prioritizing my time

This year has included many changes and my life is taking off at a rapid pace. I don’t want to miss any part of it by wasting my time, which has called for numerous time prioritizing decisions for me the last few months. For example: cutting social media was by far one of the best things I’ve done, and the list could go on and on. 

So yeah I’ve been scared that this blog might end up consuming too much of my life and sadly I’m realizing that it is. I need to focus more on my studies, plus lives bigger picture and I believe this cut will be very healthy in the long run.

I will still be posting occasionally but I’m not promising anything. This blog has been so much fun and a needed outlet for me for these few years…but that time has past and it’s time for me to move on and spend more time on other things.

It’s not goodbye, just a less frequent hello=)

 

Two years and a new smile=)

“I’m excited and scared all together. Will I look different afterwards or will I look the same, better or worse, etc. Well, let me go down one more unknown path and hopefully I’ll come out a better person.” Excerpt from my journal on  March 23, 2013 after my first appointment orthodontist.

I was looking through my “before” pictures and decided to some together that show my journey with braces from 19 years old to now 21=) It’s so hard to believe it was that long…now looking back…and it’s strange posting so many pictures of myself…haha.

“Excited! But I don’t know if I’m ready for braces or not…hum…I guess ready or not here they come.” April 19, 2013

“Christina and I had a double appointment=) So much fun…I talked Christina into getting the same color rubber bands and ties.” Jan. 10 , 2014

”Can barely open my mouth and I feel miserable…It hurts so bad I can’t eat, let alone talk. I hate braces!“ Nov. 1, 2013

“Hopefully I’ll have them off by Christmas=)” April 11, 2014 Completely didn’t happen…haha but it was close…and I broke a bracket off, eating the forbidden hard Christmas candy. Oh well I just couldn’t help myself=)

I have the best parents in the world! They encouraged me to get braces but let me know I would be paying for them in full, all by myself. It was the first thing I actually had to work for, one hundred percent by myself. It was common knowledge in our home, growing up, that if you wanted something bad enough you could find a way to get it, yourself. Nothing was ever handed to me, ever…and that’s the way it should be. I’m so grateful for this amazing foundational principle in my life…it’s shaped the values and work ethic I have now as an adult. I thank God everyday for my wonderful parents=)

The night before…last time ever with braces!!!

I’m so glad all the tooth brush carrying around, on my person, wherever I go is finally over. I won’t miss it=) All those self conscience times, while enjoying food with friends, I was just hoping that food wasn’t caught in one of the brackets or wire. All those time running or working out in the cold…when all the metal just almost felt like it was going to choke me.  It seemed as though it would take some time to get use to not having braces again, but it hasn’t at all! Besides having to remember to put my retainer in, I completely don’t think about them not being in my mouth…

Can’t stop smiling=)

“I’m braces free! My teeth feel so smooth and my mouth so empty. I kinda’ miss my braces. May of 2013 I got them put on, I was 19 and now I’m 21 with a beautiful smile.” Feb. 25, 2015. It was so worth it!!!! I’m so thankful for all the people that encouraged me to get them “while I was still young.”

Samuel stopped by for a surprise visit this past weekend and about fell over once he noticed I didn’t have braces. He’s the only one that actually really noticed my teeth growing up. He said he had been waiting on this day (when I finally had straight teeth a perfect smile) forever.

What’s Going On in February

Can you believe that March is here? Wow this year is flying. So here’s February’s update.

thinking – about my true core values…one’s that are actually mine and ones that I’ve only kept for my parents sake. I want to be my own individual, with my own value, beliefs and convictions. And live my life according to these. The pages of my life are turning quickly before my eyes. One by one, or is it more like the wind causing them to turn really fast by themselves?!?!? So I can’t waste anytime, I just have to hurry and get these are straight=)

watching – American Sniper…the last movie I watched completely through. It’s a good movie and very much worth the time and money I spent to see it. But I didn’t like it…I’m more of a chic flick kind of girl. But I definitely recommend it, for those that like that sort of thing. Also I’m watching snow quietly falling from my window. Gotta’ love it, the first day of March and we have snow…and robins.

eating – ummmm…I haven’t been hungry for much of anything lately so. But I did eat a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast, before I even ate my cereal. Hey don’t judge, it was very good=) Oh and I’ve been learning to eat without braces, it’s a completely different story. Loosing food or worse yet not getting it completely in my mouth, has been embarrassing. I’m not eating in public till I get this figure out,             again.

listening to – “Send it on” I seriously can’t stop singing this song or listening to it=) Also Danny Gokey’s new song More Than I Am…and this video is so cool too=)

reading – I started Seabiscuit and so far it’s good. For a non-reader type person, such as myself, it’s been successfully holding my interest. Also I’ve received several letters back from deployed soldiers I’ve written…reading them is always so interesting=) Sadly I’m stepping down from doing this…I’ve been writing for a year and it’s time for something else.

making  - I just made chocolate chip cookies for my orthodontist for my very last visit on Thursday. Also I made left over turkey shepherd’s pie on Saturday, along with a skillet pumpkin pie. (first one after this fail, but be sure I tasted the filling before baking it this time=) A lot of bread also for these people I live with.

wearing – Right now skinny jean, a sweater and wonderfully warm wool socks. My mom likes to keep our house right at 68 degrees. Drives me crazy, but I just put more clothes on=( but not without a lot of complaining. Lately with the temperature mostly below 15 degrees, it been these kind of clothes a lot.

needing - more hours in a day, I never get enough done. I need more than 12 hours of day light. I could totally go with a 24 hour day and maybe scratch the surface of all I need/want to get done. Have I over planned my year???? I, seriously, have so much happening in the coming 10 short months I’m feeling overwhelmed. TIME is the most precious commodity to me at the moment. But maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew…too many pots on the stove at once.

wishing – for spring temperatures so I can start running outside again…the treadmill is oh so boring. I workouted upstairs (everyone was gone) yesterday and actually worked up a sweat…it’s been forever, our basement is so ccccoooooold. Also I want to make maple syrup. It’s that time of year again and I miss doing it terribly. While in Tennessee one of the neighbors, near where we stayed, were boiling the sap down…and remembering that smell, I just wanted to cry.

feeling – very tired lately and not a whole lot of energy. But I’m in the best condition spiritually and emotionally that I have been in years. So now I just need to work on the physical aspect of my life. But maybe I should slow down some, that might actually help a lot .

loving – the wardrobe reduction Christina completed on Friday. Two huge bags of clothes went to Goodwill… our dresser is so much easier to maneuver through. But I can’t tell much of a difference in the closet, but we do have more free hangers…haha!

wanting – to start on writing out all my favorite recipes in these darling little cookbooks I just bought. I want to go sledding today. I want to take an Epson salt bath. (I don’t know why I just want too) I want a kitchenaid mixer. I want more patience with my siblings and other people in my life…they are not the over achiever I am and that’s fine. period.

So what about all of you??? what have you been up to lately? 

What’s Going On in January

 

thinking - I’m been thinking a lot lately on my future. What I really want out of life and how to accomplish these goals. And trying to figure out the necessary steps I will have to reach my dream. 

watching - the moon. It’s memorizing kinda like a running stream…I could stare at it for hours. After I feed in the evenings I’ve been enjoying just standing out under the chilly night sky full of stars and just gazing at that beautiful moon.

eating - a lot of grits! Call me crazy but I crave them just about every morning. Except I’m weird and don’t eat them like normal people do…I put coconut and raisins on mine=) And they are WONderful!!!!!

listening to - this song sung by Mark Schultz. I don’t know why but when I get hooked on a song I listen to it over and over again….and then all of a sudden I’m tired of it and don’t listen to it again.

reading - I’ve been reading Jesus on Trail by David Limbaugh and I love it!!!!!!! Also I just started The Bailey Flanigan Series by Karen Kingsbury. Something not so deep for my “right before I fall asleep” reading. I like them so far.

making  - I’m finally putting together a scrapbook from my cruise to the Bahamas. And I’m realizing again how much I LOVE to  scrapbook and of course I just made my amazing pie.

wearing - my slouchy beanie…a lot…covers any bad hair day and with my first of the year haircut (including straight across bangs) I need something to just slide over it all. BTW having these bangs cut was a VERY bad decision and I can’t wait till they grow out.

needing - tons of Carmex lip blam!!!! This weather and my outdoor jobs make me keep some of this with me at all time. I have a tube in my car, on my night shelf, on my desk at work, in my purse and in the pocket of my coat.

wishing - for snow!!!! Lots of snow…to cover up all the ugliness of winter mud. In my option if it’s going to be cold we might as well have snow=)

feeling - very cold lately. I seriously can’t seem to stay warm. After I work out I’m warm for about a half an hour then I just pile the layers on. My office is always like 76 degrees and I’m still cold. My poor boss is always smoldering=(

loving - my new NIV Bible! First time I’ve read anything other than the KJV and it’s like reading it for the first time!

wanting - time to go a bit faster so I get to see my brother in Tennessee sooner!!!!!! I talked to him on the phone last night and gosh I miss that kid so much.

So what about all of you??? what have you been up to lately? 

 

Inspired by http://www.lovefunandfootball.com/2014/12/whats-going-on.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FromMissBToMrsM+%28From+Miss+B+to+Mrs+M%29

My week alone in Shipshewana

Tomorrow I’m going up to Shipshewana Indiana for my quarterly (yeah I’m a bookkeeper, even use those terms in my everyday life…haha) checkup with my food nutrition advisor. In the spirit of that, dreaded three and a half hour drive, I thought I’d share some photos from my time there. The very first week of my favorite month (December), alone (when I love to be with my family, this time of year), missing my horse, and for an entire WEEK! I was lonely  to say the least…A little back ground on why I was there….I went for week of meetings with a ministry trained to help people Biblically deal with life issues.

I brought most of my food with me, so I even ate healthy here….lol=) For breakfast I took a couple cups of dry oat for overnight oatmeal. As you can see I love cauliflower…haha!Being off work for a week never works for the bookkeeper/secretary of a business…so here was my makeshift “work desk” for the week.  I was in communication everyday with my boss, definitely NOT a vacation at all!My Bible/journal/study guide-they go with me everywhere=)And I did it…I took my yoga mat and resistance band with me…a hotel gym is always empty, so I spent most of my evenings taking advantage of all that FREE equipment, as well=) Oh and look who my boss sent up to spend the day with me, Christina…my BEST friend! Here is how she looks going onto her second 24 hours with no sleep...lovely=)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Country Christmas was on the first night there…and since we don’t have a TV at home, I never watch it. But here to the one plus to being in a hotel=) in December too! I got so tired of buggies, but then again I’m tired of them at home too…so just increase their popularity by say a couple hundred and I could have just gone insane…haha!Since most of the populous, up in this part of Indiana ,is mainly Amish I didn’t see a whole lot of Christmas lights, except for right in town. I forgot to bring the power cord for my computer and the nearest Staples was was about a half an hour west of me. There I got to see some lovely Christmas lights. But of course I was driving and taking pictures is never in the equation when I am.This horse is insanely cute! At a little cafè with Christina…the food was delicious! 

Another disappointment of this week was that I, normally a very good sleeper, didn’t sleep through the night once while I was there. When I got home I went straight to bed. And boy did it feel soooo good to actually sleep=)

I had such a good time despite being by myself for a week and the lack of proper sleep. It was lonely but I learned so much…and am so glad I took the time and spent the money to do this. It was an investment that will continue to guide and support me every single day, for years to come.

thoughts…about my future

Lewis J. Walker was asked, “What keeps people from being successful?” Walker replied, “Fuzzy goals.” For example, you may have a goal of owning a cabin in the mountains someday. That’s a fuzzy goal. Someday is the problem. Your goal isn’t specific so it’s not likely to happen. If you truly want a cabin in the mountains, you will need to go find the mountain, find out how much the cabin costs now and how much it will cost later. Then you need to determine how much to save per month. If you do that, you will probably get a cabin. If you don’t it probably won’t happen.

Goals are necessary. But fuzzy goals, uncoupled from an action plan, are delusions. They are rusting boxcars on a sidetrack.

Since the first day of the year I started thinking through my goals for 2015, plus my life goals. And have really been defining them…taking the time to research the cost of “my cabin”.

So I’ve come to the solid decision that this year will not be about shopping, concerts, new clothes, eating out, vacations, hanging out with friends. But my focus will be on:

Working - Saving Money (you probably guessed that by now)

The inner me - getting healthy (spiritually, physically, and mentally).

Simple life enjoyments - my horse, running, gardening, reading (random history and science (my silent love) books

Study – bookkeeping/accounting and hey I might even pick up some photography books. Also I hope to learn some more of the necessary web skills to better my blogging=)
“One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things” John Burroughs

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of you success is found in your daily routine”. ~John C. Maxwell

Source: Business Digest

~Photo-a-day~ Dec 17-23

I’m sitting here partially watching Christmas movies with my parents, they just finished number two for the night and it’s 11:30. way passed my bedtime. But this is what I love about this season…the late family movie nights. Listening to my parents laugh and everyone just enjoying being together. I’m soaking up this time, because I know soon it will be gone. This next year will probably hold many changes for me, good ones but changes that will take this away once and for all.

Last weekend I felt like I met with two every good friends to have a bit to eat and exchange Christmas gifts. They are absolutely such dears…I’ve gotten through a lot of hard spots in my life by having them near.

So far this weeks been amazing! And loads of fun….I made tons and tons of Christmas treats…and I can’t wait to enjoy them on Thursday with the rest of my family. Christmas is so close and work is so demanding…sometimes I feel like saying “can this wait till Monday, tomorrow Christmas” =)

 

Day 351

~cozy~

I know that there isn’t another person in the world who would think of this picture first for the word cozy. But there’s nothing better to me then all the horses in their stalls munching on their grain, in the evening.

Day 352

~handmade~

Sugar cookies from our Amish neighbors=)

Day 353

~number 19~

this one’s pretty lame, but oh well…it’s the number nineteen right?!?!?

Day 354

~dessert~

a gift from another one of my friends a dessert candy, it smells soooo good! But Christina doesn’t appreciate the smell at all.

Day 355

~3 o’clock~

picked up my computer at 3:00 on Sunday!!! It felt like I was whole again….not really that bad, haha. But I sure missed it.

Day 355

~stocking~

We never did the stocking thing growing up, so the best I could do for this picture was take one of my stocking feet, but those aren’t really stocking either. Oh well! let’s just forget this picture even happened.

Day 356

~blessings~

gifts for all of my dad’s employees=) I received a text from my brother this morning telling me how much the guys loved their boxes=) Perfect Christmas gift ever, Amish goodies=)

I’ve been baking a ton this year and have a lot more baking ahead of me tonight…I had to work all day today, kinda makes me sad…I don’t want to be an adult around Christmas time.

Holiday meal staples….

For as long as I can remember egg noodles have always been a part of every big meal, this time of year. And normally that’s the only time we make or eat them. We always made a certain recipe…they were normal egg noodles, just made differently. We cut them out with a knife (talk about A LOT of slow tedious work!) and then lay them out, still wet, on a cookie sheet. Then they were transferred to the freezer and from there to bags. you get the idea… And the spreading them out on the cookie sheets was always my job. To say I hated it, would be an understatement.

This past summer an Amish family let me help them make their summer supply of noodles (now you’d have to know the way Amish are, to really understand how many we made…they eat noodle at least every other day). It went so fast with the pasta maker…and so many hands=) The week of Thanksgiving, Mom mentioned we needed these noodles made… I was quick to volunteer! Now if I’d known I would have to do it single handedly and that it would take me till one,in the morning, on a week night, I might not have been so quick.

But they turned out wonderful and everyone loved them. My mom snapped these pictures of me, before she too, went off to bed...haha!  I have to admit she’s getting very good behind my camera=) Side note: I borrowed this noodle maker from my bosses wife.

I first made the batter. Let it sit for like 10 minutes covered tightly in a warm place (I put them in the oven…it was turned off BTW=) Then rolled out pieces to get them ready to be flatted in the noodle maker. After running them through and they were as thin as I wanted, I hung them on the rack to dry (we didn’t have one of these either so I borrowed our Amish neighbors laundry rack) With the oven on warm and opened below them, they hung drying for about an hour. When they had reached my desired dryness…I took them once again through the noodle maker.  And ta-dah! DONE!

So professional right…I just spread them out on a towel on the kitchen table to dry for a few days=)I made one batch…should have made two but…I guess I’ll have to make more before Christmas dinner…

Please let me know if you’ve very tried to make these…or better yet have you ever had the chance to taste them…Amish restaurant maybe?!?!?!?