Sunday, February 28, 2010

Not Feeling Well!~ :(

Hi all!  Just popping in to say I will not be posting anything today. Going to get some rest as I have a full blown sinus infection~ 

sick_smiley So as I grab the tissues and try to rest I wish you all a happy blogging relaxing sick free day!~

Till Later~

~Amy

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Redecorating before the house is built??? Am I crazy??

Ok I have a confession to make.  The house is only been started (just have a basement due to FREAKING WEATHER DELAY AGAIN!!!!), but I find myself already redecorating!  I mean come on…..there is no house yet…LOL.  One thing I am looking at changing once we are in the house is some lighting.  We went with a popular builder and they only have like a couple choices and if you want you can hand them your wallet “upgrade” to a more expensive style.  We just decided we would put them in after the fact.  That was it was cheaper and we could salvage the new lights they put in.  One area I want to talk about today is the lights above the kitchen sink.  Right now there will be two can lights or recessed lights.  I am looking at changing them out for a couple hanging lights.  I have seen this done in so many houses and I absolutely LOVE it!!!  I have googled this morning and came up with a couple styles I kinda like…(still looking):

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I absolutely love this next one!!!!!!

Morningside One Light Hanging Pendant in Grecian Bronze   

 

The options and styles are absolutely endless!!!!!  IF you want to search for some yourself just type in “hanging pendant” in to google search and away you go!

 

As for the rest of the lights in the house I am sure they will get a nice coat of  Krylons “Brushed Metallic” finish!!!

  Take a look at THRIFT DECOR CHICK’s ORB LOVE  post to see what I am talking about!! 

Or go to OUR SUBURBAN COTTAGE to see how she tested several types of spray paints!  Again the options are endless!!

Here is a peek at what our dining area light will look like………

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So do you all think I am crazy?  Please leave a comment on what you think or if you have some pendant lighting in your home leave us all a link so we can go check it out!!  So as for now try to stay warm with the new snow cover…….we are headed to the OUTLETS!!!  woohooooo, they have a Pottery Barn outlet there!  I can’t wait to go!  I will be showing pictures so stay tuned!

Till later~

~Amy

Thursday, February 25, 2010

My Self~Tanner review!

Ok so as you know I ordered and received the Sun Labratories Ultra Dark Lotion Gift Set. I order it from Bodybuilding .com. This is what I got and what it looks like:

HPIM6256So as you see you get the Dark self tanning lotion along with a moisturizer in a second bottle. IF you use the self tanner at night they recommend using the moisturizer in the morning. I also read on the bottle that they recommend using it like 2-3 times a week. I am not so sure about this and I will explain later. You get the scrub lufa and a third bottle of exfoliater scrub. As you can see it is green and it kinda smells minty and when used it gives you a tingly minty feeling…..not too much just a hint. Kinda nice I thought. So after I got out of the tub and dried off I started to apply the self tanner!

Here are a couple photos of what the lotions I have used so far look like:

Here is the minty scrub…..

HPIM6258and this is the tanning lotion….OMG!!! See how dark it is? At this point I was starting to get scared……

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So I finished applying it all over except for my middle back , because I cant reach it and was in a hurry. If I use this again I will have hubby help me! Here is what I like and don’t like about the lotion:

LIKES:

  • nice smell (at first), kinda like cherry lotion
  • tinted so you can see where you are putting it and where it needs massaged in.
  • tinted so you get an instant sorta tan till it develops further.
  • was easy to rub in.
  • I like the shade so far 5 hours later.

DISLIKES:

  • after awhile it ends up smelling just like any other tanner.
  • If you are not really really and I mean REALLY careful you will end up with tinted hands……for more then while I am sure. I had to rub in a small area and throughly wash scrub my hands! (almost like work…LOL)
  • more expensive then store bought lotion I usually use.
  • have to be more careful around knees, ankles and elbows then my store bought brand.

So for now that is the low down so far. I like the lotion and out of 5 stars I would give it a 3 ***. Will I buy it again when it runs out? I am still not sure. I can’t see me using this several times a week due to the dark color. One thing I do know is that I like using it on my face. If I lay in a tanning bed I ALWAYS cover my face. I hate the “leather face” look and do not want it…….so I am not completely disappointed I bought it and who knows maybe tomorrow I will be like “I LOVE it” and buy it again, only time will tell.

What is my store bought brand you are thinking to yourself? ….It is this:

HPIM6266As you can see it is made by Coppertone and is called a Gradual Tan. I buy this at Wal-Mart for less then $10 a bottle. I like it due to not only the price but the fact that I can rub it in on my whole body and not have to wash my hands over and over again. It does smell like a yucky tanner but it goes away just like any other one. You don’t get huge color right away but I do notice it is very forgiving around the hard spots like knees, elbows and ankles.

I actually think I like them both….if I am going for better coverage and not as noticeable I will use the Coppertone. But for those times when you would like a fast tan I will use the Sun Laboratories brand. I guess it is all in what you get used to and I would definitely recommend both brands for you to test!

Have questions? Just leave a comment so everyone can benefit from the answer!!!

Till Later~

~Amy

Sure cuts Alot (cricut)

Ok so like in one of my previous post I was telling you about the wonderful lady that gifted me with her smaller Cricut machine. And how I needed to buy a cartridge for it! Well that cartridge came yesterday and works fabulously!!!~ I think I paid right around $25 for it off eBay…..look here:

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So, me being the coupon “not want to pay for anything” girl I am , I started to research how I could minimize cost when using this machine with increasing what it would do for me!!! LOL I know I know Cheap Skate!!!! right? Well I found a software called

“Sure Cuts Alot”

you can purchase it here for a reduce price of $69.95. (just click on link above) I have also found a great lady from

http://www.scrappingtable.com/home.html

She breaks it all down for you and give you hints and tips on how it all works. I found a video of hers on youtube.com that really gives you the run down and I have embedded it below. But be sure to give her site a drive thru and there is so much info there as well as even more video tutorials on youtube.com!!!

So happy CRICUT’ing!!!!!!

Till Later~
~Amy

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

whaa? I made a miscalculation???

You know how I have been doing my share of whining about how small this “box” is that we are living in?  I mean 900 sq ft worth?  Well I miscalculated!!!  It is actually only 800 sq ft worth of wonderful blissfulness!!! Actually it’s really not that bad just really fun for me to talk about.  I feel like if I tease myself about this the time goes faster!!!  But seriously if I had to rent long term I would definitely be looking for a house! :)

Meanwhile I got the tanning lotion by fed ex today and be on the lookout for my review.  I am not trying it till I have time to exfoliate which may be tomorrow!  Been a crazy week here but lookie what I saw today!……

HPIM6249 HPIM6250 HPIM6251 HPIM6252 I know boring right?  But this is heaven for us!!!  LOL  but, when my BLOG grows up it will be bursting at the seams with home decor ideas and “how to decorate a small home with pure style” ideas!!  (wonder if I can get hubby to let me decorate his 1000 sq ft garage?- I am thinking the two windows in there are technically mine right?)

Oh I can’t wait!!!!!!  *feeling giddy* again!!!

Till Later~

~Amy

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Giddy over concrete!!~

Oh ya’ll, it’s finally here.  The actual construction of our little home has finally started with the weather man saying they can probably build all week.  I am not sure what has to be done once the basement is in but I am sure it has something to do with plumbing and septic maybe?  Oh well I am just giddy over the concrete that has already been erected!   Here take a look see…….

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there is still a heater running underneath that blue tarp…..hooked to our temporary power pole……….just kinda wondering how big the bill will be for that this next month.  You know I need to be saving my gold pieces for decor items!!!

 

Till Later~

~Amy

Crazy busy but still near!~

Hi guys!  Wanted to let you know that my week is crazy busy with work, school and home building.  I am still near but not able to make any awe inspiring original posts!  But I will be posting just the same.  I found an excellent video from “Be Different Act Normal” on how to peel and Idaho potato.  It is made with one of the Gilligan Island characters and she is a hoot!  Kinda cheesy but great cooking tip!  Go here and take a look!

be diffSo enjoy the video and I will be back tomorrow!!! 

Till Later~

~Amy

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Piece of Kandee???

Kandee Johnson that is!!  This girl is amazingly cute!  And I say cute because she is absolutely gorgeous with a little goofy mixed in!!!  I follow her blog :

http://www.kandeethemakeupartist.blogspot.com/

And I will tell you there is a lot of knowledge in this Chicks head! Don’t let her fun funky exterior fool ya, she knows her stuff! She has many “how to” videos on you tube and not just in makeup but I covet her “how to make a Tshirt into a girly shirt” videos and wish I had found her when I was in my 20’s!!!

So be sure to check her out! 

Kandee recently did a post about the “Fake Bake” tan!  She even made a short video…..take a look here and join me down below for the rest of my post… (video embeded from youtube!)

 

 

So I thought why not try this stuff out and do a review on it.  I went to the website and tried to order but I just couldnt bring myself to pay $11 -$12 shipping so I googled it and landed at bodybuilding.com and just ordered off there.  The product should be here in a couple days and I will let you  know what I thought!  Mind you I have my own tanning bed that is in storage but don’t tan my face.  If this stuff works I may just use my bed less!!!  lol Actually I found out that having my own bed made me want to lay in it less but sure was nice to be able to just go downstairs if I wanted to use it and not get in my car and have to drive someplace.  Vain? Probably but every girl has her vice!!  This makes me happy and I think makes me look slimmer in the summer! 

So be sure to check back in a week or so and I will let you know how it went!!!

Till Later~

~Amy

CRICUT anyone?

You know I tend to get really giddy about little things but when I get presents I can use that fit my personality I get down right ecstatic. I am very blessed with a son who is the master at putting together things and hooking up any electronic known to man so today he put together this for me……..

HPIM6241I received this from my brother in law at Christmas time and wasn’t even going to take it out of the box till the house was built but this winter and having absolutely 1 square foot of space to take out shoes off when entering the “box” kind of changed my mind! Needs a good cleaning and I will let you all know how it does. It is a Bissell PowerSTEAMER in case you wanted to know. From the looks of things it is really simple to use and always came with an upholstery attachment.

The second gift I received today comes from a friend at church. Her name is Tammy. I have not known her long but WOW what a gift. I am not sure how we got to talking about CRICUT machines but come to find out she had 2 (one 6” and one 12”) and she offered to give me the smaller one for FREE!!!! Free is always good in my book and God is so good in blessing me this way! I am sure she will be blessed as well. Here take a look……..

HPIM6243Just how awesome is that right??? I need to get a cartridge for that but I can’t wait to see all I can do with it!!!

CRICUT anyone?

So I need your help! If any of you have one of these bad boys please teach me!!!! Take me under your wings and I will be your “karate kid” so to speak! lol I am on a quest now to see what it does. I will post my findings later!!! Wish me luck!

Oh, and where can I get a cheap cartridge for this??? mmmmm , next stop: EBAY!

Till Later~

~Amy

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Construction update!

Ok what a wonderful update!  We were told by our construction mgr that we need to clear the driveways at the land. they need to be clear this next week because if weather permits the block layers will be there to construct the basement!  Wooohooo finally!!!  So a friend of ours helped us out today to do just that.  We Followed him out on his tractor (he lives just 2 miles from where we are building) and graciously plowed the snow for us….here take a look!

HPIM6217This is us in the truck following him out to the site!

HPIM6220 

I think this is when he severed the power cord that was running  a heater under the tarp that the block is laying under…….shown next.

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There is a heater under hear but we didn’t realize it till we bought the new cord and plugged it in!

the rest of the photos are just me clicking away tickled that they brought out sand and actually shoveled out the snow from atop the footers! 

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ok so I will stop boring you now and just say!  We are very blessed with great friends!!! 

The builders are supposed to be out again this next week and the weather man (who I love again) doesn’t seem to think that we will get very much snow from this next storm coming in on Sunday and Monday!  So we will be praying he is right and I will update again if we do indeed get a basement!!! 

Till later~

~Amy

Road for debt freedom (part #1)

Ok so all I can say is this Dave Ramsey stuff must have hit a cord. When I got home last night I had more then a few comments in just my emails asking how did we get started? Well let me say this first if you come here often be sure to sign up and follow the blog to the left. This lets me know who is here and lets me keep track of you all. I know I got comments from 5 of you that aren't following. So lets get to it.............

For one thing I need to tell you .........Dave Ramsey did not invent ways of handling money. He will even tell you this on his POD CAST. But for some reason once you connect to this whole money thing it is amazing and I have heard more then once......"you feel like you got a 25% raise just by following the BABY STEPS!"

Truth be known, I am sure my hubby and I weren't getting along when we started......I usually tend to take the lead and do what I want if we had a fight or weren't on the same page. Thank goodness all that is over!!! So without further ado this is my beginning (our beginning):

It was in March of the year when we (I) decided we needed to do this. I was tired of living pay check to paycheck....you all know what I mean. We so have our excuses for living defeated with money......what a bunch of hogwash. It takes work and most of us don't want to make it happen. We are afraid we will have to do without! So don't be blaming it on a spouse or that you don't make enough money.........been there done that! So put your big girl panties on and follow along!!!

We started on April first (go figure). We were getting 2+K back for the year and a light bulb went off in my head. The first Baby step is Save $1000 (married couple) for an emergency fund. Well what a perfect time. Hubby was hesitant to say the least but let me have my way and I put $1000 back in an emergency fund. (which we have never touch and has grown tremendously since). We I went one step further which took a little more coaxing but Dave was alright with it or I wouldn't have done it......well maybe I would have who knows. I took yes another $1000 and landed it in the checking for a sorta "float". I use it to pay the bills at the beginning of the month and not have to worry about them the rest of the month. I have to tell you that this is not a Dave Ramsey baby step and he never mentioned it in his book "Total Money Makeover". I am not sure why we did it, maybe my brother suggested it but I can't begin to tell you what a peace this has brought to our banking and money issues. I never have to worry about this. I make sure at the end of the month that it is still put back when we clear the totals for the month. It is AMAZING!!!!!

We have since raised the "float" as well. We have been doing this way of money handling for about 3 years now. If you have not read the "Total Money Makeover" you can go to the Dave Ramsey web site and buy it there or head to your local library and check it out!! This will totally change your life.

From a selfish "lover of shopping" I will tell you this.....I was scared of the "B" word......yes the dreaded budget! But I was so pleasantly surprised at how freeing this was. I was actually able to buy more and buying things like groceries were now done quilt free. See one of the aspects of this way of doing it is you write down a "zero" based budget. Once you know how to do this you and hubby sit down and give every penny you have coming in a place on the budget, You both agree to this. This is called a budget committee meeting.......you do them every month at the beginning befor you spend a dime. sometimes this will NOT change. But this gives you both freedom and the rules are set. The budget becomes the BOSS. If it is not planned on there at first then you dont do it!! PERIOD!! You will see after a couple months of doing this you are going to love it. No more one person telling the other one "NO" for something. It is now the budgets job. If you both agreed to it then no one gets to whine when they don't get something they want and can't afford.

Like I said before , you have to follow the rules (baby steps) but no one does it exactly the same way. You have to find your families groove in this adventure. There have been some push and pulls around here but It is all worth it!!!!!

I know I have rambled and I usually do this when I am so excited about something. So just keep the comments and emails coming I promise to answer them as best I can. If I can't or don't know the answer I will direct you to the right place!!!!

If you want to read how some people did it click here "Success stories".
Goodluck and welcome to Financial Freedom!!!!!

Till Later~
~Amy

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Better then we deserve!

For those of you that know me, you know that Hubby and I are totally on board with Dave Ramseys way of budgeting. You can even see a link to his site to the left (your left) of this blog.
Better then we deserve is just a saying coined by DR. He has no fru fru system but it is all based off of a "0" (zero) based budget and 7 babysteps. The babystep are as follows:

Baby Step #1:
Save $1000 (married couple $500 (single) for an Emergency fund.
Baby Step #2:
Pay off all debt using the debt snowball method
Baby Step #3:
Save 3-6 months living expenses (just in case)
Baby Step #4:
Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRA's and pretax retirement
Baby Step #5:
college funding for children
Baby Step #6:
pay off home early
Baby Step #7:
build wealth and give

Now you may be thinking to yourself "this is just some scheme and yet another get rich quick idea"....I don't blame you! I thought that too. I thought this is all for people that already have money and get paid regularly. Well how do we ever find something that we feel comfortable with enough to try? Well it usually comes by word of mouth. In our case I saw my brother and his family winning with money and I wanted whatever it was he was doing!
It did take me a little bit to get hubby started but once he saw the fruitfulness he was hooked as well.
I am not here to convince you to do this method but if you are tired of living pay check to paycheck or wish you had money to do whatever you wanted with I encourage you to at least visit his site and take a look around.


We are proof that this DOES work. It takes work and stamina! It all comes down to one thing.....................
HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT????

The view from this side of the fence is priceless!!!
I don't pretend to write the greatest blog but I am willing to take all your emails and questions and try to help you out and be as candid as I can about our DR journey and can't wait to see you on this side!!!

LIVE TODAY LIKE NO ONE ELSE SO YOU CAN LIVE TOMORROW LIKE NO ONE ELSE!!!!

Till Later~
~Amy


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Power of small spaces!~

Hubby and I have had a few conversations lately about our struggles over the years as a married couple. Nothing that a few (ok more then a few) counselors couldn't help us through. But last year when we decided to sell our home move into a 2 bedroom apartment while our house was being built......we had no idea that this small space would bring us closer together in more ways then one.
I mean you hear it all the time...."......don't build a house unless you want a divorce!" Well I am hear to tell you this is not the case for us.

I do believe we have gotten closer and there has not been any rifs in the relationship ever since we moved into this "Box"!!! So it got me thinking even deeper (as I procrastinate on my BSN school work)....

What is it about this place that is keeping us so tight? (by tight I mean close as a couple)......
I have come to the conclusion that it is "SIMPLE"......We have nothing better to do but work at us! Simple enough right? Well so far while being here we have hung out more watching our favorite shows. Hubby is not able to veg in the garage as much tinkering with his "man toys". We have taken more trips together and SHOPPED! I think shopping is a huge one ladies. The fact that we are shopping with like minds! HUGE marriage builder!~ Also my time is not bogged down by cleaning.....trust me it takes like 5 min to clean this place once I set my mind to it. Plus I dont do as spectacular of a job knowing I will be moving in a few months and I can clean the place empty once we move....LOL I know I know L-A-Z-Y!!!! lol But if you know me in real life, you know I can be some what of a "clean freak"! We have read and bought a a handful of marriage books like....
&
I can't tell you just how awesome these two are!!! Hubby is still reading his and we collaborate on our findings in the readings every so often!!! once again bringing us closer and like minded!! ONENESS is the key!!!!

So in conclusion I need to come up with ideas on how to keep life simple once we are moved into the new house!!!! I have a feeling Hubby and I will be making a pack on keeping things SIMPLE at our new home! Not that we don't know how or didn't before but I would like to hear from you......

What keeps you close to your man? family? kids? leave me a post and give us some tips!!!

Till Later~
~Amy

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Trip down memory "pathway"?

Ok Ok it could always be worse, right? Well lookie what I found! IT was!!!!
Click here to be taken to the BLIZZARD OF 78'!!!!
It is a great facebook page I stumbled upon
and they have about 152 great pictures from the time! HOLY COW BATMAN!!! I was 7 at the time but I dont remember much!

Photo by Janet Spencer

Till Later~
~Amy

Have you seen my marbles?

Ok I have officially lost my marbles!! This was the scene yesterday on my stove. As if it couldn't get any worse right?
( I mean the piles of snow outside and my basement block that so desperately wants to grow up to be a basement being under
3 foot of it)
well it did. The water in our little 900sq ft box went away. Where you ask? Not real sure but I am pretty sure it
was a local water main break. They actually fixed it in record time but I had had enough! The kids were offered to go
sledding and I had the "Box" to my self for a few hours and I was determined to clean.........so I melted snow on the
stove...LOL

So while I go look for my marbles leave me some comments on what you have had to during this seasons
winter blessing!!! hee hee
TODAY I CHOOSE JOY!!!!!

Till Later~
~Amy

Monday, February 15, 2010

Broken record anyone?


That is what I feel like! A freaking broken record. I am tired, exhausted and down right depressed....LOL (not really but can't you just hear my
fustration?)
It's said we are to expect YET another 6-10 inches in the next 24 hours.WWWHHHAATTT???? I am wondering if I wasn't building a house if I would mind? I have figured that I wouldn't. Because if I was in my new house I would have these things:

My beloved front loaders!!!! (oh how I miss thee!~)
more then 2 ft of counter space in the kitchen
a fireplace to snuggle by
a garage for my car to comfortably sleep in (not to mention me not having to be cold and walk in the icy snow to get to it)
a basement to workout in and play guitar hero!
an actual dining room table (where we can sit down and eat at and everystuff)
Walls to paint
walls to decorate
walls to take pics of and put on my blog
walls to not like then repaint and decorate!!!
2.5 bathrooms!!!! (and then the heavens parted and trumpets sounded)....lol
my two teenagers in their own bedrooms!
oh my....half of a walk in closet
a jet tub! a jet tub!!!! a jet tub!!!!!!!
a garage for my man to love and adore! 3 car that is! to do all his beloved "GUY" stuff in!

I am sure I could go on and on and on and on but you get the picture!
I am really hating the weather man at the moment. But I know it is not forever! RIGHT?
please tell me its not forever??? lol

ok I am done whining now and just needed to vent I guess. I had better run to the bank and store before it hits!!!!
I am actually taking my coupon binder with me!!! Yeah, thats right I said "binder" I will do a post soon on that one!!!

Till Later~
~Amy


Sunday, February 14, 2010

Retail therapy!~


Yup that is what I call Hubby and I shopping together!~ I love shopping with this man, it is actually more fun then shopping with a girlfriend! We drove 50 miles yesterday and didnt buy a thing!! Well, we did buy lunch at one of his fav places!!!
Quaker Steak and Lube!

But we did find the "Appliance Smart" store we were looking for! To make a long story short, we are just going to buy our kitchen local and get what we want! no scratches included!

What we are looking for is this:

refrigerator with bottom freezer
water/ice in the door
and the only other thing I want is rollers that the drawers actually glide on!

not too picky right? OMG this is becoming more of a hunt then I thought. I really like the whirlpool GOLD but it looks like I may end up with an LG. Wonder why I can't find an american co. that makes the drawers pull smoothly? Maybe I havent tried all brands? Not a huge thing but was hoping to stick to an American Company~ Here is a pic of what I really want:

Pic from ABT .com

We can't decide on black or stainless....but leaning towards black. Our kitchen cabinets are a "rouge" color......OOPS did I say they are? I meant they will be when all this snow melts next fall! LOL.



So for now I am agonizing over kitchen appliances but at least we are getting closer!

So what do you all think? Have any tips or preferences you can share??

Till Later~
~Amy

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Tweet!~ Tweet!~

Well I finally took the plunge and started to tweet with the twitters. You can follow me by using the "Twitter" button on the top left of my blog page!!! If any of you have any tips or insights to TWITTER please share!!!!!

Till Later~
~Amy

Friday, February 12, 2010

Weight or size??

Ok so with Spring/Summer getting closer everyday, I have focused on getting healthier and thinner. No one wants cottage cheese butt while vacationing by the ocean! (149 days and counting). So I got to thinking.......do I weigh myself everyday or every so often or do I just go off of what fits???? Any suggestions?
I really don't feel like putting my weight on the net but I have no problem telling you I wear a size 3,4,and 5 depending on where I buy the pants! If I go to Aeropostale (love my haley jeans) I wear a 3/4. But have a pair of jeans from Maurice's in a size 5, that although sorta loose I love the way they feel and am not sure if I would if I went a size down. So for now I still weigh myself in the mornings , totally naked after I have peed....LOL But I am thinking I have quite a few size 2's in the closet I would love to wear and can't seem to separate myself from!

So help me out girls!! Weight or size??? What motivates you more? (and why?)

Till Later~
~Amy

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Oh P.S..............

There is also a book called "Skinny B**TARD!" I bought the book set!
(the authors admit the title was a gimic!!! I think it worked!

Till Later~
~Amy

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet? Is it summer???? I totally feel like the little kid sitting in the back seat of the car anticipating the arrival of some cool destination that only the parents really know how much farther! I was looking through my scrabook pages on facebook and came across this little gem:
This picture was taken from our hotel room in Myrtle Beach 2008. We skipped going on vacation in 2009 but have already made reservations for this July! July 11th to be exact!!! That is 150 and counting!!!! We have booked a room at the Coral Beach Resort! We are excited. And also hoping nothing needs done with the house because it will just have to wait.....lol

One of my concerns though is getting motivated enough to transform this 38 year old body back into "Beach worthy" shape!!! Last year we went to a huge indoor water park and I wore a skirt type bathing suit. But being the Sun Goddess I am , I don't want Tan lines!!!! LOL So this means I am forced to think about making my food decisions a little more educated and taking the time to actually make out a plan and stick to it. I already work out at the gym at least 3 times a week (or try to). But....while in Pittsburgh this past month I bought a book at Borders on dieting.......well sorta!
The book is called "Skinny B**CH". YUP you read right!!! I can't even bring myself to type it out! Feeling dirty now.........LOL This book was hilarious and I will admit about half way through I was thinking "you have got to be kidding.....must be fanatics and trying to get their agenda through" .

But I am so glad I read the whole book and I really enjoyed the "in your face" type of writing. There was a ton of great information in it that you knew you were thinking , they just proved it!
So I am recommending this AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! LOL And if you do read it please come back and let me know what you think!!!!!!!

You can review the book here: SKINNY B**TH

So off to get my beach body back! Will keep you updated on how it goes!!!!!
Leave me some luv and tips on how your going to get your BEACH BODY back this spring!!!

Till Later~
~Amy

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Another what???

OMG another 'snow' day for the kids? Am I dreaming?..............
Sorry had a "Groundhog Day" moment there!

Reality? yes it is another snow day, another day of block under 3 ft of snow, another day of kids stuck in the house............and another day of work for me. Actually I am not that bummed about it. Gets me out of the house and I really do love what I do!
I am an urgent care nurse here in my hometown. Pretty amazing to me, I will have to post soon on that whole journey. You see I went to nursing school, graduated and then stayed home for 12 years with our children. Yeah.......I think I will leave all that for another post!!!!

I just wanted to share with you one of my favorite sites:


I absolutely love going to the bottom, after seeing her wonderful transformation of the week, and looking at what all the other fab women have done. It is amazing what you can turn your ordinary goodwill item into!!! It gives great inspiration, especially on these cooped up wintery days!!!

So I am off to get ready for a wonderful 12 hour work day! Hope you all are staying nice and warm!

Till Later~
~Amy

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

another what????

OMG another 'snow' day for the kids? Am I dreaming? I hope you all can bare with me for a few lines........AAAARRRGGGHHHHHH!
Ok Ok so its no big deal the kids have yet another snow day...I know this! and you know this! But I feel we are going to have a nervous breakdown.......mmmmmm can 15 and 14 year olds have them? Well I think they are close.
If you are just joining me or visiting for the first time let me recap for you our situation:

1. We are a very happy and "Fully Blessed" family of 4
2. We have 3 wonderful pets (Buddy - american fox hound, Cali- calico cat, jasmine- tiger cat)
3. We sold our house in October and moved out the 15th....
TO A BOX!!!!!!
900 glorious square feet of BLISS! ......NOT!
Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful we have a roof over our heads but we are feeling a little cooped up! coming from almost 3200 sq feet of room.
4. oh did I mention we are building a house????
5. did I mention that the weather is delaying said building of a house???
6. did I mention we are living in an apartment?
7. can you tell I am "fully frustrated"?????

Where's my Xanax???????

ok ok calmed down now......let me rant for just a few moments.....
I think I know why I am a little on edge.......

2 feet of counter space
1 bathroom for all
laundry room??? YEAH RIGHT!!!! *rolling eyes*
pots and pans stored on top of kitchen cabinets
building papers scattered all over
office in too small bedroom
kids sharing a room (yes boy and girl)
did I mention 3 pets?
NO GARAGE!!

I feel like such a whiner! But having your belonging scattered in 3 different storage buildings (not in the same location), the weather, and then feeling cooped up is getting a little old!
like I said before we are "fully blessed" and God is so good to us! I think I just needed to vent and want to thank you for listening!
But I need your help!

I need ideas on fun things to do in or out of "THE BOX"........we are running out of ideas!!!! leave commments for us! Love to hear from you!

Till Later~
~Amy

Monday, February 8, 2010

Yet another...~


Well it is yet another "snow" day for the kids. I am so glad we did not plan our vacation for early June. I think they will still be in school! lol We are expected to get more freezing rain and snow early this week, maybe tomorrow? But my husband is not scared of too much when it comes to the white stuff. We took Jess to the "Winterfest" concert in a town about 50 miles away. Yes we knew it was snowing...LOL I thought I would post a short video on what the main freeway looked like on our way home (mind you we left early due to the level 3 our county was currently at) My husband did end up saying this we by far the worst he has ever driven in. It felt like airplane turbulents all the way home at no more then 50 mph. oh my!


This concert was worth it though. We got to see Newsboys, Newsong, Tenth Ave. North, Fireflight, Tony Nolan, Sidewalk Prophets, Revive and THIRD DAY (which we left before they came on!)
To find out when WINTERJAM is coming to a town near you click here:
~WINTERJAM 2010~

This was a great opportunity for the kids to hear about what Christ has done for them and how they can make it real in a world so crazy now a days. Kids don't need us to tell them all the time what they are doing wrong. They need to feel what it is like to have a personal relationship with the one person that will never let them down! Great time , go if you get the chance. It is always the best $10 concert we keep going to!!!!

ON ANOTHER NOTE............................

my poor poor poor footers and basement block.........look here see what I mean..........................






Till Later~~
~Amy

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Embracing my many layers!~

This is a repost from before but still rings true today!~

Ever have one of those days where you feel good inside? Not like a healthy good but a good in a way that you really like who you are faults and all? Well, that is me today. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I love the fact that......

I love without abandon
I forgive when the world say not to
I like to eat just about anything
I like all music
I am a huge tomboy on the inside.
I would like to fish, play ball, get muddy, 4 wheel and dont know why I dont more often.
I like to be girly and love PINK!
I like movies like Valley girl! lol
I like to talk, and talk and share and talk
I sometimes dominate conversations
I am confident
I like to be wild and carefree sometimes even though some think it is dorky
I am a softy for the elderly and the young ones.
I like being different
I am sometimes misunderstood
sometimes I like to just be difficult just because! LOL
I am sure of who I am and who made me!
I usually go against the grain (at least in my head the older I get....LOL)
I like literature and art
I appreciate architecture and dream of living in a different country
I am drawn to others who act like dorks!
I usually am looked at with weird eyes cause I say whatever comes to mind alot of time.
I love being silly
I love to daydream
I like to be the first to do things that others are affraid to do
I am not too shy
I like to be the leader but can also follow very well.
I'm hard headed at times!
People drive me nuts and lift me up at the same time
I think I could have been an actress.
I am the greatest singer in the shower (just as me I will tell you)
I dont always make eye contact (my hugest fault in my eyes)
I am bad at finishing projects sometimes!
I long for the simple things,( ie. fresh cut grass smell, gardens, porch swing, grandpas lap etc...)
I am a list person to a fault~
~ if they are too messy I have to make a new one!
my bedroom is a mess 90% of the time.
I can be defensive and yet melt at one kind word or soft look
I am a crybaby but the strongest female emotionally you will meet in a long time
I am a stickler for rules and yet like to follow my own at the same time....LOL :)
I am not the best person I could truely be and sometimes ok with that.
I somehow cheated everyone out of the best man on earth!~


there are too many traits both good and bad but the one that I can say is 100% right on is...........
(just random thoughts while sitting here listening to jazz music.
maybe I need a xanax? LOL)

I LOVE WHO I AM!!!! I LOVE WHO I HAVE BEEN! AND I LOVE WHO I AM ABOUT TO BECOME!

Do you love you?
start today!

Till Later!~
~Amy
 

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