How is it Already August??

My acute care clinical ended Thursday and Friday we were Athens bound for our first sprint triathlon together and my husband's first ever!

We had a blast, it was a great weekend, and overall were happy with our performance :)

Since then I have enjoyed getting ready for classes to start tomorrow, lots of blog reading, home updates and sleeping in. I have avoided rushing at all costs, I know things will rush at me in high speed tomorrow, but until then, peace.

I purchased a heart rate monitor last week and have enjoyed reading up on training with that and how to use it to increase my endurance.

I came across this blog post which I absolutely loved, simple but real 

5 Things to do in Your First 5 Years of Marriage

I prepared and baked my first whole chicken. I picked up a Pampered Chef deep dish baker at a thrift store and about a week later found the stoneware baking bowl that goes with it at a garage sale (woohoo!). I knew if I didn't attempt a chicken soon, the two pieces would sit un-used in the cupboard, I'm hoping now that I have seen how easy, healthy, and yummy it was, I will attempt it more often :) As I type the broth is on the stove simmering away, again sooo much simpler than I would have imagined, just takes doing it once to figure things out.

As strange as it sounds, I have been reading a lot about vaccines lately.  The more physical therapy experience I gain, the more interested I become in working in pediatrics after graduation. I have enjoyed reading and researching Down's Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy (strange I know) and how physical therapy can play a big role in improving the quality of life of those children.  The Lord has given me a huge heart for children (and adults) with special needs.

I empathize with the parents of the children I work with. While they are some of the sweetest kids in the world, it can get exhausting, especially when the child's parents are older. 

I begin to wonder if there are factors that negatively affect a child's neurological development after birth that we are yet to draw the connection between.  I read this article and continue to research what the scientific evidence says about vaccinations.  Dr Mercola is one of my go to resources for health information, this is posted on his website. I am still looking into his statements as well.

This was not meant to become a political debate on vaccines by any means, just a quick mention of thing that have been on my mind.

Finally, saw this yesterday and it got me to thinking, when my husband and I started dating, I was the "get up and go" in our relationship, by far. I still am in some areas, but I definitely feel like he's gaining on me in the "making friends/mingling is fun" category. Which is awesome, because I see that and love how he has become more confident and outgoing in the few years we have been together. We both have, I have become more confident embracing my introverted side, he has embraced his extroverted side, and somehow we continue to balance each other out perfectly, funny how the Lord works things. :)

Anyways, happy Wednesday :)

...And I Burned a Bag of Chocolate

Last week was suuuuper crazy, Mid-term of clinical, In-service presentation, and headed to the beach with my middle seester for the weekend!

So, I wanted to make a sweet to serve at my in-service because that's what most people do, I decided to try chocolate dipped Oreos.

In hindsight, I had too much going on... I was an emotional basket case because I was nervous and...

...I burned the chocolate. Trust me, due to my emotions running high, it was quite possibly my most traumatic kitchen fail yet.

Add "to master chocolate dipped Oreos" to the bucket list, because I love Oreos and how cute are these for pretty much every single occasion???

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Someday... :)

Just Looking for Something New :)

I have put high-lights in my hair twice in my life, once professionally and once via boxed mix.

Neither went well.

Perhaps its this awful hint of gray that haunts me daily or just wanting to mix it up a little bit, but I've been wanting to try something new...

From here, here, here, and here

And then I come back to, I love how brunettes who stay brunettes look, like Katie Holmes or Courtney Cox, always look great with beautiful dark hair, why mess with something not broken (a little boring, but not broken).

From here, here, here, and here

I can't decide, it would be fun to try, but a pretty pricey & time consuming for just dabbling if it does or doesn't work out...

Things are quickly stacking up against the coloring, but I'll still dream for a little bit :)

Maybe I'll stick to tri training and shoe shopping :P

All in His Perfect Timing...

I often struggle with the idea that I can't do everything.  This past break it hit me that I can't be super crafty and super mom and super cute and a hardcore athlete and an accomplished professional.  And it disappointed me.

It all started with making my own boxwood.  I had an urn I picked up at a thrift store and thought a nice big boxwood ball would look awesome on it.  It does, and I am pretty proud of my project, but it took me countless hours to complete.  By the end, I had sworn off crafting all together (still somewhat in effect).  As I sat there gluing little pieces of greenery to a styrofoam ball, burning my fingers, and cursing my 'great idea', I thought about the importance of my time, God's time.

Cute, right??

Pinterest doesn't help, but even without it, I still have dreams and unfortunately the more I do, live, and see, the more I realize all of those dreams don't really line up with each other.  I want to be an excellent Physical Therapist someday, unfortunately that doesn't go hand in hand with being a stay at home mom, homeschooling our kids, or even my goal of completing a full Ironman race.  On top of all of that, I feel like the Lord has put those with special needs on my heart, how does that fit in?  

I guess I should have titled this post "I'm growing up." Failure for lack of trying has never been an option.  I have always lived with a shoot for the stars mentality and if  its not meant to happen, the Lord will close doors and re-direct paths. Its so strange now to reign myself in and admit that if I spread myself too thin, I will not be able to be excellent in any area, and mediocrity is just not good enough.

I know there will be chapters, so I have not completely written any one thing off, and continue to pray I get to by some miracle do everything.  I just continue to realize & be reminded that I need to stop and listen for the Lord's timing rather than just plowing ahead, because if I try to do things my way exhaustion, burn-out, & mediocrity will be the result.

All because of a boxwood... which I am super proud of and will devote an entire post to eventually :)

The Simplicity of Placing a Tray on a Table

My husband and I are both pretty simple, neither of us love the frou frou nor need the glam.  However, when push comes to shove, his impression of simple is in fact much simpler than mine.

That being said, when decorating I try to combine his need for simplicity with my need for creating a welcoming home.  I am always trying to simplify our little space with the hopes that it is still an inviting and calm space.

I like the look of setting & decorating a tray on a table because it seems to make all of the cute decor that I love look organized and contained.  So here is what I have going on right now:

(dirty dog bed and all!)

And here are some of my inspiration/favorites from Pinterest:

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Happy Monday!

Adding a Touch of Rustic With Herbs

Herb accents are so rustic yet delicate, and I love them!

Accenting a table, making up the centerpiece of a table, hanging from ceillings and kitchen walls, and last but not least the beautiful (and useful) herb garden are some favorite ways I have seen a sprig or huge bundle used.

All I decided to plant this year was basil.  Kind of by default, that was the only herb left at Trader Joe's when I decided to give gardening a go this year.  I know other places sell herbs, but I have found Trader Joe's has superior quality at a comparable price (unfortunately the selection is more limited).

Happy Gardening :)

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A Beach-y End Table Re-do

A rainy Sunday afternoon has never been so wonderful to me.  Nothing to do but read blog posts and make plans for next week, plans consisting of "go to Hobby Lobby" and "stop by Target," I could not be loving life more right now!

This whole end table project actually happened kind of on accident Wednesday as I headed to the grocery store.  A thrift store I typically drive past had a big sign out front reading "Huge Sale."  I stopped, curious to see what they meant.  They were not messing around, 70% off of a large selection of their furniture.  Most of it was junk-y particle board, but this little piece stood out to me.

It was pretty beat up, and had a little water damage, but for a whopping $7.50 I figured even if it was a train wreck, I'd at least learn from it without breaking the bank.

When I got home and started cleaning it up and looking closer, I was pleasantly surprised.  The water damage was minimal, the ugly was all superficial, and there was this lovely mark on the inside of a drawer.

I hoped this meant "vintage" and "quality" and it definitely did.  American made, this company made quality pieces until 2000 when they were acquired by La-Z-Boy.

Next came sanding, followed by priming.   

I took a quick trip to Lowe's to pick a paint color and Hobby Lobby to find a stencil and drawer pull.

I settled on Valspar's Hopsack

Two coats later, I was ready to try the stencil.  I did not purchase stencil adhesive, but highly suggest it, my trial and error period would have been much shorted had I used the correct adhesive.

Eventually I figured it out and lightly sponged on some white trim paint we already had.  It took awhile, and I definitely prefer using stamps to stencils, but am absolutely in love with the finished product.

The space between the two holes was too wide (6 inches) to fit any single pull Lowe's or Hobby Lobby offered, so rather than ordering online, I decided to go with the two pulls instead, which in the end, works perfectly with the pattern.

I stopped by Hobby Lobby to pick up some drawer pulls and found a basket that matches the dimensions of the bottom drawer area almost perfectly and that was it!

I love how beach-y it looks and how the pattern especially seems to pop against the blue wall.

I got a little paint-brush happy and decided to re-vamp the ice chest which had previously been in that spot next to the couch, not as satisfied with it, but I'm learning!  

This little guy is DJ's new bedside table, in the back corner of the bedroom, soooo I'm not as concerned...

Anyways, not quite the Serena & Lily Aleppo Inlay Table, but for less than $25, I couldn't be happier! :)