Never Grow Up

Music has been my world & what I do since I was just a little girl. There is something about it that just makes me come alive. Love to sing it, love to hear it, love create it-- it all just makes my heart a little more satisfied. My favorite is hearing a song from another artist & it is like they wrote the song just for you. Like the artist has been peering through the windows of your heart & took your raw thoughts and feelings and made it beautiful. I had that moment this afternoon. 


Life has been really hard lately, I am realizing that God gives & takes away. Sometimes he gives when you least expect it & it is the most exciting & marvelous moments of your life; then there are the times that He takes away and you are not prepared or ready to lose what you have. The moments that your heart's aching for more time & pleading to change destiny.


So if your driving & look over and there is a blonde headed girl crying & trying to gain her composure its only because she is just hearing her thoughts come to life-- it finally hit a chord, her inner thoughts of her heart just came to life & made beautiful music. Even in pain there is beauty. 






Never Grow Up-- T. Swift
Your little hand's wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart
And no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up

You're in the car on the way to the movies
And you're mortified your mom's dropping you off
At 14 there's just so much you can't do
And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots
But don't make her drop you off around the block
Remember that she's getting older too
And don't lose the way that you dance around in your PJ's getting ready for school

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
No one's ever burned you, nothing's ever left you scarred
And even though you want to, just try to never grow up

Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room
Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said
And all your little brother's favorite songs
I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone

So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It's so much colder that I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on

Wish I'd never grown up
I wish I'd never grown up

Oh I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
I could still be little
Oh I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
It could still be simple
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
Won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
And even though you want to, please try to never grow up
Oh, don't you ever grow up
Oh, never grow up, just never grow up

The 3 Little Goblins...

I love halloween! incase you have not picked that up yet. Which is actually rather odd because I am scared of just about everything! I do not go to haunted houses & I never ever watch scary movies. I can hardly watch Bones on tv- I am a real live CHICKEN! I love it so much cause it means fall is officially here & well I just think it is fun to decorate, dress up & eat candy! If you haven't heard we had decorated pumpkins & some mean people decided to destroy everything-- bad day! So today me & my girls went and bought new pumpkins & went to work...

Two lil Goblins painting their pumpkins...

Everything is better when you do it with a sucker!

Final art work on display!

My little addition

my pumpkin palace ;)

She was suppose to stand next to the scarecrow but it scared her, imagine that!

Very proud of her ghost tree!

We had a fun day! Now I pity the person who tries & mess with my pumpkins. There is a witch who visits here at times & I'm not afraid to call her! heeee heeeee heeeee.... Be VERY scared!

matchy-matchy goes eclectic

I love love love to decorate! I am constantly changing something in our house or I was until we started working on houses that Jason was selling... I got a lil burned out. Well, it has been SOO long that I have wanted to re-decorate my bedroom. I am in love with white. If I lived alone my entire house would be white with burst of colors. Just love it but back to reality!!! I begged for almost a year now to repaint my bed room. We have crazy tell vaults in our bedroom which makes it not so fun to paint-- I finally gave up on that idea & decided to just go with what I had. Our bedroom has been everything when we moved in I went all white with splashes of black & red, then we went all beach/ tropical, but that was only good for the summer months, then we went all retro but I grew so sick of it SO quick! I have noticed in the past year or so that my own personal style is going through a crisis. I am becoming more earthy, eclectic, shabby chic... so, I thought, this is my room & that is just what I am going to make it! So the process has begun, I still have a little bit of work to do but overall I am there & I LOVE it. We are spending SO much more time in there. I now find myself wanting to just go relax & read in my bedroom- just as it should be!

PS- Funds to do this are not in the budget so I made it my challenge to do it all for $100. or less! :)

view of the bed:
Last summer I found the bedding on sale & fell in love with it.
The red pillow is one of my favorite things in the room. I love the saying, it is my daily reminder!
Pillows: $7 each
If you know me well, you know I have an obsession with birds so I found these pictures all for $12-- I was SO thrilled!
Curtains I found at Marshalls both for $7
Lamps we have had, but I hated them, now I actually like them!

side view. I love the blue watering can, a $4 find &used a scarf to dress it up :) with some foliage I already had

I am a picture fanatic so I have tons of frames. Decided that I have so much jewelry I mine as well frame it- lol! So now I keep the pieces I wear the most here & I can find them easily! NO COST!

I am so proud of this! I had bought this  as a pix frame but Karly stepped on it & broke the glass. I was determined to make something out of it cause I loved the frame. After a $10 trip to the fabric store I came home & 20 minutes later had this to show for. SO easy to make & I just love it! Now I just gotta find all my black & white pictures to fill it up!

Live, Laugh, Love-- that is what we do around here!
Vases $2.50
Flower .57
Box Shelves $5

my piece of inspiration. I have 2 of these, but this was the one that caught my eye. I thought it was so ugly yet I loved it. It is a big chunk of wood that someone sewed a bird into... so strange!
$5.99

Most things I already had thru the house. Found the red frame & pearl frame for $1.50 each at Marshalls- oh how I love Marshalls! Above this I wanna put all black & white pictures, but waiting for now...

Grand total: $77.05

I am pretty happy with my new room. Nothing matches, I know, that is the point! Yet somehow it all fits perfectly together. I think that is much like my life- I think there is a lesson there... don't worry I'll spare you! :) Now maybe in a couple months I'll tackle my bathroom...

my hair affair & sentimental notes to my girls

Sequence, ruffles, glitter, flowers, lots of lip gloss, manicures & enough hair spray to kill an entire species... High-school Dances!

I had a blast this weekend getting to act 16 again! Noelle (my step daughter) & Lauren (aka Lo-Lo-- my niece)asked me to do their hair for their homecoming. Oh my gosh, yes I have a little love affair with hair, ask my hair dresser it has been going on since I was about 13! Thank God my hair guy, John, loves me or he would have fired me by now. Yes, I am the client that knows more than I should & gets myself into all kinds of trauma. LOL! I just think that I can cut my hair better than anyone else can- I mean I know MY hair & all its quirks! I am always doing something to it...  :) I have my regulars that love me, trust me & let me get out all my creative juices. But nothing is more fun then getting to do fancy hair! The girls looked SO beautiful so my job was going to be easy. 

Lo's loose updo with glitter & roses

Noelle's modern day Rapunzel ;)

It is soo crazy to see my girls growing up. I know that it is bitter sweet & that a lot of parents find it sad to see their babies get big. I understand that, but there is something so wonderful to knowing that they are growing into beautiful individuals (inside beauty too!) I think I enjoy who each of you are more now than ever before. I love our long talks & secret pow-wows, trips to get coffee & laughing til we cry. To know that no matter what happens or what curves life throws at you, you always have someone in your corner cheering you on (ps- that is me!) 

Noelle, you are my fireball! I never know what I am going to get with you. You really do have it all. You have risen above & reversed a generational curse. I am so proud of who you are. You are the girl everyone wants to be like & they have good reason to. Not everyone has always understood our relationship & granted we have had our bumps in the road but we both know that when it all is said & done that what we share is special, unique & most of all REAL! "She's sun & rain, she's fire & ice, a little crazy, but its nice..." 

Lo, Laur Laur, Lauren, girl I have been watching you since birth & you are GIFTED! Brains & Beauty. My words cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of how far you have come. Once a little girl afraid of everything, now a rare beauty for the world to see. I know that the past few years have not been easy to say the least but you have shown maturity beyond your years. You have a solid head on your shoulders, you know what is right in every situation. "You can turn the world on with your smile" Don't let anything or anyone hold you back from being all that God designed you to be!

Hannah Banana, I missed you! It was not the same without you. You are such a creative beauty. You have more talent than you know or give yourself credit for.  You can be who you choose to be, artist, designer, forensics- just in whatever you choose BE YOU & do not apologize for who YOU are. You are fearfully & wonderfully made! It took me a long time to learn this lesson, don't let life pass you by. Jump in head first! You cannot fail at being you & you will not fail if you try. 

love you girls more than you'll ever know & know I am in your corner cheering you on! 

Blast from the past

October is here & gone already or so I feel because we are SO busy! I know it is a little out of character for me but I absolutely love halloween or should I say decorating & dressing up! I love crafts & getting to be a kid again. There is nothing that thrills me more than dressing up in costume. Here are some of the blast from the past-- enjoy!

Tinker Bell & Pirate ( He refused to be Peter Pan- something about the green tights! LOL!

Hoe Down with my family!

Lions & Tigers & Bears... Oh MY! CIRCUS!

Yes, I was 8 month pregnant, a very swollen face was hiding behind all that make up!

Cat in the Hat...

This was one of my favs!

hummm... what will it be this year? The wheels are turning in my lil head!

to vaccinate or not? that is the question!

To vaccinate or not? That is the question in my household right now. I love the fall & cool weather but hate the flu season. I have this internal debate with myself every year about getting Karly the flu shot. I have never gotten the vaccination & neither has my husband and both of us have only had the flu once in our entire lives. I have some issues with vaccinations, they freak me out. I know, I know they are to keep us safe & healthy... blah blah blah, I just don't buy into it all. I think a lot of our health care is solely government driven and I don't like it. I am SOO thankful to have a wonderful pediatrician that I can trust whole heartedly!  Anyway, ever year we have this debate in our house- I mean really, it should not be such a difficult decision, but it is to us. So, yes, I am a research junkie-- what can I say my parents paid thousand & thousands of dollars for me to be good at it :) lol. That education is not going to waste! Today in my little quest to figure out what we should do. I started just researching vitamins & supplements to help prevent the flu... We are very big on natural remedies in this household and came across some articles using an increase in vitamin D to prevent influenza, which lead me to another article that I found very interesting & informative. I felt pressed to share, incase I have other mom & dad friends who are questioning the dreaded shot as well.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026921_Vitamin_D_influenza_swine_flu.html
So long for now, I am off to buy stock in vitamin D! Oh and I am so glad I just bought my coconut milk yesterday (the vanilla is awesome!- thanks for the tip Trace!) to start boosting our immune systems! Here's to staying healthy the natural way...

Smiley Faces, Pumpkins, Chocolate Babies & Football-- that's this life I love!

This past week has been a really fun week for me.

 Have I mentioned lately how much I love my friends!? I am in a really great place of friendships, something that has not always been in my life & I am so grateful for it! OK enough of the sappy talk...

I decided to go at this baby process a little harder. I'm not gonna get all into the details, if you know me well enough to care about reading my blog, than you get it! ;) Baby making just doesn't come easy for us, don't get me wrong we have lots of good times in the making; the baby just never seems to happen- LOL, ok that was TMI! For a decade now my doc has said that I don't ovulate "properly"... blah blah blah... Once you get married people ask, when you gonna have a baby, then you have one & they then ask, when you gonna have another?! Oh Geesh! I heard a great answer to that question in church the other day-- "You know what, I have no idea & I am totally ok with that, because I know the one who does know!" That totally described where I have been. With getting to that point, I have a new determination to figure out what the docs cannot. I am hitting the charts hard! I prepared myself for what would be a long frustrating journey. Went out to buy my ovulation test yes I buy in bulk - lol!  I think the cashier was a little worried about me purchasing so many test! ;)

Testing Day 1- No smiley face. But I was prepared for that. Gave myself a good pep talk & moved on.
Day 2- Could it be? For the first time ever!!! I got a smiley face! I was so happy but thinking, maybe the test is wrong, there is no way, that was so easy.
Day 3- another smiley face!!!

Yes, I had to take a picture. You have no idea how exciting this was for me!

To save you all the details... NO, I do not know if I am pregnant but I am closer than I have been in a long time. There is such a relief just to know that everything is working properly just as God designed it to! So say a little prayer for us :)

Aside from baby making excitement, Karly & I met one of my friends from college & her little man at Pumpkinland. It rocks!!! We had never been and I have to say that we will be making that a tradition! SO much fun!

One night this week we also got to visit the magic house with Parents As Teachers. Karly & I had a super fun time. She now loves the grocery area, the ball that makes your hair stand up, & the baby hospital. However, we have made the conclusion that Karly will adopt her own children or marry a black man because she only likes the "chocolate" babies. LOL! 

Even a 2 yr old could do a better job in office! lol!

We finished up the fun week with watching Levi play football. it was a very cold game, but Kar did not care one bit as long as she could see her boys! "Mom mom, I can't wait to be a cheerleader. I yell GOOO Levi, GOOO Wy Wy. I'll be good at it!"-- Karly. She really lacks confidence, huh? :)

So that was my week in a nutshell. We have a lot happening & so much to be thankful for. Life is good.

My Apple Saga Continues...

I have been having a love affair with apples, so my saga continues... I am not sure what has come over me but I just cannot stop baking!!! Tonight after dinner I was still itching to cook & God knows we love our desserts in this house-hold so what did I do? But pull out my apples and start peeling & coring. :)

Cranberry Apple Crumble  (with Vanilla Ice cream)-- 5 star rating in this house. Another incredibly easy & very tasty dessert. The left overs went to Mom & Dad (thank God they live up the road, if not I would be the size of a cow!) It is the perfect combination of sweet & tart!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

• 6 cups peeled and sliced (about 1/2 inch thick) 
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375°. Combine the flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the brown sugar, and the butter in a bowl. Mix the ingredients with your fingertips to create pea-size crumbs.
2. Combine the apple slices and cranberries in a large bowl. Mix the juice, remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the fruit and toss well.
3. Spoon the fruit into a 2-quart baking dish and sprinkle on the flour mixture. Bake the crumble until bubbly and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.

A little taste of heaven... aka Apple Dumplings!

OK so a few weeks ago we went to Eckerts & got a little carried away with picking apples. Then this week I went with a college friend to Pumkinland & they were giving away free bags of apples (I cannot pass up FREE!)-- I have apples coming out of my ears! I have made apple everything or so it seems. The other day I made chicken salad & thought, hey why not throw in an apple. The hubby did not like- he says "what are you putting apples in everything now!? LOL. Yes, as a matter of fact I am!  :) Thanks to one of my favorite friends (Becky Kelley) & her amazing apple pie freezing tips. I have been making apple pies galore! Tonight I was peeling, coring, slicing & ran across a recipe for Apple Dumplings, & happened to have all the ingredients. It was SO easy & honestly one of the best tasting things I have eaten in a long time! We went to my mom's for dinner & I took them for dessert- OMG! Everyone was in love & they took my like less than 10 minutes to make! I must share in this deliciousness!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

• Premade pastry for an 8- or 9-inch 2 crust pie
• 4 small, cored baking apples
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. Combine the raisins, cranberries, walnuts and spices in a bowl and set aside. On a lightly floured cloth-covered surface, roll out the pastry into a 14-inch square, then cut it into 4 squares. Place a cored apple on top of each square and fill the center with the raisin and cranberry mix.
2. Cover each apple with its pastry square by bringing the opposite corners up over the fruit and pinching them together. Then, seal together all of the pastry edges, moistening them with water if needed. Place the dumplings in a glass baking dish.
3. In a saucepan, bring the brown sugar and water to a boil, and then pour it over the dumplings (a parent's job). Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven, spooning the syrup over the dumplings a few times, until the crust is golden (about 40 minutes).
   
   
   PS- I topped with a little caramel sauce just to make it look pretty :)