Category Archives: Life in general

And there it is…

Posted on May 1, 2013 | 3 comments

I anticipated this, as well I should have, the anxiety that comes with change. It’s normal and it’s natural but boy does it suck. I would love to be a cool cucumber and not worry and I thought I was going a pretty good job but my sore jaw (from clenching my teeth in my sleep) would be a good indicator that I have a mite bit of anxiety. It’s funny, I trust that God is in control, I trust that we are following sound advice and I trust that we are making the right decisions and yet I can still hear the little voices that tell me otherwise.

Dear voices (i.e., that pesky devil): Please shut your pie hole. Muchas gracias. You are not welcome here, now or ever. Sincerely, Me

The first time you go through a house you love, the only things you see are the things that you love… the second time, when you go through with someone who you are asking to pick it apart and uncover any issues, well, you see the issues – even if they are comparably insignificant and very overshadowed by the good. I don’t know about you, but the issues, those are the things that cause me grief. But when I bought our current house, the realtor told me (extreme paraphrasing here, I’m sure): in every good home sale, both parties feel a sense of anxiety that they are the ones losing out, the ones drawing the short straw, when in reality, both are both winning, you’re just both compromising to reach an final decision. What is it about compromise that makes us feel like we are losing? Also, there is the small detail of the unknown of our house selling, stranger things have happened; despite the unlikelihood of it NOT selling, it’s still a variable in this all.

So, today, I need the reminder: anxiety does nothing for me. Trusting that God is in control, no matter what the outcome, that will give me peace. In the meantime, I’ll be taking an Aleve for my jaw and any prayers and happy thoughts you’d like to send my way.

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Posted in House, Life in general

Eight is Great

Posted on April 30, 2013 | 7 comments

Happy anniversary, Simon, in lieu of a gift, I got you a blog post (oh, and we bought a house, so I think we’re good – that’s the traditional gift for the eighth anniversary, right?).

In the interest of full disclosure, I think we can honestly say that the 7th year wasn’t the favorite of our married years. As naturally happens, it came with a lot of growing pains and stress fractures, but I think we are better for it because you know what happens when a bone breaks? It knits itself back together stronger than ever and that’s what we are… back on track after navigating some bumpy roads. Like Ben Affleck said in an acceptance speech, marriage is work but it is the best kind of work (yes, I just quoted Ben Affleck in my anniversary gift to you… free to mention Kate Beckinsale to me later, I won’t even roll my eyes). But even in a season of stress, some of my happiest times were with you which is everything.

You are my best match, my strongest supporter and my biggest champion. I know you often think better of me than I do of myself, which makes me a lucky girl. We could always be more for each other, but that can always be said and as it is, we are more than enough… we’re still learning and growing and improving.
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You frustrate me like no other person but I love you more than anyone else so that more than makes up for it. I pray for you daily and I know the coming months of change will be a challenge for you who likes order above all things. You can do it… but remind me to show you a little grace (again, I won’t even roll my eyes at you).

Thanks for gamely putting up with my propensity for taking self-portraits and going along with last-minute changes when every fiber of your being fights against change. I know I don’t always make things easy but together we make things better. I love our life and our boys; I love you.
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7 Comments

Posted in Life in general

Cha- cha- changes…

Posted on April 29, 2013 | 14 comments

Well, things are in the works, many, many things… as predicted/anticipated, 2013 is the year of change. Our house officially goes on the market Thursday and today the realtors came, staged the house and took photos (which I am super excited to see because the house as never looked so clean and neat, like really ever) and we have our first showing tonight. Last Wednesday Simon and I went house hunting for the first time and found our ~~dream~~ house, which we made an offer on, an offer that was subsequently accepted that afternoon. We are not time-wasters or huge comparison shoppers, we know what we like/want and when we see it, we have no problem committing to it. I call us efficient; this way of life doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for us.

Since we made the deal I have not looked up any other houses online and I removed all the handy home search apps from my phone; barring any huge surprises, we have found our home that is seemingly perfect for us for where we are in life and what we hope for our family moving forward. I do believe you know when you find your place, you know it is where you can envision your family and when you find it, you don’t ignore it (especially in our current housing market where homes are literally on the market for hours before they are unavailable). And the fact that Simon and I were able to agree on a home, that is in itself a miracle and answer to prayer; we are both what you might call stubborn and opinionated, which is great when we agree but not so great when we are opposed.

Our realtor felt strongly that our finding a home to move into was going to be more difficult than selling our house, which is why we opted to move forward with purchasing prior to selling our current home. I am keeping my fingers crossed and saying many a prayer that this is indeed the case and that we will get a quick offer. I’m trusting that God led us this direction because it is the least stress-free, but I also know that things aren’t always neatly wrapped up. So if you think of it… send some happy thoughts and prayers our way for a quick sale, preferably at asking price, because that would be a nice bonus.

So, we have the house thing underway which is a bit of a big deal and will in all likelihood mean that Liam will be changing schools come this fall – we could leave him at his current elementary school but when he found out he could ride the bus to his new school, he quickly said that was where he wanted to go because he “would just make new friends on the bus.” Love my buddy and his go-with-the-flow attitude. He also wanted to be sure he could still have play dates with his BFFs from his current class. Sure thing.

My business partner also left a package on my desk this weekend letting me know I had a new job title: President. So there’s that.

I look back at that list from just three months ago marvel at the answered prayers. Simon hasn’t yet moved to first shift (there is still hope and I am still hopeful) but the rest, taken care of. God is good. Life is good. Other questions arise and other things come up that need to be prayed over or dealt with, but there is no doubt about it, change… it’s a coming. Lately I’ve been really feeling like a grown up. Funny how that happens. Most days I feel like I’m just pretending. Anyone else with me on that one?

And in case you were wondering, here’s a pic of our new house… hopefully I’m not jinxing anything by sharing it!

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Posted in Gratitude, House, Life in general

Bad photos of food – stuff we ate in Texas

Posted on April 19, 2013 | 2 comments

I commented to a couple people that it was sad how forward I was looking to our trip for the food we would be having. Don’t get me wrong, I would go to someplace were very boring food just so I could see my family, but the fact that they live someplace with my favorite foods, well, that’s a double bonus. Add to that, the fact that I had been doing the blogging weight loss competition since the beginning of the year, let’s just say it was time for some yummy food and vacation is not a time for dieting (though we did a very good job exercising the first week – the second week, not so very much – bygones). So bring it on – we were going to enjoy ourselves.

Keep in mind, food blogger I am not and most of the time were so happy to be eating it would be mid-meal before I thought to take a picture so many of these things you will just have to imagine and trust that they were indeed delicious. (I apologize in advance to Heidi for this show of gluttony in one of her most favorite places in the world – I love you, friend, but it must be done).

Our first night in Corpus called for a visit to Silverados, hands down my very favorite BBQ place EVER (of course, I haven’t been to very many, but this place is so good, we went twice in the five days we were there). I had brisket, chopped BBQ and smoked sausage with mashed potatoes and corn fritters. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Liam ate a quarter-pound of smoked turkey and put away two cornbread muffins. Jack ate Lays potato chips and apple sauce.

Our second trip to Silverados I had chopped BBQ and pork ribs and thought I would be virtuous and get a side salad with my mashed potatoes (only because corn fritters weren’t in the menu that night). Wouldn’t you know the only thing I didn’t eat was my salad. Sorry salad.

Not pictured from Corpus:

Hot tortillas, fresh made by an adorable little Asian lady at the HEB
Lunch at Jason’s Deli – wish we had one up here in Michigan (I ordered the same thing I got two years ago: 1/4 Muffaletta and cup of french onion soup)
Dinner and Snoopy’s (fish tacos and homemade hushpuppies)
Breakfast at Andy’s Country Kitchen (hot blueberry muffins and eggs Benedict; so good my parents went there again less than a week later the morning they left Corpus for Houston)

Then we were off to Houston to stay with my brother and his family the rest of the trip, stopping at the infamous Buc-ees on our way for snacks and Buc-ee Nuggets.

Dinner that night was a shrimp boil – and I peeled and de-legged all my own shrimp all by myself (I can’t think about it too much, but I can do it). The boys, of course, had chicken nuggets.

I’m realizing that the bulk of what we ate in Houston was not captured on film, but it is worth mentioning two places that we went on Saturday night with Marty and Lynn: Leon’s Lounge and Onion Creek. If ever you are in Houston, check them out.

Leon’s Lounge is “Houston’s Oldest Bar” and has every ounce of character you’d imagine that comes with. Plus they make killer cocktails. I enjoyed the fanciest Bloody Mary I’ve ever had, garnished with (among other things) a slice of sausage and a pickled okra, and a Whiskey Smash (Maker’s Mark, mint and a splash of lemon).

Onion Creek is a place we went last time we were in Houston and I could go there weekly – it’s got a huge outdoor seating area, sandwiches, burgers and pizza – lowkey but still feels hip and happening (which is ideal when the youngest in our group was nearing 35).

We also had breakfast that morning at the place Simon dreams about – Taqueria Arandas – for breakfast tacos with chorizo. The only downside to that breakfast is that you are full ALL day, which is a problem when you want to eat more yummy food at some point, which is why we didn’t eat dinner until nearly 9 that night.

When my parents came into town, we happily ditched our kids with them for the day and headed down to Galveston for the day. I did a quick online search and found a Houston Chronicle article listing the 10 best restaurants in Galveston and picked the one that didn’t serve seafood, BBQ or Mexican: Mosquito Cafe. Best decision ~~ever~~ of the day. These photos do not even do the food 5% justice, but they are all I have, aside from a picture of an empty plate where our devoured Lemon Dream Cake had been sitting.

Shown above: my Turkey Divinity (oven roasted turkey with melted brie, hickory smoked peppered bacon, grilled apples, red leaf lettuce and garlic-herb mayo on a french baguette)

Simon’s lunch: Salmon Club (fresh grilled salmon filet with hickory smoked peppered bacon, balsamic onions, red leaf lettuce on toasted wheat bread and chipotle sauce on the side)

Since we were going big or going home, we decided to stop at Pappasito’s on our way home – Simon’s first time there. Let’s just say we ended up taking more food home than we were able to eat – though we gave it a valiant effort. Below is the worst picture ever of our queso, but lo was it good. And they set it on fire tableside so it was also fancy.

And we can thank my brother and SIL for introducing us to Pimm’s Cups. Look what I was able to find in Michigan, imported all the way from the U.K. so we can make our own cocktails! [Honorable mention: Saint Arnold’s Santo beer]

So that was how we ate our way through Texas, along with some stops at Chick Fil A and Sonic. Liam and Jack were happy as long as they had burgers (Liam), chicken nuggets (Jack) or fries (both). Next time we will work on broadening their horizons.

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Posted in Food, Life in general

Music Thursday: What I’ve Been Listening to Lately

Posted on April 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

As has happened in the past, on our Texas road trip we heard a handful of songs multiple times, so many times it became laughable when we would switch the channel only to hear one of those songs start up as soon as the currently-playing song ended. Thankfully, aside from a couple, they were songs I really enjoyed…

When I Was Your Man | Bruno Mars

Stubborn Love | The Lumineers

Lego House | Ed Sheeran
My kids LOVE this song simply because it says the word “Lego” in it one time.

Just Give Me a Reason | P!nk and Nate Ruess (from fun.)

Demons | Imagine Dragons
This song is one that leads to discussions of theology since Liam wondered what I “demon” was, fair enough.

Feel This Moment | Pitbull and Christina Aguilera
I like this song despite Christina’s inclusion, I secretly adore Pitbull and my kids love this song because of the lyric that includes “peeps” [in reference to his “people” or friends] which is what they’ve always called their boy parts… at least now Jack will ask for it by saying, “I want the song where he means ‘people.'” Which is a win in my book because previously he was asking for the penis song.

Mercy | Dave Matthews Band (this was because any time Simon drove, he wanted to listen to his DMB playlist from his phone)
Love this DMB song, just love it.

Other recent faves:

22 | Taylor Swift
Say what you will about Taylor Swift in real life, the girl can write relate-able lyrics – this one takes me right back to my college years and going out to get food in the middle of the night simply because you can.

Mirrors | Justin Timberlake
Oh J.T., welcome back. Only you could make an 8-minute song that doesn’t seem to last that long. [Liam loves the intro to this song, but nothing else because it is about love.]