Eat More Chicken!

Today for lunch I headed for Chick-fil-a. I had to run a few secret birthday errands for some guy I love that is about to turn 24 so instead of running home for lunch like I normally do I stopped by for some chicken. Now here is my lifelong dilemma... EVERY TIME I go to Chick-fil-a I can never decide if I want a chicken sandwich or a kid's meal with chicken nuggets. I know this is silly, but I always start getting nervous about my decision in the car and then when I walk inside I stand there for 5 minutes with a confused look upon my face as I try to decide. They ask, "Can I help you?" and I think, "No. I have to learn to make this decision on my own." The chicken sandwich is my original Chick-fil-a love. I love the whole chicken-bun-mayo combination that is so much better than any other fast food place. But getting a chicken sandwich meal is way to much food for me and makes me full to full and sleepy in the afternoon. Of course, I have to get a meal in order to get the wonderful waffle fries and a Diet Coke. Normally at a restaurant I only eat half my food and take the left overs home for the next day, but a chicken sandwich meal isn't actually enough food to do that, it's just too much to eat at once. And wasting it is out of the question. Then on the agreement side of the chicken nuggets.... I like the big kids meal that gives you 6 instead of 4. And it's a few dollars cheaper than then sandwich meal. I don't need a big size drink because I never drink that much soda. Plus you get a toy! And Chick-fil-a gives out books that I like to get, even though I'm not teaching anymore. (They were the cute "If you give a mouse a cookie" books too). Oh... so many things to consider.

In the end, I went with the kids 6 piece nugget meal. It was a good amount of food, and it was cheaper, but I did kinda miss the sandwich. I think they need to start selling tiny chicken sandwiches on the kid's menu- that would be the best of both worlds!

Date Night!

Friday night my wonderful husband planned a date night for us. I wanted to blog about it and make a big deal because he really took the time to plan out a fun evening. In our relationship I am more naturally the planner and usually enjoy deciding what to do. It was really nice to have him plan the whole evening and let me just be surprised! I even got dressed up and wore my wedding shoes!

For dinner we went to eat at Kobeya Japanese restaurant in Southlake. It is a hibachi grill where the cooks make the food right in front of you. This is the chef making us a "Japanese egg-roll." Oh this joke kills me every time they do it! I love a funny chef!

It is very entertaining to watch the light the stove on fire! Glad its them cooking and not me!

Our food was amazing and afterward we walked around Southlake Town Square just looking at fun things. Ryan did a great job planning our date night!

It's the Great Pumpkin!

Happy Eve of Fall friends! To celebrate the onset of this wonderful season I decided that it would be the perfect day to stop by Starbucks on the way home and get a Pumpkin Spice Frappaccino! They only sell these drinks seasonally so its probably been about a year since I last had one. I LOVE PUMPKIN. I love it in a frappaccino. I love it in a pie. I love it in a cheesecake. It is such a delicious flavor. Especially when mixed with cinnamon or other fall spices. I probably would not love plain pumpkin. Growing up my mom made THE BEST pumpkin pies and ever since then I've been hooked. I tried to make my own last Thanksgiving but it failed compared to hers. (Though that was party due to my slanted oven racks. Thank you 1970's apartment). I also love pumpkin spice candles and fall decor. But do you know what is even more wonderful than pumpkin scents and flavors????????
The thing that started it all...... the PUMPKIN!!!!! I have been on the lookout for pumpkins at Walmart for a few weeks. Today in honor of my wonderful pumpkin frappaccino I decided to stop by Walmart to see if by chance the got a pumpkin delivery- and it paid off! (I know what you're thinking, "Didn't I violate my own rule about only going to the store once a week?" Yes. I did. That's how important pumpkins are.) I was so joyful to see the large cardboard receptacle of pumpkins. I always look for one that is very round. I prefer a stem. I don't mind yucky side. That's just normal pumpkin growth.
My pumpkin was a little heavy so I called my husband to help me carry it upstairs. When I called him I gave him 3 hints about what I got. I said:
1. Its big.
2. Its round.
3. Its orange.

He immediately knew it was a pumpkin. That man is so smart. Then I made him take a picture of me preparing to be scared when one frightful evening my pumpkin becomes a jack-o-lantern.
Lastly I decorated our front porch for fall. I hope my neighbors appreciate this display every time they pass by. I like to think I have added a little bit of warmth to building 13. Maybe I will even inspire them to decorate. There is nothing more fabulous in fall than seeing neighbors come together to decorate with pumpkins. Last fall Ryan and I would play the pumpkin game in the car where you would get a point if you were the first one to see a pumpkin on somebody's porch.

As I was driving home today I thought to myself, I'll probably never be a farmer, but if I do, I want to farm pumpkins. It would be so beautiful to see a field of wonderful autumn orange pumpkins. Maybe someday.... Happy Fall!

The Gift of Time

If you're like me, you think about time alot. How much time will something take? Do I have enough time to get something done? What time do I need to wake up? For me time is something that I've always thought alot about and yet never seemed to have enough of. When I was teaching, I felt that I was always working and never had any time, but at the same time knew that I needed to put that time into my career so that my kids would do well. Was it worth it for my class? Yes. Was it hard? YES. I can honestly remember thinking, I'm so busy that I would give anything to have a little more time! (In the end I did this by giving up teaching so that I would have more time to help Ryan with youth and enjoy our lives!) One thing that I resolved to do early on in my adulthood is to only go to the grocery store once a week so that I don't spend more time than needed making multiple trips. Sometimes I forget to buy things that I need for the week, but 99% of the time I think, oh well!, and I make do. I've never starved as a result of this. I just find something different to eat.

Another area that I've always focused on is scheduling. My friend Ashley reminded me that once when I was young and stupid and focused on over busyness I said to her, "I work out. I go to class. I do homework. I don't have time for friends!" Oh, I'm so thankful that God shifted my perspective and that Ashley stuck around to be my friend anyway! Thanks Ash!

This past summer I felt was so wonderful because I was finally given the gift of time. Since I wasn't teaching and was going through the transition of moving...plus had some fun vacation time... I had about 3 months of free time. It wasn't completely free- I did do massive amounts of packing, unpacking, and had some scheduled things. But for the most part, I had time. It was AMAZING. I had time to read. I had time to cook. I had time to relax by the pool. I had time to be with friends and family that I love. I had time to spend studying my Bible, relishing in God's truth, and praying. It was like finally getting a chance to reprioritize and do what really mattered to me.

Summer finally had to come to an end, and I was blessed to get a great job. One thing that I already love so much about my job is that it still allows me to have some time! Yes, I go to work and have responsibilities, but my afternoon and nights and weekends are free to me to use for the things that I love and feel are so important. I love getting to sit and eat with my husband without feeling rushed. I love going to church events and not feeling like I have to rush home so that I can then rush to get the next thing done. Ironically sometimes I still get the instincts of an over busy person and I have to stop myself and realize that I don't have to live like that.

Please don't confuse my love of time with laziness. I definitely do not cherish laziness. I cherish allowing myself to let God fill my schedule in wonderful ways rather than forcing myself to preschedule every moment of my time. One way that God is doing this right now is through the book The Hour That Changed The World. Our church is studying this book as our pastor teaches Scripture that supports the ideas and our small groups discuss it and what it would look like to apply the ideas in our lives. Basically, the book is challenging us to gradually increase our prayer time to 60 minutes each day. WHAT? 60 minutes? That's a whole hour! .... That was my initial reaction. But even though it seems hard, I keep thinking about how God could use that time to change my heart and my relationship with Christ. (Also, all 60 minutes does not have to happen at the same time, and it can happen in natural ways, like when you're driving by yourself). I can testify that even on busy days, when I spend time with God, I don't regret it. I never walk away from a quite time thinking that it was a waste. Especially when I'm focused on seeking God and not just checking off a to-do list. I AM NOT saying that you have to spend 1 hour in prayer ever day to glorify God or be a Christian. However, it is a interesting idea that really makes me look at my perspective of time. My friend Lynne, who I met and did a Bible study with in Kenya, once said to me, " Kate, all of your time belongs to God anyway. Who are we to tell God that we can't give him part of it to spend just with Him?"

So I'll continue to pray about this. I don't think that if I spend 60 minutes praying it makes me good. And I promise that I don't think that if you don't it makes you bad. Lately, I've just been so thankful for time and I wanted to share this with whoever wanted to read it. So thanks for taking up a few minutes of your time to read this. :)

Whirly Ball

Picture this. A plastic whiffle ball comes flying at you in the air. You reach to get it with your small, plastic lacrosse stick. You catch it! You cruise at 2mph down the lane in your bumper car. You toss the ball up into the air with your stick and it hits the small 1 ft. scoring area of the scoreboard! Your teams wins! This is whirly ball.

Except for me it went more like this:
A plastic whiffle ball comes flying at you in the air. You hope that it doesn't hit you in the face when you try to catch it. You miss. You try to recover by scooping it up off the floor with your small, plastic lacrosse stick. You notice your stick is kind of broken. You try to cruise at 2mph but somehow keep getting stuck against a wall or in a corner. You helplessly shout for someone from your team to come give you a bump to get your car going again. They ignore you because you're not a true benefit to the team anyway. By chance you start moving again. By chance you actually get the ball. You throw it at the score board. You miss. So much for your one moment in time....

This posting is a little late, but about a week ago Ryan and I went to play whirlyball with Redeemer Student Ministries. Ryan, of course, played like a pro, much like the top description. I admire Ryan's athletic ability to excell in any sport, even if he's only played it 1 other time. I hope that one day our kids get this gift from him. Despite my awkwardness at the game, I did have a really fun time. After realizing how often I would get stuck when I tried to play the game intensely, I spent more time just enjoying driving the small bumper car around the magnetic rink. I like to imagine what driving would be like if we all drove bumper cars everywhere we went!

We were so happy that lots of our youth came out to play! We love our youth kids and enjoy any chance we get to hang out with them. It was a fun trip to Dallas and I hope everyone had a great time!

Offer me your hand, and I will give my heart...a tribute to Mr. and Mrs. Zack Morris

{Photo Credit} 

On our way home from church today, Ryan and I were talking about the dangers of paint balling. In passing I said, " I can't believe Zack and Slater went paint balling right before the wedding in Las Vegas." My husband is awesome, because he immediately knew that I was of course talking about the Saved by the Bell wedding of Zack and Kelly that premiered on NBC in 1994. He then tried to persuade me- wrongly- that they didn't not go paint balling. Well, no need to continue the debate- because we own the DVD of Saved by the Bell Wedding in Las Vegas! Yes. We own all of the Saved by the Bell seasons on DVD, except for the weird New Class that no one really cared about. So we quickly put the DVD in at home, despite the fact that football was on!

This is one thing I love about my husband. He enjoys watching and laughing at Saved by the Bell as much as I do! In fact, after we first met, he asked to be my friend on myspace and sent me a message commenting that he noticed that I had said in my profile that I watched the show. I responded by telling him that I was still looking for my Zack Morris. He commented back that he was also looking for his Kelly Kapowski. And there it was. The moment that I knew he was my soul mate!

I really do love that we can sit around and watch a cheesy old show and have so much fun together. He makes me laugh and is sometimes a crazy prankster. He is quite the charmer. He's my very own Zack Morris.

"Dunder Mifflin, This is Pam. "

{Photo Credit}

"Dunder Mifflin, This is Pam." Well, I love The Office so much that I've decided to follow in Pam Beasley's footsteps. Not really, but I did start my career as an administrative assistant today! Here is my story:
1. Back in March I decided that I would not be teaching this year. Ryan is the Director for Student Ministries at our church and I wanted the free time and flexibility to help him. I desire to spend time living life with the girls in our youth group. I also want time to reach out to our apartment community. And I want to have time to be in - AND ENJOY- our couple's Bible study And I help Ryan put together some of the administrative stuff related to youth. AND I want to be a happy wife. Therefore, we decided that I would not teach. Also because we were moving to Roanoke, so it didn't make since logistically for me to stay at my old elementary school, so I'd have to at least look for a different teaching job.
2. From March until now Ryan and I have both prayed that the Lord would give us wisdom for jobs. He needed another part time job to supplement his salary from the church. I knew that I probably needed to do something. I wasn't quite sure what. I was interested in doing administrative office work or maybe do something else for the school system besides being a full time classroom teacher.
3. We prayed and our families prayed and our church prayed and our friends prayed. God was listening- we're confident in this!- but it was a LONG season of waiting. We are so thankful for all of the prayers that were offered up for us and for learning how to be patient. Its not fun to learn to be patient, but it is good.
4. This past Thursday we finally came to the conclusion that we would both be "Professional Substitutes" and try to sub as many days as possible. For the first time in many months we felt a complete peace. We knew that we might have to draw from our savings sometimes for now, but that was something we finally gave over to God as we realized that we didn't need to hold on tightly to money (neither did we plan to be irresponsible).
5. Friday morning I got a call about a possible job from a family that had visited our church 2 weeks before.
6. I interviewed Saturday morning. I was interested and thought I would enjoy the job, but I was unsure because it was a full time schedule. I felt strongly that I should have some afternoon time to meet up with youth kids and others. I liked the job but wanted to use discernment so that I wouldn't end up in a pattern of over busyness.
7. The woman I interviewed with called me an hour later and offered for me to do the same job, but said they would be flexible so I could only work part time!!!!! The hours she offered were 8am-3pm.... exactly what I had prayed for!!! Wow. It is awesome to see how God had this planned and I didn't even know.

What I Do Now:
I started this morning. Today was a little different than normal because there were Internet/ printer problems. But basically I'll be doing some customer help, Internet stuff, making manuals, etc. All the fun office stuff you could ever imagine!!!!! The company creates and promotes professional development sessions for public companies. I work inside a small historic house that has been turned into an office in downtown Keller. I can't explain it very clearly but I am looking forward to learning how to do my job well! Thanks to everyone I've already talked to for all of the encouraging words!