Oh, How Pinteresting

  As some of you may remember, I have an addiction to Pinterest!  You can read all about my addiction here.  My obsession has definitely grown.  I actually did three (that's right, THREE!) projects last night alone.  And I can't wait until Lent is over so I can make all of the new delicious dessert recipes I've found!  

  Hey, don't judge me!  I'm sure you either spend hours on Pinterest yourself or have yet to be introduced to this crazy, wonderful world of pinning.  Let me know if you want an invite!

  And now, here are my top ten (in no particular order) pins on Pinterest this week...

    1.  I absolutely LOVE everything about this dress!  The color, the fit, how classy it looks!  It's perfect for summer! Also completely out of my budget (I think it cost close to $1,200)!

pinned from tumblr.com

    2.  This was an inspiration for one of my projects last night.

pinned from Luxe Finds

    3.  This quote goes perfectly with how I've been feeling lately.

pinned form Jenny and Duke

   

    4.  This green tea with oranges and mint is supposed to be a metabolism booster.  I have some in my fridge right now!  It tastes yummy but don't know if it's doing too much for my metabolism.  Hey, its worth a shot.

pinned from Amy Newnostalgia

   
    5. True story.

pinned from Indulgy.com

 
    6.  Cookies for breakfast? Yes please! (after Lent of course!)

    7.  Peanut butter chocolate cheese cake.  Heaven!

pinned from Easy Baked

 
    8. I cannot wait to try this slow cooker buffalo chicken mac and cheese.

pinned from Snappy Gourmet

    

    9.  It's what I do...

pinned from someecards.com

    10.  I will save the story of how my hot handsome husband and I met for another day (maybe our anniversary) but just know it was fate.  Our relationship came out of nowhere and believe me I NEVER imagined in a million years that I would be a military wife.  But I would not have it any other way.

Are you as addicted to Pinterest as me?

What are your favorite pins from this week? 

High Five for Friday

  I have recently linked up with some other bloggers at From My Grey Desk for High Five for Friday.  It's a fun weekly post about my five favorite things from the past week.  I think it will help me remember how amazing my life truly is, even when times get tough.

    1.  My hot handsome husband is home and our little family is complete ( for a few more weeks).

    2.  My new favorite sandwich. It's like a party in my mouth of all my favorite flavors.

Found on Pinterest, originally from The Tumblr Gym 

    3.  Who doesn't love this weather?!

    4.  Cheyenne is ALWAYS on any favorite things list. And her already humorous personality has been extra hilarious this week since her daddy is home.

    5.  And last but not least, I am finally back on schedule with my To Do List. Yay!

Look at all those things crossed off! 

Happy Friday!

Hope everyone has a FANTASTIC weekend!

40 Days and 40 Nights

  I love Easter. I love everything about it. The bright colors, the butterflies, the baby chics and ducks, the start of spring and new beginnings. But most of all I LOVE Easter candy. All of it! Cadbury mini eggs, Cadbury creme eggs, jelly beans and peeps (especially when I dip them in chocolate)!

My Love

  
  I am that girl who starts purchasing Easter candy the second it hits the shelf (in Januray). I do what I can to keep Cadbury in business. I love my sweets! Which makes my next statement VERY HARD...
 
  I am giving up all sweets for Lent. This means no cookies, candy, chocolate or baked goodness. I have a serious sweet tooth (like I require something sweet EVERY single day) and this seems like the perfect time to try to tame my addiction.

just a small corner of my emergency baking center in my pantry

it's so hard to say goodbye

 
  I was raised Catholic. I went to Catholic school from kindergarten to 12th grade. But I have struggled with religion since my Mom passed away. I have not given anything up for Lent since high school. And the last thing I remember giving up was chocolate and I made it the entire 40 days! Go me!

  I guess what I am trying to say is that I am not doing this for religious reasons or beliefs.  I am deciding to cut sweets from my diet to help me shed some pounds and this is just perfect timing.

  My hot handsome husband thinks I should make a movie similiar to "40 Days and 40 Nights" except instead of giving up sex like Josh Hartnett I will be giving up sweets!  He thinks its going to be pretty hilarious because he knows how bad my cravings for baked goods can be sometimes.  One night (10 PM) I came home from work and decided to whip together some cookie dough because I NEEDED something baked so very bad.

  Today is Day 1 and already my hot handsome husband is questioning how I am going to survive.  Here is how our conversation went:

Hubby (while watching the Food Network): This show makes me want a cheese steak for dinner.

            Me: We'll never lose any weight if we eat cheesecake! Wait, I mean...

           Hubby:  Yes baby, cheesecake.  And this is only day 1.


  This is going to be a very interesting 40 days!  Oh and just so you know, I will still be stocking up on my  Easter candy.  I will just be storing it in the freezer!

  What are you giving up for Lent?

Cadbury, Chores and Cajun. Oh my!

  My hot handsome husband is home! Yay!

  It is so nice to be back into a routine.  It's even nicer to be back into my housewife routine.  Call me old fashion but I think my husband deserves to come home to a clean house and a homemade meal.  Don't tell him but most days I don't mind doing it (although, it is nice when he does help around the house).  Like tonight, he cleaned up our mess of a kitchen after dinner (when I make new recipes I tend to turn our kitchen into a disaster scene).  Brownie points for him!

  My hot handsome husband works hard to provide for our family.  On the other hand, I only have a per diem (as needed) job so I don't always work very often.  Which means most times my pay checks are a joke. Therefore, to pull my weight in this family, I fully embrace my inner domestic goddess.  I am a military wife first and a nurse second.

  I spent my day dusting, vacuuming, doing laundry and picking up the various things laying around the house all while eating a jumbo sized bag of cadbury mini eggs (more on this in tomorrow's blog).  Exciting, I know!

  Tonight I made an amazing dinner in honor of Fat Tuesday!  I used this Cajun Pasta recipe from Skinny Taste except I used shrimp instead of chicken.  It was delicious!

Picture this dish with shrimp!

    It's time for me to get back to spending time with my hot handsome husband and my fur baby, drinking my glass of Spatlese and finishing off my bag of cadbury mini eggs.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Fat Tuesday!

My Week in Review

  Here is the cliff notes version of my week:

   Sunday: Super productive! Clean house = happy life! Pre-Mardi Gras celebration with some great girls!

  Monday:  My Nana passed away.  Made me miss my Mom. Lots of support from my hot handsome husband and friends.

My Nana at Our Wedding last May

   
  Tuesday: Valentine's Day.  Hubby still not home. First ever full blown anxiety attack...very scary! Lunch with the beautiful Ayers girls. Received two dozen Gerber Daisies (my favorite) and a sweet note from my hot handsome husband. Dinner with my dear friend Mandi. Lots of love!

  Wednesday:  Arrived in Rhode Island.  Spent time with my Dad and his doggies.  Went to my Nana's wake.  I still cannot get over how grown up my not so little cousin Brooke is.  She is 11 (almost 12) but looks about 15! Where did the time go?!

Brooke & Katryna at Our Wedding
(Neither one of them look like this anymore. They are both little adults!)

  Thursday:  Visited mt Mom at the cemetery (where I feel most at peace). Had lots of horrible flashbacks from my Mom's funeral (which has been the most traumatic day of my life to date) at my Nana's funeral.  My cousin Britt gave the most amazing eulogy, I am so proud of her.  Like beyond words proud!  It was great to see all my cousins (I miss them so very much!). Made promise to myself to touch base with my cousins more often. Spent time with Dad and Debbie.  Ended my visit to RI with dinner with my other half, Stace.

  Friday:  Goodbye Rhode Island.  Hello Charleston!  Picked up my beautiful fur baby.  Mentally and emotionally exhausted.  Spent the rest of the day on the couch, cuddling and catching up with my DVR. Bed by 8:30 PM.

  Saturday:  Still trying to find my motivation.  Need to unpack, clean up and go grocery shopping. Hot handsome husband comes home tonight! Yay!

  Looking forward to starting a new week.  Need to get back to my workout routine.  Ready for some positive energy in my life.

  Happy Weekend Everyone!

Crazy Chaotic Chic

  Is February over yet?!

  I feel like I am going no where fast this month.  I have been running around like a crazy woman yet I haven't accomplished anything.  I haven't even set my February goal yet.  And just so you know, I met my January goal.  I gave a compliment to someone each and every day.  I tell Cheyenne that she is the most beautiful puppy in the whole world on a daily basis so that covers the days that I didn't have any human interaction.

  My life and my house is a chaotic mess.  So I think my February goal should be to restore some order back into my life, starting tomorrow of course since it is Sunday after all.

  But enough about my chaos and stress!  Here are some pictures from my trip to Disney:

Our 1st (but not our only) picture in front of Cinderella's Castle

Epcot

My girl Ariel

My BFF Tinkerbell

Enjoying an adult beverage in Epcot

Cannata and I representing Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (it's what the plaque says)

My Disney Boyfriend (the only cute guy who works in Disney!)

Isn't it magical?

  Disney, as usual, was AMAZING!  I had an awesome time with some awesome ladies.  It was great being able to act like a big kid for a few days. I will admit though, that this vacation was completely exhausting and by the second to last day I was ready to rip my spine out of my back.

  Does this mean I am getting too old for Disney?  Or maybe I just can't cram so much into such a short time span because I will NEVER be too old for Disney!

  I hope ya'll are enjoying your weekend. I am looking forward to a much more positive and productive week. Oh and I promise to make more time for blogging (because I have been a major slacker!)

Happy Weekend!

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

  There comes a time in every military wife's life that she has a mental breakdown (or two).  It is usually when her husband is deployed or gone for a longer period of time.  It can also happens when the Air Force ruins any plans for the umpteenth time in a row.  It can occur after a week or a month.  It can be a small breakdown or a large one.  I am long overdue for my mental breakdown!

  I was almost at my max stress level prior to my trip to Disney (I will write a happier blog about my trip tomorrow).  I had a thousand things going on at once and NO TIME to do any of it.  Nothing was going my way. Then I had a few days away at the "Happiest Place on Earth" and forgot all about my stress.

  Now here I am, back home and my list of 1,258 things to do is still sitting here waiting for me. That's not an exaggeration at all, I counted! And so today is my day for my mental breakdown.

  Here is my short version: Everything and everyone is irritating me today. Lots of feeling of hurt and disappointment towards some people in my life have resurfaced.  I have a strong sense of emptiness, I want my Mom.  I want my husband home.  I hate the Air Force (only military wives are allowed to make this statement.)  I tried to upgrade my phone but of course they are all out of the iPhone today. And the frosting on the cake, I locked myself out of the house.

  I was already crying on my way home from Verizon, partly because I needed the iPhone to make my day better but mostly because my stress level has far surpassed my max.  I came home to realize that my husband did not have a set of house keys on his key ring (I drove his truck), which means I could not get into our house.  I barely had any battery left on my phone because I thought I was coming home with a new phone so any phone call I made needed to be quick and to the point.

  Seriously?! Can anything go my way today?

  Cue mental breakdown...

  I am ready for something good (anything good).  If you have any good news PLEASE call me!  I need some positive energy sent my way.

  For now, you can find me cuddled on my couch with ice cream and Cheyenne praying for the strength to make tomorrow a better day.