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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

A few favorites








Monday, February 27, 2012

Reading Check In

Wow, I have read 7 books already this year!  Granted, a few have been YA Lit, but they were still over 200 pages so I am counting them as "real"books.  I don't believe I ever formalized my reading goal for 2012, so here goes...

I read 27 books last year, which is an average of 2.25 books per month.  If I stay at my current reading rate, I will average 3.5 books per month, which is 42 books this year.  I hesitate to increase my goal so dramatically, so I will set my goal of 40 books in 2012!

So how have I read 7 books in 2 months?  I was on vacation this week so I finished up 2 books that I had started earlier in the month as well as read 1 start to finish.  I am also participating in a Winter Reading Challenge so I am trying to get as many of those tasks read as possible.  When I am participating in a reading challenge, I only read books that will fill categories and earn points.  This one ends March 31 so my book choices will open up a bit.  I am also making reading a priority.  I am not going to lie, I watched a ton of TV this vacation, but I also read a ton.  I have been spending the time after dinner on some nights reading for what ends up being a few hours.  It also helps that I have selected some good books that I can't wait to get back into.  Also, my Kindle and the lending library has been amazing.  :-)  Happy Reading!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Church Chat

Today at church, the message was about God's faithfulness.  It was the gospel when Jesus was in the desert for 40 days being tempted by Satan, and God's faithfulness brought him through it.

A friend sent me the following verse:  "The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." Psalm 145:13b 


My sister writes:  Everyday, know that if we chose to just take a step of faith, God is faithful to work His plan through us.  Just because Jairus (the guy) was delayed in his request to Jesus doesn't mean that his daughter still didn't get brought back to life. In fact, it made Jesus MORE awesome that he did that instead of just heal her.  Everything works in its own time for the Glory of God. 

2 years 

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Weekly Wrap Up

Wow, this week flew by!  February break has come and almost gone even faster than a school week.  We had a lot of fun this week as well as plenty of down time.

1.  We went late night bowling with John and Jenn.  It was unlimited bowling and pizza so we had some old school fun.  I am a terrible bowler, but I did manage a few strikes!  The most important part is that we had a ton of fun.

2.  We visited Nan and Pop this week.  This visit came with mixed emotions as their health isn't great, but they were really happy to spend time with us.

3.  I had a great lunch with my friend Rebecca and her son Parker.  I love having a friend on the other side of adoption as it gives us hope.  She also totally "gets it" and is so supportive.

4.  We spent a lot of time with Jess and James this week also!  Three times in one week is a new record for us.  It is hard to believe that he is 5 months old already, and he is getting so big!  He is changing all of the time, and it is so much fun to see him learning new things.

5.  I am really proud of myself for hitting the gym so much.  I took two new classes this week in addition to my two zumba classes.  While I am SO sore, I am getting in pretty good shape.  I actually look forward to working out, which is a huge shift for me, and I am happy about it.  I have stopped watching what I eat for the most part, but it's OK because I am willing to work out harder than ever.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Goodies from a Shop-a-holic

Dave and I both LOVE outlet shopping, so when we headed out today, we knew it would be BIG.  As usual, Dave found more than I did, but I did pretty well!  We pretty much stick to 3 stores, so without further ado...

From Banana Republic:


From Gap:


The hoodie was $1.97

From J. Crew:


This is truly the piece de resistance.  This dress can be worn 3 ways!  It can be a knee-length strapless dress, a mini-strapless dress or a below the knee skirt!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Baby G Clothes!

I can not resist Kohl's baby clothes clearance section!  Arriving this week in Baby G's closet:



 in white and orange


Adorable!

in green, blue, and black

I love gray stripes!

Hurry up kiddo before I spend all of my money!!

~Quote~

"Don't ever complain about where you are because you are the person that brought you there."  ~Chelsea Handler's mom

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Weekly Wrap Up

I forgot to do this post last week, but I am back with it now!

1.  The week before vacation is always filled with anticipation.  Amazingly, the kids were SO well-behaved.  The week before April break is a different story, but I happily accepted my easy week.

2.  I love my sister-in-law Sara to pieces.  Even though she is in California, she is such a positive presence in our lives.  Being the oldest in my family, having an older sister is new-ish to me.  Her love and guidance has been a real life raft for me lately, and I so appreciate her wisdom.

3.  Dave loved his birthday gift of Syracuse basketball tickets, and we are really looking forward to going to a game in 2 weeks.  We also had a wonderfully romantic meal last Saturday night.  I love, love, love Dave and how happy (and easy) our marriage is.

4.  We spent time with John and Jenn (our couple BFFs) last night.  They are just so much fun.  We are planning to go bowling this week also.

5.  I had a very floral Valentine's Day!  For those of you who don't know, I LOVE FLOWERS!  Dave and the dogs surprised me with an arrangement on Monday.  When I went to the gym, they were handing out flowers.  Dave also gave me a rose yesterday.  I just love how beautiful flowers are.  They are probably the easiest way to make me smile.

Small Pleasures

February is a month that hosts the birthdays of two of my favorite people:  Dave and Jess.  We are having a family dinner party for their birthdays tonight, and I wrapped her gifts yesterday.  I really enjoy wrapping gifts.  There is something about stacking the boxes in size order and connecting them with matching ribbon that really gives me a kick.  Getting a present is fun; getting a beautifully wrapped gift is even better!

Here are some pretty packages that I did not wrap, but I think you will enjoy!






My Mac

I made the switch from a PC to a Mac one year ago.  My old laptop was just so-so and my parents wanted me to sell it to my Nan, so I decided to upgrade to a seriously "better" computer.  I bought the basic MacBook in the Apple store after doing a bit of research for $1,200.



New Things I Can Do:
*  I Skype because my Mac has a camera
*  I watch DVDs
*  From what I've been told, I can do lots more.  I just don't know what that entails.

Shortfalls:
*  Google Docs has some issues, but I am not sure they are Mac-related
*  There is no Page Down or Home buttons on the key board

Long story short, I like the way it looks, but I am probably under-utilyzing what it can do.  I don't make art or movies, which is what the Mac was meant to do.  I have more capabilities than I know how to use or what to do with.

Do I like it?  Yes.  I also like that it is white.  The only better option would have been blue.  Or red.

What I am really waiting for is the Cloud.  I am due for a new phone in December, and I will be getting an I-phone so that my phone and computer can synch my Cloud.  My Droid is great to email and upload pics to Facebook, but I look forward to a day when all my data is in both places.  I have no idea how this Cloud concept works, but I am very excited for it!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Do be a Do Bee, Don't be a Don't Bee!

I have been noticing that a number of people I know who have chronic bad attitudes, and it is really bothering me.  I think what bugs me the most is what is bothering them is within their control to change.  I dislike seeing others give up their power within their lives and settle for being complacent and complaining!

I know not everything can be fixed, but if you don't change the parts that can, why are you complaining?  No one likes being around negative people.  No one.  Some people have real problems, like terminal illness.  I understand that we all need to vent from time to time (as I am doing now), but when these vents become all people ever say, well it's not good.

We never know how long our lives will be, so why would you spend even one day doing something that makes you so clearly miserable?  Is that how you want to live your life?

Monday, February 6, 2012

Superbowl Food!

Dave and I decided to have a low-key Superbowl this year and enjoy the game with just the 2 (well 4 if you count the doggies) of us.  We experimented a bit with food, and the results were quite tasty!


Buffalo Chicken Pizza


Chili Nachos


Dave is proud of his creation!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Weekly Wrap Up

What a zany week!  I am not sure why I feel so crazed on this Friday night, but I am sure glad it is the weekend!

Top 5:

1.  I took an awesome spin/zumba class tonight!  It was a fundraiser for the American Heart Association, and one of my friends was teaching.  I worked my butt off, and it felt GREAT!

2.  One of my dear friends is somewhat newly expecting her 2nd baby, and she heard the little one's heartbeat on Monday.  I am saying she is having a boy.  I am telling you now so that when the time comes, I can say I was right.

3.  I made a killer chili this week.  I ended using ground beef instead of turkey because it is all we had in the freezer, and it was yummy.

4.  The Superbowl is on Sunday.  I have mixed feelings truth be told.  I am excited for what promises to be a great game, but it also means the end if the season.  I love our football Sundays, and I am not sure what we will do.

5.  We have a small lead from our agency.  It may or may not be anything, but someone liked our profile.  I am happy that our profile spoke to someone, and I hope our baby will find us soon.  I know I can't put a timeline on this, but I would really like to be a mom asap.  :-)