linked up to miscellany monday

1.  Mikey has decided to hand over the reins to the budget to yours truly recently.  For those of you who know about Dave Ramsey's financial peace, some friends of ours are going through it and told us that the "free spirit" should not be in charge of the budget.  Therefore, Mikey has given me control! :) I originally asked him to do it when we were first married because I got stressed over it, but now I'm actually rather excited intrigued to see where this goes.  I'm ready to take on the challenge!

2.  Tonight was a big night in the Baur household because of two major accomplishments.  1) Mikey spoke at his small group, and he has never done a sermon before! He made me a copy of the recording, and I can't wait to listen!! 2) Mikey's softball team beat their major rivals in the game tonight! woohoo!!!

3.  We ripped up the bush stubs in front of the house this morning (thanks to our neighbor Eryc), and I am now taking on digging up the rest of the junk there in order to plant some more bushes! This will be the last major stage of my yard overhaul.  I am really enjoying the mindless labor of yard work! :) It's very fun and relaxing to just get to work in the sunshine!!

4.  I am SO GLAD one of my BFFLs from Clemson is home for the month so we can STUDY together for our MCATs!  We are taking them a day apart, so we've decided to be afternoon study buddies to conquer this test! :)  hooray for friends who make studying more enjoyable

5.  Mikey's cousin works at the airport, and as an employee there, he and his immediate family members fly free ANYWHERE (besides the flight tax)!! It is insane.  He just takes off to Germany or California or wherever, whenever.  It is awesome.  Mikey has considered working at the airport part time (aka super early in the mornings) so we can take advantage of this excellent time in our lives for travel! I'm not sure if it will ever actually occur, but I like to dream of us traveling the world, even on a tight budget!! :) haha

single sentence sunday

Thank you, Mom, 

for the advice and the laughter

for the shoulder to cry on

for the lunches to catch up

for the support and encouragement

for the example to follow

for the bar you've set high

for the understanding and gentleness

for all of the love through all of the years

thank you.

winner winner coffee dinner

Thanks to everyone who participated in my first give-away!  Partners in Health is such an amazing organization in need of all of the financial support generous hearts are willing to give! I'm a day late in announcing the winner, but here it is....

RABUN HOWARD!!!

Congrats! I'll give you your prize next time I see you :)

If anyone is still interested in giving to Partners in Health to support their awesome work in Haiti, just click on the button below! 

Home Sweet Home

I've always known that I'm not the type of person that can relax.  It's not that I've never relaxed in my life; it's just that it doesn't do much for me.  I ENJOY feeling productive, looking back on my day and seeing a job well done.  Perhaps this explains why in my first day of freedom (after my last final, which was at 8 am!), instead of curling up on the sofa for a movie, a nap, or even a good read, I decided to engage in some manual labor.

I started out the day with a Western Civ final and an untamed yard ahead of me...

(This is a picture of the other part of the yard, which I'll be working on next.  I didn't take a good before picture of the area I did yesterday, but this gives you an idea on what I was working with!)

Once I conquered that pesky final, I headed home.  After about fifteen minutes of rest, while Mikey showed me how the cable guy had hooked up our cable and internet, I headed out in the yard to shovel three wheelbarrows full of rocks, and then I proceeded to plant four cute little evergreen bushes in my newly tilled flowerbed.  Then I added some flowers.  Then some mulch.  And this is the beautiful creation I ended up with around seven in the evening!! It was so much work.  I have three blisters on my hands to prove my labor.  But it was well worth it!

Here are some more pictures of the house...I've finally taken a couple to share with you wonderful blog followers!

Hope everyone has a lovely day!!!

Mantra Monday

This week I am finishing up finals (next to last one was just checked off the list) and moving my sister's stuff down from Columbia!  She graduates in May, and she'll be home for the summer...I'm so excited!  She is such a fun and smart person, and it will be great to have her around more often for a while!

I believe that I am EXTREMELY blessed!  With the move into our new house, I have been so blown away by the blessings around me.  Not only have I been able to spend more time with Mikey as we've worked through the whole moving process, but I also now have a nice, new home that I didn't think I'd get until my 30s! It is just bizarre and so wonderful.

(Still slacking on pics of the house now that we're moved in)

I'm addicted to wearing comfy clothes around the house.  As soon as I get home, I change into a tshirt and workout shorts or yoga pants.  Seriously.  Every time we don't have guests over.  Having just moved in next door to some friends of ours, I am constantly reminded of my comfy home look when they drop by looking all put together and adorable.  At least they're good enough friends to not judge! :)

(I don't normally take pics just chillin at home, but here's an idea of what I'm normally wearing!)

I wish I had an endless stash of money for buying things for the new house.  I still need some big pictures for the bedroom, and I really want to plant some flowers and bushes to beautify the front yard! Sadly, I've been going too crazy one everything else, so I'll have to wait a bit before investing in my next home improvement projects!

I'd never be able to make my yard look as beautiful as this, but I'll get closer than we are right now! :)

I'm jealous of people who have finished their finals for the semester! Currently, I am procrastinating on writing an essay that is 1/2 of the grade for my last final.  Oh, Wednesday, you cannot come soon enough!

How I feel right now! :)

Mantra for the week:

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer"

-Psalm 19:14

Single Sentence Sunday

"Be the change that you want to see in the world"

-Gandhi