new obession..

yarnwreathing.. that's what i'm calling it. i've liked them for awhile, and now that i've finally gotten around to making one, i don't know that i'll be able to stop. just leave your orders in the comment section. :) 

really though, it's fun and pretty mindless.. a perfect late night, kidlet-is-in-bed, activity while watching my other new obsession, late night with jimmy fallon. 

here's my finished product. 

i went for a simple approach just to get my feet wet, and i was only using supplies i had on hand. once i start sifting through some more thrift stores, i'm sure i'll find endless possibilities.

if you're interested in yarnwreathing yourself, or anything else in the world ever for that matter, pinterest is a great place to go for inspiration.. and hours upon hours of addictive "repin"ing.

also, how cute is this little baker? she was very excited when i asked if she wanted to make a PUMPKIN pie for daddy. she kept putting emphasis on the pumpkin part. what a fun (albeit often exhausting) companion on d's long workdays. God knew what He was doing when He gave us that surprise baby (almost) two and a half years ago.

AWESOME.

saw this one man band on ellen. uh-mazing. dear bernhoft, please make a cd.

crafty minute..

i felt the crafting bug bite last night, but never got around to doing anything. so, since we didn't have anything planned this morning, i let ruby have some playtime so that i could plug into an outlet that i don't take time for often. i think it was a nice break for both of us.. we're together a lot during these busy workdays for d, so i'm sure she needs a break from me just as much as i do from her after awhile.

thankfully, she did a little of this.. 

while i did a little of this.. you know it's a good gift when you want to keep it for yourself! hoping this makes my friend's day when it shows up in her mailbox. 

 ok, break's over.. time to tackle the day with this fun girl.

p.s. pattern from here.

workin' it..

well, more like workin' on it. i'm realizing that i feel, not unlike most people i'm sure, that a move to a totally new place brings a lot of chances to make change. i've noticed myself both purposefully, and even not so purposefully, shifting some things, so i figured i'd take a minute to share and document for a little accountability.

one. i've started working out. wha-wha-what?! yes, you read that right. it's happened for three days in a row; which is a conquest in itself for me. we now have a "family membership" to the YMCA just .6 miles from our apartment, and ruby and i have been there twice in the past three days. she gets to socialize (a.k.a. do her best not to tackle) kids in the kidzone (catchy name, right?), and i get up to three hours (holy moly, i doubt i'll ever use that much time) to work out. the first day, i had a thirty minute run/walk session on the treadmill before taking a core pilates class (which i liked a lot, by the way). new development, my knees cannot handle running. i kept trying to ignore/be in denial about the irritation i was feeling during the running portions of my time on the treadmill, but the uncomfortable achiness (blogger tells me this is not a word) i felt that night and the next day confirmed it.. i don't have strong knees (are strong knees even a thing?). so today, i cycled for 30 minutes and then stretched for awhile. i had a bit of momentary insanity during my stretching when i thought, "i can see why people get addicted to working out". i literally "LOL"ed at myself after i thought it.. this coming from the person who had to will herself out the door to get there. but hey, at least i know that attitude is in there somewhere, right? oh, and the third workout day comes from doing some netflix yoga last night before bed.

two. portion control. i made a conscious decision the other day to limit myself when it comes to snacking. don't get me wrong, i'm still snacking, i'm just not bringing the entire bag of chips or bowl of puppy chow to the couch with me.. i've started filling up a little ramekin with a reasonable amount of my snack of choice to help both satisfy my craving and keep overloading at bay. i know this is sort of a random one to share, but it's a somewhat big change for me so, there it is.

three. coooooooooooking more. we, as a family, fell into a somewhat large eating out rut before we left raleigh. daniel's hours are so nontraditional, our kitchen was tiny and hard to function in, but overall, we were just lazy and unwise when it came to cooking and spending that money. d and i have a huge desire for this time (however long it ends up being) in indiana to be a productive and profitable one for our family and future.. we will literally be kicking ourselves if we come away from it having paid off no debt and without a bit (hopefully a big bit) of savings. i know that one of the biggest shifts that will translate into those other changes is more home-cooked meals and resisting those extremely tempting nights out for dinner. i do have to say that smoking being allowed in restaurants in this state is a huge help in that area.. ick.

four. working to cultivate a more gentle tongue and patient spirit towards d and r. i will admit it wholeheartedly.. sometimes i can be a real "b". yep, that's right. i can have such a short fuse and be a great big cranky pants sometimes. i know that these times are very unbecoming of me and are teaching unhealthy and sinful ways to my daughter. on top of that, as much as daniel works and as many poor attitudes as he deals with on a daily basis, the last thing i want to do it be another one that he walks in the door to at night. and it's hard. it's often easier to want to make my "position known" in an unproductive and hurtful way, instead of taking a deep breath and asking for help. it's hard to clean up the same mess for the twenty-first time that day, and to speak calmly to a two year old who is loosing her ever-loving mind. but i know i can do it, and i know that He will help if i keep asking and trying. so, here's to that.

and five. thrifting. i've been a lover of thrift and yard sale shopping for quite a long time, but i've been a lover of target for that long too. but get this, people have yard sales from thursday through sunday here in indiana. what the what? so, i'm trying to buy less stuff new and spend more time combing through things people don't want to get what we need (and want). it saves money, and oh the thrill it brings.

well, there they are.. the works in progress. feel free to ask how they're going! i need all the help i can get.

so, no picture with this post, but maybe all 

of the (parenthesis) i used will make up for it?

kitchen tour..

here's a little picture tour of the kitchen in our crown point home. although it's not really any bigger than the kitchens at our three other apartments, something about the layout makes it a lot more functional for me. i'm so thankful for this (as are d & r, i'm sure) because i'm in there (and enjoying it) a lot more often than i was in the other kitchens. that keeps us well fed and out of restaurants. win, win.

 view from the hallway.. it's organized, somewhat cluttered, chaos.. just how i like it. :)

 pot rack and bread shelf both from my mama's house.. thankful she's willing to pass on things to me that help with organization in our small living spaces. even though it takes up a lot of room, we keep a highchair for rubes in the kitchen as well as in the (carpeted) dining room. she has her (often messy) breakfast in here with me while i tidy up the kitchen in the morning.

 this is my first experience cooking on a gas stove, and just like my mom said, i love it. quick, even heat.. expect for the broiler. i've burnt the bagels every time!

 a little spot for some favorite (and somewhat useful) things. a kitchen cat from daniel's gammmie, as well as the birdie s&p shakers. secret smartie stash when i'm in need of bribery or a treat reward for rubes, and an old butter urn and potato chips tin from my mom, as well. these are the kinds of things that keep me feeling close to people i love even when we're this far away, and always work as good reminders to say a prayer for them when they come to mind.

 the window cutout works great for us too.. i can see ruby if i need to start cleaning up the kitchen while she talks to me or looks at a book after dinner, and it's great for passing dishes right out to the table. my mom's hard work of hanging hooks above our coffee pot cleared a lot of space in our (very few) cabinets.

you would think that since we finally have a dishwasher again, this wouldn't always be full, but it always is.. along with the token just-rinsed clothes from ruby's last meal.

so, there it is.. the kitchen.. our new, and beautiful, mess.

surprised?

i'm sure you're not.. i feel like i'm constantly changing the look of the blog, and i'm at it again with a little "fall" feel for ya. i've felt inspired to find out more about "blog design" lately.. i'd love to get my space here looking at legit as some of my favorites. here are a few of those to give you an idea of what i'm talking about..

naptime diares.

i love jessi's blog a lot. so fresh and dynamic looking, i think. don't you love that silhouette of her beside her blog title? and here's a little secret, she's going to be doing a guest post right here within the next couple weeks! i asked her to share some about what she and her family have learned and grown from because of some transition that the Lord has brought, and is continuing to bring, them through recently. i'm sure whatever she has to say will encourage and challenge a lot in me, and i'm hoping it will do the same for you too. can't wait!

take heart.

two things i love about danielle's blog.. one. coral! i love this color so much, so of course i loved when she brought it into her blog design recently. two, she and her family are in the process of adopting AND she's pregnant. she shares a lot about what God is doing through all that happening for them right now, and it's a joy to read.

letters to ames.

rachel's blog is another frequent spot for me. i like the vintage feel she has in her design, and since she's running a "blogspot" as well, it gives me hope that i can have something that cute going on here too. she's the a young mama of five little ones, and i'm always learning a ton from her posts about being constantly transparent, healthful living, and giving glory to Him for just making it through each day. hm, come to think of it, maybe i'll put in a little "guest post" request to her too. :) 

i know i've given "shout outs" to these ladies before, but i knew i had to do so again when it came to talking about prettying up the blog.. it's just an added bonus that they're great enough for me to have more to brag on them about than their style!

enjoy your tuesday!

oh, and since i'm not keen on a picture-less post, here's a little shot of my loves and me on a recent trip we took into the city. feeling thankful everyday that we're reunited and already learning and seeing so many evidences of God's goodness to us here in indiana.

settling..

well, we're here.. we have now been indiana residents for one week and one day! kind of crazy. i can't say that it's been the easiest transition, but when is transition really all that easy? please tell me i'm not the only one who has a hard time with it?! i was so thankful to have my mom here for the first few days after we got here. it was great to get a lot of unpacking done while she had time with ruby, and having a little time in the city (chicago) on monday was a good break from setting up the apartment. it was hard to say goodbye to her at the airport on tuesday, and i felt like we jumped right into the nitty gritty of life as d and i drove home talking about expectations and how we'd like our life to look in this new state. as hard as it can sometimes be in marriage to iron out things like that, i'm continually thankful for a husband who desires good things for our family and works hard for us.. and who will sit in the car comforting and listening to me cry and vent for over an hour. :) 

i'm having an especially hard time being away from raleigh considering what all is going on with my mom-in-love after a serious car accident she had just a few days after us moving here. more than anything, it's been a time for me to truly exercise the faith that i have in the Lord to control a situation without my help. i know, what kind of crazy person thinks they can do more than God? um, me. :) really though, i feel so powerless up here, but i'm doing my best to trust the support she has from the rest of our family and to believe that there is power in the prayers that i'm constantly speaking for her. 

as hard as they are, i'm doing my best to thank the Lord daily for times like these when i'm thrown into the fire.. being refined to rely on Him fully even when i'm not completely sure how. i literally cannot look at these situations and fully see what He will do with them. i realize that daniel being able to give us a better financial footing and being shown favor in his job are blessings in themselves, but i need for there to be something greater for us here than that. something eternal. so, i'm trusting God that he has that in the works, and i'm seeking him for whatever it might be. and although i don't think that he caused this pain to come upon sharon, i am remaining confident that He can and will use it for good, and i'm asking Him to reveal what that good is in His own time. i keep feeling comforted and affirmed by this part of scripture that sharon shared with me right before we moved to indy..

 "Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water..."

Jesus sent them out knowing it would be hard.. He knew the waves would be against them, but He was watching.. and as soon as he saw that it was more than they could handle on their own, He came to them. i don't even know what more there is to be said about it.. what a comfort.

{via}

brand new..

so, obviously i'm in a super nostalgic, mushy mood tonight.. three days from the start of "roadtrip to daddy 2011". missing my hubby, knowing i'll soon be missing my family here, and being thankful for my little girl in all of her wild, stubborn, sweet glory. i came across a bunch of videos from when ruby girl came earthside, so i thought i'd share. i hope they don't make you cry as much as i just did watching them [let's face it, they won't]. 

nothing like some throwback videos to remind you of what 

a treasure you have in your baby girl, how loving and true your 

husband is, and what a sweet, supportive sister you have.