Category: tips

personal

Stupid Feelings…

/

You ever just do something very plainly and clearly stupid but you didn’t realize how plainly and clearly stupid it was until after you did it? (Well, for me, it was after the second time I did it-Sad, I know.)

Then, after you realize this was quite possibly the dumbest thing you’ve ever done, the Four Horsemen of the Self-Depravity Apocalypse come charging in.

Horseman 1: The act committed being stupid to YOU being stupid, like a senseless-buffoon.

Horseman 2: Doubting every other decision you’ve made or act you’ve committed, no matter how smart you thought they were at the time… Not to mention how all the other dumb decisions you’ve made just start making back-to-back cameo appearances in your mind.

Horseman 3: The guilt of it all just piles and piles and piles on top of you until…

Horseman 4: We’ll call him ‘Dawn of The Drama’. The pity parties, the water-works that start slow and steady and end with colicky moans and body spasms commence and never seem to end.

So besides curling up in a ball and letting the Horsemen above pummel you into a slow agonizing restless death-I mean sleep- although (thanks to Horseman 4) you thinking you’re dying isn’t that far off- what can we really do?

Rectify the situation? Honestly, that’s not possible many times BUT if it is take full advantage of the opportunity of possible reprieve!

Can’t rectify it? Well, I guess we have to let it go…another problem. For however many hours, the horsemen are stalking your every move and all you can think and feel is that stupidity so ‘letting it go’ seems way above your power limits at the moment. Well, if that’s how you feel, I’ve been there, and I’m there now but are we gonna give our power to 4 proverbial horsemen in our head? I mean, we invited them in so surely we can kick them out! It’s already been decided we’ve done some dumb things so how about changing that pattern?

Let’s give the Horsemen, the real senseless buffoons, the boot and get on with our lives. We already recognized our wrongs, let’s focus on what we do that’s right.

Until next time… Keep those horsemen out of your head.

Like, comment, share!

tips

New Traditions!

/

Hey Loves!

One of my wife friends and I were talking and we both agreed that it can be difficult for families to ‘let-go’ and allow married couples to form and continue their own traditions for the holidays. When I was growing up, we always traveled for the holidays. When I was in undergrad, all of our family came to my dad’s house and that turned into hosting and running errands.

Now that my husband and I are on our own, have a home and successfully hosting both families for Thanksgiving, our families are kind-of starting the ‘let-go’ process and we can explore things that work and that we want to share with our kids (whenever they get here… *taps foot impatiently*)

With that, we are trying Advent this year and I am so excited! I am always looking for ways to incorporate focusing on and learning about the word of God into every Holiday as well as our daily lives so it seemed right up our alley.

We (meaning me) researched all types of ideas for daily activities. This was harder than I thought because so many of the ideas were for children or married couples with children. Pickings were slim for the young, married and child-less. So, we brainstormed and successfully came up with 24 that we both enjoy. I then found quite a few free printable Advent Calendars and a list of bible verses to read each day (plus a Christmas banner) via Pintrest.

Here are our ideas. If you have any, I would love to hear them!

Like, comment and share!

1. Hang Christmas lights outside
2. Assemble tree and let settle
3. Decorate tree with lights and ornaments
4. Hang Christmas stockings and place other Christmas decor
5. Attend a holiday party
6. Do a random act of kindness for someone
7. Attend a holiday festival and discuss what you learned from this weeks bible readings
8. See a local Christmas production
9. Write each other a letter about what Christmas means with them and put it in their stocking
10. Go for a run in our Jingle Bell Run t-shirts
11. Prepare and send Christmas e-cards
12. Wife picks a Christmas movie to watch
13. Make Christmas Cookies and treats together
14. Discuss what we have learned from this week’s bible readings
15. Go see the Christmas Lights at Dorothy B. Oven park (a park local to us but I am sure there is one near you!)
16. Deliver Christmas cookies and treats!
17. The hubs picks a Christmas movie
18. Go to the gym wearing red or green
19. Watch a holiday special on TV
20. Wrap each other’s presents
21. Discuss what we have learned from this week’s bible readings
22. Share a Christmas devotional with each other (We are both avid users of the Youversion bible app bible plans and we plan on doing one for Christmas)
23. Go look at Christmas lights in our neighborhood
24. Read the story of Jesus’ birth.

tips

Warming up to Fall Decor

/

Hey Loves!

Well, it’s Autumn and the weather is cooling down. It feels lovely outside –but what about inside? While it is colder outside, you still want the inside of your home to be warm and welcoming. I know Martha Stewart and the crafting-geniuses on Pintrest may be a bit intimidating, but I am here with some easy and inexpensive tips.

Use Fall Fruit- Yes, you read correctly, decorate with fall fruit. Apples, pears, pumpkins and grapes go a long way AND they promote you to eat healthier snacks. You can have a full fruit bowl on your kitchen table or counter and use apples instead of votives in candle holders. (Hint: for cleaning and preservation use this vegetable wash)

Burlap- Go Burlap crazy! Make a new table cloth, a runner for your coffee table, placemats, napkin rings, bows for the banister… the possibilities are endless. The plus, burlap is super cheap! I got mine for $2.97/yard at Wally World and 3 yards goes a long way. (Hint: iron the wrong side with heavy starch to avoid fraying) You can also get burlap in ribbon form which leads me to…

Mason Jars- I know they are normally used for preservation but they can be used for household décor. You can wrap then in different size burlap ribbon and place a tea light candle inside. For a different touch, you fill the jars half way with coffee beans before adding the tea light candle. Oh! Different size jars also add a great element to centerpieces.

Bring out the Blankets- What makes you feel warmer than a blanket? You can bring out comfortable throws that are complimentary to your décor with accent colors on the ends of couches and ottomans.

Hope this helps!

Like, Comment, Share!