10/29/2017 2 Comments ThoughtsWell guys, it's currently 7:00 am here, I can't go back to sleep, and I have poured myself a cup of coffee. So why not start the blog post! Tate just peeked his sleepy little head out here, "Hill, you ok? It's like 2 am!" Aw. What's cuter, the fact that he got up to check on me orrrrr that he thinks it's 2 am? ALRIGHT back to bizzzness. This week was.....long. Good but long. Good days and not so good days. Fun moments and hard moments and just plain normal moments. Monday and Tuesday were my harder days. I was a little homesick (actually a lot, no shame) and my thoughts got the best of me. Guess I will just dive right on in....I really envisioned the "deep part" about miiiiid blog post.... This week I have been realizing just how much weight our thoughts can hold. They can either make or break your day. You can't necessarily help what thoughts enter your mind, but you do have the power to take control of those thoughts. As well as the power to not take control of those thoughts. Monday and Tuesday my thoughts went wild. I started missing home, then I started realizing how lonely I was, how quiet the apartment was, I started questioning my purpose here, dwelling on my lack of community, feeling like I lost my identity, blah blah blah. Needless to say, it ended in a lot of tears. What I am really wrestling with is finding the balance of acknowledging those feelings, and not sweeping them under a rug, but then laying them down before God and trusting what He is doing during this process. Those thoughts I have aren't necessarily bad or false in themselves, but when I choose to let them take hold of my heart and my mind, that is when it's not ok. I don't know if any of you guys have experienced the same thing? Or something similar? It's hard! However, I am learning there are so many ways you can take control of those overwhelming thoughts. For me, sometimes it's as small as getting dressed and putting make up on. Technically, I could stay in my pj's for hours. But when I tend to do that, I feel lazy and restless and I sit on the couch just dwelling. No thanks. I know that when I call my friends and family I feel filled and full of life. Going on a run or walk outside does A LOT for me. Serving Tate and thinking of different ways to serve him takes my mind off of myself and that is the best medicine. Selflessness. Selflessness and thankfulness- those two are the biggest for me. My sweet husband is the best at bringing about thankfulness. He will subtly start listing all the things we have to be thankful for, and mid list I literally can feel my heart and mind shifting. It's so easy to only see the hard stuff- it's blatantly yelling in your face and consumes your mind- but don't let it!! CHOOSE to see the good. CHOOSE to acknowledge the hard but don't dwell there. CHOOSE to believe that God is at work in your life, even when you don't know what He is doing. CHOOSE to be thankful. It's a daily choice! Alright. That's all. 100% preaching to myself. Bring on the week! ;) After a couple of tough days, the rest of the week was honestly great, most likely due to the mind shift. Tuesday night Tate and I went to a Limburg United event at a BMW dealership. It was really cool! They had a basketball demonstration, fun drinks, popcorn and burgers, and BMW's that the guests could test drive! I like going to these events. Meeting new people and growing a friendship with others, but mostly because I love being Tate's wingman. Wednesday I got out of the apartment all afternoon and went to the city center- my favorite. I scored these cute frayed jeans and a hoodie I have been wearing around the house all week- not exaggerating. The BEST part of Wednesday was dinner. We decided to try the crock pot french toast recipe and leeeeet me tell you, it was amazing. I didn't take any pictures because quite frankly it looked gross. BUT it was to die for. Really. Go try it. Linking the recipe here. Thursday we had Joe over (Tate's teammate) for dinner. Another recipe shout out, Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos. Made in the crock pot. WORTH TRYING! Easiest thing to do and had incredible flavor. Anyways, Joe came over and it was so fun. I love "hosting" and having guys over to our home. Highlight of our week for both Tate and I! Friday was game day AND it was a home game- my favorite. I literally love going to Tate's games. I honestly think it's what I look forward to most in the week. Tate played an AWESOME game and they won!! Win win! This weekend was so restful and so fun for us. I know I am with Tate 80% of the day, but on the days when we are together the whole day, it's a blast. We could be doing absolutely nothing and it's a blast. We had date night in this week, ordered a massive pizza and chilled in our sweatpants. My kinda night. Tate's sister Darby is visiting us this week (!!!) and we couldn't be more excited! Hence all my exclamation marks. I can't wait to get a little taste of home, spend time with her, and show her around our new home! Ok. Going to wake up sleeping beauty now. Until next week! xx hill PS. Y'all. I have been slacking in the photo department. Next week expect better.
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Happy Sunday everyone! Tate and I love Sundays, especially when he is off! My morning started with my amazing husband bringing home Zeelmaeker treat treats for us, because someoneeee was too tired to get out of bed. Oops! It should've been the other way around since he was the one who played a game last night....but that is why he is amazing. We then made our grocery store run, cleaned the apartment, and now we are both plopped on the couch. I am so excited because someone so kindly let us borrow their crock pot for awhile (thanks Carine!), and I have like four different recipes lined up this week. Really going crock pot crazy, I know. Chicken Enchilada Soup is currently simmering while we speak! Stay tuned for reviews. I am personally excited for the Slow Cooker Banana French Toast because who knew you could even do that in a crock pot, B for D is always a win, and yum. This week was a laid back one. Monday was a Monday. Tuesday I spent the afternoon at the city center shopping while Tate was at practice- literally one of my favorite things to do. Before Tate and I got married, I was kind of dreading having a "shopping budget" because quite frankly I just never had one. Ya ya ya not responsible I know, but I was never a crazy shopper, I just didn't keep track. Ignorance is bliss, amiright? ;) I am just kidding, kind of. BUT having a shopping budget (and you best believe it started the day we got married) has been kind of fun, figuring out how I can get the max amount of stuff within my budget. I am all about finding great steals! Wednesday night we celebrated two months of marriage! We had dinner at Kaai Man- a trendy mod restaurant we have been wanting to try. It was so good! Sometimes being an American in a different country makes for some funny moments. We just stick out sometimes! And I realllllly love to blend in. I like to be low key, and when we were being seated at the restaurant, it was anything but! The restaurant was really nice, with a low quiet ambiance. When the hostess/waiter was speaking Dutch it was very soft and quiet, but for some reason when he spoke English it went up about 20 notches. WELCOME TO KAAI MAN! THE SPECIALS TONIGHT ARE........ *que everyone in the restaurant staring at us* So much for low key! But he was a great waiter. Great English. Two months of marriage. It doesn't sound long at all, but I feel as if we have been married longer! Probably due to the amount of life change that has occurred. All of the crazy changes have only strengthened our bond and drawn us closer! The gift of marriage has truly been the greatest gifts I have ever received. These past two months have been very emotional for me, and at times, very challenging. Tate has been the greatest example of God's love through all of it. Serving sacrificially and unconditionally has taken a whole new meaning, and it's such a beautiful thing. We go to bed laughing and wake up laughing. Legitimately. It is so awesome!!! Thursday consisted of practice, more practice, dinner, and a crisp walk around fun neighborhoods! On Friday, Tate only had one morning practice, so we spent the afternoon at one of our favorite hang out places "The Boulevard" playing cards and drinking coffee. I have been enviously looking at everyone's "fall pictures" including pumpkin patches, Trader Joe's pumpkin everything, and the Louisburg Cider Mill. There aren't really pumpkin patches around here, or pumpkin/autumn scented candles (gasp), so I get my fix by ordering a Pumpkin Spice Latte at the Boulevard. And buying orange candles pretending they are pumpkin spice scented. Tate's accidental idea. One day I asked if he would pick up a fall candle after practice, and he came home with an orange candle. "Ohhhh yay did they have them!?" "I don't know, I just grabbed this orange one, hoping it smells the most like fall". Saturday was GAME DAY! I really look forward to game days. Game day means I am getting out of the house, I have something to do and people to see, andddd I get to watch my hunny do his thang. This game was an away game in Mons, about two hours from here. One of the American player's girlfriend is visiting for the next 6 weeks, which I am so excited about, so we went together to the game! We decided to go a little early and grab dinner somewhere. We found this cute little pub called Citizen Fox, that had aaaahmazing nachos. Game day also means massive cheat day ;) The game was a fun one to watch! The arena was nice and big, with loud music, a jumbotron (kiss cam included), and it was a really competitive close game. Oh and they had a CANDY BAR. Adults were grabbing drinks and waffles during half time, while I was fighting off kids for a spot in the candy line. So good. Unfortunately they ended up losing, which is always a bummer, but Tate had a really good game!! Proud of my guy. Always am. Well guys that's all I got. Thanks for following us on our life journey! xx Hill ---- PS. IF ANYONE OUT THERE WANTS TO TEACH ME HOW TO USE A CANON REBEL CAMERA I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT! HMU. Hit me up. Not to be confused with my initials. Guys. Making a vlog is not a joke. This thing takes WORK! I don't know what took longer- creating the video on iMovie or uploading the video to my blog. There was a point where I didn't think it was going to work and that was just NOT happening. Soooo...I am pretty sure the "resolution" and blah blah blah isn't as great, and the video is really small, but IT IS HERE!! 10/9/2017 1 Comment Everything RandomHi friends!
I have been sitting here for the past ten minutes just rackkkking my brain on our past week. Not because it wasn't fun or eventful, but because 1. I have a terrible short term memory. 2. Because of point 1, each day I write down what the day consisted of, just so I will remember. 3. I didn't write anything down this week. Oops! Just going to roll off the top of my head. We don't have typical weeks and weekends here. In our eyes, our "weekends" are Tate's off days. This past week he was off on Thursday, and won't be off again until this coming Saturday. But it's two off days! I love those. Anyways, this week was a good one. It is starting to look like fall here! Fall is my FAVORITE season, hands down. I live for big chunky sweaters, boots, scarves, layering pieces, coffee (honestly I always live for coffee- but it feels more cozy in the fall), LEAVES CHANGING, crisp weather, pumpkins, autumn type candles, aaaaaaand I could go on but I won't. We all know what fall means, amiright? This week I decided I needed to set some goals for myself. I don't know why, but something about setting goals excites me. I am a competitive person, I like a challenge, I like crossing things off lists, I like to be motivated, and I like direction and organization. So you KNOW I love goals. One of the goals I set was to run a half marathon this year. I used to love running. I have ran a few half marathons and I have even ran a marathon (it's as pretty gruesome as you would imagine), and during those times of training, I loved the discipline it brought into my life. And Mrs. Waffle Eater over here needs some discipline!!! So Monday I went out for a run, in hopes to run 2 miles. Which, two months ago, 2 miles would have been a breeze. Well this aint two months ago!!! My knees started hurting at mile 0.4. Don't miss that 0 before the "." It was confirmed, I am officially out of shape. Cheers to getting back in the saddle! And cheers to everyone holding me accountable for running a half marathon this year..... On Wednesday, Tate had an away game, which means he was gone for the afternoon and night. The away games I don't go to, I usually just hang at the apartment, since I am still enrolled in "Tate's driving school" and can't really drive myself places yet. But my husband is so nice, and doubles as my own personal uber driver! He dropped me off at the city center for the morning to shop around, and I left with some GREAT finds. Naturally, everything I got was black. Neutrals all day everyday. AND I treated myself to a Starbucks PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE. So basic. I don't care. For some reason it reminded me of home and comfort (even though I never got them back in the States #blackcoffeeforlife) and I needed a little taste of home! Tate left, they won their game, and I spent my evening watching The Great Gatsby and trying new hair styles. I would say I won too. Thursday was OFF DAY! The day started with pancakes, and then a whole bunch of lounging. We try to have balance with his off days. Some days are spent resting, some spent exploring, and this was a rest day! He has been working so hard. Really proud of him. That evening, the couple that lives below us had everyone over for a team dinner! Our apartment building has three apartments, and guys on the team live in all three. The food was amazing, and it was fun being able to be around Tate's teammates! Friday was date night- my favorite night! We ended up eating dinner at a Sushi restaurant at the City Center, that was really really good. There is a little strip of restaurants at the City Center and our goal is to try them all! So far we have tried 4 different places. Cheese board place still holds the #1 spot. Tate and I are always together, and we always have good conversation, but there is something about date night conversation that is different from the rest. It is more intentional and it's solely about us. We talk about our future together, our future family, our dreams, our hopes, and our hearts. Date night has always been good for our relationship, but since we've been married, it has grown deeper and richer! Saturday I had a stick shift driving lesson. Tate's driving school. Never have I felt more like a 16 year old, learning how to drive again. Tate started off the lesson by saying "Ok Hill, we aren't allowed to say 'I hate this' and we aren't allowed to ask the question "why''" Last driving lesson I repeatedly said "i hate this i hate this i hate this" the whole way around the parking lot. I would park the car, look at Tate, and ask "why is it like this? Why do you have to think the whole time?? Why can't it be easier? Why did someone invent the stick shift?" So dramatic. But this driving lesson wasn't bad!! I drove around the parking lot, I even went out on the street, and drove around a residential area. Haaaay. Big time. I made a goal to drive a little bit every single day this week! All about the goals. Sunday, Tate had a game in Brussels. I rode with Elena, Wen's fiance who lives below us, and their adorable son. I always look forward to Tate's games. They are so fun and I love watching him play! Unfortunatelyyyy, they lost. Which is always a bummer. It was a pretty close game throughout the second half, causing me to half watch half look away because of my stress level. Hoping my stress levels go down the more games I go to. Guys, I wore sweater again. And sweated to death again. Rookie mistake. Someone please text me Friday reminding me not to wear a sweater to the game!! We went to dinner once we got back into town, and recapped the whole game. Who knew I would actually love doing that?? I am learning so much about basketball. I love it. Well, this blog post could not have been more random. Blabbing about fall, being out of shape, learning how to drive, and my poor outfit choice at the game. Don't bail on my blog yet, because next week is going to be a VLOG!! That's right. A vlog. (For those of you like my husband who don't know what vlog means, it stands for "video blog") Shout out to Anna Fulmer who suggested we do one! It is definitely our first and might be our last. Until then!! Love love hill and tate Goodmorning people!
Here in Belgium, it is currently 10:00 am on a gloomy rainy Monday morning. My coffee has been poured and I am listening to "Chilled Jazz" on Spotify. I have REALLY been into Jazz music this week. I have found that it is the perfect background music. Really, try it! Anyways, gloomy rainy, very common around here. I didn't know that when coming to Belgium, which is surprising, because I researched this place up and down. I honestly don't hate it though! It is very "comfy" feeling and I am all about comfy. A couple days ago I realized I needed to do a new blog post, and also realized I had no clue what I was going to write about. This week has been pretty normal, and pretty laid back, aside from Tate's first home game on Friday! Which you know I will get to later. As I was reflecting on my last week, the overall emotion I kept feeling was grateful. After I posted my last blog post, which was a liiiittle on the vulnerable side, I received the most encouraging words from friends, family, people who I didn't know as well, and people who I haven't spoken to in forever. I was so humbled and thankful to say the least. It's funny, because when I wrote that blog post and exposed my feelings of loneliness and feelings of lost identity, I was a little worried people wouldn't understand what I was feeling. That they wouldn't understand my confusing and bipolar like feelings. Heck, I didn't even fully understand it! But the amount of support and understanding was overwhelming. There were so many moments this week where I silently whispered "thank you God". I love how God uses people in our lives. I love that He used all of you to encourage me and lift my spirits this week. Sometimes it just helps to hear other people speak the truth you already know. I trusted the Lord, without the post and your comments, but the way I felt His hand on me this week made that trust grow deeper and stronger. So thank you! Just a side note. I married the most amazing man. Through my crazy transition and even crazier emotions, he has never left my side. Both physically and emotionally. Big emphasis on the *emotionally* part. He has been the best listener, supporter, and friend. SHOUT OUT TO THE REAL MVP! With all of that being said, this week was a great week! Nothing out of the ordinary happened this week. We didn't travel anywhere. We didn't try a new waffle place (ok we kinda did). We just stayed put in our little town. Maybe my mindset has changed, maybe I am getting more comfortable in Belgium, but I really decided to embrace my new life here. I picked out new recipes I am going to try this week- cooking has become really fun for me! I looked for different ways I could serve Tate during my down time. I called a bunch of my friends and my heart was so refreshed by time spent with them. I started researching different Christmas markets around here and I can't WAIT to go try them out. I also started researching a little get away Tate and I might try to do late December if they get a few days off :) Tate and I started playing card games. Which to be honest, I am not sure is the smartest thing for our marriage. The amount of competitiveness that fills our little tiny apartment during a game of speed might be enough to call it quits on game playing!!! Who knew our first real married "argument" would be about the score in Speed ;) Could be worse I guess? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday were super normal. Wednesday night was DATE NIGHT, my favorite. We went to a restaurant at the Hasselt City Center, and I honestly don't remember the name, I just remember the wood fired pizzas! And the accidental $30 cheese and meat board we ordered. We thought it was $15. We missed the whole "pp $15". Per person, just spell it out more clearly please!!!! Dinner was so fun. We dreamed about our future and what we want it to look like. I love doing that with him. Thursday, I don't even remember what we did. So let's move to Friday, GAME DAY! It was so fun getting to go to Tate's first home game. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, I had been to one of his games in Finland, but everywhere is different. I had a ticket on the "VIP" side, and let me tell you, it was VIP! Upon entering I was greeted with a glass of champagne? Wine? Honestly I don't know but it was good! I found my seat and waited for the game to start. I loveeeee the warm up time. Can you guess why? THE MUSIC. I just sit in my seat bobbing around and singing every word to every song. Getting myself warmed up for the game ;) Someone asked me before the game if I was nervous and I remember responding "No way! I am so excited!". Then walking away thinking, I don't know why I would be nervous? WELL LET ME TELL YOU- I GOT NERVOUS THE MINUTE THE GAME STARTED! It's like the whole "two become one" thing taken to the NEXT level. I felt like I was down there playing the game!! But I wasn't. I was up in seat F 54 sweating profusely, in my sweater I immediately regretted wearing. It was such a fun game though. The crowd was so loud and so into the game which made it more fun. They played loud music when our team had the ball- which added an exciting yet stressful element (mainly for me). It was a CLOSE game and they ended up losing by one. Bummer. Next time! After the game, we went up to the "VIP lounge" and mingled with all of the fans. I honestly really enjoyed that part. Even though it's a little awkward after a loss? What do we talk about?? But it is fun meeting new people and making connections! I love interacting with people since it's very limited throughout the week. We got home around 1 am and we stayed up for another hour talking about the game over a bowl of cereal. "Smacks" to be exact. I haven't had that cereal since the 7th grade, but Tate and I developed a whole new love for it. Saturday and Sunday were his off days, yay a two day weekend! Tate always made "off day pancakes" the seasons before now, so we are keeping the tradition alive! Saturday we started our day with pancakes, and headed to the city center to shop around. Speaking of shopping, I would just like everyone to know that I was UNDER in my monthly shopping budget this month! That's right. Super proud. Anyways, Tate found some really cool shoes for a reallllly great price! We ended our day at Sweet Coffee. I think it's safe to say it's our favorite coffee shop. We then went to go explore the Food Truck Festival that was happening in our little town! And it was way better than I was expecting. They had string lights up everywhere, music playing, and at least 20 food trucks that weren't your ordinary food trucks. They were decorated with such attention to detail and their display was a DISPLAY. See my pictures below! It was so fun that we came back on Sunday for lunch :) PSA: For all of you concerned about the amount of waffles and chocolate I am consuming, I just want you to rest easy knowing I am officially cutting back ;) It's probably about time. I've been in "vacation" mode for about a month now. I had an apple and peanut butter for "dessert" last night. Can we even call that dessert??? Cutting back is definitely not as fun. Love love hill & tate |
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