A Modern Day - FaMologie

Day 11

2011-10-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

Good morning Monday, I am still in my writers block and getting very frustrated about it all of a sudden. I guess I can only be a certain kind of creative on a certain kind of day. As of late, my creative side is on a painting kick, and I am refinishing everything within arms reach :) Got the hutch down the other day, and its in the living room taking up space, maybe I should just get a storage unit already to start my collection for my store. That is the best idea I have ever had. One day it will be a reality, but while Dylan is still so young it is hard for us to get too much done. As he gets bigger things will get easier. I hope. [haha]

Yesterday was spent in the rain, at a thrift store that I love dearly. "Last Chance: Thirft Shop" Best one ever. I would know, I am a hardcore thirfter. Yesterday all "Miscellaneous" objects were half-off and that means everything in the store besides the clothing! So we spent $21, and if you only saw how much stuff we got you'd flip out. Daddy got Dylan some new books, AWESOME books might I add. They ended up being like .25cents! Good pick daddy! I got some new baking pans and what nots.. I love that place.

My coffee this AM is enticing me... but its warm in our home this morning, lately its been cold, with a nice Fall chill in the air.

Today I hope to take Marley outside to a nice big park and let him play. I think he will do great, he has come SO far since we first got him, we think he is finally settled into our home and our hearts! Hes a beautiful dog, and he has definitely made himself at home, that's for sure.

I painted a large tree per Dylan's request on his walls in his room:

Yes, that is a music note on his wall too, he originally asked me for a "Rock and Roll" room, so on the other walls are guitars and more music notes, but alas, his mind was changed. I love the "Giving Tree" it is SO peaceful, who knew painting a large tree could make a room feel so much more magical. I want to sit on the floor under his tree and read a book! Its awesome. I am going to paint another one behind his bunk bed so its like he's in a tree house. I am still unsure of how I will cover up the music note without some obviously ugly clouds [haha] so any ideas would be great! I will probably just cover it up with primer and white paint after I sand down the edges. Dylan has always had a cool room to intrigue his little baby mind, and keep that imagination working overtime! He is so brilliant. I am so proud of my little monkey.

Off to snuggle with my main squeeze before he leaves for another long work week.

Day 10

2011-10-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

Rain Rain Go Away Come Again Another Day...

It is pouring outside, and it has been since we first woke up, and that was two hours ago. I love the rain, except when we had outdoor plans today. We were going to go kayaking, and now, I think we will stay in side.

I painted a cute wine hutch yesterday..

I have way too much fun re-vamping ugly furniture. Next is a sofa table. I put the cute wine rack on Craigslist for $50 or best offer, and some one will probably buy it for $30-$40, which would be a huge profit, considering I got it for free. See, I work from home, between my articles, and my paintings and my furniture I have lots of goods to be sold!

Going to go make a pot of coffee and get on the next project...

Day 7

2011-10-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

Day two on the whole "Hoe-Down" thing from T-Tapp. I hurt today. Yesterday Dylan and I "dance-ercised" for about 30minutes, I did about 5minutes of Hoe-downs and then just cardio for the other 25minutes, and I am exhausted and sore today! Must be working!!

Today feels like a lazy day, I fell off the wagon, [lol] I am out of my routine and I don't like it.

Laundry still gets done, food gets cooked and dishes still get done, but its not the same when I don't get up at 7am and start my REAL day. Today I slept until Dylan woke me up at 8am... Which is OK, but I am a little mad at myself.

In other news- Steve Jobs died yesterday. He IS one of the greatest men to have ever lived in our lifetime and I hope everyone can respect that. He will be missed.... God bless him!

Last night we met my parents at George's Breakfast Station in Tarpon Springs for dinner and then we drove to Howard Park to see the sunset.. it was gorgeous.

This is a shot I took in the side view mirror of the sky behind us... Beautiful right??

Day 6

2011-10-05T05:50:00.000-07:00

I am kind of in a funk, don't feel like doing my normal articles today, I feel like doing my craft projects that are piling up. Ive got a desk that needs sanding and painted, as well as a sofa table and a bar hutch... they are all in decent condition and shouldn't take too long to sand down, but either way. I gotta get to that today.

Got up this AM with Rafal like every morning, and took Marley out. How is it possible that he doesn't have to use the bathroom every single time we go out? Like once, or twice a day he actually pee's or you know, but its so rare?

I'm drinking my coffee thinking about some T-Tapp, a new workout I have stumbled upon due to my great friend Veronica Prewitt. She is amazing :) Very blessed to have her in my life.

Made a London Broil last night, and Rafal fell in love with me all over again [haha] It was really good, even I was impressed. The other night I made crock pot country ribs, with a bud light lime, and a cup of apple juice and a few spices like garlic, salt and pepper.. it came out amazing! About 6hours and they were falling OFF the bone! Then last night I marinated the broil in soy sauce, ketchup, salt/pepper, garlic and onions. I also put about a cup of veggie oil in the sauce and it helped keep it juicy! It marinated about 5hours and then just threw it on the grill, about 6 minutes on each side. Came out like heaven.

Day 5

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Learning muffins and cookies now. Fairly easy, but perfecting the recipes as turned in to a daunting task. Not a bad thing, but interesting to say the least. Rafal will have lots of snacks as I try to get these right.

Yesterday we found a local butcher and we are happy to say, its the best place on earth. I may even write an article about it. Acropolis Meat & Deli. Awesome. It is on East Tarpon Ave right in downtown Tarpon Springs. We got 35lbs of meat for about $100. Ribs, Steaks, Ground Beef, Lamb, Pork, TONS of stuff. Our freezer is full of fun stuff. We made home made burgers, on my home made bread, with the fresh home slaughtered cow meat, and topped it with home grown onions and homemade provolone cheese! YOU CANT BEAT THAT WITH A STICK!! Best burgers we have ever had, not kidding, they were mind blowingly delicious. Good to know that Rafal and I can get back to basics even on an electric grill :)

Today I will do my article on "Popular Childrens Costumes for Halloween 2011" and then I plan to include some local costume shops, should turn out good. I will get to that after the dentist.

Enjoying my coffee right now, its our 3rd AM with cold weather, not cold, chilly, 60degrees. We love it. This is my favorite time of year. :)

Day 3

2011-10-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well, here I sit with Mayo/Egg Yolks/Olive Oil slathered all over my head. I needed a deep conditioning treatment for my nappy, over died, fried, bleached out hair, and I googled a home remedy and found one. Lets hope it works. I do know one thing, Rafal loves Mayo, so he might be ALL over me tonight! haha

Haven't had a Red Bull in months, I had stopped caffinee and sugar. As of August 9th I switched to only Water and Mio. But then when I started getting up early with Rafal on Spetmeber 9th I added a few cups of coffee to my morning ritual, SO caffinee has become a daily staple in my life again. I stopped drinking sugary drinks to see if I could loose a few extra pounds of squishy I seem to have gained, but alas, nada. So, screw it!

Its such a beautiful day today, but so weird not having Dylan. He stayed the night at my parents house and they took him to the mall to play, and to see the Dolphin Tale movie. *There are ants crawling past me on my livingroom wall... what the heck* Anywho. I just talked to Dylan on the phone and he sounds so grown up to me.

I am going to throw some ribs in a crock pot for Rafal and then head to my parents house to pick up the monkey. Today is a good day.

Last night was a good night, I spent the evening with my two good friends Veronica & Darryl. We had a GREAT time, doing silly teenage things like walking on the train tracks and giggling at the bus stop. I wish I had taken some pictures of us, those would be good memories. Ah well, it will happen again!

Enjoy your beautiful Sunday where ever you are and God Bless!

Day 2

2011-10-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

I just sat here making an awesome Excel Spreadsheet for all of my examiner articles, I can’t believe I have so many already. I started on September 9, 2011, and have accumulated almost 5 or 6 a week, I am very excited. I am truly loving this work.

Right now I am blogging into a Microsoft Word document because my sweet boy is watching a Care Bears movie through the NetFlix on the Xbox. I am a huge fan of this NetFlix and wouldn’t change it for the world. The fact that our son can watch just about any show he wants is awesome.

During the “work week”, as in Monday-Friday, we have our set schedules and Care Bears is a weekend extra. During the week we watch Sesame Street and Curious George on PBS Kids in the mornings. Well, he watches them, that’s when I blog and write my articles. He knows the mornings are “Mommy Home Work Time”, from when he wakes up until nap time I try to get all of MY work done. Then while he naps, I clean the house and prepare any food for the evening. Then comes the fun times with Mommy, after nap time! I love teaching him things, and watching his little brain grow right before my eyes. The best feeling in the world is when you see him “get it”, when it really sinks in, I love that more than anything. Maybe its just the mom in me, but he is SO smart. Too smart for his own good actually, and sometimes I think it’s a bad thing… and by that I mean that he is so smart that I think he misses out on some “child hood” things. I sometimes fear he will continue on this path and be like his father and I were, and grow up too fast. I pray he can be a child as long as possible. I pray that he doesn’t worry about being “cool”, or having girlfriends when he’s 12. I want him to play in the park until he’s 15 and too big for the swing set! [haha] OK, well maybe not exactly, but all you mommies know exactly what I am talking about.

Its a sunny gorgeous day in Florida, when we went out for Marley's early morning walk it was 75degrees out and Dylan was chilly in his flip-flops! I wore a jacket.. thank God for just "knowing" it would be cold! haha

Time has flown by today, it is already 11am and nap time for Dylan. Going to lay down with my baby before he leaves for the rest of the weekend to stay at my parents house. I am SO blessed that my mom and dad live so close, and love us so much! Shoot, they even love my baby daddy, and that makes my heart feel super happy :)

Day 1: Continued

2011-09-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

I am trying to find all the recipes I wanted for next week and I keep getting distracted, I guess that happens when you are as ADD as I am... not clinically, I am self diagnosed [haha] and I self medicate too! Anyways, I digress, I decided to come post some pictures...

Here are my beautiful Chives, I think the green is SO beautiful.

Here is today's loaf of bread, still warm and crackling!

And here it is ready for french toast or a ham sammich for my boys!

Dylan with Marley at our dog park, I love watching them play together.

My little bald baby <3 Here he is... playing in the dirt. Ahhh... boys.

And there you have it, some photos from my daily life.. beautiful isn't it? I sure think so. I love knowing how blessed I am, the lives some live never realizing how blessed they are, sounds so meaningless.

Looking out the slider and seeing the vibrant blues in the sky against the gorgeous bright greens and whites is truly breath taking. Maybe I should just skip all of this and go sit on the balcony. Yeah, I should, but I have my Jack Johnson Pandora station blasting and it keeps playing all of my favorites, and while Dylan is napping... this is just... nice. :) I can still smell the fresh bread, I love the way it fills the air with that warm smell of baking. Today is just a peaceful day.

Thank you God for the peaceful days.

Rafal has a huge day today at work, been thinking about him and sending him my loving energy. It blows me away what he does at work. He never gets to sit down and take a breather, they are like slaves! [haha] Just kidding of course, but its not like a desk job where you can "relax" {and yes I know a desk job is anything BUT relaxing, but you got my drift right?} he is just non-stop, come rain, hail or sleet, he moves. Its amazing, and he impresses me every day with the stories of the jobs. Ah-May-Zing. Truly.

Dried the sheets in the sun today, I absolutely adore fresh air dried sheets... mmm... Snuggling down in to them tonight will be amazing. When I laid with Dylan to get him to take his nap I fell asleep for about 5minutes, the pillow case lulled me into dream land it smelled so good! I can't imagine what those sheets would smell like dried in the pure air of the country! One day... one day...

Day 1

2011-09-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

Woke up to a chill in the air, and yes we live in Florida, and yes it is STILL 90degrees here. So as you can imagine I was confused about the cold, until I realized the problem.. Our 3year old son enjoys pulling down the thermostat temperature gage, and there you have it! Woke up to 68degrees in the house.

After fixing the issue I opened the sliding door to let some beautiful sunshine in. I got out a glob of Artisan Bread dough from the fridge, molded it and set it on a cookie sheet to rise. Put on a pot of coffee, and brushed my teeth. As I was getting ready to take our dog Marley for his morning walk I debated a jacket, since it was so cold in the house my mind was confused! Definitely glad that I went with no jacket, the sun was hot even at 7:30am.

Our dog Marley is new to our family, he is a beautiful Lab/Great Dane mix. A little over a year old and just a big baby! He is a perfect fit to our growing family!

As you can see, he is just a giant lap dog, and we love him. We just got him actually, on Sunday and decided since we don't know his real birthday we will just say it is September 25th, which works out perfectly since our family number is 25. [That is a whole other story and I will share that one another day]

I have some chives growing in an old bleach bottle I re-fabricated into a neat hanging basket. I would like to get some mint and chamomile growing in their own little containers as well. Maybe this weekend I can look in to getting some new little plant babies?

This morning as I sat pondering what I would do today's article on I watched my coffee steaming, since it was chilly in here it felt like Fall and I was in heaven watching the swirling steam whirl out of my coffee mug, it was a little slice of heaven. And trust me, I could use as many of those moments as possible these days. My three year old thinks he is fifteen and is driving me batty. Such a little big-shot, and always being an entertainer!

Off to fold the laundry and get the dishes done. Tonight is "Grocery Night" in the Szmyglewski household, and I still haven't made next week's menu. Got a lot to do during nap time today!