what i did today

I have good news and bad news about next week’s Toy Story 3 On Ice.  And there’s a little story so hang in there.

Weeks (months?) ago my friend Becky and I exchanged several emails about going to Catalyst in Atlanta.  Once Beth Moore was announced as a main speaker, I was raring to go.  Not to mention Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, T.D. Jakes, etc, etc.  Well, Becky just couldn’t get it worked out with work and it was just too expensive for both Scott and I to go.  I let it go.

Then last week at small group it somehow came up that one of the couples’ daughter was going as part of work and really wanted some company.  Sign me up!  And I did.  And I’m psyched!  That’s the good news.

In (super) bad news, I’ll be missing Toy Story 3 On Ice next Wednesday.  But Scott is off and will be taking the girls and reporting back for us all.  Don’t forget to use the codes below to get your discounted tickets!  The offer is only good until October 6 so don’t wait until you hear our report to sign up!

Check out more information and get tickets over at Time Warner.

I received this opportunity including 4 pack of tickets to the opening show because of my participation in the NC Blog Buzz network. I have pledged to give my honest opinion of the product/event.  All opinions are my own.

OK, this has got to be quick!  I have been really lax since Labor Day and it keeps stacking up and now I’m so behind but I want to get back on track this week so here we go! 

• Labor Day was great.  I spent the whole day Saturday cleaning the girls’ playroom.  I threw away 3 bags of stuff, re-organized all their bins and as I mentioned, organized their Barbies.  Which, by the way, has been working GREAT.  It’s so easy to clean up and really, they haven’t been playing with them much so they’re stored behind the door never to be seen!
• Because of that, I decided to finally sand down their play tables and paint them.  I’ve been working on that through my spare time in the past week.  I have one done and the other part way done.  Hopefully a post and pictures on that.
• We also went to a local fair where they highlight was getting the girls’ faces painted.  It’s for sure a highlight of the year for Emma.
• In my other spare time lately, at Kaitlin’s insistence, I caught up on Everwood Season 1.  So far I’m not fangirling over it but it is a good show.  It runs more like a long dramatic movie than a TV series if you ask me but it’s good.  I’m just not sold on the main couple yet.  I hear Season 3 and 4 are better though so I think eventually I’ll get through it all.  It’s a nice show to have playing in the background while I work.
• However, Kaitlin ALSO bought me Chuck Season 1 and I LOVE it.  I hope to catch up on that as well and yes, it will probably be added to my TV line-up.  I realize I didn’t need that but I think this is one I can DVR and watch later.
• Friday the kids had their fun run at school.  Lexi had a great time and did two more laps than required.  It was fun seeing her competitiveness come out.  She did a fantastic job.  Ms. Emma was too busy talking with her friends to hit her goal.  I guess a 2nd grade life is too busy to worry about fundraising!
• Speaking of Kaitlin, she came in Friday and beyond watching Chuck together, we did a bunch of shopping and eating.  Oh my word.  I was on a bit of a staycation with her. 
• Friday night was Mom’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Mom) so we went out to eat for Japanese.  Which, by the way, was my Mom’s first time going.  She always thought she’d hate it but turns out she LOVED it.  Woot! 
• Saturday Kaitlin and I went shopping at Southpark.  And you can’t go shopping at Southpark without going to Cheesecake Factory so that’s what we did.  I only had a small pizzette and salad but oh my word that pear/blue cheese/carmelized onion pizzette thingy was SO good.  We were pretty good with the cheesecake too and split a piece and even at that, took half of it home.
• Saturday night was our real splurge and we went to Beef and Bottle.  If you’re in the Charlotte area, you HAVE to go.  Best steak in town.
• Sunday we went to church.  So fun to have Kaitlin with us and a great start to a new series Epic on the book Esther.  Then we hit up Cracker Barrel since Kaitlin had never eaten breakfast there!?  It was off to the airport and called it a weekend.
• Last night we stopped by Jake and Jill’s to have a little cake for Jake’s birthday.  Happy Birthday, Jake!
• I finished last night with a coffee date with my friend Becky where Jo Ann and her daughter Kristyn showed up and we had some great girl time.

So yeah, it’s been a busy past week and lots of fun.  I started this morning with a trip to the gym which is exactly where I need to be every single morning for about 6 weeks after this weekend.  I’m looking forward to getting back into it this week! 

Hope you’re having a great Monday!

This week has been quite the rollercoaster.  Many highs and lows for me but not much in between. 

At work we closed down processes that have been in place for years.   It’s amazing how you can get attached to a set of code.  I can buy into the saying that coding is art and also the part where it’s the only one that fights back.  On the flip side, new process have come to fruition after months of meetings, coding, discussions and testing.  It feels much like the presentation of a new piece of artwork.  I mean, I think.  Not that I’ve ever debuted artwork.  It feels good, ok?

I gave up the full reigns on OTHBlog and gave up NBCPhd.  On the flip side got some great feedback and planning new stuff for iHeart with Danny’s management.  Announced a new partnership for this blog with NC Blog Buzz which I’m psyched about.

Personally saw some low lows and high highs.

It’s definitely not been a status quo week.  I feel a little drained and more than ready for the long weekend.

But through it all, I’ve been so thankful for friends with whom to rejoice on the hills and shed a virtual tear when it bottomed out.  God has covered me in peace this week.  We are not meant to go through it alone and I’m so thankful.

I have so much to tell you that I made a list while I was walking on the treadmill this morning at the Y.

1 – Let’s start there!  Three days this week I’ve gone to run/walk at the Y after dropping the girls off at school.  I can’t tell you how good it feels to start the day like that.  Then, midway through the day it’s like, wow, I don’t have to think about exercising because I did it HOURS ago.  Win!

2 – We got a new roof!  The roof, the roof, the roof is on fyah…ok, it’s not and it wasn’t. That’s just the song I start singing every time I say roof.  Actually we had hail damage a few months back along with many people in our neighborhood.  I think we’re the 5th house or so.  The shingles are a little darker and we got the 3-ply shingles. 

3 – The girls had Independence Day at school on Tuesday.  Lexi grabbed Emma’s hand and they walked in like that.  Emma took her to her class and then walked to hers.  It still blows my mind that she would be the one leading someone into school.  A teacher stopped her though and told her she couldn’t do that again so Emma walks her to the commons area and then they each go down their own hall.  They are SO cute together and I love that they love each other so well.

4 – We bought Monopoly Tuesday night.  Can’t tell you how disappointed I was to find the size of the property cards and color of Baltic and Mediterranean Avenue have changed.  I don’t know why.  Sometimes I don’t do well with change.

5 – MrsFussyPants is hosting a discussion on CS Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.  Since reading Mere Christianity I’m psyched to jump in on that one.

6 – Marla Taviano is hosting a Radical Readalong.  I’m so excited to see what comes out of that.

7 – I tried out Facetime yesterday and it was amazing!  Excellent quality video and sound.   It’s like having a high quality, mobile web cam.  So much easier to show stuff to the other person. Not that I do that, you know, but just the fact that you can is pretty cool.

That’s it, I hope your Thursday is going well!

Last week the rest of school went swimmingly.  I actually went to school 2 of the 3 days to eat lunch with the girls.  What can I say?  It really couldn’t have been a better start to the school year.  I just hope Independence day when the girls have to walk themselves in will go just as well.  That’s when Emma REALLY had the issues in K.  Emma says she’s going to walk Lexi to her class and then go to hers so yay for awesome big sisters.

Friday night and Saturday morning I had to work so it was just laundry and general putzing around the house.  Saturday my niece came over for a few hours and we ended up in the pool.  Saturday evening we ate with Mom and Dad and then all ventured over to Trader Joe’s for the first time.  After putting a call out on Twitter and Facebook we were directed to lots of yummys that we’ve been taste-testing over the weekend.  My favorite so far are

But seriously?  They are only like 3” long.  They are like baby ice cream bars. Come on, TJ!

Last night my niece stayed with us and we all went to church today after Scott got the day off.  We randomly picked a restaurant to eat at since kids eat free and ran into some family friends.  We ended up eating with them and having a nice lunch.  This afternoon I spent some time with the girls with their pottery wheel which Emma has been begging me to do all week.  We were able to turn some very small, uneven bowls.  I think the girls are happy with them which is all that matters.

This evening we made a huge step and joined our church at their Partner class.  I really think Satan was using fear once again to keep me from going.  I got so nervous about sharing my testimony they had us write out.  I have no idea.  It’s a very simple, non-glamorous story.  Well, very glamorous in what He did, but not drama-filled.  Anyway, I was nervous the whole afternoon, almost backing out even though there was no indication we’d even have to share our story with others.  After some serious prayers, I felt the YES I needed and off we went.  I’m super-excited to finally make it official.  Not as if we haven’t already been committed but now we literally have signed on the dotted line (AND didn’t have to share our stories to the large group).  I’m ecstatic to see how God will use us there (as long as it’s not sharing my testimony to a large group.  I KID!).

So tomorrow morning I’m off to the gym after school drop-off for the first time in months.  I’ve really slacked since the pool has been opened.  Who wants to give that up for a sweaty gym?  I seriously have to buckle down again but I say that every August, don’t I?

I got the new IKEA catalog on Saturday and dog-eared a few pages and thought I’d share.

First, off, they had this green page with lots of green tips and these just made my day.

Did you know…

I guess I should have figured that one out but you know, I didn’t.  I’m hoping since it was on this page others haven’t either!

Or did you know…

You have no idea how relieved I am.  See, I’ve been doing my part to be green and didn’t even know it!

Now onto the good stuff!

This picture below makes me want to paint my office gray.  Really, really bad.

This makes me want to paint my bedroom gray

This picture makes me want to nail old wood to my bathroom wall and buy all new bathroom accessories.  Doesn’t that picture make you feel like there’s a masseuse just around the corner?

I want to hang this lighting fixture in my new gray office

And this next one.  Remember my yellow cabinet I bought during our little redesign last year?  Well that now have it in RED!  Gah, someone make me some room in my house for it STAT!

I never thought I’d say this but this makes me want to cover a room in particle board.

And this makes me want to redo my wall collage

OK, enough!  What’s on your IKEA wish list?