In a Twilight Zone

Lately I've been feeling very unorganized and in my attempts to get organized I find myself stressed out!  The perfectionist in me knows that I have got to get it together, but the "so out of order" mama that I have become is fighting against it.  I need order for my Emmie and most importantly for myself.  If I don't have some order everything in my world suffers. Unfortunately, I have become very dependent on a calendar and a "things to do" list.

I have read about people like this...you know the kind that need alarms on their phones, their ipads, and sticky notes on their mirrors.  I have been trying very hard not to become one of those, but I a, headed that way quickly.  The thing that has surprised me most is that it's not just one area of life, it's everything.  This past Sunday I stayed up until 11:30 finishing up so much needed "housework", cleaning out the microwave and refrigerators.  Along the way I found other things that needed to be addressed, so naturally I made little sticky notes and left them on my bathroom mirror and the microwave.

As I was turning in for the evening my guy comes in as says "what's going on, am I in a twilight zone?  I feel like I'm on The Color Purple, you have notes everywhere."  I couldn't help but laugh and then I realized that's it!  When I don't have it all together that's what it feels like, a twilight zone.  Leave it to my guy to put a finger on it!  Here's to coming out of the trance.  ;)

 

 

Sunday Too Soon!

I can't believe that it is Sunday again already!  This past week has flown by, everyday I have been frantically trying to finish my To Do List for the party and I really don't remember much else.  At some point I ate, bathed, and slept but hosting parties is stressful. Yesterday was Emerson's Fairytale First Year Party and we had lots of fun.  Now that I have come down off of the high of party planning and entertaining I am exhausted!  Thankfully my parents are here to keep my girl entertained while I do nothing but lay in my bed and clean out my DVR.  I haven't gone through all of the pictures from the party but here's a sneak peek at all of the fun.

She was running on fumes

Way past her nap time!

Proud dad...she was clinging tight to avoid her nap!

To end the weekend on a high note tonight we are grilling salmon from Guy Fieri's Grilled Salmon Gyros and going to RELAX.  My salmon has been marinating for a few hours and it's just the easiest way to put a meal on the table that tastes good and doesn't require a lot of clean up.  I don't make it into gyros but I do make the tomato and onions and I usually pair it with a salad and baked potato.  It really is the perfect summer meal and something that everyone will enjoy...plus it looks really fancy. ;) I hope you have had a wonderful weekend...Monday is less than 12 hours away!  

Let Freedom Ring

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

 -Dr. Martin Luther King 

No News Would Have Been Good News!

Well today is Monday and I'm hoping that this week will be a little less eventful than last.  Last week I was glued to the tv trying to keep up with the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman trial, Aaron Hernandez's arrest, Paula Deen's N-word fallout, the Boston bomber's indictment and the Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage and voting rights. All of which made for an interesting news week.  Of course there were other news stories that were not as highly publicized but these kept Twitter and Facebook abuzz!  For some reason I feel like the news is always more interesting in the summer.  Maybe because I can actually slow down and watch it...who knows!  I am so not a news junkie, I don't even watch the nightly news but I have been all on www.ajc.com for the latest on Paula Deen and www.boston.com for everything Aaron Hernandez.

souce: www.tmz.com

Source: www.businessinsider.com

On top of the crazy news week we celebrated our 5th anniversary on Friday.  To make it extra exciting we spent the afternoon in the pediatricians office with a reaction from the 12 month MMR vaccine.  So much for "celebrating"! ;)  It's always exciting when real life trumps the fairy tale you wish for!  Now that we have beat the 101.7 fever and now have the rash that rounds out the reaction, I can say this we should be better very soon.  Better in that my parents arrive tomorrow and Emerson's Fairytale First Year (1st Birthday) Party is on Saturday!  Once all of the family leaves town and the floors are re-mopped...I can kick up my feet and really relax because the grandparents are here on Emerson Duty!  Maybe Chris and I can sneak away and go to dinner or something.  Last year we had a 3 week old baby that we were afraid to leave, what a difference a year makes.

Sweaty nose from her fever breaking...poor thing was miserable!

My contribution to the economy via Walgreens! ;)

So here's to an exciting but quiet Fourth of July week!  I just realized that today is July 1st.... I am begging that no one do anything foolish this week.  We have had enough foolery in June...just ask the NFL!  

Just because it has been an AMAZING 5 years!  

   

Mod About You

 I absolutely love this color for the summer!  It's OPI's Mod About You.  Two years ago, I went in for a routine pedi and the girl recommended this color.  She told me that it was very popular, but I had never seen it.  I am the girl that finds a color that I love and sticks to it!  So I was probably still stuck on some neon orange color and needed something new. I immediately was a fan and bought a bottle on my way out of the salon.  Like all things that you fall in love with, when I went in for my next pedi she told me that the color was being discontinued so I bought 2 bottles.  Needless to say somebody must have made some noise because here it is 2 years later it's still here.  

It is my summer staple, as a matter of fact I was in the nail salon when I realized I was in labor!  I had gone in to get a polish change the afternoon before I was scheduled to be induced.  While I was sitting there I realized that I wasn't feeling too hot and my mom and I started timing my contractions.  Thankfully,  I got my toes right before delivery because I don't remember much from delivery (other than the pain) but I specifically remember the baby's nurse ask my mom about my polish.  I was delirious from drugs and exhausted from pushing, but I heard her say my toes were cute! ;)

I apologize for the cloudy picture...I was trying to take it with E and the Ipad in one hand and the nail polish in the other.

For Real!

I don't know how long it has been since I last posted but this time I am FOR REAL about posting consistently!  My motivation is to document this little nuggets growth, and unfortunately I've already missed this first year.  So from here...I am so serious about keeping up.  Before I really didn't know what to blog about.  I knew I wasn't a fashion blogger, I mean I like to look cute but shopping is just not what I love.  I wasn't a mom before, but I really enjoyed reading about other people's children.  I wanted to motivate people and share my love for Jesus, but it was a little too intense without something else to balance it out.  Now my life is a lot of different stuff all at once and I'm trying to balance it all and not lose myself.  I want to be authentic to who I feel I am everyday when I share my heart and my thoughts here!  So fashionista, interior designer, momma, chef, Jesus lover, etc are all apart of who I am and on any given day one may shine brighter than the other.    I guess that is what motherhood is... a balancing act.  All of the things that I used to have under control are so far down on my priority list because my day starts with a cry as an alarm clock and a bed time story signals the end of the day.  But I am still giving everyday 110%!  I am still serious about keeping my house clean, my marriage happy, enjoying my family and friends, and the newest thing on my plate raising a heck of a little lady!

The thing is, I am so passionate about living my life well but it doesn't always translate well into my day to day.  So I am going to keep it REAL here, so prepare it won't always be glittery but hopefully it will be encouraging! ;)  

You Put the Devil Out, But Did You Let Him Leave His Bags?

You got out of a bad relationship because it was bad, but you are still resentful and angry.
You got out of financial debt, but you still can't control the desire to spend on frivolous things.
You got out of a bad habit or addiction, but you still long to try it just one more time.
You said, I forgive you, but you can't seem to forget and have peace.
You told your unequally yoked mate that it was over, but you still continue to call.
You got out of the horribly oppressive job, but you are still trying to sabotage the company after you left.
You cut off the affair with that married man/woman, but you still lust after him/her.
You broke off your relationship with that hurtful, abusive person but you are suspicious and distrusting of every new person you meet.
You decided to let go of the past hurts from growing up in an unstable environment, yet you believe you are unworthy of love from others and you refuse to get attached to anyone.

When you put the devil out, please make sure he takes his bags!!!!