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Friday, October 29, 2010

Think about your 'Dash'

I just got back home from a business conference in Atlanta. I had a really great time even though I missed my family terribly.

I just wanted to share with you a message that one of out speaker gave us. The speaker was actually our Senior Vice President of Human Resources. He is one of the best speakers that I have ever heard. After hearing any of his presentations; you feel like you can go out and change the world.  His message this time was "It starts with me"

Everyone has heard that if you want to make a change you have to look at yourself first. This is very true in both personal and business. He talked about if you want to change the way you act you have to first change the way that you think. You can't expect to keep speaking negative self-talk to yourself and improved. He also talked about ways to help to implement the change.

He then read a poem called "The Dash" by Linda Ellis. I had never heard this poem before but there are a few things that really stood out for me:

The Dash Poem, by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,

And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,

And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

I really wish that you all could have heard his whole presentation. Even though it was 45 minutes; he had me completely engaged. I also stopped to look at myself and see what I needed to change within myself in order to live the best "dash" that I can.

How will you spend your dash and what will it say about you?

Friday, October 22, 2010

Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee



This year we decided to start the tradition of going to go pick out our pumpkin for Halloween together. We had a really good time and baby girl actually behaved herself when we went to the pumpkin patch. I just wanted to share some of the pictures. Hope you enjoy!









How is my 2 year old already more than 3-feet (not standing up straight)?










I really like the last picture because baby girl and I have been working on learning the bumble bee song and she was excited to actually see a bee. Of course we had to sing the song too... I love moments like that.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: For the Love of Oreos

I'm from Atlanta and there are just some things when your are from the city that you would never think you would see. Well last week I had one of those moments. We went to the state fair and I saw my first pig race.  I was actually excited to get to experience this. I just had to share it with you:





Can you believe that the prize was an Oreo cookie?

Saturday, October 16, 2010

These Boots Aren’t Made for Walking




It's not very often that I get a night out with the girls but last week I went to my first concert in about 11 years. I absolutely love music! It motivates me and makes me so happy. I am one of those people who crank up the music and dances around the house while doing chores. When I say I love music; I meant 99% of all music. I listen to it all….except heavy metal (gives me a headache). Anyway, my favorite R&B singer is Monica Arnold and I have been trying to see her in concert for a while. My sorority sister(T) and I were supposed to go see her concert in Atlanta in August but those plans fell through. Well three days before the concert here in town; my husband surprised me with some tickets. Although I should have been completely and utterly excited; I honestly was lukewarm about the event. One reason I wasn't ecstatic about it was because the concert was on the college campus. I don't have the patients to deal with most of those students anymore. The second reason is because I had to be up at 4AM the next day for work.


It wasn't until the day of the concert when my sorority sister and I were shopping for an outfit; that I started to get excited. That excitement quickly faded when I tried on three pair of pants and none of them fit...I felt like I was bathing suit shopping all over again. After two hours and losing my keys in the mall; we finally made it back home to get ready to go. It is amazing how putting on some cute clothes and some makeup can change your whole mood. I knew we were going to have to wait in line so I made sure that I wore my most comfortable boots I own.


The doors to the auditorium opened at 7 and the concert started at 8. T's nephew was already on campus so he was holding a spot in line. When we go there; there were about 10 people in line in front of us…awesome. We stood in line for about 40 minutes before the finally opened the door. When we entered the auditorium we opted to stand up front near the stage instead of sitting in the bleachers. There happened to be 15 million five opening acts before Monica finally came out there. By the time the last opening act was coming on stage; my feet started killing me. T had already taken off her shoes but I had on knee high boots; which is a little harder to sneak off. When Monica came on stage; all was forgotten. I danced around and sung like I was rocking a pair of New Balance tennis shoes.


Man, did I pay for that…


The pain can back tenfold when Monica's set was done. I couldn't walk…I was in such pain. I had to take my shoes off to walk to the car and I didn't care that I had to walk through the wet grass. I just glad I didn't step on any dog poop. I got home and I was really hoping my husband would still be awake so he could carry me in the house. He was already in the bed of course. When I finally got into the bed; my feet were still throbbing. I really wanted a foot massage but I didn't think I could bear anyone touching my feet. I woke up the next day and forgot about my feet….until I stepped out of bed. My feet still hurt…What the Heck?!?


That day at work was a very long day due to lack of sleep and sore feet but it was so worth it. I am so glad that I went to the concert because I had a blast. It also worked out better for me to go the concert here in town because we were in the front row. If it would have gone to the concert in Atlanta; there would be no telling how far back I would have been. Plus the ticket were half the price of the ones in Atlanta. My husband did a good job. I knew there was a reason that I keep him around j/k. I also learned that next time I go to a concert; I will be wearing flats...

Here are a few pics from that night:









Here is Kyla wearing my boots the next day


Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Reverse Al Bundy

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it. I call this picture the reverse Al Bundy.She was sleeping so good too.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Reason I Wear Pink

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Most people assume that I wear pink because I'm a girly-girl and girly-girls like pink. This couldn't be any further than the truth for me. I just recently turned into a girly-girl. You can ask my mother that I absolutely hated pink. Blue was my favorite color...I was such a tomboy.

It wasn't until 1997 that I started liking pink. I can't really remember exactly when my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer but I remember that it changed my life forever. My grandmother was the glue that keep my dad's crazy side of the family together. When I first found out that she was diagnosed; I did not really understand the severity of the situation. I just thought she was sick, she would take some medicine and everything would be back to normal. She began to undergo chemotherapy and as a result she lost all of her beautiful hair. I think that was when I realized that it was serious and she eventually had to get a mastectomy.
The cancer went into remission and life went back to "normal"; until the cancer came back.

My 16th birthday was January 22, 1997(go ahead and do the math) and I remember my grandmother calling my to wish me a happy birthday. We had such a great conversation and I promised that I would call her the next week. I never got the chance to make that next call. Almost a week to the day; my dad comes into my room and woke me up. Before he even said anything I started crying and said "I already know". I will never forget that moment. As I write this post my eye are welling up with tears. This was the day I started wearing pink.

Ever since that day; I have been an avid breast cancer awareness supporter. I don't just support breast cancer awareness when it is October; I am a year round supporter. I am always looking to things to buy that sends a portion of the proceeds to research. I donate money to research and I hope to do a walk like the Avon breast cancer walk next year.

I would invite everyone to visit Breast Cancer Research Foundation or Susan G. Komen websites for more information and ways to get involved.

Why do you wear pink?

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Get it together

OK, so my three days off from work are almost over. Have I got myself organized? I can definitely say that I am making some progress. I am finding that I really need to put my self on a schedule. It is really helpful to be able to look and know what you have to get done day to day.

Yesterday, I tackled cleaning the house and doing laundry. I was really proud of myself. I cleaned every room in the house except for the hubby's bathroom ( I try not to ever go in there). I washed AND folded all the clothes and in the process discovered that distilled vinegar is an awesome thing (more about that later).

As far as scheduling and planning; I am currently using the planning sheets from Wanna Be Balanced Mom. I am going to make my own that are tailored to me and my family but for now  these will work.



Excuse my horrible penmanship; this is why I type everything. It is still a work in progress but I have assigned different rooms to be cleaned on certain days. Laundry to be done on Wednesday and Saturday. I also planned out all of our meals through Monday; which is grocery day. I still have a long way to go. Lets how long I can keep this up and stay on task.

Domestic Diva Attempt #1

For those of your who don't know; I don't like to cook. I will if I have to but I don't really care for it. Now baking that is a whole different thing. I would bake everyday if I had the time and energy to. Baking is so much fun for everyone involved; not to mention its so yummy. You can't lick the spoon or bowl when you're cooking.... Salmonella poisoning is just not cute.

Any who; I wanted to help the hubby out because he cooks 98.5% of the time and I know he could use a break once in a while. So I have decided that I am going to cook on my days off. While this is not a huge deal for most; it is for me. I usually cooked one every other month. So we will see how this goes. When I do cook I look for fast meals and I like to try new recipes. I have two cookbooks that I use all the time but I want to start venturing out  a little more.

So the other night I was looking on the Kraft Recipes website and saw a recipe for Velvetta Cheeesburger Mac. It looked pretty good and simple so I decided to give it a try.

The ingredient list was very simple:
1/2 pound of Velveeta Cheese
1 tsp of onion powder
2 cups of elbow macaroni
1 pound of ground beef
1/3 cup of ketchup (I was a little thrown off by this)
2 3/4 cup of water
Brown the ground beef

Add the water, ketchup onion powder and bring to a boil.
 Then add noodles cover and simmer until noodles are tender

Add the cheese and stir until cheese is melted and well blended.

finished product

It was very easy to make and only took 20 minutes to prepare. Now for the real test....how does it taste. My daughter loved it (thank God). My hubby on the other hand did not really care for the Velveeta cheese. He had one plate but did not go back for seconds. So I don't know that I would try this again. Maybe with some different cheese. I would rate this dish two spoons (out of five).



Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wordless Wednesday:Memories from Summer

This week when the temperature hit  40 degrees; It finally hit me that summer was really over. Here are a few pics from some warmer times:









My poor baby had a huge mosquito bite on her face

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Age of Aquarius...Coming to an End

I am an Aquarius and I have to admit that I think that we are one of the best signs out there...yes, I'm a little bit biased.  By nature I have a free spirit and am a very spontaneous person. All this has changed since becoming a mother. Gone are the days where you can just pick up and go. Now you have to find a babysitter, pack the diaper bag, make sure you have all her essential toys, and please don't forget the blankie.

Lately, I have been struggling to get everything done in the short amount of time that I have both at home and at work. Over the last month or so; I have fallen behind in everything. The housework, homework, studying, exercising have all suffered due to my lack of time management.

I have decided that with my next few day that I am going to try to organize my house and my life.I got a little motivation from Wanna Be Balanced Mom. I admire her for her ability to plan and organize (a skill I did not inherit). I am going to attempt to put myself on a schedule; so that I have an allotted to amount of time to get things done. I am even going to attempt to schedule our meals for the week.  I know many people who do this and it works really well for them and helps them to save money as well. The only thing that I am worried about is when something unexpected happens and throws my schedule off. I know me and I know that things like that will make me very frustrated.

We will see how things go. This goes against my very nature but I know that I  need to make a change in order to get things done. Hopefully this will also help to eliminate some of the stress that I've had lately.

Does anyone have any tips or helpful  ways to help get organized and on a schedule?

Monday, October 4, 2010

Diaries of a shopaholic in training


My daughter is only 2 1/2 and I have already passed on my shopaholic ways down to her. Every day when she wakes up and when she gets home from school she will ask to go to the store. She knows about money and understands the concept of not having enough. To make things worse. She has been swiping my debit card for at least a year now...I've created a monster mini-me.

 Well when I finally woke up this morning she immediately told me that she wanted to go to the store. She grabs both her purses puts on her shoes and sunglasses.  Lets not forget her computer and her cellphone (not a real one of course). She stood there by the door telling me that she was ready to go.

After finally talking her out of going to the store we decide to go out side so she could ride her bike. As soon as we get outside she starts walking to the truck.

Me: Kyla where are you going?

Kyla: Kyla (yes, she speaks about herself in 3rd person) go to the store.

Me: Baby, we're not going to the store today.

Kyla: Kyla wants to go to the store.

Me: Baby, mommy doesn't have any money to go to the store

Kyla: Mommy no have money?

Me: No, mommy doesn't have any money

Kyla :*reaches in her pocket* Here mommy.... *hands me a quarter*

Me: No baby, that is your money.

Kyla: No, mommy can have it cause mommy no have money.

Awww...I thought this was the sweetest thing ever. I wanted to take her to the store and buy her three new toys just for being so sweet. It is moments like thing that give me a ray of hope of making it through the terrible-twos.

Oh did I mention that I was 15 minutes late for work that day because she put my keys in her purse?

Meet Me on Monday!! 10-4-10

It is Monday again. Time to tell you know about the little idiosyncrasies that make me special. I love Meet me on Monday because there are time when I have to actually think hard about the answers. So it not only gives you a chance to know me but I get to know myself a little better as well. Enjoy!





1. What is the best dish you can make?
Any kind of dessert. I am a baker. I don't really like to cook, but I can make any kind of cake, pie or cobblers. My love of baking is probably not good for my sweet tooth but oh well.

2. How often do you change your sheets?
Honestly we only have two sheet sets for our bed that we switch out with the seasons. We wash them every two weeks though.

3. What is the longest car trip you have ever taken?
The longest road trip I've ever taken was driving from El Paso, TX back to Atlanta, GA. It took almost a whole day to to get through Texas (no state should be that big). The trip took 22 hours. Not only the length of time but driving through the desert isn't the move appealing scenery.

4. What is your favorite fruit?
My favorite fruit would have to be grapes because they make a great snack.

5. Would you rather have breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast?
I am not a big fan of eating dinner for breakfast. Breakfast is one of those meals that you can eat anytime of the day. Thank you IHOP and Waffle House.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Five Question Friday



I decided to do another Blog Hop this week and I came across this one from My Little Life


1. Did you have a pen pal when you were little (or now)? Where were/are they from?
I had several pen pals growing up. There used to be a internet service provider Prodigy that had a forum for teen looking for pen pals. I probably had 5 or 6. Most of them were from the United States. I did have one pen pal from Germany. I met her when I went over there and stayed with her family. We lost touch when she started college.

2. If you could do a different job for one day, what would it be?
For one day and one day only; I would like to be a pilot. I would love to be able to fly myself anywhere in the world.

3. Do you remember your biggest fear from when you were little?
One of the biggest fears that I had was swimming in big bodies of water. I could swim but the thought of swimming in a lake or ocean terrified me. My brother helped me get over that by pushing me into the lake while I was standing on the dock.

4. What do you think is a waste of time? Why?

I sometimes think that combing my daughters hair is a complete waste of time. The second I finish she is rolling around messing it up. I'm lucky if there is still a ponytail holder still there when I pick her up from school.

5. What is the oldest item you have in your closet?
 The oldest thing that I have in my closet is a polo shirt that I have had since the 9th grade. People at work always ask me where I got it from. It still looks good... because I know how to wash clothes (unlike the hubby).


Sweet Escape

The last time that I had the chance to go to a spa was when I was pregnant and my husband bought me a spa visit for Christmas. This should let you know that I was long over due for another visit. If any of you follow me on twitter; you know that I have been suffering from daily migraines. Along with the migraines; my neck and back have been killing me.

So I decided to splurge and treat myself to an massage and facial. I was looking forward to this for days. I couldn't wait to get a chance to escape and relax. 


I had a really good time but things did not quite go as smoothly as I would like....go figure. When I go there I signed in and was led to the locker room to change clothes. I really wanted to take some pics to show everyone but my cell phone was confiscated (am I back in third grade?). They handed me a very nice robe and a piece of fabric that I was very confused about. I assumed that it was suppose to fit on like a tub dress but it kept falling down so I figured it was just suppose to cover my bottom half. WRONG!! I totally flashed the lady. I don't know who was more embarrassed. She had to get me a smaller gown to wear and we continued on to begin my facial.

I am always worried about getting facials because I have very sensitive skin. I made sure that I let her know this before she began. Everything was going very good and my stomach started to rumble...not the I'm hungry rumble...the gas one. This couldn't really be happening to me right now. I blame the five pound of broccoli I eat a day. There was no way that I could sneak it out and her not know. I refused to mess up the lavender fragrance that was surrounding me. So what did I do? I tensed m booty up so tight you wouldn't be able to get a piece of dental floss in between my checks.

Whew, the feeling finally went away. She began to do an extraction which is where the remove the blackheads and unclogged your pores. She warned me that it might be a little painful and to let her know if I couldn't take it. Ha....who was she talking to? I have 8 tattoo and I've given birth so I was pretty sure I could handle it. Well, this was my second time being wrong. It was pretty painful and I teared up once or twice but I didn't let her know. I had never had an extraction before and she said she was having a really hard time because my pores were so blocked (ewww). My poor little nose was so red afterwards (Oh, did I mention that I now have sores on both sides of my nose?). We finally got done and I was more than ready for my massage.

I was kinda hoping for a big hunky Swedish man named Schvinn(sp) but instead I got a short lady name Ina. I'm not going to complain because she worked those little hands. She was so good that I started drooling as I was laying there....and she heard me. To put this icing on the cake as I was turning from my front to my back my gown shift and I had a nip slip. Great I flashed  two people in one day!

I had to leave them a good tip to make up for everything. I would totally understand if they did not me come back. Have you every had an embarrassing experience like this?



 
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