Crockpots and Cockroaches

My, it takes a lot of work to run a house! I feel like I am constantly doing dishes, washing laundry, or running errands. On top of getting things squared away with bank accounts and name changes, we are also trying to figure out what to do with Caleb's car. Cars can be so infuriating sometimes....and for me it seems that way most of the time. I may have bad car luck though. We found out that he needs to retire his car by the middle of January. It will cost too much to fix the emissions related problems. What a waste of an otherwise perfectly good car. Infuriating. We now have to buy two "new" cars by the beginning of next year. And I seriously hate used-car shopping. One of the worst experiences I have had was finding my Saturn last year...which lasted until a couple of months ago. One consolation is that this may be the best time for us to do car payments. It will only take us three years to pay them off and right now we really have no other major expenses. No rent, no mortgage, no children, and no student loans. So really it may be a blessing that this happened right now. Still frustrating though.

I made my first crock-pot meal Wednesday night and it was really good! I have been staring at the "fix-and-forget-it" cookbook for a few weeks so I decided to give it a shot. But I only gave myself three hours...I soon found that a recipe like this can be finished quicker on the stove. Very nice.
I did not follow one recipe because I did not have all of the ingredients for just one, so I kinda made it up as I went. I will add the recipe because it turned out awesome! Note, I do not really keep track of quantities. Just a dash of this and a hand-full of that:

I'll call it "Spicy Chicken Stew"

~1/2 cup salsa
2 cup Chicken broth
a few red potatos (skin on)
1 small sized Garnish Yam
a few sticks of celery
a hand full of carrots
1/4 of a large yellow onion
1/2 red bell pepper
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (for some kick)
a dash or three of Italian seasoning (to be fancy)
One pre-cooked (boiled in broth) chicken breast

Directions:
Chop all veggies and meat to desired size and put in crockpot with all other ingredients. Turn on high for 4-6 hours. Or cook for three hours and finish by boiling in large pot over stove.

So simple even I could do it. :)
The Yams really give it a good sweet flavor to add to the salty of the broth. I'm a huge fan of the "salty & sweet" combo.
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The trouble with old houses is...are...well there are plenty of problems with old houses, but when you do not pay rent, those problems are worth it. I cleaned the bathrooms the other day. I don't think they have been thoroughly cleaned in decades. I found urine in places that amazed me.
We have a little bug problem. I would guess that this house has had this problem for many years because we found over ten cans or roach Raid in the garage when we were cleaning it out. The problem has diminished and I had thought it would simply go away with a little feminine care, but alas sometimes we have to call in the professionals. Our bug man came in yesterday and put out some roach poison gel into the hinges of all of the cupboards. We even found one immediately going for it. One thing many people know about me is that I HATE cockroaches more than almost anything ( I say "almost" because I am sure there has to be something that is worse, but I honestly cannot think of it right now). The story fast-forwards to this afternoon when I let my friend into the house. As I opened the door I noticed a good sized roach dead on the floor. (I realize as I am writing this that none of my friends are going to want to visit me after reading this...but the story must be told). I picked it up with a paper towel, and while I did so, I noticed another (much smaller) dead on the floor. I got him too. Then it hit me. The poison is working. But it also hit me, that these creepy creatures were taking their last revenge on me. I knew it would not be the last of the bugs I would be cleaning up that afternoon. When my friend left at four I knew I had a half-an-hour until I needed to leave to get Caleb from work. I was hoping to get a nap before that happened...but I knew it was futile. I got to work, feeling the shiver go down my spine. I opened the silverware drawer and there were two dead roaches inside. I pulled everything out and cleaned them out. Then SO reluctantly opened another drawer. Three, four dead bugs. This continued on until I had finished the drawers, then I got to the floor. There were even a few there. I cleaned it all up and took the trash outside. Just in case.
Did I mention I HATE cockroaches?!! I have the willies just thinking about them.

I love our home though.
I love it better now that the bugs are gone.

Turbid waters, Self-pity & Mind Renewal

I was forewarned that marriage would stretch me to need to be more selfless.
It's true.
A good friend told me that marriage tends to be a bit of an adjustment, but the way she explained it makes total sense now.
She said that the joining of two lives is like the coming-together of two rivers.
She said at first the two rivers are floating along just fine at their own pace, following their own course influencing the world on their own.
But then the two rivers converge and there is crashing and splashing and tumult, but then eventually the two rivers as they flow as one begin to settle into one pace and the chaos stills as they learn to flow as one.
I like that.

We got a card as a wedding present and I love what it said because it reminded me of this.

"A wedding is like the joining together
of two streams forming a new river. This
river will follow a new course as it moves
through landscapes that have never been
explored before. The purity of its waters ,
blessed by God, will bring life, love,
strength, and beauty. As the river travels
through seasons and change, there will
be many tributaries that feed into it, each
bringing its unique gifts, blessings, and
joys. In time, the river will grow in width,
in depth, and its influence upon the
lives of those who rest by its banks and
are refreshed by its presence."-Roy Lessin

This past week has been one of learning each other. Caleb is really clean, tidy, and considerate so there really isn't anything he does around the house that makes me upset. I am also not very particular about things like toilet paper direction, toilet seat position, or really anything in that category. But I am realizing that he is a little bit more particular than I am, which is fine. It just takes a lot more learning on my part. I am realizing that I tend to have a little bit more of a rebellious nature than I thought. I caught myself being pretty pouty one night at all of the things I have to remember.
I find myself having to pray for a servant's heart. It's good for me though. Really good.

Another friend warned me before marriage that insecurity may rear its ugly head early on in marriage. I think in a different sense than she warned, this has been true for me. But the thing I found the most helpful was her advice, because I find that when I worry about something or am just feeling self-pity it tends to take over my brain and temporarily incapacitate the freedom of my thoughts. She said that I must take every thought captive to the lordship of Christ. So I have been praying that prayer when I feel selfish, just surrendering my fears and feelings of inadequacy or self-pity. It's incredible how instant the relief comes!

Marriage

How beautiful is marriage!
It's not at all what I expected.
I expected it to be difficult. I expected to struggle through service. I expected it to be more difficult to communicate after marriage. I expected less romance and more of a struggle to blend two lives. I expected to be insecure and unable to meet expectations. I expected more tension between us.

It's been nothing like I expected.

I seriously LOVE being married. I love the pureness and cleanness I feel. I love the openness and ease of communicating about everything. I love the acceptance for every aspect of me. I was seriously surprised to enjoy serving him! I love the security I feel in his love and I love how that pours over into my interactions with other people. I love how it helps me to understand God's love. I love seeing how God has extravagantly poured out His blessings on us even though we absolutely don't deserve it.

I know it's only week two, but I am going to believe it only gets better from here.