{life is a waiting game}

I think one major lesson I've learned from the past few years is that life definitely is a waiting game. I don't mean you have to sit around and wait for it to happen, but you really do have to have patience because things don't happen in your own time. And, I've come to realize that things are so much better when they happen in God's time than if they happened when I wanted them to. I'm really trying to stay focused on that lately, as my patience is being tested regarding some major life issues. I pray every night for Dan to find a better job during a day shift. That change would allow us to work on the biggest change our lives will ever experience...having our first child. As my biological clock starts ticking louder and louder, it is hard for me not to think about wanting to get pregnant. I know that God has a plan for everything, and there is a reason why we haven't been able to work toward that yet. The job I have now is truly a blessing, and all of the jobs I had leading up to this, stresses and all, prepared me for what I'm doing now. It amazes me how God works in our lives to help everything fall perfectly into place. I can't wait to see how he works his magic on us in the future.

We're having Mom and Dad over for dinner tonight...really looking forward to that. Mom is bringing her super yummy potato salad which I haven't had yet all summer. Tomorrow night we're having a contractor come over to look at our kitchen! I'm sooooo excited about the thought of starting on the kitchen renovation. I know that a fresh new kitchen will motivate me to cook more...I don't even want to be in that room with the way it is now. Keep your fingers crossed for me that he will work out! Here are a couple inspiration pics that I've saved for ideas...



Other exciting news...Dan bought us tickets to see Ben Harper yesterday!! The concert isn't until September 7th, so we have awhile to wait. We are on the 3rd row dead center...wooohooo!! It will be in Indianapolis at the Murat. Can't 'wait!!!

Happy Thursday!

xoxo

{productive}

I've had a pretty productive weekend. Last night I painted two canvases for our master bedroom. It is the only area of the house that is more modern, and we've gone with a blue and brown color scheme, so I think these are going to look really nice.

I also ordered a blue quilt set and brown rug...can't wait until them come in and we can get the room together. Next up will be painting. The walls and trim both need a new color. Today I'm trying to get the house in order...put things away, de-clutter, clean. It is crazy how fast things can get messy around here. I was going to work on painting our porch railing since the weather is so gorgeous but I just wan't into it at all. It is SUCH a tedious job. I would love to just hire someone to do it...LOL :)

We have a contractor coming on Friday to look at our kitchen...I'm so excited!! Hopefully he will agree to take on the project and we can get started soon. It would be so nice to have a new kitchen for the holidays this year. I would really like to host something for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Mom and Dad are coming up for dinner tonight so I'm looking forward to that. Dan isn't feeling well though...hopefully he'll be up to going out. Guess that is all of my news for today. Happpy Sunday everyone!

xoxo

{mixed feelings}

TGIF! I'm so happy that it is Friday. :)

Dan has the night off of work tonight so we are going to have a date night! We'll probably go see a movie or rent one and have a nice dinner somewhere. I can't wait until he has a day shift job...and we can live like normal people. He has been on 3rd shift ever since we moved in together almost 6 *gasp* years ago...hard to believe it has been that long!! 3rd has been SO tough on him and us and with both of us wanting to try to have a baby, we really want to get him out of there. I just can't imagine being pregnant/having a baby and being alone almost every night...really scares me.

I'm feeling pretty sad today...missing my Grandma and Grandpa. It is just so strange to think that their lives aren't being lived anymore...that everything about them is just a memory. I am having a hard time grasping that. Someone else is living in their house, driving their car, sitting in their seats at church. I just can't get my brain to wrap around it yet. I know with time it will get a little easier, but I will never stop missing them.

On a happy note, I'm really looking forward to the weekend. We are supposed to have really beautiful weather and we have so many house projects to work on. Our porch railing needs to be painted, so hopefully tomorrow I can work on that (even though I am sort of dreading it...such tedious work painting all of those rails). I'll just put some music on and try to make it a party. :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and weekend!!

xoxo

{dreary}

It is such a dreary Tuesday morning...but we need the rain so I'm not minding it at all. Kind of makes me feel more mellow when it is overcast outside. Feeling pretty good today. Have my large vanilla latte so I'm ready to face the day. Mailed some purses that I sold on ebay this morning...feels good to get some stuff out of the house that I wasn't using. I did some scrapping last night. Took a pic of me in my new office and had to do a layout about my super cool new job. I was itching to use the new Love, Elsie stuff that I got at Hobby Lobby so this was a fun project. I used my nameplate from my last job too...figured I might as well scrap it!




I really need to focus more on my health and physical fitness. I took a walk both Sunday night and last night and it just makes me feel so much better about myself. Its crazy how just knowing you exercised makes you look at your body in a totally different way. Even if I haven't lost weight, I still feel thinner. I really just want to tone up and have more muscle/less flab. I'm sure almost everyone can relate to that!

Not much else going on around here. Guess I better get back to work! Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

xoxo

{ugh}

So I'm feeling quite chubby today...but only in my belly area. Wish I could blame it on being pregnant, but sadly that isn't the case. I *am* hosting aunty flow right now though...so can I just blame it on bloat? Seriously, I have been on an awful sweets kick the past few weeks. I'm craving everything sweet that I can get my hands on! I haven't been exercising like I should be either. The hot weather took me out of my walking routine, so I've been super lazy lately. I'm still having trouble getting used to the "heavier" me. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted and stay a size 6. Granted, I'm a size 10 now and 5'9" tall, so I know that isn't that big, but when I look in the mirror I feel heavy. Guess today is just my pity party day. :(

I have tons of stuff that I need to get started on around the house. Our staircase needs to be sanded and stained...that project has been staring my in the face for months. Maybe this weekend will finally be when I tackle it (that would be a good way to kick start my calorie burning as well!) We also really need to clean the laundry room in the basement...it is just disgusting for lack of a better word....gotta love musty old basements.

Not much else going on in my world. I'm hoping Dan and I can make a trip to Target this weekend to look for bedroom stuff. They have a coverlet set, rug, chair and artwork that I want to get to finally make our bedroom look "finished"...


Hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday (the 13th!) :)

xoxo

{wednesday already?}

I can't believe it is already Wednesday...this week is flying by! It has helped that they are keeping me super busy at work which I don't mind at all. I already have three mailings that I'm working on in addition to a few other things.

Here is a quote I saw on one of my friend's myspace bulletins today...thought it was funny in kind of a sad way...

"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it." - Ellen Gregory

I would like to think that I work for a sense of personal satisfaction, especially since I work in the non-profit education world, and the job I do (fundraising) is so important. On the other hand, of course we all work for the paycheck so we can have nice things and enjoy life to the fullest. I can't say that I'm not looking forward to getting my first bigger paycheck at the end of this month!

Something random from last night and why I am such a sucker. I gave a little girl $6 for a tiny box of thin mints. Yes...she was cute and I couldn't say no to her. That is a good reason why I should never have cash. I had a fresh $10 bill in my wallet, and I just can't lie to an 8 year old! Dan gave me SUCH a hard time for that one. LOL :) BTW...the thin mints are really good, so that makes me feel a little less jipped.

On a sad note, I'm going to a funeral this morning for Dan's great aunt Caroline. I never met her, but I feel like I should go. If anything I know Dan's mom will appreciate the support. Caroline was an accomplished ballroom dancer and a published ceramic artist...she sounded like quite an interesting lady!

OK...time for me to get to work. Happy hump day everyone!

xoxo

{10 pm}

So its 10 pm on a Sunday night and I'm putting off the inevitable last task for the day...going to bed. I'm such a night owl...if I could I would go to bed at 2 am every morning and sleep until 10. But, its not to be for this 8-5 career girl. *sigh*.

My creativity was really flowing these past few days. I finished quite a few layouts and made a couple mini albums for my Etsy shop. You can take a peak at them here. I also listed some other vintage goodies from my stash. In an effort to narrow down my handbag collection, I listed quite a few of my less loved bags on Ebay today. If they don't find a new home, our local Goodwill willbe inheriting a large stash of purses.

Not much else going on around here. I'm dreading tomorrow simply because I almost always dread Mondays. They are the sign of the beginning of a long work week and the end of a relaxing weekend. Oh well...another Friday is right around the corner. :)

Here are a few of the layouts I did this weekend. Hope everyone has a great Monday!



xoxo

{proud}

So I'm going to toot my own horn today and say how proud I am of myself. I started my new job on Monday, and it has been a fairly calm week for me, which I wasn't expecting. I deal with anxiety, and usually a big change like that sends me into some major anxiety attacks. Aside from a slight one on Tuesday, it has been smooth sailing. I can't say I've been without any nervousness, but I've been able to rationally talk myself out of it each time, which is something I've had to teach myself how to do. When I was younger, I would totally give into the anxiety and find a way out of whatever situation was upsetting me. I even quit a few jobs over it!! It feels good to say that I finally have it under control and don't feel like it can break me anymore.

I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Dan has tonight off of work which will be great. Not sure if we will do anything special, but just being together on a Friday night is a luxury for us. Tomorrow morning I'm getting my hair cut and highlighted so I'm looking forward to that. I definitely want to do some scrapbooking, especially since my sister gave me a HUGE stash of barely used supplies today...and they are gorgeous! A lot of it is stuff from Amy Butler's new line and the colors and patterns are just gorgeous. Can't wait to play!

Another exciting thing that I'll probably get a little emotional over...my Mom and Dad decided to take the six diamonds from my Grandma's wedding ring, split them up, and make a ring for me, my sister, and Mom. We get to pick the setting and whatever other stone we want, and we'll each have two of her diamonds. It was actually my Dad's idea...go Dad! :) I'm going to get a white gold band, and I'm leaning toward a peridot (my birthstone).

Well, guess that is all of my ramblings for today. Hope everyone is having a great Friday! Here is a layout I did of my Grandma a few days ago...she was so lovely!



xoxo

{lazy holiday}

Not much going on today...just a super lazy 4th of July. Dan had to work last night, so while he slept this morning I went out and did a little shopping. Found a cute clock on sale for my new office at Hobby Lobby and made a necessary trip to the grocery store. Been looking at bedding for our master bedroom...I'm always getting tired of what we have, and I really would love to go with a more soft/vintage look instead of the modern blue and brown we have going on right now. I absolutely loooove this set from Kohl's...such pretty colors and not too frilly. It is on sale right now...so tempted to buy it, but it is probably too girly for Dan.

Not much else going on around here. Tomorrow will be my first day with my boss at my new job (he was out of town the beginning of the week), so I'm a little nervous about that. But, he is a really nice guy, so I'm sure it will be great. Here's a funny picture to end my rambling for today...Dan is such a bad influence on little Gavin...LOL :)


Happy 4th everyone!

xoxo

{lots to catch up on}

Its been awhile since I've posted and a lot has been going on. We had a really fun weekend...started off with my last day of work on Thursday...yay! Friday was a vacation day for me and Dan took Thursday and Friday off so we had an early start to the weekend.

Saturday we headed to Indy to see John Mayer with Eric and Erica at Verizon. We had a great time...the weather was cool and aside from him playing too many bluesy guitar solos for my liking, it was fun. We stayed the night with them and did some shopping on Sunday, along with dinner at PF Chang's...mmmm. :) I got a cute new clock for the kitchen at Restoration Hardware and a few bargains at their Super Target.

Today was my first day at my new job! I was nervous that I would have a lot of issues with my anxiety, but I was able to keep it in check, and talk myself out of it when I felt it coming on. I think I'm going to really enjoy it. I have a great new office and the coworkers I've met so far have been really nice. I was without a computer all day...really makes you realize how we live on those things! LOL :) Tomorrow will be better...I'll have a day under my belt and a computer on my desk. Looking forward to having Wednesday off for the 4th. We might be going back to Indy to see an Indians game with Eric and Erica, or just hang out here and maybe go to a movie. Either way it will be a nice break during the work week!

Here's a layout I did on Thursday...love this photo of me and my Mom from the early 80's. :)

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

xoxo