run errands as if you have ice cream in the trunk

my new grocery shopping/errand running advice. i find i am much more efficent when i act as if i have ice cream melting in the sweltering heat. just thought i'd share.

i set up my crafting area last night. since mat's in ny with the camera, i can't share pictures of that, but i'm way excited to start making some magic! :)

we've had some good weekends. two weekends ago, we were very ambitious with our back yard/patio and got it about half way done, still a work in progress, but already looking better. this last weekend, we were able to get free tickets to the jewel/john legend concert, and mat's mom was in town and was able to go with us. it was a good night, two very talented musicians and a beautiful evening.

loving right now:

sun tea with mint

sweet and sour cucumbers

KLOVE

big sunglasses

popped my cherry

anniversary chocolate fondue--jealous much?

anyway, i digress. after months and months of drooling over things at Etsy, i've finally purchased something. beautiful papers from JaneSays. popped my etsy cherry and i'm very excited about it. i am very much looking forward to turning our forlorn empty corner of our downstairs:

into a scrapbooking/cardmaking haven. i can finally get my supplies out of the corner in the garage and have them set up and they will have their own place and i won't have to pack them up every single night. it'll be amazing. i'm giddy. i'm going to go right now and start moving boxes. i'm really trying to work hard at appreciating the things of beauty in the world, in my world. and, it's been such a long time since i've been able to make cards, i'm looking forward to getting some creative juices flowing. after spending so much time formulating papers and doing academic homework, it'll be a refreshing break to spend some time crafting and making and having sticky, glue-y fingers and glitter and paper dots everywhere.

here are some things i've appreciated today....
shawn macmonald's roots album. amazing, biblical music
"jane's" blog
the big huge rain drops from the storm this afternoon
laughing so hard at work when the system went down (again...)

chocolate and laughter

just a few photos of the weekend with mysha and life at home. chocolate is always a constant whenever mysh and i get together.... as is laughter
slurpees at home...
sunny day for the rockies...
grow, baby, grow

wow

have the days flew by since my last post. i've been compiling a list of the things that have been going on in our lives and my head, for your reading pleasure. this is the blog i've been passing the most time at work with. and here is another one with challenges and though-provoking.....thoughts.....

here are a few other random thoughts, happenings, etc from my life.

* combing craigslist to find a loveseat. there is some u-g-l-y stuff on there....
* reading 3 books in the last week. it's amazing how much more motivated i am to read when it's for pleasure and not for school.
* getting a b in my history class (!!!)
* getting an a on my English final (!!!!)
* getting an a in my English class (!)
* mat in virginia for 2 weeks for Marriott training. hello humidity and washington dc. goodbye lonely wife :( (although it was during finals week, so it did give me more time to concentrate and get stuff done around the house)
* mat coming home early. he is such an overachiever, he finished all his classes (it was self-paced) and came home four days early, allowing me to see him before i went to....
* boise with mysha. so good to see her.
* living proof live with beth moore. one word: amazing. so much in my mind to process. more thoughts on this to come.
* 4 year anniversary today. those four years have flown by. they have been amazing and i'm such a lucky lady to have such an amazing husband. blessed beyond words.
* listening to my old worship cd's at work. i forgot about songs like "i could sing of your love forever" and "did you feel the mountains tremble?" still moving.
* using our ceiling fan--amazing
* planting flowers, making our yard more beautiful
* beautiful weather to watch rockies games
* voicemail from my little cousin tommy, who is now 10, thanking me for reminding him that he is now too old to order off of the kids menu. crazy that he's 10!!!
* chocolate fondue
* getting to know my neighbor
* sick of ads for "sex in the city" movie and madonna concert (it's not until november...i better get used to them!)
* sun tea

stay tuned, they only get better from here

rockstar coffee + energy

oh my word i am shaking. i have found the most delicious coffe like beverage. it's pretty intense, but just what i needed to get thru my finals today. i'll write more later, just wanted to share my amazing discovery with the world.... :)

buzzing

cleaning out the fridge

i finished my paper about an hour ago.... my last one for the semester. i'm pretty excited that all i really have to look forward to dreading now is finals. the other stuff is pretty much done.
mat's been bugging me to clean out the fridge, it's been getting pretty stanky in there (probably more than i needed to share with you....) so i finally cleaned it out this afternoon. you could say it was my reward for finishing my paper.... wahoo....
anyway, after i was done cleaning it out, i saw the lonely container of mushrooms in the veggie drawer that i've been saying "we need to use these" for a while now. i thought i'd try to whip up something delish with them. i decided to make lasagne. let me just tell you how much stuff i got out of the fridge just by making lasagne..... i used....
* the mushrooms
* the last box of frozen spinach
* finished the ricotta cheese
* used the last of two opened bags of mozzerella cheese
* finished the opened jar of spaghetti sauce
* and pizza sauce (mixed em up, we'll see...)
* the rest of the lasagne noodles
* the last can of crushed tomatoes
the only thing i had to return to the fridge was the parmesean cheese.... i was pretty excited and impressed with myself.... so, our recycling bin is full now, and we have a lasagne in the freezer. it's the small things. really.

head

so, seven days later, three and a half days sick from work, almost half a bottle of excedrin migraine, two rounds of migraine medication, two trips to the doctor, one shot in the arse of demerol, 16 straight hours of sleep....and a vicodin prescription later, my head feels better. i feel better today than i have in the last week. we'll see how the weekend goes.

for just such a time as this

since mat has been working weekends at the downtown property, we haven't made it to church for a few weeks. i know, i'm fully capable of driving up to lafayette by myself and attending church alone, i have just been making excuses to myself about why i can't or don't want to. the last couple weeks it's been homework; this week it's my head. i got a killer migraine friday and just wanted to chill at home all weekend. however, since i've been sleeping so much, i woke up when mat did this morning, around 7. rather than laze on the couch, which has been my spot the last two days, i decided to get caught up in my journaling, transfering my sermon notes into my journal and reflecting on the messages and lessons from the past couple months (and i'm finally caught up, and i finished my journal! big day!) it's been a good morning spent with God, absorbing a lot from my notes over the past while. then, after i finished that, i decided to get caught up on the messages we missed and watch them online. last weeks was really good; it was all about esther and how she leveraged her circumstances and wrong decisions into something better for God.
Esther 4:14 "If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. What's more, who can say but that you have been elevated to the palace for just such a time as this." esther may have made some wrong choices in her decision to join the kings harem, but she could have forfieted any significant plans or purposes for her life and believe that she was just "eye candy" for the king, that she was no longer qualified for God because of her moral compromises or failures. but mordecai gave her a higher definition for her crappy circumstances, he opened her eyes to see her purpose--for such a time as this.

the challenge extended is this: how can i leverage my current circumstances, resources, abilities, opportunities, even suffering and adversity for the things of God, to achieve God's purposes? and is it possible that, for just such a time as this, i am exactly where i am suppsoed to be? it was funny/ironic, during the message, scott was giving examples of being right where you are supposed to be and one of them was this "maybe you moved to colorado for a better quality of life, for better opportunities, but is it possible that maybe in moving to colorado, for such a time as this you are right where you are supposed to be?" that really spoke to my heart. it's been a hard time living here, leaving friends and family. it's hard for me to make new friends, new, good, encouraging, edifying friends like i have in montana. and over the past week, circumstances have arisen that have driven me and my closest friend out here further apart (an area that definitely requires prayer). however, what if, even in this hard, lonely situation, for such a time as this, i am exactly where God wants me to be, exactly where i am supposed to be? that is huge for me, that he has not forgotten about me and my loneliness, my longing for a good, true, deep, godly friendship. that he has put me exactly where he wants me to be, for just such a time as this.

and off of that, how can i leverage this current circumstance for his purpose? how can i use this time without the distraction that friendships can sometimes be to strengthen my marriage, my relationship with God, to encourage my friends at home who so desperately need encouragement and prayer. and how can i use this time of growing closer to those people as a time to be greatful for all the blessings i do have here in colorado, rather than simply seeing what i'm missing. this was an amazing message for me to listen to today. and even though i wasn't "in church", for just such a time as this, i was exactly where God wanted me to be.

for just such a time as this, i am called to shine. scott prayed for "hearts that can shine no matter what our circumstances are, for eyes to see from Your perspective, for a desire to pursue your heart no matter where we go and what happens to us." that is my prayer.

highlights

not a long post, still have more homework. just wanted to post a new picture. i rewarded myself (for finishing my paper early?) with some highlights this weekend. i went to the aveda school in denver, it was amazing. not counting having my aunt color my hair, this was my first professional hair coloring experience; it was awesome. so happy with the look!! i'm now ready for summer!!

taking a break

i'm taking a break from writing my paper. it's been a struggle to get this one written. not that i'm not interested in the topic, i'm just having a hard time finding conclusive evidence. i'm writing about the historical evidence for the ten plagues. it is for my history class, so i'm trying to make it scholarly and not just a Christian's perspective. i can't very well write my paper "i believe that the Bible is true, so i believe that they happened. The end" i probably wouldn't get a good grade. but i'm having a hard time finding sources that mention the plagues more than just a sentence here and there. but, i'll just keep trucking on. i have three pages written so far, and my first installment only has to be 4-5, so i'm almost there. (first installment, i have to write a review of my sources, second installment is the actual research paper. wahoo!)

i laugh at myself lately, when i'm checking my favorite people's blogs and there isn't anything new, and yet i hardly ever post anything on my blog. i feel like no one really finds me interesting, and nothing interesting really happens in our lives. we got our console table friday and mat built it yesterday; it look really great in our entry way. i worked almost a 50 hour week last week. we were busy with end of month stuff, so i offered to work longer hours. i don't mind the overtime one bit, there is just stuff around here i'd like to get done (and homework i should be doing) but my paycheck will be nice. i bought a couple new house plants yesterday, one is a palm tree to replace the one from our honeymoon i killed....that's right, i killed our love fern. but this one is much bigger, so hopefully it'll have a better chance. our house is amazing, we love it so much. and we have a washer and dryer in our basement which is, in my opinion, one of the bestest things about our new house. forget the investment (blah blah) and the equity (blah blah) and the garage and no more three flights of stairs..... we can do laundry in our own basement whenever we want. i can leave our towels in the dryer overnight, or for longer than ten minutes after the cycle is done, and no one steals them. it's truly amazing. (i'm easily amused, i just love them!!)

see, i just feel like a boring person. just the daily stuff that's not very interesting, but it's good for me to get some feelings out. to feel like my voice is being heard. to feel like someone is mildy amused at my mundane life. don't get me wrong, i love my life and the busy-ness it is, the choices i've made to make it what it is and what i'm working for it to be; i just feel like it is the same thing, different day kind of thing. but, i guess life is what you make it. i feel stagnant a little bit too; i feel like i'm busy with work and school and unpacking and settling in, but i haven't carved out the time for God in a l-o-n-g time. other than sundays, i'm not learning anything from God, i'm not being challenged by his word and his desire for me. that's something else i need to work on. make my life more God centered, rather than just busy. that'll be my challenge this week. let's see how i do.

new lookie

i need a new template, something more fun. anyone have any suggestions?

easter

you all know how much i love song lyrics to explain how i'm feeling and to set the tone for life lately. i finally remembered to bring my ipod to work on friday (yup, i can listen to my ipod at work.....awesome) this was one of the first cd's i decided to listen to, the robbie seay band, and this was one of the first songs i heard. i thought it fitting, being on good friday and all. i just love the lyrics and the images they bring to mind. and, most importantly, what they mean for us this easter weekend. enjoy.

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Follow Christ to the holy mountain
Sinner sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flows
For you and for me and for all

At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night

On the hillside, you will be delivered
At the foot of the cross justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that pours
From our blessed Savior's side

new house photographs

Photobucket Album

pictures...

to come soon, i promise. maybe even this afternoon. we'll see how ambitious i am.
oh, btw, i got a job. i start on monday. and, yes, it pays more than borders :)

T minus

23 hours......we pick up the moving truck at 10:00 tomorrow morning.
My family flies in this afternoon.
We will spend our last night in our stinky apartment tonite (it really is stinky, i think our building is having some sewer issues....yeah, that kind of stinky)
I can hardly contain my excitement.
Back to work (packing, taking my history exam, and more packing...wahoo!!!)

carly...

...can't wait to be in our new house..... ...but hates hates hates job hunting. help!!

house pictures

smiths lately

i think this'll work to share my photo album. if it doesn't let me know!

mapquest

just a thought...
is it sad that i just had to mapquest directions to our new house?
at least i don't have to look up the address too.....
inspection day. pictures to follow

fax machine

just killing some time, waiting for our mortgage application to be faxed, and this fax machine is incredibly incredibly slow. it stops in the middle of each page and waits........waits.......and then continues. and when your mortgage application is, like, 20+ pages, i figured i'd be here a while, so i thought i'd blog.
yeah, that's right, i did say mortgage application. we are buying a house!!! wahoo! i can't believe how fast it's all happening, but we needed it to happen fast. we knew we had to give 60 days notice, but wanted to stay in our apartment for another couple months so we could take our time and find a good house. but, going to a month-to-month rent, they were going to double our rent. therefore, we decided to put our money into a house rather than rent. so, we put in our notice, and the search began. we went and looked at houses last monday (the 14th) and let me tell you, we saw lots and lots of houses. some gave us the heebie-jeebies, if you know what i mean. they were so gross. but the last one we went to look at, the one our realtor said "i'm not really expecting much of this one, but we'll look anyway" was the house.....the house. it's amazing. three bedroom, two bathrooms, finished basement, big back yard, garage, everything. it was flipped by the previous owner, and everything in it is new and shiny and perfect. we are so excited. the house is in wheatridge, which is between golden (where mat works now) and denver. it's ten minutes from mat's work, and i'm already trying to find a new job (or two) closer to our house. i'm just so excited!!!
i'm glad to finally have a real reason to quit borders. i'm just silly like that, i feel too guilty just quitting. i like to have a reason better than "more money"....so moving is a great reason to quit. considering i'd spend my whole paycheck just on gas driving into boulder every day.... wouldn't make much sense. my manager is all excited to give me a transfer, but mat (and i) think it would be better for me to just cut my ties with borders here and now. he wants me to work at 24 hour fitness so we get a free gym membership....i applied yesterday. even something temporary while i do some more research and acclimate myself to the area, figure out what is close and all that jazz.
plus, school starts tomorrow, so i'll have my hands full the way it is. i'm taking three classes, nine credits. i'm taking an astronomy class (i need three more science credits and don't want to have to take a class with a lab.....) an american literature class (so i can read some of the books i never read in high school) and a western civilazation class (start at the beginning...) i'm hoping these classes will be less paper-heavy than my writing class was last semester so that i will have more time for the extra class.....we'll see how my logic goes.
so, we close on our house on the 13th of february (the house is totally on the brain!) and my family is coming out on the 16th..... how perfect is that? they had their trip planned anyway, bought plane tickets and everything. and now they get to help us move. (whether they want to or not!) oh my word, i'm just so excited. we get a basement. we get a back yard. we'll get mail delivered to the place we live. we have a kitchen that we both can be in comfortably. all my kitchen stuff will fit in the cupboards and not setting on the counters in corners. we have hardwood floor. ok, i'm done with house talk for now.
gotta do some moving/job research. we are having our inspection on thursday, i'll take some pictures and post them. and i'll try and post christmas pictures too. we had a good one. i'll write more on that later too.....