tamara b

Praise the almighty for paid holidays! Yeah, I had a nice 3-day weekend in honor of Columbus. And as usual, another busy weekend is gone. Our company ended up not coming till Saturday which gave me some time to pick up the house. That was very nice to have done and not worry about. Saturday I coached some 4th-6th graders in soccer which is always a blast. I had the typical go-getters and lazy kids. What fun! The Tafoyas showed up around 1pm for the quick visit. We ate a few meals, played with William (the goat), fought off Asian Beetles and chatted. The two kids (10 and 8 years old) did a good job of entertaining themselves by finding things to play with. Sunday morning we all had a wonderful breakfast that Ryan made. We headed off for church and they headed home. It was a short visit but good to see them.

Yesterday I just got to hang out and not be too rushed about a whole lot. I cleaned the JV room in the basement, had a nice chat with the Culligan Man, had lunch with my honey, designed the JV retreat t-shirt on the computer and hung out with friends. Things were so nice and relaxing until I started cooking. I made a cheeseburger casserole, wild rice soup, breaded shrimp and raspberry dessert. That was a little difficult in itself. For those of you who know me well - I really can cook :) The problem came when I was in the middle of making wild rice soup and didn't have chicken broth. I sub'd it for cream of chicken and decreased the amount of half and half to put in. Well, it didn't have the flavor I expected and I should have used more cream but it was still good. Then while making the casserole, I found that I didn't have any eggs. A quick drive to the neighbors fixed that. Renessa and I were in the kitchen cooking and playing with Caleb (her 8 month old son) while the guys were out tearing off our old porch. It got a little crazy in the kitchen but things turned out okay.

Renessa and I are growing much closer and she's a wonderful friend. I'll be sad to see them go when the go into full time ministry and leave our area. Just as I'm getting used to having a girl friend that is my age. I've threatened to follow her and Ryan (her husband) when they meet with people for support raising. I thought I'd meet with them and ask them not to support them so they'll stay local. Its been a fun joke and I wouldn't do that at all but I will miss them as God leads them away.

Last night, after our company was gone, Ryan and I were chatting. He told me that Denise (our friend who's been in Ethiopia for over a year doing veterinary missions) is home. She emailed him about getting together for a super bowl party like old times. Well, I was okay with that. Then Ryan told me that he invited her to Thanksgiving at our house. I was quite surprised that he invited her without asking since he hates when I spring something on him like that. He proceeded to say "since mom and dad are going to be here and she's always been dad's favorite". About that time, my mouth dropped wide open. That kinda hurt. He might as well have said "Tammy, since Denise is dad's favorite, I want her here for Thanksgiving". I didn't know to be hurt or pissed at him. I just put my head down, bit my tongue and sat for a minute. Ryan didn't say anything else and since just before these comments I mentioned taking a shower and going to bed, I got up and did just that. I knew that if I said anything to him, he would be so defensive with me and nothing would get across for communication. Denise is great and wonderful but there was a time when I questioned if Ryan liked her instead of me, if I was 2nd best to her. This, of course, didn't make things any better. I know, I know, I'm the one he married and goes home to every night, etc. I just shared all these things with Cori but I hate having to eat my own words! Denise is great and I'm excited to see her but Ryan's words were quite a surprise to me. I almost want to blurt out "Well then, you marry her and let her fix you supper, launder your clothes, pay your bills and feed your animals!". Yeah, obviously I have a little work to do with my attitude. Don't get me wrong, I love Ryan and wouldn't wish for anything else but I was so ticked. So, pray for me and my stinky attitude!

Not much else noteworthy. Just another cram packed week ahead. I'm looking forward to the Women of Faith conference in 10 days or so. I'm also looking forward to hearing about Cori's new adventure. I'll never forget when she tried to hook me up with Will by "marketing" me while she was introducing me in front of our whole class one day. Now, she's got another perfect boy that she refers to as a "non-sinner". That status means that he's not someone who would date her typical friends. She wants me to hook him up with someone I know - maybe an ADXer. He works in our Visalia office. So, I'll find out more about him for you girls I :o)-->-----<