• Book Reviews

    Books I’ve Read: January

    So in January I was able to read so much because I haven’t had any actual work to do at work because I am being laid off in March because my bank merged with another one. So anyways, I literally am just reading and planning my wedding during work hours because there is nothing to. It’s seriously bliss.

    So in January I was able to read 5 books, which is a lot for me. I normally don’t read all that much – I have the desire to but never seem to actually make the time to do it. Since I had so much free time though I’ve been doing a lot more reading and it has sparked my love for it again and I’m going to really try to make sure I read regularly even when I have a job that I actually have to work at haha.

    PS. Have you guys discovered Goodreads yet? I’m sure you have but if not it’s a great place to track all the books you want to read, have read and are currently reading. I always see books that I want to read and can never remember them so I started writing them in the notes section of my phone and that helped me read more and now that I have discovered this website it’s soo much easier. They even recommend books to you based off of what you have rated the ones you’ve read. It’s awesome.

    For Women Only

    for women only.jpg

    5 out of 5
    I thought this book was great. I read it because as you all know I’m engaged and I’m also interested in Psychology so I have read about how different men and women are when it comes to processing the world and I love the idea of finding out how men work. I read this to better understand my fiance and I have to say it really really helped. It opens your eyes to so much about how they’re wired. I think it’s a must read if you are in a relationship, engaged, married, or even are just planning to be married one day.

    You and Me Forever

    you and me forever

    4 out of 5
    This was another marriage book – you’ll soon learn (if you haven’t already) that marriage is one of my favorite topics so obviously I read about it a lot. This book was one of the most convicting books I’ve read. It talks about how we are called to love Jesus more than our spouse and even our children. It really helps you check yourself and make sure you’re living for the correct things (God’s glory) and not our own.

    Something Borrowed

    something borrowed.jpg

    5 out of 5
    This is the second time I read this book and I loved it this time as much as I did the first. I think I read the whole thing in about 2 days and it’s a pretty thick book. I don’t want to give too much away about it but it’s a romantic comedy (and was actually turned into a movie) but it’s really suspenseful. If you like love stories you will love this one.

    The Giver

    the giver

    3.5 out of 5
    This is also the second time I read this book. The first time was in school, maybe 8th grade. It’s a really interesting book about a boy who lives in like a community that is hyper-sensitively controlled by the government. They follow insanely strict rules and the boy Jonas was selected to receive memories and quickly learns that the world wasn’t always this way. It’s a cute, short book that keeps you pretty interested.

    One Light Still Shines

    one light still shines.jpg

    5 out of 5
    Oh my gosh, this book! It gave me all the feels. If I could rate it a 6 out of 5 I would. It’s written by the woman who was married to the man who was responsible for the Amish Schoolhouse Shootings. She is so raw and real in this book and she walks you through how her life looked at the time – not leaving out even the smallest details. She talks about how leaning on Jesus brought her through this and it shows you just how practical it is to follow Jesus and just how much he really cares about us. Such a great book.

    That would be all. I’m really proud of myself for reading this much in January and I hope to keep my reading up for the rest of this month too.

  • Faith

    Why all of these _ steps to a better __ lists are so dangerous

    Have you ever felt just overwhelmed by the many lists out there that promise a good or happy life? The ones like 10 steps a happier marriage. 15 steps to a closer relationship with God. They sound really great and the list sounds doable initially but when you get to the bottom, do you ever feel an overwhelming feeling of dread? Because I know I do. Those lists are perfect examples to me of lists of things that I just don’t measure up to. Reasons why I’m not good enough. I know they are meant to help and honestly sometimes they even do but more often than not they’re just a reminder of my shortcomings.

    These are especially dangerous when they involve God. There isn’t a way to check off steps on a list to be closer to God. That’s not how it works. How do I so easily forget this? God is after my heart and honestly that’s the hardest thing to give him. If I don’t have a passion to know him better, reading my bible isn’t going to bring me closer to him. So what do we do when we are lacking in our desire for God? Or when we notice he is slipping down our priority list?

    PRAY

    Plead with God to restore in you a heart for him. It may not happen instantaneously but I can promise that it is something God will answer. You may even need to continue praying everyday until it does happen but when it does it will be beautiful.

    The truth is these lists are dangerous and I don’t think we really realize what they’re doing to us. They’re either making us more self-righteous because we have amazing self-discipline and are able to meet (almost) all of the things on the list and we are then thinking that we are closer to God because of it. Or they are making us despair because we are realizing our shortcoming now more than ever. We might even fall into the trap of thinking if we aren’t doing these things then we can’t ever be closer to God. And I’m not saying don’t ever read the lists because they can give us great ideas on how to respond to God but be aware that they aren’t steps to getting closer to God.

    We need to start with God first and go from there.

     

  • Life,  Wedding

    February Goals

    I haven’t posted goals since November and to be honest and real I didn’t actually work on the goals I posted in November really either, but I want to be more diligent about bettering myself and I want to commit to write goals each month and post them to keep myself accountable.

    Health/Fitness

    • start working out 2-3x’s per week
    • continue making healthy lunches
    • find more healthy recipes
    • drink lots of water

    Marriage/Wedding

    • Research songs for wedding
    • book the baker
    • continue premarital counseling
    • read another marriage book

    Blog

    • post at least 2x’s per week
    • comment on other blogs
    • write a guest post

    Money/Budget

    • make a budget for February
    • save at least 350$

     

    So there yah have it. I want to work more on my health because I can be super lazy when it comes to working out and eating healthy. I want to continue working on planning the wedding obviously. We decided we liked the idea of doing an ipod playlist rather than a DJ because then we get to pick the songs and save so much money too. Does anyone have any suggestions or tips when it comes to this? I also want to make sure I’m not just preparing for the wedding but for our marriage too. I usually set pretty unrealistic goals for myself and get really discouraged when I don’t meet them but I think I did a good job at setting realistic goals this month and I’m really excited to tackle them.

  • Life

    Weekend Update

    I have never done a post like this before and I’m not sure how I’m going to feel about it but I was SO busy this weekend and I really feel like documenting this.

    f r i d a y

    Friday night wasn’t anything special. I had a busy week and all I really wanted to do was rest so that’s what I did. Tommy was over and we probably watched Gossip Girl or something – I honestly don’t remember exactly what we did.

    s a t u r d a y

    The rest of the weekend was insanely busy. Saturday I slept in because I was up too late Friday night. Afterwards I went with one of my bridesmaids to try on her dress at David’s Bridal!

    bridesmaid dresses

    Tommy came over after he got out of work and he brought me flowers for our 14 month anniversary and they are so gorgeous 🙂 But anyways, we then ordered from our favorite restaurant, Roma’s and it was delicious.

    flowers

    We then went and looked at our first house to buy! Tommy’s aunt’s a realtor and she took us to see a house about a half an hour away from mine, which was super exciting. There were a few things wrong with the house that I’m not sure that we would be able to get passed – one being that we have to share a driveway with the neighbors (sorry what?). But anyways we learned what our next steps are and we’re going to keep looking.

    s u n d a y

    Sunday was another day full of activities. We woke up early and I had made a bargain with my brother to come to church with us on this day. It was my birthday on the 22nd of January and I told him instead of getting me a present I wanted him and his girlfriend to come with me to church. They planned to come this Sunday that just passed and it made me so happy to have them there. God showed up powerfully and I know what was said in the sermon impacted my brother and it made me so happy. If you don’t go to church but are curious what I might believe I would encourage you to check out any of the sermons from my church here – my church just reads through books of the bible and explains them in depth and helps us to walk closer with God. It’s a great church and I’m so happy to be apart of it.

    emergence sermon

    After church we headed home for a while and Tommy and I had our second session for premarital counseling at 2 on Sunday. Phil, our premarital counselor gave us a book called Preparing for Marriage: Discovering God’s Plan for a Lifetime of Love. I’m really excited about this book and it has already helped Tommy and I repent of the ways we weren’t honoring God and has brought us closer to where we should be and closer to Jesus. It’s going to be intense but I’m excited and a little nervous as well if I’m being honest.

    preparing for marraige

    Afterwards we were supposed to go to Tommy’s grandma’s to make ravioli’s with her but it seems we overbooked ourselves and our premarital session took longer than we expected so we didn’t make it in time to make ravioli’s but we did go over her house for dinner.

  • Life

    My Thankful List

    I’m really trying to be more consistent here and it feels really great. Today I really didn’t think that I was going to get a post up. I have a bunch of ideas but I just have these days where I just don’t feel like doing anything productive (pls tell me I’m not alone). Anyways today was one of those days, probably because I didn’t go to bed until after midnight and that never does anything for my mood.

    So because I’m being such a crankpot today I wanted to make a list of everything I’m thankful for to try to remind myself how blessed I am and get my spirit up.

    1. The most loving caring fiance ever. I’m sure you guys are probably tired of hearing about him by now but I don’t think that’s going to stop anytime soon considering how excited I am about marrying him so soon. He’s just been so great lately. I love hearing his heart about how much he wants to be working with his dad to be able to provide for us and is so loving and pays so close attention to my needs. I couldn’t ask for anyone better.
    2. Having the funds to pay for a wedding and possibly even a house too?! Wait what.. yup I said it. We’ve been looking at really small but really cute houses to hopefully be able to buy to live in after the wedding. This is actually a cheaper option than renting, which is a bit crazy. I just so hope it works out!
    3. Yummy coffee to drink on tired mornings.
    4. A mom who does everything she can to keep her kids happy.
    5. A (future) mother-in-law who goes out of her way to help us plan for everything coming up so soon.
    6. The winter not being unbearably cold this year.
    7. Having two fun pups to live with when we move out.
    8. Having a job that I can get paid to basically plan my wedding.
    9. Lastly but certainly most important, a God who loves me so much that He pushes me outside my comfort zone. Though to be honest I’m not really thankful for this yet, I’m actually quite mad. I know that joining a small group is what’s best for my walk with Jesus and will help me get out there and share with other’s but I’m really struggling with this one. I’m super introverted and hate putting myself out there so I’m not too happy about this but know it will pay off in the end.
  • Life

    What’s Up Wednesday: January

    What’s Up Wednesday: January 2016 Edition

    What we’re eating this week

    What we’re eating this week… hmm well let’s see. Tommy and I have been trying harder to eat healthier ever since we got engaged. We want to be ready and in shape for the wedding but this week we haven’t been doing so well. I’ve been so busy that I really haven’t had much time to meal plan so I’ve just been eating what my mom has been making and it hasn’t been healthy I can tell you that much. Last night Tommy took me out to a new diner we haven’t ever gone too and I ate a Philly Cheese steak – which was obviously not healthy but soo worth it 😉

    What I’m reminiscing about

    bahamas 2015 2
    Just this morning I was reminiscing about our Bahama trip from August. I’m just over winter and really wish I was on a beach. I can’t wait for our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic!

    What I’m loving

    Having soo much down time at work. Since mostly everyone I used to work with had their last day in December, there has basically been no work for us to do since the beginning of the year. It has literally left me with basically 8 hours to do whatever I want at work. I’ve been planning the wedding a lot, and reading soo much – I absolutely love it.

    What we’ve been up to

    wedding binder

    Of course wedding planning. We started our first premartial counseling session on Monday night. We also recently started a workout program which is exciting but not at the same time. We’re also on the verge of booking our caterer and DJ too!

    What I’m dreading

    I’m sort of dreading finding a new job. I’ve had this one for the past 5 and a half years and I’m not really up for the awkwardness that is job interviewing and making new friends. 🙁

    What I’m working on

    plyo madness

    Right now I’m focusing on trying to eat healthier/meal planning and sticking to a fitness routine. The program we are doing is called Plyo Madness by Sophie Grey. I did it over a year ago and it really burns fat well and you only have to workout 4 times a week for 30 mins. It’s great. I’m also working on being more consistent with this little blog of mine as well. AND I’m trying to push myself outside my comfort zone. Tommy and I are working on joining a small group – our first meeting is tomorrow! (PS pray for us, we’re super nervous and introverted haha).

    What I’m excited about

    Trying new things and seeing the results of them – see above (healthy eating, fitness).

    What I’m watching/reading

    Tommy and I just finished Dexter and we LOVED it. I’m still watching Gossip Girl in my free time and I love me some Teen Mom (don’t judge me pls).

    I’ve been reading so much since the beginning of the year. Right now I’m in the middle of Changes That Heal and The Daylight Marriage. I’m just at the beginning of both of them but they’re pretty good so far. Tommy got me The Daylight Marriage for my birthday because he knows how much I’ve loved reading so much lately and he also knows how much I love marriage. He’s just too sweet and thoughtful.

    What I’m listening to

    Currently nothing but I’ve been really loving me some country music more than normal lately. Probably because it reminds me of summer and I just wish it was summer already.

    What I’m wearing

    scarf

    Just some work clothes with my knit scarf – kind of like the one up top, it’s just too comfy to take off when I come in from outside. I haven’t been going too over the top with dressing nicely lately since there really isn’t anyone left in my building haha. I’ve just been dressing very comfy and I looove it.

    What I’m doing this weekend

    Homemade-Ravioli

    Tommy and I have big plans this weekend. We haven’t been doing too much lately because of it being so cold outside and last weekend we were just couped up in the house because of the snow. This weekend though we’re going to be busy. On Sunday we’re going to go to church, go on a brunch date, go to our second premarital counseling session, and then go make homemade ravioli’s with Tommy’s grandma! How fun is that! I can’t wait.

    What I’m looking forward to next month

    IMG_5311

    I’m looking forward to spending my second Valentine’s Day with Tommy. (Last year he made me dinner, which was awesome – pictured above). I’m also excited to being one month closer to marrying my best friend!

    What else is new

    my birthday dinner

    Not much has been going on besides that. Tonight we are doing a tasting for the wedding and I’m really excited about that but that’s really it. OH and also we celebrated our birthday’s last week too! Tommy’s was Thursday and we had chinese food at Tommy’s house and then Friday was mine and Tommy took me out to this fancy Italian restaurant and it was perfect.

    Today I’m linking up with Shay, Shaeffer, and Mel

    What’s up with your Wednesday?