Patience

If your a wife or mother or own a beagle you probably already know that Patience is necessary to everything! Well I am just shy by a few months of being 1 year into marriage and 1 year into being a beagle mommy, and even now those things can't compare to the lesson of patience that I am currently learning.

When I was in Bible College my one professor my freshmen year had said to us jokingly "Don't pray for patience it will be the longest hardest life lesson to learn from God." and of course me being an 18 year old who wanted to prove something went back to my dorm room prayed that prayer and ever since I have reminded myself, I put myself in this mess. It's true learning patience is the hardest thing to learn and its a CONSTANT thing to learn. You don't read a book, know what it is and then be good, constantly life throws us lessons of patience our way it's up to us if we accept the lesson though.

My husband sometimes get's frustrated when we face adversity or major issues I tend to laugh it off and continue what I was doing, he always asked me how I could be so calm, "Do you not understand what is going on?" It's then in those moments God offers me the chance to whisper a lesson of patience to him, my response always and forever will be "You and I have no control over this issue, we can choose to let us be beat down or we can choose to let God handle it the one who already has His hand over the situation and can ultimately be the only one to fix it." He never quite likes to accept that truth sometimes because he's a "fixer" he wants to fix everything, handle it all, cross the T's and dot the I's.

Currently We are going through a personal situation that is a rather lengthy process and I have to admit I am having a slightly hard time taking my own advice on this one, I've gotten a bit stir crazy the past 48 hours and I have to admit each hour that goes by that I don't hear something I get a little more stir crazy. (Hence why I am typing away to you guys). This one thing could change the way everything is for us, in a amazing and blessing filled way!!!

Please just pray for us as we pray for you, as this step in our marriage could be one of our biggest ones yet!!!

Clean Spree: Apartment Remodel

With the new weather I am sure everyone has heard of "Spring Cleaning" when I was younger I couldn't understand why anyone would want to clean when the weather is nice, now that I am older and married (not old just not young like 10 anymore) I get it. We go through winters its dreary everyone is piled in the house or apartment and things collect, it's almost like humans have a "hibernation" or "storing for winter" as well. With the sun shining and flip-flop season upon us, my mother in law and I got to talking of all the projects we would love to do to our homes, mine was alot of painting and updating of equipment, hers was alot of organizing and updating of small pieces of furniture.

As we were talking a conversation she had with one of her friends a while ago who had boughten a house came up. She said her friend bought a house that wasn't in the best of condition and she told my mother in law that how they remodeled it to be the gorgeous home that it is now is, they updated something every week and through that not only did they get their dream home, but they have been able to keep the upkeep of their dream home. We were inspired in talking about this that we decided why wouldn't we do this? We have great projects big and small and some spare time here and there why couldn't we do it? So from that I made a wish list or a "brace yourself hubby" list. Here are the next few weeks that I have planned till summer:

Week 1: Pain the overhead lighting above kitchen counter and update the lighting fixtures (this has recently been done as of Sunday evening)

Week 2: Paint the hallway and entry way to brighten our downstairs apartment (I have been blessed with wonderful in laws who not only have taken my beagle for a couple days but offered to paint while I am gone as an Easter gift, CAN WE SAY BONUS!!!)

Week 3: Put together huge black pantry cabinets and install in side room off of kitchen (I ordered them a while ago, they got shipped to my aunt's house and easter week I will be bringing them home, what a journey just for some added storage)

Week 4:Purchase a curtain and curtain rod for my closet entry (I know this seems small but I keep saying I am going to do it and haven't in the almost 8 months we have been living here)

Week 5: Paint office/lady cave: I have a decent office/eating space off of my kitchen and am taking the back half of the room to transform into my own little safe haven of relaxation.

Week 6: Purchase the curtain and curtain rod to seperate office space and eating space

Week 7: Purchase the daybed/couch for in lady cave: this will not only offer me a cozy place to read, but can easily transform into a fun little space for when I have younger guests such as my little sister visiting (see mom an dad I can share)

Week 8: do final touches of my lady cave: decor, organization etc.

If I stick to this schedule, by the first week of May I can have a completely transformed space of living, and it will be all budget friendly, sometimes we think do everything at once but those little outlet covers, curtains and paint can not only take up our budget but it can take up our energy and our fun in renovating those spaces that by the time its done we don't even want to enjoy it. I will try to remember before and after pictures to post on here as I go, and your probably wondering why did she post all of this? So you my readers can hold me accountable, I have been known here and there to start a wonderful idea and then let my life distract me from finishing it!!!

The Season to Break Depression

Winter and Fall are known to be the more depressing seasons of the year, its dark dreary, cold and gray and it also brings holidays for some people who don't have family or friends to celebrate with. Now its starting to get sunny, flowers are sprouting, and you can see the animals out and running. Sitting out on my patio watching my beagle pup of a baby run around chasing sticks and looking at the wonderment that is known as God's creation I can't help but sit here and feel blessed and at the same time heart broken for those who don't get to see the view I see or who have gone down a slippery slope of an obis where the only thing they see is darkness.

We often times don't realize the amount of impact we have on ourselves, and the multitude of an impact that can bring to our marriage. When my husband and I first got married it was sunny and gorgeous the pool was still fun to swim in as it was still hot outside, but as the cool months came so did a wave of depression and anxiety that I thought was never going to leave or end. I thought of my nephew and how when I was home before we were married would come and we would have cuddle movie days in, in footie pajamas and homemade yummy treats coloring or painting. Now married, I was left with an empty apartment dark and gray, and just the company of a sweet little pup... but still no companion, no adventure of building forts, no child to bring me laughter. From my homesickness and adjustment to marriage I started to feel bad for myself, I wallowed, I wanted someone, anyone to reach out and socialize with me. My husband did wonderful he was always looking for ways to take me out but it didn't fill my socializing void or obis.

Finally the sun came out, the flowers sprouted and the kids were our riding bikes, playing basketball you can hear the clanging of the basketball hit the pavement even now as I type, it's a wonderful thing the sounds of summer around the corner and spring here for the moment.  Who would have thought that the sun would have such a great deal in our way of life and our way to get through the hard times. In that same token how could we not realize how big of a deal the sun plays to our every day life. The warmth it gives, the brightness that makes you feel like the best is yet to come on the horizon. In that same way, that's how God can make you feel, when you are close to God you feel that warmth, that celebration of love and renewing, a new start, when your distant from God, when your not pursuing God you can feel that winter upon your soul, the emptiness the void that seems to be so large and growing, and yet everywhere you go its just not quite what you are needing.

This Easter season that is approaching us next week take the time to really hone in on God and understand the Son that He offers to you, the renewing that He wants you to receive, the fresh air the ability to breathe and start new. If you haven't already consider accepting Him into your life, make the change that could save you.

Soda Cake

So I saw a post on facebook that stated you can make any cake box mix with any 13 oz of soda, so I decided to try it today.

Here is the photo I found on Facebook:



So What you'll need:

• 1 can of soda or 13 oz of soda
• 1 box cake mix

What to do:

1. Preheat oven
2. mix cake mix and soda together (nothing else)
3. Stick in oven at time directed on box

I have to say I have never seen a cake rise so evenly before ever, it took a matter of 2 minutes to mix together and stick in the oven and I had only 1 dirty dish. I was highly impressed, while it still doesn't beat a from scratch cake, it does help when your in a bind for a cake. I highly recommend!!! 

Things you should consider before Spaying or Neutering your dog

My sweet little pup is 7 months almost 8 months old, she is a pure breed beagle (the Lord blessed us). My husband and I had reached that point about at the 4 month mark on discussing whether or not to spay our little pup or to leave it be and if she has puppies she has puppies. Well over the few months of discussion we decided to spay her. Our reasoning was we adopted her into our family to be part of the family, not to breed her out, not to make a profit off of her other than her unfailing love and devotion. This past week she was spayed and I have to say these days of recovery have been trying on my patience and sanity but I know in a few more days we will be back to our normal routine....I hope. Anyway, through the process of the spaying, and recovery there are a few things you should consider before you schedule your pup for surgery.

1. Time of the year: We had our dog spayed right at the brink of spring where the weather is lovely, not realizing how much of a torment that would be for not just her but for us. If your able to try and hold of till fall or winter when they would be spending their time in the house most anyway. 
2. Consider who is there to help: I am fortunate in the fact that I live below my in laws so they were able to help me in my moments where I was ready to bang my head on a brick wall, make sure you have support team to keep you socialized and from feeling overwhelmed, consider their schedules and things occurring. That way your mentally prepared for the days you know no one can help.
3. Make sure your finances are in order: We have our dog on a pet insurance plan that included most everything when it came to getting her spayed, however we ended up spending roughly $55 between some pain medication, and a cone that would fit properly on her head and for some small items to keep her comfort level at maximum. If you know its a week you won't be paid or alot of bills get pulled and money will be tight try and reconfigure the date. 
4. Configure your house: Our dog since she is a beagle and is pure breed is very hyper, and loves to run, jump and climb. The first week they are to do NONE of these things, however how do you tell a dog to stop being a dog? Make sure you have baby gates galore to block off areas of temptation, currently as I type this I have a chair upside down on my recliner, and a serving tray and blankets piled on the couch to prevent her from climbing to see out the window. 
5. Make sure your have everything you need for their comfort: We had an extra queen size comforter that we used on our bed when she was first brought home as she was to small to sleep by herself at the time, so we slept with that comforter the weeks leading up to her surgery to ensure that it smelled like us (she sleeps in a crate now and has been for a couple months) then we set it up in the living room on the floor with pillows so she could burrow and feel comfortable while also sensing our presence. This may be a little extreme but as we have said before she's our child, while most people have children we do not so we pour everything we have in our doggy and then some. Also we had a flat changing pad for a changing table and stuck it on the bottom of her crate and then piled blankets on top of it to add extra comfort for her in her crate (She always has piles of blankets in her crate as she loves to burrow when she is sleepy) 
6. Have something to preoccupy yourself: Make sure you have a really good book, or project to work on while your pup is recovering it will prevent you from going insane, I was fortunate enough to plan my dog's surgery when my sister in law would be home visiting for a week from college so I had her to keep me company and remind me I'm not going insane, I'm just stir crazy. 

All in all recovery from her spaying has been frustrating to say the least she has good meds that make her feel no pain, but they also don't make her tired so she thinks she is her normal self and can run, jump and play which is trying on patience at times. I have to say keep in mind when your considering if you should spay or neuter your dog why you got the dog int he first place. Here are somethings to consider and discuss if your on the fence: 

1.  Why did we get this dog? As I have said we got our dog to be our little baby, we weren't looking for puppies or to make a profit off of her children, we were looking for her to be our one and only pup of a baby. 
2.  By getting spayed or neutered you are limiting the amount of infection they could come in contact with later on down the road. A family member of ours never got their dog fixed and now years down the road are faced with the need to fix her as she keeps getting infections when she is in heat
3. Do you have the patience and ability to deal with a dog in heat
4. Does your dog often come in contact with other dogs? This could set you up for puppies, not everyone has their dogs fixed that's why your having this conversation in the first place. 
5. Will you be prepared to handle taking care of puppies and keep in mind if you choose to go the puppy route your not guaranteed one amount of puppies some have 4 some have 10 some can even have 15 or more. I had a hair stylist who's dog had 15 puppies and the mother stopped nursing them so she had to feed each one hourly. It's a piece of work and it takes up a space as you have to have proper area blocked off for mom and puppies.

I'm not trying to convince you one way or another just make sure you don't jump into a decision not knowing an idea of the outcome that could happen. Remember dogs have feelings to, try to keep your dog and family in mind when making the decision. 

Honey Hawaiian Wings

My husband loves watching college basketball and to be honest I love having him watch basketball, I see that he thoroughly enjoys it and it relaxes him. Why wouldn't a wife want her husband to relax? So I made these wings as a treat for him to enjoy while he watched the game.

What you'll need:

• 1 lb of wings
• 1/2 cup of pulp free orange juice (I used tropicana 50)
• 1 8oz can of pineapple juice (I used Dole) 
• 2 pckts of italian salad dressing seasoning
• non stick pam spray olive oil

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. spray cookie sheets with pam spray heavily 
3. in a bowl pour ingrediants and wisk together
4. put chicken wings in bowl and allow to sit for about 15 to 30 minutes to soak in the flavor
5. place chicken on the cookie sheet, brush left over marinade over wings (save some for half way through) 
6. Stick in oven for 15 minutes, after that pull them out and rotate the chicken wings and brush again with marinade, place back in the oven for another 15 minutes
7. Pull from oven and place on plate to cool for about 5 minutes 
8. Enjoy!

** wings should only take about 45 minutes total between prep and cooking, do keep in mind size of wings may vary the amount of time it needs cooked. 

Spring Cleaning

Alot of people as the weather starts to warm start purging closets, rooms of clutter, and clean everything. I know I started this about a month ago purging 1 tote of clothes (this is alot for me) and ridding myself of TONS of clutter. Well since then I have maintained a for the most part cleaning schedule to help in keeping the clutter gone. Some people have asked how I do it without having to clean all day or all weekend. Well here it is below, its very similar to some you may have seen on pinterest, facebook, or other social media sites. Here are some key points to making your own personalized cleaning schedule:

• Whatever room seems to be your biggest time consumer save it for a day your least busy, this way you have more time to focus on the harder work while also still having time to relax for instance wednesdays are toughest for us, so I wouldn't clean the bathroom day cause it takes the longest for me to clean the bathroom. 
• If your a larger family of people who can help clean, keep in mind their schedules to, plan larger room days on days you can have the hands on deck to help
• Put the rooms you use the most at higher priority as your in them more than the others for instance our living room is our busiest room so I keep that maintained at ALL times because its a room we are in most of the time. 

Now Here is a sample of a cleaning schedule its my cleaning schedule, keep in mind mine might not work for yours, we have a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment, with a small alcove side office. 

• Monday: Kitchen day: Clean counters, organize tupperware, organize any pans that may have gotten out of order, clean the stove, wipe the shelves in the fridge, go over grocery supplies and see what all needs refilled or purchased condiment and seasoning wise.
• Tuesday: Bathroom day: Sterilize and clean shower/tub, clean the toilet, the floor, wipe down counter tops, go over all cleaning supplies and toiletries and see if there is anything we are running low on. 
• Wednesday: Living Room: Vacuum, dust the tv stands, dvd stand, change out the dog's blankets in her crate (her crate is in the living room so we don't want to leave the same blanket in all week as it could start to make your living room smell like a dog kennel)
• Thursday: Laundry and Spare Bedroom Day: Wash Towels, clothes, and bedding, vacuum spare bedroom, dust furniture in the spare bedroom (by cleaning the bedroom even though we don't use it as much it keeps from a ton of dust collecting and keeps the musty smell out for when guests come to stay) 
• Friday: Hallway and Office Day: vacuum the office and hallway, dust the picture frames, declutter mail pile, desk, file any paperwork that needs filed, update family calendar if needed
• Saturday: Master Bedroom: Vacuum, dust the furniture, take care of any shoes, coats, jewelry that may not have made it back to where they belong
• Sunday: RELAX, the only cleaning we do on sundays is dishes as they are dirtied and if we spill or make a mess, but other wise there is no cleaning that happens in this household. 

It's the Morning!

A few posts back I had made the mention of Joy coming with the morning, and how I was wondering where that morning had gone. I am happy to say it's that morning. My husband and I have gone through many obstacles it seems as though for us 2016 started out as one of the roughest years for us, however it also started as one of the most trying and bonding times. While it would have been lovely to continue as newlyweds with our "heads in the clouds" I am appreciative that we had the hurtles to jump, and the race to run together. Today my husband and I turned a page in our journey, today we opened the curtains let the sun shine in and face the day with a smile and heart dependent on God and what His will for us is.

I try not to judge anyone and I try not to judge those with differing beliefs but sitting here in amazement at the things God pulled us through some moments even having to carry the both of us through, I wonder how people who don't believe in a God survives, I wonder how a marriage flourishes to the full capacity that it can be. Then I face the reality, a lot of marriages don't survive, a lot of marriages never reach that flourishing potential, a lot of marriages end in divorce, broken homes, unhealthy vices, and hurt feelings. I am not saying my husband and I are perfect, we are imperfectly perfect through God. What I am saying as a newlywed to those married forever and ever or those married just a short time or those thinking about marriage is, you need your faith, you need to have that sustaining power of knowing the hard times are coming or the hard times are here and their going to be gone eventually. Just like someone would take shelter in a basement during a tornado, we must take shelter in our marriage and in our relationships in God.

With this morning, and with the joy that God has restored to us, my husband and I this past weekend took the necessary precautions to safe guard our spiritual well being, and also our marriage's well being, along with our ministry's well being. We supported a local christian book store (we highly recommend doing so, even though the internet may have more to offer its still important to support local businesses) and stocked up on books to last us these next few weeks educating ourselves on our weaknesses, our strengths, and our goals as a married couple and as people individually and together in ministry.

Whether you have gone to college or not, always educate yourself, no one can take the knowledge your receiving away from you, they can take books, tv, internet even but they can't take away your knowledge.

**My point is this, we have joy again and we are sustained in Christ. We pray for those who read this blog, that you find yourself sustained in Christ as well.