Craft shows and puppies

Today I realized how blessed I am. I have a phenomenal husband, 2 big amazing families, great friends, and a job I love. This morning I got to watch J as he taught the 9th and 10th grade class at church. To see how much he has evolved as a teacher over the past year and half is amazing. I am so proud of him. After lunch we lounged around until my friend Angela (another God-send) came over with her new puppy, Reilly. We took Reilly and my pug, Miss Piggy, to the Cordova Arts and Craft show. They encourage people to bring their pets. All the booths have water bowls for the puppies, and fans, and blankets to lay on. It's a very fun environment. We ran into a woman who worked with a vet for years and she gave me some insight into Miss Piggy. (For those who don't know, J and I found Miss Piggy on the side of the road in January. We do not know her age) She said her size is perfect and she looks very healthy. Good to know. J and I go back and forth daily on whether she's too fat or too skinny. Now I am home after a good afternoon. The only sad part is I wish I hadn't missed mom's phone call. Please don't forget to call tomorrow! :) Say a pray for us this week. We (Ethan Allen) begin our quarterly Sarbanes Oxley testing. (Auditing). I am held responsible for the results so I feel a bit of pressure. Also, we are deciding on whether to go to a different doctor about my Celiac disease. I'm not happy with my current doctor and want to get a second opinion. Pray for strength and patience.

My First Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

As most of you know, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease at the beginning of this year. This means pretty much all baked goods are out for me, unless you subtitute flour for five hundred expensive ingredients. I have never really tried to bake anything since then. J and I have mastered Gluten Free cooking, but baking is another challenge entirely. So last night I decided to tackle my first cake. I got out my recipe for carrot cake and J and I set off for Wal-Mart to buy our ingredients. Who knew nutmeg and ground cloves were so expensive! I think J about had a heart attack. So today I set all my ingredients out and realized we didn't have enough sugar. I went to Kroger, came home, and realized we didn't have enough carrots. So J went back to Kroger. An hour later, I have gluten free flour all over my kitchen but I have a perfect carrot cake cooling! I'm even making homemade cream cheese icing. Hopefully it will be edible and maybe even taste good. Hey, at least our house smells amazing!

Oh and mom - I turned out third bedroom into a den/craft room. I brought ALL of my Ethan Allen fabrics in here and have it all organized. I told J I want a sewing machine for Christmas. We'll see if he gets me one:)

Oh work....

Lately work has been a bit stressful for both J and I. He has huge accounts he is trying to close and all of the frustrations that go with that. He works so hard and I want to see him close these accounts and be rewarded. I know I need to be patient and allow God to open and close the doors for J. I want to control it and make everything work for him.

As far as my job, I have been working way too much. I'm averaging 45-50 hours a week, not including the work I bring home. I love my job so much, but finding the balance between work and home has been difficult. I made the decision today to no longer bring work home. I need to be enjoying the time J and I have together. My boss Todd (lives in Houston, visits me about 3 days a month) has been here this week and we discussed my job appraisal (Corporate does this at the beginning of each fsical year). Thank goodness he gave me nothing but great feedback! I truly have been blessed with the perfect boss. With the stresses of our jobs, he is calm at all times and very encourageing. Pray that God gives us patience. And thank God that we both have good, stable jobs that we enjoy.

Why I created this blog....

I am creating this blog for our friends and family that are far away. Unfortunately we do not have the privilege of living close to all of our family. Our closest family is in Jackson, Tennessee, and the furthest are in Sobaria, Italy, with many inbetween. Hopefully this will keep everyone up to date on what Justin and I are up to.