Where has time gone?

I wrote this a few weeks ago and forgot to share it. And since time flies when life is busy...I'll share it now. 

Written 5/22
 
I've been trying to find time and gumption to write for weeks now and while I still don't have much to say, I wanted to send out some encouragement.

Life is hard and circumstances suck sometimes. Although that is the case, there are some people that make life easier to trudge through.

It's the end of the school year. Life is hard. Money is tight. Sleep is fitful. Stress is high. But this is just a valley before a peak. And God is good.

A friend of mine shared this verse with me last week.
“Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” - Psalm 42:7,11

He is in control and when we have hope in Him, we know that we will return to those peaks. Life is not without trials and heartache, but because He is good, we will make it through.

Added 6/11

Summer is here and life is still tough. But with summer comes the sunshine and the full days with my boy help immensely.

Happy Monday!

Taking Stock | 03

Making: progress on my grad school homework
Cooking: kitchen sink quesadillas and grilled sammies w/soup
Drinking: water, I'm boring
Reading: Challenger Park
Wanting: mini basting brushes...think of how many pigs in a blanket I could top with egg wash!
Listening: The Greatest Showman Soundtrack...I haven't seen it yet
Playing: chase with this little guy...he LOVES being chased around.

Eating: homemade stew with venison that Kyle shot and beef broth that I made
Wishing: that I could get caught up at home and stay caught up
Loving: this dress

Watching: We just finished this...now what do we start on? Also, I'm re-watching Grey's...I'm almost done with season 13

Enjoying: time at home with my boys more often with Kyle's new job

Wearing: my new watch

Noticing: how long winter feels this year...and it's not even Feb yet

Bookmarking: recipes for my sister's bridal shower next weekend, specifically: this and this

Just an Update

Christmas is right around the corner and I just. Can't. Believe it.

So here's a little update on our lives:

Lewis has been sick TWICE now since Thanksgiving. He's brought home some bugs from daycare and gotten everyone else sick. But he's still a sweet, goofy, little boy who loves his puppies.

Kyle is staying busy at Rydell and helping out at home. He has been baking bread and making me a shelf. What a guy.

And I've been busy with students, grading, bread baking, dessert making, and recently was accepted into grad school at VCSU! Classes start January 8. What have I done??

And because he's just too cute...here's a video (or two) for you.

Happy Tuesday!

9 | Dear Sixteen Year Old Me

This letter to my sixteen year old self is coming at an appropriate time since my birthday is mere weeks away. Enjoy.

Hello little girl,

You just turned sixteen and you're pumped. Trust me, I remember. Whatever you do, don't forget to enjoy the time you have with your friends, love fiercely, and don't care what anyone else thinks or says about you. Life is short and you have so much left to live. Also, your future husband isn't who you're dreaming about right now. Get over him.

This year you will play lots of volleyball, get a job, get your drivers' license, and lose a close friend. You will laugh and enjoy your time on and off the court with your friends. You and your best friends will fight over stupid things. You will finally have your license and drive into the ditch on your way to church. It was slippery! Have fun with all of this. Laugh. Love. Make sure to cherish the time you have. Go snowboarding. Don't wait until "next year." You won't have the same people around next year.

Show the people around you that you care about them. Don't assume your siblings know that you love them. They really might not. There will be a day when you wish you'd have listened to me. Honest. Don't waste the time you have now to build your friendships (yes, you can be friends with your brother and sister). There will be a day in the not too distant future when you won't talk to any high school friends. It's coming. Prepare.

Finally, don't care what everyone else thinks of you. No, you won't know about the parties when you're in High School. You're going to be so busy with sports, work, and youth group that you'll hear about the parties after the fact. You won't even be invited to your Senior Class Party. You'll be sad and hurt for a while, but you'll survive. You'll even laugh about it one day. Choose the things and the people that you invest in carefully. You've got one life to live. Make sure you live it well.

You have no idea how much time and energy you're wasting on people who don't matter. Enjoy your time in YLI. Invest in those people. Don't worry about boys. You'll end up with the perfect man for you. He will be your first true boyfriend and he will woo you. He'll ask your dad if he can date you. He will make you food (don't worry, he'll let you make the food once you're married). He will pursue Jesus and long to grow old with you. Don't be anxious. But enjoy the time you have. Enjoy the people you're with. Your life won't look like you've always imagined, but it will be wonderful.

Enjoy your now, love fiercely, and be you.

xo,
Your 25 year old self

This is me (at 17? I couldn't find a 16 one...) and one of

my best Aussie friends, Alannah. Miss you! xx

Head over to Brave Love Blog to link up!

 

Just a little update

As much as I wanted to participate in A. Liz Adventure's Five on Friday, I didn't want my readers to get sick of reading because all I do is list five things going on with me.  So, instead I updated my 30 by 30 list.

I have quiet a ways to go to fulfill my whole list, but I'm on my way! Check it out:

1. Obtain a Master's Degree in Education 
 I think this is going to change to a Master's Degree in anything, English, Technology, Education...something. Not necessarily just Education.
2. Be debt free (with the help of one Dave Ramsey and his baby steps)
    --exception--our mortgage
3. Become more active (by using the C25K program) and be at my goal weight
   --yes, I do realize Aubrey and I have similar goals...it freaks Kyle out how similar she and I are
4. Read 100 new books.
  --This year my goal is 24 books total...I'm not quite there yet
  1. Twisted (Laurie Halse Anderson), 2. The Glass Menagerie (Tennessee Williams)
5. Improve my photography skills--I have a nice camera, but I'm not good with it
6. Create a blog schedule and stick to it
7. Send snail mail 300 times, just because
8. Take 3 road trips (2 with Kyle and 1 EPIC trip with Aubrey)
9. Send out Christmas cards every year (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
10. Read through the Bible with Kyle
11. Bake "just because" cupcakes for people 8 times (twice per year)
12. Make salsa with the tomatoes from our garden
13. Run a 5K, twice
14. Create a cookbook for both sides of my family (mom's & dad's sides)
15. Compile 100 new recipes that our family LOVES & put them into a database
16. Visit & review all of the local restaurants and businesses in town with our friends
17. Make homemade gifts for each baby born (in our families)
18. Surprise four someones with a little "I'm thinking about you" gift.
      1. On its way 3/19
19. Do something special for my husband every season.
20. Visit Seattle with Kyle
21. Visit San Francisco
22. Landscape my front yard
23. Plant my garden each year from seedlings I've started (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
24. Paint all of the rooms in our house colors that we want
     -I've picked out some of the paint, but it's not on the walls yet
25. Move the tree OUT of our back yard...the poor thing--there's no room for it!
26. Build something for our house--by myself! (a shelf, a cupboard, a table, etc)
27. Create a memory book from our wedding to have on display at home
28. Become (consistently) involved in a small group through church
29. Purge my wardrobe twice a year (spring/fall)
30. Take a long vacation/staycation with Kyle & just do all of the things we've dreamed of

So things are coming together, but hopefully I'll become more ambitious as spring arrives.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I don't really know if I'm Irish at all--that's probably not the confession to make on March 17. But, I made it and now we're moving on.

But since I don't know if I'm at all Irish, I wear some green just to be safe.

And to celebrate St. Patrick's Day--here's a movie trailer from a ridiculous fabulous movie from my childhood.

Disney Channel all the way!

It's coming! (hint: not just spring)

Spring is on the way in! And I couldn't be more excited! I took the dog for a walk last night after school and she (and I) loved being outside in the sunshine.

But spring isn't the only thing on the way in--house selling season is coming! I don't know what it is about spring (and summer too), but so many more houses pop up on the market around March/April/May. Don't you think? Maybe I'm just losing my mind.

So here's the thing...if you're in our area and you're wanting to buy or sell a house. We've got the guy for you. (and no...this is not a sponsored post) Plus--I told you over here that I'd have more information for you about our wonderful realtor!

source

Our pal, Emmett Lynch, works at Coldwell Banker in Grand Forks. Call him up, I dare you.
*Emmett recently moved back to Minnesota, so if you're in the Twin Cities area, look him up*

Here's our story--we started "working" with a different realtor by accident. We saw a house we wanted to know more information about, called the office, and were assigned to this lady. And while that might work for some people, it wasn't for us. She showed us three or four houses the first time we met with her face-to-face. 

I know that the market in Grand Forks is outrageous. Trust me. I understand. But what I don't understand is treating us like we aren't important enough because we won't spend enough money. And then using the excuse "I don't like working with young couples because I don't want them to get in over their heads." Yes, that is what she told us (in person, on the phone, email, etc). 

After multiple comments like that, we made the decision to switch realtors. Last fall, I remembered seeing something about Emmett joining the real estate world on Facebook. I asked Kyle if he thought I should contact Emmett and see if he'd work with us. So I did.

How do I know Emmett? We actually took classes together in the Education Program at UND. We had a few classes together and worked on a few projects during that time. Honestly, I wasn't sure if he would remember me. 

After my first email to Emmett, and I was reassured that he did in fact remember me, we started to pick out some houses to tour. From day 1 of our partnership with Emmett, he did so much work for us and he treated us like we mattered.

Time after time. House after house. Kyle and I would revel in the fact that Emmett was putting in so much work behind the scenes. He would call other realtors to set up showings for us. He would meet with us any time we wanted. AND--he was still working his other job, as a farmer.

When our house came on the market (on Tuesday), I called Emmet and said, "There's this house we want to see. We know it's the middle of beet season, so whenever you can get back to town--we'd love to get in." Emmett asked right away, "I won't be back to town until Thursday, but how well do you like it? Do you think this could be it?"

"Yes--we love it. It really could be it, so Thursday works well. Just let us know when you get back to town."

We set up a time to see the house and Emmett said he'd call us if anything changed. Meanwhile, Kyle & I prayed hard that "if this is the house" God wanted us in, that He'd make it work.

Wednesday rolled around and Kyle and I were getting excited to see the house on Thursday. We know some of the previous owners, so Kyle visited with them. We even contemplated putting an offer in without seeing the house, since houses were going so fast in town.

But! I got a phone call from Emmett Wednesday afternoon asking if we'd want to take a look at the house THAT NIGHT!?! Of course!

When we met Emmett at the house Wednesday evening, we asked him, "We thought you weren't going to be in town until tomorrow? What brought you back?"

And Emmett replied, "If me not setting up a showing tonight kept you from getting the house you're meant to be in, I'd kick myself."

That, my friend, is a great realtor. He drove over an hour, one way, to set up a showing for a house we had a hunch on.

If you are looking to buy or sell a house in the area (not just GF proper), consider giving Emmett a call. He will work for you and he will make sure that your voice is heard.

*More to come on the house saga, but I needed to share about our awesome realtor...especially with spring arriving!*

Wicked Wednesday

I'm not sure what my deal has been this week.

Exhaustion. 
Lack of motivation. 
Lack of concentration.

The whole she-bang.

The highlight of my day was starting a discussion on Thanatopsis with one of my sophomores.
Nature. 
Death. 
Shrouds. 
Sepulchers. 
Quiet beauty. 
Planets. 
Nature.
Death.
What's not to like?

After that upbeat poem--the day got worse even better. sarcasm much, kelly? i know, i know.

What's ever good about a Wednesday afternoon? I'll tell you. Not much.

If it being a Wednesday isn't grand enough...it currently feels like 20- below zero. And this morning when I got to school...-35 with wind chill.

What the?!

Students were complaining and kept asking, "Why do we even live here?!"
My thoughts exactly, kids. My thoughts exactly.

Just in case you didn't believe me.

A little switch up...

So, because we're terrible people at life, Aubrey and I realized that currently our Book Club discusses the same day as The Life of Bon. We cannot have that! We both love reading Bonnie's blog and would be so sad (the saddest of sad, really) if we made her mad by having our Book Club on the same day as hers. 

That being said, we are going to try things a little differently this time around. For February's discussion, we will be trying out a coffee shop vibe. On the last Saturday of February (which just so happens to be the very last day in February--the 28th) we will be having a coffee shop date. We want you to grab your coffee, tea, hot chocolate, iced tea, milk, orange juice and bagel, and join us as we discuss this month's book. 

During January, we didn't have much response in our book and discussion. So we are hoping that in making our time together more relaxed, that you'll feel more comfortable joining in.

Throughout the month, as you're reading Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie.

"Menagerie was Williams's first popular success and launched the brilliant, if somewhat controversial, career of our pre-eminent lyric playwright. Since its premiere in Chicago in 1944, with the legendary Laurette Taylor in the role of Amanda, the play has been the bravura piece for great actresses from Jessica Tandy to Joanne Woodward, and is studied and performed in classrooms and theatres around the world. The Glass Menagerie (in the reading text the author preferred) is now available only in its New Directions Paperbook edition. A new introduction by prominent Williams scholar Robert Bray, editor of The Tennessee Williams Annual Review, reappraises the play more than half a century after it won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award: "More than fifty years after telling his story of a family whose lives form a triangle of quiet desperation, Williams's mellifluous voice still resonates deeply and universally." This edition of The Glass Menagerie also includes Williams's essay on the impact of sudden fame on a struggling writer, "The Catastrophe of Success," as well as a short section of Williams's own "Production Notes." The cover features the classic line drawing by Alvin Lustig, originally done for the 1949 New Directions edition."  --Goodreads

Like before, we'll try to have the questions/points of interest/discussion/etc up that week before our coffee shop date. --It may be something like Monday or Tuesday before we discuss.  But we promise they'll be up.

Link up with us as you're reading and after you're done. Come back and leave comments and we'll go from there.

If any other changes surface, we will let you know with ample time. *Honest*

Think about it...

As I was reading in my Teaching Secondary English book by Daniel Sheridan, I came across this section:
      "[E]njoyment, I think, is what we're after, at least at the secondary school level, where our students are going to grow up to be pediatricians and politicians, carpenters and car mechanics, bookkeepers and beekeepers, but only very rarely English majors who need [...] early lit[erary] crit[icism] training. What we want is to excite them about reading while they are in school, help them share our love of it, so that they will remain readers when they are adults [...]. And they will be readers to their children, too, so that the cycle of enjoyment of print will continue" (112).

Wow.

What can I say about that? Isn't that what every English teacher desires? I know I do. I want my students to love reading. Not reading for the sake of dissecting every little thing about the current novel they're into. I want them to love reading because it's fun and they can get lost in another world. I want the next generation to love reading. 

How do we get that mentality shift for everyone? How do we come to the realization that it's okay to simply read a novel to appreciate the world that it draws you into?

If you've got any solutions, please let me know. Until then, Daniel Sheridan and I have a standing date to figure it out.

What we're all about.

I just realized that I don't have an "About Us" section on this here space. And though many of you probably know us personally, I thought it would be a good idea to fill everyone else in.
*Plus, then it's here for future reference as well and I'll update it as needed.

This is me. From almost 5 years ago. 

It's one of my favorite pictures.

This is Kyle. On his birthday.

He hates pictures.

We are both Midwest born and raised who met at college and became friends. Seriously. 

Two and a half years later, we decided to try this dating thing. 

13 months after our first date, we got engaged. 

Less than four months later we were married. 

And now, five and half years after we met, almost three years after our first date, and 18 months after our wedding--we are in a home with a dog and real grown-up jobs.

We love Jesus, family, friends, our home, and the challenges life throws our way.

*I'm fairly confident that I can speak for Kyle when I say these things. 

I love to read, crochet, quilt, bake, and cook, and be busy almost all day long. 

Kyle loves music, reading, projects, and alone time.

We get along real well. :)

We plan out our meals based on silly names like "Taco Tuesday" or "Weftover Wednesday". Every Friday is our homemade pizza and a movie (or T.V. show...depends on the week) night.

We drink coffee like it's going out of style.

There's a Husky tool cart in our dining room...as our kitchen cart. The entire top drawer is filled with loose leaf and bags of tea.

I love my iPhone. Kyle forgets he has a mobile phone.

Butter and cream are staples in our home. *Thank you, Kyle*

We have so many cookbooks that they get their own bookshelf.

This is just a short snippet into our lives. Get to know us. We'd love to get to know you.

On that note, if you want to know more about us or have questions, feel free to leave comments below or contact me through this here blog. 

Year Goals {By the Numbers}

I don't usually do resolutions for each new year. I've seen monthly goals and I've seen year long goals. I've been thinking about what my goal(s) should be for this year.

Do I want to lose weight?
Do I want to read (school books, self-help, my Bible, etc) more?
Do I want to foster better relationships?
Do I want to pay off lots of my loans?
Do I want to grow more as a teacher?

There are so many things that I want to achieve. But I've decided that I want to have just one goal.

Be the best that I can be.

That's my one goal for 2015. I want to be the best:

*wife, teacher, writer, friend, daughter, sister, cousin, aunt, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, person*

that I can be.

The hardest part about this goal is trying to find ways to achieve it. So what's happening this year, is I'm setting small goals to help me achieve my ultimate goal.

One day a week, I'm going to send a message to a friend or family member letting them know how much they mean to me.
Two days a week, I'm going to sit down and have some me time. No distractions. For 30 minutes.
Three days a week, I'm going to the gym. It can be for 20 min or 120 minutes (hah!).
Four days a week, I'm going to bring my own coffee to work. No more buying coffees regularly.
Five days a week, I'm going to cook homemade suppers (seven if we're really ambitious).
Five days a week, we're going to bed earlier for school.
Six days a week, I'm going to read out of an actual book before I go to bed.
Seven days a week, I'm going to show my husband how much I love him (I'm sure there'll be a series of posts of how that's going...)

I know there are more things I'm going to do...if I want to be a better writer and teacher, maybe I'll commit to reading 4 teaching books this year and writing in this space a few times a week. If I don't write here, I'll have to write somewhere else too.

Stay tuned. 

I'm sure I'll have more updating to do on this goal. 

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

As good as my intentions were over Christmas and most of school break, they did not come to fruition. Yikes! It's already NYE 2014! Where did time go?!

So today is the day where I finally post for the last time in 2014. It's been a fun year and a growing year. I'm sure most of you didn't start reading until May-ish...or after. And as much as I write for others, I write for myself too.

See, I've never been good a writing in a journal. Sure...I've kept one off and on since I was probably 10. But it wasn't until Freshmen year of college, that I had a strong desire to write. Some of my sweet friend bought me a journal...it was a small journal and it lasted my entire college career and single life. I started my second journal right before (or was it after...no matter) Kyle and I got married. It was a good time to transition from my college journal to my grown-up wife journal. Since we've been married, we've moved twice and I've lost misplaced my journal.

"Why is she telling us all of this??"

All of this to say, that this journal blog has been a great outlet for me over the last 14 months-ish. I love words, reading, and writing. And for me to have a place to write and have a creative outlet has been phenomenal. So, a big "Thank you!" is reserved for each and every one of you who reads in this little space.

Now, on to the good stuff. No, I'm not going to do a recap of this last year. I think I will save that for sometime in January when I'm just itching to recap.

But today...today is the final day in 2014 where I put in a plug for you to join Aubrey and myself on our book club journey! The Second Chance Book Club officially begins tomorrow! Wahoo!

It doesn't matter where you're at, if you have a blog or not, if you've read it before...we want you to join us! Follow the link above to see the list for the year. But to kick us off...we're starting with:

Night by Elie Wiesel 

Please join us in reading and come back on the last Thursday of the month (Jan. 29) for our discussion! I'm hosting Night this month, so come back here to get your discussion questions sometime the week before. (I hope to have the questions up by Jan. 22....please hold me to that!)

Now, go and enjoy your NYE2014 and we'll see you all in 2015!

Book Club starts soon!

How in the world can it be December already?! It feels like this school year was just beginning. And not long after Kyle and I spent time in Duluth.

Just this last weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving with family. Now we've got both feet into December and there's no looking back. Before we know it, we will be ringing in the new year in a new house, hopefully!

I know you've been waiting for a house update. I don't want anything to fall through, so once it's finalized, you'll be the first to hear. Honest!

You may've noticed that I added a new tab to the top of my blog last week. Aubrey and I are teaming up to bring .... "The Second Chance Book Club"  to a computer/phone/tablet screen near you!

Take a look at it. We are really excited to have a "second chance" to read books that weren't taught in high school or we read but didn't fully appreciate the first time around. We'd love to have you join us. We've even created a button for you to put on your blog when you join up with us!

The plan is to take turns leading the discussion every month. Hopefully you won't get sick of either one of us by then!

Stay tuned, because we'll be posting more about it in the next month leading up to 2015!!! Crazy!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving...

I figured that with Thanksgiving being just hours away, I should join with the masses and talk about what I'm thankful for.

Here's a very condensed list of what I'm thankful for:

family
a job
a home
friends
Jesus
Aubrey
food
a car
gas in my car
money to buy gifts for people
snow
sunshine
opportunity


Now that I've got "the list" out of the way, here's the thing... I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of two wonderful families.

Munters 2014

 Kyle & nephew 2013

 me & nephew 2014

niece & me 2014

#k2getshitched2013 

Eric, Amanda, Kyle, & me July 2014

After sharing all of these photos, I just am struck with how blessed we are. Both sets of parents are so supportive and loving. They spoil each and every one of their children (and in-laws). We seriously have the best siblings ever. Older and younger siblings alike are some of our best friends. If ya'll are reading this...we don't see some of you often enough, but we really do appreciate and love all of you. We've got the best niece & nephew ever (and one more on the way)! We LOVE being aunt and uncle to you. All-in-all, we love each and every one of you. And if we ever forget to tell you, don't hesitate to remind us.

Happy Thanksgiving and we love you all!

How Dumb.

As I was sitting on my couch with my mom next to me and my brother and his girlfriend close by, I realized how important time to connect with your family is. You see, we weren't just sitting in the living room. We were watching this movie.

And I caught myself muttering, "Oh how dumb." I'm sure I muttered that phrase at least 10 times throughout the movie.

It's not that I haven't seen the movie before. Last night was probably the 10th time I've seen it. But I just forgot how dumb funny that movie was. 

Even though we were watching Dumb and Dumber, we were bonding. It's not a common occurrence that I get to just sit down with my mom and watch a movie we can laugh at.

That being said...I hope you can spend some time enjoying the company of someone in your family this weekend.

Happy Friday!

Carrot Cake & Cream Cheese Frosting--for any occasion!

Okay, so I know I gave you a little tease on the media for socials last night. And I'm okay with that.

I was baking for a coworker's baby shower and I thought, "Why not share this recipe with your readers?" So, that's exactly what I'm going to do.

**confession...I'm not so good at taking photos of the ingredients and process. Sorry!**

So although I do have a sparse amount of photos, they'll have to suffice.

And without further delay, I present to you:

Grandma Sharon's Delicious Carrot Cake Cupcakes
(She usually makes a giant pan of cake/bars...but I like frosting cupcakes more.)

6 eggs, beaten 

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

2 cups flour

1 cup coconut

6 cups carrots, shredded *Mine were frozen--I thawed them and they added more liquid to the batter*

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

Grandma's directions say to beat 6 eggs for a minute or so. I had them in the Kitchen Aid* for 2-3 minutes--I think the cupcakes ended up a little more fluffy that way. Then, add the sugar and beat for another 2 minutes (or until all mixed together). While your Kitchen Aid* is mixing the eggs and sugar together, mix your dry ingredients in a separate bowl. (save your carrots for a little later) After your dry ingredients are all mixed together, alternate adding the oil and dry ingredients to your eggar (that's eggs and sugar mixed together) mixture. After everything is all mixed in, add your 6 cups of carrots. If you're using frozen, shredded carrots and your batter is too runny--don't panic! It's okay. Mine was that way too. It will set as it bakes.

"Bake at 350 degrees until done"

Honest, that's what the recipe says! But mine were done in about 25 minutes.

So I wasn't sure how many cupcakes I would end up with...I was hoping for 2 dozen.

*Sorry for the low quality photos...I'll work on that* 

3 dozen cupcakes later and this is the final product:

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 package of cream cheese

1 stick of butter

powdered sugar

vanilla extract

I was doing some reading about cream cheese frosting yesterday. So when it was time to make the frosting for these cupcakes, I was prepared. Check out Joy the Baker's Cream Cheese Frosting 101. Love her.

So, per her instructions I let my cream cheese and butter sit out so it wouldn't curdle. Then, I pretty much did my own thing.

I whipped the cream cheese for a few minutes in my Kitchen Aid*. I then added the butter and whipped it real good. Anyone?

As for the vanilla, I probably only added 1/2 teaspoon. I'm too spacey to buy white vanilla when I'm prepping for a bake-a-thon, so normal Mexico vanilla was my weapon of choice.

And the powdered sugar...here's the thing. Look back to Grandma's directions for baking..."until done"... I'm kind of the same way. I just added powdered sugar until it was creamy and sweet enough, but not too sweet. Sorry for those of you who need a specific number!
PS. I doubled the frosting recipe for the cupcakes. I couldn't risk running out!

I then piped the frosting on top of the cupcakes and took a break from being a housewife. It's tough work, I tell ya! If you want to take the really fancy route, add a few edible pearls and all will be right with the world.

*A Kitchen Aid isn't necessary...a hand blender would work...so would your good old arm power.*

As always, if you try out a recipe, please let me know how it turns out. I love to hear variations on recipes. Enjoy!

A Contest

I was thinking on my way to work this morning...a dangerous activity since I hadn't yet had my coffee.

But as I was thinking, I was trying to decide what I wanted to write about today. There are so many things. You may have read my post about our most recent house hunting developments. And you may have decided that I was suuuupppeeerrrrr boring interesting, so you'd come back! Well...welcome. And here's what I schemed up for today.

A few weeks ago I had my students write 5-7 pet peeves on a post-it note. I then wrote them on the board in a random order. They then had to guess which pet peeve belonged to each of their classmates. So I thought I'd give you that same opportunity today...or similar.

I've thought up five...not seven...of my real pet peeves and two (totaling seven) fake pet peeves. Can you figure out which ones are the fakes?

A prize to the first reader who guesses correctly!

1. I get annoyed with people who DO.NOT.CARE. about moving forward in life. Are you reading to learn something new? Are you thinking about life differently? Are you appreciating what you've been blessed with? Are you trying to make the world a better place? Are you trying to make yourself better in some way?

2. I dislike when people chew with their mouths open. Gross. Flying food? Bleck.

3. I hate clashing colors. Really? Those pants with that top?

4. People who DON'T use their blinkers. Enough said.

5. Crunchy leaves.

6. Smelly people who don't shower and you can tell.

7. When I realize how attached to my phone I am.


So...now it's your turn! Let's see how well you do!

A House Hunting Update

Well, what can I say?

We've looked.
We've loved.
We've offered.
We've negotiated.
and negotiated.
Ultimately,
We've lost.

And you know what I say about that?

Bring it on.

For reals, though. Even though we loved the house we put an offer in on, we know God's in control. Clearly, (as hard as it is to recognize and move on) that's not the house He has in mind for us. And while I struggled with that (for quite a while), I've come to accept that fact. Not only accept that we now are looking for the house for us, but rejoice for our friends.

You've gotta be thinking, "Say what?!"

Yep. Some of our good friends had their offer (for the same house we wanted) accepted! So even though we won't be living in that house, we still get to visit. :) And maybe our children can play together one day. (No we don't have children, nor will we in the near--10 months-ish--future) But one day!

Now, we're back to square one. Finding a house we love that suits our needs. And ultimately, finding the house that God has for us. It'll just take a little patience.

Can you smell it?

I can smell it. Change is coming.

Fall Break.

Dun dun dun.

Mere hours separate us from Fall Break. Here we go, By the Numbers.

1 more sleep.
2 classes I will have.
3 times I'll eat.
4 times I'll recheck my suitcase.
5 times I'll check my school mail.
6 students to see.
8 times I'll go to the bathroom
10 times I'll check my email.
12 times I'll push "Snooze".
15 times I wish I were sleeping.
18 assignments to grade.
19 hours until we are (hopefully) on the road.

I can't wait.