free ipod!

Okay, so anyone that's been following my blog for awhile will probably remember me talking about the free ipod I'm on the hunt for. It's actually going really well! I needed to get 5 people to go on my link and complete 1 offer. So far I have 3. I actually have quite a few people that have signed up, but most of them haven't signed up for the 1 offer (required to get an ipod).

For those of you who haven't been following my blog (and are curious as to what I'm talking about), here's the deal.

1) Go to: http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=25980718
(you need to go to this one specifically for me to get credit towards my ipod)
2) Pick out the ipod you would like to receive. I picked out the black ipod video :)
3) Fill in your info. They will give you a link to have people sign up under you.
4) Pick out 1 offer to complete. There is a really long list, and many of them don't cost anything- free trials and such. We signed up for Rhapsody and really like it. We decided to keep it after the free trial period was up- unlimited music for $10 a month.
5) Get 5 people to sign up under your link.
6) Receive your selected ipod.

This is not a scam- it is legitimate! My cousins in Oregon went through the process and got theirs a few months ago- I saw it. They've actually gone on to get a free Xbox 360 from the same site. This website offer is also backed by WIRED magazine.

Feel free to sign up- and let me know how your process goes. If you have signed up, but haven't completed the offer, ah feel free to do so now :)
I'm really excited to get my ipod!
If you have any questions about this, leave a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. THANK YOU!

one of THOSE...

What's one thing you like to do alone?
Read fiction.

Do you have a fear?
I'm afraid of losing my mind as I grow old.

What is the little physical habit that gives away your insecure moments? I pick at my hangnails. Constantly.

Do you know anyone famous?
At the wedding last Saturday (see previous post), we hung out with a guy that plays football for the Carolina Panthers.

Who would play you in a movie?
one of the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz... or Liza Minelli

What do you carry with you at all times?
nothing- if I have to pick one... my skin. No, my eyes.

Are you happy with your given name? yes, although I am frustrated at the world's lack of ability to spell it correctly.

How much money would it take to get you to give up the Internet for one year? I would do it for free- in a heartbeat.

What was the last song you were listening to?
"Mixed Tape" by Jack's Mannequin

Do you talk a lot? rarely

Do you consider yourself to be a nice person?
I'm often told I am, I don't always agree.

Which musical instrument do you wish you could play?
I wish I could play my guitar better.

Have you ever pierced your body parts?
yes- ears, nose

Do you have tattoos?
no, unless you count freckles. They seem to be permanent too.

Do you drive a stick?
yes indeed. someday it will come in handy when I need to escape on a tractor.

What do you cook the best?
chicken tortilla hotdish

What's one car you will never buy?
one of those ugly box things- Scion?

If you won the lottery, what would you do?
buy a house, then travel to every country in the world. I would also pay off any debt my family might have and buy a neighborhood for us all to live when we miss each other.

Do you cry in front of your friends?
one friend, yes. a group, no.

Do you think you're cute?
rarely

Are you a workaholic?
absolutely not.

Do you like to shop?
If I have to find something specific, I don't like it. Otherwise yes.

Would you die to save the life of someone you deeply love?
yes

Do you own a Bible?
Yes

Do you like thunderstorms?
in the summer

What time were you born?
6:30pm

What was your first job?
helping boy corn and girl corn make... corn (pollinating)

Anything strange happen to you recently?
When I came home from work today, I beat a wooden cat against my coffee table. It won't leave.

What is your biggest headache lately?
selfish people

What is the funniest experience you've ever had at your job?
The other day I was sick, so I dressed up my dog to look like me, then I sent her off to work. She doesn't drive stick as well as I do. We'll have to work on that.

This is the wedding from yesterday. The church was really beautiful. It was the first catholic wedding I'd been to. It was different- it wasn't personalized to Rob and Abby, beyond the decorations she picked out, but very ceremonial. This gives you an idea of how big the wedding was. You can only see a portion of the guests- we guessed 350-400.

keep on...

I'm still trying to get rid of this virus that plagues me. Yesterday Matthew and I worked at a wedding for some friends of ours a half hour away. He did all of the video work (he's putting together a dvd) and I did a picture guest book. It went really well, but it turns out the bitter cold likes to make sick people sicker. Hmmm... then last night I was freaked out to find this weird red lump on the back of my throat. Who knows what that's about! Perhaps I'll succumb to the peer pressure to see a doctor after all.

Does anyone out there know about interpreting dreams? Last night I had a series of dreams all involving people from my past/present... all different people. In every dream I was falling in some way. They were not normal ways to fall- one I had to jump off of a tall tower holding steel bars, one I was parachuting/hang gliding (as part of a gymnastics class), etc. Very strange.

my blog gave me the flu

I have been sick since Wednesday. Yesterday was a horrid day- everything ached. I tried to stay at work as long as possible (we're trying to get this major catalog out this week). I made it till 3pm. So I went home with my headache, sore throat, backache, sinus pressure, and aching skin. I didn't know skin could hurt like that. Matthew was so good to me, though. He left work to go buy me sick foods and medicine so I could stay in bed. It was a rough day all around.

Today I'm happy to be feeling a bit better. Apparently I picked a good day to be sick in bed. I think today hit some sort of cold records. Right now my blog-ometer says it feels like -33F.

Here's to the bright, healthier tomorrows to come.

Question(s) of the hour

Why is it, that the people we love most in the world, we end up hurting (usually on a daily basis)? Why can we not control the level of comfort we feel at home, to where those boundaries won't crash to the floor exposing ugly words and matching behavior?

Is there a point we can reach where "I'm sorry" doesn't heal another's aching heart? What happens then? Can we build a bridge to go back in time, before the offense... only to try and fail again?

From another perspective: I wonder what God experiences emotionally everytime I mess things up and crawl on my knees before Him asking again for undeserved forgiveness. In my small, human mind, I imagine it gets harder and harder to say, "I forgive you"... because I cannot fully understand grace.

So how do we apply something to life if we can't even comprehend the meaning?

I wonder...

I feel like a slug lately. I'm exhausted physically and emotionally.

Don't get me wrong, I am SO GLAD for the new job. It is a great atmosphere, and I know it was waiting for me. The timing, the circumstances... too many 'coincidences' to deny God's hand in this.

I just cannot figure out how to get out of this figuritive hole I'm sitting in. I have good intentions to do so many things, but when it comes down to it, I can't do anything but sit. Most of the time I turn on the tv so it seems like I'm doing SOMETHING, but most often I'm just staring at the wall behind it.

Anybody else need a sunny day? I mean a real, sunny day... complete with green grass, warmth, and that tingly feeling your skin gets when there's a little breeze but the sun is keeping you warm. I'd like to take a nap in that day, for about a week.

I think my blog has the flu.

My favorite things about today (so far):
-Sleeping in till 11:15am
-Bertie's dependence on me. She was shivering this morning, so she cuddled up to me and tucked her head under my neck.
-The really, really hot bath with menthol smelling stuff in it. Baths are my favorite.
-My friend Kristin is 'home' from Italy/Palestine and we're going to buy necessary cheap trash today.
-Bertie chewed her ball to bits. Now I can throw it away and not ever have to throw that slimy thing again!
-Realizing that I don't have to go to a job today.

the view from our apartment last night.

get out your sunglasses...

Who's legs are those?!















Making our daring pass around the turkey truck. Those are hundreds of little cages that the turkeys get to ride in on their way to the death camps.







Our exciting Minnesota winterscape. This is what we stared at for an hour on our way to spend our Christmas giftcards in St. Cloud (an hour away). Do you blame us for having a photo shoot on the way?

The dramatic car ride.