Julia's Ramblings

In just over 2 months I will be married!! I'm not going to spend your time gushing over how wonderful "H2B" is but I do think he's pretty special :)

I do have something that maybe you could help us with...a honeymoon destination.

The Christmas Season always gives me such a wonderful feeling! I love, love, love Christmas decorations! I also love seeing my family, the looks on the faces of children when they open their gifts, and not having to work! No matter what I have going on in my life, I love the things that I have to stop and slow down for during this time.
H2B and I were talking about how we rush, rush, rush, during Christmas. Actually, I think I was the one complaining and he was just nodding his head! I had to get food made, presents bought and wrapped, go here, go there...you all probably did it too. But the best thing that we had to rush to and were able to slow down for was the Christmas Eve Service at church.

Growing up I never went to the Christmas Eve Service. We were always at my grandmother's house watching A Christmas Story

(image from Amazon)

and eating Red Chicken Stew. (The link to the recipe is pretty close to my grandmother's but you know I can't divulge the family secret!)
This is my 4th Christmas at my new church and we have a Candlelight Service.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alesadam/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

We sing Christmas Songs, listen to a wonderful message, and then light our candles. The main lights are turned off and we sing Silent Night. I get chills and even tear up a little when we sing this song. This time where I'm not rushing around, worrying about whether the cookies will turn out, and wondering whether they liked the gift or not is the time that we all need. I am reminded of why we really celebrate Christmas and it gives me a wonderful feeling!
I did say earlier though that I also love Christmas decorations. H2B and I rode around looking at Christmas lights one night and I had to check out the ones down the street that put their lights to music. If you haven't seen this in person, it is really neat! Now I definitely would not want to be their neighbor with all the blinking lights but it is fun to see. The blinking lights in my town were set to Christmas music but this guy made his to the tune of Black Eyed Peas, "I Gotta Feeling." Great song and fun lights!



Here's to hoping that you and yours had a wonderful Christmas Season!
Until Next Time...

Photo from Beauty.com http://tiny.cc/lvOzD

Until Next Time...

Even though I have fallen off of the blog posting bandwagon (not sure I was even on the wagon), I have definitely been reading lots of them lately. I have been inspired by posts about food, wedding, home decor, and just everydays musings of my blog friends.


I do have lots of fun news to share!


1- I am getting married!!
Three years ago, I began hanging out with someone that would become my best friend and the love of my life. Husband 2 Be("H2B") does his best to bring out the best in me and I am very greatful for that.

For those of you that have planned a wedding...it's good to know that you do get through it. Coordinating people, things, places, etc is hard work. It is fun but wow, it is stressful too! I have been trying my best this past week to step back and just enjoy being engaged.

I have also taken a step back though because of fun news #2.


2- H2B and I just bought a house!! It is a super cute house that only needs a few things done before we can start moving stuff in. Paint colors are numero uno on my list. Picking those out today. Every day, I change my mind. Khaki, subtle, bright and bold...who knows what we will end up with in the end.


I have had many other wondeful things happening in my life too. The most recent ones are some friends of ours just got engaged and I am presenting at 2 National conferences in November.


As I continue planning a wedding and house, I hope to use this blog as an outlet.





Until next time...






wedding photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/george_eastman_house/3123698414/

I am going to work on committing to posts so here is my Monday commitment...quotes I like.

Angie and I were talking about the beach today and wishing we were there. Hopefully I will figure out a time this summer when I can head down for a weekend of sand and sun. She has also helped me stay dedicated to my new exercise regimen.

Until next time...

A friend of mine introduced me to stamping by inviting me to a Stampin' Up party. After that I began making cards, tags, and other paper items.
Check out some of my collection below:


During the holidays, I made all the tags for my gifts. If I gave them away, I didn't write on them so they could be re-used. Here are some of them:


After Christmas, I decided to take my paper, supplies, and techniques over to Scrapbooking. I have really enjoyed taking a walk down memory lane with my pictures. Even though my book isn't professional, I like it. I could open it every day and be reminded of my wonderful friends, family, and BF.

I have reached a cropper's block. My own scrapbooking version of writer's block. I haven't felt very inspired to be crafty. What's wrong with me? I look checking out crafty blogs, but when I sit down to do it myself I don't know where to begin.

Well, the weekend is almost over and I won't have time to do any this week. Maybe next weekend... What inspires you to get crafty? Is it a mood, a song, a color, a smell? Leave me a comment and let me know how you get inspired?

Until next time...

I haven't blogged in quite a while but I am going to try to jump back in!

I have started a few new things lately that have been a change for the better in my life.
For a long time, I have been talking about exercising and being healthy. Well, I am actually doing something about it now!

1. My friend Angie and I joined BodyFit 3 weeks ago and I have only missed 3 days of working out since we started!! For me, that is huge! Of course, I am sore and can still come up with some really good excuses as to why I shouldn't go. But something keeps me going every day. Obviously I am not seeing a difference yet, but I can definitely feel it. The BF even says that I am more fun to be around and am happier.

2. I have been cooking more and eating out less. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to go out to eat. BF and I have our favorite place, Tombo Grille. But we definitely don't need to eat take-out every night. I have tons of cookbooks (thanks Mom for passing on that obsession) but most of them are good ol' Southern Cooking. I have always made casseroles, things with butter, you know, Paula Deen kinda food. I needed some new recipes so I have been reading new blogs and magazines to find recipes to try. The May volume of Cooking Light had a great recipe for a Roast Chicken with Smashed Potatoes and Garlicky Jus.
The picture does not look light, but apparently it is.
(picture from Cooking Light;Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross)

We ate that for dinner last night and it was really good! That is the first time I have cooked a whole chicken...I'm not one for touching raw meat, but I'm working on it. The BF helped out on cleaning it, but I did the rest. I had the pear salad today and it was yummy. We'll be having the grilled halibut later this week!

3. One more thing has been keeping me busy lately...I have a new job! No, I didn't leave my old job but I have another one for the next 2 months. I was asked to teach a Graduate course at Columbia College for the summer. I am truly honored to be considered for this opportunity. I will be teaching a Technology for Today class. I am definitely feeling anxious and overwhelmed about it right now, but I cannot wait for it to begin. A week from today, I will start my class. I can't wait to meet my "students".

Until Next Time...