Found this blog and realized I took horrible self portraits. Like really bad. So this challenge and information on her blog made me hopeful to take better ones in the future.
Even though these are not bad, I still think there is definitely room for improvement.
Have you looked into making your arm length self portraits any better?
I challenge you to try and let me know!
Here is my jail face: pretty scary. Yeah. You don’t want to mess with me. 🙂
So DO IT! 🙂
This must have been the most lazy relaxing weekend in all of Summer 2011. This morning I didn’t hear anything from Emma and began to feel nervous, only to see her and T playing outside together. Well, her dictating what she wanted him to draw.
So, like any other normal mom, I stealthily grabbed the camera and snapped a couple pictures capturing this special daddy/daughter moment.
And today, we decided to have a family outing to the zoo. Hot. Tiring. Crowded. Wonderful. Special moments and memories for us all.
I hope and pray you, reader, have a restful and focused week.
*Thanks for reading *
Haven’t done this in a while but need to for the upcoming 2 weeks. This took forever too! I think I’m out of practice.
Let me know if you do any of these with me and how they turn out! I’d love to hear from you 🙂
Here’s just a fun picture to make this less of a boring post.
Sunday: Dinner with friends- Enchiladas (which I’ve been craving for like FOREVER)
Tuesday: Chicken Alfredo, cucumber/tomato salad
Wednesday: Stuffed Bell Peppers. With Rice, Black beans, Salsa, Shredded Chicken
Thursday: Grilled Tuna Sandwiches, Rainbow Carrots
Friday: Birthday night dinner!
Saturday: Chicken Fajita night, rice, colored bell peppers, tortillas.
Sunday: Breaded Pork Chops with marinated apples/roasted carrots/potatoes (dreaming of Autumn)
Monday: Chicken Enchiladas
Tuesday: Left over night
Wednesday: Baked Chicken/ Caesar Salad/ Quartered Potatoes
****** Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!
***we are in the middle of changing her room, new pictures to come!***
Here is another piece of our house-Emma’s room. It was the first room I put together moving here, in fact I was maybe more excited about her having her own room than she was! lol
And just to pre-warn you, I took a whole lot of pictures. So get your coffee cup and get in a comfy spot. 🙂
Emma needed her scarf on. Who care that it is hot (90′) – fashion comes first. hehe
And also ignore my tea cup on her pink table. Totally forgot I left it there. Oh well.
This is where we sit and do her pre-school work. She knows the letters of her name and the sign language letters E-M-M-A. Pretty proud of her. Her solar system is going to hang just to the right of this. It’s going to look pretty cool 🙂 I’m super excited!
Above the chalkboard is her ‘Memory shelf’. Basically, things she is not allowed to play with so she can have it when she’s older.
The princess lunch box goes with us to the Zoo. But the cowboy hat was Travis’ when he was a boy, the picture frame she painted and decorated holds a picture of Aunt J and her fluffy teddy bear is from her great Oma and Opa. And her hand/footprint I did when she was teeny. *sigh…now her shoe size is a size 7! Growing girl…
Next is her dresser. Pretty basic, but the lower drawers are toys, puzzles and other odds and ends she likes to play with.
The horse was made just for Emma! You can see her initials on this leg on the back. 🙂 And sometimes Emma likes to nap in the inflatable tent thing. 🙂
Her bed. And a most favorite item: her quilt/blanket made by my Granmom.
Her dress up area:
And her treasures in her treasure chest….which I want to make cooler. Fall/Winter project I think.
Princess dresses, wands, jewelry, tutu’s and pretend hair kits. Everything a little girl could want. 🙂
Lastly is her favorite area. Her Book hideout.
This is where she naps everyday. She LOVES it in here. She sometimes shuts herself in and plays with her flashlight. And we like to snuggle in the pillows and read books together. I like to show off her artwork so she can feel proud of what she accomplishes. Plus the art on the fridge.
Right now she is playing on our balcony with water. I absolutely LOVE hearing her play by herself!
So there you have it- Emma’s room. 🙂
Yes, I am making one and am SO SUPER excited!!! I got the idea from this:
Pretty cool huh. Awesome if I had a son, but I don’t. Instead I have a daughter that just so happens to love solar systems and stars. 🙂
I was given a pink bike wheel (THANK YOU CHARIS!) and will have the sun and planets hanging in their proper places in no time.
It will be FAB-U-LOUS. I actually considered having the planets be the colors of the rainbow. No promises 😉
Can’t wait to show you the picts as it is being created. 🙂
Home tour number two. Our Entry Way. It is very wide and open and we really like it. So without further stalling: Here is our entry way.
The crosses are a collection we’re slowly working on. The shoe organizer is from where else: IKEA.
I would love to hide the electric panel. Any ideas for how we could do that?
Travis likes clocks. And when we moved in here Trav was instantly talking about a place to put a clock. It made me smile.
I made the ‘M’s and the fake plant and pot is of course IKEA. Have I mentioned we love that store?
This was a gift from a friend in Arizona. It is made out of a cactus. It is so light- it’s a favorite of mine.
Again, my ‘M’s. *sigh, I really like them. Travis isn’t so fond of the pink but hey, technically he IS out numbered 2 to 1.
And lastly our poster which we got at church some years ago. And yes, it will be going to Krakow with us. 🙂
This week we are focusing on the letter ‘M‘. She already has the ‘E’ to her name and now she thinks it’s pretty cool she has not one but TWO ‘M‘s in her name. Thank goodness we didn’t name her ‘Franchesca’ or ‘Anastasia’. 🙂
We ended the day making Muffins. I allowed her to stir in most everything, she was pretty proud of herself. And so was I for letting go of any control that crept up. 🙂
The muffins are made with soy milk, whole wheat flour and flax seed. Along with Cranberries and Blueberries.
Muffins taste better made by a girl in a tutu. Ask Travis. 🙂
This is her finished result. She was SO proud of herself too- it made my heart melt. ]
I filled in the muffin tin while she wasn’t watching.
They turned out great. Good job Emma!!!
Everyone has their favorite condiments. When we visit Europe I am always amazed they put ketchup on practically everything.
In Seattle, best US city ever, tarter sauce is put with french fries. And while I was in England I was surprised to see so much vinegar bottles on the tables in restaurants.
OK, let me tell you the story that started me thinking about something as random as condiments:
Our family was enjoying our last meal with our Polish friends and it was my turn to order. I ordered a steak well done. No pink. It’s how I like it. And I think I’ve mentioned before how much I like the burned taste. Yes, I know that’s weird.
Later, I told Trav I wish I had ordered what he had and he leaned over and told me, “That’s becaues you order things so well done that you HAVE to put A1 sauce with it. The meat has no flavor!”
I quickly told him he was wrong but internally I realized that I would NEVER eaat a steak without A1. Yuck. It would taste like…meat.
“Huh” I thought. Maybe I eat steak only to taste A1. And that got me thinking….
what other meals do I order only to taste their condiments?
I was shocked to see it was enough for a list. It is as follows:
1. Steak : or meat of any kind with A1. Especially with meatloaf and grilled cheese.
2. Fish : must be accompanied by tarter sauce. Like actually good sauce not the mayo disgusting kind. Unless it’s salmon.
3. Spaghetti with red sauce is a favorite of mine and I’ll eat in any form. However, adding parmesan makes it ‘wow oh my goodness’. Even the cheapo stuff is OK with me. Heck, cheese in any form is OK with me.
4. Kielbasa or hotdogs: give me the sauerkraut!!!! Whether it be the authentic kind (which is awesome) or the cheap cold kind from the jar. Love, love, love sauerkraut.
5. Brownies: If I am forced to eat a brownie (which I generally don’t like-it’s chocolate remember) I need ice cream. Something to soften the super chocolate flavor.
6. Cheesecake: I know tons of people love this plain. But I would rather eat plain sauerkraut over plain cheesecake. I need the cake to be drenched in some kind of fruity sauce. Preferably in a bowl and I just eat it with a soon.
**if you actually read all of the above I am impressed. 🙂
Can you think of some meals that you HAVE to have a condiment with?
This is my first home tour. And I’m a little nervous, hope I didn’t take too many pictures….but I guess that’s a good problem. Better too many pictures than not enough.
The main point of the house tour is for you, family and friends who don’t live by us to have an idea of our place. Room by room 🙂
So, without further stalling: Here is our Dining Room.
After taking these I noticed my coffee press and wished I had taken it out. Oh well. Can you see how much we love IKEA? 🙂 The black thing, shelves, my aloe plant and pot, the white table and chairs/cushion: ALL IKEA.
The maps are special to us. The top and largest one is a map of Krakow, Poland. Our final destination. The left lower map is of the world and the right is of Croatia. Where we honeymooned and dream of spending anniversaries. *aawww.
The pictures on the shelf are ones we picked up in Paris a couple years ago. And the nick nacks from other travels we’ve taken and want to remember.
This is our Polish Pottery. We are so happy to be able to display it. (and use it too) The beautiful boxes are carved and painted in the town Travis lived in. Zakopane, Poland. I love our globe. It can glow. Reminds me of While You Were Sleeping. 🙂
The picture is from Paris. Such a great trip full of awesome memories.
Wooden bowl: $1 at garage sale
*thanks Weronika! Great memories searching through many garage sales.
My dad gave me the red glass bowl years ago. It’s a decorative piece that fits perfect in the bowl and I think it’ll look great in the winter time when the colors outside have faded.
This is what’s on my windowsill. The acorn is a favorite of mine that my mom gave me. (*thanks mom!) and of course plastic plant and pot from IKEA.
Now on to the next wall: the map wall. Which I love.
We store our movies and wine/glasses at an easily accessible place. Sounds weird, cause we don’t really drink red wine. It’s more for looks. I use the wine glasses for my orange and grape juice. 🙂
Love this picture. We wanted picts of us around our home. It’s important to us- yet most of them are this size…that needs to change soon. The cup is also a favorite of mine. I just like to look at it. Using it whenever.
the aloe plant is one of the only real plants in my home. Real plants are becoming more familiar at our home. But small ones…and a large palm in our bedroom.
If you look closely at the map you’ll see PULA on the left hand side of the peninsula. That’s where we honeymooned. Loved it. Will be back. The mugs however are from the Saturday market in downtown Portland. They will be traveling with us wherever we go in the future. The tall red one also is used for holding flowers.
This is a wall that you’ll see as you’re walking to the dining room. All of these are special for many reasons. One’s I’m not sure you’ll be interested in reading. But it changes as the season and holidays do.
That’s it. Wanna come over and have coffee/tea with me? 🙂
I’ve grown up my entire life hearing people tell me that ‘hope does not disappoint’. But there were plenty of times in my life where hope did feel like it disappoint me. Big time. Yes, I know that quote is from the Bible but does that mean I should blindly follow it yet also harbor some resentment at not seeing the things I hoped for happen?!
Well, fast forward to the last couple years. Ever since Emma we’ve been trying to have another baby. What we thought would be an easy accomplishment has turned out to be a grueling emotional journey…that is still not over.
I have a friend who was in the same place with me and I was shocked to see her hoping every month that they would be pregnant. The amazing thing I observed was that even though she had disappointment after disappointment she never stopped hoping. That seemed like such an emotional roller coaster to me. But as our friendship grew and I saw her process her sadness, I came to a revelation about myself.
I was so cynical and apathetic to the whole process of becoming pregnant. I was protecting my emotions SO much because I was afraid to feel sad…or hurt. But those are ‘big girl’ feelings and as God grows me up I felt challenged to make a choice:
1. Will I stay in my ‘whatever’ mindset and guard my emotions towards being pregnant. Also on the road to bitterness.
2. Will I chose to hope and risk feeling sad, hurt and even isolated? (EVERYONE around me is getting pregnant- yahoo)
I chose the later. Not because I like hard choices- mostly because I knew what was right. And at first it was such a concious choice to keep my walls down. I had to feel my sadness as the months rolled by, but then I also had to show my sadness to the people around me. That was a challenge. And one I’m still on.
But all this is to first give you a foundation to where I’m going here…and that is to say that even though we’re still not pregnant, I feel sadness, hurt and yes isolation every month…and lots of questions/fear are constantly fought I feel it has also been quite a fruitful journey.
I have learned that basically- hope really doesn’t disappoint. I always thought that phrase meant that we would receive whatever we were hoping for. Wrong. I have since learned that we will ALWAYS receive something for hoping.
It could be we decide to accept bitterness and anger….but for me it has been so enlightening. Basically- being super sad is OK. It will not kill me. I’ve had to learn what it’s like to process these feelings and more importantly how to then transition into hoping again. Not being stuck in sadness or depression. Being hurt is OK, it’s part of growing up. And I now know how to not be stuck and keep on moving towards where God wants me. Most of the time. 🙂
So even though I am monthly hoping for a baby, I know that I am receiving the gift of endurance, perseverance and patience.
(and between you and me I hope I learn them fully- these are tough exhausting lessons 😉 )
So I still choose ‘Hope‘. And am a little wiser and healthier for it too- thanks to God.
For you and me:
Romans 5:5
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 8:25
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.