The Last Monday of January

Once again - it's Tuesday and I'm writing this but I'm going to post it on Monday - because I'm sneaky like that. My blog allows me to time travel and so that's pretty cool, right? I cannot believe the weekend is already over... I swear it just started!

 

It snowed again on Friday and so my drive home was interesting.. at least for me. The snow wasn't really sticking to the road and so it probably didn't phase anyone but me, but I felt a certain bit of anxiety cruising down the Interstate in the snow! No matter though - I made it home safe and sound to have enjoy Friday Night Pizza & a Movie with my favorite guy(s)... because I had to include my little Watson in there. Ryan humored me and snapped a picture with me - I still find snow mesmerizing after all these years, ha-ha!

 

It was absolutely frigid on Saturday - the wind was the culprit, whipping down the mountains and through the valley where the temperature was hovering at around 20! Not exactly the day for doing outdoor activities, so Ryan and I hopped in the car and headed for The Alamo to see Redeeming Love - and my goodness what a wonderful movie. The movie is based on the book of the same name by Francine Rivers - which is inspired by the story of Hosea & Gomer from the Bible. Such a beautiful picture of the love Christ has for us - no matter how many times we may turn away, He is always there to bring us back to His side, arms wide open.

I spent Saturday afternoon doing all sorts of things around the house (Ryan and I's house) - watched a little bit of TV and cooked some Cowboy Stew for dinner before Ryan headed to work an overnight shift. I like to make sure that he stays well fed - especially when he's working overnight shifts! It seemed like Saturday passed in absolutely a blink of an eye and before I knew it I was crawling into my cozy bed at my parent's house! 

Sunday morning Ryan and I went to first service because it started right after he got off work and I had nursery in 2nd service - so that worked out well for both of us. Ryan joined my Mom and I in the nursery to shadow since he's going to start staying in the nursery with me... and it was hilarious to watch him interact with the little people. He tried so hard to get one of the babies to play with him - she's a tough nut to crack though!

After a lunch of Panda Express, I started some laundry and took a little cat nap. Then it was time to address all the Save the Dates and send them on their way - thankfully I had assistance from my parents in the addressing and sealing - I'd have been there a while if not, ha-ha! We had chili and Rotel for dinner while watching the football games (I'll be cheering for the Bengals on Super Bowl Sunday) and the weekend came to a close much too quickly. I feel like I blinked and I missed it. *shrugs*

Friday Favorites

I thought I'd change things up again this year - I always did Five on Friday and I enjoyed that, but sometimes I didn't have five things to talk about... sometimes I had more than five things to talk about. And while I realize this is my blog and I make the rules - I like to follow them when I make one, ha-ha!

I know - I'm a nut. I'd like to think it's part of my charm... hopefully my fiancé agrees. *shrugs*

I definitely know that my favorites this week (a chunk of them) are all themed along one very specific thing - home items! The first thing that I am loving this week (for the last few weeks actually) is this adorable doormat I got at Wal-Mart - It's perfect for our front door and very true for us, ha-ha! 

It's true for me because I'm not wildly social... but I love my dog. It's true for Ryan because he loves dogs of all shapes and sizes... he also loves people too though, ha-ha! 

The other house thing I am loving is our new kitchen island! It is so awesome and really adds a little something special to our new kitchen/dining room! Ryan couldn't stop talking about having a kitchen island where he could store his dishes, spices and cooking tools and he absolutely loves having it in the center of the kitchen. It is on casters and so it can be wheeled around the kitchen as needed and then locked into place when in use - it's an Amazon find - of course!

Another fabulous favorite this week was a gift from my wonderful friend Meridith! She brought me a beautiful gray sweater with colorful hearts all over it - and y'all, it is perhaps the softest sweater I've ever had in my life! It feels amazing! She said it was a Valentine's gift and I can't wait to wear it and be so cozy! This was another Wal-Mart find and it was on sale for just $10 - can you believe it?

My final favorite is perhaps not what you think it is - I have a chunky knit cardigan laid across my lap in the picture below but I had two different people see the fabric and assume it was a blanket! Crack me up! It's from a Facebook Boutique shop called Laurie B's Boutique! It is so cozy and warm and since the stripes running through it range in colors - you can match it up with so many things!

And I must say - it does keep you toasty when you drape it across your lap while drinking your morning coffee. :)

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I'm glad the weekend is almost here! Ryan and I are planning to go see Redeeming Love on Saturday and I can't wait! Those are the only real concrete plans... besides working on Save the Dates with my Mom on Sunday afternoon! Y'all have a good weekend!

Watson Wednesday

Happy Wednesday everyone - this morning I have a whole bevy of pictures I like to call "Watson explores his new/second home in Virginia". He visited the house last weekend and made himself right at home very quickly!

  

 

As you can see - his new favorite spot is curled up on the living room couch, preferably beside someone so he can be snuggly. Granted; if he's being snuggly near you, you better not move around too much or he'll fuss at you!

It's the Last Week of January

Nothing quite like stating the obvious I suppose - right? I honestly say that because I can't believe it's the last (full) week of January. Normally it feels like January drags on for months but here we are with less than 10 days to go. I suppose closing on a house, moving into that house and trying to get that house set up on the weekends will make time pass pretty quickly? And work - my work days (especially right now) always feel like they speed by.

Watson was introduced to the new house last weekend and he seemed to adjust pretty well to his second home in Virginia. Ryan said he thoroughly enjoyed the heated seats in his car on the ride over... as well as taking in the snowy countryside; the new house is located in an area that's a little more rural than my parent's home. Watson also very quickly found his happy place near the (fake) fireplace in the master bedroom and spent most of the day sleeping there!

The sunset on Friday evening was absolutely stunning - driving to the new house on the interstate is certainly a different drive but being able to see the sun setting behind the mountains as I drive toward our house is a nice treat. Friday night I tried Hamburger Helper for the first time... and you might think I'm kidding but I promise I'm not! We just didn't eat Hamburger Helper growing up and so Ryan whipped up some for dinner and after we ate, we relaxed and watched a movie together. It was a great way to start the weekend - and Watson enjoyed his first taste of Hamburger Helper too!

 

 

Friday night and into Saturday morning were some of the coldest days on record - I believe - with the temperature Friday night and into the morning hovering around 1. That's right... it was a whole degree. Thankfully our heat works exceptionally well and so we didn't freeze to death, ha-ha! Watson thoroughly enjoyed exploring the front yard and the back yard and even other people's yards around the new house.... ha-ha! He even spotted the neighbors not one but two yellow cats (that I've nicknamed Butters) - although I think he'd do well to steer clear of them since they looks like they'd slap his face off. *grimace*

We spent a huge chunk of Saturday hanging up pictures and such all around the house... I ended up going to the nearby Dollar General (not super clean but seemed well organized) and also explored two antique stores that are less than a tenth of a mile from the new house! I also got sucked into watching the first season of Bridgerton yet again - I really do so enjoy that show and all the delightful British quirks and quandaries! Watson and I braved the cold for several walks and we were both able to walk on top of the snow like champs... because everything is pretty much frozen solid.

Church on Sunday morning was really excellent - the church's theme for 2022 is "Rooted" - and we have kicked off the year talking about how to best be rooted in Christ, in prayer and in community within your church family! Ryan and I also registered for the Marriage Conference that the church holds each year - they encourage all engaged couples to attend too - and so we are all signed up for that!

We went out for lunch after church and then perused Ollie's for a little bit before Ryan had to get home and get some sleep ahead of his night shift. I worked on some calendar things, budget things and did some reading before making spaghetti for dinner and making sure Ryan got a nice meal before he headed off to work for the night. Watson and I unboxed packages at my parent's house and then settled in for bed!

Monday morning when I woke up - the world was dusted with white again - apparently the potential snow predictions for overnight had come true and everything was covered in a light layer of frosting. I swept the sidewalk before heading out to work... and I cannot believe that there is less than a week left of January! Wow! 

Progression to Peace - Word of the Year

I'm quite behind y'all - I've been meaning to share this post since the start of the New Year and February is already looming large on the calendar! Certainly work has been wild to say the least and life has been quite a whirlwind itself over the last 12 months - my word of the year for 2021 was certainly spot on.

Perhaps I should back up - each year I pray and choose a word that I feel is meant to be a focus for the year ahead. Last year a word that continued to pop up over and over again in all my readings, research and more was the word "progression" - and so I finally decided about mid-January that "progression" was meant to be my word. 

The short and sweet definition of progression is: to move forward. I'd say that while at this time last year I wouldn't have believed it, my life has absolutely seen progression over the last year. I quite literally write this from the living room of my new home - and that is just one way my life experienced progression. The Lord always knows what He is doing and placing this word on my mind and my heart for 2021 was a promise of things to come for the year 

I met Ryan online in February (the day after Valentine's Day - funnily enough) and we met in person in March... we celebrated our first Easter together in April, he traveled to Mississippi and met my extended family in May and proposed to me in June! Ryan moved to Virginia in August and I said "Yes" to the dress for our wedding in late Autumn... we celebrated our first Thanksgiving and our first Christmas and purchased our first home the second week of January 2022. Quite the progression!

Progression is a funny thing because with the joy and happiness and forward motion has also come a bit more anxiety and of course, a new and precious person to worry about - and I'm well aware - worry and anxiety are not things to allow to trouble me. That's why for 2022 my word is Peace - a word I think will be quite necessary for the year ahead.

The Lord is the Prince of Peace and promises peace to all who keep their minds focused on Him - while I certainly feel like my life progressed in 2021, I also feel like my faith progressed as well. However, an area where my faith needs to grow is in being still in the peace of Christ. The peace in all areas of life and knowing that no matter what - the Prince of Peace has me in the palm of His hand; that He has those that I love in the palm of His hand. 

This year I hope to learn to calm my heart and mind - focus on faith and not on fear - choose to feel the peace that passes all understanding and bring that peace into my life in all areas. 

Did you choose a word for 2022? If so - feel free to share your word in the comments!

Watson Wednesday

 

I feel like you have to be getting some real quality sleep when your head is almost completely sideways on the floor... and yet you sleep on...

It's Me - Catching Up Once Again

Well - here I am again playing catch-up! That's just been the way of things these last few weeks and I'm hoping it slows down soon... but only time will tell. I had intended to blog on Friday but I'd intended a lot of things on Friday and they didn't quite play out that way... *sigh*

First and foremost - Ryan and I are homeowners! It's been quite the process; although I gather that perhaps things went a bit smoother for us than for some people! We started looking for homes in October and we first viewed our new home on Monday, December 3rd - and we were pretty much both in love! We made an offer and then the fun began! 

Friday was moving day - we had the water turned on at 9:30 and we were supposed to have a final walk through at 10 but Dominion Energy (I'm calling them out here) didn't cut the electricity on; on the 13th, like they'd promised. No one called us and so we ended up not having power until almost 3:30... we ended up doing a "soft close", getting all our furniture moved in and then - amazingly - the power was turned on! It only took about six phone calls on Ryan's part for that to be accomplished!

I suppose I should also mention that the temperature in the house hovered at around 45 degrees until the power was cut on - it was crazy! Regardless of the bumps in the road on Friday, everything got moved in and around 6 PM we went to grab some dinner, do a quick Wal-Mart run and then came home and absolutely crashed!

 

Saturday was filled with all the home things - our Realtor came by and did the walk-through that was originally scheduled for Friday - everything worked fine and so we were good to go! We hung curtains and put away dishes and unboxed everything all over the place. We made a second and third Wal-Mart run for groceries and a rug and some other items that we needed... setting up a home is an experience!

 

I feel like we got so much accomplished in the 48 hours - everything looks really good for the two days we've spent working at it and I can't wait to see how it changes as we add to it. I especially loved watching the sun rise over the mountains in the distance on Saturday morning... we can see mountains out of both our front and back bedrooms. I also love that our fridge is already covered with cards from our friends and family; it makes everything feel so much more loved.

We headed to church on Sunday and then went to my parents house for lunch and some football before Ryan headed to work - and the snow arrived. The forecast predicted the potential for up to 12 inches of snow and then they added ice into the mix... blegh. The snow started at about 12:30 PM and it snowed... and snowed... and snowed... until around 10:30 PM when ice was added into the mix - gross.

 

The snow had all but ended by Monday morning (thank heavens for a holiday) and everything was covered in a sheet of ice that was about 1-2 inches thick. It was wild - because once I'd break through the crust of ice, the snow underneath was fluffy and soft! There was no using the snow blower on it's own because first you had to break up the ice and then follow along behind it with the snow blower - so it was a tedious process - to say the least - one that my Dad did the majority of; although I did help break up some ice here & there.

I spent a small chunk of time on Monday afternoon busting my car out of it's icy prison - and as I'd break through the shell, pieces of ice bigger than my head would come off! Some of the pieces were so large they required two hands and as I'd toss them into the snow, they'd shatter into a million pieces like glass! 

 

The temperature on Monday never got above freezing and the wind was whipping at up to 40 MPH - so, suffice it to say, nothing thawed! The roads were slicked with ice and every step offered the possibility for a slip and slide - and this was a particular ride I wasn't interested in taking. The roads proved a bit too treacherous to head into the office today and so I ended up working from home for the second time since this New Year has begun - crazy!  

Watson is not quite the fan of snow like he once was - his motto these days is to get out, get his business done and get back indoors as quickly as possible. I snapped a picture of him shortly after the snow began on Sunday - but I don't have too much else to show for him and the snow, because he is not a fan! 

It's been a busy few days and I pray that life will settle into something more a routine in the next few weeks - but then again, perhaps as this year unfolds and I'm setting up a new home, planning a wedding and moving forward with all these life goals - the pace may not ever be the same again. I guess that's just how it goes sometimes!