Category Archives: Family

My Nephew’s Birthday Party!

Good evening!

I have to admit that today was a pretty good day, but the BEST part of my day was my nephew’s 13th birthday party!! It was a small, but intimate crowd and we all had a lot of fun!!

This is the birthday boy oops, birthday man!! He HATES getting his picture taken, so he really wasn’t cooperating, so I decided to post his pictures ANYWAY!! I love you, Buddy!!! πŸ˜‰

We had pizza – actually TONS OF PIZZA!!!

The guys pretty much did what all guys do – ran around, played video games, a round of laser tag, ate more pizza, cake, and then off to the nickel arcades!!! WHEW!!!

Miss V and I sat at the girls’ table – we were VERY leery of catching the DREADED BOY-COOTIES!!!!! SHOO!!! πŸ˜‰

Mom, Linda, and Jason hanging out having fun!!! He is such a MAMMA’S BOY!!! We LOVE YOU MOM!!! πŸ˜‰

and here is my FAVORITE pic of the day!! My sis, Alex, and myself!!! I just LOVE THIS GIRRRRRL!!! πŸ˜‰

I am sooo thankful that we were able to be there!! Happy birthday, Christopher!!! I hope you had a TERRIFIC TIME at your BIRTHDAY!!!! We LOVE YOU!!! πŸ˜‰

Have a FABULOUS evening!!!

You Have Your Vision Board, Now What?

Thank God it is Friday evening!! My stress level is so high, that my eye has started to twitch – NEVER A GOOD SIGN!! LOL! My go-live week, at work,Β  is technically over, BUT we have sooooo much work to do!!! I am going to have to work a little bit this weekend, but if it gets me even a little bit more caught up – it will be worth it!! I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel – WHOO! HOO!!

On a completely different note a WAAAAY more UPLIFTING NOTE: I have been getting a lot of questions that go something like this, “Ok, I have created my vision board, now what???”

So I thought that I would take a some time to answer this question! Take your vision board, a pad of paper (or journal), a pen (or a bunch of different colored pens), and go find a comfortable place to sit and write. This part may take you a little while, but in my opinion it is one of the most important parts of making your images on your vision board come to fruition. Deciding what DIRECTION you want your life to go!!

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
~Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

I know I have posted this before, but just for a refresher, here is my vision board:

Ok, so make sure you have your vision board out where you will be able to see it! Grab your blank piece of paper and write your name write in the smack dab middle of it!! Don’t write it too small – this is a mental representation of your presence in your own life – so make sure are visible!! πŸ˜‰

Next, while looking at your vision board, decide what are the top 5 or 6 things that will get you to the life that your vision board is describing??? Write those things in small descriptive sentences around your name.

Now is the fun part! On the back of this sheet of paper, you need to figure out what steps you would have to do to get each one of these goals. This may seem kind of tricky, but this is how I make this work for me:

Choose your first goal that you have written: I want to be fit, healthy, & vivacious!
Re-write it like this:Β  How can I be fit, health, & vivacious?

Then spend the next 10 minutes, 30 minutes, hour, day, week, or however long you want to give yourself just writing down ANYTHING & EVERYTHING that will make this goal a REALITY in your life!

Some of my list items could be:

  1. Exercise every day
  2. Eat more fruits and veggies
  3. See a nutritionist
  4. Get liposuction
  5. Have gastric-bypass
  6. Follow a specific diet plan
  7. Pray for a miracle
  8. Make exercise fun
  9. Take up an outdoor hobby like hiking
  10. Join walking club
  11. Get a physical trainer
  12. etc.
  13. etc.
  14. etc.

You get the idea – write IT ALL DOWN!! Not everything has to be realistic/feasible, but that crazy, zany idea might open your mind up to that ONE IDEA that clinches your mode to success!!!

Do this same thing for EACH of the goals that you have chosen!!! This may take you a while, matter-of-fact, I am sure that it will, but you are laying the FOUNDATION FOR YOUR FUTURE!!! So DON’T skimp on this step!!

WITH EVERYTHING IN ME – I KNOW YOU CAN MAKE THIS LIFE HAPPEN FOR YOU!!!

Let me know, in the comment section how this goes for you!! Even from afar, I am cheering you on!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!

A Dapper Evening!!

Good evening!!

My sister, Alex and her kiddos just left for the evening!! Since Christopher just turned 13 on Tuesday, we decided to let him choose dinner – pizza, of course!!! We played a fun game of Clue, which I haven’t done in quite a few years, and I WON!!! WHOO-HOO!! Then we went swimming, and we swam around like crazy people!!! I AM LOVING SWIMMING – it is making me feel so much stronger and more energetic!! Next a relaxing soak in the hot tub, home and a bowl full of cut-up strawberries, and I am a VERY HAPPY girl!!!πŸ˜‰

Well, last evening I spent at least an hour or so perusing the web for some inspirational outfits, to help me think about my wardrobe pieces with fresh eyes! While I was doing that, I ran across quite a few fashionable men too!! I asked my husband what his fashion style was, and his response was “functional”. BUMMER – not exactly what a girl wants to hear, but I really shouldn’t be too surprised! When we first started dating his idea of dressing up, was to wear something with less wholes in it!! πŸ˜‰ That is ok, I still love his wraggin’ muffin looking self!!!

Here are some of those Hottie-McHottie pics I found last night:

Man!! OH MAN!!! I can’t put my finger on EXACTLY what I like in men’s fashion, but I think it is the juxtaposition between rugged tough man, and old-world gentleman!! Maybe you can see that in those pictures!! If only I could find a way to somehow rub just a smidgen of these dapper men’s fashion sense onto my husband, OH WHAT A MIRACLE DAY THAT WOULD BE!!! You know, like a retro-sexual pill!! πŸ˜‰ and I am sure I am not the only woman out there thinking it!! πŸ˜‰

Have a FABULOUS evening! πŸ™‚

 

Blogging On The Commute!

Good morning!

That is right I am blogging on my way to work this morning!! Today is an early work day, but because it is so freakin’ cold here that we have had to de-ice the car twice!!! Don’t ask! πŸ˜‰

Anyway, we are almost on our way and I am just so grateful to have had the past two days off – I really needed that!! Work is going to be interesting today, since I am not sure what systems are going to be up or down when I get in this morning, HOWEVER I am having lunch with my sissy, Alex, so I AM TOTALLY EXCITED!!!
πŸ˜‰

She leaves in 8 days, I may have to start stalking her for the next 8 days, since I don’t know when I will see her next!!! I love you, Sissy!!

I got a little daring in my work outfit today, I did take a pic but unfortunately was having some technical difficulties so I will have to post it this evening!!!

Oh, I almost forgot tonight is swim night too, which has been sooooo much fun. When my neice Megan spent the night last night, my husband pointed out that she doesn’t say, let’s go exercise, she says let’s go play, so that is the new mantra that we are adopting in our house! PLAY! PLAY! PLAY! πŸ˜‰

Anyway, I am almost to work, so I will let you go! Hee! Hee! Like I am on the phone with you or something!! (Sorry, my tiredness is showing!)

Have a FABULOUS morning!!! πŸ˜‰
~Christina

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In the Home Stretch!

Good morning!!

I have to give a shout out, and a THANK YOU to my sweetie and my niece, Megan, who made pretzel sticks and other goodies yesterday!!! These are some of my favorite sweet-treats, and it is so cool to know that they are so quick and easy (AND FUN) to make!! πŸ˜‰ I get to take some for work today, and I know my co-workers will enjoy them!!!

Talking about work, you may have noticed that I am posting earlier than I normally do this morning. That is because I am in the home stretch of this CRAZY work schedule I have been keeping!!! My co-worker and I are working split-shifts for the next two weeks, and I get the earlier stretch, so I will be leaving the house by 6:30 every morning to make sure I get to work on time!!! THANKFULLY, this will eventually mean that I will be able to get home earlier, but that will probably start next week!!! Which is a very good thing because I am now tossing and turning all night thinking and dreaming about work!!! I am sure that is only because me and my co-workers ended up working ALL WEEKEND!!! WHEW!!! It’s ok, we are almost done!! πŸ˜‰

Well, I hate to post and run, but I will post again this evening!!! My self-crafted journal is done, and I will post pics of it this evening!! πŸ™‚ I am off to go finish getting ready for work!! WISH ME LUCK!!! πŸ˜‰

Have a FABULOUS day!!! πŸ˜‰

Auntie Night!!

Yesterday was the day that my niece came over to hang out with Jason and I!! I would LOVE to say that we had fun all day, UNFORTUNATELY since I had to work a large portion of the day, we haven’t had as much fun as we usually do when we get together!!! HOWEVER I did make sure to take some time to get away – we went to the park to play on all of the equipment, had some yummy pizza for dinner, and then went swimming, where we ALWAYS have fun playing!! I AM SOOOOO BEAT RIGHT NOW!!! So, in lieu of more words, I am going to share some of our time at the park with pictures.

Enjoy!!

I think that about sums it up!! πŸ˜‰

Well, we are off to go eat Uncle Jay-Jay’s FAMOUS pankcakes!!! and then off to more fun!!!

Have a FABULOUS day!! πŸ˜‰

Whistle While I Work!

Good morning!

This weekend is kind of an odd weekend for us, you see I have to work! Mind you, I can telecommute, but still!! I have to clock in at least my self-appointed 8 hours for today!!! (and then I get to do it again tomorrow!!) I think since I have to focus so much time on that today, that is all I will say about it here – for fear of depressing myself!! LOL! πŸ˜‰

Since this is not a “normal” Saturday, I have created a short “Honey-Do” list for my sweetie to accomplish today. πŸ˜€

  • Duct tape box upstairs so I can fill it for GoodWill
  • Clean kitchen
  • Gather dirty laundry – including bedding
  • Put 3 large flower pots into corner in back yard
  • Prep worm/compost bin out back
  • Tend to mini front yard (and when I say mini, I mean like 5 foot by 5 foot)

The one thing I really miss about having a house vs a condo, is that I miss having fresh veggies ever year, so I am wanting to have a small container garden out back this year. In one section I want an herb garden, and in the other section I want some simple veggie plants, like cherry tomatoes, potatoes, and maybe some spinach and dark leafy lettuce. I wanted these things last year too, but we didn’t make them a priority, so we will see what we can make of these dreams this year!!! πŸ˜‰

Does anyone have any good ideas on vegetable plants that may grow really well in a large container??

Also, my little sister, Jennifer is going to teach me about recycling – I know – WHERE THE HECK HAVE I BEEN??? I am REALLY BEHIND in this area of my life. You know GOING GREEN!?!?! Ever since watching the documentary No Impact Man, it has really been a persistent thought in my head, that I have to do more to protect my environment!! So, this is where my new found motivation is now coming from, with a renewed vigor!! πŸ˜‰

I will keep you posted of our progress!!

Oh, and did I mention – WE ARE PICKING MEGAN TODAY!!! WHOO-HOO!!!

Have a FABULOUS day!!! πŸ˜‰

Change of Plans!

Good evening!

We have had a change of plans! My niece, Megan, has strep-throat, and is contagious until she has been on antibiotics for at least 24 hours, SOOOOOOO Megan will be spending the night tomorrow night instead of tonight. BUMMER!!!

So, because of that change, I decided to work later than I had originally planned, to possibly cut down on how much I have to work on this weekend – yes, I have to work BOTH days this weekend!!!! Anyway, after work I had dinner with my sweetie, we played a few games of cards, and of course he TOTALLY KICKED MY BOOTY, but not too surprising – he ALWAYS seems to beat me at cards!!!

After closing up shop for the night, I remembered that the season premier of my FAVORITE show starts tonight, so my sweetie and I zipped up the stairs to make sure that we didn’t miss a minute. The show is called, ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ It is basically a show following the journey of celebrities investigating to discover their history and their family roots!! Tonight’s episode feature’s Vanessa Williams, and even though the show is only about halfway over, her story has already been intriguing! On her mother’s side of the family, she has learned about her great-great grandfather. He was an amazing man who was ahead of his time!! He was a colored man who was born free, married to a white woman, voluntarily joined the Army as a Union soldier to fight against slavery, and after the North won the war, it was his unit’s job to alert the southern slaves of their new found freedom, and to protect them from harm. AMAZING!!!

My dad is big into our family’s geneology. It took me a while to see the importance of that, but I must confess, I am sooo thankful for all of his hard work collecting facts, documents, stories, and pictures!! The older I get the more I realize that my past, and my family’s history is so precious to me. I LOVE being able to hold something, or see something, or read something that even though it might be generations back, I can see myself in my ancestors. A good example is my Aunt Sissy. we have never met, but I saw a picture of her when I was younger and I was SHOCKED!! I had a picture of myself that looked IDENTICAL to her – same hair, same eyes, same nose, same ears, same tilt to the head, even her hands were in the same pose as mine were! and when I go out with my aunts, which I do every couple of months, and I just LOVE soaking up the stories about my family, and what I LOVE THE MOST is when I am told about mannerisms or habits that one of my grandparents, or other relatives had, that I have too! Kind of like we have MORE THAN A GENETIC BOND!!! Like in some small way, their spirits are still with me! That is a VERY PEACEFUL FEELING!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! πŸ˜‰

Flapper Friday!!

Good morning!

Can you feel it in the air??? It’s not only Friday – it is FLAPPER FRIDAY!!! A day where I am going to borrow some of the crazy, zany, and SPECTACULARLY FUN spirit of the FLAPPERS!!!!

Tonight my niece, Megan, is coming over for Auntie Night!!! When we get together, we always plan on doing

ALL THINGS GIRLY,

because she lives with 3 BROTHERS!!! She is funny because she has recently started to complain to me that all they ever do now is “boy stuff”! HAHAHA! So AUNTIE DAY TODAY IT IS!!! πŸ˜‰

We may…

Get all DOLLED UP!!!

Take a few photos!!

Go out on the town!

Do some dancing!!!

Share secrets!

Or maybe we will just hang out and look FABULOUS!!!

I can’t wait!! Whatever we do, I KNOW we will have FUN!!! I love you, Miss Megan!!! πŸ˜‰

Have a FABULOUS day!!

A Leisurely Morning!

Good morning!

You know that leisurely morning I was hoping or yesterday? Well, I have finally found it this morning!!! YEAH!!! πŸ˜‰

I have gotten up early, showered, dressed, worked a little on decorating my journal (glitter-glue may be my NEW OBSESSION!), and now I get to spend some of my morning with you, before heading off to work!! πŸ˜‰

I was thinking last night as I was in bed ready to fall asleep about something that I have been running across a lot lately, and that is forts. Do you remember making those in your house when you were little?? Forts were a BIG part of my childhood!! I remember stealing my dad’s wool blankets, (he was in the Navy, and we had TONS of these!!!), and my mom and I would rearrange all of the living room furniture and we would build a fort out of those blankets that seemed to cover E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!! We would fill the thing with every pillow we could find, and if it were too dark inside, my mom would even set a small lamp inside so we could see. I remember her letting me read in there, and she would always bring me some kind of snack or something (sliced apples and peanut butter were a fave!) I FELT LIKE SUCH A GROWNUP!!!! LOL! πŸ˜‰ This was a tradition we continued until I was about 10 or 11 – I just LOVED small snuggly spaces – I still do, matter of fact!! πŸ˜‰

In honor of those memories, I thought I would peruse the internet and see what pics of forts that might be FABULOUS to hang out in now as an adult!!!

I think I am inspired to create a fort in my house this weekend! If I am feeling froggy and REALLY do it – I will take pics and post what I was able to come up with, with the assistance of my sidekick!! πŸ˜‰ What kind of fort could you create in your house now? Will you?

Have a FABULOUS day! πŸ˜‰