Thursday, December 26, 2013

Polish of the Moment

Welcome to a recurring post that you will see on this blog.. Polish of the Moment!  This is just a way for me to not only show off my current nail polish look and also to have a picture file of all of the looks I've done so if I'm ever lacking the creativity to come up with a new look, I can go back and choose one of my old ones. Some will be awesome, some will be.. not awesome.  But I will post them all :)

The last couple of weeks have been super-busy and exhausting, so my nails have taken a back seat to the rest of the holiday to-do's.  What? Naked nails? Gasp!  I know painting your nails may not be something on everyone's priority list, but for me, it most often is.  It's a relaxing activity I can do after The Girl and The Boy are in bed for the night and it gives me something pretty to look at all throughout the day for the next week or so.  Gives me an outlet for my color-pairing and nail art creativity, too.  

So you can imagine how I felt spending the holiday with naked nails.. just not the same.  Especially since I had purchased a few new polishes last month specifically for the holiday.  Clearly I survived not having pretty nails for Christmas, but in order to feel like I didn't totally miss out on the possibilities, I decided to spend the morning of my first 'down day' painting a look that I would have chosen to use.  And really.. I do not discriminate when it comes to holiday wear.  My sister said it best when she learned that I used a Halloween bib she bought The Girl for an entire year, despite her vision of it being for that year's Halloween holiday only.  Her quote: "Jennifer knows no seasonal boundaries!".. I try my hardest to live up to that quote always, but dressing my kids in their holiday jammies and shirts all throughout the year.  Afterall, why would I waste clothing that fits just fine just because the holiday is long gone :)  I'm sure you will see examples of this throughout my posts to come.

Ok, back to the nails.  This is a very simple design that took me very little time, aside from the time it took trying to open the brand new bottles of polish.. not sure why they were basically glued shut, but thank goodness for my Pampered Chef Jar Opener!  (That thing has helped me open jars a bazillion times throughout the years.. great for anyone with weak hands or arthritis, like me.)

Started with a base coat (Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hard As Wraps Powerful Acrylic Gel), then one coat of Sinful Colors Out of this World #842 followed by one coat of Sinful Colors Holiday Rebel #1382 and I sealed the design using wet n wild's Wild Shine Clear Nail Protector #401A.  Simple and subtle yet a fun pretty way to capture the holiday :)

Please nevermind the lack of manicure to my nails and cuticles before the painting was done.. I may have had time to swipe some color on, but the beautifying process takes way more time than I had this morning :)
Anyone else have a nail painting obsession---err, hobby?  I'd love to see pics and hear what polish brands and colors are your favorite!  Comment hear or tweet me @35andlifetogo :)

Friday, December 13, 2013

Slooooow down, please!

Ok, seriously.. The Girl is growing up waaaaay too fast all of a sudden.  Within the last few months, she has gone from still having a semi-chunky little girl baby face to one that definitely says she is no longer one of the littles..
1st Christmas Program ~ Pre-K, age 5
She may be growing into a school-aged beautiful girl, but she will ALWAYS be my baby.  

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Weekend Recap

Hi there, Friends!

I've seen Weekend Recap posts on a bunch of blogs and thought maybe I would give it a whirl.. not only as a way  to share what I was up to over the weekends, but also as a log for me to go back to when I'm bored and needing some inspiration to get out and do something.  I know I love reading everyone else's posts for the same reason.. sometimes there are events and things going on that I would have never known existed if it weren't for reading about them on local bloggers' posts.  And lastly, I'm hoping this keeps me from sitting on my booty all weekend and not taking advantage of quality family time together.. I'm sure my kids will appreciate this effort immensely :)

Friday night was very exciting for The Girl.. she went with a friend (her lil BFF.. also five years old, but already in Kindergarten because she has a spring birthday and The Girl's is in the fall) to their church where they had a Gingerbread House Workshop set up for the kids.  They each received materials to make their own houses and went crazy with the candy and  frosting..

SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR!
Afterwards, the girls enjoyed a special treat together before heading home..

Cheeeeese!!---err---Ice Cream!
Cutest lil BFF's!

I had to work on Saturday at 6am, so the rest of us stayed home on Friday night for a pizza and movie night.. perfect relaxing end to a busy week.

After work on Saturday, it was home to shower and get all gussied up for The Martian's company holiday party.  Unfortunately, we forgot to have someone take a picture of us together, but it's always fun to get dressed up in something other than jeans and a sweater and we both looked pretty darn presentable, if I do say so myself :)

The kiddos had an awesome Saturday hanging out with Minnie (their grandma and my mother in law) and then had a slumber party at my sister in law's house with her four girls.  Again, no pictures, but the recaps they provided were enough to give me a peek into the excitement and fun that was had.  

After waking up (at 10am!!!.. haven't slept that late in YEARS!), we headed out to pick up the kids and drive to my sister's new house for my nephew's third birthday party (45 mins away.. my hometown and next door to my parents' house).  I can't believe I had my phone in my pocket and didn't take any fun pictures of the birthday  boy, the cool baseball jersey cake or the mountain of presents.  Instead, all I have is this sweet one of The Boy playing at the train table and having a very content and happy time among all the crazy party fun..

He spent almost an hour in his own happy little world at this table.

It was nice to see family and again, the kids had an absolute blast!!  I can't believe how many hours they can play and giggle together without slowing down for a second.. to have an ounce of that energy would be incredible and one of these days, someone will figure out how to bottle it and make a TON of money!

All in all, it was one of our busiest weekends in a long time and so much fun.  It's so easy to get into a rut of spending most of our weekends at home doing.. well.. nothing of note.  Hopefully the busyness of the holidays will get us in the habit of making life more fun and adventurous.  Or, it will wear us out and we'll have to hibernate for the rest of winter..

So, what did you do last weekend?  

Whatever Wednesday: What a wolf says..

The Boy, age three, walked up to me this morning while I was catching up on some blog reading and said "Mommy.. this is what a 'woof' (read: wolf) says.  He then pointed his nose to the 'moon' (ceiling) and belted out the cutest lil 'howooooo' (read: howl) you've ever heard, complete with eyes squeezed shut for full energy and effect ;)  Of course, when I asked if we could make a video of him howling like a wolf, he agreed, but got a lil shy.  But even if the second take isn't quite as energetic as the first, it's still too stinkin' cute not to post.  Enjoy! Howooooooooooooo!

Have any cute videos of your kiddos (or pets) you want to share?  Feel free to link in the comments or at any of my social medias listed in the sidebar (i.e. twitter, instagram or tumblr.. all id's are 35andlifetogo)!  Gotta love sharing some cuteness to brighten everyone's day, right? :)

Friday, December 6, 2013

Color Me Happy

Love the effect make-up has on my mood.. rockin' some green mascara and feelin' fierce!

Rawr!
Feel free to share your selfie of the day in the comments or at any of my other contacts listed in the sidebar!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Must do ALL.THE.THINGS.

Ever had that feeling that if you could just get A, B, and C in order then the entire alphabet would fall in line and the song would be way more manageable, except it's all so jumbled that you can't even bring yourself to start any of it?  That's how I am and have been feeling for weeks. 

For me, it's the housework that is always my undoing, starting with the kitchen. If the dishes are done, it always makes me want to keep them caught up, cook meals and be more creative in the kitchen. So for a few days, I will bust my hump trying to wash every dish after it's used and put everything away the second I'm done with it. This makes me feel amazing, and feeling amazing makes keeping the rest of the house picked up so much easier for some reason. And when the house looks nice, I'm more apt to plan fun activities for the kids, pay the bills in a timely fashion, keep up with the laundry and take on other organizing projects in the house that actually make a noticeable difference in how things work. Aaah.. harmony is humming from the radiators. 

But then I get annoyed that every time I walk into the kitchen, there are random dirty dishes in the sink that I didn't put there (ya know, cuz I'm on top of my game), the loaf of bread sitting out on the counter surrounded by crumbs, the peanut butter jar and a gunky knife, or even a couple of k-cups either not thrown out or still full of old grinds that just needed to be dumped and rinsed. And for a week or so, I just take care of these things, even though I feel like teamwork would have prevented me from having that lil pang of bitterness that creeps up in these instances. 

Then three days later, I walk in and toss my plate in the sink, just knowing that someone would return the favors I had been doing for that last few days. But nope.. they sit there, and are quickly joined by more of the same, until pretty soon there is no more counter space (pet peeve of mine in my tiny kitchen) and I'm the one leaving the loaf of bread and peanut butter out, on the table this time, because that's the only space I had to make the boring lunch it became. So now the dishes are out of control, and a recurring bullet point on my to-do list. Day.. after day.. after day. 

Judge if you must, but this is just something I have learned about myself and have come to accept.. with all things housework, my husband and I are just a lazy team. 

At this point, all I can muster the energy to do is all sorts of list making, social media updating, new blog planning, small, inconsequential organization projects that only I care about, online research.. anything to put off those darn dishes. I feel overwhelmed and it starts to seep over into the other to-do's and pretty soon the bills are behind and the house is a cluttered disaster and my kids are bored out of their gourds. The guilt sets in and only makes me want to sit and feel bad for sitting. But if I get up, I'm going to have to face the mess that has become my existence (yes, for now we are still talking about household and day to day tasks, not necessarily life in general lol). 

So yeah.. I'll just sit here and ignore it all. At some point, something will entice me to get with the program and get 'er done. (More like someone will say they are coming to visit and I will be FORCED to do something about it all. Needs to happen more often, I think, as this has always been my biggest motivator. 

That said.. Anyone wanna come over for coffee? ;) 

And there you have it.. welcome to my new blog, evidence of another block time well-spent (not doing the dishes!). A place of procrastination, self-amusement, journalling, documenting and picture/story sharing. Hopefully it will also be a place to reflect and then improve on the things that make me less than the awesome person I claim to be :) 

Oh yeah, and maybe a place that someone, anyone, might enjoy stopping by to take a peek at the life of a manic momma taking life by the hands.. day by day, minute by minute.. blog post by blog post.


No, this is not a pic of MY dirty dishes.. they wouldn't fit in the frame ;)
Are there any responsibilities that you consistently find yourself ignoring day after day after day, or do you have any suggestions on how to make yourself do the things you just don't wanna do?