Busy Weekend...

What a hectic weekend! Saturday morning we kicked off the weekend with a 20 mile bike ride around Gulf Breeze with the Focused Youth kids for their Bike-A-Thon fundraiser to support our upcoming missions trip to Mexico. It was definitely a hot morning, but the kids did great! We had minor issues with the bikes and didn't have any wipe outs - I'd say it was a success! Here's a pic one of the parents took of the group before the ride.

Sunday was filled with church and youth events and then a goodbye party for our dear friend Graham. He's in the military and is moving this Thursday to Arizona. We'll definitely miss him around here. He's become a great friend of Brenton's. Unfortunately we had to leave the party early last night cause some stomach bug hit me out of the blue. :-\ But no worries, I have the sweetest boys in my life; Brenton and Blakely took great care of me as they spent the evening watching the Lakers vs. Celtics game and caring for me. Blakely sure is the cuddler around here. He snuggles up with us every time he gets the chance. He's fitting into our little family so well!

I'm happy to say the tummy bug has passed and I'm facing a new week. It's going to be a short week here at home - we're leaving Thursday morning for St. Petersburg with a bus full of youth students for a weekend youth conference. While we're looking forward to it, we're definitely going to miss our little Blakely! Sadly, we have to leave him behind. With that said, I better get on with my house cleaning and my afternoon appointments, lots to do in a short amount of time. Hope you're having a lovely Monday!

Love and Blessings to all,

♥ d

Meet Blakely

After three years of wanting a cuddly yorkie puppy of my own - my dreams have come true! Brenton and I picked up our new puppy yesterday afternoon and boy is he full of personality! He's 2 months old, has ears far too big for his little body and hair that's outta control - just my kind of companion. ;) I'm pretty sure he thinks he's a grate dane or something, cause he carries himself in the way a big dog would - he's fearless. Anyways, I had to take a minute to introduce my Blakely.

Crafty Wednesday

While I had planned to spend yesterday helping my parents paint their new house, I discovered they didn't need the help. So instead of painting, I spent the afternoon making a fun little wreath from the pages of a paperback book. I had found the idea in a blog and decided to give it a try - to my surprise, it was inexpensive, fun and fairly simple. :) Here's what the process looked like:












The whole project probably cost me $3 (I already had craft paint for the edges of the book, so that wasn't included), and it only took 2 hours or so (a great craft to do with a friend or while watching tv). You can find detailed instructions on how to make one for yourself here. :) Don't forget to show me your results - I love seeing what other people come up with!

I'm off to teach music lessons for the afternoon. Hope you're having a beautiful day!

♥

d

Summerfied! :)

So, summer is totally upon is (if you're living in the south, that is). I know, I know - it's still officially spring, but here in hot, sunny Florida, the heat and humidity has settled in. To "celebrate" (or should I say, "entertain myself" as I'm stuck indoors on this humid Sunday afternoon), I've decided to Summerfy my blog and give it a little life. It's been neglected (as usual) and I, once again, am on a mission to keep it alive. We'll see how this attempt goes. ;)

In the mean time, married life is treating us well. Every season is new and exciting, as we're living it together for the first time! The only complaint I have is we never seem to have enough time together, but I suppose things could be worse. Lots has happened since I last updated, don't worry - I won't bore you with it, but I will share some highlights of our most recent vacay to Rosemary Beach (seriously the cutest beach destination EVER). B & I accompanied my family on a little week-long trip to Rosemary and spent the week riding bikes, playing games & basking under the Florida sun. My tan is glowing, my hair is golden and my heart is full as I had some much needed r&r, & enjoyed some good ol' family time. My sister (who is home for the summer! I'm so excited about this!) and I stumbled upon one of the cutest little boutique called Pish Posh Patchouli's. I'm in love. It's a hand-made soap and fragrance wonderland. They even have a cute little corner where you can mix your own perfume and/or bath products - I couldn't resist. I made up a bottle of almond body oil with two delectable scents I found utterly irresistible. All that to say, our trip to Rosemary was fabulous. Here are some fun pics I took with my phone to document the trip:











Oh and did I mention, I found my dream house?? I'm totally going to live in a house just like this someday! :)




As if a beachy summer vacay isn't enough - I've finally planted my very own little ORGANIC GARDEN! I've talked (and dreamt) about doing this for quite some time now, and it has finally happened! We started a little late in the season for a summer garden, so we couldn't plant seeds, but we were able to find some neat veggies and herbs to plant that had already sprouted. I have to admit, Brenton did most of the hard work (what are husbands for?) but I'm so excited to see what comes of it. It looks small, I know, but we're planning on adding on. I want to double it by next month. We'll see how the first batch goes. Check it out!





We've planted eggplant, summer squash, cucumber, sweet bell peppers, sweet 100's (tomatoes), cantaloupe, strawberries, sweet basil, dill & cilantro. I can't wait to see what it produces!! :)

I think I've given you enough for now. I've discovered blogspot's new "pages" feature, and I've added a few summer pages to keep my summer cooking and project adventures up-to-date. Feel free to check them out soon! Hope you're staying cool, wherever you are!

Lots of love and blessings,

d

My Messy Life...

You know those mornings where you just don't want to move? The ones that keep you in bed and pj's all day? I'm having one.

It's been a long couple of weeks. We're renovating a bathroom, putting together a guest room, I started a 2nd job, and everything in my life seems scattered. I feel like my mind and my heart have been strewn about the front lawn for all who drive by to see the mess of who I really am. I've never been good at hiding things (just ask my mom).

This season of newlywedness has been so sweet - but so challenging all at once. In Bible days, I think you got like 6 months to a year together of honeymooning before getting back to the real world (or something like that) - I could totally go for that about now. I feel like I never get to see my husband - my days are long and lonely cause our schedules just don't line up. I've never been one who agrees with the normal American schedule - work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep. Everything inside of me fights against the schedule I now have to maintain. Why can't I just create a pretty little art room in my home and hide in it all day? Creating beautiful things that people would adore and appreciate? That's all I truly want to do--that and sit at the piano and hum happy tunes my heart can dance to. In a perfect world....

All that to say - I'm ready for spring. Ready for a change - in need of a light and airy season to make my heart smile again. Who's with me??

♥
d

Chilly weather, please be gone...Sunshine, I'm ready!

Yes, It's been a month since my last post - but who can blame me? I've been hibernating! I NEVER thought I would be saying this, but I'm over this unusual cold weather. I know the smoldering heat is not far behind, and I would usually give just about anything to escape it - but this Florida girl has thin blood and she's ready to reclaim her beach days! I'm ready to pull out that suit, pack a lunch and head to the beach from sunrise to sunset. Oh what I'd give to be on my honeymoon again, basking in the Cancun sun.....a girl can dream right?

It's been a busy month. So as I said a few posts ago, this year is a year of change - that statement remains true. With the turn of 2010, I vowed to be healthier - and don't think I'm doing it alone. Yes, I'm dragging my husband with me on my road to wellness (he's a good sport about it though :). With the help of Juice Plus+, my trusty gym membership, RealSimple.com, and CleanEatingMag.com - I have all the tools I need to be successful. Juice Plus+ is a whole food based capsule that contains several servings of fruits and vegetables - providing me with all the nutrients I fail to obtain on a daily basis. It's great! I first learned about Juice Plus+ when I was a student in college from a friend of mine, Sharon. At the time, Juice Plus+ was a product that made sense to me because it was just fruits and vegetables, but wasn’t something I could afford on a monthly basis. Now, a few years later after dealing with digestive problems, asthma and many common colds, I began to do research on vitamins and natural ways to heal and protect my body. I remembered my friend, Sharon, and decided to give her a call. After doing some research, I became really interested in it – I loved the simplicity of it and the practicality of it. So here I am, a month into it and have already seen several positive results from taking it daily - my digestive system has settled, my skin is so much clearer, and my body feels so much better overall. I'm such a believer, I've become a distributor cause I want all of my friends and family to have the benefits of more fruits and veggies in their diets. :) It's been quite an adventure, but being involved with the company that sells Juice Plus+, I've become so much more educated on my health and I find myself shopping at the grocery store so much differently. It's truly been a life style change. On top of that, I've been using the websites I mentioned above to help inspire healthier meals. We're cutting meat out quite a bit (not totally, but we're definitely eating less) and we're snacking on more whole foods. I can't praise my new regimen enough - I'm loving being healthier. It's fun! While explaining my new mindset to other people has become a challenge - I get lots of strange looks from people when I tell them what I'm up to, I feel so much better about the future of my health and my family. It's a good thing. If you're interested in learning about Juice Plus+ and you're local, leave me a comment and I'll send you an invite to my Healthy Living Educational Party. If you're not local, click here to see the research behind Juice Plus+ and the benefits of adding it to your daily diet.

So that's what I've been up to. I've also been helping my hubby in the youth with the kids - that's been an adventure. We recently had a lock-in, which totally wiped us out; about 60 kids came and stayed up ALL night! It's been a busy season, but fun none-the-less. I'm anxiously awaiting my spring weather and in the mean time, sipping on lots of hot tea! Hope you're staying warm this winter. Cheers!

-d

Eclipse and Bags of Love - Forgive My Randomness...

It's been a quiet morning here in the Collyer household. The hubby stayed home this morning to prepare his message for the kids tonight, Lucy (my parent's dog, whom I'm currently pet sitting) has been sitting curled up by my feet and I have to say I woke up with a thick sore throat, so I've been totally engrossed in the third book of the Twilight Saga, Eclipse. ;)

Much to my surprise, I've enjoyed getting lost in the mythical love story....it's become my guilty pleasure. Not so impressed with the movies, but thoroughly captivated by the writings of Stephenie Meyer, her writing style is simple yet elegant. She has an innocent way of pulling you in and leaving you thirsty for more. (no pun intended)

As I mentioned two posts ago, 2010 is rapidly transforming into a year of new and exciting things. A few years back, while at a music school in south Florida, I had an opportunity to be involved with a group of people who had a burden for the homeless. Homelessness is huge in the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area, mainly because the weather is usually mild (well, not too cold at least). While most travel to Miami for the beaches and the high end clubs and restaurants, this group of people had an entirely different mission - love on the broken and unloved. This group was quickly named Love Bags and it began to spread like wildfire. What was meeting once a week, became several nights of the week and then began spreading to areas outside of Ft Lauderdale, Miami and Pompano Beach. During a meeting we would come together, bringing canned goods and supplies to help the homeless survive, such as bottled water, canned tuna lunches, granola bars, socks, travel tooth brushes, etc., etc. We would assemble large ziploc bags and inside leave a tiny folded paper containing a verse of love. We would then take a few moments to pray for our evening, asking God to bless our night as He leads us to the broken and then be on our way. Using the buddy system, of course, and taking necessary precautions, we would hit the streets of south Florida (usually at night) in pursuit of the homeless. I'll never forget the conversation I had with a woman - evicted from her apartment because she lost her job and could no longer afford rent, she was found huddled on the porch of an abandoned house. We approached her carefully, only wanting to give her a bag and offer her kind words - but as the others in our group began to socialize with homeless people scattered near by, I felt compelled to ask her more about her life. I soon found out that she had once belonged to a wealthy family, had traveled the world and had been married with grown children - her husband, for whatever reasons, had left her and she found herself alone, trying to afford a suitable lifestyle for herself and her kids (whom were younger at the time of the divorce). Seeing the pain in her eyes as she recalled the events of her life, gripped my heart. Her face was beautiful despite the dirt that stuck after a humid day, her eyes were honest yet filled with tears. I couldn't help but sit there and hold her - an embrace and a prayer was all a poor college kid, like me, had to offer at the time. Towards the end of our conversation, she began rummaging through what little belongings she had, and pulled out a beautiful hand blown, glass bird. She placed it in the palm of my hand and told me it was from a trip to Europe she once took with her father - it was the most valuable thing she had and she wanted me to have it, in return for my kindness. My eyes began to burn, as I couldn't find the words to say.

And so here I sit, a few years later, not sure where that woman is today, but forever touched by her life. I'm challenged and compelled to live out Christianity in a way so real and tangible. So I'm proud to announce that I'm currently researching ways to bring Love Bags here to Pensacola. Now an official organization, they have a website explaining more of what they're about and how they touch the lives of the homeless community in south Florida. Click here to read their stories and see how you can be part of or begin a Love Bags chapter in your area. And stay tuned if you're interested in being part of the Pensacola movement - our projected start date is mid February.