10-4 Good Buddy: A Blog Hop {April Edition}

Abby is an adoptive mommy with an ADORABLE little boy.  I found her blog, Akers of Love, when she was doing a series on adoption and I stuck around ever since!  On the 4th day of every month, she asks 10 questions with a link-up.  Here’s this month’s edition!

1. What is your favorite vacation spot?

Mount Desert Island, Maine (home of Acadia National Park).  No questions asked! We went camping there for years and years and years growing up.  I have never felt so at home (besides my actual home) any other place on earth.  My soul feels at peace there, as corny and ridiculous as it sounds! 

{via}

 

2. What is the first record, cassette or cd you remember buying or receiving as a gift?

Oh my gosh – well it was definitely a cassette – because I remember when cd’s came out!  WOW am I old now!  haha Probably Point of Grace!  lol

 

3. What is your favorite picture from last month {March}? 

For sure this picture.  Not that it’s the best picture we’ve ever taken (um, my hair has birds nesting in it) but because I was with Lindsay in Pennsylvania thrifting on a Saturday morning and all was right with the world. :)

 

4. Last month, I asked you what your favorite piece of furniture was.  What is your least favorite piece of furniture in your home?

Probably our bed.  Our mattress itself is amazingly comfy, but we’ve never had a real bed – only the metal bed frame that came with it at the mattress store.  I really want a real bed with a headboard and footboard but they are SO expensive!  Someday I would love to have a sleigh bed!

5. What was your first job?

JCPenney men’s department, the summer after junior year of high school.  I worked 40 hours a week.  It was actually really fun!  I liked the job a lot. 

 

6. What is the last thing you purchased on-line?

An antique map of Connecticut from Etsy!  I am SO excited for it to arrive!  It was my first Etsy purchase ever. :) Can you see it down there in the stack?  It’s from the shop Unexpected Elegance. 

{via Unexpected Elegance}

 

7. Does your family have any nicknames for you?

My husband calls me Babe or Baby a lot.  Everyone pretty much calls me Jess, if that counts as a nickname?  lol  Although one of my oldest and best friends calls me Jessica and has NEVER called me Jess.  It would totally throw me off if she did.  :)

 

8. What is the newest blog that you have discovered that you love?

I am always finding great new blogs that I love!  I think my most favorite recent “find” was Karen Ehman’s site.  She’s written a couple of books that I really enjoyed, and I was so happy to find her blog!  Plus she’s just wrapping up a series on hospitality, which is a subject I really enjoy reading/learning/getting better about! 

 

9.  What is your favorite post that you wrote last month? 

WOW.  I didn’t realize until now that I only wrote TWO posts last month!  I really did take a blogging break, I guess!  Of the two my favorite would be the St. Patrick’s Day Felt Garland Tutorial.  I still have it hanging up now – it goes with my Easter stuff, too! 

 

10. What is one thing that most of your readers don't know about you?

I am SO grossed out by belly buttons and eyes.  I hate when people touch their belly buttons (even Luke!) and the thought of anyone like pushing in on my belly button seriously makes me feel woozy.  I specifically remember when we had the big 20-week ultrasound with Luke – his head was right behind my belly button and the tech kept rubbing the probe over and over and over it.  I was seriously was about to pass out right there on the table.  And don’t even get me started on when people rub their eyes and it makes that gooshy sound.  AaaaaaaaaaaaaHHH!! just writing that made me want to throw up!  hahaha

 

Have a great rest of your week! :)

My Husband’s Gone and I’ve Got a Hot Date…

…with Joan, Peggy, Roger, Betty, and Don.  :)

{via}

{Just to clarify, my husband is at small group and I stayed home with Luke because he hasn’t fully transitioned into post-Daylight Savings Time. lol} 

Ohhhhhh, I love this show!  I started watching it because I needed movies to watch while I ran on the elliptical at night since we don’t have a tv.  I saw Mad Men Season 4 at the library, so I rented it.  Then someone returned Seasons 2 & 3, so I rented those…and then I got on the waitlist for Season 1.  Yup, completely backwards!  haha So I am currently in the midst of Season 1. 

I know that Season 5 premieres on March 25th, but since we don’t have tv I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it might be on Hulu or some other website like that.  If not, I guess I’ll have to wait an agonizingly long time until it comes out on DVD! 

And before anyone goes sitting down and watching this for family movie night because I said I loved it, a little disclaimer.  I would never watch this show with kids and honestly not even with my husband.  The themes are very adult and I do not stand behind every episode.  I do think the series overall is brilliantly written and the storylines totally suck you in.  Oh, and of course the amazing costumes.  Okay, glad I got that off my chest. ;)

So tell me, are you a Mad Men fan?  Who are your favorites?  I love Joan, because she’s….Joan and Roger’s my other favorite.  I love his sense of humor and I think he looks SO much like my husband will in another 25-30 years. 

Gotta go! :)

Three Random Things to Tell You

Okay actually four. 

1.  A while ago when I posted my Crockpot Salsa Chicken recipe I also shared a recipe for homemade tortillas.  These tortillas are so, so good –and I had wondered if I could freeze them to use at a later time.  I just wanted to share that I have since tried freezing them two ways: first, I made all the balls and froze them that way and then pulled them out of the freezer, thawed them, rolled them out and cooked them when I needed them.  They turned out fine but it was a lot of extra work. 

Now I make a big batch, cook them all, then wrap the extras in plastic wrap, then foil, then put in a freezer bag.  Thaw before you need them and they come out great!  Still chewy and everything.  I love this because now I only need to make a mess of rolling them out and getting out the griddle once.  Just wanted to pass that along. 

2.  We made it to January 19th without any serious snow.  We now have about 8-10 inches.  I still can’t believe we made it to mid-January in Connecticut without snow.  It’s unreal!  I feel like I got a taste of a Southern winter this year and I’m not gonna lie….I’m kinda jealous of what it must be like down there every year! It was so nice to have such a mild winter.  But the snow is pretty, I will admit – so I’m trying to be content that it’s here now and I really have absolutely no choice but to live with it.  lol

3.  I’m still pressing on in the weight loss and exercise department!  I will post an update next week.  If you’re working hard at this, too, KEEP GOING!  You can totally do it!  :)

4.  My son Luke had a big eval this week for his feeding and sensory issues.  The reason I didn’t post at all this week was because we learned that he is going to need more therapies than we originally thought.  It has been a really hard and emotional week for both of us as we’ve processed this info.  I will share more at a later time but for now we could both totally use prayer for wisdom for us and the specialists who will be working with him in the future. 

Thanks all!  I hope you are enjoying your Saturday – whatever it may look like outside your window.  :)

Web Links to Share

Hey everybody!  Well, good news, I went the gym and lived to tell about it!  Hallelujah! :)  I know you were all on the edge of your virtual seats.  In fact, I have gone twice more since then and plan to go again tomorrow.  Crazy!! Me and the elliptical machine are quickly becoming enemies bffs.  I have a TON of big life events coming up this summer, so thankfully my workout motivation is still high and I hope to keep it that way! 

Anyway, this weekend I will be traveling to my alma mater, Cedarville University, to see my baby sister *sniff sniff* graduate from college.  And by see her graduate, I mean that I get to take 2 incredibly boring 12-hour car rides in which I can’t read any books or magazines because I get terribly car sick, followed by a 3-hour ceremony in which my sister is involved for approximately 13.5 seconds.  The things you do for family!  Chris will be staying home with Luke for obvious reasons.  I’ve only ever left Luke overnight before, so honestly, being away from him for three and a half days will be the hardest part of the trip.  It seriously makes me tear up when I think about leaving him….so I just try not to think about it at all!  I hope the time moves quickly!

Since I won’t be around for a bit, I thought it might be fun to leave you with some fun links, recipes, etc. that I’ve found recently.  I love when people do this – I have found some of my favorite websites this way! So, here they are, in no particular order:

{1} The Handmade Home is offering free alphabet prints from their site.  How cute are these???!! I’ve died and gone to playroom heaven. 

 

{2} Loving the red and aqua colors used in this playroom from Remodeling this Life.  Can you tell that playrooms are on my mind right now? :)

{3} Speaking of rooms I’m obsessed with, I’m totally in love with Emily’s kitchen.  Like, get me a pillow and I’ll just live on the countertops.  She recently posted pictures of her living room.  Is it bad if you can’t stop thinking about a room in someone else’s home?!  lol 

 

I definitely love traditional homes with neutral and muted colors.  But I’m also starting to love bright colors and rooms with a vintage-y feel.  I have seriously no idea how I am going to decorate this new house.  No idea. 

{4} And speaking of kitchens, these crackers from Oh She Glows are totally on my list of things to make when I get back from Ohio.  Yum. 

 

{5} Clover Lane is quickly becoming one of my MOST favorite blogs.  She (I can’t find her real name anywhere on the site!) is so, so insightful, especially her posts on parenting.  I always leave feeling challenged in my faith, home, and mothering.  One of my favorite posts of hers deals with house contentment.  After you read it, stay and browse a while – you won’t be sorry you did!

{6} Melissa from 320 Sycamore is another one of my favorite bloggers, and last year before Mother’s Day she had a whole bunch of guest posts on motherhood.  She is doing it again this year and just started.  Check it out here.

{7} Lastly, if you’re moving like me or just want to freshen up a room, you should totally check out Melissa’s sister’s blog, Favorite Paint Colors.  It is a total treasure-trove of paint ideas, and you get to see them in real homes with real furniture and sunlight coming through the windows.  It has been such a great resource for me as we prepare to move in TWO WEEKS :).  I’m thinking of painting my kitchen gray with a hint of green like this one:

Hope you enjoyed browsing the links!  Have a wonderful week and weekend, everyone!  See you sometime next week! :)

{all pictures are owned by their respective websites}

The Newlywed Game

Hey guys!  The Valentine’s craft I promised has taken a bit of a detour (which is actually a good thing, since I like my new idea better), but it won’t be ready until probably Monday.  In the meantime,  I found this fun “Newlywed Game” on another blog recently (no author was listed) and decided to replicate it here.  It was so funny to see Chris typing and looking at me to try to figure out if he was answering the questions right.  I wouldn’t tell him anything until the end, but he did a really good job!  It made us both laugh. :)

Feel free to copy and paste the questions and ask your own husband or significant other! 

1. She’s sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?

DH: Selling New York, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Say Yes to the Dress, or Four Weddings

Me: Hahaha, well, he nailed this one!  My mom and I are into wedding shows since my sister’s getting married in September and we have a shower to plan.  I’ll pretty much watch anything on HGTV (or any real-estate show, period), and RHBH is my (very guilty, no-men-allowed-in-the-room pleasure! haha)

2. You’re out to eat, what kind of dressing does she get on her salad?

DH: Balsamic Vinaigrette

Me: That used to be true, then I started using EVOO and red wine vinegar while Somersizing, and now I just like the vinegar! 

3. What’s one food she doesn’t like?

DH: Whole milk

Me: Yup, and cottage cheese.  Blech.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink, what does she order?

DH: A fruity margarita

Me: True, or some kind of sangria.  If I’m not ordering a real drink (which is 99% of the time), I like seltzer with a splash of cranberry and a lime. Also, I’m salivating at the above picture.

5. What shirt size does she have?

DH: Small

Me: Yup, I am an x-small or small depending on the brand (I’m only 5’2”).  I’m not the world’s skinniest girl but I’m pretty sure I do claim the title of World’s Most Ridiculously Short Torso.  Which was also why my stomach was HUGE with Luke because there was literally just NO place for him to go.  Ah, but I digress…….

6. What shoe size does she have?

DH: 6 or 7, depending on the brand

Me: Yup.  Wouldn’t it be earth-shattering for all designers to use a uniform size for shoes, so that you always knew what size you were?!

7. What’s her favorite type of sandwich?

DH: A Philly cheese steak from Philly

Me: Oh yes, without a question.  Definitely one of those life-circumstances where the moans were coming and the husband was totally embarrassed.  hahaha!  But I mean seriously?! Have you ever eaten one of those things?!  Worth all 4,987 calories. 

8. What would she eat everyday if she could?

DH: Dark chocolate

Me: Mmmmmm so true. 

9. What is her favorite cereal?

DH: Kix

Me: I don’t eat processed cereal anymore, but if I was, you know, stranded on a desert island and just happened to have a array of cereals to choose from, those would definitely be what I ate first.  ;)

10. What would she never wear?

DH: A sweater with animals on it

Me: Hahahaha! This answer makes me laugh.  Very true.  Animal print, yes, actual pictures of animals, definitely not. 

11. What is her favorite sports team?

DH: She doesn’t have one

Me: Yup, and I couldn’t care less about sports! 

12. What is something she does that you wish she wouldn’t do?

DH: She picks her fingernails

Me: In my defense, I don’t do this very often anymore.  Unless I’m really nervous or stressed.  Totally gross and bad habit, I admit it! (Also, I thought it was probably better not to attempt to Google Image this. You’re welcome.) 

13. What is her heritage?

DH: Italian, Irish

Me: Pretty much!  My great-grandparents came over “on the boat” from Italy. 

 14. You bake her a cake, what kind of cake?

DH: Triple chocolate (homemade chocolate cake, chocolate icing, chocolate chips on top)

Me: Oooh, honey, can you make it right now?!  lol (This is the only thing my husband bakes, and I have to say, he does an incredible job at it!)

15. Did she play sports in high school?

DH: No, she was a band geek

Me: Band was the best experience of my high-school career, babe! But yes, for the sake of all who know me, it’s much better if I never attempt any kind of athletic feat. 

16. What could she spend hours doing?

DH: Looking at blogs online

Me. Ummmmm…yes. 

17. What is the unique talent that she has?

DH: She sings

Me: I do like to sing me some tunes. :)

18. What is her type of coffee?

DH: Cafe mocha from Starbucks

Me:  Yup, that’s probably my most usual!  Tall, decaf, non-fat, no whip.  170 calories of blisssssssssssssssssssssssss. :)

Feel free to copy and paste!  (Except delete my answers, of course, because…well, that would just be creepy. :)

Bits and Pieces from Around the Web

First, I am so happy to announce that Darlene is back as a sponsor! Darlene is a personal friend of mine who is a scrapaholic (I say it with love! :) and she has made quite the business out of her hobby. She is your go-to girl for scrapbooking supplies. She is a Christian work-at-home-mom and I can personally vouch for her integrity. If you are interested in scrapbooking supplies, please visit her site, My Scrapbook Addiction.

Also, if you are interested, Darlene wanted me to pass the word on that all Cricut cartidges and scrapbook kits come with free shipping to USA locations at this time. Happy shopping!

Second, my monogram project was featured at Frugal with a Flourish. Thanks, Jess! I’m reallllly wishing that I’d taken that photo during the day instead of at night, but it’s too late for that now. :)

Third, this ADORABLE mug project was also featured at Frugal with a Flourish, via Design Mom. I absolutely must make these, as fast as possible. lol Aren’t they precious?!

Fourth, I posted this on my FB page and wanted to repost it here. I found this video from For the Mommas Facebook page and just couldn’t resist sharing it – trust me, you’ll laugh at how ridiculous it seems now. ;)

Lastly, I’ll be back later this week with a Valentine’s craft! Stay tuned! :)

A Week of Disappointments {With One Shiny Exception}

It’s just been such a blaaaaah week here.  The kind that potentially was going to be great, and turned out to be such a let-down. 

First, we finally got word from the bank about our house.  This should have been a good thing, because it’s only 40 days from the day we signed the contract, which is really fast for a short sale.  The bad news is that they refused to give us a scrap of money towards closing.  Since it’s a foreclosure and it needs a little work here and there (not to mention 3 appliances), that’s just not an option for us.  We need to move into that house with some money in the bank. 

Thankfully, our realtor was venting in the office and found out that the same bank had just given someone else’s client 3% back at closing. So, we resubmitted our offer last night, asking for 3% instead of 6% back.  I want that house *so* badly, but it really is gonna have to be God at this point.  This is pretty much our last-ditch effort. 

Second, I was all psyched up to have my interview this week (like I shared on Monday), but thanks to Snowmaggedon yet another snow storm, it got canceled.  Annnnnnd I was having a really good hair day, which is a rare occurrence around here thanks to my post-baby new 1-inch bangs in front.

Oh, and in case you think I’m kidding about the snow, allow me to show you the view from the front door:

Can you see the neighbor’s mailbox?  Nope, me neither. 

Third, my car’s horn died, the oil needs to be changed, and two mysterious substances are leaking from the bottom.  Awesome. 

Fourth, I went to my ENT to have a tube put in my ear (last time I had it done, I was 4 and was put under), and what was supposed to be a pain-free, easy surgery ended up with 4 failed attempts (successful on the 5th) to place the tube in my ear, thanks to my “severely twisted canal.” Oh, and I apparently have a flap on my ear drum (?), which resulted in the intense pain I felt every time he inserted the instruments, which resulted in me bawling (I tried to hold it together, but I just couldn’t), which resulted in my doctor getting upset because I kept heaving sobs, which bumped his arm, which moved the microscope, which moved the tube, which moved the dangling ear drum….you get the picture.  All the while, the nurse is telling me “You’re doing great!!!!!! Just don’t move.” 

Not one of the finer moments of my adult life. 

In his defense, the doctor did apologize later for being so stern and for how terrible it went.  Which only made me start to cry more, in front of him.  I’m one of those people where if you get me crying even a little bit, it’s pretty much all gonna come out.  It was pretty spectacular, in case you were wondering.

Which leads me to the one lovely point of my terribly crappy week:  yesterday, I arrived home from the procedure, with big puffy eyes and a wicked sore ear, to find a box in the mailbox with my name on it. 

Aka, my last Christmas gift from Chris, so belated because I couldn’t make up my mind on which one I wanted. 

And this, my friends, is what was inside:

Um, seriously, I can’t stop thinking about this necklace.  I didn’t want to take if off last night and I couldn’t wait to put it on this morning.  It’s my new favorite thing I own.  I’m totally, utterly, in love with its adorableness.  And as a bonus, Simply Been, the company, is run by two Christian moms (love), in honor of one of the mom’s sons, Ben, who passed away.  I love supporting Christian mommies, and I love supporting the memory of a sweet little baby.  AND I LOVE THIS PIECE OF JEWELRY! 

{My attempts at a self-portrait of this really failed,
so this is all you’re getting, unfortunately! Also, my super-sensitive skin
is splotchy since I kept moving the necklace to get it straight. Lovely.}

So anyway, it’s finally Saturday.  Looking forward to church tomorrow and starting a new, fresh week. 

With my fingers crossed. ;)

Yup, I'm Still Alive..........

I have just been too busy LIVING LIFE to stop and blog! (And really, is that a bad thing!?) Over the past week I've had my best friend and her son come to stay for 3 days and now my sister is here for almost a week on her fall break from college. She just got engaged last month and this is the first time I've seen her or her ring since then. Today we went dress shopping and she found her dress at the first store! When does that ever happen?! She just found the one and she loved it so she bought it and it's beautiful so I'm so happy for her. Anyway, I literally have 6 ideas for posts swarming in my head (I made a note today so I won't forget about them); I'm just not sure when I'll be around to type them back up. I don't get to see my sister very often so I'm just trying to enjoy time with her while she's here this week.

Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say hi (it's been a 8 days since my last post - I was starting to get the shakes! lol) and let you know that there will be more coming soon. One of my upcoming posts will be your thoughts about Santa and kids and what traditions with that you grew up with because I'm really not sure how I feel about that and Luke so I'll be asking all of your opinions! Whew I feel like I just used a loooooooot of exclamation points and a lot of really long sentences. :)

Be back soon - thanks for sticking with me! :)

Miscellany Monday {1}

My blog friend Carissa has been hosting this party for weeks now, and I am finally getting my act together in time to join in! 

1.  I still have phantom baby kicks.  In the exact same place I first started feeling Luke.  I know they’re phantom because I’ve had them off and on for the past 6 months, and I’ve taken two ridiculously expensive ClearBlue tests because nothing but a clear  “Pregnant” or “Not Pregnant” will do when you have an extremely high-maintenance 6 month old and your doctor has expressly ordered you not to get pregnant before a year since it could be very dangerous for your incision.  It freaked me out in the beginning, but now it’s normal life.  Does this happen to anyone else???!!

2.  I was eating salad the other day and I thought about how vinegar is salty without being salty and then I thought about Psalty the big blue singing book thing from the 80s (this is how my brain works all the time).  Remember him?  We would totally listen to all of the tapes as kids.  I even had a Psalty Bible.  I was preeeeetty awesome.  “I caaaast all my caaaares upon Youuuuuu……” :)

3.  I am ridiculously excited that summer is here.  I feel like I kinda got gypped out of my summer last year since I worked til June 10th, was hot and uncomfortable, then had a pre-birth overnight hospital scare (long story!), then had Luke 12 days early, then spent the rest of the summer trying to recover from my c-section, suffer through failed breastfeeding and pumping, and take care of a baby who had days and nights all mixed up.  But you already knew all of that. :)  This summer, I say BRING IT ON! :)

4.  Something very exciting happened in our lives this past week and I can’t wait to share it with all of you soon! (Although my FB friends will find out sooner…. :)

Happy Monday!  It’s my grocery shopping and CVS day – off to get those deals! :)

Some Bloggy “Housekeeping”

1.  I realized that I never posted my “clean recipe” goals for April. The first one (obviously) was Italian dressing, which I posted about on Tuesday.  The second is granola bars – you are just gonna swoon when you try this recipe – it’s awesome!  It will be posted later in the month. 

2.  I have no idea what happened to Mr. Linky yesterday – half the time I could see it, half the time I couldn’t.  I’m just gonna tell myself that’s the reason there were only two link-ups!  lol I really don’t want to have to kill my own party, guys! :)  Pretty please don’t make me!  I’d love for you to come back next Wednesday and show off those flea market/thrifting/drugstore/grocery deals. 

3.  If you visited from the UBP and I haven’t been to your site yet, please don’t be offended!  I am trying to make it to everyone who came and you guys all left such sweet comments.  I have an extremely active 9-month-old who sometimes makes it impossible to sit down and read blogs for any long period of time – so don’t take it personally!

4.  I’m taking a week-long bloggy vacation – we’re headed off to Connecticut tomorrow for a few days and I don’t usually use the computer while I’m there (at least not to blog).  Crackbook has too strong of a hold on me to let it go that long!  lol I’ll be back next Wednesday with the PARTY (lol) and then Thursday or Friday with my latest house project if all goes as planned. 

I’m looking forward to catching up with some friends I haven’t seen in years (like this lovely lady) this weekend, as well as spending time with family and other close friends and taking Luke to the beach to take some photos of him.  A sweet older woman from our church bought him a 6-9 month sailor outfit (complete with hat!) and I have been dying to get him it in by the water. 

Have a wonderful weekend, bloggy friends! :)