On A [Christmas Card] Year in Review.

A virtual Christmas Card to You and Yours from Us and Ours,

What a year for us! 20bakersdoz turned out to be just as eventful as expected.

We started off 2013 by parting ways. Adam had just got a job on the Oregon Coast, and I flew back to Missouri to tie up loose ends at my job, sell most of my belongings, and move back to Oregon after over 7 years in the Midwest.

We picked out our apartment after only looking at a couple places, and Adam moved in the first of January with only a mattress given to us by friends.

Before I headed back West, I went south to Galveston for the wedding of my college and post-college roommate, Bethany. We had so much fun playing in the ocean the week leading up to their gorgeous outdoor wedding.

I got to Oregon in early April, and the next 6 weeks were full of wedding prep, pre-marital counseling, and finally having real dates with Adam. My family was amazing in helping so much with the wedding, especially since I was out of state for the majority of the time leading up to it. My sister, Janey, through me an amazing French-themed bachelorette party.

photo by Mason Photography

Finally, May 11 came and we GOT MARRIED! We went to the San Juan Islands for our honeymoon, where we could finally exhale. We also ate some great food and made tons of amazing memories, like kayaking in the ocean with the first Orcas of the season!

Photo by Katie Shroy Photography

Kayak tour by San Juan Kayak Expeditions with our awesome guides AJ and Gina.

June, July and August flew by with youth camps, FINALLY finding a new job, and exploring all around our new little town. We picked a LOT of fresh fruit and berries, and I even caught a fish! I turned 25, finishing up my 25 before 25 list.

Blueberries!

In early October, we flew out to Baltimore to visit family for Adam's dad's retirement. We had such a fun time, and I loved that I was able to see some places Adam lived and worked before he knew me.

We had a super fun Thanksgiving with friends, and are looking forward to a wonderful Christmas with family. We could not have asked for a better year to start our lives together. Happy Christmas!

My Review of Sarah Bessey's book Jesus Feminist

I must confess, I went into reading Jesus Feminist, which releases today, with expectations. As a faithful reader of Sarah Bessey's blog, I failed to recognize that books and blogs are different, and maybe it wouldn't be quite the same experience.

Jesus Feminist will not be what you expect either. When you read the title, Jesus Feminist, you will inevitably come to the table with expectations: good or bad. Whether they stem from the first word, Jesus, or the second word (what I've heard called the F-word of Christianity), Feminist.

So drop your expectations at the door. Be open to a little academic writing mixed in with her familiar wispy poetry from the blog. The content is needed, wonderful, and inspiring. It is an invitation, more than a treatise. It's one woman daring to introduce you to a Jesus that loves and calls all people just the same.

*full disclosure: I received a free advanced electronic copy of the book to review. Some links are Amazon affiliate links.

On [a beach devoid of people under] A Cloudless Sky.

I had a mid-week day off last week, which hardly ever happens.

I sat down to write a blog, because I want to have something important to say, but nothing came. The "maybe I'll have something to say when's" tempted me, like when I have babies or when we move somewhere foreign or when our real lives start.

I remembered something Sarah Bessey wrote about writer's block recently, "that place where I’m feeling stuck and where I feel I have nothing to say – it’s usually because I have nothing that I’m living and nothing I’m experiencing and nothing I’m taking in. You can’t really write out of an empty well." I didn't have anything to say, so maybe I just needed to live.

I put on my shoes, and stopped feeling sorry for myself. I engaged in that sacred practice of lacing up sneakers.

I live in a postcard. I'm serious. People drive hundreds of miles to visit this painfully quaint little town that I have the privilege of living in. And while they don't see what I see: the drug problems, the poverty, and the lack of access to entertainment or educated people my own age, I see what they see. But I have to remember to look for it.

I got in our car and drove not 10 minutes up the road.

I put in my headphones and It is Well filled my ears, and I walked. I walked, due south, parallel to the waves on a beach devoid of people under a cloudless sky.

I noticed the subtle sinking of wet sand beneath each deliberate step. The roar of the ocean drowned everything out, but the words played crisp and clear and into my heart, where there is no escape from thoughts or beauty.

And then Spring Up, Oh Well, and for the first time that was a prophetic prayer. 

I remembered that I am a Beloved Child of God. The ocean is powerful and big, but God is oh, so much more powerful and bigger.

So, Spring Up, Oh Well for It is Well.

FlyLady is Helping Me Overcome my Housework

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I have a confession to make.

I am becoming my mother, in the best possible way of course.

When I was growing up, my mom discovered a web site where FLYLADY taught her how to keep a clean house. She called the readers of her site FLY BABIES, which my dad promptly adjusted to FLY MAGGOT. We teased my poor mother endlessly about her fixation with Flylady.

I must readily apologize to her. Sorry, Mom!

I have stumbled upon the world of Flylady again in young adulthood. I know have a little home to keep clean, and OH MY WORD it’s a TON of work. Not to mention, IT NEVER ENDS!

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Flylady is so practical and encouraging and downright inspirational, especially to a spontaneous free spirit such as myself, i.e. NOT a clean freak. (Any by "free spirit," I mean I'd rather pretend I'm a starving orphan who must clean her room to get dinner, which is how I survived childhood.)

One of the first things Flylady has you do is set up your routines. We are in the beginning stages of implementing our morning and evening routines, but we can already tell our little home is more peaceful. It takes a little extra work from both my husband and I to begin with, but the payoffs are so worth it. Simple things like starting the dishwasher before bed, setting the coffee before bed, and GETTING AS READY AS YOU CAN FOR THE NEXT DAY before bed, make mornings much more delightful. (But I still think mornings should BEGIN at 10 a.m. haha.)

What tips and tricks do you have to keep your housework manageable?

Saving Money for Newlyweds

I don’t claim to be an expert on marriage, nor finances, but my husband and I have stumbled upon a trick that I think could be of use to other couples (and single people too).

Many people are familiar with Dave Ramsey’s envelope system, but in reality, who wants to carry around envelopes of cash. It’s not convenient, nor is it safe. I just wouldn't feel comfortable toting any large quantity of cash around with me.

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So we’ve come up with an alternative.

We found this nifty app called Good Budget. It’s an envelope system, without the envelopes. [ps: they’ve never heard of me, and aren’t compensating me for this whatsoever! But, the app is free, so that’s kind of compensation enough!]

You set up the envelopes with the amount of money you want them to start with. Each time you make a transaction, you put it in the app. It tracks where you spent the money, how much, and tells you how much you have left for the month. It even tells you if you are on track proportionally for the set amount to last you until the end of the month.

So easy and so helpful!

The best part, and the relationship saver, is that you can sync the app with another person! You can track your spending together. 

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Example: My husband and I obviously share a grocery budget, and we both do some of the grocery shopping. With a traditional envelope system, we would have to either have two envelopes, or play tag with the envelope depending on who was going to the store. Now, we can both use the grocery budget, track expenses, and see how much we have left: all with one app! 

As a saver, it gives me the peace of mind to know when to pinch pennies, but it also gives me the freedom to feel ok with a little splurge.

On [bringing you up to speed with] My 200th Post.

This is my 200th post! Can you believe that? This little blog of mine has changed so much in the last almost FIVE years! Hopefully it will be even better (and more consistent) moving forward! :)

I don't have a lot to say, and thanks to the flu shot I got yesterday, my brain is working at about half capacity. Apparently, Kelly and the flu shot don't mix. I had never received a flu shot until yesterday. That was only because my place of employment requires it. Next year, I might just rock a mask for flu season so I don't have to be a sicky from the shot.

How I feel right now.

You know what DOES mix? Kelly and SCHOOL. Holy cow. I tried so hard to be done with school when I finished my master's degree in December. Well, friends...I've enrolled in community college. I have this pesky little strength called input, and I just can't stop collecting new information.

Most people start out in community college, then maybe transfer to a university, and might finish up in grad school. I'm just doing things a little differently. And I love it. I especially love that I'm only taking one class, so I could potentially ruin the curve for all the stressed out full time students. Hehe.

And here are some terribly irreverent poke at community colleges, thanks to our good friend Sheldon of The Big Bang Theory.

On a completely different note, this girl is amazing! 

For more stories on amazing women around the world, check out the SheLoves Magazine online community.

In real life...
the husband and I traveled across the country to visit family a couple weeks ago. We had a great time hanging out with family, and it was awesome for Adam to show me places he lived and worked before he met me.

We also ate some delicious kolaches, which I have now determined that I need to attempt to make! Does anybody have any tried and true recipes, or should I just trust the power of Pinterest?

On [the August 2013 Edition of] What I'm Into.

Greetings! Here are some things that are awesome! Follow me on Twitter if you want links to more awesome stuff when I find it!

Flags made out of food from the represented country! Delicious and Patriotic!

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This company sells non-girly clothes for girls! So awesome and empowering!

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On my nightstand Kindle:

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- I finished Prototype this month. I'm super stoked about this book; so stoked that we are using it for our upcoming new young adult small group. However, I also don't recommend reading the last chapter in public. It is so beautiful, and if you are reading it in the cafeteria at work you might have to hold back beautifulsobbytears.

- I was chosen to receive an advanced copy to review of Sarah Bessey's upcoming book, Jesus Feminist. I'm 34% of the way through, and while it isn't everything I hoped for, it is still wonderful. It is almost too academic and doesn't make me feel like I'm swimming through poetry like most of her blog posts do. Maybe she'll pull through somewhere in the last 66 percent. I'm share my full review when I'm finished reading.

- Adam downloaded a couple of books for me for my birthday: Evolving in Monkey Town and Surprised by Hope. I'm 17% of the way through Monkey Town, and I am really enjoying it! It's completely different than A Year of Biblical Womanhood, but it gives lots of background that make AYOBW make even more sense.


On television Netflix:

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- We are in the middle of our one month free trial of Netflix, and holy cow PARENTHOOD! I somehow missed this show when it came out, but I've made up for it in the last week or so. Adam will even watch it with me! The problem is that with so many storylines, you'll identify with at least one, which gives you lots of FEELINGS!

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- Big Brother. I should be ashamed, but I'm not. I've loved this show since high school! I'm definitely rooting for J-U-double-D-party-Daughtery!

- LOST. Adam and I watched the ENTIRE SERIES this summer EXCEPT the last two episodes. I think we got burnt out on the show, and just can't bring ourselves to finish it. Plus, I watched it when it was actually on tv, so I already know what happens.


More awesome stuff:

This is pretty much the best idea ever! An artist mom is letting her daughter finish her drawings!

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Everyone at my alma mater is back in the classroom, and honestly I'm quite jealous. I miss being in school! I'm also super proud that their new president is a woman!


EU Video Blog | EU Launch 2013 from Evangel University on Vimeo.

I'm linking up...

On [my blog] Turning 4-Years-Old! GIVEAWAY!

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I'm often asked what the name of my blog means. Rainboots & Beef was chosen embarrassingly haphazardly; a thrown-together name consisting of two of my favorite things (rainboots and beef, in case you weren't sure) for a blog I didn't have big plans to make into much of anything.

It all started on a cool fall evening in 2008; it was my junior year of college. I was probably bored, or procrastinating, or both. I did a short-lived series on things I was thankful for, given that it was November and all. I'm pretty sure all I mentioned being thankful for was rainboots and mood rings. My, how things have changed.

The blogging was random at best, and very inconsistent. I'd log on every once in awhile (usually if something emotionally major had happened) to write an angsty post about my feelings.

Finally, in the beginning of 2011, I started taking this thing a little more seriously. I still wouldn't describe what I was doing as consistent, but I was more careful with my content, and intentional about posting.

Around the same time, I began following other bloggers, and realizing that I was becoming invested in their lives. I celebrated when they had babies. I listened when they needed to virtually vent. I was actually reading the content in my Google Reader and on the lookout for more excellent blogs to follow.

When 2012 hit, I had found my blogging groove. In preparing for France, I realized what an amazing tool this was, and wanted to use it to connect with my supporters, and also tell the stories of the people I was meeting.

And now, here we are, four years removed from humble dorm room beginnings.

In celebration the 4th birthday of Rainboots & Beef, we are partnering with the generous folks at steakclub.com. I'm sure you've heard of wine of the month clubs, chocolate of the month clubs, or popcorn of the month clubs...well, this company has MEAT of the month clubs. Yes. Meat.

Heaven, right!?!

Steakclub.com loves that this blog has "beef" in the name, so they are giving away two USDA Prime 1-inch thick rib eye steaks to one fortunate reader of Rainboots & Beef.

To enter, simply use the rafflecopter form below. It will ask you to "like" Rainboots & Beef on Facebook for one mandatory entry. Additional entries can be garnered by following me on twitter, posting a comment, or tweeting about the giveaway. All entries must be collected by Friday, November 9, 2012. I will post the winner the following Monday, November 12, which is Rainboots & Beef's birthday.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Go put on your rainboots, and get ready to eat some beef!
*post may contain Amazon affiliate links