renter's remodeling

We love our home and the character that it has but, there are so many things I would change if we owned it. From the drab wall color, to the smoke stained wallpaper, to the 70's cabinetry...not to mention the huge mirror behind the sink that reminds you of how terrible you look bright and early in the morning....but I digress. It all needs a little modernizing. The kitchen was the first room we decided to tackle {inspired by the fact that we just got a new stove and fridge} Yay for no more 1960's appliances in a horrid color!

I picked up this fabulous runner at TJMAXX for $19 bucks and it resides along the bottom cabinetry by the sink.

Marshalls provided a super great find for us, too! Little fun details!

Next, Curtains! Our first curtains for the home....oh boy, what a difference did they make. Again, bargain shopping....$16 each at target, and $10 for the curtain rods.

BEFORE

AFTER

Now, the top cabinet doors needed to go.  Maybe they wouldn't have been so outdated if they had some fun knobs or pulls on it. But since they did not, off they went. Hello, open shelving!!

BEFORE

{Check out those vintage appliances...}

AFTER

Although the kitchen is by no means my "dream kitchen," it now feels a little more home-y and fun....On to the next room!

I have projects just-a-brewin' in this little head of mine for the living room "remodel." New rug, curtains, paint the mirror, canvas wall prints, tall vase, ect. I realize we are on the poor man's budget so this won't all be a reality. A girl can dream right?! Until then, our living room will remain to look like this:

Time to put my thinking cap on and start to develop a game plan for my next home decorating extravaganza!
{It'd be so much easier if we could just hire someone to decorate our home. Any takers?}

a run down memory lane.

Running--It's been such a huge part of my life and true passion; but it wasn't always that way. I can remember my mom & dad forcing bribing me to run with my dad, enter races and try-out for track as they saw the God-given talent I had. I would often say, "it's pointless....at least with soccer you're chasing a ball." As part of one of their deals, I had to at least try-out for track in 7th grade. Fine. So on lunch, the PE coach took me out to a field and told me to run a lap (1/4 mile). Easy. He continually kept asking, "Can you run another?.....and another?.....and another?" So around I went getting rather bored with this task. The coach looked at my mom and the other coaches and said, "well, I think we have our distance runner."

So now that I had gotten myself into committing to track that year, I knew I had to make the best of it.  At first, I liked running for purely one reason: I was good.  I was making a name for myself.  It wasn't until that season when Coach Davis {or "Fish" as I called him} was introduced to work with the distance team. What an inspiring coach! He taught me all that running has to offer, the pure joy behind running, the life lessons that can be learned by just your feet hitting the pavement in the same cadence for miles and miles. He believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. He just got me. And oh boy, would I do anything to please him, to make him proud.

Here are a few of my favorite stories of our runs:

It was an early Saturday morning training run and he told me we would be going out for a 3 mile run. Ok, great. That's the furthest I had ever ran but I was comfortable with it. As we were running this random route, all I can remember was getting so so tired and thinking, man! longest 3 miles ever. After we finished, Fish disclosed that we actually ran 4 miles and that I am capable of more than I think.

We were doing a tempo run down to the park from the stadium and as we were coming back, I was doggin' it and Fish was busy jumping around in the ditches as he ran. All of a sudden we saw a turtle in the road.  I would have overlooked this but that was made difficult because Fish picked the turtle up and started running with it....later he put it down in a safe location. How fun it is to be in touch with nature and God's creation.  I learned to look around, not be solely focused on the end but enjoy the creation and praise God for his great works.....all because of a turtle.

So, this all began my journey of running. I loved it. I went on to beat a school record, run in multiple state meets, obtain medal after medal....until that moment when it had turned into competition instead of love for the sport. I got burnt out with the pressure of always having to be on top, I took a year off to try to find that passion again. As soon as I found it, I joined the team again and that passion was channeled into encouraging the newer runners. That was my new goal...to encourage others in the way that Fish encouraged me. Which lead to going to college for an exercise science degree, studying running programs {for fun}, coaching 3rd-5th grade boys to run a 5k, and my ultimate dream: to be a middle school running coach. One day....

I have the urge to start running for myself again...to enjoy my surroundings, get lost in thought, to have quiet time with God, to love the sport for all that it offers. Join me on my journey to establish a new identity in running--not that of a "good" runner--but of an encourager, a follower of Christ's teachings, and a joyful spirit.

My little running team.

Race finish-I couldn't have been more proud of this little boy.

the day of my birth

You guessed it....today is my birthday {a whole big whopping 22}!

It's pretty great, if you ask me, that my father sent me a text yesterday wishing me a happy birthday just so he could beat my mom to the punchline---sadly, he missed it by minutes. But hey, there's always next year. Keep trying, dad!

And then....more birthday texts on my actual birthday!!

The Day

I woke up way too early this morning, stumbled around the bedroom gathering my birthday outfit (including my new sweater I got for $7!), received a sleepy "happy birthday, babe" from the hubs, and then rushed off to work.

Now...everyone knew it was my birthday at work because:
1. It's decorated on my calendar.
2. I, of course, told everyone.
3. It gave them an excuse to have a lunch outing paid by the company.

Our sweet janitor even made me a cupcake and brought in some chocolates. {am I spoiled or what?...just wait, it gets better}

As I'm sitting at my desk with my feet propped up on my footstool, in my window there is a bright eyed, handsome fella with a starbucks cup, gift bag and flowers (!!). If you guessed that it was the hubs, you win a pat on the back. In he waltzes with a chai tea latte, bright colored roses and a vase. Wow, what a guy!

This evening shall consist of a birthday beverage with the neighbor lady, a smokin' hot dinner date with Cam, and then out for drinks with our duplexmates....how much fun this is going to be! Stay tuned for more pictures of our evening festivities!

in the middle of darkness

It's no secret that I struggle with the environment in which I work.  It's a dark place full of hatred, lies, constant profanity, ungodly chatter... {you get the picture} I often feel like the black sheep here, however I am so grateful for that, as I do not want to fall into the ways of the wicked.

Until now, I have chosen to surround myself with a great christian community. I have chosen to shade my eyes and ears from the type of lifestyle and behavior that my co-workers display. Regretfully, I have even chosen to look down on those who partake in such behavior. However, I am called to reach out to those who do not know Christ. I am called to be the light in the dark place. And through this, I am called to deepen my relationship with Christ in order to show his love and mercy to others. So you see, I had the complete wrong way of thinking all these years.

I didn't understand this concept until the Lord placed me in such an environment as this. I felt like a fish out of water when I started here, not knowing what to say, feeling judged, and struggling to find the encouragement I needed to get through 5 days a week, every week.  Day after day, my {rockstar husband} would remind me to be the light, that I'm storing up treasure in heaven and to keep doing what I'm doing. Without his push to keep a WORDLY perspective and not a WORLDLY view, I'm pretty sure I would have become callused and bitter about my situation. Now, that's not to say that I don't have days of just utter frustration and discouragement... because I do. But during those times, I am able to turn to the Lord and praise him for being a constant encourager and for knowing all our days although we have no understanding of the future.

Everyday, I stare at a verse that is posted right above my computer screen to get a little extra push to keep showing the light of Christ even during times I feel defeated.  Matthew 5:16 is my power verse!

Lions! and Tigers! and a Mouse?! oh my.

As we were cuddled up on the couch indulging in some good 'ole Burn Notice, our vicious Maltese/Yorkie terrier, Logan, let out one single bark much to our surprise.  Naturally, I sent my hunk of a husband to go investigate 10 feet away in the kitchen.  He flips the light on, I question as to the cause of the sudden outburst from the fur child, and Cameron replies: "Babe, dont move...there's a mouse and I don't want you to scare it." So what do I do?

I EXPLAIM, "A MOUSE?!?" all the while trying to climb even further up on the couch to escape the unwelcome intruder and later declaring that I was moving out of this house. {may or may not be slightly dramatic}.....I dont think that this reaction is what Cam intended when he said "don't move" and "don't scare it". My bad.

The rodent was caught by the hubs using tupperware and the lid to my shoe box(see, new shoes do come in handy) and we were saved from the mouse.  Now if any others try to pull a stunt such as this, we're prepared and equipped with mouse traps all over the house. Bring it on, mice.

To give you a glimse, this is our combat team:

The Look-Out:

The Enforcer/Muscle:

The Moral Support:

{photo credit: Jen Doornbos Photography}



..and the journey begins

As Cameron and I have 2 months & 29 days 3 months of marriage under our belt, I feel the need to capture our little moments, adventures, life lessons, through words and photos.  My hope is that I can be brought back to that specific time and place through documenting our lives together...whatever that might look like, and to give others a glimpse into our reality and share our journey of this blessed life.

Until then, I choose to be still and dwell in this moment in time and savor {& I mean truly savor} the memories in the making.