35 before 36 update!

Almost June and I just realized I never updated May. I have them all written down and updated that, but failed to post it!

1. Get rid of 60lbs. I don't want to lose it because you usually want to find things you lose. Drinking lots of water
2. Menu plan, will save time, money and help with 1. UGH! Not so good.
3. Eat breakfast everyday. I'm horrible about eating breakfast. A little better thanks to working.
4. Get all recipes on cards. I might use them more if I don't have to dig through a box. None unless it was a new one I didn't want to forget about.
5. Get the kids in the kitchen to help cook more. They both usually enjoy it. No
6. Read "Little Women". My name came from the book and yet I've never read it. Not yet
7. Get my first mani and pedi. Nope never had one! Not yet, need to get my nails in better shape. I've not been biting them, but they are in need of a major trim back.
8. Start going to church again. I haven't gone consistently in several years. No
9. Watch "The Wizard of Oz" This movie scares me to death. NO
10. Get to and maintain at least 65 items in my store. I've slacked on my store since starting work.
11. Add digital cards to my shop. No
12. Hold a couple of sales in my shop. Thinking of Christmas in July!
13. Find ways to cut shipping and supply costs. learning how to better price stuff which has adjusted some prices.
14. Add wedding invites, programs and guest books to my shop. No
15. Add American Girl clothes to my shop. No
16. Get my vision of "Colorful Minimalist" into my products and shop. Will blog more about this later. Not much this month.
17. Learn calligraphy. Maybe not the "traditional" style, but I want to explore more with handwriting. No.
18. Learn more about graphic design. Can't afford to go back to school now so I will teach myself some. Pinned lots of graphicy ideas this month.
19. Teach Audrey to sew. I wish I would have learned when I was younger! Plans for it this summer.
20. Make mini books for me and to sell. lots in the planning process.
21. Do more DIY items. No.
22. Do something creative everyday. Even just something small. Been hard since starting job, hoping to get back on track once I get adjusted.
23. Do 12 on 12 every month. Take 12 pictures on the 12th every month. YES!!!
24. Give more handmade items. Even if I'm not the one to make them. No gift giving occasion.
25. Send/give cards every month to someone just for fun. No
26. Project 365. There are several sites for this, but I found a site that will email me a prompt everyday. Slacked some, but caught up.
27. Clean up external hard drive completely. Started good last year and then went downhill. No, hoping to get some done soon.
28. Blog at least 5 times a week. HAHA!!
29. Be less crazy about things like how the kids pick up their room and put away their clothes. Kids are doing better and so am I.
30. Be more patient. I am so not a patient person. Learning patience daily.
31. Declutter. 40 bags in 40 days! You can find lots of info on the web about it. Zero
32. Stop biting my nails. I don't want them really long, but I want them to have a little nail to them. Haven't been biting.
33. Play more games with Dart and Audrey. We have a ton of board games and a ton of Wii games. Skip-Bo
34. Keep inbox and google reader cleaned out. They got out of control several times this year. google reader in good shape. Unsubbing from some emails.
35. Enjoy life more!! Learning to enjoy a different life that involves working a "normal" job.

Thank You!!

To all who have fought, who continue to fight, and who will fight in the future. Because of you and your family we are able to celebrate this day and spend it with our families.

Image found on Google.

Anyone out there????

I have been horrible about blogging and to be honest I haven't even thought much about it until this last week. This last week I realized I miss blogging. I am hoping we are finally getting adjusted to a new routine with me working. Speaking of working, I LOVE my job. I love the people I work with, I enjoy what I'm doing, always learning and never really know what might come up during the day that needs working on. I tell people at least I won't get bored!

We have been EXTREMELY busy with end of the school year stuff and now that the kids are done I'm hoping life will slow down some. We had Choir End of the Year breakfast, Mrs. Weaver's(the principal at the kids school) retirement reception, Mrs. Weaver's garden dedication, final assembly at which Dart got a certificate for Perfect Attendance, and 5th grade graduation. At our school the 4th grade parents put on the 5th grade graduation reception. We went with a Dr. Seuss Oh The Places You Will Go theme. It was awesome, I will do a post about that soon. Audrey also competed in her first gymnastics meet and LOVED it! She is trying more things and basically taught herself how to do a handspring. I have a good friend who used to teach gymnastics who has offered Audrey private lessons, so she will have those and gymnastics at TAG through the summer. I think we might take July off from TAG just to give her a break and they may spend time with my mom.

I have posts in the works for lots of things and really hope to blog more, but I'm not making promises. I'm hoping to get some posts done on weekends so there is something ready for the week. I do miss it though and hope that that will help in me blogging more.

Dart was one of 8 in the school to have perfect attendance. He set a goal at the beginning of the year to do everything he could to get perfect attendance. So proud of him for wanting to be at school everyday! Can't believe he will be a 5th grader next year!

I am asking all you blog readers for prayers for a few friends. First one of Dart's best friends family could use prayers. He has had a rough year and they have had some other not so good news come up and could use the extra prayers and good thoughts. The other is for a girl I went to high school with and that my mom works with. She graduated a year ahead of me in school and has 2 young daughters, in November she was diagnosed with breast cancer. They found it early and started chemo right away. She had a horrible time with chemo, lots of sickness and aches and pains. She went Thursday for her scans and Friday went for results. She and her army of friends and family were praying for CANCER FREE, instead were told the cancer has spread. She is a fighter and will do all she can to beat this evil monster, but this was not at all what she was hoping for. Any prayers for her I know she will appreciate and for her girls. She has a daughter in high school and a 4 year old.

Life

I'm not going to lie, life is kicking my butt lately. I'm still struggling to get adjusted to a new schedule and a new routine. It's not going so well. It's frustrating me. It's making me cranky. It's driving me insane!!! I'm hoping this weekend to get some what back to normal or at least figure out what our new normal is.

I love my job. It's fun, the people are amazing and I'm learning so much! The doctors are an interesting bunch! Despite the moments of insanity I really enjoy it and am glad I get to work there.

I promise to be back more. I think I'm going to have to work on posts on weekends. Or maybe I can get adjusted to a new normal and post them in the evenings.

Fun stuff

What is your favorite song to sing along to? Honey Bee by Blake Shelton(or anything by him!)
If you could have a vacation home in any location where would it be? Seattle. LOVE the city.
What is your favorite time of year? Fall
Cats or dogs? Both
Coffee, tea, or cocoa? Iced tea, becoming a coffee drinker
Where did you go on your first date? I honestly don't remember. First date with Mark was to see Mission Impossible 2.
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Rainbow Sherbert.
Where would you like to go on your next vacation? Big City like Chicago or New York
Sunset or sunrise? Sunset, not a morning person
What are two of your favorite blogs and why? Elise Blaha Love all her posts and she is constantly inspiring me to try something new and Damn You Auto Correct the best place for a good laugh. I have several blogs in my reader, although I have drastically cut back lately.
What skill do you want to learn or perfect this year? Sewing, knitting and more with Photoshop.

Made it Monday

Still adjusting to the new life we have with me working. As for the job, I LOVE it so far. I am really excited to get into the nitty gritty of actual work now that I have that usual first week stuff done and over with.

Because last week was crazy with the usual school and gymnastics stuff we definitely went easy on dinners. One we had was made with the new Kraft Fresh Takes. We did pork chops with the Cheddar Jack and Bacon Fresh Take. It was so yummy. I forgot to take a picture of the dinner, but I do have a picture of the Fresh Take so you will know what to look for. I'm pretty sure there is a coupon on the Kraft website for them as well. It was something quick and easy to do and everyone loved them.

Something great about these also is that on the inside they have the directions for the typical chicken, pork chop, fish ideas, but also for ideas for twice baked potatoes and meatballs among other things. They are in the dairy area with the shredded cheese. I got ours at Wal-Mart for around $2.00 and 1 package did 5 good size pork chops. I believe there are 6 different "flavors" to choose from, including a more Italian and more Mexican aimed flavors.

If you try one let me know what you think.

I was not paid by Kraft for this post. All opinions are my own.

Me in A-Z

A. Age: 35
B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore that you hate: Sweeping and moping floors. I really have no idea why I hate that chore!
D. Dogs: None. I miss our puppies we had.
E. Essential start to your day: Brushing my teeth!
F. Favorite color: Pink
G. Gold or Silver: Silver
H. Height: 5’1" on a good day
I. Instruments you play: None. I love music and took piano lessons when I was younger, but couldn't play a thing now.
J. Job title: Mom, Walking School Bus Liaison, Pink Owl owner, Admin Asst 
K. Kids: 2 and an angel. Dart, 10 Audrey 6 going on 16 and Dakota our sweet angel!
L. Live: Columbia Missouri MIZZOU!
M. Mother’s name: Gail
N. Nicknames: Mom, Meggy, Maynard, MegBabe
O. Overnight hospital stays: broken arm in 3rd grade(required 2 separate stays), and having babies.
P. Pet peeves: Close minded people, bad drivers
Q. Quote from a movie: Spoken by Kathleen Kelly in You've Got Mail, one of my favorite movies EVER! "Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void"
R. Right or left handed: Right handed.
S. Siblings: 2 sisters and 1 brother
U. Underwear: Yes.
V. Vegetable you hate: Only really strange things and beets.
W. What makes you run late: Kids not moving in the morning.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Dental, 2 broken arms
Y. Yummy food that you make: Lots!
Z. Zoo animal: Monkeys, Penguins and Tigers. Audrey loves monkeys, Dart loves Penguins and I love the Tigers.