Jen Russum

I am obsessing over this wallpaper and trying to convince Micah to let me paper the back wall in our family room.

I just bought this comfy striped tee. Do you know if you purchase anything from Piperlime, all items in your GAP, Inc. {Gap/Banana Republic/Old Navy} shopping carts ship for free?

A new mac and cheese recipe to try. Quirk about me... I love making homemade macaroni and cheese.

Love this post on organizing your spiritual life. Nancy's heart echoes my own, especially in the section on reading Scripture.

I'm considering doing a snack subscription service like Nature Box or Graze, because I seriously struggle with eating consistently when I'm home all day. Have you tried either of these companies? Any feedback on whether or not it's worth it?

This weekend Zianne and I made a quick jaunt to Texas. Our main reason for the trip was to attend an academic conference in San Antonio. I was selected to speak on a panel about the rhetorics of motherhood. It sounds fancier than it is, but nonetheless it's a big conference in my field, so off we went, me and my eight month old travel companion, because she's the one that gives me authority to speak on the rhetoric of mothers.

But you know I couldn't get within a few hundred miles of my sister and my best friends without stopping to see them too. So our four days in Texas included three major cities... First, San Antonio for the conference. Second, Austin to see my sister. Third, Fort Worth to see my college best friends. I am forever grateful to my friend, Kristin, who drove from Fort Worth to San Antonio {about a four hour trek} to pick us up from the airport and personally escort us all around the great state of Texas for the weekend. A million smooches to her from Z and me.

If you haven't heard yet, my baby is a gem. She is seriously an extra sweet gift from God. She rarely cries or fusses. She's a great sleeper. She hasn't encountered a food she doesn't like. She smiles and waves at strangers on command. I seriously think God gave her to me as a giggly, pudgy message that I can, indeed, finish my PhD program after having a child. But here's the thing about traveling with a baby. It is hard. Even when the baby is of the sweet Zianne Eileen category. I'm glad that I've gone on a number of trips with her, and I'm thankful she's proven to be a flexible traveler so far, and I know traveling with children from the start pays off in the long run because they adapt well to different settings, etc. But whoooosh.... it is tiring. And on this particular trip, Zianne was battling some type of virus. I hurried her to the pediatrician hours before we left to discover she had an ear infection in addition to the whole cough/snot thing going on in her chest and sinuses. We picked up her meds on the way the airport and for the next two nights we slept in the same room where she made a wailing sound every time she rolled over. She never woke up, but I did. Every. Single. Time. She finally started feeling better about halfway through our trip, but she greeted every friend with snot running out of her nose and became hysterical if I tried to wipe it off. She really is a gem, I promise. She just has strong opinions about having her nose wiped.

Anyway... back to my point. I'm not complaining. I'm thankful my baby traveled like a champ despite not feeling well. I felt a little guilty all weekend as we toted her all around. In the car. Out of the car. Makeshift crib. Loud restaurant. Twisted car seat strap. Skipped nap. Skipped nap. Skipped nap. But you know what? It was worth it. It's worth it to teach her how to be flexible. It's worth it to visit fun places will a baby perched on my hip. And it's so, so worth it to see Zianne interact with friends and family all over the world who love her so much. But y'all. I'm tired. I'll be in recovery mode the rest of the week.

{via un-fancy}

Eyeing these jeans on super sale {Wit+Wisdom is my favorite brand for skinny jeans} and these sandals... and maybe these sandals too...

My new favorite blog where style and minimalism meet. Read this post and this post and download the planner here.

Top ten reasons to memorize big chunks of the Bible...

This lovely lady makes the best book lists...

Marriage never gets better on accident...

The REAL breastfeeding scandal...

These are the terms people typed into a search engine that led them to my blog. The moral of the story is... people on the Internet are CRAZY. Read past Keyword Analysis posts HERE.

Jenna's tubes... Excuse me?

Recipe for Cinnamon Schlog... No thank you. I looked up this recipe, and it really does not exist as far as I can tell.

Pregnant 39 weeks grandmother... Unless you are Sarah or Elizabeth in the Bible, this kind of thing is not supposed to happen.

Lois Law broccoli cheese soup... I figured Lois Law must be an Iron Chef or something. Since we don't have cable I don't know much about famous people in the cooking world. But I googled this and officially still have no idea who Lois is...

Baby Turkish... I know this stems from Micah calling Zianne "Turkish Delight" but what in the world is baby Turkish? I googled this too, and the pictures are pretty cute. Who knew Turkish children were so adorable?

Smelly hipster feet... Phoenix is the hipster capital of the world after all.

Signs above doors at Walmart... Okay, now I'm slightly curious, but please don't make me go to Walmart to investigate...

43 weeks pregnant... Ouch.

Love the part in this post about truly confronting Scripture when it confuses us...

On loving the unlovely. So convicting...

I've been here, in the place where the end and the beginning meet. Just exchange the back patio for the fireplace in my parent's basement...

Love this post on how worldly work pairs with heavenly ministry...

This gorgeous bedroom makes me want to paint the wall behind our bed a dark color so our white upholstered headboard will really pop!

This is the Gospel...

I particularly liked the third piece of wisdom in this piece about inviting spontaneity...

I think memorizing long passages of Scripture is extremely beneficial, but I'm not particularly good at it. I just bought this eBook for 99 cents to help me out!

You know I love a good birth article. I particularly like the information about the success of VBACs and the real length of pregnancy. That's why I didn't sweat it at all when I went to my 41 week prenatal visit with Z.

This game is called "Finish This," and all you have to do is finish the following prompts and link up your post below! You can also visit the other hosts of this party on their fun blogs: Nicole {Three 31} Lisa {Coastlined}, and Becky {The Java Mama}.

Two lessons I learned from my mom... are to drop everything else to help someone in need {she's more of a natural than I am, but I'm working on it} and that there's nothing better than getting lost in a good book. {P.S. I'm currently reading this... but I only recommend it if you like Ann Voskamp, because the writing style is very similar.}

To burn calories, I... run three miles three days a week, like clockwork. I get crabby if I miss a run, so I never do, unless we are traveling. On vacation I never run... and I love it.

My best hair day was... my wedding day. I told my stylist I wanted my hair as BIG as possible and she delivered.

I am grateful for... so many things, but just by looking at this post I'll say my mom who babysits Zianne regularly for me, my healthy, strong legs, and my husband. You can read about some other things I'm thankful for in yesterday's post.

Prompts for next week:

My favorite recipe is...

I believe in...

I need to set boundaries...

I began living when...