Quarter of a Century & Taking Aim

One goal that I have for 2014: stop with the excuses.

The fact of the matter is I haven't blogged in over a month.

GASP!

It's not just blogging that I've neglected.  I've allowed too much to slip: responding to emails, following up on promises, running errands that need to get done, making a dr. apt [I know, I know, I've been saying that I'm going to do this for months!], so on and so forth.  My sincerest apologies if any of my readers out there have become victim to my laziness. 

It's not you, it's me!

And all I want to do is provide all of these legitimate excuses as to why I've been absent.  I have no free time, I've been busy, SO much going on,incapable of getting to everything, no time to spare.... Yeah right.

It goes more like this:

[[  ONE  ]] Jim & I have been sucked into Netflix.  I'm bringing Jim into this so that I can at least partake in some divided responsibility.  We have been quite fond of Netflix, especially Law & Order: SVU [ughhhhbsessed] and Alaska the Last Frontier.  On my own, I've enjoyed White Collar, Hart of Dixie, and Scandal [again, ughhhhbsessed]!

Outside of Netflix, we're currently taking a break from watching Modern Family to watch the full series of Friends.  To brief you, we have consumed quite a bit of this show in the past two-ish months.  We've already passed Emma's birth to give you a frame of reference.  Yeah, like I've said, we're CONSUMED!  It's hard not to be - Friends is THE best show.  THE best.

[[  TWO  ]]  If you follow me on Instagram, or if you're a friend of mine on Facebook, you'll notice that I have been actively chronicling my food.  I don't really care if my followers don't care.  I care.  It's food.  I'll say it again: it's food.  No further explanation required beyond I care immensely about food.

Here's a taste - baha - pun intended :)

Faux-tmeal [faux oatmeal... get it?]

Sweet potato [errrr soo goood] & Sauerkraut

Curry Chicken, Baby Bok Choy & Caulirice [cauliflower shredded into rice like chunks]

Chipotle Chile & Blueberry Sauce [if heaven was a liquid] over Pork Chops, Pearl Onions & Steamed Broccoli

You may have gathered from my old posts that I've been trying out different 'diets' [I'm not ON a diet; my diet has special needs] to help with digestive problems.  I've had success as I've transitioned from a more restrictive diet to the Paleo diet.

I enjoy trying new recipes & Jim enjoys testing my experiments.  So far we've had many successes!  We are both enjoying eating without grains, legumes, and dairy [in general] and I feel GREAT!  This is awesome - trust me.  My stomach has felt better in the last few weeks than it has since late last spring.  We will definitely be sticking to eating this way for at least the new few months.

We've been reading the book Practical Paleo to gain increased understanding about the chemical makeup of food and the science behind the digestive process.  I HIGHLY recommend this book.  It has changed my life!  In a previous post I talked about sneaking foods that I knew would cause me abdominal distress, and ever since understanding digestion better, my desire for 'off limit' foods has completely gone away!  Well... it was the education paired with some timely [and INCREDIBLY painful and long lasting] stomach pains that helped win the 'breakthrough.' 

Praise the Lord!

 He is so faithful and has freed me from being a slave to cravings.  Anyone who constantly thinks about food like I used to knows what bondage this is.  It was horrendous and inconvenient having unceasing cravings for foods that I knew would cause me to be sick

Anyway... jumping back to a few paragraphs ago... Jim & I are understanding digestion and the chemistry involved and we are confident that this knowledge will change the way we eat [at least to some degree] for the rest of our lives.

Now that I've sufficiently made myself hungry..  let's move on.

[[ THREE ]]  I'm a grocery store addict.  The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right?  Well, I'm not hoping to recover from my grocery store addiction - not in the least!  Unfortunately, going to the store has become somewhat of a chore since my two fave spots are 20 minutes away and 45 minutes away.  It's equally far to a local Saturday Farmer's Market; however, I've been googling like a mad-woman trying to find local farms for meat and fruit.  I've had some success finding farms, now I just need to call and visit.  I'll keep you posted on what I find!

[[  FOUR  ]]  Our guest room is SUPER awesome now that we have a bed.  So... if you're thinking about heading out to the east coast for a visit... we would just LOVE to host you!  Seriously.  Please visit.

This room is so cute, right?  Yeah, so we'll be expecting ya'll soon - just shoot me a text when you're on your way ; )

[[  FIVE  ]]  Jim and I have been super excited to roll out the launch of our brand-spankin-new BUDGET!  Seriously, I hear crowds go nuts when I say that sentence in my head!  I'm a spreadsheet obsessed person; excel literally spikes my blood pressure in the best way possible.  Just thinking about the organization, formulas, data validation, lookup functions, color coordination... I just get absolutely giddy!

Jim & I attended session 1 of the critically acclaimed Financial Peace University [of Dave Ramsey fame] and we're excited to be financial guru's.  Well, maybe not guru's.  We're excited to be financially educated, aware, knowledgeable, responsible... All those goods things!  The program will pair well with our new implementation of a beautifully organized budget : )

[[  SIX  ]]  Pinterest.  Enough said.

[[  SEVEN  ]]  YouTube.  I've rediscovered my love for makeup tutorials.  Especially Jaclyn Hill's videos.  She's got a hilarious personality and awesome tips!  Chances are I'll never do my makeup in the same manner because I would just look silly with THAT much makeup on my face.  She does recommend some great products and techniques.  Click right here to be brought directly to her YouTube channel.

YouTube has also taught me how to fashion a fun 'turban' like headband!  I don't feel like I've quite nailed it, but once I do I'll post a tutorial!

Ignore the kiss face... I sent this to my sister and it felt appropriate...

[[  EIGHT  ]]  Okay.  This serves as my official blog announcement that Jim & I are expecting...

A PUPPY!!  His name is Joey and he is already the apple of our eyes.

He is a Cockapoo [Cocker spaniel & poodle mix] and we will pick him up from the breeder on February 8th!  Jim & I have been anxiously awaiting his arrival.  We enjoy trips to PetSmart and surfing the internet looking at reviews of products.  As many of you can probably relate: we want the best for our guy!

In addition to prepping our space, we've been watching training videos to prepare ourselves.  We are excited about the method that we will be using because it will surely bring positive results.  We're going to have ourselves [after extensive training, of course], one well trained boy!

[[  FINALLY  ]]  It's about time that I bring this post in for a close.  And finally tie in the title of the post - 'Quarter of a Century & Taking Aim'.

TOMORROW is my birthday!  Ooooooh yeah buddy!!  I'll be turning 25.   The BIG two-five.  One fourth of my way to 100.  I'll have a quarter of a century under my belt.

Considering it's January and resolutions are still in the air, I wanted to commit to taking aim.  What in the world does that mean to 'commit to taking aim'?

A few weeks ago, at our church, the Sunday service was centered around 'Ready, Aim, Fire.'  The Pastor spoke on how oftentimes we 'fire' [take action] before we've even taken 'aim.'  When we don't hit the mark, we blame the target, instead of our poor aim.  Or perhaps we weren't even aiming in the first place.  

We cannot hit a target that we're not aiming at.

The sermon went on to explain that Jesus should be our target and we should never stop aiming at Him.  He is our prime and perfect example in all situations.

I have all of these ideas in my head about how I can do this or that better.  There are too many examples for me to even start to list.  I noticed, though, that I wasn't even aiming at several of these 'goals' that I had in mind.

In order to be successful, I must have to implement some form of aim.  I must have an intent to hit the target.  I must create a plan.

I'm resolving to take aim at the things that I want to change.  If I want to have more discipline in a certain area of my life, I am not going to have success unless I have a plan.  The plan would involve writing down what needs to happen, making a verbal commitment and setting up some form of accountability, taking it before the Lord and asking for His hand in this area, and any other necessary steps that would need to happen so that I can set myself up for success.

... Don't get me wrong though.  I'm not saying that I will achieve everything I set my mind to.  I'm not going to hit every 'target' that I 'aim' at.  But I'm not going to allow that idea to prevent me from working on the discipline.

[Yes, I follow Julianne Hough on Instagram : ) ]

WELP.  My blog is my verbal proclamation that I would like to be held accountable to taking aim.  I know this sounds vague.  I'm going to do my best to focus my future posts around how I'm taking aim.  The plan.  What I'm doing to move the needle in the direction of success.  How the Lord is providing.  Being transparent about the areas that I am lacking in and my need to rely on God.  

I'm 25 years into this life.

I'm ready to take aim at my future.

**Queue inspirational music**

Trials & Faith - diet, digestion, discomfort, oh my!

Hello?  Anyone still out there?

It's intimidating to write a post after an [almost] month-long break.  It's been a busy month, and there's so much to report on, I was intimidated by the amount of content that I could write about, that I just kept putting it off.  Is that a grammatically correct sentence?  Thankfully I'm not submitting this for a grade so I'm not too worried about it!

So, pardon me, I need to take another break from writing.  Don't worry, I'll be back in a few minutes!  I just need to unload the dishwasher and do the dishes that are piling up in the sink.  My daily to do list is pretty much just as intimidating as my blog, and similar in suit, it just seems easier to put it off instead of chip away at it bit by bit.  Alright... brb [for you folk that aren't familiar with 'brb', it means be right back]

Ok... to be honest... It apparently took me four days to do the dishes!  Okay, I got them done in a timely manner, it just took me four days to return back to writing this post ; )  I'm definitely not perfect!

So in a previous post I alluded to some stomach problems that I've been having.  Although I have yet to make it to a doctor for any official tests or a diagnosis, I have done some research online.  I know, I know, don't trust what you read online.  Especially health related and especially if the source is a personal testimony.  Let me tell you that I am a HUGE skeptic of research.  I took a pretty in depth course on research methods in college and I am the first to question reliability, validity, and credibility of sources.  I did the research just to get a base of ideas.  Although I am for science, I have had bad experiences with doctors.  I'm a little over having to spend some major dough to just hear their theories, test prescriptions, follow up in 30 days, only to start all over again.  I don't mean to say that health care needs to be taken into my own hands, I am not a professional and I have not gone to medical school.  All I'm saying is that I want to have a wealth of questions prepared and an understanding of my personal history and symptoms before I set myself up for a long cadence of doctor visits.

Alright, after that long tangent, I'll describe what's been going on.  Starting this past July or August I've been experiencing excruciating stomach aches.  It basically comes in the form of cramping, bloating, sharp pains, and overall abdominal discomfort.  Sometimes I can feel it in a very specific spot, sometimes it's my whole stomach, and sometimes I even feel it up towards my rib cage.  For a few months I couldn't determine any predictability or triggers.  I could find no connection to amount of exercise, amount of sleep, no specific food did it, it didn't occur at any special time of day.  Nothing.  It would just come out of nowhere and last anywhere between thirty minutes to an entire day [or night].  These pains often felt like they paralyzed me.  I would be out shopping at the store and the pain would come on and I didn't know whether to keep moving or find a nice spot to lay on the floor.  Obviously I just had to keep moving, but sometimes I don't know how I did it.  There would be pain so bad that it would move me to tears, and then there would be the pain that was just aggravating and got in the way of me enjoying whatever it was that I was doing.

After researching and analyzing several health problems that I've had over the last few years, I landed on 'Leaky Gut' as a self-diagnosis [yes, yes, yes, I will go to a dr. soon, I PROMISE!] I'm not going to go into describing it, but feel free to look around on the web for yourself if you're curious!

A good friend was able to sympathize with me and recommended that I give a diet change a try.  She has had a lot of experience with handling digestion problems, and so I sought her advice on what I should eat and what I should avoid.  I settled on a diet that permitted veggies [but not all], fruits [but not all], meats [free of nitrates, any form of grain or dairy, and preferably organic], coconut products [but have to be discerning about any added ingredients], balsamic vinegar and olive oil. This meant no sugar [including natural sugars like honey or maple syrup], no grains of any form, no legumes, no dairy, no starches, no nuts, no soy, and no COFFEE [how am I surviving?!].  The first few weeks were just confusing, but once I got into a rhythm I found that there were lots of things I liked, tasted delicious, and fit into the diet!  Sweet potatoes are my addiction : )  

Then, all of a sudden, week three or four hit and I just wasn't having it any more.  I was majorly craving carbs and sweets and I even stooped to sneaking foods to eat on my way home from the grocery store or while Jim was out.  I felt ashamed that I had so little self control and that I allowed the temptation to take me over.  Eventually, I knew the sneaking was a big enough problem [like the terrible stomach aches that resulted weren't enough] and I needed the support of my husband.  I 'came clean' about the food I had sneaked and told him I needed his support if I was going to be successful with this.  I am so thankful for a husband that is gracious and caring towards me!  He didn't show disappointment, he didn't think less of me and my will power, he didn't lecture me.  He assured me that he is on my side and that we're in this as a team.  I didn't need to feel so embarrassed; what a relief!

I am grateful for a husband who will pray for me and with me.  He cares for me and empathizes with me when I feel discouraged and in despair.  And then he encourages me with truth from God's Word. He doesn't shame me or expect more from me.  He knows that God is moving and shaking in my life through these trials, and while we don't always know why or what the intended outcome is, we trust that it ultimately is for His glory.  

God tells us to expect trials, he assures us that they will come.  In John 33:16 it says: 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  

God says in this world we WILL have trouble.  Not we may, we will.  In 1 Peter 1:6 it says that trials allow us to prove the genuineness of our faith.  Not to say that we won't have moments of doubt, moments of anger, questioning, or frustration.  If we ultimately trust God, we can surrender our human emotions and reactions to be covered by His grace.  If our heart desires God and desires to be a living sacrifice for His glory, He will know.  He knows our hearts; after all, he created it.  God doesn't order us to be perfect - He knows we can't be.  But He does call us to love Him with every inch of our being in Matthew 22:37.  When we love Him with all that we have we are able to see the bigger picture.  We are able to see God's incomparable love for us.  His love that is so big that it covers anything and everything.  His love is greater than the perils that I face.  

I'm probably just talking myself in circles.

Ultimately, I can embrace trials that come my way because they are from God to me as an invitation to become closer to Him.  An opportunity to experience His love and power more deeply.  It's a personal invitation, made especially for me.  Designed with me in mind.  Purposed with His love and affection for me.  Trials demonstrate the extent of God's love for us.  He wants us to be more holy, He wants us to rely on Him, He wants us to experience life to the fullest which we can only attain through following Him.  We can face trials with joy knowing that how we handle our relationship with God in these moments can bring Him glory, or not.  So... Does our faith crumble amidst adversity, or does our faith carry us?

Welcome Tour - Grand Finale

Sorry I've been absent for almost a week!  There's been a lot going on over here...  I've started a new diet to help with the stomach issues that I've been having, we've nailed down plans for Christmas, and just plain-ole busyness!  I should probably finish up the tour that I started last week.  Could you believe that it takes four posts to get a tour of our apartment?  It's not that big for Pete's sake, but somehow I manage to drag this thing out!

If you're ready, we'll tackle the remaining zone of the apartment.  The Master bedroom!

Entry into King's Quarters/Closet

Clockwise from top left: (1) Right when you walk into our room, immediately in front of you is our closet.  You'll notice that my stuff, naturally, overpowers Jim's things.  I didn't mean to 'take over' the closet... He just doesn't have that much stuff!  Even if none of my items were in there, he would still take up the same amount of room... at least that's my argument ; ) It all looks so tidy in these pics! (2) In our 'master entryway' if you turn to the right you run into our 'master bath.'  If you remember from the guest room tour, the master bath is about half the size of the guest bath.  Oh well... it works just fine for us!  On the back of the door I keep my hats, scarves, belts, sunglasses, and even Jim's got a few things hooked on there. Barely. (3) Another view of our closet.  I was nervous we wouldn't be able to fit everything, but after adjusting a few times, and receiving our drawers, I was able to finagle everything in.  The order just brings me so much joy!

Lavatory

Left to right: (1) Our shower and toilet.  Everyone should know how those are used. (2) And our tiny sink area.  We had to improvise with a shower bar since we didn't have enough counter space (and ZERO drawers!) to hold any of our toiletries and necessities.  We do have a linen closet, but it's always much more convenient when things are right at hand.  Things do tend to tip over, but overall, it works great for us!

The Master

Clockwise from top: (1) Where we sleep.  I researched hours upon hours upon hours to find a comforter for our bed.  Seriously, no exaggeration, I searched for days upon days.  I even returned a comforter that I had sent while Jim was living here alone.  He didn't open the package so we were able to return it.  I'm obsessed with red, crimson to be exact, and when I saw this comforter at Macy's I was hooked.  The previous one was the closest I could find to red at the time, it was burnt orange.  I could have lived with it, but I would always know that there had to be better out there.  You'll notice two picture frames on the far side of the bed, Jim's side; those are pictures of me that Jim had while at TBS.  He didn't put them on the nightstand, I did : ) ... I just couldn't get rid of them!  Hopefully any time that I have to go out of town he appreciates the company of my mug. (2) Another view from our room.  This is what you see right outside our doorway. (3) Foot of our bed/dresser.  Before we received our dresser I had so many clothes stored under our bed!  I still find it luxurious that I don't have to get down on my hands and knees everyday to pull out the clothes I need.  I definitely appreciate this piece of furniture, I'll tell ya that!  Ok, so do you see that tiny TV on our dresser?  I've had that since freshman year of college!  It really only plays DVDs, and it's starting to not really do that either!  Every now and then it'll skip a bunch, but with time, or some old-school-nintendo-style blowing into the DVD player, I'm able to get it up and running again!

Well, I won't bore you with much more.  You've seen it all!  I'll try to post again either tomorrow, or within a few days to update everyone on my stomach issues/new eating plan.  It's interesting, but it seems to be going well so far!

Adios!

Mrs. Gretchen Niemann

Welcome Tour - Part Threeeeee

So this is the first time I've posted for a second time in one day.  Wow, that statement was confusing...

I've decided to move the tour along to the next section of our home - the place where the culinary magic [and failures] happen... the kitchen!  I love the kitchen for a few reasons:

(1) So many organizing opportunities - you have within the fridge, within the cabinets, within the drawers, within one shelf - endless!

(2) So many process improvement opportunities - I continually rearrange until I've achieved the [momentary] most efficient set up of the kitchen.  Once I spot an opportunity for greater organization and efficiency, I get to improve!

(3) I get to test out all of the sweet gadgets and tools that we received as wedding gifts.  We have actually used everything [at least kitchen-wise] that we were gifted.  And we've only been situated for not even a month!  Everything is being put to good use : )

(4) I get to test out new recipes [basically every recipe I try is new since I wasn't much of a cook before].  I try healthy, unhealthy, high maintenance, low maintenance, slow cooker recipes, baked recipes, soups, casseroles, everything!  I love it!  I'm sure that will wear off, but for now, let's just ride this wave!

(5) This is where the food is kept.  And I love food.

Without further ado...

Where the food lives

Clockwise from top left: (1) You will notice the doors on the left side of the kitchen.  That's our nice little laundry spot.  Oh how I treasure having laundry available in our apartment.  Since the dorms freshman year of college I haven't had to go elsewhere for laundry, so it's always nice when your apartment comes equipped with a washer and dryer.  You'll see our nice toaster oven - Jim uses this on the reg to make bagels.  Oh how he loves toasted bagels and plain cream cheese.  There's our fridge, some nice magnets, coupons, and lists.  I love lists.  I'll do a separate post on lists sometime in the near future - you'll thank me. (2) We super love our coffee maker.  Literally every other day we switch between using the individual coffee brewer section [not a technical term] and the large carafe.  Jim doesn't drink coffee every day and I do; days that he wants it we make a carafe and days that he doesn't I can still get coffee without having to make a large pot.  (3) And our laundry zone!  I haven't really gotten around to organizing this closet yet, but it'll happen.  Right now it's not a top priority.  And that's that!

I am so passionate and fired up about the kitchen and the organization and such that I'm already scheming up a post dedicated to what's behind the cabinet doors.  Maybe I'll throw in some organizing tips.  Seriously, I'm a pro.  I don't think I'm good at much, but that's one skill that I know I nail!

Here's just a closer/inside look.  Not much to point out or comment on aside from my husband's photo bomb in the bottom right pic.  Such a goofster : )

Dining Room & Library

Clockwise from top left: (1) A view from the kitchen.  (2) This is where we eat our meals.  Honestly, Jim & I sit in a different seat pretty much every time we eat here.  Does everyone else in the world do some sort of unspoken assigned seating at their dinner table?  Maybe we should adopt this... but maybe it's really not that big of a deal until you have kids?  We bought this table used... Pretty used.  Lots of dents and scratches, but the table is very sturdy and spacious - we couldn't be happier.  We also super love the bench.  Before we got it we figured the bench would go in storage since the table came with 4 chairs and 1 bench.  We've found the bench most useful and typically one of us is always sitting on the bench side!  So worth keeping out of storage. (3) A close up on the bookshelf.  I made the 'Date Ideas' jar as one of Jim's gifts for his birthday.  It has creative, yet doable, ideas for how we can spend a day together.  We haven't used it yet, but as soon as we get bored we'll give it a shot! (4) Our bookshelf.  I was amazed at how many books we have!  Mostly Christian books, a few professional, several cookbooks, and Jim's Marine Corps books from school.  Hiding on the left side of the bookshelf is a small section of PVC pipe.  I am addicted to using this pipe to roll out my muscles - specifically my calves.  If you've seen them you know that they're pretty solid.  I can legitimately feel my muscles crave to be rolled out on that pipe - it's not for wimps it definitely makes you sweat a little!

And now a sweet treat for sticking around with me for the tour thus far!

Ingredients
2 cups [one container] So Delicious Dairy Free Almond Milk Frozen Dessert in Vanilla
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
2 bananas

STEP ONE
Allow the almond milk frozen dessert thaw slightly so that it can be scooped out of the container, then, scoop the frozen dessert out of the container and into a large mixing bowl.  Nuke it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds, or until it becomes soft and partially melted.

STEP TWO
In a separate bowl, mash the banana and then mix in the peanut butter.  Once the two are mixed well, add the mixture to the larger bowl with the almond milk frozen dessert.

STEP THREE
Using a rubber spatula, mix well.  Once the ingredients have been completely combined, portion the dessert into a few [depending on size] freezer safe plastic containers.  Freeze dessert until you desire to consume it!

STEP FOUR
Allow the dessert to thaw and become soft before consuming.  When I made the dessert I had to allow it to thaw for at least 15 minutes before I could get my spoon to pierce it!

I love the crunch that the chunky peanut butter offers.  Such a delicious and easy homemade frozen dessert!

Have a splendid evening : )

Mrs. Gretchen Niemann

Welcome Tour - Part Dos

Wednesday, already?!  This week is flying by!

So I didn't have a chance to post more of the tour yesterday like I promised.  While I sincerely apologize, I doubt anyone was holding their breath for my post ; )

Let's continue on... Shall we?

The Common Area

Clockwise from top left: (1) You will notice we have a comfy couch positioned in the center of our 'common area.'  I've never referred to our family room/living area as the common area before - but it sounds really British and official, it just felt right in the moment.  On the left-side end table there is an adorbs [if I do say so myself] photograph from our Honeymoon to Jamaica.  It's a really good picture, I'm glad we have it!  (2) Oh, hey!  More couch!  The couch and ottoman are a perfect fit for Jim and me.  It came with more pillows than I like to deal with, but they look nice so we keep 'em around.  This is where Jim & I watch our favorite TV shows: Modern Family & Parks and Rec.  We are big Netflix fans so we don't even bother with cable.  We have seasons 1-3 of Modern Family on DVD and we're about halfway through season three and we don't have season four.... so.... if anyone wants to take my hint.... text me for our address if you'd like to send us anything in particular ; ) I'm just messin' around!  We appreciate that there is a redbox just less than a mile up the road, so we get in some good movie nights here and there as well.  The couch also serves as a perfect cuddle spot for a morning quiet time with the Lord.  (3) And our crafty entertainment center!  We didn't have a use for the coffee table that we purchased before getting our couch and ottoman, so the coffee table became our TV stand!  Not super normal, but works perfect.  As you can see, the entertainment center also houses our collection of board games.  We love playing games together, but, unfortunately, I lose about 90% of the time.  Jim is a hack at games!  The Lord is going to teach me to be a gracious loser.  As of right now I'm not having much success with that characteristic : (  Total sore loser right here.  Oh well, we still have fun together and we love that we have stuff to do aside from sitting on the couch watching TV every night.

Wow, I really didn't realize I had so much to say about two pieces of furniture!  I'll attempt to summarize better.  Alright - next spot!

The Office/Guest Quarters

Clockwise from top: (1) Here we have the office/where our guests will stay when we have visitors.  This room is quite spacious and has plenty of windows and sunlight!  I'm a HUGE fan of sunlight and fresh air, so I definitely appreciate this room while I'm working during the day.  As a lot of you may know, I work from home for the same company I worked for in MN, but now I work as a virtual employee.  I work 9am-3pm my time, which ends up being 8am-2pm Minnesota time.  I'm loving this set-up so far, it allows me to get in the things that I want to do in the morning, and then I have flexibility in the afternoon to get housework done, run errands, get dinner started, or relax for a bit. As you can see, I have two screens - super essential for my job; I couldn't function without it!  Also... we have a mess along our wall of boxes that still need to be organized.  I've totally been putting off consolidating and organizing our file folders... it'll get done!  (2) This is a pic of the closet in the office/guest room.  Real exciting stuff.  I would like to point out the fabulous artwork though!  I purchased this painting off of Etsy as a gift for Jim upon his graduation from TBS [The Basic School].  It is customized and reflects everything that I requested appear in the painting!  Kami did an excellent job and communicated with me along the way to get my feedback on her sketches.  I highly recommend you purchase a painting from her - it's a very unique gift for someone special to you!  Visit her store: studioKmath (3 & 4) These are vintage Marine Corps advertisements that I ordered from online.  I thought they would be cool, and eventually we can make this room into a Marine Corps/Jim shrine : )

Guest Bathroom

Clockwise from top left: (1) Here's our guest/spare bathroom.  This bathroom is twice the size of our master bathroom... It's huge and we really only use it every now and then.  At some point I may transfer my stuff over to this bathroom since, as you'll see eventually, the master bathroom is very cramped.  Jim & I have a hard time getting ready at the same time [which, fortunately, we don't have to do very often] due to the small counter space, and small space in general.  I brought the white/glass cabinet from home.  Right now it houses our spare toilet paper rolls.  There was a huge gap between the toilet and the counter, so we thought this would be a perfect space-filler! (2) Toilet and shower.  You know what those are for! (3) Stick on wall decal.  I thought it would work well with this bathroom.  Kind of a French-ish style. (4) I put together this bathroom counter tray using the card-holder suitcase from our wedding.  The guest bath has so much counter space, it's nice that the suitcase doesn't overpower.  It contains a cute birdcage thingy with small, travel sized toilettries for guests to use.  There's also hand lotion, scented spray to cover odors, cottons swabs, a fake plant, and three candles.  It also made for a nice place to lay the hand towels.

And there you have it, part dos of the welcome tour has completed!  Come back again for the next part in the series : )  Tomorrow will be my favorite spot: the KITCHEN!!

Until then,

Mrs. Gretchen Niemann

Welcome Tour - Part One

Happy Tuesday, Y'all!

I haven't posted since last Friday, and I'm really trying to decide what type of routine that I want to have with blog posting.  I don't want it to get in the way of other things that are more priority!  But, of course, I would like to fit it in so that I'm posting habitually and regularly.  I was planning to post Mon/Wed/Fri afternoons, but, as you can see, my Monday post is notably absent and it is now Tuesday morning.  Oh well, we make adjustments!

So I finally have a tour ready for action!  I'll post the tour in several parts so that I don't overload you all at once.  We'll start as though you are just walking into our apartment : )

Enter the Niemann Abode

Clockwise from top: (1) This is our nice artwork section that you notice upon first entering our apartment.  It's cute, simple, and still in progress [notice the empty picture frame].  Jim has acquired an affinity for the word y'all since living in the South.  He likes the efficiency of the word, the way it rolls off the tongue, and the kind-hearted tone that is usually associated with the word. (2) Moving on you will see our front closet.  Usually pretty organized and holds most of our shoes - we have a lot.  Jim has a lot for a man, but that's because he loves running shoes.  Above our coats is where I keep my pull up bar.  To my dismay, this doorway is the only doorway narrow enough for me to mount my pull up bar!  It doesn't work perfect, but at least I can do pull ups somewhere! (3) This is our little drop-off area.  It has containers for keys, phones, wallets, coins, pens, it's Jim's charging station, and it's where we keep our gym bags and my purse.  It's better than unloading everything on the couch or kitchen table every day!  Loving the 'Niemann' picture from our good friends Rob & Laura : )

Holy guacamole, it took me more minutes than anticipated to just show off this one small spot!  It's almost 9am so I gotta get prepped for work.

I'll try to post more of the tour later today - talk soon!

Mrs. Gretchen Niemann

Working Girl - Back to the office today!

Mornin'!

The month and a half streak of not working will come to an end today.  Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't completely sitting around on my bum all day doing nothing during this time.  I had pre-wedding prep, the wedding, honeymoon, roadtrip to NC, and getting settled into our new home and new lifestyle of being married.  I was quite busy even without work!  But today is November 1st and I must return to the grind.

The company that I worked for back in Minnesota is AWESOME.  They offered me the opportunity to work virtually for them, doing my same job but here in North Carolina.  I've got this pretty cool set up in our apartment - my very own office!  I keep making the mistake of call the office/guest room 'MY office.'  I have to be careful of the language I use when referencing this room since it is not MINE, it is OURS, but it just so happens to be the space where I will work each day.

So this morning I woke up at 6am, had my morning coffee and oatmeal, and then got ready for the day.  I haven't had to get ready for the day in a long time!  Well, I do it on Sunday's since we have church, but other than that I've really had nowhere to be and no reason to get ready first thing in the morning!  After that I had some time to make sure that all systems are a go - and it turns out I'm having phone and outlook issues : (  You'd think that in the three weeks we've been in NC I'd have wouldn't have waited to figure this out until the morning of my first day back.  But that's me for you!  A procrastinator.  Well, the phone issue I've been working on for a few days, but the outlook issue came to my attention this morning.

The good news is that I practically have meetings all day!  No immediate need for email, at least that's what I'm going to tell myself.

The office set-up

Working girl is ready to go!

After I made sure my set-up was good to go I figured I'd have a few minutes to blog!  What I'm most excited about moving forward is that I'll have more structure and a better routine for each day.  I'm hoping to wake up, have coffee/breakfast, workout, shower, have some time in the Word, and then work!  Considering I start at 8am central time and I'm on eastern time, I have the entire morning before 9am to do things before I start work!  Additionally, I'm starting my virtual gig at 30 hrs/week which boils down to 6 hrs/day.  I'm done at 3pm every day!  Once I'm in a routine I'll also figure out the best time to prep dinner, likely after I'm done working. I think I'm going to dig this! 

I'll keep everyone posted on things - you know where to find me ; )

Mrs. Gretchen Niemann