peaks, pits, praises, prayers

1. THE PEAKS: Went out on the town (Chicago) with a bunch of friends for a belated birthday celebration last night. First we had dinner at Northdown Tap, and then we walked to the Pony Inn for some drinks. After that we went to Late Bar for a few hours. They were playing some great 80s music! And the drinks were relatively cheap for the city.

2. THE PITS: I'm sooooo hungover  :-/   It was definitely worth it, though!

3 PRAISE: I am thankful for having so many amazing friends and relatives to celebrate my birthday (and every day, really) with! So many people came out last night - I feel so loved!

4. PRAYER: A couple months ago my biological father found out he might need heart surgery. I haven't heard any updates from him about this yet (I think he's still waiting for his follow up appointment). I'm just praying he doesn't need surgery and that he can be treated with meds or something non-invasive.

mood music

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, a list of my favorite love songs......

"Fade Into Me" - David Cook
"Steady As We Go" - DMB
"Street Map" - Athlete
"Flames" - VAST
"Happy Ever After in Your Eyes" - Ben Harper
"Talk Tonight" - Oasis
"City of Blinding Lights" - U2
"I Shall Believe" - Sheryl Crow
"To Make You Feel My Love" - Adele or Garth Brooks
"Two Sparrows in a Hurricane" - Tanya Tucker
"Amazed" - Lonestar
"When You Say Nothing At All" - Alison Krauss






I <3 music.


What songs are on your list?

yummo

Before I sign off for today, I'd like to share one of my favorite recipes. I had already made this several times before I even knew about Pinterest, but I pinned this Trader Joe's recipe just to share it with others.

Here's what you need:

• 1 cup whole wheat cous cous
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
• Goddess dressing, to taste

Cook the Couscous in vegetable broth according to directions on package. Fluff with a fork, then add beans, onions, cheese and olives. Dress the mixture and toss lightly... delicious.

 

This stuff is AMAZING. Soooo addictive! It's great as a side dish at dinner or as an easy make-ahead lunch for the week. It's also a great alternative to pasta salad if you need to bring something to a potluck or party.

Enjoy!

pillow talk

Today's inspiration comes courtesy of datingdivas.com: pillow talk

Instead of asking each other questions in bed (I'm sure we'd both drift off within the first few minutes), I typed up an actual survey. My husband and I are each filling out our own copies tonight; we will trade off tomorrow to see how the other person answered the questions.

Here is a list of the questions I included in the survey:

I love it when you wear this outfit: _______________________
I love it when you wear this cologne/perfume: _______________________
One of my favorite memories of us:  _______________________
A place I'd like to travel to with you one day:  _______________________
A time when I felt proud of you:  _______________________
An activity I'd like to try with you someday:  _______________________
A movie that reminds me of you:  _______________________
How I describe you to other people:  _______________________
Three qualities I love about you:  _______________________
If you could guarantee you could change one thing about yourself, this is what I would want you to change:  _______________________
If I could spend up to $10,000 on anything right now, this is what I would buy:  _______________________
What my first date was like:  _______________________
If I could change anything about myself, I would change:  _______________________
Three things you could do to make me happier in our marriage:  _______________________
Three celebrities I think are attractive:  _______________________
A sexual position I'd like to try:  _______________________
A prop I'd like to use in the bedroom:  _______________________
A sexual fantasy I'd like to try:  _______________________
I would be content having sex ________ times per week.

peaks, pits, praises, prayers

I filed the original post for this one under "cool random stuff" on Pinterest.

I don't keep a physical journal, because I have a phobia of someone (i.e. my husband) finding it; actually, he doesn't even know about this blog...shhhhhh! Hey, a girl has to have a little mystery to her, right?! ;)

Since I don't have a physical journal, I figure I can just do this one right here on my blog.

Here we go!

1. THE PEAKS: It's my birthday!! Got lots of bday wishes on Facebook, via email, on the phone, from my students and from my co-workers. Didn't work too hard today - just had some fun in the classroom! Picked up some bday freebies at Qdoba (chips and salsa) and Caribou (a medium blended white chocolate mocha). Watched some funny YouTube videos. Looking forward to getting spoiled by my hubby tonight.

2. THE PITS: My neck and shoulder have been killing me all day. I had neck surgery a couple years ago, and this is the worst it has bothered me since then. I think I'm suffering from bursitis caused by lugging around a car seat and a toddler day in and day out. A follow-up visit to my orthopedic surgeon may be in order!

3 PRAISE: I'd like to thank God for my boys: Evan, 2, and Noah, 3 months. Hearing Evan try to sing "Happy Birthday, Mommy" nearly brought tears to my eyes. This is such a precious time in life!

4. PRAYER: I just found out my friend's mother was recently diagnosed with cancer (she didn't provide any details) and is having surgery this Friday. I pray that the procedure goes smoothly and she is on the road to recovery soon!

fun for all ages

Lots of great ideas for the kiddos on Pinterest. I'll be posting about some specific Pinterest-inspired kid fun soon.

In the meantime, I have put together a list of activities for infants/young toddlers, broken down by age bracket......

3-6 months

• peek-a-boo
• tickling
• drop the spoon
• "this little piggy..."
• funny faces
• mobiles and mirrors
• imitation (5 months)
• waving "bye bye"
• clapping hands
• "pat-a-cake"
• "no no" (shake finger)

6-9 months

• stacking toys
• plastic cups
• soft blocks
• squeaky toys
• music and dancing
• clap hands to rhythm
• rhythm games ("one, two, buckle my shoe," etc)
• cause and effects (lights on/off, faucet on/off, etc)
• put cloth and toys on floor, have baby pull toward her

9-12 months

• "go get it" games
• hide-and-seek
• pots and pans
• filling and emptying

2-3 years

• dress  up
• toy trains
• wooden blocks
• finger puppets
• painting
• coloring
• clay
• play-doh
• water play

diy bird nest necklace

I'm not sure what my first Pinterest project was. I'll have to go back through my pins to figure that out. While I can't recall my first project, there are quite a few that really made an impression. I'd like to start my blog off with a bang, so I'll dedicate my first real post to my favorite project so far: the DIY bird nest necklace.

 

//diy bird nest necklace original pin//

I stumbled across these beauties right when I was looking for relatively inexpensive DIY Christmas gifts for some of my girlfriends. I am *so* not crafty, and I'm actually kind of impatient, but this seemed quick, straightforward - completely doable.

I bought individual chains, but you could just buy a really long chain and cut it; you'd just need jump rings to close off the ends and connect them together. I chose convenience over frugality here, though - totally worth it, by the way!

I also had to buy 24 gauge wire and a container of assorted glass beads.

I won't bore you with the instructions; you can refer to the original post for those. But I will show off my finished product!

I already gave away all the other necklaces I made as gifts. I think some of those turned out way better. I used up the best beads making the other necklaces, so I did the best I could with what was left when I made this one for myself. I feel like I could have wrapped the wire a little looser and made it look a little fuller, but I like it.

I highly recommend this project. For about $30-40, you can make necklaces for 6-8 people. Everybody was truly touched by their gift. I mean, heck, who doesn't like to receive a one-of-a-kind work of art?!  :)

origins

I joined Pinterest almost a year ago because a bunch of friends were already obsessed and kept telling me I absolutely had to check it out. My first experience was not good. I didn't understand what to do. Actually, I didn't even get the point of Pinterest in general. One day somebody explained it to me, rather than just gushing about how cool they thought it was. They described it as a place where you can create as many virtual bulletin boards as you want, an improved take on the whole bookmarking concept. That sparked my interest enough to get me back on Pinterest. I started off slow, afraid to commit to too many projects, afraid of getting overwhelmed. Now I can't get enough! I'll pin something I know I'll never try, just because I think it's freaking awesome. Hey, you never know when you'll want that recipe for Mountain Dew Doritos cupcakes!