Debating.....

I feel like it's been forever since I last posted anything. Oh wait, it has been forever!

Honestly, I'm debating whether or not to keep blogging. I wanted to start my blog and use it as an outlet. To express what I'm feeling, share photos and recipes, and do something that was just for me. Something fun. And blogging is fun. Really fun. When I actually feel like blogging. That's the problem. I feel like it's starting to become a chore and I don't want that. I love reading other posts but I struggle to find the time to comment enough, get myself out there more, and sit at my computer long enough to generate a post of my own. I'm so busy with work all day and my kids in the evenings that by the time I can sit down and relax all I really want to do is watch something on television and go to bed. Brothers & Sisters on Netflix is my go-to show right now......no clue how I didn't get hooked on it when it first started. It's such a great show!

Anywho, I am not really sure what I'm going to do yet but I might take a hiatus from the blogging world. We shall see.

Regardless of what I do, I will still read my favorite blogs!

29 on the 29th!

Yep, I turned 29 today! Happy Birthday to me! M asked me if it was my "dirty 30" this morning.....thank you Auntie Kara for teaching her that one. Ha.

It will be more like a birthday weekend because we aren't doing much celebrating today due to J's crazy work schedule. But, I did wake up to this on my kitchen table this morning!

Some of my favorite things.......a Kohl's gift card (which I plan to use for new running shoes), Twizzlers (I really prefer Red Vines but this will do), a Bonzai Tree (I am starting to love having plants around), and a really pretty wall hanging that I already hung in my living room. He is soooo sweet! My kids sung Happy Birthday to me while eating breakfast before work. I feel pretty lucky.

It's been a quiet day, especially because I work remotely from home. But tomorrow we plan to venture over to Corvallis for a nice dinner with friends and some ice cream. Then a BBQ at my mom's on sunday with more ice cream (ice cream cake to be exact). Sounds like fun if you ask me!

Have a fabulous weekend!

"When I was 18" - StressCase Guest Post

Hi friends! Happy hump day! I always feel silly when I say that but couldn't help it today.

I hope you're all having a lovely day. I'm sitting at my computer trying to work and wishing I was doing something much more fun. Oh the joys of being an adult! Work is a priority.

I'm guest posting over at StressCase today! The theme was "When I was 18" and I put a little twist on it for fun. Hop on over and check out the post, would ya? And browse around Casey's blog while you're at it. She is fabulous and you'll get hooked reading her posts!




Enjoy!

Meet our new furry friend!

It's Monday "Blah day" folks. No one likes Mondays, myself included. But, I'm really trying to push through the day with a smile on my face.

I hope you all had a great weekend! Ours was pretty mellow, but wonderful at the same time. J and I have been discussing getting another dog and finally took the plunge! I guess you could say it was his Father's Day gift. We didn't want a puppy. I'm not big on really hate training puppies. I loathe potty training them and going through the mess of it all. Instead we wanted to adopt a young dog but one that was already fixed, house trained, and up-to-date on shots. We lucked out and found this pretty girl, Lily! She is a 13 month old, American bulldog and Boxer mix. They actually call these half-breeds Bulloxers! Isn't she adorable? I had a Boxer while growing up and she was the best dog so my hope is that Lily will be too.

So far she seems like a great fit in our home. She is a gentle dog but has lots of energy. We already have a 7 year old golden retriever, Jake. He needed a playmate and she will certainly keep him on his toes. He tends to get lazy! She needs some training but nothing major. Just small things that we need to work on. J and the kiddos are stoked to have another dog around. I hope that she can be my jogging buddy in the near future. :)

We celebrated Father's Day on Saturday night with J's favorites: lasagna and chicken wings (nice combo, right?) and some delish turtle brownies. Sunday morning we joined my mom, step-dad, step-sister and her kiddos for brunch. Gotta love biscuits and gravy, bacon, fruit, strawberry pie, and mimosas!

I definitely indulged way too much this weekend. All that food tasted great but man did I overdo it! Time to cut back and work out extra hard this week.

  

Struggling

I've been struggling the past few days. Majorly. Probably the reason I have been MIA. Like all week. As mentioned before, J landed a great job. A really great job (and opportunity). This job is the reason we moved 2 hours from where we were previously living. It was a great fit for him. He has been in training for awhile and so far it's been pretty good. Key phrase being "so far."

The very unfortunate situation we're about to venture into is graveyard shift (insert big frowny face here). Starting next week. I'm really dreading this. I had high hopes that I would be able to handle it, and maybe eventually I will. At this moment, I'm struggling with it. I keep finding myself overwhelmed about taking on so much by myself. It's reminding me of the times I used to feel a deployment creeping up on me. This is obviously different because at least he will be home. Yet there are so many similarities. He won't be home with us 4 days out of the week.

How do I get over my feelings of being frustrated and just feel happy? I should be happy. He has this great job that has so much potential. I shouldn't be complaining. Not at all. Instead I'm dreading it and hoping it's short-lived. Which of course makes me feel awful and so selfish. I'm not a selfish person so if I detect any ounce of selfishness it makes me sad. Yet I can't help it this time.

I hope this passes soon.

If I get too stressed out, I plan to use this. Often!

Source: google.fr via Leona on Pinterest

On a happier note, we may be adding a new furry animal to our family tomorrow! Crossing my fingers it works out. My kiddos are ecstatic. If all goes well I will be sharing more about "it" very soon :)

Now it's time to enjoy some quietness, a little TV and then hit the hay. L waking me at 5:30am is getting to me. I need a good night's sleep. Stat.

Perfect Motto

Source: imgfave.com via Kristina on Pinterest

Reminding myself of this every day from now on! It's so true.

Summer Bucket List

Hi friends! Happy Tuesday! Of if you're feeling like me today it's more of a gloomy Tuesday. Not really sure why. Could be that I am really tired and majorly lacking energy today. I want to curl up on my couch for a nice nap and a movie. Not gonna happen. Unfortunately that's not on my to-do list.

Instead, I thought it would be fun to create a summer bucket list! I have so many things I would really like to do this summer and writing them down will help me remember what they are. I have the worst memory. There are days when I feel bored and need something to do. Now I won't have any excuses or a reason to say I have nothing to do. Whether it's something we do as a family or just us adults, each one will be tons of fun and I can't wait to start crossing things off my list!

Without further ado, here are the 20 things I would like to do this summer:

1. Go camping.
2. Go on a hike (might be able to pair this with camping!).
3. Go to a farmer's market.
4. Go to the zoo.
5. Go to an amusement park.
6. Go on a bike ride (or several - problem is I need a bike!).
7. Bake a pie (homemade of course).
8. Go to a museum.
9. Go for a walk on the beach.
10. Make an overnight trip to Portland (may have to do this for the hubster's birthday).
11. Play miniature golf.
12. Make s'mores.
13. Go Antiquing.
14. Host a fun BBQ.
15. Write our sponsor child several times.
16. Go wine tasting (I actually might be doing this next weekend!). 
17. Keep jogging (working up to my first 5k).
18. Play tag in the park with my kids.
19. Have a water balloon fight (the kids will love this).
20. Make new friends!

That's it folks! 20 things I want to do this summer. Let's hope I can cross each and every one of them off my list this summer. Crossing my fingers.

What would you put on your summer bucket list?

Dreams

Problem is, I'm not sure what my dreams are. This makes me feel sad. I can think of so many things I would be happy doing, yet I don't know what I really dream of doing. Or being for that matter. It's like it just hit me that I don't know what my aspirations are. Maybe it's time to figure it out.

On another note, dinner tonight was amazing! Of course I didn't think to pull out the camera and write it down. Big mistake on my part because it was delish. I didn't use a recipe and just kind of threw it together but it was a huge hit. I generally don't really care for pork chops, but I had some in my freezer that I needed to use. I decided to try them in the crockpot (which I had never ever done before) and let me tell you.....best choice ever! I coated them in bbq sauce, and sprinkled with chili powder, cumin, and a little garlic and slow cooked them for about 6 hours. OMG! They fell apart and were mouth watering. I will never cook pork chops any other way. Ever. I highly recommend you all try bbq pork chops in the crockpot. Right now.  Ok?

Summer = Lovely & Busy

Summer is just about here in Oregon! We have been enjoying some AMAZING weather this past week. Can't beat 70's and sunny. I know I'll take it! More rain is coming our way but hopefully summer is right around the corner because you can't beat the summer months here.

We are heading to the dunes on Saturday with my sister to enjoy some sand and the coast. My mom and stepdad are camping for the weekend so a day trip was definitely in order. Plus, J hasn't been to the Oregon dunes yet so he is in for a treat! Dunes, pine trees, and the beach all in one place! Yes, please.

Summertime also brings us a few extremely busy months. Between June and August we have Father's Day, my 29th birthday (woot, woot!), our 7th Anniversary (I really can't believe it's been so long), L's 3rd birthday, and J's 30th birthday (yep, the big 3-0). That's a lot to cram into less than 3 months! But, it also means lots of summer celebrations so I'm good with it. I think a BBQ is in order for each event. I love summer BBQs!

Here are some other summer-themed things I am loving/wishing for right now.

 

 

Hope you're all getting ready for some fun in the sun this summer! And I hope I get all of the above items this summer. I know I really, really NEED them. Haha.

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Target Discount. Say Whaaaat?!?!

Who doesn't love Target? If you don't, you're insane. I mean, they have great prices, cute clothes, and perfect items for your home. It's one of my favorite stores. Target and Kohl's are always at the top of my list. Well, today is officially J's first day at the new job. He was so ready to get back to work. I don't think I've mentioned this before but he is working for none other than.....TARGET! He is a manager for the Distribution Center out here and it's a really great job. I am beyond proud of him.

Of course working for any large corporation has major perks and Target is no different. Tons of opportunity for growth, great benefits, and a discount at Target stores (of course this is my favorite part)! I already shop there quite a bit but now it gives me an excuse to be there even more. This could be bad. Very, very bad!

To celebrate his first day on the job, I thought it would be fun to share some of the items I am dying to purchase with said discount. Haha. Not sure if J would agree with some of these or even agree that this constitutes a celebration. But, I do. And it's fun. So here are a few of my favorite items at Target right now.

I am in desperate need of a new dining table. Ok, maybe not desperate but when we have company we don't have anywhere for people to sit at our table. It's time for something larger. I would also LOVE to have a metal headboard in my room. It feels like it would complete my decor in there. Not that it's anything fancy but it suits us. Lastly, what woman doesn't want a new fun top, cute open-toed booties and a new bag for the summer?! I know I do! I especially love the bag. It screams summer to me.

This is what I am loving at Target right now......What about you? 

Happy Monday! 

Hooray for weekends!

Happy Friday peeps! TGIF sums is up for me. It's been one of those weeks. A week where my stress levels peaked majorly. Beyond the norm. Which is generally pretty high as it is. So, to say my stress levels are high means it's pretty bad. Basically, we moved and I have been searching for daycare every day with no luck. I am pretty particular when it comes to who I leave my kids with. Understandable to most moms. I just have high expectations and I wasn't finding what I had hoped for here. I even broadened my search to about a 20 mile radius. Still nothing. I reached a fork in the road where I felt that if I didn't find something soon I could risk losing my job. Which of course I didn't want to happen. Thankfully, LBCC pulled through and sent me a referral list in the area and the first place I called had openings. I popped in for a same day visit and LOVED the provider and her entire set-up! She has a great structured environment, wonderful property, and it just felt like the right fit. I snatched it up yesterday afternoon and my kids start on Monday. Close call to say the least. But, the stress is lessening now that I have that secured and I feel good about it.

Yesterday afternoon I went for a jog with my sister and then my hubster made us a yummy steak, potato and salad dinner (of course accompanied by a glass of wine) and we celebrated Mother's Day at our house a tad early. My kids couldn't wait to give me their gifts and I was okay with that! And boy was I a spoiled momma this year! Not that I am complaining because I LOVE everything. But I don't do much for myself so it was a bit more than I expected. I must rephrase, it was a ton more than I ever expected. J emphasized how important it was for that very reason....that I just don't buy myself things very often. I really do love what they all bought for me. I mean, check it out! (Excuse the not so great pics....taken with my Blackberry)

I have been waiting for one of these and he found an awesome deal!!! And I got chai latte to boot :)

The kiddos picked out these beautiful orchids for my table....love them.

And a Kindle Touch! I hope this gives me motivation to read more. 

See what I mean? Seriously spoiled! I will admit I felt a tad guilty about it because I don't spend very much on myself but J insisted that he set aside some cash and kept it a secret so I guess I will let it slide. Just this once. Haha.

Anywho, I am looking forward to this weekend. Lots of cleaning and laundry to get done, but also planning to enjoy some nice weather. Happy Mother's Day to all you fellow moms out there and have a fabulous weekend!

I promise I haven't disappeared...

Hello friends! I know, I know, you're probably thinking  "where in the heck has this girl been!". I'm not going to make excuses, except to say that life got in the way and blogging wasn't as important over the past week or so. Good news is I haven't disappeared. Just took a short break. Not all by choice. We moved last weekend. We didn't have internet for a few days and were unpacking on top of it. Enough said.

The move went pretty well, but I must say we were disappointed with the new rental we're living in. I'm one of those people that expect to get my money's worth. I paid a hefty deposit and first month's rent to move into a place that was not clean and had a jungle of a backyard. Disgust doesn't describe how I felt that first day. The house is cute. Really cute. Which is probably why I was so bummed. It has great potential. Even though it's much smaller than we would have liked, it's going to work just fine for us. But, when your kids can't even walk through the backyard for fear of what might be hiding in the treacherous weed overgrowth, that's sad. Needless to say, I wrote the landlord an email explaining my feelings and demanded discounted rent next month. It was necessary. My husband and brother-in-law (Kara's hubster) spent hours mowing and cleaning up that yard and it still looks bad. Hopefully we will have it under control soon. Everything is pretty much unpacked now and the last project to tackle is the garage. After we remove the piles of empty boxes. I hate that part. I will try to share a few pics of the house over the next few days.

The hubby starts his job in about a week and a half. We drove over on Monday afternoon and the building is huge! And pretty close to our house. He is really excited and I'm super excited for him. I'm already back to work and working remotely has it's challenges to say the least. Once we are in a routine it will be smooth sailing, but at the moment I'm struggling a little. I'm used to working alone but not from home. I will adjust. Finding daycare is another battle. We have been searching. And searching. And haven't found anything yet. We don't have much time left and I'm getting nervous. We are really picky when it comes to who will care for our children. Who isn't? We aren't huge on home daycare. I prefer preschool facilities and a structured environment. I'm just praying we find something we feel really good about soon. Otherwise who knows what we will do. Sometimes I wish I could just keep them home with me.

M had Kindergarten Orientation yesterday afternoon. Kindergarten! Seriously?! I can't believe my little girl starts big girl school in September! It really is amazing how fast the time flies. I have no doubt she will love it and do so well. She is a pretty smart cookie. :)

That's what's been up with me. What have you been up to?

Packing

This week has been a bit of an overkill in our house. Maybe not overkill per se. Just busy and a little overwhelming. Tomorrow after work we hit the road for a trip to Cali. I am ecstatic. We get to see so many family members in about 8 days. Our first stop is Temecula, CA to stay with my bro-in-law and his family. They had a new baby in February and are moving to NY this summer so the timing was right to visit before they make that big move out East. Plus my sis-in-law lives in San Diego too! Being that we lived in San Diego for so long, we have some friends in the area that we hope to say hello to as well. Mid-week we head on over to Blythe, CA (my hometown). I have not been back to Blythe in about 3 1/2 years. Crazy, I know. Living in Illinois for a few years and moving to Oregon has made it difficult and traveling with a family of 4 is pretty darn expensive these days. Which is why we are driving and not flying for this trip. Granted, gas prices are sky high. But, 4 plane tickets would have been insane. Not looking forward to the drive with the kiddos, but we will grit our teeth and it will be worth it when we're there :) I have tons of family living in Blythe and nearby that we will get to see and some of them have never met L and haven't seen M or J in over 3 years. Super excited! My grandparents are celebrating 50 years of marriage this month (amazing, right?). There will be a big party and family reunion of sorts, which is the main reason for this trip. It's going to be a busy but very rewarding and relaxing vacation for us.

Timing, however, has not really been on our side. We are moving. At the end of this month to be exact! Vacation is right smack in the middle of it. But, timing is never perfect, right? Right. Anywho, the past few days have been crazy. We finally found a rental and got that squared away. Thank goodness we don't have to pack up our house! The relocation company is moving everything for us. Woot, woot! I did not want to hunt down boxes and pack yet again for another move. I attempted to start packing for our vacation last weekend. Didn't happen. Too much laundry to do, got a flat tire that needed repairing (and has since needed repairing again and will be completely replaced today), and J had tons of homework. So, I have been slowly packing since yesterday and need to finish tonight. I am not a fan of packing. I overpack. Really overpack. I mean, how the heck can you decide exactly what you want to wear every day? I have a hard time with this. I usually bring way too many tops and shoes. J makes fun of me and begs me to put some back. I can't bring myself to do it. Even though I know some of what I bring will not be worn. I even packed too much for my kids. I may need to go through their bag again tonight to downsize. It's out of hand I tell ya! Let's hope I can work through the madness tonight and get it all done. I need this vacation.

I will most likely be MIA from the Blogosphere for the next 8-10 days. Sniff, sniff. But, I will try to pop in with a vacation update at some point. No guarantees. I will have the trusty camera with me and expect a big vacation recap when I get back with tons of pictures. Yay!

Happy Thursday ya'll! Have a fabulous day!

Guest Blogging at StressCase

Happy Tuesday!  

It's a groggy, not feeling like working kind of a day for me. Blah. BUT, I have smile on my face......why, you ask? Well, this girl is guest posting over at StressCase today for her fabulous Why We Blog week! Happy 1st Blogaversary to you Casey :) Hop on over and check out why I love to blog and check out Casey's fantastic blog (and leave her some blog love while you're at it please).

   Off to start my day. Hope yours is filled with joy :)