{summertime in H-Town}

Oh yes, it's summertime in Houston.  And you know what that means...

Adrian and I went to The Woodlands this past week to have dinner and hang out with some family.  We took a stroll from the restaurant where we had dinner just down the street and before we got to the end of the block, my hair looked JUST LIKE that little animal.  Sad day.  I very reluctantly had to put it in a ponytail, completely ruining the hour's worth of effort I had spent straightening it earlier that day.  

Fortunately, summertime brings a lot of good things too, so I'll try not to dwell too much on the hot...super hot...sweltering...drippy...humidity-filled air that comes with Houston summers.  

Anyone want to come visit?  :)

{time to celebrate...5:30am spin and Tutorial Tuesday...on a Wednesday}

Y'all...let's celebrate.  Oh, you want to know why?  Because I survived my VERY FIRST spin class.  AND, it was at 5:30 this morning.  Oh yes, you read that correctly.  5:30am.  AND it was a whole hour long.  AND, I didn't even cry or throw up (but I wanted to...).  Today marks a victory for Team Health.  Check back in tomorrow to see if I can still walk.  :)

So now, on to {Tutorial Tuesday, but it's on a Wednesday this week because of Memorial Day...or something like that}

This week we're making tissue paper flower embellishments.  These days, it seems like babies are everywhere. In our Bible class, basically every young married couple has a baby.  And with babies, of course, come baby showers!  Many of the ladies in my class already have one or more children so we often have diapers & wipes showers instead of the traditional clothes/toys/bottles showers.  Let me tell you--most of the gift bags that are big enough to fit packages of diapers in them are just not cute.  And if they are, they cost more than I want to spend (I'd rather get more presents than spend that money on a gift bag!)  So I decided to jazz up a plain bag with a little tissue paper.  It's super simple and it would also be a great way to make plain white boxes from the dollar store a little fancier, too.

{for a bag big enough to hold diapers}

For the tutorial, I'm going to do a miniature version.

{for almost any other gift that's not ginormous}

This is so easy, anyone can do it.  Let's get started.

Step 1:  Get your supplies together.  You'll need:
(1) a bag or box
(2) some tissue paper {I used 3 colors that all came in a package together in the dollar section at Target--this is also a great way to use old scraps of tissue paper that you have on hand, even tissue paper that's already crumpled up!}
(3) brads or a stapler and a button to glue on top {I got the brads in the wedding section at Michael's, but you can easily use the little brass ones you can get at the office supply store}.

Step 2: Cut your tissue paper into squares.  This is easiest done by folding and cutting along the fold lines.  It doesn't have to be perfect since you'll end up crumpling it all up anyway.  I made my squares almost the same width as the bag I was putting the flower on.

Step 3:  Stack your tissue paper squares--they should be off-center from each other so that the corners don't overlap.  I used two squares of the darkest color, two squares of the lightest color and one square of the pattern.  You can use any combination you want, though.  Part of the fun is figuring out the best combinations!

Step 4:  Stick your brad through the middle or just staple the sheets right through the middle.

Step 5:  Stick your brad through the bag/box and press the arms down.  {This step can be switched with Step 6 if you think it would be easier to scrunch prior to sticking.  Either way works fine.}  If you have stapled the tissue paper squares rather than using a brad, you can just use a little hot glue to attach the paper to the bag.  Just use a little dab right in the middle of the back.

Step 6:  Scrunch!  Scrunch the paper together until you get the desired level of scrunchiness.  :)  Scrunch the top layer a little more and the bottom layer a little less so that the back layer can show through.  To make this easier, you can always cut the top tissue paper square a little smaller than the back two layers.

And you're done!  If you used a staple rather than a decorative brad, you can hot glue a little button in the middle so the staple doesn't show.

Good luck!  Let me know if you try it out!

{grace}

This sign is in the entrance of the parking garage where I park for work.

It is a familiar verse in the Bible that reads "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. "  {Ephesians 2:8-9} What exactly is grace, though?  What does it mean that we've been "saved by grace"?  


This sign in my parking garage made me revisit in my mind the foundation of what my faith--and that of all Christian believers--is built on.  Grace.  This sign is a beautiful representation of what God has given to us through Jesus Christ.  As you can see, this sign lists out all sorts of prices.  If you're in the parking garage for 3+ hours, you pay $12.00.  If you are in the garage between 2 hours and one minute and 3 hours, you pay $9.00 and so on.  You then see at the top of the sign that if you are in the parking garage for anywhere between zero (meaning, you just drive in and drive right back out) and 10 minutes, you have what they call "grace."  The sign shows us that the use of the garage comes at a cost.  But for the first 10 minutes, they are essentially saying that even though you drive in, they will give you a gift--they will allow you to not pay what you would otherwise owe.  They will give you "grace."  


Now, obviously this is not a perfect analogy, but the symbolism is beautiful.  You choose to do something that comes at a cost {drive into a garage that you don't own}.  But even though you owe this cost, by choosing to leave, you get grace--you don't have to pay.  The owner of the garage essentially pays that cost for you.  You have done nothing to earn this gift--you still drove into the garage like everyone else--the owner is just doing something nice for you.  This is very much like becoming a Christian.  We are sinful.  We do things that make God sad--things that He has told us not to do.  And those things come at a cost.  The cost is being separated from God and not getting to enjoy the fullness of life that He can give us.  But if we choose to leave that life, rather than stay in it, God will give us grace.  We no longer have to pay.  He, through Jesus Christ, pays that cost for us and we get to live with Him. We can't do anything to earn it {we drove into the garage--we chose to sin} but He loves us and has paid the cost for us if we just choose to "drive out" {repent and accept Jesus}.  


Like I said before, even though this isn't a perfect analogy, I just love it when things I see in everyday life make me stop and think about God's goodness and what his sacrifice of Jesus means.  I hope that if you haven't accepted Christ, you'll think about how neat of a concept it is that someone would be willing to pay your costs for you so that you can live for eternity with someone who created you, who loves you more than you can ever understand and who wants to give you an inheritance that you could never even fathom.  If you're already a believer, I hope that you will make an effort to remember everyday how special the gift is that we've been given.  

{Five Item Friday}

Today's Topic:  Projects!

I have been in a project mood lately.  I've picked up multiple sets of materials in the last week with which to make things.  I'm really excited to have a little extra time in the evenings to get back into crafting and so I thought I'd share five of the projects I'm most excited about trying out!  Let me know if you have any fun projects in the works!  {Also, check back next week for a tutorial on the towel hooks I made for our home}

#1: A dry-erase board of chores--remember my post the other day about how I try to tackle our household chores?  I currently have the list written on a plain piece of paper, but being someone who's very Type A, I would LOVE to have a list that I can check off every day!

Get the tutorial here.

#2: We often have potlucks at our church and since I typically make the food in the morning before we leave, it's very difficult to carry it out to the car without destroying my {or, let's be honest...my husband's} fingers.  This little cutie should do the trick!

Get the tutorial here.

#3:  Speaking of food, this item is a wonderful way to add a seasonal perk to your table or to give as a gift to a new couple.  I'll be making a set of these for my wonderful friends who recently got married--rather than putting the words to a poem, I'll be writing out the lyrics to their first dance song {in the hope that perhaps they'll use these little beauties for something special on their anniversary or simply display them as a reminder of their special day}.

Get the tutorial here.

#4:  One more for the dinner table--these pretties are a great way to repurpose some old treasures and create a beautiful tablescape in the process.  This would also provide me a great excuse to spend a Saturday morning at thrift shops! {which I love, by the way}

See the article here.

#5:  And finally, you'll obviously need a little bling to wear to that pretty table, so how about a nice statement necklace?

Get the tutorial here.

{ballet for dummies?}

Friends, I have been struggling.  Struggling to get into a routine of exercise.  Hubs and I were doing really super well getting up every single morning to go to the gym.  And then something happened.  Something inexplicable. Perhaps it was because I went on an out-of-town trip or because I got sick.  I can't remember the exact moment that it happened, but for some reason, we just stopped.

Well, my husband, the dedicated and self-disciplined man that he is, started back going to the gym every morning.  It doesn't matter what time that man goes to bed {and if you have any sort of interaction with us, I'm sure you already know that his work hours are not for the faint of heart}, he will still get up to go to the gym.  But alas...I am not him.  I do not, and have never claimed to, have his level of self-discipline.  So alone he goes...sad and crying {okay, maybe not that part} to the gym at the crack of dawn.

I have been trying to make myself more motivated, but really...getting psyched up to go exert a massive amount of energy at 6 in the morning is just really not my style.  But the other day, I was over at my friend Kristin's house {You remember Kristin, right?  The one I basically spend all my free, hubby-is-working-so-I-need-a-buddy time with?} and in her TV console I spotted some videos..."New York Ballet" was on the cover so of course I was intrigued.  I danced for many years growing up, but unfortunately, I never go a strong grasp on ballet.  We were always required to take ballet classes, of course, but it was not the main type of dance that I preferred.  I was always in awe of the beautiful ballerinas who graced the stages and wanted to be just like them, but I, being stubborn and not so much into all the work it would take to develop the technique of ballet, never really got into it.  What I do know, though, is that dancing {and especially ballet} develops amazing muscle tone and helps you develop control and strength.  So I thought I would reach back into my roots and try these videos out.  I had my first go at it last night and let me tell you, I had truly forgotten just how difficult ballet is--even just holding your arms in second position for such a long time is very, very difficult!  {Side note: The exercises are based on ballet moves, but for anyone out there who's scared of having to dance, don't worry--it's mostly just slow, controlled movements as opposed to learning dance combinations.}  But I really loved it and I will definitely be making this a regular part of my life schedule.

I probably should have started here:

But instead I started here:

Recently, one of my good friends, Lyndsay, started taking ballet classes as an adult.  {She took only a year of ballet classes as a small child.}  I admire her so much for doing that, for taking on the task of trying something new that most people believe you cannot do unless you have a strong background in it from a very young age.  She even had a recital last weekend!

cute baby Lyndsay on the left

beautiful grown-up Lyndsay!

Do you have any new or unique workouts that you have started recently?

{oh yes, I ran}

Last night, I got home and got inspired.  I got our chicken all fixed up for dinner and threw it in the oven.  I knew that I had about 30 minutes of free time before it would be ready, so I decided that I would go to the gym.  {what?!?!}  Oh yes, I went to the gym.  {and of course, that decision had nothing at all to do with the fact that the Thunder was playing the Lakers last night and we don't have cable but the gym does...}  I hopped on the treadmill, all energized and ready to go, and I started jogging right away.  Go me!  I planned to jog for 20 minutes but the game was so good that I didn't want to leave, so when the 20 minute mark came around, I just kept on going.  And of course, in my head, I had this amazing vision of myself--perfect form, excellent breathing technique, total focus...

this was totally how I felt last night {Carl Lewis}

Then I glanced over at a reflection of myself in the mirror and what did I see?

sad day

Oh well...that didn't matter.  The point was that I was running!  I got to the end of my 30 minutes and I was SO PROUD of myself.  {p.s. did I mention that I am not, by any stretch of the word, a runner?}  I went back to our apartment and bragged to my husband about how well I did.  I showered, grabbed our dinner out of the oven and sat down to eat.  As soon as dinner was over, I turned to my husband and said "man, I just got really tired."  And next thing I knew...

me, post-dinner

Oh well.  It was a good effort.  I probably won't be doing it again any time soon, though.  Until, of course, there's another Thunder game to be watched.  :)

What do you like to do for exercise?

{it's Monday...but we have french toast and projects!}

We had a GREAT weekend this past weekend.  On Saturday, I woke up early (for a Saturday) and made breakfast for Hubs and myself.  It was soooo tasty.  I used a cream cheese-stuffed french toast recipe I found on Pinterest and modified it based on the bread that was available to me on Friday at 10 pm at HEB (it was a hearty cinnamon raisin bread).  Yes, this modification was out of necessity, but sometimes, creating things out of whatever you have on hand makes for some of the best recipes!  I also modified the recipe a little by omitting the milk (I find that the toast turns out a little better if you just use your eggs straight-up.)  and adding a little cinnamon to the egg mixture.  It turned out to be really delicious, and it's definitely something I'll make again when we have company in town.

ready to be dipped and cooked up

taking a bath

After breakfast, my friend Kristin and I packed up a cooler with snacks and Gatorade and headed out to the park to watch hubs and brother-in-law play in a couple church league softball games.  The weather was SOOO beautiful.  (I took pictures, but in classic Katherine style, I forgot to upload them.)  We spent the remainder of the day strolling through The Village shops, just enjoying having a whole free day to do whatever we wanted.  It was so great.

I also picked up some supplies for a couple projects I'm working on.  Currently, we have nothing on the walls in our bedroom.  I've been wanting to do something to decorate in there, but I've been uninspired.  When I was walking through Marshall's on Saturday, I spotted a huge wooden letter M in the children's decor section for less than $10.  I thought that would be just perfect to hang over our bed.  It's a lavender color, but I figured I could easily paint it.  So I snatched it up.  I also found two inexpensive frames that are actually meant for diplomas, but I loved the simple lines on them so I snagged those, too.  I plan to put a couple wedding pictures in there to flank the M.  I'll post some photos when it's all finished.  I also have a couple of other projects and tutorials in the works, so stay tuned!  (Some personalized plates as well as some towel hangers that I created a long time ago for our apartment and just have yet to post.)

But anyhoo, now it's Monday and I'm just tired.  I'm hoping that these projects that I have planned will get me re-energized.  What did you do over the weekend and what are you looking forward to this week?