too many books...

So right now I'm reading too many books

Boundaries for MomLife

Give Them Grace (a parenting book) for myself

The Help for a book club I just joined

Permission to Speak Freely (a Christian version of PostSecret)

Sun Stand Still for a church wide small group study

Yikes.
What books are you reading right now?!
Do you ever read more than one at once?! How do you manage that?!

The GOOD, the BAD, the UGLY, and THE MAGNIFICENT!

So here's a run down of how my Golden Birthday went

The Good
Birthday wishes from lots of loved ones via facebook, text, phone call, and card
A friend sent dove chocolate last week for an early birthday treat!
A box of chocolate's I had sent to myself from a Groupon I purchased 6 months ago :)
My mom took me to Bandidos for lunch!
I dressed Mylin and myself alike for the day :)

The Bad
It rained all day and I didn't get to play outside, go on a walk or bike ride with Mylin :(
I took a nap while Mylin was napping (not the bad part yet...) and the mailman came at 2:30 (why is he so inconsistant in his timing?!?!) and he was talking on the phone, walked right by our the window where the couch is under that I am comfortably sleeping on and it woke me up.

The Ugly
I had to kill a big ugly black spider.  On my birthday.
Mylin pooped 4 times and they were NASTY. Like 6+ wipe nasty.  Like had to change her clothes nasty.  As in she stuck her hand in it twice and some of it ended up on the wall, nasty.

THE MAGNIFICENT
SHOUT OUT to my awesome husband and his guest post! I LOVE YOU!
My very best, wonderful friend (who now lives in LONDON) called me for a glorious 54 minutes of catching up since we last saw each other on her wedding day, July 1st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, God, for the blessings of encouragement, surprise, support, love and friendship!!

Happy Birthday to Rachel!

No, this is not Rachel posting a blog in the 3rd person, making sure that everybody knows that it is her Golden Birthday and she deserves praises and chocolate. This is her husband, hijacking her blog to put a post on for her birthday, and reminding you to give her some praise (and maybe chocolate, if you are so inclined). 

I just wanted to make sure that all of you Perpendicular Pillows followers knew how much I love my wife and how happy I have been in the last several years to be married to her. We have a beautiful daughter together and Mylin certainly would not be the beautiful, sweet, hilarious baby that she is without Rachel.

So tell her Happy Birthday today and comment to this post. And send chocolate in the next few days...she'll be gone for work, but I promise that some of it will get to her.

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

-Joel

Gungor "God is not a white Man"

We LOVE Gungor in our house and we LOVE THIS SONG!




What is your favorite band/song these days?!

autumn sweetness

Ok it doesn't matter what season it is - she's always sweet!!!!

Trying out hat and gloves for this winter - she loves them!

She's going 'boating for the day'

 First boo-boo needing a band-aid :(

Evidence of our sneaking in and watching her while she sleeps every day

We love her!

the new simplification

So nearly one year ago I began a public (well however many people that read this blog qualifies it as 'public') quest for simplification in my life.
I desired to eliminate distractions in my life and also add in inspiration and growth.
Overall, a lot of it worked!
I met goals and practiced discipline
I had accountability from this blog, my husband, and friends (so thankful!)
and yet....

Here I am...nearly one year later...and I feel as if I've recently taken steps backwards....
I reactivated facebook for several reasons...but still I struggle with my time spent on it and the anxiety I let it cause me through reading about others and reading into what they say
I have been glued to the t.v. this summer - even though we don't have dish and we cancelled Netflix!
I haven't exercised much this summer (I only did 15 days of the 30 day shred...)
I was barely in the word daily this summer while I did an intense 11 week Beth Moore study
(So wow, that was a depressing list...)

But I did graduate this year!
I enjoy spending more time with Mylin and focus on our time together when we're at home
And Joel and I have gotten into a groove of spending time together in the evenings and going on regular dates
We have really enjoyed doing double dates a lot this year with wonderful like-minded friends
I even changed all of my responsibilities to that I could focus a lot of my time on MomLife - a ministry that I want to invest my energy in, not spread it thin with the several other ministries I was trying to be partly involved in
I have also been seeing a counselor for about 3 months to deal with my anxiety in a few specific relationships I have struggled with for years

Though I looong for something more...so much more for my life, my family, ministry that I can glorify God through...
I come home on Sunday afternoons encouraged and passionate about what we are taught and challenged with
Meeting with my MomLife leadership team I am energized with ideas and infatuated with the relationships I am building through this ministry
All I want to do is sit down and discuss with everyone else their view and opinions on adoption, living in community, the radical experiment, how to decipher when sermons/teachers are contradicting, whether to homeschool or not, and how to be disciplined in daily scripture reading and regular exercise...
Is my list too long?
How and where do I even start?!

I wish I had someone (or a couple, for Joel and I) to partner with us and come alongside to guide, direct, and mentor us...
Someone once told me all I needed was the Bible and the Holy Spirit...but I struggle to trust that - even though I know I can...and should...

Where do I go from here?
I think I'll begin by praying (and practicing self-discipline!)...

In what ways and in what areas can I be praying for your growth?!
I would be privileged to keep you accoutable too

BoBo!

As promised - a picture of Mylin and her new best friend, BoBo!

celebration vacation - part 2

Did you catch part 1 of our celebration vacation?

Here's how the rest of the weekend went!

We went out to eat my all-time favorite restaurant - which is more than just a meal, it is an experience

This part of our celebration vacation was a surprise!
This is my reaction :)

 First course: cheddar cheese fondue

 Second course: salads (which we scarfed down nearly entirely before I remembered to capture a picture)

 Main course: the meat and seafood! (again, this is about half of the total - we could hardly contain ourselves!)

 And the best and final course: cookies n cream fondue with cakes and fruit :)

 This is how we felt after eating for 2 hours...

 What a special treat that meal was - thanks again, honey - I love you so much!

Our last day we spent sleeping in, reading, shopping and eating on the way home at a cute mom and pop drive-in...yeah we have a habit of stuffing ourselves.

So thankful to be married to this man and get to celebrate everything in life with him!

Thank you God for your provision and blessings!

What vacation would you love to go on with your spouse?!

celebration vacation - part 1

The last several months have been full of celebrations for Joel and I!

In May we celebrated 3 years of marriage, my first mother's day and graduating from HU with my M.A. in counseling!

In June was Joel's first father's day too!

To celebrate all of these occasions we've been planning a trip away, just the 2 of us.

This was our first trip away from Mylin (gone for 48 hours) together and we did miss her so much! 

But we would have missed her even more if we didn't have such a blast!

Joel planned the entire trip to Dublin, OH to spend a day at a water park, a day at the zoo, and lots of eating out!

Sadly, we all know the weather was crazy cold at the beginning of the month, so we had to forego the waterpark trip and fit in some reading, a movie (Crazy, Stupid Love) shopping, and an early arrival back at home

However, we LOVED the laid back few days away and ate the best few meals we've ever had!

Wednesday night started at this place, which I've never been to before:

Mason jar drinks

 Yummy crab dip, calamari, and fire balls (pretty much spicey seafoody goodness deepfried)

 Not exactly loving me taking his picture and having to wait to dive into the scallops, mussels, and crab legs

Our fun day at the zoo walking around for 4 hours watching baby gorillas, bears, flamingos, polar bears and so much more!  The rainy/cooler/week day meant we practically had the place to ourself! SO LOVELY!

 Couldn't leave without a fun present for our Little Miss! (I'm sure I'll post a picture soon of how she wears this around her neck ALL DAY.)



Look back in a couple days for part 2!

What have you celebrated recently?!

Little miss stinker girl

Little Miss has begun to LOVE climbing in and out of anything she can.

She's mastered the stairs, the couch, and beginning to get off the bed by herself!

Well now she gets inside a clothes basket or box whenever she can

This week - her book box holder :)

Stinker :)

Mexican dinner night

Recently we enjoyed a mexican cuisine night!  I had recently made salsa from our garden (which I realize I did NOT follow up with through the summer with pictures...).  I made our favorite recipe of Chicken Enchiladas and tried my hand at some homemade guacamole!  I barely got the pictures taken before we ate all this delicious food :)

The guac was especially exciting because I grew up on avocados mixed with a packet of guac mix (probably salt and some dried spices?!) and this guac, made with fresh avocado, onion, garlic, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and a bit of lemon juice was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I will definitely repeat!

Yummy Enchilada recipe from my mom

3c. enchilada sauce (recipe below)
2 c. chunked cooked chicken
1/2 c. sliced green onions
3/4 c. shredded cheddar
3/4 c. shredded monterey jack
1/4 c. sour cream
4 oz. can diced chiles (or fresh peppers from garden)
1/4 c. fresh cilantro
salt& pepper
10 6" corn tortillas/3 12" corn tortillas

Enchilada sauce:
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 - 14 oz can chicken broth
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Prepare sauce: heat oil in large saucepan, stir in flour and chili powder.  Cook for 1 min.  Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl mix chicken, green onions, 1/2 c. cheddar, 1/2 c. monterey jack, sour cream, chiles & cilantro.  Stir in 1/2 c. enchilada sauce.  Season with salt and pepper.   Spray 9x13 baking dish.  Spread small amount in bottom of dish to just cover.  Spread chicken mixture in each tortilla and roll up.  Pour remaining sauce over and top with remaining cheese.  Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes.  Garnish with extra sour cream, sliced green onions and homemade guacamole! Serve with refried beans, spanish rice, and homemade salsa.

Homemade salsa! Made to taste with:
tomatoes
onion
a LOT of garlic
cilantro
garden salsa peppers
jalapenos
salt
pepper



What are your favorite mexican dish recipes?

Joel's reward

For the month of August Joel gave up desserts (with a few exceptions like a friend's homemade cake while we were visiting and a homemade apple dumpling at bible study)!

I am so proud of him and not at all jealous - I have no desire to EVER give up dessert! 

Anyways, as a reward I got him a caramel pecan turtle from DeBrand's - He loved it!

You are amazing and teach me so much about dedication, determination, and motivation - I love you!

the best part of saturday mornings

favorite summer supper and sangria!

This summer we've grilled quite a few times and this has been one of our favorites!

Loaded portabello's!

soaked in red wine or red wine vinegar and garlic, pepper and salt

Topped with roasted red peppers, spinach, onions, and feta

Served on a bun or plain (preferably with a side of asparagus!!!)

With homemade Sangria!
I had my first taste of Sangria at Abby's wedding this summer - and then decided to try to make it myself!
There are lots of recipes to follow and I think its pretty impossible to screw it up...but it goes something like this:
Red wine
Fruit flavored liquor (we used apple flavored)
Cranberry juice
7 Up/Sprite
Pineapple/orange juice
Maraschino cherries (and the juice)
Sliced apples
Sliced lemons (squeezed)
Sliced limes (squeezed)
Sliced oranges (squeezed)

Serve in a cute vintage glass and enjoy!