On Gift Pacts and Christmas Tags.

This is our first married Christmas together, so we are having tons of fun coming up with our own traditions.

We made a gift pact, which basically goes a little like this: only buy gifts that don't hurt other people. This translates that we are trying to only buy from local artists and/or companies that are committed to treating their employees ethically. 

To make things even simpler, we decided to get each other four gifts: something you want, something you need, something you wear, something you read. 

I had so much fun choosing gifts for Adam, though I did have a moment where I semi-panicked that he wouldn't like one of his gifts. Then he sent me a direct link to that exact thing...so I guess that means he will like it. (He sent me lots of links, so maybe he won't be able to figure out what I'm talking about here...lol.)

People often complain that men are hard to shop for, but I find it to be the opposite with Adam. The problem I run into is limiting what I get him (or getting it for him before he gets it for himself!). 

I wrapped up his prezzies, and found myself in possession of zero gift tags. Luckily, I had reached the end of the wrapping paper roll...which was just thick brown paper and not a real roll. I cut little rectangles out and made my own tags. Add a sharpie and some ribbon and voila. Christmas magic.

On [a late fall] Healthy Breakfast.

The mornings have been cold here lately. We were recently given a huge bag of pears that need to be eaten quicker than we would normally consume them. This morning I whipped this up for breakfast while we sipped our hot coffee and waited for the heater to warm our little home.

Lightly toast steel cut oats with butter in a sauce pan.

Add water at 2:1 ratio.

Rolling boil until all water is gone.

Add pears, chopped dates, crushed walnuts, and a dash of pumpkin spice. Top with either honey or brown sugar, depending on your sweetness preference.

Enjoy. Obviously, I did before I was able to take a picture of the finished product!

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.

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...