Burger Bar

I love everything about this photo. Totally makes me want to do a burger bar for Ty's party. ♥

[from my latest issue of Publix's Grape magazine]

(Late) Morning Thoughts

1. I feel so behind on my blogging. There are so many old (think: past) things I want to blog about and everyday I come up with a few new ones. One post at a time, right?

2. The past few weeks have taught me a lot about the relationship between my weight, what I eat and working out. I managed to gain 5 pounds in about 2 weeks (thanks to Chicago, Orlando and birthday cake) and have finally managed to get it back off. As a result, I'm starting to take a long look at what we eat and how I plan our meals. More to come later on.

3. I also told J that we have entirely too much food in our pantry and freezer. And its not complete meals (I'd be okay if there were complete meals or even complete components). Its random stuff. Like 12 cups of shredded cheese. Or turkey bacon (*yech*) Or a huge canister of oatmeal. Or a toaster. Not kidding about any of those things. And that toaster barely gets used. So I told J that I'm not going to be buying some stuff I normally would in favor of us creatively eating down what we already have. Less is more.

4. Oh man, my friends and family were incredibly generous for my birthday and Mothers Day. Incredibly generous. And they have great taste.

5. Going back to the straight hair for awhile. Kinda excited about having wrap and go hair for a little bit.

6. Several of my co-workers are doing that Insanity workout. I accidentally let it slip that J has it and now they want me to do it too. Sometimes I hate group stuff.

7. Do y'all Viggle? *snickers*

8. One of those aforementioned generous gifts? An ice cream maker! First thing I'm making? Fro-yo!! My bowl is in the freezer now. Its definitely on today's list.

9. And since no Thoughts list is complete without mention of my BabyKakes, you'll be pleased to know that Ty is cutting those top two teeth. And he likes to rub the top ones against the bottom ones. Kinda sounds like a cricket. I'm sure that's not good for them. But he hasn't bitten me recently, so I'm not going to complain...yet - lol.

♥

Twins

I decided a long time ago that while Tyler definitely favors J, in actuality he has my face on his father's head.

Don't believe me? Here's a bit of evidence:

Mommy + Tyler = twins? [we're both approximately 6 months old]

This gem is courtesy of my mom who brought it (along with quite a few others) this last time she came up. She also brought the Girl Scout calendars I appeared in during middle and high school (What? Didn't know I was a calendar girl, huh) and some other interesting (think: moderately embarrassing) autobiographical school projects.

As you can see, I am totally right. That little face? Its mine. But that head? All Jason.

(Sometimes I like being right. This is totally one of those times.)

♥

Morning Thoughts

1. Oh man. Last week kicked my behind. It's already Tuesday and I'm still recovering.

2. Inadvertently taking a week off the blog is a total by product of the aforementioned issue. I have so much to catch you up on.

3. Read an interesting article/blog/tweet on the difference between marriage and matrimony. It's rare that I come across something that makes me reconsider my paradigm. I like it.

4. Time to start working on Fathers Day gifts for J. I've figured out most of the plan. Just gotta secure the fundage.

5. There's going to be a new addition to the family. Ty's getting a cousin!

6. Mom flies out today. Normally I'd be sad but I get to see her on Friday.

7. I'm headed to work but I wish I was headed to bed. Going to need ALOT of caffeine to get through the day.

♥

2012 Goals - Progress Report

It's May and I have yet to update ya'll on how I'm doing with this year's goals! Time to remedy that. 

[In case you've forgotten (or have no clue what I'm talking about) here's a link to my original goals list and the addendum.]


House Goals - Original

• Closet solutions - I completely forgot this was on the list! There's been no progress. Actually, the pantry may very well look worse now than it did a few months ago. I'll get on it soon. Promise.
• Figure out DVD storage - I totally cheated on this one. Instead of figuring out storage, I just moved the whole lot upstairs to the landing. I ultimately want to turn that space into a home library, but in the meantime, its moonlighting as the Smithville blockbuster. Problem solved (for now).
• Purchase a grill - Still grill-less. I hope we get it sooner rather than later.
• Start saving for a fence - No progress here either. At least not on my end.
• Get a headboard for our master bedroom - Finally decided what we want to do for our bedroom and its not a headboard. We're (eventually) getting a canopy bed. The room is definitely large enough to accommodate it. Naturally, J wants one kind and I want another. And then there's that issue of saving up for it. A king-sized anything will not be cheap.
• Create frame collage in living room - I've started collecting my frames! We have more stuff than I thought. Still need to decide if I want to cover the whole wall. And if we're painting the room before hand.
• Hang more drapes - There's definitely progress here. I finally hung the drapes in our bedroom and have been thinking about drapes for the living room. And kitchen. And the guestrooms (one of which I think I already have some Ikea drapes for)

House Goals -Addendum

• Mirrors in the dining room - Still trying to decide what I want! I've definitely been looking so I'm guessing that counts as some progress.
• Find a wall to paint in chalkboard paint - I have one picked out but I'm not sure how it would work with its neighboring walls. What I'm thinking instead is to do a chalkboard calendar/menu on a wall in the kitchen that I'm trying to turn into a control center for the house. You know stuff like appointments, the weekly menu, a mail station, etc. I'll blog more about that soon-ish.
• Create a custom-closet feel in our master bedroom closet - No really progress here. This is still just the stuff of my dreams - lol.
• Removing our nasty bane-of-my-existence shower door and putting up a rod and cute curtain - Got the go-ahead from J to do this! Just havent had the time to actually work on it. Also not sure which shower curtain I want to hang. May just put up a white one until I pick something out.
• Redressing our bed - I'm about 75% done with this. I did the bed in black, white, and teals and am looking for some throw pillows that have greys, white, teals and maybe a pop of yellow to tie it in. And then of course there's my dream throw. So yeah, the bed is coming together nicely. 
• Hang something on the wall behind our bed - I keep going back and forth on what I want to do. Either photos or a mirror. I have the photo prints already so we may just do that. If not I'll put them in the gallery wall. So no worries, the photos will have a place - lol.
• Finding a cocktail ottoman to replace our coffee table - Done!! I ordered something several months ago when Ty started spending a lot of time on the floor. We seriously love it. It moves all around the living room depending on what we have going on. Plus, there's tons of storage space inside for Ty's junk (think wipes and dipes for daycare, etc)

Patti Goals

• Be less lazy - Questionable progress here. There are still piles of laundry (and everything else) around the house. But I clean up the kitchen more. Yeah, "questionable" was probably generous - lol.
• Move more - On it. Walked/pushed a stroller in a 5k. Joined a gym. Set a goal. I'll let you know (eventually) how its going.
• Blog more - Yes! Another one I'm accomplishing! Sometimes there's a lag, but I think I've been loads better about popping in this year.
• Pack my lunch more often - On this one too! Its usually just leftovers, but its nice to not only have my lunch waiting for me (sometimes I have to rush through lunch) but also guarantee that the leftovers get eaten.
• Have less debt - Slooowly progressing on this one. Paying down debt is a slow-going. But if all goes as I'm planning, I'll have some satisfying results this time next year.
• Appreciate my people more - This will always be something I work on. But for the sake of the talley, I'm going to count this in the accomplishing pile. 

I still have a ways to go, but overall I'm pretty pleased with my progress. It will be interesting to see how far I've come by the fall!

♥

Workout Mix

Popping in for a quick question: Whats on your workout* playlist? I have yet to make one and essentially use whatever pops up among the music that I keep on my phone.

The other night at dinner, J and I were discussing this lack of a playlist when he just picked up my phone and started thumbing through the selection. He promptly stopped, laughed, and said he'd spend his whole workout looking for something to workout to.

I'm not quite that bad, but I need to spend some time putting something together. Any suggestions? Feel free to leave them in the comments, tweet or text them to me.

Happy Thursday! (its my Friday)

♥



*I haven't said (blogged or tweeted) much about the gym lately, but just know we're working on our relationship.

Fab Five: Mothers + Birth Days

Its the first of May! Yay!! The next 31 days are going to be AWESOME!

Today's post is dedicated to my husband.

I don't think I'm that hard to shop for. But when he asks what I'd like for whatever major holiday is coming up, I often draw a blank. Why? Because more than likely I've already purchased whatever it is I've been eyeing. But there are usually a few things on my radar that cost more than I want to spend...in other words, perfect gift candidates for Hubs.

This May, there are two "major" gift giving holidays - my 1st official Mothers Day and my 30th birthday. So J is trying to ace it this year. This Fab 5 is my way of doing my part to help. Here's the list:

1. iPad. Its taken me a long time to get to the point where I want one. I always thought they were cool, but utterly unnecessary. I still kind of feel that way, but I also think they're fun, and it would hold me over until I finally replace my laptop (side note: Mine died almost 2 years ago. As I'm typing this, I can't believe I haven't replaced it yet.)


2. Vera Bradley Lunch Date in Lime's Up. I've been doing a dramatically better job of bringing my lunch and I need a new lunch box. Both of the ones I used to use have been taken over by Ty - either for the breast pump (which I've almost stopped using entirely thankyouJesus) or his bottles for daycare. So yeah, a new lunch box would get a ton of use.

3. KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment. How is it that I don't own an ice cream maker yet? Idunno either. But I'd love one. Especially this time of year when the food bloggers start posting all the delicious looking ice cream recipes. You might be wondering why the attachment rather than a standalone appliance. After doing some research, I realized that the motor makes all the difference. So with the more expensive makers, you're mainly paying for the motor. Since I've already bought a motor (with my mixer), I only need the attachment to turn it into an ice cream makin machine.

4. Sterling Silver Initial P Pendant. I wear the same silver heart pendant every day. It was a gift from J and I love it. Lately, I've been thinking of changing it up a little bit. This necklace seems like a more modern and sophisticated take on a nameplate (fun fact: I'd still have mine and would probably wear it more if it weren't gold). Initially I was thinking of getting a "T" but I'd feel funny about wearing it once we have another kiddo, so "P" it is.

5. Crate&Barrel Hailey Throw in Teal. Maaan. I have a soft spot (okay, probably crater) for teal. And this throw? It pops up in my dreams. I need this.

[Oh, and for those of you that might be concerned about me waiting til May 1 to post this, don't be. If you've met J, you'll know that this post is right on time. Lets just say he and I...well, we approach gift giving differently. Yeah, that's all I'm going to say about that. *snickers*]

♥