What If...

A couple of weeks ago I bore my soul to y’all about my decision to be happy. It was really hard and took me WAY out of my comfort zone to share that.

But I’m so glad I did.

Sharing a part of myself with everyone has been brutal on my emotions, but it has also been so redeeming. It has taught me so many things about everyone. First of all, I had so many people reach out to me with a combined voice to say that I was saying exactly what was on their heart as well.

It is so nice to know I am not alone and heartbreaking at the same time to know that we women have been listening to the voices within for far too long.

It makes me wonder when did this all start and what if we hadn’t listened to the voice at all?

What if…

What if we all stopped looking at exercise as something we have to do? What if we started looking at it as something we get to go? How radical would that change your world? I found a class I LOVE that is combination of Pilates and yoga. It stretches me mentally and physically. It works me until I’m sore and I adore going to this class. It is my me time.

What if we stopped looking at clothes in a way that we have to cram ourselves into a certain number or we are doomed? I spent too much time trying to cram my body into a size that wasn’t reasonable. Once I gave up and started dressing to cover my body in enough fabric that I didn’t look like I was trying to win a sausage race, I discovered I looked better and was actually comfortable!

via GIPHY

What if we stopped degrading ourselves as mothers if we put our feet up and read the magazine? What if we started looking at that as needed time of self-preservation.

What if we stopped and looked at the sky, or the way the leaves move in the breeze? What if we stayed there for 10 minutes? What if worship comes in acknowledging the creator of all these things?

What if we start acknowledging things for what they are when they are sucking our soul dry to the very marrow we cling to for life? What if we sought out things of beauty that our souls were made to crave, made to love, made to need? What if we filled our homes with soft music, fresh flowers, and flickering candles, just for ourselves and our love of the beauty it invokes into our true selves through each sense?

What if we taught our children that cleaning the house or studying math or memorizing sonnets was not some gloom and doom situation but was rather a chance to take care of the kingdom, to take a glimpse at the handiwork of God in creating this universe? What if we cracked open a book of difficult literature or studied works of art as part of a journey to catch a glimpse of the face of our creator carved through the works of His created beings?

What if we strove to understand the bible and his ideas, not so we can check off our “devotion” checkbox but so we can sit at the feet of God and bask in his life giving light? What if we fed off of his truths? What if we hung to the very word of God, the red inked letters in the manuscript of love as much as we cling to the Pinerest worthy quotes that mere mortals say about God?

What if we all actually believed the bible? What if we all didn’t internally kind of roll our eyes at the verses we’ve come to know from the beginning of our churched lives but actually took them to heart and coveted their meaning? What if we hid their words in our heart, words like HE CREATED US IN HIS IMAGE? Would listening to those words have helped me to block out the voice in my head? If I had not only hidden his word in my heart, not simply etched it into my being but gouged it into my very existence, could I have fought off the true enemy who brings words of scorn and deceit and disdain?

Certainly.

There are so many what ifs in life.

What if we all joined together today to spread love and not hate, to build other women up instead of clawing them down?

What if?

Welcoming Monday with a Smile

Whew!  What an incredibly busy weekend we had!  I feel like I need a weekend to get over the weekend...do you ever feel like that too?

Our weekend was wonderful albeit not completely what we had hoped for. 

Friday we went to our produce co-op, visited the library, and went to a Children's Museum that we are members at. The kids love playing there so it is a nice way to just set them loose to have some fun.  We also were able to get some banking done.  By banking I mean, we are finally opening the kids college funds (which I swear I thought we did ages ago!), and visited with our travel agent regarding our Disney Trip!!!!  Nick was also able to pick up his car FINALLY!  Praise the Lord I am so happy that we get to be a two-car family.  If it turned out that we had to be a one-car family I was going to try to bear it with grace, but oh-my-goodness I am so happy we don't have to do that!  When we got home I was making split-pea soup with ham and COMPLETELY burnt the thing.  We are still unsure what in the world I did to it.  Poor little soup.  It wasn't just kind of burnt it was burnt.  I'm talking we had to get out of the house, people were gagging, kind of burnt.  Luckily Nick's parents had invited us to a fish fry which we had previously turned down, so we called them and accepted the offer.  When we got home we watched the very first Scooby Doo cartoons on a movie we got from the library.  "Like, yikes!"  the kids loved them!  Cal has begged to watch them again since. 

Saturday was my Mom's Birthday!  She had plans so we didn't get to see her but we called and all did the yelling and screaming into the phone!  It was fun.  After that we went out and did some shopping.  I love shopping with the kiddos.  They are so fun. When we got home we had our yard day although it was a lot colder than we had planned.  Nick and I did get out potting shed completely cleared out.  I am ashamed to have to admit that that was the first time we've done that since we bought the house.  There was a lot of "what in the world is that???" asking about items we found.  We also found things like car jacks and things that we apparently inherited with the house that Nick will be able to use.  We were able to get it organized enough that we now have room to store more things more efficiently.  Score!  On top of the organization we got a lot of brush picked up and got the patio swept and ready to use!  It was so lovely to be able to go outside and say hello to the outside again! As you can see from the picture above we said "hello" to a new Easter Bunny when we got out our Spring/Easter bin to start decorating.  The kids love decorating!  Emma loves going through everything so carefully, exclaiming how everything is a treasure.  She is our treasure, that one.  And Cal makes a cute Easter Bunny. 

Sunday we were going to go to the Art Museum but decided against it.  With gas and eating we were going to be paying about $300.00 to be at an art museum for about three hours.  We decided it was an investment that we didn't need to make right now.  With the time change we woke up too late to go to church, so we decided to paint.  Ta-da!  Here is our dining room.  I am so impressed with Nick.  He tackled the painting and got two coats on and the room put back together in a day.  Wowwie!  The Dining Room was the last room downstairs that was this ugly yellowy-cream color that all of the rooms were when we moved in. 

We chose the blue because it matches my China Pattern...isn't it beautiful?

It also matches my every day dishes that we got as a wedding gift from Nick's parents.  Aren't they just as sweet as can be?  The pattern is "Melissa" by Pfaltzgraff. 

After painting all day Nick was tired.  Although I didn't paing, I was able to get a TON of deep cleaning done which was nice. 

And that was our weekend.  It feels like it was longer than it really was.  And you should know that we count Fridays as a weekend because for the most part we don't homeschool on Fridays.  Emma has Girl Scouts every other Friday so when she had it, it was really messing up our homeschooling.  So I made the lengths that we do everything longer so we can get the same amount of school done in four days instead of five.  When she doesn't have Girl Scouts it just means we have a day that we don't have to do anything, which is a lot of fun! 

I hope ya'll had a great weekend as well.  Have a wonderful Monday!

All About Me

Okay I have seen other bloggies do this so I am going to take a shot at it; here are 100 things you didn’t know about me before. Enjoy!

1. When I was little I called Stickers by the yard, stickers by the lawn
2. I started eating sushi when I was 8
3. I liked it
4. Still do
5. Eel was and is my favorite
6. Nick introduced me to pork rinds
7. Still up in the air about those
8. The only reason Nick and I are together is because my roommate was catholic
9. I once ran over someone with a gocart
10. The ocean makes me smile
11. My high school boyfriend forced me to bungee jump
12. I secretly stalk Hello Kitty
13. Last I knew she was in Tokyo
14. I often tell Nick “I love you Aunt Polly”
15. Because Pollyanna is my favorite movie
16. I wish I had been alive in the 40s
17. Or in the Victorian Era
18. Or maybe the Edwardian
19. I collect stamps
20. And yes I do know that I am a dork
21. I quit ballet when my mom had cancer
22. I wish I hadn’t
23. I am the oldest sibling
24. I act like it too
25. Clutter causes me to have panic attacks
26. Pink is my favorite color
27. It’s the color of my kitchen
28. In our last place the pink kitchen was so bright it looked like the place was on fire from outside
29. I love goofy pens
30. I get a thrill by getting free things from the grocer with coupons
31. I have a sticker collection
32. I had braces for three years
33. I’ve never been to a Club
34. Because I am lame
35. Nick gives me butterflys in my tummy
36. Still
37. We had Emma’s name picked out since we started dating
38. I think watching sports is stupid
39. Nick thinks I am stupid for thinking watching sports is stupid
40. I am like a beautiful mind with all of my post it notes around
41. I plan what I am going to wear for the week
42. I love buying cleaning supplies
43. And office supplies
44. Christmas is my favorite time of the year
45. I love making sugar cookies
46. I don’t have a rolling pin
47. I am scared of squirrels
48. I used to have my navel pierced
49. Oh to be young again
50. I find French to be over my head
51. I like to talk about the meaning behind art
52. History is my favorite subject
53. Vietnam history to be more exact
54. I love the smell of scratch and sniff stickers
55. When I think of the fair I think of the song “Lady in Red”
56. I was engaged before Nick
57. Long story
58. I’ve always wanted to live in Manhattan
59. Now I want to live in Seattle
60. I think Hawaii is almost TOO perfect
61. I am Hawaiian
62. Nick says I act uppity sometimes
63. I’m not
64. I think I have the self confidence of a rock
65. And not of a rock star
66. or a rock like a diamond
67. Just a rock
68. When I was young, I collected unicorns
69. I dislike leftover meat
70. I also dislike when people breathe through their mouth
71. I used to be a lifeguard
72. Occasionally I will still run into people who call me Lifeguard Lindsay
73. I like chunky peanut butter
74. Mychildhood nickname was Pookie
75. I don’t like when people dress immodestly
76. I’m a recent convert on this
77. I need to go shopping
78. My closet is still full of immodest clothing
79. I have a dressing room, not a closet
80. Another reason why my husband is the best
81. My two children are my world
82. I feel like I can’t breathe when they’re not with me
83. I am a breastfeeding advocate
84. I don’t eat tuna that’s not dolphin safe
85. I don’t use laundry softener
86. My favorite restaurant is Maggiano’s
87. I miss my Indy friends
88. And our Indy apartment
89. In theory, but we couldn’t all fit now
90. I have a degree in Corporate Finance
91. I used to be in the Corporate world
92. Now I live in the real world
93. You get hit on a lot when you’re the only woman in your corporate world
94. Again, now in the real world
95. I am a genius in planning events
96. Or so I’ve been told
97. I could eat a jar of Nutella in one sitting
98. I love the Nutcracker
99. I danced with Mr. Kelly…the tap dancer
100. When I grow up I want to be a housewife and philanthropist…I think

I've Got the Grocery Shopping Blues!

Has anyone else noticed how Grocery prices are stifling everyone? I went shopping last night and it was just gut wrenching! I was also just reading today that they are expected to rise even more! What’s a girl on a budget to do? Errr! I try to spend just $50.00 a week on groceries but lately it has been difficult indeed. One of Nick’s best friends Tony couldn’t believe that I only spend that. He said “but you guys make good food.” Yes we do, thank you! What has everyone else been doing to stay on track? I clip coupons, of course! But I also have begun shopping more creatively…cleaning supplies and personal care products will be bought at CVS with ECB and I have also been looking at Aldi. I must also mention that one of our saving graces is not getting everything at the supermarket: we get our fruits and veggies through an organic co-op with Nick's mom (thank you thank you!) and she also picks us up organic amish eggs. Now I should also make the disclaimer here that we do not eat frozen boxed meal crap. I do actually cook for my family on a nightly basis. Here is what the menu looks like this week:

Tuesday: Smoked Ham and Asparagus on Toast
Wednesday: Roasted Chicken with Rice and Corn on the Cob
Thursday: Stuffed Shells and Garlic Bread
Friday: Chicken Piccata
Saturday: breakfast blueberry pancakes; lunch BLT’s; Dinner: Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Sunday: Lunch: Corned Beef Sandwiches with Horseradish; Dinner: Leftovers
Monday: Fritatta

As you can see we eat nice well balanced meals. Emma loves avocado so she has that with dinner, too. Does anyone have any suggestions? Anything to add?

Price Matching At Wal-Mart-?

I read this article BeCentsAble: Price Matching At Wal-Mart-Your Goldmine and am wondering if anyone else has ever price matched at Walmart? If so please let me know if this is easy or a hassle. Because shopping at one place with all of the deals listed in all of the dumb ads I leaf through sounds heavenly at this moment, especially as gas prices soar (seriously $4.00/gallon by summer? madness!) . So drop me a comment and let me know because if this is doable Walmart could be onto something!