Life According To Lydia: May 2010

Friday, May 28, 2010

My Masterpiece!!

After I got out of clinicals tonight, I decided to attempt to assemble the new cat tree that was delivered this week. The kitties needed something for them to hang out on (that did NOT include my furniture). When I picked it up from my leasing office this morning it was soo heavy that it took me and the maintance man (bless his heart!) to get it into my car! Not only was the box insanely large, but the thing weighed a ton! When I got home from clinicals tonight, I decided to go ahead and attempt to assemble it. It took me about 20 minutes to get that box out of my car and to drag it into my apartment- definitely got my workout for the night!

An hour later, lots and lots of cursing, tons of elbow grease, and 3 happy cats- I did it all by myself! Ya!! (Did I mention that it's taller than me so I spent half of the time on a step stool trying not to fall over while I attempted to asseble the blasted thing?!?!) My work paid off though, and I eventually got it finished!

Here are a few pictures of my "masterpiece"!! (I believe Velvet approves ;) )

Monday, May 24, 2010

Going the extra mile...

Today I realized just how awesome it is when someone "goes the extra mile" to do something thoughtful for someone else. I'll open by saying that I am soo thankful to have such wonderful neighbors in my new apartment complex. Everyone looks out for everyone here, and it is great to know that people genuinely care about each other. This afternoon (after I had quite a rough day) one of my sweet neighbors really went the extra mile to show kindness when they didn't have to. One guy walked all the way from his complex to my apartment (all the way on the other side) just to bring me my mail that the mailman had accidently put in his box instead. It was just really touching to me that someone that was practically a stranger would go out of their way to do the right thing, when it would have been much easier to have not taken the time to do so. I thanked my neighbor for being soo thoughtful and told him how much I appreciated him bringing my mail to my door instead of putting it back in the "outgoing mail" box- which would have been much easier.

In addition to that one neighbor, I have a complex full of ladies that are absolutely wonderful (that a couple in the apartment across from me that always make me laugh)! They are always asking how my day is or if I need anything. They've been soo helpful too- When I first moved in they gave me the best suggestions as far as making sure everything was taken care of around my apartment/etc. All of this has got me thinking about how greatful I am for good neighbors. They really are a blessing!

So, my charge for the day to all of my lovely blog readers- Go the extra mile for someone, even if it's a stranger! It ment a lot to me that my one neighbor brought my mail to me and "went the extra mile" to show kindness. My goal for this week is to go out of my way to show kindness to someone else and to "pay it foward" so to speak. I hope all of you will try that as well! :)

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Our First Anniversary!

This week Jack and I celebrated our 1yr anniversary (May 18). We celebrated on Monday night since our official anniversary was yesterday when I would be at the hospital all night doing clinicals.

It was such a wonderful day! Jack picked me up Monday in the antique convertible he and his grandad share and then he suprised me with a beautiful yellow calla lily plant (for my patio garden), an adorable stuffed puppy, and a beautiful card. Ranger, my sweet new Australian Shepherd puppy was my "big" anniversary gift, but Jack gave the sweet pup to me a little early since he was ready to come home the week of Easter. :)
After all of Jack's sweet suprises for me, he had one more in store! Even though I asked him where we were going about a half dozen times (can you blame me for trying haha??), he refused to tell me where he was driving me to! I knew it he had something special in mind though. He wound up driving me to my favorite Japanese resturant and we had a beautiful dinner together! It was soo special to sit across the table from the man I love and to know how much he loved me as well. God is good!

When we finished with dinner, Jack asked me if I thought icecream sounded good. (Yes!). We decided to make a fun night of it and to include some of my nieces/nephews. We picked them up from my sister's house and we all went out to Sheridan's for icecream. It was soo much fun! Everyone had a great time, and it was a wonderful way to celebrate such a nice day. I love that Jack not only thinks about sweet little ways to make me happy, he also includes my family and loved ones! Everyday I learn something new and amazing about him, and everyday I thank God for blessing me with such an amazing, God-fearing man. He treats me like a queen and always tells me how much he loves me. Jack always knows how to make me smile when I've had a tough day, he always knows how to make me laugh, and he is always there for me when I need him. I love that I am completly happy with him whether we're sitting on the couch watch our favorite tv shows, hanging out with our friends, or going to church with our families. I definitely cherish the gift of our relationship. Some of my friends/readers may know a little background on what I went through before I met Jack and why this 1yr milestone with this exceptional man is such a blessing to me. For those of you who do not know, I will elaborate more on my story of surviving domestic abuse another day. For now though, it's time to celebrate the wonderful relationship that God has been soo gracious to bless me with! :)

Here are a few pictures I took of the sweet yellow calla lily plant, card, and "puppy" from Jack. He is always soo thoughtful. :)

A Few pictures from our first year together! A few are out of order, but I was able to put general dates on most of them. It's been an amazing year! I'm truly blessed! :

Our first picture together: July 9, 2009. Jack took me flying for the first time. Best date EVER!

Jack came to dinner with me & my fellow RT students to celebrate us passing our term!

(First term celebration!)

(Second term celebration!)

Me & Jack last October

Halloween (when we changed out of our costumes). He thought it would be funny to scare me and shave his beard off...keep in mind I had never seen him without one before!

The two of us celebrating Jack's birthday

Me & Jack at my niece Taylor's 15th birthday party

Jack & I after the TSO concert (Dec 2009)

The two of us at Boscoe's

Germantown Christmas Parade 2009 (we got drenched, but it was soo fun!)

Christmas Cookie Bake 2009 with my family

Me & Jack celebrating my friend Jonathan's birthday with everyone (Fall 2009)

blurry Christmas pictures we took at his mom's house (2009)

Me & Jack (Feb. 2010)

The two of us at my nephew Isaac's 14th birthday party

The two of us trying to get a cute picture of us with Ranger...Ranger didn't want to take a picture haha

The two of us this past Sunday night- I love him! :)

Celebrating our first anniversary! (a day early)

Friday, May 14, 2010

Happy Birthday Kimmy!

"There's a special kind of freedom sisters enjoy. Freedom to share innermost thoughts, to ask a favor, to show their true feelings. The freedom to simply be themselves."

Today is a special day. It's my beautiful sister Kimmy's birthday! :) Since it's after 5am and I am apparently an insomniac at the moment, I thought I would post a few of my favorite pictures of Kimmy in honor of her birthday today! She is an amazing sister, a wonderful wife to her husband Jason, a momma to Taylor, Isaac, Cooper, Leedora, and Kianna, a best friend to me, the person I vent to and trust with all of my heart, and without a doubt- my rock! She has been with me through soo many ups and downs and I cherish my relationship with my sister soo much! Love ya sis!!

Kimmy and her fluffy "nephew" Ranger