Afghan 82

This blanket was NOT done in a day, but done over the course of several months. (That would be my fault for using regular, rather than chunky yarn.) It became a blanket of idiosyncrasies: I aimed to make the blanket crib-sized (36 x 54 inches), but it became smaller due to my gauge and running out of a color of yarn I did not know where to buy anymore. I chose to carry the yarn, rather than cutting each time I changed colors (rather than cutting it and rejoining each time), which cinched up the carrying side. Walmart apparently changed their white lot between my first and last purchases of yarn. All in all, though, I got the blanket done. Hopefully the idiosyncrasies will fade once a baby begins to use it.

Hook: size J Boye ergonomic crochet hook

Yarn:

Red Heart light gray

I Love This Yarn! turquoise

Mainstays white

Pattern: 

Easy 'done in a day' crochet baby blanket (Dabbles and Babbles)

Finished size: 34 x 52 inches 

Eats and Empties (Week 2)

The Eats:

Grilled frozen pizza (The Kitchn)--Seriously, try this hack for restaurant worthy pizza

Instant Pot mac and cheese (Pinch of Yum)

King ranch chicken casserole (Budget Bytes)

Moist pumpkin muffins (Jo and Sue)

The Empties:

Jar of applesauce
Two bell pepper (one frozen for future use)
Frozen bread crumbs
Two, two pound bags of frozen broccoli
Block cheese
Two 36 ounce cartons of chicken broth
Classic southern pralines (The Spruce Eats)
Carton of 18 eggs
Head of iceberg lettuce
Macaroni noodles
Gallon of milk
Twelve ounce bag of Parmesan cheese
Pretzels
Five pound bag of red potatoes
Pumpkin pie PopTart
Ruby chocolate
Two pound bag of frozen peas
Can of pumpkin
Seventy ounce salsa jar
Two pound bag of shredded cheese
Tomato sauce
Pound of ground turkey

What went to waste:

Part of a clementine

Refrigerator pickles (They may have been fine, but they looked funny, and after the debacle explained below, I was not going to risk using them.)

Most of the king ranch chicken casserole. (I used old tortilla chips, and it tasted bad. My husband hypothesized that the oil on the chips went rancid. We live in Arizona, so it's entirely possible. This was a major bummer and resulted in a need to remake the menu plan. (We each at it once and then I took it away from my husband and tried to eat more of it myself. I was sort of able to salvage some of the cheese, chicken and vegetables out of it and ate on top of potatoes. I tossed the tortilla chip part. Thankfully I had the supplies to make the Instant Pot mac and cheese to feed my husband.)

Real Life Marriage: Conflict is Good.

We came up against the same old wall yet again. I felt stressed and was trying to control things. My husband was asking to help and I wouldn't let him. "Trust me," he said. "You'll never learn to trust me if you don't ever let me try." I had to admit that he had a point, yet I was still unwilling to cede, so we came to a stalemate in our discussion.

That conflict felt yucky. I wanted to resolve it, but I could not do so with any integrity or peace of mind. I wished that I trusted my husband more. I wished that I could be more chill and relaxed, but I wasn't, or at least in this setting at this time. Thankfully, by God's grace, we somehow came to a truce later in the day. It was not easy nor comfortable, though, and I still felt distant from my husband through much of the day. Eventually I apologized for my role in the conflict, as in my opinion, my lack of trust had caused it.

"You didn't cause the conflict," my husband said, "and conflict isn't bad. Conflict helps us grow."

"Yes, but it doesn't feel good," I replied.

"But growth is good," he said.

I couldn't disagree. Conflict feels awful to me. I hate the discord it causes within myself. I hate the distance it causes between my husband and I. I hate the prideful, sinful, mean words that can come out of my mouth during it. Ultimately, though, conflict in and of itself is not always bad. It is just due to differences. In this case, some of my sin was involved, but sometimes conflict in marriage is just about doing things differently, not right or wrong, but differently.

I am not sure that I am quite to the level of maturity that my husband is in believing that conflict is good. I can see that growth is good, however, and for that reason, I can work to correct my perception of conflict. While I still don't like conflict, God can use it for the growth of our marriage, and that is good, because He is good. May He continue to use conflict to mold us more into His image, for our good and His glory.

Yoga with Adriene Prana Review

There was no 30 day Yoga with Adriene challenge this year. (I guess I missed that last year's was the last.) Instead, she offered a short, seven day journey called Prana. In my opinion, that was just about right. 

The practices this year were all under 30 minutes in link, a little more approachable, if you ask me. The level was more intermediate than beginner, but still very accessible. All in all, I felt like this series was less about flow and more about just tuning into the body and moving.

Full disclosure, I did these yoga practices distracted. That's just me right now, with too many tabs open on my computer, on my phone, and in my brain. Still, this series gave me an excuse to quiet down just a little more, to make time for myself, or as Adriene says in Day 5, take "a quiet moment of being."

Was this practice. worth it? One-hundred percent! I may have had complaints about yoga journeys in the past, but this one was just right for me: a chance to catch a breath, which perhaps is just what Adriene intended given that the series name "Prana" means breath.

Eats and Empties (Week 1)

I'm simplifying my weekly eating wrap-ups this year and just sharing the eats (new recipes I made), empties (what I used up), and waste from the week. It is still my goal to throw away as a little food as possible, and listing this keeps me accountable. As for the rest of the wrap-up, I just enjoy sharing recipes and hope you, the readers, might get some new kitchen inspiration from my doing so.

(Caveat: We of course eat more that what is on the list each week, but for brevity's sake, I am just going to include the main new stuff we cooked.)

The Eats:

Creamy chicken and broccoli soup (How Sweet Eats) and homemade ciabatta bread (Sally's Baking Recipes)

King ranch chicken casserole (Budget Bytes)

Pumpkin pizza (Food Faith Fitness) (Using ultimate no-knead whole wheat pizza dough from Handle the Heat)

Spicy sausage pizza (Simply Recipes)

The Empties:

Apples
Two pound bag of frozen broccoli
Breakfast sausage
Cajun snack mix (The Cookin' Chicks)
Bag of baby carrots
Five pound bag of carrots
The last frozen sourdough pumpkin muffin (Everyday Homemade)
Twelve ounce bag of mozzarella cheese
Jar of mayonnaise
Can of rotel
Head of romaine lettuce
Frozen slow cooker creole red bean quinoa oats (Oatrageous Oatmeals)
Tortilla chips
Zucchini

What went to waste:

The last few pieces of our old sourdough bread (due to mold)

Strong(er)

Simplify was my word for 2024. Strong(er) is my word for 2025. To be honest, I wanted a different word for 2025, but as I thought and prayed about it, the words of Ephesians 6:10 kept coming to mind, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might" (English Standard Version, ESV). This is a year I want to grow stronger, in my faith, in my marriage, and in my body (in that order).

How will I work towards my goals this year? I like Lindsey Bomgren's (of Nourish Move Love) of having rocks, that is specific things to do each month or quarter that contribute towards those goals. As of right now, those are starting The Bible Recap reading plan (for spiritual strength), doing a weekly marriage devotional with my husband, and keeping up with my physical therapy regimen. Is there more I can (and am trying) to do? Yes, but for now, these are my focus.

The Filter Question. Another strategy I am keeping in mind is that of a filter question. My husband came up with this idea while planning our wedding. The idea was to run every decision through a question. Using my word of the year, I can ask myself, "Does this make me/us/others stronger?" If the answer is, "Yes." I can ask myself, "How?" Everything I do does not have to make me stronger, but if it doesn't, I really need to ask myself if it is worth my time. Although I tried to simplify last year, I still had a lot of stuff on my plate. I still have a lot of stuff on my plate, and I think, in reality, a lot of it is going to stay there. I can choose where I focus, however. I can choose to prioritize.

So there you have it, my word, and what I hope to start to do with it. With God's help, hopefully I can grow stronger in 2025. Stronger in the Lord. Stronger in my marriage. Stronger in my marriage. To God be the glory!

Top Ten of 2024

Here is my top nine grid from Instagram. No surprises that it is all YSYD Crew poses, as that is the largest community with which I engage there:

As for this blog, most people seem to view posts on Facebook. The top ten posts there were:

1) Real Life Marriage: Winners and Losers

2) 2024 Christmas Movies

3) Everything I Read in June

4) Real Life Marriage: We Believed He Could, and He Did!

5) I Ran a Marathon! (This one ranked top ten in actual blog reads as well.)

6) Real Life Marriage: I'm Abdicating

7) 40 Year of Faithfulness

8) My Cruise Packing List

9) Real Life Marriage: The Business of Marriage (Also a blog top ten)

10) There is a Savior (Another blog top ten)

Thank you all for reading! Lord willing, see you in 2024!