Wonderful Weekend @ The Beach!

Yes I know it's not beach weather yet- but my husband and I had a fabulous relaxing weekend.  Sometimes it's just nice to chill out, relax and read a good book or catch up on Hulu. So thankful for the time we get to share together and so thankful to be married to such an amazing man.  I am truly blessed!  When I sit down to start counting my blessings it usually overwhelms me.  It really keeps things in perspective for me-when I start to feel sorry for myself or wish I had something I don't. 

I want to remind everyone to be thankful for what and who they have in their lives.  Some people close to me are going through some difficult marital situations and it just reminds me again and again to be so grateful for the marriage I have and to remember that marriage is hard work but so worth it in the end.  I think that's the bottom line- marriage is hard work at times- but the end result can be amazing.  I've been reflecting on so many people that I went to high school and college with that have already been divorced and some more than once- it really breaks my heart- but I truly believe too many people rush into marriage and get married way too young.  I think our society has made marriage so trivial and meaningless that people don't really take it seriously.  It is no longer an institution that people strive to withhold at almost any costs.  It's more of a trial run situation and if it doesn't work oh well.  Okay enough of my ramblings...

Happy Spring to you all!

I have seen it all....

Yesterday on my way to work in the DC area- I passed a guy in a residential area walking not one but two full grown pigs- I don't mean the pot-bellied pigs people keep as pets- these were full grown regular hogs!  It was hilarious he was walking them like you'd walk a dog.  I should have pulled over and taken a picture.

Iola- I apologize I just got your giveaway packaged and ready to mail on monday.  I honestly thought I had already sent it until I saw it in my craft room.  Please, please forgive me! 

I'm so excited for this coming week- I just got some of my Grandmothers furniture delivered and I'll finally have time to get everything moved around and placed.  Also, my very best friend Renee is finally coming to visit me- it's been 7 yrs since I've seen her and I'm so very excited!  I've felt like a teenage girl since we made the plans so excited I can hardly stand it!!!!

Spring has Sprung

I know it may be a little early but the weather has been so lovely this week so far- my tulips and daffodils are blooming and look so beautiful.  Daffodils remind me so much of my Grandma, when I was a little girl she had the most beautiful daffodils in her yard and she loved them so much.  This year so far has been so much better and God is really giving me more of a peace, I don't feel as empty as I did last year.  I still miss her every day but my heart is healing.

Losing Faith in Humanity....

Lately, I've had some issues at work that have been very difficult.  A trusted employee and someone I worked with for over a decade betrayed us all and stole from our company.  That was a real shock to my system.  I haven't gotten over that yet and I had to fire another employee just last week for cheating the company and turning in false times.

I know these type of things happen all the time but it doesn't make it any easier to handle or even understand.  I guess people just don't have Integrity anymore.  It's so very sad and disappointing, it just reminds me the only one we can truly count on is God.  No lies, no deceit, no betrayal.  If that relationship goes south it is on us.  No matter how far I've ever gotten away from my relationship with God over the years, I've always known it was me walking away and not God.  I've always known that it just takes me turning around and walking in the opposite direction.  I have always taken comfort in the fact he always accepts me back.  As much faith as we like to have in people they will always disappoint.  It is so wonderful to have at least that one constant that we can always depend on!

Congratulations to the Winner of the February 2012 Giveaway!!!

Iola- just email me your address and I'll get it packaged and shipped.  (scrappin4real@yahoo.com)

Congrats!  I hope you enjoy your little goodie basket!  Thank you all for commenting and participating!

Wow- it's been almost a month!

Rough month- my husband was sick then I was sick.  We are both doing much better now.  February flew by!  I was planning on doing a giveaway around Valentine's Day- sorry about that.  But I'd still like to do a giveaway for Feb.  I am going to run it from today until Monday, March 5th.  I have a sweet basket of goodies I've been saving for someone!  To enter the giveaway- simply comment below and tell me your Favorite Valentine gift of all times. 

The giveaway includes, some valentine nail files, smooth away hair removal, Bath & Body works lotion, small Clinique makeup bag, sponge, Yankee candle, Elf lipstick ,some Chic Prints for Nails by Sephora and a really nice Stila Eyeshadow palette.

So my favorite Valentine gift of all times- would have to be our first Valentine's Day together- my husband bought me a beautiful silver heart necklace and he wrote me a poem.  He has written me a poem every year since and we are going on 9 yrs.  Gotta love that man :)

Monday Blues

Okay so I will confess I only watched half of the Superbowl- I was bored and not feeling great so I abandoned my husband to find more interesting things to do.  Well for some strange reason I was unable to sleep last night and I was up until after 2am- I had to get up at 6am, so I'm not in a very good mood today and I'm extremely tired and sleepy.  I see an early night in my future.  Does anyone else experience episodes of insomnia?  It doesn't happen often for me but it does happen and it's so frustrating! 

Superbowl Party 2012

So I'm not a fan of either team playing in the Superbowl but I'm all for a party and party food!  So I've had chili cooking all day, I did a spinach artichoke dip I found on Pinterest.  I did some homemade Crab Rangoons (again Pinterest recipe).  Hmmm....oh I also did Hot wings!  So I'm ready to watch the Superbowl and I'm not going to lie I'm only watching it for the commercials and the half-time show and of course the party food!

Congratulations Tara....You are the Giveaway Winner!

Tara- Congrats!  So email me your home address and I'll get that in the mail right away.  (scrappin4real@yahoo.com).  Thank you all for entering and giving me you favorite foundations- I think I am going to try a few of them out and hopefully I can find something fabulous.  Also, wanted to share if anyone has a JCP near you that has a Sephora inside they are getting rid of the Korres brand in those stores and their stuff is 50% off- Korres makes some great products and half price is a great time to try them! 

Much needed "Nothing" Weekend

So this weekend I did pretty much Nothing and it was fabulous.  I've been so tired and worn out and to boot it was a rough week.  We caught an employee stealing and it had been going on for quite awhile.  So needless to say my week was turned upside down with having all locks/codes changed, researching the incidents and meeting with the authorities....Glad last week is over!

So I did do a little cooking this weekend but beyond that I simply relaxed, watched some tv and played some WII with my husband.  It was so wonderful to not have to do anything and just have a lazy weekend at home!  Sometimes it is really nice to regroup and start fresh.  Hope you all had a lovely weekend as well.

Got another little giveaway to share!

So I have a little giveaway to share with you guys.  I have a little goody bag full of treats....Clinique 3 step sample- Cleanser, Toner & Moisturizer, Stila- Tinted Moisturizer- Illuminating and sheer color samples, Too Faced Shadow Insurance sample, Fresh- Soy Face Cleanser Sample, Smashbox- Photo Finish Foundation Primer Sample, Avon- Foot Works- Deep Moisture Cream Sample, Urban Decay- Stardust Eyeshadow sample in Retrograde & Space Cowboy, Urban Decay mini nail polish in Xanadu (purple with glitter), Smashbox- Limitless eyeliner in Onyx- deluxe sample, Smashbox- Full Exposure Mascara-Jet Black- Deluxe Sample, Bath & Body Works mini hand sanitizer- Blue Raspberry, Full size Sephora lip gloss in Flushed, Full size Maybelline Quad Eyeshadow- Velvet Crush, Full size Physician's Formula Mascara- Midnight Black. This giveaway will run until Jan. 31st (Tuesday).  I won't have another giveaway until Valentine's Week!  So in order to be entered into this giveaway I need you to comment below- tell me your favorite foundation and any of your other favorite beauty products you'd like to share.

Check out some of my Favorites.....

Just wanted to share some of my current favorite makeup items some are ones I've shared before and a few are new.  Starting on the left and working right- Mary-Lou Manizer (The Luminizer) by The Balm- I love this product it adds a nice hint of highlight on your cheeks- it can be used as an eyeshadow as well- but I absolutely love it.  Next is a repeat favorite- Spackle by Laura Gellar- it's a tinted primer I use the shade Champagne- it adds just a little bit of shimmer and helps your make-up last all day long, not to mention a bottle of this stuff lasts a very long time- I've been using the bottle above for several months and it's still way over half full. Define-A-Lash by Maybelline , this is my all time favorite mascara, I have very long and full lashes and it doesn't clump at all, I love everything about it and it lasts- mascara is definitely something I never leave home without it on.  Bright Eyed by Coastal Scents in Light- this is great as an under eye concealer if you like me have dark circles to hide.  You really don't need much it works great and lasts all day and it's very inexpensive to boot.  Life on the A List by Benefit, this lip gloss is a very neutral pink I love the way it lasts and you can use it over just about any lipstick it's not sticky just gives a nice glossy look.  The It Girl Palette by Stila, Eve, Kitten and Americano are the shades, they are very neutral and great for everyday wear, I love that they have a matte in the mix so it's not all shimmer- I pretty much wear these colors on a daily basis they are easy and very pretty.  I've been trying alot of new products lately, I've been trying to find a new foundation that is really great- haven't found it yet but I've found lots that I don't care for- I'm curious what foundation everyone else loves.....I'd love to hear if you have some products you absolutely love as well.

YouTube is AMAZING!!!

Okay I know YouTube has been around for quite awhile but just recently I discovered you can learn how to do almost anything by watching youtube.  So my friend Marisa, got me interested in Crocheting on Pinterest- I've been wanting to learn how to do it for years.  My Grandma, always tried to teach me but one thing I'm left handed and it's near impossible to learn from someone right handed and the instruction books are never helpful.  So I was determined I was going to learn.  So I found a few videos of left handed people showing you how to crochet and it finally just clicked.  So a little background I did know how to make a chain, girl I could make a chain from here to China but that was the extent of my experience.  So last saturday I watched several videos and was able to get it but wasn't super confident, so I put it down and went about my day.  I picked it back up on Sunday and I went to town between Sunday and Monday I had completed my very first scarf.  I was so proud of myself and I wore that scarf proudly all week to work!  I felt like a kid bringing home my art project that I'd worked so hard on.  So here is the award winning scarf.  So what have you learned to do on YouTube?

   

Lord help me to be patient today!

I don't dare pray for patience- as I know how God teaches us patience :)  Sometimes I can be so patient and other times I seem to pop my lid.  How does that happen, how do I let some people push all my buttons?  How do I let someone have that much control over me?  I know I am not alone- I need to learn to just walk away and come back later.  Not a great start to a new year that I want to make fabulous :)  Well the day is still young!

The Winner of my Giveaway...

Carolin- Congrats.  Please email me your address (scrappin4real@yahoo.com).  I'll get that out in the mail to you on Tuesday.  Be on the lookout for another giveaway very soon- I have picked up alot of great things to share with you all.  Thank you all that entered, be sure to check back for upcoming giveaways.

I am in love with my Keurig

So my parents bought us one for our Anniv. in September.  And we love this thing.  How did we ever live without it?  If you have one you know what I mean if you don't have one you probably think I'm crazy.  But I do love this little machine.  I use it every day- I was never much of a coffee drinker but now I do drink coffee much more often but I also drink alot of hot tea, apple cider and hot chocolate.  It is always a perfect cup of whatever!  My favorites right now are...Kahlua, French Vanilla- Cappuccino, Apple Cider, English Breakfast tea. 

What are your favorite flavors?

Giveaway...better late than never!

Sorry- computer issues all week.  So I want to do a giveaway- I'm going to run it until Friday.  All you have to do to enter is comment below and tell me your favorite holiday memory from this Christmas.  So you'll be getting a little goodie bag- I have a Paula Deen Cookbook binder (forgot to snap a pic of it- but it's very cute), Garnier Fructis- Color Shield Sample Shampoo & Conditioner, 2 different samples of Stila's tinted moisturizer, Sephora lip gloss in Sweet Candy, Benefit- sample packet- That gal- face primer, Porefessional- minimizes pores, Stay don't stray- eye primer, Small eye palette kit- Very pretty smokey colors with 2 eyeliner colors as well, 3 pack of nail polishes by Sephora (City Amazon, Military Jacket and Jungle Playground).  So a cute little goodie bag!  Hope everyone is having a good start to the New Year!  This is going to be a great year I can feel it.

So glad the holidays are OVER!

It was a rough month for me- so glad it's over.  I'm ready to start off the new year with a bang!  So a new year has begun and this year will be much better than last year.  I enjoyed a nice weekend with my family over Christmas and New Year's.  That's me and my mom in the picture above at New Year's.  So to celebrate the new year- I want to give something away!  I will post tomorrow about the giveaway and post a picture of what you'll be getting!  Happy New Year everyone.

Check out my new shoes....

I almost forgot to show my new shoes (ignore the mess on my desk behind it) that I'm in love with- they are red patent leather and are so comfy and cute!

Can't seem to remember ANYTHING...

Have you every had those episodes?  Well I've been having them for weeks- forgetting simple things.  I don't even have mommy brain to blame.  All I can blame is work- I've been over-whelmed for sure and I'm hoping that explains it all.  Well I've joined a new site recommended by my friend Marisa, thank you very much my friend.  Loseit.com- it helps you log your meals and your weight loss and exercise- it's the best site ever so far and I can access from my phone so it's wonderful.  It's really helping me make better decisions.  Now if I could just get in a regular exercise routine I'd be doing great! 

So I totally forgot about the giveaway last week so I'll do one next week- so be looking for it :)  Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!