about changing times, pancakes, and puppies

Time differences, no matter how slight, really mess with your head.

We are now residing in the lovely Murfreesboro, Tennessee an hour behind our normal time. By the time we are used to it tomorrow, it will be time to wake up at 6am (7am EST) on Saturday to make the 11 hour drive home and get used to the time difference again.

But, we do love Murfreesboro and are having a great time at INFUSE.

We arrived yesterday afternoon and had dinner at Jim's house. Today we took a trip to the Pancake Pantry in Nashville.

INFUSE group 2012-2013

I got to hang out with my friend and Jim's daughter, Whitney. We obviously already have quite a bit in common because of our awesome name. We met the first year Aaron and I came to INFUSE in 2010 and have seen each other every time since. We keep up with each other on Instagram and Facebook throughout the year. She showed me around Nashville and then took me to meet her adorable puppy, Boris.

Isn't he so cute?!

I saw Aaron for a little bit this afternoon and then he headed off to dinner and a Q&A session tonight.

Tomorrow, he will be in sessions most of the day, but I get to join him for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

We have had a wonderful trip so far and are definitely banking it for the next few months when vacation will seem far away.

I am definitely ready to go home on Saturday though, especially so I can see my own adorable puppy.

I have gotten word from my grandma that she is having a great time with them. I know she's fine because she's acting just like her normal self:

"Penny finally barked. She saw the German Shepherd from down the hill. They walk it up here to go to the bathroom and she wanted to go out too. Now she is sitting on Grandpa's lap hoping maybe he'll take her out. Now she is curled up on his lap. She is funny."

Yep. That's my girl.

about mountains, graveyards, and sparkly boats

Hello from the Smoky Mountains! This is the view from our cabin. We pretty much could stay here for another week. But, today it's time to move on to Murfreesboro, TN for Infuse.

After we checked out of our hotel in Asheville on Monday morning, we took a couple hours to explore Biltmore Village.

Penny loved walking around the streets, and we got to watch a train go by.

We paused for some family pictures on the train tracks.

After lunch in our favorite Asheville restaurant, The Village Wayside Grille, we popped our root beer candies in our mouths and hopped in the car for a two hour ride to Sevierville, TN.

We took the scenic route for the last 45 minutes and enjoyed the beautiful Tennessee countryside. We even pulled over to check out an old cemetery. Some of the stones dated back to the 1800s.

It was so nice to arrive at the campground where my grandparents live for the first time in over two years. We checked into our cozy cabin for the next two nights.

My grandma made us a delicious dinner Monday night and a breakfast feast on Tuesday morning. She sure spoiled us. Then, they took us on a beautiful tour of the Foothills Parkway.

Mountains are so majestic. I love them.

We pulled over at one point and hiked up a trail to a lookout tower.

I could have looked out at the mountains for much longer if it wasn't so windy up there!

We ended our day with a visit to the Apple Barn restaurant, where we got to eat our meal on porch swings (picture fail). After dinner, we took a trip to Bass Pro Shop. Aaron and I were totally out of our element amidst the camouflage and weaponry. But it was a lot of fun. Also, I found a boat to match my shoes. So next time we have an extra $40,000, that's happening. ;)

We had a wonderful visit with my grandparents. They are keeping Penny while we go to Murfreesboro, and we will meet up with them on Saturday to pick her up on our way home.

She will surely appreciate missing the four hour drive we have ahead of us today. We all know how she feels about long car rides now, don't we...

Goodbye Sevierville, hello Murfreesboro.

about Penny's car freak out and a Mexican diner

Just a warning up front:  this week will mostly be updates from our trip. Sorry if that gets annoying, but this blog also serves as our "journal," so, I try to keep up with things like that. I'll try to keep it as entertaining as always, of course. :)


Anyway, we've made it to Asheville!

After loading our rental car with supplies for what appears to be a months' journey, we were off.

We quickly learned that Penny was not okay with long car rides. After about an hour, she quivered and panted for the rest of the trip. We stopped once and she loved that. And she was fine once we arrived. But, she was not a fan of the car for some reason.

Nonetheless, the mountains and sunset were a welcome sight.

After getting settled into our room, we started discussing what to do for dinner. We experienced a small setback when my hair became horribly stuck on the button on the pillow.

But, after Aaron finally untangled me, we searched Yelp! for a fun place to eat dinner. We like checking out local places when we're out of town, and after some debate, we decided on what looked to be a winner. It had great reviews on Yelp!, Trip Adviser, and Urbanspoon.

Now, this particular restaurant decision was first amusing to us because we never choose to eat Mexican food willingly. I make tacos at home. But I would say they are very American. A Mexican restaurant we chose, however.

And not just any Mexican restaurant. A Mexican restaurant in an old diner. We just knew we were in for a good time.

And, guys, "Nachos and Beer," (yes, that's the real name) did not disappoint. I'm not being sarcastic either. The food was really good.

And the icing on the cake was the amusing decor.

Oh boy! What a fun diner!

That's an odd name for a diner...

And then it starts to make sense.

Notice the Sombreros on the shelf? They were next to models of classic cars.

Hollywood meets Fiesta

El jukebox y Sombrero

Piñata anyone?

Our first day was definitely a success. Tomorrow we explore Asheville in the morning before heading onto Sevierville, TN for the next two nights. I can't wait to see my grandparents!

about overpacking

No matter how often we take trips and promise not to overpack, we always do. Both of us.

We even plan out outfits for each day specifically so we're not just haphazardly throwing clothes in the bag.

It is just ridiculous though.

This trip, since we are taking three distinct stops, we packed a bag for each place. 

Plus a bag with bathroom things that will always come with us.

And a shoe bag.

And a computer bag.

And Penny's bag.

We are taking seven bags. Seven. Seven.

For two people and a little dog.

I'm pretty sure something is wrong with us.

I don't even know what will happen when we have a kid to pack for too...

Nonetheless, we are packed and ready to go! 

about my week

This is my first post I'm composing from my iPad. I'm just a little concerned because I don't know how to change the font and it probably looks different. I know that's a sad thing to be concerned about. I sent my computer in to work with Aaron this morning so it can get the printer driver installed on it. Oh first world pains...

It's been a great week. I love being back at work. It was nice to have some time off, but it feels good to have something to do besides housework. The only one not happy with my new job is Penny. She was spoiled for the past six weeks what with me being home all the time.

Today we are taking the afternoon to hang out with our friends Justin and Katelin and going to see the Titanic exhibit at the NC Science Museum. We have been wanting to see it for the past few months before it leaves in April, so that will be fun.

Aaron and I were talking last night about how neither of us feel that pressure that we usually do before a big trip out of town. Know what I mean? We are excited to leave, but there is so much going on that we are too busy to think about it I guess.

We have a busy weekend ahead before we can pick up our rental car and hit the road. We are hanging out with Keyen tomorrow morning, having dinner with Renee and Derrick tomorrow night, babysitting both of the boys Saturday morning, and of course Sunday is a six hour affair.

But at 2:00pm on Sunday when we are on the road, we will definitely be excited for a vacation.

I know we just took a vacation, but I have a feeling we won't get another one until summer...so this one will be good. Things are about to get crazy around here. But more on that later...

I'm off to explore a sunken ocean liner with some dear friends.

about my new (old) job

I kind of started working again today. I began "re-training," at least.

Before I was a nanny, I was Aaron's Administrative Assistant at Journey. When we decided I should take a full-time job, I tried to do both for awhile (work 40 hours a week as a nanny and 15 hours a week as his assistant). I was getting it done, but barely. And it meant that I had basically no free time. I would work from 8:30-4:30 every day then head straight to Journey to work another 3 or 4 hours. Plus we would go in on Saturday. It was becoming ridiculous.

So, we decided that it was for the best that I hand off almost all of my responsibilities at Journey and just work my nanny job. Aaron's right and left hands at Journey, Robyn and Lisa, took on what I was doing and kind of divided it between them. And that was that. Except, of course, while I was nannying for the past two years, Journey kids has continued to grow and expand. It is so much bigger than when I left it. In size and in numbers.

When we again decided that it was time to transition from me working full-time, the timing was great in that there was a need for me to come back and work with our Journey Kids team again. Now, we are on the brink of that transition. I am coming back. And all four of us (Aaron, Lisa, Robyn, and me) are going to figure out what it looks like to run this thing together.

So, after taking January off and getting a slow start this month, I went to work today. It's not like I've been entirely away from it for the past two years and am completely out of the loop. But it was still overwhelming. We don't do much differently than when I left. We just do a lot more of it.

Robyn and Lisa are great and answered my millions of questions. And of course going to work with my husband is like the best job ever.

I am excited to get back into the swing of things.

If I can learn how to use our monster of a printer/copier this week at least, I think I'll be off to a good start...

on "The Pursuit of God"

Aaron constantly heckles me for being a "fast reader." I suppose fast is relative. But, I guess compared to him, I'm a speed reader. He reads everything and analyzes everything. I, on the other hand, just read. For example, I started reading The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes five days ago. I've read it about thirty minutes a day on average. He can't believe I've already read over 500 pages of it.

So, what with being a "speed reader," I never thought it would take me two months to read a 121-page book.

I've been reading A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God for almost two months now. It is 121 pages long. It is ten chapters. And it is so. thought-consuming.

If that's even the right word for it.

I just mean that I have to think really hard about what I'm reading. Mr. Tozer uses a lot of big words and has so many deep insights. He's been blowing my mind.

I'm really considering starting it all over again, because even underlining and journaling through it, I know I've missed a lot. I only have four pages left that I intend to finish tomorrow morning.

I've loved the whole thing. 

One passage that has really stood out to me though, is this one:

"The idea of cultivation and exercise, so dear to the saints of old, has now no place in our total religious picture. It is too slow, too common. We now demand glamour and fast-flowing dramatic action. A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relationship with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions, and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar."

Now, this book was originally published in the 1940s. And if way back then people were consumed with "push buttons and automatic machines," how much more are we consumed with them in 2013!

Talk about "fast-flowing action"...I can pull out my phone anywhere in this country and be instantly connected to the world.

I have news, photos, information, texts, e-mails and all sorts of social media streaming to my phone constantly.

Waiting? What does that even mean? Let me open this app to order a pizza. Let me open this app to see what this word is in Spanish. Let me open this app to see what is happening with my friend in California. What's the weather in Paris? Oh, here, let's see. 

Mr. Tozer is right. I often have expected my relationship with God to update like my Twitter feed.

Our culture is so used to instant gratification. We don't have to work hard for most things.

I like how the chapter ends. In encouragement, of course:

"Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility, and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner and weaker days. Any man who by repentance and a sincere return to God will break himself out of the mold in which he has been held, and will go to the Bible itself for his spiritual standards, will be delighted with what he finds there."

No matter how many times I fail, his mercy remains. And it's new every morning. 

You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek."

Psalm 27:8

about our day to do nothing

After non-stop weeks and weekends for the past few weeks, we used this past Saturday to be still.

That's important to do sometimes.

Usually, I'll look at our calendar and if I see that it's packed for days on end, I look for the first available free day and schedule it as a "Day to do Nothing."

Days to do nothing are then honored on the calendar, and neither of us schedule anything at all that day.

That way, we just wake up and do whatever we want to do. Together. 

You see, it's not actually a day to do nothing, it's a day to do "nothing." As in nothing that you don't actually want to do.

So, Saturday, that's what we did. And to help our laziness, snow fell from the sky all day long but never blocked us from going anywhere because it melted so fast.

We slept in until 10:00.

We had a french toast brunch feast.

We sat on the couch and read.

We watched The Sword in the Stone.

I took a two hour nap while Aaron played Epic Mickey.

We went to Panera Bread for dinner (the one disappointment in our day, well, my day, was that stupid Panera ran out of French Onion Soup literally as we walked in the door...).

We went to Barnes and Noble to sit and read on our tablets.

And lastly, we started Skyfall. (Couldn't quite finish it on account of an early morning Sunday.)

It was a wonderful, restful, day to do nothing.

a Friday flashback

This Friday flashback is my last Valentine's Day post. Promise.

Let's flashback to...

Yesterday, February 14, 2013...

I was excited to be at home this year on Valentine's Day and put a little more work into spoiling Aaron.

I made him breakfast before he left for work.

I had already planned to take him lunch, but I was struck with a clever idea.

And I proceeded to make him the cheesiest lunch ever. No, it wasn't filled with cheese-flavored things. I packed him things that we had at home, but I added a little Valentine's twist. It'll be easier to show you, I think.

"You're 'cola' than anyone I know"

"I'm peanut butter and jealous over you"

"You're tortilla-ly awesome"

"I'd follow you down any trail"

"You have my heart"

"How berry handsome are you"

"You're my superhero"

I was cracking myself up. I had so much fun making it.

We had a nice lunch together, and he gave me some beautiful flowers.

Then, I came back home to make him dinner and dessert.

I set our kitchen table for the occasion.

Dinner was chicken marsala and heart-shaped pasta.

Dessert was chocolate mousse. It was so. good.

I had such a fun day spoiling my love.