Skin and Flowers

I just wanted to put in a little plug for this great skincare company. I have been using their products for about 6 years and just love it. Carley's Clear and Smooth Skincare is the next best thing to Proactiv (actually even better) and it's much cheaper. I ordered the two large bottles of cleanser and with that comes a bar of soap for free. But, guess what? They also threw in all of these other little freebies. They often do this. What a great company!!!

We finished those cute little Valentine's for the girls' classmates. I really like the way they turned out and also like the fact that they were homemade. Fun and cute.

Sunday Superness

So, we watched the Super Bowl as a family...no big party, but lots of little fun. John decided we need to play the squares game...not sure what it is officially called. 

Lily won the 1st and 2nd quarter, I won the 3rd quarter, and Shelly won the final quarter. Poor John did not win in the squares game. Strangely, Shelly had quite the aversion to watching the Super Bowl and walked around most of the evening telling us she was not watching the Super Bowl. Well, OK! 

We had some yummy wings for our celebration. 

I decided to wash all of the dishes in the dishwasher due to the fact that our dishwasher is currently awaiting a new door handle (I broke it off)! This was actually quite relaxing because I could watch the game while washing. 

(A collection of some of my favorite things: Tervis Tumblers, my Oneida white plates, Ikea small bowls, Dollar Tree cutting board, and Anthropologie bowls)

 

 

Then the girls and I decided to print out and create their own Valentine's for their classmates. We found this super cute idea and went to town with it. There was lots of cutting and Shelly did a really good job with it all. 

 

 

By the end of the game, the team we chose won and the Valentine's were almost done. A good night for sure.

Happy Birthday, Sis!!!

Today is my sister's birthday!!! I wish I was with her to celebrate her day. Hope that it is extra special. I miss hanging out with her...she's the best!!! Happy day, Lin!!! We love ya!!

A Purple Haze

The girls were off of school for three days and then went into school two hours late today. Goodness this snow can really cause a mess around here. So, the other day we did a little shopping on one of our snow days. They each picked out a purple ensemble at Justice. They wore their new outfits to school today and I snapped a photo of them while they were dancing this morning. Love them both so much!!!

 

 

Randomness

I haven't had much to say in the blog world of late. Thus the blog pause, but now I think I have something to say. Well, I think I have a list of very random things to say. So, here goes:

I am waning on my obsession with Facebook. More and more I am becoming bored with it. And quite frankly, I don't think anyone really cares if I just made pasta for dinner or if I love my children more than life itself. And you know why??? Because I don't really care if my long list of friends just made turkey meatloaf or if they are having trouble falling asleep. And if others were to be honest, I think they might just admit the same thing. It seems that more and more people are using status updates to impress us all with their lives and really I don't need anymore of that in my life. So, what will my next FB step be? Not sure, but for now I think I'll keep my updates on my own little blog world.

The weather went from this outside on Thursday afternoon to this on Saturday afternoon. Complete craziness! And, I for one am not into all of this snow. Others may enjoy it, but give me a sunny 100 degree day by the pool or the beach and I am happy!

  

  

 

 

  

 

With all of this snow, the girls have been home for two days and it looks like they'll be off of school again tomorrow. I love having them home. I hate the idea of making up the days.

 

  

  

 

When I see these two little letters on the back of my car, I long for home.

I am really looking forward to our Spring Break. 

I decluttered my bookshelves a bit after looking at the photo of them in a previous post. They looked a fright! And here is the photo of the shelves for my sis.

Also, I promised a picture of the after of the black spray paint on the fireplace. Love the look!!! No more hideous fakey gold/brass to contend with.

The garden girl outside took a major tumble. Her leg was all askew and she really freaked me out when I saw her in the yard the other day. Is she a sign????

Love is in the Air

This is my desktop for February!!! Those pictures we took in November by the farm office and the red door have come in handy. Happy month of Love!

My Teacher

When we were cleaning out some of the items in my parent's home back in March, I ran across numerous boxes of index cards that represented thousands of students my mother taught. Each year she asked the kids to fill out a card of information about themselves. She kept these on file and saved them. I picked up one of the many boxes and just thumbed through it. And guess what? She lead me to the card with all of my information on it from junior high. Here is the front of the card. The three A's on the card...those were my grades for the 1st and 2nd semesters of Geometry and that really big A is the grade I received from my mom in Geometry class. She was my teacher that year. And really every year before that and every since then.

Shelly's Birthday Video

Here's a little video of Shelly on her birthday morning and then a clip of her and friends at her birthday party. Lily did the little birthday party movie. She was a big help at the gathering.

Around the House

So I had a little free time on Saturday afternoon and I became obsessed with doing some craft projects. So, I tackled the magnet clips that I've had on my fridge for the past 2 years. They were a promotional item from Nasonex and I couldn't stand to look at that little Nasonex bee another minute. I attacked the clips with wrapping paper and Mod Podge and viola they were transformed. Now, they can hold the cute little calendar Shelly made and they make me happy.

I also printed out a cute little picture I found online and framed it for our hall of weird art. I loved that the bike looked so much like my bike DIY from the summer. I also loved the saying on the print...keep on moving! I also took a photo of the picture of the girls that I have on the wall with these cool adhesive frames I got through Photojojo. This part of the hallway always makes me stop and smile when I go by it and I love that it is always changing and evolving.

 

 

 

In addition, I took some pictures of one of my favorite organizing activities from the summer. I moved all of the family games out of the guest bedroom closet shelf (a place the girls can't reach) and put them into the cabinets at the bottom of the bookcases in our den. I love that they are all contained there and we can easily access them whenever we want. I am also happy that the girls have some accountability for putting the games back when they are done. 

 

 

Ok, that is how things are stacking up around here. Oh, and one more little DIY to come...John is spray painting our ugly brass accents on the fireplace to make them look better. Got the great idea from this post. I'll add some pictures of the "after" when it is completed.

 

A Friend and a Movie

As the days pass by me, I am realizing that I didn't just lose my mother in March, I lost my friend. Not all daughters are lucky enough to call their mom a friend, but I truly was. I lived with my parents for quite a long time as an adult and my parents and I forged a relationship as adults. I grew to understand my mom as a friend during that time and I took time to stop and listen to her...though not as often as the time she stopped to listen to me. As a teen, I was also very close to my mom. We didn't have many of those uncomfortable or difficult teenage days that many of my friends encountered with their parents. I was lucky. My mom was the first person I would call to share the good and the bad news. I knew she would be there with her unconditional love to help guide me and sometimes just to listen to me. I struggle with the fact that I have lost this friend. This person who was there for me. My mother was a wonderful friend. I hope that some day my girls and I will move into a relationship similar to the one I had with my mom as I became an adult. A friendship filled with love and support. I look forward to those days with my daughters and cherish the days I had with my mom.

As I write this entry, I am sitting and watching the movie, Julie & Julia. I think my mom would have really enjoyed this story. A story about a young woman who finds a purpose in her life by connecting with the food and the story of another woman while blogging about her adventures. Yes, I think she would have enjoyed it quite a bit.