The Grumble Beast

I came across this article the other day while I was browsing the internet. It is a short, yet powerful article about how social media can bring out the grumble beast and can cause you to compare yourself to others. 

It was definitely an article I needed to hear. I often find myself comparing my life to someone else's life and coveting their things through their instagram pictures and facebook statuses assuming that they are living the dream. I forget to stop and think that most people only post the good on social media. No one likes to display the big, the bad, and the ugly parts of life. That's what makes it so easy to assume that other's live a perfect life. That's what makes it so easy to covet what other's have because I forget everything that I am blessed with. That is where contentment in Christ is so important.

This article is a fantastic reminder of how our contentment should be in Christ and not the things of this world. The article gives you a list of seven things you can do when social media tempts you to compare or complain. Make sure to check it out. It is worth the five minutes it takes to read. Let me know what you think about it.

25 Years of Life

On January 5th, i celebrated my 25th birthday. i am a quarter of a century old. how and when did this happen? as i sit and think about memories and happenings of the last 25 years of life, i can't help but think of some things that i've learned along the way. here is a list i came up with of things i've learned in the last 25 years of life:

• fall is my favorite season
• sunsets stir my affection for christ
• love is more than three words
• life is short and death is unpredictable
• smiles can make your day
• you can never eat too many pickles
• life is 100 times better when you can do it with your best friend (so thankful for andrew)
• being a nanny and watching/helping the kids learn and develop is one of the most rewarding things
• god's plans are better than mine
• dating without intentions of marriage is pointless and dangerous for the heart
• when i don't hit snooze and get up right away, i feel more awake and have a better outlook on the day
• i like to drink my water at room temperature
• ice cream makes everything ok in life
• the ocean will always have a special place in my heart (maybe one day i'll live by it)
• forgiving someone is proof of your love
• sewing has become one of my favorite hobbies - i love creating things
• exercising regularly gives me more energy during the day and helps me sleep better at night
• everyone has something that makes their heart glad
• being challenged to grow is a good thing
• when you're little you wish you were a grown up and once you grow up you wish you were little again
• the world can be a cold hard place
• if you're too serious in life, you won't have any room for fun
• little girls need to feel pretty
• my family is precious more so than anything
• beer and red wine taste awful 
• teachers don't get paid enough for all that they do
• change is inevitable
• there's something about taking a vacation that cleanses your soul and helps you appreciate home a little more
• clean eating and exercise are important to your body's health
• there's so much more inside people than we see
• there's something magical about kayaking in the early morning on a still lake
• friends that will laugh with you and do life with you are the best
• no matter how many times i vacuum, it could always be done again
• i wouldn't be where i am today without god's unconditional love and never ending grace
• good teachers make school so much more enjoyable and learning ten times for fun
• wedding hair is a passion of mine and i secretly wish i could do it every day 
• i appreciate a phone call or a hand written note opposed to social media

i can't wait to add to this list as many more birthdays pass. Here are a few photos of how we celebrated my 25th this year:

dinner at Chino Latino's

Kathryn and I

TJ, Karla, me, and Kelsey

 my birthday desert was a deep fried snickers bar with a scoop of ice cream. i love the sparkler they stuck in it.

Karla, me, and Kelsey

Me and Bridget

Andrew and me

My birthday gift from my love

thank you to everyone who came out and helped me celebrate. i am excited to see what this next year of life has to offer. 

Welcome 2014

Happy New Year!

res-o-lu-tion

1. The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.

2. A resolving to do something.

3. A course of action determined or decided on.

How many of you made a new year's resolution this year? Is it a resolution or is it a goal? A goal is something you strive for until you reach it with your focus being on the goal instead of the journey. A resolution is a lifestyle change where you enjoy the journey as you become a better you. So often we hear people state their new year's resolution is to loose X amount of weight, or get a promotion at work, or live up your summer with friends. As awesome as those things sound, they are more goals than a resolution. What happens once you loose the amount of weight you were aiming for? Do you make a new goal or are you done? What happens once you get the promotion? Do you strive for more or are you satisfied? What comes after your summer of fun?

This year I decided to focus my resolutions on lifestyle changes, or things that require me to continue working at them throughout the year and years to come. Most people set goals at the new year and forget about them by February, I am definitely guilty of that. I didn't want that to be me this year, so I decided to make some resolutions and stick to them. Here are some of my resolutions:

1. Become more Christ-like by saturating myself with Christ's Word more often than I have been. I am doing a Bible reading plan that puts me on track to read through the whole Bible in one year. I've tried to do this before, but it was more of a goal to read through the Bible instead of become a better Christian. This year I am focusing on Christ working in my heart and molding it to be more like Him. If I happen to read through the whole Bible in that process then cool! But if not, it will not matter if my heart it pointed more towards Christ.

2. Continue to grow and learn in my friendships and especially my relationship with Drew. I want to work on putting people and their feelings before my own. This is one area I know I will continually fail in, but by God's grace I know I will get better at it. I feel this is an area I can grow in my entire life. There is always new things to learn about people as they are always changing. I want to really get to know my friends and spouse better.

3. Become a healthier and better me by eating cleaner and working out regularly. I have been working out six days a week to get back into shape. Once I'm in shape again, I want to stay consistent with my workouts instead of being happy with how far I've come only to stop working out and loose it all. Maybe once I'm in shape I'll decide to run a race, or maybe I'll just keep working out to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We will see. I am also adding more and more paleo meals to our diet to work on clean eating.

4. Become more content with what I have. This last year I have been tempted way too often with email coupons from some of my favorite retail stores. Sometimes it would be such a good deal (50% off entire purchase) that I would find myself finding something to buy just to use the coupon, even if neither Andrew nor I needed anything. I have unsubscribed to these emails and will only purchase things this year that are a true need. If I find something I really want and it's in our budget, I will purchase only if I donate something in it's place. (Example: I find a shirt a really want, so I donate a shirt before I buy it.)

5. Become a more thankful and positive person. Last August I started journaling every single night before bed. In my journal I write down at least three things I was thankful for that day. I want to continue to do this throughout my life. It has been such a great experience. It has really pushed me to see the positive in the not so good days and have a more thankful heart. I have also found myself thanking Jesus more often throughout the day for the little things we would usually forget to acknowledge or not even notice. How cool is it to be able to have a written record of all you were thankful for that you can go back and look at too!?

Now that my resolutions are out there, feel free to check in with me and see how I'm doing. It's nice to have some accountability in life. What are some resolutions or goals you made for yourself in 2014 and the years to come? Hope you are all off to a good start in 2014!

My handsome new years kiss

Christmas Break

Over the holidays I was lucky enough to enjoy 10 straight days off of work. What a blessing it was to have a mini "staycation" with my husband who was also off work (teacher perks). We enjoyed our first "Christmas break" together since college. We enjoyed time with friends together and separately, celebrated 3 years of marriage, made a gingerbread house, saw a movie, played broomball (I could not move for three days after that!), went sledding, enjoyed lazy days, deep cleaned our apartment, and shared lovely times with family on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It was such a wonderful break that it was hard to go back to reality. Here are just a few photos I managed to capture during all the fun:

At Bethlehem's Christmas Eve service

Christmas day… at the end of the day

It was hard to try and get our tree in there

I saw the most amazing sunset while we were driving one evening. This photo is not edited in any way.

Sledding with our friends (Billy, Luke, and Andrew)

We crashed into the weeds

Bridget, Becca, and me

Me and Andrew

Went to lunch with my friend Liese visiting from SC and my friend Kelsey

We missed each other and were so glad for our short time together catching up.

 What fun things did you do over Christmas? I hope whatever you did, you were able to enjoy time with family, and friends and those closest to you! Merry Christmas!