.... Sorry.

Our wonderful tree!

It's not as if many people read this anyway, so my guilt in not posting for three months has been assuaged. Mostly. I had made a promise to myself to post at least once a week... and we see where that got us. :) well to update you, we had a very rough month from Nov.-Dec. Low on money, work hours, energy, you name it. Just being spread very thin due to a raise in child support payments. It's a vicious cycle, but we love the kids, and anything is worth having them in our lives.We had no money for rent for December, or for Christmas presents for the kids or our families. I was stressed out and sick over it, and Jeff wasn't much better. But through the wonderful gifts of some anonymous people from the church where I was working on The Sound of Music, we had a wonderful Christmas. We had a home, heat, and some very special gifts for our beautiful children. That was so inspiring. I forget sometimes that there are people out there that still do things for other people for nothing in return. There are no words enough, or thank you's more profuse for what they did for our families. I was at the end of my rope as a mother and as a person, and they came through for us. I can only hope that I will have the opportunity to pass on the kindness someday. Things have really improved though... we kind of just needed a leg up out of the hole we were in. We now have all of our bills caught up, some payed up in advance (Like rent! YAY!) We have cupboards full of some stored up dry foods, and gluten-free foods. We got our cars fixed and a few other odd things done. Now we have a bit of money in savings, and are able to have an anniversary celebration. It's amazing how things can turn around better than you thought. We owe some lovely people a big thank-you. :)

Captain and Maria are wed!

Von Trapp Family at the Festival

(The show did go wonderfully for any of you who were curious.) The Sound of Music was a huge success. The actors were fantastic... the costumes came together nicely. Admittedly there were a few times I was up all night freaking out about them, but all in all, it was one of the better shows I have ever worked on. I was particularly impressed with all of the kids. What talent!! It actually got me another job at St. Mary of the Woods, doing hair and makeup for their production.... of....guess what...... The Sound of Music! Just when I thought I was done. :) I am happy to be involved though. It looks like it is shaping up to be good as well!

Me as a dinosaur

Link and Lily in the CAT front-loader.

January was inauspicious.... Link turned 3, we had a lovely trip to the children's museum and a delicious gluten-free cake. The kids always love the Discovery Cove, and the play area for smaller kids. Link loves trucks and tractors and anything to do with farms. He has a blast getting into the CAT front-loader thing there. Lily loves the Carousel of Dreams, and playing in the waterworks. I personally enjoy the part where I got to dress up like a dinosaur. All the other little kids look at me like I'm crazy. When we headed home, he dove into his cake, and got covered in pink icing, as per his request, and Lily got terribly sick. A rough day, but we celebrated the birth of our beloved little boy.

He geeked out a little.

So now it is February, and Jeff and I celebrated Valentine's Day a little early, having dinner at El Sol de Talla. It is a really awesome authentic Mexican restaurant. Jeff loves the Tacos el Pastor, lingua style. Which in english for the rest of us, means tounge tacos. As in cow tounge. (Feel free to gag. I did.) But he seems to like it. I usually go for their fantastic tortilla soup. It comes with queso fresca and fresh avacado on top. Yum! He got me a series of books that I had been looking for for ages at a secondhand book shop, and I got him a used set of Star Trek Voyager. We are learning that it is the thought that counts, not how much you spend or how new it is.
On a side note, Jeff has had a leather jacket for a while that is old and junky, and doesn't zip. He had to drive the kids home from Muncie in his car (which has no heat) and he nearly froze to death. When I took the kids to Walmart the next day, Lily pointed to a jacket on the rack and said, "Daddy needs one of those. Daddy wears brown coats." So we bought it for him, and he loved it. I can't get over how perceptive that Lily is. She saw that he was cold and that his coat was broken, and had the concern to pick him out a new jacket. I am so grateful for a lovely compassionate daughter.

Madonna's gladiator litter-bearers.

Me, fixing the horse-hair helmets.

Superbowl!!! For all of you who don't know, Madonna performed at the halftime show.... and I was on the wardrobe team!! I spent the week of the Superbowl helping prep and repair the costumes and helmets for the gladiators. It was one of the coolest experiences ever. I got to see Cee Lo Green, Nicky Minaj, MIA and Madonna. I was completely blown away. I saw the performance from the field, got to meet the amazing designer Bea Ackerlund... it was a once in a lifetime kind of thing. Hard work, but what a thing for my resume. 

Hoping to see the White House!

New for the month of March (up coming) we are going on a trip to Washington, D.C. We are going to all of the free exhibits, and got a great deal on a hotel for two nights. With Jeff's car being diesel, we are only going to be spending a few hundred dollars! We have never been on a trip together... we never went on a honeymoon! We have been saving a little back from the last few paychecks.... and we are lucky enough to be able to do something like this. A few months ago, fresh veggies would have been a luxury, and now we are prepping for this cool experience together. We feel really lucky. I will post pictures!!

.....starting over again.

Well the past two semesters have been a partial waste of time. In an Intro to Health Careers class, I managed to barf all over my desk station at the sight of a venipuncture. (or for you medical civilians... it's just someone getting their blood drawn.) Which started me thinking that maybe this isn't the career that I should be getting into.... especially if I can't hold my bagels at the sight of a simple procedure like that. So I'm starting over. I wanted to be a chef when I was younger, and my husband is in culinary school... and that has always been a passion of mine as well. I just want to learn the baking and pastry side of things... and maybe open a tea room/bakery sometime in the future. For now, I need to add a career plan to that, something that I know I am good at and love doing. So for now, I am going to get a Pastry Culinarian Ccertificate, and work towards a degree in Hospitality, my concentration would in Event Planning. My husband and I have actually thought about starting up a business for me... in wedding planning!! I planned mine, and helped out with some friends. I love lists.... and everything wedding. I can't think of a job that I would be better at! (Well... maybe as a movie star, but until my big break happens, I need a career back up plan.) This is going to be a whole new chapter in my life, and I am excited to see where it takes me. It tacks on an extra semester of school, but I think it will be worth it. I am a little apprehensive, mainly because the medical field would have given me a lot of job security. But I really feel like I should be doing something that will make me happy. I am in for a rough semester though.... biology, math, and serve safe certifications. On the plus side.... I'm taking a basic cooking class. That should be very interesting. Here's to the future..... now I need a drink. :)

I GO TO THE HILLS.....

..... when my heart is stressed out! Oh wait... I think that line was "lonely". My husband and kids feel lonely since I am always buried under work now! The big news is that I am doing the costuming/hair/makeup for a production of the Sound of Music. I think it is going to turn out amazing! ....unfortunately, it is a big big BIG job. There are in between 60 and 70 cast members. And I am short 24 nun habits!! I have NO idea where to find them. But the cast is fun, and the 40's style is so stunning. I am really looking forward to making theatrical magic.

New Job, New Job!!!

... I know I got you all excited with the title, but it isn't me that has the new job, it's my husband! He got a new full time job (in addition to his part time job...I love that man) at Ryan's Steakhouse on the south side of Indianapolis... and today is his first day cooking there. I think it will be a change for him.... back to the ordinary grindstone of a restaurant job instead of getting to wear his chef's whites at a catering gig or an upscale restaurant. I am proud of him. He's working a lot so I can take a semester off working to focus on school. Though with my difficult classes.... I'm not making as much of an effort as I should be. Like this morning... when the alarm buzzed at 7:30 for my 8am class.... Jeff asked, "Well what are we doing?" and I said, "Going back to bed...." and so we did. Not the best use of my class time... but at least I'm not sleepy anymore, and I was able to get up and keep Jeff company while he was getting ready.

1st Anniversary!

Well folks, it's official! Jeff and I have been married for a whole year!!! (And no one has killed anyone else. I chalk this up to the threat of jail.) All kidding aside, I am so happy to be married to someone who gets me completely. No pretending, no games, just genuine love and respect for one another. I think that's a good thing to build a marriage on.
We had an amazing weekend.... I took Saturday, Jeff took Sunday, and we both planned outings and dinners that the other would enjoy. (I managed to ruin Jeff's plans by going out with friends Friday night... in heels no less.... and losing my car. I walked about two miles in heels and got blisters about an inch around in various places on my feet. I hobbled around all weekend, and we couldn't go to Conner Prairie like he planned.)
I invited Jeff's best friends up for Saturday, and we went around Circle Center Mall, and ended up in Tilt arcade. Jeff and his bff Sketch were like little boys again. Sketch's wife Zanne and I went and checked out the Chocolate Shop... I can't remember if it is the Godiva one or not.... oh well. My blood sugar hit the roof after looking in the window. :) It was insanely crowded! The Circle City Classic was that weekend, and the whole city was downtown. We ended the evening by going out to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was delicious. I recommend the pulled pork sandwich. Yum! Jeff and I went down to Monument Circle after our friends left and got some ice cream at South Bend Chocolate Co. I really recommend their fondue. It is excellent... but not gluten free. Then we headed home to snuggle and watch a movie together. It was a fun day!
Jeff had planned to take me out on some outings that required a lot of walking... like to Conner Prairie, and then to Holiday Park for a picnic and some hiking.... but my feet were so blistered I could barely make it from one end of the house to another. I felt so bad for messing things up... but Jeff came up with another plan... which was equally romantic! He took me out to Famous Dave's BBQ for lunch... it was so fantastic. If you love good BBQ, and can spend 13-15 bucks... this is not a place to miss! We left there stuffed, and with food still on our plates. He then took me to Big Lots. (call me crazy... but they have one dollar hand soaps...one of my many weaknesses!) I left with some lime coconut verbana handsoap, and a country orchard candle. Life smells wonderful at the Frazier house!! We then went to a discount theatre and saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2. Another one of my weaknesses. That man is amazing. :) I loved seeing it again. After the movie was over, he took me to a half-price bookstore and let me pick out a few new reads. It was a lovely afternoon.
We had dinner at Uno's... he had planned to take me to an Italian restaurant... but what fun would that be for him? He has Celiac's disease, which means he can't eat any wheat or wheat gluten, and that is almost all of an Italian restaurant's menu. So I convinced him that Uno's was a good choice for everyone. They have excellent Gluten-free pizza. Jeff had a pepperoni, sausage and mushroom pizza, and I had a broccoli, goat cheese and fig pizza with a balsamic glaze. It may sound weird... but it was fantastic. I also sampled their french onion soup... one of the best I have ever had!!

The new wedding ring!

And to top off the wonderful weekend... we had just gotten home, and I had changed into pajamas. I was sitting on the loveseat, and Jeff asked me what my favorite part of the day was... I told him that I loved seeing Harry Potter, but my favorite was probably the bookstore. He put his hands in front of me.... and then said "Oh, it wasn't this??'' And in his hands, in a black velvet ring box, was the most beautiful diamond ring. He then asked me to marry him all over again, and told me it was the ring he should have gotten me. I was speechless. He is a wonderful, romantic husband... and I am a very lucky wife!!

Hello world, it's been a while...

We all piled up on the couch... exhausted! We just unpacked the truck!

Jeff and the kids playing in the new backyard!

          Wow, has it ever been a while. It seems like just yesterday that I had time to blog about life amidst the wedding plans. And now it will be one year of marriage next weekend! We just moved to a new little house in Indianapolis... there are some fixer-upper things to be taken care of.... but overall, we love it here! We are both in school, and in spite of the distance, we see the kids a lot! I am making a goal of posting at least once a week.... considering it's been over a year since my last post.... I think it's a bit lofty. But we'll see. :)

Let there be..... INTERNET!

I feel that today, I must write a letter to Comcast.
Dear Comcast,
I love you. You have made my apartment so much more joyful by giving Jeffrey foodnetwork, and the access to the knowledge of the worldwideweb. It has also made Facebooking and blogging much easier for me, and reduced the odd looks that my fellow library goers give me when I yell or laugh. (Ok, I don't really yell, but I wanted you to get the idea of how much your services are appreciated.) We also enjoy on-demand. Who knew a library full of movies could provide so much entertainment? I didn't. You probably did... but it's news to me. So thank you, Comcast. Thank you.
Love,
Rachael
So as you can probably tell, we are well along in the moving, everything is moved out of our storage place, and almost everything is out of the old house. We haven't unpacked yet, mostly due to the heat and our general depression about having to move in the first place, but we have a lofty goal of being moved all together and unpacked sometime this week. And as you can probably tell.... we got cable and internets! Life is very very good. Jeff came over today and we watched some food network... and then we went and moved. Then we came back and scoured online for RSVP's. And then watched more food network. How grand these new-fangled inventions are.
On the wedding front... almost all is done! A few songs saved to a cd, a food trip and some delicious cooking, and a dress fitting, and we will be all done! I'm sure a few details will pop up here and there to be fixed, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's almost here! It's a month away! (and I almost passed out after typing that. Insert excited/freaked out scream here.)
I think all this calls for a nap. A day of finalizing and moving has been very stressful. Plus my pillows are serenading me. Goodnight, world.