Nights without meetings...

I should not be allowed to have lazy evenings when I haven't completely exhausted myself. Last night I came home from the YMCA (working out and teaching a couple swimming lessons) and I walked the sweet little girl and she was happily playing with her orange ball, when I began the project. I was sitting in my kitchen throwing the ball for Dakota when I realized I was fully annoyed with my kitchen tiles, they are ugly, they are dated, they are crooked, I don't like them. So instead of complaining about it or anything else I looked up online to see how to take down tiles. This project is going to be a little more work than I maybe anticipated and I know absolutely NOTHING about laying tiles, so I will learn. I give thanks for an independent spirit that leads me to do things that could potentially go horribly wrong. I give thanks for parents who taught me that it is okay to try things even when you have no clue what you are doing. 

So the project I think will go as follows (or at least this is the plan as of now):

-rip out the tiles (they are everywhere)

-potentially take out the fake brick stuff (debating this still)

-paint the cupboards

-replace the draw pulls and handles on the cupboards

-put up new tile (this is the part that makes me the most nervous)

-Enjoy a new-ish kitchen

Another Tuesday

This winter has been crazy, a serious lack of snow. This picture is of my sweet (not so little any more) Dakota and myself out wandering through a local state park on an attempt at a "snowy day." Life has been good, winter has semi-disappointed me with the inability to use my snow shoes.

In the midst of work and other such fun I have managed to continue to make a wide variety of crock pot soups (which I have learned to love cooking in the crock pot, now if only I could figure out how to make crock pot recipes so I wouldn't have so much leftover), do some crocheting, take tons of pictures, read (Hunger Games, my latest favorite, and many other books), and run. It has been wonderful to be able to get outside and run.

I also have been taking photos every day. It is kind of a fun challenge, some days I wonder what in the world I should take a photo of and other days it seems so easy. Although today, I missed out, I got to go to the hospital to snuggle a new baby and totally forgot to take a picture. He was very cute for sure. I think it has required me to be a little bit more intentional with my camera and has allowed me to see moments as picture worthy beyond the big trips and special holidays/events, although I must admit I do have a lot of photos of my sweet puppy.

In other excitement I am running the Fargo Half Marathon and am super jazzed about it! I would like to say I can't wait, but truth be told, while I have been running faithfully since the new year, I am not yet ready to run the half.

Oooo.... I have also discovered www.pintrest.com and it is soooooo much fun finding all sorts of random projects and recipes!!! Now if only I had time to make all the recipes and projects that I find or could actually re-do my house like many on there. However it does continue to give me ideas for the ongoing house projects I am doing. Currently I am learning how to re-do my kitchen, I am working on taking down a horrible backsplash in my kitchen and will figure out how to relay the tiles. I am planning on painting my cupboards after the backsplash gets done. I am loving home ownership 98% of the time.

I keep thinking how nice it is to have no major things happening this year: no moving, no graduating, no getting ordained, no call process, and it is a beautiful thing!

Unusual January

 This is my photo from January 7th, I wonder where our January weather is hiding. I have been slightly disappointed by October, November, December, and January so far, I want snow, feet upon feet of snow. I am ready to dust off my snowshoes that have been sitting by my back door just taunting me daily. I went to Crow Wing State Park with my brother, Marc, Dakota, and Nala (my brother's dog) and we walked around for a good couple hours, we had the park to ourselves. As we were walking along the banks of the Mississippi river we happened upon these beautiful birds and I was able to quick snap this picture. The birds in flight look pretty sweet in my opinion, although I am slightly frustrated that I didn't notice the grass in my shot until the photos were upload on my computer.