Manic Monday on Monday!!

Yes, I am finally getting a handle on my days. I am actually going to do the Manic Monday on Monday!!

Do you enjoy brain teasers or do you find them frustrating?
Both! I love brain teasers books. I have bought a few and do them when I feel the need to learn or stretch my brain. Also while traveling, planes, trains, cars - Good time fillers because they are short (usually) and you feel like you accomplished something after you finish! Sometimes I get frustrated at certain ones, or skip them all together. The ones I feel most frustrated with are simple ones that I know I learned in high school but can't for the life of me remember how to do it! (math problems) For the most part I can remember but every now and then it really gets me!

Do you have any unusual collections?
No, I don't think so. Well actually maybe. I was telling Curtis and Josh I save all of my papers and homework from college but also from projects and everything I do. I save it all on my computer. You never know when you might need it again, right?
But I can't think of other unusual collections. I love bags but that's not to unusual and I don't have a lot.

What do people notice about you within the first hour of meeting you (other than appearance)?
My friends later tell me they are usually intimidated by me. Which I feel extremely bad about! I am usually quite and not that talkative because I feel nervous and uncomfortable around new people. I guess this can come across as stuck-up and too good for people but that is NOT what I am thinking or feeling. I am actually extremely nervous ha ha! So if you meet me for the first time, know that I love to make friends, I'm just not that good at it!
_____________________________
On another note: check out the Whole food market blog. Have you ever wondered about those "Good Fats" people are always taking about? I have and this awesome post gave me a whole new perspective! Especially this part "If you crave a lot of sugar and feel hungry within just a couple of hours after eating..." Check it out!!

Deck of You!!!!

Its about that time of the week again. This time I am getting caught up. Both week 5 (last week) and Week 6 (this week) I am going to post right now!!! It feels so good to be caught up. Thank you participants for being patient as its kind of scattered with my traveling.



So week 5 was to use an ephemera- I used my boarding pass- how convenient. I am using a list from this website and its really fun to see how it lines up with my life. Kinda crazy actually.

This next week is......

Week 6 Prompt: Love, Love, Love

Pretty self explanatory!!! Run with it!!

Can't wait to see 'em!!!

Here is mine:

I used oil pastel for the background, purple paper and sharpie! Love God. Love Others. Love Yourself. That's what I think of when I think of love. Plus the prompt is love, love, love so it worked out quite well that I had three things that I thought of when I thought of love. And what I believe in when I think of love.

Simply Love this week!!!

Windy Poop

That's how I feel about wind- its poop. I hate it. Its been so windy these past couple days in CO. My dad said its been very windy this winter here. I hope it goes away. One of the most wonderful things about Colorado is its lack of wind.

Last week I started to do Manic Monday's. But I seem to be getting them done on Tuesdays- humm. I should work on that. But here we go!

Do you screen your phone calls?

No. I may make a few groans or take some deep breaths before I answer but try to always answer when I am available for a conversation. I don't really like talking on the phone. I would rather talk in person so phone conversations are hard for me but I have realized since being away from family and friends how necessary phone calls are. Also, how they can make me or a friend/family member feel so much better!

When was the last time you lost your temper?

Probably the night before I left for America. Curtis and I were having a conversation and I think my emotions got to involved and I got a little upset but nothing too bad. I don't think- ha ha

When you're lost, do you ask for directions?

Not typically. If you ask my friends and family, they can testify to the fact that I usually have a great sense of direction and very good memory when it comes to locations and whatnot. I usually know if I have a good idea of where I am or heading in the right direction and when I'm completely guessing. My husband is patient enough to wait and see if I am right when we have the time, however if we are in a hurry or limited time I'll have no problem asking for directions. I just like to try to figure it out if I can!

Hope your Monday/Tuesday wasn't so poopy windy as mine!

Simply Live and Love today!!

America!

Well I made it. Thursday night- after a long journey and pushing over 200 lbs. of luggage to terminal 7 in LAX (15 minutes walk) after already having traveled over 15 hours with no sleep, I made it to Denver and into a nice comfy bed at my dad's house. Its been great being back with friends and family but I miss my husband terribly, terribly, terribly!

Since being home things have been going non-stop. I finally got around to the blog, but am very behind with the Deck of You. If you are participating- thank you thank you thank you for your patience and here is the week 5 prompt!

Week 5 - Use an ephemera from your week

I hope to have mine up in a couple days along with Week 6 prompt!

See you tomorrow!!

Deck of You Card....A little late.

So here it is! Just in time before I share the next prompt.

So the prompt was a symbol that I love. Since living in China I have grown to love the symbol of the dragon and cherry blossom

Honestly, I had to research the meanings of both of them to gain a fully understanding but I just love them both because in my mind they remind me of the life these past two years in China.

Monday Monday Monday/Tuesday

I came across this Manic Monday site and thought it would be fun to give it a try every Monday, help me get in the grove of blogging at the beginning of the week and keep things updated. So here we go.....



you a saver or spender?

Definitely a spender, I would like to believe I was a saver and try to be a saver but I just don't do it very well- when I am in the US. However, living in China makes it REALLY easy to save. I just don't feel the need or urge to go out and shop and buy things from Target (cause there isn't one) and clothes that I really don't need (especially because we have limited room in our closet).



When I first got to China I had urges to go shopping and buy stuff but that was almost two years ago and the urges have stopped. I hope when we return this summer I can keep the mindset of not shopping just to shop and save more. I hope I will be a saver...



Do you prefer to walk around barefoot in your home? Socks? Shoes?

Without a doubt barefoot. I don't like wearing socks and shoes. Barefoot is what I prefer but doesn't happen all the time. My feet ALWAYS get cold, so I have to put on socks. Again, living in China calls for different circumstances. We always wear our Mammoth Crocs inside. Mostly because the tile floor is SO cold and get dirty really easy. But when we return- barefoot here I come!!!



Do you talk to yourself?

Haha- yes, but not fully conversations like some people I know....I yell at myself when I do something stupid or that doesn't make sense. Or when I feel overwhelmed. These are all very rare occasions in which I talk to myself but I do do it sometimes. Most of the time I just think, or pretend like I am talking to Curtis.



_____________________________________________



DECK OF YOU- WEEK # 4



No, I didn't forget. I have just gotten really short on time lately. I went to upload the picture and my computer refuses to do so. I promise I will get it up later today or tomorrow. Week 5 is coming soon!!!

mmmmmmm mangos

My wonderful husband went to the veggie market last night to grab me a few things for dinner and brought back some wonderful surprises! Mangos and delicious looking Strawberries!!! I hadn't really eaten many mango (real mangos) before coming to China and last spring I feel in love with them! I cant wait to make some mango smoothies and enjoy them! Sadly, it looks like I am going to be missing a good part of mango season when I head back to the Continental US in a few days....so sad.

On another note. I watched the movie Twilight with some friends last night. I was greatly disappointed as it did not do the book justice at all. However, I continued to read the book last night and this morning and still love it, even though the movie was so vague.

My suggestion: don't watch the movie- read the books!

Deck of You- Week 4...

Wouldn't you know it, just when I feel like I have ALL the time in the world my days get way too short. I hope to do more updates soon but it seems other plans are being made- just gotta go with the flow sometimes...especially when there is no schedule you can set.

Deck of You prompt for week 4- A symbol that you love
You know you have it, don't be ashamed of it! Why does it speak to you! When did you first encounter it? Tell us! Show us!

I will post my card soon- as soon as I do it- ha.

Yay for busy fun days that leave you not being able to keep your eyes open when you need to get things done.

Warm Weather = Happiness

I feel like my mood changes with the weather. As much as I try to be happy on a daily basis there is nothing like warm weather to lift my spirits. Friday morning started with a walk to the store with one of my good friends Jada and then a yummy tuna melt for me and tuna sandwich for her. We then proceed to chat as she went through my clothes. I love giving my clothes away, I am not sure why but it makes me happy. While going through the clothes this conversation happened many times:

Jada "you don't want/like this!!!??!"

Me "yes but I have so much back in America"

Jada "oh." As she picks up another piece of clothing and exclaims "you don't want/like this!??!"

She soon realized we were having the same conversation every two seconds and we both laughed. Ah, I'm going to miss that girl a whole lot.

I am currently involved in the Self Challenge by Self Magazine. Trying to get into better shape- you know its an on going process. This past week I have been hanging out on the stationary bike at the gym. I have been riding for about one hour. I bring along my Twilight Book (I'm on the third one in the series now) and the time just flies by! It amazes me!

We then came back from the gym and whipped up some yummy smoothies and fixed homemade pizza for dinner! I am getting a little braver in trying new things in my cooking and baking now. This time I added some ground flax seed and wheat germ to the pizza dough. It was still delicious AND healthy. Curtis and I love cooking together. We do it whenever we can. It gives us time to do something together, chat and just relax. Plus we both love food. I used a different kind of yeast then normal and for some reason it didn't rise. I'll have to figure that out. Spicy BBQ Chicken Pizza
Fresh Veggie Pizza

We enjoyed our veggie and spicy BBQ chicken pizzas while watching the movie Fireproof. It was an interesting movie. The acting was not very good but it had some good messages in it. I'm sure it got some differing reactions by the public as well.

Saturday I enjoyed a sunny day in Beijing with Rena. We ate a delicious meal at Outback Steakhouse, tracked down a tanning salon and stocked up at Jenny Lous (the western grocery store). On the way home we met some students who were carrying along a little turtle in a plastic bag. They graciously let him out to run on the silver platter for a good portion of the trip. We tried to have a conversation but my Chinese is horrible and their English was "poor" (as they say). We discovered they went to the same school we teach at and they live at the airport. However I'm sure the second part was some sort of a mistake - but ya never know!

The two students. The one on the right is trying to think of the English he knows...

Deck of You- Week 3!

Well we are onto our third week! I hope you are checking out the awesome cards others are doing and feel free to jump in at any time. There is no need to start at the beginning!

This weeks prompt is - I AM...
Make an "I am" statement. Use it in any sort of a way, long sentence short sentence whatever...I am one of a kind. I am living bright (trying to at least). This past month has been a month of revelations. I have had more ideas and felt more alive then I have in a while and I love it! I feel like I am in my skin again...I want to be me, and live that to the fullest without the worry of what others think. I will keep trying....

I tried to put the "one of a kind" over the word average but it didn't turn out as obvious as I had hoped. Can't wait to see yours!!

One of those days....

This past week my dad started a group to do a Bible study for Lent together over the Internet. I have really enjoyed doing it. It consists of a short Bible reading, prayer and reflection time everyday. Its been really challenging me a lot. Just a simple little verse and prayer has opened my eyes and heart up to the little changes I can make in my life. One that really stuck out to me was "In your anger, do not sin. Do not give the Devil a foothold. Get rid of bitterness"- Ephesians 26,27 & 31. Maybe its because I am an emotional girl but I get upset and anger over the silliest things and it only lasts for a brief second. That should tell me it not worth getting upset over. But I do. I am trying to learn how to catch myself BEFORE I say something I later regret that would hurt the other person. I have made some mistakes lately and they have really eaten away at my heart and I feel horrible, even though I have asked for forgiveness. Its a daily struggle I have, among others.

But I think I have the best squishy face....what do you think?