Archives for 2011

Top Ten Reasons to be an Early Riser

October 11, 2011 by Amy 24 Comments

It’s been almost two weeks that I’ve been going to bed early and getting up early. I know, two weeks isn’t long enough to consider anything a habit, unless your talking about buying Lattes every day and then I’d bet you’d call it a habit. In any case, I’ve found that I quite like it. Here’s why:

Scott and I go to bed at the same time. Since he has to get up at 4am when he’s on day shift, he’s in bed by 8. I usually was never in bed until at least 10 and sometimes 12. I’ve enjoyed the whole house shutting down at one time. It’s weird, but it feels like that “lights out” moment at camp when you knew you were all in it together.
I wasn’t getting a whole lot done at night anyway. My brain power by 8pm was not worth much so I’d find I was just circling between Facebook, Twitter and email. Sometimes I’d get a blog post in but only when I was lucky.
I start to think about the next day a lot earlier in the evening. This is good because at 7:30 I still have energy to plan for the next day. I find even though I’m up early the next day, I’m getting more things ready for the next day the night before.
I get up easier when it’s earlier. I have no idea how that happens but it’s easier for me to get up at 5:45 when I’ve gone to bed at 9 then it is to get up at 6:45 when I went to bed at 10. It shouldn’t be so as it’s the same amount of time but I have just found I am entirely too groggy the later I wake up, no matter how much sleep I’ve had. In fact, Friday night Scott and I were asleep by 9:30 or so and slept in until almost 9 and it was harder to get myself out of bed that morning.
I like starting my day before everyone else. I feel like I have a head start to my day and get my day started with the right attitude versus the kids up and me feeling like a failure for not being able to be up with the kids.
I get more done in the morning. I’m a lot more alert in the morning so I’m actually productive. With less time, I get more done.
We’re not rushed to get off to school. This morning, we were all literally sitting around the living room waiting for the time to leave. This has *never* happened before.
I like that the kids will remember that I’m up, ready and alert. I normally did have to wake them up for school anyway but I was in my pjs, hair a mess and barely alert. It worked, but I just feel better being completely dressed and ready. I have a better tone to my voice and attitude.
I’m not worried all day about all the things I need to do. Yes, some things have to wait but I like that I can get things started before work. That load of laundry that needs switched or that blog post that needs written (this one!) can all get done without me worrying about it.
I’m saving money! Now this one sounds funny but seriously, we are. Since I’m up earlier I have time to make my own coffee and get my snack and lunch ready for work when I go. Before, I was just rushing out the door and buying stuff at work. I still treat myself to Starbucks one work morning a week but I’m not buying the regular coffee at work every single time.

Wow, I didn’t think I’d ever be such a proponent as an early-riser but I think I’m in! The only downside I can think of is when you CAN’T get to bed early and it’s super hard to get up early the next morning. The good news is, it’s even easier to go to sleep early the next night and get back on track.

So how do you do this? I started out by going to bed super early one night when I was exhausted but then got up early the next day instead of sleeping in. Somehow, it’s stuck since then!

So tell me, are you an early riser or night owl??

Make sure to check out more Top Ten Tuesday posts over at ohAmanda.com

Warm Heart, Wet Ear

October 10, 2011 by Amy 4 Comments

Lexi recently playing dress-up with my clothes

Lexi and I were sitting in the recliner watching Scooby Doo last night. The sun had set and the lights were low in the living room. I turned to my left as I felt Lexi’s hands at my hair. She was looking at me with a smile and pushed my hair behind my ear. “You’re pretty.” Melt my heart. “That’s so sweet, Lexi. Thank you.” I turned back to the movies with a smile in my heart. I felt her still smiling and looking at me again so I looked back and smiled, sure that we were having a wonderful mother-daughter moment. I turned back towards the movie and suddenly felt a wet finger in my ear and heard her beginning to laugh. Lexi leaned forward towards Scott and Emma on the couch and yelled, “I gave Mommy a wet willie!!”

Stinker.

Weekend Recap

October 10, 2011 by Amy Leave a Comment

Source: cs9685.vkontakte.ru via Ksenia_Y on Pinterest

Random Pinterest picture in honor of Canada Day today

Friday night we babysat our friend’s little boy and took the kids to Scott’s mom’s for the night. Saturday morning we both decided to sleep in, something we almost never do anymore. We then had to rush to get on the ball to get Emma to a birthday party at Carowinds. Fun story.

We lost our passes a few weeks back so I decided to go first thing Saturday to get them to print a temporary pass for her. The line was so long as it was Bring a Friend day AND Scarowinds. I finally made it through and the lady would not give me a pass for her since Emma wasn’t there. I tried to reason with her but to no avail. I walked away aggravated at the lack of customer service. I understand why they wouldn’t but it still caused extra work for me when the whole point of me going early was to get ahead. Anyway, we went straight to get Emma and go back to Carowinds. We then had one hour to get the passes, get all the girls lunch and still buy and wrap a present. Clearly, I should have done that much earlier. Anyway, we swung through the Wendy’s line just outside Carowinds and then Emma and I went in to get her ticket. Thankfully, the line had completely cleared out and we got the ticket within a few minutes. The girls finished eating their lunch in the car and then Emma and I ran through Walmart. Fastest decision making by Emma EVER. We then realized she didn’t have tennis shoes on so we had to stop in at the house. On the way to the house, I was looking for the ticket and suddenly could not find it. I remembered that Scott had it in his hand just before I went into Walmart so we started looking everywhere. Then Scott says, “Oh yeah, I think I threw it in the Wendy’s bag.” WITH THE TRASH. And he almost had Lexi throw the whole bag away when we were in Walmart. Holy cow. We made it home with the ticket and I took the two minutes to wrap the present in the bag and Emma grabbed her shoes. We made it to the party right on time. Geezorama. I was ready for a nap after that.

So the rest of the afternoon, Lexi played with my niece and I did laundry, worked on my eBook, etc. We stayed in for the evening as well and capped off the night watching a Scooby Doo movie.

Sunday was another easy going day. We had our friend’s son for the day again and the girls stayed super busy with him. We stayed in for dinner and once again, watched the same exact Scooby Doo movie to finish out the night. Exciting times, I tell ya.

Overall a great weekend. I hope yours was great and your week is off to a great start!

The Swingset

October 8, 2011 by Amy 2 Comments

Just in case you’ve been thinking about our gigantic swingset, I thought I’d post an update.

It’s now gigantic-er.

Yes, it’s like a second house in our back yard. Huge! I can stand up straight inside!

Last night before Scott finished it we had a little pizza picnic for dinner. Lexi clearly is excited. Look how tall it is! Scott is almost 6’ and the base is at his chest!

The girls have a friend over this evening. They’ve taken a ton of toys out there to play.

Scott built a cute bench for them.

Tucker cannot stand that he hasn’t found a way up yet.

So that’s that. The kids love it. I’m sure the neighbors are rolling their eyes. Scott is taking lots of IBProfen tonight. But honestly? I’m super proud of him for doing that on the fly. His carpentry skills are one of my favorite talents he has. Now. If I could just get that pool cover stand I was after….

Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream Review

October 6, 2011 by Amy 3 Comments

Tonight we got to attend the Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream show. Since Scott was working, my niece got to come along and the girls decided to get dressed up.

They were so ready with their blankets for the cool air. They barely wanted to look at anything. They just wanted to sit in their seats!

The show started off with Princess and the Frog. I’m not a fan of the movie to be honest and I was holding my breath, worried what they would show from the movie. There was one scene with the voodoo guy and some scary costumes. My friend from The Carolina Clipper and I looked at each other like what is that? Once that was over though, they ignored that storyline for the rest of the scenes and it turned out great.

We were more than excited though to watch Cinderella unfold. We loved singing Bippity Boppity Boo. And Lexi thought Prince Charming was just so handsome.

All the squeals of delight though came out when Flynn came on the scene. And I do mean came on the scene. He came straight out of the sky and dropped in to steal the crown. He had the crowd’s attention from the first second.

We really enjoyed seeing Rapunzel and her iron pan.

And they really surprised us with some beautiful acrobatics

The girls had a great time. My niece who takes figure skating lessons seemed mesmerized the entire time. And I do also love that they fit in jumps and holds into the routine. I also loved that all the voices are prerecorded so you really felt like you were with the original characters unlike what happens sometimes with live shows.

All in all, a great night out with the girls and I recommend you check it out. Don’t forget to use the discount code ICE when you check out!

James Read-along Week 5

October 5, 2011 by Amy 5 Comments

Another short one for this week but I’m so glad it fell on this week, just a day after I announced I’ve written an eBook. This verse?

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:15-16

That in a nutshell is what my eBook is about. I went through a really hard time but I’m ready to share some truth. And most of all, I’m ready to help pray some women through their confession and healing. I love this post from Justin at RefineUs blog. There is no shame in admitting a failure. In fact, I believe in those words the truth will set you free. And it’s not just an inner truth, I think there is power in confessing it publicly. Maybe you don’t need to write an eBook or stand in front of a group but I wholeheartedly believe in this idea that we are truly healed when we confess to one another. Sharing this book with some of my family and friends has provided a freedom that I had not found to date, even years after I had confessed to those I had wronged.

Before I write another eBook, I’ll stop there and just ask, what do you need to confess? Is there something I can pray for you about?

Things I’ve Learned Writing an eBook

October 4, 2011 by Amy 18 Comments

So I have something to tell you that I’ve been keeping a secret.

I’ve written an ebook.

If you’ve felt like this blog was suffering in content at all, it’s because I’m feverishly writing, planning and thinking about this ebook. Ebooks seems to be all the rage with bloggers these days. I see a new one pop up in a tweet or blog post almost daily. With the amount coming out, I thought the process must be pretty simple. Write a few blog posts, put them in a word doc, convert it to a pdf and ta-da! I was ready to share my story with the world. Not so, my friend. Not so AT ALL. I’m not quite ready to share my book yet but there are some things I’ve learned already that might help some of you considering one:

Writing the book is the easy part. Many of the chapters were written in one sitting. Just because I’m passionate about the subject and it’s something I’ve never written about, the words came tumbling out. That’s not to say they came out just right.
That said, making effort to increase youtube subscribers is hard. Who knew there was content editing, copy editing, ebook formatting, book design, web design and video editing all to think about when really you just wanted to slap a link to a pdf out into the world wide web?
Different ebook formats needed for the Kindle, Nook, iPad, etc are technically intimidating and confusing. And I’m a programmer for goodness sakes!
Writing marketing material is apparently an art I never learned.
Publishing an ebook is really expensive and I’m constantly weighing the cost against my incompetence to see if it’s worth the risk of not doing it well.
That said, sometimes it’s just not worth the cost-saving and leaving it to the professionals is worth every red cent.
I have some amazing friends that are so supportive. This book wouldn’t be happening without their encouragement.
I have some super talented friends. One of my favorite parts of this process has been to watch my friends do their best work.
Writing an ebook can be one of the most vulnerable positions to be in. This book will be my heart turned inside out and while I’m excited about it, it took and will continue to take a good dose of courage to share it.
God is so entirely amazing it blows my mind. He has shown up at every turn without fail. If He calls you to it, He. will. provide.

I can not wait to share this with you. Do I know when that will be yet? Not yet. But when I know it, I promise it’s a secret I won’t be keeping.

This post has been linked up to ohAmanda’s Top Ten Tuesday

Weekend Recap

October 3, 2011 by Amy 3 Comments

My weekends have been busy but tame lately.
Friday night started out by picking up our rental. I begged not to have a little bug of a car like we did when we had hail and water damage in our neighborhood. Luckily he hired this company to help us fix our home, learn more about them here. We got a Dodge Avenger and I have to say I’ve enjoyed scooting around in it this weekend. After eating dinner at a local place we dropped the kids off at my parents for a last-minute sleepover. Scott and I were wiped and when we crawled in bed the clock said 7:52. For real. How’s that for an exciting Friday night?

Saturday I was up early and spent time time cleaning up, having a great phone call with my friend Liz and scooting over to Target to use a gift card all by my lonesome. I got some new sunglasses (since the dog ate mine), a new Welcome rug and wait for this one…12 pack of toilet paper. How bad is it I poured over the purses, clothes AND shoes and didn’t find a thing to buy?
Saturday afternoon I finally convinced the girls to come home to spend time with me. We spent time outside as we had beautiful weather. Saturday night we cooked steaks and had a great dinner together. But again, we were in bed by 9.

Sunday after church and dinner, the kids ended up spending time with their cousin. I spent the afternoon finishing up the purple paint in the girls’ bathroom, doing more laundry and grocery shopping. I even managed to cook Pioneer Woman’s meatballs and mashed potatoes for dinner. The four of us packed up and snuck out for Frosty’s. It was a great ending to the weekend and we were ALL in bed by 8:15 last night.
These weekends sound a little boring but I’ll tell you, I love being caught up with all the housework. I love being home and not feeling rushed. I love that we ate two great dinners at home. I’m such a homebody!
After going to bed last night so early (and the two nights before) I woke up starting at 2:30 and then every hour after that until I finally gave up at 5:45 and got out of bed. At that point, I’d had 8+ hours of sleep and I was ready to get the week started. I got up, got completely ready, got the kids ready for school and somehow I didn’t have time for anything extra but it was a nice way to start the week unrushed and with a smile on our faces. I think this early to bed/early riser thing certainly has its merits. Scott goes on night shifts this week which means he’ll be wanting to stay up late to stay on schedule so I don’t know if I’ll try to stick with his schedule or stay on this one. In any case, I think we had a great weekend and got a great start to the week. Hope yours was great as well!