Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust

I've been thinking a lot about dreams lately. I guess because I've been trying to focus on what it is I want to do with my life, and what it is I'm supposed to be doing, I've allowed myself to dream a bit. I've asked myself the age-old question: "If you could do anything, anything at all, what would you do?" in hopes of uncovering what it is that I really want to do.

So I gather up my big dreams and then I say to myself, "I caaa-aan't." and "That will never really happen."

The other night I was typing away on my computer, not really thinking anything of it, and I suddenly flashed back. I was remembering being in 5th grade and being in a typing class. I had been FREAKING out because we were going to be tested on typing without looking at the keys and I thought there was no way that I would be able to do it. And I don't remember what happened, or if I did well on the test or anything like that. All I remember is thinking, "I will NEVER be able to type without looking at the keys. And I will NEVER be able to type fast. It is just something that will never be a part of my life."

And now here I was, 12 years later, typing like the wind (and not looking at the keys) and not thinking a thing of it. It is just something I do. It is a part of my life that I never think about and probably take for granted. So I got to thinking: what dreams do I have that terrify me right now that could possibly be things I actually take for granted in the future? And on a scarier note: what things am I NOT DOING right now out of fear, that I could be doing with ease? What situations or steps have I avoided that I could have been long past by now? And that SCARES me.

And why do I think that I can't do these things? Where is my faith?

Yesterday, as I was driving and listening to some Disney music, the song "You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!" came on. Because I've seen the movie and know the story, I thought it was kind of funny in the beginning when the children couldn't fly because Peter forgot about the pixie dust. And I realized: sometimes I feel like someone forgot to sprinkle pixie dust on my life and that's why I can't fly.

But that's silly. 'Cuz I've got all the "pixie dust" I need. And I've got Someone who is ready to sprinkle it willingly if I would just trust Him instead of trying to do everything on my own and then giving up in frustration when I don't have what it takes on my own.

{via}

Faith, trust and pixie dust, people: recipe for success.

In January I...

Did{this}:

• Supported and celebrated with Trey as he got a new job!
• Started working out again!(and then stopped again)
• Redesigned my blog!
• Went to the Flying biscuit in Atlanta. Huge letdown.

• Cleaned the whole house!

Read:

• From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (it's possible I read this in December, I can't remember) {=)}
  
• Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris {=)}
  
• Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris {=)}
• Brown Rabbit in the City by Natalie Russell {=)}
  
• Kiss by Ted Dekker & Erin Healy {=/}
  
• Dragon's Milk by Susan Fletcher (an old favorite) {=D}
  
• Flight of the Dragon Kyn by Susan Fletcher (another old favorite) {=)}
  
• Burn by Ted Dekker & Erin Healy {=)}

Made{to eat}:

• Potato and green Onion Soup--For the fast, and yes, I changed it up a bit, I do that... {=)}
• Spaghetti Squash {=/}
  
• Taco Soup *Without Meat*--a LOT of taco soup... {=D}
  

[{=)}= liked it {=D}= loved it {=/}=didn't love it, didn't hate it {=(}= didn't like it {>=(}= no no no!]



Listened To:

• Daniel Bashta
• Hillsong
• Various Disney music
• Taylor Swift
  

Created:

• Nothing as far as the way of crafts, but I did do some mending! Yay! Just too busy cleaning and reading for creative projects this month I guess...

My favorite color was:

• Probably gray
• ...or grapefruit pink

Liked:

• The Library
• 2 and Charles
• Getting Mail!
• This series of posts by Mighty Girl

Learned:

• A bit about html (yikes!)
• That you don't have to like everyone.

Took Some Pics {See?}:

Oh, Baby

Last night Trey and I were talking about having babies. Do you remember when I used to be BABY CRAZY? Well, I'm not crazy anymore, but I do still think about having kids from time to time. So, lately, we've been talking about it and trying to decide when would be the best time for us. So Trey asked me if I was ready to get pregnant next month. (sorry if this is TMI but that would mean me getting preggo in just a few weeks if everything went well! Yikes!) And I said, "You know, I'm getting close, but I'm just not quite ready yet."

If you know me, then that might be a major shock haha. If not, you'll just have to take my word for it. :)

See, I went for almost a year being practically DESPERATE to have a baby. I was seeing pregnant women and babies everywhere.

So last night, as we were talking about it, I got to thinking. And this is what I realized: during that time I was baby crazy, I think I had it in my head that having a baby would "complete me." I didn't really know what I wanted out of life (not much change there haha) and I thought that having a baby and being a mother would give me some sort of purpose.

And I think that's why I'm not baby crazy anymore: because I don't need a baby, or anything for that matter, to complete me. Because I have Jesus. I still want to have a baby, I still want to be a mother. And the more I think about it, I think that's something that God has strongly laid on my heart: being the BEST POSSIBLE MOTHER I can be. I was just trying to force that into happening before it was my time.

I'm still trying to figure out what I want out of life, but I also know that God will reveal what He wants me to do in His time. O, how comforting that is. And for now, I get to give all my baby love to the cutest niece in the world:



Here's to babies: May they be part of my future when the time is right.

This Here New Blog **UPDATED**

If you've ever been here before you may have noticed that I've changed my blog. A lot. And even if you haven't been here before, you might notice me changing it in the future. A lot.

I got inspired by this post over at Samster Mommy to make some changes to my blog. So what started as a little interest to make some changes (like adding a navigation bar) became a MAJOR OBSESSION over the past few days. I think that a day hasn't gone by in the last week that I haven't changed something haha. In fact, I even made a test blog so I could try designing some other blogs and I made one for my sister-in-law that she doesn't even know about yet (hi Kassie). I'm sure the excitement will wear off soon, but the fact that I could make changes outside of the preset limits just got me so pumped that I couldn't stop.

Anyway, like Samster Mommy did, I thought I would post a few tips on how I did it. Also like she did, I'll be posting a lot of links to other people's tutorials that really helped me (actually a lot of the same ones). And I'll also post some things I figured out on my own. Ok, enough preamble. Here's the breakdown:

• To make my navigation bar I used this tutorial from The Girl Creative. You're going to want to make sure you look at parts 1 AND 2. I made my graphics using this picture and color pallet that I had made:
  
  ...see how some of those colored squares look the same color as my tabs? That's because they ARE my tabs! I edited each one (crop, add text, ect.) in Picnik, which is a free online photo editing tool. There is a fancier version that you can pay for but I only use the free one.

• To make my "About Me" and "Life List" pages I actually originally made regular old blog posts and linked them to the tabs. (A lot of bloggers actually do this) but I literally JUST found out how to make a separate page that is not a blog post. If you go to your "Posting" tab on your blog and click on the link that says "Edit Pages" you can make pages to link to your tabs. So that's what I did. Moving on!

• To make my pictures bigger I used this tutorial from Stephmodo. I don't really have anything to add to that because it's all very simple.

• To make my header image I used this tutorial from Clover Lane. She does the whole thing in Picasa (which I also use) but I only made my collage in Picasa and then edited the rest (cropped, added text ect) in Picnik because I like their fonts better. Also, instead of uploading my picture directly from my computer (blogger was having an issue with that where the picture would come out blurry) I hosted the picture on Photobucket and uploaded it using the direct link. I used a tutorial that I can't find so if I find it I'll update.

• To center my header this is what I did: I clicked DESIGN>EDIT HTML and then scrolled down until I found this piece of code: ]]>/b:skin I then pasted this piece of code directly in front of it:

}#header-inner
{
width: 775px;
margin: auto;
}

There are a lot of tutorials on how to center your header but this was the easiest for me. The original number was 700 instead of 775 but I adjusted it until my header was where I wanted it. And you can too!

**UPDATE**
This actually ended up being so much easier. The tutorial I posted above does work but it didn't seem to work all the time for me.

• To make a button for your blog, I used this tutorial. Very easy.
  

I think that's about it. The only other stuff I really did was play around with the different effects in the "Template Designer" link that is located under the "Design" tab on your blog and add some pictures to the side. The "Template Designer" is how I edited my blog width, changed the fonts and colors of fonts, links, ect. The only other thing I would recommend is, once you've got your blog how you like it, go under your "Design" tab and click on the "Edit html" link and copy everything in the box. Then save that in a word document or send it in an email to yourself (that's what I did) so you'll have it in case you decide to make any changes later and you mess up your blog haha.

Alright, sorry for the long post. Have fun blog editing!

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I'm thankful for:

Trips to Atlanta



&

Snuggling

The Proverbs 31 Woman

So in light of what I was saying yesterday, I decided to look up Proverbs 31. I figured that it might help me to look at an example of a women who really seems to have it all going for her.

I know that a lot of women, including myself at one time, have a really hard time with this passage of scripture. The woman described in this chapter of Proverbs seems to be almost perfect. She seems unattainable, overwhelming and unfair. This time I decided to read the chapter in several different translations to see if I could get anything more out of it that seemed more relevant to my life. I came across one version that I particularly liked:

A Wife of Noble Character

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?

She is more precious than rubies.
Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

She finds wool and flax
and busily spins it.
She is like a merchant’s ship,
bringing her food from afar.
She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She is energetic and strong,
She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
her lamp burns late into the night.

Her hands are busy spinning thread,
her fingers twisting fiber.
She extends a helping hand to the poor
and opens her arms to the needy.
She has no fear of winter for her household,
for everyone has warm clothes.

She makes her own bedspreads.
She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
Her husband is well known at the city gates,
where he sits with the other civic leaders.
She makes belted linen garments
and sashes to sell to the merchants.

She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.
She carefully watches everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness.

Her children stand and bless her.
Her husband praises her:
“There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Proverbs 31:10-31 NLT

I decided to break it down and see what I could pull from this passage and actually apply to my life. Because let's be real, I'm not going to be spinning any time soon. I think, instead of being a to do list that women feel they should follow, Proverbs 31 should be more of a picture of a woman who does all that she can to be the best wife and mother that she can be, which is something that I am VERY interested in. :) Here's my take.

A truly good wife is something valuable,
something that, when found, a husband should hold on to.
She is completely trustworthy and open with her husband.
She doesn't nag him or bring him worry or strife.
Instead, she is a joy to be around and he looks forward to coming home to her.

She finds creative ways to help provide for her family,
and she is creative in the meals she makes and the things she buys,
She takes care of her house and the people in it
and she makes sure that the things that need to get done, get done.

She spends her money wisely and without impulse
and makes decisions that benefit her whole family.
She isn't lazy, but a hard worker
and she makes sure that the things she does do not go to waste.

She is giving and does not hesitate to help those less fortunate than herself.
She doesn't worry about her family's needs,
because she has planned for the future and for emergencies.
She makes sure that her family has what they need.

She is resourceful.
She pays attention to her appearance and dresses appropriately.
Because of her conduct, people can respect her husband
and she supports him however she can.

She holds her head high and has strength of character.
She doesn't worry about the future because she knows it's in God's hands.
She thinks before she speaks
and is kind to everyone.
She makes sure all is right in her home and family.

Her children respect her,
Her husband is proud of her and says:
"You're the best, honey!" ;)

A women who loves the Lord has inner beauty,
which is longer lasting and more valuable than good looks.
The things she does are recognized by others.

Now, please don't take my words as scripture or as what I think you should be doing. They are just my interpretation as it applies to my life. Enjoy:)

Mission Statement

Today I am working on my mission statement. I know that might sound kind of strange, but I do have a reason. Let me explain:

I don't know if this is obvious or not (I think it is), but I like a lot of different things. One thing that I see as a sort of failure in myself is the way I get really excited about something and then abandon it when the excitement wears off. Some examples: couponing, crochet, crafts, ect.

I thought I had written about this before but I haven't been able to find the post so maybe I didn't. BUT...I've been trying to find some more solid direction for my life lately. I think that trying to dip my toes into so many things is contributing to my lack of that direction. If things are important to me, then I need to work on doing them consistently, if they are not important to me, I need to drop them.

"'I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord." Jeremiah 29:11

...and I'm pretty sure His plans for me don't involve me flailing around with no direction and no idea of who I am or what I'm supposed to be doing or what I even want to be doing.

So that's where my mission statement comes in. I'm going to be sitting down and deciding what's really important to me: my values. Then I'm going to figure out what it is I want to achieve, like, the big things: my goals.* Lastly I'm going to think about the things I really enjoy and am good at (don't you usually enjoy the things you're good at?):my interests. Hopefully at the end of all this I will be able to look at those lists and see a way that I can put them together so they are all flowing in the same direction. (i.e. what I'm doing is something I really enjoy that lines up with what's important to me and helps me achieve my goals). Make sense?

So that's my plan. I may update when I'm done if it doesn't end up being too personal.

What is your mission statement?



*These are not the goals I make on a regular basis (which I do, A LOT) but rather, goals about where I want to end up, goals about the person I would eventually like to be.

What a long weekend!

We went to Atlanta (as we try to do about once a month) to visit family. Got to see Trey's mom and stepdad as well as my sister-in-law and niece Lily:)

We went to Ikea like we almost always do when we go to the ATL:

It was fun to get away and spend some time with my in-laws. It's always hard to come back though because I get used to being with Trey all the time and then we have to separate at work. Haha. O well.

So now we're back and life is back to normal. I'm trying to get back in the groove. I've made a ton of little projects for myself to do this month so I'm trying to make sure they all get done. Since it's the annual 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting at our church, I haven't been watching any TV. It actually hasn't been that hard for me but I thought it would so I took steps to make sure I kept busy! Haha. So I decided to make January my new "Spring Cleaning" month. I've been going through all the rooms in our apartment and cleaning everything to death. I've also been trying to decorate the place a little bit so that's been lumped in with the spring cleaning. Plus I've got this huge running list of projects for myself so I've been working on some of that too. So I have been pretty busy and it's been really good.

Trey is really enjoying his new job which makes me really happy. When you're married, it's just hard to be completely happy if your partner is not.

Alright, all for now.

Thankful Thursday

I'm going to try and focus more on the things I'm thankful for this year instead of wishing for things I don't have. So hopefully I can make this a weekly thing:)

This Thursday I'm thankful for:

beans

&


picture editing software.

10 Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2011

I just saw the list I made last year of "what I'm looing foward to in 2010."

Let us just see how that turned out shall we?

My 2010 List:

10--Some kind of direction as to what we are supposed to be doing now (eh not exactly)
9--A pregnancy? (lemme check...o. Nope.)
8--Checking things off my life list (Well I did this one. Yay!)
7--Getting a more organized life (I would say my life is more or less the same amount of organized as before)
6--Making new friends (eh...)
5--Meeting my little niece, Lily, in March! (well this was going to happen no matter what I did. And boy am I glad it did)
4--Taking control of my health (hahahahahahahahahahaha)
3--Taking a more relaxing view of life (replace "relaxing" with "lazy" and I might have done this)
2--Our first year anniversary! (we made it!;))
1--Seeing my family again (That I did)

And here we see how life just doesn't work out like you plan it! But still, I think I'll do the same thing for 2011. So, without further adu:

Top 10 Things I'm looking Forward to in 2011

10--Finally (please God!) being settled into our jobs and life
9--a (possible) pregnancy? (again)
8--Our second anniversary!
7--A summer not in North Caroliana
6--getting a tan
5--Taking Trey on a trip
4--this year being SO MUCH BETTER than 2010.
3--Lily's first birthday!
2--reading a lot
1--loving my body

This was actually hard to make. I dont' know if I have nothing to look forward to or if I'm just ready to take this year as it comes, without expectations :)

Fun with Picasa

I've been playing with Picasa a lot lately. You should check it out. Also it's partner: Picnik.

Well I guess I can say it now: Trey got a new job! He is working at Highlands (our church.) He started yesterday. It has really just been a huge answer to prayer for us as his old job, while good in a lot of ways, just wasn't really working for us. This new job is going to require an adjustment for us but we are both really exctied at this new chapter and the possibilities that it will open up for us.

As for me, there really isn't much new to tell. I've been workinng at the cafe as usual. My favorite thing about working at the cafe is getting to interact with all the staff members at Highlands. They are a great group of people and I love that I get to see and talk to so many people every day. Which is kinda weird since I wouldn't exactly call myself a "people person." Plus, Trey works here now so...BONUS!

We are going to Altanta next weekend. I may be more excited that necessary but I'm excited, still. I feel like Atlanta is my home away from home and everytime we leave, well, I feel like I'm leaving home. It's weird.

Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with this blog. Maybe it's because of all the editing I've done to the blog itself, I don't know. But I know I want to get better at posting regurlarly and I know I want to add some kind of consistiancy and order to my little corner of the internet. I don't know what all that entails yet but I'll let you know when I do!

Alrighty, signing off now. I'll be back, hopefully SOON!

Don't go changin....

Obviously I've been making some changes around the ol' blog. I'm trying to find something that is more unique to me, which means a LOT of trial and error and a lot of learning about html code. There will probably be more changes around here in the next little bit while i try out different things. Thanks for being patient with me and expect regular (or maybe better than regular) posting to commence in the near future:)

A New Year, A New Start

Already this year is looking up. Didn't I say this would be a good year? It's only day 6 but I venture to say that my predictions are shaping up nicely.

Our Christmas actually turned out really well and our New Year's was low key, which was totally fine with me! We spent lots of time with the family and got in some precious hours with my niece, Lily, who is all things cute and sweet.

I've made grand plans for this year so I hope they don't bite me in the butt. I know that if I want this year to be great I have to keep moving forward!

Happy New Year! Here's to big changes and workout videos ;)