Tuesday's 10

1. We're getting into the hotter days of summer and I'm feeling miserable and unmotivated.  However, I still get my walks in because it makes me feel good.

2. My kitchen mojo has been lacking lately but I whipped together an awesome pancake batter for dinner last night.

3. My hubby spoils me; he bought me a FitBit Charge which I've been wearing non-stop from the minute it was fully charged out of the packaging.

4. The most difficult part of my fitness journey is logging my foods. It's also made me realize that I need to make some big changes in the food I eat.

5. I watched Saving Mr. Banks last night; I've been wanting to watch it and finally found it at the library so I checked it out. I loved it.

6. I have also been taking advantage of Netflix's DVD trial offer.  I started with the two DVDs at a time back in 2008 and when we lived in Hawaii I stopped the DVDs because we just weren't watching them fast enough to justify the cost.

7. My hubby does all of the pancake and waffle-making in our house, unless he's not here.  Even when he's not here, I rarely make pancakes or waffles. I'm just not as good at it.

8. This week's menu excites me a little bit.  I am looking forward to trying a lot of new recipes this week.

9. I planned recipes by what was on sale this week and spent less on groceries than I normally would have.  I feel pretty good about that.

10. I've only cooked with quinoa twice but this week I have THREE quinoa recipes to try.  I need more protein in my life.

Tuesday's 10

I've already made more posts this month than I did during the entire year of 2014. Yay me. HA!

It's time to visit Tuesday's 10 again.

1. My second living experience in Texas is vastly different than the first.  I LOVE it here. We have no plans of moving for quite awhile. Everything has worked out just as it was supposed to. So, when God opens the door of opportunity, you go through it and don't question the path or the timing.

2. I have become slightly stamp obsessed.  I have purchased many stamp sets since February but I'm a little bit intimidated by the thought of using them creatively.

3. Many years ago, I implemented a laundry schedule so that I could stay on task.  Confession: sometimes I put off folding the laundry for several days.

4. My favorite part of Mondays is meal planning, but, I've put that off for the last few weeks too.

5. I'm working on finding myself again.  I gained weight and I feel like I've age ten years in the last two.  It's time to work on that.

6. I received a photo session with my girls as a birthday present.  I don't like having pictures done of myself because I'm disappointed with how I look.  The pictures are beautiful and I'm thankful that my friend did this for me, knowing that I wouldn't do it for myself.

(photo credit: Focused Simplicity)

7. The time spent away from my husband during transition from HI to TX was more difficult that I imagined it would be.  It taught us a lot about communication and working together as partners. It also taught me how to do things for myself again. I wouldn't change the experience at all.

8. We got a new dog in June.  She's meant to be a therapy dog for the hubby but I think that she's claimed me as her human.  She is very mellow and lives up to her shepherding heritage.  She's protective of all of her people.

Cleo

9. On the days when my littlest is at preschool, I spend most that day being lazy. I've earned it.

10. I'm in a reading rut and I've been stuck on the same book for the last month.  It might be time to let that book go and pick up another.

Chugging along

We're almost to the midway point of summer vacation. We've had a couple of summer adventures but not many.  I think that I'm going to change that and make a short bucket list for the end of summer.  We've done a short trip to Sea World and hit the matinee but we've yet to get to the pool! I can't believe it.

I've been keeping up with some crafty stuff which surprises me. Aside from that, I feel like I haven't done anything this summer except the normal day to day housework stuff.  A lot of busy work that by itself isn't much but when added up it's a lot.

I'm going to work on a few craft projects before the end of summer; I don't know if I'll finish them.  I've got some new recipes that I've tried that I need to review and a few things to check off my San Antonio bucket list.

Yay for summertime adventures!

Celebrate Life

On July 9, 2012, I nearly lost my best friend.  I'd known her for 8 years at that point.  We'd been through countless hours of conversations and tears. We'd endured a couple of cross-country moves and she'd been a wealth of information to me as I embarked on my divorce and single parenthood journey.  We had drifted a little bit as the miles between us took their toll, but, she'd always been on my mind.

When I received the text that she was having an appendectomy and that the damage was so extensive she nearly lost her life, my own life changed.  Suddenly the miles between us didn't matter, whatever it was that had wedged itself between us didn't matter.  I thanked God for saving her and deciding that her work on Earth wasn't done.

She has been a beacon of light during my darkest moments. She has taught me to embrace the good and bad.  She has taught me to celebrate the JOY in my life and to be thankful for the CRAP that happens too.  She has taught me to stomp GLITTER everywhere because nobody can dull your sparkle.

So, today I celebrate HER.  I celebrate LIFE.  I celebrate LOVE.

Thanks Lord, for keeping her around.

Summer Blog Makeover!

Every summer I try to update the blog to summer graphics.  I think it's the most effort that I've put into my blog in the past seven months.  It's a sad reality.  So much happened over the past six months that I really should have blogged because I know that my situation isn't unique and I'm sure that I've got some insight to offer. For now I'm just going to be happy with just being able to update the graphics.  Our time in Hawaii is done forever, unless we visit again.  I'm both sad and relieved about that.  I am thankful for the lessons I learned there, but, I don't want to be in that emotional dark place again.

Here's to making a plan and sticking to it!

A hui hou!

Adventures ahead.

I don't know where to begin with the last five months.  There is so much that happened that I don't think that I could begin to cover it all in one blog post.  This blog has become a ghost-town and I'm not sure that I have the energy to keep putting effort into it.  I've tried to revive it.  I've tried to remain positive about the situations life has thrown at me, but, admittedly, I'm worn thin.

I've accomplished a lot this summer/fall/winter; I'm proud of that.  I know that it would be okay to share it with the world but I'm feeling a bit reserved about it.

It's a new year and I'm not about to make any resolutions that I can't keep up with.  I'm just living in the moment and getting excited about the adventures that life has for me.