Living in the in-between

Living in the in-between.  The first time I heard this phrase was when I was reading Cold Tangerines.  I feel like I am living in-between in many different areas of my life.  For example, I have applied for a middle school position at a new middle school.  Who knows when I will hear back and what will even come of that.  We are also house hunting.  I am loving this, but it has been and will continue to be difficult.  I want to paint our bedroom furniture.  I have wanted to paint it for forever, but we can't in the apartment. 

In the book, the author explains that we shouldn't always be focused on the next big thing.  We should focus on the here and now.  I don't want to look back on my life and remember in high school that I wished I could be driving.  Or when I was commuted to college, I wished I was living on campus.  Or when I was single, wishing I was married. 

This kinda goes along with One Thousand Gifts.  So, even though I am ready to be in the next stage of whatever, I am going to enjoy the journey of the here and now.

You should do the same.

I am alive!

Good Morning all!  I feel like I have not blogged in forever which is super sad because I have some great people on here that I love connecting with.  I am going to try to do better this week.  If you are visiting from the link-up, follow along, and I will be sure to come visit your blog and follow you back!

Life has just been kinda fast paced lately.  We are headed into the crunch-time season with my students as we prepare them for the state assessment.  This is the second year to take STAAR, but we still don't know much more about it than we do last year.  The pressure is just as intense if not more so to be successful though.  Being responsible for the only writing score for the whole school is kind of crazy amounts of pressure.

Anthony and I are in a very exciting time of our lives.  We are currently house hunting!  Most of the time this is fun.  We will detour from our route every now and then and slowly creep by a new house.  We have even gotten brazen enough to go pick in a few windows of houses we knew where empty.  Not only is it exciting to try to pick a house, but we have had discussions about what the rooms will be used for and how we envision our life going.  It makes me happy to plan a future with this guy knowing that whatever house we pick, it is who we share it with that makes a difference.  (BTW Anthony, there will be no man cave unless you are referring to the garage, and there will be no naked room unless you are referring to the bathroom.)  House hunting also gives me added reason to be on pinterest and go thrifting for awesome deals.


In other news, God has really been revealing my sin of a judgmental heart.  Sometimes I don't think that others were raised a different way or are in a different place than I am emotionally or spiritually.  I pass judgment on them because I assume that they are in the same place as I am.  What is really neat is that God is working on us in DIFFERENT areas and in DIFFERENT ways.  My biggest gift to them is to extend them grace instead of judgement.  If they are a believer, it doesn't excuse me from not calling their attention to their sin, but it is with grace and not judgment.  More on that here.

Tomato Soup tastes like Spaghettio's

Not this soup!
Super easy, super yummy!
 

Tomato Basil Soup
1 can Italian Stewed Tomatoes, pureed
heat and stir in 4 tbsp fat free cream cheese
heat until cheese is melted through

I bought unseasoned diced tomatoes by accident. They worked fine.  I just added some Italian sounding seasoning.

I have super yummy potato soup recipe to share next week.  Be on the look out for it!


xoxo,

Bubble Necklace

This is the look I rocked for my friend's bacchelorette party a few weeks ago.  The colored jeans are from New York and Company's clearance rack for $11.  The shirt is from Dillard's New Year's Day sale for $5.  Black Blazer from Target for $15 but definitely worth it because I wear that blazer all the time!  Pink and orange heels $4 from Kohls.  Bubble Necklace and Purse gifted to me from relatives. 

I also got another color necklace that I love just as much.  I paired it with a pair of black slacks and khaki lace shirt.  The necklace definitely makes the outfit!

Orange and Turquoise.  One of my favorite combinations.  I wore this to a casual dinner with my besties.  This is another post about my love for these colors and mixing it up in fashion.  

It's ok!

It's ok jl;dfkjf;lksdjfdjhfjsdhfjhfjhdjfhjdfhldjfhdklfhdskjfhdsklfhsjdhf.  Sorry I can't say it.  It could be used against me in a court of law.  For real.
It's ok that I won at Bunco this week!  Score $16!
It's ok that I woke up this morning and contemplated wearing the leggings that I wore to bed last night under a dress to school.  I decided against the outfit for other reasons, though.  Check out my instagram pics.  I got lots of sweet compliments on what I decide to wear.
It's ok to be indecisive about a house even though you are in love with it!  If it is still there when we feel ready, then it is the right house for us.
It's ok that I am only cooking like one meal a week, and we are eating off of it all week.  Or we are eating cereal or popcorn.
It's ok to be scouting out potential future bosses while standing next to your current one.  
It's ok that I have the evening to myself because I just remembered that I haven't finished all of The Bachelor!  
It's ok that this week has been the hardest week to motivate myself to go to school.  I literally sat in my car this morning and was like, "Awesome, I have 5 more minutes before I have to see students."

Make your own Farkle.

My little brother wanted the dice game Farkle for Christmas.  If you haven't played, it is a must!  It is a fun game for just two people or a larger group.  Unfortunately, the game is close to $10 for a jar of dice.  I decided to make the game.  

Here are the directions if you want to rig up your own set.

Materials:

-6 dice (I included a few extra.  I found this in the game aisle at Walmart)

-pen (to keep score)

-notepad ( I used a sticky note pad)

-directions ( I printed them off here. I got and glued them in the cover of the box.)

-container (I used an old check box and cover it with construction paper.)

Directions taped in the top of the box.

Pen, notepad, and dice.

It's ok Thursday!

It's ok that I looked in the missed connections section of Craiglist and was a little disappointed when no one had felt like they had missed connecting with one.  But seriously add this to one funny website to look at when bored.

It's ok that our clothes our in disarray because we have no more room for them in the apartment.  If they are all clean, I can't fit them all in drawers.  So, logic prevails and tells me that I need to have more dirty clothes and potential clean clothes on the floor.

It's ok that I ate hazelnut cream cheese straight.  That stuff is so good it don't need a bagel, folks.

It's totally ok that our new birthday celebration for people on our team is going to Chuy's Happy Hour.  I could so do that.

It's ok, but I am still kinda bummed, that my running fell by the wayside since school started and all the RAIN, but I am determined ot kick my booty before I stuff myself with nachos today.

It's ok that I told my students that they were being rude when they told me " What happened to your hair?"   "Bad hair day"  and "What's wrong with your hair?"  even though they probably did not intend to be.

It's ok to nod your head and smile, tell them what they want to hear.  Leave.  And go back to doing what you were doing all along.

Go with it people. 

You're Ugly!

I remember several times growing up that the boys at my school would call me a dog.  One boy told me I was pretty.  I was baffled because I hadn't heard that before from a male beside my dad.  I was stumped for words because I didn't know how to respond until he finished his sentence by saying I was "pretty ugly."  I think the biggest compliment, or so I thought, was when one boy jokingly asked me if I was bulimic.  In my head, I thought, "Wow, he thinks I am skinny."

Since as long as I can remember, I have hated the way I look.  There is not a day that goes by that I wish I could change something about myself.  But I am trying to change that...

My mind is a powerful, powerful thing.  When I create a situation where I am nervous, I actually make myself sick to my stomach. 

On my okay days, I know that I could be beautiful if I tried.  On my good days, I know I look beautiful.  On my great days, I don't care what I look like to others, and I am beautiful just the way I am. 

This isn't about me trying to compliments about the way I look.  We are out of high school.  Those mean boys are gone.  I have received and do receive my far share of compliments.  If compliments changed how I felt about myself, I would not have self-esteem issues. 

I really don't know where this negative attitude comes from or what type of body or skin I am trying to achieve.  Since I don't know what I am after, and because I will probably pick apart even the most perfect body, I have been trying for the last year and a half to change something I do have control over: my mind.

God has given me this body, and that alone should be reason enough to eradicate the mean boys in my head.

 Psalm 139:14
"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."

Ephesians 2:10 

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

I also know that the outside of my body is not important compared to the workings of my heart.  

1 Peter 3:4 

"But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."

I know these things.  I know them.  But Satan preys on my weaknesses, and it is a daily struggle to accept the fully functioning body that God has given me.  Within the last year, God has graciously provided me with positive thoughts to counter my very negative ones.  God has allowed me to not dwell as much on what I notice negatively about my body.  God has tenderly patched up my emotions and my frustration with my personality as well.  I have been able to embrace and enjoy the benefits of the personality that God has given me.  (Long story short: "Mean boys" attacked faults with my personality and why I act certain ways.  Imagine already hating your outward appearance and having someone list off things wrong with the way you act.) 

I share this because surely I am not the only one that struggles.  I share this because God has not created us to hate the way we look or our personality.  I share this because there is shelter in the Lord and relief from the negative thoughts. 


xoxo,

My two favorite men

1.  I love that my hubs and my dad  have a good relationship.  My dad is such a great guy, and hubs has so many of those wonderful features.  In fact, the longer we are married, the more peculiar characteristics that are similar to my father seem to pop up.  I guess it is true what they say about marrying someone just like your father.

  

2.  I have done really well with my fitness and running over the break.  I haven't done 10 miles a week like I had planned, but I am pretty close with 9\week. 

3.   I got to spend some time with some old friends this week.  Some of it was rough (more on that later when I can wrap my head around my thoughts), but most of it was a sweet relaxing time.

4.  All Christmasy decorations are put away, but I can leave out my snowman stuff until I can bring out Valentine's stuff in a month. 

5.  Hubs and I have been looking around at houses again.  We enjoy driving through neighborhoods and picking out the ones we like.  We are super excited about the possibility of moving this summer!

If you are in a jam, call me!

My mom came up the other day to help me organize my closets.  Who does that but your mom?  We had some time afterwards, so we decided to make jelly\jam.  I am glad that I am taking advantage of the time I get to spend with her.  This is super easy to do and a great gift idea.

My mom chopped up the berries to make it easier to squish.

I squished up the berries with a spaghetti spoon.  A potato masher is recommended, but we didn't have one.

Mix sugar and fruit pectin, see box picture below.

Add water and bring to a boil.  This is the part I really had to pay attention to.  When it gets boiling, stir for a minute and then take of the heat.

Add berries and mix in sugar\pectin mixture.  I put it in measuring cup that makes it easier to pour.

I add some extra baby food jars laying around from another project I did last year.  Don't fill all the way to the top if you are planning to freeze the jelly.

This is the box I picked up at the grocery store.  The box says no sugar needed, which is true, but we needed sugar for the blackberry\raspberry recipe.

Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/273171533618260898/

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