a to z, me

"getting to know you... getting to know all about you..."

any the king and i fans out there? when i was younger, it was my favorite movie. i loved sleeping over at my grandma's house because it didn't matter how many times we'd seen it; she always let me put it on again.and i, in turn, watched the golden girls with her. 

"you are precisely my cup of tea..." (:

it's the first week of classes of this academic year. my office is across the hall from a classroom where classes have been taking place yesterday and today, filled with first year students. i've overhead the professors start each class with a little "get to know you" activity or question. i usually think these things are kind of cheesy at first [ok, or i just get stressed about what i'm going to say], but then enjoy them as people start to open up and we get to know one another!

all that to say, i've seen a little questionnaire on a few blogs recently and thought it was fun to read the responses and get to know more about some lovely bloggers. i thought i'd do the same!

me and some total. legit. bedhead. (:

{a} age :: twenty-seven

{b} bed size :: double

{c} chore you hate :: killing bugs! [when you live in the country, it is a chore!]

{d} dogs :: none - though john and i talk about the dogs we want to have someday and i frequent this website and wish i could rescue all these pups :(

{e} essential start to your day :: coffee, followed by more coffee (:

{f} favorite color :: i love combinations. right now i'm loving turquoise, olive green, mustard yellow, and browns.

{g} gold or silver :: white gold

{h} height :: 5'9

{i} instruments you play :: i played the flute for 9 years

{j} job title :: communication and events administrative assistant

{k} kids :: none... yet!

{l} live :: western new york

{m} maiden name :: champignon [we've americanized it and pronounce it champion (: ]

{n} nicknames :: champ, sar sar, sarah beth [my middle name]

{o} overnight hospital stays :: none

{p} pet peeve :: people driving five miles under the speed limit and people tailgating me when i'm driving the speed limit or more [oh, driving... have i mentioned i'm from jersey?!]

{q} quote :: let love explode and bring the dead to life. let hope arise and make the darkness hide [daniel bashta - like a lion]

{r} righty or lefty :: lefty

{s} siblings :: two younger sisters, heather and laura

{t} time you wake up :: 6:25am [after my alarm goes off at 6, 6:10 and 6:20!]

{u} university attended :: malone university [it was malone college when i attended... 5 years ago. yikes!]

{v} vegetables you dislike :: brussels sprouts. i'm also fickle about onions and tomatoes.

{w} what makes you run late :: checking my emails, facebook and blogs

{x} x-rays you’ve had :: teeth and one foot

{y} yummy food :: so many to choose from! some of my favs include mexican food, biscottis, new jersey bagels, and ice cream

{z} zoo animal favorite :: elephants

your turn, friends! tell me something to help me get to know you better!

i'm loving musicals, thoughts of my grandma, and new friends!

fill_in_the_blanks

Source

to have some extra fun today before the weekend starts, i decided to 

participate with lauren in fill in the blank friday! here we go!

1.   One of life's most simple pleasures is   watching the sun set   .

2.    Sloooow drivers      makes me want to punch someone.

3.  I like   my boyfriend    because,   he cooks me yummy meals  .

4.   onomatopoeia    is a funny word. [it helps that we learned how to spell it in school to the tune of 'old macdonald.' i can't think of it without singing it in my head... or out loud.]

5.  If I had to choose one beauty product to use for the rest of eternity it would be   nail polish  .

6.  I'm happy that    my college roommate is coming to visit for the weekend. it's been a year since i saw her last!  .

7.  I would never    say never ;)    .

this week at work we brought in a new group of masters' students. a new school year has arrived! we worked some long days this week, so i am certainly looking forward to the weekend and having some adventures with my college roomie! i hope you have a lovely weekend, friends!

inspiration workshop [favorite color]

time for another inspiration workshop! this week's prompt was favorite color. as i've been decorating my home, i have used a combination of the same colors in different shades in each of my rooms. it actually was not a completely conscious idea; i think it just naturally defines me and what i like! i love greens, blues, yellows, and browns. and right now i'm totally digging olive green, turquoise, mustard yellow, and dark brown.

shutters on the dining room windows, my first yarn wreath, burlap bag from a yard sale, decorations on my built-ins

some of the material i scored FREE at a yard sale, more fun decor, pillows from the one and only target, lovely shutter

i love that God created colors. and i love the way He has mixed and combined them all over the earth and how beautiful and inspiring that is. blue in the ocean and the sky, green grass, the yellow sun and in flowers, brown trees... we live in a beautiful world.

sitting under fig trees

we had a half-day retreat at work yesterday, where i was introduced to this beautiful prayer:

Source

o God of timelessness and time,
we thank You for our time
and for those things that are yet possible and precious in it:
     daybreak and beginning again,
     midnight and the touch of angels,
     the taming of demons in the dance of dreams;
a word of forgiveness,
and sometimes a song,
for our breathing... our lives.

thank You for the honesty which marks friends and makes laughter;
for fierce gentleness which dares to speak the truth in love
and tugs us to join the long march toward peace;
for sudden gusts of grace which rise
unexpectedly in our wendings from dawn to dawn;
     for children unabashed,
          wind rippling a rain puddle,
                  a mockingbird in the darkness,
                     a colleague and a cup of coffee;
for all the mysteries of loving,
for our bodies next to others' bodies;
for music and silence,
for wrens and Orion,
for everything that moves us to tears,
to touching, to dreams, to prayers;
for our longings... our lives.

thank You for work which engages us in internal debates between right and reward
and stretches us toward responsibility to those who pay for our work,
and to those who cannot pay because they have no work.
     for justice which repairs the devastations of poverty;
         for liberty which extends to the captives of violence;
              for healing which binds up the broken bodied and broken hearted;
                   for broken bread for all the hungry of the earth;
                        for good news of love which is stronger than death;
and for peace for all to sit under fig trees and not be afraid;
for our callings... our lives.

thank You for the sharp senses of timeless stirring in our time,
and Your praise in our hearts;
for the undeniable awareness, quick as now,
that the need of You is the truth of us,
and Your presence with us is the truth of You,
which sets us free for others,
for joy,
and for You;
for Your grace... and our lives... forever.

[ted loder, guerrillas of grace: prayers for the battle]

my front porch

i dream of having a home with a front porch someday. a place to start my day and a place to end it. a place to sit with friends and share our hearts. a place to read. a place to snuggle with my stud.

my dream front porch would be a wrap around, overlooking the beach...

Source

with plenty of comfy seating...

Source

and coffee, iced or warm...

Source

with bright pops of color...

Source

and a hammock...

Source

and filled with the sounds of friends and family! (:

ah, i feel relaxed just thinking about it! have a lovely thursday, friends! and check out other fun front porches here:

a little bit goes a long way

i had bananas who had clearly seen better days so i decided to make banana walnut bread. i stopped at the store and picked up walnuts because i thought they were the only ingredient i didn't already have at home. i jumped right in with the mixing and measuring only to find that i didn't have any baking soda. the recipe called for a teaspoon. just a teaspoon? i'll just skip it.

big. mistake.

when i took the bread out of the oven, it was flat, dense and un-breadlike. after a little post-oops research i found out that the little amount of baking soda i deemed unimportant was the one important thing i needed in order for the bread to rise.

i'm kind of ashamed to even post this picture!

___________________

a friend and i were talking about our guys and our relationships, and she asked me if john and i had ever discussed the five love languages. we really haven't, but i had to read the children's version of the book in college, and i commented that i have come to realize that when john takes even just 10 minutes to really talk to me, [no responding to texts in the middle of our conversation, no playing games on the itouch, nothing else in hand, and the same goes for me, too; i'm just as guilty!] i feel validated, heard, and loved. i don't get so grumpy if we don't see each other for the next 2 or 3 days because that little act of speaking my love language of quality time fills my love tank up.

___________________

sometimes [i'd even say a lot of the time] it takes little time or effort on our part to make an impact. little notes from my stud, and i feel an incredible amount of love for days. a simple text from a friend in the morning letting me know she's thinking of me helps get me through what might otherwise have been a defeating day. a little thoughtfulness, intentionality and the choice to act can have an effect that multiplies a simple gift into something much bigger.

it's wrong to think that i shouldn't act if i'm not able to donate a million dollars towards a charity, end world hunger, or provide clean drinking water for a country. we don't always see the full repercussions of our actions. a kind word, a warm meal, or an invitation to coffee might produce a ripple that touches many, many more lives than ever imagined. or it might bless one person or family. in either case, we have the opportunity and responsibility to act. the little things do matter. and God calls us to be faithful in the little first.

might i encourage you to do a little thing for someone today?

the great I Am

day and night they never stop saying:
"holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come."
[rev 4:8]


"hallelujah, holy holy
God Almighty, Great I Am
who is worthy
none beside Thee
God Almighty
Great I Am"

ten on ten [august edition]

[1] morning tea in my new turquoise tea kettle [2] breakfast at work: waffles sandwiches with a cream cheese filling. yum! [3] a trip to one of my favorite places [4] the clouds turned black, thunder rumbled, and it began to pour. [5] an hour later, the sun was back [6] next to the bible, the ap stylebook is my go-to book. grammar nerds unite! [7] the sky was so amazing today [8] my new $7 piece of decor from the clearance section at target. i'm hoping to get my spray paint on with this one! [9] delicious dinner [10] more incredible sky on an evening bike ride. so incredible that i have to share a few more pictures...

 

a little update

it has been a crazy fun week [and then some!]. here's where i've been!

- the thursday before last my parents came into town for the weekend! it had been almost a year since they'd been up to visit and it was great to get some time with them and share a little more of life here. [it's my not-so-secret goal to get them to move to new york. they've visited in both summer and fall, the best times to convince them of this. unfortunately for some reason it's hard to get them to forget about all the snow winter brings. (: ]

- while they were here we explored a 50-mile garage sale from montezuma to homer. [how fun is that to say?!] i made some great finds [more to come on that soon!]

- last week was kingdom bound, the annual summer christian music festival here in western ny. i had the privilege of working there for my job. so. much. fun! we talked with people from all around the country and canada, helped put on youth ministry seminars, and saw a few shows! i saw skillet perform from 7 rows back [as in, close enough to feel the heat off the flames exploding from their stage!]. i finally saw the classic crime. they are one of my favorite bands and they played my two favorite songs. can i get a woot woot?! (: my friends' brothers mcclurg also played at the festival. tuesday was the release day for their super awesome album alive. if you want some new worship music, check them and their new album out here.

- friday night turned into an impromptu date night, which was absolutely lovely after a long week. dinner at moe's + a trip to borders to begin browsing their clearance sales + my stud = a very happy me.

ps moe's new taco stackers? delish!

and now here we are. things are much quieter this week. i like myself a bit of routine, so even though life has been super fun the last two weeks, i'm ok with getting rid of the crazy for a little while. (:

the busy-ness brought on a bit of a blog break, for which i'm also grateful. if i'm honest, i was getting too caught up in keeping up, looking left and right at what others were doing, and measuring myself against it all. i was losing the freedom to fully appreciate and encourage the incredible bloggers i've found in this journey. stepping away and living life outside of the internet brought the space i needed to allow God to breath His perspective on me. the best person i can be is the me He created, and the plan He has for my life is perfect for me. it's not going to look the same as anyone else's and that's a-okay. in fact it's beautiful. i'm blessed to share in His plan for so many other lovely women through their blogs. each journey looks different, but our destination is the same: Jesus Christ. how freeing! it reminds me of a song we sing [and act out] with our kids at sunday school. (:

i am free to run,

i am free to dance,

i am free to live for you,

i am free,

yes i am free!

we are free to be who we are... running, dancing or writing about our lives, encouraging one another, and building each other up. all in the freedom that He Himself paid the price for. thank you, Jesus!