12 for 12 April Update

Need a flashback to the 12 for 12 March Update?

Twelve for Twelve

1. Books.

I love seeing the books being scratched off of this To Read List here. The first week or so of April I ploughed through The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down, Book 2 by Neta Jackson, Scared by Tom Davis and Confronting the Controversy - Adam Hamilton. I'm still about half way through Forgotten God by Francis Chan and still only 6 chapters through So Long Insecurity (which I may have slightly misplaced). Thanks to the Junior High Girls, I also added in the Hunger Games trilogy. Here it goes!

2. 5K.

I skipped the Blue Bell 5K. All that non-training was useful at least. I ended up doing work outreach projects with the college students and some of the youth at my church. It was worth it. I put my 24 Hour Gym membership on hold. I may end up having 2 gym memberships which is a far cry from 2 that I started my semester with. I have gotten to work out some thanks to Pinterest! (The difficulty level of some of those pins is not a lie in case you were unsure.)

3. Quotes.

I have not written any quotes down in the month of April. I am still aware of where my notebook is though! That's definitely a plus. I did organize my Pinterest boards of pins. That's something, yeah?

4. Blog.

April was definitely slightly higher. I need to find a consistent way to blog. Also, I tend to write a ton of blog posts in my head. Remember that time I blogged about the 10 Best Things About My Week? No? What about that post on My Failed Pinterest Moment? No? Yeah... there's more where that came from that never made it online... Maybe May will be the month where blog posts translate out of my head onto here.

5. Create.
I'm not sure if I designed grad invites during April or March. Either way, they were designed! I'm feeling rather uncreative although I do know that I experimented with some Pinterest recipes like mozzarella, spinach and feta quesadillas, making my own avocado pesto sauce and trying my hand at recreating Kerbey Lane's Queso. Can you say yummy?

6. Learn.

I've been reading a ton about animals and psychology lately for some reason as well as learning firsthand about jewelry making and different metals. It's been fantastic. I'm kind of ready for a tangible skill to be learned though. Any ideas?

7. Minimize.

I started to go through my college room. That didn't get too far.

8. Gratefulness.

Yet again nada. Here's to hoping May may have some real thank you notes.

9. Handmade.

I'm not sure if I had any gifts that I made. I did come up with grad gift ideas and decided that I wasn't going to bother with homemade gifts for weddings. Seriously. How in the world would I make a homemade blender? That just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

10. Intentionality.

I think this month was about seeking out and trying to invest in a few key relationships. I'm happy with the outcomes. I had to take the initiative to set a friendship straight and work out some past kinks that haven't been able to. It's now better than ever. It's been a great month. I loved finally getting to see the Johnson's especially.

11. No.

I said the hugest 'No' that I have ever had to initiate. That is all.

12. Word.

God's timing is perfect, true and right. Although it was difficult, I'm glad he not only led me to but forced the book of Jonah on me thanks to Jr. High Breakthru 2012. I really need to step up my game on this whole Grand Sweep of the Bible though.

"Desk Area"

Here's what my "desk" looks like today:
 

 

 What's your desk area look like?

There Are No Words

This is how I'm feeling today.

It's National Grilled Cheese Day!

Y'all, it's the best holiday ever: National Grilled Cheese Day! Recently I have fallen in love with grilled cheese sandwiches. There's something about that oozy, gooey, cheesy goodness that's practically irresistible. 

I celebrated today with making a guacamole and grilled cheese sandwich. It may sound kind of weird. Trust me, once you taste it, you can't go back. So stinking good! 

Really, how can you not want to bite into that?

If you want to celebrate with concocting a grilled cheese sandwich for yourself, I suggest you go and grill it up! If you're not reading this on the actual holiday, celebrate the day in retrospect - it will taste just as yummy! Check out my Pinterest board There's Nothing Like a Grilled Cheese... to get some more tasty ideas. I know for a fact that the pesto, tomato and grilled cheese sandwich is worth it.

Really, there should be more holidays like this. When's Chips, Queso & Salsa Day? I'm ready to celebrate!

12 for 12 March Update

Remember the February Update? Haha. It was a few days ago...

Twelve for Twelve

1. Books.

If you've missed out on the amount of books I'm attempting to read, it is here. March was a good book. I was able to scratch off The Dating Book by Matt Lantz and Blue Like Jazz. I'm about half way through Forgotten God by Francis Chan. I'm still only 6 chapters through So Long Insecurity. I'm about 40% through The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down, Book 2 by Neta Jackson. It's great! 

2. 5K.

This was my big month of training to make the Blue Bell 5K in April. I have trained exactly zero days to be exact. Sunanda and I have been faithfully going to our Zumba classes, however, I was out of town for what seems to be half of the classes. I'm pretty sure that snorkeling counts as exercise for that week though, right? I had no idea it was that strenuous until we were out in the water. So glad I went though

3. Quotes.

I have not written any quotes down in the month of March. This one has gone on the back burner for sure.

4. Blog.

The 12 for 12 February Update was done a few days ago, a few days before March was over. I was hoping all of the updates would be done in the first week of the month. It kind of sets the pace for the month as new. Here's to hoping April is filled to the brim with blog posts!

5. Create.
I painted a little ceramic piece for my friend and prayer partner, Sam, at U Paint It. I attempted to make a bunny out of a bandana. I was a failure at that. There was a lot of traveling this month so I wasn't exactly able to sit down and do much 'creating'. I did create some grad invitations which allowed some creative juices to flow. I also did some filming of the Belize Documentary John made. I have yet to see it though.

6. Learn.

The Holy Spirit and I had some good chatting time. That's going to be left at that.

7. Minimize.

Taking bags to Goodwill has probably become one of my favorite things.

8. Gratefulness.

Nada. I stink at writing thank you notes.

9. Handmade.

No gifts, nothing to make.

10. Intentionality.

I definitely played a lot of Tiny Wings while having conversations with family members. I also was texting at times when I should have been enjoying the company of those I was around. On the up side, it was not nearly the amount that it used to be.

11. No.

I said no to a certain commitment one night and ended up at a Bible Study that was perfect for what  needed to hear that night. I'm still working on this one for the most part.

12. Word.

It's been a hard month. I'm not sure if what I'm hearing God saying is what he is really saying to me or not. It's been a hard month for sure.

12 for 12 February Update (Finally!)

It's a few days late... or weeks, but it's here (finally)!
Can you barely remember the January Update? Me too.

Twelve for Twelve

1. Books.

I've compiled the list of books I will be reading here. I'm about 17 pages away from finishing The Dating Book by Matt Lantz. I'm about 100 and so pages into Blue Like Jazz. I began Forgotten God by Francis Chan and am loving it. I'm also 6 chapters through So Long Insecurity which is a wonderful read. Really, go buy it if you haven't read that book yet.

2. 5K.

The Color Run in Austin was a lot muddier than I expected, but it was a blast! I'm definitely hoping on running it next year. I signed up for a 24 Hour Fitness membership and started Zumba classes with my friend Sunanda. My class consists of a wide age range of women, which I find to be fabulous.

3. Quotes.

I actually did pretty good at this one. The pages of the quote book has begun to fill up. It's a lot of inspiration with a tad of humor thrown in. It's a great little thing. I've been writing down my favorites tweets. I'm hoping to get to my Pinterest board, Quotes & Scripture next.

4. Blog.

Should I really even go there? It's the last few days in March and I'm doing my 12 for 12 February Update which I wanted to do the first week of March. There's always next month, right? Maybe we should say week? You know, it's kind of embarrassing when you're writing the beginning of February post in the last week of March, especially when one of the things you wanted to do more of was blogging. On the plus side, five posts for February doesn't seem that bad in comparison to past months where I wasn't even present.

5. Create.
I'm having trouble with what I even got done creativity wise. I know that I made a dry erase board. It wasn't the prettiest thing in the world. It's not even worthy of an iPhone snapshot, it's just that terrible looking. It suited the need I had to use a dry erase board at that exact moment though. Other than that ugly little dry erase board, I believe that's it other than a few outfit creations. I did have some fun experimenting in the kitchen trying Nutella Hot Chocolate and several new muffin and cupcake recipes. I've found what may be my all-time favorite cupcake flavor: s'mores!

6. Learn.

I read some on photography and put that to use. I really don't know what I learned in February. Nothing is sticking out right now, although, I am positive that I must have learned something. Apparently, whatever I learned didn't stick with me.

7. Minimize.

I'm pretty sure that I need to take up scrap-booking. I have a ton of cards that I'm trying to decide just how to organize. I finished going through my room. It's kind of fun to see what I've kept over the years.

8. Gratefulness.

I have written several cards out in my mind. I even went so far as to get addresses. Hopefully that will get on paper and sent through a post office in March.

9. Handmade.

Dad wanted to wait and cash in on his birthday gift of pecan pie bites later on in the year. This may have something to do with Lori making him a pie. Lori loved her gift.

10. Intentionality.

I got to see the majority of my friends this month in both cities, however, it wasn't the amount of time that I necessarily wanted to see them. I probably didn't do that great of job being around family and not being on my phone. I think I did a bit better around friends though.

11. No.

Saying no? Ha! I said yes to going to Belize in March. I think that kind of sums up that I still have a problem with the word 'no'.

12. Word.

I finally got The Grand Sweep, however, it's not that easy to read the book and do all the readings. I found a Bible Study to join and never went to it. I did read a good portion of Beth Moore's So Long Insecurity and met up with my WILgroup when I was in CS. That book is crazy good. I'm pretty sure that I just sat down the day of the study and read most of what the girls had already read and man, it cut deep. Suggestion? Go get a copy.

Meet My Friend Sara K!

Meet my friend Sara K, a graduating senior at A&M Consolidated! There is so much to say about this lovely lady! She is just wonderful. Her passion and heart for missions is inspiring, she loves deeply and has a contagious laugh. I've loved getting to know her from church and seeing her grow these last few years.

I'm extremely excited to see where the Lord is going to take her as she steps into this next stage of life. Love you, Sara!