Lately

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1. I'm okay.

2. Since I deactivated my Facebook account earlier this week, friends have been coming out of the wood-works with all shades of concern. Thank you for your thoughts, questions, and encouragement. Even though I've never been one to constantly post about my goings-on, I found myself getting too caught up in others. Taking a step back from social media has laid heavy on my heart for the past month or so. I committed myself to giving it up for Lent this year. However, I was at church this past weekend, and Pastor Mike recently started a new series called "FIT." He's talking about being fit in various areas of our lives, and last Saturday's sermon was on making your mind/soul "fit." He discussed things that rob us of a fit mind, like anger, worry/fear, comparison, and not forgiving others. His comparison example was, you guessed it, social media. It's like God *lightly* smacked me on the head. Why wait until Lent? Why not start now? My church is also in the midst of a 21-day fast, so this is perfect. I might even go beyond the 21 days.

3. I'm committed to getting back my joy.

4. Adult coloring is quickly becoming that outlet. I find my mind is completely relaxed. I'm not worrying about the future. I'm not going over and over my to-do list, both at home and at work. I'm not even thinking, which is why this new hobby is more peaceful than reading <--- shut the front door! (as my husband likes to exclaim). Mr. B bought me an electric pencil sharpener to aid me in this endeavor.

5. The snow makes me happy. The cold makes me happy. It means less social commitments. More evenings at home by the fireside. More time spent with my Misters. More time in the kitchen. More getting my thoughts straight. More quiet times with God and His Word.

6.And you might find this hard to believe, but I haven't been on my yoga mat since late October. No wonder I'm out of sorts! This must be remedied.


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Lately

1. I finished weeding the juvenile biographies today, and oh my stars, look at these! My poor young patrons. Hahaha, oh thank goodness these went out the door! Collection embarrassment. I mean just look at Britney. And do we even remember there was a Venus to Serena?

2. I'm really craving a chocolate milkshake right now. Like really, really craving one. Like somebody get over here and bring me a chocolate shake! Pleeasssseee. With a cherry on top. (But not really 'cause those things are toxic. "Don't you know that your toxic?")

3. Are we ready for Christmas? Ummm, definitely not over here. Christmas is in two days and I still have gifts to purchase and wrap and how is Christmas in two days?!

4. I have not been in the Christmas spirit at all this season. All the decorations, the baking, the carols, the lights...I don't really care about any of it this year. And I love Christmas. But right now, just bring on 2016 already!

5. Speaking of 2016...any goals or resolutions?


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Lately

1. I'm making it a priority to make time for myself here and there before the holiday obligations commence. I can get sooooo wrapped up in shopping, decorating, baking, giving, traditions, and visiting that before I know it I'm overwhelmed and lose focus of the reason for the season. Which is Jesus, my friends. It's always Jesus.

2. So, I'm taking time to get organized as well. I came across this handy-dandy November to-do list. This is right up my alley. After this weekend, I will be on top of things.

3. As part of my me time, on my past Monday off, I went shopping. For work pants only. I was in desperate need of new dress pants. And where else can a short, petite lady shop than my favorite store Banana Republic. Talk about perfect timing, too. All pants were 30% off. I scored a cute gray pair for less than ten bucks! At Banana Republic!! And I wasn't even at the outlet store!!! My love for you is strong, BR.

4. On a more unfortunate side of things, Mr. B found a tick on Mr. Darcy this morning. Ick. He had one last year at this time. He just loves playing in the leaves. And we can't keep him out of the woods. My poor little pup. I feel like a fur-parent failure. I gave him extra eggs this morning to make up for the trauma.

5. As you can see in my above photo...guess what's back? It's red cup Season. Yes! Which means it's hot caramel apple spice season. Yes!! Which eventually turns into hot chocolate season. Yes!! Annnnd Starbucks hot chocolate is like a drug, people. Addictive with a capital A-DDICTIVE.

5. Oh, and this weather?!?! It's November. It's 75 degrees in Ohio. In November. I mean do we get out the pool or rake the leaves? Do we dig out the patio furniture or the Christmas lights? What is going on.... ??


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Lately

1. Flowers. So pretty. I'd like to see a show of hands. Who has a husband that decides a purple section of plants would look perfect against the house? Yes, this wife. Right here! Never loved him more. He gets me.

2. And speaking of planting...earlier this month Mr. B and I planted our garden. As of right now, with all the high 80-degree weather, we look like geniuses.

3. It's National Thank Law Enforcement Week. And today is Police Officers Memorial Day. Please, hug a cop. Okay, if you know one really well (like, if he's your husband, wink wink. actually, he's a deputy, so he gets more hugs, wink wink) have at it. They keep us safe. They see people at their worst. EVERY.DAY. I can't get into this topic too much, with what's been going on in our country as of late with the media and law enforcement and such, because I break down in tears every time, but I just want to say instead of pointing accusatory fingers at the cop, why not look at the criminal the cop was up against. The number of times that person has been in jail. What kind of human being that person was. And then decide if you're brave enough to interact with that on a daily basis. If you could handle that every day. What would you do in that one split second when it comes down to you coming home to your family?

4. Oh, and we stained our deck. That was quite the adventure. Epic. But it looks, oh so GORGEOUS with our new table umbrella.

5. So.... I have a spa day tomorrow planned with my bestie, thanks to my anniversary gift from Mr. B. I'm more than ready to be pampered, adored, and to mark off one of my bucket list items.

6. And this. Starbucks. It has kept me entertained. Daily. Oh, the names. I wish I had taken a photo of every name I ever received on my cups. Laughs for days.

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Lately

1. The Vera Bradley Outlet Sale 2015 came and went. I was there. I bought all the things. My list for next year has already begun. Y'all, the joy I have for this annual trip with my best girlfriend.... I.CAN'T.EVEN.

I'm planning an entire post on this, but this year's haul has been my favorite yet. I am obsessed with ADORE my new purses and bags! I was so happy to see many patterns were still available during the weekend sessions. And since we went back on Sunday, it was exciting to discover different patterns had been brought out that weren't available on Saturday. ANNNNDDD, VB finally makes phone cases for Samsung! And the heavens opened. The angels sang. If you love Vera and have never been, I promise you, this is something you should not miss. Mark your calendars.

Next year it's April 6th-10th, 2016

You know, just so you know.

2. Five years ago tomorrow,  Mr. B and I signed some pretty serious paperwork.

FIVE YEARS!!! Oh my stars, where did the years go??! This is a big one. We might have to do something special. Although, we booked a mini vacation to Hocking Hills for next month as a sort of belated anniversary celebration....and if you refer back to the above, I spent a tiny bit of money this weekend...but, it's FIVE YEARS, right? We must celebrate. We must go crazy.

3. And speaking of cabins in the woods, vacations, and summer, I should probably start my Yogalosophy program again. Dig deeper into clean eating. It's boat and bikini season again. Yikes. Wasn't I just devouring cookie platters??!

4. It's National Library Week!!!! Woot. Woot. To celebrate, enjoy these.

5. I'm a mess. I have all of these plans to organize, organize, ORGANIZE! But instead I find myself on the couch watching Netflix. Me <--- in desperate need of motivation.

6. And one more. Because I can.

Happy FIVE years, Mr. B, you stud.

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Lately

1. It's National Don't Go To Work Unless It's Fun Day. Three cheers for that, I say! It's always fun at my job, and today my kiddos are making bunny masks for preschool story time. We're reading books, playing with puppets, practicing rabbit yoga poses, shaking eggs, and jumping and counting. All before noon, I might add. It's FUN. Yes, the library is a RIOT.

2. These past few days my afternoon treat has been a mason jar of iced coffee instead of an iced La Croix. Not sure why the switch; I guess my morning coffee isn't enough. I suspect it may have to do with my busy afternoons and coffee seems more filling than water when I can't grab a snack.

3. Who is ready for Spring Break? Hands waving over here!! I have dreams of sipping an iced beverage on my deck. Maybe weeding the garden. Praying for sunshine. Starting some spring cleaning. Possibly a day trip to who knows where. Ahhh, Spring Break. We get one of those in the adult world, right?

Wait. What?

4. Keith Urban and Eric Church. Love 'em. I'm hoping they perform their new song on the 19th at the ACM Awards. "Raise 'Em Up" is just perfectly wonderful. A beautiful song. The radio needs to play the heck out of this. ASAP.

5. I was super excited to see Brooke Boon featured in May's Yoga Journal. Actually, I squealed. Finally! I was so happy to see YJ highlighting various yoga practices that are available to yogis, like Holy Yoga. This practice is a combination of yoga and scripture, meditating on God's Word. And it's the way I've always practiced even before I was introduced to Holy Yoga last year. I get on my mat to relieve stress, to stay fit, to stretch my body, but mainly it's where I seek my Father. It's where I listen for that still, small voice. It's where I find peace and comfort. It's where I converse, relating my gratitude and fears.

"We practice with our minds set on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy (Phil 4:8), not with our minds emptied. We meditate on the wisdom of God's Word (Psalm 119:9-16, 26-27), not on man's wisdom. We seek the transcendence and glory of God, not our own." (holyyoga.net)

6. Mr. B and I are in desperate need of a date night. And by date night I mean dinner and a movie. By movie I mean an actual theater and not Netflix. I need this because there are so many movies I want to see right now and I don't want to wait. Like Do You Believe? and Insurgent and Furious 7 and Cinderella and do I need to remind you it's almost AVENGERS time?!?!

Has anyone seen any of these?

7. And BASEBALL. Mr. B's Sports Illustrated arrived in the mail predicting the Cleveland Indians will win the World Series this year. Am I dreaming?! You better not have just jinxed our season, SI!

I will hunt you down.

I know people.


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Lately

1. [Wo]man down. These instant temperature changes have me down. Allergies have me down. I missed three days of work... but hey, I caught up on sleep. Go me.

2. And during those three days I parked myself, quite comfortably, on the couch with nonstop episodes of Hawaii Five-O. Re-watching all my favorite episodes. <--- read: all of the episodes. Oh, Steve McGarrett. :)

3. Every day for my afternoon snack I have a La Croix and a rice cake smeared with light cream cheese and all natural almond butter. I. CAN'T. STOP. It's my daily power fix. My guilty pleasure. The day is perfect for 10 minutes. Y'all should try it.

4. Mr. B has been quite the busy bee. He's painting doors, building chicken coops, taking me to Lowe's almost every day (with promises of swinging by Target --- side story, while I was sick he actually asked if I wanted to go to Target to restock my La Croix supply and to get me Starbucks to make me feel better...he's sweet.) where I promptly wanted to buy every piece of deck furniture I laid eyes on. Can you tell we're excited for spring?

5. And the heavens opened up. The angels sang. And I got my new coffee pot. Wait. You mean coffee pots don't take a half an hour to brew six cups? I feel spoiled. Stop it.

And it's programmable! Hello, to waking up to the smells of tall, dark, and strong.

(Oh, and a mug of steaming coffee. ....Of course, I meant Mr. B.)

6. Ummm, this pup will be ONE next week. What?!

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Lately

1. This open-faced "skinny" egg salad on toasted Ezekiel bread with alfalfa sprouts. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. I've had it for my work lunch for a dozen days in a row now. I used the healthy egg salad recipe from Dashing Dish's new cookbook, and you can find that recipe here.

2. Y'all, the library is full of crazy just waiting to happen. The other day we had a patron come in, and in quite a hurry I might add, and while on his cell phone he asked my co-worker, "how long are you supposed to cook pizza rolls in the oven?" My co-worker politely said she wasn't sure. The man then got off the phone, walked over to the movie section, and within 30 seconds rushed out of the library informing us he "really had to go." .... .... .... You can't make this stuff up.

3. Flat Whites with coconut milk from Starbucks have been my go-to beverage of choice lately. I am enjoying these, more than I thought I would. I first had a flat white a while back with whole milk (the original way), but it was too rich I couldn't even stomach a tall. I tried it with coconut milk and it's much, much better. I just wish Starbucks would use a brand of coconut milk that doesn't have the ingredient carrageenan. This is one ingredient I will avoid at all costs, and I have ever since reading Angela's post two years ago. When I discovered it in the ingredient list, I was pretty devastated. <--- not an exaggeration. There goes my coconut milk switch. There are plenty of brands out there without this toxic ingredient. I expect better, Starbucks!!

4. All the birthday cakes of late. This is why I gave up sugar for Lent (among other things). Because, yes, my sugar fast this past January was quite the opposite. Eat sugar all the time. And I am not this person at all. Seriously. Yet, it seems since Thanksgiving I haven't been able to say no. My self control seems to be buried under all the snow, lost along with the grass. And it's not even good sugar!

5. Not only do I get to see my best friend tomorrow, but I get to see most of my good friends as well. Hosting jewelry parties, well hosting in general, is something I love to do. Bonus: Mama is able to come! Double bonus: Daddy's coming along and they're visiting for the weekend! I haven't seen my parents since the holidays. This weekend may spoil me.

6. Oh, and we're getting chickens. This is Mr. B's want. To say he's ecstatic is an understatement. I am interested.


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Lately

1. I'm a little too excited that I have only ONE program this week and it's not until SATURDAY. After almost a program-a-day for the last two weeks, I am ready to just sit at my computer and order books! Or to sit and stare at the shelves I should be weeding. Or to run around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to figure out what I'm doing for next week's programming. Or to peruse through the three stacks of new books currently sitting on my desk in hopes of actually seeing my desk again. Or.... Well, you know. Just another day at the library. :)

2. And speaking of the library.... I get quite the enjoyment out of peeking at what the staff is reading. Every day we lay our books on the break room table, and I love noting our different tastes or finding a new title to my ever growing to-read list. The I Work at a Public Library book has been passing through all of our hands. Currently, it's my turn. FYI, as my co-worker mentioned while reading it, "It's kind of boring. We could easily top these escapades." No truer words were spoken. We see and hear some crazy stuff. PEOPLE are crazy. I suggested we start taking notes on our "incidents" to re-enact later for YouTube videos.

3. Lately, I can't get enough smoothies. And even though the high these days is slightly above zero, I still want my hands on a cold, creamy smoothie. I've been drinking ones with fresh o.j., strawberries, and others with almond butter and banana, and even one with coffee and unsweetened cocoa powder. Very satisfying in the A.M. let me tell you.

4. THE OSCARS ARE ON SUNDAY!!!!!! You know I get all too hyped-up for this award show. I think this is the first year in awhile that I haven't watched most of the movies and really have no predictions. I just can't wait to watch!!! And, you know, hope to see my favorites.

7. And The DAYTONA 500. Also on tomorrow. How'd a girl get so lucky?! Come on, Jr. Repeat???

6. Oh, and I'm over the cold. I am a lover of snow and winter. Honestly, I truly am. Last Saturday when I looked out the window and it was a complete white-out, I was super-excited. Like a little kid. However, I'm over having to pull on seven layers just to take Mr. Darcy outside to do his business.

And I must do this because, like his mama, Mr. Darcy loves snow. Every single time he spends the first 10 minutes just face-planting in it and eating as many snow ice cubes as his little mouth can hold before I catch him. Yes, I am looking forward to 30-degree weather. Which is possible tomorrow. Along with 3-8" of snow. We pick our battles, people.


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi