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}

time flies {when you're having fun}

this week the hubbs is here:

...in reno, nv {until late. late. thursday night} for manager meetings with usb. and while i am happy for him, i am a little jealous as well >:]

today, however. on top of being jealous i'm a little emotional too. bleh.

perhaps cabin fever? while i do certainly love the snow and am thankful that if it must be cold at least it can be pretty. i am ready for the dirty piles that are taller than i am to be gone.

*spring come soon please*

...with spring will come mollie's first birthday. and as i spend these few days as *mommy and me* i am reminded. {and i know it's cliche} but i simply cannot grasp where the time has gone!

she is developing quite the personality and has even been dubbed *little miss melodrama* by her adoring grandfather.

little mollie claire instantly became the light of my life when michael put her in my arms. and over the past 9 months she has been my inspiration and partially the motivation for needed changes in my life.

i am thankful every day. more and more. for her.

i pray that i will only continue to grow in the ability to consciously cherish every minute. make sure to stop {not just *slow*} to smell the roses. and learn to especially love dirty fingers. messy faces. and less-than-perfect housekeeping. so as to be able to enjoy the making of every fleeting memory.

happy tuesday everyone.

awerded-awardiness!!

to my friend vanessa from {the best is yet to be} i'd like to say thank you!! she gave me my first [ever] blog award and i'm super excited!!

with awards come certain considerations, so here's how this works:

1. thank and link back the person who awarded you this award [see above]

2. share seven [random] things about yourself

3. award five [recently discovered] favorite bloggers [please contact these bloggers and tell them about their award]

ok, 7 things about myself....

[1] i'm the second oldest of seven children ages: [sisters] 30 & 17, [brothers] 20, 18, 12 & 10.

[2] i'm 5'6", 116, brown hair, brown eyes.

[3] i love to run and i love to cook [more]. (i realize these two things aren't really related to, except that they don't mix well simultaneously)

[4] i want to be a lyricist & an artistic photographer when i "grow up"

[5] i need 8 hours of sleep a night in order to function. period. i mean like, the same way i need air to breath.

[6] i have an obsession with music.

[7] i hate whining. of any kind. from anyone.

there ya go! :-)

now, to award my favorite bloggers....disclaimer: since my blog is so new i currently only follow 3 (except vanessa who gave me this award) but these 3 are no-doubt deserving.....

i love you to the moon ....i love her sunny smile and contagious positive attitude!!

J. Thompson Photography ....this girl has TWO, very busy 2 year olds AND a baby girl on the way. somehow she still takes time to pursue her hobby of photography and does a fabulous job!

The Art of Catching Happiness ....i usually can't help but smile when i read her posts

Now it's your turn to share the love!

'mine'-day

{via}

...this makes me happy. truly. i am a strong believer that we are the creators/makers of our destiny and while i myself have most certainly been guilty of the occasional "monday blues" i resent the mindset that it's 'dooms day' or even remotely similar.

i prefer however to view it as a clean slate, a new start, or perhaps just another pretty day in the life of the hoffmann household. i'm striving to be a person who finds the positive and the potential in every situation {and day of the week ;)} so, while i appreciate my weekends, there are many things about mondays that i thoroughly enjoy and even look forward to.

since it is after all "make-a-list monday" here are 5 of my favorites about this day:

-new words & "tricks" accompanied by giggles & smiles from the 3 little faces that fill our home during the week.-

-the smell of dryer sheets-

-asher's helpful little hands-

-quiet evenings with miss mollie all to myself {before her daddy gets home}-

-cooking dinner for my hubb-ay-

take ownership of your week!

happy 'mine'-day!

make-a-list monday

so. i've decided to make mondays list day :]

20 things i want to do before i croak:

~see the christmas lights on the san antonio river walk~

~run, complete, and place in a 10k~

~watch the ball drop {live} on new year's eve, in time square~

~carve my name in an old oak tree~

~take a summer winery tour in hills of california~

~visit the vatican city~

~climb a water tower and write "sarah was here" on the tank with a sharpie~

~walk across the ohio river {under the i24 bridge}~

~take an autumn walk along cape cod's seashore~

~visit all 50 states {and collect the magnets}~

~spend the day on the coney island boardwalk~

~own and restore an old historic home~

~take a picture to be featured on a bottle of jones soda~

~spend a season overseas~

~see the lion king on broadway in new york city~

~have a yard with a hammock~

~take a romantic canoe ride, complete with a picnic~

~teach my kids how to play "pooh sticks"~

~take my 1,000,000th picture~

~pass on only a minimal amount of amazing opportunities~

happy monday! what's on your croak list?

mixer? oh, like a blender!

so, for my mom for christmas, my siblings and i pitched in together to get her one of these:

although i wanted to get her a red one, all target had in stock at the time was white so i purchased one at the sale price with the intention of exchanging it later.

all that being said, there are at least 5 different target stores within a 10 mile radius of our apartment so over the past few days i've called the different locations to see who had replenished their supply of red mixers. upon calling one of the stores and requesting to speak with someone in kitchen appliances, this conversation may or may not have occurred:

me: "can you please tell me if you have a 4.5 qt kitchen aid countertop mixer in red?"

female employee: "sure, please hold"

(2 minutes later)

female employee: "umm, what brand do you want?"

me: "kitchen aid"

female employee: (smartass tone) "i heard that the first time, but what brand is it?"

me: "i'm sorry, but kitchen aid is the brand?"

female employee: (annoyed) "k, hang on"

(another 2 minutes later)

female employee: "umm, what does it do?"

me: (not sure if she's serious!) "well, it's a mixer? like the handheld ones, only not, because it stands alone with the bowl secured so you can have your hands free"

female employee: (still confused) "i'm sorry, like what would you use it for?"

me: (SERIOUSLY!!? i'm trying hard not to laugh at this point) "to make cookies, cakes, etc?"

female employee: (insert lightbulb over her head) "OHHHH, like a blender!!"

me: (trying REALLY hard not to laugh/scream out loud) "um, no! not at all actually. never mind. but thank you and have a great day!"

i thankfully found one at a different store with much less difficulty. although i was very tempted to drive the other location and introduce the poor girl to martha stewart, paula deen and maybe even my own grandmother!! seriously!!

so, this weekend i will deliver my mom's mixer to her in person and see my brother off to ft. knox, ky. it'll be a bitter-sweet trip home but a trip home none-the-less. i'm excited for him and hopeful of good things to come!

happy friday, everyone!! enjoy your weekends :)

{via}

noah comes to visit

last week i had the privilege of keeping a little boy that i had watched the end of last summer. his name is noah and he is just a few weeks younger than mollie. the two of them had a grand time entertaining each other for a few days....

such a cutie!!

take. take another little piece of my heart now, baby.

the last few months of our life seem like a blur.

but this past week has been especially hard.

mike's grandfather was admitted to the hospital last thursday and is not doing well. it has been a rather emotional, frustrating and exhausting 6 days and i'm afraid i'm not quite brave enough to express my truest feelings about the whole situation just yet.

regardless, it brings back memories of a time that was even more difficult and emotional for me.

here is something i wrote about feelings from back then...

sterile cold and plain

i take in this room once more

the silence helps the pain

but hurt won't let me close this door

we sit quiet, patiently and wait

for the other shoe to drop

wishing away the hatred

and the tension not to pop

"daddy's girl"

that's for another world

day late, a dollar short

another fleeting moment's gone

a wound i pray won't hurt

i'll miss you when you're gone

but i'll miss more what could have been

perhaps someday a hope there'll be

to see your handsome face again.

i cherish the few moments

that i lay my head upon your chest

the silence only hurt the pain

while leaving questions in unrest

"daddy's girl"

that's for another world

day late, a dollar short

another fleeting moment's gone

a wound i pray won't hurt

i sit here now in darkness

and wonder what has changed

i hear murmured voices all around

but only silence helps the pain

this's a little piece of my past. of my heart. so please. handle with care

{via}

asian love

this is a screenshot of an email i received over the weekend. i saved it, just in case something happens to my mike ;)

new.ness

it's 2011! and i won't waste time making exasperating exclamations of how the last year flew by. i will however, take a moment to reflect on the days of my 2010 that i am especially thankful for and fond of:

• january 5th: we found out we were having a baby girl
• march 3rd: i received the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist during the Easter Vigil
• april 9th-11th my friend vanessa and her husband greg came for her birthday visit, we defied our claustrophobia and rode to the top of the st. louis arch and rewarded ourselves with a tour of the anheuser busch brewery!!
• april 30th: our b-e-a-utiful and amazing daughter was born, miss mollie claire. she weighed 6 lbs 7 oz and was 21.5 inches long. and was practically perfect in every way.
• may 31st: we celebrated mike's 27th birthday, st. louis style, and took 4 week old mollie to see the cardinals vs. reds game :)
• june 20th: we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary by sharing leftover frozen cake, old champagne and our favorite wedding day memories. followed by a viewing of our "first date movie" you, me & dupree
• june 25th: i celebrated my 25th birthday!! (yayy for lower car insurance!!)
• july 3rd: we celebrated the marriage of two of our two dear friends, lance & lara trudell and had the wonderful privilege of being a part of their wedding party and beautiful day!
• july 16th-18th: we attended the steubenville conference in springfield, mo
• september 3rd-6th: my youngest brothers, tim and mike came to visit and we spent the weekend visiting the zoo and science museum (both of which are free)
• august 8th: mollie was baptized. with my best friend allison and mike's best friend lance as her godparents.
• october 4th: mike started his new job as a branch manager for us bank!!
• november 22nd-28th: we traveled home to paducah, ky to visit family for Thanksgiving and throw my mom an epic surprise 50th birthday party

we enjoyed an amazing end to a spectacular year with a great holiday season, and can say that all in all we were blessed with a happy, healthy 2010!

i don't believe in new year resolutions, but i do like the idea of making the life you want to live by setting goals accordingly.

that being said, here's one of my goals for 2011....

this year for Christmas i received:

The Canon EOS Rebel XS

so, goal número uno:

get better at photographically documenting life. get to be best of friends with my new piece of equipment. and fully learning it's potential!!

and in the mean time.....here are a few of the *amateur* pictures i've captured thus far.....

...the result of a little creativity and momentary boredom on Christmas afternoon
my beautiful baby girl happy after her evening bath
funny faces in the tub
(great) grandma & grandpa hoffmann, rich & liz, mike, mollie & i

Christmas morning excitement!

loving a visit with nana!
more bath time fun
this is my brother joe. i love the way she lights up his face *heart melt*
he loves her

this is the precious son of a good friend of mine

this is a baby picture of my dad. notice any resemblance?
my boo and myself too bad she doesn't love me ;)
cousins!

i have a lot to learn. but i'm excited!

i can't promise that my posts this year won't be heavily weighted with pictures. but i do promise to post.

happy 2011 everyone!!

blessings