Mister Love

There is something about this little man sleeping that just steals my heart. I can't get enough!


















Thank you for putting up with me on this beautiful Tuesday!

We have scheduled a mini-vaca sometime in February that we're both looking forward to. We haven't had many trips just the two of us, and even though this will only be a weekend, it's going to be great!

-tammysita

Making good.

So here we are, the second week into 2011 and I'm already making good progress on those goals. Some pictures to show you what we've been up to (some old, some new)..

Taffy! This was a candy shop we discovered in Old Towne out celebrating for Ash's birthday.

I love this a little more every time it happens.
He does a lot of this.
Tour of the Capitol...with one of the best tour guides ever. Very cool! And FO FREE.
My new "vintage" cookie press so I can make Christmas cookies in true Heggem fashion.
Ice skating for my birthday!
My work party...yes there was face painting, right next to the half-naked women. One of the most ridiculous WORK parties I've ever been to.
Dinner for Ash's birthday!

Haha I just ran across this and it made me laugh. 4th of July at PK.
Mister.
Snuggle time.
A bow-tie birthday.

Inside the CapitolSo there's a brief, and very un-detailed update! Sorry for the not-so-great quality...my phone is the only camera on me 24-7.

Those of you on fb may have seen my prayer request around 1 pm eastern time today. Well, that was for a prelim phone interview for a new job. I said I was going to make a change in this job situation, and I wasn't kidding. Things have been worse than ever and I have to get out. Life is too short to be treated the way I've been treated! So, mark your calendars for next Wednesday at 10 am (eastern) when I have my face-to-face interview and say another little prayer if you think about it! I know this is not in my hands, so I just pray that I will be at peace with God's will and that He will lead me where I need to go. Everything about this job has been a learning experience, and it's hard to stay patient, but I have to stay realistic in that this learning experience may not be over. I will make the best of any situation....but you know I won't complain if this other job works out! Right now I drive to work, easily 45 minutes one way...sometimes 1.5 hours....and I work with terrible people. This new opportunity would be metro-accessible and sounds a lot like the firm I worked for in a-town, which I loved! So, here's to a job-change.

Want to know what book I'm reading for January?

I started this before the holidays, and just didn't get into it right away, but I'm making good time and really enjoying it! I don't have the best reading comprehension skills (I'm a math girl, come on), so books like this with lots of characters can be a bit frustrating for me to start. How I made it through all of the HP's, who knows? But ask Ash, who is reading those all for the first time, I remember NOTHING about the books. Anytime he wants to talk shop, I send him to my dad.

And last but not least, I started yoga last Saturday and I think I'm in love! I'm not the most flexible, balanced, or fit person there is, so I'm going in with nothing to lose! All of the boot camps here cost so much money that I just can't swing it, so I ran across a beginner's class that's 4 weeks, every saturday, for the right price. Find the greatest DC friend ever to come along, and success! It was great to be able to just shut everything out for a little while, relax, and do something for me. I'm looking forward to spending more time in that quiet little studio.

Off-topic....I'm ready for another buy from Warby Parker. They are my absolute fave, and everyone should have at least one pair.

Tomorrow is Friday, as if you didn't know. Happy weekend!

Goals

2010 brought big changes for the Shu's. We packed up our entire lives into a Budget truck and moved 1,360 miles across the country. Had you told me on Jan 1, 2010 that I would leave the town I grew up in, leave the friends and family we hold so dear....well I would have told you that was down right looney....but here we are. Just goes to show we are not in charge. I know this is exactly where we need to be and while it's not all sunshine and roses, I have felt a growth in me and Ashley that I don't think would have happened had we stayed in A-town. We miss our peeps dearly back home, but are extremely grateful for those we have met here who help make this "home" day after day. Now we're closing the chapter on 2010, and moving on to 2011.

For someone as list-oriented as I am, the thought of a "goal" list each year terrifies me. Why? Because I fear the inevitabiliy of not completing everything I put on that list. This year is going to be different. And you know what? What if I don't complete everything on that list? Who cares? It's a matter of giving myself things to strive for, to get me "out of my box" as the hubs always says, to push me past limits that were subconsciously set long ago. Maybe I should attribute this to nearly losing my life to a rough tumble down a metro escalator yesterday - ok, that's a bit dramatic, but it was a nasty fall that left me with a good scrape and large lump on my shin. More realistically, this comes largely in response to that "tug" on my heart after reading blog after blog that seem to have the same underlying theme. "Be fearless"...."take risks"...."dream big". Well here I am, doing all of the above. Oh goody! I can already cross those off my list! Now, I know I'm not in this alone and I pray that I stay in tune with the guidance of my Creator and follow the path down which I'm led. Who knows, maybe just maybe, I'll be able to cross everything off my list. Wouldn't that just be something? :)

2011 Goals:

--make a change in the job situation

--read at least 12 books - one for each month of the year. Big, small, fiction, non-fiction...doesn't matter

--Get fit! Cliche, but necessary

--Blog once a week, with pictures

--Start a fashion blog (eek! this one is on paper, now I must do it)

--Enjoy every second of this great life I've been given

Here goes...

Thanksgiving

I was terrible at taking pictures during this trip. I've found that if I have a camera, I tend to be so focused on taking "good" pictures that I miss out on a lot of things so I left the real camera at home this time around. All in all we had a great visit and I can't believe it's time to go home. I'm so ready to get home and decorate! This is my absolute favorite time of year. Here are the only pictures I ended up with.

Sweet Luna.



Happy Turkey Day!



I'm very grateful that we got to spend the time with family and friends that we did. Now birthday and Christmas season are in full-force! We are looking forward to new traditions with new people and our first Christmas away. It'll be hard, but we feel we are surrounded by love no matter where we are (I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes. Love is all around me and so the feeling grows...so the feeling gro-ows).

Happy Holidays!

-tammysita

Grateful

As most of you know by now, we had a big scare with Stoney on Friday night. He bloated, and we were so lucky to be educated enough to do what we needed to. It was one of the scariest, most intense, nights of my life....I was so scared we were going to lose him. All that matters now is that we still have this sweet boy curled up next to us every night, and we couldn't be more grateful.

If you have any kind of pup that can be considered an extra-large breed, you need to know about this. Here's where we learned the basics of what saved our sweet boy and while I hope you never have to go through it, the education is priceless.

Erin Vey

Take it All

Well, I just typed an entire blog post, and it disappeared. It was more for me than you, so I'll leave you with these.

Yay free Nats game!



Star Wars cookies for Ashley's "welcome home" last week.



And the Mister.



Love all of you guys. Please keep me and Ash in your prayers....there's some attacks from Satan happening and we need all the prayer power we can get.

Thanks.

2/3

So the past two days of our holiday weekend have been outstanding! The pics from yesterday are on my camera, so those will come later. We met up with some new friends to watch the UGA football game since we don't have an Alma Mater to cheer for in the football world. We were welcomed into the "dawgs" family immediately and had a great time! Then we decided to hit up the National Archives to see things such as the Declaration of Independence.Bill of Rights.Constitution. It was great fun and we're definitely staying on track with our "tourist" items we need to do!

Last night we had a date night and sought out some of the only fried okra to be had in the area. Old Glory in Georgetown...it was a major hit! So good.

This afternoon we had some grocery shopping then decided to get some coffee and stop by Eastern Market to see what there was to offer. Well, we definitely hit the jackpot! Ash found a rockin' old briefcase, I found a sweet bag and a special gift for my mamasita, and we ran across some of the most amazing cherry limeade we've ever had!

It's such a fun experience shopping handmade and vintage items and being out in the gorgeous weather. It's been a great two days and we're looking forward to another bonus day off!

-tammysita

Finally feeling settled

Well, here we are a month into our new adventure, and not one blog. Wamp wamp.

Instead of excuses, I just want to say truly blessed we have felt the whole time we've been here. This is by far the craziest thing I've ever done, and I miss our friends and family more and more each day. I didn't know how we would be able to do it, but God has placed great people in our life here to make the transition easier. Not to mention, with the technology available, we get to "see" our friends and family all the time (thanks FaceTime!!). This place will never be "home" like I knew in Arlington, but we have been welcomed by a great community of dog-lovers and friendly people and we look forward to what God is going to do for us here!

From the time we decided to make this move, I felt it was really going to be great for me and Ash, and I can say that it has definitely brought us together and is forcing us to rely on one another in ways we've never had to before. This is just us, together in this big city, living life, and it's great! There are so many things to do here, and we have all this new-found free time that we don't even know what to do with it! This is the first time in the history of us that neither one has been in school or studying for an exam. We can actually spend all the time together on evenings and weekends that we want, which is a change that I gladly welcome.

You may be wondering about the transition of cutting our living space in half....well, no complaints so far! Oddly enough, neither of us have reached a point where we miss the space we had in Texas. Sure, my craft room was great, but I've created a craft "corner" per say and can do everything there that I could in the separate room at home. It's less space to keep clean and forces us to get up off our butts and enjoy the city!

Long story short, we see God's hand in everything here. The jobs, the people, the living. He's really providing for us and I know as long as we continue to stay focused on Him, everything will be ok.

One area where I have failed miserably is pictures! You'd think I would be going crazy with all of the stuff here, but I think it's overwhelming and I just don't even know where to start. A couple weekends ago we took a trip to the Jefferson Memorial, as neither of us had been there before. We quickly figured out why....it's quite the trek out there, but worth it! It may be my favorite so far. Here are a few of the pics I do have....and I'll post some of the house soon!

Sometimes we have to move on.

I think it's time for me to give another blog a try.

You can find me here.

www.tamshu.tumblr.com

Merry Christmas!

Truly down to the wire, but here's a virtual "Merry Christmas" from our family to yours!

I hope your holidays are everything you've dreamed, and more.

Humble

So I didn't make it on the every day thing, but it was vast improvement!

I found out this morning that an old pastor of one of my very best friends committed suicide on Friday.

Here's the story: http://acts29network.org/acts-29-blog/thomas-young/

I don't know him personally, but knowing he was part of the Acts29 network shows what kind of pastor he was. I think the short story hit the nail on the head when it mentioned the deception of the "father of lies". One thing that grabbed me was knowing his funeral will be on my birthday. It's so easy to get wrapped up in it being "my" day when in reality, no day is mine. God does not have to grant me another minute, much less another day and I should be on my knees thanking him for 25 years on this earth. While we celebrate, we will try to remember to pray for his family and the grieving that will take place from here forward.

Speaking of 25......25?!?!? Really? When did that happen? I guess the same time Taylor turned 10 (yikes!!) and I've been with Ashley for almost 5 years, and I have my CPA, and a masters, etc. etc. etc. I can't help but be grateful for everything I've been allowed to do all these years. Thanks to my parents for giving me every opportunity I could ever ask for. As more and more friends have babies, it's really sinking what my parents - all parents - give up for their children. I know I won't be able to truly fathom what that sacrifice is until I'm in that place, but I am eternally grateful.

I'm looking forward to time surrounded by those whom I love dearly. I think I have the best friends a girl could ask for, and my family is pretty awesome too :)

11.24.2009

So I missed a couple days, or three, but I'm back.

Today I'm thankful for God's grace. We don't deserve any of it, but He gives it to us anyways. Not much else I can say about that :)

11.20.09

Today I am thankful for friends and family. It's been a year of new people and it just feels, right. I can't always convey my thoughts in the most eloquent way, but know this - I can't thank God enough for the people He has put in our lives not only this year, but our entire lives. You have each made us who we are today and we are eternally grateful.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Go look it up - while it's not the happiest passage in the Bible, it brings me great comfort. I feel transition brewing...things are feeling very unsettled while at the same time I'm at peace knowing God's plan is at work.

I wish I could explain to you what the last year has been like for me and Ashley spiritually but I just don't know that I can put it into words. We started going to a new church last January, Celebration Fellowship in Ft. Worth and oh my, it's amazing. It's called the hospital church and has evolved into a safe place for recovering addicts and those that struggle with their past. Our pastor, James Reeves, has developed what is called the ABC's of Life Change and I'm excited for us to partake in the ABC's of Life Change for couples. While I feel like there has been HUGE growth for me and Ash the past year, I know going through this process can also be life-changing.

I can't help but feel sentimental this time of year. Emotions are heightened and I've just had a strong sense lately of how lucky we truly are to get every day God decides to give us. I don't deserve anything that I have - the cars, the house, the pets, the husband, the toys, the crafts - none of it, but by His grace I have it all. Now I just have to figure out what I'm supposed to do with that. I've been given gifts to use, but I seem stuck in this rut of not knowing where I'm supposed to go with them.

We finally have the solid group of friends we've been looking for - people that love us, support us, lift us up, and just love Jesus with every inch of their being. I know we were put where we are by God and we see the fruits of that obedience on a daily basis.

I can't wait to see what's in store - I feel change is on the horizon and while it may not be huge change, I feel a shift and that me and Ashley both are realizing our plan truly doesn't matter. We were chosen to be where we are, who we are, right now and we are told to work hard, work smart, and trust God. Sounds simple, eh? Because it is.

In honor of the one-week countdown to turkey day I'm going to *try to give a little blip (unlike this long post) of something I'm thankful for every day.

11.19.09
I'm thankful for, first and foremost, a loving God who has promised to never leave me, to always guide me, and to always provide in ways that we can never imagine. Thank you God for this life.

Making Progress.

So I haven't exactly stayed true to my once a week pact, but this is improvement!

We are gearing up for the holidays, and all that comes with that including birthdays (Ash turns the big 3-0 in less than a month!), Thanksgiving, Christmas, weddings, etc. It's going to be a busy one, but it's a good thing it's my all-time favorite time of year. I can already taste the Peppermint mochas and hear the Christmas music, nearing with each passing day.

Update on the back situation: so the surgery in the summer didn't help the issues I was having so I'm now to start physical therapy twice a week and they will be performing a bone scan next week. The purpose of bone scan is to identify any weaknesses in the bones and narrown down maybe an area to focus on. The only downside is that because I had surgery so recently, the scan may not be helpful. At this point, I'm willing to do whatever they want to try and fix things. Basically my issue is that I can't be on my feet for longer than about 30 minutes. This makes grocery shopping, running errands, praise band, etc. somewhat difficult and very painful. I told them if we can't find a way to fix it, that's fine, I just need to make my peace with the fact that this may be how things are from here on out. So I'll start therapy here soon and hope that it makes a difference. We have our trip to Disney in January that will be awesome, but the back issues could definitely put a damper on things so here's to PT helping!

Overall, things are going pretty well in our house. In case you are wanting to ask, like the rest of the world, we are not having kids any time soon - we're still a good 2 years out from even talking about it seriously (unless God has plans otherwise) so quit asking :) It seems like the switch has flipped and since we crossed the 2 year mark, we have been under constant questioning. Ash hits his halfway mark with grad school at the end of this semester, and will be done next summer. That is a factor in waiting, but a bigger part is we are just enjoying being married right now. I'm still young and in no hurry, and I don't want to pressure him into anything he's not ready for. It will (hopefully) happen one day and let's be real, 2 years isn't that far off.

We still have the 3, yes count them, THREE mutts. We're actually trying to find a home for the newest one. He's a blue heeler mix and being that he's a cattle dog, just has too much energy for our lifestyle. He's SUPER sweet and just needs a home where he can either run on land all day long or live with someone who has time to take him on walks and get some energy out. He's just too much for our house. We'll keep him until we find a home because I refuse to take him to the pound, so if you know of anyone that might be interested, let me know! He's very loving, fixed, up to date on shots....all that good stuff.

Anyways, I suppose I should get back to work, but I'll check in soon.

Oh and if there are grammar or spelling mistakes, deal with it. I'm not re-reading :)

Have a good weekend!

God's Glory

If you ever wonder how people can stay strong in their faith when bad things happen, take a look here http://mcjacobsjournal.blogspot.com/. I work with a girl who is part of this awesomely huge family. Our prayers go out to them...that they will feel God's peace around them daily. There will be ups and downs, but there is comfort in knowing little Chase is in the arms of our Creator, a place we can only dream of.

Micro-blogging

Weeeeelllllllll.....I stink again! I'm telling you, my desire to blog has drastically decreased since I have honed my twittering skills. Micro-blogging, as it's often referred to these days, is my new favorite thing. Unfortunately I'm not the most witty and I don't feel like writing a blog will enhance your life much, so I'll keep it short :)

Good news: I am fully recovered from surgery, bad news: I don't think it fixed the issue as intended. My pain is back in action so when I go back in November for my check-up, we'll see what the next steps are. I'd like to explore any other tests they suggest, but only within reason. If I have to live with it, then so be it. Won't be fun, but it could be worse!

For now, my excitement for fall, winter, and everything that comes with those, is increasing exponentially by the day! I've decided this time of year is by far my favorite and I'm so happy it's finally here.

My poor niece ended up with the flu this week. They said it was "type a" which is the same as H1N1, but of course they won't say the words "swine flu" unless you spend $300 to send off the swab and get it tested. It's all treated the same, so it's irrelevant at this point.

Things are pretty low-key for now, with the exception of praise team rehearsals, school for ash, photo class for me, lifegroup, and a pretty awesome group of people we are super lucky to have in our life....well I guess it's not so low-key :)

Here are some pics for now - if you look at my pictures on Twitter or fb, then this is a review...

Went to the JoBro concert at JerryWorld. That place is b-a-n-a-n-a-s.



Got a surger!! Yeah!!



Had some surgery , complete with life-size Minnie Mouse balloon!



Saw "Legally Blonde" at Bass Hall...so cute!



It's been raining...a lot.



Had a fab night at Babe's and in Denton for a show!



Got some rockin' new shades!



Made some curtains.



Saw this at Fair Park. She flew, and I cried.



Performed "Defying Gravity" at church for our Summer of Musicals.



Started planning!!!



And most importantly,


Thanking God for each and every day He gives me on earth. I don't deserve anything I've been given and I do my best not to screw it up daily!

Well, that's all for now. I'm going to set a new goal of trying to blog once a week...let's see if I can stick to it.

Surgery Update

Soooo I got a call yesterday morning moving my surgery up to July 24 – eek! That’s only a month away!! I had a small freak out after that. I think I had this false sense of calmness because I still had a couple of months to go. Now that it’s only a month, reality set in real quick. My new insurance at work goes into effect July 1, so once I get my new card and everything I have to go do the pre-admit and pre-op appointments…not fun. In fact, the lady I talked to at the hospital told me to “plan on a long day”. Awesome. I feel like I have a ton to do before, but I think it’s just all in my head. Gotta chill out.

In other exciting news, I actually sold my first bag this past weekend. It was to a friend, but that cash is in a special place in my wallet. Sounds silly, but I might frame it…it’s a big deal, right? I think I’ve finally found a style I really like and I’m ready to get these things done to put up in the store. Maybe I can have it stocked before surgery – that’s my new goal. I’m making a bag right now to send to a friend in Chicago – pretty exciting that I’m breaking the borders of DFW J

Wow, been since March 30, eh? I'm a slacker.


So I don't forget, every time you to come my blog, there will be a box that pops up asking for a twitter ID and username. This is because my Twitter is private so it's verifying that you're approved to follow me if you're on Twitter. If you have no clue what I'm talking about with all this Twitter mess, then feel free to click "cancel" and go on your merry way.



Ash is back in grad school. It's bittersweet - I'm so stinking proud of him and how hard he's working, but the time has to come from somewhere, which means I don't get to see him as much. I've been exceptionally grumpy the past 2 weeks because of this, but we just need to get into a groove.

Summer is in full force and we made it through the madness that was the beginning of June. I was MOH in a wedding, Ash's cousin got married (the same day, in Merkel!) which means we had to divide and conquer that day. My parents took Taylor to Disney World for her first trip. The list goes on and on!



Oh! We got yet another new pup. This now makes 3 dogs that are Ashley's fault. He has to quit bringing home dogs. He acts like it's alllll my fault, but he knows if he shows up with a sweet face like this one:







Meet Epic. He was found around church one Sunday morning. He kind of turned into the mascot that day. Our college and young marrieds group is called "Crave & Epic"....hence the name. He is some sort of Blue Heeler, cattle dog mix...anywhere from 1-2 years old. He's losing his manhood next week because, well, kiwis are gross.

So now we are up to three, count them, THREE dogs. We've got all sizes covered and our house is officially chaos. For the most part they all sleep, but this new pup sure does love to play when he gets going so him and Smalls just have a hayday.

Work is well, work for both of us. Ash is an official full-time employee with the company he's been working for since last fall. This was a huge answer to prayer as he was getting paid, but was contract labor, and didn't know from day to day that he for sure had a job. It's serving it's purpose for the time being and I think he really enjoys it for the most part so we'll see what happens come time for graduation next year.

I found out a couple of weeks ago that it's about time for another back surgery (you know 7 years is entirely too long for me to go without some sort of surgery, so it's only natural). I had all these rods and screws and such put in my back in 2000 for scoliosis and started having some pains about 9 months ago. It's gotten so bad that I can't be on my feet any more than about 30 minutes without almost getting naseous from the pain. I went to the doctor and he gave me 4 scenarios of what could be giving me problems, 3 of which were solved by going in and taking out all the metal. Seemed like a no-brainer. While surgery won't be fun, I'm waaaaaay to young to already be dealing with so much pain and I couldn't fathom having it only get worse the rest of my life. Not to mention, one of the rods has completely come unhooked and is just kind of chilling in the right side of my back, only creating more places for issues to pop up. For me, the surgery isn't a huge deal because it will be NOTHING compared to the first surgery. It is still a major surgery, however - they have to open me up neck to waist and go in and essentially dig out all the metal that will have had bone fusion take place all around. It's anywhere from a 2-4 hour surgery and I will be in the hospital from 2-4 days depending on when I don't need meds through an IV. It's scheduled for August 14, which in reality isn't all that far away. I'm doing ok with everything now, but I have had a couple moments of reality setting and I kind of freaked out. I'm totally at peace with the surgeon, surgery, everything, but I think because I have been through a surgery before, I know what I'm in for and that scares me. The healing process was so painful the first time because they had to cut through muscles in my back to get to everything, and they will be doing the same thing this time so I know what's coming my way. Just keep everyone in your prayers - mom is having a hard time knowing she has to watch one of us go through another dang surgery (how she's been the pillar of strength through all these surgeries between me and my dad, I just can't even imagine).

All in all, we are just rocking along. Finally feel like we've found a place at a new church and developed some really good friendships. It's nice to be around people you just "click" with that are in the same place in life....all around we're just real grateful. A solid group of friends is something we felt we had been missing for a long time and it's funny how God works to place these people in your life. These people are a great group of Godly men and women and we are all always trying just to support each other in whatever is thrown our way on a daily basis.

Sorry it took me so long to get back here - there was just a mental block for whatever reason.

P.S. I'm not going to re-read this, so I apologize for anything that just sounds crazy.

Word to your mother.