not just a color

So I am now crazy/obsessed with this great blog younghouselove.com (check it out....you will enjoy it too!). Well she mentioned a book "Feathering the Nest"...NO I am not anywhere close to the nesting part of life but I am totally into updating and changing things in my house constantly. :) Just loved what she quoted from the book. It mentions colors in a house and the power they have over emotions. Yes, I knew this...but I love the details, especially how it so fits the moods and emotions that should be captured in the specific parts of our home we have painted these colors.

Our living room is green...bright green:
Green-
-said to be the most refreshing color and the easiest on the eyes
-brings peace, rest, hope, comfort, balance, and harmony
-creates a sense of safety and security
-alleviates depression, nervousness, and anxiety
among others....
*our living room is such a place that provides the coziness, safety, and security of home

Our foyer and hallway is a ligt brown/beige:
Brown-
-deep connection to the earth
-has natural and organic components
-is believed to afford a sense of stability and wholeness
-a very grounding color
-provides a feeling of order, reliability, and protection
*love these thoughts...the first emotions that hit you when you come in our front door

Our bedroom is blue:
Blue-
-perceived as a constant in our lives since it’s the color of the ocean and the sky
-soothing, calming, tranquil, peaceful
-may encourage individuals to be trustworthy, committed and dependable
-decreases heart rate
*love the thought of commitment, trustworthiness, and dependability and what that echoes in our marriage....plus, doesn't marriage to your best friend provide such a precious constant in your life....love it!

Anyway...thanks to younghouselove for the insight into these colors! How neat!

fancy it up a bit

Last night we enjoyed a night at home. I am no fancy cook, that's for sure. However, I do enjoy throwing a quick meal together here and there. My "recipe" dinners usually only happen on the weekend or in the summer. The other meals I make are "tried and true" meals that I know we both like and I can whip up easily. Even though it was Saturday night, I wasn't in the mood to cook anything fancy....so we had a simple dinner (I mean a shells and cheese kinda night....). However, I was in the mood to fancy it up a bit with the atmosphere. :) I lit a candle and even got out our nice china plates, cloth napkins, and pretty beverage glasses out. So we had a sweet, romantic, simple dinner in a semi-fancy home atmosphere. It was fun. :) I do recommend it!

boys will be boys

Well I am inside relaxing and had a few minutes to blog. Free time? Crazy, I know! I got caught up on some organizing yesterday and planning for after Thanksgiving break at school, so I'm allowing myself to do something I never do....just sit. I don't sit well. I come from a line of very busy women. :) My boys (hubby and puppy) are outside doing boy things....chopping wood (yes, Boone helps with his teeth), burning, and hanging around the barn (shed). Although I love being outdoors, I'm letting them do their "manly" things as I enjoy the peace and serenity of a cozy living room.

My to-do list tonight:
-cook dinner
-bake a pie for our church Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow
-be lazy on the couch
-soak up life

I so cherish these lazy weekends where we have no set plans. Today, that's what I'm thankful for....among so many other things.

(ps...check out the bottom of my blog page for this great blog I found of this awesome young couple amidst home renovations and building a family...creatively inspiring!) enjoy.

coupon and clearance crazy

So I am a little obsessed over trying to save money. I really do my best to never buy things at full price...other than necessities such as groceries. It's almost like a challenge to me. I find it so fun to find a bargain. Here are just a few of my tips that work for me. I hope they can help you save some pennies, leading to more to give during the Holiday season. :)

*COUPONS! Yes...it is worth your time! Get a really cheap small photo album and put your coupons in the places for pictures. I try to keep my food coupons in the front, household item coupons next, dog coupons after that, and finally shopping/restaurant coupons in the back. I keep it out of my purse as I grocery shop. It's great!

*If you shop at Kroger, they double any coupons that are $0.50 or less.

*If you bring reusable bags to Kroger, they take three cents off your bill for each bag you bring or you can choose to earn 3 gas points for each bag you bring in. The points then rack up for you to get the 10 cents off gas.

*More about Kroger...you can load coupons onto your Kroger card from their website AND they send you packets of coupons once you are a Kroger Plus member.

*At Target...look for the RED. :) Those are the clearance tags...especially at the end of the aisles. Love it! (Did I mention the dollar aisle? Even that aisle is at clearance price at times.) And Justin wonders why he can't get me out of that store...

*Don't be afraid to talk prices with people. For example, I called Insight and let them know of Direct TV's better deal they were offering and that we are really looking for the best deal...the phone conversation ended with us getting some free movie channels. :)

*Justin and I live by an envelope system...thanks to Dave Ramsey's class. Yes...real envelopes. Allot so much cash for each month. For example, we have a grocery envelope, a restaurant envelope and a "blow money" envelope (money to just "blow" on anything we want each week). You can pick and choose what is most important for you to have in the envelope system. It really does help to budget and figure this out. You'll be amazed how much money you can save when you get control of your money!
http://www.daveramsey.com/

*Half Priced Books...if you haven't ventured there...do so! Magazines for $0.50, books for less than $5...and so much more...amazing! (Even better...you can get a few dollars for bringing in old magazines and books.)

*Flea Markets...shop for cheap treasures. You can find some great items for the home and neat things to reinvent for your taste.


These are just a few things I do to save money. Find what works for you! :)

Blessings!

giving thanks

It is amazing to me how we have already blown by Fall and Thanksgiving in order to push the Christmas season. I LOVE Christmas, it's by far my favorite time of year. The warmth and joy of everything Christmas. However...I do find it sad that we can't even enjoy fall and Thanksgiving. My rule has always been...no Christmas decorating, music, etc. until at least the day after Thanksgiving. (Although I do have to admit after going to our amazing church Christmas bazaar this Saturday, I am fighting the urge to break out the Christmas decorations.) We really do need to treasure a holiday that reminds us to give thanks for all that we have been blessed with. My list is far too long to mention...I'm sure your list is as well. We forget too often to be thankful...I plan to completely embrace this time of year as a reminder to simply give thanks. Life passes by so quickly....do what you can to slow it down a bit. :)

my new creative outlet

I love anything that allows me to use my creativity. Recently I learned how to knit using wire and have started on a jewelry-making journey. :) These are a few things I have made recently. My goal is to get some items onto etsy.com, a great website of things handmade, where people can purchase your art.

How quickly I forget I'm Yours...

Have you ever had one of those moments where God just stops you right in your tracks? I LOVE those moments! I am a busy-bee, planner sort of person. I am constantly thinking about things and have such a hard time relaxing and sitting still. Even when I do have those moments, I quickly find myself multi-tasking. However, I had such a neat moment on the way home from work yesterday where God just said, "Stop! Quit thinking so much. Slow down. Spend some time with Me." I had just left school where we were discussing re-vamping some things in our daily schedule and I was of course planning it all out in my mind. What would it look like in my classroom? How is this going to help my kiddos? All of the sudden, Addison Road's amazing song, "Hope Now" came on the radio. In that moment, God stopped me, and gave me a sweet reminder that I am His. He longs for me to spend time with Him. How precious it is to stop planning and being such a busy-body and reflecting on God's love and how He carries me through each step in my day. Wow...God is so good.

Enjoy the lyrics...but even more so...find this song somewhere and enjoy God's sweet messages to you through it.

Hope Now by Addison Road

If everything comes down to love
Then just what am I afraid of
When I call out Your name
Something inside awakes in my soul
How quickly I forget I'm Yours

(PRE-CHORUS)
I'm not my own
I've been carried by You
All my life

(CHORUS)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
This love sets me free

When my life is like a storm
Rising waters all I want is the shore
You say I'll be ok and
Make it through the rain
You are my shelter from the storm

(PRE-CHORUS)
I'm not my own
I've been carried by You
All my life

(CHORUS)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
This love sets me free

(CHORUS 2)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free
You define my heart's desires
I will sing Your praises higher
Cause Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free

yummy treat

Tonight after coming home from a stressful day at work and a stressful couple meetings after work...I decided to "bake". I say "bake" because this little treat is probably way too easy to qualify as baking. However, I will share! :) They are a great version of chocolate covered pretzels.

You will need...
Bag of mini-sized pretzels
A bag of regular M&Ms
A bag of Hershey's hugs

Preheat the oven to 200.
Place the pretzels on a cookie sheet.
Unwrap the Hershey Hugs and place one on top of each pretzel.
Bake at 200 for approximately 5 minutes or until the Hugs begin to melt.
Allow the pretzel/Hug combos to cool for approx. 5 minutes.
Place one M&M on each pretzel/Hug combo carefully.
Place the cookie sheet with the treats into the refrigerator to allow the candies to harden and cool.
Enjoy!
(Fun tip--find M&Ms that fit the season. Ex: green and red for Christmas, brown and orange for Halloween, pastels for Easter, etc.)

A chocolate fix ALWAYS helps to soothe a stressful day! :)

3rd grade paranoia

So today I read aloud an all-time favorite, "Where the Relatives Came" by Cynthia Rylant, to model my writing lesson. Well....proof came that the "flu buzz" has even taken over the youngest, most innocent minds. We hit a part in the book where the relatives are all jumbled together in a small house having to sleep close together and breathing on each other. I show the picture of all the relatives sleeping together (most students are laughing at how silly the picture is). One of my sweet kiddos starts breathing out loud with her mouth open reenacting the pictures (as they so love to do). The little girl next to her goes, "Please don't do that...you spread germs that way." (Of course in little minds--especially those funny boys---that says, "do exactly what she just said NOT to do".) A few others on the carpet start breathing loudly. The poor little anxious girl then goes, "No seriously, please stop. That spreads germs." She's serious. They stop. :) (Ahhh..classroom community!)

Haha...gotta love her "motherly" instincts. And don't get me wrong, I am all about having as little germs in my classroom as possible---proof comes in our constant hand washing, constant application of hand sanitizer, and daily wiping of tables with Clorox wipes. However, here's the proof that our poor little kids of the U.S. are having to live in WAY too much fear at such a young, innocent age. Maybe we should all try to chill out a little---wash our hands---and let our kids be kids.

A little business of my own...

Well, after a lot of prayer and reflection, I have decided to sell Avon! No, I am not a saleswoman--not God's gift in me. I am selling Avon to help with saving up for my Masters! As a teacher, the Masters route isn't an option. Well, the teacher income just doesn't quite cut it! ;) After being raised by two amazing parents that have their own businesses, this Avon idea is momentarily satisfying my entrepreneur gene God gave me. Eventually, God-willing, I will own my own business of some sort! You have to start somewhere, right? We'll see where God takes me!

Although I am not one to wear a lot of makeup, I am one to love a deal. To me, true beauty shines from the inside. I do think Avon provides fresh feeling makeup that allows your natural beauty to shine through. Avon has amazing deals on great products! Try it out on my website! You can order straight from the website, or get in contact with me if you would like catalogues to order from instead!

My personal Avon website is:

http://www.youravon.com/caitlingentry

Check it out! :)

Not a dog person...

YEAH RIGHT! I always said this about myself. Even after loving my childhood pet...a yellow lab, Nick so much. I always said I was a "cat person". I have learned so much about myself after adopting this cuddly, loving, loyal animal that is now more like another human in the house. Justin and I said over and over again that we would not get a dog until the summer after my first year of teaching. We "had to have time to work with him and train him". Well...after a crazy week of being cooped up in a powerless house full of people during the ice storm we don't like to think about...we thawed out, spring started to show signs of blooming, and we started finding ourselves in PetSmart, "just looking". Haha...never say that! We saw Boone and it was love at first sight when he climbed into Justin's lap as soon as they took him out of his crate. My favorite dog growing up...a lab. Justin's favorite dog growing up...a beagle. This little beagle/lab mix was perfect for us and he put on the charm from the get-go. What a joy to have such a loyal, fun-loving puppy in the house. It has made our wonderful house even more of a home. I'm sure this is only the beginning of blogs about life-lessons we learn from Boone and the love we have for our "child". So yes....a dog changed my heart....and now, I am a dog person. :)

joys of Sunday

Sunday is such a joyful day! I love getting to sleep in with Justin, waking up to Boone's sweet whine for attention and spending some quiet moments in my living room as the morning sun shines through our big living room window before going to church. Today was definitely no exception, especially with the gorgeous weather. Our previous pastor, Dr. Terry Farris, spoke this morning and gave a really encouraging message. He reminded us that as christians we must have the heart of a child, the mind of a scholar, and the skin of a rhinocerous. What a neat thought! He reminded us of the importance of laughter and that even in the midst of trials, if we can look back and laugh at the situation, we have victory over it. I love the thought of how important laughter is to God. He created us full of emotions, and we should praise Him through all circumstances in life and amidst every emotion we deal with. I am one that laughs so easily and at almost everything...I can't help it...God created me that way! :)

"Cure for the Common Life"

I have started reading an amazing book by Max Lucado, "Cure for the Common Life". After a year of insane stress and anxiety from my first year of teaching I found myself wondering if I actually was in the midst of God's will for my life. I just couldn't figure out how He could call me to do something that drained me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. After so many mornings driving to school last year completely handing it over to God and being positive that there were days where He just completely took over because I couldn't find the strength myself, I decided to take a lot of time this summer to reflect. (As we always hear...God is strongest in our weakest times.) Although there are not enough words to describe the awesomeness and faithfulness of our amazing Creator, over all of that time of reflection and prayer, I have a sense of peace.....something I have been longing for. I read a book this summer that really brought me back to reality on the importance of using the exact moment and place you are in as a learning opportunity for all God has in store for you in the future. I am so thankful to God for this peace He has given me and this new understanding of where He has me right now. I can say that my mornings are now times where I am thanking Him for the gift He has given me of this wonderful life I have. Althought teaching is stressful, my second year has already shown me His faithfulness. Even if it is not where God plans to keep me for my entire career(then again.....maybe so...who knows!) I know that I am exactly where He wants me in this moment and He is preparing me for my future. Whew...so that all leads me back to the Max Lucado book I am now reading. Lucado mentions that we all have a "Sweet Spot"....that exact place where God intends for you to be and live your life full of passion to glorify and praise His name. Although I feel I may still be in search of my life's Sweet Spot...I know I'm on the way! Lucado states that we should "use our uniqueness to make a big deal out of God every day of our life". Wow! How amazingly simple that seems, yet a truth we so often pass up. Life is not about stress...life is not about being anxious....life is not about dreading certain things. Life is about finding just what God has packed us to be...He has made us like noone else....and He LONGS for us to be in that sweet spot where we are passionate about our lifelong journey of praising Him. So neat!! God often whispers....and just as I often tell my kiddos to do when I am getting their attention in class...I am opening my ears in order to hear those directions. :)

Ahhhh! I am so excited to finally have my own blog up and running! I have been aching to do this since last year around this time. I have always said that I am much better communicating in writing than by speaking. My life is too filled with joy and blessings not to share. I praise God for the blessings He has provided me with, one being an ability to express my thoughts and emotions through writing. I literally ache when I have something on my heart I wish to share through writing. I journal in writing almost daily, but this journaling online thing is new territory for me. So here I go....into the world of blogging. Stay tuned. Although I can't promise to update daily, I will promise to update as thoughts are laid on my heart.