What have you been up to so far this summer?
I have woefully neglected this little blog of mine, due to random summer activities and limited computer access. In light of this, here is a long overdue update with an overload of picture highlights of the past several weeks. We've celebrated a few weddings in several different States: Memorial Day Weekend: My brother and his new wife were here for a visit from Germany over Memorial Day weekend, and we had a cookout and a few get togethers with all the siblings in the area (OH is included in this area): Visited Jungle Jim's for the first time and found the best aisle, obviously: Celebrated my birthday: And that's about it. Lots of traveling, visiting family, school, work and hopefully soon we'll be getting some bike rides and other adventures in!
What have you been up to so far this summer?
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Loren and I have both wanted to get smartphones for a while. Life really is fine without one, but they are also super convenient and helpful for SO many reasons. But we couldn't afford them with our current phone plan. We were paying $60/month (for two phones) for talk & text, which isn't bad, but we didn't want to go over that in paying for data. A while back I had heard about this cell phone service called ting and about how great it was. I quickly forgot about it, since everyone has "the best" phone service plan. But then I came across it again on a “life on a budget” blog (Frugality Gal) and did a lot more research on it. After researching and convincing ourselves to try something new, we switched over to ting, got smartphones and are now living happily ever after. It works like this: You can either bring your own device (must be Sprint) or buy one from ting or cheaper places (we used Swappa).
We've been using ting for about 3 months now and it has been wonderful. No problems with coverage, billing, etc., and the customer service is top-notch. We haven't paid more than $50/month (mostly under $40) for two phones with talk/text/data. If this is something you are interested in, use this referral code and get $25 credit (which goes a really long way) when you sign up! It's been a full week since our anniversary trip, so I guess it's about time to blog about it before I forget everything. Better late than never, right? Loren and I went to Chicago for a couple days because it's been calling our names for a long time and it's not too far away from us. We had a wonderful time seeing the sights and eating delicious food and we will definitely be going back some time! Please enjoy this photo-filled post and don't drool too much over the food. Late Sunday morning, we excitedly jumped in the car and headed north! Our first stop once we got to Chicago was for deep dish pizza. SO GOOD! After lunch, we wandered around downtown, saw some sights and got a little familiar with the area.
Chances are you've already seen most of these pictures. But today is our first wedding anniversary and that's when one posts wedding pictures again, right?
This first year of marriage, we've lived in 2 apartments, moved across the US, taken numerous trips, made it through one year of grad school and so much more. I can honestly say this has been the best year of my life, and it just keeps getting better. I'm so thankful to be married to a hardworking, loving, godly, honest, handsome, tall and adventurous man. No one else makes me laugh like he does. No one else gets my humor and weirdness like he does. I'm so blessed to be loved by him! I love you, babe! Here's to many more years together! It's finally May! And what a full and wonderful month it will be with weddings, trips, summer school and hopefully lots of sun. This weekend was sunny and warm and it was amazing!! Saturday morning I tried out this German Pancake recipe (it's not really German) for breakfast and it turned out lovely puffy and delicious: Then I headed out for some thrift store shopping with Dawn and her boys! I came home to Loren studying for finals, and he took a little study break and we hit up Target with a gift card and some birthday money to see what we could find. Sunday, after another refreshing morning at church, we did stuff at home, and then caught some late afternoon/early evening rays in a close by park. I hope you had a happy, sunny weekend!
Welcome to another blurry iPhone snapshot-filled short weekend recap! Friday night was looked forward to with much anticipation. A wonderful date night at Olive Garden, thanks to a nice gift card (yay Administrative Professionals Appreciation Day!), stop at the pet store to kill some time, and a movie. Loren and I had a lot of relaxed and enjoyable time to talk. He's been crazy busy wrapping up these last weeks of his first year of grad school. Even crazier is that in one year he will be basically done! Saturday, we ran some errands and Loren got a haircut during a crazy sudden hail storm. It rained practically all day, so we stayed inside studying, cooking, cleaning and reading (guess who did what ;)). Sunday we had a fellowship dinner at church after the service, which was a blessed and refreshing time. That evening, I got to hang out with some of the girls from church. It's been a while since I've had a girls night, and it was a lot of fun just eating snacks, ice cream, playing games and talking. Thanks, girls! We should have taken a picture. Oh well, next time! How was your weekend? Ready for this week?
There are several things I would like to do during my life. Some people call this a bucket list. Others have a list and deadline for completion, to some known as 30 before 30. I have a few years (just over 6) before I turn 30, so maybe I will actually get to do all these things by then!
Some items are more exciting than others, and a majority of items on my list involve traveling. I love traveling (travel dream lists here and here)! Anyway, here is my list, in no particular order: 1. Sky dive 2. Take Loren to Europe 3. Visit all 50 states 4. Have kids 5. Get a dog 6. Read 12 new books a year 7. Go zorbing in Switzerland 8. Donate hair 9. Work out consistently 10. Pay off grad school debt 11. Live debt free 12. Donate blood 13. Get a professional massage 14. Meet other bloggers 15. Grow blogger followers to 1,000 16. Anonymously help someone in need 17. See Wicked on Broadway 18. Get consistent business on our Etsy shop 19. Create my own recipe book 20. Walk the San Antonio Riverwalk 21. Drink coffee at the first Starbucks in Seattle 22. Take a gondola ride in Venice 23. Visit a concentration camp 24. Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland 25. Sleep in a tree house 26. Catch a last minute flight to a random destination 27. Dine at an underwater restaurant 28. Take a helicopter ride 29. Go white water rafting 30. Go to a Colts game at the Lucas Oil Stadium What are some things you want to do? Share in the comments below! Last week I did a horrible job in the blogging department. For all you guys know, we didn't even have a weekend! But don't just assume that. Because we did have one. And here are a few pics from last weekend and this weekend to prove it! Last weekend:This weekend:So there you have it. Not to thrilling, but sometimes the slow non-exciting weekends are just as good as the busier ones.
How was your weekend? I love the foamy steamed milk that comes on a latte. And a few months ago, I discovered an easy way I could get that foamy delight at home without any fancy equipment! This has now become a regular part of our Saturday morning coffee. Try these super easy instructions to get your own foamy delight: What you will need: ~cup of coffee ~ 2% or nonfat milk ~ sugar ~ 1 small jar with lid ~ microwave 1. Make a cup of coffee. 2. Pour 1/4 cup of milk into a jar. 3. Add 1 tsp sugar (or as you would normally sweeten). 4. Screw the lid on the jar and shake for 40 seconds. 5. Warm the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds. 6.Pour the milk into your cup and scoop the foam out of the bottom. 7. Enjoy! What coffee tricks and tips do you have? Feel free to share in the comments below!
Friday night, our church had a Good Friday Service - the first I've been to in several years! Following the service, we walked out to this amazing sunset and just stood there for a little bit enjoying God's creative masterpiece. Loren and I made brunch together Saturday morning, and it was all so perfect! He whipped up & flipped the pancakes while I put together some Panhandle skillet dishes. Sunday morning we celebrated Christ's resurrection and gift of salvation at church, then came home to a traditional ham dinner. Sunday afternoon my sister Crystal and her family came over from Ohio to stay at Dawn’s for a couple days. Loren and I went over for dinner Sunday & Monday night and it was such a blast having everyone together! I’ve missed my sisters so much. The four toddlers/babies kept us all entertained quite well. So much commotion going on! Can't wait till our parents + all the siblings + spouses + children are all together again! I hope you all had a blessed Easter weekend with family remembering/celebrating all that Christ did for us!
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