life: everyday – lovevalie

dining spaces & nesting updates

July 12, 2021

Current dining room (before we removed the rug for the puppies!).

Nesting is officially kicking in as I round the corner to 35 weeks. Suddenly I want to paint everything and do every house project I can think of! I’m thankful for this kind of energy- it’s not how I usually feel! 🙂

My list so far:
-Redo the floors
-Paint the downstairs walls
-Move the bookshelf
-Paint the bedroom
-Rearrange and hang curtains in bedroom
-Purge clutter from cabinets

And I’m sure I will think of more! We headed to the hardware store today to get started but couldn’t even get a paint sample pot- surprisingly, they were out of everything! The stress of the pandemic has really taxed supply of everything, including housing renovation items. I wonder what we will be able to accomplish on my list in 5.5 weeks? 🙂

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life: everyday

2021 texas snow-in #2

February 18, 2021

We have been snowed in for the second time this year! It’s hard to believe a thing like this could happen so far south:

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life: everyday

back to regular life, version 2021 :)

January 4, 2021

In about one month, we took an around-the-world trip, had traveler’s sickness (and jet lag!), celebrated Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. With all these events in a row, it’s been more than four weeks since we had a regular schedule here at the house. 🙂 I’m not sure how hard it will be for all of us to get back to normal again after so wonderful of a break! But I think I’m ready for a healthier diet, early bedtimes, and much more exercise. 🙂 Here’s to a good start in 2021!

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life: everyday

happy 2021 from us

December 31, 2020

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

2020 was surely a year of growth for our family. New challenges brought new weaknesses, which allowed God to display His infinite strength, because His power is made perfect in our weakness. So as Paul reminds us above, looking back at this year, we were weak because in it God was shown to be strong. While difficulties are so…well, difficult; Christ’s power resting on us? We are glad for that. We want that. May God show us both more of our weakness and more of His mighty strength in 2021.

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life: everyday

Cozy winter morning view

December 30, 2020

This has been my morning view, and I’ve been loving it:

These winter days by the fire are some of my very favorite. <3

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life: everyday tiny disciplines

tiny discipline: making the bed

November 6, 2020

After more than a week of making the bed, I’m happy to report it’s starting to become part of my day!!

I call making the bed a tiny discipline. I believe that tiny disciplines are a little different than atomic habits, as James Clear would call them. The term tiny disciplines is more directed toward developing an internal character quality than an external habit. Making the bed each day is a tiny step in the direction of developing internal orderliness. Or at least in my mind it is, anyway. 🙂

I’m making progress!

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life: everyday

productivity goal: making the bed every day

October 25, 2020

“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day,”… “It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

Retired U.S. Navy Admiral Seal William H. McCraven

Life has been crazy lately, and I haven’t even used my planner in several days because I am floating from one task to the next. I have made the bed several times out of necessity, so I’m feeling like what the admiral said is true! I do feel more accomplished with my bed made!! Therefore, my goal this week, if God allows, will be to make the bed every day. I just love the feeling a made bed provides! 😀

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life: everyday

it’s never too late…

December 1, 2019

After teaching weightlifting (BODYPUMP) this morning, I filmed myself teaching for a new certification in BODYFLOW. Something about recording a video makes me nervous every time, even though I’ve been teaching fitness classes for years! Learning something new like a new exercise format is always challenging but exciting too. I loved being in school; I guess still love reaching a tangible goal to this day. 🙂

After teaching for nearly two hours straight, I grabbed a cup of coffee on the way home and made it until mid-afternoon for a somewhat celebratory steak dinner. It was fabulous. 🙂

On the way home, we stopped by the grocery store where I couldn’t resist purchasing eggnog (again). Eggnog is a common holiday drink in the U.S. that tastes like melted spiced ice cream. Every other year I have a craving to try it again, even though I’ve never ever liked it! ha. This year was the first time in my life that I not only found it drinkable, but wait for it… even tasty!

Lesson learned today? It’s never too late to try new things. 🙂

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life: everyday

thanksgiving 2019

November 30, 2019

We had a most wonderful Thanksgiving at our house this year. I made the turkey using a new recipe: instead of baking it in the early morning, I put it in the oven at 11 p.m. Wednesday and had it roast on 200 degrees through the night. It changed my entire holiday cooking experience. I didn’t have to worry about the turkey being undercooked, and when we went to slice it, it was fall off the bone tender! It reminded me of Pakistan: the meat is extraordinarily delicious there because they salt it, then cook it for an extended length of time. I’ve decided I need to try cooking all my meats that way from now on. 🙂

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