The List Maker

Oh, How I've Missed You

2013-04-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been a "one step in front of the other" kind of last two months. I can mark off one of my BSHAGs - yay! We've sold our house. Right now we're living in a rental. Moving from a 2200 square foot house to an 1100 square foot house is proving to be a challenge:)
Now I just have four more BSHAGs for this year:
1. I will lose 45 pounds.
2. I will run a 5K and a 10K with my "success" run being at the Shrimpfest down in the Gulf.
3. We will get out of debt.
4. I will "coupon" our way to our 10th Anniversary trip.

Very excited about crossing one of these goals off the list, especially since it will greatly lend its help to us getting COMPLETELY out of debt. I'm so excited.

Another exciting tidbit is I completed everything on my list today but it has made me ready for bed:)

Weigh-In #4 and #5

2013-02-15T20:08:00.001-06:00

Well 3 out of 6 of us have a cold. Needless to say, I'm tired, ill, my eyes burn, my throat hurts, and my nose is running.

I definitely need to take time to explain more of what's going on in my life but that will have to wait for another day.

Last Friday's weight was 163 pounds - yay! Today's weight? 164.8 pounds - boo! I went to Atlanta with my man this week and did not care what I ate. This weight loss journey is going to be a challenging one.
The good news is I started the 40/40 Challenge on Wednesday and have been exercising 40 minutes each day. I would like to be down to 162 by next Friday. I really need to get my butt in gear and quit eating junk!

My Princess

2013-02-03T12:51:00.002-06:00

For the rest of my life, I am uncertain I will ever comprehend why God saw fit to bless me with a girl. She is the most beautiful, amazing little girl I've ever known. That being said she is my one child that can get under my skin faster than any of the others. I have been in prayer for the last two days asking for God's forgiveness and restoration as I cultivate my relationship with her. Because that's just what it is, a cultivation. I'm laying the groundwork now for what our relationship will be in the future.
She's bossy (like me), persistent, inquisitive (like me), and very tenderhearted. These are qualities to be praised but some days (like yesterday) they get on my last nerve. And I did not express kindness and compassion, I expressed frustration. I can remember when I was a girl my Dad wouldn't express frustration at my tenderheartedness instead he would say, "I'm so glad you have a tender heart. Remember to always keep your heart tender toward the Lord." Lord, help me because honestly I love my girl SOOO much. In fact, at our house we say "I love you to Pluto and back" and sometimes my sweet baby girl takes it to the next level and says "I love you to God and back".

Here she is in all her glory with one of her friends from dance class.

Tres is on the left. Wow, I love my girl!

Weigh-In #3

2013-02-01T18:20:00.000-06:00

So I did not stay completely in my calorie goal this week BUT I did do better and stay almost within my range. The result? I went from weighing 165.8 pounds last Friday to 163.8 pounds today. Also by comparison of weeks in calorie consumption... Last week I on average exceeded my calorie goal by 400 calories and this week only by about 75 calories.
I also have made myself exercise in some way, shape, or form. Last night I did Just Dance 4 with the kids. (The comedic value alone is enough to do it)
So here I am back at square one but feel confident this next week will show another two pound loss.

Today's my birthday so tonight I'm having dessert!

Spring Cleaning

2013-01-28T20:53:00.001-06:00

Can it really be called spring cleaning if I'm doing it in the winter? I repinned this pin from Oprah.com the other day and have been using it as a cleaning guide.

I believe the title stated something like Spring Cleaning in 8 Hours. Of course, I was hooked. Wow, spring cleaning done in 8 hours? Well I'm six hours in and seriously doubt I will be done in two more hours. However, the article provides some really good info.
I worked three hours on Friday on the Kids' room (Dos and Tres'), the main hallway, the kids' bathroom, and the kitchen. I worked an hour on the Living Room, Dining Room, Laundry room and side hallway on Saturday and about two hours today on the Toy Room and finishing the windows of the Living and Dining Rooms. I believe the plan would work best for a one bedroom, one bath home. With a four bedroom, two and a half bath home I'm still working the plan. I have yet to complete: the Master bedroom and en suite bathroom, half bath, Uno's bedroom, and Quattro's bedroom. I'm not sure if I could get everything done in eight straight hours due to the size of the house but also I would really need to have the house all to myself for eight straight hours and I'm just not sure that is possible.
What I do like about this plan is that the author tells you in what order to work your rooms. For example, in the Kids' Room I:
1. Dusted the fan, wiped down the walls, and vacuumed.
2. Aired the room out by raising the windows.
3. Stripped the beds and flipped the mattresses.
4. Put on new sheets.
5. Wiped down the baseboards and washed them.
6. Swept the floors.

We put the house on the market this Friday. We are still on the fence as to whether we should list it for sale by owner or with a realtor. Your thoughts?

Friday Weigh-In #2

2013-01-27T18:04:00.002-06:00

I tried to post this yesterday ( I was just way too tired Friday) but there was problems with the site. So, here I am today.
I weighed Friday and my weight was 165.8. Yes, yes I did gain two pounds not lose two pounds like I had hoped. Welcome to my life of trying to lose weight. Now, no matter how down I can get about the gain, I'm still holding on to the belief that this time will be different. I am determined to stay the course and lose the weight I have set out to. I just may post the good, the bad, and the ugly along the way:)

To recap the last week, I'll look at the pros and the cons.

Pros:

1. I exercised 6 out of seven days.

2. I did log my eating on MyFitnessPal each day.

Cons:

1. I went over my calorie limit 5 out of 7 days.

2. I refuse to eat healthy food which obviously is detrimental to weight loss. There's something in me that would rather starve to the point where I eat everything in sight instead of pick up the carrot and eat it.

So, for this week my goal is to stay within my calorie limit each day. I don't think I'll set a pound goal. (I probably will I can't seem to get away from wanting to see the numbers change) Okay, so what do we think of a three pound loss? Or should I stay with two?

Friday Weigh-In

2013-01-18T09:55:00.000-06:00

I'm still surprised that as of November I had no goals, no aspirations for the new year. Boy did that change by the end of December. As stated previously, I have five B-SHAGs (Big Scary Hairy Audacious Goals) and my number one B-SHAG is probably my scariest, hairiest one to me: lose 45 pounds.
Why is it that we get hung up on the same things over and over? For me, food is my downfall. To those that do not know me, I'm 4'10" which translates into my weight shows up in spades on me. After Quattro (after being the key word), I weighed 170 pounds. 170 pounds on a 4'10" lady is a lot. So I decided I would lose 50 pounds. I think I wished I would lose 50 pounds. As a result, I lost a total of 5 pounds in all of 2012 but at least it was a loss.
Sunday, I believe was a turning point for me; however, I believe my prayer life has helped me come up with the B-SHAGs I've created for this year starting back in November. What I mean is, I believe the Lord has been doing some prep work in my life. On Sunday, my pastor said something, something that when I take it out of context seems silly and ridiculous. He said, "God will make the impossible, possible". I get that other people are facing major obstacles: job loss, disease, divorce, etc. But for me, my weight has been an impossibility for as long as I can remember. Not that I've always been overweight but I've never been petite like my mom and sister who are 4'9" and 4'8" respectively. I've made years of poor choices and exhibited lack of self-control. Those choices really became an issue back in 2009. I wanted to get pregnant again and Tres was two so I thought it was a good time. However, I'd been crying over anything and everything, breaking out with acne (I was fortunate, I didn't have acne in high school - at all), moody, and irregular cycles. I went to a holistic store and bought hormone cream and thought that would do the trick. Finally, I went to see my doctor (probably should have done that first). What I didn't realize was the hormone cream was acting similar to birth control pills (which I have never taken due to personal beliefs) in the fact that the cream was forcing me to have a regular cycle. The regular cycle made me think everything was okay. So my doctor did blood work on me and revealed that the hormone levels in my blood were showing I had PCOS. Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome. For me, this condition was weight related. Translation? My body wasn't ovulating and insulin resistance was a big factor. I was devastated but honestly didn't know what it all meant. Over time, I've become more familiar with the syndrome. At the time I was 160 pounds and began working out and lost 5 pounds. In April 2011, I became pregnant with Quattro and I was pumped! However, 155 was the heaviest I had ever been starting a pregnancy. By the time I went in to the hospital to deliver Quattro, I weighed 186 pounds! Too much for a 4'10" girl.
Fast forward to the end of 2012 and I finally went to see a doctor because I was so tired everyday. Now my big issue: Insulin Resistance, a precursor to diabetes. And why do I have this? My weight. The good news and the "Aha! moment" all at the same time? This is not a life long condition. It can be COMPLETELY reversed with weight loss. I am intelligent individual - now is the time to change my condition. So the reason for this long post? I am going to detail out my plan, open the door for any comments you may have, and finally, post my weight as of today. I will track my progress toward achieving my #1 B-SHAG.
Since praying Sunday that God would make this impossible thing in my life possible, I have been listening to any guidance or encouragement as related to me losing weight. I noticed a post on a news site about a man that lost over 125 pounds by counting calories and I was intrigued. You see, the only times I have seen significant improvement in my weight has been when I count calories. Well this guy did just that. He still ate foods he loved, he just counted calories and moved. He's documented his success on his blog 344pounds and I'm liking what he has to say. I'm currently reading his book, "344: How I lost 125 pounds by counting calories" via Numero Uno's Kindle Fire.
Here's my plan:
1. I will track my caloric intake via MyFitnessPal. My daily allotment is 1500 calories.
2. I will exercise for 15 minutes a day plus do 5 set ups and 5 push ups. Monday through Saturday.
3. I will lose two pounds per week.
4. Sundays will be my absolute free day (eat whatever and no exercise). In the event that I do not lose two pounds in a week, I forfeit my free day.

This is me, in all my glory:) We do not own a full length mirror (I'm sure my weight has had something to do with that decision as well). As of today, I weigh 163.6 pounds. I'll post next Friday my progress.

Now, to tackle this messy house:)

Snow Day!

2013-01-17T15:15:00.001-06:00

Quattro has woke up at 5:45 a.m. the last two days. So, for today, I'm on my game. Putting up clothes while pretending I have the vocal capabilities of Nate Ruess, who, by the way, is my latest fave.
I have worked on this hall closet for two days now, shredding three bags full of old paperwork, throwing away old items, returning odd items to their home and yet the closet does not yet feel amazing. Here's my before pic....

And after my work, this is what I have to show off...

I was really wanting the WOW factor and I'm not feeling it. Grant it, it does look better than it did but I doubt I make any Pinterest boards anytime soon:) Maybe I will work on it more tomorrow or when Bowl Full of Lemons covers it on her 14 week program.

On a lighter note...we had school called off at 12:00 and have had a fun snow day! I even made hot cocoa from The Pioneer Woman's recipe:) Yummo!

Happy Snow Day!!!

A Plan

2013-01-14T12:05:00.001-06:00

I have a bad habit of becoming excited about a task and jumping in it in the middle. I somehow bypass the beginning, forget the labor of the finish, and get knee deep in whatever the task may be. Today, the task is closet and pantry organization. I spent the afternoon organizing the kids' closet. From the pictures it may not looked organized to you but trust me this is a LARGE improvement from the former state of the closet.

Now, I am attacking my pantry. As you know I have stumbled upon the Bowl Full of Lemons site and am following her 14 week decluttering program. Week #1 was the kitchen, Week #2 was the garage, and Week #3 is the pantry. I think I may be done with the pantry tonight so I will see what this week will hold for me. However, I'm big talk right now considering the contents of my pantry are currently strewn across my entire kitchen.

...well, I couldn't post my pics last night so I finally googled the problem and fixed it today! And I did finish the pantry and am excited to tackle Quattro's closet today. Here's the pantry:

Everything displayed all over my kitchen.

I cleaned each shelf and swept the floor.

Ta da! Finished product.

For me, the best piece of advice I gleaned from A Bowl Full of Lemons was to take all the empty bins and storage containers I had available and display them on the counter. Although the image is a little blurry, you can see my empty storage container across the top of my cabinet counter. As I cleaned out my pantry I created a list of categories in my pantry then matched those categories with available storage bins. Now I did not put everything in a container like she does but what I did helped streamline and sort my available food supply.

Now that I have figured out my Blogger problem and organized the pantry and closet, I must now tackle the rest of the day!

Freezer Cooking

2013-01-11T21:28:00.000-06:00

I really have to have a structured plan in order to have supper prepared for my family. I lack the creativity to come up with meals on my own. Typically I dread the meal time not because I don't like to cook but that I don't know what to make. With lures of freezer meal pins, plus my BFF participating in a Freezer Meal cooking group at her church, I have been in search of help for my dinner dilemma.
As I've shared before, a lot of the pins list tons of soups but not a real plan for me to follow. I really like this pin.

It's from FabulesslyFrugal. Thus far, this is the best site for organizing freezer meal cooking as well as including some great recipe ideas.
Right now my list includes one thing:
1. Plan and list meals for the next two weeks.
Okay, now I've added more to my list:
2. Make shopping list from the four stores I will visit tomorrow (CVS, Walgreens, Target, and Wal-Mart) then match up sale items with my menu.
3. Try to prepare at least to make-ahead meals tomorrow.

Well this will keep me pretty busy, good night!

Progress Report

2013-01-10T22:46:00.000-06:00

As eternal as the comments are of "time flies", I still am amazed at how quickly the days pass. It has already been over a week since my last post. I want to accomplish each of my B-SHAGS this year but am a little overwhelmed at which process to pursue to accomplish these goals. I have just been incredibly hungry for knowledge about people that have experienced success in there lives. What methods worked for them? What character traits do they possess? I recently checked out Good to Great from the library. It is one of Dave Ramsey's recommended books. I'm very excited about the information provided in the book.

My sister recently informed me that ADD is hereditary. After talking to her, things that I have always found odd behavior for my family, I'm now considering, "do we all have ADD?" If I do have ADD, I would find humor in this considering I was a special education teacher for six years. One would think I would have identified myself before now:) So in using the term loosely I now can kinda understand why my thoughts jump from subject to subject and why I seem to have a difficult time completing mundane tasks. For now, what have I been doing? I made a schedule for my daily routine. I got to thinking, elementary teachers usually list out their daily routine so the kids will know what to expect out of the day so why not do that myself? And it's really helped. I started with what time I need to get up in the morning all the way through til when I need to get in bed. Now I know there is always something for me to be doing.

Weight Loss is being monitored but my progress is dismal at this point. I'm not sure why I do this but I get pretty angry when having to watch what I eat. I know this is a good move for me but until I see some real results, I'm typically ill until then - poor Numero Uno. I did work out this week and have stopped eating by 7:30 p.m. each day. We'll see how I do when I weigh in this Saturday. My family and friends have been very encouraging which I take as a blessing from the Lord. I know they all want to see me healthier. My Fitness Pal is still a big source of help for me.

As far as selling our home, I am working on decluttering the house and getting it ready to put on the market. I am following A Bowl Full of Lemons 14 week program. This woman is amazing! I will admit though I still struggle with being paralyzed with a feeling of being overwhelmed when I look at my clutter. Right now I'm working on my garage and I will say this website has encouraged me to buy more storage containers, label more, and throw away or donate what I do not use. I have already made two trips this week to the local thrift store to make donations:) I will try to post some pics before this week is up.

I would like to set up a better method of progress tracking. Hopefully, I will accomplish that task this weekend.

B-SHAGs

2013-01-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

I have been looking forward to this post since November. But honestly it has taken this long to formulate my very own B-SHAGs. This past November, my pastor shared with the church the B-SHAGs he had for the upcoming year. Might I add, very wise of him to do this in November since December brings chaos for families everywhere with the holiday season. What is a B-SHAG? A Big Hairy, Scary, Audacious Goal. Listening to the vision he had for our congregation was awe inspiring yet left me bewildered. What were my Big Hairy, Scary, Audacious Goals? I drew a blank. I had nothing to challenge me. Had I gone so long of not setting any goals that I had a blank slate staring back at me for aspirations? Now, I am old enough to realize there seasons of life. Seasons of growth and seasons of pruning; seasons of change and seasons of stagnate life. I would say 2011 and 2012 were changes and prunings which sometimes felt like a cutting knife to my heart. I set no goals save maybe the one of survival.
I love the scripture that is a warning and yet beautiful that says, "where there is no vision, the people perish." Without your eye on the prize, what will you achieve? What work is to be done? If I have the ability, why not do it? In these questions there is hope and desire and excitement - traits missing from my repertoire of emotions here lately.
So, it took me some time. I asked questions of my friends ( I love asking questions, it's an annoyance to most, but I really want to learn). Some of my friends gave careful thoughts to their plans for 2013 and others vowed to make no goals. I did get tickled at how we all label our ideals: "goals, love lists, plans, ideas". Each person seems to give the resolutions a different name but I think we want the same in the end: success, productivity, growth, change.
Well, what are mine? What did I consider BIG? That without God's help I'm doomed to fail? The good news about humans is that each of us, each of us, are at different levels. What is minuscule to one is insurmountable to another. Here is my list of B-SHAGs as well as some of my "ideas" for this new year:

B-SHAGs:
1. I will lose 45 pounds.
2. I will complete a 5k and a 10k with my "success" run being at the Shrimpfest down at the Gulf.
3. We will get out of debt.
4. I will "coupon" our way to our 10th anniversary trip.
5. We will sell our house.

Ideas:
1. Read more.
2. Speak less, listen more.
3. Play pretend with my daughter.
4. Say, "yes" to my kids as much as I can, and a firm, "no" when necessary.
5. Complete acts of service.
6. Take a road trip with my BFF.
7. Set up at least 6 play dates for my kids throughout the year.
8. Give.
9. Love more.
10. Forgive A LOT more.
11. Use reusable bags when going to the grocery store.
12. Sew curtains for the living room.
13. Markedly declutter my home.
14. Plan get togethers with other couples that both my husband and I enjoy spending time with.
15. Blog weekly.
16. Clean the baseboards of my house.
17. Leave my house by 7:30 each morning so my kids will arrive at school on time.

As far as tracking my progress, I believe this blog will be my best source of support and consistency.
What are your New Year resolutions? What do you want to change or improve? What's your plan of action? Do you have any B-SHAGs?

Brain in Overdrive

2012-12-28T10:37:00.001-06:00

My head is spinning with the approaching new year. There are a 1,000 things I want to do different this year or accomplish this year. Now if only I can organize a plan of attack. I have some ideas but for today I'm looking at Menu Planning which is always a biggie. It saves so much money when I prepare the meals at home. I think one of my goals this year will be to not eat out for an entire month and list all the benefits.

Here's my Meal Plan for the next 10 days:
1. Steak and vegetables
2. Husband's work party so... freebie:)
3. Meatloaf, asparagus, and rolls
4. Spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad
5. Southwestern Corn Chowder from Everyday Food
6. Steak and rice
7. Pintos and cornbread
8. Tuna salad and fruit salad
9. Vegetable Soup (canned by my mother-in-law)
10. Black Bean Taco Soup (Six Sisters Stuff)

Buckling Down

2012-12-17T13:17:00.000-06:00

I ran into a friend of mine this past week and she looked gorgeous as always. She has red hair, you know the kind that you think "did she get it colored that way?" but no she didn't. It's just naturally that pretty. Well her hair is beside the point, I just thought I would share that detail:) I asked her, "How do you do it? You always look great and seem to have it together?" She just laughed and said no one has it together. She said, "you been reading people's blogs haven't you?" Yes, yes I have! She told me not to believe all of it cause people only post the good stuff. I got so tickled but then got to thinking. Yes, I do read a lot from these mamas that seem to do it all and I myself tend to only want to post the good stuff.

Well, today, in trying to get my house under control before we have guests over and the major parties start happening, I've been looking at organization pins. I was encouraged when I read how this one woman gets overwhelmed at chaos and shuts down. That probably sounds crazy to be "encouraged" but I identified with her - I do that. Something comes up or even some event I know about and I become frazzled and literally want to shut down. I tend to withdraw from my house tasks, watch TV, and lament the oncoming stress.

In reading this pin:

I realized I am equipped to handle what is coming at me I just need to break it down into bite size pieces. For the woman in the post her most chaotic place was her office. For me? The kitchen. So I set about thinking and planning and doing what I know to do.
Back in 2005 I was introduced to Flylady and have clung to her principles. I believe Gretchen Rubin from the Happiness Project would call what I have learned the "Secrets of Adulthood".
One of my secrets of adulthood would be, "You can do anything for 15 minutes." I find this true time and time again from reading Flylady's advice, to blog posts, to trying it out in my home. 15 minutes is not long and surprisingly it can accomplish a lot.
Today, I spent 15 minutes on our junk drawer in our kitchen. Kudos to you if you do not have a junk drawer but we do:)
My baby's calling and I have more work to do. It's time to buckle down and get to work!

On a Mission

2012-12-12T17:47:00.001-06:00

I am not opposed to cooking it's just that usually when I think to cook is when I am absolutely starving. By that time, I'm ready to eat butter from the tub! No, I wouldn't do that. I just gagged thinking about eating butter from the tub. My point is, I'm not patient enough to plan out and make a meal each night. And Monday and Tuesdays are crazy with kid activities then Wednesday is grocery day. Fridays and Sundays fly by. So let's see, I will plan and make a meal on Thursdays and Saturdays. My family is out of luck the rest of the week:)

So, I like so many others, pin as many "crock pot" meals as I can. Tonight I actually took the time to look through one of my boards and check out these pins. Honestly, I was disappointed. I think my disappointment lies in the fact that I interpret the words "crock pot" to mean magic genie that will cook for me. Most of the recipes are stews and soups. Do your kids like lots of stews and soups? Cause mine do not.

Before I had kids of my own, I sold Mary Kay briefly and I kept my contacts in a plastic container with lettered dividers. Now I use the container to hold recipes that I absolutely love. I mean ABSOLUTELY LOVE. I can't stand to hold on to frivolous, only-cooked-once recipes. I'm slowly making a collection of the tried and trues.

After my Pinterest searches I have come up with four - count them - four recipes. Like I said, I was disappointed with my pins. And one of my recipes is not for the crock pot. Here's what I've found:
1. Chicken Fajitas
2. Creamy Chicken Spaghetti
3. Creamy Chicken Picatta (The Pioneer Woman)

4. Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps

Obviously we like a lot of chicken at my house. Chicken is a meat I know my kids will eat. I have even been guilty of telling my kids that they were eating chicken when in fact they were eating pork.
When I was a preteen and my mom worked full time, she did once a month cooking. I remember how nice it was to just go to the freezer and pull out a meal to pop in the oven. I am contemplating attempting to cook in one day our meals for two weeks. Contemplating would be the key word here. I am now trying to compile a good list of meals I want to cook. I'll keep you informed on how that goes:)
What are your recipes that you ABSOLUTELY LOVE and use time and again with your family?

Getting Ready

2012-12-11T09:13:00.000-06:00

While there is a lot of activity going on in and around my house right now, I'm still looking ahead to the new year. What goals do I want to accomplish? What would I like to achieve in my personal life, my family, my home, amongst my friends?
My mind is full of ideas and desires. Now I just need to sort through and organize what is most important to me.
For now, I need to focus on the tasks at hand. What's on my "to do" list?
1. Wrap presents.
2. Finish purchasing gifts for friends and family.
3. Plan Tres' class Christmas party.
4. Plan family Tacky Christmas Sweater party.

This Friday is my BFF's annual Gift Wrapping Party. It is so much fun and I look forward to it every year. It seems hard to believe that this will be the fifth year we've been doing this. Since we still believe in Santa at my house, I like using the different wrapping paper each of my friends bring because my kids have not seen it before around my house. One of my favorite parts of the gift wrapping party? My friend makes a Christmas CD for us and labels it with the year. So, I have a Christmas CD from 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. What fun to have all the best Christmas music on hand!

The Next Oprah...

2012-12-10T22:05:00.000-06:00

I do get slightly tickled at religious people sometimes when they get on a bandwagon of bashing people. I've heard before, "don't do something just cause Oprah says to do it." I get their idea that Oprah should not be the be all, end all on advise or wisdom. But for the most part I think that nugget of wisdom should be a given. I admittedly think she's an impressive lady. I'm not a fan of all she does but who cares? One thing I do like is to watch her "favorite things" shows where she lavishes her audience with her favorite things. Recently, as I skipped around TV shows, I caught her OWN channel as it was doing her Favorite Things show. This show was a little different in the fact that Oprah selected military spouses to be the recipient of her gifts.
Well I've decided to list out my favorite things - what I get the most use out of, what benefits me daily or almost daily. Now, I did not include really extreme things because I wanted to stick to what I know. As much as I would like to list a set of Louis Vuitton luggage, I've never even touched a piece of it so how would I know how awesome it is?

My Favorite Things:

1. Daystar Church. Okay, so I can't wrap this baby up and give it as a present but I'm here to tell you this place is AWESOME!! Honestly, when I first heard of this church I thought it was too good to be true but three years later, I'm still impressed. God is using this place to shape my family's future.

2. Keurig coffee maker. Numero Uno is a really great gifter and if I wasn't in charge of balancing the checkbook, sometimes I think he would bring home a lot more gifts. He gave me a Keurig last Christmas and I really enjoy it. With our old coffeemaker, I would typically pour out coffee everyday. With the Keurig, I just pop a k-cup in and in a minute my coffee is ready to go. I love the variety of flavors I can put in it. And I'm a one-cupper. I'm not the type to need 3 cups to get going and then sip some more throughout the day. One will do but now that I'm talking about it, I could really go for a cup of coffee. Although I am not a fan of the cost of the k-cups, I will look for sales on them. Plus we purchased the attachment that will let you pour in your own coffee out of a bag.

3. Zip List. This is an app - a FREE app and I love it. It allows you to add in your grocery items as you think of them, wherever you are. I am so random in my thoughts that I can not live without a list. As I go around the house or even when I'm out in town and think of what I will need to purchase on my next shopping trip, I can just add them to Zip List. It has a little box by each listed item that once I've put it in my grocery cart, I can hit the box and it will send the item to my "shopping cart". At the end of my trip, I can "empty" my cart. This app has been a big help for when I use the last of something in the house, I just grab my phone and use Siri to add that item to my Zip List.

4. iPhone 4S. I mean this should be enough said. I knew these phones were great, I mean, its Apple but boy, have I loved this phone. It makes my life as a stay-at-home mom so much easier. I can only imagine what it does for the business woman.

5. Nutella. My sister-in-law is what I would call "exquisite". She has fascinated me from the moment I met her. Wanna know why? Because she's everything I'm not: delicate, cultured, civilized, proper, fashion-forward. What did she bring to my world that I did not know? A lot but her most memorable one - Nutella. Now today this is no big deal but you must realize this was introduced to me before Wal-Mart carried it. It was a rare fine. Like manna from Heaven! Oh, Nutella. Now I want some of that as well.

6. The Pioneer Woman. It was probably my BFF that told me about Pioneer Woman. I honestly can't remember but since most of my great ideas come from her, I'm gonna go ahead and give her credit. What's not to love about the Pioneer Woman?

7. Chambray top. Really I just wanted to use the word chambray. Say it again, chambray. Don't you feel that much more sophisticated? Know what it means? Denim. We have come up with a fancy name for DENIM! Ha! Well, I love my top. It is so comfortable and looks instantly cute with leggings and boots. Gotta love the classics. I would consider denim a classic. I mean, it's been around forever.

8. Pinterest. Seriously. You had to of known it was coming. Pinterest is amazing, addictive, awesome. Any more "a" words I can add? I've probably enjoyed the most the fact that it has made ideas attainable to me. Things I never would have thought I could do, I've done and it's been a rather simple process.

9. Dave Ramsey. Okay, so Dave is not a "thing". But he's one of my favorites. I'm such a groupie. He is inspirational and I love his plans. If I make it to be a millionaire in 15 years then he's REALLY gonna be one of my favorites. Right now I'm just hoping to be one of his $10,000 Merry Different Christmas winners:)

10. IWBNIN app. I Was Broke Now I'm Not app. Here is another FREE app that I love. It has a lot of different financial tools that I like to play around with. It's neat to dream of the financial future:)

After only listing 10 favorite things, I can now see why Oprah hires out people to be looking for her new favorite things;)

What are your favorites? What can you not live without? Or what makes your life easier? Fuller? More fun? Are you giving any of your favorites as gifts this year?

Season of Hope

2012-12-09T23:18:00.000-06:00

I was the child that told all the other four year olds, "There is no Santa Claus". My parents did not believe it was right to take the focus off the real reason for Christmas - the birth of Christ. I also could not watch He-Man because God was the only "Ruler of the Universe". Pants were not allowed. You get the picture. Thankfully as my parents matured in their Faith some guidelines in our house changed. Eventually the girls in our house were able to wear pants and by the time me and my siblings were parents, my parents decided to include Santa in the Christmas festivities. As a child, we read the story of Christ's birth before we opened presents.
Today, Numero Uno and I read the Christmas story the night before we open presents. This year I stumbled across several pins and references to The Truth in the Tinsel. Last year was my first year to do an Advent Calendar with the kids(at least I think it was the first year). I was simply looking for a way to make the season exciting for the kids. There is SO much that goes on in the month of December that having it planned out on an Advent Calendar gave the kids something to look forward to each day. With finding the ebook The Truth in the Tinsel, I had the idea to incorporate more of the story of Christ's birth throughout the season and not just in one reading.
Now, I did not purchase the ebook. I read people's reviews on it and got the gist of it from pics. I believe the main thing is taking a different portion of the Christmas story, reading it, then making an ornament to hang as a reminder. Great idea but I really do not have time to make 25 different ornaments with the kids. I loved the fact that more time would be spent reading and explaining the truth of the Christmas season.

I started our Advent Calendar November 30 and created 24 days of scripture reading and activities. For example, tonight's card had us read about Joseph and our activity was to view the lights at a local city park. The kids' calendar hangs in their toy room and they are very diligent to remind me it's time to pull a card:)

Besides weaving more background information about the participants in Christ's birth story into our seasonal preparations, I also created an Advent Calendar for my spouse. Of course I got my idea from Pinterest.

This was the pin I originally saw. And made this....

Numero Uno's calendar hangs in our closet. There's a reason for this, it's private. I did not want children's eyes to see it. This doesn't mean that all of it is not G rated. It just means that some things should stay between me and my man.

While planning this calendar, I was excited. I had read to give a compliment or a service or a gift. Well I ended up thinking of 18 compliments to go along with 18 activities. (I got started on this project late so that's why we're counting down 18 days til Christmas). It is true, once you start being thankful for what you have, you become even more thankful for what you have! And I have an amazing husband. Here's a sample of one of the days...

The activities for my man's calendar varied. Some things were already on our calendar, such as the kids' Christmas parties. Other activities were private while others were just fun gifts for him or acts of service to show I cared (i.e. vacuum out his car).

We are only three days in but I can tell my man likes the calendar. He already told me we're doing this next year!

I read recently from iMom how we as wives are like a mirror to our husband. What we reflect to him through our actions and words will be what he feels and thinks about himself. I want to "show" my husband what a wonderful person he is. Doing this makes ME appreciate him more and respond more lovingly to him.

All in all, I want this season to be warm, inviting, and filled with hope and expectation. God is coming near...

Sleep, Sweet Sleep

2012-12-07T23:26:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure I can pinpoint the time when I began to feel overwhelmingly tired. I mean I have an 11 month old at home and three other kids to tend to. At what point do you feel rested? However, here lately it has gotten a little off... I mean I would go to bed at night exhausted only to wake up, get the kids off to school and come home to fall back in to bed for just a "little more" sleep.

I finally went to the doctor to get blood work and see what is up. The results came in the mail today. From what I can gather I have a Vitamin D deficiency and possibly insulin resistance. I have an appointment next week to discuss the results. Who knows, maybe taking some vitamins will help me "reset" my need for sleep:)

Today is the day I conquer the world!

2012-12-06T10:58:00.003-06:00

Not really. This is just my motivational speech to get off my rear and do housework. You know? The usual: make beds, wash clothes, fold clothes, put away clothes, sweep and mop floor, bathe children (bathe myself for that matter), bathe the dog. Oh how I loathe bathing the dog. I don't know why. She's a good dog, a kind dog. It's just I despise grooming her because when I do it is a long process. Poor dog. She doesn't deserve my scorn.

Let's do something more fun than cleaning. Posting pictures!

Inappropriate Laughter

2012-12-05T20:31:00.000-06:00

I have decided that there is a medical condition for my laughing at very inappropriate times. Have I found or even looked for a name for this condition? No, but that's beside the point. I'm sure it's out there.
I believe it started when I was in the seventh grade. I was in church (with my father speaking as a guest) when an old man behind me started burping these outrageous burps. I couldn't take it, I lost it - uncontrollable laughter. On second thought maybe my condition started as a child when I shared a bedroom with my sister. She could always contain her laughter but it would be me that would get us into trouble with my big mouth:) Anyway, back to the church scene....I received my last spanking from my father that night. I was in seventh grade but couldn't contain my laughter in the church house!
My problem continued into college when I again was in a church service (maybe that's the problem - church services) when I looked across the sanctuary to see one of the lead deacons dressed by his wife in baby blues, pinks, and maroons which by the way, she was also the interior decorator for the church (I would recognize that color palate anywhere). Again, I lost it. Why can't I control my laughter like other people? Why do I find rather normal things hysterically funny?
Well since then I've gone on to laugh at funerals, laugh uncontrollably at the edge of the aisle of my wedding, laughed when a friend shared with me her husband had cheated on her, I laugh when I am extremely mad at my husband and nothing comes out but laughter - I can't make any solid arguing points because I'm too busy laughing. My list could go on and on. I believe the stress of these situations send me over the edge. I don't know.

Well, last night is my latest addition: Dos' violin recital. Other parents lovingly watch or film as their children try their best to share what they've learned this year. Me? I get tickled at the mannerisms of my little man and lose it. I mean, have to walk out the back of the church (Again, with the church. Maybe I am on to something) can not control myself. Everyone was following the instructor as they should and he just stayed in his spot concentrating so hard on what he was supposed to do. Oh how I love that boy.
Any pointers on how to keep the laughter in check?

Easy, cute Christmas Trees!

2012-12-04T13:21:00.000-06:00

My feelings toward this season are not new to society. In fact, it's rather cliche' to speak of the excitement of the season but it still holds true for me:) I'm pumped! There is SO much going on around our house and I rather like the hustle and bustle of the holidays.
I am working on an Advent Calendar for the kids and will also be adding something new this year - a countdown to Christmas for my man! Again, these will have to be discussed another day:)
As I was saying yesterday, I tried to put forth an effort to decorate various areas of my house. This is such a step UP from last year, considering I was 9 months pregnant and could not decorate a thing. Bless my man's heart. He put up the trees last year and I loved it. I can not even recall what they looked like but the decorating was taken care of and my heart was happy.
In addition to adding a centerpiece at my dining table, I also tackled the top of our TV armoire. We do not have a fireplace nor a mantle so the armoire serves as our spot to hang the stockings. To make the top more festive in addition to the stockings, I found a "how to" guide for paper trees in Disney's Family Fun December/January 2013 issue. I will be honest. I subscribed to Family Fun because I found an amazing deal on it - like $4 for two years or something ridiculous like that. However, I was not really impressed with it because the "crafts" seemed like interning for Martha Stewart instead of family fun. So imagine my surprise when I came across this craft idea to make Christmas trees out of magazines. Now I'm gonna show you how I did mine but I still kept my opinion that the crafts are not really ones I'm gonna do with my kids. Don't get me wrong, some can be done with kids but for my family if we're gonna do crafts, it's gotta be completed in less than 10 minutes or their interest is GONE. I would not recommend doing this tree craft with kids as it took me a good 45 minutes to make two trees. The project itself is easy. The amount of time is due to folding all that paper.

1. Start with any magazine you are finished reading. I used one Family Fun mag and one Parenting mag, I believe.

2. Take the top right corner and fold it toward the spine of the magazine. It will form a right triangle and still leave about 2-3 inches of your page left at the bottom.

3. Take your newly formed triangle and fold it again towards the spine of your magazine. It will now leave a point hanging below the edge of your magazine.

4. Tuck the point of your page under the triangle in order to make the edge flush with the rest of the magazine. Repeat this process for every page. When your finished with the pages, fold the front and back cover likewise and tape those two covers together.

5. This is what your final tree should look like after you glue a ball ornament on the top.

Here my trees make their debut at the top of our armoire. And for those of you who are counting, yes, there should be six stockings but I got these before Quattro was born. And I'm too cheap to order his before Christmas. I'm waiting til they go on sale after Christmas (he's young, he'll never know).

Merry Christmas, y'all!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

2012-12-03T13:23:00.000-06:00

I do not particularly remember having a fondness for Christmas decorating as a child. I mean, I LOVE this time of year but I don't remember participating in helping my mom decorate. I guess for me, my sense of ownership in having a part in the celebration of Christmas came when I was in college. Having secured a position at Importer's Warehouse, (which was a definite step up from my position at Bruno's - not that Bruno's wasn't good, it paid the bills but I was the ONLY cashier old enough to work past their 10:30 p.m. rule for labor law compliance and the working til midnight every night coupled with 8:00 a.m. classes did not mix) I dealt with Christmas decorations day in, day out. I always found it funny that Importer's Warehouse's main sales were generated from Christmas trees and Christmas decor yet the owners were Seventh Day Adventist and didn't even celebrate the Christmas holiday.
Anyway, that year, me and my college roommate bought Christmas decorations and we got a tree. I was hooked! I loved it. Now I adore seeing the house all festive with Christmas reds here and there. However, I am still a cheapskate and a tightwad. So I've tried to get creative and lo and behold, I think I have:)
My sweet mother-in-law has given us three artificial trees over the years. Whenever she goes to throw one out, we take it in. Three free trees! Who can beat that?
Having headed up the Holiday Auction for three years, I received some of the decorations from one of the auctions. My man was put on the assignment of cutting 64 "discs" of wood and I kept some of them after the event. I showed you in a previous post how I used them as a centerpiece. For Christmas, I wanted to spice them up. Of course, I found a pin on Pinterest for using epsom salt in the bottom of a Mason jar to look like snow. Here's what I did. Again, Pinterest was my muse:)

Once I placed my salt and tea lights in the jars, I needed to tie in the Christmas feel. Here are the materials I used. My husband had purchased the salt for some project he had going in the garage so I just used a little of what he had already. So this was free to me:) The cedar that I used, I got from my neighbor who just so happened to be trimming back his trees recently. I used the cedar for this project and to drape across the top of my armoire in the living room. Again, free! The rest of the materials were purchased at the Dollar Tree. Here they are:

And for the final product?

Pretty cute (and easy) if I do say so myself. They look really soft and inviting with the candles lit.

Not sure how many years I have been going to my mom's house to decorate her tree but I truly enjoy it. I think what I enjoy is I get to tell her what she needs to buy for her tree and then I decorate without having spent a dime:) She's of the age where she has a little more budget to spend on Christmas decor but has a lot of shoulder problems and can not decorate the tree. It's turned out to be a pretty fun time for her and I. This year I brought little man with me. The tree turned out beautifully but for some reason these are the only pics I caught of the day:

I have some more cheap decorations to share but since this has turned into a long post, I will save them for another time:)

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Decorating for Christmas

2012-11-25T20:09:00.002-06:00

So I found another video tutorial today which I thought I would share with you. I like this one because she actually does five videos on various pieces to decorate: wreath, tree, garland, etc.
I got the kids' tree up and the main tree up. I still need to work on the tree in the Toy Room and have to map out what other surfaces I'm gonna be decorating but that will have to be for another day since I promised my mom I would help her decorate tomorrow.

Here are some small shots of how I used the golden glitter deer I picked up from Dollar Tree as well as the Deco Mesh I picked up from Vinemont Flowers and Herb. This is our main tree. I like the results but my whole tree picture seems to be lacking something - I don't know.

On a completely different subject, check out this intense look Quattro is giving the iPhone while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:)

So, how's your decorating coming? How many trees do you put up? Are they real or artificial?

What Don't Kill You Makes You...

2012-11-24T20:14:00.000-06:00

Maybe due to my love for a list and the satisfaction of crossing off a task from a list, my personality gravitates toward tasks, seasons, items that can be clearly defined. I do not care for individuals or stores that begin to decorate or stock items for Christmas as soon as Halloween is over. I mean, there's still Thanksgiving to observe and celebrate. My Christmas decorations come out at the proper time - the day after Thanksgiving.
That is, until the flu, bronchitis, colds, and pneumonia hit our house. For the most part, I am healthy. Right now I'm the only one steering this ship called Home. However, the past three nights I have grown nauseated and ran a low grade temp then the next day I'm fine and can take care of the family. It's almost as if God knows at least one of us is going to have to feel okay for a majority of the day.
Needless to say, the Christmas decorations are not up but I have been pinning away on Pinterest like a mad woman. I also made it out to two stores today to get some decorating items: 1. Vinemont Flower and Herbs and 2. Dollar Tree. After watching the following video, I had to buy some more deco mesh. I love this stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iA8ylJWzzVc

So here's my loot and I'll share my plan:)

1. Put up kids tree in the Toy Room. The theme for this tree is Kids Crafts. Whatever Christmas ornament the kids have made through preschool, church, at home, or school goes on this tree. A lot of bright colored ornaments will be on this tree. I found some purple glitter ornaments at Dollar Tree but in the above pic they're hiding behind the ribbon and they look maroon. Trust me, they're purple.

2. Put up tree in Dos and Tres' room. Their room has a large front facing window so I put a tree in their room. As I can afford more trees I will gladly add them to our room and the other two kid rooms but for now three trees will have to do. This one is Snowflakes with lime green and red accents. It's only a 3' tree but I loved to see the lights shining from their window when we pull in at night. I bought some more ribbon for this tree to add some density to the decorations.

3. Put up the big tree in the Living Room. Since our ceiling in this room is 12' tall, we cheat and put the tree on a stand to make it look taller. Again, one day, when there's money to splurge we will get a BIG tree but for this year, the one we have will do. The theme for this tree is Snowmen and I'm trying to work in some vintage Christmas colors here but not really sure I can do that without scratching what I've got and starting over altogether.

4. New to this year: decorating the TV armoire, the dining table, and the entry furniture piece with cedar boughs. I'll keep you posted on how they turn out.

Hopefully we will get decorations out of the attic tomorrow - hopefully.