new year. new blog.

well y'all, its been real, but I'm moving over to wordpress. 

I kinda feel like I'm cheating on xanga, but I'll still stop in to read posts and such. I'm not going to shut down this blog, and I'll link my new posts for a while. 

so follow me on over to http://jomegs.wordpress.com/.

I'll keep writing my rambling thoughts and posting some new stuff too: like a 52 week self-portrait challenge and some awesome giveaways in 2011. love ya.

the last post of 2010

its always fun to write the last blog of the year. I can hardly believe its been 5 years since I started blogging. I wonder how many posts I've made in that time? a lot. 

this New Years Eve I'm at home with my favorite person. We got a garlic chicken pizza for dinner, I made dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, rented "The Other Guys" to watch and then got some Prosecco for a midnight toast. Jack is still recovering from a week of a bad chest cold and the weather was not conducive to safely driving all the way to my parents in the hills of WI, so this was a nice plan B. 

I'm excited for 2011. The turn of a new year always thrills me, I guess. So much uncharted territory, so many unknowns and so much to look forward to! I used to want to know exactly what was ahead, and sometimes still do, but I think I've grown to realize that the life of adventure with God is always good and I can trust Him with my days and hours. 

Believe me, I still have freak outs though. 

But here it is before us. A new year. 365 days with new mercies and fresh grace daily. The chance to grow, change and become more like Christ. That opportunity is available to me all the time, but its easy to mark the date and use it to springboard into new habits. Or so I tell myself.

Paul Tripp posted on the Desiring God blog today about trading in one resolution for 10,000 little ones - very good thoughts: "the character of a life is not set in two or three dramatic moments, but in 10,000 little moments. The character that was formed in those little moments is what shapes how you respond to the big moments of life. And what makes all of this possible? Relentless, transforming, little-moment grace."

I am so grateful for little-moment grace - like this morning when I couldn't do anything right by Jackson and he just wailed at me...I just looked at the ceiling and said, "God, please help me because I do not know what to do with this boy." There was grace. I took a picture of Jack wailing, smiled to myself and then played football with him. 

I'll need little-moment grace and bigger grace too this year. I know I will. Bring on a grace-filled 2011!

Happy New Year!

in which I try to rival the Pioneer Woman

its two days after Christmas and all I want to do (and have done) today is sit around in my comfy, cute, new black yoga pants (ala Pioneer Woman) and read books, sip tea and catch up on the interwebs. 

we already took down our tinder-dry tree and put away the ornaments, boxed up old toys and clothes and have almost eaten all the leftovers, so I think its okay to take a day to chill. Not to mention, Jack's sick and I'm not feeling so hot myself for various reasons. (no! I'm not pregnant. Stop it.) 

our Christmas was WONDERFUL. we celebrated with the Puelston side on Christmas Eve and had a lovely time with them and others at their traditional Christmas Eve party. our "ugly" sweaters (i pinned the word "ugly" onto sweaters we already owned) didn't win the contest, but did elicit some laugher and smirks. i received an awesome, red, Chantal teakettle with a whistle that works, among other kind and generous gifts. 

then on Christmas morning, it was just our little family, which was sweet and special. Jackson REALLY got into opening presents this year and exclaimed "WOW!" or "whooooo" with each thing that was opened, as if it was the best thing he had ever seen! So fun. We gave him just a couple small things because he got a lot from his grandparents, aunts and uncles, but he was enthralled and helped us open our gifts too. 

the Henderson side joined us for Christmas dinner and one more round of gift-opening. It was great to have Nate and Karla home for Christmas too - as a married couple, yay! They arrived in the early afternoon as I was finishing up our legendary Christmas dinner. 

enter my attempt to rival the Pioneer Woman's use of butter as a common and ample ingredient. I think by the time the meal was all said and done, I used between 2.5 and 3 lbs. of butter. I can neither confirm or deny this number for certain, but that's a rough approximation. It was well worth whatever calories were consumed and it all came together with nary a hitch or me stressing out. 

appetizers: french onion crostini and brie w/ raspberry glaze and assorted crackers

dinner: rum glazed ham 
roasted sweet potatoes and parsnips w/ orange honey glaze 
mashed yukon golds w/ dill and Vermont cheddar 
fresh green beans w/ sage and pancetta 
leeks au gratin 
homemade rolls 
citrus spinach salad 

dessert: pear custard bars 
pumpkin and apple pies 
sparkling red grape juice

I got most of my recipes from Epicurious, which is one of my favorite go-to sources for tasty ideas. I tweaked some things and added my own flourishes here and there, of course. If you want any of the recipes, just ask! I'm happy to share. 

and now all I want to eat is celery and chicken. Maybe a big chopped salad. That is all. 

my Christmas gifts ended up being a foodie wonderland: I received a new teakettle, a pepper grinder (I know! How have I gone this long with using dumb pepper?), a VitaMix blender (can I get a WOOT!!!!), several kinds of coffee and chocolate, and some fun spices. I got several other things as well, like these awesome boots from my honey. Jack's favorite gift was the refurbished rocking horse which was Kyle's that my parents fixed up. Isn't this a classic Christmas photo? 

Yes, it was a VERY merry Christmas for the Puelston's. I hope yours was sweet as well. Can you believe 2011 is less than a week away? New beginnings here we come!

December miscellany

so far, December at our home has consisted of the following ingredients: snow, pine trees, twinkle lights, ornaments, snowmen, butter, flour, sugar, ginger, shopping, friends, family and fun holiday outings.

Last night, I read this wonderful post by Molly Piper about the Facebook Christmas Story video that has been going around lately...I loved her thoughts and completely agree with her: I need Christmas. (And I really liked the video - I got goosebumps and chills at the end when they announce: It's a BOY! just as if I hadn't known it already.)

One more video for you to watch: The Innkeeper. A poem written and read by John Piper, our pastor shared this with us during church yesterday. I was absolutely moved to tears and wonder at this fictional, though possible story of Jesus going back to the inn where he was born to thank the innkeeper that gave his parents a place in the stable. Please take the time to watch it. 

The other day I came across this beautiful little tutorial on making paper snowflakes. I made a huge one (from 12x12 scrapbook paper) the other day during nap time and I have two more in process on my counter right now. They are surprisingly easy to make for how elegant and complicated they look! Here's mine hanging in our front window: 

I have discovered the fun that is the Hipstamatic app on my iPod Touch, so I've been snapping little shots of our daily activities a bit more. Here are some pictures of our tree, my cute little elf, baking, fun dates with my man, family, snow and friends. It's been a fun month, that's for sure - and its not over yet! 

Today I need to brave the Post Office and mail our Christmas letters/photos, and some packages and goodies. I also need to decide what delectable foods we are going to eat for Christmas dinner and go out and get the groceries. I want to do something totally different from our typical ham and potatoes meal, without going so gourmet that my silly brothers turn up their noses at the food. lol. 

Merry Christmas! I hope you and yours have a very merry, special celebration of our Lord and Savior's birth!

2010 Year in Review

this has become standard procedure for me over the past several years. Kinda fun to look back on year by year. 

2010

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before? went to Washington D.C.!!! AND LOVED IT.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I made goals, not resolutions and did well with more of them than usual! What I didn't reach: reading 25 books (I read about 10), run a 5K (SO dumb - should have done this), and work on developing a catering business. All in all, I'm very happy with what I did accomplish this year though. And yes, I'm making goals for 2011.  I love goals. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? a couple friends, but no one super close to me. Last year was "The Year of the Baby" in my life. 

4. Did anyone close to you die? not this year.

5. What countries did you visit? no countries - just states: Wisconsin, Washington D.C., Virginia, Ohio and Maryland. My husband went to Haiti though...

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? more patience and gentleness with Jackson

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? the day Kyle came home from Haiti - May 8. Happy reunion! Quickly followed by May 9 - my first Mothers Day.  

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? completing 2 rounds of P90X, losing 15 lbs, 12 inches and three sizes, which put me in better shape than before Jack. Maybe not better measurements, but certainly stronger and more fit. 

9. What was your biggest failure? getting angry with my son. I really want to be a gentle mom, even when a firm hand is needed. 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? the usual basic colds/sore throats, a badly sprained radius and shoulder and sleep deprivation. 

11. What was the best thing you bought?  plane tickets to D.C. and Ohio

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I think I will always fill this in with Kyle. Once again, he blows me away with the grace, love and kindness he shows me and the way he cares for our family. I am so blessed by him. 

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? the media and the government, as per usual. 

14. Where did most of your money go? mortgage, food, church/missions and gasoline.  

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? going to Washington D.C. with my wonderful husband for our 4th anniversary and having my best friends come and visit us!

16. What song will always remind you of 2010? Train's "Save Me, San Francisco" cd

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder? happier. I am so unbelievably blessed.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? reading, writing and praying.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? whining, frivolity, and judging.

20. How will you spend Christmas? Christmas Eve with both our familes, Christmas morning with our little family, Christmas dinner with my family hosted at our house.

21. How will you spend New Years? I am not sure...probably at my parents.

22. What was your favorite TV program? I didn't have a "oh my gosh I LOVE this" favorite this year - Mad Men, The Office, and Parenthood were the ones I watched regularly.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? nope.

24. What was the best book you read? The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Train and more Ingrid Michaelson

26. What did you want and got? an iPod Touch. and a mini-van, thanks to my parents! 

27. What was your favorite film of this year? Shawshank Redemption. I know its an oldie, but I hadn't seen it before. Wow. We ended up watching it twice this year because we liked it so much. Last night we rented Toy Story 3 and loved it. I'm sure I saw more than a few good movies this year, but my memory is horrible. 

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? turned 28, went to Red Wing for the day with my lovely husband and had a wonderful time together. 

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? seeing God bless some dear friends with conception. 

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? Slimmer! Dark wash jeans, cute tops, wedge heeled shoes with fun accessories. Even broke down and bought some skinny jeans.  

31. What kept you sane? my husband and girls nights out.

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I am seriously drawing a blank here. Real people in my real life are far more interesting and inspiring.

33. What political issue stirred you the most? the surprisingly close race between Congressman Jim Oberstar and his contender Chip Cravaack. Oberstar has been in office for over 40 years, so it was quite a shock when a new Republican beat him out of his long-held seat!

34. Who did you miss? my best friends that live far away.

35. Who was the best new person you met? Kelsey Beyer. She's a friend of a friend who has become my friend! And we ended up knowing a ton of the same people because she used to live near me. Kelsey AND all the wonderful people at our new church. 

36. Tell us some valuable life lessons you learned in 2010: Motherhood is the hardest and most wonderful challenge I have yet faced in life. God's grace truly is enough. I can accomplish serious weight loss and fitness when I put my mind and heart into it - a size TEN to a FOUR, people. Time is my friend when it comes to my body recovering from childbearing. Toddlers are WAY harder than newborns. Marriage is best nurtured with prayer, date nights and babysitters and making time for sex. (Yes. I said that. ) There are some amazing, friendly people out there to be met and welcomed into your life. 

Yep - 2010 has been a great year.