Long time no chat!

Happy Friday!

 

No, I didn't fall off the face of the planet. I have been trying (without much luck) to get my household healthy. Everyone has been sick with one thing or another for the past two weeks. I'm not sure which is worse - a sick husband or a sick toddler! :)

 

It's been getting very cold here at night, but nice and sunny during the day. The sunshine seems to make everything seem not so bad. I have accomplished most of my holiday shopping as I am not a fan of the post Thanksgiving shopping craze! We have also had weekends full of birthday parties and dinner invites. Tis the season to be busy!

 

I have been playing with the idea of bring my business - Life's Accessory back to life. I was thinking of maybe doing some wedding coaching. I would work with couples getting married that are blending cultures and traditions. The concept would be that they would meet with me to talk about what is and isn't important to incorporate in their wedding. Having married a man from Norway this was something we had to deal with. It's totally separate from wedding plans (colors, food, indoor/outdoor, and what not.) Anyway, just toying with the idea.

 

Next week is Thanksgiving! We will be enjoying a simple, low key holiday at home and are really excited about it! Until next week! Have a great weekend!!!

 

Stopping to smell the roses

If you are at all like me you go day to day without really putting much thought to how it is that we get to live the lives that we do. I admit that as a country we have our faults and that we are far from perfect. With that being said I think we need to offer up far more thanks to those who leave the comforts of their home and their loved ones to allow us the lives that we live every day.

Sadly I don't think much about the effort or cost it takes to allow me the freedoms that we have. It's not until I see the news that I glimpse the toll of it all. When sadness hits that someone is mourning the loss of a fallen soldier or families that have to put away the "Welcome Home" banners because their loved one has been put on extended duties.

To all those who face the truth and reality every day I want to thank you! It's because of your sacrifice that so many of us get to live in our bubble of peace and happiness. Thank you for my bubble! Thank you for your service and selflessness! Thank you to the families who deal with a empty seat at the dinner table so I don't have to. To those who have lost their loved ones I'm so sorry.
 

Why I LOVE Fridays

It's Friday! In my world that means that today is MY day to do what I want. There is no activity that either child has to be at and to top it off it also means that they only time I need to watch the clock is around nap time.

I love that I always tend to have a little more energy on this wonderful day. I usually prep for the weekend with a stop at the store, wrap up laundry, and clean the floors. Then I get to pretend that it's not my problem again until Monday.

Long gone are the days of meeting up with friends for drinks at about 10 PM, because usually I'm already headed for bed at that time. Hey, I am usually up at 6 EVERYDAY. My world doesn't consist of sleep in days (unless you count Sunday) and I maybe get one day a week where I am not up multiple times a night. *Not sure what I did as a child, but I am being punished with a little who doesn't really believe in sleep :)

My world has changed a lot over the years, but FRIDAY is still my favorite day of the week. The party has just changed a little and last call usually comes around 7 PM before it's time to clean the kitchen up for the night, but I happy embrace it! So CHEERS to whatever your Friday night plans are!


Happy Friday!

Guilty Pleasure Friday #6

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

*Found this fabulous recipe at www.moneysavingmom.com - The notes are from her site. I followed the directions and loved them! 

• 1 ¾ cup flour (I use a mix of whole wheat and white)
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ cup sugar (I always scrimp on this amount)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup milk
• Jam

Topping:

• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, oil, egg and milk until well mixed.
Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin tins half full. Place 1 teaspoon jam on top.
Cover jam with enough batter to fill muffin cups ¾ full.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Place melted butter in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar. While muffins are still hot, dip tops in butter and then in cinnamon/sugar.
Makes 10 muffins

A little kindness can grow into a ton!

I've noticed that most of us are busy people. We are always rushing around to get things done like our lives depend on it. Maybe our lives do depend on something, but far too often we let our tunnel vision block out the little things we can do to make our lives a little better.

Yesterday while coming out of the grocery store I was loading the kids in the car. My son really wanted to help load the groceries into the car. Since both kids were in a great mood I decided to take the time and let the little guy help me.

While loading up one of the store employees came out to collect the carts. She gathered all of them from the cart return and pushed her long line of carts up to my car. I told her that I could bring it up after we were done, but she wanted to wait. My little guy who has to stand on his tip toes just to reach the tip top of the grocery bag handle was doing his best, but moving a little slow. Once he was all done the lady gathered up the cart and knelt down to my son. She presented him with a sticker for doing such a great job helping mommy.

My little four year old son was so proud. Her simple act of kindness was not lost on my little guy. It was the highlight of his day. He talked about how nice it was of her to give him a sticker. She could have easily pushed the carts past us, but she waited. She not only waited, but treated him for a job well done.

It was something so simple, but meant so much. Hopefully we all can take a little time to pass a little kindness around this week! 

30 Days of Thanks Challege!

Happy November! I LOVE this time of year! The next two months are by far my favorite. To be honest I took down all the Halloween decorations last night once the kids went to bed and had my house decorated for Thanksgiving by 10 AM this morning! The kids were a little bummed, but this Momma is elated!

Since Thanksgiving is about counting our blessing and giving thanks to the positive things in our lives I thought that I would challenge you all to the 30 Thankful Challenge. Some people do this via their Facebook, but you can just keep a list on a scrap piece of paper if you wish. The point of the challenge is to get you to focus on the good things in your life!

I hope that my challenge is accepted by all of you!

*Follow me on my Facebook page to see what I am THANKFUL for! https://www.facebook.com/Lifesaccessory

Have a great weekend!

5 things to do with Halloween candy!

If your household is anything like mine you may find your house overflowing with candy come November 1st. With two toddlers and two full pails of candy, plus whatever is left in the bowl of candy we passed out it's a little too much! To help ease the anxiety of too much candy here are 5 helpful tips you can use to thin out your inventory!

1. Save some for Christmas stockings
2. Add some treats in a care package to the troops
3. Save the chocolate bite size bars for holiday baking
4. Donate it! Think local shelters, nursing homes, youth services with after school programs
5. Look for a buy back program. Some dentist will by the candy. (ex. 1 pound of candy for $1)

*I have also heard about the Halloween Fairy! The kids stash a few of their favorites for later and then leave the rest out for the fairy to claim later that night. The fairy can leave money or a small toy as an exchange.