Memes | Olive Tree

Links Ahoy!

November 1, 2007 at 6:36 pm (Blog Stuff, Memes, Photos)

I’ve had a post simmering for a couple days now, but no time to sit and process. So, in the meantime, some links worth checking out. : )

{ Links }

~ Candy Corn Pots – of course, I’m a few days late for this idea, but it could be easily adapted for Christmas or any other holiday. She has pictures with instructions, but I was pleased with my finished product, although I have learned I cannot paint in a straight line to save my life!

~ This post on peace over at Holy Experience. Worth a read. And a re-read. She speaks my heart in this one.

~ A peek all around Ali Edwards’ scrapbooking space. Total eye-candy for me. Or proves I am a major ~~scrapbooking~~ life artist. Whatever. It makes me happy!

~ Coupon alert! Over at Money Saving Mom, check out this post on getting free pretzels at Target. She sends you to the coupons you need to print and it works. I went today armed with coupons and now have my all pretzels for making Christmas goodies, all for just the cost of sales tax. Now to just keep them sealed in the bag!

{ Photos }

~ We dedicated Elizabeth on Sunday at church … I’ve been home for literally the past two weeks with sick kids and this was pretty much our one outing (other than today’s free pretzel trip to Target!) It was odd to stay home other than popping in for the dedication, and then running back home with the two kids that weren’t well enough for the nursery. However, it was a sweet time for us as a family. That’s my Dad there doing the dedication.

~ Our recent attempt at an extended family photo. Let’s just say it was BUSY with littles aged 4, 3, 20 months, and 6 months. My Dad technically “took” the picture since it was his equipment and he set up the shot, but his photo-friend that actually pushed the button got her aerobic workout jumping up and down trying to get all the kids’ attention.

{ Time Out Thursday }

And lastly, in the spirit of Time Out Thursday (click the link … or head over to Becky’s … to find out more about this neat idea), I’m off to put my girls to bed, pour myself a iced down Diet Coke, and curl up on my chair with a new book. Travis is at music at church, and assuming everyone stays in bed, I will have an hour or so ALL ALONE. Priceless, I tell you.

6 Comments

Marriage Meme #2

August 2, 2007 at 11:36 am (Marriage, Memes)

Found at Karla’s.

1. Where/How did you meet?
We met at church. Travis was new to Nashville and looking for a church. My Dad introduced us that morning when he found out that Travis was a musician (I was on the music team at church).

2. How long have you known each other?
Seven-ish years.

3. How long after you met did you start dating?
About a year.

4. How long did you date before you were engaged?
6 weeks.

5. How long was your engagement?
10 months

6. How long have you been married?
5 years tomorrow!

7. What is your anniversary?
August 3.

8. How many people came to your wedding reception?
Best guess would be 200-plus.

9. What kind of cake did you serve?
I cannot remember for the life of me. It was pretty though. : )

10. Where was your wedding?
At the Scarrett-Bennett chapel on Vanderbilt University’s campus – a stone church that held about 300-350 folks.

11. What did you serve for your meal?
We didn’t have a formal meal since we were married at 1 p.m. – heavy-type snacks. But again, I don’t really know because I don’t think I ate anything.

12. How many people were in your wedding party?
Twelve. Five bridesmaids and groomsmen a piece plus our flower girl and ring bearer.

13. Are you still friends with them all?
Yes. Almost everyone who was in our wedding party, with the exception of the best man (my husband’s brother) and one of the groomsmen (who is in seminary) lives here and we still see them regularly.

14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?
No, neither of us did.

15. Most special moment of your wedding day?
For me, was when we had a few moments together before pictures. We did all our pictures before the wedding so after I was ready, I went inside the chapel and Travis met me there. We had a few minutes to ourselves before we rejoined our bridal party and took lots of photos.

16. Any funny moments?
My neice, our flower girl, growled the whole way down the aisle. Her way of coping with nerves I guess. : ) But she did make it down the aisle!

17. Any big disasters?
Not a one.

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Yellowstone National Park.

19. How long were you gone?
Eight days.

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?
Not one thing. : )

21. Greatest strength as a couple?
We work really well together as a team.

22. Greatest challenge as a couple?
Sometimes we don’t work well as a team. : ) I occasionally can be, um, stubborn.

23. What did you dance your first dance to?
No dancing – not enough room! However, there was jazz music playing in the background and we entered our reception area to the Star Wars fanfare. : )

24. Describe your wedding dress:
How about a photo:

25. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?
See photo above. : )

26. Are your wedding bands engraved?
Mine is not – his is. With Genesis 2.18 and the date.

4 Comments

Eight Things About My Marriage

August 1, 2007 at 2:48 pm (Marriage, Memes)

A marriage meme … in honor of our 5th anniversary on Friday. Tagged by Stephanie.

1. I love being married to Travis … he is the only guy I’ve ever kissed and really dated. I love that.

2. I am several years older than Travis. SEVERAL. Do you want to guess how many? : ) Most people don’t realize that because I look so young. LOL

3. We started our marriage by a one-week honeymoon at Yellowstone National Park, planned entirely by the husband. It was fabulous. No phone, TV, internet for over a week.

4. We’ve lived in two homes since we’ve been married – a two bedroom condo and our current house.

5. In our marriage, Travis handles the finances and budget. That is a Good Thing. All part of him being an amazing provider for us.

6. He is a supercalafragalisticexpialidocious kind of Dad! Our girls ADORE him and I love it. Case in point: I went to a baby shower last night and left all the girls home with him. They had a ball with Daddy complete with hide-and-go-seek games and I’m sure there was some jumping on the bed time. : )

7. He is a better housecleaner than I am. However, I am slowly warming to his desire to purge our house of all extraneous material and that, also, is a Good Thing.

8. He is my defender, 2nd only to God. There have been a couple situations where he has risen to my defense and has totally blown me away with the seriousness with which he takes that role. Makes me feel unbelieveable loved and cherished.

I’m going to tag Pattie, Maria and Cheri if you want to play along. : )

4 Comments

Five Questions

July 25, 2007 at 3:02 pm (JustMe, Memes)

I’m playing along with Lauren at Baseballs and Bows … she’s emailed me a list of five questions which I’m going to answer. Here goes!

1. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas, and even more now that I’m a Mama. : ) The excitement of putting up the tree, wrapping presents, designing and addressing Christmas cards for friends and family, Christmas Eve service at church, the carols, and the Christmas story … I love it all. This year I’m looking forward to doing an Advent calendar for the first time with my girls … N1 will be four and is already asking when we’re going to put up the Christmas tree.

2. What are your strengths as a mom?
Wow. Tough question. Probably my organization and creativity in organizing … fitting five people (happily) in a two bedroom/one bath can be tricky at times. I think I’m pretty good at being “in tune” with the little signals the girls give off … it doesn’t take me long to pick up that they aren’t feeling 100% or one is about to cut a tooth. And, I think I’m willing to change. If I find that one of the girls is having problems in a certain area (i.e., right now it’s N2 and afternoon naps), I experiment with new schedules for a few days or week to try and figure out what’s going on with her and what I can do to help her. Note: this doesn’t mean I like change necessarily, but I do like trying new things and this helps me be flexible. Clear. As. Mud. : )

3. Do you have a favorite Bible verse?
My blog is titled after my favorite Scripture. Psalm 52.8-9 reads:

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

I discovered this verse while doing Beth Moore’s study on David, A Heart Like His (and personally, my favorite study of her’s ever). Not long after that I went through a very, very rough time of depression and about wore this verse out meditating on it.

I’m going to cheat and mention one other verse(s) that are near and dear to me. Lamentations 3.23-26 & 32 reads:

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

Once again, these verses have walked alongside me through a recent difficult season. They are exceptionally special to me. : )

4. What is your favorite place to go for a date night?
We don’t get lots of date nights, so I’m very easy to please. (At least I think I am). : ) I love it when we go to a bookstore and wander around drinking coffee. Dinner out is always fun – time to talk without having to also feed small people at the same time is a luxury round these parts. (Not to mention the perk of not having to wash the dishes and free drink refills).

5. What do you picture yourself doing 10 years from now?
Let’s see … N1 will be a teen (yikes!) and E and N2 will be 9 and 10, respectively. I would love to have had a few more little ones, but in all likelihood I would be completely out of the diaper phase by then. Hard to imagine. : ) Best guess, I will probably be homeschooling some of my girls and possibly be preparing others to enter public school as middle school students. Another possibility, if my husband ever chooses to enter seminary full-time, might see us moving. Who knows? But it’s exciting to think about!

Want to play along? Leave me a comment (and your email) and I’ll send you some questions to answer. Thanks Lauren! This was fun. : )

5 Comments

4 Things

July 17, 2007 at 3:26 pm (Memes)

I’ve been tagged! Lu snagged me to complete this meme so here goes. : )

Four jobs I’ve held:
1. Dishwasher at college (work study program)
2. Paralegal/Legal Assistant
3. School secretary/school nurse
4. Church Administrator/Music Coordinator

Four movies I can watch over and over again:
1. Star Wars : )
2. Sense & Sensibility
3. You’ve Got Mail
4. National Treasure

Four places I have lived:
1. Oklahoma City, OK
2. Dallas, TX
3. Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4. Ft. Smith, AR

Four tv shows I watch:
I really don’t watch any TV other than on DVD, so I’m going to list my favorite TV/DVDs that we have liked enough to purchase! : )
1. West Wing
2. The Cosby Show
3. Alias
4. X-Files
I know … quite an odd assortment of favorites, but that’s me. : )

Four places I’ve been on vacation:
1. Yellowstone
2. Gatlinburg/Smokey Mtns
3. Colorado/Rocky Mtns
4. Lake Erie

Four of my favorite foods:
1. popcorn
2. nachos
3. huge salads (especially southwestern ones)
4. diet coke : )

Four websites I visit:
1. Women at Home
2. Flickr
3. Amazon.com
4. My library

Tag 4 people:
I can’t remember who I’ve seen do this one and who hasn’t so let me know if you do it. : )

2 Comments

24

May 25, 2007 at 7:08 am (Memes)

Found at Becky’s:

What was on your mind yesterday? N1 had a headache (a first) and I was a little worried what was up with that.
What is on your mind today? Do I get out of the house with the girls or not? I could run a couple errands, or we could stay in …. what to do!
Do you like bonfires? Yes! But only if it’s chilly out. A summer/hot weather bonfine (been to one of those before) is just wrong!
Have you lived up to your parents’ expectations? In some areas. 🙂
Are we more likely to find you in a coffee bar or a nightclub? Coffee bar.
Do you gamble? No.
Have you ever ridden a horse? Several times. Those were all adventures that ended Very.Badly. For me. Not the horse.
Do you drink alcohol? No.
Turn your head to the right — what do you see? Baskets of pens and my calendar. *happy sigh*
How tall are you? Almost 5’5″ (5’4½”)
Describe your last date: Um, we went out for Mexican food and saw Spiderman 3 the night before E was due … and then I started having contractions at the movies and we ended up heading to the hospital about midnight!
Do you have rhythm? Yes when it comes to playing an instrument or singing …. none at all when it comes to dancing.
What web browser do you use? IE.
What time zone are you in? Central
Do you wear a wristwatch? All.The.Time.
Are you clumsy or graceful? It’s about even.
Do you like to spy on people? Not really. 🙂
Are football players paid too much? Yes.
Does time always kill pain? No.
First kiss? The husband. 🙂
Are you complicated? Sometimes.
Do you believe in heaven? Absolutely.
Are you free with your feelings? With my girls and husband, yes! With others, not so much.
How much money do you have in your wallet right now? 26 cents. 🙂

If you do this, leave me a comment so I can come check it out!

2 Comments

Miscellaneous

April 19, 2007 at 9:20 pm (Memes)

1. kissed someone? Probably one of the girls … we had some floor time this afternoon and I believe there was kissing and tickling involved.

2. drank coffee? Just warmed some up in my cup … mmm.

3. read a book? I’m between books right now, having just wrapped up a couple. I need to pull Emma back out of my book basket as well as start on a new non-fiction from my Spring Reading list.

4. cursed? At least college … I have two really specific memories of swearing. (I know, you are dying to know about it!) One was as a 4-5 year old and I took God’s name in vain. First time, I remember my Dad explaining we wouldn’t do that and if I did it again; the second time … obviously the spanking I received made quite an impact. I’ve not done it since. 🙂 I think the 2nd (and really, honestly, the only other time I can remember swearing) was when I was maybe a sophomore in college … it just came out, I was shocked and appalled, and that was it.

5. had a nightmare? It’s been a while, but I’m also not getting lots of sleep and what there is isn’t very good. 🙂 Probably not sleeping soundly enough to have a nightmare.

6. checked your email? It’s up right now … love high-speed internet. 🙂

7. had a crush? On my yummy yummy baby girl this evening. She enjoyed her dinner so much that we literally stripped her down in the highchair and she went straight to the sink for a quick bath before jammies and bed. She is too stinkin’ adorable.

8. drove a car? I think Tuesday … we’ve been home a bunch this week.

9. rode a roller coaster? Um, I don’t do roller coasters – too fast, too high, too nauseous. Ick. 🙂 I did ride some little rides with N1 at Cedar Point last summer. Travis and our neice took on the big ones and had a ball!

10. took a nap? Um. I can’t remember. That’s a shame because I could really use one.

11. went to the movies? We took the girls to see the Berry Blossom Festival (Strawberry Shortcake) about a month ago before Travis went out of town on one of his trips. They loved it. N2 danced to the music through the whole thing and N1 was very into it as well. I was just glad we only paid matinee prices for it … but it was cute and clean and very girly. Right up our alley.

12. drank alcohol? I never have. I’ve tasted a few things over the years, but I don’t count that as drinking. Beer once in college, a cosmopolitan when I used to work at the bar association, maybe wine once or twice. I’ve never liked the taste.

13. went to a party? Define party. Umm, we had a spring party here about a month ago, and Sunday we’re celebrating my Dad’s birthday.

14. said “I love you”? To the girls this afternoon.

15. cooked a meal? Dinner tonight was a homemade masterpiece. Well, it was hot when it hit the table. 🙂

16. exercised? Ha. I got a drink and went to the bathroom a few mintues ago.

Hat tip to Lindsay at Enjoy the Journey for this one.

Friday’s Feast

April 13, 2007 at 12:14 pm (Memes)

I haven’t done one of these in a while, and as I’m not feeling any particular inspiration, here goes:

Appetizer ~ When you were a child, which crayon color was your favorite?

I’m going to guess purple as that was a favorite color for a looooong time.

Soup ~ On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how likely would you be to change jobs if it required you to move?

I can’t really answer this as I’m a S@HM, however, I would be totally open to it if Travis’ job necessitated a change, or if he ever decides to go to seminary full-time. I’ve moved so much in my life, that it doesn’t freak me out like it would have 10-15 years ago … now I would look at it as more of an adventure. That doesn’t mean that I don’t love where we are now – our home, church, friends, closeness to family, etc. But, I’m not one that is so firmly staked somewhere that I couldn’t move.

Salad ~ Take all the numbers in your birthday and your phone number and add them up, one by one. What’s the total?

Main Course ~ Have you ever “re-gifted” anything? If so, what was it and who did you pass it on to?

Well, yes. 🙂 It’s been several years, but when we were expecting N1, I was given at least 2 (maybe 3) winter coats for her, both with tags on them. A girl that I worked with at the time was also expecting her first daughter, so I gifted her with one of the coats.

Dessert ~ Name something you need from the store.

Coffee – we only have enought left for one more pot!

2 Comments

April 9, 2007 at 8:05 am (JustMe, Memes)

A is for age: 36
B is for beer of choice: Diet Root Beer
C is for career right now: Wife and mother
D is for your dog’s name: Sam and/or Jenny. Take your pick, there are two of them.
E is for essential item you use everyday: My laptop!
F is for favorite TV show at the moment: I can’t tell you the last TV show I watched. Favorite would probably be Alias or West Wing on DVD.
G is for favorite game: We don’t play tons of games … we play with the game pieces, but not according to any actual rules as of yet. 🙂
H is for home town: OKC, if you mean where was I born.
I is for instruments you play: Piano, acoustic guitar, flute.
J is for favorite juice: I so rarely drink juice. It’s been burned into my head that those are wasted calories/sugar from my Weight Watcher days. However, I love cranberry juice with diet ginger ale.
K is for who you’d like to kiss: Any immediate family member. I like them all! But not my dogs. I don’t kiss dogs.
L is for last place you ate: (I’ll answer this based on yesterday). We had Easter lunch at my folks … we were supposed to host it, but with the germs we couldn’t seem to shake we decided it best to pass on the hosting duties this year.
M is for marriage: Five years in August.
N is for your full name: No thanks.
O is for overnight hospital stays: Twice (almost 3 times) for babies.
P is for people you were with today: My family and an older gentleman from church who joined us for Easter dinner.
Q is for quote: “You can do it!” (What N1 says to me all.the.time. when she is trying to ~~convince~~ encourage me to do something). 🙂
R is for biggest regret: Two at the top of my list … not knowing or understanding the importance of daily time in the Word and prayer at a younger age … it’s such a struggle now. And that I would have practice the piano more.
S is for status: Happily married.
T is for time you woke up today: 6:30 am
U is for underwear you have on now: Uncomfortable, and that’s all you’ll get.
V is for vegetable you love: Lately, all about the broccoli.
W is for worst habit: Um. Too much computer time. 🙂
X is for x-rays you’ve had: Teeth, ankle (rolled it off a curb), finger (broke it playing softball), maybe a few others…
Y is for yummy food you ate today: Again, based on our yummy Easter … it was all good. My Grandma’s apricot jello salad, green bean cassarole, ham, etc.
Z is for the zodiac sign: No thanks. That creeps me out. I don’t even know what mine is.

This quiz courtesy of Baseballs and Bows!

1 Comment

The Book Meme

March 20, 2007 at 4:07 pm (Books, Memes)

Seen round the blogosphere … officially stolen from Snapshot.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
Hardback is probably my first-choice … I feel very literary and scholarly when I read them. LOL! But budgetarily, I like trade paperbacks if I have to pay for it.

Amazon or brick and mortar?
Amazon all the way, baby. We even splurged last year around tax time and signed up for the prime shipping deal. (Something like for a flat fee we get free two-day shipping on most thing). Pretty fabulous. I love that I can look at lots of different books, throw them on my wishlist, and then when I can actually afford to buy, I have several to choose from already drooled over.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Probably Borders because it’s closer to our house, but I don’t really care. My favorite is one called Davis Kidd, but it’s a good distance from my house now and I don’t get to that part of town very often.

Bookmark or dogear?
Shhh …. I am the world’s WORST about dog-earing. Shame, shame, shame. I even have a very cool bookmark that my friend bought me and I forget to use it most of the time. Does it count if it is sitting next to the book instead of in it?

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
Non-fiction is alphabatized by author. Fiction is grouped by author, and then books are shelved in the order that they were written (especially if it’s a series). I try to group by subject and probably by size within that grouping.

Keep, throw away, or sell?
I try to only buy books that I want to keep (and use the library for others). When it’s time to pass them on I usually start with them on Paperbackswap.com … if they don’t get snagged in a reasonable amount of time, they go to Goodwill or in the trash.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?
Depends on the book … if it’s a cool hardback underneath I pitch it.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
I use the flap as a bookmark so I usually leave it on (the only time I don’t dog-ear)! But usually it just annoys me so I may start taking it off…

Short story or novel?
Novel. Short stories are just too …. short!

Short story collection (short stories by the same author) or anthology (short stories by a different author?
Neither.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Harry Potter! I read a couple of the LS books last year but they are too depressing for me. 🙂 (However, I did enjoy the movie – it was worth getting it from Netflix).

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
I generally try to make it to the end of the chapter, but hey, I’m pregnant. I’ve been known to nod off in mid-sentence lately. 🙂

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Either works for me if the story is good. 🙂

Buy or Borrow?
Borrow from the library or from a friend? I rarely seem to borrow from friends, but yes to the library. But I definitely like to buy books, especially after I’ve thought long and hard about whether it’s worth it to add it to my library … or it’s a favorite author and I know I will waer out the book reading it.

New or used?
Either is fine.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
All of the above!

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Generally, tidy ending unless it’s part of a series and I know that I’m not going to be left hanging indefinitely!

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
Mostly evening, but if I can get the both girls to rest in the afternoon then I might read a bit then.

Standalone or series?
Both.

Favorite series?
Jan Karon’s Mitford. Anne of Green Gables series. Little House series. Lake Emily series by Tracy Dupree. The O’Malley series by Dee Henderson. (I hope I wasn’t supposed to pick just one).

Favorite books read last year?
SAHM I Am by Meredith Efkin. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austin). The Yada Yada Prayer Group Series by Neta Jackson (I think I read 3-4 of them last year). Ambassador Families by Mitali Perkins. Created to Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl.

Favorite books of all time?
Anne of Green Gables!!! Also, L.M. Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon series. Mitford series by Jan Karon comes a close second. Pretense by Lori Wick (most of Lori Wick, in my opinion, is general Christian fluff reading, but Pretense is fairly intense and I think it’s her best work). Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express … brilliant.

Olive Tree

Links Ahoy!

Marriage Meme #2

Eight Things About My Marriage

Five Questions

4 Things

24

Miscellaneous

Friday’s Feast

The Book Meme

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