And So We Have a Cat...

Meet Binx
our 1 1/2 year old little boy

 How we got him is a long story, but basically he was left to run around on his own outside (which is against the law in our town), he kept coming back to our house. Finally, we took him to the animal shelter, went through their whole process until we were able to adopt him!

He's such a sweetheart. Loves to snuggle, will NOT bite, is mischievous, but learns quickly. He's also a little beggar haha. Even he and Rocco get along. It's funny watching the two of them watching each other from opposite sides of Rocco's tank.

We

I hate the phrase "I complete me". Who the heck are we to think such a thing?
Who am I without my parent? Without my friends? Without those who I love?
Who am I without the world?
If I completed myself I would not be able to say I have found my soulmate, the person who is like my puzzle piece. If I completed myself I would not be able to thank the people who have influenced me. If I completed myself, children would be nothing to me.
The world would be such a lonely place if I completed myself. There would be no need for other people.

As it is, I am incomplete and glad that I am or I would have no room for anyone else in my heart. I am not perfect and do not know everything so I am glad that there are people who can help me "complete the picture".

My faith completes me, my family completes me, my friends, my boyfriend,  even those who I don't like or have never even met complete me. We make up this world.

How selfish would I be if I thought I completed myself??? I am only one part of this world.

We complete each other, and in that, I find myself completed.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Matt is gone on an overnight job at least once a month. Last year, a job he did in January kept him in Connecticut for 2 1/2 months.
I like doing little things for him whenever he's gone, here are some of the things I've done/I'm still planning to do:
-Write love notes every day he's gone and give them to him when he gets back
-Sneak in a book, logic puzzles etc into his suitcase in case he gets bored
-Make an overnight bag with all the fixin's in case he has to stay overnight at a job (he keeps this in his truck at all times, and I've found it helpful for when we're traveling together and I forgot to pack something)
-Send pictures of things that happen, or things that I'm doing (prevents him from feeling bombarded by me wanting to show him every new craft I try)
-Make him a little book of quotes, pictures, etc or something interesting for him to read each day.
-Skype/talk on the phone each night (sometimes it's nice to let him fall asleep on the phone with me too)

When he gets home here are some ways I've welcomed/ will welcome him:
-give him a massage
-prepare a home cooked meal
-treat him to a dinner and a movie
-let him talk (do not underestimate the power of listening, Matt has gone to Connecticut, Texas, Alabama, Minnesota, Colorado, etc etc etc and always has fun stories to tell and maybe some steam to blow off too)

New Favorite Website

All You

The "Mrs"

October 2009 I am a 23 year old, newly single woman, deciding what to do now that I don't have a future with my ex to think about. I am sick of my hometown and am determined to never think about men, relationships, or marriage again. I know there's more to the world so I decided to move....
...to Ames, Iowa.
Good idea....

The night of January 16th 2010 changed my life forever. I was hanging out with my roommate and some of her friends, when in walks her crush and his best friend. I had already met my roommate's crush but the other guy was new. From the start I knew he was trouble. He had on an Iowa State sweatshirt (blasphemous in my family of Hawkeye fans), a ball cap and a scruffy beard. I also noticed that I would definitely lose an arm wrestling match with him, even if I used both hands. We were introduced to each other by our nicknames"Yogi" and "Suki" (we didn't know each other's real names until two days later when he had hunted me down and I got a friend request on Facebook from a "Matt Johnson"). By the end of the night my phone number was in his phone, but he did not utilize this information until two weeks later.
Our first date consisted of watching a movie at my apartment and from then on we were inseparable.
Matt moved to Ames for school 4 years before we met and has been working for a construction company.

We're going on 2 1/2 years and have lived together for about 1 1/2 years of that. We're not engaged (yet; don't worry I'm working on it) but regardless, I have learned a lot about cleaning up after a construction worker.

Howdy Neighbor!

Welcome to my page of woes about being a construction worker's wife (or girlfriend in our case). We've lived together for almost two years and have been dating for almost 2 1/2. We've gone through quite our share of difficulties and I just thought I'd share them with you! So welcome to my life, my experiences, and my relationship lol.

Note: I have decided to combine this blog with another personal one, so the posts that are before this one are a look at my life before becoming the "Construction Workers Wife".

Life Goes On

A couple weeks ago, I went in to get some blood drawn for tests. My doctor had told me that it would only be a few vials, nothing to worry about (I hate needles). Upon sitting down and being locked in by the special bar they put in front of you (smart people), I found out it would be a bit more than expected. Matt, my ever supportive boyfriend, watched the nurses walk over and told me not to watch them, as they brought over the tray of vials. Good thing I listened, or I would have seen a lot more than...five. Alas, I figured it out after the 15th vial and a slight feeling of dizziness...which grew to nausea at about the 23th and, you guessed it, I fainted. In all it was 30.
I told the girls at work that they better have found absolutely nothing, or something great to make it worthwhile.

Here's the results:

I found out that I have mutations in my Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene, aka MTHFR (the gene produces the MTHFR enzyme which helps process amino acids and vitamin B, for more info go to this website, it's the most straightforward and understandable info I've found). One thing it does not explain, however, is how it effects blood clotting (those with MTHFR cannot break down clots as easily). 
I was advised that I need to start living as healthy as possible, including lots of cardio exercise (to help get blood flowing and "wash out" those nasty blood clots), and cutting out foods that have a lot of calories in them. Also, MTHFR mutations causes us not to absorb folic acids (which help break down clots) like we should, so I need to find out which foods are rich in folic acids and start eating the crap out of them.

As if that wasn't enough, I also have a VERY low amount of fibrinogine (which helps blood to clot when it is supposed to) meaning no rough housing for me. This will also effect when I can do the surgery for removing the hamartoma (a benign tumor made of disorganized and rebellious tissue cells) in my breast! Woooo! *wipes forehead*

As you can see, this is a lot to think about. Not only can I not MAKE clots like I'm supposed to, but if I do have problematic clots, my body can't take care of those like it's supposed to either!

This gives me more motivation to live as healthy as possible. I have been having trouble finding the motivation to work out as much as I need to, but I am doing better with portion sizes and what I am eating (if anyone has suggestions of your favorite work-out regimens let me know, I'm very ADD about it, especially when repeating the same thing over and over). 

I am thankful that all these conditions are not life threatening. And what a great treatment for them: having healthy habits! Sounds pretty simple (ha). 
I could still use some support though and ask that you please pray for me that I will understand as much as I need to about these conditions, how to live with them, and that I will work-out as much as I need to despite my lack of motivation. Please also pray that we will find a great surgeon, that my fibrinogine count will go up, and that my surgery will go swimmingly.

UPDATE: turns out they miscounted my fibrinogine, so no worries about that.

Easter Gifts

Now that I've gotten obsessed with Pinterest, I've been putting many of the things I've found to good use. 

I found recipes for homemade silly putty and bouncy balls, and am planning on making those as gifts for Easter this year. Just put inside a plastic easter egg and hand out!

Update: Here's the recipes I used
http://www.filthwizardry.com/2008/06/silly-putty.html
http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/ss/bounceball.htm

I was not impressed with the bouncy ball recipe. The balls hardly bounced and they never turned clear.
The silly putty turned out better, the only problem is you can't put too much coloring in otherwise it'll come off on your hands. If the putty sits for a while it also starts to to revert back to a gluey substance, unless it gets played with.

Date Night

I got this idea from another blog. Matt and I are horribly indecisive so I made this!

http://www.lifeinthegreenhouse.com/2012/02/date-night-in-jar.html

Instead of the popsicle sticks, I used scrap book paper cut into long strips and then rolled up.