Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

Friday, February 3, 2012

New Beginnings

Well, it looks like motherhood has truly taken its toll on the blog-life. We have had a million changes happening in our lives in the last 8 months (which have zipped by at warp speed), and even if I would have had spare time to blog, I'm not sure I would have had the inspiration to, if I'm being completely honest. However, for the first time ever, I have made a list of New Years Resolutions of sorts. I am not a huge goal setter, it has never been a strong suite of mine, maybe fear of not acheiving them and therefore failing, or maybe just laziness, I'm not really sure which one. BUT, I have made a list of a few changes I would like to make in my life over the next year. They are attainable, realistic, and one of them just happens to be attempting to revive this little piece of internet. I made myself a promise that I would at least TRY. I have this problem with documenting important things in my life. I tend to leave them up to my memory, but I always wish I had some tangible things to treasure and look back on over the years. Plus, as my baby grows up, I would love for her to be able ot look back at theses beginning years of her life that she cant remember on her own, and see how much happiness she brought her mom and dad. So, without further adieu, my resolutions for 2012:









*learn to use my sewing machine. My mom gave me one a few years back, and I have never even taken the cover off.




*TRULY live within or below our means. More about this later, but I feel like we always SAY we are doing this, but over the years as our income has increased, our lifestyle has increased along with it. This has taken away from our ability to give above and beyond sacrificially. So in other words, our income has increased, our spending has increased, and our generosity has flatlined. We would like to give out of our first fruits, instead of our leftovers or abundance.




*Be more community minded. Live where we are. Not for tomorrow or next year or where we wish we were, but where we are right here and now.




*Exercise more regularly in a way I ENJOY, and not let it be a burden. I need to be healthier for the sake of my sanity and my family's sanity. This is not about being fit as a fiddle or lookin' sexy. Its about finding confidence again in my skin (stretchy as it may be at the moment) so that i can quit stressing out about it and pretending my husband wants to hear sentences like "I look like a popped beach ball". I want my daughter to see a model of confidence.




*Try out blogging again. Hense this first post of 2012.




*Scale back, minimize. Lets refer to the mounds of junk we gave to goodwill when we moved recently. Holy Moly. HOW did we aquire so much stuff in the last 4 years? Seriously rediculous. Our life has gotten so bogged down with STUFF, not even good stuff. Not bad stuff, just pointless stuff. I want to scale back and fill our lives with people and things that matter, and be a better steward of those people and things. This means having fewer aquaintences and deepening a few really great relationships we have. This also means getting rid of the junk we dont need, saying no to things on sale or offered to us for free unless we need them, and taking better care of the things that we have.




*Have a quiet devotion time every single day. I know this sounds crazy like I should already be doing this, annnnd you would be right in thinking such a thought. But the truth is, since having Evelyn, it has been hard to find time every day to just be quiet before Jesus. But I have quickly learned I SOOO need it. If I don't have it, I suffer, my husband suffers, and my daughter suffers. I need my cup to be full so it can overflow to my family instead of trying to drain every last drop out of myself and all thats left for me is an empty cup. Not ok.








So there they are! I will try and blog about them all individually and what I'm doing to carry them out.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Droooool

i want:

maybe throw a boy in there too somewhere.
{but that's beside point}
Due to my current obsession with everything farm-like,
and


feeding my love for updated rustic decor. I could spend hour on here! If only I had years to collect all these things from antique stores and flea markets. I would save a lot more money, that's for sure. Nonetheless, just looking is making me so excited to have a little house some day :-) enjoy, my friends.
♥
♥
♥
♥
♥
♥
♥
♥

Yes please to all of these items.

♥

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Cowgirls and boys

Its already Wednesday!!!! That is an amazing fact that I just had to share, and also the fact that I have not posted anything since last Friday. woops. Well, Friday night for TJ's Birthday we had ourselves a gigantic homemade southern dinner of the following:
fried chicken.
mashed potatoes.
corn bread.
watermelon.
baked beans.
sweet tea.
cupcakes.
Then I got to go pick Ben up from the airport after his week-long trip to AZ for work. I missed him!!! I had such a full tummy when I went to pick him up I thought I might fall asleep on the way to the airport...I even made him drive home. :-) (for safety, of course).
Saturday we headed to the beach for some AMAZING weather which we were not experiencing at home. There was not a cloud in the sky and we caught the most amazing sunset after some pizza and arcade games...yes we are awesome, and ten-year-olds. (i have no pictures because i was having too much fun to take any. sorry. use your imagination, kids.
Sunday, for the 4th we put on our boots and bandannas and went to the St Paul Rodeo! I have been to some Rodeos before, but boy did we stick out like a sore thumb at this one! HA! I was informed multiple times my "boots were outside my jeans", and that I "can't ride a horse with my boots like that", and that my "boots have silver trim on them".
Thank you.



cheese.

hipster rodeo?

cowboys.
"please do not take photos with our hats"
uhhh.

seester
(the iPhone takes way better pictures, huh?)

We caught the fireworks from the parking lot right over this HUGE wheat field...we were so close I thought debris would fall on my head.
Oh, and I ate a corn dog, which was the highlight of my night obviously.
Looking forward to a HOT rest of the week and a beautiful weekend!
Have a fantastical Wednesday.


Monday, March 22, 2010

"punch it back"

This morning i told Ben that I felt like the day punched me in the face. He said "well, punch it back." i love him.

So, since I feel like Monday Morning smacked me in the face, I shall smack it back by thinking about things that I love...

Take THAT Monday!
♥ ♥ ♥
the cutest puppy in the world.



feeling tiny



a place in my heart on the other side of the world.


a mad tea party.

best friends
being a girl


building a little home and pretending
its the safest place in the world


being a lot in love


rainy day boots

baby bunnies



staying in bed way too long
frozen yogurt with strawberries


( all images except Tangle and me and Ben at the beach taken from
weheartit.com )
Add Image

Monday, February 1, 2010

what a day..


Let's all take a deep breath..



So, I'm not gonna lie. Today was not a good day. Work was not the greatest to say the least. You know those days when you come home and you can't really unwind at all? That was one of those days for me.

Man oh man.

Soooo... Here's what i did on my way home...


here they are all pretty on my mantle.

sigh.

..it made me feel a little better. But not as good as the french truffles I bought to go with them! :-)




But i felt eveb better because we had my parents over and made up a little of this. Honey-Soy Glazed Salmon with Ginger Spinach and Peppers.

(the picture is horrible, sorry)

Delish, and super easy.

You must try.

So delicious. Here's the recipe courtesy of Real Simple.com

Ingredients

.1 tablespoon honey

.3 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

.1 skinless salmon fillet (1 1/4-pound piece), cut into 4 pieces

.kosher salt and black pepper

.1 tablespoon canola oil

.1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

.1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

.3 bunches spinach, thick stems removed (about 12 cups).

.1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions

  1. Heat broiler. In a small bowl, combine the honey and 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce.
  2. Place the salmon on a foil-lined broiler-proof baking sheet and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Broil for 5 minutes. Spoon the honey mixture over the salmon and broil until the salmon is opaque throughout, 2 to 5 minutes more.
  3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes; stir in the ginger.
  4. Add the spinach and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, tossing, until just wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of soy sauce. Serve with the salmon and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

My family always makes me feel better. And you know what, at the end of the day, all truffles and flowers aside, I have a lot to be thankful for. So who am I to complain? :-)

AND, whats even better...my most favorite of all cheesy holiday is coming up! That's right. I love it. Get excited people...


Thursday, January 28, 2010

Looking Forward To..


Its Thursday, and the work week is almost over. Its about that time when i start getting really excited and ready for some relaxing weekend plans. This is the first time since Ben and I have met that we have real weekends off together, and man..we're having fun! Starting at 5:00 tomorrow I will be nowhere near a counting tape or accounting software. I will be doing the following:



#1: Much needed girl time.



with these girls here:





and these girls here:



.Shannon and Melissa.



We'll be having some very much overdue girl time that will consist of:

*sushi.

*portland stroll.

*Almoae's bedtime.

*chat. chat. chat. chat.

*tea.

*chat.

*hugs.

*giggling.



sounds fun huh? I can't wait. I love these ladies.




#2: Somewhere warm, well, pretending anyway.

with these crazy people here:

.Katy and Jeremy.



We'll be havin' ourselves a little indoor mid-winter tropical party. I guess you can call it a party if its only four people, as long as it includes the following:

heat cranked.

tank tops and sunglasses on.

ridiculous tropical drinks with umbrellas.

with a little of this:

and probably some of this:




Should be a good time.


What are you looking forward to this weekend?

do share!






Saturday, January 23, 2010

Saturday Morning Special..except its not morning, its 2pm..

Hi! Happy Saturday! Who's glad its the weekend?

I AM! I AM!


Today I am having my sweetest of all little friends (and kinda sister) Laura create a post for you! Here she is..



on the right, that's her! Ain't she cute?

A Saturday lazy day late breakfast morning at the Newell's. Ben and Amanda invited Tj and I over for scrambles, bacon, toast, and potatoes. It was a lovely time.


Toasty toast



Avocados for the scramblers



Piled high plates




Lodos and Teedles
being extra cheesy



Some good home cookin'



manly men cook for their ladies



Love birds



Amanda taught me how to blog for the first time today. I think I'll make one of my own someday. The day of fun then continued. Excited for tonight to worship Jesus, and have a ladies night at

Le Happy!


Have a wonderful Saturday :)

Love,
Laura

everyone loves to eat

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