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Hello Summer, Hello Water Leak

June 9, 2013 by Amy 5 Comments

Did you ever have a day that just did not go as planned? Our Sunday was going just fine until it got flipped, turned upside down about 7:30.

The short story is the girls decided they were going to clean a few stuffed animals out of their closet today and we found mold on the molding, carpet and the base of the wall. Ugh!

Turns out the furnace’s water pan was overflowing, leaking down the walls and sitting in the closet floor. All the stuffed animals sitting in there were also soaking up all that water and many of them had mold on them too.

Cue the mess above.

You know how I was saying I wasn’t very organized? If I were to pick an area in the house that was the least organized, this closet was at the top of the list.

We had to get all the stuffed animals out (trust me, I realize it’s a ridiculous amount), remove all their shoes and all their clothes. Scott then removed their shoe rack and cut the carpet out.

The insurance company was called, Scott temporarily fixed the furnace and the girls were moved to the guest room until we figure out just how much of a mold problem we have.

I’m trying though to look on the bright side. I’ve been forced into reorganizing that closet, we probably will be replacing the carpet finally and it’s looking like we’re going to use this as an opportunity for Lexi to move to her own room.

I’m also super thankful this happened when Scott is off for a few days and the girls aren’t in school.

Still, anyone would admit what a pain something unexpected like this. Definitely not how we planned to spend our Sunday night or start the Summer.

Have you ever had a water leak or unexpected house emergency?

Linen Closet Makeover

June 4, 2013 by Amy Leave a Comment

I love my house organized but as I mentioned in my post last week Things I Don’t Do, I’m a horrible organizer!

I was checking out a friend’s guest post over at OrgJunkie.com and ran into PROCESS. While I could use these organizing steps in many, many different areas of my home, I decided to tackle my hall linen closet.

Let me show you a few before pictures. My closet is in a long hall so it’s hard to capture but I think you’ll see enough to know I was in desperate need of this makeover.

Yikes! You can hardly tell there are even shelves—it looks like one big pile ‘o junk!

Head on over to OrgJunkie.com and I have a full post with the after pictures and all the PROCESS steps along the way. And while you’re there, leave a comment or share the post so they know what wonderful readers you guys are!

Tucker and Bella: A Story of Two Unlikely Friends

June 3, 2013 by Amy 8 Comments

We’ve had Bella now for about 6 weeks. I’ve gone totally bonkers over the little dog. I think the fact that I know I’ve gone bonkers makes it ok. I mean, sometimes people go crazy and they don’t know they’re crazy and that’s when it’s bad.

So I’m crazy and I know it.

I decided with this dog that I wasn’t going to hold back. I think with other animals, I kind of had this mindset like I know they’re going to die in just a few years so I shouldn’t love them too much. And I missed out. So I’m not missing out this time.

If she gets run over tomorrow, everyone will be able to say I couldn’t have loved her more.

I want this mindset with the people in my life too. I don’t want to hold back just in case I might get hurt if I love them too much.

I probably need counseling about this.

But like I said for now, I’m crazy and I know it.

But what has been so interesting about having Bella is the friendship she’s developed with Tucker.

They are cute together. Like, seriously. They could have a reality show and people would watch. Honestly, sometimes when our small group comes over, there’s 10 adults in my living room all just staring at these two dogs interact with one another and laughing.

You need to know that Tucker has always been high maintenance. HIGH. MAINTENANCE. I mean, he’s a lab with lots of energy and he liked to chew everything as a puppy. One day I had to replace TWO wired keyboards because he ate through the wires.

You couldn’t out-play Tucker. He would play with our neighbor’s lab hard for like 4 hours straight and still would be raring to go after a 10 minute break.

Tucker is the reason we had to replace our picket fence with a privacy fence. And since then, he’s jumped over that fence at least twice. I think the Energizer Bunny died and came back as Tucker. Just high energy, you know?

So Bella comes along and she’s this little thing. I thought Tucker might want to eat her when we first got her. But really, he has been so amazing with her.

She doesn’t realize she’s tiny. She really ought to be scared of Tucker but she isn’t. She has so much spunk and goes after Tucker without reserve. Especially in his face. Tucker could snap her in half but he doesn’t. He just lies down and lets her attack him. Ever since she got here it’s like half his energy got poured into Bella and everything got balanced somehow.

She does hit limits with Tucker though and when he’s done with her, he takes his front paw and slams it down on her so she’s pinned to the ground. He does it gently though so he doesn’t hurt her but he’s pretty clear about what he means.

Sometimes he gets super tired of her and he jumps on the couch where she can’t yet get to on her own. Or, if they’re on the ottoman, he’ll hop down to the floor so she can’t get to him.

Bella wakes up with the family but gets tired about 8 in the morning and I’ll put her back in her crate. She will sleep for hours. Tucker gets impatient sometimes and will jump on the bedroom door to go get her.

I haven’t yet figured out if he just hears her before me or he just gets impatient to have her come play again. Either way it’s pretty adorable.

If Bella gets tired before we go to bed, sometimes she just gives in and goes to sleep with Tucker. She curls up really close and he lets her.

Have you ever read the Big Dog…Little Dog series by PD Eastman with Fred and Ted? Well, that’s what I think of every time I see Tucker and Bella. Fred and Ted. Tucker and Bella.

These two dogs are so different but they’re best friends.

There’s something beautiful about that, isn’t there?

Stitch Fix #5

May 31, 2013 by Amy 13 Comments

My latest fix from Stitch Fix came Thursday while it’s still SO exciting to get, I admit my expectations were a tad lower going in this time.

By the last fix, I was disappointed that I hadn’t yet hit the Stitch Fix jackpot and wanted to keep all five items. But I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this fix.

This is first fix where I legitimately could see see all of these items in my closet. The color and style were spot on and it’s buoyed my hopes for future fixes.

Let’s get to it!

3/4 Sleeve Blouse

First up was this red 3/4 sleeve blouse. The color is even more gorgeous in person. I was instantly drawn to this first.

The style and color are just perfect but the problem is I got completely lost in it. It’s even more prominent straight on but basically it looks super boxy. I’d belt it but I look horrible in belts. I’ve had so many people try to say I should do belts but no. Belted shirts just do not work on me.

I usually love blouses like this and even have one or two similar in style but I don’t know, something just isn’t working.

Pink Pointelle Shirt

Next up is this pink pointelle shirt. It has this great tribal pattern and is perfect for spring. I like the style and the fit is great.

But listen up, it is already summer here in the Carolinas and I just wouldn’t get any use out of this for months. Certainly a contender but maybe not what I’m looking to spend my money on right now.

Bubble Necklace

I admit I was disappointed at first to see a jewelry box in my fix as I’m more the $5- jewelry-at-Forever 21 kind of girl but I have to admit, this bubble necklace is just gorgeous. I suppose it is NOT gorgeous with this shirt but the jewels are so pretty in person and the color would be really versatile. I like this a lot even if it is more than I would spend. And oh look, my earring is about to fall out.

Striped Maxi

Stripes and maxis. Sigh. I love them. And this one with the detail at the neckline is just gorgeous. I wish you could see the neckline better but it is REALLY cute in person.

This is one of the priciest item of the bunch so I’m going to super picky here. First, I already have a striped maxi so that doesn’t help. I think the horizontal lines are a bit droopy from the front and it’s not entirely flattering but I think that might just be this picture too. We didn’t get any great ones from the front.

I also feel like it’s a tad short. I wouldn’t be able to wear any heeled sandals.

But if you look at this picture you can see it has a cute racer back and I think the stripes are fine from the side. My other issue is I feel like it might be too fitting around the middle. Scott really loves it though (imagine that) and my friend even took a look and assured me it was not too tight.

Skinny Jeans

And finally, the last item was a pair of skinny jeans. These jeans are hard to get on but are super stretchy and comfy when you do. The color is great and the length is perfect for flats or would work well with boots. As far as jeans go, I think these are a winner. But again, I’m not sure if I want to drop any money on jeans at the start of summer.

So, the jeans and red blouse are out but I’m really considering between the other three. I basically have enough credit to cover one of them. Is the maxi or necklace worth the cost or should I pick up the pink shirt and just wait to wear it?

If you’d like to try out Stitch Fix, I’d love for you to hop over with my affiliate link where I get $25. If you’d like to see my other fixes, here ya go:

Defining Hospitality in the Age of Pinterest

May 30, 2013 by Amy 7 Comments

Today’s guest post is by Jacey from The Balanced Wife. Jacey hasn’t been blogging for long but she has a great writing style, a great heart and she’s another Carolina girl to boot.

In college, when I moved into my own apartment for the first time, I loved the idea of inviting people into it. My roommates and I hosted game nights and birthday parties.

We invited friends and boyfriends for lunch or dinner, cookie baking or popcorn and movie night. I’m surprised we didn’t all gain weight that year, between daily Ranch dressing consumption and frequent baked goods.

As much as I liked inviting people, perfectionist tendencies drove me to try to control every variable. I struggled to enjoy these orchestrated events, my head swimming with details.

I may have been a control freak, but I had a near delusional confidence in my entertaining and cooking skills. Sometimes my recipes didn’t turn out, or they took hours longer than expected, but I somehow maintained the belief that I excelled at all things domestic.

As I’ve ventured into an adulthood filled with talented friends and Pinterest boards, my confidence has wavered. When I frost a cupcake, it looks like a toddler did the job with finger paint.

I cannot see a room and picture furniture in it. I had a near meltdown picking paint colors when we moved into our current apartment.

That’s the other thing: we live in an apartment. An old apartment, with no central air conditioning and dingy, grey linoleum in the kitchen, a corner of which is missing since our dog ate it. We have IKEA furniture, some damaged by the move, and our house was damaged by a water leak there was in the ceiling, but luckily we fixed it with a great home improvement company, learn more here. I have avoided decorating due to budget constraints and general ineptitude.

I still invite people over, but only after clearing about 18 mental hurdles. The good news is, I’m having a breakthrough of sorts. And I’ll share it with you: my domestic insecurity stems from the premise that entertaining is a performance instead of an act of service. I feel uptight because I make entertaining more about me than about my guests.

The common theme among parties and gatherings I’ve enjoyed most is that I’ve felt honored, like the person who invited me was really glad I was there. Sometimes, the honor is extended by a handmade place card, sometimes by a slice of frozen pizza, sometimes by a last minute request that I bring something.

Universally, people crave inclusion and validation. When people come into my home, am I treating them like the guests of honor they truly are, or am I too afraid of their imaginary judgment to make them comfortable?

True hospitality is less performance, more service. As Shauna Niequist writes beautifully in Bread and Wine, “the heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved.” My culinary, decorating and baking skills may not be anything special, but I can still make people feel special.

The love which says, “Come in, as you are; you belong here,” can feel far off when it’s clouded by our brokenness. If a good host can give the gift of true belonging, even if for one evening, then she has embodied the love of God.

Jacey loves good books and deep conversations. You can find her on her blog, The Balanced Wife, where she pursues exceptional living. She lives with her husband, Michael, and dog, Jack, in Charleston, SC.

Photo credit: Photo Credit: jenny downing via Compfight cc

Summer Garden 2013 – 6 Week Update

May 24, 2013 by Amy 1 Comment

I was really beginning to think that last year’s garden was a fluke. Maybe just beginner’s luck. I am happy to report though that after 6 weeks (ish), the plants in the garden are in fact GROWING. Yahoo!!

Here are the beds the day we planted in mid April:

And here it is now:

We have been getting drenched with rain shower after rain shower here in the Carolinas and the garden has been literally soaking it up. It’s green and happy and I think everything has at least tripled in size, if not more.

The squash and cucumber plants all have blooms on them.

Green peppers have popped out which is much earlier than last year. I think my tomato plants last year overshadowed my pepper plants so I was sure to give it plenty of space this year.

The jalapenos have popped out too. I always think they are so adorable when they’re tiny like that.

This is our first grape tomato plan—the first one I’ve ever seen, actually–and that top right tomato turning red is our first tomato of the year.

I’ve found this particular tomato plant downright fascinating. The way the stems are holding the tomatoes, how each stem alternates, evenly space down to the tomato capping the end, to me just screams of its ultimate Creator.

I mean, how is it that one little tiny seed has all the information in it to know how to do that? How?? How does it know what leaves to have and how to align these stems and how to make these oval shaped tomatoes that turn to red with so many nutrients inside? I just can’t get over it.

Insert dumb-founded picture of me here because that’s how I feel. I keep walking out and looking at this little bunch of tomatoes in complete awe. If there ever was a time I’d call God awesome, this would be one of them.

Talk to me about your garden if you planted one or your favorite vegetable to eat in the summer.

If You Don’t Give Me Cheetos

May 23, 2013 by Amy 9 Comments

Today you get to read a fabulous guest post from my friend Katrina. Katrina is a blog friend turned in real life friend. We’ve been able to get together a few times locally, we drove to see Emily Freeman speak and she let me cry on her shoulder at Allume last year.

Katrina has a fantastic sense of sarcasm, is a deep thinker and loves the Lord. Just my kind of person. I hope you’ll visit Katrina over at her blog. Be sure to check out her Provision Stories just after you read and comment on this one! Here’s Katrina:

Amy may have introduced this as a “guest post,” but I’m not going to kid you. I’m totally hiding out over here because I need a place to confess. You see, my blog has a bit of a reputation for talking about real food, so it’s just not a safe place to use the word “Cheetos.” I have something to get off my chest, so I begged her to invite me over.

I have a daughter. She is three and three-quarter years old. She is a diva. Strong-willed. Spoiled. Adorable. Bratty. Darling. A Control Freak. Innocent. Devilish. Angelic. Beastly. You probably know a kid like this. She loves Cheetos. She is like a moth to a flame with Cheetos. Every time we eat at Subway (here I duck down to avoid the scowls of my readers who cannot bear to learn that I darken the door of such an establishment, much less feed her food that Satan feeds his spawn), she runs to the chip display and performs a jack-in-the-box like spastic thrown-down. CHEETOS!! CHEETOS! CHEETOS!!

Since, we do not buy this kind of food at home, I let her eat Cheetos at Subway as a treat. However, last week, I made the mistake of taking all three of my luverlies to the Harris Teeter to pick up a few items. Normally, I know better than to take three snacky shorties shopping, but apparently, I was feeling extremely stupid. Thus I found myself on the “pretzel aisle” being accosted by my three tinies with ginormous brown eyes and pleading voices. They promised that if I bought them Cheetos that they’d stop pulling the shopping cart back and forth like a jerky roller coaster. Additionally, they would be good for the rest of their lives, AND they would love me forever. Well, as I stated, I was feeling extremely stupid, so like an idiot, I bought the Cheetos. (PS: Judge not. Lest you shall be judged.)

The Cheetos came home to our house. They moved into the cupboard and lived just downshelf from all my organic grains and healthy nuts, etc. With their crunchy fried, GMO laden, excitotoxin filled puff, they sang their neon orange powdery siren-song to my babies. Especially to my little three-year old.

After I picked her up from pre-school last week, where she’d had a few Cheetos in her lunch, she badgered me relentlessly all the way home for more. I refused. (I was feeling slightly less stupid.) However, unlike my older two mild-mannered, easy going, relatively compliant children, this girl does not take no for an answer.

If you don’t give me Cheetos, I’m not going to eat anything else.

Okay, honey

If you don’t give me Cheetos, I’m not going to play with you.

Alright.

If you don’t give me Cheetos, I’m not going to stay with you.

I’m very sorry to hear that.

If you don’t give me Cheetos, I’m going in my room and I’ll never see you ever again.

I will really miss you.

This went on for the entire ride home and then she followed me around the house, threatening me with all the terribly things she would do to me as punishment for withholding Cheetos from her.

Eventually, I went to hide in the bathroom. (PS: Judge not. In fact, judge never. I’m pretty sure that judging my friends with strong willed kids is what prompted the Lord to send me this little Princess.)

Anywho, when I came out, she was standing outside the door, hands on her hips. She said firmly, “If you don’t give me Cheetos, I’m gonna hit you in the face.” Y’all. I burst out laughing. It couldn’t be helped. I clasped my hand over my face as quickly as I could, but she knew I thought it was funny. And she started laughing too. And I did not give her Cheetos. (Or the spank that my husband insisted she should have gotten.)

_______________________________________________________________

Okay, there is probably a couple good lessons that I could extract from the aforementioned parenting debacle pertaining to child nutrition, discipline, and/or standing up to Meter-high bullies, but I’m gonna go a different way because, as is plainly obvious, I’m no expert in those categories.

Remember in 1 Samuel 8 when the Israelites begged and begged and begged and begged and begged for a king? The Lord told them ALL the reasons that a king would be a bad idea, but they were relentless. So He gave them their choice. He allowed them to have what they wanted–even though it was inferior to His best plan.

When they rejected God as King, He gave them what they wanted because they persistently asked for it. I wish I was making this up, but if you go read it, you will see that it’s true.

I don’t know all of God’s motives, but I speculate that he knew they would experience the consequences of having a human king. Boy howdy, did they ever. Like war, split kingdom, exile, slavery, devastation. (Read the rest of the Bible for more info on this.)

Now mind you, He didn’t abandon them. In fact, He actually chose and anointed human kings for them, but that wasn’t His first plan for them. He Himself was. We are told in churchy settings that we will always be given God’s best, but I don’t think that is what Scripture actually demonstrates. Thanks to free-will, we can ask for second-best, or even worse. Girlfriends, that is scary. It is scary because when God doesn’t answer the way I want, I just get all super-mature. Even though I’m ashamed to admit it, I start playing this crazy pre-schooler game. I tell myself that I’m “waiting on the Lord,” but this is what I’m doing.

If you don’t give me what I want, I’m not going to spend time with you.

If you don’t give me what I want, I’m not going to serve you.

If you don’t give me what I want, I’m not going to worship you.

If you don’t give me what I want, I’m going to be complacent about you.

If you don’t give me what I want, I’m not going to trust you.

My little exchange with my daughter brought to light how ridiculous it is to think that I can manipulate God’s will with threats and blackmail. Worse, I realized He may just GIVE ME WHAT I WANT–not because he’s stupid, exhausted, or beaten down like human-me, but because He knows I need to experience some consequences for my immaturity.

Then, triumphantly, face covered in toxic orange powder, I skip off with my less-than-best, thinking that God finally came through because I shook my tiny fist at Him. Meanwhile, I wonder why I lack His power in my life.

My lesson is that I need to learn between persistence and stubbornness. When the Lord says no to me, time and again, rather than behaving like a petulant child, I want to be willing to say, “I will trust you.” I want to ask for HIS WILL, not my own. I want to receive what He actually gives me with thanksgiving, not grumpiness.

How can you tell the difference between persistence and stubbornness in your heart? Has God ever allowed you to have the second-best? How was it?

Katrina Ryder is married to an elementary school music teacher and is the mom of three Cheeto-eaters. Formerly a high school teacher and missionary in Papua New Guinea, she now stays home in small town NC, gives herself pedicures, and eats bon-bons. Bwah-ha-hahaha. Katrina, who never avoids sarcasm, is a reluctant real foodie who blogs about faith, finances, food, and family. In it’s third year, Katrina’s blog has suffered an identity crisis and changed names from The Poorganic Life to KatrinaRyder.com. Katrina loves Jesus, missions, hip-hop dance, gardening, country music, Henry James novels, talking too much, wearing makeup, and eating crusty bread. You can connect with Katrina mostly on Facebook, reluctantly on Twitter, and almost never on Pinterest.

The Maiden Voyage of The Mermaid

May 21, 2013 by Amy 2 Comments

Last summer Emma went to camp for the first time. She surprised us all by loving the outdoor activities like archery and canoeing. She came home and would not stop about either.

We ended up getting her a bow and arrow but she still kept on about the canoe.

Scott was excited as he’s gone to nearby Catawba River a few times with friends and even camped overnight. But really, I think we both thought the camp excitement might wear off and she’d change her mind.

I liked the idea though, because it was the perfect Daddy-daughter bonding experience. With two girls, there’s not a whole lot that Scott and the girls can do that’s purely their thing but this would be perfect.

Last fall we went a few times to the sports store and would look at canoes. I looked them up a few different times on Craigslist but generally, they weren’t going for a whole lot less than just getting them new in a store.

We still held off since we knew school and winter was coming and we had some unexpected bills come up.

But then, this past Sunday they went on sale and Scott was at the store in the blink of an eye with Emma.

Lexi, of course, was not into it because that’s just what Lexi does. New = bad.

I started thinking of Scott and Emma on the river though and before long in my head they were lost miles down the river with search crews scouring the banks for them. I have no idea where Lexi gets her anxiety from. *ahem*

Yeah, so when Scott came home with the canoe suggesting we try it in the pool first I was like yes! The pool! Walls are good! Who cares about the river?!

So, in true redneck fashion, the canoe went in the pool.

The first order of business was taking care of Lexi’s two fears: sharks and tipping over. Clearly, sharks were easy to clear up but the second was tipping over. I needed convinced too.

So, Scott purposely tried to tip the canoe over. It wouldn’t tip and it didn’t take long for both girls (and me) to be totally comfortable.

In fact, I insisted we name it and the girls came up with The Mermaid.

It was a hit.

So, Monday after dinner, Scott surprised the girls by saying we’d take it out to the river just to paddle around a bit and get used to it.

Both girls were ecstatic and Lexi only put up a little fight about wearing an ugly orange vest.

So this is the point where I started repeating emergency procedures in my head and reminding myself how much I trust my husband. And convincing myself there really are no sharks around.

The really funny part was though, was that as worried as I might have been at times how they might be swept off into nowhere, Scott was basically doing all the paddling and since the plan was to go upstream and then float back down, he was moving at an absolute snail’s pace.

I was literally laughing out loud to myself watching them go so slowly.

He got it though and after just a little circle and they headed back for Lexi to get out.

Scott and Emma went back out and went a little further.

While they were gone, a young couple came with just a double-seated pool float and a bag of take out, got in the float and took off down the river sipping on smoothies. Another double-dating set of high school kids showed up with no apparent goal in mind, presumably wasting time and finding a reason to not be home.

I couldn’t help but think of my girls and how we’re just a few years away from them doing just that, especially Emma.

I looked at Scott and Emma and wondered if maybe this is just practice for Emma and how she’ll remember her Daddy taking her out on a canoe on the river.

If she can find a guy that will work this hard to get out on a river just to make her happy, I think we’ll be on the right path.

I’m praying for that kind of guy because one day she just might have two girls of her own and need a strong, trustworthy husband to take her two little girls out on the river.