Sunday, December 27, 2009

I'm moving!

So the more I have followed other people's blogs, the more I realize that I really like Tumblr better than Blogger. It has a lot more format options to customize your posts, so I'm converting. My new blog address is:

http://vmatheny.tumblr.com

Come visit!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Obstacles Welcome

Obstacles Welcome
by Ralph de la Vega

This book tells the story of Ralph de la Vega as a Cuban immigrant. He came into this country when he was 10 years old completely alone. He lived with strangers for 4 years before the rest of his family joined him in the United States. De la Vega went on to get an education and become successful in the AT&T corporation.

I thought this book was awesome. It had some very good, practical success principles to follow that apply in any area of life. One of the principles that stuck with me the most is that of vision. Developing a vision and a plan to achieve it. There was also a lot of good information about leadership and how to inspire the people around you. I liked the book because de la Vega does not just give you some ideas that should work in theory. He tells you these success principles, and then gives you the real-life example of how he implemented it in his career and how it helped him to get to where he is.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially to those looking to move up in the corporate world. As I mentioned already, it gives solid principles to follow that are practical and easily applicable to just about any situation.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

For Good

This song is from the Wicked soundtrack, and it just might be one of my favorite songs ever. It reminds me that I have been so blessed to have made a few really close friends that have changed me for good. I didn't have the most friends, but the ones I had were definitely the best. =) Here are the lyrics.

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives
For a reason,
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are lead to those
Who help us most to grow
If we let them,
And we help them in return.

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true,
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes the sun.
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

It well may be
That we may never meet again
In this lifetime,
So let me say before we part:
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you,
You'll be with me
Like a hand print on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end,
I know you have rewritten mine
By being my friend.

Like a ship blown from it's mooring
By a wind of the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a sky bird
In a distant wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you,
(Because I knew you)
I have been changed for good.

...

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
I do believe I have been changed for the better.
And because I knew you...
Because I knew you...
Because I knew you,
I have been changed
For Good.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Memories made and more to come.

A few weeks before our wedding, I had a dream (more like nightmare) that we were driving away from the wedding and I realized that I didn't remember anything that had happened. It was all just a big blank spot. Scariest thing ever when you're stressing about getting all of the decorations right, making sure everyone shows up on time, wondering if the photographer will get the right shots, etc, etc... Well, thankfully, that didn't happen. I remember a lot about that night. And since tonight marks the 2 year anniversary of that memorable night, I thought I was share with all of you what I remember. =)

-My bridesmaids were awesome throughout the whole process. They cut out and put together invitations and programs until they were blue in the face. lol. But I am very thankful b/c I never could've done it alone.
-Micah and half of the groomsmen showed up 45 minutes late for the rehearsal dinner. He's lucky I wasn't a bridezilla or I might've called it all off. lol.
-Gary, at the rehearsal dinner, with his unexpected variation of "Who gives this woman to marry this man?"
-For whatever reason, after we all got back to the house that night, I just had this random breakdown. I don't even remember what triggered it. I was working on the slideshow, trying to get the timing right. But I don't see why that would upset me. Maybe it was just all of the stress and anxiety building up. Whatever the reason, it happened. And the girls basically made me go to bed, and then let me sleep in the next morning as long as I needed to.
-All of the girls were supposed to go together to get our nails done that morning before heading to the church to finish decorating and getting ready. All but 2 backed out on me. And in my emotional state, it was a much bigger deal than it should've been. Micah had to come by and get something from me and when I went out to see him, he just let me cry. (He's good about that.) So Whit and Catey went w/me and we had fun, and I got over it. =)
-We ate McDonald's for lunch. We bout froze our toes off walking in and out in those little flipflop thingys they give you after you get a pedicure. lol
-The florist missed part of our order. The little things that our moms were supposed to carry their flowers in got left out completely. The florist was flipping out more than we were. So Daddy saved the day and told me and Mom, "if you want them, I'll go get them for you. Just tell me where." He was awesome. So he went down the road to another florist and got them. Yay Super Dad. =)
-Lauren and I went to the mall to get all of our rings cleaned around 2 or so. While walking through the food court, we saw those little trampoline things with the harnesses where you jump really really high. I'm pretty sure she kidnapped me and made me do it. lol. It was awesome though. Great for taking my mind off of all the stress. Although it hurts a lot more than you'd think. Those harnesses are NOT comfortable. lol
-My "something old" was my great great (great?) grandmother's 3 strand pearl bracelet. It was perfect. Matched the dress great. It broke. Like, an hour before the wedding. The clasp was loose, and it fell off. Pearls were everywhere. So here we all were, in our dresses, crawling around on the floor gathering up pearls. Of course, Dad (AKA MacGyver) had fishing line in the truck. And Alana had worked in a jewelry store. So they fixed it and saved the day once again.
-Micah took pictures with everyone first before I came down for us to have our "moment." I'm pretty sure I stood up there at the top of the stairs for like, 3 days. At least. It seemed like it at least.
-Joel acting like he forgot the ring when Gary asked for it.
-We wrote our own vows, but didn't memorize them. Probably because I didn't get it all in order and on paper until about 4 that afternoon. 2 hours before the wedding. lol. I had most of it in my head before then. But anyways. I had the paper wrapped around my bouquet during the wedding, and just had it folded up in my hand after I handed my bouquet off. Well...I didn't think through enough to figure out what I was going to do with the paper after we said our vows. I couldn't just hold this piece of paper in my hand while we exchanged rings and stuff. So I just put my arm by my side and dropped it. lol. Gary picked it up later and gave it back to me.
-My cheeks hurt so much from smiling by the end of the reception. I've never hugged so many people in my life. lol
-After the wedding, I could hardly catch my breath. In the video, you can see me just stop and take a huge breath every few minutes.lol.
-So for those of you who weren't there, instead of doing birdseed or flower petals or bubbles like most people do when they're leaving the reception, I wanted to go for a snow kinda theme. What did we come up with, you ask? Not the fake, biodegradable snow that costs an arm and a leg for the amount we were needing. No. We're much more economical than that. We used instant mashed potatoes. And they looked perfect. Looked just like snow. When they're thrown UP into the air. Notice the condition there. They don't look so much like snow when you're being pelted in the face with them. I didn't see anyone in the line b/c I had my head down the entire time. We had potatoes in our hair, our mouths, our ears...everywhere. We were still finding potato flakes days later in our clothes. Somehow. No idea how they got there. When I took my wedding dress off, we gathered a huge pile of it out of the bathroom floor. It was ridiculous. lol

I'm sure I could come up with a lot more memories from that night, but that's what stands out right now. Plus, this post is getting super long. So I'm going to wrap it up for tonight. I've still got some stuff on my mind tho, so I think I'll continue this tomorrow or Thursday. Until then, have a nice night!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Micah's Blog

Apparently I took over the other blog and made it a bit to girly. So Micah ditched me. He said it had become more of my blog instead of our blog, which was ok, but he wanted to have his own. I told him it wasn't my fault that he never posted anything. =)

So I thought I'd share his blog address w/yall so that you could follow him as well as me. =)

http://micahmatheny.blogspot.com

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Reviews coming soon!

I got my first book to review in the mail the other day. I'm super excited. And it's a hardback! I was impressed! I'm 2 chapters into it, and liking it so far. It's called Obstacles Welcome and it's about (and written by) Ralph de la Vega, who is the CEO of AT&T. He is a Cuban immigrant. He came to the States when he was 10 all by himself. His parents were trying to come, but their paperwork was wrong. So they sent him by himself, hoping to join him in a wee or so, after they got their paperwork sorted out. He stayed w/some friends of his aunt who had already moved to the States. Then the Cuban Missile Crisis hit, and a week turned into 4 years. It's very interesting thus far, and has some very practical advice for overcoming obstacles and becoming successful. So be looking for a review in the next couple of weeks.

I just went and looked at some other books that I can request after I review this one, and it makes me want to hurry up and finish it. lol. One that looks particularly interesting is called Rediscovering God in America. And I'm super jacked about getting free books. =)

Things are slowly but surely getting organized around the new apartment. Still got a good bit to do in the office, but it shouldn't take long. It's just a matter of doing it. The main thing that we need that will help SOOOOO much is getting a pantry cabinet. All of our food is just sitting out on the counter now b/c we don't really have a place for it. I've got a perfect spot for a pantry. Just gotta get one. I'm wanting to have everything basically done by Saturday night b/c we're having some friends over for dinner and fun. The boys are going to bond over Xbox and we're going to work on Christmas projects. =) I'm excited.

Well, I think I'm going to go get some reading done. =) Have a great evening!!


Saturday, December 5, 2009

This Everyday Love

"It's ordinary, plain and simple
Typical, this everyday love.
Same ol', same ol', keeping it new
Emotional, so familiar
Nothing 'bout it too peculiar
Oh, but I can't get enough
Of this everyday love."

This song is what comes to mind when I think about mine and Micah's relationship.
There's nothing extraordinary to it. It's the little things that make it what it is.

For those of you married people out there, have you ever caught yourself just getting caught in the day-to-day stuff that you forget how much you really love your spouse? I mean, you still love them. But it just becomes so normal and everyday that it isn't "special" anymore, ya know? It's just always there, so you take it for granted. Life can get so hectic and busy sometimes that you forget to just stop and be like, "Wow. I really love him and I'm so lucky to have him."

The week of Thanksgiving was super crazy busy. Hectic. Ridiculous. I can't stress that enough. On top of all of the normal crazy Thanksgiving festivities, Black Friday and such, we were moving. Genius, I know. So tempers were a little sensitive. We were both going on lack of sleep and extreme exhaustion. My OCDness vs. Micah's laidback-ness probably didn't help much in the move either. lol. (No, 'laidback-ness' isn't a real word...until now. lol)

And then, this week, after everything settled down and we've basically got the unpacking under control, although not completely done, I had one of those revelations. You know when you just can't be around someone enough? When you sit and watch a basketball that you really have no interest in until way after your bedtime just so you can sit next to him on the couch and cuddle?

And it's been little stuff that has made me realize this. No flowers. No romantic surprise getaways. No big presents.

It's him being completely goofy. When I realize that he would never act this dumb around anyone else but me. He's a complete dork, and I love it.
It's him doing anything he can to make me laugh. And it works.
It's him making me realize that it's stupid to be angry about something at work. (Even though that drives me crazy, I know he's right. lol)
It's him cheering for my team when until very recently he has had no interest in college football.
It's him giving me the cherry from his banana split. =)
It's him singing along with the Veronica Mars theme song b/c he's a dork like that.
It's all the inside jokes. Things that just me and him can laugh about.
It's him knowing when I need to cuddle before I ever say anything.
It's him making funny of me for all the goofy stuff I do.
It's us 'arguing' about which one of us steals the covers.
It's him sharing the dreams that he has for our life together.
It's walking in and catching him watching HGTV.
It's sitting and talking over Mexican about anything at all. Like politics, church goings-on, what kind of puppy we want, or an analysis of the latest episode of Veronica Mars. (Have you noticed a new addiction? lol)
It's just sitting and not having to say anything at all. Because just being in the same room w/him is enough for me.

I live for little moments like this. =)

Roll Tide Roll!

#2 Alabama defeats #1 defending SEC champs Florida 32-13. It wasn't even close. 22nd SEC Championship. Looking for National Championship #13.

What a wonderful day. =)

Thursday, December 3, 2009

My Prayer for You

So the other day, I was reading through 1st Thessalonians and I came upon this passage that I'm not sure I've ever seen before. Of if I have, I've never paid much attention. Or maybe this was just a translation that really hit me. It's Paul's prayer for the people of Thessalonica. And I just thought it was a very beautiful prayer. It's in 1st Thessalonians 3.11-13.

"Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones."

Mental Health Hotline

I saw this today and thought it was hilarious. If you've studied psychology, you will also find it exceptionally funny. If you haven't, it'll still probably be pretty funny. =)

Hello and welcome to the mental health hotline.
If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.
If you are codependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.
If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5, and 6.
If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want. Stay on the line so we can trace your call.
If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will transfer to the mother ship.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a small voice will tell you which number to press.
If you are manic depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press, no one will answer.
If you have a nervous disorder, fidget with the hash key until someone comes on the line.
If you are dyslexic, press 696969696969.
If you have amnesia, press 8 and state your name, address, phone number, date of birth, social security number, and your mother's maiden name.
If you have post-traumatic stress disorder, slowly and carefully press 000.
If you have bipolar disorder, please leave a message after the beep, or before the beep, or after the beep. Please wait for the beep.
If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
If you have low self-esteem, please hang up. All our operators are too busy to talk to you.

Hope you enjoyed that. =)