Reflections on 2017

What am I most proud of?
I am really proud of some of my professional successes this year. I have earned a great promotion and received a major certification in my field. I am also really proud of some of the mental hurdles I’ve jumped regarding friends. I’m in a good place.

What do I wish I’d done differently?
I could have done a lot better in the healthy eating category. I don’t know why this is such a tough one for me, but it is  my #1 thing to work on for 2018.

What or who did I learn the most from?
The huge transitions at work were a real learning opportunity. It was very enlightening to see some true colors come forward – both exceeding and greatly underwhelming my expectations.

What did I resist the most and why?
I resisted the slow downs and had the fear of missing out something bad.

What new skills did I aquire?
I learned a ton of new skills centering around customizing Microsoft Dynamics. Not sexy, but dead useful. I also fancy myself to be some better at layout, photography and writing. I’m also getting some skills in watercolor.

What limiting belief about myself do I no longer have?
That there was something inherently less appealing about me than other people.

How have I been proved wrong and how was that liberating?
My friends, family and coworkers have proven this to me by seeking out my company, opinion, advice and wanting me in their lives. I think this has always happened. I just wasn’t paying attention.

Who or what am I most inspired and energized by?
Matt and the kids are continual sources of inspiration and motivation for me as well as the other people in my life. I want to be a great wife/mom and an amazing role model.

Who or what am I repelled to the most, and why?
Those who think only of themselves.

What went better/harder than I expected?
Getting my CPSM was time consuming but easier than I expected. Working on losing weight has been harder.

How did I surprise myself?
I did some strategic planning at work that was definitely outside my comfort zone but overall very successful.

What did I do for others?
I work daily to make sure my kids are happy and healthy and being setup well for the future. I’m proud of the volunteering I do for Girl Scouts and SMPS. We also made generous contributions as a family to various worthy causes.

What am I most grateful for?
Health. Amazing people in my life.

What did I start and not complete?
Nothing is coming to mind…

What was something I failed at and what did I learn?
I have not yet finished the CRM implementation which is irritating to me. What I’ve learned is that I need to make better use of “downtime” and be more disciplined about that.

What was the kindest thing I did for my friends and family?
Always being there to lend a hand or an ear.

What no longer worries me, that used to?
Calories and fat.

Where, or doing what, do I feel the most peace?
Snuggling with Ben on the couch, reading Calvin & Hobbes, talking with Matt, Kelly, other friends. Listening to Tabby tell me about her day.

Friday Faves April 26, 2013

Man, I barely thought about the blog this week. The new job is kicking my bum just a bit. Very very busy. But good. And I feel like I’m getting it and it will be easier soonish. I hope. Anyhow, I did see a few new cool things this week:

monkeybreadFavorite Sweet Thang: Look at these mini monkey bread cinnamon breads … easy and YUM!

sism3Favorite Purchase: I actually bought this a couple of weeks ago, and am finally going to play it tonight (hopefully, if I don’t pass out too soon) … the latest expansion pack in The Sims lineup: University. I hardly ever get to veg and play a good game, so I’m looking forward to it!

curryFavorite Savory Delight: Beef and Sweet Potato Curry with Kale looks delish … I love sweet potato in just about anything and add curry and kale and it sound awesome!

41diyFavorite Craftiness: this looks like a great board (similar to pinterest, but not) full of DIY furniture projects. I especially like the sawhorse tables and the coffee tables (we need a new one).

watercolorsFavorite Freebie: I’ve been using the blue watercolor desktop from Design Love Fest for a couple of weeks. It’s so simple and pretty.

endlessalphaFavorite App: Just downloaded this Endless Alphabet App for the kiddos. It’s a really pretty alphabet “game” with spelling lessons and vocab. It’s free too!

stayhumbleFavorite Wise Words: this pretty much says it all … maybe I need it for my new office.

formalbabyFavorite Funny: saw this on Pinterest with the note “my mom asked me for a ‘formal’ photo of my 1 month old baby so I sent her this” LOL!

And with that, I am off for a typical fun-filled, soccer-filled, birthday-party-filled weekend. Cheers!

Friday Favorites – Lateish

It was a crazy week! Next week is the last week for swim lessons and man I am READY! Some of my faves from this crazy week:

callmidwives

Favorite Buy: Season2 of Call the Midwife has started and I bought the two eps that are currently out. I still have yet to watch them, but I know they’re sitting there on my Amazon account just waiting for me!

strawberryangelFavorite Sweet Thing: Homemade Strawberry Angel Food Cake Ice Cream!

closetbasketsFavorite Great Idea: Attaching baskets to the insides of your closet doors to be catch-alls for hats, purses, gloves, etc.

photoletteringFavorite App: Photo Lettering lets you use COOL typography on your photographs.

boozeydropFavorite Day Dream: Don’t really care about the booze, but I lurve the styling on this Boozey Teardrop!

springmenuFavorite Savory Delight: Love this spring-inspired house warming menu from The Kitchn! All of it. Like I might have to make it when I host Bunco next month!

runningdrillsFavorite Workout: It just occurred to me that I am running TWO races in a couple of weeks and sorely need to get my bum in gear. And I love (sort of) the idea of these running drills!

ombreshirtFavorite Craftiness: I’m guessing this Ombre t’shirt isn’t as easy as it looks, but it sure is pretty!

wordofsauronFavorite Funny: a missionary for evil

nocakeFavorite Inspiring Words: A Party Without Cake is Just a Meeting

 

Friday Favorites

headbandsFavorite buy: take a look at these cute headbands I bought for Tabby from this great Etsy shop. Can’t wait ’til they arrive!

winedispenserFavorite Crazy Item: Check out this utterly bizarre wine dispenser. I love wine, but err … probably not that much!

srirachacaramelcornFavorite Sweet Thang: Sriracha caramel corn! Salty, sweet and SPICY. MMMM

summerpassportFavorite Great Idea: Summer passport! Figure out what you want to do this summer, fill a small notebook and get to stamping that guy!

tocaFavorite App: Toca Boca makes cool kids apps – tea parties, clothing design, hair cutting. Good clean creative fun!

17leonardFavorite Day Dream: Vintage 17′ Leocraft Camper. Already sold, otherwise there might just have been an impromptu road trip to Canada for me to purchase. Seriously, love that yellow!!!

bnsmacFavorite Savory Delight: Butternut Squash Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Caramelized Onions, Bacon and Apple – a mouthful in more ways than one!

54321workoutFavorite Workout: Did this 5-4-3-2-1 workout on Tuesday. A nice mix of cardio and body-weight workout.

mapmagnets

Favorite Craftiness: Make Your Own Map Magnets – pretty sure the kids need these, right??

amishcinnbreadFavorite Breakfast Nom: Amish Cinnamon Bread … I think I could choke a piece of this down.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Camping!

I won’t lie. I’m a bit stressed at the moment. Things in our house keep breaking, including our A/C and I’m supposed to be hosting Bunco on Thursday. But I won’t think about that right now … I will think about our first camping trip and how well it went.

We went to the lovely Poudre Canyon, home to the Cache la Poudre River, Continue reading “Camping!”

Links and Stuff

Man it has been a LONG week. Way long. I started bootcamp this week. This is the third time I’ve done bootcamp and the second time for THIS bootcamp. The last bootcamp was a bit of a joke. It’s was more of a flip-flopcamp than a bootcamp, but this is the real deal. It is hard. Like the work we did on Monday is still making my quads hurt hard. It is expensive too, but very good and very worth it. I’m really happy to be doing it, but it’s taking me some time to get used to. Right now all I want to do is go home and pass out every night. But the family just won’t go for that (although Matt’s been awesome, putting the kids to bed so I can get some early zzzzs).

Anyhow, I am not big on chit chat today, so here are some fun summery links:

Now I need a nap.

You can find all my newest favorite links on my shared page … they’re updated almost daily instead of once in a blue moon.

 

What’s Cooking: Volume ???

One of the best things about coming home is being back in my own kitchen. While we’re at home, eating out is a nice treat, but while traveling it becomes monotonous and excessive and all any of us wants is to be back in our own kitchen eating “normal” food.

Here’s what we’re cooking up this week:

  • my parents had us over for 4th of July and made salmon using this recipe, a family favorite, and corn on the cob, green beans and a fruit salad … possibly the perfect summer meal
  • we made up buffalo chicken salads using Frank’s Buffalo sauce on breaded chicken tenders (though we’ve done just grilled chicken tenders) … we serve them up on mixed greens with carrot shreds, blue cheese and a dressing 2 parts buffalo sauce and 1 part ranch
  • we made one of my all-time favorite salmon recipes, salmon with lemon relish … it is super good for summer since you serve it over a bed of spinach
  • Ben’s new favorite fruit is cantaloupe and I’ve been recently making up fruit salads with cantaloupe and strawberries – it’s incredibly pretty in the bowl

Stuff I want to try SOON Continue reading “What’s Cooking: Volume ???”

Teeny Tiny FOOD

I was introduced yesterday to the concept of ReMent. Are you in the know? ReMent refers to tiny, quite detailed miniatures made by the Japanese company, Re-Ment Ltd. and now others. They started out with food and indeed, most of the offerings still are food or related to food but it’s expanded somewhat. I also see various furniture and some gardening equipment and children’s toys. I’ve also seen some of the pieces sold as necklaces which of course appeals to me and reminds me of some of the neat stuff I’ve seen on Etsy.

There’s just something fun about miniature stuff!

Links I Like

So it’s been a pretty good week. We’re always crazy-busy but we’ve been accomplishing things. I’ve gotten in all of my planned workouts. I’ve cooked dinner EVERY NIGHT (I’m taking tonight off since Matt is out of town and I have to accomplish swim lessons and getting kids to my parents’ house) and with one exception, everything has been tasty. At work my projects are going well and I’ve learned some really cool new things about databases. I definitely appreciate good weeks like this one!!

Anyhow, here’s some fun web things that are making my already excellent week extra excellent:

  • hooked up with an AWESOME Erica, an artist on Etsy who created an amazing graphic for me to use for the kids’ birthday party give-aways (personalized placemats, printed and laminated by me) -it’s pretty similar to this one, but with a mermaid. She was awesome to work with and turned things around in like 24 hours! If you have any graphicky things that need done totally check her out.
  • Also saw this amazing light fixture while poking around on Etsy … I have no idea where I’d put it, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.
  • I had never heard of this before, but given my recent history with cloth napkins, I’d love to try these ombre napkins out. They’re so pretty!
  • Something about these newsprint nails just makes me smile.
  • The people at Make Magazine share this technique for making a hidden safe in your door.
  • If you’re looking for leggings or tights, you’ve got to check out this site … they have tons in practically every color and size (toddler to plus) imaginable.
  • How cool would  it be to visit some of the abandoned Tube Stations in London as a bar or concert hall? I’m all in.

Summer Lovin' Links

• a PBJ ice cream cone – genius!
• amazing, original baby photography: Mila's Dreams
• great article on praising your kids properly
• cheap ways to deck the walls
• cool hinge tape
• you ain't seen helmets like these before!
• cool splashy summer fun: DIY trike/bike wash
• awesome magnetic animal photo holders for you to make
• LOL! poor comic sans!
• great baby stuff on Etsy
• eat what the boob tube shills at your own peril!
a fan will keep the mosquitoes away
• gui app inventor for Android (I seriously did a nerdy little jig when I saw this)
art projects for campouts
• charming petite francais b'day party
• cool merry-go-round for your kids' books
tattoo your child for safety … incidentally, I just saw cool bracelets made with alphabet beads to have mom's phone number in them
• spend a summer afternoon making some mud people
• incredible hand-painted tiffins
Woot sticks it to the AP … way to go
great photos with a point-and-shoot
• other uses for your dishwasher
• fab Dr. Seuss b'day party