Funny

I saw this today and thought I would share since it cracked me up :) I always think this at work that I will somehow muster the energy tomorrow to accomplish that one task...hahah then tomorrow it becomes the next tomorrow...Well today I've decided to laugh at this and take it to heart and do the projects I've been putting off...Go me!! ha 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday in joyous expectation of Friday tomorrow :)

Blogging is Cool

Who doesn't love awards?!

Luisa from Living And Learning with Luisa has an amazing blog and has nominated me for the Liebster award. 

 What is this award?

The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. The Liebster award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 or so followers.  What is a Liebster? 

I was wondering what I should post about next...well, now I have some "forced' direction!

This is what Liebster winners have to do:

 1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

2. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.

3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.

4. Go to their page and tell them.

 Random Things About Me, 11 to be exact:

1. My husband is a musician but I can't sing a lick to save my life. Playing an instrument is also not in my horizons. I've had to get creative in how I tell people this since I'm asked all the time. I usually just tell them God gave me the worst voice here so I can be the best singer in heaven ;)  

2. I REALLY want chickens and cows..LOTS OF THEM...and a little pink pot-belly pig named Lola! (her name is picked out and everything, I just need the pig)

3. I have double jointed hips that sometimes hurt or get stuck in one position making me feel like the first ever 22-year-old-80-year-old 

4. I was born in Ankara Turkey, (My dad was in the air force) but I haven't been back since I was 2

5. I am scared of clowns...seriously...I'm not okay with whoever invented that as a funny thing..

6. I think mushrooms are a fungus that should just stay in the ground (my husband disagrees)

7. Answering the phone makes my hands and feet sweet. I have a weird phone-phobia, it makes me nervous

8. I played volleyball year round since I was in in 6th grade...but I still can't jump high (I use to just tell my coaches God gave me too big of thighs to get high) 

9. I am a country girl at heart and always will be :) 

10. I hate weeding. My mom used to make me weed the garden instead of getting a spanking. I would cry and ask for the spanking...maybe I was just a weird kid...

11. I love making people laugh...& will embarrass myself to do so

 Questions from my nominator:

1.  What is your favorite Pinterest board?

I love Jill's board about her dream craft room. Since I currently live in a 1 bedroom apartment with a harry dog and a man (get the picture?) my craft room is still in my dreams. 

(here is the link: http://pinterest.com/jillfritz126/my-dream-craft-room/)

2.  How much time would you estimate you spend on your blog daily?

Since I still work full time and have now just taken a second job as a volleyball coach I usually spend about 1-3 hours daily on my blog, if that. 

3.  Who is your inspiration/favorite blogger?

I really love the simplicity of Kelly's blog at Smart.School.House  & of course I love the quirkiness of the Pioneer Woman

4.  Where is your favorite place to shop for home decor?

With my money: The Goodwill & garage sales 

Free money: Pottery barn & Crate & Barrel 

5.  Where is your favorite place to vacation?

NC in the mountains I like hiking when it's cold so I can hide my food fat in my winter clothes....bathing suit season is not a vacation, its stressful! :)

6.  What is your favorite crockpot dish?  Feel free to share recipe 

 I literally survive all meals with my crockpot! One of my favs is making applesauce since I & use it for breakfast and for baking.   This is a good recipe I use and it's easy to doctor it up too: http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-applesauce-69127

7.  Do you have hoarding tendencies?

Glitter, Buttons, Ribbons & all things crafty. Seriously, my crafts are taking over our living room, just ask my husband...I'm a few crafts short of being put on a TLC hoarders show.

8.  What do you change out the most in home decor?

Pillows! I absolutely love pillows & am constantly making new ones  

9.  Do you feel like you are living the life you want to live or is there something else that you want to do or wish you were doing differently?

Sometimes I wish I had tattoos all over and was a girl rock drummer/singer in a band...but I just don't think I was given the personality for it, or the talent....oh well...

10.  If so, what’s keeping you from doing it?  If not, good for you!

Tattoos are too painful to have them all over...oh and I can't drum...or sing...I just don't think it's going to happen anytime soon

11.  If you had no electronics whatsoever, what would you be doing right now?

Sitting on a country porch somewhere, like this one, sipping on some good o'l sweet tea!!! 

My work would never be able to find me ;)

Here are my chosen 11, These are great blogs check them out:

1. Chelsea at Ideas Coming True

2. Sara at Life of a Med School Wife

3. Jamey at Simply Animated

4. Courtney at Marriage with a Baby Carriage

5. Britiany at Crafty Craziness and Life

6.Mandi at All My Happy Endings

7. Lacey at Sunny + Turquoise

 

8. Natalie at La Gang a Nat

9. Shelby at It's Always Sonny

10. Holly at Not Done Growing

11. Lorraine at Cooking for the Seven Dwarfs

Okay winners, grab a cup of coffee and answer these 11 questions about yourself...don't worry it's not a personality test:

1. Why did you start blogging, what inspired you?

2. What is your favorite household/kitchen item?

3.What is your favorite food?

4. What is the first thing you notice about people?

5. If you were a Crayon what color would you be and why?

6.What is one aspiration that you have?

7. Scary movies or Happy endings?

8. Do you have a special or perhaps secret talent?

9. Were you named after someone special or a family member?

10. What do you do most of the day?

11.Where is your ideal getaway place?

If you won the Liebster Award & participated leave me a comment with your link so I can see who joined in the fun.

5:30 Brownies

These are my 5:30 brownies, that's what I'm calling them. I woke up the other morning and decided what I needed to get through my day at work was a batch of homemade brownies. So I got my booty out of bed at 5:30am and I whipped up some "healthy" brownies in my PJ's and apron before work. I used a "healthy" recipe (using coconut oil, honey, & maple syrup) but for this brownie pining they needed the "unhealthy" addition of sugar. However, seeing as how only one eye was able to fully open at that time in the morning, I'm not actually sure what when in them or how much of what...So they are my mysterious "healthy" not-so-good-but-really-good-to-me brownies. I do know this, that extra sugar did not get added in...oops...It's probably for the best considering I started out the morning with 5 (they were small squares, don't judging me) and ended the day with a few more. I figured out that if you ate them with strawberries and quickly drank milk they tasted almost like normal brownies...almost. Anyways, all this to say I survived work that day with my 5:30 brownies. They tasted terribly amazing. I was in the chocolate mood so let me tell you, they hit the spot. It worked out perfectly too since no one else had quit the craving I did and left me to my sugarless, chalk-like brownies.

We all need a good smile now and then...however...I recommend just sleeping in a little more before work...that day was a blur

Family

Titus is here! On Feb 11th my 4th nephew Titus Robert was born! I don't know about you but I know that family can be such a sweet blessing in your life. My sister and brother-in-law currently live about 2 hours away. So far I have had the privilege of being there for 3 of my sister's four births. I love my nephews more than I can describe. They have been a comfort, joy, and a tool of bonding in our family. My sister is a trooper! Four boys, ages 4 and under! I am learning so much from her..and I know that I will have a great support system when its my turn to be a mom.  Kristen & Rob are raising up little loving gentlemen! So thank them people, we all know we could use some more of those around ;) 

The boys: 

Left to right: Jude 20months , Elijah 3, Titus, & Noah 4yrs old

Krisen, Rob & Titus

Titus

This is Jude...he has just discovered he is not the baby anymore..poor Jude

Titus & Daddy

To help Kris out I spent an entire Saturday baking goodies to fill her freezer. The boys love muffins and breads..who doesn't'!? It was actually pretty fun until the end of the day when all I wanted to do was sleep. Every ounce of our tiny apartment counter space was occupied, including our dinning room table & floor.    

I made 2 batches of:

Banana Muffins, Zucchini Muffins, Raisin/Cinnamon Bread, & Pancakes

 

While I worked on the muffins I had the bread machine going on the floor with the cinnamon raisin bread. I then stopped to make a Caramel Macchiato.  

 

You can't have good food with no labels! I sat down and wrote on the Ziplocs with a sharpie before filling them with the goodies. The goodies were then packaged away in the freezer. (For the pancakes I went ahead and made up most of them, the rest of the batter I froze for later)

And then of course during my stay I also helped my mom & other sister Kay with baby-duty:  

Jude wearing Uncle Aj's helmet

To all mom's out there...keep up the good work! You are a blessing to your children and a hero to your home...and to me :)  

Noah and baby brother Titus

All in all the trip was amazing and the boys love their new baby brother! I loved getting to see my family.

What's your family story this week?  

I Love Garage Sales & Thrift Stores

Thrifty Finds 

This has been one of my most exciting garage sale finds recently. It is an antique, vintage, shabby chic school bench. (Yes all those adjectives apply =)) 

My friend and I went out early morning and pumped up with some cheap but sugary McDonald's coffee. It was a very beautiful morning, thank goodness because we were determined to go rain, sun, or humid. We were blessed with a cool breeze, which I am thankful for since my friend was very pregnant and still determined to go with me. I can't even tell you how many times we had to stop for her bladder haha...I lost count...literarlly. 

   Well we packed the car so full of furniture, fabric, & baby stuff for her nursery we could barely fit in the car. I wished we had stopped for a picture...we could have won an award or something!

This was my golden egg though. The gentlemen wanted $25.00. I mustered all the confidence I had and asked if he would accept $5.00....SCORE!!! Sometimes ladies it doesn't hurt to ask, try it! You do not have to be pushy, there is a polite way to bargain. It is fun! I used to hate it but i must say I see more bargaining in my future garage-saling trips. I would love to keep this for myself but honestly I do not have room in our apartment....so I am going to paint it and fix it to sell in my etsy store. 

I also got this amazing vintage sewing machine...which works! I was going to keep it but my grandparents-in-law bought me one for Christmas so this is also going to find a nice home in the store. I really love it though. Great machine! The don't quit make them like they used to!

Tips:

*Plan out your garage sales. It is fun to drive around and find them but is nice to have a structured plan. There are lots of websites that post garage sales and also Crieg's list posts them. Then on your from one stop to another use your hawk eyes to spot garage sale signs. 

*Do not dress cute! We are garage saling not shopping at the mall! Dress the part! I am not talking about neing unethical but seriously...who would sell me a bench for $5 if I look like amazing?  Plus it is much more comfortable to be in and out of the car in sweat pants then cardboard jeans. 

*Bring snacks or extra change for a quick snack...(not sit down don't waste your precious morning hours! The good stuff and deals go fast! The earlier the better!)

* Bring a friend, it makes the day fun! Share your list with each other to help you both get what you are looking for. Usually you spot what they want before what you want...(it would work that way wouldn't it)

*Make sure to have cash....& quarters! (quarters are the golden key to garage saling!) 

*Have fun! Bring Water! ....& take a nap when you get home