Time to Get Creative

I used to be a pretty "artsy" person.  I did a lot of drawing in high school and took several art classes.  My time and interest for art fizzled when I hit college, and I never really picked it back up.  When my oldest son was born, I decided to give scrapbooking a try.  I loved it, and kept it up while we lived in several large parsonages.  I could have a room set aside just for scrapbooking, where I could leave all my supplies and works in progress out, and just close the door when I was done.  Once we bought our own (small) house in 2007, it became too much of a hassle to pull all my supplies out, work on a project, then have to pack it all back up until next time.

For the past several years, I haven't done anything artsy - I've gone to the occasional scrapbooking or cardmaking party, but that's been the extent of it.  I've really missed it, but I just haven't had the time or found my niche in the crafting worldy.  Lately, though, I've been craving craftiness.  (Maybe it's because I've discovered Pinterest...doesn't it make everyone feel crafty?  Don't you love it?)

For several years now, I've wanted to learn to knit.  I dabbled with it once, but never really got past a basic knit stitch.  This past week, I finally did it - I bought myself some knitting needles and yarn, and I printed off a free ebook from Lion Brand Yarns.  So far, I've just learned to cast on, knit, and purl, but it's a start, and I'm loving it!  It's so soothing and relaxing.  Once I get some more basics down, I plan to start with a scarf, then move on a tote bag, and finally to a beautiful throw, like the one below.  (The colors shown here are a perfect match for our master bedroom.)

I've also dabbled with the idea of digital scrapbooking for quite a while now, and I think that my upcoming Christmas break may be the perfect time to dive in.  We have Photoshop...it's just a matter of me learning how to use Photoshop.  It may be a long process.  I really miss scrapbooking, but when time (and money) for buying supplies are limited, digital seems like the perfect solution.

I'm excited about both ideas of mine.  (I'm not sure how enthused my hubby will be, but thankfully they're both cheap hobbies!)  I hope to start sharing photos of completed craft projects with you soon!

Where I'm From...

I saw this on another blog and was just mesmerized by it!  I love this...you can find more, including the template, here.

Where I'm From

I am from spiral-bound notebooks, from Hershey’s hot chocolate and curling up in a cozy chair with a book.
I am from the crisp mornings, the small house, waking up with the windows open and the smell of fall in the air.
I am from the oak trees, the wildflowers.
I am from Sunday family dinners after church and naturally curly hair, from Benny and Joyce and Rosie.
I am from the worrying too much and working hard at everything I do because it’s the right thing to do.
From “You’ll find someone who loves you because of your sweet personality,” (from a friend’s mom…because obviously she didn’t think I was pretty enough) and “One day you’ll be a great mom because you’ll learn from their mistakes,” because my parents didn’t raise me – my grandparents did.
I am from grace and salvation and love so amazing, saved by grace, loved by my Heavenly Father, made complete only in Him.
I'm from Arkansas from 200 years back, before Arkansas even became a state, and from Ireland and Scotland and England and the Cherokee nation before that, from fried chicken and Mississippi mud cake.
From the baseball games with my dad and grandpa, the hot summer sun, and the cheers from my dad as Nolan Ryan struck another one out.
From curling up in our chilly house with my space heater in my room, roasting marshmallows on a fork while reading books and writing stories and drawing.
From walking country roads and riding bikes on gravel and grass and learning to drive in my grandpa's beat-up pickup.
From walking to the barn as the sun came up to ride my horse, then groom and feed her before breakfast.
I am from sticky albums and boxes of pictures and cedar chests, from the little girl who dreamed big dreams and prayed big prayers and still stands amazed that God did so much more than she ever dreamed of, whose heart is full and happy.

Something's Missing...

Tonight I'm home sick...our oldest son and myself both woke up during the night with a stomach bug.  He recovered quickly.  Its taking me a little longer.  So while they're at church tonight, I'm home sick.  The quiet house has given me time to think.

I've been thinking about things I love, things I'm passionate about, that I've let slip away because of busyness.  One of them is cooking.  Maybe its because all I've eaten today is dry Fruit Loops and chicken noodle soup, but I realized that I don't have fun in the kitchen anymore.  I don't experiment or try new recipes.  I don't pour through foodie magazines anymore.  I miss it.  Its time for a change.

I've been working hard on couponing, and now I'm dabbling with meal planning a month at a time.  One thing I'm going to include is one night a week to try new recipes.  I'm going to rediscover my love of cooking.  Since I'm home sick, tonight's the perfect time to start on the stack of Bon Appetit magazines a friend gave me...

The Fab 5

#1. My go-to ______ is .... (pick any 5 things... go-to movie, go-to snack, go-to book, go-to song, go-to vacation spot... ANY 5 things!!)

#2. Your "life" interview in 5 sentences. (If someone asked WHO are you... tell YOU in five sentences.)

Drumroll, please...here it is, my "fab 5" go-to's...

1. Any book by Ted Dekker - if I only have time on a vacation to read one book, it's one of his.  I've been reading him for years, and he still keeps me on the edge of my seat, still surprises me with the twists and turns, and has me totally addicted!
2. Starbucks skinny caramel macchiato - it's as good as the real thing, with only 140 calories in a grande (160 in the venti...you know, for those really tough days when you need an IV drip of caffine...)
3. Sabrina, my all-time favorite movie - it always makes me smile
4. Blogging - when I'm stressed, when I'm worried, when I'm bored, whenever, I love blogging!  I love reading them and writing my own.
5. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, especially the mini's...there are very few things in life that coffee and chocolate (especially chocolate wrapped around peanut butter) can't make better.



Momma Trauma

Last weekend, I experienced something traumatic, something no woman should ever have to go through.  It was an experience that will be burned into my memory forever.  I went swimsuit shopping.

We live an hour from the beach, but we haven't been there in more than two years.  It dawned on us lately that we're crazy.  We used to plan vacations to the beach as a special treat, and now that we're so close, we don't go.  So we decided that next weekend is the perfect time to spend a day in the sun.  The only problem with that is that I didn't own a swimsuit.  I haven't owned one for a long time.  Having children inspires me to do a lot of things, but squeezing my "baby pooch" into a spandex suit is not one of them.

Last Sunday, I headed to my favorite store (Ross...I love a good bargain!) and chose a few to try on.  I decided to go with a two piece "tankini" style that would cover as much skin as possible.  (I found a shorts-style wetsuit that I thought seriously about, but I'm not sure my hubby and kids would want to be seen with me if I wore that.)  I took the suits and headed to dressing room.

Words cannot describe it.  Do they intentionally design swimsuits to hug the ugliest, flabbiest areas of your body?  Ugh.  I think I burned calories just trying to get into the awful things.  I stood in front of the mirror thinking back to my skinny, 120 pound college body.  Back then I thought I was so ugly in a swimsuit...too bad I couldn't go back and trade bodies.  Two babies and thirty-plus pounds later, that college figure looks pretty good...

I was brave.  I was strong.  I picked a cute little striped halter top with black bottoms.  I'm going to find some cute shorts to wear over that and cover a little more of my "pooch."  I'm going to stroll down the beach with my baby flab and my ghostly white legs and have fun with my kids.  If I get jealous of the skinny, tan college kids strolling the beach with us, I'll just remind myself that it's nothing that 15 years and two or three kids won't change...

9 Weeks to Get It Together

Nine weeks.  It's all I have left until I start the dental hygiene program and become pretty much a full-time student.  Nine weeks until I juggle being in class or clinicals for 20 hours a week with being at work 30 hours a week, in addition to my family, home, and church.  It's exciting.  It's terrifying. It's overwhelming.

I have so much I want to get done during these next nine weeks.  There are so many things I want to accomplish and so many projects I want to finish.  Here are my goals:

1. Master the art of couponing - okay, I may not master it, but I'd like to figure it out enough to cut my grocery bill in half every week.  All that extra money can help me pay for books and supplies.
2. Work through Sarah Mae's "31 Days to Clean" ebook - we're going to have to be super-organized to manage this, and I want my house ready.
3. Finish the Bible in 90 Days challenge - I am woefully behind, but I know I can still catch up and finish on time.
4. Read Ted Dekker's new book, The Priest's Graveyard, because he's my favorite author and it will be the last book (other than textbooks) that I'll be able to read for a long time.
5. Have a yard sale.  It won't be very big, but again, any extra money will help.  My supplies are going to cost double what I expected.

It's going to be a busy nine weeks, but I'm ready.  I'm so excited about my journey that begins in July!

Although this wasn't specifically a Working Mommy Wednesday post, I felt that it went along well with this week's prompts.  I have a lot of goals, but this week my focus is going to be on "31 Days to Clean" and getting my house neat and organized!  My simple goal for the week is to do the challenges each day.

A Huge Blessing

I love the upbeat prompts for this week's Working Mommy Wednesday...

#1. This week, I've been blessed by...



#2. My best physical feature is...

The past couple of weeks have been a roller coaster.  On April 1, we received work that my husband's 88 year old grandfather would probably not live more than two days.  On April 2, I received my long awaited acceptance letter to dental hygiene school, and on April 3, Robby's grandfather went home.  I missed an entire week of work as we made the 13 hour drive to Missouri and back for the funeral.

When I got back to work on Saturday, this is what I found...

The members, and my coworkers, at my gym are truly amazing.  They have been my cheerleaders as I struggled with the decision of whether or not to back to school, dealt with the reality of going back to school at age 30, and the four month wait between turning in my application and getting my acceptance letter.  Now, they are celebrating with me.  I already have people volunteering to be my patients when I start clinicals, and I have the promises of many (much needed) prayers while I attempt to balance everything.  These women are awesome, and they are all a huge blessing to me!

A Dream Becomes Reality

It was a day late...but today is the day I dreamed of.  I received my acceptance letter for the dental hygiene program.  I'm so excited!  This is the beginning of a new life for me and my family - a new career (once I graduate), more stability, more flexibility.  I've worked so hard for this.

Now the stress begins...along with my acceptance letter is a three page list of deposits due, supplies to purchase, dates to meet for advisement, shots to get, and more.  The supplies with the costs listed equal $1,400 - that's before books, tuition, uniforms, blood pressure cuffs, and stethoscopes.  I have to buy all of my own supplies for the program, so it's definitely going to be a financial burden for us for a while.  Not to mention balancing my almost-full-time college schedule with an almost-full-time job as a manager.  But I know it will pay off.

I'm thinking seriously about framing that acceptance letter...

Today Is The Day That Could Change Everything

Today is the day I've worked for and waited for.  It's the day I've waited over a year for as I studied and took classes.  Today is the day my letter should arrive telling me whether or not I've been accepted into dental hygiene school.  I'm excited and I'm terrified.

This is the day that could change everything.  Getting into the program, and launching a new career when I graduate in just over two years, will change our lives.  It will mean a great, stable, flexible career and a salary three times what I earn now.  It means so much to me and my family.  So I wait on pins and needles, hoping nothing gets delayed and I learn my fate today...

Faith and Fitness

A lot of my goals for 2011 involved two major areas - faith and fitness.  These seem to be at the top of a lot of people's lists.  I think it's because most of us struggle with them so much.  They are also two of the most important goals we can have.  I often tell women at the gym I manage, it's not selfish to take time to take care of yourself, because we can't give what we don't have.

I think that what makes these goals seem hard to reach is that neither faith nor fitness just happen - both require us to be intentional.  We have to make time for them and make them a priority.  We have to have discipline to work toward these goals. In a lot of ways, these goals are very similar, and I've found a lot resources recently that combine the two.  Here are a few favorites that I'm incorporating into my daily routines...

PraiseMoves
Years ago, in high school and college, I tried yoga and loved it, but as I started learning more about the background of it, I just wasn't comfortable with it anymore.  Then I found PraiseMoves.  PraiseMoves is a Christian alternative to yoga.  The creator tells about her yoga background and how she came to start this new workout on her website.  She has several DVD's available.  You get a great, relaxing workout, while praying, meditating on God's Word, and memorizing scriptures.  You won't be disappointed!

Fit Bands
I just won a Fit Band (thanks Julia!) and I can't wait to get it!  I thought this was such an awesome idea.  Fit Bands are wristlets you can wear during your workout - you can attach Fit Cards to them so you can pray, memorize scriptures, and have devotional time while you work out.  It will be perfect for those time-crunched mornings that I know I'll have when I (hopefully) start dental hygiene school this summer.

Audio books/podcasts are perfect to listen to as you work out.  I have a playlist of some of my favorite Christian songs (Third Day, Superchick, dcTalk, etc.) that I sometimes listen to as I work out, but I never thought about the podcasts.  I plan to download some from my favorite teachers and listen to some as I run.

I'm really excited about the goals I've set for myself in the areas of faith and fitness.  I've even more excited as I see how I can work towards both at the same time and as I see the progress I'm making.  My husband is joining me in some of my fitness goals, so I'm excited to have him on board as an accountability partner in this.

The Good and the Bad

#1- I'm really good at....

#2- I'm really bad at....

These were both such great ideas, I couldn't resist doing both.

I'm really good at:
1. Cooking
2. Planning
3. Procrastinating
4. Working with kids
5. Balancing everything

I'm really bad at...
1. Housekeeping (see Monday's post)
2. Actually doing what I planned
3. Dancing (I love Zumba...but I'm sure it's not a pretty sight!  lol)
4. Playing sports (I love working out...but you wouldn't want me on your softball team.)
5. Balancing everything (Some days it works...other days it flops!)

Out with the old goals, in with the new

Last year I blogged about my goals that I had set for 2010, so before I post my goals for the new year, I thought a recap was in order.  How did I do on my goals?

1. Spend daily time with God, focusing on Bible study, prayer, Bible memory and stillness before God, focusing on and listening to Him.
RESULTS:  I did better in this area this year, but it still needs work.  I'm not spending the daily time I need.  I tend to be sporadic with it - I'll do really well for a while, then let it slide.  I need more consistency.

2. Run. Pretty simple. I am still very much a newbie, but I love running, and I want to work my way up to running 5 miles a day, 3 to 4 days a week, by the end of 2010.
RESULT:  Running went by the wayside pretty quickly with my return to college.  I have been doing really well with my workouts at the gym, though, getting in a least three a week almost every week for the past several months.  I plan to try running (again) since I have the first half of the year off from college.

3. Spend more time doing things with my family.
RESULT:  Still needs lots of improvement.  I have been spending more time with them now that school is over for a while, and I'm trying to be "all there" when I'm with them.

4. Finish 5 college classes and apply to dental hygiene school.
RESULT:  DONE!!!!  I turned in my application earlier this month, and I should know something in March.

5. Have a weekly date night with my husband.
RESULT:  Ummm, not even close!  We did go out once a month most months, starting this summer.  It's so hard to find a sitter when you're hours away from family.

6. Put more time and focus into Kids BLAST, our children's ministry, which I head up.
RESULTS:  I feel like I really did well on this one.  There are still so many things I want to change and new things I want to try, but I definitely feel like we took our children's ministry up a few notches this year.

Now, on to my 2011 goals...
1. Spend daily time with God in prayer, Bible study, memorization, and listening to God.
2. Read through the Bible, and do more in-depth Bible study, focusing on Ephesians and Psalms.
3. Using my Cozi/FlyLady organizer, get my home and family organized once and for all (before the craziness of dental hygiene school starts) setting up systems and routines to keep us organized.
4. Make family time a priority, with nightly family devotions, daily one-on-one time with my boys, and weekly family nights.
5. Continue my workouts, moving them up to five or six times a week, using a combination of strength training at the gym, running, Zumba, and PraiseMoves (a yoga-style workout).

The Many Alter Egos of a Wannabe Supermom - My Life in Pictures

My life is crazy, but so much fun...here are some of the highlights....

Our family with our alter egos

(Everyone says my husband looks like Mr. Incredible...I guess that automatically makes me a superhero, too?)

Helping my husband at a recent baby dedication



This is from our Easter egg hunt, our biggest event each year.

And some random fun and silliness...which happens often around our house...

Stepping Out In Bold Faith

It was a dream I'd had for years...since childhood, really.  I had a shot at it once, but gave it up to pursue another dream.  I didn't regret it, but I knew that one day I wanted to go back and see the dream become a reality.  But when the chance came, I was terrified.  It was a bold move, and of the scariest moves of my life.  It was my decision to return to college to finish my degree.

I started college fresh out of high school, on a scholarship - the only way my family could afford to send me.  I went blazing in, making a 4.0 GPA but without a clue as to what I wanted from a career.  I plugged away for two years, first as an elementary education major (that lasted one semester), then psychology, then English...because it was my favorite subject.  The pressure of keeping my grades high enough to keep my scholarship began to wear on me after the first few months.  I became more and more exhausted and discouraged.

Then in May 1999, I met Robby.  I had no idea at that first meeting that he would change my life.  I spent a year getting to know him as a friend, then in May 2000 he asked me for our first date.  A month later, he asked me to marry him, and I said yes.  I made the decision to marry the man of my dreams, become a pastor's wife, and quit college.

Life marched on.  Robby and I married in September 2000.  I worked for a while, then quit my job to become a stay at home mom.  We moved several times, and I finally returned to work.  Although I loved my job (still do!) I dreamed of returning to being a stay at home mom until reality set in - it was a thing of the past.  That's when I started thinking about college.

I decided that if I had to work (and I do) then I wanted to make good money at it.  I started doing some research and found that working in a dentist's office really interested me.  More research led to a college just 30 minutes away that offered a dental hygiene program.  I thought about it.  I prayed about it.  Robby and I talked about it.  The thought of returning to school as a 30 year old, married, working mom of two terrified me.  I talked  myself out of it and back into it several times.  Then, last December, I made the leap - I registered for classes, bought my books, and paid my tuition.  There was no backing out.

Now, a year later, I've survived some of the hardest classes I've ever taken...and made really good grades in them, much to my surprise.  I've finished my prerequesites and turned in my application to the dental hygiene program.  I'm still terrified, but I'm glad I did it.  I'm thankful for my family and friends who continue to support me.  I'm thankful for my husband, my biggest fan and cheerleader.  And I'm thankful I took the very bold, very scary leap of faith to return to college and to chase my dream until it becomes a reality.

What I Really Want From Blogging...

I've been in kind of a transition mode lately when it comes to blogging.  Thanks to Theta Mom's post a few weeks ago on reaching your reader's expectations, and the one year anniversary of the launch of Confessions of a Wannabe Supermom, I've been rethinking my goals, my design, and the reasons why I blog.

I've thought a lot about how I came to blogging last year.  I had tried blogging before, and each time I crashed and burned within weeks, quitting altogether, only to try again later.  Finally, I decided to really research it and have a plan in place before I started blogging again.  I spent several months planning out what I wanted.  In November 2009, I started my blog on Wordpress, but being a newbie, I found myself struggling with the format, and early in 2010, I switched back to the Blogger account I'd maintained.  It took time, but slowly my blog started to build.  I started finding my blogging voice.

Now, after a year, it's time to reevaluate again.  As Theta Mom says, I want my readers to know what they can expect from my blog.  I also want readers to be engaged with me and my blog.  I want readers more than I want followers.  Don't get me wrong, followers are great.  I love mine and want to see my followers really grow.  But more than followers, I want to know that people are reading what I'm writing and that it means something to them.  I want people to identify with me and my blog on some level - whether it's a funny story about my family, something I've learned that helps them, or just the fact that we all know that as much as we'd like to, we can't be Superwoman.

I love the changes I've made so far.  I still have some tweaking I want to do, but I think I'm headed in the right direction.  I want to focus on writing about the things I'm learning, and the mistakes I'm making.  I want to share what I know about finding balance as I juggle the many roles I play in a day.  I want to somehow, in some way, help others by what I share.  Most of all, I want to have fun, and I hope to connect with some great people along the way so we can share each other's journey.