Two-Zero-One-One

The new year is upon us and with it comes all the "remember whens" of the year that's ending.  In keeping with my recaps of the last few years (2009, 2010), I present to you: My 2011 Recap.

January
I started my new pre-K teaching job and I LOVED IT. Everything that was wearing me out about my old job was fixed at this one -- non-cliquey staff, I got to teach, no more diapers, a co-teacher who actually valued my opinion. I realized what I want to get my Master's in because of this job: reading.
I made some resolutions (more on those later) and explained why I wanted to lose 26 pounds.

February
I got a snow day for my birthday! They were predicting a lot of snow in that system, but it was kind of a letdown.
Nothing else big happened, I guess. I did a few posts on sermons or videos that impacted me, but apparently nothing noteworthy enough to blog about happened.

March
We celebrated our second wedding anniversary. I can't believe we're coming up on 3 already! I'm sure time will start flying by soon enough, but for now I want it to slow down juuuust a smidge.

April
I bought the first size 14 dress I've bought in a LONG time. Size 14 pants came along in August. And guess what? Those pants? Are now almost too big. =)

May
I discovered Pinterest. Oh man, I love that site.
I rambled about my desire to have a baby.
I discussed the methods to my weight loss.

June
I said good bye to the school year with Pre-K graduation. We had a summer program that totally wore me out, but it was a lot of fun. The graduation ceremony was at the owner's house. We put on a little skit, sang some songs, ate some BBQ, and went swimming. SO MUCH FUN.

July
I saw the final HP movie at midnight.
We went to Colorado for a huge youth conference. It was a lot of fun and the kids got pumped up (too bad it didn't carry over to the school year)
J's car got totalled on said trip to CO. I didn't post about it because we were dealing with insurance and everything, and because it was actually one of the chaperones who hit our car. But J got a 2004 Honda Civic which he LOVES in addition to a nice payout from insurance.

August
My old kids left for kindergarten and I got a new batch. This new batch is challenging and exhausting and creative and love to cook and talkative... One of our most challenging kids actually just left before Christmas, so I'm interested to see how our class's dynamics change.

September 
I was busy this month with weddings and CPR classes and barely had time to blog.

October
My first Trunk or Treat at SPC and my kids were so cute! I had 2 Dorothy's, 2 Buzz Lightyear's, a mater, some princesses, Ariel. So cute!

November
My school has a Feast of Friendship on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving every year and it was a lot of fun -- the school's cook makes, like, 7 turkeys, and the parents all provide the sides. Our room was packed, but it provided a fun, casual environment to chat with the parents.
We hired a new worship director at church. His style is drastically different from our old style, so we're all still trying to settle in. When he's been there a little longer, I might post about how I feel. He has introduced a lot of new songs, though, like this one that I blogged about.

December
Another month without a lot of blogging. I had an amazing work Christmas party at Granite City Brewery.
Our Christmas Day was jam packed between church and 3 family Christmases.
J and I used Christmas money to buy a new TV. We are now owners of a 32" Vizio HDTV. J is ecstatic, LOL.
Also, my brother is moving in with us for a while, so the last week has been full of decluttering my house.

Well that was my 2011! Once again, I'm spending New Years Eve babysitting. I really bring it on myself -- the money is too good to pass up, but in the 6 years J and I have been together, we haven't spent a NYE together. Crazy, I know.

Here's what to expect in the New Year from me (if you'll still hang around):
My 101 in 1001 list. I've been working on it for the past week or so and I'm at 86 items. It's really tough!
Posts involving my 101 in 1001.
A recap of my '11 resolutions, as well as a post about my '12 resolutions.

I hope your 2011 was full of memories and that you will be continually blessed in 2012!

Merry Christmas!

This post is a day late, but my Christmas weekend was very busy. I have been working part time at the bookstore again, and I worked on Christmas Eve morning, then I had church. Our Christmas Eve was pretty low key. Normally we go to my extended family's Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve but this year it was on Christmas Day, so J and I got Chinese food and rented a movie. How boring are we, right? Haha.

Christmas Day, we had church in the morning, then we were off. We visited my father-in-law's first, then my aunt and uncle's, then J's grandparents. It was full of fun and laughter and love and reminiscing and everything Christmas get-togethers should be, but when we got home at 10:00 that night, I was exhausted.

At my aunt and uncle's Christmas, my cousins, brother, and I all subconsciously formed a "kids" table.  You remember how it was -- always wanting to sit with the adults, thinking you're too big for the kids' table. We had one, too, just like everyone else. But something cool happened this year. With the exception of three cousins (2 who weren't there and one who is still "too young" to chat with the older cousins), we all sat down around the appetizer table, snacking, chatting about life and school and other things. What was even cooler is that the table included 2 spouses and 1 girlfriend who all just fit in like they belonged there. I love my family. =)

And because I missed my traditional Christmas Day post:



I hope you had a very merry Christmas and enjoyed the time you spent with your loved ones.

Christmas

I put up our Christmas tree today. J didn't help because, frankly, if it were up to him, it wouldn't go up.  Haha. It's okay, I don't mind. I put on my Christmas music and spend a few hours unpacking the tree and ornaments, etc.

I hope, though, that things change in the future when we have kids of our own.  I have so many wonderful memories of putting up the tree, my dad lifting me up to put the angel on top of the tree.  And I can't wait to have those kinds of memories with my own kids.

In the meantime, I guess my big fat furry kitty cats will have to help me. Sebastian's favorite spot is under the tree and he didn't waste any time getting under there and staking his territory.  Paulie chased my little bead garland around on the floor while I hung it on the tree. Fun times.

Sunday Snapshot

I have always been a voracious reader.  Looks like the boys take after their mama:

  

Paulie is reading HP and the Deathly Hallows in a physical book.  Sebastian is reading When She Woke on my Nook Color.  

"Unashamed"

This past week, during Communion, we played this song.

I have not much

To offer You

Not near what You deserve

But still I come

Because Your cross 

Has placed in me my worth

Oh, Christ my King

Of sympathy

Whose wounds secure my peace

Your grace extends

To call me friend

Your mercy sets me free

And I know I'm weak

I know I'm unworthy

To call upon Your name

But because of grace

Because of Your mercy

I stand here unashamed

I can't explain 

This kind of love

I'm humbled and amazed

That You'd come down

From heavens heights 

And greet me face to face 

Here I am at Your feet

In my brokeness complete

It's been stuck in my head all week.  J and I had an interesting conversation tonight about the meaning of the line "I know I'm weak/I know I'm unworthy/To call upon Your name." A friend of mine at church mentioned that she didn't like the song because of the idea that we're unworthy to come to God.  She believes that she is worthy to be in his presence. This raises some interesting points, about faith and about culture.

First of all, culture.  We live in a world where it's acceptable to demand, demand, demand.  not only that, but to EXPECT that the things we demand will be given to us.  I'm just as guilty as the next guy for falling into this trap.  We feel we "deserve" a better car, a bigger house, a larger TV, and Platinum credit cards.  We deserve to be treated with respect even though most of us live in our own little worlds, not paying attention to even our own spouses or children.  I guess it comes as no surprise that we feel we deserve God's love and grace in our lives. (Here is where we could totally get into an "original sin" debate, but I'm not going there.)

Which brings us to the caveat of our faith.  Our worldview often spills over into our approach to God.  We want Him now, in the way we feel He should be here, and in the time we specify.  We don't find a job in the time frame we want, we question His faithfulness (hello, totally guilty of that...).  Our friend dies too young and we wonder why He took him/her so soon, forgetting that He has a plan.  We don't always like His plan because it doesn't fit into our pretty little box of how we think our life should be. We deserve God's attention RIGHT NOW whether that's His plan or not.  "I'm in pain right now, God, and I deserve Your hand in this mess I am totally to blame for in."  "God, I gave you my life 17 years ago, and now it's time for You to do what I expect You to do -- be there and fix my mess."

But that's not how it works.  Not in the slightest.  We don't deserve Him.  We don't deserve His love.  Paul writes in Romans that we are all sinners, that we all fall short of the glory of God (3:23). Every. Single. One of us.  Fact of the matter is, we're all screwed. We're all destined for an eternity apart from God because we don't deserve to stand in His presence.  Except.

Jesus.

One man.  One cross.  Taking away all of our sins.  Glorious salvation.  That is what makes us worthy.  It's not because of who we are.  It's because of who HE is, and what HE did for us.  Even though we totally don't deserve any of His love, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, grace, mercy, etc, He made us worthy. It is through his sacrifice that we are able to come to God and worship, honor, and adore Him.  It is because of Jesus that we are able to live with Him for all eternity.

Even though we don't deserve it.

Even though we're totally unworthy.

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, NIV)

Menu Monday Oct. 24

I spent roughly $50 on groceries this week, partly because I had $10 in coupons, but that is the least I have spent on groceries in a LONG time.  I'm very proud of myself, thankyouverymuch.

Here is what's on tap for the next two weeks:

Tues. 10/25: Jiffy Jambalaya Remember I wanted to make my own jambalaya?  This will be my first go at it, so hopefully it is delicious.

Wed. 10/26: Santa Fe Enchilada Bake This is something I've made before.  it's easy and with the right subs (whole grain tortillas, low fat cheese and fat free sour cream), it's not too heavy on calories.

Fri. 10/28: Burgers.

Sat. 10/29: Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches I'm a sucker for buffalo chicken.

Sun. 10/30: Baked Ziti.  AKA "Throw some noodles, sauce, and cheese in a casserole dish and bake."

Tues. 11/1: Grilled cheese.  Do you really need a recipe?

Wed. 11/2: Pizza.  I use this recipe for the crust.  I half the ingredients, though, since I'm only making it for the two of us.  And I don't like super duper thick pizza which is what would happen if I used the whole recipe for one pizza.  here is what it looked like last time I made it.  Depending on when in the rotation it's on the menu, I'll have green pepper and onion on there in addition to pepperoni.

Fri. 11/4: Tacos.  J's favorite.  I use a seasoning mix found here.

What all are you having the next few weeks??  Let me know in the comments.

Don't forget that you can check out my food board on Pinterest!

Menu Monday

It's been a while since I've posted.  It's been crazy, too, but I'll get to that in another post.

For a few months, J and I have been menu planning every two weeks.  It really helps when I'm grocery shopping because I know exactly what I have to get, and it helps at home with the "what are we going to eat?" question because I know ahead of time when I need to pull out hamburger meat or chicken breasts or what have you.  Woo hoo!  SO here is what's on tap for the next 2 weeks:

Mon. Oct. 10: We had a meeting at church and dinner was provided.

Tues. Oct. 11: Jambalaya.  We currently use the Zattarain's box and toss in some smoked sausage.  I eventually would like to find my own recipe because the boxed mixes are so high in sodium.  I'm looking for a good one.  If you know of one, leave me a note in the comments.

Wed. Oct. 12: Chicken and Dumplings.  This is a new recipe and I'm kind of excited about it because it seems so easy.  It's from a cookbook I have in my kitchen, so I can't link to it, unfortunately.  It's your basic chicken, celery, carrots, and biscuits recipe. The particular recipe I used was great, but I misunderstood the directions for adding the biscuits and added the whole can thing.  Which meant it was more like dumplings with chicken and veggies.  Oops.  It was yum, though, so I will make it again but alter the amount of biscuits I use.

Thurs. Oct. 13: I have praise band rehearsal every Thursday night and I go straight to church from work so J is on his own every week.

Fri. Oct. 14: We have a youth event so I won't have to cook.  Woo hoo!

Sat. Oct. 15: Chicken Enchilada Pasta.  This is also a new recipe, and oh my goodness it looks delicious!  It WAS delicious, but it was also SPICY.  Will make again but J couldn't handle the heat (I thought it was great) so I need to tone it down a bit.

Sun. Oct. 16: We'll probably just do tacos, though I'm thinking about making Chicken Taco Chili.  This is a monthly dish at our house when the weather is cooler.  So delish and so easy. This didn't happen because we went to my father in law's for dinner.

Mon. Oct. 17: Youth night.  Probably leftovers.

Tues. Oct. 18: Sloppy Joes.  Tuesdays are my gym night, so I try and do something I can whip up easily when I get home since J won't cook. I don't remember what we did but it wasn't this.

Wed. Oct. 19: Orange Chicken/General Tso's Chicken.  I found this orange chicken recipe that I might try, but we're not huge orange chicken fans.  I'd rather make a General Tso's recipe using this recipe to bake the chicken instead of frying it.  In all reality I wish I could figure out where the picture below came from.  It popped up on my Pinterest feed and its source says "Pinterest for iPhone."  Thanks.  That's a lot of help. I ended up making the chicken and dumplings this particular night, so I can't report about the Chinese recipe...

Thurs. Oct. 20: Jenny's rehearsal, so we're off the hook there.  The weekend of the 22nd is my last full, busy weekend and then I can RELAX.  Hallelujah!

You can follow my recipe board on Pinterest.

Why I love my kitties.

1. They act just like human brothers would.  Sebastian likes to attack Paulie when P is just walking by.  Just like a little brother who won't sop hounding his big brother.

2. P knows when I am upset and will come and beg for attention when I need some loving.

3. Even though he KNOWS it is just a light and he will never be able to catch it, P's absolute most favorite toy is the laser pointer we got at WalMart for like $2.  He even knows the sound of it jiggling and will come running whenever we pick it up.

4. I used to think S liked to cuddle with me.  Now I'm convinced that he is just yelling at me in his head for me to move out of my spot on the bed his favorite place to lay.

5. When the weather gets cool and the windows are open at night, P will sit literally IN the window because he likes how cool it becomes.

6. I can leave the door open while I bring in groceries or leave the patio door open and they will go no farther than the edge of the welcome mat/won't jump off the edge.

7. When S is sitting in his cube, he thinks that he's hiding from everyone, even though we can very plainly see him.

Do you have any furbabies you love?

Yum!

For dinner last night, I made an incredibly easy recipe that I wanted to pass on.  You can find the original recipe here, but I honestly altered it a little bit based on some of the reviews, so here is my recipe, with added or altered stuff in blue:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 3/4 pound cubed skinless, boneless chicken breast meat
• 1/2 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8.75 ounce) can sweet corn, drained
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 can of green chiles
• 1 cup shredded Mexican-style cheese
• 1 1/2 cups crushed plain tortilla chips

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute onion and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes.
2. Add chicken, taco seasoning, beans, corn, salsa, and chiles. Cover skillet and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Transfer chicken mixture to a 9x9 inch baking dish. Top with 1/2 cup of the cheese
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup cheese and tortilla chips and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I actually didn't use a can of corn.  I used about a cup of frozen corn instead and it made it really watery, so I would make sure to actually use a can of corn or cook some frozen corn first.

J and I LOVED this.  It's definitely in our rotation and it made enough that more than half was leftover (I'm going to have some for lunches this week) once we had our fill.

(Sidenote... Paulie LOVES chicken.  We don't eat at our kitchen table, we eat on the couch -- bad habit I know -- and Paulie jumped up and sat staring at both of us like, "I smell chicken.  Gimme some chicken!"  Such a sweet boy.)

Rocky Mountain High 2011

Every three years our denomination has a HUGE youth conference in Estes Park Colorado.  It's mostly only the Synod of the Heartland, which includes Minnesota, South/North Dakota, and Iowa.  It does not include us, but we've gone I think every time it's been held since we started our church 21 years ago by tagging along with a church in Des Moines.  That church has gotten HUGE so this year we went as our own entity because they saved spots of out-of-synod groups like us.

It's held at the YMCA of the Rockies and if you're looking for an AMAZING place to stay in Colorado, this is it.  It's a conference/retreat center so it has lodges and cabins, dining halls, meeting rooms, and a huge gym that they turned into our worship center for the week.  But it's all nestled in the mountains.  I mean, seriously, this was the view from my balcony.

So we spent the week going to seminars in the morning and hanging out in the afternoon.  Each morning and evening we'd have main sessions, which was basically a giant church session.  Worship was led by Kristian Stanfill.  I had head of Stanfill before -- he has a song on the local radio station and he's recorded on the Passion CDs -- but I wasn't incredibly familiar with him.  He totally ROCKS.  He has a song called Like a Lion that kind of became the anthem of the week.  A few other artists led worship as well, but seriously Stanfill was the worship leader who has the most rock infused worship which pretty much meant he was my favorite.

The messages were delivered by a few different people.  The main guy was Jared Herd and he did an AMAZING job of relating to the kids in a way that they were absolutely enraptured by him.  The them for the week was "Amplify," tuning in to God and turning up His message.  Trusting Him.  Knowing that He has plans for our lives.  "I don't know where I'm going, but I know who I'm following" was the biggest lesson we learned that week. We tell our kids to trust God week after week but this guy?  He conveyed it in a way that they got it.  I've got kids dealing with heart surgery, drug addiction in the family, death of a family member, moving 900 miles away... Not to mention the things they're dealing with that I don't know about.  It was awesome.

There was another guy there named Ben Glen who was a chalk artist.  The kids who went in '08 had raved and raved about him and I was worried that he wouldn't live up to the hype.  He is a motivational speaker who speaks at school and youth events (different things depending on the audience) and to teachers.  He was diagnosed with ADHD in school and struggled a lot with it.  Now in his tours, he'll talk and then "draw a pit-cher" (or the other way around -- draw and then talk).  People this guy is AMAZING.  He takes a giant bed sheet sized piece of canvas and turns it into an amazing piece of art.  I took a video of the breakout session he did but I want to respect his work and not post it (which is a bummer because seriously this guy is AMAZING).  But you can go to his YouTube channel and take a look at some of his work. Here is a short video that shows an example of his work.  He actually did this drawing at Rocky and I was in tears, folks.  Amazing.



Tuesday morning, a bunch of us climbed Hallet Peak in RMNP.  We left campus at 6 in the morning, when the sky looked like this:

It's about a ten hour hike round trip.  I didn't make it all the way to the top, sadly.  I made it about 3/4 of the way.  I wanted to quit about a mile before we actually did so in that respect I am INCREDIBLY proud of myself.  My knees couldn't handle anymore and as much as I wanted to push myself the extra mile to the top, it just got too steep and I didn't want them to have to come and rescue me at the top of the mountain!  Not to mention it was COLD up there above the treeline!

It was an amazing week.  Jerome can't wait to go back in three years because he says we will make it to the top of the mountain.  I personally hope we have a baby by then, but if not that's my goal, too.  =)

The Hiatus is Over

Well, hopefully.  I've had an incredibly busy summer which will be followed by an incredibly busy fall.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I like busyness, but I also like my downtime, and it's only going to get worse once youth group starts up.  Just to give you an idea of what my life has entailed over the last and next month or so:

• 7 weddings (working 4 @ church, attending 2, and in 1 which means I also attend all the wedding events involved in that)
• 5 CPR/First Aid classes (2 at camp, 3 at work)
• 1 trip to Colorado with youth (I need to do a post on this)
• Said trip to Colorado included a car accident... the first incident EVER to happen on a youth (or any group) trip at our church
• Bought a new car
• Got new students at school

I mean, seriously, when you look at that list you wonder if I've had time to breathe, LOL.  Oh, it also means my healthy lifestyle stalled for about a month and I gained 2 pounds.  D'oh!  oh well, just gotta keep going...

Anyway, be on the lookout for some posts from me over the next few days.  

Found This and HAD to Share...

Carlos Whittaker is a Christian worship artist, a pastor, a husband, a father, a blogger... I subscribe to his blog on my Google Reader and I LOVE his posts. He's authentic in a way that I think the world needs to see Christian being. He admits he has faults. He screws up. He's human. And that's why he needs God and His Son.

Anyway, this past week he made a post for his son Losiah on his first day of preschool. Losiah was adopted from Asia about 5 years ago and he's a cute little guy. (You may have seen this YouTube video of him getting upset because Dad says he can't be a single lady.) The list is posted here for your reading pleasure, but I encourage you to check out his blog because he's AWESOME.

1. Never test the pool water with your toe. Cannonball.
2. Buy your mommy flowers. Lot’s of them.
3. The moment you want to punch that guy for demeaning your sisters, think long and hard about the last time you got in REALLY bad trouble, then punch HARD and punch FIRST.
4. Be Brave.
5. The kid in your class sitting by themselves, don’t just sit next to them, laugh with them. Just ask Bill gates and Steve Jobs.
6. When you are about to climb the highest mountain you have ever climbed, make sure your shoes laces have double knots. Your laces will take you out before the mountain will.
7. Get home by 2 am. I promise only bad things happen after 2 in the morning.
8. Don’t get a tattoo until you are at least 25. Tattoos received from 18-25 have a 99% chance of being filled with suck.
9. All the cool kids are just as scared of being found out they are fakes as you are. Fake it until you make it.
10. When you are ready, I have 2 round trip tickets to go find your birth family on the other side of the world. Just say when.
11. Jesus is not going to make a lot of sense. He’s not supposed to. But always give Him another chance. It’s you that is confused. Not Him. I promise.

It’s better that way
Dad

Hmmmm...

I'm toying with the idea of staring a separate blog for teaching stuff. I'm starting a new school year a week from Monday and I think I might like a place to evaluate all my lessons and such. Plus, I've learned so much from other teacher blogs that I like the idea of possibly helping out other teachers.

I don't know... Just something I'm thinking about.

Oh Yeah!

I can't believe I forgot this one.

I designed our wedding album on Shutterfly using their new "Custom Path" online software. It was incredibly easy, and while I wasn't able to do EVERYTHING I would have liked to do, I was able to do enough to make our book really special. It's been sitting in our cart for a while, just waiting for the right coupon to pop into my inbox. FInally, it did.

Not only were they offering free shipping on any order over $30, but I also had a 50% off any 12x12 photo book.

Which means I paid $37. FOr a book that would have cost over $70 once you factor in tax.

SO not only did I FINALLY cross that off of the list, I got it for WAY cheap. It's due on my doorstep any day (tracking says it's in KC right now) so I'll share when it arrives. =)

Things I'm Excited About

Here are the top five things that I'm excited/obsessing about/ =)

1. Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Yes, I saw the first part 5+ times -- in theaters (only once on DVD). Yes, I am seeing this one at midnight. Yes, I am working ten hour shifts on both Thursday AND Friday. Yes, I realize I'm crazy. To help feed your HP fever (you know you have it), here are some featurettes detailing different parts of the movie:

The Story of Severus Snape


Harry v. Voldemort


The Horcruxes


Gringott's and Goblins


Where We Left Off (In case you aren't crazy like me)

2. My friend Veronica is having her baby today!! She hasn't found out what she is having, so I'm excited to see how that turns out. I think it's a girl, but a lot of her friends on Facebook think it's a boy. We'll see!

3. Rocky Mountain High. I'm working 5 10 hour days this week to make up for the fact that I'm going to Colorado! One of these days, J and I will actually take a vacation on our own, but in the meantime, I enjoy our trips with the youth group. Last year we went to West Virginia, this year Colorado, and we're discussing an international trip in a few summers. I haven't been to Colorado since I was about 9 or 10, and I've never been to the conference we're going to, so it'll be exciting.

4. I'm a guest post! Remember my last post when I talked about camp? One of the ladies I met on Facebook (who went a few decades before I did) has a blog. I made a comment on her blog the other day and she turned it into a guest post! Yay for me! You can read it here.

Things I've Been Thinking About This Week

This week, I had the pleasure of attending an alumni night at camp. Now, I'm only 3 years out since my last summer at camp, so while it was fun it wasn't as meaningful to me as it might have been to others. Thanks to an alumni group on Facebook (for those who worked in the '70s and '80s... they let me in 'cause they're nice and 'cause I LOVE learning about camp before I was there), I have met some really cool people and have learned a lot about some of the things I remember about my "early years" at camp (the '90s).

It's also helped me remember a lot of things about camp that were on the brink of being totally forgotten forever. I mean, when I was at camp, I was the one person who had been there the longest (15 years -- go me!) and a lot of the stuff I remembered from when I was a kid, I was alone in remembering. I would tell "remember when..." stories at 18 and the campers would look at me like I was crazy!

Some of the things I've enjoyed reminiscing about this week:

1. The old shower house. This was basically a room. With pipes across the top. No ceiling. No stalls. Psh... Modesty? What's that? The temperature of your shower depended on the time you showered. You pulled a string and that is what turned the shower on. Good luck showering with both hands because you had to hold the string the WHOLE time. By the time I was about 12, I was tall enough and had figured out how to tie the string to the pipe to keep the shower on so you could use both hands to wash my hair. OH! And there were stalls that were designated to be used for those with athlete's foot. We would hold towels up for each other while we changed (wearing flip flips, of course). If a counselor had to walk through the shower room, they had to yell "Showers off!"

2. The way camp was organized. I mean this in reference to the programs and the session lengths. When I was a camper, you had a few options: one week (Potpourri) or two? If you went two, did you want bikes (Free Wheelers), horses (Bits 'n Bridles/Saddle Sense), neither (Kaleidescope), or would you rather get to know the dirty side of camp (Roughin' It)? Or CIT/WIT. Very simple. Now you can choose 3 days, one week, or two. But you can also choose sports or theater or Harry Potter (dead serious). Perhaps you like water or arts and crafts? This change has gotten a lot of heat from former staff members. I can see both sides of the argument. On one hand, you want camp to always remain the place you went to and fell in love with. On the other, sometimes camp has to change simply because if it didn't, girls would come.

Also, in 2003, they revamped how long a two week session was. Instead of Sunday=the following Saturday, it became Sunday-the following Friday. Not a huge thing, but a big change, especially because the year they changed that was my first year as staff. Which meant that year was TOUGH for me. I almost didn't come back.

3. How much I freaking NEEDED that place. I learned a lot there -- about myself, about nature, about others, about friendships. I did a lot of growing up in those hills, and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. <3

Wordless Wednesday

Design Help

Okay, folks. Let's be honest.

I stink at decorating.

Okay, maybe not stink at it, but I don't think I'm very good at it. I just don't have "the eye" to look at a piece of furniture/art/whatever and think, "OMG, that would look great in {nameyourspacehere}." I don't know if this comes from lack of creativity or lack of funds, but in any case I get very jealous when I find neat stuff on Pinterest (like this incredibly simple DIY hanging, or this super fun color combo) and pin it to my "For the Home" board. Or when my friend Sarah posts something incredible cool on her blog. (BTW... check out her Etsy store. This girl is AMAZING!!)

Anyway, we recently had company over the Memorial Day holiday, and I cleaned my house more clean than it's been in a long time. (We're not pigs or anything, just employed fulltime and involved in 3 ministries at church... Listen, I like my down time.) So, I thought I would give a house tour and talk about what I would like to do in each room. We rent, so we can't go too crazy, but our landlords don't mind if we paint and stuff. So, without further ado:

This is our guest room. It is also "the library." My husband has a sick addiction to

Christian music (at least it's not porn??). Every single one of those CDs is a Christian artist (rap, hip hop, R&B, pop, rock, metal, alternative). I really want to buy 2 of these from Best Buy and call it a day, but they are $100 a pop. Ouch. I always have an eye out for a cheap-ish CD shelving unit on Craigslist and at Goodwill/thrift stores, but I haven't had any luck. I really love the quilt on the bed. My mom gave it to me my junior (?) year in HS and it lived in its bag for like 6 years because I only had a twin and not a full. I actually have some art that I haven't put up yet that is in the same kind of color scheme and talks about the Fruit of the Spirit.

I'm just at a loss... this room has kind of become our "catchall" room -- hence the piles of stuff on the side table to the left of the bed. We don't have a lot of storage here. In our townhouse, I had a closet that ran the length of one room. It was wonderful to have that amount of storage. Now I have the closet off of here (not even gonna show you that... it's full to the brim), and a closet off of the deck, also full as it stores my bike and our luggage and some other boxes. I would love to be able to put our grill in there.

But I digress. If we get pregnant while we're still here, this will be the nursery, but it's huge. I want to also keep it somewhat functional as a guest room if that happens. I also think I want to just get rid of the full size bed altogether for now and maybe switch to a daybed or futon? Hmmm... I don't know. Any thoughts?

The next room is our room. I guess I'm happy with it -- for the most part. The bedding is the bedding we got the Christmas before we got married with a very generous gift card to Bed, Bath, and Beyond from my FIL and his GF. You can tell it's getting worn in, too. There's a hole in the fitted sheet (from IDK where... I think one of the boys poked a hole in there with one of their back claws) which also doesn't have a whole lot of elastic in there. The batting on the inside of the comforter is starting to bunch -- I keep rotating it so that it won't settle. I love the neutral tone of the bedding, though. I imagine it's easy to work with.

The bed frame is from K-Mart and was a gift from my MIL. I appreciate the nooks and crannies it has -- I store my glassed and the book I'm reading in there every night. It's incredibly important to me to have something by my head to put my glasses (and my phone -- it's my alarm) on each night since I'm blind as a bat without them (seriously... a -8.5 contact lens in each eye). I would love to one day have a "head board" that's actually a painting on the wall or something like this, but I would have to have a nightstand or something (or Lasik, LOL).

The bookshelf int he corner has some important momentos (our sand ceremony vases, a photo from our wedding, and our guestbook, as well as my diploma from Lindenwood) on it, plus all of our "non church" books (see the Harry Potter??) I would love to buy a house that has built in bookshelves, but since that's not in the cards at the moment, this is what we have.

Also, the picture frame above the bed? has one photo in it. Also a wedding gift. I just don't want our house to be all us, you know? Or our cats. Ha. I know it should be because it's our house, but I don't want it turning into a gallery of us... I need to print more photos, but that's so low on the list of "things to buy" that paycheck after paycheck goes by without me even thinking about it...

The two dressers we use belong to my best friend. We lived together at school for the last semester in a house she'd lived in for two years. So she had 2.5 years' worth of stuff by the time she moved out -- into her mother's house and eventually her fiance's house. Thus, no room for furniture. SHe needed a place to store furniture and we needed furniture, so it was kind of a win-win situation. Obviously I would love to replace these with our own stuff, but where to find good quality stuff for a good price that isn't a wreck? (Because, seriously, I can't take an old bookshelf and make it look AMAZING like Sarah can...)

Onward...

My kitchen is pretty much fine the way it is. I am planning on taking down that paper towel holder to the right of the sink, and I want to place some art on either side of the window. I've been tossing around the idea of buying some canvas and painting my own kind of abstract ones like John and Sherry at YoungHouseLove.Com did, but that would require me to have a creative bone in my body, and to have a color scheme in this room. When J and I were registering, we thought, "black and white kitchen with red!" would be really nice to have. Now I'm not so sure, LOL.

One thing I do want to do (and soon!) is paint that alcove behind my kitchen table. I bought a small sample of a really pale blue because I thought it would freshen the room up a bit, but when I got it on the wall, I decided it was too "baby boy nursery" and vetoed the idea. That table is also a longterm loaner, and I want to replace it with a round table. Possibly something taller. I think it'll help open the room up a little more. I would also love to hang something up on the wall above the alcove. Possibly a series of photos.

We have an open floor plan from the kitchen into the living room with vaulted ceilings (squeal!). By the time I got around to taking photos, J was lounging on the couch so I didn't want to take a photo. I will, though, I promise.

And, lastly, here is our bathroom. I actually love the color scheme in here so I'm not looking to change much. I need an idea of what to put on that top shelf of our over the toilet vanity. I also really want to take out the medicine cabinet to the left of the sink, and win a mirror decal from YoungHouseLove to put around the edge of our mirror.

Hope you enjoyed my home tour! If you have ANY ideas, leave me a comment!

PS: There's a reason I never post with photos... It took me at least an hour to get Blogger to load all my photos and put them where I wanted them. Argh.

Menu Planning

Do you menu plan? Two weeks ago was my first time and let me tell ya, I will be doing it again. First, I subscribed to E-Mealz a few weeks ago. We have the Aldi plan for 2. We don't eat everything off of there (I'm incredibly picky), and I don't buy everything at Aldi (I wouldn't touch their ground beef with a ten foot pole) so it costs a little more per week than what it says, but I have gotten some great ideas from there. I also am on Pinterest and am finding great ideas to cook on there.

I'm still trying to figure out my own system. I found this on Pinterest and I like her style. She didn't have an editable template (just a PDF file) so I made my own. In order to view it properly once it's downloaded, you have to have the Quicksand font installed.

It's nice because I know exaclty what we're having and I don't ever have the nights where we're like, "What's for dinner?" "Well, nothing's defrosted... Let's go get food from {fillintherestauranthere}. " Saved us a lot of money, especially since J accidentally got shorted on his check last time. So I'm in the process of planning the next two weeks so I can shop tomorrow and I have 3 empty spaces left.

What food do you like to cook?

Weight Loss Journey Update

I haven't updated on my weight loss journey in a while.

I don't weight myself weekly. I determined from the beginning that this was going to be a lifestyle change in me, not something that was a fad or a fleeting thing, so I didn't want to put a lot of pressure on myself to lose a certain amount in a certain time frame. My goal was 30 pounds in 12 months. If I lost it all in 6 months, great. If it too the whole 12, that's great too. If I didn't make it all the way, then... well, that would be a bummer, but if that was the case I'd just try again.

I started weighing myself every other week. Now it's more like once a month. I lost a LOT those first two or three months and I didn't want to be disappointed when I wasn't losing as quickly towards the middle and end. And you can see that I actually gained 2 pounds at one point. I didn't let it slow me down. We'd had a lot of snow days (and I'm a boredom eater) so I just reencrouaged myself to keep going. Here's my breakdown:

Jan. 1: 228.0

Jan. 16: 222.6

Jan. 31: 218.4

Feb. 16: 219.6

Mar. 6: 220

Mar. 27: 217.6

Apr. 10: 216.8

May 24: 211.8

My total weight loss so far is 16.2, which I think is pretty gos darn good. We're about halfway done with the year and I'm more than halfway done with my goal.

One of the most popular questions I get is "How are you doing it?"

Honestly, it was a total attitude change. I knew I was a boredom/stress eater. I knew that potato products are my weakness (seriously... I have no problem passing up ice cream or a Snickers bar, but ask me if I want the tortilla chips or the fries with my entree and I will almost always cave). I knew that I needed to get more active. I knew that if I didn't have a gym buddy, I wouldn't get there regularly. SO I found checks and balances to those things before I started all of this.

1. I tracked my diet (not diet like lose weight diet but like everything i eat diet) for about a month to see when I ate and what I ate and how much I ate. I found that I often eat mutliple servings of things. Like, I would just fill a bowl until it looked "full enough." With our Jambalaya, for example (we eat it a lot in our house), I was eating at least twice as much as I needed to and feeling full. I desperately needed to change that.

2. After I tracked everything, I revamped what I ate. I now use mayo made with olive oil, fat free cheese, fat free yogurt (which I was already eating -- I like the Yoplait, or Weight Watchers brands and Aldi has 2 yum flavors that I like in their Fit & Active line). I incorporate more fruits and veggies into every meal (the fruit isn't hard, it's the veggies that are hard because I don't like many). We drastically cut our "eating out" budget so that we're eating at home more (saves money AND calories because I have a drive to finish everything on my plate since I'm paying for it all, you know?) I continued to track for 3 months every single thing that went in my mouth. I don't track anymore but I probably will start again soon.

3. I drink water. I cannot stress this enough. I was never much of a soda drinker, but when I'm stressed the fizziness definitely soothes me. Needless to say, I drank a lot of soda throughout most of Sept-Nov because I was so stressed at my old job. Now I use a water bottle or a cup (I have this cute one from Family Christian and desperately want another one) all day every day. I fill it (or have my kids fill it) 5 times in the course of my 10 hour work day. When I want some flavor, I use the Crystal Light packets. I like the Strawberry and Grape ones and also the Raspberry Lemonade.

4. I hit the gym at least 2x a week. Sometimes only once, sometimes 3x, but 2x is a definite because I go with a friend. Towards the end of April I was so busy with church stuff that I regrettably have to inform you that I didn't go to the gym for a while. Shameful, I know. I was actually shocked when I got on the scale and had maintained my weight. Anyway, I go with my friend L on Sunday afternoons and we do about half an hour on the elliptical machine. This is our time to catch up on the week's happenings in each other's lives because when we meet up on Tuesdays we take a class. For a while I was trying to get in a third day swimming in the pool but I'm so wiped after work that I haven't been going. now I'm off on Thursdays, though, so I'm planning on utilizing those days from now on.

On Tuesday nights, L and I go to BodyFlow. It's a tai chi, yoga, and pilates combination and at first I was skeptical. A lot of yoga has its roots in Eastern religion cultures and finding your center in yourself -- a lot of things I theologically disagree with. But the first night we were there -- Valentine's day week -- the instructor played Shadowfeet by Brooke Fraser (of Hillsong) and it was like God was saying, "It's okay for you to do yoga. At the end of class we have a 10 minute period where we just relax (seriously -- what other class can you do that in??) and I often use that time to pray and meditate on my church's Dwelling scripture for the week. Very cool. Anyway, I feel like I get such a workout every week and I really want to take a second class. I'll probably start taking the Saturday morning class at my gym.

4. I'm not too hard on myself. I think this is extremely important. I never had a terrible self image to begin with, but I wasn't happy. I didn't like how I looked in photos, and I could only imagine what I would look like once I got pregnant and gained x amount of pounds. I also wanted to just be in better shape. We have a conference coming up in July in the Rockies and one of the things we do is hike a mountain. I want to do that and accomplish that without dying in the process. I also am a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding in October and I want to look nice for that.

Anyway, back to the not being to hard on my self. That month where I gained weight was just motivation to keep going. So I backtracked for a few weeks. It's not the end of the world. Just keep pressing on. I also still allow myself a few things: regular ranch (because I think FF ranch is just NASTY), a candy bar every now and then, and a "calorie binge" every few weeks. Want to eat half of a pizza? Go for it. As long as it's not a daily or even a weekly thing, your weight is not going to balloon. And, yes, I still have my bad days where I feel like I"m CONSTANTLY eating, but I just get back on my horse the next day.

This journey isn't just about losing weight. The weight loss is a number I put on the assignment so that there was something tangible to track. I'm losing weight so I can get into shape, so I can get pregnant, so I can buy new clothes (YES!), and so I can build healthy habits I hope to pass onto my children. But mostly, what I'm finding is a confidence in myself that I didn't know I lacked. I thought I was confident and that I didn't have a body image issue, but the fact is that I did. And in the last 6 months, I have found a part of me that wants to be pretty and now I feel pretty. I am more conscious of what I'm wearing, I fix my hair, I'm starting to get more interested in fashion jewelry, and I feel sexier (to the delight of J, LOL).

I still have 6 months to go. I know there may be a weigh in here and there where I've gained a bit and that's okay. It's not the end of the world. I'm really enjoying this journey. I'm enjoying my BodyFlow class. I love that I can see one of my best friends 2x a week.

And I love that new clothes lie at the end. =)

Pinterest

Have you heard of Pinterest? It's my new obsession. I've found a whole lot of teaching ideas, hair styles, weight loss motivation on there. For example:

^This^ is something I found on there on someone's design/crafty board and thought, "What a GREAT idea! Such a fun, new way to paint!" It's a block of wood wrapped in yarn. So cool!

This is one of the first things I found on there. I mean, who thinks of these things? This seems so obvious, but I NEVER would have thought of it!! This could be used with word families, math facts, etc. Genius!

Here is a screenshot of my teaching board from there:

I also have a board for style, weight loss motivation, ideas for the home, nursery ideas (NO -- not preggers... just compiling ideas), recipes to make... It's amazing and I have spent WAY too much time on there in the last few weeks.

Seriously, you should try it. =)

Mostly...

You are about to read a post of ramblings from my brain. I just need to get this off of my chest.

I want a baby.

For most of you, this is not news. I talk about wanting to be a mom all the time but that "it's not the right time," or "we're enjoying our alone time." Which is all true.

Mostly.

The truth is, a few months ago, J gave the go ahead to let the chips fall where they fall. We both know that God is going to give us a family when He's ready to give us a family. (No, we're not Dugger-y in that way... we just trust in what He has in store for us.) And really? I'm okay with that.

Mostly.

I'm halfway through my weightloss journey (officially -- woohoo! 15 pounds lighter!) and honestly I was expecting something to have changed. But my cycle is still wonky and I feel like a baby isn't in our cards right now. Which is okay.

Mostly.

Then there's the part of me that wishes, hopes, dreams, to start our family now. I thought I might be pregnant about 6 weeks ago. Took a test. BFN (Big Fat Negative, to those not up on the lingo). So, okay, no baby for now. That's a good thing, right? Right.

Mostly.

But let's face it, people. There are a few things I feel called by God to do: sing, teach, and be a wife and mom. I'm actually doing 3 of the 4, and I know that when God wants us to have a baby then we'll have one, and we're not actively trying, but... I don't even know how to put it into words.

I'm involved on a message board that I've been on since shortly after getting engaged. A lot of the ladies who got married shortly before/after me are pregnant. Or have had a baby. So I'm reading all of these announcements and listening to all of their questions and worries and whatnot, and a small (okay, maybe not that small) part of me is -- I'll just say it -- jealous. *I* want to be pregnant. *I* want to be planning a nursery. *I* want to be worrying about my clothes not fitting and finding the perfect preschool and omigod how are we going to afford everything and what if they have bad reflux or need tubes or are sick all of the time?

I want to grow a human inside myself.

Mostly.

The other side of me thinks about how much debt we can pay down now before we have a baby. It thinks about how nice it is to sleep 8 hours straight. It thinks about how I'm enjoying this new, 213 pound version of myself. I thinks about how life right now is good. I have a good husband who loves me (even though I can be a PITA sometimes...) and two cats who need as much attention as any baby. I have a great job where I can go and play with kids all day.

And then I'm good. For a while at least. Until someone else announces that they're pregnant. And I'm excited for them, really, but I get that pang again.

It's not like I've lost a baby. No miscarriages here, folks. Never been pregnant at all, which raises a new set of worries.

So for now, I sit and think about the baby I want in the future. I plan hypothetical nurseries. I read about other people's journeys and think that someday it will be my journey. And whether that someday is soon or far along down the road, I'm okay with that.

Mostly.