Grounded

We are getting another snowstorm over the next couple days. I felt that this photo would be appropriate for the occasion. Yep, I'm grounded in reality. That's me!

Does anyone know about Theodore Roosevelt? I have a growing desire to read more about him. Even though, my list of books to read is growing exponentially I am adding this to the list.



Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

Coming up soon on ACFM:

A sweet lovely gift from my English friend, Marie. (Really a bright spot to the snowstorm we got on Friday. Thanks Marie...can't wait to show the rest of my bloggie friends!)

Amazing recipes courtesy of the gorgeous and downright amazing Giada.

And how to lose 10 lbs from eating too many of Giada's creations.
A little joke there. I'm keeping the love...handles. They add "character." Yeah that's it...character!

xoxo, Rachel forever

Growing Up

La de da and good morning lovelies! I trust you slept well. If you didn't I can highly recommend humidifiers! Everyone that I recommend this to ALREADY has one and is not to impressed with my insight. Whatevs. Humidifiers for everyone!

Did I tell you that we got a snow storm yesterday? Yep! Over half a foot of the sprinkly little flakes fell on our Midwestern oasis. Not as much as poor Virginia, but pretty good for these parts. In fact, the place where I earn my keep let us off early. Woo woo! The big wigs sent out an email saying, "Get outta here," and we were gone. We don't mess around. I came home and just about got stuck in the driveway. Then, I cried.

Nah, I actually moseyed around the block and tried again. The driveway won.

So, I parked on the street and hiked up the hill...I mean driveway....inside. Then, I did something I have NEVER done in my whole life!

I shoveled the driveway!

Bonnie supervised and waited for daddy to get home. I should have taken a picture of Bonnie spazzing out when Mr. Schalk came home. She loves that man and is not afraid to show it! She's impersonating Waldo in this pic.

Excuse me while I go try to find my gold star for being a full fledged adult.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

xoxo, Rachel

Pioneer Night!

Oh friends, the Schalk household is bustling these days. Our beloved Colts are playing this weekend! Woo hoo! We are so proud of you!

What's up Peyton?!

Nice catch Austin!

Dallas is the MAN!

Hi Pierre! We like you!

Go Colts! I can hardly wait until Superbowl Sunday! (Photos from colts.com).

In honor of our Colts making it to the Superbowl we decided to declare last night Pioneer Night. That could have been why, or it could have been a fun idea from Mr. Schalk. I'll let you decide. It also could have been called Colonial Night. Basically, a night of getting back to the basics.

Mr. Schalk and I often talk about what life was like without heating systems or...running water. Yikes! We both admire the simplicity and the seeming alignment of priorities back then. Every time period has it's ups and downs, but it is fun to daydream sometimes. What was life like?

So, just for kicks we turned out all the lights, started a fire and lit the candles. We did not turn them on again until this morning.


We put away the computers, the cell phones and the noise. We were going to read, but it was dark. Really dark! We were going to play games, but didn't know what to play. So we sat and enjoyed the peace. We chatted and laughed and rested. It was extremely calming and fun to do something different (and free!).


While Mr. Schalk stoked the fire, Bonnie and I sat and kept warm. We didn't go to the extremes and turn off the heat or roast a turkey on a spit (although we talked about it). We just slowed down and enjoyed the evening.

Then I whipped out my camera and took pictures of the fire.

That is what Pioneer Night is all about, right?

What kinds of fun and goofy things do you and your family do on a weeknight? Nacho night? Wear your clothes backwards night? I'd love to hear your fun stories!

xoxo, Rachel

Not in the mood for blues!

The past few days (or couple of weeks) I have been feeling out of sorts. Some would even say blue. I'm not talking about the blue as in B.B. King blue. Where it's cool to be down and out and singing your pains. I may want to be Lucille (Ball), but I don't have a guitar with that moniker and therefore am not cool when I'm blue. I'm boring when I'm blue. No fun. LAME! I tried to shrug it off, ignore it, snap out of it. Nothing was working.

Then, I did a few things and let me tell you I am definitely on the way back UP!


After stewing for a while, which surprise surprise didn't work, I finally prayed. For myself. I can't love others if I'm not loving myself. So I sucked up my pride and prayed for me. "Love your neighbor as you love yourself" is in 3 of the 4 Gospels (Matthew 22, Mark 12, Luke 10) as well as Romans, Galatians and James. I had to do a BibleGateway search to tell you that, but you know it's of ample importance if it's worth repeating more than once in the Bible. No one wants my love when I'm a stinker, so I had to turn the ship around. Sometimes it is easier said than done. I had no warrant for my crankiness, but it was there. And it was not easily moved.

So, I dove into the Word and tried to immerse myself in the Truth. I have not been listening to God lately, and it has definitely shown. It is only fun to be selfish for a while, then it gets pretty lonely. God showered me with Romans 12:9-21 last week and the shell started to crack.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Honor one another above yourselves. Practice hospitality.

Jesus was advocating for me. He was rooting for me. "Rachel, you can do it! Praise me and leave your worldly thoughts at the door. I'm here, waiting and cheering you on!" I can imagine he was saying that because I know that he loves me. He loves us. He wants the best for us. And he is waiting.

He waited for me. He always has, and he always will. He desires me! The KING OF KINGS desires little 'ol ME! My heart sings with joy at the thought of Psalm 18:19,

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Wait, what? Yes, he DELIGHTS in me...and you! Is there any purer joy than someone taking delight in you? In Jesus desiring your attention, your thoughts and your unique personality in his presence? I am humbled.

I am joyful.

I am a daughter of the Most High.

But.

I am not blue!

How can I be? Today alone, I have been blessed by God's Word, blessed to find an important document this morning (in the nick of time), and blessed by a great conversation with my mama. Now tonight I am blessed to have sweet time by the fire with Mr. Schalk and great jazz.

Not the blues. Tonight is a jazz night. How fitting!

Family Funktion by Matt Marshak - 2009

P.S. Matt Marshak is great! Jazz with enough pep to keep you up and enough smooth to keep it relaxing. Check him out when you get a chance!

Thanks for your listening ear. Sometimes it's nice to "talk it out."

xoxo, Rachel

House to Home - Kitchen Love

It's been a lovely Saturday. Not necessarily the one I had planned, but pleasant all the same. Mr. Schalk has been working diligently on our kitchen removing wall paper (yuck) and sanding/prepping the walls for paint (no fun!). It may not be his picture perfect plan for a Saturday, but he is doing a great job. I can't wait until our kitchen is just our style!

(Photo from Schoolhouse Electric. Isn't it lovely?!)

While the Mister was working in the food room, I had the pleasure of priming our entry way. Haha, a little sarcasm there. Except I secretly did enjoy working on the house today. There is something about your first home and good hard work. I can hear some people saying, "Oh, I remember when I was young and gung-ho about fixing up our first house. You'll get over it." Yeah, there may be a day that I'm not as enthusiastic, but for now I consider it a blessing to be able to make this house our home.

Bonnie also worked hard today.

Or not.

At all.

Oh, the life of a pup!


Happy weekend to you all!

xoxo, Rachel