Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 7.31.12

It looks like I completely forgot to post my gratitude list yesterday. Truth be told, I wasn't feeling very grateful yesterday--and my attitude toward my children reflected that. Life goes better when I pause throughout the day to see the endless succession of gifts, but too often I am too busy, and settle for jotting down a list the next morning. Better than nothing, but it's the *in the moment* gratitude that makes the bigger difference. And why do I think I can't write something down unless it's unique or new? The same gifts I receive every day, multiple times a day, are still undeserved gifts, no matter how frequently they are bestowed.

Anyway. In lieu of a list this week, a little Simple Woman's Daybook, which I also haven't done in a while:

Outside my window...
hot, hot, hot. And mosquitoes. We stay inside as much as possible. 

I am thinking...
that I really need to go work out, and clean up the kitchen, but I'd rather sit here and watch Olympics videos. 

I am thankful for...
our church's practice of pastoral oversight. 

From the kitchen...
an experimental pizza of sorts was on the menu last night--the crust, a cheese-herb breadstick recipe, was delicious, but the sauce and toppings were a disappointment. Tonight we're having BLTs with tomatoes from the farmers' market and corn on the cob. I hope to try Smitten Kitchen's zucchini bread pancakes soon. 

I am wearing...
a ruffly dark blue skirt and a white tank top, with flip-flops and a red headband (not as patriotic as it sounds). 

I am creating...
a freshly remodeled office (part of the bathroom project)! Naptime hours these last several days have been devoted to home improvement projects: painting, priming, spackling, sanding, and painting again here in the office. Hoping to show some "in-progress" pictures soon. 

I am going...
to change my clothes and run as soon as I finish this post. Yes, yes I am. 

I am reading...
Catching Fire while I run on the elliptical (great motivation to exercise!). World magazine's Books issue in the bathroom :) Love to Eat, Hate to Eat with the girl I'm mentoring. Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline with another dear friend. And I'm trying to decide what to pick up while nursing. This week I've started and abandoned both Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic's First Class Passengers and Their World and Boys Should Be Boys. Life is too short and there are too many good books to spend time reading something that doesn't really grab me (though I will probably come back to Boys Should Be Boys at some point). I'm thinking of dipping back into Leigh McLeroy's The Beautiful Ache, but as soon as an Amazon box arrives on my porch, I'll be eagerly opening Kelle Hampton's memoir, Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected. I remember reading and being stunned by the birth story of her daughter a couple of years ago, but I didn't continue following her blog--so I was delighted to find out recently that she had published a book. 

Bible-wise, I'm in Daniel (about to start Hosea) and Psalms. Still finding my reading plan to be very helpful.

I am hoping...
that Elijah will enjoy soccer and make some new (local) friends. He alternates between seeming excited, and telling me he doesn't want to play soccer. And he tends to be stubbornly resistant to new things for a while before finally discovering that he loves them, so it could be a challenge getting him to give it a try. 

I am hearing...
nothing but the whirring of the ceiling fan. Just blissful silence. Ahh, naptime.

Around the house...
the office is covered in a layer of fine dust from all the sanding. The kitchen is piled with clutter as usual. And my dining room table can frequently be found covered in Legos as Daddy and Elijah work on their newest project. 

One of my favorite things...
sales on products I love. Hurraw Balm had a nice sale a couple of weeks ago, and this week (hurry, it ends today) Paper Coterie is offering $100 gift cards for $30! Nice!

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Steve and I have "date night in" tonight. Tomorrow night is our usual dinner and prayer with some dear friends, and then Thursday is Elijah's very first soccer practice. Should be interesting :) I also need to go vote on Thursday. Then on Saturday morning I'm meeting with two ladies from our church to begin planning next year's women's retreat. 

A picture thought I am sharing...
an old friend of mine from childhood/high school, Shanna, took some photos of us while we were in Ohio earlier this month. She captured this sweet shot of the boys:


After this one, they weren't being super cooperative, so a few days later, I tried another photo shoot of my own. That didn't go a whole lot better, but I did get this one that shows Jude's ornery grin:


...and several cute ones of Elijah, in between his cheesy, fake smiles.


I'm so disappointed that his face is out of focus in this one and many of the others - it's the number one problem I have with my photography right now. Argh. I still like his expression well enough to keep the photo, but I'm frustrated. 

3 comments:

Tina Leigh said...

Sometimes I feel like I'm just moving one mess to another part of the house...I get on my own nerves! Lol! Good luck on your remodel.

We had BLT's & tater soup for supper last might! Great meal!

Danielle said...

I'm curious as to what you think of McLeroy's book. It's on my wish list and I so enjoyed "Treasured."

Anonymous said...

I bought my Paper Coterie gift card, I love their products!