What I didn't wear Wednesday:

sweats!

Let me say it again: I did not wear sweats for the whole week!  In fact, I actually dressed up (which for me means more than just jeans and a sweatshirt) three days this week.

I don't have the proof.  You are just going to have to believe me.

It was actually kind of fun getting ready for the day.  (Although I did feel a little guilty blow-drying my hair yesterday.  It takes me so long and I rarely have time for it, so I think it's time for a hair cut.  Now to decide how to get it cut...  Any suggestions?)  Although I wore "regular people clothes" three days this week, I had a hard time coming up with three outfits that I actually wanted to wear, so I found myself wearing the same skinny jeans and brown boots two out of those three days.

I need some style.

So, I got to thinking: what if I found an outfit or two (most likely on Pinterest) that I really liked and tried to copy the look with items that I already own and perhaps a few pieces that total under $20.  Sounds like a challenge.  So, here it goes.  (And I promise I will post pictures of the end result)

Love the simplicity.  Cute and comfy, but stylish as well

I've been wanting to try black and brown together, but I am scared.  I have always been "matchy-matchy."  Also, I think that I will probably skip the feather earrings...I'm just not in to that.

Purses and the Sabbath

As I promised, a post about Sabbath reflections.

Last week at work we had some down-time (a very rare occurrence!) and I got to talking about religion with one of my coworkers who is Jewish.  She was talking about going to temple and having to tuck her tube of lipstick in the waistband of her skirt since you aren't suppose to take your purse into temple.

Not take your purse to church?  What are you suppose to do with your cell-phone, checkbook, credit cards and cash?  Or your lipstick, lotion, hairbrush...or whatever else you happen to NEED with you at all times?  I asked her why purses were not allowed in the temple and she said that you aren't suppose to deal with money or finances on the Sabbath.  She said that the church members still tithe, but they don't bring their money to the temple on the Sabbath, instead they send their tithes in the mail or drop them off on another day.

Hmmm....

I got to thinking about this.  I am not Jewish, but I am intrigued by the idea of not bringing my purse to church on Sunday.

Why?

What does a purse represent?  It represents what it holds: wordly belongings.  My valuables.

Coach is just a name.

Wallet: full of credit cards, debit cards, banking information, and cash (<--not as much as I'd like though!).

Checkbook: though I hardly use it anymore because debit cards are so handy!

Black filing folio: with coupons for stores that I go to often


Planner: which has EVERYTHING in it-- my many "to do" lists (In fact, I have a whole moleskin book dedicated to my many "to do" lists...crazy I know) and my work schedule.  Without it I would be lost.

Photo album with pictures of my precious little boy...all of which you've probably already seen since I post so many pictures of him!

Personal care items: perfume, hairbrush, mirror and some other "female things" that don't deserve to be photographed.  :)

The contents of my purse.  Where's the Bible in all that stuff?  Just sayin'.

What do all these things represent: my wealth, my time, my vanity... Not to mention my purse itself, which is a designer purse (although I did buy it at the outlet store for 70% off, it still represents wealth and vanity.  That's not to say that I think that owning a coach purse -- or any other designer purse for that matter -- is a bad thing, but I know that my desire to buy this purse came out of a desire to "have" a "status symbol". Our society places value on certain things, and at the time I felt that because people value expensive purses that if I had one I would be viewed as more successful, put-together, and more deserving of respect from those around me.  I mean, I could afford a coach purse.

...at 70% off.  ;)

(And I worked extra incentive hours at work to pay for it).  I do like the purse now (perhaps mostly for the comments I get on it...), but I wouldn't have normally made a purchase like this.

So, I think that this Sunday I will attend church SANS coach purse.  Or any other purse for that matter.  The purse carries the worldly things I have decided are valuable to me and I want to make sure that I keep those things in their proper place.  Money has a purpose and is necessary, however we need to be diligent in being good stewards of God's blessings and not worshiping money.  Planners are important to keep us on schedule, but we need to make sure that we are allowing room for God's plans for our day.  Lip gloss and bobby pins and mirrors and brushes are good to have around, but it's important not to let our looks become more important than the inner beauty God wants us to cultivate.  So this Sunday, instead of bringing my purse and all it's contents, I will bring the diaper bag.  The ever-stylish tote filled to the brim with diapers (both clean and dirty), wipes and butt cream.


Sounds chic!

The diaper bag isn't that bad, is it?

Disclaimer: I am in no way suggesting that a girl can't have nice things (I think that a girl should have a few nice, classic pieces in their wardrobe, but it's important to make sure that those things aren't bought as idols or as status symbols.  If you've worked hard and decided to treat yourself with a new purse.  Go for it!  Just make sure it's because you like it, not because our society values it)

Give it your all!

So much for resolving to post more frequently!

I go through fits where I wonder why I even have a blog.  It's not because I think that blogging is silly-- in fact there a quite a few blogs out there that I enjoy reading, but those are usually blogs with helpful tips and hints for saving money or making delicious meals or DIYing.  I've tried to post some of those things, but truth-be-told I hardly have time to do those things, let alone blog about them.

But here I am blogging.  Nate is in bed (we just completed our bath, bottle and book routine, although he didn't stay awake for the book part) and I have so many things that I want to get done, that I am overwhelmed.  So, I suppose you could say that I am procrastinating.  And I am not a procrastinator.

But on to the reason I am blogging: I had an epiphany.

Or something like an epiphany.

One of my goals for this year is to get back in shape.  Not body shape-wise, but cardiovascular and strength-wise.  I have always enjoyed running 5Ks in the spring and summer, but now it's been well over a year since my last one.  The Marion Arts 5K is a yearly favorite for me, in part because it takes me back to the days when Austin and I were interested in each other (but not yet dating).  It was an awkward time in our relationship, but at the same time it was so thrilling and exciting.  After running the race the first year we knew each other we walked around downtown Marion together.  It was perfect.  So for some reason the Marion Arts Festival 5K is important to me.  And I am going to run it again this year.

Or the half-marathon.

Austin is planning on running the half and I think that would be a challenging, yet reachable, goal for me.  So the training has begun.  Today was my long-run day and I set a goal for 5 miles on the treadmill (a distance that is longer than I have ever ran on a treadmill.  I hate treadmills.  When I run on a treadmill I feel like gerbil or a mouse and it's near impossible to keep from getting bored).  Last week I had a goal for 5 miles and did not reach it and at the beginning of my run it appeared I would face the same fate: failure to meet my goal.   Mile one was easy, but as I passed the one mile mark I found myself coming up with excuses to quit early.  I thought for sure that I would stop short of my goal.  But every mile I convinced myself that I could go one more.  And before I knew it I was at mile 4.  And by that time, there was no turning back.  Mile 5 came and went and I exceeded my goal.  And it was exhilarating.

As I was driving home I was thinking about how accomplished I felt.  Tired and sore, yes, but more importantly I felt that I could do almost anything.  I had a renewed energy and a desire to give everything "my all."  It reminded me of 1 Corinthians 9:24

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.


Obviously this doesn't just apply to running but to life in general.  I don't want to give things half-effort.  I want to give my all--run to get the prize--in everything I do.  That doesn't necessarily mean I will succeed in everything (although it may increase my chances), but rather it means that I will try hard and give all my time, energy and focus--100%--to the task at hand.  Whether that is giving quality time to God during my quiet times, giving all my attention to Nate when it's play-time, or even just relaxing when the time comes to kick back (yes, it's important to give your all to observing Sabbath...that's another topic I want to tackle soon.)

I suppose I could go on, but this post is getting long and I think you are probably getting the idea:

Give it your all!

And here are a few pics of little Nate giving play-time his all!

Nate loves to sit up all by himself.  What a big boy!

A little post-play time stretching!

Project organize the kitchen

This weekend was a bear.  It was my first full weekend back at work.  Granted I only worked two eight hour shifts (and both days were fairly easy as far as patient load goes), it was tough to be away from Austin and Nate all day.  This is one of the big reasons we have our house on the market: so that we have the opportunity to spend more time together as a family.  Maternity leave was amazing!  We had so much family time that we have never had before.

Speaking of, our house is still on the market if you are interested.  We did have two showings and 5 groups show up at our open house this past week, so you better get in gear and put an offer in.

No, but seriously, do it.

Since our house has been on the market things have been pretty darn clean but I am kind of an organizing mad-woman and am taking addiction to "a place for everything and everything in it's place" a little too far.  I have signed up for weekly home organization challenge emails.  Last weeks challenge: countertops and sink.

Become a organization mad-woman like me

Now, let me just say I pretty much skipped this challenge because our counters are clean.  I mean clean, clean.  There are two towels, a coffeemaker, toaster, knife block and kitchen aid mixer on the sink.  And that is it.  And I keep my kitchen sink pretty well cleared of dishes.

Although I am already ahead of the game, there was one point that made me think: "we need to consider how we currently use our kitchen-either intentionally or unintentionally."  The blogger at home storage solutions 101 listed several different functions of a kitchen and I pretty much use the kitchen for food prep and storage and family control and planning center (AKA: calendar!).  My husband, on the other hand, uses the kitchen as a dumping ground-he drops papers, keys, books...just about anything and everything on the first horizontal surface he can find after entering the house and this happens to be the kitchen counter.

So, since I have identified that (unintentional) function of my kitchen (which happens to drive me crazy), I am going to do something about it.  I'm not sure what, but perhaps I will create a dish or a bowl or a drawer for this purpose: anything to get the junk off the counter!

Another thing that I have taken away from this weeks challenge is to declutter by getting rid of all of the things that are either old, broken, are duplicates or that I haven't used in the past year.  I have not gotten to this yet, but I plan to.  Decluttering always makes me feel wonderful!  For some reason it's freeing.

Well, I don't have a picture for this post and I feel like its super lame to have a post without a picture.  Because, let's be honest...you really just want to see another picture of Nate:

Nate's first time in the johnny jump up!  What a big boy!

Thrifty Thursday

I had such great plans for today.  

It was gorgeous outside.  Definitely not your typical Iowa winter weather.  But then again, Iowa is anything but typical.  Tomorrow may be below freezing, who knows!  (Although it sounds like it is suppose to stay fairly mild this week).  I was excited to get outside for another run (I am hoping to run a half-marathon this May, so I need to get serious about training...) and I had projects that I wanted to start on during Nate's nap time.  But then came the phone call. 

When your house is on the market, it's kind of like it's not your house.  It's your realtor's house.  When they call requesting a showing-even if it's only an hour before the desired showing time-you kind of have to "go with the flow."  So, Austin and I power-cleaned the house in an hour-and-a-half.  It was intense.  We hadn't really picked up the house much since having all of our family over, so it wasn't a light cleaning.  It was an all-out, get-your-booty-in-gear, don't-stop, let-Nate-cry, clean-fest.  But we got it done and our realtor said "it showed great."  Now, if only that meant, "the buyers would like to make an offer," or even better, "the buyers would like to pay more than your asking price because they love the house so much and because your house is so clean..."

But at least now my house is clean.

On to the topic of today's post: "Thirfty Thursday."  At the beginning of the New Year, Austin and I reviewed our budget.  If you don't have one, definitely create one.  Reviewing the way you spend your money is a very useful-and sometimes painful-exercise.  It's painful because it's helped me realize that I spend way more money on "wants" than I thought I did. 

Here's a link to the Monthly Family Budget Worksheet that I use.  There are many out their on the web.  Find one that works for you and your family and give it a try!

After reviewing and making changes to our budget, I printed off these cash envelopes.  

Austin and I have always tried to withdraw cash each week and use it for all of our gas, household, grocery and "fun money."  I've found that this helps me spend less because I don't want to part with my cash and because I can see how much money I have left for the week.  It really cuts down on impulse buys at the grocery store because it's really embarrassing when you don't have enough cash to pay for your bill.  (Ok, I'm not that intense.  If I happen to go over a little, I debit it and make sure to note it and withdraw less cash the following week). 

Well, if you want to know, I am already over budget...and it's only 5 days into the New Year.  But that's okay.  I'd rather know that I am over budget so that I can make some changes for the next week than to continue making the same choices.  If you make the same choices you will continue to see the same results.

So make a change, it's not too late: it's only 5 days into the New Year!

I resolve to get dressed this year!

I've never participated in the "what I wore Wednesdays" blog postings.  If I had, you'd be seeing pictures of me wearing the same worn-out pajamas day after day.

My everyday sweats.  Can you see the spit up/drool on Nate's chin?  P.S. Baby spit up is highly visible on black clothing.  Perhaps I need to rethink my daily sweatsuit.  Maybe a lighter color to blend in with the spit up...

This is actually my Christmas sweatsuit.  Note the red t-shirt?  Nice of me to dress up for Christmas, huh?

Ok. Maybe it's not that bad, bur I do pretty much spend all my time in loose fitting, drawstring pants and comfy tops.  Except on the two days I go to work.  Because on those days I wear loose fitting, drawstring scrub pants with a comfy over-sized scrub top:

Low on style, but high on comfort.

But my point is that I rarely really get dressed for the day.  I would tell you that I don't have anything to wear, or that nothing fits me, but neither of those two statements are true.  Bottom line is I am lazy.  Why put on something semi-decent when I know that in a matter of an hour or two I am going to have either baby puke or worse, baby poop all over my nice clothes.

And since I'm not putting on something semi-decent, why bother putting on makeup.  And since I am not putting on makeup, does it really make sense to do my hair, or even brush it?  And before you know it, I've completely rationalized my way out of taking a shower.

I don't find it particularly necessary to post pictures of cute outfits that I put together (because, lets face it, I never was much of a fashionista), but I would like to get this "what I wore" thing a try.  Maybe it will help me actually get showered and ready for a day.  I might feel more accomplished.  And lets be honest, my husband might appreciate it.

So, my new New Years Resolution is to get dressed.  I may or may not post pictures of me wearing something cuter than pajamas, but either way, I plan on wearing real clothes at least three days a week.

Doesn't that sound like a pathetic resolution?  We'll see how long it takes before I break it.

(P.S. Don't ask me what I'm wearing now.  Austin's old high school football sweatpants and that same black hoodie with spit up all over it.)

I'll start tomorrow.

Will my baby be denied health insurance?

Today was the big weigh-in.

And by "weigh-in" I mean Nate's big 4 month check-up! Before I get to the particulars, I want to share with you something I found while cleaning a few nights ago:

I couldn't figure out how to rotate this photo, but it's a newborn diaper.  

 I held this diaper up to Nate and I can't believe how small he was when we brought him home.  He is so big now!  Here is another picture of the diaper compared with a glue stick.  Crazy small:

Wish I could get the picture rotated... But you get the idea.  Small.

And Nate wasn't even a tiny baby when we brought him home; he weighed 8 lbs and 3.5 oz and was 20.5 inches long.  At his two month check-up he was near the 90th percentile for weight and only the 20th for height.  So we were happy to find out today that he was starting to grow in a different direction than just "around."  (Although he is doing plenty of growing around his midsection too!)

Nate weighed in at 17 pounds and 14 ounces and was 24.5 inches long.  He was in the 93rd percentile for weight and the 60th for length.  So he's starting to catch up!

Now, to the title of my post: will Nate be denied health insurance coverage.  According to a news report from the Denver Post, a 4 month old who weighed 17 pounds and was 25 inches long was denied health insurance for being "too fat."  (Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,564501,00.html#ixzz1iS5GDqmD)

I have to say that Nate is chubby, but babies are suppose to be and Nate is just the right size for him.  I love all of his cute little baby chub.  He is adorable.  

Even when he is crying (which he is doing now).  I blame the tears on the three shots my big boy had to get today.  I think it's time to cuddle the little chub!