Ohhhhh C'mon Irene. . . la la lalala

Well. . . we survived the big storm. And then we went out and took pictures and played in the water---Zach warned me that I would get worms. . .I said probably only ring worm. . been there done that. Don't worry all you people looking at that brown water. . . I just went in up to my shins. Sunday we took a walk to survey the damage and enjoy the gusting winds. We love wind. The golf course behind us was completely under water. I think it looks better this way.

After the storm and a bit of cloudiness the sky had it's moments of bright blue. It was wonderful outside. And still is actually. I'm sitting here on my couch listening to the crickets and other bug-monsters communicating outside while a soft cool wind streams through the house. I love it. Absolutely love it. I can't wait until this type of cool windy weather is the norm.

Also, if you were wondering, besides flooding the storm wasn't actually that bad. Zach is the one who actually knocked all those trees down. He had to use his super-power energy for something. Unless one landed on your car, then it was definitely the wind.

Living right beside the canal is pretty much one of the only redeeming factors of living in these apartments (ok and the location and the neighbors). When we go on walks or bike riding it is not rare to come across some wildlife.

We had a wonderful relaxing weekend. I enjoyed the weather and I hope that come Monday I don't hear any horror stories at work. I am pretty sure I am the only one in that whole office building that didn't stock up and fill my bathtub with water. And yes, I do feel smarter for not freaking out.

Miss you and love you all.

Love. . .so so good.

Last night instead of going to sleep I decided to journal for a bit. Instead of journaling I decided to look through past entries. I have two journals---well two that I know the location of ---this most recent journal begins 11/04/2006. Oh man were things different back then. It's so amazing to me how God weaves are lives through all these crazy different times; different people, different places, different obstacles, different goals, DIFFERENT. But I wouldn't change a thing. As noted in my beloved journal. . . .

03/18/2008

"I think that Kaley Madden is really really

beautiful. Everything about her enchants

me and charms me until I don't know up

from down. She is kind and honest and

sensible. She is forthright and courageous.

Her heart is strong and good and so is every

red drop that goes through it. I love her and

I will make her mine some day, that is to

say that we will be each other's. I will care

for her and protect her and let her do the

same for me. We will live happily ever after."

If I remember correctly I came into my room and this was typed on my computer screen(Le sigh). Zach is still just as sweet. He did make me his, and him mine. We are truly blessed.

Miss you and love you all.

Foodie Night

Today was a wonderful day. Rae and I caught the 10am movie The Help and then headed to the Carousel for a delicious breakfast. Zach was unable to join us for foodz because he was already at work, but Kevin made it! Afterwards we headed to our separate homes. I tidied up and relaxed a bit then headed back to Princeton with the Hedges for some delicious Itialian Ice and people watching. Lovely. It was gorgeous outside. Todays weather made me get excited for the beautiful Autumn weather. I can't wait for cider and crisp air.

Anywho. . . . Hanging out with Ruth got me in the mood to can/cook yummies. I rode my bike to Whole Foods and picked up some jars then headed home and got busy. I made Dilly Beans! Or some variation of them. It was easy and fun.

After the beans I started peeling the beets. Ever since we started getting beets from out farmshare I have been wanting to make beet chips. Mainly because I never eat beets and I wanted to find some use for them. Healthy chips! They look pretty rough with the skin on but naked they look so pretty. Like rubies made out of wood. Or somesing. After they bake they get so tiny.

Once the beets were all cleaned up I started on dinner. Pizza with homemade sauce. I love homemade pizza. So cheap and so delicious.

That's it for my night of food goodness. I'm about to start reading The Hunger Games. I will be sure to let you know how that goes. I just finished the first two books of The Mark of the Lion series. I doubt I will read the third, but the first two were amazing. Francine Rivers is such a good writer. Did you know that before she became a Christian she wrote romance novels? Probably why I like her so much. Considering in middle school I was reading Sidney Sheldon and Danielle Steel books. Unless you are looking for a cheap romance novel with the same plot everytime. . .you probably should never read either of those authors. Just sayin.

Cally, Dani, Megan, Halie, Anna, and everyone else. . .please blog again. Soon? Please?

Miss you and love you all.

Hey there lil' owl pillow. . .

Hi there. I made an owl pillow. It was supposed to be for my co-workers upcoming baby. . . .but I think it kinda ended up looking a little creepy. Therefore it gets to stay in our house. I like it.

Love you and miss you all.

Please Listen.

Punch Brothers

Elephant Shoes

Hi there. The past few weeks have been very busy but also very relaxing. A week ago (maybe?) Zach and I headed to Charlottesville, VA where we met up with the Carsons! We had such a wonderful time enjoying each others company. We walked around Charlottesville--super cute-- ate at yummy---and way cheaper than Princeton---restaurants, watched Cowboys & Aliens, laughed, went swimming, and relaxed. It was such an easy fun time. The Carsons are those kind of friends that no matter how long we go without seeing one another, when we finally get together it's like we were never apart! So good. Maybe one day we will get to live in the same town with them again. **Please note that I have a total of two pictures from the trip--Megan. . . please share the wealth of that fabulous camera you have**

And here's one from Meg's camera (and her blog :) )

Here are some pretty flowers from the farmshare. This is what happens when I don't post for a while. . .. random bits of information. Ohwell. Aren't they perty? Participating in a farmshare is wonderful. We definitely eat way more veggies then we used to and we get beautiful flowers to look at each week! Unless Zach goes. . . he doesn't like to pick the flowers. Also---I am now able to better identify herbs in their natural state. I wasn't even aware how little I knew about herbs. Woops.

Heck yes! I finally got some TOMS! They are comfy and good and for a good cause and I love them. And they have elephants on the inside which is wonderful.

Last Christmas Zach and I decided to get eachother bikes. So about two weeks ago---yes in the month of July---I finally went out and purchased a bike! Off craigslist of course. Funny story. Zach was working so our friend Kevin escorted me to location of ze bike. Craigslist killers can live anywhere. Even in Highland Park, NJ. So we drove the 30 minutes and the college age girl came out of her apartment (we were safe) and showed us the bike. It looked brand new (apparently she had ridden it for a total of five minutes because it ended up being too tall for her) however something was a bit odd about the bike. So I took it for a trial run down the street. The height was perfect but the handlebars were so close to my body. Only T-Rex could have fit on this bike. Something was amiss. I took the bike back to her house and after further investigations Kevin laughs a bit and says, "So I think you put the handlebars on backwards." Ding Ding Ding. We all laughed and adjusted everything. The bike was then perfect. We loaded it in the car and headed home. Good time.

Also! Since our wonderful friend, Megan Carson, is preggers I wanted to make her something for the nursery. I decided on a mobile for the crib. . . or wherever they want to put it. I had seen variations of this on blogs and after a few frustrating hours of balancing issues I decided to forget balancing completely and just attach everything with ribbons and hope it stays. It worked! I really like it and will hopefully have the energy to reproduce it when we get preggers. Don't hold your breath.

That's pretty much it. Oh yeah! I deactivated my facebook account. I know, crazy right? I was on it too much. Obsessing over everyone elses lives while mine got more mundane. So now I read more and go outside more and no longer sit on my couch staring into a facebook abyss. It was kinda crazy. Right when I clicked the (final) deactivate button I felt refreshed. Also, if you decide to do this, expect facebook to give you a guilt trip. It shows you pictures of people you talk with most via facebook while saying, "Are you sure you want to leave? _______ will miss you. ______will also miss you." But you can do it, I believe in you.

Miss you and love you all.