Since I broke my rule about promoting products on the blog yesterday, I figured I might as well do it again today. Goog411 is awesome and is such a money saver for me. Goog411 is a free directory assistance service that you can call while out and about. I use it to call and make appointments, to order pizza, and just whenever I've forgotten a phone number. Prior to using Goog411 I used to spend lots of money on calling 411 on my cell phone. And while I'm sharing my favorite tips, products, and money savers...what are your favorites?
Ok, rarely do I blog about products that I love...but this time I need to make an exception. My Mom suggested these to me and gave me a couple to sample and I am hooked! I guess they never really appealed to me in the store because I didn't think they would be very useful. I really only thought of them as vegetable steamer bags and I always steam my frozen vegetables in a Tupperware container and that works fine. What I didn't realize is that these little bags are like magic cookers for your microwave! Last night I chopped up a bunch of baby red potatoes and added them to the zipnsteam bag along with some crushed garlic and salt and pepper. I put the bag in the microwave and 12 minutes later I had the yummiest steamed red potatoes ever. The texture was perfect, not like the usual microwaved too chewy potato. And what is really great is that you can cook meat and vegetables together in these little bags for a quick healthy meal. I love these bags. We are so busy and we need quick prep meals. My Mom says she has tried salmon and I've found some really great recipes on the Internet here:
Tonight we're going to try shrimp fajitas...yum! We have been dieting and have recently gotten very sick of salads for dinner. I can't wait to try out a bunch of new healthy quick recipes.
20 + Hours of working this weekend along side Ciege has really caught up with me. I'm so tired. After a fairly full night of sleep I woke up feeling very groggy and in need of some serious caffeine...which for me means Diet Coke (coffee is gross).
I'm really puzzled as to why I am so exhausted. Although I have been in the office all weekend, I've gotten a chance to do some fun research and haven't had anything that I've HAD to accomplish. And it is not like I've been really stressed out lately. But for whatever reason, I'm really feeling the effects of this weekend.
Ciege is quite the trooper. He is exhausted too, but not showing it nearly as bad as I am. No matter how much makeup I put on this morning, I still have huge bags under my eyes. :) It really bugs that guys are so much more resilient than us! And the older they get, they become handsomer. But I digress.
We're hoping to break away from work long enough today to enjoy a couple of hours at my Mom's house for a Memorial Day BBQ. That should be nice and relaxing.
And although it sounds like I am complaining here...I am very happy. In fact, I have to say that this time in my life is one of my favorites. Ciege and I are still fairly young and very much enjoying our life. We've got no real responsibilities beyond work and our little doggie Bachelor. We've had an amazing couple of years working together. I didn't think it was possible get even closer to Ciege, but our bond has really strengthened this last year as we relate to each other as spouses and coworkers. He is my favorite person and I love being able to share so closely in his work. I feel so blessed to have all of my needs met, have a great career, but most of all to have such a great relationship with my spouse.
Nona (Ciege's Mom) has told me before that I look just like Raven from "That's So Raven" and I've always denied it like crazy. But alas, a silly website has verified her observation.
I was so excited to go over to this cool website and see what celebrity they think I look just like. I have to admit that I was kind of hoping it would choose a more glamorous celeb.
I'm standing behind my Man this weekend as he feverishly works to complete a deadline on a project he was supposed to be taken off of weeks ago. He's working so hard this weekend and I couldn't be prouder. It makes me so happy to see that he will do what it takes to follow through on his commitments. And I have to admit, it is difficult sometimes to do the right thing and not discourage him from doing this. I would much rather play. We had considered going to Yellowstone this weekend...so I'm pouting a little bit :)
Working together has its many many benefits, but one of the mixed benefits is that when he stays in the office and works, I find myself compelled to do the same to keep him company. So we were here in the office until 11pm last night and have been in the office all day today. I've been having a fairly good time and have gotten the rare opportunity to do some heavy tech geeky research which is very good for me. Also, last night I queued up "Super Size Me" on my laptop using my NetFlix account and we were able to enjoy a movie while working. Ciege is getting a little burnt out though, I can tell. We're about 20 minutes away from heading home and I'm hoping that we'll be able to get some major rest before we have to come back in tomorrow for another round of this.
And the Dilbert cartoon is not meant to belittle our work situation. One of the things that our work has always been awesome about is promoting a great Work - Life balance. For every hour of overtime I have spent here, I think they've repaid me double as far as flexibility in the hours I work and plenty of allowing me to "work from home" when I needed to get out of the office around 3pm from time to time. Working with my spouse blurs the line of work and life because we are experiencing work together. It makes it easier :)
I have something that I just must share with you. It is a long story, so stick with me :) I know that I rarely talk about God and about faith on this blog, but God has been so much on my mind this week, that I can't help but share about this time in my life. Some of you SweigartSpot readers are not Christians and I ask you to read anyway. If nothing else, I think you'll learn a little more about me and I want to make sure since I am so quiet about my faith that I get a chance at least once to tell you about the most important thing in my life.
I have been a Christian ever since I was a little girl. I can remember my first prayer to God and I was four years old when I asked him to "be in my heart". Although I didn't understand the full ramifications of this childhood decision, I can tell you that I have reaffirmed this faith, and very much tested this faith throughout my entire life.
My childhood was definitely not picture perfect. I've always had really big "Dad" issues. My biological Father is a career criminal. I can remember lying to my friends about the reason why my Dad didn't live with us. My stories ranged from his greatness as a fireman or a police officer. Instead, he sat in the State Penitentiary for robbery, rape, and many other things throughout the years. This absence of a Father was always such a big deal to me. Being an only child until I was 13, I truly missed having a Father.
When I was 12 years old, my Mom married someone from church. The day they were married, I hugged him and called him Dad. I purposed in my heart that he was the Father I had been waiting for and accepted him as such from that day. He was a highly spiritual man and very involved in our church at the time. He was the loudest "Amen'er" in the church and constantly told everyone around him about his faith. However, he was a very conflicted person who never received freedom from his own painful past. He was involved in a terrible car accident during his early twenties which left him in a coma for quite a while as well as very affected for his entire adult life. It didn't take long to realize the affects of a spiritual person who isn't quite living their faith. He was highly abusive (in all ways). Much of this abuse was going on in secret. One day my Mom told me that she was going to divorce him, so I decided to tell her about the secret abuse that had been happening during the three years of their marriage. Immediately she went to the courthouse and I found myself telling police officers what had been happening to me. I eventually ended up testifying in front of a Grand Jury and my Step-Father was sent to serve a 3 month jail sentence. 3 days after he was released from prison, he went into our backyard and shot himself. I was 15 at the time and found myself in a very confusing mess of trying to grieve this person that I loved so much while being so intensely angry about everything he had put our family through.
Years later, I found myself very anti-religion, especially anti-spiritual people who didn't necessarily live what they were preaching. As a result, I saw the same kind of hypocrisy in my own life. I would profess to be a Christian, yet would definitely live like a non-Christian. Also, I found myself very angry at God. I had the same questions many had...why did I go through this, why are children starving, why do you choose to intervene in some people's lives yet you didn't save me from pain? I could never get great answers to these questions. I found myself knowing Christ, yet very very confused, angry, and not feeling like my faith was very substantial.
A couple years ago, I attended a wedding for CJ's cousin. It was a beautiful ceremony and I loved every minute of it...that is until the bride got up to dance with her father. For some reason, this is the one thing that can send me to tears immediately. I looked away, consoled myself, and thought nothing more of it. On the way home from Seattle, I was looking down from the plane at the mountains below. In my mind an old hymn, "On Christ the solid rock I stand" was playing in my head. I thought this was so weird because I hadn't been to church in forever, and certainly hadn't heard that song in years. And that song always meant nothing to me, so it was weird.
Three days later, I attended a conference in Utah by Beth Moore. During the conference, I was questioning how HE could possibly be a loving God. I knew that I was taught that HE was, but how could a loving God stand by as so much injustice and pain was going on in the world? I was convinced that he didn't love me. Beth's message was all about how much He did love me. She said that God said that his love for me was immeasurable, as many stars as were in the sky, that is how much he loved me. The entire message went about proving to me that he did love me. It was amazing. We stood up afterwards for the traditional post message worship and this song was performed. I was so moved and definitely "Standing in the love of Christ" when the song transitioned to "On Christ the Solid Rock I stand". It was amazing! Seriously the feeling I had was indescribable. Beth Moore spoke into the microphone, "He wants to dance with you". Oh my goodness, I was overcome with emotion. I'm not sure if that line meant anything else to anyone else in the room, but to me, it was exactly about the wedding dance I had witnessed weeks prior. It was amazing, but it still didn't answer all of those questions still looming in my head about suffering and God's intervention.
This last weekend, I went to another Beth Moore conference in Boise. It was so cool because it was almost like God picked right up where he left off with me. Over the past couple of years I have continued to struggle with the whys. God answered my whys unequivocally this weekend. I believe that I have a purpose in life and that my purpose will be closely tied to the pains of my past. God is amazing and spoke again to me. Ever since I have just been a different person. During the conference this "In Christ Alone" song was again played. I really can't describe for you how amazing it is to be in a room with 5000 other Christians yet to feel that the entire conference, both conferences were just for me. Amazing! So that is my story. I hope to take you along with me as I struggle and get closer to God. And of all of the silly things I blog about, it was just eating at me to share this one with you!
Last night Ciege took his Mom to "May Day Massacre". Its the Treasure Valley Rollergirls championship bout and by the sounds of it, they had a great time. Ciege is hooked. He loved the fights that the girls had and their crazy Roller Derby names. For some who might not be familiar with Roller Derby, here is an explanation (thank you Wikipedia):
Roller derby is an American-invented contact sport—and historically, a form of sports entertainment—based on formation roller skating around an oval track. In past decades, roller derby has been primarily a professional or paid sport for both women and men. Roller derby currently consists primarily of a predominantly female, amateur or unpaid circuit with a strong do it yourself ethic.
Ciege has been discussing the event this morning with coworkers and you can tell that he just had a really great time last night. He asked his Mom to go because she liked Roller Derby when she was a kid. He had a great time visiting with his Mom and they were out until 1am chatting after the event.
Time is just flying by. We're already half way through May and I have no idea where the last two weeks have gone. Work has been fun and challenging lately. I'm enjoying what I've been working on so that has been keeping me pretty preoccupied. We recently got a subscription to Netflix, so we've been spending a lot of our evenings watching movies and hanging out.
Last Sunday we got a chance to spend some quality time with both my Mom and CJ's Mom. We spent breakfast with my Mom and lunch with his Mom. It was a good time and was nice to be able to see both of them. However, I was in a super cranky mood all day and it just so happened that Ciege was also a little irritable. It was definitely one of those days where you are just super happy to get to bed so that you can go to sleep and start fresh on a new day.
We're doing the "Biggest Loser" contest again at work. This time around there are 8 participants and each of us put $75.00 in the pot. The winner will be the person(s) who consistently loses at least 1 pound per week until the end of the contest, which is the first of July. Ciege and I are currently the only ones in the contest who have consistently lost. I've lost about 16 pounds and Ciege has lost about 10. We're feeling great, getting to the gym more often...and unfortunately obsessed with dieting right now. Dieting can be such a consuming and draining thing. Although we're feeling very motivated, it will be nice when these healthy habits become more of a way of life for us and we don't have to concentrate on it so much. And I can't wait until I don't fit into a single pair of my current jeans so that I can go shopping for new ones :)
The dog is driving me CRAZY. We're going through a rough spell with him because he has become completely neurotic. It all started with a stupid laser pointer. We found that if we shined a laser pointer he would go crazy and chase the light around. His little tail would wag and we thought it was great. Well that silly laser pointer opened up a new world of possibilities in his little doggee brain because now anytime there is any kind of shadow or light on a wall he goes crazy. He spins and fixates on it and won't settle down. He smacks his little face on the wall trying to bite the shadows. I can't put on my makeup in the morning without him freaking out because of the shadow my compact mirror makes on the wall. We're really going to have to figure out how to break him of this.
And I think that is pretty much all that has been happening at the Sweigarts lately. I'm really disappointed with my lack of blog posting lately. My life can't really be this boring!
Ok, never mind that the "economic stimulus" package will probably fail miserably and not bring our economy out of a slump. Forget that the government is actually borrowing this money to go even deeper into debt.
We thought we'd do our patriotic duty and pump our rebate cash back into the economy...
This week we brought ourselves into the 00's and finally kicked CJ's old TV from high school out the door in exchange for this shiny new 47" LCD. We've been talking about doing this for over a year and the government's cash gave us a perfect excuse to splurge. It is amazing. We also purchased a Playstation 3, so that we could play Bluray movies, and all I can say is... amazing. We're in TV heaven. CJ's in Madden heaven.
We've opted to not jump right into buying cable or satellite for now. We figure that the summer is about to hit and there are no good shows on anyway. So we'll spend our summer watching Netflix movies. We've also hooked our computers up to the TV and have been enjoying streaming our favorite current TV shows. But I am afraid that come football season, we'll be needing to get some cable so that we can enjoy hours of CJ watching and me sleeping my Sundays away.
So we didn't really go out and enjoy the great weather this weekend. Instead we watched several movies, online TV shows, and played some games. We've set the TV up for now on a table, but soon we'll be mounting it to the wall. This wall is just perfect for it too. On the other side of the wall is our walk-in crawl space. So it is going to be a snap to install and get at the equipment from the other side of the wall.
And another really great thing about our new setup...we've placed it in our basement which stays super chilly cold in the summer. Today the rest of the house was a balmy 78 degrees while the basement was so chilly we were snuggling up with blankets. It was great! We've decided that we'll probably move our office/craft room to the 4th level room and we'll convert that basement's bedroom into a summer sleeping quarters. We're excited to be able to save some energy cash this year. But the funny thing about it is that we're sleeping everywhere in the house BUT the master bedroom. Ever since we purchased that spare bedroom King-sized bed, we've been sleeping there. And now we'll be sleeping in spare bedroom #2 during the summer. Ha! :) The master bedroom is really great, but we haven't slept there much in this house. The really funny thing is that this is where Bachelor loves to nap during the day while we're at work. I think he must chuckle to himself...Who's the master now? :)
Everything else is going great at the Sweigarts. We're loving the Spring weather with the exception of CJ's allergies. (and lawn work) We're just about ready to start riding our bikes to work again. We're finally getting some good relaxing entertainment at home with our great new TV. I think the only thing that isn't quite right around here is that CJ is a bit stressed at work. Other than that, we're doing great and I'm feeling quite content and happy with the way our life has been going.
We've been a family since 12/1/00. Craig & I met in August 1996 while working for a local computer chip manufacturing company. Throughout the 10+ years we've been together, we've both gone through school (Go Broncos!), changed careers, and now work together at the same company. We are a quirky bunch who is known for our weird pets & collections. Read on to learn more about how two software developers & a dog entertain themselves in Boise, Idaho
Since I broke my rule about promoting products on the blog yesterday, I figured I might as well do it again today. Goog411 is awesome and is such a money saver for me. Goog411 is a free directory assistance service that you can call while out and about. I use it to call and make appointments, to order pizza, and just whenever I've forgotten a phone number. Prior to using Goog411 I used to spend lots of money on calling 411 on my cell phone. And while I'm sharing my favorite tips, products, and money savers...what are your favorites? 
