Friday, November 5, 2010

add to the wish list...

I've had my eye on a Gussy bag for a while now...I LOVE her designs! Take a peek...



Today, on Gussy's blog she featured another artist, Red Letter Words. And I LOVE her designs, too. Scripture canvases. Here's a sampling...

  

Don't you just love these?

Monday, November 1, 2010

fall...

I seriously can't believe it is November 1st.  I've been meaning to post for days now...so here are some snippets from the past few weeks of our fall...which has felt mostly more like summer until this past weekend. I actually had frost on my windshield when I left for class this past Saturday morning!! However, it was back to 80 something degrees by lunch time. (Which was fine by me, as I'm not much of a cold weather fan at all! 65degrees is cold to me!)  Anyway, back to the snippets... =) 


{DIY wreath}




{Visit to Tom's Farm}


 We went through the "haunted" corn maze in the middle of the day. Kinda nixed the scary factor, but still fun!



We got so tickled at hearing this guy "baaabaaa."


{Pumpkin Carving}


Paul did the Mississippi State masterpiece. And I apparently lack any sort of pumpkin carving ability whatsoever. My "B" just looks like a big blob. I should have done a little more thinking before I started carving...



{Trick or Treat with Taylor the kitty cat}

so Ca-Ute! 


And one last thing...our BULLDAWGS are 7-2!!! LOVE it.

Hope you are enjoying your fall, too!

Friday, October 15, 2010

happy birthday, sweet caroline!

She's 13 years old today! (We are 10 years and 8 days apart.) I can't believe how quickly she's grown up. I am so proud of the young lady she is becoming. A few things I just love about my baby sister...
{her spunk}
{her basketballin' talent}
{her auburn hair}
{her strength}


 We've been through a lot together, and I'm so thankful for her. Happy Birthday, Caroline-a. Love you! 

Thursday, October 14, 2010

WANT to do list...

Last Saturday I finished one class and tonight concluded my Thursday night class for the semester...I have two weekends off before my next Saturday class begins. !YAY! Of course, there are plenty of things on my NEED to do list, but I think they are just going to take a backseat while I enjoy working on my WANT to do list

This Saturday, I'll have most of the day to myself because Paul has to work and while I'm tempted to sleep in because I've been getting up at 6am on Saturday for the past 6 weeks, I've reallly been wanting to go yard-sale-ing...every morning as I would drive to class I would see at least 10 signs luring me to "HUGE" yard-sales.  So since this Saturday I can actually go, I just might be getting up at 6am because I want to. I'm not really looking for anything in particular, I just like to meander and see how far I can stretch $20. :) Also on my list for the day is to make a fall wreath for our front door. On Monday I visited my grandparents (who just recently moved into "assisted living") and my grandmother and I made a wreath for their door.  I think it turned out great (wish I had had my camera!).  It's amazing how a few flowers can warm and brighten up a space.  Can't wait to make ours and add a few fall-ish decorations around the house.  A few other want-to-dos include a little sewing, a little reading, and a little flower bed weeding.

Best thing about this weekend... I'm not going to get in a hurry about anything. 

And best thing about next weekend...we'll be headed to Starkville! MSU Football Homecoming.  Staying with Anne, Jim, Walt & Eleanor at their new house! Can't wait to see them and other friends and family and go to the game. This will be the first Mississippi State homecoming that will actually be a "home-coming" for me.  How is it that I am an alumni and have been for almost a year?! 

So thankful to have a little time off to relax and re-juice for the rest of the semester. 

Saturday, September 25, 2010

cardboard testimonies

A couple of weeks ago our church presented "cardboard testimonies." The first side of the cardboard tells who a person was BEFORE they encountered Christ and then the flipside tells who they are now--AFTER Christ has REDEEMED them.  It was a truly incredible time of worship as we witnessed people be totally honest and vulnerable so that they could share with others how Christ has transformed their lives by his grace and love.  Take a look at the video if you have a few minutes...


Central Church Cardboard Testimonies 11:00 Service from Central Church on Vimeo.


After the testimonies, our pastor challenged us to realize and act on the reality that people will remain in their "before"--will remain LOST-- unless we who are experiencing the "after" of knowing Christ and his peace share that with them.  [I don't want to debate whether God will or won't save someone because I did or did not share with them.  I just know that Christ has called all of us who know Him to share. {Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Peter 3:15}]  These cardboard testimonies were a visual wake-up call for me.  I've GOT to be more intentional about sharing the hope of Jesus with others.  

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

grace.

This morning, a big reminder about my salvation from Ephesians 1...

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 

17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms

I hope these verses will remind and encourage you today as they did me: My salvation has nothing to do with me, and I have an incomparably great hope and power that lives within me because of Christ.  Praying that I can let that spill over to someone today.

P.S. The past couple of weeks have been ca-razy busy! I'm ready to catch up on everyone's posts and get back to posting myself! Hope you all have a happy hump-day! :)

Friday, August 27, 2010

SO much to learn

I had the first class of my M.A.Ed. program tonight. And I loved it! If you know me, this is no surprise. I enjoy school and love learning new things/concepts. I'm particularly excited about this class because I know that I will be learning stuff that can actually be put in to practice to make me a better educator. I want to teach high school English, and I feel that I know my subject matter really well, but since my undergrad degree was not an Education degree (rather a B.A. in English), I don't feel like I know how to best teach students the material in an engaging and relevant way. Enter this class--"Curriculum & Development." It is all about how to educate in the 21st century--and is about more than just incorporating technology and a multi-cultural awareness into the classroom. We talked about the education of the whole child--not just using their brain as a depository for knowledge (i.e. facts & numbers). Obviously the world has changed drastically from our "Little House on the Prairie" days (honestly, sometimes I wish I had lived then, in that simpler time...) not to mention just within the last decade. However, relatively speaking, the basis for our educational processes/methods have changed very little. My teacher shared some staggering statistics about American education in comparison with education in other countries...I won't bore you with them, but they definitely made me even more aware of what I had suspected: American education is in a sore state--(but this definitely does not mean there aren't some great teachers out there trying their best). I'm excited to learn all I can to become one more of those teachers who are giving it their best shot to see students become ethical, productive, responsible, compassionate citizens.


Many thanks for humoring me with this all-too-exciting post about my first night class! I know you've been on the edge of your seats. :) And if you are even remotely interested and have an extra 20 minutes to spare, watch this video on creativity & school that my teacher played for us tonight. It's quite entertaining, and it definitely gave me something to think about.

Monday, August 23, 2010

egg-in-a-hole + this & that

We enjoyed breakfast on the back patio together this morning...I betcha can't guess whose plate is whose... :)
The "Egg-in-a-Hole" is a breakfast treat that we used to eat at my sweet cousin Laura's house when we were kids. Don't know why I haven't made one before now--YUM.
<Have you ever had/heard of an egg-in-a-whole?>


While we were eating, I noticed this tiny bead of water on the chopped off stalk of my basil plant...you can also see a *tiny bit* of new growth. [Kelly (my sis-in-law) told me that if I cut the stalk completely instead of just snapping off the leaves, it would produce more...let's hope!]


on to the "this & that"...

Paul started school today, so we spent the morning printing out syllabi, organizing notebooks, and ordering his textbooks. If all goes as planned he should be finished with his B.S. by the end of next summer. YAY. [just a side-note: he is off work until September due to a lack of orders--good: allows him to focus on getting started well this semester; bad: no $.] Then he left for a flying lesson...not sure if everyone knows this or not, but he is pursuing his pilot's license--he wants to be a commercial pilot eventually. And he is so excited about it--which makes me so excited about it! He started flying in May, and was hoping to have earned the 40 hours he needed for his private license by the end of the summer. However, he ended up having to switch instructors and airports a couple of times which set things back a bit. But as of last week, he is now getting into a regular routine of about three lessons a week. And, I have to tell y'all the story about his new instructor--when they met for the first time, Paul said they both kept looking at each other, trying to figure out how they knew each other. They finally realized that Paul's step-dad coached them in little league basketball, and they played football together in 8th grade! Hadn't seen each other in years. Neat to see how God brings things full circle. He is so pumped about flying. I can't wait for his first solo flight--I can go up with him!!
Here is a pic of the kind of plane that he is training in: Cessna 152
       
I also started school today--or had orientation--my first class is actually on Thursday night, 5-9pm.../yuck/. I'll also have class on Saturdays 8a-3p.../double yuck/. Orientation lasted from 4-7p, and when I left, I was def on INFORMATION OVERLOAD. *But* I'm really excited about what I'm going to be learning, and so far, I've been super impressed with Union U and its people!

This past weekend, one of my roomies--Diana-- from sophomore year came for a visit...SO good to spend some unhurried time with her! We really had a pretty low-key weekend: stayed up late Friday night just catching up; slept late Saturday morning; shopped a little that afternoon; played a game of Farkel--in which Paul had a last second stroke of luck to beat us both!--, baked some cookies, and watched a movie that night. [Side note: I introduced her to Nutella at breakfast Saturday am and she's hooked...consider this your formal introduction, if you've never tried it. GO.BUY.SOME.NOW.] She will soon be joining the National Guard--eek! but I so admire her confidence and determination. She's one of my favorites, and it was so good to catch up for a couple of days.
Right before she left on Sunday am.     

One last thing, I have to tell y'all that I tried Iowa Girl Eats' recipe for sweet potato fries, and we--yes I said WE-- are hooked! [Y'all know this is a breakthrough for Paul. He ate sweet potatoes-a vegetable. They were NOT fried.] The recipe is SO easy and simply delish--I've already made them twice. Just slice up your sweet potatoes--I like mine pretty thin so they get a bit crunchy--drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper. 425degrees for 15 min., then 450degrees for 5min, stirring occasionally. Did I mention they were divine? Also, I tried her recipe for French Dip (Sandwiches) a la Crock Pot. It was super easy and also yummy. (Although my roast cooked much, much quicker than the 8 hours she says--mine was done after about 3.5 on low.)


Thanks for enduring such a random post. I just had to squeeze it all in. :) 

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

check-out-line impulse buy with no regrets...


Why, oh why, is it for a limited time only?!?! That is torture! I'm not a big chocolate fan, but I'm so there with anything coconut. M&M's got this combo just right-- they are scrumptious.

Friday, August 13, 2010

oh, the lovelies i have found today!

Well, at the moment I am sitting at a desk watching eight students work on 20th Century U.S. History work...yes, I'm subbing high school history today and it has been EASY-PEASY! I've only had a few kids in each class because the majority of this teacher's students are ninth graders and are on their "Freshman Retreat" today. They have just come right in and gotten right to work with hardly any talking, so that has left me with TONS of free time to...read blogs! I am seriously sitting here trying to keep from smiling to myself because I am ecstatic about all the fantastic ideas and freebies I am finding! I just keep linking to more great stuff at every site...

Here are a few of the finds that have made my day:

This is a site where artists are invited to contribute a print that is totally free and available for PDF download. From their mouth, "this project [...] is to help art lovers feed their souls with art in these difficult economic times and to help artists promote their work." New prints are added on Mondays.
Here is the latest...I'm quickly becoming obsessed.

  
 This will be perfect for my room (which I spent all day yesterday cleaning out and organizing...saving that for another post). It is one of our little extra bedrooms turned my office, reading nook, crafting space, etc. Most importantly, my room does not have to suit Paul's decorating taste! :) I can't wait to get home to print and frame this baby!

They have lots of other great prints--from whimsical to industrial and everything in between...check 'em out!


First of all, don't you just love that name?! I'm always a sucker for a good play on words. If you are a mom, then you will definitely want to stop by this site. I'm already picking out stuff for our [non-existent] kiddos. Paul will be thrilled, I'm sure. This site features tons of shops that sell all things homemade. Here are a few of my favorite picks...

a reversible denim coat from louloubellbaby. how sweet is this?


this cute cute mobile from KLT works


and lastly, this sweet print, "For the Love of Books," from Bumpkin...it's another "print"--I told you these were becoming an obsession! 

 


You proably guessed already, but this is a (mostly) food blog by a girl who's motto is: "Eat Well. Run Often. Travel Far." I completely agree! Well, maybe not so much with the running part...I really wish I would get motivated in that department. But with the eating well and traveling far, I am definitely on board! Anyway, her blog is full of great (and healthy) recipes (they look and sound great, I'll let you know when we try one!), pretty photography, and fun stories. In her most recent post, she talks about the Iowa State Fair and all of the interesting, mostly deep-fried foods you can find there. She mentions a "Cornbrat on-a-stick (bratwurst dipped in corn dog batter & fried)" and how she hoped her husband didn't see this vendor because he would try to eat their entire inventory. Sadly, I fear this would be the exact same scene if Paul came even remotely close to the Iowa State Fair...cornbrat on-a-stick = heart attack on-a-stick. I was so excited to find this blog, because I've been hankering for some new recipes lately! Maybe I'll try these soon...
Baked sweet potato fries.
Paul tried sweet potatoes (only because they were fried!) for the first time last summer at one of our pre-wedding parties, and he liked them. Can you believe it. These will be healthier since they are baked...Wish me luck with his finicky tastebuds!


4)  a couple of home/interior design blogs...

Absolutely LOVE this woman's style.
  



LoVe her style too. Her baby's nursery is just perfect. I love everything about it!


Hope you enjoy these fun finds as much I am. :)

&

Happy Friday!!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

1 year!

We celebrated our first anniversary this past Sunday, August 8th. And as cliche as it is, my, how time flies...counting the time we dated, we've been together nearly 6 years! A lot has changed since 11th grade (for me) / 12th grade (for him) Spanish class--but a lot has remained the same--he is still making me laugh with his shy but goofy self. I'm so thankful the Lord brought us together--we balance each other perfectly

We celebrated with dinner at P.F. Chang's. (Paul's first time there, and only my second.) YUM. Our waitress was the sweetest--$4 off our ticket and a free dessert [i.e. the best cheesecake ever.]

  
perfection on a plate.

After dinner, we went to the Paradiso and saw "Inception" for *free*--thanks to some 4 or 5 year old movie passes (a gift from Paul's mom) that I recently found while cleaning out a drawer from college...yay for no expiration date!!

And on Tuesday, I realized we had not eaten the top layer of our wedding cake! I seriously almost started crying. How could we forget that?? So I got it out of the freezer and we re-enacted the cake cutting a couple days late...

 
Paul was skeptical after it being in the freezer for a year, but it still tasted delicious :)

The first year had its moments, as I'm sure every year will, but I wouldn't trade our life for anything. I love that we are a work in progress, that there is no definitive destination or arrival time set to achieve "the perfect marriage."  


[P.S. Thanks for enduring a post that is a bit sappy for the average reader :)]

relaxed...

pretty much all we did on our vaca to Panama City Beach...and it was lovely. That is one of my favorite things about going to the beach--you don't have to do a thing, if you don't want to! Aside from eating out a couple of nights, going to the outlet mall in Destin one morning, and a little daredevil action on our last night [see pic below], we just sauntered from our room to the beach and/or pool every day all day. {bliss}

Here are a few pics from the week...

don't mind my Casper-ish face caked with 50 SPF :)
ready to ride the SLING SHOT...
buckled in...
300 feet high...100 mph...5 G's

  SO MUCH FUN! we screamed & laughed the whole time 
and would do it again in a heartbeat!

Isn't God awesome?!
{precious}
                                          Taylor Marie                                          "there's sand in my toes!!"

the whole crew!
We had the best time! I'm so thankful we had the chance to relax and just enjoy each other for a few days before life gets hectic again--school starts for both of us in 2 weeks-ah!   

Thursday, July 29, 2010

SOLD!

You may remember [from a few posts back] the ol' 1962 Lincoln that we've been trying to sell...well, it SOLD! Finally. After much prayer, a few tears, and two Ebay flops, [why people would bid on something that they don't intend to or can't pay for is beyond me] the Los Angeles city attorney bought it yesterday to use as a "parade car"! [He knows Jennifer Aniston, by the way...I thought that was prettty cool :)] God is so faithful. Since I don't have a full time job right now, this sale is a huge blessing and weight lifted from a pretty really tight budget lately.  He blessed us with a good profit, and we are so thankful to have a done deal...and be on our way to the BEACH! We haven't been on a trip, even a weekend away, since our honeymoon. Looking forward to some chill time before we both hit the books again soon. We found a {super great deal} on a condo in Panama City, FL that we will be sharing with Kelly (Paul's sis) and her husband, Nick, and Taylor. Leaving this Saturday at 5am... SO excited. 

Now, I'm off to mail the title to the LA City Hall and meet my love to go shop for some new sunglasses among other beach necessities!  

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

really missing MSU...

Lately I've found myself missing Starkville and college a little bit, well maybe a lot.  

Maybe the reality is hitting me that I won't be picking up my student tickets and yelling "GO STATE!" like a crazy person with my cow bell in hand at every home game this season...

Davis Wade Stadium. MSU vs. South Carolina. Freshman year: October 2006.

Here are a few more reasons why I'm sorely missing college and living in Starkville...

Hoops at the Hump.

and watching Jarvis Varnado aka "SWAT" make block after block!
[now can't wait to watch him with the Miami Heat!!]

my sweet roomie, Diana, during sophomore year.


this divine place.


and more of our favorite good eats like 
{Petty's BBQ} 
{Little Dooey's} 
{Oby's} 
{Mugshots}

this little man, Walt, and his whole family. miss them tons!
[I started keeping him when he was 3 months old and now look at him! and he's got a baby sister now, too--Eleanor!]


camping out at Huddle House with Emily till 2am drinking coffee and working on our papers and maybe talking more than was absolutely necessary since we were supposed to be writing :).


Lee Hall = home of the English department = where I spent many, many hours.


As you can tell, Mississippi State/Starkville [for they really are inseparable] is one of my very favorite places. I'm maroon and white to the core :) Thanks for humoring me on my "trip down memory lane."  And if you aren't a Bulldawg, you don't know what you're missing!


  
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...