Absent!

Ah, yes. I have been absent. I like to think it's because of how emotionally exhausting it was to make my last post about Dan's viral meningitis. But alas...I might just be a little lazy lately. (And that's okay. Right?)

So let me share a 'lil anecdote of God's goodness. After Dan recovered and was back to work, the reality of the medical bills to come started creeping up on me. (Of course, it doesn't matter and is all TOTALLY worth it to know that my BFF is healthy and happy!) In the moment, you think, "Brain CT? Do it. Spinal tap? Do it. More blood work? Do it." But when health and routine return, the worrier in me started to panic, thinking, "I wonder how much this is actually going to cost?" The answer is...a lot. Not too much. We know God will provide. But...a lot.

That being said, Dan and I had planned on a date to Macaroni Grill the Friday after he'd totally recovered. But as the outing to the semi-expensive Mac. G. approached, I started feeling like maybe it would be wiser to cut the spending and be super conservative with our entertainment money and pinch our pennies. (All week I'd been praying that God would continue to faithfully provide for us and give me peace and understanding about the confusing insurance statements and healthcare provider bills that were to come.)

So, Thursday evening rolled around. And when Dan got home from work I planned to ask him what he thought about just getting a Redbox movie and spending the evening at home instead of indulging on Italian food. So I got home, checked the mail and saw that Dan had received a card from his angel cousin, Jen. I went ahead and opened it (since he was down for the count when his other get well cards came, I was accustomed to opening these envelopes). What did I find inside? A gift card to Macaroni Grill (yes! that specific restaurant!) that left us walking out on Friday night full, satisfied and only out $6.50. See, Heidi? God hears you. He knows what you need and even what you want. And you know what? He's gracious enough to give you what you want...rest assured that He'll always give you what you need. Thank you, Lord, for the eye opening reminder of your goodness. And thank you, Jen, for being an answer to prayer and a reminder of God's faithfulness.

Work has been a MAD. HOWSE. For some reason the last few weeks have been relentless. Just project after project! This is good, though. I'm employed, busy and I'm being stretched out of my comfort zone in many areas. I've taken on a much heavier Human Resources load - including heading up a job search, choosing and renewing our insurance plan and applying for LOTS of new P.E. licenses in the western states...all on top of my normal duties. Whew! This, in turn leaves me exhausted in the evenings with zero energy to do anything but go home, put on pajama pants and watch DVR'd episodes of The Bachelor whilst eating mini marshmallows and white chocolate chips. I love to feel needed at work, but sometimes a girl needs some down time!

That being said...we're starting to finish our basement! Well...taking the beginning steps, at least. Our goal for January was to have someone give us a quote to hang and finish the drywall. Since Dan was out for a week, obviously priorities shifted. So now, 14 days late, we're back on task. The drywall is the only thing we're paying someone to do and we have NO idea how much it'll be. So that's a little nerve wracking. (The ceiling and top half of the walls are all done - it's just the bottom half of the wall that needs sheeting, mudding, etc.) After that, it's all Schu Power to pick paint colors, paint, add/replace fixtures, doors, finish the bathroom and all that jazz that we became PROS at when we moved into our house. This, my friends...should be an adventure :) (Not to mention it'll add about 900 square feet of finished living space to our home! Holla!)

So here's a delicious treat that I stumbled upon. I eat these little 6oz. Weight Watchers yogurt containers and they have some DELISH flavors - black cherry, cherry cheesecake, apple cinnamon, caramel, coconut, etc. I accidentally left one in the freezer at work yesterday afternoon. I decided to try it anyway, and let me tell ya. One of those guys in the freezer for 2 - 2 1/2 hours is AWESOME. Best 2 point dessert ever.

Speaking of W.W...it seems that basically inadvertently starving myself for a week while Dan was sick has had quite a negative backlash :) It's called eat-everything-in-sight and I'm pretty sure it was triggered by the pigs in a blanket I made for the super bowl. BUT, I have found new motivation. I realized I've been in a horrible workout rut, so I'm changing it! Running intervals with new incline rates is working me way harder in a much more rewarding way than my hum-drum runs were at this time last week. It's been a fun challenge for me these past few days to mix up the routine for the 'ol bod. Here's to running faster, uphill and not being a glutton! :)

Oh yeah. It's Valentine's Day. So here's how this is gonna play out. Tonight, after supper at Chili's (because we have a $10 gift card), me and Dan will go home. We'll quickly write in each others' cards, then exchange gifts. His will be presented in the box it arrived in. Mine will be in the Target bag he bought it in. What's in mine? Breaking Dawn part 1, some Hershey's Pot of Gold chocolates I picked out for myself and a card, which will be a surprise. (But I know it's not from the Taylor Swift line of greeting cards, because that's what I wanted, but Dan politely informed he wouldn't be paying $5.25 for a card. Good point, point taken.) Ah, the day of love. Such romance :) Hey, we've got each other, and sometimes...sometimes there's just an unspoken understanding that it's okay not to be expected to try too hard.

Our gift(s) to each other could be either the Black Keys concert we'll be attending in March or the SPRINGSTEEN concert we'll be attending in April. Thank goodness we bought both sets of tickets before Dan got sick...or else we probably wouldn't be going :) Along those lines...I'm watching the documentary Running Down A Dream (about Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) and I realized that I MUST see them again live in this life or I'll be unfulfilled!