Thursday, November 29, 2012

Thoughts... Arrogance?

I pinned this the other day...



I pinned it with the tagline "Guilty.. I've talked about my half a lot" or something like that...

And I couldn't help but wonder... (I love that line from Carrie Bradshaw)... Why are athletes/runners seen as arrogant when telling about their achievements?? People tell when they're pregnant or when their child has a milestone, graduates tell when they have finished college and approached the job market, we all share new jobs or promotions, couples announce engagements... HECK! Fishers tell when they've caught the big one!...And these achievements are embraced with love and encouragement... excitement and questions.....so why on earth do runners seem arrogant for sharing an achievement like running 13 or 26 miles?!? We train for it. It's a part of our lives for a great amount of time....and it's a huge milestone, so why are we not allowed to talk about it just as other people talk about things going on in their lives?? I don't understand this stigma we get. Running is a part of life, just as is someone's job, parenthood or education.

Hey guess what.... I'm Krista and I ran a half-marathon. There. Ha.


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Oh, How Pinteresting... Nov 28

Linking up!
 
 


*****Unfortunately, due to a new format, previous pins will no longer appear*****


Oh boy do I love me some DIY ornaments...  Here are just a few that seem pretty simple!!
















Source: etsy.com via Krista on Pinterest


Source: etsy.com via Krista on Pinterest



Aren't these ornaments cute?!?! Very creative ideas...

Krista

Monday, November 26, 2012

200...

Wow. This is post 200. This blog started four years ago this week as a way to journal our wedding plans and what was happening in our lives.... It's changed and grown quite a bit. It's nothing successful or popular, but I like where it's going and what I'm doing with it. I've finally found a routine and rhythm with the blog so that I'm not constantly writing "Catching Up" posts.... like this one, and this one, and this one... I've done much better keeping a constant flow and I like that. In the future, I plan to continue changing and tweeking the blog to continue making it fit our lives...  Thanks for reading, following and checking in often.

Until Next Time...
Krista

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Weekend

If you're like us.... you've shopped about as much as you can in a weekend, eaten as much filling food as possible and sorted through glitter covered ornaments till your heart is content.... What a great weekend!

We had somewhat of a rollercoaster week with my grandma. Her health went from excellent to down right awful back to excellent all in about 5 days.... There was a time where we didn't know if we would be able to sign her out of the nursing home (there for rehab) to come to dinner, but she improved so much that we were.... God is Good! Our prayers were answered.

Grandma may have gotten to come to Turkey Day, but Cam didn't... he got a sudden round of the stomach bug or food poisoning and was down and out for a few days... Thursday was packed with food, food and more food..... and some great family time!

My Cousin's baby....
I could play with her all day.
We had her laughing so loudly that the whole room was listening.
She melts my heart.


Love her!


Friday was filled with shopping... but we aren't the crazy BF shoppers. We start at like 9:00 AM when all the crazies are heading home to sleep :)  (Sorry to all you crazies... no offense intended)   We shop for a few hours, break for a LONG lunch, shop for a few more, break for a snack, shop for a few more and then break for a LONG dinner... It's a girl's day more than a shopping day... but we do get some stuff done...

Saturday, I helped my mom do some online shopping for a my brother and Cam... After a crazy time with Amazon, she placed a huge order and marked a bunch of things off her list... yay! We also ran to see grandma (She is doing AWESOME! They have her a med to increase her appetite and it is really helping!) and hit up Wal-Mart to get a few more things purchased....

Sunday has been lazy... a blog revamp, some mild laundry and cleaning... a nap, dinner and IU basketball.... I want to hang some wreaths outside, but with Cam still tired from his awful Thanksgiving, I didn't ask him to help today... It will get done : )


I hope your long weekend was as good as ours... This coming week is going to feel so long!
Until Next Time..
Krista

Friday, November 23, 2012

Wor(ry).. What is it good for?

Ok... that's a corny title... and besides that, it's a stretch of the phonetics of the word anyway..... moving on.

I can't believe I'm sharing this. I've only shared this with one other person, but I find it necessary for me and anyone else that worries....Here's a peak into my every day brain...

I wake up and immediately think of what is it that I've been worrying about lately. All day, as soon as I realize I've quit worrying... it starts again. It's as if I don't want a minute to pass without worrying about whatever it is I'm worrying about incase it sneaks up on me and catches me off guard.... This is an all day thing... It might be something small or something huge... I'm just always worrying..

In the car, I worry about a car crossing the center line and hitting me head on.
In a public place, I worry about someone coming in and robbing the place or taking hostages.
While running, I worry about being kidnapped.
When eating something that I'm leary of, I worry about getting food poisoning or E.coli.
I worry about losing loved ones without getting to say good-bye.
I worry about my house burning down every time I start the dryer.
I worry about going broke.
I worry about never getting a classroom to teach in.
I worry about never having a baby of my own.
I worry about the impression I made on someone I encountered that day.
I worry about a tire blowing and me driving off the side of the road.
I worry about being stranded without cell reception.
I worry about breaking a tooth while I'm eating.

I worry all day, every day. I'm always worrying about something...anything.


*****Unfortunately, due to a new format, previous pins will no longer appear*****
I've pinned all the things about worry...
Worry
Great advice
Worry. Worry worry worry.

worry

Worry
Worry
anxiety


And I've read a ton of things about worry.....

It creates a huge shadow out of a tiny thing....
It's like praying for something that you don't want to happen....
It is the darkroom where negatives develop....


All of these things are great, but the worry continues.... I fear things that are not in my control. I fear powerlessness. I feel the worry increasing with age, as I understand more and more about life, and worry about how bad my worrying will be once I have children to worry about. I don't want to teach my children to worry like I do. I have to get this under control before I raise a family. I want to be in control of my life.

This week, I read about the connection of worry to anxiety. I don't know why, but the two never linked in my head before. I knew I was anxious a lot and had anxiety about many things, but realizing that I have anxiety nearly every awake moment of my day was something that shocked me. I have anxiety.

Dealing with anxiety has many approaches.... medicine is not an option at this point for me. I don't feel that my worry affects my every day life. I can go on through the worry. I just plan and think about what I would do in situations that may or may not every happen. Speaking of which-- one of the huge ways to overcome anxiety is to stop playing out situations in your head. Hello! That's me. I do it all day! Another is to accept the worry and let it go.... I'm not sure how to go about this one, but I'll try. Another way is to allow a certain amount of time per day to worry, and to write down your worries... I can try these too.

While reading about worry and its link to anxiety, I came across this:   Worry is the opposite of trusting God. It is simply a lack of faith. Worry replaced by Prayer equals Trust.

These words were crushing to me... I don't want to think of myself as someone who is against God. I was raised in a family that had a love for God and attended church. As a teenager, I attended a bible study a few evenings a week, read my bible, praised the Lord, and so on...... But the more I think... the more I realize that my worry did begin when my faith began to fall....

As more and more unfair things were thrown my way in life and I began to question life itself, my faith began to take a rocky path.... The unfair things led to circumstances that make my life difficult. Not having a teaching job leads to very little money in the bank which leads to worrying that I will go broke... See how the connections are made from my life to my worry?  Do I think that 'happiness' in all aspects of life would relieve the worry? No... there would always be something to worry about, but the drastic circumstances almost always seem to relate back to money... The worry about health/car accidents/not having a family/etc lead back to money because we couldn't afford many more doctors bills right now. I hope and wish that getting hired as a classroom teacher someday will help ease the worry.... easing the pain in my heart has to ease the worry...

Any way... back to my faith. I'll admit. It's shaky right now. Awful, I know. I don't want to be the person I am... I don't want to have the hard feelings on the inside that I have.... I want to be a person of faith. A person that others look to for the words they feel on the inside. Even though I'm dealing with a shaky faith, I still go to my study bible during difficult times... Here are some scriptures I found that had me in tears...

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.


Proverbs 12:25
Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.



Please join me on my journey of overcoming the anxiety and regaining my faith in Him and life.....




 




Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families. Before the holiday rush begins, take some time to think of what all you have to be thankful for. I know that I am thankful for another year with family and friends, love, laughter, support, our jobs, our home, and our freedoms.


Never let the things you want
make you forget what you have.


Happy Thanksgiving..
Krista

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Oh, How Pinteresting... Nov. 21

I hope you're not sick of my Christmas pins yet because "they've only just begun!"



*****Unfortunately, due to a new format, previous pins will no longer appear*****


So I've covered all my favorite pins for the big trees...but what about the mantle?!? It needs some tree love too!!










Source: indulgy.com via Krista on Pinterest








Source: google.com via Krista on Pinterest




Happy Crafting!
Until Next Time..
Krista

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

15 Tips for Holiday Shopping

With just hours left until Black Friday, I thought I'd share a few more Holiday Shopping Tips... These are good tips for any gift giver, whether you're shopping on a budget or not.




1) Never guess on sizes.
Guessing on a clothing size can easily lead to hurt feelings, insults and gifts that never get exchanged.That's not what any giver or receiver wants... so, hire an insider-- the receiver's spouse, parent, sibling, significant other, co-worker...someone who can check a size for you.

2) Look for sales. (Not clearance!)
Shopping a sale is fine... in fact, it's perfect... but there's a difference in shopping a sale and shopping from my favorite part of any store--- clearance. Clearance items usually cannot be returned or exchanged. All sales are final. Don't make this mistake.

3) Make lists.
Making lists helps you insure that you got a gift for everyone, stayed on budget, and had ideas to help if you got stumped in that holiday rush. Start writing down ideas early..

4) Set a budget. Stick to it.
I don't think this needs an explanation, right?

5) Go in on gifts.
Save yourself some money and ask others if they would like to go in on a gift with you. It not only saves you some moo-lah, but opens up a broader range of gifts and someone to bounce ideas around with.

6) Start early.
I cannot stress this enough. Start early. Refer to number 3. Do not wait until Christmas Eve! No one's life needs that. (I saw a cartoon that said, "I could start shopping for Christmas now, but what would I do on Christmas Eve?".... DON'T DO IT!) Not only does starting early relieve stress, but it also allows you to spend a little money at a time, which is great if you're shopping on a budget.

7) Think like the receiver.
Just because you like it doesn't mean they will. The gift is for them...think like them.

8) Keep the receipt.
Designate a spot in your purse, a drawer, your budget book... somewhere to keep all your receipts!

9) Find comparisons.
Don't buy an item at the first place you see it. Look around!

10) Bring coupons.
Stores give coupons for you to use... so use them! Don't be embarrassed. Be proud to save a buck or two! If you don't get any in the mail, print them from the internet.
11) Don't charge it.
Be honest with yourself. If you cannot afford to pay for it now, you cannot afford it. Do not put yourself in debt to give elaborate gifts.

12) Know the exchange policies.
Some stores charge restock fees or only allow exchanges, not refunds.... know the policies. Don't get stuck with store credit to a store that you do not intend to shop at again.

13) Allow shipping time.
Refer back to number 6. Do not wait until the last minute to buy online or from a catalog. The holidays always lead to back orders, slower shipping dates and so on. Allow time.

14) Double check receipts and 'shopping carts.'
Before exiting a store or clicking 'place order,' make sure you've double checked what you're getting. Some sales might not have gone through, you may have forgotten to delete an item from your online cart or one of your items may have fallen back on the conveyer belt to join the mess the person behind you in line put up there without using that divider thingy. Don't get stuck with or without a gift you do or don't need.

15) Designate a 'gift spot.'
From the first gift you buy (which hopefully was purchased in September or October if you did number 6), you should select a spot in your home to house all the gifts you'll be bringing in. You don't want to start wrapping gifts only to find that Great Aunt Sally's sweater is missing. Keep your gifts together and organized.


Do you have any holiday shopping tips? Comment below to share!

Happy Shopping...
Krista

**Fellow bloggers-- Don't forget to become a follower! I like knowing who is reading my stuff so that I can read your posts, too!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Date Night

Every couple needs a date night out occassionally, no matter how low the bank account....
One of mine and Cam's favorite things to do is walk around a resort/casino in a town that's not too far away. The walking and looking is free, and we never gamble more than a couple of dollars, if we gamble at all.

This past weekend, we went to a town with a resort/hotel to see their holiday decorations... gorgeous!
We stopped for a pizza dinner first, and only spent $20 with four slices and a breadstick left over.
One place has a forty-foot tree on top of a nine foot platform.
The other has numerous trees, lights, swags, light posts, garlands, etc... it was all beautiful!
Definitely puts ya in the Christmas spirit.





















If this didn't put ya in the Christmas mood, then throw on some Michael Buble's Christmas music, light some cinnamon candles, warm up some cocoa and... I don't know what else. These pictures should have done it for ya. If it didn't... well, I just don't know... *haha

Until Next Time...
Krista

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Lovin' Sunday....

O.M.G..... what a great week I've had! Here are a few things I'm loving!

1) My Dave Matthews CD that Cam got and gave to me as an early gift... This song is my favorite!
 
Jack and Jill went up the hill... to fetch a pail of water..... ugh! Love it

2) Hunter Hayes- Somebody's Heartbreak... The beauty of this song gives me chills....




3) The time spent with some of my girls lately.... An hour a few nights a week to break a sweat, laugh and get some exercise is good for the heart, mind, body and the soul.

4) My two week recovery period is over and I can get back to running!!!

5) My grandma is doing so much better. She has built up enough strength that she's doing great! She's in the nursing home for rehab right now and we're hoping that she can come home soon.

6) My Christmas decorating is basically done...  I still have my nativity set, wreaths and Cam's Hallmark Ornament tree to do, but other than that--- we're done!
Sneak peak!

7) I start teaching Kindergarten at a new school (for 3 months) on Monday. I'm very nervous about the new building, new faces and the long drive (50 minutes each way), but it's another great experience for me. I'm excited! It will do my heart some good to spend time in a new place.

8) The tiny bit of wet snow that fell for a short time on Monday in our area.... it was just enough to get me even more excited for the holidays... as if that is possible!

9) Thanksgiving is this week! It's a time to think of what amazing things I have in my life, spend time with family, shop.... and it's finally the week that people will stop thinking I'm crazy for having my decor up!


I hope you've had a great week.
Krista