Late Night Coffee

February 7, 2012 by · 2 Comments

It’s been far too long since I’ve sat down with a cup of actual coffee while I write.

Tonight, at a quarter to ten, I’m gonna pour myself some and spill my heart…for at least as long as it takes me to drink it. 😉

I’ll let you know tomorrow how late it kept me up…though I’m tired enough that I’m not sure it will make too much of a difference.

Really random…but you know what I looooove? When coffee is at that just-perfect temperature and it kinda burns your throat as it goes down. Yeah, that’s awesome. 😀 (And I think I just solidified in all of your minds that I am a total dork. But, really, that’s ok. If you haven’t at least thought that by now, then you probably don’t know me well enough yet. But you’ll think it soon enough.) 😉

So I know I talk about Mae a lot on this blog…she is the majority of my life, after all. 😉 But it’s been amazing to watch her the last few weeks. Words are turning to sentences, she understands and follows directions, she’s able to tell me when she needs or wants something. It’s all kinds of crazy…and all kinds of happy. I just love her and the little person she is.

Sunday was an especially sweet day of Maelie memories. When I was singing on praise team that morning, I looked out and saw her pointing at me, saying, Mommy! Mommy! Oh, how part of me wanted to run to her and grab her and bring her back up on stage with me! After church, when I finally got to see her, I was walking around with her, and she was passing out hugs to everyone. It was the cutest thing. Then, that night, we went to watch the Super Bowl with some friends, and she was just so full of love and cutie patooty-ness. Really, that’s her every day, but I can brag on her, right?! I just love my girl!

So, barring an actual training program, I started training for my ten mile in May. That translates to hopping on the treadmill and running until I can’t anymore, or in the case of today, running until I’m out of time and have to do something else. I managed to pull a little over four miles, and I was happy with that. Now I need to work on my pace, which can’t be done with our treadmill.

I have finally separated a good treadmill from a not-so-good one…besides price. The good ones actually go faster than 10:00 pace. So I will have to wait til it warms up a little and I can run outside. But it does feel good to keep my running up through the winter. Not sure I’ve ever done that before.

And possibly the best news is that my runner’s knee doesn’t seem to be flaring up as much. I’m trying to keep my distance running to every other day and mix cardio and strength on the other days. That and ibuprofin seem to be helping a lot. Praise God.

By the way, who’s running with me? I’ve got a couple friends…I need a few more. And those of you who don’t run with me

? Should come be my cheerleaders ’cause I’m gonna need ’em!

Ok, I’ve devoted far too much of this to working out…on to new topics.

I’ve been in crazy, I-miss-Indo mode. The other day a friend who is still there told a story on facebook of driving her motorbike, hitting a bump, and her bags of groceries flew off the bike and landed in the river. And a nice, old, Indonesian grandpa-fisherman helped her get them out.

You all laugh…I smile.

And that story actually makes me MISS it.

Almost like I wish it had happened to me!

And all this missing Indo reminds me of home and all that it is. Just a year ago, we weren’t sure what home would look like for us. God was so good…and we got to stay.

We love it here. We are blessed times a million. But when I think of home, I remember that my heart will always have two earthly homes.

There is no way that Indonesia will ever leave my heart. I can rejoice all I want that my house is cockroach-free (HALLELUJAH!!!!) and that I don’t have little lizards popping out of my toaster.

That traffic is, for the most part, orderly, and I can usually get to my destination without stopping to wait for longer than a minute or two. That my grocery store has every possible food I could ever want…and the idea of getting by without brown sugar or Lucky Charms? Is no more.

And yet, the lessons I took away from Indonesia are still there. They have changed me…and are now part of who I am.

And so I guess the word home is relative…no matter if I own my house or not.

The good news? We own our house, and we’re really happy here. :)

Just a random tangent. :)

I’m thankful.

It hasn’t been an easy few weeks. Like I said, I’m learning to appreciate winter and the hidden growth that it brings. But at the same time, my heart is heavy and my eyes are puffy and red.

I’m learning that thing I mentioned yesterday. Trust.

I know He is GOOD. And I know that I can trust Him.

And when my heart aches, I can give it to Him, knowing He will hold it and heal it.

That amazes me sometimes.

No, it amazes me all the time.

Well, my coffee cup is empty, and I really should crash for the night.

Thanks for stopping by. You bless me. :)

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, church, coffee, friends, Indonesia, just life, Maelie, where I am

30 Days of Thanks, Day 17: Coffee

November 17, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Ok, today I’m abandoning serious, deep thoughts.

Though coffee

is serious business, folks.

A good cup of coffee can start a day off perfectly; and a bad one can ruin it.

We don’t want that now, do we?

I could just end this post now by saying you should go here to get your coffee, but even as an employee of that place, there are other good coffee places out there, too. Though I really like Firefly.

:)

Coffee really became part of my life when I worked at Caribou the year before we went overseas.

I mean, I drank it in college (what college student doesn’t?!) but it was there that I really learned to appreciate the finer points of pulling the perfect espresso shot, the proper amount

of froth for a latte, and what a true macchiato actually is. (And for the record, folks, it does not involve caramel sauce, though that IS tasty stuff!

;))

In Indonesia, coffee became even more important.

Yes, I drank it every morning…it’s kind of necessary for surviving life as a teacher.

But it also became that thing…when I needed some girl time, we’d all go out for coffee just to talk and laugh.

When Tobin and I went on a date, it almost always included Starbucks. We’d take our cribbage board with us and play a few rounds while sipping our usual…an iced Caramel Macchiato for him, a skim  hazelnut latte for me.

When I was having a bad day, I’d get Becky and we’d hop on a bike and go down to Starbucks (or Excelso…mmm, I miss that place!) for some caffeine, some laughs, some tears, and some heart-healing.

Even here, coffee is kind of what helped me fit in. It was only after going out for coffee with a few different friends that I finally started feeling like I belonged.

And my job and making connections through that is helping, too.

So whether I was being serious or not when I started this post is debatable.

😉

But, I AM thankful for coffee.

I’m thankful for a lot of other things, too, which you can read about here, at my new post for the Patch.

Sig

Filed Under: 30 Days of Thanks, coffee, friends, remembering, the Patch, Tobin

Chitter Chatter Late on a Saturday Night

October 29, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

It’s been a weird day.

Weird in a not-so-good way, so I’m very thankful that today is almost over and I get

to start again tomorrow.

Thanks, God, for your new mercies. I will be intentionally soak

ing them all in tomorrow.

To be honest, I would love to have a virtual coffee date with you all right now. Unfortunately, I’ve reached my max for caffeine with an Americano and a Diet Coke, both since 2:00 today, and I need to sleep tonight. Enough said. :)

Instead, we can just talk while I finish up my late-night, day-off snack of tortilla chips and melted, buffalo flavored Velveeta. Seriously, it’s good, but I was also raised on processed cheese, so I think it always tastes good…I think certain friends I have who were raised on dairy farms would disagree with my thinking.

😉 I will tell ya, though, that over in Indonesia, I missed Velveeta so badly that I once had a friend bring me a huge two pound block of it when she came back after Christmas one year.

It was glorious. And I didn’t share…at all.

I’ve been trying to pull three mile runs in the mornings when I go out.

That’s almost double what I was running for so long that it feels like a lot. The good news is, I think I might actually be ready to run this 5k next weekend. I’m not looking forward to running in the cold…or being cold, in general, but I do like the whole chocolate everywhere thing. I WILL run for chocolate.

:)

And as a bonus, since packet pick-up is only Thursday and Friday, and since I also have praise team Thursday night, Tobin took Friday off.

We’re gonna trek downtown, pick up my stuff, then go check out an Indonesian restaurant…possibly the only one in all of Chicago. Bring on the sate and rendang and pisang goreng…woohoo!

I could not be more excited about Indonesian food.

And I NEVER got excited about it when we lived there. Funny.

While I’ve tried to not obsess on the blog about weight loss, today was monumental.

I’m a pound UNDER my pre-baby weight.

I saw a number on the scale today that I thought I might never see again…and I loved it so much that I went for a three mile run…and then ate a bagel. (It was worth it, since I know you’re all wondering!) And tomorrow night at my weekly workout with friends, we’re gonna celebrate with these.

If you’ve never tried one, you should. For an energy bar, they’re pretty amazing. And I like that they’re not full of grainy stuff…I don’t feel like I’m eating cardboard.

So I love my daughter.

Really. But somewhere between Tuesday and today, she decided that one hour naps AND shorter nights are enough for her. She has been giving me about an hour nap each afternoon and sleeping about an hour less at night, too. I am not sure what to think of this… it kinda makes me grumpy if I think about

it too long. I always enjoyed my afternoons when she was napping because I could catch up on blogging and squeeze in some strength training and shower before she even woke up.

Life as we know it has changed.

Thankfully, she is generally JOYful just to run through the house and get into things. I love that about her, minus the getting into things part.

😉 And just look at what she built all by herself today…she truly amazes me. :)

Every year I spend $1 in the Target Dollar Section.

(Ok, ok, so I spend a LOT more than a dollar every year, but THIS dollar is for something specific…) I joke that it’s the best dollar I ever spend…but that might be true. I buy a little day planner that’s the perfect size…I write my life in it and take it everywhere I go. I actually bought one at Michael’s a couple weeks ago because Target didn’t have theirs out yet, but as I was wandering through the Dollar Section today, I saw this.

And I totally spent another dollar because it’s way too perfect.

Think God is trying to remind me of something

?

After a day like today, JOY is hard. My heart is not ok, and I’ve cried more than I want to admit. I feel broken, I feel lost…and the only thing remotely salvaging tonight is the fact that I know God is there…and that He’s able to fix broken and find lost.

And His mercies are new Every.

Single. Morning.

Praise Him for that.

I need to wind this up…long, emotional days require extra sleep, and you don’t need to ask me twice to sleep. 😉

G’nite.

Sig

Filed Under: coffee, just life, Maelie, random, running, where I am

What’s New…

August 30, 2011 by · 1 Comment

So tonight I officially regained my former title of bari

sta.

Yeah, I rock a coffee bar.

A few weeks ago, Tobin and I started talking about me working a couple nights a week…just to get out of the house and make a little extra cash.

You know, to pay for all those purses.

Kidding, kidding. :)

I had a couple possibilities on the table, and one never really moved forward, so I went with this one.

Anyone who knows me knows th at coffee is

a daily part of my life.

And? I think making it is almost as fun as drinking it, too. :) I love going to this place…I hang there with friends sometimes, and it’s the place I did open mic night, too.

It’s really a fun place to hang out.

They even have toys for Maelie, which scores big points with me.

:)

So, yeah…that’s what’s new in my life.

It’ll be fun.

So if you’re in the area, stop by and I’ll make you the best coffee you’ ve e

ver had.

:)

Sig

Filed Under: coffee, just life

Friday Caffeine

August 12, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

We’re going to change pace a little and have coffee Friday instead…’cause goodness knows, I need it. 😉

Last night I met up with a friend in St.

Charles, a college roommate from ’98-’99, and we hadn’t seen each other since I graduated in 2001. Talk about a blast from the past!

And you know what? It was amazing how we could pick up right where we left off. So many things about us haven’t changed, and the things that have? Were good. We had So. Much. Fun. catching up on life and sharing stories and wondering, repeatedly, why it had taken us a year to get together when we lived less than an hour from each other.

This is a friendship I want to hang on to…and I already can’t wait til we can get together again!

And all of that to tell you that we met at 6:30 at the coolest pub called The Office…and left after midnight.

So it was a semi-short night of sleep for me, but I’m good. Caffeine and power naps are wonderful. 😉

Movin’ on to other things…

For the last month, Mae has made it pretty clear that she’s over napping twice a day, which has definitely shaken up the routine we had figured out. What I do love is that she’s flexible with napping. She’ll go down to sleep as early as 10 a.m. and sleep for a couple of hours…but if she does that, I am almost guaranteed no afternoon nap,

so that makes the afternoon long. For the past few days I’ve kept her awake until about 2:30, and two out of three d

ays, she took a great afternoon nap. (And today, I took one, too! :)) My girl is growing up…definitely an adjustment for both of us.

Summer is winding down.

Our Bible study group met at parks throughout the summer, and yesterday was our last one. I have to admit I was a bit sad, although I enjoy going to Bible study, too.

There’s just something about summer…it feels so free. Back to life, I guess, huh?

Not that I have anywhere I have to be, but I’m starting to really feel the need to fill up my life a little more. There are a couple things going on at church/school soon that I can help with, and I’m working on my book. I’m already about 1/4 of the way done with it, which I’m happy about. Now I’m just hopin’ everyone else likes to read my stories as much as I like to tell them. :)

And? I’ve been going back and forth on getting a part time job a couple nights a week…more on that later if it actually pans out. We shall see.

I’ve been on the craziest eating schedule for the last two weeks.

I eat breakfast, but I almost never eat lunch,

and then I eat dinner. And I’m not hungry at all. No idea what’s goin’ on with my body.

Says the girl who had pudding for lunch. (Does that count?)

That’s something you don’t know about me yet. I LOVE pudding. Especially with Cool Whip.

Mmmmmm…

And while we’re on the subject of food…tonight I made funnel cakes. I was really wanting to watch State Fair, and so I got all domestic and made them, forgetting that I can’t eat them. Seriously…bad childhood experience that had something to do with eating two in one night, and I was up all night throwing up.

I stomached two bites, and we took the rest to the neighbors. And after making those and cleaning up the mess, I’m too tired to watch the movie.

Another time, I guess. It’s more fun with a friend or two anyway, especially if those friends will belt out all the songs with me.

😉

And for some reason…I can’t think of anything else remotely exciting that might be happening right now. So I guess I’ ll drink the last bit of coffee from my mug and ca

ll it a night.

Thanks for reading.

Sig

Filed Under: coffee, friends, just life, Maelie

Thursday Diet Cherry Pepsi…and a Chat, Too

June 16, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Yeah, that’s the new beverage of choice. It’s good! Although I did have one LARGE coffee this morning, so had our conversation taken place then, it would have been a regular old coffee date. :)

It’s been a busy, good week.

It’s VBS week, which I think I’ve mentioned once or twice. 😉 I’ve gotten to spend my mornings leading games for 2nd-4th graders, which is pretty fun most of the time.

(Today there were some listening issues, so it’s not fair for me to share my opinion based JUST on today.) Overall, the kids are really good kids, and I love the fact that they are willing to participate in just about anything and have a good time. And in the past, I’ve never loved the VBS songs, but the ones from this program are good. (And stuck in my head…so praise God they’re good songs!) Maelie has spent her mornings in the nursery with some of her friends, and I love that she already has some buddies and also that she has some pretty awesome people taking care of her. It’s been such a good week, and a tiny part of me is sad that it’s over tomorrow.

In addition to Maelie having happy VBS mornings, she’s just had a happy week. We’ve had some fun walks and lots of play time in her new sandbox (without the sand right now :)) She’s been breaking in some of her new toys, which she got at her birthday party Sunday night.

We had lots of friends and neighbors over and just had the best time.

What a blessing they all are to us!

And this chat would not be complete without me sharing the holy fit that Maelie threw today outside…because I wouldn’t let her eat rocks. Really, child, do I starve you THAT much?! She was so loud that I took her inside…but after that, she got over it. (And found some new blocks to chew on instead.) So, really, it was all good.

Yesterday I did something I hadn’ t done since I go

t back

to the States.

I went into a gas station to get a fountain drink…and about went into culture shock mode all over again.

Dude…I’ve never seen so many drink choices at my disposal. And 44 oz. for $.89?! I sorta went crazy and added a couple random flavors to my Diet Pepsi. It was a little strong, but thankfully it still tasted good. It would have been sad if I’d wrecked that drink, my first gas station fountain drink since returning to America.

Thornton’s, I shall be visiting you much more often! Thank you for your existence.

Speaking of things I haven’t done for awhile…playing volleyball?! Yeah, that’s one of them. Tomorrow night/Saturday morning, Tobin and I are playing in a volleyball tournament with some friends. I really, really hope I don’ t comple

tely embarrass myself. (Or hurt myself, which, really, is far more likely.) Joel & Sarah, Jonny & Kris, Tobin…I’m apologizing in advance. Just sayin’.

Tonight I took a shower, and the hot water was being stupid. (That’s been goin’ on a few weeks here now.) Well, I got impatient and decided to just take my shower cold.

Um….BRRRRRR? I had flashbacks to cold mornings in Indonesia when we couldn’t get the hot water heater to light and were forced to take cold showers.

I need to continually remind myself to be thankful for the little things…like hot water.

My big brother turned 40 today!

4-0. Crazy. (By the way, that does not make me old; it means there’s a big age gap.)

And…deep breath. I think that’s all. I’m sorta ready to get a good night’s sleep. One more day of VBS…followed by some weekend craziness.

I love my life.

And I love you all.

Thanks for reading. :)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, coffee, culture shock, family, friends, just life, Maelie

Life and Coffee

June 2, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

It’s morning. Looking outside, I’m not sure the day can make up its mind.

It started off sunny, and I was outside in a tank top. Now I’m inside (and freezing!) with a sweatshirt on, watching the sky turn slightly gray.

We’re supposed to head to the park

this morning so we’re hoping that the semi-rainish-looking clouds will give way to some sun. That’d be nice.

:)

I’m completely cheating on our coffee date this morning…I’m not even having Diet Coke.

I am having?

Water.

Not sure why other than it sounded good.

Perhaps I need help

?

If you popped over this morning, you’d find the house cluttered with random things that haven’t quite made it back to where they belong.

It’s been a busy

week, but it’s been good busy. I’ve missed being busy…it’s been a long year of not being busy.

Looking back at the year, though, I realize just how much God was there in my daily life even if I didn’t always recognize it. ‘Cause I am a people person and that’s where I thrive…when I’m surrounded by friends. And yet, I spent the good part of this year alone. I don’t say that to make you feel sorry for me…it was just how things were. And somehow God kept me from getting horribly depressed and feeling too lonely.

My daughter helped a lot with the loneliness…who can feel sad around a bubbly, funny, sweetheart of a girl like her

? She brings joy to even the dark, rainy, depressing, most alone days when there are no phone calls or texts or people around.

And God was good…giving me a few close friends to connect with, laugh with, be myself with.

I needed it.

Definitely so thankful.

**************************

So, we did go to the park.

(Sorry…took a bit of a break in the middle of our chat.) I am now sufficiently caffeinated (aka: drinking Diet Pepsi and trying to stay awake to finish this) and completely exhausted from a crazy long day.

Three hours in the sun + sunburn + lunch + three hour nap for Mae + short nap for Mel + pedicure + worship team practice = the last twelve hours. Kinda crazy day, but mostly fun.

And it was my first pedicure since Indonesia.

My toenails are cute again.

They even have little flowers painted on them. :)

And I’m fighting sleep, so as much as I want to stay awake and continue caffeinating myself so I can spill out my heart to you, I think my night is best spent sleeping, especially since I have to get up at six and have a long day tomorrow.

So, I wish you sweet dreams…and hopefully more of them than I will have in my six hours of dreamland.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sig

Filed Under: coffee, friends

Pouring the Coffee on a Freezing Day

May 26, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Holy cow, it’

s FUR-EEZING outside! I think it’s 50 or so on May 26th.

Whatever.

So, yes, I’ve had my Diet Coke today, but right now I’m having coffee, too. And typing this while covered with a flannel blanket. And wishing that my daughter would just SLEEP…because she’

s slept a grand total of ten minutes all day. I need more sleep than she does, apparently…which is scary because I can survive on very, very little.

(Correction: I can survive, but that doesn’t mean I’m pleasant. So, really, I should get my sleep.)

Speaking of, it’s been a week of little sleep. I hate how stress affects me…mostly in the area of inability TO sleep for more than a few hours at a time.

I’ll wake up, toss and turn, and maybe…if I’m lucky…get back to sleep again.

Perhaps a nap would be a better use of my time than blogging right now…we shall see. But for those of you who are interested, I’m drinking coffee (now half-caf…yay for REAL caffeine!) with butter pecan creamer. Yeah, it’s pretty yummy. Out of my brown and lime green mug with a flower on it that Tobin bought for me in Indonesia when I was having a really rough week.

:)

Based on some info in the previous paragraph, you may have figured out that I’ ve finally weaned Maelie.

It’s better for both of us.

She’s independent now and capable of giving herself a bottle without my help. But she still lets me snuggle her while she drinks it if I want to…but she’s just as happy not being held. So it’s a win-win.

I think I may be raising a girl who’s just as social as her mommy, too. I tend to get grumpy if I go more than a day or so without seeing a friend or getting out of the house. Apparently, so does she. Yesterday morning, she was just a wreck. In all fairness, we hadn’t been out since Sunday, so part of it was justified. She whimpered and cried most of the way to Judson when we took Tob to work and most of the way home. Then we headed to a friend’s house for the Oprah party, I plopped her on the ground with some other little kids, and she was as happy as anything… for over an hour.

So apparently I need to fill up our schedule with play dates! 😀

So sometime during our coffee date, the story of my “crappy” day will probably spill out. (No pun intended…seriously.)

And, really, it’s ok to laugh now. Cause I will laugh as I recall it.

It started on Tuesday morning around 9 a.m. I had changed Mae’s diaper not too long before but thought I smelled something. I waited it out for a few, but it still smelled and so I carried her upstairs to change the diaper, not realizing that she had exploded out of it completely.

All over my tank top.

We changed the diaper, I changed my shirt, and all was well…or, so we thought.

About an hour later, the dogs were being obnoxious on the porch; I herded them inside to bring peace to the entire neighborhood. Andre kept begging me to go back to the porch…that’s what I thought, anyway.

He was, in fact, begging me to go outside because his poor puppy tummy was upset. Well, I didn’t get the hint, and I paid for it big time.

I was sitting on the couch when he came over to me, squatted, and had diarrhea all over the floor.

It got my jeans and would have gotten the couch if (thank you, God!) a blanket hadn’t been covering it.

So I just cleaned it up (changed clothes AGAIN), threw some laundry in, and called my husband for some sympathy. And took the poor doggy outside again. :(

Later on, the icing on the cake occurred. Really, I’ve just been waiting for this to happen. It was bound to at some point!

I was frazzled from the “poopy” morning and not really thinking clearly. I had mixed up Maelie’s bottle and went to pour it into the liner (we use drop ins) and…

Yep.

I totally forgot the liner.

Formula went EVERYWHERE. (And out of the three messes within the span of two hours or so? This was was the worst to clean up.) It was all over the counter, floor, and garbage can. Nasty. (Formula, in my opinion, rivals the smell of poop.)

It was one of those comical moments where I was: a) SO glad no one was watching; and b) not sure whether to laugh or cry.

(I chose to laugh.)

We managed to get through the rest of the day with nothing too major other than another diaper blowout that, thankfully, didn’t get all over me again.

But really…sometimes when it rains it pours…or maybe there’s some random poop analogy, but I think I’ll leave that alone. Unless you want to share one. :)

I’m looking forward to my hubby’s long weekend. We don’t have a ton planned, but he mentioned a parade on Sunday. That’s cool. We haven’t gone to one with Maelie yet…and I’m a teensy bit (or a lot!) excited about it. We’ll probably find some things to keep us busy or at least entertained. And I also have a birthday party to plan for my girl…

I don’t know how I feel about that yet. Is she REALLY almost one? Golly gee, time flies.

Well, my toes are frozen…I’m thinking it’s time to go find some socks.

SOCKS.

IN MAY.

I have a serious problem with this.

However, my feet are cold, so I’m off to fix that.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week. Thanks for joining me!

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, coffee, dogs, Maelie

Diet Coke and Sunshine

May 19, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Today’s coffee/Diet Coke date is happening outside. We shall see how long it lasts…the skies look a little iffy.

Before I start baring my soul, though, I need to share this one piece of sheer wisdom. I know you will be impressed.

Burger King = STUPID; McDonald’s = GENIUS

Why, you ask?

Because at McDonald’s I can get my huge Diet Coke for a buck. $1!

At BK? $2.19.

So wrong.

Ok, I’m done with that tangent, but please remember this piece of wisdom should you need to run through a drive-thru. Ok, that is all.

If you hopped over today, you’d find a semi-stressed out mommy. That’s what happens when Mae and I are stuck at home for three days in a row.

We did get out today, but she was less than content. I think it may h ave

had something to do with her favorite person not being at Bible Study today, but for whatever reason, she was a little spitfire. Fussy, getting into things…just cranky in general.

I know, I know. She’s just being 11 months old.

I know I need patience and infinite amounts of grace for this. Please, God, send them my way!

We did have a fun lunch with friends who played peek-a-boo with her and kept her somewhat entertained. But really, once Maelie has decided that crabby is the way to go, there is no turning back. Thankfully she is now down for a (hopefully) long nap which should cure any crabby tendencies.

And as a side note, I am so thankful for friends who extend grace to me on days when I feel like the worst in my parenting is brought out. So, thank you all of you…you know who you are. :)

And Maelie and I had some sweet cuddle time while she took her bottle before her nap so I can’t say the day was all bad. I love it when she snuggles…which isn’ t very of

ten anymore, so that time is so precious.

Unfortunately, her nap was just interrupted by two neighborhood dogs who got loose and were running around our yard making Andre and Sammy absolutely crazy. Tons of barking = no more nap.

I am leaving her in her crib for a few, hoping that maybe she will go back to sleep. My hopes are not very high, though.

It’s times like these that I’m tempted to get frustrated and really tell off some people, especially since I actually met the owner of the dogs, but then I remember something.

Yeah, I have dogs, too.

And what was it, Monday

? Sammy got loose and ran down to the river.

Just as mercy has so often been extended to me, now it’ s my turn to extend

some. I guess lessons can come in many different forms.

I realized today that I need to pull out my day planner, something that has been closed and unused for the last year. I guess that means my life is filling up again, and that is such a good feeling. We have a couple trips to look forward

to this summer, VBS, weekly get-togethers at parks, and other commitments at church.

It feels good to have a life again. :)

My husband totally made my week…probably my year…or even my life…on Tuesday night.

I’ll refrain from going into details, but basically a series of e-mails spurred a conversation between us about love.

That’s right, L-O-V-E.

One thing you need to know about my hubby is that I know he loves me.

He does so many things for me

to prove that every day, and I don’t need to be told that he loves me to believe it.

But sometimes it’s nice to hear.

And on Tuesday night we were just hanging out and chatting, and he was talking about how much he enjoys the life we have and how thankful he is that God brought us here. And then he said, in my paraphrased words, “Yeah, work can be stressful sometimes. But I love that I get to come home to you and our daughter. I’m just so happy right now…I love life.”

Those few sentences meant more to me than any gift

he could ever buy me, any nice thing he could ever do for me.

I’m going to hold them in my heart forever…because that night forgiveness happened.

There had been a few little things that I’d been hanging on to…wanting to make sure that he made them right so I could get over them. And I know that’s not right on my part, but in my selfishness, I wanted some redemption for some things that I thought I deserved.

It was SO COOL to literally watch those offenses melt away. And they haven’t been back.

I love my man…not just for who he is as a husband and father, but because of who he’s allowing God to help him become. What a gift.

I kinda want to end there…just cause I love a happy ending. :)

But we need a happy ending, and so I’m asking you to please, please pray for our house situation. There have been some recent developments, through no fault of our own, that could jeopardize everything.

Part of me is angry, and I am trying desperately to squelch that

and TRUST. I know that everything will work out, but we so, so badly want to stay here, to raise our little girl here, to have our life here.

And He hears the desires of my heart.

Thanks for praying.

Sig

Filed Under: coffee, prayer, where I am

Thursday Afternoon Talkin’

May 5, 2011 by · 6 Comments

Ok, so I just about t itl

ed this post, Thursday Afternoon Drinks. Then I was like, Um, Mel…no. Not a good title.

I finally figured out the Diet Coke thing…which may change our “coffee” date slightly some weeks.

On Thursdays after Bible study I usually go with friends to either McD’s or BK so their kids can play and we can chat.

And I always have Diet Coke.

Always. (Yum…I love Diet Coke.

Do you know that about me yet? Well, now you do!)

Hence the reason I’m always drinking it on Thursdays! Today I’d rather have coffee, though, so after I finish it, I’m there. I found dark chocolate creamer last week that is so, so GOOD. Mmmmm.

So it’s been kind of a blah week in the Schroeder house. We’re all good…just lacking energy to do much. It would help if we could have a warm, sunny day…all day. (Not just part of it!) We’re still waiting on the house (and getting slightly impatient) and to top it off, the shower went crazy on us a couple days ago.

Really?!

I’m trying not to be completely annoyed. But is it so much to ask to just be able to take a hot shower whenever I want?

And I have to say here that I just need to suck it up and be thankful and remember all the cold showers I took in Indonesia due to various water issues.

This. Is. Not. That. Bad.

Thanks to those of you who prayed for Don, the man I posted about a couple of days ago. He passed away early this morning. Please pray for his family and those who were close to him. He will be missed. I am always so sad for the people who are left behind to cry and grieve and hurt. He got the better end of the deal, and I know the choir in Heaven is already sounding sweeter with his tenor voice adding to it.

I’ve really struggled with his situation/death this week. It’s very sobering to see someone and, literally, be standing a few feet away from them and praising God together…then a few hours later they’re gone. From what I know of him, I think it’s incredible that he “went out” doing what he was so very gifted at and what blessed so many people. But that doesn’t make it easy for those who loved him.

Next Tuesday is a big day for me…for me. Not really for anyone else, but that’s ok. :) I’ll be the guest blogger here, and I’m scared. Those thoughts that I so easily splashed onto my computer are now going to be published for a lot of people to see. It’s cool. And scary. And my stomach turns thinking about it. I’ve never been published before so it’s kind of a dream that’s finally happening. Cool cool. 😀

So if you actually were joining me for an afternoon drink…ahem, talk…I’d be pulling out the runny oatmeal cream pies and grayish-purple scones.

It’s just been that kind of week in the kitchen of Mel. I found a recipe on Monday for Oatmeal Cream Pies that looked UH-MAZ-ING. I had to try them.

The recipe even looked more whoopie pie-ish, so I decided to give it a go. And here’s the thing…you should always read the reviews that people post because…um, these people have actually TRIED the recipe. I did read some of them.

:) Several said that the cookie parts were too crunchy so I baked them for a lot less time and they turned out ok. But the buttercream in

the middle? I even borrowed my awesome neighbor’ s mixer

so I could actually make the recipe the RIGHT way and whipped the SNOT out of that butter! (Ok, figuratively…that’s kind of a gross choice of words, isn’t it? :P)

It still ran everywhere.

Fail.

I put them in the fridge after I slapped them together, and that salvaged the batch for the most part…as long as we eat them cold.

Enter cooking venture #2. I made these scones over the weekend for my in-laws but substituted strawberries for raspberries. They were slightly messy to make but not really that bad. And if they were good with strawberries, I figured they’d be even better with raspberries! (Oh, and they were to take to Bible study…aka: people outside of my house were going to eat them.)

I don’t know what went wrong.

First, the dough was so sticky that I ended up adding about two extra cups of flour just to get it to a point where I could work with it. (And it was still sticky!)

Then, the juice from the raspberries ended up turning the scones this grayish-purple color. I can’t say I was a fan of the color, but whatever. Color is secondary to taste and texture.

And while they tasted fine, the texture was slightly rubbery.

I was oh-so-very-frustrated by the end of the scone-baking drama yesterday that I vowed I will never bake again.

If this is true, you can guarantee that my hubby and I will both lose weight! And…ahem…that my kitchen will be a lot cleaner. Really, some people should just not be allowed in a kitchen, and I think I might be one of them.

But enough about my cooking skills…or lack of them.

Do you have any plans for Mother’s Day?

So this is kinda my first. I mean, I was…um…really pregnant last year.

But with Tob still in Indo and me in the States, there wasn’t really a celebration. And I was kind of expecting this year to be a big deal which I realized is pretty selfish. So I’m gonna bare my soul for a minute. This is a coffee date, after all…usually there’s a lot of soul-b

aring going on!

Expectations have gotten me into trouble in the past, and I can see where they’re taking me this weekend, too. It isn’t good.

Sunday is Mother’s Day.

You know, that day I’ve looked forward to for almost 33 years.

In my narrow, self-centered, bratty way, I expected it to be about me. And I realized today that I need to stop that. I mean, we all have our bratty moments, but I think I have more than the average person.

Bear with me…I promise I’m getting there.

As I was driving home from McD’s today, I was reminded (for about the millionth time!) that I have the most beautiful daughter. She blesses me every single day…every single hour…every single minute…and second, too. I love her so much.

And she is someone I celebrate being mommy to every day, not just one day out of the year.

So, hon, if you read this. (And you better cause supposedly you keep up on the blog… ;)) Don’t go out of your way to make Sunday a crazy, all-about-Mel day. Instead, let’s just spend the day together…the three of us. And be happy that we get to be the three of us.

That’s what I want for Mother’s Day.

And with that, I think I’ll close…cause I topped 1,000 words a few paragraphs back.

Happy Thursday to you all! And Feliz Cinco de Mayo, tambien!

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, coffee, food, where I am
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