[erikavanhuis]

So much for going to the gym this morning! After getting home from the concert late last night, we were just too tired. We're going to go tonight though. Speaking of the concert, Jeremy Camp was good! Audio Adrenaline was not like I remembered them. That was a dissapointment. We went with a group of friends from church, and we all left after a couple of songs by Audio A. Fortunately, we didn't pay for the concert. I don't know, it just seemed like they were more interested in showboating. Of course, had I gone to this concert about 6/7 years ago, I may have thought different. We were able to hear them all over the whole fairgrounds. We were kind of thinking what kind of witness is this? You can get the same screaming, look at me, look at me feeling by listening to secular artists. They're just not the same band that I remember. Don't get me wrong, I like quite a few of their songs...I guess just not their newer stuff, and not live. I think the hardest part was that they were basically screaming into the mics and we couldn't even understand what they were saying. It seemed like noise. Jeremy Camp, on the other hand, was quite good. He only played 4 songs, and it seemed like he wanted to play more, but wasn't allowed to. That was sort of sad. But, he shared and gave his testimony and talked about his first wife who died of cancer and about her faith. It was just neat to hear.
Anyway, overall it was a pretty good night. We heard a good concert and then got to hang out with our friends from church. We didn't get home until midnight, which is why we didn't go and work out this morning...too tired! Fortunately the gym's open late, so we'll just go after Mark gets off work tonight.
Well, I guess that's enough for now. Time to go to work. More later...

[erikavanhuis]

Well, it's been a few days since I've written in here. Actually, not much is really going on so there isn't much to write about. This weekend, we visited our grandmothers on Saturday, and then on Sunday, my parents came over and we all went out for dinner. I got to hang out with my sister afterword, so that was fun. Other than that, it was just a low-key weekend! Finally!! Next weekend will be busy though. We're getting into starting swim meets again for the year.
Now, I'm back at work, ready to begin another week. My boss gets back from his vacation on Wednesday, so that means my vacation is officially over too!! Anyway, time to get to work. More later...

[erikavanhuis]

I think I broke the toaster at the office this morning . I went to make a bagel to eat for a snack/breakfast and it cooked for a little bit and then I heard a popping sound. I went to check on it and the dumb thing wasn't working anymore. Darn it, and my bagel wasn't done either...oh well, at least it was food! I tried to get it to work again and it wouldn't turn on, so I think we'll have to get a new one.
Well, on to other things...I have to think of a way to freak out my boss tomorrow morning when he finally gets back...actually, this was not my idea - it was the idea of my other boss (I have 3). I think I'll finish up the final billing that I have left, and then leave a whole bunch of clipboards with work done on them, and leave them on his desk. He does the billing and accounting anyway. There's already quite a bit of mail piled up on his desk. Some of it is actually important that he needs to see because I have no clue what to do with it. We were going to put important phone messages all over his computer screen, but I can't think of anything creative, so I'll just make a mess of his desk. So, it will be funny because I'll already have done most of the work that I'll leave piled on his desk...ok maybe not, maybe I'm just dumb...or bored! Maybe I'll run and hide when he shows up tomorrow. Maybe it would be even more funny if I hid my car somewhere so he couldn't see it, and then think that there was no one in the office. Aargh...I'm not very good at thinking of pranks! Mark on the other hand, is a genius at that. He got his boss good last year on his birthday. I actually got involved in that one...we took all the books from the bookshelf and piled them on his desk (he's sort of a neat freak) and then wrapped the whole thing in black streamers. It was funny...he cracked up laughing and then told us to help him put everything back! I had to go to work. Of course, he got Mark back on his birthday. He got the high schoolers and some of the swim team involved. They took everything off Mark's desk, and moved the desk into the bathroom, and then put everything back on his desk in there. It was really funny. It scratched the heck out of the bathroom floor though. But, yeah, they got him on that one!
Speaking of birthdays, shoot...Mark's is coming up quick and I don't know what I'm going to do for him. He's got a wish list of camera stuff he wants, but there's no way we can afford any of it...that's why it's a WISH list! I've still got a couple of weeks...I'll think of something.
Well, I should probably get back to work now. Only a couple of hours left, and I've still got a couple more billings to do, and then I have to think of what I'm going to do with all the stuff that I'll leave on the desk for tomorrow! I guess I'll have to write about that later. Of course, knowing my luck, there will be no reaction to any of it. Oh well! More later...

[erikavanhuis]

So much for pulling pranks...I got to the office this morning and my boss was already here. That's unusual because he doesn't usually get in until about half an hour after I do. Oh well...I told him what we were going to do and he laughed about it and said he would have just made me do all the work anyway! At least he would have thought it was funny! Lunch is on the company today! Yeah, I don't have to go and buy something at the store! We're getting pizza. I've got to go pick it up in about 20 minutes. I'm hungry right now though...
Well, Mark and I haven't really been working out at the gym much this week...we're going to start our membership on Friday because that's when payday is. Our free week was up yesterday. Oh well, we'll just get started at the beginning of the month and go from there. I've been swimming with our swim team at night though, so it's okay. It does make for a lot of working out on the days when I do both the gym and swim team. I think I'm going to cut back to only 3 days a week for swimming. I've got other stuff to do for the team anyway like putting together the monthly newsletter and getting all the kids signed up for meets. This will just give me more time to work on that. I sort of get discouraged swimming anyway because I took most of the summer off, and I'm not in shape anymore. I can't keep up with them...either I got slow, or they got a lot faster. I'm thinking they just got a lot faster because I'm still swimming the same speed. I think I've peaked as far as swimming goes.
Well, time to go pick up lunch now. More later...

[erikavanhuis]

I feel sickly right now...I don't really care too much for this whole change of seasons thing. My allergies get so bad, and I've got so much sinus drainage it's making my stomach upset. I don't think I'm going to swim tonight because of it. That's probably the last thing I need right now. I don't even feel like eating either. I think I'll just go home and go to sleep. Oh well, on a more positive note (I like to stay positive about things)...it's almost Friday, today's payday, and we're officially going to start our gym membership tomorrow! By the way, if anyone who reads this could, Mark and I would appreciate some prayer next month. He's going to be taking a class 2 nights a week for about a month and a half in Seattle for his job. That's great and all, but they're at night, so we will see each other less than we do now. His classes go from 6-10 PM, so that puts him home about midnight on those nights. So, we're both going to just need some extra strength to get through that. Anyway, I appreciate it.
Well, it's about time for me to go home! Yeah!! I guess I'll write more when I'm feeling better, and when there's more going on. Until then...

[erikavanhuis]

Another Friday! Yeah for the weekend!! I feel better today than I did yesterday. I went home from work and took a nap. I felt better after that. Other than that, nothing else really is going on. What a boring life I live...oh well!
Why the heck did I even write in here if nothing is happening??!! I guess I'm just happy it's finally Friday. Ok, back to work now! More later...

[erikavanhuis]

Monday again...it's actually been a pretty eventful weekend around here with all the Mt. St. Helens news going on. They're saying that it's going to blow any time within the next day or so. I guess what happened on Friday was just a "hiccup" as they called it. Oh well...it's exciting for me. I've found all sorts of live cameras on the web tracking everything that's going on and it's been quite interesting. Of course, I still have to get all my work done here at the office...this is one of those days I wish we could bring in a TV to watch all the news coverage going on. We just don't have any kind of cable hook up in here. I mean, we could get away with bringing a TV in the office!!! How cool is that??!! My boss wanted to bring one in during the olympics so we could watch all the coverage during the day (it was a really slow time at that time), but we realized that there was no antenna or cable to hook it up to, so we didn't. So, in the meantime, I'll stay glued to the news on the web, and keep my radio on. Other than that, not much else is going on here. Mark starts his classes this week...we both have a feeling that it will go by fast just because there will be so much going on. We would still like some prayer for strength though.
Well, time to go to work. More to come later...

[erikavanhuis]

Exciting morning...Mt St Helens just blew again. Apparently it is just steam, and it's not the eruption they're predicting. I guess we'll just keep watching for more news.
Well, that's it for now. I just thought I'd share that interesting bit of news. I'll have to write more about this later...

[erikavanhuis]

Yet another eruption this morning on Mt. St. Helens. I guess they're saying this could continue for weeks or even months before it's done. It's still at the exciting stage for me right now. Give it a couple of days and I'll probably be tired of hearing about it...I've had a video stream on most of the day so I can listen to what's going on. I guess there's a boiling lake in the crater now because of gasses and whatnot being released. It's funny...this morning, and yesterday morning it erupted right as they were giving a press conference about what had been going on. Gee, I guess that's about all the excitement that's going on in my life now...oh, Mark and I won a raffle!! We both went to get a haircut this weekend and they were all like "enter the raffle, it's only a dollar!" So, we did. I'm guessing they didn't get many people to enter because we never win anything like that. So, I get to go pick up whatever it is that we won today. I think it was just little things, but there was a gift certificate in there...that might come in handy some day...
Ok, that's it for now. More later...

[erikavanhuis]

Ha ha!!! Yeah for pranks being pulled off well!!! So, Mark decided that since today was his boss' birthday, we would play a prank on him like is done every year. This one was pretty good! We (actually he and a couple employees...I just watched) wrapped his desk in saran wrap, and then duck taped the whole desk...oh, that was after stuffing all of the drawers full of packing peanuts!! Then, they wraped it so there was a pocket underneath where the chair goes, and they put more peanuts in there. After that was all done, they duck taped everything that was on his desk down to it!! It only took about an hour to get it done. It's a good thing Mark's boss likes getting pranked because he came in and laughed at it! In fact, he thought it was done so well that he wanted to keep the desk wrapped in the duck tape! He cut out a space where all his drawers are so he could get to them...only to find they were stuffed full of peanuts!! It was great. And then, to top everything off, all the papers on the bulletin board were turned around too. That was the last thing that he noticed, and it took a while for him to notice that.
Um, so yeah, that was my fun for the day! It's Friday, yeah!! Anyway, busy weekend...scrapbooking day tomorrow, and then Mark runs sound at church on Sunday so we have to get there early...oh, and I'm doing coffee afterword...long day. Well, that's it for now! More later...

[erikavanhuis]

This weekend was good. I spent Saturday scrapbooking. I got 15 pages done of our England trip...I'm about halfway through our trip now. Maybe one of these nights when Mark is at his class and I don't have any cleaning to do, I can get more done. Sunday was great too! Church was awesome. Our pastor is back now. We've had people filling in for the last couple of weeks because he's been gone. So, it was good to have him back...the message was great. I forgot to take notes yesterday...shame on me. I'll have to listen to the CD. Actually it's probably going to end up being a several-part message. He ran out of time yesterday so it will be continued next week. At least we don't have to get there as early next week. Mark was running sound, so we had to get there way early! Next week, we get to just sit and enjoy the service.
Um, anyway, that's it for now. Not much else is going on. I guess I'll have to write more later, that and it's almost time to go home, so until next time...

[erikavanhuis]

So...Friday again. It's been a pretty good week this week. I'm tired and not feeling so good, but that's okay. I get to sleep in tomorrow. Mark's classes are going well...it makes for extremely long days though. I've been pretty busy at work too. In fact, I've got a lot to do today, so this entry is going to be very short. Actually, this is all I have to say. I'll have to write more later when I have time. To anyone who reads this...have a great weekend! Until next time...

[erikavanhuis]

Well, I'm back from the weekend...not much happened. Mark had a class on Saturday, and my mom came over to visit my grandma, so she came and saw me too. Anyway, Saturday was pretty much a low key day because I still wasn't feeling good. Sunday we stayed home too because we just needed a day to rest. It was good too. Mark and I haven't had a day together like that for a while. It was much needed, especially with our schedules as hectic as they are right now. It was like a marriage enrichment day. We didn't really do much...we just spent time together and had a good time doing it. And, after a weekend of rest, I feel much better today too. I think I'm finally on the downhill side of this bug that's been going around. That's good because I've got another busy week ahead of me. It's Mark's birthday on Wednesday and I've been planning with his mother to suprise him big time! I know he doesn't read this, but I don't want to say anything just in case he should somehow find it...I'll have to wait until after his birthday to say what we did. I just hope he likes what we're getting him.
Well, I just realised this is my 100th post...gee it took me long enough! Oh well I guess that's okay that it took me that long. I guess it means that I don't spend entirely too much time here! With that said, it's time for me to get to work. I hope everyone who reads this has an absolutely wonderful day! More later...

[erikavanhuis]

Fall has officially arrived here in the Pacific Northwest!!! I know this because I am absolutely freezing cold today! My boss is laughing at me because I finally broke down and plugged in the heater here in the office. Of course it doesn't help that it's dark and rainy outside which of course makes it feel about 10 degrees colder than it really is! Mark laughs at how cold I get too...that is until he gets my cold foot on his bare leg Then he tells me to put socks on! So anyway, I'm sitting here bundled up in my sweatshirt and hovering over the heater to warm up. It's a good day for soup for lunch. Anyway, that's about it. It's supposed to rain for the next solid week.
I was thinking this morning and lauging at the fact that last year at the same time I said a prayer to God thanking him that we had a house that was warm and dry...then I got home that night and there was a stream flowing from the ceiling right next to our computer...fortunately this year the roof is fixed and I truly am thankful that I have a warm and dry house to retreat to when my work day is over. Even though it's small, it's cozy and homey feeling (when I have a chance to clean it, that is!). There really are a lot of things I'm thankful for. My house is one of them...even if I do complain about it a lot. It's a place to live, and we're living there for free right now until we can find a house to buy. It's on my grandma's property, right next to her house so we end up having to help take care of her, so that's pretty much our trade off for not having to pay rent or make mortgage payments. But, that's a story for another day when I feel like ranting about something. Anyway, other things I'm thankful for...my loving husband (who is the best man in the world and I cannot say enough great things about him ), our car, my family (including his), friends, my job...there are so many more that I could say right now, but that would make this entry very long.
It's sort of funny how a cold rainy day makes me think of all the things I'm thankful for. I feel truly blessed.
Anyway, I should probably get to work now (speaking of my job...) so I guess I'll have to write more later. Until then...

[erikavanhuis]

So...I've been given the daunting task here at work to figure out how to use photoshop...yeah for me. I don't have a clue where to start. I've decided that Google is my friend and I've been able to find some tutorial stuff, but what I really need is something that is just bare-bones basics, like what each tool is and what it does. We don't have any books here in the office, so I'm off to find all of this information on my own!
In other news, Mark's birthday went well yesterday! He really enjoyed the gifts his mom and I got him. He got a new lens for his camera (a 70-200 f/4). He really wants the 2.8, but we can't afford that even in our wildest dreams right now! He also got a new monopod, which took him a while to find because we hid it in the house! Anyway, as I expected, he took his new toys to work with him today...mainly so he can get some pictures from the ferry when he goes over to Seattle for his class tonight. I'm glad I was finally able to suprise him! He had a suspicion that he might be getting the lens we got him, but he wrote it off, thinking we were going to get something like lighting equipment. But...he's got a good wife who knows what he wants! We're actually spreading this birthday out...I'm throwing him a suprise party on Saturday. He just thinks his mom is coming out for dinner, which is true but I've also invited a couple of other friends to come out too! So, it should be fun...just a low key evening with family and friends...dinner and movies!
Well, that's it for now. Off to internet land to learn more about Photoshop More later...