Being Bold

After so long of talking about getting together with the other ladies of my congregation, I've decided to start up a ladies' Bible study group. The plan is to meet once a month for fellowship and study. Pray we are successful and lives are changed/improved/enhanced!

Someone prayed for patience...

Someone must have prayed that I have patience, because I'm struggling. Brian and I are officially looking for our forever home! Hopefully by this fall we will be the newest farmers in Coffee County. :)

Prayers for endurance, our perfect home, and a buyer for our house are appreciated.

You're Gonna Miss This

I dream of a small farm outlined by a split rail fence with daffodils smiling in the fence line. A long driveway leads to our house near the back of the property. Blackberry bushes full of fruit (and not stickers :) ) are at the edge of the woods, where a creek trickles through.  And of course a huge garden would be planted in an open field, to be tended by the kids and me.

Picturesque southern life, right? This dream is still several years away, though. Land where we live is expensive so we are saving to find the place for our dream to come true. Some days I find myself wishing we were there NOW, not 10 years in the future. At times I go into our guest bedroom and imagine how I would rearrange furniture for a nursery.

Then I think back on my life and realize just how quickly time passes. I began my senior year of college four years ago this past week. FOUR years! If I had gone to PA school (yikes!) I would be graduated and working right now. Whoa, baby. Where is my life going? I'm only halfway through my twenty-fifth year (and my twenties, for that matter. Next year I can say I'm in my late twenties.), but I appreciate time so. much.

Let me clarify: I've always known how quickly time flies by. I have often had to remind myself to slow down, enjoy the days, and stop wishing life away.  I miss college life so much and those are days I will never get back. In 10 years when I, Lord willing, have two or three kiddos, I will have days when I would give anything for the easy-peasy life I'm living now. (Hubby fully appreciates this!)

I enjoy sleeping in on my days off. I enjoy staying up late being goofy with my husband and (mostly) bouncing back quickly--and when I don't, I can take an afternoon nap! I enjoy being able to go to the grocery store in under 30 minutes without having to wrangle babies and bags. I enjoy spur-of-the-moment milkshakes after 8 pm with Hubby and not having to find a sitter.  Based on how much I miss the community and comradarie of college, I KNOW I will miss these simple pleasures.

Yes, I want to be a mother more than just about anything. My children will wear matching monogrammed smocked outfits. (Have I mentioned I dream of the perfect Southern life?)  But, and its a big but, I'm definitely enjoying the ride until that day comes.

So to the high school girl who feels like there's a bigger world outside her hometown: there is, but enjoy the pep rallies and easy homework. Soak up those childhood friendships. Enjoy this time while it lasts. P.S. Mom and dad are right. About everything.

To the college girl who's ready to graduate and find a job and get married: enjoy living with your girls, your free gym membership, and Tuesdays and Thursdays with only one class. The real world is tough. Health insurance, house hunting, and taxes are the worst.

And to the young wife who is letting the "when are you having kids?" question get to her: if you're not ready, don't feel bad saying so. Be honest that you love kid free time with your husband. You married him because you love him and like his company. Relish it.

I'm only 25; I've got a whole life ahead of me. Hopefully it's full of more late night Sonic runs. ;)

Post coming soon...

I think my gluten free lifestyle may be affecting me quicker than I thought... I was sick all day Monday after eating quite a lot of bread over the weekend. Sad day. Fortunately I haven't had headaches since cutting gluten and sugar, but the vomiting was no bueno. Perhaps it was one of those 24 hour bugs, but I'll be more mindful of how much wheat I consume in the future, just in case. That being said, I didn't get a new post written Monday, so I'll share later in the week.

Stay classy, San Diego.

A Study in Grace, Post 2: Separation from God

Scene: After a long period of Egyptian slavery, God delivered the Israelites. Three months later our weary sojourners are encamped at the base of Mount Sinai.  Moses left them to go upon the mountain to receive God's instructions and commandments.  One of these commands is to have no other gods before the one true God.  Moses ascends Mount Sinai again, this time for forty days. During this brief time, scripture says that the Israelites gave up on Moses, "not knowing what had become of him," and decided to make their own gods. Enter brother Aaron to the rescue. "Give me your gold jewelry," he said, "and I will make a new god." Aaron fashioned a calf of gold and declared:

"This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" Exo. 32:4, NKJV

The people of Israel were so happy and pleased with their new god and danced and sang their praises to it. Remember that this was less than six months after God performed many miracles and saved the people from Egyptian bondage. How could their faith be so weak? Meanwhile, Moses and Joshua heard the great commotion and came down from the mountain. (Cue Moses breaking the stone tablets with God's commandments.) After Aaron explained what had happened, God instructed Moses to consecrate the people: about 3,000 men died that day. Moses went to God and begged His grace.  Moses was so afraid that God would wipe out all the Israelites.  He even bargained with his own soul, saying that if God could not forgive the people, to blot his name out the book of life. As punishment, God said that the people had to leave the mountainside and continue on the land flowing of milk and honey, but He would leave their presence. What a wake up call. God had been with them in a cloud by day and fire by night since they escaped Egypt. Oh, how the people were grieved at this news! Again, and not for the last time, Moses begged God to change His mind. God told Moses,

"I will also do this thing you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight and I know you by name." Exo. 33:17, NKJV

The fate of a people was decided again due to one man and God's magnificent grace. God had just commanded that they were to not have any other gods before Him, but they disobeyed. Even though the people had turned their backs on Him, God would continue in their presence and lead them home.

Sin separates us from fellowship with God. The Israelites were to be literally separated from God's presence and left in the wilderness alone.  We all sin and we are all separated from God due to our sin. But through the precious gift of Jesus's sacrifice, we find grace in God's eyes.  We don't need an official intercessor like Moses to "go upon the mountain" to beg God each time we sin.

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence," Eph. 1:7-8, NKJV

How bleak and depressing is the thought of being separated from God! The Israelites understood that meant no guidance from the Father, and the peace that comes with being in His presence. Because God knew Moses by name and found grace in him, He chose to extend that grace to the people. Christ's one-time offering saves us and allows us back into fellowship with our Father. Even though we will continue to fail Him, God's grace and forgiveness is abundant. As long as we keep Him first and are truly repentant, we can have hope to not be separated from Him.  The road to heaven is a long, difficult journey, but God's grace is never ending.

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Cor. 9:15, NKJV

A Study in Grace, Post 1: A Boatload of Grace

Grace has been defined as "unmerited favor." This means even though we are not worthy, God has provided us with the greatest gift--the salvation of our souls. Did you know the first time grace appears in the Bible is in reference to Noah? If you did (or now that you know) have you thought about why that is the first mention of grace? Perhaps because this is the point when things had gotten so out of hand that God's mercy was necessary? Let's review the scripture:

"The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry I have made them.""     Gen. 6:5-7, NKJV

Most of us know this part of history inside out, but do we fully grasp the emphasis of this passage? Things must have been REALLY rough at this point in time. It had only been 1,656 years since God created the world and everything in it, and He was already grieved with His creation. In the beginning, God saw that His creation was good. Parents and grandparents are so proud of their children, they will show endless pictures and share stories, saying, "Look at this wonderful thing I made!" At first God was proud of what He had made, but at this point He was so sick and fed up with man's wickedness that He was ready to completely destroy His brand new creation! Parents surely get aggravated with their children, but never to this point. You can picture God sitting back like a frustrated parent, sighing, ready to give up. His patience had nearly run out.** But wait! He opened His eyes to look at His children again, and saw a righteous man.

"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Gen. 6:8, NKJV

Here's where we get to that point about God's mercy and favor. Even though the world was so vile, so corrupt, so lost, there was one man who found grace in God's eyes. Think about what this meant! The destruction of God's created world was stopped because He found one righteous man.

The account of Noah ties in with our own salvation today. Yes, God showed Noah and his family grace, but He also gave them instructions on how to obtain their salvation. God said, "Okay, Noah, I am extending my mercy to you, but you've got to prepare the lifeboat yourself and make sure you're on it when the rains come." Today, we don't need to build a huge boat to save us from impending doom but like Noah, we are also saved through action.

"that He might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an anti-type which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, " 1 Pet. 3:18-21, NKJV

I am so thankful Noah found God's grace and the world was saved so many years ago, and even moreso that God extends that grace to me!

"not by the works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us abundantly through Christ Jesus our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:5-7, NKJV 

Did you catch that last part? Through God's abundant grace, we are made joint heirs with Christ to the kingdom of heaven. Thank you, Lord, for your AMAZING grace!


**Side note: Can you fathom God's patience with the Israelites throughout the Old Testament after He had spared the world from destruction and they continued over and over to fall away from Him? More on this thought in later studies. 

Oh, hey there, blog

It's been nearly two years since I've blogged. Whoa, baby! A lot has happened since then! Shortly after my last post I started working at a pain management clinic as a specimen processor and continued there through July of last year. That placement ended and I was distressed the rest of the summer, but it gave me time to work on my first garden and become acquainted with a sewing machine. :-)

In September I was introduced to the idea of taking over as director of my congregation's Mothers' Day Out program (Tuesday/Thursday School) and I've been working there since the last week of September 2014. It has been so much fun working with the children and their families and it is such a good mission work. Brian still enjoys his job at Bridgestone. We have been on a few trips to Texas to visit his grandpa. Our youngest nephew has encountered some health issues requiring an eventual transplant, but that's a post for another day.

In March, I also began assisting our realtor and friend, Dana. This job doesn't even feel like a job! I am very blessed and happy. I'm not using my degree and bring in very little income, but it helps and I stay busy and useful. What more could a girl ask for? Sure, all my college friends have fancy jobs, or will after graduate school, but I am content.

I've had an on and off relationship this year with Paleo, but I've decided to try a new approach. Instead of completely grain-free, I'm going to try gluten free and no sugar. I know I'm addicted to sugar, so I've started the Fed Up 10 day challenge: no sugar added, including the 56 other names/types of sugar, except for naturally occurring sugars in fruits and veggies. We'll see how this goes... Hopefully with me kicking my sugar addiction and eating sweets only at birthdays and very special days. I'm on day 2 and will update later in the week.

Cheers!

Simple Instructions

We are taught through Scripture that there are certain requirements for many things, from salvation to proper worship. Another of God's "game plans" is the qualities of a sound church found in the second chapter of the book of Titus. What we find here can also simply be used as instructions for life. Paul addresses older men, older women, younger men, younger women, and servants. No age group or station is left out. We frequently refer to this passage to point out that the older women are to teach the younger women in the church (Titus 2:3-5). Since I am a young woman, I will also focus on these verses.

"the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,  to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." Titus 2:3-5, NKJV

The older women, who have been around for awhile, should give instruction to the younger women. It's just plain common sense. First, Paul says that they should be "reverent" and "not slanderers." This shows that the women lead by example--if I see Grandma being disrespectful and gossiping all day to her friends, what does that lead me to think? Perhaps that doing the same must be okay if Grandma is? Can I get a "God forbid!"?

Paul wrote to Titus to have the older women teach the younger women "good things." In today's increasingly sinful society, these teachings are labeled "dated," "archaic," and "absurd." If my God told Paul that women in the first century needed to follow these teachings, they are fully applicable today. God's Word is Truth and unwavering yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

I believe that it was with purpose that Paul says "love their husbands" before "love their children." All too often women place their children above their husbands. This is not God's plan. First and foremost we are to love God, but in second place is our husbands. Not our children. The children will one day grow up and leave the home (hopefully as Christians themselves). The older women, having experienced this, should tell the younger women if they spend 20+ years focusing on only the children, they will be left with a stranger in the home once the kids leave. Young wives, love your husbands first.

The older women should also teach the younger women to be discreet and chaste. Discretion involves behaving and speaking in such a way that private information is not revealed. This goes and in hand with modesty. Our bodies are very much private information that we do not want shared with everyone! Women (and men) should dress and speak discreetly, so as not to be a stumbling block to others. Today, the ideas of modesty and chastity have flown out the window. Again, God's teachings were not intended just for the immediate hearers of the word, but for all mankind, for all ages. Ladies, be careful how you dress. Be mindful of how you speak.

Paul also wrote that the young women are to be good, homemakers, and obedient to their husbands. Submission is frequently misunderstood; it does not mean suppression. We are to honor our husbands in the same manner that the church honors and respects the Lord. Several additional passages on this topic are: Ephesians 5:22-24, 1 Corinthians 11:3,8, 1 Peter 3:1-2, and Colossians 3:18.

In the last clause of our opening scripture, Paul explains that the young women are to do all these things so "that the word of God may not be blasphemed." Many times we are the only Bible that the world reads. We should be careful of how we speak, behave, and dress. I think Peter said it best, "that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear." 1 Pet. 3:1-2, NKJV

Be reverent. Love your husband. Love your children. Be discreet. Be good.

Try following those instructions and I think most sins can be avoided and more souls can be saved. It's really that simple.

Living out of Suitcases

Since the government is behind on processing Rural Development loans, we will not be closing on our loan until June 12-14.  So although we have moved out of Tech Village, we are technically homeless. Friday night through today we stayed with Brian's aunt and uncle. Today we moved into Brian's old bedroom at his parents' house. We will be living out of our suitcases until next week. Brian has had to drive over an hour to and from work everyday for the past three-and-a-half weeks, so he will be very happy to finally be moved into our house. I have already begun planning various projects to occupy my time, including making wreaths, stripping and re-staining furniture, and soap making. I'm excited to have room to take up hobbies again! Our realtor keeps telling me that once we are settled in and have lived there for a while, this will have just been a slight speed bump. In the grand scheme of things, she's right. Many people live in even less appealing circumstances than old Tech Village, so I'm very grateful that we have this pretty house to look forward to. This has been a much needed lesson in patience and counting one's blessings. We are healthy and happy, so all is well.

**This weekend is our one year anniversary! Hopefully our cake will still be scrumptious :)

House Update

Thursday we got a call from our loan officer saying that the loan underwriter needs Brian's official 40-hour week paystub at Bridgestone. Salary employees at the Stone get paid the 15th and end of the month, so we won't be closing until June. It has been a very sad few days at the Gunter home. Hopefully everything will work out and we can get our stuff into the house before we close. We have to be out of our apartment by the 31st of May so we are going to be homeless for a little while! Thank goodness for friends and family who have already offered to take us in. I will be fine with living out of boxes for a week or so, as long as we get all of our furniture secured somewhere. This may mean renting a storage facility, but we'll get through it. Just a few more weeks and we'll be all settled in and this will just have been a slight hiccough in our process. Prayers and support are greatly appreciated!

*On another moving note, my college roomie/MOH and her hubby should be landing in about an hour on St. Kitts to begin their Caribbean vet school adventure. Prayers for safe travel and easy settling-in for them as well. Shameless plug for her blog: http://chesnuthouse.wordpress.com/ *

Older and Wiser

If someone from the present had told the high school me how my life in 2013 would be, I wouldn't have believed them.

Everything was planned to a "T." I was going to TN Tech, then to either Vanderbilt or the University of Kentucky to medical school. I would meet my future husband in college, or even med school, since I was so studious and not interested in settling down soon. I also had a back-up plan, that if I didn't get married out of college, I would do lots and lots and lots of medical missions. I don't really remember where I planned to live, but I was keen on going to TPAC at least once a month to catch a show. Life would be perfect.

Then I was accepted into the Tennessee Governor's School program and met the little town of Martin, TN. A friend turned into more than a friend and we began dating. A professor told me that realistically only 2 or 3 of my classmates would get accepted to medical school, and I realized that he was right. Life was not going to be as I had originally planned. So I made new plans, trying to make the world fit my expectations (because a nineteen-year-old can make the universe do her bidding).

Classes were increasingly more difficult, I realized I wasn't the smartest kid in school, and a lifetime with my boyfriend, who became my fiance, seemed much happier than working myself to death to become a doctor. I explored other options, toying with the idea of becoming a physician's assistant, but that wasn't right either. My senior year of college I was academically devastated. I was miserable in my major, my grades were unmentionable, and there was no career in sight. After all the years of scheming and heartache, something clicked in my head and I finally understood I cannot rely on my plans. I've heard a saying that if you want to hear God laugh, to tell Him your plans. That's what I had been doing my entire life.

I learned that if I work hard, try to take care of myself and Brian, and have a sure faith, I will be provided for. I don't have the highest paying job in the world, but it has been an amazing experience and will ultimately help me reach other career goals. I don't know what is next for my life but I cannot compare myself to friends and classmates who are fulfilling their plans and dreams. It isn't healthy and only makes me more upset, more stressed, and less fulfilled. Perhaps my latest idea to become a lab technician is actually what I'm meant to do, but maybe it's not. Only He knows.

What I do know at the ripe old age of twenty-three, is that I have to trust the Master. I am still very young and I have an entire life to learn and grow. I have learned that mistakes, missed opportunities, and broken plans lead to maturity and wisdom. Here's to tossing my plans out the window and trusting that God will see me home.

"Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil."--Proverbs 3:7, ESV

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."--James 1:5, ESV

Moving on Up!

I am very excited to announce that in 23 days (or less!) we Gunters are closing on our first home! :D

Our apartment hunting experience in McMinnville was DREADFUL and I was so afraid we weren't going to find housing. We started the process during Brian's spring break, giving us about 8 weeks until graduation to find somewhere to live. Needless to say, I was beginning to become distressed. That weekend both sets of our parents suggested buying a home.

Buy a house? We don't have enough money to buy a house! Or so I thought...

After thinking about it and looking online at homes, I drove out to Manchester with my mother-in-law to look at one last apartment complex then at some houses that had sparked my interest. I fell in love with two houses: a fixer-upper whose structural bones are exactly what I want in a house and a perfect house that had a hot tub on the back porch! [I know it had a hot tub because I climbed up on the porch to look ;) Don't judge me; I got a splinter for my efforts.]

After lunch we met our realtor, who is Brian's boss's wife! She is awesome and has been so helpful throughout this whole process. During our meeting I found out both homes I liked were off the market; the perfect one had sold the day before. I was a little bummed for a few days because I couldn't find any other homes that I liked that were in our price range. I trimmed down the list of homes Dana (our realtor) had sent me in our price range, then gave the shorter list to Brian. While I was looking at them, I noticed that one of the MLS listing numbers ended in "0609," which is our wedding anniversary! I didn't say anything about the coincidence and I actually didn't give the particular house much thought, because I was still upset about the loss of the other houses.

We compared the four or five houses, thought them over, then called Dana for a viewing appointment. Two houses were basically move-in-ready and two needed some work done (new carpet, wallpaper removed, that kind of thing.) Brian gave me his order of preference, which differed from mine just a bit, but his number one choice was the house with the listing ending with 0609. I couldn't help but think it was fate and we were supposed to end up in that house.

Two days before we were supposed to go view the houses, Dana called me and said that three, not one or two, but THREE of the houses we liked were off the market. What was with our luck? But, the remaining house was the ---0609 listing. Once again, I thought the powers-at-be were at work. She had a couple of others for us to look at, so we wouldn't just have one house to view.

The ---0609 house we viewed first. I loved it... but I didn't want to get too attached due to my prior experience with falling in love with houses.  I wasn't really "feeling it" when we saw the other two homes so we decided to go back to the first house. Dana said she heard me sigh when we walked back in. As we went through the rooms again, I was mentally placing our furniture and even thought about where the Christmas tree would go.

Thirty minutes later we were at Dana's office writing up the contract to send to the owners of the house. I had to be at work that afternoon so we went through the paperwork rather quickly and we were headed back to Cookeville. We stopped in McMinnville for lunch and about five minutes after we were back on the road, my phone rang. The owners had verbally accepted our offer!!

We viewed houses on Good Friday, so the banks were closed and I had to get the loan paperwork started the following Monday. Our loan officer is great, also! Thank goodness for Rural Development loans which are geared for first time home buyers--no down payment, 30 years, with 3.5% fixed interest rate! Brian had class so I took all the paperwork home with me, he signed everything, and we sent it back to the bank. Friday (4/5) we had our home inspection and everything is perfect! We have everything finished on our end and are waiting on the underwriters. Our set closing date is May 2, but there is a chance they can finish before then since everything is done! I cannot wait to start painting and move all of our things to the house. We plan on moving in the night of Brian's graduation, Saturday, May 11. Happy days!

♥ Happy 10 months of marriage to us today! :)

The Joys of Renting an Apartment

Last week Brian had an interview with Bridgestone and was given an offer...apparently one he couldn't refuse! So, we are moving to McMinnville! (Or Manchester or Morrison, but regardless, we're moving!) We plan on buying about five acres of land and building our dream home, complete with as Brian says, "wrap around porch and floppy ear'd dog." I have been planning and scheming and dreaming for our new home. While doing so I thought of a rather extensive list of things I'm definitely not going to miss about renting. Enjoy.

What I'm Not Going To Miss About Tech Village/Renting:

• mold that never seems to stop growing from the bathroom ceiling
• the annoying bathroom fan that is wired to the light switch (meaning I canNOT turn it off)
• the equally annoyingly loud refrigerator
• the broken door handle on the refrigerator
• the pool of water that constantly builds up in the refrigerator
• the refrigerator
• cinder. block. walls. ... seriously.
• ridiculous electric bill in the summer due to said cinder block walls
• no insulation
• tile floors
• the super janky laundry room with its less-than-satisfactory washers
• laundry room idiots
• the sketchiest and most unreliable Internet access ever
• no overhead lights in the living room
• poor lighting everywhere else
• one electric outlet per room
• the front door that never wants to close 
• unlocking the front door is more difficult than Frodo destroying the Ring
• the only TV channels are the major networks, G4, MTVU, VH1, and an obscure sports channel
• four square feet of counter space (technically not even that much-the space is 23x22 inches)
• the baby stove
• and many more random little "perks"

However, there are a few good things about our first year of marriage here, but we'll get into those at another time. :)

October

The first week of October, I had "associate on-boarding" at Bath and Body Works. I am a seasonal temp worker at the Cookeville BBW! Including my training days I have worked four days total and I don't think I've done too much damage. I'm doing fairly well at my first EVER job. It only took me twenty-two years on God's beautiful earth for me to land my first job, but here we are.  I think I will like it pretty well. I am getting faster at ringing people up at the cash wrap and I'm gaining more confidence to approach customers and provide them with assistance. I found out this morning that I did make a pretty big boo-boo yesterday but I won't find out how mad they are at me until my next work day (I was off today!) I'm glad I'm gaining some experience so that whenever Brian graduates and we move, I will have something besides education on my resume. It's all about making yourself look better, right? Haha! Even though I've only technically worked two days, I think this will be a fun job. It's not something I'd want to do forever but it's definitely okay for now. I wouldn't mind working there until May, but they aren't looking to hire people after Christmas. Bummer.

This past weekend the whole Gunter family trekked up the mountains to a cabin above Pigeon Forge.  There is no possible way Brian or I could have driven one of our cars! The drive was so steep and gravelly! The view was pretty awesome. I wish more of the trees in my line of sight were in their full fall spectacular, but it was still amazing. The only downfall of the weekend was the cockroach invasion! My sister-in-law was ready to leave the place Saturday morning, so Jordan, Rhonda, Jaren, Brian and I went down the mountain (less scary in the daylight) to Pigeon Forge proper and had some fun on the go-carts. Go-carts are fun if you get a fast one, but not so much when your car is the absolute slowest one on the planet. I am not kidding. Brian and I rode together and Jordan and Jaren rode together and they nearly lapped us our car was so slow. I guess that was karma for Brian having the fastest when we drove singles ;)

Here are a few more pictures from the photo challenge. Since I haven't updated, I did several to catch up.

2. Pure White--my work shirts

3. Smile--a favorite photo on nightstand

4. Hat--from a raffle at UTM

 

5. Love--Our marriage certificate

6. Indulgence--pizza gone

7. Diva

8. Flowers

9. Postcard

Photo Challenge

Long time, no post... I remember sitting down at the computer the first of August to write, but I had nothing new to say. Each day is a blessing, but if it weren't for church service and Brian going to school, I'd have nothing to break up the monotony. I've been somewhat busy planning my parents' not-such-a-surprise 25th anniversary party. It's next Sunday and I'm pretty excited for my first real experience as a hostess. Next weekend is Jon and Jessi's wedding in which I'm honored to be a bridesmaid. They have been together forever it seems and I'm so happy for them that they are finally tying the knot! After their wedding, I should be off bridesmaid duty for quite a while, so that's a relief, haha! 
In other news, today marks 37 days until fall break, when the Gunter family is going to Pigeon Forge!

With all that out of the way, I'll get to the meat of the post. Since I don't have any knowledge or hilarity to share, I'm going to do a photography challenge. I've been doing photo-a-day challenges on Instagram with my iPod Touch, but I'd like to also get some practice in with my Canon. The challenge I'm going to try first comes from  divasanddreamsblog.com. I found it on *drum roll please* Pinterest! I won't do a daily post, but I'll try to do at least 1-2 per week. As pictured below, #1 is "high heels." Enjoy!

 

 

#1: High Heels

Hey, Good Lookin'

"Whatchya got cookin'?"

For as long as I can remember, I have always felt the need to be in the kitchen creating things.  When I was younger I would beg my mother and grandmother to let me watch them as they cooked and baked.  In high school I got to do a little bit of the cooking to help Momma with the household duties.  This came in handy in college at the COCSC where several of my comrades told me I was a good cook. Didn't hurt in snagging my man, either, ;)

I follow the idea of great chef Gusteau from the Disney movie Ratatouille, "Anyone can cook." The elaborate, exquiste dishes that can be tasted at high class restaurants may challenging to create for a less talented person, but other than that, I believe that given a recipe and the proper ingredients, tools, and patience, a delicious meal will result.  --Aside on the recipe statement: I don't always measure everything precisely with a spoon, cup, etc. I like to "eye ball it" as Rachael Ray says. Some people I know, ahem husband and old roomie, are so meticulous with measurements it almost drives me crazy, haha! Back to the point... So, if you tell me, 'Oh, this is great! You're a good cook!' I'll most likely reply with, 'Thanks, but it's not hard. You just follow the recipe.'

However, I do enjoy cooking quite a bit, and more than that, EATING. Hence the previous post of the diet. It's been so hard to not eat everything in the cabinets. Pinterest doesn't help either. I've pinned so many scrumptious-looking goodies that I plan on making for family get-togethers and church potlucks. The problem is I want to make them now. So I have. Fortunately, though, I decided to experiment with some recipes that look healthier than most.  The wonderfully talented Chocolate Covered Katie has a blue million recipes but I chose to make one of her baked oatmeal recipes, Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal Bars! (found here) I mulitplied the recipe by 4 in hopes that I'd like it and to eat them this week for breakfast. Verdict? They're very yummy and only about 200 calories! I hadn't eaten yet today when I tried one, but when I did I wasn't hungry anymore. I see these becoming a regular on the breakfast menu. I plan on widening my tastes and trying the other varieties, as well.

I also decided to go ahead and cook my supper for this week and I found some ways to spruce up chicken. Garlic-brown sugar, BBQ with a little extra flavor, and lemon pepper. I think I'll pair a piece of chicken with rice and veggies or a salad. I'm excited!

Aren't they beautiful? And so good!

Finding Opened Windows

Last night, I finally heard back from the company with which I interviewed.  Apparently it was a "hard decision" but they chose the person they wanted to hire, and it's not me. Bummer. Once again I have found a path that God didn't want me to travel down.  I guess the endeavor of working every weekend for the next who-knows-how-long isn't right for me or my marriage right now. I had planned out all sorts of scenarios in my mind to settle my unease about being away from Brian on his only days off, but it still did not feel right. I would not be able to visit with any of my friends, my family, or go on a trip if I were to be hired in that job position.  On top of all those missed opportunities, I would not be able to attend Sunday morning worship and I guess that's not the best plan for us, either.  Even though this is yet another closed door on my journey to finding my career, there will be a window, somewhere, somehow. I've just got to trust that God will shine some light through that window, even if it's just slightly cracked open, and I'll be able to find it and jump through it. 

"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:28-31, KJV

The Gunters Go on a Diet

Hoorah. Right? Okay, so it's not really a diet diet just us deciding to eat better. We've been married a month (tomorrow) and the whole newlywed-whateverpounds isn't going to get the better of us.  The plan is to enjoy a wonderfully monotonous diet. For Brian a little more monotonous than me, but it goes a little something like this: Breakfast, oats. Lunch, fish and rice (yum!). Supper, meat slop.
WHAT??!? SLOP? What are we, pigs? No, but this stuff is actually okay. The first batch's spices aren't my favorite so I'll let Brian enjoy it all to himself, but I think we'll have to experiment with next week's batch so I can get on this. What is "meat slop" you say? It's a recipe that a friend of ours found on the interwebz. If you want to go to the actual post, I'll provide the link here but if you are offended by some crude language, I'd just keep reading my post :)

What we put in our first batch of meat slop: (and I really need to come up with another name for this!)
2 pounds of lean ground beef (the 93/7 from Wal*Mart)
1 head of red cabbage
1 red onion
2-12 ounce cans of tomato paste
1 can of mushroom pieces (yucky!)
approx. 1 cup water (enough so that it doesn't burn while cooking)
tumeric
red curry
black pepper
Cayenne pepper
garlic
chili seasoning

Finely chop all the veggies, break up the beef, and throw it in a big ole pot.

It looked like this:

Let that cook on low-medium heat for about 30 minutes. It smells really awesome, but I don't like the taste of tumeric or mushrooms. I think it would be awesome with tomatoes and some Italian type seasoning, maybe even get a Mexican vibe with some Ro-tel. This big pot we divided into 7 1-2/3 cups servings that look like this:

The best part about this slop is that it will fill you up due to the bulky cabbage and that it is super cheap! Burger: $5 + Onion: $2 +  Cabbage: $2 + Tomato Paste: $2 + Mushrooms: $1 + Random spices: on hand = $12, or $1.71 per supper meal for the week! This is awesome news! Additional bonus: I don't have to cook! This is SO easy: throw some veggies in a food processor, simmer in a pot for 30 minutes, and BOOM: seven meals. Hoorah!

All of this manly man food made me want something sweet, so I got out my handy dandy strawberries and had a snack. They're even better dipped in melted almond bark :)

Happy eating! :)

Waiting...

...is the hardest part.

Re-post from September, 15, 2011

It Doesn't Get Easier...

...coping with someone you've lost. Or it hasn't yet. There are so many things in my life that I wish I could share with my Grandpa. Prom. High school graduation. College achievements. Mission work. College graduation. My wedding.
 His funeral was the first day of homecoming week my junior year of high school. I will never forget that day. It was "twin day" and my best friends wondered why I didn't wear what we had planned. We were so busy with arrangements and such I guess I wasn't able to tell them the funeral was so soon. He passed away early Saturday morning; visitation was Sunday and Monday morning and the funeral Monday afternoon. I didn't want to be at the funeral home all day (and wanted to keep my perfect attendance track record) so mom picked me up at 11. That day was the first (and last, at this point in time) time I saw my father cry.