Thursday, October 25, 2012

What I am doing

QUOTING...everytime my husband and I watch Duck Dynasty, we come up with new quotes to use.  "My hands smell like taco meat."  "I'm like an owl.  I don't give a hoot!"  "I'm fixing to go crazy redneck up in here."  Just to name a few.


FASTING....Our church is in the middle of a series called FREEDOM.  One of the things they encouraged us to do was to give up something for the month of October.  I chose to give up facebook.  It was really hard in the beginning, but now I really don't miss it.  I deactivated my account and don't know if I will reactivate it in November.  It's been really freeing not logging on!


WAITING....For some IU basketball to start.  I am so excited about the season this year.  I get to go to a game on December 15th and cannot wait!!


READING....I just finished reading this book by one of my favorite authors, Rick Johnson.  This is a great book for women no matter how long they have been married.


WATCHING and CRYING...I have been a big fan of Parenthood since the beginning.  But this season.  Oh. My. Word.  It is really getting to me.  Every episode I cry the ugly cry while doing my elliptical machine.  Not a pretty sight!

WEARING...my new Tim Tebow New York Jets jersey.  My husband surprised me with this yesterday.  I really am not wearing it backwards; I took the picture in the mirror and couldn't figure out how to flip it.  Can't wait to wear this on Sunday!



Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Why I didn't buy Mrs. Meyers Lemon Verbena Countertop spray at Target

A few weeks ago I was in Target and decided I wanted to look at the Mrs. Meyers selection of cleaning products.  I felt like I needed to get some new cleaning supplies. After looking and smelling and pondering what to buy, I made the decision to go home and see what I had to use up first.  Good thing I did!!  Looks like I won't need to buy any cleaning supplies for a while.
One of the things I did while I was avoiding packing for our vacation was to organize my cleaning supplies.  So now that they are all organized, hopefully it will motivate me to clean more often.  So after I use up everything I already have, I can go back to Target and get that wonderfully smelling Lemon Verbana Countertop Spray!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

What I learned about Walt Disney World in October

We had the privilege of going to Orlando, Florida for seven days over the boy's fall break. I had not been to Disney World for seven years, so I had pretty much forgotten everything about the parks and rides. We had a great time with my parents and I thought I would share what I learned while down there.

 1. People say it is not crowded in October in Disney World. This is a lie. I think it was just as crowded as it was seven years ago in July.

 2. It is still very hot in October in Orlando. Like shorts and tank tops hot!

 3. The food stands will give you free ice water if you ask. I was seriously shocked at this. I don't know how many cups of ice water we consumed in seven days, but it was a lot!

 4. They do not sell gum in Disney World. My kids were very disappointed when I ran out of gum at one of the parks and they had to wait to get to our room for more.

 5. My kids love roller coasters.

 6. I wish I had an accent. It is so much fun listening to all the different accents!

 7. There are adults who spend some serious money on Halloween costumes. We went to the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party one evening and were thoroughly entertained by the costumes.

 8. Disney World is much easier without having to push a stroller. I was so thankful my kids were able to walk and keep up with us the entire trip.

 9. We averaged 18,000 steps each day at the different parks! I know this because I have been wearing a pedometer for work.

 10. After being at the mercy of the Disney World bus system for seven days, I was very excited to see my dirty, sticky, old mini van!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Christmas is Coming!

Guess what?  Christmas is coming.  I know that's a big shock to some.  But I promise you Christmas is coming.  It comes every year right around December 25th.  I know we haven't even gone trick-or-treating yet, but it seems like right after October 31st, the rest of the year flies by!  Boo-Boo, Gobble- Gobble, Ho-Ho, Happy New Year!  And then it's February of the new year.  I am reminding everyone that Christmas is coming so they can start getting ready now.

On that note I am already starting to think about our Christmas Photo Cards that we will send out this year.  I have been sending a photo card since 2005 and just love them.  I love getting them from family and friends also.  I would say I mail or give out about fifty cards each year.  In the past years, we took a family photo in front of the fireplace, but last year we had professional pictures taken in October so I used one from that photo shoot.

This year at our daughter's wedding we took a family photo and I might use that.  Although one of my sons looks kind of like an alien.  If not we will be able to take a family photo at Thanksgiving because Megan and Garret will be here from Colorado (YAY!)!!

Have you heard of Tiny Prints?  Well, they have just launched their new 2012 Holiday Collection of cards.  They have high quality products and some of the cutest styles I have ever seen.  I love that you can choose how many photos you want to include in your card, then it takes you to the available styles. You should also check out their Special Offers page to help save some money on any order.

You can also follow Tiny Prints on Pinterest where they have some really cute ideas or check out their blog for some great holiday inspiration.  I think I will have to wait until our Fall Break is over to really start looking at the card options.  Because when the kids are home, my productivity goes way down!

*Please note this is a sponsored blog post from Tiny Prints.  I have ordered from Tiny Prints before and love their products, so I am happy to share them with you!*

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Fall Break!

It's fall break time here in our town.  Our school district went to the balanced calendar schedule this year.  So we have 9 weeks of school then 2 weeks off for Fall Break.  Then this continues for Winter break and Spring break.  Very exciting times for us.  You have no idea how good it felt to sleep in this morning.  I work on Mondays and get up very early, so today was my first day to sleep in.

Because we had a very busy summer (with graduation, a wedding, and surgery) we only took a 3 day trip to Chicago and decided to save our real vacation for now.  So in a few days we are headed to Orlando, Florida and Walt Disney World.  The boys are so excited.  It has been about seven years since we were there last.  I am looking forward to sunshine and warmth (it got really cold here recently) and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

While I should be packing for our trip, I have been doing everything but.  Today I made monkey bread for the kids, then I decided I needed to organize our cough drops, then I cleaned out a cabinet (I found 8 empty ball jars and a snowflake plate).  After that I tried to get bathing suits and goggles together which led to cleaning out a towel closet.  So I will probably be packing late night before we leave.

On a totally different subject, have you checked out the new NERF fire vision football?  My boys are totally loving this new game.  They are really into back yard football with all the neighbor boys right now.  And now when it gets dark, they can play a little longer.  I love their slogan...LIGHTS OUT! GAME ON!  I totally wish we had a basement where we could turn out the lights and send the boys down there in the dark when it's raining outside.  Oh well, a girl can dream.  I was sent the Nerf Fire Vision by being a BzzAgent.  Check out their website if you want to review fun products like this!!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

When is it ever enough?

 A few months ago I was upstairs plugging away at my elliptical machine.  I have really gotten my moneys worth since January when I bought it.  I told myself that if I was going to buy a large piece of exercise equipment, I was going to use it!  So I have faithfully been exercising since January, except for the two weeks when I thought I was going to die. But I am back in the saddle again.

I have watched a lot of mindless television during the 30 to 40 minutes I exercise each night.  But there is one thing that I will remember for a very long time.  I happened to be flipping through channels and stopped on the OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) to watch Oprah interviewing Paula Deen.  What an interesting interview.  They were cracking me up with all their silly chatter and they even jumped on a trampoline in their pajamas.

The one thing that I will remember is when they got all serious and Oprah started asking Paula questions.  It went something like this.

Oprah: "When did you know everything was going to be okay for you and your boys?"

Paula: "When I still had money to go out and buy groceries the Wednesday before payday Friday."

Wow!  Talk about an eye opening conversation.  There have been times when my husband and I had extra money (when we were young, I worked two jobs, and he had a construction job with lots of perks!).  And there were times when it felt like we were broke (paying college tuition, medical bills, and just the craziness of life).  So I am no longer going to look at my savings account (or lack thereof), my retirement fund, or the college accounts (which we need to work on).  If we have money in the checkbook on Wednesday before payday Friday, we are doing just as well as Paula Deen!!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Fall is Here!!

I know September 22nd was the first official day of fall.  However I do not recognize the beginning of fall until I am able to find pumpkin ice cream.  I love pumpkin anything (muffins, bread, pie, pumpkin roll, etc...), but this pumpkin ice cream is my absolute favorite.  I now have three cartons in my freezer hidden from my children!  I see many extra minutes on the elliptical machine in exchange for all the ice cream I will be consuming.  Happy Fall to me!!