July 2011 Six Pix

Most of the time it's just entirely too difficult to choose ONLY 6 photos.  This was one of those months.  So here are my EIGHT photos for July Six Pix.

My little Jaynie's rainbow toes.  I just can't get enough of those chubby little feet.  So very cute.

 

One of MANY backyard pool parties.  We most definitely got our money's worth out of that pool.  It has sprayers all over the orange thing so you can play in the pool even as it's filling up.  Jayna spent many a hot, humid day in that pool.  And I even got in there a few times.

 

We watched Laura and Lee's dogs this month.  This is Lani...she watches television.  It is the most hilarious thing ever...especially if you turn on Animal Planet.

 

"Look mommy!!  I drew a centipede!!"  I then relayed to Jayna that I am deathly afraid of centipedes.  So, what did she do?  She took red chalk and drew a line by it's face.  She then said, "See mommy...now it has a mustache.  You CAN'T be afraid of a centipede with a mustache."

 

Jayna is in that splash of water.  She LOVES waterslides!!  Every week after swim lessons, the kids get a few times to go down the slide and Jayna gets back in line EVERY TIME to do it again. 

 

Two princesses having a worldly discussion...probably about politics.  Or Barbies.  Who can tell?  :)  Layla and Jayna play so well together.  It's nice since I'm sort of friends with Layla's parents. Ha.

 

Jayna and I resting after a LONG weekend in the sun.  See my face?  Yep...I'm fried.  Oh, and Jayna is wearing her stylish home-decorated eye patch.  Maybe she won't have to have surgery.  (Okay...she DID have surgery...6 months later.)

 

Chris helping Jayna at swim lessons.  She's such a trooper.  Look at that resolve on her face!!  She doesn't give up easily at anything...a good trait to possess. 

 

 

July was a busy month for us!  How about you?

June 2011 Six Pix

I'm behind.  And I should probably just start with 2012 at this point, but posterity prevails.

I have found over the years that Six Pix is a really good way to sum up a month.  Sort of a month in the life of our family.  And I'll continue to catch up on Six Pix.

Jayna and her friend Layla at Layla's house.  Those girls LOVE books and princess attire. 

 

Hanging out on the dock at Lake Freeman.

 

Playing in the lake.  She had so much fun even though she had to wear ear plugs.

 

That's one of my favorite friends, Erik, on his wedding day.  This picture is a classic example of why I should keep up with blogging instead of waiting more than a year later to post a photo.  We had a great time in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge with Erik and Janette and Mark and Charlotte.  And my liver DEFINITELY needed a break after this vacation. :)

 

I started playing harmonica this year.  It's so much fun and I'm actually not too bad at it! Chris and I have spent countless nights out on the back patio playing guitar and harmonica and enjoying some good wine.

 

Those 2. :)  They are buddies.  And Ollie loves to steal some petting from Jayna in the backseat of the car.

 

 

What did YOU do in June of 2011? Ha.

 

Workin' for a Livin'

Dudes!!!  Hey!!  I am indeed alive and well...and missing you. 

I have officially missed 4 Together on Tuesday topics.  But I'm not here to write one of those.  I'm here because...well, I sort of got lost. 

I lost what was important in life.  I lost my reasons for blogging.  I lost...I just got lost. That is all.

I don't talk about my job here.  Ever.  Okay, okay...occasionally I'll admit that I hate it (read: frustrated, I don't really hate it) and that I do have downtime.  That downtime is becoming more and more precious.  Soon, it will be non-existent, I'm sure.  So I don't really talk about work, but I'm going to focus on that for a moment.

I've been going through some changes at work and it had actually started to bleed over into my personal life...until last week.  I finished up a giant project last Tuesday evening.  And now that the actual WORK itself isn't bleeding over, the stress and unknown factors of the future and the excitement (?) and the anxiety is still doing just that...TAKING OVER MY PERSONAL LIFE.

I know this happens to many of you all often.  It does NOT, however, happen to me.  But things are changing and I must step up to the plate and accept, embrace and move along with these changes.  Within all of this, I am now training a new person to take my position...for when I take my mom's position...when she retires in 18 months.  That SOUNDS like a long time.  It isn't.  Trust me, friends.  I wear many different hats around there, as does she, and it will take all of 18 months to show and teach someone everything I do. 

So, in the figurative sense, I'm moving up.  But in the literal sense, I'm moving OVER.  I already know most of what my mom does.  And although I've sort of carved out and created my own position here, I have kept up with most things she does throughout my years here.  I am learning the things I don't know and refreshing my mind of the things I do know, but don't do often.  It's been a learning curve for me (because I'm learning new things AND teaching someone my job), for mom (because she has to teach me things), and for our newest victim assistant (because she's learning a hell of a lot of things already).

And I'll admit to y'all RIGHTNOW:  I'm anxious.  I'd even go so far as to say that I'm...gulp...SCARED. 

This will be a giant move for me in the area of responsibility.  Most things won't really change as far as what I do on a daily basis, but her job encompasses more responsibility than I've ever had in my entire life.  I won't have the "assistant" role anymore.  I won't be able to pass the phone to her when I don't know the answer.  I will be the one responsible for those answers.  And I'm am VERY slowly coming to terms with that.

Much to my surprise, this reality has taken it's toll on my mental capacities.  I haven't had much time to sit down and THINK of things to write.  I like to take my time at formulating blog entries.  I haven't even really had time to return emails or Facebook messages.  I keep up with the people and things that force me (and believe me, I AM NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT), but the people and things that don't have very unfortunately gotten pushed to the side.  And trust me when I say that I feel horrible about that.

You can't blame a sister for getting lost though, can you?

I'll be back soon with several more updates.  Hell,  my only child turned 4 over 2 months ago and I haven't blogged about it.  After I write what I feel needs to be written about my life itself, I'll get back on the ToT wagon.  I DO plan on making up my 4 missed entries.  Because I'm awesome. :)

And I'll leave you with this:

Ollie in a Brave wig.

Deuce (my mom's dog) in eyeball glasses.

 

That's what we do for laughs, y'all. :)

 

 

ToT: I'm No Paula Deen

TOPIC:Write about your favorite recipe.  It can be something you make or your mom, grandma, best friend, aunt or whoever makes.  Tell us why you like it and share the recipe along with a photo if you have it.

I mean that I'm no Paula Deen in many ways.  I have this joke in my head that if, in some alternate world, I could choose an extra set of grandparents, it would be Paula Deen and William Shatner. 

I know.  Perfect idea ever, right?!? 

So, I'm no Paula Deen in the sense that I can't just whip up gourmet southern food on a whim.  I didn't build my life from practically nothing and become famous.  And I don't put butter in everything.  Because, as y'all know, butter is a food group to Grandma Paula.

And while I'm no Paula Deen, I can absolutely hold my own in a kitchen.  That wasn't always the case (ahem, mom...salty mashed potatoes and macaroni soup), but I can whip up a mean meal at this point in my life.  At one point in time, I just had to actually fake it until made it.

I remember very vividly when Chris and I lived in our first apartment together.  Chris' dad and stepmom were coming to stay with us for a couple of days.  I could NOT cook at this point in my life.  My skills stopped at meal helpers and ramen noodles.  I decided that since they weren't crazy about us living together that I'd go all Susie Homemaker on their asses and bake cinnamon muffins (obviously, the kind you just mix with water and put in a pan).  I didn't really care if anyone ATE them, I just wanted it to smell like good food when they got there. 

Well, our oven was broken.  The thermostat was out.  And within 4 minutes my cinnamon muffins were charcoal on the outside and soupy muffin mix on the inside. 

I'm pretty sure that solidified Chris' dad's opinion of me. 

After we got our oven fixed, it then became a challenge.  I began cooking things.  Like, real things.  And by the time we were married for a year or two, no one was going hungry.  I even had recipes that my family would request I bring to family events!  That was unheard of back in the day.

I'm going to share a couple of recipes.  I got both of these recipes from the intertubes and I'll direct y'all to them as I go.

Recipe #1:  Pioneer Woman's Drip Beef
I first made drip beef for the Super Bowl in 2010.  And I've been making it ever since.

It really is just that good.

Photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

Of the 2 recipes that she lists, I make the Italian Drip Beef.  I use my crockpot on low for 10 hours.  And then I make 2 slight changes:  I use 1.5 tablespoons of Italian seasoning and 1.5 tablespoons of Italian dressing seasoning mix.  And then I just leave out the extra salt.

This recipe is a crowd pleaser.  I've never fed it to anyone who didn't like it.  And it makes enough to serve a decent amount of people.  I'd say atleast 6 if the people are super hungry.  Probably more like 8-10 if you have other things to eat too.


Recipe #2:  Homemade Buttercream Icing
I came across this recipe around the time my brother did his vow renewal.  That was over a year ago and I haven't bought buttercream icing since.  It's so easy to make using the little shortcuts (like not sifting the powdered sugar) and once you make it a few times, you can ALMOST do it without measuring.  I love the fact that I can manipulate the texture for adding color or flavor.  It's very versatile and if you fancy yourself a baker, you NEED to start making your own buttercream.  If you don't trust any other words I say, trust those.  MAKE YOUR OWN BUTTERCREAM.

That is buttercream on those cupcakes.  The cupcakes are boxed mix, but the icing?  Well, the icing makes you forget about the actual cake.

You can freeze buttercream.  You can eat it out of the bowl.  You can flavor it vanilla or with cinnamon (as I did for my brother's vow renewal), you can make it whatever color you want.  And it's delicious.

Here are some tips:
*Use salted REAL butter.  Don't attempt to use margarine.  Trust me.  Just...trust me.
*Don't worry about sifting the powdered sugar.  You can adjust the texture by adding powdered sugar or milk at the end.
*Use the shortening as she has in the recipe.  This really does help the icing stand up to hotter temps.  It won't melt if you're having an outdoor party.
*Be prepared to gain half a pound when you make it.


What are your favorite recipes?  I love to cook and I'm always excited to try new things.  Now go along with me and read about the other ToT ladies' favorite recipes!  Links are to the right!

ToT: Just Another Day

Topic:
A Day in The Life:  What is a typical day in your life?  How do weekdays differ from weekends?  How do you balance out life's "chores" from the betterm more enticing things such as spending time with friends, family, hobbies or recreation?  How do you fit it all in to make sure everything gets done (get up early, stay up late, recruit help from hubby/other family, hire it out, etc.)?  At the end of the day do you go to bed feeling like you accomplished the majority of what needed to be done or do you think of all the things you've had to let roll over to be done another day?

I'm not sure how to really answer all those questions, so I'm going to procrastinate and show you a sweet picture of how I start my days:

Every weekday morning after we have breakfast, Chris leaves for work and Jayna and I have about 10 minutes before we have to brush teeth, brush hair and go to school. 

And every morning after breakfast, without fail, I hear these glorious words:  "Mommy, do we have time to cuddle on the couch?"

You bet we do.  Even if we don't. 

You see, I've come to expect cuddle time on the couch before I come to work.  If I don't get my JBird cuddles before I have to continue onto my "get-rich-slow scheme," I am cranky for the rest of the day.

I know the cuddles won't last forever.  I know my time is limited.  And I know that I should soak in these moments because the day will inevitably come when she is...gulp...TOO OLD FOR CUDDLES.

And to that I say BOOOOO.

I have a difficult time in realizing that these little things are the big things.  Some say it's a personality flaw.  I agree.  I worry too much.  I think too much about the future.  I get frustrated with things I have no control over.  And I don't stop to smell the roses that often. 

It's a sad life I live.

After breakfast JBird cuddles have helped me with that.  If I didn't cuddle with her in the morning, I'd have time to do the dishes.  I'd have time to start a load of laundry.  I'd probably even have time to PUBLISH A FREAKIN' TOGETHER ON TUESDAY ENTRY ON AN ACTUAL TUESDAY.  But I don't really care about dishes.  Or laundry.  And let's face it...there aren't that many of you reading.  If I'm a day late, I figure y'all will forgive me.  Just these 9 times. :)

And now to answer the topic questions FO' REALZ.

What is a typical day in your life?

A typical workday for me is, well...a typical workday.  I get up around 5am, make myself as presentable as I need to be, eat breakfast, cart the kid off to school and go to work.  I work from around 7:45am to 3:30pm.  When I get off work, I will sometimes run a few errands to give Jayna some extra playtime with her schoolmates, or I'll go pick her up and we'll go home to continue the daily grind.  Getting home means taking care of the dog, doing chores, making dinner and playing with Jayna.  After that it's bath and bedtime for Jayna around 8pm.  And THAT'S when the REAL FUN begins!!

Just kidding.

Don't get me wrong...I do love those couple of hours after Jayna goes to bed so that I can do whatever it is I feel like doing.  Last night I did some gardening.  Some nights I watch television.  Some nights Chris and I sit on the back patio and I listen to him play guitar and I sing along to the songs with him.  Some nights we have deep talks about worldly things (read:  work and/or parenting).  Some nights I read.  And some nights I'm snoring on the couch by 8:30pm.

So...that's a typical day.  But right now, things are NOT typical at all.

Right now, Jayna has swimming on Tuesdays, tumbling on Wednesdays, and swimming again on Thursdays.  I spend most of Monday evening making dinner for those 3 nights since there is NO time to do it on the actual night.  And Friday is spent watching movies or going out to dinner.  You know, family time.

We stay busy.  And we like it that way.  For the most part. 

How do weekdays differ from weekends?

A typical weekend?  That doesn't exist. 

The staples are trips to the grocery and Sam's, cleaning the house (sure...), and trying to see Nana M or Nana B.  Those are the things we try to fit in.  But that doesn't always happen.

Yes, we keep up with the daily chores.  The dishes, the laundry, making sure the bathrooms aren't a pit and vacuuming.  Those are things that get done atleast once a week.  Other things like dusting?  We ain't got no time for no dusting.  It gets done when it gets done.  We are way too busy creating memories for ourselves and for our Jayna to be missing out on things because of a little dust.

In June, we have had NO free weekends.  The first weekend was spent at the zoo and at a baseball game.  The second on was spent at a pool party and a father's day barbecue.  The next one will be the Dave Matthew's concert and another baseball game.  And the last one will be our 10th anniversary and a company picnic.  The first weekend of July will be spent at the lake.  The second will be spent in Washington, D.C.  The third?  Maybe we'll get to sleep in or see our long-neglected friends!!!!!

See?  I told you we stay busy.

We love doing all these things.  But it really does interfere with things that NEED to be done.

How do you balance out life's "chores" from the better more enticing things such as spending time with friends, family, hobbies or recreation? How do you fit it all in to make sure everything gets done (get up early, stay up late, recruit help from hubby/other family, hire it out, etc.)? 

We don't balance out.  We do memory making FIRST and chores LATER.  Is this the best policy?  It is for now.  That will change.  Before I had a kid, I would come home every Friday and clean the whole house top to bottom.  That way it would be clean for the weekend.  And now?  Well, for now that isn't going to happen.

Jayna is little.  She is young and she is impressionable and she is soooo dang cute.  She loves to spend time with us and we love providing memory making experiences for her.  She is and forever will be our only child and we will only get one chance at this time in her life.  We have chosen to take advantage of it.

That isn't to say that I don't get frustrated with the clutter in our tiny house and eventually explode into a cleaning frenzy.  It happens.  Not just to me, but to Chris too.

When Chris and I first started living together, I did 100% of the cleaning.  After all, I was the one with less responsibilities and more time on my hands.  Well, that changed along the line and my 100% cleaning responsibility did NOT change.  So he and I had a sit down talk at a bar (probably Yogi's) and I told him very plainly:  I am not, nor will I ever be, a housewife.  I don't make all the messes and I shouldn't be responsible for cleaning all of them up.  He responded in a positive manner and to this day...more than 10 years later...he still does atleast 50% of the household chores.

He and I have a system.  It's called Get It Done.  If the dishes aren't done and Chris is working late, I do the dishes.  If I'm having a swell time playing with Jayna and don't want to stop to vacuum, Chris vacuums.

Actually, Chris vacuums 100% of the time.  I hate it and I refuse to do it.  The end.  I reciprocate by cleaning the toilets 100% of the time.  We'll skip the part where HE cleaned the toilets on Father's Day.  Ahem.

Anyhoo, my point is this:  We don't have set chores.  We just get shit done because it has to be done.  And we are respectful of one another and we understand when one or the other needs to pick up the slack on occasion.

Organized chaos.  That's how we live.

At the end of the day do you go to bed feeling like you accomplished the majority of what needed to be done or do you think of all the things you've had to let roll over to be done another day?

I NEVER go to bed feeling like I accomplished everything that needed to be done.  NEVER.

Does anyone?  Maybe Martha Stewart, but we'll go ahead and be honest when we say that she has people doing lots of things FOR her at this point.

Even when I was single and childless did I ever feel like I accomplished enough in one day.  Never.

Lately though, I've been asking myself different questions at bedtime.  Did I give Jayna enough attention today?  Did we play enough?  Did I ignore her?  Did we make memories?

Those are the important questions at this time in my life.  And I take the answers to those questions VERY seriously.


The long and short of my days are to just ENJOY living.  Yes, there are things that must be done that aren't enjoyable.  But I like to think like my favorite nanny, Mary Poppins:  "In every job that must be done, there's an element of fun."

Dang.  I don't really think like that.  We just rock out to the Disney station on Pandora waaaaayyyyy ttttoooooo mmuuccchhhh. 

But really.  When we clean the house, there is music blaring and we're ALL (Jayna included) singing and dancing along.  We cook meals together.  We do chores together.  Everything is less of a chore when you have a helper. :)

We enjoy life.  After all, that's ultimately why we're here.



Now:  go over to the sidebar on the right and read about the days of the other fine ToT ladies!

ToT: The Most Difficult Entry of My Life

(I thought this would be hilarious for some of you...I'm live blogging with Jayna sitting next to me.  I will intermittently insert her comments in red throughout the entry.  That way those of you who don't have kids can get a glimpse into what it's like to try to accomplish a task with a 3-year-old in the room.)

I know.  It's Wednesday.  And it may even make it to Thursday before I hit the PUBLISH button. 

And also:  Not just the most difficult.  Probably the longest.  But I think if you all really THINK about the topic, you'd have a difficult and soul searching experience also.

Mommy...I'm thirsty.

TOPIC:
"According to the Happiness Project, some people theorize we are happiest doing what we loved when we were kids, say age 10. So…what were you doing at age 10 that you LOVED? Are you doing that now? If so, how, and how does it impact your daily happiness? If not, how can you bring some of that back into your life?"

**And if, like me, you had absolutelynofreakinidea what the Happiness Project is, then use this link. 

I have several reasons for posting late this week.  I don't think it is any sort of secret that I do a little of my blogging at work.  I think if it as my "smoke breaks."  I don't smoke.  Those who do take SEVERAL 15 minutes breaks a day to kill themselves.  I take a few minutes a day to blog.  We'll call a truce and call them both "stress relievers" and/or "productivity boosters."

Mommy...can we get a new app?  And also, I'm hungry now.  I want that cheese mix stuff.  With the pretzels and Doritos.  And I didn't want apple juice.  I wanted lemonade.  What are you doing?  What's a blog? Can I help?

My point with that above paragraph is that I have been swamped at work.  I've not taken more than probably 10 minutes per day to do anything but work (that may or may not include the amount of time I've had to, you know, go pee).  And that's the way it should be.  I am not complaining by any means.  I LOVE to be busy.  It makes my days fly by.  It's just that sometimes that makes my blog entries late. 

Mommy...can you get me a wipe?  My hands are cheesy.  And I have cheesy hair.  And now I have cheesy lemonade hair.  Gross, huh?  I'll lick it off, don't worry.

Mommy...can I play iPad again?

Also?  Home life is nuts too.  Chris and I have decided that we are ABSOLUTELY SICK AND DING DONG TIRED of this house, so we're cutting ALL costs that aren't what we call necessary or already commitments to save more money to move in a timely manner.  This means we come home for lunch and eat at home on ALL days.  This makes housework a little more time consuming, but already we're seeing a difference in the bank.  It's simply amazing!!  BUT...I do dishes a MILLION times a day. 

Okay, probably once.  But really?  Who the hell actually WASHES dishes once a day?  And that's on top of running our dishwasher that is packed to the gills everyday.  But we aren't wasting a speck of food and we're saving money.  It's a win-win in my eyes.

And it isn't just dishes that are causing me to be super busy.  There are other things.  Things that I'll discuss when I'm not trying to procrastinate writing what I've deemed The Most Difficult Blog Entry I've Ever Written Including Those Times I Wrote About Thinking I Was A Horrible Mother To My Newborn Baby.

So...there's all the junk that is UNRELATED to the topic.  Let's get to the actual entry.

I asked several people about this topic as I've known of it's coming for awhile.  And I got almost the exact same response from EVERY SINGLE PERSON I ASKED:

"Age 10?!?  I don't even REMEMBER age 10!!!"

Well, atleast I wasn't in the minority.

Mommy...look at my cookie!!!!  It's chocolate chip!!!  And I put peas on and butter on top of it!!!  (Oh, the joys of the Easy Bake Oven app...the only one that can turn my stomach.)

My next step was to look up what actually happened in 1990.  What was popular?  What songs?  Television?  Movies? 

What were my findings?

Some of my all-time favorite things were popular that year!!  Home Alone is STILL in my top ten movies.  Other movies were Dick Tracy (LOVE IT), Pretty Woman (can't believe adults let me watch it at 10), TMNT The Movie (loved it as a kid), and Edward Scissorhands. 

Music was a little more...interesting.  MC Hammer.  Vanilla Ice.  NKOTB.  Good gravy.  I LOVED all that music (and interestingly enough, I still do), but it was a rough year for music.

And then it all started to come back to me.  I played Barbies at Leah's house a LOT.  I played Ouija board.  I listened to New Kids On The Block.  I had a pillow with Jon Knight on it.  I rode my bike and played kickball.  I had millions of WZPL's Hot Nine at Nine taped on cassette tapes.  I was attached to my walkman.  I was...well, I was pretty awesome.

What's that say, mommy?  What is Vanilla Ice?

But things were still missing from my memories.  So, naturally being a glutton for punishment, I asked my mom for some pictures of me from when I was 10 years old. 

JUSTIN BEAVER, those are some ugly shorts!!  And was I trying to be Steve Urkel?!?

Who is that?!?  I like her hair.

I obviously didn't worry about fashion when I was 10, so we can rule THAT out as something that made me happy at that age.  Also?  Doing my hair.  We can safely rule that out.  But in my defense, my hair was a bitch to deal with, even at 10.

What this picture DOES remind me of is that I played outside a LOT.  I remember being carefree.  Now THAT is a great feeling.  And that brown van belonged to Uncle Wayne.  I traveled to Florida in that van what seemed like hundreds of times in my childhood.  It was a sweet ride back then. :)

Are you underwater?!?  Why are there fishes up there?!?  WEIRD!

(At this point I stopped writing to have dinner and go to tumbling class.  No more Jayna comments.)

YES, people.  That is me at 10 STILL holding my blankie.  So sue me.  Whatevs.

This was at my Aunt Linda and Uncle Wayne's house.  I remember everything about this picture.  I remember the smell of that house.  I remember that couch.  I remember the sleep shirt I have on.  It has a silly looking bunny on it who is wearing sunglasses and holding a teddy bear. 

I spent loads of time with Linda and Wayne.  They were my second set of parents.  They had a giant inground pool, so I was also spending loads of time swimming.  When I was young, I was a fish.  From the time they opened their pool until the time the closed it, I was in that dang pool.  I could swim unassisted at the age of 4 because of that pool. It holds some of my greatest (and worst...READ:  broken nose) childhood memories.

And there it is.  The NKOTB shirt.  Behind me and to your left is Tracy, my childhood neighbor.  She was a few years older than me (I think 3), but we always had a good time.  I'm not really sure what's going on in this photo past the dancing, but we do look like we're having fun.  Tracy's mom Judy took this picture.  Judy was also like a mom.  I miss them.

I spent a LOT of time at the Wheeler house.  Dancing.  Watching television.  Talking.  Doing hair.  I think Tracy was the person who introduced me to makeup.  I remember having fun there.  And I remember knowing that I always had a friend in Tracy.

That bike.  That was one of my prized possessions.

If I am not mistaken, I received that bike as a birthday gift.  I may be wrong though.  I rode the dang tires off that bike.  We had a long paved driveway (see it behind me?) so we had plenty of space out of the street to ride our bikes.  Until we got older, we weren't allowed to ride in the street. 

This picture here provokes a feeling of peace.  I'm not sure why.  But when I look at it, I remember feeling loved and cared for and like I had everything in the world that I needed.  And it is important for kids to feel that way. 

Oh yeah...and insert more jokes about my fashion sense. :)

In this picture, I'm actually just 9 days short of being 10.  This was my mom and stepdad's wedding day.  It was less than momentous as it was the second marriage for both of them and a very small event.  When I commented to my mom yesterday, "Mom...there isn't hardly anyone at your wedding!"  Her response was, "I only needed ONE person to show up...and he did.  That's all that matters."  :)

This picture reminds me of so many more things than my parents' wedding.  It reminds me of the mornings of my parents' anniversary for years to come that my stepbrothers, brother and I would get up and cook the parents breakfast in bed (they never actually ATE it in bed, though) for their anniversary.  It reminds me of that stupid flower arch we made for my cousin's wedding.  It reminds me of jet skis and houseboats and all sorts of things that aren't specifically from my 10-year-old days, but just days of my childhood.


Aaaaaannnnndddd....what was I doing at 10 years old that made me happy?  I was being a kid.

But more than that, I was DOING things.  I was riding my bike and swimming and dancing and all sorts of physical activities.

So maybe therein lies my answer.

Maybe I need to DO more things.  I don't mean PLAN them and then allow the plans to get ruined.  I don't mean go to the stinkin' gym and get on the treadmill.  I sure as hell wasn't doing THAT at age 10!!!  I was doing FUN physical activities!!

DO more. 

PLAN less.  Talk less.  Complain less.  Stress less.  Sit less.  Pretty much do LESS of all the things that adults do to themselves.  And think more like a child.

DO.  DO DO DO.  DO. 

How can I incorporate this into my life?  I think I've answered this.  All of the things that I did as a child are things that my kid loves to do.  We have atleast one dance party in the living room a week.  And you know what?  I'm sooo freakin' happy when I'm doing that!  It helps that it's with her. 

Also?  To make myself happier, I can make sure Jayna gets to do all of these things.  That she gets to be a carefree kid.  That she gets to swim and ride bikes and play Barbies and all sorts of things.  I want her to have the same nostalgic feelings of childhood that I do.

So...what were YOU doing at 10 years old?  Are you still doing it?  Why or why not?!?

I've added a list in the right sidebar of the other ToT bloggers.  There are 8 of us now (soon to be 9)!!!  Use the links and see what makes THEM happy.



Together on Tuesday: Annual Tradition

I've always had to share my birthday with a huge event that happens close to where I live. 

My birthday isn't always on the same day as this event, but it's almost always during the weekend that I'd celebrate my birthday. 

Makes it hard to plan a party that people will actually COME to.

It's May here in my hometown.  Well, I suppose it's May EVERYWHERE.  But May is special where I live. 

It's the month of the Indy 500.

My birthday is ALWAYS, without a doubt, just days away from this race.  And it's also ALWAYS, without a doubt, right around Memorial Day weekend. 

Do you know how many people attend the Indy 500?  Yeah...like a jillion.  And probably 15 or so of those people are my friends.  Do you know how many people take Memorial Day weekend to go out of town and celebrate the impending summer by visiting lakes, pools, and amusement parks?  Yep...another jillion.  And probably 15 of those are my friends.  And since I only have 30 friends, that would make for a pretty boring birthday party. :)

And how many of you would be surprised to learn that this post is NOT about the Indy 500 OR Memorial Day weekend OR my birthday?

None?  Yeah...I didn't think so.

Today I'm linking up with Michelle at After 9 and Some Weekends, Charlotte at The Dog Days of Life, Nancy at Purple Peaches and Sarah at Just Living (YAY!!  Another new face!!) and we're talking about local events that have become part of our lives.  (Tish is having some technical difficulties and will be joining us soon.  Hang in there!)

Here is the topic in all of it's formality: 

"What local annual event in your current (or childhood) area has become engrained as part of who you are? What makes this event so special? What traditions do your family and/or friends have? What memories does the event bring back when you celebrate or attend each year? Have you ever had to miss the event and if so, how did that make you feel? If you have moved away, how far would you travel to come back each year? Is it important to you to pass this event onto your children and/or new comers to the area, or do you prefer to let them find or create their own traditions?"

This was a hard one for me.  I've done some soul searching though, and I've come up with some things.  (I guess not really soul searching.  More like memory searching which coincidentally is much more difficult than soul searching these days.)

When I was young, we went to the annual Circle of Lights in downtown Indy.  I hope to eventually carry on this tradition, but Jayna was just a bit too young in the past years.  Maybe this year or hopefully next we'll be able to take her and she'll withstand the cold and the crowd.

Anyhoo...many of the things that we do annually aren't events in our area.  We have created our own traditions and things.  We have an annual family zoo trip with my family.  We have an annual Indiana Beach trip with Chris' parents.  We try and have either Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve at our house every year.  If we have Christmas Eve, we make gingerbread houses.  We go to the pumpkin patch every year.  We have begun an annual trip to the Children's Museum before Christmas.  We do a lot of things yearly, but they are unfortunately not local events.

Last year's carousel ride at the Annual Indy Zoo trip.

(Look how little the kids look!!!  And that was only a year ago!!)

Annual Christmas Eve gingerbread houses in 2010.

Annual Children's Museum trip to "ride the yule slide."

This was 2011 with the Vidals.  Layla and Jayna have a great time together!

Jayna and Pappaw in 2010 at the Annual Indiana Beach trip.  Chris' parents have a house on a lake near Indiana  Beach, so it's an easy and fairly cheap trip, but Jayna has the time of her life!

Annual pumpkin patch trip from 2009.  Look how teeny Jaynie is!!

There is one local event that we have attended for 2 years now and plan on attending every year.  Our local Irish Fest is the most awesome festival there is.  There are many, many musical acts.  There are Irish dog demonstrations.  There are tons of bagpipe players.  There are demonstrations on how to stamp leather.  There are many Irish dancers.  There is more Irish food than you could ever eat in 3 days.  And, of course, there's Irish beer. :) 

And no...we aren't Irish.  I just thought I'd answer that burning question right away.

I LOVE it.  Jayna LOVES it.  And...well, Chris loves it too.  Jayna's favorite part is this:

These gals (AND GUYS!) can seriously and quite literally dance a jig!!  Fantastic!

Last year we even bought her a jingle skirt (that isn't at ALL Irish) so she could dance along with the Irish step dancers. 

Jayna dancing in her jingle skirt.

I don't have a favorite part.  I love it all.  The dancing, the kilts, the food, the heritage, the beer.  I love the vendors who sell their handmade goods and even the ones who rope me into buying a jingle skirt that is more Indian than it is Irish.  We plan on making this an annual event for many years to come.

I don't plan on moving, so I'm not sure I'd travel for this.  It is important to me to help teach Jayna about other cultures.  This festival is rich in Irish culture.  It's a learning experience as much as a fun time.  And I tell EVERYONE I KNOW about Irish Fest!!  Why wouldn't they want to know?!? :)

I'm already looking forward to it again this year.  September can't get here soon enough.  I even prepurchase our tickets.  I'm THAT into this thing.

So...what do YOU do in your community that has become tradition?  Have you made your own traditions?  What are they?  I'd love to hear them!!

Now go and use those links in the beginning of this post and read what Michelle, Charlotte, Nancy and Sarah have to say!!  And see you all next Tuesday!

Together on Tuesay: That Place With The WikiStix

When I made my big "lifestyle change" a few months ago, one of the biggest changes was my beer consumption.  The other big change?  Cut down on the Mexican food.  I'm living with it, but it took me awhile to get over myself and stop mourning.
I think what bugged me most about less beer was that some of my favorite restaurants are breweries and/or brewpubs.  There is NO WAY I could visit a brewery and NOT drink their beer. 

Today's Together on Tuesay topic:  What are your favorite restaurants?  Why?  Are they kid friendly?  Quiet?  Is the food great?  What gives? :)

(And on a sidenote, we have ANOTHER new blogger this week!!  Her name is Tish, but I've yet to procure her blog address.  I'll update here when I have it!!  Welcome, Tish!!)
I'm going to limit this to my top 5.  I could probably go up to 10 or 15, but we just don't go out that much anymore.  Five is actually pretty exhaustive for how much we go out.

Jayna playing WikiStix at Oaken Barrel last summer. 

1. Oaken Barrel Brewing Company.  We LOVE this place.  Their beer is fantastic and their food is just as good.  It is kid friendly (or NOT, depending on if you go to the restaurant or the brew room) and Jayna LOVES to go there.  She calls it "the place that has WikiStix."  WikiStix are like the Bendaroos they show in those commercials between cartoons to make parents buy stupid crap because of kid-vertising.  Anyhoo, there isn't just good food and great beer, there is such a sense of community there.  The brewery has been there for right around 15 years and there are plenty of regulars to chat with if you sit at the bar.  I even ran into our wedding photographer's cousin there!!  Our wedding photographer ran for Mayor of Greenwood last year.  You learn something new everyday!!  The menu has some standbys on it such as hamburgers and pizza, but also has a few more unique options also.  And many of their entrees aren't terribly bad for a diet.
2. Famous Dave's.  This gets number 2 because it is Jayna's favorite.  The kid would eat their homemade chips everyday of the week if we'd let her!!  Kid friendly, decently healthy menu options and you really can't beat the prices.  Good food at a great price.  What more could we ask for?  A better beer selection. :)
3. Fiesta Ranchera.  I am not linking this one because they don't have a website!!  They are a hole in the stripmall Mexican restaurant who lets us choose our table and doesn't even have to ask us what we want to eat.  This was a (atleast once) weekly lunch spot for us before our "lifestyle change."  I tried and tried to get Chris to go there for dinner last week, but he wouldn't give in.  Their food is delicious and they are the nicest group of guys you could ever imagine. 
4. BJ's.  I'm not sure we've ever taken Jayna to BJ's, but not because she wouldn't love it!!  Their in-house brewed beer is amazing and the avocado egg rolls are...I don't even have words!  I love them that much!!  They have an extensive menu ranging from "normal" food to other more unique things.  They have a "small bites" menu that is perfect when you're trying to eat light.  If you don't have kids with you, I suggest sitting at the bar.  The bartenders are super nice and helpful and you can taste their beers before you commit to paying the 6 bucks for one!!  Love it!
5. Fifth place is hard!!  I have about 10 places that are tied.  I'm going to go with Bob Evan's.  We go here for family breakfasts.  It's so nostalgic to get up, get dressed and head out to get an omelet and home fries.  We just sit and talk.  We go to the one in Greenwood and there is the same sense of community there as there is at Oaken Barrel.  Everyone knows everyone!!  The servers are always super nice and they seem to always remember us!  I think it's because of Jayna. :)

Even though 3 of the 5 places above are chain restaurants, Chris and I more and more prefer to eat at places that aren't chains.  Generally the food is better and the service is too.  I'm a big fan of supporting your local community and part of that is investing in local businesses.  That being said, we also like Jockamo a LOT.  While we don't eat pizza very often, they have other salad and sandwich options that are as tasty as their pizza.  Papa Roux has the best po boys and cajun food around.  We don't eat there often because they aren't on our side of town.  They now have a downtown location, but we'd have to call in our order because the line is always out the proverbial door!!  They do LOTS of business and there isn't one thing that I've had from there that wasn't delicious.  I also enjoy Bazbeaux with my girl friends once every couple of months.  We'd like to make that more often, but life happens.  Their spinach salad and quattro formaggio pizza are too good for words. 

I'm eager to find more independent restaurants.  If y'all know of any, let me know!!  I'd love to try them out and add them to my local business list!!

Also, I could make an entirely separate list for Bloomington.  When you live somewhere for that long, you tend to hang on to it. :)  Almost ALL of the places there were independent business.  College towns do well with that sort of thing.

So, friends...where do YOU like to eat?  Why?  Give me your lists!!

Now head on over to After 9 and Some Weekends, Purple Peaches, and The Dog Days of Life and see what Michelle, Nancy and Charlotte like to eat!!  I'll update with Tish's blog address when I get it!

Together on Tuesday: Workin' for a Livin'

So yesterday was Tuesday and conincidentally, Michelle over at After 9 and Some Weekends was the only one to actually post on Tuesday!  We are all just outstanding with timing. :)
For serious though, I was busy all day yesterday...from the time I woke up late to the time I fell asleep on the couch at 9pm.  If I fall asleep on the couch, that means I'm tired and that even if I were awake, I'd be a fairly useless waste of space. 

After you finish up here, head on over to Michelle at After 9 and Some Weekends, Charlotte at The Dog Days of Life and Nancy at Purple Peaches and see what they have to say (if they're caught up.  Be patient...we all have busy moments in life.)

Today's topic is something that is near and dear to my heart.  I have a desk job and I go stir crazy.  I am the creative type and there is NOTHING creative about a desk job.  Seriously.  It bores me senseless on some days, but it is reliable, provides me with benefits that are very needed in this day and age and puts food on the table.  At this point in my life, I can't give all that up and risk going for broke.  I have a child and other responsibilities that force me to act responsibly. 

So here it is:  What is your dream job?  How would this job affect your ability to be a mother, wife, etc.?  Would you go back to school?  Would you relocate? 

"I want to sing and dance.  I want to sing and dance.  I want to be a pirate in the Pirates of Penzance.  Wear me silver buckle slippers and me tight shiny pants.  I want to sing and dance."

Whoever gets that reference gets 10 bonus points.

Really I don't want to sing and dance.  In fact, I'm pretty bad at both.

First of all, I actually know some people who have something close to my dream job.  And they actually LOVE what they do.  I think that makes it harder and easier at the same time.  See, my dream job is unconventional. 

I want to create things and sell them.

That is the long and short of it.  Would you like me to be more specific?  Okay.

Knowing people who do this?  Well, that just makes me slightly jealous.  BUT...it gives me hope that it can be done effectively.

I have many creative interests.  And I'm actually pretty good at a lot of creative things.  I can hold my own with a crochet hook.  I can paint.  I can scrapbook.  I can effectively repurpose furniture.  I can use power tools.  I can bake AND decorate.  And I simply LOVE all of those things.

I basically want to be Martha Stewart minus the felony conviction and jail sentence.

This will absolutely not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me.  They all know that I love all of those things.  Many of them think I'm wierd for it.  Many of them think it's pretty cool.  They all know that they can ask me a vast array of questions regarding crafty and creative things and I'll help out.  I've made many decorated cupcakes for friend's kid's birthday parties.  I've made invitations for those parties.  I've painted paintings and murals for friends.  I've made scrapbooks for more people than I can count.  I've crocheted things for friends.  I even recently redid a piece of furniture to suit my needs.  And I do it ALL FOR FREE because I love my friends.  Now if I could only find a way to get paid for it...

A few years ago I asked Chris if I could quit my job and become an event planner.  I'd start small with kid's birthday parties and stuff and then work my way up to weddings.  He then asked me if I was on serious drugs. :)

For what it's worth, I really do think I'd be good at it.  I just don't know if I could make a living out of it.

My friend Kelly owns her own business called FireWheel Tie Dye.  She tie dyes things and then sells them at Farmer's Markets and things.  She is fabulous!  I have 2 ombre dyed scarves from her and I wear them often.  I envy her. 

This is one of Kelly's beautiful ombre dyed scarves.  She's fabulous.  Check her out of Facebook at FireWheel Tie Dye.

There is a woman who lives near me who makes her living like this and as a blogger.  Her name is Beckie.  She doesn't know I even exist, but I read her blog religiously and love some of the things she comes up with.  Find her here at Infarrantly Creative.

Would I relocate for it?  Nope.  As much as I complain about Indiana weather, I do really like living here most of the time amongst family and friends.  Would I go back to school for it?  In a heartbeat!  If I could've gotten paid to go to college, I'd still be there.  I LOVE learning. 

How would it affect my ability to be a mother, wife, etc.?  I actually think it would have a positive impact on my parenting skills.  I would be working from home, so I could come and go as I pleased and have Jayna there with me.  When she goes to school, I'd be able to pick her up and drop her off and take her to various classes, events, etc.  I'd have more time to do household things since I'd automatically be there.  And it would be great for Jayna and Chris if I were doing what truly makes me happy.

Here is a random sampling of my creative life, past and present:

This is one of my more recent projects.  I needed a cabinet to house my bedroom television, computer and junk, but I also need it to be something I could sit at and use the computer.

This is what it looks like when you open it.  The printer shelf slides out to access the scanner and the top drawer hinges down so the keyboard can slide out to be used.  Thank you, dad and Chris for your help!!!



This is the inside of one of my baby books.  I have about 5 of these to finish up for various people.  I just need to DO IT!!  

First of all, sorry for how terrible I look in that picture.  That was the day we had to let go of Morgan.  I finished crocheting that cowl (THAT I LOVE BY THE WAY) to keep my mind off of it.  I hope KT's mom (or KT if she kept it) likes it!

Spiderman cupcake toppers for Chance's birthday.  They just sit on top of the icing.  They were way cute. :) 

Crocheted flower hair barrettes for Jayna's girl friends for Valentine's Day last year.  I STILL have people asking for more of those. 

Picture frame wreath for the front door at Christmas.  My mom and Aunt Mary and I made these.  Sorry for the terrible pic.  It was night, it was 10 degrees and I can say that I probably was taking it without shoes on. 

Homemade Christmas gifts:  The pink jar is salt and sugar peppermint foot scrub.  Totally organic.  The left one is vanilla brown sugar body scrub.  Again, totally organic.  And the little one is chocolate mint lip balm.  And it is also totally organic.  I still use ALL of these.  I'm on my third batch of brown sugar.  Soooo good for your skin. 

This is the first page of my 2012 Project Life album.  I love it.  And thank you Nancy at Purple Peaches for those AWESOME photos!!! 

I had an old canvas that had dimensional tape all over it that I couldn't peel off.  I couldn't bring myself to toss it, so I joint compounded over it and made it a painting.  I love it. And of course I love The Beatles. :) 

The tree in Jayna's room.  Although now the coral flowers are orange.  My JBird and her orange.  Orange this, orange that.  You'd think with her princess complex that she'd love pink.  Nope.  Orange it is.  I also painted them orange to match her new bedding. 

Fondant cows for Layla's first birthday.  I have never had more fun making something out of fondant.  I think they're pretty cute. :) 

Mickey Mouse Club House cupcakes.  Stars, gears and Mickey ears for Kaesyn's second birthday.  I loved this project too.

WOW!!  This entry is LONG!!  No wonder it took me 2 days to write it!  Good thing I only wrote about ONE of my dream jobs...

What do y'all want to do with yourselves in a perfect world?  Are you okay with your current job or do you yearn to do something completely different?

Now head on over to Michelle, Charlotte and Nancy and see what they want to do for a living!

Together on Tuesday:

Here we are again!!  It's Tuesday!!

This week we will (I think?) have 2 new bloggers.  Charlotte at The Dog Days of Life and Nancy at Purple Peaches will be joining us!  And, of course, Michelle at After 9 and Some Weekends will cover this too!

So...what did y'all have for breakfast?  I had a skinny green monster smoothie (minus the green today because I ran out of spinach).  It was tasty and it is now 11:20 am and I'm not famished. (Thanks, Laura, for forcing me to drink that shot glass of your smoothie!!)

I ask because it pertains to our topic today:  What do you do to be healthy?  Exercise?  Eat right?  What specifically makes your lifestyle healthy and/or unhealthy?  Would you like to change it?  How?

DIETS
Here's a shocker for everyone:  DIETS DON'T WORK.

Until recently, let's say within the past 5 years, I've not ever worried about my weight.  I've never worried about what I ate or how much of it.  I never really sat down and thought about what I put into my body.

And then I became...AN ADULT.  An adult with a child.  And then everything changed.

Of course it did.  Everything changes when you have a child.  If anyone ever tries to tell you any different.  Send them straight to me so I can smack them square upside the head.

But I digress.  Since I've gotten...we'll just say "older"...I DO in fact have to worry about what I put into my body.  And for various reasons.  Reason number one being that what I eat directly affects the size of my backside. 

No, seriously.  Something in my body chemistry changed.  Weight comes on sooner and easier and comes off later and harder.  It's just a fact of life.

Two years ago Chris and I went hardcore on the South Beach Diet.  It was the first diet that I did that actually worked.  And don't you dare say, "That's just like the Atkin's Diet!!!  OMGEEEEE, Danielle, are you trying to kill yourself??!  That diet is suuuper unhealthy!!!"

Because you would be wrong, my friend.

Yes, you cut carbs.  But not all of them.  And yes, you eat protein.  But not just bacon and steak.

The SB Diet taught me what it means to change my lifestyle.  After all, THAT'S what a GOOD diet does.  It teaches you how to turn a set of rules that works for you into a lifestyle that you are able and willing to adhere to for the rest of your...well, LIFE.

At this point in my life, I probably eat about 50% vegetables, 35% protein and 15% carbs.  I only eat good carbs, i.e. whole grains, beans and NO POTATOES.  (Shhh...I still have french fries about once a month.  And they are oh-so-good now that I don't eat them once or twice a week.)  I think that's a pretty good ratio.  Of the 50% vegetables, probably 3 or 4% is fruit.  I love me some vegetables though and I eat more different kinds of vegetables now than I ever have. 

What does all this mean in regards to our question of the week?  I do my best to keep my lifestyle healthy in terms of what I put into my body.

EXERCISE
I don't get nearly the exercise that I want to or should.  I do play with Jayna a LOT outside and I do keep busy.  I don't consider myself a couch potato, but I definitely don't belong in the "athlete" section either.  Truth be told, I'm still COMPLETELY TRAUMATIZED by my Mini experience that I've yet to actually try and run any sort of distance.  I've run a few times since last May, but I'm actually...scared.  Lots of memories come back that I'm not prepared to deal with yet. 

I don't really like to exercise.  I like to do activities that make me exercise without knowing.  I like to have dance parties in the living room.  Play "freezer tag" in the yard.  Help Jayna learn to ride her bike (TRUST ME...that's more exercise than it EVER should be).  Swim.  Do flips.  Do cartwheels (although I did one a few months ago and I think my pancreas is still in the wrong place).  I like to be ACTIVE.  I do not like to EXERCISE.

What does this mean?  I'd like to exercise more, but in FUN ways.  I'd also like to get to the gym about twice a week.  That's all I can commit to at this point in my life.

ALCOHOL
I probably drink too much in most peoples' eyes.  I drink beer probably twice a week, but I limit myself to a maximum of 3.  I drink wine almost everyday.  THERE.  I said it.  I have a glass of wine almost everyday.  I'm okay with that and that is pretty much all that matters.

I bring up the topic of alcohol because one of the main lifestyle changes I made when I started the SB Diet was to stop drinking beer.  For those of you who know me, you know this was a HUGE deal.  But after one month of not drinking beer, I noticed an enormous decrease around my midsection.  I lost my spare tire!!  So now I drink beer, just in greater moderation than before. 

HOBBIES vs. PARENT vs. WIFE
When I think of my health, I don't JUST think about my weight and my nutrition.  I think of my mental stability.  My emotions.  All that stuff that makes me "not crazy."  And all of those things are important to me.

It took me until Jayna was around 2 years old to finally find some sort of balance between being a parent and a spouse and a functioning member of the workforce and a housekeeper and a cook and a maid and a...and a...and a....  I could go on and on just as most of you can.  Balance is important to my health.  If I go for longer than 4 or 5 days without doing SOMETHING besides cooking and cleaning and giving baths and playing Barbies, I get a little irritable.  I need to do things.  I need to refinish furniture.  I need to paint on canvas.  I need to scrapbook.  I need to garden.  I need to be a PERSON.  With my OWN interests and feelings and thoughts.  Hence the blog. :)

I think these days I do a pretty good job of The Great Balancing Act.  I am not afraid to get a babysitter for Jayna.  I am not afraid to tell Chris that he needs to help me more.  I am not afraid to spend a little extra time on doing things for ME on occasion.  I lost the guilt long ago because it was doing me ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD.

And for all you moms out there who don't take time for yourselves?  You're nuts.  DO IT.  It is important for your mental health and the happiness of your children that you be happy. :)

Where does this fit in with the topic?  Well, I view health as a comprehensive effort.  I need to take care of every part of me to be healthy.  And I'm very proud that I do these things to that end.

CHANGE?  HOW?
Well, I do need to get more exercise.  I think that things are good in moderation.  I'm getting better at that.  Instead of a whole chocolate bar to satisfy a craving, I'll eat ONE Hershey kiss.  And it works for the craving.  Instead of a whole entree at a restaurant, Chris and I share.  Those entrees can feed atleast 2 people anyway!  My biggest challenge is beer.  I like good, dark and high-calorie beer.  And I'll continue to drink it...in moderation.

How do I make these things happen?  I just have to do it.  I just have to do it.  Actions speak louder.  So do it to it!!!


What do y'all do to be healthy?  Are there changes that you're trying to make to be healthier?  What are they?

Now pop on over to Michelle, Charlotte and Nancy and see what's up with them!!  If their entries aren't published yet, I'm sure they will be soon.  Check back often!!!