Travel & Vacation
Travel & Vacation: Swag Carpet
Swag carpet…..
Growing up my grandparents had a bright orange shag carpet in their basement….boy that brings back memories…..well instead of “shag” carpet we changed it up a bit and did “swag” carpet not too long ago. When we travel without the kids it is always fun to bring back something little for them as a special treat or surprise. It is not always the same thing and we try to present it differently as much as possible to spice it up a little bit. Awhile ago Jake went on a trip to a conference and got a lot of “swag” gifts, you know all the goodies that vendors give out as gifts to market their products to you. He arrived home a few hours before the girls got home from school so we decided to take all the swag (along with their special gift) he had gotten and cover their bedroom floor. At the conference he received a lot of t-shirts so he should be good on those for awhile now!
Brina discovering the necklaces and Karlie finding the airplanes
When the girls opened the door they stopped……in…..their….tracks…..what in the world!? They were totally surprised to find their entire floor covered with shirts, cups, and various other swag goodies. Brina was the first to find the necklaces Daddy picked up for them and Karlie was fascinated by the paper airplane cutout that you put together. It was hilarious seeing their expressions!
Cute little fish necklace Jake brought back for the girls
Jake brought home a cute necklace for each of the girls. They loved their pretty necklaces and have worn them to church, on Date Nights or other special occasions. But most of all enjoyed having Daddy home to play with again!
Karlie and Brina fascinated by the blue silly putty
They each picked out one of Daddy’s swag shirts to keep as a nightshirt. Karlie picked out one that had a rocket on it and Brina picked out one that had a splash of bright colors (a “rainbow of colors”). After trying on their shirts they sat down to play with their cool blue silly putty for awhile. It is amazing how entertaining little goodies can be.
Even though I love to travel it is always wonderful coming home. I am thankful for the amazing opportunities Jake, myself and our family have been given. It is an adventure traveling and exploring new places, but hanging out at home making memories together is just as precious!
Book: “Crush It!” by Gary Vaynerchuck
In a recent trip with the family out to the midwest (Nebraska and Kansas) I brought the book Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk. My husband had picked up the book for me for Christmas. I enjoyed reading Gary’s book and was able to get through it pretty quickly while we were in flight.
Gary’s passion overflows into his book. The book is short, sweet and to the point. Not only does Gary encourage you to follow your passion he also reminds you that it takes time and a lot of hard work to accomplish your goals. He is honest and straight forward about how to create your own personal brand around your personality and passions. Everyday whether you realize it or not you market your personal brand.
The author gives a variety of ways to start building your brand as well as additional resources to check out. He discusses a variety of Social Media tools. Although he highlights the ways that work well for him he also recommends a variety of other avenues and suggests that you find which ones are most beneficial for you. Gary encourages each person to follow their dreams and “crush it” in their own way!
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
It was a busy week and I got sick (that doesn’t happen very often) so that slowed me down a little bit but I was able to make some headway on my goals. Thankfully I was able to get some rest and don’t have to postpone too many items.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday- Read a book to the girls everyday – I fell asleep early one night and didn’t wake up until after the girls were in bed so the book didn’t get read
Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this weekSchedule a Date Night with the Girls & Re-Schedule My Date Night with Jake- Finalize the Girls Birthday Party Items – working on it
Set up a dentist appointment for the girls– scheduled and went to the dentist, no cavities!- Pick up the girls new glasses – picking them up this week
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – with being sick I didn’t get this one done this week hope to get back on track soon
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – not every night
Finish reading Crush It by Gary VaynerchukRead and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).Set up an appointment to get updated on shots / vaccinations– went to the doctor and got my shots, wasn’t too excited about this one, but it was necessary for upcoming travel!- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans – dates set / plane tickets purchased / visa – my visa has arrived and tickets are purchased, waiting on Jake’s visa!
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the houseDinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom – the time I had allotted to do this was taken up with being sick and trying to get better, hope to get this done next week
Business Goals
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog postsSpend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk- Write a Guest Blog Post – deadline was postponed with sickness
- Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes – scheduling this week
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchEmail Alms & Legs Ministry Team regarding our upcoming meetingPut together the Alms & Legs Meeting Agenda
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
- Start working on our personal 2011 taxes – we have started the taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips – putting aside some of the money
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Go on our Date Night with the Girls
- Celebrate with family and friends at the Girls Birthday Party
- Pick up the girls new glasses
- Schedule Appointment with Chiropractor
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading Everything Romance by Todd Hafer
- Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Write a Guest Blog Post
- Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Email Alms & Legs Ministry Team with the Meeting Notes
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
- Pay for Jake’s College Classes
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
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- Like their Facebook Page
- Click on the Coupon Section
- Print the Free 16 oz Hot Beverage Coupon (the “print” button is a link directly beneath the coupon)
- The coupon is good through March 31, 2012 .
If you are traveling soon or have a Pilot or Flying J Travel Center nearby this is a great deal. We used a couple of their coupons last month when we were traveling.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week we made a quick trip out to the midwest, Nebraska & Kansas, to attend a Pro Ag conference with my family. The girls had a blast with Grandma while Jake and I (along with other family and friends) attended the conference. We learned a lot of great information (still processing all of it) they covered a lot in a short period of time. We were also able to squeeze in some time to spend with extended family during the trip too. It was a quick and busy trip but we were able to fit in some fun along the way! 🙂 Now that I am back home I have a pretty big week planned out, praying I will be able to tackle the majority of the items on the list for the week!
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday – I was not able to do this with the conference last week
- Read a book to the girls everyday- during the conference they were with Grandma so they probably had books read to them but I didn’t read them
Spend some time with extended family
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – did well until all the traveling
Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
Business Goals
Attend the Pro Ag ConferencePay all bills that come in the mail this week
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – still working on this one
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Schedule a Date Night with the Girls & Re-Schedule My Date Night with Jake
- Finalize the Girls Birthday Party Items
- Set up a dentist appointment for the girls
- Pick up the girls new glasses
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
- Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
- Set up an appointment to get updated on shots / vaccinations
- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans – dates set / plane tickets purchased / visa
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom
- Get the majority of our 2011 Personal Taxes completed
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Write a Guest Blog Post
- Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Email Alms & Legs Ministry Team regarding our upcoming meeting
- Put together the Alms & Legs Meeting Agenda
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Start working on our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
Family Activities: Enjoying Time with Extended Family (Part 2)
There are so many things I have to be thankful for in my life with family being one of the top on the list. As a child I had the privilege of knowing and having wonderful memories with all four of my Great Grandma’s. All four of my Grandparents are still healthy and are now able to be a part of my girls lives. It is exciting to see my girls spend time and with their Grandparents and Great Grandparents because I know these precious times together are memories they will cherish. I posted a few other pictures in an earlier post. Here are a few pictures from our most recent visit with our Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles in South Carolina.
Great Grandpa CE reading books to Karlie and Brina. The girls were super excited about all the fun playing and book reading while everyone was visiting us.
Uncle Josh helped the girls put together a huge marble mazes! They were quite impressed with his building skills and loved racing the marbles through the maze. Karlie is racing her marbles while Uncle Josh helps Brina put hers together.
Grandma Penny coloring with Brina. Thankful for a time to relax and enjoy spending time with family. Brina’s was thrilled to have some time coloring with Grandma Penny.
Karlie is quite pleased with the lego, marble maze, and horse farm that Uncle Josh helped her put together.
We had a blast with everyone visiting for several days. The time flew by quickly and before we knew it everyone was leaving. The girls did pretty well with saying goodbye to everybody but as they watched the car drive away they started crying….. When asked why they were crying Brina said “I had so much fun I wasn’t ready for them to go yet.” and Karlie said “It went by too fast…I don’t think it was really 4 days…” I am thankful for the opportunity to spend time with family; these moments spent together become treasured memories for the entire family.
Travel & Vacation: Carriage Tour in Charleston, SC
Our family had the opportunity to go on a Carriage Tour through Charleston one of the weeks we were traveling in that area for work. The tour was packed full of amazing history of Charleston and all of us enjoyed it (including the girls).
Carriage horse in Charleston
Brina having fun saying “Hi” to all the horses in the carriage barn
Karlie relaxing while waiting for our turn to ride the carriage!
Going on a carriage tour of Charleston. The girls LOVED riding in the front and watching the horse as well as soaking in all the history of Charleston. Jake and I went on one of these rides before the girls were born. It was a lot of fun and we learned more pieces of Charleston’s history!
Beautiful iron work outside the front doors of one of the local churches. The history of the many buildings along the ride was really neat.
The architecture of the churchs and homes was pretty amazing. I didn’t want to take a bunch of pictures into peoples personal homes so I snapped more of the churches during the tour.
See the oval sign under the light, it is a “fire insurance” sign. After the great fires in Charleston if your house had one of these signs that specific fire company would come put out your fire. Also, many of the Charleston homes have a “privacy” door on their porches as seen in the picture above to allow the families to cool down in privacy on their porches during the warmer months. It wouldn’t be decent seeing a lady in her “under garments” as she cooled off on the porch therefore privacy doors became a popular addition to the homes.
Beautiful houses in Charleston. This house used to by at the waters edge and is now several blocks from the shore! Charleston used to have “HAVE” and “HAVE NOT” sections of town, this house was in the “have” section.
On the left side of the picture you can see a brown brick building through the trees. After the really devastating fires in Charleston many of the wealthy families built their kitchens and servants quarters in a separate building outside of the home to help prevent fires from engulfing the entire home which also allowed a little extra time for the fire company to arrive and put out the fire.
Charleston’s old jail house. Our guide had a lot of “interesting” stories about the old jail house. Supposedly it is “haunted” and you can take tours during the day or a ghost tour at night through the old jail.
Many of the houses in Charleston are visibly leaning due to age and the variety of natural things including settling that have occurred over time. Also, you’ll notice that a lot of the houses are narrow as you see in this picture. Not much of a front or side yards with a street on three sides but the house has some history!
It was beautiful and peaceful touring Charleston on a carriage. If only I could remember ALL the cool pieces of history our guide shared with us that day!
Daughters of Confederacy building in downtown Charleston. This building is near the market area.
Brina and Karlie saying goodbye, petting, and thanking the horse for the history tour of Charleston. They really have a soft spot for animals and loved the long ride through Charleston just as much as we did.
Jake and I were able to “surprise” the girls with this carriage tour. I was able to get tickets at a discounted rate through Groupon, but the company we received the coupons for refused to accept the reservations because they were too “busy” that day. Thankfully we were able to get another carriage company to basically accept their competitors coupon otherwise we would have had two very disappointed girls (and Momma). Even though it was a busy time, we had to switch carriage companies, and it was warm we had a BLAST touring the city and learning all the history.
If you ever go to Charleston this is a wonderful activity to do with your family, just make sure to budget or plan ahead for the tour because without a coupon it could be a little pricey especially for a large family or group. Even though the carriage rides are open pretty much year round if you are going in the summer and it gets above 94 degrees (or somewhere near that temperature) the carriage companies have to pull the horses off the street because it is too hot for them. It was a great experience for all of us!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Isle of Palms Beach
On our way to the beach!
One of the benefits of traveling with the family is we get to enjoy some pretty amazing scenery. When we travel together for work we try to squeeze some fun activities in as well. I am thankful for the great memories and fun times together with my family this year. Charleston is one of the locations we have been multiple times over the last several months. Here are some pictures and memories from one of our trips together.
Isle of Palms Beach!
One of our favorite spots to go is the Isle of Palms near Charleston. They have a great beach area with life guards. The girls always love our trips to the beach.
Karlie is ready to head to the beach! She is waiting patiently as we get everything out of the van.
Brina is ready for our family beach day!
Heading into the water! (Karlie, Daddy and Brina)
Splashing around in the water, the girls can stay at the beach for hours.
Two little chickies buried in the hot beach sand. They were really still until we were done burying them.
After several hours of splashing in the water, digging in the sand, and collecting sea shells the girls were still going but we took a break for a snack and a little quiet time in the shade before heading back out for more fun. The girls have a blast at the beach. We saw dolphins several times while we were swimming and playing in the sand at Isle of Palms. It was wonderful having some extra time to relax and spend time together.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
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Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week was full for Christmas Celebrations, activities, and work travel. I am thankful to have Jake back at home with us and look forward to spending some quality time with my family over the Christmas Holidays. The girls are now out of school so I debated whether or not to do a goal list this week because I want to make sure to spend any “extra” time with them. I am going to try to keep it short this week for that reason.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everydayRead a book to the girls everydayHave the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week- Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed) – had a couple late nights, really need to work on doing better with this one.
Do the 25 Day of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activities with the girls this week
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – did a few days
- Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday and Thursday – with Jake out of town I stayed up later to work on projects instead of going to bed on time
- Finish reading The 60-Minute Money Workout by Ellie Kay – got it started
Start Reading and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper
Home Management Goals
Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house- Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – it was late a couple nights
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWrap and send out all Christmas Cards / Presents that need shipped or mailed
Business Goals
Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my deskPay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog posts- Review my 2011 Business Goals and start planning ones for 2012 – didn’t even look at them this week with all the busy activities going on
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Pay off remaining debt – working on it
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – finishing up the debt so we can get rolling on this one
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Do the 25 Day of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activities with the girls this week
- Spend extra time with my family while the girls are on Christmas Break!
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Listen to Dave Ramsey’s Dumping Debt audiobook
Home Management Goals
- Get suitcase packed for our business / family trip
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Wrap all the Christmas Gifts
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Pay off remaining debt
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
