My House Obsession History

Did you know I am house obsessed?
I have been for as long as I can remember.
My Mom had this friend - Jenny Doan (who is now pretty famous I might add)
who had this house....sigh.
This house was amazing.  Like dream-a-little-dream amazing.
It wasn't in the perfect shape, it was out all by it's self on a lonely old highway, and it had a leaky upstairs claw foot bathtub that made water marks on the kitchen ceiling down below it.
But.....
I fell in love with that house.
I can still recall every nook and cranny.  Every secret little room hidden inside every closet.
I remember the built in white cabinets that held the china and was also a look through to the dining room.
My favorite was the servants ramp that went up from the kitchen to the second floor.  It was a ramp, like add a flattened cardboard box and you can slide down it kinda ramp.  Uh, yeah, we did that....a lot.
It had a very large grand mahogany staircase too.  But that wasn't near as fun.
I think it had seven bedrooms and only one bathroom on the second floor.  That's how they did it back then.
This dreamy house also had a very large laundry shoot that maybe, possibly, some children slid down instead of laundry.  Not me of course!  I would never do that.  (my three brothers may have though)

I would babysit kids while my Mom and Jenny went and played.  I think I had just as much fun playing as the Mom's did.  Talk about the best hide-and-go-seek house ever!
I remember it had huge eucalyptus trees that surrounded the property.  Every time I smell eucalyptus it brings me back to that house.  

Jenny's house was a cross between these two houses below.  

Dreamy huh?

I think the obsession was fueled by where I grew up.  

I mean I did have this house two blocks from my house, 

walking by it everyday on my way to school:

 John Steinbeck House

And the house in a town filled with houses just like it was not far away:

The Seven Gables Inn

Oh and my favorite place...ever:

 Carmel-By-The-Sea Ca

It seems I was destined to be a house lover. My Mom was and I have taught my girls to be. We love to drive around different neighborhoods to look at the houses and pretty landscaping.  It's a little harder here in Arizona.  We live in the land of cookie cutter homes and desert plants galore but sometimes, I find a gem here and there.  It makes my day!

Here are a few sites I like to look at when I need a little house obsession fix.
Enjoy!

Dwelling Gawker
Hooked on Houses
My new favorite - Tales from Carmel - up close and personal tours of houses in Carmel Ca.
My favorite little neighborhood that I can't get enough of - Agritopia
I even like this little blog - Tiny House Blog - because you never know when you may need to build a tiny house somewhere.  And man!  Can they fit a lot into a teeny tiny space.
The Lettered Cottage - has great ideas on adding charm to your house.

TBT - Planting a Memory Tree

A few years ago my Uncle wanted to plant a new orange tree in his yard.  

He thought it would be fun for the grand-kids/grand-nieces &grand-nephews 

to plant it in honor of my Grandma and my Mother.  

Plus, any excuse to get together is a good one.

So we all met at his house, my cousins and brothers, my Aunt and Uncle and all our kids.  

Aren't they a good looking bunch?  The girls outnumber the boys in this group.

Sara Jane

 Garrett and Abby - two peas in a pod

 Uncle Pete dug a hole then we shared memories of Grandma Betty and Aunt Barbara (my Mom)

Everyone brough something to put in the hole.

Little notes, rose petals from a special rose bush, little girl trinkets and i guess a sugar cookie went in there!  (I don't remember that.) Good thing we have pictures to spark a memory.

The tree being planted.  All the kids got to help.  

This is a fun idea to do every time you plant a tree.

It makes that tree have memories from the very start of it's life.

Every time we go to my Aunt & Uncles house we smile and know that tree is filled with love and sugar. (literally)

 

I brought a Dr. Pepper because we all know that was my mom's favorite. 

 We all toasted and drank Dr. Pepper at her funeral.

It was only fitting to add a bottle to the tree.

Plus, plants like caffeine and high fructose corn syrup....don't they?

Thank You Uncle Pete for thinking of this fun memory making activity.

And good luck little tree!  

We love you already.

TBT = Throw Back Thursday 

Pictures and Memories from Feb. 2010

The Chickens & a How to Make a Chicken Feeder

If you think raising chickens is going to be a piece of cake.....think again.

I thought it would be a walk in the park- get a cute coop, feed them, water them, no big deal.

Wrong!

However, high maintenance isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

Chickens are actually very fun.  

They each have a personality and we tend to get sucked outside for hours just watching them.

They are hilarious cheap entertainment. 

Man alive are they fun to watch.

I have found that I love to be outside working in the garden, watching the chickens and finding new ways to improve "Chick-Inn".  Our newest addition is the chickens feeder made out of PVC pipe.  Home Depot  and I have become very close friends these past few weeks while I make improvements to the yard and coop.

How to Make a Chicken Feeder:

All we did is buy one piece of 4" PVC and a PVC elbow.  We cut them to size and fit the two 4" pieces in between the elbow piece.  I have to admit that I didn't come up with this idea.  There are a lot of great ideas on Pinterest and YouTube to help you out.  We then added a cap to the top so water couldn't get in, cut out some holes with my husbands rotozip and tada!  Chicken feeder!
 I of course had to paint it red to match the steps and door. 

We let the chickens out early in the morning for about an hour and then again about 3pm.  (after school)
Chickens are easy in the fact that they do put them selves to bed.  At dusk they automatically march right into the coop and up the steps to their roost.  They snuggle in tight and go to sleep.  More pics to come of that phenomenon.
 

 Here is the feeder being put to good use by one of "the Dolly's". 

When planning a location for the feeder make sure it is away from sprinklers or that it might get rained on.  If the food gets wet it will turn into a rock and the chicks won't eat it.  Plus it might spoil and you don't want chickens eating rotten food.

**Update** We did end up cutting the PVC feeder so it only has two feeding holes.  There wasn't enough gravity to push the food all the way down the length of the pipe.  It is working much better now that it is shorter.**

Dot, our Barred Rock might be the Queen of the Coop.  We are watching her to make sure she doesn't turn into a meanie.  She's the only Barred Rock so it could be a possibility.  She has the softest feathers out of all of them and loves to be held and carried around by the kids.  I think chickens are like any type of pet or even a garden.  "You Have to Pay Attention" for them to survive.  Feed, water, protect and you should be just fine.♥

Sick of Being Sick

I've been sick.  Like really sick.  Like go to urgent care, specialists and more doctors trying to find out what is wrong with me.  I've been covered in hives for over a month.  Tired, grouchy, and not fun to be around.  They come and go but mostly they come and stay.  It's so frustrating to not feel good and not have an answer.  It's even more frustrating to go to doctors who have no idea how to fix it so they give you medicine to "cover up" the systems.

My thyroid has been too high then too low and I thought maybe that was it.  I looked at everything possible as a trigger: food, drinks, soaps, lotions, sun, I was going mad.  Nothing was helping.  I had an appoint for my Naturalpathic Doc today and thankfully she knew what was wrong.  I love her.  I've said this many times and I'll say it again, I love her.  Love, love, love♥  She said it was a virus.  She has had three patients with the same thing over the past six months.  It's the same family of virus' as the shingles I had a few months ago.  Great.  So I may get them again in the future just like shingles.  The bad news is that the hives last 6-8 weeks.  The good news is that I've already had the hives for 4-6 weeks.  It will be over soon.  Just knowing what is wrong with me makes me feel better.  I'm not crazy!  Whew.  Well, I'm a little crazy but normal is boring - wink.

My Dr. gave me a vitamin B-12 shot and a tincture to boost my immune system and help fight the virus off.  I headed off to get more blood work to check a few more things and hopefully I will be good to go.  The B-12 has already made me happier and given me a boost of energy.  I may need to get these more often!

Here's the deal.  Listen to your body.  You are they only one who truly knows what is going on in there.  If something isn't right find someone who can figure it out.  It could be the medical route like when I had thyroid cancer and my arthritis or it could be the natural route for hormones, balance and overall health.  I am a big believer in both.  My health needs both the traditional medical and the natural medicines to feel my best.  Thankfully I'm on the road to feeling my best......again.

*Update*
It's Sunday,  I came home on Friday and went to bed.  The B-12 shot gave me a little more energy and the tincture Dr. Jessie made is disgusting but seems to be helping.  I put oils on my feet - DoTerra On Guard  which helps fight off infections and Balance which helps balance everything out.  I woke up on Saturday to NO HIVES!  They came back a little later in the day but it was a welcome relief.  I kept the oils on my feet and Sunday - NO HIVES!  Hopefully my immune system is finally getting a handle on this and kicking those hives to the curb!

Pulling the Plug

I pulled the plug....so to speak.
 I canceled our satellite T.V.
I sent back the DVR - gasp!
I'm not going to lie, it was hard.

Not for the kids.  They didn't even know.  Again, they..didn't..even..know!  My kids aren't big T.V. watchers and if they did watch T.V. it was Netflix through our Wii.  They are play outside, swim all day, climb trees kind of kids.  I pulled the plug because I was sick of paying $70 a month for a bunch of channels and shows we didn't watch.  I could count on one hand the shows we watched on a regular basis and that didn't justify $70 a month. 

So I pulled the plugs out of all the components and sent them back. There was no going back.  We were done with paying for junk.

I lasted about three days.  Then I had some major regrets.  Did you know that if you don't have dish, or cable you can't even get regular free T.V.?  Who knew?  I missed my morning T.V.  Matt Lauer and Al Roker kept me company every day while I cleaned the kitchen and got the house fixed up.  Kelly Rippa with her non-stop chatter made the house seem less lonely when the kids were at school.  Sigh.....now there was just silence.

I couldn't take it.   My cousin Amy raved about her Roku.  My SIL raved about her Apple TV.  My bother told me to get a digital antenna.  Oh boy, what do I do?  I can now see why people keep their cable, it's so much easier!

I wasn't going to let my silent house or the cable company win. This was 2012!  The era of the digital age!

I researched out my options and I decided to go with the Roku.  You buy it once and plug it into your T.V. easy-peasy.  No monthly fee, no commitments just T.V.  This is not an advertisement for Roku.  I am not being paid for this post (although Roku if you are reading, I wouldn't mind another one!).  I like it because everything is on demand.  I just click and watch.  Pretty simple.  I will admit that I did go buy an antenna so I could get my morning fix of Matt, Al and Kelly.  All in all for the Roku and antenna - a one time fee of $85.00.  Not bad. I'm liking it and have a long list of things I will be spending that $70 a month on.

Thanks Roku!

Summer is Here

Today was the last day of school.  7th and 3rd grade DONE!  I don't know who was more excited......me or the girls.  I am ready for a relaxing no demand schedule.  Don't get me wrong.  I have things planned for us to do but there is NO homework involved and that is what makes me happy.  The girls have been saving their money for these snorkel sets they saw at Costco.  After school today we went to lunch, then to buy their new summer toy.  They swam all day happy as mermaids.

This year flew by.  I seems like the girls just started school.   My nephew Garrett's birthday was last week and I completely forgot.  When my brother texted me a reminder I thought to myself......."it's his birthday?  But he already had it this year."  I promise that's what when through my head.  It has been an entire year since he tured eight and it feels like it's been a few months.  What???

I took a break from blogging.  I wasn't happy about it but I just couldn't seem to find the time in our busy life.  It makes me sad that I missed so many little moments and I vow to try and catch up on some of them (the ones I can remember) and keep track in the future.  Since time is moving so quickly I need to make sure and keep track of what's going on around here even if my pictures are from my phone or I just pop in to write a little blurb.

What are your plans this summer and did this school year fly for you as it did for me?

Fashion Rut

 

I keep buying stripes.  

I'm drawn to them and I can't help myself. 

 I need to stop the madness. 

Want to help me? 

Where is your favorite place to shop? 

 I have lost most of my favorite shirts to darling daughter #1 and need to restock my closet.  

Thanks in advance.

The Gig is Up

It's happened.  My life as a fun Mom is officially over. 

Abby found about the Easter Bunny yesterday. 

The..day..before..Easter!

I was gone helping a friend with her garage sale. 
Abby came in and put her little face right in front of Tom's face and said,

" Dad, is the Easter Bunny real?  Tell the truth."

And he did.  He told her everything gosh darn it.  If it were me I would have lied my pants off and kept the whole thing going till she was 25.  I mean what's the fun in the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus if the kids know about it?

I guess they had a very enlightening conversation about it and Tom told her about the "secret of Christmas" and that even though Santa and the Easter Bunny aren't real, Heavenly Father and Jesus ARE real and they love her.  Abby said, "Dad I know they are real, I can feel them".  It was a very powerful teaching moment Tom said.  They decided not to tell me and to keep her knowing a secret.  But by that night she just couldn't hold it in.  She told me she knew and then we had a cute conversation about it.  I said, "so you know everything?"   She said, "yes"  i said, "does that mean the Tooth Fairy doesn't have to come now?" she got this shocked look on her face and just looked at me, then turned to Tom and looked at him like, WHAT?  YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT THE TOOTH FAIRY?!  I then turned to Tom and said those same words out loud.  He sheepishly said he forgot.  So basically the whole thing is done.  Over.  Finished.

As I was getting their baskets ready to put out from "the Easter Bunny"  I just sat there and bawled.  My heart was broken.  Sounds dumb but I lived for these holidays.  I even made some up so I could live for more holidays.  We had the Valentine Fairy, The Little Leprechaun, The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, The Birthday Fairy, and Santa Claus.  I cried and cried and the worst part was I couldn't call my Mom and ask her what to do now?  I had a major pitty party I've got to tell you.  I even cried the entire next day about it.  I would tell people at church and just start to cry.  It will be alright.  My girls were very sweet about how sad I was and said they would continue to "believe" so I could keep up with my traditions.  I'm thinking I only have about ten years until I have grand-kids and then watch out!  This Grandma is going to pull out all the stops!  Just you wait.

Blah

My house is a disaster.  Every room I walk by I see....stuff......everywhere.    Things like headbands, dirty socks, cups half full with water or juice or who knows what, shoes, papers, books and more everyday stuff.

I'm overwhelmed.  I can't find the balance between all my housewifey duties and my work wifey duties.   Maybe I will maybe I won't, who knows but for now I need to figure out a way to keep things in check around here.

Do you feel like this sometimes?

Lovely Flips

Abby doing a backflip on the trampoline

The weather has been so lovely it makes us all want to flip!

Low 80's and breezy.  

The citrus trees and flowers are in full bloom 

and the air smells like heaven.

This is why I live here. 

Naming a House

Does your house have a name?  I named my house years ago when I moved to AZ from California. Our house had a huge front garden that had a bridge you had to walk over to get to the front door.  We named it Gardenview Cottage because of the view of the garden and to remind me of home.  The houses in Carmel CA all have names like Hollyhock House, Birdsong, Canary Cottage Seahorse, and Camelot.  It's so fun to drive around Carmel and see the unique names of the cottages there.  It's my favorite place in the world!

(our front door before we made it into a dutch door)

In Victorian times people didn't have house numbers, the addresses were usually the owners name and maybe the place where the house was located or the house name and town it was in.  This was all fine and dandy until they got a new postman who didn't know anyone or the town got so big that the houses had duplicate names.

My friend lives in the cutest cottage in my favorite neighborhood here in town.  We are trying to come up with a name for her house since it would fit so perfectly with where she lives.  There are several ways to go about naming your house.  Here are a few examples:

1. Use descriptive names to describe where you live:  Sunny, Retro, Green, Shady, peaceful.
2. What's near you, Location:  Farm, Pond, Orchard, (I wish all these were outside my front door!) Hillside, berry, quail, groves, cactus, etc.
3.  What kind of home do you have? Cottage, cabin, shack, house, hut, manor, palace, retreat, cove, by-the-sea (I wish my house was by-the-sea), adobe.

Now you are ready to name your house!  Here are a few I came up with for my friend:

1. Cherry Tree Cottage (she would have to plant a cherry tree)
2. Green Haven (she has a bright apple green front door)
3. The nook ( her house is so cute and nook-ish)
4. Crown Cottage (because she has crowns everywhere inside her house)
5. Queen's Terrace (she has a cute little patio that she just finished)
6. Chickadee Haven
7. Chic Shack
8. Sunnyside Cottage (because her house is east and south facing and gets a ton of sun!)


Another great way to come up with a name for your house is to look at house plans.  they usually name each house plan with a fun name to help you fall in love with their houses.  My favorite home designer is William E. Poole  He has a lot of different house plans that make me want to move to the south and live there forever.  Some of my favorite home names by him are:
1. Belle Grove
2. Holly Ridge
3. Twin Oaks
4. Woodbridge
5. Saint Remy
6. Backyard bungalow
7. Morningside
8. Windsong
Click on the link (William E. Poole) and you can view all his amazing house plans.

Here's my favorite WEP house

So friends, does your house have a name and if not....what would you name it if you did?

Saturdays

Yesterday I had the strongest urge to blog again.  I have been so busy lately and kind of in a funk and I just haven't wanted to sit down and write.  Not anymore!  My mind is filled with blog posts that need to get out.  Funny how life is...isn't it?

Cassidy has been sick for a week.  An entire week.  Missed school, laid on the couch and has just felt awful. Today I'm being the mean mom and making her do homework all day long.  She hates me. ♥

We garage saleing this morning - it was a bust.  I bought two boxes of cool nails (the kind you hammer into things - not the kind you stick on your fingers), two water bottles (brand new of course), a Mexican blanket for Tom's Capote thing for Scouts, and just missed an amazing patio/pool furniture set that was dreamy and Potter Barn-ish.  Maybe next week will be better.

My house is clean, our pool is finally working, the weather is glorious.  Happy Saturday!

Weigh In

Happy February!  Tomorrow is my brother Kurt's birthday.  I'm going to have to think hard and long on what to get him.  Or...maybe I should just call his wife and ask her.  He's so darn creative so I need something that will WOW him!

I started a weight loss challenge x2.  My friends Mindy and Monica and I are doing weight watchers online (which is very easy to do and highly effective!).  We have to text each other on Fridays with our weight loss.  I do so much better when I know I'm doing it with friends and I have to be held accountable.  Then, on Sundays I go weigh in with another group and my friend Chelsa. They are doing it for money but I'm just going to be weighing in. (I don't have enough to lose to qualify - bummer).

By doing this weight loss challenge I've realized that I am a huge snacker.  I already know that I love to bake which get's me in trouble (thigh wise) but snacking???  I had no idea!  All those little handfuls of nuts, crackers, and chocolate covered cashews are where my big behind came from!  Sheesh.

I also am loving my green smoothies.  Yesterday I had one for lunch.  It had 1 banana, 1 orange, spinach, chard, mixed frozen berries (cherries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries) mixed with coconut water for only 1 ww point!  The 1 point came from the coconut water.  The new ww rules are all fruits and veggies are 0 points.  Whoot-Whoot!  Green smoothies will be my new best friend - 0 points and they fill you up and are so good for you.  I got my five fruits and veggies for the day in one meal.  (I eat more than five but w want's you to eat at least five)

This month is off to a great start!  Now if only the darn storage bag would come that I ordered a month ago so I could put my Christmas tree away.  If it doesn't come soon I'm going to have to resort to decorating it for Valentines day.

Blogging For Me

As you have noticed, I made my blog private.  At first it was because I had gotten behind and I didn't have time to get caught up.  Then I was talking to a friend telling him how safe blogging was and he said he could find out all kinds of stuff out about us if he wanted and that blogging wasn't that safe.  Another thing was, I just didn't think people were reading what I was writing.  (I was wrong about no one reading....I feel so loved to have had so many of you ask to be invited!)

Blogging has changed over the years.  I'm not sure I like the new blogging where there are more ads and less "real stories."  I loved learning from my fellow bloggers and now I feel like all I'm learning is where to buy sponsored products.  Sad.  I will say that I do have a few friends that are still blogging the "old" way.  It's our way of chronicling our lives, capturing the day-to-day family moments and being able to keep up with friends and family in our busy lifestyles.  I also think Pinterest has changed the way people read blogs.  I love "How To" blogs, "Craft" blogs, and "Food" Blogs.  I can now get all that off of Pinterest in a fraction of the time.  Gosh I love Pinterest!

So for me, I blog to capture our story.  I hope to someday find the time to put each year I've blogged into books.  I have one down and many more to go.  It's my journal, diary, family history and life story.  Someday my grandkids will be reading this and thinking "Grandma was fun!"  Let's hope anyway♥

I hope those that do continue to read enjoy our story.  It might not be exciting, glamorous or worthy of your time but it's our story and I will continue to write about it so I can remember it when I'm old and gray.

Love, Cara

Cold Chills and Bad Memories

This morning I ran outside to get Abby's lunchbox out of the car.  A city truck was driving by and slowing down right in front of my house.  I stopped dead in my tracks and a cold sweat started to form on my brow.  The man looked at me with my wild hair and fuzzy bathrobe and did a u-turn.  Now I was starting to panic. Was this guy here for us?  A city truck can only mean one thing.............he's here to shut off the water.

Now if you are new to this blog or you can't remember my "most embarrassing moment of 08" then please feel free to click HERE and read all about it.  It's a goody I tell you...............a goody!

Thankfully for us he continued to do that u-turn and park in front of my neighbors house.  All I could do is hold my breath and stare.  I watched him walk up to the door, leave a note and then proceed to turn off my neighbors water.  Oh the bad memories started flooding back and I suddenly got a cold chill remembering my bath in the freezing cold pool to wash the conditioner out of my hair. (I told you that story was a goodie).  I didn't know what to do?  Run after him yelling, "Can't you wait till the kids are off to school?  They will need to brush their teeth!? Nope, I stood rooted to my spot on the driveway cold seeping into my toes through my socks.  I finally went inside, made Abby's lunch feeling so bad for my neighbors.  I'm sure they just forgot to pay their water bill.  It happens to the best of us.  Right?

As I was taking Abby to school, I noticed my neighbors kids at the bus stop.  "Did they get to brush their teeth?" is all I could think as I passed them.  One will never know.

A New Begining

I am so excited about 2012.  I see a bright future for our family, new ideas to put into place and new places to see and do.  Something about the start of a new year makes me very motivated.  I love all the web has to offer to help fulfill my goals and wishes.  Here's a few I have found so far that I'm excited about:

The most amazingly delicious pizza I have ever tasted.....ever!  (Thanks Amy) Pioneer Woman's Fig-Prosciutto Pizza with Arugula.  I tell you what- this will change your life.  Make it and then invite me over.  Make a BIG batch of the crust because the crust is like no other.  Then make a boring old cheese pizza for the family while you enjoy this pizza.  It has everything - sweet, salty, creamy, crunchy -it's a party in your mouth! An I am a HUGE fan of a party in my mouth.

Iheart Organizing - Project Gallery (thanks Ashley)
There is a very detailed list of anything and everything you might need to organize.  I chose to organize my photo's and spent 2 1/2 hours the other night getting the pictures on my computer in tip top shape.  My bum went numb but it was worth it for sure.  I found pictures in some very random places and many duplicates but have no fear, everything is right in the world now and I am able to sleep at night (wink)   This site is going to keep me busy for months and I'm excited about it.

picture courtesy of the glitter guide

I am on a HUGE green smoothie kick over here.  I have been sneaking all kinds of weird veggies in my family's smoothies and guess what...............they still drink it!!!!  As long as that green smoothie turns pink at the end of the blending process they have agreed to partake.  Take a look at some of my smoothie pins on my pinterest board HERE.

What are some fun things you are doing for the new year?

Thoughts

I'm sitting here with not once ounce of energy left in my body.  This has been a very long, busy week filled with every possible commitment that could be crammed into it.  Why do we do that to ourselves?  I know some if it can't be helped.  A 10 page-scrapbook-book report for example.  Sometimes life is easy and other times........well lets just say, the harder the journey the stronger we get.

My house is a wreck.  I told Tom that I don't think it has been this bad since we moved in and boxes were everywhere.  It's that bad.  I have literally not picked up one thing in a week.  Seriously, I walk over the most random things on the floor and I don't even care at this point.  It's become quite comical.  For example, I looked down while talking to Tom and saw a wad of smashed cookie dough smeared into the tile and..didn't..even..bend..over..to..pick..it..up.  Like I said, it's that bad and I'm that tired. 

Tomorrow starts our fall break which means no homework, no commitments, no pressure and I am so looking forward to it.  We decided to stay close to home and I'm o.k. with that.  I wanted to go see the ocean but that can happen on another break.  The weather has finally cooled off and why would I want to leave when it's perfect weather here?  The girls were pretty disappointed until Tom told them he would give them some money and they could go to the mall.  Who knew they could be bribed so easily?  I can't wait to sleep in, lounge around and play with my little family.  Fun times are ahead.  For now, I'm off to bed.

Working Out

I went and worked out today.  I have issues with working out.  I like it for the skinny factor but I don't like having my muscles hurt along with my already hurting joints. It's a vicious cycle and a life long challenge for this girl.  I need to do it though...mind over matter I keep telling myself.  I'm not getting younger and one of the things on my 40 before 40 list is "learn to like working out".  Notice I didn't say "love".  I don't think I will ever love to workout but I am trying to like it.

Since I had my thyroid out from thyroid cancer a few years ago (has it realy been a few years?) I have noticed a change in my body.  Good and bad things have happened.

Good things: I sleep better, my arthritis is so much better (such a blessing), I have more energy.

Bad things:  I lose a lot of hair-like a lot-a lot, I can't sing anymore (ask my poor family-I still sing but it's bad), my body is changing shape but the scale stays the same (that's probably age), I have a scar, I had to add another pill to my already large number of pills I take on a daily basis. 

Is this so horrible....Nope!  Would I change anything...Nope!  This is who I am and these physical things are just a way to teach me a lesson.  And that lesson happens to be...."to like working out".  (GAG!)

Hopefully I can someday look like this girl:

(photo credit)

But right now I look more like this:

This past week I have learned that I CAN DO HARD THINGS. 
Life isn't always easy or enjoyable.  It can be stressful and upsetting and make you want to crawl under the covers and not come out.  However......it's you're attitude that makes the difference between a good day and a bad.  I agree that having a good attitude everyday is not realistic but it sure can make the day go smoother.  When Mama's happy...everyone's happy.  A Mothers attitude sets the tone of the house and it's our job to try and keep our chins up.

I went to see the Movie "How Does She Do It" on Friday.  It was the perfect ending to my very stressful, sick, maxed out week.  Man-O-Man have you got to see it...with your girlfriends, Mom, sisters whoever.  It's hilarious and oh-so-true!  How do we do it all?  I'll tell you how I do it....one day at a time.  Sometimes, one hour at a time.  My friend Mindy is the same way, which is one reason why I love her.  Planning is overrated..haha just kidding.

This week is going to be a less stressful, less full and by golly I am going to get a lot more done for me.  I told Tom that I needed to come back to work so I can be less busy. (wink)  It's so easy to say yes, yes, yes.  I love to help people and this is why my plate gets so full.  This week I am going to concentrate on things that need to get done around here, on my family and on myself.  By this time next week I'm sure I will be ready to add "service" to my list again. 

What about you?  Do you ever feel like this?

Out of the bloffice...

I have not had an ounce of energy or time for that matter to blog.  Things are crazy around here:
For one..I'm to busy to even write this from anything but my phone! Then there's.....
1.  Shadow a student day at the Jr. High (which I loved btw)
2.  A funeral
3.  Getting 437 things ready for our big craft day at church...there sure is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes so all the ladies can have fun being crafty!
4.  School projects -2 very time consuming ones.
5.  Homework, voice lessons, piano lessons, carpool, gymnastics
6.  Wood Badge, Scout outings and mutual (church youth group) for the hubs
7.  Putting on a wedding reception with 2 days notice...which beats our 7 day notice wedding reception.
8.  And that's just this week!  The icing on the cake? Week 3 of being sick.  I just can't shake this cold, cough, fever I've got.  I may have to find time to got to urgent care tomorrow.
Ok I'm done whining.  I know every Mom/wife/woman has 100 things on their plate at all times so its not fair for me to complain.  Its just that sometimes it feels more overwhelming than others.  
That reminds me...when I feel better I want to go see that new Sarah Jessica Parker movie "How Does She Do It".  I'm sure it will make me feel better.