At Present

5 THINGS AT PRESENT

1. Josh and I started a new diet last week! It's a 30 day challenge we are doing through our chiropractor which includes a fat-burning diet and exercise program. Essentially it cuts out all carbs and focuses on organic meats/cheese/dairy, loads of veggies, and healthy fats, nuts and low sugar fruit and we do 20 minute burst exersise every day (except Thursday's when I do a Yoga class at the YMCA). It's been a BIG change for us because we are used to chowing down whole plates of pasta for dinner and cereal or bagels for breakfast. But 10 days in and Josh is down 15 lbs and I'm down 10lbs and our energy & happiness levels are through the roof. After the 30 days are up you start to introduce healthy carbs like whole grains, brown rice, quinoa, etc. But the idea is to make a life change from the SAD (Standard American Diet) path that we were on and keep us healthy for the long run. Here is what a few of our meals look like.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Felix is sleeping better! This is HUGE news around here. YAY! I'm still going in once a night around 3:30/4 to nurse him, but that is a massive improvement from where we were 3 months ago - up ever 1.5-2 hrs. Here's my little love sleeping off the stomach bug in my arms the day after Valentines day. 
   
3. 3. Josh and I have decided to set aside one night a week where TV isn't turned on and we focus solely on pursuing creative endeavors. Writing, design, playing guitar, editing photos, website tweaks for Voyage Creatives, Etsy store, etc, etc. Tonight is that night.  So you all get to be blessed with a random, disjointed blog post from me to keep my writing chops from getting too rusty. Last week I worked on some designs. I've been having fun with Save the Date designs lately.
   
4. 4. My Sister-in-Law, Joanna, and her sweet 1 year old Finely are back in the U.S. for a month! She is Normally in Cameroon, but is back for some Doctor's visits and is staying with her parents here in Nashville so I get to see her all the time! Yay! Tomorrow we are headed to the zoo. Should be a nice outside so the Vitamin D will be much welcome.
   
5. 5. Josh's Beard is now huge and it's a daily topic of discussion. Should he shave. Who commented on it at work. How it's sorta getting wavy. How the mustache gets too long and makes it annoying to smooch around. How he touches it way...waaaaaaay too often. How the beard is an instant conversation starter.  About how his beard needs to make it on the blog. 
   

Normal

Last weekend Felix and I came back from a 5 day trip to Baltimore to be with my family. We flew in on Saturday (a rough flight with a screaming, over tired baby) and Josh picked us up at the air port. I was so happy to see him. Being apart felt so odd. I was able to cope in the day to day alone with Felix and some help from willing sisters, but I missed my other half immensely.

Saturday afternoon we ate Chipotle for lunch and then took a long family nap. Snuggled side by side. Felix with his leg tossed over my hip and Josh with his hand resting in my hair. It had been such a heavy week apart from one another and when we woke we thought some fun was necessary to bring back family unity. We made soft pretzels with jalapeno cheddar sauce from scratch. It was such an interesting experience  They weren't prefect, but we learned a few tricks along the way and I'm pretty sure we will try making them again sometime in the future.

Monday I jumped back into the grind. Felix had his 6 month appointment in the morning (!) and I started getting the house back in order after a week of Josh living like a bachelor. Honestly, I was surprised there wasn't more of a mess to take care of, but the laundry was piled high, vacuuming was needed and all the bathrooms were in a terrible state. (They were going down hill before I left, so I can't solely blame him.) 

I got the first floor picked up, bedroom picked up, dishes done, laundry started, and I cooked a healthy meal from the Fresh 20. (Pineapple pork with broccoli and brown rice.) All while Felix napped, played with toys on the floor, practiced rocking back and forth on all fours, played in his exersaucer and repeated the process throughout the day.

In the evening we ate dinner, then went on a very muggy family walk. As I was cleaning earlier that day I noticed how stinky Willow was, so we got the bright idea to try and give her a hair cut and bath last night. Let's just say instead of a hair cut, it looks like we gave our dog the mange. Poor Willie-Ray.

Today has been similar, bathrooms cleaned, laundry folded and put away, baby laid down for naps, fed sweet potato, living room vacuumed and I'm planning a grilled chicken pasta for dinner. 

I know this post is pretty mundane. But it has actually been a refreshing few days. Having a bit of normal. Normal mornings. Normal afternoons. Normal evenings. Normal meals. Normal bedtimes. Just normal. How is your start to the week going?

Mornings

Mornings. Josh rises early around 6:30 or 7 and takes Felix for a diaper change then snuggles him back in bed with me. his head by my breast and steely blue eyes peering up at my face. Little fingers clawing at my nose, lips and cheeks. baby feet kicking my tummy while I forcibly keep my eyes closed and lie to myself about getting another 10 minutes of sleep.

The smell of coffee wafts into the bedroom and the squirming little boy and quickly rising sun forces me me to succumb to the day. Felix is all smiles and I begin our waking up routine. Singing "Rise and Shine" and "Good Morning, Good Morning" while he shrieks and kicks with joy. I roll out of my bed. picking up my son and balancing him on my hip while he snuggles his face into my shoulder. I trod down to the kitchen and scrounge around to see what food there is for breakfast.

A couple of quick fried eggs, whole wheat toast with butter and a cup of joe with sugar and cream go down easy while Felix bounces in his exersaucer or relaxes in his bouncy chair. Josh works on side projects or begins some work from home. Felix laughs and talks to his toys while we chat and say goodbye before Josh heads off to work.

By 9:00 little boy is yawning and rubbing his eyes and it's time for his morning nap. Recent days mean the nap is just 30 minutes, so I either load the dishwasher, shower or catch up on a couple of emails or blogs. He wakes by 10:30 and I change him into his outfit for the day nurse him and we head into the rest of the day in smiles.

The mornings have a sweet rhythm. A family cohesiveness and predictable pattern of serving one another. Refilling each other's coffee. Sleepy hugs and good morning kisses. Taking turns holding the baby and moving slowly in a dance around the kitchen. The opening verse to our daily song. A soft cadence of unity and warmth.

Five Things on Friday

Some recent happenings around the Michael household for your reading enjoyment.

1. Josh and I are gearing up for Michael Family vacation 2013. Headed to Holland, Michigan (insert obligatory "boo Wolverines" comment from a buckeye girl.) This year is sure to be full of craziness and fun as we cram 5 kids and 8 adults into the same cottage.  Not looking forward to the drive (10 hours that we are breaking into 2 days with a stop in Indy at the Fancher's house!) but looking forward to getting out of TN and our stinky condo!

2. Speaking of stinky condos...our neighbor's house caught on fire this past Tuesday night and portions of our house were filled with smoke because we share a wall with them. I'm SO thankful that we all got out of the house safely and I'm thankful that the damage was mostly smoke and water (from putting out the fire) and not worse. However, our house now smells like a smoker has lived in it for 20 years and our closest and all of our clothes reek from the water and smoke sitting for a few days. Even with industrial fans blowing being in the house with the stench the last few days has made me nauseous and I'm sure Felix is feeling the same way. Needless to say, we spend most of our awake hours in his nursery (the room with the least damage) and on the back patio getting fresh air. Next week while we are gone the cleaners will come and do all the repairs and cleaning hopefully getting most of the smell out before we return. (yay!!)

3. Before we hit the road tomorrow morning we have our Bradley class reunion! When I was pregnant in my 3rd trimester we took a Bradley method birthing class with 7 other couples who were due around the same time as us. We all ended up having our babies within 4 weeks of one another and started a Facebook group for support heading into new mommyhood. It's been amazing. I can't believe all our babies are 4 months old and we still haven't gotten together! Only 4 couples can make the reunion, but it will be great to meet the new additions to everyone's family! I'm bringing a version of these to the reunion!

4. I'm pleased to announce Felix now takes a bottle. It took quite a bit of work and persistency to make it happen, but after Josh and I went out to a movie last Sunday for our first date post-baby and Felix wouldn't take a drop from the bottle from my sister we realized we needed a solution. So this week I set my nose to the grindstone and made it happen. He didn't like it at first, but lots of praise and repetition trying the bottle eventually worked! I know it seems weird, but now I feel a bit more free. As long as there is a supply of expressed breast milk I can be out and about for a whole day or maybe even a night! :)

5. Summer is taking it's time to get here. It's nearly June and we normally have weather in the 90s by now and my toes are longing to dip in a pool! But, it's been a beautiful 70-75 every day this week. (which has been awesome for the airing out of our house!) Hoping it's warm enough to jump in the pool with my lil dude when we get back from Michigan!

BONUS ITEM - It's not technically an update from our house, but my parents officially moved out of my childhood home in Columbus, OH and moved on to Baltimore, MD! Josh, Felix and I have a visit planned at the end of June to see their new place and check out my Dad's new job.

Have a great weekend!

Mish-Mash Life Update

I think the weather is sucking my creativity. I haven't felt inspired to write for about 2 weeks. So much is going on, but none feels worthy of an entire blog post...so rather than continue sporadic posts i'm breaking the silence with a family-fireside chat/a life update.

A Visit with the Fanchers

Last weekend my good friend Natalie came down to Nashville for a visit with her husband Ryan. Natalie and I were both music majors at Anderson University and were never super close until senior year when we decided on a whim to be roommates. Best. Decision. Ever. We have so many great memories from our last year of college, planning weddings, watching friends, drinking Oliver's Finest (my first introduction into the world of wine...now i'm ashamed to say how much I loved it cause it's so sweet!) eating real-ha, singing "your no good" at the top of our lungs till 2 in the morning and so much more. Josh and Ryan became friends that same year as a result of the mayhem.

Natalie and Ryan are expecting their first baby so we spent some time oooing and ahhhing over her adorable prego belly and the rest of the weekend was a completely relaxing playing games (Euchre, Scattegories and Clue) shopping, talking and eating. The good life.

Time Alone

A couple weeks ago (March 16 - 19) Josh went to New Orleans for an ESL conference with his sister so I had a little down time by myself. Now, i know this is going to sound bad, but I actually enjoy time at the house when Josh is gone.

Things stay cleaner. I get the computer all to myself and don't have to feel bad about sitting in the comfy office chair while watch Hulu. I get to sleep with my legs and arms all sprawled out and willow snuggled against me and not in her usual Josh chin-chest nook. I eat 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. I play my guitar as loud as I want without feeling like i'm interrupting Josh's work or reading. I find myself talking to the dog more than a normal person should. I sing opera while washing the dishes. I blare music at ridiculous decibels. I light all the candles in the house and sometimes forget to blow them out before going to bed.

But near the end, I start to ache for josh's scruffy beard and sweet kisses. I start to realize that life without him is fun for a little while, but if I were to continue on with my home-alone routine i could quickly turn into that crazy-loud lady that smells like incense and always has jelly on her face, so I welcome him back with a clean house and hugs galore. He does, in fact, make me a better person in the end and I love him dearly for that.

Bowling

This past Sunday, Josh and I went bowling with some friends. I'm pretty sure my 4 year old nephew got a better bowling score than me. Granted he had a little help from one of those metal bowling ball roller thingys, and his dad...but that's still pretty impressive. 

 

Women's Retreat

This weekend i'm leading worship at the Franklin Vineyard Women's Retreat. Last year the the retreat was only one night and went by VERY fast. This year we are all skipping regular church on Sunday and having a fun two-night outing complete with time to soak in the Lords presence, spend time with other women, hear testimony and minister to one another.  I'm feeling expectant for God to show up.

I think 2011 has big things for our church body and I know the women will play a vital role during this season. I'm praying that God will be able to use me (and my very limited guitar skills) to open up hearts during worship. Allowing ladies to be tender, vulnerable and able to receive a fresh revelation of His love, peace, grace, and mercy during the retreat and beyond. (is it just me, or did that last part sound like buzz lightyear?)

What are you all getting into this weekend? How's life going. 

A Bit Serious and a Bit Not

So I've been noticing a trend lately on my blog. All of the posts that are serious and take deep thought and bearing of my soul tend to resonate with the crickets and all of my frivolous/random/short/funny posts are the ones people tend to comment on and engage with.

Trust me. I get it.

I've noticed the exact same trend in my blog reading habits. Picture heavy, short blogs are easy to quickly "read" (slash look at) and you can pretty much comment whatever first pops into your head. "Cute outfit. the color green is awesome!" etc. etc.

On more serious blogs I tend to only read the first paragraph, first sentence of every middle paragraph and the last paragraph. Skimming them over looking for interesting pictures and juicy blog stalking details. Then when i reach the bottom i'm too nervous to comment because i'm afraid I will say something that has nothing to do with the real meat of the blog or I will ask a question that was clearly answered in the 8th paragraph, 5th sentence down.

So, I'm at a crossroads with my blog...Give people what they want (fluffy and fun) or continue on with occasional serious blogs that help me sort my thoughts and hope that i'm not just sending things out to echo eternally in the black hole of blogger.

Maybe in the future I will split into two blogs - a lifestyle blog and a deep-thoughts-theological-poetry writing blog. For now, I will embrace the random and expect less comments and interaction on the blogs that take more effort to write. :)

Speaking of random...three things.

1. Today I can't take my eyes off the coverage of what is happening in Japan. I'm praying that the Lord will miraculously stop the tsunami and aftershocks from causing further damage to the region, that families will be reunited quickly, and that recovery will be faster than anticipated. Donate to the cause at World Vision or the American Red Cross
2. In case you were wondering from my post a few days ago, I decided to give up desserts for lent. No sweets for me till my easter basket! 
3. I got my hair cut yesterday at a place called the Pink Mullet. Ever since I saw the name of the salon a few years ago, i've been highly intrigued so when the groupon for 59% off a cut/color landed in my inbox i jumped at the opportunity. Somehow, even with the groupon i ended up spending more than i'd like to admit just like I did last time...however, i really like the outcome! 

What do you think?

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Pulling the band-aid off

It's been 12 days since my last post. That's far too long and I have yet to brainstorm a sufficient post to break the awkward silence. The last post was so sure and confident in my 2010 review/2011 resolves, but now I just feel like 2011 is pretty much the same as 2010. Not a heck of a lot has changed except for my tree finally coming down on Jan. 9. Woohoo!

So with a lack of creativity in songwriting and a lack of creativity for what to post on here, this is going to be like pulling a band-aid off...no one really wants to do it, but it has to be done eventually. no matter how long you want to pretend it's best for that wound to be covered hopefully not festering, it's always better to let it get some air, breathe for a bit and change the dressings....there it is. A gross wound/writing analogy is the most creativity i can muster up this snowy Wednesday.

There you have it. Hopefully the next post will be more interesting. I think i'm going to write about potato soup. Yup...potato soup will be more interesting than this post for sure.

p.s. There has some exciting things happening with me and the Lord plus some awesome rumblings and changes happening in my family so perhaps I will share that in the coming weeks.


p.p.s. Also, the much delayed *ahem* anticipated france days 7&8 and  9&10 are on the docket for January. So things are looking up...i guess they can really only go up from here and potato soup so that's not saying much...ANYWAYS...

Troubel with Spelling

I've always had a difficult time with spelling. i'm not sure why, but often times I find myself googeling words like aisle, spaghetti, cliche, queue and more as a spell checker. I mean why can I NEVER remember how to spell deffinitely. One F or two? One L or two? I or E argh! I'm not really sure why i'm such a bad speller.

When I was a kid I was always really good at spelling tests, but i honestly think it was just because i was forced to make flash cards and go through them over and over and over again the night before a test. I guess that method doesn't stick long term. Maybe the reason it didn't stick is because I don't have a printed dictionary in my house. (which apparently is a really bad thing I discovered this weekend when my parents went into a state of shock when I told them while we were playing scrabble.) Anyway...praise God for spell check.

Just thought I would throw that out there. Anyone else have words they have difficultly spelling?

So I know that was random, but I really don't have anything else to write. Today was average to say the least. But even in it's averageness, I find myself filled with a giddy heart. I'm so happy that God has blessed me with the amazing story i'm a part of called my life. It's hard not to get overwhelmed with thankfulness from time to time.

For instance, today I was walking out to my car afterwork thinking about work things and all that I had to get done tomorrow that wasn't finished today, and I found myself getting a bit stressed and frustrated at how much needs to be done and then randomly I started smiling about it. I mean, I have a GREAT job!

I am in marketing. I get to be creative. I have a lot of freedom to work at my own pace and take projects by the reigns and run with them. I have a really thoughtful inspirational and wise boss, whom I look up to immensly (emmensly? imensley?! sp??!!). I work 5 mins from my house in a super cool venue/office. I get to be in on the ground level of a really quickly expanding company with lots of room for personal growth within the company. My co-workers are really all very driven and smart, but friendly and down to earth. and last, but not least I get to work from a Mac. a big Mac. ha. What more could you ask for.

me at my desk. you can see the keyboard of my Big Mac. :) photo credit: mom

And my job is not even the most important part of my life. Not really even close, honestly.

sigh.

Blessings abound.

fullness.

thankfulness.

Happyness.

Joy.