Challenge Day 28

If someone gave you $1,000 to spend on YOURSELF, what would you buy?
 

I would probably take a spiritual trip. Someplace that it's me and nature in a spa type of atmosphere. Not sure $1,000 would cover that whole trip though, so maybe I would just put it in the bank to save up for something like that :) :) :)

Images courtesy of Google 

Challenge Day 27

Your favorite meals or recipes.

You are talking to a girl that eats quite a bit of food! I go through stages of "favorites" right now I am loving chicken taquitos...I just buy them in the freezer section at Jewel, how's that for an easy recipe? :)

The best meals are the ones that are made FOR me, not BY me :) :) :) Homemade mashed potatoes and gravy are awesome! Pot Roast with extra carrots! Comfort foods!

I have a lot of great recipes, but I really just wing it most of the time. I am a stove top kinda girl, skillets are my best friend with olive oil as the nonstick base. I love putting chicken in a skillet with rosemary, sea salt and lemon juice. The family goes crazy for it! I also love stir fry type meals...just last night I took fresh cooked broccoli, frozen corn, noodles and the leftover chicken and spruced it up with some water (to keep from drying out) and lite soy sauce. Simple and tasty!!

Challenge Day 26

The best gift you’ve ever received.

Finding out I was pregnant with my firstborn child. It was a complete shock to me and something that changed my life. I went through so many emotions as I adjusted to the idea of becoming a mom even though that was something I had always wanted! Looking back, timing was perfect! I feel truly blessed!

Acilia Rhiann born 6/20/03



Challenge Day 25

Something you are looking forward to.

SUMMER! 

 It's truly my favorite time of the year and it never seems to come quick enough!! Yesterday was over 70 degrees here and that was such a sweet taste of what's to come!

I am reminiscing last summer and how me and the kids did a great passport excursion visiting all sorts of cool local places to earn stamps in our passport book :) I took loads of pictures and will share some here :)

Please note, there were over 200 pictures from a summer of fun, these are just a few of my favorites!! Such great memories and I look forward to making more this year!

Internal frenzy

Whenever something goes on in my life; my brain has a tendency to obsess over what's going on; leaving me feeling overwhelmed. The day will come (hopefully sooner rather than later) where we officially sell this home and move to a new location. There are so many factors that play a role in this and it's just too much to think about sometimes. My brain is all over the place. Have to sell the house before looking for a house. Have to get prequalified for a loan before figuring out where to look. Kinda want to look to see what's out there for what price before selling this house. I could go nuts!

In the meantime I am on a cleaning frenzy. Organizing closets to maximize the look of storage. Disposing of things I have no intention of moving to a new home. Dreaming of how we will decorate the kids rooms. Looking at every inch of my home with a scrutinizing eye to attempt to see what a buyer may see as a positive or negative. Detaching myself from a house that I have lovingly cared for as "home" for the past 6 years and feeling very alone in the process. I can't do anything without hubby yet he has jobs up to his eyeballs to keep him busy with work for the next who knows how long!

Every time we talk; it seems we are on the same page, but our methods and priorities aren't quite lined up. What's new right? :) I am praising God that *HE* knows where we will go and when, I am just praying that becomes clear to me and soon!

Here's the place we've called home for 6 years!







Challenge Day 24

Your favorite book or author.
I read a lot of self help books about marriage. Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerich, and How to Act Right when your Spouse Acts Wrong are two of my faves. I also am a new lover of the “The Power of Prayer...” books by Stormie Omartian. The Bible goes without saying. I also have a little bit of a guilty pleasure for completely shallow easy read novels! Sophie Kinsella is my favorite author for a “fun read”

Five Question Friday

 Mama M you have some fun questions; so I couldn't help but participate! :) 1. Have you ever had surgery? Yes.I did an egg donation when I was 21. Elective surgery. Non invasive.  I hemorrhaged when I had my daughter Acilia. I lost so much blood that I was pretty close to having to have a hysterectomy. My doc saved my uterus though and just went in and cleaned me out. I will say (TMI!) that it was nice postpartum not to have to bleed so much! Emergency surgery. Non invasive. Second surgery was planned. It was when I gave my husband a kidney. Elective surgery. Laporascopic and minimally invasive. 
 2. Ever ride in an ambulance?Yes. My brother was in high school football. He wasn't the one injured though :) It was my mom. She chipped her ankle bone when she stumbled on a step. I got to ride up front with the cutie EMT's! And I remember they let me "announce" our arrival at the hospital over the radio!
 3. How are you in a medical emergency? Panicked? Calm?Calm; calm; calm. I am always the one calming others too. :) All those years of panic attacks, I've learned how to keep my cool :)
 4. Do you have a garden? Flowers or veggies?Yes. We have strawberries and flowers. When we moved in, I wasn't fond of the landscaping, so I took it upon myself to yank all the mature bushes (picture me standing on the end of the shovel to break some of the firm roots! Ha!) and dug up and planted flowers and bushes of my choice. It looked GREAT when I first did it. Now the reality of keeping it looking nice has proven to be a challenge! This year I am excited to get back out there, since Miles is 3 now I think I can get some more work done without worrying about him running out of the back yard! :)
 5. When did you move out of your parents house?A few days before my 19th birthday. I was so eager to get out on my own and decorate a place of my own. The novelty wore off and I was lonely.  After about 9 months I called it a "been there; done that" and moved back home. When I was 21 I got pregnant; Al moved in when I was 8 months along. We bought our home when Acilia was 4 months old, Al put his hands to work renovating the house for about 15 months. We moved in 6 years ago.