[days 22&23] rest

Still not feeling very well. Please excuse me as I take more time to rest this weekend. I'll be back Monday!

[day 20] feverish

Why does take us moms being knocked down sick to reevaluate our bodies and our lifestyle? I have been feeling ill the past few days... a little bit of nausea, a lot of head pain, tired eyes, just kind of "yuck." I'm not late (yet) so I haven't really been thinking pregnancy (ok, ok, I did have a freak-out moment), however this morning I woke up with a fever. 101.1. Just enough to remind me, "Helloooo. You, yes, YOU. Sit down." Maybe I shouldn't have ignored those warning signs and pushed through to complete all my errands and chores this week. Maybe I should've taken the time to rest.

So rather than make excuses about how I need to finish a blog post, I am going to go lay down since Zane is taking a nap...

[day 19] family fun

Earlier this month, after confessing my "over thinking" addiction, my conclusion was to wait. Well, I'm still waiting, but I'm also taking baby steps in all the directions I have open at the moment. One of those is another blog site. I've begun a wordpress blog entitled "Moments Under the Sun."

As per my welcome page,

The intent of this new blog is to post ideas of ways for families to spend time together… generally outside… best enjoyed under the sunshine. Some ideas might be simple, requiring nothing more than a few extras, and others might be more complex. Inspired by sites like Pinterest and Etsy, I have found some of the neatest props and supplies to make these family events even more fun. I aim to bring in these ideas as a part of each post.

Another influence behind this blog’s formation is my enjoyment of photography. I have taken posed, group photos for families in the past, but get the most delight out of candid shots, photojournalistic in nature. Upon searching for sites offering ideas for family activities to set the stage for a great candid photo session, I came up short. Moments Under the Sun will also seek to fill that niche. This site will offer a photographer a host of ideas to present to their clients for an alternative to portraiture photography.

It's given me some fun ideas to follow through with for my own family and even one that I'm doing with a photography client. I guess it's a trial-run or if nothing else, just something that will motivate me to get creative with my kiddos, knocking out any excuses about not having ideas.

I'd be honored if you'd click on over then come back and let me know what you think. Should it be something you think would appeal to your readers, please feel free to link-up using the codes below. Just copy/paste the code into an "html" box or widget on your site. Thanks!



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[day 9] friendship

I am ashamed to say that I am an avoider. When conflict arises between myself and another, I flee. When I fail at something after continuing to attempt it, I give up and go on to something else. When I try and try to remain in contact with someone and they don't try back, I no longer extend myself.
I sure did paint a picture of a selfish person, and I would agree, and do agree, even when that someone is me that it is no way to live, especially for one striving to be a witness for Christ. 

I am struggling to shed off some excuses regarding the last scenario this afternoon. I have a friend that just does life differently right now. Full time job, mommy to an infant, juggling an elementary school child and working as a rep for a direct sales company (all while her hubs works a 60hr work week). Sadly for her, she really doesn't have much "me" time anymore. It concerns me honestly. So as her friend, my role is really just to drop her an email or two, text her every now and then, and mostly just keep her in prayer. We'll talk every few weeks or so. I know she's exhausted. It's not her fault that she doesn't have time to hang out, talk, etc., it's just where she is right now.

My tendency in this situation would be to slowly, after time and time of not getting any response, ignore her or "forget" about her. Sorry, I'm just being (brutally) honest. So, today, when we needed to meet up with her to discuss her participation in a mutual event, I considered suggesting dinner but excuses came to mind, "I'm sure she busy. She's always busy. Or if not, she's probably cherishing her family time or cleaning house, lol." At my husband's encouragement, I called her and we pulled together plans for a potluck dinner. I'm so glad for a guy's no-nonsense type of thought sometimes. My hubs was like, "What? Just call her. She's your friend." So thanks, Mr. H. Thanks for reminding me that friendship isn't about keeping track, but instead about continuing to reach out, giving support, and just being there for when she can be there.

[day 3] prayer & printer ink

Shew, ok. Time to take a breather from laundry and write a blog post. I hope yall had a great weekend. Knock out any excuses of your own perhaps?

I thought I'd write today about prayer. I've been giving in to the excuse of not having any printer ink to complete my quiet time. It's a sorry excuse really. You see I print out the chapters I am studying onto computer paper so that I can then go through and mark the words according to the study. (I don't have a problem writing in my Bible, but just don't have a Bible with enough room between words for marking!) I didn't have chapter 20 printed out before running out of ink, so I just stopped having a quiet time. Which meant I've slept in and also neglected having a time of prayer as well. Honestly, those days went horribly... I slept in (well, went back to sleep after hubby got up and headed to gym) which meant I woke when Lynn's alarm went off and then couldn't get my shower in before helping Lynn get ready for school and Zane waking up. So, shower time had to wait which just cut into my "me" time during Zane's naptime. Ugh. I am such a routine person, so adding that to a lack of quiet time with my Lord and my days were all thrown off!

Ok, so that was the excuse and the ramifications. Thankfully, today is a new day and I am back on track. I've printed out the next (& final) seven chapters of Acts. I started my day today with prayer as well. Not that today will go perfectly - I already feel like the proverbial headless chicken with all I have to do - but there is a sense of peace within my heart and the "communication lines" are open with God. As I do my chores, I can be in dialogue with Him.

"The children that walk down this hallway I am vacuuming - have mercy on them, Lord, and help them to see their need for You. Guide them to a relationship with You. The husband who looks in this mirror I am wiping off - continue to chisel and refine him to reflect You to others. Thank you for these clothes I am folding, Lord. You have taken care of all of our needs. We have clothes to wear, a house to live it, and food on our table. You know my needs and plan for them before I do. Thank you."

I thank God that His mercies are new every morning and that just because I have neglected communicating with Him, He has never turned His eye from me. 

fall stylin'

Pinterest (or should I say Polyvore since that's where most of my style board has been pulled from) has been a fun way to browse styles and outfit/accessory ideas. I wouldn't say that I have been online shopping based upon what I've found and liked, but it's helped to identify some style ideas that I like and want to keep an eye out for (in stores that I frequent locally).

My biggest "want" items for this fall-winter-spring are cardigans and scarves. Those have been items I've been splurging on of late. Two of my latest finds have come from Target actually. I picked up this today (in two colors, but one's gonna have to go back, once I get hub's opinion or I make up my mind!).

I have found that cardigans' sizing, in general, are tricky for me - I don't really like the ones that have a lot of gathering hanging in the front (I'd rather add a scarf to do that). Most tend to be a bit on the long side for me too. I tried a few on and actually found out that a petite size tends to work better. So I'm trying to decide if I should order a petite size of this one online or if I like the way the ones I bought fit. Decisions! ;)


A few weeks ago I bought a scarf that looks like this (but I can't find the actual one to link to in order to show you):

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The one I got is a burgundy in color. Most of my other scarves are thinner, like the one below (from Kohls). I have a deep royal blue tank (+ white cardigan) and a peacock/teal color tank (+ brown cardigan) that I wear this one over. I wore it this weekend at the Women of Faith conference and it was great because it was chilly in the arena, but I could de-layer when walking outside in the humid air.

source

What can I say? They are pretty versatile!

What's been your latest clothing find? What's on your wishlist for the fall?