My life is full of Luxury

I actually had a post ready for today ( I know I was shocked too ) with pictures edited and all. Basically just putting my goals for August out there. I will have to post that another day because something else has come up that bugged me so much I felt like blogging about it. Because lets be real, this is the place I go when I have more to say than I can put into a facebook status or tweet. Or in this case, something I feel is important but I don't really want to shout it to the world that actually knows me in person. 

So here goes....

At least weekly I am bombarded with invites to direct sales type home parties, birthday parties, girls nights, lunches, dinners, drinks, BBQs etc. I have gotten really good at excusing my way out of them for one reason or another, but the truth is we just can't afford anything extra. People want me to run 5k's, donate for a cause, split an amazing deal they found somewhere to go wine tasting, and other things that "don't cost very much." Here's the thing... to me, they DO in fact cost more than I can afford. We live on a VERY tight budget. When I chose to stay at home after my daughter was born I had no idea how tight it would be. I knew that realistically it wasn't something we were able to afford at the time or even prepare for but I prayed and prayed and truly felt that God would provide, and He has. 

Sure, we don't get to go out to nice dinners, go on long vacations, take road trips, or buy things that aren't necessities. But, parks are free, game nights at home are free, our church events are free, and it won't be like this forever. Sometimes (more often than I care to admit) I get sad about the fact that it feels like I made a bad decision to stay at home, or the fact I haven't yet gone back to work. I feel bad for my husband who works so hard just to put all of his money towards bills and being able to put food on the table. I do surveys, enter giveaways, and babysit on the side to pay for my own car payment and gas.... but he carries our family for sure. Well in reality God does. 

All I ask is not to feel sorry for me but, pay your sitter on time, be understanding when someone tweets a TON of giveaways a day that blow up your twitter feed (this girl) and just take no for no when you invite someone out. Chances are if they could go they would, and if I could afford to babysit and be paid whenever you feel like it I would. Lastly, I enter giveaways more out of necessity than fun, I want to win so that we can enjoy some normalcy in our life..... or so I can enjoy some Starbucks and new clothes now and then ;)

Sure, it "doesn't cost that much" to most people to throw away $20.00 on whatever they want here or there, but listen to me when I say.... $20.00 to me, is gas to take my kids to the park, a couple new shirts for back to school shopping, or shoot sometimes that's my son's lunch money. When I say we don't have extra money I don't mean I just can't afford to put cash down on a new car, I literally mean If we don't NEED it to survive than I will not be spending money on it right now. My kids are happy, we own a beautiful home, have 2 decent cars, closets full of clothes (even if they are thrifted or hand me downs) we eat healthy foods, and own some really nice things. We have each other, and honestly have everything we need.

It's hard sometimes, but all in all friends LIFE IS GOOD, and my life still can be luxurious. 

          

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

I don't know about you but I always seem to be short on time. I usually forget that I need to even prepare a dinner until it's 5 o'clock and my toddler starts whining about being hungry. "Dinner mommy, EAT!" and to be 100% honest, there are many nights where dinner is thrown together and consists something of a bowl of kix and a bagel with cream cheese. So I have hit ummmm the dairy food group.... oh and breads?! Great, mom of the year. Usually my husband isn't too fond of these types of dinners. He works afternoons and  evenings so our dinner becomes leftovers for him to take for lunch and dinner at work the following day. When I don't make a legit dinner.... you guessed it, he goes without. Ok, not really. He packs himself something boring like a salad and maybe a frozen dinner. Not really gaining myself any wife or stay at home mommy points. 

So, when I want to make something super simple that will guarantee plenty of leftovers for the hubs,  I go with a casserole. Over the last 2 years as a stay at home mom I can safely say we have this about once a month and it satisfies us all. No complaints yet! I call it a loaded baked potato casserole, and then I also add chicken to the mix. 

Bear with me here because at this point in the game I just throw everything together without measuring a thing. I am positive you can't mess this bad boy up. So here ya go....

{with chicken}

Ingredients: 

• 4-6 russet potatoes
• 2 uncooked chicken breasts
• olive oil
• hot sauce
• minced garlic
• cheese
• green onions
• cooked bacon or bacon bits
• sour cream ( optional for topping )

Prep time: 10mins

Cook Time: 60 mins. 

-Preheat your oven to 475 or 500 degrees, yes that is HOT, but perfect for roasting your taters. Now let's get started.....

First, chop both your potatoes and chicken into bite size pieces. ** Don't cross contaminate people, I assume you know those rules** Set aside. Next, in a medium size bowl mix together about 1/4c. olive oil, aprox. 4TBS. hot sauce ( I use Frank's RedHot original or buffalo sauce but I'm sure any favorite would work) you can use more or less depending on the amount of heat your family likes, and then I throw in about a spoonful of minced garlic. Mix. 

Now toss the potatoes into the mixture to coat them well. Use a spoon to remove potatoes once coated and place in casserole dish. The trick here is to make sure you have left some of the sauce mixture behind when removing the potatoes. Next, add the chicken to the sauce in the bowl and coat it well. Set it aside in the fridge to marinate while you roast the potatoes. Place your casserole dish of potatoes into the oven to start roasting! * Check the potatoes and stir them around every 15mins for even roasting* While they are cooking start cutting up your onions, bacon and grate some cheese. Once your potatoes are fork tender (about 30-45mins) remove the dish, TURN THE OVEN DOWN to 450 degrees and pour the chicken and sauce mixture onto the roasted potatoes. Bake for an additional 15 mins. or until chicken is fully cooked through.

Last, remove casserole dish, top with onions, bacon, and cheese and return to the oven for an additional 5mins or until cheese is melted. Now, Serve with sour cream! Yummy!! 

I hope you all enjoy this as much as we do around here. I know personally, these are all staple ingredients in my house, so I never have to worry about running to the store last minute. Also, while the hour long cooking time may seem like some planning needs to be involved, it really goes by so fast and even my 2 year old loves watching it cook and will stop whining for dinner knowing this is on the way.

What is YOUR favorite 'go to' dinner? 

             

Back to reality

Aw man. I'm sorry guys..... time has gotten away from me.....again.

The "extreme heat" (read as mediocre to most who owns an A/C unit) that we have been having, of about 90+ degrees has thrown me off track for EVERYTHING! I'm talking meal planning, exercise, heck even doing my hair, has been pushed to the way-side. Instead I just sit outside drinking iced coffee while the kiddos play in the baby pool. Sitting in my hot and muggy office space to type away on a computer just sounded gross. Sure, I could use my phone or even my tablet, but for some reason I feel the need to write blog posts ONLY from my PC. Weirdo...I know.

Anywho.... since I last blogged, ages ago it seems, we went on a small vacation, picked berries, went on several play dates and even enjoyed a spray park! We sure have been enjoying all of our free time this summer. I have so many things to get caught up on! 

I have been learning to hate love running. I downloaded the C25K app on my phone and boy does it break it down in to manageable chunks! If y'all are anything like me and not much a fan of running but want to get into it, I highly suggest it! I have also been looking into a program called MixxedFit which is a dance/club inspired workout. I feel like once I get into great shape I may even look into teaching at a local gym or something. As Justin would say "never say never." Ew...sorry I will never quote him again. I am also eating clean 5 days a week and giving myself 2 cheat days. (still within a good calorie range) and drinking TONS of water. I figure I missed the boat on having a rock solid bod this summer so I am super determined to get there by next summer. Lots of time. I plan to document but may or may not post much along the way. I might wait until I have solid footing in the weight-loss dept. before I give any tips etc. or share anything on here. Mostly because I have fallen through every other time.

So, I am off to get organized and back to normal. Have an awesome week babes!

Comparison is stealing my joy Yo!

So here I am entering TONS of giveaways minding my own biz, when BAM, blogging inspiration hits. Clearly this happens on an average of about 2 times per month these days....

Annnnyway, I have noticed lately that if I am not getting something new everyday it feels like something is missing. I end up feeling incomplete and not very happy. I have been winning giveaways left and right, we are just getting over the month and a half of birthdays in our house, and I have found loopholes to so many systems that enable me to get things for free or cheap. So basically I look more forward to getting the mail each day than anything else. That is a super sad fact! As a Christian I realize that all these materialistic things are becoming more important than God is when it comes to how I am using my time. It's obvious that money is a "God" for many people, and this is essentially the same thing. It has been weighing on me a lot and I posted this on Facebook yesterday:

It hit me like a ton of bricks (after not getting anything but junk in the mail of course) That I am so focused on the material things in life and not focused where I should be. As a society in general we are taught to compare. Do I look like the model in that magazine? No? Well then I better aim to look like her asap because SHE is normal, there must be something wrong with me. Am I driving a new, nice car that I can feel proud taking a picture of to post on Facebook? No? Well shoot there is something wrong with our family that WE can't afford one too. We need to please everyone else, which is why everyone is up to there eyeballs in debt. All this time I thought I was avoiding being one of "those" people, because we are "good with our money." The fact is, sure I am not spending heaping amounts of money, or putting my family further into debt by spending beyond my means, BUT, I am still one of "those people." I still compare myself to everyone else, I just find the cheap or free way to get what they have. 

I consignment shop for clothes, I use gift cards, I ask for the things I really want as gifts for my birthday, I use coupon codes, and free shipping offers, I get rewards for referring friends, I win contests, I secret shop, I sell things I don't need, and I fill out surveys for extra money. 

and there it is..... the bottom line

MONEY. THINGS. MATERIAL 

Friends, none of this is coming with us when we leave this place. I know it is not an easy thing to do to stop being so dang materialistic but I think we should all start trying now. Checking the mail and getting shiny new things every day has become an addiction. Opening the packages to reveal the gifts waiting inside gives me a high. My heart and mind are in the wrong place. It is time for that to change.

I challenge you to find what is holding your heart. Is it the fact that everyone else has an "amazing relationship" (more on that later by the way!!) Is it that everyone else has a higher "status" at work, or is doing better than you with the same job. Maybe you think other moms have got it all together and you still just can't figure it out. Let it go..... seriously.

Who's with me?

            

What kind of blogger am I anyway?

Ya know, some days I feel like I walk around in a fog wondering what my exact calling is for my time here on earth. I live day in and day out doing pretty much the same mundane things. All the while replaying in my head that I should be doing more. I am bipolar, I could reach people. I have been abused, I could reach people. I was a teen mom, I could reach people. I am a christian, I could reach people. I struggle, I grieve, I have stories upon stories but somehow I can't find THE one way to really USE them. 

That was the reason I started this blog in the first place. I wanted to have a place where I could tell my stories and connect with people. But then I remember I'm human. I'm busy, I'm tired, I'm frustrated and sometimes I just want to sit and not think about anything. Sometimes i just can't organize my thoughts long enough to write anything down. Let alone try to type up a blog post that will make sense to other humans..... or try to think of a clever, caring, or comforting response for the emails that will flood my inbox. 

I used to feel like I could come here to this blog and just blab on and on about anything I wanted because hey, nobody was reading it any way. Truth be told, with that mentality how was I ever expecting to reach anyone, right?! I don't label myself with a specific title when it comes to blogging. I am not a fashion blogger because this post is really the only post I have done to show what I wear, and honestly the camera and I rarely get along ;) I am not specifically a mommy blogger because this post was the last one that I really updated you about my son and this was the last real update about my daughter. I'm most definitely not a food blogger because the last recipe I posted was here. And, as much as I would love to be a health and wellness blogger, this was the last time I even talked about my weight loss journey. There are many more categories but I guess the closest I come to is being a "lifestyle blogger" because guess what people, this is MY blog, and this IS my life. I wish I could promise to stop leaving you hanging with future blog posts, but I don't know if I will ever get better at this blogging thing. 

Perhaps someday I will get a schedule down and let you more into my life... but until then whether you stay or not I will try to reach whomever I can by just simply being me.

...........or being this edited, filtered version of me...........

Isn't that what life is about these days? Which filter makes you your best self (or selfie in this case haha)

Until next time loves!!

            

Whitney English Day Designer REVIEW!

Well darn. 

This month, well last month rather, went by WAY to fast. If I hadn't promised a review of the day designer to be up on the blog by the start of June, I definitely would have waited a few more months. In fact I will most likely have another post in the future to update this one. 

Let me start by letting you know I was not compensated for this post, I simply love being nosy when it comes to planners and seeing how everyone uses theirs so I figured I'd let you see how I use mine! (so far) All thoughts and opinions are completely my own!

Before my sister (who won't be too happy I just linked to her "blog in progress") bought me this amazing planner I had an Erin Condren Life Planner, which for the record, I also loved. I just found that my life was usually "too busy" for the small space available for each day. I kept seeing the name Whitney English pop up all over social media and did some digging. AKA Instagram stalking, using #Daydesigner in my search. I loved looking at everyone's use of the day designer and it looked like exactly what I needed. So I begged asked her to get this for me as a birthday gift. I believe she ordered it back in February or March  and I received it April 3rd. ( My day Designer started in May) The wait seemed like forever but only because I wanted to start decorating it so badly. I knew it had an April ship date, so I knew the wait would be on the longer side. Also, she ordered the "Already Authentic" version for the lesser cost and honestly, I don't know how high the standards are for not considering something "perfect" for them but I found NOTHING wrong with mine....and per the reviews neither do most others. 

Below are some of the pictures of how I use my WEDD (as my sister and I have abbreviated it haha) 

Also, here is a list straight from the Whitney English Etsy site stating what each Day Designer includes.

:: Approximate size is 9" x 9.5" x 1.25".
:: Over 350 pages!
:: A yearly calendar overview.
:: A monthly calendar overview.
:: A daily planning page for each day of the week.
:: Daily pages feature a spot for:
// Due - use to remember deadlines, projects.
// Dollars - track sales or remember what your daily financial goals are.
// Dinner - who are you eating with or what are you having?
// Don't Forget - a spot for extra reminders.
// Daily Gratitude - because gratitude changes things.
// Download - get it out of your head and onto paper.
:: Combined weekend planning pages.
:: Each day features an inspirational quote!
:: Several deep-digging worksheets to help you focus your actions on your desired outcome!

 Not sure how I feel about the highlighting and stickers used this first month

 Some days are more full, some are almost empty... I am still getting the hang of "designing my day" each morning.

 I used glitter washi and taped the velveteen ribbon to the back page of my DD. I use the ribbon as a page marker for the day I am on. **also I cut the ribbon to the shape and length I wanted**

I have decided to cover the front of each month tab with an inspirational printout, May is my birthday month of course :)

Another view of the monthly tabs.

That's about it guys. I'm sorry this first month wasn't really as exciting as I had planned. If you follow me on Instagram you will see the updates and designs I chose for my planner going forward. I will also try to get a vlog post up in the next few months as I get more familiar with it. I have plenty of black and gold washi tape, sheets, and stickers so I can definitely get more creative! Let me know what you think and if you have a Day Designer how do YOU use yours? 

  

The Midas touch

Ok, so there is some work that goes on in here...but to be honest most of the time it's play. And wasting way too much time lost on the internet. What am I talking about you ask? The office!! That's right, we finally got our office revamp complete. We even officially sold the old desk this morning (it's true, as in less than an hour ago that sucker was still sitting in our hallway downstairs hogging my space) I could not be more thrilled that my quiet place is completely finished!

I got a tad crazy with the gold spray paint, but it's the one room in my house I got to be feminine and paint whatever I wanted GOLD! 

Let me just say before I post pictures that we didn't want to spend a ton of money on such a small space in our house, so we put less than 100 smackers into it. I was very resourceful and thrifty ( I'm sure you're not surprised) and managed to use a lot of what we already had to spruce up our space.

--and a lot of gold spray paint--

Here are some pictures of the finished product!

(sorry about the "dream" lighting I used my iphone and couldn't cancel out the window)

So what do you think? In case you forgot, I used my Day Designer as inspiration as far as the colors go.
** Also, I will be posting a review of the Day Designer in a few days so stay tuned**

As always with my ADHD brain, I have no idea how long this design will last but so far I am loving it! Some things are not 100% complete but they will be with time. Also, that gold beach chair up there...um yeah, I sent hubs to the store to get a nice (preferably dark colored wood) chair for Jaida's toddler table and he came home with a hot pink beach chair. Lesson learned, next time if I have something specific in mind I will do it myself I guess. haha.

So that's it folks....

Oh my goodness, I just realized that I never finished a post about my field trip with Jordon from last week! I guess I will have to combine it all into a post after tomorrows field trip to the zoo!!  Enjoy the rest of your week loves!