A City Life For Me

Yes, that right. $1.99!!! The gas station on the corner is boasting a price of one dollar and ninety-nine cents for a gallon of regular unleaded. Let me state the obvious: that price is under two dollars a gallon! Amazing! Ben and I have been watching the price drop at least once, and sometimes twice per day, but today it hit that wonderful number under two bucks. Now if it will only keep going down...

Well... sort of. Last night we had our first frost. When I crawled out of my nice, warm bed into the freezing apartment, I didn't hesitate to ask Ben to turn on the heat! Then, as I headed to work I had to pull out my ice scraper from the abyss of my trunk. (It is a necessity for a Colorado girl, but not-so-frequently-used here at the Beach). I scraped off my windows and went to work. Of course the rest of the day was nice, beautiful, sunny, and warm, but I can dream a little, can't I? Frost makes me feel like snow. Snow reminds me of winter. Winter makes me dream of mittens, and skiing, and eggnog lattes at Starbucks, and sweaters, and... Christmas! We may have just had our first frost , but it is enough to look like Christmas to me!

I live in a small apartment. When I cook, the food odor likes to stick around. I think that my neighbors can probably guess what we have for dinner every night, as long as thei olfactory sensors are in good working order. On church nights especially, when we eat supper and run out the door, I hate returning to a home that smells like stale supper. I have found something that helps to eliminate the odor quickly and pleasantly: a scented oil warmer. A friend gave me the oil warmer that is pictured below. This one in particular comes from Bath & Body Works. There are several styles, so you can pick one that meshes with the decor and style of your home. I think they are around $10. I'm sure you could find a cheaper one at Wal-Mart, or maybe Pier One Imports or another similar store. Bath & Body Works sells the bottles of scented oil in the same scents as their lotions and body washes. You are supposed to use a few drops of oil, and then burn a tealight candle underneath. In my...

One of my favorite quotes: Every morning lean thine arms awhile upon the windowsill of heaven and gaze upon thy Lord. Then, with the vision in thy heart, turn strong to meet thy day. Anonymous Have a wonderful day!

Today is my 1st wedding anniversary . I have been married to my best friend and the most wonderful, loving, patient man for a whole year! It's hard to believe, but it's true. My honey took my to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and bought me a lovely necklace. We are ~ SO HAPPY TOGETHER~ and I anticipate many more years of wedded bliss!

Recently we heard Jerry Sivnksty preach, and he made this statement: "Every facet of my life is to be governed by faith." It's something we all know, but we're not so great at living it. I love the word facet . It's very descriptive. It's something to think about!

It's Wednesday again, which means another addition of "Works For Me Wednesday" over at Rocks In My Dryer . Here is my latest & greatest tip: The Curves Plan. Recently my dad challenged me to a "Biggest Loser" competition for the twelve weeks prior to Christmas. We are each putting $10 a week into the pot, and the winner takes all! In order to insure that I walk away with the cash, I decided to do the Curves Meal Plan. There is a calorie sensitive plan, and a carbohydrate sensitive plan. I selected the carbohydrate plan. Once you have lost the amount of weight in your goal, the meal plan adjusts for a lifestyle of normal eating, weight maintenance, and no dieting for life. I am now halfway through my first week in Phase 2, but I am pleased to report that in Phase 1 my weight loss totalled 9 pounds! In addition to following the meal plan (which does not seem at all like a "diet" but rather just healthy eating that I track daily) I also work out for...

The more I dream about New York City, the more my desire increases that the Lord might take us there for our ministry one day. I know that wherever He wants is the only place I will be happy, but if I were going to decide, it would definitely be NYC. Ben thinks it will probably be Brooklyn if the Lord does indeed lead us to New York. After graduating from college we spent three days and two nights in New York City on a vacation with my family. We were not able to see the Brooklyn Bridge on that visit. Ben and I stopped for a night in NYC on our return trip from the Meader wedding. We arrived in the afternoon and checked into our bed & breakfast (which turned out to be very good, considering it was going out a limb when we reserved it). The rain had cleared temporarily but was still threatening. We put on our sneakers and caught the subway from Queens to the Brooklyn Bridge. As we began walking the rain drizzled a little bit. It was dark so the bridge was lit and beautiful. When ...

During our recent trip to New England for the Meader wedding we saw some beautiful fall colors. It was about a week before the peak colors, but it was still gorgeous. The weather was rainy for most of the weekend so pictures were hard to come by. Ben pulled over on the side of the highway so I could shoot these pics. (Isn't he such a wonderful husband?) We enjoyed the colors through our drive down to New York City.

On September 20th Ben & I attended the Naval Air Station Oceana's 2008 Air Show (which happens to be the 50th anniversary of this air show). I know the post is a little late, but I was out of town and working extra hours. I wanted to get the pics up anyway. On Friday night we made it in time to see the acrobatic planes with the fireworks coming off their wings, and the F/A-18 Super Hornet with the after burner turned on. The after burner was really cool. On Saturday we bought bleacher seats and enjoyed some more acrobatic planes, the F/A-18 Super Hornet demonstrations, and the Blue Angels Show. The Blue Angels were amazing. I've seen them before, but it has been a long time. I was able to catch a couple of pics, though it i very difficult because they go by so quickly! My confession is that if I wasn't a wifey and homemaker (oh, and I forgot...a cafe barista), then I would want to be a fighter pilot. Realizing early on that the latter was definitely not a possibility, ...