Sometimes an ending is a perfect way to have a beautiful beginning...

Saturday, September 5, 2009

The Best Saturday I've Had in a Long Time!

Hubby is the best! I woke up this morning and he told me to go get my hair cut and my claws uh, toes done! It didn't take me long to get ready and run out the door! I went and found a new hairdresser who also happens to be a neighbor of mine and she did a great job on my hair! Then I went and grabbed a bite of lunch at Panera Bread. I just love Panera but hubby doesn't so when he's not with me I go when I can! Last summer when we were in Colorado Springs for a family reunion one of my sisters-in-law had me try a bite of her cinnamon crunch bagel from Panera. She is a baaad girl I tell ya, a very baaaad girl! She forced me to fall in love with them and to think about them with coffee. She is a little sabateur I tell ya. Baaad sister, you're a baaaad girl!   (secretly, I love you for it, shhhh)
Anyway, after being forced into Panera I went to Goodwill to see if they had anything I could paint and make pretty again for my house. They didn't but then I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and found the new Yankee candle scents, Autumn Fruit, Be Thankful, and Autumn Wreath. I have a thing for scents! I bought two tarts (you melt them in a warmer) and a car jar scent hanger. 
After all that I went to a spa I had heard nice things about and got the most delicious pedicure I've ever had! I had a private room with lights dimmed, soft relaxation music playing and I got to lie down! I also got a great massage with the pedicure from the knees down. She even used those warm stones on my legs and feet. Talk about heaven! And the result... see picture to the left! Look... no more claws I have girlie toes again!
So now I'm packing up a picnic dinner to take when we all go as a family to the park tonight! What fun... chicken salad sandwiches (recipe below), fruit and munchies eaten outside watching my girls play and hubby shoot hoops! I love time at the park! Here's to great Saturdays! 

Mindi's Chicken Salad Sandwiches

1 large can chicken
mayo to moisten
1 tsp. dill
1 small package chopped walnuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 ribs celery
salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Help! My feet need serious attention!

Hubby was home today, it's Friday. We took Bug to school as a family and then spent the rest of the day at home. I did some cleaning and then took a nice bath! How heavenly! While in there I noticed just how badly I need a pedicure... claws, I tell ya, claws! The last one I had was when we were in Palm Springs 2 months ago. Now, I do good at giving myself pedicures but it's just not the same! Plus I need my hair trimmed and my cuticles need care as well... sounds like a spa day is needed! Truth be told, I've never had a 'spa day'. I've had mani/pedis and a massage or two before but never a spa 'day'. But my claws, um, feet, may just need a day to get back into shape. It's summer and I spend entirely way too much time running around barefoot (most likely what caused my 'claw condition' now!) Hubby said I could go tomorrow for all of it if I wanted... what a sweetie! 
I'm trying to grow my hair out after an entirely way too short haircut the week of Easter. I've always had long hair but I do like to experiment with it. Hopefully there is a haircut out there that will suit me and do for letting it grow a bit too. Hubby has always loved my hair long but it's sometimes just not practical. He's been understanding! 
Bug and Daddy are talking about what to do tomorrow. They mentioned bowling or a picnic at the park and that sounds good although I wouldn't mind going to the beach since it's Labor day weekend and in my mind that's always been for saying goodbye to summer. We'll see.  That's it for now, Hubby always teases me that I write WAY too much on here. Doesn't he understand that I have to get out my 25,000 words somewhere or I'll have to spend the entire night talking HIS head off? When I told him that he thought for a second and said, "blog, good woman, blog!"

Thursday, September 3, 2009

An Asian makeover and Great Sites to Visit

Well, we woke up to baby Buglette with a cold. I just hate it when my girls are sick! She has a pretty rotten cold but the up-side is that this has made her a little snuggle-bug. She is always on the move so that when she does stop I savor every drop of her. This is one of those days! She has been wanting me to hold her and watch Sesame Street in Daddy's chair. When we're standing up and I'm holding her she lays her head on my shoulder. Now, I don't WANT her sick but I'll take the snuggles...  It is no small thing when those so fresh from God love us
I have been falling in love with so many pretty, girlie blog sites! I tried to list them here for you to see but I don't think it worked. I really want to share this treasure trove I've just discovered with you all! They are so inspiring, they make me want to paint something, make something, decorate something! So, I must list them here! Really, you all will be grateful I did, go check them out and then tell me you're not inspired as well... I dare you. Unfortunately, I'm more of a 'writer' than a great photographer and craft creator to show you anything I've done but I can decorate so I will work on the photography to show what I come up with! 
Our house is a work in progress. We bought it brand-new but it was a model home for three years before we moved in. Now, I know what you're thinking, "a model home... aren't those completely done for you?" the answer is yes and no. Yes, if you love the decorating they used and no, if you don't. Guess which one I am? Yep, I can't stand Asian decorating! I got an Asian house. So, we've been de-Asianing it ever since (is that a word? it is now). Bug's room was painted with a big black dragon on one wall and posters of Bruce Lee framed all over. She refused to sleep in it till the dragon was gone. That was project #1. Buglette's room needed to become a nursery. Project #2. We even had fake plastic sushi in the kitchen! Thank heavens for my parent's help in all the painting! The good thing about it being a model is that we got all the furniture (some we even kept!) and we got all the upgrades, so the 'bones' of the house are great but it still doesn't feel like 'me'. These blog sites have made me see what I miss and what is really me! So, stay tuned for me blogging about projects I will want to do and their progress. Till then, check these sites out, you'll be glad you did...
http://jennifer-acharminglife.blogspot.com
http://adayinthelifeofRamona.blogspot.com
http://crapemyrtlecottage.blogspot.com
http://www.allthingshouseandhome.com/
http://cherrysjubilleehome.blogspot.com/

On all these sites they show links to other great sites as well. This could go on forever...!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

It's almost Fall!

We just had dinner (crock-pot chicken, veggis, mashed potatoes) and Bug is outside playing with Buglette and a few neighbor girls from up the street. Just wanted to let you all know that the fire is going away from house so thanks for your prayers... my diet is intact!
We have had a cloudy day though, with even a bit of rain sprinkles. It makes me anxious for fall and the weather to cool off and everything that comes with it. I know I've mentioned that I'm a very seasonal person and we are heading into my favorite time of year. I just LOVE fall! I love the leaves changing, the apples ripening, the smell of fireplaces burning on the first cool day, decorating for the season, Harvest Festivals, pumpkins, hay rides and our family's annual visit to Oak Glen. Oak Glen is a small country town in our local mountains that offers apple and pumpkin picking, yummy cafes serving the best apple pie and lovely little shops. This is also the time of year I go to our church's Women's Retreat and/or Women of Faith conference. This year my mom and I are going to Women of Faith!
So you can see many reasons why I love fall. I will take some photos to post of our fall activities and of my fall decorating! We may live in So Cal but we do live in an area that has a change of seasons, thank goodness! I don't know what I would do if I couldn't look forward to the changes and even to the first snowfall! Almost time to pull out my decorations and look for fall scented candles and 'fall flavored' coffee creamers! I can't wait!!! What are your favorite things to do in fall? Let me know! 

Monday, August 31, 2009

Naked Determination

Bug didn't do it. Mom said I never did it. Neither did my brother. But Buglette definitely does it. What does she do you ask? Oh, it's bad; it's worse than taking off her shoes all the time; it's worse than being fiercely independent; it's worse than screaming at the top of her lungs when she wants to see something. "What on earth is it?!?" you're screaming... well, she strips. Yep, my fifteen month-old likes to take off all her clothes down to her diaper. I have no idea why. Is she hot? Is she bored? Is she itchy? Does she love her physique? (she does have a cute physique if I do say so myself, not that I'm partial) Is she proud that she can do it? This last explanation is most likely the correct one. She is doing things that I would expect a two-year-old to do, not a fifteen month- old so I'm assuming that when she finds out she can do something new and that mommy usually does for her she is pretty proud of herself. Of course, the frustration hit when she couldn't get herself dressed again... shorts on the head doesn't cut it, even she knows this. But heaven knows, she tried and tried, oh, and tried again. I love that girl's determination! But me telling her "bring the clothes to Mommy, I'll help you", just made her mad, I could hear her saying in her curl-covered head, "No, Mommy, I DO IT MYSELF"! So, needless to say, she went naked except for the diaper for the rest of the morning. I hope this naked phase doesn't last long!
We are in the throws of fire-season here in So Cal. There's a pretty huge fire burning the hills behind our house on the other side. It's probably about 5-7 miles 'as the crow flies' from us. We aren't worried, yet, but are praying for our neighbors in the neighboring town from us who are. The smoke and ash are thick like blankets of smelly, hot snow. The helicopters and water dropping planes make our once-quiet area sound like a war zone. The last time I went through anything like this I was a child of maybe eight years of age. We lived back up against hills in a different part of So Cal and I remember the soot and ash falling on our neighborhood. As a kid, you have little regard for the true danger and instead I remember feeling excited at everything happening. All the dads got to be home from work and we all were outside till late in the night playing. In the morning someone went and got donuts. Talk about fun! If anything gets worse around here I'll have to go get a few dozen to share with my neighbors as we watch the hills burn. Please pray I get to stick to my diet...  
 

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Date night and Picture Day

Hubby and I got to go out on date-night last night. We went to Claim Jumper's and shared a nice meal (they have such huge portions) and then we went to see The Time Traveler's Wife. It was really good although Hubby was disappointed there were no guns, lasers, car chases or aliens. I enjoyed it and since we usually see what he wants to see it was great to have it be my choice this time! 
I also finished my book The Queens of Freeville. It was good but I felt that Amy Dickinson (the author) could've used more info at the end. She just sort of ended it, leaving me wanting more about the ending she left. I must find a new book to start... any suggestions?
Bug starts fourth grade tomorrow! I can't believe it! She's so excited and so happy to go back. We've been getting ready for a few weeks. It'll be just Buglette and I home till 3pm! We are going to miss her! My grandmother and I took the girls to get their pictures done a few days ago... what a hoot! We couldn't get Bethany to hold still and smile for anything. I would put her into place, tell the photographer to get ready, run to behind the camera and begin this bizarre dance/noises to get her to smile. I must've looked like a desperate woman because the next thing I know there are people watching us. Okay, they weren't watching anyone but me make a fool of myself trying to keep a very active 15 month-old still AND smiling! Buglette would sort of look at me as if to say, "oh please tell me this isn't my mother for the next 18 years"! By the time we left I was exhausted, sweaty (too much information?) and DONE. When we started to look at the photos on the shop's computer I was ready to just say 'nevermind, I don't think we got anything worth looking at' when up came some very sweet and cute photos of my beautiful girls! I will post some when they come in!
 We got up and went to church this morning and then had a nice brunch after. Our pastor was on fire this morning, 'preaching' instead of teaching his message and it was awesome... the best message and delivery we've heard in a long time. He would occasionally wipe the sweat from his brow telling us he was giving us everything he had to give. 
My best-girlfriend-in-cahoots gave me this daily planner that is hilarious. The pictures are of these sweet, put-together women from the 50s and 60s with witty, sarcastic sayings to go with them. I want to share some with you but I'm afraid that without the pictures they won't be understood. If I find some that are I will add them to the blogs. You will hear more about this friend and I in future blogs (I need to make sure she's okay with me using her name!) and we get into some seriously funny scrapes. We've been in stitches so many times before, shooting margaritas out our noses, not caring who's looking! Together we make a laughing, mischievious team, ready to do anything as long as each other is by our sides. Here's to girlfriends!
"I childproofed my house but they still get in". (one of the funny sayings from the daily planner)