Get off the phone!

As you all know if you read my previous post on my 2013 goals, three of my goals this year are to:

1) Spend more time with loves ones
2) Become a better wife
3) Get off the phone!

The problem with #3 is not the phone itself. It's a great tool to keep in touch, send a quick message, check my email, organize my calendar, make lists (my "Notes" are FULL of lists), play games, check Facebook, etc. The problem is me.

Because I was older when I got my first cell phone, I've always had a big issue with the way people use their phones these days (I know, I sound like a grumpy old man haha). I find it so rude when people are in a group eating out or playing games and half of the group is on their phone. I just want to say "if you don't want to be here entirely and participate in our social interaction, please leave". My biggest pet peeve is people who are in the same room texting. We all know you're doing it when you exchange glances and laugh at the same time. And that is even more rude than the other type, because it's basically like whispering to each other in front of everyone else.

So I've never wanted to become one of these people who cannot get off of their phones. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem if we're having a conversation and someone says "hold on, let me look it up on my phone" or "let's take a picture of this and put it on Facebook in real time", but there are limits. And I think I sometimes push these limits.

My goal to get off the phone will help me with #1 and #2 above, too! Our wonderful youth pastor at Word of Life Ministries, Jimmy Barrs, was speaking about setting goals that are very specific. In this case, I decided that other than for phone calls and text messages, I would put down my phone at 7pm each night. This will allow more time spent with Isaac (even if we are just watching TV together) and less time spent on playing the little games I am so addicted to!

It's not a huge change, but it's a start!

Love,

Judith

2013 goals

As I mentioned in my last post, my goals from last year were many and I managed to hit about 8-9 of those 15. I'm disappointed that I didn't hit all 15, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on them! 

My goals for this year are:

Be smarter financially –So we can get Isaac his dream truck and possibly move into our dream home! I will start by sitting down with the hubs and setting a budget and talking about how we will stick to it! I will also try to come up with a way or two to have extra income (I have a couple of ideas but I need to work out a few things first).

Be healthier – I want to go back to being more active at least 3 times a week. I also want to eat more fresh and organic foods rather than lots of processed, prepackaged foods.

Learn to sew –This will also save me money because I can either repurpose old clothes I would otherwise get rid of and I can fix clothes to get some extra wears out of them!

Learn to knit –This will be fun, get me off of my electronics, and I can make some fun gifts for friends and family!

Spend more time with loved ones –Have more get-togethers at our house!

Be a better wife –Unfortunately, I think I have gotten so used to having the sweetest husband on earth that I take it for granted at times. I want to deliberately be more prayerful, respectful, encouraging, uplifting, and positive for Isaac. At the end of a long, hard, and emotional day doing what he does as an EMT, I want him to come home to a safe, relaxing, and fun home. The last thing I want to do is to make our home a stressful place to come to! 

Do more for others –Sometimes I feel like I get desensitized to others going through hardships thanks to the horrible things I see daily on the news. I need to not only be more compassionate toward others who have less than I do and who are going through tough times. And I think that volunteering more will help me achieve that.

Get off the phone – Ugh, I can’t believe I have become one of those people. Hi, my name is Judith, and I am addicted to my iPhone. Poor hubby asks me all the time to get off of it so we can just hang out! So I am making a commitment to not be on it so much when in the presence of others. Words with Friends, Matching with Friends, and Gems with Friends will have to wait.

Build a stronger relationship with God - My time in the Word, prayer life, and study time can always get better. So I want to improve on all of those things! He has blessed us SO much even in our struggles and I want to know him more each day! And as a youth leader, the best way to lead is by example! If the leaders are all on fire for God, I can't wait to see what will happen to the youth group and the church!

There you have it! What goals will YOU set for 2013? Feel free to share them in the comments below!

Judith

2012 in review

Happy New Year dear friends!

I am officially the world’s worst blogger… cause, well, I don’t blog! I’ll try again this year and we will see how it goes. As we get into this new year, it almost feels like the slate has been wiped clean and you can have a fresh start. However, I wanted to look back at my goals from last year and see how I did on them. I did set a lot, so I’m hoping I at least made it halfway through them!


Cook more – I did better at this in the first couple of months of 2012, but overall, I think we were able to stay in more than we used to. So I’d say this was accomplished, but we still have work to do!

Learn to knit  - I didn’t even buy knitting needles. This one is a fail, but I’m adding it to my list for this year.

Pray more – I’d say I did this, but I still feel like it’s never enough. I’ve been better at asking others what they need prayer on and thinking of praying for those people throughout the day. But the area I need improvement in is praying for others without a specific thing to pray for. I need to pray for Isaac and my family more, as well as for our religious and political leaders, etc.

Organize! Goal was to have at least 5 more organization systems set up around the house this year. I did it! I got my jewelry organized (well, still need to do the necklaces but the earrings are all in their place as we speak), got a little organizer for my scarves, one for my belts, got a bunch of baskets and bins for cables, got my makeup drawer organized, and redid our entire guest bedroom with TONS of organization in there. I love it, no more random books and boxes everywhere in the spare bedroom!

Give better gifts – I did okay here, but still gave too many gift cards…

Learn about photography – I totally did this! Took a couple of classes and learned a LOT. Still much more to learn. My parents got me Photoshop Elements for Christmas so as soon as I get my laptop cleaned up, that’s going on there and I’m taking that class!

Have a cleaner house – Overall, I managed to accomplish this one. It was tough after we got Halli and she had her puppies, but I mopped at least once a day and it helped a lot. I still manage to keep things picked up and clean most of the time… now if only my floors would clean themselves. Ugh.

Be more adventurous and spontaneous – Not sure I’d say I accomplished this, since I can’t think of one really crazy thing I did without planning it this year. Darn.

Read more – Goal was to read 4 books. Failed miserably. Started 2-3, but didn’t finish a single one. :o/

Be healthier – I halfway got there. I got in pretty good shape doing Insanity for about 6 months and I was even eating a little healthier, but once we got Halli and we had the surprise of the puppies, every waking minute was dedicated to those squealing little furballs and I stopped working out altogether.

Spend more time with loved ones - I did manage to have quite a few get-togethers at our house (including my sister’s massive bridal shower), but I still want to do it even more!

Save more money – Not good. We took a few hits this year with our rescue having puppies, me losing a big account at work the previous year, and Isaac losing his job, so the car fund did NOT grow as planned and we didn’t make extra payments on the house as we would like to. Oh well, it’s a new year and I’m expecting better things!

Go somewhere I’ve never been. – I’m not sure we managed to do this… we went to the usual spots: Charleston, Asheville, and NYC. But I guess that within NYC we saw a lot of things we hadn’t seen before, does that count? I also went to Toronto for work and saw some parts of it I hadn’t seen before!

Give more! I did this! I gave a good bit of my time, energy, and money this year to great causes. As a church, we helped an orphanage get beds for every single child there (hundreds I think). I also volunteered a lot of time for the Operation Christmas Child project at our church. And as I do each year, I volunteered at Dunbar Child Development Center for their Christmas carnival.

Learn to sew. – Didn’t happen. We were super delayed in buying a desk and getting it set up in our guest bedroom so by the time that was done, it was October. And then I got busy. So I went to the store to get some thread yesterday and plan on starting this one in the next week or two!

So out of 15, I did about 7-9 (or at least got started on them). I’d say that isn’t bad, but I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say I was kind of disappointed in a few of those. So here we go. Time to set new ones for 2013! That will be in my next post :)

Love you all,

Judith

I have been a blog slacker...

BUT I have not been slacking on keeping track of my goals and pushing forward!

I know, I have been horrible at keeping the blog updated, but it doesn't mean I haven't been working hard! So I will try to update you all (or the 2-3 people who will read this haha) on what's been going on in the upcoming days.

One of my goals was to learn more about photography. No, I don't plan on ever becoming a professional, but yes, I would love for my everyday pictures to be amazing!

I have now taken 2 classes with Michael Lamb, who was my wedding photographer and teaches classes every week. The 1st week (Basic SLR), I learned a lot about my camera, lighting, and how to get certain effects using the preset settings available on my camera (i.e. night landscape, portrait, etc.). That was very interesting and so helpful!

But the the 2nd class came (Advanced SLR) and that is when the confusion set in! It was like a physics class! We were talking about our ISO settings, aperature, shutter speeds, white balance, etc. I understood most of it, but I knew I would need a LOT of practice before I'd be completely comfortable with getting off of Auto mode in any situation.

Fortunately, the weekend right after my 2nd class, we had the girls' photo shoot for our youth ladies at church. I came along as a leader to help (there were two "official" cameras shooting) but I also brought my camera to test a few things. I must say, most of my shots came out way overexposed but once I got home, I figured out why and how I would fix it next time! Here are a few of the shots I took that day (I did some editing to help with the overexposure in most cases).

These are by far not the best pictures I've ever seen but I'm happy that at least I'm trying something new :o)

Pictured are Jillo, Stephanie, Brooks, Arianna, and Cece.

 

 
My upcoming posts will be about organization, keeping my house cleaner, being healthier, and giving more!

On to another goal - reading more!

So far, I've only written about my "cooking more" goal. As I continue to try to do so, I am also trying to throw in a few more things for the month of February!

I have begun to read a book we received as a wedding gift (when I say I have begun, I literally just read the introduction). No, I have not read a book since we have been married. Yes, that is embarrassing to admit. It's called Covenant Marriage by Gary Chapman. Even if I don't have it on my list of goals for this year, one goal I have is to always be working to improve our marriage!

Here are some excerpts I highlighted.

"For those who are married, marriage becomes the second most important relationship in life, the first and most important being one's relationship with God. Man's relationship with God is of utmost importance because it transcends time, and it greatly influences all relationships."

This is so true. The closer I get to God, the better my relationships with others are. To be completely open and honest, I feel like there was a time in my life (in college especially) when I felt closer to God. I think I have let the "busy-ness" of my everyday life get in the way and I intend to change that because not only is my reationship with God of utmost importance, but since it influences the rest of my relationships, it would make that part of my life even better!

Another thing I highlighted was: "Communication and intimacy are two of the most important aspects of developing a growing marriage." I'm understanding more and more each day of being married that communication is even more important to me than I thought it was. And I think it's especially important for me as a woman! Women get together and talk. You rarely see guys calling each other and wanting to go talk over a cup of coffee. They want to go shoot guns or see a movie or ride go-karts. We want to go sit at a cafe and chat and catch up!

Sadly, it's easy to start thinking that once you get married, you don't have to "get to know" each other anymore. And I think that because of this, we assume the other knows us well enough that we don't need to communicate our wants, needs, dreams, fears, etc. It's so important though! Whether you have been married for 2 months or 20 years, it's still important to communicate. Asking questions is probably the best way to start such a conversation, and it will make the other person really feel like what they have to say and their opinions matter, even after you've said "I do"!

I also liked this: "The secular concept of love focuses on feelings. In the Bible, love is not basically a feeling but an attitude expressed in an appropriate behavior. It is the attitude that chooces to build up another, to put their interest above your own interest. Love is something you choose to do."

I've known that love is not just a "feeling" but is actually a "choice" since before Isaac and I ever met. But I can say that I get it now more than ever! He still makes me feel warm and fuzzy and giddy all the time but I must say that once in a while, if it were up to my feelings, I wouldn't be the most loving wife... but even if I don't feel those warm fuzzy feelings, I know that I love him no matter what kind of mood I may be in that day because I choose to do so! How do you choose to love someone when you don't feel like it? I just remind myself constantly of why I love him. Whether it is because he is super selfless and loves helping others, or because he does little things to make my life easier and more stress-free, I remind myself of some of the reasons I married him to begin with!

Finally, I read: "Our love and intimacy may provide the strongest attraction to the non-Christian world--a world that desperately seeks love. Jesus said: All people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. (John 13:35)"

The next couple chapters are about a covenant marriage versus a contract marriage. Can't wait to see what I find out and how I can be a better wife!

Warm and Comforting Roasted Tomato Soup

This was the perfect meal on a cold week night after a really crazy and stressful day at work last week.

And with all the tomatoes, it's got plenty of antioxidants and is somewhat healthy! We fixed that by making super yummy grilled cheese sandwiches (with some of the yummy deli meat we had used last week for the calzones we made).

This is NOT the quickest of easiest meal to make so I just want to warn you that unless you REALLY want to try it, I'd skip this one if you're in a hurry or really busy!

Here's how you make it.

Ingredients

• 6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes (we used 2 pints and it made 4 large servings)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 cup chopped onion (we didn't use this and it was fine without it since we don't like onions)
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme (also skipped this cause we didn't have any at the house!)
• 1 cup whipping cream

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°. On a baking sheet, combine the cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35 to 45 minutes.
2. In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth, the thyme, and the roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.
3. Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return it to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting the soup boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Add salt and pepper, if necessary.
4. Ladle the soup into bowls. We garnished ours with some fresh parmesan. Makes about 10 cups (that was 4 servings for us since it wasn't a side, but a meal).

Nutritional Information:

Per serving of Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled-Cheese Croutons (1 cup and 6 croutons): Calories 272 Total Fat 21 g (33% DV) Saturated Fat 12 g (58% DV) Cholesterol 55 mg (18% DV) Sodium 978 mg (41% DV) Total Carbohydrate 16 g (5% DV) Fiber 2g (8% DV) Sugars 6g Protein 5 g (10% DV) Vitamin A 1344 IU (27% DV) Vitamin C 25 mg (41% DV) Percent daily values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

 
Source: http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/roasted-tomato-soup-699298/

Ham and potato casserole

I know, so far I've only written about recipes... it's a start though, right? This didn't help toward my goal of being healthiery... but hey, I'm saving money AND cooking more! Well... in this case, I didn't cook it, my sweet husband did!

I asked him to cook the potatoes and hard boil the eggs, and came home to an entire casserole in the oven with NO trace of him having cooked in the kitchen... yes, he also emptied the dishwasher AND loaded the dirty dishes in there. I am blessed!

We had ham a couple of days ago and have a bunch of it left so I looked up a few recipes... I might make a quiche Saturday morning, yum!

After a rough day at work, this was the perfect comfort food... I mean, potatoes, ham, and eggs just scream comfort to me! We thought the eggs would make it weird (more like an egg salad) but it actually added great flavor! Okay, enough chit-chat, here's the recipe!

Prep time: 25 min.
Cooking time: 30 min.
Makes: 6 servings
 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) sour cream
• 4 ounces process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Colby cheese
• 8 hard-cooked eggs
• 3 cups cubed cooked potatoes
• 2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 

Directions

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cheeses. Cook and stir over low heat just until cheese is melted (mixture will be thick). Remove from the heat. Stir in the eggs, potatoes, ham, onion and parsley.
• Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and edges are golden brown. 

Nutritional Facts 1 serving (1 piece) equals 594 calories, 39 g fat (22 g saturated fat), 398 mg cholesterol, 1,522 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 29 g protein.

Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Ham--n--Potato-Casserole