Tummy Ache

So when my alarm went off this morning, I was made aware that my stomach was not in a good mood. It has been aching and cramping all morning. I don't know what is wrong...I think I might be dying....ha ha ha It is still rainy here, maybe my stomach was trying to tell me to take the day off.

People can be so confusing. I am sure most would say the same about me. But, the older I get the more I try to be understanding of others. Here's the problem with that: I can't understand what is not me...make sense? Actually that might have seemed a little self-centered/involved, but I think we are all that way. I think subconsciously, we all expect others to see every situation the way we do. However, when I take a look at my family, friends, social network, etc, I see a wide variety of political, religious and moral values. Somehow, I fit right in the middle. Isn't that a weird thought?!?! I once heard that we, as humans, are nothing more than the compilation on the positive influences of others. The older I get, the more I understand what that phrase means.

Age...No one ever prepared me for my late 20s. I have learned that there are different stages to life. There are the baby to kindergarten age. There's the elementary age, junior high, then high school. There's the college age, then the 20s hit. My early 20s seem like ages ago, my mid 20s seem a while back and I feel that my late 20s is cleaning up the mess that all the previous years caused. Do I dare wish for my 30s to get here, or does it just get worse?!?!?! ha ha ha

Well, I hope everyone has a fantastic day. I hope your stomach doesn't hurt like mine.... 'Til next time...Bye!

It's a rainy day here in the big city of Celina. I always have the hardest time peeling myself out of bed when I hear the rain falling on the roof. I was hoping that I would have recuperated from the weekend by this morning, but obviously, I have not.

This last weekend, my brother, sister and I sent my parents away for the weekend to celebrate their 35th anniversary. They went to a cabin in east Texas. It was fun being able to prepare the trip for them. Alyssa and I went grocery shopping on Friday night. We made sure they had food that they normally do not get since there are so many kids to buy groceries for. They left Saturday morning and came home Sunday night.

I "watched" the younger kids this weekend. I didn't stay at their house since my place is only a couple of blocks away. I wouldn't say that I had to keep a close eye on them, but the knowledge that I was responsible for 4 younger kids made my anxiety rise. Overall, it was a good weekend. I had the kids come over to my place for a while on Saturday. I had to clean my house, so I turned a movie on for them and cleaned around them. After church on Sunday, we went back to my parents house and had chili dogs. Afterwards, I rallied the troops to get in gear and clean my parents' house. I told them it would be their anniversary gift to my parents. It worked...we got it all cleaned within 3 hours. The power of teamwork!!!!

I want to get a big mug of hot cocoa, a good book and a blanket. Today would be a great day to relax while it pours outside. Try to stay awake and enjoy your day!

Nothing....

Ever have those days/weeks when it seems like nothing is really happening? That is where I have been the last week or so. I am grateful that I have finally slowed down, but it seems like now I have nothing to work on in my spare time. I can only clean my house so many times in one week. I can only cook enough food that I will eat before it goes bad. There are only so many movies I can watch before I go insane.

I have been doing some reading. I love the book I am reading, but I can't read too much of it at one time. I get so mentally exhausted from it. However, I am learning to view my relationship with God completely different. I am learning that I need to have an equally important relationship with God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I think too many times we don't think that a close relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit are as important. I know that a relationship with Jesus is mandatory for salvation. But, too many times we get saved and then we focus more of our attention on God the Father. I know I pretty much just push the Holy Spirit over to the "conscience" category. The book I am reading is teaching/reminding me that a real "human" relationship is needed with all three.

I am celebrating my one year anniversary here at the office this week. I can't believe it has been a whole year. I look back to who I was and where I was when I first started here and I see that God has brought me so far, both professionally and personally.

My sister and dad were in a wreck yesterday morning. Some guy didn't see the...IN A BIG SUBURBAN!!!! He pulled out and t-boned them. Poor Alyssa was so scared. Thankfully, they are both ok. I gave my dad a little grief for not calling me...I found out through a lady that works across the street from me. I have come to the conclusion that my family has very bad car karma -- if there is such a thing. I am sure State Farm hates seeing the name "Pevehouse" come across its desk.

Well, I am gonna get going...almost lunch time. Oh yeah, I think I have kinda stalled on Slim Fast. I still have a case in my fridge, but food is so comforting right now. Oddly, I think I have lost some weight being off Slim Fast. Hmmm...who'da thought?!?! Hope everyone has a great day! Take time to see God the Father, God in Jesus, And God's spirit...they are all there!

The Shack

About a week and a half ago, a friend of mine told me about this book. She said that I'd enjoy it, and that you reevaluate the way you look at your relationship with God. Like the norm, I read the email and took a look at the website...But I figured, "it's a religious book, probably not my style of literature." On Saturday, another friend of mine came over for a visit. She said she started reading it the day before and was almost finished with it. She said I had to read it. So after church yesterday, she dropped it off at my house. I started reading it. I was wrong. This is the perfect book for me to read. It is an allegory. However, the characters of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are made into people who we can easily understand their significance, personalities, and heart. I have read up to chapter 8. I wish I didn't have to work so I could keep reading. I had to admit that at times I felt like my heart was being ripped out. I've cried, learned some lessons, and have had to search my own mind, heart, and life to see how I actually view God.

So I have been in my head the last day or so.... I was glad to get back to work and start clearing my thoughts.

I had a productive weekend. Saturday morning, I had breakfast with my family. I love biscuits and gravy. Then my sister, brother and I went to Wal-Mart. It was one of those shopping trips where I had to get necessities: laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, etc. I spent more money than I wanted, but at least I am stocked for a while. I also bought some paint. I have wanted to paint a wall in my place for a while now, but never had until this weekend. Shane and I got the wall painted. It is like a denim blue. I like it...I think. I like that there is color on at least one wall now. Slowly, my home is starting to look more like me.

My sister-in-law and niece are flying back from Maryland today, so I will be seeing them this afternoon and evening. I love visiting with Whitney. She has really become a great person, not just for my brother, but for the whole family. She is a sweet person who accepts people for who they are. Can't wait to see them today!

Well, I should get busy with work. Get the book, read it...you'll be glad you did.

Don't look Pegs

I went to Oklahoma this weekend. We had the Pevehouse family reunion. It was great getting to see some people i hadn't seen in years. I usually don't go to family reunions. That might sound bad, but I know some distant cousins could careless about seeing me, since we don't actually "know" each other. One thing that is nice about a big family, someone might not know me, but they at least know "I came from Doug."

One of my favorite memories about going to Oklahoma is that my Granny loves garage sales. My Papaw would joke every time they passed one while driving. He'd yell, "Don't look Pegs." I don't think he minded Granny garage sale-ing, but it is a cute memory I have about them.

I picked up the "garage sale bug" from Granny. On Friday, my friend, Alyssa, and I got lunch at Sonic (again, not a Slimfast) and we drove all over town to the garage sales during lunch. We were getting sad since we came to the last one and still hadn't found any treasures. It is a good thing we hadn't got anything yet, because we needed our cash for this last sale. I ended up spending $70. But, I got some great deals on some beautiful antiques.

I love antiques. I love that furniture used to be made to last forever. I love that people used to buy furniture and they expected to not have to buy a replacement a few years down the road. I know that they don't seem modern, but to me, they seem classic and timeless.

I got 4 new pieces of furniture for my home: A cabinet that now sits atop my sideboard/buffet, an accent table that has beautiful in-laid wood decals, a victrola cabinet, and a desk. The desk was a harpsichord (supposedly from the 1800's) that was gutted and turned into a desk. I love them all. But I think my desk is my favorite. I am using the victrola case to store my sheet music. Here are some pictures of my place with my "new" antiques:
This is the cabinet thing I got.


This is my desk.


This is the victrola case that store my sheet music.


And, this is my accent table. You can't see the inlaid wood from this picture that well, but it nice.

So, now that I have my camera here at work, let me walk you though my place:

Dining Room:


Living Room:




My Bedroom:




Guest room/office:



My little accent table sits between the two bedroom doors...trying to cover up the air conditioner closet. My kitchen is small, nothing interesting in there, and my bathroom is the same way.

So now that you have seen my home, and know that it is livable (ha ha ha), stop by sometime for a visit. If it gets late, stay over night. I don't want it to seem that I am boastful of my home, I am very grateful that I have been able to collect all this stuff, and don't live in a "frat house." When I first moved out of my parents house at the age of 18, I made a huge mistake of buying stuff to fill my apartment...filled up a credit card that took me five years to pay off. So, I am proud that I inherited Granny's garage sale "trait."

It is Monday, a new week with new possibilities. Let's make it a great week!

Sex and the City

My friend, Alyssa, and I went to see "Sex and the City" on Tuesday. I loved it. I have missed the girls the last few years.

I know some might find this show/movie to be provocative, but what I really appreciate about it is that it follows the lives of great friends. I love how they are all different people, with different circumstances surround their lives, but they all have the same thing in common -- each other. It is easy to see that they all don't agree that each decision the others make, but they are there for each other.

I started thinking of my closest friends through out my life: Carisa Dewees, Josh King, Bethany Kuykendall-King, Jacob Blakenship, Emily Hanson, Mark and Marla Kuykendall, Mark Tobey, Danielle, Brooke, John D. and Alyssa. I am sure I have skipped some, but these people became such great friends during pivotal times of my life. I miss so many of them now, since life has taken us down different paths.

I think one of the greatest gifts in life are friends. They are great strength and support during rough times. I like how movies can teach one to be grateful for different aspects of life.

I loved the movie...I know some don't like "Sex and the City" but lessons can be learned from every situation in life.

I am off to lunch...SlimFast again. Gotta make up for yesterday.

For shame....

Ok, so during lunch today, I went to Frisco to help my friend pick up some furniture she bought yesterday. We stopped at McDonalds for lunch. Let me remind you that I have been doing the SlimFast diet the last three weeks. I pretty much blew it today. For lunch, I had:

1.
And to add to that, I had:
2.

Needless to say, I might have ruined the diet that I have painstakingly been working at the last three weeks.

But at the same time, I loved it all. YUM!!!!

I hope everyone is having a great day...I know my tummy is!