue and it has a snowman on the front of it, with the words "Without you" on the outside lip. On the inside lip, it says, "I'm a drift."

Cheesy? Yes. True? Absolutely. I got it for David for Christmas one year, but I don't think I ever really took the phrase seriously (disregarding all the cheesiness of it can be difficult).

Tonight, I sat down on my couch with my favorite snowman coffee cup in my hands (full of delicious hot chocolate) and watched P.S. I Love You. I've seen the movie several times - in fact, after just watching it once, I had to go out and buy it. Well, actually, I requested it for Christmas (thanks to my wonderful husband it is now included in our ever-expanding DVD library). David won't watch it with me because he says it's too sad, but I still have to watch it every once in a while - even though I cry every time I watch it.

For those of you that haven't seen the movie, here's the story line:

A young couple live in New York City. They're madly in love (yes, I know we're still in cheesy territory). However, the husband dies, forcing the wife to cope with his death. Over the course of the year following his death, he arranges for letters he wrote to be delivered to her - letters that help her to move on and do things she would normally be too afraid to do.

So, the question remains: why would I put myself through this emotional torture? Because, the movie speaks to me. It reminds me of my own family and my Dad. And, it helps put my mom's life in perspective for me.

So many times, I think about how the loss of my Dad affects my sister and I. No father there for graduations, weddings and babies - the milestones. And, I'm sure my Mom thought of it in those terms, too. But, it was more than that for her - she lost a companion, friend and a piece of her soul. That piece can't be replaced by re-marrying. Of course, her new husband is wonderful and has made her so happy, but that piece that was my Dad will always be missing. Over the years it may change, but it will always be missing.

Now that I'm married, I think I understand that more than ever before. So many things about my Mom in the months after Dad died make sense.

Yes - I'm getting to the point. The point is, I'm adrift without him - or, I was for a long time. But, when David and I started dating, he helped to pull me out of my funk. I know that without David, it would be worse. So, tonight, I'm going to make sure I thank God for all of the wonderful blessings He has given me and try not to take them for granted (like I sometimes tend to do).

Are you impressed? You should be. Only a very special person (well, maybe just someone a few fries short of a Happy Meal) could get all of that out of one very sappy, chick-flick movie. But, hey, what can I say? I'm special.

With that, I'm going to sign off for tonight, promising to write again on a more frequent basis (just for you, Aunt Cheryl - I know you're the only one that reads this anyway), and leave you with this thought:

Life doesn't always turn out the way we planned, but sometimes it's the unplanned events that make life richer - harder, yes - but always richer.