My Heart is Full

My heart is full of happy!

My sweet friends Jasmine and Derek are getting married today! I am so glad Jasmine is letting my help with the wedding and I am praying that it's everything her and Derek want it to be.

I have stocked up on kleenex's because I know there will be tears! Jasmine just has the sweetest, most gentle spirit of anyone I've ever met...it's very obvious that she and Derek absolutely adore each other.

It's going to be a great wedding!

AND yesterday....3 weeks early...my friends Kevin and Kim welcomed their new baby girl into the world!
Palmer Isabella is absolutely beautiful! Her little face is just so precious and she has such pretty dark blue eyes.
We were able to see her through the nursery glass and she was just stretching and making faces...so cute!

If it crosses your mind to pray for this new family...they have a lot to deal with as far as adoption paperwork and rules.
The amount of red tape and money it's taking for these great Christian people who want to be parents so bad amazes me, but I guess in the end it's to protect everyone involved.

And, I'll say it once more: the baby is so friggin cute! I can't wait to see her in the Johnny Cash onsie Mike and I bought her!!

And I asked my sweet husband if he felt a little tickle wherever men should feel a tickle telling them to have a baby when he saw Kev and Kim's little bundle of joy.

He said no, and my baby-carrying parts were silent too...so...yeah...I'll just borrow Palmer and give her to Kevin when she poops.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning. Ugh. Now, I'm off to meet Jasmine and help her decorate for her outdoor/barn wedding before it gets too hot.

No pictures, please...I don't sweat well.

Memory Lane...A Look Through My Senior Scrapbook

OK, so when I was looking through things I needed to get my name changed and such, I found my senior scrapbook from 2002. I got a big kick out of what a massive dork I was almost 10 years ago, so I thought I'd share some highlights.

Why? Because I don't have any better blog ideas right now. Those of you who knew me back then will probably be amused, those of you who didn't will probably make fun of me...

Here Goes...

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Cline-English; Ms. Lambert-Creative Writing; Mr. Williams-Spanish; Mrs. Harris-Algebra; Ms. Hanlen-Drama

Who I most admired:
Steven Curtis Chapman
My Parents
Pastor Bob

Who I wanted to meet:
Steven Curtis Chapman (can anyone guess who my favorite singer was...good grief!)
Oprah (???)

Favorite movies:
10 Things I Hate About You...when I fell in love with the late, great Heath Ledger
Road Trip...watched it pretty much every day after school at my friend Ben's house. Was it that good of a movie? Probably not. Did we laugh every time? Yes.

This one is very embarrassing...
What I like to wear:
Long jackets and sweaters
Black
Leather pants (what?!?)
Dark lipstick
Jeans

My dreams:
"to marry my true love that God has chosen for me, graduate college, have a stable career, stay a good Christian, direct theatre, have my own radio show."

Family:
We had a tiny white poodle named Ditto. He passed away the day before I left for college (awww...)

My sweet little brother was a freshman my senior year. He was much more popular than me.

Apparently, "me and dad (were) kinda having problems because of me growing up and having a boyfriend." Oy.

This makes me feel old...
Price of:
Movie ticket: $7.50
Pair of jeans: $30
My car: $924.00 (why I was so specific, I'm not sure. I can't remember if this was the giant old white Oldsmobile or the giant old navy blue Buick)
Tank of gas: $13.00 (really? I don't think I ever had to pay for my own gas, so I probably pulled that out of my butt)

"What's Hot":
Song: "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys; "How You Remind Me" by Nickleback (ugh)
Music group: Nickleback; Staind; Lincoln Park; Lifehouse
Movies: Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars prequels (you can tell that I hung out with mostly guys and tomboys, no?)
Favorite Shows: Friends, That '70's Show (both of which I still watch!)

Apparently I though myself and my boyfriend at the time (Shea Langner) was the cutest couple in our class.

I thought Jason McConnell and Robert Bailey were the funniest people in our class.

I thought Emily Gibson (fellow blogger shout out!), Amelia Edwards, and my friend Jason were most likely to succeed.

I wrote about a battle of the bands that my friend Robert and his family organized, called "OBOB" (Ozark Battle of the Bands)...

I wrote about a game of charades my friends and I played...which was apparently hilarious.

I wrote down some classic quotes from "The Group" (the super-creative way my friends and I referred to each other) but they are mostly inappropriate and/or really dumb so I won't share. OK, just one, "That was the naughty pirate's punishment." I have no explanation, but apparently I though I needed to remember that one of my friends said it.

My favorite weekend of senior year was when we had a huge snow, no school, and my friends and I all spend the day sledding.


Here's how cool I was:
In the "Sports I Played" section, I wrote about drama class!!

We did "Into the Woods" for the fall musical, and I think that was when I fell in love with behind the scenes work. I was the teacher's "assistant," I guess you could say.

Any of my karaoke buddies will most likely not be surprised that I didn't get a lead role in the musical. Mariah Carey I am not. Besides, "Talk Dirty to Me" is not featured in "Into the Woods."

Anyway, I wrote that I sacrificed a lot, including a concert by Avalon, a Christian group I really liked at the time.

But, "It was all worth it when I heard the opening music on Thursday...I got chills. And when Ms. Hanlen say me in the hall and said, 'good job, Carrie.'"

No, I do not get chills every morning when the opening music to my newscast plays.

And I played Annelle in "Steel Magnolias" for the Spring play. No, I will not do the voice.

My Stuff:
In my locker: gym clothes; books; posters (I'm going to guess Backstreet Boys and/or 98 Degrees)
In my backseat: backpack, Baby Moses (I have no idea...I'm going to assume it was a baby doll for a church play...but, really...I don't know)

Apparently, if my house was burning down, I would first grab my CD's, pictures, and clothes. Grabbing my pet was ranked at the bottom. My priorities would be different now.

My First Job:
I really did write this: producer/director for a news show. (HA!)
OR radio DJ

In:
New York City, Nashville, or Springfield

Oh and then there's some fantastically embarrassing pictures of me wearing my dark lipstick and such.

I encourage everyone else to share their senior year memories as well.

More Thoughts on the No-Kids Thing

I'm just sayin'
Look at the comments and you'll see that I'm in the minority. I just enjoy advocating for the not-so-popular opinion...especially when I agree with the not-so-popular opinion.
The No-Baby Boom Critical Eye: Details.com

The Way to Be?

"Childfree"

It's a word!

I've been doing my research!

Now that Mike has made an honest woman out of me, of course, there's the kid question.

And right now we're thinking about it. As we get ready to build our life and our dreams...buy a house...plan careers...

I know people say, "if you wait until you're ready to have kids, you'll never be ready." But I don't want to buy a pricey house only to realize we can't afford it when Little Mike or Little Carrie comes along.

We're leaning toward NOT. That's right...NOT. I'm already an outcast in Sunday school, so being the only woman who hasn't brought forth life from my womb won't bother me.

I can't speak for my hubby as to why he feels the way he does.

I can just say that I have never had that maternal desire or instinct. It's not that I hate kids, I just don't think I want to be around one all the time. I am always stressed out, always worrying, and always high strung. I don't want to bring up a kid in that...they'd turn out like...uh, me.

I like my time alone, I like to eat my food when it's hot, and I LOVE sleep.

But, aside from the "practical" reasons I could list for not having kids that people would try to argue with me about, or give me a parent's 3 favorite words, "it's worth it," it's really just that I don't really, REALLY want any. In my opinion, that's the only reason people should have kids.

Not because it's just something you do, not because you think it will save your marriage or make your spouse grow up, not because you want someone to love you.

I get annoyed when I see people who just have kids. Just because the ole biological clock is ticking. Then the child doesn't feel really welcome and loved and a part of the family. Babies are cute...angsty teenagers are not.

I have concerns, my plan isn't flawless. Who will take care of me when I'm old? But I shouldn't bring a baby into the world and already give him a job! Who am I going to spend the holidays with? Okay, friends, I can cook, so...I should have somewhere to go for Thanksgiving!

I've told people I feel this way, and I get the "WHY NOT? Why would you not want kids?!"

Why am I the one that has to justify my decision?

I will never say never. I am still young, and could totally change my mind. I found that word "childfree" and realized there's a community of people who seem pretty grumpy and have an "us against them" mentality toward people who DO have kids. I don't want to be like that!

I just want to be me. And I want it to be accepted that I am still a whole person who loves life and has a great marriage, whether I have kids or not.

I could write so much more...but I won't. All the parents I know are great; I have so much respect for them.

I just don't want the burden of proof that I'm worth something to be on me...just because I don't think the world needs a mini me.

Besides, I have this:

Okay...Fine!

I really like this song.

As with most phases we go through (do almost-30-year-olds still go through phases?) I think this one is over.

I have been acting like a country music elitist...but the TRL-watching high school sophomore in me still loves a good, catchy song. I can't help it. And everything I've heard from Taylor Swift's latest album makes me want to go on a windows-down road trip.

What got my 'tude all revved up about current country sucking:

generic laundry lists songs that mention tractors, Jack Daniels, cut-off jeans, and Johnny Cash.

blatant product placement.

and my former Aussie obsession, Keith Urban's last new CD's, which sound like watered down adult contemporary pop instead of the groovy country rock I know he's capable of.

to name a few.

But I think there ARE still some awesome country artists still making music and writing songs from their hearts and life experiences.

Regardless of genre, I think Taylor Swift is one of those artists.

And Brad Paisley...WOW! This guy is super talented. Original...funny and amusing while writing songs you can listen to over and over...and respectful of the classics while doing his own thing. I absolutely love his new song "Old Alabama"

Side Note: I had 4 tapes that I listened to when I was a young kid: Ricky Skaggs, Alabama, Hank Williams Jr. and Mel McDaniel. That, and watching CMT with my Grandma Schroeder and Uncle Gary made me the music lover I am today.

So I suppose this post is me coming clean. Good music is good music, and no matter what it is classified as, it can still be appreciated and respected.

I've been around more elitist hipsters than I care to mention and I DON'T want to be like that.

Now I guess all that's left to do is drive my old pickup down a dirt road, crank up the Hank, and pop open a cold beer.

If I could only find my cut-off jeans...

My New Name!

Carrie Anne Schroeder Winchel.

I suppose it's not a huge deal...I've changed my name before, after all.

But I still think it's exciting, and I'm glad that this time I've got the Schroeder in there. I had that name for 21 years, and it's my parent's name...a big part of who I am. Plus, my brother probably won't have kids and all my cousins are girls, so I feel like I want to keep it going a little longer.

And IF (BIG IF) I have a kid I'll probably make their middle name Schroeder.

Carrie Winchel. I'm going to have to get used to that. It's so funny to think that I have Mike's last name. We were both with other people when we met, and were friends for years before we dated, so for a long time, I never even thought about having his name!

I see changing my name as a way to tell the world that we're on the same team. We're the Winchels Dammit! It doesn't feel like I'm losing my identity or giving up anything.

I've even made sure our "kid" shares our surname, so he's not a little bastard puppy anymore. Cash Waylon Winchel. I only call him that when he's in trouble.

When someone refers to us as "The WInchels," though, I kind of feel like we should be starring in a 50's inspired sitcom.

That would be a really weird show.

My Name is Carrie and I Watch "Real Housewives" Shows

Oh, Bravo...you're so sneaky.

As I'm flipping through the channels when Full House reruns are on commercials, you suck me in with the nice shots of New York City, or a fancy dress, or a cute little accessory dog chilling by a pool.

I like to think of myself as a progressive, intelligent woman, so why do I like to watch this drama fest?

Here's what Mike sees when I watch these shows, "Is all these b#tches do throw parties and fight?"

Yeees....(embarrassed face)

Whatever.

I think there must be some part of us that enjoys drama. Some people thrive on having it in their own lives...while others like to watch it on TV. I certainly don't fight like that with my girlfriends...maybe it's because we're too busy working and/or mothering our own children to throw mixed drinks at each other.

But I'm not going to try to justify this guilty pleasure.

I'll just dish...full on disclosure.

My favorite H-wives are Orange County and New York.

I also enjoyed the first season of Beverly Hills. New Jersey is what sucked me into the franchise, but now that Danielle is gone, it's not as much fun, and I'm not particularly enjoying the Teresa-fest.

I think my favorite part of the Housewives shows are not the insane fights, but the little peeks into their lives and their quirks. I'm pretty sure Bravo can edit the high school drama however they want...

But hearing Alexis get Biblical when I don't think she knows what she's talking about...watching Teresa say she's "not a stage mom" as she puts makeup on her 8 year old before a dance recital...OH! And Dina bathing her hairless cat, Grandma Wrinkles, in the sink...those things you can't edit! These gals are hilarious.

So I'm telling myself it's okay to watch as long as I don't start acting like a Real Housewife...which makes me wonder what a Springfield, MO version of the show would look like?