Paul + Jenn

I know I just posted 12 hours ago.

But I have some pretty great news.

Remember about 32 days ago when I promised something big was coming very soon that had nothing to do with the countdown?

Yes. Well. It may be 32 days late, but today is the day!!!

Get excited!!!

So here's the deal. Webs.com has been making my life miserable for nigh on two and a half years now.

Sure it was a great idea for the ambitious low-tech girl who wanted to wow her wedding guests with an awesome website full of pictures, directions, attractions, etc. so she could save money on out-of-town traveling packets.

But not such a great idea for a budding blogger. Webs has many bugs and glitches, and since I'm not a paying member, little help. I did consider paying, don't get me wrong. But the pricing is at least twice as high (if not more) as comparable Wordpress hosting sites.

Not to mention the ANNOYING email that all of you get if you leave a comment with your personal email and don't use the one provided to the right. >

But no more!

Today. This very second. I am live at: www.paulandjennblog.com!

Now. There is still much work to do. I have to update more links and pictures. I have to design and implement a new header (it's fuzzy). But I simply could not let Webs push me around anymore (last night and this morning I had to work miracles and pull strings just to get to their homepage).

Consider this the last post you will ever read here, update your bookmarks/Google Reader, and head over to www.paulandjennblog.com and read today's new post!

So.

One thing I didn't blog about...

Oh.

Oh wait.

That's right...I haven't blogged since the dawn of time. It probably doesn't help that Webs.com is so awesomely available and reliable.

Ahem.

Ok, but you all probably saw from my last post (which was FIVE days ago) that we celebrated V-day with a little Riesling (and also a delicious shrimp pasta that, may I say, was fantastic). What you don't know is that the celebration actually started on Thursday.

Paul came home late on Thursday all sneaky-like and skulked down to the basement with nary a word (except maybe "don't look at me"...which is four words...but that's pretty close to nary).

He came back up with his hands behind his back...from which he promptly brought forth a lovely gift bag.

[Please excuse my nasty carpet.]

When asked, Paul explained that he planned to give it to me the following night when we had our romantic dinner, but he couldn't wait.

So let's recap: in less than one hour, Paul decided to buy me a gift, decided to give it to me Friday, bought the gift, came home and wrapped it, decided he couldn't wait, and gave it to me early.

Oh Pauly. This is why I throw the surprise birthday parties, darling. : )

So here's what I got:

[Sheesh Louieesh. I guess this is a showcase of my dirty house. Thanks a lot, Nikon D90.]

AN IPOD NANO!!!! IN PINK!!!

Fo' serious real, y'all.

It's perfect because we have a 5k in 4 weeks and a 10k in 6. Yes. We are insane. Oh, did I mention I have never run a race before? Did I mention as of 1/15/11, I had never run more than a mile without stopping?

So, where's the irony, you ask?

Not 2 hours earlier (like not even 2 hours earlier), I had started a load of laundry.

Do you see where this is going?

No?

Well, then keep reading!

Earlier that morning, Paul left the house unable to find his iPod Shuffle...

Catching on?

I found it. When the washer stopped. At the bottom of the drum.

: (

So, while my sweet sweet hubby was picking out a perfectly pink iPod nano for me, I was washing his WORKING iPod Shuffle.

Irony. Sad sad irony.

SIDENOTE! Dear  JVC, please make your Gumy earbud case harder to get into. Also, please place the earbud wires in such a place that cutting into the packaging could risk chopping up those unimportant wires. I was all like, "Hey! I hope my hubby can pay for these so I won't be able to use them at all but instead start my own collection of unattractive unopenable plastic-contained merchandise!" Just wanted to say thanks. Unfortunately, after 17 hours, I was able to get it open without damaging the earbuds. I just wanted to let you know of the design flaw. Love, Jenn

[So I NEVER. EVER. clean, ok?!]

I'm sure you've heard of this. It's only been happening forever.

But since I got a brand new camera a few months ago, I decided to add it to my 2011 List of Goals: take one picture everyday for a year.

I tried to start on January 1...but I kept missing a day. But since February 5, I have taken at least one picture everyday.

So, I decided to mimic the inspiring MaieDae on her Sunday weekly recap of Project 365. For accountability. I'll create an auto-post each Sunday afternoon for the NEXT Sunday (huh?) so that no matter what I upload, the post will go live on Sunday morning.

So. If have uploaded five pictures to it, five pictures will be posted. If I've uploaded none, then I'm in for a really embarrassing post. But I'll keep it up. Because you know how I do. I keep it real.

I think it will light a fire under me to learn this camera or die.

....

Well, maybe let's not be so dramatic. JENN.

Anyhow, here's what I have since February 5. You can see there are eight photos instead of seven, because February 5 was a Saturday. So, the normal post from this point forward will be of pictures from the previous Sunday to Saturday.

Here goes:

2.5-Chick-Fil-A Saturday Computer Date/2.6-Paul's Hot Lemon Water/2.7-Paul makes Veggie Scramble for brekky, mate/2.8-Paul comes home for lunch: toasted turkey cheddar sandwich with fresh jalapenos and onions/2.9-Paul's addicted to Angry Birds/2.10-Light Snow gone before the end of the workday/2.11-Kroger Reisling for early Valentine's celebration/2.12-Atlanta Bread Saturday Computer Date

"All these would be turnacated."

-Yes, that was spoken...not mistyped.

This will be an anonymous quote to

protect the adorably inattentive. : )

truncated.

I know you were wondering.

So. There we were. Armed with all the knowledge an interior decorating mom can give but still feeling so overwhelmed.

And then came Mike.

Mike's your typical good ol' boy. They're not hard to find around here. Apparently, even north Georgia is the Deep South. And I'm ok with that.

Anyhow, Mike, the nice guy, let us roam around the mom and pop furniture store, only popping in to check on us every so often. Here's what we knew about couch types (from my mom):

1) We wanted eight-way hand-tied.

2) We would take a drop-in boxspring.

3) We did not want a no-sag.

Guess what?! Turns out Paul had a lot to say about which couch we chose. And the one he found most comfortable was....

A no-sag (number 3)!!! Which, of course, Mike was totally on board with. Telling us how amazing the brand was...and acting as though the hand-tied had never existed.

And I so needed a break. So we headed to the nearest oasis. Upon arriving at the Chick-Fil-A, I called my mother and I broke it down for her.

She agreed that buying a no-sag at the budget we had from the manufacturer we had in mind was not a bad idea.

You catch that? She said we could wisely buy the no-sag.

So back we went. To Mike. To the mom and pop shop. To the no-sag. And I spent the better part of 30 minutes finding the perfect neutral gray swatch not made of polyester or microfiber or corduroy or leather to cover our couch with. It's ok, though, because Mike explained that I could pick coordinating pillows in a more vibrant fabric. Thanks, Mike. I really hadn't thought about that part of home decor. You know, with a decorator mom...and my homemade headboard...and our self-reupholstered couch...and all.

And I found one. ONE. So, we ordered or couch and skipped happily on our way.

That was Saturday.

On Monday, I received a call. From Mike.

He said the swatch of fabric I had selected was discontinued. So glad he had the most recent 10-pound book of fabrics for us to painstakingly peel through. But. BUT! We were in luck! Mike had picked out several swatches that he thought were close to my choice.

Oh good. I had spent 30 minutes looking through E.V.E.R.Y swatch to find ONE that worked for me...but three others magically appeared. Mike's got the magic touch, you know.

I know you're shocked...but none of them worked out.

So, we cut our losses and took the refund. We're going to sit on it for a while until something better made and more gray comes along. Sad day...but also, bigger savings account. Which, of course, I'm addicted to.

So, in time for Paul's surprise party, I added a pillow and did some redesign:

BEFORE

AFTER

[Sorry. This is the best I can find. You can see that two of the pillows are in the yellow color now. And I'll just tell you that there are four instead of three now.]

Since I already owed the fabric and the euro pillow form, it was a free couch makeover! Pretty thrifty for the interim of having the perfect couch...

First I just want to give a quick shout-out to Christina over at Home Says Hello to say thanks for listing me as one of the "recently discovered great bloggers" in her Reader.

She thinks I'm funny. Hehe.

Thanks, Christina! You're one of my favorite people, too. For real.

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This one time. My husband hated our couch.

Despite the blood, sweat, tears, and love that was put into the little morsel, he thinks it's - get this - "uncomfortable". The nerve!

A little history:

In the days of our youth, many years ago, Paul and I recovered a sofa that was gifted to us with the supervision of one, Susan Cady....interior design extraordinaire (Hi, mom!).

[Always wear the proper headgear when reupholstering.]

[Couch fabric.]

Don't worry, we did it one week before our wedding.

Unfortunately the foam pieces that were the back was unsalvageable. So, our solution was to sew coordinating covers for three large Euro pillows to stack along the back.

THEN unfortunately, the measurement of the pillow did not quite equal what one should cut her fabric to (e.g., pillow is 18x18 but cutting two 18x18 squares and sewing them together yielded a much larger cover). As such, the sad little Euros began sinking into their covers and might as well have been towels thrown across the back of the couch.

I tried to trim and re-sew them, but they were still too big, and I was NOT doing that again (have you ever tried to sew cording? Pain in the rear...).

So! We decided to save up some cash (including some we got for Christmas) and purchase our very first piece of major furniture (not that it would be our first piece...just our first major furniture purchase). That's right, aside from some lamps at Ikea and a large table/desk for $20 at GoodWill, we have yet to purchase a piece of furniture larger than a cheese wheel.

I call it blessings. : )

..and also eclectic.

So off we went to spend our money.

Unfortunately (a third time?!), this post is getting long and a bit boring (and there is much more to tell), so I will have to continue it into a Part 2...on another day...in another world...far far away.

[But really it will be right here on the blog...tomorrow.]

I am going to post about Paul's surprise birthday. I was worried there for a few days.

So. I had the idea to surprise Paul for his brithday several months ago. I figured that it was his 25th birthday. And we have no kids now. And we have friends now. So, why not?

My first concern was: How? I mean, I can decide colors as late as the day of. I can decide food as late as the week of. I can order a cake the day before. And invitations don't need to be sent until a month before.

But I couldn't do any of that if I didn't have a plan for how to surprise him.

Right?

So, first, I thought "I'll be the diversion." I planned to have my sister-in-law and/or mother-in-law go to the house after we left and set things up/let people in. I could blindfold Paul and drive him around our town aimlessly for 1-2 hours. Then I could try to convince him to get out of the car and walk to the house....all without removing his blindfold. All the while making him think that I was just taking him to some awesome place for his birthday that I wanted to be a surprise.

But. Aside from the fool-proof plan of convincing my husband to wear a blindfold (not), I really wanted the whole thing to be a complete surprise. I didn't want him to have an inkling. And even if I told him he was getting a different surprise, he would still know he was being surprised.

So I threw that idea out. Next, and only other, idea was to let Paul's dad take him out for Guy Time. Paul had actually been talking about not getting to hang out with his dad as much as he wanted. Mark readily agreed when I asked him. The goal was to have Paul out of the house for about 4-5 hours, having him arrive around 5:30...about 30 minutes after everyone else.

Done.

Theme? So easy. Mario! Last year just happened to be Mario's 25th birthday (that's right, I'm older than Mario. Just file that under "Say whaaaaaaa?!") Plus, my hubby is so so fun when it comes to his entertainment. Yes, we have a Wii. Yes, we each have Nintendo DSiXLs. Yes, we have almost every Mario game made for Wii. Yes, we ordered and received our free Mario characters figurine from Club Nintendo (yes, we are part of Club Nintendo). And yes, yes, yes, we are huge nerds...and proud. : )

So, I designed and printed this little number (on our new Epson, no less. I hoped upon hope that it wouldn't make a huge dent in the ink...which had never been used. Because Paul, of all people, would notice something like that):

Oh yes, I am going to be that mom. But for now, I'm just that wife. Paul's so lucky. : )

Getting responses is kind of key for a surprise party. If people don't show up, it can just be embarrassing and disheartening. More for the guest of honor than the host(ess). Trust me; I have soooooo been there (as the hostess). So, about a week before the big day...I had Paul's family and one other couple agreeing to come (that's 6 people not counting Paul and me). Maybe that's not so bad...but it would have been like a family party...and I'm sure that couple would have felt a little out of place.

I shared my concerns with that little guy who's all grown up now, and he suggested that I begin a Facebook Event. Go figure.

I thought it couldn't hurt, so I created a private event and invited everyone I had sent invitations to. Guys. Oh my gosh. Within two days, TWELVE more people were coming! ...that may be the last time I waste money on stamps for a party.

People. Done.

That just left shopping and cleaning! So, I took Friday off (Paul just thought I was working from home). Trekked over to Bruster's to order a cake and drop off the figurine (which I hoped Paul wouldn't notice was missing from our tv stand that night when he had friends over...he didn't. I love the selectively detail-oriented, don't you?). I cleaned. And I did all my shopping on Saturday morning after Paul left with his dad...didn't want to have to explain random party supplies sitting around for a day.

Here's how the diverting went down. There were a few hiccups:

10:00-10:15> Paul's dad arrives to pick up a dresser and drop off another. Paul helps.

10:30> Paul and dad leave for dad's house about 45-60 minutes away.

11:30-11:45> Paul and dad decide on a 1:30 showing of Tron and head out for lunch.

12:40> Paul and dad FINISH lunch. No joke. This would not have been a problem with two women.

1:00> Paul and dad arrive at theatre...which is not yet open and head to get hot chocolate in the interim.

1:30> Movie that was assumed to last 3 hours begins.

3:30> Movie that only lasted 2 hours ends. (Let me remind you here that NO ONE has arrived for a party...and won't be for another hour and a half.)

3:31> Paul's dad calls his wife (who is with me at the house as this point) asking what he should do.

3:32> Paul and dad head off on random unnecessary errands proposed by Julie.

4:??> Paul and dad get stuck in traffic (and this, my friends, is how I know God wanted me to have this party).

5:10> People start arriving to party (don't think I wasn't concerned at 5:01; I was a nervous wreck).

5:25> Pizza arrives not 30 minutes after I order it (right?!).

5:45> Guest of honor arrives!!

It all worked out. I ordered MarioKart (for $40!) and the new Wii Party as party games. People who didn't want to play sat in our adjacent (rearranged) dining room and chatted. People passed Wii remotes and took turns. It was beautiful sight.

So, here are the few pictures we captured of the day. Sorry there aren't any of the cake or decor...

[The Diverter.]

[Fuzzy Baby Picture!!]

"Were you yelling in my pocket? I thought my stomach was grumbling"

-Paul...after he called me with his hipbone

Ok, unfortunately the detailed account of Paul's surprise birthday party is going to have to wait. Our camera battery was dead for the first half of the party, so I'll have to get someone else's pictures and...

...

oh.my.gosh. Are you so bored? That was so boring. Paul's surprise party pictures will be up shortly...but not today.

There.

Anyhow, I thought I'd go ahead and share how the ol' 2011 goals are going. Now that we're about one month into the new year. And all.

Here goes (it's not pretty):

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Exercise:

Run a 5k (one planned for March) -obviously this hasn't happened yet. But I am training. I can run farther than I ever have before. I'm just not saying how far that is...

Run a 10k (one planned for April) -see above

Train for a Half-Marathon -see above

Creativity:

Fix sewing machine -Done! I sewed new pillows for our couch and am working on a retan chair cushion! I'll show you guys soon...maybe.

Learn to knit -Done! -ish. I can do the knit and purl stitches. I know how to increase. Working on a scarf. Woot.

Blog M-F -um, yeah. It's February 3 and I have 13 posts in 2011 (counting this one). Should be 24. Here's to 20 in February!

Learn how to use my camera -We are working our way through the manual! Currently, we know what all the buttons do...

Finances:

SAVE! (um, because we paid off all our debt!!!!!!!) -We almost have 3 months living expenses saved up...in 1.5 months!!! [I'm a tad excited about this one. I really like saving money.]

Begin couponing -um, not. Not really. BUT! We have been shopping at Aldi. Gamechanger.

Update Spending Record daily -Also a no. But...we are up-to-date as of yesterday.

Food:

Track eating daily -Nope.

Make one new healthy recipe a week -Aaaaannnnnd nope.

Brain:

Learn Hebrew -I was told the following 3 are not possible in one year...even thought I took Latin and French simultaneously in high school for three years and aced them both. But I'm willing to admit when I'm over-zealous. Haven't started.

Learn Greek -see above

Learn HTML -see above

Read at least one book a month -ALMOST! I should have read one by now...and I've read 0% of one!!

Heart:

Reinstate daily time in the Word -Not consistently...sad to say. : (

Begin “Family Prayer Time” each night -Not nightly, but we have joined our church's Watchman Wall...Paul and I pray during the 7:00 and 8:00 hours on Thursday nights. That's tonight!

Reinstate Thankful blog -Nope. But this requires a non-stupid ancient flip phone.

Do at least one selfless thing for my husband daily -very sorry to say that I have not been intentional about this. I may have done nice things for him (*ahem*thrownasurpriseparty*coughcough*), but not with this attitude.

Holy Guacamole! Can you see what I'm into these days? 3 out of 4 in creativity!

I'll admit...I'm more than a little embarrassed about the heart category. I think I'll make February Heart Kickstart month. What a way to spend the month of LOVE, eh?

[Stay tuned for details tomorrow!]

[And scroll down to see what Paul thought his birthday party was.]

BESs