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29 January 2012

First Yoga Class of twenty12

One of my goals of twenty12 was to start yoga and yesterday I stepped out of my comfort zone and took the leap.

The day started off with the hubs and I heading out for South Carolina to visit the grandparents and get his filling replaced. So we started on our journey around 7:30, got there are 9:30, hubs was in the chair by 9:45, finished with the filling around 10:00, ate lunch with the grandmother, aunt, brother, and his girlfriend around noon, and then headed on our way home around 2:00 with a pit-stop at Walmart. This put us at getting home right at 4:00, giving me 20 minutes to change and get to the yoga studio. I was supposed to have a friend meet me and go with me, which would have not been too much of a problem, but she got sick :( so I had to make a decision. I decided I would do this for me, and it was a hard decision.

I made it right on time. I wasn't even allowed to pay because it would make me late for the start of the class. It was packed. And I awkwardly walked into the classroom with my mat and towel and got ready. The only spot I could find. In the front. I was terrified! Now I've done yoga before, but it was 2 years ago during college, but nothing like this. Hot yoga. That's what they call it. It means the room is 106 degrees. Also known as hot. Sweat started pouring from me the instant I entered the room.

So the instructor jumped right into it and I had no choice but to follow. Remember, I got the spot in the front. We started off with standing positions, and I started off strong. I can do this. Right? Wrong. I have NEVER had my legs shake the way they did yesterday. I had no control over them! They wouldn't stop. I did my best to keep them still, but it completely through me off. I suppose it was good that my legs were shaking because it meant that I was pushing myself to my limit. I did have to drop to me knees a few times due to dizziness (the heat was getting to me), but I was able to recover and jump right back into it.

All in all it was wonderful and I can't wait until next week to go back and do it again. I plan on doing some basic things throughout the week (I downloaded a yoga app on my iPhone) to keep me going and semi-limber and to help my legs and body loosen up, because I can feel the workout. I love it. It means I've worked for something. It's a great feeling.

Due to the lack of time, I failed at taking pictures. Next week will be different. I will be the creeper blogger with the camera.

27 January 2012

100th Day!

Today was the 100th day of school only 78 more to go! We celebrated all day long. It was fun to see what the kids brought in to represent 100 things. I think the top 2 were a hate with 100 random items glued to it and a milk jug turned hedgehog with 100 small pine cone things on top of it. Both were incredibly creative and the kids were so proud of their creations! Have I mentioned lately that I love my job? Working with K and 1 is the best. They are presh and they bring a smile to my face daily.

Just because I love my job so much though, doesn't mean I'm not super ready for the weekend! This was our first full week back in like a month and a half, so I'm thankful for the weekend break. This weekend brings a quick trip to SC to visit the dentist grandparents. Then yoga with the best friend. And church with the hubs. I'm so ready and excited! This weekend is going to be filled with fun and relaxation (I hope).

Do y'all have any fun plans for the weekend?

26 January 2012

It's been a while

Things have been...blah lately. I blame it on this weather. It's been a dreary January. Unseasonably warm (today's high is in the upper 60s/70s) but still quite blah. I don't know what it is about this blah weather. All it does is make me want to take a nap. Of course I can't tell that it's blah outside during the day when I'm stuck in my closet of an office, so the blah doesn't hit until the drive home. Then the exhaustion catches up to me. Doubts start creeping into my mind. And all I want to do is either a) take a bath or b) take a nap. Not such a good thing for my house. I have convinced myself to do a few things around the house, but it usually takes a lot of convincing.

Then I saw this verse posted by a friend this morning and it hit me hard in the gut. It was the perfect word to wake up to this morning.

And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. 
1 Corinthians 7:17 the Message

It stands as an encouragement. No matter what, I'm where He wants me to be and I should be happy and seeking Him in this place. It's hard when things get so blah, but that's when I should be seeking Him the most. There's something out there that He wants me to see, but I have to seek after Him to find it. So in the blah-ness of this month and the wintry months following, I will seek after Him in all things and through seeking after Him I will find joy and peace and purpose.

23 January 2012

Monday

This Monday was...difficult a relief to be done with. I don't know what it is about talking in front of people, but I always get clammy and nervous, and I freak out over every little detail. It's a little ridiculous. I mean, I did drama in high school and had no fear in getting up on stage, but something has clearly changed in my mentality that makes me really nervous when having to present in front of people. And today I didn't really do much talking, I just had to speak for a second. Still. I shook the whole time. I'm thankful that I don't have to speak in front of groups for a living. Or. If I speak in front of a group, they're all 7 and under. I can deal with that kind of speaking. Haha

So to get my mood off of this whole scary speaking thing this afternoon, I spent my morning listening to Disney music. There's nothing like the Little Mermaid, the Lion King, Aladdin, or Beauty and the Beast to brighten up your morning and make your day 10x better.









My favorite song from the Lion King would have to be Be Prepared. I love this song. No idea why, I just do.



















My favorite songs from the Little Mermaid would have to be Part of Your World and Under the Sea. This is my all-time favorite movie. All-time. Not just Disney. I love this movie.











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My favorite song from Aladdin would have to be Prince Ali.I just love the lyrics, and it wouldn't be the same without Robin Williams singing it.


















My favorite song from the Beauty and the Beast would have to be Gaston. Fun fact: if I were to ever be in the play Beauty and the Beast (a funny thought after I just confessed my stage fright) I would love to play LeFou.









22 January 2012

Project 52 -- Week 3


It's been a nice relaxing weekend filled with lots and lots of laundry. Here's to actually working a Monday (first Monday in a month of working).

20 January 2012

Weekend

My weekend consists of cleaning and doing laundry. Things I might have forgotten neglected during this crazy week. Maybe I can throw in some thrifting and crafting amidst the cleaning.

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19 January 2012

Food.

Let's face it. 
I like food. 
Most people like food. 
Some too much. 
Some not enough. 
I like food.

For some people, like me, it's hard to eat. I have a "gluten-intolerance" (at least that's what I call it, I haven't officially been diagnosed). This means eating anything with gluten in it makes me very ill. What has gluten in it? Everything Wheat, barley, and rye. Not that big of a deal. Right? It's easy to get around. Right? Wrong. Everything has gluten in it. Including types of vinegar, processed meats, and even shampoo. No I don't eat shampoo, but if I touch my hair after washing it with said shampoo and it gets into the food that could be bad. It's complicated.

Needless to say, it makes life difficult. Eating out has become something that is relatively nonexistent {not that I'm complaining, it's saved us a ton of money that we've had to spend on gluten-free food}. I've actually had to start reading labels and paying attention to what I buy. Not only because of price, because what's in it could potentially make me ill. 

Thankfully, there is more awareness now then there was even a couple of years ago. So things are getting more expensive easier. I can still eat corn, potatoes, and rice, so any flour made out solely of those three ingredients I can use. It's just difficult learning a new way to cook and having to cook because it's not as easy as going out for fast food. Basically it's a new adventure and I'm looking forward to discovering new foods for the hubs and I to enjoy. 

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18 January 2012

Baby Fever

To become a family. It's something I've always dreamed of. 
To be a mother. It's something I've always wanted to be.

I can only imagine what it would be like to hold a newborn child. To see hubs holding his son/daughter. I can only dream of that and boy, I cannot wait for that to be reality. There is just something deep within me that just longs to be a mother. That maternal instinct. I can feel it bubbling up inside of me, and at times I could cry because I just want to be a mother so badly. And Pinterest isn't helping me one bit. 

But I know there's a time and a season for that, and right now is not that time. I'm having to rely on the knowledge that God knows better than me. His plans are perfect. I have to have faith He knows what He's doing and I have to have wisdom to follow that plan. He knows what is best for me, even if I don't agree at the moment, and I want to honor Him and follow His plan. It's not easy. By no means is it easy. I fight it every step of the way. But I know I need to start waking up every morning proclaiming, "not my will, but Yours."

So here's to a new day and a new beginning. One that will bring heartache and joy. But that's what life brings. It's a guarantee. And that's okay. Without heartache there wouldn't be joy. That's the truth of the matter. 

So to end this little rant I'm going to indulge you with the cutest baby things I could find. This isn't helping my baby fever, oh well.

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17 January 2012

Barefoot

There's nothing better than taking off your shoes after a long day, especially when it wasn't in the cards for you to be on your feet at all that day.



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15 January 2012

Project 52 - Week 2

  
     

This has been one crazy week and I am more than thankful for the day off tomorrow to recover. I hope everyone has a wonderful MLK Jr. Day!

13 January 2012

It's Friday...

...and I'm exhausted. It's taken a lot longer to get back into the swing of things than I ever thought possible. I feel like I've left my mind back in break, and I honestly don't know when it's going to catch up with me. But today is Friday, and it's a three day weekend.

This weekend I'm going to my grandparent's house for a belated Christmas and birthday with them. This is one of those things that I completely forgot about. It just seemed to slip through my mind with all of the other things that I've forgotten about. But today is Friday, and it's a three day weekend.

On a happy note, hubs gets to join me in this three day weekend. So when he gets done with work tonight we get three days off together (minus the whole going-to-grandma's thing, I almost forgot again) until Monday night. It will be nice to relax with him after finally feeling better. And hey, today is Friday and it's a three day weekend.

Do you notice a theme here? Thank goodness it's Friday. Now I want to watch Disney movies and curl up with the hubs with hot chocolate and a fire roaring in the fireplace.

Here's to a relaxing weekend.

12 January 2012

Date Night

It's really hard for hubs and I to do a date night. With his hours he typically doesn't get home until 7:30[pm] some nights and other nights it's after 10[pm] before I see him. By that time I'm done ready for bed. One reason is I'm part old person, the other is of my schedule. I have to leave the house around 6:30[am] in order to get to my job on time. By 10[pm] it's getting late and I'm needing to get myself into bed. So it's hard for us to do a date night because our schedules so rarely match up. Also, we're doing our best to pay off school bills and the truck right now. Translation: we don't have the means to spend the money to go out. This presents us with yet another problem.

One of my "To dos"{seen here}is to date my husband, so naturally that means going on a date night. As I was browsing on Pinterest (yes, I am addicted), I came upon this blog entry by Love Actually. Now I am an avid reader and I love all things books, so when I saw {this}date night idea I started salivating. I love bookstores. I have always said that my heaven would be a giant bookstore (all the books would be free of course), but I just love them. So here's a new idea for a fun and creative date night. I'll have to see if we can find time in our busy schedule to make something like this happen. Perhaps early one Saturday morning...



I mean, doesn't that look like so much fun!

{I find as I type this I'm completely spoiled by my phone's autocorrect (most of the time). Sometimes my fingers decide in which order they want to hit (or not hit) the keys and I'm so used to the phone just correcting it for me. Do you ever notice the way you get used to things being set up and fixed for you?}

To do in Twenty12

Twenty12 is going to be a big year for us. I can just feel it. Something deep in my gut says that this will be "the year." The year for what, I still don't know, but it's going to be a big year and I'm trusting God to take us where He wants us to be. So here's to Twenty12 and all that it will bring.

I hope to accomplish many things this year, and to keep myself accountable, I'm posting the list here and will periodically check things off as I get them done. We'll see what actually gets accomplished and what doesn't. In the end, this will hopefully be one eventful year. I know I'm ready. Are you?

1// Finish the Nursery - it is painted, but there is still a pile of boxes filled with junk sitting in the middle of the floor. I'm ready for it to be cleared out and completed.
2// Recover the couches - I've been saying I would do this for the past 2-3 years. This will be the year it gets done. I'm determined.
3// Recover the rocker - (notice the theme) we just bought this rocker from a consignment sale for the nursery. It just needs a style update.
4// Read 24 books - 3 down, 21 more to go! I want to read a book for every year I've been alive.
5// Date my husband - we've been married for 2 years now and have pretty much gotten into a routine. I want to spice things up and actually date him again.
6// Journal - I want to actually spend this year journaling in my personal journal. There's just something about putting your thoughts down onto paper and having personally handwritten them.
7// Keep up with Project 52 - A collage of pictures from each week of the year.
8// Start a family - I don't know if this one will actually come to fruition, but I would so much like to start growing our family this year.
9// Hike - every Sunday I want to go and hike somewhere, but for some reason we always find excuses not to go. This year is going to be a year of following through.
10// Finish my blanket - I started knitting this blanket right when hubs and I met, so about 4 years ago, and I still haven't finished it.
11// Become a better baker - I love to bake, but I'm just not that good at it. I want to experiment with things I haven't tried before and find new ways to make this whole gluten-free diet work.
12// Organize - "there's a place for everything and everything has its place" right? Well not in my house. At least not until this year is over.
13// Breathe - I tend to overreact to things that don't require overreacting. This year I want to work on taking things one breath at a time.
14// Do yoga - I took a yoga course in college, but haven't really kept on. I want to start doing yoga again as a way to stretch my muscles and relax.
15// Memorize a verse a month - remember when you had to memorize a Bible verse for Sunday school? Well, I'm going to give myself a verse to memorize for each month. That means 12 months of verses. Any suggestions for good verses?
16// Finish my book - I will finish my book. It will be written!

This list is by no means complete. There is still a lot more I would like to do this year, and I'm sure there will be a lot more I discover that I want to do this year. I guess I'll just have to see where God takes hubs and I and let Him guide our path.

11 January 2012

Wifely Wednesdays

The hubs and I have been married for two years now, and we are still learning about each other. Last year, we took the plunge and bought our first house (after living with my parents for awhile until we found a place). So we've spent the past year making this house a home.

Now we have very different tastes. Hubs enjoys all things neutral, and I enjoy all things color (lots of it). He, of course, was a gentleman and let me pick out a lot of the colors. We only debated a little bit, but in the end we learned to compromise. I think we're both very happy with what we chosen in the end. Now that we've lived here in the house for a year, I'm ready for another change and some more paint. Hubs has something to say about that though, "It's not gonna happen." If I had my way, I'd change things around about once a month, that's just my nature. I like to keep things moving and different and spontaneous. Unfortunately, hubs likes to keep things simple and the same. Polar opposites. It helps that we don't have the money for me to change things around all the time, otherwise hubs would come home daily to changes. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the way my house looks and the paint scheme we've already chosen, I just see things places *coughpinterestcough* and I want to change some things up. But I do love my house and I'm enjoying making it a home alongside with the one I love.

Making this house a home continually opens new things for hubs and I to discover about each other and ourselves. One question always reigns in my head, am I being a helper or an obstacle? My husband is an amazing man and encouragement and I've loved seeing him grow at home and in life. And I've been looking and discovering what my role is as a working wife with a home. I've always been a working wife, but we haven't had a home of our own before. Hubs is working so hard providing for me, keeping us above water, and making it possible to grow our family (eventually). So I now have to focus on, am I being his helper or his obstacle when it comes to things.

So here is to our continuing journey of discovering living life with each other and creating our dream home.



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I'm trying to figure out how to upload this pictures and post them in an organized matter, but I'm having no luck with it! Any tips?

10 January 2012

Threading Through - Tuesday

First day back to work after 2 weeks off. I'm exhausted. It doesn't help that I'm not feeling top notch. What did help me get through the day was the awesome outfit I wore. Of course these pictures don't do it justice, I was playing with the timer on my camera and wasn't in the mood to really take time to get "the shot." Just not what I felt like doing. But I did capture a couple of good ones.



Red Jacket - gifted
Gray t-shit - gifted
Navy blue corduroys - gifted
Boots - gifted
Red jacket - Goodwill $5 (I was thrilled!)

Now time for me to relax and catch up on the Bachelor. I hear it's one "special" episode...Thoughts to come later.

09 January 2012

Manic Monday

Today was my last day of vacation before work tomorrow. Originally the plan was to go to work today, even though I didn't have to in order to get some things accomplished that needed to be. Unfortunately, I was stuck at home trying to get over a sinus infection and the beginnings of bronchitis. Needless to say, I feel lousy. Absolutely lousy. My head is congested and I'm over this whole coughing thing.

Anyway. It's Monday. So what does that mean? It's a Bachelor kind of night (Yes, I watch Bachelor. I'm not ashamed to admit it). Or it would be if you had cable. The hubs and I however do not, therefore I will have to wait and discuss what I think tomorrow after work and watching it online. So here's to another night of crazy girls fighting over one guy. I mean, who doesn't find that entertaining?! I know I certainly do. There's nothing like some good reality tv drama to make you feel a little more normal.

Also on television tonight, that I will not be watching because the lack of cable, is the BCS National Championship Game LSU vs Alabama. I have no opinion in the matter of this game as I cannot stand either of these teams, Georgia Bulldogs all the way. But if I did have to choose who I would rather win would be LSU. Geaux Tigers? I mean, it hurts saying that, but I dislike them less than I dislike Alabama. So that is how I'm basing my decision.

So here's to tonight and my attempts at relaxing and getting better before going back to the grind tomorrow.

A perfect "comfy day" work outfit. I only wish I could pull off.

I just got boots like these for Christmas. I love them and this outfit!

I love this dress. I would be okay with finding one just like it. Maybe I'll get lucky while thrifting one of these days.

Why yes I do have red pants like those. They rock and are a must for any wardrobe.

08 January 2012

Project 52 -- Week 1

After seeing everyone else doing these photography challenges, I've decided to join. In order to remember 2012, but also to see how things grow during this year. So here's the start of Project 52. I'll take pictures to commemorate each week and make a collage out of them. This is for me to look back on and say, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" I'm excited to see the changes that are bound to take place.

Unfortunately my week 1 wasn't so eventful. I was confined to the house for the entire week studying and preparing for the GACE (Georgia Assessment of Certification of Educators). But I managed to get a couple of pictures that might make you laugh...

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3.  4.


1. On the way home from the test yesterday, we saw this itty-bitty car with a not so itty-bitty tree. It made me giggle, probably a little more than necessary because I was delirious from taking a 6 HOUR TEST (Yes, I did just say 6 HOUR TEST). 
2. The week started of pretty cold, so, naturally, I lit a fire to keep warm. Clearly my dog enjoyed it more than I did. 
3. Last Sunday was my birthday, and my AMAZING hubby threw me a surprise party. I had all of my close friends here and it was just fun to sit and talk (and eat of course). 
4. This is what I spent the entire week staring at. My GACE study guide. I had 2 because I was taking 2 tests. Yes, I know I'm insane, but I'm happy to have it over and done with. On top is my KINDLE FIRE that I got for Christmas :) When my brain would get fried from studying too much, I opened it up and read. I finished 2 books this week to go along with my 2 tests. 


Needless to say, this past week was a pretty uneventful first week of 2012 and that is just fine with me. I was able to relax and study which was awesome. Now I just have to overcome this illness. Right now I'm lying on the couch trying to get the energy to get up and change the laundry. Oh well, to the doctor tomorrow...


But here's to 2012 and a new year!

Words to live by