Enter Cliché Wedding Title Here:

Though, there’s very little at this wedding that could be considered cliché at all.

I have known Aaron, the groom, since I was a freshman in college.  I can’t say that about a lot of people.  There’s a reason for that.  In fact, at this wedding, Aaron introduced me in the most concise and accurate way.  ”She’s one of the very few friends from freshman year that isn’t insane”.  Our friends back then were quite colorful characters who have stories that are either tragic or strange that somehow a few of us managed to avoid (all I can say is thanks be to God’s grace because I literally wouldn’t be where I am today).

I met his bride Annie a few weeks ago.  They came over for dinner and games, so I could meet the woman that captivated Aaron’s heart.  She is gorgeous.  One of her friends gave a toast last night that said, “When I met her, I just knew I wanted to be her friend.”  She really does give off that vibe that you just want to be friends with her.  Yes, she is just that cool.

Now, for the wedding.  It was unconventional.  There was no bridal party.  The families didn’t get ushered to their seats.  It was held in a small backyard of a house church.  She walked in from the side of the house, escorted by her dad and stepdad.

Annie walking in, and Aaron adorably gawking at her.  :)

The preacher gave a devotional on love and submission as Christians.  They exchanged rings and said “I do.”  Aaron joked back and forth with the preacher.

They kissed, hugged and posed right there for some pictures.

There were a few toasts, one really sweet one from her dad.

Cutting their cake (the room was so small, I just took a picture from the backyard.)  You may see some doughnuts there as well.  It was National Doughnut Day after all.  :)

Sometimes I forget how wonderful simplicity can be.  Life tends to complicate things because I don’t want to accept myself as a flawed human being.  Somewhere along the way I equated beauty with society’s ideal of perfection.  Beauty is laughing with friends on a hot summer night while the mosquitoes are biting your legs.  Beauty is cramming into a small backyard with dozens of other people to witness the love of Christ exemplified in a quiet marriage ceremony.  Beauty is not knowing anyone at the party, but feeling completely at ease among new friends.  Beauty is seeing God’s perfection in the faces around you, and knowing that you are loved just as you are right then and there.

Michael and I had a great time, and we look forward to visiting with these awesome friends again!

A half way point…of sorts

It’s been six months since I started this little adventure into the world of blogging.  I’ve done projects, tried new things, conquered challenges and taken much needed breaks.  Now, I wanted to take a moment to reflect and then tell you about the new adventure for this month.

This last month’s break was very much needed.  I had guests stay at our home during Memorial Day, and the weekend was a lot of fun.  However, all of my focus that month was used to complete house projects before they arrived.  Ok, well, that didn’t take all of my focus, but it was something that made me both excited and nervous.  So, a lot of my energy was poured into preparation, leaving very little energy for blogging.

The weekend went very well (Okay, I love alliteration).  This is Michael’s family (left to right: sister-in-law Rach, brother Christopher, me, Michael, and Michael’s parents).

Anyway, this past week, I have been reflecting and contemplating over where I want to go with this blog.  I seem to go all over the place, and while I love the organized chaos of it all, I want to be more intentional with my blogging.  Well, more intentional in life in general.  One thing that my spring cleaning challenge (as well as a few of you, dear readers) has taught me is that living intentionally every day is the best way to live at all.

So, with that, I started thinking about what direction I could start to follow, what path can I explore?  But there were so many paths to take, I didn’t want to just take one!  I love to sew, but I also love to sketch.  I like to write (of course) but I also like to play with my dogs.  I love taking pictures, but I also love trying new recipes.  I’ve tried combining all these things in the past, with some success, but I wanted to do things in a new way.

So, I made a list of all the things I like to do.  Then I sat down at my computer and pulled up my calendar.  For each day forward, I have picked one interest to spend at least 3 hours (not consecutive hours, but in a total day) to delve into deeper.  Today was my first day, and I chose photography (which is perfect considering I have a wedding to attend tonight!).

Now, I have had to make some sacrifices.  I have to get up 30 minutes earlier than usual, but this morning it was easy, knowing that for the first hour, I was going to learn new techniques for my hobby.  I was going to learn all the nifty little things my camera can do (and I had NO idea what all it could do!  I’ve just been pointing and shooting!).  I can’t wait to use what I’ve learned at the wedding tonight (as well as see one of my oldest friends get married, of course!).  Hopefully, I will get some pictures up tomorrow.

Small disclaimer, I’m not going to try to blog every day, although that may happen.  Some days I may blog once, others I may blog several times.  I’m taking off the pressure of getting blogs out on certain days, and just enjoying the experience to see where it will take me.

Oh, and by the way, tomorrow’s challenge is shopping.  That’s right, I included any and all interests, and I can’t wait to visit the farmer’s market and do some bargain hunting tomorrow!

Spring Cleaning Part Eight – Meditation

So, I know this post is late.  We had family in town this past weekend, and I couldn’t find the time to get a post prepped between getting ready for them and tying up all the loose ends at work.  However, the thirty minutes a day of meditation definitely helped my stress levels.

In fact, I found a new place to meditate, or take my laptop for some writing, or even to read a book.  Michael and I bought a water fountain (a little one) for our backyard, and I cleaned it out last week.  Once I figured out how it worked, I would get up every morning, go to the backyard, turn on the fountain, sit on the patio and just meditate.

Now, I didn’t do thirty minutes every day.  It’s quite hard to focus that long, especially for an “oh, look at the shiny distractions” kind of girl I am.  But there were a couple really great days of just focusing.  I focused on the water running.  I focused on the sun rising slowly (that was probably my favorite).  I focused on the wind or the birds waking up.  I focused on calming scriptures of the Bible.

There are so many ways to meditate, and so many things to meditate on.  If you haven’t tried it, it can be pretty exhilarating.  I would definitely recommend it.  :)

Spring Cleaning Part Seven – Undress Your Stress

My mom bought me this book, I think, in college during one of those gift giving times, like birthdays or Christmas.  I’ve always dealt with anxiety in one way or another, and I try to incorporate ways to handle the tension on a daily basis.  I haven’t picked this book up in years, and I thought I would spend a week revisiting some of the author’s ideas, only to find that I already had a lot of them in my routine already.

The book has different categories for relieving stress.  Laugh, Quiet Time, Noisy Time, Move Around, Kindergarten Magic, Talk, Escape, Sleep.  Then, it talks in the last section about why an outlet for stress is so important.  My family has been known to create ulcers in times of high stress, plus there are so many other long term health conditions like chronic high blood pressure, even cancer.

Here’s what I did this last week.

Laugh.  For the Laugh section, I watched several comedies in the evening time, as a way to wind down for the day – mostly sitcoms.

Quiet Time.  This section includes breathing well, writing and taking a bath.  Tuesday nights are reserved for bubble or LUSH baths (my husband plays basketball with friends those nights).  Then, I started towards the end of the week getting into a habit of walking out to the back porch to watch the sunrise and write out my thoughts that morning.  Also, I read an article about a breathing technique that can help you calm down in any situation.  You breath in counting to seven quickly, and then you breath out counting to 11.  The trick is to breath out longer than you breath in.  It really does work.

Noisy Time. This one was fun.  Every day this week, I sang several times during the day – in the car, in my office, drying my hair, etc.  It didn’t matter what the music was, or if I sang it well, I just sang.  :)

Move Around.  This one I had incorporated several months ago with both Yoga and Running.  I’m running longer than I ever have before in my life, which I’m pretty excited about.  Also, I recognize many more positions in Yoga than I ever have.  I used to measure my workouts by my weight or how I looked in clothes, but now it’s more about the knowledge I’m gaining from myself.  It’s made it much more fun for me.

Kindergarten Magic.  This one I barely squeaked by on.  I was planning on coloring in a coloring book, but I didn’t get the time.  However, I did read aloud to myself, which was a lot of fun, even though it does slow down my reading time.

Talk.  This one I’m quite blessed to say that I have amazing friends who listen and advise with such a heart of God.  I shared my anxiety and got relate-able advice from women of all ages and life stages.  I am so thankful for the people God has blessed me with in this life.

Escape.  I think my morning sunrise time truly became an escape for me.  We did go out on Saturday to a very fancy restaurant, which was quite an escape from the norm for me.   I know I’m planning a few more escape excursions this week as well to help relieve some anxiety.  I think a pedicure is in my near future.  :)

Sleep.  I took less naps last week than I wanted, but I had one amazing one on Sunday.  I also have a night time routine that helps my body slow down to get to sleep at night.  Sleep at night is hard for me, as I’ve struggled off and on with insomnia, especially during high stress.

So, that was my week.  Like I said, I was very surprised to see things already incorporated into my schedule to help me relieve stress.  I live a philosophy of taking one day at a time, meeting each challenge when it comes.  And I’m better at it that I was yesterday, and I know I will be even better at it tomorrow.  I just remind myself not to give up and to press on.

Spring Cleaning Part Six – No TV for a Week

Throughout this week, I kept coming across this saying, “If you want more time in your week, watch less TV.”  I have to admit, while I have my favorite shows, I’m not really an avid TV watcher.  However, this week helped me realize that there were certain times of the day when I craved a little “screen time”.

Meal Time.  This was a big one for me.  I know, I know, it is horrible to get into the habit of watching TV when you eat.  You don’t enjoy the food as much, and you probably eat more than you should.  My only excuse is that I work from home, and my breakfast and lunch times are really, really quiet.  My substitute for this last week was to read instead of watching TV, but even that was difficult because I’m a clumsy eater.  I am always afraid of getting the book dirty, so I would listen to music instead.  Anything to not eat in complete silence.  Another option was to eat outside, which I did during lunch.

Between Activities.  There is an hour between the end of work and the time to start dinner.  That would probably be the commuting time I would have if I worked outside the home.  While I’m not doing many physical things at my job, I do a lot of mental exercising (especially when my assistant wasn’t there on Friday).  My body and mind craved a little “TV zombie” time a couple of days.  This one was easier than meal time because I would either a) organize something (surprise, surprise), b) take a quick walk around the block, or c) take a nap (much needed on a particular rainy day last week).

My “girl” night.  One night a week, my husband goes out with his friends to play basketball for a couple hours, ever since the beginning of our marriage.  I take that opportunity to do any girly things I want to at home (paint my nails, have a bubble/LUSH bath, etc.  However, I also inadvertently scheduled girly TV shows in at this time, too.  So, there was a huge block of time I had to figure out to do something else.  Let’s just say this past week allowed me to finish one book, plus a short YA series.

The saying about not having enough time is so true.  Taking TV out of the mix makes for a lot of extra free time.  However, I have some shows I can’t wait to dive back into, especially since the season finales are starting to play!  How often do you watch TV?  My favorite this year has to be Once Upon a Time.  What have you enjoyed this season?

Week # 7 – Try one de-stressing tactic each day

Spring Cleaning – Part Five – Cleaning out the closet

I have to admit, I’ve been doing this particular challenge for several weeks now.  I made a trip this week, however, to the Salvation Army with a box and bag of clothes and shoes, as well as an old sewing machine and some knick knacks.  I’ve also made changes to several different closets.

I cleaned out the pantry because frankly, it just needed it.  I put this up last month in one of my A to Z challenge posts, but I added a few more components – an extra turntable for vinegars and panko crumbs, as well as a closed tote for my husband’s grilling stuff.  That way, when grilling season is over, it can be stored easily and away from the day to day stuff.  Slowly, the pantry is taking a shape that I like.  Of course, that freed up the original tote that held the grilling stuff.

This brings us to the game closet.  It houses games, blankets (in case we have several overnight guests and one has to sleep on the couch), candles and soaps (for the downstairs areas), and little holidays that don’t really have enough to them (yet) for their own tote in the garage.  I put the candles and holiday things in the tote previously used for grilling stuff so that the space can look cleaner and less cluttered.

Finally, the original closet that I wanted to clean out.  In here, we have mailing supplies (I save those USPS flat rate boxes for future use), old computers, Michael’s art supplies, random boxes and a box of random computer/electrical cords.  I’m sure that we will find and have places for these things in the future, but for now, they will stay here.  We really just wanted to free up some space for guests coming this month, so that they can have a place to hang things if they need to.

We are going through so many projects this month.  Later this week, I will be doing a project in the guest bathroom involving towel hooks.  And finally, we hope to put the finishing touches on another project in our master bathroom (I actually got before pictures for that one) in the next couple of weeks.  It’s definitely kept us busy, but this is usually the time our life speeds up until about August.   We plan to just hang on and enjoy every moment of it!

Week #6 – No TV for one week

Needing a little R&R

Every May, my mind, body and spirit long for a little step back.  I don’t know if it’s because of the warmer weather, or the crazy busy months before, but I always seem to crave a break during this month.  This year, it’s not much different.

Usually, I just do a complete fast from all “entertaining screens” in my life (meaning, any games, social sites, blogs or video sites that I generally visit as well as TV).  I’m torn this year because I’ve met and read so many good bloggers this year, I don’t want to take a break.  But on the other hand, my body is craving the break.  So, I’ve made a compromise.

Monday through Saturday, I’m not going to blog, post or visit the other social or entertainment sites (Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, YouTube, etc).  Since I’m already set for a challenge each week this month, I will be posting those updates on Sunday.  Also, one of my challenges this month is to not watch TV for a week, so I will keep that.

Anyway, all that to say that I may not be on here very much the rest of the month, but I’m doing fine.  Just need a little break every now and then.  :)

Zucchini Sticks!

This is a recipe we use in our house every week.  Most Mondays, the tradition is to eat homemade buffalo wings and zucchini sticks (a healthier alternative to one of my favorite meals – buffalo wings and fries).  I thought I would share the recipe with you, cause seriously, this is some good eating!  I got this recipe from Skinnytaste,  so here it is!

Baked Zucchini Sticks
Ingredients:

• 3 medium zucchini sliced into 3″ x 1/2″ sticks
• 1 large egg white
• 1/3 cup seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs (I substituted Italian-seasoned Panko crumbs)
• 2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• cooking spray
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• salt
• fresh pepper

Directions
In a small bowl, beat egg white and season with salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag,place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and shake well.

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat.

Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top.

Bake at 425° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

On a side note, this has been a very neat experience, the A to Z challenge.  My month got crazy busy, which it usually does when I take on challenges like these.  I may be taking some down time in May, but I won’t stop blogging completely.  Hope you have a great Monday!

Spring Cleaning Part Four – The Psalms

So, I didn’t quite live up to this challenge this week.  I didn’t read the entire Psalms in a week, but I did read the Psalms every day.  Which is something.

It’s amazing through the struggle and pain that David experienced between Goliath and the crown, that he continued the praise God.  Even when he thought that he may not make it to the throne, or that his life would be a constant battle just to stay alive, he still praised God’s power.  He knew that he would reign over Israel, but even if he didn’t, God was still the same awesome and powerful God he ever was.

See, lately, I hear about God’s relationship to us, and it’s all about his love and sacrifice and peace and coming to our level, but think about it.  This is not some great guy in our history.  This is a live and present G-O-D.  This is the being who created life.  We cry out to him because we don’t get our way or our life doesn’t meet our expectations, and this entity could wipe me out with a word.

I think sometimes we get caught up in this belief that God’s desire for our life is to live up to the American dream and become a part of the American culture, just because we were born in America.  We have the expectations in our dating life, marriage, having kids, retiring some day and everything in between.  But I don’t think that’s what life is suppose to be.  It’s not that being an American is bad or even having those goals, but the problem comes when we give up our Christian culture just to follow some man made dream or goal.

Psalms has enlightened me to start thinking more on this, and I may write more as I realize things, but for now, I just want to say that I think it’s time I start learning more about what it means to be a part of the Christian culture living in America.

This week’s challenge: Week #5 – Organize the junk closet.  Give things to charity.

 

Yoga

So, on the days that I don’t run or walk the dogs, I do yoga.  Hulu and Netflix both have different yoga series that I use, although right now I’m really liking Yogazone on Hulu.  They  have 20 minute classes and hour long classes that tailor to whatever you want from yoga.  I typically do the 20 minute classes since these are my off days of exercise.

I have done some sort of yoga for years, off and on (and more off than on until recently when I picked up running).  I really like yoga as an exercise and a stress relief.  While running is a time I can spend thinking, yoga is a time I stop thinking.  For however long I’m doing yoga, my mind is present only to my breathing and making sure I’m doing that position correctly so I don’t hurt myself later.

Yoga is something I think everyone should try at least once.  It has helped me relax and also helped with my breathing.  It has also helped me with my running, since the stretches help soothe any pain from the previous day’s workout.  It’s definitely something I want to create as a weekly habit for the rest of this year and many years to come.