Wow, time has flown!

I can't believe it's already August! There are so many good things that August means.

August means that I move down to Texas
I actually move in a WEEK! I can't believe that it's already here. I have been so excited about my new place since I signed the lease a month ago! Our new place is a HOUSE, not an apartment or duplex, but separate home! I'm really excited about that because it means i don't have to worry about neighbors and we have a little bit more freedom with that. This place is exactly what i was looking for. It has 4 bedrooms (more than we originally thought, but we will use them all!) and it has 2 bathrooms as well as a nice sized back yard. It also has a 2 car garage and it comes WITH a lawn mower and a washer and dryer! Such a blessing!

Here are a few pictures of our new place!


The view from the front room


Our laundry/mud room


The 2 extra bedrooms


The guest bathroom


The master bedroom


Dual sinks!


My HUGE garden tub :) Can't express how excited i am about this!


Our bathroom!


The front room, which will probably be my art room!


The backyard, with a slab so that we can put our outdoor furniture and grill. We will also be able to entertain as well!


My new kitchen :)


This is what you see when you walk in the front door!

August means that Kendall comes home!
I can't wait for Kendall to come home! We don't have a specific date or anything, but i know it will be this month sometime and that is so exciting! I have decided to move down to Texas before he comes home because I want him to have a HOME to come to rather than a hotel or boxes. I have missed him so much this past year and I can't believe it's almost going to be over soon!

August means that my last class before my associates begins!
I'm really excited because I only have ONE class left before I have my associates degree. I was supposed to be done at the end of this summer, but i struggled with one of my classes and ended up dropping it. So i only have to take Music appreciation, which will be really easy. I am so ready to finally have this part of my degree!

Needless to say, i'm really excited about this month because so many good things are happening now! I have lots to do, but i'm ready for it! Can't wait to see what they lord brings next!

Erica

Some photos that I really needed to edit!

I have had images sitting in my external hard-drive that I haven't even looked at for over a year! It's not that I didn't want to, but I just never really got around to them. Well this past week I purchased a new photo editing program called Adobe Lightroom 3 and LET ME TELL YOU! it's incredible. It really helps everything become more efficient and allows me to view more images at once. I absolutely love it!

Well, tonight I spent most of my evening editing pictures and I wanted to share them with you today! Hope you enjoy them!


















Let me know what you think :)
Erica

My new ride!

So I recently purchased a new bike that I have been riding in place of driving, mostly just to save gas (although the workout aspect is pretty sweet too!)






I even wear my helmet each time i ride! Which is a total first because in the past I would never wear a helmet. But i very much enjoy the safety and assurance knowing I have a bit more protection. As of right now I have ridden a total of about 80 miles in the last 2 weeks and I have already saved almost 5 gallons of gas simply from riding my bike. My goal this month is to only have to fill up my gas tank once!

Another thing I am really beginning to appreciate is the beauties I see from waking up at 5 am everyday for work. I get to experience a world that I previously had rarely seen. Since I work at 6am several days a week I have to get up at about 4:45 am. Although many feel this is incredibly early (and it is!) I am very used to getting up at this time. I absolutely love the opportunity I get each day to see the paintings the Lord provides for us! Here are a few examples:
























Now I know these aren't the best quality images or anything as they were taken on my phone, but I do feel that they can capture a bit of those moments in the early morning. However, I really do recommend trying it a few times. Allow yourself to get up about 5:20-5:30 and sit outside on a nice morning with a cup of tea (or coffee) and just revel in the Lords blessings and beauty.

Erica

A few exciting things!

So I move back to Texas in almost exactly 4 months! I'm very very excited to finally be back there and to have my husband home!! Kendall has been doing pretty well. He has been rather homesick lately, which is hard. And I have been missing him more and more each day. However, Some really neat things have happened lately for him, which is very exciting!

A few months ago I did a post of how Kendall received "Soldier of the Month." Well after that he also received "Soldier of the Quarter." I am so proud of him!! That is very cool and he will hopefully be promoted in the next month or so!

This past week, Kendall got the chance to meet the Secretary of Defense as well as Katie Couric! Very cool!


Not too much more has been happening with Kendall recently...

I am still doing school, going to graduate at the end of the summer. I am also still working at Bed Bath and Beyond and hoping to transfer to the store in Texas after my move. :)

Overall things are going really well right now. It's really hard feeling like we are just waiting to get our lives back, but I fight that everyday and try to make the most of the time! I very much enjoy getting this chance to be home with my family again! I will miss everyone so much when I leave!

Well have a great night, sorry for such a short post.

Erica

Things I'm absolutely loving right now.

There are a few things that I have been almost completely obsessed with/loving lately! I wanted to share those with you today :)


#1. My newest pair of TOMS shoes.

If you don't know about TOMS check out their website HERE. For every pair of TOMS you purchase, they donate a pair to a child who needs shoes. :) They are incredibly comfortable and they have several different styles of shoes depending on your need! I pretty much live in mine lately, they are definitely a favorite!


#2. Mumford & Sons!

I seriously listen to them almost every day. I absolutely love them!


#3. Hot Tea and TeaGschwender

TeaGschwender is a German tea retailer located mostly in other countries but they have stores in Chicago, New York, and Ann Arbor Michigan. You can also shop online HERE However, if you are in the Chicago area (or any other location) definitely stop in! It's an experience of it's own. You just need to be there and experience the smells and tastes!


#4. StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon is a website that can keep my interested for hours! You put in your interests which range from art to sciences to architecture to travel and much much more! Then you simply click the STUMBLE button and they find websites within your interests! It's amazing the things I have find on the internet that are inspiring and so creative! Definitely check it out HERE.


#5. Yoga

Now this isn't a new interest for me, as I have loved yoga for a long time, however I am just now starting to get back into it. Not only is it incredibly relaxing, but it has so many benefits for the body as well! I did an entire post on it a few months back. Check it out HERE!

#6. Running

When I started running it was such a chore! But lately it has really become so much more than that! I feel so alive when I'm outside simply running. It has been great as my body as gotten stronger and I can run farther and farther. If you can't run, just walk or be outside, not only is great exercise but it's also amazing just to get outside and be surrounded by our beautiful world!

There are so many more, but i'll save those for another post :)

Have a great day!
Erica

3 minutes to 3 miles!

About 8 months ago I began running. When i began i could run about 3 minutes (and THAT was pushing it!) I would do about 20 minutes on the treadmill and I would run 3 minutes then walk 5, then run 1 minutes, and walk another 5, etc... for between 20-30 minutes. That was such a hard thing for me to do. I dreaded getting on that treadmill because i felt like i wasn't successful. It continued that way for several months. By about month 3 I could only run about 5 minutes.

But I kept pushing! and thank the Lord I did :) Just this week, about 7 months later, I ran 3 miles. It took me about 30 minutes, which is a steady 10 minute mile (at the beginning I was running a 12-ish minutes mile). It felt incredible being able to run so far and so long!

I know so many people feel like they can't run, and at first maybe they can't, but it truly is worth the wait and effort! Every week or so I tried to push myself a little more. Once I ran so far/long I would always make sure to run that far again. So when I could run a mile, I would always run a mile after that.

At first I got really bored when running. about 5 minutes would go by and I would just want to quit. But i have pushed through that and now 30 minutes doesn't feel too bad.

I can honestly say it is so worth it! The way I feel after a run is incredible. I feel happier and more energetic. I feel like my body simply works better.

So what are you waiting for! Even if you can only run for 30 seconds, Who knows what 30 seconds could become!

Erica

Honey Whole Wheat Bread and Cookies :)

Yesterday was a really good day! I am now on Spring break from school. It's crazy that I'm already halfway done with this semester! It feels like it shouldn't even be close to there!! But i won't complain :) I am going to spend most of my spring break trying to get ahead in a few of my online classes. Some of my teachers have posted lessons and such ahead of time, so i will take full advantage of that!

So yesterday I decided that I wanted to bake something. Baking is an absolutely love of mine! So first I decided to make some peanut butter cookies for the boys. They turned out great! One of my favorite things to use when making several batches of cookies are my Wilton Stackable Cooling Racks (You can find those HERE) They are really nice when you have several cookies and you don't want to take up too much counter space.




I also made some Homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread, which tasted fantastic! My family devoured a huge loaf in less than 24 hours!

To make it you need to make sure you have these ingredient in your home:

1 1/2 teaspoons: Highly Active Yeast
1 can: Evaporated milk
1/4 cup: Shortening
1/4 cup: Honey
2 teaspoons: Salt
2 cups: Whole Wheat Flour
3 cups: Bread Flour
Butter

1. Take the Yeast and place it in 1/2 Cup of warm water. You will want to mix this until the yeast begins to dissolve.
2. Melt the Shortening
3. In a bowl, combine milk, 1/4 Cup of water, melted shortening, Honey, salt, and wheat flour. (You can also do this in a food processor if you have one)
4. Add in Yeast mixture and let rest for 15 minutes.




5. Add Bread flour to the mixture. Mix this until a ball forms
6. Knead the bread for 10 minutes (or 80 seconds in the processor) or until the bread becomes a cohesive ball
7. Get out a bowl and spread butter around the inside of the bowl. Place your ball of dough in the bowl and roll the ball around the edges of the bowl to lightly coat it with butter.
8. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour or until the ball of dough has about doubled in size.



9. After the dough has risen for about an hour, gently push on the ball of dough to release any extra gasses (You don't want to flatten the dough, So keep the shape of the ball just add pressure around it).
10. Place on baking stone or baking sheet (Depending on what you use) and spread a little melted butter over the top of the bread (This keeps the outside of the bread softer)
11. Gently cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise another hour. You want the bread to almost double in size again.



12. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
13. Cut an X in the top of the dough with a serrated knife to allow gas to escape while cooking.
14. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.*





*For a Harder Crust: Spritz the sides of the oven with water occasionally throughout cooking

My family absolutely loved my bread! I didn't let mine rise quite long enough (I adjusted the rising time in the recipe to what it should be) and mine was a little soft in the middle, but i like doughy bread so it didn't bother me a bit!

I hope you enjoy this bread recipe as much as we did! I will definitely be making this one again!

Erica