Pennies of the Weekend

Lately, each work week seems to blow by

without enough time to accomplish what needs to get done.

And each weekend,

speeds even faster.

My soul is longing for rest.

Not just rest,

but refreshment.

Rejuvenation.

Not only a chance to relax,

but a chance to re-charge.

I've been trying to find the perfect balance,

but as I do

I've found it even more important

to stop and count the pennies

so to speak

a flirty date night 
delicious food
getting caught up 
a good sale + a gift card 
a mini workout 
the warm sun on my legs
 a good book
 familiar faces
another year of life 
new friends 
spontaneous gatherings
 late night girl chats
 sleeping in
 a nostalgic breakfast
college softball world series
 the way Jeremiah looked at me on our drive
texts from sweet friends
games on the patio 
surprisingly flexible schedules
family
 ice cream cones. double scoop 
open windows

Weekend Pennies

This weekend went by way too fast,
but it was full of so many life-giving things.
The mess at my house can sure attest to that.

Jeremiah letting me take the Altima for the weekend
A double-dip Starbucks day
Safe travels without too much rain
A sweet text from a friend
Walking around Downtown Disney
Donuts for dessert
Sleeping in
Pumpkin Spice Soy Latte and fresh orange scones
Slobbery dog kisses from the cutest pup
Cuddling up by the fire
Meeting new friends
Spending time with old friends
Lunch at Balboa Island in Newport
A maternal perspective
An absolutely gorgeous post-storm day
Finding the candy corn salt water taffy I thought was gone til next year
Instragram
Paper Source
Great conversation
The perfectly timed sunset
A surprise visit with my sister
Seeing old hall-mates
A quick hello to my father-in-law
Macaroni and cheese and pretzels
Free beer
Celebrating a Birthday Girl
Getting to know new friends
Snuggling up with the Mister
A much-needed extra hour of sleep
Another awesomely (totally a word!) impactful sermon
Holding a sweet baby in the nursery
Catching a glimpse at how small the world can be
BBQ. Nuff said.
A successful shopping trip with the Sister
Being inside while it thundered and lightninged
Watching Elf and Grinch
Finishing making my Christmas cards
A helpful sister
Wrapping Christmas gifts
Delivery for dinner
Sweet Emma's home videos
Hugs and Kisses from Mom and Dad
Revenge

Those Shiny Copper Things

Getting home from work in time to meet Mr. Brown Shorts
at my door to sign for my new iPhone
Chasing Liberty
Yummy sliders
An uncrowded gym
Limitless
Prayer. Lots of prayer.
Extra cardio
Straight hair
Parents' house dressed up for the Fall
Bates Nut Farm with sissy and friends
Running into a sweet baby girl and pregnant mommy
Tacos, Funnel Cake, Ice Cream, Lemonade
Afternoon coffee
Surprise Crafts
Celebrating Landon's Birthday
A handful of awesome songs in a row at the club
Chatting with Miah before bed
Sleeping in
Sweaty hair that doesn't look as bad as you might think
Sharing an everything bagel with the mister
The Holy Spirit so visibly at work
A beautiful afternoon walk
Birds chirping
Lunch at my parents'
Finding Halloween Costumes
Decorating Pumpkins
Sweet texts from friends
Snuggling with seester
Being home early on a Sunday night
Clean Laundry
Sparkly Finger and Toe Nails
Already being > 50% packed for Hawaii
Only having one week of work til vacation!

Pretty Pennies

This weekend felt perfect,
oozing with pennies everywhere I looked:

Fresh flowers
A beautifully set table
Delicious Pintrest recipes
Sparkling Peach Champagne
Chocolate chip cookies
Molly-mutt's slobbery kisses
Girls winning marbles (again!)
A generous husband
Pre-ordering the new iPhone
Sleeping in both days
A perfect Saturday morning
A no-make-up Saturday
Feeling caught up after vacation
Husband's hugs in the kitchen
A clean house and yard
Warm weather
Grooveshark (read: free!)
A post-NYC massage with mom
Skinny vanilla latte with a pump of pumpkin
Glittery nail polish
A hug from dad
Finding a coat I forgot I had
A picnic dinner during sunset
A walk on the beach
Forgiveness
Pumpkin gelato
Texts from friends
Being overwhelmed by the love of God
A sermon that hit home
Lunch with friends from our bible study
Pan Am
Snuggling. Lots of snuggling.
A Chargers win
Burrito run
Marshmallow fireside
Catch & Release
Slow dancing in the living room
Silly moments with Jeremiah

Shiney Weekend Pennies

WFH Friday afternoon (no traffic!)
Clean Laundry
A Quick Chat with my Daddy
Crafting with Lyssie
A New Recipe
Quiet Time Alone
Three Softball Games at the Annual QC Tournament
A Phil's & Boomers Date with the McDougals
Remembering 9/11
A Beautiful Church Service
Jeremiah's Unshaven Face
Lunch with my {Extended!} Family
Laughing with my Aunt Nancy
A Chargers Win
Shaved Ice Double Date
More Crafting with Lyssie
Another New Recipe
Playing Cards (even though we lost)
Clean Laundry

This weekend went by way. too. fast!

Weekend Change

This weekend was full of plenty of pretty pennies
(as all weekends are!):

New Fall Candles on sale
Dinner with the Fam Bam
The Help
A Yummy Lunch with Papa
Afternoon Card Games with Grandma
Good conversations with Lys & Joe
Dinner at the beautiful Americana
Church
Acai Bowls in OB
A Walk at Private Beach
Festival of Sail
Husband driving all over town
to figure out what we were going to do next
Lunch in Old Town
An Afternoon Nap
A Relaxing Evening at Home with the Hubs
A yummy slurpee
Forgiveness and Grace after hurt feelings
Sleeping In
Getting Caught up after Vacation
Going to the gym
Another Afternoon Nap
Eating homemade meals all day
after having eaten all our meals out this weekend
Reading in bed, listening to the rain fall outside our window
Remembering that this is only a 4-day work week

Summer Weekend Highlights

A couple clearance finds at Old Navy
Date Night
The beautiful city sites
Italian Waiters
More Gelato than we paid for
Marley and Me
10 hours of sleep
A great time of study
Bike rides to the Farmers Market
Fresh squeezed lemonade
Grown Ups (though I still haven't watched the end)
Reading in the swimming pool
Seeing good friends
Karl Strauss burgers with the Lowell's
Caramel apples
a spontaneous visit to my parents'
girls beat boys at Islander
An encouraging sermon at church
changed oil and rotated tires
an awesome Discovery Channel special on Seal Team 6
more reading in the swimming pool
familiar names and faces in the neighborhood
Intern Class
Dinner and great discussion with the Kookers
finishing Firefly Lane (tissues needed!)
Cuddling. love it.

What were the highlights of your weekend?

Weekend Highlights

This weekend felt like Heaven to me.
It was the first weekend in a month that we were home.

We didn't leave early from work on Friday
or drive for hours in traffic
or arrive home way past our bedtimes on Sunday night.
We just stayed put
relaxing and spending life-giving time with friends.
It was so rejuvenating.

A few highlights:

A double-date BBQ and Game Night
Actually waking up cold (instead of hot) in the middle of the night
A spontaneous and beautiful morning walk around the lake
A candid and beautiful display of friendship
The SR Farmers Market
A mini Paint-by-Number
Our new toy coming in the mail
Seeing my father-in-law for a short chat
Zucchini Orzo with Feta
A clean house (Finally!!)
A triple-date BBQ with friends
Walking to Rite Aid for an ice cream cone
Good Conversation
A challenging sermon at church
Playing my current favorite song during worship
Running errands together
Reading a new book at the pool
Getting my wedding ring cleaned and dipped
Celebrating Danny's birthday with a bunch of friends and yummy food
Snuggling before bed

And to think...
next weekend is looking just as lovely.

I'm so thankful for the full life we get to navigate and enjoy.
Our God, our families, our friends, the city we live in..

*sigh*

:-)

Viva the Weekend!

This weekend we're headed out to Vegas
with some fabulous, funnnn friends of ours!

Bring on the sunshine (er, summer storms..?),
margaritas by the pool,
yummy food, fabulous city lights
and good company.

It's time to relax and enjoy summer!

Image Creds go to good ol'Google.

Have a lovely weekend, my friends!!
Got any fun plans?

A Summer Weekend

This was one of those perfect summer weekends.
The kind that's filled with all things wonderful
and all things summer.

Love. Love. Love.

A new little top at Kohl's
A few hours of E! while working on Craft projects
A beautiful late night bonfire on the bay
Gorgeous views from the water
Sleeping in
Everything Bagels with Onion & Chive cream cheese
Wrapping Presents
Working on my sister-in-law's wedding gift
Reading Danielle Steele
Going Swimming
Maggie Moo
Running a few errands
BBQing
Watching Never Let Me Go, Executive Decision and Taking Lives
Celebrating my Sister's birthday.

Absolutely perfect

I Heart Weekends

A couple highlights from this past weekend...?

A freshly washed car
Finishing a great book
A good phone chat with my mom
Going for a swim
Date night with Jeremiah
A clean home
Slurpees at the swimming pool
Shrimp & Crab Fondue with the McDougals
An inspiring/challenging service at church
BBQ Tri-tip sandwiches with Lys & Joe
An afternoon of successful errands
Dinner, Games and a Birthday Celebration with my Cousins

#iliveforweekends

Weekend Highlights

Yummy steak and seafood dinner with the Lowell's
Girl Talk with Stephy
Card Games and YouTube videos galore
Finishing our bathroom remodel project
Sleeping in
Outdoor reading
Lunch at Leucadia Pizza
{if you haven't tried their Hawaiian pizza,
they have a secret ingredient
and it's BOMB.COM}
Beach Day in Del Mar with the Schan clan
A dip in the hot tub
Something Borrowed
Starbucks iced tea
A new series at Church
Wedding Crafts for my sister-in-law
Wearing shorts all weekend
Sunday afternoon chores
Dinner at the Del Mar Fair

I feel rich.

Friday, Friday!

It's Friday, Friday
Get to go home on Friiiiday.

At least those are the new lyrics my boss was jammin to this morning. :)

Speaking of Friday,
Jeremiah and I have started a new kind of routine
where we stop for coffee, smoothies and the like together on Friday mornings.
It's just a simple thing, that takes barely any time at all
But it's a little extra time to spend together before the start of our days.
A good celebration of Friday if you ask me.

So is our dinner and a movie date.

With the price of movie tickets these days,
we don't typically go to the theater very often.
But tonight, Super 8 is calling our name.

What have you got planned for tonight?

Weekend Pennies

We didn't have a ton of plans this weekend,
but the time seemed to fly.

Regardless..

The weekend was much needed
and so were these pennies.

The sound of rain falling
Getting to wfh Friday afternoon/evening
College Softball
Chocolate milkshake with vanilla ice cream
127 Hours
Snuggling with the Hubs
Sleeping in til 9
Waking up sans alarm
No Saturday morning deployment(s)
A clean bathroom, a vacuumed floor and a made bed
Reading by the window
Costco samples
Dancing to the radio
My handy hubby starting the bathroom renovation
Wearing shorts
A raked and weeded yard
Mac&Shrooms
Birthday Fishbowl
Meeting new friends
SF Pom Tea Latte with Soy from CBTL
Vision Sunday at Church
Lazy Sabbath
Shrimp and Crab Fondue
Celebrating Nurse Katie with sweet friends
Heart2Heart
RH of OC #guiltypleasure
Clean laundry and Clean dishes
Early to bed
Snuggling

Happy manic-Monday, my friends.
I hope this week treats you well.

Killer Weekend, Dude.

Just as predicted,
this weekend was low key
yet simply out of this world.

The house is squeaky clean.
Our sheets and duvet cover smell fresh as Spring.
Both cars have been serviced and cleaned.
Mother's Day presents have been purchased.
The bills have been paid and the checkbook has been balanced.
The Lord has continued to work out multiple knots in my heart.
Dear friends have been moved into their beautiful new home.
My nails have been painted a lovely shade of orange.
Inspirational reading has taken place in the summer-like sunshine.
I've enjoyed two dinner-and-a-movie nights at home with the hubs,
and my current craft project has also been finished.

I'm on my way to feeling rejuvenated
inside and out.

Alright, Monday.
Keep in step.. please?

we love {the Kruegers}

This weekend, Jeremiah and I took a (mini) road trip
up to Morro Bay for some QT with the Kruegies.

I don't think we can say it enough,
We love these two to P-I-E-C-E-S!!

They treated us to lunch on the bay.
A romantic walk on the beachand some yummy salt water taffy on a beautiful afternoon.We also sipped Peet's and strolled the darling little streets of downtown SLOMade silly faces with self-timers
and enjoyed a quiet and relaxing dinner-and-a-movie date at home.

Chris and Lysie:

We are so thankful to have friends like you.
Friends to laugh uncontrollably with. Friends to pray with.
Friends to explore with. And friends to relax with.
Friends to confide in. And friends to share life with.
We had an absolute blast spending the weekend with you.
Thank you for your hospitality and your friendship!!

Love, the McLeods

PS: Can't wait for May! ;-)

Anticipation

Happy Friday, y'all!

If you know me, you know I thrive on anticipation.
So what am I looking forward to these days?

Well...

Dinner with my Papa and family tonight.
The weekend.
New-to-us patio furniture.
The Padres game next week.
Girls Night
A trip up to see these two lovebirds.
An upcoming lunch with my daddy.
Easter.
Our wedding anniversary next month.
Mrs. Schanaker's Birthday and Masters Graduation
The END of Busy Season.
our trip to Seattle this summer.
(Exact flights I wanted, at $200 less than I had expected,
Adorable little hotel, Padres/Mariners Game, Food Tour... Gah, I can't wait.)
And our upcoming family staycation.

What are YOU looking forward to?

Showered with Weekend Pennies

No more rain
Getting off work early
A sweet thank you card from Karla
The new PB catalog
Friday night pizza & march madness date with the hubs
Chatting with our neighbor at BR31
Catching up on Teen Mom 2 #guiltypleasure
Booking a romantic little anniversary getaway
Planning and budgeting for our summer trip to Seattle
4 or 5 old episodes of a favorite after-school show
Sleeping in** + Cuddling
The smell of scones baking in the oven
A clean kitchen
Saturday morning bible study
Lunch with one of our favorite couples
My new Pampered Chef pizza stone
Clean laundry
A birthday party for the sister's boy toy
Stellar worship session and sermon
Week 2 of our membership class at church
Yummy lunch with miss Aubrey
Finishing the in-laws taxes and chatting a bit
A successful shopping excursion
A beautiful, clear-skied Sunday afternoon with no commitments
And the anticipation of my tween girl shows coming back next week!

**[Sidenote: You may recall we signed up for the Race for Autism?
Well, that was Saturday morning.
And since we had already turned in the money,
the hubs had absolutely no problem
choosing much needed sleep over a 5k run.]

Spring weekend on the brain

All I can think of right now is the weekend,
a Spring weekend at that.

A weekend filled with picnics on the grass
reading amidst a field of blooming tulips,
eating ice cream cones while swinging at the [central] park,
flying kites at the Embarcadero,
and in my wildest dreams...
strolling along the streets of Paris.

Instead,
It's going to rain
Hard.

So it's chili and cornbread,
cups of hot tea, warm crackling fires,
and movie after movie while curled up on the couch.

I guess it's not so bad.

But Spring... I pine for you.
And as much as I've learned to enjoy the winter season,
I must admit, I'm still not a huge fan.

Happy Weekend, my friends! Stay dry!

Prez Weekend Highlights

A good conversation with a stranger at Starbucks
A successful spur-of-the-moment Target trip
Good conversation with a good friend
A new Pampered Chef pizza stone
Watching my roots return to blonde
Saturday afternoon Bible Study
Dinner and a movie with fun friends
Another free birthday drink at the bucks
Meeting new people at church
Family lunch at Phil's BBQ
Shopping with my sister
Pushing Daisies marathon
Presidents' Day
A sleep over with my seester
Hawaiian shaved ice
Wearing pajamas all day Monday

Three-Day Weekends are Bomb.com!