Apple Festival

I just finished my first piece of a pumpkin roll that I bought this weekend. We had our 33rd annual Apple Festival this past weekend and as usual, they had way too many things that were tasty…and of course, I had to try some of them. Like I said, I got a small pumpkin roll (no, I’m sorry but I will NOT share) and I bought some Kettle Korn (it’s my favorite), a funnel cake (Seth wanted it) and 2 homemade donuts. Let’s talk about those donuts, shall we? They were HUGE and they could be a serious competitor for Krispy Kreme. They were $2 apiece but sooo worth it. I got one for myself and one for Seth (he was in VA hunting). I ate a few bites of mine when I got home and it was still warm but we ate the rest of them this morning for breakfast. My advice; eat them when they are still warm.

Also this weekend, we parked cars at the church. We are right at the end of the Festival and we have a HUGE field in the back of the church so we have plenty of room to park cars. While we weren’t as busy as I can remember us being a few years ago, we still were able to raise about $1400 for the youth group. That’s not too bad for 2 (10-12 hour) days of parking cars. Seth and I worked on Friday afternoon/evening until about 7. At that point, not many people are still looking to park so we just went on home. Seth left for VA about 8 and I spent the evening with leftover pizza and John Cena (rawr…)

Anyway, I have decided that I HATE sleeping by myself at night (hence, the reason I LOVE 3rd shift) and I don’t know what I would do if Seth got a job where he had to work 3rd shift while I stayed at home. I would probably DIE! I think I had a mini panic attack Friday night when I woke up to strange (aren’t they always) noises. I tried to listen but all I could hear was my heart beating and a roaring sound in my ears. Also, I could hear someone (apparently myself) breathing like they had just come up from 2 minutes underwater. CRAZY! I eventually feel back asleep but not before I ran through about 87 different scenarios where I always ended up dead! Apparently my imagination activity goes into overdrive after midnight :)

Busy weekend. Long weekend. Looking forward to a boring regular week…yeah right. Seth has a birthday on Thursday so that means we will have at least 2-3 separate dinners to celebrate and then I have to sleep at some point so he and I will probably wait and celebrate on Saturday. Maybe next week…keep on dreaming Kate :)

Welcome Back!

First of all, I know it has been almost an entire month since I posted anything and even longer since I posted anything of value. Does my last post even count? Cleaning? Seriously, Kate. Although, a guy at work told me that he tried the magic cleaner in his tub and he doesn't think he has ever had it this clean :) Success stories make my heart happy. Anyway...

Tonight was a BIG night for me. Tonight was....drumroll..... my LAST night on 2nd shift!!!! I am going back to 3rd on Sunday night and I can't wait! I have really enjoyed working with the people that I have for the last 3 months but I am ready to go back to my old department and my shift. I know, what kind of weirdo LIKES 3rd shift? This one!!! I prefer it to 2nd but not to my shift of choice, 10am-2pm :) If anyone knows of a place that has those hours, please let me know. Thanks

No doubt that next week will be rough and I will probably not be the nicest person you have ever met but just bear with me...it will get better. It will take me about 8 or 9 days to get adjusted and then I will be fine. Hopefully, my next post will involve pictures. Anyone know what tomorrow is? It's a BIG day in the Jones household and we have been counting down to September 25th for a while now. Guess away and if you know the answer, feel free to make a comment!

Magic Bathroom Cleaner...seriously

So lately I have shared this advice with quite a few people and everyone seems so surprised so...

You know all that nasty bumpy yuck known as soap scum that accumulates on your fiberglass bathtub that requires all kinds of scrubbing to get rid of? I have found a mixture that seems to work quite well and does not require a ton of scrubbing with a brush. Here it is:

1) Close the curtain and let the shower run HOT for about 3 minutes, just enough to get it really hot and steamy in the tub

2) Spray the entire tub, walls, sides, bottom with Scrubbing Bubbles. A can usually lasts me about 6-7 cleanings.


3) Let it sit on the surface of the tub for about 1-2 minutes.

4) Take a Magic Eraser (they really are magic) and start scrubbing/wiping. You still have to put some muscle into it but not nearly as much as using a brush with a useless cleaner.

5) You know the nasty is gone when your hand and the Magic Eraser runs smoothly over the tub surface with no bumps. If there is scum, the Eraser gets stuck and hard to push

Let me know how it works out for you. Do you have a better method that you use to clean your tub?

PS~ Don't lean into the tub and inhale while spraying the tub down. Pull your shirt over your mouth or hold your breath, spray and walk away a few times. That stuff will give you a headache in a heartbeat.

Lions, Tigers and...Giraffes?

Check out this link to my friend Sarah's blog...

http://plemmonsfamily17.blogspot.com/

The top picture is the bulletin board she and I made for my mom's classroom for the first week of school.

The second picture is all the animals that I made for my sister's bulletin board. They are doing a jungle theme at her school this year and her hubby made her a background and then she will have all the animals to decorate around her posters and things.

While you are there, feel free to look at all the other wonderful things Sarah has made. Is she not the most talented/craftiest/creative person EVER? I love her!

Thinking of the Stamper Family

One year ago today, the lives of some friends of ours were changed forever. They (my minister and his family) found out that Aaron, their son and brother, had leukemia. Aaron was 13 at the time and full of life. No one knew what the next days, weeks or months would hold but we prayed hard and supported the family as best we could from across the state.

After a long, courageous fight with this terrible disease, Aaron went to be with Jesus on June 4th this year. 2 months is not much time before a day such as today occurs, it is just another anniversary that will forever be in their minds. If you think about it, please take a moment today to say a prayer for this family as they mark the one year anniversary of when their lives changed forever. We continue to lift them up and ask that God shows them what is next and how He is going to use their lives and their healing for His glory.

Jeremiah 29

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart ~ Jeremiah 29: 11-13

This verse was brought up and discussed in our Sunday morning class this week and it keeps following me this week every time I wonder where we (Seth & I) are going to be in the next year, if we will have jobs, if we will still be in TN. Many of you know that Seth is still searching for a job and I am still hoping to complete my student teaching in the Spring. If he cannot find something by December, I will not be able to student teach and therefore I may have to forfeit the credit hours I have accumulated so far. I can only take one semester off in this program and this (Fall) is going to have to be that semester. The classes I need are only offered on Thursday nights from 4:30-9:30 and I work second shift (3-11). My job doesn't make exceptions or allow us time off for things like this. In case you are wondering, I have to keep working because I carry our benefits (which are EXCELLENT) and that is one thing that I would rather not be without (I mean, really...have you all met my husband? :)) Anyway, his job search has been slow and not successful thus far. He sends out resume after resume and puts in application after application. No one seems to be hiring and I know it has to be very frustrating. It is also frustrating for me because I need to be able to see into January and know whether or not I can be unemployed.

Anyway, after all that, I know that the Lord has plans for us and they are probably better than anything we can even imagine. Seth and I talked last night about not worrying about wordly things and focusing on the task God has given us. While I don't think God wants us to be irresponsible and just up and quit everything to be available for His purpose, I do think He desires for us to be open and willing for what He has planned, even if it isn't what we want. The past few weeks in our Sunday morning class, we have been discussing listening to God (obviously I am still a work in progress) and knowing that He sometimes doesn't always answer right away and sometimes He even tells us NO. We need to learn to ask for and follow His will and not always wait for what we want to happen.

Please keep us in your prayers as we wait for what He wants us to do next. Maybe Seth will find something that has nothing to do with what he went to school for; but if it is something that will glorify Him, please pray that the opportunity is clear and we are not too blind/selfish/otherwise occupied to recognize it.

Late night adventures with my boyfriend...

If any of you are my friends on Facebook, you have probably noticed that sometimes (ok, maybe 99% of the time), I refer to Seth as my boyfriend. I'm pretty sure some people that don't really know me think that I openly cheat on my husband but we all know that they are WRONG!

Anyway, my boyfriend and I have been on the same schedule (for once) for the past few months. He isn't working on a set schedule and I am on second shift. He waits up for me and we are both wide awake until 1:30 or 2:00ish. Since we are here together...alone...(oh, sorry), we decide to make the most of our time and go on little adventures together. Recently we have gone to Hampton (40 minutes away) to look at a house that I saw online. It is on a main road, is over 100 years old and seriously needs some TLC. The perk? It is pretty cheap and has 4 fireplaces! Anyway, we don't get up early in the morning so we didn't have time to go look before I went to work. While you can't see much at night, I figure if it looks bad in the dark, I probably wouldn't be too impresses when the sun is out.

Another night we went across the street to the cemetery. That was strictly business...a search and destroy mission. Seth and my dad mow the cemetery and they had discovered and marked 5 yellow jacket nests. We went over, at night while the little bugs are sleeping, and eliminated them. We had to take the baby though...she chased rabbits for 20 minutes. She loved it!

The night we went to Hampton, we came back through Limestone Cove and drove through our favorite little stretch of deer territory. We saw a TON of deer and the prettiest buck, still in velvet and so beautiful. Since we had such luck that night (@ 1:30 am), we decided to go back. We have been twice this week and we have seen 15 deer both nights. They are so pretty and most of them are so "used to people" that they just stare at us as we creepily drive by. Unless we stop, then they freak a little bit and get skittish.

Anyway, while our dates are not hours long and don't always involve gourmet meals (although we typically hit up the BP for a snack), we still have a good time and are so blessed to be able to spend these special times together. These are the moments that we will look back on one day when we are up at 1:30 am with a screaming baby and we might even soothe that baby by taking a midnight ride...