Summer Ambitions

Summer is upon us and unfortunately the school year is going to be starting again, but before it does, here are just a few things I am hoping to do this summer:

1. Make an Apron (check! This one is done!)

2. Read, Read, and Read some more

3. Read books 4 and 5 of the Kent Family Chronicles (my dad's favorite...if I get 4 and 5 done, I will only have 2 more to go...whew!)

4. Hang out with friends

5. Teach, Teach, and Teach more classes at the gym (I picked up 2 aqua classes this summer and I was finally given the TKB class on Saturday morning...sooooo Excited!)

6. Work on my devotional time (this really isn't number 6, more like number 1!)

7. Lay at the pool (at least once a week is the plan...with sunscreen on of course!)

8. Clean the house?!?! (or at least organize different areas....which ones will come later)

9. Learn to Coupon and SAVE MONEY! (I am doing pretty good at this for being a newbie)

10. RELAX!!!!!

Love My Colts!

I know that it is summer, but I have always wanted to make myself an apron. Thanks to my mother-in-law, I had an apron pattern just sitting around, and thanks to my mom, I had a 50% off coupon at JoAnn's! As I was walking around JoAnns, I stumbled across COLTS fabric and knew what I wanted for my apron!

I had some fabric left over....YEAH! So, I made two place mats to go on my table. I had a heart pattern already, so I used that and my mom helped me create these awesome looking place mats!

I did not make these today, but my friend Kari taught me how to do the Granny Square stitch, and I made these COLTS themed coasters! Jeremy and I use them daily.

Can't wait for the Football Season to start! Go COLTS!

Free Martha Stewart on my Birthday!

Thanks to Hip2Save and a friendly reminder from my good friend Amanda, I just scored a free year subscription to Martha Stewart Magazine for my birthday! How cool is that?! I hope it comes soon! :)

Also, isn't God so great to give us amazing friends. I love birthdays. It is a great reminder of not only how blessed I am by Savior, but also how nice a friendly message is on your birthday from friends near and far. Thanks everyone for making this birthday and every birthday a good one.

Another Read

The Daughter's Walk

By Jane Kirkpatrick

The Daughter’s Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick had its ups and downs for me. The book is written in three parts; Family, Exile, and Reunion. Family was all about the walk that mother (Helga) and daughter (Clara) took in order to raise money to save their farm. On their journey they had many encounters both good and bad, but while they were successful with their completion it wasn’t enough. The second part of the book looks at the daughter’s life and what she does once she is exiled from her family. I had a difficult time getting into this because the plot moved very slowly and I found the work that the daughter did to be boring. However, once she discovered her true gift, the book started to pick up and was excited to see what the outcome would be.

This book was all about personal revelations for Clara, the main character. She overcame so many struggles throughout her life that it kept me reading to find out how the story would end. She was not presented gift after gift on a silver platter, rather she had to work to accomplish her goals. I believe this is important for every woman (or man) to see play out, as it helps to give us all a sense of purpose.

This is not a book I would read over and over again, due to the slow moving plot. However, it was a good story of endurance and love. Thank you Water Brook Multnomah for providing me with this book to read.

Las Vegas Garden

Well after living in our Las Vegas House for 4 1/2 years, my husband had discovered the art of gardening! It took awhile to get the sprinklers working right and to keep the dogs away, but look at the awesomeness that is our beautiful Las Vegas Garden! My in-laws should be so proud! :)

Strawberries

Isn't it beautiful! Now we just need to figure out how to keep those pesky bugs away!

We also have peppers! Supposedly this one is a Red pepper...we will see if it turns color!

Beautiful

I certainly can't wait to start using them in my cooking! Perhaps this will help me save even more money?!?!?

Amazing!

A Reluctant Queen the Love Story of Esther

I could not put down A Reluctant Queen the Love Story of Esther, by Joan Wolf. It was beautifully written, taking Historical Biblical fiction, and writing it as a love story, which if you have read any of my other posts, I absolutely love a good love story. I do not normally read the Author’s note, however, I found it to be helpful reading this version of the book of Esther. The author wanted to create believable characters that would transform the original book from the Bible into a love story. She succeeded! The characters were very believable, and the plot moved quickly, so quickly in fact that I had to slow down in order to savor the book!

I enjoy reading my Bible, and I am looking forward to rereading the book of Esther to make some comparisons from this story. I encourage everyone to read this story when given the chance. Thank you Booksneeze for the opportunity to read such a great book!

Disclosure: I received a review copy of A Reluctant Queen the Love Story of Esther through Book Sneeze. I received no compensation for my thought.