the unperfected perfectionist

Is it really Thursday already?? I was just looking at my calendar and realizing that there are only 17 days left before Christmas!  Oh my goodness!  Confession time...I have not even started Christmas shopping yet.  Yes, you heard me correctly!  Not one single item purchased as of today.  This makes my chest feel a bit of tightness as I take a deep breath to calm myself. For some odd reason, I just don't feel all caught up in the Christmas spirit this year.  We have our tree up and decorated beautifully but, sadly enough, nothing else is out besides for some Christmas kitchen towels.  If you know me at all, you may be thinking that this is very odd. It really is.  I usually have decorations all over my house and it is always cozy and festive.  My best explanation as I think about this, seems to be that since we moved, I have felt like nothing is where it should be or I go looking for something and can recall seeing it in our house in O...

Good Tuesday morning!   So, obviously, the last week completely flew by with me writing only one post!  My only explanation is that I had one of those really busy weeks again.  The type of week in which it seemed that I had something going everyday and not enough down time to sit down and post.  I had plenty of thoughts to post.  My timing was just off.  I usually like to write in the mornings because once the day gets going, it is over before I know it.  I am so easily distracted that the quiet of the morning creates the best writing time for me.  My mind is fresh, I am usually somewhat rested and you can see the general idea of how I function.   Last week was a busy week but, such a good week, as a whole.  I went with my friend, and old neighbor (she is not old, she just moved on me), Erin, to the gym and we signed ourselves up for memberships. We are excited about getting back into the fitness program.  I can spea...

Hello Friends! Thanksgiving has now come and gone.  I enjoyed another wonderful Pie Day with the ladies in the family last week.  I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures.  I always take pictures!  The whole pie making process with all of us has become so efficient that it was done and over before I even got a chance to snap a photo.  As always, we had lots of laughs and I ate too many of the extra little pie crust pieces sprinkled with cinnamon sugar that we always bake. You would never believe that we enjoyed wet burritos and frozen margaritas at my sister's house that evening. Surprising right??The evening included the guys in the family as well.  Again, so much laughter was involved.   Thanksgiving morning arrived and I had these great visions of sitting down with a cup of coffee and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with Emma.  Well, this is where diabetes showed its ugly face.  I checked my blood glucose, as I ...

Good Afternoon!   I hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful weekend.  I had a very nice weekend.  Friday night, we met my sister, brother-in-law and nephew for dinner at one of our favorite Mexican food establishments.  It was a perfect way to enter into the weekend. After recently hearing how calorie laden Mexican food is, not to mention a single frozen margarita, I have decided that I must limit my all time favorite, to once a week. Sniff, sniff. But, it is so yummy!  It is not a wonder that my daughter is a Mexican food lover too, as I ate it regularly when I was pregnant with her.  I have a crazy weakness for chips and salsa!  Keep the focus, Jen.  This post is not about Mexican food. After dinner, our families each headed home and my sister picked me up for a trip to Meijer for some shopping for our upcoming Thanksgiving dinner.  She kept telling me that she had yet to go and did not, whatsoever, want to shop on Saturday.  I...

After much thought and frustration after my sharing of the 30 Day Mom Challenge, I have decided to re-post it so that you can actually see it. A  novel idea, right?   No, I was not frustrated with the challenge, just the fact that I offered up something that I thought was really great and in turn, it was lacking greatly because you could not even see it!   Hopefully, now you will be able to view it without the use of a magnifying glass and attempt the challenge for yourself. I do apologize for the delay.  In hindsight, I wish I would have done away with the cute framed version and just typed it plain and simple but, most of all visible.  I guess this is how I learn.  Sometimes, the simple things are actually much more user friendly than being all cute and perfectionist about it.  So, here we go again. Take Two of the Mom Challenge. 30 Day Mom Challenge Ask: "What is one thing we can do together this month?" Go the whole day without yelling ...

Good Morning! Today, as I sit here to write this post, my hands feel like blocks of ice!  It is really chilly this morning and we have even had some snow flurries!  It is the coldest day that we have had yet, this season. Brrr! I often wonder if I would not dislike the cold weather so much if my body wasn't so cold.  I have the hardest time warming up once I am cold.  I would most definitely prefer to be too hot over too cold. It is always easier to cool down than warm up.  Is this true for you? No, I am not complaining.  Simply stating the facts about myself and the cold.  Just not such a good match.  I suppose that the cold winters allow me to rejoice when the first signs of spring appear. And even more so when summer rolls in with its wonderful sun and warmth. Just thinking of summer makes me feel a wee bit warmer. :) As you know, it is Thankful Thursday  again.  Sometimes, I post about more dear to the heart and deep...

It's going to be a great day today! This is what my mindset was as I woke up this morning, well before my alarm was to go off.  Do you ever do this?  Wake up like 24 minutes before you really must get out of bed?  Yes, I had to give you the exact number of minutes because that is just how I am structured.  I tend to have a need be exact and have a thing for counting things in my everyday life. One really funny one, is counting the swipes of deodorant I apply each morning.  Please, just laugh.  I sometimes even laugh at myself when I am doing this. It is pretty hilarious, really.  It is always a good thing to be able to laugh at yourself.  As you can see from the picture above, it was a beautiful morning as well!  This was my view of my backyard with the sun casting shadows of the trees. This morning, my daughter wanted me to wake her up thirty minutes earlier than usual.  She decided that she wanted to have a little extra ti...

It's Thankful Thursday !  I feel bad that I missed it last week. November is a month that I think we tend to try to think of the so many things that we have to be thankful for.  Most definitely, Thanksgiving Day, reminds us to do this. Why do we wait for one day to roll around each year, to give thanks? As I sit here to post today, I feel guilty for not taking the time each and every day to give thanks for being very fortunate.  I have so much to be thankful for each day. Without a doubt, more than I deserve.  As the first of the year arrives, I think that I may begin a notebook or a jar of thanks, in which I take a few minutes each day to write down a few things that I am thankful for.  Just think about how cool it would be to look back on the entire years worth of thanks.  It would be a great reminder of the many blessings we have with every passing day.   Today, on this Thankful Thursday , I am thankful for my husband. This is something that sh...

Hello!   I can't believe that it has almost been two weeks since I last posted. Wow!  I wish that I could tell you that I just returned from a wonderful, tropical getaway but, that would be a complete lie.  Need I remind you that I will not write about a bunch of fluff, or rather, things that aren't true or haven't really happened.  Now that I have said that, I look forward to the day that I can provide you with every last detail of a warm, sunny vacation.  I could so easily daydream about that today as I look out my front window to see heavy rain and chilly temperatures.  After all, it is the second week of November. Should I really expect much more?  Nah.   I am not even sure where I should begin with my unintentional disappearance.  Since I last posted, Halloween has come and gone. We did something different this year.  We went to my brother's house to trick or treat.  Until last year, when we so briefly lived in Ohio ...