What I Learned

I'm linking up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky to tell you all what I learned in June.

Yes, I'm aware I'm a few days late, but better late than never, right?!


1.  Bill and I (and possibly a couple of the kids) enjoy watching How It's Made.  So much so, that when I was in Indiana this past week-end, Bre and I were watching it, as was Bill (in Charlotte) while we were Facetiming. 

2.  Iced Tazo Chai Tea Latte's are my absolute favorite drink ever.  I read a fellow blogger say that she found the best version at a place in Greensboro, but I'm pretty partial to Starbuck's version.  Bill has taken a liking to Iced Coffee's, and I recently discovered that Keurig has a model out that you can run milk through.  I think I know what we are going to be using that Bed, Bath, and Beyond wedding GC for.  (Thanks again, Eddie and Sherrian!)

3.  My favorite jeans are Silver's and 7 For Mankind.  They have the perfect amount of stretch, and they are very flattering on the tush.  I have several other brand of jeans, but there is not a time that I wear either of those jeans that Bill doesn't comment on how 'good my butt looks' in my jeans. 

4.  Life really is so much more fun when you don't take yourself too seriously.  I'm a very analytical person, which makes Bill laugh at with me A LOT!  He tells me these jokes that start out very serious, and while I am 'thinking' about what he said, he drops the joke.  No matter how many times he does it, I still never see it coming.  One of the things about him that is positively rubbing off on me is... sometimes you just have to laugh at life, AND your spouse.

5.  I will bargain shop for the best price or buy non-name brand for just about everything except fabric softener and detergent.  I'm extremely picky when it comes to what I wash my clothes with.

6.  One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp may be my all time favorite book.  I just finished reading it for the third time.  If Bill was a reader, I'd make him read it, too.  Dare to live fully right where you are. 

7.  I love trying new recipes, and I love that Bill sends me links to ones that he thinks I would like or that he would like for me to make for him.  He's just as involved in the grocery shopping/cooking process as I am, and that, in itself, is a huge blessing in my life.

8.  I am in love with our home.  Not to be mistaken for our house.  Our home - the life we are creating within the shell of this house.  The love that continues to grow with the passing of time.  The memories we are making.  I look around and see a mix of all of us.   Pictures of us on the walls, craft projects we have made together and for one another, paintings by my mother-in-law, our unity sand candle, pieces of furniture that we've refinsihed, the lingering smell of Bill's cologne in the bathroom, the laughter that fills the rooms.  Life simply could not be any better than it is right at this very moment.

9.  Running and yoga are my two favorite forms of exercise. After Bill leaves for work in the mornings, and I've had my 'quiet time' in Scripture, I engage in one of the two aforementioned activities.  There's something to be said about starting your day off on the right foot, and I'm so lucky to have the ability to do just that.  Also, I'm dying to give Pure Barre a try too, because my friend, Alison loves it so much. 

10.  I CAN grow vegetation!!!  I've long said that I'm like a 'plant whisperer'.  And not as in, I can 'save' them, but as in, I am the medium between their earthly life and becoming one with the dirt again.  A couple weeks ago, Bill purchased some majorly discounted items at Lowe's and proceeded to 'challenge' me to nurture them.  I think his exact words were 'It's up to you to take care of these and if they die, we will know you have a gray thumb.'  Haha.  Challenge accepted.  About a week ago, I was outside watering the plants when I noticed that my organic lettuce was starting to sprout.  A may or may not have ran inside to grab my phone, and let him know, because I was that excited.  His response, 'See, you can do it.'  That man has more confidence in my ability to do anything I put my mind to than anyone ever has had in me...myself included.  And that is an amazing gift in my life.