Weekends

Weelll Hheeellloooo darlings. Welcome to the weekend. It's been about 2 weeks since I blogged, but I'm back and with some pictures to share. Last weekend, Labor Day weekend, my husband and I returned home to Indiana (and Michigan) for some family time. My cousin got married in Detroit to his beautiful bride in an elegant, amazing extravaganza. I also got to spend time with my family and nephew. 

So be prepared, this blog is all about the pictures.

My younger sister Katelyn and I before she moved to college last weekend.

My love and I heading to the rehearsal dinner in Detroit

My cousin, Steven, and I. Love him and so excited for his wedding day.

 

Parents of the groom, my aunt and uncle.

Bride and Groom. Husband and Wife. Kristen and Steven.

Not so little brother. Senior in high school. When did I so old?

Some of my beautiful cousins. 

 

With the happy couple.

Meeting my cousins new baby twins. Erik and Lydia. So precious, such a blessing.

 

The big man. Zephaniah Lee!

Smile for Auntie Kelly.

 

He LOVED playing piano with Auntie Kelly. 

 

Zephaniah not only has learned to walk, but runs. Has 4 teeth. Shows us how he can whistle. And knows to smile when you say "1, 2, 3!" and doesn't turn away from the camera until he sees the flash go off.

Smart cookie.

GiRls NiGhT

This past Saturday night, a few friends and I had a lovely ladies night while our boys were out doing their own thing. I am so thankful for the friends I have made here in Arizona. It was definitely a rough transition when my husband and I first moved here. There were a lot of lonely feelings for a while. The culture out west is a lot different than my traditional comfortable mid-western roots. I like country music, dirt roads, going to Wal-mart in my sweats, and even passing an Amish buggy once in a while. And that will always be home, along with my family and childhood and college friends. But I also love the mountains and sunshine of Arizona. And I am very grateful for the friends we have made here and how God has challenged us to be stronger in our walk with Him to help keep ourselves, and our friends accountable.

With that said... here's some friends from ladies night!

Megan, me, and Kendall- my first friends and co-workers in AZ. I could have never gotten through work without them sometimes. Grateful for the people they have introduced us to and the women they strive to be. Kendall is going to be a mommy to baby boy Emerson in November and is my partner in all things Twilight.

Mrs. Sarah Brooks (I can call her that because she's a teacher). An amazing kind hearted, beautiful woman of God. Who also has a golden retriever. 

Holly... my dear friend who I am so grateful for. Laughs and learning. For years to come.

Mexico crew! Me, Sarah, and Holly along with our husband and another couple are headed to Rocky Point, Mexico in October!

I LOVE MY FRIENDS :)

Football Friday

Hey football fans (and fan-nots)! Happy FRIDAY! 

One more week until college football season is upon us! It's time to start studying up! Today we're just starting with the basics! So put your reading glasses on, or contacts in, get ready to learn some good ol' football facts. Trust me, the football fan (or man) in your life might be impressed with what you're about to know!

The Objective

The object of the game is to outscore your opponent by advancing the football into their endzone for as many touchdowns as possible while holding them to as few as possible. There are other ways of scoring, but a touchdown is usually the prime objective

The Field

Learning the exact dimensions of the field is not necessarily that important, but it is good to have a basic knowledge of the field itself.

• The playing field is 100 yards long. 

• It has stripes running across the field at five-yard intervals.

• There are shorter lines, called hash marks, marking each one-yard interval. (not shown)

• On each end of the playing field is an end zone (red section with diagonal lines above) which extends ten yards.

• The total field is 120 yards long and 160 feet wide.

• Located on the very back line of each end zone is a goal post.

• The spot where the end zone meets the playing field is called the goal line.

• The yardage from the goal line is marked at ten-yard intervals, up to the 50-yard line, which is in the center of the field. After reaching the 50-yard line, the yardage markers start to descend (40, 30, 20, 10) every ten yards until they reach the opposite goal line.

The Teams

• Each game features two teams playing against each other.

• Each team is allowed 11 men on the field at a time. Any more than 11 could result in a penalty.
• Unlimited substitution is permitted, but players may only enter the field when the ball is dead.
• Each team is comprised of an offense, defense, and special teams.
• If team A has possession of the ball, they use their offensive team to attempt to advance the ball toward the opponents endzone.
• If team B has the ball, team A will use their defensive team to attempt to stop team B from advancing the ball.
• If a kicking play is expected, both teams will use their special teams

Beginning of the Game

• Before each game, the captains from each team and the referee meet at the center of the field for the coin toss.
• The winner of the coin toss has the option of starting the game by kicking the ball to the other team or receiving the kickoff from the other team.
• The game begins when one of the teams kicks off to the other.
• The receiving team must catch the ball and try to advance it as far back toward the kicking team as possible.
• The play ends when the player with the ball is knocked to the ground (tackled), or makes it all the way to the kicking team's endzone (touchdown).
• The spot where the kick returner was tackled becomes the line of scrimmage. The line of scrimmage is a term for the place the ball is spotted before a play is run.
• Once this starting point is established, the offensive squad of the receiving team will come in and try to move the ball toward the opposition's end zone.

What is Down and Distance?

Understanding down and distance is probably the biggest key to understanding football, so make sure you really understand this part before moving on to the next section.

• Basically, a down is a play. From the time the ball is snapped (put into play), to the time the play is whistled over by the officials, is considered one down.

• A team's offense is given four downs (plays) to move ten yards toward the opponent's end zone.

• Distance is the number of yards a team needs to get a new set of four downs.

• If they make the ten yards needed within four downs, they are given a new set of downs. This is called getting a first down.

• If they don't make it the required ten yards, the other team's offense takes possession of the ball.

Fourth-Down Strategies
If a team fails to gain the required yardage on third down, several things could happen on fourth down:
• A team can elect to "go for it" on fourth down and try to pick up the remaining yardage, but they run the risk of turning the ball over to the other team if they do not get to the first down marker. If they do not get the required yardage, the other team takes possession of the ball at the spot of the last tackel and now has four downs to move ten yards back in the other direction.
• The majority of the time, teams will elect to "punt" the ball away on fourth down. A punt is simply a form of kicking the ball that gives possession of the ball to the other team, but also pushes them back considerably farther away from the end zone.
• Another option is to kick a field goal. If a team feels they are close enough to kick the ball between the upright bars of the goal post in their opponent's endzone, they may attempt a field goal, which is worth three points when converted successfully.

After a Score
• After a team scores via a touchdown or field goal they must, in turn, kick off to the other team, and the process begins all over again.

(Yes I possess this knowledge, but the above can be referenced at www.football.about.com)

Football Friday

Are you ready for some football?!

It’s that time of year again folks.

Football season.

Tailgating.

Cheering on your favorite high school, college, and NFL teams.

Wait… what is that you say? Are you thinking… “Who cares about football?”  Hmm… SMH. (Shake my head.)

Let me introduce you to some facts:

“Ranked among the top most popular sports in the United States along with the National Football League and Major League Baseball, NCAA (college) Football counts 103 million adults as fans* or 44 percent of all US adults. Among adult college football fans, 61 percent are male and 39 percent female.”

http://www.militarybowl.org/college-football-continues-to-build-unprecedented-interest-with-record-attendance-and-stellar-ratings/

So for those of you who are football fans – welcome back to football season. For those of you who are not… let me ask you, are you dating, engaged, or married to a football fan? The answer, I’m guessing, is quite possibly! Do you know anything about it though? Have you wanted to learn about because you’d like to become a fan or please the man in your life with some football knowledge?

Well now is the time to learn.

I’m going to starting a Football Friday blog. The basics, the history, scores and updates.

Let me introduce you to my personal story with football:

I grew up in Goshen, Indiana which is about 30 minutes east of South Bend, Indiana. Those two towns probably don’t sound too familiar to you. Well, South Bend is home to the one and only: The University of Notre Dame. This place is full of history; hallowed grounds with its own zip code. I grew up a Fighting Irish fan. Specifically when it came to football – my dad taught me almost everything I know. My grandpa also helped to build the actual Golden Dome (seen in the picture below).  I was the kid in middle school that listened to the radio on Saturday afternoons for that special moment before kickoff when Notre Dame’s own pop song, “Here Come the Irish” came over the radio. Feel free to listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45P6Q2oe_I4 . I would sing it at the top of my lungs while putting on everything blue, gold, and green I owned. This also included painting my face or using green clover stickers to show my pride. All this… just to watch the game in my living room at home, cheering on the Irish.

Then… I met my husband. Who not only has Irish blood, but also has a tendency, at times during the year, to look like the Leprechaun. And is the biggest Notre Dame fan I know. He taught me even more about football and shared the same love, or in his case, obsession about the Irish that I did. Many people have asked me, “So are you a Notre Dame fan because of Eric?” NOPE! I was born an Irish fan! 

 

 My husband, Eric, and the leprechaun in 2005.

He and I religiously follow Notre Dame football and up until last year when we moved to Arizona, Eric was a field usher on the football field at Notre Dame Stadium every home game. The first time I was in Notre Dame stadium, I had such a rush of adrenaline that I cried! It was amazing. There is nothing like it! I slept outside the stadium in front of the ticket office over night, just to get tickets for the Notre Dame vs USC game in 2005 and it was so worth it.

So needless to say... I, as a woman, am a football fan. I love watching it and playing it. And this season... I'm gonna be teaching you a thing or two about it!

Me and Eric in 2009 at the midnight drum circle in front of the Golden Dome.

Eric and I tailgating on my 21st birthday in 2006

My brother and I at the Notre Dame opener in 2010... I literally got off the plane from Phoenix, got into my brother's car, drove 10 minutes to Notre Dame, and FULL OUT RAN a mile to get into the game before kickoff. 

GO IRISH!

Wednesday Ramblings

Hola amigos.

Welcome to hUMp day... aka Wednesday. Thank you for making your way over here today. No specific topic for the blog today, just random ramblings of thoughts. Feel free to join in on my lunch hour day dreaming and scheming.

Currently I'm dreaming that my heartburn will chill out. Frozen yogurt might just do the trick - but we'll save that for later. I love this place. And, along with some friends, like to get yogurt at least once a week. Still that doens't seem often enough. If you live in the Peoria/Arrowhead, AZ area... check this place out.

Yogurtime

Did I mention friends a second ago? I think so...and can I just tell you how BLESSED I have felt recently in regards to relationships and friends. As most of you know, the husband and I moved here a little over a year ago all by ourselves. We have a very small amount of extended family that live in AZ and have started friendships all over in this new place. Most of the people we know is because I've work with them and in turn, they have introduced us to their friends. Amazing people, simply awesome, great people to hang out with. And God has been putting certain people into our lives and just the right time to encourage each other and bond. The last few months have been great getting to know new people. And therefore, I am grateful for friendships today.

“Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold.”

Next item on the scheming blog agenda... sports. That's right - LADIES: it's time to talk sports! I love sports. Specifically football, even more specifically... Notre Dame college football.So starting in a few weeks I will be doing a Friday Football series. I'm guessing most of your husbands, fiancee's, boyfriends, etc... are into sports... but, the question is: do you really have any idea what they are talking about? Do you know what the NFL Lockout is.. or was? What's your husband's favorite team? Do you really know if they are doing good when you watch the game with him? How about running a route? Nope.. it's got nothing to due with a newspapers. So it's time for some lessons.

Stay tuned for more info!

Chop Chop

Alright folks... as promised... after much thought and definitely a freaking out moment at the salon... I did it! I chopped 11 inches off my long light brown hair and went a little blonder.

So without further adue...the reveal of my haircut!

BEFORE

AFTER

11 inches donated to Locks of Love!

So... whadda ya think?!

Message in The Message

This past weekend at church, our pastor encouraged us to dive into the Word of God on a daily basis and asked us to challenge ourselves to be dedicated to pursuing the great messages God has for us in there. Our pastor also shared a few quotes about the Bible from some pretty important people... take a guess at who said these things:

“It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.”

"Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there contained! Every member would be obliged in conscience to temperance, frugality and industry: to justice, kindness and charity towards his fellow men: and to piety, love and reverence toward Almighty God....What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be."

"The reason that Christianity is the best friend of Government is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart."

George Washington

John Quincy Adams

Thomas Jefferson

Our founding fathers KNEW that God's Word changes the hearts of men and that it carried a GREAT message.

This week and last week, during my 5AM workouts at the gym, I've been taking my Kindle along and diving into my Bible. I love reading different versions of scriptures, so on my Kindle I have downloaded The Messages Bible. It's easy to read and some of the wording just resinates more with me. I've read through all of Ephesians and below are some of my favorite verses.

 "It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first head of Christ and got out hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living - part of the overall purpose he is working out in everyTHING and everyONE."

"God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine, or guess, or request in your wildest dreams! He does it, not by pushing us around, but by working within us, his spirit deeply and gently within us."

"And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd..... But that's no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you."

"Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift."

Change for Change

This past week a gorgeous, creative, fellow blogger of mine has INSPIRED me to SHINE along with her to help high school students reach their dream of going to college. A fellow Arizonian (is that a word?), Ashley LeMieux from The Shine Project has a GOAL of raising $20,000 for the Shine Scholarship Project to go towards a college scholarships for four Phoenix high school students. This is a HUGE, AMAZING goal!

Check out what Ashley wants to do:

"My goal is to raise $20,000 for The Shine Project Scholarship Fund by the end of October. The money will specifically be going to four students at Cesar Chavez High School in Phoenix, Arizona, to help them pay for their first year of college. This will be accomplished in two ways. The first way is by doing CHANGE for CHANGE jars. You have the opportunity to get involved by pledging to do a CHANGE jar. I have tags to send you, and for the next three months you will throw your leftover change in this jar. Those of you who are brave will also get your friends, neighbors, and businesses around you to to show a little love and donate."

My goal is simply to HELP! To make a DIFFERENCE in the lives of 4 students who want to pursue their dreams! BUT, I need your help! My goal is to help Ashley and The Shine Scholarship Fund by raising $100 by October through my own Change for Change jar. If you work with me, see me on the weekends, or even if you live farther away... would you be willing to help too?

All I'm asking is for you to save your lose change for the next three months. Whenever you see me, if you are willing, let me know if you have change to put in the bucket! I'll have one jar with me at work and one at home. TOGETHER you and I along with tons of other inspired people will make some amazing dreams come true for high school students that otherwise would have no means to even think about affording college.

Check out more details at: The Shine Project - Change 4 Change

Time for a CUT

It's time. It's hot... it's summer... and I have had long hair for years! It's time for a haircut! It's time for a change! I've decided I'm chopping my long hair and donating it to charity. BUT I need some help determining my new style!

Here is my hair length now:

And here are the styles I love... and this is where YOU come in!

I need your VOTE!

Please comment below and include the style option you like!

Style Options:

1. Jennifer Aniston's new cut

 

2. Lauren Conrad's short do

3. Heidi Klum's new do

I'll do a before and after picture once I get it cut to let you know which style I chose!

ALSO - If anyone knows a great cancer/wig charity to donate my hair to, please leave a comment below.

4th Festivities

This 4th of July weekend:

I saw my first Rodeo in Prescott... the World's Oldest Rodeo!

Prescott, AZ

Friends and Fireworks

Land of the Free

Happy Birthday America! 

Middlebury, IN. My hometown.

I don't really know how old you are now but I do know a lot of things about you. I was born on your land, grew up around the lush cornfields of Indiana, and swam in the lakes in Michigan. My mom and dad always had an American Flag flying high in our yard and I remember how special I felt when I was my turn to read the Pledge of Allegiance over the loud speaker in elementary school. All those times I stood on the basketball court in my cheerleading uniform singing the National Anthem with the choir or my teammates with my hand over my heart staring up at your stars and stripes. 

Fish Lake, Sturgis, Michigan- where my mom, aunts, uncles, cousins grew up

I'll never forget the day I came out of the I-Step test in high school and heard someone say that a plane crashed into the twin towers in New York City. The terrifying few days and weeks after 9/11 will define my generation, but so will the resilience of our Armed Forces men and women and the freedom that they fight for... even 10 years later. And how we've learned to be grateful for our freedom and have a new pride in our country.

America, you were built by faith, trust, and hard work by our founding fathers who just wanted to be able to practice their choice of religion freely. IN GOD WE TRUST, was put in our coins for a reason. God knew we would always need to trust Him during the wars, floods, famines, trials, and tribulations we would endure on this free land. We ARE ONE NATION, and YES we are UNDER GOD... but are we following Him? Are we really trusting Him? We should be.

Thank to the BRAVE men and women in our Armed Services who have been fighting to protect this country and keep it free. Praying that you all come home quickly and safely!

Thrifty Thursday is back!

Hola fellow bloggers and blogettes! Welcome to another addition of Thrifty Thursday! Today we're talking about FURNITURE! Since our move into a much bigger house, we've found that we need a little bit more furniture. Enter >>> Craigslist, IKEA, and garage sales! Although it's too hot for garage sales in Phoenix this time of year, I have managed to find items here and there. Also a current favorite: Craigslist! My husband has done enough bargain hunting over the years, he knows the difference between a scammer and a true honest seller. Don't ask me how, but it's come in handy! And the mother-ship: IKEA. My all-time favorite furniture place!

So let me introduce you to my Craigslist find:

2 Black wood end table with storage = $40 a piece ($80 total)

 They work great in my entry way... and my living room!

Garage Sale finds:

See that brown wicker vase there on the corner?.... Found that baby at a garage sale for $1.00 That's right. You read it. ONE DOLLAR. 

How about that white shelf on the wall next to the clock? That white shelf... Again.. $1.00!

IKEA Buys:

We took one big trip to IKEA and got several things for our loft area. Including:

Organization Boxes Large $10, Small $5

 

White Bookcase $60

   

 

Office Chair $40                            Curtain Rods - 4 of them! $7.99 each

AND a couple other miscellaneous things of course.. but all for a great price!

So check out Craiglist or Ebay for items you're looking for. Check out garage sales too! Look in the paper or on Craiglists for moving sales or estate sales - you'll often find great furniture for a great price! Don't be afraid to do some bargain shopping and save some money!

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend and be safe everyone!