Failed crafts, successful running, and the lack of snow

I found this quick and easy Christmas craft that I thought I would try: glittery votives.  They were supposed to look like this:

Well let's just say they do not look like that.  I think I should have used spray adhesive instead of glue to hold the glitter on because the glue dripped down the sides taking the glitter with it.  And the glitter that is left comes off very easily so they make a mess anywhere I put them.  Oh well, not every project can be successful!

In other news, today I ran for 8 minutes and then 10 minutes with only 2 minutes walking in between.  This is a big improvement for me!  By the end of next week I should be running for 20 minutes with no walking.  I won't tell you how slow I run though because it kind of makes it less exciting.  But I figure that once I get the time down, then I can work on the distance. 

And if you are wondering why it is taking me so long to get through this 9-week program, it is because I am a big baby and I keep repeating weeks because I'm too scared to move on.  That and I quit running for a couple of weeks because it was cold outside and I lost my key to get into the exercise room at the apartment complex.  I had to buy a new one.  For $60!  That shows you how dedicated I am to finish, even if it takes me a whole year.  But it better not because I am aiming to run a 5K in March.  When that actually happens, I want cake or something, because I will have completed the biggest challenge I've ever had to do.  Finishing college, easy.  Running, hard!!

And in final news, it still hasn't snowed here, and I am kind of disappointed.  But I am enjoying this 40 and 50 degree weather we've been having.  If only it didn't have to be freezing to snow...

You know you live in a small town if...

1.  You run into people you know everywhere you go.

2.  All the radio stations come in fuzzy because you're so far away from the big city.
3.  You've stopped going to movies because the only movie theater worth going to is 1.5 hours away.
4.  The entire commercial sector is built off of two roads.
5.  It takes an hour to get to the mall...several towns over.

6.  There are only 5 or 6 decent apartment complexes and when you say which one you live in, everyone instantly knows where it is. 

7.  Cell reception is bad everywhere and in certain parts of town it is nonexistent.

8.  Every new restaurant that opens is impossible to get into without waiting an hour.


Ok so I realize that some of you may be laughing at me because you have lived in REALLY small towns and this is nothing...but having lived my whole life in one of the biggest cities in the country, this feels like small-town America to me.  The lack of convenience can be annoying but it certainly has charm that Houston does not have.  Now if only we could get a decent Tex Mex restaurant...

Date Night

*This picture was from a college Aggie game.

Sometimes date night doesn't really look like date night.

Yesterday after church we cut down a Christmas tree and we (mostly James) did the hard work of sawing a bit off the trunk and getting it secured in the stand.  And then I made a quick (read: not very good) pizza and we watched America's Funniest Home Videos together on the couch with a very snuggly dog and ate blah pizza and laughed our heads off.  Laughing may be good for your health, but laughing together is good for your marriage, I'm convinced.  Then we made a trip to Target for the stuff we still needed for the tree, holding hands, talking about traditions, and trying on hats. 

There was no fancy restaurant, no nice clothes, no candlelight, and yet it was one of the best "dates" I can remember.  I'm so thankful for James and that we can find fun and laughter in the everyday life!

Christmastime already?

*The tree still needs a star and maybe some ribbon.

I've been meaning to write a post for the past week but haven't had much to write about.  I can't believe it's already December and we've been here for 3 months!  It's been a lovely fall with the temperature gradually falling and then going back up again for a few days of respite.  I thought I would be overly sensitive to the cold, but it has given me a chance to get used to it before plunging me in. 

Yesterday we got our first real Christmas tree!  We went to a local tree farm and chopped it down.  Real trees are a lot of work!  Now I understand why my Dad would put up the tree and then just sit on the couch directing when it came to lights and ornaments.  :-)  But it was fun to see the tree come together, even though the branches are very prickly and putting the ornaments on made my fingers hurt from getting poked so much.  I just love Christmas decorations, I wish I could leave them up all year!  I don't know who instituted the strange idea of putting a live tree inside your house for Christmas, but I'm glad they did.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!  This morning I'm drinking coffee and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and later I will be putting my turkey and casseroles in the oven.  Here's what I am thankful for today.

Nov. 18:   I am thankful for the freedom we have in this country, especially the chance to worship God freely.

Nov. 19:  I am thankful that I was raised in a wonderful, loving, Christian home.

Nov. 20:  I am thankful for my three crazy brothers, my sweet and caring mom, and my solid and dependable dad.  I couldn't have asked for a better family!

Nov. 21:  I am thankful for all the beautiful and amazing nature that God has created! 

Nov. 22:  I am thankful for chocolate :-)

Nov. 23:  I am thankful for lazy Saturday mornings with no schedule.

Today:  I am thankful for the start of the holiday season, a chance to celebrate with my husband, and most of all for the delicious food!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

Thankful

I'm a day late with my third Thankful post, whoops!  So here are 8 things I am thankful for.

Nov. 11: I'm thankful for my sweet dog who keeps me company all day and has the softest fur ever.

Nov. 12:  I am so thankful for a large extended family and getting together with both my mom and dad's side at least once a year even though we live across six different states!  I always used to take it for granted, but I realize now that a lot of families don't get along, and the fact that we all speak to each other and enjoy seeing each other is a blessing.

Nov. 13:  I am thankful that any information I want to know can be found easily through the internet.

Nov. 14:  I am thankful for good running shoes.

Nov. 15:  I am thankful for coffee.  It does nothing to help me be more alert, but somehow the morning ritual of having a cup is soothing and nice.  Also it smells the best.

Nov. 16:  I am thankful for the Holy Spirit!

Nov. 17:  I am ever so thankful for the loving, Christian home I was raised in and for my wonderful parents, grandparents, and brothers.


Nov. 18:  I am thankful for my health and for good medical insurance.

Thanksgiving is next week!  What are you thankful for?

Running, Week 5

So today I started Week 5 of my running program.  I know, technically I've been running for about 2 months now, but I'm taking the program very slow and repeating weeks when I feel I need to.  I was pretty nervous about this week because last week I slacked off and only ran once.  Also, I lost the keycard to get into the workout room here at the apartment complex (it's $60 and a waiting list to get a new one!), so I have to run outside exclusively now, which I find to be harder than on a treadmill. 

This week has a 5-minute warm-up followed by three sets of running for 5 minutes and walking for 3.  It went really well!  I completed it without feeling like I was going to die, and that is an accomplishment.

Now if the cold weather could just hold off until my keycard magically appears, I'll be set!

Thankful

This week I am thankful for:

November 4:  God's beautiful grace and forgiveness.

November 5:  An abundance of warm clothes. 

November 6:  Our church.  God has been so faithful.

November 7: Good books and the library that allows me to read unlimited good books without paying for them.

November 8:  My sweet husband who brought me orange roses to commemorate our first date in college.

November 9: Phones and airplanes that make communication and visits relatively easy.

November 10:  Beautiful music.  Think of how much more emotionless this world would be without it.

Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes

I made these the other day and they were pretty good!  Very quick and easy and I love that they are already in individual portions.  I didn't calculate how many calories are in each one though because if I knew I might not enjoy them as much! 

These would be great at a party.  I preferred them after they had been chilled, although it made the liner stick and hard to peel off.  If you take the liner off before you chill them it would probably work better.  I also used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and 1/3 less fat cream cheese.  The recipe makes 8 mini cheesecakes.

Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes
Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp brown sugar
small pinch salt
2 1/2 tbsp butter, melted

Cheesecake
8-oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp sour cream or Greek-style yogurt
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 8 cups of a muffin pan with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, make the graham cracker crust. Mix together graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and salt and stir to combine. Pour over melted butter and stir with a fork to moisten the crumbs.
Place about a tablespoon of crumb mixture in each of the prepared muffin cups and pack down into an even layer.
In a large bowl, make the cheesecake. Cream together cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
Place 1 tbsp chocolate chips into each of the muffin cups. Evenly divide cheesecake batter between the muffin cups, covering the first layer of chocolate chips. Place another tbsp of chocolate chips on top of the cheesecake batter in each of the muffin cups.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheesecakes are set.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan, then carefully transfer cheesecakes to a cooling rack to cool completely before refrigerating.

Makes 8.  Enjoy!

I am a reader

I have always been fascinated by books.  I learned to read at a young age and ever since then it's rare that I don't have a book with me.  Some of my strongest childhood memories involve books: stashing a Nancy Drew under my covers on a Friday night so that I could read the whole thing the next morning before even getting out of bed.  Reading Tom Sawyer in my closet with a flashlight and being scared by the graveyard scene with Injun Joe.  Nights when mom would read The Chronicles of Narnia to us in bed.  One time I tried to take a book and a baked potato into a tree to have lunch.  (It didn't work; I dropped the potato while I was climbing.)  In fact, most of our home videos involve me reading in a corner while the boys goof off for the camera.

As an adult, I read an average of 40-50 books a year.  Thank goodness for the library!  I read fiction, memoir, biographies, dystopian fiction, young adult fiction, nutrition, health, and Christian living.  I probably have 100 books on my to-read list and it is ever growing.  I take books with me so one of my criteria for a purse is that it has to be big enough to fit a book!

There have been times in my life when I was burned out on reading, or just didn't have time to sit down with a book, but even then I read multiple blogs every day.  I just can't get away from it! 

And I think this love of reading has been one of the most beneficial things in my life.  Through books and google, I can learn practically anything I want.  I can visit other worlds and see other points of view.  And I can learn from Godly people who have lived rich, God-filled lives and written about it.

Being able to read has been a blessing and I can't wait to open up the world of books to my future kids.

Why I like Mondays

I used to hate Mondays.  I used to dread going to bed on Sunday night because Monday came next.  A long, tedious, week of work lay ahead of me. 

Well now I love Mondays!  Aside from the days that James is home, Monday is my favorite day of the week!  This is because Monday is my cleaning day and I am always so productive.  After a weekend of doing no housework, the house is usually starting to get on my nerves, so I pop the iPod into the speakers and tidy, vacuum, mop, dust, and clean the bathrooms and the kitchen.

In addition, today I did two loads of laundry, ironed James' work shirts, and went to the library.  It is a gorgeous day and Casper has been especially good today.  My house smells like the fall candle that I have burning, and I have baked tortellini and acorn squash in the oven.

I love that satisfied feeling when you know you've done a good job, and that other great feeling when everything is clean.  And lest anybody think too much of my accomplishments, I still have a pile of papers to file, a pile of dirty clothes on the floor, and my fridge is getting awfully empty.  That will be tomorrow.

It's such a nice feeling to not dread the beginning of the week!

Thankful

Halloween is finally over (I'm not a huge fan) and my second favorite holiday is around the corner!  What is better than celebrating all that God has done for you, and stuffing your face with food while you're at it?  So to really get into grateful mode, I am going to post the things that I am grateful for every Thursday until Thanksgiving, one thing for each day. 

This week I am thankful for:



November 1: The way James will try anything I make for dinner, even if it's weird (pot stickers and fried rice).  And then when it turns out that the pot stickers have broccoli in them (oops) and the food is declared inedible (only by him, I liked it!), he still doesn't complain, even when it means eating last night's leftovers.

November 2: The beautiful gold and orange and red trees.  The foliage looks so vibrant and alive (which is kind of funny since the leaves are actually dying).  Texas really misses out, and it took me 25 years to find out.

November 3: Cute flannel pajama pants and comfy slippers.  So cozy and comfortable.

A lot about nothing

This past weekend was cold and rainy, so we mostly stayed inside and relaxed, and it was nice.  I clocked in a lot of time on the couch with a book.  Saturday, the base that James works at had family day and so I was allowed to come on base and see his office and the planes that he works with.  Very cool!  Sunday evening we took Casper to his first obedience class.  Poor puppy has absolutely no idea how to sit on command; he just looks at you like you're crazy.  He even stumped the teacher!  I can tell that although he is smart, he is stubborn and independent.  I think he will not be the star pupil of the class, but we're going to do our best anyway.

Today I am having a hard time thinking of anything worthwhile to say, so I will just end with a few random facts about me. Quirks if you will.

*I don't sleep or shower with my wedding/engagement rings on.  The only jewelry I don't take off to sleep is my stud earrings.

*I love comfy pajama pants and often change into them right after dinner.  They're so much more comfortable than jeans.

*If I were on death row, my last meal would be Olive Garden salad, Red Lobster's cheddar bay biscuits, linguine with shrimp in a cream sauce, and Ben and Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream.  James said his would be steak.  Clearly I've thought about this too much.

*When I go on vacation, I like to see nature or culture, but I'm not big on theme parks.  I'll take the beach or the mountains or a cool historic house any day over Disney World or Sea World or an amusement park.

How about you?

Not bored yet

We've been here for 2 months now and somehow I haven't gotten bored staying at home yet.  I don't know what I was expecting; I've never been easily bored.  I was always the kid that could entertain herself for hours.  Usually with a book.  As a kid I had a friend who always needed to be doing an activity and she would say "I'm bored" a lot and I would always think "how can you be bored already??  Can't we just sit here and do something calm for a while?"

I guess I thought that after a while I'd start wanting to get a job.  Nope...hasn't happened yet.  I'm finding plenty to do with errands and cleaning and cooking and blogging and walking the dog and running and crafting and church-related activities.  I find myself thinking "how did I even fit a job in here before?" I just couldn't do as much and I was stressed a lot.  I don't like living like that.

Right now dinner is in the crockpot, my kitchen is clean, I just vacuumed and mopped the floors, and it's a beautiful sunny day.  It feels good.  Maybe eventually I will start looking for a job...but right now I'm just enjoying this life.

*Disclaimer:  Even though I'm happy and my husband is fine with me not working, I still feel like I have to justify why I'm not working...or even job hunting.  Women used to be home-makers all the time and that was normal, but now it's just looked on as lazy or weird.  Especially since I don't have kids yet.  That's the only thing I dislike about not working.  So far it's not enough motivation for me to try to get a job.  :-p

Sightseeing in MD

Last week I didn't post because my mom was here!  I had a great time showing her around town in the beautiful fall weather. 

Wednesday it was overcast and drizzly but that didn't stop us from going to see the historic Dr. Mudd's house.  I forgot my camera so please excuse the bad quality of my iPod photos.  This house is where John Wilkes Booth stopped to get his broken leg set after he jumped off the balcony after shooting Lincoln.  He rode on horse from Washington D.C., so he traveled a good 25 miles before he stopped.  Dr. Mudd didn't know that the president had been shot yet when he helped Booth, but he still received prison time for harboring and aiding a fugitive. 

No pictures were allowed on the inside of the house, but they had many original pieces as well as reconstructed period pieces in the house.  The grounds were just beautiful.  Rolling hills and fields as far as you could see.  The pictures don't do it justice.

On Thursday, we took Casper jogging on a beautiful trail in the beautiful sunshine.

Then we spent the rest of the afternoon making my balcony beautiful!  Thanks mom for the beautiful flowers and chairs!

Mums just feel so festive to me, so I'm hoping they last for a little while even though my balcony is shaded and they are supposed to get full sun.

We had a wonderful visit and I was sad to drop her off at the airport on Friday.  Thanks for coming Mom!

Then Friday evening we officially adopted Casper, so he's ours for good now, yay!  We love him, except for the times when he goes crazy and jumps off the couch and lands on your face and scratches it.  We don't like that.  This week I will be signing him up for obedience classes so we can learn to work on some of the behaviors that we don't like.  Such as jumping on faces.  That will be number 1.  To be fair, James got him riled up while playing with him.  We may be working on that too.  ;-)

Convictions from the book of Luke

In my Bible reading today I came across Luke 4:18.  Jesus is at the beginning of His ministry and He reads from Isaiah in the synagogue and says:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

In this passage, Jesus is defining His ministry.  To preach to the poor, to release the captives, to free the oppressed and give sight to the blind. 

And I can't help but notice that not many churches today follow Christ's example.  Sure, we give money to help these causes, but we don't make it personal.  We don't actually interact with the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed.

We create children's ministries and women's ministries and Bible studies, and that is great, these things are needed and good.  But I believe there is a problem when we LIMIT our ministries to the people already inside the church walls who look and act and believe just like we do.

I am as guilty of it as anybody.  It is easy to talk but it is difficult to get out of your comfort zone and GO.  So I am praying today that God will give me the strength to put aside my fears and my prejudices and my uncomfortableness, and give me an opportunity to go and do.  Because I am new to the area, I don't know what the need is here; I don't know where or who, but that is not an excuse to sit back and forget about it.  I will be on the lookout for the place where God wants me to serve.

Let's follow Christ's example and go into our communities, get our hands dirty, and share the love of Jesus with those who need Him the most.

Fall is appearing!

Fall has decided to show up here in Maryland and it is beautiful!  Every week I see more bright colors.  And when it's not raining (which is a lot of the time), the weather has been just gorgeous!  I am really enjoying this season.

Thoughts on a Monday Morning

1.  We had a fun weekend at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.  I'd never been to one before, and my favorite part was the food.  I had a loaded baked potato, half of a soft pretzel, and dark chocolate dipped cheesecake on a stick.  I should have taken a picture, it was awesome!  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and it was fun watching jousting and archery and visiting the shops.  There were a lot of weird costumes though, and a lot of girls seemed to think it was "dress like a slut" day.  But other than that, it was an enjoyable experience.

This picture is grainy because my camera died after 2 pictures so I had to use my iPod, but it's from the jousting.

2.  We are currently fostering a dog from a nearby shelter until he can be adopted (hopefully by us).  His name is Casper and he is a 4-year old American Eskimo.  At first he was really low key because he was sick, but as soon as we got him on antibiotics he perked right up.  He can get a little hyper, but he's really sweet and friendly and we love him.  Once we adopt him, we'll try some obedience school to help him get some manners.

Seriously, look at that face!  I don't know how anybody could have given up this cutie pie.  So far we've noticed very few behavioral problems and he seems pretty smart so a little training will probably help with those.

3.  Today I started week 3 of my running program.  Actually this is the 5th week I've been running, but I repeated week 2 because of a twisted ankle and I'm repeating week 3 because my knees were hurting too much to run last week.  I got running shoes and some cushy insoles this weekend and tried them out today.  I can tell that they are helping, but one knee still hurts, so I don't know what to do about that.  I have had a history of knee pain though since college, so it's probably not caused by running.  I think I may try to see a chiropractor about it if it keeps up.  On the plus side, I can see definite stamina improvement and that is good.

4.  My kitchen is infested with fruit flies!  Apparently they are a problem here.  I tried to set up a fruit trap for them with cellophane that they can get into but not out of, but so far it's not working.  At least they aren't cockroaches!  I'll take fruit flies over roaches any day.

5.  Is Maryland considered part of New England?  If they are, I think they may kick me out because I don't like clam chowder.  It tastes like fishy potato soup.  Eww.

Happy Columbus Day!

Moving is a pain

An hour at the DMV and about $360 later, I am officially a Maryland driver. (I blocked out all the information on my driver's license in case someone stumbles on this blog and decides to steal my identity.)

I don't know if this is just the standard for moving to a different state, but getting our cars legal here has been incredibly frustrating and complicated. First, everything is more expensive here. Second, Maryland state inspections are totally different from Texas state inspections. Mine passed, but James had a lot of problems. He had to get several things fixed and the tinting completely removed from his windows before they would pass his car. Third, the MVA (the equivalent of the DMV) requires that you bring just about every important piece of documentation that you have. They needed my social security, my birth certificate, my marriage license, two forms of proof of residence, my inspection statement, and my firstborn child. Just kidding.

Anyway, I am very glad to have this annoying, complicated process completed! Now to figure out what to do about tires before it starts snowing...

Thanksgiving a little early

"But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” " Luke 19:40

I find that I am full of thanks these days. 

Thank you Lord for a safe move.
Thank you for good family time before we left.
Thank you for providing the money to move without stressing.
Thank you for James' job!
Extra thanks that I got to quit mine!
Thank you for electricity during the hurricane.
Thank you for beautiful weather.
Thank you for nature.
Thank you for this time to make a habit of exercise.
Thank you for a new church!
Thank you for friends.

Thank you for Your word, Your faithfulness, and Your blessings that are raining down on us. You have been so gracious to us!

I am SO not a city girl

One of my favorite things about this apartment is that the windows face trees instead of buildings.  Every morning I sit on the couch with the blinds open and watch the pine needles flutter in the breeze, golden green in the morning sun.  And the calm beauty of it sooths my soul. 

I need this. 

For the 3 years I was in League City, I had few chances to see God's beautiful nature.  I was surrounded by brick buildings and cement.  I worked in a room with no windows and ugly butter-colored walls.  I was busy every day, with no time to sit and reflect.  It may sound silly, but I felt like I was being slowly smothered, like I was gasping for a glimpse of beauty.  I was desperate for a getaway, planning vacations to beautiful places in my head to get away from all the ugly.

I have discovered that I can never be a true city girl.  True, I love having shopping and restaurants nearby and I hate bugs, but I need a piece of nature like I need to learn and create.  It's a part of who I am.

 
So this, this is like a soothing balm on my nature-starved soul, and it is wonderful.

Because it's Friday

Because it's Friday, and things shouldn't be taken too seriously on Friday, and because I can't resist these things, here's a just-for-fun ABC quiz.

A. Age: 25

B. Bed size: Queen.  Although James probably wishes we had a King because I tend to steal his covers and scootch him over to the very edge of the bed in my sleep.  I'm apparently a bed hog.

C. Chore that you hate: Dishes.  They are never-ending!  I think there are gremlins in my kitchen making messes while I'm not looking.

D. Dogs: No dog yet, but we're trying to adopt one from a nearby shelter.  We love him already!

E. Essential start to your day: A kiss from the hubby before he goes off to work.

F. Favorite color: I can never answer this question correctly because I have three favorite colors.  They are Clover, Turquoise/Teal, and Plum.  NOT green, blue, and purple...I am very specific.  :-)

G. Gold or Silver: Silver, but lately I've been digging the gold. 

H. Height: 5'8".  I don't wear heels.
I. Instruments you play: Piano.  When we get a house, I am getting a piano.  I miss it!  I played the flute in 9th grade, but don't ask me to play now because I have completely forgotten everything.
J. Job title: Currently I am a Spender of the Money and an interior decorator wannabe.  ;-)
K. Kids: None yet, but I love 'em!  Especially wee little tiny brand new babies. 
L. Live: Maryland.  Isn't that weird? It's definitely not Texas, but I like it here so far. 

M. Mother’s name: Diana.  She goes by DeeDee, and she reads this blog.  Love you Mom!

N. Nicknames: Karebear, Karibug, Scary Kari, Hairy Kari, Fairy Kari (Pretty much anything that rhymes with Kari, I've been called) Fuzzywuzzy, Red

O. Overnight hospital stays: I was in the hospital for a few weeks when I was born because I was premature.  That's it.  I'm hoping to keep it that way until I have kids!

P. Pet peeves: When people turn their bass up so high that it rattles/vibrates the car or floor.  When commercials advertise unhealthy, processed food as healthy. 

Q. Quote from a movie: "When what's left of you gets around to what's left to be gotten, what's left to be gotten won't be worth getting, whatever it is you've got left."  Name that movie!

R. Right or left handed: I'm a lefty.

S. Siblings: Three younger brothers and a brother-in-law.  We need some more women around here!
U. Ultimate Vacation: I have two.  My ultimate American vacation would be a road trip to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, The Colorado Rockies, and the Grand Canyon.  My ultimate non-American vacation would be to take a couple months off and go to the Mediterranean: Morocco, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt.  Maybe throw in some Germany/Austria since they're so close.  I have big travel dreams!

V. Vegetable you hate: I don't know if I hate them, but I'm not a big fan of spinach or broccoli.

W. What makes you run late: I can't for the life of me get up when my alarm goes off...so it's usually because I overslept.  That or I spent too long on Facebook.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: My mouth has had an awful lot of X-rays.  I think dentists get a kick out of their patients gagging on those awful films that they shove into your throat.  Also I had my foot X-rayed when I broke my toe.

Y. Yummy food that you make: James likes my sausage pasta and shepherd's pie.  I like my red beans and rice, and chicken tortilla soup.

Z. Zoo animal: I always like the penguins and monkeys.

Happy Friday!

Fall Crafting

I have been on a crafting kick these past few weeks; I think I've been to Joann's about 5 times.  So, in  celebration of fall, here is my newest creation.

Isn't it pretty?  I used these tutorials.  The only supplies I used were burlap, felt, hot glue, that little berry branch, and a foam wreath form.  Easy peasy.  Hello fall!

God is Faithful: A Church Update

If you have been reading my blog since the beginning (February), you know that we had a hard time with church in League City.  We attended a small community church for about a year, and then some bad things happened and the church split up and we left.  After that, we visited what seemed like every church in the city and didn't ever feel right in any of them.  It was very discouraging.  Hands and Feet kept us in fellowship with believers (we love you guys!), and that was a blessing to us, but we were disheartened about the whole church situation.

When James accepted the job here in Maryland, I had a talk with God.  Several, actually.  And every time it went something like this: "Lord, I know that you want us to go here.  I am excited, but also nervous because we know nobody and it is so far away from our families.  Please, please, PLEASE provide a church family for us!  I can't do this no church thing anymore."

I've been memorizing 1 John 5:14-15.  It says:

 "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

The American church may not always get things right, but I know that it is in His will that believers fellowship together, encourage each other, and hold each other to the Word of God.  So I could pray that prayer with confidence that eventually it would be answered.  The only problem is that God's timetable is not the same as mine and I know from experience that often God's answer is "wait."

I don't know all the answers about why we went through what we did in Texas, but I do know that part of it is because without hardship we can't really appreciate His blessings, and in the hard times we have to rely on God only.  Well I am appreciating His blessings right now because it seems that He has seen fit to bless us with a church home!

The second Sunday after we moved in, we visited a small community church that meets in a school.  (Side note: what is it with us and start-up churches?  It's like we're moths and they are the light, we're drawn to them!)  We sat down and immediately someone came over to talk to us.  After the service, we were invited to go have lunch with several young married couples.  Everyone was so welcoming and friendly, it was such a blessing!  Do you know that in League City, out of the 5 billion churches we visited, NOT ONE ever asked us to have lunch with them? 

We liked this church so much that we haven't even visited anywhere else.  We enjoy the worship and the service, but what has made it stand out are the people.  There are a few couples that even live in our apartment complex.  We went to a game night and tonight we're having a movie night.  I am blown away by how these people have just embraced us and taken us in.  It is wonderful!  True Christian hospitality.  I am not going to say with certainty that this is "our church" because we've only been there 4 times, but we both don't want to go anywhere else.  And that is a great feeling!

Praise the Lord for His blessings, His faithfulness never fails! 

Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness,

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed, Thy hand has provided.

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto thee!

Running update

Today I started Week 2 of the Couch to 5K program.  I ended up taking two weeks to complete Week 1 because I twisted my ankle and couldn't finish the last day, and I'm weird and didn't want to start Week 2 in the middle of a week.  So I just ran a couple extra days on Week 1 - extra practice can never hurt!

Week 2 is 90 seconds of running alternating with 2 minutes of walking.  That is a 30 second increase in running, and I was pleasantly surprised!  As far as stamina goes, today was great.  By the last run I was starting to get kind of tired, but that extra running really wasn't that hard.  In fact, I'd say today was easier than both times that I ran last week. 

My problem seems to be that random body parts hurt when I run.  Today my knees were hurting me, but not enough for me to stop.  I'm trying to be light footed and conscious of how I'm running so that I don't injure myself again, and new running shoes should help once I get them.

So that's how the running is going.

Also,  we might be getting a dog soon!  We visited a local animal shelter on Saturday and found a dog we would love to take home!  We are just waiting on more information about him, because he was new to the shelter.  We fell in love with him so we are crossing our fingers that all goes well and we can adopt him soon!  I'll definitely post pictures if we get to keep him. 

Friday musings

As of yesterday, we have lived here in Maryland for one month.  I feel like I should have some observations but I can't come up with anything right now, so here's what my brain has been occupied with this morning.

- It's a gray, off and on rainy day today and it makes me want to make cookies.  So I think I will try a new chocolate chip recipe this afternoon.

- We really want to get a puppy, so I've been looking at adoptable pets in the area this morning.  They are so cute!

- To usher in fall this week I put together an autumn table centerpiece, and it makes me smile every time I look at it!  Next up, a fall wreath.

- Tomorrow we are going to the county fair!  Isn't that cool?  I feel like county fairs only exist in movies because we never had one in Houston, so I think it's going to be fun.  And interesting.  For example, they apparently race pigs there.  And do something called a horse pull.  And the food is supposedly to die for.  On a side note, I said something about this area being rural, and someone asked me where I'm from that I would think this is rural.  But come on, they have a county fair!  I think that makes it rural.

- I am much more comfortable being by myself all day than I thought I would.  I feel more laid back and peaceful.  And also a little bit guilty because while James is working all day, I am running and blogging and reading and crafting.  But he says it doesn't bother him, especially since he has had to do WAY less chores these days.  I have to say, I feel happier here, and James said he can tell.  I think it has a LOT to do with me not having to work 40 hours a week at a job that I hate.  That really drains a person, so I am soaking up my freedom while I have it.

Now I'm off to go make those cookies and start on that wreath!  Maybe I'll put on a little Buble to keep me company.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Recap

This weekend we decided to take advantage of the cool weather and get out of the house!  We had grand plans to go to the National Zoo, take pictures in front of the White House, and see the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives.  We took the metro into the city because driving and parking is a pain.

However, once we got to D.C. I realized that it was colder there than at our house and I had not dressed warmly enough, so we had to stop and get me a jacket from Loft.  James says I planned the whole thing since Loft is my favorite store and he's partly right - I did actually look up where the nearest Loft to the zoo was just in case we happened to have some extra time, but I did not try to underdress on purpose!

After grabbing some lunch and walking around a lot, we finally found the store, but that little stop took up about an hour, and by the time we made it to the zoo, we were already getting sore feet and it was the afternoon.  We didn't make it to our other two planned stops, but that's ok!  We had fun at the zoo.

The pandas were the highlight since neither one of us had ever seen a panda in real life before.  They are so furry and cuddly looking that they could be giant stuffed animals, and they really do sit on their behinds like the pictures show.  I could just picture them sitting on the couch eating potato chips and watching TV.

We also saw anteaters...they are so funny looking.

And this funny gorilla and his antics made us laugh.

After the zoo, all of our walking around the city, and going down the longest, steepest staircases you've ever seen to get to the metro, we both had aching feet and legs - I am still sore enough two days later that I can't run today!  But it was fun and I think it is so cool that we can go to D.C. any time we want.  And most of the things there are free!

Unfortunately, today is Monday and James went back to work, so today is clean the house day for me!  I have no idea how two people can create such a mess in such a short period of time.  So, time for me to crank up the music and get my clean on.  Maybe I'll throw some periodic jumping jacks in there and call it my exercise for the day since I'm too sore to run...:-)

New jewelry storage

Yesterday I said that I had a little project in the works - a jewelry storage system!  This was how I was storing my jewelry:

My necklaces were all jumbled together in this box:

It was definitely not working for me.  In our old apartment, I had my earrings in those little drawer organizers and my necklaces hung on the wall in the closet.  It wasn't the prettiest system, but it worked and nobody had to see it.  However, this apartment has no hidden space for me to do the same, so I had to do something different.

Here is the finished product:

 Much better!  And a closeup:

I love it!  I love that it's girly and pretty and I can hang it on the wall in the bedroom and not have to hide it!  Plus, it was a fun craft project.  I'm definitely not crafty enough to have come up with this on my own, so I followed this tutorial from Live a Little Wilder.  I thought about spray painting the frame, but decided to keep it clean and white.  The fun thing about this is that you can personalize it however you want!  You can make the flowers out of any color fabric and spray paint the frame.  There are even different colors of burlap.

Here's the cost breakdown:

White frame from Michael's, half off: $8.99
Burlap from Joann's: $3.99 a yard.  I bought a whole yard but at most I used about 1/8 of it, so that would be about 50 cents.  I have an idea about what to do with the rest of the burlap so that it won't be wasted.
Fabric, felt, and sequins for the flowers: about $6, and I have leftovers of all of them.
Ribbon to hang it: $3 for the whole roll and of course I used a very small piece.
Six white hooks from Lowe's: $2.63

Total: $21.12

I also had to buy a glue gun for this project, but I didn't include it in the cost because i can use it over and over again.  If you already have ribbon, or an old picture frame to repurpose, this project would be even cheaper!

And there you have an easy, fun, and super cute personalized jewelry organizer!

C25K Week 1 Day 2

Woohoo!  I won't blog every time I run, I promise.  But I am excited because I finished Day 2 and it was EASIER THAN DAY 1!!  Given the fact that yesterday my back and legs were super sore, I thought surely today would be harder.  But I was less tired at the end, and my shins don't hurt today!  And so far I haven't gotten a single side stich or ichy legs (my usual side effects of running/walking fast)!  It may be a small thing, but for me it's a big accomplishment.  Here are the stats:

Distance: 1.69 miles
Calories burned: 173

Also, I have a craft that I am in the middle of making to help me store my jewelry.  I will post pictures of it when I am done.

Have a great Wednesday!

An introduction to running: Couch to 5K Week 1, Day 1

"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  Hebrews 12: 1b-2

Today I took a leap and started my journey to be a jogger.  I know, you're probably laughing right now, even I think it's ridiculous.  Because I DON'T RUN.  Like, ever.  If a wild animal was ever chasing me, my strategy would probably be to fall down and play dead.  It would have a greater chance of success than me running away.

But I did it anyway.  I'm really making it a major goal of this season of my life to get in better shape.  Not only to get a better shape (I'll admit, that's a big part of it) but also because regular exercise has many health benefits.  I have the time now to make exercise a priority, and so I am, because I'll probably never get this chance again to form the habit.

That being said, this is going to be hard. 

I've been walking a mile three times a week for the past 2 weeks in preparation, because I knew that just jumping into running without easing myself into it would be a bad idea.  And even still it was difficult.

Week 1 of the Couch to 5K program has the person alternate 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking for 20 minutes, with a 5 minute walk for warmup and cooldown.  That doesn't sound too hard right?  I was able to complete the whole workout but I was pretty wiped by the end.  And I'm pretty sure I'm the slowest jogger on the planet.  Also, my shins hurt.  Already.  Isn't that something that seasoned, hardcore runners are supposed to get?

If this program can actually get me to run a 5K straight through in less than 5 hours, it will be a real live miracle.  I prayed before I started that I wouldn't give up, and the verse above popped into my mind.  "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus..."  I've always loved that verse, won't it be cool to apply it to actual running?  Well ok then, I guess I'm going to do this thing!

Our new apartment

I know that you guys want to see what our apartment looks like, so I took some photos.  We haven't hung any pictures on the wall and the I'm not terribly fond of the furniture arrangement in the living room, so things will change, but for now this is how it is.

I am not fond of the black countertops.  They show every little drop of water and look dirty very easily...which surprises me because I would think the dark color would hide blemishes, but not so.  However, this kitchen has a bit more storage space than my last kitchen, and there is an adjoining laundry room (I was standing in it to take this picture), so I will forgive the ugly counters.

If you look to the right when you walk in the door, you see the living room.  It's been hard to find a good furniture configuration that both of us like, so it's here for now.

There is actually a separate dining area behind the living room in this apartment and I like it, especially the view from the balcony.

From the dining area there's this little media nook where we put our desk.  Not sure if that bookshelf will stay there or move somewhere else.

Then there are two bedrooms and two bathrooms in the back, one of which has no furniture and the other of which is too cluttered at the moment for me to take a picture.  :-)

So that's our apartment!  We like it.  I can't wait to have a house though that I can paint and really make our own, but for now, we're pretty happy with what we've got.

Time to go make dinner, chicken cordon bleu is calling my name!

Pictures from the air show

On Sunday we went to the air show at the base to see the Blue Angels!  They were really neat; I didn't expect to like them so much, but it is amazing what they can do.  Ten percent of the pilots have died since the shows began - it is dangerous to fly 18 inches from the plane next to you!  But very cool to watch.