Friday Favorites

Yay - we made it to Friday!  Unfortunately, I am up super early for a golf tournament.  Don't feel too sorry for me, I get to spend the day at a golf tournament, instead of in the office.

Today, I am linking up with some of my favorite Texan bloggers:  A Little Bit of Everything, Momfessionals and Grace and Love.  We are presenting our Friday Favorites! I'm excited to share a couple of my favorites this week with you!!

Glitter and Glue: A Book Review with Perspective

I am one of those moms who "never has time to read" or at least I tell myself that.  It has been at least a year since I read any book for pleasure. I've read books for my job, but we'll just say, they weren't necessarily fun. 

So I decided that this summer. I would start taking my daughter to our community pool and start reading real books.  And the first one I read was a surprising find.  I can't remember where I came across it, but I was so glad I found it. 

Have you ever read a book at the right time in your life?  Like that book jumped off the bookshelf and into your arms because you needed to read it.  That it would change your life?

Take them a Meal - Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Broccoli

In all of my chaos, I didn't realize it would take hubby an extra day (or possibly 10) to vacate our house.  So last week (or was it two?), one of our neighbors informed me that our other neighbor had her baby (YAY!) and if I wanted to, I could "Take her a meal."

I love this idea of bringing new mamas a big meal. No matter how seasoned you are with having a kiddo, its nice to sit down, relax, and eat.  So of course I said, "of course I'll sign up!" and what better day to do it than the day after Kevin was supposed to leave so it would take my mind off of other things.  

Even easier, a website called "Take them a meal" offers a quick way to schedule out whose bringing what, when and provides necessary info (like food allergies, how many to cook for, who is the main contact, etc).  And if you need a meal idea, they are there for you.

But I had the perfect meal - ok - maybe not perfect.  But its kid friendly, crockpot friendly (because its summer) and I can easily package it up into containers to take over there.

Finding our normal

Tomorrow marks an incredible day in our family's journey - we will once again be separated.  But it also highlights how tomorrow isn't the first time we've gone through this routine of goodbyes.  And while this transition is so foreign to so many of my friends, neighbors and relatives - its our normal.

I hate goodbyes.  I am the person who will avoid going to someone's going away dinner just so I can fade away instead of give them a goodbye hug.  I don't like the word, I don't like the action, and I really don't like the feeling.  And it's probably because I've had to say it so many times in my life.  But the worst goodbye is having to see my husband walk away from me (or drive away) and know that the next day, I won't get to hug him like I want.  Its a selfish feeling, and for that, I feel even worse.

Tomorrow, Avery and I will have to adjust again to what normal is in our family.  Normal will become Skype phone calls, and once a month visits to the airport.  Normal will become stillness in the house at 9pm, when she goes to sleep.  Normal will become me playing good cop and bad cop.  Normal will become rearranging schedules to make every track meet and karate practice.  Normal will be trying to be the perfect parent that the two of us usually are together.

And normal will become having to get used to monthly goodbyes.  Those goodbyes I hate.  Because each month, I will have to go through the routine of hugging my husband one more time and say, "see you next time."

Tweendom Kingdom: Camp Care Packs

This week, my daughter is at Girl Scout camp, up in the mountains.  What I love is its a chance for her to meet new friends and  push herself out of her comfort zone.  She is an extrovert, so it isn't too hard for her to make friends, but she can get stuck in a rut, especially in the middle of summer.

What I love even more, is her camp provides parents with the opportunity to send "mail" to the campers.  Since it is only a 6-day camp, we can't actually send snail mail, but when we drop off our happy campers, we can also drop off care packages, that are distributed throughout the week.  I label mine per day so each one has a special purpose.  Here, I will share what I provided my little "Tween" that was cool, fun and not too big for her days away from home.

Freedom Isn't Free

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy Fourth of July.  While most of you are enjoying this lovely Friday off from work, please take a moment to remember that our Freedom, our Independence Day, is not free.

Do You: Spotify

(this is neither a paid nor endorsed advertisement on behalf of Spotify.  All opinions are of my own, however goofy or convoluted they may be.)

I only recently was introduced to Spotify - a music streaming service - thanks to hosting a company party and needing to get a fun playlist set up.  My coworker populated a playlist of fun songs, and that was that.

But I started discovering it a bit further in the last month, digging further and further into its features and seeing that really, it has a lot more to offer those of us who are more of the curious type.

July Goals - and A BIG Announcement!

Holy cow!  It's July ALREADY!  How in the world did half our year whiz by us?  Its been 6 months since

Kevin and I moved into our house and we STILL have a front room filled with boxes.  So, because I feel like I'm barely accomplishing anything in my world these days, I'm going to try to physically write down my goals.  And posting them publicly for the world to see and judge me  is an even better way to keep me going.  Plus, I believe public shaming is a good motivator!

And stay tuned for a very BIG announcement regarding our family.  It's a secret we've been keeping for a few months (though a couple of you may already know it).  We're ready to share it with everyone now!

Skip Disney World: Explore Our National Parks!

I have been holding back writing for sometime now on the blog, due to a bunch of exciting and scary things happening this summer.  I am viewing this summer as my marriage's puberty of sorts.  Lots of changes - some good, some bad.  But now, I am finally ready to open up and share these experiences with my readers. 

Recently, I returned from a week long road trip with my family (hubby, kiddo, and parents) touring several of our National Parks from inside a rented RV. I normally would shy away from this kind of trip for several reasons: 1. Bugs; 2. Confined Spaces; and 3. Lack of Concierge Service.

The 5 Stages of Grief While Stuck in Traffic -or- Why I Failed As A Mom

Last week, I found myself feeling like a failure as a mom.  Why was I a total, utter failure?  Because I couldn't get my daughter to soccer practice on time.  This sounds like the most mundane reason to be a failure, but in my world, I try so hard to juggle so many responsibilities, and one ball (the one occupied by my daughter's happiness) came crashing to the floor.

When my daughter was 8 weeks old, I chose to leave the home and go back to work, and since then, I have never looked back.  Sure, I missed many milestones in her life, but I also have been able to provide many opportunities for her because of the extra income.  I also have provided her a sane mother to come home to.  I know that my mental health is not strong enough to stay home with her day in and day out.  That's just me.

I have never liked the "Stay at home" vs. "Working Mother" debate, and I will not continue that here.  Instead, I will say that each has its merits and its downfalls.  Last week, my downfall came crashing down.  I was stuck in traffic, coming from a meeting uptown which I knew I should have left earlier from, and now I was left sitting in traffic, experiencing the 5 stages of grief:

1. Denial - "No, I really will get to her school on time.  See?  The GPS says so.  And we'll have 10 minutes to spare.  I can see there is a gridlock in front of me, but its only temporary."

2.  Anger - "Why are there so many people on the road right now???  Like, who really needs to go home right now?!?  And don't they know my daughter needs to go to soccer practice?"  Yes - I admit, these words came out of my mouth.

3. Bargaining - "If they would just get over to the left, and let me pass, I'll calm down right now."  These words were said with tears welling up in my eyes.  After my GPS adjusted its arrival time to 10 minutes after soccer practice was supposed to start.

4.  Depression - "I'm the worst mom ever.  I should've skipped the meeting and just picked her up...  She's more important that my job..."  And these words were said as I realized, not only would she be very late to practice, but I would inevitably be picking her up 10 minutes after the daycare closed.  Moms in the know, know this equates to $$ paid out to the daycare.  All because I went to a meeting uptown.

5.  Acceptance - "So I can't make any of these STUPID cars move, and I can't strap a jetpack to my shoulders.  I guess I will just sit here and listen to the radio."  And that's what I did.  And I paid extra $$ when I picked up my daughter.

But you know what happened when I ran through the door of the daycare, feeling like I failed my daughter?

She came up to me and said "it's ok mom.  I know you tried!  And really, I didn't feel like going to practice today anyways."  Seriously.  My kid is awesome.  So we went home, put some Trader Joes food in the microwave, and threw some TV on while we talked about school, life, and why I had mascara stains down my cheeks.

So I guess I wasn't a failure, even though I felt like I was one while driving in the car.  I guess I'll have to work harder next time!

Spring Doesn't Exist in Colorado

Here in Colorado, we don't believe in the season known to others as "Spring."  We have a season known as "I can't make up my mind."

It goes a little something like this:
Monday - 70s;
Tuesday - snowing;
Wednesday - cold and windy;
Thursday - warm then cold;
Friday - cold then warm;
Saturday - it was supposed to be warm, but a surprise snow storm came in
Sunday - don't even try to guess;

I see so many style blogs in beautiful, flowy spring skirts and peep toe shoes and I get grumpy.  I just can't wear those yet.  And by the time I can, summer has snuck in and its so hot that I just want to live in shorts and flip flops.

So what do native Coloradans do?  We layer, layer, layer.  It isn't uncommon to see us go to work in a parka and come home in a tank top.  It's just what we do!

For all you native Coloradans, or others in areas where the weatherman get paid to just make stuff up, here are some fun "Spring-ish" clothes that I've decided to add to my wardrobe:


Palazzo Pants - I have to give inspiration to Andrea at Momfessionals.  I've been following her blog for some time and she was right!  It's like wearing PJs to work (shhh!  Don't tell anyone!).  What I think I especially love about these pants is the inseam - they are so incredibly long that for a tall girl like me, I can wear HIGH WEDGES with these puppies.  But don't worry, if you don't have legs for days, you just simply roll up the waist band and adjust as needed.  Its perfect!

Sidebar:  The first time I wore these to work (around engineers, mind you), I walked past one of them and all the guy could say was  "uh.... pants!"  He was so surprised and shocked.  "Yep!  They're pants!"  It was so cute and endearing, but pretty much sums up these engineers (because the pants are fun to wear and certainly get noticed!)

1. White Plum courtesy of Jane  // 2. White Plum  //  3. Hippie Chick Boutique 




Cardigan Sweaters - My coworker, Jen, wears a sweater everyday to work.  Our offices are super cold and we wouldn't be able to make it through the day without a little shoulder cover-up.  I just love the bright colors that these add and the 3/4 lengths that are perfect for this "I don't know what to call it" weather.

1. Loft // 2. Banana Republic // 3.  American Eagle



Flats - I <3 my flats from BR - they are so versatile and I wear them all year long.  With pants, shorts, skirts, dresses - you name it, I'm in them!  Maybe its because I'm tall and it helps me not be so fierce, or maybe because they are so darn comfortable!

1. Banana Republic  //  2. Banana Republic

I mean how cute is the pink and nude one for the in between months?  Its bright - it cheery - it has a BOW!



Scarves - Can't go wrong with wearing scarves.  I find I am a touch warmer in the A/C of the office when I'm wearing a scarf, I feel more stylish and "in" when I'm meeting clients, and they help add color to a somewhat mundane outfit if I'm just not in the mood to put forth much effort.

1. Gap // 2. Gap // 3. Gap

Gap totally wins this category - mainly because so many of their scarves are under $18 and many under $12 - THAT'S AWESOME!  Look at these bright, soft scarves to wrap yourself in when your office is set to a mild 40 degrees like mine is!


I hope this "Spring" thing peeks its head out sooner or later, before we are into full blown summer, but in the meantime, I will troll other blogs of people living in real climates and be a bit jealous of their fun clothes.

Until next time!

It's a new world

As my inaugural blog post and for inquiring minds, I suppose an introduction to myself and my small family is in order. And when I say small, I mean SMALL. I am an only child. I only have 2 cousins that span both sides of my family. A family reunion for me is going to breakfast on a Sunday morning. So yes, my side of the family is small. I was born in Georgia and that's where I met my love of fried foods and ranch dressing. When I was 5, I moved to Idaho. I picked up a love of meat and potatoes there and have a terrible hatred for green vegetable things (corn is a veggie in my book). And by the time I was 10, I moved to Colorado (where my parents met and the rest of my small family lived).

 It was here in Colorado where I met my love, when I was 18. He was an Air Force Academy cadet, and I swore off all guys in uniform. And you know what they say? Never say never! 10 short months later, we were in a position with the military where he had 1 week to marry me and put me on orders if I were to follow him to his next assignment. 1 WEEK people - to make a decision and spend the rest of my life with a guy. To pack up EVERYTHING and move halfway across the country - away from my family (albeit small). To leave college and the comfort of my friends.

And what do you know? I did!

We planned a wedding in a week and it was beautiful - we had about 40 people attend (did I mention he's an only child too with a small family?) and 2 days afterwards, he was gone for several months for training. When he returned, we moved ourselves to Shreveport, Louisiana. Oh - did I mention I was 5 months preggers by that point? So scary!!

We did the "live in base housing" thing, I worked after A was born, he was deployed to Guam for 4 months, and upon his return, he got orders to Korea for a year. So, back to Colorado we went (there was no way I was going to raise a toddler in Louisiana by myself).

The magic of Skype kept our marriage pieced together (they were rough pieces, but they were pieces). A thought her daddy lived in a computer at one point - and she got bored of him after awhile.

After our year of being separated, we packed up our stuff and moved to San Antonio to get on with our lives and on with our marriage. I won't sugar coat this part - being apart for a year and then move in with each other again is hard - like REALLY hard. You are two individual people with your own thoughts about how to do things, and have to come back to reach a common goal. There was a lot of turmoil in our relationship when we got to Texas. But, our innate stubbornness was what kept us together - we weren't just going to give up and walk away.

So after working through things and staying in San Antonio for about 3 and a half years - we made it back to Colorado. Back to our family and back to our roots. We've been here for over four years, bought two houses since we've been here and found stability in our marriage. We are the closest we've ever been, because we've gotten through the rough patches and we've grown up - together.

So welcome to my blog - it is honest, it is open and it is me. I am a military wife, who has a full-time career and we're raising a child. It isn't easy, but life isn't supposed to be. It is supposed to be a journey - so hold on and enjoy the ride!