Another day another dollar

Isn't that how the line goes?

So our weekend was good. We had planned to go on a bike ride on Saturday morning to ride some trails downtown. We had a coupon for a bagel place so of course my idea was to ride down there, eat breakfast, and then ride back home. Well, that is what we did! We made it there for brunch so I had a breakfast bagel and Josh had a sandwich and salad deal. All in all we thought we rode about 30-40 miles round trip but according to http://gmap-pedometer.com, we rode about 25 miles round trip. Not bad for my first ride of the season. Josh has been riding to work lately so he is in a little bit better shape than me on the biking skills right now. I would like to state for the record for all 5 of you that I did beat him on 1 hill.

And on Friday you saw my new yarn stash. I would like to share that I have now completed 50 rows of the BSJ for Caleb. I just went to town knitting that this weekend and I am quite pleased with the turnout so far. I am doing stripes and the pattern calls for them to be a little different than I would like so I'm just adjusting it as I go. I think it is going to be so cute. Also note, in the past I have been using just the cheap-o baby yarn I can get at Michael's or Jo-Ann's and this is the first one I have knit with a nicer (more expensive) yarn and it looks so much nicer. It is also easier to work with and the yarn is so soft and sweet. I think the baby is just going to love wearing it. I'm sizing it so he'll be able to wear it in the winter and on into the next Spring as a jacket if they want. I can't decide if I should add on a hood or knit a matching hat to go with it…

We also watched the movie Mama's Boy. It was actually pretty funny and Jeff Daniels just cracked me up. We laughed a lot at that movie. We also watched Fool's Gold a while back and that too was funny with a nice bit of action mixed in.

Sunday we went to church and then took it easy for most of the day.

FRIDAY NIGHT!

Well it is Friday and Josh is at work so I have few things of excitement tonight.

1. I made a new recipe for dinner and it was D-lish. The recipe is so simple. I like waffles and I also really enjoy breakfast for dinner but Josh prefers a lighter breakfast and does not care for breakfast for dinner so lately I have been eating breakfast for dinner and it is great fun! =) Also, got the waffle maker for Christmas in 07, first time using it tonight.

2. Knit Picks stash has arrived. Now usually when people post their excitement about a stash they have received like a billion skeins. For those of us on a limited budget my stash is comprised of a few great picks from the clearance page. =) I got some Swish DK to make a BSJ for Caleb who will be coming from Ethiopia and I think the colors will just look great on his skin. Then I got some Twist for myself. It is a lighter yarn so I was thinking I might make a dressy scarf. For when I get a nice dress coat to wear in the winter. =) Probably wouldn't look too good with my North Face soft shell.

Pictures of all...enjoy!

Thirsty Thursday

This morning in my reading I came across something that seemed like it could present quite the challenge if I thought about it for a few days…I will first give you the part of the quote that stuck out to me. I actually read it, kept reading, and then said, "Wait a second." And so I went back up to re-read this part:

"…if I believed always that all the past is forgiven, and all the present furnished with power, and all the future bright with hope…"

Well maybe that doesn't strike you as too crazy but as I was reading over it again I thought to myself, "Do I believe like that?"

Do I always believe that the past is forgiven? Not just some of the past but ALL the past. Do I leave those things in the past where they should be because they have been fully and completely forgiven?

Do I always believe that the present is furnished with power? Not just some of the present but ALL the present. Do I look at each day in a way that says, "This is going to be good, I have the power I need to get through." (Cue music: I've Got The Power) J

Do I always believe that the future is bright with hope? Not just some of the future but ALL the future. Do I look ahead past the present and see hope for the journey? Is it shining brightly in my life?

The sad answer that I came up with was no, not all the time. Not always as this quote says. And so I am challenged today and maybe you can be too to look at the way we live our lives and ask these questions. My outlook on today is already changing.

Now, the full quote so you can see if I have taken this out of context.

"I think that I can trace every scrap of sorrow in my life to simple unbelief. How could I be anything but quite happy if I believed always that all the past is forgiven, and all the present furnished with power, and all the future bright with hope because of the same abiding facts which do not change with my mood, do not stumble because I totter and stagger at the promise through unbelief, but stand firm and clear with their peaks of pearl cleaving the air of Eternity, and the bases of their hills rooted unfathomably in the Rock of God? Mont Blanc does not become a phantom or a mist because a climber grows dizzy on its side."
—James Smetham

There is a lot in this little quote but I will leave that to you to ponder on your own.

Also, I was curious who Mr. Smetham was and this is what I found…

James Smetham (1821-1889)
Smetham worked in a number of genres: landscapes, portraits, and literary and religious themes. He began his studies at the Royal Academy in 1843, but mental illness that fully manifested itself in the mid-1870s plagued his later career, and after 1869 he no longer exhibited at the Royal Academy. Smetham was also a critic and essayist. His article on William Blake in the Quarterly Review (1868) is one of the first evaluations to suggest the importance of Blake as an artist.
http://www.english.emory.edu/classes/Shakespeare_Illustrated/Smetham.html

It turns out that Mr. Smetham had written quite a few letters during his life and when he passed his wife and a close friend published the letters in a book called Letters of James Smetham. This quote comes from a letter written to a Mrs. Taylor at the beginning of 1861. For proper citation, it comes from page 105. If you click on that link of his name it appears that you can read the whole book. Note to self, must see what other books I could read this way.

Have a great day! I pray that the God of bright hope will be your guide today!

We did it!

We had a very full weekend and it was quite enjoyable. Needless to say we slept very well because our time during the day was so full and busy.

1. Report on the race: Josh did an amazing job, finishing at 25:35. He hasn't run since our last race on St. Patrick's Day. I hate it when people are just always in shape. I finished at 33:44, this is my personal best and also I did fulfill my goal, I ran the whole race!!! I probably could have finished it faster but I am still not a good judge of distance so I am never quite sure when to turn it on for the end! I was so pleased that I ran the whole thing and I was also quite surprised that my time was decent too!
   
2. We helped some friends move this weekend and were filled with joy that we will not be moving any time soon and also that we didn't have to do any work to our house before we moved in. J I helped them paint a little bit last week and it seemed so stressful to have to do so much before you could move in.
   
3. Charlie went to the dog park again. She did great. She is such a friendly little dog. I think she drank about a gallon of water while we were there because we got home and hosed her down in the back yard and she relieved herself at least 5 times in 30 minutes. Then she lay down to go to sleep because she was so tired and we had to leave so we put her in her kennel and thought she would sleep the whole time. We got home a few hours later and upon walking in the door I said, "What is that smell?" We sniffed all around the house and couldn't find anything strange. It was a smell I had never smelled before. So we said forget about it and went to let Charlie out of her kennel and what do we see? The bottom of the kennel is covered with a clear-ish liquid. J That is what the smell was. She had been laying in it so Josh grabbed a towel so that we could dry her paws and walk her straight outside to be hosed down again. Good thing he had that towel because you know what she did as soon as she stepped out of the kennel…started SHAKING all that clear-ish liquid right off! AAAAAH! Josh was pretty quick though and managed to wrap her up before she shook too much of it off. Then we realized just how wet she was so it was: march straight into the bath tub little lady, you are getting a real bath with soap!
   
4. Josh also helped some friends with a framing project as they are working to finish their basement. He wanted to get some experience with this since we are preparing to put in a door where there is no door at our house in the next few weeks.
   
5. Sunday we got groceries and got some great deals on food. We are trying to make the switch to organic foods without adding too much extra to our grocery bill so we have been doing the multi-store grocery outing and it has been going very well!
   

I think that gives you the highlights of our weekend! Hope yours was great too and that you also had some time to relax and reflect! We did!

ps-Guess who joined me at the gym this morning?? My beloved, Mr. Joshua himself! It was quite a treat to be driven to the gym at such an early hour and not have to watch my step for bad guys along the way!

weekend

It's Friday! Yeah!

We are looking ahead to a great weekend. Tomorrow Josh and I are running a 5K race downtown and then helping some friends move in the afternoon. Sunday I think is open so we will probably take Charlie to the dog park after church if it isn't too hot. It has been so hot lately she doesn't even want to be outside that much. This morning she was acting pretty crazy though so I was wondering if it was the dog version of cabin fever.

In other matters, some things I have been reflecting on this week…the first one is my new favorite.

Psalm 71:5
For you have been my hope, O sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.

Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Philippians 1:5-6
Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

 

I completed week 7 of my working out life. Things are getting to be very rewarding. Now if I could just get back into those clothes that I have stashed away on the top shelf of the closet. My goal for the race tomorrow is: NO WALKING! I know my little legs can stay running for the whole time so now I just have to make them do it! I'm not setting a time goal for this one because I don't even wear a watch when I run and I think if I keep moving as I plan to do I will end up with a decent time! Maybe I will set a personal best!!

Ok, hugs to you all. Have a happy weekend!

tuesday

I am still keeping up on my fitness routine. Lacey is out of town for 3 weeks so I am trying to talk Josh into going with me in the mornings. I think he is almost ready to give in. :) Running is becoming more fun each time.



A few weeks ago well probably more like a month or more I trimmed our rose bush quite a bit. I hoped I wouldn't kill it but it didn't have any buds on it at the time so I figured it would be fine. About half of the branches were dead and brown, mostly they were the bottom branches but some in the middle too. First of all, do you know how painful it is to trim a rose bush? I think the thorns get sharper as they dry out. So I had taken quite a bit out and after about 2 weeks I went to check on it to be sure I hadn't killed it. It was a lovely shade of bright green on the remaining branches and some little tiny buds were starting to appear. Yesterday I had to go by Lacey's house and I saw that her yellow roses had bloomed so I thought I better check mine when I get home. Sure enough, tons of dark pink roses have bloomed! It is beautiful! I think it is going to be in bloom for a while because there are tons more buds that are just appearing still too. I took quite a few photos so if you want to see more, click on one of the pictures and it will take you to the picasa album. After that I did a little photo shoot with Charlie. She still loves getting her picture taken. It is so bizarre! She saw me with the camera inside and immediately sat and looked at me. Then I took her outside and she started sprinting around the yard. There are quite a few funny pictures of her.
















Here is the link for Charlie's photos. She is such a ham sometimes. She is getting pretty big. We are constantly loosening her collar because her neck is getting so thick.

From charlie

weekend

Well, we are back from the weekend. Josh returned on Friday and we enjoyed some hot wings together and walked around the Promenade Shops for a while. We found a few good deals. He worked Saturday for a half shift and then we had a bowling get together with the old gang. There is a trophy that goes to the winner each time this group gets together and Josh had the high score this time so he got the trophy! After that we went to O'Malley's for more wings and karaoke. Sunday we went to church and then to lunch with the family for Father's Day. We took a poster of Josh's dad with us in honor of Father's Day since he is out of the country. It was fun!

After that we decided to shop around, we have been trying to find a lighter weight comforter for our bed for the summer months. Our duvet that we had been using was supposed to be good for all seasons but it was too warm for summer! So in the meantime we have been using a nice IAFF fleece blanket. Very classy, I know. J So we had looked at many stores…Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, Wal-Mart, Linens & Things, TJ Maxx Home Goods, Ross, etc. and found nothing. We were about to head home and we thought let's look at World Market because they usually have things in the colors we like. We were looking for something blue, any shade really. So we looked around and saw that they had all the bedding on clearance at 50% off. This is looking good! We saw a sample (6x6 inch square)of exactly what we were looking for but they didn't have it in stock. Not so good! Then we saw a bed on display that had a blue quilt on it! We were looking at it and talking to each other saying, "Oh I wish they had one we could buy, this would be great!" "Oh, what a bummer that they don't have any more!" Then a sales person walked up to us and asked if we needed any help and we said well do you happen to have any more of these anywhere that we could buy? She said no, but you can buy that one. So it turns out we bought this wonderful quilt that would have been $99 for only $44 since it was the display. YEAH! I love a good deal! It looks great on our red bed!

Then we broke down and bought a little portable A/C unit because our house becomes a little oven in all this sunshine! Not on sale but we had a coupon and put it to work last night. It is very nice!

Happy Monday!

flash back

Last summer around this time Josh and I were anxiously awaiting our wedding day! We decided to purchase a new camera as our wedding gift to each other so that we would have decent pictures from our honeymoon. We ended up taking 1000 pictures on that trip! And have taken many more since then. When we first got the camera we decided to go to the Botanic Gardens in Denver to practice using it and I just found some of those old pictures today.

Enjoy!

My parents

So my parents were hit with that nasty weather that struck the Midwest last weekend. A huge tree fell on their house and they have been without power since Sunday evening. It is now Thursday… that is a very long time to be without electricity when you are not camping! Back in November their church had planned to have a spaghetti supper just to invite people to come and have a free meal. They had originally planned to do a bunch of promotion and mailings to the community but it never happened. So they were still planning the dinner but had no idea how many people would come. Wednesday came around and that was the day they were planning to have the dinner. There were still quite a few people without power (oh about 150,000 at that time) but one of their people called the local news and told them about the dinner and listed it on some community boards. They ended up having a good turnout, my dad said about 75 people came. I have been thinking about helping people this week and this was just another reminder of people who work to help other people. They also made it on the news for about 3 seconds if you want to see it. They are Union Lake Church of the Nazarene about halfway through the video. I've met the guy that they talk to but I cannot remember his name now. They still didn't have power at the church so they had lots of people helping out to prepare the food at their homes and transport it there to be warmed.

I love stories like this.

Josh gets home tomorrow. I don't know how he is going to reclaim his spot in the bed…Charlie has thoroughly enjoyed all the room this week. J

Psalm 57:9-11

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

Lamentations 3:21-23

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

God's love is so great. His song comes in the morning light. I just spoke with my dad and the tree that has been lying across their house since Sunday is finally being removed, as I type this. Oh, and the tree fell while they were at church so they were spared from even being near that. And their house will need some repairs where the tree hit it but it is livable for now.

Happy Thursday, it's almost Friday!

Mid-week

This week I have been on my own again. Josh is volunteering as a counselor at MDA Summer Camp. He has one boy that he is helping out for the week. I think he is having fun. They have been playing games, singing camp songs, fishing, and having camp fires. How could he not have fun with that? They also do other activities like skits, soccer and kickball (this is a true group effort), and camping.

When he told me the level of care that some of the kids require I hoped that this week gives the parents a nice break. I am thankful that there are organizations that help people and make life just a little bit easier.

So in Josh's absence, Charlie and I have been playing a lot of fetch, catching up on some fun knitting projects, and listening to lots of music as well as cleaning the house and doing laundry. We are also looking forward to Josh's return on Friday! This has been a slow week! J

I have still been keeping up on my workout plan and last weekend I made some time to run outside. It was a nice switch after running on the treadmill for so many weeks. Nothing quite compares to having the sun shine on your back and feeling the fresh air rush through your lungs as you run down the street. I am still trying to get that "I love running" feeling back but it is coming slower than I hoped. I am sure I will get there soon enough.

So Josh returns on Friday and then works a half shift on Saturday. I wonder if I should take him to the circus this weekend.

Randomness

• A text message I received from my husband during today's thunder/rain storm: "I was taking the flag down and my hair all started standing up."
  

  Note to self: remember to pray for our public servants who put themselves in harm's way every day or 10 days per month in his case. Well come to think of it, he is pretty dangerous even when he is not at work.
  

• If you like potatoes like I do then you will L-O-V-E this recipe. You will also do yourself quite a humorous favor by clicking around the whole site.
  
• The best steak marinade we have found: no marinade at all. Instead, simply rub the steak with a mixture of lemon-pepper seasoning and ye ol' standby Lawry's. Also, allow steak to come to room temperature before grilling. Your life will be changed.
  
• It has now been 2 consecutive nights that our 60 pound dog has decided she must sleep on the bed…wait that is nothing new, let me clarify…in MY SPOT ON THE BED. Josh and I have both been edge of the bed sleepers and usually the big dumb dog will sleep at the foot of the bed and that is just fine. I like when she keeps my feet warm (in the winter). The past 2 nights however she thinks she has to sleep like a human. She waits until about oh hmm yes I looked at the clock both nights and it was exactly 12:55 AM when I awoke with a fright. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but a big dumb black Labrador leaping to bed. She puts her head by my pillow and pushes me out of the way. Because you know dogs don't curl up in a neat little ball, no they lay as stretched out as they possibly could be. So now I have to lay awake for hours sleep smashed up next to Josh when our house is 80 degrees. It is fine though. Being newlyweds we probably shouldn't keep to our own sides of the bed as much as we have been. Maybe the dog thought we needed to sleep closer. Let's see if it happens again tonight. I will say last night I didn't realize what was happening and woke Josh to say, "There's someone in our bed!" "No, really, someone is trying to get in the bed!"
  

Ok that's all from me today.

 

ae