I'm a hazard to myself...

So, last night I had big plans of making one of our favorite chicken spagetti recipes. I was about 3/4 of the way through with cutting my bell pepper, when SLICE...off with the thumb! No, not really! But, I initially thought that I had removed the entire top of my thumb above the nail (yes, I know...thanks for the gory detail). Well, as thumbs like to do, mine immediately started to GUSH blood. I was screaming for my husband, and just knowing that I was gonna pass out and he was probably in the shower. After the third scream (I think I'm going to have his hearing checked), he appeared. We had a bit of a time getting the bleeding contained, and were both wondering what to do (I guess it's good that we don't have children yet, huh?) I said, "Call one of our Moms!" He said, "Okay, but they're gonna freak out." I said, "Call Sydney...she'll know what to do!, so he did. But, unfortunately we called at right about bath time, and I bet she had babies in the tub. So, then I said, "Go ahead...Call my mother!" By this time, my finger was really aching, and I just knew we were going to be spending the rest of the evening at a doc in the box. Well, it was no surprise to me that my Mom appeared within about 2.5 minutes after Doug hung up the phone. I tried to explain to him how Mom's move quickly when one of their babies is hurt! We both agree that next time there is a disaster, we will call Donna before calling 911! Her response time is MUCH quicker!! Dr. Donna appeared and quickly evaluated the thumb (what's left of it, that is!...No, just kidding, it's not THAT bad!) She felt like we could wrap it up tightly and save ourselves a trip to the doc in a box. In no time, she and my husband had me bandaged up, Advil-ed up and ready to roll! Then, later, my sweet husband rigged up this very high tech, water proof thumb cover for showering purposes! He's so handy! Or thumby! Ha ha ha! Also, my Mom finished my dinner preparations (with a different knife of course). Pretty exciting evening at our house!! Oh yes, I would also like to add that this is like the 18th time in our first 8 months of marriage that I have had an accident, ailment, or illness. Doug definitely has learned the truth of the "In sickness and in health" vow after my THREE violent stomach viruses, one slam of the finger in the car door, a hurt arm (oh yes, that happened after I was scrubbing our bathtub for like 20 minutes), and now...the thumb, among other things! Sorry honey!

The thumb...
 


 
And then, for the shower, the "thumb protector"...

4+4+4+4+4+4+4+4+1= DOUG!!

Happy, Happy Birthday to my dear husband!! This past week, we celebrated his 33rd Birthday. What a great week of celebration it was! The week started out with a surprise visit from one of Doug's best friends, Walker. Doug and Walker are friends from college. He was here from Jackson, MS for a business trip, and arranged with me ahead of time to have dinner with us for Doug's Birthday. On Monday night, Doug was planning to be at his soccer game. At the last minute, I told him, "Nope, you need to be ready at 5:30pm and that's all you get to know!" Very perplexed, but a lover of surprises, he followed my lead. I typed the address of the shady "Sleep Inn" that Walker was staying in out by the airport into the GPS and told Doug to drive! As we headed into the airport, I could see the wheels turning in his mind..."Is she taking me on a trip?"...I wish! But, getting to see Walker was even better!! When we pulled up to the shady "Sleep Inn", I told Doug to "Go get it!". He was very confused, but went on inside. Before going in, he stopped at my car door window to inquire if he looked okay! As he walked into the lobby, he was accosted by his dear friend, Walker! Doug was in total shock, but so happy! Walker treated us to an amazing meal at Fogo de Chao in Addison. It is truly an experience to go there! Not one that our Weight Watchers teacher would have been very happy about of course, but great nonetheless! I should also add that Doug did, in fact, go play in his soccer game following the gluttony fest at Fogo. The fact that I needed to be carried out of the restaurant on a stretcher, and he went and played SOCCER 10 minutes later is alarming to me!
On Wednesday, we had the pleasure of having dinner with our Moms at Macaroni Grille, which was great!! After that, Doug and I came home for our own Birthday celebration...no details on that of course! Then, on Friday, we went out for a fun celebration with friends! I picked up a cake at a favorite local bakery to take with us to Bingo. I had planned to have the title of this blog written on his cake. But when I got up to the counter, I could quickly tell that the lady was in no mood for any funny business. I can't imitate her in writing... Anywho, I figured the basic, "Happy Birthday Doug" was about all I was gonna get out of her! (Extra note...some may not know that the number 4 is Doug's favorite...lots more to explain that, but I'll save it for another time.) Anyway, Doug seemed to have a wonderful week, and it was so much fun to celebrate him!

 

Walker and Doug posing with the classic sign of the "4" in front of hanging meat at Fogo de Chao...

Dinner out with the Moms to Mac Grille! Yum!

Faye made Doug's favorite...chocolate chip cookies (called ccc's by Doug). Of course, her creative powers forced her to make the cookies into a cake!

Celebrating the first birthday as marrieds!

Silly Moms

A very sweet Birthday card...

No comment on the truth of this matter!

Unfortunately, I did not get pictures of our evening out with friends to celebrate the Birthday. It was great fun though! We were joined by Jack, Jess, Megg, Trent, Rach, Chris, Jackie and Corey for dinner (again at The Original...we are loving that place) and for BINGO. Now, don't be scared...we are not becoming "regulars" as I described in an earlier post. As we walked outside, everyone needed to make one final "dob" on the Birthday boy's face. Let me tell you, that was fun to take off!

Me + Email= TROUBLE!

I just wanted to quickly share something that happened yesterday. The more I think about it, the more amused I become. Yesterday morning, I was just checking email. I came across an email from a friend of mine asking me to join "Tagged". I'm thinking this is probably similar to Facebook or MySpace. Anywho, the first page of the email read, "Will you be "so and so's" friend...if you don't click Yes, she'll think you said No" (or something to that effect. Well, being the good friend that I am, of course I clicked Yes. I just figured I could click yes, and keep going about my day. Well, as I came to the next page, it looked as though there was going to be a message to me from my dear friend, but in order to read it, I would have to "sign in". So, I did. BIG MISTAKE...BIG! Little did I know that when I "signed in", this email would pull up my entire Yahoo address book, and conveniently check each name for me. Of course, being in a hurry, I did not bother to scroll down and see that all 257 names in my address book were checked MEANING that in moments, they too were going to receive the email. You see where this is headed. Well, after a moment or two, I could not find a message from dear friend, so I decided to just click out and move on. When I got to back to my inbox, I started seeing a flood (and I mean, a flood)of emails...some from folks I visit with daily...some from folks I haven't visited with in YEARS...some from folks I don't even know. Well, of course they were all replying to this request I had just sent out beckoning people to "be my friend and if they don't click Yes, I'll think they said NO". I quickly realized that this email had gone out to EVERYONE...and by everyone, I mean friends, colleagues, seminary professors, the pastor of my church, my gynecologist, my chaplain contacts at multiple hospitals around the US, my cat's veterinarian, the lady who made our wedding cakes, the president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas...you get the drift...EVERYONE. Well, it was not as though I had just sent out a picture from the front page of Hustler magazine or something BUT, I imagine that many who received it probably wondered (including my own boss) WHY on earth I was playing "Tagged" at 9:45 in the morning!...As many of you know, I promptly sent out a "Please disregard" email to let people know that they need not stop their busy day to "be my friend". This event can be added to what's turning into a long list of Internet/email Ooops! for me. Other favorites include the email I sent congratulating a friend on her pregnancy. The only problem was that I mailed it to another person who has the same name, and is going through fertility problems. Great. I've also invited people who I am not close with to small, intimate dinner parties just because I did not pay attention when "inserting my addresses"...that was fun too! All this to say, don't ever recommend me for a job doing email correspondence!

Shower of Blessings!

Today was a baby shower for Meggan and her baby boy, Hudson, who will be joining her and Trent soon! There was a great turnout of friends for Megg, which made it a really special time! I didn't capture much of the shower on my camera, but I've posted a few pictures here. Meggan received lots of great gifts! One of the sweetest things that she received was a blanket from her Mom. Meggan's grandmother (Nannie) started crocheting it before she passed away. Her mom recently found it in a closet unfinished, and she decided to finish it for Hudson! It is truly beautiful, although unfortunately I don't have a picture to share! The shower was given at Ashlee's beautiful home, which was a perfect setting for this fun event! Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a sweet time for Meggan!
 
I ordered this cake from a lady named Glenda (out of Arlington). She's been making cakes for 30+ years. It was YUMMY, pretty and very reasonable!
 
A little shot of the table. This picture does not do it justice. Ashlee had a beautiful arrangement of antique toys set out along with some books and other little accents. It was adorable!
 
Meggan and the shower hostesses
 
Candid shot of friends visiting...

And BINGO was his name-O!

Tonight was an evening of firsts! We had our first visit to the FIRST Mexican restaurant in North Texas (called "The Original" in Fort Worth). We then made our way to the BINGO hall for a few rounds of what might be one of the best games ever (and I am NOT a game lover!) This was DEFINITELY a first! The Bingo hall has a culture all it's own, and we were certainly strangers in a strange land! But, it didn't take long before we got the hang of things and even started winning...well, at least a few people started winning! We arrived just in time for the 8:45 seating. When we walked in, you would have thought that we all had 3 heads the way people were looking at us...it was great! We immediately caused a commotion when we made it ever so obvious that not a single one of us had a clue what we were doing. It became evident to the surrounding "regulars" (you can tell a person is a "regular" when they have a special carrying case to tote their dot dobbers)...that this group might need some help! Trent quickly befriended a regular by the name of Karen. She told him where she'd be sitting and before she new it, she was surrounded by us...I'm sure she was so happy about that! She was very nice, though, and helped us learn the ropes! Let me just tell you, going to the BINGO hall is not just your elementary school version of the game...it's serious business! And also, you have to be QUIET! You can imagine how well that went over! It was a very fun evening, and quite lucrative for some...not so much for the Steffensruds! Better luck next time!
 
If you ever can't find Jack and Jess, the Bingo hall should be your first place to look!
 
Addicts in the making!
 
This table looks like TROUBLE!
 
My first purchase with my big winnings...HA! Chris's new "toy"!

 
Jessica has found a new way to supplement the income!!
 
Another win for the Megg and Trent!
 
Bingo LOSERS...so sad.
 
Lucky in love, but NOT in bingo!

 
The BIG winners!!
 
"Bingo!!"...I mean, "Oops!" LynnAnn had a false alarm!!
 
The BIGGEST winners of all...$158 big ones!
 
Money for Hud's college fund!

Happy New Year!!!

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with New Year's Eve. This historically is NOT my favorite holiday. In fact, it's my least favorite! But, we had such a wonderful time last night with great friends! It just might have turned my whole attitude around about ringing in the New Year! We gathered at Jack and Jessica's for a great party! I think my husband might have been on his 2nd glass of champagne when he was in charge of the camera, because he didn't exactly capture everyone! Oops! Jess and Jack have their own personal marble slab! It's awesome! So, we all got to have ice cream loaded with our choice of toppings or candy or whatever! It was so much fun! Then, we played a couple of games and rang in the new year with toasts and kisses (toasts to everyone...kisses just between spouses!) Anyway, it was a fun time and we enjoyed it very much! Thanks to Jack and Jess for hosting such a wonderful party!
2007 was truly a great year...getting married, starting our home together, making new friends, cherishing old friends and enjoying family. I feel so thankful for all of the ways that God has blessed us this past year. We are looking forward to all that's to come in 2008. Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy New Year!