Feeling Convicted...

Lately, as the sun comes out and I want to open all the windows and enjoy the sunshine, I've been feeling convicted. When I open the windows and let in the light, I see DUST! Everywhere! I start to look around, and that's when I notice all the little things out of place. There are piles of junk mail on the table, empty wrappers on the coffee table, old drinking  glasses scattered throughout the house... Not to mention the laundry that has somehow taken over our bedroom again (I just spent a good 4hrs cleaning our bedroom about 3wks ago!). Don't get me wrong, I vaccuum on a regular basis and keep things clean... It's just that I've let go of the "a place for everything, and everything in its place" idea.


I get so frazzled sometimes. How does this happen?! How do I let it get like this time, and time again??

I grew up with an exceptionally clean mom- and very organized too! We had schedules for our chores and if they weren't done up to the set standard, we did them again. She'd say "It's my job as mom to prepare you for when you're a wife and homemaker." I'm so glad my mom raised me this way, and I so greatly appreciate her attention to detail! But it seemed like as I got older, my bedroom was always a disaster. There is something about a "lived-in" space that I find kind of comforting! I don't have to worry if I sit on the bed and mess the covers up, because, it's already messy! I think having a super tidy mom made my pendulum swing too far the opposite way. It's easy to let that happen in life, but finding balance is so very important.

Now as I'm sitting in my living room surrounded by mess, I've realized that- yes, I'm saying it- MOM WAS RIGHT. I hated doing the chores and more often than not, I ended up doing them more than once. But she was preparing me. She was preparing me for adulthood, for responsibility, for taking care of a home and husband- and eventually children! My husband works so that we can live comfortably, and I should at the very least be able to keep a clean home for him to live in. I think of it as a respect thing :)

I'm feeling convicted to have more respect for my husband by doing my part, to show better stewardship of the precious things God has blessed me with, and to strive to be a Proverbs 31 hardworking woman (I still don't think I'll be rising with the sun, however).

How do you all do in this area? Any tips on staying organized or motivated? Please share!

Sleepy Minds Think Alike

For those of you who don’t know this about me, I’m an extremely hard sleeper. But I get in this weird in-between place where I can think, but I’m not awake. And when I am startled, I really startle.

So a few nights ago, in the middle of the night, I felt something on my head. It was like something was massaging my scalp and playing with my hair. It felt kind of good… :) I drifted in and out of the in-between place a few times wondering what it was. All of a sudden I realized it was a kitten! It was batting my hair around!

Meanwhile…

Austin was all warm and cuddled up, sleeping like a baby. One of the kittens laid on his shoulder and snuggled in. He started petting it in his half asleep state. He gave it a little “love pet” because “it was so soft!”

After a few minutes…

I startled awake, startling Austin awake, and both of us were thinking the same thing.

 

How the heck did the kittens get up here?!?

 

I stared at Austin for a good twenty seconds in my groggy state of mind- truly trying to grasp what happened. There was no kitten in our bed. NOT ONE. As we stared at each other dazed and confused, we slowly started piecing it together.

I had rolled over in my sleep and my head landed on his shoulder. He thought that it was a kitten because of how soft it was, so he pet it. I thought the petting was a kitten playing with my head. In the morning we weren’t sure if it really had happened, but we both remembered it so it must have!

Apparently my hair is incredibly soft- as soft as a kitten to be exact. And apparently, we both have kittens on our minds so much so that we would BOTH think it was the same thing! We laughed so hard in the morning when we were in our right minds.

What a funny little thing… that'll definitely go in the memories book!

Have you ever had a funny/weird thing happen while you were half asleep? Do tell! Half asleep stories are probably my favorites of all time!!

SURPRISE!!

Austin is the sweetest husband! Just look at these beautiful little creatures :)

This morning they have taken two naps after wearing themselves out :) The first time they put themselves to sleep in their little bed, and the second time they came and sat on my feet while I was doing dishes. They would put a paw on my leg so Id look down and them and they would just stare up at me and make a little tiny cry! So I finally gave in and sat down so they could come curl up on my lap :)

 

Thank you Austin! They’re so precious and I feel so lucky! :)

Confessions about the Dentist

Let me start by saying, anyone who knows me how much I loathe going to the dentist. I mean seriously… how could anyone not mind someone scraping and scratching at their teeth? Their TEETH?! Oh my gosh I get nauseous thinking about it. Not only that, but this will be my first time at the new dentist since getting married. Now that you know that fact about me…

I went to the dentist today. I was so sick last night thinking about it, I had to trick myself into thinking it wasn’t tomorrow so I could actually fall asleep. Wah! 

But now comes the confession… I think I might love my new dentist.

Say, whaaat?!

Yes. You heard right. I love her. She’s the sweetest dentist I’ve ever met! She made me so super not nervous, and I even let her touch my teeth! She was checking my wisdom teeth for me since they’ve been making me absolutely crazy! I’m going back for a cleaning next week, and I’m not nervous at all now. Whew… Glad that is all over now!

Biceps, Boxes, and 8 More Paychecks :)

Wedding planning has definitely taken a back burner as I've been working like a mule lately... Boy howdy, wedding dresses sure do get heavy!
Hauling dresses around all day, shoving them in the racks, putting them on brides, and trying to control the madness of mothers wanting to try every dress in the store on their daughters, has definintely left it's impact- on my biceps! Definition and form are abounding as my sweet little guns gain strength! I may not have any leg strength left after quitting track, but I sure can carry around 50lb dresses ;)

In my free time (from about 9:30pm- 11pm) is my "wedding planning" and preping time. This is my time to work on our marriage counseling book, pack my things, finish my invitations, and work on all my other wedding plans! So from now I have about 3 mos. to plan the rest of my wedding. Crazy!!

I've started sorting through my things- tossing out the old to make room for storing the new! I just finished going through my closet and organizing my clothes so that when moving time comes, I'll be prepared and know exactly what clothes go where. I even packed up my shoes that I won't be needing between now and the wedding! I have so many boxes in my room its overwhelming... Boxes of wedding decor and such, boxes of old stuff to throw out, boxes of things for our new house, and even more boxes of just memories and the stuff I know I'll find use for later in my own house. So much stuff!

So now that I'm really in "bride" mode, I've begun to count in different ways. I've learned tricks to come up with the smallest sounding amount of time possible, or, if I'm stressed out, to come up with the largest sounding number possible. Right now though, I'm liking smaller numbers... Like the fact that I will be standing at the alter in only 8 more paychecks. Did you read that?! 8 MORE PAYCHECKS!!

Ahh... So excited :D

On to another year...

Birthday time was fun, and almost two months ago! But I just happened across these fun photos from my birthday dinner and thought I would share :) What a way to go into my twenties- all the ones I love were there to halp me celebrate!

 We are quite stunning people when you catch us in just the right moment...

 Creeper status in the background!

The more I look at her face, the better this gets!!

...

Still getting better!



Oh what a fun day... thanks mom for being so ready with the camera! ;)

Mommy for a week...

I'm sitting here at almost 1:30 with a desk full of papers in front of me. I'm in the process of cutting out bridesmade dress ideas, paying school loans and bills, grading my sister's math work, and trying to find all the papers I need in the ever-growing mountain between me and this computer screen. But want to know the best part? I've been up since 7:30 and I haven't even showered yet! I'm wearing an array of grunge clothes I found on my bedroom floor, and I finally found a precious pink heaband with sparkly flowers to hold my greasy bangs out of my face... I hope no mormons or neighbor kids come knocking on my door- I'm a sight to behold! I probably could have used this to my advantage if today was halloween instead...

While I bask in the glory of getting up two hours earlier than I'm used to, cleaning sleepy faces, and making breakfast and school lunches for three energetic children (while I'm still in my groggy "I'm still asleep but I'm walking around because I have to" state of morning), my mom is basking in sunshine, warmth, and the splendor of Hawaii.

Can I just say I'll take a rain check on having children of my own for a while? Maybe I'll consider it when my siblings are old enough to take care of my children for me while I take a trip to Hawaii for a week...

Afterall, that's what siblings are for... Right? Time for some heavy duty coffee.



WORK!!!

It seems that my life is completely taken over by work! Working two jobs and trying to get the ball rolling with my photography is rather difficult... I constantly have so much to do and so little time to do it! However, I truly love bringing home the paychecks ;) If I had tried having two jobs a year ago I would have absolutely lost my mind! i don't know what's changed.... maybe my motives are the answer. Trying to save money for next summer is a HUGE motivation! In fact, it's all I can think about some days :\ But let's not get distracted. The point of this is to complain about being too busy.

This is usually my thought process throughtout the day:

... What time do I work?... Ugh I'm hungry.... What time do I work next?... Ugh I'm hungry... Must. Edit. Pictures!... Ugh I'm hungry... What time do I work tomorrow?... Sleep time?...

Yes. Those are my ONLY thoughts all day long. Nothing else matters. Work, Food, Pictures, Sleep.
My life. Good thing I love what I do...

Sigh...

My New Favorite Thing

Facebook rarely puts any ads of use on my page, but a friend posted this site, and I had to look. I'm so excited! This has got to be one of my new favorite ways to spend my day! Check it out:

http://www.modcloth.com/

Although some of it can be a tad expensive for my taste, the sale prices are pretty good, and I just can't get over some of the clothes! If you can't afford them, at least they offer good inspiration for looks you might want to achieve! The blog is definitely worth checking out, and there's opportunity for you to become part of the team who decides which looks are turned into to real modcloth clothing :)

Here are a few of my favorite looksfor under $50!:


Annapolis Dress- $49.99


Easy Breezy Top in Apricot- $34.99


Cricket Match Skirt- $41.99


Bird Bird Bird Necklace- $16.99


Lemon Meringue Heel- $34.99

Now to get ready for the day and head outside with my camera... :)

Motivation?? Now that's laugh...

As I face the long summer ahead of me, and think about my time, I know there will probably be too few workouts, too many "seconds" on dessert, and plenty rain to keep my motivation to a minimum. Living in rainy, cloudy weather all year long can be quite discouraging! Instinctively I just push exercise to tomorrow when "it's sure to be sunny!" Being on the track team during the school always helped keep me in shape... I had no choice but to run my hiney off! Now that those scheduled workouts are done, I can almost feel myself putting the extra cushion on.

I've found that as much as people say "Motivate yourself!", It's simply not going to work that way. Good ol' ice cream and white cheddar popcorn are the only things that remotely motivate me, and those are the things I am supposed to be cutting out of my diet! Self-discipline is going to have to win. Maybe with some discipline I'll get my cardio going once again...

Thoughtful Beginnings

As I was sitting on the couch today thinking about summer, a thought hit me out of nowhere... I want to start a blog! I love writing -- as long as it's not for a ten page, semester-long research assignment-- so why not get my thoughts out there for anyone to see?! This could be quite an adventure! And who doesn't have time for a little adventure?? ;)