Moving down the road!

Let me tell you a little story of how our weekend has gone.

Thursday:
n-We should go away next year and learn things. and THEN save up for a house
j-Ya! Great idea.
n-Totally

Friday:

J-I can't believe we were woken up at 3am by our neighbours partying.. so annoying
n- ya, totally. We should move out and save up for a house of our own
j-Ya! Great idea. *looks on Kijiji* Here.. i have 3 appointments for tomorrow to look at places
n- oh...kay...

Saturday:
no
no
no

n-these places aren't what we want..
j- totally.. Dear God... please help us

Sunday:
j- man... I hate that the upstairs people are partying so much. I'm so tired.. didn't sleep at all
*Leads worship*

Monday
j- we have 3 appointments to look at houses today
N- okay sweet
*last house we look at is PERFECT*
N-WANT
J- WANT
J- I guess we should tell our landlords we want to move.
N-on it.

Tuesday
New landlord - You can have my place!
N+J- Holy crap we are moving.


How was your long weekend?

Work it out!

This past Monday we started a *NEW workout plan! I was excited about this until we started, then I thought... maybe I can just run away... and that will be my work out.

I don't know why I put a * in front of that all caps new... but it makes it look fun and important.

And by WE, I actually mean I. I started a new workout plan! With my trainer of course. This one is much harder than my last, but I've decided to believe her (my PT) when she says that's a good thing. As being someone who has never done this much working out before, I gotta say... it feels good. I like the way I feel after a good solid work out. I like that I feel happier, like I've accomplished something, like the day will be a good one. It's a good change from another groggy wake up followed by sitting on my couch checking Facebook. This happens much to often.

Today we did not have our morning together, but I look forward to Friday to do it all again. Of course when I say "look forward to" It loosely translates to "It can stay as far away from now as it wants".. but you know... whatever. :)

All in all- I am very much enjoying putting my body to work. I am also currently debating on some major dietary changes as well! But I am still doing some research before I just jump into something! So I shall keep you posted.

I think you are all pretty lovely. Be Blessed!

Julia

Some Very Exciting News! Possibly!

    Today I got to jump back into the Studio and do some back up vocals for 

Whispered words (<--blog) .

After getting back behind that mic it made me really miss recording! The sound of His album
(which you can hear clips of here)

is super intensely awesome. I am so pumped to get my copy! Jared Funk (the man behind the music) is an amazing artist that I know from my home Church here in Saskatoon. I have gotten to know him through my worship team on Sunday mornings and consider it such a privilege to sing on his EP. I am always honoured when someone asks me to sing somewhere or for something important, as most of us would be. But to be able to sing on an EP or CD that is going to be around for a long time... I am feeling very blessed today.

I am also feeling blessed that I work at such a place that I could do this no problem! Without hesitation I knew that I could get the afternoon off to do this mini project. Working at a Church is a huge blessing in my life... It will be weird when my time there is done. I almost feel spoiled. In fact I DO feel spoiled. God has done so many great things in my life and has given me so many opportunities. Which leads me to my next point.

I want to make a new album! POSSIBLY this fall!!! I put that in BOLD and italic for a reason. 

1- There is no way we have the money to pull that off. 

2- I do not have enough songs written for an album... not even an EP! 

3- It will also depend on whether or not Revelation Studios has a time slot for me.

SO, if you find yourself praying about things.. feel free to pray about this huge next step for me! Whether its finding A LOT of money on the street with my name on it, or God continuing to give me his words and music to actually have content on the CD! Prayers would be excellent. Again, I want to give God all he glory for what He has done in me and through me. I am so blessed to be able to be even THINKING of the possibility of making a second album.

Speaking of which, if you don't have my first album "A place to call my own", they are only $15!!
Click here to message me for your copy!

Below are just a few pictures in the Studio today. Maybe I'll be back in there sooner than I thought!
<3 Blessings to you and your families!
Cheers! 

A beach bag I won't be afraid to use!

Tonight I decided to take an old shirt that I haven't warn in YEARS (seriously, I got this shirt in grade 10, and have only kept it around because it's from newfoundland) and turn it into a new beach bag! 

The shirt was pretty long which was nice, and the bigger the shirt you have, the bigger bag you'll get! I LOVE how it turned out, good up-cycle to this old piece of junk! 

1- I cut off both sleeves just around the seam.

2- I cut the neckline off as evenly as I could on both sides of the shirt.

3- I laid the shirt out as flat as I could, and made cuts about half an inch away from each other up the shirt about 4-5 inches.  

4- Taking the strands I had just cut, I pulled them all out to stretch them out

5- I tied the two sides of the shirt together with the strands, and then double knoted them with the strands beside to make a stronger hold. 

6- DONE

How easy is that? Thank you pinterest. You have good ideas. I am excited to use this bag, and maybe make more! That is all for now, just thought I would share. 

Cheers!

Music from the heart

      The last few days I've decided "why stay at home and watch Netflix, when I could go to work early and play a grand piano?". So, when I have successfully gotten myself out of bed, showered and ready to go... I head over to the chruch, drop everything in the office, and go sing/play for an hour +. It's becoming the best part of my day.
     There is something about just sitting down and letting it go to God. I love it. I am also finding it's easy to write in the mornings, which is a new concept for me. This morning I wrote a song which is still untitled, but it was such a blessing. I feel like God gave the words straight to me in order to proclaim His goodness in my life. And as a reminder to call upon His name at all times. He is always right there, waiting for me. Never letting go, always pursuing and always loving. He is good. There is power in the name of Jesus.
       If you would like to hear the new song, please feel free to head over to my facebook page and take a listen! I hope you find yourself in joy as you go about your day. You are loved. You are close to His heart. <3

Cheers!

Cover it up!

         Last night we decided to go through our million (actual number: 22, 24 including the ones on our beds) blankets and sheets and sleeping bags and things we just don't need!! As I collected blankets from EVERY room and closet in the house I realized quite quickly how much space these were taking up! We kept 4 for sentimental reasons, gave some to MCC, some went in the trash, and the rest went in a bin we have for blankets, and the top of 1 closet that STILL has room for other stuff. It feels so good to go through things and simplify our life! I am happy to say we now only have 9 blankets! Still sounds like a lot, but for now... I think we did pretty good :)

I will Rejoice!

       Just here to say Good morning/ Afternoon/ Evening wherever you are, however you found me! I am glad you are here. Welcome. You are very loved you know, yes you! You're made for great and powerful things! I challenge you to speak life over yourself and find the beautiful difference it makes in your life. Shut those voices up that pull you down and change them to words of empowerment. Words of wisdom. Words of encouragement! You can do whatever you set your mind to, you can become anyone you want to be (as long as you're still YOU) and you can go anywhere you think of! Why? Because in this life God can do great things through you, in you and with you!  I will not be held down by my imperfections, I will be discouraged by my flaws! I will rejoice that I am special and made for a purpose! I will rejoice in the freedom the LORD has given me! I WILL REJOICE! Today IS a new day. Make it count. Live life now, don't wait for later to come.

Cheers! 

Jackets

Why so many jackets? I mean.. why must I own 13 of them?!?! Seriously? I didn't even realize it until I counted. Needless to say, we quickly zipped through them all and tossed the unwanted. Does your home want them? They will be going to Sally Ann's home soon... so speak up :)!

My husband And I have taken some loverly photos to display them... haha and yes, in one picture I am wearing 2 coats.

This is just ridiculous.. I feel disgusted at myself for owning so many. I am glad we have started to do this "Simple Lifestyle" thing, it is making me think more about what we have, what we buy and what we need. God has blessed us with so much, I want to do good with what we were given, not spend it aimlessly and without cause or reason.  Lesson today: If you are cold- find a jacket you own, don't buy a new one.

I should also say that this lovely brown coat you see me wearing ^^ is actually awful and you shouldn't want it because it feels terrible.. it's like.. fuzzy like velvet but not. I've never warn it and don't know why I have it. Just saying. 

My thoughts at 6:00am

 We must live simply so others can simply live.

To grow old is a privilege denied by many. 

{Be thankful}

It is better to be hated for what you are, than to be loved for something you're not.  

{Be yourself}

Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. 

{Be courageous}

Think positively. Find the light. 

{Be that light}

Be the change you want to see in the world. It starts with you. 

{Be greater}

We have been given the choice of how to live, where to live, what to do, how to do it and who to do it with. Yet so many of us feel weak, beaten down, unhappy. Change that. If you are unhappy or feeling stuck... change something. You aren't on this earth to live a miserable life... you are here for so much more.  Believe in yourself, do great things.
       

VBS Dance Dare.

This week is VBS (Vacation Bible School) for our church! Grades 1-6 are coming from 9-12 everyday and hanging out with us! It is SO much fun, but man is it hard work!!  I have sadly cancelled my PT (personal trainer) this week because I would have to do that at 600am, and lets face is. That's just not... Going to happen. I get UP at 6am. Not work out for an hour at 6am. Okay, anyway I'm finding that I don't even need it this week! 

I am leading a station that all the kids come through where we go over the verse, ask a few questions, and then we sing and dance!! It's a lot of fun, but it's also great exercise! Who knew? 

On the topic of healthy lifestyle- I also just got Zumba in the mail!! So excited! If you don't already know, Zumba is an exercise program that is basically just dance! It takes all sorts of dances from around the world and puts them into a workout routine. The classes are taught with signals so it doesn't matter what language you speak, you can participate. And it's incredibly fun! So that's exciting. 

Just thought I would update you and let you know how things are going. Love you all! 

Day 1 of protein shake: mixed my chocolate powder with a scoop of peanut butter and water... Good. But couldn't drink it all. Ill get better. 

Pun status to end the day from fb: I was going to deliver a pun for the end of the day but I fear I may start getting hate mail if I post too many. At least I have a few stamps of approval.. My husband still loves me. So that's a plus! NIGHT! 

A little goes a long way..

Tonight Neil and I did a little organizing and tossing. Like these pillows for example. Or the 4 notepads we had and weren't using. Or the bag that has no purpose! Why do we keep these things that are cluttering our lives, making things messy and unorganized! It feels good to get rid of things we don't need, and organize what we do have. We live in a tiny little basement suit that doesn't have room for a cluttered mess. It only takes a few things to get it looking like a tornado went through. But after a few things in the trash and a few things put in place.. It's starting to look like home. A good place to be. 

23 1/2 hours.

              I have never been one to "work out", even when I had a gym membership! When I WOULD go, I would run for 30 min... and then maybe do a few stretches and be on my way. But not anymore! Putting the old habits behind me and making new goals to work for! I am excited to say that I have started with a personal trainer 3 times a week and have a list of things to do the days I don't see her.
              Monday, Wednesday and Friday I meet her in the park by my house at 7:00am and we do a 1 hour work out that works my cardio, strength and core.

I have never been so aware of every muscle in my legs... ow. 

               But I am super excited for this journey! I can already feel that I feel better throughout the day, which is a good sign! I'm also starting protein shakes, first thing in the morning to boost my metabolism and get a healthy start that way since I don't eat breakfast. I ordered the shake powder from Arbonne, a company that sells many things like Make-up, health bars and shakes, shampoo, lotions etc. My cousins just started their own business with Arbonne so if I can support them, I will!


Here are my thoughts for a healthy lifestyle.  

         Life is short, too short. But we were put here for a purpose and I want to fulfill that purpose with everything I've got for as long as I've got. So I'm going to get my body where it should be; healthy. I'm going to work at eating better, walking more, smiling lots and listening to my body when somethings up. You know they've done studies and eating right and exercising can save you from a LOT of health problems... crazy I know. :) But just for kicks, let me give you an example. Take a look at this short video called 23 1/2 hours.. it changed the way  I think about my day to day. 

So far I have met my PT in the park only 2 times, tomorrow will be day 3.  When I wake up I think... bah- I don't want to do this today. But when I'm done the work out.. I am thankful and excited.  What do you do to improve your everyday life? If you aren't doing anything right now, I challenge you to start going for walks around your neighbourhood. The difference it will make! Enough of this excuse.

I wanted to exercise last night but it just didn't work out.

haha *Self high-five*, although I see your play on words, it's not worth it. How hard is it to walk around the block a few times? And that is all I have to say about that!  I am off to get ready for the day!

Cheers!

Who needs all these?

As our first act of 'simplifying' our space, we have decided to get rid of many of our DVDs. We kept a few I must admit, but with Netflix and time we don't have... Why keep these on our shelf?  If you want one... Speak up... Off to MCC in a few days!

Blog about what?

           I have decided to change up my life through the simple things and of course, blog about it. Why? Because that's what the cool kids are doing. That and I think blogging is a great simple change to make that will help me keep in the practice of writing and learning as I go.
           WARNING: If you continue to read my blog you are sure to find gramatical errors, misspelled words, a few puns and hopefully some encouragement along the way.


          So let's begin. I have decided to blog about 3 main things but am sure to post a random one here and there as well. Lets face it, my brain doesn't always function the way it should and sometimes it's hard to stick to the layout. I also will probably rabbit trail as I tend to do so in conversation. One thing reminds me of the next and before you know it, we're all lost. But the 3 things I will try to focus in on are these...

Music Lifestyle: What am I up to? Have I written lately? Am I playing any shows in the near future? That kind of thing. If I have an update music-wise, you'll be the first to know! I wil also post any new poetry or spoken word here.

Healthy Lifestyle: I have decided to take the simple step and get myself healthy. This includes a Personal Trainer that I see three very bright and early mornings a week, changing my eating habits slightly to give my body what it actually needs, start drinking more water, and even thinking more positively.

Simple Lifestyle: Neil (my lovely husband) and I have decided to simplify our lives of THINGS. I don't know about you, but our small basement of a house is packed to the ceiling with things we never have used, don't watch and will never need. So we are starting a journey of giving! Giving away these things to places like MCC, Salvation Army, or the Church if they could use it. Maybe you see something YOU would want... you can have it. Just let me know! We are trying to create a healthier, less stuff atmosphere.

So with that, I end my first post. And I will leave you with a thought.

I wonder if tap dancers ever walk into a room, look at the floor and think... "I'd tap that" :)

Cheers!