My Future Children.

With all of my friends and family pregnant or already with children, I can't help but think about the prospect of having kids myself one day. I am sure that every stage of childhood is beautiful, but from the perspective of a total outsider who has zero children right now whatsoever, I NAIVELY predict that my years with children will look something like this:

• Pregnancy: this stage is going to be awesome. Both of my sisters had great pregnancies, so the future is looking good for me. Also, pregnant women are so beautiful {there's nothing like a pregnant woman waddle}. Not to mention. Jarryd promised he is going to pamper me so I have "living like a queen" to look forward to. Who doesn't enjoy having a palm branch waving in their face? Also, let's not forget about the baby showers! Hopefully my friends and family have good taste in onesies and sippy cups (I'd like the Starbucks one, please).
• 0-2 first years: let's fast forward through all of this...I know it's a whole lotta eating, puking, sleeping, not sleeping, pooping, and constipation. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. You can stay at Oma and Opas for awhile. ;)
• Ages 3-4: These are the adorable years. I've met plenty of 4 year olds in my day, and I love to see their little personalities just shine! It's ok that we sing and dance to Taylor Swift music together, right? And yes, I'm signing you up for either hockey or soccer and you're are going to look SO cute running/skating because obviously you'll be blessed with your father's athletic abilities and hopefully not mine!!
• Kindergarten: YAY! I'm so excited to walk you down the driveway to the big yellow school bus! I know, I know, you're gonna miss me like crazy, but I'll be just fine at home {freeeeedom!}...in the peace and quiet... {Unless I have 4 kids under the age of 5...}.
• Grade 1-4: You're in a class spelling bee?! That was my favourite activity in school! Please let me live vicariously through you. Let's practice our spelling every evening for the next 4 years of your life.
• Grade 5-6: Let me see ALL of your homework. I love homework. I'll try not to do it all for you... :D Also, I don't care what the other mom's have to say, I'm putting Gushers in your lunch box.
• Let's skip past all of junior high. You are extremely awkward, and so am I. Two awkwards do not make a right. I'll let your father deal with you.
• Grade 10-11: You bet I'm going to be at all your soccer/hockey games. To my sons: You're also gonna be total "momma's boys", right? Okay? ...Please? :'(
• Grade 12! You are so beautiful/handsome and full of secrets that I think I want to know...but in reality I really don't want to know any of them. P.S- I have your Bible college all picked out for you! Bon Voyage!
• Age 19+, this will be my absolute favourite. I have a very good/optimistic/unrealistic imagination and I can just see you bringing home the perfect future spouse for you. I'm gonna be the best mother-in-law ever. {To my son: your wife's cooking will never be as good as mine}... ;)
• Grandchildren! Yes. I'd like to be called Oma and Jarryd, Opa. We shall spoil you like crazy and leave all the dirty work/clean up for your parents to deal with. It's called...payback! Also, I'm going to have beautiful, long, flowy gray hair like elderly Rose on Titanic. And I'm going to start every wise old story with "when I was your age..."

My naive optimism is adorable, isn't it? I am loving my future children already. I wonder what my Mom will say when she reads this...

Thankfulness Amid The Exhaustion.

Hey everyone! I started my new job on Tuesday and so for the past three days it has felt like one big blur. Wake up at 5:00 AM, get ready, drive 25 minutes, and start work at 6:00 AM.
Then, once work ends, I go out and run errands.
When Jarryd gets home at 4:00 PM, we eat, talk, and watch a WHOLE lot of Gilmore Girls. {We are reaching the end of season 7, things are extra juicy, so it's literally impossible to watch just one episode you know?!}
OH, and then we try to go to bed at 9:00 PM. Wow. What has my life become? In the first year of our marriage Jarryd and I would stay up till 2, 3, 4:00 AM most nights. And now we go to bed at 9:00pm?! Trust me, I'm not opposed because I value sleep more than most, I'm just shocked and slightly impressed at my ease of adapting to change.

This may sound silly after just three days of work, but I am exhausted. A new job comes with so much listening, observing, learning, and follow-through. I have just been on a constant stream of taking IN, IN, IN, with no giving OUT. Writing is 100% my outlet, and with all of this I haven't had the time nor energy to write. Even responding to all the texts I've received from friends asking how my new job is going, is tough. It's hard to respond to other peoples questions when I haven't even allowed myself to assess, mull, and process how my past three days have gone. {Introvert issues, right?} :P
I finally have a few hours this morning before I need to head into work {my old job}, so I am choosing to use these hours to unwind as much as I can and write my little heart out!

I am working every day starting from last Tuesday until the afternoon of next Monday. Seven days in a row, with two of those days being 10 hour days. And one of those days is Valentines Day. {Speaking of Valentines Day, I was weirdly looking forward to it this year. I pictured myself making chocolate covered strawberries and just having a fabulous day with Jarryd. But reality showed up and I am working that entire day.} I never should have agreed to work at this new job while finishing up the two weeks of my old job. Why do I do these things to myself? Thank you to my sister who reminds me that the paycheck at the end of this will be glorious. {Perhaps once I'm on that shopping spree at Target I'll be extraordinarily pleased with all of the hard work I put into the past two weeks. LOL!}

But, I have been missing something. Throughout all of this I have been forgetting something so important. I've been so overwhelmed and exhausted just thinking about how I still have 4 more days of work ahead of me, that I have forgotten the One who provided all of this work for me.

I found the above picture on Pinterest a few weeks ago; it was relevant then and it is relevant now. Truthfully, it will always be relevant! I remember it was only a year ago, after I had received my EAD card in the mail {Employment Authorization Card--that comes before your Green Card}, all I wanted was a job. I just wanted to WORK! It is so agonizing not working.
Then, when I finally got a job last April, all I wanted was more hours. More hours = more money! The summer was crazy at my old workplace, I think the only thing I even did last summer was work. And then, when Jarryd got a full-time job with perfect hours, and no weekends, I wanted that too. So I prayed to God, please help me find a job with the same hours as Jarryd! Full-time with no weekends so I can go to church again!
And as undeserving as I felt and still do feel, God provided me with this new job: a job with perfect hours, full-time, NO weekends, and even benefits too! I was SO thankful.

And because I am a ridiculous human being who is never satisfied, and is always wanting more, more more. My thankfulness to God has been polluted with exhaustion. Here, God has provided me with SO many hours. He is providing for our financial need {He always has}, and yet I've totally neglected to keep thanking Him.

Yes, I was SO thankful when I got hired for this new job; but I believe that thankfulness is a daily thing. I can't just be grateful to God for one day and that be it. I need to live with a heart of thankfulness; it makes everyday so much better, more fulfilling!

"ALWAYS {give} thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." {Ephesians 5:20}

Our apartment might be disaster zone, laundry is piling up, social life is nonexistent, and this weekend/Valentines Day might be a bust, but I have so much to be thankful for.
On the plus side, after Friday the 19th, my "two weeks notice" weeks will be over and I'll be officially a Monday to Friday workin' woman! YAY!! I'm so close! :)

OH my new job is going great! So far, its pros far outweigh the pros of my previous job. I am certain that I made a good choice in pursuing a new job.

 I even get to wear a white chef's coat! :)

And this is where I get to take my breaks! Isn't all of the natural light just beautiful?!

Thanks for reading and I'll try to keep you updated when I can. Please keep me and my sanity in your prayers! :) <3

I Got The Job!

Hey everyone! So, remember how exactly one week ago I went in for an interview?
Well, I am pleased to say, I got it! I got the job!!

I will now be a cook at a cafe/restaurant in an office building; I will even get to wear a white chef's coat! (Eeep!)

Truthfully there wasn't much of an anxious waiting period, because as we were finishing up the interview, my future-boss said to me, "the job is yours if you want it".
And because I'm not one to make rash decisions as I need my precious me-time to mull it over/and pray about it, I replied with, "Great! I'll think about it and get back to you". ;)

As I wrote last week, I drove straight to the mall, and beelined it to Barnes & Noble. I sat down at one of their little tables--with a Caramel Brûlée Latte in hand--, feeling super tingly and called Jarryd. (I love that excited tingly feeling!!) He was SO happy and excited for me but said "why are you calling me?! Hang up right now and tell him you're accepting the job". (Haha!)

I was nervous! It's a big deal calling your future-boss and telling him that you're choosing to commit to a new job! Isn't it?!

Needless to say, my future-boss was so pleased to receive my phone call. So, after a week of background checks (these always take way too long for me to fill out, as I have 8 different address in my short 25 years of living), drug tests (I got to pee in a cup for the first time in my life!), and giving my present employer my two weeks notice, I start my very first day: TOMORROW!

(Because my present job is part-time, I have a few days this week where I am free to start at my new job, which is nice seeing as I don't have to wait two whole weeks to start!)

Aside from being nervous-outta-my-mind about tomorrow, I am truly very excited. It's a big decision saying "YES!" to a new job, but it's not so scary when it feels right.
A few reasons why it feels right are:

• I felt so much peace about giving my two-weeks notice, and I just feel at peace overall.
• The pay is better than my current job. More money is always a plus!
• It's full-time!
• The hours are A-MAZING! Monday to Friday, 6:00 AM-2:30 PM. (This means NO WEEKENDS!)
• Awesome benefits! Seriously!
• At my interview I met some of the employees and they gave off a good vibe. They seemed very friendly, as if they actually enjoyed their jobs. (It is extremely difficult to work with people who hate their jobs!)
• This job screams "routine". Other than the hours being consistent, I'll literally be seeing the same people every single day because we are a client of a huge banking/financial service company who serves their office workers. I love routine!!
• The commute is about 25 minutes. Not too shabby.
• I was told I'll predominantly be working in the BOH (back-of-house), which were the magic words for me accepting this position. I always prefer to be behind-the-scenes.

When I started at my present job ten months ago, I started out as a prep-cook. A few months later after I got the feel for things, I was working more as a "cook" than a "prep cook"; for instance, I was no longer preparing things for the cook/sous chef, I was now the one in charge of things. I was now the one who'd leave the kitchen to go outside and talk to guests about their meals or special diet requests. I was the one making meals for 200+ people by myself. I was now training and teaching other new co-workers. And at first I hated it. I absolutely had no desire to be in charge of the kitchen, or any superiority for that matter. I was perfectly content being a prep-cook.

But as time moved on, being in charge and preparing meals on my own became second nature. I'm definitely no expert at it, but it just became easier. So when it came to job hunting, six months ago I only looked into the job postings that were titled "baker" or "prep cook". I was stubborn. I was only interested in either my dream job of working in a bakery or a prep cook position that required hardly any challenges or responsibility. Yikes, it feels quite shameful to see that typed out on my computer screen. :/

But this past January, something clicked inside of me. I KNOW how to cook. I then proceeded to give myself a pep-talk that went something along the lines of:
I have a year of culinary school under my belt, I have almost 4 years of employment experience in the food industry, and this past year of work has been incredibly educational for me. I have learned SO much. I can do so many things in the kitchen and know so many things that most people don't.
I finally had the confidence to say to myself what everyone else had been telling me: I am so skilled!

This then resulted in non-stop job hunting under the category of "cooks", and I applied to an abundance of nursing homes, hospitals, and other health-care centres.
I am convinced that if I never would have discovered this confidence in myself, I would still be working part-time at my current job with no hope whatsoever.

I definitely didn't think landing a new job would have happened this fast. I feel incredibly blessed by God for giving me this opportunity. I seriously could not stop smiling after the interview. Like for the first time in my life I finally have a full-time job, with amazing hours, and amazing benefits. (This is seriously so rare for a culinary career!) This job is going to help Jarryd and I in so many ways. I can't even tell you how excited I am to have the same hours as him! We can now sleep in together and experience lazy Saturday mornings on a regular basis. I'll never have to miss church for work now! AND we can plan travel adventures for the weekends too without having to take any work off.

It definitely all seems too good to be true. I'll admit I am the kind of person who after such a blessing as this one, I try to find any sort of "catch". Like, there has to be something terrible about this job that I just haven't found out yet. Perhaps the "catch" is that I'll never get to watch "The View" with bagels and cream cheese and coffee in hand on a regular basis. If that's the case, it's not so bad then. I'll survive I think. :)
But I really don't want to be that way. I want to let go of all that negativity and just rest in the goodness of God.

{Source}

Thank you to everyone for reading this and keeping me in your prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for me as it's typical of me to be super nervous for new jobs resulting in a horrible night's sleep. Tomorrow is my big day and I need all the rest I can get. Also, I hope it like it!! :)

Get To Know Me.

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, so I figured hey, now's the time! Plus, they're fun! :)

1. Do you have a middle name?
This one's pretty obvious: Anne. (I was named after my Grandma and one of my aunties! Despite how popular of a middle name this is, I love it!)

2. What was your favourite subject in school?
My top four were English, Art, Band, and Biology.

3. Do you participate in any sports? 
I like to watch sports...if that means anything? If there was a recreational volleyball league around I'd think about joining. (I'm not too bad at volleyball!)

4. Favourite Book?
I feel like because I once majored in English in university that everyone expects me to say "ANYTHING & EVERYTHING WRITTEN BY JANE AUSTEN". Actually, I LOVE books that I can relate to. Therefore, crime, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, and Jane Austen works are all out.
I love reading books where the main character is a female (that's what I am!),
in her 20s or 30s (I'm 25 over here!),
is a hopeless romantic (yes, please),
has a cat (I wish I did, so yeah),
and is pursuing a career (hey me too!).
And if the book takes place in New York City, even better! ;)

5. Favourite Colour?
Soft colours like pinks, whites, and light blues. Mmm...

6. Favourite Animal?
Cats, duh! And medium-large sized dogs. I love a good golden retriever.

7. Favourite perfume?
Britney Spears "Fantasy". Don't judge...it's strictly scent-related.

8. Have you been out of the country?
Ha! So many times. And which country are we talking about? The first time I left Canada I think I was 5 years old, and I haven't quit since then.

9. Do you speak any other Languages?
Ich spreche Deutsche und English. :)

10. Do you have any siblings?
Yes! I am in the fact, the baby of 3 older siblings. I am 5, 7, and 9 years apart in age from them. See? A definite baby.

11. What’s your favourite store?
Kohls. Target. Anthropologie. Barns & Noble. XXI Forever. HomeGoods/HomeSense/Marshalls. And any grocery store because grocery shopping is the best!

12. Did you like school?
I absolutely looooved school! (Even high school was fun!) The only downside about school was having to create Bibliographies at the end of every paper. Blech! 

13. Favourite YouTubers?
I'm not the most avid Youtuber in the world, but I do have a few favourites I watch every now and then.
There is KathleenLights who has the best makeup reviews/tutorials, and she's just adorable, genuine, and super quirky. 
Natasha Bure (Candace Cameron Bure's daughter) is insanely hilarious.
Coley Cooks was my favourite contestant on Food Network Star, her videos are great!
And of course, I like to get my weekly celebrity doses on the Ellen and Jimmy Fallon channels.

14. Favourite Movie(s)?
Nancy Meyers movies (The Holiday!!), Nicholas Sparks movies, 27 Dresses, and How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Any and every chick flick, pretty much. Oh and cheesy Hallmark movies. The cheesier the better. XD

15. PC or Mac?
I went from PC to Mac. (Typical millennial, right?) :P

16. What phone do you have?
iPhone 5. (Typical millennial, again...)

17. How tall are you? 
5"8 I think...I'm never actually sure!

18. What do you order at Starbucks?
Winter: Caramel Brulee Latte.
Spring/Summer: Caramel Macchiato.
Fall: Pumpkin Spice Latte.

19. What’s one thing most people probably don’t know about you?
I am fascinated by words. If somebody is talking to me, and they say a word that really catches my attention, I'll make a mental note of it and write it down later. Or even a lyric in a song, or a spoken word on TV. I love hearing and learning new words. Thesauras.com is one of my top-viewed pages on my browser. And then there's grammar. I love it and am pretty obsessed with it. There is a grammar book I keep seeing at Barnes & Noble that keeps tempting me...

20. One thing you want to do before you die?
One thing?! This is hard because there are so many things I want to do. This isn't necessarily #1 on the list, but I'd love to travel to every State/Province in North America. Each one is so unique, beautiful, and historical in its own way and I'd love to explore them all!

21. What quote/phrase do you live by? 
People will always talk, do it anyway. (Somebody always has something to say about the choices you make in life. Whether you make the wrong choice or you make the right choice, they're gonna talk either way. So DO what YOU think is right.)

22. What’s your most listened to song on iTunes? 
Come In With The Rain by Taylor Swift. (Ha! Go figure!)

23. What kind of style would you define yourself as having?
I dress according to how I feel in that moment. Am I feeling adventurous and outgoing? If yes, then I'll wear something a little more eye-catching, patterned, and colourful. Am I feeling a little more shy? If so, then I'll usually wear jeans and a basic t-shirt. More often than not I dress for comfort. Does anyone else do this too??

24. What was the last thing you bought?
Aside from my latest grocery haul ;)...we splurged a little and bought a new tv. Don't judge, please! This is quite a rare purchase for us. Plus, our previous tv was so small I had to squint half the time.

Gathering in Prayer.

Jarryd and I went to an evening worship service that our--new--church has on the first Wednesday of every month. As it was our first time, we really didn't know what to expect. Would there be solely worship? Or testimonies? A sermon, perhaps? People falling on the floor being healed and shouting in tongues (hehe...)?

There was quite a large turn-out of people which is always nice to have! First it started with some worship, followed by a sermon/Bible study with a guest speaker, and then finished with communion. ALSO here's a fun fact for you! The typical communion "juice and crackers" came in individually pre-packaged cups (the juice and cracker are separated of course). I had no idea this was even a thing! Look it up online, it's quite something. So modern...

Anyway, the Bible study was all about Peters' (one of Jesus' disciples) miraculous escape from prison, found in the book of Acts. I had heard this story before, but for some reason I forgot all about it. This account absolutely intrigues me!

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.
{Acts 12:1-18}

Isn't that story amazing? How God let Peter slip past two guards completely unnoticed is just incredible and truly divine. But the main focus of the Bible study are the two verses that I underlined above. MANY people were at Mary's house and were gathered to pray for Peter.

It just goes to show that when we pray to a BIG God, BIG things can/will happen.

I wish I could write how I'm a part of an awesome group of believers who meet consistently to pray. I wish I were a part of something like that. But truthfully, I'm not. Which of course isn't horrible in God's eyes, because He tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we should "pray continually", pray without ceasing. Pray anywhere and anytime! And it especially doesn't matter if you're in a group or by yourself. But there is something extraordinary when Christians get together and share their hearts and ask for prayer from one another. There's nothing like fellowship among believers.

Again, I don't have that. But now that I'm a part of this new church, there are opportunities to join some groups that are starting next week! This is something I've really been praying for and I just hope that God provides for me a group that I can flourish in, and maybe help others to flourish in as well? :)

One thing that totally made our evening, was after the service, a guy came up to us and just started chatting with us. We had no idea who he was and he had no idea who we were. He just saw two unfamiliar faces and made initiative to welcome us. We ended up talking with him for probably over half an hour, and eventually other church members/his friends approached and he introduced us to them. Before we knew it we were all having great conversation with people we'd never met. These people were truly interested in who Jarryd and I were and SO excited that we were at their church with them!

Do you know how nice that is?! Have you ever visited a new church and not know a single face?
Most churches I have been to, it is YOUR job to make the first move to get involved in the church and meet new people or else you're doomed. This can be so scary and overwhelming (at least for an introverted personality like mine). It was so wonderful to not have to make the first move. It was so relieving to be approached, to be noticed and to feel welcomed. Gahh! I just can't get over how much I appreciate that. I hope that I can be that warm and welcoming of a person to everyone I meet!

My February First.

My February of 2016 has started out with a BANG, as I had a job interview! Ever since things started slowly down at work in October, I've been casually browsing online job postings.
Then in January, we purchased a second vehicle and gave a nice warm welcome to a CAR LOAN. Yeehaaaw! (Hello second car; Goodbye hard-earned money. :P ) Truthfully, the pros to Jarryd and I each having our own car outweigh the cons. It's a HUGE blessing to us.

Since then, I've really stepped up the job hunt. Practically everyday in January had been dedicated to cover letters, resumes, and condescending self-talks of dang-I-should-have-gone-to-school-for-accounting-what-was-I-thinking-when-I-went-for-a-Social-Sciences-degree-and-a-Culinary-certificate?! *laughing tears*

Low and behold, on that fateful Friday (last Friday), I received a phone call from an employer telling me that my resume was, in his words not mine, "impressive". :O And then the interview date was set!

I was so stinkin' nervous for it too; and as per usual, whenever I'm nervous about something the night-before is always the worst! I had about 50 different hallucinations/nightmares of different scenarios of how my interview could possibly go wrong. (I sleep in, car doesn't start, I walk in slow motion--don't you hate those slow motion dreams?!)

Post-interview I decided to treat myself to some retail therapy at the mall. I found that beautiful floral shirt for only $9.99! (Nan-nanty-nan? Nan-nanty-nan...) I'm pretty sure my pursuit of floral-anything-and-everything will never cease. It's so pretty!!

Also, I have Instagram again! I know, life is full of surprises isn't it? Feel free to follow me. I think you should. In fact, I would love it! Let's be friends! I can keep you updated on all the mundane and uninteresting things that happen in my life. Haha! :)

www.instagram.com/jenniiferanne

January's End.

The month of January ended just swimmingly!

Of course I worked all weekend (what else is knew?), but on Sunday my workplace didn't have any guests scheduled for lunch, which meant I got to leave at 10 AM! Which meant, that yes, I could go to church with my husband!

WOW! (!!!)

Going to church together as a couple has been quite a foreign concept since I started this job--10 months ago.
Last December we started attending a new church, and between my work schedule and our Christmas trip to Canada, we've been going as often as we can! We love it!

It truly felt awesome being able to attend church and not have to worry about rushing home so I can quickly get changed and go work the lunch and dinner shift. (You don't know how great Sundays are until they get snatched from you--so to my readers who are lucky enough, enjoy them for me!!)

So after the church service, we realized: HEY! The snow is melting (remember Winter Storm Jonas Bro?), the sun is shining, and we are free as birds today! Let's go somewhere new!

Actually, it wasn't WE who said this, it was me. Therefore, I take full credit for our awesome Sunday adventure. With a little help from Yelp and Zomato, we picked out a restaurant in Lancaster, PA.

I love Pennsylvania. The drive through Amish Country never fails to be absolutely stunning. AND we saw over 10 horse and buggies! (We made a game of it, 'cuz why not?)

Yes, that silo is filled with their own house-made beer.

Isn't even just the sign beautiful in itself?

We got to sit right next to the brewers which was an atmospherical experience.

For $9.00 we got to try 6 (5 oz) glasses of different beers that they brew. (What a deal!) It was super fun tasting them all and deciding on our favourites--and least favourites. Surprisingly, I liked the Strawberry Wheat beer (I was shocked that I actually loved it)! And as for my least favourite, it was probably the Imperial Jo Espresso Stout. But for real, beer that is delivered to you on a paddle? Yes please.

My mushroom, caramelized onion, and ricotta pizza.

We also ordered Firecracker Shrimp which was so absolutely amazing that we inhaled it before I could even take a photo. Oopsie. :D

My hott date! He appears all calm and serious here, but the whole time he was actually such a goof. Baha! :)

OK, this caramel pecan pie was ALL Jarryd's idea. I had nothing to do with it. But it was oh so tasty!

After. Also, take note: they have copper topped tables. COPPER. I love it!

We then ended the date with a George Strait sing-a-long in the car ride home. Ahhh, country.

This was honestly one of the most fun dates we've ever had, probably because it was the first date we'd been on in WAY too long. Cozying up on the couch binging on Gilmore Girls just doesn't count anymore. 

It was such an awesome Sunday afternoon, and we both cannot wait to go back to Lancaster Brewing Company!! I encourage everyone to go on dates! Drive out to new cities and try new restaurants! As long as you've got some good company with you, it's totally worth the splurge. :)

Toodles, January! You were snowy, adventurous, and fun! :)

River of Tears.

I can't stop listening to this song. It's typical of me to be drawn heavyhearted piano ballads. But the more I listen to it, the more I wish I had written it first. And the more I listen to it, I just find myself interpreting it different than how I'm sure it was meant to be interpreted.

I haven't asked Alessia Cara (the artist) if it was written after a relationship breakup, but I don't think I need to; it is for sure a breakup song.

Don't worry, I'm not experiencing a relationship breakup; thankfully, I cannot relate to the song in that regard. Actually, I find that it perfectly tells the story of my relationship with my--sinful--flesh.
My flesh keeps convincing me that it's going to save me. It's going to sculpt me and make me into something new and beautiful, inside out. My flesh keeps promising me that it is all I need and that I don't need anything else to make me whole.
I keep buying into the promises and lies and before I know it, this sculpture it has created of me is now in pieces, broken. My flesh essentially lies to me, over and over again; and of course, I keep falling for it and letting it happen over and over again.

You might be thinking, "how on earth did she get that out of the song?! That's so crazy." And that is ok if you think that. The beauty of music is that you can take it and mold it any which way you so desire. And that is how I choose to mold this song.

I listen to songs to fit the "mood" I'm in, not change the "mood" I'm in. And right now, this battle between the Holy Spirit inside of me and my flesh is in full swing. Sometimes all the time it feels like my flesh is enveloped around my body a little too tight.

"Still got the flowers that you sent
And the note you wrote that said we're meant to be forever
I keep them all as evidence
In a drawer under the mirror, filled with empty promises
I don't know why
I keep letting you lie to me
Hard as I try
It seems I can't break away
I thought that you would be the hero
Come and save the day
But you're a villain
Your sins unforgiven

I'm going down, and you have watched me drown
In a river of tears, lost beneath the stream
Under the waves, I've found the strength to say
The river of tears has washed me clean
Go 'head and wish me well
I'll cry a wishing well
I'll fly before I fail
I'll set sail and drift away
So I won't need you here
Love sinks and hope floats
In a river of tears
In a river of tears

I catch your scent in every wind
And I recall the love we had
I can't pretend that I don't miss you
Every now and then
But the hurt is for the better
Moving on, it's now or never
Lost in the tide, I can't keep my pillows dry
Like there's a sea in my eyes
I realize that sometimes love brings you flowers
Then it builds you coffins
And far too often
We end up falling to our demise

I'm going down, and you have watched me drown
In a river of tears, lost beneath the stream
Under the waves, I've found the strength to say
The river of tears has washed me clean
Go 'head and wish me well
I'll cry a wishing well
I'll fly before I fail
I'll set sail and drift away
So I won't need you here
Love sinks and hope floats
In a river of tears
In a river of tears

Cry me a river, build myself a bridge
I'm over this, can't let memories become the death of me
I'm glad to see everything that you are
And I believe that you are everything I needed
But I don't need no more"

My DIY Hutch Makeover.

Guess what? I did a DIY project!
I know, it's crazy. (Pigs must be flying right now!)

A few months after Jarryd and I got married and moved into our first apartment, my father-in-law bought an old hutch at an antique auction. This hutch--one that is in great solid condition, might I add--went for only $35.00! Uhhh-mazing!

AND, he decided to give to us because we had hardly any furniture in our newlywed apartment. I was flattered, absolutely. But at the same time I felt pretty hesitant to take it home with us because I am not a huge lover of antique dark wood pieces. Nothing against it, to each his own, but my style is a total 180 from that. I love brights, whites, and lights! Anything that brightens up a room is what my true heart believes in.

Despite my hesitancy, we brought it home and we were actually really were happy to have it. Because it is a huge piece of furniture, it is a fabulous storage piece!

But it scared me.
It was like this big dark thing hovering over me as I would innocently watch tv. (I know it doesn't look that scary in the above photos, but that is because I did you a favour and brightened them with iPhoto. You're welcome!)

Then, when we moved into our two-bedroom apartment this past August, we even hid it in our spare bedroom; a room that hardly sees human life.

With it being "out of sight, out of mind" I almost forgot about! Then noticed on Pinterest a series of "hutch makeovers". I quickly realized, hutches were IN...and they looked GOOD. Hmmm...
I mean, I didn't LOVE them enough to actually go out hunting for them at thrift stores, but I figured since I already had one at my "disposal", why not make the most out of it?

All this time I had a fear that antiquer-people would come into my home and attack me for even flirting with the idea of painting over the dark wood. But I finally took control of my life, because I am the one who has to live with this thing. I am the one who has to walk by this thing every day and acknowledge its presence! So I was finally going to do something about it!

One of my best friends up in Canada made-over her hutch into this gorgeous seafoam green colour, and it looked amazing!! So I had to ask, "how how how HOW did you do it?!"

The answer was--and always will be from now on--:

CHALK PAINT.

Chalk paint eliminates the need for sanding. And seeing as I am not an avid DIYer, I wasn't about to go buy an electric sander. Also having to sand this huge hutch down by hand with just a few sheets of flimsy sandpaper would be about as fun as sanding my eyes out. From there on out I knew that chalk paint was a gift from the heavens above.

A determined woman, I went to Lowe's and picked up:

•  a 29 fl oz can of "Valspar Chalky Finish Paint" in "Trousseau Blue". (I was fearful this wouldn't be enough paint, but I actually had more than enough paint leftover)!
• a can of "Valspar Sealing Wax". As I had never seal waxed anything before, this was weird and definitely something to get used to. I suggest watching youtube tutorials first.
• a can of glossy black spray paint (for the hardware).
• a paintbrush!

I gathered from much of my "hutch makeover" research that the thing to do is to remove the upper cupboard doors to create open shelving. Open concept is IN, people!

So, after removing the doors, it was lookin' better already! (But still looks a little scary, right?!)
I was also working on finding the perfect spot for this monstrous thing. The above photo is not where it ended up because it didn't quite fit along that little wall.

Anyway, the next thing I did was remove the drawer, the doors, and all of the hardware. To put it as nicely as possible, this was a total pain-in-my-rear. The screws must have been made in the 1700's because they were in horrible condition; their "crosses" were no longer "crosses" but blob-shaped indentations. I was sweat-drenched by the time I got those suckers out!

Now this was the fun part! I LOVE painting. I could paint all day! I would be totally happy to paint and get paid for it! Jarryd, on the other hand loathes painting. I guess you either love it or hate it?
I did two coats of paint on the Friday evening, a coat of paint on the Saturday afternoon (three coats in total), a coat of sealing wax on the Saturday evening, and a second coat of sealing wax on the Sunday evening (two coats in total).
I then gave the rusty old hardware a fresh coat of glossy black spray paint. Despite breathing in the fumes and having an awful headache for the rest of the day (a mask would have been a good idea...), that was also a fun activity!
Lastly, I screwed everything back into place and...

VOILA! It's finished and it seriously felt SO good to be done!

I absolutely love the result. Even the colour turned out to be the perfect shade of light blue.

It's no longer a scary dark monster, but a cute monster dressed in--an almost--Tiffany Blue.

The way the wood curves beneath the shelving is probably my favourite thing about this hutch.

I put only my favourite mugs on display, of course. (Jarryd's John Wayne mug or his Yoda mug have no place on this hutch. Ha ha! ;)

My modest cookbook collection. We all know I'm more of an online recipe kinda girl. ;)

The shelves on a hutch are a perfect place to show off some memorabilia; For example, here I have one of our favourite weddings photos placed between my Eiffel Tower figurine from France and my teacup from Germany. It's perfect. :)

I appreciate the fine detail here!

Our little espresso machine! We didn't put a hole in the hutch to run an electrical cord through, so when we make espressos we just carry the machine to the kitchen. Haha! (Posers!)

The hardware turned out quite nice! During the planning process I was deciding between gold or black for the hardware, and I am so glad I chose black. It gives a really nice contrast to the blue paint, I think!

There! I even found the perfect spot for it. :)

I'm really happy with how it turned out, and that is really all that matters. BUT I would love to hear what you guys think of the result! Would you have left it dark, or left the top doors on? Painted the hardware a different colour? Whatever it is I would love to hear! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my (successful) DIY adventure! :)

Surviving Winter Storm Jonas.

The storm, Winter Storm Jonas Bro, has been weathered! It is over! We survived! In my honest and super experienced opinion (thank you, Canadian childhood) , this storm wasn't even that bad. Granted, we didn't have to drive anywhere. And granted, we never had to endure a power-outage. I don't know, with all the hype I was expecting it to be a little crazier, like watch Stop signs fly through the air and smash windows open. Shrug.
Oh well. I'm definitely not complaining!

Our Friday Night-Sunday Snow Days involved plenty of:

• European football
• Cleaning/organizing (this is a pretty good feat for me, as I rarely have the motivation to do this when Jarryd his home. I'd rather just be hangin' out with him, you know?)
• Tea :)
• Coffee :)
• Coke. Lots of Coke. :)
• Hot shower--whilst praying the power won't suddenly go out before I even get the chance to rinse out my conditioner.
• Ordering--the worst pizza I've ever had--and walking to the pizza place to go pick it up. (The snow was just beginning to fall then, so it was a slightly more romantic walk). The pizza cooled down quite a bit by the time we reached home, so we stuck it in the oven, box and all! Ten minutes later I start to smell smoke. I open the oven door, and low and behold the lid of the box is touching the heating elements and part of the box is on fire! (Errmagerssh!!) Thankfully, we put it out and everything was OK. Well, minus the pizza. That pizza was a total let down. And the only reason we even ordered from there was because my favourite pizza place (Pizza Hut) was closed because of the storm! :'(
• "The Office". We just finished the episode where Michael Scott leaves for Colorado. PAINFUL!
• "Unbroken" <--an intense and inspirational movie about choosing forgiveness! I recommend it. It's also a true story!
• Moving our couches together and gathering pillows to create a comfy couch oasis.
• "The Great Gatsby". This was done by the same director who did Moulin Rouge. As soon as the movie starting playing I could tell. How? Because it's super weird. Weird in that I-can't-stop-looking-this-is-so-weird kind of way. But just as Moulin Rouge was, it gets better and better with every minute! I liked it! :)
• Staring out the window in our warm and cozy state watching the snow plow come around every couple hours, and thinking to ourselves: Yep! Apartment living definitely has its perks!
• Macaroni and Cheese with hot dogs. Classic comfort food, right?! ;)
• Cuddles.
• Junk food!! People went to the store to stock up on milk and bread, we went to the store to stock up on chips!
• Just pure laziness. It has felt like the laziest weekend of my life. Good thing I am working tomorrow!

We even went for a little walk around the complex! It was fun braving the storm together.

This, this is my car. Currently it is Sunday night and we still haven't cleared the snow off of it. Perhaps the sun will shine and the warm air will melt it right off and do the job for us? :)

Yay! Thanks for following along, friends! I wish I could share this experience even more with you by sending you a little box of snow. :)