Where have YOU BEEN?!?!?

I really, REALLY need to get on here and post more often. 'Cause, when I finally DO sit down here and say what's up, I wind up writing a NOVEL. For. REAL. So, I'm going to break this up into 4 parts, and you can just scroll down to what you're interested in: 1. The Dog and the Garden (Just found out that tabs don't work in a blog!) The dog is doing exceptionally well. The Amazing Dr. Pat Tate saw her in the parking lot on the day that her staples were removed, and remarked that she is incredible. Holly is the WonderDog, and we are thankful that God is allowing her a quick recovery! She thinks she's fine, so keeping her quiet is definitely the hardest part. The garden is quite the amazing experience. Challenged by the incomparable Paige Clausen, I built 2 raised garden beds this spring, and planted cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, snap peas, lettuce, spinach, kale, cabbage, a "French salad blend," several herbs (in pots), and Lord knows what else. Frost be darned, it's all growing quite well. We were able to make our first harvest this weekend, and since we've recently started juicing (thanks, Ms. Helbig!), the garden's really going to come in handy. Evidently, we like carrots A LOT in juice form, so next year I'll be planting those as well (somewhere).

2. The Anniversary 7 years have gone by, since I said "I do" to that amazing guy. David and I have been through more stuff than some couples will see in 70 years, much less, 7, and I'm so proud that he picked me! Even though in the middle of this Home Makeover, I find myself wanting to throw a paint can at his head, I love him very much. He makes my soul smile, and I wouldn't have him any other way. Our anniversary was spent getting a massage at the Healing Arts Academy (highly recommended, for those of us on a budget--student massages are $35/hour, and even though they're students, guess what? There's almost no such thing as a "bad" massage. We've had one great massage there, and one ho-hum massage there. I had a St. Louis Post-Dispatch coupon for an hour massage, for $17, so I'm not complaining. We'd go back.) Anyways, I also had a Living Social coupon for Jilly's Cupcakes, so after our de-stressing massages, we had a healthy lunch at Sansai, followed by a total gluten-fest at Jilly's. Yes, the saying is true: David, I love you like a fat kid loves cake. The sad fact that cake makes me happy, as noted earlier this week on Facebook, makes me realize how warped and food-dependent I am. I. Love. Cake. Period.

3. The "Extreme For Us" Home Makeover I got this "bright" idea to burn up some vacation time, with a "staycation." Since any ideas of a holiday have been demolished by the cost of Dear Holly's surgery (she'd better live to be 100, that's all I'm sayin'), and since our house has looked the same for 7 years, I decided to call in my army of family, and freshen up the downstairs. When we bought this house, David moved in first, then we got married, and then I moved in. In that process, I had appendicitis, and 6 weeks before my wedding, as we were frantically trying to find a house to move in to, I was hospitalized. He found the house, I signed for it sight-unseen (in a tremendous act of faith/submission/blind love), and began to work on it while I planned the wedding and recovered (and tried to work). It was a time of massive, frantic chaos (and should have served as fair warning for the scope of our matrimony). So, we were trying to pick wall colors, and frankly, I didn't really care. I had a few things I liked, he knew what he wanted, and I had just had my appendix ripped out, so for the past 7 years, our living room has been a pleasant beige-and-brown; our kitchen has been a rather loud orange; and our guest bathroom has been a blah-shade of ivory-maybe-peach. David said that I could pick what I wanted, and now, ta-da! Our kitchen is...um...well, it's a much calmer shade of orange (aka, "Golden Sunset" and "Pumpkin Bread," our living room is "Meadow Fresh" green (sounds like laundry detergent), and the guest bathroom is (my favorite) "3-Olive Martini." I have to give a HUGE shout-out to the Lowe's in Arnold--I can honestly say that I've NEVER had such incredible customer service in a big-box store, much less, a hardware store. They were super-nice, and since I'm not getting anything from them for free, you know I'm telling the truth. Based on advice from The Man, Mr. Greg Jones, we found some tin that was reclaimed from O'Connell's Pub in St. Louis, and my uber-awesome Dad hung it up as a fancy-schmancy tin backsplash in the kitchen. The final touch came today, with all of the doors and trimwork getting a fresh coat of paint. We also took a risk, and painted our countertops with a specialty paint. Because we went with a flat color, we're hoping that it looks more "real" than the marbling kits that are out there. Really, that backsplash is something phenomenal. When this house finally sells, it will be hard to leave that behind. I love knowing that we not only reduced our carbon footprint; we have a piece of St. Louis history to say "Good Morning!" to us every day. I love this city, and now it's in my house.

4. Church So, one of my homies called me the other day, to say that people at Southgate were asking where we'd been. That's cool...just a kind reminder, I'm still here, reachable via cell, e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter (@CassidyCooley). If you're curious, let me know. This has been a delicate, careful transition, and the last thing I want is for rumors to start. David and I have loved, and been loved, by people at Southgate since we returned from Kentucky in 2009. Of course, when we left in 2008, we left our beloved Rivers of Life...when we came back, ROL had fully merged with Victory in an unprecedented act of unity and downright awesomeness. Frankly, I think that more churches need to take note of the process that Southgate has gone through in both merging, and in birthing a new church. It's pretty phenomenal, and though the little things may cause internal bickering (logos, coffee in the sanctuary, what have you:), when you look at the community of the big picture, it's pretty cool. Southgate is a huge supporter of the Gateway House of Prayer, and works together with World View Community Fellowship to keep GHOP, well, "hopping." We spent quite a bit of time praying about where God would like for us to serve, and in this season, World View is where He has put us. It doesn't mean that we're leaving Southgate with any anger--Christians need to get over thinking that transitions happen because of bad things. Sometimes, God just moves you, period. David's heart has been pulling in this direction for some time; I risked God's blessing on our household because I would not submit. I finally got my head out of my rear, prayed with the right heart, and here we are. I miss my Southgate friends, so this will challenge me to not be a hermit, and to keep in touch. We've spoken with who we needed to speak to, in leadership, and we have peace about this decision. More importantly, we have unity (no one ever said that would come without sacrifice!). So, we're there, and I'm here, and we have nothing but total love for both churches. Honestly, I'm still listening to the SG podcasts, and I'm excited about where God is taking the church. Cool things, totally!!! I realize, that as I intro'd, I have written a novel. I really, REALLY need to get on here more often. I'm off of work for the rest of this week, and there are more flat surfaces that can be painted in my house, so for now, I have to go. For one last thing, I'd really like to win the Mother-Daughter Look-Alike contest. Mom deserves it, especially after having to listen to me rant for 20 solid minutes this afternoon while I was high on countertop paint-fumes: