challenge day 4: with or without you.

something you can't live without, because you've tried.

the first answer that comes to mind is my Lord and savior Jesus Christ! i was raised in church, daughter of a preacher. and like all good preacher's kids, i rebelled. after i graduated high school, i fell slowly away from the things i'd been taught. i never stop believing in God, so to speak, but i stopped trusting him and began trying to cut my own path through this world. that's a painful thing, y'all. it took three years before i realized that there is no peace, no comfort, no hope in this world without faith in something greater than yourself. i stopped trying to be an "intellectual" and having all my questions answered, because who wants a god who only does things they understand? that puts the god at our level, and i want my God to be much smarter than me.. even if that means i can't always piece his ways together. i didn't stop asking questions, of course. all my questions led me to a study of theology at ouachita, which is a passion of mine even today.

and, secondly, you can ask any one of my pledge sisters or my sweet suitey megan, i'm sort of pathetic without sergeant j. i know that's lame and i can't believe i'm admitting it to the blogopshere, but i wasn't sure i would ever fully heal from our short time of being broken up. he and i are just best friends, and just as you couldn't imagine your best good friend turning their back on you, i had a hard time dealing with the idea that he wasn't going to be part of my life. it was quite devastating. and you can call me quite ridiculous, but i don't care. it's the truth.

and on a lighter note, i can't live without lotion. especially good smelling lotion, but really any kind that moisturizes well. i won't even try.

what have you tried to live without, and simply cannot?

JOIN THE PARTY!
it's never too late to spring clean. click here for more info on our 30-day blog challenge.

*please link to today's post, rather than your main blog page. there will be a new linky tomorrow! the main link up is located on the spring forward tab at the top of the page :))

what i'm LOVING wednesday!

i just love wednesdays. it's the middle of the week and i always feel so empowered and motivated (because there isn't much left of the week haha). so here's what i'm loving!


i'm loving this polka dot swimsuit from the mod cloth website. in fact, i'm just loving the whole mod cloth website. i have to resist the urge to give my wardrobe a 50s makeover every time i visit! seriously.. i want to buy dresses and an apron and play june cleaver all day long. like, really.

i'm loving my new outlook on work. i have been in a funk but i had a really good conversation with my boss monday. it's so nice to finally have a boss who actually cared how i felt and would do things to help me. it was still a struggle to get going this morning but once i was in the office, i felt so much better! i was only there for a few hours, but it was a good few hours haha

i'm loving i'm obsessed with the oxo pop food storage items. i'm ordering the ten piece set today!

image from it's for dinner

i'm loving my brand new nook! we are all out of space for my love of reading, so i have been researching e-readers and finally decided on the nook. the main reasons i picked it were the lending, library, and epub/ade compatibility features. it's the plain one, not the color, and only has wi-fi. i figured i didn't need anything fancier than that. plus i got a sweet case for it. i LOVE it. seriously.

image from cnet

image from barnes and noble

i'm loving the sound of scentsy's april scent of the month! sorry i just had to say it. normally i don't talk much about my business on here, but it just sounds so yummy and it should be here friday! and i'm excited (obviously!). if you're curious, you can get previews every month on my private facebook group. if you can't find it, just email me! hello@aleasa.net

most of all this week i am LOVING that our newest small group couple is getting baptized on saturday! what an awesome step in the life of this young family. they have two kiddos in middle school and i couldn't be happier for them. we're having cookies tonight at small group to celebrate :)

and as always, i'm loving my sweet husband and his big ol' heart. <33

challenge day 3: good carbs?

a photo of something you ate today. was it worth the calories?

first things first. it is always worth the calories.

second, i took a picture of something i ate yesterday (tuesday) so that i could have this posted nice and early for my early birds in other time zones. so. i ate some tacos al carbon! mmmm...

i made this carne asada last saturday, and boy was it good. and, since i had some left over and the sarge was indulging in agape feast with his high school small group, i decided there was no better way to use the meat up. if you want to know what i'm eating TODAY, i'm making indian cilantro-cashew chicken and curried rice pilaf for dinner, but there's no picture at the time of this post :)

want the recipe? visit the heritage kitchen now! >>>

JOIN THE PARTY!
it's never too late to spring clean. click here for more info on our 30-day blog challenge.

*please link to today's post, rather than your main blog page. there will be a new linky tomorrow! the main link up is located on the spring forward tab at the top of the page :))