Salvation Sunday: He Hears, Will You?

I was wondering what to talk about today, because I really want to get back in the habit of doing my Salvation Sunday posts.  I chose not to attend church today, and worried that because of that I wouldn't have any inspiration.  I worried that it was the wrong choice, that I was slacking in my faith (not just because of today, but generally throughout the past few weeks).

Then, I received a text message from a friend.  A beautiful friend who I rarely get to see, who I communicate with basically through text messages and sometimes blogging.  This text message me said that she was thinking of me and heard a song that she wanted to pass along.  I have no doubt that the Lord directed her, because it was exactly what I needed.  It may be what you need, because I in turn felt lead to share it here.  It is so full of hope and confirmation, and filled me with joy and peace.

Jesus hears you.  Whether it's your heart, your mind, or your mouth- He hears you.  I hope you will listen.  I hope you will listen, not only when he talks to you about you, but (perhaps especially) when he talks to you about others.  You never know what a big effect a tiny little thing (like forwarding a song) can have on a person. 

 

Sidewalk Prophets: The Words I Would Say

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say

Sometimes Rain is a Good Thing...

My last post was kind of a downer.  And then, in the crazy messed up way of life, yesterday was surprisingly great. 

It was the first day off me and my husband have had together in a while, and we got to be super annoying and happy together and do lots of things.  The other day he noticed a sign for FT positions available in a medical office and told me about it.  I drive by there equally as much as he does, but somehow missed it.  So I printed my resume and we stopped by.  I expected to be told to go online and do an application (because isn't that what everyone says these days?), but I was actually given a paper app to fill out AND got to talk to one of the hiring managers. 

Then we went to the library- one of my favorite places ever, of course!  Once I got out I went to turn my phone back on (because it has to go on silent while in the library obviously) and noticed that I had a missed call from a local number.  The voicemail was actually from the woman that I just met like 30 minutes earlier asking me when a good time for an interview would be!  So I said I could come in that day in like 30 minutes.  Not what I expected, at ALL.  And I didn't necessarily feel like I was dressed for an interview...I mean sundress, gladiators, tattoos showing (again, I was expecting to be sent back to my computer and wanted to look cute during my day with the hubby). 

I was surprisingly talkative and honest and generally just...more than I expected.  I think maybe I just didn't have time to get nervous, or time to put all my hopes and dreams on this one job, so I just sort of...acted.  Of course once I got out of there I went "Man, I don't know if that was the way to go."  But I've been told that my "normal" setting is actually awkward/quiet compared to others so it's possible that feeling "on" meant I was actually just approaching most people's...normal. 

Anyway.  My information is supposed to be passed on to the person at the actual branch I would be working at (I applied/interviewed at the main branch) and hopefully I will have an interview with someone at that location early next week, and they want to make a decision by the end of next week.  So...prayers appreciated!

Merging Styles

As anyone who has been in a healthy relationship for any length of time knows, one of the most important things when merging two lives together is compromise.  It just has to happen if anything is ever going to be done halfway successfully.

While I have tons of ideas and expectations for our new home, sometimes I have to step back and remember that I'm not going to be the only person living in it!  My husband is making his home there too, and it needs to reflect both of us.  I tend to like more modern styles (mainly concerning furniture) and bold colors, while he is more traditional (a bit Gothic actually) and darker neutrals.  At first, I had no idea how anything he liked was going to go in my beautiful new house :-p

Sounds stupid, but we each looked up things we liked and showed them to each other.  We walked around stores pointing out things we liked, to give a clear example of our styles.  And eventually we found some common ground!  We both like vintage, country styles.  I may run towards mason jars and lace, but that can work with his natural woods and rusted mechanical trinkets.  And since my husband loves the outdoors, I'm using colors palates that are found in nature- I get vibrancy, he gets comfort.

At the end of the day, it's a game of give and take that everyone has to be willing to play.  He needs me to push him a bit out of his comfort zone, and I need him to pull me back when I get too close to the edge.  At first buying and personalizing a home as a joint project can seem intimidating, even after almost a decade together.  But if approached right, it can be a great way to learn or remember your partner's taste.

When It Rains...

This week is looking pretty awful.

We went to visit our families this weekend, for Mother's Day, despite the fact that the husband had to be at work Sunday afternoon for a VERY important training.  We planned to leave early Sunday and be here in plenty of time.

Instead, the husband's truck broke down- out of nowhere.  A 3 hour trip turned into a 15 hour trip- LOVELY.  Husband missed his training (still waiting to see what exact effect this will have).   We sat on the side of the road forever, finally being rescued by my FIL and another guy .  This other guy recently married into my husband's family, and he's an asshole.  Seriously.  An awful person...but he's supposedly good with cars and is willing to fix it for just the cost of parts.  My FIL loaned us his car, which was awesome, so hopefully the guy will fix it and B can drive back up next week (spending more gas money- yay) and switch them back out.  They think it's something easy to fix, but now my dad is making me feel bad saying he good have fixed it then & there and blah blah blah...

I appreciate his offer to help but it sucks to get yelled at after the fact...I'm trying to remind myself that it's out of concern and love but still.  Truthfully, I'm pretty sure that my ILs will offer to cover the cost, at least atm, since we have the house & so much other stuff going on, so if they are going to give us a break they can use whoever they want to fix it- while it sucks that we had to wait so long, I have more time than money at the moment.

On top of that, my phone broke AGAIN Thursday night before we left.  I had the freakin' insurance on it, since I already broke this model of phone once, but apparently there is a 200$ deductible.  Um, I'm not paying for a THIRD phone, especially for that much.  So I'm now back to using my dinosaur iPhone.  Old but damn, apparently it's sturdier than I thought and it was free to hook back up.

I really just kind of hate this week already.  I have a killer headache, my nose and throat only work normally about 50%, and oh yeah, I'm PMSing on top of it all.  Sorry if TMI, but I'm fucking over...just about everything right now.  And I'm depressed every time I go into work because I'm a fucking joke at life and my job is pathetic and I just can't seem to focus on anything good.

Yeah.  I'm totally falling down the sad little rabbit hole.  I realize that things aren't truly that bad, and they could be a lot worse...but all I want is ice cream and whiskey and a bubble bath.  Instead I get to go grocery shopping and buy dog food and do stupid other responsible things while holding back irrational tears. 

You can see why I haven't been writing much.  I doubt anyone wants to read this kind of stuff, but I needed to take at least a few minutes to vent.

Home Ideas- Living Room

One of the things I am most excited about buying a house is that I finally have a place to make my own.  I love color, I love pictures, I love creativity, I love putting things together...hopefully in a way that others haven't done before.  I'm not necessarily saying I'm good at this things, haha.  But I love them.

Believe it or not, this house is going to be the 5th place the husband and I have lived within about 5.5 years.  Every time we move in to a new space, I always want to decorate it- paint it, buy decor or artwork for it, etc.  And every time the husband says the same thing "Why bother, we're leaving and will just have to put it back the same boring way it was, easier not to do anything."  Seriously, I waited 3 months for him to put up pictures before I got tired of it and did it myself in our last house.

But this time- NO EXCUSES.  This bitch is mine and I am going to make that fact known!  Thankfully he is a little more willing this time- he says we will have time and space to actually do the type of projects I want, and it will feel like an investment this time.  Basically, now it will be worth it.  He better mean that, because I have lots of plans :)

So, since I've been such a crappy blogger lately, I thought I would at least share some of the awesome ideas I am at least thinking about implementing in the new place :)  Today I talk about what I'd like to do in our living room!  Most of these are from Pinterest, and I will link to the original source as much as possible.

DIY Barn Doors

These would be perfect for the doorway from our new living room to dining area.

Dresser as Entertainment Center

This is something that I have seen several different versions of, so I have no idea who originally had the idea.  But it's a great one, and I like it because it's so easy to personalize.  Even if everyone is doing it, everyone is doing with a different piece of furniture, a different color, a different gloss, different hardware...you see where I'm going with this.  Plus it's a fairly affordable and logical- LOVE the storage aspect!

Distressed & Color

I plan on doing my living room in a teal, soft tan, and dark browns.  Kind of a beachy feel, but nothing as obvious as seashells/etc.  Just a general peaceful feeling, with some country & vingtage touches.  This color and distress technique is perfect for the look I/we are looking for :)

Barrel Tables

 These are perfect for a little country, simple vibe.

Painted Ceiling

As I said, I LOVE color.  But as I get older I'm starting to realize that not everyone shares my passion.  So when I saw this, I thought it was a brilliant way to add a vibrant pop of color while still keeping neutral walls for those who are a little less adventurous (coughmyhusbandcough).  Plan on doing a light tan wall with teal ceiling, and with teal and dark brown accents through the room.

Burlap & Monogram

 Seriously, does it get any better than burlap or monograms?  I don't think it does.  Plus I like the way that these clips make it easy to switch out the pictures- comfort of the same frames/look, but allowing for change as times moves on.  It's a beautiful mix.

We bought a house!

After weeks of back and forth, weighing pros and cons of multiple houses, becoming annoyed with sellers playing hardball...we bit the bullet and BOUGHT A HOUSE!

I'm so freakin' thrilled.  This is going to be a huge step in our lives, and it's really exciting.  I love our house (we can't stop driving by it, we're gonna get stalker status called in at some point) and we are already thinking of what kind of furniture we want, what plants to plant out side, all that jazz.  We stupidly went to Lowe's yesterday and walked around looking at different outdoorsy things and I suddenly realized "We literally just got the house and we're already every annoying married couple in chick flick movies who are all about their house."  And you know what?  It feels GREAT.

The only sad thing is we have to wait several weeks to get in to the house (VA loans are slower than civilian equivalents- no surprise there, all though apparently they are getting a little faster thankfully).  But the inspection is possibly going to happen next week, which will let us get back in the house.  And then we will go back for the VA appraisal as well as to check and ensure that whatever if found during inspection is in fact fixed.  So we have at least 3 visits to get back in there :)
 Also...I have a job interview next week :-D  Super, super excited and praying so hard.  It's not a field I really ever imagined myself in, but it's a full-time position that should have consistent hours.  And it's with the state, which would potentially make me eligible for other internal only postings that perhaps are more within my field.

Down in the Dumps

That's how I'm feeling lately.  I am stressing over this house thing, and I am so upset with myself for not having a "good" job.  I'm still at the same stupid PT position that I got while I was in college, that requires no training or specific skill.  It seems like I wasted my time in college and I'm getting in my own head and talking myself down.  I'm just looking at all the things I feel like I should have done to put myself in a better position than the one I'm in.

I know, bad economy, over-saturation of college graduates, blah blah blah.  It takes a while to get on your feet and all that.  But...it still sucks!  To the point where I got out of bed last night to look for job applications online.  And I haven't been blogging because I don't really want to be one of those super negative bloggers who complain about the same thing over and over.  But really all I'm doing is stressing about work and a house...so yeah.  Just falling down the same rabbit hole every day.