Who knew that WordPress has an app?!? (are you all raising your hand?) Well, I didn’t know! Let’s just say I think that made blogging a thousand times easier for me! All of my pictures are on my phone and I always have it with me – now I can blog easily!!! I am really excited. So now ya know…if you didn’t already…
Here’s my lovely husband. I took this with phone and I blogged this from my phone. Just saying.
This has been a hard weekend with my sister in the hospital. She is 30 weeks pregnant and having some complications. So, I went home for the weekend to be with her and help out however I could. I was at the hospital most of the time and I was glad to be there and support. Please keep Kim, Alec, Griffin (their 3 year old) and Sadie in your prayers. God is good and I have complete faith in His plan.
On Saturday, my dad and I got out a bit and went on a bike ride. We went on a path in Arlington and ended up riding for 13 miles. I am proud of myself! It was beautiful and we had a blast together.
This week will be a challenge for my family, as it is mainly just a waiting game at this point. She will be in the hospital still and will get evaluated again on Wednesday or Thursday. Our prayer right now is for Sadie to stay in and healthy until at least next Tuesday which will be 32 weeks. And for a healthy baby when she is born, too.
Jonny was in Austin all weekend on a few jobs. He is almost home and I can’t wait to see him!
First off – thank you sooo much for all of the love. Y’all are definitely encouraging! There just might be more vlogs in the future.
On to the point of this post – we joined a CSA. What is that, you ask? Well, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. What this means is that we get a “share” of a farmer’s produce each week. I have been wanting to join one for so long but it’s kinda confusing to find one and the whole process was just a little daunting to me. A few weeks ago, Jonny surprised me with a date to go pick blackberries at a farm. Well, turns out that the farm was awesome! Not only can you actually go out and pick blackberries by hand but they also grow so many other fruits and vegetables. On this trip, we found out that they have a CSA and had spots left to be a part of it. The box is too much food for just the two of us, so we are going in it with another couple. The whole box each week is $30, so each couple only pays $15. And let me tell you – it’s such a good deal! We got so much food! And, we know exactly where it all came from, how’s it being grown, the farmer and his wife, and have actually been to the farm!!!! (Yes, that sentence deserved 4 exclamation marks.)
This week, we received: carrots, red potatoes, yukon gold potatoes, squash, cucumbers, onions, garlic, spinach, lettuce, beets, blackberries, raspberries, broccoli, and green beans.
It was so fun (and challenging!) to come up with things to cook according to what we got in our basket… according to what is in season and fresh right now, right in our area. How cool is that?! I’ll post pictures later that show the meals that we had according to what we received. What I haven’t used yet is the beets. I have no clue how to cook them. Any ideas?!?
I am so excited to get this week’s basket. When I picked it up last week, she said there would be corn and tomatoes soon. Yummy!
Are you a part of a CSA or considered it? If you want to find one in your area, a good place to start is on this website: http://www.localharvest.org/
(blackberries we picked at the farm with our home group… in the process of making yummy blackberry cobbler!)
A new year already! We had a great time celebrating the new year with the Tomlinson’s. And, of course, I got to ring in the new year with my sweetie!
As everyone talks about their new year’s resolutions, I thought back to mine from last year. One was to drink more water. I succeeded on this one! I did end up buying a big water bottle and I fill it up several times while at work. The second goal I had was to get to school earlier. I wouldn’t say that I have done great on this. I really like sleep and getting up in the mornings has always been hard for me. I am going to put this on my list for this year… let’s see if I can do this.
So, that brings us to this year’s goals. I know that New Year’s Resolutions are typically put out there and then forgotten about and not accomplished, but I’m a list kind of girl. I love to-do lists and crossing things off my list. I love goals. So here are mine for this new year!
1. Get to school earlier in the mornings. Like I said last year, I would love to get there at 7:00 – 7:15 and be able to breathe just a little before the day starts.
2. Learn more about the Bible. This past year has been one of my most solid times with the Lord. I have had a quiet time most days and pray more than ever. However, I don’t have a lot of knowledge when it comes to the Bible and the theology behind everything. So, for Christmas I asked for some theology books and I am looking forward to reading those and learning more.
3. Take more pictures. Yes, I am married to a photographer. No, that doesn’t mean that he is always in the mood to take pictures. So, I plan on having the point and shoot with me so that I can take more pictures wherever we go. And I always have my iphone with me, so there is no excuse for not at least using that camera to get some pics.
4. Blog more! Really. I know I am not the best at posting. Like I said before, I think about it all the time…. just don’t get around to it. But you know, I have those blogs that I read and when they don’t post practically every day I’m like, “Hey where is their post?! Come on, post something!” So… maybe it’s a possibility some of you are looking for more posts by me. Maybe? Mayyybeeee? So – I’m going to do just that!
5. And, of course… be more healthy, continue to work out, watch what goes into my body.
So… here goes! :)
Couponing. Really – it’s my new thing. At the end of the summer, my days consisted of… well, not a lot. So, in my down time – I stumbled upon a coupon site which led me to another and another and so on. And I will confess – I check everyday… more than once a day. It’s almost necessary because there are freebies and coupons posted that are limited. So, if you don’t check consistently, they might be gone! And also, it’s fun.
My new hobby doesn’t even cost me any money – it saves me money! Love it.
So – I thought I would share. First of all, I used to shop at Target and got REALLY excited when I found out that Target had coupons on their website. Who knew? Not me! They are kind of hidden. So, for a while I was taking my coupons to Target. Except, they don’t do coupons that well. Not in my experience nor in a lot of other people’s experience. Check out this article.
So now – I shop at Kroger. And I love Kroger. The other day, I found a Kroger in Frisco and it was like (insert thing that makes you extremely happy… buying a car, getting candy, going on a vacation.) Anyway – it was awesome. And they are great with coupons. They even double and triple coupons. Really. Awesome.
I get coupons from my mom’s newspaper and I read blogs to find coupons online. Did you know you can get items for free? I didn’t until I started reading these blogs. You gotta check them out. Unless you don’t want to save money. But really – check them out.
My favorites are Saving with Shelly, Mojo Savings, Hip2Save, Freebies 4 Mom, and Couponing 101.
Do you use coupons? Am I the only one that is a wee bit obsessed? :)
Happy 2010, everyone! I am looking forward to what 2010 is going to bring. I know for sure it is going to bring lots of sewing, cooking, teaching my sweet students, and being with my wonderful husband.
Recently, I have started really taking care of my body. I work out on a pretty regular basis, I have given up caffeine, I floss and wash my face everyday. I don’t really see these as resolutions as I am already doing them, but I do want these habits to stay through 2010 and beyond.
I have also developed a deep relationship with the Lord. I spend sweet time with Him on a daily basis. Journaling and reading my Bible have become part of my daily routine (most days!). This is also something I am looking forward to continuing in 2010.
So, finally, what do I actually want to change in 2010?
1. I want to drink more water. So, I am going to get a big water bottle so I know how much I have had and can keep track, making sure to drink the amount that I need.
2. I want to get to school earlier, which means I will need to wake up earlier. The goal is to wake up actually get out of bed at 6:00 am and leave for school at 7:15 am.
What are your resolutions for 2010?
10/14/09 I (Jonny Carroll) bought CarrollCreations.com. This domain has been bought with the intention building a site for my lovely wife who sews her own creations. She mostly does this for friends family and herself. Maybe she’ll put some stuff on etsy. She’s great! This will most likely be a Christmas present to her. I plan to build the site and even get her little sew in tags with her name. I am excited! another use for this site could be recipes, lesson plans, life updates, etc.
