Making a Move...

I've decided to move my blog, give it a new name and look... so i hope my 5 fabulous followers will follow me on over to my new blog: confessions of a multi-tasker... seems a little more fitting of me and my life.
come on and follow me - show me some love... and i'm hoping that if you are a lurker, or a newbie - you'll start following me to - my whole goal is to get at least 4 new followers a month (that's only one a week...)

here's the new link -
http://multitaskersconfessions.blogspot.com/

see you over there!

perspective

from time to time there is something that smacks me upside the head and makes me realize that there is a reason for everything.

it's really hard sometimes to put your life in perspective and realize that there is a purpose and a plan beyond what you want to happen. or what you think you deserve, don't deserve, expect... whatever. because - sometimes the thing you don't want, is what you need the most in some weird way.

sooner or later a job is going to come along - and the hubs will take it. because he has to. because he had his dream job - and sometimes, what you dream about - isn't really an ideal "dream"... sometimes what you think is great, and wonderful and perfect - really isn't. everything happens for a reason - and i'm anxious to see where this road leads us.

it's amazing how the two of us have come together during this time. it's amazing at how when you are at a low point, you have two paths to choose from - the one where you muddle through holding hands together or the one where you are opposite charged magnets, repelling each other. we've had our good moments, and we've had moments that are not so pretty... but we'll make it through. we'll push on. because we're hopefully and we both know that sooner or later, it's going to happen... and when it does, it will be good. it will be great, and we'll know that no matter what low we hit...

at least we're hitting it together. and we're holding hands while we do it.

and, as horrible as this tribulation is in our life is - it's not the worst

thing ever. there are much worse battles we could be fighting.

and that's when i realize i married an amazing man.

i married a man who i plan on being with forever.

a man who plans on stickin' with me just as long.

and i plan on being through the ups and downs of life

with him. because no matter how glum and gloomy

today is - i know with him, tomorrow will always be better.

sometimes life just shows you a bit of perspective in the

oddest of places, like when you are scrubbing a toilet or doing the dishes.

but a bit of perspective is always good.

.always.

it's just the kinda day for a big ol' bowl of soup...

...this is the view from our window today...

...brrrrrrrrrr...

so, when it's that cold out - and i'm here, with babes who are snug as bugs, i turn into a super culinary genius and dive into making homemade ravioli meatball soup.

the "original" recipe comes from some random momma magazine i just got in the mail - but i don't like weepy celery in my soup and, blech, green beans are NOT made for any soup of mine!

i had to resist the urge to put potatoes in - the deciding factor to my anti-potato soup, was the fact that I put an entire bag of 4-cheese ravioli's in... and potatoes on top of that would just be just totally wrong and totally "F.A."

so here's the step-by-step approach to making my

"sNOw-way I'm going outside today" soup...

ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey breast

1 tablespoon Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

1/8 teaspoon rosemary

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 can (14.5oz) Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes

1 can (8oz) no-salt added tomato sauce

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup diced carrots

1 package frozen mini chese ravioli

OK - LET'S GET STARTED!

1. heat the oven to 400-degrees
(i'd show you pictures of me doing all this prep-work... but i loathe my 2x2 kitchen...so i'll let you pretend that i'm cooking in a state of the art gourmet kitchen - hey a girl can dream, right?!)

(let's just say this is my kitchen, you know - for you visual people out there)

2. line a baking pan w/ aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray

3. combine turkey, bread crumbs, rosemary, pepper and salt.

4. make 48 mini-meatballs (who knew this was the most difficult part?!)

5.bake the meatballs for 12 minutes, or until nice and brown. take'em out and let'em rest.

6. in saucepan (like mine... oooh..la.la.le creuset!), combine broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and the trinity of veggies (of your choosing, really).
(and for the record - i loathe electric stoves - with the deepest passion know to woman!)

7. boil, then reduce heat

8. cover and simmer for 5 minutes

9. stir in (frozen) ravioli

10. cook, covered for 5 more minutes

11. add meatballs (if you are the hubs - you'll eat'em right off the cookie sheet)
...VOILA...

....serve tonight for dinner... (tonight's dinner! yummmm!)

Enjoy and discuss the weather...

all this soup needs now is a nice hunk of crusty, crunchy bread...

...but it's cold out... and getting crusty, crunchy bread would require

a trip OUTSIDE. where it's cold.

maybe the hubs will pick up some on his way home from his INTERVIEW!!

(it's part of the 2nd interview process @ a local company - keep your fingers crossed!)

Enjoy the snowy day.... from inside!

***update- husband picks delciously fabulous crusty sourdough loaf - big kudos to him... big kudos to me for not eating the whole loaf! he also had a great interview... it's now down to him and one other person - you know what to do!***

just another thing to do in a Level 1 snow emergency...

...kids in bed, cold (bitterly cold, actually), and bored after my nightly wii-fit routine...

...this is what i do...

i've been saving the little "buttons" for something special since they are all hand-painted.

and i figured this would be a good use for them (I've had them for 3 years... it's time...).

and i handmade the pillow packs (or as my friend A. calls 'em McDonald Apple Pie packs - and that's why i love her!) and tie'd'em all up with a simple, but pretty shiny ribbon.

(bad pic, i know... it's from my cell...)

and now, the decision needs to be who gets them.

when it's snowing, and the kids are sleeping, and you are bored...

...this is what you do....

make your really boring client notebooks into something super-de-duper cute.

problem is... now i don't want to write in them!

the other problem is... is i want to make more of them so i have notebooks for every purpose.

yes...these are the confessions of a multi-tasker.

this is what they looked like before i started them... (for those who asked!)

super simple, super cheap and a perfect way to make your desk look nice! hey- if you've gotta work - why not have it work for you?! I think I'm going to head back out to Tar-jet to pick up another 3-pack (or more) and make some more of these cute notebooks - for everything I'm working on and for cutesy valentine gifts for my friends and neighbors... I mean who COULDN'T use a notebook?!

Please pray...

please pray for my friend J. and her son M.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/matthewbarr

you can never have too many prayers!

yet another update...

...better news than the "malarkey" i blogged late last week...

the hubs has 2 interview set up for the next two days.

company 1 is an association

company 2 is a nice big ol' c.bus company and these are the 2nd (and hopefully the final) round o' interviews.

as for me - i have two SIGNED clients and i'm getting back in the swing o'things.

(not sure why everything is ol' or o' today... it just feels right and i'm ok with that!)

I've also started the Special K 2-week challenge. hmm... we'll see about that... I mean a cup of cereal and a piece of fruit is hardly a breakfast. can I have coffee? Can I have orange juice... or do i just eat Special K for meal 1, and meal 2 and then two snacks of special k? hmm... that's a whole lotta Special K. I may get grouchy... forgive me now!

Have a good day... and keep the hubs in your prayers!

xo

you know you're doing something right...

the hubs needed to make a stop at an old co-workers last night... so we bathed and pj-ed both kids, warmed up their sippy cups of milk and trekked out.... well, and i needed to find a store where i could pick up steno notepads, special k diet goodies (we'll see about the "goodies" part in about 3 days) and baby orajel toothpaste ... hence, walmart (groan!).

we knew we were pressing our luck with miss sassafrass...anything past 7:30 pm and it's holy guacamole in our back seat.

we were fast approaching that breaking point.

the hubs and i, for some random reason decided that *tonight* would be the night to take the cheshire road route...a route we've only heard about and never taken...

MISTAKE. yeh...mistake with ALL CAPITAL LETTERS!

about 10 minutes from home, while we're lost somewhere between here and there in the middle of a little neighborhood who knows where... Miss Sassafrass lets it all out... and well... that's that at this point - the milk cup is empty, the snackies are done, the dvd playing in the backseat is not entertaining... and it's 7:50...

i'm trying my best, all contorted backwards in the suv to try to comfort the little miss - and well, i'm trying is all i can say!

then...a defining moment - when all my worry of "doing it right" as a parent is demolished... because Master D reaches over (in attempts to pet sissy and comfort her) and in his most sweetest, most wonderfulness, most adorable moment says....

"it's gonna be right sissy - we're gettin' you home soon.... don't cry sissy, don't cry"....

my heart melts... because Master D is my sweet, kind, sensative child and hearing those words and witnessing that gesture makes you know that... gosh, darn it... you are doing something right!

where does the time go?

master d was up to something the other day... i don't remember exactly what he was up to ... but it was something where his back was to me.
and it was at that very mini-moment that i realized my itty bitty baby boy... was turning into a person. a real, live, boy. he's so independent and smart and funny and kind and every wonderful thing a person could possess. when did that all happen and what was i doing? it's like one day you are nursing them to sleep in the hospital on their first day and the next you are dealing with a mister man...

i look at miss sassafrass and everyday she gets sweeter and cuter and more edible. (ohhhh.... those cheekers get me!) and i relize she's 1. and will be 2... and it won't be that long before she's doing something and i realize that babies aren't living in my house anymore. she's starting to understand things and if i say "can you get momma that duckie" she says "quack,quack,quack" and goes to get the duck. she communicates and points and laughs and tags along with master d.

wasn't it just yesterday i was holding her on her very first day? wasn't it just the day before yesterday that i took a pregnacy test and realized that i was pregnant...again?
and then i start to think back to the early days of the hubs and i. and it blows my mind that i was 21 when we met.

we were young. and stupid. and fun. and crazy

and in love. lovelovelovelove.

we're still in love. probably more than we were way back then.but the crazy and fun turned into responsiblities and questions and dealings and all those things that come with being in the real world. and to being parents. and, being responsible... and real. and in charge of something more than just you and the 12 pack of nattie light

you're carrying to the kegger at the "hot" frat party of the weekend or and in charge of more than just deciding on what bar would be the bar of the night. i love what i have...but what i wouldn't give to go back -just for a fleeting moment...

go back to day one with the hubs...
standing under the student center archway at KSU, talking, flirting...

not knowing what would be...

go back to holding a baby boy in my arms...

to holding a baby girl in my arms....

the potential each of those moments inspires...and makes me appreciate the fleeting moments I'm living as I breathe.

where does the time go?

GOJO and NOJO(b)

Update....short and brief b/c my heart hurts...

The job at GoJo is a no go. They claim that the hubs was great...amazing...wonderful...talented... but that they hired someone

with a "better understanding of marketing framework"

ok - venting for a moment...

The term "marketing framework" doesn't even exisit... it's totally a made up gojo term. so... how is someone from OUTSIDE the company suppose to understand the inside lingo?

Whatever... He's better than GoJo any way, any day...

the right job is out there... back to the drawing board (or job search engine)

Keep our family in your prayers and thoughts... every little bit helps!