The problem with...

Identical nieces is that it is so very hard to tell them apart. I thought I was doing good until I posted a picture and named her the wrong name! So here Lilly...I really hope this is you! You are adorable and sweet and please start looking different then Diana.


It is Saturday morning and I am curled up under a heated blanket drinking my cup of coffee and sitting here in the quiet of my house...it is wonderful. Mark is at a golf trip sales meeting and I have nothing on my schedule for the day. I love my alone time...have I ever mentioned that before?! I'm catching up on laundry and trying to decide what my next house project will be. I'm thinking it is going to be the office. We want to make it our "Ball State Room" It will need to be painted, I will need to get Mark's jersey framed (Mine is already) and I will have to start sorting through pictures for the photo wall. I want action shots, shots with teammates, pictures that really capture the 4 years of JOY our college experience was. I want to bottle up all the things I feel about Ball State, basketball, my teammates, college so I can share them with my children. I want people to understand how important those 4 years were into making who I am today. I feel like it will take me awhile to sort through all of our memories and find what I want! I think this will be a good winter project.

The next couple weeks will be busy and I feel like Thanksgiving will be here before I know it. I am already dreading the Holidays since I work Thanksgiving and Christmas...I am going to have to work on my attitude so bear with me.

Like I mentioned I have been feeling in a "funk" this week...I would like to attribute it to the changing weather. I miss the sun and the warmer weather already. I miss the windows open and taking long walks with Bailey. I hate the cold weather. I think I just need to stop feeling sorry for myself and just give myself a kick in the butt. I need to reconnect with the present moment and be thankful for my blessings. I'm hoping that I will be able to use today to organize me thoughts and reconnect with me. Here's to hoping. How do you reconnect when you feel in a funk?

Good Stuff...

I saw THIS post on Clover Lane, a blog I love to read. This quote really hit home to me, especially this week, when I have been feeling in a funk! Sometimes you have to stop, breathe and remember to be in the moment instead of worrying about the past or future...



Fear less, hope more,

eat less, chew more,

whine less, breathe more,

talk less, say more,

hate less, love more,

and good things will be yours.

Swedish Proverb

Here is what I got to last weekend...babysit my nieces...can't get enough of them!

UPDATE: Apparently I am the worst Aunt ever, because I thought this first picture was Lilly and in fact it is Diana...SERUOUSLY! I could have sworn this was Lilly, until Lauren pointed out my mistake! I SUCK!! SO these two pictures are of Diana!

Diana NOT LILLY!

Diana



Dining Room Update

We finally decided on a paint color and started painting. I won compromised on the paint color so now we have to come up with another color for the office. Here it is....

 Mark suited up to get started

A work in progress

Everything put back together and with new curtains

I LOVE the color and the curtains help tie in the rest of the house colors.... Now all we have left to do is the wainscoting on the bottom...it will bring it up another notch, but still looks very elegant in there! Crossing it off the list...WHOO HOO!!!

Menu Plan Monday

Back to planning our meals since Mark is back from his 2 week work trip! I am going to be trying a few new things this week. Here is what is on tap for us!

Monday: Crispy Baked Chicken broccoli and mashed potatoes

Tuesday: Italian Hot Bake and Garlic Bread

Wednesday: Chicken Pesto Pizza and salad

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Chicken Noodle Soup

Check out Organizing Junkie's link up for tons of recipes....

Thing's I love RIGHT NOW

I love this long cardigan sweater from Target....so cute with leggings!

As we are gtting closer to getting our new bedroom furniture...I am eyeing this and thinking about putting it on my Christmas list

Check out the AP Poll for College football to see who #1 is... I'll give you a hint

This Subway Art that is all over Etsy.com

Candy Corn Wreath

I saw this wreath on the Cover of Women's Day magazine...I love this magazine...a nice easy read with lots of fun tips! I decided to go for it with this wreath and I am so happy how it turned out...super cute!

I started with a Styrofoam round wreath

The magazine suggests using black duct tape to cover it,  I started using ribbon, but ran out so I scrounged up some Crete paper I had and used that...simple enough...

Next using a hot glue gun and bag of candy corn I started glueing the candy corn down in circles, rotating their directions

Continue until covered. I took a black ribbon as my wreath hanger and hung it up

I felt like it was missing something...I had found this sign at the dollar store and hadn't put it anywhere...TA DA!!! Love it

Oh yea here is the Woman's Day Magazine cover...

Babysitting the Boys

So I got the chance to go babysit Alex and Evan last Thursday....of course I take every chance I can get. Honestly, one of the best days in a long time! I love these kids so much...they made me laugh all day. I had so much fun!!! I took in every minute, chased them around the house all day, spent way too much time in  a tent, got told by Alex how to make his snacks, got to snuggle with Evan after his nap, taught Evan how to say Cioci Becca (Aunt in Polish, pronounced CHUCHEE, or Chucky by Alex) We did puzzles, watched Dr Seuss movies, swang on the porch, went on a long morning walk, colored, and played some make believe games that I will not divulge for my embarrassment purposes. These kids are awesome...so much joy!  My pictures stink, Alex didn't want his picture taken and Evan wanted my phone!

Then Alex, Evan, Lilly and Diana spent the weekend in Columbus with my parents and these were the pictures my dad sent out....They said all the kids were good hmmm.

LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!!!!!

Randomness

Sooo Mark has been gone since last Sunday....it was nice for a couple days..ya know fulfill that alone time I so desperately need...but now I'm over it. I can't cook or clean anymore...I'm tired of falling asleep to boring netflix ( going to try and convince Mark for cable next week!!!!)...I'm sick of listening to my dog cry and walk around lost in the middle of the night because she misses Mark...SERIOUSLY you are a dog!!! He comes home Friday, hoping to keep my sanity in this quiet house until then. I have something very exciting going on Wednesday that I will share soon (NO I AM NOT PREGNANT FAMILY!) So saying prayers it goes well!

I did make this recipe for Pumpkin Butter from Gina's Skinny Recipes and it is FABULOUS! I repeat...it is FABULOUS! If you love pumpkin you will love this. It is similar to an apple butter, but she also includes some great recipes to use with it, including a homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte....heaven!!! I have seen this recipe floating around in blog land...give it a try. Your house will smell fabulous as it simmers on your stove! I have been putting it in my morning oatmeal. I was thinking about packaging some of this in a mason jar and tying some fall inspired ribbon around as little gifts....What do ya think?? Super cute!

I also just started another book called "Mini Shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella the author of the Shopaholic series...great and easy reads...love em...book review to follow!


Ok that was a whole lot of nothing, but it's all I got! Happy Monday

Fall Blocks

This was a fun, easy and cheap fall craft.  I started with some wood blocks I got from Lowe's for around $3. I spray painted them with the leftover spray paint from the patio furniture. After they were dry I cut out the letters FALL on my cricut from scrapbook paper did a little cut and paste and that's it. I think they are super cute! Love the way they match all the colors I have in my house!!!

My Fall Porch

My latest Fall craft that I am in love with....  I found these "funkins" at Michael's 50% and I knew I had to have some! I cleaned out these flower pots that I used this summer and figured it would be perfect. I cut out "BOO" on my cricut and Modged Podged them on. So easy and hopefully they will stay so I can reuse them every year! I also got a stack of hay, some real carving pumpkins and put them on the porch with my unbloomed mums....I love how fall-ish it looks.

A Fun "Do Nothing" Weekend

This was such a great and might I add much needed "do nothing" weekend as I call it. It was my 4 day stretch off which is always awesome. Also we had NOTHING planned for this weekend which is even more awesome. Mark got home from work around 4ish on Friday and we decided to use the gift card my sister Mary Beth got us to St. Elmo's. AMAAAZING! The food is always good, the shrimp cocktail is my favorite and the wine was perfect. We had such a good time...We were in the basement in area and were sat at a corner table in a little nook...PERFECT. We sat there and just talked over our delicious meals. I can't remember the last time where I laughed so much and was just able to relax. It was a good date night for us.

Saturday we tailgated for the Butler football game and then had everyone back over to our house for more football and margaritas!!

Mark and I got to sleep in this morning and have some time together today before I had to drive him to the airport...he will be gone for work for 2 weeks...booooo! Luckily I have quite a bit planned. Besides work, I will be spending some time in Cincinnati with Alex and Evan, it is Ball State's Homecoming this weekend, and hopefully finishing all my fall projects and cleaning. Hopefully it will go by fast! Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Me, Myself and I

I got a letter in the mail the other day from my Mom. Inside the letter was a bookmark and the quote on the bookmark said,

" I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship."

-Louisa May Alcott

Boy does my mom know me...She gets it even when I don't think she does. Thanks for the boost mom, I LOVE this quote.

It got me thinking about actually learning to sail my ship and how often this changes in a persons life. I think in previous parts of my life I was unaware of the times I was learning about myself and how to "sail my ship" because they were normal parts of life. As I have entered this new phase in my life, trying to figure out the best path for Mark and I, I am certainly learning about myself and how to sail. Here are 5 things I have learned about myself in the last 5 months...

1. I am more independent then I thought. I have always enjoyed my alone time, but the past couple months not only have I enjoyed it...I have NEEDED, CRAVED it, more and more time just with myself...maybe time to be with myself to learn. Don't get me wrong I still need God, Mark, family and friends, but in order to be functioning at my best I need alone time, I like to be alone, I like to do things by myself, I don't need to be with someone or people at all times. My days off are okay just being with myself...this is good for me.

2. I never realized how much I need Mark. Kind of an oxymoron to # 1, but I love being with Mark. Sometimes all I need is my alone time and Mark...maybe it's a newlywed thing I don't know but we have had so much fun this summer with our friends and ourselves. He knows me better then anyone, he loves me unconditionally and I thank him for that.

3. Being in touch with your emotions doesn't make you an "emotional wreck" being in touch with your emotions is how you grow. I am an emotional person, I feel things STRONGLY, sometimes stronger then I wish I did, one of my faults BUT this makes me human. Being in touch with my emotions, having an awareness of them gives them room to breathe and time for me to process them. I am slowly learning to like this about myself and learning better ways to control my emotions.

4. I have been reminded about the true value of friendship. The genuine trust, humor and respect that comes along with true friends is amazing. Learning when you actually have that is a good skill to have and or develop. The best part of friendships that I have learned is that true friends let you grow, change, withdraw, push, be emotional all without judgement. They let you grow and bend all the while accepting you and not getting mad at you for doing what you sometimes have to do for yourself. They understand that and are just there for you in all the ways you need...another amazing feeling. I hope I can be this to some of my friends.

5. Doing what is best for yourself does not mean you are selfish. Putting your own needs as well as those closest to you first are what you are supposed to do. Spending time working on myself, my relationship with myself, my thoughts about myself what makes my ship sail is a good thing... It is not bad, the people who make judgements about it are not what I talked about in #4. Learning and spending time on improving yourself and getting to know yourself is a positive step that will make me a better wife and friend.

It feels good to reflect in the work I have been putting in on myself. Facing fears, being aware of them, and letting yourself process them is a great way of learning what goes in your "ship" I am enjoying this journey of learning how to sail it.