Sad Weekend

Sad for a couple of reasons:

1) Texas lost.

2) The fact that Texas losing can make my weekend "blah".

It is really sad. It's actually embarrassing. I went to church this morning and casually read the prayer requests on the back of the bulletin like I do every week. Probably won't think about them again. Neil prayed over a lady that is having a challenging open heart surgery tomorrow. Usually don't think about those times again. Not sure why I just did. Do those move my spirit? Do I hurt for others that are truly burdened? No. I hurt for a football team. Last night Caleb and I went shopping in the West Village and to Chuy's for dinner. It was good, but the conversation kept going back to Texas losing, and we were both just kinda "blah" no matter how much we tried to boost our spirits.

My heart needs to break. I want to be burdened for things that truly matter in this world. I want my life to glorify Christ. I really do. But then again...I want Texas to beat Oklahoma, and I want a good pair of jeans, and I honestly want the things of this world. Neil asked a hard question this morning---if you could be guaranteed a good life, with good kids, and good job, but would be without Christ, would you do it? To be honest, I know the obvious "right" answer, and that's what my head would say....but in my heart, I really don't know. I KNOW that the Lord is good and makes all things good. That He makes the good times better, and the hard times bearable. I know that everything was created by him and for him--including me and my life--but, I struggle so hard to believe this daily with my daily actions.

So, this post is a little more "me" than normal. But, maybe it will keep me a little more accountable.

If you read this in the next few days and will pray--please pray for Caleb. I just got off the phone with him and he said "if I could work from now (8 pm) until 6 p.m tomorrow night without sleeping, I could get everything done". He is obviously overwhelmed at work, so please pray for rest and a sense of peace through this stressful time.

Crazy Cycle

So, Caleb and I are in a young marrieds community group and we're reading a book called "Love and Respect". The premise is that God created men to feel respected and women to feel loved....and when men are respected, they love; when women feel loved, they show respect. Well, when you get off this great little harmony, it's called the "crazy cycle". Caleb and I haven't spun in a while, but today was a short little spin....although it was yuck, it was good. It's always good to get feelings out on the table and work through them, even if the "working" through them feels crappy. So, it's good for us to have more of these crazy cycle moments in our life so that I don't bottle it all up like I have a tendency to do. Short and sweet fights leave me refreshed. Does that make me crazy? (Sing here).

Okay, so I promised an update. But, there's not that much going on!

This week was just crazy. Caleb worked A LOT for him. Thankfully, he doesn't have weeks like this very often, but when he does, it takes its toll. I've just had "stuff" every day and night and it leaves me completely exhausted and in a blah mood. I just made stupid little mistakes all week--like, leaving my laptop at the family I work for, and calling and waking her up to see if it's there, then cancelling study group so I could get it. Then, $217 and a numb face later, I got 3 fillings yesterday. Just blah. And then throw the Cavy troubles on top of it all....and although it's not BAD, it's just annoying.

Last weekend was filled with 2 wedding showers (1 in Austin, 1 in Dallas) and a fancy, schmancy wedding. It was great. It was a mini Westwood reunion, and it was actually good to see so many people again. When there's cocktail stations everywhere you turn, the "small talk" isn't near as awkward :).

Still job hunting. I got an email from the hiring lady at Children's saying that she has all my stuff and is very interested in me, but won't know what availability they will have come January. So, I just need to chill. I like to plan WAY in advance, and need to just trust the Lord on this one.

My exciting, nerdy news (which actually isn't that exciting) is that I was on a "high" all day Wednesday because I learned how to change a trach. Now, this may sound way boring, but no student ever gets this opportunity. My supervisor is super cool and let me do this....so, although I thought I was going to throw up b/c I was so nervous taking a trach tube and cleaning the stoma (hole in the neck) of a 12 week (15 week premature) old baby boy, I did it! It was the best sense of accomplishment I've felt in a LONG time.

Camping trip got cancelled this weekend, and it will be so nice to be home. Let's hope that UT can beat KState tomorrow!!! Off to eat fajitas with community group now :).

Cavy baby, don't die!

Caleb came home tonight with sad news. One of the back brakes is "engaged" and won't come off. So, I'm taking the baby in this weekend. Let's home that it doesn't cost too much (b/c she's only worth about $500!) or she will die :(.

I know that's a sad post. I have lots of updating to do, but will have to make up for it this weekend. Just to get my 2 faithful on their toes....I had major excitement yesterday. Just wait! (It's nerdy excitement by the way, so don't get too excited)

I'm not alone!

Yay to come back from Austin and see 2 comments! Thanks Lindie and Chels for reading my blog, I think it's just us....so, I could just write a roomie email on here :). Speaking of....today was very sentimental. From the IM fields....past Hyde Park....past Quack's (mine and Lindie's old coffee/studyin' grounds)...to find a parking spot in west campus so I could visit Ali....to the Co-op. And yes, the homeless people are all still there, smoking and playing can music for money. The Sunday market in between Jamba Juice and the Co-op is dwindling, but I still stopped and looked (didn't buy!) at the fun homemade jewelry and hand soaps just like the good 'ol days:). Okay, that's my trip down memory lane, but it was oh so good. I really missed you girls. When I think of college, I really think of 2128 and all of our quirky memories there :). Remember when we got on a garage sale hype and woke up at like 5 am and rode in the back of Caleb's Dad's truck to check out garage sales in Riverplace? Wow...
Okay, enough of that. On to my big request!

So...last weekend, as I was checking my msgs and pulling out of the gym and like always, I just turned a left onto McKinney. Dialing Chelsea back, I hear drumbeats. Weird. Uptown Dallas is not like Keep Austin Weird where it wouldn't weird me out to hear drumbeats in the car behind me. So, I look behind me...and yes, yours truly has definitely pulled into a parade. There are horsemen in front of me, a firetruck, my Honda, and then men in kilts playing drums.

Chelsea: "hello?"
Julie: "oh my gosh!"
Chelsea: "hey, what's going on?"
Julie: "wait"
Chelsea: "okay"
Julie: "oh my gosh! I'm in a parade Chels! I really think I'm in a parade"
(proceeds to roll down the windows, and stick the cell phone out so Chelsea can hear)
Julie: "they're taking pictures! there are kids here waving at me! I can't get off the road, they're all blocked"
Chelsea: laughing so hard...

Lindie, I hope you enjoyed my re-enactment of that conversation like you were part of it as well. For those that are wondering, a policeman finally undid a barricade and escorted me out of the parade. As I think back on it, I wish I had a bag of candy. I SO would have put my head out the sunroof and thrown it at the kids. I never did figure out what the parade was about. Hmm...

Austin was really good. I love that town. I don't know where the Lord has in mind for us to live, but I would be really happy if it was Austin. I would be happy if it were Dallas too. Or Waco (I LOVE Waco!). So, I guess it's good that I'm pretty much happy wherever He places me, but I just get a "homey" feeling when we got back to Austin. Caleb had ultimate guys stay with him at his parents, so I left him for the weekend for some "guy time"and had some good Ratliff family time. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, and 2 cousins all came over to my Dad's and we had a great time visiting and eating enough calories to last me seriously this entire week. I think I ate an entire half of Mamie's chocolate cake all by myself. And gumbo, pizza, brownies, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, Taco C,.....wow, I've definitely got to get up for aerobics in the morning! Anyway, it was a lot of good eating and visiting. I met Ali's boyfriend for the first time and I definitely approve, he seems like a great guy.

Caleb, poor guy, is just not having the best year physically. He played 2 plays yesterday (and scored on both!) and then pulled his groin. He was out for the rest of the tournament. He cheered on the team, but was so disappointed and wanted to be out there and play so bad (which is opposite of me who runs from the frisbee and fakes being tired/hurt so I don't have to go in!), so I felt bad for him. His team ended up getting 2nd in the tournament (so, 2nd in Texas!) and are moving on to regionals in Florida Oct. 6. He should be healthy by then, and will hopefully get to play hard that last tournament. He did end up coming over to my Dad's and participated in Imaginiff game night. It's one of those games where you read a card about someone and it's like "Imaginiff mamie were an article of clothing, what would she be (sock, robe, thong...) and you vote and move up a space if you pick what she picks. Kinda nerdy, but fun family game. You don't even have to ask who won.

Allright, as much as I could keep writing, I've got to do laundry and get things ready for the week. I apologize in advance if I don't post my lovely blog followers (now that I know I have 2!), but it's a busy week ahead with TWO showers that I'm in charge of next weekend. So, goodnight and let's hope Texas prepares this week so we don't lose to Rice :(. That's all I'm going to say about UT football for the time being.

Nighty night!

PS-We are having major spider issues in our apartment, so if you have any sort of home remedy, please let me know. A shower is at my apt on Friday and I'll be so embarrassed if there are spiders everywhere! I called Caleb at work and told him I already decorated for Halloween...he was like "what? in September?"...I proceeded to tell him it was free decorations, b/c spiders are in every room, on every wall! Gross me out!

It's Fall!

Walking out of the gym the other morning, it was in the lower 60s and it felt like 2 things to me: time for football, and time for pumpkins (and the pumkin spice latte at Starbucks-my all time fave!). I love all the seasons, but the first little cool spell of fall always gets me giddy. I love wearing jeans and boots, watching college football on Saturdays, going running outside at anytime of day, and sipping a pumkin spice latte (did I say this already?).

Okay...so as to what is going on in our life, that hasn't been full of excitement, which I love, but then, have nothing to blog about:

-We're heading to Austin this afternoon for Caleb's ultimate tournament and my Grandad's bday celebration. Looking for it. Caleb's way excited about the tournament and probably spent an hour last night analyzing the bracket. One guy I don't know is riding down with us-hopefully not too awkward.
-We're getting Braum's peanut butter ice cream in Hillsboro. A new tradition (it started on our anniversary trip when we discovered all the Braum's in OK and definitely got a TRIPLE dip!) for our treks to Austin.
-I'm loving my internship. I feel like I'm becoming desensitized--don't know if that's good or bad. Now I think it's weird *not* to see a baby with a trach/vent. My supervisor is great and we get along really well.
-I'm nervous about the job hunt. I know that the Lord will provide, but I'm such a planner, I don't like the "unknown".
-Went to the dentist yesterday=3 cavities. Yucko. I do brush my teeth twice a day! I promise!
-Workouts are still going well. Caleb is losing weight, I've put on a couple of pounds! Uck! What's that about?! I like to say it's all the muscle....but, I really think that since I'm working out I eat more (like Braum's) :).
-I babysit for a family in Highland Park. It's going great. The boy sleeps 2/4 hours I'm there, and it's good money. They're just way too organized and have a maid 5 DAYS week, so I feel like I can't touch anything or I'll dirty it or mess it up :).


Okay, like I said...I haven't had much to blog about so sorry for the delay. I really don't think anyone actually reads this except for Caleb b/c I haven't told anyone about it. So, if you do, put a comment so I know and maybe I'll update more :).

And so it begins

My first week of my internship is over, and although it's been busy and tough to get into a routine of going to an internship daily, it's been great. My supervisor is a great teacher, but seems to allow for independence and learning from my own mistakes. Inpatient is very fast-paced and although I can see how you could get burned out easily, I would much prefer a fast-paced job to a boring one. I can't go into a lot of details regarding the patients, but I'm doing mostly feeding on babies with tubes and intense feeding therapy with sensory/behavioral based feeding kiddos. I'm loving it!

I start my new job tomorrow, and I'm excited to begin making money and getting my weekly routine in gear. I got up 4 mornings this past week to go to the gym and then ran 4 miles yesterday. Chelsea and I are running a 10K in Dec, so I decided I better start my training. My goal this week is to workout 5 days (2 runs, 2 strength training, 1 cardio class) and cook 3 healthy dinners. Kate's going away dinner is tomorrow night at Chuy's....yum. That means healthy dinners Tues-Thurs :). This blog will also serve as my accountability in that domain, so I will update.

We went to the drive-in movie last night with community group. I didn't have really high expectations, but we had a blast! They had 50s music playing at the beginning, and then we got out our lawn chairs and blankets and ate ice cream and candy and watched 2 movies! Of course, I fell asleep during the 2nd one, but we had already seen it and ended up leaving early (it's a double feature, but the 2nd movie didn't start until 11ish).

Caleb is struggling with the fact that he's "getting old" and has to take Advil before playing frisbee. Practice is getting more intense, as sectionals are in a couple of weeks. His big epiphany this past week was that cheese fries (his absolute favorite food) have 3500 calories....he still can't believe it. For those wondering, the thumbprints went away after a couple of days, so no more embarrassment there....

Last Semester and Thumbprints

My last "first day" of school was yesterday. I'm taking one class, and it ended up being less than an hour (supposed to be 3 hours) and my mission was accomplished--I got my pass/fail paperwork signed. So, with one class pass/fail and my internship from 8-12 every morning, it's going to be a pretty lax semester. I did get a job working with a family in Highland Park who have 2 boys with autism. So, not only will that give me something to do, but I will be able to make some sort of contribution to the Wood family bank account which is always nice.

Caleb is playing in an ultimate tournament this weekend in Dallas, I'm about to head to Tyler with my cousin and little niece to see my grandmother. It should be good family time.

Caleb wouldn't let me post a picture of his newest "embarrassing moment" momento, but I did want to write it in here just to capture what's going on in our world. Being a young associate, he does lots of document review. Most people probably switch hand and leg positions when concentrating on papers, but not Caleb--even studying in law school, he has his "set position" where he puts each thumb on his forehead right by his eyebrows. So, yesterday his secretary walks in and asks him if it's Ash Wednesday because of the marks on his forehead and he responded "what are you talking about?". After looking in the mirror, he noticed as well....he had popped some blood vessels and he has bruising perfectly fit with his thumbprints. Chelsea and Kate came over last night and tried to help him think of excuses....a frisbee hit him there (well, no....then he would be the uncoordinated frisbee player who can't catch). The best he came up with was they are cleat marks from someone else and he was playing some "mad D". But, no, he has to be honest, and they are his thumbprints.....and unfortunately, did not disappear overnight. Although he thinks it's a bigger deal that anyone else will, I think they're kinda cute, and a good memory that will be forgotten in a week. However, since it's BIG in his life right now, and this blog is supposed to chronicle our daily life......it is now forever written in blogworld.

Starting a blog...

As I finish my last "summer" days off and am guilty of perusing the internet and reading others' blogs, I've decided to start one of our own. I say our because I will be writing about both Caleb and myself, but I doubt Caleb will ever post on here...he thinks blogs are kinda nerdy. I'm kinda nerdy though, so that's okay :).

I'm about to begin my last semester of graduate school! I graduate in December with my master's in speech pathology and will hopefully begin a job in January. I hope to update regularly and record how the Lord leads us through this transition. Caleb and I have never both worked at the same time (although I consider law school much more work than a job, you just pay to do it) and although we're excited about the double income (!), there will also be new demands as well.

Caleb is beginning his 2nd year as an attorney at Hughes and Luce. He's just finished the first summer of being on "the other side" of summer recruiting and is sad that his days of free lunches and Starbucks are over. He is also completely healed from his early summer knee injury and is back to playing ultimate frisbee 3 days/week. To demonstrate his love for this sport...he is missing TX/OU weekend to fly to a tournament in Florida. And he's okay with it.

We continue to live in an apartment in Uptown (just north of downtown Dallas), which is perfect for where we are right now. Caleb is 5 mins from work, I'm 5 mins to school and to Baylor Hospital where I'll be doing my internship starting Monday. We love our church (Northwest Bible) and are praying about where to serve this fall. We have been in a community group this past year with other young marrieds and are really blessed that Dallas is feeling more and more like "home".