Category / Hodge Podge

by Bethe

The Latest, The End of Maternity Leave, & A Give-Away

photo-228

Sometimes I worry that all folks pull from this blog is that motherhood is hard, that baby has colic, that life is hectic, and I’m overwhelmed.

But our life is so much more than that. And let me tell you, Month Two with my baby girl has been So. Much. Fun. It’s like we woke up around Week 5 and everybody understood each other (I think the fact that we also started sleeping more has a lot to do with it). We have found a routine. She smiles and coos and is so cute I can barely stand it. She only wakes up once a night (PRAISE THE LORD, HALLELUJAH). And we’ve found some ways to help soothe the colicky spells – not totally eliminate them, but GREATLY reduce their frequency and duration.

But more about little Wrenn in her Two Month post, which will be soon. This post is just a hodge podge of what we’ve been up to.

photo-234

I’m back at the gym and loving it. Because my pregnancy was so darn difficult I hadn’t worked out a bit in 10 months, which meant that those first few workouts were humbling. Like, the first time I tried to do crunches and push-ups I could barely do five (those poor stomach muscles had been stretched to the max). But it’s amazing how quickly your body gets strong – each day I feel more and more like my old self.

I’ve never been one to love working out, but now going to the gym has become my “me time” and something I actually enjoy. I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to fit it in after I return to work, but we’ll take it one week at a time.

photo-231

In addition to working out, I’m also trying to eat healthier to drop the last 15 pounds of baby weight that I’m still holding onto. Mr. Right, his parents and I are doing the My Fitness Pal app on our phones, which tracks your fitness and food intake. I’m a fan because I get an extra 500 calories a day from nursing – which certainly helps when I feel like a little splurge.

photo-230

We took another roadtrip last week, this time to Midland to celebrate our niece and nephew’s birthdays (she’s four, he’s one). This time we felt like pros, knowing what to pack (and packing lighter), and Wrenn did great in the car. The only bad part was when she puked ALL OVER me (dripped down my shirt and gathered into a pool in my pocket) and Mr. Right was gone with the car and hotel key and I had to wear my vomit-soaked clothes for three hours. Yep, rookie mom mistake. I’m learning.

AggieBaby

Mr. Right and I have managed to have several fun date nights without Wrenn. As much as I love my baby, let’s face it – mama loves her date nights. I think Mr. Right kind of enjoys them too! Now that they’re less frequent, they seem to be “bigger” – we’ve done dinner at Reata (my fave) and Texas de Brazil (his favorite), as well as a night at a movie tavern (I think dinner WHILE watching a movie was invented for nursing moms who live in three-hour chunks of time).

photo-232

Speaking of nursing… (boys close your ears)… I’m now taking a few supplements because Little Miss has suddenly become a VERY good eater and frankly I’m having trouble keeping up. One of my vitamins makes you smell like maple syrup. All. The. Time. It’s like the International House of Pancakes over here in our home. But I guess there are worse things to smell like then my favorite kind of breakfast. (If you’re wondering, I’m taking Fenugreek and Mother’s Milk tea, along with chugging gallons of water.)

stll1

I’m headed back to work tomorrow. I’m a little sad to leave Wrenn (a lot sad, actually), but also excited to see my work friends. I’m not really sure how the morning routine is going to go, and I’m pretty sure it’ll take me an hour to pack both of our bags tonight, but we’ll figure it out. I know it will get easier… but in the meantime you won’t waste a prayer on me this week. I’m determined not to cry!

be still

In honor of another transition, I’m holding a give-away for a free “Be Still” print in my shop. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post – it can be encouragement about going back to work, a motherhood tip, or just a random “hi” – whatever it is, just leave it and I’ll hold a drawing on Sunday.

PS–Mr. Right has added a few of his own creations to the shop – leather goods! Go check it out – I’ve used one like this one for almost two years now and LOVE it.

————————————————-

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely
On Etsy

by Bethe

Hodge Podge Blog

Random thoughts…

swirl

We just harvested our first squash from our vegetable garden, and there’s about 100 more that just need a few more days to ripen. And the tomatoes – oh the tomatoes! A little dog who shall rename nameless (ahem, Harley the Wonder Schnoodle), stole our first two tomatoes that we had watched so carefully, but he has since lost his unsupervised backyard privileges, and we hope to enjoy the fruits of our labor any day now. In the meantime we’re chowing down on all of our herbs – enough cilantro and rosemary and parsley to feed the neighborhood. I love our little garden.

swirl

I’m officially super pregnant. Like, feeling like I’m going to pop, wondering how my belly could possibly grow any bigger pregnant. Swollen feet, ankles, fingers and wrists. Feeling baby girl kick me in places I didn’t know she could reach (although she still loves my bladder the best). A bit weepy for no reason at all. And this weekend the nausea returned, although it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be. I’m hoping it’s just a week-long fluke. In the meantime, I’m keeping my feet up at night and have scaled back on the nesting to prop my feet up.

swirl

I got a prenatal massage Friday night, and it was the greatest hour of my pregnancy. If I were rich and famous, I’d get one every day.

swirl

I wrote a guest post over here about packing for the hospital. And since many of my readers are seasoned mamas, I would love it if you would go over there and comment and let me know what else I should add. I have started one of my famous handy-dandy spreadsheets so I can keep my packing list, my to-do list, and my to-buy list organized. I’m kind of afraid this baby is going to show up before I’m ready (silly me – like I will ever be truly ready), so I’m trying to knock out packing and stock up on the last of our baby gear over these next two weeks. I even pre-registered at the hospital. How do disorganized people have babies?

I’ve had two baby showers in the past two weeks – stay tuned for pictures. 

by Bethe

A date, an emergency, and a preacher

Finally… a date night!

I’m not normally a big Valentine’s girl. Mr. Right makes me feel loved all year long (and plans really thoughtful and elaborate dates), so I never thought we’d put much pressure on Valentine’s. But I was too sick to celebrate Christmas, and too sick to celebrate our anniversary, and we’ve postponed our annual anniversary weekend get-away over and over until I felt better (sweet Baby Right, you owe me). We really haven’t had a good date night in 18 weeks – we’ve tried a few times, but they usually end up with me getting sick in the middle and us rushing home so I can go straight to bed. Not exactly romantic.

So this year, we decided to do Valentine’s extra big. Mr. Right got us reservations (two weeks early!) at one of the trendiest new restaurants in Fort Worth, and we both exchanged big (for us) presents. I’ll be making several visits to the spa, thanks to my cute man. What a treat.

The night was filled with romance and deep conversations and lot’s of laughing. My evening was completely nausea free (praise the Lord!), I even ate the food (yea!), and felt totally and completely spoiled.

 And then there was an emergency…

Last night, while lying in bed at 4:00 in the morning we awoke to the sound of our burglar alarm going off. Mr. Right chivalrously jumped out of bed and ran to the front door to see what was wrong, and found that someone had gotten our front door open, setting off our alarm (which is so loud they can hear it from outer space). We think someone tried to break in, heard our alarm go off, and ran away.

Between you and me, the bad guy is lucky he didn’t get a gun-toting “Texas Welcome,” if you know what I mean. The alarm probably did more to save him than us. But it was scary nonetheless, and we spent the rest of the night with racing hearts trying to calm down.

I’m by nature a fearful person, and I refuse to let this bad guy steal my peace. But prayers are welcome, so I feel just as bold tonight when I crawl into bed and the house is dark and quiet.

Speaking of prayers…

Mr. Right is preaching a youth retreat this weekend for a local church. Please say a prayer for him as he gives FOUR sermons – and pray for the teenagers on the receiving end, that they will be blessed and challenged and know Jesus more when they leave than when they arrive. My heart is welling with pride today. And, to be honest, my eyes are a bit droopy from my 4:00 a.m. wake-up call.

by Bethe

Waiting and in the meantime

My nephew Luke, my middle sister’s miracle baby, is due on Tuesday. I can’t wait to meet him, to hold him, to smell that little baby smell and kiss his sweet head. But alas, he seems to be pretty cozy in his current surroundings, and so we continue to wait for his big debut. In the meantime, you can bet that I’m carrying around my cell phone, ready for the call, anxious to take myself and my yo-yo sewing kit to sit and wait some more in the hospital’s waiting room.

And stalk the floors looking for marketing collateral so I can gather ideas. 
Oh wait, I would never do that.

While we’ve been so busy waiting, we’ve kept ourselves occupied with many other worthwhile endeavors.

Like not eating bread or sweets. That takes up a lot of time and mental energy. But I’m proud to report that I’ve made it six meals without any mishaps, and I haven’t killed anybody yet. Or thrown anything. But I will probably dream about cinnamon rolls tonight when I go to bed. Cinnamon rolls and french toast drizzled in syrup and powdered sugar.

Oh my, there I go again.

Last weekend we went to a graduation party for the son of one of our favorite ESL students from West Africa – Togo to be exact. We’ve known my student’s son for a year now and he’s an absolute delight – he wants to be a doctor and I am confident that if that’s what he chooses to do, he’ll be a darn good one.
The highlight of the party, besides seeing his mama all dolled up, was two of his African cousins, ages 4 and 8, dressed in their biggest party dresses, who went up to me all wide-eyed and cute and said, “We love your hair!” in a way only a 4-year-old can do. My heart melted and I’ve since decided that when we adopt, we may need a little girl from Togo. Heck, I’ll take a little girl from just about anywhere, actually. The more people I meet from far off places, the more I just love people.
We also hit up an engagement party for one of our other friends, spent the day at the pool, took our Nigerian friend to a family dinner at Grease Monkey (best burgers in town, I assure you), took an incredibly long Sunday nap, and hosted another family dinner at our house.
Speaking of days at the pool – I broke down and bought a new swimsuit. At the first store I went to, I tried on exactly one suit, loved it, paid for it, and was gone within 10 minutes. I hate shopping for swimsuits (and jeans) so this “rip off the bandaid” approach was the least painful way to do it. I found one that’s pink and ruffled and covers up a few of my least favorite places.
I hope I don’t have to do that again for another four years, which is how long it’s been since I purchased my last one. Or by that time I’ll find a body double who can shop for me and save me the mental anguish.
In the meantime, we’re all killing time until we can hold that sweet Luke. Say a little prayer for my sister as she lets him cook a little longer. She’s going to make a great mama, and I can’t wait to train him to call me Aunt B.
by Bethe

My weekend in Instagram Photos

What a glorious weekend…

Friday night Mr. Right and I met his family for a dinner on the patio at Piola. If you live in Fort Worth, you need to visit their patio. One of the best in town.

After dinner Mr. Right and I walked around downtown and visited one of our favorite spots – the new TCC downtown campus. It’s romantic and has gorgeous architecture, and for some reason there is never anybody there at night. It’s a great date spot.

(Full disclosure: Mr. Right gets the photo credit for these Friday night pictures)
Then Saturday morning, I did that thing that every naturally blonde girl likes to do… I spent my morning at the hair salon… getting blonder. 
When I came home, Mr. Right had whipped up a lunch of grilled chicken with homemade avocado butter and fresh fruit drizzled with honey. Other husbands do this, yes?  He had also prepped all of our food for dinner AND prepped the two dishes I needed to bring to Easter the following day. What a guy.
Later that evening we hosted dear friends over for a cookout and then went to a movie. I must say that I swoon anytime I see Mr. Right at the grill. And my stomach growls. He made us homemade fry bread (dipped in mashed black beans and honey) and chicken kabobs with grilled veggies and pineapple. 
I think he missed his calling… he should host a Christian cooking show.
Sunday was Easter… and I am a terrible person for not taking A SINGLE PICTURE. It was a hectic day – getting up at the crack of dawn to fix our dishes, rushing to church (which was glorious – I love our church), rushing home to change and then rushing to my parents’ house for a big meal. For people who work at churches (like Mr. Right) Easter is the biggest work day of the year, so he had to miss half of our lunch, and by the time we got home we were both exhausted and took long naps. 
So no pictures, even though we had a wonderful time with my side of the family AND my wonderful in-laws, who joined us. We had so many opportunities to take a picture, and it would have been perfect seeing as my sister is adorably pregnant and I have not a single picture with her since she’s been showing. But no… all I got was this…

This is a picture of the leftover strawberry pie we made for Easter… that I finished off mid-morning on Monday while sitting at my desk at work. Mr. Right sent it with me so I could share it with my coworkers… but instead I ate all of it myself. But in my defense, it wasn’t THAT big of a piece.

by Bethe

Weekend hodge-podge

Sometimes in the heat of a Texas August I wonder why I choose to live in such a boiling hot state. As my bare legs sear themselves with the blaze of my SUV’s leather seats and I finally give up and settle on a ponytail for weeks on end to keep my long hair off my sticky neck, I fantasize about moving to the mountains with their cool nights and everlasting breezes.
But then we have a weekend like this past one, and I’m reminded of why I continue to stay. Because there’s nothing more beautiful than an 80 degree March day.
I spent the entire weekend outside basking in the glorious weather. Friday I joined with a local nonprofit that I serve as a board member for, and 1,300 of us fixed up about 30 houses in our community. I did what I do best… paint. Actually, I also scraped and learned to caulk, and then primed – which is like painting. I got dirty and sunburned, ate TWO hotdogs and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Later that night I got gussied up and went on a double date with dear friends and fellow newlyweds Randy and Lori. Oh, and Mr. Right and I made a slight detour to the bicycle shop to get me a basket for my beloved cruiser. 
I took my bike-and-basket on a test drive Saturday, and as soon as my tushy hits that extra-wide seat I transformed into an 8-year-old version of my self, enjoying the sweet freedom that a bike can bring as the wind blows through my hair. If only Harley the Wonder Schnoodle could fit in that basket.
Saturday we spent the whole day working inside/outside our house, with the windows open and the smells of spring washing out the staleness of winter. We planted our very first vegetable and herb container garden on the back porch – we spent $140 so that we can save money on tomatoes and jalapenos and poblanos at the grocery store. But it will all be worth it if our rosemary takes off, as that’s the secret ingredient to our sweet potato fries. For the past year we’ve been stealing (with his permission) from our neighbor’s rosemary plant, and I love it when the smell of a fresh piece fills our kitchen. We also tried cilantro and sweet basil and maybe another thing or two that I can’t remember at the moment – I’m too busy thinking about that rosemary.
And now I will start praying and laying hands on these vegetables, hoping that they can survive my black thumb and live to see a fruitful harvest. Please.
We also did some major spring cleaning – cleaning out the garage, putting things in the attic, cleaning out hall closets and washing windows. I got dirty and sunburned, drank decaf ice tea and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
That night we joined Mr. Right’s family for a birthday party at Joe T’s and then sat outside on a patio in the trendy part of Fort Worth and enjoyed ice cream and the warm night air. 
Speaking of food, Sunday night we went over to our dear friends’ house and brought these:

 Our world-famous chocolate cupcakes with homemade chocolate-banana frosting, Mr. Right’s super secret recipe invention. As good as these cupcakes look in the picture, let me assure you that they taste 10 times better. To save us from temptation he brought the leftovers to work today to give away, but rest assured I managed to snag a few for my freezer to save for a future rainy day.

I wish all my weekends could be like this one.

by Bethe

New stuff, old stuff

Lot’s of news on the “new” and “old” front:

We sold our truck. And in true Mr. Right fashion, by the end of the transaction he was besties with the college kid who bought it. We sold it to a missionary kid from South Africa, and this was his first car, which made it sweet. Even sweeter because WE SOLD THE TRUCK!
We think we may have found our new car. A used-but-decked-out Sequoia, complete with DVD players and leather interior. And room for one… or two… or three car seats in the back. You know, in case we ever need them. (Note – we have no need for them now, so don’t even ask). Even better… we’re going to pay cash for it (thanks Dave Ramsey). Fingers crossed that we might get it Friday – if not, then we’ll wait and find something after Mr. Right gets home from his big trip.
We bought a new, gigantic ottoman. We’ve been throwing around the idea of selling our leather couch and love seat and replacing it with a big leather sectional. I always swore I’d never own a sectional, but they are so comfy, and we don’t really fit very well on if we want to lay together on the sofa and watch a movie together. However, we found this ottoman when we were buying our bed frame last week, and when you push it up to the couch, it’s more like a giant chaise lounge, and it’s super comfy! And, an ottoman is much cheaper than buying a new sectional. We laughed, because we’ve added lot’s of new pieces to our house this year, but this is one of the only ones we’ve actually purchased together. Everything else has been thrifted/handed down/generously given to us. 
Speaking of which… our next big house projects are going to include (1) new shelving for my laundry room and (2) extending our back patio and building a pergola. I had to sacrifice my beloved rose bushes, which were in the way, but it will all be worth it by summer. In the meantime, I need to use my new Instagram feed to take pictures of all of our new home projects – we’ve been busy!
I wore this old dress to a wedding last weekend… our third wedding in a month. I absolutely love weddings – and I cry at most all of them. This wedding was on a particularly chilly night and at the last minute I opted to borrow my sister’s dress… which happens to be the bridesmaid dress from my own wedding. So for all those brides who say “And the best part is, you could wear this dress again,” I’m the one bride who actually meant it… see? I just paired it with some sparkly heels and this little beaded cardigan that didn’t fit for most of last year, but thanks to the half marathon fits once again! Hooray! To celebrate I may wear this cardigan every day next week. Would that be weird?
by Bethe

Weekend Hodge Podge

It’s a boy!

No, it’s not our boy, much to the surprise of a few friends whom misunderstood my seemingly innocent Facebook post. It’s my sister’s boy… and he’s making his debut in just a few months!

My super cute sister and her husband hosted a gender reveal party at their house Friday night, and both sides of the family held their breath as we watched the parents-to-be cut into the cake. To our excitement, we got a blue cake (and blue mouths after eating the blue cake), and soon I’ll have my very first nephew. I can’t wait to start shopping!
Then again, we’ve already done a little shopping – Mr. Right and I found this moose rocker at an antique sidewalk sale last summer, and since my interior designer sister has an affinity for moose decor, I just had to get it. Even though there wasn’t even a baby yet. I knew he’d be here someday.

The next morning, Mr. Right and I drug ourselves out of bed to run six miles… ahh, the half marathon training. This was the first time since our training started December 5 that my run actually felt good. Thank goodness. Now if only all of those runs would translate to a few lost pounds… but alas, I’ve lost a grand total of two pounds after 61 miles of running. Life is so unfair sometimes.
After our run we raced home, sopped up our sweat and changed into nicer clothes so we could jet off to a late morning wedding. It was one of my favorites ever – he’s from Syria, she’s from Dallas, and they both love Jesus like crazy. The ceremony was done in both arabic and English, and maybe it’s because we’ve got arabic-speaking students in our ESL program, or maybe because I’m a huge softy at weddings – but I loved every minute of it. Plus I got to hold a baby at the reception.

After the wedding I went home for a much-needed nap while Mr. Right went to work for a little while, and then we got gussied up again (confession – I wore the same dress again… because it’s new and because I love it – you’ll see it at another wedding later this month as well) and drove to Carrollton to eat at a hole-in-the-wall Colombian restaurant.
I wore my new boots. I haven’t posted these yet, so here they are – as you can see, I went with a very understated style. Actually, I went as loud as I could go… because after all, these are boots that will never see dirt… or a stirrup… so I might as well go loud and fancy.

If you live in DFW, I highly recommend Casa Vieja. We were destined to love it, since we fell in love with Colombian food (and their people) during our trip there in 2010. Fried plantains, arepas, lot’s and lot’s of beef, and fruit juices served up like smoothies. I had lulo juice – a fruit only grown in Colombia – the juice was pea green but tasted amazing. Kind of like a mixture of grapefruit and kiwi…
Lulo
I’m so adventurous. But my adventure has its limits… like when you start ordering blood sausage or fried pork skin. Nope, my adventure usually ends with exotic fruits and big jewelry.
by Bethe

A little of this, a little of that

I got a little burned out from the 30 Days of Thankful. I’m still thankful, but glad to not have the pressure to post every day.

So now we can catch up on what I didn’t write when I was being so thankful.

-I’m tired of finals. It’s horrible for me to admit, but I am. Sick of it, and I’m not even the one in school! Mr. Right does a fantastic job juggling school, work, and me, but finals means a month of intense studying… there’s just no way to get around it. Which means many nights I go to bed and he’s still downing coffee and pouring over books. I’m proud of his hard work, and I’m happy to say that it ends TOMORROW!

We’re going to celebrate with a big night out. It’s what we do. And this semester is definitely worth celebrating (he had a really good semester).

-I got to teach my old Sunday School class last Sunday, and I’ll teach again this Sunday. My how I’ve missed it. But I’m also confident that it’s not what I’m supposed to be doing right now… that this chapter in my life’s book is meant for ESL. For now. But the occasional teaching still warms my soul.

-Mr. Right got a promotion. I’m not sure I’ve mentioned it yet…but he did. And I’m so proud of him.

-I’m having a disorganized Christmas. I have so many projects I want to do for my house and for gifts, but they’re all half done. So is my shopping… and the last of my Christmas cards. I’m not really sure how to finish any of it. But even so, this has been a particularly wonderful, quiet Christmas, and in the end, felt wreaths and hand-sewn cards aren’t the reason for the season anyway.

-Mr. Right made me cornbread last night… he just took a box of Jiffy, added half a can of corn, one can of mild green chiles, and cheese. Oh my word, it was to die for. My New Year’s Resolution is going to be to eat cornbread every night.

-I’m two weeks in to our half marathon training… Saturday I was supposed to run four miles and barely walked two. Fail (I blame it on a killer headache). But last night I was supposed to run three and went for the fourth… and if felt fantastic. I had completely forgotten that the first three miles are hellish, and then something clicks and miles four through eight are absolutely fantastic. I guess that’s what they call “runner’s high.” My fourth mile felt amazing, which is encouraging because I was starting to second-guess this decision to run a half marathon. And I burned 455 calories… which made me feel less guilty about eating TWO pieces of cornbread.

by Bethe

Living the dream… I mean, adventure

This week we’ve had a lock out and a break in. We have laid in the pool, eaten Indian food, stayed up late watching reality TV… and called 911. My husband had to jump a spiked fence and we watched one of the most moving movies of my life. And I found a new way to live my passion.

First things first. Our rent house got robbed. It stunk. All they got was a bunch of copper wiring, but they did considerable damage to our air conditioner (outside and inside) and made a nice little mess that I’ll have to clean up. But thankfully they didn’t scratch my newly painted cabinets during all their debauchery and lowliness. Small wins, right?
The worst part was that it took the Fort Worth Police Department four hours to respond to our 911 call. FOUR HOURS. And since our AC was damaged and the house has no furniture, we had to sit in lawn chairs on the front porch in our work clothes, getting eaten by mosquitos and sweating in the humidity as we waited… and waited… and waited. It was a lot like camping, minus the camp fire, tent, or the soothing sound of crickets chirping. Apparently Wednesday nights are hopping nights for the Fort Worth police. We made our initial 911 call at 7:30 (right after the most lovely date with Mr. Right at our favorite Indian food restaurant) and the police finally rolled up at 11:15 p.m. On a work night. Lovely.
Crazy thing is, I feel total peace about this house. It’s been on the market for two weeks and has already had a break-in, and yet I know deep in my soul that God is in control. He has proven in the past that he can take care of us and that he cares about the smallest details (I mean, he brought me the man of my dreams by way of Colorado and Oklahoma and somehow convinced him that he should drive 45 minutes to join a church he didn’t have any connection with). I know he will prove faithful, and so we continue to thank the Lord for protecting our house from serious damage, for keeping us away during the break-in, and I know that when His time is right, that cute little house will sell.
Speaking of break-ins, my nextdoor neighbor at our OTHER house had their front door kicked in last week… while they were home. My sister also had her door kicked in about a month ago. Yikes. Good thing I have that intricate security system with the lasers like they have at the casinos in the Oceans 11 movies. One foul trigger and BAAAAM!
Back to our week…
We house sat for my parents this week, which meant we took full advantage of that wonderful pool in their backyard and the many cable channels on our TV that we’re too thrifty to pay for. Being removed from our regular surroundings and without any house work to do felt like a mini retreat with Mr. Right, and we had such a wonderful time together. I feel like my batteries are recharged.
There was the one little snafu while house sitting where Mr. Right got locked out while taking the dogs out to use the bathroom at 6:00 a.m. during a rain storm, while I blissfully slept on the other side of the house. After ten minutes of pounding on the back door, he had to jump their 6-foot, wrought-iron fence (with spikes) and come around to bang on the front door until I (finally) heard him and let him in. Poor guy, he married a VERY sound sleeper.
I have a new favorite TV show – Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition. I love watching the one-year transformations… it’s so much more gratifying than waiting an entire season of The Biggest Loser. It has replaced The Bachelorette as my very favorite reality show (this season is oh so boring).
And, we watched Hotel Rwanda. I’m now ready to move to Africa and adopt an orphan (or two). That was the most disturbing and moving movie I have ever seen, and it’s just another way that my heart continues to spur for people living in far away places. I have to admit I had to cover my eyes on more than one occasion. You should watch it.
Speaking of people in far-away places, Mr. Right and I are getting ESL certified next month, and we plan to start teaching in the fall, most likely through our church or at a location that’s brimming with internationals (we have our eye on one). I’ve had a heart for women’s ministry for many years, and after retiring from teaching my beloved ladies’ class at church when I got married, I’ve been praying that God would provide a new ministry for me that I could be as passionate about, while still supporting my husband in the class that he works with. I think I have found my answer, and I’m so excited! We sat in on a class last week, and my heart leapt with joy as I saw women from all different cultures sitting together, gaining practical skills that will help them thrive in their new home, but also being exposed to the gospel that has the ability to transform their lives.
I’m just giddy.
As for Project 115… the good news is that my pants continue to get looser by the week. The bad news is that I had to take a week off because our house sitting put me 30 minutes from work (instead of 5) and nowhere near my gym, so those 5:30 a.m. workouts were out. But I’ve still been watching my calories and I plan to pick up where I left off on Monday. Promise.
We have something really fun planned for this weekend. I’ll give details next week.