New Things!

Well, there have been lots of new things that have happened in these last 4 months since my last post. Good and bad which is, well, good and bad! Hah. Anyways one of the very good things was that I finished school and took my BIG certification test. And PASSED! That was such a relief and it really stretched me. A pattern that I'd gotten used to in my life is that I tend to not always follow through with things like school, an art project, new opportunities etc. I've allowed my internal self doubt to sometimes sabotage accomplishments that I was fully capable of doing. I will say that this has been one of my biggest battles that I've struggled with throughout my life and a bad mindset that I've grown up with. But one of the many beautiful pluses of marriage is that you are forced to view life from a completely different pair of eyes. In this specific situation with taking my certification test, I was so thankful for my husbands black and white way of thinking. I kept telling him that there's no way I was going to pass it, that I'd be so embarrassed to fail, and that there's was no point for me to even take it. One day, after listening to many of self deprecating rates he grabbed me by my shoulders, looked me in my eyes and told me that I'm going to pass it, that I'm smarter than I give myself credit for, and that he was certain that I would pass. So after maybe a little bit more self doubt talk, I worked up the courage to schedule and take the exam. One week after the test (it was awful, 6 hours straight with not a single break and I just made the cut off time by 10 minutes) I logged on to my computer to find out the verdict, and wouldn't you know I saw a big "PASS" under my name. After almost jumping out of my cubicle at work and running up and down the halls at my office, I texted my hub and he replied with lots of "Yayayayay's" followed by an "I knew you would do it". I adore than man. He makes me a better person. And I believe I make him a better one too.

Moving on to a less positive note, there have been lots of extreme highs and lows at the company I've been working at. With many sleepless nights, prayer, and long talks with my husband, I came to the conclusion it was time for me to move on. There have been a handful of times in my life when I felt 100% at peace with something and new that it was the right thing to do. And I knew it was time to move on. So I put my 2 weeks in and my last day of work was May 18th. I feel liberated, I feel nervous, I feel excited, I feel at peace. It's time for something new and different, what ever God has planned for me, I'm looking forward to the new adventure.

There have been many other events that have occurred over the past 4 months, which I'm sure will come to mind, but those are the 2 biggies.
 : :  : :  : :
Today we celebrated my dads big 5-0! It was an eventful and fun day, as it always is with my family. We went on a scenic train ride through alongside the Kiski River. Here are a few pictures from today's events.

The sibs and I and crammed into the backseat of my parents van.

My dad and Kyle chattin' it up

The view from the train

My brother and sis-in-law

My Momma

Tomorrow we're all going to be together again for my little sister's big dance recital! I will be posting pictures of that for sure!

~S.

A Brand New Year

Normally when the new year comes around I look forward to seeing family and friends and celebrating but I don't think too much about the year to come. I'll have ideas that dance around in my head of resolutions and things to try but never this urgency of following through. So as we were getting ready to head out to my family's Saturday night for our traditional New Years bash, I started to notice the flips in my stomach I was getting and realized that it was excitement about the idea of a brand new beginning in time. A clean slate. The thrill of not knowing what is to come.

Going back a few days before this, I headed into a Panera with all the intentions of studying hard for the last of my courses, which I of course have been procrastinating on until the last minute. When I sat down I quickly realized that I wouldn't be getting much studying done with a group of teenage girls talking loudly next to me about their life woes. I opened my book and tried my hardest to focus on my reading but gave up when I kept reading the same sentence over and over again because I was too caught up in their conversation. I heard them say a couple very familiar names of teachers I once had and quickly gathered they were seniors from my old high school. It was so funny to me that 8 years ago I was that same teenager sitting in a Panera complaining about how unfair teachers could be, how fake girls were, and how cute I thought a certain boy was. I laughed to myself at the tone they had of knowing so much about life and how tough it was but in all reality life has barely just begun.

As I sat there smiling and listening to them talk about the future and wondering what college they were going to get accepted into, something about that ignited that excitement inside I'd felt so long ago about not knowing what the future holds.

It's not that I haven't been thrilled at all the big wonderful things that have happened in my life since then (i.e. getting a big girl job, becoming independent, dating, finding my husband, getting married, buying a house...) and what the future held with them but it often got clouded by adult realities. But I think it's important to keep that excitement alive that once fueled our young dreamy minds. There is no reason to ever stop feeling that way!

So, here are a few of my New Years Resolutions:

*Let go of insecurities
*Pursue deeper friendships
*Use my sowing machine
*Get more sleep
*Crochet
*Paint
*Finish our basement
*Organize house
*Make time for crafts
*Plant a garden
*Don't hesitate to act on ideas
*Allow myself to dream

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to a very creative, productive, crafty, restful, and dreamy Brand New Year!

~S.

Happy Halloween!

My day started out kind of rushed. I woke up at 6:40 which I normally am leaving my house at that point to get to work. I made it out quickly, got to work, and settled in. Work has had a pretty depressing vibe lately due to the combo of a crappy economy and the industry we're in, we've just gone through 3 rounds of layoffs. The third happened just this past Thursday. Everytime it has happened it gets more and more sad. I'm not too sure what lies ahead for my company but I am thankful to still have a job.

Moving on to a more positive note, our company has a Halloween contest which a good amount of people dress up and it makes for a fun day. Since we just had layoffs the other day, I assumed that the moral would still be pretty low and people wouldn't be feeling it. But, I was pleasantly suprised that people still got dressed up and made it fun.  It was even more nice to see that even through unhappy times in life people always press on and still can make good unfortunate situatons.

: :

We've been married for 2 1/2 years now and this was our first year home, passing out candy in our neighborhood on Halloween. Because I have such young siblings, we normally go with them trick-or-treating. But this year we decided we just wanted to experience a Halloween at home. I didn't grow up in an ideal area for trick-or-treating so we always had to drive to housing plans around the area. As much as I wanted to live in a neighborhood for the convenience on Halloween, I wanted to even more because I thought it looked like so much fun to be able to pass out candy. It looked so cozy to me when people would be bundled up with the hot drinks and cheerful smiles. So now that I have my own house in a neighborhood, I got myself all set buying lots of candy,setting up my chair in the front door, and flipping the front porch light on. The weather was pretty bad (it rained the whole time and was pretty cold) but there were still little troopers out there going from house to house collecting their treats. We got a good amount of kids and most of the candy is gone which was good for the weather we had. Everytime I would see the little ones I would get flips of excitement in my stomach thinking about how one day I will be out there with my umbrella trudging along in the cold with my kiddos. I can't wait for that day.

It's funny how I went from imagining one day having my own house and being able pass out candy to little ones. Now, that is my reality and I'm seeing the little ones come to my house and I'm imaging the day I'll be out there walking along with my own children. I suppose that how life goes. I like when the things I dream of become reality :-)

Alright that's all for now, I'm off to bed! I'm changing my alarm clock ring tonight to prevent any further sleeping in. (This isn't the first late start that's happened in the passed few weeks so hopefully this will do the trick. If not, I'm in trouble. I blame it the sun not rising early enough to wake me up.)

Happy Halloween!

~S.

Accountability!

Yes I'm posting twice in one day but this second one is gonna be short and sweet. I started doing the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and am on my 5th day today. I wanted to post this so that I will stay motivated and accountable. So far, although the soreness I experienced the first couple of days was brutal,  I am really excited about it and enjoying it. I feel like I'm in a really good mind frame for it and feel really motivated. So yeah, I just wanted to post this to keep me going! Here's to day 5, only 25 more to go!

~S.

Procrastinate Much?

It's been a while since my last post. I knew once I started this blogging thing I would go through times where there would be large gaps in between. I tend to do that with a lot of things. Whether it's starting a new art project, a new goal, beginning a new excerise routine, or whatever the case may be I wind up doing that. I never know if it's that's just me or just me being human? Either way, here's to a new post and hopefully more consistent ones!

Right now, I'm sitting in a Panera, with a cup of coffee and my school books sitting next to my laptop as though them sitting there is somehow getting my much needed school work done. As I keep finding different things to google or search or look up someone's status on Facebook to put off my work, it dawned on me that it would be a perfect time to write a new entry on my blog. I mean, obviously this takes precidence over my getting caught up on my work, duh!

It's 8:15am on this sunshiny Sunday morning, my husband is practicing right now at the Washington City Misson for the morning services our church holds there. As much as I try to convince myself that I'm a night person, the enjoyment I get out of being up early in the calm relaxing morning makes me think otherwise.


I've been to this Panera multiple times when Kyle is practicing at the WCM and every time I come, there's this group of men that are here, in the same spot, at the same time. Sometimes there wives come, sometimes other people join them, but there is always the same core group of 3-4 older men. They talk about life, their grandchildren, the news, politics, their farms, teaching, you name it. As much I try to not listen in, I can't help but get caught up in their conversations.

I have a confession to make. I am a hard core people watcher. I could totally sit on a bench in a mall and just people watch, probably for a long time. Not in a creepy way (I swear) but in a fascinated way. I thought I was alone until I was talking with a friend the other day and we both confessed to each other about our people watching-ness. We talked about how we think about who those people are, where they live, what they do for a living, are they married, are they single, the list goes on and on. Once we talked about the fact that we do that and think the same things, we knew we most likely weren't the only people that do this. And if you look at what the media is, it's certainly focused on people watching  but on a much grander and often twisted scale. And do I even need to mention Facebook?  We wondered why exactly do people do it. Is it just people being nosey? Or is it just that people are just really fascinated with each other's lives. I think it's a little mix of both. I also thinks it's just part of human nature. I don't think we ever stop watching, mimicking, competing with, learning from, inspiring each other from the time we are babies until the time we are old.

It's easy not to think that someone's paying attention to you or listening to what you stand for and how you live your life, but the fact is people are. Knowing this makes me want to evaluate exactly how I represent myself and how people view me, because it's important. I'm looking forward to challenging myself more in this and making a point be present to the fact that my life affects another. Each and every one of our lives do. I enjoy challenges like this because it makes me have to think outside of myself more, which is always a good thing. So whether it's holding the door for someone, smiling at the cashier on the next grocery trip, or being aware of your conversation when you're in public, make it count. Because it will matter to somebody.

Alright, I've procrastinated on my school work enough and my morning Panera fella's are headed off to church, tend to their farms, or grade some school papers. I'm looking forward to going to church and making sure to smile a few more smiles at and shake the hands of a few more people.

Happy Sunday!

P.S. Spreaking on procrastinating, I wrote this blog on 10-10 and am now posting on 10-30 :)


~S.

Keeping Focus

I am very thankful that today is Friday. This week has been one of those weeks that has seemed to last forever and I am very happy to be laying on my couch under blankets zoning out into my computer screen with just my thoughts.

This past weekend we went camping with my brother and sister-in-law and though it was a fun trip we didn't get the best nights sleep both nights. One of the many contributing factors to our sleep deprivation was a train that came screeching through every couple of hours and rumbled so loud it felt like my brain was rattling.This of course continued through the night. Needless to say the trains, a neighboring couples domestic dispute in the middle of the night, and a powerful thunderstorm pretty much left me in a zombie-like state for my entire work week.

While we were dashing to pack up our sopping wet gear after the thunderstorm had passedm, a man who was camping near us came over to ask us if we were okay and if we needed anything. After we'd chatted with him a bit about the storm and thanked him for checking on us he turned to walk away and threw in one last "Hey, it's these kinds of trips that make the best stories to tell later!" I liked his optimistic attitude. I'll stick with saying even though there were a few mishaps, for the most part, it was a good trip.

Aside from being a bit on the exhausted side this week I was also in a bit of a funk. I had about every little thing I could possibly think of on my mind and those thoughts seemed to be holding my mind captive for the majority of the time. I'll confess I am a worry wart. And I realize that I worry for others even more than anything especially ones I care about. Whether it's someone I know who is sick or going through a rough time, I can't stop thinking about it until I feel like it's better.

So today I was sitting at my desk feeling overwhelmed with all these thoughts that were bouncing around in my mind. I stopped and took a minute to pray for some clarity on what exactly was bothering me and what/who exactly did I need to be praying for. A little bit later I went on my Facebook page (which is a normal part of everyone's workdays now it seems) and my pastor had posted a status that said "We need to stop worrying about where others are on the journey, and make sure our steps are being guided by the Lord." He had a link attached to his blog explaining this more. Wow was it exactly what I needed to hear. There's nothing I can do to solve any problem and of course in the back of my mind I know that. But human nature comes in and we like to think we can fix problems on our own or at least feel like we have some sort of control over them. But the truth is God is in control and we can't sit around worrying about everthing and everyone else, we need to focus on our own journey and pray for the others. So, it was clear that yes I can continue to prayer for others but I also need to focus on praying for myself and keeping my attention on Him and His calling in My life.

Okay on a less heavy note, after work Kyle and I went to dinner and stopped by my favorite local coffee shop. And to make it cooler, it's Christian run and tonight they just so happened to have a live band playing worship music. It was a nice relaxing ending to a long week.

(Their frozen Hot Chocolates are so GOOD)

I'm off to another busy weekend celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday and helping my aunt move. Now it's time to catch up on some much needed sleep!

S.

Running

(Not my feet just a random running picture :0)

When I was a little girl I always loved to run. Whether it was running around chasing my brother or having races in our yard to see who was faster, I really enjoyed doing it. I felt confident when I would run and in my head I thought I was the fastest girl in the world. But, of course, the older I got I quickly realized I was not the fastest girl in the world (I know, I was suprised as well) and there were other kids who were faster than me.  Once little 9 year old me didn't see it as being as much of a fun actvity and more of a competitive one, I stopped enjoying it as much. But I've never lost my interest for it.

Looking back, I realize a big part of where my interest for running came from was watching my father. All throughout my childhood he would always go for runs around our neighborhood and seemed to really enjoy doing it. He enjoyed it so much that one day he just decided he was going to run the Pittsburgh marathon. Without training or any sort of preparation he did it, all 26 miles of it. Needless to say I was pretty impressed.

Now that I am in my 20's and I am far beyond caring if little Suzie is faster than me in a gym class relay race, I've come back to the enjoyment running is to me. I love the fact that it's something that I am fully capable of doing it on my own, being my own coach, challenging myself mentally and physically. One of my goals has been to finish some sort of race whether it be a 5k or a marathon (definitely starting out with a 5k unlike my dad who went straight for the 26 mile marathon). I want to know the feeling of accomplishing a race and knowing that it was all me that did it.

(One day I want to get a pair of these running shoes)

So last week I began my first of 9 weeks of training to prepare myself for a 5k and I just finished my second week of training this evening (woohoo!).  It's never too late to start something we enjoy doing. There is a reason those things are important to us. It's time to lace up those running shoes and get your legs going!

I'm off to camping with my brother and sister-in-law tomorrow. Posts on our weekend adventures to come!

Have a fun and safe weekend!

S.

**I do not recommend doing a marathon without training like my story of my dad, although he finished it he was sick as a dog when it was over. Just a warning :)**