Home Sweet Home

Theme Song for the Week

We arrived home at midnight on Wednesday night. A good time was had by all. It was wonderful to enjoy the beauty of West Texas, and conquer the rugged landscape. We had 2 actual hiking days... no mountains, but the canyon was quite challenging. The average temperature was 105 on the hike... HOT!

Some highlights include:

• The cool, clear waters of Balmorhea's Solomon Springs.
• A breathtaking view of the sunset at McDonald Observatory near Ft. Davis.
• A rustic hotel room with a wonderful king bed... the room smelled of gourmet coffee!
• Some quality time with a precious, fat kitty named "Dice."
• Homemade breakfast... every morning. The strawberries were mind boggling!
• The hardest hike of my life through a gorgeous canyon. I was the queen of the canyon, and I nearly conquered it unscathed.
• 20 or so big horned rams just chillin' on the rocks.
• Finding the perfect rock for a special sculpture I have been planning!
• A hike through the desert with an old friend.
• Lemonade on the patio, cool grass, and time with family.
• The splendor of Carlsbad caverns.

I have slowly but surely gotten back into my routine. Today we did family things and I got some quality time with the chickens. There was a great adventure with a huge king snake... apparently I had just been standing right under him for a solid 15 minutes... yikes! Dad and Daniel saved the day, and the snake lives to scare the daylights out of another unsuspecting woman.

121. Chickens scrambling to keep from getting caught.

122. Little field mice who seem to be fearless.

123. Shy snakes.

124. The feeling of accomplishing one of the hardest physical challenges of my life.

125. West Texas sunsets.

*The photo uploader is still broken, so I am experimenting with Flickr... click the links to see the corresponding pictures.

Vacation Itinerary

Tomorrow afternoon, Daniel and I load up the truck and make the 2 hour drive to my sister's house in Abilene, Texas. We'll be staying the night and getting up insanely early to drive 5 hours to Balmorhea State Park for an afternoon of snorkeling and swimming in the bone chilling water. That evening, we will drop our bags at the hotel in Fort Davis, Texas, and then attend a star party (star gazing with sweet telescopes) at McDonald Observatory. Sunday's destination is Van Horn, Texas. We'll be staying with my mom's aunt and uncle in their own little oasis. Aunt Dawn has the most beautiful yard you could imagine, and she lives in the middle of the desert. Hiking into McKittrick Canyon on Monday. This will be a new experience for me. McKittrick is nestled in the midst of Guadalupe Peak, the highest peak in Texas. Tuesday, we'll tour the ranch of a family friend and do some Mountain Climbing. The photo shows Turtleback, but we'll be on a mountain or two over from that one. Wednesday is cave day! I think we may be doing a lantern tour of Carlsbad Caverns.

That's the general gist of our little vacation. I hope to get home on Wednesday about 5 lbs lighter than I am today. I can't imagine it will be hard with all of the hiking/swimming. I also hope to be much, much tanner... especially my pasty legs. I'm digging out the geology book to brush up on my knowledge of all things rocky. I'm a total geology geek, by the way. I thought about making a career out of it, but realized that was way more school than I could ever tolerate. I don't think they make very good money these days :) I hope that blogger fixes the photo uploader soon... I plan on taking lots of pictures. You'll have to settle for links to pictures right now.

116. To do lists, packing lists, and lists in general.

117. Cute old ladies making me feel welcome in their aqua fit class.

118. Starting to notice my hard work paying off... the pants are a little looser!

119. Ceiling fans and warm air, always reminds me of the Christmas spent in Panama.

120. An encouraging conversation with a friend who is going through the same thing as me.

Vacation in 3 Days

I got in from the gym about an hour ago. I went to a different pilates class tonight with a new instructor. Almost all we did was work the back side. My buns were burnin'! I hope I can walk tomorrow. My plan is to make the aqua fit class tomorrow evening to get in one more workout before the hike-a-palooza next week.

My family is renting a Suburban and road tripping it to west Texas on Saturday. Snorkeling and McDonald observatory on Saturday. We'll climb a mountain one day and hike into a canyon another day. Somewhere in all of that we'll go to Carlsbad caverns. I'm super excited and anticipating losing 5 lbs easily. All of this is taking place in the desert, so it's liable to be hot! I can't wait!

Pray for me when you think about me. I'm dealing with some complex emotions having to do with really wanting to have kids. This time around has been so much better as far as my attitude, but I'm mostly just sad. Trying to trust God's timing is hard when we've already waited 4 years. My hope is that losing my excess weight will help things to work properly again. If nothing else, getting in shape is giving me something to focus on and strive for.

111. Grace. God's patience with me when I'm a moron, and His promise to love me when I don't learn from my mistakes.

112. Catching up with sweet friends.

113. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

114. Impromptu lunch and heart to heart with my mom-in-law.

115. Dad's insanely bad jokes and quirky ideas, always good for a chuckle.

I should be cleaning right now...

... but writing and listening to good music sounds like so much more fun when I'm this sore. Last night was the weekly pilates class: AWESOME! I'm seriously loving it. It's incredibly hard work, but I leave super relaxed and feeling super happy about what I accomplished. I've only been 3 times, and I can already see an improvement in what I am capable of doing.

I went to yoga on Monday. I'm not entirely sure I'm going to keep going. I know it would be super good for me, and it's exactly the kind of exercise I need. However, the instructor puts too much of a spiritual spin on it. It's super new aged, and I'm not down with that. I'm doing better about going in a class setting; I like the direction I get. Unfortunately, yoga is my only viable option for Monday night. Dilemma! I'm down from 177 to 170! So close to my first 10lbs. My goal is 140, and to look hot in a bikini in Hawaii next summer. I would like to lose the weight by November though.

Pray for Daniel. He submitted his resume for a new position at his current job. He was not anticipating they would accept it, it was a political move to show them that he's unsatisfied with his pay scale and wants to move up. (It's a long and complicated story, but there's lots of nasty politics involved in why he has the position at the crappy pay he currently makes.) So, anyways, there's a small possibility he would move to evening shift... it's a decent schedule and would be way better pay. Pray that God gives us direction.

106. A hardworking husband.

107. Music that gives me chills.

108. Sun dresses.

109. Open windows on a sunny day.

110. Sore muscles, because that means I'm using them!

Hello again.

Well, it's been a while. I have been taking a long break from the computer lately. It was good to get away from it, and to remind myself that it's not as important as I let it become.

Not much has changed around here. I am still unemployed, still seeking employment, still loving our church family, still praying for God to grow our family, and still madly in love with my husband. What has changed: we joined a gym, I am 7 lbs lighter, sales are picking up at the gallery, and Daniel and I have discovered that we love playing 42 (dominoes). Yes, we're old people.

I guess I'll pick up the list again.

101. Learning to be disciplined and learning that I have more willpower than I thought.

102. The crunch of gravel under the tires when I turn onto my parents driveway.

103. Thunder.

104. Orange nail polish.

105. Seeing the number on the scale go down, knowing that I'm getting healthier.

More Thanks

I'm feeling weird lately. Emotionally and physically. I'm not sure what's up, but I'm grateful for feeling, even if I'm not feeling my best. My Grandpa's response to the "How are you?" question was "I'm doing good for the shape I'm in." I've always loved that. It's something I still admire about Grandpa 11 years after his death. He was always grateful for what he had. So, to carry on Grandpa's legacy of praise for his blessings:

86. Encouragement from a sweet friend.

87. Standing in line at the grocery store, learning about patience.

88. An empty container of Morton salt from our wedding shower... a commemoration to nearly 4 years of sticking out hard times, and falling more in love.

89. God whispering words of comfort and strength in my ear, promising to stand beside me in my weakness.

90. Andrew Peterson's song, "Dancing in the Minefield."

91. Babies.

92. Paint smears on the ceiling, a reminder of the love of friends and family who helped us make our house our home.

93. Music that makes me smile.

95. Phone calls from my little sister.

96. Muddy dog paws on my floors, put there by two sweet companions.

97. Bear hugs from Dad.

98. Tears, proof that I need the love of God.

99. Sunshine, a break from cold and wet.

100. Notebook filled with to-do lists and reminders... my brain on paper.

Snow, Beautiful Snow.

Last night, Daniel was coming home late, and I was sitting in front of my computer watching TV shows, making a fleece jacket for Goose (my little dog). About 11:00, he called to tell me he was coming home, and 30 minutes later, he called to tell me to look outside. It was beautiful. Snow will always be magical to me. I've lived in Texas my entire life, so it's quite rare to actually see snow. I just sat on the couch and watched the snow fall for 20 minutes. Breathtaking.

It's been so icy and bitterly cold all week. People are beginning to get cabin fever; not me. I like how simple snow/tons of ice makes life. You cannot go anywhere. It is a gift. It forces you to say no to obligations and to rest. Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful snow.

Until this afternoon, I hadn't stepped outside since Monday. Daniel and I went to the store to pick up some food, and so I could see the snow. There were about 30 people on the hill next to our neighborhood sledding down it. It made me smile. on our street, some one tied an old couch to the truck and went... couch-ing... in the snow. People, young and old, were all outside playing together in the white. It was sunny, and the day itself seemed so happy.

I am currently at my brother-in-law's house. On the way here we passed a lake/huge pond, and it was covered in snow and ice! I realize, when it's been in the low 20s for a whole week that is to be expected, but I've never seen this before. I've never been out of Texas in the Winter, and therefore, never seen a frozen body of water in person. It was so pretty. It just made me so happy.

Daniel and I had a snowball fight today. He hit me right in the forehead, haha. We let the dogs out in the front yard to play with us, then Marley bee-lined it for the little kids. He loves kids.

It's been such a good day!

71. Snowflakes on my eyelashes.
72. Feeling like a child, playing in the snow with my husband.
73. Slipping on ice, and thick, cushy coat to soften my fall.
74. Seeing a lake, completely frozen for the first time in my life... it was beautiful.
75. Husband coming home early and building a fire with me.
76. Eating good hot dogs watching our favorite show.
77. Marley, playing in the snow with the neighbor kids.
78. Sweet children saying "hi" at the grocery store.
79. Seeing many of my neighbors sledding down the big hill next to our neighborhood.
80. My man who is willing to get out in the cold to help push strangers' cars off of the ice.
81. The way snow seems to make everything more beautiful, and life simple.
82. Being snowed in for a whole week. No obligations. No busyness.
83. Tiny Goose's snow "beard" from playing in the snow with Marley.
84. Embroidering something special while snuggled under a blanket.
85. God's gift of nature's beauty... He is far too good to us.