Awhile ago I did these lists of "Things I Like Right Now".  I thought I'd post another.

• home decor
• "You're a Good, Good Father"
• re-thinking home decor
• peace
• baskets/containers
• re-arranging things from room to room
• crazy artwork
• rest
• space
• date night
• getting stuff out of our house
• Zillow
• pad thai
• watching football with Catherine
• small town Wakarusa, IN
• getting deals at yard sales
• Ben's soft pretzels
• the quote "not my monkey, not my circus"
• snuggling up with a soft, cozy blanket
• being encouraged, affirmed, and built-up
• encouraging other women
• "No Longer Slaves"
• finding my adventure
• a second cup of coffee
• deepening friendships

I'm just gonna say it:

I HATE WINTER.

I swear every year is worse than the last.  I hate it, hate it, hate it.

We have had uber cold temps - especially for December!  The other morning I called the "time & temp", and it said "-5".  Did you hear that, people?!?  NEGATIVE FIVE!!!!!  And we had to go out in it!

Then today we got dumped on by snow ALL day.  I mean, we woke up to it, and it just kept coming and coming.  Again, the perfect sort of day to just stay home, right?

But we had places to go and people to see.  It was a full day for our schedule.

I had to venture out first for a neighborhood board meeting (oh yes, I'm now on our neighborhood board).

We later attended a "Gotcha Party" to celebrate our friends adopting a daughter.

Our third event of the day - a Christmas Open House - got postponed because of the awful roads/weather.  So instead we made a Target run and then treated ourselves to Hacienda.  Yum!

Catherine, our lovely now two year old, cut our dinner short by behaving like a two year old, and on the way home, I said to Josh, "I don't know if it's even worth it to go out anymore."

I wasn't saying this because of the weather.  I was saying this because we end up so exhausted from dealing with her antics that it's making me ponder just staying home.

I really don't have anything important to say.  I just realized it had been a long time since I'd posted, and the last post was such a downer that I thought I'd post something random and lighthearted.

Oh, poor Catherine every so often has problems pooping.  We have yet to pinpoint the cause, but sometimes she gets pretty constipated and then when she tries pooping (still in a diaper, BTW) she just cries, poor girl.  I talk to her all the time, so recently I started trying to explain to her that it hurts because she's constipated.  I thought it might help her understand part of it if I named/defined the problem.

So now when she's trying to poop - which isn't just in the comfort of a bathroom, mind you, but out in public - she cries and yells "I'M CONSTIPATED!!"

Poor girl, but funny.  I can't help but chuckle.  It's just funny to hear that shouted from a two year old.

So, going back to the Christmas Open House I mentioned...  I am SO excited for this party!!  Fortunately, instead of just canceling it, it was postponed to tomorrow evening.  I should really lower my expectations so that I don't set the bar too high and then feel letdown.  But, seriously, I am pumped!  The hosts are new friends from our church, and it sounds like they love to entertain as much as I do.  Anticipating this event is making me remember how much I used to frequent parties, and realize how much I miss attending and hosting parties!!

I've done a football themed birthday party for Josh the last two years, so I think I'm going to make that an annual thing - maybe move it up a bit to hopefully get nicer weather so the party can expand outside if desired or needed.  We don't have a TON of space indoors, so I like the thought of being able to expand onto the back deck, the front porch, and the back yard.

Football shaped brownies (not as easy as I expected them to be) on a football field platter

Veggies, dip, and hummus in my football shaped bowl

I think this diamond partyware is the first set of fun partyware that I got.

I loved getting to use that condiment holder - 1st time!

This was definitely one of the smallest spreads I've done at a party; I was trying to scale back so I wouldn't get too stressed and overwhelmed.

Catherine in her Notre Dame jersey helping Daddy blow out the birthday cake candles

This shows a perfect example of someone practicing our family tradition of cutting your own piece of cake - however you like it!

My nephew in his ND jersey

My niece and daughter have often worn matching ND dresses this year - how fun!

 I didn't intend to turn this into a party post, but oh well.  Hopefully I'll be able to post sometime soon about Catherine's 2nd birthday party.

My husband gave me the best gift this past weekend.

Something I never would have even thought to put on a wishlist.

Something I didn't even know I wanted or needed.

He gave me the gift of solitude.

Yah, peace and quiet.  Maybe you've heard of it.  I had heard of it but hadn't experienced it for a long, long time.
 
If you know me, you know I am crazy about my daughter.  Love her SO much.  But at the same time, being with her non-stop, 24/7 can be a bit tiresome after awhile.

I mean, no real break from her or from being responsible for her.

So, this past weekend had Josh heading one county west with Catherine while I stayed here for one of many recent meetings.  The plans were for me to join them later.  But the meeting ran late, I wasn't packed, and I didn't relish the thought of taking both cars out of town.  I started getting this crazy idea...

"I wonder if Josh would let me stay in Goshen while he and Catherine go on to his parents for the night."

Totally unprecedented and a bit unorthodox, but the more I thought about it, the more I absolutely freaking LOVED the idea!!!

He granted me my wish.  And, oh my, did I enjoy my solitude!  I soaked it up!  It was like I was single again!  Carefree!  Free!  Jolly!  Joyous!  Footless!  Fancy-free!

I kicked back and relaxed.  I went to the movie theater for a matinee!  I went shopping and out to dinner with my friend.  We were in no hurry.  We shut down the stores and then the restaurant.  We even got to watch the Notre Dame football game on tv - in its entirety!

And oh how it refreshed me and renewed me.  And made me love and appreciate my family even more and delight in their return the following day.

After sleeping in of course!

Oh what a blessing a little alone time can be!

A day with no plans actually makes me freak out. I can't not do anything. Not when so much needs to get done. I can't relax. I can relax in a little over 6 weeks. And I will. We have reservations all set for our honeymoon. We are staying at really nice places; I'm so excited!!

It was nice to sleep in this morning and nice to just kinda laze around in pj's for awhile. I caught up on The Office; although, it seems like maybe I missed an episode somewhere in there. Who was that IT guy? Where did he come from??

I made blueberry coffee, which I was THRILLED to discover recently at my fave coffee bean store in farmer's market. I sorted through stuff, looking for gift certificates that I purchased a few weeks ago and promptly lost. Grrr, restaurants love gift certificates because of people like me. Boo! And I took care of emails that needed to be sent and phone calls that needed to be made.

I need to work on thank you cards. Oh, I'd better not get started on my list of what I need to do. What's the point of just repeating what needs to get done when instead I could be working on actually doing what needs to get done? Which reminds me, I need to find a birthday gift for my dad.

Well, I'm about to head to Old Navy to see what remains from their $1 flip flop sale, if anything. I heart flip flops. Hoping for a brown pair. And then I meet up with Josh - yea!

I close with this: last night I dreamt I was watching a Notre Dame football game with a large crowd but was distracted by sweets. There was a massive spread of desserts (think 10 big church potlucks worth), and I bypassed everything for wedding cake. I'm so looking forward to cake!

Well, I feel like it's been awhile since I've posted. What's going on lately? . . .

• So looking forward to seeing Kate in town from Florida!
• We passed our interview with the Pastor of Church A so we can now start the process to plan the ceremony.
• We keep going around and around on a bridesmaid dress.
• I'm having fun planning food, music, special touches, etc.
• We opened up two registries. Plan to do two more.
• I'm hoping to go to bed early; I'm exhausted.
• We are looking at a rental property as a possible place to live together once we get married but still waiting for specifics.
• I'm looking forward to watching the Colts in the Super Bowl!
• Planning a wedding is a lot of work.
• Went to the local civic theatre for a show last week - fun!
• Got an important meeting tomorrow. Moving on up in the world.
• Going out with my girls this weekend.
• Taking a stationery DIY class.
  

Busy, busy, busy...

Time for the classic Sunday night angst of returning to work tomorrow.

But it's been a great weekend!

Friday was a small engagement party for locals (please don't be offended if you weren't invited. It was a simple, casual dinner, and chances are good that my readers will be invited to some type of shower in the future). It was a wonderful time of celebrating. Perhaps I can post some pictures at some point.

Saturday Josh & I met with a florist in DTSB. That was an eye-opener. We should get a quote tomorrow, so I'd better come up with an amount we can afford for flowers. Then we outta do some price comparison.

After that we went to Warsaw for our class rivalry game: his college vs. my college in basketball. His team won, as I expected. Afterward, we enjoyed dinner at one of our faves - Hacienda. Then hung out at his house, baking cookies and watching a movie.

Today we went to the church we plan to marry at. The church I grew up in. The church I "could never see myself getting married at". And now the church I can't imagine myself NOT getting married at! They still have an amazing pastor who preaches amazing sermons.

Then we joined my parents for lunch, visited Kohl's briefly, and met with our photographer at the Chocolate Cafe. I also randomly ran into my 5th grade teacher, whom I adore! Josh & I were then happy to see the Colt's win this afternoon!

The weather today has been awesome!! In the 40's, "warm", and even sunny for part of the day! Almost all of the snow has (finally) melted. This is snow that came while I was in Arkansas 4 weeks ago!

Granted, we are supposed to get more tomorrow and be windy and cold, but I'll enjoy today while I can!

Now I'm trying to figure out who I want to win this game: Vikings or Saints. I really don't care for either team. But I think I will cheer for the Vikings, since I was born in Minnesota. I'll just ignore Favre.

• I like cheap! After much discussion, Josh & I decided to go to Cici's for our dinner before our last FPU class. We enjoyed a wide variety of pizzas, salads, cheesy garlic bread, and desserts - divine cinnamon rolls and brownies all for $4.99 each!

• Yes, FPU is over. It was a long 14 weeks! We both agree it was a good class with great benefits and that we learned a lot! But we are happy to have our Sunday evenings free again!

• My downstairs neighbors moved out yesterday. 4 1/2 years of living together. I miss them already. But I've already got someone else lined up to move in next month! Cheri, one of my girls from a Growth Group a couple years ago. That will be fun!

• Seeing the empty apartment was sad but also hopeful. It made me start thinking how I would set up house if I was moving into it. Sometimes a fresh start is good. I wish I didn't have so much clutter in my apartment. It just seems to pile up until it's out of control.

• I'm proud to see the Indianapolis Colts doing so well!

• I'm so glad that the last couple days have been warmer than earlier in the week!! We were having days with single degree temps for our high and wind gusts up to 50-60 mph!! That was incredibly rough. But, most of the snow has melted now. We had a warm-up and even saw the sun again! In case you weren't aware, winter is a very challenging time for me. Southern California softened me, and I've never been the same.

• Speaking of California, I'd like to know why I keep dreaming I am back in California and back at my old job. My old job doesn't even exist anymore (which you would know if you clicked on that link)! Last night's dream was a combo of being back in L.A. AND being back in Okinawa. Why?... I don't know. But Okinawa was quite emotional for me.

• Speaking of emotions, woo, my pastor should have warned us to bring extra tissues to the service today! The morning was phenomenal! Friends who are moving away lead us in worship and meditation before communion. The whole worship team sounded GREAT. The best way to describe the morning is that they BROUGHT IT! Sam's message was full of honesty that hit hard, and it wasn't just me. I was literally surrounded by crying people. The message was full of the good news that there is hope in the Lord, no matter what are life circumstances are! Truly amazing! What a blessing to be a part of this church!!

• I decided to take last Friday afternoon off work. I had a number of personal errands to run and wanted to get them done on a weekday rather than the weekend. I feel like I could stand to take 2-3 more days off, ha!

• Josh & I went to the Goshen High School Christmas Concert the other day. Previously I had only heard the 5th-8th grade choirs and middle school and high school musicals. Wow, they sounded great, and it was such a treat to be there! And to actually enjoy a concert with my honey next to me, rather than up on stage directing!
  

Agh, Sunday night.

If you read my last post, you know it's a busy week for me. I'm not looking forward to kicking it off tomorrow morning.

Work should be fine, especially since I'm only working 3 days. There's just a lot of other things that I'm praying I can stay sane for.

What a boring post. Let's see if I can make it any more exciting...

Awhile ago I was completely unable to remove my (very complicated starter) nose ring. I bought some easier to manuever nose rings and had my piercer take out the starter stud and put in one of the easier ones. This morning I tried to take it out. And my nose did not cooperate at all! I tried so hard, but it's like the pierced hole has closed up around the skinny part of the stud, and I can't get it to budge open a bit to pull it out. It was not a pretty site this morning.

I'm currently watching the Colts losing. I won't stick around to see the outcome. Third quarter just started, and it's already past bedtime for me. I don't want to have to watch another of my teams lose this weekend.

I was thinking tonight how much I've lost the excitement and determination I first had when I started FPU. To get the results I want I really need to change my lifestyle. Same thing with working out. That has dropped far off my priority list, even though it needs to be in the top 10 really. I want to find a gym. Things to consider: location, price, hours, and equipment available.

Finally, remember the cold I had a couple few weeks ago? I really feel like I never fully recovered. I've been still fighting a runny nose, cough, and sore throat. And to add to it, I've been experiencing some severe heartburn type pains mainly within the past week. I'm thinking it's stress induced, but I'm also thinking I need to lay off the coffee, soda. orange juice, etc. That makes me sad.

Well, I dunno. Did the last 4 paragraphs really do anything to liven up this post??

Things have been . . . pretty much just . . . perfect lately.

I know life hasn't really been "perfect". Of course there are problems. There are struggles.

But I'm overwhelmed by the good in all of it.

The other day, Josh and I went to the ND - Boston College game. I described the experience to a friend as "perfect."

And that's really how it felt.

Even though it was 40 degrees with wind chills in the 30's.
Even though we got rained on.
Even though my face got wind burned.
Even though I got tired of all the walking.
Even though the lines to the bathroom went way out into the lobby & it took me 10 minutes to unpeel all my layers of clothes to go to the bathroom.

It was still perfect.

But it wouldn't have been nearly as perfect if Josh wouldn't have been with me. Everything is better with Josh there.

We've been spending a lot of time together, particularly on the weekends. And every weekend has been perfect. No matter what we're doing.

Whether we're running around from high school reunions, brunch, a wedding, and a house tour in one weekend or whether we're just chilling at home watching a movie or just out getting groceries together . . . it's been perfect.

I'm filled with joy! I wish you could hear the song in my soul!

I am so grateful that God has blessed me with Josh. It has reminded me, with a new perspective, of how my relationship with the Lord can be.

Even in uncertain economic times
Even with the reality of job loss
Even though I go through pain, physical or emotional
Even with loss of insurance, loss of a loved one, lack of sleep, overwhelming bills, uncertainty of your future, sickness and disease . . .

We may not call it perfect. It sure doesn't feel perfect. But it is better because God is there. Right by my side. Right by your side. He's never leaving. Invite Him in.

I first started this post last week and was hesitant to continue it simply because I know many people are going through many struggles, and I didn't want to appear to be bragging about how grand life is.

But I pray you will be reminded, as I have been, that God is there, the ever present help in our time of need. And life is truly better with Him.

I like to be the hostess with the mostess. Unfortunately my apartment living room is small and isn't always conducive to having a lot of people over. But what I can still enjoy is creating a dish that tastes good, looks good, and has a unique element to it - whether it be the garnishes or the partyware - and then take that dish to somebody else's house!

Take that passion along with my passion for Notre Dame football, and I'm ready to serve up some fun!

We gathered at my parents' house for a recent game; check out what I did!

Happy 29th Birthday to my Sweetie!!!

I feel like Josh does so much for me year round that I wanted to make sure to do all I can to honor him on his special day!

I showed up at his work and surprised him with lunch (his fave salad from Panera), a bright colorful balloon bouquet, and plenty of homemade pumpkin cookies for him and his co-workers.

Then tonight I took him to Red Robin where we enjoyed fabulous food, a free birthday burger for him, and a yummy hot fudge sundae from our amazing waitress!

We then went to the mall and went to his favorite stores and then spent some time talking at Starbucks where he enjoyed his new favorite drink, a skinny cinnamon dolce latte.

He received some ND football themed gifts including 2 tickets to this week's game against Boston College. Go Irish! I had so much fun putting the gift together, knowing how much he would appreciate it.

Happy Birthday, my love! Looking forward to sharing many more birthdays with you!

- I am looking forward to seeing Josh. Tonight is his first concert of the year. I like being able to go to all his concerts and be there for him. Afterwards we're planning on trying Dunkin's pumpkin coffee. UPDATE: Apparently it's a pumpkin latte. Hmmm, not sure if I can consume that much milk. We'll have to see.

- I am looking forward to this weekend's big game!! I absolutely loathe USC, so I really really really want to win. I got my wish to win against a team that beat USC! So hopefully we can pull out the W with this game too. I'll be honest though: I'm hopeful and doubtful at the same time. Make sense? Sidenote: I can't believe how much tickets are going for for this game. I never pay more than face value (and even that is rough), so it's a shock to look at prices people are charging and paying to attend (see previous link)!

- Lately, I'm just really unsure about what to write about here.

- I've been giving a great deal of thought to money lately. It pains me to spend money for anything beyond basic needs. Sometimes, though, I can't resist. Like this beautiful decorative mug/container that I found during First Fridays in downtown Goshen this month. It was a good price at a cute local shop, and it goes superbly in my bathroom, where I had been wanting more decorative pieces to match the new color scheme. I am, however, still waiting for the bathroom accessories to go on sale at Target! Seriously, what is the deal?!?

- Also on my mind lately: autumnal baking (for example, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, apple crisp, etc.) and home decorating. These are areas I would love to actually step forward in action, but it seems so rare that I am actually a) at home or b) at home with energy.

- I feel like I've been searching for passion for years. Maybe that answers my question from yesterday. To summarize, I am searching for something, but I don't know what. Maybe I am searching for my life's passion. This topic is a bit of a touchy subject for me currently, so I think I'll just leave it at that. Anyways, my great friend and college roomie Becky frequently reviews books on her blog. She recently reviewed Find Your Strongest Life: What the happiest and most successful women do differently by Marcus Buckingham. And after doing so, she was kind enough so send the book to me! It couldn't have come at a better time. I have been warned to take it with a grain of salt, but I am eager to delve into it. Reading - again, something I wish I had more time for. Sounds like Donald Miller's book Searching for God Knows What may also be a good soul searcher for me right now.

Well, I am off to the concert! Leave some comment love if you feel so inclined!