Not enough hours in the day

Teaching (both in the classroom and voice lessons), grad school, homework, internship, worship leadership at church, Scentsy, dogs, husband, working out, friends, me time, God. How do you fit it all in?

Well, I must admit, I'm really struggling with this one (this is the recurring theme in my life). Although those responsibilities are listed in no particular order, the list itself seems very reflective of how I feel: a pile of to-do's. So how do you fit everything in?

Keri, my discipleship/mentor/really cool lady from church suggested actually listing out all my obligations and the hours that they take in any given week. First I penciled that assignment in my calendar, and then two weeks later I actually got around to doing it.

Patrick and I sat down and planned out what our lives could look like for the next two years. (Disclaimer: FULLY knowing that God's plan trumps anything we write down on paper). But I mean, if you sit down and write out all the things you've committed to, then take a step back to look at it-mamasita it's overwhelming. But what if I changed my mindset and took everything in stride, realizing that few things belong at the top of that pile?

Balance is a tricky thing, especially when you've crammed in as much as I have into one year. And in order to make it through my master's successfully I keep telling myself, "Anyone can do anything for just a year." So I try to keep my emotions and feelings at bay and truck on through. It's the only thing that has kept me going so far.

But when the year of grad work, and teaching, and internship is over, what will change? Less responsibilities, probably. But only if I don't fill up that time again with other stuff. And that will take a conscious effort. How funny that I'm looking forward to my 9-5 job that I will come across after I'm done with school. Most people dread it :o)

My biggest concern is where God fits in all of this. And even that sentence repulses me, "Where GOD FITS in." But the fact is, I choose to fit Him in-and that takes a conscious and intentional effort. The rest? Well, hopefully it falls into place :o)

And so the journey continues.

No ipad today.

Today was a good day, an interesting day. I say interesting because we have had the pleasure of being around many people today, and we all know people can be...interesting.

It started out with a wonderful breakfast with friends. They invited us over for a good home-cooked meal. Delish! But it went downhill from there.

Then we decided to go to the Apple store to check out a computing device for Patrick. It's funny, in our house we could live off of one car. But we are most definitely a TWO computer family-especially now that I hog this one for my grad work. Poor Patrick hasn't touched the computer in I don't know how long. So we decided to check out ipads and possibly another macbook. The closest Apple store to us is in the Biltmore, which I must admit may have been a mistake in itself. Patrick had his comfy Saturday morning clothes on and I basically looked like I rolled out of my college dorm-room bed with everything but the dreads. No matter, we walked into the Apple store with all the other folks that had just shopped at lululemon, Saks and Coach. Well, I can tell you that our money is just as good as theirs (ours is cash!) but we weren't helped for 20 minutes. Maybe it was the attire, but that really shouldn't matter. Finally Patrick was clearly (by the looks of his face) frustrated with not getting any help and a young guy came over and said, "How's it going team?" Finally! Someone to help. It's sad that we were the last to be helped, and I'm almost certain it's because of the way we looked. Haven't purchased an ipad yet.


Then we went to Costco to see if we could get a discount on mac store gift certificates-to purchase the ipad. And now my friends, we come to mistake number two of the day: going to Costco on a Saturday afternoon. People were crazy. They were like hungry birds around the sample booths and just plain not paying attention. I sent Patrick in to get a sample for me while I stayed with the cart. He started to weave his way around the other carts when one just started coming at him and at full speed! He backed up, backed up, backed up some more, and finally the guy looked up and said, "It's a zoo in here!" Patrick looked at him as if to say, "Buddy, YOU are the zoo!" He had to move probably 10 feet out of the way before the guy even looked up. Craziness. People are crazy I tell ya!

So we get home, and it was our goal today to purchase an ipad. Well, Patrick is taking a nap on the couch (I think Costco wore him out) and I'm drinking my Skinnygirl margarita. Sorry ipad, maybe tomorrow.

Date Night: The free, the frenzy, the fun

Tonight we decided to go on a date night. The conversation was basically this:

Me: "Patrick, let's go get free slurpees from 7-eleven."
Patrick: "When?"
Me: "Now."
Patrick: "Okay."

Yeah, it started as me dragging him to another one of my "free things" expedition. I like free stuff, you can't blame me. So Patrick looked up the nearest 7-eleven and we got free slurpees. The creativity snowballed from there. We decided to go to seven 7-elevens and document our trip.

We made it all the way to ....

7!

(No more slurpees for a good long time).

Stop, Look, and Listen

Today has been a nice change of pace, brought on from a fresh perspective.

This morning I woke up and right away begin writing my mental to-do list. Go to the gym, clean the house, water the grass in the front yard, watch the movie that's due, return it on time, go to the bank, get a head start on homework, hit the ground running with my research paper, make lunch for Patrick, figure out dinner-wait! one thing is already done, figure out what's wrong with the vacuum and get it working again, add in grocery expenses to this week's budget, and I should probably get some God time in since I didn't yesterday...

Well, I went to the gym and had a great time of release. During the week I usually go with a textbook so I can do cardio and required reading at the same time. Today, no textbook. Just my ipod and the elliptical. Ahh.

I came home and watered the grass since I was already sweaty. My neighbor from across the street came over to introduce herself. Ahh, I love this place.

I mentally checked off my list. Gym, grass, done. Took a quick shower, then sat down to Dr. Oz with my new favorite lunch: triscuits, lunch meat, lunch cheese and fruit, all separated on a different part of the plate. A guest on Dr. Oz said gouda and other hard cheeses decrease your risk of cancer-SWEET! I was eating smoked gouda. Now what should I cross off my list?

I don't know if it was guilt or a swift kick in the pants from the Holy Spirit, but I decided it was God time.

After opening my Bible I always come across the question, "Alright God, what do you want me to hear today?" which is actually the nice way of saying, "I don't know where to start." I searched online for a devotional to give me a direction and came across one that spoke on how the Father sees you as his child. I looked for the reference...YES! I love Song of Solomon! I ditched the devotional altogether and just started reading. I was struck by one of the most amazing verses in all of the Bible:

"Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful!" ~Song of Sol. 4:1 (ESV)

I just stared at that verse. Then I read it over and over in my mind, and could almost hear the Lord himself saying those very words to me, "You are beautiful." For a moment my mental checklist was gone. School was the furthest thing from my mind, and even the snoring dogs under my feet were not a part of my awareness. It was me and God, and he was telling me I'm beautiful. Wow. Desiring more, I read chapter 3.

"On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not...'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?' Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves..."

Although the context is different than the message I was hearing, I understood it loud and clear. How many times have I run after things in mad pursuit, only to find temporary happiness at best? How many times do I put God at the end of my day, instead of the beginning? How much do I frantically look for God, "Lord! Where are you?!" and never open up his love letter to me-the Bible? Too many times.

Instead of feeling bad though, I choose to see the positive. My Creator is pursuing my heart. He has not made any mistakes, and his creation, me, is beautiful in his sight. So while I frantically try to get things done and stress out, God is saying, "Come be with me. I desire you."

Thank you Lord for never giving up on me. Please forgive me for trying to do things of my own power, and for denying my heart it's deepest desire-You. Thank you for loving me, and for seeing me as beautiful.

Amen.

New House

Husband is asleep...in-laws are asleep...but I'm not tired! So I'll write a quick post :o)

Patrick and I have moved into our new house, FINALLY! It only took 4 months of looking, 5 rejected offers, 1 failed inspection, living with my parents for two weeks and finally we're in. It's only been a week, and already we've been hard at work with home improvement projects. South Scottsdale is considered "Old Town" for a reason :o) Our house was built in the 50's but has had some remodeling since then. Still more to be done while we live in it. Many of the boxes are unpacked, and drawers and shelves are being filled. Now that I can step back for a moment, I'm incredibly grateful for all God has blessed us with. I'm so undeserving, and yet so blessed.

The dogs absolutely LOVE the pool. I don't LOVE fishing the dog hair out of it, but I guess its a small price to pay for happy children :o) And I can't say that I blame them-the weather is really starting to warm up, so having a pool makes me feel better about leaving them outside when I have to go somewhere.

We already love Scottsdale. We're closer to a lot of friends, closer to a lot of shopping, events, culture, work, things to do!! And I know everyone says, "Oh...SNOBstale or SNOTsdale" but honestly, our neighbors here are 100x more friendly than our neighbors ever were in Mesa. They have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. It's what I'd always hoped in a neighborhood. And good thing too because our backyard block fence is only 5' tall!! No skinnydipping for me I suppose :o)

We're so grateful to my parents for letting us stay with them for a couple of weeks while we were trying to close on our house. It was stressful, as the house buying process can be, but definitely made me realize what an incredible family I have. We could not have done this without them.

Patrick's parents have been helping us unpack and it has been so great, especially since I've been busy with grad school-which is fabulous by the way. I know they're in shock by the heat, and can't believe it when I say, "It's not even 100, it's actually kind of nice." They look at me like I'm a green alien or something. But if you live in 70 degree weather year-round, I can see how the level of comfort in AZ would be slightly different :o)

I haven't taken any pictures (mostly because I'm holding out for the "after" pictures, since I'm currently looking at the "before") but will in the next couple of weeks as we continue to get settled.

It has been a long process, but was worth the wait. I bid you farewell from the new place I call home. Good night!

Time to brag

I just need to brag on my husband for a little bit. He is moving up in his new company so fast he's back in training for a new position. Wasn't he just hired a couple of months ago? you ask. Yes. I'm just as amazed as you are. And yet, it doesn't surprise me. Patrick is one of the most driven people I know. He has a natural gift to make the system better, learn the necessary skills and rise to the top faster than...um...anyone. (I know I'm biased, but I don't think that's too much of an exaggeration). If you've talked to him at all recently you can tell how passionate he is about his work too. I've had people say to me, "How can anyone be so excited about something like finance?" The answer? I don't know. I personally, was not designed for that work. But My Love, he was. Now he's in the process of refining his ideas for his new business. He told me it will come to completion in one year. Yeah, I don't doubt that.

But more than incredible work promotions, Patrick is the most amazing husband I know. He knows when I'm stressed, when I'm tired, when to encourage and support me, when to ask me if I'm ok and when to leave me alone. He knows how to diffuse my anger, how to point out my wrongs gently, and how to love me the way I will feel loved. His demeanor is endearing to all, and remarkable to me. And most importantly, he knows how to be the man God designed him to be. Of course he's human and makes mistakes, we all do. But never have I met a more incredible person than the one I married that beautiful January day when the rain clouds parted and the sun shone down with it's beautiful rays beaming (that actually did happen).

To the perfect man for me, the one I could not be more proud of. I love you.

::pant:::pant:::WHEW!!

I'm really impressed by the Virtual Academic Center USC has for the MSW (Master's in Social Work). Honestly, the first thing that pulled me in was the flexibility of having an all-online forum. That, coupled with my long-standing desire to be a Trojan and USC's rank of one of the top THREE schools for Social Work. It seemed like an all around good situation. So I wrote my entrance essay, and submitted my application...and was accepted!

I ordered my books online (sorry budget), and started browsing the Virtual Classroom. It is the craziest, most innovative education platform I've ever seen! This program has "live" classroom time (webcam and phone needed), study groups online, a library system that is ridiculous (if you can't find something within the USC library system they will purchase it for you for free!), mobile apps, 24-hour student support just for the online students, online office hours, technical support, student caucuses (cauci? :) and is RELEVANT to the job market now and society now. I am totally blown away. I sat in front of my computer last night watching all of the orientation videos and I probably said 4-5 times to Patrick, "Wow. This is no NAU." Don't misunderstand-my undergrad at NAU in Music Education was perfect for me then, and was exactly what I needed in my education including the necessary experience that most undergrads don't get. BUT! USC has got it going on. I will say though, all those things come with a very large price tag. But to have the networking that USC offers, the field-experience right here where I live, and this kind of education...long term it will be worth it. Did I mention I will be finished one year from September?! Yeah, pretty amazing.

Now it's crunch time. We're closing on our new house on Friday, moving in Saturday. I start classes the following Tuesday. Phoenix Christian finals and graduation that same week, while I'm unpacking, remodeling and purchasing new kitchen appliances. Oh yeah, and we're singing at church Saturday and Sunday :o) That's how I roll. I like to cram tons of stuff into as small a space of time as possible, lol. Please pray for us in this busy but necessary time. I'm excited for the new things coming up!