Note: I wrote this post on Thursday!

This post is brought to you from Pennsylvania (where we arrived the Wednesday before Christmas, after approximately 25 hours of driving).

Having spent a week at my parents' house (with my parents, sister, the boys for part of the time, my sister's boyfriend on occasion, Nana for a couple of days, Grammy and Cindy off and on, and four dogs), I have come to realize that I really do consider Texas home, now (or at least our home in Texas ... maybe not all of Texas. ...).  On the drive north, I worried that maybe I wouldn't want to leave, and would be absolutely miserable the whole way back to Texas.

But, that isn't the case.

Alan and I have established our own routine, and as much as we love spending time with family, we miss doing things our own way.  We've realized that spending quality time with each other is a top priority in our lives.  Also, I got my mountains-and-trees fix about an hour into the drive in northern PA, and I now feel claustrophobic and ready for the flat lands of Texas.

Now, that's not to say that I won't feel sad when we leave tomorrow morning, because I will miss spending time with my family.  But, we are loving newlywed life with each other in Texas, and we have the support of some great friends there.

It's kind of odd to see how life changes.

happiness = waking up before the sun.

Thanks to Pinterest, I stumbled upon four beauty tips for women who normally don't [care].  While I was reading, I thought about my own self-care routine, and how much it's changed over the past few months.

All through college, getting ready took me ten to fifteen minutes.  That included everything between me turning off my alarm to me leaving my dorm for breakfast (or prepping it in my dorm, if I happened to be eating there).  On the whole, I was very low maintenance, and didn't put much thought into styling my hair or picking cute outfits.

And then there's my self-care routine now.  The two biggest changes that I've noticed revolve around my hair and my clothes.

Hair
I love to curl my hair.  Sometimes I use a heated curling iron, and sometimes I use the no-heat method that Nish Happens mentions (and it's pictured at left!).  The latter is typically more difficult because my hair is extraordinarily heavy and thick, but I love the result and it's less damaging than blasting my hair with a hair dryer and curling iron.

And, I can get away with cleansing my hair only every other day (which is apparently standard for many women, but I had no idea).  About a year ago, I switched from using shampoo and conditioner to using a mixture of water and baking soda for shampoo and water and apple cider vinegar for conditioner.  For me, the results were immediate--my scalp isn't oily at the end of the day, I save time by not washing it daily, and I noticed that my hair has a lot more volume and feels lighter.  Plus, I feel better about the products I'm using (and they're cheaper).

Clothes
My standard college ensemble consisted of jeans and a shirt or layered shirts.  Flats, flip flops, and sneakers were the norm.

Now, I still wear jeans (and I think I will always be a fan of layering shirts), but I put a lot more thought into the shoes I'm going to wear, how I'm going to accessorize (I love learning different ways to tie scarves), and what hairstyle looks best.  Some of my friends here have never seen me in sneakers or wearing a hoodie (but you'd be hard-pressed to find one of my college friends who hasn't).

Reflecting, I wondered why I suddenly don't mind spending half an hour drying my hair, or why I suddenly take pleasure in getting ready for the day.

And I realized, it's because I'm really happy.

I take pride in looking my best, both for myself and for my husband, and I enjoy taking that time in the mornings.  I even wake up (normally) between 5:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. to exercise and feed the dogs, and I'm happy about it.  Which is really weird if you consider the fact that I hated waking up at 6:30 in the morning to catch the bus for school, and I even thought that 8 a.m. classes were early when I was in college.  But now?  Push-ups at 5:30 for the fun of it?  Holding a plank while the dogs lick my face/nip my hands because they want to play?  Savoring a cup of tea before the sun rises, so I can dust the house?

Sounds like fun to me!

ministries

We are busy.  Busy and blessed.

"The Case for Christ" is going to be good, we can tell--we're breaking the sessions in half because of the involvement in and debate around the discussion questions.  I think one of our struggles will be the fact that we are all fairly strong in our faith, so the best way to approach this study will be to gain knowledge in order to answer those tough questions we might not expect (but that might be the opportunity for us to be fifteen).

The fall quarter of Sunday Morning Life Group ended today.  Teaching is a little overwhelming, sometimes, and I've really stepped out of my comfort zone (I am a fan of my introverted tendencies and I strongly dislike praying aloud, but I've done it for the past eleven weeks).  However, I would like to continue teaching.  Classes and teachers typically change every quarter (granted, this is only the second quarter that Chapel Next has offered Sunday Morning Life Group), so I would like to be able to offer a stable class that people can count on.
I'm just not sure if I should offer it for women (PWOC meets on Tuesday mornings, but I know that not everyone can attend), or if I should offer something similar to "Captivating" meets "Wild at Heart"--a class where men and women can learn about themselves and each other, and how to relate to one another in a Christian sense.  Or maybe something completely different.  I brought this up with a friend Monday night at dinner--we talked for two and a half hours about this and that and life in Texas and ministry opportunities, and it was a blessing.
Meanwhile, Alan keeps busy with Children's Church, which he teaches on the first Sunday of the month.

This was my first week off between semesters.  With God's help and direction this semester, and much support and love from my husband, I earned a 4.0 and believe that this is exactly where He wants me.  One of my professors said that she would "strongly encourage" me to go for a doctorate after this program, because she believes that I have "a brilliant writing style" and sharp skills--both of which are generous blessings from God and just the message I need to hear (and remember) during those times when I feel inadequate.

giving thanks ... and buying stuff.

We spent Thanksgiving with friends this year.  Not that that would be a particularly surprising statement, coming from Alan.  But, this was the first Thanksgiving that I didn't spend with my family (or, to be more precise, this was the first Thanksgiving that I spent with my own, grown-up family).

A couple of weeks ago, one of my friends asked me what I thought of Texas, now that I've been here for about five months (I like the fact that everything is close and the weather is warm, but drivers are unpredictable and social etiquette is ... not what I'm used to).  The conversation turned to homesickness, and we both admitted that with the holidays approaching, we missed familiar faces and places.  (This will be the first year I can't attend my hometown's Christkindl Market, and even though I always hated traipsing around from booth to booth in the freezing cold, it's the principle of the matter.)  Fortunately, she and her family were some of the friends who joined us for food, fellowship, and the longest game ever of Dicecapades.

Alan and I even took glazed ham and baked pineapple (my mom always makes those two dishes for Christmas).  And I don't even like glazed ham.  Or baked pineapple.

Alan also experienced Black Friday for the first time ever.  Because we ended up staying so late at our friends' house, we dropped off food at home and then went shopping.  It wasn't nearly as bad as we anticipated, since there are far more people in Killeen than what we've been used to, but we also didn't even attempt stopping at Best Buy or Kohl's (the parking lots were absolutely full).  We purchased a TV, which was due to be replaced ... our old TV was so small that the last line of subtitles sometimes got cut off when we watched foreign films.  And, if that's not reason enough to replace the television, there was a VHS deck in the bottom of the TV.

Actually, the main reason we wanted to upgrade was because we finished "Resilient Warriors," so our Home Life Group will start studying "The Case for Christ" on Friday, and the lesson comes with a DVD series.  Nine (or more) people watching a session on our old TV?

Not happening.  We couldn't see the screen properly if we sat on the couch, so we typically watched movies sitting in front of the couch (which kind of beats the purpose of having a couch) or lying on the floor halfway between the television and couch.

busy + blessed

I've started so many posts (and finished them and left them sitting in draft form for weeks), but since Alan and I wanted this to be a joint effort, it's sometimes difficult for us to coordinate schedules.  And by that, I mean that I usually write during the day, and then forget to tell him that I wrote something I'd like him to read/add to/edit so we can post it, so nothing ever happens.

The house is looking a bit more homey--Alan hung some of our wedding photos in the entryway and we strung some Instagram photos in the hallway.

We wrapped up "Resilient Warriors" on Friday (we moved our home life group to Friday evenings, since we have a penchant for staying up until the wee hours talking) and will start studying "The Case for Christ" next week--we decided to take a break this week to relax after Thanksgiving--we provide dinner each week, so preparation can be a bit exhausting.  We're (the ladies' class) also preparing to wrap up the fall Sunday Morning Life Group sessions--there are only a couple of chapters left in "Captivating."

Work- and school-wise, we're both doing well, even though our dream job is to be attached at the hip every day and somehow manage to still earn an income.

Unfortunately, we still have yet to figure out that one.