Moving on...

Well, it's been a while since I've shared our goings-on with all my faithful readers here.

We have HUGE news and that is, quite simply, that we are going to have a baby. We're due in August and are focusing as much as our time as possible on having fun together, staying calm and cautiously excited and prepping for the L'il Mr. or Miss to come into our lives.

So, I've started a pregnancy/baby blog a couple of months ago to share our journey with friends and family and thought I would let my faithful Pondering Pook readers now of the switch-a-roo.

If you'd like to read about these parents-to-be, e-mail me and let me know you're interested and I'll send you an invite to the blog.

Love,
Wendy
wrzook@gmail.com

The most important little gadget in the house

Scott and I came home the other day from being out for maybe a couple of hours at most. We know with five animals in the house that we need to survey for damage immediately upon arrival... to check for electrocuted cats, torn up toys, or, worst of all, messes.

Well we had both just about finished our laps around the house and Scott was hanging up his coat and taking off his shoes when I saw a horrible sight.

Our remote lay lifeless on the floor in the living room, feet away -- and below-- its home on the coffee table. Like blood and guts, the back battery cover and the batteries lay strewn across the floor.

I did what any wife would do.
I said a silent prayer and left it for Scott to find.

I also picked up the nearest cat, hoping to save at least one life in the bloodbath that would soon start.

When we settled down on the couch to watch some TV before bed, Scott sat in the silence, pushing buttons that would just not do their job. No power, no channel changing. Just sad silence.

Fear not, readers, for my husband had another remote ordered and on its way within 30 minutes.
It arrived yesterday and we both celebrated its arrival by watching TV and basking in the technology that allows us to sit on our fat lazy butts and go back and forth between the Newlywed Game episodes and a football game.

Crisis averted.

(And no animals were harmed in this process...)

Hi, remember me?

Hi. My name is Wendy and I used to blog at this Web site.
And then December came along and I lost my mind, and all of my extra time.

I super-dooper PROMISE to be back to posting regularly in 2010.

For now, forgive me for my lack of writings and please know Scott and I are well and happy and totally in love. We are just getting ready to enjoy our first Christmas as a married couple.

Best wishes to you and your family and friends. Merry Christmas, happy holidays and a very, very special 2010. Don't forget to make a resolution... and stick to it!

MUCH love.
See you in the new year!!!

Kacey stole my post title

So all day, I had "Tis the season" in my head. Not very creative, but honest to the day.

Then my own Caboose used that in a post she published on her blog today! Great minds, I guess.

So instead, I'll just say, what an amazing day.

In short:
We decorated for Christmas. (We still have to put the ornaments on the tree, though) We re-arranged the living room and it's just so cozy now, we both absolutely love it. Scott's been wandering around the rooms just saying, "I love our house" over and over today.

My friend Ashley and her boyfriend Tyler came out to our neck of the woods and then the four of us went out for lunch and some exploring of a nearby quaint town. Such good company!

Then, our friends Ryan, Ruby and Ruby's 4-year-old Jayda came out to the house. I had a lot of fun getting eskimo kisses from Jayda and planning New Year's Eve adventures with Ruby.

Scott and I are wrapping up our day with some cuddles on the couch before bed.

Tomorrow, we decorate the tree and have two couples over for dinner. Can't wait!

Tis the season. :-)

Thankful Time

Scott and I have been married for two months today! What a neat Thanksgiving and what an opportunity to be thankful for our love and friendship and everything that comes along with that.

We're hosting his parents and grandparents for the second year in a row for Thanksgiving dinner and that reminds me that I am also thankful for Scott's family (now MY family, too) and their support throughout our relationship. It's comforting to know that while my family is so far away, we still have loved ones who would do anything to help us.

Our dining room table is all set downstairs and the kitchen awaits cramped spaces and delicious smells this afternoon. I'm thankful for our home as well. We work hard to keep it cozy and lovely and I think it shows. We love to entertain in it and both look forward to coming home whenever we leave.

Normally at 10:20 a.m. on a Thursday, I'd be hunched over my computer typing a story or on the phone with an interview. I'm extremely grateful that I have a day off. (You have no idea!) However, I love my job and am grateful for the opportunity to tell people's stories. I've written several "good-news" stories lately, which helps the morale a bit, too.

My inbox features e-mails from friends and loved ones; my recent calls on the caller ID includes several of their names, too. I'm incredibly lucky to have so many people who make every bit -- and sometimes more -- of an effort that I do to maintain our closeness through distance and long weeks and months between our visits.

There are a million more gratitudes I say silently to myself every day, and those I especially remember on Thanksgiving.

It's not just football games (though I will be watching) and turkey (though I will be gorging myself on the bird)... it's gratitude, thanks and love. And I have all of that today.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The Wedding Room

We used to have a living room.
Now it's a wedding room.

Wedding photos everywhere.

Having a 16x20-size version of myself was a much better idea before I could see my pores from the sofa.

However, I love it. We filled up our mantel, above it and beside it with photos of us, our friends and family on our most specialest day.

(It also matches our Engagement Stairway, courtesy of photographer Kelly V).

Speaking of Ms. Talent V.... she's interested in doing a "Mess the Dress" artsy shoot with me in my dress... either under or near water for a spectacular photo to add to her catalogue. Thoughts??? There's always cleaning and preservation, right? :-)

Eye-high kicks

I saw the Rockettes this weekend with my friend Emily and it was absolutely fantastic.

For 90 minutes, I was a little girl again, watching tall, beautiful dancers swirl in circles and kick their legs up to the sky.
(Appearances by Santa and a soundtrack that included not only Christmas tunes but an entire segment dedicated to the Nutcracker didn't hurt, either.)

I loved the different scenes so much -- acting out the 12 Days of Christmas with graceful moves, tapping their way through at least one number, portraying dozens -- and then hundreds! -- of Santas and of course the Toy Soldier routine that is so amazing.

I had a fantastic time with Emily, even at dinner and along our drive to the arena. She's quickly becoming a wonderful and treasured friend and I look forward to many more outings together while we leave our non-arts-loving significant others behind. :-)

Here are a few photos from the show. Hope you don't mind the giant piece of wiring hanging down in the middle of my view. I couldn't be too angry about it because I figured it was probably keeping some giant prop from falling on my head or was somehow assisting the dancers in those eye-high kicks.

Ho, ho, ho!!!

Hubby brownie points

My husband is even more fantastic than I knew!

It's Sunday morning and Scott wakes up before I do, probably due to the dogs begging to go outside, which I never hear. I guess he decides to stay up and be super-cute, because the next thing I know, it's about an hour later.

I've stolen his side of the bed and am curled up underneath ALL of the covers when I hear him clanking up the stairs.

Quiet, the non-morning person thinks to herself.

Then, a peek at the alarm. Grrr, it's only 9:30 a.m.! I remain silent.

Next, I hear him opening the curtains. Clearly you've lost your mind, boy! I think to myself.

But suddenly I smell.. wait, is that pancakes??? And coffee?!

Yes, yes it is.
Breakfast in bed from my husband. What a surprise!
(And it was absolutely delicious, too!)

My mother-in-law is a genius!

(Never thought you'd see/hear those words, huh??)

Well, let's just say that for the first time in MONTHS, I managed to make it through an entire book. I enjoyed it so much that I couldn't put it down and read it in less than 12 hours!

It was a bit of fantasy, lots of romance, a good amount of suspense, likeable, relatable characters and an on-the-edge-of-your-seat plot.

The authors?
Scott's mother and aunt, sisters who have written a trilogy together, mostly over the phone and through e-mail, over the years and who have self-published their first book!

(I even got an autographed copy!)

Captain Obvious

According to a recent CNN article, my job ranks in the top 10 professions that pay the least for the most amount of stress.

No duh.

And for the record, news reporter ranks #4.
And I would KILL for the median salary.

4. News Reporter

Median pay: $32,900
% who say their job is stressful: 62%

Every minute is another deadline for those who report and write the news. While racing against the clock, reporters gather data, conduct interviews and analyze their findings all before writing about major events for a newspaper, magazine, radio show or television program.

So if anyone was wondering about the state of my sanity... it's non-existent. And I couldn't afford a therapist even if I wanted one.

Cheers!