I like to think of my week as a hill.
Is that weird?
Ok, just stick with me for a minute.

Mondays and Tuesdays are my long school days - and I begin climbing a gradual uphill. But because of the rest I [hopefully] got over the weekend, I can manage them - and work - without being super tired or grumpy by the end of the day.

Then comes Wednesday.
And my 8am class.
And a trip to the hospital to get my patient assignment.
I'm still feeling some energy, but as soon as I get home, I have to fight the strong urge to just lay on the couch and doze off for a few minutes hours. The hill is feeling steeper. Just as much to accomplish, but less energy to do it.

By Thursday, it feels like I'm climbing straight up. I leave for the hospital at 5:00am and the sensory overload of helping a patient, doing paperwork, and learning so very much is exhausting. So I come hope and I nap before going to work. I've never been a nap girl, but I think nursing school might just make one out of me!

By Friday morning, I feel like I've crested the top of the hill and the view is breathtaking: a free day and a weekend with my husband ahead of me. It doesn't get better than that!

So all that to say, I still feel every day that this journey is so very worth it. All the time, the energy, and the exhaustion is going to pay off ten-fold. The reward far outweighs the cost, don't you think? How thankful I am that I have the gift of going to school, being a wife, teaching painting classes, and mostly being a daughter of God who is so dearly loved.

"It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed,

because His [tender] compassions fail not.

They are new every morning;

great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion or share,

says my living being (my inner self);

therefore will I hope in Him

and wait expectantly for Him."

Lamentations 3:22-24, Amplified Bible

A 5-minute DIY for your Monday.

Happy Monday!

I did this very quick and simple DIY when I needed a study break over the weekend and thought I'd share it with you...

You start with a cardboard letter. I got mine from Hobby Lobby for $1.77 a while back and it's just been hanging out in my craft closet, waiting for a project. You also need a scrap of fabric that is a little larger than your letter.


Cut your fabric so it's a couple inches larger than your letter on all sides.


Then, with a hot glue gun, start wrapping the outside your letter in the fabric, gluing a little down at a time.




Your next step will be a little different for whatever letter you're working on. For the N, I cut the fabric here:

Then I just pulled each side tight and glued it in several places. I think to start out, it would be easiest to use letters without a lot of curves (if possible, of course!).

For the ends, just wrap the fabric over the letter like a present:


And that's it!


You could do so much with this little project, especially for a little kids' room or playroom. If you added the word "Imagine" or kids' names and hung them on the wall in different size letters with different fabrics... how cute would that be?!

Spring cookies. Yum.

I set out to make some Spring cookies in light of the changing seasons. They ended up looking a lot more like St. Patrick's Day cookies, which was not what I was going for, but still tasted so good.

If you have to eat gluten-free like me, I can't recommend Pamela's baking mix highly enough! I buy mine from Whole Foods in a big 5-lb. sack. It's a little pricey, but for all the use I get out of it (pancakes, waffles, quick breads, muffins, cookies) and the fact that I don't waste lots of time mixing my own flours, it's so worth it to me. I used it to make these cookies, using her super easy sugar cookie recipe. The fact that a gluten free cookie dough could be the same consistency as a normal cookie dough and roll out is, in fact, amazing. (You who have tried other gluten free baking recipes probably know what I'm talking about.) I even love how the flecks of almond add a rustic flair to these rich, yummy cookies.



Once they were baked and cooled, I set them on a cooling rack to ice them with a simple mixture of some powdered sugar, almond milk, and food coloring. I just added a little milk to the powdered sugar until it was the consistency I wanted.




Happy St. Patri... I mean... Happy Spring! :)

Speaking of Spring...

If you live anywhere near Nashville, you probably remember how gorgeous this past weekend was. It was stunning! It teased us into thinking Spring was really on its way, when just a few days later it would plummet down to the 40s again. (Chicago friends, don't be too jealous. Spring might someday come to you, too.) :)

This past Sunday afternoon, I think it must have reached 80 degrees. It was glorious, and we wanted nothing else but to be outside enjoying it.

Shawn took the opportunity to wash our cars. Note the goat in the background. :)



Meanwhile, I found a pretty spot in our yard to study. Sure, I could've sat right inside at our desk. But I just couldn't resist. The sunshine, the tufts of flowers, and a cozy blanket were calling my name.




I wish I could say I was reading Redeeming Love or something by Jane Austen, but in reality, I was studying skin diseases. I almost posted a picture, but then I thought it better to just keep you looking at all the beauty I was surrounded with.

Come again, 80 degrees. We welcome you with open arms.

Spring is here.

Sunshine, greener grass, blossoming trees, and acres of wildflowers in our backyard (ok, maybe they're weeds... I don't have to know.) It all screams "Spring!" and I couldn't be happier about it.