what i'm loving wednesday .2

i'm loving that the people i nanny and babysit for often watch the same shows that i do...yay for cleaning out my dvr without even being at my house!
i'm loving snuggles with sweet children, and the fact that so many people trust me with their most prized possessions.  so.blessed.
i'm loving the WEATHER these days. (ok, except for all the crazy tornado things.)
i'm loving a couple of new (to-me) wedding websites that friends have recommended to me: greenweddingshoes.com and offbeatbride.com
i'm loving chances to get active by pushing a stoller, jumping around with a kinect, doing wiifit, or just hiking up a small mountain.
i'm loving cozy blankets and couches.
i'm loving naps in the hammock on a sunny spring afternoon.  just because i've only done it once so far doesn't mean i won't be doing it a whole lot more!
i'm loving that my fiancé made plans for us to go dancing this friday.  not necessarily his favorite thing to do, but he wants to dance with me and that makes me smile.  a lot. (of course, i'm loving him a lot too!)

hey, it's ok (tuesday) .10

hey, it's ok

...to stay in your pj's past noon on your day off

...to play your babysitting client's xbox kinect for nearly 2 hours

...to have possibly injured your foot while playing xbox kinect and jumping

...to still kind of be in love with trader joe

...to look forward to couponing trips. unfortunately, not to trader joe's.

...to have enjoyed the marriage prep session on finances much more than you thought you would.

...to wonder how on earth you're going to pay for a wedding

...to remember that God has provided every need i've had for the past year...why would i expect anything less for a wedding?

...to ask you to weigh in on my decision. which toms should i get?

(this isn't happening tomorrow, but i've decided to take a few bucks from the next few babysitting jobs and set it aside for them)

red canvas

picnic

red twill

thursday's ten: games

heads up: NEXT week, we're doing things you see as you drive every day. because, folks...i see some STRANGE things on my way to work every day and i cannot WAIT to share them with you. i just have to collect pictures or you'll never believe me. ;)

today, however, i thought i'd share 10 of my favorite games with you. board, video, iphone, etc :)




1. scrabble
this is the first game that anthony and i played together...and it is a game that i remember playing with my grandma a couple of times when i was growing up. i bought him this awesome edition for valentine's day:

and of COURSE there's the portable, hand held version, words with friends for your phone! (iphone and droid at least)

2. pandemic
a strategic cooperative game that is SO.ADDICTIVE.  seriously, if any of you ever come to visit, we will totally make you learn this game.

3. wiifit

i love wiifit.  yes, i know it's not a *fantastic* workout, but it DOES keep me moving in the midst of dark and dreary winter...and i love tracking my weight loss on a consistent basis.  it's a helpful tool...and it's pretty fun!




4. angry birds
love this game on my iphone -- and i know it's availible for droid as well, since everyone in anthony's family has now purchased it! :)

5. mario
the original is awesome, of course.  and these two wii games are pretty darn fun as well!

6. little big planet
anthony has this for his playstation.  i love it!  it's a game where we work together but we're still competing.  he always wins...he is the more experienced gamer...but it's still fun

7. peggle
another playstation game, but it's also available for several phones!

8. rock band
i'm not sure if the musician in me should run away screaming from the rock band games or embrace them, but i gotta say...they are FUN.  my other gift to anthony for valentine's was rock band 3 -- or, the disk of it at least.  we're splitting the cost of the keyboard addition :)

9. life
i was always upset if i didn't get any babies in my car, but other than that i love the game ;)

10. drop 7
this is one i have on my phone (and is also available for droid).  anthony found it and it's fascinating.  i LOVE it and am so addicted to it! basically it's kind of tetris meets sudoku...

(all of the above games can be purchased from amazon.com, itunes, or local retailers :)  the particular edition of scrabble i got for anthony was a barnes and noble exclusive, but it may be hard to find, as the online store no longer has it available.)

so...what games do you enjoy? 

treasure

friday afternoon

i came downstairs from putting P (3 year old) down for his nap

and K (6) had a big smile on her face

and with sparkling eyes she said

"i've hidden treasures for you to find all over!

and they all have your initials on them

and you'll have to look under things

and in things

and around things

and they're all in the living room

and i'll help!"

and all over the living room

were small pieces of construction paper

that she had labored over

drawing hearts

and pictures of her and i together

and the ones that made my heart melt

that said "I♥U" and "I♥L"

and she did help--if i was near one she would say

"oh, don't forget to look in the drawer"

"there might be one on the train table"

i kind of giggled to myself

because most of her hiding places were oh-so-obvious.

and when i had found all 8 slips of paper

she said "now YOU do one for ME!"

so i obliged

happily

even though there were emails to be sent, and toys to be picked up

i wanted to return the favor

of such a loving and special game

when we were finished and a friend had come to pick her up for an afternoon of play

i continued on with my work

and then it hit me

WHAT a picture of God i received today!

because all through my life

He's hidden treasures

and i have to look under

and around

and inside

and all around my path

but He helps me find them

some of them are small, unexpected blessings

like a phone call from an out of town friend

saying she's coming through town

or seeing someone's facebook status

and it's a scripture or a song lyric that i've been meditating to

and some of them make my heart melt

like holding a newborn

or hearing "i love you"

or being so consumed in His presence

that nothing else matters

and the funny thing is

i'm pretty sure that sometimes i can hear Him say

"lora...look over here"

because the hiding places which are oh-so-obvious

i'm missing somehow

and when it's all done

(though it will never be done)

i want to return the favor

such an amazing, loving God

how can i hide little treasures for Him to find?

this life

is a treasure hunt

with amazing and divine surprises

hidden everywhere

and sometimes

it takes a child to remind us.

...so incredibly proud...

le boyfriend and i haven't seen a *whole* lot of each other over the last few weeks

not due to my crazy schedule

or the foreclosure, moving, asthma, or flood

(someday i'm going to come up with a catch-phrase for that month.

current top runner is *hell*)

but because something incredible was happening in his life.

you see, he's been a gaming enthusiast all of his life

and has converted me to a few of said games

(i still don't know a fraction of what he knows though)

and he has had a passion/dream of writing about the industry

and a few weeks ago

he got his chance!

he applied for an internship with a website

that is apparently a pretty big deal

and was accepted along with 3 other people

and less than a week after submitting

his very first feature article

he's published!

please go here and check him out

and if you're like me

and have little or NO idea what he's talking about

pass the link on to those people

(boyfriends, husbands, brothers, sisters, roommates, neighbors)

who do understand!

(pardon my gushing...i'm just a little bit proud)

As Promised...Our Anniversary Recap

Friday night was awesome :0)

Anthony showed up to my house with lilies...my favorite!


We began the anniversary date by going for a run. Yes, we ARE dorks. But the idea behind it was a good one--A pointed out that we would feel less guilty for indulging in great Italian food if we exercised first...

Unfortunately, since hurting my knees at camp I haven't been running. So I was a little slow-going...

After the run we got cleaned up...and went to play glo golf at Opry Mills. Totally cheesy and a TON of fun.




We went from there to dinner at Maggiano's, which was amazing! (oh, and the view on the way TO dinner was beautiful too)

Our waitress took this picture of us after dinner. A side note about this that was really sweet:
We had ordered our food and beverages, exchanged gifts and just generally been chatting and stuff. When our food was delivered, we held hands and Anthony said a prayer of thanks for the past year and the food. When we raised our heads our waitress was waiting a few steps away. I smiled and started to say sorry (she was bringing us one additional item) but she started speaking before I could get that out. She told us (with tears in her eyes) that she could tell from the moment we had walked in that we were Christians just from the way we had acted and interacted. She said it was really cool to see, and an encouragement.
(I may have brushed a tear or two away as she walked away from saying that. We've always prayed that our relationship would not only draw us closer together and to God but also that we would be a blessing to others. What a wonderful confirmation!)

We came back to my house where we played Scrabble while watching some fun tv...
(yes we ARE dorks)


As for the gift that I received...first of all, Anthony wrote me the SWEETEST card ever (which I may have read several a few twice since our anniversary). Then I opened my gift.

You should know that LONG before our anniversary--at least 3 weeks ago if not more--Anthony told me he already had my gift and that he was already excited for me to see it.

This, of course, made me freak a bit about buying HIS gift. I ended up getting a vinyl copy of an album that his dad suggested to me...as well as a couple of other things I knew he wanted...so the freak-out mode didn't last THAT long.

However. When I opened my gift I was still a bit overwhelmed.

Anthony and his family went to Texas in late July (if you've been around you know that was the 2 weeks of separation that had me going CRAZY). While they were there he posted pictures of this incredible glass shop in San Antonio that has hand-blown glass sculptures. I was blown away by the beauty of what he posted there, and mentioned to him (after they were home, I think) that it reminded me of one of my favorite places to visit growing up.

When they were in the shop he was browsing around when his parents pointed this particular piece out to him...and he said he knew instantly that he was going to have to get it for our anniversary. It's a Madonna, the Blessed Virgin. With my love of all things iconic for Christianity and a special place in my heart for Catholicism...it couldn't get more perfect than this.

He knows me...and apparently his parents do as well ;)

I wish I could get a better picture of it, but for now this will have to do. She's beautiful in the lighted shelf of my entertainment unit...


So, that's our anniversary in a nutshell. Simple and sweet, uncomplicated, and a lot of wonderful time spent together. Kind of like the previous 12 months. I can't wait to see what the next 12 months have to hold!

Thursday's Ten -- The G Spot

Not THAT kind. Come on guys. :-P Was challenged over at Fine Family to do this, so I decided to make it my Top Ten list for the week!

I was given the letter "g", and instructed to come up with 10 things I love that begin with that letter!

1. grass clippings -- the smell of them, at least
2. the color green -- while it's not my favorite, I do seem to use it in my decorating a lot!
3. giada on Food Network -- her recipes are amazing and I have about 3 saved to try very soon!
4. the state of being green -- NOT the same as the color. I love recycling, using my shopping bags and CFL's, drinking from my SIGG instead of plastic water bottles and generally caring around the environment. I truly feel that's a God-given initiative, even if it is trendy these days!
5. green tea -- ok, I need to make a pact that no more of the ten will include the word "green". so in the interest of making this number all about food, here's more things I like: gargonzola cheese, garlic, greek meatloaf, greek anything, gooseberries, ginger, gingerbread, gravy...and grand marnier alcohol!
6. no more of the ten will include the word "green" except for this one...the greenway by my house. Walk, run, jog, bike, walk your dog...it goes all over Nashville and I love it!
7. games -- whether board, card, computer, video or simply word-sparring, I love them all. Anthony is quite pleased with himself for getting me hooked on Halo...
8. german food and culture -- I tend to pay more attention to the irish side of me, but oh I love my german side.
9. grace -- it's saved my life. literally and spiritually.
10. gifts -- giving them is just as good as receiving them. and gift cards are awesome. :0)

Now for the fun -- if you're reading this and your first or last name begins with a C, J, H, A, or K...you're tagged! And your letter is... B.
(please do comment and let me know if you're playing so I can come read your blog!)