Just a List of Things

1. I've officially been working out diligently for over 2 weeks.  I've been doing a combination of TurboFire, p90x, Jillian Michaels and yelling at my belly flab in the hopes to scare it into non-existence.  None of which have worked...infact, I have successfully been able to gain 2 extra pounds AND rip my favorite pair of jeans trying to pull them up over my thighs...

2. My husband got a crazy "go get me a bunch of books from the library about all sorts of management-successful people-business-learning things"...and so I did and thought I'd peruse one of the books which happened to be the Steve Jobs book.  And I've discovered a couple of things...first off, I'm wayyyy behind in my knowledge of all things "present-day news"...and I don't really like "Mr. Apple" as a person...at least the way the author has described him...in fact, for as "brilliant" as he might have been, I don't give a person much respect if their relationships are so distorted and selfish...sorry...

3.Noone sells White Chocolate Mocha creamer anymore...and this is sad because I only drink coffee FOR THE SAKE of the creamer...it's more like a 3:1 ratio of creamer and coffee.  So, I'm in the process of trying to "like" new tastes because I'm sooo cold in the morning and I just need that extra boost of warmth!

4. Peanut had a school musical recently and seriously, I am reminded once again of how incredibly cute and awesome my girls are:)  I mean...I'm not biased AT ALL! 

5. I'm convinced that Chick Fil A loves me...everytime I've gone there I get another coupon from my receipt for a free chicken sandwich...I currently have 3 in my wallet and have already used 3 over the past couple months...(could this have anything to do with my #1 explanation?)

Have a great weekend!



Late Nights

I use the nighttime (aka the time in which the children are in bed) to actually get work done...and by work I mean: 

*checking out the latest blogs
*keeping track on pinterest
*popping in to facebook
*periodically editing photos until I get bored
*click on my inbox to see if I got any new emails...like, every 5 minutes

I do this last one because normally, my "partner in crime" is wide awake at 0'dark thirty at night as well...(she's my friend Anne, the one I partner with for photography and I tell her wayyyy TMI sometimes, but she puts up with me, so it's all good)

This evening has been no different...

So whilst we're both editing away and then getting distracted with who knows what else...only to come back and try to edit some more...then end up sending a gazillion emails to Anne for no other reason than to chat with someone else who is awake...I came across someone's personality test...

Do you remember those?  I used to take them ALL THE TIME! I mean, I probably took one each week during my first year of college...(as if I was going to change?) but, I was REALLY into "figuring myself out"...anyway...

I took the Myers-Briggs one and the animal one and the numbers one and probably ones that had to do with Pepsi versus Coke or colors or the seasons or who knows what else...

Anyway, I came across the Myers-Briggs one again and discovered yet again where I tend to "fit" in this crazy world of mine:)  If you were to lock me down to a specific personality, it's probably an ENFP...you can link here to read what it says...but I'll translate for you so that you know how it works in my everyday life:

I'm into the BIG picture...the details sometimes get lost with me...so, if you were to meet up with me someday you might experience some exasperating situations such as these:

*I will interuppt you...continually...my mind is constantly making connections at a rate that surpasses good judgment as well as manners...and most of the time, you will consider me a tad flaky...this is because the connections that I am making are happening faster than where the conversation is actually going and therefore, I will loose you about 1/3 of the way into the conversation...

*I will talk...and talk a LOT!  I have the tendency to share way TMI at sometimes inopportune times (much to my husband's chagrin)  I will talk in circles and try to get myself to a conclusion...but really, you can't take what I say as EXACTLY what I think...because I probably won't get to a conclusion of the matter until about 3 days later..AFTER we have concluded our conversation and I think of everything that I SHOULD have said...at which point, you will have completely forgotten what we were talking about in the first place.  This tendency also leads to people just giving me things because they want me to just shut up:)  So, in certain situations, this "fault" can be a tad beneficial...especially at the Starbuck drive thru!

*I will hear about a concern or a heartbreak and I will FEEL deeply for you...I will cry and pray about it for days...I will think of all kinds of kind and comforting things to do for you...but because I will want to help you in the BEST way possible, it will push me to inaction because I can't do it PERFECTLY...and therefore, I will wallow in guilt, all the while still thinking and caring and having thoughtful ideas of ways to help...upon which they will never be acted.

*I will start many projects and rarely finish them...or I'll throw them together at the last minute because of my intense desire to check things off so I don't have to think about them anymore.

*My house will tend to be cluttered...I just don't notice things because it's so much more interesting  to dig around in my basement and come up with more cool ideas for projects that I'll never finish...so you can get used to seeing my couch used as a closet or the floor as a bookshelf:)

These are only a few of the many things that my darling husband has to put up with on a daily basis:)  As do my children...I know that there are many fun-loving things about ENFPs as well...but, they're not as fun to tease about:) 

So, if you happen to run into me one day...just try to survive your way through the encounter....put a smile on your face and know that "this too will pass"...I'll eventually need to take a breath at some point...at which you can insert a casual, "hey, it was great talking with you!" and be on your way:)

Happy Chinese New Year...

a couple days late...and really no idea what we're celebrating...but I'm ALWAYS up for some party time...

And so...we headed out to none other than...

a Japanese steak house...

Okay...so we were a tad off on our celebratory origins...but, really...we're an Italian/Irish family...so we aren't going to be able to tell the difference between any type of Asian cuisine...but, lord have mercy, my girls tried shrimp...and THAT my friend, is a reason to celebrate!!!

I will make my "brag on my husband" time short in this post because I know that it will bug the you-know-what out of him that I even "mentioned" anything remotely related to his awesomeness:)  But, I also know that I am probably just a weeeee bit biased when it comes to husbandry-greatness...

So...

Let's just say that my hard-working, dedicated, inspiring, motivating, compassionate, goal-oriented manager husband...for the past 3 years has met or exceeded every quota/expectation/goal that has been put to him.  For a "non-reader", he reads books upon books on ways to improve as a manager, as a company...I know blah blah blah...the point is...he is GOOD at what he does...and he works stinkin' hard...day in and day out...whether he gets praise or whether he's taken for granted...whether it's a good day or a bad day...he never gives just 75%...it's all or nothing...

I just had to stick that little "my hubby is so awesome" in there...sorry...it'll make sense in a minute...

last week, they had an event/function at his office and awards were handed out, people were spoken highly of from the platform, sales persons were rewarded...one of the little "treasures" from the evening was a gift card...and in true form, my Italian Stallion thought it'd be fun to take the kids to a restaurant that none of us girls had ever been...

Enter:  Benihana

I'm not sure what the kids expected when we walked into this place, but they were enthralled...

From the Onion Train to trying their first bite of shrimp...to slurpin' down the fried noodles...they were having a ball!

And although I know that my little curly blonde girl will never really savor the tastes of oriental cuisine, she wore her hat with the rest of them and sipped on her Sierra Mist with GREAT pleasure!

And so with that, we wish you a Happy Chinese New Year and hope you are looking forward to the end of winter...already:) 

Driving Me Crazy!

There are just a few things that drive me crazy:  whining...kids arguing...expecting something to work and it doesn't...when there is nothing else to snack on and I REALLY need a snack...when I've thrown something (or donated) something when I knew darn-well that I shouldn't because I'd probably need it one day and sure enough, I do!...and also, when I can't remember things...

This list could actually go on for quite awhile...perhaps I should write a new blog post entitled "Things that Drive Me Crazy"...hmm...I'll just put that on the back burner...but then again, I'll probably FORGET!!!  UGH and that drives me crazy already!

Last January/February time frame, somewhere on Facebook, a mom or a friend of a friend that was a mom posted a link or an album or something...the point is...they posted pictures of these really cute imaginative set ups.. They used pillows and blankets to create scenes...

Yes, yes I know...the Today show just did a whole segment on a mom that took pictures of her baby and what the baby dreams and all...yes, they are sweet...but the pictures I remember seeing weren't of a baby...they were of a little girl about my Little Munchkin's age...

I remember looking through the pictures and thinking, "oh my, I could do this with my girls"...and then we did:

And we had so much fun..but we only did a couple of pictures...

Well, fast forward these past months and the Today show and everything...my MIL asks me if I'd seen the segment and sent me the link...I immediately remember that I saw something similar awhile back and then immediately forget WHERE I saw it...

It's driving me nuts...the pictures I saw were so precious...this little girl...her mom just dressed her up so cute...I went through all my facebook friends and tried to figure where I saw it...I almost wish everyone had timeline so that I could go back to their January/feburary posts and see if it was linked there...

Anyhoo...if anyone remembers...please let me know...I'm the one over here chewing her nails and kickin' herself for not saving the link...but then again, just those few months ago it was a world without pinterest...ahhhh progress:)

January Intentions

It happens every January...for LOTS of people...and I'm not exempt...it's the "I-need-to-get-in-shape-oh-my-goodness-spring-break-is-around-the-corner-and-I-don't-think-I-can-pour-myself-into-my-jeans-much-longer" routine.

It always sneaks up on me.  I'm not a huge nutrition guru, nor do I tend to get overly obsessed with exercise.  I'm thankful to the "genes" God gave me...(and the fact that my mother was a beauty queen) that "weight" isn't a terrible issue for me.  I know it's not like that for some...everyone has their "thing" that hangs over their head or weighs on them (no pun intended) In may case, I have quite a few "issues" but we're not going to get into that right now...although I will share this little picture that someone posted on facebook today because it made me laugh:

However, come January, I start to realize that if I don't start working a little bit, I'm going to have to purchase more clothes...and although that would be fun...the "going up a size" isn't what I call increasing my joy:)  The problem is, as I'm nearing age 40, is that all of a sudden the "excess" doesn't come off so quickly anymore...

Needless to say, I'm a bit miffed about this...It used to be that if I just "thought" about dieting and did a bit of exercise, and maybe cut out pepsi for a couple weeks, BAM...5 lbs!

Seeing as the way I exercise with p90x causes undue damage to my esophagus, I switched over to the lovely J. Michaels...(of which I mute because good grief girl!) I've been diligent in my workouts for over 2 weeks now...I've also cut back on all the sugar stuff and keep eating fiber and more whole grain 'goodness'...this translates into "tasteless snacks and spinach salad"

Ya know what I've accomplished?  I gained 2 lbs...now, how is that working to my benefit?  AND, my jeans fit tighter than than they did when I started...

It's not that you need to know all this, but I had a few moments on my hands and thought I'd just share...if anyone has any good suggestions to get rid of the overflow coming out the top of my pants, please give a holler...well, outside of spanx or a corset...I've already attempted hiking up the pants like Steve Urkel (remember him?)  and wearing longer shirts...it works until I sit down...

Anyhoo...hope you have a good Wednesday:)

Peanut and Basketball

Did I mention that Peanut has discovered Basketball?

Yes, well...she did...I'd like to say that she inherited her knowledge and desire from her mother...ahhh, all those years getting plowed over setting picks, running line drills until I nearly threw up beating the team down the court, learning to shoot 3 pointers because I'd get trampled if I even passed the free throw line I wanted to earn points for my team!

No really, I did enjoy basketball...and I played hard...I just wouldn't say I was "awesome" at it...and my favorite part was actually sitting on the bench eating the orange slices and hoping that the coach wouldn't put me in and make me guard the mammoth girls on the other team.  I loved practice though...when I finally figured out a lay-up or when I could swish a 3-pointer.  I think being a perfectionist made playing basketball a little bit harder for me...because I was never quite "perfect" at it:) 

however, Peanut, is more her daddy's personality...and therefore, she's out there for the pure joy of it...she loves scootin' her feet and dribblin' the ball...and if she double-dribbles...eh, no big deal...she's got black shoes with red trim...so she's feelin' Pretty Cool!

Unlike her mother who apparantly needed lots of hair product and cute bows in order to look "cool"

I just made a pair of earrings...

I'm weird like that...

background:  One of my besties, Sara, bought me a beautiful bracelet from Kenya.  It's green and gorgeous...and because of my ridiculously gangly arms, it's too big for my wrist and falls off all the time.  So I can't wear it much.  I LOVED wearing the beautiful black/brown earrings that she got me, but my youngest took them off my dresser one day to "look at them" and I havent' seen them since...I'm VERY sad about it because besides my grandmother's tiny diamond earrings, they were my favorite! (BIG HINT TO SARA:  if you go to back to Kenya, feel free to get me another pair of those earrings...I'll pay ya for 'em)

Anyhoo...this is what happens to an A.D.D. mother of 3 on nights when she could be revising her blog, or organizing her basement or cleaning her desk for heaven's sake...I decide to 'fix' the bracelet, and create earrings to match...

I just took out a couple of the green beads and rethreaded the bracelet...but how to make the earrings?  Goodness, WHAT did we do without the internet back then?  I just googled me some 'DIY earring making" videos...and POOF...I've got myself some new earrings:) 

It's amazing what your husband's old leatherman can do...and what spare parts you can find inyour basement when you KEEP EVERYTHING...I had extra filler beads and claspy things...Just needed to get the posts from Michaels and I was set to go!

That was my evening...I made earrings...and thought I"d just write and tell you about it...I'll post some pictures later:) Make your time GREAT!

Little Munchkin Montage

So, yesterday we stayed home...

all day...

It was cold outside...blustery, wintery, snowy, bitter...C.O.L.D.

and as much as I'd like to think that I"m an outdoorsy type of woman...

I'm not...

especially in winter...

So, Little Munch and I hunkered down, built a fort in the living room, danced to music, read some books, mopped the floor, fixed the fort, did some laundry, made some hot cocoa, watched some Wild Kratts, did some more laundry, listened to more music, played a game...and then I took some pictures...

This is Little Munchkin beating the pants off her Mommy:

She has SUCH the expressions so I asked her to make lots of faces while Mommy "practiced" with her camera...Here's what she came up with...although, she was giggling so much that I'm not sure we got the full spectrum of which she is capable...but, it was fun nonetheless!

that's my baby:)

I forgot to mention that I broke the toilet...

Remember BAD DAY TUESDAY?  Yeah, well, it was just so overwhelming to begin with that I didn't even mention the "other thing" that happened as well..

...the part about when I broke the toilet...

the long and short of it was that it wouldn't flush and so instead of being my normal, patient self...I just put my entire weight (and believe me...there's a LOT of that to go around!) into the teeeny, tiny, shiny, flusher-handle-thing...

it broke...I heard it crack...it was not a happy sound

Italian Stallion has been working on fixing THAT all week along with everything else...

this is not boding well for me right now with regards to all things hygeine either... as my children were frustrated with me already this morning...in their own words, "Mom, you are being extremely wasteful by making us change our underwear everyday!!  think of the laundry!"  to which another one replied, "yeah, why do we have to put a new pair of underwear on every morning, you're just going to make us change it again tomorrow!!!"

Suffice it to say, I STILL made them change their underwear...but we are STILL dealing with toilet issues over here...and sorry for the TMI, but we have clogging issues as well...which is why Little Munchkin does a little dance everytime she has to "go"..."Mommy, is this one clogged?  is it broken?  which one can I use???"

But hey...we're going to keep goin' with the clean panties...rest assured!

What's Been Happenin'

Does anyone remember that show from a longggg time ago called "What's Happenin'"  No idea why that just popped into my head, but I'm just going to roll with it...

Anyhoo...so, a lot has happened since Tuesday and I thought I'd fill you in...because I'm one of those people that apparantly doesn't mind just lettin' all hang out...for everyone to see...(and/or laugh at)

So Tuesday was a bad day...a bad bad bad bad bad bad day.  Now, I know that I could try to spin it positively...I could focus on the fact that I don't live in a 3rd world country and have to eat my shoes to stay alive (not that eating shoes and 3rd world countries go together...and I"m NOT trying to poke fun or make light of struggling peoples)  My point is, if I really wanted to have a better perspective, I could focus on those types of things and just be grateful for all the good in my life...

and believe me, I DO...it's not like I take for granted all the blessings that we have...but for the PURPOSES OF THIS BLOG POST...I'm going to assume the roll of GRUMPY and complain just a bit...HAPPY (or DOPEY) to whomever you best associate with me, will return at a later date...for now, I'm taking my cue from Once Upon a Time and going with the "dwarf theme" at present...(again, no idea where all this tv montage is coming from...but we're rolling people...we're rolling!)

Back to BAD DAY TUESDAY...For my husband it was many weeks leading up to Tuesday and then including Tuesday in those weeks...suffice it to say, although my husband is not an outwardly emotional person, he is one of the most thoughtful, insightful, and compassionate persons I know...and therefore some situations were weighing on him like nothing I've seen before where work was concerned (and no I'm not going to elaborate anymore than that...sorry, gotta draw the line somewhere:)

this translates into BLEH at home...and I knew Tuesday was the worst of it...and so, to add insult to injury, I thought it's be a GREAT idea to hit a pot hole and completely blow my tire and bend the rim. 

I KNOW!!!

My neighbor came to my rescue to pick up Sweetpea from violin practice while the younger two and I waited for Al's Towing to come give us a hand...Mr. Al (I have no idea if that was his name, but for the sake of the story, let's just keep it at that)...Mr. Al was the epitome of what I'd expect in a towing company man...he had strong hands completely greased up with oil and dirt, his blue striped jumpsuit, heavy duty boots, a jack and all the tools...and a blue tooth so he could find me the best price for a new tire/rim by callin' all his buddies...He was exceptionally kind and got us on our way quickly...however, I had to make a call to my husband whilst standing there...I'm not sure Italian Stallion was too keen on the status report...but Mr. Al hung in there with me and I drove under 45 mph on my sweet little spare all the way home...

JUST IN TIME to run right back out the door..because, yours truly, somehow went and got herself signed up for a redistricting committee for our local school district...FUN TIMES I tell you!  I honestly can't tell you HOW I got myself into it...but, I'm here nonetheless...and so my evenings are spent looking at spreadsheets and maps and envisioning all the crazy, angry parents that will want to rip our heads off once we come to a consensus...JOY!

Are you getting the common theme here?...

On top of this...I'm still coughing...I put myself back on Nexium and that has helped...I'm also finishing up a dosage of antibiotics, so pretty much, I"m the safest person to be around right now:) I have found that by putting Vicks on the bottom of my feet at night accomplishes two things: 1) it somehow numbs my throat to the tickles that cause me to cough uncontrollable 2) completely grosses out my husband who can't even face me in bed due to the "aroma" that I send off.

OH...and I almost forgot...since my doctor informed me that the strenuous activity of p90x is not doing me any favors currently, I've decided to check out my old friend, Jillian M...

I'm reminded once again that we aren't really friends...

Infact, I just mute her completely and then say nasty things about her in my head (so little munchkin doesn't hear)

I'm happy to announce, that STILL no amount of exercising or eating healthy for the past 2 weeks has procured any change in my weight or body structure...so, I'm thinking that I"m just gonna make my chocolate chip banana bread and EAT it too:)

signing off for tonight,
Grumpy (and a little bit sleepy too)

Love Languages...

Does anyone remember that book written a longgggg time ago called The Five Love Languages? I think it was written back in the 90's or something...Back when I had research papers on birth order and I L.O.V.E.D. taking personality tests (an imposing said "tests" on anyone and everyone in my path...much to the chagrin of many friends and including my then future husband) 

Some people get into all that stuff and some people just think it's a bunch of psycho babble...however, since this is my blog and I get to write whatever I happens to be flitting through my head at the moment, I'm going to "discuss" this little topic with myself you in these wee hours of the night as I"m coughing and have nothing better to do than sit upright and try not to cough up my entire respiratory system.

So...let us begin at the beginning...or at least at a place where I can put some tangible explanations to my thoughts...When Italian Stallion and I got married, you must understand that our "dating" experience was completely long-distance.  Yes, we had been best friends for all the years in the college, but it wasn't until after college that we actually made it "official" that we were dating. 

Let us remember that this was in the time period of no cell phones and neither of us owned a computer.  Therefore our time getting to know one another was on one long distance phone call a week for about an hour on the weekend and WRITTEN letters...with paper and pen...Lord, have mercy I am soooo thrilled for email let me tell you! (you'll understand even more in awhile, but suffice it to say, WORDS get to me!)

I'm a words person...words spoken, written, typed...you name it...I like words...I like to read them, I like to speak them...I'm an all around alphabet guru!  And boy, did my honey build into that for 3 years...I have all those letters saved...wish I could have recorded the telephone conversations...we couldn't see each other so we had got to use words to describe our emotions and thoughts...

For a person like me, you better believe that I felt OVER THE MOON happy about this arrangement (minus the part that I never got to see him...but still, I"m feeling LOVED and that's the point I'll eventually get to I promise) 

The problem arose when we got married and all of a sudden we didnt' need to telephone or write letters to talk to one another...we were in the same room...the same house...and therefore, where this was just relaxing to poor Italian Stallion...I went a little stir crazy.  Now, knowing how much I loved those "word filled" years, I began to try to incorporate it into every day life...to the point that I often disregarded the dishes in the sink...come on now, I was composing a beautiful love note that I"m SURE was going to knock his socks off...

Then he'd get home read said note, say thanks and then hmphhh because the kitchen was a mess. 

I didn't get it...So Saturday would come and he'd scour the bathrooms and clean the kitchen to sparkling and sweep out the garage...and I'd say, "hey, thanks for helping...want to go for a walk and talk" To which he'd reply, "Honey, I'm exhausted now...umm, I think I"ll just sit and watch the TV"

You can see where this is going (I hope) 

The long and short of it...I went back into the recesses of all my stored research about marriage & stuff and managed to pull up something about love or whatever...and I stumbled across my old Love Languages Book...

DUH...The way I feel most cherished and loved is to hear it...to read it...to put words to thoughts and emotions...it's just how I'm wired...To Italian Stallion, his top way of feeling loved is when acts of service are performed with him in mind...thoughtful actions, centered around who he is...a clean kitchen, an organized desk, shoes in a row, a vacuumed car, ironed shirt...

Here we were trying to show love to each other in a way that WE felt it, but it wasn't sinking in for the other person...

Fast forward 12.5 years and we've got 3 girls...each of whom have different love languages as well...One is just like me...craving affirmation and notes and cards and compliments...One feels love most when time is spent...she's the one that is always asking to help in the kitchen when I'm there or help fix a toilet with Daddy or play Wii with someone...she just wants to BE with you for no other reason than to connect in that way, because she feels loved in that...One of them feels most loved and secure through touch...she's my girl that will constantly put her hands on my cheeks and pull me close to her and say, "you are my best mommy!"...she's very tactile and wants to hold hands, sit close (if not on top ofyou) on the couch, she wants to hug...

It's amazing how we are all differently wired... oh my, not only just an honor, but sometimes overwelming to me, my responsibility as a parent to show love to my girls so that they REALLY know DEEP down how much they are cherished...and to figure out what makes them tick and how to tune into those "languages"...to be able to talk with them in the future about it so that they can be aware of tendencies or weaknesses because of their "draw" to a certain way of loving...oh my...sometimes my head just spins with it...

I've been thinking of it more lately...we are fast approaching the no more preschool/toddler days...the time where my girls are going to be facing tougher choices and responsibilities...they are coming into their own...I've been watching them more and talking less (which is a big one for me...believe me)

But oh, what I've learned...

do you know your love language or that of your kiddos?  do you ever struggle, like me to show them love in the way they "feel" it most?  just wondering:)

Have a great day!

Dishwasher Magic

Oh...how I love thee...

Yesterday, in my ADD  and attempting multi-tasking tendencies, as I was trying to fix lunch, clean the kitchen, do a load of laundry, check facebook and talk on the phone...I ended up noticing that our dishwasher was disgusting...

Now, I'm going to spare you the details of the "gross-ness" of the situation...for one thing I don't need you thinking worse of me than you already do where it concerns my housekeeping abilities and secondly, it was just nasty...my beautiful, white, dual water shooting top and bottom rack, awesome dishwasher had changed color before my eyes...it was now a pale shade of orange with large "speckles" of black and guck...gorgeous!

So, I did what every mom does when her children are still not fed and she hasn't even taken her boots off from church or changed her clothes...I just grabbed the first spray bottle of 409 that I could find, found 3 different scrub brushes and climbed into the dishwasher head first and began to attack it with vengence. 

Once the fumes hit me, I realized that perhaps all the scrubbing and multi-drains of the machine just wasn't going to cut it and I took a break...that, and the fact that my girls were complaining that they hadn't eaten since 2011 and I was starving them to death...

In this little reprieve, I "happened" to mention on facebook that I had been "working" on that dishwasher for awhile and didn't see much change...a couple people mentioned Dishwasher Magic...

Because I can't seem to keep on task if my life depended on it...I packed up the kiddos who were now in the middle of making forts outside and headed to the grocery store to find the stuff...

Long story short...found it, bought it, brought it home and used it...

Wala:  clean dish washer!

And so...now I'm happy...and my dishes thank me...and once I figure out which set to keep, I'm sure they will enjoy their "baths" much more than if I hadn't "gotten off task" yesterday:) 

Have a happy Monday!

Randomness

1. I'm on antibiotics just for kicks and giggles...it's not really doing anything with regards to the lovely hacking that keeps me up for about 22 out of 24 hours in day.  I'm frustrated with this for 2 reasons...one being that I'm not getting much sleep which leaves me cranky...and my dear family likes to inform me of this fact over and over and over again throughout the day...the second reason is because I have just learned that a good way to lose weight is to get enough rest...this is not working for me right now...If there is going to be SICK in our house...I'd rather it be the type of sick where you lose your appetite...because really, if you have to rest and can't exercise NOR can you get enough sleep...the least you can do is NOT eat as much...THIS my friends is my dilemma.  I would like to interject that I have been to see 2 different doctors...neither of which were able to locate anything abnormal nor "infectious"...interesting...so, perhaps this lovely cracking, prepubescent teenager voice will be my new normal:(

2. My sister in law told me to watch Once Upon a Time on ABC...that I would like it...so, seeing as the only thing I ever really "watch" are blogs on the computer or the occassional How I Met Your Mother when I need a good laugh...so, I watched the pilot and then got hooked and watched the rest of them on hulu.  I can't say that I endorse the show, but neither am I able to pull my eyes away from it...it's got to be something about prince charmings and happily ever afters...and the fact that Snow White is the sweet aunt from Ramona & Beezus and she reminds me of Peanut with a little pixie hair cut.  It's basically a story about fairytale characters (ones about which I know LOTS coming from a household of princesses myself) that lose their memories and are transported to OUR world where they don't age, but basically go through life "empty" all because of the wicked stepmother queen...To be honest, they could have summed the whole series up in a good 2.5 hour movie...but they're dragging it on for this TV season/year...I'll let you know how I'm fairing come March.

3. I have also discovered the yumminess of Feta cheese (this again could be another reason why randomness #1 is causing me distress) Man, you mix that in with some orzo pasta, corn & peas...good grief, I just ate the whole bowl...bite after cough after bite:)

4. I can't decide on the plates the Italian Stallion bought me for Christmas.  I swore I would never go back to Pfaltzgraf and I have kept my word!  So now we're looking at these:
 
or these:

They are really VERY similar...duh, they're both white...but the bowls are a bit different and the plates have a little bit different feels...Not sure what is best...the top one is from Kohls from the Food Network Buttercream selection...the 2nd picture is from Great Indoors from the Fitz & Floyd Gourmet selection. Any input would be greatly appreciated...or you can just call me crazy and forget about it. I'm only getting new dinner plates, salad plates and the cereal bowls...I couldn't find a picture of JUST those things...

5. I read the book Hunger Games this week...in between scouring every Ceasar Millan book I could get on reserve from the library and try to learn to be a "dog mommy" before the possibility of spring. I don't really know how I feel about the book...some parts were written really well...other parts, I felt like could have been more developed and then other parts, I was so "in the moment" that I had to put the book down for a bit just to recoup.  Ceasar Millan, on the other hand, made me question my ability to be pack leader...and whether I have the gumption to take a dog on a walk twice a day for the rest of her life...UGH...

6. I now think I"m going to take pictures of the two different plate options side by side and post that soon...hmmm.

7. I'm still addicted to Pinterest...but it sometimes makes me feel lazy because, come ON...who has time to do all those crafty things???  I'm MUCH too busy eating because of my NO lack of appetite and requirement to REST...

See you again soon

On some meds again...

sure hope I get to be on some meds again... (sung to the tune of On the Road again)

Before you completely discount and roll your eyes at my lack of humor...consider this:

Somehow I have contracted, yet again, some sort of "larengit-bronchit-cough varient-chest hurt-lose your voice so you sound like an 80 year old smoker, but a starbucks white chocolate mocha with a tad of cinnamon dolche makes it feeel a leeeeetle bit better-ITIS"

Don't know where I got it...girls are healthy...family was semi-stable in the health department over vacation...

who knows...I'm starting to wonder if my super "don't get sick powers" are wearing off...Dad always said it's a mind game and if you don't THINK you are sick, then you aren't...

However, I am starting to think that there might be some faulty reasoning in that conclusion:(

And so...there you have it...I do NOT feel like going to the doctor yet again for something that they'll deem, "well, you're sick and there's really nothing we can give you so just wait a couple weeks and come back if it doesn't go away" 

In other news...we "might" have found a breeder for a new pup come spring time.  Did I mention that we were looking into dogs?  I think we've settled on the Golden doodle or Labradoodle or some such DOODLE variety...

Mainly, because of a few things:  I don't want another purebred dog (just too many medical issues to deal with) I want a dog that has low to non-shedding tendencies (finding dog hair in diapers when Sweetpea was a baby was just a little too much for me, not to mention the constant vacuuming..and we all know my stellar housekeeping skills) However, we LOVE the Labrador/Golden retriever personality...that, "doy-dee-doy", happy go lucky, I want to follow you everywhere you go but if you throw a ball I'll go and get it and never stop loving you!" WaLa- DOODLE...

This breeder has been incredibly kind...she owns 8 dogs...the grandparents, parents and sibling dogs...We were supposed to get one of the pups borns last week, however, it was this dog's first litter and believe it or not, she only had 1 pup (it was already spoken for) And so, now we wait until spring...

In the meantime, I've stocked up on Ceasar Millan books and have begun reading them...cover to cover...hopefully by spring I'll be psyched up enough to think I could actually BE THE PACK LEADER!

I'm already looking forward to the weekend...basketball starts up for Peanut and I get to use my new lens to take some pictures of her in action:)  Hope you are healthy and settling in for the winter months ahead:)

Recap of 2011

I've been a little lax in writing lately...it's not for lack of "material"...rather, just my lack of memory skills in order to recall what I actually "wrote" in my head while I was driving or showering or while trying to pick stickers off the hard wood floor that my 4 year old thought looked "pretty".

I thought I'd do a little recap from the year...and end it with a video montage of the month of December:)  I hope you enjoy!!!

JANUARY

January began with a slam DUNK!  Little Munchkin got the whole potty training under control well before Mommy lost her marbles:)  Many "prizes" were had and we were on our way to a year filled with princess panties:)

FEBRUARY

February was a large travel month for Italian Stallion and thus began more travels than we had originally thought...it is always accompanied by many tears with the girlies and new found grey hairs found on yours truly...but, we managed...and not only managed, but excelled:)  Although, much encouragement was given by my awesome hubby...and in the month of Feb., the form of "you can do it" came in a bouquet of roses and reminder, once again, why I married such an incredible man!

MARCH

I have 2 pictures for March...one is a reminder that we still haven't finished what we started even though we PROMISED ourselves that we wouldn't do that to ourselves again...so much for new year's resolutions...our basement pretty much looks the same as it did when I took this picture only 3 month into the 2011 year.

Secondly, was our crazy medical scare with Peanut and all her breathing issues during cold season...after breathing treatments and x-rays and hospital visits galore...we are now convinced she has a type of cough-variant asthma that is triggered by any virus that attacks her bronchial tubes...basically, she gets a really bad cough and we now have a better understanding of how to control it:)



APRIL

Ahhhhhh April...thus came one of the most fun and relaxing trips Italian Stallion and I have ever managed to take...we were whisked off to Nevis somewhere in some islands down south...we danced, we drank, we sat pool side, we spa-ed, and walked the beach...it was wonderful...

MAY

May was our trip to Williamsburg...the moments where all the girls dressed up in "time-period" clothing and left Daddy out in the cold (not that I think he minded all that much, but we're going to pretend that he WISHED he had a pair of knickers and some nice, high, white socks...and a wig...with a ponytail...)

Anyway, it was also the month that we started to get some "fruits" from our garden...that lettuce was delicious...but, I should have realized then that it wasn't going to last...with the rain and colder weather and my lack of motivation to get out there and actually DO something in the dirt, ummm my busy summer schedule of sunbathing by the pool, yep, and that darn weather...well, it wasn't going to be a good crop season!

JUNE

June brought blueberry picking...pool membership (complete with tennis lessons from daddy) and...did I mention the pool? Although I don't have pictures from the pool...not until later...wanted to at least focus on the fact that my baby turned FOUR this month as well! 

JULY

We were able to re-engage our awesome dogsitting skills and watched another Yorkie again for a bit this summer...my girls fell in love once again (and yes, we will more than likely be getting a dog in the 2012 year...there I said it...)

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

The Patio was finished and ready for Labor Day weekend...this long awaited project was finally completed and we thoroughly enjoyed it...until the cold fall settled in and we headed back indoors to that beautiful unfinished basement...ahhh projects:)

Oh...and school started too:)

OCTOBER

October was SUPER fun with halloween and just the fall weather...we love our neighborhood!

NOVEMBER

November had all kinds of fun stuff...Sweetpea turned double digits, Thanksgiving, a trip to Tennessee with my brother's family...it was an all around FUN month!

DECEMBER

Not to be outdone...in came December...with Advent activities galore and enough sweets to realize that I look nothing like what I ventured out to look like last summer...which is right in time for New Year's resolutions:) 

As I looked through my umpteen pictures from this year and reflect over the fun of CTPhotoMemories and the incredible people I've met and friends that I've made...I'm just in awe again of this beautiful life that I have been given...Thank you Jesus!

My last "photo" is just a little video montage of the entire month of December...I pray that 2012 is just as filled with laughter, happiness, lessons learned and family!