Brr

The other day I was driving to work, basking in the no-need-for-a-coat weather and thinking...I am so dramatic! I can't believe I always thought it was so unbearably cold here when I would return over Christmas from South Carolina.

Twenty four hours later I was freezing to death (practically). It has been in the single digits all week...like 5 degrees today. My iPod nearly froze just being in my car, while I was driving it.

And I bought snow boots. They're so tacky they're almost cute.

Chubby Chicks

I'm making this for my niece for Christmas. I started today. :) Hopefully...it will be done on time. Isn't it so fun and cute? I am excited to see how it turns out. I'm doing pinks, greens, and robin's egg blue. I needed my sweet old grandmother in the quilt shop today to help me choose fabrics that would work together. :(

I'm Losing It

So here's the deal. Ever since May I've been trying to lose weight. I've been on Weight Watchers since then and I have to say...it's a pretty great system. Up until now, I've avoided mentioning it on my blog, but be for real...I'm at a standstill and I need some accountability.

Let's crunch some numbers... I started at 144.4 pounds in May. As of today, I weighed in at 129.8 pounds. My goal is 119 pounds (119 instead of 120 so that I can say I lost 25 pounds. How unimpressive does it sound to say you lost 24 pounds). This means I have 10.8 pounds to go. Pretty much since September, I've been losing and gaining the same 2 pounds about every 2 weeks or so. It's annoying. So...I'd like to be finished by my birthday, March 19. I have 15 weeks. I need to lose at least .7 lbs per week. If I lose sooner, I get to start maintaining sooner, which means I don't have to pay to be on Weight Watchers any more (ideal).

So, for the next week:
Food goal: Eat between 147 and 182 points between now and next Wednesday. (Weight Watchers is on a Points system that assigns a Points value to foods based on calories, fat, and fiber. For my weight and a variety of other factors I get 21 points per day, plus a weekly "flex" allowance of 35.)
Activity goal: Exercise 5 out of 7 days for 30 minutes each time.
Behavior goal: Track (write down what I eat and how many points it has in my little Weight Watchers journal) every day for the next 7 days.

I don't find these "before" and "now" pictures to look all that different, but I think it will be a nice motivator to have a good looking "after" picture:

Before

Now

Happy Holidays

We celebrated Thanksgiving a little bit differently than I remember doing it last time I celebrated with my family (four years ago). We always used to go to my grandma's house, but since she passed away we've done it here. This year, our kitchen is being redone, so we ordered our whole meal from Whole Foods...except the pies.

My mom gave me grief for showering and doing my hair and wearing real clothes on Thanksgiving. I wanted to feel human. She thought it was "very Southern" of me. So, she told me to put on my apron and smile for a "Paula Deen" picture of me with the only homemade part of our meal...the pies. Is that not the cutest hutch you have ever seen. My parents just got it at the flea market. I told them to go ahead and put that in the will for me. :)

The weather was so good that we had our meal outside with a fire in the fire pit. It was fun!
The next day, my nephews joined us and my dad was making them so of those gross little potato triangles that you thought you didn't have to eat outside of a school cafeteria. My dad called me over and said, "Hey Emily, Happy Hannukah." Hilarious.

Summer Tugs at My Apron Strings...

This summer I bought fabric for this apron. It's fun--vintage looking, with bold, graphic lemons.


I finally cut it out and got busy...and here it is!


This is my favorite apron pattern! I love the big bow, the rick-rack edging, the generous pockets, the button back... I think I might love aprons. Wearing them, making them, giving them as gifts.


Next up, I want to make an apron combining robin's egg blue with cherry red. Can't wait!

I Am Learning...

God has been good to me in the past six months. When I graduated, I didn't think this is what life would look like, but I can honestly say that God could not have accomplished in my heart what He has done if it had looked the way I wanted it to.

When I first became a believer, God gave me a desire for His Word and I really enjoyed being just in the Word, not really using extra studies, etc. As I've grown in my faith, I have come to really enjoy being led through the Bible by various Bible studies. I really had a desire to get back to just enjoying God's Word on it's own for a season. I tried reading Isaiah. It wasn't going well. So, I picked up a Bible study, Beth Moore's Breaking Free, and hoped for the best. And would you believe that this study centers on several key passages in Isaiah? God really does have a sense of humor, doesn't He? God has been faithful these last 10 weeks to really breakthrough in my life and teach me so many things about the liberty He paid so dearly for.

Here is what I have learned:

• In Christ, we are liberated into freedom.
• God created us for his glory (Is 43:7). Glory belongs to the Lord (Is 42:8) and Christ is the radiance of His glory (Heb 1:3).
• To glorify God means to make Him recognizable. We are called to glorify Him in all things (1 Cor 10:31), but we all fall short (Rom 3:23). In Christ, we are able to glorify Him (Col 1:24-27)
• God desires for His children to have peace at all times and in every way (2 Thes 3:16). If there had been any exclusions or exceptions, He would have specified!
• He has already given us peace as our inheritance (Jn 14:27)
• God keeps us in perfect peace. This looks like having a mind that is dependent on Him and trust in Him (Is 26:3)
• His peace is a convenant and will not be removed from us (Is 54:10)
• The key to peace is authority! Christ is the Prince of Peace (Is 9:6-7). If I am not experiencing peace, I am likely witholding complete surrender to His Sovereign Authority.
• God grieves our lack of peace (Lk 19:41-42, Is 48:18)
• I need to believe Christ not just for salvation, but also choose to find Him trustworthy day to day.
• Certain blessings of God come through prayer alone (Eph 1:17-20). If we claim these, we no longer have to be bound by worrying about the future, being dissatisfied, or understanding the power of God in our lives to accomplish much!
• Bondage begins with sin and promotes further sin!
• Liberty becomes reality in obedience. They go hand in hand!
• God had the right to rule. He sets a high price for rebellion and He pours out safety and blessing for obedience.
• Bossing ourselves is a ticket to slavery.
• Anytime we attach ourselves to a fraudulent savior, we have to depend on lies to support the habit (Is 30:15)
• Our salvation is found in returning and resting (Is 30:15)
• If we trust God, there is security in submitting to His leadership (Ex 15:13)
• We never find freedom from bondage in independence. We find it by taking the same handcuffs that once bound us to sin and bind ourselves to the wrist of Christ. There is only one Stronghold that frees when it binds (Ps 27:1; Ps 59: 9, 16-17)

Beautiful, Scandalous Night

This song is pretty much making waves in my heart right now. Beautiful Scandalous Night:

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Follow Christ to the holy mountain
Sinner sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flowed
For you and for me and for all

CHORUS:
At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night

On the hillside, you will be delivered
At the foot of the cross justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that poured
From our blessed Savior's side

CHORUS

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

CHORUS