.been listening to.

Listening to our local contemporary Christian radio station became a habit when the cd player in my old car stopped working at least 3 years ago. I became familiar with a genre of music that I had never really known much about, and now, even though I have a different car with a working cd player in it, I prefer to listen to that same local radio station when I'm in my car.

Lately, though, I've been wishing I owned more cds of the artists I hear on the radio so that when I get a hankering for one particular song, I can switch to that person's cd and listen to a whole collection of wonderfulness.

Cue the addition of multiple cd's to my Pinterest wishlist board, including:

Matt Maher

For King and Country

Aaron Shust

Chris and Conrad

Toby Mac

One Sonic Society

Phil Wickham

and

Tenth Avenue North

I bought this one a few days ago:

And I don't regret it.

Crazy about his song "Risen Today." Love his voice, love the music (especially the drums) and the worship I feel in my heart when I'm listening and singing along.

Here's to a growing collection of music that lifts me up and keeps Jesus on the forefront of my mind throughout the day!

.easter sunday 2012.

 

This Easter was a fabulous day! Hubs and I went to a new church we've been visiting and enjoyed a good sermon about pursuing God and the significance of Christ's resurrection. Everything we do and believe would be nothing if He wasn't truly alive, and He is! 

After church we came home and set five treat-filled eggs out in the backyard and let Simon go at 'em. Once he figured out there were treats up in those eggs, he was all about it and having the time of his little pug life. Poor thing, he won't know what to do when there's an actual baby around here and he is no longer the center of our universe.

 

We spent the majority of the rest of the day with hubs' side of the family. We enjoyed a yummy spread of food and lots of time talking around the table. Some vintage pictures got busted out at one point, which made for some good laughs.

We capped the evening off by taking Simon on a walk around the hood. It was a beautiful day, lots of sunshine and slightly cool temps. No rain, which was a nice change from the past few years.

I'm more excited than I've ever been to grow in my relationship with Christ. I mean, I want to read books that will help me grow and understand. I want to listen to sermons when I'm around the house. I want to fill my heart and my head with Godly material. Not because it's what I'm supposed to do, but because I want to. I'm bubbling up inside with excitement and a grateful, humbling awareness of all my blessings.

.deep thoughts on aging.

Well, the husband went and did it. He turned 30.

If you ask me, he doesn't look a day over 24.

I asked him what he wanted out of life now that he is 30, and he basically said just because you turn 30, doesn't mean you have any kind of crazy epiphany. He wants the same things he's always wanted. A family. To keep moving up in the company he works for. A church home.

You know how people say time flies once you reach your 20's? It's true.

It's crazy that at one point in my life, the age of 30 seemed so unfathomable. Now that it's just around the corner for me, I can't help but think of back to the Bible age when people lived upwards of 700 years on earth. Can you imagine if we still had that lifespan? Turning 30 was the least of their worries. I wonder how fast wrinkles and old age came about? Were people "elderly" from age 70-700? Surely not... Was 350 years old equal to what today's age 35 is? When did they have their mid-life crises? What did they do with all that time? Did time fly once they hit their 200's?

Is your mind blown? Because mine is.

.my new look.

I did it. I got bangs!

I suddenly feel more interesting in a quirky kinda way.

It's good.

.round here.

So, since we've last talked, things have been happening up round here.

First of all, I'm still living the healthy, er...healthIER, lifestyle. I still workout a few times a week and do my best at staying under my calorie goal each day, although most days my addiction to sweets gets the best of me. I've still made major improvements in the fitness category of life. In the past month-and-a-half, I've lost about 4 lbs and some inches here and there. I've also gone from only being able to run maybe 30 seconds without dying all the way to 5 minutes on the treadmill without stopping. Even if I didn't lose another pound, if my running stamina keeps improving, I'll feel like a winner.

.healthy groceries. ish.

.breaking in my new running shoes.

I somehow manage to squeeze in time for thrifting as often as I can. I also spend plenty of time on Pinterest and even created some DIY artwork for the house.

This Winter has been the mildest one of my life yet. We might have a day or two of cold, but it's always quickly followed by unseasonable warmth. A few weeks ago, the hubs and I went hiking with the pug. It was super windy that day but perfect temps for being outside. Last week, we got a little snow. Maybe an inch or so. It will most likely be the only snow we get this year.

I've also been loving my duties as Levi's aunt. His daddy and mommy went on a Valentine's date and I had the pleasure of taking care of little guy and putting him to bed that night. He was a doll, such a good baby! He brings me so much joy. And in ways of my job, even though we still have a few months, it just feels like we're on the downhill slide. I'm enjoying my kids very much and, no different from any other year, I am not looking forward to letting these kids go. I always get attached. Still absolutely loving what I do and feeling extravagantly blessed.

.how to make an omelet: tutorial.

It's a snowy day here in my neck of the woods.

A perfect day for me to create a tutorial for a culinary task that has stumped even the most capable of chefs for centuries on end. The omelet.

I, myself, only mastered this task a year ago, thanks to my observances of a chef at the Embassy Suites in Kansas City along with a few tips from my husband. (Yes, my husband grasped the concept of creating an omelet long before I ever did. A humbling fact of life.)

So without further ado, How To Make An Omelet. IMHO.

First, gather your ingredients. I use 2 eggs per omelet as well as shredded mozzarella cheese and real bacon bits from a jar. (I don't get too extravagant with my ingredients but you can even add mushrooms, peppers, onions, ham, sausage, etc.)

You'll need a small frying pan to keep the circumference of your omelet at a pleasing size. My smallest pan is probably 6-8 inches. I didn't measure it.

You'll also need a spatula, something to crack the eggs into and whisk together (I use a fork to stir the eggs and my measuring cup to break the eggs into because it has a pour spout.)

You'll also need non-stick spray for your pan and any seasonings you would like to add. The spices I use are pictured later.

First, spray your pan with nonstick spray and get it warming up over medium heat.

While the pan is heating up, break 2 eggs into a measuring cup and mix with a fork until all the yolk is broken up and blended.

Pour the eggs into the pan.

Get your spices out. I only use salt, pepper and a little bit of garlic powder. You'll want to go easy on the garlic powder if you decide to use it.

Allow the eggs to cook until the top is almost firm so that you can flip the eggs over without the top draining. Add your seasonings to the top then flip the eggs over like you would a pancake.

As soon as you've flipped it, lightly season this side then add your bacon bits and shredded cheese (or any other toppings) to one half of the circumference.

The underside should be done cooking by the time you've seasoned and added the toppings, so using your spatula, fold the side without toppings on it over the garnished side. Lift it up out of the pan and onto a plate.

Now eat it. Either gracefully or ravenously; that is your choice.

And that is how to make an omelet, in my humble opinion.

.to bang or not to bang.

Obviously, I'm talking about the subject of bangs. ;-)

I'm right smack dab in the middle of growing out my hair, and even though it's getting longer, it still has at least a year of growth before it's where I dream of it being.

In the meantime, I've been wearing my hair pulled back a lot since I'm a little bored with its current length. Not wanting to cut my hair but wanting to add some interest, I'm thinking of getting bangs again.

These pictures (found via pinterest) are my bangs inspiration, especially for the pulled-back hairstyles I commonly wear these days.

What's holding me back is that I highlight my hair and am wondering how hard it would be to maintain roots with bangs (since the only other times I had bangs, I don't remember having highlights). Also, I don't think the hubs cares for bangs on me much.

I kinda like me with bangs though.


Decisions, decisions. ;-)