Blog Your Heart - June

Is it just me or did the end of June just sneak up and bite me in the rear end?

Oh, hi!  Nice to see you.  Yeah, I didn't just disappear despite the lack of evidence around here to prove anything different.  I'm hoping this little installment of  Blog Your Heart will shed some light on why I've been so absent.

New to Blog Your Heart?  Me too!  Here's the scoop.  I wrote my first post last month and the response was incredible.  Thank you again to Stephanie over at Just Me, My Soldier and our 4 little chicks for the inspiration! 
Here's how Stephanie describes Blog Your Heart on her blog:

1.Blog whatever is on your heart. It can be serious,silly,angry,happy,blunt,ridiculous. It can be ANYTHING but it has to be authentic.  The post can be long or short, doesn't matter.

2.No judging. No snarky comments, no making fun, no passive aggressive digs. If you are going to read the blogs linked in the comments, don't be mean.

Rule #3 (This one is from me....Sarah.  Hi.) - Since BYH is about being authentic and "out there," please do leave a comment to let me know you've read it.  Even if it's just a HI THERE, it's important to feel validated that we aren't putting our hearts out on our sleeves for nothing.

So there you have it!  It's not about writing the most flowery post with earth-shattering truths.  It's just about getting it out there.  If you're writing a BYH this month, feel free to include a link in the comments. 

Here we go.

1.  I do not handle stress well.  We dropped the price of our house by 10 flipping percent back at the end of May in the hopes it would be the major move we needed to get the house sold.  We had two showings right after the price drop and then....nothing.  Until Thursday when we were 20 minutes away from packing up the kids and leaving for a day at the waterpark when all of a sudden the phone rings and we have a request for a showing that very afternoon!  We had to throw ourselves into a cleaning frenzy and whip our house into shape as best we could in about 30 minutes and then we had to cut our day short in order to make it home from the waterpark in time to collect the dog and make ourselves scarce.  Stressful.

2.  The stress led me to act like a crabby, petulant child at the waterpark.  I fought with my husband pretty much the entire day over nothing.  Have you every done that?  Just gotten into a funk and then struggled to pull yourself out?  I was so embarassed.  I was this close to ruining the entire day for my family. 

3.  I miss blogging.  I've been limited to Project Life posts for the past couple weeks not because I've had nothing to write about, but because there has been so much going on that I've felt just overwhelmed.  There's been some major developments in my family that have ruffled feathers and created a lot of drama.  It's been tough enough to deal with in person and the last thing I wanted to do was muddy the waters by putting it on the Internet.  In the end, I just ended up feeling stifled and wrote nothing.  But I'm getting there.  I promise to share what I can soon.

4. Unless you know someone well enough to share a bed in a hotel room with them, you should not be engaging in a bathroom stall conversation with them. 

5.  I am about 6 pounds away from my goal weight and I'm already starting to get scared about having to switch into Maitenance Mode.  Gaining the weight back just terrifies me!

6.  I hate that after losing 61 pounds, I can still make my belly pooch "talk" as if I were some kind of puppet-master running a cellulite marionette.
7.  The Lord has brought something wonderful called #shereadstruth into my life.  I owe you all a blog post exclusively on this topic, so I will say here is that thanks to these women and this online community, I am finally....FINALLY.....reading the Word of God.  Every. Single. Day.

Happy end of June, everyone.  Here's to hoping July brings amazing things!!

Project Life Tuesday - Week 24

Hello and welcome to Project Life Tuesday! This is my third year of doing Project Life and I have found it to be so beneficial to have this post planned every week because then I have a standing deadline to get my photos done!  Some weeks might have more photos than others, some weeks will be missing days, but the goal remains a simple one: To provide a glimpse of our life and preserve it.  This isn't meant to be stressful.  It's a wonderful way to simplify scrapbooking and memory keeping.

If you're looking for inspiration on what others are doing with their Project Life, you can check out my board on Pinterest and be sure to link up on The Mom Creative!

Click on any photo to view it larger!

Went with one insert this week, a Design B.  Lots going on here!

Left Page:

Combo here of photos from my parents' 40th Anniversary party and a couple photos that Evan sent me from China.

I love how this little 3x4 card turned out with the photo of my parents cutting their cake!  So cute!

Design B:

I covered three separate events on the two sides of this insert.  The front side has our visit to the splash-pad in the morning followed by a church event at night.  I'm a big fan of cropping photos to include two in a single spot.

The flip side of the Design B is all about our visit to the Madison Children's Museum with my friend Julie and her children.  I'm still annoyed that I goofed up on my apostrophe placement, but what's done is done!

This green 3x4 card is straight out of the Cobalt Core Kit.  I just put an Instagram on it and slapped on some washi tape. 

Right Page:

I'm not crazy with how this side turned out.  I think it's mostly to do with the photo of our maple tree and the disappointing result from my marker on the photo.  I'm probably going to tweak that photo and reprint it next week and replace it.

The "DO IT." card is from a SMASH pad.  It worked pretty well for documenting the Bob Harper workout DVD that kicked my butt.

Here's to hoping you have a wonderful week!

Project Life Tuesday - Week 23

Hello and welcome to Project Life Tuesday! This is my third year of doing Project Life and I have found it to be so beneficial to have this post planned every week because then I have a standing deadline to get my photos done!  Some weeks might have more photos than others, some weeks will be missing days, but the goal remains a simple one: To provide a glimpse of our life and preserve it.  This isn't meant to be stressful.  It's a wonderful way to simplify scrapbooking and memory keeping.

If you're looking for inspiration on what others are doing with their Project Life, you can check out my board on Pinterest and be sure to link up on The Mom Creative!

Click on any photo to view it larger!

It was a very eventful week in our world!  Big time election on Tuesday, Evan left for China, and Isaiah got to enjoy a sleepover with his auntie!

Left Page:

I'm really pleased with how this side of the week turned out.  I used the QR code trick again to include a video of Thomas crawling, highlighted the big recall election on Tuesday, and captured some great moments with my kids and their Daddy!

 

The "REMEMBER" stamp can be found here:

Source: avegasgirlatheart.com via Sarah on Pinterest

8.5x11 Insert:

There were so many great photos of Isaiah's sleepover adventure with his Aunt plus our fun swimming with them on Saturday, so I created a collage in Picasa and had it printed as an 8x10.  I used a label by Martha Stewart with some washi tape at the top of the insert to finish it off and add journaling.

12x12 Insert:

Pretty simple here!  I just slipped the front page of the Madison newspaper in a 12x12 insert and added a Martha Stewart label to journal about the big headline of the week. 

Right Side:

With my husband away in China, my 2 year old decided he was ready to potty train.  Wow.

I adore this photo of Micah looking at my Project Life album.  Warms my heart!

Evan finally got a new work compute that has a webcam, so we were able to Skype with him for the every first time this week.  The boys just went wild and were so thrilled to talk to him.

Have a wonderful week!

Loving on the Dads

The men in my life are pretty incredible.  I grew up with a father who exhibited a quiet strength, a trait that worked well to counteract my emotional flamboyance.  Then I married a man who is everything I could have ever hoped for the father of my children.  He is patient, goofy, loving, and dedicated.  And as part of the package that came with my guy came a father-in-law who I admire immensely.  He is a man of God, a role model that I am truly grateful to have in my life for my husband and my children to emulate. 

Today, on Father's Day, I just want these men to know how much they mean to me. 

To my Daddy:
I was never really aware of it growing up, but as an adult I have come to realize that the thing I admire most about you is your work ethic.  You have always been the pillar of our family, rising long before the sun came up and working to support your family while making sure to make quality time with us a priority.  You were the quiet strength that kept our family grounded and strong.  I admire your ethics, your sense of humor, and will forever be grateful to you for instilling in me an appreciation for good music.  I wouldn't be the same without your classic rock education.  I love you so much, Daddy.  And thanks for not ripping me a new one after that 16th birthday party incident, even though I had it coming.  :)

To Howie:
If it's true that the highest compliment you can pay a parent is to rave about their child, then you can rest assured that you have done a darn fine job as a Dad.  We'll get to him in a minute, but you should know that he is every bit the man that you worked hard to raise.  But as for you.  I admire you, Howie.  You are a man who "walks the talk."  You go through every day of your life focused on living for God and keeping Him at the center of your heart.  When my husband needs advice or a person to emulate, he doesn't need to look any further than his own father.  When my sons want someone to get goofy with them, all they have to do is hand you a freakishly small football helmet or a foam sword and you are ready to go!  Thank you for being the kind of man I want to raise my sons to be.

To my Husband:
Evan, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make it through typing this without bawling.  Correction, I wasn't even able to make it through typing that first sentence before my eyes welled up.  Stupid China.  Ok, focus.  I am so PROUD of you.  You are the kind of husband and father that women dream of having.  You love our children with every fiber of your being, but you are also very aware that being a good father also requires you to be a great husband.  It's hard work to make those two go hand-in-hand, but I see you working at it all the time.  Our boys adore you.  They freak out like Santa is coming down the chimney every day when they hear the garage door open.  You are the one they want to wrestle with, play "punching," and race cars.  The day is coming soon when you will need to experience "man stuff" with them like fishing, playing catch, and learning to ride a big boy bike.  It's going to be so awesome.  Raising Godly sons is a tall order, but there is nobody else I would rather have as my partner in this task.  We are blessed to have you as the cornerstone of this family.  And please hurry home.  :)  The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man need their third Avenger.

Much love to the Dads in my life today.  Happy Father's Day.

Have you hugged a Dad today?

A Video for Daddy

Hummus Love, Fig Leaves, and Doozies

Let's just start right out with a warning that this is going to be kind of a random post, topics flying around all willy-nilly without a whole lot of rhyme or reason.

I am obsessed with this sandwich.

And by "obsessed," I mean that I have eaten for lunch every. single. day. since I discovered its amazingness.  Let's talk about the new love of my life, the Turkey Hummus Sandwich.

I put out some feelers on Facebook and Twitter about hummus because I had heard about it and wondered how the heck you actually eat the stuff.  Frankly, pureed chickpeas really didn't sound very appetizing to me.  But.....then my genius friends told me to try the Roasted Red Pepper flavor.  Dip your veggies in it, use it as a dip for pita chips, or as a spread on a sandwich.

So I bought some of this:

And a package of these:

I spread a tablespoon of the hummus inside the flatbread pocket and then stuff in 3 oz. of deli turkey, some sliced red onion, romaine lettuce, and some red bell peppers.  SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.  It's delicious, people. 

Here's the WW Points Plus breakdown for this sammie:
3 oz. deli turkey - 2 Points+
1 Brownberry Pocket Thin - 3 Points+
1 Tablespoon Athenos Roasted Red Pepper Hummus - 1 Point+
= 6 WW Points+

Yum.  I've been eating it with a side of fresh fruit, a Laughing Cow Cheese (usually 1 Points), and a few pita chips and extra hummus for dipping.  I just love that 2 Tablespoons of that hummus is only 1 point!  Try this one, y'all.

It makes me want to do naked back flips over the arm of the couch!

Wait.....

Despite my new love for this very healthy sandwich, I'm allowing myself to have an "off" week.  Evan's been gone for more than a week now, but we still have a long haul to go before he's back on this side of the planet.  It's started to take its toll on the boys and I have definitely hit my turning point.  This happens every business trip.  Things will be going along just swimmingly, but there's just a day that comes when things just shift and suddenly it isn't quite as easy any longer.  Patience is shorter, tempers flare more easily, and things just get that much tougher.  Everyone in this house has reached that point now and it's hard to deal with.  Oh, and did I mention that Micah is potty training?  Yup, I feel like I always have pee on me somewhere.  Is that normal?

I haven't felt well, I'm missing my man, and we're all lonely.  And Micah won't stop fondling his penis all the time.  So, I am giving myself a pass this week.  If I gain weight, so be it.  I'm more interested in staying sane and if that means less exercise, more chocolate, and a binge on wine and episodes of Downton Abbey, so be it.  It will be OK.

We have also experienced our first crawling-related injury.

In the battle of Thomas' head vs. TV stand, I would say the TV stand probably won.  He nailed it pretty hard and that mark hasn't really faded much over the last day or so.  Poor kid's just fine, but he definitely gave himself a doozie of a first owie!
I suppose I'd better go check and make sure Micah hasn't dropped a deuce in his Pull-Up and decided to mess with it like Play-Doh. 

Yup, I'm going to need some more wine.

Project Life Tuesday - Week 22

Hello and welcome to Project Life Tuesday! This is my third year of doing Project Life and I have found it to be so beneficial to have this post planned every week because then I have a standing deadline to get my photos done!  Some weeks might have more photos than others, some weeks will be missing days, but the goal remains a simple one: To provide a glimpse of our life and preserve it.  This isn't meant to be stressful.  It's a wonderful way to simplify scrapbooking and memory keeping.

If you're looking for inspiration on what others are doing with their Project Life, you can check out my board on Pinterest and be sure to link up on The Mom Creative!

I'm kicking things off this week with a video that shows you all my inserts for the week plus a little sneak peek at what I'm working on for the back of my album.  Since I had three additional inserts this week, there was a lot to go through!  Check out the video below and then feel free to move along to the photos for more details!

(Click on any photo to see it larger.)

Left Page:

This page ended up coming across much more feminine than I usually do, but I'm really pleased with the result.  With so many inserts later in the week, I wanted to keep the photos pretty clean on the Design A pages, so I left them alone for the most part and let the journaling cards do the talking.

This letter I received from Evan's Grandma was so special to me.  I just had to include it!  I cut a piece of BH cardstock to 4x6 and used a Smash tag to make sure I knew to "Pull" it out to read the letter.  The "Mementos" sticker is on the outside of the page protector so it didn't mess with the paper.

Booyah!  This Cathy Z template highlights a really exciting moment for me! 

6x12 Insert:

I had two photos of Isaiah with my parents' new bunny (Betsy) that I just fell in love with.  They both cropped beautifully to 6x12 and then I put them both on a single 12x12 canvas and had it printed online at Persnickety Prints.  They do a GREAT job. 

Added some washi tape and Thickers for a title.

And then some more washi tape and a journaling sticker from Basic Grey to finish it off.

Design F:

I used this page protector to include all the rest of the photos from our Memorial Day festivities.  The technique of numbering the photos with the core kit stickers and writing all the journaling on a single 4x6 card worked really well here!

I had some horizontal photos I wanted to include in this set, so I cropped them to 3x2 so I could put two on a 3x4 vertical canvas. 

More of the same kind of thing on the flip side!

The bottom row of this side is dedicated to the little "incident" with my son and the toad.  He threw it at me.  He found it hilarious.  :)

Instagram Insert:

Based on an idea from Jessica at The Mom Creative, I used a coin collecting protector to showcase my favorite Instagrams from the month of May.  Somehow, things got goofy in the printing process and they didn't come out the way I cropped them.  Ideally, they should all be 2x2, but mine printed a bit smaller than that.  Oh well!

I did slice one column of squares off so I didn't have quite so many spots to fill.

Right Page:

Pretty simple on this page.  Photos, a journal card from a SMASH pad, and a Cathy Z template. 

There we go!  Week 22 in the books!

Have a great day!