all sorts of Christmas

wow has it really been a week since i last blogged? geez...apparently i've been busy. mostly with last minute Christmas shopping and errand running and some other fun stuff you'll read about in a minute :).



last saturday night eric and i went to seattle symphony's handel's messiah at benaroya hall with clint and mary. um, SO AWESOME. i had never actually been to a performance of messiah and i was very impressed - it was so good. and benaroya is probably my favorite building in all of seattle...with two chihuly chandeliers, how can it not be?? i highly recommend those of you who live in the seattle area to go next year. i think this may become an annual tradition!


eric and i at dinner before the concert


mary and i in front of the Christmas tree at benaroya!
one of the chihuly chandeliers!



here is a video clip of the second half of the hallelujah chorus...ignore the shaking :)

before getting all dolled up for a night on the town, we managed to do this to the guest bedroom! yay!! :)




monday night mary and i headed back to benaroya for "lessons and carols" which was also awesome. the northwest boys choir and vocalpoint seattle sang and they were AMAZING! the best parts about this particular concert are 1) Scripture is read in the telling of Christ's birth (no joke - in seattle? are you kidding me?!?) and 2) the audience gets to sing along to some traditional Christmas carols. although our seats were a bit too close to the stage it was still amazing. this is a great concert for kids too; there were quite a few in the audience.


i am still shocked that something like this actually happens in seattle. in a city where they made the airport and the capitol building take down the Christmas trees and other decorations, they actually hold an event in a public place where the Bible is read and the birth of Christ is celebrated! granted, you do have to buy tickets for this so if you don't want to go you don't have to, but i couldn't help but think about what the unbelievers in the audience were thinking that night. do they get it? do they understand what this is all about? does hearing Scripture (which was memorized and recited by members of the boys choir) do anything, cause them to feel anything inside? or are they so deadened by the world that no spiritual thing even penetrates their hearts? don't know...but God is capable of using anything to bring people to Him, even a Christmas concert.


we leave tomorrow morning for palm springs - i am definitely looking forward to some warmer weather and sunshine and to hanging out with the fam for a few short days. it should be fun and as always, highly entertaining!

this week's loves

i have been LOVING on a few specific things this week, and i just couldn't wait to share them with you :).

1. ikea

this place is the bomb in my book this week!! and here is why...




a new rug for the dining room, side tables ($8 each!!), two lamps + lamp shades (one was too big hence it is missing), candle holder, candles, a ceramic pot (to be used for ashes from the stove because eric has lit two paper bags on fire on accident) and a new door mat for the front door that actually removes the dirt off your shoes. all for about $300. the big rug took up a good $200 of that budget, so that puts the rest of it in perspective. you'll notice my kitties have already made that rug their own...seriously they were rubbing all over it the minute i started unrolling it!
speaking of bert & ernie, here is their latest favorite spot to fur on:

i do love those little kitties, even if eric can't stand them :)

2. trader joe's

this should be prefaced with a side note...we went to a wine tasting fundraiser this past saturday with the fabulous pamela mayo, a sommelier who also happens to attend our community group. it was awesome - good food, great wine, and even better company! all of the food was from trader joe's, which was amazing. seriously - so good. so good that when we ran out of milk i had the perfect excuse to go back to tj's and pick up a gallon of milk along with a few of the items we had saturday night. AND THEN - i spotted it. arborio rice!! i have looked for this every time i am at tj's and it's never been there until now!!

YAY!! finally finally - risotto at trader joe's! i was pretty excited about this :).



3. craigslist

one of the things we did once we finally sold the townhouse was to sit down and create a real budget again. along with the budget was making of list of the things we needed to do sooner rather than later and how much money we had to spend on it (hence my ikea shopping spree in december). one particular item on the list that eric was over the moon about was a tool chest. i pretty much forced him (i mean, come on...did i really have to twist his arm on this one?! no.) to put it on the list because i despise the garage at the moment. there will be no photo with this post because i couldn't even handle taking a picture of the current state of the garage. it's that bad. eric will send me in there to find a particular tool and i usually return empty handed because you can't find anything!! enough about the messy garage - this is about craigslist. i found a craftsman 13-drawer tool chest in black & gray that was practically new for $120 less than we had budgeted. and the guy lived in bfe so when he told me it was available AND he was willing to meet me halfway - i told him it was sold :). so once we clean up the garage and it finds a home, i'll post a picture to show you how pretty it looks!

i also love craigslist for selling amy's stationary bike for her. she wasn't able to take it with her when she moved (not enough room in her new place) so i offered to keep it and sell it for her. i posted it friday; about two hours later i had an email, and the guy came saturday morning to pick it up cash in hand. no joke, the whole thing took less than 24 hours. thank you craigslist!!

4. nordstrom

i know, i know...it doesn't take a lot to appreciate nordstrom. they are fabulous all the time. but they are extra fabulous this week, because i received exceptional service from a guy in the men's department monday when i was looking for a jacket for eric (don't worry babe...i didn't just tell you what one of your gifts is). he was very helpful, and even though he wasn't able to find what i was looking for he still took the time to try. they also get props for shipping things for free to my house when they don't have them in stock. when it is a crazy zoo at the mall during Christmas the last thing you want to do is drive from mall to mall to pick up a particular item right now. so yay for nordstrom being extra-customer friendly :).

5. panera

for yummy tomato soup and free wifi!!

and last but DEFINITELY not least,

6. my hubby



he is just the best. last weekend when he really wanted to spend all day chopping wood, he chose to hang the rest of the Christmas lights instead. didn't he do such a great job??

and he magically found extra money in our budget for Christmas (well, maybe not magic, but it seemed like it to me!). he tolerates bert & ernie because he knows how much i love them. he got mad at me for spending half of my gift card to the mall on new shoes for him (i think he was secretly both shocked and pleased, cuz he really did like them!).

but most of all he loves Jesus. and he is working really hard to lead our little family of two (four if you count the cats but since he wouldn't i'll just leave it at two) in a godly way to best use the blessings God has granted us. he is my most favorite and at the very top of my "best things about this week" list :).

to finish it off, i think i found a new "life verse". eric agreed i think this would make an excellent "house" verse as well.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 thessalonians 5: 16-18

snowit!

so i've been wishing it would snow, oh, pretty much all weekend. eric was outside chopping wood (i will correct myself here and state he was "chainsawing wood") when he stuck his head in the door and told me to get outside because IT WAS SNOWING!!! barely. and totally not sticking. and it quit, like, five minutes later. boo.

but! i've been enjoying some snowflakes of a whole other kind...on my website!! in honor of the new year and after some consideration i revamped a few things, dropped some other things, and at least until january it is christmas-y! woohoo! i'm pretty excited about this, and you should be too. especially if you live in the seattle area and are even remotely interested in personal training (and you are female...cuz i only work with the ladies). for a limited time i'm offering a personal training package and you should be excited! six training sessions for the price of four AND a sweet premier fitness under armour t-shirt! how cool is that?! so jump on it and head on over to premier fitness and get that new year's resolution crossed off the list :).


and because i love this product, if you were wondering i created my website using show-it. yeah, you read that right...i had total control (wow i am a freak) over every inch of that site. wait, maybe i don't want to admit that. oh well. if there's a typo let me know and i'll fix it. anyways! if you need a website and you are a teeny tiny bit creative, check this out. i'm pretty sure you'll love it too! (side note - it was created specifically for photographers, so if you happen to be one of those you are in for a treat!)

just say no

recently i have been reading a lot of verses that have to do with temptation. and not just about how we should resist it or say no, but that our Savior was tempted just as we are and still remained perfect. i gotta admit, i struggle with that a bit. i mean, seriously? he never had a mean thought about someone, never wanted to scream out of frustration, or stick his finger in the frosting when no one was looking?

and the answer is, no.

he never did any of those things, nor any of the other horrible things we do when we sin. yet he completely understands our temptation. he's been there. and he resisted. the super cool part about this is Scripture says because we as believers are filled with the same power we can also say no. we are filled with the Holy Spirit, just as Christ was during his time here on earth, and we too can flee from temptation.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
hebrews 4:15-16

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."
1 corinthians 10:13

"For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
hebrews 2:18

this has been a huge encouragement to me of late. it is really easy to get discouraged...by where i am failing, where i can't see improvement, or where my heart is hard. i know that i am going to fail. but God is faithful, and he has given me the Holy Spirit. all i have to do is recognize the power within me, at work in me, to turn in the right direction. by God's grace, i can draw near to his throne and find mercy. because his ways are best, and always always always better than anything i could ask or imagine.

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
ephesians 3:20-21

a sesame street christmas memory

bianca's post today reminded me of one of our favorite sesame street sketches when we were kids...and because it happens to be a christmas sketch, i decided to share it with all of you :). this is a bit long, so skip ahead to the 7:15 mark to get to the part that made us burst into giggles.

enjoy!

Christmas busyness

this is a busy season, i think, for most everyone. there is shopping to be done, parties to host and attend, decorations to be put up, and just a general rush to get things done. add to that the potential for crazy weather, other crazy people, and the days just pass with a kind of blur.

this weekend felt a bit like that for us. friday night we enjoyed dinner with amy to celebrate both of our townhouses selling - yay!! saturday morning was spent working on fixing some electrical issues so that we could hang the christmas lights before meeting up with new friends for the husky game. that was awesome - we had the best seats - padded comfy chairs up on the "club level" (is that even what you call it at college games?) where there was a yummy buffet set out before the game started, popcorn and hot dogs at halftime, and starbucks, bottled water & soda - FOR FREE. yeah, seriously. i had no idea there was this kind of set up for college games. like i said - awesome. many thanks to melissa & eric for the invite & tickets!

after the game we had the privilege of babysitting for jason & kelly and shawn & kalle. four babes, under the age of three, for the night. i've done plenty of babysitting, but i will admit i was a tad nervous. granted, everyone was in bed and mostly asleep by the time we arrived (the twins were attempting to escape when we walked in) and stayed that way for the rest of the night, so really i had nothing to worry about. :)

sunday brought more things to do, including church, a meeting, hanging christmas lights, a workout (for eric...i was lazy), and picking up furniture. amy was extremely nice and gave us the furniture in her guest room, so now if you come to visit you will get to enjoy a queen sized bed and comfy pillows! we didn't have time to get it all set up last night, so no pictures of that BUT i FINALLY took pictures of the wood piles and our firepit so you can see what we're dealing with here. yes, we will have that stove fired up all winter and have many a bonfire this summer (and now with a bigger bed for you to sleep in) i think we are in need of some visitors :).

all crazy schedule aside, i have been reminded of God's faithfulness of late. i was flipping through my journal this morning, reflecting on how much has happened in the last three months, and where he has taken me and my only response was just to praise him. he alone deserves all of the credit and glory for the change in my life, and he has been faithful to me - even when i wanted to quit. he walked with me, carried me, rescued me, redeemed me, and LOVED me so much that roughly 2000 years ago his Son willingly came to earth as a baby to save me. he left his throne in heaven and traded it in for a nasty feeding trough for cows. he was tempted, just as i am, and yet did not sin, so that he could suffer and die in my place. this Christmas i want to remember WHO we celebrate and WHY it is we rejoice in his coming, and not get so caught up in the busyness of the season that i miss the whole point.

friday already?

so i'm pretty sure i had something on my mind that i've been wanting to blog about, but it's all slipped out in the last three hours. maybe because i went to my first ninety-minute hot yoga class and LOVED it (except the part where i slipped and slid off my yoga mat due to sweating. note to self: next time bring a big AND little towel). maybe because i came home and promptly ate a brownie and a chocolate christmas cookie for lunch (i did follow it up with leftover shepherd's pie...geez people). maybe because i then finished up a book i had started reading at borders and had to buy because i needed to know how it ended (very good; highly recommend it).

needless to say, i took some down time. i think i needed it. this week has been a busy one! monday i got to hang out with kikers...i think i mentioned that she and her hubby tom are living in bremerton for the next three months? anyway, she had a doctors appointment and needed a ride, so i picked her up from the ferry terminal and we went to see the dermatologist. after a fairly quick visit, we headed to u village to grab lunch and wander around the fun stores. it is a good thing the anthropologie in bellevue is kind of a pain to get to, or i would spend too much time and money in that store!! i managed not to buy anything other than lipstick from sephora and was quite happy with my purchase :).

tuesday i went to visit my chiropractor, which is always a good day because i usually feel about a thousand times better when i leave. i then had a massage - ALWAYS one of the highlights of my week! the girls (as in my soccer team) started working out on their own after the season ended and asked if i would join them to help them out with exercises and such, so that afternoon i headed back to school to kick their butts :). tuesday night was a birthday dinner for one of my best friends from college jessica. it was a slightly random group of people, and a lot of people i haven't seen in forever, but we had a really good time.


wednesday brought errand running ridiculousness, then just hanging on the couch with eric doing my bible study while he wrote a very long email for work. thursday i went to bible study, picked up amy at the airport (yay!), went to lunch with amy, then back home to clean before picking up shay & russell to take them to the airport. eric and i finished up at fred meyer buying christmas lights for the house!! i can not WAIT to put them up, but we have a busy weekend planned and i don't actually think it will get done in the next two days. boo. but when they do get put up, you can rest assured photos will follow :). as a random side note - our weather has been fabulous this week! a bit chilly but SUNNY - love it! now i just wish the temps would drop a bit more and give us SNOW in time for christmas! i think we got spoiled last year and i shouldn't get my hopes up.

eric mentioned something about going out to celebrate selling our townhouse tonight, so i have a sneaky suspicion i should be getting "foufed" as he calls it :). peace out...