Beautiful Song

Blog

i dreamed of this job

By

I always knew I didn’t want to work a regular job. I wanted a farm, but I didn’t know exactly how to get one.

By 15, I already knew I wanted to work from home as a stepping stone to that dream.  I loved being home where I could work and study at my own pace and in my own space.  But didn’t know anyone who worked from home, and no one seemed to know anyone who did either. So I settled on nursing.  It was a good career and I could support myself working as a nurse.

Getting that higher education never panned out for me, and that is probably one of the best things that neve happened. At the time it was frustrating and discouraging, but now I know it would have taken me farther away from my dreams instead of closer to them.

When I discovered some companies who would pay me to take calls from my bedroom, I was elated.  The hours for the projects I worked were crazy. But I was working from home! Once I had that taste for the joy of working from home, it was hard to settle for any other kind of work.  I knew that I had to find a way to do this full time.

In 2012, I read a book that changed a lot of things for me. It was a book that answered my many questions and helped me to put together the pieces to be successful at last in working for myself. It gave me a direction to head, and I haven’t looked back sense.

A few months later, I took a deep breath to stilled my pounding heart and hit “publish” on the home page of the website home of the job I always dreamed of but never really thought was possible. It was a big moment for me: One of those Great Things that involved many, many answered prayers.

Today, I am still growing that little dream. I’ve gotten the chance to work for some wonderful, wonderful people as a virtual assistant and I’ve loved almost every moment of my work. I’ve been able to fine tune and mold the direction of my dream. It’s been a good year.

Every new job, every day that I sit down at my computer, I feel so grateful to God for the way that He is helping me to reach my goals and make this dream a reality. I’m just at the very beginning. There’s a lot of growing to do and more goals to reach in the new year.

Some dreams do come true. And I get this as the view outside of my window.  Seriously, I am overwhelmed by gratitude every single day.
IMG_0470.JPG

This post is a part of GREATHINGS 2013: 21 Days of Thanks. Click here to read the rest of the series.

greathings.sm

a good book {on gratitude}

By

I started reading this book about Gratitude in the beginning of the year. That was before I was working so much, and before pregnancy and life got a little extra crazy over the summer. Recently, I picked it up again and page after page is filled with what feels like just the right words for my heart.

Gratitude Quote by Nancy Leigh DeMoss http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Krappweis

Gratitude has been a type of life line for me. Its not like my life has been more tragic or more challenging than the average girl. But there has been plenty that could have been an excuse for bitterness or depression.

To me, the choice to look for joy and to be thankful has always made me better. It hasn’t changed the circumstances of my life, but it has changed my outlook so drastically that dealing with those circumstances has been somewhat less painful than it could have been. Instead of giving up, I’ve found that gratitude kept me fighting for hope.

I believe that choosing gratitude and hope is a key ingredient of being a survivor. And life is about surviving and thriving in spite of adverse circumstances, devastating pain or just plain old ordinary exhaustion.

When Gratitude becomes your default setting, life changes.

I loved Choosing Gratitude because tells you not only why you should choose to be grateful, but how to start forming those habits of thanksgiving and letting them permeate your life. It shows you not only how to look for gratitude but how it will make you better if you do. It doesn’t make the pretense that being grateful will keep bad things from happening. That’s unrealistic at best. But choosing gratitude does change you. And always for the better.

To me, as a lover of every day beauty, and finding little things to be thankful for, it was beautiful and refreshing–one of the most hopeful books I’ve read in a while. In a session of exhaustion and stress, it was exactly what I needed to remind me of all the reasons why I should keep choosing to look at everything I have to be grateful for. It’s a book that I think will be going on my small list of real inspirational treasures.

(This contains affiliate links. Your clicks and purchases help support this blog at no extra cost to yourself. I am always grateful for this.)

Want to read it? You can get Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy from amazon. Click the link to visit the page.

what new mamas need to know

By

In just a few days, I’ll reach the big week forty. It’s hard to believe that nine months ago, we only dreamed of maybe a baby. And now she’s almost here…and I think we’re ready.

I think we’re ready, and we’re excited.

But I’m also a little scared. I know motherhood isn’t glamorous and I know it isn’t easy. From here, the intimidated new mama in me clings to the belief that all of this—the discomfort, the pain, and the promise of a million loads of laundry, midnight diaper blowouts, all night rocking sessions and showerless weeks—all of the hardships and sacrifices, they will be worth it.

Everywhere I turn, someone looks at my ill fitting clothing and obvious baby bump and offers up a choice bit of wisdom from their own parenthood.

None of it sounds very good.

I’ll never sleep again. For the rest of my life.

I should forget about looking cute—the baby will have destroyed my body and will spit up and wet on anything remotely attractive I own so it isn’t worth the bother to try.

Babies are only cute when they are sleeping. The rest of the time they are little monsters who only want to eat and scream and demand things.

Prepare to never have a social life and to forget about any hobbies.

The terrible twos are going to make you go crazy and you’ll beg to send your kid to daycare!

Just wait until they are teens….then you will regret the day you had kids.

The list goes on and on. It’s all about the bad, the negative and what we’re about to loose the day our little girl is born. And maybe some of it or a lot of it is true.

But new mamas already know motherhood isn’t going to be easy.

I already know that there will be late nights, sleepless nights, colic and babies who cry and cry. I know about blowout diapers at the worst moment, and spit up on my favorite dress. I know I won’t have all the time I use to for the things I may have enjoyed. I know children whine and that chances are we might not get a moment to ourselves very often anymore.

I know motherhood and parenthood are harder than anything I can imagine. And I know I can’t do it all on my own.

But as a new mama, I think what I need most is to know that in the middle of the spit up, and the night feedings, and the crying and the mess, that motherhood is beautiful, too.Untitled I think we as new mamas need to know from those who have been where we are now that motherhood isn’t just drudgery and hardship and exhaustion, but that tucked into all that reality is a bit of good too.

What we need is for someone to tell us that motherhood is filled with precious moments.

That those first few weeks are hard, but that we will make it through and it will be okay.

That baby smiles and arms that reach up for you are always worth it—even at 3 am on a week that you haven’t showered even once yet or slept for more than 10 minutes at a time.

That rocking a little one to sleep is something precious never to be taken for granted.

That those firsts giggles are the most beautiful sound in the world.

That love grows and that being a mother is something that we won’t want to trade for anything else—not even our old jobs, old lives and tiny pre baby bodies.

We need to know, more than that motherhood is hard, that it is worth it and that we can do this.

So to the friend who told me that sleep as a new mama might be limited, but it is so much better than pregnancy sleep, and the woman who said that motherhood isn’t easy but it is the best thing she ever did, to the woman who said that even post baby bodies can be beautiful and the ones who always remind us how much we are going to love being parents even when it isn’t easy—thank you. Those are the gems that we hold onto as we step through the door into new parenthood.

As we prepare for our lives to change forever, it’s those encouraging, hopeful, positive words that make us look forward to the adventure.

And that’s what new mamas need—to know that motherhood is going to be beautifully worth it all.

I can’t wait to meet our little one. I can’t wait to experience holding her for the first time. I’m still a little scared about all the what ifs and the maybes of motherhood. But I am thankful for people who tell me that we can do this and it is going to be wonderful.

Quick & Easy: Burrito Shell Pizza

By

We love our pizza around here. Loaded with veggies and just enough sauce? It’s a perfect way to round out a day. But, cooking pizza from scratch can take a long time. Ordering out isn’t always an option with our budget. And I don’t always think ahead well enough to have pre-made crusts on hand for when we really want it right now. So I started making a little short cut pizza using burrito shells. We could have our pizza within minutes, and hardly heat up the house on a hot day. I’d say it was a win for us.

photo (5)

What You Need

  • Burrito Shells
  • Pasta Sauce
  • Diced veggies of choice (we will put just about anything on ours!)
  • Cheese of Choice
  • Oil
  • Herbs

What You Do

  1. Brush shells with olive oil and sprinkle garlic salt and dried oregano (or italian seasoning) on them. Put them in the oven to warm up.
  2. Spread pasta sauce on the shell.
  3. Top with your favorite veggies. We go for just about anything we have on hand: spinach, broccoli bits, asparagus, peppers, mushrooms, olives, onions and fresh tomato slices. But you can just use what you like in a pizza! Return to oven to let the veggies get tender.
  4. After the veggies are just about perfect, top with cheese of your choice. We’ve used soy cheese, nut based cheese or even crumbled, seasoned tofu as vegetarian options.
  5. Slide it onto your plate and enjoy your personal sized pizza

Notes

If you’re in a real hurry, you can start cooking the veggies in a pan on the top of the stove. This will cut down the time that they need to be in the oven and also can help keep the shell from getting too crispy!

Quick & Easy: Garbanzo Salad

By

I ate a bowl of garbanzo salad for lunch. For supper we had our version of fresh spring rolls. (for the third time in two weeks, I might add. Yum!)

What do these two meals have in common?

Both of them are simple, fast, and require minimal or no cooking. Those are the kinds of meals that I like to keep ingredients handy for on busy, summer days. When it is too hot to think of turning on the oven, and I’m too busy to spend much time on supper, it feels good to have some simple options that are delicious, cool, and quick!

Today I want to tell you about the first recipe in a mini series I’m starting that will tell you some of our favorite summer time menu items. Not all of them are cold, but they are all quick & easy! Some of them are simple enough that there’s no real recipe. Just a few ingredients mixed together and served!

Here’s the “recipe” for what I ate for lunch: Summer Garbanzo Salad

summer-garbanzo-salad

What You Need

  • Cooked Garbanzos
  • Fresh Tomato, diced
  • Fresh Cucumber, diced
  • Dollop of Mayo (or dressing of choice)
  • Mustard (just a tiny sneeze)
  • Fresh Parsley, minced (optional)
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt

What You Do

Put everything into a bowl, season to taste. Mix and serve with lettuce or just buy itself. Yum!

Variations

Here’s another way I like serving this salad!  Before I add the veggies, I’ll sometimes lightly mash a few of the beans. Mix it up, and serve it with a little extra dressing and some finely shredded lettuce inside of a whole grain pita pocket. It’s perfect for a summer picnic!

What do some of your Quick & Easy Summertime meals consist of? I’d love to hear!

P.S Don’t miss out on this amazing Homemaking eBundle that’s on sale for just a few days. 97 eBooks for $29.97. There’s even some simple summer recipe eBooks in there!

linked up today with One Project At a Time

Get Posts By Mail