Monday, September 28, 2009

They Start Early

So Franci has been dying to type on my laptop! She is drawn to it like a moth to a light bulb. I really know that this is because Mommy is doing it. She is definitely at that stage. Geez. She has to have a purse, put on my shoes, wear my necklaces, put on her own clothes. I must admit how proud I am of her accomplishments but seriously; she's 1 1/2 years old!! Is it supposed to go this fast?!

I decided to work with her interests on this one. I just happened to come across the cutest website called American Girl. I know that they have a magazine for girls but their webpage has a lot of fun things for girls to do. I also found a game for Franci and I to play together. It's so fun and she doesn't need to do much more than push one key. (That makes this game so easy for a little one to understand...it's all repetitive motions...right up her alley!)



The game we play takes place at the pet grooming studio. She gets to choose a pet from a list and then proceed with interactive steps for grooming. Her face lights up each time! I love it!


Gotta Scrub Coconut














Have to Trim Those Nails
















The End Results

clean coconut











We both like this website and have been back several times! It's strange to think that this kind of online time is going to be such a part of her future. I can't imgaine what technology has in store.


Thursday, September 24, 2009

My side dish

My church community group is having our first "get-to-know-you-better" outing. We're all meeting at a member's house for dinner tomorrow. Some of us have volunteered to bring side dishes and desserts.

I don't cook much. My definition of cook is "No, I can't make lasagna from scratch" and "Yes, I need to have the recipe book open at all times". I can't just whip up an extravagant meal on a dime. I have to plan for those things! However, there are a few things I do well and bruschetta is one of them!


picture of a garden tomatoes

Fresh garden tomatoes

Now does this look so yummy or what?!








basil


Fresh Basil


Fresh basil is the best! While I was searching for pictures of basil, I discovered that some cultures find this herb to be sacred. Who would have known? It's been said that basil can cure diseases and kill mosquitoes and demons living in the air. I'm not too sure about the demons, but I definitely can use it for those pesky mosquitoes!





Newman's Own salad dressing


picture of a Newman's Own Balsamic dressing



picture of olive oil











Virgin olive oil




Take several tomatoes and chop up, finely chop fresh basil, add Newman's Own Lite Balsamic salad dressing (it gives it an extra punch of flavor) or virgin olive oil to a bowl. Stir and serve!



Bruschetta

bruschetta



I usually serve this with wheat bread or melba toast. It's such a light tasting snack and it doesn't fill you up for the main course. However, in my case, I tend to make this my meal!


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Acorns and Walnuts

Today is officially Fall! I can't believe it. This year is going way too fast and I don't know how to handle this! My baby isn't such a baby anymore. She's 19 months old (as of the 19th). We bought our house in June and I still don't have everything in place. I hope it slows down these next few months. I need to catch up!

Last night brought very strange weather to our area. Thunderstorms and flash flooding like I've never seen! We luckily have an oak tree limb that hangs over the garage. All I heard last night was the ping of acorns dropping on the roof and then bouncing off my hubby's truck.

We must be blessed because in the backyard we have our very own walnut tree! Next to that is our metal shed. (Can you sense where I'm going with this)? It sounded like fireworks exploding each time a walnut would fall off!

All this rain has definitely put me into a coma. I don't know what it is about cloudy, rainy, chilly days. I just want to do nothing but snuggle up in a blanket and be still. No chores, no running errands, just pure solitude and relaxation; otherwise known to me as sleep.

We have been transitioning into Fall mode around here.


Mums




I officially planted our first flowers at our house. I chose mums since they always remind me of Fall and my carefree days as a kid growing up.


Chai Lattes




I'm hooked.


Razorback Football




Seeing this across the field is such a nostalgic feeling.


GO HOGS!




Little Bit's first of many game day apparel.


Change is in the air and you can smell it! Time to take on another challenge or complete a project that I've been putting off.

Happy first day of Fall!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Keep the Change

I recently opened an account with Bank of America. They have wonderful promotions enticing you open a checking and savings accounts and they will GIVE you $25!!! If you're in the category of saving and not spending down you're balance then you could get up to $100!!

They also have a program called Keep the Change. For those who haven't heard of this it's when you use your debit card. For example, you spend $27.74 and Bank of American will take $.26 from your checking and put it in your savings account. So when you reconcile your checking account, you will see that $28.00 was actually what was spent. I like this feature. It's a great way to keep you saving money. After all, we are in a recession right? Saving is at its all time high! I read an article that said that the next generation, i.e. my lovely daughter, will be very savvy with money. Oh the days of frivolous spending will be gone. But who really can predict the future?

Now, the important thing here. Bank of America will MATCH your Keep the Change total! So if you didn't do the math, you will have $.52 put in your savings! How nice of Bank of America! Oh how things are blurry to the average person. I am included. I checked my savings account and didn't see the match from BOA. I know the answer now!

You won't receive your match until you've had your account valid for 2 months. When you get this match, you will also be issued a 1099 for income earned! What does this mean? A 1099 is a miscellaneous income tax document, similar to your W-2, that is reported to the IRS. You aren't getting any freebies from BOA. In fact, you know that cool $25 you are going to get for just opening a checking and savings account? It too will be reported to the IRS.

Just thought I would share this with you all. In some cases, this won't be a problem for most people. However, if you are trying to keep your income below the next tax bracket, or keep a grant or scholarship, keep this in mind.

Friday, June 12, 2009

A Small Voice

It is hard to make important decisions when someone else is at stake. Today was a difficult day for my hubby and I. Well, it was harder for me I suppose. Our daughter's last day at daycare was today. We are moving her out of this daycare where she's been for over a year now. It's a bittersweet end. I won't get into to the issues but I have learned something from this. I am my daughter's voice.

It's quite eye-opening to me of the importance of my role and duty as 'Mama'. My daughter is almost 16 months now and I still feel like I haven't caught up with her. I'm still in awe at this amazing person and time has seriously flown by. She's still that little chubby cutie pie that couldn't sit up or roll over. I still remember getting up several times in the night and whether or not I should suck out the snot from her nose. For all those mom's out there, you all know how hard this was to do.

Today's events have revealed to me that I am my daughter's voice. I bet if she would say a complete meaningful sentence she would say that she's proud of me and thank you.

I love being her Mom. I look forward to her beautiful smile everyday and the accompanying twinkle in her eyes when she looks at me; our ritual tug of war over my jewelry each morning and the peek-a-boo games we play in between blow drying one section of my hair at a time. I can't help but laugh when I get to work and find dried oatmeal in my hair or on my shoulder. That little girl has tricks I tell you! I honestly think she does it for her own amusement.

To all you amazing moms, aunts, uncles, grammies and grandpas, remember this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Don't let a single moment slip by!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

My Suitcase

My suitcase is red, has a few scuffs on it and apparently isn't made for traveling too much. However, that is exactly what I've been doing the past 4 weeks!

A short review:

Over Christmas, my husband, daughter and I flew out to visit the in-laws in Las Vegas. We stayed there a week.

When we got home, I didn't even unpack my stuff because I was going out of town to do an external audit at a bank in southeast Arkansas.

New Year's-- HA!--- We went to bed around 9-ish. No fancy parties or even a toast to ring in the new year. We are parents so sleep is vital!!!!

My audit was moved back a week but I still kept the suitcase packed.

Now you're up to speed on the events over the holidays. I'm actually here in lovely Crossett, Arkansas. It's a small town with a large smell. The Georgia-Pacific Paper Mill is the heart to this town. I don't know all the things that go into processing pine trees but its pretty smelly out there. In the back of my mind, I wonder if I could get cancer from the water from my shower. I have refused to drink tap water here and I head over to Wal-Mart every other day to stock up on it.

I took up spinning while I'm here. This town actually has a pretty ligit gym with classes! Tought by trained professionals mind you! Besides working, working out, and getting into trouble there's not much to do here.

Tonight, my co-worker's and I are making a 1 1/2 hour drive south to Greenville, MS to eat at Doe's! THE Doe's. THE first Doe's. Some of you may ask, "What is Doe's?". It's a red meat-loving piece of heaven on earth. YES. I LOVE RED MEAT. It's a weakness. Then afterwards we're hitting a riverboat on the mighty Mississippi with high hopes and dollar signs in our eyes.

I hope lady luck is on my side tonight!!