Yeah, I'm a gym member now :)

And not just any gym, but the YMCA!  It's fun to stay at the YMCA!... okay, I'll stop now ;)

I've never had a gym membership before in my life, and this makes me feel quite "legit."  We've had apartments with gyms, and I've used school/university gyms, but I'm really excited about being able to work out and attend actual classes.  Our YMCA has unlimited access to classes which I do MUCH better with.  I need to be told exactly what to do and when to do it, otherwise I lose motivation quickly (or I become overwhelmed in the weight room).

So far, I've been to two Zumba classes.  Being a newbie was fun, but also quite intimidating.  I made the mistake of raising my hand and saying I was new during the first class when she asked, so the teacher came over a lot to dance next to me.  And this just makes me nervous and mess up more.  Oh joy.  I'll be honest, I drowned for about 1/3 of the first class trying to figure out the steps, and I discretely moved myself to the back so no one could see me. 

I expected Zumba to be fun, challenging, and a lot like salsa--which it was.  I love the music, and I love the Latin flare, but I never expected the people to be so intense and crazy about this class.  I didn't realize that a gym membership Zumba class would produce such a following or people who are so devout.

If you have never "Zumba-ed" before, you know it's no joke.

First there are the zumba shoes.  Yes, lots of people have them, and I don't understand.  They are like a tap sneaker?  Confusing...

Then there is Zumba work-out gear.  People were actually wearing this stuff...

 The girl in front of me had pants that said "I love Zumba" on the butt.  Not even kidding.  Awkward!  Please stop following my blog if I ever by those pants ;)

It's fun, though.  You are expected to "Woop Woop" and shout a lot while you dance.  You do forget that you are working out.



Like I said, it's quite intense.  I'll let you know when I have a six pack. ;) ;)

I'm unique!

And so is my puppy Luna.  Check it out:



I was thinking today about our uniqueness.  Despite being something you are told about since childhood--"LET THE REAL YOU SHINE!"-- it is still hidden most of the time because different is "flawed."  But think about how many of your "flaws" shaped you and prepared you for the path you have chosen today and make you really great at what you do. 

I have tons of "flaws", too many to name, but to give an example, I'm a terrible speller.  Horrid, ATROSHIOUS. (And if you didn't catch that I spelled atrocious wrong, chances are you are, too!  Hehe).  However, my lack in the spelling department made me a really good editor because I really have to pick my work apart to make it correct, and I really honed my craft as a writer, thought organizer, and detail minded reader in high school.  I actually had a job and made money off of helping others edit their papers in college.  Go figure.

And for all those times as a kid I got yelled at for making my games too "over the top" (making stages and destroying entire rooms for the sake of a play or creating an indoor roller coaster--yes, I truly did make one of those), it makes me a really creative, good teacher who can turn any random prop into a learning tool.  Yay, Spanish. :)

So go ahead and straddle the arm of a chair, get those funny looks, and balance higher than the rest! :)

New Furniture!

YAY!  We FINALLY got our new couches.  They arrived on Saturday afternoon, right before we were going over to our friends' house to help them take up their carpet.  That's what friends are for, no? ;)

Anyway, we were SO GLAD to get them!  We had been living on air-mattresses on the floor for the past several months.  It was kid of fun, I'll admit.  Kind of bachelor-pad-o, but fun :)  Still, that didn't change the fact that we were jump-up-and-down excited for our new furniture to come.

Enough ramble, here are the pics.  Here was the room "before," on closing day. 

Here is the room now.  A fresh coat of paint on the built-ins, a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and a place to sit!

 Here are more angles if you are nosy like me :)

 

Here is looking into the kitchen (we eventually plan to mount the t.v.):

 Here is an up-close of how we dressed up the fireplace mantle, it's obviously still a work in progress, but it didn't cost a lot at all.  Everything was IKEA.  It's a Ribba Shadow-Box frame (just $19.99 I believe), and the little votives were only $ .50 each.  We already owned the candles.

And for the record, the couches are VERY comfortable...just ask LUNA.  She is the best judge of this sort of thing.

Still left to tackle:

• Spraypaint fireplace doors (blag!)
• Get a fire tools set so we can actually have a fire!
• Find art for between the windows

Thank you Vicki and Chuck for our awesome housewarming gift! :)

Is it a sin...

to kill a honeybee hive?

There is one under our porch, and Charlie mentioned we should just spray the thing and call it a day.  But there is a part of me that doesn't want to see them die.  I know, I know, it would prevent us from using our porch and that would stick.

They somehow seem very smart to me, though.  There are always a few riding the wind over the deck (I never realized they did this!).  They almost seems to be playing, too.  They fly in these very specific, repetitive patterns and they seems to chase each other.  It is so fascinating!

I feel so guilty killing them because of all of the beautiful flowers they pollinate, the honey they make, and their intelligence...their workmanship is divine, and it seems wrong.  (Wasps, on the other hand, those suckers were meant to die.)  Honeybees...how can you not love them?

Sigh, I supposed with a severe bee allergy in my genes (my father) it might be a good idea to put them to rest.

Why do they have to make me feel all nostalgic and guuuuuilty!!!!!?!?!?

SOY

I keep a bottle of soy sauce in my classroom at all times.  Why?  Because "soy" means "I am" in Spanish.  We've decorated the bottle over the years, put stickers on him, and he's become "el Sr. Soy" in class, a beloved mascot that always helps the kids remember the verb.  Yo soy inteligente :)

That is until a 6th grader, assigned with the task of getting the bottle, let it slip off of his desk and crack all over the floor.

It was in the that moment, as I saw the sauce spread over the ugly blue carpet and be absorbed like a sponge, I thought, "Why on earth did I keep a glass bottle with a smelly brown liquid in this room for 4 years?"


And oh my does it smell.  Putrid.  Rancid.  Disgusting.  Asqueroso.  Ahhhh.

No matter how much cleaning product has been put on it, how many paper towels have be used to soak it up, and how much backing soda has been sprinkled...the entire room reeks of Kikkoman less sodium Soy Sauce.

If you have ever wondered what an entire bottle of 5 year old soy sauce spilling on the carpet and being cleaned up shottily by a janitor smells like, I'll give it to you in the words of my kids.  (All of these are true, anecdotal observations by 6th, 7th, and 8th graders walking into the room, who didn't see the bottle spill)...

"Mrs. S, it smells like old McDonalds in here!"

"Ahhhh...it smells like Twizzlers!"

"What is that smell?  It smells like my Grandma's garage!"

"Woahhhh...crazy!  It smells like Cheetos and Taco Bell...and peanuts!"

"Mrs. S, it smells like a baby's butt." 



Please save me.

Please...  From now on, I will always use plastic bottles!

I finished...

...MY THESIS.

And there she is in all her glory.  Hours of work were poured into her, and I can't believe it's DONE.  78 pages, all in Spanish, bound and beautiful.  It feels so good.  I'm so proud of myself, and I can't believe that I did it!  There were moments along the way that I doubted myself!

Unfortunately,  I made the mistake of re-reading the final copy, and I found a few little errors (missing commas in a list: blank, blank, and blank) and one place where two words that were typed as one.  DOH!  This really crazy, stubborn part of me wants to have it re-printed.  I have to decide what I want to do by Friday of this week.  Charlie thinks I should just send it in, but UGGGGG....  all that work and I want perfection, you know?  Haha.

Spring and pruning.

Charlie didn't get the new job.  He was great, his portfolio rocked, and he did everything right.  He was called back for a second interview, and I know he rocked that.

This time wasn't the one...but man was that hard to hear.  When he told me on my way home from work on Friday, I was crushed for him.  Charlie has been working hard and gaining new clients in NC and through his dad's company, but this one would have been huge.  I was so excited for him, and I wanted to hear good news that would make me jump up and down and scream for joy.  My heart broke.

I told him I loved him, he was great, and if they didn't see that then it was their loss... but no words of encouragement can heal someone's heart that is hurting from not making the cut.  It's hard and brutal.

We have such a supportive small group, and some of our friends are facing similar struggles and not having this "life thing" all figured out, planned, and tied in a neat little bow, knowing where your job will take you... that's hard, but it's a step in faith at the same time.  It's hard to be in a season in your life, and feel like you've been called to do great things, and for God to change your direction.  Hard because you want to know best and control it all.

This is pretty cliche, I know, but being outside on this beautiful weekend, made me think so much about God's grace in the flowers.  :) 

Our Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry tree

We are literally in a season of pruning right now.  We finally got our trees trimmed (the HUGE ones around the yard that were dead and needed to come down), and we also did a little pruning ourselves.  (Can you spot Charlie?)

 

Why do we prune?  Sometimes we prune to take away something that is negative.  Like a tree branch we don't like.  Other times we prune to make things grow.  It feels like you are taking something away, but really you are leaving room for more beautiful flowers.  And who doesn't want more of those?

Our Forsythia

It seems like something is gone, but I know we are in a season of being pruned.  I have faith something great is out there for Charlie. :) 

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful  ~John 15:2

Spring has sprung!

How do you know it's spring?  The air smells like dirt and it's raining all the time.  Oh, and the trees are in FULL BLOOM!  I love the street we live on :)

Here are some shots of the corner of our yard after a heavy spring rain this past weekend.  Love those :)

 Here is a shot by the driveway...blooms everywhere!  It almost looks like snow!

Flowers have been coming up everywhere.  The people who lived here before use planted so many perennials.  Gotta love that :)  There are sooo many all over the garden beds the yard!  Daffodils are so cheery.

The down side is that I am sick...again.  And this is not just under the weather.  I am down, out, and on my butt sick.  Starting Friday afternoon, I have hardly moved from the air mattress (yeah, still not furniture, yet), and today is Monday.  I took the day off work, other than going in in the morning to make some copies.  This thing is BAD.  A friend of mine had it and missed 4 days of work.  She should have missed 5 but came in anyway.  It also took her a whole weekend of rest to heal.  That's an 8 day sickness.  I am in day 3.5...and it is showing no signs up letting up.  This so stinks.  I have to listen to my body, though.... back to the bed I go....

Need feedback.

Charlie is going to kill me for even typing this.  KILL ME.

I want to paint our master bedroom.

Ah. 

I said it.

After painting our bookshelves, the den, AND the powder room (in the span of two weekends) Charlie is not really in a painting mood.  Understandably so.  But  I will convince him.  I must.  I will be working my magic.  I am good at this.  :)

Maybe you will side with me when you see the room.  It's so....bla :(

It's not BAD...it's just beige, on beige, on brown, on beige.  Like I said, bla.

I snagged these beautiful works of art on clearance at Kirklands a while back.  We had them in our dining room, but the look wasn't quite right.  I knew they belonged above the bed instead.

I love them, and they were less than $20 each.  ((As a side-note, however, after picking so many FREAKIN' WEEDS, these do somehow look a little like weeds to me.  And that is kind of sucky, because, me and weeds, we are fighting right now.  Actually, it's more like hardcore war.  But if you ignore the fact that they may or may not be weeds, I still really like the pictures.))

And so...we want to go bold.  Pretty, very bold.  This is the plan.  Enter Valspar's Voyage and Drizzling Mist....

I plan to do a back accent wall in Drizzling Mist, the darkest color, and then a lighter Voyage color for the rest of the room.  (It's hard to tell in the picture, but the ceilings are white.)

Feedback, please.  Are we liking?  Suggestions?  I hope I can convince Charlie to keep painting with me.  He told me that he may in-fact faint and fall into spasms if he sees another paintbrush this year.  Looks like Kathryn may be going solo on this one... ;)

But I must paint.  Something about Drizzling Mist and Voyage make me was to curl up and sleep.  This is good in a bedroom, no?

Psst!  Check out how Luna is adapting to all the painting...the crazy girl ;)

Painting the powder room!

So this was our powder room when we moved in:

It was painted the same color as the rest of the house: a neutral creme.  We like the color, but wanted something more a bit bolder and brighter.  We've lived in "creme" places for the past 4 years... so along with the color palate that we painted our bookcases, we chose a shade lighter for the bathroom.  I hoped it would give the space some dimension without closing you in. 

Charlie swears the color making him look "sickly" when he is looking in the mirror.  I guess a green room will do that.  Or maybe we are just pale and actually look sickly.  I guess will never know...unless you decide to tell us. ;)  ((P.S.  The pictures on the wall are from our Cruise ports on our Alaskan honeymoon!  Yay for good memories!))

Sorry the room is really small so it is hard to photograph!