Is it possible?

Dare we get our hopes up? Could spring finally here?

 I hear birds chirping at my window every morning...

 I smell fresh cut grass as lawn mowers fire up all over the neighborhood...

 I see kids playing outside with flip-flops on and no winter coats...

 I feel dirt on my fingers as I plant (and re-plant) my vegetable seeds in their tiny pots....

And I pray that I have tucked my bulky winter boots to the far corner of the closet for the Very. Last. Time.

Mix Master

If I ever come across a genie in a bottle I already know that one of my wishes will be for a soundtrack to accompany my life. That there will always be music playing in perfect tune with the highs and lows of my day. I'd wish for that, and a personal hair and make-up stylist to be waiting for me in my bathroom every morning so I can drink coffee and catch up on the latest US Weekly current events. Ahh, it would be grand.

A few weeks ago when I was knee-deep in repainting the office, I found my collection of CD's stashed away underneath our desk. When I put the room back together, instead of replacing them there, I stuck them in my car so I could listen to all of my old favorites. And ever since, every drive I take has become a trip down memory lane. Before Ipods and MP3 players were all the rage, I used to pride myself on making a mean mixed CD. I made them for myself, for my friends, and for my sisters. Music is totally therapy for me so I have mixes made to cover every emotion and for every occasion. For example, the short list of CD titles includes...

The Feel Better Mix (aka the break-up mix)

Songs to Cry With

Ride to Work Mix

The Long Drive Home Mix

Party Mix

Morning Mix

Morning Mix Vol 2

Pure Country Lovin' Mix

Alum Creek Mix

Praise and Worship Vol 1, 2, 3, and 4 mix

Songs that Make me Happy Mix

Cool-down Mix

Date Night Mix

I love Celine Mix

God Bless America Mix

Random Mix

Love Songs 

Love Songs Vol 2

Love Songs Vol 3

Ultimate Love Songs mix

Angry Mix

Running Mix

Rachel Mix

Rachel's Awesome Pop Mix

Oldies But Goodies Mix

And the list goes on and on and on. I love how you can not hear a favorite song for 10 years and yet when you hear it again you remember every single word to perfection, even the extra
"yeah's" and "uh-huhs". And it takes you right back to the time when that song really meant something to you and you can remember all those emotions again like it was yesterday.  I cannot listen to the Dixie Chicks Wide Open Spaces CD without remembering how much I loved driving to high school with my sisters, blasting our music and stopping at McDonald's to get Cappuccinos and breakfast burritos on the way. Or when Aerosmith croons I don't Want To Miss A Thing I am 18 again watching Armageddon with John and he's telling me he loves me for the first time so unexpectedly. And even with those first few beats of Lose Yourself, (the one and only Eminem song that I have ever liked) I can see myself pounding the pavement, running the mile loop around the UC campus again and again while I trained for my first marathon and played this song on repeat so I wouldn't quit. I don't think I would have completed it without that song. And I still get goosebumps when I play the mix of our wedding music and I remember how it felt to stand there with my dad and see John so overcome with emotion waiting for me at the end of the isle and the beginning of our new life. Music is powerful, at least it is to me. I used to tell John when we were dating,"If you want to know what kind of mood I'm in, just pay attention to the mix I'm listening to." And I think that still holds true today. 

Happy 11 Months Norah!

I cannot believe we are only one month away from Norah's birthday.Wasn't I just praying that I would go into labor like 5 minutes ago?

As we suspected, Norah is starting to walk now and venture out on her feet. She's really been gaining confidence in the past few days and is just as pleased as punch with herself when she manages to maneuver a short distance. She spends her days cruising around the walls of the house saying "mama mama mama" and cracks herself up with every new noise she figures out how to make. She is a great sleeper, a fantastic eater, and is looking more like John every day. She cries every time I run upstairs to get something, so even though she may look nothing like me, I certainly know she loves her mama. What a joyful baby girl, we are so blessed!

A few walking tidbits...

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

Have you ever read this book? It used to be one of my favorites. I have vivid memories of sitting cross-legged on the floor at our Carousel Ct. house in front of the built-in oak bookshelves reading this book over and over to myself. Now there are lots of other versions about giving a pig a pancake, a moose a muffin, ect, but, like all things original... this one is the best.

Whenever I start a home project, I usually end up thinking about this book because I find myself being the mouse, who starts with one objective (getting a cookie), which leads to another and another and another and another until that poor little boy is exhausted by this mouse. Not to imply that John is the little boy, because this mouse is perfectly happy to tackle those projects all by herself (with the exception of a little heavy lifting here and there).

My latest project started with one objective, to purchase curtains for our office. This part was easy. I found these curtains at World Market, loved them, and proudly brought them home to hang them up.

Problem: the curtains were too short by 9 inches. Easy fix, I will just return them for the longer length. Negative. These curtains only come in one size. Which leads me to project #2: To lengthen the drapes. I went in search of an exact match of the color and lucked out with a $10 tablecloth from Target that matched perfectly. On to the sewing.

In less than an hour I had drapes that I loved that were also now the right length.

Now I am finished right? Not so much. As I stepped back to admire my lovely new drapes, I couldn't help but notice how they sort of clashed with the paint color in the office. I didn't realize it until the sun was in full-force shining in through the windows, but it was definitely not a very good match. But oh how I loved these drapes. There was really only one solution: To repaint the office. Onto project #3: Paint

I loaded up the kids and headed to Home Depot to pick out some paint samples. I knew I wanted to keep within the green family, but needed something that was less blue-green and more green-green. When we got home I started holding up colors on the walls, on the curtains, and in the hallway just to make sure that everything looked well together. While standing in the hallway, I couldn't help but notice our make-shift coat rack that was overflowing with too many coats on 4 tiny hooks. And I had been wanting to tackle that project sooner or later. I quickly abandoned my painting for the moment and skipped to project #4: To make a larger coat rack for the entryway. I went in search of something in our house already that I could just add hooks to and thus save money with "freecycling". I found the perfect decorative piece hanging in the kitchen and it was just the right size that I needed. I again loaded up the kids and headed to Hobby Lobby to find some cheap hooks that were *Bonus* 50% off that day. Sold! I chose a few different kinds because I like things that look a bit eclectic. I hurried home to complete project #4, which turned out like this.

The only problem with using an existing piece of kitchen art for this project was that I now had 2 holes and a big empty space above our sliding glass door. It just looked way too bare like that. And you guessed it...on to project #5. While at Hobby Lobby I also happened to pick up a replacement decorative item that was also on clearance and just super cheap. I got out my ladder and went about hanging it up. (Not my strong suit, and there may be a few extra holes hiding behind that new picture, maybe.) Now that once bare spot looks like this.

The problem with switching up wall decor is that you're usually left with a few holes that aren't covered up anymore from that old item. Onto project # 6: Patching and repainting those spots. 

Once that tediousness was taken care of I went back to tackle project #3 and start painting. I decided on a lovely, fresh shade of green from the Martha Stewart line of paint and got to work. *side note: I would not recommend using this brand of paint, it may be low in VOCs, but it is high in extra hours of labor and took me 3 coats for even coverage.* And that Martha, is NOT "a good thing"

It took me 3 days of painting during naps to finish up this spontaneous little project but I am really happy with the way it turned out. No longer will those clashing colors keep me awake at night. Here is the new office color.

And that is what always happens when you give this mouse a cookie. And the moral of the story is:  You can take the girl out of the Johnson family but you can never take the Johnson out of the girl.

Just another day in the life of a rock star...

A few thoughts on Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, which is the 40 day period leading up until the celebration of Easter. I love the rich, Biblical tradition of Lent. Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days alone and overcame the temptations of Satan. He was busy preparing his disciples and followers (though they couldn't wrap their minds around it) for what was to come. And how could they understand it? All while He was wrestling in His own heart to accept what He knew was only days away-- the shame of being mocked, the feelings of being completely abandoned, the brutality of dying on a cross, the glory of being resurrected. Its all so overwhelming to me and reminds me how very small my life is.

I'm giving up television and sweets for the next 40 days. I don't write this with hopes of impressing you, but rather as a way to give myself some accountability. The truth is, I love watching TV, but it is so very distracting from the things that I should be doing with my time. I want more of Jesus. I want to walk in the figurative desert with Him for 40 days. While I'm fasting from being mindlessly entertained and indulging my sugar-addiction, I want to feast on the Holy Spirit and climb up in the lap of my Jesus and rest for a while. I need this, I have become so thirsty.

I would love for you to join me in really searching out more of God over these next 40 days, whether you choose to fast from something or not. I am so very thankful that I already know how this story ends, that JESUS IS RISEN! He has already overcome death. What else could we hope for?

Happy 10 Months Norah!

Miss sassy pants is a girl on the move. She is officially getting into everything from toilets, to trash cans, to bags of sugar in the pantry. I cannot take my eyes off her for more than 2 seconds without wondering what sort of disaster she is on her way to create. Easy going? Get serious! She does love to snuggle and lean in for kisses though when you ask her so we don't mind that shes a tad demanding and loves to wake up at the crack of dawn. I have never met anyone who hates getting PJ's on after a bath like this one. It is all piercing screams and growling as we sweat to dress her as quickly as possible before going deaf. But then she's happy and blowing bubbles again just like that as she jets off to unravel another roll of toilet paper. I'm predicting she will be fully walking by 11 months. Guess we'll have to wait and see...