Peaks, Pits, Praises, & Prayers

I recently stumbled upon this picture of a journal while surfing the pins of those I follow on Pinterest.  It reads "peaks, pits, praises, prayers."

Immediately, I loved the prompt for journaling blogging, and I wish I could give the original creator credit.  However, I don't have a clue where this picture came from.  (Which, might I add, is horrible Pinterest etiquette.)  I couldn't help but re-pin though, so I'd remember to use it.  Still, props to whoever came up with this clever title...whoever you are!


I've decided to evaluate 2012 so far (all two months of it) using these guidelines.

peak

our move to Atlanta

It's been quite the adventure, and we've loved every second!

In fact, we love it so much, we're hoping to end up here permanently...eventually. :)

Revisiting the World of Coca-Cola for the first time in YEARS with our friends Sallie & Brett

A stroll in Piedmont Park

pit

the death of Brian's grandmother, 

Josie Smith, a.k.a "Nanaw"

I've been without grandparents since I was 15 years old, 

and his grandmother was like my own.  

For the few years I knew her, she was so good to us.

"Nanaw" was one of the godliest women I've ever known.

Us with Nanaw at Mine & Brian's engagement party, February 2009

Brian and Nanaw at his Dad's 50th birthday party

praise

that Brian's career move kept us close to family

Not only are we just a little over an hour away from Macon, 

where we both spent most of our lives, 

but we're also even closer to my brother, Blake, who's attending

North Georgia College & State University on a baseball scholarship.

It's his senior year, so the fact that I've been able to attend his

baseball games has meant the world to the "big sis" in me!

This picture was taken after Blake pitched a 9-inning shutout in 2011.

Blake is in the bottom right corner.

prayer

that the recent abundance of time on my hands 

would go to God's glory

(because idle hands are the devil's playground!)

Being a (for the most part) "stay at home wife" 

has been tough on, difficult for, a challenge for me.

Some women who work jobs they loathe would probably 

roll their eyes wishing they could do the same.

However, I left working a job as a News Producer 

that I loved to support Brian in his career endeavors.

And I've struggled with having "purpose" since then.

 But there's absolutely no doubt (now) that this is what God has for me.

Being a "stay at home wife" is my purpose...right now.

And although he loves it, Brian is in the middle of the most

 time-demanding, stressful part of his career that he probably ever will be.

God has called me to be there for my man, so I will be.

My prayer is that while we're in this part of our lives, 

Brian never has to do laundry, never has to clean, never has to cook, etc.

My prayer is that when he comes home, it's a place of rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation.

God has challenged me to be the best wife, friend, and care-taker I can be.

He's also blessed me with plenty of time to do it...haha.

But it's not easy (believe it or not), and it gets boring.  And lonely.

So I'm still in prayer, and would ask you to be as well.  :)

So, there ya have it.  My biggest peak, pit, praise, and prayer or 2012 so far.

How about you?

XOXO

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."  

Philippians 4:8

Welcome to Atlanta!

We made the move!

Well, we've been here since January 1, and we are finally pretty settled in our new place!  I know my way around, and we have established a sense of normalcy, so that's good.  Chick-fil-A wanted Brian really close to the store where he's an Interim Manager, which is in Lenox Square Mall in the Buckhead District of Atlanta.

Lenox Square Mall

So they put us about a half mile away in a nice apartment complex, Post Alexander.

Living Room

Balcony
(I'll try to show you a better picture of the view on a day when it's not so foggy!)

Dining Area
(And doorway to laundry room behind the double doors.  The guest bedroom is to the right, guest bath to the left)

Kitchen

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom (sorry about blurriness)

Master Bath

Guest Bath

Guest Bedroom (had to take on the phone)

So, that's a short tour of our living situation right now!  We're enjoying it and we're very happy here.  We've had several visitors so far, and have had a blast showing them around.  Our latest visitors we took to the World of Coca-Cola.  We hadn't been since they re-did the museum and moved it next to the Georgia Aquarium.  We topped off the night with family-style Italian dining at Maggiano's!  (yummmm)

 (American Idol couch from Season 5)

(The vault that supposedly holds Coca-Cola's "secret recipe.")

And just for the fun of it, I'll leave you with a few of our other favorite spots since we moved to Atlanta.

Beauty and the Beast 3-D was our first movie seen here. :)

We have the privilege of having Andy Stanley as a pastor, as least while we're here.

 Buckhead Station:  It's right around the corner and has a few of my favorite stores.

 Grass-fed beef, build-your-own burgers, and sweet potato fries make this a winner for us!

 Huge chain...we know...but we've never lived close enough to take advantage.  YUM.

 It's no La Berry, but it's not bad. ;)

 Seasons 52:  A different menu every season, with 52 weeks of seasonal specials.  Awesome.

This gym is like two tenths of a mile from us and has the best rates and classes of anywhere I found.

That's just a few of our new favorites!

Have places that are must-sees, must-eats, must-do's, must visits, etc. from the Atlanta area?

We may have tried them and been less than impressed, but maybe not!  Leave me your comments about your favorite places in Atlanta.

Until next time...

XOXOXO

ZUMBA! Yourself Into Shape!

Unless you've been living under a rock, there's absolutely NO way you haven't heard of it.  It's probably the biggest workout craze since...well...I don't even know what to compare it to.  I've been meaning to write about this forever, but it's one of those topics that I could go on and on about, so the task of condensing my thoughts is just a bit daunting.


I'm one of those people who goes through health phases.  I'll run every day for a few months, then I'll do home workout videos for a few months, then I'll eat strictly healthy for a while...but all of that gets old after a while...at least for me.  And see the thing is, a healthy lifestyle is about finding what works for you...because it won't be the same for everyone.  For example, I'm not willing to give up all sweets.  Giving up sweets would seriously ruin my quality of life! haha.  On the other hand, I can totally give up breads.  If I never had another roll, biscuit, muffin, etc...I would be just fine.  I'm also not willing to stick to a workout routine that bores me.  And that's where Zumba comes into play!

Beto Perez

Beto Perez is the founder of Zumba.  You can learn all the ins-and-outs of Zumba here, but basically it's easy-to-follow Latin-style "dancing" (I use the term loosely because it still has an aerobics feel to it).  It burns lots of calories, makes you sweat like crazy, but it's STILL FUN!


My first few classes I was a bit skeptical.  Why?  Because I have never been a very good dancer, and I had a little trouble following the steps.  But after a few classes with each instructor, the moves started to come a bit more naturally, and I felt myself exerting more energy...causing me to sweat like crazy!  I found that once you learn the moves a little bit, you can put more "umph" into them and control your own intensity.  And now that I've been doing it for a while, I find that's even a lot easier to pick up on new routines because the rhythms are very similar!  I even have more confidence to get up on the dance floor when I'm out places too. :-D


And, yes, Zumba will help you manage your weight.  Especially if you do it often like I did/do.  But it will also improve your cardio fitness tremendously!  Most classes are 45 minutes to an hour long, which is manageable because the instructors are typically very purposeful about sticking a few lower intensity songs in there to help you catch your breath after higher intensity songs!


Zumba has helped me strengthen my core as well.  Many of the movements in Zumba involve moving or shaking the hips, and you wouldn't believe the core workout there!  haha. And of course, if you want to build even more strength, there's Zumba Toning.

Zumba toning uses the same Latin-style music, rhythms, and moves, but adds light weight with "toning sticks."  The purple sticks on the top are 2.5 lbs. each and the lime green sticks on the bottom are 1.5 lbs each.  Seems extremely light, right?  Wrong.  After using these for an hour, I can promise you that you'll feel like you got your workout! haha.  In fact, Zumba toning is the only class that I have ever taken and seen my body -really- change.  I now have muscles!  Who knew? ;)

So how do you get started?

You can go to zumba.com and look up class locations and times in your area.  You can even search by facility!  If you live in the Atlanta-area, the best classes I've found are at Urban Active-Buckhead.

However, if you live in the Macon-area, you're in luck.  Those classes are my favorite!  Here are a few you may be interested in.  All of these instructors are absolutely FABULOUS.  There's -at least- one opportunity every day to Zumba in Macon.  These are classes I have personally been to and know for a fact they're awesome.  Most of them are $6.00 or $7.00 per class, if you're not a member of the gym.  It's even cheaper for members.

MONDAY

ZUMBA! with Jasmine Peschel

Mondays at 6:30 p.m.

Wellness Center (Northside Dr., Macon)

TUESDAY

ZUMBA! with Stephanie Huff

Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Body Evolution (Spring St., Macon)

WEDNESDAY

ZUMBA!  with Carol Johnson

Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m.

Wellness Center (Northside Dr., Macon)

ZUMBA Toning! with Jasmine Peschel

Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.

Wellness Center (Northside Dr.,  Macon)

THURSDAY

ZUMBA! with Stephanie Huff

Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.

Body Evolution (Spring St., Macon)

FRIDAY

ZUMBA!  

(instructors vary, but I promise they're all great!)

Fridays at 4:00 p.m.

Wellness Center (Northside Dr., Macon)

SATURDAY

ZUMBA! with Jasmine Peschel

Saturdays at 10:00 a.m.

North Macon Park (North Macon Park Dr.)

SUNDAY

ZUMBA!  

(instructors vary, but I promise they're all great!)

Sundays at 3:00 p.m.

Wellness Center (Northside Dr., Macon)

Yes, you can get the DVD Zumba workouts, and I was recently given Zumba for the Wii for Christmas (which is so fun!), but I still believe the class setting is the best.  There's just something about a room full of people having fun and keeping you accountable.

I absolutely love Zumba and have no problem sticking to it as a workout routine, even on the laziest of days.  I always feel better after the class than I did before.

If my love of Zumba isn't enough to convince you, try and see for yourself!  I know everyone's different and you may feel completely opposite, but that's totally ok

Until next time... 

XXOOXXOO

What I Wore...Thursday?

What I Wore Wednesday Thursday...

So as I was looking through my iPhone photos the other day, I found these oh-so-fabulous (ha!) pictures still on the camera roll.  I apparently took these photos sometime in November before we started packing to move and everything got so hectic...and then never posted!

So, forgive me for not knowing the dates or where I was wearing these outfits, but I've written the details nonetheless. :)

Light orange-"ish" and gray striped tunic:  Dress Up Boutique (Dahlonega, GA)

Brown sleeveless sweater cardigan: Gap Outlet

Black leggings: Forever 21

Brown flat boots: Target

Bangles: Charming Charlie

3/4 sleeve ivory shirt: Target

Denim skinnies: Old Navy

Brown & camel houndstooth scarf: Dress Up Boutique (Dahlonega, GA)

Flat, camel-colored boots: Old Navy

Black skinnies:  Old Navy

Brown flat boots: Target

Printed tunic: Kohl's (ELLE)

Bangles: Charming Charlie

Denim skinnies:  Old Navy

Brown flat boots: Target

Gray-ish tank: New York & Co.

Oatmeal zip-front cardigan: Banana Republic

Mini French Dip Sandwiches

Mini French Dip Sandwiches...are so unbelievably easy!  In fact, they really don't even need a blog.  But still, I'd like to share this simplicity and goodness with you! :)

Let me  just be the first to say, these aren't healthy.  I got the recipe for this on Pinterest, which originally came from a blog called Mama Loves Food.  It just had the hubster's name written ALL over it.  So, if you're being health conscious, just watch your portions and you'll still be fine.

Also, just as a warning, I'm a total cheater.  Not only did I buy pre-sliced cheese and roast beef (although I selected the natural kind with no preservatives), I also didn't make my own Au Jus!  (gasp!)  I bought the starter mix where all you do is add water, stir, and wait for it to boil.  I believe it taste better for no other reason than it was much, much easier.  However, if you do not prefer to take any shortcuts, you can buy blocked cheese and get the deli to slice you up some fresh roast beef.  Also, Mama Loves Food has an "easy" recipe for Au Jus Gravy.

You'll need...

Ingredients:

2 pkgs Crescent Rolls (8 count)

Roast Beef (about 1 lb. or a little less)

1 pkg Provolone Cheese (or Swiss if you prefer)

Horseradish Sauce

Au Jus Gravy Mix

Directions:

(Preheat oven to 375 degrees)

1.  Unroll crescent rolls and separate into the cut triangles.

2.  Spread horseradish sauce to taste on triangles.

3.  Add roast beef and cheese, and then roll up the crescents.

4.  Bake 11-13 minutes.

5.  Au Jus Gravy: follow directions on back of pkg

I served our Mini French Dip Sandwiches with...

Yep, that's right.  Our side dish came out of a can.  It's the only way Brian will eat English peas!  They are seriously one of his favorite foods.  Needless to say, it was the easiest dinner in the world...AND he's already said he wants them again soon.  They really were awesome.  

(Told you he enjoyed them!)

Let me know if you decide to try!  :)

Until next time...

XXOO!