Monday, June 24, 2013

Monday Morning Motivator

                                                    
   

For many of us, Monday morning is a tough one and darn it if it doesn't just keep coming around! I've decided to start my Mondays with my favorite cup of latte and a special motivator to get me in the right frame of mind. So grab your cup of coffee, get in a comfy seat and enjoy some Monday morning motivation...

                             " For I know the plans I have made for you, declares The Lord,
                                plans for your welfare and not evil. Plans for hope and future." 
                                  Jeremiah 29:11

                                          
No matter what I'm feeling like on this Monday morning, I know that God has planned great things for me. He has not intended to do me harm in anyway so I can rejoice and know that all is well! In this I can count my blessings and just breathe because He's already got it under control.  So today when you feel as if things are getting out of control or when you simply don't feel like it's what it should be remember God has a plan for you and it's a plan for GOOD not bad...it'll all work out as he planned!

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Day 1 of Vacation

The hot Georgia sunshine, cousins running together and uncontrollable laughter...it's priceless. Vacation is always a beautiful thing, but when you're able to spend quality time with family it's so much more. Here's a sneak peak...

                                                       

You know those times when you laugh so hard that your side hurts ( or if you've had multiple children- you tinkle just a little bit) ? That's what it's like when we get together in Georgia! It's so incredibly perfect!

                                                          
So after a day of sheer craziness tonight will be even better...it's hunting time!! We're off to find us some armadillos, possums, raccoons and deer... Wish us luck!
   


   
  

                 
   

Friday, June 21, 2013

Vacation here we come

So the family has been excited all week because we're headed to Georgia today for a week with cousins and family! Did I mention that my brother in law has four kids under the age of six?! Woohoo it's craziness  fun times :) Really though, we love heading south to visit the family. My brother in law runs his wife's family pecan farm with his father in law...1500 acres of boy heaven!


The next few days should be filled with all sorts of fun so get ready ... from hunting armadillos, getting the Polaris Rangers stuck in the mud, swimming (not in the lake or we might get eaten by a crocodile) and so much more!

What are some of your favorite vacation memories? Where do you like to go? Do tell...

Thursday, June 20, 2013

The ABC's of Me: final part V-Z

V is for Vacation: I absolutely love vacations  getting away (because we all know that vacations are more work than being being at home)! It means the world to me to get that needed change of pace and be away with the fam!
                                                         

W is for WINE: Ahhh, finally got to the good one! Ha ha ha!  Have to admit that I think a nice glass of Chardonnay is just what is needed at the end of a long day!


                                              

X is for example: As a teacher and mother this is so very important to me. I'm not always the stellar example I want to be but being a good example at work, home, boy's baseball games and with my friends is something I strive to be...

Y is for YoJoy: I love my froyo!! Yummy yummy, all kinds of frozen yogurt with a couple well placed pieces of candy strawberries :)  Actually, this heat and humidity has me craving a little froyo right about now! Meet me at YoJoy...
 
Z is for Zebra: What's black and white and red all over?  A Zebra with a sunburn!! Ha Ha Ha!!
 
Well I must say, I've really enjoyed sharing the ABC's of Me! It's really made me think about myself and some of the things that are special to me (I think I might need to work on "W" because my youngest did a project for Mother's Day in Kindergarten where the teacher asked each kid what their mom's favorite things were and he said mine was drinking wine with her best friend, Wendy- OOPS)! If you're already my friend, I hope you've learned something about me that you didn't know before and if you're just now getting to know me... I hope you like me :)  How about you share something with me that I don't already know?! Can't wait to learn more about you...




Tuesday, June 18, 2013

The ABC's of Me: part4 Q-U

Q is for quiet: Since I have one boy almost 14 and one 10 1/2 I've not experienced this in a loooong time! Ha ha ha! In those few quiet moments I find myself with a good book, my sewing machine, or HGTV! Honestly, the quiet seems to be a little odd- not sure I really like it anyway!

R is for Reading: I absolutely love to read! I'm not very picky- I'll read just about anything, but some of my favorite authors are James Patterson, Jodi Picoult, Neta Jackson and Harlan Coben. What do you like to read.

S is for sign language: I learned to sign many years ago when I was in high school (it wasn't THAT long ago), I started out signing songs in church and found that not only was it beautiful but I really enjoyed it. When I began working with special needs my knowledge of sign language became a very useful tool! I need a refresher and I'm no longer "fluent" but I love that this is my other language.

                                                       
 
T is for tattoo : Ok, so some of you might think I'm crazy, but this is on my bucket list. I've wanted a tattoo for so long but I'm a chicken! I've actually put it on my summer list...we'll see what happens!

                                                        

U is for under the sea : When I was 9 years old I became a junior open water diver and began scuba diving with my parents. My mother always said I was like a fish- loving the water a nd this experience has been one of my favorite things. Over the years I've dove in the Florida Keys, the Cayman Islands and many small places in between. I've seen all sorts of fish, dolphins and even a shark in open oceans and it's breathe-taking to say the least.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Monday Morning Motivator

                                                       
      

Monday mornings are a tough thing for many of us and yet they always come around! So I've decided to start my Mondays with my favorite latte and some special motivation to get me in the right frame of mind. Grab your cup, pull up a comfy seat and join me for my Monday Morning Motivation...


                "Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might." Ecclesiastes 9:10

                                                                                                                                                                      
                                            
So today's thought is that whatever you do, do it with all that you have in you regardless of the day or the situation. My mother always told me that I must be proud of whatever I put my name on so always do my best! So today I will try to go out and do the best in all that I do...you do the same and have a Happy Monday!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Baseball weekend in Cincinnati



If you have children in sports you understand that it's a love hate relationship...I love to watch my son play baseball, but I hate spending three days in the sun watching game after game!  Needless to say, that's what this weekend had been all about! So Friday morning at 7:45 am we headed out from Indianapolis to play a tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 This was our start...
Fortunately, it was not that my husband was speeding down the interstate (although I think he was) but we had a massive tire blowout! An hour and 3 police officers later we finally got all the lug nuts off and we're back on our way.

We were late for the first game, but we're guaranteed to play four games so no worries!

Sun blazing down on us for back to back games and we got crushed! Ugh! So a couple drinks later and we went to the Red's game where we knew we'd be happy! Have you ever taken 12 nine year old boys, their siblings and parents to a MLB game...hysterical!

Saturday at 1:30pm we're onto game #3. Boys are ready! Hyped up! Excited and ready to play ball...
 
Unfortunately, the other team was much more ready...lost 0-15. Next game in five hours at 8:30pm...give me strength!

Poor boys played with such heart, such joy and such determination...thank goodness for the parents; the diamonds sell alcohol! Ha Ha Ha!

As I tell my son, "As long as you do your best and have fun I don't care if you lose every game you play"...I do mean that, but for 9 year old boys it's hard to digest!


Thursday, June 13, 2013

A DIY kinda Day

You know all those really cool pins that you have saved from Pinterest? You know the ones that you swore you'd try? Me too!! I've had such good intentions but just haven't been as productive as I'd like to be so today I vowed to do at least two pinned items!!

First item: DIY Washer Bracelet
 Super easy and super cute!  All you need are some washers from the hardware store and some 3/4" ribbon.  I think I'm going to make more and color the washers! How fun!

Second item: DIY Washer Necklace 
Another super easy and super cute piece! All you need is a washer, fun scrapbook paper, diamond glaze and cord! Modge podge your scrapbook page onto the washer and with an exacto knife trim out the center. Then you'll cover the top with you diamond glaze and set it aside to dry! When dried attach a cord and any other accessories you like to embellish it. I can see many more of these!! 

So what kind of pins have you completed recently? Do you have a few you're dying to try? Let me know!!



Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The ABC's of Me: part2 F-J

Another day has come and gone, but I'm surviving! Hope life's treating you well. As I promised, here's more of the ABC's of Me:

F is for FlipFlops: I live in them! My hubby is always making fun of me because if it's not snowing I'm wearing flip flops...rain or shine! My tootsies like to breathe (plus there are so many adorable flip flops to wear!)

G is for Georgia: My brother in law and his family live in southern Georgia and it's one of our favorite places to go. My sister in law is the 5th generation to run her family's pecan farm (pronounced pee-can) and it's 1500 acres of boy heaven! Four wheelers, guns, armadillos, and so much more.

H is for Home Sweet Home: In 1997, my husband and I built our "starter" home and total I insist to him that it was our forever home! It's not huge, but it's OURS. Over the years I've tweaked it, added to it and put 900 square feet of deck in the back. We moved in on our first anniversary and have two boys in this home! Our home sweet home!
 
I is for ice cream: I love ice cream and clearly my poor body shows that I like it (and the wine ). Mint Chocolate Chip and I'm in heaven!! Yum yum!

J is for Jesus: My Lord and Savior and the reason I live. I am a proud Christian and I believe wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ has brought through things in my life I could never handle on my own. 







Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The ABC's of Me: part3 K-P

K is for Keurig: I love, love, love my Keurig coffee pot! I don't consider myself to be a coffee snob, but I love the fresh new cup every time ...plus I can change flavors with every cup if I want :) I'm not positive how I survived without it this long!!

L is for Lisa Marie Presley: Love Me Tender, Burning Love, Suspicious Minds and All Shook Up. Yes, my parents were Elvis Presley fans...hence my name, Lisa Marie!

M is for manatees: These gentle giants have been my favorite animals since I was young. I've gone to Florida since I was little and never get tired of watching these peaceful creatures...they're so ugly they're cute 
N is for Nook: At first I was skeptical because I like having the old fashioned paper copy in my hand, but I've been converted! I love being able to grab a book wherever I am as we'll as being able to have ANY book I want at my fingertips. Having my Nook (and the ability to access my Nook books) wherever I am has changed the way I read...and I LOVE it! 

O is for the ocean: The ocean is my favorite place to be! The beautiful blue-green water,the salt on my lips, sand between my toes and waves crashing on the shore. No matter what's going on in my world the ocean takes it all away...so explain why I live in the Midwest?!
 

P is for Pinterest: I will admit that I'm an addict here! I love crafts; sewing, scrap booking, decoration and partying so this is my go-to for ideas. There are so many ideas and so little time. Happy Pinning my friends!! 


The ABC's of Me: part1 A-E

Ok so lets do something fun (you don't really have a choice unless you stop reading now 😊) so we can get to know one another! The teacher in me has decided to go with the ABC's of me:

A is for Alma Mater: I am so proud to say I'm a Butler Bulldog! Go Dawgs!
B is for boys: I have two boys which make me crazy, smile, laugh, cry and a million other things in a matter of minutes! Cole is about to be 14 and going to be a freshman in high school next year (No, I'm definately not old enough for that!) and Caleb is 9 and going into 4th grade next year. They keep us hopping, but I wouldn't have it any other way -at least not most days 😛


C is for coffee: Gotta' have a cup before anyone begins messing with me! Love me a nice Starbucks Non-fat Skinny Vanilla Latte whenever the day is a little rough! Not an addiction just a nice treat!

D is for Dallas: Nope, not Texas! Golden retriever! Dallas is our 75 lb bundle of blonde fun! He's 4 1/2 years old and the best dog ever! Really he is!! 

  
E is for educate: Which is what I do! Three years ago I decided to go back to school and get a teaching degree-actually two of them! In December of this year I will finally be legal to teach Elementary Education and Special Education. For three years I worked in special education in the elementary, but this last year I switched to middle school and I can't believe how much I LOVE it! 

Now that you know a little more about me it's time to share...tell me about yourselves!




Organizing a houseful of BOYS

If you live with more than 1 man  boy you understand exactly what I'm saying... no matter what the age; there seems to be an abundance of boxers left on the floor, toilet seats left up and things not put back in there place!

Some days I take a que from my friends at Fraggle Rock and "dance my cares away-worries for another day. Let the music play" but sometimes it just has to be addressed!

My boys are 14, 9 and 40 so I try to keep things simple and capable for all three to accomplish :)
"We make a plan plan plan" (those Fraggles were smart creatures ;)

First I have a magnet board where I put the daily chores for each person:

(cute board is a little DIY project I did myself.  Painted an old picture frame and added a sheet of super thin metal from Lowes and after about $2 I had my own magnetic board)


Second I have some jobs that are labeled as "work for hire" which will have a payment attached to it if you choose to do it (really who wants to pick up the dog poo in the yard?!). Teenagers will usually work for money and this way I can get some things done by someone other than me for a change!

Next,  I've created a magazine holder for each of us; dad and I share one, and these are in the kitchen and easily accessible to all. This is where any important information goes; field trip info, class lists, sports schedules (because the calendar on the wall is never guaranteed to be right) and any other important information needed in the next month. At the end of each month they're cleaned out and the process begins again.

 

Lastly, I've made our family a "What's for Dinner" board so that everyone knows what's for dinner each night of the week. This is a great help for the grocery shopping each week as well as helping with all the "what's for dinner?" questions from the family! I've created cards with most of the foods we have for dinners plus a few that say "eat out" for those special meals! On the back of each card are the ingredients needed for the meal! 

 
These are things that seem to be working for now, but I'm always needing some more help! What are some ideas that you use to help your home run smoothly  smoother?! Please Share!!





Monday, June 10, 2013

Welcome World

I've finally decided to enter the world of blogging! Woohoo! Somedays I think that if I share my crazy  exciting life with others it won't seem so overwhelming. My hope is to share some stories, recipes, crafts and fun times with y'all ...

So sit back, grab a cup of joe (or if its past noon a glass of wine is better) and enjoy the show new friendship!

Love and Blessings~
Lisa Marie