Whatcha Readin'?

Hey guys - I've been pretty busy lately, but I'm not gonna bore you with that story again. Today I wanted to talk about the books I'm currently reading! I'm not super impressed with any of them, but without further ado...

I started reading this book a looooong time ago. I love Francine Rivers books, but this one has been a little slow. I can't seem to get into it. You can find the book on Amazon here. You can also read the story summary there, it's really not a terrible book and a friend has promised me that it's really good at the ending, I just can't seem to get into the story.


The Harbinger has gotten a lot of publicity in the past few months and the story is really quite captivating. I have to say, though, that I was very skeptical when I first started reading this, I went in with an image already conjured up in my head; go in with an open mind!! That's all I'm going to say. The message throughout the story is so very critical, I would definitely recommend this book. However, I feel like I sizzled out a little bit at the end, I need to get myself together and just read! Read more about the book and author here!


A few friends and I started reading this book together. It's a fictional novel based on the storylines of Job and Dinah. I love how the book makes the characters come alive and I'm excited to get farther into the book. It's really hard for me to read extra stuff right now because of my school work, but this is something that I want to finish! The book is available on Amazon, here!

That's all that I'm reading at the moment! I've never done anything like this on the blog before, but it might be something that I'll do again. Leave a comment telling me what you're reading right now!!

~ Jessica

 

Updated Spring Semester Resolutions

The spring semester is about 1/4th of the way done, if I had to guess, and it's still goin'. It's been a little rough, I've struggled a little bit with the work load, but, nevertheless, I'm still goin' as well. So, I thought that I would give you guys an updated look at my Spring Semester Resolutions.

1. Finish Season 1 of Alias

Season one is completed, and now we're onto season two. In the past two days, I've watched 11 episodes of Alias. I'm not sure whether I should be proud, or ashamed, of this fact. This is what my everyday looks like...

 

See... I'm still getting my school stuff done!! ....right??

 

2. Order Pictures from Shutterfly.com and Smash!

I did it! I really did it!! I have to admit, I didn't think I would... but I took advantage of Shutterfly's 101 free prints and bought 87 prints for the price of $5 for shipping! Yay! So far I've only smashed 3 pages, but that's a victory for me... here's a little sneak peak!

 

 

 

 

The picture quality isn't the best... but you get the point!

 

3. Save Money

Eeeehhhh.... enough said.

 

4. Work on Conciously Managing Time Spent on School Work and Recreation 

I haven't done too bad... as you can see in the above picture I seem to be effectively watching Alias and reading history books... that's good! But, this is a work in progress... I can't cross this off until the end of the semester!

 

5. Blog Atleast 2x a Week

I would say that this one has been successful... wouldn't you?? You tell me... success, or not??

 

~ Jessica

 

 

 



Sick Day Playlist

 

I seem to have come down with a cold, and as a result of that... I'm quite sluggish. All I really want to do is lay down and watch a movie, but since that isn't quite possible right now, I've created a Sick Day Playlist. These are some of my favorite songs, despite being sick, but I especially love them when all I want to do is close my eyes. Unless, of course, you can't close your eyes.... then don't listen to this. :)

 

 ~Jessica

Oh My Word!

With all this talk about a "word of the year" and such I've felt a little bit out of the loop. So I decided that I need to get my game together and find a word of the year. It actually came a little easier than I had expected. My mom's word has been "simplify" and as a result of that we've been cleaning out everything. My room has been completely taken apart and put back together, the closet has been emptied and tidied, our dining room is in limbo as we are preparing for a yard sale that we're having this weekend.

Because my room was completely taken apart the aftermath has been lingering for the past week. I still have some piles of things to go through, some wall decor to hang up, and other things of the sort. In order to cope with that, I've come up with my own little "get 'er done" project. Did I really just say that? Anyway, like I was saying, in order to cope with the little things that still need to get done, I've started writing down my own daily resolutions. I mentioned this in my previous blog. I know that some people pick resolutions for the year, but I need something a little bit more short term.

What does this have to do with my word? Well I was thinking and decided on the word Resolution or Resolve. I haven't quite decided which one... it just depends what looks nicer in a journal or on my wall. Resolutions have been on my mind lately and they've probably been on yours as well. Maybe you're in the crowd that prefers "dream", "hope", or "goal". I, however, am much more practical and know that if I set a goal or dream it has a much higher probability of not getting done. I am not okay with that. When I want something to get done, it has to get done.

Resolution has a sort of punch to it, it weighs heavier than a dream. When you resolve to do something, dictionary.com says that you "come to a definite or earnest decision about" something. Let me give you a little example... take a look at this picture

 

When you look at this do you think "wow, this guy is serious"? What if we just changed a few words... "Hope To I would like to live for God and if no one else does, I'll still try." It doesn't have the same punch, does it? Resolve holds a heavier meaning and it seems to convey some sort of consequence. 

 

One of the things that I've been wanting to strive towards this year is time management. I like to think that I'm a pretty good manager of my time, I always make sure that school works comes before most anything else. But that seems to be the problem, I want to learn to play the bass guitar, I want to play the piano, I want to read books, and watch movies. But I get myself too caught up in cleaning my room, doing my school work, and things that are much more practical. So I resolve to make time for fun things.

 

 

One of the fun things that I have been doing for the past month is a Disney movie night every month. In honor of my Disney Senior Trip, which keeps getting pushed back, my friends and I have been having a movie night every month, with a different theme each month. Last month, since it was December, we decided to watch The Santa Clause 1&2 and we ate some fun Christmasy foods.... Cookies? It's been a great way for me to let go of any school worries and just have fun, that's something that I struggle with... having fun, I know, weird!

 

 Take some time to think about what you resolve to do this year, maybe you need to sit down and make a list of things you resolve to do every day. Find something that works for you!

 

Happy Thursday!

 

~Jessica 

My Backwards Bucket List - December

Hey friends, remember at the end of last summer I shared my backwards bucket list here and here??  Well I'd thought I'd share my December with you in that same format!!  Like I've said before, I would much rather look at what I have accomplished instead of list that's not been accomplished....this seems to work for me!!

 Ready?  Okay....here we go!!

1.  Rest....yep, among, perhaps the CRAZIEST time of the year, we found plenty of time to rest!!

We watched Christmas movies and enjoyed laid back dinners on the couch!!  We've even continued that into January!

2.  Family Night Out - Thanks to some generous, anonymous gifters, we were able to go the movies and have tickets for the six of us AND refreshments covered by Regal Cinema gift cards!!  We don't go out on the town very often at all, because, well, six people equals a costly evening!!  It was fun getting ready knowing that I was going out for a fun night!  We saw "The Hobbit", which was very good, even though I'm not a fan of the dark side of good vs. evil.  We also had our very first experience with YoGo!!!  It was yummy!!

3.  Putting my word of the year into action!! On December 31st I started a ridiculous project of literally simplifying my home!!  We took down Christmas decor' and I thought it appropriate to tackle the attic before putting Christmas items back up there!  It went on from there and we've tackled everything from cabinets to bedrooms and the detached garage attic!!!  We will be selling our stuff at a yard sale coming very soon....I cannot wait!!!

4.  My first real cookie order!!  My Pastor and his wife asked us to make sugar cookies for their oldest sons' engagement party!!  I was freaking out!! We make these for ourselves or holidays all of time and we've done them for fundraisers, but this time there was a little bit more pressure!!  I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out!

 

5.  Christmas & Programs-Our chidren's choir worked very hard on about 5 songs that they shared at three sunday services and at the Children's Christmas Eve Flashlight Service!  My hubbs and I also participated in the childrens Christmas Eve service; we played a spoof on Hollywood Squares.  My hubbs was a contestant and I was one of the nine squares!!  It was a blast!  Now that my oldest lives elsewhere, him "coming home" for Christmas is always a highlight <3

my girl all the way on the left 

 younget and oldest (8 & 21)

 My five heartbeats playing games together...a gift on so many levels <3

 

6.  Disney Movie Night- as per Jessica and her Senior Class Trip, they have been doing a montly disney movie night....December?  Santa Claus 1 & 2, Christmas cookie snacks and a fun photo shoot!! 

 

7.  Outreach-the month wouldn't have been complete without opportunities to get outside of ourselves!  We had new friends over for dinner, I was invited to have lunch with some sweet girlfriends that I haven't seen in way.too.long, I was asked to decorate for the Ladies Tea that our church staff puts on for some of the women in our congregation and we held our first big student leadership training & service weekend.  We hit the streets of two local cities with hot coffee, donuts and hats/scarves/gloves for those in need that we encountered.  All of these opportunities were a wonderful way to be the hands and feet of Jesus <3 

 

8. Chalkboard Art - I had moved things around enough to pull my chalkboard out of the garage and find a home for her!!  I've had alot fun with this and love the inspiration that I find on-line!

 

9. Christmas Shopping-thanks to friends!  Our wallet is very, very, very tight and we had come to terms with the fact that we just couldn't swing Christmas gifts at all this year!  I can hear some of you gasp!! lol  I know, the horror!!!  Thanks be to God that He moved some friends of ours to give a generous gift to us so that we could buy our children a few gifts.  It really made Christmas so much more special and meaningful and these were small tokens of our thanks and appreciation to these families <3

10. Seeking the Light -something that I always do!!  He is always present and where there is Light, there can't be darkness....that is my focus!!

11. Date Night-an unexpected opportunity to have a small night out with the hubbs <3

12. Face Mask Fun -we decided to try a recipe from Pinterest!!  Boy was that fun!!

13. Teaching Opportunities-teaching Senior High Sunday School has become a highlight!!

14. Family Walks-they started out as family walks but quickly ended up to be just the two of us!!

15. Don't/Did shave december-hubbs wen all through November and most of December before shaving...he had such a blast shaving it off, I'm sad that I can't share the pictures!!

16. The end of soccer season-Our boys had one make-up game that took us to the first weekend of December!!  They ended up in second place for their division!!  It was a great season and we are so proud of our boys and the team - they have grown tremendously in one season!!

17.  Hot Cocoa Station-it was so much fun to see all of the different cocoa stations out there in blog world!!  Each one is so unique to its creator...what a fun thing to have for the winter months!!

19. Advent-for years I have wanted an advent calendar, something to count up to the weeks of Jesus' birth and every year I go without!  This year I made my own unconventional advent candle"wreath" using a wooden box and candles.  I also had the opportunity to make a calendar or countdown, with empty match boxes.  I strung them up in an empty frame and each night that we were home for dinner we would have a reading from that days box and take part in the family activity included on the paper.  We did anything from performing a random act of kindness (leaving gingerbread men in our mailbox for our mail lady) to heading outdoors to play flashlight tag!!  It was a blast and a beautiful way to worship our Creator!!

20.  Baking-another aspect of the holiday season that we didn't plan on participating in was baking Christmas cookies, sad, but true.  We are learning to accept these things and God is blessing us for our willingness to say "yes, okay Lord, take it".  A dear, sweet, precious friend of mine, Denise, wouldn't hear of us having a Christmas without cookies, so she provided a way for us!  We went nuts baking!!  We were in the kitchen for three or four days straight!!  We were all so very thankful for Denise's kindness and gift!!

 

 

So there you have it!!  My backwards bucket list!!  It's amazing to see just how many things we can pack into 30/31 days!!!  God's goodness is everywhere - you just have to slow down enough to see it!!  What were some of the highlights of your December?  I'd love to hear about them!!

 

 

God Bless <3 Lorraine

 

Winter Break Resolutions Part 2

Hey guys - I just wanted to post a little update on my winter break! If you didn't read my Winter Break Resolutions list... you can do so here! I've completed half of the list and I still have 16 days left. Wait... What??? 17 days!

Anyway, I've reorganized my room as a part of my mother's simplify spree. It was on my list before the simplify frenzy started, but it still counts! We've created a "play corner" for Julia and all of her stuff... ehhhh.... toys. We've also gotten rid of some furniture in the room, cleaned off the bookshelves, moved some dressers, and all of that fun stuff. The closet was semi-cleaned out... not ass well as I would have liked, but pretty well.

I looked over Joe's school schedule and planned some fun movies and other things that will go along with the lessons. Speaking of which, homeschool started back up yesterday! To be honest, I haven't really been looking forward to it. It's just some structure to the day, which I've been enjoying not having. The two things left on the list are 1) Finish LiveLifeOnPurpose and write a review and 2) Get my GED. Numero Uno is making progress... numero dos is still yet to be scheduled.

As far as Winter Break Resolutions go, I admit I sort of lied to you guys. It wasn't so much lying... more of not telling the whole truth. While I've wanted to do all of these things there were many more resolutions/hopes floating around in my head. Well.... one big one. I wanted to be able to lay around and watch movies... maybe just for one day. But with all of these other, bigger, much more important (???) resolutions written on paper, that one sort of got pushed to the side.

So... maybe I'll have some Spring Semester Resolutions coming up. In fact, I sort of like the thought of making resolutions for each chunk of my life. Instead of a resolution for 2013, I'll have a resolution for each semester, maybe even each month. Actually, I've started making resolutions for each day, it might be a bit excessive but.... eh. The past couple of days I've written resolutions on a post-it note at night and when I wake up, it'll be waiting for me in the morning. It's been a good way for me to make sure I do what I want to get done every day instead of wasting my day playing games, or sitting around.

I'd like to keep you guys updated on these resolutions, maybe some book reviews, something about homeschool, my new semester in school, I don't know. If you have any suggestions on things you'd like to read about my day or life or room or anything let me know in the comments! I really have no good way to end this, I don't even know if any of this made sense. But.....yeah.

P.S. Maybe you could leave some good blog-post-ending ideas in the comments too....

~Jessica

Winter Break Resoultions

I'm in the last week of classes and I'm pushing through. The majority of my free time has been taken up by Western Civilizations and it's terrible. But I keep telling myself that in less than a week, I'll be done, for over a month! Yay for college breaks! So I thought that I'd make a little "Christmas break resolutions" list. I have until January 22nd until my next semester starts up, let's see what I can get done in that time!

Winter Break Resolutions

 

1. Reorganize my room!

I need to move things around, decorate for Christmas, and clean EVERYTHING!

 

2. Wrap gifts!

I've been going a little Christmas crazy this past month and have an abundance of gifts to wrap.

 

3. Finish LiveLifeOnPurpose...

... and write a review for the blog (keep your eyes open). This book by Claude Hickman is a great follow up to my weekend in Indiana, but that was like a month ago. The book is so good that I want to take my time with it but I've also started to lose interest... not good!

 

4. Schedule the second half of Joe's school year

I don't know that I've ever written about this before, but I homeschool Joe, the 12 year old. The year has gone really well, but I want to schedule out the other half of the school year and add in some fun hands-on activities.

 

5. Get my GED

I have yet to get my GED and it's killing me. I feel like I have unfinished business with highschool, which is never a good thing. So hopefully over winter break I'll be able to go and take the test and pass!

 

 

Well, that's my Winter Break Resolutions! I'll try to update the blog more and let you know what's going on in my life. Hopefully I can share the finished resolutions with you guys!

 

Jessica

    

Giving Thanks.....warning....photo heavy

It seems like I just got out my fall decor and prepared myself for Thanksgiving and now Christmas is thrust upon us!  I'm not sure that I'm okay with that, but I suppose that just doesn't quite matter - Christmas is coming, rather quickly, whether we're ready or not!! 

So before I jump into Christmas blogs, here are a few things that I've been thankful for over the past few weeks:

Cute colored mugs to tote along to chilly soccer games &

the soccer games themselves....Joe, Jaysen & Julia have played great games and it's been a wonderful season!!

Country roads and fall foliage!  I can't take enough pictures of the landscape of fall....nature is a beautiful canvas!

Studying His word daily.  Something that I've struggled with over the years and have finally overcome!  Spending quiet time with Him every morning is a gift not a chore!

His morning light, fresh and new every day, like His mercies!  His faithful gift to me!

Service!  Pulling together clothing to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy!  Our youth group FILLED the back of our Suburban with bags of clothing!!!

This girl.....not so little anymore!!  Watching her grow and learn each and every day!!

Firsts.....her first roller skating party, first time on skates!!  She loved it!!

Bold new haircuts & my momma!!!  Thankful that she is still willing, after all these years, to cut my hair!!

Warm, cozy fires, cuddled on the couch with my people, feeling very full and blessed!!

Working together, as a team!!  Hosting the holiday meals gives us a chance to shine....we all pull together and take part in every aspect of preparation!

Gorgeous flowers still growing at the end of November!  A true gift!!

Pumpkin Pie!  Nuff said!

A place to gather.....friends, loved ones, memories

Warm slippers, winter jammies, hot chocolate, ending the day with the people that I love the most

Never ending Uno & the fact that I was not playing :)

Youth Ministry!!  So thankful for the opportunity to work with our youth!  This group is part of our student leadership team - having the chance to walk along side them and help them discover who God calls them to be is such an honor!

Serving with the youth!  Saturday evening we went across the bridge into Delaware and served at The Sunday Breakfast Mission.  They offer a ton of resources to the needy, including free meals.

 

Being connected across the miles <3 

And the chance to sing praises and prepare for the celebration of His birth! One week until the offical start of Advent! 

 

So, friends, what are you thankful for?  How do you mark the days until the day of His birth?  Come grab a seat and tell me about it!!  I'd love to hear from you!!

 

God bless,

Lorraine