Thursday, November 17, 2011

{Plenty to be THANKful For} I'm THANKful for the Blogoverse!

Manic Mother
 
Today's Topic:
 
I'm THANKful for the Blogoverse!
 

I am so very thankful for the Blogoverse!  (Although I really never call it that - it will always be the Blogosphere to me!)

When I first started blogging, I really didn't know why I wanted to, what exactly I would talk about, or who would even care to read what I had to say.

And let's get real:

I still don't know why I want to, what exactly I'm talking about, or who really cares what I have to say!

But I love it!

I love sharing my thoughts, having a creative outlet to go to when I have something to say or share, and I love that my friends and family who I don't get to see or talk to daily can know what's going on in my life (and my Handsome Husbands!).

I think my favorite part about blogging is reading your blogs though - I love it!  I love to read your funny stories, your deep insights, and see cute pictures of your families!

I thought I could share some of my favorite bloggers with you, for those of y'all looking for some new reading material!

There's my real-life blogging friends:




PS. All of those above 3 hotties are on a blog-hiatus right now.  Maybe if you go and encourage them to come back, they will be back to the blogoverse! :)

And a hand-full of my all-time favorite reads:

Jenna - That Wife

Seriously, go read their blogs. 
They are awesome.

Who are your favorite bloggers?

Things Thursday: Things I Don't Totally Love About Thanksgiving

1. Turkey...be honest, it's nothing that exciting.

2. The idea that you are supposed to be more hungry on Thanksgiving than any other day.

3. Stuffing.

4. That a bunch of people who are generally disagreeable and ungrateful all of the sudden make a point to state what they're thankful for.

5. Pecan pie.

6. That it's not a huge decorating holiday - I mean, it's no Christmas.

7. Traffic.

8. Football on all day - if we ladies are cooking, we should get to pick our background noise!

9. That alcohol doesn't play a bigger role in the menu.

10. Never.  ending.  leftovers.

Don't worry, I'm not a total Thanksgiving scrooge - check in next week for Things I Love About Thanksgiving.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

{Plenty to be THANKful For} I'm THANKful for my Hometown!

Manic Mother

Today's Topic:

I'm THANKful for my Hometown!

I am from south Orange County, and from a little cluster of towns that really all make one wonderful community.  I have always really identified with the neighboring city that my high school was in:



So much of my pride for my city comes from graduating from my beloved high school,

Mission Viejo High School - Go Diablos!

Mission Viejo is a wonderful town, full of cute homes, families who have lived here for years, and a pretty awesome 3-mile around lake!


And the best fun fact about my hometown?  It's one of the safest cities in America!  3rd place in all of the country this year, and it has been at the very top of that list before, just as recently as 2007!

What do you love about your hometown?

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Quotable Tuesdays

Hey, Baby, What's Your Name? Part Dos!

Read Part 1 of this series HERE.

This time, I am proud to introduce you to (and explain the nicknames of) my very Handsome Husband's family!

While he has a lot of close-by extended family, here is just a small sampling of those mentioned here on the 'ole blog:

Mother-in-Law Red


I actually had to use an older photo of MIL Red for this post, because she has completely gone against her nickname and is new a cutie brunette (which I can't hate on you know - brunettes4lyfe!).  However, her nickname originated (obvi) from her pretty hair color, and also her fiesty redhead personality.  MIL Red will say what she's thinking, when she's thinking it, and that is something I can support!



Grandma Beach Bum loves all things beachy - decor, scents, and the beach itself!  She also used to own a little shop to sell all sorts of fun items that had a little something to do with her nickname here on the blog.  (The shop's name was The Beach Bum!)

Cousin Ronomon, Tutor Girl, and Lil C


Cousin Ronomon is one of Handome Husband's closest cousins - Ronomon stems from his real-life nickname (crazy!).  Tutor Girl is CR's awesome wife, who overtime has become a wonderful friend of mine (so glad we married cousins and got to meet each other!), who is a former elementary school teacher, a tutor, and currently runs her own in-home child care center!  Lil C is my main man, and their adorable son.

Cousin Teeny Girl


Cousin Teeny Girl is the daughter of HH's oldest cousin, and she is so adorably small!  She is 3 years old (okay, 3 and a half) and can share clothes with Lil C (who is only 16 months!).

Cousin Halloween


Cousin Halloween is Teeny Girl's older brother, and was born on Halloween!  I think it must be pretty sweet to have a birthday where even strangers celebrate by giving you candy!  (Or water bottles, which is something Sister Swimmer brought home from trick-or-treating this year.)

Brother AG


Handsome Husband's (half - but we don't care about details here!) Brother, Brother AG, has a little passion for music, and AG is one of his musical monikers. 

Monday, November 14, 2011

{Plenty to be THANKful For} I'm THANKful for my Guilty Pleasures!

Love this new link-up that a whole gaggle of fabulous ladies are hosting, so I'm hoping on this awesome bandwagon!


Manic Mother
 

Today's topic is:
I'm THANKful for my Guilty Pleasures
(and oh, I am)
Starbucks
Especially in red cups.

Coke.
Making me chubby and rotting my teeth one bottle at a time.

Trashy Reality TV
Especially all things Jersey - Housewives, Jerseylicious, the Shore.  LOVE.

Scentsy
A new obsessesion - feel free to buy me bars for Christmas.

Facebook stalking
It's an artform.

 Head over and join the Plenty to be THANKful For Challenge!

Worth The Hangover

On weeknights when I have work the next morning, I rarely drink.  This old lady gets a mean hangover it seems if I only have even one Bud Light (my very high quality choice of beer, thank you very much).  Some of my girlfriends (not naming names, you know who you are) can go out every night of the week, get all buzzed up, stay up until the sun rises, and still go to work the next morning.  That, my friends, is impressive, and a quality I do not have.

Last night, however, I ventured out and drank some wine.

This much wine to be exact:

1 and a half liters split between yours truly and my fellow lush friend Cute Apartment.

And when I had to wake up for work at 6:20 in the morning, I.  was.  feeling.  it.  The nasty morning shakes, the pounding headache (could be because the entire nearly 2 liter bottle cost $8 - again, high quality taste buds right here), the seasick nauseous feeling.  It's been a rough morning.

But the entire morning, each time my stomach turned, or my head pounded, I just laughed and thought of the fun time I had last night with Cute Aparment.  Hearing about her recent cruise (seriously, go to her blog and request some recaps - it sounds amazeballs!); updating her on the insignificant details of my life that not many people want to listen to, let alone care about; seeing her new super gorge apartment (yes, she moved again); and just generally enjoying each other's company.

Some nights (and some friends) are worth the hangover. 

(Also, it helps make the morning a little smoother when you have an amazing husband who brings you coffee and a freshly warmed bagel and cream cheese to your office.  I am one lucky lady.)


Mingle 240

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Grateful Sundays

This week, I am grateful for those who serve and have served our country.


Thank you for risking your tomorrows for our today.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Things Thursday: Things That Will Be in My Dream Home

1. A double shower.



2. A warming oven drawer, double ovens, and a wine fridge.

Source: houzz.com via Casey on Pinterest


3. An amazing outdoor space.



4. A window seat...with a chandelier hanging above it. Perfect nap spot.

Source: houzz.com via Casey on Pinterest


5. A wine closet...you know, for the wine that doesn't fit in the wine fridge.

Source: google.com via Casey on Pinterest


6. Sparkly wall tiles in a bathroom.



7. Beautiful wood stairs.



8. A super cool hidden walk-in pantry!



9. GLITTERY FLOORS. 'Nuff said.



10. These amazing swing couches on a beautiful wrap-around porch.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

It's Not All Rainbows and Cupcakes

Last week I wrote a post about how lucky (and said lucky in it about a bagillion times) my Handsome Husband and I are to have such a strong support system.

I wanna get really real (really really real) here for a minute.

It's not all rainbows and cupcakes up in here.

By that, I mean, 

we are not perfect, we don't have it perfect, our families are not perfect, our support system is not flawless.

We fight sometimes - with each other, with our parents, our grandparents, our siblings, our aunts and uncles, cousins, cats, beta fish, you name it.  And those people fight with each other sometimes.

We slam doors.

We make each other cry.

We say mean things that almost burn our tongues they are so nasty.

We go hours, days, weeks, even months sometimes without talking to someone we love.

We have moments where we wish bad things on each other.

We exclude people.

We try and make people pick sides.

We are not perfect.

But that's okay.

Because we're family.

At the end of the day, we love each other.

We will always be there for one another in need.

We forgive each other for our wrongs, and for our shortcomings.

We find it in our hearts to forgive and forget when all we want to do is cut out the problem (whether it be a person, or a situation, or whatever) out of our lives so it cannot hurt us again.

We muster up an apology, whether it be immediate or years down the line, even if it hurts our pride, our ego, or our self-esteem.  We apologize without negotiation, even if it brings us no return, we do it to express our great regret in hurting someone we love.

We love each other so much, that when someone is fighting with someone else, it physically hurts us.  We fret, stress, and pray over it hoping that whomever is unhappy can find peace, and that we can be together again like before.

We feel each other's pain - we ache for each other's heartbreaks.

We live our lives for one another, not just near one another.

Because we're family.

So when I find myself stewing because one of my sisters isn't talking to me, or listening as someone in the family tells me how mad they are at someone else in the family, or getting annoying with HH, or even stressing over the drama that can be female friendship, I want to remind myself that we will always have a light at the end of the tunnel.

Because we're family.

Because at the end of the day, whether related by blood, marriage, or friendship, there is something inside you that makes you a unit.  Something that no matter how bad it gets, no matter how horribly someone wrongs you, or  how many times you throw your hands in the air claiming again that this time is the last straw - something pulls you back together, almost tugging at your heart strings to fill the void that the hurt of fighting with family can bring.  We are each simply pieces to a puzzle, only parts of the greater whole.  And we might rub each other raw, and barely squeeze in there, but a puzzle is not complete without it's most complicated piece, it's most difficult piece - a puzzle is not complete without every single last piece, or it's just a bunch of puzzle pieces pretending to be a puzzle.
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