Something you've probably never seen before

Holy Smokes.

I was looking for something reminiscent of this.

In an attempt to capture that sentiment, I "Google Imaged"the words "animals in a hurry" and came up with this.

Love. it.

In short, we're busy.  Too busy to blog, that's right.

Life is weird right now.  Good, but weird.  There is clean laundry everywhere and no hangers.  I'm living in a house 1/2 full of pumpkins with christmas decorations waiting in the wings.

Tomorrow is the day.  It all gets put in it's proper place.

Fingers crossed.

Today, our kindergarten aid was putting up a snowman bulletin board.  I caught the curve of the orange carrot nose out of the corner of my eye, and said, "For a minute, I thought that was the beak of a turkey!"

Shows how much I know.

Oh, and by the way, stop whatever you're doing right now (cause we all know you're multi-tasking while you're reading this).

Just stop.

And go see the new muppet movie.

At one point, I actually could have cried.

Love and what day is it again?
H.

And if you've seen the snail/motorcycle thing before, I probably owe you a dollar.

photo: funnypk.com

Small Talk

The weather here has been gorgeous.  We are actually getting "a fall." Some years, it seems as if our weather is in the 70's...and then it is miserable and rainy/sleety for a month...and then it's winter.  The same was true for last spring.  40 degrees....then 6 weeks of rain/sleet...then 90 degrees.  Bah.

Then there are days when I need the heater in the morning and the AC at night.

But this year?

Thanks be to Autumn.

This morning, I asked Tim if he wanted something delicious for breakfast.  I suggested french toast.  He decided on (homemade) breakfast burritos from the freezer.

He is (sometimes) easy to please.  He is a good husband.

And then he sang The Saturday Song.  We are convinced that Scarlett knows exactly what day Saturday is.  The Saturday Song is what keeps her on schedule. She must have a mental calendar of some sorts, lest the days blur together.  It's hard being a dog.

I decided on French toast cause I'm culturally diverse like that.  Bananas and berries included.

I would like to open a restaurant that serves only french toast.  I would call it The French Toastery because adding "ery" to things just makes the food sound that much more delicious, in my opinion.  But then I could only think of like, 3 kinds of french toast.

And then I drank coffee from my favorite mug which looks like this only this picture is old and you can tell because I'm up and dressed in this picture and I'm not up and dressed today because it is 10:30 on a Saturday plus I dyed my hair sort of red which I think I forgot to tell you and it is more sort of brown than it is sort of red in this picture and that's how you can tell it is an old picture. I think.

My mug says, "Hello."

Well, not LITERALLY says, "Hello."

Although that would be cool.  Kind of like The Sorting Hat in Harry Potter.

It is written on the front.  The word, "Hello."

In case you can't tell.  Cause sometimes, it looks like it just says, "Hell."  Which is funny but probably not as cool.

I beat the Adventure Mode on Plants vs. Zombies, and I'm fully aware that's the most exciting news you'll hear all day.  Maybe all week, even.  If you are looking for a good way to waste every spare minute you have at night, plants vs. zombies is it.

We are supposed to bring a dessert to church tomorrow.  I like that our last name is at the end of the alphabet because that means at potlucks, we always end up being asked to make a dessert.  No can of baked beans for us!  I'm thinking salted caramel bars.  What say you?

An entire Saturday, and my only responsibility is to bake something delicious.  A good day in my book.

I am listening to sad music right now.

Sometimes, on sunny days, I like to listen to sad-sounding music.

Noah & The Whale- Old Joy
The Shout Out Louds- Go Sadness
Deathcab for Cutie- Passenger Seat
Over The Rhine- Latter Days

What's your Saturday looking like?

Love,
H.

Hit the Brakes

Sometimes, I read someone else's writing, and I say to myself,

"Self, that is exactly what I've been feeling.  In fact, I couldn't have said it better mySELF."

Example A.  

Thanks be to Layla.

And now, I shall go play MarioKart.  Because we keep saying we're going to play, and yet- we never do. I mean, come on guys.  Those banana peels aren't going to hit themselves.

Wait, you mean you aren't supposed to hit the banana peels?

Love, and you coulda fooled me.
H.

It's getting hard to be someone, but it all works out

Husband of Mine,
    Do you remember when we drove up the coast of California during the dead middle of summer and the whole world smelled like strawberries?

Good. Because I do, too.

And I am holding on closely to those days.

Love and if I were a color, I'd be blue,
H.

No Need to Convert a Believer

     When Tim and I first met, he was living in a rental on the outskirts of town (a.k.a. middle of now where). On Sundays, we would throw open the windows and nap.  And life was easy.  Probably the easiest it will ever be.

I can remember lying awake with the sunshine pouring in and absolutely not wanting the day to end.

     A few weeks ago, we had some unseasonably warm weather.  We napped with the windows open and the breeze blowing through the curtains. When I woke up, I absolutely could not stop taking pictures.

     I think back on Those Early Days before we were married as if now, I can hear the voice of God saying, "Just you wait, it's about to get So Good."

Love,
H.

Completely Intertwined (a guest post)

This guest poster is one of my best pals.  Her strength and amazing outlook encourage and inspire me.  

I started to put things in bold/italics to emphasize some of the great points in her piece...and then I wanted to put EVERYTHING in bold/italics.  It's that good.  

Thank you dear friend o' mine.  A thousand times, thank you.

"Good News"

      I  have found that good news, along with many things, is defined differently with the ebbs and flows of life.  Things that are good news to me in my current stage of life...I'm gonna define that as the things worthy of telling someone else...are things that I wouldn't have given a second thought, or even considered something negative, not that long ago.  But I am reminded daily that no matter how bad the circumstances are, there are pieces of "good news" in every day - you have to just change your perspective.

      Currently, my marriage is a complete and utter mess, with me doing everything possible to save it and not getting much back in return.  Here's a few tidbits of good news that I've had in the past few weeks - remember, this is stuff I've actually been excited to call and tell someone.

1.  My husband let me touch his leg in church.

2.  He's actually answered my phone call today.

3.  He entered our house, sat down, and stayed for 5 minutes.(My husband moved out in May.)

4.  The divorce papers he told me I'd be receiving today didn't come.

     Now, some of you who read this probably are thinking how sad all of that is.  And, let me tell ya, I could easily think that too.  But I make a conscious choice on a daily basis to change my perspective.  And let me tell ya, those four things listed above were all pieces of good news, things I celebrated.  I have to say, I am not always a cup half full kinda gal.  But I'm learning with God's help, that although that might not be my natural tendency, it doesn't mean I can't choose to be that way.  It is so much easier to wallow in your sadness and give yourself a million "woe is me's".  And ya know what, sometimes life just sucks...no other way about it.  Trust me, I have lived some of that since May.  


     Honestly, though, I can tell ya, life is 100% easier when you choose to look for the good news in your own circumstances.  So if you are low in "good news," change your perspective on your life circumstances and try again.  The good news is in there,  I promise.  


     This might sound super cliche, but to be truly happy, healthy, and whole, you, with God's help, have to be positive and at peace with life's circumstances.  I don't mean that in a way where you don't want there to be changes, because trust me, I want my circumstance to change more than anything and I pray for that continuously.  I have found that hope and trust are completely intertwined.  The more I trust God to move, the more hope I have.  And we have to remember that God always moves...not always (or ever) when we want, but He never fails to be right where we are right when we need Him.  


Hallelujah!

Source: get-thinspiration.tumblr.com via Cassandra on Pinterest

This guest post is part of a series here at Yours Truly, H.  The theme is Good News.  Please email me at holls_y {at} hotmail(dot)com if you'd like to participate!

How to Fix Your Monday in One Easy Step

Friends.  Tomorrow is Monday. And Mondays are hard.

Here is my attempt at saving Monday's reputation.

I can't give you a day off, warmer weather or a longer lunch break, but I CAN give you...


a tiny baby in monkey pajamas!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 How about two more?

  How about DOUBLE THE BABY IN MONKEY PAJAMAS!

 You're welcome.

I am such a nerd/madly in love.  I have looked at these photos over. and over.and over.

Love and do they make those p.j.'s in my size?
H.

The other day, I realized that I love this season because the flowers from the summer and the autumn foliage are starting to overlap.  We haven't had much frost yet so our front porch is an eye-catching mix of pansies, impatients, gourds, and tiny pumpkins.  Not to mention all those maple leaves.  

I wanted a totally different color for some of my fall things.  This year, I went with purple.  Hooray!  (Yes, I just hooray-ed purple.  Ha.)

     My parents have had a tiny red shed that looked like a miniature henhouse/barn.  Man, I loved taking pictures in front of that thing.  However, the years and the weather have not been kind to our dear shed so my husband and my dad ended up tearing it down while my father had a new one built (for the record, this one does NOT look like an adorable red henhouse.  Boo for modern upgrades).  

     However, the craft/antique store near my parents' house took the leftover shed-wood and made these adorable black crows.  Hooray for small town-living (where people 'find out' you tore down your shed) and new-things-out-of-old-things!  

 Love and Christmas is next!
H.

Soul officially lifted

     In some ways, this fall has been like a breath of fresh air.  Being a school teacher, the start of the school year and the changing weather is sometimes accompanied by a busy schedule and a fair amount of stress.

     I don't know if it is the changing of grade levels, other differences at work or positive life changes, but  I have fallen in love with this season.  In many ways, it feels like a weight has lifted.

However,  I also greeted October with a nagging feeling of dread for reasons I'm sure I will get to later.

Lately, my soul has been lacking.  Have you ever felt like your soul needed something, and for the love of Pete, you can't quite put your finger on it?

This morning, I looked at Scarlett, and Scarlett looked at me, and in that moment, I knew that our souls needed a Pumpkin Spice Latte (me) and a trip to The Dog Park (her). 

I was right.

I hope you guys had a great weekend.

Love,
 H.

My husband lost his job, and the beat goes on.

Good News:  If the above title has you scratching your head, you might want to go here before you read the rest.

You're welcome.

Lots of you have asked, off and on, about Tim's job search. It's sweet. Really.

      For a long time, we have felt that Tim was eventually "supposed to" get to the point (career-wise) where he would be able to make his own hours.  This would give him the flexibility to spend time with the kids we don't have (haha) and expand his role with college/career ministry in the church.  It was something that was important to us, but not something we anticipated happening in the near future.

And then Tim got laid off.

I have honestly been putting off writing this post for a long time.  Sometimes it takes a lot of effort, you know, to get it all down.

And then I read Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech, and it was fascinating.  In short, he gives details about how dropping out of college and getting fired from Apple helped him in the long run.  How x couldn't have happened without y...and so on.

And it reminded me of us.

So. Here we are.  Where is "here" exactly? Our plan?  Oh. Is there a plan?

     For now, Tim has been painting houses and staining decks, and it's been pretty lucrative.  He has a few other church-related things on his schedule, and then the next step involves substitute teaching and selling life insurance (which involves "leads." I promise we won't ask you to buy life insurance. Ha)... among the other fantastic business ventures he has rolling around in his head.

And we are at peace.

This plan?  It's working.  God is helping us to connect the dots.

Our prayers have consistently been centered around Tim finishing school and paying off our credit card debt.  We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of our credit card debt.

Friends. We're close.  We're very close.

And finishing school?  The picture speaks for itself.

     Just this week, a friend and member of our college/career sunday school class was having car trouble, and Tim was able to spend the day helping him get parts and fixing the problem (cause he's so awesome and handy like that)

....not something he would have been able to do had he been working a regular 9-5.  Further proof that flexibility in his work schedule is important for his specific ministry.

     Our most recent prayer has been for firewood.  You guys. Our house is heated with propane and DANG propane is expensive (hence the majority of the credit card debt), and firewood helps us save money like you wouldn't believe.

Yesterday, Tim put a painting bid for a historic property not too far from our house.

What was lying in the front yard...?

Oh...nothing really...you know...just...

 tons and tons of seasoned wood.

Tim recently got a phone call from the homeowner - he got the paint job  AND the wood is ours for the taking.

Life is weird sometimes, but the beat goes on.

Love and anyone got a wood splitter?
H.

This is Part One of a blog series here at Yours Truly, H.  The theme is Good News.  If you are interested in guest blogging your own Good News, please email me at holls_y {at} hotmail.com. I'd love to hear from you!
Linking up with Casey

A Half Birthday Post

      My husband and I are exactly 1 year and 1 week apart.  Did you know that?  It's really fun.  I like having our birthdays so close together.  I like to think of this here blog as a scrapbook of sorts, and I realized I NEVER posted pictures of my husband's 30th birthday last year. Sigh. Last year, April was lost on us.

       Seeing as how we are roughly 6 months away from celebrating once again, I thought showing these pics. at the 1/2 way mark would be appropriate.

We had an "Open House" of sorts for several friends and family.  It was fun making tons of food, and seeing people we don't see nearly as often as we'd like.  I went with a "rock and roll/music" theme.  All the clowns were booked.  Just kidding.

 Looking forward to many more birthdays ahead.

Thanks for sharing this space with us.

Love,
H.

Blessed are the feet that bring good news

 Friends.  Bloggers.  Countrymen (women?).

I am proud to announce that Yours Truly is now accepting guest post submissions.  I'm really excited about this new venture, and I can't wait to see what comes of it.

The theme is, "Good News."  Go ahead and get creative.  Tell us your new favorite recipe (i.e. Good News: The Garlic & Herb cous cous* was a hit!)  or just something new you've learned along the way.

Please do try to keep it "family friendly" or I will wash out your mouth with soap.  Don't think I won't.

Include a photo or 2...or 3 if you like!

For the love of Pete, please use spell check/watch yo' grammar.  Unless you think I might think it's funny.  Then anything goes.  Cause you know, this is all about me, right?  I'm kidding.  This is about you and how awesome you are with your adorably-adorable good news.

Can't wait!

Here's my good news.

Tim's third eye/double nose implant/mouth reduction

 was a rousing success!  

Thank goodness for modern medicine! 

If you're still interested in submitting even after I gave that ridiculous example, please email me at:

holls_y [at] hotmail {dot} com


Love and I'm ready whenever you are,
H.


*the auto correct turned "cous cous" into "cows cows."  How much do you love that?

Have Raccoon, will carry kitty.

One of the things I love about my sister is how much she cracks up at animals.  When I first introduced her to Pinterest, we stumbled upon this little gem in my parents' computer room.  She laughed non-stop for about 10 minutes.

Source: iruntheinternet.com via Holly on Pinterest

Raccoons on Pinterest?  Oh, she was hooked.

One of my boards on Pinterest is labeled, "Stuff Heather's going to love..." The other day, I realized about 75% of those pins are just animals doing funny things...like this...

Source: bellflower.elfle.com via Holly on Pinterest

Who doesn't love that when they're thinking about Monday?

So, here are a few pins that may give you some insight into our hilariously weird relationship. The last one's my favorite.

Source: ffffound.com via Holly on Pinterest

Source: weirdimals.wordpress.com via Holly on Pinterest

Source: imgfave.com via Holly on Pinterest

Source: imgur.com via Holly on Pinterest

Sorry for the lack of posts.  My schedule has been off lately.  It's weird how you can sometimes feel as if you are doing nothing and everything at the same time, right?  Sometimes, you just want to choose watching Restaurant Impossible and eating delicious chili with your husband instead of blogging, right?

Love and I guess they're ALL my favorite,
H.