Bafney

I've called her Bafney ever since she was in kindergarten.

Harold Jun, this adorable little chubby boy in her class wrote her a love letter.  "Beer Bafney, I luv yoo" is how it started off.  I was 14 at the time, and found it completely and utterly sweet, not to mention hilarious.  The name stuck.

When SHE was 14, Bafney had surgery to address a scoliosis condition that wasn't correcting itself with wearing a brace or  physical therapy.  The surgery required 6 hours of being sliced open and attaching titanium rods to her spine, screwing them into her bones.

Not exactly what a 14 year old girl had in mind after 8th grade graduation.

I won't go into all the details of that surgery.  There were complications-- and even though she was at one of the most prestigious hospitals in Los Angeles and had one of the nations most respected spinal surgeons operating on her, it didn't go well.  The recovery was long.  She made it through of course.  She's a fighter and a winner but it wasn't fun. 

Needless to say, when she came home this summer with pain in her back, we were all a little concerned.  She'd been experiencing pain throughout the school year and upon further diagnosis with another phenomenal doctor, it was apparrent she needed surgery again...  This time to remove the rods.

I called my mom every hour it seemed while she was in surgery.  I wanted to be there so badly for her, but some things at work required of my schedule that I stay here in Oregon during the operation.  We were all praying that her spine had fused so that they didn't have to replace the rods with new ones.  We were praying for a speedy recovery.  For no complications.  For her spirits to remain high.  For her to come out of this with an even greater understanding of...  How much God loves her, even though he allowed this all to happen to her.

She walked the day after surgery.  She kept me posted on all her ups and downs, it was a gift to be able to share in this with her even if it was over phone and skype.  It's been a little over a week since she got out of this surgery, and I am so grateful that she is doing GREAT.  As we talked that night she came home from the hospital, "I'm feeling GREAT!" was her exclamation, as if an exclamation point was hanging in the proverbial air over our conversation.  Her voice sounded as if she was bouncing off walls.  She was walking around.  Talking, laughing, moving freely without pain.

My brother gave her this verse when she was going through some of the hard times with her back: 

"Then Job replied to the LORD, 'I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge? Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know'" (Job 42:1-3).

Perhaps this experience is something too wonderful for her to know-- perhaps God has so much more to teach her... Her strength is an inspiration to me and a wonderful reminder that no plan of the Lord's can be thwarted.  We asked why.  I'm sure she as heck asked why... Why twice?!  But who are we to obscure the Lord's counsel without devine understanding of all He has orchestrated.  His plan is far more wonderful than we can ever know.

Beer Bafney, I love yoo.  You are truly a gift.

Found Out

Funnies

This morning during my quiet time, I came across a passage that made me wince at the thought.

"...You may be sure that your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23, emphasis added).

It made me think...  What sin am I harboring?  Because it will come out!  I will be found out.

David.

Cain.

Rachel.

Jacob.

Adam and Eve...

Don't worry, I'm not hiding any crazy secrets or anything that I'm worried about being uncovered.  But it was a good, strong reminder that when we sin, we will be found out.  How often do I truly repent for my sin?  I'm ashamed to admit it's not very often.  My sin-- while maybe not as visible as David's affair with Bathsheba, or as violent as Cain murdering his brother, or as secretive as Jacob or Rachel's deceit, or as significant to mankind as Adam and Eve's decision... My sin is still, well, sin.  It still creates a need for justification. 

I'm found out.

Thank God he gave us grace, sufficient for us, covering multitudes of sin and is freely available to us. 

We serve a just God.  A faithful God.  A God who finds us out, but promises that we'll find Him when we seek Him with all our hearts.  "I will be found by you, declares the Lord" (Jer 29:13 emphasis added).

We will be found out.  So let's run and find Him.

***Thanks for reading!!!  My baby sister is going in for surgery tomorrow, so if you remember, please keep her in your prayers!***

Everything is Sacred

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"One of the greatest hindrances to internal peace which the Christian encounters is the common habit of dividing our lives into two areas, the sacred and the secular... our inner lives tend to break up so that we live a divided instead of a unified life."  (p65, The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer).

Have you ever had "church friends" and "work friends"?

Or when you were in school, had "school friends" and "church friends"?

It was always hard for me to mix the two.  I always had a birthday party with either my "school" or "church" or when I started sports "swimming" friends growing up.  Never mix.  It didn't work.



Once I got into college, I began blending the worlds.  It was impossible not to because suddenly I had no "church" friends in Florida since I just moved there.  My world was the swimming world but I invited my "swimming" friends to come to church.  Suddenly I just had friends.  No distinction of the two.

Weekend rolls around.  I go out to the Late Night Library (library, haha) with the gals and have fun at a party down the street.  I don't drink, although I don't think there's anything wrong with alcohol (those of you who saw my wine rack know I have nothing against alchohol!).  I go to church.  Bible study.  Maybe friends come. Maybe they don't.  Amy always comes, drives me every Sunday.  I'm so grateful for her, my bosom friend and taste of heaven.  Then Monday comes and it's back to the books and swim practice and hanging out.

"Over against these sacred acts (going to church, bible study, etc...) are the secular ones.  They include all of the ordinary activities of life which we share with the sons and daughters of Adam: eating, sleeping, etc..." (p.65, Tozer).

My mom used to say that I could swim to the glory of God.  He made me good at swimming, so why not swim to his glory?  She said everything I did was an act of worship to Him.  As if sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner was making Him smile.  In my heart I knew she was right- but oh to live like this...

"This is the old sacred-secular antithesis.  Most Christians are caught in its trap,..  they cannot get a satisfactory adjustment between the claims of two worlds.  They try to walk the itght rope between two kingdoms and they find no piece in either" (p.65-66, Tozer).

Everything is sacred.

Everything. Is. Sacred.

Everything is a gift.  We are made to worship the one who loves and knows us unlike anyone else.  Who made us for his glory.  In and for all things.  We are his delight. 

Everything is sacred.

The dishes in the sink?  Wash 'em up.

Everything is sacred.

Laundry piles and an unmade bed?  Get going and clean up.

Everything is sacred.

Job calling you to work rather than facebook?  Stop wasting time and move!

Everything is sacred.

"Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through Him." ~Colossians 3:17

Thank You Lord.

Everything is sacred. :)

Bummers of Field Traveling

There are some bummers to field traveling.  While I love the perks, there are a few bummers of field traveling.

Disappointment.

I think David has the coolest job in the world-- for him.  From the time he was a kid he loved playing with toy cars.  When he got older he read car magazines.  He was probably the only fourth grader kid looking through the Auto-Trader.  Ask him the make and model of any car on the road, and he can tell you down to the year of the vehicle.  The man is crazy about cars, so it's awesome he's in a field he loves.  That being my disclaimer-- I'm of course happy for him that he gets to do what he enjoys.  Disappointed for me that he has to be away...

All. The. Time.

A few weeks ago we heard things were going to change up in the office, and there was a possibility (however rare the possibility, I still thought it was cause to do a mini celebration in my heart!) he could get a local district.  He'd be home every night.  Just the thought of it made me excited.  Then they made the announcement and he called and said "Don't be sad...."  Disappointment.  I'm still a little bit bummed.  Excited for him that he's has an opportunity to work with the different dealers, bummed for me that those different dealers don't happen to be local. 

The schedule.

Sometimes, the schedule can really work to our advantage.  Like when he had a meeting at a casino and spouses were invited to attend.  That was cool.  Or when he had another meeting in the mountains and again, spouses could attend so I happily tagged along.  That's fun.  But there are times when the schedule totally messes with us!  Just today he called to say that with this recent move, he now had an important event to attend that coincided with a mini vacay we'd planned to take in October.  Given that this event only happens once a year and we can postpone our trip, we decided it might be best to reschedule our vacation. 

The traffic.

His work requires a ton of windshield time.  Sure, he gets a lot of phone calls out of the way, but when what would normally be a 3 hour drive turns into a 6 hour drive because you hit traffic in two metropolitan areas, the wife starts to wonder where he could possibly be on a Friday night?!  Still driving?!  Craziness.  I thought we moved away from traffic!

All this being said I am blessed that my man loves what he does and is happy with his work.  =)

Everything is Safe

"Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed" (pg. 20, The Pursuit of God; A.W. Tozer).



This is what resonated with me throughout Tozer's book.  Commit it to him.  Everything is safe when we commit it to the Lord.  My job?  Safe.  My desire for kids?  Safe.  My sister's surgery?  Safe.  Our life in Oregon?  Safe.  The weather?  SAFE!!!  Everything is safe when we commit it to him.  Oh why is it so hard to remember this? 

You want peace?

Commit it to Him.  Everything is safe.

You need rest?

Commit it to Him.  Everything is safe.

You need contentment?

Commit it to Him.  Everything is safe.

"God is here.  Wherever we are, God is here.  There is no place, there can be no place, where He is not" (p. 36, Tozer).

He's everywhere.  He knows everything.  He's here when we are completely unaware of it and the whole "universe is alive with His life" (p.41).  So why is it so hard to commit it to Him?

Everything is safe when we commit it to Him. 

Everything. Is. Safe.

Every time, all the time.

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:7

Commit it to Him.  Everything is safe. :)

Wine Results and Estate Sale Freebie

I talked my husband into going to an estate sale!!!  That's him above spraying our cool find.

This is epic. David, while the best bargain hunter I know, is not into thrifting. He's not excited about used treasures and he'd rather go to the swap meet than a goodwill or antique shop. This time, however, I talked him into it. So we drove up some windy roads in West Linn until we got to the estate sale.

Maybe it was because I LOST the Wine "Yay or Nay 40".  By 4 votes!!!  Can you believe that.  I did talk him into starting a blog, though.  He got a wordpress platform and his domain is mywinetips.wordpress.com and there are no posts.  It still says "hello world!" whenever I check it.  Yeah.... I don't think the blogging thing is going to stick for my honey. :)  I still can't believe I lost!  I'm a horrible loser.  That's probably why he created a blog, just to get me to stop whining about losing!  To make it worse, we played scrabble the other night and he won that too.  I'm used to him winning games, but scrabble?!  I thought I was the one who knew her words.  He got 39 points on the word "eggy".  Would you even use the word "eggy"?  Something like "that casserole was a bit eggy"?!  Oh David.  I love you but "eggy"?!

Back to the estate sale.  so yeah, I got him to go and the first thing we see is a wine rack that holds 42 wine bottles.  It was super ugly in it's metal gold look, but we both looked at each other and said the same thing... "Spray paint?!"  I love it that David doesn't mind taking a risk.  I mean not that it was much of a risk... It could only look better!

"That piece is free," the man running the estate sale said.  "Can't really go wrong with the price."

We looked at each other.  "Spray paint!"  It was an easy choice.  We carted it to the truck and went to go buy some spray paint.



 David had the job of spraying.  I always have streaks on stuff when I spray paint.  Him on the other hand, he's pretty good! 

We moved it around a bit, let it dry, did it again, got my butt whooped in scrabble, looked to see if it was dry.  He did a great job getting it to look like it was made to be black!!!

At 1 a.m., we finished scrabble and David won so I said we should bring in the wine rack and see how it looked.  I know we'll end up moving it into the living/dining room eventually since it doesn't really match the white country look we have going on in the kitchen, but for now it's fine.  I think it looks great!

It's so fun taking something that was FREE and making it work for you!

Since David's been into collecting wine lately, we've needed a place to house all our bottles!  This definitely does the trick.

I feel a wine tasting party coming on.... :)

Shopping the House

A week or so ago i was getting bored in my kitchen. 

I know, I know, I just refaced it and I looooooove it, but I felt like it was missing some spark.

I didn't want to spend any money, so...

I shopped the house.

Shopping the house is interesting.  Sometimes I find something I'd totally forgotten about.  Other times I find something to repurpose.  It makes me a little creative crazy, if you know what I mean.

My first find was an old bookshelf/ladder that I'd bought on clearance at Target a couple years back.   I decided it fit perfectly in the corner of my kitchen.  I just needed to fill it with pretty yet useful things.

I shopped the house.

I found a pretty blue caraf that my sister-in-law had given us for our wedding.  I put it on the shelf.

I found an old bottle that used to house Trader Joe's balsamic vinegar.  When I'd used up all the vinegar, I noticed I liked the shape of the glass bottle so I kept it.  Glad I did!

Nester did a series on a plate wall and so I've been searching for plates when I peruse around Goodwill.  I'd found this platter a few weeks back for $3.  Works pretty well with the teal blue caraf and the empty bottle!

Next I found a basket.  It was the perfect size, but it was large enough where you could throw stuff in it and make it look really messy.  I needed something to give it a bit of color and fill the space yet be functional.

I shopped the house.

I came up with these placemats I'd bought at Big Lots (they're Pier 1!) before we got married.  I still like them.  5 years later and I still like my placemats? Maybe I'm finding my style along the way! 

While we were in Florida, I'd found this cute beachy mirror at TJ Max on clearance for $5.  I of course had to buy it and stuff it in my suitcase along with bridesmaid dress and shoes and laptop and all the other junk I think I need when I travel.  I just adored the colors.  I immediately thought this would be a good place for it along with some cool and calm blue candles.

Next I needed a burst of color...

So guess what I did?

I shopped the house.

I found these pears that I bought at Fred Meyer a few years back (fake, of course.  I don't do weird drying of fruit or preservation or junk like that.  These are totally legit fake pears).  The yellow was a nice contrast with the teals and blues going on.

Of course I had to add a salad cook book because I adore salads.

And I ADORE David.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love this man?!  Well I do.  We have our moments but I love this man.  I had to put at least one picture on the ladder shelf!

Finally, the very top shelf was super skinny so I had to put small items that didn't need a lot of foot room. 

While shopping the house, I found this cheese slicer that I've never used.  Okay, well I used it once at my housewarming party but not to slice cheese.  Rather to put cheese on-- it made it look kind of fancy I thought.  :)

This old pottery barn lantern was purchased at a flea market in Tigard and I love how the silver/metal/whatever-it-is is kind of tarnished.  Gives it that rustic look.

You can do pretty well when you shop the house!

*Don't pay attention to the lack of baseboards.  We're still figuring that out*



Not too shabby for about an hour of shopping the house and placing things together.

$0 and an hour of my time.

2 Month Hiatus: Wrap Up

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*****I only need 6 more yay's and my hubby will blog about wine for a month.  Click HERE to leave a comment and say Yay so I can read all about David's wine thoughts.  Thanks for voting!*****

I'm one of those people that goes all out gusto and then burns out like a match in the wind.

My field travelling hubby?

Steady-eady.  Consistently pushing through.  Plans ahead, schedules events and reminders, even sets his alarm.  He approaches this with pretty much everything.  When we dated, he took his time saying I love you.  He proposed when he was ready.  He thought long and hard about moving us to Portland.  His timing is impeccable, probably because it's thought out.

Me, on the other hand, I'm a racer.  I race through everything.  I see how much I can get done and how fast I can do it.  I compete with myself.  I litterally cram as much as I can into as little as I have and maximize everything until one day...  I burst into tears and say I can't keep this up. 

One of the reasons I stopped writing over my 2 month hiatus was so that I could give myself even a few more minutes of time during the week to do other things.

Like work.  More. Every day.  Ew.

I can't keep this up. 

Sometimes it's worth it to keep up with a hobby so you can abide, enjoy and recharge those juices before the alarm sounds the very next morning.  Sometimes it's worth delaying an email or two (or 15!) so you can hit the gym and energize your spirits.  Sometimes it worth it forgoing your phone and being engaged and present with the one whom you'll grow old with.  Sometimes its worth it, so you can keep up with the life and the place God put you in right now.  Sometimes it's worth it.

I'm still learning how to do this.  But over my 2 month hiatus, I realized...

I can't keep this up.  And it's okay.

As I press on towards the goal to reach the prize in which I'm called to in Christ Jesus...  I must be steadfast and consistent in order to do so. 

So here's to turning over a new leaf in being consistently okay with having an open schedule.  With being okay to relax the standards I've created for myself in my mind.  Being okay with not keeping up-- while maintaining excellence.  This will be a challenge for me.

Thank you for joining me on my 2 month hiatus.  This concludes the series, and I'm grateful you've shared it with me!  Stay tuned for more travelling stories, house adventures and budget blunders.  Thanks for reading!

2 Month Hiatus: Benefits of Field Traveling

I still wish he was home.

I wish we had a normal life where we ate dinner together, went for walks, exercised, did yard work, cuddled up and watched TV on a Thursday night or something.  I'm excited for the day when we will be able to do those things.  For now, I appreciate it when he IS home on the weekends.

There are, however, some benefits to field traveling. :)



Companion Passes!  David flies so much that I get to fly for free.  Our trip to Florida for Amy Lo's wedding?  Free.  His ticket was free too since he used frequent flyer miles.  And on the way back?  Our flight was over-booked, so we opted to take a different flight (which got us home earlier!) and Southwest gave us $200 each for giving up our seat.  $400 total and a ticket home to arrive even earlier?  Not bad!



Sweet hotels!  I grew up staying in modest hotel rooms and am certainly not afraid of a motel or a stiff bed.  But I have to admit.... It's really nice to get upgraded or stay in a super fun nice hotel.  If we were footing the bill on our own, there's no way we would pay those dollars to sleep!  Not when we're mostly out of the room anyway.  But hotel points are dripping out of David's rear (okay that was a gross analogy) and so we were able to stay in a sweet hotel in Florida.  Lazy river.  Water slide (legit too!).  We loved the pool so much we decided to skip out on Disneyland and just veg in the sun!

A man who loves to be home.  I hope I can still say this even when he's not field traveling one day! :)  Right now David loves to be home.  We have such a nice time together on the weekends, which is why it's so hard when Monday rolls around and he has to leave again.  I love his face. :)  Sure, we have our moments.  It takes some time getting used to each other again after 4 days apart.  But I love the fact that he loves to be home.  He demonstrates that to me by helping me with laundry, mowing the grass, washing dishes, and listening to my week.  Drinking wine with me.  Telling me stories from the road.  Bringing me  peanuts from the flight (did you know Southwest now has honey roasted peanuts?!  They switch off every year or so between honey roasted and dry roasted.  We're on the honey ones again!).  I love this man.

I long for the day when he'll be home every night.  But for now, I'll rest in where we are be grateful for hotel points and free flights, and a man who doesn't take this home for granted one bit. :)

Ah! You're traveling AGAIN?!

2 Month Hiatus: Out on a Limb

Over my 2 month hiatus, I got an email from a gal I didn't know.

She was interested in starting a young married's group with couples at church, and were we interested?

Um, yeah!  David and I had talked about this with some other friends of ours at church but never took the plunge.

So she invited a few couples over, without knowing any of them.  Talk about going out on a limb.  Talk about being intentional to abide! 

I love meeting new people, and am excited any time I make a new friend.  But she cooked us a hot meal and invited us in, and now we're getting this married's group off the ground starting next week!  She went beyond saying hi and sending an email.  I want to be like that.

How can you bless a stranger?  How can you be intentionally hospitable to someone you don't know well? 

2 Month Hiatus: Birthdays and Soon-to-Be Weddings

Over my 2 month hiatus, I flew out to California and Florida.

Grandma's birthday

California for many reasons:

• It was my Grandma's (in-law) 70th birthday. It was a gorgeous weekend.  Grandma Nancy was surrounded my her entire family, which was beautiful.  It was special to have our family come together and celebrate.  I feel so connected and a part of my husband's family, I love them so much.
• It was Mother's Day!  I miss my mom all the time so it was so nice to go home.  It was a quiet afternoon of a BBQ and wine with my parents and brother and sister.  Going for power walks on the beach.  Driving around Long Beach and looking at real estate for when we move back. Coffee and long chats with my mama :)
• My brother recently got ENGAGED and I was DYING to meet my new future sister-in-law!  Jenny fits perfectly into our family and I can't wait to be sister's for real. :)  Like officially sisters.  I always wondered who Jake would end up with.  She's perfect for him!

A couple weeks later, we flew out to Florida.  We extended the trip to make a vacation out of it, but it was really for one main reason: Amy Lo (one of my best friends from Florida State) got MARRIED!!!

Amy was the friend who I called in the middle of the night when my roommate was sick after a night out and I didn't know what to do.  She slept on my air mattress with me while we took care of my roomie.  We made sushi together for the first time.  We stayed up LATE wondering who our future husbands would be and what they would be like.  We baked.  She became a soul sister.  We started "tastes of heaven"-- sharing with each other moments that felt like heaven was so close we could taste it.  I loved hearing her tastes. :)  We read the bible and studied together.  And now she is MARRIED to a wonderful man and I couldn't be happier for her!

Sometimes, taking a hiatus to abide is worthwhile.  :)

2 Month Hiatus: Abide

I know, I'm totally copying the Nester and her chalkboard featuring the word abide.  There is something that I just love about that word.  It insinuates relationship, community, conversation...  Warmth, giving, receiving, taking pleasure in...  Abide.  Maybe that's why God calls us to abide in Him.

"I will abide in your tabernacle forever.  I will trust in the shelter of your wings. (Psalm 61:4)

"If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed." (John 8:30-32)

"As the Father loved me, I also have loved you; abide in my love." (John 15:8-10)

"If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love has been perfected in us." (1 John 4:11-13)

We cannot abide alone.  The word in and of itself beckons us to enter into something great.  When we abide, we spend time.  We learn and give.  We enter into a two-way conversation that goes beyond words and gives us... Joy.   On my 2 month hiatus, I enjoyed a few moments where I slowed down enough to abide:

A hug initiated by the husband I just snapped at.
Content silence on a plane ride.
Deep conversation moments later on that same plane ride.
Girls from all over the world giggling and painting toes- celebrating a common friend's wedding day.
Sinking into Genesis- reading its stories.
Designing a cork board with the husband who is happy to help.
Morning walk with a dear friend.
Sushi rolled by fabulous friends.
A gentle affirmation to return to God's word.

I want my home to reflect a place where we all may abide.   A place that beckons us to sit, to be, to rest...  To abide in the One who knows and loves us.

"And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." ~1 John 4:15-17

2 Month Hiatus: Kitchen Re-do

During my 2 month hiatus, I finished painting the cabinet doors.

Yes, I finished!!!

Here's what it looked like prior to the love we washed it in:

Before the paint!!!

I went online to Younhouselove and they recommended oil based primer which made things go by way faster.  And I mean way faster.  My Kiltz water based primer was seeping into those doors, and 5 coats later I was still left wondering if it needed another.  The oil based counterpart?  Two coats of primer and then I was able to move on to paint!  Wahoo!  I felt  like a speed demon with that roller!

I told David that by the time Michelle and Kevin came out to visit us, I'd have the cabinets done.  He smiled his "riiiiiiiggggghhhht," smile indicating he didn't believe me.  Did I ever mention I'm competitive and looooove a challenge? 

So I called her up.  "You're my inspiration," I said all dramatically. :)  "I have to have these done by the time you come up!"  Michelle was, of course, super encouraging and motivating.  I love that girl.

So I painted.  And painted.  And PAINTED!  David was gone one weekend climbing in a glacier.  I was... Painting.

I counted 39 cabinet doors total.  39!  All painted by yours truly.  When David came home from the glacier and noticed I'd actually made progress, he went online to amazon.com and picked out knobs.  I was all stressed out about picking the right ones out, so I asked him to decide.  A couple days later we got these on our front door...

  

He knew I was serious.  And getting the knobs in the mail made me even more motivated.  I finished spraying the hinges.  I spray painted the old gold hinges black and let some of the gold seep through to give it that rustic oil rubbed bronze look.  Then David got out his drill and at attached some of the new knobs onto the newly painted cabinets. 

Oooooh.  Aaaaaaah. :)

It came together!!!  So now here's a before and after:

And another since David just installed our stove and he finished the floors!

I happen to love the blue island contrasted with the dark floors.  David worked hard on those floors and I love them!

And I adore the new stove.  It works like a charm. 

Eventually we'll install a new fridge (the old one now looks yellow against all that white!!!) but the one we have now functions.  Even though we were tempted to just replace everything, we're trying to slice it thin.... And stay within budget.  I'd say overall, we've only spent about $850 (plus flooring- which we bought for the entire first floor of the house and covers much more than the kitchen.  We spend about $2200 on flooring for about 1400 square feet of our house) and we've totally revamped our entire kitchen.  People spend tons of money on new kitchens.  I spent a weekend away from a glacier with my arms up in oil based primer and new shiny semi-gloss white paint.  Time really is money... Money saved.

Yay for a new kitchen!

And we had a blast with Kevin and Michelle.  :)

2 Month Hiatus: Oven Adventure

I'm almost halfway there to 40 comments on this post about getting my hubby to write for one month!  If you haven't said yay or nay yet, click here to do it!  40 'yay' votes and I'll get to read about what my husband thinks about wine. :)

So...

During my 2 month hiatus, while one of my very best friends was visiting from socal, in the middle of making my friend who'd just had a baby dinner, while the pasta was just supposed to start boiling-- our oven broke.  Like broke in the sense of a big "POP!" and then suddenly just turned off.  Pasta didn't boil. I was microwaving things like a mad woman.  Homemade mac & cheese doesn't really do well in the microwave.

We went online to craigslist, found this shiner above in Battleground.  Drove 38 miles in the rain to get it, only to realize we didn't bring anything to cover or protect it for the ride home.

No, I didn't strap myself to it in the truck bed but I sure thought about it.

Instead, we went to a gas station and looted their recycle bin like it was our job.  Some twine, a few boxes and cardboard pieces later, we were ghetto fabbing our way home (in the rain no less).

No dents!  What a bonding experience. :)

2 Month Hiatus: I'm Conflicted

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As I shared yeseterday,  I'm completely conflicted on how to manage my career and home-- to have balance and peace between the two.

My work is something I don't really like to talk much, because it's way more fun to talk about houses and homes, projects and cooking and friends and the man. :)  But if I'm totally honest, it's something that I struggle to keep boundries with in my personal life.  My job is something I really enjoy and want to excel in, but when I'm at the empire state building on vacation responding to emails, something is out of whack.  And that's a personal decision; no one is making me respond to emails on vacation.  I'm kind of married to my iPhone if I'm real with you.  Not proud of it, but admitting it finally.  It's hard for me to separate work from life.

During my 2 month hiatus, David and I went on vacation.  Before we left, I made a decision to take a break, a real vacation.  I will admit, I checked my phone... But I didn't send emails and I often left it back in our hotel room so we could enjoy the pool or have a quiet dinner.  It was a real vacation.  And you know what?  The work was still there when I came back, so I was glad I didn't worry about it while I was away.



I have this internal conflict because it's hard for me to keep up.  But I want to.  I want to excel in everything-- in my job, in my marriage, in  managing our home, in my friendships, with my family relationships, in my bible study, in meeting new people, I could go on forever.  And even though I have no kids, my husband travels and I really only have to care for myself-- I struggle.  I feel like I'm always behind.  The laundry needs to be done.  The house is a mess and I'm the only one who's lived here for the past couple days.  I need to go to the gym.  I come home from work and I'm exhausted.  I've been "on" all day.  And I think... This shouldn't be so difficult.  You just need to be more disciplined, Rachel, and it will all come together.  Or will it?

My 20-year old self was dead set on having an amazing career, one day having kids and doing it all.  Putting a gourmet meal on the table while giving slam dunk presentations during the day.  My almost 30 year-old self is slowing down and wanting to taste every moment.  To be like Anne instead of Ivanka.  To drink in each mundane task and give thanks for the opportunity to give of myself-- to the people I love.  And I struggle because deep inside, I don't know if I can do it all and maintain my sanity. 

I was sharing this with Krista a couple weekends ago.  "I forget to include God in this struggle- to pray about it and lay it down before him," I said.  "I need to talk to him more."

"Prayer is good," she responded.  "But don't forget where you will truly meet him.  I know it feels good to tell the universe what you feel and lay it before Him, but you will truly receive Him when you meet Him in His word.  Being in His word is where he promises we will find Him, and where he will speak.  Go back to the word, Rachel." 

Did I ever mention how amazing Krista is?  I am thankful for her Godly heart and that she shares it with me. 

I don't think this is a struggle I will overcome immediately.  I don't think God's asking me to either... But I do know that he's convicting me to meet him in his word every day.  It's a goal of mine over 2011 and I've definitely fallen short these last couple of months, but Krista is right.  His word is where He will meet us. 

Every. Single. Time.

Let me see these things through your lens, Lord and guide my steps as I mitigate through this balancing act.  Direct my heart and focus my mind.  Prepare the way for me and keepn my eyes on You.

***As always, thanks for reading.***