Christmas in July Adventure

One of the local breweries had signs up for "Christmas in July" complete with alcoholic Christmas drinks and Hawaiian Christmas characters. I'll raise them one better: Dessert for dinner and watching a Christmas movie in PJs-at home!

I actually planned out Christmas in July adventure long before I saw that sign downtown. I'd had the limited edition pumpkin pie cup of noodles around since Christmas and did not want them to go bad. 

And I had the idea of making an illusion of dessert for dinner. That took a little bit to figure out, but I eventually settled on making an illusion of this spaghetti with green beans from The Pasta Project. I used the pumpkin noodles for the noodles, spinach pancakes (Rooted at Heart) cut into strips for the green beans, and cinnamon disc candies for the tomatoes. As a side, I added "cheese" of easy cottage cheese cheesecake (The Protein Chef) baked in silicone muffin liners and then removed.

For our movie, I chose The Christmas Mixer. 

This was in part because dessert was soft sourdough discard Christmas cookies (Muscle Momma Sourdough) made with sprinkles left over from our Christmas gingerbread house.

The movie was pretty cheesy, with some faux pas like mispronunciation of the word llama, as well as fumbles like, "leaving in the lurches." Still, we enjoyed it, as it gave us some Christmas cheer, as well as some viewing of cooler weather.

And what's Christmas without a little gift? 

My husband really likes this coco-nut trail mix from Target.

I added some mushroom chai, as he mentioned wanted to trying it after hearing about mushroom coffee from family and friends.

We didn't need to go out to celebrate. We had a Christmas adventure of our own all at home. Bonus, all we had afterward, maybe, was a little bit of a sugar crash!

All the Green!

I didn't get on my decoration game on for Saint Patrick's day quite like I did for Valentine's Day, but over the course of the weekend, we did enjoy all the green:

Green onion graced Cheddar grits breakfast bowl with sunny side up fried eggs (Budget Bytes) for breakfast

Green canned beverages with our meals

Spicy split pea soup (More with Less)

Grilled cheese with (green) charred scallions (Not Without Salt)

Green mint chocolate chip milkshake from Fruitlandia for dessert

And of course I had to wear green!

Our standby decorations for this time of year didn't let us down on green, either.

Cross garland for Lent (Desert Blossom Crafts)

Fabric wreath (A Mom's Impression) we made years ago for Saint Patrick's Day 

All in all, I'd say we did pretty green!

Valentine's Day 2024

In the past, I haven't been a big fan of Valentine's Day. Its' a commercial holiday. I think it can promote guilt, especially for men. This year, though, I took a different tact. I decided to celebrate for all its worth, not necessarily in a commercial way that cost a lot, but more in a cute-sy, "we need something to celebrate" way. 

[I must confess that Gretchen Rubin's (2015, 2016) "happy habits" inspired me.]

I made some heart cup cozies for pink morning smoothies.

Breakfast was a no bake protein cookie with some heart candy decorations.

Snacks are life around here, so I found some cute food Valentine's Day food puns and put them on snacks in heart shaped boxes.

This was my gift to my husband.

I made a grilled cheese for dinner with some red sun dried tomatoes in it.

We had red velvet cupcakes for dessert.

He got me some flowers and chocolate.

Was the day cheesy? Yes. Did it include some corny humor? Yes. But laughing is good for us (Mayo Clinic, 2023)! (And at this point, my husband either accepts my cheesiness or puts up with it. Either way, he's stuck with it!)

References:

Mayo Clinic. (2023, September 22). Stress relief from laughter? It's no joke. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456

Rubin, G. (2015, February 18). A happy habit: Celebrating Valentine's breakfast (as pictured). Medium. https://medium.com/@gretchenrubin/a-happy-habit-celebrating-valentine-s-breakfast-as-pictured-61f2edb49029

Rubin, G. (2016, February 14). A favorite Valentine's Day tradition that I can't observe this year. Gretchen Rubin. https://gretchenrubin.com/articles/a-favorite-valentines-day-tradition-that-i-cant-observe-this-year/

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Did anyone else go all out on Valentine's Day this year? Please share what you did (or didn't, that's fine too), in the comments section.

Friday Fun (Last One!)

Is it the last Friday in February? Already? Yes, I guess it is. This little experiment of mine went fast. It's been helpful though, to recognize fun. As the month is ending, I am asking myself why things are fun, and how I might incorporate more such activities into my life. With as much sorrow and struggle as there is in this life, there always seems to be room for more fun, not to take away the sadness, but to add some levity, because we have to stay afloat to survive. Also, as Ben Stuart shared on a recent podcast I heard, "If you don’t prioritize positive fun, the enemy will always introduce destructive fun.” I don't want any more destruction. There is already enough of that in the world. I want to build myself up. I want to build others up. Fun is necessary for this. God doesn't make accidents. He does things on purpose, so if we can have good, clean, healthy fun, let's do it!

Fun for this week:

Celebrating-My mom pointed out that I like to celebrate everything. Yes, I guess I do, because it's FUN!

Cooking from cookbooks

Curating our own assortment of herbal teas

Making more (yes, even more!) mug cakes

"Playing tennis" with my husband (we don't really play games, we just well, play) 

Scouring stores for new Reese's varieties (see my post from last week)

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As I review my list, I notice themes of celebration, creation, and newness. I live a very structured life (on purpose), but fun provides a little adventure now and again (hence the name of my Instagram account). Life isn't all about fun, but fun does make me a little more about life, and that's worth doing. So here's to fun, and having more of it, blogged about, or not!

Reference:

Downs, A. F. (Host) (2022, January 27). Ben Stuart + Rest & War [Audio podcast episode]. That Sounds Fun. https://www.anniefdowns.com/podcast/episode-360-ben-stuart-rest-war/

Celebration

Those that follow me on Instagram may have noticed something different about November. I posted every day. If you didn't catch the theme, the posts may have seemed random. And they were, but with intention. Using the National Day Calendar, I found something to celebrate every day. Silly at times? Yes! Needed? Yes! In this season of days without end, I needed something to mark my days. I also needed to flex my happiness muscles. 

I'm no brain scientist, but I do have a degree in behavioral health. In my personal and professional experience, I have realized that we need not only the chemicals in our brain to produce happiness (which is why I think that sometimes anti-depressants or other psychotropic drugs are needed), but also need to have the experiences that give those good brain chemicals chances to work. I was running low on at least the latter, and I needed to change that.

I had grown weary in trying to celebrate life. I would make plans to celebrate and then let them go, giving the excuse that I was too tired and weary. Celebration just seemed like a stressor. And in a way, it was. But it was a good stress, a stress I needed to feel happy.

The early days of November came with some struggle to get to my daily celebration. I just wanted to give up, but my commitment to celebrating and posting about it kept me going. (I honestly put celebration Instagram post on my daily to-do list.) Some days were a stretch. Some days, I celebrated late, but I made it through.

Do I feel happier? No, not necessarily, but I know I gave myself a chance. I also gave myself a task to work at and complete. That alone helped my brain at least a little. Will I continue? Maybe. Maybe not. What I do know is that I need to keep working at celebration, as it does not always come easily or naturally. And does anything good come steadily and easily? I'm beginning to wonder if it does. Maybe work is part of the process of celebration.

Wanna Play?

Happy December!

In honor of this last month of 2020 (ready, already?), I made myself a type of bucket list. And since I'm in a bingo phase, I made the list in board form.

Wanna play? (Right click the photo above to open in a new tab and print.) Many of the activities are Christmas-related. Some may be more personal to me. My goal is to cross off as many squares as I can (e.g. "blackout bingo"), but feel free to play as you wish. And tag me on Facebook or Instagram if you do so I can follow along.

Pre- and Post-Feast

Thanksgiving definitely feels different this year. We're living through a global pandemic. Many states have limited how, why, and where people can gather. Loved ones can't travel. Different foods are and aren't on the table, or in stores. It's sad, and yet there is still so much to celebrate. I've been looking forward to a small celebration with loved ones this year. Whether or not it will happen remains to be seen, but for now, I'm still preparing.

Pre-Feast:

Thawing our turkey: These calculators made, well, calculations, so much easier!

Relish: Seen in the photo above, I made this recipe on Sunday so that the flavors had a few days to meld.

BINGO: I made this card based on inspiration from my dear friend and A Cup of Jo.

I like lists, and this is just another way to keep one, to celebrate what we have and count our blessings, which are still many. I plan to use the card as a place setting. Silly and simple, it fits what I feel I could use more of this year.

For the feast itself, here's our proposed menu (which, as previously stated, remains up in the air at this time):

Post-Feast:

I'm already eyeing leftover recipes, especially these creative spins on what can become boring leftovers:

Thanksgiving leftovers eggs benedict (The Endless Meal)

Thanksgiving leftover enchiladas (Tasty)

Thanksgiving leftovers lasagna (My Recipes)

Thanksgiving leftovers quesadilla (The Cookie Rookie) 

Turkey gumbo (LA Times)

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. However you may celebrate, pre-, post-, or not-at-all, I hope you give thanks and celebrate your blessings, because there always are some.

Marriage, Year One: Highlights

My post about our first year of marriage may have seemed like a downer. It wasn't meant to be, but I felt it necessary to post real life marriage before the highlights reel. I want to be  honest and truthful when I talk about marriage. It's not easy, at least ours isn't.  Marriage is a good gift from God, and also an incredibly refining experience. But without further adieu, on to the good stuff of the past year. I can't possibly compile all the highlights, but here are a few:

1. Wedding

That's what started this gig, so enough said! But seriously, it was a very special day, and we thank all of our family and friends who attended, as well as our pastor. Our ceremony was just about perfect.

2. Honeymoon trip

To anyone not yet married, don't let anyone convince you not to take a honeymoon. Those few days of bliss before we came back to real life and responsibilities were amazing. Turn off your phones. Enjoy getting to know each other. Make some memories. It's worth it!

3. College Homecoming

Out of the frying pan and into the fire! Chris willingly traveled on his birthday to go with me to my ten year reunion. We stayed with friends and I took him to lots of my old haunts and introduced him to even more people. He took it like a champ, and it was special to do this together.

4. Condo Buying

Buying a house was on my list of things that we should not do our first year of marriage. I wanted to settle and work on our marriage before jumping into major life decisions. Well, God had other plans and rapidly moved up our time frames. Here we are, having owned a condo for almost half the length of our marriage

5. Grand Canyon Trek

This was my husband's idea first, and quite frankly, very poorly timed with our other major life events. Hiking the Grand Canyon was on my bucket list for years, however, and I am so glad we crossed it off, together, and before COVID hit.

6.Visiting Washington

We planned this trip right after we got married. Then it fell right after we moved. Getting away and getting to see Chris' family and Seattle were a blessing, though. I'll totally go again.

7. A Mountain

This was our first official Phoenix hike, but also a hike off my bucket list. It felt fitting to welcome ourselves to the community this way. And yes, we are A versus U of A fans....

8. Camelback mountain

Another one off the bucket list, and not easy. Both Chris and I said we wouldn't have finished had not the other one been there. The sunrise and views were incredible! I'm glad we went when we did, as this is a crowded trail and I'm not sure I would go right now with the pandemic. 

9. Home Improvements

Buy a house, find a lot to do. We bought our house "move-in" ready, but it still needs some work. First, our water heater went out. We decided to buy a couch while we had the truck for that project. Chris put up lots of our pictures. He put up shelves and fixed a toilet. We ordered art from our Grand Canyon trip. I guess I should say I've been the recipient of home improvements because Chris made most of them. Still, it's been nice to make this our home together.

10. COVID dates

School and the pandemic have made getting out more costly in terms of time. I got the idea to have an indoor picnic when we got takeout, and then another night, we had a dine-in candlelight dinner. Chris made special breakfasts for us several mornings, and we've been trying to otherwise prioritize some "us" time. It's been a good respite from the monotony.

Make Your Own Happiness.

I made my own birthday cake this year. I wasn't sure how or if we would get to celebrate my birthday, and I wanted to do something. I felt a little selfish cooking for just myself, but knew I'd be happier for it. I think sometimes life is like that. We want people to make happiness for us, but sometimes we need to make our own.

My birthday came at an odd time this year. It was in the middle of a pandemic. It was in the middle of a work week. It was in the middle of college finals week. We'd planned to go see my parents the weekend prior, but didn't know if we could. I could let my birthday pass and be grumpy and mourn, or I could take the initiative and make my own celebration. That's what I did. In the end, I actually got to see my family to celebrate, and my mom made me a big cake. My mini celebration made room for a larger celebration with others.

Sometimes we need to take ourselves out for coffee. Sometimes we need to plan our own dates. Sometimes we need to make our own cakes. Sometimes we need to initiate our own celebrations of life. Sometimes we need to make our own happiness.

Making our own happiness prepares us to celebrate with others. Making our own happiness gets our brains ready to receive joy. I'm not saying be selfish. Still care for others. Still serve and give selflessly, but don't wait for permission to take care of yourself and live. Putting in a little time for personal celebration may make room for more, or at least make you a more pleasant person to be around. (In full disclosure, I ended up freezing the cake I made and brought it out later to celebrate my husband.)

So here's to celebration. Here's to happiness. Here's to a little self-care, a little more self-love, and celebrating with those we love when we can. May the world be better for it.

Birthdays (Why and How to Celebrate)

It's this guy's birthday today. He's not necessary big on celebration, but I am. And since he married me, we're going to celebrate.

Why do I believe celebration is important?

Because life is short. We never know how long God will give us on this earth, so we should celebrate every day. Birthdays are another year of life past and an opening year before us. Why should we not look forward to that?

Because people matter. We live in a fast paced society where we often neglect to tell the people we love that they matter to us. Birthdays are unique to that person and grant opportunity to reflect on what a special someone means.

Because life is a gift. Sometimes we give gifts on birthdays, sometimes we don't. But a birthday is a gift from God, first in the form of a new life, and then in the form of years of living after that. Birthdays are a time we can give thanks to God.

How can we celebrate birthdays?

Birthdays often get overrated and overdone. I don't think that has to be the case. Celebrate big if you want, but also celebrate small. Just emphasize the importance of the day. Here are some suggestions of ways to do that:

Write on their Faceboook wall or send them a message. Facebook tells us when friend's birthdays are, for crying out loud. So this takes little work, but can mean a lot.

Send an e-mail or a text. Yes, this takes a little more work, but can still bless the person's day.

Better yet, call the birthday girl or boy! What a concept! We can actually talk on our texting devices. Yes, people aren't always able to answer the phone, but even a voicemail greeting could bless a person.

Drop a note or card in the mail. Yes, the postal service still works. I personally like sending cards because of how tangible they are. (And it gives me reason to make cards, which I like to do.)

Tell the birthday person what they mean to you. Maybe in person, or maybe via one of the ways above. Just let them know they matter.

Have a special meal. Growing up, my mom let us pick a birthday dinner. It did not have to be extravagant, but we got to pick one of our favorite meals from the normal lineup. That made the day feel special. Going out to dinner or a meal is another option, but not always necessary.

Eat cake (or not). Consider a special treat. Maybe cake's not their thing, but maybe they'd like an extra good cup of coffee. Or a special steak seasoning. Food is a way to celebrate and we can find something that works for every person, dietary restrictions included.

Consider giving a gift. I put this last because it's optional, and honestly, gifts don't mean a lot to some people. But if you have funds and want to give, go for it.

Birthdays matter. Life matters. People matter. So let's celebrate!

(And happy birthday to my beloved. I look forward to celebrating you this day and every day for the gift of God you are to me.)

How We Had a Low Stress Wedding

I've attended more weddings than I am years old. And weddings tend to stress me out. They're so special and celebratory, but they can also be so detailed and over-the-top. They can also be bride-centric and somewhat exclusive of the groom. So when it came to my own wedding, I wanted to go simple and low stress, and include my groom, because this wedding wasn't happening without Chris! Here's how we did it.

Invitations

We didn't send out save the dates. With as short of an engagement as we had, we really didn't have time.

We sent out a one page photo announcement/invitation. I liked the idea of people having a picture of us even if they could not attend the ceremony.

We didn't include an RSVP reply card. Instead, we asked people to RSVP via our Knot website. This was inconvenient for some, and for that we apologize, but it really worked best for us and for our budget.

We kept invitations pretty open. If people saw us and told us they wanted to attend, we invited them. Planning a simple ceremony allowed that.

The Ceremony

We kept it simple. We wanted the focus to be on the Lord and on our vows, so we asked our pastor to officiate that way. He did an amazing job.

We limited our attendants to two each. We have many family and friends we value and could have asked to stand with us, but we stuck to one friend and one family member that we knew would support us in our vows.

We chose not to do a meal. Again, this was inconvenient for some, and for that, we apologize. But we wanted to keep the reception short, and we wanted to have an open invitation policy. That meant no elaborate food plans.

We cut everything that didn't matter to us. Wedding cake? Cut. First dance? Cut. Bouquet and garter toss? Cut. Chris developed some "filter questions" for our ceremony and if something didn't honor God, enrich our marriage, or specifically exist to bless our guests, we got rid of it. That allowed us to keep and focus on what really mattered to us: our covenant of marriage and the friends and family who came to support us in it.

The Decorations

Get a planner. Here's where not everyone can do what we did. My best friend is an amazing amateur decorator, florist, wedding planning, do-it-all type gal. I flew her out to help me find my wedding dress, and we planned a lot of the wedding that weekend. She then collected other decorations, made our bouquets and boutonnieres, etc. and brought them with her. Her help was invaluable.

Use food. My best friend and mom proposed using pinto beans and split peas in jars to decorate (since we had a cactus/southwest theme). This was a great idea! The decorations cost less and were even repurposed into after-wedding food, like the split pea soup we made in our Insta-Pot the first week we were home.

Let other people take the lead. Again, not everyone can do what we did, but I told everyone that my best friend was in charge, and left. Yes, I let other people decorate the church without me. It was less stressful for me and truly let me get some rest in my body, soul, mind, and spirit before the big day.

So it goes without saying, but a big part of our low stress wedding is thanks to my best friend.

The Day Of

Go low key with exercise. I knew I wanted to get outside the morning of the wedding, but I also didn't want to get all sweaty. So I went with an early, low-key stroll. That was enough to help center my mind without stressing my body and getting all nasty and gross.

See the groom. This broke status quo, but Chris he was a big part of helping me not get overly caught up in details or stressed about things. I also didn't like the idea of not seeing him the entire day before we made a lifelong commitment before God and men. So before I got my makeup done or we started getting ready, we spent a few minutes together to try to wrap our heads around the day and what was in store for us.

Do calming activities. There was so much I could have done the day of the wedding, but I wanted to be a calm and collected bride for my groom, so I just said, "No." Instead, I looked at social media, read a book, colored, and blogged.

Go professional for makeup. I wasn't originally on board with this, but my best friend suggested it, and I am so glad she did. I went to Ulta, so it wasn't super expensive, and having someone else do my makeup improved my confidence and made it easier on my bridal party and attendants.

Order food you will want to eat. I was worried I wouldn't be hungry or want to eat the day of the wedding, so I ordered my favorite Chick-Fil-A salad. I'm so glad I did. It tasted good and kept me fueled for the long day ahead.

Get ready with family and girlfriends. All those girls I might have wanted to ask to stand with me? I invited them to get ready with me. They (and their cute kids) kept me entertained and not too anxious. My mom was also there, which helped a ton!

Have room to pace. Again, this might not be possible for everyone, but we had a fairly large room (the church fellowship room) for getting ready, and when I started to feel anxious, I walked, yes, wedding dress and all. I'm thankful that I had comfortable shoes!

Pray! My friends prayed with me and for me during the wait time, and I know that made the greatest differences.

Was our wedding perfect? No, but it was wonderful. And besides being wonderful because of the man I married, it was wonderful because it was very low stress, something this perfectionistic, type A girl needed in order to really enjoy and be present for the day.

When Times are Good...

Life is a swirl of excitement right now. There's a new niece, and wedding planning, and friend visits, and spring, beautiful spring! I want to celebrate it all and live out this season of celebration, but honestly, there's still fear. 

Fear of not having enough time to invest with all the people I love
Fear of missing out on one thing or another
Fear of the other shoe dropping and this facade of happiness crumbling
Fear of sickness
Fear of conflict
Fear of fear

And all the fear eats at my joy.

"When times are good, be happy," King Solomon wrote (Ecc 7:14a, New International Version). That's the sentiment that keeps coming back to me. So I'm trying. Trying to live in the moment. Trying to wring every drop of joy out of this season. These times are a blessing, for God has blessed me.

With family I love
With a fiance I love
With a beautiful new niece who's growing by the day
With warmer weather
And sunshine-y days
And hiking
And living 
And planning
And breathing
And being

WITH BEING A BELOVED CHILD OF GOD!

Hard times will come. That's what the latter part of the verse says. But God has made the happy times as well as the hard. I want and need to celebrate both.

It's My Birthday!

It's my birthday! No, not the anniversary of the date I came into the world, but an arguably more important date: the date I was reborn and received the gift of eternal life. I don't remember that day 27 years ago, but my Mom does. She says that we were playing in the front room one day when I started up a discussion with her. Apparently, I had a tendency to ask the question “Why?” about anything and everything. We got on the subject of Jesus, and Mom asked me if I wanted to have a relationship with Him. I said yes, and she prayed with me to ask Jesus to be my Savior, forgive my sins, and secure eternal life in heaven. Mom says that my life changed after that. I would come and ask forgiveness for being bad. I would pray. I lived differently. Mom viewed October 9, 1991 as a red letter date, and it was.

Because I don't remember the day of my salvation, I have at times doubted my salvation. I have wondered if my prayer was "enough," and if I needed to pray it again. I did pray the "salvation prayer" again at least once, and I also rededicated my life to Christ in my pre-teen years. Through it all, God was and has been constant. He has been my rock in the storm, my light in the dark, and my hope amidst the hard.

Though I have been a Christian for as long as I can remember, I didn't really worry about dying until I got what I refer to as the "death plague" while in graduate school. It was a stomach flu that lasted a week, taking me to the ER and leaving me so weak I could barely walk. I literally prayed for God to take me home that week, and for the first time, I really felt confident in my salvation. Thank goodness God didn't take me home, and I am still here, but I was ready.

Believing in Jesus doesn't necessarily make my life easier. In fact, sometimes it makes things harder, because I know how good God created life to be, and how bad it often feels. But I believe in Jesus anyway, not as a crutch, but as The Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Because without Jesus I have NO life.

So here's to 27 years of the gift of life eternal, and to many more should the Lord see fit. Thank you, Jesus.