Surprise!!

Oh my word... How BEAUTIFUL is my new blog design? Super pretty right?! Shout out to Jane over at Poppiness for making all my blog design dreams come true! Christmas is over... It was amazing... My stomach hates me. The end. Ok, but really I can't be the only one who pushes my stomach capacity to the max on both Thanksgiving AND Christmas. I hate to be the New Years resolution type and plan to "workout and eat right" (starting January 1st of course) but that is my very plan. I think we might be going to Hawaii for my 30th...ahhhh... So I better get moving with less than 6 months left... Double ahhhh. I'm trying to decide how and if I want to document my weight loss journey. I have started and failed several times in the past, so do I risk the lack of follow through or just stick with something for once? I'm not worried about quitting... Just worried about posting progress on the blog. Blogger fail #175480 On that note I also failed to take ANY pictures this Christmas! I was just so in the moment with the family and kids that I documented nothing. I will regret it won't I? Boooo.  Let's just say I am the queen of making goals and resolutions and I NEVER follow through. This needs to change. I plan to change.  New Years resolution for 2014: Don't just say it.... DO IT!!  -and take pictures -and stop being a people pleaser -and blog more -and ...... To be continued. Maybe ;)      

Remember the Reason!

 

keep going!!

Whew... what a week right? Seriously this entire month has been so full of craziness and has moved so quickly that I am just constantly playing catch up! I swear there cannot be an entire month between Thanksgiving and Christmas.... how is that possible..... it FLIES!   I haven't posted anything about my business this entire month! No giveaways, no wrap parties, not even an inspirational quote! I'm sure everyone thinks I have thrown in the towel. Even though I have definitely lost the title for best business owner for the month of December, I can assure you I am still going strong slinging' the wraps! I really blame it on Breaking Bad.... we started watching it on Netflix and Could.Not.Stop! I have a hole in my heart and emptiness in my soul now that its finished too! Clearly there was no time for anything else during our binge watching sessions, not to mention I couldn't let anything pull me away. No way José!    Sad?! Only if you have never seen it because I promise y'all would feel the same if you had watched!!   Anyway, I should totally jump right back into my work but I am full of excuses for the rest of December. We are having Christmas brunch at our house this year so I have lots of shopping and prepping to do before hand. This may be a lie, I am just making a casserole. Hehe.   If anyone else is feeling drained these days due to the holiday crazies then I have one thing to say to you....    
 

 

really this is one of my favs for the business and my team but I think it applies here too! Don't let life and the crazy consume you! Laugh... be merry... enjoy yourselves and I will strive to do the same!

That's all for now.... I have something super exciting happening behind the scenes in the blog world, cant wait to reveal it!

 

Stay tuned!

 

 

Ya can't turn a ho into a housewife!

..... but you can turn an old fleece sweatshirt into a stuffed fox!   You guessed it people, it's refashion time! *remember that time I said I wanted to do a refashion at least once a month...ummm yeah* So lately I have been joining in the madness that is holiday giveaways, and if you have ever entered a giveaway ( or 50) then you know you end up finding/following a lot of new blogs and seeing great ideas pop up in your Facebook newsfeed. I happened to come across this super cute stuffed fox DIY by Crystal from Stitched by Crystal. Of course the way that I am when I see something this cute, and not to mention simple enough for me to try, I tell myself Jaida HAS to have it. RIGHT NOW.   Well we were obviously not anywhere near a craft store so I had to find another way to get my hands on some fleece STAT..... and DUH, it's winter and you're talking to the girl that keeps outdated and outgrown clothes way past their prime... so I grabbed an old fleece sweatshirt from my closet! I already had some felt sheets on hand so I got to work!  

 

 

Oh and side note .... if you are like me and runs through things without fully reading the directions first then let me fill you in on an important piece I missed the first time... after cutting out the pattern (last 3 pages of tutorial) you have to TAPE a couple of the pieces together...   SEE      

 

THEN you can cut!

 

 

 

Now follow the tutorial by Crystal HERE.

 

TA DAAAAA... here's my final product :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now off to make some more for Christmas gifts!!

 

Its gettin REAL folks

I had no intentions to blog today. In fact I have been so super busy and on my feet most of the day that I just wanted to stalk everyone else's blogs and drink my chai latte in peace.   No but really look at this super sweet ceramic tumbler my friend bought me as an early Christmas gift         LOVE!!   Anyway, as I was reading through blogs I happened upon one of my favorites Living in Yellow and Erin had written about things she was afraid to open up about on her blog. It got me thinking... not only about her #10 thing, because that was a good one as I often wonder the same thing, but about being open and honest when blogging in general. When I started my very first blog - this hideous mess- my intentions were to write all about my pregnancy, every.last.detail. I was planning to document the gas and bloating and hemorrhoids and all the other wonderfully truthful pregnancy side effects. Then I started reading other pregnancy blogs with chalkboard signs showing the size of the baby with its corresponding fruit, and nurseries decorated with trendy chevron patterns, teepees and foxes. Everyone was cloth diapering and pureeing fruits and veggies into pre-frozen baby food pouches. So I bowed out of honest posts gracefully and jumped on the perfect pregnancy bandwagon.   Well fast forward to 2013, and although I am not pregnant anymore (now THAT would make for a good blog story.... shoot even news story....) I realized that often I don't blog because my life isn't rosy enough at the moment or all I want to do is complain but I don't want to be "that blogger." I make sure to post only the best pictures of my family and lifestyle and leave out the messy moments. My biggest fault is that I started this blog as an online journal, where I could open up and vent to the online world, meet people that are similar, and maybe help someone along the way.   I have failed.   HONESTLY, I am bipolar. As in diagnosed and medicated. HONESTLY, I have lazy tendencies and procrastinate way to much. HONESTLY, I am 40lbs overweight and need to get my bum in gear. HONESTLY, I am a Christian and feel like I have a strong relationship with God, yet I have so many questions and doubts and often I just don't hear him. HONESTLY, marriage is hard I mean freaking HARD and people just don't talk about it. HONESTLY, our finances are extremely tight and its because of MY choice to be a stay at home mom when we could really use a second income.   Lastly, I am extremely afraid to displease people or not fit in, but guess what you guys? I think we ALL share so many of these issues and what kind of community of bloggers are we if we keep living in the fake world where its all about keeping up with the Jones' .... or Kardashians ;)   So who else is jumping on the honesty train and gettin real with the blog world for 2014?!  

 

Baby it's cold outside {and a recipe}

Wow.... can I just say I am so not used to this 10° weather at night!! We recently upgraded to some really nice heaters downstairs and yet we woke up to 64° inside. I know that's not THAT cold but I like my 70 degree home!!   In our house Sunday is "Soup Sunday" in the fall and winter. I happen to love this day because it usually means simmering soup in a crackpot and toasting up some crunchy bread which means EASY dinner night for chef mommy! We bought a butternut squash the other day and I have been waiting all week to make one of my all time favorite soups. Butternut Squash Soup (topped with parm and bacon) I was actually so excited that I prepped everything last night so I could make it early enough for the hubs to take to work! He isn't a big "squash fan" and really not even a lover of soup Sunday in general but even he liked this finished product! I'm sure the bacon had something to do with that.   I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did.     BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH BACON & PARMESAN    

 

 

Ingredients:

 

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 pieces of bacon
• 1/3 cup cream (optional)
• Parmesan cheese to top

Instructions:

 

Melt the butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is soft ( about 4-5 mins) Add cubed squash and sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Next add in the broth, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer on medium-low for about 25 minutes, or until squash has softened.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a separate skillet until crispy.  Drain on a paper towel.

 

Once the squash has softened, puree the soup with either an immersion blender, or transfer to a food processor or standing blender. When smooth return to pot and stir in cream. 

 

Serve in bowls with shredded parmesan cheese and bacon on top.

 

 

Enjoy, and stay warm my friends!

 



 

  

  

 

 

 

   

Why I have been busy all day with nothing to show for it

Besides a dirty kitchen.... and sore back   I was supposed to go to MOPS (mothers of pre-schoolers) today at the church but decided to skip it because I had WAY too much on the to do list.    So as usual about once a month I sat down to blog and ended up looking through my phone for some pictures. That reminded me that I was participating in a photo a day challenge so I snapped a pic and headed over to Instagram. I scrolled through Instagram for a bit and saw all the posts about the DOUBLE bonus my company is offering right now, which reminded me that I needed to get my monthly newsletter sent out. While typing up the newsletter I got a notification on my tablet of a new high paying survey available so I clicked the notification and was brought to my email inbox. In the inbox I noticed another email from someone needing a babysitter from a service I used to be a part of so I clicked to read the message. After reading the message I was curious just how many people nearby needed a nanny or sitter so I went to the website. While scrolling through the job listings another email notification came up from a client so I went to the email box to respond and then ended up doing some research on my website. After researching and replying to the email hubby started a new (to us) episode of Breaking Bad on Netflix, I went back to writing my newsletter because no, I had not finished yet.   Watched 2 full episodes of Breaking Bad while continuing to work on the newsletter.   Computer froze.....   Almost completed after 3 hours of work Newsletter.... GONE   Decided to take a break to eat some lunch when I came back to the computer there was another email reminding me about the card swap I had signed up for so I went out to Pinterest for ideas. While looking on Pinterest for card ideas I ended up looking at meal ideas, workouts, cute clothes, crafts and giveaways. I clicked on a giveaway. This one giveaway turned into several which led to me remembering that my sister had sent me some info for yet another giveaway, so I went onto Facebook to find the message. While scrolling back through the message I saw a link she had posted for the new meal/workout plan we are doing together so I clicked the link.   I'll stop here because you guys..... it was only about NOON at this point.   All of this should help explain why it is now 7:30pm and the only successful thing I have completed today has been making dinner.   Please help me to reign in my ADHD brain! How am I ever supposed to just stick to one thing without forgetting to do everything else AHHHHH.