A Blog Award!

I am so honored! My wonderful sister nominated me for a blog award!  Be sure to check out her blog Life is too important {to be taken seriously} where she tells hilarious stories about her kids, family, and being a stay at home mom.

Here's how it works - upon receiving the award, you are to:

1) Link back to the person who awarded you
2) Answer all of the award questions
3) Award as many bloggers that you think are worthy of this award and make them aware of it.

 

What is your go to makeup brand?

I once decided to admit to a professional cosmetologist that I am 25 years old and have no idea what I am doing with makeup.  She stared at me.  She was in disbelief.  But it was true.  When I was in high school I played around until I found what I liked and there it stuck.  Maybelline PureStay foundation, covergirl concealer, and Almay eyeliner have been married up in my makeup bag ever since.

 

I don't wear lipstick but I do love me a strawberry kiwi Smuckers chapstick.

What was your favorite fashion trend of 2011?

 

My initial thought is boots! I LOVE my knee high boots.  I wear them everyday!  But then I realized that has been my one and only fashion trend since 2011 and 2010 and 2009 and 2008 and many more years before.

 

Then I thought my last year was mostly spent on a plane and I lived in my Areo sweat pants (that, by the way, I am in right now)

Honestly, I just love my boots, a nice pair of jeans, a cute top and a Guess purse.  My favorites since forever.  Classics. 

 

 

What is your favorite dessert? 

If you know me at all you know I love chocolate.

Chocolate Brownies.

Chocolate Cake.

Chocolate candy bar.

Chocolate syrup sundae.

Chocolate with almonds.

Chocolate covered strawberries.

Chocolate ice cream.

Chocolate dipped cake balls.

Chocolate. Chocolate.  Chocolate.

 

What is your favorite color?

Green and Pink.  Not necessarily together although they look pretty fab on my new running shoes.

What is your middle name?
Marie.

The last song you listened to?

I do not recall the exact last song.  I was just trying to ignore the horrible talk show that breaks up the good music on my commute home from work.  Probably something from Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Adele or Pink. 

 

Dogs or cats?

Neither.  A frog.

 

Something you haven't told anyone (on your blog) yet?

I have a bunch of girlfriends coming to town this week and I am SUPER excited to all get together.  I have really missed these girls the past couple years so I am very happy to be back with my BFFs. 

I also received one of the sweetest gifts ever today!  A friend living out of state knew I was pretty upset and stressed out awhile back so she decided to bake me some delicious cookies, pick out a cute note pad and gift card and pack it all up to cheer me up.  It was a great way to start the weekend!  How thoughtful!

I am also very happy to be back in MN.  I am able to be around for important events like enjoying my Grandpa and Grandmas wedding anniversary dinner and celebrating my Grandpas birthday and being close for a friend in need and enjoy some St. Patty's Day fun with relatives!  It makes me really appreciate being back near family and friends and understand what is really important in life.

I am also very proud of my husband and his new business of restoring cars.  There will be more to come on this topic but his 1966 Mustang Coupe is coming along nicely!

Well, I guess I don't do much chatting on this blog.  Minka's face is usually much more entertaining than what I have to type about!

 

 

Now, to whom shall I bestow my little award? 

I am going to have to give my friend Ash a kick in the butt to get back on the blog bandwagon!  We are both from the MN/ND area but met all the way down in Southern Alabama!  She is also an Army pilot wife and now living very far away from me in Texas!  Check out her blog Forever could never be long enough for me...  to hear about her and her husbands life on the border of Mexico.

Reading our Magazines

Just relaxing with Dad reading their magazines.

Minnesota Children's Museum

Last weekend we went to the Childrens Museum.  This was our first time going to the museum and we happened to pick the day they offer free admission.  This resulted in pure chaos and hundreds of people and children running about. 

We had a bit of a walk so we wrapped up Minka and headed down the block to the museum.

Viewing a display

 Playing dress up and learning how to distribute mail.

 Planting flowers!

 These little doors were fun for quite awhile.

 Playing with gears and enjoying watching the other kids.

Once she had a taste of running free and playing she refused help for anything.  Even climbing many floors of stairs. 

 After an hour of playing and running and maneuvering through herds of people we all felt like this.

The museum had many floors of activities and many stations for different age groups.  I think we all enjoyed the adventure and just may be visiting again soon!

All Smiles

I love to Read! I love to Read!

I love to Read! I love to Read!  

I will read on a couch.  

I will read when I'm a grouch.  

I will read on Grannys lap.  

I will read after a nap.

I will read before lunch.

I will read while drinking punch.

I will read in a chair.

I will read with messed up hair.

I will read books with songs.

I will read about pings and pongs.

I will read with just one eye.

I will read about Hello and Good Bye!

I love to read!  I love to read!

This is true, it's true indeed!

Feb: Energy

February is dedicated to Energy for my Happiness Project.  Here is what I am learning during this month.

I am focusing on:

Exercising Better

Getting Enough Rest

Eating Better

Exploring Feng Shui

So far, I have begun working out in the morning.  I am still getting up at the same time but am fitting in 20-30 minute workouts in before work about 3-4 times a week.  When I work out in the morning, I drink less caffeine and it motivates me to eat better throughout the day!

I have also began taking a yoga stretch class at work during the lunch hour on Friday.  It has been a great way to end the week, take my mind off work, and has been a good team builder for my coworkers.

To eat better, I have added taking vitamins each day for the energizing vitamins and minerals (B, C, and Iron) and drinking more water.

Other ways to eat better is to focus on snacks filled with yogurt, berries, and nuts.  Keep caffeine intake early during the day.  Eat enough fiber, low carbs, a big breakfast and moderate lunch for more energy as well.

I have been making an effort to go to bed a little earlier.  Routine helps your body recognize it is time for bed and by taking a shower each night it is a great routine and very relaxing. A good measure of if you are getting enough sleep is if it takes you 30 or more minutes to fall asleep after laying down you are getting enough rest.  If you fall asleep quickly after laying down, you need to get some more rest.  So far, I usually crash by the time my head hits the pillow so I am still working on this one.

Exploring Feng Shui is also on my list.  This was my catch all category for other ways to energize my life. 

At work, I rearranged my desk so it is not distracting.  I also hung up some awards I have received for recent work activities and pictures of my family. 

Lavendar, Rosemary, and citrus scents have been reportedly energizing scents.  I have some scented sprays and lotions I have been using in the morning and throughout the day. 

Dressing up and wearing bright colors are said to bring energy to your day.

Also, allowing time to rest, take breaks, and stay alert during the day will keep you energized!

These have been simple changes for the most part and have been fun to try.  I look forward to keeping up the energy theme all month!

Vocaulary of a One Year Old

Minka has become much more eager to try to say words lately.  We are taking full advantage!  She is pretty good with one syllable words.  So far this is what we hear.

Hi = Hi
Bye = By-ee
Mom = Mum
Daddy = Da-EE
Grandma = Ma!
Grandpa = (whisper) pa
Aunt Jackie = asor
Uncle Matt = Maa
Uncle Kai = Guy
Aunt Sequoia (Nicknamed CoCo) = CoCo
Uncle Taylor = Tay
Cousin Darius = Dee!
Cousin Stella = akaa
Dora = Doh
Boots = Boo
Go- Gurt = Go
Please = eeeaase
More = Moe
No = No
I Love You = I O oooo

Minka has also learned some sign language and can now sign for Please, More, Thank You, You're Welcome, Pig, and Apple.

It is obvious we started with some important ones and now its just become a game :)

She also knows almost all of her body parts.  Her latest accomplishment was learning where her shoulders are!

She also knows many animal noises and can point out many items in her beloved books!

It is so fun watching her learn and grow!

Happiness Project

I recently read the book 'My Happiness Project' and decided with moving across the country, starting a new job, and losing our house before we closed was a good reason to try out a Happiness Project of my own.

The point of the Happiness Project is to evaluate aspects of my life and gain knowledge around each one.  Hopefully it opens my eyes, eases, brings focus, and change to parts of my life.

This is not to tackle and uproot my schedule but to allow time to make simple changes for the better.  For example, I began showering at night before bed.  It is a simple change but I save money on face wash AND gain an extra 20-30 minutes of sleep in the morning since I do not have to shower or dry my hair early in the morning!  Its a win-win change!


Each month has a topic and within each topic are main subtopics I will focus on throughout the month.

I spent January moving and getting some major changes out of the way.  My Happiness Project starts for February!

Here are the topics I plan to cover:

February- Energy

March- Marriage

April- Parenthood

May- Organize

June- Leisure

July- Friends/Extended Family

August- Work

September- Money

October- Attitude

November- Pursue a Passion

December- Recap of the year

Mmm Mmm Oreo!

Happy Birthday and Anniversary!

This past weekend was M&M's Great Grandpas 85th birthday and Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's 59th wedding anniversary!  We were happy to celebrate the occasion with them!

 She loves her Grandpa and Great Grandpa!