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february goals update

Here’s what happened with February’s monthly goals.

Leave work on time. Well, I did better. I left late half the days I worked instead of the majority. And over half of those times were either less than fifteen minutes (which is pretty good, but still makes a difference in my commute) or because I was in charge. I will probably always be late leaving when I’m in charge and that’s just that. I would say that I am pretty good about leaving on time on regular days, and it is definitely a high priority for me now. It’s actually a good thing for my patients too because I am very prompt with them, which they like. All in all I am happy about my progress with this.

Buy a natural daily facial sunscreen. I used a birthday gift card from Sephora to buy this sunscreen and it’s great. I’m getting close to having my all-natural skincare regimen totally figured out, and when I do I’ll definitely share. I just have a few more areas where I’m looking for the perfect product (easy to buy in-store, not too expensive, a 2 or less rating on Skin Deep, and effective) so if you use anything that fits that description please send me your recommendation!

Obtain all fabric for quilt. Got this just a couple days ago and I’m so excited about it. Now I can actually start working on it.

Set up the writing desk area. Done and so happy about it.

Use the slow cooker on a work day. Yup! I was afraid that since I have to leave it on for 12 hours the meal might not turn out well, but my cooker switches to warm automatically so I just need to find more recipes that can cook for a long time. This one was a success.

No phone in church. This turned out to be a terrible month for this goal. The first week my uncle died while we were in church so I was texting with my mom. The next week we missed because Meredith took an early nap. The third week we were out of town. The last week we did go to church and I didn’t use my phone. So…success? I’ll plan to continue this practice in the future.

March goals coming tomorrow!

February 28, 2013
bookshelves and a new (old) desk

When we first looked at our house I fell in love with these custom-built bookshelves and immediately asked if the owners would include them with the house in our offer. Thankfully, they agreed. We have a lot of books.

The left side is David’s. The top two shelves are all Stephen King, the next two are miscellaneous hardbacks and trade paperbacks, the next is stuffed three layers deep full of mass market paperbacks, and the bottom shelf is my overflow, mostly reference books and Bible study stuff. David’s books might not the prettiest, but I decided long ago that since this is OUR house, not mine, I want it to reflect our shared life.

The right side belongs to me, and it’s organized roughly from top to bottom: classics, assorted fiction & nonfiction, large hardbacks, to-read, faith & Christianity, and magazines/coffee table books. They aren’t organized further than that, but I still know pretty much where everything is.

The little shelf over top of the desk has photo albums and a basket of letters from my childhood (you know, before email was a thing) that I’ve saved.

The bookshelves have this gap in between them and it took me awhile to decide what to do with it. Then (a couple years ago…) I came across this secretary-type desk at my parents’ house, which is one of the best places for me to go shopping. It fit the space perfectly and I snatched it up. I immediately primed it and then let it sit, unused, for ages.

A few weeks ago I finally got around to painting it, with my dad’s help. I am so happy to have this as a usable area now. My computer finally has a home, and I also use it to house assorted stationery so I can do all my card-writing here.

On top of the desk I have a lamp made out of a mason jar (that I want to fill with things Meredith and I find on our walks), a coconut mailed to me by a friend from Hawaii, a ceramic fish tray from PaperSource, a photo clip my mom made, a thrifted candle holder that I use for pens, and a little incense holder that I think is cute and I’ve had forever.

The rest of this room isn’t quite ready to show yet, as I need to hang some things on the wall and replace the curtain rod, but it’s getting closer. I also want to get a new chair for the desk since this one belongs in the kitchen. I dream of a rug, but that’s out of the question with our dogs. Still, this space has improved immensely and almost looks finished now. I’m loving it.

February 26, 2013
currently

Time // 2pm

Place // on break at work

Eating // Fiber One bar for a snack

Drinking // ice water

Watching // David and I actually watched a movie over the weekend, Tower Heist. It was funny and exciting and had a happy ending, so basically perfect for me.

Reading // Just started Katherine by Anya Seton. My aunt gave it to me for my birthday and I’m totally in the mood for a historical fiction so it jumped to the top of my list.

Wanting // the IKEA PS cabinet in white, but no telling when it’ll become available. It would be perfect to store office and craft supplies in a toddler-proof way.

Thinking // about how to be a better wife, better mother, better nurse, better person. Not that I’m not good enough already because I am happy with myself, but I don’t want to get lazy. Lately I’ve let the stresses of life get to me and I want to go back to being the person I know I am.

Creating // a cross stitch for the entryway of our house. It’s almost finished and I even have a frame for it, so hopefully I’ll be able to share soon!

Hoping // the audiobook for book club becomes available soon. I finally caved and agreed to read The Fault in our Stars by John Green even though it’s about kids with cancer. I’m hoping that listening to it will be easier somehow.

Needing // to keep my priorities in order. I constantly have to remind myself that as for the day to day stuff of life and the relationships with my family – I’m good at that. And it’s okay to fall behind on creative endeavors and hobbies sometimes.

Anticipating // a week-long vacation from work that I requested for April. I have nothing specific planned, but I’m going to take Meredith in to daycare late, pick her up early, and use the time in between to craft, work on the house, and go thrifting – basically all the things I never have time for. After this I’ll continue my practice of taking a day off each month to do as I please, and hopefully this will keep my appetite for creativity sated. :)

February 25, 2013
a good american by alex george

This was on my to-read list ever since one of my favorite book bloggers said that it reminded her of East of Eden and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, both of which are my jam. Now that I’ve read it I can bestow my confirmation on such a high claim. It’s a multi-generational family saga of immigrants, starting around the 1870’s and following them over the next century. Those kind of books really work for me even though their format can be so different from one another.

This one is a pretty straightforward history-telling. No jumping around in time or changing of narrators or any other tactics like that. The sentences are short and to the point. There are some heartbreaking parts and a lot of people die, but it does span a century so that’s probably going to happen. Big historical events take place in the background but the focus is always on the family. There is a huge theme of home and what that means, which hits my heart just right. Lots of happy things happen, too, and more than anything it left me with a sense of hope.

I think the only drawback to the story might be that as time went on and more and more children were born and thus more and more characters introduced I started losing my connection to them. I was really tied up in the lives of the matriarch and patriarch along with their children & Lomax, the family friend. I became the most emotional over events happening to them, which was probably two-thirds of the book. After that it was harder to keep track and connect, so by the time we met our narrator (one of the grandchildren) I didn’t even care about his fate as much as I probably should have. Still, the last third of it was enjoyable and kept with the same themes so it did flow naturally.

Also, I love it even more knowing that the author spent seven years writing it in the mornings at 5 a.m. before his day job as an attorney. I obviously relate to this method of squeezing in creative time, and for him to have produced something this lovely deserves high praise.

More discussion over here!

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I read this book as a part of BlogHer Book Club and while I was compensated for my review as well as provided a free copy of the book, all opinions expressed are my own.

February 21, 2013
happy valentine’s day : a giveaway

Since it’s a work night David and I aren’t doing much for Valentine’s Day other than exchanging cards and maybe eating takeout for dinner, but it’s still a good excuse to celebrate love in all its forms. Meredith’s class has a party today so we are contributing napkins handing out adorable little cards, and I dressed her in an outfit with hearts all over it. I’m still sad that she will NOT keep a bow or clip in her hair for more than 2 seconds though. I’m really looking forward to the days when she will let me play with her hair a little more, because there are so many cute hair things out there!

My good friend Emily, for example, makes adorable bows for girls and sells them in her Etsy shop LoveShine as well as some local stores. She also makes bow ties for boys, but that does not concern me at the moment. :) She’s been making the bows for awhile but somehow I just found out about them. As soon as I saw how cute they are I asked if I could do a giveaway, and what better day than Valentine’s Day? Because I love you all too. :)

Just leave a comment on this post to let me know you want to be entered, I’ll determine a winner by random number generator in about a week, and if you’re chosen you get to pick one of the three bows shown below! Open to North American residents only.

February 14, 2013