It’s Late? Let’s Talk About Stuff.

March 26, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Yeah, it’s totally late.

And I’m drinking more of that coffee…

I really need to stop with the caffeine at night.

Tonight was my weekly workout with my awesome girlfriends.

It. Is. Tough. Seriously tough.

Our fearless leader knows her stuff…and knows how to make us sweat. We start off our workout with twelve minutes of stairs, alternating one at a time, then two. It’s crazy and always the worst part of the night, for me at least. :) Then we spend the next hour doing weights and (evil) lunges 😉 and more cardio and sometimes some yoga.

I’m pretty sure I burn an entire day’s worth of calories.

But it’s so, so good.

I’m not sure if I love the actual working out part, but I love the group of women who are there. It’s just a good time. So Monday nights are one of the highlights of my week.

But they are also pretty late nights because I almost never blog before I go. As my wonderful husband pointed out to me, as I was sitting down at the computer at 10:30 pm…”Um, honey, you don’t have to blog.”

I know that. But I want to. :)

So Mae and I have a wide open week, mostly. It’s spring break for Immanuel, Bible study is cancelled, and several friends are gone. We chilled today and are having coffee with a friend tomorrow morning, but other than that we are free and hoping that the week will somehow fill up a bit. If the weather warms up we’ll probably go to a couple different parks. Maybe grab a Starbucks. Take walks.

Sounds fun. :)

Really random, but Saved by the Bell is on Netflix now. Oh my, what flashback fun. I am not letting myself waste my brain on it too often, but an episode before I go to bed is not a wasted 22 minutes. Good, good times. Now, if only Full House would join the Netflix party…my other favorite from my preteen years.

What happened to TV? Really. (That could be a whole blog post in itself…hmmmm.) 😉

On to more random…I’m turning into a reading junkie. There are so many freebies out there for my Kindle, and a lot of them have actual substance. I stumbled onto this one that is such a cute read…I wish I’d had it when I taught 4th grade…it would have made such a fun read-aloud. (Though, for that one, I paid a whopping $.99…but there are lots of good free ones out there, too.)

Oh, I love books.

There aren’t enough hours in my day to read everything I want to. Sigh.

Well, my coffee mug is empty and I’m watching the clock turn later and later…so I should find my pillow.

G’nite, friends. 😉

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, coffee, friends, just life, reading

Coffee in a Packet + Friend Chats + Painting = JOY

March 25, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

So we’re coffee datin’ it tonight, even though it’s kinda late.

And I’m drinkin’ this.

Some would argue that it’s quality coffee. Or that it’s even actual coffee.

However, I brought a box home with me from Spain.

I like it.

And it reminds me of Indonesia ’cause I drank something similar there all the time. Except that was this. You can’t get it anywhere in this hemisphere, I’m pretty sure. And I miss it.

Since today was not exactly my favorite day ever, for reasons that don’t need to be discussed, it’s good that I’m drinking coffee that came out of a little packet. It kinda cheers me up.

A little.

It has that same, slightly-burnt-coffee taste that is strangely comforting and reminds me of my sweet 4th grade class who would always ask me what flavor I was drinking that day. And it’s only a little ick, mostly good.

Tonight, I’ll take it.

:)

So I’ll just say up front that five hours of sleep when emotions are running high is not a wonderful combination. I really had to search for the JOY in my day today.

What I love is that He always gives it, somehow.

And, thankfully I’ve been blessed with this girl who doesn’t understand what it is to actually have a bad day, though she’s definitely had a few. She just doesn’t get it yet. :) She, most of the time, runs around with a huge smile on her face, spreading sunshine everywhere she goes.

It’s really, really hard to be in a bad mood around that. :)

After church and lunch today, my girl and I took a walk down the street and then ended up at the house across the street, the one I swear she thinks is her second home. 😉 I got a chance to talk to my dear friend for a bit while Mae climbed up and down and up and down and up and down the front steps.

Then it was home for her so she could take the dreaded NAP. She protests it loudly each and every day. It doesn’t change anything.

While she napped, I decided to finally get going on a painting for her room that I’ve had in my head for over a year. I didn’t think I’d actually finish it today, but I did.

I’m happy with how it turned out, even if there were a few little mistakes…that I mostly fixed. 😉 Keep in mind that…1) I’m not technically an artist though I do occasionally paint; 2) lettering is not my gift; and 3) I still don’t love the colors…I wish I had added orange.

Next time. :)

Mae clearly liked it, though…in fact, she wanted to play with it until we finally hung it up on her wall…where she couldn’t reach it! 😉

It was a good ending to a not-so-good day…and things are looking up, I think. :)

The coffee from a packet is definitely helping. :)

Happy end-of-the-weekend, my friends.

Love you.

Sig

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

Am I Allowed to Re-Post?

March 24, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

:)

I love this song. I posted it about a month ago, and it’s still in my head.

Good reminder. I’m so thankful for a Father who walks with me no matter what.

Happy Saturday night and happy listening!

Sig

Filed Under: just life, music

Oy…

March 23, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

…one of my current phrases.

And this time, it totally applies.

Tonight I had planned to share my favorite pictures from Morocco with you. Alas, our computer had other plans. (aka: I can’t get to the pictures right now.)

Major bummer.

It’s at a time like this that I’m thankful I married a computer guy. Because I wouldn’t have a.clue. what to do otherwise. Looks like it’s not too tough of a fix, thankfully. :)

So I guess you’ll all just have to wait another day or two…sorry about that.

At least it gives me extra time to come up with witty captions for all of my favorite photos…trying to look on the sunny side, here… :)

Hope you all had a fantastic week…wishing you an even better weekend!

:)

Sig

Filed Under: just life, travel

Little Blessings (Pt. 28)

March 22, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

:) The funny things my daughter does…like pushing the capo for my guitar around in her stroller, yelling, “Capo! Capo!” (her newest word) Hilarious.

:) Wrecking dinner and being blessed with a hubby and daughter who will eat it anyway.

:) Computers that are still under warranty. Oy…

:) An awesome hubby who took Mae over his lunch break so I could go to my sweet friend’s organ recital. And actually sit there and soak it all in. ‘Twas wonderful…the recital AND the fact that I got to just sit for 45 minutes. 😉

:) Nine straight days of flip-flop weather. In March. Yes, please.

:) Walks with friends in the sunshine.

:) My Thursday morning Bible study…I love those women.

:) Something kinda cool that happened this week…I’ll tell you all about it in the next few weeks. But it made me smile really BIG.

:) Wagon rides and walks and playing in the backyard and sliding and trips to the park…with my girl. We have such a good time together.

:) Reminders from my Father this week. It is SO. GOOD. to be loved by Him.

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, friends, just life, Maelie, Tobin

Yes, I Drink Caffeine at Night. Sometimes Late.

March 21, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Hi, my name is Mel, and I’m a coffee addict.

I know that’s shocking news to all of you.

So it’s 9 p.m…and a pot of coffee kind of night. Or at least a cup.

It wasn’t a bad one at all…it was actually a really good day.

But I don’t feel like I’ve sat down much…so bring on a cup ‘o joe, my pj pants, and some quality time for me and the blog!

I like to chat about life…what’s up, what’s down, what I’m learning, how He’s working. So let’s talk about that, k? And hopefully, I’ll get through the conversation on just one cup of coffee because, really, I shouldn’t be drinking more than that this late.

Even coffee addicts need sleep. 😉

What’s up? Lots of stuff.

My days are full of Mae…she is such the sunshine. It’s melts my heart and makes me smile really big to see the way she blesses the lives of people around her. She is JOY and random hellos and handshakes and hugs and complete love all rolled up into a pretty stinkin’ cute, albeit slightly-messy-haired, little girl.

And I am incredibly blessed to spend my days with her.

The temperature lately has been UP…therefore my desire for a tan has been elevated, too. :) Truthfully, I’m not the sun worshipper I used to be, but, hey, if there can actually be a tan in March, why not?! I got some good color in Spain and have been able to keep it thanks to Chicago’s glorious, eight consecutive, days of 80’s and sunny.

Love.

The weather has been completely awesome for running, too…I can’t remember ever going for an early morning run in March in a tank top and shorts. Ever. That is motivation enough to get me out of bed at 6:15. Truthfully, I like running in the morning just for the simple fact that I’m done for the day. I don’t particularly like “looking forward” to running because I don’t really “look forward” to running. :) But I like the way I feel after, so I guess that’s a good tradeoff.

What’s down?

Certainly not gas prices. Ugh. But I don’t want to analyze those too much.

The amount of time that Maelie naps during the day is definitely down. I’ve seen this coming…she’s slowly cutting back on her afternoon napping…secretly, I think she just wants to play outside more. :) I have to accept the fact that she’s almost two…it’s the inevitable. Rats…I was hoping she’d take four hour naps til she was six…like her mommy did. True.

But what ISN’T down is her energy level. She just goes and goes and goes. And I think people fall in love with her because she’s so outgoing and loving and just…crazy, big-hearted, Mae. I love her oodles for it, even when I wish she’d sit down for two minutes. 😉

What I’m learning?

Tons…where to even begin.

I’m looking forward to learning more about the wonderfully crazy journey of parenting at Mom’s Bible study. We’re starting a new book, and I really am looking forward to it. I love being a mommy, but I also know that there’s a lot of godly wisdom out there that will help me become much better at it.

I guess this one ties into the next one…

What’s He doing?

I mentioned a few days ago that I bought the book Jesus Calling for my Kindle.

Came across this a couple days ago. I found it challenging, convicting, and, truthfully, I am still chewing on it. I want to process it more with you all, but now is not the time.

But I’ll leave you with it because it’s that good.

“Holiness is letting Me live through you. Since I dwell in you, you are fully equipped to be holy. Pause before responding to people or situations, giving My Spirit space to act through you. Hasty words and actions leave no room for Me; this is atheistic living. I want to inhabit all your moments–gracing your thoughts, words, and behavior.”

Wow.

G’nite, friends.

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, coffee, encouragement, just life, Maelie, running, what I'm learning, where I am

The Best of Spain

March 20, 2012 by · 2 Comments

…as promised. :)

The walkway along the beach in front of our hotel. We walked it many, many times. And isn’t the Mediterranean just beautiful? 😉

Look! They sell white chocolate Magnums! Mmmmm….or, not really. The regular ones are much better. But we had to try one, just to say we did. The ice cream part was good. :)

Another pretty view. I honestly never got tired of standing on the balcony and seeing this. :)

We had chai and a latte one afternoon. I may be a cool barista, but I can’t pour a latte that beautiful.
Yet. 😉

The “Old Town” center in Marbella…it was a cool place to walk around and explore. Lots of history there.

So, this is what we had for dinner almost every night in Spain. :)

In keeping with the food trend, this is what I had for breakfast almost every morning. Yeah, it was as good as it looks…probably better. :) Mmmmm…

Tobin took this shot from our balcony…Marbella at night. I think it’s a great picture. :)

Just a shot we took of ourselves…there are a lot of those.

Spain was cool. Very, very different from what I was expecting but still fun and an adventure we’ll always treasure.

I’d always wanted to see it…and so it was a dream come true to do just that with my man. There’s no one I would have rather shared this experience with. :)

Coming soon: Morocco Love!

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, blessings, Tobin, travel

I Love Today

March 19, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

(This post has nothing to do with trips or photos of trips…you know, those things I’ve been meaning to post for a few days. I promise they’re coming soon! :))

It does? Have everything to do with today.

It was a Monday…normal, mostly.

I woke up feeling a bit blah and sore from my workout last night…and needing a good dose of JOY. I prayed for it, wondering how He would give it.

‘Cause I knew He would.

It came through my girl. Mae and I have had a few rough days since Tobin and I got home from our trip. There have been extra temper tantrums, more stubborn moments, and even more moments of feeling like a parenting failure.

Today my heart was just full…of Maelie love and blessings. Oh, sure, we had a few moments…we always do. But, mostly, it was just good. Playing together. Laughing and singing and guitar playing. A trip to the grocery store filled with a precious little girl greeting everyone she saw, chatting up a storm…and spreading loads of sunshine to the place. A good afternoon nap, and then some fun family time before Tobin had to leave for his Bible study. We played outside, grilled out and ate on the back porch, took a little walk and visited our favorite friends, read stories, played some more.

A truly wonderful day.

I just soak up days like this…those when Mae and I just are. It’s what we do so well. :)

I’m so, so thankful.

Because today is what we have at this moment…and I love it.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, Maelie

Found

March 18, 2012 by · 6 Comments

I had kind of an aha! moment the other day.

Well, at least it was aha! for me…and maybe you can relate. Or maybe not. Either way, I’ll share. :)

So, a little background…

When I signed up for facebook several years ago, I was pretty tight with my security settings. And over the years, my hubby has made sure that I keep them updated.

That’s because I don’t want people knowing everything about me.

In fact, if you go and try to find me on Facebook, chances are you won’t just by typing in my name. (Unless we’re already friends.)

That’s because  I don’t want to be found.

I thought about that the other day as I searched for a friend on facebook and couldn’t find her.

I often put up walls. I have for years. In my mind, I think that if there are walls and people can’t get in, then I’m safe. This has worked well in the Facebook world, for the most part. In real life,  I have really tried to let them down and have succeeded, for the most part. I want those relationships…those friendships.

But what about in my relationship with my Father?

Over the past few days, I’ve stopped to consider those walls that I’ve unintentionally (or, sometimes intentionally) built to keep Him out, to keep His Word from penetrating my heart.

I attended a Baptist Bible college for five years.

A small glimpse of what that entailed: more Bible classes than non-Bible classes, intense study of the ten main doctrines, hundreds of memorized verses, chapel every day, many papers, hours upon hours of Bible reading, sometimes weekly.

To be blunt, all-things-Bible were crammed down my throat.

And that led up to me building some serious walls around my heart.

The Bible became my textbook…and therefore, was anything but what I wanted when I actually had some down time.

That makes me really sad.

And I noticed a pattern, as I left the Bible college world and went out on my own.

It became easy to gloss over verses, never really taking them to heart. It was even easier to scan a chapter to “say” I’d read my Bible for the day. It was easier than ever to have an emotional moment with a few verses and then move on, forgetting what made me think, going on with my day.

That’s been my problem for the last ten-or-so years…

I’ve put up walls, never letting my Father in.

And in some ways, by putting up those walls, I ran from Him, never wanting Him to find me. To assure me of His love and compassion and grace and sovereignty and power…and, really, the list could go on.

I feel weak admitting these things…knowing in my heart that it’s been a much bigger battle than I’ve ever let on.

But I also know something…that He is bigger than those walls. And despite the fact that I ran, He always held me…keeping me in His care even when I didn’t always want to be there.

I confessed this to you…but I also want to be honest and say that in our searching over the past, almost-two years…God has changed me. I can’t explain it all in a day…I can just tell you that He’s more real than He’s ever been. He’s teaching me about Love and truly living for Him.

And in His power, I’m trying to do those things.

I don’t have it all figured out…but today I know I’m found by Him.

The truth is, He never really lost me.

And that’s pretty amazing.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, church, encouragement, remembering, what I'm learning, where I am

Currently…

March 17, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Borrowed this from a fellow blogger.

In an effort to not think too hard…it is the weekend, after all. 😉

Enjoy. :)

Current Books: Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider…reading it slowly to digest it and actually apply it to life. Beginning a new Bible study book, Effective Parenting in a Defective World by Chip Ingram…looking forward to it. Just finished a Karen Kingsbury on the plane, Leaving. Problem is I scored that one super cheap…the other three in the series roll in at a whopping $10 each. I’ll be borrowing those from the library. But definitely a good read.

Current Playlist: No particular artists but lately lovin’ anyone who’s “redone” a hymn, like the one I posted a few weeks ago. Also have a playlist for running that I listen to. When I run. 😉 The rest of the playlist is whatever I’m singin’ at the time. Works for me. :)

Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Does The Bachelor count? I didn’t watch the whole season, just here or there, but my interest was definitely piqued with the finale. I truly don’t know what Ben was thinking…or that he was thinking…but I wish love for him and Courtney. Truly.

Current Colors: Always a fan of green. Really liking it with brown and cream right now, too.

Current Fetish: Flip flops. Always. Especially when the weather is summer in March. Score.

Current Food: Um…don’t laugh. String Cheese. Craved it the whole time we were gone. Something about a good shot of protein with just a few calories.

Current Drink: Two. Of course. Coffee…with whatever creamer I have in my fridge. :) And lately, liking Cherry Coke Zero. Both much better with a dear friend and a heart-spilling chat.

Current Favorite Favorite: Music. Love it all. (Well, mostly.) I sang through my whole run this morning. Not sure how I sounded, but the world…was just brighter this morning. Waved at a few drivers I recognized, belted out All I Need (Bethany Dillon), and soaked in the moments of the sun on my face. Music.

Current Wishlist: I don’t really have a list of wants other than shorts that fit ;). If I could wish for something, it would be that balance in life came more easily. I’m trying…and jet lag has helped with it the last few mornings. I’ve woken up so early and had so much time to accomplish things before the daily grind of life began. Morning coffee, Bible reading, laundry, blogging, running…have all happened before I needed to get Mae up for the day. Maybe I’m wishing that this trend can continue. I think it could be very, very good. Oh, and maybe I’ll wish that my book will get published this year…well, once I finish it. 😉

Current Needs: New black flip flops. Whether those are actually a need…it doesn’t really matter, probably.

Current Triumphs: How does one answer this without bragging? Or at least sounding like it. Being a pound away from my goal weight is definitely a triumph…and the fact that I decided weeks ago not to obsess over a number on the scale anymore.

Current Bane-of-my-Existence: I’m not, in general, particularly annoyed with anything right now. I really try to look on the sunny side of the street…and walk there ’cause it’s much warmer, too!

Current Celebrity Crush: Totally my hubby. He’s famous to me. :)

Current Indulgence: Today I finished round 2 of the Biggest Loser competition with my friends at church. And I am eating a big chocolate chip cookie sometime today to celebrate. And maybe some pizza, too!

Current Mood: JOYful. Allowing the JOY to seep into every moment…because life is good even when things are hard. I am blessed, I am loved, I am His…and that’s enough.

Current #1 Blessing: Family, friends…and the JOY they add to life.

Current Slang or Saying: Golly, Miss Molly… (to Mae); Oy… Aduh… (that one never changes)

Current Outfit: Brown cargo shorts, purple tank top, flip flops with rhinestones that are, sadly, falling apart.

Current Link: Um, I don’t know? I really, really like these shoes. I could add them to my wishlist, maybe. 😉 You can find them here.

Current Quote: I spent some time reading in Romans this morning when I got home from my run…the sun was shining, there was coffee made, and I couldn’t NOT sit on the front porch and soak it all in. Chapter 8 was particularly meaningful today, though no one verse stands out. But I also spent my Valentine’s Amazon money (finally) and bought the devotional, Jesus Calling, for my Kindle. And today’s thoughts were exactly what I needed to read. This stood out:

“Rejoice in the One who understands you completely and loves you perfectly. As I fill you with My Love, you become a reservoir of love, overflowing into the lives of other people.”

Wow…I want that to be me.

Current Photo: Um, bread, anyone?!?! (Sorry, I had to talk about it one more time!!!) 😉

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, blessings, family, friends, just life, Maelie, Tobin, where I am
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