Day 2: Lacey

Today, I'm thankful for my puppy girl.  Lacey came to us a little less than a year ago.  She is my first dog ever and I crazy love her.   

She was so tiny!

She is so mischievous, but I think it's because she knows how cute she is so she knows she can get away with a lot.  I am thankful for her goofy spirit and happy energy and I love it so much that she is a cuddly dog.  It's a little funny that this 50 pound dog thinks she still fits in our laps, but I love it when she snuggles up close - she speaks my love language for sure!

From this

To this!

I am thankful for Lacey's companionship.  She keeps me company when Doad is out of town for work.  She knows when I'm upset and will lick the tears off my face and try to sit in my lap lol.  She always wants to be with me and will get up and follow me and lay down at my feet, even if I'm just moving five feet away.  

Trying to be closer to me on our road trip to Canada

Lacey had a pretty bad accident in January where she slipped on some ice and cracked her elbow.  She needed surgery for a screw and a pin to put her elbow back together and we weren't sure if we were going to be able to afford it.  That day of figuring out what our options were and how we were going to take care of our poor little puppy was so emotional for me.  We had only had her for a couple of months at that point, but I couldn't believe how much I loved her already.  She just cried and cried in my arms and I could barely keep myself from bursting into tears.

Obviously, it all worked out.  She was able to get the surgery and has healed up just fine and I can't help but be thankful that everything ended up ok.  I'm thankful that we were able to pay for the surgery and that it was successful.  I'm thankful that she is ok now and has had great health since.  

I had no idea when we got Lacey how quickly she would steal my heart, but she has and I'm so happy we have her.  She is my little puppy girl and I will always love her.

31 Days of Thankfulness

Day 2: Lacey

Day 3: My New Job

Day 4: I'm OK

Day 5: My Church

Day 6: 2014 Resolutions: September Recap

Day 7: Nail Polish

Day 8: Katie and the Wellness Family Summit

Day 9: Whole30
Day 10: Pick-Your-Own Farms
Day 11: Farmer's Markets
Day 12: Our Town
Day 13: Our Home
Day 14: Sewing Room
Day 15: Our Photo Wall
Day 16: My Bathroom Vanity
Day 17: The Kitchen
Day 18: Porch Swing
Day 19: Our Garden
Day 20: Our Bedroom
Day 21: The Beach
Day 22: Doad
Day 23: Chipotle
Day 24: Blogging
Day 25: Bloggers
Day 26: Our Neighbors
Day 27: Naptime
Day 28: Our Family
Day 29: Friends
Day 30: Days Off
Day 31: Hope

Something the Lord's been teaching me about lately is that He wants me to have a joyful and merry heart.  I want that for myself too, but it's definitely not a strong point for me.  I can be a pretty pessimistic person at times and have really tried to make some changes in that area this year.  

Most of my monthly goals that I blog about are "physical" goals, meaning they don't have too much to do with my spiritual or emotional self.  At the beginning of the year, however, I really did feel that the Lord wanted me to make joy a goal for this year too.  I didn't add that to my list because I didn't really know how to make that into a goal that you could measure progress in, but it has been consistently on my mind as the months have gone by.  I guess you could say that's my "Word" for the year.  

One of the books I'm reading has recently touched on this topic.  It was talking about how joy begins with thanksgiving and that the way we can practice having a merry heart and a joyful spirit is to take time each day to give thanks.  I love the idea of practicing joy.  It doesn't happen overnight.  It becomes a habit just like any other attitude.  

I've been trying to remember to consciously take time to be thankful each day.  It also just so happens that Myquillyn Smith's 31 Day Challenge starts today.  I never do anything half-heartedly so I figured, why not make this daily thankfulness a blogging challenge as well? ;) I've followed this challenge for a couple of years now, but this will be my first time participating.  I'm a little nervous, because let's face it, my track record for blogging regularly is rubbish.  You guys can feel free to comment and keep me accountable to posting every day all you want. ;)

For the month of October, I will be attempting to blog every day about one thing I am thankful for.  You can check back on this post each day for a link to my latest thankfulness post, or follow me on bloglovin' to get the posts automatically in your feed.  

Wish me luck, guys!  I'm excited! :)

Big Changes Part II: That Time We Both Quit Our Jobs on the Same Day

I think we both knew from the beginning that we would be taking the job offers.  I just needed the few days to process that and let it sink in.  I also needed time to work up the guts to quit because, ew, that is kinda nerve-wracking.

Doad went first because I spent half the morning having a panic attack in the bathroom.  I'm kinda friends with my boss which made things feel even more awkward for me.  It was pretty uneventful though, and once I finally got it out and my heart started beating like normal again things were fine. My boss took it really well and once everyone else found out, they all responded like normal, sane human beings.

Doad, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.  First of all, his boss was out for the day.  Of course.  He couldn't wait though because he wanted to be able to give the full two weeks notice and he was going to be out of town Tuesday thru Thursday.  He decided that even though it wasn't ideal, he would have to call him and tell him over the phone.  But then he found out that the reason his boss was out was because he was at the hospital with his wife who was having surgery.  So awkward.

He finally got the chance to tell him, but didn't get to discuss it with him much (understandable) and that was that.  So we thought.  It turns out that Doad's company is a little smarter than I gave them credit for because they realized how valuable Doad was to them and that they were really in deep doo-doo without him.  They spent the rest of his two weeks trying to convince him to stay.  All except for his direct boss who took it super personally that Doad was leaving and basically shunned him.  Oh, but first he got all aggressive and made some really rude remarks.  Thanks for being understanding man, and appreciating all that my husband did for you for five years. Doad worked his butt of for this guy and yes, I'm pissed that this small man had no respect or character when all was said and done.  He doesn't even realize all that Doad did to try and make his life easier in the workplace.  What a disappointment.

If his boss bought him a goodbye cake, this is what it would have said.

Ok sorry, rant over.

So Friday was our last day at both of our jobs.  A coworker brought me Starbucks in the morning and the office took me out for lunch and gave me a sweet card.  Doad's work buddies took him out for lunch too and at the end of the day we packed up and headed home.  It was a quiet ending to a kind of hectic two weeks.

This Monday we start a whole new chapter in our lives and I'm super excited and also freaked out.  I hope it's a smooth transition and that we both ease our way into our new positions quickly.  Sometimes I'm happy that we're both experiencing this together and can relate to all the newness.  Other times, I worry that we will both feel unstable or stretched at the same time and struggle to be the rock for each other in a shaky place.  But I feel God's peace and know that He was the one guiding us to these decisions and new jobs this whole time.  I've been praying so hard for His clarity and direction and I know He will be with us as we step into these new roles.  I'm looking forward to what's in store and hope that soon I will have some new, cute stories to share about life as a nanny.  :)

Big Changes Part I: Making Decisions

If you know me and Doad in person, then it's no secret to you that we were not super fans of his job.  If you didn't know us in person well,

... we were not super fans of Doad's job.  

I've basically been praying for him to find a new job since he was hired five years ago.  That's not to say that he didn't have ANY good experiences there.  He did.  He learned so much.  He gained loads of experience.  And he  bulked up his resume a ton.  But I hoped and hoped that this would not be his job for years and years.  

So when an opportunity to interview for a new company plopped itself in his lap we were very excited.   Well, and nervous, and cautious, and slightly concerned because who plops job opportunities down like this?

So he interviewed, and we prayed, and we waited.  And prayed some more.

Meanwhile... although I wasn't necessarily unhappy with my job, I was very unhappy with the commute.  I have a special "gift" for attracting all the crazy drivers and when combined with my slight "road rage-y" tendencies... well, I'm just a treat to come home to at the end of the day.  

One day, after an especially rough commute, the kind where you throw the meal plan out the window and just go out for dinner because oh my gosh, please get this girl in public so she stops with the tantrums! Doad sweetly suggested that maybe I should look for a job in town (town is walking distance, literally 60 seconds away from our house, NO COMMUTE!)  ;)  

I entertained the idea half-heartedly, because we all like to fantasize about our dream jobs, but I didn't really think much would come of it.  But then I couldn't get the idea out of my head.  And then Back-to-School happened and traffic got even worse and I was done.  I downloaded the Indeed app to my phone, I googled for any job openings in the area, I even looked on Craigslist for 2 seconds before realizing that no job offer from there actually results in respectable work.  Oops!  

Sadly, there wasn't much to work with, but I did notice a lot of ads for nannies.  Hmmm... babies?!!  I like babies!  Then I stumbled across care.com and hello!  Lots of job openings!  I created a profile and had several messages from families within a few days.  Within a week I had found a great sounding job with a super sweet family.  

So I interviewed, and we prayed, and we waited.

Doad's job offer came on a Thursday.  He felt a little hesitant at first.  It's a scary thing to take a leap like that.  Even though his current job was not a good fit, it was familiar and "comfortable".  We talked about the pros and cons and couldn't come up with very many reasons not to take the job.  We decided to pray about it over the weekend and make a decision on Monday.

My job offer came that Friday.  I also felt hesitant at first.  It's a scary thing to take a leap like that.  Even though I hated my commute, my job was familiar and comfortable.  We talked aout the pros and cons and couldn't come up with very many reasons not to take the job.  We decided to pray about it over the weekend and make a decision on Monday.

...to be continued.

2014 Resolutions: August Recap

Ah, August.  My birthday month.  The end of summer.  The beginning of a new school year.  How was my August, you ask?  Delightful, thank you very much.

We started of the month with some fun birthday celebrations for my sister.  We went to a baseball game with some friends on my birthday and ended the night with fireworks - one of my favorites!  We also took time to go to the demolition derby at the county fair - a highlight for sure!  My brother-in-law and his family moved and we got to help them and see their beautiful new house. Went to "happy hour" at my sister-in-laws house and stayed up late catching up with them and drinking hard cider and pumpkin ale. Mmmm, Fall, I can feel you right around the corner!  And we hosted a game night for some couples at our church.  So fun!

It was a good month of quality time with lots of the people we love.  That really fills me up and I'm happy with the way our summer turned out this year.  :)  I'm excited for fall and hope that I soak it up just as much as I did with this season.

Now lets see about these goals:

1. Run 100 miles this year. 

Whoops!  August just kind of came and went and somehow no running happened.   We ran .71 miles.  Our total to-date is now 22.65 miles leaving 77.35 miles to go.  I'm thinking this goal might need to be changed to 50 miles instead of 100.  

2. Get back to my wedding weight. 

Check!  So far I have been able to maintain!  I fluctuate about two pounds here and there but my "high weight" days are actually what my wedding weight was and my "low weight" days are two pounds under! Wahoo!

3. Read 12 books. 

Check! This month I read a book my friend loaned me called Created to Be His Help Meet.  It's about how you can strengthen your marriage through your role as a wife and help meet.  This lady is very blunt and what some might call "old fashioned" but I read with an open heart and took her words with a grain of salt and ended up really loving it.  This book is pretty controversial because it's easy to take out of context, but I found a lot of helpful advice.  I also have an awesome husband so that makes it pretty easy to want to love him better. ;)

4. Read through one book together with Doad.

Check!  You guys!  We finished our first book together!!! :)

5. Find a cleaning routine that works. 

Still working on this, but my work schedule is about to change so that it will be way more consistent and I'm very hopeful that it will allow me to get into more of a routine when it comes to housework. (More on this to come!)

6. Get new items listed on my online shop.

Spent too much time outside enjoying the beautiful summer weather.  Maybe soon?

7. Go to a marriage conference.

Still looking :/

8. Go on a date with one of my sisters each month.

Check!  I took my littlest sister, Jade, out this month for her birthday.  We actually just went to the grocery store lol.  But we also went thrifting together, found some super cute clothes (adorable purple skinnies, eeeeee!), and then came home and made delicious mocha fudge brownies with the stuff we bought at the grocery.  A successful sister date in my book! :)

9. Learn Spanish

I'm up to lesson 2.6 lol.  My goal for September?  2.8  These lessons are getting harder!

Yay August!   I'm choosing to focus on the positives this month and hope that momentum propels me to run and clean a lot this month.  ;)

Tell me about your August!  How are youuuu?