The best job in the world...

Believe everyday is a gift...

    I have received so many sweet emails this morning! Yes! All is well! And no, there will not be a hop this week! I have been suffering from a case of life at it's craziest! I sincerely enjoy my blog and all the fantastic opportunities that are coming and have come my way after many hours, sweat and tears....

It is my five minutes each day

   I would not even no where to begin if you were to ask! Between end of school reports, projects and room parent duties! Redecorating our new awesome trailer! That is a whole different post! Because for $0.00 Yep! I said zero! I was able to revamp the interior! Old flannel sheets make the perfect cozy camping atmosphere! Pics posting soon:) With a little mechanical TLC we will be up and running in no time! Campers beware!

   So there is that! 

    Struggling yet triumphing with my 4HB diet. Triumphant because I have said goodbye to my muffin top! Woot Woot! Struggling because it is hard. The support of my husband has been that needed extra boost! The curious eyes of my children as I wrap my burger in romaine lettuce... When you are raising very impressionable young ladies whom's self esteem and identities are developing  you do not get to say "I m fat!" "I m struggling!" " I feel insecure...." Truthfully I do not feel fat, I just want to feel good! You know what I mean Mamma's!

Sigh

    Coming to grips with the reality check of a lifetime and thankful for promptings! Our eight year old was struck by a teenager on a dirt bike....on her bicycle! Earlier that morning as we sat down to apple pancakes I felt I needed to really rail on my kids about their bike helmets. They have recently entered the "I look stupid in my helmet!" phase. Later that afternoon I hit my knees and tearfully thanked my Father for black and blue knees and torn jeans...

     Sitting down to catch my breath this morning with my spinach and egg salad, Judy Garland crooning in the background I prepare for all that must be accomplished today. 

    Smiling as I replay my sweet husbands 40th birthday which was yesterday. Wondering how on earth I  pulled off yesterday with a work meeting, homemade cheesecake, the wrapping of forty of his favorite things......laughing out loud at the look on the teenage checkers face as my one year old chucked her shoe at him in sporting goods! Steaks on the barbie! Loud honking from passing cars as they read the kids sign "Honk! My dad is 40!" Kissing his sweet face! He is my knight! Loving the laughter...

Life is good 

" I love this crazy, tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful beautiful life!"

    

Wordless Wednesday...

Source: Uploaded by user via Lee on Pinterest

Make a mercury glass mirror out of a vintage window!

    You know! My favorite DIY materials! Spray paint, Krylon looking glass spray and a random vintage item! I have had a set of old windows sitting in our shed begging me to do something, anything with them!

    I started by cleaning it off really good! Remember, you are more than likely working with lead paint and if you have little ones like I do clean up is uber important! I then sprayed the back of my window with looking glass spray to create a mirror! Looking glass spray will scratch easily so apply it to the surface least likely to be handled.                                                                                                                                                

      I did not tape off the back because I knew I would later sand off any over spray. When  preparing for the next step I did however tape off and cover the front.                                                               

                                                      

    In the next step I covered the length of my window frame with lace. Then with a soft Ivory spray I used the lacy pattern as a stencil. It is such a soft and intimate touch.                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                    

    Curious I also rounded up the first few items I could grab and tried this technique on as well! I found this bottle at the DI for only $2.00! Definitely like the lace stencil!                                                                

    Curiosity satisfied I moved on to finish my mirror! I found this great handle that happened to be 50% off at Hobby Lobby! Then instead of hanging it flat, I wanted to be able to hang my mirror on an angle and adjust it as I saw fit. My sweet husband applied two hinges, top and bottom to the frame and wall and there ya have it! An awesome adjustable mirror!

     

Life with our Family!

   

   Congratulations to Desiree over at Life with our Family! You had the most visited link from the Finally Friday hop!  I enjoy this blog and immediately identified with the earnest effort of trying to make changes for better family nutrition!  I am in week two of  gluten free! It is hard! She works from home in the dental field as do I and can totally relate to the quirks of working from home! 

    Great giveaways! Wonderful advice!  Great heart and an unmistakable love for family! Please stop by and check this great blog out! I am happy to share a post that made me smile!

This is Ladies Night!

Do you remember when Ladies Night meant a night out on the town with friends?  I do, usually with fondness, lol.  Nowadays my Ladies Nights are more along the lines of dinner and movie or mani-pedi’s with my daughters.  They’re fun and full of laughter and they offer us a great opportunity to bond.  I hear more about what boys are “cute” this year and who is stealing so-and-so’s man on these nights than any other time in our daily life.  It really is a good time.  And now that they’re getting older (14 and 10) they’re becoming much more meaningful.....Read More

If you would like to be featured make sure to link up to the weekly Finally Friday blog hop!

Wordless Wednesday.....

    The New Maroon 5 album Overexposed will hit stores June 26th... So until then, get your fix here with this awesome clip from this weeks Voice where M5 preformed their new single Payphone with Wiz Khalifa!

 

Sugar and Spice? Really?!

    If eight and a half years ago when handed a precious pink bundle you would have told me little girls are anything but soft and pink I would never have believed you!

What you are looking at are the bar stools from our kitchen counter...

 Yuck! This particular stool is frequented by the third grader! I have re upholstered these stools once already due their straight out nasty state! Kids! Rather than buy new stools that will assuredly suffer the same fate I decided to fix them once again!

    This time I  think a wipe, clean and sanitize friendly surface is in order! I found a shower curtain that just happened to match perfectly and was under $10.00 for both stools! I removed the old fabric and burned it!  Lol! After I cut and formed the shower curtain to fit the seat of the stool I used a small stapler to attach!

Now if I could only cover everything else...

Mygr8reads...

     Congratulations to mygr8reads! You had the most visited link from the Finally Friday hop! 

    I am a new follower of this blog and enjoyed the the thoughtful perspective on one's self esteem. I also love a good book and review! Check it out!  

mygr8reads

I don’t have  a quote that keeps me going. I’m just going hard and ignoring what everybody else has to say. When I got started I was so busy listening to what everyone had to say.I stop listening and look what happens? There’s always going to be someone who has something to say about I’m doing, but there’s also someone who will actually like what I have to say...What keeps me going

BULLY

    Will you let your kids see this film? The trailer will break your heart. It is time to take a stand. No child is immune from bullying....

         Please visit The Bully Project and join the movement!

 

Welcome back!

    How was your Easter weekend? Our was phenomenal! It really truly was! The weather cooperated while we visited the zoo! It was great! We realized that we had been working so hard that a fun few days on the town were long over due!

    We stayed in a nice hotel with a pool so the kiddos could swim every night...they hated that! The morning of our departure we figured out we were staying in a haunted hotel and had some fun with that little fact because we were leaving! A good case of the willies was fine so long as we were not sleeping there again! We snuck up to the floor of the incident and touched the door of the room that is said to be occupied by a mother and her children! Then we ran back to the elevator like chickens not wanting to stick around too long!

We took in all the local sights and new attractions while having a ball together!

    Then came Easter eve! Excited kids scurried to bed while Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny set to work! Standing back to admire our work we realized we had missed a key component! "Um.....Honey you did get them Easter baskets....right?!" Oopsies! Our girls are getting older and Sweet Baby K has no clue what is going on Easter morning so literally at the eleventh hour... It really was! I remembered seeing darn cute handbags a lady had made from old tank tops!

    With no time to track down the tutorial I grabbed my beloved glue gun a few Nicole Hearfelts and the first two tank tops I found and set to work! They turned out amazing...plus now I have the perfect excuse to visit Victoria's Secret! I need to replace my missing shirts:)

    Have you tried glue gun eggs? Put them on your mental list for decorating next year! (I will wait:) This pink egg is hard to see but is super cute and unique! You just glue on a design and dunk em in egg dye!

     Time to eat! What did you serve starving Easter guests? The Hubs and I discussed a traditional ham but ended up loving the idea of serving Chicken Cordon Bleu with homemade honey mustard!

  We were all craving cheesecake from our late night taste of the Cheescake Factory! With no time to whip up our own cheesecake we settled for another favorite! Homemade cream pies! I used the small shells so we had a few different flavors! Chocolate cream! Banana cream! Vanilla cream! Coconut cream! Oh man they were tasty and easy to make!

Cream Pies

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
4 cups milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
Pie crusts, this recipe will make two 8 inch pies or 12 small pies!

    Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a pan. Add eggs and mix well before adding milk. Bring to a boil stirring constantly so it does not scorch. Once it has boiled and become thick remove from heat and add vanilla! Add ingredients of your choice to create varying flavors!

Happy Easter!

Hi friends! Hope everybody is having a wonderful Spring Break! There will not be a finally Friday hop this week! I am going on a much needed vaca with my lil family! Please stop by next Friday:)

Are you getting your 30/30...

    So by now I am betting everyone has heard of Tim Ferriss....right?! Please tell me this man has you doing all sorts of funky little things also! Cold showers....a daily dose of saurkraut...Heavy creamer in the coffee?!

Anyone else?

    OK so now that I sound like a full on weirdo let me explain...

   Tim Ferriss is the author of the amazing book the 4 hour body. An awesome book that everyone one should own! Full of small consistent changes that will change your life! My favorite of course would be the material on rapid fat loss. Basic fat subtraction and also advanced subtraction tips. The lovin chapter is also pretty good:)

    One of the many recommendations that I have been using myself is to consume 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking... The first morning I put this habit to use all we had in the house that could produce a quick protein fix was of course...eggs! Five eggs later I was strapped in and riding the Hurl a Whirl at full speed! 30 grams is a lot of protein! Before you run to the toilet Hear me out! I have since fine tuned my morning protein intake to include a variety of choices. Low fat cottage cheese with grapes is one I can stomach a little easier! Plain Greek yogurt with a little honey is yet another of many great options!

    This morning I was able to find a smoothie recipe that looks delicious! Why am I sharing this tid bit with you? Because it works! Adding the 30/30 habit to your morning routine will change the way you snack and feel throughout the afternoon! In addition to my running and a few other small dietary changes I am noticing a big difference! I have more energy in the afternoon and I am snacking less! I am better able to make good food choices and I am back into my pre prego jeans! Try it out!

                                                                Loressa

Two Infinity and Beyond!

    Congratulations to Allison over at Two Infinity and Beyond You had the most visited link at last weeks Finally Friday hop!

    Stop over and visit Allison! I enjoy her awesome blog! She has two beautiful children and enjoys life to the fullest! Fun recipes! Unique craft ideas! Great photos and all around heart! You will enjoy this blog as much as I do!

   I chose to share the post that Allison wrote about her mother because it touched my heart with such profound emotion. I felt her loss and was left in awe of this beautiful woman. The photo's in this post tell it all! Enjoy...

In Memory

Simply beautiful!