With Steven being gone this week, I've gotten lots of questions. Actually, I've only gotten a few more than normal. People usually have lots of questions as soon as Steven mentions traveling or working out of state. I'm not sure if people are concerned or just curious as to how our crazy life works. I guess as newlyweds that barely live together, we are a bit of an oddity.
Anyway, here are a few of the most commonly asked questions.
Q. Who does he work for?
A. Razz Electrical Services. They are based in Louisiana. This answer has actually changed a few times in the last few years. He started out at U.U.C.I. from Conway (he was working in the Fayetteville area), and he then went to Pike Electric, which is based in North Carolina (he worked in MO and TX).
Q. What exactly does he do?
A. Steven is a lineman. He builds power lines. He has been in the linework business for almost 2 years now. He loves his work and plans to do it until he retires.
Q. Isn't that dangerous? Don't you worry about him?
A. Yes and yes. I try not to think about it though. I've watched him work, and I know that he takes the proper safety precautions. That's all I can ask of him. I can't control what other people do, so I just pray. In my own little world he is getting up and going to work and it stops with the word "work." I do pray for him everyday, but I don't think much about what he is doing other than that. I just remind myself that technically he is no safer doing that than any other job. When God says it is time to go, it's time to go.
Q. Do they pay good?
A. We aren't starving. :-)
Q. Do they pay for his hotel/food/gas?
A. Hotel-Yes. Food- He gets paid a weekly per diem. Gas- No.
Q. When does he come home?
A. Normally he leaves Sunday evenings, works Monday - Thursday and comes home Thursday nights.
Q. Do you stay at your house, all by yourself all week?
A. Honestly, I get this more than I ever thought I would. The thought of doing anything else never crossed my mind until people started asking. Yes, I stay at our house. Where else would I go? We have 3 dogs and a cat, and I don't think they would travel well. I have always enjoyed being home by myself and am not bothered by it.
Q. How do you do it? You must miss him a lot...
A. We lived over an hour away from one another when we met. In the 4 years we dated, we lived in the same town less than 18 months, and that was broken into two segments. I got most of my crying out the first 3 months we dated, when he lived in Batesville. (He would drive to Jonesboro on Friday night or Saturday afternoon and would go back on Sunday evening. I hated Sundays.) He went to doing linework in the fall of 2006, and we were forced to get used to it pretty quick when he spent a few weeks in Oklahoma that October working his first ice storm. Honestly, you get used to it though and fall into the routine. It isn't always easy, but it isn't the end of the world either.
Q. Will he ever work close to home?
A. I have no idea. There is always the possibility of his crew getting a random assignment close to home, but it isn't very likely. Other than that, the answer is no, unless he gets a job with a local co-op. We're waiting until after I graduate to worry with that though.
Q. What will you do when you have kids?
A. I'll send them on the road with him. :-)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
AAh! I'm so busy! And apparently I don't listen...
I am so very, very busy this week!
We have Vacation Bible School going on at church. I'm volunteering wherever I'm needed (last night I ended up in the nursery) and taking pictures for the slideshow. I am also editing about 500 pictures this week! I am also going to my sister's graduation on Friday and shooting a wedding on Saturday. Needless to say, the housework is getting neglected. Good thing Steven isn't home. :-)
I talked to Steven last night and discovered that they aren't in San Benito, Texas! Oops, apparently that was where he thought they would get sent, but instead they were sent to Mercedes, Texas. Here...
We have Vacation Bible School going on at church. I'm volunteering wherever I'm needed (last night I ended up in the nursery) and taking pictures for the slideshow. I am also editing about 500 pictures this week! I am also going to my sister's graduation on Friday and shooting a wedding on Saturday. Needless to say, the housework is getting neglected. Good thing Steven isn't home. :-)
I talked to Steven last night and discovered that they aren't in San Benito, Texas! Oops, apparently that was where he thought they would get sent, but instead they were sent to Mercedes, Texas. Here...
Sunday, July 27, 2008
I just talked to Steven.
I figured it would be easier to post the updates of his whereabouts here, as opposed to answering questions like, "Have you talked to Steven today?" "Where's your husband?" and "When will he be home?" a million different times in the next week or so.
Anyway, I just talked to him and he is still in San Benito, TX.
See the red arrow? That's where he is right now. He's about 13 or 14 hours from Jonesboro. I think. Ok, I just checked Mapquest. Apparently it is approximately a 15 hr. 4 min. drive. Nevertheless, he said the area they are currently working in doesn't look too bad, but he's heard from his bosses that the other side of town is a total mess. He believes he will be there until the end of this week at the very least, but that's not counting if they get sent to another town after that. They are working 16-18 hr. days, stopping only to eat a meal or crash in bed at the hotel at night.
He said all safety is 100% mandatory right now because of all the different types of power they have there (wind, solar, wire electricity, etc.). I still worry though. People have been known to concoct some crazy power sources after storms. Please pray for the safety of my husband and all the other linemen in Texas tonight.
Anyway, I just talked to him and he is still in San Benito, TX.
See the red arrow? That's where he is right now. He's about 13 or 14 hours from Jonesboro. I think. Ok, I just checked Mapquest. Apparently it is approximately a 15 hr. 4 min. drive. Nevertheless, he said the area they are currently working in doesn't look too bad, but he's heard from his bosses that the other side of town is a total mess. He believes he will be there until the end of this week at the very least, but that's not counting if they get sent to another town after that. They are working 16-18 hr. days, stopping only to eat a meal or crash in bed at the hotel at night.
He said all safety is 100% mandatory right now because of all the different types of power they have there (wind, solar, wire electricity, etc.). I still worry though. People have been known to concoct some crazy power sources after storms. Please pray for the safety of my husband and all the other linemen in Texas tonight.
Freebies anyone?
I admit that I am addicted to free stuff. I love getting little trial size stuff in the mail. Sometimes I even get coupons for free regular size items. I sign up for stuff online all the time, so I thought I would share some freebies with the rest of my blogging buddies.
Here are some great deals and websites that I have come across lately.
I just came across this blog tonight, and I love it! It is updated often with new freebies and sweepstakes.
Melting Pot's Club Fondue
"Club Fondue offers fantastic fondue features, including wine tastings, food samplings, invitations to special events and advanced holiday reservation privileges. As a member of the Club, you'll receive a free Chocolate Fondue for two when you sign up!"
Baskin-Robbins Birthday Club
They send you a coupon for a free scoop of ice cream for your birthday. You can also sign up multiple members of your household. - Go ahead, make up an extra kid. You know you want to. :-)
**TIP: I suggest creating an extra e-mail account before signing up for stuff like this online. They often require you to sign up for newsletters and/or send your e-mail address to other companies. The second account will keep you from having to sift through the junk e-mails everyday. You can check it once a week or so and only look at the deals that interest you.
Here are some great deals and websites that I have come across lately.
I just came across this blog tonight, and I love it! It is updated often with new freebies and sweepstakes.
Melting Pot's Club Fondue
"Club Fondue offers fantastic fondue features, including wine tastings, food samplings, invitations to special events and advanced holiday reservation privileges. As a member of the Club, you'll receive a free Chocolate Fondue for two when you sign up!"
Baskin-Robbins Birthday Club
They send you a coupon for a free scoop of ice cream for your birthday. You can also sign up multiple members of your household. - Go ahead, make up an extra kid. You know you want to. :-)
**TIP: I suggest creating an extra e-mail account before signing up for stuff like this online. They often require you to sign up for newsletters and/or send your e-mail address to other companies. The second account will keep you from having to sift through the junk e-mails everyday. You can check it once a week or so and only look at the deals that interest you.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Hello, Dolly!
The water was rough today, so we went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. We also were pretty lazy and I took a looong nap. :-)
This evening while hanging out in the room I logged on to the internet on my phone. The first thing I saw on the home page was that the tropical storm Dolly had become a hurricane. I commented that I figured Steven wouldn't be home this weekend. Sure enough, he called about an hour later saying he is headed to Brownsville, Texas to work storm.
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Good Morning!
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Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
If you came to our house...
I got this from Joslyn.
If you came to our house,
You'd see . . . 6 vehicles, lots of construction and home improvement stuff, and more than likely some pet hair.
We'd feed you . . . Fox's Pizza.
You'd drink . . . sweet tea, water, fruit juice, milk, Kool Aid, or that random can of beer that may or may not be too old to drink.
T-Mac would ask if you'd read . . . well if it is T-Mac asking, probably one of the car magazines or guitar magazines. :-)
If our guest is looking for something to read, you'd find...home decor magazines, graphic design magazines, Nicholas Sparks books, or a random assortment of books from the library.
Play music . . . probably country or blue grass.
Tell you the latest about . . . our never ending home improvement projects.
Suggest a game of . . . Wii Sports, Mario or Guitar Hero
Show off . . . my clean and organized craft room or the freshly painted bathroom!
If it was a long visit, we'd watch . . . CSI dvds, Friends dvds, or whatever happens to be on ABC at the moment.
If you came to our house,
You'd see . . . 6 vehicles, lots of construction and home improvement stuff, and more than likely some pet hair.
We'd feed you . . . Fox's Pizza.
You'd drink . . . sweet tea, water, fruit juice, milk, Kool Aid, or that random can of beer that may or may not be too old to drink.
T-Mac would ask if you'd read . . . well if it is T-Mac asking, probably one of the car magazines or guitar magazines. :-)
If our guest is looking for something to read, you'd find...home decor magazines, graphic design magazines, Nicholas Sparks books, or a random assortment of books from the library.
Play music . . . probably country or blue grass.
Tell you the latest about . . . our never ending home improvement projects.
Suggest a game of . . . Wii Sports, Mario or Guitar Hero
Show off . . . my clean and organized craft room or the freshly painted bathroom!
If it was a long visit, we'd watch . . . CSI dvds, Friends dvds, or whatever happens to be on ABC at the moment.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
I is for...
I is for...
"I think I'm losing my mind!" Today I was folding a second load of laundry and had a few shirts that were wrinkled.I grabbed the Wrinkle Releaser off the coffee table and sprayed them down. I then hung them up to dry. I sat down on the loveseat to look at a magazine, and when I put the magazine down I just stared at the coffee table. Something wasn't quite right, but I couldn't figure out what. Then I saw it. The blue spray bottle sitting on the table. That wasn't Wrinkle Releaser. It was Febreze! Oops. I had forgotten that I put the Wrinkle Releaser up and sprayed the furniture and curtains with the Febreze between laundry loads.
Thirteen Thursday is BACK!
I just realized that I have not done a 13 Thursday list since the beginning of June! Ooops. Thursdays are just usually a busy day for me. I'm always running last minute errands and doing last minute housework before Steven comes home, so we won't have to do it on the weekend.
Because I have a few hours before he gets home, I'll do another photo post. Here are 13 random pictures from my computer.
1. May 7, 2006 - me and Hanna
2. March 2007 - Hanna enjoying some chocolate cake for her first birthday
3. My mother on her wedding day. This is probably my favorite photo ever.
4. Laren and me- December 30, 2005 at the rehearsal dinner for Whitney and Adam's wedding.
5. Emerald, Biscuit, and Roush were napping together. Roush woke up and was trying to snuggle with Biscuit. :-)
6. Jill looks really scary when she yawns.
7. Awww! Look at the cute little me when I was 2!
8. Roush napping with Minnie Pearl. I can't believe how small she was then!
9. The Mr. and Mrs. on the ferris wheel at the NEA District Fair
10. One of the tractors on my grandma's farm.
11. Steven showing off at a pool party last summer.
12. He was dressed up, so I had to take a picture.
13. November 2007 - My good friend Ashley and her dad, on her wedding day.
Because I have a few hours before he gets home, I'll do another photo post. Here are 13 random pictures from my computer.
1. May 7, 2006 - me and Hanna
2. March 2007 - Hanna enjoying some chocolate cake for her first birthday
3. My mother on her wedding day. This is probably my favorite photo ever.
4. Laren and me- December 30, 2005 at the rehearsal dinner for Whitney and Adam's wedding.
5. Emerald, Biscuit, and Roush were napping together. Roush woke up and was trying to snuggle with Biscuit. :-)
6. Jill looks really scary when she yawns.
7. Awww! Look at the cute little me when I was 2!
8. Roush napping with Minnie Pearl. I can't believe how small she was then!
9. The Mr. and Mrs. on the ferris wheel at the NEA District Fair
10. One of the tractors on my grandma's farm.
11. Steven showing off at a pool party last summer.
12. He was dressed up, so I had to take a picture.
13. November 2007 - My good friend Ashley and her dad, on her wedding day.
Killing time until my husband is home
A-Z Meme
A. Attached or Single? Married
B. Best Friend? Lauren, my sister, and my husband
C. Cake or pie? Pie, unless it is Courtney Cake or Mrs. Susan Moss' cake!
D. Day of choice? Friday
E. Essential item? my BlackBerry
F. Favorite color? Pink
G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears
H. Home town? Jonesboro
I. Favorite indulgence? a mocha latte and a slice of German Chocolate Cake from Caffe Buono, a mani/pedi, a good book and a cup of hot chocolate, SCHWAN'S CONFETTI CAKE ICE CREAM! um I think I like too many little luxuries to pick just one.
J. January or July? January. However, should someone ask me that question in January I would probably answer "July."
K. Kids? Someday, I am looking forward to being a mom.
L. Life isn’t complete without? a sense of humor
M. Marriage date? December 14, 2007
N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 sister
O. Oranges or Apples? apples
P. Phobias? large spiders, snakes, wild rats (pet store ones are ok)
Q. Quotes? "Dwell in possibility." - Emily Dickinson
R. Reasons to smile? little kids, sleeping puppies, my husband cooking
S. Season of choice? fall; I love football season and the anticipation of winter
T. Tag 5 people: Anyone who wants to play along, join in!
U. Unknown fact about me? I have scoliosis.
V. Vegetable? corn
W. Worst habit? nagging my husband :-)
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? I've had a few x-rays.
Y. Your favorite food? chicken fajitas
Z. Favorite zoo animal? polar bears
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Ten Things Tuesday
1. My bathroom is almost finished!
2. My craft room is organized!
3. Saturday, one of my best friends is getting married! I'm so happy for Jess and Alex.
4. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with my kitchen and dining room! I was beginning to think that project would never end.
5. There are only 5 more days until I leave for the beach! I am so, so very thankful that my hardworking husband is letting me go to the beach for a few days while he is stuck at work.
6. I am thankful that my hotel room at the beach is being paid for by someone else! Someone I have never even met!
-No worries. I'm not going with a stranger! I am going with my aunt, two cousins, and two of their friends. The step-dad of the other two boys is paying for our room just for taking the boys! I don't think that man has any idea what a blessing he is to me!
7. There are only 2 more days until my wonderful husband comes home! I can't wait to see him. I also can't wait to see his face when he sees how much work I've done this week. *Gasp* Did I just use the "w" word? haha
8. I am probably going back to work this fall, doing a job I will actually enjoy! Woohoo!
9. I am so very thankful for my wonderful husband that has provided me this summer off from work. It has been so nice to get things done around the house and actually have time to spend with Steven when he comes home. It has also given me the opportunity to work toward my dream career.
10. I have been given the opportunity to plan a wonderful party for my great-grandmother. She will be 90 years old in September, and I found out today that her sister is going to be able to come all the way from Oregon for the party! Mamaw traveled out west to see her about 6 or 7 years ago and was a bit depressed when she returned. I know they both probably thought it would be the last time the saw one another. I can't wait for them to be together again!
What took me so long?
I finally started painting my bathroom! Before I started painting, I was a bit nervous about the color I picked, but once I got some on the walls I realized it was perfect. I've got two coats on most of the walls, and this evening Dad is coming to take the tank off the toilet so I can paint behind it. I'm pretty sure it will be completely done before Steven gets home on Thursday. Hopefully he will be able to find time to go buy the new baseboard this weekend. I'd like it to be installed this weekend, but I'm not gonna be too upset if it isn't. I'm just ecstatic to get it painted!
The color is Valspar, Mocha Syrup from Lowe's.
The color is Valspar, Mocha Syrup from Lowe's.
Monday, July 14, 2008
10:03 p.m.
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3:50 p.m.
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All before 9:00 a.m.
Laundry and dishes. This takes up 80% of my life. I have no idea what I will do when I have kids. In one weekend, Steven creates enough laundry to keep me busy until Wednesday most weeks, and that doesn't include what gets done over the weekend and taken back to work with him.
Let the blogging begin
A few weeks ago I saw a blog of all day posting. I think I will give it a try. I'll be posting all day via my phone.
The dogs are already outside.
My nutritious breakfast.
Minnie, ready to come in when I call her, like a good girl.
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Sunday, July 13, 2008
When Boy Met Girl...
So, Danna started it, and I'm keeping it going.
How we met:
I don't remember the very first time I saw Steven. I do remember the first time I noticed him though. (I've never told him this before.) I was in the 9th grade, and I was taking Desktop Publishing from the yearbook advisor. She asked me to go get a signature from one of the seniors (a friend of Steven's) that happened to be in the same class as him. He was one of the few guys in the room, and I thought he was cute. He was also a Senior, so I didn't think much of it.
I did have Algebra with his sister in the 8th grade, and we were also in choir together in high school. He claims he knew who I was in high school, but I guess he doesn't remember the first time he saw me either. Why would he though? I was four years behind him.
We were first introduced in September 26, 2003 in Trumann, at a football game. (We later discovered that we almost met two weeks before at the Highland game.) He was living in Batesville at the time, but had come to Jonesboro to spend the weekend with his friends from high school, one of which I had been "talking" to until earlier that week.
Of course my girlfriends and I ran into his group of friends, and they introduced me to him. Before we had formally known each other 10 minutes, Steven had me laughing. He told me," I'm going to be a masseuse so I can legally see women naked." What a winner! haha Thankfully, he was joking. I thought he was cute though, and told myself, "I'm going to have him." I even shoved one of my friends out of the way as we climbed up the bleachers so that I could sit by him. Then I looked over, and he had the sleeves of his blue, button up shirt rolled up...those arms! I was done for. lol
I was a bit discouraged when he didn't ask for my number that night, but I had one of my older girlfriends, who had known Steven a while, call him with my number. He still wasn't sure, and was a bit afraid of how my parents would react, so finally I called him. We talked on the phone several times that week and met up at the football game at Westside the next weekend. When he asked me if I wanted to go grab some dinner after the game, I made him go with me to ask my dad. For some odd reason my dad said I could go, so we went to Taco Bell in "the boat." Steven had a maroon, Oldsmobile Delta Ninety-Eight! Oh he loved that car!
Anyway, the next weekend we made it "official" and I think it was the weekend after that, that he took me to Batesville to meet some of his family.
Two months later, on Steven's 20th birthday, he moved to Jonesboro to be closer to me.
Three years later, on March 4th, we got engaged at my house.
Nine months later we were married on Steven's 24th birthday!
Fall 2003 - The first picture of us together
March 2004
March 4, 2007 - Right after getting engaged!
April 2007 - Engagement photo
December 14, 2007 - Wedding photo
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