Here's to an amazing New Year in 2012, full of many, many wonderful things for both you and your loved ones!
Cheers!
Much Love,
M
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Pop The Bubbly
Happy New Year Friends! I hope you have a wonderful celebration no matter what you have planned.
Here's to an amazing New Year in 2012, full of many, many wonderful things for both you and your loved ones!
Cheers!
Much Love,
M
Here's to an amazing New Year in 2012, full of many, many wonderful things for both you and your loved ones!
Cheers!
Much Love,
M
Friday, December 30, 2011
Goals for 2012
It's time. To put them down on "paper." To lay it all out there.
My goals for 2012:
1. Join a gym - I'll always belonged to a gym. After moving 2 years ago and never finding one suitable for my likes and needs I cancelled my membership and stopped going. I've been doing some exercising outside, occasional yoga in the house and a post dinner dance party here and there, but that's it. It's time to get SERIOUS.
2. Schedule and run 4 5Ks - starting with the St. Louis St. Patty's Day 5 mile which is longer than a 5K, go me!
3. Meal plan - we are HORRIBLE at this. We eat well and almost always from our own kitchen, assuming you don't count the past week or so, but we are the WORST planners when it comes to meals. With Pinterest, there is no excuse. I've tried several of the recipes the past month or so and they have all been great.
4. Budget - We kind of have one and for the past two years we said we are actually going to sit down and do a spreadsheet and try to put more money away and we still haven't. This year it's happening. We have 401Ks, IRAs, etc., but we could be doing more. Momma needs a condo at the lake and a boat and that is not going to happen any time soon unless we start saving, oh and I have student loans and a child to send to college!
5. Use Craigslist to make some extra $$ - we have so much in our basement that we never use, never touch. It just sits there collected dust and spiderwebs. For Christmas, I got the start to my new dining set and now I have my red, somewhat chipped Crate & Barrel set from my wedding registry ready to sell.
6. Finish Mia's big girl room transformation - As easy as it would be to just buy everything all at once and be done with it, those kinds of benjamins don't exist in our household, especially this time of year, so it will be a work in progress. I still need to paint her furniture, her tree (more to come on that later) and add her chandelier that I will be making from an older piece (more to come on that later). I'm trying to be thrifty with this project. No need to go buy all new stuff, except her bedding of course.
7. Organize - our kitchen and laundry room could use some assistance. I have referenced my "get your crap off the island" station once or twice before. With all the thrifty, relatively inexpensive options out there this will be so refreshing once it's complete.
8. Rebuild our deck - HUGE project. Luckily the Hubs is handling this one. It's been on our list since we moved into our house, but there is a thing called time that he doesn't have much of. It's happening this spring and we're both very excited about it. We love our deck and use it a lot in the spring and summer, so we'll be excited for the new space.
9. Breathe and SLOW down - I get caught up a lot in the day to day and what there is to always be doing. Whether at work or at home, I consistently feel like I'm being tugged in a million different directions. I would like to slow down and smell the flowers a little bit more. Time is a ticking and I'm not getting any younger. My child is growing so fast and I need to embrace her even more than I already do. And my Hubs, he and I are just trying to do what we can to provide for our amazing family and often we lose what got us here in the first place. So 2012 we will attempt to bring it back to us and focus on spending more time together. Thanks to my sister who lives close by, we are going to alternate date nights so we ensured a date night every other month. We need that time!
10. Be Inspired - There are a lot of amazing people in my day to day real life and my Twitter/Blog life. I'm very lucky and amazingly blessed. I need to feed off of all of this good energy and stay away from those that try to bring me down. I did well with this in 2011 and hope to continue.
Do you set goals for yourself? If not, why?
If so, what are you bringing to the table in 2012? What do you most hope to accomplish?
My goals for 2012:
1. Join a gym - I'll always belonged to a gym. After moving 2 years ago and never finding one suitable for my likes and needs I cancelled my membership and stopped going. I've been doing some exercising outside, occasional yoga in the house and a post dinner dance party here and there, but that's it. It's time to get SERIOUS.
2. Schedule and run 4 5Ks - starting with the St. Louis St. Patty's Day 5 mile which is longer than a 5K, go me!
3. Meal plan - we are HORRIBLE at this. We eat well and almost always from our own kitchen, assuming you don't count the past week or so, but we are the WORST planners when it comes to meals. With Pinterest, there is no excuse. I've tried several of the recipes the past month or so and they have all been great.
4. Budget - We kind of have one and for the past two years we said we are actually going to sit down and do a spreadsheet and try to put more money away and we still haven't. This year it's happening. We have 401Ks, IRAs, etc., but we could be doing more. Momma needs a condo at the lake and a boat and that is not going to happen any time soon unless we start saving, oh and I have student loans and a child to send to college!
5. Use Craigslist to make some extra $$ - we have so much in our basement that we never use, never touch. It just sits there collected dust and spiderwebs. For Christmas, I got the start to my new dining set and now I have my red, somewhat chipped Crate & Barrel set from my wedding registry ready to sell.
6. Finish Mia's big girl room transformation - As easy as it would be to just buy everything all at once and be done with it, those kinds of benjamins don't exist in our household, especially this time of year, so it will be a work in progress. I still need to paint her furniture, her tree (more to come on that later) and add her chandelier that I will be making from an older piece (more to come on that later). I'm trying to be thrifty with this project. No need to go buy all new stuff, except her bedding of course.
7. Organize - our kitchen and laundry room could use some assistance. I have referenced my "get your crap off the island" station once or twice before. With all the thrifty, relatively inexpensive options out there this will be so refreshing once it's complete.
8. Rebuild our deck - HUGE project. Luckily the Hubs is handling this one. It's been on our list since we moved into our house, but there is a thing called time that he doesn't have much of. It's happening this spring and we're both very excited about it. We love our deck and use it a lot in the spring and summer, so we'll be excited for the new space.
9. Breathe and SLOW down - I get caught up a lot in the day to day and what there is to always be doing. Whether at work or at home, I consistently feel like I'm being tugged in a million different directions. I would like to slow down and smell the flowers a little bit more. Time is a ticking and I'm not getting any younger. My child is growing so fast and I need to embrace her even more than I already do. And my Hubs, he and I are just trying to do what we can to provide for our amazing family and often we lose what got us here in the first place. So 2012 we will attempt to bring it back to us and focus on spending more time together. Thanks to my sister who lives close by, we are going to alternate date nights so we ensured a date night every other month. We need that time!
10. Be Inspired - There are a lot of amazing people in my day to day real life and my Twitter/Blog life. I'm very lucky and amazingly blessed. I need to feed off of all of this good energy and stay away from those that try to bring me down. I did well with this in 2011 and hope to continue.
Do you set goals for yourself? If not, why?
If so, what are you bringing to the table in 2012? What do you most hope to accomplish?
Thursday, December 29, 2011
My One Christmas Fail
This Christmas was AMAZING! A 2 year old might be the funnest age at Christmas. Anyway, it was magical, just as I hoped.
Christmas Eve night, we went and looked at Christmas lights and we put Mia to bed after getting the cookies, milk and carrots ready for Santa. She was excited, you could tell, especially when it came to actually settling down and going to sleep.
So we did our usual routine, jammies, brush our teeth, books, cuddles, one more kiss from Daddy and then tucked her (snug as a bug in a rug, mind you) and said Good Night. She seemed settled for the night, but with Christmas anticipation.
I quickly grabbed the remainder of the gifts from my super secret stashing area and headed downstairs to fill her stocking and finish wrapping her remaining gifts. I was getting way excited!
Within about 1.2 minutes, Mia was standing in front of my face, "Hi Momma" as I was stuffing her stocking full of goodies.
Sh*@! (Note, that is not what I actually said, I have much control thankyouverymuch). Mom Fail.
I grabbed her hand and we quietly went back to bed. This whole big girl bed thing is great and all, but um, they can get out. It was a flash back to the days when she was climbing out of her crib.
Anyway, all was quiet and good within a few minutes and we went back to our business.
Lesson learned. Mommy and Daddy need to be a little bit more patient when finishing Santa's work on Christmas Eve.
As much of a fail as it may have been, I love the excitement on Christmas Eve especially through the eyes of child, but even more so the excitement in the Hubs and I getting ready to make her morning just perfect. I think we did pretty well.
The next morning the Hubs and I were awoke (at approximately 7:00 am; it appears my child no longer sees the need to sleep past 7:30 am now that she has a big girl bed) with a, "Momma, I awake!!" as she busts open our bedroom door and runs to our bed. She was so excited to get downstairs, but first I had to remind her to go check her tree in her bedroom and make sure Santa didn't leave a little something for her there. He did. Mom win!
A Christmas morning at its absolute finest.
And that my friends, makes me the happiest Momma in the world.
Christmas Eve night, we went and looked at Christmas lights and we put Mia to bed after getting the cookies, milk and carrots ready for Santa. She was excited, you could tell, especially when it came to actually settling down and going to sleep.
So we did our usual routine, jammies, brush our teeth, books, cuddles, one more kiss from Daddy and then tucked her (snug as a bug in a rug, mind you) and said Good Night. She seemed settled for the night, but with Christmas anticipation.
I quickly grabbed the remainder of the gifts from my super secret stashing area and headed downstairs to fill her stocking and finish wrapping her remaining gifts. I was getting way excited!
Within about 1.2 minutes, Mia was standing in front of my face, "Hi Momma" as I was stuffing her stocking full of goodies.
Sh*@! (Note, that is not what I actually said, I have much control thankyouverymuch). Mom Fail.
I grabbed her hand and we quietly went back to bed. This whole big girl bed thing is great and all, but um, they can get out. It was a flash back to the days when she was climbing out of her crib.
Anyway, all was quiet and good within a few minutes and we went back to our business.
Lesson learned. Mommy and Daddy need to be a little bit more patient when finishing Santa's work on Christmas Eve.
As much of a fail as it may have been, I love the excitement on Christmas Eve especially through the eyes of child, but even more so the excitement in the Hubs and I getting ready to make her morning just perfect. I think we did pretty well.
The next morning the Hubs and I were awoke (at approximately 7:00 am; it appears my child no longer sees the need to sleep past 7:30 am now that she has a big girl bed) with a, "Momma, I awake!!" as she busts open our bedroom door and runs to our bed. She was so excited to get downstairs, but first I had to remind her to go check her tree in her bedroom and make sure Santa didn't leave a little something for her there. He did. Mom win!
A Christmas morning at its absolute finest.
And that my friends, makes me the happiest Momma in the world.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Whatcha Apping? Whatcha Reading?
I'm happy to announce I am the official owner of a brand spankin' new iPad (did I mention how much I love my Hubs and his big surprises on Christmas).
We're loving it (especially Mia). It's just as awesome as I thought it was going to be.
Now that I have tackled the playroom and am just about finished with Mia's big girl room, I'm almost ready to get reading again.
So all you iPad folks out there, I need some things from you:
1. Suggested apps that are good for toddlers
2. Suggested books that I could put on my Kindle app. I posted this same request on Twitter over the weekend and it was all about The Hunger Games. Anything else out there? Not that I'm opposed but I like variety. I'm currently finishing The Help (that I have been reading off and on for months), but once I'm done it's game on Kindle.
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
We're loving it (especially Mia). It's just as awesome as I thought it was going to be.
Now that I have tackled the playroom and am just about finished with Mia's big girl room, I'm almost ready to get reading again.
So all you iPad folks out there, I need some things from you:
1. Suggested apps that are good for toddlers
2. Suggested books that I could put on my Kindle app. I posted this same request on Twitter over the weekend and it was all about The Hunger Games. Anything else out there? Not that I'm opposed but I like variety. I'm currently finishing The Help (that I have been reading off and on for months), but once I'm done it's game on Kindle.
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
From My Family To Yours
May your day be merry and bright, full of laughter and love and may the New Year ahead be your best one yet!!
Merry Christmas!
Much Love,
M
Merry Christmas!
Much Love,
M
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Gets Your Craft On Yo
I love to craft and I freakin' love Pinterest. Not that this is new information to any of you that follow me on the regular or know me in "real" life, but me and my glue gun are becoming fast besties (can you believe I just bought one for the first time about a month ago? Me either.).
The ideas are amazing. Like a). the recipe I have found for Christmas brunch that is to mimic one of my all time favorites (will post recipe after I actually make it and taste it), b). making things for people that are getting married in the near future, aka my wonderful assistant Myrrah, c). finding fun ideas for Mia's big girl room and d). finding inspiration for my "get your crap off the island"/organization station for my kitchen.
Here's my latest craft project, Myrrah's Christmas gift.
I love how it turned out. It was so easy and it cost me all of $22. Thank you Michaels and your sales and your handy dandy coupons.
And most importantly, she loved it! Like giddy, I'm young and getting ready to get married and am so excited to see my new last name in a frame giddy. #winning
Merry Christmas Eve! Santa's almost here! I'm so excited (and so is Mia)!!!!!
The ideas are amazing. Like a). the recipe I have found for Christmas brunch that is to mimic one of my all time favorites (will post recipe after I actually make it and taste it), b). making things for people that are getting married in the near future, aka my wonderful assistant Myrrah, c). finding fun ideas for Mia's big girl room and d). finding inspiration for my "get your crap off the island"/organization station for my kitchen.
Here's my latest craft project, Myrrah's Christmas gift.
I love how it turned out. It was so easy and it cost me all of $22. Thank you Michaels and your sales and your handy dandy coupons.
And most importantly, she loved it! Like giddy, I'm young and getting ready to get married and am so excited to see my new last name in a frame giddy. #winning
Merry Christmas Eve! Santa's almost here! I'm so excited (and so is Mia)!!!!!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Merry Christmas To Me
So I ordered one of my own gifts this year. One that was supposed to be from my husband to me. I didn't want him to stress about having to order it; I'm just that awesome of a wife (ahem). And let's be honest ladies, do we really think the Hubs was going to get on etsy and actually order something from there even if it is for his one and only? Even if I had a discount code?
I needed to have it after AP posted her love for it (and a discount code) on her blog.
What DSLR owner doesn't need one is the real question.
Anyway, it came yesterday. I just told the hubs no worries, he didn't need to wrap it. Again, I'm just that awesome of a wife. He works so hard all day and I just wanted him to relax.
I heart it. A lot. And I'm pretty sure my pictures will now be better because of it.
Merry Christmas to me.
Thanks Hubs. I love you.
I needed to have it after AP posted her love for it (and a discount code) on her blog.
What DSLR owner doesn't need one is the real question.
Anyway, it came yesterday. I just told the hubs no worries, he didn't need to wrap it. Again, I'm just that awesome of a wife. He works so hard all day and I just wanted him to relax.
I heart it. A lot. And I'm pretty sure my pictures will now be better because of it.
Merry Christmas to me.
Thanks Hubs. I love you.
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