April 2016 Goals

It has been three months since we moved to Florida.  These past three months have been so, so, so full of transition – new home, new community, new church, new job/staying at home with my babies.  Whew, lots of newness going on around here!  I’m sure I’ll share more about our adjustment soon.  For now, here are my goals for April. 

• Host Katherine’s second birthday party and enjoy time with my family.
• Read Boundaries as part of the Nancy Ray Book Club.
• Complete a 10 day sugar fast
• Write 3 blog posts
• Go on a date {or two} with Mike.
• Finish decorating the playroom
• Continue to work on my archiving photos project – decide what photos to print from the InterVarsity albums and research external hard drives and cloud based storage solutions
• Wake up at 6am everyday to have time before my babies wake up.
• Update my resume and Linked In profile.

Thankful Thursday

01:  Date nights with hubs: Buffalo Wild Wings to watch UNC football, Bike riding in Santa Monica and a trip to Yogurtland.  Life has been really full for us lately so we do our best to squeeze some quality time into our schedule. 

02:  The plants in my window box are still alive!  And, I'm nursing my mums back to full health {they went a few days without enough water}.  :)

03:  Trying out new recipes - Hubs and I really love cooking together so it's fun to try new things.  As you know, we are flexitarian so I've been trying a few new meatless dishes recently.  Some of our favorites are Mexican Lasagna and Creamy Garlic Noodles.  {Check out my November meal plan for more ideas}.

04:  Getting to attend the Entreleadership Conference.

05:  Our life group from church, Complete Joy.

November Meal Plan, 2013

At the inspiration of Life in Grace, I decided to create a meal plan for the month.  Usually I create a plan for the week, and it turns out to be a bit stressful because I don't know what to make or I start to feel like we've been eating the same thing over and over.  Planning for the month was surprisingly fun and pushed me to be creative in what we'll be eating.  

 

We have been making a push to eat mostly vegetarian and as much unprocessed food as possible {it's important to us that we avoid hormone-laden meat, especially since we have a little one on the way}.

 

 

{Image found here - Wouldn't you just love to have a Thanksgiving table this beautiful!?!?}

 

Week 1

·         Monday, November 4 – Spicy Vegetable Soup, Baked Potatoes

·         Tuesday, November 5 – Out to eat {Mediterranean Café}

·         Wednesday, November 6 – Creamy Garlic Shells, Asparagus, Farmer’s Salad

·         Thursday, November 7 – Mexican Lasagna and Mexican Rice

·         Friday, November 8 – Dinner at church

·         Saturday, November 9 – Quinoa burgers, French fries, corn on the cob

·         Sunday, November 10 – {Grace’s Birthday Party}  Potato Soup, Crusty Bread

 

Week 2

 ·         Monday, November 11 – Sweet potatoes, Hoppin John, Green Beans

·         Tuesday, November 12 – {Take meal to the Li’s} Baked ziti, Asparagus, Crusty Bread, Pineapple Poke Cake

·         Wednesday, November 13 – Leftover Mexican Lasagna, Rice and Salad

·         Thursday, November 14 – {Family Dinner} Cheese Tortellini Soup, Chocolate cake

·         Friday, November 15 – Beef Stew, Egg noodles, Collard Greens or Salad and Incredible Edibles

·         Saturday, November 16 – {Anna’s Birthday Celebration} Homemade Pizza, Salad, Mike’s Apple Pie.  I hope you get to come over to try my hubs’ pie sometime.  It is really a special treat!

·         Sunday, November 17 – Roasted Veggie Wraps, Mexican Rice, Key Lime Pie

 

Week 3

 

·         Monday, November 18 – Lentil Dish

·         Tuesday, November 19 – Quiche and Farmer’s Salad

·         Wednesday November 20 – Lentil Wraps

·         Thursday, November 21 – Patty Melts

·         Friday, November 22 – Dinner with Complete Joy

·         Saturday, November 23 – Leftovers plus a Mixed Greens Salad with Pomegranate seeds and Gorgonzola

·         Sunday, November 24 – Spaghetti alla Carbonara or Marinara, Green veggie option

 

Week 4

·         Monday, November 25 – Homemade Pizza

·         Tuesday, November 26 –  Autumn Chopped Salad and Baked Potatoes

·         Wednesday, November 27 – Spicy Veggie Soup and Grilled cheese – I want something easy for today since it will be filled with cooking preparations for our big Thanksgiving meal.

·         Thursday, November 28 – Traditional Thanksgiving meal {still deciding our meal plan}

·         Friday, November 29 – Leftovers

·         Saturday, November 30 – Vegetarian Chili, Cornbread

·         Sunday, December 1 – Spicy Noodles

 

Let me know if you want recipes for anything without links.  I'm happy to share!  Would love to hear what you're eating these days.

 

October Goals

Image found here

 
School started this month for hubs.  It's been both good to be back in a Fall routine, but tough at the same time because it means I have to share my husband with the library.  We've had a few days of crisp, Fall weather which has been a welcomed surprise {since there aren't really seasons in Southern California}.  I have even managed to pick up a few PSL's as a special treat.

Anyway, I figured I would try something new and share my goals each month.  Even though we're midway through October, here's what I'm working on:

Schedule dentist appointments for me and hubs

Read Start 

Attend the EntreLeadership workshop

Write outline for a performance management manual at work

Buy mums and a pumpkin for our patio

Order Christmas cards

Participate in Strong Marriages Successful Ministries class

Make bed everyday

Exercise twice a week

Clean out my closet 

What about you?  Any goals you're hoping to accomplish before the end of this year?

Lovely Thoughts

When I was in fourth grade I memorized this verse in Missionettes {it was a Bible class for girls...yes, the name is a bit cheesy}, and I really believe the words were written on my heart.  Over the past twenty years or so this scripture comes back to mind every once in a while.  I've been thinking a lot about these words the past couple of weeks and so desperately wanting to live by them.  

It has been a surprisingly difficult task for both me and hubs to think on the lovely, true, excellent things, but we are working on developing this discipline.  For us, it's a process of reprogramming ourselves to think positively, speak positively and be full of thanksgiving.

Tonight I'm going to hang this print somewhere in our house where we see it often.  Sometimes we just need a visible reminder.


P.S. I downloaded this beautiful print for free from French Press Mornings.

Thankful

Hi there.  I can hardly believe it's been 9 months since I've written anything on this thing.  It's not because there hasn't been anything to say - just a lack of time.  There is so much to update any of you sweet readers that may still be checking to see if there's anything on here.

Today I'm just going to say that I'm thankful.  I'm thankful that even though the day started out a bit rough, I don't have to let those circumstances dictate how I live.  I can choose gratitude.  I am continually learning the power of a grateful heart.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

Random Rambling 006 - Fitness Editions

01::  So, I have these diamond studs that I wear during my runs.  It's my little way of trying to look cute while running {Trust me, I am not cute when I run, I'm a hot mess}.  Somehow, I have managed to loose them this week, and I'm so sad. {I'll be headed to Charming Charlie to buy another pair - and maybe a few more things - soon!!}

02::  On Wednesday, hubs practically dragged me out the door to go for our run.  Seriously, I did NOT want to go and had all of my excuses lined up.  I'm tired.  The house is messy.  I just want to be home - we haven't been home all week.  Ten minutes into the run, I was so thankful that man made me do it.  It was one of the best runs we've had recently - even with the speed work.

03:: Success really is just doing it. It doesn't matter if it's only for ten minutes, or if it's slow, or if you look like a hot mess.  I'm thankful for the small successes.

 

04:: Last week when we ran our intervals, this man cheered us on from his front porch.  His encouragement surprised me at first, and I wondered if he was making fun of me.  But, he wasn't.  It was exactly what I needed to keep sprinting through that first set.

05::  I am so humbled and honored by friends who have recently said my ridiculous instagram pictures have inspired them.  Your words keep me motivated and mean the world to me.  Thank you!

{P.S. Don't forget about the make-up offer my friend Laura Sue is offering us!}