A Penny For Your Thoughts

  If you know me at all, you know procrastination is my badge, even if I do try very hard not to be like that.  My fellow blogger Marci from Life With Joys  challenged us to a September Kindness Challenge to buy an unsuspecting stranger a cup of coffee in the month of September.  On September 30th at 3:00pm, I decided to buy my unsuspecting coworker a box of popcorn :)  We like to walk to the student Union for an afternoon snack a few days a week.  Today I paid first and told the clerk I was going to pay for her's as well.  My coworker of course said if she knew I was paying, she would have upgraded to something more expensive than popcorn......gotta love your friends :)     

Do you ever have trouble deciding what to wear or just feel like you are in a noncreative rut?  If you follow me on Pintrest, you already know that my girls and I like fashion.  Well most of us.  One of us, I am not mentioning who.... hasn't joined on the bandwagon yet. or at least we feel she hasn't. She always looks cute, but could care less about "trying" to look cute.  It works for her though.   Lucy REALLY likes to put an outfit together, only I sometimes wonder if she takes the "mixing patterns and/or mixing colors" theory a little...ummm....off the mark :)  When you are 8 and under and super adorable, it works too.  So in order to spice things up, I found this on the following awesome blog....      Fashion Instagram Challenge on Modern Modesty          I am going to do this in the month of October, maybe with my four daughters.  I probably ...

    Time to link up with Andrea  for Friday Favorites of the week.  I don't feel like I was home at all this week, I cooked supper once so far this week.  Doug and I have been eating well, the poor girls have had cereal, ramen, soup, etc.  Tonight they will probably insist.  I am thinking Chili.....     The Man and I had a date night to Farm and Fleet, and then to Panera.  #marriedalongtime     This picture doesn't do it justice but the sun was just gorgeous through the clouds the other night.   Bella wearing a hand made scarf....#catladyproblems #daughterswhostilldressthepets   My beautiful niece graduated from design school.  She is in heels. I am short but not THAT short compared to her :)   Does the skyline of Chicago ever get old?  Not to me.   My Madison and dear friend Donna.  Two very special loves of my life :)   ...

    Well when I did post #100 I decided to write about what I had learned about from the Blogging World.   I have decided to do that again this time, so here goes...     1.  Downy Unstopables...seriously I wish I had joined this parade a long time ago.  They are amazing and make the clothes smell soooo good.  I intend to try the other scents as well.  I usually don't add any fragrance to things because of my allergies, but this product has not seemed to bother them so far.        2.  Whoa Wait Walmart  blog.  I am a huge Walmart fan anyway and often know about the items they post before I see it here, but I also have made some good purchases that I love after seeing their posts or IG photos.  These are my new booties that I actually had bought before they showed up on IG or the blog.  Maybe they need a third contributor...lol. Their picture, not mine. ...

  Yes, Yes, Yes I do.   I have a morning routine and an evening routine and without them I would go crazy.....    First thing in the morning, I feed the cats.  If I didn't do this first, the puppy would go nuts.  She makes sure this happens first.  Wierd but true.  Then I feed both dogs, make a cup of coffee, and sit down to check emails and read my devotions.  I usually check out instagram, blog lovin, and facebook on my phone as well.  Then the morning "get ready for work" routine begins.     Then I go to work..... Lunch time is usually spent running errands.  I LOVE to run errands (except for the grocery store)  I like to puruse Walm, CVS, etc.  I really like when I have to stop by the library!!  And sometimes lunch is lunch with a friend (those are my favorite).      When I get home, the cats meet me at the van, usually because it is time to eat again.  I...

  Of course I will set myself up with another goal list.....because I like to see what I don't do after 4 months of thinking about it :)   1.  Finish all of our Christmas Shopping by November 30th.  I used to live by this rule and enjoyed the Holiday Season a lot more.   2. Have Christmas Cards ready to order by November 15th.   3.  Make a new pumpkin recipe.   4.  Have Doug go with us to the Pumpkin Patch this year.  It has been a few years since he has been able to go, and he LOVES the pumpkin ice cream and the bakery.  In his defense, he is a farmer.  Fall does not usually leave time for frivolous activities like pumpkin patches.  We will visit the bakery for him if he doesn't get to go....love our Farmer :)   5.  Make Lucy a scarf and ear muffs before Oct 15th.  Finish up Madison's scarf and ear muffs as well.   All of these goals are attainable.  The o...

    Today is another linkup with Andrea from Momfessionals  for my Friday Favorites....be warned, there are a lot this week. Then make sure to check out her's and the other's who are linking in :)     Getting to make "crafty" things but calling it work.  I wanted cute apples for my counting activity with this book, so I used scrapbook paper instead of construction.  They are darn adorable if I do say so myself :)     Playing around with my Beautiful Mess App.  The background is a photo of scrapbook paper.   School open house.  Lucy with her new teacher.   Celebrating this lovely lady's Birthday!!   My niece is one of my most favorite people...EVER!   Pumpkin Patches....we haven't been yet but the view from the road made me anxious to plan a trip soon.   Getting a new book in the mail.....So far so good.  I can't wait to dive into it deeper (with...

So what plans do I have for the summer?? 1. Learn to slow down and relax more. This will require telling Doug that he can not book something for every Saturday and Sunday from sunup to sundown. That man knows how to fill a social calendar I tell ya :)   I felt like I had an "adequate" amount of downtime....but due to the weather, not enough "sunshine" time.   2. Get around to making those ten scarves (I have plans for them that I will share later).   Did not happen....again....my goal is now to make one.  Just one I say...... 3. Doug is getting a smoker (ya know like a grill) , so I intend to keep him busy with some new recipes.   That man impresses me more each day.  The bacon weaved and wrapped pork roast has been my favorite so far. 4. Get my feet in tip top condition so I can get a tattoo (well maybe....)   I don't think my feet are looking too bad.  But no tattoo as of yet. 5. Get to the pool at ...

Today I am linking up with Andrea at  Momfessionals to bring you my Friday Favorites. It is time again for my favorite fall snack... Honey Roasted Peanuts mixed with Candy Corn.  You will probably find a baggie of this yummy mix in my purse from now until Thanksgiving, or an empty baggie with the crumbs.....I can't resist :) This was supper on Tuesday.  I love me some grilled cheese with ketchup.  I rarely use ketchup except for McDonalds fries and grilled cheese.  Yummo! Snap chats (or chat snap if you are Lucy) from my girls.  I missed these when my phone was broken. My office building has a cafe in it.  This was my Caramel Latte (and free from filling out a survey).  What a great way to greet the day :) Hope your Friday and rest of the weekend is amazing.  I have big plans with my sisters in Christ this weekend.... God Bless! 

  Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner  to share our favorite tailgate food.  We don't do too much tailgating but this is one of our favorite "watching some sport on tv"  or just a great fall/winter afternoon snack.  My entire family loves it...even my eight year old.    Buffalo Cheese Dip       The Ingredients are:   A can of chunk chicken breast Hooter's Hot Sauce Whipped Cream Cheese Shredded Mozzarella Cheese   Tostitos or Ritz Crackers for dipping   As you can see, I buy the store brand of everything except for the Hooters Hot Sauce and Tostitos.  I have tried others but these are my favorite.     First spread the cream cheese on the bottom of a pie plate. Next, drain the canned chicken and mix with 1/2 a container of hot sauce (if you use the whole jar of hot sauce, your mouth will be on fire!). Layer the chicken/hot sauce over the cream cheese. Top wit...

  Sometimes a verse comes out of no where and hits you right between the eyes.   I have felt for a while that God has been asking me to analyze my use of  social media.  Mostly Facebook.  Why am I so intrigued by it?  I do care about people and their lives.  I like sharing parts of my life with other's as well.  However, how much time should I give to this?  With my phone being broken, I am only checking Facebook a couple times during the day and only for messages and notifications.  It has become another source for me to contact people and for them to contact me.  I am committing to continue on with this for the next few weeks to deprogram myself a little.  And to rest.....  I am wanting to blog some more and I LOVE LOVE LOVE instagram because I enjoy sharing my pictures and seeing other's pictures.  The verse that confirmed my need to do this is.....     1 Thessalonians 4:10 & 11 ~ an...

via Pintrest This is how I am going to feel this evening. I have been tired and grouchy for two days.  My iphone is malfunctioning and I am completely out of sorts.  I wanted to add some pictures on the blog this weekend, but that is a no go since they are currently unaccessable on my phone......ugghhh.      It is sad how technology dependent I have become in such a short period of time.  I am going to use this time to try and disconnect my mind a little from the cyber world.  A coworker heard me say I was using a trac phone and it was like a What, Whaa????  Yeah, that is how bad it has gotten for me.I am having to TALK on the phone rather than text.....oh my word.  I am NOT  a phone talker, I am a phone TYPER!!!   My morning routine is thrown off because I like to scroll through some social media, weather check, read emails.  Do you know what happens when I throw off the morning routine?  Yeah, check...

    I'm back..... this past month has been it's own kind of crazy.  Finishing up summer and getting back into school, the new school year at work, and normal daily life have all  been a little exhausting.    The things this past month have taught me are:   I do not appreciate a "cooler" summer.  I like a nice hot summer. This one felt more like a continuation of Spring for me.  It is only September 2nd and my tan has faded....bummer.    I  have enjoyed our new kittens and when they all went missing, I was as sad as our girls were.  Two have returned and we are hoping the other three have found a loving home wherever they are.   School supply shopping is one of my favorite things to do.  I love pencils, pens, crayons, notebooks, etc.   I don't like paying the bill when it is time to register my children again for school.  Wow! Public School is not cheap.   I am real...