New Day Every Day

The trees rustle in the wind, while the clocks gently tick tock the seconds away. In the corner, my three beasts are gently snoring and dreaming of milk bones and finally catching that mean mailman. Throughout the house, no noise comes from any rooms, except the occasional gently stirrings of those in deep slumber.

But I sit at my wooden table, calming tea and gardenia candle to my right, faithful puppy sidekick to my left, and let my surroundings bring me the peace I have been looking for throughout this week.

If you have children or are about to have a child, you know the importance of these quiet moments, usually in the wee morning or the late hours to reflect and catch your breath. For me, the early morning, when my thoughts race and the lists begin to form, it is the best time to appreciate Mother Earth.

Opening the shutters and letting in the gentle light of the sunrise brings me a joy I thought I once lost. Today, I opened a shutter to discover a rose bush my Mother planted for her Stella. She said that one day, Stella will take care of the beautiful roses and think of her Lita, knowing just how much she was loved and adored.

For my little girl, I will plant gardenias by the front door, so that each time she returns home, the familiar scent will fill her soul and remind her of love. Those few precious moments when our senses bring us happiness and love, those are the best feelings that briefly flutter in and out of our lives.

I guess what I am trying to say is, today, at the beginning of Lent, take the time to stop and smell the roses (or gardenias). Take a moment to relish at the beauty that surrounds you (even if it’s snow for our friends up north) and let it wrap your senses in love.

Six Places to Spring Clean Other Than the Basics

Spring brings a time of rebirth and fresh beginnings. For many, it also brings a time of making sure that the air conditioner filters are cleaned, the garage floor is seen again, and the coils behind the fridge aren’t dusty. However, the traditional spring-cleaning list should not be just certain hotspots. Life gets TOO crowded TOO quickly for us not to be cleaning other areas as well.

Check out some of the spots that could use some major loving and see just how much you become organized in your day-to-day adventures. Happy Cleaning!

1)   The Purse:

Try something new and DUMP IT ALL OUT. Use mesh bag or sandwich bags to keep receipts or small items. Each Sunday, check through your receipts. Do you need them? Might they serve a purpose later on? If they are for an important purchase, scan those babies into your hard drive and recycle the original.

2)   Email Inbox:

Many times we take FOREVER to find that email we needed. When did it become SO crowded with junk mail and advertisements? Create an email (using a different server like yahoo, aol, etc) that is JUST for advertisements, coupons, logins, email offers and other things of that nature. Use your actual day-to-day email for ONLY correspondence. Novelty idea huh?

3)   Nightstand:

Just how much junk is actually in there? IKEA bins and those tray organizers from the Dollar Store are quite handy. Use one small bin for meds or creams that you use nightly. Take a small bin for pens or notepads for midnight thoughts or do to lists. Try to keep that area clutter free. My best advice is to have a wicker (or any other type) of basket beside the bed. I dump all the things in there that need to make its way back to its ‘home’ and come Sunday night, the basket is emptied and neatness is restored. You’ll be surprised at what you find in there!

4)   Medicine Cabinet:

Have you check the expiration dates on the items in there? Did you know makeup products go bad? Yup. After a certain point, they no longer have the effectiveness of the product. Look through the cabinet. If you haven’t used it in over 2 years, toss it! I started to place the half unused items on my counter and made it my promise to use them before I go out and buy more!

5)   Trunk: 

I’m not talking about the caboose, but the literal trunk of your car. Do we REALLY need four sweaters back there and the six pairs of flip flops? You know who you are, South Florida girls! Make a beach bag full of the essentials (or if you’re up north, an essential overnight bag). After that, a basic toiletry bag comes in handy. Heck, you never know what you’ll get into and having that body splash, tweezers and q-tips might come in handy!

6)   Linen Closet: 

How many times have you found the fitted sheet but can’t find the other sheet and pillow cases to it? Take everything out of the linen closet and start fresh. Laundry ALL the sheets and fold everything. Place the fitted and flat sheets in one of the corresponding pillowcases and viola! You’ll always have a set together. Take inventory of towels that no longer are looking their best, cut them down and use them as rags around the house or garage. Group items like sprays, toilet paper or other bathroom stuff in baskets for easy access. I like using the Rubbermaid 3 drawers for things like medical aids, nails stuff, travel size items, etc. Use that label maker and never waste time (or money) again by buying things you already have at home!

 

What other areas do you think need to be cleaned out AT LEAST once a year to keep your sanity and your life organized?

Things NO ONE Tells You About Pregnancy

Seriously?

Over the past six (almost seven) months now, I have stumbled upon the myriad of things that I WISH someone would have told me would happen when this tiny, not so tiny, human started to grow inside of me. Why in the world wouldn't someone fill me in on the crazy changes that would occur?

WHY?!?!?!?!?!?

So let me tell you, I am sure that holding this precious little baby will completely change my life and make all these changes TOTALLY worth it, but for now, for right now in this very moment, I'm like WHOA!

For those of you who don't think kiddos are for you, thanks for swinging by and checking out the blog. This post is NOT for you. But, please feel free to giggle at the events that take place.

1) The Fred Flintstone Feet. Where the heck is water being stored and why in my feet? These days, I am not wearing my sexy high heels or hell, even my boat shoes. Wide flip flops and flats have taken over my shoe attire, SO much, that I wore flip flops to my girlfriend's wedding. Yeah. That TOTALLY happened. Crocs are my friend.

2) The Bathroom Situation. We all have a morning routine: usually shower, potty time, teeth, dress and out the door. Well, why didn't anyone tell me my body would revolt and say "Nope. Today, I will make you feel like you have the weight of the world in your bowel and make you feel heavier, just cause!"?!?!?! Why? Why people didn't you tell me this would happen. I've got one word for you, preggos: 

POPCORN. 

3) Vision Changes. Granted, my vision sucked before, but now, contacts don't go near me. While during the day and driving I can get away without glasses, it seems that in front of my computer or the TV, I mind as well be 90 years old and have coke bottle glasses. The doc won't let me change my prescription, because hormones mess with your vision. It could change, get better, get worse, go back...you know, basically do whatever it feels like.

4) Random Outbursts: Really? This means SO many different things. I've had random outburst of acne, random outbursts of tears, random outbursts of sadness, random outbursts of just anything you could imagine. I mean, I know the hormones are going crazy, but does my life get turned upside down? Am I even running it these days? Or, has a tiny human, occupying the ever growing lower portion of my body just playing tricks on me while giggling inside the womb? I think I've got a handful with what is to come....

5) Nesting: I read this portion the baby bible, aka "What To Expect When You're Expecting," and let me tell ya, it's SO true. I find myself starting a small project like cleaning out the entire fridge and shelves, or rearranging the linen closet with IKEA containers

(genius by the way), or finding pieces of furniture in my house and repurposing them! Oh and one piece of MAJOR advice while preggos:

DON'T SHOP FOR ANYTHING OVER $100 BY YOURSELF!!! YOU END UP WITH A 14FT CUSTOM WOODEN TABLE THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE TOO BIG FOR YOUR DINING ROOM!!!!

6) Love: No one could every explain just how much you can love a person that you've never met and never laid eyes on. There was no possible way to prepare me for the love that already fills my heart knowing the connection this tiny human and I have together, this bond that will last a lifetime. We hear about it. We talk about it. But, until you first feel that kick from within, a sign of your little one saying hi, no one could ever truly explain what real love feels like!

Well, that concludes today's rant of pregnancy. While I'm already in love with little Stella, her crankiness inside her cozy abdomen apartment may be driving her Momma & Daddy a little crazy. Oye, little girl, why is it always a party in there around 2 am?!?!?!?!?

What are some of the things YOU wish someone told you would happen during pregnancy???

Year End Reflections

10 Highlights- Accomplishments. Best Memories:

1.         Selling a $3 million deal at work

2.        Walking out of a building and feeling utterly free

3.        Paying off a debt and seeing “zero balance” on the screen

4.     Watching the reaction of my Mom & sisters about the latest addition to the family

5.       Seeing the joy of my nephew when he saw Mickey at his 1^st birthday party

6.      Telling Shrek that he was going to be a father

7.       Being able to provide for my family in a time of need without hesitation

8.      Meeting new friends and growing friendships

9.      Finding a niche at work to make my position irreplaceable!

10.Figuring out who I am and what I want out of life. It took 29 years, but I’m just about there!

8 Disappointments-Failures. Missed Opportunities:

1.         Continuing on a full load of classes and finishing up my degree

2.        Making the best out of my 2 months (total) in Rome & seeing what I wanted to see

3.        Learning as much as I could at work & gaining the workforce knowledge

4.     Taking that promotion with a big management company

5.       Having the chance to teach Sunday school to the kiddos

6.      Valuable lessons on why a “perfect” marriage does not exist

7.       Not listening enough to my inner self about the truth

8.      Wasting my time on those who aren’t worth it

3 Game Changers- Unexpected Events That Shifted My Priorities:

1.         Ending an era of  “Stout” & learning to be independent again

2.        Finding myself again with Shrek and thinking “this is right”

3.        Hearing the doctor say: “You’re pregnant!”

3 Things I Focused On- What I Put Most of My Time Into:

1.         Fixing up my new house

2.        Mapping out paying off ALL debts

3.        Finding a “forever” job

3 Things I Forgot- What I Didn’t Get Around To:

1.         Hitting the gym as much

2.        Finishing my master bathroom (sooooo not my fault)

3.        Scanning in ALL of that paperwork to my cloud

Life has given me such a lesson this year in letting things "waddle waddle" and just roll off my back. Like the Buddhist believe (and the OHM on my back), everything is created, nurtured and destroyed. Therefore, we must strive to keep happiness, rejoice that sadness will dissipate, and recall that a storm will always run out of rain.

Take joy in 2015 and the new adventures that we will encounter. For me, I know that 2015 will be the year that my life completely changes, and my goals in life now shift towards my baby girl, who I get to meet in April. May the roads be peaceful and full of thrills for you all.

Any thoughts and goals for 2015 on your end? 

Thursty (ok so it's not) Thursday

Jingle bells, jingle bells, roudoulph  laid a what?!?!?!?!

Usually those holiday sounds are simply a back tune to the delicious holiday fizzy’s that cloud my brain and accompany all the great food. However, as Baby K approaches, there are no alcoholic drinks entering THIS body.

Thursty Thursday came and went, but hey, being preggos makes you a bit lazy! The awesome ladies Kristen of Hopelessly Ever After & Jess of Livin On Sweet Tea are co-hosting their fav drinks. And since I can't readily partake right now, I'm saving those bad boys for the months ahead when I'll really need them!!

So, still trying to keep it festive and cheerful (and baby friendly), I have found the wonderful world of “mocktails”. Granted, there’s no extra BUZZ floating around when I drink these, but I’m on Cloud 9 anyways these days, and that’s enough to keep my party going for a while.

So, mix, drink and ACTUALLY remember all the funny holiday nonsense & share your drinks! Cheers!!!