Gentle Rain and an Oil Lamp

It's Sunday evening and my husband and I are sitting in the tiny room of our apartment that we like to call the nook. It barely fits the table and chairs for four, but we love the two large windows and the storage closet :) It's where I set up my sewing machine and where I sometimes bring my computer to accomplish things when I get distracted in our office. Tonight a light rain falls outside the open windows and my husband has lit the oil lamp I bought him for Valentine's Day (see photo below of how I modified it). He and I need to take more moments like this to enjoy the simplicity of our little home. If only the weather would stay this cool when it rains... we do not look forward to the humid afternoon short Florida storms that leave steam rising off the streets in a matter of minutes. For now, we'll enjoy the weather as it is.

I added artificial red flowers with stems to the base, along with valentine stickers that can be read when the lamp is lifted, to give the red tint and filled with oil. The flowers in the chimney were just for show of course.

Spring break has come and gone. Even though it was only two short weeks back, after going back to teaching this past week I feel as though break was eons ago. I can't believe there are only 8 weeks left of my first year of teaching! To make the most of my break, I created a long to-do list of all I wanted to accomplish before the week was over. This included groceries, shopping for items for my classroom (this happens most constantly), finishing plans and paperwork for when I returned to school, sewing anything just to satisfy my desire to do so, reading up on blogs, packing for our brief trip to NC, among other things. I'd like to share some of my spring break efforts.

*Easter started my break. Matthew and I were invited to have an Easter lunch with a couple at our church and their family on Saturday. We really enjoyed ourselves as we played Bocci in the yard, conversed with church family, and ate yummy food. The next morning we went to church for the Easter service and headed over to the beach for some fishing. We certainly did our share of fishing... only without the fish. What we did catch was too small. We saw more wildlife that day than we had in a long while. We love going to Canaveral National Seashore because of the privacy of the beaches and untouched nature. We saw raccoons on the bank searching for clams, many many porpoises (it was unreal how many we saw that day - usually it's countless manatees), and horseshoe crabs that swam quite close to me.

Outside our apartment Easter morning. Notice our apartment number is on the ground. Guess the painters didn't feel like replacing it when they finished their job.

Taking a break from fishing to move to another location in hopes of more fish. No such luck.

*Before we left for NC, I tried my hand at sewing again. When you don't really have anyone to show you how or what to do, you spend a long time looking at photos online or reading pattern after pattern - at least I do. I thought I'd be basic and sew a simple skirt, and by simple I mean no zippers or buttons, just some handy dandy elastic. Using some fabric I had lying around, I set to work and the skirt turned out alright. It's a bit big, but I wore it to school this past Monday. I began working on another one and need to finish the hem and waist. The Wal-mart closest to us hasn't remodeled yet like the others meaning fabric is still there! For a little over $5 and some time, I can have myself a new skirt. I don't wear shorts much when it's warm, so skirts and sundresses are my favorites. Having more skirts for school is always a bonus! Here's a photo of the navy skirt I finished, the almost finished skirt, and then some fabric I haven't yet touched. I'll have to think of something crafty to do with the scraps.

I hope to be able to whip these skirts up in an hour or less one day. I do love the idea of making my own skirts for $5.

*I have also been working on a crocheted fabric rug. I was browsing Wal-mart's fabric section over the break and came across these rolls of fabric called Stripz. I had always wanted to buy some, but couldn't decide if spending the $20 would be worth it. To my surprise, they were marked down to just $9! There happened to be a print I fell in love with so I snatched it up and headed home. I had a vision of this pretty crocheted rug in my future laundry room. Right now our "laundry room" is more like a closet so the rug won't work in there. I began working on the project and love it. I sewed the strips end to end and used two rolls. I believe I'm going to go back and crochet some rounds of darker green fabric to finish it off. I bought 3 rolls, and am saving the last roll of my stripz for some sort of matching curtain? when we have a laundry room. Maybe I'm thinking too far ahead, but what wife wouldn't want something pretty to look at while doing the chore of laundry?

I finished my second roll of fabric and am now on the hunt for a darker green to finish it off. Such a simple project!

*In North Carolina we had a relaxing time. Sadly, my youngest sister and mom were away on a trip to Europe with my sister's school. Ok, sad for us, but definitely not sad for them! We really missed seeing them though. We did enjoy visiting my other sister at UNC Chapel Hill for a day and hanging out with my dad around the house. Matthew and I visited my grandma and cousins in Virginia, and played in the tall wildflowers at my papa's house. We were sure to stop by Missy's Grill, the local hotdog place, to get our fill of the delicious hotdogs. The 10 hour drive was worth it as always, and we look forward to the day we are there for good!

Outside of Missy's Grill. Hotdogs with ketchup and slaw... yum, yum.

With the sis at UNC. Can't wait to see her more!

Wildflowers a.k.a. weeds. I tell my husband that I've always wanted to wear a white sundress with a straw hat, and have my photo taken in a field of all sorts of wildflowers. This is the closest I've come, lol.

That about sums up my break. It's dark out now and my mind is slowly switching into school mode as I think about what I need to gather for tomorrow. We've planted lima bean plants this week and our caterpillars arrived as well! Much excitement in the classroom as always :)

Breezy Saturday

It's so nice to be able to have the windows open and feel a fresh breeze blow through. There's only a short time we can actually do this in Florida and I'm enjoying it immensely. It's a high of 65 today and sunny. I feel a bit guilty freely enjoying this weather when my parents have had wintry mixes, sleet, and snow off and on for the last week and Matthew's parents have a blizzard happening in Ohio... and no electricity. Guess I should do my best to send some warmth up their way!

Today I was on my way to the grocery store when I noticed that my herbs have sprouted in the pot outside our door. I planted them about two weeks ago - even though January is a bit early for planting. It's Florida... the cold won't last much longer. This year we're going to have cilantro (Matt's pick), garlic chives, and lavender (my pick). With my leftover seeds, I secretly tossed them onto the little landscaped island outside our building. The apartment landscapers never seem to care about that spot, so I thought having some extra herbs pop up would be a nice surprise ;) We'll see! One day, we hope to have a nice spot of land of our own where we can plant to our hearts' content... yes, one day.

I wish my husband was here to enjoy a relaxing, breezy Saturday as well. He's been at work since 7 this morning photographing youth sport teams. When he gets home he'll have just a small chance to rest before we head out to a get-together with our Sunday School class. We both are looking forward to this. It's Mexican themed and I am in the process of making Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie... the recipe looked easy enough so we'll see how it tastes later. I was a bit disappointed as I put the ingredients into the dish because the smell very much resembled breakfast cinnamon rolls and there's nothing really Mexican about cinnamon rolls. Oh well. The recipe got great reviews and I think it'll be yummy served with ice cream.

This past week was a bit rough for me. A very stressful event happened at school last week that carried over to this one. I was constantly reminded to trust God and everything will turn out fine. For me, this was difficult to do because I kept going over every possible scenario in my head that could take place and worried over how I'd prepare for it. After wrestling with this for about four days, I finally began to feel some peace and relax a little. One morning as I was getting out of the shower, this song came into my head and it was perfect:

"I will cast all my cares upon you.

I lay all of my burdens down at your feet

And anytime I don't know what to do

I will cast all my cares upon you."

With this comforting chorus, my prayers, and prayers of others, the incident came to a close this week with little drama. God is so good! I can look back now and see how He handled things and how silly my worrying was.

Matt & I started Crown Ministries this week. It's a faith based approach to dealing with finances the way God intended us to. We've been looking forward to doing this with the small group we meet with every two weeks. There's homework to accomplish, scriptures to memorize, and questions to get us thinking deeply about the direction our financial life should take. Call me a nerd, but when I saw the hard back books, nifty carrying case, and the challenge of homework, I was quite excited :) I'm curious to see what God will teach us over the next 10 weeks.

To finish this post, here is a picture of the latest sewing project - a request by my husband. He asked if I could make him a pouch for his graphics tablet so it's protected in his bag when he travels. We went to JoAnn's Fabrics last week and I smiled to myself as I watched him roam through the aisles of fabric obviously overwhelmed. He decided on simple stripes (yay for easy sewing!) with a soft liner. I hope to have this simple case finished this weekend. It's nice being able to use the sewing machine again and get in some MUCH needed practice. I think I'll go work on finishing it now before we leave.

Passing Time

My day began to the sound of my husband's alarm going off at 5:40 this morning. That's an hour earlier than usual because today he is working on a film crew near Sea World. I wake up with him every morning because I'd feel guilty sleeping in while he readied for work. Plus, I love being able to make him breakfast and pack his lunch (wifely duties are fulfilling!) I do find enjoyment in rising early - I'm more of a morning person than a night owl, but having no consistent job to wake up early for makes it quite difficult at times!

Good news is that I have a substitute teacher meeting tomorrow for one of the counties that I applied. Unfortunately, it's from 8:45 - 3:30 (a long time to be in a meeting) but I should be able to start subbing as soon as next week - at least I think! I don't see why not and I guess I'll find out tomorrow for sure. Soon I might be the one needing my breakfast cooked for me ;) I did have the dishes unloaded, laundry put away & another load began, fitness dvd complete, and shower all by 8:30 this morning. It felt wonderful!

I mentioned a fitness dvd... let me explain. The gym here at the apartment doesn't open until 8 and I prefer to exercise as soon as Matthew walks out the door because it gets my day going (and my chances of doing it at any other time minimize as the minutes tick by). To get me exercising, my wonderful husband got me My Fitness Coach for our Wii. It came before the Wii Fit, so it's an older version that just requires you watching the animated "coach" as she instructs you for 15 - 45 minutes. I have stuck with it consistently for 6 workouts and she has honestly worked me hard! I had no idea it would make me this sore. It's a great alternative to going to the gym because I can do it right in the living room. Nothing compares to being outside in the fresh air though. I'm trying to get Matt to walk/jog with me some evenings when we're both home at a decent hour. I do love being active, it's just a matter of discipline.

Speaking of discipline, that is what is most needed when sitting before my Singer sewing machine. I got it as a gift from my parents two Christmases ago and have only been able to use it a handful of times. This is because I have to teach myself. I have many books and have spent much time on the internet researching simple projects, etc. We don't have the extra $ for me to take a class at the craft store, so for now I explore on my own. Over a year ago I made four simple pillows out of multicolored scarves, and I also made the curtains in my bedroom at my parents' house, as well as my little sister's bedroom curtains. My latest project is dish soap aprons - cute for gifts! I wanted to start off simple (although after yesterday I've learned that sewing 1/4" bias on an item so small is not as easy as I thought). It's a progress and I hope to sew more. I love having the time now and will be sad when this spare time is gone. Maybe I'll post pictures later of my simple creations and gradually work up the knowledge and courage to tackle something more difficult!

For now I will go sit once more in front of the sewing machine, making more aprons because I'm determined to stitch the bias on correctly!

**Oh, I never did drive Matthew's car on Sunday. I was going to and even offered (rare), but we were in a hurry and he needed to drive. I told him he missed his chance :) He does want me to drive tonight though... hmm....