religion & politics

can you present a disclaimer, post-post? if so, may i?

i originally created this blog as a safe place to share my thoughts, dreams and aspirations, so as to avoid broadcasting such things on facebook {a personal pet-peeve of mine}. that being said, it is most certainly NOT my intention to condemn or criticize anyone reading my blog, and i apologize if i make anyone feel that way at any time!

i'm aware that my last post may have seemingly come out of left field to some of you {or maybe not} and i also know that the topics of religion and politics are two faux pas of conversation, but reality is they are a part of my life {and probably in some form or fashion, yours too} truth is, i tried to post about things that were socially "neutral" enough so as to completely avoid any potential conflict and i just can't do it. i am a passionate person and i love to talk about those things that are important and valuable to me! and sometimes that's my faith and/or our government. if you are at any point offended or bothered by what i have to say, i ask these things:

1. give me a chance. please feel free to express your opposing argument/opinion - i'm always interested in expanding the horizon of my perspective on any given topic or issue!

2. be kind. as i said before, i can be a very passionate woman, but i try to always to be friendly, thoughtful, and well-meaning in the words i choose - i ask you to do the same :)

3. have patience. i try to be slow and careful in the presentation of my thoughts, especially on delicate subjects, but i'm not always successful in adequately explaining my point of view - so please, ask questions!

that being said, i hope you had a great weekend!....mike & i had a fantastic date night on Saturday riding carnival rides and playing the games at our parish picnic {pictures soon!}

summa-summa-summa time.

so the summer is in full swing {obviously} and we are "in and settled" to the new casa! {pictures to come}

it has been amazing to have my days free to enjoy my daughter's company and devoting my spare time to relationships and different parts of ministry! my heart & head are full of thoughts & feelings of the experiences & revelations God has blessed me with in the past few weeks! {more to be said of those soon!}

my friend maggie and i have started a young women's group on "princessology" and i am SO very excited to share as things unfold!....the concept is to together discover what it means to be a woman, the Crown of Creation, a Princess as the daughter of the King of Kings, and how that looks for us in today's culture, our daily relationships, and as a part of the church. the plan is to get together frequently through the duration of this summer, watching movies {like The Little Mermaid, Princess Diaries, Pocahontas, etc.} that exemplify both the positives and negatives of our distinct characteristics as women. the objective is to open the floor for discussion and reflection by giving the girls relatable illustrations that connect to the "foundations of femininity"....{i said, it's a lot and i'll share more later}

here are some moments captured from our summer thus far....

....mollie LOVES to play peek-a-boo

.....i simply couldn't {didn't} resist!

.....too cool for school.

....my new favorite polish color. {i'm kinda obsessed}

.....this camera strap was my dad's

....this mug makes my morning coffee udderly irreplaceable! {sorry, i had to!}

....o.r.a.n.g.e. l.e.a.f....within walking distance of our house!! {yes, this could be very detrimental to my wallet & waistline}

.....i love our beautiful little life.

we're off to the parish picnic! happy friday everyone, enjoy your weekend!!

fun day. friday.

i've never been one for april fools day. i'm not clever enough. or a good liar {at all!}. i can't remember ever successfully suckering anyone into believing any shenanigan i came up with. so instead, this year i've chosen to recognize national fun day!

it's a bird. it's a plane. obviously it's neither. nor is it practical or conserving our world's supply of helium. however it is fun! and seeing as Up is one of our favorite pixar movies, i had to share!

happy fun day everyone!!

the secrets out!

ok. so it's official, i'm a terrible blogger! and i acknowledge that i need serious help with my getting betterer skills! {any tips are welcome & appreciated!} but in my defense, things have been a little crazy in the hoffmann household!

in my last post i mentioned our date night challenge and if i were a pessimist i would say a flop would accurately describe the attempted execution of my plans!

my original plan was: dinner at one of mike's favorite simple spots, then see a movie we both wanted to see {we don't go to the "real" movies, hardly ever. so this was an extra treat} followed by introducing mike to lovely world of fro yo, yo! none of the above ended up happening {a story i might go into later} but we had a great night enjoying each others' company while celebrating a friend's birthday!

in newer news........we are officially HOMEOWNERS!! {as of 5 o'clock p.m. yesterday} i don't really feel all that different, maybe it's partly because i am very confident in our decision and know that it was right for us, because we took our time, prepared and educated ourselves, and weren't rushed into anything, and lastly because we're not actually living there yet! :) i promise {for real} to post pictures and updates along the way as we make this house our home!

Happy National Clams On The Half Shell Day, Everyone! {yesterday was I'm in Control Day, just fyi ;)}

problems and new practices

so. for christmas i was given the aperture software to use with my new camera {both of which i am incredibly thankful for!} however, i have a problem. my macbook will now not allow me to save the raw files to my hard drive. instead it opts to save the files in the aperture program itself and in turn not allow me to upload them to the blog. sad. frustrating. day. so, to satisfy my picture posting pleasure, here are some family pictures my mom had taken over the holidays......

my beautiful sister {and i}

three generations

us girls

my amazing little family {mollie was not at all pleased with the photo session idea}

the whole gang

back row: miss mollie, myself, mike, my brother joseph {18}, my brother lane {20}

front row: my sister mary katherine {17}, my brother michael {10}, my *amazing* mother, and my brother timothy {12}

....if any of you out there in the world of blog know how to help me with my picture-posting problem. please. feel free!

in the mean time....we have decided that this year we will attempt to make living on a budget funner. *smile*....for the last 2 years we have tried our very best to live conservatively, not really budgeting for anything besides debt elimination and savings. so, starting now. we've started our own version of the dating game {i'm super excited}

here are the rules:

• once a {calendar} month
• take turns being the "event coordinator"
• stay within designated budget
• plan it completely {including childcare}
• may or may not opt for a surprise
• plan something the other would find enjoyable in an attempt to learn something new about each other. {this "rule" is my favorite. hehe}
• laugh. a bunch. and enjoy each others company.

it doesn't have to be anything fancy. i'm all about enjoying the simple things in life. it's the little things...this month is my turn, saturday is the "big" day, and we'll see how it goes, i s'pose. i'm really excited to spend an evening just the two of us, but i'll have to wait to reveal my plans cause i've chosen to opt for a surprise!

happy friday everyone!

love words

so i'm gonna be honest. in my past, whether single and lonely or happy in my current relationship(s), i've never been a huge advocate for v-day {ok, except maybe when i was a kid and it was just another occasion for candy}. but in my defense i'm not a big promoter of any overly commercialized holidays. really.

i've done quite a bit of soul searching, reading and pondering on my own meaning of "love" lately. i want something deeper than a Hallmark card and not as over-worked as 1 Corinthians 13 {although it happens to be one of my favorite passages) i find language simply fascinating and am always interested in the meanings of words and their history. so i thought it fitting since today is valentine's day, to share a list of some of my favorite "love words" and their definitions :-}

ardor |ˈärdər| ( Brit. ardour)

nounenthusiasm or passionORIGIN late Middle English : via Old French from Latin ardor, fromardere ‘to burn.’

endearment |enˈdi(ə)rmənt|
nouna word or phrase expressing love or affection.

affection |əˈfek sh ən|noun1 a gentle feeling of fondness or liking2 archaic the act or process of affecting or being affected.ORIGIN Middle English : via Old French from Latin affectio(n-), fromafficere ‘to influence’

dote |dōt|verb [ intrans. ]1 ( dote on/upon) be extremely and uncritically fond of

passion |ˈpa sh ən|noun1 strong and barely controllable emotion• an intense desire or enthusiasm for something or someone• a thing arousing enthusiasmORIGIN Middle English : from Old French, from late Latin passio(n-)(chiefly a term in Christian theology), from Latin pati ‘suffer.’

***{i find the root meaning of passion exceptionally relevant to love, which along with great joy and fulfillment, can bring suffering also}***

besotted |biˈsätid|adjective1 strongly infatuated2 archaic intoxicated; drunk.ORIGIN late 16th cent.: past participle of besot [make foolishlyaffectionate,] from be- [cause to be] + sot .

what are your favorite "love words"??

happy monday and happy valentine's day everyone!!

mirror, mirror {mollie's amusement-with-self video}