It's Friday!

Happy Friday, y'all!  & what a wonderful Friday it is!  besides my washer breaking last night & my car smelling like rotten eggs and not having the money to fix/replace either of those... but that's another story for another day.  I don't have a typical H54F post... I can't think of 5 awesome things that happened this week.  But what I do have more than makes up for my lack of happyness.  ;-)  So, once again, I'm linking up with the adorable Lauren From My Grey Desk for another High Five for Friday post!

I OFFICIALLY HAVE A NEW SISTER!!  She was "born" at 10am this morning in a courthouse downtown Kansas City.  A beautiful, bouncing, blue-eyed, blonde-haired, teenage GIRL!  Her name is Victoria.  Say "Hiiii Victoria!!"  She's been living with my parents since February.  She's had a rough life - being adopted from Russia when she was 4 - that didn't work out - been a ward of the state for the past few years - and now she's MY sister!  God works in amazing ways.  Truly.

It was a beautiful "ceremony."  Just a normal court proceeding - but tears were shed by nearly everyone.  The judge shed a few, which he said hasn't happened in nearly 18 years.  My mom wrote a letter to Vic, & Vic wrote her "vows" to my parents and my sister, Dyan, & I.

The top right picture is us.  My sisters and me.  From the left it's me, Dyan & Victoria.  Bottom left is Victoria - taken by my mom on the way to the courthouse this morning.  Isn't she adorable??  So, now I'm getting ready to head to my parent's house to help get food ready for the "Gotcha" shower that we're having tomorrow.  Instead of a baby shower.  Cause she's not a baby - technically.  In reality, she very much is... she's experiencing life like she's never had the opportunity to do so before.  It's so cool to watch.  :-)

Aside from all my awesome, mushy family stuffs, I got my Birchbox this week!  I'll write up my review of the products later for you.  But here's a sneak peak of the polish I got.  It's called "Insta-this."  I LOOOOVE it!

That's it for now... I'll be sure to take pics of the party tomorrow!  Have a wonderful day!



xoxo

Happy Birthday, Christian & Easton!

Today, my first nephew turns 6.  SIX!  I can hardly believe it.  Seems like just yesterday I was holding a Burrito Christian.  Now, he's growing up right before our eyes, he's in kindergarten and FULL of LIFE!  

And my youngest nephew turns 1!  {I don't know Easton very well... my sister-in-law and her little family live in a different state.  Someday, I'd love for them to be close so I can get to know her kiddos like I know my sister's.}

Happy 6th Birthday, Christian!  I hope you have a fantastic day!!  May you always know the love of God and the love of those surrounding you.  May you be protected and not tainted by the evils of this world we live in.  May you always love to the fullest and live life with no fear!  I love you SO much!  

xoxo

P. S.  I hate that I don't have pictures of Easton.  He's absolutely adorable and growing SO fast!  Love you, sweet boy!

Hey, it's Monday!

So, I'm really stinking at keeping this updated and keeping up with the few link ups that I've found and enjoy.  I thought about doing my pinterest one last Wednesday, sat down to look around the website, and felt completely uninspired.  Then, Friday, I don't know what happened.  I've been in that funk and haven't felt like doing much of anything I usually enjoy so much.  On the bright side, I did finally make an appointment with my doc, so I should hopefully get my moods sorted out soon. 

BUT, it's Monday, and I'm suddenly feeling inspired again!  So, once again, I'm linking up with the doll Kate from Classy Living for another episode of GBU (good, bad, ugly) for a little weekend recap!  Let's see if I can remember much from my weekend...

The Good ~
I just started a new workout regime - 8 weeks of training to build up to walking a 5k.  Yeah, I know it doesn't sound very impressive... but folks, I haven't done much cardio since high school/beginning of college when I was last in colorguard.  I was never a runner.  Never.  So, when I was trying to start up the C25K, I about killed myself and almost lost all interest and belief that I would ever do a 5k.  My husband found a training site with walks and showed it to me.  This is what it looks like.  I'm not doing it exactly like it says, since Tuesdays and Thursdays are days I work.  So, we tweaked it a bit so that I'm doing my short & easy walks on Mondays and Wednesdays, then Friday is my longer distance walk & Saturday is my LONG walk.  I started Friday with an easy 15 min walk & then went to a park nearby for Kenzie to play while my MIL and I did 1 1/2 mile walk.  Yesterday (Sunday), I went for an hour.  By myself.  No music.  Just me, God and His beautiful world.  It was heaven!  But anyway, before I babble on forever and ever, I'm now on track for my tweaked training.  Did 15 min again with my MIL and will take a rest day tomorrow.  I feel good, if not a bit sore.  :-)  i'mgonnaloseweighti'mgonnaloseweight and be HEALTHY!

The Bad ~
We missed church (again) yesterday.  I was so mad at myself!  My sister-in-law sent me a book to try out and I was hooked.  So, I got up at 7 with Mackenzie and started a movie for her while I woke up.  I ended up finishing my book and looked at my phone & it was 8.  Church starts at 9 where we are visiting trying to find a new church home.  I still needed a shower & Mackenzie needed her bath.  UGH.  **note to self: either bathe Kenzie in the evening or get off your lazy butt and start getting ready at 7.  ***another note to self: pace yourself while reading... the apartment looks like a war zone because it has been so neglected while I was captured by the book.  :-P

The Ugly ~
My whole moods thing is so ugly.  About that doctor appointment I finally made?  Yeah, she can't get me in until October 1st.  I'm staring at the calendar trying to wish away those days to make it come faster.  I just want to be happy.  And I know, I have the power to be happy or be sad or be really ugly & angry.  :-)  But having dealt with this nasty depression crap since '96, I know when it's time to get a new med and try something new.  So, here's hoping some new meds & possibly finding something I love doing (or starting nail tech school part time [more on that later]) will bring about a new & happier me.  & getting in shape.  That'd be loverly, as well.  :-)

best boss ever

So, for the record, I have the best boss. ever.  His name is Daddy.  :-)  Ya wanna know one of the reasons he's the best?  

Yeah... it's ok to be jealous.  Now, to pace myself...

weekend recap: the good, the bad & the ugly

It's Monday.  I never work on Mondays - so they are usually decent days.  Like, this morning, Kenzie and I watched some good, ol' Phineas & Ferb and I read some more on my kindle.  We just had lunch (bagel bites) and now Kenzie is down for her nap.  Ah, peace & quiet.

So, I'm linking up today, for the first time, with Kate at Classy Living for GBU (the good, the bad & the ugly).  I recently found Kate through a different link up and just had to "follow" her.  She seems like an absolute doll!  & she's a fellow sister in Christ.  :-)  

Anywho, this post is all about the past weekend.  So, here goes!

The Good ~

I got some free tickets to the Kansas City area Renaissance Festival through an old friend from high school.  My mom and I went Sunday afternoon as part of our annual tradition of "mom n meg" time.  It was great!  Got a delicious turkey leg while we watched our favorite show of "Bob the Incredible Juggler" - seriously, we see his show ever. year.  Also included in my "have to eat every trip to the renfest" was my favorite chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick!  Then, my mom and I went for matchy-matchy and got a wrap you tie around your waist that jingles when you walk.  Snazzy!  (mine is purple, mom's is brown.)

The Bad ~

Well, the reasons to this "bad" aren't necessarily bad, but nonetheless... We went to a carnival at my parent's new church Saturday.  It was completely free - free hot dogs, nachos, bottled water/sodas, cotton candy - everything was free.  No catch.  I guess they started it as a thank you to the community for allowing this humongous church in the middle of the neighborhood.  Anyway, that's not the bad part - just have to set it up.  The carnival was incredible - tons of blow ups and jump houses and rides and ponies and, and, and - but it was smack-dab in the middle of nap time!  Kenzie took a tiny catnap on the way there... like, fell asleep about 5 minutes away from my parent's house where we were picking up my mom.  So, needless to say, she was very pleasant to be around the rest of the day.  :-)

The Ugly ~

I have been extremely hormonal lately - that, combined with needing to see my doctor to switch up my anti-depressants does not equal a pretty picture.  I have had several "freak-out" moments this weekend.  I've been angry for silly reasons or no reason at all that I can figure out.  So, pretty much, I've been an ugly broad this weekend. :-(

Well, I think that's about it... hope you all have a great rest of your Monday!

xoxo

high five for friday

Happy Friday!  I don't know about you, but my week feels like it went by super fast!  Wasn't yesterday just Monday??  I'm linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk for another H54F post!  So let's do it to it!  Here are my top 5 things from this past week in no particular order ;-)


1. I made an amazing cake... and gushed about it here.  Yes, that was just last night.  And it's more than halfway gone... what?  shhhh

2. I put up more decorations this week!  I haven't taken pics, but I will do that when the apartment is a bit more tidy and give you a tour on another post.

3. I made a yarn garland like Kate & Lauren's!  I'm uber excited (and that's one of the pieces of decor that is currently making my office area look freaking adorable!)  I'm thinking of making several more, with more color schemes, and putting them up for sale in my mom's holiday boutique she's getting ready to host.  Primitive Chic Boutique!  I'm looking into some other craft ideas also.... I'm not crafty, but I feel a bit better now!  Thanks, Kate & Lauren!

4. Mackenzie and I started dance classes this week!  Mackenzie is in a "Tiny 2s" class for 2 and 3 year olds - it is basically to get the kiddos used to not having mom and/or dad around and helping them learn to follow directions, etc.  I am in an adult beginners tap class... however, I somehow ended up in the intermediate class... so I'm dropping down and my class begins 30 min later.

That's not Mackenzie, but the kid on far right makes me think of her!

5. Took a lengthy nice walk to a friend's house for a play date for our girls - then walked to the park with her and our kiddos to let them run off some steam.  It was wonderful to get some adult chit chat in and let the kid play with a friend!

Hope you enjoyed this week's highlights... kind of lame tonight... kind of felt like a lame week.  But oh well, you win some, you lose some!

How was your week??




xoxo

Pink Frosting & Sprinkles

Yesterday was a good day.  It's not very often that I feel confident saying that.  I'm not a confident momma or housewife - but yesterday was a good day.  

Normally, my days home go something like this:  

~Get up after restarting videos a few times and trying to get some more sleep while Kenzie watches them (or more often lately, turning the xbox off and on and taking videos out of the boxes and trying to start different ones.... it's annoying)
~Laze around... let Kenzie watch more videos (I'm bad, lemme tell ya) and read my kindle or play a silly game on my phone
~Some more putzing around the house knowing I need to do something, but don't feel like it, so I don't.
~Lunchtime - make something for the kid and maybe for me - not always very healthy
~Laze around some more during naptime
~Crap, it's almost time for Drew to get off work.... scramble around trying to do something so it looks like I wasn't Miss Lazypants all day - but he usually sees through that.  Luckily for me, he doesn't nag me much about it.
~Dinner
~Laze around, trying to pass time till Kenzie's bedtime

You get the picture.  A whole lot of laziness.  I hate it - it makes me hate myself and feel awful - like Kenzie deserves a much better momma who does fun stuff with her instead of putting her in front of the tv.  Most times though, she doesn't pay much attention to the tv and plays with toys or gets into stuff she shouldn't.  Causing me to get super frustrated with her and feel even worse.

Yesterday, however, was a different story - for the most part.  It started out almost the same - but then I realized what time it was and that I made plans the night before to do a play date with a friend and her daughter.  The plan was to walk from our apartment to her house - it didn't seem like it would be that far - I could handle that!  Plus, it would get us out of the house and doing something fun.  Making memories!

SO, I got dressed (in sweatpants & tank), threw my hair up for the walk, pulled on my tennis shoes (I hate having my feet constricted... normally I'm in flip flops hehe) and got Kenzie dressed.  Then I pulled out the stroller, gathered our things and set off.  That whole thought about the walk not being so bad?  Yeah, I must have miscalculated somewhere!  I let the husband take the car so he could go to the hospital for his weekly allergy shot.  Thought the walk would be good for me and get some good exercise in.  

Oh. My. Gosh.  

First off, I walked down a road that has sidewalk till just past our apartment - after that, it's all road, baby.  It was semi-busy - so cars had to make a decent arc around us.  It was windy.  I was sneezing because of the wind and the fact that all the allergens were never killed off because of our mild winter last year.  I hadn't worked out in a couple weeks because of my shin splints.  And it was further than I estimated.  It only took about 30 to 45 min to walk, but being out of shape like I am, it about killed me.  I got to my friends and decided to text Drew to see if he could pick us up from the park before he took lunch so I didn't have to walk home.  LOL... I'm such a wimp.

BUT, it was good.  Got us up and out of the house.  Kenzie got some time to play with a friend.  I got some adult conversation.  I didn't feel trapped like I did last time I let Drew take the car.  (That was a bad day...)  So, all in all, that started off the day wonderfully!  PLUS, it wore Kenzie out and she took one of her best naps ever!  Like, 3 hours!

We had lunch - bagel bites - not healthy, but not bad either.  At least I'm not eating out every day... the scale is liking that!  So, yeah, nap time was awesome.  I had some good "mommy time" to blog and mess around on the computer.  I didn't get much done like I was planning, but it was good regardless.  Before Kenzie woke up, though, I went ahead and started cleaning up the kitchen.  That was a disaster zone.  Seriously.  Gross.  I was ashamed.  ;-)  Kenzie woke up before I had finished and helped herself to pulling out all the dvds.  Really, kid??

Drew's birthday cake 2011

Got the kitchen clean, counters, FLOOR (hallelujah!) swept AND mopped, AND I baked a cake!  My apartment smelled goooooood, lemme tell ya!  The cake mix was leftover from Drew's birthday last year when I attempted to do a layered strawberry cake.  First attempt was fail (I didn't grease the pan enough, so it stuck really bad when I went to plop it out to cool), so I got 2 extra boxes, just in case I failed again.  Tuesday, I stopped by Target and got some frosting.  Pink.  I like pink and sprinkles and thought a pretty pink cake would cheer anyone up.  

I also made stir-fry... by MYSELF.  Cooking is not something I brag about... I'm not that good at it and I'm not confident.  But, I put all that aside and did it anyway.  And it was GOOD.  It was healthy... kinda.  And I have the rest for lunch today!  Then, after the kid went to bed, I had a piece of cake.  Oh. my. gosh.  It was amazing. 

Perfect end to the evening!

Oh my word, shove a sock in my mouth and shut me up.  I could talk for ages.  I just had to share.  It's not every day that I feel really good about myself and my abilities.  And oh yeah, while the cake was baking, I put up another decoration.  It says "home."  I need to snap a pic and post it.  But, in the meantime... here's some cake.  ;-)

Perfect and spongy and moist - Yum!

xoxo

Oh, How Pinteresting!!

Happy Wednesday!  It's time to link up with Michelle from The Vintage Apple for another fun time of pinning!  So, let's get this party started!!




There is a giveaway going on through Friday for a lovely pair of these!  I hope I win!  

Source: vanessacorrea.com via Vanessa on Pinterest

Source: stylemepretty.com via Kerri-lynn on Pinterest

Source: nicole-sterling.polyvore.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Source: absolutelyinlovewithhim.tumblr.com via Natasha on Pinterest

A more healthy option for all those "ranch dressing lovers" out there... including myself ;-)

Source: repinly.com via Michelle on Pinterest

The verse I often live by...

Source: tharderdesign.blogspot.com via Natasha on Pinterest

Source: paloma81.blogspot.com via Natasha on Pinterest

How to make a starbucks caramel apple spice in a crockpot!  Yesss!!

Source: pin2fun97.blogspot.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Source: 320sycamoreblog.com via Marlo on Pinterest

Most amazing idea ever for storing jeans/slacks!

Source: grandpins.com via Marlo on Pinterest

Source: bing.com via Marlo on Pinterest

Oh, man... I should stop or you'll be reading for the rest of the day!  Don't you just LOVE pinterest?  :-) 

Toodles!

xoxo

Samples, samples, samples!!

Happy Sunday evening to y'all!  I'm excited to announce that I just signed up for a subscription with Birchbox!  

Doesn't that look yummy??

What's Birchbox, Meg?  Well, in a nutshell, it's kind of like a magazine subscription.  Only, instead of just reading about the products inside, you actually get to try them!  They send a personalized box of generously-sized samples of the latest beauty products available.  And I'm sooo excited to get my first box!  It's like Christmas, only every month!

So, stay tuned for my monthly Birchbox reveals!  Should be some fun shindigs goin' on ova hear!  ;-)

xoxo

high five for friday!

Woo!  It's Friday!!  Time for another link up with Lauren from From My Grey Desk!  This past week was a bit of a whirlwind, and frankly, it doesn't feel like Friday.  But anywhoodles, here goes!

1.  We took our last minute trip to Ohio (roughly 10 to 12 hr drive) to see my sister-in-law and pick up a CUTE puppy!  Mackenzie handled the trip really well.  We watched lots of movies and she took a couple decent naps.

2.  I bought some fun pretties from Hobby Lobby yesterday... I'm thinking a little diy yarn garland is in order - along with some words for the wall above my desk & a really cool metal tree for my gallery wall!  Pics of the finished projects will come soon...

3.  I got a new nail polish from Ulta, called Island Hopper.  I love it!  I was wanting a mint polish, but found this one instead.  

4.  Our freezer is PACKED.  And I mean that... it's packed.  Like, if you don't fit everything in there perfectly, it keeps popping open.  Seriously.  Needless to say, we had a very successful Costco trip the other evening.  :-)  Megs loves her some foods!

5.  My cousin is getting married tomorrow.  I'm not looking forward to the drive (about 2 hrs), but it will be nice to see family that I rarely see.  Let's just hope Mackenzie is well-behaved!


So, that's it!  I'll leave you with one more picture to fill up your "cuteness" meter till I can post more.  Here's my girl sleeping the morning we headed back home.  She kept turning her music on (see upper right) and finally passed out.  Check out that belly button!  :::dies:::

xoxo

Wednesdays are oh, so pinteresting..

I'm linking up again with The Vintage Apple for another fun, pinteresting Wednesday!  Sorry I'm a bit late on this... totally almost forgot!  But here we go!

First off, these look amazing!  I need to try these out...

Source: kalynskitchen.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Would it be too early to have a glass of this with my egg muffin??  I'm thinking maybe...

Source: cosmopolitan.com via Shannon on Pinterest

A great way to get rid of nasty armpit stains!  Jeah!

Source: onegoodthingbyjillee.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Omgosh.... YUM!  These look like The Cheesecake Factory's fried zucchini!  :::drooling:::

Source: theleangreenbean.com via Jory on Pinterest

I'm starting to think Christmas... I wonder how difficult these would be to do with a 3 yr old... hmm...

Source: funhandprintart.blogspot.com via Whitney on Pinterest

No need for a caption here... I just love fall and the foliage!

Source: october-glory.tumblr.com via Julie on Pinterest

Change it to a W and this would be darling for my gallery wall I'm hoping to put up eventually!

Source: etsy.com via Jane on Pinterest

And last but not least!  

Source: someecards.com via Molli on Pinterest

I thought that last one was quite fitting for all the food ones I posted.  Hope you enjoyed and I hope you all had a lovely Wednesday!  We're halfway through the week!

xoxo

Back in the swing with a "friend" to join me

Back from our mini-vacation/roadtrip!  It's good to be home and to sleep on our nice bed instead of an air mattress.  Back to our extremely messy apartment - to find a letter from our apartment complex that we need to have toys picked up and under sinks cleared out because sometime today, between 9 and 5, they are coming in to do pest control.  Ugh.

So, we did a quick sweep of the apartment, got unpacked and got a load of laundry done.  There's still a lot to do, but it's good enough for what they are coming in for today.  And, as luck would have it, I have a friend joining me today.  His name is Allergies or Cold.  

Sneezy, itchy, drainage (yuck), sore throat, stuffy nose.  Fun.

I'm back at the office today... was late as usual.  Good thing I work for my dad and he loves me and won't fire me.  At least I hope not.  I can't ever seem to get here on time.  Every once in a while, I'll come in right at 9.  I have yet to do my main Tuesday project - payroll.  I have the timesheets sitting in front of me, but I procrastinate.  It's super hard to get back into the swing of things after time away.  

Our time in Ohio was nice.  Mackenzie handled the trip really well.  It helped that we could watch movies.  But we had a great time visiting with family.  Got to see where my sis works, so that was fun.  Had lots of good food.  Visited German Village and waited around 2 hrs to get in to a sausage place.  I had a ham & cheese sandwich on a pretzel bun (delish!) with green beans and spaetzel (which are little pasta things... really yummy!).  But I was in a bad mood from waiting so long and having to try to keep a 3 yr old entertained and not go crazy.  Managed the first two, but I think I lost some sanity that night.  I'm not very good at trying new things, so when we finally got to sit down, I was overwhelmed with all the "weird" things and couldn't concentrate and nothing looked or sounded good.  Finally settled on the ham n cheese and was pleasantly surprised.  I don't like pretzels, so I was going out on a limb.

~~~

The puppy.

She's SO freaking adorable.  At 9 weeks, she was 19.2 lbs.  She's a big puppy, but she's a fluff ball and loves playing with Mackenzie.  She was a good girl on the way home, too.  Only cried for a little bit when we first left Monday morning, but after that she was quiet, except for the occasional squeak of her toys.  :-)

Just chillin'

Forever Friends

So, that's about it.  Mackenzie was very excited about "take MY puppy home."  I gained around 5 lbs on the trip... time to get back to losing some weight.  I also caved and drank soda while there.  So, back to water for me!  

How was your Labor Day weekend?  Anything exciting?  Any weight loss tips for me??  :-)

xoxo