1 fish, 2 fish, 3 fish...

it has been a busy week for us and the state of our apartment proves it! today is not the day to pop-in, it's a mess! we have just been going, going, and going.  so tonight we got to do something just for fun! we went fishing with my in-laws!

AND... i actually had fun! :)

i wasn't worried that i'd have fun with my in-laws; i was worried that i'd hate the whole fishing-thing.  i've only been fishing two other times in my life: once when i was little with my uncle and once with his family about 2 years ago.  

BUT...
i caught 4 fish! 2 bass and 2 sunnies.
wahooooo!!!

i'm not turning into a fisherman: i didn't touch the bait and only touched 1 of the fish i caught.  oopsies.

 the hubby caught some too! 

i held one of these ones by its mouth! 

we ended our night with ice cream. yum!

party-dance.

we're so close  to being debt-free that i can taste it!
o yes. done. in 1 year and 10 months!
!!PARTY!!

!!PARTY!!
best part? we can GIVE freely.
more on such things.... later :)

fiesta

my kitchen is a nice big fiesta!

now mix in goodwill shopping and see my latest find!

Ole!

red light, green light.

some 'trusty' internet sources show that the average person spends about 5 - 6 months stopped at red lights in their entire lifetime; averaging at least 10 minutes a day.

we obviously must obey traffic laws so we are forced to waste all that time, right?
wrong. 

sometime when i was in high school, i read 1 Thessalonians 5 in my devotions. verses 12 - 28 grasped my attention. big time. my prayer life was right before bed if i didn't fall asleep first, maybe 5 minutes a night.  i was feeling a bit like a zombie.  i needed to know that God was hearing me but i struggled to invest in my prayer life.

in lands: verse 17: 'pray continually'. 

i started to examine aspects of my routine that are consistent.  now, i don't remember when this was (kicking myself for not documenting this kind of thing), but i must have been at least 16, because i was driving.  i started praying at red lights. now, i found it to be a bit rude to start ignoring my passenger or start praying over-top of anything that they might have been saying----so i only pray at red lights while alone. ha.

it began as just a prayer about who knows what; but i found it hard to focus.  eventually it evolved into specific prayer time for the authority & leadership in my life.  at that time it was my youth pastor and his family, but has continued to evolve as my leadership has evolved.

why am i sharing this with you? i'm actually a little uncomfortable, but this practical aspect of my life has dramatically changed my understanding of 'praying continually'.  i no longer just 'waste-time' sitting at red lights or doing other mindless tasks during my routine when i can add prayer to these things.  this does not replace setting aside time to pray daily, but improves my prayer life dramatically.  praying continually radically changes your life. 

so what about you? when is the last time you've improved the quality of your prayer life?  what in your routine is mindless and could use some spice of prayer? who can you be praying for?

soap.

i am a little particular about how i like things.  i care about presentation, asymmetry, proper appearance, color coordinating, organization, consistency, etc.
no shame. i just am: this is my real life.

so guess what!? i'm even particular about my kitchen soap.  this is my mom's fault: her kitchen soap has been this way for years.  i personally don't ever want to have a soap bottle just chilling on my kitchen counter.

they get gross, slippery, dispenses too much soap, and just look, well, like a cleaning product that never got put away.

instead, i have this pretty dispenser.  i don't waste as much soap and it looks neat to me. its also amusing to see people try to figure it out--haha!
win. win.

o, hey. i need to add soap--i'm running low. i opt for the hand renewal type, because i wash dishes A LOT.

need proof?

sportin' our alma mater

hot-rod.

all people should be jealous of my car.
seriously. it's magnificent. the quintessential dream car. 

yea right!

i am sporting the red-neck car of the century and have been since i was sixteen.  clearly its only been just a few, 8 years, but who's counting? fortunately my car ages well and has gotten better in it's decrepit age of 17. but its a good car. promise.

when my car, chevy lumina, entered my world... it was white but the paint peeled off as easily as dried glue peels of your hands.

in its better years it looked like this:

 at one point the entire roof and front hood had no paint whatsoever.  i am now kicking myself for not documenting all the stages of my car's life.  i should have taken a picture!

in case you haven't noticed... this car is ugly. and hot. no a/c makes me a toasty warm girlie in this car.
but.

its a good car. i promise.

the day after i got my license i was rear-ended by a minivan.  now, not only was it mortifying that i finally convinced my parents to let me drive without them, i was hit at a red-light.  THEN... i had to give the police officer a teeny-tiny slip (it looked like a receipt) that states i have a license because my real one was coming in the mail.  but on top of THAT. the man who hit me? only had one leg.

so here i am, crying and angry at a man who has a physical disability.  well that made me feel great!

in the end, it was really his fault and to-this-day my license plate is still bent and my bumper is cracked and slightly falling off.  his minivan? totaled and had to be towed. sucker. 

.....

other stages of my car included a blue roof and new white paint.
it always seems to pass inspection, makes my pastor (& boss) endlessly nervous about my long trips to NY, and has never once let me down and still running running smooth at 175,000+ miles. 

.....

my latest upgrade to my car has taken it to another level. o yes.
last fall, the hubby and i decided that my car needed to be a bit more... "fun".
we painted my car with chalkboard paint!
o yes. i drive a moving chalkboard.  aren't you jealous now!?

our car debuted at our halloween church outreach: 

ready to be drawn on!

after a great night of chalking. 

yep. i love my car.

crepes

try not to pass out from amazement that i am blogging two days in a row. i know, it is rather shocking. 

i love being creative with the time i spend with friends.  i'm all for a good movie or shopping but i really enjoy creating quality time in memorable ways. 

so this morning was "b-squared" time and we made crepes! good 'ole pinterest is to thank for this quality recipe.  except for an accidental bacon-disaster, we made a delicious breakfast and enjoyed our time together. 

our yummy breakfast filled with 

strawberries and banana's! 

how do you spend your quality time with your friends?