The Guy Behind the Blog

I'm kind of really excited for this new link-up that Betsy came up with. 

I didn't think I could get my hubby to do it, but somehow he agreed. (I secretly think he'd do just about anything for me.)

1// have you ever had a blog, or have you ever considered starting one?

Uh....no, not really. No.

2// if you could be a member of any band, which one would it be?

(this one involved a lot of thought people...)

Def Leppard.

3// valentine's day is on the horizon...are you the date-planner type or do you fly by on the seat of your pants? do you have anything planned for february 14th this year?

I just kinda let it happen. I mean, we haven't really been able to just plan out dates for a while. (He's talking because of our finances.) Nope. Nothing planned.

4// tell us about a date-night gone wrong.

Alright you guys, he seriously couldn't think of one. We both are the random dates, not planned ones type, so things don't usually go "wrong". However, I know one, but this is his post so maybe I'll share later.

5//and let's cover all the topics...sports...who are you rooting for in the superbowl and why?

Patriots, because I don't like the Packers. (I then told him that logic is wonderful, considering the Packers aren't even in the Super Bowl.) Oh really? Right, it's the Seahawks. Still the Patriots.

In case you missed it, I recapped my January goals earlier today as well. Read about it here. 

January Goal Review

I can't believe that January is already over and we're moving on to February (which is a really short month). 

Overall, I think I did pretty darn good on my goals for January. 
If you want to read the original post, it can be found here. 

Here's how I did:

mental health// be open and honest at my initial appointment for therapy.
Yes, yes I was. It was extremely difficult. And I'm still not sure how I feel about all of this. (I've had two appointments now.) but I was open and honest, which was the goal. Pass.

physical health & weight// no fast food
Well, you see, this one is sort of a fail. But not as bad as it could have been. I had Subway once and Quiznos once. Both of these some people count as fast food, some don't. So, there's that. I also had a small packet of cheese balls from Sonic, which is definitely fast food. Mostly pass/Small fail.

relationships// sent my grandma a personalized birthday card in the mail.
You guys, I wrote my grandma a letter. And she loved it. I timed it exactly right to get there on her actual birthday and it was fantastic. I'm so glad I did this. Pass.

faith// challenge myself to learn something new during each week of Spiritual Formation
Yes. I'm LOVING this small group. Wow. I've learned a lot about myself and can feel myself improving. Pass.

money// connect my investment account to my checking account
Did it. Soon I'll begin making deposits back into my investment account, but for now, it's connected. That's a start. Pass.

I also completed my Project Pinterest. 

My savings goal this month was $71. Somehow I made it. There's a small chance I'll have to pull some out, but as of now, it's in there. Wooooooo!

High Five Friday

Heya!

So, I know. I know that I'm failing here.
I know I haven't written in forever.
And I'm sorry.

Now that THAT'S out of the way, IT'S FINALLY FRIDAY!

Teaming up with High Five for Friday again. :)

1. DANIEL GOT A JOB!!!
You guys, seriously, the man has been actively looking for a job since February. We got married in June and I've been supporting the both of us. It's not that I mind working, but we've been behind on our bills the entire time because I was student teaching until May and then the wedding, etc. This is going to help SO MUCH. Plus, it's going to help his self-esteem because he was really feeling bad about not helping.

2. Thanks to that, I might be able to quit my 3rd job!
Now, I don't hate any of my jobs. I like all 3 just fine. But let's be honest -- who has time to actually work 3 jobs and stay sane? I don't. And now I won't have to. (Though I am going to keep it probably up until Spring Break in March or so -- start saving things up)

3. Speaking of Spring Break, I'm going to be working intercession at our school and teaching 3 days, 2 times a day. I'm going to be doing crafts! So, if you have any fantastic things sitting on your Pinterest that would be good for 3rd-8th graders, let me know!

4. Yesterday, I had ONE class. To top it off, that one class had a dance party. Best way to start a Thursday.

5. We can pay all of our currently due bills! Seriously? Holy moly. We haven't paid all of our bills in one single month since.....December 2013? I'm so excited!



Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow with my goal review and my goals for February. Check in then!

Slacker

Alright, I know.
I've been slacking REALLY badly lately.
I'm just completely exhausted from trying to juggle three jobs, a husband, eating, and sleeping.
Surely somebody out there understands?

Either way, I promise you I have some stuff planned.
Some exciting stuff!

It will be coming soon.

For now, let me just say I can't wait until this week is over.
(And next week too. But I'll post before that.)

<3

High Five Friday

It's Friday!

I'm excited to be linking up with these lovely ladies again.

1. I'm going to see my MIL and my grandparents this weekend!

I'm pretty excited to be going back to visit.

I haven't seen my grandparents since my cousin's funeral in August/September (can't remember which). 

2. This week went by super fast.

I didn't have students on Monday so it seemed like this week went pretty darn quickly. 

I can't complain.

3. I don't work tomorrow.

I work all the time. 

Literally.

Three jobs...I'm generally working every day.

But I have a day off tomorrow!

4. I got a promotion at one of my jobs. :)

I'm going to get a fancy title & a raise. 

Boom.

5. I'm officially a member at the church Daniel & I started going to. 

So excited to be back there and a part of it.

Daniel has completed membership classes but has to wait for the service to be "official"

That's about it this week.

Small things.

But great things.

Project Pinterest #1

WELCOME to the first ever, super exciting (for me anyway) debut of Meghan and I's blog baby -- Project Pinterest!!

If you missed the original post of what this Project Pinterest is all about, you can read the original post: here

If you're here because you read that post and you were excited to link-up -- IT'S TIME! :)

Because this is only the first month and you may have just recently heard about this, we are allowing you to link-up to your Pinterest if you haven't actually made something and written about it. 

Here are the guidelines for the link-up:

Link-Up Guidelines

1. Follow your fun hosts Jayme and Meghan.

2. Open up your Pinterest and find something fun to make/do!

(You can pick any category - food, DIY, etc. Your options are unlimited!)

3. Blog about your experience.

(Make sure to put the button somewhere on your post)

4. Link-up the THIRD Tuesday of each month. Please link-up to your specific post, not your homepage.

5. Put the button somewhere on your post so more friends can join!

You don't HAVE to comment on a certain number of other blogs,

but it would definitely make things a lot more fun if you did!

Each month we will both pick three of our personal favorites to "spotlight" in the next post.

We look forward to building community with you through participating in this link-up, as well as finally get something accomplished off of our Pinterest boards!

Without further ado -- my contribution to Project Pinterest:

Creamy Caprese Pasta

Mine did NOT turn out like the picture, but I really wasn't expecting it to.

It was pretty good though. 

I'll give this project maybe a B?

Personally, I think it was just because of the recipe though.

We thought it could use some more cheese.

And I wasn't a huge fan of the big hot tomatoes. 

But you guys, I NEVER cook!

So this was pretty exciting.

 

Here's my adventure.

Daniel pretending to hurt me. 

(He never would you guys, I promise)

But secretly, he was excited.

Anyway, first I gathered all of the ingredients.

This took 3 trips to the grocery store.

Not one, not two, but THREE.

After that, I put it all together and WA-LA!

I'm super excited to go look at what you guys created!

Maybe I'll get some good ideas for next time, because I have NO IDEA what I'm going to do for February.

<center> <a href="http://simplyalwaysforever.blogspot.com/2015/01/project-pinterest-1.html"><img src= https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjar1UMuw2GwPf866IP7JuYW18vwRCbny6sMgfJ-7CuCWCwkyBp4nLN8UEBPq4y2GMzv1ZM2amX8f_K_MV60ZNO8QI08H2rl5jimwvMI9H-oQ7b_rITRsSzbeefHXxVeyo2lw-ZoD8n-yo/s1600/Project+Pinterest.jpg" border="0"/></a></center>

An InLinkz Link-up

High Five Friday!

I found my link-up that I've been missing!!

I clearly missed the point when Lauren at Lauren Elizabeth ended up passing on the torch on this one.

I'm excited to link-up with these new lovely ladies for High Five Friday.

1. It's halfway through the month of January and I'm over halfway done with my January Goals! You can read about them here. I was very intentional with choosing my goals for the month and so far I've accomplished 3 1/2 of them! The others are in the works. I think I might actually succeed this month, so I'm pretty pumped!


2. Today is my grandma's 75th birthday and I sent her a handwritten letter telling her how much she means to me and how much I look up to her. It may not seem like a lot, but knowing my grandma, she's going to be absolutely thrilled. I mailed it a couple days ago but so far I haven't heard that she's gotten it. We'll see what happens when she does!!


3. On Monday, I met with an old friend who I hadn't seen/talked to in 2 years. We ended our friendship mutually on REALLY BAD terms. But since then, both of us have come to know the truth of Jesus, so we decided to meet up, talk about what happened in an adult way, and see what will come from that. It involved a whole lot of anxiety, a whole lot of prayer, and a whole lot of awkwardness at the beginning of our coffee date. But by the end, we had shared a lot about what has happened in our lives in the last 2 years. I think we're both under the impression that we will never be what we once were, but we are going to let go of what happened and forgive. We won't be talking every single day, but every once in a while, an encouraging quote or Bible verse might end up in my text message inbox. And I'm okay with that. It feels like a huge weight is off my chest.


4. Daniel's physical therapy is going awesome! His physical therapist said that he's progressing faster than he thought, which is good because that means that he's getting better (yay!) and that I may not have to pay as much for doctors visits, because he may not have to keep all 9 of his appointments.


5. I got hooked up with the Big/Little blogging network and have started connecting with my big Christine over at Life With a Side of Coffee. I've enjoyed starting this process and am excited to see where it takes us!



Is anything exciting happening in YOUR life this week?!



I'm also SUPER EXCITED to debut Meghan and I's new link-up Project Pinterest on Tuesday!!
I'm doing my project tonight, so wish me luck! And come join us in the fun Tuesday. :)

Currently

reading -- Blogs. Even though I should be reading To Kill A Mockingbird or A Wrinkle in Time before my middle school class today. 

watching -- At this moment, nothing. On my planning period later? Lizzie McGuire. No shame.

trying -- Not to freak out about my middle schoolers. And to figure out what to do!

eating -- Nothing.

pinning -- There's no method to that madness. It's just random things all the time.

tweeting -- Lizzie McGuire quotes. Again, no shame.

going -- To teach 2nd grade in about 4 minutes.

loving -- #fireworkpeople

discovering -- Forgiveness.

enjoying -- My morning coffee.

thinking -- About getting more coffee.

feeling -- Anxious.

hoping -- The next few days go by semi-quickly.

listening -- To the heater in my room and the tap, tap, tap of the keyboard.

Never Have I Ever

Have I ever mentioned how much I love finding new link-ups?
I feel like it actually gives me a purpose to post, even if I don't feel like I have anything to say.
So, I stumbled upon this one today and thought I'd give it a shot.

The topic for this month is Never Have I Ever...

I'm always the first one to lose at this game in real life.
I'm really hoping I can think of something to say here. That's usually a struggle.

Never Have I Ever...

been to Europe -- I know this one is lame, but like I said, this is hard! Plus, I've always really wanted to go to Europe. Ireland, Paris, Rome, Madrid, ohmygoodness, so many places I want to see.

broken a bone -- Nope. Not one. *knock on wood*

been a mom -- But I can't wait!

touched a gun -- I grew up in Colorado, just down the way from Columbine, which had the massacre when I was 7.  Since then I've sworn I will never even touch a gun. The idea has me literally crawling with anxiety. Now that I've grown up some, I sort of do want to take a course and go to the range, just to see. But we'll see if I ever get there.

written a book -- I really kind of want to though.

What's on your list?!

Don't forget to join Meghan and I next Tuesday with our very first Project Pinterest link-up!

The Rules for Disappearing // Book Review

The Rules for Disappearing

by: Ashley Elston

5/5 stars

You guys, I LOVED this book.

The fact that I read the first two chapters, set it down, then went back to it and read the last 300 pages in one sitting probably says a lot.
Or maybe it doesn't because you know me well enough now to know I do that kind of crazy stuff ALL THE TIME.

Anyway, this book focuses on Meg. Except, her name isn't really Meg. She's been placed in the Witness Protection Program and is woken up in the middle of the night by the suits dragging her out of her bed, to a safe house, where they will be told where they are going for their next placement.

When she gets there she decides that she cannot, under any circumstance, get close to anyone or anything in this new place because it's not going to last anyway. There will be a day where the suits come back and drag her away. She can't risk losing any more friends.

This is all fine and dandy until this hot boy comes around. She tries but she is after all a 17 year old girl so.....

She balances this with a dad who won't talk to her, a sister who is shutting herself out from the world because she's had to move so many times, and a mother who has driven herself to alcoholism. That wouldn't easy for any teenager, let alone one who is in hiding.

But something crazy is still going on. Why won't her dad tell her what he did to get them into this mess? Why can't they live a normal life? What if she decided to leave the program on her own?

Will she be safe?

The Book of Strange New Things // Book Review

 

The Book of Strange New Things

by: Michel Faber

4/5 stars

This book started off really boring for me. It had a lot of set up, which looking back was definitely necessary. 

This isn't the type of book I would normally read but I had absolutely no idea what it was about when I started. However, once the set up was done, I was hooked. I wanted to read it all the time to figure out what would happen next. 

This story blends religion with science fiction, which seems like it would be a very difficult task. It's all about a minister who is chosen to evangelize to an alien race. Interesting, right? 

So the main character of this story is Peter. He is chosen by a huge company to go to space and be their minister. He travels without his wife who was deemed "unfit" to participate in the program. He visits the native people of the land and finds that they already know a little bit about Jesus and are extremely willing to learn. 

He works with these native people for a long time while dealing with the fact of missing his wife, hearing about horrible things happening at home, and trying to figure out the real meaning behind his mission. 

You don't have to believe in God to find this book interesting, but it does have some Christian undertones. The story quotes Bible verses and helps to teach us that even if someone doesn't look like we do, they are valuable. 

The Golden Vlog // January

Oh look at that face!

If you're looking for my Word for 2015, it can be found here.
My January goals? here.

Join Meghan and I for our link-up Project Pinterest the 3rd Tuesday of every month!

renew //

this post is part of the peony project's monthly link-up

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, the definition of renew is:

1. to make (something) new, fresh, or strong again

2. to make (a promise, vow, etc.) again

3. to begin (something) again especially with more force or enthusiasm

I believe this is the perfect choice of word for my first Peony Project link-up!

There's a few different things that I feel like I'm "renewing" with the new year.

blog // If you've been reading me for a while, you'll notice, I FINALLY HAVE A GOOD BLOG LAYOUT! Yay for no more basic Blogger layout. I look fancy. :) Kelly over at Kelly's Avenue Designs worked with me to make my blog a lot more exciting. She was amazing to work with. She asked the right questions to make sure my blog looked like my personality. She did a great job, don't you think? I LOVE IT!

Another way I plan on "renewing" my blog is just to write more in general. I need to find things to write about (like this fantastic link-up!). My friend Meghan and I decided to make our own link-up starting in two weeks! Check it out here. 

my phone gallery // The amount of photos in my gallery on my phone was getting absolutely RIDICULOUS! It got to the point where I only had 9% of my phone memory left. So I decided to change it. I deleted EVERY SINGLE PICTURE off my phone. No worries, they were all backed up to Dropbox first. I now have over 50% of my phone memory left. Yeah, that's how bad it was.

my faith // My church just started a Spiritual Formation study where we are going to be spending time learning about the principles of faith. I think this is going to be a great opportunity for both my husband and I to grow more in Jesus, both individually and together. We are also reading the Bible together every night with a Bible in a year plan.

There's many more things that I think this year is going to renew for me, but those are the few I chose to talk about.  

If you're interested in getting connected with Kelly for a blog design, getting involved with Meghan & I's link up, hearing about what I'm learning in church, or finding a Bible plan for you, leave me a comment!

I love hearing from you and try to answer when I can!

The Peony Project is a community for women who love Jesus, love blogging, and are looking for a common space to share ideas, encourage one another, and make real, honest friendships with one another.

Project Pinterest

Once upon a time, there was a website called OpenDiary.

It was a glorious website, where people could pick a username and create an online "diary".

You could let other people on the internet read it and leave you notes.

Sounds like a blog right? Yeah, pretty much.

Anyway, on this magical website (which no longer exists), I became internet friends with this girl they call Meghan.

Let that sink in. Do you know who I'm talking about?

Meghan and I became quick best friends who soon took their friendship away from only the internet and into the world of text messaging. Wooo!

Flash forward a few years, the two meet. Instant connection.

aka we are still best friends, only now it's on the internet AND in real life.

Now, Meghan and I were talking one day about how we are constantly on Pinterest, but we have never actually made anything on there.

I have a board with a TON of recipes, a board with LOADS of DIY, a board with yummy drinks I've never mixed, etc.

She's in the same boat.

So naturally, we decided....

LET'S START A BLOG LINK-UP!

Without further ado (or rambling), let me present:

Project Pinterest

Link-Up Guidelines

1. Follow your fun hosts Jayme and Meghan.

2. Open up your Pinterest and find something fun to make/do!

(You can pick any category - food, DIY, etc. Your options are unlimited!)

3. Blog about your experience.

(Make sure to put the button somewhere on your post)

4. Link-up the THIRD Tuesday of each month.

You don't HAVE to comment on a certain number of other blogs,

but it would definitely make things a lot more fun if you did!

Each month we will both pick three of our personal favorites to "spotlight" in the next post.

We look forward to building community with you through participating in this link-up, as well as finally get something accomplished off of our Pinterest boards!

Link-Up Dates for 2015

January 20th

February 17th

March 17th

April 21st

May 19th

June 16th

July 21st

August 18th

September 15th

October 20th

November 17th

December 15th

See you in two weeks!!

<center> <a href="http://simplyalwaysforever.blogspot.com/2015/01/project-pinterest.html"><img src= https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjar1UMuw2GwPf866IP7JuYW18vwRCbny6sMgfJ-7CuCWCwkyBp4nLN8UEBPq4y2GMzv1ZM2amX8f_K_MV60ZNO8QI08H2rl5jimwvMI9H-oQ7b_rITRsSzbeefHXxVeyo2lw-ZoD8n-yo/s1600/Project+Pinterest.jpg" border="0"/></a></center>

Teacher Talk

Today I realized something.
Exactly a year ago (well not exactly because a year ago today was a snow day) I started student teaching.

I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't extremely nervous beforehand.
Honestly, my anxiety was so bad those first three days that I threw up and almost didn't go in.
But I went.

And I LOVED it.

I fell in love with my first placement -- the school, the staff, the kids...

Now here I am, one year later, in the same school, with the same staff, the same kids, and even in the same room(!) as when I student taught.
I'm halfway through my first year as a teacher and it's everything I'd ever dreamed it'd be and everything I never thought it'd be.

So, to wrap it up (and I like lists) here's 5 things I've learned in my first (half) year teaching and 5 things I still really want to learn.

5 Things I've Learned

1. You WILL make mistakes.
I've yet to have a lesson go completely 100% smoothly.

And you know what?

I've learned THAT'S OKAY.

The kids don't even notice half the time anyway.

2. You will shy away from your lesson plan (if you write one).

Half the time I don't even write lesson plans anymore (Good-bye college!),

But when I do, I don't follow them completely.

I don't even follow the ones in my head.

Sometimes it just comes down to "Do they really need to understand this vocabulary word they'll never use?" or "Do they need to learn the difference between these two concepts that they'll use almost every day for the rest of their lives?"

I pick the second.

3. Sub plans SUCK.

Seriously, I hate writing sub plans.

I feel like I'm TOO detailed. 

But I want them to understand what I want the kids to do, right?

4. You won't always know what to say.

Kids will cry.

Kids will act out.

Kids will hide in themselves and not want to come out.

And sometimes, you won't know what to say.

That's probably okay too.

We are human after all.

5. Time goes quickly.

Seriously?!

I'm halfway through my first year!

5 Things I Want To Learn

1. When do you speak up with ideas and when do you just let tradition keep going?

2. Will I eventually stop feeling like I'm not good enough?

3. Does planning get easier? 

4. Do I get more motivation?

5. How do I become a morning person?!

About Jayme

Hello there!

My name is Jayme. I'm a twenty-something who lives in Iowa, but I am not, never have been, never will be a farmer/farmer's daughter/farmer's wife.

I'm what you may call a work-a-holic. I'm a Kindergarten to 8th grade ELL/Reading teacher by day, a 5-week to 5-year old daycare teacher/office worker by night, and I weekend as a salad bar employee at my local supermarket. 

In my "free time" I'm a wife, a blogger, and a social media expert. I read an impressive amount of books and watch an obnoxious amount of television shows. My musical tastes range from jazz to country to rap to hip-hop. 

My husband, Daniel, and I have been together since I was in the 8th grade. We were off and on through high school, made it through a long-distance college relationship, and got married the month after I graduated. We are about to celebrate our one-year anniversary and I'm absolutely thrilled for the many more to come.

I was born in Dallas and raised in Denver, so I'm a city girl at heart.

I crave the fast-paced life of living in the city, but I struggle with extreme anxiety, so suburban/country life is a little bit better for me.

My dream is to one day live in the South, where I can sit barefoot on my front porch, in a rocking chair, sipping on some sweet tea and eating some cajun chicken. 

NO JOKE.

I'm so jealous that my family lives in Nashville and it's my new goal to convince my husband that we want to live there too.

I'm a Christian woman who returned to the faith February 2, 2013 and became a member at my church this past March. 

I'm married to a fantastic, God-loving man who challenges my faith in so many wonderful ways.

The Lord has changed my life in so many crazy, earth-shattering ways and I love sharing my story with others.

My dream would be to travel Central & South America, spreading the gospel.

That dream comes second to my dream of having a family.

I already have the super hot husband and together we've started the extremely frustrating (but super fun) journey of trying to have a child.

Ideally, we want a boy and a girl, but we will be happy with whatever God provides for us.

After having our own biological children, we want to look into adopting a child and giving them a second chance at life.
In fact, having a child is on my Thirty Before Thirty list. :)

My biggest role model in my life is my grandmother - my mom's mom. She is the strongest woman I've ever met and is always there for me. I wouldn't be where I am without her.

I'm addicted to coffee, Netflix, Jenna Marbles videos, dancing, My Drunk Kitchen, staying up too late, Diet Cherry Pepsi, singing way too loud, chai tea lattes, Taylor Swift, and Young Adult novels.

Life is crazy. So sit back, grab your drink of choice, and enjoy the ride.

January 2015

After talking at length with my good friend Meghan (If you're new, you'll notice most big decisions are discussed with her first), I've finally figured out how I'm going to do my monthly goals, as well as how I'm going to connect them to my "word" of 2015.

BUT, before that...

My December goals were as follows:

1. Finish reading the New Testament with Daniel. -- WE DID IT! We're going to start on the full Bible for 2015.

2. Drink 80 oz. of water daily. -- Yeah, that's a fail.

3. Hit 100 miles on Nike run. -- I DID IT! I have no idea HOW I did it. But I DID it!

4. Get my budget/spending in order and get out of debt. -- Getting out of debt is going to take a lot longer, but I've got my budget figured out and we're taking great steps towards being out of debt. More to come.

5. Complete the 30 day fitness challenges -- I did 2 days. We don't talk about it.

So, back to the present.

I've decided that I want each of my monthly goals to fit into my larger "word" of 2015 -- intentional.

In order to make this happen, I've decided on 5 categories -

Mental Health/Recovery

Physical Health/Weight Loss

Relationships

Faith

Money

Each month time will also tie into one of these categories.

Another thing Meghan and I are doing is a "No _____________ Month" each month and tying it in.

You'll see.

January Goals

mental health & recovery// be open and honest at my initial appointment for therapy. 

I have my first appointment Friday the 2nd and if I want results, I'm going to need to be open and I'm going to need to be honest. 

physical health & weight loss// No fast food. Pretty self explanatory. For the month of January, I will not be eating fast food. Hoping that will jump start my weight loss, which is officially part of my overall physical health because I let it get out of control.

relationships// send my grandma a personalized birthday card in the mail. This is where "time" comes into play. I will take the time to intentionally make my grandmother a card for her birthday, as well as to mail it. I'll also call her on her birthday. My grandma is one of my biggest supporters and it's time I show her how important she is.

faith// challenge myself to learn something during each section of my church's spiritual formation. Daniel and I joined a small group for the next 7 weeks that is going to be going through a "spiritual formation" workbook. I want to challenge myself to go out of my comfort zone if needed and learn something new in each "section" or chapter.

money// connect my investment account to my checking account so I can make deposits. Ideally my goal is to deposit $25 a month back into my investment account. For now, baby steps, let's set this up.