Five

Today I have been married to my best friend for five years.
I love him because...
He is honest with me (even when I may not want him to be)
He makes sure I am always comfortable when I sleep (I'm not allowed to fall asleep in jeans)
He takes the lid off the jars for me
Helps me with the dishes
He cooks for me (and is patient when I butt in to "help")
He writes me sincere letters and cards
He goes to school to improve himself
He is always willing to serve others and myself
He shaves with a brush, soap and a razor
He makes the bed
He loves dogs
He loves camping
He will buy "awkward" stuff at the store with a huge smile on his face
He takes the trash out
He opens the car door for me
He loves music
He looks hilarious when he gets into playing his electric drums
He has a love for all people
He helps me with my perspective on life
He supports me in whatever I do
He has sincere and loving eyes
He whispers into my ear
He makes me feel beautiful
He married me for forever
He loves me

Happy Anniversary Itchypants!
Love,
Girly

The Small Things In My Life

While I am limbo with two broken digital cameras sitting in my "stuff''' kitchen drawer, I am using my camera phone these days. Notice the quality? Anyway, I have been thinking about how I have been living downtown for two years and watching Olivia since she was born. She and Scout have had a love hate relationship. When solid foods were introduced, things got a little better! Anyway, I always chuckle about how these two are shorter than the doorknobs but have a lot of love and demands.

Sometimes...

Sometimes I don't like myself...But he likes me...

And I REALLY like him!

I was supposed to go camping this evening with women of all ages from the regional area of our church. Heavy rains brought us all together to a movie night instead. Unfortunately the older/teenage girls that I work with opted out of the "just a movie night." A few of the girls came with their mothers and some of the women who work with the youth were there as well. I got to pick up one of my girls and hang like a 16 year old. She braided my hair in french braid pigtails which my husband would love for me to learn how to do. (My arms just get tired of redoing braids because they are never tight enough) We got to be in a skit, I taught her a little "Heart and Soul" on the piano and we skipped out a little early since our actual size portion of root beer floats did not fill us up. We went for ice cream and were asked where we were from. We found out that a football game was about to let out and they were anticipating carloads of teenagers arriving in minutes. We giggled at the idea that someone thought I could be a teenager. Enjoyed our oversized ice cream cone and french fries and I took her home. The Mr. and I went to the store on a late night errand for a "fancy" frisbee to play ultimate frisbee within the morning. The one we found seemed a little wimpy, especially since people buy those things like golf clubs, but it will have to do for now. (The rules are exactly like golf, but with different weighted discs that go into a chain "basket". The lower the points, the better the score.) Anyway, we came home and crashed. That being said I am still awake looking through all of my photos in my hat box that I braved carrying down the ladder from my loft last night, cause I was "in the mood". I love pouring over pictures and memories and hope to someday get a new camera since our hand-me-down camera that replaced our first digital camera kicked the bucket last month. Until then, you get my antique scanned in photos ;)

I Love My Mom

She will probably not be happy with me posting this picture, but i love it!



It's not Mother's Day or her birthday, but I was thinking about her today and much I love and appreciate her. I made myself Sleepy Time Tea tonight and thought about all the times she would make it for me as a little girl. I would take baths in the evenings and she would blow dry and brush my hair afterward which would sooth me to sleep. She lets me be me and gives unconditional love. She left home when she was 18 and has traveled the world and has learned so many things that people would never know, because she is very humble and kind. She is a devoted friend and mother and would do anything to help someone given her resources and knowledge. Thanks Mom for believing in me and giving me life. I love you!

Get Molly on TV!

Molly is a super sweet and a hard working mom that deserves a prize and walk on roll on Mad Men! Click here and vote for her everyday!

Internship

So it's official, I will being interning with WIC through the Metro Health Program this fall on the south side. I already have homework, but I am really looking forward to teaching and counseling once I get past my learning curve. Health is a hot topic subject right now that can strike up many debates that I would rather not go into, but I will say that I believe that good health creates a well rounded person that can contribute to society. I look forward to this adventure and hope to gain good experience for the future.

Reconnecting

Greetings! Summer has been an interesting roller coaster thus far. Not exciting enough to discuss with the world. I am going back to my goal of keeping in touch with others, especially the ones who have their whole lives going on completely opposite of mine. I have found some blogs of old friends, but I have heard that some have found me and I have not found them. Please don't be shy, send a comment or email me at themightywinstons@yahoo.com so we can be friends again. This may be a lost cause due to my lack of postings, but if it does work then all the better.

I am married to a 27 year old?

You could have fooled me. This year for his birthday his parents and I went in for an electric drum set that has more functions than I can remember. I knew he would be able to wear headphones so I wouldn't have to hear the drums, but overlooked the fact that you can still hear the sticks hitting the pads! He is in heaven! Maybe we'll eventually start a band and all this pounding will be worthwhile? Happy Birthday Phil, I Love You!

Spring Break 09

We went cross country for spring break and when everybody else was headed for the beach, we went to the snow and desert. We had a blast camping, hanging out with friends and Elena, and doing the SLC thing. I would recommend Arches National Park to anybody in a heartbeat, that place is breathtaking and the our camera doesn't do the scenery or color of the rocks justice. It was a much needed break from reality and we are looking forward to many more road trips in the future.

Getting Back in The Swing of Things

We are still here, just catching up on schoolwork and projects after an awesome spring break!

In Times of Stress

Philip and I have mounds of homework, reading, tests and projects going on right now so we have been a little concerned every time we have to do more than one thing at the same time. I won't go into detail but the stuff we have needed to do both personally and together has been falling into our laps right at the last minute and worked the situation out perfectly. Yesterday was so nice, because my teacher posted in the morning that our class was cancelled for the evening. That meant I didn't need to stay at school all afternoon, go to class and then rush to mutual. I don't know if I mentioned this, but I am the Young Women's President which means I need to be there on time with the activity prepared every Tuesday. It's been rough with this class this semester. But I got to go home and do my homework on my own couch! I even got a little nap in. Then I made a yummy dinner and got to the church early to set up our activity so that everything would be ready when the girls got there. We had so much fun together. I really love them! Afterwards we cleaned up and were out the door to get home to finish homework in good time. I even had energy to make pumpkin raisin bread to have for breakfast this morning. Now it's back to studying for my two tests tomorrow.

Cohorts

A cohort is a group or a society of people who have gone through the same historical experiences in their lifetimes. As I grow older I sometimes feel more connected to the world around me. Whenever I hear a song in which the topic of war is addressed or a soldier going to war I fight back tears. A moment I would include is, being glued to the television when the second plane hit on 9/11 and not knowing what to make of it. A piece of history I grow to mourn more and more over the years was a gift from my American School kindergarten teacher in The Netherlands before I moved to the Wechweisser. She went to Germany when the wall came down and brought back pieces to share. At the tender age of six I carried with me a literal chunk of my family, nations and world's history. That piece is lost now and I wish I could have it back. I am grateful for those in my life who have come before to share with me and teach me from their lives. These gifts are sincere and held close even when pieces are lost. I came in at the tail end of one cohort, but I have many more experiences to share with my fellow man regardless of race, creed or country.

Girls Retreat

Ever since I was a little girl I have always gotten excited when my grandmother's three sisters come to town. They are so much fun to be around. My grandparents rented a house on the beach for the month and Mom, Sarah, Olivia and I went to spend a weekend with them. We wish we could have stayed longer, but work and school get in the way. We hung out, played games, cooked yummy food and really enjoyed visiting. It was really windy and rainy so we found other ways to entertain ourselves. My Aunt Patricia showed me how to work on our family tree and brought me some ceramics and crocheted items from my great grandmother ho passed away last year, my Joan talked to me about the relief programs in Crosby, my Aunt Gloria played games with the Smith women who showed their competitive side, an my grandmother kept us all great company. The only bad part was each night when Olivia felt out of her element and wanted to stay up with Mom, Sarah and I. She was pleasant the rest of the time and we had so much fun we didn't mind being sleep deprived. I thought I took more pictures, but really they are all of Olivia. Oh well.

New Car

This is not our car, but it is the same year, make, model and color as ours. I feel like a soccer mom and I don't have any kids yet. It is a standard, but it is way easier than the twenty year old VW clutch I have been using. The used car market has definitely changed its course since last year when we were looking for a car with our insurance check from the wreck. I am very excited because according to boys, Subarus are way good cars. All I think of is Crocodile Dundee and his Outback. Needless to say I love the smooth quiet car rides I have been taking the last couple of days.

Oh happy day!

Things are turning around for the Winston household. There is a dim light at the end of the tunnel. I am finally starting to feel better and not have to be attached to a tissue box, although smell and taste still have not fully returned. Survived the three tests last week and feeling good about the two for this week. (We don't have midterms, instead we have three and then the final per class.) We had an interesting night Friday leaving our friends house and the VW was not cooperating. In short, it kept turning off when you were not revving the engine. (not good) So we decided to spend the night at Phil's parents since we were supposed to be there in the morning anyways, and we weren't sure we would make it home. So Saturday morning Phil, his dad and I go looking at a couple of cars and we bought one! The dealer found something he wanted to repair before he sold it to us, so we are getting it tomorrow! It is a silver Subaru Forester, that has minor cosmetic damage that Phil is going to fix this week. I cannot tell you how excited I am. Phil took me out for Valentine's and we had so much fun. It's nice sit and talk to my husband without having to think of alternative solutions to not having a car, the next task we need to do or homework. It's the bad stuff that helps me recognize the good stuff I have. I so grateful for the help and love and support we receive and hope I can return the favors.

Neon Yellow

That is the color of the day. Can you guess why? My nose is never satisfied by any amount of blowing or tissues. Philip dodged the allergy infection that would have led him to a bronchitis flare-up, but I am the lucky one! I went to the school clinic and have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow morning in between my classes. The sucky part is, all I want are the antibiotics now and dread the thought of going another day without them. This blog thing has been kind of depressing from the Winstons lately, but you guys probably wouldn't be my friends if I lied all of the time. We did get our car back, but it is not the same car we took to them. Don't go to David Colbath Transmission! Phil and his dad are going to replace the motor mounts this week. In the mean time my mom is out of town again and has kindly let us borrow her car again.

I should end on a happy note, that we are doing ok and that taking zyrtec at night has given me some trippy dreams which include a sweet new concept car of the future. I am gonna take it in the morning from now on.

Staking My Claim

Things have not improved much since my last post. Phil has been getting progressively more sick and our car is in pieces in a shop somewhere probably being ignored. I have lost control over certain aspect of my life because of these needs. My life is not bad by any means, I just miss having the status quo at times like this. So why put a picture of a sign? I would say that there are about 20-30 couches on the UTSA campus that are in easy access to the public. I found the last available one about half an hour ago and claimed it as mine for studying and comfort. Sure I could sit in one of the many cozy chairs, but I wanted a couch to lay out on. Anyway, the one glitch with this couch is that it is front of the ballroom where they are having some kind of seminar set up going on. The girls in charge are really concerned with the placement of everything. The sign has moved a few times, the posters on the sign have moved a couple times, the plants have moved many times and they just added two more. On top of all of this I am sitting on a couch right across from their welcome/check-in table and causing a misalignment with their theme. Guess what? I'm not moving until I have to! My class will probably start before their event does, but that's besides the point. I want comfort and relaxation and by golly I am going to have comfort and relaxation! Hope you are able to find your own "couch" literal or not in your day today.

It's been a month!

It's been a month, and they said maybe another week. Now we've realized that we have been told our car is difficult, but the truth is that they have not been working on it. Now we have to nag them to get results. Why is it that you have to show disapproval and get upset to get results? That is so backwards in my mind! We've already paid them for the work when we picked it up two weeks ago, before returning it an hour later. We have kept our cool and I guess that has been our downfall. You don't have to do anything, I just wanted to vent.

Studying

This image was actually preceded by a bunch of goofy ones, none of which I felt comfortable with sharing. (I just don't like my goofy faces.)
Anyway, Phil and I are in a little room in the library studying. It's the best way I've found to have a quiet place to study, talk to Phil intermittently and eat my lunch without anybody noticing. Almost all college professors like to think that theirs is the most important class in your curriculum and expect you to read chapters upon chapters of material in short amounts of time. That is what I should be doing now. I just wanted to surf the web to give myself a little break before I dive right back in. Just an update, we still don't have a car and we are not really sure when we'll get it back. We are surviving which is the most important part. My mom is out of town and lent us her car for the week. I made a big trip to the grocery store yesterday since we were running low on stuff without means to get more easily. I say that, but we could easily take the bus. The only problem is that between family, school and church duties we don't have too much time to commute an hour to the grocery store and back in addition to shopping time. All the same, we have not gone without too much. This weekend we watched Phil's niece and nephew at his parents house and had a cookout/pizza and movie get together with some friends on Friday night. Saturday evening we went to see a movie with the kids and Ginger. Saturday morning I went to take a shower and there was absolutely no water. I checked all of the faucets to see if they were the same. It turned out that when Phil took his niece on a tractor ride Friday afternoon they accidentally ran over a water pipe and drained the water all night. Water was finally restored Sunday afternoon, just in time for Phil's parents to come home, but not in time for me to wash the dishes that had accumulated. I really do try not to leave a mess when I have been staying in someone else's home. Oh well, everything went back to normal and we are back into the swing of things at school again. Maybe I can come up for some blog air again later on this week. That is if I don't freeze from our 31 degree cold front that should be here by tonight. ;)

January

It's January and I am wearing flip flops and my toes are not blue! Gotta love Texas for some stuff. I took this picture with the camera on my laptop, so it's not the best quality. I do feel that people prefer a picture more often than not on these things. Anyway, as of yesterday our car has been in the shop for 3 weeks. Did I mention that we only have one car. Fortunately we live downtown where there are always buses going in every direction of town and we have parents and my sister that have let us borrowed their cars when the need has arisen. Also we take our bikes and the bus to get to school to avoid traffic, parking and gas. That's all I'm going to say about that.
School is going well, we are two weeks in and actively trying to stay ahead if not keep up. Phil has been sweet and has been making sure that I get a good breakfast every morning. Yesterday my department had a grant meeting and cancelled our classes, so I made banana pancakes yummm. I blame Phil for this craving since he played Jack Johnson the day before. It's funny how music can resonate with people. I will write again when I have something better to talk about other than photographing my feet in the library. Have a good weekend!