Monday, March 31, 2014

Weekend Highlights: March 28 - March 30, 2014

Weekend Highlights: March 28 - March 30, 2014
Monday, March 31, 2014
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Friday after work, Hailey and I met my Mom and sister, Amie, at Perkins for dinner. I was totally fine all day long and then as soon as we got there I was NOT feeling well at all and actually puked (I know TMI) a few times after getting home. I think it was just a little bug. I felt better most of the rest of the weekend, minus a few moments each day. Not a fun way to spend a Friday night.

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Saturday I attended the 2nd Annual Minnesota Blogger Favorite Things Party. I was a horrible blogger and didn't take ANY pictures. I get SO mad at myself when I do this. You think I would learn. The premise behind it is you bring 3 of your favorite items ($5 max) (mine was Cocoa Butter lotion cause I am currently obsessed with it) and then your name is drawn and you get to go up to the table of "Favorite Things" and pick one thing at a time for 3 rounds. I came home with lots of chocolate, hair ties, pasta, a dressing shaker, and of course a Brit fan.


Thanks Andrea for the picture and for being a fellow Britney fan.

I also got to hang out with all these lovely people! Thanks Zhenya for the pic!


The rest of Saturday was spent hanging around the house and being lazy. I also went to bed super early because I knew Sunday was going to be busy.

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Sunday, we went and moved Gramma out of the GROSS house. You can read about that HERE. It was a pretty good day all around. Just long. This is one of the things I ended up taking.


So, a rock, her little desk that I think I am going to re-do at some point, some dishes of hers and her newest pot and pan set (Thanks Paula Deen). Other people took some things and the rest my MIL is going to have a garage sale at some point. Once we got home Sunday night, we unpacked and organized a little, but I was totally not into it, so there is still some of that to do. We ate dinner, my BIL Andy stopped by to said Hi, we got Hailey to bed and then I watched a couple of my shows to catch up.

Overall, a pretty good weekend.

How was yours?

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Friday, March 28, 2014

Friday Favorites {03.28.2014}

Friday Favorites {03.28.2014}
Friday, March 28, 2014
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I was going to post this on Wednesday for "What I'm Loving Wednesday", but of course life got in the way, so I re-titled it and decided to do Friday Favorites!

I'm not linking up with anyone this week.

Just throwing out there some of my favorite things lately!

*****
If you know me, you know I am a huge fan and long time viewer of the show The Bachelor/ette. I am also a big fan of Ashley & JP. They announced this week that they are pregnant! I love hearing that some of these reality TV relationships actually make it and succeed.


*****

Another magazine cover. Have they always had this People Country Special? Is it a monthly thing? Or just a special? I don't know, but I LOVE Miranda Lambert and need to look into this. Isn't she pretty?


*****

These are a few products I have been loving lately:

Equate Cocoa Butter Body Conditioning Lotion - I have loved the way it smells and works on my dry skin this winter, plus it's on the cheaper side, so it's good for the wallet, too. It really soaks into the skin and doesn't come off leaving my hands sticky as some lotions do. I just love it all around.

The Curve from NYX (liquid liner) - Ulta had a BOGO sale on all NYX products awhile back, so I decided to take advantage of it. I actually got 4 things, but this has been my favorite so far. I love everything about it.

*****

Jared Allen to Da Bears: Although this one makes me sad because he is not a Viking anymore, I am happy for him that he gets to continue to play football and his career is not ending.


*****

Taco Salad: I made this for dinner earlier in the week and have been eating from it all week long. I HAVE to have Doritos with mine.


*****

I am so excited to see some of my blogger friends tomorrow at the 2nd Annual Favorite Things Party. I will be sure to re-cap it sometime next week, as I am sure many of the other bloggers will be doing. I didn't get a chance to go last year, but it looks like there will be twice as many people going. I will get to meet some new faces as well as see some of my favorites.

*****

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I love this show and it has been so good lately. I don't want to give anything away if people are still getting caught up, but it's fast become one of my favorites this season. The twists and turns are really starting to come out. Does anyone else watch this show or just me?

That's about it for this week. Hope you have a great weekend!

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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Here We Go Again

Here We Go Again
Thursday, March 27, 2014
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So, this week has been a doozy.

I basically found out yesterday (Wednesday) that Wayne's Gramma is coming to live with us for an undisclosed amount of time on Sunday. Like...this Sunday...in 3 days. Which in hindsight doesn't sound so bad (and it's not) other than she has 4 dogs. But um, we also have 4 dogs.

Now let me give you a little back history before you get all judgy.

(Is that a word? I don't care, I'm going with it.)

In October of 2008, we ended up moving into the basement of her house in Buffalo. We needed a place to live and she needed help financially. It was a win win for everyone. She had 5 dogs and we only had Bella and Puckett at that time. A month later we rescued Tony and Moo Moo. So at that point we had 9 dogs in one house. But it was the country and they had a big yard to run around and it wasn't close to a street or highway. We justified it and it worked for us. There was a house next door, but not RIGHT next door and they were all pretty good about sticking around the house (most of the time). And basically, if the dogs barked, no one was around close enough to hear them.

We found out we were pregnant October of 2010, and started looking for places in the cities, closer to our parents and our jobs.  We just didn't want the hour+ commute each way to work anymore with a child. We lived with Gramma until May of 2011. So for 2 1/2 years we lived in a house with 9 dogs.

We also moved because Gramma was in the process of losing her house (a whole other blog post) and we knew eventually we would have to move anyways. In October of 2011, she ended up moving down to AZ with her sister (and her dog, Gucci - yes her sister also has a dog - we are big dog people), because that was the only place she could have all 5 of her dogs and still live a normal life.

Did we like her living down there? So far away? No. But it is what it is and sometimes people have to do what they have to do. Plus, she has made it clear to everyone that she is NOT giving up her puppies, so she has VERY limited options.

This past summer she had some medical issues and was in and out of the hospital several times down in AZ. After that she started researching and talking to friends up here about moving back to be closer to her family. One of her friends had several rental properties and it just so happened they had a house for rent. The only problem was that it is 2 /12 hours up north from the cities.

In hind sight, we thought it would be better for her to be up here in Minnesota and only be a drive away if something were to happen to her, versus a plane ride away.

So, if you remember in THIS post, I mentioned a road trip to go get Gramma. She moved back here as of December 1st.

In her 4 months of living up there, she has endured quite a lot I must say.

Just some things to note:

1. She's all alone. We all thought it wouldn't be so bad, because her friend lives up there, but it's been miserable for her.

2. She thought she would be ok to live on her own (with only just her social security money), but she just can't. So, she got a part-time job at a little cafe down the street to help make ends meet.

3. She's going to be 74 next Wednesday with various medical issues. She shouldn't be working in a cafe on her feet.

4. She has ended up going to a food shelf a couple times.

5. From the day we walked into the house to move her in, the house isn't what it was all cracked up to be.

6. The owners/landlords (also friends of hers) are SO not helpful or accommodating.

7. The garage door isn't automatic, so in order to get her car in and out she has to lift it herself. Again, she's 74 years old.

8. We had the worst winter EVER, which is 10 times worse up north.

9. The landlords said they had a plowing service, but they hardly never came. She ended up shoveling or the neighbor boy came and did it for her. And then she paid him.

10. She now has been dealing with a mouse/rat issue for the last month and the stories she has told me are absolutely disgusting. Like no one should have to live like that.

Did I mention she's all by herself and her friend/landlord is so NOT helpful?

The whole situation just makes me so mad. Not at Gramma by any means, but just at the situation itself.

This time around there will only be 8 pups. (RIP Snickers) But I am just so stressed out about it, and to make matters worse, my Husband doesn't seem to get why, or much less care. He just keeps saying "it will all work out" and "we'll figure it out." I know. I get it. Can you just say something else?

I am excited on one hand for her to come stay with us. On the other hand though we live in the city, with close neighbors that are also CRAZY.

Sandy is planning on coming to get Gramma at some point and move her back down to AZ. She just doesn't know when and I'm fearful it's going to be a lot longer than what I was planning.

For right now we are going up there on Sunday to basically move her out of there and she will be staying with us for the time being.

Please say a little prayer for me. Anyone got any good advice for me to stay sane?

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Weekend Highlights: March 21 - 23, 2014

Weekend Highlights: March 21 - 23, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
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Happy Tuesday Friends!

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Friday night was low-key. Wayne was supposed to have the night off, but ended up staying later at work than planned. Always a bummer. I made spaghetti and Hailey insisted on eating it like her Father.


Do you see what she's doing there? We tried a new ice cream treat for a bedtime snack. Ice cream is hands down Hailey's favorite snack/treat, so she is not so picky on flavors. I usually am not either, but this kind was not very appealing to me. It had a weird taste to it. Totally not what I was expecting.


Of course, Hailey scarfed it down with no hesitation. The dogs thought for sure she was going to share.


And yes, that is her portable little potty, that we no longer use. She uses it as a stool now and it's completely clean. No worries!

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I did my normal 75 minute Zumba class. As you can see I totally rocked it. 1,028 calories burned.


The rest of the day was spent being lazy and catching up on TV. Hailey had a massive meltdown on the way home from the gym. Basically, she said she had to go potty and couldn't wait until we got home. She was holding herself, which she normally never does. So I pull into the closest thing, which was Leeann Chin and take her in to go potty. Well, when we were done, she didn't want to leave. She wanted to eat there. I said no, because I already had it in my head that we were having pizza for lunch, so she proceeded to cry the entire way home (about 10-15 minutes). I took this to send to Wayne and my Mom. This was us parked in our garage. Kids I tell ya.


I did a few "spring cleaning" projects around the house and then made a mental note of about 556 more projects that need to be done. Haha. Isn't that the way it always goes? Wayne's little brother stopped by for a little bit in the evening, so it was nice to catch up with him for a bit.

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The only thing I had planned for Sunday was Falen's bridal shower. I don't want to share too many specifics, but her fiance's aunt threw it for her.

{Katie, Me, Leslie, Falen, Tina}


A couple of quick tidbits about the afternoon.

(1) They have a beautiful house. Absolutely gorgeous;
(2) The food was so delicious I went back for seconds. P.S. I was NOT the only one;
(3) The company was equally fabulous as always; and
(4) She got so much great stuff. I made a mental note of AT LEAST two things I need to upgrade in my kitchen.


After 7 1/2 years of marriage, I think I am entitled to a few upgrades, right?
Overall it was a great shower! 

The icing on the cake was that my Flash drive was fixed by one of my BFF's little brother. I wrote about it HERE. Yup, I sent it off, he soldered it back together and we met at my parents house to do the exchange. Hallelujah!! My world is now complete and no more in a state of limbo. I have all my pictures, documents and planned blog posts back. I have properly backed everything up in multiple places and will do so on at least a weekly basis, sometimes daily with certain things.

Anyways, that about wraps it up. How was your weekend?

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Friday, March 21, 2014

Five on Friday {03.21.2014}

Five on Friday {03.21.2014}
Friday, March 21, 2014
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Happy Friday! Linking up with the girls above.

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First off, my life has been turned a little upside down for the last couple weeks. My main flash drive broke and I have been heartbroken and lost without it. It had pretty much everything on it. Yes, I did back it up, but not for a couple months or so. So while I can retrieve most of the stuff on it, there were several projects and blog posts I was working on more recently that are now lost for the moment. My friends little brother is going to try and solder it back together for me. If he can at least get it to the point of me getting everything off of it, I will be so indebted to him!!! I'm hoping to get it back early next week. We'll see. If not. I will just have to move on. Please say a prayer. :)



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I just had to share this picture that my Husband posted about his weight loss yesterday for #TBT. The picture on the left is from November 2011. He was the best man in a friends wedding. The picture on the right is him from just this past Tuesday with Demi Lavato. Can you say crazy?! I am so proud of him and his progress so far. He wants to keep going, which I completely support. I know you will get there honey. I love you!


 
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I found out last night, that my favorite Zumba instructor, Mollie, is cancelling her Thursday night class. It may seem trivial, but in my world it's huge. She's my absolute FAVORITE! She says she wants to change things up for the spring. I know she needs her time and she can do what she wants, and I respect that. She has 3 kids and a family, but I am SUPER bummed about it. I am grateful that she will still have her Wednesday and Saturday classes, and she does teach a few other things (nothing else fits into my schedule right now), but that Thursday night class was my trifecta. It completed my cardio for the week (3x week). I am not sure if I will be able to find something to fill that void. Dramatic, I know. It may sound weird, but Mollie is one of a kind. And I have actually made a few friends from the gym because of her and her class. That's a huge thing in itself. To feel like you actually belong in a gym? We all agree that it's sort of a cult following. Mollie is one of a kind, and I don't think she really realizes how influential she is. I'm hoping it's not a permanent thing and maybe she just really needs to take a break. We'll see. I was in such a good routine with my weekly work-outs, now I will have to re-evaluate. I was literally just working on a gym routine post and going to share it next week. We'll have to see.

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I know it's only been 2 weeks since I wrote this post about Lent. But I have not bought ANYTHING so far and am sticking strong to it. Granted I have several more fun things planned within the next few weeks, but I am confident I can find things in my closet and drawers to drag out of hiding. It's not as hard as what I thought it would be. I just can't look at my emails with all the "deals." Have you ever done a wardrobe freeze?

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And lastly, is anyone else as obsessed with Frozen as I am? It's not just my kid, but me AND my Husband, too. We watch it in the mornings before school/work and every evening so far this week.

Oh ya know. Just Hailey sitting on the coffee table eating breakfast, watching Frozen.


Is it sad that we have the soundtrack, too? I put it in my iTunes immediately and uploaded it onto my iPod. Now I can have it with me wherever I go. It's so addicting. #don'tjudge

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Any fun plans?

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Weekend Highlights: March 14 - 16, 2014

Weekend Highlights: March 14 - 16, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
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Happy Tuesday Friends.

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Friday night consisted of going out to dinner with my little lady and running errands for the Bachelorette Party I was co-hosting the next evening.



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Saturday morning I went to the gym like normal. I had to get a good work-out in cause I knew I would be eating and drinking a lot later on that night.

I dropped Hailey off at my parents house for her over-night sleepover and ran a few more errands. Our friend Katie left her car at my house and then we headed down to Lauren's to help set up. This is a basic re-cap of the night.



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We had to go get Hailey from my parents house and then Tony, one of our pups, got a haircut. We also decided on a treat in the afternoon from DQ. He also got a pup cup. Hailey had such a fun time feeding him.


It was honestly one of the best weekends I have had in such a long time. I actually got to see some of my friends and hang out with my Husband for a bit and spend some quality time with him and we had great family time the rest of the day.

Hop you all are having a great week so far!

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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Ipsy Glam Bag {February 2014}

Ipsy Glam Bag {February 2014}
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
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This was my first bag that I received from Ipsy and can I tell you for just $10/month, you get such great stuff! Plus, you can go online to your account and review products for future bags. I'm hoping the bags only get better from here.

Also, I love, love, love make-up and trying new things, so this is perfect for me.


Here is the run down of the products I got.

Brand: Pop Beauty
Product: Plump Pout Mini (Lip Gloss)

I love and am such a sucker for any sort of lip product. I am NOT usually a huge fan of gloss in general, but I still used this a few times and liked the pop of color. I won't be rushing to purchase anymore, but if you are a gloss lover, then you might really like this one.

Brand: Zoya
Product: Nail Polish in Odette

I was so excited to see I got a polish and Zoya specifically. I have heard of the brand, but never bought one. I love the purple color and it looked great on, too.



Brand: City Color
Product: Be Matte Blush in Fresh Melon

This was by far my very favorite product that I got in this bag. At first, I was thinking that the color was SUPER bright (this picture doesn't do it justice), but it looks really good on my skin and it's not as bright on as it is in the package. I will be using this blush over and over again.



Brand: skyn ICELAND
Product: Fresh Start Mask with Ice Age Mud

I have not used this product yet. I don't do a whole lot of facial masks, but this is one area I am trying to improve on in my beauty regimen.

Brand: J. Cat Beauty
Product: Fake Eyelashes + Glue

When I first saw these, I was kind of disappointed, just because I don't wear false lashes AT ALL, but then I was like, hey, they're free and maybe I will keep them for a fun night out or something.

Overall, I loved my glam bag and think I got my money's worth.

Do you get Ipsy? What products did you love or hate?

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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Lent {2014}

Lent {2014}
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
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Hi friends. Sorry I have been MIA. It's been a crazy couple of weeks with me being sick and still recovering and then a sick Hubby AND a sick little one. It's just so exhausting and I feel like I am JUST getting my world back on track and into some sort of routine again.

I wanted to touch on the subject of Lent and what I am giving up this year. I usually try and think hard about something sort of sacrificing in my life and go with it. This year is no different and although I have struggled with it (it hasn't even been a week, yet), I am so glad I decided on this particular thing to "give up."

This is NOT a religious post by any means, but more of sharing with you all and holding myself accountable in this little journey until April 20th, which is Easter.



That's right folks. You read it. I am going to refrain from personal clothes shopping for myself until after Easter.

A few exceptions I am giving myself...I have several special occasions between now and April 20th (Easter):

A Bachelorrete party;
A wedding shower;
2 birthday parties;
2 SURPRISE birthday parties;
A wedding;
A baby shower; and
Oh yes, my birthday.

Uffda. That seems like a lot between now and then, but such is life. I will be allowing myself to MAYBE purchase something for those, but I am limiting it to those occasions only and ONLY if I need something.

I LOVE to shop (especially online), so when I told my Mom and sisters about this, they were like,.."Wha? Huh? Well, good luck with that!"

My Mom already asked me if I wanted to go shopping this past Saturday when I was down there visiting. Um. Yes, I would LOVE to, but no, I am going to refrain.

So that's that. I'm not limiting myself as far as make-up or toiletry items are concerned. I just can't go that far. But I think if I put a limit on my general spending, it will be a step in the right direction for saving money and make us one step closer to that HOUSE!

Are you giving anything up for Lent?

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