Do you really know me?

Many of you that read my blog know me, but you don't really "know" me. Here are 13 things that you might not know about me.

1. I love to watch soap operas. I know they are silly and dramatic, but I can't help it, I love them.

2. My favorite color is green.

3. I am severly claustrophobic.

4. I love Elvis Presley. I had a poster of him in my dorm room my freshman year of college.

5. I am really good at snow skiing.

6. I don't really like talking on the phone.

7. I have a fetish for mixing bowls and wine glasses.

8. Usually, my purse is more full of junk than the things I need.

9. I am scared of spiders; pretty much everything else I am okay with.

10. I am constantly worrying about my health. I really want to be healthy throughout my life.

11. I don't trust people very easily.

12. I would pick something sour over something sweet everytime.

13. I don't wear eyeliner because I have no idea how to use it. I've tried to learn but it never works.

Thank goodness its almost FRIDAY!!

The Newest Addition

I have been so excited all day to share our great news! After much debate and discussion, Hal and I finally decided that we were ready to expand our little family. Saturday we went to the Spartanburg Humane Society and adopted the sweetest girl. We got to bring her home today and we just love her so much. Here is our girl:

This is Layla, a 44 pound Great Dane mix. She is about the size of a boxer, but much thinner. The pound tells us she is 9 months old.

She has been exploring all night long, and has already had her first potty accident on the carpet. We are thrilled to get to know her and provide her with a good, loving home.

10 months ago today...

I can't believe that in 9 weeks we will have been married for 1 year! Time really does fly when you're having fun!

Sweet Avah Caroline

Today I became an aunt for the 3rd time and I am so proud of my new, precious niece! Avah Caroline Mallek was born at 1:53pm today and weighed 5 pounds 15 ounces. She was 19 inches long and has a head full of black hair. I was lucky enough to be in the room when she was born, and I fell in love with her the minute I laid my eyes on her.

Isn't she SO precious?

We call this one "the one where she's praying"

Uncle Hal and sweet Avah

precious little family

Anna, Todd, and Avah are all doing great and we are all so excited that she has finally made her appearance! Anna had a fantastic labor, only 4 hours, and only pushed for about 15 minutes. Anna did great! I can't wait to share more pics of sweet Avah Caroline!

Announcements!

Just a couple of little ditties before a busy week:

1. If no complications arise, I will be an aunt again tomorrow! My sis-in-law, Anna, is going to be induced in the morning! Our family has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Avah Caroline Mallek, and we cannot wait to meet her! I promise I will post some pics as soon as I have time.

2. The GIANTS are going to the Super Bowl!! I am and always have been a Giants fan, and I am thrilled that they are finally going to the big game! I just hope that everyone will finally get off Eli Manning's back about "only being where he is because of his name." Your name might get you into the NFL, but it doesn't win you an NFC Championship and a trip to the Super Bowl. GO GIANTS!!

Hope y'all have a great week!

I love weekends!

It doesn't seem like it should already be the weekend! I really did enjoy having a day off in the middle of the week; today was Monday and Friday at the same time! I love it when that happens!

This week has been pretty dull, so I haven't had too much to blog about. Hal has had to work everyday but Tuesday, so I have been home by myself most of the week.

Here are a few things that have been going on:

* I am officially back into the full swing of classes, but luckily I get to go to class on my computer at home!

* Hal and I spent the night with my parents Wednesday night to wait on the snow. I was afraid the power would go out at my house and then I would be home alone with no heat. I stayed at my parents' house all day Thursday while Hal worked.

* I am still doing well on my diet, but I have no idea how much weight I have lost because I am not weighing myself. I am trying really hard, though.

* Today I got off work and went to the gym. After I got finished at the gym, I came home and got into cleaning mode. I cleaned my house from top to bottom AND did all the laundry! I don't have anything to do tomorrow except for enjoy what more snow we get!

* Sunday night we are going to the fellowship dinner with His Vineyard at Mutt's BBQ! We are so excited to get to meet some of the other members and have a wonderful fellowship time with everyone.

* Our new niece may be arriving on Tuesday, and I am SO excited to be an aunt again!!

That's pretty much it...I told you its been pretty dull. I have to get up and cook dinner now, Hal should be home in the next half hour. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Reminder

To all of you South Carolinians:

TOMORROW is the Republican primary and next Saturday is the Democratic primary. If you are registered to vote, I encourage you to PLEASE get out and vote! Voting is our voice, and you MUST USE IT!!

Voting polls are open from 7am - 7pm at your usual precinct.

PLEASE VOTE!

Let it snow (ice)!!!

I am pretty stoked about the weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow!! We all know that when there is a forecast for snow in Spartanburg, SC, we really get ice instead, hence the title of this post.

Unfortunately my hubby has to go to work regardless of the weather, BUT I DON'T!! I could really use an extra day to sleep in and get some rest!

I am praying...and doing a snow dance...that we will get something, ice, snow, sleet, or anything to keep me out of work tomorrow!

Don't forget to get your milk and bread!!

Free Speech?

These photos were taken outside the funeral services for Sgt. Shawn Hill, the soldier who died in Afghanistan, who was from Wellford, SC. I am disgusted with the first picture, and I praise God for the second! The caption below is an exerpt from the story written in the Herald Journal.

"Patriot Guard Riders stood vigil outside the church, blocking the sight of a few protesters from a Kansas-based church that claims military combat deaths are God's punishment for the country's tolerance of gays and lesbians. Scorned by passers-by, the protesters left before services began." - Spartanburg Herald Journal

Can you honestly believe this? Can you believe that people could be so hateful?

**pictures and caption credited to Spartanburg Herald Journal

Just one more day of rest...please?

The weeks fly by, and unfortunately so do the weekends. I hate that.

Friday I got off work about 2:00 and came by home to pick Hal up. We went to L and L Framing in Spartanburg to pick up my Jim Booth print I got for Christmas. I had it framed along with a Citadel print that Hal got for Christmas. They both turned out so beautiful! I cannot rave enough about L and L and what great work they do!! They are worth every penny! After we picked up our prints, we went to the gym, came home, and had a good and healthy home cooked meal. Unfortunately I had to see my dear husband off to work at 7:00.

Saturday I slept in until 12:30!! HA!! I haven't gotten to sleep late in 2 or 3 weekends so I definately made up for it Saturday. I didn't do much else that day, other than go to the gym, and do laundry. Again, I cooked supper and saw Hal off to work around 7.

Today has been a great day up until about 2 hours ago. Hal came to pick me up for church this morning and we went to our second service at His Vineyard. After church Hal came home to crash...he had worked all night THEN went to church...what a trooper! I changed and went to lunch with my mom at Shogun. Today is my cheat day, so I wanted to do it big! After lunch, we shopped for a couple hours then I came home to get ready to go back to a meeting at church. There was a "new members" meeting at His Vineyard today, so I went to get some info about the church. I am more than glad I went. I learned so much about the church, and came home knowing for sure that God is leading us there.

When I got home, Hal was already awake...it was 5:30 when I got home and he had been up since 4:45. Did I mention that he didn't go to bed until 10:15? He only got about 5 and 1/2 hours of sleep so I felt really bad for him. We went to eat Mexican, then, for the last night, I saw him off to work.

About 8:00 I got a call from the man that we bought our house from, wanting to give me the tax notice. We have our taxes escrowed so I really didn't think much of it, but after talking to him I became very confused. Tax penalties are assessed Tuesday and we are unsure if our portion of the property taxes have been paid yet. Thats no big deal...the money is in escrow, all we have to do is forward this notice to our mortgage company. Here's the kicker...the man has had this notice since Dec. 17th and our portion was due Dec. 31st. He JUST called to tell me he had it TODAY! We are already 14 days late and if we don't pay by Tuesday we get a penalty! I am pretty upset, and being that I am not an accounting major...I really have no earthly idea whats going on. I already called my boss to let him know that I had this to take care of, and I am going to be at the tax office tomorrow morning when the doors open to get this taken care of.

I am just so upset that this man could wait this long to give us the notice, knowing that our taxes were due 14 days ago! This man is not a random stranger either...he is my lifelong neighbor that I grew up living next door to until I was 20 years old!

No worries...I know it will get taken care of! (hopefully!) :D

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Thursday 13

I am SO glad its Thursday!! I told you yesterday that I agreed to go on a pretty strict diet with Hal. My ultimate goal is to get back into shape and to live a healthier life. I know that weight loss will come with this, but thats not my ultimate goal. Here are 13 things I am doing to get healthy:

1. We work out 6 days a week, cardio and weight training on alternating days. Of course this will only last for 12 weeks, after that we will only exercise 3 or 4 days a week.
2. I don't eat any sweets throughout the week.
3. I am more aware of what I eat. For example: more colorful veggies, less white carbs, more whole grains, meat as a good source of protein.
4. Drinking at least 64 oz. of water a day. I just drink a cup of water about every hour at work and by the end of the day I have consumed more than 64 oz.
5. I eat 3 wholesome meals
6. Between meals I eat a healthy snack
7. I prepare my meals and meal plans ahead of time so that when its time to eat, they are ready. It gives me less of an opportunity to succumb to temptation.
8. Because Hal and I are doing this together, I find motivation in him, and he finds motivation in me. We hold each other accountable and encourage each other when we feel tempted.
9. I DON'T WEIGH MYSELF EVERYDAY!! Since I have started my diet, I haven't weighed once. It doesn't give me an opportunity to get discouraged. My plan is to get HEALTHY, not to lose a ton of weight!
10. I took a "before" picture of myself to use as a point of reference and for motivation. Looking at that, I know I need to change.
11. Hal and I are trying not to eat out if at all possible. When you don't prepare your own meal, you don't always know whats in it!
12. We are trying to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Getting enough rest is a key to being healthy!
13. WE GET A FREE DAY! Our diet allows for a free day once a week where we can eat anything we want, and as much of it. I know this may sound skeptical, but a free day is GREAT for your metabolism! If you continue to eat the same things all the time, your metabolism will eventually get used to it and slow down. If you "trick" it with a free day once a week, it never has the opportunity to slow down.

So far I am doing really well, and unlike last time, I am feeling very motivated. We have 11 more weeks, then we get to celebrate with our anniversary trip! I am anxious to see what happens! I will keep you posted!

Tid Bits

Things have been really good in the Chafey household lately, but I have hardly had time to write about it all. Instead of boring you with long stories of whats been going on, here are the tid bits...

* I have been back to work for a week now. Things are finally starting to slow down and I am finally getting caught up. Its such a relief! Hal just started back to work on Monday, the lucky dog had more time off than I did!

* My sister-in-law, Celeste, and I hosted a baby shower for my other sister-in-law, Anna, this past Saturday. It turned out really great, and she got lots of great stuff. She is due in 13 days and I cannot wait to be an aunt again!! ( I am already really struggling with her having to move to Hawaii in June, though)

* Sunday Hal and I visited a new church and we are so excited about it! We have been wanting to visit new places for a while, and we felt led to His Vineyard in Greer. We were welcomed by all of the wonderful members, and just felt so fulfilled when we left. We can't wait to go back this Sunday. I am so excited about how God is working in our lives!

* I started back to school last night and it wasn't too bad. One night a week is really great! It is so exciting to know that I don't have class again for 6 more days!

* After I said I wasn't making any new year's resolutions Hal talked me into going on a strict diet with him. I do want to lose weight and get healthy so I said okay. I have been on it for a full week and I have been doing really really well. I haven't cheated once.

* I finally booked our anniversary trip for the weekend of our anniversary. Can you believe that Hal was actually off that weekend? Well our anniversary is actually on a Tuesday, so we are leaving that Thursday. We looked at a lot of places to go, but ultimately we chose Charleston. That city just has our heart! We are staying at a beautiful, swanky hotel for 3 nights and I just cannot wait!

Happy Hump-Day!

A Real Hometown Hero

This is sad, but I am so glad that there are men out there willing to give their lives for our nation. To them, I want to say THANK YOU!


http://goupstate.com/article/20080109/NEWS/777819401/1029

Does it bother anyone else?

(Warning: this might turn long)

I am in shock, that's really all I can say. I just do not know what is happening in this world, and it seems like we are in a rapid downward spiral. Here are two issues that worry me:

First, does it bother anyone else that CONGRESS is spending so much time and money on investigating this whole steroid mess in baseball? Why is Congress the ones to do the investigation? After hearing Roger Clemens interview on 60 minutes last night, I am just disgusted, totally disgusted, with our law makers.

Because my husband is a former professional baseball player I have look at this situation in the most objective way possible. I understand that steroids changes the whole game of baseball, but does it really amount to anymore than a hill of beans? And again, where does Congress come into this whole mix?

So far, the only penalty for steroid use among baseball players is to put an asterisk beside their name in the Hall of Fame. Why spend millions of dollars on an investigation if the only penalty they will get is an asterisk beside their name?

Here is why I am upset. Our Congress is made up of law makers that WE elected to spend time making and passing laws that will better our nation. What is this baseball investigation doing to better our nation? What does it really mean in the grand scheme of things. Instead of worrying about the pressing issues such as social security, health care, alternative energy, and others, Congress is using their time trying to figure out if they will put an asterisk beside a baseball players name after they retire.

I do not agree with professional athletes using steroids, but I don't really think it matters compared to the other much bigger issues! Here is my opinion: The investigation should be taking place, but Congress SHOULD NOT be the ones doing it! The MLB Association should conduct the investigation and confer the penalties. If the penalty is only going to be an asterisk beside the player's name, then just forget the whole investigation all together.

And why only baseball, what about all of the other professional sports? If you penalize one, you must penalize all.

Heres my second issue:

This morning the breaking news was about the confrontation in the Persian Gulf with the U.S. Navy and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats. It was a major issue, or at least I thought so. I have been watching CNN and the Today Show, and I have just been sitting here in disbelief.

About 60 seconds was spent on the Iranian confrontation on each program. On both networks this story was followed by a 5 minute summary of what is happening to Britney Spears. WHAT? Our media is more worried about Britney Spears' breakdown than they are a military confrontation that could have been devastating! Can you believe it?

All weekend every news program that I have watched, whether it be local or national, has covered the Britney Spears saga, and honestly I am about tired of it!

It just kills me that our media and our law makers are so wrapped up in stories and issues that do not even matter. What does this mean? What does this say about our nation? I have a degree in political science and feel like I have a pretty good outlook of politics around the world. The more I learn, the less I understand.

Friday was a big day...

Friday was a big day for me. For the last couple of months I have been wrestling with getting my hair cut. I grew my hair long for my wedding and then just let it keep growing. Finally after it got so long I just decided I would let it grow really long and cut it off for Locks of Love. It has been more than long enough to cut 10 inches off for a while, but I have been putting off cutting it for the sake of not wanting to get rid of it. Recently I had had enough of it, and I just wanted it all gone. I was getting headaches and it was just bugging me. I called Thursday and made myself an appointment for Friday, and I DID IT. I cut exactly 10 inches of, and I am so glad to say its GONE!!

Here is my long hair before:


And here is my cute new haircut:

I can't tell you what a relief it is, and what a weight has been lifted off me, literally! Hal really likes my new haircut, so this is the last time I will let my hair get that long.

Oh and by the way...I had SO MUCH HAIR, that I have not one, but TWO 10 inch pony tails to donate!

A great year!

2007 was the best year of my life so far. There have been many milestones in my life that have made my 23 years great, but 2007 really takes the cake so far. I just can't believe its over! I don't ever remember a year going by so fast, and everyone keeps telling me that it only gets worse.

I started out the year at a fairly new job, and hit the ground running wrapping up all of my wedding plans. There were 12 weeks between January 1st and my wedding day and I stayed busy every single day. On March 25th I married my very best friend in a more beautiful ceremony than I could have dreamed of. From there, Hal and I started our crazy life together.

In May, on his birthday, Hal started his new job at Michelin. This job has been such a blessing to us and we are so thankful that God led him there. In October I celebrated my 1 year anniversary at my job.

This year has brought so many things for us to be thankful for. Today I have spent a lot of time on the internet researching and planning our anniversary trip in March, and I just cannot believe that its only weeks away.

I haven't made any new years resolutions because I don't ever stick to them, but I am excited to see what 2008 brings!