sometimes i
come across a quote that bears some kind of significance and i want to
share it with you dear readers. sometimes it's based on where i am in
life or a certain event, sometimes a quote just reminds me of a
friend, or sometimes it makes me think.
the first of my second cousins is graduating from high school today. the more i think about it, the memories of my own graduation and that summer flow through my head.
and because i'm feeling so nostalgic, i wanted to impart some wisdom on the 2013 graduates. (at least advice i would've found helpful at your age.) so here are my {five things} i think you should know:
1. be serious about your finances. learn to balance your checkbook (and actually do it). have only one credit card to use for legitimate emergencies (and no, a new dress for a cute date doesn't count. neither does ice cream. or beer.) have a savings account.
2. don't ever (like ever ever) let anyone tell you you're not good enough for something or that your passion for something isn't worth it. follow your dreams. you'll never regret it.
3. the friends you have now, you may not have in 10 years, and that's okay. we all grow as we live and sometimes things change. but if you are still friends, realize they are treasures. i'm lucky enough to have about 10 treasured friends i went to school with growing up...and i wouldn't trade those friendships for the world. but the friends i've gained along the way? icing on the cake!
4. sometimes things change and it sucks...and sometimes it's amazing. roll with the punches.
5. enjoy every minute of your life. take risks, have fun. jump in puddles or out of an airplane...whatever floats your boat. remember you only live once, so travel to see the world, spend time with your family and friends, and always put yourself first. okay, so that was kinda a rambling five things that was more like eight, but whatever. happy graduation class of 2013! you did it! welcome to the real world!
if anyone else has any advice, just leave a comment!
to alison ~~~ i remember holding you as a baby and getting to watch you grow up has been a pleasure. you're quite an awesome young lady and i know you're gonna live life to its fullest. congrats on your accomplishment...although, i have a feeling there will be bigger and better celebrations in your lifetime. and i'll be right there to celebrate with you! xoxoxo.
it's been far too long...i miss you! so in honor of my return to mkp after the weeks of feeling crazy busy and our #roadtripvacation (i used that hashtag on instagram to document our adventures...follow me! i'm 'mykindaperfect'!), i'm sharing something that will make your taste buds go wild!
okay, so this salad is not new...and it's not even new to me. but, i am newly obsessed. seriously, i have it for lunch more days than not. it's really that good.
and it's super simple! baby spinach salad with pickled onions, strawberries, goat cheese, and pecans. 'holy deliciousness' is what i call it.
i love absolutely everything about this salad. at first, i wanted to tell you that the pickled onions are what make this salad (and i'll share that super simple, super awesome recipe later), but then i think it's the strawberries with their sweetness...but the crunch of the pecans is so yummy. and the goat cheese...i love me some chèvre. so really, what i'm trying to tell you is whole thing is just crazy tasty. there is sweet, soft, tangy, crunchy, earthy, tart, and oh so wonderful. i haven't been using dressing most times i have this salad because the pickled onion juice, strawberry juice, and goat cheese coat most bites nicely. but, i have tried a (random grocery purchase) dressing that was fantastic: hannaford brand sweet herb vinaigrette. it's also a little sweet and a little tangy, so it goes really well with the flavors of the fresh fruit and veggies.
i've also added grilled chicken to this salad for some extra protein and it's delicious!
make this salad an you won't be sorry. it may become your new favorite salad too!
if you have a recipe you'd like me to feature on my kinda perfect, just email me here and i'll whip it up and share it on the blog! =) you know i love new recipes, so send them my way!
i think of all the parents who dropped their kids off at school yesterday...who will never come home.
i think of all the national guard, red cross, emt's, etc. that raced to help a devastated town.
i think of all the people. the people who lost everything. the people who have no home to go home to. the people who lost their pets...their loved ones...their special keepsakes. i think of all the people....oh, all the people.
my heart goes out to oklahoma and all the people affected by this horribly tragic tornado season.
i will pray. and i will give.
here are a few ways you can help, too.
red cross: text 'redcross' to 90999 to donate $10.
i know $10 doesn't seem like a lot...but if we all band together imagine how our donation can grow...our individual $10 donation quickly turns to $100, then $1,000, then $10,000...
sometimes i
come across a quote that bears some kind of significance and i want to
share it with you dear readers. sometimes it's based on where i am in
life or a certain event, sometimes a quote just reminds me of a
friend, or sometimes it makes me think.
if my absence around here hasn't been enough of an indication, i have been so. crazy. busy! life sure does move fast. so fast that i can't believe the last time i posted was last week! i've just been absolutely non-stop. not that i'm complaining...it's just been a cycle of making sure everything gets done...which leaves blogging off the plate sometimes. what have i been doing? oh, a little of this and a little of that...but certainly not missing anything other than you, my favorite readers!
work out eat work errands sleep mother's day laundry work appointment eat work out dishes grocery shopping work plant flowers appointment work sleep eat work out work work work
it's been nuts! so, here's the actual break down of what's going on: work i work a full time job, over 40 hours a week. i also work a part time job at a church, which can be anywhere from 5 to 15 hours a week, which sometimes i do work from home and sometimes i need to drive to church in the next town over.
mike works a full time, 40-hour a week job. he also works a part time job in the evenings 16+ hours a week.
so now our weekends have become sacred for mike and i to spend time together! exercise/hobbies
i work out two mornings and two evenings a week (and this is the item that always gets sacrificed if i'm too busy). mike loves to ride his bike and go fishing, when he can, mostly on weekends.
appointments
i just started going to a chiropractor (and cannot wait to share my experience!), so that will be a few appointments a week for awhile...meaning that's time i'm away from work that needs to be made up (sneaking into my out-of-work time). other than that, we have very occasional/annual doctor's appointments.
life
last weekend was mother's day. we went out to brunch with my parents, then to a nursery about 30 minutes away, then back to my parents house to enjoy the lake. mike tried out my mom's kayak and we went out on the party barge (our first voyage out without my dad since getting our boater's licenses last summer!) to do a little fishing. it turned out to be very cloudy and windy, so we didn't last long out there...but now that both mike and i are familiar with how my dad wants his boat, we'll be able to go out whenever we want!
the weekend before last was my birthday (cinco de drinko!). mike and i had a bunch of errands to run on saturday and later that day i went out to giselle with a few of my friends. then on sunday mike and i enjoyed a nice breakfast, spent a little bit with my parents, and then had a nice birthday dinner (which i also cannot wait to share with you. it was amazeballs!)
next up is the color vibe 5k -- next weekend! i'm totally not prepared...but i don't care! i'm doing my first 5k!!! hopefully i'll live to tell the tale...so stay tuned.
and right after that -- vacation -- mike and i are going on a roadtrip! (don't worry, the kitties will be very wel-loved by their aunties while we're gone!) we're going to visit mike's family, going to my 10 (whaaaat!!!) year college reunion, visiting the baseball hall of fame, and stopping at every last antique/unique shop along the way! it will be an 8 day trip of total madness, starting on memorial day. a little for me, a little for mike, and a whole lot of quality time in the car.
i've gotta say, while i feel crazy at some moments, i'm so grateful to be so busy...so busy i can't blog. (talk about first world problems.) and i'm so grateful you guys keep coming back. no seriously. i'm so. freakin. grateful. it makes my heart flutter with how many nice things you say to me and how you encourage me in my weight loss journey and how you try out my recipes and enjoy our silly adventures. so, thank you for stickin' with me. when life moves as fast as mine has been, you can't help but live in the moment! so, while i feel like i've been repeatedly apologizing for being absent from this blog lately...it's more of an i-really-miss-blogging kind of apology. you guys know i love cooking and being creative and going on adventures...and sharing it all with you! so please know i've got a laundry list of stuff i want to share. (ikea, what?!) so, bare with me as i slowly get out of my rut of putting everything else ahead of my love for you and this little bloggy blog.
i hope you all have a fantastic weekend! i'm looking forward to it!
sometimes i
come across a quote that bears some kind of significance and i want to
share it with you dear readers. sometimes it's based on where i am in
life or a certain event, sometimes a quote just reminds me of a
friend, or sometimes it makes me think.
in honor of mother's day on sunday, i figured i'd include some mom-centric philosophy today.
my mom has always given me advice...as i'm sure yours has too. and while i'm not a mom yet, i can only imagine i'll probably be saying all the stuff she used to tell me when i have kids.
here are a couple things my mom has definitely tried to teach me.
when one of my friends asked me to do a piece of art for her to give as a gift, i was full of emotion. i was excited she thought i was talented enough to make a piece of art. i was anxious that it wouldn't turn out the way i wanted. i was honored that my piece would be a gift. i was inspired to create a piece of art that would work in a baby's room, but would grow with him. and lastly, when i heard this announcement last week (and this one), i was certain the timing couldn't be more perfect!
what were the announcements that got me so excited?
yay!!! it's another round of the pinterest challenge. not sponsored or anyway affiliated with pinterest, just thought up by katie bower to get us to stop pinning and start doing! this time around we've got the usual suspects runnin' the show: katie and sherry...along with their guest hosts: emily and renee.
so, by now you should know that i've made some art inspired by music. what music exactly?
little black submarines by the black keys.
while the song is kinda meloncholy and the lyrics don't exactly scream "kid's room", this project is indeed for a kid's room. my friend suzanne asked me to create something that referenced the song (a favorite of the music-loving parents), without making it kid-like, despite it being for a 14 month old baby. you know, something that he'll appreciate when he's sixteen...or sixty.
so, i started with these three images as my inspiration.
i was going to include a lyric, in a hidden kind of way (not at all the way my sketch showed it, more like this), but the lyrics seemed a little dark for a kid's room. i wasn't sure about including the band name, which eventually got nixed, but you get the idea for my plan. spotlights, gradient color background (including avocado green and sky blue from the boy's room), and, of course, little black submarines.
so, like any crazy artist does, once suzanne and i had nailed down a plan, i just started painting!
i used a canvas i had on hand and acrylic paint for the background. for the little black submarines i used sharpie oil based paint markers. i love how the acrylic paint has a matte finish, while the oil based sharpies left a little bit of a glossy finish. the submarines stand out nicely and i couldn't be happier with my result!
and that's my very first commissioned piece of art!
i'm so excited to give it to my friend. i sent her a couple progress shots and she was beyond excited. i hope mom and dad love it and i hope the little one keeps it forever!
be sure to check out the other ladies' projects too!
sometimes i
come across a quote that bears some kind of significance and i want to
share it with you dear readers. sometimes it's based on where i am in
life or a certain event, sometimes a quote just reminds me of a
friend, or sometimes it makes me think.
sometimes i forget to remind him how awesome he is. he's a hard worker. he's a good friend. he's funny. he's supportive. he's loving. he's hard on himself. he's determined. he's ready for adventures.
and most of all, he's deserving. mike is deserving of his hard work paying off and for all his dreams to come true.
i couldn't be more proud of mike. and because i don't say it as often as i should, i figured putting it out here on the interwebs might make up for it. or at least a little.
michael...i'm so happy to share my life with you. i'm so happy to support you in all the adventures this life takes us. i'm just so darn happy to love the crap outta you.
