BeReal, Beagles, Baking, Beach, BBQ, Buff, & a Bombshell

Let’s catch up on some of the last 3 1/2 months here! (ETA: oops! I was supposed to post this right before Easter! Pretend it's Sat, April 8th as you read. :-P)

I’m only on BeReal b/c JB asked us all 4 to start it last April, and the only people who see mine are my household. :-P I usually take photography very seriously, but it’s been a fun excuse to glimpse in *unedited* at random times on my fam almost everyday with no more effort than a text, and then I got this sweet little 2022 recap video the beginning of January:

We asked for a dog DNA kit to test Blaise for Christmas; we got the results back & were SHOCKED: she is 100% Beagle!!! No Black & Tan Coonhound mix, no percentage super mutt, no unknown. They didn’t detect any known genetic health predispositions in Blaise’s DNA of the 29 they test for, (not that that means she can’t get sick, but it's comforting to know there's nothing genetically obvious out front.) Through her DNA, they knew Blaise has Tan Points (the tan above her eyebrows) & even her healthy weight range (right on target - we’d wondered if she’s too thin, b/c she’s such a skinny mini compared to musclebound Bailey, who’s built like a Beagle linebacker = nope!)

We could also see a pic of her 54% genetic brother, Saul, who looks just like her! (He’s apparently a year older.) She splays out just like his pic!

So now I really want to do one for Bailey, too!!! More general beagle (+ YuJin, the guinea pig) awesomeness:

We were in Galveston the beginning of February for Annelise's FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America) regional competition. She entered the cupcake competition - it was the only baking thing she could enter, not being enrolled as an official culinary student at school. She had to develop a recipe from scratch, design & build a full display, and give a presentation about her entire process. She made tiramisu cupcakes with a coffee syrup soak, mascarpone espresso icing, topped with also-homemade ladyfingers. She competed against *40 PEOPLE* in Level 3 (b/c she’s a junior) & lots of them have done this before (this is the 1st year of FCCLA at SLHS, so our whole school is new, not just her.) It was really cool to see all the different facets of FCCLA competing - culinary, fashion design, interior design, teaching innovation, job interviewing, leadership - & so proud she tried this!

Because she is an FCCLA officer, she also went to the state competition in Dallas the end of March, not for cupcakes this time, but as a chapter rep:

While Annelise was busy: JB + bubble tea + beach = ❤️ (bonus: fun at Salsas)

Friends have asked about me singing, so here’s where I’ve been: last fall Living Stones reached out to The Fellowship asking if we had any female soloists who could serve with them. I wasn’t looking for anything new, but their timing could not fit my current schedule more perfectly!!! (No midweek practice 👍) What a joy to lead with this team + what an incredible provision of God in this new season of life, still being able to serve & sing when I’m fitness coaching Wed evenings & can’t make Wed night rehearsals! It may be a smaller congregation & a smaller stage, but the level of professionalism & collaboration is satisfying beyond words!

Barbecue Cook-Off at the end of February is my favorite part of RODEOHOUSTON, and it had been quite a few years since I’d gotten to go. We were gifted wristbands for Fire in the Hole (better brisket) and VIP passes for Dusty Bones (best chicken!!!)

Annelise & I took my mom when she came to visit to the regular animal exhibits, the cool carnival food, the actual rodeo events, and the Lauren Daigle concert:

(Pickle Pizza on a Stick won the Gold Buckle award for Best Food on a Stick at the rodeo, so I had to try = 👍👍👍)

One more non-rodeo pic with my mom at lunch with Will:

I'm still motivating my fitness-coaching clients at the personal trainer gym 6-10 classes per week:

Our last big pre-Easter family event was taking Annelise on her long-awaited college visit to see SFA (Stephen F. Austin State University) in person - her top choice for the last few years. She can actually apply fairly soon, since she's almost at the end of her junior year! We were so impressed with the quality of their offerings and sense of community. If she still feels this is her best fit, we would be thrilled for her here!!!

Finally, my big bombshell adventure news I teased last post: I’m going to Istanbul + Cappadocia, Turkey & stopping off for a few days in my German home town on the way back!

Long story not short - my BFF Amy lives in Romania & has made a concerted effort for 15 years to always visit me on her trips back to the States. We were both talking about wanting to travel again in this new season of life (this is the 1st year both my kids can drive, so if I leave for a trip now, I won’t have to make any special arrangements for them) and it’s about time I came closer to her for once! :-D So we decided last summer that we’d save, budget, plan, & really do this, instead of just dream about it. 

International travel is the only passion in my life that has been put completely on hold the last 20 years, since choosing to have a family, choosing to prioritize being a stay-at-home mom, and literally not being able to even consider affording it. God absolutely provided & sustained us, but the last four years in particular have been the most financially challenging we’ve ever experienced. For a good portion of that time, we had to learn how to re-budget our entire household to live on just 37% of what we were used to. We had to learn how to go without; the kids had to learn how to go without. It was not easy, and it certainly was not fun, but I know they gleaned valuable life lessons by watching how we dealt with these financial challenges openly & honestly. When I started my second job last year (in addition to my StudioSmile teaching business = still going strong!) at the personal trainer gym, we were finally back in a position where we could agree that that money could be banked in a separate travel account. I’ve been planning & budgeting for this ever since!!! I’ve been waiting literally 20 years (last time in Europe: Italy, July 2003!) to be able to rekindle this life’s passion of mine, being a good & faithful steward of that which has been entrusted to me, and I pray that this is just the beginning of a new long-awaited era of international travel in my life!!! Bring on the passport stamps!!!!!!!!!!

I’m flying out Easter afternoon, and Amy & I are going to Cappadocia for a few days, then Istanbul. My flight back to Houston goes through Frankfurt, and it didn’t increase my ticket price for my layover to be 4 hours vs. 4 days & 4 hours, so I’m spending a few extra days on my way home in Germany. I lived in Würzburg & went to uni there 1998-99, but I haven’t been back since - I absolutely cannot believe it’s been almost 25 years!!! I still dream of being able to show my kids around Wü one day, too, (JB has been! He came to visit me there - yep, we’ve been together that long! ❤️) but this opportunity was too perfect to pass up, even though my family won’t be with me this time.

No, Cappadocia & Istanbul are *not* in the earthquake zone. Amy even called our hotels the day after to confirm everyone there is ok. If there’s any country that needs our financial support via tourism right now, it’s the non-quake areas of Turkey.

So, spoiler alert: b/c I didn't get to post this before I left, surprise - I'm back!!! :-P It. Was. Everything. Stay tuned for more travel pics coming than you could ever want!!! :-D