Archive for the ‘Life’ Category
And Then I Turn 30…
Posted on: March 19, 2012
- In: Life
- 6 Comments
I’m turning 30 this weekend. Thirty. The big 3-0. And frankly, I’m freaking out a bit.
Typically, I don’t think much about age, but this birthday is throwing me. A little over two years ago, I set up 30 goals I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30. I’ve gotten about halfway through the list. It’s not looking like I’ll complete it before Sunday. And with that looming over me, I’ve been wondering, “what have I done for the last two years of my life?“. I figured, I’d do what I do best – make a list of the highlights from the last two years.
2. Ran a half marathon {3 times}
3. Had my first ever girls weekend in New York City
5. Attended my first ever blogging conference
6. Bought my husband’s dream home
7. Saw my best friend get married
8. Found out we were bringing a boy into our very girly home
9. Celebrated not just five, but six years of marriage to an amazing guy
10. Had sweet little Joseph Judea
So, I might not be reaching my 30 before 30 goal by the weekend. But I’d say the last two years {plus the 28 before that} have been down right amazing. Here’s to making the next 30 just as kicking.
Visit Angie at Many Little Blessings for more Top Ten Tuesday.
Spring Break and SXSW
Posted on: March 14, 2012
- In: Life
- 5 Comments
The last two weeks have been one long blur. Jonathan’s been prepping for South by Southwest {SXSW} and the launch for HP Cloud. That has translated into long nights and working all weekend. We are now half way through Spring Break week and I am throughly confused as to what day it actually is {yesterday felt like a Friday, though it was Tuesday}.
Monday Night at the Belmont, show hosted by HP Cloud
At FrogDesign Party
Even with the crazy schedule lately, this is the first Spring Break {post-college} that has actually felt like Spring Break. It probably helps that the girls are usually in school, so to be home all week feels like a vacation/break in some way. Thanks to beautiful weather, we’ve been outdoors a lot and spending ample amounts of time with friends.
Hannah diving right in at Barton Springs
Julia was a little more timid of the cold water
Today we are making a trip to the Austin Zoo and Sanctuary with some friends. I made the mistake of telling Julia last week that we were planning to go, and she hasn’t stopped asking me about it since. Note to self : Don’t tell your kids a week before an event takes place… Lesson learned.
Hopefully by this weekend, Jonathan’s work will have slowed down enough for him to be home and we can enjoy the last few days of break together as a family.
How is your Spring Break? Do you have the week off?
- In: Life
- 19 Comments
Since moving into our house, we’ve been talking about painting our front door. The biggest struggle was figuring out what color we wanted to use. Then about two weeks ago, I saw this ::
I knew, just knew, that we needed to paint our door blue. After narrowing down our choices from 15+ paint options to 6, we finally went with this ::
I sanded and washed down the door. Then I spent Tuesday afternoon/evening painting and putting on new hardware. All. By. Myself. I am woman, hear my roar. I’ve never painted a door and I’ve never used exterior paint. I was pretty surprised at how quickly the paint dried, which made the process go much faster than I expected. Putting together the hardware proved to be the most time consuming. But with drill in hand, I got the dead bolt and lever installed with only a few hiccups along with way.
In person the color pops and is beautiful. Beautiful. And I love it.
But Jonathan isn’t a fan. He thinks it’s too bright and pops too much and doesn’t go with all the green around the outside. He wants to go with a darker blue {think navy blue}. Sorry to throw you under the blog bus babe, but, dear readers, here’s where you can help…
Do you think the color is too bright?
We’ve agreed to leave the color for at least a month until I can add in some accents to make the colors flow together more. Until then, give me your honest opinion…
Should we stay with this color?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Disclaimer :: I want to clarify that Jonathan and I aren’t fighting about the door color. Any arguing points {which I wouldn’t even call it an arguing, but rather differing opinions} are all in good fun. It’s a door, after all.
Joseph Judea – 4 Months Old
Posted on: March 4, 2012
- In: Life
- 2 Comments
Joseph turned 4 months old today! It is his “golden” month – turning four months on the fourth!
This little man loves him some bath time. Without fail, he almost always pees while getting a bath. And without fail, I crack up every time. I’m not sure if that makes me as juvenile as a junior high kid, but I can’t help it. Perhaps it doesn’t help having two giggling girls either.
This weekend was absolutely gorgeous. Sorry to all my non-Texan friends who are still in the throws of winter. Spring time has fully arrived here in our fair state. And while you might be hating me now, trust me, you will not envy the summer that we are sure to have.
Joseph celebrated his “golden” month by taking a trip to the Austin Kite Festival, followed by an evening spent swinging. We discovered that Joseph is quite the escape artist already, as he managed to get his arms out from under the swing’s safety straps every time we put them on. Tricky little boy…
Over the last couple of weeks, Joseph has “discovered” Jack. One afternoon, Jack got right up in his face; Joseph’s eyes got super big, he shook his head, and I am most certain the thought “holy smokes, what IS that thing?!?” crossed his mind. Since then, both of been pretty smitten. Joseph likes to have stare downs with Jack during tummy time. Jack is always obliging, especially if he can get a face lick in {which is what he was just about to do when I snapped that picture}. All you non-dog folk can go ahead and “ewww” all you like. Face licks in this house are a dime a dozen. Builds the immune system, or so I tell myself.
Joseph is by far our most laid back child. He’s content most of the time, giving us far more giggles and smiles then cries. He sleeps just like I’d expect any of my children to sleep, and I’m cherishing the nights we have together. He still gets into bed with us after his first nighttime feeding, and I love snuggling with him through the rest of the night. He’s had a little cold – runny nose, slight cough – and I think sleeping next to me has really helped keep him feeling safe and relaxed while his body is fighting the yuckies.
Other Joseph-isms ::
– he started rolling over right before he turned 3 months
– oddly enough, after showing us his new trick for several days {even letting us film it}, he’s completely boycotted rolling over
– after several mama-friends confirmed my belief, it does look like Joseph has a little tooth bud on his bottom right side
Am I Pretty?
Posted on: March 2, 2012
- In: Life
- 4 Comments
“Am I pretty?”
Julia asks me this question on a near daily basis. She is figuring out the world around her, figuring out what she considers pretty {or beautiful} and wants to know how she compares. “Am I pretty like this flower, mama? Am I pretty like this dress, mama? Am I truly pretty?”
Each time she asks, I answer with a resounding “YES! You are beautiful!”. But I don’t stop there. I tell her why she’s beautiful.
She’s kind. She’s thoughtful. She’s smart. She’s great at encouragement. She’s obedient. She’s funny.
These are the things that make her pretty.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised. Proverbs 31:30
“Am I pretty?”
I realize how often I ask this question, it just comes in different forms. “Am I thin enough? Am I attractive enough? Am I good enough? Am I truly pretty?”
While running the half marathon, I spent the whole time listening to a series our church did on idols. Every person has an idol in the life; something they value more than God; something that they desire above all else. I realized one of my idols is my body {or imagine}. I’ve listened to what the world says about women and bought their lies. I’ve ignored the truth.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised.
The problem with idols is that they leave you hollow. Empty and longing for more. Even if you achieve what you desire, it will not give you what you want. A runner’s body will not make me happy, it will not take away self doubt, it will not make me feel confident, it will not make me feel loved.
I’ve been taking time this week to really lay my imagine idol before the Lord. It’s hard. There is nearly 30 years of wrong thinking I am trying to undo. Lies I am having to let go. But finally, I don’t want my body to come first. I don’t want that idea of who I should be, to take precedence over who I am meant to be.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised.
When I am old and grey, I want my kids to say “Our mom was a woman who feared the Lord.” I don’t want there to be something in my life, something so fleeting, so empty, that it takes away my joy, my contentment, my identity in Christ.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised.
I won’t always remember that fearing God is greater than worldly beauty. But daily I will challenge myself to cling to God’s truth and promises. This world is deceptive and does not last, but fear of the Lord will bring me praise.
A Month of Instagram Pictures
Posted on: February 29, 2012
- In: Life
- 4 Comments
For the month of February I took a photo challenge on Instagram. A super easy and fun idea created by Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim, it really helped me capture my day to day life.
Here are just a few of my favorite photos from February ::
Chantelle has a new Instagram photo challenge for March, and since today is the First of March, I’m already getting started for this month.
Do you have Instagram? If so, have you ever participated in a monthly challenge?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
My Top Oscar Fashion Picks
Posted on: February 27, 2012
- In: Life
- 4 Comments
I love the Oscars. I can do without the other award shows, but the Oscars are a tradition. The dresses, the jewelry, the hairdos. It’s all over the top and I love it. And every year there are some knock out styles.
1. Penelope Cruz – I’m not a huge Penelope fan, but I’d be crazy not to admit she looked a-maz-ing.
2. Emma Stone – I love red dresses on red heads.
3. Natalie Portman – I just loved the polka dots. Simple elegance.
4. Tina Fey – Tina oozed sophistication. She hit it out of the park in my mind.
5. Melissa McCarthy – The color, the flowiness, the jewels. Love it all.
6. Meryl Steep – Rare is the person who can pull off a gold dress, but if anyone can, Meryl can. She is gorgeous. Gorgeous.
7. Viola Davis – Viola chose such a beautiful green that went perfectly with her skin tone. So pretty.
8. Cameron Diaz – I love the fitted then flared look on Cameron. Probably doesn’t hurt that she’s a skinny-minny.
9. Gwyneth Paltrow – The cape she first appeared in was a little weird, but her dress was so simple and subtle that I couldn’t help but love it.
10. Alexandra Lamy – A throw back to Greecian days, Alexandra looked stunning in her dress.
Did you watch the Oscars? If so, did you have a favorite dress?
Visit Amanda at Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
Austin Half Marathon 2012
Posted on: February 20, 2012
- In: Life
- 12 Comments
Yesterday I completed the Austin Half Marathon.
Enjoying a chocolate shake about an hour post-race
I have to say this was my best race yet. I wasn’t as nervous as last year, as I knew what to expect. Though, I will say, like child birth, you forget how killer the hills are. About 2 miles in I remembered why this part of Texas is called the hill country… Thankfully this year, Jonathan and I coordinated where he and the kids would be cheering during the race, so I was able to see them at mile 8 which gave me a huge boost.
I got oddly nauseous at mile 7, which I think was related to drinking too much Gatorade {I don’t drink Gatorade while running just during recovery}. I suppose the sweetness of Gatorade just didn’t sit well with my stomach. Thankfully it passed quickly, and I didn’t actually get sick.
By mile 6 my hips were beginning to hurt, nothing major, just slightly irritating. However, once I reached mile 11, there was a killer hill. At that point I walked up the hill to give my hips a break and catch my breath. My hips thanked me for it later, by pushing through to the end without any real pain.
Once the hill was done, I was able to finish off the race strong. It was such a good feeling to cross the finish line and be greeted by my family and friends.
I celebrated with a great burger and shake from P. Terry’s. My recovery has been really good, and with the exception of a little glut pain yesterday and calf soreness today, I’ve felt really good.
Jonathan said after this race he has been convinced he wants to run with me next year {woot!}. And after seeing a few families running together, I’m hoping once the kids get old enough we can make it a family event!
- In: Life
- 6 Comments
I’m in the final days of training for the half marathon on Sunday. Is it just me, or have the last 8 weeks gone by really fast? Whew.
It’s been a good training time with some lessons learned. One of those lessons being – after your third baby, your badder just ain’t what it use to be. TMI? Perhaps. But consider it a warning ladies…
Another good lesson learned – I am insane. Granted I knew that already, it’s just now I get to prove it to all my family and friends. Again.
But perhaps the most important lesson {re}learned – My husband rocks. He’s been so good about dealing with the crazy-Sarah that comes out during training {let’s just say I can go a little overboard sometimes} and has rallied around me yet again to see me through to the end.
While so many people are racing this year to either support a great cause or to prove to themselves that they can run such a race, I’ll be honest and say, at this point I’m just really looking forward to a post race P.Terry burger and shake.
Grammy Recap; Adele No Shock, But I’ve Never Seen this Mouse in My House
Posted on: February 12, 2012
- In: Life
- 8 Comments
{photo credit :: cassette couture}
Have you ever seen this Mickey Mouse? Turns out, it’s not Mickey, but a Canadian DJ and producer, stage named deadmau5 {pronounced “dead mouse”}. Jonathan was flabbergasted that I’d never heard of deadmau5, cause apparently when it comes to electro/house music, deadmau5 is the mouse guy.
I always swore that I’d stay in the loop when it comes to pop culture. I’d fight against that mom cage of cultural ignorance. After watching the Grammy’s this evening, I can safely say that I failed to keep my promise. Looks like I have to turn in my “cool-mom-always-with-it pop-culture-guru” card.
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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