11 little secrets about Your's Truly..

With the newest followers from my favorite things giveaway I am hosting,
{don't worry, you can still get in on the action here}
I thought you may want to get to know me a little bit better...

I mean sure, you stopped by because you want to win the loot,
and you probably really don't care too much about me or this blog!

BUT...
that is about to change there friends, because today I will reveal 11 little secrets about muah!

1.  I was a cheerleader in high school.  Not too many people believe me on this one! I am not sure if I should take offense or not!  What? I am not bright and bubbly anymore?

2.  I constantly forget how old I am.  Unless of course it is January and the only reason is that I will have just celebrated a birthday.  Seriously, I always have to turn to my husband and ask, "How old am I?"  Sad, I know!

3.  I have a really yucky habit.. a few actually.  The first,  I take a cup of water to bed every single night.  I usually only drink about 1 drink or said water, and by the end of the week, I may have a total of 5-6 mostly full glasses on my night stand.  {drives my husband crazy!}

4.  Yucky habit number 2.. I shed!  I know right, but let me explain.  I have very thick hair and with each shower I seriously lose enough hair to make a wig!  So, I put the hair on the shower wall.  And after a while, my shower wall starts to look like it is growing hair!  Impressive I know, and my husband totally loves it!  NOT!  Let me tell you why I choose the shower wall.  Because it clogs the drain if I don't!  See, I am helping my husband and the plumbing he will have to do.  Don't worry, I eventually clean it up and all is ok in the world. 

5.  I have a potty mouth!  I try to work on it!  I know it is not attractive but it's me!  So there!

6.  I am totally and utterly addicted to Dr. Pepper.  And I am currently trying to give it up or even just cut back!  I seriously think I may need a support group for this!  Yep, it's that bad.  And the fluff on my tummy can attest!

7.  I have weird allergies!  Banana's, avocado's, kiwi, melons, and NSAID's to name a few!  My lips swell up, I can't breathe.  It's rather embarrassing! 

8.  I hate popcorn!  My daughter knows this and just can't understand it.  She asks me at least once a week, "Mom, do you still hate popcorn?"  Yes child!  I hate popcorn!  I blame the the dorms from college and the fact that we lived off of burnt popcorn for 2 semesters!

9.  I have a terrible fear of flying.  Like for reals, it takes a few doses of xanax to even get me on the plane!  The last trip I took, I was bawling like a baby for months before the flight, all in anticipation of the plane ride.

10.  I play bunco once a month.  Everyone laughs when they hear this.  Bunco is not just for the ole' ladies.  We have a ton of fun, and drink way too much wine and beer, and my group is a blast!

11.  I am a Gorilla!  Let me explain.  My college's mascot is a Gorilla.  I think {and I could be wrong} that we are the only Gorillas in the United States.  Fact check please!


There you have it!  Thanks for stopping by my blog and I hope we can all be friends!

My favorite things giveaway

In celebration of January and the fact that it is my birthday month,
{yes, I consider the whole month of January mine}
I am thrilled to share the love with all of you!!!

There are some fab contributors for this giveaway.  Some of my favorite items, shops, blogs! 
I could ramble on and on, but instead, I will just get to business.

One lucky ducky will win all of these prizes!

 

This mustard yellow felt headband from much love, Illy

blog   |  twitter  |  shop



This rockin mustache ring from metal marvels

facebook  |  twitter  |  shop
 

This chunky cowl in oatmeal from the sweet flutter by hannah

blog  |  facebook  |  twitter

This sweet orange lip balm from my favorite Nourish Organics

facebook  |  twitter  |  shop

Your choice of one of these super adorbs note card sets from Pen and Paint {an $8.00 value set}

blog  |  facebook  |  twitter

Your choice of 1 Phone case by CalisCases

I'm in love with this one
twitter  |  shop

And I am throwing in a Starbucks Gift card valued at $15.00, because what does a night nurse love more than coffee??



via

How does one win all this loot?

First, must be a follower of this blog {mandatory}...!

Additional entries for each of the following, leave a comment for each that you do!
Head on over to Cali's twitter and become a follower.
Become a fan of Pen and Paint on facebook
Become a fan of Nourish Organics on facebook
Follow Hannah on twitter
Follow Metal Marvels on twitter
Follow Much love, Illy on twitter
Share this giveaway via facebook
Share this giveaway via twitter


For a total of 9 entries!  This giveaway will run until Kickoff!  of the super-bowl game that is!
 

What are you waiting for?? Ready, Set, Go!

love never fails...

I consider myself lucky to witness so much love present in my family.
From my own parents who have been married 30 years,
and between both sets of my grandparents, collectively they have been married 123 years.

And on Sunday we celebrated 70 of those years with my Grandma and Grandpa.
70 years of marriage!
Definitely something to be proud of.
A true testimony to showing that love never fails.

70 years ago, my grandmother says, "I saw him across the room, and I instantly fell in love."
She goes on to say, "The priest said our marriage would never last."
Grandpa chimes in, "I guess we showed him." 

Indeed they did, they showed everyone, their family and friends, what true love means.
10 kids and 110 grand kids later, love surrounds each and everyone of us.

 
My grandmother wore an exact replica of her wedding dress, and she still looks as beautiful as ever.

 me and my grandma

 my mommy and her momma...

 my family and my grandparents

 my brother and his bride

my sweetie

and my love, I can only hope that we can share everything that my grandparent have.

The news even came to celebrate.

They interviewed my grandparents,

and it was the sweetest news segment!

You can check it out here

Happy Monday friends!

Trying to keep it clean here...

Many of you asked about my "loose cleaning schedule" that I mentioned here...!

While it is still a work in progress, I will share the rough draft with you today friends.

I have bumped into several different cleaning schedules via pinterest,
and while they all would work!
I needed something a little more personalized for me and my house and my schedule.
So I tried to think of those things that I do {or let's face it, should do} everyday,
and develop a system that would get me looking like the perfect housewife,
or at least keep my house tidy!
and one that wouldn't take up most of my day as well.

I broke it up into two different sections..

Those things that I need to do every day, which I call my Dailies
{is that a word? like the plural of daily??}
and then specific cleaning duties assigned to each day of the week.

Sure, I am positive I forgot something, and as I get going with my cleaning schedule and see that something needs to be added, I will throw it in...  that's the beauty with it being my schedule and that it is flexible!


Dailies // cleaning duties that are to be done everyday!

with scheduled cleaning on specific days...

I couldn't help myself with these cute papers from pic monkey

Swing days include all those fun things like cleaning the fridge, organizing closets,
cleaning base boards, etc.

And my good old fashioned floor scrubbing includes me + hands and knees + bucket of hot water and vinegar = good times friends!  {It only smells like a pickle until it dries, don't worry}

There you have it!
Let's see if I can stick to this routine and keep a clean home!  I'll let you know how it goes!  Any of you follow a schedule that works for you?  See anything I am forgetting??

Have a lovely Thursday!  and Keep it clean!

It's like riding a bike...

This weekend, we were blessed with some lovely weather.
And our little family took full advantage of the sunshine and fresh air.
Presley was finally able to take her new set of wheels on a test drive.

 

This girl, much like her momma, is a thinker.  Has to make a plan, see the exits, think it through.  Before we even took off, she asked, "Exactly where are we going?"  "To the sidewalk?"  "Are we crossing the road?"  "Daddy, you will be with me, Right?"

Something that comes second nature to us, Riding a bike!, was such a task for my little 3 year old.  I loved watching her trying to figure this out.  She wanted to be good at it and take off, but she just couldn't get it down at first.  The "big kids" were riding along, on what must seem to her like huge bikes, with no training wheels, and she was working hard to join them.  And become a part of the big kid bike club.  

 

But that didn't come without trial and error and a lot of frustration.  "I can't do this!"

Continual encouragement and coaching and cheering, "YAY, Presley!"  "You did it!"

A cycle of a little success, followed by frustration.

Her and daddy kept at it, she was determined to get this right.

And by the end of the ride, she was mostly doing it all on her own.  She was shouting "Look at me, I'm a big girl!"  So proud of herself, and you could tell, something as simple as riding a bike, is such a big deal to a 3 year old.