An afternoon walk

This past Monday, Travis had the day off and I only worked a half day. The kids had a half day of school due to parent-teacher conferences. The weather outside was absolutely perfect - sunny, 80 degrees, and no humidity. We decided to go on a walk down the Cardinal Greenway. Here are a few picutres from our trek.

The photo above is my favorite! Look at all the colors!

We walked exactly one mile, then turned back. You would have thought we walked ten miles!

Who and where?

At the bottom of the right sidebar, there is a little Cluster map that makes a dot whenever someone checks this blog. I'm totally curious as to who you all are! I may not know you, and that's completely ok! I am really intrigued by who even looks at this blog anymore...especially since I am not very good at posting the latest and greatest. :)

So, now is the time to come forward. Who are you and where are you from?! :)

James Dean Festival 2008

The Fairmount James Dean Festival is probably my favorite of all festivals. The cars, the music, the era - L-O-V-E it! It's always the last weekend of September. Here are some photos from this year's festival.

Travis is friends with Lenny, the man in the black suit on the left.

This couple worked the crowd! They were having so much fun and it really showed!

Katrina & I watching the dance contest.

"Come on, baby! Let's do the TWIST!"

Our group was rooting so hard for this couple, I had to get my picture with them. I was standing in the middle at first, but Gramps started getting "handsy" in jest, so I moved to the outside and told him to get "handsy" with his wife! Haha!

This was on the side of a building in downtown Fairmount. It made me smile.

The grave of the legend.

A car show is not a car show unless you have some with flames on the sides!

James Dean Tribute - a replica of the car he died in. You can see a red car in the back ground. He actually drove this car to his prom. It is still owned by his family.

For Carmine

Dear Carmine,

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging. I know you sit on the edge of your seat to see what is going on in my life, and are incredibly disappointed to see that nothing has been updated on my blog every time you look at it. July and August are my busiest months at work, and when I have the opportunity to blog, I simply don't do it. Excuses do not provide you with what's been going on here in Indiana, but at least this gives you something new to read.

I will do my best to keep up from here on out, but I'm not making any promises.

Sincerely,
Your lazy blogging friend

P.S. All written tongue-in-cheek :) I'm glad you check my blog and I really will try to post more. Now that August is over, and we finally have internet at home (I always blogged at work, thus another reason I didn't post anything during July or August), I really have no excuse! I enjoy reading about your adventures out east, and the websites you find crack me up. They provide me with some great moments of comedy and stress-relief throughout the week! I read your blog often, even though I rarely comment (again...pure laziness)! I want to make it out your way soon to come visit. Travis has never been to NYC, and I would love to take him there! Miss you!

Changes

A day in the life of the Stewart household is changing. No, I'm not pregnant. Three step-children are enough to keep me busy (and are a good reminder to take my birth control). :) Travis and I are now actively pursuing moving to Fort Wayne. We have been updating his resume and will send it out to various corporations at the Fort in the next week or so. He will finish his Bachelor's degree sometime this fall, aiming for December graduation. I've been looking at houses online for us to purchase. I have found several I like so hopefully the inside will be just as nice as the outside.

This weekend, we will be going to Lowe's to purchase some "finishing touch" items for our house to put it up on the market: new baseboards and trim for our master bedroom, a new carpet strip, and possibly some railing and spindles for the front porch. There are several small projects that we need to finish and I'm eager to get them done.

I joined a gym. This is the first time in my life I've ever joined a gym or committed to working out on a regular basis. So far, I've lost 3 pounds. It doesn't sound like much, but I only want to lose 15 total. The Wellness Center in Marion gives you a personal training session when you join. It's nice to see results and progress!

This weekend, the Stewart house will have lots of visitors. Clayton and Jerusha Genth (friends from college) are coming to stay with us tonight, along with my friend Melissa from Fort Wayne and probably my cousin Jonathan. We're going to see/hear my friend Jesse's band play. I know Jesse from my days at IWU as well. Tomorrow will be filled with the small house projects I mentioned to put our house up for sale. Sunday we are meeting up with my friend Christin and her family for a cookout. It's been years since I've seen them and I'm really excited to catch up! Christin and I grew up together in church and then went to high school and college together. I'm really excited!

Pictures to come!

Funeral Arrangements

For those of you interested, the viewing for Gramps will be at Needham-Storey-Wampner Funeral Home in Marion on Thursday, June 5th, from 4 to 8pm. The funeral will be on Friday, June 6th, at 1pm at Hillside Wesleyan Church in Marion.

His obituary can be viewed at: http://www.chronicle-tribune.com/articles/2008/06/04/obituaries/doc4845e8c53492b405439922.txt

Charles Byron Fields

Grandpa Fields & I - September 2007

My heart aches today. My Grandpa Fields passed away this morning at 6:55am, at the VA Hospital in Marion. He was 79.

First and foremost, Gramps was a man who loved God with all of his heart. He is the only person I know who TRULY loved like Jesus Christ loves us. Grandpa didn't care what you've done in your past or the mistakes he knew you would make in the future; he loved you anyway. Two weeks ago, he sat in his room at the VA and prayed for his evening meal. He did not pray that God would heal him - in fact, he never once mentioned anything about himself or prayed for himself. He only prayed for the "hands that prepared it" and that others would come to know Christ. Over the past few weeks, many have sent cards, letters, and emails to our family telling us how Grandpa had impacted their life. Some were led to the Lord through my Grandpa's life, others recommited their lives to the Lord. Many have commented on what a strong man of God he was and how he lived out his life that way. As a Christian, could there be a better testimony than that?!

He was not just my grandpa, he was my friend. He was full of wisdom and integrity. He was a hard worker his entire life and always willing to lend a helping hand. He was kind and gentle, but firm and grounded. He was compassionate and considerate of others. He loved his family very much. There was never a question about this. Anyone who met him was blessed by him. I am thankful for the Godly examply my Grandpa gave - not only to his family, but to everyone. He was funny and had a wonderful sense of humor.

Selfishly, I want my Gramps here with me. Even though his body has been steadily declining over the past several weeks, I still want him here. I will miss our heart-to-heart talks that we shared, but will relish all of the magnificent memories he gave me. My Aunt told me this morning that all the tears we shed are simply because we love him so much. This statement couldn't be more true.

I know today that Gramps is in heaven meeting the God of all Creation. He is celebrating, rejoicing, praising the Lord, and running up and down the streets of heaven. He is seeing my Grandma for the first time in eight years, and seeing her body completely healed for the first time ever. These are the reasons that I can rejoice in my Grandpa's passing. I miss him already, but Gramps, I will see you again one day! I love you "the mostest most!" :)

Valentine's Weekend Away

For a "weekend away," Travis and I went to Chicago the weekend after Valentine's Day to spend the day relaxing and enjoying the windy city.

We arrived in Chicago around noon-ish, checked into our hotel, then went to Ed Debevic's for lunch. It was Travis' first time there. My parents had taken me there when I was a kid, so it was great to share that experience with someone else.

After lunch, we walked up and down the Magnificent Mile and did some shopping. I found my next big purchase: this purse. Travis tried to convince me to buy it that day, but I set some goals at work and will get it when I reach them. I've never owned one, so it's good motivation.

We made our way back to the hotel and then headed to dinner at Keefer's and had a nice dinner. After dinner, we headed to the Ford Oriental Theatre where we had tickets to watch the Broadway production, Wicked. We get to the front door, looked through my purse for the tickets, and they were no where to be found. Travis ran back to the restaurant to check with our waiter to see if I had left them on the table since that was the last place I remember having them (ironically, to make sure they were in my purse). I followed behind him, running the best I could in 3 inch heels. When I caught up to him at the restaurant, I searched my purse once again and found them stuck to an inner envelope.

It was now 7:50 and the show started at 8. We ran (as fast as I could in the aforementioned 3 inch heels) back to the theatre, tickets in hand, and made it into our seats with 2 minutes to spare. Unfortunately, the act of running in those heels left a blood blister the size of a half dollar on the ball of my left foot. It hurt so bad I could barely walk back to our hotel, which was just 6 blocks away.

Wicked was absolutely amazing! The sets, the songs, the actors and actresses were all simply phenomenal! The only down side to it is that somewhere along the line (in between dinner and the close of the first act), I scratched my left cornea. No, I'm not kidding. I had to watch a good majority of the second act through one eye, or with both eyes closed because the lights were so bright onstage. Pathetic, huh?

We made it back to our hotel after the show and I immediately went to relieve the pressure from the blood blister. It felt so much better, but I still couldn't walk properly. I also washed out my eyes with some drops, but that didn't help. My left eye ended up swelling up (I looked like someone had punched me in the eye!) and Travis had to get us back home on Sunday morning (he HATES driving in Chicago traffic).

After a quick trip to the Marion ER, we finally made it home. Thank you, Lord, for getting us home safely! :)

Finally - THEY'RE HERE!!!

Our wedding pictures have arrived! They can be seen at: http://www.gardenrose.net/stewart.htm

The album pre-design is absolutely amazing! She did an excellent job of "telling our story" through her pictures and presentation. If you want to view all of the proofs, the password is my maiden name: fields.

What do you think?

Candy Wrapper

On the inside of a piece of Dove Promises milk chocolate, the message read:

"Be mischevious. It feels good."

Love this! :)