Facebook....Good or Evil?

Oh Facebook......I have tons of ideas for this blog.....

I think a good place to start is to say that I held off for a long time in getting facebook. Nate still does not (and will not) get facebook.

There was a girl in college who I only knew as "Facebook Girl" and I am not even going to sugar-coat it.....I DID NOT like her. It turned out that I learned her actual name in my senior year, but I would say for a full year before that, I only knew her in my mind as "Facebook Girl." Manchester College is awesome. But that being said, it is a bit "dated" in some ways. While Nate was enjoying his days in the new, expensive, beautiful, state-of-the-art Science Center, I spent my time in the Ad Building. Haha, oh, those days in the Ad building. IT IS OLD!!!! The walls and ceiling are cracked and mess, I am pretty sure it is 1 million years old, but actually not. That being said, on the second floor there was a "lounge" where I would go between two classes that I had that were close enough together not to leave campus and go home, but far enough apart to need a few minutes out of a classroom. The room had two "dinosaur" age computers. You know the kind, like the first computers ever invented. Pretty much one of them was broken (although not the same one each time, it is like they rotated days)...and alas, "Facebook Girl" was always, always on the "working" computer. I tried not to be nosy and judgy, but all she was ever doing was checking facebook and "poking" people. It really annoyed me and made me kind of mad. I would really have appreciated the opportunity to check my e-mail for actual "school stuff" but instead she HAD to be on facebook, doing worthless crap. In all honesty, I feel this was my first "encounter" with facebook.

After college and suddenly with time on my hands, I finally gave in and got facebook. Immediately I was "hooked." It is kind of fun.....also, there is a "chat" option which I think is like the new "AIM" of my middle-school days.

Pretty recently, I even surprised myself when Nate accused me of being "addicted" to facebook, and I GOT EXTREMELY DEFENSIVE. I am pretty sure this is actually a sign of being addicted....oh crap! All day when I am home with my computer, I get on and off ALL DAY. But I think I am reaching my limits.

I would like to explore what I consider some of the PROS and CONS of facebook, and there are BOTH:

PROS

Allows you to find and reconnect with people you otherwise would not be able to
Allows you to stay in touch and in the loop with people you can't otherwise
It is free
Networking opportunities

CONS

Can become obsessive
TMI
Just technology, and some of the crap that entails
Can cause me to make myself crazy

Some of these options being laid out, there is a lot of stuff I HATE....including but not limited to QUIZZES, POKING, BUY A ROUND, QUESTIONS and ANSWERS and junk like that.

All I use facebook for is to look at the wall and be nosy, reconnect and see what people are up to....stuff like that.

I think I am going to try to "wean" off of it. I am totally going to keep it, but I am going to try to stop looking at it literally 10 times a day. I am sure this is going to be even "harder" since my blackberry now has a direct link to facebook.......

So is it ultimately good or ultimately evil.......perhaps a level of both. I would like to lean towards the "good" side, depending on how you use it. And also, as with anything, I think good in moderation......MODERATION being the key......

I want to move to Africa.....and be a mom to orphans

For many of you who know, and some of you who do not.....we recently found a home church. When I say recently, I actually mean we have been attending pretty regularly since the beginning of June. Also, for those of you who know some of the events that have happened to me and us over the last few months, yes, this does coincide with what I would consider me reaching "rock bottom." I DO NOT think this is a coincidence. I very much believe it was "meant to be" if you believe in this sort of thing.

We kind of meant to "shop around" for a church a bit and try a few out. It just so happened, however, that the one we ended up in on that first Sunday in June, is a "keeper." Since then, we have really begun to get involved and get to know more and more people. This is AWESOME, but has been a bit slower than I anticipated.

Nate and I have been going to Sunday morning service and also each joined a Wednesday evening Bible study. Nate joined a Men's class and me a Women's. We are only two weeks in to it, but both feeling extremely positive about it. Two weeks ago in church, in the bulletin, there was an announcement of an African Children's Choir coming to the church the next week (which at this point is actually the most recent Sunday.) They needed homes to host the children as they were traveling, only for one night. I volunteered us, just because I thought we could accommodate. I didn't know if they would need us, but at least thought we would offer.

They did need us. So this past Sunday, we went to the church, not really knowing much to anticipate. We had been assigned to accommodate three girls. These children are all orphaned children from Uganda. As we were meeting them, I was a bit nervous. I don't really know why, I think it is because with "strange" children I don't really know what to do. Nate is funny and a real "kid-at-heart" and children sense this and gravitate towards him. We got to meet them for a few minutes and had a bite to eat with them, then they did their program and we brought them home.

These girls were amazing...polite, beautiful, easy to entertain. They had a ton of fun drawing on Nate's white board, playing with his stethoscope, and playing a few games we had around the house. They went to bed after I read them a scripture. On Monday morning we woke up and I made breakfast, which they LOVED. We had a sausage casserole and fruit and juice. They made their beds (which, please note were a blow-up mattress and our couch) and then we just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. More games and they got to meet Hansy (whom we had tried to keep away the previous night, just due to the fact he is a bit barkey and Africans aren't used to dogs as pets as much as in the US).

As the morning drew to a close, and I prepared to take them back to the church, it began to hit me that this would probably have meant more to me than it had to them. It had just been an amazing experience. Also, these children have been staying in people's homes like this since May, basically one night at a time. Nate had left quite early that morning, and I don't really think I am anything remarkable.

However, as we got to the church the girls got a bit quiet. When they went to leave, the 5 year old, Sarah, came over and took my hand and hugged me with big tears in her eyes and said "Thank you and I love you and will keep you in my prayers" I LOST IT! Then it was basically a snowball effect of a lot of crying, on my part and these amazing African children.

I feel that I am not doing this story justice for quite what it meant to me. By all American standards, these children should have "nothing" to be thankful for. Sarah had told me at one point that her favorite thing about coming to the US was going to the dentist. WOW....you are so wise, the dentist is a privilege! These children have no parents, they have basically no material items.....and yet....THEY ARE GRATEFUL, FAITHFUL, and HAVE SO MUCH TO GIVE!

I never anticipated "reacting" to these little girls like this. In all honesty, I thought housing them for a night in our home would help them out. Little did I know how much it would help me. I LOVE YOU GIRLS! I WILL REMEMBER YOU ALWAYS! Since Monday I have just found my attitude better and my outlook better. I am SO GRATEFUL! Thanks again, it was just what I needed, and I know God knew that.

Define: Drunk Dialing

So Nate and I do not drink alcohol. First of all, we have WAY to much fun sober to need the alcohol. It can be pricey. It can lead to questionable judgement and decisions. It can, and often times does, lower inhibitions (which can be good in smaller doses, but not as much in larger ones!) And if anyone has ever, ever seen Nate under the influence of a single cup of coffee, you would be scared (and yet curious, becuase it would proabably be HILARIOUS) to see that boy drunk.

Also, on another note, with some family history, perhaps it would be like playing with fire. That being said, other than a few questionable decisions in high-school involving me and some experimenting........we do not drink.

Changing the subject slightly, but follow with me if you will......

I have been having a hard time sleeping. Goodness only knows why, but last week I went to the doctor due to having a terrible cold and a suspected case of pink eye. While I was there I asked the doctor about the "hard time sleeping" issue. He gave me a prescription for Ambien, not to take on a regular basis, but just to help if I am a bit wound up. I was with some med-school wives last night, it was a great time, but when I got home Nate was sleepy, and I was still running on high-power. For Nate's own peace of mind and a quiet night, I decided to test-run the Ambien.

I am pretty sure it made me feel "drunk-ish." Within a little bit my mind got a bit-blurry. Then the worst part happened. I grabbed my blackberry and got on facebook.......then I started writing stuff.......OH MY GOODNESS. To be 100% honest, I kind of remember doing it....but woke up this morning and was like, "Did I actually do that?!" It is pretty much like the Facebook version of "Drunk Dialing."

Wikipedia defines "drunk dialing" as: Drunk dialing is a pop-culture term denoting an instance in which an intoxicated individual places phone calls that he or she would not likely place if sober. The term often refers to a lonely individual calling former or current love interests. The term drunk dialing is a parody of drunk driving, and is intended to imply similar undesired consequences

It goes on to mention "drunk texting" (which is probably closer!")and defines it as:"Drunk texting" is a related phenomenon, and potentially yet more embarrassing for the sender as, once the message is sent, it cannot be retrieved; the message will most likely be misspelled (due to being drunk), and it might be reviewed and shared among many.

Holy cow....I wrote my beloved aunt a sappy post.....(yes there were some misspellings), but my personal fave was a post I wrote to someone I have literally met one time (so pretty much a complete stranger).....he wrote a post about fall (you know, the season) at which point I replied to him with this: "Hey (name inserted here)....r u a fall lover? If so, fall desserts and baked goods abound in our home and hot cider! Are you in the Indy area? If so, we gotta get together!" I LOVE that I said "are you" with "r u".....r u kidding me? (haha)

Holy cow.....maybe no more Ambien for me.....and if I do have Ambien, someone should probably hide my Blackberry!

I am taking it a bit easier today.....the magnificent Hans doesn't seem to be feeling too fantastic today. I feel starved for conversation. Nate just called and had like 2 minutes and I wanted to talk to him for an hour....his response....."ok hun, I gotta go.....I actually mean I have to go........sorry, but GOTTA GO!"

Oh boy! I sure hope someone enjoys this story......It is kind of embarrasing, but now I know my lesson, I hope!

I promise, I pinky swear!

After two lovely updates for the blog....I want to leave with the statement that I am going to get better and more consistent at the blogging, I promise! I am saying this more for my benefit than yours! I really LOVE blogging....I find it fun and something to do. I think about blogging about once an hour.....I think of a fanstastic thought or opinion, and then I think "I should blog about that." Then I don't do it, darn it!

I am still trying to find my "blogging voice." I have tons of thoughts.....if you could jump in my mind for a few minutes, you would probably be scared and frigtened....haha, well hopefully not, but you get my drift. I hate the silence, and this translates in to my head. That being said, there are probably some things appropriate for blogging (which is a "public" space) and some things that are not.

I guess the bottom line is: Life is awesome! Keep a positive attitude!

Tonight I think I may join some med-school wives for a movie....tomorrow, who knows what will happen. Saturday I may go to a med-school wife thingy, again and we have a b-day party for a neighbor in the evening. Sunday we have a bunch of church stuff, including Sunday evening we will be hosting an adult and three kids (ages 5, 10, and 11) from an African choir that is visiting our church. It should be an adventure to say the least.

Nate and I are both doing a bible study on Wednesday evenings. Last night was the first night, but we both think it is going to be a really good thing. Nate is doing a men's study and I am doing a women's.

So, farewell for now! Love from the Stewarts!

Dogs are FANTASTIC practice for kids....and this is why!

For any of you know me, even a little bit, you know I LOVE Hansy......probably a bit more than is reasonable, but he is just my little guy and my partner in crime. We hang out all day, and I would not trade it for a million bucks.......however, that being said, I may have traded him for a shiny nickle yesterday!

This is my story:

I took him outside to go potty yesterday morning. As he is wandering around the backyard he begins rubbing himself in something. This event, in and of itself, is not uncommon. He smells strange things, invisible on the ground, and rubs himself in it. Yesterday, it was NOT invisible. I walked over to investigate what he was rubbing himself in....only to see a pile of crap.....yes, crap....as in POO! YUCK.......OH MY GOODNESS....THAT IS DISGUSTING! So I picked him up to take him in for a bath (which, mind you, had not been in my morning plans, at all). I took like two steps and was so worked up that I tripped over the bottom of my pajama pants and fell.....nearly crushing Hansy to death. Also worth noting is that I nearly fell in to a pile of Hansy crap.......oh my gosh...is this backyard a POOP MINEFIELD??? (Please note that as I am recounting this story right now, I am laughing......it was NOT FUNNY at all while it was happening yesterday, this I promise you!)

Luckily, I had NOT crushed Hansy, I had caught myself with my other arm, neither myself nor Hans was injured, thank goodness! We came in the house and I took off his harness and started an "emergency" load of laundry. Meanwhile, I had shut Hansy in the bathroom until I could get his bath started.....as I am going around the house he is barking and howling like someone is killing him......oh, the horror of being shut in the bathroom! I swear this little dog has no idea what "the bad life" is, at all!

Within a few hours.....Hansy bath-check! Hansy's harness cleaned and air dried-check! I was doing some major cleaning, and in the process I had thrown away some stale chocolates....I literally left the room for like one minute and come back in to Hansy trying to eat as many chocolates as possible.....I think he actually only suceeded in eating one small dark chocolate and I forcefully pulled a milk chocolate from his mouth. At this point I was just beside myself mad......I totally swatted him on the behind a few times and then yelled at him and called him a "bad dog" until he got in the chair and looked like I had tried to kill him. I wanted to say "I'm sorry, poor, poor baby!" and give him a treat, but I held my ground.

So this was Hansy's day of pushing my buttons and seeing how far he could get with my patience. He is fine, he still loves me....I still love him. As I am typing away, he is sleeping like a little angel here beside me. I can barely believe this is the same rotton dog from yesterday.

So to those of you who have kids, I DO NOT want to make it sound like "I have a dog, so I know exactly what it is like to have a kid....my dog is cooler than/better than your kid." This is not what I am saying at all.....all I am saying is that I think that sometimes a dog is probably good practice for when you have kids, and I think yesterday was one of those days!

Update.....it's about time, darn it!

Hello to all of you out there....which if I am counting my followers is a total of two (I love you both, Amber and Erin!) I think that some other people may follow us, but without being official "followers."

To sum up the last few weeks in a nutshell....... The biggest "event" of the last weeks weeks is that my Grampy came to visit and stayed for like 9 days.....it was awesome, fun, crazy and all that jazz, but to top it off I got a terrible, awful cold that caused me to lose my voice and feel pretty crappy. And for those of you who know and love my Bapa, you will know that he is pretty darn near deaf to begin with, couple that with me losing my voice and it was a BAD combination, but we survived and had a lot of fun.

We pretty much TORE up Indy. Nate and I may live here all the time, but we don't really get to appreciate it often due to low finances and even lower time. Grampy and I ate out (a LOT), drove all over, went shopping, and spent some time with our friends.

One of the most fun things we did all week (though it was ALL fun) was going to the Children's Museum with Marty and Micah. Grampy even bought Micah a little dinosaur toy, it was totally fun and Micah loved his toy.

Also, many of you know Grampy spoils me...quite a bit. When I told Nate about Grampy buying Micah a toy, Nate's response was...."Oh boy, I bet that is how it all started for you too.......it started with a $5 "My Little Pony" toy, and 20 years later it has escalated to Coach purses"......lol!

I think that is it for this post.....I will follow it immediately, but in a separate post with my HILARIOUS Hansy story from yesterday!

In a way, you really can't go home again!

This post may be a bit sappy, if it is I am very sorry, but I feel the need to write it anyway.

You know the saying "You can't go home again"? I used to think it was a crock of crap, but I am beginning to think it is part of the way true.

Middlebury will always be my hometown, just as those areas around there will always be my old stomping ground. Nate and I have been married for four years now, and began our lives in a new town once we were married. North Manchester was home for three years, but it was still close enough to Middlebury that we went "home" often and saw things changing.

Last May we moved to Greenwood to start a new chapter of our lives. When we got here, I was scared and thought it was the city. The house we bought it great, and it has our "stuff" but it wasn't home. It wasn't until just a few months ago that I came to a realization. I was in the middle of the miscarriage when we went to Middlebury for a wedding. I told Nate, "I want to go home, now!" and it suddenly dawned on me that I meant Greenwood. At this point, I guess home is really where your heart is. My heart is with Nate, but Indy is our life now. There is no bed like your own bed in your own room with your own pillow. Because of some of the friendships and connections we have begun to establish in Indy, we have more of a community and surrogate family than we ever had in North Manchester. I know the roads and how to get where I need to be. I love having Meijer three minutes from me open 24 hours to grab things if and when I want them.

Perhaps even more hard for me to swallow, though, is the fact that Middlebury/Goshen/Dunlap/Elkhart/South Bend are all different than they were when I left four years ago...well I guess 5 if you count first year of college. Middlebury now has a new school, which stares at me every time I come and go from Grandma and Grandpa's house. There is a CVS. CR 17 in Goshen looks like an alien land. Dunlap doesn't even look like the same place, there is now a Petsmart and IHOP, as well as a Starbucks, all blocking Meijer and Target from the road. The spot that almost brought tears to my eyes was UP Mall, the promised land of my high-school. It looks so different and the Marshall Field's is now gone. The reason that there was an element of sadness was just due to all of my memories at that Marshall Field's!

I guess time marches on, life moves forward, and this is the way it needs to be! Nate and I are 23 now, we are not the 16 year-old lovebirds we once were. The funny thing is that we have both said that we don't feel any older, just the 16-22 year olds look like babies and the children we have known grow older and more adult like! It is important to realize that our pasts have shaped us, and to be grateful, but to embrace the future and the present.

Another really funny thing that I often times think of is that for four years Nate and I have been the odd-balls out being married. Now, more and more of our friends and family are joining us in this club. We are now the ones that people look at in awe as the "old married couple!" I can't say I mind, but it just drives home the fact that we are different, but in a good way.

Sometimes life doesn't go exactly as I may have planned or demanded.....but it goes on and things fall in to place as they need to. It is a great place to be and I am so glad to share it with Nate! This being said, I hadn't really put anything on the blog about our anniversary, but here it is!

Bug- I love you, I am sorry my sanity comes and goes depending on the hour of the day. I love our life and sharing it with you! You are my better half! And by the way, I still have a crush on you!

Mr. and Mrs. Chris Thompson!!!

My good friend Robyn got married and I got to be a bridesmaid! This post could go on forever......Robyn has been my friend for what seems like as long as I can remember. I guess actually it has been since about my freshman year in high school.

Robyn is awesome and the queen of popularity. I remember when I first met her she was pretty, a cheerleader, two years older, and friends with everyone. I never thought I stood a chance to be her friend, and then she liked me! The friendship has clearly stood the test of time. At this point, although we live pretty close to one another, we don't really see each other that often. She is still cool and fun, and I am old and boring! Well not really, but you can take from that what you want to.

She let me know that she and Chris had gotten engaged last year, and I really didn't even let myself even dream that I might be in the wedding. She had been my maid of honor, but I have no friends!!! Well, mjuch to my astonishment, she called and asked if I would like to be a bridesmaid......UMMMMMMM, YES! I was one of nine bridesmaids, and it was super-spectacular! It wasn't just a few hour wedding, it was really a whole weekend extravaganza of fun! I got to meet a lot of new people and see a few people from my past! It was just so great and I was so glad that I could be a part of it!

I wish I had pics, but I didn't have my camera with me for the weekend, it was MUCH to busy! Nate and I even danced and had a great time. It was so beautiful and Robyn and Chris are now married.

To top it off, I even got to take them to the airport yesterday to deliver them for their honeymoon! I painted the car windows and made muffins and orange juice, I am pretty sure they thought I was crazy, but it was AWESOME! Also worth noting was the fact that I left my house at 5:10 am to get them to the airport on time, it was so worth it!

So to Robyn and Chris, I love you both and wish you the most happiness! You two are awesome together! Just to Robyn, thank you for being my cool friend and thinking I am cool, I am not sure how I have fooled you for this long! I will never forget this weekend!

Do not promise to give something that is not yours to give!

This blog is going to be a tiny bit myserterious..... The reason for this is the fact that I don't think my "baby-brother" knows about this blog or has access to it. I just could not reveal all of the story and risk him finding out all the details.

That being said, I am calling the moral of this story "Do not promise to give someone something that is not yours to give...." From this you can take from the story that I had tried to get Mike something, the person involved had promised it to him, I promised Mike a HUGE surprise (thank the Lord I did not tell him what the surprise was going to be!) only to have the person say that what she had promised to give had actually not been hers 100% to give.......SOME PEOPLE!!! Don't they teach you that lesson in like pre-school.

Well, as you may imagine it left me in quite a pickle to provide a "HUGE" surprise to Mike! I brainstormed all day and the whole drive to Middlebury. I decided to give him a few things I had wanted to give him anyway, and then took him out for a special dinner at Hana Yori, a Japanese restaurant where they cook your food at the table and took him to Notre Dame's campus for a few hours. We had chocolate ice cream on the way home, and I succeeded in my mission.

He was thrilled, he had his HUGE surprise, and he was none the wiser about what had actually happened. I sure love that boy, he is just awesome and we had a great evening!

Nate is in the 18th Grade....

On Monday the 17th Nate started his second year at IU Med School. We are grateful to be here and thankful. It was also a grumpy time for me. As I have spoken about with many of you, this leaves me with the question "What about me, what is next for me?"

Actually on Saturday the 15th I had spent the afternoon with a friend at her apartment complex pool. I decided sunscreen was not for winners, and I am a winner, so no sunscreen for me! Nate told me twice before I left "wear sunscreen!" Rachel told me twice while I was with her, "you look a little pink, you sure you don't want sunscreen?" I thought it would be fun to have a kiss of color!

It was nearly the kiss of death. Within a few hours the "pink" had turned to "boiled-lobster, fire engine red" It led to about three days of fever, peeling, blistering on my shoulders, and wearing only underpants and a t-shirt. By Wednesday Nate had invited a friend over and it required me re-introducing myself to a bra and pants, even if they were of the pajama kind.

I'm Back!!!

Well, I guess to be correct, I was never actually gone, just on a vacation from blogging. I will just mention a few of the highlights of the last few weeks. On August 14th Nate and I met a few of our friends from college in Broad Ripple and saw Steve Krider's band play. It was SUPER fun and a really good evening. It was also quite enlightening as to the fact that Nate and I probably do not belong well in Broad Ripple. Turns out that bars just serve alcohol......lol! Thank goodness for Eric and Mike having some drinks and not making Nate and I stand out so bad!