Why I'm Not Afraid of Long Distance

On Sunday, we moved AJ into his new apartment in Boston.
And on Monday, we got in the car, tears in our eyes, and drove away.

I'm not going to lie to you...I'm not thrilled about the fact that my boyfriend now lives six hours away.  But I'm not afraid of this new season.  And not because we're some wonderful, strong couple who could handle any amount of distance (please note sarcasm here), but because I'm choosing to look at this new adventure as just that...an adventure.

Of course there are cons to this whole little situation.  Skype is great and all, but I sort of like to hug AJ a lot.  But then there are the little weekend trips up to Beantown, the fact that he's getting a kick-butt education that will prepare him for his dream job, and the opportunity for both of us to grow.

I encouraged AJ to pursue Berklee from the beginning, and so I've always known somewhere in my mind that having him move was a real possibility.  But when he made the decision to go, it didn't feel quite real.  For a while, I was sad and upset about it, until it finally clicked that just as in any season of life, there are pros and cons.  And I was going to look for the pros in this one.

So I'm not afraid of long distance.  I know there will be times when it will be difficult.  I know there will be days when we miss each other more than words can describe.  I know there might be times when we even argue or feel frustration because of the circumstances.

But I'm excited.  I'm excited to find ways to be perfect for one another from a distance.  I'm excited for us each to grow and change in our own ways, and then to be able to come back together and have new and exciting things to share.  I'm excited to cherish the time we do have together more fully and to appreciate one another more.

I'm looking at this season as a time of preparation and a time of growth.  And I'm ready.

WHY I'M NOT AFRAID OF LONG DISTANCE

On Sunday, we moved AJ into his new apartment in Boston.
And on Monday, we got in the car, tears in our eyes, and drove away.

I'm not going to lie to you...I'm not thrilled about the fact that my boyfriend now lives six hours away.  But I'm not afraid of this new season.  And not because we're some wonderful, strong couple who could handle any amount of distance (please note sarcasm here), but because I'm choosing to look at this new adventure as just that...an adventure.

Of course there are cons to this whole little situation.  Skype is great and all, but I sort of like to hug AJ a lot.  But then there are the little weekend trips up to Beantown, the fact that he's getting a kick-butt education that will prepare him for his dream job, and the opportunity for both of us to grow.

I encouraged AJ to pursue Berklee from the beginning, and so I've always known somewhere in my mind that having him move was a real possibility.  But when he made the decision to go, it didn't feel quite real.  For a while, I was sad and upset about it, until it finally clicked that just as in any season of life, there are pros and cons.  And I was going to look for the pros in this one.

So I'm not afraid of long distance.  I know there will be times when it will be difficult.  I know there will be days when we miss each other more than words can describe.  I know there might be times when we even argue or feel frustration because of the circumstances.

But I'm excited.  I'm excited to find ways to be perfect for one another from a distance.  I'm excited for us each to grow and change in our own ways, and then to be able to come back together and have new and exciting things to share.  I'm excited to cherish the time we do have together more fully and to appreciate one another more.

I'm looking at this season as a time of preparation and a time of growth.  And I'm ready.

DIY Instagram Scrapbook

Yesterday was Valentine's Day (duh), but it also marked one year of dating for AJ and I!  I can't believe it's been one year that we've been together.  Definitely the best year of my life.  I'm so blessed to get to call him mine and to have found the love of my life!

As you might know, student teaching doesn't pay.  Which means I'm on a crazy tight budget.  Like, a pay-for-gas-and-food-and-that's-all kind of budget.  And he's in college, and commutes an hour every day, so that means we're both kind of frugal this time of year.  But, we kind of went all-out on our birthday and Christmas gifts to one another, so that set the bar pretty high.  I knew I wanted to give him something for Valentine's/One Year day, but I also knew it needed to be cheap.  So I decided to play the sentimental card, and I made him a little book of all most of our instagram photos from the past year!

Here's how to do it:

What you'll need:  

Pens (I used a felt-tipped black pen and a white gel pen)

Photos (you can get your instagram shots printed with an app like PostalPix or just resize photos in a program like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop and then print them on semi-gloss card stock...either way, a 4x4 size is good)

Scissors

Glue/Scrapbook adhesive tabs (I used a roll like the purple one from Scotch...so much easier than glue)

Chipboard pack (found this for $1 at Michaels!)

Colored Cardstock (AJ loves Black and White, so I went for a pack of 6x6 black card stock...having it already cut into squares made my life soooo much easier)

Not pictured:

Hole Punch

Washi Tape

Mod Podge

I made my cover by cutting a circle out of black card stock and writing "Our First Year According to Instagram" on it, then adhering this to the front chipboard cover with Mod Podge.

Then, I put my photos in order and went through them one by one and labeled on the back what month they were from (this made assembling my book a ton easier). After I was done, I started at the beginning and created a "title" page for the month with a few memories from that month and then put one photo on each page until I had used all of the photos from that month.  I did this for each month for the whole year.  Just be careful that you think through where you're going to be punching holes in each page so that you don't end up punching holes through your photos!  You might even want to hole punch before you put your book together.  I tried to change things up with each page by using different washi tape, choosing a different calligraphy/font style, different little adornments/doodles, and even mixing up where on the page I put the photo and how I aligned it.

Then, I put the whole book together, using the chipboards as my front and back covers and the little binder ring as the binding. I also ended up drilling a hole through the bottom of the left side of the chipboards and punching holes through each page so that my binding had two rings instead of just one and functioned more as a book than a flip book.  This held it together much better.

And there you go!  A scrapbook album made from Instagram Photos.

I love having photos printed out.  In this digital age, it's SO easy to just keep photos stored away on your phone and computer, but it really is nice to be able to hold them in your hands and look through them every one in a while!  And this was such a heartfelt gift.  I had a ton of fun making it, and I think AJ was pleased with it too.

DIY INSTAGRAM SCRAPBOOK

Yesterday was Valentine's Day (duh), but it also marked one year of dating for AJ and I!  I can't believe it's been one year that we've been together.  Definitely the best year of my life.  I'm so blessed to get to call him mine and to have found the love of my life!

As you might know, student teaching doesn't pay.  Which means I'm on a crazy tight budget.  Like, a pay-for-gas-and-food-and-that's-all kind of budget.  And he's in college, and commutes an hour every day, so that means we're both kind of frugal this time of year.  But, we kind of went all-out on our birthday and Christmas gifts to one another, so that set the bar pretty high.  I knew I wanted to give him something for Valentine's/One Year day, but I also knew it needed to be cheap.  So I decided to play the sentimental card, and I made him a little book of all most of our instagram photos from the past year!

Here's how to do it:

What you'll need:  

Pens (I used a felt-tipped black pen and a white gel pen)

Photos (you can get your instagram shots printed with an app like PostalPix or just resize photos in a program like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop and then print them on semi-gloss card stock...either way, a 4x4 size is good)

Scissors

Glue/Scrapbook adhesive tabs (I used a roll like the purple one from Scotch...so much easier than glue)

Chipboard pack (found this for $1 at Michaels!)

Colored Cardstock (AJ loves Black and White, so I went for a pack of 6x6 black card stock...having it already cut into squares made my life soooo much easier)

Not pictured:

Hole Punch

Washi Tape

Mod Podge

I made my cover by cutting a circle out of black card stock and writing "Our First Year According to Instagram" on it, then adhering this to the front chipboard cover with Mod Podge.

Then, I put my photos in order and went through them one by one and labeled on the back what month they were from (this made assembling my book a ton easier). After I was done, I started at the beginning and created a "title" page for the month with a few memories from that month and then put one photo on each page until I had used all of the photos from that month.  I did this for each month for the whole year.  Just be careful that you think through where you're going to be punching holes in each page so that you don't end up punching holes through your photos!  You might even want to hole punch before you put your book together.  I tried to change things up with each page by using different washi tape, choosing a different calligraphy/font style, different little adornments/doodles, and even mixing up where on the page I put the photo and how I aligned it.

Then, I put the whole book together, using the chipboards as my front and back covers and the little binder ring as the binding. I also ended up drilling a hole through the bottom of the left side of the chipboards and punching holes through each page so that my binding had two rings instead of just one and functioned more as a book than a flip book.  This held it together much better.

And there you go!  A scrapbook album made from Instagram Photos.

I love having photos printed out.  In this digital age, it's SO easy to just keep photos stored away on your phone and computer, but it really is nice to be able to hold them in your hands and look through them every one in a while!  And this was such a heartfelt gift.  I had a ton of fun making it, and I think AJ was pleased with it too.

Happy 5 months!

Pardon me, but I'm gonna be that girl.

The girl who says "happy 5 months!" to her boyfriend on her blog.

Even though it was Saturday.  I know, I know, I'm a little late.  

But I can honestly say the past 5 months have been the best ever.  

I don't mean to brag...but I'm just a little bit lucky.

Scratch that.  I'm a lot lucky.  

Because I'm dating my best friend.  

And it's only been 5 months, but I can't quite remember not having him in my life.

'tis the season {of being single}

I was blog hopping the other day and found this post on Tales for Karina.  I love how real Emily is...she's not afraid to talk about what's on her heart.  So, Em, if you're reading this, forgive me, but I'm stealing your post.

It seems that a lot of my friends are in a season of life where they're getting into relationships, getting engaged, getting married.  (And I truly am happy for each and every one of them!)
But sometimes, it's hard to not be jealous of those friends, because I'm in a season of life where I'm single. 

via

So....here are a few little lists about being single:

5 things that I like about the land of singledom:
1.  I can watch chick flicks without shame.  No more action movies unless I want to watch them.
2.  I can take this time to continue to learn about myself!  I once heard an Andy Stanley sermon about "becoming the person that the person you're looking for is looking for."  Yep, take a moment to unpack that.
3.  There are doors that God is opening for me that I might not want to walk through if I was in a relationship.
4.  I can watch whatever I want on TV without having to worry about someone else's preferences (I do love baseball, but sometimes I want to watch something with a plot)
5.  Having time.  Not that I really do, with school & all, but you get the idea.

5 things that I dislike about this singleness business:
1.  Those awkward conversations with my family, my parent's friends, my dental hygienist, with the "no, I'm not dating anyone", followed by the obligatory "oh, well, you'll find him someday!" Gee, thanks.
2.  No one to snuggle with.  Let's be real...cuddling & holding hands isn't something to complain about!
3.  Not having anyone to share the details of everyday life with.  Not in a crazy, clingy way, but in a cute, talk-all-day-about-nothing sort of way!
4.  The emotional roller coaster.  The "should I still hope?";  "is this guy interested?"; "I'm perfectly happy on my own." (which is usually closely followed by the sight of a cute couple, and then self-doubt)
5.  The going to weddings & family functions & church events on my own.  Especially when the people there are not on their own.

5 things I've learned/am learning by being single:
1.  How to hand my heart over to God.  I'm not so good at guarding it.  He is.  But I have a hard time letting Him do that.
2.  This sounds weird, but I think I'm learning a lot about the commitment that marriage is.  Sometimes I think about it, and realize how much I need to work on myself to someday be ready for that commitment.
3.  To keep my expectations high and not to settle for something less than God's best just because I'm afraid something better won't come along.
4.  To trust in God's timing and be patient.  Easily the hardest lesson I've ever tried to learn.
5.  That life is so much better when you take time to adjust your attitude and instead of being sad or bitter or angry about this season, find something to be grateful about and learn from it.