Tag Archives: photos

Baking, backbends and stuff…7QTs!

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My weekly roundup of the week with J.Fulwiler, Catholic blogger and reality show star and her amazing followers of blogginess…Check ’em out HERE, they have some FUNNY stuff over there….and USEFUL….and HISTORICAL….and…well…just go check it out, there’s something for EVERYone!!

1.  I’ve returned to the gym (for weight work).  My muscles are meeting to secretly stage a coup, I’m sure.  Shhh, don’t tell them, but we’re going back tomorrow.  As soon as I can bend over to tie my shoes.  It’s just not fair how quickly you get sore when you add in new/old/different stuff.  Cue the Rocky theme song….

2.  To celebrate my return to the gym, I helped our oldest daughter attempt a Pinterest recipe for chocolate chip cookie bowls…click HERE for pic credit AND recipe if you should like to give it a whirl.  Bless her heart.  Her Mama didn’t read the directions first.  Fortunately, she only made 6 and the rest regular cookies.  Apparently it calls for the cookie dough in the tube…whatev…

Taste=FABULOUS  Presentation=Room for improvement.

Ours:

Sweet girl. Our future “Cake boss”, but much kinder!

This is MESSY!!

ALMOST!!!!

Theirs. Perfectionists. So not real life…..:-P

3.  This weekend we are getting our family picture taken.  By a real person.  Not just a self-timer.  Christmas cards…..it’s on!

4.  Our youngest diva daughter has been working diligently on this backbend kick over and by golly, she got it!!  Try THIS LINK…I’m just too cheap frugal to upgrade to the video uploader….or you can go to my Twitter and view it…or just imagine our girl finally getting her backbend kick over!

5.  This morning, somehow, we overslept an ENTIRE HOUR!!!  ALL of us.  We woke up when our oldest should have been getting ON the bus.  Talk about an adrenaline rush.  I don’t know about you but we are seriously efficient when running EXTREMELY late.  There is NO time for bickering, arguing or even talking.  The high schooler and elementary kids made it on time and I was late (fortunately no patients were waiting on me…I wasn’t THAT late!!) and Hubby took our middle schooler at his regular time.  Mad skillz, I tell you. Or a well oiled machine.  controlled chaos.  What have you.  Sure got my heart rate up.  I have re-checked the alarm settings many times already tonight….

6.  This week my Aunt received bad news regarding her cancer and has decided to be done with chemo and to let nature take its course.  It’s awful.  Her daughter and son are my age.  I can’t even fathom it.  She is at peace with her decision and I know God will take care of her family but it isn’t going to be easy.  Not one bit.  Today, my brother-in-law (Hubby’s bro), had a heart catheterization and two stents placed. After he drove himself to the hospital because he wasn’t feeling so good.  He’s 42.  3 kids (10, 6 &6)  He’s doing fine but……ugh.  I can’t even go there.  The point is…..We do not know when our hour will come.  And I am reminded of a beautiful twitter quote I’ve been mulling over all week:   @JamesMartinSJ: Gospel: “Live today as if it were your first day…your last day…and your only day.”

7.  And so with Father Martin’s quote fresh on my heart earlier this week, I received an email with RIDICulously low air fare to see my mom.  I promptly booked 3 tickets for myself and the girls to go in January.  It’s their Christmas present (shhhhhh).  I’ll take the boys this summer.  YOLO, right?  Fortunately, Hubby was VERY understanding and forgave me for my completely impulsive decision without his input and is on board.  Phew.

That’s all from me….Blessings to you ALL!  Have a great weekend!

Thirty-One…partay! Online style..

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My dear friend, Amanda, is a Thirty One consultant (but that’s NOT her in the picture!) and if you are a bag, tote, purse, organizer lover like me….you’ll LOVE this stuff.  I’ve already sent out a mass email to friends and family who (I think) will benefit from these products either for themselves or for Christmas, birthday, teacher gifts, etc.  There is a HUGE variety to choose from, great prices and you can check her website for the monthly deals (spend $31 and get a product super-duper cheap-o) and contact her for any questions, BUT….THIS post is to show you a few things actually IN ACTION.

Now you know how the parties go, you order, I order, there are perks for hosting, etc, etc.  You can become a consultant or a hostess.  The consultant price is incredibly low (certainly one of the lowest I’ve come across in direct sales home based businesses, so if you are looking for some cash for the holidays, the groceries or vacation, maybe this is for you).  Maybe you just want to get an ever BETTER price on the products and would like to host a party.  Either way.  My friend’s goal is to provide home school supplies for her kiddos (6 of them), extracurricular activities (swimming and piano) and to supplement her family’s income (real estate has been tough in case you haven’t heard….), so check it out and if you want to order…get it in before the 29th of October; each month the specials change and my “party” is over the 29th!  So hurry, hurry, don’t be a procrastinator like me!!  Without further ado…..here’s some proof these bags rock!

We use this utility tote as our go-to beach bag

6 towels AND toys, sunscreen and umbrella screw!

Toys, etc under the towels and it’s a nice wipe off material!

My everyday purse. Love this print!

Plenty of room for my “mess”

My organizer…matches my purse 😉

Ta-DA! Look how nice that Kindle Fire fits in the middle for travel…..

This is my friend Mary’s…she had hers monogrammed…you can, too!
This is an organizer

She carries EVERYTHING she needs for the day…and then some. Best thing is, it stands upright and doesn’t flip over in the car!!

So there are a few true-life pics of Thirty-One in action.  Check out Amanda’s website HERE and order before October 29.  Or book a party.  Or become a consultant.  Thanks!!  I appreciate your checking it out and I know she will, too!

Walking the bridge

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The weather is amazing…have you heard?  We don’t have the lovely leaves here in the Sunshine state that y’all have a little further north, however…..we’ve got the beach and the sea breeze and shorts in October.  And November.  And sometimes December.  If you’re our cold desensitized son, January and February are game, too.  Tonight, we embraced that weather and the girls and I hit the bridge.  (Dad was swimming laps and the boys were doing their own thang, including starting dinner!).  It was awesome.  Killed thirty minutes before dinner and burned a few cals.  Perhaps even set a “healthy example” for our girls.  Made it with a minimum of bickering and they finally got to spit….not from the top of the bridge…only the edge of the dock…they were happy with that.  For now….

Gearing up. You know you want socks like that…..

Such a pretty time of the evening

They were so excited to be EXACTLY at the top

Options. Always looking for option.

They aren’t hams at all. Nope.

Apparently we came just in time to catch the sunset..

Love!!

Then we checked out the various fishing docks

We weren’t disappointed

Someone ran out of steam…

Leaving evidence….

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I came across this article the other day (and reposted it to my FB page) and thought, “Oh, my.  That’s me. ”  Except, Allison Tate wrote it…not me 😉

I HATE having my picture taken.  HATE.  IT.  There is NO picture with me in it that I don’t criticize positively EVERYthing about it.  And therefore, the majority of our family pictures are taken by….moi!

I did realize a few years back that our poor children will have so little photographic memories of me when they are older and that I should make a better effort to get in a few pictures.  And then…..I forget about it.  Or hit delete.  <sigh>

Forever searching for the “right angle” and really, I just need to get over it.  I’m so ridiculously vain sometimes.  I am who I am.  And with 2000+entries of moms in a “slide show” format with this article, obviously there are lots of us who need to “get over it” and get in front of the lens!

Incidentally, we have our family photo scheduled at the end of the month, so I’ll for sure be in that one as well.  IN the meantime…..enjoy these 2 little ditties from our own Photo Booth!  Blessings!

the girls surrounded me with their animals….I’m pretending to be scairt!

Au naturel….goofing with the girls….Photo Booth provides tons of fun with ALL kids!

 

Woop, woop, wrapping it up!

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TGIF!  It would seem this is the only day of the week I actually have a GOAL in posting…the days/weeks are flying by and fortunately I don’t get paid to blog or we’d be starving!!!    And so, I’ll just lob onto the many fabulous people blogging on @ 7 Quick Takes with Jennifer Fulwiler @ Conversion Diary.

And since our weeks are basically work, school, taxi to cheer/soccer/church, try to squeeze in some exercise, feed the family (without burning down the house and/or my fingers) and get everyone showered (mostly) and in bed (at a somewhat reasonable hour) , that would probably sound like YOUR week, so I’ll just entertain you with a few pics and words from our weekend, K?  K.

1)  Our cheerleader and I drove to Merritt Island for an early game (be there @ 7:30 a.m….it’s an hour and 15 minutes away….you do the math) on Saturday.  We did have most of the day left, so that was good….

2)  These are the cute little reminders that it is October, ladies.  (Guys, make sure the ladies in your life get theirs! ) Yes.  Go ahead.  Make the appointment.  Get the girls squashed.  Get over your dread.  It’s less than 10 minutes and it can SAVE YOUR LIFE!!!  Get your mammogram today!!!  Or at least make the appointment.  Have your bestie make one, too and then go to lunch.  WhatevAH works for you, just.  do.  it.  K?  K.

3)  Saturday night we did S’mores.  We’ve been promising since last weekend.  And then it rained on Saturday.  We resorted to the gas grill with sticks that were losing their “stiffness” and everyone still enjoyed them.  No one lost an eye, thanks to my drill sergeant persona as well as droopy sticks.  We tried out pumpkin spice marshmallows which weren’t such a hit with the kids, but for Mama (who doesn’t really love marshmallows) I LIKED ’em.  yum.  So, more for me…

4)  We went to our town’s bi-annual carnival and business expo.  The kids love it.  We tolerate it.  In small doses.  Like the sidewalk art….fabulous.  Oh to have a smidgen of that talent. What would it be like?  sigh.  I’ll never know, but I am certainly grateful that people DO have this talent!

5)  The kids love the rides.  The girls opted for a wristband and ran and rode like the wind to get their max spending power out of that band in the alloted time.  I’m happy to say, yes.  yes they did rock that band.  (The boys went Friday night with friends and promptly passed out after coming home—6 hours at the carnival is apparently too much for some….)

6)  Coke.  Ice cold.  In a bottle.   What can I say, it was exhausting watching the girls ride those rides.

7)  One more sky shot.  God paints a mean sky, doesn’t He?