My future kids will eat dirt, and I'm ok with it.

This past weekend, KGK and I went camping with his Dad and a friend of ours Heidi. KGK loves cold weather camping. And when I say love, I mean, he is disappointed when it gets too warm. TOO WARM. He wants it to stay below 50 degrees during the day and down in the 20's at night. And if it snows--bonus. Yeah, I don't understand it either. I like warm. No, correction: I LOVE warm. Warm is a wonderful thing. Why would you want to be cold when you can be warm? I married a wonderfully strange man:)

Well, the weekend was actually a tolerable cold. It was chilly, but it was easily remedied by a large fire, hot coffee and plenty of layers. Whenever we have one of these chilly trips, KGK and I have a deal. I will go camping in the cold as long as I do not have to move from my parked spot by the fire. I do not have to gather firewood, do extensive cooking or do anything that will require me to leave my warm spot by the fire. I get to be lazy. He thinks this is great because I will at least go, even if it means I won't venture far from the radius of the flames.

Don't be mistaken though, I am an avid camper. I love all that is involved with camping. I am not typically a lazy camper. The preparations of packing just the right clothing and equipment to make the trip just right is fun to me. I love going out and gathering firewood, using my hatchet to split the larger pieces into kindling for the best fire starting, and setting up the tent so that your stuff is in just the right spot in case you need to grab anything during the middle of the night and you don't want to emerge far out of the cocoon of the mummy sleeping bag. All of it. It is fantastic. I like being a part of it all. But when it comes to the cold, warm wins. :)

Now that I am married, and getting a little older, my mind now dreams of trips KGK and I will take with our kids one day. They will get to experience the great outdoors just like KGK and I like to experience it.

I didn't do any camping growing up except for once in a great while when we would setup the tent in the backyard. But to me, that's semi-fake-camping. True fake camping is setting up your tent indoors (yup, been there, done that too).  Those are not real camping.  My parents weren't big on real camping. My dad would take us on all types of hikes and do a lot of projects outdoors. So I definitely got a LOT of fresh air as a kid, but we just didn't do the roughin' it camping. This is something I am excited to do with my kids. I want them to know what it is like to turn off all cell phones, tablets, computer, video games, and just be outside. Enjoy the day and be creative--talk by the campfire and play 20 questions while you cook hot dogs over an open flame on a stick that you twiddled down yourself. I want them to accidentally eat dirt from their hot dog they drop on the ground and have a couple days where they have to go to the bathroom outside. Yes, I really want these things. They should know what it is to be roughin' it! They will know a comfortable life, I am sure, but I want them to know the glory of being outside. Of relaxing and just taking in the quiet and adventures and possibilities that come from being in the woods. I can't wait to share this one day with them.  Oh, and I want them to go camping with their Auntie Heidi too. Heidi and I have been camping together for years now. They need to go camping with her. She always goes on fun little adventures, and they will love that too.

I am so glad that I started participating in that outdoors club in college...it is now so worth being able to love the outdoors even more than when I was a kid. Thank you college clubs:)

It is funny, I always want to take pictures of our outdoor excursions, and I have had people ask me why I don't have more pictures on fb from these trips. Honestly, I think about taking pictures when I am out there. I want to document all of it. Every minute. But, being outside, in the woods, by the fire, huddled with my camping coffee mug, and breathing in the fresh air, I want nothing to do with electronics. And, why leave the fire to go get your camera that you stowed away in your bag, which is in the tent, when you could be soaking up all the warmth from the fire?

Each trip, the ones where it is chilly, and I don't leave my post by the fire (I told you I love warmth).  After these trips, I come back with a glow about me. Not a glow like, wow, the woods did me so good that I am beaming with happiness. Well, maybe some of that, but really, I actually get pink, like sunburned from being by the fire. It is glorious.

Camping takes a lot of prep and a bit of roughin-it spirit, but it is so worth the mounds of laundry after and the disaster of your home with all your gear to put away from that short weekend trip into the woods. You should try it if you haven't ever done it. What's stopping you?

Happy Camping!

~AMK

Dear Future Self: Time & Valentine

Dear Future Self,

For the past several days, I have been basking in a lesser homework load. However, that lighter workload couldn't have come at a better time as work got kinda crazy all at once. So having a little less to work in the evenings after some very busy days has been great.

Valentine's Day was a nice, simple day for us. We ordered food and brought it home and watched a movie. I don't watch many movies while in school, so sitting a being able to watch one was fantastic. Nothing too extravagant, but it was just perfect. I had my husband-valentine and my pup-valentine...I am one blessed and happy lady:)

Other than that, things are just plugging along. Amazing how life's days are so filled yet there seems to be little going on, all at the same time. But I am trying to treasure these days of just normal busyness because as we all know, crazy happens so quickly. So I am trying to enjoy the feeling of "what do I do" because I am so used to having a to-do list that is so long I don't know where to start.

Well, I guess cleaning should be happening, since that is an ever-present need that always is on the list. Maybe I'll start on that...maybe :)

Happy Weekend!

~AMK

Not 36 hours ago...

Every have one of those days where you are completely overwhelmed and have so much on your to-do list that you just do nothing. Nothing. I mean, your list is screaming at your for attention, yet you sit on the couch, watch TV and eat like crap, when you know you should be up and moving and getting stuff done. You even have conversations about how you need to get so much done, yet you still sit there despite your best efforts to pump yourself up.  Instead, you watch 3 movies in a row and neglect grocery shopping, cleaning and all other things you need to get done on those precious 48 hours we have of our own called, the weekend. Yeah, that was yesterday. I sat on the couch ALL DAY. I think there is a permanent mold of where I was lounging. Well, I lie. I did shift from one couch to the other as the evening went on. Then fell asleep on the couch until 2 am when I finally made it back to the bedroom. OH Yeah, productivity at its best:)

But I will say, sometimes you need to have those days.  You get yourself so worked up and worried about all that needs to get done that you don't actually have any energy left to do those things. So Sunday, was my day of rest. I did some homework in the morning, but I did NOTHING the rest of the day. I didn't realize how much I needed it. I think I would have gone crazy crazier if I didn't just do nothing. It was so nice.

So now, I am refreshed. My task list doesn't seem as daunting as it did just 36 hours before. I am ready to tackle it now.  I am ready to do all those things that I set aside for some much needed rest and laziness.

So here is to revitalized energy and going full force into my to-do list....

 And here is to you too...because we all know everyone's lives are crazy at times....go you. :)

~AMK

Outdoor Adventures

This past weekend, my friend Heidi and I took the dogs to the bark park. Heidi, who does not have any dogs of her own, is a stand-in doggy parent to several different friends' dogs. One of which is Buddy too. And every dog, when her name is spoken or they see her, they immediately FREAK OUT because they know a hike or a walk or a fun adventure is about to happen.

So this past weekend, we loaded up our friends' 2 beagles and Buddy, and we set out for some outdoor fun, before it gets too cold, and we have to wait to do this until springtime.

Photo courtesy of Heidi! A great shot!

There was a WHOLE lot of doggy handshakes (aka. butt sniffing)...

...and lots of happy tails and smiles...

...one of which decided to crash while in the car on the ride home...

Needless to say, the pups had a BLAST!

...those were some sleepy pups after their outdoor adventures!

Until the next adventure,

~AMK

Happy Friday!

(Image from: http://bynd.com/blog/friday-digital-get-down-august-19/)

~AMK

Pinterest Find: 18 Ways to Deep Clean Your Home

This list sounds like it is just what I need to get our home ready for all the family and friends coming into town in just a few weeks...

You can find the entire post here.

But, I have copied and pasted the list for me to use here:

18 Ways to Deep Clean Your Home

1. Wipe down the legs of all your chairs. Dust tends to accumulate on these.

2. Wipe down all your baseboards with a wet cloth. Follow up my rubbing a dryer sheet on them to prevent dust from sticking. While you are doing this you will find so many tiny weird little corners like these that are so hard to clean! Have mercy on whoever had to install these.

3. Clean behind and underneath all furniture. Move beds, scoot dressers away from the wall and get all the dust that builds up.

4. Dust all fan blades.

5. Wipe down all cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom. Lots of grease and fingerprints build up on these.

6. Wipe down or dust all light fixtures (chandliers, lampshades, etc.)

7. Touch up any spots on the wall with paint that need it. Stir the paint really well first.

8. Recaulk any areas that need it (especially around the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, or bathtub.)

9. Wipe down all blinds. The easiest way is to vacuum them or remove them and spray them down with a hose outside.

10. Clean out the fridge.

11. Clean out your freezer. Discard any old food and organize all that stuff you've thrown in there over the past months.

12. Clean your couch. Vacuum off any pet hair and remove cushions to vacuum.

13. Wipe down door handles and light switches.

14. Clean your microwave, stove top, and oven.

15. Wipe out kitchen drawers. Crumbs tend to collect there.

16. Dust and wipe down the top of your cabinets and fridge.

17. Clean floor vents. Remove metal vents and air registers. Spray them down with hose outside. Vacuum or wipe down the floor around the vents as dust gets trapped under the edges of the vents. If you have wooden vents just vacuum them really well.

18. Wipe down the front and back of all the doors in your house. You will have more doors than you think!

So there you have it! Another list! You know I am a happy girl:)

I am off to tackle some of these...

Until next time...

~AMK

(All credit for the list goes to the D and T Tabb blog)

Finding the Light

As our lives are constantly in flux, we all have our ways of finding the light in the midst of all the crazy. I have many friends with young kids now and I just don't know how they get everything done in a day. Even other friends without kids, have their own set of crazy, and I still have no idea how they get so many things done in a day. Because let's face it, we all have crazy. It just comes in different forms.

For some of us, finding the light while all the crazy is buzzing around us can be overwhelming, tiring, and having feelings of not being able to catch up.

It is amazing how the grass is always greener can be so in the forefront of our minds when the crazy is upon us. Sometimes we are able to look past it and see our own green grass and other times it is so hard to stop drooling over another's greener pastures.

We all need encouragement and help in times of crazy. We just do. We need each other. I remember being in college and thinking, "Man, when I graduate and have a 'real' job, I will have so much more time. After 5, my time is my own. No homework. No obligations until the next morning."

Cue the laughter now!

Then, as I get the 'real' job, I think, man, I wish I had someone to share all this time with. Then, you find your One, and you suddenly have other things filling your time. Good things. But still things.

With all that is looming on my to-do, I fall into this sense of wanting more time.  More time to get things done. I need like 1 week to get caught up on life.  But let's face it, I would find other things to do than the productive things, right?!

Well, last night was a productive night. I didn't tackle much on my to-do, but I had a great sense of accomplishment by the time I went to bed.  I went to 2 classes at the gym and was energized! I got group work done for class, FINALLY washed the new silverware we got from one of our showers, did reading for class, worked around the apartment, etc. etc. etc. And still got a good night sleep. It feels so good to have those bouts of energy and get caught up. Makes you feel like you can take on the world, doesn't it?!

This weekend, I am hoping to carry these feelings of determination and energy. I still have a few things I need to get done and out of the way before the BIG DAY:) So time to get those checked off the list.

I try to remind myself in those times where I feel like other people are able to get so much more accomplished than I do, or they seem to have more hours in the day than I get, I just try and remember that we all get the same 24 hours and we need to utilize what we have of it. Sometimes you need to lay on the couch and watch tv. And that's cool. You gotta do that sometimes. And other times, we need to get up and get moving. Sulking won't get the dishes done, but forcing yourself to tackle one project will feel better than if you don't do any at all. JUST.KEEP.SWIMMING.CLEANING. :)

So cheer's to the freakin' weekend y'all! :) Where our time is our own! :)

Happy Weekend!

~AMK 

The Crazy List Update

So if you read my post about remembering this time of my life in lieu of a letter to my Future Self, then Future Self, I am happy to report that we have checked off a GREAT DEAL from our wedding to-do list and I am feeling SO MUCH BETTER :)

But let's back things up a little...

Last week, I was going crazy. Not literally, because let's face it, I am already there. ;) I was just overwhelmed by all that was going on. So, I sat down and made my good ole fashioned list of all that was in my brain, all jumbled around and in need of escape. So this list....I wrote down all that needed to be done and actually got quite a bit checked off! KGK and I worked like madman and madwoman to get a large chunk of our to-do done. And we did! Here's the low-down (another list, you say?! I love it. It is a sickness, really). :)

1. We finalized our food/menu and some of the logistics of how that would go.
2. We finalized our hotel stuff for our guests (made sure the right amount of rooms were still set aside).
3. We made both my bouquet and my maid of honor's bouquet.
4. We created our photographer and videographer checklists.
5. I started transposing the design of our programs onto its finalized draft with color.
6. KGK started the insides of the programs and what it would say and how it would be formatted.
7. We created our schedules for the entire weekend basically and made the Wedding Day schedule.
8. I purchased stuff for our friend who is making the cake.
9. Did I mention this is a DIY wedding? YHL..you would be so proud:)

We may have done a couple other things too, but they are slipping my mind. Not bad!

I am starting to feel a lot better about the next few weeks now. While I still have homework (oh, yeah I had homework to do this weekend too! haha), I feel like a huge weight is lifted because of how much we accomplished this weekend. Always feels so good when you can check stuff off your list.

Should KGK be worries with how much love I have for lists?? I like to think it is one of the reasons why he loves me:) I will live in ignorance:)

Enjoying some cooler temperature...does this mean I can get all fall decorations out now? I think orange is moving up into one of the favorite colors category.

Until next time...

~AMK

Sun-vantage & Puppy-Love

I have been trying to soak up every minute of these cooler temperatures the past week or so...aka it hasn't been in the upper 90's! We have actually had the lower 80's some days so that has been so nice!

Homeworking Outside

Because school is in session, I have tried to bring my readings outside onto the patio. Always more enjoyable reading textbooks outside rather than at your desk.

 

I also had the chance this past weekend to bring Buddy to the Bark Park with his girlfriend Abby (yes, they are in love). We also met up with another friend and her dog, Sadie.

Buddy checking out his ladies;)  I think he likes what he sees :)

The 3 had SO MUCH FUN! The chased each other, wrestled, and barked a whole lot. They definitely got a lot of energy out...Buddy has been sleeping for DAYS because of it. That makes this Momma happy:)

That's a happy pup right there!

Thanks Heidi for the great shot of the love-pups on the ride back home:) Tired puppies!

I also have been working at keeping our plants alive. And when I say working, I mean, it is a J-O-B! Whoever said that if you can keep a plant alive, then you can keep a pet alive had a SERIOUS green thumb because plants die so easily. At least a dog will "tell" you when he is ready to eat!

colorful water can

But, I have been faithfully watering our flowers on our patio. We transplanted them into larger pots, and  they are doing much better now. So we have some happy flowers to go with our little sunflower bird house (that has had a hummingbird scoping it out in the past couple weeks)!

The sunflower bird house we got from the garden center at our local farmer's market.

I hope the little guy makes that his permanent residence because they are such interesting creatures.

Until next time, enjoy some sunshine! :)

~AMK

Hiking, Showers & Homework...

Last week and weekend was a busy one!

Here's the run-down of life lately: My grad classes started back up, I have worked out several times, had the stomach bug, celebrated our friend Megan's birthday, played some baseball at a local field while Buddy ran around and barked at anything that went by, saw the Hunger Games for the second time, attended 3 showers, and had a busy work week last week and into this week on top of that!

Over the weekend, I took Buddy on a hike. It felt so great to be back on the trails. With all the crazy going on, I am not out as much as I would like. So it was a spectacular day to hike.

I also had 3 showers this past weekend! THREE! Two on Saturday and one Sunday. One was a bridal shower for my friend Can-dance (real name: Candace, but Can-dance is so much more fun to say:)), the other was a baby shower for our friends Kristin and Brian at church who are having a little girl in September, and then on Sunday, a few of my AWESOME friends threw a shower for me. It was the BEST time. I appreciate all the wonderful ladies who were able to come out. Everything was perfect down to the smallest details. I have been beaming with happiness ever since:)

In addition to the hiking and showering of love and gifts, I had an oddly insane amount of homework for it being the first week of class. But 5 chapters later, 4 discussion boards, and other activities done, I went to bed a little late, but got it all set and done on time.

Now, my goals for the rest of this week are to continue to work out and be motivated! I also have a few recipes I am hoping to tackle. 

Until next time!

~AMK

Welcome to the weekend!

Friday. You are finally here! WAHOO!!!!!

WOW...life is busy. I LOVE IT. But Fridays arriving are one of the best feelings in the world. Work is busy. Wedding planning is busy. Birthday season has arrived for several of our close friends and family...and for Kyle too! Things are good. Things are crazy. But they are good.

One of the things I find most helpful during these crazy days is to have a schedule or a list, even on days off. If it says on my schedule that I need to take an hour break to go to the pool, I feel so much better than if I didn't have that penciled in. I told you from our first meeting that I loved a schedule, list or any form of organization. Now, if only I could have that filter into other areas of my life...like keeping up with my growing pile of laundry to fold or picking up clutter. HHmmmmm.... :)

Well, Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

~AMK