Aimless 20 Talk Tuesday

1.  Is there anyroom in your house you would love to give a cosmetic face lift?  Right now, I am hating our main bathroom.  Right now it’s this burnt orange color with a lighter orange accent.  I’ve grown to hate it.  I’d love to paint it a light blue or like an eggshell blue color with white or grey accents.  I’d also love to get rid of all bronze in both bathrooms.  Not loving the broze faucets, mirrors, towel racks, etc.  YUCK.
2. My youngets is going to be a gumball machine for Halloween.  I finally started assembling her costume yesterday.  It is a no-sew costume, which is right up my alley and even better because I don’t own a sewing machine and I also don’t sew.
3. I currently am reading, “Joy Fixes for Weary Parents” by Erin Leyba, PhD.  I only have a couple chapters left, but it’s been a really eye opening and good read.  I highly reccommend it if you are looking for a book to read.
4. This Fall weather we have been having feels more like summer weather, it’s almost 80 degrees outside today!
5. My husband is going away to CA for a work conference for 4 days in October.  Oh you don’t know how badly I’d love to throw my hands up in the air, find someone to watch the girls and go with him.  However, with K that is not possible right now so I will do the 4 days home alone by myself taking care of all home and kiddo responsibilites…fun times.
6. I’m trying a new recipe for dinner tonight.  I’m going to make Philly Cheesesteak sloppy Joes.  I will have to keep you posted on how they are & if they are yummy I will have to share the recipe!  I absolutely love trying new recipes to mix it up a bit. Have you tried anything new that is worth sharing or that you’d 100% make again?
7. Spiders are invading my house.  Seriously, they are everywhere and they surely are not welcome.  Eeeek!
8. For those of you who take CoQ10 for your fertility has it been beneficial for you?  Tell me more about this vitamin.
9. My left foot is having all sorts of problems.  I feel like I have a bunon on the outside of my foot and something on the top hurts and when I desribe it on google it always comes back as “stress fracture”.  Haha-gotta love google.  I’m just monitoring it all right now, but the pain is noticiable and doesn’t go away.  Not getting worse, but not getting better.
10. E’s teacher has had nothing but positive things to say to me about her.  She told me that E is like a sponge and has a love for learning that is very evident.  This makes my heart so happy!
11. I have an obnoxious amount of cherry tomatoes hanging from my plants outside.  They are about the only thing in my garden that thrived this year.  I’m the only one in my household who eats them.  I may have to share with the neighbors or something.
12. K turned 10 months old on Sunday.  It’s crazy to think that in two months we’ve made it full circle to a year already.  It just seems unreal to me.  Where has the time gone?  She’s got 4 teeth on top.  Two on the bottom.  She is a walking machine and loves to climb.  She loves waving and giving kisses!  She’s simply a delight!
13. Date night still hasn’t happened…SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!
14. Packers lost on Sunday.  I’m glad I chose to go to bed instead of watch the game.  Haha, I’m such a devoted Packers Fan.  Hopefully they can get their poop in a group for the rest of the season (I know it’s early)!  I am crossing my fingers I can make it to a game this year.  They are so much fun!
15. Dancing with the Stars started a new season.  Who’s excited?!  Me! Me! Meeeeeee!
16. We will be home this weekend, last weekend we were away and visiting my parents.  Hopefully we can get some things done around the house, particularily the yard.  It’s so embarrassing to look at.  Speaking of…we need to mow the lawn.
17. The trees are starting to change here.  It’s always so pretty.  I would love to do a WI drive when they are at their peak.  That’s something I’ve never done before and I’ve lived in WI my entire life…what’s wrong with me?!
18. I have this huge Jade plant I started as a one leaf plant in High School.  It’s huge now and I hate to part with it but I need to get rid of it.  When it’s leaves Fall and I don’t find them the dog of K finds them first and we just have no good spot for it anymore.  Where can I find a good home for this plant?!  It needs to go.
19. I’m exhausted today.  Wait…I’m exhausted everyday!
20. Shameless…omg, if you haven’t watched this show you need to start.  When the kids go to bed though or are at Grandmas of course 😉

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Sacred Sundays

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” -Anne Lamott

Such a great quote to share on this sacred Sunday. It is so important for our overall well being to take small and also extended breaks.

How are you going to unplug today?

Simple Saturday

What a sunset last night! Driving to my hometown in Western, WI and we got lucky to have this to view.

Three Fact and Truth Thursday

Throughout my entire life I have always been a morning person.  However, is it possible as you get older to be neither a morning person or a night person?  Maybe I am just that tired but recently getting up early does not appeal to me. Certainly, I am not as good at it as I used to be.  If it were not for children alarm clocks in the mornings on the weekends I could seriously sleep in until noon and feel no guilt whatsoever!  However, I admit, I still do feel most productive in the morning, once I’m showered, dressed, face is on and first cup of coffee is thrown down the hatch.  There is just something about the start of a new day and a blank slate that I love.  Ok, so maybe I am still a morning person.  I think I’m talked myself into the pure and simple fact that I am purely exhausted.  Being a mom does that to you.

If you are a night owl who knows nothing of the morning person’s edge on life, here are a few random facts about us morning peeps!

Fact:  Hitting the snooze button can ruin your entire day and set you up for failure.

Truth:  If you have ever met my husband before or if you ever do meet him, it is certain you will hear him say this phrase on more then one occassion, “if you booze, you lose”. Well, I am going to turn that around and also add, “if you snooze, you lose”.  Not only does hitting the snooze button mess with your sleep cycle and cause drowziness but it will set you up to drag your feet and feel tired throughout your entire day.  Stop hitting that snooze button.  Shut it off once, roll out of bed and be done with it.  You will feel much, much better if you do AND you also won’t be late for meetings, appointments, dropping your kids off at school, etc.

Fact:  Once in a solid routine of getting up early, you will actually find that you have extra time in the morning to enjoy how you please.  

Truth:  I don’t know about you, but if I have an extra minute in my day of unplanned, extra time I see it as a gift from the Heavens above.  Having extra time, especially time to myself, is a rare occurance.  If getting that time means waking up a tad early then by golly I am going to wake up early!  Having extra time in the morning and not feeling rushed is good for everyone, not only you, but also the others in your family.  Note how the moods of others in your household change when you are in a rush.  Most often, it does not look or sound pretty.  Given a few extra moments and not having to rush, it’s like night and day.  If you listen carefully, you may even hear the birds singing and some beautiful tra-la-la music playing in the background (ok, you got me…I’ve watch far to many Disney movies)!  Maybe you will find time to exercise, start your day off with a daily devotional, be able to sit down and enjoy your breakfast, or organize your thoughts for the day.  Whatever it is you want to do, you can do it and rush free because you woke up early!

Fact:  You will make fewer unhealthier choices & it will help you become less stressed.

Truth:  Bad habits stem from not having the time to make good choices.  Also, if you happen to be a night owl, likely you are not getting the quality sleep you need to thrive or you are staying up later, possibly going out (like I did in my much younger days) and drink and smoke more (although, I’ve never smoked a day in my life).  Waking up earlier also causes you to be able to relax more.  It makes sense because if you continually hit the snooze and are running late, you are liekly tense and stressed out over sleeping in.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPP!

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like hearing that annoying alarm clock sound more then I have to.  Even if it isn’t the classic beeping, any alarm starts to become daunting and cringe worthy.  Just get up already!

Wondering On Wednesdays

If you happened to read my rambles yesterday you may have noted my #3 ramble about my kind neighbor giving me green peppers from her garden this summer.  The Stuffed Pepper Soup I made with them this week happens to be a Fall/Winter staple soup at this house, meaning that we make it multiple times during the colder seasons.  One thing I love about this soup is that not only does it make a big pot and can feed my family for about 3-4 days but if I don’t want leftovers it freezes well and I can make smaller portion containers for lunches or freeze containers big enough for meals to take out at a later time when I’m on the go and looking for something quick to make that is still home made and somewhat healthy!

Like most foods, the soup tastes best if you can use garden fresh peppers, onions and tomatoes.  All of these items freeze very well, so if you have a local farmers market that is still thriving and can get your hands on some fresh local veggies I’d highly suggest stocking up, spend some time chopping and freezing these goodies now so you have them at the tips of your fingers come soup season.   Just a little tip from me to you!  You will thank me later!

Also, I did not want to leave you hanging about my husband’s grandma’s Stuffed Pepper Soup recipe.  If you like stuffed peppers, you’ll love this soup or if you have never had stuffed peppers and are looking for a comforting, hearty, delicious new soup recipe this Fall/Winter I promise you this is a  wonderful one to try.  I usually pair it with home made french bread for dipping in the soup or you can always make a small house sald to go with it as well.  If you were wondering about this recipe and if I left you drooling for the deets here you go:

Grandma Dot’s Stuffed Roast Pepper Soup Recipe

 

2 lbs Ground Beef (I use 1lb ground Turkey)

1/2 Medium Onion chopped

6 Cups of Water

8 Beef Bouillon Cubes

2 28oz cans of Diced Tomatoes, undrained (or the equivilant fresh tomatoes, diced)

2 Cups Cookes Rice (I just use minute rice)

2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

1/2 tsp. Paprika

3 Medium Green or Yellow or Sweet Red peppers, de-seeded and chopped (I use whatever combination peppers I have, sometimes they are all the same kind and other times there is a variation.

Directions:

In a large dutch oven or soup kettle, cook beef (or turkey) and onion over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink and the onion is tender; drain.  Add bouillon cubes, tomatoes, rice, seasonings and water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer covered for 1 hour.  Add chopped peppers.  Cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes or just until tender.

Enjoy!!!

Aimless 20 Talk Tuesday

1.  I know it is boring to talk weather, but it is around 74 degrees outside and such a beautiful September day.  It kind of depresses me that my daughter is at school and my husband is at work, it would be an amazing day to spend with my family as a whole.
2. My dog is currently using the wipe bag as a pillow for her head.  She looks pretty comfortable.
3. My neighbor had given me three green peppers from her garden this summer and at the time I didn’t really have a use for them, but was not about to turn them down. I had just chopped all 3 and put in the freezer.  Last night I made my husband’s grandma’s Stuffed Pepper Soup recipe and used them up.  It was really yummy!
4. Has anyone read the book, “If There’s No Tomorrow”, by Jennifer L. Armentrout?  I haven’t and was just looking for feedback.  I think I am going to add it to my book list that has seemingly gotten much longer in the last couple of weeks.
5. Soon, very soon I really need to get my hair trimmed and add some warmth to it Fall.  Maybe before our family pictures in November?
6. Why does it seem like when I have any sort of quiet time to myself I feel overwhelmed by it and like it is a long distant friend of mine?  Last night, E took a cat nap in the evening and my husband and daughter went over to the neighbors.  I found myself with the dilemma to either relax and sit down or plug away at things I needed to do.  Even in the midst of doing things I found myself distractive and not very productive.
7. Finally, I finished my daughter’s bedboards.  They turned out beautiful.  I can not wait to finish her dresser!  The transformation amazes me and it is crazy how a little paint can change the appearnce of one object and then in turn change the apperance of an entire room.
8. Speaking of paint, I am really sick of the pain color of our main bathroom.  I’d love to switch it up.
9. My home town’s Fall Festival is this weekend and I wouldn’t even consider going but I have family from out of town visiting that have never met K before and I’d love for them to meet her and of course get to see them myself too.  I have anxiety just thinking about running into past people in my life that I try hard to avoid at all causes and I know I will be facing them if I go.  I absolutely do not like feeling like this.
10. K has been routinely waking up at 11:30, 3 and 4:30.  I really need to get this little lady to sleep through the night.  I feel like being that she’s 10 months old we should have crossed this bridge by now.  Mama really needs a full nights sleep.
11. I bought plums at the grocery store on Sunday.  Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had a plum?  I don’t know how long, but it’s been a really, really, really long time.  What have I been waiting for?!
12. My 5 year old seems to have gotten even more sassy since she has started kindergarten.  Is this a 5 year old thing or just my child?  My husband and I are caught off guard sometimes by her behavior and don’t always know the right way to handle her.
13. This morning I took out a granola bar for myself to remind myself to have a mid morning snack as I sometimes get the shakes and feel off if I don’t remember to eat a little snack in the morning.  Well, I remembered I was going to eat it and didn’t need the visual reminder and the granola bar was missing.  I thought I was going crazy and trying to tell myself that maybe I didn’t actually leave it out.  However, then I remember the little voice in my head while I set it out saying, “Nichole, don’t leave it on t he counter or hubby will snatch it up first.”  So, I called hubby at work and sure enough he had taken my granola bar with him to work.  I knew I should have known better but it kinda makes me mad that anything I set out is moved or touched or eaten.  I swear I need to write my name on what is mine in this house.
14. Do you know who the Sewing with Nancy lady is?  Apparently she had to retire due to health, but her show was previously aired on PBS.  I feel like I grew up watching her.  I was flabbergasted to find out that she is a Stout alumni!  Small world!  Stout did a little article on her and shared it on their Facebook page.
15. Yogurt covered craisins are so addicting!
16. I finally bought all the stuff I need to make K’s halloween costume.  Now, I just need to find the time to sit down and put it together.  E already picked out her costume and *gasp* she wanted something store bought.
17. How do you decorate your front porch for Fall for cheap?  I’d love to make mine look cute but don’t have a lot of money to use to buy decor.
18. Nursing has been less then enjoyable lately.  K has been doing a bite and tug move as she releases my nipple from her mouth and it is worthy of curse words.  My goal is to make it to a year with her but if she keeps it up I don’t know how I can keep letting her because it’s so painful.
19. It’s been taking me 3 mornings to finish listening to one podcast.  Typically it would take me about 1.5 mornings to finish one podcast from start to finish.  My “me” time in the morning is getting jipped since school has started.   I didn’t even have time for coffee this morning.
20. On high priority cleaning wise this week-decluttering the outside of my fridge and cleaning and organizing the inside.  I don’t know if I can handle all the fun and joy this task is about to bring me…said no one EVER!!!!

Motivational Mondays for Mombies

Yesterday, my neighbor texted me and asked if I wanted to play on her soccer team (either as a long term sub or another player).  The first game was last night.  Now, as you may know from posts past, I have wanted to join an adult soccer team since I moved to here.  As you may also know, my own fears have always made me hesitant about doing so.  Typically, I talk myself out of opportunities to play and make all the excuses in the book as to why I can’t play.  I’ve never played since moving here because of this.  Last night was different & I have the motivation of my neighbor to thank.  She would not take no for an answer and she wasn’t buying my bad excuses.

In case you are wondering some things I tell myself or what my excuses are as to why I shouldn’t play, here are some of the reasons I give myself and others:

1.  I don’t have any soccer cleats, shin guards or soccer socks anymore.  If I am not going to be playing a ton, I don’t really want to invest in them.
2. I’m not prepared at all to play soccer and don’t want to embarrass myself infront of others.
3. I am in decent shape, but I haven’t played soccer in 11+ years, I’d be worthless on the field because I am just a little bit rusty.
4. The games are on Sunday evenings and it will get too late with needing to keep bedtime routines and what not and I also may not be reliable Sundays with going out of town (in this scenerio).
5. My social anxiety will be going through the roof for various reasons.

Instead of my neighbor taking my excuses for face value, she was very encouraging and did not give me an out.  Here are some of her responses to my excuses:

1.  If you  just want to try it out tonight I have extra soccer apparel that you can borrow and if you end up enjoying yourself and wanting to play more for my team you can find stuff super cheap at play it again sports!
2. You won’t embarrass yourself, you will be great.  It is a group of all women and most of them are moms too.  Tonight will be the first time we are playing with each other and we are all learning how to play as a team tonight.  It will be a great time for you to join.
3. You went on a 13 mile bike ride with me, I think you have the agility to run the soccer field.  We will all be a bit rusty tonight as it is our first game.
4. Your hubby will do just find watching the kids for a couple hours and keeping them on their routine.  You need to start doing things for yourself once and a while.  If you can’t play every Sunday that is fine.  Others will miss Sunday’s too that is why we need extra players and Subs.
5. I haven’t always been outgoing and feel awkard sometimes with others too because I like to joke around and sometimes others don’t get my sarcasm or jokes.  However, this is how I’ve made friends and have gotten to know people and eventually people start to accept you for who you are.  It’s an all girls team and the girls are all super nice, helpful and accepting.  You will love them and they will love you.

Needless to say, I played soccer last night.  I ended up borrowing my neighbors gear and it worked out great.  Was I a bit rusty?  Yes, I was.  Did I embarrass myself?  No.  I was actually impressed that I ran my ass off most of the game, had an assist with a goal and was hands on with the ball a few times.  It was actually a ton of fun and brought back some great past memories of playing soccer.  I’d love to play again when I get the chance to do so.  When I got home, my hubby had dinner made and the kids stayed on track with their bedtime routine.  All was good without me.  My social anxiety was present, but after a while it did wear off some.  The girls I played with didn’t seem judgemental and even asked if I’d like to play again.  I came home with some battle bruises and a hurt foot but ultimatley I didn’t care because I had a huge smile on my face.

The purpose of this motivational post today is to ask you what excuses are you giving yourself right now that are holding you back in doing something you really want to do? This can be something big or something small.  Whatever it is, try to not feed into the bs you tell yourself.  If you have a hard time like myself, find someone to help motivate you and to only encourage you.  You will not regret it.