the unperfected perfectionist

I can't believe that the very last "Thankful Thursday" is upon us!   A few short months ago, when I picked up my entire life and moved to a new state to turn a new leaf in my life...time seemed to move so incredibly slow as I was counting down the days before my next trip back "home".  Now that I am feeling more comfortable with my surroundings and have fallen into a routine here at my new "home", time seems to pass too quickly once again.  Today, on this last "Thankful Thursday" of 2010...I am thankful that I made it through the year.  2010 cast numerous changes and challenges onto myself and my family.  It seemed to be one of those years in which with each passing tribulation, another soon followed.  I now look back and realize everything that I encountered through the year made me stronger in some shape or form.  The first concern that came like a slap across the face was the announcement from my husband's employer that they could

Hello again!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  I had a fabulous, busy and fun filled Christmas back home with my family.  Before we headed back to Michigan, I had myself all worked up and overwhelmed that everything would not go as I had it planned in my mind.  I was worried about how Christmas morning would unfold being away from my own home and our normal routine in the past years.  This year, brought upon us an entirely new experience.  I was not quite sure what to expect. I was excited, anxious, and everything in between!  I am such a routine being that something like this is huge for me!  I, of course, wanted Christmas morning to be perfect for Emma and I was determined to pull it off.  It all started with figuring out how to sneak the few things that I bought prior to heading north, into the car without her seeing them. I had some things shipped and some shopping to do when we got back home.  Keep in mind that ,yes, I do drive an SUV, but, we also had our blac

Good Saturday afternoon to you!  It is now just one short week before Christmas! I finally got some Christmas shopping done this week but, I know already that the next seven days will be very busy and filled with baking, cleaning, last minute errands, laundry, packing, family, friends, laughter and the list goes on.  Through all of the busyness of the holiday season, I know how easy it is to get so caught up in the packed schedule and the spectrum of emotions that come along with being so busy and the demands that I place upon myself this time of year especially.  Last night, as I sat down for a moment to check my email, I opened one sent from my dad that gave me another one of those "put things into perspective" moments.  It is funny how these happen to land in my inbox at the absolute perfect times. (Thanks so much, Dad!  I love you so much!) I liked it so much that I thought I would pass it along to all of you as well.  I hope that you can take a quick moment away from y

Snowfall has such a quiet, serene, peacefulness to it as it falls gently blanketing the Earth.  Today, as we traveled through the wind, snow and ice for over 6 hours, I was feeling a bit tense and could not wait to arrive at my final destination...home.  Once I was home safely, and stepped out of the car to take in the peacefulness, my tension seemed to fade away.  I have just a few photos of our journey through the storm to share with you... So happy to arrive at my final destination safe and sound... I hope that you, too, were able to enjoy a wonderful weekend and maybe you were even lucky enough to experience the peacefulness of the snowfall. 

Here it is Thankful Thursday once again.  I can't believe how quickly December seems to be passing by.  I don't know about any of you but, I am not even close to being ready for Christmas yet!  I have not even started shopping yet!  I love this time of year and everything that comes along with it.  I will save that for another post.  I must stay focused... It seems so totally corny but, this week, I am so incredibly thankful for my fireplace of all things!  The weather has been very chilly here in the "deep" Ohio south.  I swear my blood has thinned since I moved here!  I am used to very cold winters but, I do not, whatsoever, like to be cold.  I am one of those people that are cold much of the time.  Cold hands and feet seem to be the norm for me until April rolls around. My mom tells me, "Cold hands, warm heart."  Of course, I try my best to fulfill this standard!  Our previous home didn't have a fireplace and I always said that I wanted a firepl

This morning, I woke up to find the beautiful snow softly falling down and blanketing the outdoors. I had been wanting to check out the creek that lies behind our house and capture some photos of the beauty it holds.  Well, today, I lucked out and my husband ventured out to take the photos for me!  I never knew that just past the backyard held such breathtaking nature.  I have been able to hear the creek rushing after recent rainfall and now, I have the pictures to unite it and complete the vision of this magnificence that is in my own backyard.  Beauty is something that we do not always need to search for...it often is lying right before us.  We just do not always take the time to notice. 

Oh my goodness...I did it again...very sorry for the lapse in posts!  Today, I am writing about something that I had hoped to post much sooner but, time slipped away from me again. Please forgive me!  There was a holiday and a trip back to Michigan in there too!  I believe that buys me at least a few days, right? I am so incredibly thankful for a tradition that I share with all of the girls in my family each year on the day before Thanksgiving. When I refer to "girls", I really mean all of the females in the family....this includes my mom, sister, sister-in-law, my daughter and my nieces.  Actually, there was one cute little boy who joined in the traditon this year too...my nephew, Jimmy. When you are two years old, it is still okay to hang with the girls for this festivity.  This special tradition is what we refer to as "Pie Day".  As Thanksgiving draws nearer each year, we begin to look forward to spending this day together.  On "Pie Day", we do w