So it has come to this. Do you ever sit down and realize how much you turn a simple habit into something that you must do over and over again, simply out of routine rather than reason?
With the new year and new lists and goals...came things I couldn't control to change. Waiting for a full-time job.
I have been waiting what feels like centuries for a full-time job. Actually...let's back track some.
Senior year of college you start to realize, this is it! Your blank slate of what you want to be when you grow up is now filled with lots of LONG hours of studying and almost a degree..in a field that's at least somewhat specific to what your going to do in reality.
For me, it gave me doubts, is this really what I want to do? now that I don't have as many options?
Of course you can always change-but does that mean starting all over?..so you push through, you finish, you graduate! Hooray!
My first gig as an athletic trainer was as a graduate assistant at the University I attended, while getting my Master's degree from another State University about 4 hours away, online. It was great, and I loved it! It made me remember why I loved being an athletic trainer, why I loved working in sports medicine.
That was a one year deal while I completed my degree and then I moved on to a high school position-let's make this a short story.
This was not my calling. As much as I loved working with the athletes, the hours (opposite of that of my teacher husband) were very trying for me and were making my life outside of work unenjoyable to say the least. God made it very clear at the end of this school year, that this was not where I was going to be the next year. There was a contract change with the school district and my employer -and I was gone. This was a GOOD thing!
I spent 6 months trying to rediscover what my passions were, what I wanted in a job-of course the whole time applying for job in a small town without a lot of opportunity. I battled the "your over qualified for this position, and we need someone that will be here long term" or "you don't have quite the right experience for this position." Then finally....FINALLY I got a job as an office assistant in a family physician office. It was a temporary position for them, as someone was out for surgery. So it met a need for them, and for me. It was a great experience. I got to work with a different type of medicine and reminded me what I loved. Working with people to help them feel and get better, to be able to do the things they loved to do. They ended up keeping me on per diem.
Not so long after being there I started working as a per diem athletic trainer in a nearby hospital as a clinical athletic trainer. This was the best of both worlds, it was working in a clinical setting like the office assistant job, but being able to use my education and be back working with physically active patients!
All the more setting the scene of what I was passionate about doing.
Then I took a leap....I was going to go back and take the classes I needed to apply to PA (Physician Assistant) school. AND more importantly I DID IT!!!
I LOVED my classes Microbio and Genetics being my favorites...crazy enough I even loved statistics!
Through this we became (planned) pregnant with our little peanut! It was a crazy crazy time! Keith was working on his Masters, I was working 2 jobs, teaching health classes at the YMCA, talking extra college classses, pregnant-including morning sickness, indescribable fatigue, and then we went through the process and bought our first home & MOVED!
All of that taught me a lot, A LOT! and through it all we decided that it wasn't right (at least not yet) to apply to PA school. I felt like my passions had shifted some-and if I were going to do this, I would need to do it with EVERYTHING I had.
God's timing is perfect..April 13, 2010 we welcomed our new baby..everything we had been doing (outside of Keith getting his Master's) had ended, except for my per diem ATC gig.
....so leaving some things out here...I have been home with my now, 2 sweet girls for over 2.5 years with Noel and a year and a half with Mila, and it has been amazing, hard, rewarding, depressing, loving, frustrating, incredible, and disappointing...and I could go on and on.
But now lingering in the balance is a chance for me to be full-time at my current job. The job that I love, love love. And the timing, well the timing seems perfect. But it's been months of hoping, with nothing official posted...so I wait...
It's completely out of my control...
I've decided that in a time of waiting, sometimes God calls us to fast, so that we can switch our focus, be focused on what He is saying to us-rid distractions!
So comes...facebook...I do, in fact enjoy facebook. I love keeping up with people, to be social, to post my thoughts.
But for now..facebook is on vacation until I get an answer or at least clarity about what is going on with my career. It's been a long time coming...and though things seem good..there will be transition. So it needs prayer. So for now..adios facebook...and we'll catch up later!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
meal planning
This is literally one of THE best things we have instituted in our family!
It took us a while to make this a regular thing. We would do it off and on, and say, "hey! that makes things so much easier!" but then we would stray and be lazy and do the usual, run to the grocery store and hope we would find inspiration there. What we did find, what frustration and a larger grocery bill!
I believe that having 2 children under the age of 3 also helped us implement our meal planning, as in, if you can get in and out of Wegmans, with everyone alive and some milk= you are doing pretty well!
So really there is no science to it and I have found the motivation to do this gets easier and easier, because either way I have to make a grocery list!
We sit down with our planners/phones and look at the week. What do we have going on? Are there nights one of us is going to be late, or we're going to run in from work and run right back out for something else?
How much prep can I do before work, how much will be left for whoever gets home first? And of course, just what do we feel like?-that changes with the season too of course!
So that's it, I plug all my needed products into my Wegman's app and it puts my items in walking order for the store! If I get distracted by a 1 year old wanting more animal crackers or climbing out of the cart, I have my list. I know exactly what I need and NO thinking needs to be done @ the store.
VICTORY!
We have also found we spend less, we're not throwing extra things in the cart. We don't have fresh produce etc. going bad before getting around to it.
When we get home from work we don't' have to think, when we're tired and the girls are hungry...what do you we feel like? and do we have the stuff to make it?
One negative from this whole thing. We are mostly out of food before getting to the grocery store again! So come the end of the week, it's like OKAY...let's get moving we need to get to the store ASAP!
Of course we make extra runs on occasion for milk, fresh bread for soup, etc.
RESOLUTION: Keep it up! We eat more well rounded meals and makes the working week 800x easier!
It took us a while to make this a regular thing. We would do it off and on, and say, "hey! that makes things so much easier!" but then we would stray and be lazy and do the usual, run to the grocery store and hope we would find inspiration there. What we did find, what frustration and a larger grocery bill!
I believe that having 2 children under the age of 3 also helped us implement our meal planning, as in, if you can get in and out of Wegmans, with everyone alive and some milk= you are doing pretty well!
So really there is no science to it and I have found the motivation to do this gets easier and easier, because either way I have to make a grocery list!
We sit down with our planners/phones and look at the week. What do we have going on? Are there nights one of us is going to be late, or we're going to run in from work and run right back out for something else?
How much prep can I do before work, how much will be left for whoever gets home first? And of course, just what do we feel like?-that changes with the season too of course!
So that's it, I plug all my needed products into my Wegman's app and it puts my items in walking order for the store! If I get distracted by a 1 year old wanting more animal crackers or climbing out of the cart, I have my list. I know exactly what I need and NO thinking needs to be done @ the store.
VICTORY!
We have also found we spend less, we're not throwing extra things in the cart. We don't have fresh produce etc. going bad before getting around to it.
When we get home from work we don't' have to think, when we're tired and the girls are hungry...what do you we feel like? and do we have the stuff to make it?
One negative from this whole thing. We are mostly out of food before getting to the grocery store again! So come the end of the week, it's like OKAY...let's get moving we need to get to the store ASAP!
Of course we make extra runs on occasion for milk, fresh bread for soup, etc.
RESOLUTION: Keep it up! We eat more well rounded meals and makes the working week 800x easier!
happy new year! happy new me!
It's 2013 and there is something about the beginning of a new year that makes us reflect on the past year and make resolutions for making the next year even better!
Keith and I sat down and made some lists...we are list people, of what were some goals we had for ourselves, our family, and our jobs. I really liked the point that he made, that before he started his list he wanted to write down what he was thankful for in 2012...and made a nice long list.
He began to make a list of things he wished he'd done better, and stopped, what good would that do now?
Move forward! Reflection is one thing, but regret is another.
So here we are pledging to be better, to be happier. Even though we are already happy, can't we all strive to be happier than we are already?
So without listing all the things we/I want to change or do better this year. I am going to use this blog as a way to encourage myself to keep going. To keep myself accountable to making positive changes.
Happy 2013 Pursuit of Green....lets see how we do!
Keith and I sat down and made some lists...we are list people, of what were some goals we had for ourselves, our family, and our jobs. I really liked the point that he made, that before he started his list he wanted to write down what he was thankful for in 2012...and made a nice long list.
He began to make a list of things he wished he'd done better, and stopped, what good would that do now?
Move forward! Reflection is one thing, but regret is another.
So here we are pledging to be better, to be happier. Even though we are already happy, can't we all strive to be happier than we are already?
So without listing all the things we/I want to change or do better this year. I am going to use this blog as a way to encourage myself to keep going. To keep myself accountable to making positive changes.
Happy 2013 Pursuit of Green....lets see how we do!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
TOMS
Two posts in one week...that's right!
So Noel finally broke me down after weeks of asking me (literally) for money to buy new shoes...she got a new pair :)
Ok, so do you know about Toms yet?
Here's how it works, you buy a pair of Toms shoes and a child in need somewhere also gets a pair of shoes! GENIUS idea right?!
If you want to know more about the Toms Movement <-----check it out.
Even better they are super super cute shoes.
So using a bit of our tax refund, Noels tiny toes have been adorned with this adorable shoes!
I should also add, they are made really well! Nice leather soles...words from Noel..'comfy'
[note they do run mostly true to size but appear small at first as they are made to stretch out a bit, the website talks about this]
Ok so now if we're talking about good causes how about mommy getting a pair of Toms too...like
these!!!
Anyway...cute shoes + great cause = awesomeness!
In other good news take a look at these beautiful blooms!
My orchid has 5...count 'em FIVE new flowers!!! and lots more buds.. H E L L O spring!
Keeping this post as random as possible and to wrap it up....
Two nights ago, I was doing my good need of putting my dish sponge in the micro to sterilize the thing. Which I might add I typically do for 1 min. I remembered my dad mentioning something about putting it in for 3 min. to do this..
[enter thought process] my pump parts go in their little 'steam clean' bag for 3 min. to sterilize, maybe my dad has something going here?!
so popped that sucker in there for 3 min....cooked to a black crisp... fail
now my microwave smells like burnt sponge...double fail...
oh well...p.s. I gave up complaining for lent...it's not going so well ;0)
So Noel finally broke me down after weeks of asking me (literally) for money to buy new shoes...she got a new pair :)
Ok, so do you know about Toms yet?
Here's how it works, you buy a pair of Toms shoes and a child in need somewhere also gets a pair of shoes! GENIUS idea right?!
If you want to know more about the Toms Movement <-----check it out.
Even better they are super super cute shoes.
So using a bit of our tax refund, Noels tiny toes have been adorned with this adorable shoes!
I should also add, they are made really well! Nice leather soles...words from Noel..'comfy'
[note they do run mostly true to size but appear small at first as they are made to stretch out a bit, the website talks about this]
these!!!
In other good news take a look at these beautiful blooms!
My orchid has 5...count 'em FIVE new flowers!!! and lots more buds.. H E L L O spring!
Keeping this post as random as possible and to wrap it up....
Two nights ago, I was doing my good need of putting my dish sponge in the micro to sterilize the thing. Which I might add I typically do for 1 min. I remembered my dad mentioning something about putting it in for 3 min. to do this..
[enter thought process] my pump parts go in their little 'steam clean' bag for 3 min. to sterilize, maybe my dad has something going here?!
so popped that sucker in there for 3 min....cooked to a black crisp... fail
now my microwave smells like burnt sponge...double fail...
oh well...p.s. I gave up complaining for lent...it's not going so well ;0)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
fruition
As much as I would like to be writing about some eco-green, amazing thing we have been up to lately, so that I may say that I have been living up to my pursuit.
But if I am going to be honest, I don't think we have done anything *green* in a while. Unless re-stocking our green cleaning supplies....what a big move right?!
We DIY'd a bunch of Christmas gifts that I had all intention of blogging about, but since starting this blog I feel my priorities have shifted a bit.
MUST have something to do with growing 2 small people.
I will say we are still doing cloth diapers, and with both girls. (go green!)
But really in this post I want to talk about fruition.
Fruition as by google definition is: "the point at which a plan or project is realized
Wow, talk about not giving this word enough justice!
My quick definition..fruition...to come to the fruit! So think of it this way. You have this tiny tiny little seed (lets call it hope). You plant it, in which you hope is good soil. Sometimes soil looks good to start and then gets dry or overwatered. Basically you can plan for good soil, but circumstance (or neglect) can change what was intended to be good. But you always remember that little seed, even though you haven't seen it in a while and it's now almost seems lost buried beneath the dark black soil. But you know it's there [faith].
So you nurture it, you care for it the best you can...of course only some comes from nurture the other part nature (my philosophy anyway).
But then finally what feels sometimes like eternity...you see a tiny little GREEN sprout!
Oh the joy...new life!!! And then...that little sprout seems to take an eternity to turn into a stem, a leaf...but without you hardly even realizing the centimeters it gains, there you have a stem...a stem strong enough to hold a bud!
And now the bud grows and grows and opens up to a flower...a fruit!!
Fruition...Amen!
I feel like we have been through this growth, new life, growing life. Some of it hard, some of it teaching us something, some of it amazing. But when you've been seeing good for a while, it's like you could almost be satisfied with the stem and leaves and then......fruit!
God is so good.
Not saying we're there, or when or what kind of fruit we're growing...but some days it feels like we have enormous buds of potential fruit just waiting to burst open.
God is so good.
But if I am going to be honest, I don't think we have done anything *green* in a while. Unless re-stocking our green cleaning supplies....what a big move right?!
We DIY'd a bunch of Christmas gifts that I had all intention of blogging about, but since starting this blog I feel my priorities have shifted a bit.
MUST have something to do with growing 2 small people.
I will say we are still doing cloth diapers, and with both girls. (go green!)
But really in this post I want to talk about fruition.
Fruition as by google definition is: "the point at which a plan or project is realized
Wow, talk about not giving this word enough justice!
My quick definition..fruition...to come to the fruit! So think of it this way. You have this tiny tiny little seed (lets call it hope). You plant it, in which you hope is good soil. Sometimes soil looks good to start and then gets dry or overwatered. Basically you can plan for good soil, but circumstance (or neglect) can change what was intended to be good. But you always remember that little seed, even though you haven't seen it in a while and it's now almost seems lost buried beneath the dark black soil. But you know it's there [faith].
So you nurture it, you care for it the best you can...of course only some comes from nurture the other part nature (my philosophy anyway).
But then finally what feels sometimes like eternity...you see a tiny little GREEN sprout!
Oh the joy...new life!!! And then...that little sprout seems to take an eternity to turn into a stem, a leaf...but without you hardly even realizing the centimeters it gains, there you have a stem...a stem strong enough to hold a bud!
And now the bud grows and grows and opens up to a flower...a fruit!!
Fruition...Amen!
I feel like we have been through this growth, new life, growing life. Some of it hard, some of it teaching us something, some of it amazing. But when you've been seeing good for a while, it's like you could almost be satisfied with the stem and leaves and then......fruit!
God is so good.
Not saying we're there, or when or what kind of fruit we're growing...but some days it feels like we have enormous buds of potential fruit just waiting to burst open.
God is so good.
Friday, October 28, 2011
homemade halloween
It has been a brutal week around here with stuffy/snotty noses and cutting 4 canine teeth which all in turns in lack of sleep for all...except Moose who somehow gets a win win situation. No disturbed sleep for him and as soon as one of us is out of bed he takes that as his cue to hop in and cuddle up to the lucky one still in bed.
Then it occurs to me on Thursday night...yes..yesterday that it's Hallelujah night (a Halloween celebration, think bouncy house, games, & candy!) at church Friday, yes...the NEXT day! and Noel does not have a costume!!! YIKES!
Then starts the debate in my head after lack of sleep Thursday night..who am I kidding, lack of sleep ALL week!
Is it worth getting both girls out of the house by myself to pick up the needed supplies to make a costume???
Will I even realistically have the time to get the costume made???
Will all thestars naps align that I can have such time to assemble a homemade costume???
Is my teething, snot nosed 18 month old even going to feel up to going to this outing???
YES, YES, YES...and if I say YES to the first 3 questions...the 4th is going to be a yes after going to all the work!
But really it's ALL worth it because someday I would regret looking back and thinking that we skipped Noel's 2nd halloween costume...hence an hour and a half of prep to get out of the house, 2 hours spent @ the mall & JoAnn Fabrics, and home to 2 napping girls...viola! we have a costume & we had a great night!
[Mila took the little sister hand-me-down as a lady bug...Noel's costume last year, but I have personally promised her that she will get her own costume next year]
So here's what I did:
My first homemade Halloween costume...makes me feel like a Mommy :)
Happy Halloween Everyone!
Then it occurs to me on Thursday night...yes..yesterday that it's Hallelujah night (a Halloween celebration, think bouncy house, games, & candy!) at church Friday, yes...the NEXT day! and Noel does not have a costume!!! YIKES!
Then starts the debate in my head after lack of sleep Thursday night..who am I kidding, lack of sleep ALL week!
Is it worth getting both girls out of the house by myself to pick up the needed supplies to make a costume???
Will I even realistically have the time to get the costume made???
Will all the
Is my teething, snot nosed 18 month old even going to feel up to going to this outing???
YES, YES, YES...and if I say YES to the first 3 questions...the 4th is going to be a yes after going to all the work!
But really it's ALL worth it because someday I would regret looking back and thinking that we skipped Noel's 2nd halloween costume...hence an hour and a half of prep to get out of the house, 2 hours spent @ the mall & JoAnn Fabrics, and home to 2 napping girls...viola! we have a costume & we had a great night!
[Mila took the little sister hand-me-down as a lady bug...Noel's costume last year, but I have personally promised her that she will get her own costume next year]
So here's what I did:
Happy Halloween Everyone!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Canadian Thanksgiving
We were so blessed for the days of October 8th-10th.
We started off the weekend Friday October 7th with an attempt at celebrating Keith's 28th birthday.
We grabbed our gift certificate for Acme BBQ in downtown Williamsport, wheeled out our new Phil & Teds stroller & were going to hit up First Friday.
This is when we quickly discovered how differently our "nights out" are now with two babies.
Noel decided she wasn't really hungry nor did she want to ride in the stroller, she wanted to cry & walk. But walking downtown for an 18 month old consists of going in the opposite direction, wanting to walk off the sidewalk onto the street and touch everything!
So we sadly ended our night early and headed home for early bath & bed times. With all the craziness of my first week back to work, I didn't even have the chance to get the ingredients to make Keith the chocolate peanut butter pie I had decided to make (via Pinterest)...so a late birthday dessert will happen (hopefully this month)!
But Saturday mid morning we were graced with the presence of great friends & new friends for the celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving.
Andrew & Annica from Canada came for a visit and brought three wonderful ladies with them, that are studying in Canada for the year from France.
Keith's "best man" Andrew who is a trained chef (not that he needed any of the schooling!) made us a scrumptious meal in celebration of Keith's birthday the first night they were here.
Needless to say it was already looking to be a great weekend.
After enjoying cooking and scarfing a meal together, and trying to learn some french, we settled in for the night and woke up to this....
This is "pain perdu" meaning the lost bread. it was used taking the leftover day old bread (or in our case bread from the bread thrift store) and making a french toast-like dish adding fresh apples and raspberries.
Oh yumm!
The rest of the day was filled with amazing aromas wafting from the kitchen, the front porch swing and dining room table or couch filled with french girls studying and speaking beautifully.
Taking advantage of the 80 degree weather we loaded up our 'family' for the weekend and headed down to the Susquehanna River walk way.
Upon returning home Andrew put the chicken (although traditionally still a turkey for Canadian Thanksgiving, we opted for a free range chicken) in to finish.
Few things are more enjoyable than a house full of friends preparing an amazing meal.
7:30-ish pm we started our Thanksgiving meal. Which the understatement of the year would be to say that is was delicious!
So here is my 'public' display of gratitude for friends that drive distances and bless our house with their hospitality and friendship.
Happy Thanksgiving Canada! and a small piece of France
We started off the weekend Friday October 7th with an attempt at celebrating Keith's 28th birthday.
We grabbed our gift certificate for Acme BBQ in downtown Williamsport, wheeled out our new Phil & Teds stroller & were going to hit up First Friday.
This is when we quickly discovered how differently our "nights out" are now with two babies.
Noel decided she wasn't really hungry nor did she want to ride in the stroller, she wanted to cry & walk. But walking downtown for an 18 month old consists of going in the opposite direction, wanting to walk off the sidewalk onto the street and touch everything!
So we sadly ended our night early and headed home for early bath & bed times. With all the craziness of my first week back to work, I didn't even have the chance to get the ingredients to make Keith the chocolate peanut butter pie I had decided to make (via Pinterest)...so a late birthday dessert will happen (hopefully this month)!
But Saturday mid morning we were graced with the presence of great friends & new friends for the celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving.
Andrew & Annica from Canada came for a visit and brought three wonderful ladies with them, that are studying in Canada for the year from France.
Keith's "best man" Andrew who is a trained chef (not that he needed any of the schooling!) made us a scrumptious meal in celebration of Keith's birthday the first night they were here.
 |
| apple crumble |
 |
| cutting up steaks |
 |
| adding the onions |
 |
| steaks with onions...my mouth is still watering |
 |
| wine that I like..woohoo! Oh! and if you look behind Keith's right shoulder you will see the beautiful bouquet of flowers our beautiful friends brought back for me :) |
After enjoying cooking and scarfing a meal together, and trying to learn some french, we settled in for the night and woke up to this....
This is "pain perdu" meaning the lost bread. it was used taking the leftover day old bread (or in our case bread from the bread thrift store) and making a french toast-like dish adding fresh apples and raspberries.
Oh yumm!
The rest of the day was filled with amazing aromas wafting from the kitchen, the front porch swing and dining room table or couch filled with french girls studying and speaking beautifully.
Taking advantage of the 80 degree weather we loaded up our 'family' for the weekend and headed down to the Susquehanna River walk way.
Upon returning home Andrew put the chicken (although traditionally still a turkey for Canadian Thanksgiving, we opted for a free range chicken) in to finish.
Few things are more enjoyable than a house full of friends preparing an amazing meal.
7:30-ish pm we started our Thanksgiving meal. Which the understatement of the year would be to say that is was delicious!
So here is my 'public' display of gratitude for friends that drive distances and bless our house with their hospitality and friendship.
Happy Thanksgiving Canada! and a small piece of France
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