It's the eye of the tiger

it's the thrill of the fight...

The boys went to a Detroit Tigers game yesterday and ended up in Canada. Go figure! I about had a heart attack when Jared called and told me he was hanging out with Canadians, Ay.

They got free tickets to the game from, yet another, very giving customer. I informed the boys tonight that they are NOT, under any circumstance, to accept any more free tickets unless there are 3 tickets for all of us. :) I don't like being left out.

Anyway, they traveled the 3 1/2 hours to the beautiful (NOT) city of Detroit to watch the Tigers. Hicks has a friend that lives north of Detroit in the 'burbs so they met him and, of course, they all thought it was a good idea to go to the casinos in Canada that night. The border is just across the lake, so it wasn't like they had to go far.

It was the first time for both of them to go to Canada, so they were pretty pumped up and had lots of stories about their adventure. I have never even been out of the U.S., so I hope I can go explore Canada soon. Maybe even to see my very awesome bloggie friend Tara!!!

In other news, my jewelry stuff came in this weekend, so that has kept me pretty occupied. I was even dressing up Jada in all kinds of jewels. She loved it! :) I should have taken a picture.

I also, finally, got my haircut. It was getting pretty long and I liked the way it looked, but it was so hard to take care of. My hair is sooo thick and it has natural wave (sometimes more curly than wavy). So it takes a long time to blow dry and then straighten every morning. Sometimes I wear it curly, but even that was becoming work. So, I chopped off about 3 inches so that it is right below my shoulders. Ah, it feels so much better and lots easier to get ready in the morning.

That's about it for us! My Sooners look like they are going to win their game and the Irish won today so it was a good Saturday.

Private eyes, are watching you

clap, clap


If you have MySpace please see my blog entitled "Let's give em' somethin' to talk about"


I needed to vent about something important and did not think it was best to do on a PUBLIC blog site. You will understand if you read it.


If you don't have MySpace, send me a comment with an e-mail address and I will send it to you.


Catch you all on the flip side... I will have another post today, hopefully, if I get time! A real one too :)

Just breathe

as Faith Hill says,

Today was stressful and I had to take a little time to make sure I was still breathing.

Work is crazy, we were just awarded two rather large federal grants. This is great news since non-profit money is hard to come by these days, but it does mean a lot of busy busy days ahead. I am excited for the projects we will be able to accomplish and nervous about the workload it will put on me, as the newbie.

I am slightly overwhelmed with the new jewelry business... well, actually I'm not as overwhelmed as I am worried. That's my middle name, in case you didn't know. Stacy "Worry-Pants" Birk. It is a sickness that I have not found the right medication for. :( I will feel much better once I receive all my information and once I am officially trained, but I received my jeweler number today and was able to log in to the website and wow, I was overwhelmed. There was a lot of great, great information and resources and it got my mind racing!! What promotional and business items should I use? How will I do my accounting? What about taxes? What do I need to buy for incentives? What if I buy too much and can't make it back in profit? What if people decide they hate me and my jewelry and don't wanna buy anything? Ok, that probably won't happen, but the worry-wort part of my brain was in overdrive today. Which would explain the excruciating headache and nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I know I will do fine, but this is me and I have been dealing with it all my life. I did, however, take the advice of the exercise Gods and decided to head to the gym, even though I felt like throwing back a 12-pack of Bud Light (or sleeping the evening away, whichever happened first). The workout was difficult, but my mind did clear a little. I guess all these exercise gurus are right, but I still hate to do it.

Until next time, wish me worry-free!!!!

Help me Rhonda, help help me Rhonda

Ok bloggers, I need your help

A friend of ours is having a huge Halloween Bash and costumes are mandatory. I love to dress up, but usually I wait until the last minute and never have a costume. This year, I have plenty of time, therefore no excuses and Julie is absolutely MAKING me go with her. (Just kidding Jules, I wanna go)

Anyway, Julie (the even planner that she is) is helping me with costume ideas. We have come up with several ideas and now I just need some feedback before I start putting a costume together

1. Pippi Longstockings (Julie pitched this idea to me as a great way to pull off funky socks and patchwork. I agree with her!)

2. Fortune-Telling Gypsy (Would be super easy and I can wear all my Premier Jewelry and then hand out business cards with the fortunes. Great way to have fun and pitch my jewelry business)

3. Hot Air Balloon (Jared and I found this idea online. Cut holes in a laundry basket for my legs and then tie off a big helium balloon to it and decorate.)

There were more, but these were the top ones. What do you all think? Any other ideas?

Make new friends, but keep the old

one is silver and the other's gold. A circle is round, but has no end, that is how we make new friends.

For some reason I remember this song despite my hatred of Brownies and Girl Scouts as a kid. I liked Brownies for, maybe, one year everything else was crap.

I thought of this song today as I was thinking about my friends, both old and new. I don't know what prompted me to think about it. Maybe that I made friends with the girl who lives on the floor above us and that makes me happy. Maybe its that I have thought alot recently about my friends I have lost touch with or lost years ago due to petty high school or college typical girl arguments. Maybe it's that I am getting old and they fact that Jared is celebrating his 28th birthday tomorrow makes me feel even older. I don't know. But I just wanted to send a shout out to all my friends - old, new, estranged, and future friends. I am thankful for each one of you that is in my life and I KNOW that each of you has entered my life for a reason and some of you have left my life for a reason. You are all so special to me!

Diamonds are a girl's best friend!

and maybe a boy's best friend too...

My hubby is so cute. I just love him. He has been so supportive, helpful and loving with this new jewelry adventure. He doesn't quite understand it, but he asks a lot of questions and plans to help me anyway he can, including attending the next training session with me. Isn't he great? There are not a lot of small town, sports loving, gun toting, knife collecting, t-shirts and shorts wearing guys out there that would do this for their wives. But, he loves me and he knows this makes me really happy and excited.

In fact, he has gotten so into this he has EVEN started helping me sell it!!!
Here's the dish....

Last night Jared was grilling out hamburgers and I told him if he saw Leah (our neighbor upstairs) to stop her cause I want to see if she wants to look at a catalog. Well, I was inside finishing my ab workout from the gym (I hate rolling around on the floor at the gym looking like a beached whale, so I just do it at home). Anyway, I am doing crunches and I hear Jared talking to someone. I figure it is Leah but I stop and listen. He says, and I quote, "Hey, uh, Wifey was wanting to talk to you... uh, do you like jewelry?" I about died from giggling quietly. I decided not to go out there yet to hear what he had to say. She says she likes it and he replies, "well, uh, wifey is taking on a new business of selling Premier Jewelry and she is booking parties and stuff are you interested?" I am somewhat impressed at this point and wondering why he always refers to me as wifey. Anyway, he then hollers at me to bring a catalog out. Later I tease him for being a jewelry salesman and he tells me "well, you know, I DO know how to do sales, I do it for fireworks, why can't I do it for jewelry". The man has a point!! :)

In other news, Jared let Jada roam outside last night and she tried to eat a toad and I am pretty sure she was somewhat poisoned. Did you know toads were poisonous? I didn't. She comes running inside and Jared is laughing and says she was chasing a toad and decided she wanted a bite. Then I see slobber hanging from her mouth and as she runs through the house it is dripping all over everything. It was like she was foaming at the mouth like she had RABIES!!! I was freaking out, like any cat momma would do. She is my baby! I start to tear up and Jared is still somewhat laughing and says she is ok, she just won't try to do THAT again. Oh geez! Can you imagine this philosophy when we have ACTUAL children? (Well Billy Bob won't try to play with a venomous snake anymore cause now he is in the ER) Oh, COME ON! (Our little joke is that our son will be named William Robert aka Billy Bob Birk. It is hideous and will never happen, but still funny)

Anyway, I think she is ok. She played with one of her toys after that and slept by me all night like usual. This morning, though, when I poured food in her bowl she didn't start gobbling it up like normal. That kinda worried me. I guess I will see how she acts when I get home! Oh the drama!

Gotta have faith, faith faith-a, I gotta have faith, faith, faith-a

Baby!!!

George Michael said it best that you gotta have faith. His "faith" referred to having faith in love and relationships. My blog about faith today is about believing in a higher power, God.

Ok, bear with me bloggie friends, I have a lot to say and have realized some things this week and I just wanna share it with everyone.

I am a Christian. Am I what you would call a "practicing" Christian that attends church and prays all the time? No. But I do believe in Him, I just don't have the Bible memorized and, really, don't even know THAT much about it besides Noah's Ark, the 10 Commandments, Moses and the creation Earth and human life. And, even those I don't feel I can talk intelligently about.

I feel almost awkward in church and even more awkward when I pray. Sometimes I'll just try to be casual and be like "hey God, what's up?" Not sure if that's appropriate, but that's what I do when I am compelled to pray. :) Which I am sorry to say, that in my life I haven't always ask God for help. I am a control freak, no need to deny that little fact. I like to be in control of my own life, of my own choices and of my own destiny. I have never really asked God to help me.

So far my life has gone pretty well for me based on this "I have to be in control" mentality. Until recently I hadn't really noticed how much this Faith was missing in my life and maybe how much I needed it. Ever since we moved I have felt like something is missing. I mostly think it is that I want a child so that is the piece that is missing. However, I feel that it is more than that. I came to work here at Healthy Communities and our administrative assistant is a cool girl with an even cooler love and faith in God. Just watching her, hearing her stories and seeing the amount of pure "faith" she puts in God to show her the way was astounding to me, especially the control freak that I am. On rough days in the office she's just say with a laugh and a smile, "time to pray at work girl... it's gonna be a long day and we will need it."

As I started looking into this jewelry business something kept telling me it was what I was supposed to do. It took me a little while before I found out that the entire company is based on Biblical principles and abides by Christian standards. This scared me a little because of my lack of knowledge in the Christian world (if you will) and I didn't want to be put on the spot and asked to recite scripture (I doubt that happens, haha, but I always have that fear that I will be asked about something and I won't know and everyone will laugh at me).

So, something inside me was telling me that starting this business was the RIGHT thing to do, despite some of my worries and concerns. Last night I attended my first regional training event and I am for certain, 110% that God has brought me to this adventure (as cheesy as that sounds). I walked in and was greeted by about a dozen women with hugs, hand shakes and smiles. For the FIRST TIME since I moved to Indiana I felt like I BELONGED somewhere and had a family. In fact, when Kristy, the coordinator, gave me a hug that first time she met me it almost brought tears to my eyes (which isn't hard to do because I am so sensitive anyway). I just felt so warm, so at home and I felt myself give up some of that control and just say, "Ok, you have shown me this and I am giving you the wheel. Take me where I need to go." This is a HUGE step for me. While I won't be singing in the church choir and organizing youth groups just yet (not even sure if I will join a church right now), at least I NOW have a deeper realization of Christ and have just let show me the way.

Jesus take the wheel. I am ready.

Fall decorations?

I would put them up if I could find them

Everyone in blogsphere (as Tara calls it) has been talking about fall decorations so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and talk about it too. :)

Don't expect to see a bunch of it at OUR apartment cause I have no idea which box they are in and if they are at our apartment or at Jared's warehouse in Elkhart. I know which tubs are Christmas stuff because it is labeled, but I fear that the fall and Halloween decor got thrown in a box with various items in my mad attempt to pack before the big move. It is sad, really, cause I love fall decorations. I don't have a lot of it, but what I have I love. I may need to do some shopping :)

Ok, onto other things...

This weekend was pretty laid back. I had been sick Thursday and Friday and part of Saturday, mostly sinuses but also stress. I had a really rough week last week (I won't get into details) but let's just say it is one of those weeks where you cry alot and question everything in your life. We all have those once in a while, right?

On Saturday, we watched the Notre Dame game from home during the first half and from Buffalo Wild Wings the second half. They ended up beating Michigan and then my Sooners totally kicked Washington's butt.... it was a good day!

Sunday I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. Our apartment desperately needed a good, deep cleaning and that's what it got! Take that dirt, grime and dust! :)

This week will hopefully be better in my world. I woke up surprisingly chipper today and have decided to just keep my head up and keep on rockin'. It's never as bad as it seems and sometimes I just have to put things in perspective. I have my first regional training for Premier Designs Jewelry tonight and I am super excited! I will mail my paperwork off today and my first party is on Oct. 16 AND I already booked 3 catalog parties (Thanks Sherry, Misty and Alicia). If any of you would like to hold a catalog party let me know!!! :) It is easy and you can get free jewelry! Who doesn't want free stuff, really?

Well, I am off to lunch! Have a great week my bloggie friends. You all mean the world to me!

Why I Blog

Someone asked me yesterday how I can blog? How I can write all that personal stuff for everyone to see?

Well, the answer is simple: Because I can and because it is cheaper than therapy!

I started this blog as a way to keep up with family and friends that are far away from me. I began this blog to share photos my Jared and I and our friends and allow my grandparents and aunts and uncles that I rarely see an opportunity to see into my life. It started like that, but it has become so much more.

Sometimes, when I write things down it is like the stress is coming out of my neck, through my arms and out of me through the keys I punch. Do I write about EVERYTHING? No, but there aren't many bloggers who DO write everything. There are some very brutally honest, candid blogs out there where nothing is held back and I commend those people for being so brave and, I have to say, those blogs are a pleasure to read.

I try to keep personal family matters out of it, not because I don't wanna talk about it, but because I have a duty to protect the personal business of my family. I told Jared last night that if I really wanted to have a blog where I wrote EVERYTHING I wouldn't be able to give anyone that blog address. I would just let it sit out in blogshere like a secret online journal that's really not-so-secret. I'd be better off having one of those diaries with a lock and key like I did when I was a kid if there are things I wanted to write that no one would see.

The reality is, I love to blog. I have been able to catch up with old friends, meet new friends, get advice, give advice and just offer and receive support from others. When we first moved up here and I was sad, lonely and scared, I blogged about it and I received an enormous amount of support from people I know and people I don't know. They encouraged me to keep my head up, have faith and everything will work out. Those words of encouragement mean the world to me.

So, there it is. This is why I do it. :) Why do you all do it?

She was a good little grey tabby

RIP Jenny

My mom's cat was put to sleep yesterday. They said she was in the advanced stages of kidney failure. She was close to 12 years old and lived a full life, but still had so much love to give. Mom didn't really notice she was sick until last week when Jenny had stopped eating and then, would barely move. After a trip to the vet late last week, they thought she was having tooth pain. They gave her some medicine and then took many tests just to make sure. It were those test that told us that she was in severe pain and could not be helped.

She was a great cat and I am saddened to see her go, but I am more sad for my mother who has lost her buddy, her comrade and her best friend.

Jenny was a gift from a neighbor in El Dorado for my sister. She was just a little thing back then, with thin grey tabby hair, button nose and tiny little claws that could draw an amazing amount of blood for such a tiny creature. Alicia and her became real good friends. Jenny and I were close too, but I had my good ole' Golden Retriever Rosie, so Jenny and I were never as close as Rosie and I.

Jenny fit our family like a glove. Heck, even Rosie, who was scared of her in the beginning, grew fond of this little bundle of energy. I remember many times Jenny would chase Rosie around or jump out at her trying her best to get big ole Rosie to play with her. Rosie didn't want anything to do with her for a while, she always looked a little disgusted with us in the beginning for ever bringing this creature into HER house. Jenny, as small and young as she was, even treated Rosie like her mom and tried to cuddle and lay with her. Rosie would usually get up and move away all the while giving us that look of disgust. Eventually, they grew close and Rosie and Jenny often played together and even laid together at the top of the basement steps peering down at Alicia and I. That is a sight that I will cherish and remember forever. Even as Rosie's face grew grey, her nose turned black and her health failed, Jenny did her best to keep Rosie engaged, playful and happy. (Sorry I have no pictures, I STILL need to invest in a flatbed scanner cause I have some really cute pics of Jenny and Rosie that I could share)

They say that animals mourn the loss of other animals just like humans do. When Rosie passed away, mom said Jenny felt that loss. She would walk around the house aimlessly as if looking for her big furry pal to come running up to her.

Over the years, the household changed as Alicia and I moved out and moved on to other lives and other pets. But one person was constant, my mom. Mom and Jenny grew incredibly close. In fact, Alicia and I would rarely see Jenny on our trips back home because she would be so scared of ANY company. She was a nice cat, just very cautious and afraid of unknown things. But her and mom got along great. She would cuddle with my mom, be a constant companion and bring humor to her life. I was glad she was around when my dad was gone for work and especially glad she was there to comfort my mom when she lost electricity last year in the huge ice storm that hit Tulsa.

Mom, I think you need to get yourself another little kitty. Maybe a little calico one like Jada! :)

May you rest in peace our cute little tabby Jenny! We love you!

And the Irish come out with a win

barely

Before I get into the ND game, I wanted to thank you guys for some of your advice on my blog from Friday. One of those situations worked itself out later that day and I didn't even have to get involved. Someone else thought it was just as wrong as I did and spoke up. YES... Stacy dodged another bad truth telling situation. :)

Ok, now on to the good stuff, the Fightin' Irish! Jared and I took a cab to campus at about 1 on Saturday (first of all we didn't want to dodge traffic and pay the $20 to park and we knew we may have a few beers before and after the game). We decided to go to the Linebacker Bar, which is right next to campus, to have a few drinks and watch the Ohio vs. Ohio St. game. This bar is a Notre Dame tradition and you could see that when you walked in the door. Fans both young and old and many alumni surrounded by photos and jerseys on the wall of ND players of the past. It was so nostalgic and cool.

As we watched the game we started shootin' the breeze with 2 guys from Fort Wayne (Bo and Larry).

At one point Bo says, " hey you guys wanna go to another bar with us before the game?"

Jared says, "uh, sure but YOU aren't driving and we know we aren't driving."

Then Bo says it is no big deal and tells us to look outside.

There, in front of the Linebacker, sits a white Ford Excursion stretch limo decked out with ND stickers, flag and nicknamed the S.S. Margaritaville!

"Do you rent this," Jared asks him.

"Nope, I own it," Bo says.

You could see the smiles spread across our faces at that point. :)

He then tells us that he likes to go to games and concerts and hates to drive, so one day he just decided to buy a limo. He pays a friend of his to drive him around (that is a driver for FedEx).

Seriously who does that? Who just BUYS a limo? (We found out later he's in pharmaceutical sales and is, somewhat, of an entrepreneur in many other areas)

We thought it was pretty sweet!

So, needless to say, Jared and I had a pretty good time cruisin' around with them in their limo acting like we were VIP. He had it decked out too, with TVs, island type theme items to fit the Jimmy Buffet name, and plenty to drink. Don't worry though, we stayed calm, we knew we had a game to watch and more cool people to meet.

We get to the game and find our seats just in time for kickoff. The game was great and they beat San Diego State, even though they played like crap the first half of the game. And, go figure, our seats were right next to all the San Diego Fans so that got annoying real quick, haha.

The stadium was amazing and this was the 200th consecutive sold out game, so we got to be part of history too.

After the game we realized just how old we were getting when we ate dinner, went home at 10 and were in bed by midnight. I guess we will leave the partying to the college kids.

Here are some photos from our first Notre Dame Football adventure! I hope we get more tickets so we can do it again!

A MUST read for all KU Basketball fans

Rock Chalk

My friend Brad posted a letter written by Darnell Jackson as he accepted his 3 year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Anyone who knows Darnell's story will be touched by this letter to fans (that was published in the Journal-World). He had a rough time, but through the fans and his determination he was able to succeed.

Click here to read the letter

I may be a Sooner at heart, but those gosh darn Jayhawks like to pull at my heart strings once in a while. ROCK CHALK BABY!

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch

that fitness trainer kicked my butt

I know I needed it though, I just HATE working out. We joined a gym last week and part of the package is a personalized workout plan with a fitness trainer. They measure and weigh you (I hate that part. Nothing makes you feel more like a cow than seeing the numbers on that damn measuring tape), then they go over any health issues (let's see, asthma, allergies, bad neck and back, the list goes on), then they ask you how much you want to lose (I said 30 lbs was a good start, but I know I need to lose even more than that, haha) and then she put me to work. We started with the Elliptical Machine for 10 minutes since I had already done the treadmill for 10 min. as a warm up. Then we started weight and strength training. The ab workout was so difficult for me. I was struggling. At one point I asked her if people ever cussed at her. She said it happens all the time. LOL. I'll have to keep that in mind the next time she kicks my butt. :) Needless to say it was a good workout and I am sore all over today. I can't wait to go again!

Ok, I am random and all over the place today so here's some other little diddys for ya:

1. We got tix to Notre Dame tomorrow and we are pretty excited! Just the atmosphere of a Division 1 game will be surreal. I have never been to a D1 football game... hard to believe huh? I am pumped to see the stadium and even root for ND. At least they don't play my Sooners so I don't have to worry about that! haha

2. I am still slightly unhappy at my new job. Some days it is good, but other days I feel worthless. I still look to see what is out there, but with the way the economy is right now, I should be thankful I have a job. I think the jewelry thing will be good for me and I am still pumped about that.

3. Have I mentioned how much I hate friends of convenience? I do. I have decided that I do not have time for people who do not have time for me and when they actually DO have time for me it is like they do it out of pitty or something. I am too old for this crap and I have many more friends that like me all the time, not only when it is convenient for them.

4. Is honesty all its cracked up to be if it just hurts people in the long run? I have strived to always tell people things if I know if it is something that I would want to know if the tables were turned, but it always ends up coming back to bite me in the you know what. I have a big mouth, no big shocker there, but the few times I have actually chosen to keep quiet or not get involved in something I feel horrible cause deep down inside I feel I should be honest. Does that make sense? I am struggling with a few situations.... and I need advice my bloggie friends.

Ok, I think that is all for now, another random post from Stacy. Get used to it folks, being random isn't so random for me anymore. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!

Jewelry anyone?

my new business adventure

I am so excited I just can't contain myself! I have decided to become a Premier Designs Jeweler and I can't wait to get started.

I first became involved with Premier when I lived in Girard and, in fact, I really wasn't much of a jewelry person AT ALL until I was introduced to Premier. I hosted a party and got a TON of free and discounted stuff. I was hooked from there, haha.

Well, Amy (I liked to call her my jewelry lady) asked me about 2 years ago if I wanted to start selling it. I declined due to the number of people in the area already selling it (I mean, I was attending parties about every week for a while... it did get kinda old) and I have never really pictured myself as a saleperson ( I HATE being pushy to people). Since then I haven't really thought out it much.

When we moved up here I started looking into ways to make some extra cash to help pay for our ever-lasting (house that won't sell) mortgage payment UUGGHHHH and to have some extra cash to help with some credit card debt we still have from our wedding and college.

I started looking around on the Premier website and asking colleagues around my work if they had ever heard of it. NO ONE HAD (which was good news for me!!!!) and my co workers all love jewelry and have attended other types of jewelry parties, so I figured they might be my best bet to help me get started.
So, I have contacted Amy and she said she will sponsor me even way up here in lil' ole Indiana and help me get started... INCLUDING helping me host my first party! Amy has been very successful at her business and is very creative and I look forward to getting all the tips, strategies and advice I can from her! Even BETTER news is that I don't have to put much money it to start this (unlike some other direct selling and home party businesses). I will need to buy some samples and some items to get marketing going (but all of it will be a write off on taxes) BAD news... I am new to this area so it might be a little more difficult to get parties booked :( I am really relying on my co-workers and my friend Julie to help me get started. Hopefully from there I will begin getting more party bookings from each additional party that is hosted.
Cross your fingers, say a lil' prayer and keep me in your thoughts as I take the first real "financial leap of faith" I have ever taken. I hope it pays off. :)

Weekend getaway to Chicago

i am really starting to love this city

Jared and I headed to Chicago this weekend with Marla and Jeremy and Hicks. Marla and Jeremy came all the way from South Carolina to hang out with us and we had a wonderful time showing them South Bend and hanging out in Chicago. It was a great time filled with awesome pizza, beautiful weather and gorgeous city views, a Cubs game, and quality time with friends.

Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend too.