We are flirting with becoming Texas Rangers Fans: Game # 2

Amazing sunset!
The future home of the Dallas Cowboys!

Sweet! Awe! Aren't they precious!?!?

Kristy's cousin Jessica is in town, so they decided to take her to a Rangers game last night. Michael and I decided we would tag along. This is game #2 for the Ketchums. We are now 1-1. The Rangers won last night. Michael wants to buy us Rangers T-shirts to wear to the games. I told him I just didn't know if I was ready for such a big step in this sporting relationship. I know MSU is college and this is the Major Leagues...but I still sing "it's root root root for the BULLDOGS..." even at the Rangers game. Oh well!

The lovely ladies of the evening!

We won! YAY! I can even explain how...are you ready? We are tied in the bottom of the 8th...Rangers have the bases loaded and no outs. The batter sacrifice flies out to right field and the third base runner tags up and runs home for the go ahead run! The right fielder cannot throw very far and the catcher has to come away from the plate to catch the ball, so he is SAFE! YAY!! No extra innings. We got 3 outs real quick in the 9th! You're impressed aren't you!?!

The "W" in Southwest blinks when you win! CUTE! My amazing photographer husband managed to snap this pic when it was red!

This is where Michael landed our helicopter when we arrived for the game! :)

Caught in Jail!

This picture was taken in downtown Fort Worth at the Stockyards. I couldn't find it when I posted about our trip. I just saw it in Picasa and had to post it! Aren't we cute!?!

Job Interview

I have a job interview in the morning at 10:00 a.m. It is for a tutoring position at a children's home. Please pray that the interview will go well and that Michael and I will have wisdom and discernment in deciding if this is the right place for me.

THANKS!

CVS Trip #1

So first let me explain this CVS business. I first discovered it on thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com but you can also find info on moneysavingmom.com. The 2nd website really breaks it down for beginners while the 1st gives you week to week buying ideas.



OKAY...so the first step is to get an Extra Care Bucks card. It is just like the card you get at Kroger or any other local grocery. When they scan it BEFORE ringing up your purchase, it automatically gives you discounts within the store and automatically gives you any Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) that you earned.



THINGS TO KNOW:

1. Only certain items earn you ECBs. These items change every month. Check your local CVS for this month's flier.



2. In addition to the monthly ECB flier, CVS has a WEEKLY sale flier. This just lets you know what will be on sale that week.

3. You can use manufacturer's coupons and CVS coupons with your ECBs to maximize savings.



4. ECBs work like cash at CVS. You spend them on any purchases before their expiration date just like cash. They print at the bottom of your receipt, so be sure the clip them off and store them safely.



5. You can monitor your ECBs online by registering for an online account at CVS.com



Now on to my first trip:



I finally figured out that in order to get this ball rolling, I was going to have to spend a little bit of money. So this morning I trucked on down to the CVS and got my July ECB flier. I flipped through it to find some item that I could earn a decent amount of ECBs with AND still use. I didn't want to buy anything that I wouldn't use (obviously)! So I decided upon decaffienated Lipton iced tea and some CVS panty liners! WOOHOO! So exciting!



Here is my transaction:

2 Lipton Decaf 48 count @ 3.29 each

1 CVS Pantyliners 22 count @ .89

TOTAL: 7.54

ECBs earned: 3.99



So now I have 3.99 in ECBs to spend. Next time I go, I will pick out products that will earn me ECBs back and pay for these products with the ECBs that I earned today. Gradually, over time, the ECBs build up and you are buying several items for little to no out of pocket expense.

I know you all think I am crazy, but it is kinda fun to figure this all out. It is like one big brain teaser...plus you save money...hopefully!

I am BACK!

Hello everyone!!! Sorry that I didn't post yesterday...I slept WAY too late and couldn't really get myself going. But...alas...I am back in Texas to days filled with nothing to do. Today I am going to begin what I hope is a profitable adventure for me. I am going to try out this CVS Extra Care Buck shopping. I have been researching this stuff since I moved here, and I think I finally have a grasp on what I am supposed to do. I will fill you in on more details after my first trip. I might not end up buying anything. I may just get the sale flier and the Extra Care book and come home to plan a little more. I will keep you posted.

Anyways, I had a fabulous time in Columbus. Although I missed Michael WAY too much. I don't know that we will be doing that again, but it was nice to see my family. All future trips will have to be together. Even my parents said it was strange to have me home without him! He really is a part of the family now!! I was basically just really lazy...we didn't do anything to thrilling. Friday we got off to a late start...breakfast at 10:30...lunch at 3:00...ice cream for dinner!! Saturday was much the same...we went to Julie Dalrymple's wedding and then Dad took us out to eat at Harvey's (the best cheesesticks EVER). Then we went home to visit with Stephen and Ashley a little bit.

Side bar: CONGRATULATIONS to Justin and Jenny Caldwell upon the birth of their son THOMAS!!! I hear Jenny was a real trooper...no meds...all natural...WAY TO GO!

Back to where I was...Sunday we went to church (I had to go to the couple's Sunday School without a husband...I was late....they all turned and stared...there was no available chair...awkward!) Then we had lunch with Nanny and Pa and returned for dinner at their house with Uncle Doug, Aunt Cindy, and the birthday boy Uncle Stan! Happy Belated Birthday! (I was the only niece/nephew in attendance, so I now rank high on his list!)

Then Monday I headed back to Texas with Kristy, Deanna, and Jessica (Kristy's Cousin). I am sure Jessica was petrified of me all the way here. I am a little wild and crazy and she wasn't used to me. haha! No we had great fun! Especially once I found the iPods and was put in control of our listening pleasure. We rocked out to Reba, *NSYNC, Britney (Spears that is), Beyonce, Christian Aguleira (who knows how to spell that), and so much more! It was GREAT fun! We had a little...no no...a big detour in Jackson. I stopped to have lunch with Michael's mom, Kristy stopped to visit with a cousin....what was supposed to be a 30 minute lunch break turned into about 1.5 hours in Jackson! WOOPS! It was great to see Mrs. Betty though!

So now you are caught up! No pictures, I know that is boring, but I am so sorry! Wish me luck on my trip to CVS! Hugs and Kisses to all!

I'm Going Home!

Just so my readers know, I am flying home tonight to see my sweet family. My darling husband has agreed that I can go. Mainly because he doesn't know when he will have any time off work to take me. I will be in Columbus until either Sunday or Monday. I am riding back with Kristy, so I'm at her mercy. So, I probably won't be posting until I return. Just letting you know! Have a fabulous weekend...I know I will!

Blog Feeder

My lovely friend Kristy introduced me to this most fabulous internet invention. It is called a feed. Maybe I am just way behind in the game, but just in case I'm not, here is what it does. Do you ever get tired of clicking around on all your friends' blog sites only to find that no one has updated anything? Well a feed is the answer to your problems. I use Google's feed which is called Google Reader. You just need a google account to access it. Most of you already have a google account because you are using BlogSpot. Anyways, just go into Reader...you can find a link to it on your dashboard on the right hand side OR you can get to it from your g-mail account on the very top of the page...you might have to click the MORE button (if you have to login, use the same info you use to login to Blogger). So, as I was saying, go into Google Reader...then all you have to do is click ADD SUBSCRIPTION (on the left side of the screen)...in the box type the address for the blog you want to add. For example, if you want to add me (which you should) type www.mandmketchum.blogspot.com then click add (you can also copy and paste the web address from another screen if it is too much to remember). It will automatically pull all of my posts into your Reader. You can mark them all as read in the beginning. Then each day, you simply log into your Reader, and it tells you who all has updated their blogs! AMAZING! If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. I am not the best explainer on things Internet...but I can try! marybethketchum@gmail.com

Our Anniversary Trip

We spent the weekend in Downtown Dallas for our 1st Anniversary. Michael booked us a room for 2 nights at the Omni West End in Dallas. We had dinner Friday night at the Steak and Shake and went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3-D. That was WAY cool! I highly recommend it! Especially for the kiddos! Saturday we got up early and headed to the aquarium to be there when it opened at 10:00. Boy was it already busy! Luckily we beat the heavy crowds and got the see everything we wanted. We were most excited to see two fully grown manatees. AMAZING! See photos below. Then we went for the most romantic part of the week-end...we toured the Holocaust Museum. I know that isn't so romantic, but we had extra time and it was close-by. It was very interesting. Then we went back to the hotel to clean up for dinner. Michael took me the Pappas Brothers Steak House. WOW! Valet parking. Reserved table in the wine room. (Not that the waitress gave us a chance to order any. She took our glasses away before even asking. I guess she assumed we were under age.) The food and service was exceptional! I am not the biggest steak fan in the world, but that was a fine piece of meat I had. Plus mashed potatoes and bread with REAL butter! AHHHH! We came home Sunday morning and had a marathon of 24 to complete season 2. How exciting! I know you are all jealous of my wonderful life! The pics below are from the aquarium. There is a picture of my brother Stephen's long lost twin in there somewhere. Can you find it?

Idea

It has come to my attention that a lot of people read this that I don't know about. This thought leads me to two additional thoughts:
1) Please leave a comment either in the post or on the chat box on the side, so I know you visited. It is good to hear from people I know. Thanks Jessica for already doing that!

2) I should try to do a little more productive something than just post about my little ole life. Thus, I have decided to try to post some of my discoveries from my personal Bible study. Right now, I am trying to write in a Life Journal every day. It works like this: The journal gives you a few passages to read each day. Then you reflect upon the passages using this acronym: SOAP Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. I am not going to post this everyday. Just when I come across something I would like to share. So here goes:

Title: God is Leading
Scripture passage: Exodus 12; 13:17-22 (I read this whole passage and picked the focal verse below)

Scripture: Exodus 13:21 The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night."

Observation: Just so you know, this is referring to the Israelites as they are leaving captivity in Egypt. This passage comes right after the first Passover and right before the parting of the Red Sea.
God specifically led the Israelites both in the day and night. He provided a way for them to travel both in the day and night.

Application: I don't know about you, but I am not trying to escape the Pharoah of Egypt. Nevertheless, this verse stuck out to me. God led them both in the day and the night. He led them very specifically...a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. I began to think about this in application to my life...the day being the good times. When I "feel" close to God. When everything is going right. When I understand what is going on and why. In those times, God is specifically leading me to go places and do things. Just like he lead the Israelites specifically by the pillar of cloud. Everything seems a little easier in the day...you can see where you are going and everything makes pretty good sense. But what about the night? Those bad times? When God doesn't "feel" near. When we don't understand what is happening or how anything good can come of it? When we don't know what our next move should be? Even then, God is STILL leading. Just because He doesn't "feel" close doesn't mean He isn't there showing you the way. Put your trust in Him and follow.

Prayer: Thank you LORD for always leading me.

If you would like a copy of your own Life Journal, I bought mine at the Pinklake bookstore in Brandon, MS. You can check their website at pinelake.org

Happy Anniversary Baby...I've Got You On My Mind!

Happy 1st Anniversary Michael! I can't believe we've already been married for 1 year! It seemed like our wedding day would never come and to look back...time has passed so quickly. I could not be more thankful about how the Lord has blessed me with such an amazing husband. You are exactly what I need to keep me on track and "in line" day after day. You love me even when I'm moody and put up with my silliness and whining. You are such a man of character. You keep our relationship and marriage focused on honoring the Lord. You are honest and so self-sacrificing.

As many of you know, we are in Texas for me to go to school. While I spent the first few days crying over missing my parents, Michael was my rock. He left his parents and family to let me do what I wanted to do. For that, I will always be grateful to him and his family. I am going to start crying now, so I will stop typing.

I love you Michael more and more each day. I didn't know that was possible until I married you. Looking forward to many more years with you...through the good and the bad...I will always be here. I love you.

Driving in Dallas: Lesson #1 & #2

I drove over to Kristy and Deanna's apartment in Coppell, TX yesterday to hang out. It is about 45 minutes with no traffic. I want to brag on myself that I made it over there successfully yesterday morning with only making one wrong turn...yes that is with a GPS helping me, but it didn't give me the instructions fast enough. Anyways, I quickly righted myself and was on my way again. The lesson learning came on the way home. I get in my little car and tell Susie the Garmin to take me home. She says to proceed to the President George W. Bush Turnpike. I think to myself...hey there is a toll for that road. I didn't have too much change...I drove by the on-ramp and saw that it was only $.40. I pulled over in the next parking lot and dug out $.40. YES I know that you can tell the GPS to avoid tolls...but that added like 10 minutes to my driving time and it was way too close to 5:00 to be wasting time unnecessarily. So I scrape together my 40 cents and go back to the on ramp. I am so excited that I get to throw the money in the little bucket! I pull up....not close enough...and lean out the window...and throw. Any of you that know me very well know what is coming...I MISSED! How do you MISS!?! Well I did..but it was only one dime...so I quickly grabbed two nickels and went on my way. Now...After I get on the Turnpike...I remember Kristy telling me that if you stay on it too long, you have to pay again. So I think oh...I will get my 40 cents together before I get there. Well sure enough...I have to pay again...but this time it is a WHOLE dollar. I don't have a whole dollar....not anywhere close...and I have no cash...only a debit card. So I pull up to the little booth and say..."I didn't know I was going to have to pay this again...I don't have a dollar...This is all I have...(I am almost in tears)...I am sooo sorry. I am not from around here!" The guy looks at me (he is an old man, so he pitys me) and tells me not to worry about it, just go on through. He takes the meager offering I do have, and I drive on through. As I do...all these bells start to go off...why...because I didn't pay my toll. Sad Story!

Lesson #1: ALWAYS pull up very close to the bucket.
Lesson #2: ALWAYS travel in big cities with CHANGE!

The Stockyards, a Stampede, and the Wild Wild West

Here are some pictures from our fun-filled afternoon with Deanna and Kristy. Deanna was our lovely tour guide and travel agent. She did a fabulous job. We went to the Wild Wild West show. Watched the longhorns "stampede" through the streets. Watched a gunfight. Sweated a little bit. Then we went over to downtown Fort Worth and browsed a gargantuan Barnes and Noble and had dinner at Razoo's. The fun-filled evening ended at our apartment with Kristy giving us lessons on use of the Internet and Deanna organizing my available work hours and the minimum amount I can make per hour to reach my goal. Lots of fun! It was great to see familiar faces!

Awaiting the stampede on the curb. It was REALLY hot!

This mean guy almost ran me over! I was lucky to get the picture he was moving so fast! :)

There they go...stampedeing through downtown Fort Worth.

Another view of the longhorn cattle.

A maze that was featured on amazing race.

A tower Deanna felt needed to be photographed.

The sign for the WILD WILD WEST show.
Where you get your tickets for the show.


Flags for National Anthem. Deanna has way better pictures. Sorry you have to look at mine.

"Ole Glory" hasn't come out yet and I was unable to get a picture because the horse ran to fast.

Crazy man standing up on two horses running around the arena.

I call this..."Deep in Thought"...YES it IS an original....haha!

BTW...There was this guy dressed up like an Indian with his horse sitting on the corner. He had a sign that said he would pose for pictures for tips. This lady walks by on her cell phone and just snaps a picture as she is walking. He starts yelling at her, "mam...MAM...we work for TIPS!" I thought he was going to mow her down. She just kept walking and never checked up. I was like, dude, do you understand what tips are...THEY ARE OPTIONAL...we give it to you if we feel like it. If he wanted to charge for his pictures he should have said, a picture costs 5 bucks. Anyways, I thought it was funny. Plus in the Wild Wild West show, they had this "Indian" come out and show us a war dance. He was totally white. No denying it. Kristy said he could have at least gone to the tanning bed! Have a great day!

For those new to the computer lingo: BTW mean By The Way. :)

Yesterday's Trip to "Church"

Yesterday we decided to go to a church recommended to us by a friend. She attended there a few years ago when she first moved to Fort Worth and enjoyed it. We found out they had a campas relatively near to our home, so we decided to try it out. This church had small groups instead of sunday school, which is similar to how things worked at Crosspoint (our church in Starkville). We thought it might be a good fit for us...boy were we wrong! We get there and park. Immediately when you step out of the car, your ears are flooded with the Batman music. I had read online that they were beginning a series called "At the Movies", so I was thinking okay, we are going to relate to the Batman movies this morning...that is okay. Then we walk in the door and immediately appear to be in a movie theater. I am not kidding. There were movie posters, a concession stand complete with snacks and drinks for 50 cents, and we were even given our "movie ticket" (a.k.a. bulletin) at the door. PLUS...how could I forget...FREE POPCORN! YES...we are still at church! I am thinking...this would never happen at Fairview...we can't even take a bottle of water into the Sanctuary. ANYWAYS...my thoughts are immediately..what a waste of money. How many hungry children could we feed and clothe for the money spent on this. Despite my immediate reservations, we stayed for the service. OH DONT LET ME FORGET....We are the ABSOLUTE ONLY people dressed in traditional church attire. So it is QUITE obvious to EVERYONE that we are the new kids on the block. I have no problem with dressing casually for church...I just want to be informed when I am going to such church so I don't stick out like a sore thumb. Pressing on...so we move into the Worship center which is set up much like a youth room. Stage up front, rows of chairs, projection stuff. Then we have worship...which is very contemporary...kinda felt like I was at Student Life Conference in high school. All of this is well and good...then we get to the "sermon". I mentioned that this was a satellite church...meaning the pastor doesn't actually speak there in person...we watch him by video. This week...we watched JAWS. I AM NOT KIDDING! Granted we didn't watch the whole movie....but enough of it to get the jist of the plot. He briefly....VERY BRIEFLY...spoke about fear and overcoming our fears. The only time a scripture was mentioned was at the very end when he put a verse up on the screen. I felt like I had gone to 4 year old Sunday School. I had my snack, sang a song, watched a video, and learned not to be afraid, God is with me. DON'T GET ME WRONG...That is an excellent lesson that I need to apply to my life quite often, he just didn't base his delivery on scripture...he based it on JAWS!!! I can almost see where he is coming from...this sort of thing probably appeals to the unchurched...people who have never been to church. And you don't want to get too confusingly deep in scripture and scare them away. BUT AT THE SAME TIME....God's word is LIVING AND ACTIVE...it can not return to you VOID....so my thinking is...USE IT! He never one presented the plan of salvation and didn't even give an invitation to accept Christ as your Savior. Anyways, after the service, Michael and I quietly and quickly walked to the car...got a few blocks down the road...then he looks at me and says, "So....I guess that's a big NO!?!" I laughed and said yes. My sweet dear Michael. I love him.

We also went to the Stockyards with Kristy and Deanna...I will post about that later.

The New Apartment

Obviously this is not a picture of the new apartment, but a smiley face in my sandwich from Michael. I am going to pretend this is cute. :)

Our Bedroom. Randomness...there is no lighting in this room at all other than the lamps we put in there. It is not even wired for lighting...that is something they definitely didn't mention during the tour.

Guest bedroom. You are not allowed to make fun of me putting the stuffed animals on the bed. They all have sentimental value and could not be boxed.

Dining room/Michael's computer area.

Fireplace. We get to hang stockings this Christmas!!! YAY!! (for those of you who don't understand...Michael wouldn't let me hang stockings last year because we didn't have a mantle or fireplace...he said it was "redneck" to hang them off the back of a chair or table.)

We can be fancy and call this the office, or we can be realistic and call this my computer area.

The library! HAHA!

Our bedroom. The picture over the bed is 1 Corinthians 13. Michael painted it for me while I was away for the summer doing missions in Thailand. Isn't he dreamy?

The kitchen...complete with appliances older than I am. As for now, they are working. I am hoping for their demise, so I can get new ones without paying the $35 upgrade fee. Isn't that ridiculous...I can pay $35 a month for new stainless appliances. Which means that somewhere in some storage facility are perfectly good, beautiful appliances which I could be using. BAH!!!

Other side of the kitchen. It does have a bar which overlooks the den area.

I like that very much.
A view of the dining room/den/office.

Bookshelf in Dining area.

Couches and Michael's prized pictures of MSU stadiums. Man...he must have a fantastic wife for buying him those for a wedding present...lucky guy!

Michael's First Major League Baseball Game

Last night we went and watched the Texas Rangers play the LA Angels. It was Michael's first Major League Baseball game. Of course, I took a book to read. I think it really bothered the people around me that I was reading the book. One lady even showed me a picture of one of the players she thought was just "so cute" when he batted hoping I would become interested. Not so, and this guy got out almost everytime he was up. Then this security guy said he had to approve all reading materials in the ball park. He had never heard of my book, but he said as long as it wasn't a steamy romance novel it could stay. Anyways, lucky me, the game went into extra innings, so we were there until 11:45 pm. This seriously cut in on my 24 time. I was upset. We did get out of our nosebleed seats and went to sit behind home plate for the final inning. Turns out that was bad luck. The other team scored one run that inning, and the Rangers got nothing. So...game over.

Our view from the homerun porch.
Another shot. The jumbotron was over our head, so it was really strange. You heard everything and the whole stadium was staring at you, but you couldn't see the screen.
Our view from behind homeplate.
That is where we were originally. In that overhang thing under the jumbotron.

I Can't Think of a Catchy Title

Hello! Just a little update on what is going on in Texas. We are now officially addicted to 24 the TV series. We actually stayed up watching it until 1 AM last night. I know for some of you young people that is not too late, but we are old married people and normally go to bed at 9:30. Anyways...Jack Bauer is great! Thanks to Mrs. Betty who loaned us Season 1. We will be seeking out Season 2 soon! I can't believe there are 6 seasons...we have a lot of catching up to do before January. We probably wouldn't be able to watch it week to week. We would be terrible mad not knowing the ending.

We also went by Michael's new office today, and I got to meet some of the people he will be working with. They all seemed very nice and excited about Michael coming. One of the partners said they already had a lot for Michael to do and there would be some things he had never done before. He said they were going to challenge him a little! Michael is excited but a little nervous of course...He is going to be fantastic! Below is a picture of the office.

Tonight we are going to the movies to watch Get Smart. I will let you know what I think. I can already tell you that Hancock was a FANTASTIC movie. I am usually not really into the superhero, unrealistic type of movies...but this one is worth that 8 buck it takes to go to the movies these days. Anyways...the point of telling you that we are going to the movies is to tell you this: we are going to the Movie Tavern. Okay...apparently I haven't gotten out much in my life...but this place is a full service restaraunt in a theater. You literally eat dinner and watch the movie. AMAZING! I will let you know if it tastes good.

PLUS...I think Michael is planning some kind of surprise for our anniversary which is coming up in about a week and a half. Every time he gets on his computer he won't let me anywhere near him! He is so sweet! I can't wait to see what he has cooked up for us!

Love you all and miss you. E-mail me or drop a comment. I love hearing from people!