Thankful Thursday

This used to be called "The Little Things" but I figured all those little things that make me happy, are also the things that I'm thankful for -- and why not take what was just a little list and take it too a little bit of a deeper level. Not only that, but I'm really trying to honor God in all that I do. And blogging is another thing, that I do.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

-I am thankful for husband that loves me and a God that loves me even more.

-I am thankful that I'm able to pray, speak the Word of God and worship with the Lord out loud and thankful that there's men and women who fight for me to be able to keep that right.

-I am thankful for all the selfless people who gave their lives on 9/11 to save others and the people who came from far places to help search for missing people and clean up the debris.

-I am thankful that the Lord put that on their hearts.

-I am thankful for the family and friends I've been able to spend my 25 years of life with.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for all those things and so so much more. Help me Lord to be and stay grateful and forgive me for the things that I take advantage of.

Jokes, of the Popsicle Kind

The student that I'm a one on one for is trying really hard to make his new found friends laugh. And in the process tells some terrible (what he thinks are hilarious) jokes. He once told another student, "I'm going to pee in your eye!" So it was actually quite funny, if I'm being honest, really funny. It still makes me laugh out loud. 

What made it even more funny was that the other student's reaction! The kid looked at my student like, oh my gosh, this kid is going to pee in my eye! Though it was something any seven year old little boy might have said, the teacher was less than pleased. I had to explain to him that it's not an appropriate joke for school because not all kids will understand that he's just being funny and not actually going to do it.

That was at the end of last school year. So a summer later and the kid is still trying to make the same kind of jokes! And I find myself looking up jokes for this little guy to tell his friends.

So here's some of the popsicle stick jokes I've found!

-Why do owls always get invited to bird parties?

-They're always such a hoot

-What kind of band plays snappy music?

- A rubberband

-Why didn't the sun ever shine on the castle?

- It was full of knights

- Where does the dog hate to shop?

- The flea market

The hardest part about find jokes for a third grader is that, they don't even understand the jokes! But I guess that's not entirely the point. Kids laugh at everything. Well, most everything anyway hahha.

Managing That Little Thing Called Time

Today I've spent my time thinking about blog post ideas. What the heck do I write about?! I scoured pinterest for ideas and though I found a few things, none really seemed to fit my "blog identity." And then I'm like, what the heck is my identity as a blogger??

Hobby Hopping Housewife is what I use to identify myself as a blogger, but I'm beginning to think that I use that as more of an excuse. In all honesty, I burn myself out on things. I find something that I really enjoy, become obsessed with it and then do it until I can't do it anymore. So I literally have to hop between hobbies because I burnt myself on the last one. And this continues until I've gone through all my current hobbies, then picked up a new one, before I circle back through them again.

Since I've written my last blog post, I've really tried hard with prioritizing things. Problem is, not all things I "consider" a priority. For example, doing the dishes or laundry. Do those things need to be done? Yes. Is it on my list of things I would like to get done? Of course. Will it be a priority above editing the photos from the wedding on Saturday? Definitely not.

I think the issue at hand is not just prioritizing, but also time management. And knowing that sometimes things need to be more of a priority (like the dishes that are still in the sink as I'm writing this), but if I manage my time, I can get through the things I really don't enjoy (but really need to get done because who really wants their house to be mess?) and get on to the things that I really do enjoy. But not just that, but also being able to blog and craft and watercolor and do photoshoots and sew, all in the same week.... all along with having a clean house... and doing my bible studies and devotions... and not feeling pressed for time.

I guess that all entails having some sort of schedule too.

And being adaptable.

And flexible.

Shoot, life is tough.

How do you guys prioritize, schedule and manage your time?

25 Before 25 (update)

I'm completely terrible at blogging. Let's just start by saying that. Let's also say that I'm terrible at keeping up with hobbies, hence the hobby hopping part of my blog name. It's really hard! Photography, blogging, sewing, crafting, embroidering...netflixing... (I don't think that I can say that last one is an actual hobby, but it's definitely a de-stresser and I'm thankful for Netflix.)

 Anyways, so its hard. I just want to do all this stuff all the time! And I probably could if I was better at prioritizing. I feel like there's just not enough hours in the day, but that's not even true. There's plenty of hours in the day. And if I actually woke up on time, I'd have another hour to add to my day. But truth be told, I've become kinda lazy (I can feeeeel Justin giving me a look right now lol).

I love my job, just not working. Does that make sense? I would love to go back to working less hours. But it's summer, and my hours are less, so there's again, no excuse. So I'm just gonna stop. I keep digging myself a hole.

ANYWAYS. 25 Before 25.

-I made a quilt. A long time ago. 

And though I haven't posted anything about it really, I'm still counting it. 

Because I made it. 

And it took me forever. 

And grandma loved it because it had Elvis all over it.

And now everyone wants me to make them a quilt!

-We also ate the top of our wedding cake. A few days after our anniversary because we kept forgetting about it. It wasn't that bad actually. Would have been A LOT better, had we put it in a freezer container and not just the box. But that's whatever now. Can check that off the list!

-As far as everything else, I've failed miserably. But hey! I've still got time! Hahha.

  My new goal is to learn how to prioritize. So far, I'm doing pretty good. We just moved to a new apartment, which has made it easier because everything has a place and everything still looks nice and pretty and its our first place together (the other place was really his, he had that apartment before we got together, and this place is ours) and we both are putting much more time and effort into it.

I've also added somethings to better help with my prioritizing, like a small binder that I made into a planner that also holds my to do lists, the things I want to craft, bible study and verses and a spot for blog ideas and the such. Its actually really awesome. Each page I designed specifically for me to cater to my needs. And I love it. It's super cute. And you're probably jealous.

(Don't mind the glare on the pictures though please.) So far, its working great. 

The idea came from an app (Penultimate for Ipad) that I was using. I like the physical act of writing and this app you can do that. And it has templates for to do lists and planners and the such and I loved that I could just carry around my Ipad like I always do and everything I need in it and that I could check it on my phone as well. The problem was that the stylus for the Ipad sucks. It made my writing look really sloppy and for those of you that know me, that is something that my writing is not. (thanks mom for being OCD about my writing and making me write and write and write. *note: that was sarcastic, but also very not. I love my writing.) I tried a smaller stylus that a friend let me borrow (which reminds that I need to give it back to her), but it just didn't work that great. The only other option was for me to buy the super special stylus that the app promoted, but it was SEVENTY-FIVE bucks. I'm sure its really awesome and works really well, but I just didn't want to fork over that kinda money! So I made my own planner. The only bummer is that it's kinda bulky. But only a little.

I guess its time to call it. End rant.

In Six Months (Unedited)

So I'm tired as hell, and for as much as I should be doing other things (like dishes, laundry, cleaning in general, napping [because I'm falling asleep as I type], painting my nails...), all I want to do is write.

I read a lot of other blogs and right now the most common of posts seems to be about unedited writing. It just means that you write your unedited thoughts down, no cut & paste. Backspaces are allowed only for typing errors.

I really want to try this (which is actually what I'm doing right now), but it's extremely hard! You're supposed to write down what you're thinking, every little thought and what it leads to (at least that's what I gather from it). The hard part is this: 1) My thoughts are all over the place, thinking a million things at once. I'm thinking about writing this and then also that and that and oh yeah this other thing. It's terrible! I can't possibly type that fast! 2) I want to write about my observations for the day as it recaps in my head now that I'm home. No big deal, right? Wrong. I'm pretty sure that people don't want me writing about them (good or bad) and the things I've observed about them. I'd give some examples here but I think that's a privacy breach. Okay, so there were supposed to be more numbered points, but I don't even remember because I'm trying to stay on topic. Oh, that's number three. I'm trying to stay on topic. I always stray too far away from the topic or whole point of something and it drives me nuts! I end up going on a side tangent and seem to know no other words other than "anyways", "oh" and "and" to bring it back on point. Which brings me to the the fact that there is such a word for those type of words but it's slipped my head completely.

Anyways (ya see that? Tried to make use a new word to transition back to point, but I couldn't do it. Honors English, what a waste. Blehh)

Anywaaaaaaaaaays, (anyways doesn't really work here because now I'm onto a different topic, but whatevs, my blog, I do what I want) the church asked us today (via text that was actually via twitter & Facebook and sent to us as a text), "where do you see yourself spiritually in six months?" What?! How do you answer that? Well, I'd like to be finished with the New Testament and into the Old Testament by then, reading everyday and studying the word, but I don't think that that's quite the right answer... Though I can certainly tell you where I'd like to be in six months just in general or all the things that I need (want) to be done in the next six months or the things that I have planned.

Out of debt, car painted (rechromed, new tires, new weatherstripping), Justin to get a motorcycle (that's actually not true. I don't necessarily want him to get one... They freak me out! Not they [the motorcycles] personally, but everyone else who is not riding a motorcycle. I have complete confidence on my husband's riding capabilities, but not those of which are driving cars. But it's like his last hoo-ra before settling down? I think he just means kids [which is another topic]), Tina and Robert's wedding (see also: bridal shower and bachelorette party... To which all things I am the matron [because I'm married] of honor), invest in some Ford stock and be saving for a home. All in six months time. Which doesn't even touch upon stuff like getting closer to my husband and building a relationship together with God. And now I absolutely have to build that relationship with Jus because I got his name tattooed on my arm! Which according to a friend of mine, dooms the relationship... But I'm building that relationship with God and Justin. God isn't going to let it fail.

So where do I see myself spiritually in six months? To answer this question I think I'm going to answer the question of how are you going to build your relationship with God? To which I will reply, finishing the New Testament, getting into the Old Testament, studying His word, getting more involved in ministry and listening to Him. I think that's a good place to start...

Well, I think it's time for a nap now (at 750pm) and I failed miserably at the unedited part.

Oh well, maybe another time!

G'night!

Chels

The Inevitable 2013 Recap

This has been a long year I feel like, but with that said… tomorrow is already going to be 2014. Should an exclamation mark have ended that? I dunno. Still not totally sure how I feel about it. Feels like any other day really.

There was some heartache in 2013... I watched my parents get divorced after 20 something years of marriage, met their new significant others, saw sides of people that I didn’t want to see, got tendinitis in my elbows, dealt with some serious crazies… but with that, there were so many good things that happened this year too! Overwhelmingly so!

New tattoos, took up blogging (not very well as I don’t post as much as I should), got an amazing old sewing machine that I’ve rocked like no other, made new friends, got a new job (which as of 2014 will be full-time with benefits), started doing children’s ministry (Justin doing high school ministry)… got some seriously awesome new watches…

And in January we got to celebrate being newlyweds with a second honeymoon! Thanks to Uncle Dave for letting us use his time share and Justin selling his bike the day before we left for San Francisco so we’d have money for the week. And what a week it was! From the freezing cold air, expensive taxi rides, sitting on a train for 11 hours both ways, almost missing our ferry from Alcatraz which would have made us late for the bus back to the hotel, nude protestors to a random acoustic show Justin played, seeing the golden gate bridge, the best continental breakfast we’ve ever had (minus the meat, because well, they didn’t have any), free dvd rentals at night, “Jeeves” the guy at the front desk, riding on a double decker tour bus and getting to see the whole city! So many things! Though the best part was just being able to spend time with my HUSBAND, a week’s worth of time, just the two of us together. The most perfect week ever.

Participated in another Be the Church where the church goes out on a Sunday to restore the community rather than a service and this time my sisters came! We also participated in like 2 other houses. 

Yay for the Ninja Team! Still waiting on the shirts though.

We helped/watched a couple friends come to Christ and that has been such an incredible thing to experience in. Seeing their faith in Christ grow stronger all the while ours does too.

Learned how to make simple syrup, it’s just that, simple. It has really helped out in the Making Justin Sweet Tea All the Time Department.

Bought a Roku which has been a solid investment. By investment, I mean, “investment.” No more Netflix on the computer! Yee haw! (Sorry about that last part, listening to some Mike Ness outlaw song where there’s a lot of whistling and yee haws!)

Wednesdays have become my favorite day of the week, not because its “hump day” (I hate that stupid camel commercial) or whatever, but because the day seems so much shorter. No midday or pm kids! And then the best part after that is that I get to hang out with my littlest sister Kate. We pretty much don’t do anything other than drive around, get ice cream or Starbucks, and visit the fabric store. It’s the best time really. She’s sweet and cute and a big dork, like me.

Got the IPhone 5! That’s not really big news, its actually really old news. Just looking around as I think about all the things that the year has entailed and my eyes passed over my phone.

Anyways…

The cars have been up and down. Mostly up though! Thanks to Justin, the bondo work is almost completely done! I say almost completely because I don’t quite remember if it’s almost done or completely done… Either way, it looks so awesome! Justin has done an amazing job!

We celebrated our one year anniversary!!! And what a nice night it was! Driving around, dressing up all fancy, dinner at a swanky place… One year married. Sighhh. I couldn’t be anymore lucky. I’ve found the one whom my soul loves. He’s been there for me through the good, the bad, the broke, the sick, the busy, the great… And he loves me. Only me. Well, and our two little cats. But that’s a different kind of love. Obviously.

I made a really awesome quilt for Justin’s grandma (blog on that later)! And she loved it, so much so she cried. And then cried again when she called me a couple days later to thank me (again).

We helped our friends welcome their healthy little baby Wyatt into the world! So adorable! And so tiny. He’s actually pretty normal sized for a newborn, but he’s just so tiny and fragile!

Another one of our couple friends FINALLY got engaged! And I’m the matron of honor… apparently that’s what you’re called if you’re the maid of honor but married. Who knew!

I know I’m forgetting things, but honestly, despite the small amount of sucky things… this year has been one the best years I’ve ever had. Mostly I think because I got to spend it with Justin. Mostly because I know that I’ll always have him. And he’s mine. And I’m his.

So I know everyone wants to hear about resolutions, but I don’t want to label them as that because really folks, how many people actually follow through with their “resolutions”? No one. Unfortunately, I don’t really have another word to call them by… so I’m just going to list them.

This year has been toughest on me and my mom. And I love her and I miss her and one of the most important things on my list is mending that relationship with my mom. Colossians 3:13 “bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Another thing that I’ve been sucking at is making time with God. So I’ve made reading plans and a planner that is going to help me with that.

I don’t want to curse anymore. Not that I think that it’s a terrible thing to do or anything, but I just don’t think it’s necessary. So no more cursing. Matthew 12:36 “…men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word that they have spoken…”

I need more self-control and discipline. In the mental and physical well-being parts. I need to be consistent in my routines.

Loving others. “…love your neighbor as yourself" and “Jesus had compassion on them because they were harassed like sheep with a shepherd." I just need to keep reminding myself that. Everyone is going through something. Which brings me to the next part of this, praying for others. I don’t do enough of this. Because everyone is going through something, but as it says in Philippians “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit…” Both loving and praying for others go hand in hand.

All that's on my mind for the new year are: getting out of debt, starting to save for a home, read the new testament again, read the old testament, mend relationships, get physically fit and spend more quality time with my husband.

What are you thinking about as this year comes to it's close and the next one begins?!

The Little Things!

Happy Friday everyone! Friday, Friday, Fridaaaaaay! That was embarrassing. Please ignore that.

The Little Things That Matter. See also, the things that I'm thankful for. So  let's get on with it!!!

-When you're so used to wearing fake eyelashes that you go to bed or get in the shower with them on. That doesn't really matter, nor am I thankful for it. Actually, kind of makes me mad. I either lose them or ruin them that way. Just thought I'd share.

-A husband who is willing to sleep on the couch with me while I'm sick.

-Pictures of really cute babies and puppies sleeping together. Thank you Heather for showing me this yesterday! Puts a smile on my face for sure!

-When your cat climbs your fake tree and you tell her no and she stops and then does it again and then you tell her no and then she stops and then she does it one more time and then you lock her in the bedroom for "time out" and tell her "that's not okay"  and when you let her out, she doesn't climb the tree again. Awesome.

-Ebay. Nuff said.

-Deodorant. Thankfully I have some in my purse because I forgot to put it on this morning before I left.

-Leftovers. Especially at lunch time.

-A clean bookcase. Well, yes, clean. Still busy... well, I'll just leave it at that.

-Cute socks from target. 

-Wednesdays with Kate. I'm actually really thankful for this. We don't even really do anything. Just hang out. And it's nice. And at some point I tell her she's a strange kid and then she tells me that she gets it from me. And it's fun. And sometimes I buy her ice cream or starbucks. And its our time. For just us. I wish I could do this with my other sisters. But I guess that's what we have Sister Appreciation Day for.

-Waiting until after Justin's birthday (December 2nd) to decorate for Christmas because for some reason it bothers him if we do it before. Maybe he just doesn't liking sharing his birthday. Probably so. Even though that's super silly. But I suppose I understand.

-When this one time I practiced doing a stupid trick with Justin's zippo so much that I got a blister on my finger.

-When this one time I sharpened so many pencils with a little dinky sharpener that I also got a blister on my finger. Totally two different times. Both of them sucked.

-My mom gave me a box of ornaments from when I was a kid. Well, let's just say there was a least two from every year from my birth to when I was about 11. That's a lot of ornaments! What the heck am I supposed to do with them?!

This list isn't really "the little things that matter" its more of a bunch of "mini rants that don't quite make a blog post." Maybe I'll change it.

-Being sick has caused my voice to be waaaay out of tune. Not that I was at all a great singer before... but it sucks. And it's embarrassing.

-This awesome cold weather. Even though I haven't been dressing as warm as I should be.

-A home. With my husband. And our two little cats.

What's on your list for the week?!

25 Before 25 Update

So here's where I'm currently at for my 25 Before 25 list. (For those of you just tuning in, you can check it out here) I've got nine month to do/complete these and so far... I guess I'm doing alright.

Lemme start with the first one. Staring a blog. Well folks, I definitely have done that! 28 PUBLISHED posts! (doesn't mean that I haven't started others...) On the note of consistency, that's an entirely another story. My number 21 on the list is maintaining my blog, well, as you all know, I'm failing miserably at it. I'd totally love encouragement on this one. I really want to blog, but at the end of my day, it just doesn't seem to be a priority. Soooo, if you'd like to help me out, post on my Facebook or comment on my blogs telling me to "get the heck with it and post a dang blog!" Thank you kindly. 

On a much more positive note, I can, without a shadow of a doubt, cross off 15 and 151/2! I most definitely wear my fake eyelashes everyday! Exception, that time I was sick. Other than that, every dang day. I'm awesome. And then there's the topic of those stretchy headbands....I have not worn any. At all. I bet my husband loves that! Also, I did cut my hair off, so that too I'm sure helps. Hahha.

Believe it or not, I have been doing crafts... just not blogging them. Please believe me. But I understand if you don't.

Oh! And the quilt! I can't wait for this one!!! Justin's grandma loooooves Elvis Presley. Like, really loves him. So I'm going to make her an elvis quilt! Just bought the fabric yesterday! I'm so excited! Just in case you can't tell. Never made a quilt before, so this will be fun... I think I'll be fine. And I promise to take as I go photos. Just so you can join in on the fun.

I sadly crossed out 13 though. I sent Marie a letter aaaand she never sent one back. She said she wrote me, just didn't have a stamp. I'm tempting to just send her a stamp so I can receive that stinkin' letter, but that defeats the purpose, don't you think?

As for everything else... well, I'll get there. Eventually. Nine months to go, right? I'm not making New Years Resolutions this year, considering this is pretty much resolutions anyways. But I'm curious to hear what you guys have got going on! Have you been thinking about resolutions yet?? Let me know!

A Note To My Husband

Dear Husband,

I have never been so in love with you than I am right now. Really though. You're sitting across from me playing your guitar and though you're not really paying any attention to me, there's just this overwhelming feeling of love in our home. Maybe you disagree, you're so focused on playing the right chords on your guitar... I don't know. (So justin told me that he thinks that this made him sound like a jerk, I don't think so... He was playing guitar and I was blogging, both sitting right next to each other doing our own thing. It's nice that we can do that. That we can do our own things while still enjoying each other's company. I'll tell you what made him sound like a jerk though... When he told me my humming is as bad as my whistling! Ughh.)

So this last week has been pretty terrible. I was the sickest that I've been in a long time. Not only did I feel and sound like death, but I looked like it too. And even though you were going to bed every night with death, you still managed to look at me with so much love in your eyes. Maybe that was all an act to try to make me feel better, but I really don't think so. Thank you for loving me, and I'm sorry for being completely useless and grumpy.

And though I coughed all night, every night this week and you didn't get to sleep well, you didn't complain. Thank you. And even though you probably needed the sleep more than me, thank you for sleeping on the couch with me where I could prop myself up and not cough so much. And thank you for knowing that I wouldn't sleep on the couch by myself. I don't like the idea of sleeping in separate rooms, even though it's just because I'm sick.

And thank you for making me go to the doctors. I would have bronchitis by now had you not made me. 

I am married to YOU, for the rest of my life. And I can't wait to see all the things the rest of our life together entails! I'm so lucky to be your wife.

 

You are the sun to my day and the moon to my night.

I sure do love us. I've seriously found the one whom my soul loves.

Getting My Priorities Straight

MI have not blogged a while a month. It's not that I didn't want to blog, but honestly, it just wasn't a priority.I started working longer days at work, eight hours to be exact. (and I'm not trying to make excuses, seriously, just trying to explain why it wasn't a priority...) And most of you are probably like eight hours?! That's what grownups work! Did I mention I work with kids with autism? (Also not an excuse) 

Anyways, my hours got bumped up (thanks to my own self), I figured I was already going to be there all day, why not be on the clock? Well, that was dumb. For a lot of reasons. Now don't get me wrong, I love my job. Seriously, the best and most rewarding job I have ever had. 

Just a little side note: I have always struggled with what I want to be when I "grow up". Problem being that I want to do everything and schooling just takes way too much time. Especially because I don't care about math or history or whatever. I just want to learn about the job and all it entails. And not even just learn, but do. Sometimes too much time is spent in the classroom and not enough actually doing the job. Also, school is a lot of money that I have never been able to afford and the idea of loans stress me out. I don't want to borrow money and then spend the rest of my life paying it off just to want to go to school for something else later. The list of things I've wanted to do is ridiculously long and I've been fortunate enough to have been able to try out most of them to some degree.

So because I haven't known what I wanted to do, I've done and tried lots of things. Though thing I seemed to love most was working with kids. And thanks to my husband and friend Casey, I got a job with the school district (have I told this story before? Oh well...) 

I'm currently employed as an IBIA, Intensive Behavioral Instruction Assistant. I work with kids who have developmental delays. Basically helping students with autism learn to learn. Their behaviors (and developmental delays) often interfere with their ability to learn and I help by targeting those behaviors and working with the student to reduce them.

Not gonna lie, it's a tough job. Not only is it physically exhausting but also emotionally. Which brings me to the eight hour days... There are a lot of people who work those hours and I honestly don't know how they do it! It was hard, because I love my job so much. And I just want to learn more and do more and because of that, I started to over work myself a little bit. I'd come home and be so exhausted! And just sit on the couch. And do nothing the rest of the night.

But I love working! Most of the people are just amazing and have hearts so big and the kids are awesome too (also not so awesome, but that comes with the job. I can't even tell you how many times I've been hit, kicked, pinched, spit on, had stuff thrown at me, diapers to change, clothes to change, running, some days are just filled with running and even hit with a stupid tennis ball.) There's just so many more things that make it rewarding though. Like when a student hasn't had a "tantrum" in over a month! Or another one who is non verbal tells you "No!" because he doesn't want his grapes. There is nothing as awesome and sweet and amazing as when those things, progress, happens. That's why I do what I do. And it may not seem like much to you, but it truly is.

And then there was the fact that Justin was getting off work earlier. Which meant that he had time to come home and relax and then I'd get off work and be way to tired. I was giving too much at work and not enough at home. And since I was tired all time, blogging was definitely not a priority. Neither were the dishes or vacuuming or making dinner. So we decided that I was working too much. And now that I've less hours to work, more time with my husband, and just about back to complete health after having the worst week of sickness of my life. I'm back at it again.