It’s Wedding Month!

Happy Sunday peeps. We are counting down the days to the wedding. We are three weeks out. I can’t believe we’re so close. I went to Dallas last weekend and that was my last trip there until wedding week. I will spend the whole week of the wedding there so Tess and I will have that last week to wrap up any last minute details. She has done an amazing job of being her own wedding planner and sticking to her budget. I’m super proud of her. She has made all of the decorations for the reception, centerpieces and all of the signage. She’s super clever and definitely has an eye for exactly what she wants. Three more weeks!! She picked me up early last Friday morning at the airport and we headed out for coffee and breakfast to brainstorm ideas and finalize a few logistics.   It has been […]

Early (Like Really Early) Morning

I was wide awake at 3:30 am. I woke up from a dream that included Bradley Cooper and Tess’s wedding. I think in my dream I wanted Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga to sing at the wedding. The wedding has been on my mind pretty much 24/7, and apparently so has Bradley Cooper. The last three weeks have really been a whirlwind of work, wedding planning and a cold I couldn’t seem to shake until just the last few days. Mike and I had one weekend at home after vacation, then headed out to Dallas for a couples shower for Tess and Manuel. We went out Saturday morning and came home early Sunday morning so it was a really quick trip, but the shower was absolutely perfect. I’m so excited for these two and their upcoming wedding! March 30 is approaching quickly.   They’re really are a bunch of other people […]

Hola Amigo!

We returned from a fun, beautiful and adventurous nine day vacation in Cancun to ice and temperatures in the teens in Kansas City. What the heck?? Welcome Home. You have re-entered reality! After many many difficult months, 2 years in a row of canceled vacations, five surgeries and recoveries over a 15 month period and just a lot of life obstacles, Mike and I were so happy to be able to go on this vacation. I was so happy to feel physically well enough to do whatever we wanted while we were gone. Oh my gosh, I have SO much to say in this post before I share our trip with you. Let me share this first. I’ve only shared this with Mike, my daughter Tess and a few others, so forgive me if you are reading this here and I did not share it with you in person. I was trying […]

Walk with Me Through the Snow

Life is just so busy and full and happy right now. I know it’s early, but I had big plans for 2019 to be filled with happiness and positive energy and so far the year is right on track. I know it can’t be all puppies and rainbows everyday, but I’m expecting the majority of the year…….to be filled with really good stuff. This post feels a little dated now as most of the 11 inches of snow that we had a couple of Saturdays ago has melted. However, these pictures are just too pretty not to share. I was trapped that Saturday (not literally) by the dining room window with a cup of coffee watching the snow fall. The flakes were so large and the snow was so heavy. I kept filling my cup of coffee and plopping back down to simply watch it snow. Finally, I had to get […]

Mindfully Living. Being Present.

I wrote a really long and boring post detailing my 2018 Year in Review. I spent a gazillion hours writing it. After reading through it, I realized it was just for me. You’re welcome. I’ll hang on to it for myself (It was actually quite therapeutic for me to see how far I’ve come in a year!) and I’ll share with you why I chose the title that I did for this blog post, some of what I’ve been cooking in the kitchen, a few things I’ve had to eat out and I’ll share a link to the Free 30 Day Yoga Challenge that I’m doing. I chose the word Gratitude for the year. I didn’t even know I was going to chose a word, but that word had been with me in a powerful way since early November, and keeping it with me in a very mindful way, seemed like […]

Happy 2019!

Happy New Year to you all! It’s already the 3rd! I was going to say that I have obviously lowered my standards and that’s why this is being posted on the 3rd. Then I thought, I haven’t lowered my standards at all. If anything I have raised them. I’ve raised my standards for myself. I’m mindfully putting myself first. I’m taking care of me. Posting a Happy New Year post on the 3rd is proof that I simply have redefined my expectations of myself. All of that feels really good.  Every year between Christmas and New Years, I go deep inside my head and ask myself if I am okay where I am at in my life. Do I want to do anything different? What do I want to accomplish in the upcoming year? It’s always a great week of reflection for me.  I am so stinking excited for this […]

Chicken and Caulirice Soup

This was a happy little accident. Sometimes I drizzle a little olive oil in the skillet and then I just start chopping and dicing whatever I can find. Sometimes it’s nothing. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised. When my husband says…..”What’s in this?”, I’ know its a keeper. It was chilly out and a bit rainy. A perfect day for soup. A few staples that I like to have on hand for these days are Stock (Veggie, Chicken or Beef), Rotisserie Chicken meat in the freezer and frozen bags of caulirice. It’s always good to keep onion, celery and carrots too. You can start so many delicious dishes with celery, carrots and onions. Your house smells amazing in the process! There really could not be anything easier to throw together.  Enjoy! “love the life you live, live the life you love”

Keep It Easy

I enjoyed some time in the kitchen the week before Christmas. I really wanted to have healthy foods available and keep the treats out of the house as long as possible. As much as I enjoy cooking, I don’t really cook anything complicated. I find the chopping and dicing relaxing. I like just a few quality ingredients and I like to keep it easy. I knew that spending a little time in the kitchen preparing some healthy meals would lead me to feeling successful at the end of December. I’ve also gotten to the point where I can comfortably throw food away after a party if it is food that won’t leave me feeling so great if I eat too much of it. I always felt the need to hang on to the party food after the party. Eat on it for several days. Not waste it. Now, I’m much better at allowing myself […]

Christmas 2018

On Christmas Eve 2017 I was 10 days post op my breast reconstruction surgery, I was moving past cancer and adjusting to a very different body. I could barely stand and I was trying really hard not to let on how disappointed I was in how my year was wrapping up. This year was full of kids and laughs and family and friends and fun. I could not be happier.   These three one year olds stole the show!   This might be my favorite picture of Christmas this year.   It was so nice to feel like “me”.   The chaos makes it all so perfect.   I have more fun watching them play with their Stocking Stuffers than anything else.   When one of the kids reminds me, we get out the Gingerbread House kits. It’s messy. I love it.   No words needed. Agree?   Before we […]

I’m Ready!

So I’ve just been over here living in my bathroom.😂 OK, maybe not 24/7, but I have been spending a lot of time in our newly decorated bedroom and bathroom watching Christmas movies, shopping online taking baths while watching Christmas movies and shopping online (you know I’m not lying) and just enjoying this new space. It’s so relaxing.     Work is going great and I have never appreciated having a job that I love as much as I do right now.   We had a great weekend and we’ve got a full week planned. Saturday afternoon I picked up this little cutie pie.   We then headed to the airport to pick up Tess, Manuel and Tucker. They are here through December 23rd. This year they will have Christmas in Dallas. When you’re kids grow up, you have to share them with other people and it kinda stinks, but I’m […]