Thursday, December 29, 2011
2012 Goals
I've never liked the word "Resolution" not sure why it sounds so....negative to me. So here are my 2012 GOALS - much nicer sounding, don't you think? I hope to come back here on a monthly basis to check in and tell you how I'm doing with each of these. Honestly I usually don't write these down - or even HAVE goals because come December I usually feel so guilty that I haven't followed through with ANY of them....so we'll see how this goes!
* Eat healthier - more home cooked, less processed meals. Totally cut out HFCS out of our diet, again.
* Lose Weight - I'm not putting a number here because God knows I need to lose a bunch!
* start a workout plan - and stick with it
* Stay on track to be out of debt in 18 or less months
* Move successfully to our new place in January - and de-clutter at the same time.
* make a Cleaning plan for the house and stick with it
* play the piano more
* Read 12+ books (not all fiction like I'm doing now! )
* Hold 4+ Pampered Chef Shows a month - and all that goes with having my own business.
* Watch LESS TV - much much less
* Have a clean kitchen at the end of my day.
* Make friends - actual IRL people that I can have a cup of coffee with
* Get our Adult small group started and it actually go somewhere
* Love my husband more - treat him better than I have been :/
* Be intentional about having date nights - even if it's a picnic on the floor. Turn off the TV and really focus on each other.
* Stay out of family drama
* build better relationships with family
* Call - ON THE PHONE - friends that are important to me to keep those relationships alive.
* Talk to my grandparents more often
* Have a closer walk with God - reading scripture,memorize scripture and more praying - and not just over the food :/
* Blog more - at least once a week, if not more.
So what are your goals for 2012?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
What Really Works #1
About a month ago while eating at our favorite restaurant (Newtons) I got a berry sauce on my favorite light pink shirt - you know that delicious berry sauce that is a deep purple color. Well obviously I wiped it out as best as I could - but when you get something like that on your clothes you KNOW it's going to stain. Well I went home and put a stain stick on it and threw it in the washer right away. Took it out of the washer and the stain was still there. So I tried another technique that my momma taught me - poor laundry detergent directly on the stain, let it sit for a while and then wash. Yeah, the stain was STILL there. I tried a few other things - nothing was working. So I gave up. Well a few weeks ago I saw a pin on Pinterest (you all know about this site right? if not - you NEED to get an account - and be prepared to waste ALOT of time there :D ) that claimed to be the best stain remover - ever. Well I thought about my shirt, and said - why not? It's not like I'm going to ruin it anymore! Well I ended up waiting about a week or so before getting to the store to get the ingredients to make this stain remover (so now the shirt has had the stain for about 3 weeks). I FINALLY get the right ingredients and made up the stain remover - it was SUPER easy to make and I just brushed it onto the stain with an old toothbrush - the recipe said that she "watched the stain disappear right before her eyes" well - my stain wasn't going away that fast - so I let it sit on the stain for a little bit (maybe an hour or two) and then threw it in the washer - THE STAIN CAME OUT! I was SOOOO excited! This also works on blood, and other stains I've worked on (and some of those stains DID disappear right before my eyes!)
So have I convinced you that this stuff works? Do you want the recipe? Well wait no longer here it is:
1 part Dawn Dish Washing Liquid
2 part Hydrogen Peroxide
Just mix it together and poor it onto the stain - you can scrub a little if you'd like.
(I actually made it WRONG the first time - I used 2 parts dawn and 1 part peroxide - and it still worked!)
Yep, it's THAT easy.
So go and find that SOMETHING that has that stubborn stain and try it out, and let me know how much you love this stain remover!! Thanks to Pinterest for bringing this to my attention - but also to One Good Thing by Jillee for writing the article up - go check it out because she has some variations that I haven't tried yet ;)
So have I convinced you that this stuff works? Do you want the recipe? Well wait no longer here it is:
1 part Dawn Dish Washing Liquid
2 part Hydrogen Peroxide
Just mix it together and poor it onto the stain - you can scrub a little if you'd like.
(I actually made it WRONG the first time - I used 2 parts dawn and 1 part peroxide - and it still worked!)
Yep, it's THAT easy.
So go and find that SOMETHING that has that stubborn stain and try it out, and let me know how much you love this stain remover!! Thanks to Pinterest for bringing this to my attention - but also to One Good Thing by Jillee for writing the article up - go check it out because she has some variations that I haven't tried yet ;)
Saturday, December 3, 2011
The Dress Revisited - a few years later
I wrote this a few years ago, and it came to mind today. Probably the best thing I've ever written. I still have it....
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2009
The Dress
I have this dress. It really was quite simple. Black with white piping along the edges. A wrap dress that tied on the side. I considered this to be my "little black dress" for many years. Whenever I was feeling gross about myself I knew i could always put it on and make myself feel fabulous.
I remember the first time that I wore it. I paired it with black fishnet hose, these adorable round toe heels with a delicate bow. I curled my hair - something that I rarely do. I wore it to a church that I was visiting in the fall of 2003. I'm not going to lie, I looked good.
I've worn this dress many times between the first time and the last time. But I don't know if I'll ever wear it again, although I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get rid of it.
You see this is the same dress I wore with several masks. The "I'll be ok" mask, the "She's in a better place" mask. The "God has his plans" mask. The mask of the person who "keeps the family together." The mask of the "strong person" in the family. I wore so many masks at that point in my life - did I ever stop to really be me and wonder how am "I" going to get through this?
I wore that dress as I welcomed people from every stage of her life. I wore it as I sat on the front row with my siblings. I wore it as all her children (including me) got up and sang a song together - something she always wanted us to do. I wore it as friends and family said goodbye. I wiped more tears on that dress that day than I've ever cried before. I wore it while we stood around in the snow at the cemetery. I wore it while we ate dinner at the church I grew up in. I wore it as my uncles started to sing songs after the dinner - I remember HAVING to join them. She would have loved that.
And then that night I took it off. That day I wasn't looking so good.
I have worn that dress only one time after her funeral, and it was awful. All I could do is remember that cold day in December. Something I don't wish to re-live any time soon.
The dress still hangs in my closet, and every once in a while I run my hand across it when looking for something to wear and the memories come flooding back. I probably will never wear it again. It was a good dress. A dress I loved.
But I loved her more.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Today is 4 years without my mom. I remember 4 years ago today so clearly. After being at the Hospice care center for almost a week I felt the need THAT DAY to sit and hold my mom's hand ALL.DAY.LONG. and so I did. While I sat there I talked to her. I let her know that I loved her more than words could ever say. I sat and read a book that the Hospice center provided about an ardvark having to say goodbye to a friend (I think), and I took a nap - all while holding my momma's hand. Then around 9p.m. a nurse came in and checked my mom out - for some reason I remember her looking at my mom's ankles. She then re-assured me that it would still be a few days, and told me to go home and get a good nights sleep (I had been sleeping on a couch, a bean-bag, the floor - wherever I could fall asleep at the hospice center). So I went home and as soon as I laid down the phone rang, and it was my aunt telling me that my mom had went home. It was 11:06 p.m. We drove back to the hospice center - we were one of the last to arrive since we were the farthest away. We joined the rest of the family that was there. We gathered around her body and all held hands and sang songs of praise to our Great God. I don't think anyone wanted to say goodbye to her. I *think* I was the first to go and give her one last kiss on the cheek - and then I left the room. It was and still is the hardest night of my life.
I remember the first time that I wore it. I paired it with black fishnet hose, these adorable round toe heels with a delicate bow. I curled my hair - something that I rarely do. I wore it to a church that I was visiting in the fall of 2003. I'm not going to lie, I looked good.
I've worn this dress many times between the first time and the last time. But I don't know if I'll ever wear it again, although I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get rid of it.
You see this is the same dress I wore with several masks. The "I'll be ok" mask, the "She's in a better place" mask. The "God has his plans" mask. The mask of the person who "keeps the family together." The mask of the "strong person" in the family. I wore so many masks at that point in my life - did I ever stop to really be me and wonder how am "I" going to get through this?
I wore that dress as I welcomed people from every stage of her life. I wore it as I sat on the front row with my siblings. I wore it as all her children (including me) got up and sang a song together - something she always wanted us to do. I wore it as friends and family said goodbye. I wiped more tears on that dress that day than I've ever cried before. I wore it while we stood around in the snow at the cemetery. I wore it while we ate dinner at the church I grew up in. I wore it as my uncles started to sing songs after the dinner - I remember HAVING to join them. She would have loved that.
And then that night I took it off. That day I wasn't looking so good.
I have worn that dress only one time after her funeral, and it was awful. All I could do is remember that cold day in December. Something I don't wish to re-live any time soon.
The dress still hangs in my closet, and every once in a while I run my hand across it when looking for something to wear and the memories come flooding back. I probably will never wear it again. It was a good dress. A dress I loved.
But I loved her more.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Today is 4 years without my mom. I remember 4 years ago today so clearly. After being at the Hospice care center for almost a week I felt the need THAT DAY to sit and hold my mom's hand ALL.DAY.LONG. and so I did. While I sat there I talked to her. I let her know that I loved her more than words could ever say. I sat and read a book that the Hospice center provided about an ardvark having to say goodbye to a friend (I think), and I took a nap - all while holding my momma's hand. Then around 9p.m. a nurse came in and checked my mom out - for some reason I remember her looking at my mom's ankles. She then re-assured me that it would still be a few days, and told me to go home and get a good nights sleep (I had been sleeping on a couch, a bean-bag, the floor - wherever I could fall asleep at the hospice center). So I went home and as soon as I laid down the phone rang, and it was my aunt telling me that my mom had went home. It was 11:06 p.m. We drove back to the hospice center - we were one of the last to arrive since we were the farthest away. We joined the rest of the family that was there. We gathered around her body and all held hands and sang songs of praise to our Great God. I don't think anyone wanted to say goodbye to her. I *think* I was the first to go and give her one last kiss on the cheek - and then I left the room. It was and still is the hardest night of my life.
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