We're Moving

Christmas time is coming for us... and what does that mean? Time to move again! :)

My parents and brother purchased some acreage closer into town... and there's a garage apartment on the property. This will be an excellent location and situation for us. When My Love leaves for training for 5 months, I'll be closer to my family, without needing to move back in with them, and I'll also be closer to neighbors- right now, we're pretty much out in the (pasture) boonies :).

Looking forward to the move-- I enjoy moving ;)... while we dont' have kids yet ;).

Something New

The only thing new here is a new post to look out besides all the things I want for Christmas ;).

Maybe I'll post some pictures of Christmas light garlands that I saw in some catalogs yesterday.

More Gift Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Gal ;)

Luxury... luxury... might I be so bold to say that word again.... LUXXXXURRYYYYY.....

Those are luxurious (my current favorite word) goose down (not feather!!) pillows and a silk (inside and out!) comforter.

They can be purchased for your favorite wife, sister, and friend (I'm all of those! ;)...) at www.plumeriabay.com

Have fun shopping for me, Loved Ones! :)

hee heee :)

Paisley Rug

www.anthropologie.com

O' Cal-i-forn-i-a

Well, I must admit it.... I was quite glad to be back in our home state after a 5-day trip to the Orange County area of California. The traffic wore me out... never an open highway and little town- seems like you've got to drive quite a ways out of Los Angeles for that.

One thing, though... the weather there is AWESOME, duuuuude!

We went out for My Love's brother's wedding. He's a lawyer in Orange---or is it Santa Ana? Can't remember- one of those two spots. We stayed at an inn in Santa Ana and ended up driving around quite a bit to different spots:

THURSDAY
flew into LAX (will someone please inform me of what the X stands for???)
saw the bro-in-law's apt.
took some of th other little in-laws out with us to Laguna Beach for some great pics

FRIDAY
Disneyland here we come-- um, went!
California Adventure (right next door)
Wedding Rehearsal- hung out with some great kids- especially Ashley- great fun TALKING :)
Back to Disneyland for a fun ride on Indiana Jones

SATURDAY
Wedding in Santa Ana
Newport Beach with the sister and sis-in-law-soon-to-be-married
Roman Cucina for dinner- AWESOME... (What's there to celebrate??? "CHRISTOPHER'S NOT HEEEERE ANYMORRRE!!!! :)- it's an inside joke ;) )

SUNDAY
Six Flags Magic Kingdom with another bro-in-law who's hanging out in California for the summer thru Oct. and another friend

MONDAY
Rejoicing for My Love as we head back home on our flight
Awful head and sinus pain for me as I suffer from air pressure and that now-HORRIBLE dry air...
Houston we are HOME!
Enjoy the open roads and wide expanse of green on the sides of the roads heading out of the big city into the hilly countryside

mmm.....

Just here to say that I'm dreaming about that Aztec Hot Chocolate from MarieBelle...

Another good item from MarieBelle

Another good gift idea for me...

;)

MarieBelle Hot Chocolate

Calling all Chocolate connoisseurs...

You will love me for telling you about MarieBelle.

http://www.mariebelle.com

I found the adorable children's lunch box on sale at Anthropologie right around New Year's 2006. It proved to be one of the best purchases I ever made :). And the tin is so cute sitting atop my kitchen cabinets.

If anyone needs Christmas present ideas for me ;).... I like the Aztec Original Hot Chocolate :).

hint hint...

Avatar Frustrations

Grr...

Anyone ever dealing with avatars having to be a certain size (namely 100x100 pixels) might under the frustration of not having a resizing capability on their computer...

Grr...

So those pieces of artwork I uploaded were pics that I *wanted* to used as avatars....

Another piece of gorgeous artwork...

I love this piece of artwork...

Good Links

So I guess some might call this stealing...others might call it sharing/passing along great links :).

Found these at a blog I keep up with: www.sliceofpink.com

www.knockknock.biz
www.loftparty.com
www.mightygoods.com
www.giftedgrasshopperchildrenbooks.com
www.roomservicehome.com
www.fabulousstationery.com
www.wonderfulgraffiti.com

Have fun browsing. :)

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You? :)

This test is more appropriate for me--- I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME! :)

You Are Rudolph

Sweet and shy, you tend to be happiest when you're making someone else happy. Why You're Naughty: You sometimes stick that nose where it doesn't belong Why You're Nice: Christmas would be a sad affair without you!

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

What Kind of Meat Are You? :)

You Are Duck

Exotic and unusual, you are a bit of a rare bird - literally.You're known for being soft and succulent, though at times you can be a bit greasy.

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofmeatareyouquiz/">What Kind of Meat Are You?

Impulsive?

Found this on my friend Rachel's site :).

You Are 51% Impulsive

You're quite impulsive, but you never are reckless.You qualify as a very spontaneous person, but you still know how to honor your commitments.And while responsibility doesn't come easy to you, having fun does!

Busy Days= Busy Weeks

Well, my 6 days a week of exercising has now dwindled to 4....

I was going to go to the 5:30 AM class on Tuesdays since I would miss the 8 AM class due to a 7:30 AM babysitting job... but My Love has convinced me to not go on those days since he doesn't have to leave super-early for the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I gave in :). Plus, I don't like leaving him all alone at the house for so long ;).

And what was going to be my Saturday of of two exercise classes (Pilates and Salsa) is no virtually non-existent... due to busy weekends from last Saturday all through the month of September... oh WAIT! I'll get to go exercise the Saturday of Sept. 30th :).

Here's what my schedule ends up looking like...
Monday: Exercise, Babysit/Clean House/s
Tuesday: Babysit
Wednesday: Exercise, Babysit
Thursday: Exercise, Babysit Family #1, Babysit Family #2
Friday: Exercise- maybe 2 classes if possible, Babysit
Saturday: 9/2 CR100 River Race, 9/9 San Antonio/Fiesta Texas trip, 9/16 River Race in San Marcos, 9/23 California trip for My Love's brother's wedding, 9/30 PILATES and SALSA woohoo!!!

And did you know that I even bought myself some cute, pink adult ballet slippers? I now I can't even use them until the end of next month! :( GRRR....(Think of that said in a very delicate, pilates style stance ;)...)

ta ta till I think of more to talk/rave/complain about/mention....
-magsmeaning :)

My Nigella Friends

Well, twas a sad day today when I found out that when I/we would have to limit our conversations to food, kitchen, and Nigella subjects on one of my favorite websites, nigella.com. But I understand. Things can get heated when you stray from those subjects-- I do say, what IS there to get heated about when you talk about macaroni, soup ladels or Nigella Lawson?! :)

So, I devised a plan, with permission from the the administrators, to start a thread where we can post our blog addresses, if we'd like, so that we can all keep in touch about subjects others than those listed previously. And naturally, when you have a bunch of foodies together that enjoy a certain common subject, they then find that they have other things in common which they want to talk about.

All that to say, I don't want to give up the friendships that came out of other topics besides food, kitchen, and Nigella.

Anyhowwwww :)...

Welcome to my blog, friends from nigella.com! :)
-margaret

Weight Watchers and Exercise

Coming soon... a leaner, more fit me! :)

Well, I hope so at least ;). I've started WeightWatchers back up and have been going to 5-6 classes of aerobics each week. I'm currently in my second week. I've done rather good with the WeightWatchers this last week and am quite proud of myself- in a good way :).

I had the most horrible experience with weighing in at aerobics- it's optional- but I decided to see what that nasty number was.... well it was pretty bad. And I've only agreed to write the number down in the "weight log" journal IF it has dropped at all by next Monday (the day for weigh-in each week). So even if it drops only 0.01 lbs, I'll log it.... I'm hoping for something more like a loss of 10 lbs! ;) hee hee....

I know it sounds like a lot for someone as short as me, but I'd like to lose upwards of 50-60 lbs. I can remember being at that goal weight, and I was happy then- and NOT thin, but NOT heavy. It was that perfect size :) for being toned and fit.

We'll see.... I just need to take it one step at a time. Day by day. As Elisabeth Elliott Gren says, "Just do the next thing."

Profile Picture

Just trying to figure out how to post a picture on my profile. That's all :)

I'm Going to be a Piano Teacher!

I got a call the other day from homeschooling mom/photographer in the area who asked me to teach her three oldest kids piano! :) They're just beginners- just right for me- since I'm no professional yet ;).

And then just as I was telling the aerobics instructor that I was going to be teaching piano, she asked me if I could teach her daughter- just a beginner, also! :) I'm so excited!

I've decided on $10/per 30 minute lesson :). I'll teach the homeschooling kids at their house here in town, and then I'll teach Kennedy at my parents' house- I miss that great piano since I got married!

We actually have a piano at our house- it was a gift from my mom's mom- an antique- which is severly out of tune :(.... So I'm glad my mom is willing to let us use her piano! :)

Tommorrow, I plan on going into the big city :) to go stock up on some good teaching materials for beginner pianists. Can't wait!

Exercise!

Looks like my life of exercise is starting back up! :) I'm going to be starting up with the exercise group at the exercise/dance academy :). My mom and sister both go and they really like it- and it's a great group of women, too :). From Mon-Fri, except Tues, I'll go to the 8 am class. On Tues, I'll go to the 5:30 am class- early, I know! :) I babysit at 7:30 am on Tuesdays, so that's why I'm taking that EXTREMELY early class.

While it's still Summer, Fridays have been walking/running club at the mini-park. I had a great time huffing and puffing away as I speedily walked along. There was five of us walking: me, my mom, the aerobics instructor, another woman named Julie, and then a girl from the instructor's drill team at the high school.

I think I'm really going to enjoy the variety of the exercises- and doing them together as a group. Aerobics is so much more enjoyable when you can laugh at yourself with others :).

Oh, and did I mention that really poured out that sweat today?!

Afterwards, we ate breakfast (the newly created ;) Dance Academy Special for us healthy people) at the new restaurant in town. It was great! :) Plain yogurt with sweet fruit and granola and homemade whole wheat toast. I was so self-controlled and didn't use any butter ;).

Lonely

I think I've lost my followers... by that, I mean, those that read my blog and actually comment ;).

It's kind of lonely... more like I'm really writing for myself now- which I guess is a good thing. There's not need to please anyone else or to wonder "What will others think about me?"

Now it's just me, the typing and the internet.

Feel free to comment if you really are out there...maybe I'll just comment on my own posts....

One More Thing...

This is an addition to the previous post.

I also kept trying to figure out how God would have me to live my life. If I'm not in constant prayer with the Lord and reading His Word- how He speaks to us!- then how will I know these things?

Something for me to think on- and maybe someone, else, too, like my last post, will be led to think on it.

Realization of a Lifetime

A few days ago, I realized that *I alone* cannot figure out the way to live my life- like what things are okay and what things aren't (when it's not mentioned in the Bible). I realized- rather, God spoke to my heart- that it is only me allowing Christ to live in and through me that my life will turn out how it's supposed to. This realization comes after many many hours of trying to figure out what things are allowed in my life and what isn't. If something isn't supposed to be there, God will lead me to clean it up. If that makes any sense. Like the area of movies or music: I need to allow the Holy Spirit to show my heart when something isn't right. I don't figure these things out simply by making a list of how I'm going to live.

Hope this makes sense to at least one other person today. May it bless you, too.

On Writing

Today I went to Barnes and Noble while waiting for Anthropologie to open at 10:00 AM (I make a regular trip to the store every time I visit over at My Love's family in The Woodlands). I bought a copy of Alexandra Johnson's Leaving a Trace. I've been thinking about writing as a profitable hobby- profitable to the inner me and maybe profiable to my checkbook :).

Ummm... Oops

Okay... So I just noticed that my post entitled "Life" *did* get published... okay, maybe...like.... nine times. Lesson learned: Don't keep clicking the "Publish Post" button- even if it doesn't work the first time. Or you get to go through the deleting process eight times....

Just nix part of that previous post :).

You Irritating Com-Pooter!

Don't you hate it (yes, that's a strong word, but QUITE appropriate here!) when you type up a nice long post and then when you go to publish it, there's an "error" and you have to "check back later"?!

Mucho Frustratringo!!!!

Grrr....

Anyways, I had a good- mighty long- post ready to publish yesterday and it will have to wait till the timing is right again.

Life

So I've been rather contemplative lately... too much so, because I haven't even had a break from my thoughts to write it all down. But just last night, I came home from an evening babysitting job to find that my *wonderful* husband had set up my computer in the bedroom! What a *DEEElight*! I couldn't refrain from my "ooo ooo ooo's" :).

Back to contemplation. It's not a breakdown of what I believe, but of how I live my life... speaking in cultural terms. (Bare with me- I know I'm making almost no sense whatsoever.) I told My Love that sometimes I feel like I should've been born in a different time period- and then "Sister Sara" reminds me that they didn't have indoor plumbing back then ;).

I rummaged through (for the upteenth time) our packed away boxes--- to find, you guessed it, My Love- a book. I need my books- they really truly verily are my friends. I pulled out "Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life," and decided to try that book on again for size.

Here's one of my many qwerks (sp?): I find great inspiration from my Shaker cookbook. I guess it was there simple lifestyle that attracts me. Once again, I'm stuck in the wrong era place in history.

I long for a different way life, but yet do not want to give up some aspects of my life that come only with the life I live now.

Maybe I should just go live in a little cabin with now electric appliances- maybe that would do it for me. Hmmm.... maybe not.

Oh, yes, and one more thing of the day: I'm suddenly dreading being in a hot (though dry) area without trees! :(... God HELP me survive the heat...

A Multitude of Girls

I've had the novel idea of creating a blog of sorts where all of us R & J girls can post news, pics, nifty things on the internet, etc. Now I'm simply awaiting to hear what they all think about my idea! :)

Trying to come up with some names of our site/club...

New Things in Life

Well, here's an update.... x out all of the previous "what's going to be happening in our life" stuff that you read :)- even if though it was cryptic and most probably couldn't understand it! :)

On to more cryptic stuff.... My Love will now probably be attending another Academy out in the Southwest sometime in the next few months. We'll be separated for about 5 months, but we'll survive. If military wives can do it for a year at a time, I can do it, surely, for just five months! :) There's no housing for spouses where he'll be going, and that's why I must stay behind. And after he graduates from this mysterious Academy, then we'll be stationed somewhere else... don't know where yet... but hopefully soon we'll know! :)

And for the reason this is cryptic: My Love, who shall remain nameless, doesn't want me giving too much info on the net--- obviously that's a good reason. And I shall try to abide by that.... but I am rather wordy. All the people that *need* to know what I'm talking about already know :).

Anyhowwwww---- My Love pinches me when I say anywhoooo, so I'm working on switching back to anyhowwww.

ta ta

The Ultimate Toilet

What can I say???

wow....

Tierra Y Fuego

Okay, so these didn't quite upload how I wanted them to... but these are samples from my newest favorite site :)...

www.tierrayfuego.com

If you dream of having a tiled kitchen and pool, this site is for you!!! :)

Moving Stationery

Well, if and when we move to a Houston apartment, I might choose one of these two stationery cards for my change of address announcements. They're both from Crane.

My First Married Easter

Well this was definitely not only Easter holiday, but Easter *weekend*. My Love and I enjoyed our long weekend with family-well, his family that is ;). My family has agreed to hold no grudge regarding the amount of holidays I spend with My Love's family as long as my family gets their own official holiday :).

Friday was a very busy day for us. After going to the gym at a little before 8 am on Good Friday, My Love and I headed in to Houston to look at apartments. Luckily three of the four complexes we would be looking at were all located on the same street, all right next to each other.

Amazingly, each apartment was better than the last one-- talk about a great day! The last one we checked out was wonderful---- and QUIET, people, QUIET!!! :) And it would be close (10-15 min.) to the Academy if Andrew gets in this May (different Academy than the one first mentioned in a previous post a couple of months ago).

We stayed Friday night at My Love's parents' in The Woodlands area since Saturday was the family Easter Picnic at a local State Park. It was nice- except for the WIND and the long long long walk around the pond--- we didn't realize how hot and sunny it would be. I got a nice little burn-turn-tan ;) on my arms. Unfortunately I was wearing a long 3/4 sleeve shirt slightly rolled up which equals an elbows-and-down burn/ tan ...ughhh....

Then the Munchketeers (My Love's 3 younger siblings) traveled back to our Hill Country place to spend the night and Easter morning with us. The two girls and I made Easter egg cookies and decorated them. Then Easter morning, I gave My Love his first Married Easter Basket :)- nothing different than a regular basket, except his first as a married man ;). He gave me a HUGE solid Hershey's Kiss :). And I hid eggs for the girls to find. I put a total of 72 glitter eggs out :). I still found 3 of them on the ground yesterday ;)... the chocolate had melted :(....

But life is still good ;).

We went to church with My Love's grandparents later than morning and then spend the lunchtime and afternoon with his Aunt's family. And My Love's cousin has a British girlfriend-- woohoo!!! Somebody with a loverly accent :).

Back to Houston stuff...

If and when we move into Houston, Lord-willing, I'll be looking at another nanny job. Hopefully I'll find a good one since we'll be in a good location- near Champions, The Woodlands, and Kingwood.

Beautimous!

*Please* don't question my spelling of that word... :)

I believe... ahhhhemmmm.... is everyone listening????

I believe that these plates from www.anthropologie.com are the EPITOMY OF BEAUTIFUL COLOR.

Please check back later for updates on what I consider "the epitomy of beauty and beautiful color." :)

mNe Calligraphy

Well, so much for 24 Pink Street. The enthusiasm sort of left me... and I decided on (take that for what it's worth :) ) mNe Calligraphy. I've been perfecting the logo, and I should hopefully have a copy sometime that I can upload onto the blog.

Copperplate Calligraphy

This is the next art that I'd like to learn... okay that sounds like I have many forms of art in my repoitoire. Alas, all I have is calligraphy and a love of pretty things.

I'd like to purchase this exact book off of ebay- I saw some great deals on the piece.

Cell Phones

Might I just comment on the irritating nature of cell phones???

Right when you need them to work... they *don't*.

CHOCOLAT CHOCOHOLIC

chocolate chocolate chocolate chocolate chocolate....

SOMEONE HELP ME... I'm on a diet and I'm craving something.... eeeeevillllll.....

One Lucky Little Lady

1. I heart fortune cookies.
2. I adore chocolate-covered fortune cookies.

My addiction to fortune cookies is based on the fact that I think they're yummy and...

The Thursday before I got engaged, my fortune cookie read... "Be prepared for an exciting, happy, and unexpected change!"

Pretty nifty :)

Easter Egg Frenzy!

Soon and very soon I'm going to celebrate my first Easter as a married girl! :) Andrew said we could "borrow" some of his munchkin siblings for our own Easter egg hunt :). I'm planning on dying some fun eggs--- do you know how long it's been since I've done that?! I can't even remember how to do an Easter egg hunt! Do I just hide the plastic candy-filled eggs, or do I hide the boiled, dyed ones too???

My New Hair

Well after deliberating about whether or not I was actually going to ever dye my hair back to its root color, I finally did it :). My mom and another shopper at CVS helped me pick out the best color. It turned out a little redder than I was expecting. But I'm quite happy with it. It's a chocolate brown with a copper sheen in certain lights. I'm quite quite quite delighted :).

I'll post a picture once I get Sara to take a nice one of me :).

Some of My Favorite Sites

These are a few of my favorite things...

www.poshbaby.com
www.anthropologie.com
www.garnethill.com
www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com
www.amazon.com
www.ebay.com
www.shabbychic.com

Woohoo, I'm Ancient! :)

Once April turns the corner, I'll officially have 4 months of archives! WHOOP! WHOOP! :)

I just feel so like... official....... :)

Giving it to God for HIS Best

Yesterday I applied for a full-time position as a library clerk. I've always wanted this type of job...God knows that. That's the most important part. God knows what my heart desires. He also knows what is best for me at this exact moment. I have to remember that while I struggle with the thought that there were so many other applications for the job that the library had to remove the job posting. Thoughts fill my mind... "What if I don't get the job?" "I might not have been the best applicant..." "Maybe I should have done a more professional job on my application rather than 'just being me...'" These are hard thoughts to struggle with. I've never "applied" for a job before. The jobs I have, have all been my employers seeking *me* out. And that's a nice thought.

But now it's time to move on. It's time for me to get started with something full-time, with steady hours. And that requires me searching- not the other way around. It requires me being vulnerable to being turned down- even for the simplest job, because someone else more qualified in some way might get the job.

My Father Knows Best.

With the idea of becoming a library clerk, I had temporarily set aside the idea of 24 Pink Street. Maybe that will blossom- quickly, hopefully :)- if the library clerk position does not come to be.

Fit for Life...Kinda

I recently "re-discovered" my Fit for Life books, by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. I was 3/4's of the way through the first volume, when I learned (after browsing the internet for more info on them) that they are divorced. For some reason, that just puts a lovely little damper and a big "Bummer!" on reading the rest of the book. It's kinda like, "This isn't worth reading anymore...". One site even quoted Harvey Diamond as saying that American's are obsessed with food combining...but isn't that exactly what you were promoting?!?! Anyhoooooooo....

I've lost half a pound since yesterday :). That's a delight for me. I ***must*** remember that "the experts" say that healthy weight-loss is 1-2 lbs/ week. So let's see, we're in week three. That comes to a loss of 2.75 lbs...which is almost 1 lb/ week average.

I'm trying to eat healthier....

Andrew will be the biggest winner though... His weight loss is JUST NO FAIR!!! ;) Way to go My Love! :) I lova you and you lova me....

Body for Life

I'm an official Body for Life'er since Monday, February 27th. I've lost two lbs.

whoop

24 Pink Street

Okay, I think I've finally decided upon a name for my whirlwind of ideas: 24 Pink Street. It's my company name... The "parent name" (is that the correct term?) for all my ideas of things I'd like to do... calligraphy (specializing in addressing wedding invitations)....don't know what else right now.... oh yeah, the cafe of coffee and truffles that Sara and I will have someday...

I love Andrew.

Spots and Sinus Infections

This place is called Blogspot. My pages has spots on it. I think that's pretty nifty.

I have a sinus infection today... but that won't stop me from babysitting... well sometimes it would, but today for some reason, since everyone else on my little planet seems to be sick, too, it doesn't make much sense to go into hiding. We shall be sick together.

By the way...I like the colors in that last post. I like my design template now better than that grape leaves stuff.

If you can't tell... my sickness is affecting my head.

sniffle sniffle

Pretty in Pink

While googling "pink champagne" earlier today, I ran across a website/ blog entitled Slice of Pink. I loved it! I might not remember the content, but the layout and colors were delightful!!! Makes you want to sip on mint tea while perusing the website :). Just delightful. Why can't my blogs be PINK?????

www.sliceofpink.com/
sliceofpink.typepad.com/

Sleep Deprivation and Other Preparations for Future Parenthood...

Dear Sister and I are caring for the most loverly little bunch of toddler girls this week while their parents enjoy a week of Hawaii :). It's been seven months since I've seen the girls and they've grown an incredible amount! They're just as precious and as whiny as ever ;).... But older sister Adeline keeps them in line and serves as their comforter and a good big sister most of the time- which is quite nice for dear sister and I- she has proven to be our little helper! :)

Last night was the first night of uneasy sleeping...even in a very very very comfortable bed :). All four of the girls seemed to make their way to my bedroom in the middle of the night for one reason or another: "I have to go potty," "It's too dark in my bathroom," "Hopey says there is wet blood in her nose... and she has boogers..." And each little person always had one tagging along to help explain their situation :). My my my.... shall all the nights be like this?

Their sweetness makes it all worth it :).

Today we make sugar cookies with sprinkles... like I promised last night :).

I'm destined for doom...

Well, it looks like the Academy's rigorous and make-you-fail-or-quit PT might be even more rigorous and make-your-fail-or-quit than we thought! I've written up our daily 2-hour training schedule... basically 50 minutes of push-ups, sit-ups, squat-thrusts, crunches, and jumping jacks.... THEN- if that hasn't killed you yet... 30-45 minutes of pure running. And since My Love (who wishes to remain nameless in the world of the internet, aka the-world-of-who-knows-who's-reading-this) says that we are one, we are going to die *together* while training for the Academy's PT :).

I think I might actually lose that weight I've been trying- or thinking about trying- to drop for a while :). Mwaa haa haaaa.....

Difficult Blogging

I thought I'd have an easy time blogging... but I'm finding that it is quite difficult for me to actually sit down and talk about everyday life on the internet... amidst people I know nothing about...

So, this is a second attempt to actually create a post for this flimsy blog to stand on.

The most beautiful thing in the universe 

Getting Started

This is the beginning of my life as a blogger...