Feelin' girly

The new year is officially 19 days old, so I felt the need to change the blog layout. I love polka dots, so this one struck my fancy. What do you think? 

Tonight was class #2. It was SUPERB! Oh, so much better and such a huge answer to prayer. The entire thing went well. I had more than I was able to get done, the class was much more discussion-based, and I showed two video clips. Thank you, Jesus! The first test is next week. 

Mom and Hannah came down this weekend - we had a blast! I got a new entertainment center on the cheap, so we set that up (pictures to follow). Cedarville has a classifieds section on the website where people post all manner of things. I saw a post for an entertainment center for $20! I checked out the pictures, and I was sold (and subsequently so was it!) I went to the

 seller's house, and we had to move it down a flight of steps.... steel steps..... covered in ice and snow.... in 20 degree weather..... and it must weight about 80 pounds (though I don't know because I'm a terrible judge of that kind of thing). Definitely about 4 of Hannah, so that's my basis. It was so cumbersome and treacherous but well worth it. Here's a before and after shot of my little abode's living room. What do you think? 

I love that I can now see all my picture frames when I sit on the couch. They were on a bookshelf beside the couch before, so I rarely got to see the lovely faces of my loved ones! And again, for $20, this seemed like money well spent. The stand on loan from my sister has returned home. Thanks, Miss! 

We also went to the Cheesecake Factory, thanks to my generous boss's gift certificates at Christmas. Oh my goodness - this was amazing! I had chicken madeira. I rarely order chicken out just becuase it's so easy to make at home, so I often get steak. This was superb, and I'm excited to go back for it. We also saved room for cheesecake, of course. Now I'm not a cheesecake fan; it's just too rich for me. This. Was. Phenomenal!!! We both had the fresh strawberry cheesecake, which is just the original flavor with fresh strawberries and a nearly obscene amount of delectable whipped cream. Ohmygoodnessthiswasawesome! :) I was smart enough to save some dinner and dessert, so the meal wasn't over when the meal was over. I'd gladly eat cheesecake there every night of the week. 

Oh, and another highlight. My incredibly generous and servant-hearted mom also filled up my check register and balanced my checkbook for me! Admittedly, I took a vacation from filling in my expenses while I was off work in December, so I hadn't entered anything in it since December 3 I think! Yikes! (For you budget-minded folks, I did keep my receipts and an eye on how much money I had, but I hadn't bothered to write things in). This saved me an evening of stress this week (at my own doing), and it was so nice! I have the best mom ever!

Mom and Hannah actually just left today. Mom had today off (it pays to work for a school district), and they stayed until about noon so that I didn't have to make a trip home from campus to let Oliver out. This was much appreciated. CU is only about 20 minutes from home, but I either have to do it over lunch or before class. Saving the trip, the money, and getting more time to prepare for class was great. And I had this waiting for me when I got home: 

Awwww! :) (Sshhhh.... she did get a little help from Bubba (aka my mom) on writing her name)

Well, that's all for now!