I think I wrote a similar post last year about how I deal with my stress so this Blogtember Challenge post-prompt from Friday wasn't so unfamiliar: How do you de-stress/take care of yourself? Regarding the de-stressing..in the moment: There's a lot of self-talk like: Just do it {as if I'm a Nike commercial} I may literally remove myself from the situation {a short walk always does me some good} I may turn up some music very loudly... There's often at least one prayer said aloud. De-stressing/Taking care of myself in general: Eh...I'm not so great at this. BUT, I start my day off most days with a 20 minute walk, while reading my She Reads Truth devotional, then perusing Pinterest, Facebook and/or Instagram to see what happened overnight. {side note, why are we so intrigued by all things social media?} My walk gets me ready for the day. It is the catapult into energy for me. I am much more lethargic on the days I don't get up at the 4:30 a.m. wake-up blast, than the days I do. Weird, I know. Seems like it would be the other way around, but whatevs. The devotional helps me get my heart right, although a sassy 'tude from a kid at 6:45 can blow all of that out of the water... Nonetheless, I at least try... My de-stressor during the day may also be a stroll around the building, or around the block. The sunshine, the air, the change of scenery...it's all very good for my mind and my soul. There's also something about a garden market that revives me, and I've been known to take a break to go to one close to downtown and just take a stroll through the pretties. I've shared with many of you before that my happy place is in the dirt - digging, planting...enjoying God's amazing creations in my yard. That's a huge stress reliever for me...everything just melts away when I'm in the dirt and planting flowers. That's really it. No secrets. No magic potions. Prayer, exercise and dirt. Good stuff. How do you de-stress and take … [Read more...]
My Crazy Adventure
Well Friends...try as I may, I have fallen behind AGAIN on this Blogtember Challenge! Last week I put forth a gallant effort {in my opinion} to get caught up to the daily challenges, but then fell behind the day my beloved came home from his 5 day haitus to Vegas...but that's another blog post... So I'm back to last Thursday: What's the craziest adventure you've ever been on? I did ponder this one all day on Thursday of last week...and I had a few ideas: Our trip out west five years ago with Dana & DJ. We started off the weekend in Athens, GA for the USC v UGA football game, then hopped on a plane from ATL to Flagstaff, AZ to spend a few days at the Grand Canyon {hello?! amazing.}. Then we drove to the Hoover Dam {and passed an ambulance with it's lights on, on the way?!}, then on to Vegas. After a few nights in Vegas, we finished the western drive to Los Angeles, CA. Nine days of non-stop fun and adventure. It was crazy and fantastic! Being married to Andrew is always an adventure. And sometimes (a lot of times...) it's crazy. Last week itself was a crazy adventure. With Andrew gone and having to do everything every day from start to finish by myself. Save the hour/hour and a half each evening I had Hannah, our sitter, come help. I really don't know how single moms do everything they do. I was utterly and completely exhausted by Friday evening and literally did nothing that night and most of Saturday. I've decided to settle on my craziest adventure so far as being that of a mom. Just being a mom. You never know what your kids are going to say or do...to a stranger, themselves, each other, you. It's kind of like waking up and saying, "I wonder what Reynolds and Eliza Jane will say/do today...?" What call or text am I going to get from a teacher? What bruise is going to show up and what from? Friday for example, I was out of town most of the day for a meeting and as my boss and I were coming back into Columbia I got a … [Read more...]
Mood Board :: Kitchen
Woo-hoo! I am finally caught up to the Blogtember Challenge and today's post-prompt is: Make a mood board! Are you brainstorming a room re-do, a capsule wardrobe, or already planning for the holidays? Show us your ideas! I'm so glad someone asked because YES, I am brainstorming...I'm always brainstorming. A new kitchen, a new bathroom, several things actually. But today I'll share with you the kitchen because I dream of white...and bright...and pretty...and elegant. So now I just need roughly $40k, a really fast team of workers and voilà! It could be done! If only I had a magic wand...and where is that money tree I keep looking for to plant in my back yard?! How about you? Are you pinning something specific? Have a mood board to share? I'd love to see it! … [Read more...]
Switching Lives :: Freaky Friday
I am finally on today's Blogtember Challenge post-prompt and it's a bit of a doozy...If you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be? Why? Side note, do you remember that movie "Freaky Friday" - not the one with Lindsay Lohan...I'm talking the old one with Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris? One of my favorites growing up. And a hilarious movie about a mom and daughter who trade places for the day. So, if I could trade places with someone for a day...anyone...Gosh, there's so much, so many options: A rock star A movie star A television star A philanthropist A world-traveler A billionaire from the Forbes list A missionary in a far away land A princess {Kate, of course} An artist A Rockette! A model A news anchor for a major television network The head pastry chef at the White House {that one was specific!} I honestly don't know. Maybe I'm just not that curious about the lives of others? Maybe I'm too scared that their life is VASTLY different from mine? As a child I dreamed of being a fashion designer, so maybe to be Diane von Furstenberg or Tory Burch or Carolina Herrera or Vera Wang... All incredibly fashionable. Incredibly talented women. Maybe? I'm not really sure. Is there someone you know for sure you would want to trade places with for a day? A whole 24 hours of being that person. Who would it be? … [Read more...]
Three Books!
So Monday's post-prompt from the Blogtember Challenge was: Three books! One you just read, one you're currently reading, and one you want to read. Honestly, this one just makes me feel so bad! I.am.not.a.reader! I don't have time to sit and read. I don't want to sit still enough to read. I want to do other things with my time. Alas. I really do want to read. But it.is.such.a time.commitment! I think I am still reading For the Love by Jen Hatmaker! Granted I'm almost done, but this one has been in progress for some time now. I read it at bed time, if I have the strength enough to pull myself away from Instagram and Pinterest...they're so addictive. I've most recently read magazines - Real Simple and HGTV. I also read a devotional {most of you know this about me already} every morning via She Reads Truth - and currently we are in the book of Hosea. With the prompting of this topic, I picked up a book I started a year or so ago - one that a friend gave me, and I've been diligent each night since Sunday to read it and I must say, I am really enjoying it and am on the tail end! I have no idea of what I want to read next - and am willing to take suggestions. I just need it to be a really captivating book. No murder mystery novels {I don't do nightmares...} or romance junk {Song of Solomon is good enough for me!}. Something really good. Thoughts on that? What have you read recently that was captivating?! … [Read more...]
A Day In My Life…
I feel like I should say, "Strap on your seatbelt!!" as a disclaimer/warning... Saturday's Blogtember Challenge post-prompt was: A day in your life! Take us through it with you by sharing a photo each hour of the day. I feel like this is going to be a lot of pictures...so without additional delay, here we go! Fast forward to when I got to work →there was a lot that happened between 5 a.m. and this first photo at 8:35 a.m. and much of it happened so quickly there was no time for snapping pics! Today I made the big switch from my 2016 to 2017 Ban.do planner! I needed to update my calendar for the next couple of weeks, so no better time than this morning to get that done! I feel much more organized today! Video chat with the hubs who is in VEGAS....he looks happy doesn't he? ;) A bonus picture for you...the view from his hotel room at the Mandalay Bay...I can't even. We are updating our website at work, and today was mug-shot day.... Gotta get in 5k steps by noon! I didn't make it :( I did not sleep well last night so I skipped my 4:30 a.m. wake-up, so I am way behind today and trying desperately to catch up on those steps! For lunch I'm at my desk with a little cucumber/tomato salad, working on this post for you all to read tonight!! :) {People wonder when/how I have time to blog... Well. It's during lunch or right after the kids are put to bed at night!} After lunch it's a quick trip to the bank to add to our $5 fund. If you don't know what that is, check out this post. For those that read my "Take Me Away" post yesterday, you know what trip these $5 bills are going towards! I didn't photograph anything from daycare pick-up mainly because it was pouring rain...so that was fun. Reynolds said, "Momma, why you not have our rain jackets and rain boots?" Me: "I have no idea...Why don't I have my own??" Supper is always a mad-dash, and tonight was the normal. I threw some chicken alfredo together along with some asparagus … [Read more...]
Instagram : People Worth Following!
Another Blogtember Challenge post! {Saturday's post will be later this evening!} Sunday's post was: Round up of your favorite Instagrammers! Who should we follow? I follow a lot of people/blogs/businesses but I have to say that these are some of my most favorites. Besides sweet friends and family, here are the greats! Joy The Baker:because who doesn't want to follow someone who does amazing things with food?! Kristin Schmucker Shop: a gal who loves Jesus and has great studies, mugs, and other encouraging things; plus her feed is just lovely! WomenIRL: Women in Real Life - brought to you by @RealSimple; "Life's real, unfiltered moments..." Little Lighthouse Designs: I've purchased a few pieces from Maxine and she is just the sweetest! The Freckled Fox: You've probably seen her beautiful face and red hair in a Pinterest pin like this or maybe you follow her yourself! She recently lost her husband to cancer so please pray for Emily and their five kids. Scout Ponder: The daughter of 49ers quarterback Christian Ponder and ESPN College GameDay's Samantha Ponder - this feed is full of the thoughts of a toddler :) Ms. Craftberry Bush: I love everything that Lucy does - her artwork, her home design...I want her to come decorate. Rooms For Rent: "Relaxed style with farmhouse flair" - my style. Hunted Interior: Kristin Jackson is the gal behind this one - an ATL girl and her style is just beautiful! Who do you follow that we should?! … [Read more...]
Take Me Away…
Still playing catch-up for the Blogtember Challenge! Friday's post-prompt was: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why? This one was easy for me. There's one place I have just been craving to visit and hope to in 2020... Italy. More specifically, the countryside. The vineyards. The places less traveled. With Andrew having taken his wine class earlier this spring, there is so much we want to taste and discover in Chianti. Along with the countryside, I really want to see Cinque Terre - "five towns" and all its colorful beauty, overlooking the Ligurian sea. Of course I want to see all the popular places - Leaning Tower of Pisa, Sistine Chapel the Colosseum, etc. But I really want to be immersed in the people and culture and be a part of the every day and not just the tourists. So here's to three years of saving and planning...to be able to take the trip of a lifetime... How about you...where do you want to go, and why? … [Read more...]
Dining Room : A Tiny Tour
I am falling further and further behind in the Blogtember Challenge this year!!! So in my great attempt to catch up, I'm typing my fingers off to get Thursday, Friday, Saturday and today {Sunday} written and will hopefully post at least twice a day the next few days! Starting with last Thursday's post - House/Apartment/Room Tour! Giving you a glimpse of my space. Well, our house is a work in progress...as probably most of yours are. If you're one of those people that has it all together, please come help me. I beg you. There are two rooms in our home that I like. One is the powder room we finished earlier this year {read all about that here} and the other is our dining room. The bathroom was completed out of necessity {we had some issues from the October flood last year} and the dining room as well {shortly after we moved into our home, the upstairs bathroom flooded into the dining room due to some pipes that disintegrated...}. Other than some artwork on the walls {I don't even know where to begin!} and new fabric on our chairs {to be replaced after all small children are bigger and less likely to cause stains...}, I like this room. A lot. The dining room has this great wall of windows and being that I LOVE natural light, I really enjoy this room. We purchased all the furniture, save the buffet against the windows - that belonged to my grandparents - and my Nama's sewing machine in the corner, came from an elderly man who lives in our neighborhood. He was selling his furniture in hopes to quickly sell his home...and we were the lucky ones to get all these beautiful pieces - and they match nearly perfectly to the existing buffet that we already had. Our table has three leaves that can be added to it, and believe it or not, with all of them in, you can barely get in the room! The china cabinet houses some colorful plates and bowls I got for my birthday a couple of years ago {Anthropologie - Sissinghurst Castle pattern} and eventually … [Read more...]
Five Things That Bring Me Joy
I wrote a paper in college about Joy....though I have no idea of where that paper is...or the Compaq laptop I used to write the paper, I can tell you what Miriam-Webster has to say about Joy: 1joy noun \ˈjȯi\ Popularity: Top 10% of words Simple Definition of joy : a feeling of great happiness : a source or cause of great happiness : something or someone that gives joy to someone : success in doing, finding, or getting something In my mind, joy looks something like this - the look on Eliza Jane's face the other night at the beach: Today's Blogtember Challenge prompt is to tell y'all about Five Things That Bring Me Joy. So with all this in mind...and thinking about when I am most joyful or genuinely happy...it's generally because of one or a combination of these: Jesus. My joy, my deepest joy comes from Him. It comes from being in His presence, from being around others who have a deep love and joy from Him also. There's just something about Him that brings me immense joy, that oftentimes is indescribable. Andrew. He makes me laugh like no other. His sense of humor and wit just gives me the giggles and gut-laughs. My heart bursts at times to see him rolling around on the floor with the kids and he often does things that take me by surprise {in a good way!}. My kids. The laughs. The silly faces. The big, toothy grins. The joy they get from something we think is so small...but is so big for them. The things they say that can be both shocking, hilarious or amazingly precious. Being outside, playing in the dirt. I love to dig in the dirt and plant flowers. Seeing God's creation in bloom is huge for me. Singing. I'm talking about windows down, music blaring, singing at the top of your lungs! Like Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire singing "Free Fallin'". Y'all know what I'm talkin' about. So what brings you the greatest joy? … [Read more...]
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