So it's April....

and I'm in a funk.

I just can't bring myself to blog these last few weeks.

I'm not sure why... but I wish that I knew. I feel like my head is stuck in the clouds.

A lil' MacBook photo booth is always fun. haha! 

I promise I'm trying my best to get out of it.

I've been leading a pretty lazy, low-key, under the radar kinda life lately. Nothing is going bad and everything is going well... so, I'm flat out bamboozled on my lack-of umph!

I am driving down to Florida this week with my sister-in-law. She's moving down there.  Maybe I'll come back refreshed and a blog machine from that trip. I hope so. I miss blogging...

I do better writing when I write it out in my journal first or at least outline the thoughts and then blog them. I haven't been writing at all lately. So maybe I need to carry my journal with me and get some inspiration from something... somewhere. Maybe I'll find it during my 18 hour road trip?

I mean, I committed myself to writing this blog to get me out of a funk and have something to put my energy into. Now I've found myself in another funk and on an unwanted blogging hiatus. Dud!

I just hope that I find my normal headspace this week. I really, really do. I miss it.

Photo Explosion!

While on my recent organizational rampage and closet overhaul I unleashed a beast. A photo beast!

This big, huge, mess-of-a-pile of pictures was just shoved in bags and bursting out of that one container. They are old family pictures mostly... from vacations, school events and my nieces as lil' babes. When we moved into this house I just shoved all of these pictures into a closet of an extra bedroom. With the intention of putting them in order and by occasion. When I opened the closet to start the overhaul... it came spilling out.

I couldn't just walk away from them when they all dumped out. Kelso was taking his afternoon siesta and it was a great time to get started on putting some sort of order to the pictures. I started to sort them into piles by event so that eventually all I would have to do it put them in order and get them stored properly.  After about 40 minutes Kelso woke up and I let him outside and went back to the merry world of photo sorting. Then I heard Kelso barking to be let it after his outdoor adventure. At this point, I called it a day with sorting. Closed the door to the extra bedroom and went to get the dog.

I opened the sliding door and that mutt came running into the house like he had fireworks shooting after him and bolted right to the extra bedroom. He slammed into the door, opened it, jumped on the bed and went ape-crazy with the pictures! Needless to say they are no longer in order and some of them have bite holes in them. I could have screamed! But it was easier to laugh. Those pictures have been sitting in that closet for months unorganized and before that closet another closet unorganized for years. They can wait- they're not going anywhere.

So... someday, hopefully soon and by soon I mean who knows when,  I will have those memories sorted, put in order and stored properly.  

The ABC's of me

I saw this earlier during the week while I was reading one of the blogs that I read on a day-to-day basis, The Glamorous Life of a Housewife. I thought it was a cute lil' "get to know me" kinda deal...so, why not give it a- go? However, I did change the letter U. It used to say "U. Underwear:" and I thought that was strange!

Here are my ABC's of Me  for all of you, who ever all of you are.

A. Age: 24

B. Bed size: King- sometimes it feels like a twin with the space that is left after the dog takes over. 

C. Chore you dislike: Dusting... uugggghh! It is by far the worst. Laundry is also not one of my favorites... I do it at a very slow pace. Sometimes it takes me like 2 days to wash, dry, fold and put it away. 

D. Dogs:  Kelso! He is a Rhodesian Ridgeback/Hound mix and around a year and a half old. We adopted him back in September. He's the happiest pound puppy I've ever met! 

E. Essential start to your day: After hitting snooze for a minimum of 7 times I pull myself out of my warm comfy bed and immediately brush my teeth and use mouth wash. 

F. Favorite color: My favorite color is purple. But based on my wardrobe one would think my favorite color is black... it's just so slimming!

G. Gold or silver: I would prefer to wear silver and white gold. 

H. Height: 5 feet 6 inches 

I. Instruments you play(ed): Steering wheel drums and air guitar... mostly the drums. 

J. Job title: Elementary School Substitute Teacher. I love my job and I know that my full-time dream job is going to come soon. When it does- man, oh man.. I'll be the best teacher ever! 

K. Kids: Not yet... but someday. I want to have children more than anything.

L. Live: A happenin' place in Northeast Ohio. O-H.... 

M. Mom’s name: Mom or when the mood strikes I call her Donna-Donna. 

N. Nicknames:  Jaim and Jamers are most common.

O. Overnight hospital stays: I was in the hospital for some time when I was a 6 months old for pneumonia. I was born early and me getting sick was attributed to my lungs being a lil' underdeveloped. 

 

P. Pet Peeves: I can't think of one thing exactly but people who consciously are ignorant drive me crazy! Choose to be nice and do something good! 

Q. Quote from a movie: "You're killin' me, Smalls!" - The Sand Lot 

S. Siblings: I have two older sisters, Wendi and Keri. 

T. Time you wake up: Depends on if I have to work or not. If I do have to go into teach then I get up at 6:30-6:45ish. If I don't have to work I get up later like between 8:00 and 9:30. I LOVE TO SLEEP!

U. Ultimate weekend getaway: My favorite weekend city is Chicago. It's big city feel, very clean, not crazy expensive and it's just fun. The shopping on Michigan Ave is a definitely a perk too! 

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Radishes and I only eat mushrooms if they are chopped really small and cooked. 

W. What makes you run late:  Usually it's just my special talent of snoozing the alarm in the morning.  

X. X-rays you’ve had: I've had them on my chompers at the dentist. I used to have to get chest x-ray's every year when I was younger because of my respiratory issues. I've also had to get one on my back this past summer because of a stress fracture in my spine, ouch! 

Y. Yummy food you make: In general I like to think that I'm an alright cook but the most yummy thing that I cook I has to be my Grammie's chicken paprikash. Yumm, yummmm, yummmmmmmm! 

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Elephants, I talked about why I love them in my past post. I like that they symbolize something and that I am able to have a personal connection to that  meaning. Plus, the lil' babies are so stinkin' cute! 

Now you've read my ABC's .... come back soon, won't you please! 

Random Act of Kindness

Last week in the mail I got a package and I was all excited because I thought it was my new phone case that I had ordered. I grabbed all the mail, went inside and like a kid on their birthday I tore it open. Much to my surprise it was not my new pretty purple phone case. But- it was this shiny silver bubble envelope from Dogeared Jewels and Gifts. Inside the shiny envelope was a small bag with a card inside. On the card was a bracelet with an elephant charm dangling.

Elephants are my favorite animal and I have loved them since I was a little girl. I like to think that elephants bring me luck and they are a constant symbol of wisdom, strength and loyalty- especially to family. The card with the bracelet on on said, "Make a wish... and put on your bracelet. When your bracelet wears off, your wish should come true. Ask, believe, receive! 

I read everything inside the shiny silver bubble envelope and still had no idea who it was from. I went back and looked through the package that the shiny envelope came in and found a paper folded up with the shipping information on it and in a lil' box at the bottom of the paper was a note. It read, 

" I can't wait to see all of your wishes become a reality- a person as amazing as you deserves everything they could ever want! I could never wish for a better friend than you... love you, always - Amy" 

My eyes welled up and my head clouded up with thoughts of how lucky I am to have Amy as one of my closest and best friends. Her kindness spills over into everyones life that she touches. She is one of the kindest people that I know. She commits herself to everything that she does wholeheartedly and doesn't ever expect anything in return. Amy has enough kindness in her heart to go around the world tenfold. I can only wish that everyone is as lucky to find such a true and genuine friendship as I have with found. 

These stories, the random act of kindness stories, are not heard of too often these days and I wanted to share it with you in hopes of spreading a little bit of happy and trying put a smile on a few faces. Everyday we all wake up with the ability to act randomly and be kind. We should all ask ourselves, "How have I acted lately?" 

Hopefully you can answer that question with something thoughtful, selfless and kind.  

40 days

My entire life I have been grounded in religion. I was raised Lutheran, went to church every Sunday and went to Lutheran schools until I went away to college. I still go to church regularly and I stand firm in my faith. For me, my faith helps me stay balanced and keeps me grounded. It's reassuring to know that I can always turn to God and he will guide me in what is best for me and my life.

For Christians around the world Lent begins this week with Ash Wednesday. Just a day away! Lent is the 40 days in the church calendar leading up to Easter. In my family growing up we always gave something up during Lent- usually insignificant things like fast food, pop, sweets you get the picture. As I got older I realized that it shouldn't be about giving up the insignificant things that you know you'll be fine not having for 40 days. We should challenge ourselves to live our lifes with out something that will be a struggle to not have. I found this on a website and think it addresses Lent spot on.

Every time we want what we have given up, we are reminded of what Christ gave up for us. Christ gave his life. While our sacrifice pales in comparison, it serves as a frequent reminder of God's overwhelming and complete love for each of us in our season of preparation for the resurrection.

In the past I've committed to things like reading a book every week of lent, going to the gym everyday or trying to stop my swearing habit. This year one thing I have chosen is to be vegetarian for the 40 days- no meat!



There are many different types of vegetarians and the diet that I'm going to follow during Lent will classify me as a "pesco-vegetarian". This mean that I won't eat red meat and poultry but I will eat fish, dairy products and eggs. I am going to limit the amount of fish and eggs I eat because I want to stay as true to vegetarian as I can. I have begun training for a triathlon and so I do need to get protein to fuel my body that fish and eggs offer.

I think this might be hard considering that I still have to cook dinner for Gregorian every night and he is a meat and potatoes with a side of meat kinda guy. But I'm up for the challenge and I'm excited to share with you all how it goes and maybe even some meat-free recipes that I come up with. So keep an eye out for those! I'm hoping that in the end I will have a greater appreciation for those who have committed their dietary lifestyle to being vegetarian. I'm also fan of "clean eating", meaning that we eat organic and minimally processed foods. I also generally cook everything from scratch. Overall, I'm really excited about the health benefits that will come from my 40 days of being a "pesco-vegetarian".

I have also committed myself to a "do good" type thing for Lent. I don't want to share it yet because I think that it will have a bigger impact and I will appreciate it more once Lent is over. I guess that is another thing to watch out for in 40 days!

What do you have planned to do for Lent?

Potluck Posting!

It has been months since I have done a potluck posting. So, I wracked my brain to think of some lil' bits of my life to share with you in this post.

IN LIKE A LION, OUT LIKE A LAMB
Geeze-louise do I hope that this is true. March is here and hopefully spring lamb-like weather comes with it. We have had such a long winter. Our first big snow came in November and it has only been a week since the last blizzard. In NE Ohio we are used to this weather but, I mean come on! Enough is enough.

I can not wait for all of the snow to melt and for things to be green again. Seeing brown and grey everyday is depressing. The 5 day forecast is not looking too swell...

... but I'm holding onto hope and thinking positive about coming out of this month with lamb-like weather!

MY PRESIDENTIAL SWEET TOOTH
Easter is coming up in a few weeks and that means that jellybeans have hit the shelves. I love, love, loooooove jelly beans... maybe not as much as the late President Reagan did, but love non-the-less. My favorite kind are Starburst flavored ones. This year I decided to try the Starburst Sours.

 

I must say, they are yummy but they still don't compare to the originals. My lil' way of stopping myself from eating the entire bag in one fell swoop is that I take 2 of each flavor at a time and that is my "serving". I try my best to only have 2 "servings" a day. I know that seems a lil' weird. But, hey- we all have our own lil' things and this works for me! These lil' babies are sugar packed and I don't need any more teeth issues.  Ohhhh,  jellybeans- how I love thee!

NO CLOSET IS SAFE!
I have been reading so many blogs and websites lately that have had great ideas for getting more organized and using the space that you have wisely. I'm a self proclaimed organizational nut our hallway linen closet and food pantry are labeled by shelf. I believe that everything has a place. So as you can imagine reading these blogs and websites just gets my wheels turning.

I know this is a lil' excessive but try not to judge. I already have drawn up plans, literally, to over-hall and reorganize every closet in my house.



I am a planner. I must have a plan going into a project of any kind. So look out closets- you are in for a rude awakening!

NO DECENT POTLUCK LEAVES YOU WITHOUT DESSERT!
This is a picture of my cutie-pa-tootie lil' cousins that I spend the weekend with in PA a few weeks ago. Spending time with them was wonderful and they are just too sweet for words!

Here is something that everyone should have.

Yepper, you are seeing it correctly... it's a robe.

Once upon a time when I was in college I went to Chicago with three of my friends for a weekend trip. While we were there we went to Victoria's Secret during their semi-annual sale and I bought a robe. It was the most wonderful robe in all the land. It was super soft, teal blue with white polka dots and it was knee length. Everything thing about it I l-o-v-e, loved!

Then during the move from college to the house we lived in after we graduated, it went missing and has never been seen again. It was a sad, sad day. Then that next Christmas, Santa was oh-so-good to me and got me a new robe. It's the one that's pictured above. It's thick, comfy and just one of those gotta have it items for me.

There are not many things that I like more than getting out of the shower and just kickin' it in my robe. In the morning I bee-bop around with my robe and slippers on sipping on my coffee and taking my sweet ol' time getting the day started. Having a good robe is a must and I think it definably is something that everyone should have. Gregorian even has one. His had a zebra stripe print on it. We got at a fancy-pants hotel we stayed at in Washington D.C. a few years ago. Funny thing is, he's actually wearing it right now... whatta' coincidence.

Having a robe is like getting a nice, soft, fluffy hug and everyone deserves that!

He's baaaaaack!

My husband that is.

Gregorian has been away traveling this last week and finally came home last night., YAY! For some people getting a break from your spouse for a lil' while is like a gift. For me that was not the case. I do not like to be home alone at all really and yes, having Kelso does help but it's not the same. And really there is nothing that I love more than spending time with my hubbs.

Yesterday, I was driving to the airport and I actually got butterflies in my stomach. I think after he got in the car I was permanently smiling from ear to ear. A week is not that long to be away from someone but for G and I that is probably the longest we have been apart in years, at least since we have been married. Luckly, It was not as bad as I thought.

I kept myself busy while he was gone with going to visit my family, working a few days, talking to Kelso, having friends over for dinner and watching a lot of reality TV. I have to give a big thank you to my bestest pal, Amy, for staying with me and keeping me from going looney living alone. It's always wonderful to know that you have great friends who you can count on to be there for you.

Today Greg and I did nothing but lay around and watch movies in preparation for The Oscars. Speaking of, The Kings Speech I would really recommend seeing it. Uggghhh.... I can not even tell you how nice it is to have him home. He's my daily dose of comedic relief, nightly dinner date, cuddle pal, sounding board and absolutely my best friend. Thank God, that he is home safe, sound and healthy.

I blew a fuse.

This post is coming to you from McDonald's, home of the golden arches, in Pittsburgh and there's more... 

I'm typing on my phone and it's taking for ever. All a little strange, right? 

I was in the 'burgh visiting my cousins over the weekend. Then we got a crazy snow storm so I stayed an extra day because I didn't have to teach the last 2 days. We went shopping (no sales tax in PA, yay!), watched movies and I got to play with my lil' cousins. It was much needed time spent with my family and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Everything was going swell until I started my trip home. My check engine light came on as soon as I startes my car. Dud! I called my friend  Dave because he is a car guru. He said it's probably no big deal, most likely an electrical thing and I'd be ok to drive home.

All was well until I was on the road and my phone beeped saying that there was only 15% left of the battery. No big deal, I just plugged it into the car charger and kept on crusin'. 10 minutes later... beep, beep, beep- 10% left. I looked at the charger and noticed that the light wasn't on... which means that it wasn't charging. Uggghhh Oh! I connected the dots and I'm guessing that the check engine light is probably telling me that I blew a fuse and that fuse just had to be the charger fuse.

The next exit had a McDonald's and so I got off the highway. I wouldn't have been so concerned about my phone dying but the weather wasn't the best, my check engine light was on and I was driving alone. I figured it was smart to charge it.... ya know, just in case.

So here I am 40 minutes, a large coffee and my first blog entry written on my phone later finally charged up and ready to get back on the road. 

Walk a mile in my shoes...

... if you can find a pair to fit these boats!

For Christmas this past year I asked for Nike Frees and I had to take them back. Why you ask? Well, because... they didn't fit. They were too small.  I have monster feet. I mean not freakishly huge feet but I wear anywhere from a size 9 1/2 to an 11, which makes it hard sometimes to find shoes. I wear a 10 in all of my other athletic shoes... so my mind was boggled as to why these didn't fit.

I need a size 10 1/2 and the shoe stores do not carry a half size past a size 10. Wonderful! You have to order them on-line. However, every website that I have looked on for these shoes are also sold out. Week, after week, after week! Now, here we are 7ish weeks past Christmas and I still have not been able to get my shoes.

Until today... I got on-line for my daily search and low and behold... dunnn, daaaaa, daaahhhhh! 

The Nike gods are smiling down on me! I finally got to order my shoes and now I just have to wait 3-5 days for them to arrive in a nice bright orange box at my front door- YAY!

I could have gotten other shoes but I hear that the Nike Frees are top notch for running. Greg has them and he really likes them a lot. We go to the gym pretty regularly and I usually do light weight training, cardio and a spin class here and there. I don't really like to run that much but, I think if I get shoes that are good for my "running style" then I'll feel better about it and run more often. At least I hope so. These shoes are super light and are supposed to be feel like you are running barefoot. I can not wait to get them, seems like I've been waiting so long. I really hope that the wait is worth it! 

I wanna' get away.

Ever since I've come back from Boston, I honestly look for trips probably every day. That darn travel bug! I want to go on a vacation, so bad! I am not totally sure why either.  I don't know if it is because this winter has seemed like had been going on for 6 months or every store you walk into already has swim suits out for sale. Whatever the reason all I want to do is pack my bags with sun dresses, swim suits, flip-flops and sun screen. Oh, and my tooth brush- can't forget that! Then, just sit on the beach and soak up the sun and maybe read a book.

Doesn't this all seem so wonderful? I can close my eyes and picture it now.

The big problem with taking a vacation, are vacation days. Not for me, because well I can have whatever day off I want to. Greg only gets a certain number of days off of work every year. When it comes to planning vacations we really have to plan well. We have to plan for the time we take to visit his family in Florida during the year as well as going on a family trip with my side and you can't forget the days that he will actually use when he is sick.

Really, more than anything I want to go on a vacation just Gregorian and I. We do go on quite a few little trips here and there on the weekends. But they are all places within driving distance like under 6 hours. I would love to go on a cruise or to the bahamas. Nothing too long, maybe 4 nights and plan it over a weekend so he only needs to miss 2 days of work. We haven't been on a trip just the two of us since our honeymoon almost 3 years ago when we went to Key West. We had such a great time just the two of us bee-bopin' around the island, snorkeling and just enjoying each others company.

I can honestly say that I am very caught up in "the now" and I want to spend time going and doing things that we are able to do. You never know what can happen in a year and change our chances for going on a trip then. I don't want to put it off and then in the long run be bummed out that we didn't just go.

I've got my optimistic pants on and this year I'm hoping that with wonderful planning we will be able to make it all happen... trips with families as well as going somewhere just the two of us.

The Beetles said it best...

... "All We Need is Love"... 

Hope that your day is filled with love from spouses, family and friends! It might be a "cheesy greeting card holiday" to most but take some time to tell your loved ones, who ever it may be, how grateful you are for them in your life. Accolades are always appreciated when they are given by someone genuine and caring. 

Spread the love! 

My husband hacked my Swiffer.

My husband reads a lot of "bloggy type websites" and every once in a while he will send me articles that he think I'd find interesting. This article might be one of the top 3 that he has ever sent my way. The website this article came from is called Lifehacker and I would have to say that this one of his favorites to read.  Last month he found an article about the Swiffers Wet Jet. He shared it with me and now I want to share with you all. It's great!

I love my Swiffer and use it a lot! It's so convenient. Just take it out of the closet, spray and mop...badda bing- clean floors! This morning I was in cleaning mode. I had already swept and vacuumed and now it was Swiffer time! I got it out of the closet and then realized that I didn't have any cleaning solution in the Swiffer bottle and I didn't have another one to switch 'em out.

Then I remembered the article, Refill Your Swiffer Wet Jet; No Special Tools Required, that Greg had sent to me about how to "unlock" the Swiffer bottles to fill it with your own cleaning solution. You probably already know this but, the Swiffer cleaning solution bottles have the caps locked on so that you have to keep buying the refills made specifically for the Swiffer when it runs out. These refill bottles can range in cost from $5.00 to $8.00 (for the larger size refill). The steps in the article are easy to follow and it takes about 5 min to do.

I highly recommend reading it and then immediately following the steps to "unlock" your Swiffer.  Not only will it save you money but it also gives you the option to clean with products that you like. I know some people who prefer to clean with "green" cleaning solutions and this gives you that option while still  being able to take advantage of the convenience of the Swiffer Wet Jet.

If you are looking for another way to save a little cash when it comes to cleaning there are also sites out there with tutorials about how to make your own reusable Swiffer cleaning pads. I found a good one at Craft Gossip. In this article, Reusable Swiffer Wet Jet Pad, they tell you how to make your own cleaning pads from towels. It seems pretty simple and doesn't look like it will take much time. But, it defiantly will save you money... refill boxes of the cleaning pads range from $8.00 to $15.00, depending on the amount that you buy.

I'm crunching the numbers on what I'm going to be saving by using these lil' tips and I think I just might buy myself something with that extra cash. I'll consider it payment for the cleaning... I'm sure Greg will understand. 

In My Kitchen: Chicken Stuffed Zucchini

Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables. I love to eat it cooked, raw, chopped then mixed into things like pasta and salads. Today for dinner I tried making something that I've never made before and it was pretty easy to do. A lot of little steps but still easy. In my kitchen today is, chicken stuffed zucchini.

Here are the ingredients that I used to make this yummy dinner: 

- 2 good sizes zucchini's

- 1 red bell pepper, chopped 

- 1/2 cup chopped sno-white mushrooms

- 1/2 pound of chicken, cubed

- 1/2 tablespoon of butter or margarine 

- 1/8 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

- 1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese

- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

- a little drizzle of olive oil 

- spices I used: italian seasoning, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (I just give a few shakes here and there, no exact measurements) 

• First, toss the chopped chicken into a skillet with a little drizzle of olive oil. Add a few shakes of salt and pepper to the chicken for a lil' flavor. 

• Once the chicken is cookin'... fill a large pot with water, add a pinch of salt so it can heat up and be boiling & ready when you need it. 

• After the chicken cooked through add the chopped mushroom, red bell pepper, a few shakes of italian seasoning and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook it all together on a medium low heat and until the peppers are tender. 

• Once the peppers are tender turn the heat to low and add the chopped garlic. The later in the cooking process you add the garlic the more flavor you get. At this point start pre-heat the oven to 350* so it will be all ready to bake the zucchini's later. 

• Remember the water you started boiling a few minutes ago? Well, now is when you'll need it. Put the zucchini's into the boiling water for 5 minutes. Take it out, set it on a plate and let it cool. After it has become cool to the touch cut them in half length wise. They should only take a few minutes to cool down. 

• Now, take that 1/2 tablespoon of butter or margarine and spread it around the bottom of a glass casserole dish. Then stick it into the oven so the butter can melt around in the dish. This will help so that the zucchini will not burn or stick when they are baking. 

• After the zucchini has cooled and it has been cut you will need a teaspoon to "gut" them so that they can be filled with the chicken stuffing mix. 

• Going back to the chicken stuffing mix... it's time to add the cheese. 

• Mix it all up. Finally, stuffing- complete!  

• Take the casserole dish out of the oven now that the butter/margarine has melted. Take the "gutted" zucchini and put them into the dish. Now it is time to start stuffing! 

•  Either use a spoon to scoop and fill up the zucchini or use your hands to smoosh it all in. I found it to be easier to fill each zucchini with more of the stuffing when I used my hands. 

• Slide the dish into the oven that is now at a toasty 350* and bake for about 10-12 minutes. Just long enough for the cheese to melt together and to merry all of the flavors together.

• You can serve this with anything as a side. Tonight for dinner we had this with pasta tossed in a little bit of rosa sauce. Any of the extra chicken stuffing mix that fell out in transportation from the casserole dish to the plate... I just piled onto the pasta...

and... WAAAALAAAA! 

I didn't invent this dish but I am happy to say that I didn't use a recipe to make it. I just thought of the food that I wanted to have and put things together that I know work well together. Man, ohhh man was this DELISH! Gregorian is not a big fan of veggies, especially zucchini and I've never seen him eat so fast. He said and I quote, "It was so good! Like expensive restaurant good."

I know that my cooking recap is a little scattered and jumbled but I write how I think. I'm a multi-tasker and try to get more than one thing done at a time, especially with cooking. I cut down the time I spend in the kitchen by having different things going at the same time. It helps me to get dinner done so when Gregorian gets home dinner is ready and we can eat! 

ENJOY!

Summer Job Search

Well, well blogging friends the time has come for me to join the high school and college students all over this great land of ours and being looking for a summer job.

Joy!

This is one of the big downfalls of substituting teaching. When summer rolls around I try to get a gig babysitting for a family with school age kids in my area. That way I can continue to use the skills that I have as a teacher as well as have fun with kids all summer! I use two websites to help me in getting a job for the summer.

1) Sittercity.com

2) Nannies4Hire.com

These sites are both really good when looking for a gig like I'm in search of. What is really good is that they are free for the employment seeker. The families who are looking for an employee have to pay to view sitter profiles and get contact info. This will be my 4th summer using these sites to help me find a summer job.

I can't believe it is only February and I'm already looking for a summer job, but you know what they say..."The early bird catches the worm." In my case I hope the bird catches a worm that is close to my house and pays well! :o)

I have stumbled upon a gold mine!

Etsy.com, that is!

I know that it has been out there for a while and I'm just late to jump on board. But, man-oh-man, what a wonderful website! I have been browsing it for the last few days and just ohhhing and awwwing over some of the coolest things.

As you know, I'm a crafter so this website has a string tied directly to my heart. We are in the middle of another winter storm and I've also been sick. So-what better to do then spend the days the with some nice warm coffee and perusing the pages of Etsy. I have actually found so many thing that I like that I have created a folder in my bookmarks titled Etsy Finds. 

Just when you think that you have reached the end of looking... check again, because there is more that will catch your eye. 

Here are some of the things that I found that I really, really, reeeaaaallly like!

I'm a sucker for holiday/seasonal decor and I think that this lil' snowman is too stinkin' cute! Snowmen decorations are great because they are more than just for Christmas. They can stay up all winter, which in Ohio can last for like 5 months! 

Etsy read my mind! I have been searching for places to get one of these family name signs made for our house. Looks like I've found the place :o) 

Below is a charm that I think would make an excellent Valentines Day gift, hint hint! I mean the sample in the photo even has the correct initial on it. I'm pretty simple when it comes to wearing jewelry and this is right up my alley. My sister also has charms, similar to this but hers have her daughters names on them. I've admired it for a long time and now I've found where to get one. 

Cross-body hipster bag... sign me up! I'm not sure what it is about this style of purse... but I love them! I have tried other styles of purses and I always fall back to buying this style. I can't stand carrying a purse under my arm or having to hold it in my hand. Not sure why, I just do not like it. Needless to say, this bag and I were love at first sight! 

I thought this was so clever! I have seen casserole carriers like this before. They are usually sold with the casserole dish and are a solid color, made of a quilted material- boring! I must say I've not  seen one this cute! Something you might know about me by now is that I love to cook! We also travel to family gatherings and such fairly often and we are always taking food.  I think this would be a good investment to my kitchen accessories...whatta' ya think? 

Last but not least, I found something for Kelso! Couldn't you see him wearing this adorable doggie bow tie? As an added bonus it's the colors of The Cleveland Browns! Kelso's birthday is coming up and this might just be the perfect gift. 

Well, there you have it my very own personalized, tour de Esty! I really want to encourage you to take some time and check it out. If you don't see anything that you are drawn to on your maidien visit... check back in a few weeks. New vendors are poping up with great things all the time! 

I should start turning my crafty wheels and think of something to sell on Etsy. Let the wheels start rollin'... Hummmm....?

Sick.

I do not remember the last time that I had a flu-like illness. And- oh, my... it is aweful. I spent my day in bed trying to nurse myself back to health...

...by watching TV, eating Cheerios and drinking so much water I think I might start to grow scales.

Whatta' day to be sick too. I got calls to sub starting at 5:04am and it really would have been nice to get a work day this week before the big storm hits. When big storms are coming that means snow days are a big possibility. So, dud on that. But, there was no way I was going to pull myself together enough to make it through the day.

At the same time it was a good thing that I didn't go into work. I had 495 envelopes finish stuffing, addressing and sticking postage on. Good thing I have a king size bed so I could surround myself with everything.

Aaaabugghhh... and it's almost 2:00 I'm ready for some medicine and to snuggle up on the couch for a nap. 

Hide the cookies, hide the chips...

... 'cause I've been eating everything up in here!

I am not sure what it is but ever since I got back from Boston I simply can not stop eating. While we were in Boston, I will admit that I did not eat well at all and even packed on a few fried food lb's... but come on- it's vacation! I'm not sure if I was pinched by the foodie fairy or what but it has to stop, real fast.

I have subbed everyday for the past two weeks so I'm not actually sitting around just feasting all day. But, I do find myself searching for snacks or lil' bites of things here and there during the day. The worst is when I get home from work at like 4. When I don't sub I usually eat lunch later in the afternoon... around 1 or 2.  Maybe having a scheduled lunch at noon is a contributing factor in all of this- who knows?!

 It's all a lil' weird for me because for the most part I am a really healthy eater. I cook our meals from scratch and tend to overload on the veggies. I must have tossed that idea out the window at some point within the last 14 days. I actually thing that sometimes Gregorian gets bored with all the "clean & healthy" food that we eat. But oh well, I'm the cook in this household.

The most frustrating part is that I'm not just snacking on junk food. I've been snacking on everything. Cottage cheese... sure! Yogurt... you bet!  Fruit... why not! Baby-bell laughing cow cheeses... absolutely! The list goes on... and on. The list could be much worse if I actually bought real junk food when I go grocery shopping. So, I can't even blame this on having a temporary sweet tooth.

It's time to buckle down on this snacking before I can't buckle my belt. UGH!

Happy Crafting: iPlanner

I am a self proclaimed organizationaholic! I have a smart phone where I keep an up-to-date task list as well as my calendar fully stocked with alarms set as reminders, separate calendars icons for birthdays, work and general. I even have my pantry and linen closet organized and labeled as to where things go. I know- I'm weird.

We also have a calendar that is hanging on our fridge with all of the things that we have planned on it along with post-it notes with things that I would like to plan for each month. Like... going to dinner & using a coupon that will expire that month, going to see a movie that is out and some times even planning trips to visit friends that we have that are out of town. This helps me to put some things into a generic timeline and most of the time we get around to doing a few things on the lists. 

Now, for my third organization and planning tool and today's Happy Crafting project...

A customized planner, because it is customized let's refer to it as the iPlanner. 

I went to an office supply story and picked up a small monthly planner. I bought this one for $3.00 and I'm sure that you could find them anywhere for under $5.00. The key to this project is getting a planner that has the removable plastic cover. 

Then I ransacked my crafting supplies and found what I'd need for this crafty project. The orange circle stencil thing and the lil' circle contraption are the best things I'd bought for scrap booking, card making and other random crafting purposes such as this one. Together they cut perfect circles and it makes a crafters life so much easier! You can also get the stencils in different shapes and styles of alphabet letters and use the lil' circle contraption to cut out those shapes too. I would recommend it to any crafter. 

After I found my materials I wanted to use. I took the planner I bought out of its plastic cover, measured my choice of paper up to it, cut it out and began personalize it.

Keep in mind when you are measuring to cut the new paper using the original planner as a template you need to wrap your new paper around to take the measurement before you cut. Because the planner is thicker when it is folded you need to take measurement when it is folded. If you open the planner flat and trace it, when you cut it and wrap it around the original planner the edges will stick out because it is not long enough.

I used my circle cutter to cut out a picture of Gregorian and I and I also stuck a Life is good sticker on there. I have had this sticker on my planner for the past 2 years and I love it.

After you have finished putting your iPlanner together you just slide it into the plastic cover. First the new cover that you have made  and then the old planner.

... WAAA LAAAA! You are done. Let the planning begin! 

HAPPY CRAFTING!