My Love/Hate Relationship with Pinterest...

I'm sure by now many of you have become familiar with, or at least heard of, Pinterest.  (and if you haven't heard of it, you can click on the link.  But be forewarned... it might suck you in and consume all of your time!)

I LOVE Pinterest.  It is full of thousands and thousands of ideas posted by various members.  There are categories for everyone and DIY projects that the most un-crafty person could easily tackle.  Not only are there project and craft ideas, but the most amazing recipes.  Delicious, easy, wonderful recipes!  (One of which I made tonight for dessert!)  There are also categories about health, hair, beauty... and some pretty hilarious pins in the 'humor' section.  It's hard to visit those pages without laughing a few times.  Dustin has even approved of many of the 'humor' pins!

-however-

I also HATE Pinterest.  Because it has soooo many categories and posts (that update literally by the minute), I can't help but check it several times a day.  I have also started a notebook of ideas and projects that I want to try someday.  I haven't ever 'pinned' anything of my own; I mainly use Pinterest as a reference for creative ideas.  Instead of repinning them, I write them down in my notebook.  The problem is that I have a gazillion (yes, a gazillion) projects and ideas to try, but I don't have the time or resources (note to self and readers: Rene' NEEDS a sewing machine!) to attempt many of them.

The other reason I dislike Pinterest is because it is a constant reminder of how untalented I can be!  Sometimes I'll look at a post and in about two seconds I'll have the thoughts: 'OH!  This is so cute!  .......I'd never be able to do that!'  And then move on.

Although I have my ups and downs with Pinterest, I must admit that I've gotten a few great ideas and well-worth-it projects from it.

My latest Pinterest-inspired creations have been my own 'Subway Art'.  Subway Art, as far as I know, is the type of pictures or posters that are comprised of a bunch of different words or phrases about a common theme...?  So as a Christmas present for members of Dustin's family I created my own pictures with all of the family members' names.  I really liked how they turned out, and my parents liked them so much that I ended up making one for them with all of our family names.  Here's how they turned out:

So, for now, I will continue my Love/Hate relationship with Pinterest.  At least until I no longer am able to get any worthwhile ideas from it... ;)

Until then, I will continue to add ideas to my notebook and work on trying them all!



p.s. -- If you decide that you're daring enough to enter the Pinterest world, and need an 'invite' to join, I'd be more than happy to begin your Pinterest addiction!

A Few Horrible Days...

Just like any of you, I have my days... you know those days... when you accidentally brush your teeth with lotion, wash a contact lens down the sink, spill coffee down your pants, get stuck behind a slow driver when you're late, lock yourself out, find your favorite shirt has a whole, forget the ONE thing you went to the grocery store to get, etc.

Well the last few days have seemed like one of those days right after another.

First, Tuesday seemed like a bad day from the moment the alarm went off solely because it was my 'Monday'.  Then, after getting stuck behind a train on the way home all I wanted to do was walk through the door to be greeted by my puppy and cuddle on the couch.  Unfortunately, when I got home I found that Porter had decided to eat a portion of a Resolve Stain Remover Stick.......... yup.  The handy little thing meant to be applied to set in stains before washing was now inside my puppy's tummy.

There was a nice little puddle of sudsy throw up by the door, and when I let him outside he continued to vomit a couple more times; bubbles, suds, and more bubbles. -- I called our vet, another vet, the Animal Poison Control (p.s. don't call them.  They'll charge $65 just to 'consult' with them to check the forms about the product), the Human Poison Control (p.s. don't call them either.  They'll charge $45 if they find out you're calling about a pet), another vet, and then did some looking online and came across a number for the company who makes the product and got ahold of someone who FINALLY would tell me some information without charging me an arm and a leg.  Turns out, if a dog eats a Resolve Stain Stick it can cause upset stomach and possibly nausea. (oh really?)  Thankfully, that's it (although 'that's it' also involves a lot of coughing, dry heaving and what appears to be foaming at the mouth due to the suds).

Because of his upset stomach and the continued coughing and heaving, I was up with Porter every thirty minutes until about 3:30am.  When he finally was able to sleep without coughing and waking up he managed to sprawl out across my entire half of the bed.  I didn't want to disturb him, so I grabbed a pillow and blanket from the guest room and slept on the floor the rest of the night.  Amazingly, that's the best I've slept in a while (probably because I was exhausted, and it was comforting to know that Porter was feeling better).  Unfortunately, that only lasted for 2 hours until Dustin's alarm went off.

I thought Wednesday HAD to be better than the day before, but I was just setting myself up for disappointment.  At work the kids were crazy.  Loud, hyper, annoying, fighting, screaming, kicking, sneezing... crazy!  And one little boy in particular decided to have a major meltdown toward the end of the day.  After leaving work, I was supposed to help my grandma with some things so I picked up ice-cream and headed her way.  When I arrived, I found out that I wasn't really needed, so decided to head home.

Partially home I realized that I needed to go make the car payment, which was on the complete opposite side of town.  After getting that done I decided that I had better get my much needed grocery shopping done while I was out.

Just as I was leaving the store a cranky Dustin called to *inform* me that our *lovely* puppy had decided to destroy, nay obliterate, his dog bed... leaving bits and pieces of fluff all over the entire yard.  My thoughts?  Having a puppy who is spreading the insides of his dog bed around the yard is better than having a puppy who is spewing HIS insides all over the yard.

Finally on my way home, I figured I could just put groceries away, make something little for dinner and then melt into my bed.  NOPE!  On the highway, going about 65 mph, my car stopped.  Donezo.  Finito.  Lights dimmed, all the dash lights popped on, radio shut off, headlights when out, power steering went out and I lost power.  Thankfully, I was able to coast and pull off the highway to a side road.

That was it.  I'd had it.  I was done, too.  I called Dustin.  No answer.  Called again.  Still no answer.  [let the record show that he picked a horrible time to take a shower]  Called Dad.  No answer.  Called Mumsy!  Amazingly, she answered and agreed (in response to my half crying half begging request) to come rescue me and my eight bags of groceries.  Probably because I said that if she couldn't I'd just get out and walk the rest of the way home.  Apparently she didn't think it was as good of an idea as I did.

After getting home, having Dustin and my dad go look at the car, getting it towed back to the house, and a few days later.... it's starting to seem a bit less horrible and even a tiny bit funny.  It doesn't change the fact that my puppy had gotten sick, that my car is still not running, or that I probably looked like an idiot sitting in my dead car with it's barely working flashers crying my eyes out... but somehow finding humor in it makes it a bit easier to swallow.

Thankfully, I have two AMAZING and WONDERFUL parents who are willing to come rescue me when I'm stranded on the side of the road, tow my car for me, and lend me their extra vehicle until mine can be fixed.  Dustin is pretty amazing, too, but he lost brownie points for inconvenient showering time.  ;)

New Year's Resolutions...?

Every year after the ball drops and the clock strikes twelve there is a question everyone asks one another:  What is your New Year's Resolution?

Well, I've never been a fan of New Year's resolutions.  I either don't make one and then feel that somehow I'm cheating myself out of what could have been a good motivation to do something, OR I make a resolution and then later feel guilty that I didn't follow through and accomplish what I set out to do.

There's no real reason why I fail to keep my resolution, but I think I'm going to try to put my finger on it.

First of all, my resolutions in the past have never been things that are outside my comfort zone or the norm of my usual routine.  If I resolved to lose weight, if I stayed under my target weight I'd be satisfied (or I'd just never step foot on a scale and be happy if my jeans still fit).  If I resolved to eat a more healthy diet, I'd not eat candy for a couple weeks and then slowly and gradually let my sweet tooth take over, or just be impressed with myself for ordering a salad instead of fries.

Second, the fact that it is called a 'New Year's' resolution lessens the effect of what has been resolved after, well, January 2nd?  When so much of the focus revolves around it being a 'New Year', it seems less important and easily forgotten once we've settled into the year and finally gotten used to writing the new date.

So how do you remedy this, and maybe, just maybe, actually stick by your resolution?  My conclusion is this: I'm not going to make a New Year's Resolution... but instead, I'm going to make Lifestyle Resolutions.  After all, a resolution by definition is "a formal expression of opinion or intention" (see entire definition here).

Here are my formal expressions of intent for my life, or Resolutions for my Life:

• To let myself dream big dreams without fear or hesitation
• To love myself, my husband, my family and my friends wholeheartedly
• To live my life free of regret
• To be active; body, mind and spirit
• To remember to enjoy the small joys in life... especially when they come in the form of chocolate
• To smile daily and to pass it on, and finally,
• To be thankful for the life I have and for those who make it worth living.

Happy New Year!

White Elephant!

What do you get when you combine half a liquor store, enough food to feed an army, presents marked with 'adult exchange' and family?  A very fun, loud, family Christmas party, of course!

This Christmas Dustin and I are in Idaho celebrating with his family.  One of their traditions is a Christmas Eve White Elephant gift exchange party!  Now, I'm not exactly sure how the term 'White Elephant' came around (if you're really curious you can check here), but I don't think the origin is important to have fun and be entertained.  All you need know is to show up with a present in hand, following whatever price guidelines were set out, and be prepared to fight for a good gift!

Among the lot of gifts this year were a popcorn machine (think carnival style, not just your everyday counter top model), a ceramic frog and caramel corn, Parcheesi (which I've informed Dustin we MUST play before we go home) along with an Idaho $1,000,000 raffle ticket, a Bob Marley table lamp, $50 QVC gift card with Margarita Mix, Eddie Bauer blanket, Spinning Beer Pong game with all the bells and whistles, Bucket 'o Beer, remote control helicopter, baking supplies, pint glasses and shot glasses, huckleberry vodka, and a roulette game with hidden shots inside.

Now I'm not sure how this type of gift exchange plays out at other family gatherings, but ours always includes stealing, yelling, hiding, bribing, persuading, deal making and after-game trading.  All in all I'm pretty sure that everyone got something they wanted; Kevin and Saydee took home the popcorn machine for their basement, Grandma Barbar gets the cute ceramic frog, Jesse is the proud new owner of the beer bucket, Jimmy slyly ended up with the Bob Marley lamp, and Shayla and Rob took the remote control helicopter and roulette.  More importantly we were all entertained!

I'm so excited that we were able to be here this year to see his family and celebrate with them.  It would have been perfect if Didi and Barbar could have been here, along with the rest of the family, too!





...and stay tuned to see if Dustin wins the $1,000,000 on December 30th!  ;)

Holiday Traditions

This year I have been taken by surprise with how quickly the holiday season came upon us!  It seems as though it just kept creeping up and then popped out and announced it's arrival.  Finding that it is already Christmas made me even more aware that I had neglected my postings (also, with a nudge from Brittany).  Anyway, back to my topic.  :)

Not long ago, Dustin and I visited his cousin's home and started talking about all of our family holiday traditions.  I reluctantly told them that I didn't think my family had any actual 'traditions'; we didn't have a certain movie we watched on Christmas day, nor did we have a particular present we always exchanged and opened on Christmas Eve.  Then Libby looked over and said that a tradition didn't have to be anything spectacular, just something special.  So I got to thinking about all the special things that made Christmas Christmas at my house.

First of all, we were lucky enough to have relatives that would travel to us for Christmas.  We didn't have to get up super early and travel to someone else's home or spend the holidays cramped on a sleeper sofa.  We were able to spend Christmas in our own home with our loved ones gathered around us.

Second, we always had numbered presents.  This was one of my Grandma's (let's call it) quirks.  While it may sound, at first, very OCD and borderline obsessive, it is actually VERY efficient and a brilliant idea! -- There are three kids in my family: myself and my two older sisters.  And as you should all know (if you've ever watched kids open presents) kids can be a bit jealous at times... especially if Johnny opens a nice new bike and Susy opens a package containing socks.  To avoid this situation, my Grandma was meticulous in her wrapping of presents.  She would always buy similar presents for each of us, and they would be wrapped in the same wrapping paper and given a number.  The number ensured that we all opened the same present at the same time and dictated the order in which we were to open presents.  (this was also Grandma's way of saving the best presents for last)

Finally, Grandpa always hid money inside one of our presents.  He always loved a good practical joke, and this one caught on!  Whether it was inside a candy bar wrapper (back when they had the tin foil wrapping and the paper over the top), hiding in a pair of socks, or rolled up into  the hem of a towel or bathrobe, we all knew to be on the lookout for our Christmas money.  We all still joke about the year that the money was hidden inside a candy bar we each received in our stockings and Grandpa had offered Rachel $5.00 for her candy bar... and would have gotten away with it had I not decided that I needed to eat my candy bar right that second and discovered the money!

This year, after remembering all of our family Christmas traditions, I decided that it was time to remind Grandma of them, too!  For her present I decided to give her a junk box!  (I suppose this is another 'tradition' that we had.  One of our presents was deemed a 'junk box' because it contained all the random, oddball or just 'too small' items to be wrapped by themselves.)  BUT instead of just giving her a junk box, I decided to wrap and number each individual item inside.  I was very impressed with myself and wrote out a little note to go along with her present:

"At Christmas' past, presents trimmed the tree
Each one carefully wrapped and numbered for three
Number one was a doll, number five a new dress
But the question remained, what were the rest?
The money was hidden inside number nine,
But the junk box always was a favorite of mine.
Now the tables have turned and this year it's for you
So open your presents, first 'one' then 'two
Enjoy your junk box and all that it holds
And remember the money is hidden in the folds."

So, after taking a look back, I've decided that I do have some Holiday Traditions that are near and dear to my heart, and I hope that one day I can continue them and even start a few new traditions with my own family.  Until then, I hope to keep the traditions from my past alive... in action or in memory.

Merry Christmas!