Scattered Thoughts

I just got home from a couple of days away visiting a good friend. It was wonderful. It was so nice to have some time with her, and her sweet baby girl, just to hang out, catch up, and enjoy being together. I'm not sure if she knows, but it was good for my soul. Thanks for that!

In other news, Jeremy and I put a contract on a house and waited 30 days for the seller (whom you would think would be eager to move) to find a place. We waited and waited and waited and she never found anything. Our closing date came and went, so we terminated the contract. I was SO excited about this house and very disappointed that we had to walk away. I keep telling myself that things happen for a reason. I can't wait until the day I understand exactly why this happened.

It's back to the drawing board for house hunting. More waiting. More hoping. So it was good when I read a friend's status update on Facebook today. It said,

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness."

What a great reminder in this crazy, crazy world. I love the depth of old hymns like that. That song will be in my head the rest of the night and probably through tomorrow.
Great words to meditate on.

"I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand."

Chihuly at Cheekwood

Jeremy and I went to see the Chihuly exhibit at Cheekwood last week. It was such a cool exhibit and I'm glad we got to see it before it ended...even in the cold and rain. Of course, I walked out of the house with out my camera, so here are a few of the shots I got with my phone.

A Weekend Away

Jeremy started his new job in September and his company is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. He's been spending a lot of time there in training, I went up to visit him for a weekend early in October - since he had a free place to stay and all, we decided, why not!? While I was there, we drove over to Boston - it's only about 45 minutes away and neither of us had ever been. It's fabulous city and we had a great time seeing the sights. The picture above is the USS Constitution. There is a TON of history in Boston - really cool!

Cruising the Boston Harbor. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny, but COOL day when we were there!

Lunch at Cheers. I had the best grilled cheese sandwich of my entire life there. Seriously. Three cheeses, roasted red peppers and black olives - so good!

Me posing with all the buoys!

The next day, Jeremy showed me around Hartford. He found this cute little park to go running. We went to see the fall colors.

I was scheduled to fly out on Sunday night, but due to computer issues on my plane, the flight was delayed indefinitely. The airline informed me that I would miss my connection and wouldn't be able to get to Nashville on Sunday. So, I stayed one more night in Hartford and flew out at 5:45 on Monday morning (yikes!). I was able to get some neat shots from my window seat, though.

Where Has the Time Gone??

My last post was June 25. Over 2 months ago. I've had plenty to blog about, but I guess I just haven't felt inspired or made the time - and p.s. we're not in our own house yet, so internet usage just doesn't happen that often.

So here's a quick recap of the last couple of months.

1. We moved to Nashville.

2. I started my new job and I LOVE it!

3. We went to see Paul McCartney. It. Was. Amazing! (I have no pictures that are worth sharing because we were kind of far away, so I borrowed one from Miss Emily that is fabulous:

I knew it would be a great show, but didn't realize how great it would be. It was an amazing night and I'm so glad I got to see him perform.

4. My mom, sister and I threw a little baby shower for a sweet friend of mine. It was such a great time and lots of fun memories were made.

5.. Jeremy received a job offer. Hooray! We were starting to panic a little on this one, but God is faithful and provided just what we needed in his time. He starts his new job on September 13.

6. The house hunt is in full effect. We are looking and trying to decide what's best for us. I cannot wait to be back in a place of our own. It will be so nice!

It has been a busy couple of months and the busy-ness just keeps coming. Things are good. I am blessed beyond measure and so excited about what the future holds.

My favorite time of the year is here and the weather is beautiful, not to mention, it's football season!

Friday's Photo

Jeremy and one of our nephews, Brody, on our boat ride to Shell Island in Panama City Beach. So much fun!

Friday's Photo

Sweet cards from my kids at school...

Moving Day!

Well, the time has come.

Jeremy and I sold our house back in March and have been living with his family for the past 3 months or so. We've been debating, praying, thinking, and just trying to decide if we want Tuscaloosa to be "home" or somewhere else.

After a lot of back and forth, we finally felt that moving to a bigger city with more job opportunites was the best call for us. Jeremy has been less than thrilled with his current job situation for a while now.

So, off to Nashville we go! My last day of work here is this Friday and we're headed to Tennessee on Monday. We're both super excited, nervous, scared....you know, all of those feelings that come witha big transition in life.

Nashville, here we come!

Friday's Photo

TOO HOT! It's only May and it's already this hot. I'm not liking this...

Friday's Photo

It's not the clearest picture in the world, but this is my absolute most favorite time of the day...Monday through Friday anyway. Naptime!

Ten on Tuesday

1. This morning I tried the Cinnamon Streusel Frosted Mini Wheats for breakfast. Have you tried them? They are so good. It's definitely a winner in the breakfast cereal category.

2. I love this workout! Although, sometimes I have to turn off the sound and listen to my own music. I love Jillian, but her voice gets a little annoying sometimes. Anyway, it's 3 workouts on one DVD with three different intensity levels. I haven't even attempted Level 3 yet, because I'm too scared. I can barely get through Level 2 as it is.

3. My sister made me a run playlist and titled it "Run, Run Rudolph." It's great! There's an eclectic mix of everything from Debbie Gibson's "Electric Youth" to the cast of Glee to my personal favorite and quite possibly my all.time.favorite.song. Nick Gilder's "Hot Child in the City." Do you know it? Oh goodness, it's a great song.

4. My favorite time to listen to "Hot Child in the City" is in the afternoon when I get off work. Sunglasses on, sunroof open, music up loud. It's great.

5. I "started over" with Couch to 5K on my iPhone the other day. I started back at the beginning of Week 3. I figured, since I had completed a half-marathon I didn't need to go all the way back to Week 1. It's great and gives me a running plan...otherwise, I just stop and walk and never make much progress.

6. I found one of these leftover in my desk drawer today. Happiness!

7. In light of my discovery in #6 it's a good thing I'm doing the shredding and the running...otherwise, fitting into my summer clothes could be an issue.

8. Jeremy and I drove the Highway 11 Antique Alley Yard Sale last Saturday. It wasn't as great as I expected, but I did find some fun stuff. A bracelet, a big metal spoon and fork to hang on the wall, a glass jug that has now become our "coin jug" and this pretty little candy dish. The one I found was sans lid, which decreases the value, but I just think it'll look pretty sitting around full of something like peanut m&m's! The one I bought only cost $1...this one I found online with the lid cost $20. I had no idea a lid could be so valuable.

I think that purchase officially got me started in collecting milk glass. It's my 5th piece and I think 5 pieces constitutes an official collection!

9. While we were driving Highway 11 (we went from Trussville to the Georgia state line) we stopped in Collinsville, AL for lunch. There is NOTHING in Collinsville, but we managed to find this great little place called Nessa's and had lunch there. It was a cute little stop and the food was really good. I highly recommend the chicken salad if you ever find yourself in Collinsville on a Saturday afternoon!

10. LOST is tonight! I'm excited and sad at the same time. Only 3 1/2 more hours of that show....forever. I'm not sure I can handle it!

Bold or Bad?

I'm blogging a lot this week. I have no idea why. Although, I'm pretty sure my readership consists only of my sister and maybe my mom, so I hope y'all are enjoying this!

I had a manicure and a pedicure yesterday. I wanted to try something different with the color and I went with this. It's called "Skin Tight" (I have NO idea why) and it's kind of a brownish-plum color. I kind of love it and kind of hate it. The jury's still out. Here are my dark (and very short) nails:

Friday's Photos

Hey Katie Kizziah! I am totally stealing your Friday's Photo idea. Today, we're going back in time two years...

I was feeling nostalgic today and remembering back on the day two years ago that we had our engagement pictures made. It was May 2008 (the exact date escapes me) and we met up with our fantastic photog Tyler Andrews at Shelby Park in Nashville. We had the best time taking these shots at the old train bridge there. I was insanely nervous the whole time, but I think the shots turned out great. Here are a few of my favorites:

I don't like being dipped! It feels like I'm falling.

Cheesy, but cute!

There was a train passing overhead and it was SO loud!

I love this one!

This one makes me laugh because I have my head cocked to the side like, "What?!"

These last two were some of the first shots we took that day. Like I said, I was nervous and couldn't stop laughing, but I really like the result:

In this last one, I think Jeremy is reconsidering his decision to marry me. I was laughing like an idiot, but it is so "us."

This Just In

Today at work I had a Smart Ones pizza. It was delicious after the mess that preceded it...

I went into the kitchen, put the pizza in the microwave, set it to 2:30 and walked away. I came back and, in a hurry, snatched it out of the microwave only to realize (too late) that the glass tray was STUCK TO THE BOX. The glass comes flying out, lands on the counter and shatters into a million pieces. My co-workers laughed, I laughed, and also felt like a complete dummy. I figured the pizza was a goner, what with all the glass chips lying around, but I checked it and ate it anyway. If I ate any glass, I certainly couldn't feel it.

In the great words of my mom, "It could ALWAYS be worse."

Also, I did not exercise yesterday and I had some Diet Mountain Dew today. Argh!

Fun times all around!

Happy Thursday!

May Day

Today at school we celebrated "May Day." Technically, I think we're about 13 days late on this one, but the kids didn't seem to care. I don't think most of them even know what May Day is....I'm not even sure I know myself. It's basically an excuse to play outside and eat hot dogs, anyway, so they don't seem to mind!

Here are a few pictures. We even had a "maypole." Again, they have no idea what that is. They just ran around with the ribbons and made one big knot. It was big time fun for them!

Resolution Revisions

So here we are, only 7 days into May and I've already failed at keeping my resolutions 100%. (See previous post if you're curious or care to see what my original resolutions were. Does anyone even read this anymore? Hello? Bueller? Bueller???) So here are a few revisions that I'm adding.

To my "only drink water" resolution I'm adding a clause that allows unsweet tea. Sometimes I just need a little flavor and tea is still better than the amount of diet Coke I was previously consuming.

To my "exercise. every. single. day." resolution I'm adding a goal of at least 5 days a week. I mean, seriously, it's just hard to work out every single day. I know people do it, but for me, right now, it's just not a reality. I didn't work out on Sunday and yesterday, I was at work from 6am - 6pm and I'll be honest, I did not feel like popping in my Jillian Michaels DVD when I got home and I don't feel guilty about that! So, 7 days in and I've worked out 5 of them. That's not too shabby!

So, I'm going to drink mostly water, with some tea, and have a goal of exercising at least 5 days a week. That's still better that what I was doing before.

12 Months of Resolutions

So here it is, already May, and I am just now stumbling on this blog. I am horrible at keeping resolutions, so I think this is a pretty genius idea. The basic idea is that you make 2 resolutions per month that you tackle. Those resolutions will (hopefully) carry over into the next month and then you've made 12 resolutions (and kept them) for the year. I'm getting in on this late, but better late than never, so here we go.

My resolutions for May are:

1. Drink only water. I will allow myself ONE cup of coffee in the morning, but after that, it's all water, all the time. If you know me, you know that diet Coke is my best friend. This is going to be a true challenge!

2. Exercise. Every. Single. Day. For the month of May I will do SOME form of exercise each day. This probably won't carry over into the following months, but my goal is to exercise at least 4-5 times per week after May.

So here we go. What do you think? Is this a dumb idea? Try it! You might like it, too!

Verse of the Day

I don't always notice the verse of the day of the sidebar of my blog, but today, my eyes were directed to it. Thank you, Jesus, for your reminders.

Today's verse is this:

"He must become greater; I must become less."

John 3:30

Honestly, I don't think I've ever read this verse in all my thirty-one years, and if I have, I surely don't remember it striking me as much as it did today. I've been struggling with feeling at peace lately. Life is busy, we don't have a house right now, and we're trying to make some decisions about where we want to "settle." All of that can make for an uneasy feeling.

When I read this today, it hit me that I have been dwelling so much on me lately and completely ignoring Him. Big picture, it doesn't matter that I don't have a house right now or can't buy those cute things I see at the store because I don't have a place for them or where I am geographically for that matter.

He is all that matters.

Thank you, Jesus for Your reminder today!

Half

Molly, Jeremy and I ran in the Country Music Half-Marathon in Nashville this past weekend. We had a great time, and all improved on our times. This was Jeremy's first half-marathon and he finished in 2:04 - not bad for only a few weeks of training! Molly and I finished in 3:06, not great, but a slight improvement from the last time we participated, ahem, 4 years ago!!

The storms held off until the last 2 miles or so and by that time I didn't care if there was a hurricane, I just wanted to be done!

Here are a few pictures:

This was around mile 1.5 - we were still having lots of fun at this point!

Are You Watching?

Do you watch Modern Family (Wednesday nights at 8pm on ABC)?? If not, you should be. It's hilarious, sweet, and heartwarming all rolled up in one. I love it and I think everyone else should, too. Wednesday night Mitchell, one of the most hilarious characters on TV, said this,

"This is the funny thing about growing up - for years and years everybody's desperately afraid to be different in any way. And then suddenly, almost overnight, everybody wants to be different. And that...is where we win."

I love this quote and think it wraps up so much about "growing up" in one neat little statement. It's so true and so heartbreaking at the same time. If only I'd known at 13 what I know now.

I'm not sure where this post was going, but that quote just resonated with me for some reason.

Happy Friday!

Here We Are

Lots going on in our family of two since Valentine's Day! We received and accepted an offer on our house, moved completely out of our house and into my in-laws house (because we haven't decided on a place yet) and we are scheduled to close tomorrow! What a process this has been. I get super anxious about EVERYTHING and this has been no exception. I finally realized that I couldn't control any of it and let it go, but it was not easy. So that's what our time has been consumed with lately....packing, moving, unpacking, organizing, finding things, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, and now CLOSING! I'm so glad this day is here. Now, let the hunt for our new home begin!

And finally, a question. WHAT have some of you done with your wedding dresses? I have mine, in a garment bag, in a closet. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Happy Valentine's Day

It's not my favorite holiday, but I am thankful that I have Jeremy to celebrate with.

Happy Valentine's Day!

LOST

Dear LOST,

It was so great to watch you again last night after a loooong 8 months without you. I am completely, totally, and utterly confused about these alternate/parallel universes, but I am 100% along for the ride. I know we'll get some resolution in the end and I can't wait. I'm already really sad about your impending end, but excited to see how this is all going wrap up - in a neat little package perhaps?

And please, please, please let's give Mr. Terry O'Quinn as much screen time as possible. He is, in one word, amazing.

Thanks,
Your Loyal Fan

Ouch

Today I cleaned some toys in a bleach solution at work. I use bleach to clean A LOT at work - when you work with preschoolers, you HAVE to. It always dries my skin out to some degree, but never quite like this. I had to submerge my hands today to get all the toys out and I'm guessing that bleach and my wedding rings are NOT a good combination.

Lesson learned.

A Recipe Worth Sharing

I found this recipe somewhere online, though the exact site name escapes me now. Anyway, it was so good that I thought I'd share...

Chicken Pesto Mushroom Bake

4-6 boneless chicken breasts, pounded
3 t. Italian seasoning
1 t. garlic salt
1/2 c. bread crumbs
3 t. pesto (or more, like I did, I LOVE pesto!)
1 jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can diced tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350. In a plastic bag combine Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and bread crumbs. Add chicken to coat. Place chicken in olive oil drizzle baking pan. In a separate bowl combine pesto, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Spread over chicken. Top with remaining bread crumbs. Cover, bake for 45 minutes.

Seriously, it was SO good.

In other news, how much do you love Shiri Appleby?? She's just too cute and I am loving her new show Life Unexpected so far. Monday nights, 7:00, the CW. You're welcome!

And finally, it's Tuesday, but felt like Monday all day, but I can handle it because we're one day closer to Friday. Yes!

Encouragement

Go here to check out my sweet friend Katie's blog. She has started a great plan called "Scripture Memory Mondays" and who couldn't use a little more scripture tucked away in your brain, right? It is such an encouragement to me to see those verses pop up each Monday and then for me to work at memorizing it all during the week.

So go, read, and be encouraged!

So Far in 2010...

One of my goals for 2010 is to exercise every. single. day. in the month of January. Six days in and we are good! Thanks Jillian Michaes 30 Day Shred for keeping me going.

In other news, I want to be a housewife. Kids, no kids, I don't care. I don't think I would ever get bored. There, I said it.

Christmas

I took NO pictures over Christmas. None. Zero. Zilch. I mean, not a single one. THAT is sad. Really sad. I forgot to take my camera home to Nashville with me and didn't really think to use my phone until it was too late. Oh well, we'll get 'em next year.

In other news, we celebrated my 31st birthday in style at Maggiano's in Nashville and oh. my. gosh. it was some of the best food I have ever put in my mouth. If you like Italian food, I highly recommend. We ordered "family style" and there was SO much food to go around. The Chocolate Zuccotto Cake did NOT disappoint.
And finally, Jeremy and I watched "Paranormal Activity" last night. It's not the type of movie that I would normally watch as I am not a fan of scary movies, but I felt like I needed to see this one or be out of the loop. It was great. Very real, very scary, and I'll probably continue to be scared for several weeks. Jeremy and I have been calling each other Micah and Katie all day - we should probably stop that...it doesn't end well.