I got the hubby a one-year devotional book for Christmas, with the intention of us reading it together every day. We are currently....behind. To say the least. But it's a really great book! Each day has a Bible promise, and then a little one page devotional based on that promise.
It's been pretty uplifting to start out the day with a promise from God. And since I'm really not awesome at reading my Bible consistently, I'm hearing most of the promises for the first time! Which is nice, but also a constant reminder that I really need to spend more time reading my Bible....But! One of the lines in one of this weeks devotionals has really stuck with me. To paraphrase, it said: God created each one of us specifically for the time and place in which we live.
So this all-powerful God, who knows the end from the beginning, knows everything about everyone, this God took the time to carefully design ME. My personality, my quirks, my likes and dislikes, and then to put me in the town I live in, the job I go to 3 days a week, the church I go to, all to fill a niche that He knows is there. That thought really makes me want to figure out what that niche is. If He spent so much time creating me for it, it's gotta be something good. It's gotta be something that I can use to bring glory to Him, to shine a light on Him and show Him to people who may have never seen that side of Him. At least, I hope it is! One that note, off I go to find it! Wish me luck!
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Friday, January 10, 2014
Ways 3-5 to rock 2014!
This is the continuation of what was becoming a long, ramble-y post. :)
3. Get it together, man! Is anyone else severely overwhelmed by life in general? I mean, you wake up, feed the cat, get ready for work, try to get stuff done on your cell phone during your commute, work all day, try to sneak in some bill-paying, grocery list making, and meal planning at work, stop off at the gym after work, hit up the grocery store, get home, put dinner in the oven, grab a quick shower while it's cooking, eat, remember you have no more work clothes and throw in a load of laundry, notice the overflowing sink and unload and reload the dishwasher just so you don't dream about it, then finally fall into bed, too tired to even ask your spouse about their day? And have mercy on those of you with kiddos!! I can't even imagine where they fit in. So in the above (slightly too familiar) scenario, there's no time to catch up with friends, go on a date with your spouse, significant other, or random stranger from that bar (that you didn't have time to go to so are never going to meet anyway), or time to really do anything. May I suggest an audit? You can squeeze it in whenever you have an extra minute during the day, I promise. Keep a pen by the bed, in your purse, and at your work station, and every time you switch tasks, jot down how much time you spent on the task you just stopped. Make sense? So I would wake up, get dressed, feed the cat, toss my work bag together, drink my oj, eat my toast, and get in the car to head to work. While we're driving, I'd note on my handy-dandy audit sheet that I spent from 6:30-7:00 am getting ready for work. Mark down your commuting time, and when you're at work, be honest. Such as, I would write down from 7:30-9, I was working. From 9-10, however, I was blogging and surfing pinterest. Get the idea? Then once you have your audits for a week, check out where you can consolidate some things. For example, the time I spent on pinterest could have been spent filling out my budget sheet for the month, and I would have been done with it! One less thing hanging over my head. Everyone's day looks totally different, as they should! Only you know what time is "wasted" and what activities are meaningful and productive in your life. So once you have them all on paper, and have checked out how much time you spend doing things from both categories, you'll have a pretty good idea of what you can cut down on and where you can squeeze in a little more from the productive column.
4. Just say no! I think we've established that none of us have much free time floating around (see #3). That being said, I plan on taking control of the free time I do have in 2014! In order to own my time, I have to learn to say no. So do you! If someone asks you to commit to something you don't have time for, say no! Be as involved as you want in your church, family, community, etc, but draw the line when you start to feel overwhelmed. I do several things at my church, which take up a considerable amount of time not only on Sabbath, but prep time during the week. I enjoy doing them, which is why I said yes when they asked. However, I will not be picking up the responsibility of, say, shoveling the church parking lot or joining the social committee. Those aren't my strong suits, and I would rather have the time I would spend in those activities to use for something I would enjoy. Look at your current commitments, see where you can cut back, and make sure to think about each new commitment before you agree to take it on.
5. Just say yes! Yup, I know. I'm a walking contradiction. Just ask the hubby. But the things we're going to just say yes to in 2014 are the new, fun things! Like skydiving! Or visiting a new state! Or trying a new restaurant! Anybody out there ever seen that Jim Carry movie, Yes Man? It's pretty dang good, in my opinion. He decides to say yes to everything he's asked to do for a year. What a world of possibilities that would open! I'm not saying to Jim Carry style crazy, but just like you're going to think about new commitments before automatically saying yes, take time to think about new opportunities before automatically saying no. You never know what kind of amazing adventures you're missing out on unless you step (even a tiny bit!) out of your comfort zone and give it a shot.
Anybody have anything to add to the list?
3. Get it together, man! Is anyone else severely overwhelmed by life in general? I mean, you wake up, feed the cat, get ready for work, try to get stuff done on your cell phone during your commute, work all day, try to sneak in some bill-paying, grocery list making, and meal planning at work, stop off at the gym after work, hit up the grocery store, get home, put dinner in the oven, grab a quick shower while it's cooking, eat, remember you have no more work clothes and throw in a load of laundry, notice the overflowing sink and unload and reload the dishwasher just so you don't dream about it, then finally fall into bed, too tired to even ask your spouse about their day? And have mercy on those of you with kiddos!! I can't even imagine where they fit in. So in the above (slightly too familiar) scenario, there's no time to catch up with friends, go on a date with your spouse, significant other, or random stranger from that bar (that you didn't have time to go to so are never going to meet anyway), or time to really do anything. May I suggest an audit? You can squeeze it in whenever you have an extra minute during the day, I promise. Keep a pen by the bed, in your purse, and at your work station, and every time you switch tasks, jot down how much time you spent on the task you just stopped. Make sense? So I would wake up, get dressed, feed the cat, toss my work bag together, drink my oj, eat my toast, and get in the car to head to work. While we're driving, I'd note on my handy-dandy audit sheet that I spent from 6:30-7:00 am getting ready for work. Mark down your commuting time, and when you're at work, be honest. Such as, I would write down from 7:30-9, I was working. From 9-10, however, I was blogging and surfing pinterest. Get the idea? Then once you have your audits for a week, check out where you can consolidate some things. For example, the time I spent on pinterest could have been spent filling out my budget sheet for the month, and I would have been done with it! One less thing hanging over my head. Everyone's day looks totally different, as they should! Only you know what time is "wasted" and what activities are meaningful and productive in your life. So once you have them all on paper, and have checked out how much time you spend doing things from both categories, you'll have a pretty good idea of what you can cut down on and where you can squeeze in a little more from the productive column.
4. Just say no! I think we've established that none of us have much free time floating around (see #3). That being said, I plan on taking control of the free time I do have in 2014! In order to own my time, I have to learn to say no. So do you! If someone asks you to commit to something you don't have time for, say no! Be as involved as you want in your church, family, community, etc, but draw the line when you start to feel overwhelmed. I do several things at my church, which take up a considerable amount of time not only on Sabbath, but prep time during the week. I enjoy doing them, which is why I said yes when they asked. However, I will not be picking up the responsibility of, say, shoveling the church parking lot or joining the social committee. Those aren't my strong suits, and I would rather have the time I would spend in those activities to use for something I would enjoy. Look at your current commitments, see where you can cut back, and make sure to think about each new commitment before you agree to take it on.
5. Just say yes! Yup, I know. I'm a walking contradiction. Just ask the hubby. But the things we're going to just say yes to in 2014 are the new, fun things! Like skydiving! Or visiting a new state! Or trying a new restaurant! Anybody out there ever seen that Jim Carry movie, Yes Man? It's pretty dang good, in my opinion. He decides to say yes to everything he's asked to do for a year. What a world of possibilities that would open! I'm not saying to Jim Carry style crazy, but just like you're going to think about new commitments before automatically saying yes, take time to think about new opportunities before automatically saying no. You never know what kind of amazing adventures you're missing out on unless you step (even a tiny bit!) out of your comfort zone and give it a shot.
Anybody have anything to add to the list?
5 ways to rock 2014!
Hey there folks! Now that we're already halfway through January (eek!!), I thought it would be a good time to talk about showing the new year who's boss. Taking 2014 by the shoulders and shaking it, yelling "this is my year!!!"
I know a lot of people who don't make New Years resolutions, and that's totally fine. You do your thing, I'll do mine. Me, I have about 12. Give or take. There are several little ones, such as keeping up with my project life, blog once a week (which is clearly going well....), and to read more books while watching less television. I love to read, so that one should be a no brainer. And I'm sure once I re-watch all 3 season of Veronica Mars to get ready for the movie coming out in March (yay!!), that resolution will be in full swing. There are also slightly more difficult ones on my New years to-do list, such as getting hubby to come to the gym with me several times a week, learning Italian, and writing a novel in 30 days (more about that here).
But not matter which camp you fall into with the New Years resolutions, it's my humble opinion that everyone could stand to do something new in the coming year. Don't make a single resolution, that's totally fine by me!! But there are ways to make the most out of your year without them. I have assembled a short list of 5 ways to knock the socks off of 2014. Since this list is forever long, I'm going to split it up. Ideas 1 and 2 are below, and 3-5 are in the next post. Enjoy!
1. Get Happy!!!! My happy is going to look a whole lot different from yours, and that's perfectly acceptable. Encouraged, even. How boring would life be if everyone was excited by the same thing? According to Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project and Happier at Home, the steps to gleaning the most happiness possible from an event are to:
I know a lot of people who don't make New Years resolutions, and that's totally fine. You do your thing, I'll do mine. Me, I have about 12. Give or take. There are several little ones, such as keeping up with my project life, blog once a week (which is clearly going well....), and to read more books while watching less television. I love to read, so that one should be a no brainer. And I'm sure once I re-watch all 3 season of Veronica Mars to get ready for the movie coming out in March (yay!!), that resolution will be in full swing. There are also slightly more difficult ones on my New years to-do list, such as getting hubby to come to the gym with me several times a week, learning Italian, and writing a novel in 30 days (more about that here).
But not matter which camp you fall into with the New Years resolutions, it's my humble opinion that everyone could stand to do something new in the coming year. Don't make a single resolution, that's totally fine by me!! But there are ways to make the most out of your year without them. I have assembled a short list of 5 ways to knock the socks off of 2014. Since this list is forever long, I'm going to split it up. Ideas 1 and 2 are below, and 3-5 are in the next post. Enjoy!
1. Get Happy!!!! My happy is going to look a whole lot different from yours, and that's perfectly acceptable. Encouraged, even. How boring would life be if everyone was excited by the same thing? According to Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project and Happier at Home, the steps to gleaning the most happiness possible from an event are to:
- Anticipate the event
- Savor it as it unfolds
- Express your happiness as you're feeling it
- Recall the happy memory
Not too difficult, right? For example, Nick's birthday this year (the closest event I can think of off the top of my head!). We've been thinking about taking a little trip, so once we have the dates, I'm going to mark them on my calendar so I have a visual reminder to "anticipate the event".
In order to "savor it as it unfolds", my plan is to put our phones on silent, bring a 2 person board game or two, and maybe some......other things....to make Nick's birthday fun. Wink wink. I want to be totally present in each moment we get to experience together.
We have kind of a joke saying in our family; "This is fun guys. Isn't this fun? We're having fun, aren't we?" But really, if you're enjoying your time with someone, make sure they know. Make sure you say it out loud and remind yourself that this once-in-a-lifetime moment is pretty cool. I have a brother-in-law who is awesome at this, and I don't even know if he knows it. About a year after Nick and I got married, we were all in the parking lot of Waffle House at about 1:30 AM (cause that's just how we roll), and he randomly turned to me and said "I'm really glad you're in our family". Totally simple, but that was over 2 years ago and I still smile every time I think about it. People appreciate when you "express your happiness as it unfolds".
It's easy for me to "recall the happy memory", because my camera is never farther away than my purse or back pocket. Photos, scrapbooks, project life, facebook albums, that's what helps me remember all of the awesome things I've been blessed enough to take part in. Find what works for you and make it happen.
2. Let it go! Easier said than done, and no one is going to struggle with this more than me this year. But trust me peeps......it's totally worth it. Don't let something from year, months, even weeks ago steal a single second of 2014. It's not healthy, fun, or worth it to dwell on things that, more than likely, you can't control anyway! In the spirit of moving on and letting it go, that's all I have to say on this topic. :)
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
The One who died for all
I've been toying with the ideas of writing devotionals. Not a book, not to try and publish something or make fist-fulls of money. Just because I want to make my spiritual life more of a priority, and I can's seems to make that happen. So in my head, if I'm writing a devotional, I'm probably getting more out of it than if I'm reading one. And who knows, maybe someone else will get something out of it as well.
I was moving some dressers this evening, and after I got the first one off the porch and into the bedroom, I stopped and stood still for a second. I thought to myself, "Red (I call myself Red), you have more important things to do. Go pick up your Bible." I'd taken a walk on my lunch break this afternoon, and tried to just talk to God. You know, like in the country song I've been watching you, or whatever it is, where the little boy kneels down and "talks to God like he was talking to a friend". Now if a 3 year old can do it, I darn well should be able to. It's not like I don't have enough going on to ask His advice about. One of the things I asked today on my walk was that God show me how to fix my relationship with Him. It's not where it needs to be, it's not where i want it to be, and something needs to be done about that. This seemed like a logical place to start. Anyway, back to this evening. I grabbed a bookmark that our awesome neighbors gave me at Christmastime, which has verses listed by topic. I flipped to 2 Corinthians 5:17, which is listed under "salvation". It sounded like a nice topic to start with. That particular verse says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." I read it a couple times, let is marinate, and decided it wasn't quite what I was looking for tonight. I scanned the rest of chapter 5, and came across verses 14 and 15, which say "...that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." Now THAT'S what I was looking for. I'm pickin up what Paul is putting down. I'm paintin what he's priming right there. I spend so much time stuck in the "not good enough to get into Heaven" mindset, focusing on what I need to change, what I need to do, who I need to convert, all the stuff that really, when it comes down to it, is just icing on the cake of your relationship with the One who died for all. Did you hear that? ALL. Every. Last. One. Of. Us. On. This. Earth. He wants all of us to come home with Him when He comes back. He died for all of us. To save all of us. All we have to do is accept that. I want to live for Him. I want to share Him, I want to take care of His people that aren't as crazy blessed as I am. There's a song by Casting Crowns called Until the Whole World Hears, and two of the lines are "I wanna be Your hands and feet, I wanna live a life that leads" and "and I pray that they will see, more of You and less of me". That's the life I want to live. Starting today. I want to shrink into the shadows and let Him shine out, to live for Him and not for myself anymore. I suppose the hard part will be figuring out how to do that.....any thoughts?
I know this was super stream-of-conciousness style, and maybe some day I'll come back and edit this to make it read like an actual devotional. But for now, it works for me. :)
I was moving some dressers this evening, and after I got the first one off the porch and into the bedroom, I stopped and stood still for a second. I thought to myself, "Red (I call myself Red), you have more important things to do. Go pick up your Bible." I'd taken a walk on my lunch break this afternoon, and tried to just talk to God. You know, like in the country song I've been watching you, or whatever it is, where the little boy kneels down and "talks to God like he was talking to a friend". Now if a 3 year old can do it, I darn well should be able to. It's not like I don't have enough going on to ask His advice about. One of the things I asked today on my walk was that God show me how to fix my relationship with Him. It's not where it needs to be, it's not where i want it to be, and something needs to be done about that. This seemed like a logical place to start. Anyway, back to this evening. I grabbed a bookmark that our awesome neighbors gave me at Christmastime, which has verses listed by topic. I flipped to 2 Corinthians 5:17, which is listed under "salvation". It sounded like a nice topic to start with. That particular verse says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." I read it a couple times, let is marinate, and decided it wasn't quite what I was looking for tonight. I scanned the rest of chapter 5, and came across verses 14 and 15, which say "...that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." Now THAT'S what I was looking for. I'm pickin up what Paul is putting down. I'm paintin what he's priming right there. I spend so much time stuck in the "not good enough to get into Heaven" mindset, focusing on what I need to change, what I need to do, who I need to convert, all the stuff that really, when it comes down to it, is just icing on the cake of your relationship with the One who died for all. Did you hear that? ALL. Every. Last. One. Of. Us. On. This. Earth. He wants all of us to come home with Him when He comes back. He died for all of us. To save all of us. All we have to do is accept that. I want to live for Him. I want to share Him, I want to take care of His people that aren't as crazy blessed as I am. There's a song by Casting Crowns called Until the Whole World Hears, and two of the lines are "I wanna be Your hands and feet, I wanna live a life that leads" and "and I pray that they will see, more of You and less of me". That's the life I want to live. Starting today. I want to shrink into the shadows and let Him shine out, to live for Him and not for myself anymore. I suppose the hard part will be figuring out how to do that.....any thoughts?
I know this was super stream-of-conciousness style, and maybe some day I'll come back and edit this to make it read like an actual devotional. But for now, it works for me. :)
Monday, August 12, 2013
Refrigerator Redoux
Well, apparently the whole blog thing didn't make it into my list of top priorities, since it's been over a year since I've written anything!! I think between not knowing what (or how!!) to blog, getting busy with work, Hubby being in school and working, sprinkle-land just took a backseat. But I've heard that the only way to get back into something you've totally thrown aside (sorry bout that...) is to just do it! So.....for my first post of 2013....*drumroll please*.....I re-did the front of my refrigerator!!! Cue the confetti and applause, right? I know, I know....kinda lame. But I figure if I start with a little post, maybe I'll actually get the hang of this blogging thing and keep coming back for more!!
Hubby thinks that the photos should cover a longer period of time. I beg to differ. It's not like I can't change them out, and right now, the photos on there represent our life at this very moment. And I'm all about living in the moment. I think the oldest photo on there right now is from April. And I'm okay with that. I have so many photos in various stages of display all around our tiny little apartment, and I like the thought of the refrigertor, the first big honking thing you see when you walk in the door, being kind of a snapshot of where our lives are at right now.
 |
| Before: Clutter Central!! |
My fridge, like many fridges I've seen, was a catch-all for every scrap of paper I deemed important, cards from friends, invitations to various events, photos, a magnetic "fridge farm" that made lots of noise and music while trying to teach my god-daughter the alphabet.....you name it, it had a spot on my fridge. The only problem was, I couldn't stand the clutter. It was like tetris, always trying to fit the next invitation on there, deciding which one was coming down, the massive guilt attacks I suffered from taking anything off of it, because what if the person who sent it to me comes over and notices it's gone??? They would think I didn't think their invitation/card/photo/etc was important enough for a coveted fridge spot!! Not that anyone could find anything on that happy little magnetic disaster....but no more!! I pinterested a solution for that mess. Yup. A trip to the dollar store, some paint, some maganet stickers, and BAM! A color coordinated, organized, beautiful fridge door that I can stand to look at now. Sometimes I just stand in my kitchen gazing dreamily at it, imagining that the rest of my house is that organized. And color coordinated. And then I trip over a cat toy and fall onto a pile of laundry, knocking over a stack of dirty plates on the way down, and that dream is shattered. Loudly. But oh well.
 |
| After: giant ball of purple and green awesomeness. |
Hubby thinks that the photos should cover a longer period of time. I beg to differ. It's not like I can't change them out, and right now, the photos on there represent our life at this very moment. And I'm all about living in the moment. I think the oldest photo on there right now is from April. And I'm okay with that. I have so many photos in various stages of display all around our tiny little apartment, and I like the thought of the refrigertor, the first big honking thing you see when you walk in the door, being kind of a snapshot of where our lives are at right now.
Friday, June 1, 2012
A sense of possibility
Hello again! Do you know what today is? Today is June 1st. Anybody want to tell me what that means? Anybody? Bueller? June 1st means that we are half way done with 2012. Can you even believe that??? Half way done with this year!! For some reason, that really hit me this year. 2012 is half gone, and what have I done so far?
Nick and I bought our first Christmas tree for our first Christmas in our first apartment (which may have technically been in 2011....but just barely!!), we celebrated our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, we took a road trip to Georgia for Nick's high school reunion. We went on the first camping trip of my adult life, and we visited the White Mountains (a first for both of us!!). We also did lots of (only slightly!!) smaller things, spent lots of time with family and friends, went on dates just the two of us, and ate lots of ice cream.That list is pretty impressive, and each memory on it makes me smile when I remember them.
BUT!! Being the person I am, nothing is ever quite enough. I always want to do more, to be more. I read an article this week in the Yale Daily News called The Opposite of Loneliness:
(http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2012/may/27/keegan-opposite-loneliness/)
If ya'll have a second, it's worth the read. It's short, I promise. Short, but insanely powerful. Part of that comes from the fact that the girl who wrote it was killed in a car accident the weekend after it was published. She was 22 years old, and the message in her article is such a wonderful one, but saddened by her much to early passing. My favorite lines are "But let us get one thing straight: the best years of our lives are not behind us. They’re part of us and they are set for repetition as we grow up and move to New York and away from New York and wish we did or didn’t live in New York. I plan on having parties when I’m 30. I plan on having fun when I’m old. " and "What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over. Get a post-bac or try writing for the first time. The notion that it’s too late to do anything is comical. It’s hilarious. We’re graduating college. We’re so young. We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have." These words are almost haunting, given that she did not make it to 30 to enjoy those amazing parties she was going to throw, and wasn't given the oppertunity to grow old and have fun. I think I would have liked Marina Keegan. A lot.
Reading her article made me think (as I'm sure it did to everyone!) about what I'm doing with my life. I have found the love of my life, and I married him. That's a giant checkmark in the win column. Every day while I'm sitting at work, I'm fantasizing about all the things I'd rather be doing. I want to ride in a hot air balloon with Nick. I want to skydive again. Nick and I want to travel the US and the world, seeing everything we can possibly see. I want to buy a house and have babies running around it. I want to see fireworks as many times as possible. I want to swim with sharks, but that's the last thing on my bucket list because sharks scare me more than anything, so I know that's the one that's gonna do me in!! I want to open up an etsy shop and sell things that I make. I want to learn Italian and Spanish. I want to meet Jonathan Kellerman. There are SO MANY things that I want to do (most of them with Nick!!), and Marina's article made me that much more determined to stop day dreaming about them and go DO THEM!!! Tomorrow night I'm leaving for Italy for 5 days. I'd say that's a pretty good start, even though the trip is for work and I can't bring Nick with me. :( But I'm going with a good friend that I work with, and while I'm there, I'm going to try to get out of my comfort zone. I'm also going to eat my weight in pasta and gelato.
I guess the point of this post, other than to get Marina Keegan's article out to a broader audience, is that life is so much shorter than we imagine. My mom died young. I lost a good friend when he was only 18. When it's your time, it's your time. You're going, ready or not. So go out for ice cream. Kiss your husband. A lot. Do the dishes later, play with your kids now. Take every vacation oppertunity you get, go see all those things on your bucket list that you put on there "knowing" you'd never cross off. Just.......be happy. If there's something making you unhappy, change it. Don't know how? Email me. I'll be glad to give it a shot. If any of you have some secrets you'd like to share about how you make the most of every day, I'd love to hear them!!
Nick and I bought our first Christmas tree for our first Christmas in our first apartment (which may have technically been in 2011....but just barely!!), we celebrated our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, we took a road trip to Georgia for Nick's high school reunion. We went on the first camping trip of my adult life, and we visited the White Mountains (a first for both of us!!). We also did lots of (only slightly!!) smaller things, spent lots of time with family and friends, went on dates just the two of us, and ate lots of ice cream.That list is pretty impressive, and each memory on it makes me smile when I remember them.
BUT!! Being the person I am, nothing is ever quite enough. I always want to do more, to be more. I read an article this week in the Yale Daily News called The Opposite of Loneliness:
(http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2012/may/27/keegan-opposite-loneliness/)
If ya'll have a second, it's worth the read. It's short, I promise. Short, but insanely powerful. Part of that comes from the fact that the girl who wrote it was killed in a car accident the weekend after it was published. She was 22 years old, and the message in her article is such a wonderful one, but saddened by her much to early passing. My favorite lines are "But let us get one thing straight: the best years of our lives are not behind us. They’re part of us and they are set for repetition as we grow up and move to New York and away from New York and wish we did or didn’t live in New York. I plan on having parties when I’m 30. I plan on having fun when I’m old. " and "What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over. Get a post-bac or try writing for the first time. The notion that it’s too late to do anything is comical. It’s hilarious. We’re graduating college. We’re so young. We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have." These words are almost haunting, given that she did not make it to 30 to enjoy those amazing parties she was going to throw, and wasn't given the oppertunity to grow old and have fun. I think I would have liked Marina Keegan. A lot.
Reading her article made me think (as I'm sure it did to everyone!) about what I'm doing with my life. I have found the love of my life, and I married him. That's a giant checkmark in the win column. Every day while I'm sitting at work, I'm fantasizing about all the things I'd rather be doing. I want to ride in a hot air balloon with Nick. I want to skydive again. Nick and I want to travel the US and the world, seeing everything we can possibly see. I want to buy a house and have babies running around it. I want to see fireworks as many times as possible. I want to swim with sharks, but that's the last thing on my bucket list because sharks scare me more than anything, so I know that's the one that's gonna do me in!! I want to open up an etsy shop and sell things that I make. I want to learn Italian and Spanish. I want to meet Jonathan Kellerman. There are SO MANY things that I want to do (most of them with Nick!!), and Marina's article made me that much more determined to stop day dreaming about them and go DO THEM!!! Tomorrow night I'm leaving for Italy for 5 days. I'd say that's a pretty good start, even though the trip is for work and I can't bring Nick with me. :( But I'm going with a good friend that I work with, and while I'm there, I'm going to try to get out of my comfort zone. I'm also going to eat my weight in pasta and gelato.
I guess the point of this post, other than to get Marina Keegan's article out to a broader audience, is that life is so much shorter than we imagine. My mom died young. I lost a good friend when he was only 18. When it's your time, it's your time. You're going, ready or not. So go out for ice cream. Kiss your husband. A lot. Do the dishes later, play with your kids now. Take every vacation oppertunity you get, go see all those things on your bucket list that you put on there "knowing" you'd never cross off. Just.......be happy. If there's something making you unhappy, change it. Don't know how? Email me. I'll be glad to give it a shot. If any of you have some secrets you'd like to share about how you make the most of every day, I'd love to hear them!!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Memorial Day Re-Cap
Happy back to work after the long weekend day! I know, it's my least favorite holiday of the year too. We had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend, I hope everyone else did too! Since this is where I ramble on about all the wonderfulness in my life, this is where I get to re-cap a wonderful weekend! :)
We spent Saturday in Maine, leaving our mark on Portland Headlight. I had never seen it before, so that was very cool. We went with two of Nick's brothers, one of our sister-in-laws, her parents, and Nick's parents. Talk about a full day! :)
Friday consisted of visiting Davis Farmland with our god-daughter, which was a blast, dinner at Wendy's (have you tried their mac and cheese??), and ice cream and a car show at Kimballs Farm. Which is probably the best darn ice cream you'll ever have.
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| Fishing for magnet fish |
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| Feeding the baby goats! |
We spent Saturday in Maine, leaving our mark on Portland Headlight. I had never seen it before, so that was very cool. We went with two of Nick's brothers, one of our sister-in-laws, her parents, and Nick's parents. Talk about a full day! :)
Unfortunatly Nick had to work most of the day Sunday, but that meant I got to spend the whole day with my bffl, who recently re-located to a very inconvenient 4 hours away!!! Lunch and some "light" shopping somehow exhausted us, but it's so worth it! :) I miss her. Sigh.
Monday we had a bbq with some of Nick's family, and then he had to work AGAIN!! It's almost as if his company doesn't care that we had plans.......but there was a sprinkler and popsicles, and then Bella and I got to hang out with my almost sister in law Haley and her chickens all evening!! Bella kept feeding the chickens her goldfish and saying "backa backa backa". Which is clearly what chickens say. So it was yet another fabulous day, except that Nick was stuck at work the second half of the day, while I got to have all the fun! Poor Nick.
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| Playing fruit ninja on the kinect! |
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| Yummy water from the sprinkler! |
How about you? What did everyone else do for Memorial Day weekend?
Saturday, May 26, 2012
10 Habits of a Happy Marriage
Hey ya'll, thanks for popping by! Hubby and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on Tuesday, and I'm still having trouble believing it's been a year since we said our I do's! The happy afterglow of our anniversary trip to the White Mountains made me think about what exactly it is that makes us so...well, happy. Out of this musing was born my list of 10 habits of a happy marriage. Now I am by no means an expert. Just very happily married to the love of my life. These are just what work for us.
2. Remember that your spouse is your best friend, and treat them accordingly. Listen to them when they need to vent, thank them for something they did today instead of taking it as a given, and watch your tone when your talking to them. I've been known to be a smidge on the sensitive side, and hubby's tone really affects what I hear when he speaks to me. No matter what words he's saying, I've found that I react more to his tone than the actual words.
3. Actions speak louder than words. If there's a chore that you know your spouse is dreading, take care of it for them instead of nagging and nagging, and then thanking them in the end. Thanks only goes so far. Pick up that futurama bottle opener that reminds you of your hubby in the grocery store line to let him know you were thinking of him. Hold your wife's hand while you're walking through the mall. Say your sorry for forgetting pick up the dry cleaning, but back it up by heading out and doing it. Right now.
4. When you're together, be together. Turn off the phone, log off facebook, put away the to-do list. Get outside, take a walk in the woods together. Toss around a baseball. Drive around the neighborhood and pick out your future house. Watch a movie together. Or your wedding video. Whatever you do, it's about you two. Just you two.
5. Save the drama fo yo momma. At one point in time, I may have been somewhat of a drama queen. Nick is the complete opposite, a "come what may" kinda guy. This did not mesh well. He couldn't understand why not having the right socks on totally ruined a bowling date, and I couldn't understand how getting rained out of out mini golf plans was okay, even though we ended up seeing a movie instead. Since getting married, I'm much more laid back, and I've gotta say, I'm much happier. And WE are much happier. We have more fun, are more flexible, and don't miss out on things just because they didn't go exactly as planned. Loosen up, people.
6. Include eachother in the small decisions, too. Even if it seems silly, you don't know how it's going to affect your spouse. We were at WalMart getting....everything, cause that's what you do at WalMart, and Nick happened to need body wash. Instead of grabbing one off the shelf, he asked me which one I liked the smell of. A tiny little decision, but he made me feel special because he wanted to use the body wash that I liked. Because I liked it. Small issue, but sweet. Finaicial decisions, housing, a new car, vacation destination, all of these things are better when you figure them out together. In our experience, the same goes for body wash, what to have for dinner, and what movie to get from Redbox. Just saying.
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| Us being all happy. :) |
1. Think before you speak. This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it's also important. Whether it's an off-the-cuff remark or something hurled at your spouse in the heat of an argument, words can never be unsaid. Bite your tongue. Take a second to play out the remark in your head, and think about how you'd react if it was coming at you.
2. Remember that your spouse is your best friend, and treat them accordingly. Listen to them when they need to vent, thank them for something they did today instead of taking it as a given, and watch your tone when your talking to them. I've been known to be a smidge on the sensitive side, and hubby's tone really affects what I hear when he speaks to me. No matter what words he's saying, I've found that I react more to his tone than the actual words.
3. Actions speak louder than words. If there's a chore that you know your spouse is dreading, take care of it for them instead of nagging and nagging, and then thanking them in the end. Thanks only goes so far. Pick up that futurama bottle opener that reminds you of your hubby in the grocery store line to let him know you were thinking of him. Hold your wife's hand while you're walking through the mall. Say your sorry for forgetting pick up the dry cleaning, but back it up by heading out and doing it. Right now.
4. When you're together, be together. Turn off the phone, log off facebook, put away the to-do list. Get outside, take a walk in the woods together. Toss around a baseball. Drive around the neighborhood and pick out your future house. Watch a movie together. Or your wedding video. Whatever you do, it's about you two. Just you two.
5. Save the drama fo yo momma. At one point in time, I may have been somewhat of a drama queen. Nick is the complete opposite, a "come what may" kinda guy. This did not mesh well. He couldn't understand why not having the right socks on totally ruined a bowling date, and I couldn't understand how getting rained out of out mini golf plans was okay, even though we ended up seeing a movie instead. Since getting married, I'm much more laid back, and I've gotta say, I'm much happier. And WE are much happier. We have more fun, are more flexible, and don't miss out on things just because they didn't go exactly as planned. Loosen up, people.
6. Include eachother in the small decisions, too. Even if it seems silly, you don't know how it's going to affect your spouse. We were at WalMart getting....everything, cause that's what you do at WalMart, and Nick happened to need body wash. Instead of grabbing one off the shelf, he asked me which one I liked the smell of. A tiny little decision, but he made me feel special because he wanted to use the body wash that I liked. Because I liked it. Small issue, but sweet. Finaicial decisions, housing, a new car, vacation destination, all of these things are better when you figure them out together. In our experience, the same goes for body wash, what to have for dinner, and what movie to get from Redbox. Just saying.
7. Small guestures make a big difference. We were running out the door today, and I opened the fridge to get a sippy cup out for our god daughter. Inside the fridge were 2 pieces of pie from Burger King that Nick had picked up to surprise me. Kinda made my day. He's so sweet.
8. Highlight the good, blink past the bad. I'm not saying to repress feelings or anything so dramatic. Just to focus on the amazing things about your spouse, your marriage, and the life you've built together. Not the one or two negatives that seem oh so important at one particular moment. For example, on our trip to the White Mountains this past weekend, Nick and I hiked to a waterfall, we played in the water there, we tried new resturants, we took a scenic train ride, we had Ben and Jerry's, and in general enjoyed being together in a setting neither of us had ever experienced before. We also didn't get cupcakes from a cute little cupcakery that I found online. But who cares? What I remember about that trip is candlelight, good food, waterfalls, and being with my husband. That makes for a much better memory than a missed-out-on cupcake. And that's a lot for me, cause I looooooove cupcakes.
9. Ask your spouse once (or more!) a day, "what can I do to help you out today?" Maybe not in so many words, but the principle stands. When Nick has to work after school, I make a point to ask if there's anything I can do for him that he wanted to get done that evening. If he's stopping somewhere on the way home, he shoots me a text asking if I need him to pick anything up. When we get stressed by our never ending to do lists, there's not better feeling than knowing there's someone in your corner to help you out. It makes it much harder to get overwhelmed when you know your husband or wife is right there to back you up.
10. Never underestimate the power of silly. Awhile back, Nick was putting up the leftovers from dinner and I was lounging on the couch. That's the life, huh? ;) For some reason, he threw up wadded up ball of tin foil at me. I grabbed the x-box remote and hit it back to him like a baseball. This turned into a 20 minute game, with both of us cracking up over it. 20 minutes of not thinking about work stresses, financial issues, or anything more serious than whether or not I could hit the tin foil far enough for Nick to catch it. Some days, I think everyone really needs that.
So that's how we roll. How about you? Anything not on my list that you think should be?
9. Ask your spouse once (or more!) a day, "what can I do to help you out today?" Maybe not in so many words, but the principle stands. When Nick has to work after school, I make a point to ask if there's anything I can do for him that he wanted to get done that evening. If he's stopping somewhere on the way home, he shoots me a text asking if I need him to pick anything up. When we get stressed by our never ending to do lists, there's not better feeling than knowing there's someone in your corner to help you out. It makes it much harder to get overwhelmed when you know your husband or wife is right there to back you up.
10. Never underestimate the power of silly. Awhile back, Nick was putting up the leftovers from dinner and I was lounging on the couch. That's the life, huh? ;) For some reason, he threw up wadded up ball of tin foil at me. I grabbed the x-box remote and hit it back to him like a baseball. This turned into a 20 minute game, with both of us cracking up over it. 20 minutes of not thinking about work stresses, financial issues, or anything more serious than whether or not I could hit the tin foil far enough for Nick to catch it. Some days, I think everyone really needs that.
So that's how we roll. How about you? Anything not on my list that you think should be?
Monday, May 21, 2012
Anniversary Wine Glasses
Happy Monday everyone! Hubby and I have our one year anniversary coming up on Tuesday *insert excited squeal here*, so I've been trying to come up with little things to make it special. One of the ideas I had stemmed from a bottle of sparkling cider in our fridge that is actually from our wedding day! I thought, since the bottle is so special, clearly the drinking apparatus must be brought up to par! Thus were born our anniversary "wine" glasses.
Now, this was NOT as simple as I imagined it would be. In my head, I was going to pick up two wine glasses at the dollar store, some paint at Michaels, and away I would go! In reality, it took 4 different tries and 4 different methods before I had anything I deemed worthy of our anniversary.
The next morning, I decided that those glasses had to go. I was going to start from scratch. One quick trip to WalMart later, and I was on my way to non-drab glasses!! This time around I went with our wedding colors, purple and green. I figured that would take them from drab to fabuolous! Everything is better in purple. This is the new result:
The Mr. ande Mrs. are free-handed onto the glasses. I used a heart stencil for my glass and a (only slightly) more manly polka dot stencil for hubby's. Ta-da! Glasses worthy of our special day!
Now, this was NOT as simple as I imagined it would be. In my head, I was going to pick up two wine glasses at the dollar store, some paint at Michaels, and away I would go! In reality, it took 4 different tries and 4 different methods before I had anything I deemed worthy of our anniversary.
These were my first attempt:
It took 3 different methods to get to that point. I looked at them and thought to my self, "Self, those are not good. Those are not you and Nick. They are drab and boring. You are not." This was a very sad realization, because I had spent the majority of my afternoon, as well as the afternoon before, on these. So I had a cookie and went to bed.
The next morning, I decided that those glasses had to go. I was going to start from scratch. One quick trip to WalMart later, and I was on my way to non-drab glasses!! This time around I went with our wedding colors, purple and green. I figured that would take them from drab to fabuolous! Everything is better in purple. This is the new result:
Much better! I started out with two 97 cent glasses from WalMart, some enamel paint, and some sticker stencils:
The Mr. ande Mrs. are free-handed onto the glasses. I used a heart stencil for my glass and a (only slightly) more manly polka dot stencil for hubby's. Ta-da! Glasses worthy of our special day!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Ice Breaker!
Hello lovelies! My name is Janice, and I'm so happy that you're here! Sprinkles on my Jello is my little corner of the world, where I plan on sharing a little of myself with all of you while getting to know you all a little better! For my first post, I thought a "10 random things about me" would be a deeee-lightful little ice breaker for us. I'll start.
1. I am married to the most amazing man I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Prepare to hear lots of gushing here in sprinkle-land. He's pretty dang cool.
2. I am a jack of most trades, master of.......one or two. On a good day. I love to crochet, cook, sew, scrapbook, photograph lovely things, bake, make jewelry, and the list goes on. There are always a minimum of 4 projects of random varieties going on in my house.
3. I am a not-so-closet Pinterest addict. I spend sooo much time browsing the recipes and craft ideas on there; feel free to check out my boards here . That website is probably the coolest place on the web. Other that sprinkle-land, of course! ;)
4. I am a Seventh-Day Adventist, and I think that my belief in God and knowing that this world isn't all we have to look forward to, is probably what gets me through each day.
5. When I grow up, I want to be a: photographer,a social worker, a stay at home mommy, a pilot, a cake baker, a cupcake tester, and some sort of multi-faceted professional crafter.
6. I hate the word deluxe. For no apparent reason. It just grates on my ears. My fingers shook as I typed that.
7. I have one younger brother, and older sister, and an older brother, my dad and step mom. I also have several nieces and nephews, some sister and brother in laws that are just as much friends as family, wonderful in-laws, and so much extended family that I can't even list them. I'm very lucky in the family department.
8. I love music. All kinds of music. You'll probably be reading lots of lyric fragments as you become engrossed in Sprinkles on my Jello.
9. If I could live anywhere, it would be Wisteria Lane. I can't get enough of those ladies, and I think I would make a darn fine desperate housewife. Hubs does not agree.
10. I am a part-time Weight Watchers follower. It's a great program, and it whipped my butt into shape for my wedding, but this time around my love of all things cheesy, chocolaty, and pasta-y is seriously overriding my desire to look good in a bikini.
I'd love to know a few random things about you!! Leave me a comment with your top random facts, and let's get the "getting to know each other" ball rolling, folks!
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