No more exams!!

I am officially through with exams! I still have one more semester of college left, but, because I'm an education major, I have no exams next semester! Actually, I've been through for a week now, but it's just taken me a while to post that exciting news.

This past week has been fun relaxing with my wonderful husband, and getting to know him more. Truthfully, this is our first break since our honeymoon. As soon as we got back from our honeymoon in May, he started his Organic Chemistry courses. When that was over, we started our fall semester at Furman. Now, we finally get a nice month-long break from school :)

Vincent took me hiking as a surprise date to Table Rock after he finished his exams on Wednesday. It was harder than we had anticipated, but it was definitely worth it. The view was breathtaking! I love hiking, and getting to enjoy God's creations.

In between relaxing, babysitting, and dressing like a reindeer or princess, I've been having fun organizing the house and making it more homey and inviting. It's fun trying to find inexpensive ways to make our little house more welcoming!

We enjoyed going to North Carolina on Sunday getting to see our dear friend from high school get married! I'm so happy for her, and I know she will be an amazing wife. Emily Levinson has such a strong passion for Christ in her heart! Congrats, girl :)
The ceremony was beautiful. Sadly, I didn't get to enjoy it all. I made the mistake of sitting next to my best friend, Lauren. Of course, during the vows, I got the giggles due to a Youtube video I'd seen over and over before my own wedding. Lawfully Wedded Wife
Well, Lauren also started laughing, and.... well, it was just awful. I was trying to contain my laughter and  not be loud, so it sounded like squeaking. I was pouring sweat from trying to hold it all in! I think I almost broke Vincent's hand from squeezing it so hard.

Lauren and Kristen at the yummy dessert reception

Menu for the week:

Tuesday: Breakfast- Oatmeal Pancakes and Fruit
                Lunch- Leftover Homemade Pizza
              Dinner- Lemon Herb Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash, Bread


Wednesday: Breakfast-Cereal and Fruit
                    Lunch- Quesadillas
                    Dinner- go to Whole Foods w/ certificate


Thursday: Breakfast- Eggs, Biscuits, and Fruit
                 Lunch- Turkey Sandwiches
                 Dinner- Veggie Spaghetti and Salad


Friday: Breakfast- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls and Fruit
            Lunch- Turkey Sandwiches
            Dinner- Thai Chicken Curry w/ Veggies

Fall

It suddenly got cold. Vincent and I are trying to save on our electric bill, so we see who can last the longest without turning on the heat. Vincent hates the cold, so I normally win :)  I did just turn on the heat, though, so I guess I lost for tonight.

Anywho, I love fall!

                                                          Fall means Apple Picking,

(Skytop Orchards)

Pumpkin Carving,

Mine

Vincent's

                                                     Date Nights inside because it's cold outside,

Homemade muffins and Best Friends,

My best friend, Lauren, came to visit me on her Fall Break!

     Rabbits shedding and doing weird things,

                                                                   and Birthday Parties! 

So, yes I do like Fall, despite the coldness.

My weekly menu:

Sunday: Community Group (from church) dinner

Monday: Baked Salmon, brown rice, sweet potato and squash medly

Tuesday: Veggie Spaghetti, salad, bread

Wednesday: Thai Chicken w/ rice, bread

Thursday: (Vincent's Birthday!!) Breakfast- not sure yet

                 Go out for lunch in between classes

                 Dinner- chicken salad (from chicken leftover)

Friday: Burritos w/ avocado, bell peppers, onions, cilantro, beans

Saturday: Breakfast- Huevos Rancheros (w/ leftover beans)

               Dinner- Chicken Parmesan (make enough to freeze), green bean medley, bread

Menu Planning!

I love www.stumbleupon.com.
It is MAJORLY distracting, but I have found some really neat, helpful, and insightful sights on there. Basically, when you sign up (for free), you click on your interests like exercising, books, crafts, marriage, food, beauty, clothing, etc. They have quite an extensive list. After you've done that, you click stumble. It then pulls up random websites or blogs that match one of your interests. I have found some awesome recipes and fun crafts through it! I even found a new and super easy way to style my hair when I do princess magic shows (I always had a bit of trouble with making my hair look princessy).

Anywho, I've noticed that planning for meals is very popular now through the blogs I've stumbled upon. Since I got married, I've always planned for meals one week at a time. It's sometimes hard to think of unique things to cook for when it's just cooking for two! I've done a bit of research, and I haven't found many blogs at all that have menu planning for couples. It's mainly for families with three or more. Of course, this is mainly due to the fact that the bloggers who post their menus are mothers. I love to read these blogs, but where are the blogs that cater to the couples who plan their meals?

Sooo, I decided to start posting what I make each week!

Here's this coming week:

Monday: Fish Tacos w/ avocado, onions, bell peppers, homemade chipotle sauce, and fresh cilantro
Tuesday: Pan-Seared Fish drizzled with lemon, melted butter, and parsley, Roasted sweet potatoes and onions, and brown rice
Wednesday: Chicken rice bowl with onions, bell peppers, and peas (plus any more veggies I can find)
Thursday: I get to see my best friend, Lauren! Most likely, we'll be eating at the P-den (a place at Furman where I can get free food with my points)
Friday: Lasagna (from the freezer I made two weeks ago) and a BIG salad
Saturday: A BIG salad and macaroni and cheese

(Vincent works every weekend, and I have to babysit a lot on weekend nights so we try to make the weekend night meals quick and easy)

Speaking of babysitting, I must go babysit now!

Procrastination

Wow! It's almost been a month since I last posted. School got in the way. It's a lot harder than I thought being a full-time student, a small business owner, and a newlywed! 
I've had a tough time balancing my time between cooking, cleaning, laundry, papers, studying, performing magic, etc. Oh, and finding time to spend with my husband!! I don't want to sound like I'm complaining.. I'm not. I'm just honestly having a tough time finding a good balance. I have this urge to just stay at home and do cute crafts and DIY projects, but then I remember that I have a test tomorrow. And, yes, I really do have a test tomorrow. Yes, writing on this blog is a form of procrastination for studying for it. I promise I'll stop procrastinating once I get around to it. 


Lately, I've been hearing a lot of people complaining and it bothers me. I complain in my head quite a bit, and that bothers me, too. Here are a few things that I've decided to be thankful for instead of complaining or griping about it:


I'm Thankful For . . .
-The paper I have to write for next week (that I haven't started on) because that means I'm fortunate enough to get a good college education.
-The "Empty Gas" light on my car because that means I have a car that works well.
-My electricity bill because that means I have A/C, heat, and electricity. 
-Music that is too loud because that means I can hear.
-My chewed up (by my rabbit) laptop cord because that means I have a laptop (and a cute rabbit). Miraculously, the cord still works!
-Not being able to spend a lot of time with my husband because that means we are both working hard so that we can spend more time together in the future. (This one's a stretch.. )
-Having a stuffed up nose because that means my body is fighting off whatever is wrong with me inside.

So, those are just a few things I'm thankful for. 


You know what's really distracting? Food and craft blogs! 

One of my favorites is www.joythebaker.com

My best friend, Lauren, introduced me to this great food blog. I have tried some of the recipes, and they are scrumptious!

If you have a favorite, post it! I like to hear of new ones. 

I need to go study now.

Moved in!

Sorry I've been slack on posting! Vincent and I are officially moved into our first little house in Greenville. We decided to rent a sweet old house that is so close to Furman we can run to it! I'm still looking at two boxes that have yet to be unpacked, but other than that, everything is somewhat put away. It's exciting!


I've been student teaching these past two weeks, and I have loved every minute of it! I had no idea how much work teachers put into their students, but this early experience has been a great way to see how teachers set up their classroom and prepare for the students to come. It has been tiring, though, which is another reason why I've almost completely forgotten about my blog.


I've also stayed really busy with daycare shows and birthday parties. I had about four daycare shows and a Children's Museum show a few weeks ago, and I've had a birthday party every weekend in August. I am so thankful for this. Ideally, it'd be great to have one or two birthday parties every weekend from here on out. My new business cards finally came, so I hope to be passing out a lot of those and getting my name out into the birthday party business world. Help would be much appreciated, so if you've seen my show tell others!!


These past few weeks, I've been learning a lot about being thankful about the little blessings in life that God gives. Sometimes, I catch myself complaining about the old washer and dryer that makes incredibly obnoxious noises. I then think of how many people go to the laundromat because they don't have their own washer and dryer. God has blesses me with so many things daily, and I often don't even recognize that God blessed me with them. I know that I'm thankful for Vincent who volunteers to wash the dishes by hand every single day after I cook dinner so that I can have some quiet time by myself. I use that time to relax and spend time in God's Word. Vincent even vacuums the floor after without me ever having to ask!
God has blessed with a roof over my head, clothes to wear, and the ability to cook a home-cooked meal every day. He brings people in my life to make me think deeper about things, smile, and love.
So, count your blessings... you'll run out of fingers!

Surprises

Today, I was surprised with beautiful flowers AND a Starbucks card from my wonderful husband! He told me this morning that he’d have a surprise for me this afternoon when I got back from work, but I had no idea it would be that sweet! Last time he told me he had a surprise it was him with his shirt off. Surprises or no surprises, I’m so happy that God has blessed me with Vincent and given me two amazing months of marriage with him!

One day I want to own a rabbit farm and be a children’s author.

 How cool would that be? Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my little rabbit, Medlin. Vincent is taking two semesters of Organic Chemistry this summer so, after cooking supper, I go downstairs and read Newbery Award books with Medlin while Vincent studies. I’ve trained Medlin to hop up onto the couch now! Actually… I didn’t really train him. He just kind of hopped up because he heard me open the treat bag. But it sounds cool to say he’s trained. He is completely litter trained! Did you know that rabbits eat their own feces? I’d never actually seen them do it until right now as I’m typing this! You can look up all the details of why they do it, but the gist is that they have to in order to digest properly. Yuck!

This week has been fun. I actually only had one daycare magic show (it’s next week that I have two). My favorite part about doing magic is seeing the reactions. I love to see how kids react! Some scream, some giggle hysterically, some look a little scared, and some just stare with a gaping mouth. I had been to this daycare once already this summer, so I was greeted with kids screaming “It’s the MAGIC LADY again!!” as I walked through the door. Funny because kids at another daycare place I’ve been to a few times call me “The Magic Lady,” also.

Anywho, I did one show for the younger kids and another for the older kids.  Splitting them up like that works wonders. Kids 3 and under only understand certain concepts, so the magic is limited. They respond to color changes, balloon animals, and disappearances. From what I’ve experienced, that’s just about it. Oh, and animals. Everyone responds to a cute rabbit! Magic for the older kids (4-9) is pretty unlimited, except for card tricks and a few other tricks they haven’t quite matured into understanding yet. So if you’re planning a magical birthday party or daycare show, let me know the age group so I know what type of magic to bring. It makes a huge difference to the enjoyment of the kids!

It's a Wonderful Life

So far in my wonderful new life of marriage, I’ve learned quite a few things. I’ll share the few marriage tips I’ve learned with all you who are married or about to be married or just want to read what I say.

Marriage Tip #1: Don’t put your marriage license in a paper bag that can be mistaken as trash.

            You may think that it was my husband, Vincent, who did that. Nope. It was me. I threw the license into a Whole Foods bag, along with a few other things, in a rush to get to my wedding reception. My amazing maid of honor made sure everything got into my car before Vincent and I left for our honeymoon. When we arrived back from our honeymoon, Vincent cleaned out the car super duper well at my parent’s house. As we began getting all the documents ready for getting my name changed, I panicked. The Whole Foods paper bag was MIA. The next day, we went through my parent’s fish-smelling trashcan where Vincent had thrown all the car trash away. We couldn’t even find the Whole Foods bag!

Marriage Tip #2: Trust your husband.

            After coming to terms with the fact that our marriage license was forever lost, Vincent surprised me. Though he didn’t know it during the time we were frantically searching for it, he had had the marriage license all along! He had put it in our money bag on our wedding night, and had completely forgotten about it until a few days after it had “gone missing.”

 So...though it may be hard at times, let your husband know you trust him. It’ll make him feel great!

Stay tuned for some funny magic stories next week! I have two daycare magic shows next week. Daycare magic shows are always fun and hilarious, so I’ll try to write down some of the funny things the kids say about the magic. 

Mollie Magic Website is Up!

I am so excited to finally have the Mollie Magic website all together! To save quite a bit of money, Vincent (my husband) , and I worked together on my handy Mac to create the website. The Mac made it simple to create the site, but it took me forever to figure out how to publish it to the actual website. All these weird codes and things that I had never heard of before. Anywho, I’m so excited it’s finally up now!

            This blog will be covering all areas of my life… my new marriage, the Mollie Magic business (and the fun parties I do and have done), what I’m learning, etc.

I hope you enjoy reading it!