this week has been pretty uneventful. which is a nice break after holiday traveling, and also nice to allow us to get some important things done…like getting the car emissions test, a windshield replaced, new wiper blades (are you sensing a theme here?)…yes, we hope to sell our car and trade for a different one. but most of the days and nights it’s been mellow.

- this is what the girls look like about 21 out of the 24 hours a day…

- i am trying to better plan my time. i know i previously mentioned about being more on top of meal time. i also just visually wanted to see how the time is allocated on off days, work days, and days wil is at work and i am at home (supposedly getting things done). so i laid it all out and tacked it to my closet door. i don’t think i gave myself any unreasonable goals, and there are definitely lots of open spaces, but if i can just hit some of the hours i set aside for certain things, i think i’ll feel better about my days.

- i may not be craving pickles and ice cream, but this week has been all about smoothies. remember when we picked an insane amount of blueberries? lucky for me i froze most of them (and other farm berries), and then forgot about them in our deep freezer until we moved this past month. today it was greek yogurt, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, banana, apple, flax seeds and honey. the crazy thing? i didn’t like smoothies before pregnancy…now it’s the highlight of my day!

- last night, i probably had plenty of other more important things to do, but instead i made a little coat for the dog’s sock monkey. ridiculous, i know. i promise, it was purely for longevity, as the sock monkey is ava’s current favorite toy, but the main part of the body had a bunch of holes in the weave letting out stuffing…this way the jacket stays on and covers all his injuries! (goodness, i want to find out what we’re having soon, so i can make baby things instead of messing around with dog toys!)

i’m off to work the next couple nights and the week will begin again…have a great weekend.

last night i cooked a really nice dinner for him. it was definitely more than the usual affair and kept me occupied all day. the vintage linens and my handed down china made an appearance.

i set up a bar (for him only of course), as he was recently gifted the supplies for a dirty martini; and this man loves a dirty martini.

we dined on a couple courses…i can’t really take credit for the recipes themselves as i spent the days prior poring over old food & wine and bon appetit magazines for inspiration. i really wanted this dinner to be special, while taking into account what i can and can’t eat right now. we went with an apple, watercress & endive salad with a french shallot vinaigrette for our first course. and for dinner we had an herbed salmon over a vegetable quinoa pilaf, topped with a spiced creamy sauce.

i forgot to take pictures of the rest of the meal, but i hope that means we just enjoyed the food and the conversation too much to be distracted by anything else.

dessert was a skillet apple and pear crumble with whipped cream. i took this picture this morning, and it looks like somebody dug into it for a little more last night after i went to bed…

i think the one thing i took away from this meal was not necessarily guilt for not making him dinner more consistently (there was a little bit of that), but opening my eyes to how much he appreciates it when it’s done for him. he loves cooking, so much that he’s doing it on a day to day basis. but i often fail to recognize that when he comes home from being on the line for 10 hours, he certainly doesn’t want to ‘whip something up’ for himself or the two of us.

i regained a new sense of motivation on having dinner ready for him, when i can. because i love him, because i want to serve him, and because he appreciates it when i do. and when it all boils down, i’m not cooking for a chef every night…he’s just my husband, who’ll enjoy crazy gourmet things off a fine menu with a fancy glass of wine, all the way down to a plate of mac and cheese with hamburger and a pbr.

this past week in efforts of being better at forecasting our days together, i made ‘whiteboards’ for our kitchen. taking the picture out, i wrapped a textured neutral fabric around the matting/cardboard, and have written out our upcoming days on the front of the glass. we can hopefully plan meals and know what social/work things are ahead of us that week. (the other is to track pregnancy food & info each week)

here’s to being more purposeful with my time and serving my husband better along the way. and making him dinner a bit more frequently. ; )

(linked with life made lovely & miscellany monday)

this year feels different. we’re not expecting it to float along in the same manner as the one before. in fact, we know it will look very differently. and so, it is a year to look ahead at what’s to come and work towards that. seeing a few others online take a different approach to the usual ‘resolutions’, it really hit me to do the same. a list of goals. a simple bucket list. a couple items that are a slight change in the way we live, mixed in with a few things i hope for us to accomplish and enjoy not just in january.

this year, my heart is seeking authentic community, memorable experiences, and leaps of faith.

1. use the horner bible reading program (pdf here and online versions here)

2. take the trailer out 4 times this camping season

3. be purposeful in inviting more friends over to our place more frequently

4. attempt a natural birth with wil at my side

5. find a home we’d be happy to live in for at least 5 years, and lord willing, buy it!

6. reach 75 sales in my etsy shop by its 1 year anniversary

7. participate in at least 3 local street fairs with life at the table

8. commit to a community group

9. take pictures with my holga, high school 35mm and polaroid

10. enjoy as much simple time outside when the weather permits…walking, laying on a blanket with a new baby, tinkering in a (hopeful) future yard

11. learn to can as much as we can! (pun intended)

12. savor each step of the process. more specifically, document as much as i can the rest of this pregnancy and the beginning moments of the baby’s new life. don’t miss a moment.

health and happiness to you this year. pray that god blesses you abundantly!

here’s how i’ve been kicking off the month of december when at home during the day…

foggy frosty morning drive to drop wil off at work…we’ve been on a weather alert of “air stagnation advisory” until friday. seriously? what the heck is that? i guess scientifically it means that the air is trapped without any weather patterns to move it till the end of the week, so pollutants increase. honestly, it just feels like quiet winter mornings where everything is still and frozen. yes please.

as much as i thought i was on top of it, this move really snuck up on me and the minute we got home from thanksgiving, we had to pack like no other to be ready to move this past tuesday…and on top of that i had a deadline for some freelance work shortly after. the office got unpacked and put away well before the kitchen and the bathroom so i could get straight to drafting. but so far, i love this 2nd bedroom’s light and the way my desk(s) make a nice open workspace. the bare walls probably won’t last long, but they are a bit refreshing after my office space before was mostly walls of black bookcases closing in on me.

oh my garden…it’s gone. i will be sad i don’t get to have one for 2012, but you can bet space for one will be a huge priority when we look for a house to buy in the future!! in the last ditch efforts at the duplex of emptying pots and cutting down long dead tomato plants for the new owners, i cut every last piece of parsley to take with us. now i just have to figure out what to use it in.

and who can go through the month of december without hot chocolate? my afternoon treat most days, complete with marshmallows and a christmas mug. i’ll take my hot chocolate any way you want to give it to me…the cheapest mix with mini marshmallows to the $5 cup with the finest south american melted chocolate. you name it, i will drink it. and savor it.

wil’s brother took some pictures of us over thanksgiving in hopes to get a christmas card picture out of it. well, i didn’t plan it very well and we had about a 15 minute opening between the sun going away and a bitter blizzard starting to blow us around. and throw two dogs into the mix, and well, we were lucky to get one halfway decent option with some immense editing. i’ve been trying to decipher which one to use…

but i think it will work, so i’ve been attempting at making our own card…for those who like to save moolah, did you know that costco’s christmas cards are crazy cheap for how many you get? but what’s even better, is that did you know on the last page of all the templates, there is a blank option for you to upload your own? i scoured a lot of the really cute more spendy sites to get the ideas rolling, and i am making my own. fingers crossed it turns out.

and all the while, i’ve made sure i’ve been listening to christmas music…my favorites:

a very she & him christmas

sufjan steven’s songs for christmas

and of course, a charlie brown christmas

i’m thankful…

- that we have a comfortable place to live in right now, and a place to live in next month.

- that upon the brink of winter weather we not only have said roof over our heads, but warm clothes, blankets and heaters.

- for the amazing colors of this season, and through the changing of the seasons we are reminded of His story in life, death, and then life once again.

- for numerous phone calls, emails, facebook messages and cards from friends and family today making me feel so loved!

- that our bills are always able to be paid, and that we have generous family and His provision if they ever can’t be.

- we have schedules that allow our marriage to grow through lots of quality time together.

- for a special treat of a fancy birthday dinner with the hubs last night to celebrate, and that the food industry is made up of a community of generous people who give you free treats, even when they’re only an acquaintance from mutual employers.

- for our creative spirits that can make uninteresting foods into yummy meals and basic supplies into things that make our home comfortable.

- for canine children that love us no matter what, and help motivate me to explore our neighborhood and to stop and smell the roses (or the crazy willy wonka mushrooms!).

- that we have lots of siblings and nieces and nephews who continue to grow the godly legacy of our parents and grandparents.

- even for this blogging community…you guys always bring spice to what might have been a dull day, encouraging words when i didn’t realize i needed them, and a constant source of inspiration!

what are you thankful for?

having your housing being up in the air and unknown is something i don’t wish upon anyone. yes there’s a slight sense of adventure, but as the calendar pages continue to fall and a deadline looms, that feeling quickly wanes and easily turns into anxiety. it begins to permeate your every thought throughout the day, and as for me, it really stole away a lot of happiness and creativity.

i already feel the weight lifted off my shoulders one day after placing the deposit on our new apartment, and i am now recognizing how easily i let that weight affect me. i felt a lot of anger the last couple weeks. anger at the new owners that they should have the lack of compassion to kick us out (i know that’s not really the case). anger at MANY apartment complexes, private owners and property managers when we’d get a ‘no’ on the dogs (great danes may be big, but they are lazy, mellow indoor dogs that sleep about 20 hours a day!). even anger at our phase of life and why we can’t make ridiculous amounts of money and not need a budget (in all honesty, we’re pretty content with we’re at in life for mid twenties.).

but all of that is gone (and irrational anyways), and it’s on to more logical thinking, like planning our move date (probably around the last few days of the month), finding a storage unit, and hopefully gathering a friend or two to help lift a couple of the big things. i have hopes that in the midst of stacks of boxes, i am able to get a few things made to have some in-stock items ready to ship for last minute christmas gifts in the shop.

and before you know it, thanksgiving will have past, and christmas will be around the corner, and we’ll have exciting things coming up in 2012!