Random Thursday - M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Ready or not Disney World, here we come!

We are getting ready to leave for Disney World and cannot wait!!! Not sure who is more excited, Sophie or the grown ups!!! Our first family trip to Disney and my girl is all set. She would not even let me fast forward her favorite tv show the other day for fear that she would miss one of the Disney commercials! Now, that is serious stuff!

I will be out of commission for the next week while we are swept away by the Magic Kingdom celebrating my very best little girlfriends 4th birthday extravaganza! I will certainly have lots of goodies to share when I get back and cant wait to give you all the details!!!

See you soon! xoxo

Wifey Wednesday - The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It

Have you ever heard the saying that the grass is greener on the other side? I think sometimes in our marriages we tend to think this way. Not necessarily in reference to our spouse but maybe just someone else's marriage in general. They seem to have everything, no worries, travel all the time, beautiful home, beautiful family - you know the kind. Then one day you hear that they are divorcing.....what?! Isn't it amazing how quickly things can change? But really though, they only changed quickly for us on the outside. Behind closed doors, their marriage had been in turmoil for awhile and they were just very good hiding it.

Is the grass really greener on the other side? No. The grass is greener where you water it. I must admit I stole the inspiration for this post from another blog but I thought it offered a wonderful perspective! I truly believe that Jeff and I have a blessed and solid marriage. However, that doesn't mean we don't have hard times. That doesn't mean we don't disagree and argue because we do! There are times where I feel like that is all we are do. However, it is how you handle those situations that really makes the difference. The other day on the radio I heard someone say that sometimes its a good thing when you argue with your spouse becauses it means you are both still passionate and care. I will try to keep that focus the next time we have a little spat and I feel like beating my head against a brick wall.

As I said though, it is sometimes all about how you deal with those arguments that really makes a difference. I am a very passionate person when I believe in something. Therefore, when we are arguing, if I passionately believe in what I am saying, I will sometimes have a nice little temper that comes along with it. What will add fuel to my already blazing fire is that my normally very patient and easy going husband will become unbelievably stubborn and hard headed when we argue. I am sure he would tell you that my "passion" adds fuel to his fire as well. Needless to say, not a great combination. We are both working everyday on handling our disagreements better. Yes, of course we are going to argue and disagree, but maybe we can actually do it in a way where I will not be apologizing later for my sharp tongue getting the best of me and he will not be apologizing for acting as though he did not care and not listening. I guess you could say we are working on keeping ourselves in check. If one of us feels the blood boiling and pipes starting to burst, lets take a minute to walk away so that we do not self implode. And with Sophie around, little ears and eyes are absorbing everything! I don't want to her to think that things are always perfect, but sometimes certain disagreements are better left behind closed doors for when she is not around.

I love the grass on my side and I want to keep it as green as possible but this takes work. We MUST have God at the center of our marriage to succeed! With God as the center of our marriage, we will always seek guidance from him and we will never truly faulter.

One thing that we try to do every evening together is a devotional. We are currently working through Devotions for Couples by Patrick Morley. I love it because it has sections regarding all the major areas of marriage such as intimacy, communiction, etc.

Devotions for Couples by Patrick Morley



“God created marriage. No government subcommittee envisioned it. No social organization developed it. Marriage was conceived and born in the mind of God.”  ~ Max Lucado

God gave us the gift of marriage. I treasure that gift and want to make it shine as bright as it can for his glory.

Tummy Tuesday - My Giant Oatmeal Cream Pie Fantasy

It has been awhile since I have made this recipe below and obviously only becauseI had forgotten  how good and easy it is. We even had leftovers for the next night and I swear we think they may have been better than the night before!

Chicken Alfredo Roll-ups

For the first time last week, Sophie watched "Honey I Shrunk the Kids".  Classic and she loved it!!

I love the scene when they are little and eat the giant oatmeal cream pie!

That would truly be a fantasy of mine because they are my favorite (I promise I am going somewhere with this random thought). While I was accessing the Chicken Alfredo Roll-Up recipe to post, I saw the picture below along with the recipe for Homemade Oreo Cookies. They reminded me so much of the clip from the movie and look heavenly so I just had to share! We will be making this one very soon!!

Homemade Oreo Cookies

Enjoy!

Mommy Monday - Rules for Mothers of Daughters

Happy Monday! I read the piece below over the weekend and wanted to share. Great reminder!!

 

25 Rules for Mothers of Daughters

1. Paint her nails. Then let her scratch it off and dirty them up. Teach her to care about her appearance, and then quickly remind her that living and having fun is most important....

2. Let her put on your makeup, even if it means bright-red-smudged lips and streaked-blue eyes. Let her experiment in her attempts to be like you…then let her be herself.

3. Let her be wild. She may want to stay home and read books on the couch, or she may want to hop on the back of a motorcycle-gasp. She may be a homebody or a traveler. She may fall in love with the wrong boy, or meet mr. right at age 5. Try to remember that you were her age once. Everyone makes mistakes, let her make her own.

4. Be present. Be there for her at her Kindergarten performances, her dance recitals, her soccer games…her everyday-little-moments. When she looks through the crowds of people, she will be looking for your smile and pride. Show it to her as often as possible.

5. Encourage her to try on your shoes and play dress-up. If she would rather wear her brother’s superman cape with high heals, allow it. If she wants to wear a tutu or dinosaur costume to the grocery store, why stop her? She needs to decide who she is and be confident in her decision.

6. Teach her to be independent. Show her by example that woman can be strong. Find and follow your own passions. Search for outlets of expression and enjoyment for yourself- not just your husband or children. Define yourself by your own attributes, not by what others expect you to be. Know who you are as a person, and help your daughter find out who she is.

7. Pick flowers with her. Put them in her hair. There is nothing more beautiful than a girl and a flower.

8. Let her get messy. Get messy with her, no matter how much it makes you cringe inside. Splash in the puddles, throw snowballs, make mud pies, finger paint the walls: just let it happen. The most wonderful of memories are often the messy ones.

9. Give her good role models- you being one of them. Introduce her to successful woman- friends, co-workers, doctors, astronauts, or authors. Read to her about influential woman- Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie. Read her the words of inspirational woman- Jane Austen, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson. She should know that anything is possible.

10. Show her affection. Daughters will mimic the compassion of their mother. “I love yous” and Eskimo kisses go a long way.

11. Hold her hand. Whether she is 3 years-old in the parking lot or sixteen years old in the mall, hold on to her always- this will teach her to be confident in herself and proud of her family.

12. Believe in her. It is the moments that she does not believe in herself that she will need you to believe enough for both of you. Whether it is a spelling test in the first grade, a big game or recital, a first date, or the first day of college…remind her of the independent and capable woman you have taught her to be.

13. Tell her how beautiful she is. Whether it is her first day of Kindergarten, immediately after a soccer game where she is grass-stained and sweaty, or her wedding day. She needs your reminders. She needs your pride. She needs your reassurance. She is only human.

14. Love her father. Teach her to love a good man, like him. One who lets her be herself…she is after all wonderful.

15. Make forts with boxes and blankets. Help her to find magic in the ordinary, to imagine, to create and to believe in fairy tales. Someday she will make her 5 by 5 dorm-room her home with magic touches and inspiration. And she will fall in love with a boy and believe him to be Prince Charming.

16. Read to her. Read her Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. But also remember the power of Sylvia Plath and Robert Frost. Show her the beauty of words on a page and let her see you enjoy them. Words can be simply written and simply spoken, yet can harvest so much meaning. Help her to find their meaning.

17. Teach her how to love- with passion and kisses. Love her passionately. Love her father passionately and her siblings passionately. Express your love. Show her how to love with no restraint. Let her get her heart broken and try again. Let her cry, and gush, giggle and scream. She will love like you love or hate like you hate. So, choose love for both you and her.

18. Encourage her to dance and sing. Dance and sing with her- even if it sounds or looks horrible. Let her wiggle to nursery rhymes. Let her dance on her daddy's feet and spin in your arms. Then later, let her blast noise and headbang in her bedroom with her door shut if she wants. Or karaoke to Tom Petty in the living room if she would rather. Introduce her to the classics- like The Beatles- and listen to her latest favorite- like Taylor Swift. Share the magic of music together, it will bring you closer- or at least create a soundtrack to your life together.

19. Share secrets together. Communicate. Talk. Talk about anything. Let her tell you about boys, friends, school. Listen. Ask questions. Share dreams, hopes, concerns. She is not only your daughter, you are not only her mother. Be her friend too.

20. Teach her manners. Because sometimes you have to be her mother, not just her friend. The world is a happier place when made up of polite words and smiles.

21. Teach her when to stand-up and when to walk away. Whether she has classmates who tease her because of her glasses, or a boyfriend who tells her she is too fat - let her know she does not have to listen. Make sure she knows how to demand respect - she is worthy of it. It does not mean she has to fight back with fists or words, because sometimes you say more with silence. Also make sure she knows which battles are worth fighting. Remind her that some people can be mean and nasty because of jealousy, or other personal reasons. Help her to understand when to shut her mouth and walk-away. Teach her to be the better person.

22. Let her choose who she loves. Even when you see through the charming boy she thinks he is, let her love him without your disapproving words; she will anyway. When he breaks her heart, be there for her with words of support rather than I told-you-so. Let her mess up again and again until she finds the one. And when she finds the one, tell her.

23. Mother her. Being a mother - to her - is undoubtedly one of your greatest accomplishments. Share with her the joys of motherhood, so one day she will want to be a mother too. Remind her over and over again with words and kisses that no one will ever love her like you love her. No one can replace or replicate a mother's love for their children.

24. Comfort her. Because sometimes you just need your mommy. When she is sick, rub her back, make her soup and cover her in blankets - no matter how old she is. Someday, if she is giving birth to her own child, push her hair out of her face, encourage her, and tell her how beautiful she is. These are the moments she will remember you for. And someday when her husband rubs her back in attempt to comfort her...she may just whisper, "I need my mommy."

25. Be home. When she is sick with a cold or broken heart, she will come to you; welcome her. When she is engaged or pregnant, she will run to you to share her news; embrace her. When she is lost or confused, she will search for you; find her. When she needs advice on boys, schools, friends or an outfit; tell her. She is your daughter and will always need a safe harbor - where she can turn a key to see comforting eyes and a familiar smile; be home.

Fabulous Friday - Real Beauty

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Both of these videos will give you goose bumps!

This was taken at the recent Boston Bruins Hockey game two days after the Boston bombings. This is what AMERICA is about. I love how the guy singing just completely stops and begins leading the crowd. No kidding, I had goose bumps on my legs and the hair on my arms was standing straight up! If this does not make you want to stand up and chant U.S.A., you need to move to another country!

Boston Bruins-Sabres National Anthem

Dove has the best marketing program ever! I love how they focus on real women and real beauty! Yesterday I watched the video of the Dove Real Beauty Sketches. Such a simple reminder of how hard we are on our ourselves. Wouldn't it be wonderful if when we looked in the mirror we saw ourselves the way God sees us?

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

From my devotional recently - "God will not judge us by how long we let our roots grow out. He will not ask us about the extra ten pounds of baby fat we carry. Dear Jesus, thank you for creating me as You did. I pray today that I would think as much about my soul as I do about my appearance."

Have a great weekend!

Random Thursday - I think I can, I think I can

1) I HATE working out. I love the results and the way it makes me feel but I hate the actual process. Now, if I could do Zumba everyday or a Mud Run or something like that, then that would be a different story. But just your basic go into the gym type of thing - blek! I still do it but hate it. I hate that feeling when you have been on the eliptical for about 5 minutes and you glance down thinking you have been going at least 10-15 minutes but you only see the number 5.....HORRIBLE! However, I need the workout just as much mentally as I do physically so it is a necessary evil. No pain no gain right?!

2) Speaking of sweatpants, I read on someones blog today about how they try to always look nice for their husbands. I think this is a great point. Now, she did not necessarily mean black tie attire but more along the lines of clothes that are not stained with dry food, greasy hair, that sort of thing.

Of course we all have our moments and and are completely entitled to them. Afterall, our spouse vowed to love us unconditionally. However, there is a fine line. Maintaining your appearance for your spouse will also make you feel better. I love nothing more then comfy clothes but just make sure you have showered and they are clean. This will go a long way!

3) We leave for Disney World next week!!!! The weather is supposed to be great but hot. I found this super cute and super cheap Fedora at Target last weekend that I just had to have. Now of course in my head, I see it coordinating with my outfits and being all cute and stuff and me totally being able to pull it off. Lets just hope that will be my reality!

 4) Every year I participate in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life event. I feel as though this is my way of fighting back! I am an almost 9 year cancer survivor however I lost my grandmother and grandfather to this disease. Jeff has a cousin is cousin who is a survivor but has lost his grandmother.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life program is about so much more than just walking around a track overnight. At Relay for Life events, we celebrate loved ones who have won their battle against cancer, remember those who are no longer with us, and fight back against this disease that takes so much from so many.

I will be participating on Saturday, May 18th @ 6pm and would appreciate your support with an online donation toward my fundraising goal. You can even make your donation in honor/memory of someone you love. In addition to funding lifesaving research, every dollar raised helps the American Cancer Society provide services to cancer patients in need, like providing rides to treatment for those who don’t have transportation of their own.

You can make a donation to my team page or learn more about Relay for Life by clicking the link below.

Relay For Life - Nicole Easterday

2012 - sporting my survivor shirt!

2006-2007, Taking my survivor lap with my grandma Deei - that was pretty special. She later lost her battle with brain cancer in 2009, 6 weeks before my Sophie (her first great grandchild) was born. My grandpa Rick (pictured here) past away this past October from cancer.

God is good all the time and all the time God is good!

Wifey Wednesday - Balance, Appreciate, Serve

"A good marriage is good for you. That isn't just a platitude. Mounting research shows that is the literal truth. When your marriage is healthy, your body and mind are heathier."

Author Cliff Isaacson

This makes sense though right?  Happy wife, happy life right? And of course happy husband is important too. I read an article this past weekend and found it very interesting. I have shared bits and pieces below in red -

Three suggestionshow to have and maintain a strong marriage -

1) Maintain balance - If you want a strong marriage then balance is key. Balance between your personal and professional  life leads to having a sustainable family life. To help you maintain a balanced life, schedule time with your spouse. "I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can't truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles. " Zig Ziglar

My thoughts - Our pastor is currently preaching a series on Song of Solomon. He spoke this past Sunday about the importance of dating your spouse. I was nodding my head, elbowing Jeff and throwing out the amens left and right. Then he said that we should allow 10 hours a week of alone time with our spouse and that those 10 hours a week should not include watching TV together. I litterly could hear the brakes in my headsscreeching! 10 hours a week together and watching TV does not count? Whaaaat are you trying to say? We totally bond over watching "The Office" together. Needless to say, something we have started working on because that one on one time together is so very important. My preacher also shared that you should ask them every day during your time together, what was the low point and high point of your day? This will allow you insight and knowledge of what is going on in their life.  

2) Appreciate your greatest asset - your spouse. Show appreciation daily to your spouse through your words and action.

My thoughts - Ok, so I am thinking it is safe to assume that nagging does not count then??

3) Serve at home. Being a servent leader is essential to having a strong marriage. When your spouse feels like they are being served, then the marriage will be stronger. This requires putting your personal needs aside so you can focus and serve your spouse.  When you serve your spouse, it shows them you care and appreciate their needs.

My thoughts - I would like to admit something. Sometimes I may possibly be guilty of not doing something for Jeff because he did not first do it for me. Oh, you would like a drink from the kitchen? Well, I do believe I recall you not making my lunch for work this morning so why should I do something for you? I do not actually reply with this comment but it does occur in my head. Yes, I know - very mature! Truly though, when Jeff first "serves" me, it makes me feel so very special and I am sure it makes him feel the same way. So why not be the one to initiate it? He is a keeper but not only do I want to keep him forever and ever, I want to keep him happy and loved!

"Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." Ephesians 5:21

Tummy Tuesday - Slop Slop Sloppy Joes

Whew! What a crazy busy day of meetings!! On days like today, I love nothing more than an easy, healthy, and quick dinner. Who am I kidding? I like that type of meal on any day but especially a day like today! Weight Watchers homemade Sloppy Joe recipe is beyond amazing!!

Weight Watchers Sloppy Joes - 6 points

Ingredients
1 lb meat
cooking spray
1 onion
1/2 cup bell pepper
8 oz. can tomatoe sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tsp Worcestire Sauce
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp yellow mustard

Cook meat and onion and drain. Return meat and onion to stove and add remaining ingredients. Cook for roughly 15 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Enjoy!!

Mommy Monday - Just the Way We Are

One of my main goals in life is to teach this sweet girl the importance loving God and her relationship with him. I want her to know she is beautiful on the inside and outside and that she can do anything! Of course, isn't that what we all want for our children?

(The wind was blowing her hair into her face.)

In our world today it is so hard to remember that we are beautiful just as God made us. I try to make a conscious effort to refrain from "fat" comments about myself or my body when her little ears around. If I am having one of those days where I feel blah or like Friday evening where I may or may not have demolished soft pretzels and a yummy pizza (can we say carb overload?), I try to keep my thoughts to myself. Sophie is incredibly impressionable and soaks in everything like a little sponge. Whether she realizes it or not, I am her example of how to be a woman in this world. Even more importantly, how to be a woman of God. 

I am still young....in the grand scheme of things. However, the number that is beginning to be associated with my birthday - not so easy to digest. I want differerent for Sophie. I want her to be proud of the blessing and gift of growing old. The symbols of our aging should be worn with pride and not embarrassement. Trust me, I know this is so much easier said than done!!! But as I said, these are things I work on every single day. I only hope to have the gift of working on them for years to come as well.

"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory,

It is found in the way of the righteousness."

Proverbs 16:31

*****

Sidenote - A very proud and shallow mommy moment over the weekend that I would like to share. When I picked Sophie up on Friday afternoon she saw my necklace and goes - "Oh mommy, you are wearing your new necklace and I just love it!!"  I.LOVE.IT. And yes, I know it is shallow but I was so very proud. It made me feel so special. For the record, I had showed Jeff my new necklace the previous evening and he did not notice I was wearing it the next day....or at least it did not warrant a comment. One of the trillion and one reasons I love having my best little girlfriend!!!

Random Thursday - Happy (one day late) National Sibling Day!

Happy National Sibling Day. Yes, I know I am one day late but better late than never right?!

My life has been blessed with the most wonderful brother and sister for the past 29 years. My first very childhood memory is of making welcome home signs for when they were brought home from the hospital.

Mad props to my mom who carried them full term AND each one weighed 7 lbs. which is extremely unusal for twins! I remember being very scared of how big her belly had grown!

I was so excited to have two real life baby dolls to play with!

One of my favorites!

Sweet sisterly love!

But this was the reality - haha!

Pretty obvious why I LOVE this picture! I tried to slide it into his wedding program but mom wouldn't let me!

I must brag that my mom looks like another sibling instead of our mother...and this happens ALOT!

This is one of my most favorite pictures of all time and probably always will be. It was our last family picture before we all started getting married. And if you know us, it captures our family perfectly!

Happy National Sibling Day to my baby brother and sister. You were my very first friends and I am so thankful to God for bringing you to us to make our family complete! I love you both so very much!

Your Big Sister

Wifey Wednesday - Mission Accomplished

I know you have been on the edge of your seat waiting to hear the status of our “Honey Do List” from this past weekend. You have probably tossed and turned in your bed every night with eager anticipation. Well you can now breathe a huge sigh of relief because I am here to tell you that we had a very productive and successful weekend! Will you not sleep better tonight now knowing this vitally important information?

Things got off to a rough start when the pressure washer we were going to borrow from my Dad was not working. I don’t think he would admit it but I believe there may have been a small part of Jeff that was a tiny bit excited by this fact. Luckily, our sweet and wonderful neighbors let us borrow their pressure washer. Whew! I got started on cleaning out the garage as Jeff began pressure washing. Let me just tell you, we both severely underestimated how tedious our To Do list would be. However, as I mentioned on Monday, the weather this weekend was beautiful so it was a perfect time to work outside around the house. We put a little Jimmy Buffet on the iphone stereo and got to work.

Not sure why but I love this picture of my handsome hubby working hard on our home!

We really do not have that much "stuff" in our garage but we are working with a pretty small space so organization is a priority! I just could not handle stepping over things anymore!

Sophie loved playing "Roller Derby" with all the open space in the garage! Her baby doll even got in on the action and helped drive. However, she looks as though she may have passed out from all the fun?!

Before

After!

Little Vanna White had to get in on the action and model while making her silly face!

Do you happen to notice the flower baskets on the wall? I had a few of these laying around and found this great idea on Pinterest from Lolly Jane on how to put them to good use. Genius! 

As you can tell, we opted for the garage storage option. As much as I would have loved to spray paint them pink, Jeff was not interested in having anything pink anywhere in the garage. They worked great though and we were able to get quite a few things off the floor as well as items that need to be out of the reach of little hands.

While the garage may still look a bit messy to you, it is a vision of beauty to my family! 

Tummy Tuesday - Casserole of the Year

We made this new recipe (at least new for our house) last night and it was delicious!! The Pinterest post said that it was chosen as the casserole of the year but of course you never really know how legit that is until you actually cook it yourself. Is that out of two other casseroles or just because you personally feel as though it is casserole of the year? Did you actually enter the it in a casserole of the year contest and they walked up to you and place a first place blue ribbon on your casserole dish? I am now having flasbacks of The Cosby Show - didn't they have an epsiode along these lines? I feel like maybe it was something they grew in their garden? Anyways. no need to fear, it's legit and delicious!

 Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

This is the one of the best desserts ever for two vitally important reasons. 1) It is easy 2) It is Weight Watchers and crazy healthy so no guilt! Reason number two is very important considering I could pretty much eat this entire thing by myself - seriously!

• 1 package sugar free jello (any flavor)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 (8 oz) cups of fat free yogurt
• 1 (8 oz) free free cool whip
• 1 reduced fat graham cracker crust

Boil the water and dissolve jello. Whisk in the yogurt. Fold in cool whip. Pour into pie crust and chill at least 3 hours.

You can make any flavor you desire but just be sure to match the jello/yogurt combo. Key Lime (as shown below) is my favorite!!!

Serves 8 and one serving is only 3 weight watchers points. 

 Yummy!!!

Mommy Monday - Soaking Up the Sun

I hope you had a wonderful weekend - we sure did!! We pretty much spent the entire weekend outside soaking up the warm weather and sun. I had the windows open in the house with a nice breeze blowing in from outside....ahhh perfection!

Sophie was all about riding her bike this weekend and is really starting to get the hang of it. She is soo tall that Santa had to bring the tallest bike they (the elves) have that still has training wheels. This means not the standard "first bike" size. Santa delivered the perfectly pink Hello Kitty bike to Gigi and Poppy's house for Christmas and she loves it. Because the bike is so tall though,  it has taken her a bit longer to get adjusted to riding it around. However, this weekend she finally turned the corner with it. She kept saying she had to go and "fill it up with gas". She would then proceed to fill the basket with mulch from around the front porch. You know, the mulch that I had just raked and moved around to make it look all pretty?? Totally worth it though!

Slowly but surely!

She had to make a stop at the "car shop" to get her vehicle worked on. I think the thumbs up shows that she is feeling good about the services and will soon be back on the open road feeling the wind blow through her hair!

BFFFFF!

And now on a totally unreleated note - I had to share this video that Jeff showed to me last night. SO AWESOME and a very unexpected star of the Nebraska spring football game!



Nebraska Spring Football Game

Fabulous Friday - Spring is in the air

Happy Friday! These two videos will put a smile on your face!

I promise I am not a crazy cat lady. My mom and sister shared this video with me and it's hilarious. We are cat people at our house so we can truly appreciate a stalking cat!

Stalking Cat

This video I have only watched about a million times and see something new every time!! Awesome proposal!!

I think I wanna marry you

As I have mentioned before, I am all about the bright spring colors and cannot wait to fill my closet with new pieces! We are leaving for Disney World in only a few weeks so first up on the shopping list is my Disney World wardrobe. As much as I would love to do as Sophie and wear princess dresses and tutus, I not sure that would go over all that well. My shorts collection is sparce because I am more of a sundress type of gal so I quickly realized a shopping trip was in order! Luckily about that time, Ann Taylor Loft had their brightly colored shorts on spring sale - jackpot!! While they no longer have the shorts I bought on sale, they do still have select items up to 50% off! Check it out - Ann Taylor Loft Spring Sale.

Well of course I needed some new comfy but cute tops to match my new shorts and wouldn't you know, Old Navy was having their Spring sale as well. Finding all the sales at all the right times never happens to me - like seriously, never! Usually the one thing I love in the store is the one thing that is NOT on sale. Anyways, I found some super cute brightly colored Old Navy Ruffle Tops that matched my shorts perfectly. Just because I need to be comfortable at Disney World does not mean I have be boring!

will add my fushia tank under the top

will add my white tank under the top

I thought I would purchase some cute bangles for a little jewelry to add a bit of pop and then good to go!

Well wouldn't you know while I was there at Old Navy, I saw the cutest Sundress and it was also on sale. As you may have picked up on before, I feel as though you can never have too many sundresses. I accidently came home with this one -

So cute with a little jean jacket

And then you will never believe what happened next - I somehow ended up with an orange one as well. But I mean come on - we are Tennessee fans and bleed orange, it would have been just plain wrong to not purchase the orange dress!

Have a great weekend!!!



Random Thursday - Finding My Passion

I am blessed to have been born and raised in a Christian home.

Please mom don't kill me for this picture!

I have always loved God with all my heart and strive to live my life for him. However, as I have mentioned in previous posts, something has changed and shifted in my heart in the past 6 months. There is this burning desire and hunger to learn MORE, share MORE, do MORE. I feel as though I am entering a whole new chapter in my walk and relationship with Jesus and I know that burning desire and hunger is him working his will through me. 

During these recent months I have been in constant conversation with him of where do you want me? What do you want me to do? How do you want me to do it? I know he is leading me somewhere with all of this but he has yet to reveal where. Does he want us to sell everything, pack up, and move to Africa to become missionaries? Does he want us to just travel down the road and minister? I am so eager to do whatever it is that he is calling me to do that I think I sometimes loose site of the fact that he is obviously still preparing me for the journey.

Lucky for us God is so good and knows our every need. He often takes care of us in ways that we never even realize. For example, I follow some pretty amazing women through their blogs. One of the blogs I follow is Kelly's Korner. In her post this morning she shared a recent post from Beth Moore that really spoke to her. The post was entitled What would you look like? Well of course I was intrigued and had to check it out and wouldn't you know - her post talked about pretty much everything that I just shared above. She wrote about her journey with God and how we all have different passions for God and that is okay. We must discover our own passion for God and not compare it to others. So simple but so true!

Where does your passion for God lead you?

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Sidebar - as I was browsing though Kelly's Korner I also came across the piece below. I have also seen it on Pinterest and love it so of course I had to share. Luckily I did not yet have on my non waterproof mascara when I was reading it. So very important to remember (the piece below and your waterproof mascara) - especially as a full time working mama!

Wifey Wednesday - Honey Do List

Monday night Sophie and I were outside enjoying the sunny warm (by about this point every year, anything above 55 degrees = warm) weather and playing as Jeff mowed the lawn. Much to his dismay, I got distracted and started fiddling around the house. That is when I realized it is time for some Spring Cleaning. So, I checked the weekend weather and guess what - sunny and warm. You know what came next -

The exchange of  three dreaded words from a wife to her husband - HONEY DO LIST!!! Now, I love making lists for just about anything because it appeals to my OCD nature. I especially love marking through the completed items on my list. Yes, I know what you are thinking -

The honey do list for this weekend will involve Spring Cleaning. Our front porch needs to be pressure washed, top soil and seed spread on some bald spots in our backyard, and the garage organized/cleaned out. Now you don't have to start feeling bad for Jeff because I am all about helping with the list. Not so much on the soil spreading pressure washing side of things but more along the lines of cleaning and organizing the garage. I saw some super cute ideas for garage organization on Pinterest and am excited to try them out!

I will be sure post some before and after pictures assuming it all turns out better than my resurrection cookies did this past weekend. If our marriage can survive the honey do list and all of my "creative" and "exciting" Pinterest ideas for the weekend - we will be able to survive anything!