Homework complete

Like I had mentioned in my previous post, my "homework" assignment has been to write down 20 things I appreciate each day.  Here is my next 20:

1.  I appreciate living on a street with neighbors my age who we can hang out with.

2.  I appreciate old friendships that become new again (so true KM).

3.  I appreciate photos and all the memories they provide.

 4.  I appreciate all the moms in my life and the friendships, support, and advice the provide .

5.  I appreciate the eight wonderful months I have been able to be the wife of the most wonderful man.

6.  I appreciate my husband taking evening walks with me.

7.  I appreciate friends who I can share my faith with and who share their faith with me.

8.  I appreciate my nieces and the complete love and joy they bring me and our family.

9.  I appreciate unanswered prayers and God having a greater plan for me than I could have had for myself.

10.  I appreciate the success we've had, especially in this rough economy.

11.  I appreciate social media and the hour lunch break I spend catching up on my celebrity gossip.

12.  I appreciate a healthy meal.

13.  I appreciate the beauty of a clear, blue sky.

14.  I appreciate my parents treating me to Cheesecake Factory last night, even though it was late when I got done with my boot camp class.

15.  I appreciate my parents instilling strong values in me and the strength to vocalize and defend them.

16.  I appreciate my husband letting me have the maid come yesterday.  Money well spent!

17.  I appreciate my husband waking up early so we could go to HEB on the way to work and get a cake since I failed to bake anything for our company dessert party.

18.  I appreciate Meredith setting up the scarf swap.  Can't wait to get home and see if mine is in the mail!

19.  I appreciate the joy of my husband laughing so hard we're crying.

20.  I appreciate the HOV lane and avoiding the extra 30 minutes of traffic.

On another note, my husband and I are thinking we may go to the A&M game in College Station this weekend.  As much as it pains me, I feel I should buy a maroon shirt to support my hubs and his beloved Aggies.  Although I am a proud Red Raider (Wreck 'Em Tech!) I will support my hubs and wear his colors as long as I don't have the logo on me.  I couldn't betray my alma mater like that.  So with that said, all you Aggies, is this maroon?  I can't tell if it looks too purple or too red.  Maroon is such a hard color.

Don't hate, appreciate.

Last week I spent two days doing an off site training for my work.  The all day sessions were done in small groups (ten people) and focused on communication, how we interact with people and, ultimately, how we improve ourselves.  It wasn't necessarily a BUSINESS program and talked about things we could apply throughout our lives.  It was a good reminder to me as to what it means to be a good person and good Christian.  We meet again one more time at the end of the month and are supposed to be writing down 20 things each day that we appreciate.  To be honest, I completely forgot about this homework assignment until just now.  So there is no better time to start appreciating!

 

1.  I appreciate the beautiful sunrise this morning.

2.  I appreciate my husband having a glass of water ready on the counter when I come home since I've been drinking so much water while pregnant.

3.  I appreciate my mom and dad and all they do for me and their kids and grandchildren.

4.  I appreciate the rain we got this weekend.

5.  I appreciate the sacrament of confession and the chance to hear "God forgives you" and be humbled by verbalizing our sins.  Such a burden is lifted each time we wipe the slate clean.

6.  I appreciate my new couch!

7.  I appreciate the emails I get from my husband each day saying "I love you because...".

8.  I appreciate the patience God has given me lately.

9.  I appreciate good friends that live nearby.

10.  I appreciate my baby boot camp class and how good I feel after being outside, breaking a sweet, and seeing a friend.

11.  I appreciate Dream Dinners and having the convenience of a pre-made meal.

12.  I appreciate a good nights sleep.

13.  I REALLY appreciate TUMS.

14.  I appreciate being pregnant and all the joy it brings.

15.  I appreciate the hard work my husband does to provide for our family.

16.  I appreciate my mom and dad clearing their schedule each Wednesday night to spend time with me while my husband is at softball.

17.  I appreciate compliments from strangers.

18.  I appreciate a good book.

19.  I appreciate gifts for no reason, especially from someone unexpected.

20.  I appreciate God giving my family and me another day of health and safety.

Now, I have to come up with 20 new things tomorrow...

Keep Dreaming

Last night we had our second Dream Dinners meal.  It was the Firehouse Three Cheese Pasta with Meatballs.  It was YUMMY!  I'm so happy my hubs is liking the meals from Dream Dinners.  It has been so nice and convenient, especially on nights neither of us is home until 7:30 or 8:00.  

Last night I had my baby boot camp workout class and really enjoyed it.  It feels good to get outside after being at a desk literally ALL day.  And it's nice to workout and break a sweat, especially as I'm getting much bigger.  It feels good to stay active.  And seeing sweet Haley and precious Haden is icing on the cake!  Great night!

Out of the fridge and ready to bake!

This picture doesn't do it justice.  It was much more colorful in person.  Wish I could translate the smell into words.  YUM!

This picture also makes it looks not as appetizing as it truly was.  If I had kept the salad on the same plate it would have added some color but it was delicious all the same!  The Dream Dinners garlic bread was good too!

 

Tonight I will be making the pulled pork burritos.  I'll keep you posted!

Counting down the days...

So this little beauty is being delivered to my house today.  

Picture from the showroom

 

I'm so excited to get home and sit on the new couch!  I love everything about it and it is the first big piece of furniture to arrive for our new home.

There is only one things that makes me nervous.  The color.  While this is PERFECT for the look and feel I'm going for in our home, it's not so perfect for the "bull in the china cabinet" that I married.  My sweet hubby is far from careful when it comes to spilling red wine or having charcoal on his hands.  He is quite the man's man which I ADORE about him, but it also scares me to death when it comes to my new white couch.  Oh well, it's just a couch.  Things get dirty and life moves on.  I'm hoping we can at least make it to double digits in the numbers of days before the first stain arrives.

Blessings to all for this wonderful week!  Praise the Lord for the rain!  Finally!

Supper time

If you know my family and me, then you know food=love.  Growing up my mom was like Betty Crocker.  We ALWAYS had home cooked meals around the table in the kitchen.  No TVs and this was before the days of cell phones and texting.  There were always brownies, cookies, or rice crispy treats ready when we got home from school.  My lunch was made each morning until I left for college.  Yes, there is no doubt that I grew up with a mother who loved her children through service, namely cooking.  With that said, I was little torn over the concept of Dream Dinners.  It's a place where you go in and make meals to be frozen for later use.  They have stations and each one has a recipe and the ingredients to make it.  You mix them up yourself and take it home with the baking instructions.  Then at a later date you take it out of your fridge/freezer and cook it.  I LOVED the thought of not having to go to the store after work every Monday - Friday, come up with a dinner idea, and cook until we finally sat down to eat at 8:00 PM.  It usually ends up being pretty late since we both work and one of us has to go to the store, cook, etc.  Tuesday of this week I went with girl friends to test out Dream Dinners.  We had a lot of fun!  I brought home a trial meal and my hubby loved it.  So that was all I needed to give it a shot!  I figured it would be convenient for times when we were working late but wouldn't be a 7-nights-a-week kind of thing.  It's all about balance, right?!  So I went back and made my first 12 meals.  It took me about an hour and a half to get all the ingredients mixed and meals ready.  Now I have TWELVE meals ready and waiting!  That sure is a good feeling!

The meals I chose

 d

Unloaded at home

Ready to go in the freezer

Ready for baking!

 

 Now, what should I cook for dinner tonight?  I think it will be the Dream Dinners pulled pork burritos!  Yum!

Refreshed

This weekend I took some time to pamper myself and feel refreshed, starting with a new blog design.  Marina at Penny Lane Designs made me a blog template that was just what I asked for, simple and clean.  Thanks Marina, I love it!

Friday I got a mani/pedi and a facial after work.  It was just what this momma needed.  My skin has been a mess with this pregnancy.  Sometimes it's clear and glowing, sometimes it's worse than a hormonal pre-teen.  I'm in break out stage right now so it was nice to go in, get a facial, and leave with way too many products (which I'm loving by the way).

Friday night we went to my parents to say bye to my grandma.  After six weeks here, it was time for her to go back to North Dakota.  It's always nice having grandma in town and hard when she leaves.  We grew up living four houses down so I don't think I'll ever be used to her being so far away.

Saturday morning I went to my nieces cheer leading game.  I wish I had pictures of her!  She is six and SO precious in her cheer leading uniform on the field in front of the stands.  She LOVES being in front of the crowd.  Her and her sisters are all natural performers and I love seeing her succeed at a sport I also loved.  She got the first MVP award her squad handed out this season and I am so proud of her!

After some time with the nieces  it was time for some shopping with my momma.  And may I say it was such a relief to go shopping and finally get baby furniture ordered.  We went to a number of places but ended up ordering from Baby's 1st Furniture.  The furniture will take 6-8 weeks to get here but we found bedding we loved and they had it in store.  A pic is below of it propped up against the wall in the nursery.  I'm so ready for the furniture to get here.  I'm glad the baby's room is getting taken care of but to be honest, it's driving me nuts that four other rooms in the house are completely empty.  I NEED FURNITURE!  It's so hard to move into a home and not have it be instantly complete.  At least that's hard for me.  But it's getting there, slowly but surely...

Saturday night Brantly and I started a series at the church called Couples Night Out.  It's once a month and is 45 minute gatherings at the church and is supposed to be followed by a date with your spouse to discuss the group meetings and book readings.  The class is focused on the book The 5 Love Languages.  We loved the first class and can't wait to do more reading and go back next month.  It's always fun to have dates at the church with other couples.

Sunday can be summarized in one word...FOOD.  After church we went with my parents, sister-in-law, and nieces to Another Time Soda Fountain in Rosenberg (one of our regular favorites).  I had a new menu item, the chicken finger sandwhich.  And may I just say YUM.  I could only make room for half but it was pure heaven.  And if fried chicken on bread with fries wasn't enough, I came home and made peanut butter cookies.  My dear friend Meredith came over for some one on one girl time and shared her Caramel Apple Pops.  She knows the way to my heart.  Those are my most favorite candies!  I was one happy girl!  But honestly, after feeling frustrated and irritable lately, having some much needed conversation with my close friend was the most refreshing part of my weekend.  Certain friendships are heaven sent and I am blessed to have them!

Hard to believe it's back to work tomorrow.  The weekends fly by way too fast.  I'm spending tomorrow evening at Baby Bootcamp which I started last week.  I'm excited to get some exercise with other mommies and their precious babies.  I had my first class last week and really enjoyed it.  Some social exercise is just what I need!  I'm also really excited about a date with girlfriends on Tuesday night.  We'll be going to Dream Dinners and preparing some meals.  Pics and updates to come!

Here's to a blessed week!