Tuesday, April 1, 2014

April 2014 Goals

April 2014 Goals
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
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Here are my Goals for April 2014!

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Meal Planning.

I have started a wee bit, but I really need to start kicking it into high gear and get organized. 
I always start and make some progress and then fall off the bandwagon and let it go.

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Stay on top of dishwasher/dishes.

I've gotten so much better about this chore these last couple months, but I need to continue to stick with it and not let it go for more than 2 days. 
This is my most hated chore and my Husband knows this!

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30 minutes a day.

Set a goal of at least 30 minutes when I get home to get Hailey and I settled, dogs fed and settled, dinner started and other little miscellaneous chores around the house (i.e. dishes), before I get distracted by TV and social media.

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Gym time at least 3 times a week.

I've been so good about this the last couple months and got into such a routine. 
I wrote HERE about my favorite Zumba instructor cancelling one of her weekly classes (HUGE BUMMER), but do need to find something new in April to fill that void. 
I've been wanting to try Yoga, but a very beginner yoga since I have never done it. 
Does anyone have any DVD recommendations?

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Jillian Michaels DVD.

I bought the 6 week Six-Pack abs video last year and had such high hopes. 
Truth is, I haven't touched it.
I wanna change that.

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Drink water.

I've gotten a lot better with this, and have pretty much given up all pop (GASP!) and MOST coffee, but once again I need to kick it into high gear.

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Lunch to work.

This is a huge one for me. 
I am not a huge leftover type person, but I am trying to change that. 
It's definitely a work in progress.

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Upstairs loft area.

Organize this area of the house. 
It's kind of our catch all place. 
We put things up there and then totally forget about it.
I've been wanting to do this for awhile now, so no time like the present.

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More fruits and veggies.

I have been such a slacker lately on eating my good foods (especially veggies) but, I want and NEED to change that.


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Stay sane.

If you read THIS blog post, you will know why this is a goal for me this month.

What are your goals for the month?

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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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