Now that Halloween is over and Alexa has acquiesced to allow me to cook a pumpkin instead of just carve it, I am looking forward to pumpkin baking. We still have a few weeks left in November so it must at least be acceptable until the month is over right? One of my dear friend generously gave me her pumpkins when she was done with them, as the carved pumpkins at our house were long gone due to mold. Pinterest had some great idea for keeping mold away, but they also meant ruining them for cooking so I opted out on those as well.
We began the roasting process last night...it is going to take a good while as I mentioned, they are large pumpkins and my oven will only hold about 1/2 pumpkin per session. I know my hubby, who loves all things pumpkin, will be more than thrilled to taste all the dishes I come up with.
Stay tuned...
Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
1000 words
I wanted to do a quick post to share these pictures of Alexa. Mainly because I can't believe how grown up she seems. Goodness, where did my chubby cheeked, pudgy belly, roly-poly thighs girl go? It doesn't make ANY sense, but here we are with a sophisticated, well dressed, beautiful girl on our hands. I am so proud of who she is becoming and I wouldn't trade her for the world. Just look at that sweet smile, I have a feeling we are headed for trouble when she is old enough to date...a VERY LONG TIME from now!
Just one small comment on the straight hair. First, Alexa prefers her hair straight, and for a long time I have refused to comply with her requests for straight hair...her step-mom Lori has straightened it on occasion as did a friend of ours, but I have held my ground. Then when she came home from her friend's house on Sunday with straight hair I promised if she got up early Monday I would straighten it for her so she could wear it to school that way. Second, her hair is SOOO curly that each of these pictures are taken moments after I straightened it, and should you see her any more than 15 minutes later you would understand what I'm talking about, so it requires us to re-straighten it each and every morning. On Monday I made sure she knew that I wasn't going to do this on a daily basis, but her hair is much less messy when it is straight, so we've been 5 days with straight hair now with no signs of stopping. Fine that's more than one small comment, but just thought I'd throw it in for good measure. I do love her curly hair, but it is a beast to deal with, so for now, straight it is.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Am I being chased?
When asked about running, this is my typical response...for a long time this was the only reason I found running acceptable. After all, who would run for fun? There are many other torturous activities that I would much rather partake in before I don running shoes and step outside. I ran track in high school, but I really think it was out of boredom more than anything, and even then it wasn't fun.
Last week during dinner and coffee with the girls somehow the subject of running was broached, and I immediately shared my thoughts on running. I don't. Have you seen the picture on someone's car like 26.2 (marathon) or 13.1 (half-marathon)...mine was always likely to be 0.0 (if running, call the cops I'm being chased). NO. DESIRE. They all discussed how one race or another would be so fun, a mud run, a color run, and how much fun it would be to run as a group. My resolve was firm. I do not run.
Then the strangest thing happened. I'm not sure if I fell and bumped my head, or what, but Friday CJ and I started discussing a run Saturday morning. As previously stated I am NOT a morning person. So the fact that I would even consider rising early on a Saturday let alone run is cause enough for a CT scan. We made a date to run Saturday, 3 participants, and then it began to happen. Friday night CJ realized she didn't have the necessary shoes to run so she dropped out and then Saturday when I arrived at the agreed upon location my other running buddy wasn't there. I had a choice, I could go home and snuggle back in beside Adam, or I could suck it up and run.
I chose RUN! And run I did, for the majority of 2.5 miles.
I must say, I felt rather accomplished when I got home, especially when you consider it was 36 degrees on Saturday at 8am. I guess the endorphins were a little too strong because later that day I convinced Adam to get up at 8am the following day for another run. Even with the extra hour of sleep, neither of us were excited when the alarm went off, but we got up anyway. It was 30 degrees that morning, and I'm fairly certain each car that passed us was thinking exactly what I used to think when I passed those poor unfortunate souls on icy mornings, "what are those idiots doing? It's 30 degrees outside!" Oh well, run we did.
3 miles later we were back in our apartment and that sense of accomplishment came flooding back. Is it possible? Am I becoming a runner? We should probably give it a week or 2 before making any rash decisions, but the possibility is there. I might be signing up for some fun and interesting runs after all!
Last week during dinner and coffee with the girls somehow the subject of running was broached, and I immediately shared my thoughts on running. I don't. Have you seen the picture on someone's car like 26.2 (marathon) or 13.1 (half-marathon)...mine was always likely to be 0.0 (if running, call the cops I'm being chased). NO. DESIRE. They all discussed how one race or another would be so fun, a mud run, a color run, and how much fun it would be to run as a group. My resolve was firm. I do not run.
Then the strangest thing happened. I'm not sure if I fell and bumped my head, or what, but Friday CJ and I started discussing a run Saturday morning. As previously stated I am NOT a morning person. So the fact that I would even consider rising early on a Saturday let alone run is cause enough for a CT scan. We made a date to run Saturday, 3 participants, and then it began to happen. Friday night CJ realized she didn't have the necessary shoes to run so she dropped out and then Saturday when I arrived at the agreed upon location my other running buddy wasn't there. I had a choice, I could go home and snuggle back in beside Adam, or I could suck it up and run.
I chose RUN! And run I did, for the majority of 2.5 miles.
I must say, I felt rather accomplished when I got home, especially when you consider it was 36 degrees on Saturday at 8am. I guess the endorphins were a little too strong because later that day I convinced Adam to get up at 8am the following day for another run. Even with the extra hour of sleep, neither of us were excited when the alarm went off, but we got up anyway. It was 30 degrees that morning, and I'm fairly certain each car that passed us was thinking exactly what I used to think when I passed those poor unfortunate souls on icy mornings, "what are those idiots doing? It's 30 degrees outside!" Oh well, run we did.
3 miles later we were back in our apartment and that sense of accomplishment came flooding back. Is it possible? Am I becoming a runner? We should probably give it a week or 2 before making any rash decisions, but the possibility is there. I might be signing up for some fun and interesting runs after all!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Back40Life
If you know me personally then you might be aware that my sister and her husband started their own business several years ago with the desire to leave the hustle and bustle of the corporate world behind. It was at that time Back40Life was born. Over the years the business has grown, changed, and blessed their family (of 5 now) to live a very different lifestyle from most people. One I am not ashamed to admit I have looked upon with slightly green eyes at times. Not because I think it is easy by any stretch, but because of the extreme closeness it allows them.
Last year when we unveiled our plans to relocate to Indianapolis to be part of Resonate Church we knew things would be greatly different than they were in South Carolina. One of the greatest changes for us was going from being a 2 income family down to 1. It was an adjustment, and something we struggled with at times because on paper our budget didn't work at all. We were doing our best, and if nothing else we were committed to it. The idea had been thrown around quite a few times that potentially we could do some work for Jodi and Brad, but that was really as far as it went. At times they thought we were disinterested, and others we thought the same of them. When we finally all started talking (why is communicating so complicated?) we realized we were all interested in the same thing. So after lots of thinking, praying, calculating, and talking; we came up with a plan.
In April we made a trip to South Carolina to pick up a cutter, ok mostly to see my sweet niece who refused to be on time and made her grand entrance the day we were leaving to come home. Thus began our journey into the world of being partially self-employed, turning our tiny apartment into a work space, and at times working half the night because ultimately the buck stops here. There have been bumps along the way, and no doubt we haven't seen the last of them, but I think we have both really enjoyed the freedom and flexibility it has given us. It has also been wonderful to work alongside my sister and see what it feels like to walk in her shoes a little.
We are beyond thankful for the business Jesus allows us to see on a daily basis as people buy our products. I have learned to be thankful for each and every order that comes in, even the smaller ones that at times have made me turn my nose up. I am learning what it means to be a small business owner instead of always acting like an employee. I have learned a lot in the 6 months we've been on this journey, and know the learning will only continue the further down this path we travel.
You can find out products on our website or our Etsy store. Thanks for checking out what we have to offer!
Last year when we unveiled our plans to relocate to Indianapolis to be part of Resonate Church we knew things would be greatly different than they were in South Carolina. One of the greatest changes for us was going from being a 2 income family down to 1. It was an adjustment, and something we struggled with at times because on paper our budget didn't work at all. We were doing our best, and if nothing else we were committed to it. The idea had been thrown around quite a few times that potentially we could do some work for Jodi and Brad, but that was really as far as it went. At times they thought we were disinterested, and others we thought the same of them. When we finally all started talking (why is communicating so complicated?) we realized we were all interested in the same thing. So after lots of thinking, praying, calculating, and talking; we came up with a plan.
In April we made a trip to South Carolina to pick up a cutter, ok mostly to see my sweet niece who refused to be on time and made her grand entrance the day we were leaving to come home. Thus began our journey into the world of being partially self-employed, turning our tiny apartment into a work space, and at times working half the night because ultimately the buck stops here. There have been bumps along the way, and no doubt we haven't seen the last of them, but I think we have both really enjoyed the freedom and flexibility it has given us. It has also been wonderful to work alongside my sister and see what it feels like to walk in her shoes a little.
We are beyond thankful for the business Jesus allows us to see on a daily basis as people buy our products. I have learned to be thankful for each and every order that comes in, even the smaller ones that at times have made me turn my nose up. I am learning what it means to be a small business owner instead of always acting like an employee. I have learned a lot in the 6 months we've been on this journey, and know the learning will only continue the further down this path we travel.
You can find out products on our website or our Etsy store. Thanks for checking out what we have to offer!
Writing
I started this blog several years ago to keep a journal of sorts to look back on when Alexa got older. Now that I've picked up writing again, it has morphed slightly into a combination of recipes, rants, reviews, and ramblings about my family. Well, the ramblings and rants are about my family, I don't usually critique them in public or cook them. At times I struggle to come up with topics to write on, as lots of what goes on in my mind is either boring or much too weird to share on any social media. All of this to say, if you visit my blog one day and find me talking about cracks in the sidewalk, just bear with me...I'll eventually get it together and come up with something worth reading. Truth be told, that might not be true either, but stick with me and maybe I'll give you something to laugh about. After all, who couldn't use a good laugh?
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