Well, it has been 6 yrs since Clint asked me to marry him. WOW! 6 Years! I know that isn't a very long time when you look at the elderly couples that have been married 40, 50, 60 years, but it is for someone our age. I know people that have been married and remarried with children by multiple mothers/fathers that are younger than Clint and I. So, yes, in my mind, that is quite a feat.
Friday, Clint took off work, to go register his new boat, yes, another new boat! This one should last us forever. So, when I got home from lunch, he was out in the flower beds......and I saw a light in the carport....he had a surprise for me. He had gotten me 4 baby ducks and 1 baby goose! He knows I have always wanted them, so they were the best Valentines I have had in a long time!!! Little things crack me up. I don't need fancy clothes, dinners, cars or a fancy house. Those things are nice, but I would rather spend my time playing with Jagger, the dogs, and now my little farm animals. Hopefully I will get a pig for my birthday! I also did get some Vera Wang perfume LOOK that I have been wanting as well, so yes, I still have a girly side.
Looks like someone wants to buy my car, now, if we could just get our schedule together to have them look at it! I am so excited, except now, I can't find a car I want. I guess I will just have to be patient about it. It will work itself out.
Tonight is ladies bible study at church. We will be studying about what to do if you are depressed. I am super excited! I love the church home we have found and all the people in it. I am not big on the choirs I have seen in the past, but we have some really really talented people in ours. I think the choir speaks loudly about the type of church you have. If you want to tell how strong a church is, look at the choir is my rule of thumb!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
Christmas Week
We had a very very busy but fun week last week. I am tired and at my first day back at work 1/2 sick and some how I bit the underside of my tongue and burned the roof of my mouth. All in all, it is going well I think!
Jagger had about 10 Christmas's, and after that, we stopped trying to count and about 8 of which was just with mine and Clints families. He got a ton of stuff again and so did we. I wonder what we will have to do to make people understand to STOP buying stuff for us. I think next year we are going to suggest drawing names for more than just the siblings. Clint has 4 other siblings and that isn't counting their kids or significant others. So after you calculate 6 grandparents...it gets to be too much to haul home and way too much money spent! I would rather them take the money they were going to spend on me and donate it to someone.
Speaking of doing good....we finally were able to go back to the Grand Saline cememtery and look at "Baby Grands" new headstone. I know that it is kind of a morbid thing to get excited about, but we were completely heartbroken when we realized that everyone had just forgotten about a child that was found in a road ditch. Jagger has really taken to us stopping and putting flowers out or a stuffed animal. I want to show him that if you see something you don't like, don't wait around for someone else to change it. There isn't anything wrong with trying to correct the situation. We got some pictures, but I don't know how to load them, so if you have a myspace you can see them there...if you don't have one get one and search for me www.myspace.com/aka_nikkioglesby
I have been trying to get motivated for school to start back up on Jan. 5th. I am more excited that I won't have to travel so much and I can hopefully start running again. We will see, but my goal is to do some 1/2 marathons or atleast the 5K we walk every year for Susan G. Komen. I know 5K isn't far, but it can be when you are out of shape! I am also hoping that with a little bit more free time, I will be able to get involved with a charity I have been wanting to participate in for some time now. C.A.S.A. I would love to be a child advocate. Hopefully I will be able to set some ground work down for my future with this organization now or atleast find out where I am suppose to be in this crazy old world. Well, thanks for reading and have a Happy New Year!
Jagger had about 10 Christmas's, and after that, we stopped trying to count and about 8 of which was just with mine and Clints families. He got a ton of stuff again and so did we. I wonder what we will have to do to make people understand to STOP buying stuff for us. I think next year we are going to suggest drawing names for more than just the siblings. Clint has 4 other siblings and that isn't counting their kids or significant others. So after you calculate 6 grandparents...it gets to be too much to haul home and way too much money spent! I would rather them take the money they were going to spend on me and donate it to someone.
Speaking of doing good....we finally were able to go back to the Grand Saline cememtery and look at "Baby Grands" new headstone. I know that it is kind of a morbid thing to get excited about, but we were completely heartbroken when we realized that everyone had just forgotten about a child that was found in a road ditch. Jagger has really taken to us stopping and putting flowers out or a stuffed animal. I want to show him that if you see something you don't like, don't wait around for someone else to change it. There isn't anything wrong with trying to correct the situation. We got some pictures, but I don't know how to load them, so if you have a myspace you can see them there...if you don't have one get one and search for me www.myspace.com/aka_nikkioglesby
I have been trying to get motivated for school to start back up on Jan. 5th. I am more excited that I won't have to travel so much and I can hopefully start running again. We will see, but my goal is to do some 1/2 marathons or atleast the 5K we walk every year for Susan G. Komen. I know 5K isn't far, but it can be when you are out of shape! I am also hoping that with a little bit more free time, I will be able to get involved with a charity I have been wanting to participate in for some time now. C.A.S.A. I would love to be a child advocate. Hopefully I will be able to set some ground work down for my future with this organization now or atleast find out where I am suppose to be in this crazy old world. Well, thanks for reading and have a Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
This year
Well, this year is wrapping up to an end faster than I can wrap my presents. I have realized that even though everything seems to stay the same day by day, there will be a time that you look back, and everything has changed. There has been a lot of changes in the past year...day by day. I have started a new school...from TJC to UT Tyler, now from UT Tyler to Portland State University...GO VIKINGS! lol...if I get accepted.
We started this year riding our dirtbikes every weekend with a group of really good guys...to losing one to a dirtbike accident. He was the glue that held us together, pushed me in my faith, taught me a lot about riding and not to be a chicken in anything I did. He didn't listen to my excuses, he normally called me out, and I still do not believe he is gone. By losing him, I also learned to pick up the phone when I think of someone and call them then instead of saying, "Oh later". You see, Butch called me on the Thursday before he passed, but I was "too busy" to answer (which was something I never did because I always had time for Butch-daddy), little did I know, that would have been the last time I would have talked to him. He was 64 and out rode and out lived us all. He raced his whole life and at 64 was still running over the younger competition. That reminds me when I hear a lot of people say they don't want to start school or fulfill their life dreams because they are too old, Butch wasn't too old to get back on his bike after 10 years of not riding and was showing everyone that Butch Lawrason was back. RIP Butch.
On the other hand, Jagger was tested for the academy. He is in a magnet school now and will test again in January. This reminds me of just the opposite of what Butch taught me...that no matter how young you are, it is never too soon to start your future. If you don't do it now, then you will soon become one of the people that say they can't because life passed them by. Should have, would have, could have. If you fail, don't stress, but keep working. Your purpose will reveal itself in ways you never expected. If you say nothing, do nothing, then you will be nothing. Challenge yourself to go 2 steps farther than you planned even when life knocks you back 4 steps.
In all of this, I have noticed that I stress too much on the little things. Stressing on the little things keeps you from accomplishing the bigger ones. When I realized that I needed to leave my current university, I realized that I didn't know what to do or where to go, but after a month of doing nothing, then a month of freaking out.....I remembered God is good and even if I can't get in this semester to PSU, I have some other classes I can take until my application process is complete. Plus, there is something bigger than me working right now and I just have to relax and let it happen, but not get lazy or too comfortable because as quickly as it was answered, it can be changed. God has it planned out but I do not know when or how the changes will come. All I can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.
I noticed that when I think life is going poorly it is that the bad things that keep me humble. A lot of people ask God "God, show me my purpose in life...." but they soon follow that up with "...but only if it fits into this life I want, or as long as it fits in with the education I think I needed." Stop asking for God to work out your plans, but be open to ALL of his plans. Even when I finish my degree in Criminal Justice / Spanish and go into something unrelated, there was something I learned, or someone I met along the way that is going to mold what I do for someone else. There is someone out there that needs you and we have to stop trying to force our agendas. WHOA let me get off this soap box and finish studing for my test! I feel like I am starting to ramble a bit.
We started this year riding our dirtbikes every weekend with a group of really good guys...to losing one to a dirtbike accident. He was the glue that held us together, pushed me in my faith, taught me a lot about riding and not to be a chicken in anything I did. He didn't listen to my excuses, he normally called me out, and I still do not believe he is gone. By losing him, I also learned to pick up the phone when I think of someone and call them then instead of saying, "Oh later". You see, Butch called me on the Thursday before he passed, but I was "too busy" to answer (which was something I never did because I always had time for Butch-daddy), little did I know, that would have been the last time I would have talked to him. He was 64 and out rode and out lived us all. He raced his whole life and at 64 was still running over the younger competition. That reminds me when I hear a lot of people say they don't want to start school or fulfill their life dreams because they are too old, Butch wasn't too old to get back on his bike after 10 years of not riding and was showing everyone that Butch Lawrason was back. RIP Butch.
On the other hand, Jagger was tested for the academy. He is in a magnet school now and will test again in January. This reminds me of just the opposite of what Butch taught me...that no matter how young you are, it is never too soon to start your future. If you don't do it now, then you will soon become one of the people that say they can't because life passed them by. Should have, would have, could have. If you fail, don't stress, but keep working. Your purpose will reveal itself in ways you never expected. If you say nothing, do nothing, then you will be nothing. Challenge yourself to go 2 steps farther than you planned even when life knocks you back 4 steps.
In all of this, I have noticed that I stress too much on the little things. Stressing on the little things keeps you from accomplishing the bigger ones. When I realized that I needed to leave my current university, I realized that I didn't know what to do or where to go, but after a month of doing nothing, then a month of freaking out.....I remembered God is good and even if I can't get in this semester to PSU, I have some other classes I can take until my application process is complete. Plus, there is something bigger than me working right now and I just have to relax and let it happen, but not get lazy or too comfortable because as quickly as it was answered, it can be changed. God has it planned out but I do not know when or how the changes will come. All I can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.
I noticed that when I think life is going poorly it is that the bad things that keep me humble. A lot of people ask God "God, show me my purpose in life...." but they soon follow that up with "...but only if it fits into this life I want, or as long as it fits in with the education I think I needed." Stop asking for God to work out your plans, but be open to ALL of his plans. Even when I finish my degree in Criminal Justice / Spanish and go into something unrelated, there was something I learned, or someone I met along the way that is going to mold what I do for someone else. There is someone out there that needs you and we have to stop trying to force our agendas. WHOA let me get off this soap box and finish studing for my test! I feel like I am starting to ramble a bit.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
12-04-07 This day is over
You might be thinking why I called this blog this day is over, because it in fact has just begun. I am not talking about the present day, or yesterday but the fact that there are certain things that people just do not do anymore. Things that our grandparents would be turning in their graves over. Over the past, oh lets say year, I have been to about 6-8 weddings, wedding showers, baby showers and yes, even funerals. Out of all of these, I have received about 2 thank you cards. Anyone that knows me knows that I take great pride and careful planning in my gifts, especially if we are very close. Many of them handmade, imperfections and all, but made with love. I sit nervously while you open my gifts in hopes that they are perfect for the recipient. I have even been known to send a little package of cards with my gift just to do two things.....1. Hoping the new mother or bride does not have to make so many trips to pick them up, and 2. To send a hint that this should be done. I am not expecting a thank you card and do not keep count, but let me tell you why this should be done. Any woman that has been or ever been or is going to a shower, look around at the elderly women that attend. They are the ones that expect it. They are the ones that know that there are certain things that should be done in this world. They are the ones that still cook from scratch and hand writes every letter that is sent from their homes, no matter how shaky their handwriting is. I don't know exactly who has or who hasn't send me a card, but when I don't get one, I know these ladies didn't either. Good luck getting them attends your next venture celebration. They do keep count and they do take note. ..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
After my wedding, I sat and hand wrote over 300 thank you cards, and I couldn't do it all myself. I have seen brides take initiative and have their guest write their own return envelope; this is a great way to ensure that you don't have to bear all of the responsibility and time consuming efforts. But, sometimes that is called for. I even recruited Clint, my dear sweet husband, to carefully write out a few themselves. People love to see that Clint sat down, no matter how much he dreaded it and write those notes. Even with his sloppy "man-writing". He understood, that I didn't want to be there writing those any more than he did and he did a great job. I got a card yesterday in the mail from someone that got married in July. This is perfectly acceptable too. The first few months of marriage are a whirl wind and I was surprised to see it come. The longer you go, the less likely you are to send them out. I have even gotten a thank you card from the help/flowers for yes.....a funeral! If grieving people can send out thank you cards, how come happy people can't?
When you don't send out thank you cards, this shows that maybe you don't expect me to send you one either.....this makes me wonder how much love is involved when you sent me gifts, because you don't expect one from me. Maybe you don't see the love in the blankets that these elderly women give you. Maybe you don't know what it takes to make something so detailed. Maybe you just don't care. Just anyone that reads this, please reconsider that there are certain traditions that should be cherished.
After my wedding, I sat and hand wrote over 300 thank you cards, and I couldn't do it all myself. I have seen brides take initiative and have their guest write their own return envelope; this is a great way to ensure that you don't have to bear all of the responsibility and time consuming efforts. But, sometimes that is called for. I even recruited Clint, my dear sweet husband, to carefully write out a few themselves. People love to see that Clint sat down, no matter how much he dreaded it and write those notes. Even with his sloppy "man-writing". He understood, that I didn't want to be there writing those any more than he did and he did a great job. I got a card yesterday in the mail from someone that got married in July. This is perfectly acceptable too. The first few months of marriage are a whirl wind and I was surprised to see it come. The longer you go, the less likely you are to send them out. I have even gotten a thank you card from the help/flowers for yes.....a funeral! If grieving people can send out thank you cards, how come happy people can't?
When you don't send out thank you cards, this shows that maybe you don't expect me to send you one either.....this makes me wonder how much love is involved when you sent me gifts, because you don't expect one from me. Maybe you don't see the love in the blankets that these elderly women give you. Maybe you don't know what it takes to make something so detailed. Maybe you just don't care. Just anyone that reads this, please reconsider that there are certain traditions that should be cherished.
3-11-08 I just want to make a statement....
Not too long ago a woman with a small child (1 small child) told me that she didn't see how I did it.....working full time and going to school full time, being married, with a step child. She tells me she works with a child, but I have only known her to stay at home. REALLY? Her husband has his own business and they make a ton of money.....enough that she does the paper work but has time to do everything and anything she wants. You don't see how I do it? I have sometimes been guilty of doing too much and spreading myself too thin that it at times causes quite a strain on my home life then when you add my husband going to school too, it can make things a lot worse or can make us so busy that we don't realize we have been lacking in adult time one on one. I personally feel like I do not do enough. I a lot of the time, I feel like I am always going, but not making an impact on someones life like I really want to. I feel like I should be influencing someone instead of focusing on myself. (even though, focusing on myself right now means I will greatly help others later) I realize that there may or may not be something missing in my life because I have no kids but that is because we have decided not to have kids that will be with a sitter all day and our parents all night until we get home from school, because school isn't something we are willing to give up on, even being 27 and 28 years old. The real accomplishments are the single mothers that work full time and go to school full time because they realize that the might be missing out now, but they will be able to provide so much later when their children are old enough to appreciate it. The mothers that stay at home to make sure their children learn from the best and become well rounded people and not a cancer on society. I am about to volunteer my time for hopefully Smith County Juvenile Services but I wanted to do that anyway....I am just currently enrolled in a class that is requiring it. These kids will be products of their environment. So how do we judge that we are doing too much or when do we know that we are admired by the people we want to be the most like. If I had kids of my own, I better be able to stay at home. Isn't staying at home with your kids suppose to be the most precious and most wanted times of our lives? So why is this woman that is basically a stay at home mom telling me she admires me? I am not trying to bring her down by trying to build me up, because I really don't think she would ever read this.....but why am I "doing so much?"
3-24-08 What chew talkin’ bout Willis?
Ok, after about a year and a half of searching...I finally found the Chinese Crested puppy I have always been dreaming of. First off, Kenyon was the nicest lady I have ever met and she agreed to meet me an hour closer because I was driving 4 hours...so this cut my trip by two. Clint was "less than thrilled" about this new addition to our house. He had at one time allowed Priscilla to be an inside dog but that only lasted a few months because well.....Beagles shed worse than any dog on the planet. So, knowing that I already wanted a hairless Chinese Crested....I started working my magic! These dogs normally start anywhere from $800 to $1500 and even go as high as $2500! I knew I would never get one, but I kept searching anyway. I found Willis! He was perfect! (and affordable no where near the $800 starting point.)I wanted a grey, white/black one from the start. If you dont know about these dogs, they are some of the most loving dogs ever. They are lap dogs that where used in Africa in the 1700’s as bed warmers. THey come in two varieties....with hair (powder puff) and hairless. Normally they get all their teeth and usually loose the front ones so their tongues hang out. Willis didn’t get his front teeth, but can still eat dry food. He will get to be about 8 lbs. They dont need bathes every week, just wipe them with baby wipes, no shedding, and since no teeth, no chewing. I "get" to buy him clothes for the winter and need to put sunscreen on him for the summer so his little hiney doesn’t get burned! LOL! I love him so much already and can’t wait for him to get "ugly" Just remember " Real dogs don’t wear fur" lol.
9-10 Friendship isn’t always knowing someone.
So, yesterday, I got a call that surprised me to say the least. It was from someone I know I haven't talked to in months...several several months. It wasn't even someone I really even knew. It was an acquataince that I had met only a handfull of times, and really didn't even know her last name. I was shocked but pleasantly surprised to hear from her. Except, I knew why she was calling and that made me alittle uncomfortable. Soon, I had to deal with the fact that she was clearly more troubled by the call that I was.
She, she had lost her husband not long after I met her. I had written her with my number to tell her that I was sorry for her loss and to please call if she needs anything. Her husband hasn't been gone that long in the grand scheme of life and I don't like a lot of people take that offer I gave her seriously enough and I think when people say "Call me if you need anything" do not ever give it a second thought when they say it too. Maybe that is why the hurting do not do it because they know it is just lip service. When she called me on Tuesday (or was it Monday?) I knew, she did. I wanted her to call me if she needed help, someone to talk to, someone to cry to, someone to just come sit in quiet. I was so glad to hear from her.
Well, she did, out of the blue and I was estatic! Long story short, she told me that it was nice to talk to someone that didn't know them very well because all she had was close family and friends and sometimes she didn't want to duel on her loss. Sometimes she wanted to talk about other things to help get her mind off something that was constantly there. I haven't had a really close loss, in the family I mean, but I kinda got it. She told me that conversations with friends / family before the death of their loved one was cheerful and always never a pause or awkward silence, and now that is all it seems to be. It was nice talking to someone that wanted to know more about where she grew up, her kids and life experiences she had. Her husband isn't talked about because he isn't here physically, but because he was there before. I just hope all of you that read this, reach out to someone that may be in need, because you never really know who that is or when they need it.
She, she had lost her husband not long after I met her. I had written her with my number to tell her that I was sorry for her loss and to please call if she needs anything. Her husband hasn't been gone that long in the grand scheme of life and I don't like a lot of people take that offer I gave her seriously enough and I think when people say "Call me if you need anything" do not ever give it a second thought when they say it too. Maybe that is why the hurting do not do it because they know it is just lip service. When she called me on Tuesday (or was it Monday?) I knew, she did. I wanted her to call me if she needed help, someone to talk to, someone to cry to, someone to just come sit in quiet. I was so glad to hear from her.
Well, she did, out of the blue and I was estatic! Long story short, she told me that it was nice to talk to someone that didn't know them very well because all she had was close family and friends and sometimes she didn't want to duel on her loss. Sometimes she wanted to talk about other things to help get her mind off something that was constantly there. I haven't had a really close loss, in the family I mean, but I kinda got it. She told me that conversations with friends / family before the death of their loved one was cheerful and always never a pause or awkward silence, and now that is all it seems to be. It was nice talking to someone that wanted to know more about where she grew up, her kids and life experiences she had. Her husband isn't talked about because he isn't here physically, but because he was there before. I just hope all of you that read this, reach out to someone that may be in need, because you never really know who that is or when they need it.
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