{Capture the Everyday} Love

Remember the Week In My Life attempts that I made a few weeks ago?  It was difficult, as I mentioned, because that was not truly what a normal week in our life looks like - it was Fall Break.  But whatevs, it was really fun.  And really exhausting.  During that week, I met some wonderful bloggers, one of whom was the hostess Melissa from Adventuroo (big fan here). 

She does this weekly thing called Capture the Everyday which in her words, is about getting you to capture those everyday moments in your life! Each Thursday, I’ll issue a simple challenge to capture something that’s a part of your daily life. You can post just a picture or add some words to go along with it. You’ll have a week to get it done and then I’ll issue another. It’s a quick, easy way to start capturing those little parts of life we sometimes take for granted.

This week's assignment:  Love

I chose this recent photo of my two darlings playing and having a blast on these bouncy balls.  This, to me, is love.  These two together, huge smiles on their faces, their laughter ringing through the air, having fun (not fighting with each other - did you know? They do that, too).  I love this moment because it's not staged, nor posed, nor directed.  I caught it in the middle of them simply playing to have a good time. 

This week, this day, this minute, this is love.  Each one of these moments wipes away tons of the tough ones. Want to join in the Capture the Everyday fun?  Go visit the linkup here.   

Monday Meal Plan

Here's my Monday Meal Plan - I feel so much more organized when I do this, even when I stray and make something nowhere near what I planned. I can always reference it and get right back on track!  So, what's for dinner this week? Kind of an odd one for a few reasons with dietary restrictions and family members coming and going throughout the week, but this will work.  Also, heavy on the carbs...and tacos, eh?  Especially since the hubs is going low carb now.  But I've got him covered with lots of meat, dairy and veggies.  For the rest of the fam, this is our weekly meal plan: 

Monday:  Chicken Salsa Verde Tacos served with black beans and rice (click link for printable recipe)

Tuesday: One Pot Pasta with Tomatoes, White Beans and Pesto

Wednesday: Lemon Thyme Chicken Tenders served with pasta tossed with EVOO, lemon juice, lemon zest and thyme, and maybe a bright fruit salad or something - I try to avoid everything on the plate being the same color!

Thursday: Spanish Rice Tacos served with black beans

Friday: Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps (click link for printable recipe)

Saturday:  Spicy Marinated Shrimp (click link for printable recipe) - Not sure about dinner yet, but I'm bringing this yummy app for a birthday party.  This happens to be something the hubs can eat as it is low carb - and also a huge hit in general!  This recipe comes from lowcarbfriends.com.

Sunday:  Not sure if hubs is having a splurge day today or not.  If he is?  Pizza.  If not?  Maybe we'll have hamburgers.  Rachael Ray just had a burger on her show last week(featured in the October issue of her magazine also) that sounded divine, called the Garlic Sherry Burgers with Stilton and Horseradish Sauce.  I could go for that.  Especially because you don't have to go outside and grill them. 

What are you eating this week?

Finding New Friends Weekend Blog Hop #29

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Welcome back to week 29 of Finding New Friends Weekend Blog Hop hosted by Shelly from My Saving Game and Jeannette from The Adventures of J-Man and MillerBug!  J-Man and MillerBug are back from vacation and we are ready to hop!  Thank you all for helping make this hop so successful!  We love you tons!  Now what are you waiting for?  Let's get to hopping!  We are finding some fabulous blogs through this hop and having a great time getting to know so many of you!  So thank you for linking up again this week to those of you who are hop veterans and welcome to those who are new!  Let's continue to make new bloggy friends and increase our traffic! We do have a few simple rules for you - nothing too tough though.  So here we go!

Well, I Never!

I seem to be on some kind of kick with lists of things...Things on my Bucket List.  Pared it down to only 15 things on my BL - so I am calling that my "Partial Bucket List" because let's be real - my bucket list is ginormous.  And this list here, 22 Things I've Never Done. 

I'm thirty-three years old and I've never:

1. Killed a person (might as well get that out there right out the gate).

2.  Lived in a foreign land.

3.  Noshed on caviar.

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4.  Had braces.

5.  Run a marathon.

6.  Been in an earthquake, tornado, hurricane or tsunami.

7.  Watched House.

8.  Enjoyed surprises.

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9.  Read Pride and Prejudice.

10.  Had a c-section.

11.  Had Botox.

12.  Been to Seattle.

13.  Hitchhiked. 

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14.  Been stung by a jellyfish.

15.  Met a cabernet sauvignon I didn't like.

16.  Flown first class.

17.  Ordered champagne at a restaurant or bar.

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18.  Had a shot of liquor delivered to my mouth via a block of ice.

19.  Seen a Broadway show on Broadway...or any other avenue for that matter.

20.  Thrown a punch in a fight.

21.  Had high tea at the Ritz.

22.  Baked homemade bread.  (Mmmmmm, the smell of homemade bread).

I hope you enjoyed!  What have you never?  This was one of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompts.  Click below to go read all the others, or participate yourself!

 

15 Things I Want to Enjoy in My Lifetime

I'm narrowing down the larger Bucket List I did earlier this year to a list of just 15.  Why, you ask?  Keep reading.  I've cut some items and added a few new ones because nearly every day I see or hear something that sounds pretty darn cool - so.....add to the Bucket List! 

• Travel to New York City during the holidays

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• Take an Amtrak train trip - get the sleeper car - eat train food, the whole experience.  To do this internationally - even better.
• Publish my book(s).
• Live abroad for a year (or more).
• Register for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and complete a novel in 30 days.  (DUDE!  November is right around the corner and I've registered.  Will this be the year I write a novel in 30 days?  Stay tuned!)
• Attend a Japanese tea ceremony.
• Go to the SuperBowl.

• Go to the Tournament of Roses Parade.
• Cruise to Alaska.
• Attend the Sundance Film Festival.
• Attend the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival.
• See the 7 Wonders of the World.
• Have a private chef come to my house and cook an amazing meal for me and hubby.  And then clean it all up.

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• Take the kids to The Nutcracker, the circus, The Polar Express and Disney on Ice.
• Do yoga on the beach.  Any beach.  Sandy beach, me, ocean, yoga.

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Share your list and you have a shot of winning a trip of a lifetime. The grand prizes are:

• A family vacation of a lifetime to Universal Orlando® Resort

• A Las Olas Surf Camp Safari

• Ski Lessons and stay at Park City Mountain Resort

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details.

Week in Review: Thursday

This week I’m participating in a Week in My life with Melissa of Adventuroo.  You can read more about the project here.

7:34 AM - I'm up for the day.  Both kids got out of bed and didn't wake me up first - poor grandma.


8:00 - My parents are both at work today so we are hanging around the house, really just having a "chill" day.  Since we're not at our house, there's no work to be done, or chores that are calling our names, like that damn laundry.  I decide I'm going to make dinner tonight. 


9:50 - My breafast - banana bread and a spot of coffee out of my mom's German cup from our trip last year.  "Danke".

10:30  Oh man!  I need a Diet Pepsi!  The hubs goes to the store to get a couple of ingredients I need to make dinner and picks up a big DP for me - YAY!

11:00  I get my "famous" bolognese sauce started and put it in the crockpot for tonight.  Snack time - pretzels and apple pears.


1:00 PM - Naptime!


1:15 - Doing some freelance work.


1:25 - I haven't seen the hubby in awhile so I go check to see what he's up to.  Reading on the back patio, quite nice!


1:52 - Uh-oh, I hear a door shutting.   Surely one of the kids is not up.  The TV just shut off by itself.  Weird.  The weather is absolutely gorgeous here today. 


1:54 - Both kids still tucked snugly in their beds.  They NEED an excellent nap.


1:58 - Jae gets up from his nap.  I shuffle him right back to his bed.


2:04 - I think I hear Jameson again.  He's whispering "Mama".  I ignore him hoping he'll get the hint and get back in bed.  "Mama".  Ignore.  "Mama, my tummy hurts."  I take him to the bathroom and then back to his bed.


2:21 - This is not even funny.  They're both up.  Not nearly long enough nap.  Not cool.


3:05 - We leave the house to go for a little hike.  We drive to South Fork and do some hiking, throw some rocks in the river, checking out the Wallow Fire damage along the way.

Hubs tells me that my yellow sweater is bright enough to warn all the hunters out there that we're not deer so please don't shoot us.  (It's archery season).  Glad I could be useful.

6:30 - We're back at my parents' house.  My bolognese sauce has been cooking all day long.  It smells so good.  I ate way too much.


I haven't captured the nighttime routine at all! 


8:30 - Both kids are snug as a bug in a rug in their beds, done with pj's, potty, teeth, etc.


8:32 - Mom opens a bottle of wine, suitable for the season.  Their new kitchen backsplash in the background - ready for grouting tomorrow! 

9:00 - We watch The Tillman Story.

And, good night!

Week in Review: Wednesday

This week I’m participating in A Week in My Life with Melissa over at Adventuroo.

5:51 AM - Jae's up.  We've got a big day but I'm still slowly trying to wake up.

6:30 - Now both kids are up, asking when's breakfast? When are we going to grandma and grandpa's? When is Christmas? What's for breakfast?   

7:00 Morning tea.

8:00 - Clothes to pack for the kiddos.

I'm going to skip ahead here.  Today was our travel day to grandma's and grandpa's.  I had a loose time I wanted to get on the road - 10AM.  That nowhere near happened.  More like 12:30PM.  I was still packing, hubby loaded up the truck, everything took longer than anticipated.  But whatever, we weren't on a schedule.

Travelling with the kiddos is always interesting.  And loud.  We decided to take the truck because it has a DVD player.  Awesome sauce, right?  We didn't even turn it on during the trip (just slightly over four hours), which may have helped with our nerves and patience.  We started out with reading books.

What happened to napping in the car? Completely non-existent for Maddi, maybe one hour for Jae.  Yikes!  When Jae woke up he wanted to chill with his bunny, but Maddi cannot leave him alone.  She riles him up. 

Scenery, it's so beautiful up north.

We roll into town around 5pm and stop at the UPS store to mail some packages.  Then drive to my parents' house and check out their new digs.  Back in April the water line on their fridge burst and gave the house a good flooding.  Not too long ago their remodel was finished and I couldn't wait to see it in person!  LOOKS AWESOME!  The tile guys were here today finishing the backsplash which is still not finished, but still, looking fabulous!

Dinner time now and we must go to my all-time favorites of favorites restaurant: Los Dos Molinos.  My favorite mexican food restaurant, I worked here since before I could drive through some of my college years.  My aunt and uncle join us which is always a treat, they are fun!  Hubby and I both decided to get something different tonight and we loved it.  He got the Deluxe Mexican Pizza (beef, red) and I got a Cheese Crisp and a Guacamole Tostada.  That was a lot of food so I sent a couple of slices of cheese crisp around the table.  Other than that - I ate the whole damn thing!  With three bowls of salsa.  Get. In. My. Belly.  To die for, this food.  It's possible we'll eat lunch there tomorrow and dinner there again while we're here.  :D

I have to mention this.  Jae was a little out of sorts at dinner.  The kids were fighting (sitting next to each other) so I asked Jae if he wanted to go sit between Grandpa and Papa, he said no, but Maddi said yes.  So she went to sit there.  Jae completely fell apart, whining, crying, WAILING.  There was a couple sitting in a booth across from us.  The woman - the Biotch - plugged her ears when Jae had his fit.  She made no attempt to hide it or sympathize or laugh it off or whatever.  I don't know exactly what I expected her to do, but certainly not that.  My blood boiled and I shot her looks that could kill because she obviosly couldn't hear the comments I was making with her fingers in her ears and whatnot.  I think her husband could hear just fine.  He looked very embarrassed and shriveled up in the booth.  As he should.  I was so angry.  But then I purposely put her assanine behavior out of my head so I could happily enjoy the rest of the boisterous night with my family.  And it was awesome.  (Sorry, no pictures of this wondrous event or food or the ear-plugging biotch, but surely we'll have another opportunity to go and I'll enlighten you with yumminess - I would have loved to go all paparazzi on that biotch and snap her ridiculous picture).

Oh, we picked up a Subway sandwich on our way to Los Dos because the kids just don't really go for the hot food yet.  They scarfed it! 

Home and 1/2 a popsicle for the kids, brush teeth, potty, jammies and tucked into bed by 8:15PM.  We chat, watch Happy Endings (love), have a margarita and guess what I do?  Fall asleep on the couch.

As I was typing I found myself thinking wow, my day today? So boring (at least in the written version - my family is NEVER boring).  Who's going to care?  So when I read Adventuroo's Wednesday she said something that struck a chord with me.  Melissa says, "Remember YOU ARE NOT BORING. We’re capturing the mundane and you have a story to tell!"  This is why I have quickly grown to love what she does.  Guess what?  I CARE!  This is our everyday life.  Years from now when I look back and read about little blips in our daily life, I'm going to love it. 

All this with one exception, though.  Since it's Fall Break this week, this is not exactly what a normal week would look like in our household.

Week in My Life: Tuesday

Welcome back, it's Tuesday!  I'm participating in A Week In My Life with Melissa over at Adventuroo. 

5:45 - Jae is up bright and early.  Again.  Cartoons ON. 

7:01 AM - Maddi Girl is up and wants to know: "When I was a baby, like a baby-baby, did I have these gold things in my hair?"  I'm way confused.  "You know, like when you get your hair done and grandma puts stuff on it?"  Does she mean...?  Surely not.....Gray hair?  Is she talking about me?  Am I ready for a color already?  Maddi's lifting her hair up and pointing, "you know, Mama, these gold things?"  I'm still way confused.  She doesn't have anything in her hair.  *Ahem*  I have no idea.  I don't know where she gets this.

 

7:22 - Maddi Girl: "When are we going to grandma's house?" This is the question of the hour, the day, the week. This question never ends.


7:51 - Maddi Girl, with the questions already:  "When is breakfast?"  Silence for a few minutes.  "See, my tummy is growling at you."


8:00 - I get my hot tea ready for the morning and have a few sips before the day gets going.

8:10 - I'm getting the kids involved in breakfast this morning.  They help me make scrambled eggs.

8:30 - Hubs has his morning workout.  I throw a load of laundry in, vaccuum, make our bed and do my hair and makeup while the kids ransack my jewelry and makeup.

10:00 - Whoa, what happened to the morning?  We haven't even left the house and have a to-do list a mile long.  We take the list and our good intentions and head out.  We take the kids to the zoo first and end up spending all of our time there.  Forget about the important errands.  This was the highlight of their trip - the python.

 

12:30 - Got home from our morning at the zoo and hubby went right back out to finish our chores - recycling, bank, library, shred-a-thon, Lowe's, Sam's Club, getting the dog groomed, etc.  I get lunch ready for the kids.


1:30 - NAPTIME!  (For the kids).  Email, more laundry, completely procrastinating packing for our trip to my parents' house tomorrow.   

3:30 - Found out I can't get my iPhone until the END of October.  Unless I want to pay a bajillion dollars, and I don't.  So this is me patiently waiting....


3:45 - Wow, the kids are both still napping.  I should pack.  But I don't.  I hate folding clothes and so this is now what the first load of laundry looks like.  Washed, but not folded.  Piled.

4:30 - I take the kids for a golf cart ride through the neighborhood.  They loved it!  We stopped to check the mail and the hubs pulled up behind us, done with all the errands.

6:30 - The kids do not stop talking at dinner.  Not one quiet moment.  Questions and stories, questions and stories.  Dinosaurs, every little detail about the food on their plates, clouds, T-Rex, grandparents and on and on and on.  Sometimes exhausting, but all in all, cute as hell.


7:00 - Bathtime starts.  I decided to multi-task and clean the bathroom from top to bottom.  Even steam mopped.


7:30 - Jae's out of bath, Maddi's turn.  Hubs gets Jae in his pj's, brushes hair and teeth and puts him to bed.  Jae suddenly remembers that I've been talking about his "scraggly tail" (the back of his hair is getting a little long) for two days and he insists I must cut it right now.  To hear him say "scraggly tail" is downright hilarious.  He's quite upset about his scraggly tail and he morphed into calling it his "waggly tail".  "I don't want a waggly tail, mama!"  Wailing commences.  He thinks his scraggly tail has turned him into a waggling tail dog.  The tail is going to have to wait till tomorrow, son.


8:00 - Both kids are in bed now and I just want to veg on the couch.  Hubs is busy in his office right now so I take advantage of that and watch some of my stuff on the DVR and get to typing this post.  Diet Pepsi in hand.


9:53 - I really want to make some popcorn with butter, salt and parmesan on it.  I refrain.

10:25 - Sleepy.  It's bedtime for me.  I still have ALL of our packing to do in the morning before heading up north for the rest of the week.  I laid all of the kids' clothes out on the living room floor so I know what they're wearing, it's just not packed.  Why, oh why, do I procrastinate?

Week in My Life: Monday

I am playing a little catchup today since I just stumbled across this week in review project thanks to Genie in a Blog's latest post.  While you're at it, check out all the details of this very cool project at Adventuroo plus Q&A, linky, good stuff, etc.
I must tell you though, this week is not a typical week in my life since it is Fall Break and the kids are out of school, preschool and after school care, AND the hubs took the week off so we could have quadruple the fun as a family.  So, in no way would I call this typical.  Perhaps it will be a more interesting week, then?  We shall see!

Since it is Tuesday and since I am starting a day behind I will give you the briefest of brief synopsis (yeah right) of "a day in the life" - my Monday.  And as for the rest of the week - I promise more pictures!

5:45AM - Woke up way too early with J Boy.  He has become my early riser and replaced his sister, Maddi Girl, in that regard.
Disney cartoons while I wake up and check my email on the couch.

Clean kitchen, pick up the house a bit, sweep.

7:40 - Maddi Girl wakes up!  Yay, an actual sleep-in day!  Now, if both of them could do it on the same day...

8:30 - Breakfast for the kids then playtime while Mama gets ready.

9:30 - Yoga @ sister-in-law's house.  Kids play with their cousin.

12:30 - Back home.  Lunch.

1:00 - NAPTIME!!!!  I use this time to decompress a little bit.  I get on my computer, check email, see what's up with Facebook, Twitter, do a bit of freelance work.

2:30 - Maddi's up and laying on the chair next to me trying to wake up.  I shower.

3:30 - The hubs is in the garage getting together a bunch of stuff to take to Goodwill.  I direct help.  I wish I had a photo of this because my wet hair is swirled up in a towel on top of my head.  I'm wearing one of those towel robes and I'm in flip flops. Attraente!  Meanwhile the kids are riding their y-bikes.

4:00 - We decide to rearrange our bedroom on the fly.  I use my "mama muscles" and a huge burst of energy to lift the heaviest, bulkiest, most gigantic piece of furniture into place.  I may have thrown out my back and blown a bicep, but damn girl, our bedroom is finally coming together.  We've only been in this house seven months so, you know, that grace period and everything.

4:30 - We decide to go out and grab a pizza to bring home.  It's Monday Night Football (MNF) and I'm matched up with the #1 placeholder in the hub's fantasy football league tonight and I am poised to knock him off his pedastal.  (I am stoked about this, but I am not letting on for fear of jinxing myself).

The rest of the night goes like this:  Pizza feast for all, MNF, kids play, kids fight, kids snuggle and watch football with us, bedtime routine for kids (detailed later in the week), I rock it out and am now in 1st place in FF, hubs and I talk about the possibility of me getting an iPhone, we talk about what the rest of our week looks like and how to keep the kids entertained and engaged, hubs and I get through a couple of shows on DVR, I play Words with Friends on my Touch while watching shows, we stay up way too late.  Last I remember it was 12:30AM and then hubs is waking me up on the couch at 3:30AM.  *sigh*

I only took one solitary picture yesterday so here it is:

I was trying to capture the coolest sunset off the back patio.  All wispy, orange, pink, purple, feather-like brush strokes.  You can't tell because my camera just cannot capture the amazing-ness of it, but since it is the solo picture of the day, it's a must-share.
Stay tuned for the Tuesday day in review where you are sure to be much more visually pleased and entertained!

Music Monday - Fall Break

It's Fall Break around these parts and it is starting to feel like it!  I thought long and hard about what music, song, video or tune says Fall most to me and quite frankly, maybe because it was so recently on my mind, it's November Rain.  But since that made an appearance on this blog just last Thursday I thought I better keep thinking.  

How about a little Daughtry today?  September.  Because I wasn't feeling U2's October. 



I just need a cup of hot hard apple cider and I'm ready to see some leaves change colors.

{Mama Kat's Writing Workshop} Sock Hop

Sock Hop.  I think that's what they called them in junior high, right?  Why?  We didn't dance in our socks.  Or did we?  No, because smelly junior high boy feet is a real turn off I would imagine.

Lights barely glowing, cafeteria cleared of all its tables.  It is way too big for the amount of kids present.  The boys were on one side of this gigantic room, the girls on the other.  The tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.   There was one or two awkward dances (do I put my arms here? hold your hand?) with awkward boys (do I put my hand here? how about here?) and then right back to the "girls side" I would shuffle.

Fast forward to freshman year in high school.  There was this boy that I had my eye on since sometime in junior high.  Probably since that last sock hop.  Let's call him John Ralphio, because that name makes me laugh.  Though he wasn't cool enough to really earn that nickname, but humor me.

My first high school dance, this time in the auditorium.  More kids, less dance floor.  He was big, tall, built - a jock.  For every two fast songs played, the DJ would play a slow song and the dance floor would fill up fast.  I don't remember John Ralphio's surely awkward asking me to dance.  All I remember was the dance itself.  The lighting was different at these dances...moody...red...misty, almost. 

And then, the song came on - "November Rain" by Guns N Roses.  Remember that one?  I can't forget it.  And every single time I hear it I think of this one event.  Probably forever until the end of time.  I'm listening to it right at this moment to help me write this post.  Inspiration, you know? 





I didn't realize at the time, but this song must be the longest song in the history of the universe.  It's somewhere around 9 minutes.  That is an eternity when you're awkwardly dancing with someone you barely know.  Around 7 minutes it gets really quiet.  You think it's over.  But it's not.  Then?  It starts in with the faster beat and the rock-y guitar and you briefly wonder if you should fast dance.  But, how?  We keep slow dancing because everyone else is.  Thank the Lord above for that. 

So let's get even more awkward here. 

Throughout the entirety of this 9 minute song, John Ralphio has been doing something strange.  At first, I thought he was just a heavy breather.  But somewhere around minute, I don't know, say minute 2.5, I realize that he is not a heavy breather.  He is purposely blowing on my ear.  Ew.  What does this mean?  I quickly figured out he wanted to kiss me.  I ignored the big beast because how uncouthy (don't even try to spellcheck that word, it's partially made up) can you be, man?  Come on.  But really?  We had to be dancing to the longest song in the history of the universe while this whole ear-blowing-trying-to-fetch-a-kiss was transpiring.  Who does that?  A 15 year old boy, I guess.

That right there, was one of my most memorable school dances for so many awkward reasons.  Unfortunately. 

This post was written in response to one of Mama Kat's writing prompts.  Slow dancing with boys...talk about one of your first school dance experiences.

Please Excuse the Hiatus

Please excuse the self-imposed hiatus this week.  I've been busy with a little bit of writer's block, with very little to say and even less inspiration to say something.  Alas, I spent a good portion of today brainstorming some excellent content for my lovely readers and have a bunch of stuff queued up for coming weeks.  Won't you stay tuned?

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Keep on keepin' on!