#187: Why are blind people driving?

I'm having a hard time understanding the purpose of audio assistance for the visually impaired on a drive up ATM. I could understand having one on ATM's that are located in stores or on the street. But a drive up one? Makes me a little nervous...

#186: Everything is just...gone!

So, there was a ton of stuff in this hallway outside our apartment. There was a large dresser and table that Jessica and Seth left here when they moved out, there was boxes of stuff I wanted to sell in my garage sale, there were boxes of books from Danielle and Justin I was going to sell, and there was the grill and charcoal that they left us that I definitely wanted.
Well, I left to go to the store and when I came back everything was gone. EVERYTHING! I don't know who took or why. My guess is the girl across the hall tattled on us (She's known for doing that), and the landlord had people come take it all.

I'm glad to see some of it gone. But I had big tote boxes for storage that I needed to give back to someone. Lovely. Just lovely.

#185: Driving on a flat

Car update: Phil took the battery to wherever men take car batteries and was told that it was completely dead. Yay! We were hoping it was the battery and not something that was terribly expensive. He bought a new battery, put it in, and VOILA! The car works now.

Now for the tire that keeps going flat....

Phil took my dad's car to work, and I took our car for new tires. Of course, I had to put air in it before I got there. Anyway, I told the guy that we needed 2 new back tires. He said it would take about 45 minutes to an hour and that I could go shop if I needed (I was in Walmart). I needed to shop. Well, about 15 minutes later I got a page.
When I went back there the guy said "Your tires are brand new."
Huh?
That can't be.
I told him that the rear driver side tire always goes flat and that we have to fill it up almost every day. Then he found the culprit. A nail.
So instead of paying over a hundred dollars for new tires, we only paid $10 for them to repair our tire.

Praise the Lord! Seriously. God is so good. Our car problem was only a battery, and our tire problem was only a nail. We have almost a brand new car for about $114. That's way better than the alternative!

Thank you Lord for providing yet again!

#184: My nasty job

Okay, these pictures don't do it justice. After working for several hours at the store (when I have to move a million pieces of clothes around), my hands literally turn black. It's disgusting. And very difficult to get off. I seriously wash my hands at least 10 times while I'm at work.

As a side note: I'm looking for a new job. Something preferably not in retail. Maybe something that I went to school for, or maybe just something that I really enjoy. That'd be fantastic!

#183: New desk area for Phil

Danielle and Justin left several things behind in their move to Texas. Living right next door, we were able to take what we wanted. Phil has been in desperate need of a desk. Here's the thing: He gets up later than I do, which also means that he stays up later that I do. Normally he will sit in the living room and play computer games with his friends. If I'm totally exhausted I don't mind, because...well because I'm asleep. But it usually takes me quite a long time to fall asleep (probably has something to do with being the middle child!). So video games in the living room = annoyed Sarah.
Well he couldn't go into the kitchen because the internet didn't work in there. And still doesn't. But when it does, here is his new desk area to play at!
(This is actually my desk. I took Justin's old desk for myself. It's WAY bigger, and I need lots of space. Also, Phil's new desk is still my desk too. All of my stuff is still in there. Ah, the joys of being married and sharing EVERYTHING! haha!)

#182: Crockpot dinner- Chicken....

So today I through stuff in the crockpot so we would have food ready when we got home from work (which is usually about 10:30 or so). I don't typically eat that late, but...well, ya gotta switch things up every now and then.
When I got home though, it didn't look so great. I was actually nervous to try it. However, this chicken recipe totally blew my mind! It was amazing. I even had seconds, even though I wasn't hungry (another thing I don't typically do).

Making up recipes doesn't usually pan out for me, but this time it totally did!

Recipe:

 * 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
 * 1 green pepper (chopped)
 * Half a small bag of baby carrots (cut into smaller pieces)
 * 1 small onion (chopped)
 * 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (and then add a can of water)
 * 1/4 cup of Sherry wine syrup

Cut chicken into pieces, then throw into skillet to cook a little. Add season to taste (I used salt and pepper, garlic salt, italian seasoning, oregano and celery salt).
Add chicken to crock pot, add soup and water, then add remaining ingredients. Stir until not watery and everything is mixed.
Cook on High for 6 hours (actually, I think it could be less, but we had to go to work).

I will definitely make this again. Only...I think I will add biscuits or some kind of crust. It's almost like a pot pie!

#181: Goodbye Dear Friends

Today our friends moved away. They got a job in Texas, and moved down there. It was a very bittersweet day. I am definitely happy for them because it's a great opportunity. I think it's really something that they will enjoy. But...I'm also really sad to see them leave. They were our friends and our neighbors. Probably the best neighbors I've ever had! I'm going to miss just walking next door and hanging out. I'm really going to miss those days when the boys are being so obnoxious and we have a place to get away. It was always nice for the guys to be at one apartment and us to be at the other.

I'm really going to miss you Danielle and Justin. And I really do want to come visit you soon!

Danielle gave this to me before she left (along with loads and loads of other things as well), and said "Here, use this for your trip to India!". Lol. Thanks little D!

#180: Dead Car

Do I sense a theme here? I sure hope not.

Our car has been acting funny for the past week. When we start it and start driving, it will just randomly shut off. Sometimes it will come right back and then other times we will have to turn it back on. Strange. Not to mention, our tire has been flat for about 3 weeks now. We just keep airing it up before we leave. We definitely need a new one.
Well, today the car died and didn't want to restart. It eventually started again (after several jumps), and we were going to take it to a mechanic. Well, before that happened, the stupid thing died again. Now it's in on the square in front of our apartment.
Hopefully we don't get a ticket for leaving it there for more than 2 hours.

#170: Dead Air conditioner

How lovely. Our air conditioner no longer works. Well, here's the deal with this thing; When you first turn it on, it will work fine for about 5 minutes. Then it's like it loses it's momentum and the air doesn't come out as fast. After that, it stops blowing out cold air altogether.
So, no more air conditioner until our friends move out and we take theirs :-)

#169: Umm...maybe the bamboo isn't fake, after all

You know what they say about assuming! Well, I assumed incorrectly that this bamboo was fake. Apparently I was wrong. I came home and looked at the bamboo and I said "Hmm...why does it look like it's dying?"
I'm not sure how I missed that one, but this thing is definitely not fake. I certainly looked fake when I first got. And I thought it wasn't real because the water didn't spill out when I tipped it. In fact, the water looked like it was just glue.
How wrong I was. How very wrong I was.
Well, now it's being watered and it's near some sun. So hopefully the damage can be fixed.

Sorry little bamboo...!

#168: Coming back home

Today we journeyed back home. And of course, I was stuck in the back again. But, at least I had my coffee so it wasn't all bad!

But I must say, it's so nice to be home! It was a great mini vacation with family, but I sure did miss being at home (and not crammed into the back of a truck!)

#167: Cedar Point, baby!

I really wanted to take some pictures while we were actually on the rides. But, somehow I always forgot! I guess maybe the thrill of being on a roller coaster? Who knows. But I didn't take any good pictures at the park, only these silly pictures.

My dad was trying to find new sunglasses...since he managed to lose his on one of the rides. We suggested this pair. But he wasn't feeling it.

This has to be my favorite shirt ever! My real life missionary friend have a saying "That's the pits!" And we say it when something is...well, the pits. When something just really sucks. So when I saw this shirt, I just had to take a picture of it and send it to Jenna. She said "She totally gets it!". And she does.

#166: In a car with boys

Today we left for Cedar Point. 8 hours in the backseat with 2 boys. What was I thinking?!

If they weren't poking me and tickling and being utterly annoying, they were sleeping. Oh the joys of long road trips with boys...

 I got bored and decided it'd be fun to take pictures of the boys while they were sleeping. That lasted about 2 minutes. Now...for the rest of the 7 hours and 58 minutes...

They made me get in the very back...with the luggage. Apparently I was taking up too much room in the middle. Well, at least I was out of their reach!

Are we there yet?!

#165: A Surprise, friends and laundry, a birthday, and a tiny bicycle.

Today was...well it was a great day and not so great a day. I woke up at 4 am so sick to my stomach. It was not fun at all. Finally I was able to fall back asleep around 6:30. But that didn't last long because I had to get up at 7. It's mine and Phil's month to serve at church, so we have to be there extra early.

All day my stomach was not showing me any kind of love. It was not good.

After church we went to this family day thing for Kim's drill. It was there that we surprised my dad with his birthday gift: A trip to Cedar Point!! We said "pack your bags, we're leaving early in the morning!". He was definitely surprised and totally excited!

After that, Phil had to go to work and I needed to hang out with my friends and do some laundry. I dropped Phil off and went to Kristin's. Jenna came over too, and we all decided to take a nap! It was just what the doctor ordered! We all just hung out and shared life. It was really nice.

Finally, a little after 7pm Heather joined us. After all, it was her birthday and we had gotten some cake and ice cream. We celebrated Heather's birthday for a few minutes, and then I needed to go get the Hubs from work. 

We went to walmart to try and find my dad a birthday gift. We couldn't find anything for my dad, but Phil did find this cute little bicycle that he wanted!

And that's the only picture I took all day. Pathetic, I know!

#164: A wedding and a friend

Today my good friend Katie Bass got married. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the wedding. What's wrong with me?!
It was a great wedding, as all weddings typically are. I just love going to my friend's weddings. It's so much fun, and I just love being a part of something so wonderful and amazing. I always feel the need to pray fervently for the couples getting married. Having been married now for a little over a year, and also seeing one too many failed marriages, I know how hard marriage can really be. Wedding days are so full of happiness and bliss. People rarely think about what's to come. But I always do. And so I pray. I pray that their love for God and their love for one another will sustain them for a life time. I pray that they choose to love each other every single day, even when they don't feel like and when they desperately don't want to.
Marriage can be so hard. But it can also be so amazing!

Anyway, after the wedding, my real life missionary friend came over and we had a great day of laughs and jokes and serious chats. It was wonderful. Just what my heart needed.

#163: Spaghettio's for lunch...

Today I brought spaghettio's for lunch at work. Unfortunately I forgot a can opener. I decided to be creative and I a box cutter. Unfortunately it didn't pan out. But then I found a hammer and a screw driver. I had every intention of prying the thing open. But...before I could do that, the lady I was working with stepped in. She took one look at the hammer on the desk and freaked out a little bit. She grabbed the can off of the desk and took off through the mall. She came back into the store a few minutes later with an open can. Apparently she found a place that had a can opener.

Thanks awesome co-worker!!

#162: What is this crazy contraption?

I was at work today when this guy (who was clearly shopping with his wife) came up this steamer and looked at it as if it were a real life creature from Star Trek or something. It was like he just couldn't figure out what it was. His wife finally noticed how confused and intrigued he was and stated (rather annoyed) that it was just a steamer. Haha! It was really funny.

#161: Always losing things...

I always leave something behind when I go out of town. It's inevitable. This time I left my hair straightener and my comb at my moms. Ugh! Phil was nice enough to let me buy another one. Now I have one to travel with and one to leave at home. Crisis averted.

I actually left my basal temperature thermometer at my friends house last week too. Again, Phil was nice enough to let me buy another. And once again, I have a travel one and one to leave at home.

#160: Pool time!

My mom has a pool. It's amazing! I tried to get other people to hang out in the pool with me, but no one was as interested. I just don't get people!!

#159: Lost comb?

Today I lost my comb. I couldn't find it anywhere. I finally went back into the bathroom to search there again (for the 3rd time), and it just so happened to be in Nolan's tub toy container. Uhhh? What?