Tuesday Tea Time!

Happy Tuesday Tea Time!

It's confession time today.

The first confession is that I'm not actually drinking tea. I'm drinking a caramel latte with a touch of Bailey's Irish Cream because we're on staycation mode.

The second confession. While in conversation with Mama P the other day she mentions something about the bookS she got me for Christmas. My response was maybe the wrong one, but she wasn't mad that I know of. "What books did you get me?!"

Oops! I forgot that my mom got me books for Christmas because I had been so diligent about finding a spot for them to keep. As soon as she said what they were I remembered & knew exactly where they were, so like any good gift receiver, I made it a point to actually look at one of them since that conversation.

Tea & Crumpets is sure to help me prepare for any fancy tea party I ever want to throw. However, right now the fanciest I get is making giant scones & taking them to visit friends. This Winter has been a wear a lot of fleece & sweatpants (or track suit bottoms for my English friends) Winter. I am glad to be saying g'bye to January in just a few days & moving into February.

Maybe February will give me more time for looking into & reading about Tea & Crumpets!

Sunday Snippits: GOOD, BAD, & UGLY

GOOD~ Its vacation & continuing ed. week! So this past week has been busy work plus a lot of time inside due to weather. Aside from the busy work there was Tea Time with TE. In my attempt to make us scones I made one giant orange scone & it was delicious. I'm all about the no fuss recipes, so I purposely made one scone instead of a dozen individual ones. Plus earlier in the week I had an unexpected phone call from KT & later in the week an unexpected card from JM! A couple good heart to hearts is energy for the soul.

BAD~ Death in the family is never fun. Z's last living grandparent - Grandma Esther - went quickly into heaven Tuesday morning. We are all thankful she was on hospice for less than 24 hours. Now prayers for decent weather for travels for both the memorial & inurnment.

UGLY~ The way the winter weather makes people complain. Find something worth complaining about! I'll be the first to admit I'm not amused with the fresh snowfall anymore, but it's January & it snows.

WORD ~ Today I restarted a plan to read the Bible in a year. I read a LOT of Nehemiah, yup. I started this plan at the end of 2012 & made it 80 some days before getting tired of it so I figure I'd give it another try.

Coming up~ A little work & a lot of play & the EXTRAVAGANZA!

Friday Favorites!

What a weird week!

If there ever was a week for ups & down, this was it. And acknowledging those ups & downs is just half the battle.

There was a shooting at Purdue, Z's grandma died, & I am in a state of disbelief with this winter. The snow just keeps coming!

So as I wrote in my One Word 365: Healthy update the other day. I appreciate the things that make me smile all that much more.

Z had put this reminder in my ipod right after we had moved to Chebooboo. He figures why buy fudge from the dozen stores in the area that make it as their speciality when you can make it at home. I figure why make it when you have such a variety at your fingertips? The silly thing is I thought I deleted this reminder a few times, but it keeps popping up on my ipod! Coincidence?

His silly sense of humor is one of the reasons I said "yes" when he asked he could kiss me for the first time 4 years ago today.

See, ups & downs?! Gotta keep learning to go with the flow 'cause it's not worth it to fight against the waves.

One Word 365: Healthy

Here's the first of those random healthy updates I said I'd be posting.

The number one way I've been finding helpful with being completely healthy is posting things (FB, Twitter, & Instagram) that bring a smile to my face & hope that they do the same for others.

January is always a month of ups & downs. The snow is pretty, the sun makes it sparkle some days, & then there are endless days in a row that are nothing but gray & icy & snowy & make you wish winter was over last week.

I also made myself & Z take a vitamin D pill today. Hoping that would boost our smiles from the inside out.

Plus I've been making myself take the puppy on walks, even if only to the mailbox & around the drive-way. Fresh air, no matter how cold, is always good for the mind, but be sure to bundle up appropriately!

Physically: Zumba instructing keeps me accountable to taking care of my body.
Mentally: Goofy mostly with a healthy dose of worry & fear about the unknowns.
Spiritually: Frustrated, but happy with the surprises.

What's your OneWord365?

Tuesday Tea Time!

HAPPY TUESDAY TEA TIME!

  

It's another cold cold day appropriate for thick scarves, fleeced lined leggings, two pairs of socks, leg warmers, 3 top layers, & a cuddly puppy in your lap.

And of course on this negative degree day, the sun is shining & making me think I should go outside.

My tea today is Paris from Harney & Sons.

Yes, I have blogged more than once about how I don't drink caffeine very often. Well I now have gone to drinking one caffeinated tea drink in the morning. However, this is also influenced by the fact that none of my gifted teas this past holiday season are caffeine free. 

This rich vanilla flavored tea takes me on that adventure I wrote about last week for Friday Favorites. This is an adventure that gets me through my day. An adventure that allows me to listen to the still small voice & dream & sometimes escape life's present realities. This is sacred time.

Keep on adventuring more.

Spend time in the sacred places of your life.

Let the still small voice be heard.

Sunday Snippits: GOOD, BAD, & UGLY!

Credit given to FamilyShare.com

It's the start of another new week & in the forecast there's lot of single digit weather. It's definitely that time of year where people are simply holed up or totally escaping to someplace warm. Then there's those of us who don't have the option to do either & trudge through each day.

GOOD: This last week was full of discernment & being more attentive to listening for that "still small voice." This last week was full of joy that I can share out loud now b/c they have shared it out loud. My life long best friend, our mom's are life long best friends, my sister from another family, is having a BABY! BEG & her hubby are due in August & I just can't stop smiling. The other fun piece is that our good friends W&M now are W&M&R & my college roomie is now K&D&W! 2014 is the year for babies. Don't get any ideas, none here just yet. This last week was also fabulous because I got to FaceTime/Skype/GoogleHang/phone with BLF, RR (check out One Story Catcher), DF, & a few other great people. If you haven't noticed, I thrive in community. I also got mail from AJO (with stickers!) & M&B-BR. PLUS, we got to hang with A&S yesterday at the local winterfest. There were snow sculptures, more snowmobiles than I had ever seen at one time in my life, live music, & OUTHOUSE races. Yes, that's right, people build their own style of an outhouse & race against one another down a snow track. We decided that St. Tom's needs a team next year & can be the Holy Crappers with a confession booth or pew or prayer kneeler.

BAD: It's taken me all month to catch up with the piles on my desk. While the piles are sorted through (for now) there's bound to be more. With the schedule I've been keeping, since I work from home, I get tired of spending so much time in my office & I can't find motivation on these dark cold days to do more than I have to. I also don't really know what's going on in the world. The articles that come into my inbox are often overlooked or really have to catch my eye to be read. So I apologize if I'm missing some big bad things.

UGLY: You wouldn't believe me if I told you, so let's just leave it at there are ugly things in life & I've been incredibly snarky lately.

WORD: John 1:29 was posted by the ELCA today on FB & I wanted to share it at Zumba, but couldn't remember the exact scripture. Today, it was all I needed to read & absorb. I didn't want to study it or check out the different translations. Just read & absorb & be.

Coming up: This week I will finish phoning for YE, so that's sorta sad 'cause I love the ministries God is leading YE in. AND there will be Tuesday Tea Time AND there will be Zumba on Wednesday AND there will be more reading of Bittersweet.

Friday Favorites!

Ever feel like everybody else is living a more exciting life than you?! Lately, I've been trying to find the adventure in my daily life here in the tippy top of the mitten of MI. I have friends living & working in fields that I'm passionate about too & in places like Ecuador, South Africa, Malaysia, & Germany. 

I am blessed to have had the chance to visit at least two of the countries I listed, but it's been FAR too long since I've been out of the country or had a good adventure. None the less, there is adventure here in Chebooboo too.

See:

Tuesday Tea Time!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Two and a half years ago Z & I were newly married & I was quite frustrated with the process of changing my name. Companies & organizations just couldn't get it right that there's no 'E' in my first name.

A month before our wedding, my housemates & I had finished off this giant tub of honey that our one housemate BMG had brought back from visiting her grandma in Montana a year prior. It was so big that it took four housemates, plus house guests a full year to use the entire tub. 

This particular day that I was embarrassingly frustrated with Wells Fargo I had stormed into the alley house, blazed by some friends who were their usual over the top lovingly nice selves (you know, the kind you don't feel you deserve & maybe don't know how to really let them love you like they do), & stomped up to my room to find this giant tub of honey. 

In my anger I didn't stop to really look at the tub. I thought it was the old empty tub & didn't know why in the world they thought I would want that empty tub. Once I had calmed down & leveled with my stressed self about all the changes happening in life at the time, I realized that this giant tub was full to the brim with fresh Montana honey.

My housemate's sister had gone to visit their grandma in Montana right before she came to visit us in MN & to celebrate Z & I on our wedding day. My dear friend Jules (she does have an 'E' in her first full name) had brought a whole new tub & knowing how much I love tea, she decided to gift it to Z & I. The lid of the tub still has the piece of masking tape that says, "With love from the M girls."

AND NOW this honey, yes, Z & I are still working on it 2&1/2 years later, though it is only maybe 1/4 full now, is filling up my fun new little honey pot.

Here's to the golden moments in your day that make you stop & breath & smile.

Sunday Snippits: Good, Bad, & Ugly!

Anybody else wanna know what kinda of carnival this picture is advertising?!

I suppose it says Catholic & that should be enough. Right?

Happy Sunday Snippits!

Thanks to Google for this random image.

Here we are in 2014 with the GOOD, BAD, & UGLY!

GOOD: Lots of people I love dearly are pregnant right now & to start off this past week we celebrated my Grandma's & Dad's birthdays. YaY LIFE! This last week I officially started teaching Zumba. It's a fun adventure, but one I'm definitely still getting used to. My brain is constantly wired for new ideas for children, youth, & family ministries & Zumba was not my first plan on how to live out this wiring of my brain after graduating with my Master of Divinity. However, God works in wonderfully mysterious ways & it was SO great to see mother & daughter come to my class today. Another good thing is that we finally feel like we're recovering from the busy busy Holiday season. We took ALL day Thursday to take down, pack up, put away, & clean all the needles & dust that had settled. Plus, another fun thing of this past week was opening an account at Family Video. Yes, that's right, we live in a town with a video store & no Red Box. Gotta love small town living, it's one or the other, not both! I also hosted my first ever Pampered Chef online party & it was a GREAT experience.

BAD: I think I'm allergic to more things than I want to know. And at this point in life, I don't really feel like being tested for allergies for the first time ever. Also, it's really hard to choreograph for Zumba with a puppy who is becoming more mischievous day by day & likes to cling to your every move.

UGLY: That the above picture & the word carnival go together. Add some fake streamers or something! If this is how the church advertises for itself, then how do non-church goers view the church. Today is the day that people around the world remember the earth quake in Haiti from 4 years ago. The destruction & despair still linger today.

WORD: Currently, I'm reading Shauna Niequist's Bittersweet & it has a chapter for people at every place in life, or so it seems. Friendship & Food are important themes, which is pretty great in my book.

Coming up: More Zumba & phoning for Youth Encounter & most likely lots more ADORABLE photos of the puppy.

Friday Favorites!

Meet MG!

I know, you're thinking, haven't you had her for a couple of months now? Well it took a couple of months & one of the coldest days of the Winter for us to call the groomer who naturally could squeeze her in on that sub-arctic temperature day.

AND NOW WE CAN SEE HER EYES!

Her fur was masking her true size & now we're reminded how truly little & young she is.

How were your eyes opened to a new light this week?

Tuesday Tea Time: The 1st of 2014!

Happy Tuesday Tea Time!

Curious, does this picture represent any Tea Time for you?! I find it quirky & unlike any tea time that I've remember. However, my cousins, LC2, are expecting their first baby & LM said she is craving spaghettios. So in celebration of LC2 & their growing addition, here's our FIRST TUESDAY TEA TIME of 2014!

This is the first year in a long time that Z & I don't have anything big & life changing (that we know of yet) happening. No wedding, no baby, no graduations, no moving, no new schools.

This leaves me excitedly sitting in the anticipation of what each day & month may bring. We have a few things planned of course, like continuing ed. events & a vacation to celebrate other family members' graduations & weddings.

What are you anticipating for the days & weeks & hours of 2014?

LC2, we know your big one ;-)

Sunday Snippits!

This picture sums up my life lately!

Christmas day came & went & for the last weekend of 2013 Z & I headed to The Gathering with 3 youth from church. It was a fun weekend of networking, socializing, & worshipping.

Then just in the past couple of days I drove back to the same area for another youth event, this time Youth Encounter's Quake with no youth & abandoning Z with no car.

Then the snow whispers started whispering & a little over 24 hours later I was headed home to avoid the snow & being stuck.

Not to mention we attended/led the worship for our first funeral of 2014 already. Just a little excitement to finish out 2013 & welcome in 2014. We also had a good time hanging with friends on NYE.

In other news, I'm hosting a Pampered Chef party through this Thursday! So check it out here to pamper yourself, a friend, or simply to spruce up your kitchen gadget collection!

Zumba classes start this Wednesday too! Click on the tab above for more info.

AND we might actually get to watch the season premier of Downton Abbey because we're randomly picking up PBS right now.

There's the GOOD, BAD, & UGLY of the start of 2014.

Healthy Living

To hold myself accountable to living into my One Word for 2014 I will randomly be posting healthy related happenings. 

Today's HEALTHY happenings included: Zumba prep (my first class is 1/8!), sat with scripture from Hebrews, attended a funeral, walked the puppy, played with a puzzle with Z, enjoyed one of my favorite holiday movies, sent a couple cards, & prepped for my weekend with Youth Encounter.

Physically, Mentally, & Spiritually Healthy

What's your healthy status?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

A New Year & I'm back full of Life, Spirit, & Sparkle to share with anybody who wants to receive the goodness of sharing.

My friend over at Thirsty Nerdy Cats did this One Word things a year ago & my friend TU at Praying on the Prairie is doing it this year. I figured I should join in the fun.

Plus, 2014 is weird year for Z & I. We don't have any known major changes or life transitions that will happen this year. Ok, so I turn 30 this year & we'll have our puppy fixed & we'll be doing continuing ed & vacation in MO & CO at different points. But nothing quite as big as finishing a degree program or knowing we have to move.

With this year being a year of anticipation of the unknowns, my word is

HEALTHY.

When thinking about what I hoped out of 2014, I thought to myself, "I want to be healthy in a holistic sorta way. Physically, Mentally, & Spiritually." AND because I'm a 2 on the Enneagram, I want to help others be healthy too.

Stay tuned for more on being holistically healthy.

What's your One Word?