Christmas 2008

She drew a picture of Betty Boop for me!





posing for a pic for Jina


Chris, trying to play the girls' WiiFit

Christmas with Chris's Fam

new bed and new bone
(it almost made up for the mean Christmas pictures, shown below)

Old Man Sweater

Rock Star Tee

Vernell & Me

out of Christmas cheer

make it stop!

and some Nashville pics from the weekend

life is like paella....

Chris and I made paella Tuesday night, for the first time ever. It is one of our favorite dishes. It was difficult. There is no way I could have made it by myself. We didn't follow the recipe exactly. We used what they had at the grocery store. Publix was out of mussels and clams, so we used extra shrimp and scallops. And I didn't cook an entire chicken, I just roasted some tenderloins in the oven. We cut the recipe in half, but we still could have fed about eight people. The hard work was worth it. It was DELICIOUS! Chris said that paella is like life, you just gotta use whatever ya got.

graduation pics, finally

Here is a link to some graduation pics, I think. I still don't really like Picasa.

I'm noticing a pattern...It always takes me way too long to post pics. I will work on that.

What if I want to play Scrabble?

Chris has been coaching me about my "career development." I wasn't planning on having a career (I don't plan, remember?) but apparently I was supposed to do that sometime in the last four and a half years. Hmm. Anyway, Husband Chris Shubert* said that I SHOULD NOT apply to jobs in the classified ads. What??? He said to apply where I want to work. I guess that does make sense. He also said that I need to take a few weeks and write a personal statement to find out what I want to do, and that will help me decide about graduate school and what I want to do. Oh, okay. I wanted to get a part-time job and study for the GRE, but Husband Chris Shubert said that is a bad idea. He doesn't think I should make a move that isn't going to further improve my career.

So now that you know what Chris thinks, I will tell you what I think. I don't think I will look back on my life when I am eighty and think, "Wow, I sure am glad that I went to grad school so I could make $30,000 more a year," or "I had a great career!" My life goals are not at all centered around a career. I want a JOB, not a CAREER. For now, anyway. I want to work so we can do fun things, like travel and buy shoes. I don't know what I want to do for the rest of my life! How can a twenty-three year old decide what to do FOREVER? Nah, that is not my style. Right now my approach for developing my career is trial-and-error. I don't know what I want to do, so I am going to try some things before I make a commitment. Chris said that approach is much like my approach at checkers. I stink at checkers because I don't evaluate all possible moves. I told him that I like playing checkers, but one day I might change my mind and want to play Scrabble. (I rock at Scrabble.) He didn't care much for my response to his checkers analogy.

Chris and I have different perspectives (ya think?). It must be hard for him, because he has been called into a field that requires much planning and commitment (fourteen years of school). I know he just wants me to be happy and reach my full potential. And he worries about what I would do if something happens to him. I reassured him that I am going to grad school, and reminded him that there aren't any babies in our plans for at least five years. I think this comforted him somewhat, but I know it still drives him crazy that I don't have a plan. And I know this post will grind his nerves. At least he will have clean socks until I make a decision.

*Husband Chris Shubert is the way Chris is listed in my crackberry. I entered his name, and under title I entered "husband" so the crackberry dubbed him Husband Chris Shubert. So that is what I usually call him. Because it sounds so official.

to-do lists are a waste of potential time

Here is my to-do list today:

Laundry (Chris didn't have any of the socks he likes to wear, or any white undershirts.)

Put away clothes (There is a clothes basket that has been in the bedroom for three weeks now.)

Dishes (Dishwasher hasn't been unloaded in five days or so.)

Vacuum

Swiffer

Clean out garage-take stuff to consignment and Goodwill

Change sheets

Upload graduation pics to Picasa so my fan club can admire my greatness (pics are on facebook and myspace)

Wrap some presents

Pick up the various mail/paper clutter scattered around the house

Here is my to-do list that I can actually do:

I updated my facebook and myspace profile (Priorities!)

I ordered some Christmas presents on the internet this morning (around 1am, that still counts, doesn't it?)

Toasted a bagel and fixed a to-go cup of coffee for husband

Drank some coffee

Had an IM conversation with Megan

Gathered clothes hangers

Eat

Play with the dog

Wash some clothes

Cook dinner

Put off my real to-do list to watch What Not To Wear

Put away/wrap some of my weekend purchases

Fold towels

Clorox counter tops

Clean bathrooms

Forget to floss

Skip working out

Read for fun

it's a deal, my dearest friend

My dear friend Megan ask me to make a deal with her. To find out what it is, click here and read.

Last night, Chris and I were laying on the couch together for the first time in months (maybe even since last Christmas break, no kidding). I asked him if he thought of me as a grown-up since I am finished with school for a while (and officially a housewife for a while) and he said not really. I guess in our minds we are just two goofy teenagers that fell in love. (Is that too corny to say out loud? Nah.) Anyway, I told Chris that we can attain many degrees, have a lot of kids, and maybe even grandkids, and still probably won't feel like grown-ups. I mean, there are things that we deal with that are different than they used to be, like my mom having cancer, we have a mortgage, fewer (but better quality) friends, and of course we're married. But tell me, when do you become a grown-up? Beaner (from the Beaner and Ken radio show a long time ago) said , "You know your an adult when you have to clean the gunk of of the kitchen sink drain." I guess that does add a few years to one's maturity level, but I still don't know if that makes someone a "responsible adult." I was talking to my friend Beth earlier this week, and we had a conversation about how it seems like we should still be in 7th grade...

Maybe becoming a grown-up means that you realize how fast life occurs, but you still hold on to that child-like perspective. So yes, dear Megan, I accept your deal, let's never completely grow up, and remember to pause every now and then to enjoy the journey. We both are beginning to experience how fast life really happens.

I did it!

I took my last undergraduate final today...Wow. I don't think reality has hit me yet. I guess it will next week when I don't know what to do without papers to write or articles to read.

You can come see me in my gumby-green cap and gown...

The graduation ceremony will take place Saturday, December 13th at 2pm at Bartow Arena.

We are going to eat at The Cheesecake Factory after to celebrate. You all are invited.

sugar & spice makes everything nice

Here is the link to the cake I made for our Sunday School Party...Yum!

happy (almost) birthday to me!

birthday sushidave as a walrus

Keetons&Shuberts

self-timer being used
cake

*the lighting in these pics are really weird and the green blog background doesn't help but I'm tired of messing with it. Oh well.

let's talk numbers-a look at my week so far

0-number of Christmas gifts I have purchased

1-number of finals I have left

2-number of toilets I've cleaned

3-number of bowls of ice cream I've eaten (what can I say, I've turned into a stress-eater)

4-number of stamps I've used. Also the number of graded papers I received Tuesday-all As.

5-number of papers I have completed

6-number of meals I cooked

7-number of days that Brooks has been hilarious. He has been funnier than usual because Chris and I have been home all week.

8-number of Rob&Big episodes watched (I am the biggest procrastinator ever)

9-number of cups of coffee (I don't know if that one is exactly true, but I needed a number 9, and I have drank a lot of coffee)

10-number of pages of my Partlow paper. My journal was around 23 pages...

sick at my stomach

When Chris and I got home this afternoon, there was this girl in our neighbor Josh's driveway. We had never seen her before. We had an entire conversation about how that was not his girlfriend. We asked her about Josh, and she said he was fine. (Actually, she revealed a detail that suggests that she knew Josh better than we did.) I let Brooks out of the garage and she jumped in her car, afraid of him. We assured her that he wouldn't bite, and she got back out of the car. It was weird, but we went in the house and didn't think anything of it. I assumed it was someone cleaning his house because she was carrying a Rubbermaid tote to the door.....I should have asked more questions.....

A few minutes ago, Josh rang our doorbell. He asked if we saw anyone at his house today. I knew instantly that something was wrong...We told him we saw a lady and described her car and her appearance. He said that someone had broken into his house and taken his stuff, even his clothes!!! I cannot believe that we talked to that lady WHILE SHE WAS ROBBING HIS HOUSE! It was 2:30 in the afternoon for goodness sake! She was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, and her car wasn't old or anything. She didn't panic when we drove up. She acted really cool. She did not seem that out of place by her appearance, I just didn't know who she was.
***
The Brookwood police came by and we gave a statement. We told the officer that we could identify her if they caught her. We went over to Josh's after that to see if we could get him some dinner or if Chris needed to go to the mall to buy him some clothes. The police officer said that she was careful not to leave fingerprints, but she was not wearing gloves when I saw her. They didn't take his flat screen, but she tried to move it. It scratched his floor. They also didn't take his guns. I feel terrible that I didn't ask the lady more questions. I am at home every day, so I know who is out of place in the neighborhood. The police officer told us we should get an alarm system. He also said that I should take pictures of people, or tag numbers that seem out of place (as long as I am in my yard when I make the pictures). I never thought about that. I hope that they catch the lady that did it...I told Josh from now on I am going to make a picture of every person that is in his driveway and call him...I still can't believe that happened in our neighborhood...

anomie

My anomie is coming from a lack of direction. I am starting to stress about finishing the semester, finding a job that pays well, establishing a career, and grad school. Oh, I am also stressing about other everyday things, too. I don't really have anything else to say. I am just so overwhelmed.