friday letters

Dear husband of mine, I am so happy that you finally bottled your beer.  You were checking on your brew as if it was your baby....first thing in the morning, when you got home from work, before you went to bed.  And now that it's bottled, I can't wait to try it in just a couple of weeks.  Dear new running shoes, I can't wait to take you out on a nice, long run.  You proved you were utterly comfortable during our insanity workout this morning!  Dear zucchini, I love that you're in season and I love the way you have a subtle taste in brownies.  Dear Palm Springs, words can't fully express how excited I am to sip in all your sunshine next week.  Asking if I need a vacation is a rhetorical question.  Dear Padres, I really hope you win tomorrow!  Dear Olympics, I really, really, really miss you.  Not having cable was never hard until now.  Now I need to go be an "olympic orphan" at my friends' houses who have graciously agreed to record gymnastics for me.  Dear husband, thank you for loving me unconditionally, always putting a smile on my face, and for making me laugh uncontrollably when you dance for me in the car.

the secret of contentment

Yesterday I found myself at my pool, all by my lonesome self, reading.  As the hot sun blazed down on me and my sweaty palms fingered through the pages I found a sense of myself that had been missing.  Contentment.  I've never been one to just go places by myself, excluding the usual errands and such.  The pool is a place you go with friends or your husband, just like the beach.  Going by myself felt foreign and it made me uncomfortable to think about it.  But as I packed up my little pool bag and started walking to the pool, my self confidence started to perk up a bit.  It was like I was telling myself, "You can do this".  It seems rather silly, but when you find yourself with a lot of downtime at random hours of the day you just have to realize that there is no one there that will hold your hand and go with you to the pool.

And so I went to the pool, and I read, and I loved every minute of it.

I've realized in the past couple years that I am an anxiety-proned person.  On a scale from 1-10 I'd rate myself a 3-4 on most days, a 5-6 when school and work are in full force, and a 9 about three times a year.  In order to cope I've been taught to take more "self time".  It is just what it sounds like.  Time for yourself.  Whether that be reading a blog of my choosing, swinging at the park, getting a pedicure, or going to the pool all by myself to get lost in a book.

A verse that teaches about anxiety is Philippians 4:6
"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."


This past week at church we had a guest speaker who spoke on contentment.  We read through Phil. 4:1-13, and God's word started jumping off the page at me, finally sinking in.   You see, verse 6 is good, but it always left me with HOW.  HOW am I not supposed to be anxious, God?  HOW will praying help me overcome it?

" I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me."


As I actually read past verse 6 I realized that there was an example.  Paul had been brought low, he had been put in jail, and yet he found contentment.  I struggled through a week of car troubles and a bad attitude and was not content.  What was I missing?

Here are some of the big points that really struck me that I've been brought back to each day this week:

-living our lives comparing and competing leads me to believe that I'm not where I'm supposed to be


-live for the NOW, and let God shine in this moment and in this season, now what's to come


-contentment is an inner virtue, it is not contingent on what is happening in our lives and outside of us but what's going on in our heart 


-capture my thoughts and fix them on what is good, noble, and pure


-rejoice always, don't just count your blessings.  

Each day is a little story that makes up my life.  I can choose to look at where I'm not at, what I don't have, and what's not going right.  But when I do this, I'm not content and therefore anxious.  When I surrender each day and push myself to see the beauty in each day, my whole attitude changes and shifts.  There is a gift we are given each and every day, and I have found that I am often looking for the gift in the days to come and push today to the side.  Each day is a short story that makes up the bigger picture in life.

i think i wanna marry you

I remember when I was little, exclaiming how much I loved something.  It could've been a friend, a boy, a popsicle from the ice cream truck, or a TV show.  After profession my love there was always that friend that would exclaim, "Well if you love it so much, why don't you marry it?".  And then we would all dream of marrying these people, objects, shows....oh to be young again.  

Well, it has been a mighty long time since I've thought about that saying and what pulled it back into my memory was the sweet finds that I recently found at Trader Joe's.  Fun fact about Jamie: I secretly love grocery shopping.  At times I have a love/hate relationship with Trader Joe's.  I know exactly what I want to get there, and so I rarely look for new finds unless they are right in front of my face.  As I was pursuing the chip isle for the Mr.'s tortilla chips I came across their quinoa and black bean infused tortilla chips.  I was excited and the Mr. was skeptical.  I took one bite and my taste buds were doing a happy dance.  They are pretty thick so I actually really like to use them like crackers, dipping them in hummus, topping them with a small piece of cheese.  The Mr. even liked them!  He won't claim them as his chips just yet, but he has been secretly sneaking them while I'm not home.  I don't mind sharing, just as long as he doesn't leave me with crumbs at the bottom of the bag.  

My other recent Trader Joe's find that I want to marry...

They have chia seeds!!!!

I know that you probably think that I'm such a dork, but you have no idea how long i've been waiting for this.  Sprouts has been out of them in the bulk section for weeks, and the bag costs a whopping $10-which I just am not yet willing to pay.  TJ's has this bag from $4.99 and it will last forever!  In case you don't know the benefits of chia seeds or how to incorporate them into your diet, read my post here!

And, lastly, I have a recipe that both the Mr. and I want to marry.  Of course the husband was skeptical because is was a vegetarian dish.  When he doesn't hear of any meat in the title of the recipe he definitely raises an eyebrow.  But I ensured him that everything would be okay.  Deep breaths....

This Summer Lemon Vegetable Risotto from Cooking Light was absolutely superb.  If I could've licked the bowl I would've.  Yes, I just said that.  It was a little time consuming, and my first time ever making risotto so I was a little uneasy as to how it would turn out.  But, every step was worth it.  

To really show you how much the Mr. loved it I took a picture of his empty bowl before he went back from seconds.  This recipe will definitely be making a come back before summer ends! 

Well, there you have it!  Are there are amazing finds that you absolutely love at Trader Joe's??? If so, I'd love to fall in love with more!