Complaining again

I complained about Nick's job yesterday and I'm going to complain about it again today!

I think I have forgotten what my husband looks like. He leaves before I wake up in the morning and I'm asleep when he gets home. Tonight will be the same as the past two nights. Getting home at 12:30 is RIDICULOUS! I honestly haven't seen his face since Sunday night. He wakes up and kisses me goodbye and comes home and kisses me goodnight. Maybe in a few years I will want a few days to myself, but not right now. Not 1 month after we've been married.

Last night we had bunco at Jill's apartment so that kept me busy until 9:30. We had a really great time, even though we only played for 30 minutes. The other 2.5 hours consisted of lots of talking and eating. I won for the first time last night since I joined the group. Most Wins!! Wooohooo!

Anyways, tonight will be a boring night by myself at the house-on-wheels. I'm looking for any other lonely soul to go out to eat with or something.

I'm a reader???

Since the honeymoon I've read 2 books. Cover to cover! I can hardly believe it either. It's not that I don't like reading, I just don't think about doing it. I'm not into smut books or anything fictional. (Or so I thought!) I've never been able to get into any fictional books until I read "The Confessions of a Shopaholic." I bought the book for our plane ride to and from St. Lucia. I finally started to read it on the way home and couldn't put it down. I finished it a few days after we made it home. I went to Rosenberg last week to buy the rest of the series, but Target only had one and it was the newest release..."Shopaholic and Baby." I couldn't read that one before all the others so I ended up with nothing. It dawned on me the next day that I had the Paula Deen book packed away somewhere at the Popp's house. I found and quickly started reading it. Another great book! I really haven't ever watched any of her shows, but Dad loves her. So in love with her that he got 3 of the same books for Christmas. She's very Southern and down to Earth. Once we are in our house and are back to cable, I'll definitely start watching her show. Both books are quick, easy, and funny reads.

Have I mentioned that I hate Nick's job?

When Nick applied for the job in Boling, he thought it was his dream job. When he was in college he would tell me how he wanted to go back to Wharton and be an Ag teacher in Boling. Boling is known for their strong ag department. They win big all the time. They are a 3 teacher Ag department and only a 2A school, which goes to show how "into" ag they are. To them, ag is what sports are in most school....#1. Nick found out in April last year that one ag teacher was losing his job due to cheating. Of course, everyone in the community knew that this guy had cheated in the Houston Livestock Show, but no one ever made much of a fuss about it. Actually, I've heard that it was his second time to cheat. The first time he was warned and the second time he was canned. Very sad that someone would go so far as to cheat to win and put their own job on the line for a student.

Yesterday morning Nick had to be at school at 6:15am to start getting animals ready for the fair that starts this weekend. I was very very very ANGRY when he didn't get home until 12:30am. It's going to be like that for the next two weeks. I'd be fine with this job if he was making a decent amount of money for the amount of time he has to put in. I told him this morning that if you sat down and figured out his hourly wage, he probably makes $.50 an hour. I think he puts in more hours than any doctor puts in. He usually has something to do with work every weekend. It's really just disgusting.

He found a couple other teaching jobs that he is very interested in. We are working on getting all of his stuff together and sending it in. He called one guy he knows about a job and he told them that he could get him the job if he really wanted it. We found out yesterday that he would be making more money and probably put in half the amount of time. Say a prayer that it all works out for us. There is no way that I'd ever let him stay working at a place like this. How terrible would a job like this be when we decide to have children?

Sad Week

It started with a phone call around 5:30am Wednesday morning. I heard my phone ring, but thought it was the alarm. For whatever reason, it was on Nick's side of the bed so I let him deal with it. He answered it and all I remember hearing was "Uh-oh, you have sad news?" At this point, I popped out of bed, looking at him, and asking him "Who is it? Are you talking to Mom? Did something happen to Papa?" I started to panic because he wasn't saying anything to me. I knew whatever he was listening to on the other end, was not good. I started to reach for the phone and told him to give it to me because it was mine. He finally whispered that it was his mom. That didn't make me feel any better. He was still listening and whispered "Grandpa Popp." He got off the phone and said that they had to take Grandpa to Memorial Hermann earlier in the morning because he suffered a massive stroke and things didn't look good. Unfortunately, the stroke happened near his spinal cord which caused major brain damage. He was currently on a respirator and they had decided to discontinue life-support when Aunt Rose made it from Forney to Houston. The news was absolutely shocking. Grandpa Popp had just been at our wedding and he was fine. The Monday after my birthday, April 14th, he and Grandma came for supper and he was fine.

Nick and I were torn on whether we should go to the hospital or not. It was a complete toss-up. Should we go and see him in the condition he was in and remember that as the last time or should we stay and remember my birthday celebration as the last time to see him alive? We finally agreed that we needed to go so that we wouldn't regret it later. Since all the wedding stuff, I was out of days to take off. I went in for a half-day, but ended up leaving at 9:45 when Nick called and said Rose was almost there. I rushed to pick Nick up from Grams' house and off to Houston we went. As we flew to Houston we learned that Uncle Louie wasn't there yet so we still had time. At this point, I decided that I could slow down and turn off my flashers. Louie, Nick, and I all made it to the hospital at about 11. All 3 of us went to see Grandpa together for a few moments. At about noon we all gathered around Grandpa, the respirator was turned off and they did all the other things they do. It was emotionally draining and unbelievable. I could not and still cannot believe what was happening. The entire Popp family has the strongest faith I have ever witnessed. As we all wept around Grandpa, you could tell that everyone was saddened by this tragedy, but happy for he went to a better place. They were so strong through it all. Aunt Ruthie asked if anyone would join her in singing "Peace is Flowing like a River." I lost it at this point. Words cannot explain this moment. I know Grandpa was so proud of her for the courage it took to get through that song. Grandpa died a little before 12:30pm.

We left the hospital around 2:30pm to go to Nada. We got to Grandpa and Grandma's house around 4 and finally had lunch. Brian and Abby brought bbq for the entire crew. As we sat around and reminisced, Grandma told us about the journal Grandpa wrote in. He started writing a journal in 2000. It was so neat to look at. His journal entries were only a couple of phrases long. Most of them went something like this...January 28th, 2002 High of 76 and Low of 52. Cloudy. Trimmed bushes in the yard and played "Canasta" with Joe and Pauline. Nick and I flipped to March 29th as soon as we got ahold of the journal. *Actually, Grandpa was a "little" bit of a perfectionist. He scribbled down his entry on a little tablet or any scratch paper and then rewrote it in his journal. Our entry was still in the tablet. It said..."Marilyn and Leonard picked us up to go to Shiner for the Chumchal/Popp wedding. Jenny and Nick are getting married at 2pm." This might not be word for word, but it's pretty close. We read it over and over and over. Grandma told us that he had so much fun at our wedding, especially with the Hobos playing the polkas. She also said he asked her how to spell Chumchal because he didn't want to get it wrong.

Friday evening we had the Rosary at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Nada and Saturday morning was the funeral. Both were very nice services. The church was filled with friends and family. We all headed home after the luncheon at about 3:30pm.

Saturday evening Nick and I went back to Nada around 7:30. Grandma seemed to be doing very well. She was sharing all sorts of stories with us. At one point, Grandma, Rose, Marilyn, and Ruthie were laughing hysterically about Marilyn kicking a window out at the old school house. It was so good to see Grandma and her girls laughing the way they were. There was no denying they were all sisters (and mother) as they all laughed simultaneously with the same grin. Nick noticed it as well. We ate supper, sat around, and then got stuff together for thank-you notes. We ended up leaving at 12:30am. We were very glad that we made the trip back to Nada to be with the rest of the family.

Nick got a little upset with me....

He doesn't get to read our blog often because it's blocked at his school. I told him about the "Things I Hate" post and he got a little upset with me. I guess it was our first "married people" argument. It was really stupid and petty, but he said that I don't have to let the whole world know everything! I'm sure in a few weeks when he reads this post, he might get a little whiny about it too, but it's all in good fun. I really don't hate the trailer...it just sounded funny to me when I was typing it.

For the record, the trailer really isn't so bad. Although, I was a little afraid that it might tip over this morning during the storm. We survived and made it through week two in the house-on-wheels.

Lia Sophia

I haven't officially started selling this jewelry yet, but I'm thinking about it. I have several friends that sell Premier Jewelry. It's a BIG deal here in Wharton. I'm sure every lady in town has been to a show and has several pieces of it. It's very, um, saturated in this county. I was thinking of other things that I could sell in the summertime, when a lady I work with approached me about Lia Sophia. She's going to start with Lia Sophia on Monday, so it will be the first time it's out in the community. I never have anything to do in the summer, so I figured it would be a fun little business adventure. It's nothing that I could make a living doing, but some extra cash is always nice. One of my friends that just started with Premier pocketed $900 on 3 shows. Sounds good to me!

Doing the show is really easy. All I will have to do is display the jewelry, pass a few pieces around, play a game, and take orders.

Hostess Benefits are as follows:
Free Jewelry
Receive 20% of your Show sales in FREE jewelry credits. ($600 show=$120 free jewelry)

Hostess Bonus Items
Choose any four items at special Hostess Bonus prices ($15 unless otherwise noted).
*They offer several $100+ items for $15-$30.

Half Price Items
Choose any two items at half price.

Special Buying Privilege
Buy an additional item at half price when you purchase from a Show booked at yours.

40% Hostess Credit
Have 10 orders and 2 dated bookings from your Show and get 40% of your Show sales in jewelry credit for only $15.

Right now, the only thing I need is for a few of my dear friends to say they will have a show, then I will probably go ahead and join the Lia Sophia team. Also, if anyone would be interested in selling it, let me know.

Check it out at www.liasophia.com

Things I hate:

1) 40 degree weather whilst living in a house-on-wheels.
2) Laminate floors in house-on-wheels in 40 degree weather.
3) Not having enough blankets whilst living in house-on-wheels during 40 degree weather.
4) Having a toilet facing the bedroom and right next to the sink in house-on-wheels.
5) House-on-wheels!

Ok, so I don't hate the house-on-wheels! It's actually working out very well for us right now. Would it be something I could do for a lifetime? Heck no....I probably couldn't do it for 3 months. We are very anxiously awaiting the Popp's to be finished with their house. The cabinet people are coming on Friday and they will start painting next week...more than likely. I cannot wait to live under a real roof again...especially since it will be our very own home. I've got lots of remodeling to do, which will be the perfect summer job.

Another exciting note...Nick and I found a piece of property that we are very interested in. I have one requirement on purchasing land: It must have trees. No trees, no needy! Nick has lots of other requirements and this piece of land seemed to fit his standards. He's REALLY excited about it. It's 30 acres in Boling. In two spots it has lots of trees and in the middle it's open pasture, for his cows. One thing that I really like is that it backs up to a creek. We've got another piece spotted that we are going to look at on Sunday so that we can compare the two. Even though we won't build a house for about 10-15 years, it's really fun to look and dream up ideas!

Funny Wedding Questions

My wonderful Fuentes girls had a list of questions after the wedding that I had to answer. I thought they were pretty funny and I'd imagine several people had the same questions. I'll take the time to answer them now. When Beth told me she had a list, I figured it would be a long one. As of right now, it consists of 3 questions. Feel free to email me if you have any that need to be addressed.

Q: Ok, so how much money was in the birdcage?
A: We're opening gifts this Saturday. Last weekend Nick and I did sneak in the living room and opened a few cards. We're guessing that it will be around $6,000.

Yes, we are floored by the amount of money as well. When we opened the cards and counted all of them and did a guesstimate, it made us feel like we won the lottery. Unfortunatly, Bonnie is the only one who REALLY knows what that feels like.

Q: Was that John Deere tattoo on that one girl's arm real?
A: It was the second time I've seen this girl and it was on her both times. So, I'm going with yes. Surprised the heck outta me when I found out she's an RN! Don't worry, I'll NEVER have a JD tat.

Q: How old was the girl that was pregnant...she looked 12?
A: These days, it's the thing to get pregnant in HS. I think she's a senior.

That was kinda fun....send me more ?'s!

Told you 26 is old!

For my birthday I got.............................




A GRAY HAIR!



It must have popped out at some point Friday night, because I've never seen it before. It was right in front so it couldn't be missed. I pulled it out and was going to take a picture of it on a black background, but it blew away somewhere in Nick's truck. Is this what married life does to you??? I never agreed on getting gray hair!

Talking in my sleep

Thursday, the night before my birthday, I had luckily fallen asleep before Nick. I hate it when he's asleep before me, but it's been good recently. I've been so beat that it doesn't take me long to crash at all. I've also been addicted to The Confessions of a Shopaholic book so I read that while he is in the shower. By the time he gets done, I'm struggling to keep my eyes open....the wonderful wife that I am! I guess he wasn't asleep yet, but he said I started singing Happy Birthday to him in my sleep. He told me it wasn't his birthday, that it was mine and I asked him when his was! I giggle as I type this. I'm such a goober!

It's Official!

I'm probably the only dork that brings their camera to get a picture of getting a marriage license, but this was monumental in my books. I had to have these shots!

We were walking into the Annex and I had to snap a shot of this car sitting outside of it. Felt like we were in the 60s or something. Nick makes fun of me when he sees horse-drawn buggies going through town, but I think it's classy compared to this boat.

All smiles! (I can't get the deadgum picture to rotate and I'm tired of messing with it.) The lady behind the glass giggled at us, but she took the picture without any hesitation.

The official document. We went to get the marriage license on March 17th after school.

Playing Catch Up

Since I'm in Shiner this weekend, I get to play catch up with my blogs and pictures. Oh how wonderful it is to have high speed internet. On March 15th Nick and I went to our first prom together. I don't have much to say about it other than it was ok. How much fun can a prom be when you are knocking on 30? Hopefully it will be the last one that we have to go to until Jaace is old enough. Although we didn't take a "formal" picture because they don't do that in Boling, we snapped one of ourselves just for a remembrance.

Where do you get a sixpence?

Well, in my parts you get it in the mail from the bank! This makes me love small town life and small town banks. Lots of times I complain when I can only spend $300 a day from my debit card and I have to call them and up the amount. It was also very frustrating when these small banks didn't offer online banking and debit cards until several years later than normal banks, I even switched from one small one to the other, just to get a debit card. I guess when you think about it, it's nice knowing who your bank people are and they know you.

Mom and Dad have an account at the Yoakum Bank so they sent me my sixpence in the mail. I thought it was pretty interesting. If they wouldn't have sent it, it would have been an old tradition I probably wouldn't have done.

My Wonderful Husband

What a surprise! He sent me flowers to school for my birthday. It was a complete surprise, which makes it even better. Sally, my principal, delivered them to me. I was sitting at my computer, turned around, and saw her with flowers. I asked her if she knew who they were from because they weren't from "MY HUSBAND!" When I looked at the card it said "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!" What a great man I have!

I love you, baby! Thanks for brightening my day since I have to be at work!

Happy Birthday to me!

I really have to start my diet up again, but I'll hold off until Monday. As if I've never said that before. Since St. Lucia I think I've gained about 7 pounds back. I'm afraid to step on a scale, so I'll wait until I start walking again. Last night Nick and I stuffed our faces with fried shrimp from Texas Steak and Seafood. They have really really good seafood. Whenever someone decides to come visit us, we'll take you there. Tonight Dad is making me chicken fried chicken and chicken fried steak for my birthday. (The steak is for Nick.) Mom's making those yummy stuffed mashed potatoes. I feel fatter just thinking about it. I'm hoping that they put some of our wedding cake in the freezer so that we can taste it. I did get a little taste of it, but not enough to remember it.

Other than going to Shiner and hanging out with the parents and a few other friends, I don't plan on doing much this weekend but relaxing and reminiscing. I think that we've had enough excitement over the past few weeks...low-key sounds great to me.

St. Lucia

Here are a couple of resort photos from our wonderful honeymoon. It's still really depressing to be back in the land of corn and flatness. Even though we will trek back to St. Lucia in the future, it will never be our honeymoon again. I HIGHLY recommend St. Lucia to anyone looking for a honeymoon or destination wedding. Sandals is definitely the way to go.

Not excited about tomorrow

I'll officially be 26 at 11:15am tomorrow. This is NOT exciting! 26 rounds up to 30 and 30 is old...right, Jamie? It stinks even more because Nick is 24. Him being 24 and me being 25 didn't sound so bad, but him being 24 and me being 26 sounds like I'm a real cradle robber. It's also not exciting because Nick already gave me my gift a few weeks ago. Remember the digital camera for Valentine's day. I wasn't 100% satisfied with the one he gave me so I wanted to upgrade to the underwater one which was quite a bit more. He gave in and said it would be for my birtday too. He also went overboard on my wedding gift and gave me a stunning set of pearls. (A necklace and bracelet) He found a trailer he wants to go look at in Brenham this evening. We're headed there in a little while and then if we find a restaurant that fancies me, he's going to take me there for my birthday supper.

Jamie and Jill have asked what I wanted for my birthday and I REALLY don't want or expect anything. They've already spent well over a thousand bucks on me for showers and wedding gifts. Jill said that we'll all have to go through...she'll just make sure she won't get married close to her birthday. All I really want is a Rowenta iron and a good ironing board to do my wifely duties and iron my prissy husband's pants and shirts! I'm so not wife material!

Making Shiner Folks Proud

Would it be right for a Shiner person to pass up a drinking contest? I really didn't want to do it because I had several Piton's and Rum Punches in me already, but all the bartenders were nagging me to go up and participate. Of course I gave into the peer pressure and won 3rd place. I guess I was concentrating on looking at the other women to see if they finished before me rather than drinking the beer fast. My prize was a bottle of champagne that I snuck home in our suitcase.

A nice little old lady from Illinois sitting next to me sent me this picture. Nick was busy digging in our bag looking for our camera so she let him borrow her's.

We did a land and sea excursion on this day. We drove in a van through the countryside, including the rainforest and drive-in volcano. We saw the beautiful Pitons, botanical gardens, and a pretty waterfall. We boarded a party boat to get back to the resort.

Sneak peek

If you'd like to take a sneak peek at our wedding pictures. Go to: http://blog.serendipity-photography.com/

Alice told me they took over 1000 pictures. I can only imagine all the wonderful shots they got. When I'm able to view them on the online gallery, I'll send the info. Anyone will be able to purchase prints from there.

Absolutely Amazing!

Words cannot describe our wedding day. It was absolutely perfect...everything I've ever dreamed of and more. There were a few minor issues, but nothing that ruined our day. Of course I am a little ticked about being announced as Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Pop by the priest, who is Nick's distant cousin! Seems a bit ridiculous that he didn't know the last name by now, especially since he's recently done Grandpa and Grandma Popp's 60th Wedding Anniversary. As we walked out of church, we discovered that it was raining. Again, nothing major. I was just worried that we were not going to do our hayride, which was a must. We started taking pictures and the weather cleared. It was perfect outside by the time we left. We made our loop through town and had a blast. It was probably the most fun part of the entire wedding. As we were making our way to cut the cake, I looked for it and asked where it was. I figured that they had taken it to the mess hall. Nah, just on the ground. The entire day I felt like I was in a fog. I wanted to remember every single moment, but we all know that's not possible. I vaguely remember looking at the floor to see the huge mess. As I think about it, it seemed like everyone was sort of crowded around it, trying to hide it from me. Like I wouldn't realize my cake was missing. When I saw it, I laughed. What was I supposed to do? There wasn't any way to save it! Everyone said I handled it like a pro. It's only a cake! Had my videographer or photographers not showed up, I would have been royally ticked. Only because that's the only way to relive your wedding. Luckily I had the BEST of both. I know that the video and photos will be unbelievable. When I have more time I plan on blogging more about the couple of days leading to the wedding, the wedding day, and honeymooning. When I get caught up with all of that, I'll occasionally blog about our lives as newlyweds. I'm sure that'll be interesting. Hopefully I won't lose all my readers!