So Long, Insecurity

I have been a fan of Beth Moore's Bible studies ever since I did her Daniel Bible study in the fall of 2006. I took that workbook of mine across the ocean with me when I went on my missions trip to Scotland, and my Bible study girls prayed with me about the guy I met when I was over there (who now is my husband). Now, I know that Beth Moore had nothing to do with my meeting my husband--that was all God's doing--but remembering that time in my life brings sweet memories, and her Bible study helped me get into a habit of studying God's Word and listening for His voice--a very important practice to have when one is making huge decisions like who to marry!

On Saturday, I had the privilege of attending Beth's simulcast for her book So Long, Insecurity. I had bought my mom a ticket and the book for her birthday present in March. It was a fun girls' day, but it was also a life-changing day for me and my mom. Insecurity affects women everywhere, and it's about time we fought against it! I was encouraged to know that, with God's power, I can become a confident, secure woman. My prayer is that the 300,000+ women who attended the event on Saturday will find their security in Christ and start spreading that message to everyone they know. It could have quite the impact on our world!

Good-bye, Clutter!

Crystal at Money Saving Mom is hosting the Clear Out the Clutter Challenge this week. She'll be giving us 5 decluttering assignments to complete as we clear out our homes. I knew this was for me, especially when I saw the first challenge: the living room and front closet.

Our front closet has been giving me grief for a loooong time, but I was always so overwhelmed by it that I didn't bother trying. This challenge gave me the motivation to finally tackle it.

I dragged everything, and I mean everything, out of that closet, organizing it into "trash," "donate," and "keep" piles. Here's my trash pile. It included bulbs I ordered last year and never planted, despite the warning to plant as soon as possible. Oops!

The lovely, now-organized front closet. I am so happy with it! That printer on the shelf will be given to a recycling center once I find a good one. Does anyone have tips for recycling electronics? The places I've found so far all charge at least $10.

Up next is the kitchen. I was hoping to tackle it tonight, but I think I'll take the day off and get started on it this weekend.

Easter 2010

This Easter was certainly different from any other Easter I've celebrated. At our Good Friday service, our pastor asked regular attenders to attend the Saturday evening services to make room for visitors on Sunday morning. I, being the die-hard, "Easter is celebrated on Sunday" girl, planned to go on Sunday, anyway. (I know, I'm such a rebel.) But Saturday evening rolled around, and Dave asked if I wanted to just get up and go to church then. We're used to attending on Saturday evening, so why not? I wasn't dressed in my Easter best, but I said yes. Then I insisted we take pictures to document our holiday.

I love this picture because it accurately shows our Saturday church habits--casual dress, coffee mug, and all. I don't quite know how the mug ended up in the pic, but it's fitting because we almost always take some along for the trip to church.

Dave surprised me with chocolate bunnies. True to form, I haven't touched mine yet. What can I say? I've always been a saver!

I don't know why I didn't get a picture of the family on Easter Sunday, but I did manage to get a shot of our "lamb cake." I have many fond memories of the classic lamb cakes, but this one tops them all. My dad is so creative!

Good Friday

The sun and warm temps were too much of a temptation to resist on this Good Friday. We soaked up every minute we could, drinking our morning coffee on the balcony, braving the crazy April wind to eat both lunch and dinner, all the while hoping our food didn't fly away. We spent our afternoon at a local forest preserve, enjoying the sights and sounds of the quiet life tucked away in the trees.

We saw signs of new life budding on the trees.

We burned some calories walking down the paths.

We enjoyed the peaceful lake as its water met the shore.

I insisted Dave take a picture of me to prove I'd been there.

We enjoyed the peaceful oasis in the midst of suburbia.

Getaway to Galena

Dave had the brilliant idea to book a trip to Galena for a recent three-day weekend he had. I took last Friday off, and we headed to the northwest corner of our state for a getaway. It is such a different world out there--no strip malls in sight, hills and winding roads, and a downtown filled with shops and restaurants. We loved being able to leave the car at the hotel and walk up and down Main Street. It was a great place to take a break from the hustle and bustle of life in the suburbs. In fact, we experienced some culture shock when we found ourselves in Chicago traffic upon our return. Yes, there are conveniences of suburban life that I love, but sometimes I long for the wide, open spaces.

I've lived in the midst of farm fields before, but I've never seen rolling hills of farmland as far as the eye can see. I wish I could have captured the dizzying heights we found ourselves at as we drove to Galena. I could only imagine how much more incredible the mountains in the West are.


A picture of our inn. Our suite was just a bit smaller than our apartment and decorated in Victorian style. It was the prettiest room I've ever stayed in.

Galena tends to have high-end restaurants, but we found one that suited our casual tastes. Durty Gurt's had the most delicious, most unhealthy food I've ever tasted.

Kandy Kitchen was a fun find on Main Street. We found it just before closing time on Friday night and filled our bags with candy for the weekend. We also picked up some caramel corn. Yum!

Everyone warned us about the stairs in Galena, but because our inn was on nice, level Main Street, we didn't have to navigate any. However, we made the choice to trek up the highest set of steps we could find for our Saturday morning workout, and what a workout it was! There were points I didn't think I could lift my leg to the next step! But we made it and enjoyed the view from the top.

Ulysses S. Grant, once-president of the United States, had a home in Galena before he was elected. It was fun to learn some new things about him while we were on the tour.

Neither Dave nor I had been to Iowa before our trip, but we decided to make the 20-minute drive to visit Dubuque. After getting lost in the maze of one-way streets in the downtown district in search of the visitors' center, we made our way to the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Among the animals we saw there was this giant catfish.
All in all, it was a lovely trip. We actually found ourselves bored at points and ended up walking through Walmart on Saturday afternoon to spend our time before dinner. Yes, that's how small this town was--the most exciting thing to do after exploring the shops on Main Street was to walk the aisles of Walmart Supercenter. I enjoyed the slower pace and have really missed it this week as we've jumped back into our busy routine. Too bad we can't make a trip out to Galena every weekend.

Heads Carolina, Tails Wisconsin

Yesterday, though chilly, was a great day for a drive, so when Dave and I were trying to decide what to do for our day of fun, we settled on pointing our car north and going however far we felt like going.

Our Sunday drive began with a stop at Sonic for their happy hour deal. I scored a small vanilla Coke for 50 cents and some yummy mozzarella sticks. After we finished our afternoon snack, we headed north, driving through towns I'd heard of but never been to as a proud southwest suburbanite. As we drove farther and farther, we wondered if we'd make it to Wisconsin. Sure enough, we hit the state line, and Dave entered his sixth state. We headed west toward Lake Geneva but missed most of it when a poorly marked street forced us to turn right--and right out of town. Oops!

That "mistake," however, led us to Piggly Wiggly, a grocery store that holds fond memories of grocery shopping while on vacation in Kentucky. The northern version of the store wasn't quite the same, but it was still fun to pick up some food and avoid paying tax on the snacks!

As the sun began to fall, we headed home, taking a new route and discovering new parts of northern Illinois. Our GPS-free drive was an adventure and a great way to relax on a Sunday afternoon.

No Eating Out Month--A Review

Well, here we are at the last day of January and the last day of our no-eating-out challenge. We started the month with the goal of not spending our monthly allowance on eating out. How did we do?

For the most part, we did really well. There were a few exceptions, such as the celebration lunches I was invited to at the beginning of the month. Things were going great--until last Sunday. We'd had a pretty busy day, so busy that we had to skip lunch because there was no time between church and our community group. Faced with the prospect of going grocery shopping on empty stomachs, we caved and went to Qdoba. Oops! I was 50/50 relieved I could put food in my tummy and frustrated that I'd caved with only 7 days to go. Oh, well. It's in the past, so all we can do now is learn from our actions and move ahead.

What did I learn this month? First, I learned that the cravings for fatty fast food do go away the longer you avoid them. At the beginning of January, I kept craving the grease, but by the end of the month, I could drive past Taco Bell without a second glance. Second, and I think most important of all, I learned that you can still have fun going out with friends without breaking your budget. Before this month, I could really only join my work friends for a couple of lunches out a month because they ate up my budget (no pun intended). After the celebration lunch when I ordered a $1.97 coffee, I realized that I could stretch my money by ordering a special treat at the restaurant instead of a whole meal and eating the rest of my lunch at work. Sure, this means I'll have to make my lunch instead of taking a day off, but being able to hang out with my friends every Wednesday means more to me than the convenience of having someone else make my lunch.

All in all, it was a good experience. We've discussed other things we could give up or add on this year, so you may see some similar posts in the future.