Ugh.

Alright, postive (thankful) spin on this morning's events:

#30: I'm thankful I'm competitive.

We're doing biggest loser at work, so everyone's really obsessed with weight and what they're eating. Overall, I am a firm believer that this is not healthy behavior, so I try not to engage in it as much as possible. That doesn't mean I'm not concerned, and I do appreciate the support. However, I've changed many of my eating habits and I've been exercising regularly on the Wii Fit. Anyway...I'm thankful that my competitive nature has been the motivating factor in me finally taking the steps to become healthier.

I am not thankful that I am affected this much when I don't do as well as I would have liked. Weight count: lost 6 pounds in 25 days. Not terrible. Not where I'd like to be.

I worked out like crazy last night, worked on a little project, and then enjoyed some rest before bed, watching Ace of Cakes. I love that show. I wish I could find a picture of what I'm looking for, but they had a cake on last night that they called the "monster cake" because it was so tall. Easily 8 layers, probably more. It was gorgeous! No, I don't want a cake that's 8 layers, but I do love what they did with it, and may use the idea for our wedding cake. No hints, you'll just have to show up to the wedding. :)

That's all. Have a goodie.

I Had A Thought

I know, they're rare :)

At the beginning of the year, Ali challenged her blog readers to come up with a word for the year. A word they want to focus on for the net year, incoporate into their life, strive to acheive, etc. I LOVE this idea, and although I'm a little behind the times, I'm going to go ahead and pick one:

THANKFUL

Sometimes I have issues seeing the blessings in my life for all the bumps in the road. But it's been hitting me more and more the last few weeks how lucky I am, and I want to be aware of that every day and focus on everything that makes my life so awesome.

So here's my thought: each day on my blog, I'm going to post what I'm thankful for that day. Now, I know myself, and it may not be every day, but before December 31, 2009, I will have listed 365 things I'm thankful for. Plus - wouldn't that be a great mini album?? I can insert pictures/stories where I have them, list the rest, and forever have an album of all the great things in my life!

So, I'm 29 days behind, which means you get a list of 29 before I start with my one-a-day.

1. Above all else, my faith in God. Enough said.

2. Mike. I'm sure Mike will show up on my list, time and time again, in different ways. There are so many things about him that I am thankful for, but what immediately came to mind to encompass it all was that he loves me. In his love, I get his friendship, his laughter, his sweetness and caring, his goofiness, his honeriness (is that a word??), and I get unconditional acceptance of all the crazy/goofy/ridiculous things I do in my life.

3. Our home. I'm sure many people know that I've moved around a lot since I left for college in 2000. In the last 9 years, I've moved 18 times. I am so exceptionally thankful to be in a place that is HOME and where I will not have to pack/move/unpack again forever!

4. Molly. I love that pooch. She brings so much laughter into our lives (along with many frustrations). It's impossible to be mad at her for long though, with the flat little face and the curly tail...even when she did somehow manange to get on the kitchen counter.

5. My friends. I really do have an amazing bunch of friends, some closer than others, but all very supportive of me and the things I do. And very tolerant of my goofiness :)

6. My family. I love them. Can't get enough. (For the most part!)

7. Memories. Without them, I'd be without my mommy.

8. New challenges. Last year, at the this time, I had NO IDEA I would be where I am today. Mike and I hadn't even started dating yet (our "anniversary" is Monday), so how the heck would I know that I'd be a (future) farmer's wife, doing chores with calves, chasing my puppy around the farm, driving 130+ miles to work round-trip each day, and so on. I also didn't know I would be a part of an amazing new family, make many new friends, and so on. Each day is a challenge, in a very good way.

9. My stamping/scrapbooking obsession. My grandma (dad's mom) is very crafty. My great grandma (mom's grandma) was an amazing painter. Mom was very crafty. I also wanted to be and never found anything I was really good at. Until now. I love stamping and scrapbooking - it's an amazing creative outlet, it makes me feel closer to my mom and grandmas (even though they didn't scrapbook or stamp), it helps me de-stress, and I think I'm okay at it :)

10. Cupcakes. Yup, I love 'em. And all things cupcake.

11. My nephew Michael John. That kid is awesome. He's smart, always happy, adorable. He has been such a good person to have around in the hard times - it doesn't matter how upset we all are, we look at him and feel this sense of calm and hope and happiness.

12. Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer.

13. The Internet. I know that sounds superficial, but it's really not - it has kept me in touch with so many friends, allowed me to meet so many people I wouldn't normally, it inspires me, connects me, educates me, amuses me. Love it.

14. Laughter. I love laughing. I love making people laugh.

15. Being in love. It's such an awesome feeling :)

16. The smell of hay after a long day. I had no idea that I one day would equate that smell with home

17. TV shows that I love. I know it's not very deep or meaningful, but watching something as simple as a reality show or Grey's Anatomy takes a lot of stresses away.

18. Naps. LOVE naps.

19. My education. I've been very lucky to learn so many things in so many different capacities. There are many times I miss being in college at ISU and knowing my focus was on learning. I think that's why I try to take in so much now on things I love.

20. The traveling I've been able to do. I was just talking with Mike last night about some of the things we've done and I realized how very fortunate I have been to see our country.

21. My love of reading. Thank you Book-It program!!

22. Radio. It gets me through the day at work. Love songs that evoke memories, make me giggle, make me chair dance, whatever!

23. Bright colors and awesome textures. Great inspiration!

24. School/office supplies. There's something so exciting about a new pen or post-it notes (I sound like Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail). I've always loved office supplies though.

25. Fall weather. I maintain that one of the happiest days in my life (of just being, not because of anything else that was happening that day) was when we first moved into the house, I took Molly down in the yard and watched her run while enjoying the awesome weather and watching the sunset.

26. Common sense. A comment in my work email just made me very thankful that I was blessed with common sense.

27. The color pink. It makes me happy. :)

28. My camera. Ties back into the memories thing. But I love taking pictures and sharing them with people.

29. Being done with this list? Just kidding. Sarcasm? Yeah, let's go with sarcasm. It's a great release for me, and I generally get some giggles.

That's really difficult to do. I will not be letting the list get this behind again!!

A New Blog to Stalk

Those of you who are aware of my creative obsessiveness know that I stalk several blogs daily. These are women who inspire me with their creativity, and more often than not, leave me in awe of their amazing talents. On my most recent blog stalk, the very talented Ali Edwards recommended the blog of a jewelry designer Andrea Scher (Superhero Designs). So, I ventured over to her blog and found these lovely words:

It's true that I have been thinking about this a lot as I watch Obama tirelessly give speeches, attend parties, and grin for the camera. Just looking at the magazine rack these days will make your head spin, seeing his face on so many covers. That man must be so tired! But someone told me once that we are every character in our dreams... and I see that it holds true in this case as well. Some part of me was whispering, "Let go... It's okay to preserve your energy. People will still love you."
I offer this up because I suspect that there more of you out there. We give sometimes because we are afraid... afraid people will not like us if we don't, that we won't be generous if we don't, that we will be forgotten. Sometimes we don't have it in us, but we are afraid to let go, to trust that just being who and how we actually are is enough. This little dream for me was a gentle whisper and call to authenticity... an invitation to relax in knowing that I am loved and held unconditionally, that I can put down the striving, at least for a moment.

Can I have these printed on a tshirt?? First, how awesome to see someone who is obviously so talented and therefore busy as can be write these words. I have this issue more often than I care to admit, generally finding myself completely stretched thin on most days. I try to remind myself that doing it all means all my commitments won't get ALL of me, but that little voice in my head is often overshadowed by my desire to please everyone. Yes, I have lofty ambitions, but I am not a superhero. I do not have extra hours in the day to draw upon for all the things I commit myself to doing.

Does that mean I can stop, just like that? No, probably not. I don't want to let down the people I've already made commitments to. But, I will think before I agree to something again, and I will try to be careful volunteering my time (that I don't really have!) Our wedding, our home, our families, and our time together are so important and I need to realize that they are top priorities!

Speaking of family, my little Monster was spayed on Monday. She made it through everything just fine (even had a couple of teeth pulled) and is back to her wild little self! We can tell she's tired, but she's a trooper around everyone else, running and jumping and playing like normal. While she was gone, Mike and I were worried sick, and I realized a little how scary it is going to be to be a parent. I guess we'll keep preparing and cross that bridge when we come to it.

I haven't stamped in many many weeks. My room is a complete disaster and I generally cry just walking in to it. I know organizing things will take time, and we don't have much of it, but it's exceptionally frustrating not to be able to do what I love without having to crawl through piles of stuff.

In wedding news: we have a lead on a caterer, and I've figured out what I'm doing for pew decorations, so I've been busily making them. Tedious, repetitive, (seemingly) never-ending...but I love the result!!

Have a fantastic day!!

Sick :(

Well, I've managed to change the look of my blog, sorta. That's about it. I was blessed with a cold this weekend (sarcasm) that won't go away, it seems. That's all I've managed to do, in fact.

Here's hoping this thing clears up soon!

Happy New Year!!

A post on goals (we'll call them goals rather than resolutions)

1. Lose weight!! Hello. Who doesn't have that goal? But, with the wedding, and impending family plans after the wedding, I'd like to be more in shape and happier with the way I look. We're doing Biggest Loser here at work, so that will be my immediate motivation. And I got the Wii Fit, so I'm super excited to start using that as well :)

2. Organize my space. I am so fortunate to have this space for crafting/stamping/scrapbooking. I absolutely MUST get it in order, ASAP and use it to it's full potential. End of story.

3. Relax!! I'm always stressed. ALWAYS. There IS NOT that much in life to be stressed about, I'm sure of it. I'm so fortunate to live the life I do, I'm going to calm down this year and be thankful. And enjoy.

I think those three are the key. I have some small goals about my creating that have been and will always be there, and I'll keep working on them.

Good luck with your goals as you set them!!