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A Random Monday!

Good evening!

I am home! YEAH!!! You know, I thought my life was pretty regimented before, but it is even more now! Who knew that was even possible!?!??? 😉 Just a warning, I can tell that tonight’s post is just going to be a jumble of random thoughts! Ok, so now that you have been warned…

I left the office this evening, a little later than I had originally planned, and headed straight to the grocery store on the way home. I had to get my grocery shopping done for the week. My list really kind of startled me, and the fact that it only cost me a cool $22 was quite a nice surprise! I picked up:

  • a half gallon of milk
  • sour cream
  • yogurt
  • a loaf of French bread
  • ground sirloin
  • fajita seasoning
  • a bottle of Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce
  • a six pack of Top Ramen (the lazy person’s yakisoba noodles (just add lean grilled protein, and a bunch of sauteed veggies)
  • Oh, and a box of tic-tacs (my sweetie stole my last box!) 😉

Ok, so I realize there is not much in the way of fruits and veggies on this list, but I just stocked up on all sorts of healthy goodies a few days ago, and my freezer is packed with more than enough lean protein to last me quite a while.

As soon as I got home, I ran upstairs, got into my jammies: plaid flannel pajama bottoms, and a black comfy tank made out of a sumptuous t-shirt material!! Next, off to say hello to my girls, put groceries away, and get started on dinner!!

Tonight I made myself a few meals this evening. I had chicken fajitas with sauteed onions and peppers – YUM!! I had enough of that left over that I was able to make myself a bowl of chicken fajita soup, and I also made a couple of meals worth of baked stuffed bell peppers, all of which will make EXCELLENT meals to take to work for lunch.

I did all of that, not because I am some kind of a super-woman, but because I really am not a big fan of cooking. I did so much of it growing up, that I kind of think of it as a really big, yucky chore!! Well, that is until I am on vacation, then put me in a great big old kitchen with someone to cook for, and I LOVE it!! 😉

I am actually having a hankering to make some brownies, or some rice crispy treats, but since I already have so many cookies in the house – THANK YOU GIRL SCOUTS – I’ve decided that I am not even going to bother!! It may take me another month or so to get through the 5 boxes I have in the house. I keep them all in the freezer so that I actually have to think about getting into them. I know that sounds crazy, but it really works for me!

Anyway, what other randomness can I share with you tonight? Well, I am totally on a Angel bender at the moment! You know the tv show? I watched episodes almost all day yesterday, and I am planning on watching a few this evening, while Pinteresting my little heart out!! 😉 I have only one more season to go, so my addiction will be over soon!! Does anyone know if there is a 12 step program for people like me??

“Hi, my name is Christina, and I am an Angel-aholic!!”

“Hi, Christina!”

Yes, sad, I realize!! 😉

Do I have anymore  randomness to share? Well, I started a new book today? Well, it is really an old book, it is Deception Point by Dan Brown. I have only gotten through the first few chapters of the book, but so far it is intriguing!! I will keep you posted!

I just got a text that my sweetie has gotten himself his first counseling appointment next Monday – YEAH!!! Now, I just need to make one for myself!! A marriage takes 2 people, and that includes me too!! We are determined to work this all out! 😉 Living alone isn’t fun, I am sure, for either of us!! 😉 When you have 17 years of loving someone invested, it is not that easy to just walk away!! 😉

Onto another topic, I have gotten my chores done, except for a couple of loads of laundry that are going at the moment! I love having a clean house. It is so relaxing! That might be one of the biggest perks to living alone!! No one to clean up after!! Aaaaaah!!! 😉

Ok, that is enough of my random blathering for one evening!!

Here’s to a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

“If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!”

 

The Times They Are A-Changin’!

Good evening!

My life is getting a little bit complicated. Ok, that might be an understatement.  I guess this is what happens when you are trying to live your life a little differently! You can’t turn your life’s ship without making some new waves!!!

I am not going to go into any details, but there are some things in my life right now that are changing that are changing quickly and are completely out of my control.

Someone once told me that you should do the thing that you know you should do, but was scared to death to do, do it anyway and do it in faith. Those are the moments where God can perform great miracles in your favor!

I have seen it many times, and I depending on the fact that this is one of these moments for me. It is these moments that I have to just hang in there and have faith that God is going to guide me through to the other side of all of these changes.

I am blessed.

I am blessed.

I am blessed.

With that mantra running through my mind over and over this evening, I am going to go take care of myself by getting into bed early this evening

I hope you have a FABULOUS evening!!! ;-)

“If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!”

 

Finding Inspiration!

Good evening!

I have had a VERY nice weekend!! The house is clean, the chores are done, and I have been soaking up all sorts of inspirational and positive messages all weekend!! I have had a great time with my sweetie baking, trying new recipes, going out on the town, taking a ton of pictures, going out with our girlfriend, Rachel, and catching up! Having a nice lazy day today, re-energizing before my work week starts. The only way I can sum it up is that life is good!!

I am busy planning some new decorating projects for our little place. I am excited to get both my energy and my creative mojo back!! Some things I inspired to do/make for our little place:

  1. A faux fireplace to our master bedroom
  2. Use a long and low bookcase to create an entry way into our home
  3. Painting vertical stripes on one wall in our dining room
  4. Wallpapering a small hallway with damask paper
  5. Hanging a family/friends photo gallery up our stairway
  6. Tiling the walls in our kitchen with white subway tiles
  7. Hanging a new chandelier in our dining room
  8. Adding bead board to our kitchen island
  9. Creating a burlap wreath
  10. Creating a new tabletop for our dining room table using reclaimed barn wood
  11. Refinishing our French inspired coffee table

Hmmmm…I am sure that the sky, and my imagination are the limit! I can not wait to share my results with you!!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! 😉

 “If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

Getting Over Overwhelm!

Good morning!
I know that I do not normally post in the morning, but I had some free time this morning, and decided to not procrastinate any longer! I know that I have been MIA for a few days, and I have to confess I have just really let myself get overwhelmed with my normal daily life.

Let me back up a little bit:

The other day when I was so worried that I was going to have our place flooded, I sat at work with that thought in my head for almost 8 hours. Over and over, I kept making a mental note of what things I HAD to have saved from the first floor of the house. What both surprised, and disturbed me to know is that there isn’t much that I care about losing down here. Besides my sweetie and my two dogs, I have a chest that belonged to my grandpa – he was an artist, and it is where he kept his art pens, that I would want saved, and the other thing would be my books that live downstairs. Not all of those, but a few that I consider “friends”, I would feel sick if I lost those too.

What does that mean in the big scheme of things???

Well, what kept going through my mind as I was thinking of these “HAD TO HAVE” items, is that maybe I have surrounded myself with things that I thought were bringing me happiness, when in reality, they might just be taking up space in both my home and in my life. I don’t want things that just take up space, I want things that add joy and value to my life. Even in saying that I know that things will never really do that, only people and experiences will bring me joy and value, but I live here. This is the place that should rise up to meet me when I get home. I started to wonder if that was what was making me feel run down and overwhelmed in my life.

I literally spent all weekend wallowing about this, and pining for the life I might have been if I would have not been focusing on unimportant “things” (yes, it was a very deep weekend for me!)  This morning I woke up and decided I was done wallowing. Today is that day that I start taking some kind of action to clean it all out, clear it all out, and decide what I am going to surround myself with from now on. No more unconscious living for me, thank you very much.

So, this morning as I sit in my living room, writing all of this down, I am surrounded by all of our Christmas containers, both old and new. I am working on getting all of the Christmas decorations cleaned out and re-organized into new, un-mangled bins/drawers  so that I can help make Christmas decorating more fun, less chore. It may take me all week to get this all put away, but as in all things baby steps, baby steps.

In the meantime, I have also created a daily chore list for my sweetie and I, so we can get make the cleaning of this place a little more manageable as well. No ladies, chore charts are not just for your children any longer!! 😉 Before I zip off to work this morning, I just thought I would share this new chore chart with you!! 😉

Daily:

  • Make the bed
  • Cycle the dishes through the dishwasher
  • Wipe down stove top, counters, and microwave, if needed
  • Take the garbage out, if needed
  • Wipe down the dining room table
  • Straighten the sofa
  • Clean the dog’s water bowl, if needed
  • Fill the dog’s water bowl
  • Pack lunches
  • Empty lunch bags as soon as get home so it is ready for next days’ lunch
  • Cycle laundry, if needed
  • Remove garbage from car if needed
  • 15 minutes picking up after ourselves before heading up to bed

Whew!! between the two of us, we should be able to manage that pretty well!! and I bet it will make a nice difference on how well this place looks. I will keep you posted!!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS day! :-)

Flannel Jammy Day!

Good morning!!

As many of you may already know, I am a to-do list kind of girl! I keep to do lists for what needs to get done in my lifetime, this year, this month, this week,, and today! Even though things are getting accomplished and things are getting crossed off my lists, I have been feeling a little burnt out by it all; combine that with the fact that since my sweetie is out working today, I have the day to myself!! Aaaaaah!! 😉

So, I am declaring that today is…

FLANNEL JAMMY DAY!!!

Today is the day that I am going to put away my normal to-do list, just for the day, and replace it with a to-do list of things that I can do to gently take care of my inner self today (the key word being GENTLY)!!

Some of the things on today’s list are:

  1. Take a relaxing shower and take time to just enjoy the sensation.
  2. Wash, tone, and moisturize your face, neck, and decollete, and really take time to see yourself in the mirror.
  3. Brush and floss your teeth, don’t forget to mouthwash, this instantly makes me feel like I’m taking care of myself.
  4. Use your favorite body lotion all over to make all your bits feel baby soft.
  5. Slip into your favorite comfy jammy’s – preferably non-holey, and something you feel beautiful in.
  6. Give yourself a manicure.
  7. Give yourself a pedicure.
  8. Eat whatever whole, healthy foods you want all day today, no stress, no pressure.
  9. If you must get dressed in your real clothes, take yourself out for a casual walk where you can enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.
  10. Spend some time in the quiet just meditating.
  11. Make yourself a lovely cup of tea and snuggle up with a good book, and don’t feel guilty if you happen to doze off.
  12. Water, water, water! Keep yourself hydrated. Add a few slices of cucumber or lemon, and serve it in a chilled wine glass to make it feel special.
  13. Spend some time loving on your pets, your stress level will immediately lower.
  14. If you have kids, spend some time just observing them while they play.
  15. Join them.
  16. Smile for no reason.
  17. Spend some time writing your thoughts in a journal.
  18. Don’t be afraid to be alone. Alone time can be really nourishing to your soul.
  19. Keep the tele off today, but if you must watch something pop in  a great chick flick you have been wanting to see.
  20. If you must keep your phone on, keep it to a lower volume so as not to cause any unnecessary anxiety.
  21. Make it a point to do something you LOVE today.

What would your list look like? If you don’t have an entire Flannel Jammy Day, is there something you would like to do in just a spare hour? Half hour? 5 minutes??

As I go and thoroughly enjoy my new found Flannel Jammy Day…

Have a FABULOUS day! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

Getting Back to the Artist Within!

Good evening!

I am having the best kind of quiet evening at home!! 😉 My sweetie picked me up from work, and as soon as I got home, I got busy cooking a healthy dinner for the two of us. It was a new little ditty that I kind of dreamed up, thinking that the combo sounded really veggie-sentric, filling, but still very delicious!! For my sis,Alex, who I know will be reading this and will want to know EXACTLY what I made, this is for you!!

  • Prepare 2 servings of whole wheat angel hair pasta – enough for each person to have about 1 cup of cooked pasta!
  • Next steam about 1 1/2 cups of diced broccoli – leaving it a little on the crunchy side (just a little though!)
  • Slice 1 1/2 cups of cherry tomatoes in half
  • Cube two boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • and dice about a third of a large sweet onion

Here comes the fun part! The putting it all together!!! 😉

In a medium-sized saute pan, pour 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and heat over low to medium heat. Once heated, add 1/2 of the diced onions and sautee them until they are clear. Next add one chicken breast worth of the chunked chicken, and cover with lid, while stirring frequently to brown chicken. Keep an eye on it at this point, so you don’t accidentally dry out your chicken.

Once your chicken has cooked through, add 1/2 of the steamed broccoli, and 1/2 of the slice cherry tomatoes. Heat thoroughly. Then add 1 cup of pasta, and toss until all ingredients have been warmed back up. Add 1/2 a cup of your favorite store-bought Alfredo white sauce (we used Bertolli’s – YUMMY!!) Toss a few times to coat all ingredients!!

Serve immediately with some freshly sliced French bread, that has been sprinkled with some good olive oil and sprinkled with some fresh cracked pepper.

Let me tell you, it was ABSOLUTELY DELISH!!! 😉

This meal was TOTALLY healthy, very Weight Watchers friendly, and my sweetie LOVED it too!! Here is the kicker though, I wasn’t able to get a picture of the dish – my camera should be here within 2 weeks, I really can’t wait!! and when I make it again, I will make sure to share a pic then!! 😉

As for this evening, I am going to continue my night of flexing my creativity muscles by spending the evening up in my art studio – something I haven’t done in literally MONTHS!! and play! Play! PLAY!!

I will make sure to keep you posted!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

Getting Things Done!

Good evening!

This evening, I am working on getting my day’s to-do list done so that I can spend some additional time reading for bed this evening! I am reading two really great books at once. One book is called Living the Savvy Life, and the other book is called, The Sorceress, (book 3 of the Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel Series) !! 😉

I don’t have anything deep or profound this evening. I am just focusing on creating balance in my life for just this evening. Baby steps, baby steps!! Do a chore, do something you want to do, do something fun, do something you want to do. It is slow going, but it seems to be working!!

Jason is in the kitchen making dinner. He is grilling some barbecue chicken (one of my FAVORITES!!), and making some steamed broccoli, and steamed rice. We are going to eat well this evening! 😉

Talking about eating well, tomorrow is my very first Weight Watcher weigh in day, and I have to confess I am a little bit nervous!! I have been writing down what I eat, but not really tracking my points well. That is one of the hard things about not being able to go on the internet while at work to track my points. WW does have an app available, but unfortunately not for Blackberry – dang phone.

Which segues me nicely into the fact that my sweetie is trying to talk me into getting a new phone. I am a creature of habit, and I have grown accustomed to having my Blackberry, so I am not sure how I feel about a new phone. However, it would be really nice to have one that takes pictures, and doesn’t click when you are texting someone!! So we will see, I have been eying the new Samsung phone that is out, and an i-phone might be kind of cool, but I would have to change carriers to get an i-phone!! Hmmmm…decisions, decisions!! 😉

Anyway, I have got a few more chores this evening that need my attention, including hopping on over to my Fly Tribe’s Blog site, to check out some more of the artists who are currently participating in our blog hop!! It has been fun seeing everyone’s blogs, and getting to know all of the fun people that I have been “Flying” with!! I hope you take the time to go check them all out!! 😉

So, I am going to call it a night for now!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

A Whirlwind of Cleaning!

Good evening!

In preparation of New Years, and my goal to have the house spotless before the big sparkly ball drops at midnight – oh, wait…that didn’t sound right! Anyway, I told Jason about my clean house/New Years ideas, and surprisingly, he jumped right on the bandwagon and has been helping me clean ALL DAY!! Matter of fact, we have been cleaning like crazy fools!!! We have purged miscellaneous belongings, sorted, stacked, fluffed, buffed, fixed broken furniture, glued things back together that should have been glued back together eons ago, scrubbed bathroom mildew, swept and vacuumed floors, made beds, etc. etc. etc.

I would love to tell you that we are done and ready for the new year, but in all honesty that was only the upstairs! WHEW!!! When I think about it too much, I just get really overwhelmed and I want to throw my hands up and quit, but no! Baby steps, baby steps!! I just have to remember how much we have gotten accomplished just today!! WHOO! HOO!! 😉 Just our bedroom alone looks like it has almost doubled in size! WHO KNEW????

Anyway, I am very happy about the progress we have made today, and am not going to dwell on how much more needs to get done, but most of all I am SO THANKFUL that I do not have to do it all on my own!!! I am also hopeful that Jason and I will get done early enough tomorrow that we will be able to spend time out having fun, and ready to ring in the New Year!!!

I will make sure to keep you posted!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)

My Kindle Touch Review!

Kindle Touch

Good evening!

I am soooo excited to be on the eve of a FOUR-DAY WEEKEND!!! Seriously, I really am needing a break! 😉 Jason and I just got back from a big grocery shopping trip, and as fun as it is to shop together – it is, it is not so fun to put it all away – it isn’t, but it is such a HUGE weight off my shoulders not having to worry about what are we having for lunches, or dinners all week – it is!! 😉 Anyway, God bless my sweetie, he is in the kitchen right now putting the rest of the food away so I can spend some quiet time in my living room blogging away!! I really do LOVE that man!!

With that said, I think that is a GREAT segue for what I was really wanting to talk about this evening! My new Kindle Touch!

But first, let me back up a bit…

All season I have been telling Santa that “I want a Kindle Touch, 3G, with no ads”.

He would say to me, “Wouldn’t you like one of these?”, and I would respond, “I want a Kindle Touch, 3G, with no ads”.

“Or how about one of these things?” he would say, and I would reply, “I want a Kindle Touch, 3G, with no ads”

It has been said so many times, “I want a Kindle Touch, 3G, with no ads”, since October that I might have saved myself quite a bit of talk time if I would have just been able to push a button to let it say, “I want a Kindle Touch, 3G, with no ads”.

Now, my hubby, being the great man that he is, ordered my special gift from Amazon and there it sat wrapped under our lovely Christmas tree, weeks before Christmas. I was soooo excited, I was soooo dazzled that I was sure that Jason had not only gotten me exactly what I wanted, he even got it early!!! YEAH!!! WHATTA-MAN!!! 😉

Oh, did I mention I bought Jason the EXACT same thing that I wanted???? I was thinking we could replace both of our old, first-generation Kindles in one fell swoop.

Well, Christmas came and I was just ITCHING to get to that package – you know me I LOVE TO READ!!! Anyway, I remained patient and when I finally got to this package, I opened it and realized that Jason had gotten me the wrong thing.

Wahw-waaaahw!!

EEEEK!! I was devestated, he had ordered a Kindle Fire, which I am sure ANYONE else would have LOVED, but I want to read, and the Kindle Fire is great for watching NetFlix, and Hulu, and playing games, but I WANTED TO READ!!!!

What happened to my audio recording of  “I want a Kindle Touch, 3G, with no ads”???

Am I invisible???

Kindle Fire

After taking a chill-pill, thanking my sweetie, while continuing to smile. I gave my new Kindle Fire a tryout. I played games, (FYI: Angry Birds really is fun – REALLY!), I watched television on Hulu, and watched a couple of shows from my Netflix queue, I ordered a magazine subscription, and spent some time going through an entire Marie Claire magazine from cover to cover, and when I did get around to trying to read an actual book on the Kindle Fire, I realized where my problem was. You see, it was the day after Christmas, and I was in the car going home. I was trying to read a book, but the glare from the overcast sky was so harsh that it made it nearly impossible to read my page. By the time I got home, I had decided it was time to fess up…

“Honey, I really love you, and I LOVE that you got me such an AWESOME gift, but I want a Kindle Touch, 3G, with no ads. Can we trade gifts!?!? Well, he was very sweet, and laid back, which of course is TOTALLY him, and said sure Baby, whatever you want!

Well, since then I have been reading up a storm, and Jason is now soooo addicted to his new Kindle Fire that we may have to enroll him in a 12-step program!! I swear, I am dreaming about the Angry Birds game, I can hear him playing it so much!! 😉

We are such a perfect couple!! Thank you, Baby, I love you!! 😉

Now on to my Kindle Touch review!

Hmmm…how should I put this??

IT’S AWESOME!!!

It is small, sleek, extremely light, and easily fits into any of my bags! The pages turn so quickly, faster than if I were reading one of my paper books. There is almost ZERO glare from the lights, the sky, sunshine, etc! The e-ink is just soooo gentle on my eyes, which is such a positive thing because I am on a computer for more than 8 hours a day for my day job, and my eyes get REALLY tired!!

Anyway, the Kindle was a little tricky to figure out how to maneuver at first since there really aren’t any directions to speak of, and it is not as intuitive to use as our original first-Generation Kindle was to use, but there are great tutorials on the Amazon website! I also find that Amazon really does have a great book selection, but some of my favorite books are just not available in Kindle’s bookstore. However, probably my biggest complaint, is that I have hardback library, that I LOVE growing, and a new Kindle book, oftentimes cost just a few dollars less than a brand new hardback copy, so a lot of times, if it is a series, or an author that I happily familiar with, I have a tendency to purchase the hardback instead of purchasing an electronic copy for my Kindle.

Even with those minor downsides, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives! and this new Kindle really makes my old Kindle seem archaic, which I guess it kind of is, but seeing that it is only a few years old, that is a little odd.

I LOVE my new Kindle Touch!!

Hmmmm…now if only I can find a cute cover for it…well, I guess that will have to be a different post!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)

PS. Just for those who might be curious, I don’t receive any kind of compensation from Kindle for saying any of this! 😉

Thinking About New Years!

Good evening!

I have been doing a lot of thinking about the New Year. You know, a clean slate, a fresh new start, new beginnings. One of the things that I have been mulling over is the Chinese New Year tradition of thoroughly cleaning the house from top to bottom to sweep out any ill fortune and make way for any blessings that are going to be coming our way! Doesn’t that just sound amazing?? We can really use some good fortune right now. So, what does all this mean? Well, it means that I am going to have some serious cleaning to do over the next couple of days! I am seriously determined to get this place ready for the n New Year!!!

What about you? Do you have anything you want to do to get ready for the New Year? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)