Matthew 11:28 (The Message)

"Are you tired? Worn out? Exhausted? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

A couple predictions.

If you're married one thing you probably have in common with me is that you and your spouse watch lots of TV.  Not necessarily obsessive amounts, but you have your favorites and watch them on a weekly basis.  Well, Tyler and I do too.  Here's a couple predictions I'm making on some "reality" TV.  Enjoy!

Biggest Loser
Despite really wanting a girl to win for once, my prediction to win is either Mark or Roger.  However, I think Ali is a huge contender - even though I can't stand her.
  Mark    Roger    Ali

American Idol
My vote?  A tie between David Archuleta and Carly Smithson.  However I really like Michael Johns too.  So many of them are good this year - minus most of the females.  How disappointing.  Regardless of who I like, I think David Cook is a huge competitor and could possibly win, even though I don't care for him at all.  Way too cocky and wanna-be Daughtry for my liking.  So my prediction for the final 3 are:
  David Archuleta
  Carly Smithson
  David Cook

The Bachelor
None of the girls have really stuck out to me yet, but here's a couple predictions anyways.
  Amanda   Robin   Holly

I'm thinking tropical.

It's that time of year again... you know, when it starts to get warm and you start thinking about your summer and what kind of vacation you want to go on.  In honor of my husband being gone this week on his own little "boys week out" vacation, and because of the loooong days and hours I've had at work lately, I can't stop thinking about getting away.  Family vacations are great, but I think it's important we have some one-on-one time together since that comes so far and few between these days.  Me and the hubs.  Just the two of us. 

Here's a couple dream destinations:
  Honolulu, Hawaii
  Bermuda
  Bora Bora (we WILL go there someday!)

I can just picture it now... spending days just laying on the beach, sipping a fruity refreshing beverage, and relaxing.  Not a care in the world.

Okay, now that I'm done dreaming... I seriously do want to go somewhere fun this summer and we're talking about where to go, so if you have any ideas, please pass them on to me!

It's always embarassing crying at work...

...But this morning, I really couldn't help it.  I was going through my blogroll this morning checking for any new posts from any of my friends, and stopped at Glenn Packiam's blog (see his blog here) this morning and listened to his new song that he posted.

Take a peak at this refreshing, amazing new song.  Thanks Glenn, I needed that encouragement this morning.

Download 01_my_hope.mp3



MY HOPE
Words and Music by Glenn Packiam
Ó Vertical Worship Songs, February, 2008
 
When my heart is overwhelmed
Lead me to the Rock that’s higher
When my feet are sinking down
Lift me up to walk on water
I will be still and know
You are my Father
My eyes will be fixed on You alone
                   I put my hope in you
                   There’s nothing else to do
                   Through every valley I know You’re by my side
                   My life is in Your hands
                   Your love will never fail 
                   Your mercies are new each day 
                   Through every circumstance my hope will stand
                   For my life is in Your hands 
Though my bed is filled with tears
Still You’re here to remind me
There is more than what appears
Grace from Heaven now abounding
I will be still and know
You are my Father
My eyes will be fixed on You alone

I need a new style.

I'm outdated and yucky looking.  It's okay - I can say it outloud, so you can too... only to my face of course! :)
So in honor of this, I have decided to start looking at new hairstyles.  Call me crazy but I'd love to cut my hair (again).  This is a trend for me... I always grow my hair out to the middle of my back, then get this strange urge to chop it all off.  Well, per my routine, I am ready to cut it. 

Here's a couple styles I like:
   

  
So what do you think?  Likes/Dislikes?  Think I should do it?!

Happy Easter!

Today was fantastic. 

We woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise outside, and spent a few minutes in silence just taking in the beautiful view.  It's not often that Tyler and I wake up at the same time, much less have the time to sit and reflect.  We had an incredible church service this morning, and it wasn't even the typical "Jesus died on the cross and rose again" kind-of service.  Pastor Gary focused on the benefits of Jesus coming to life 3 days later and all the things that He gave to us in order for us to live.  During the service, he had 3 different doors brought onto the stage.  One was a healing door, another was a forgiveness door, and the other was a door that represented feeling lost/broken and not knowing what your purpose in life is.  Of course right now I find myself wondering what difference my life makes, and where in the big picture of things do I fit in.  The service was refreshing... being reminded of the sacrifice that Christ made in order for us to live.  I walked into the service feeling tired, discouraged, and on the verge of literally depressed... and walked out of the service feeling alive.  Realizing that the stage of life I'm in right now is not forever, working 70+ hour weeks is not going to last for much longer, and finally feeling valued again.  I realize that friendships and relationships that have drifted apart over the past few years are being restored, I was reminded that my self-image does not stem from my mood swings, and realizing my self-worth is more than I give myself credit for.  Thank you Heavenly Father for that simple reminder of your love and sacrifice for me.

Spent the rest of the day cooking a huge meal... Tyler and I had an incredible lunch with my beautiful sister, and spent the afternoon relaxing.  Took a nap, went on a great walk, watched a movie, and now I'm trying to mentally & emotionally prepare myself for another work week. 

I trust and hope that you had an incredible Easter also.

5 signs you work too much.

1.  You dream about your job, making you feel like you work around the clock.
2.  All of your days run together and you forget what day it is all together.
3.  The only kind of conversation you have with your husband is work related.
4.  You find it hard to sit down and relax.
5.  All of your meals are consumed at work.

*big sigh*... I'm exhausted.

My sad attempt at a criss-cross card.

So today I had some lovely down time and decided to spend a few hours stamping this afternoon.  I couldn't figure out what to work on, so I decided to try something new.  I remembered that Stephanie had made this super cute criss-cross card a few weeks ago, (see her version of the card here) so I decided I would try and duplicate it.  Let me just say, it took me forever.  I originally tried to duplicate what she made, but I don't have a ton of materials so trying to find a stamp to go on the front took me forever.  I finally decided to scrap it and start over, and ended up making the second version of the criss-cross card.  I used this tutorial (Stamping with Roxy) and you can see she didn't spend any time going over how to make the second version of it, so it took a lot of improv.  Needless to say I'm finally finished and sorta-kinda happy with the result.  Now that I have the hang of it, I'm going to duplicate it and make a few, so hopefully it should be easier.  Anyways, enough babble... here's some pics.  (Click on the thumbnail for larger pic) 

  

Let me know what you think!  Have a great rest of the day!

The polls are open...

In a kitchen, which do you prefer...

White cabinets OR Oak cabinets?



OR...

My life in pictures.

Saw this on Bryn's blog, and thought it would be fun!

To play:
1) Go to photobucket.com
2) Type in your answer for each question in the search bar.
3) Using only the first two pages, choose your favorite photo to represent your answer.
4) Copy and paste the html here.

Questions:
1) What is your first name?


2) When is your birthday?


3) What kind of car do you want?


4) Where did you go to school?


5) What is your favorite season?


6) What is your favorite type of shoes?


7) What is your status?


8.) What is your favorite movie?

(Pathetic, huh?  I have no idea...)

9) What is your favorite song?


10) Who is your favorite Disney character?


11) What is your favorite clothing line?


12) What is your favorite vacation destination?


13)What is your favorite dessert?


14) What is your favorite letter?


15) What are you most afraid of?


16) What is your favorite TV show?


17) What annoys you the most?


18) What is your job?


19) What is your favorite animal?


20) How old are you?

I'm in lala land.

On a typical day on The Nest, we play "rate my room", and just like it sounds, we rate eachother's different rooms.  I always put up my living room for grabs and they kindly suggest things that would improve the look, and we go on our merry way.  10 times out of 10 I am told that I need a rug for under the coffee table and throw pillows to brighten up the room.  While I 100% agree, spending hundreds of dollars on a rug just doesn't seem right to me.  Here's a picture of our living room:





So now that you've seen our bland living room, here's a few rugs that I like that I wish I could buy!


Pottery Barn - $649


Pottery Barn - $429


Room Service Home - $485


JcPenney - $400


Restoration Hardware - $899

Okay, back to reality.  Hope you're having a great day!

Blog candy.

Haha, blog candy.  I'm so funny!! :P

Here's a few cards that I made Friday night at another card party.  This time I invited Christine to come with me and I'm so glad she did!  We had a blast together.  Kaela and her sisters were also there, and of course we had fun hanging out with them also... they are always making me laugh! :)  Christine also gave me my SU! order that I had placed with her, so that was exciting as always!  I can't wait until I actually have time to relax and stamp for an evening. 

Remember to click on the thumbnail and you can see the big picture. 

Let me know what you think - and enjoy!! :)