Life Made Easier
Sep/092
I have always loved Real Simple Magazine, but they hit a whole new level with their October issue. I don’t have a subscription, but I usually pick up a copy whenever I’m traveling and know that I’ll have time on the plane. They have all sorts of tidbits about organizing, stress reduction, cleaning and cooking. I was standing in the checkout line last night and glanced at the cover which read - “A Month of Easy Dinners.” HECK, YES! Absolute Genius. They have weekday dinners mapped out with grocery lists for the whole month. The meals vary from tilapia with peppers and olives to steak with potato-parnship mash to creamy rice with roasted shrimp. Yum. I’ve really been trying to get my cooking schedule back in order this fall. I’m tired of grabbing Chick-fil-a on the way home from church on Tuesdays & Wednesday nights. I’m tired ot throwing the same meal together every week because I didn’t have time to make a grocery list before I went to the store. I’ve been feeling the urge to use my beautiful, new kitchen and cook more often. We deserve good, fresh, hot food no matter how busy we are.
PS - The magazine also has a Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing recipe. I’m going to make these for Becca & Jarrod this weekend. Happy Fall!
Baby Z & BayFest
Sep/090
Yay for an exciting upcoming weekend! The weather has FINALLY made a shift to the cooler and more bearable side (meaning, that it now barely gets up into the 80’s). The mornings are much crisper, and the humidity is starting to disappear. I realize right now that I AM BLOGGING ABOUT WEATHER. But, really, weather is an important factor for my mood. 
(Side note: I know that I have been using smiley faces too much. I don’t know why. I just can’t help it. I think I need an intervention!).
Friday night, Roman Street, is playing BayFest. Its a big festival of music held in Mobile with tons of stages and various artists. It should be a good time, with lots of people and energy. I’m looking forward to it. If you have tickets this weekend, come by the Radio Avalon Jazz Stage on Friday night.
Zeda is coming to visit me this weekend, too! I’m so excited! Becca & Jarrod are also coming - someone has to get her here. Haha. It should be a great weekend to head to the beach, relax, and hang out. Its always nice to have visitors from home - especially now that we have our house! They will be our first guests. I’m betting that we throw some bones (that’s Nik’s slang for playing dominoes). And for any of you haters out there, Dominoes Mexican Train is about the GREATEST game of all times. Its not just for old people.
Auntie Meg loving on Zeda
Batman is Hitting Up the Navy
Sep/091
So, Nik’s brother, Derek, is leaving for the Navy on Wednesday. He has been home since he graduated from college this past year, and is now jumping into a brand new adventure. Derek loves the water, so the Navy makes perfect sense for him - he is hoping to eventually become a rescue diver. I am hoping that he ends up in a crazy, awesome place that we will just HAVE to go visit. I’m dreaming of Spain, Rio, Japan, Hawaii…. (yes, somehow, I just made that all about me. haha).
We had a little goodbye party for him the other night at our house. I could not figure out what to decorate with, because Navy decor at Party City is pretty hard to come by. So, I went another route. BATMAN. One night, Derek was at a show in downtown Mobile and this girl was all into him, so he told her (with a super straight face - because the White’s can hold a straight face like nobody’s business) that he was Batman. I can only imagine how crazy the girl thought he was. I wish you could hear him tell it, because Derek is so much better at telling stories. But, you get the point. So, Derek showed up to his Batman party and we even got Ethan to wear his Batman costume. It was a good time, but I’m sad to see him go.
The Hubby & Me
Sep/091
So, the other day, I realized that, besides our wedding and honeymoon pics, Nik and I never take pictures together anymore! This is mostly due to the fact that I’m always running around with a camera strapped to my face and am never in front of it. We don’t have a point and shoot camera anymore, so all the cheesy pics that a couple usually takes of themselves are harder to come by. So, I bought a tripod and attempted to have a photo shoot with Nik yesterday. Thankfully, I didn’t have super high expectations. Haha. It was just a lot of work trying to figure out cool stuff, set the camera just right, and then run to position. I’ll probably edit some today, and hopefully, end up with more that I like (I do have a confession - I rarely like pictures that I am in. This drives me crazy when other people are like this - and now I’m becoming one of them). Anyway, we did have a good time despite the humidity and all the bugs. AND I discovered (well, Nik did) a great new place to take pictures.
Does this make my life better?
Sep/090
I read this on the Unclutterer blog today. So great. The context is for “things” but I think it can apply to all areas of life. Is this activity, person, place, idea going to make my life better? I’m not saying “will it make my life easier.” We all have to do things we aren’t exactly excited about, but I think focusing on the betterment of one’s life is a good motto to live by. If we asked ourselves that, imagine how our lives would improve - it would be simpler, and we would be investing time into the people, places and things that really added to our lives, rather than things that distract and take away from our main priorities. Its worth the read (and quick!). You can view this particular post HERE.
Dreaming of Autumn
Sep/090
This is my third Autumn on the Eastern Shore of Alabama, and you would think I would be getting used to the idea that the whole four seasons thing is missing. It seriously goes from Hot to Muggy to Mediocre Coldness - its the progression of Summer to Winter here. I really do not like being cold, so I’m not so much complaining about that. But, I do miss Fall or Autumn. Ah, such pretty words. Makes me dream of the drive to Branson with the glorious colors, the crispness of the air, the smell of the leaves, football games, pumpkin spice lattes that you actually want to drink as HOT drinks. It makes me miss home. I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too, but I would really love to be back home for just the months of September - November (No thank you, Springfield. I do not want to spend January and February with YOU!). I could take pictures of the beautiful trees and have fall photo sessions! For now, I’ll just drink my lattes inside the chill of the Starbucks and burn my fall scented candles in my house. Maybe I’ll even cut out some colorful leaves and sprinkle them around my dining room table. You never know, it could work.
Enjoying Tuscany’s fall last year on our honeymoon.
The Little Joys
Sep/091
So, I’m still driving the Youth Center van. Everyday. Three elementary schools. 25 children. If you didn’t read my earlier post, and are confused, you can read about it HERE. I have mixed feelings about this new, but temporary addition to my job. It definitely makes my daily schedule a little tighter. I can’t schedule meetings or really anything in the afternoon because the van route is smack dab in the middle of it. But it does make the afternoon go faster, which is great for me. For some reason the afternoon feels about 5 times longer to me than the morning. I’m way more productive and centered during the morning hours. After lunch, I’m useless (I think I was meant to live in a Mexican or South American culture where you get to take a siesta everyday). The van I drive is gross and hot, and those kids can get crazy loud. Sometimes its just plan stressful. I like kids. But I want to play with them and hang out, not yell at them to sit down or to stop hitting each other while I’m trying to navigate through all the school traffic (keep in mind that there are only like 4 main roads in Daphne and the congestion gets ridiculous after school. We need more roads! Like a normal city. Haha). Anyway, the best part of the pick up is the very first elementary school stop. The first two kids that get on the van are my absolute favorites. Christian & Cameron. While we wait for the others, we examine the weather patterns on my iphone, take pictures, read books and discuss who got a “happy face” at school that day. Christian is all smiles and snaps his fingers and sings silly songs (insert “Apple Bottom Jeans” lyrics here). Cameron is just sweet as pie. When I drop this group of kids off at the Youth Center, he is the last one to get off the van so that he can shut the door for me. He stands by the van and waves and smiles at me until I wave back. It makes my heart melt. After that, I have to go pick up the most rambunctious group, so I usually soak in the awesomeness of these two sweethearts. I pray that their home lives are okay, that their families love them and that they’ll have enough money to get them through the week. I say a little prayer about their future and that God will take care of them. I know He will.
Christian & Cameron
Fall Photo Special
Sep/090
Alright - here it is! If you are in the Eastern Shore area and want to have a family photo session, take advantage of this fall special! If you are in the Springfield area, I will be doing a similar promo in December on a few select dates, so stay tuned!
saturday
Sep/090
Saturday is finally here! Yay!!! I am supposed to go with Roman Street to Seaside, Fl for most of the day, but I am praying that it gets rained out. Is that bad?? Ha. I actually need to get off the couch, stop editing pictures & blogging and turn off HGTV and get ready for the day…so on that note, I leave you with a picture of my precious Zeda. There are more of her and Carson HERE.
PAM! PAM!
Sep/091
Nik & I are true Office enthusiasts. We just bought the 5th Season on DVD last night. I cannot even tell you how many times we have watched episodes from all the other seasons. Let’s just say we watch two episodes two or three times a week during lunch for the whole year - we are looking at about 200-300 Office episodes yearly. Hahaha. I love it. The more I watch it, the better it gets! We don’t watch the show on TV (because someone, I won’t name names - Nik - can’t handle commericials), so I am really excited about finally being able to see the 5th season. However, I have cheated a few times and watched an episode online. Nik is against this. He sometimes stands on principle alone.
I leave you with a great quote from Michael Scott: “Guess what? I have flaws. What are they? Oh I donno, I sing in the shower? Sometimes I spend too much time volunteering. Occasionally I’ll hit somebody with my car. So sue me– no, don’t sue me. That is opposite the point I’m trying to make.”
PS: I heart Jim.