Another Make-up Gem

So, my Mom surprised me this year and on top of a new purse, which is what she gets me every year for my birthday, she also gave me a Sephora gift card through Facebook. I have to say that is the coolest thing I just learned about Facebook. When it is someone's birthday you can give a gift and choose from different gift cards. Well, then Facebook sends you a gift card with your amount on it and you keep the card and then anyone can add a gift to it through Facebook and you just reuse it. I might have just made that sound confusing but it's really easy and a great idea!

Anyways, with my Sephora card, I got a few little things but my main item was a product by Too Faced and called Smokey Eye. I have wanted this product for awhile and it is AWESOME!!! It comes with instructional cards to tell you how to do a Smokey look for Day, Fashion and Classic and so far I have only tried the Day. I was worried that it would be too much and it wasn't at all. Here are photos below:

I definitely give it two thumbs up and if I had four thumbs I would give it four thumbs up! Here are photos of the product.:)

 

THANK YOU MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

January 2014

This year, my goal is to write once a month on my blog, so I can use it as a journal and I can look back at all the things I tend to forget after a few months. I figure if I do this while things are fresh then I will be good to go.:) The New Year started out not with a bang, but with a quietness that I NEEDED after a crazy couple months in 2013. We just needed some time to relax, regroup and not have to be anywhere. It ended up being a really awesome evening and the kids had a blast. We ate chicken wings, veggies and dip, fruit, shrimp cocktail and had mint moosetracks milkshakes for desserts. We played board games and watched the ball drop with Ryan Seacrest and cheered the New Year at midnight, with the kids, with apple juice in champagne glasses. The kids said that was one of the best nights ever so I think we made the right decision to stay home.:)

This week, the kids had three snow days, Vanessa learned how to make homemade pasta with her dad, we made snow ice-cream, Hayden started his research for the Education Fair and Vanessa worked on her All About Me poster. Our basement project is wrapping up soon, the painters have been here the last two days doing the finishing coats and then we just have some bathroom things to be done and wah-la, we will have a new house...hehehe...well, it sure feels that way, anyways, with adding a finished basement.:) Other than that, we are back in the groove of school, sports activities and  everyday life. This weekend, Brian will be ice-fishing, Hayden has a basketball game, we have to make a trip to Muskegon and skiing on Sunday, although rain is in the forecast and Brian isn't feeling so great so we shall see. Here is a photo of Vanessa with the homemade pasta. It is delicious and we started stocking the freezer with batches of it. Have a great weekend!

Make-up, my obsession!!

Make-up, my obsession...yes it is!!...hehehee! Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE make-up and trying new kinds. I have a few absolute favorites but I constantly discover new beauty products that I love! My very favorite mascara is Lancôme's Hypnose but before I found it I always loved basic Maybelline and I am talking pink bottle with green lid basic.:) So, I tell everyone if you buy a relatively inexpensive mascara, go with Maybelline. So, recently Maybelline has come out with a whole slew of new mascara's and I decided I wanted to try some out and then post what my finding were. I have tried two so far.

The first one I tried was,

 

Mega Plush

This mascara I will call a "grow on you" type. Did I love it at first, no, it was okay but as I used it more it turned out to be a good mascara. Here is what it looked like on:

The second one I tried was,

Big Eyes

This mascara I will call an "instant love" type. This made my lashes absolutely amazing!!

It has two brushes, one for upper lashes and one for bottom lashes and it ROCKS!! Here is what it looked like on:

 

I have a couple more to try and will post my reviews when I try them! Thanks for reading my blog!:)

Sings ♪♫ "it's been awhile"♪♫

Well, I can honestly say I have thought about my blog but just haven't taken the time to get on here. Life has been crazy! We had a very busy summer, which was unusual for us and that led right into Fall and our basement project. This summer we took my dad and Donna to Sicily. It was beautiful and HOT! But, I loved the people, scenery and food. We had a great time!

October, our basement project started. We are finishing it and adding a family room, bedroom, office, craft room and bathroom. It will be so nice to have the extra room especially when the kids have friends over or we have company. I can't wait to decorate it!!

Both kids had conferences and are doing great. Hayden is an honor student and above grade level in reading and math and Vanessa is doing great also and is reading at a second grade reading level right now. By the end of the year she will be reading at a third grade level her teacher said. They both love school and are doing just great. I'm very proud of them!

Brian is getting ready for ice-fishing season. He started growing a beard and I love it! He's so handsome anyway that he looks, at least to me...smiling big! He is doing great with EJ and I'm very proud of his hard work.

Me, well, I'm busy with kids, being a wife, keeping house, volunteer work and hobbies. Life is good.:)

That's about it for now...I will write a more detailed post later!

I'm Still Here....Smiling!

Wow! It has been a long time since I wrote, so much has happened and well, life just got busy...real busy. I will start with updating about all of us:

Hayden- My quiet, sensitive, endearing, funny, handsome, sweet guy with the great smile...
He turned 9 in March and eats like a teenager...hehehe. He is such a sweetheart, still my love bug who is guarded but seeks attention. He likes getting good grades, doing well at sports and likes when we are proud. He craves that honary attention, which means he is always doing his best and we are so proud of him. He has all A's and B's in school, has become quite the baseball and basketball player. Baseball is natural for him. He's really good and this year he came out of his shell in basketball and soared. It was great to see him grow and his love for the sport grew also. He loves learning about our world, different cultures, and still will study book after book on animals. He loves Pokemon, Skylanders and Mindcraft. He reads between 600-1000 minutes a week. Right now his favorite series are the American Chillers chapter books. He has many friends at school but his closest friends are Connor, Angel and Henry. His best friend is Vanessa. He still wants to be President of the United States when he grows up and has a fascination with Abe Lincoln and learning about presidents and other historical people or things like the Titanic. He is on his third year of drum lessons and his musical tastes vary, although he leans towards popular pop music, like Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and Pink. He's not a picky eater but he loves a good hamburger with ketchup, mustard and pickles and when we went on a Disney Cruise, he ate one everyday for dinner....LOL! He loves to go fishing, he loves to eat Bluegills and he partly enjoys golf but he would much rather go out and shoot some hoops or play catch. He loves to cuddle and is extremely ticklish. He likes when we play Monopoly and other games or puzzles as a family. That's my boy summed up but I barely touched on all of his great qualities. He is an amazing kid, so super smart and I love him beyond words!

Vanessa- My sweet, quiet, super duper funny, beautiful, loving, motherly little ladybug...
She turned 6 in October and eats like a mouse...hehehe. She is hysterical, very much a comedien and cracks us up everyday. She loves rainbows and flowers, purple is her favorite color, she loves to sing and dance and her favorite music varies also. She loves pop music and boy bands and Taylor Swift is one of her very favorites. She likes to play instruments, she will play Hayden's drums and Brian's guitar but her focus is piano and she is doing really well. Right now she is learning Chopsticks and Tea for Two. Her very favorite thing to do is watch movies. She would watch them all day if you let her, some of her favorites are Despicable Me, Ratatouille, Up, Wizard of Oz, Annie, The Sound of Music and Shirley Temple movies. Her favorite foods are olives, bell peppers, cheese, smelts, blue gills, fruit, broccoli and yogurt. She plays school everyday and loves her babies, stuffed animals and barbies. She loves to draw and color, do crafts and wants to learn to sew and make her own clothes. She likes to go fishing and mini golfing and loves to ride her bike and play at the beach. She is a great fashionista and picks out her own outfits and she wows us all the time with what she puts together. I think we could have a future fashion designer! She loves to read everyday and has just moved to chapter books. One of her favorite places is the library. She loves t-ball and this year she runs really fast. Her long legs give her bigger strides and she is quick! Vanessa is very much a mommy's girl, although she loves daddy and wants him at certain times, she will tell me she misses me all the time. She loves to cuddle and give eskimo kisses and loves when I tickle her like crazy. She likes to play Holly Hobbie and Monopoly Junior and she beats me everytime! That's my girl summed up and I barely touched on all of her great qualities. She is amazing, has an unbelievable memory and she's smart and I love her beyond words!

Brian- My sweet loving husband whom I cherish and fall in love with everyday over and over again...
Brian and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary this month and sometimes it feels like it should be longer and other times it feels like yesterday when we met. He is doing awesome. He is such an inspiration with his work ethic, his faith and his patience. He is my calm when I am the storm and he still loves me afterwards...hehehee. He is doing incredible with his business and is a very hard worker and people love him because he is genuine and caring. He does alot in our community and has such a giving heart. I admire his strength also. He can get through the toughest of times and you almost wouldn't even know anything was bothering him. He's mild mannered, super funny and likes to have a good time. His parenting is the best, seriously...he plays with the kids, gives great advice and makes sure he is home 99% of the time to eat dinner with them....He is a hands-on dad and I couldn't of asked for a better father for my children. What they are doing and how their day was is the #1 important thing to him and everyday he asks them what was the best part of their day. How awesome is that. He loves crossfit and health has become quite important to him this last year. He runs a 10k every year and loves to go fishing, ice fishing and golfing. He works hard, prays everyday for all of our blessings, family, friends and good health, he helps both coaches at t-ball and baseball and is a great teacher. I love him with all of my heart, he is the BEST husband in the world!!

Me- Let's see...well, in September I started swimming three times a week and I have lost 24 pounds to date. I'm very happy with my accomplishment even though I still have alot more to lose but it's a great start. I still have my cupcake business, although that has slowed down and really by choice. I have turned down several orders in the last few months because of my schedule and being busy but that is the life of a stay-at-home mom. The kids are getting older and I'm getting busier but I love it. I think sometimes my schedule gets a little too crazy but it's fun and I love being involved in their lives. That's why I chose to stay home. The kids are so much fun for me, they make me laugh and laugh and we really have a great time together. I love watching them get older and seeing all of their interests and what they like to do and who their friends are. They make my heart so happy. I've really come to discover some new things about myself, I want to learn to sew and I sewed my first project with some wonderful friends and I am hooked. I plan to take some classes and invest in a machine, I really have so many ideas and can't wait to make things. I love cooking for friends and over this last year I had several groups come for dinner and it was such a joy for me. I love entertaining but this was simple, low key and a small group and it made it very intimate and fun. We had a lot of laughs and great conversations so I plan to continue it again in the Fall. My MOMSnext group is growing, not only in numbers but in wisdom, faith and friendship. I truly love leading the group and really it was something I never thought I would do but it has become such a blessing. This will be our third year and I still have so many ideas for the ladies. I look forward to it starting again in the Fall. I'm really looking forward to summer and getting together with friends at the beach, those are some times I cherish so much. The laughter, the kids playing, swapping magazines, swimming in the waves...it is such a blessing where we live to enjoy such a beautiful place and all of the fun. I don't really know what else to say about myself, I still love to garden and go to farmers markets and yard sales. I love to do canning and crafts and I love to be with my family and friends. Life is great!


So, now that I caught my blog up with a little about each of us, I can keep journaling here at least monthly. I love to blog and really love to share about life and it's fun to look back and read about past years and things the kid's have done or crafts we did. I don't know if anyone really reads this but it's okay, it is for me mostly to capture my thoughts and use as a journal. Until next time!:)

♫"Summer Breeze Makes Me Feel Fine"...sings♫

Once again, I have been savoring all of my summer time and not getting on my blog...let's see it has been since February since I have written...wow! Well, a lot has happened and along with events there were some crafts and I have some fun photos but this writing today is going to be about SUMMER.... I live in a small town, a tourist gem, we have wonderful lighthouses, a huge beautiful beach, a state park with many amenities to offer, shops, restaurants, live entertainment, kid's events, a library that is a second home to our family, a simple ice cream shop around the corner of our house and so much more. What is delightful this year, is my time, the time I spend enjoying all of Ludington and all it has to offer. This year my eyes were a little more open as I watched the parade, not that they weren't the other years but I actually took it all in, I can remember almost all the different groups and people that walked, rode or entertained us at this 2-3 hour event...hmm, I lost track of time that day...I watched with my eyes really open.

My days at the beach, I sit and watch the kids play, I frolick in the waves or take a dip to cool off but my eyes are really open this year. I take in the beauty of the lake, in fact, it takes my breath away..not that I didn't see it before, I see it differently this year. I smell the air, the wind feels refreshing, sand doesn't drive me crazy like years past. I lose track of time and end up being there 4-5 hours and I love it...nothing is different in Ludington but something is different in me...

Perhaps, like I said I would in my New Year's resolutions, I have stopped to smell the roses again..Perhaps it's the good company of being with friends, old and new, laughing, smiling...feeling like I can breath again.Whatever it is, I like it, I like this summer even with it's 90 plus days I find glory, joy, laughter and fun. When it's too hot I stay indoors and have accomplished so many things that I wanted to get done and I feel soooo happy about that. Proud. The heat has taken a toll on my flowers, grass and landscaping but I still sit on my porch, my sanctuary and let my mind go...

Just something about the Summer Breeze this year.....smiling.

Pinterest Crazy Love

I wrote this in February and had this draft sitting around so I am posting it but I will update to July real soon...

Yes, it is....a crafting and organizing month and I love every minute of it!! My new found love is Pinterest and it has sparked a ray of light in me that I somehow lost for awhile or maybe I hadn't but I tucked it away in my-"I'm a mom and need to do kid's crafts now"- wing...LOL! I have always loved to do crafts and such but when I became a mom I only had time for kid's crafts and teaching them fun things so this door that has been re-opened has really, most definitely been good for my soul, my artistic brain, my love for unique things, my sense of style and world of colorful clarity.

The organization side of me has always been there and sometimes I get insanely obsessed with it although still feel so un-organized. I just never have enough containers!!..hehehe. This month I have accomplished alot though, I've gone through closets to cupboards to kid's rooms to clothes to the pantry and I am feeling very satisfied..so far. But around every corner I find one more thing to clean out, de-clutter and re-organize every month. That is just me and always will be me until I am filled with a house full of containers, shelves, bins and labels I won't be most happy...smiling big!

The past year has been really a "find myself again" type of year and what I mean is, I always have time to give and do for others but I never did for myself and Pinterest, along with a few other things has really helped me do that. It started last March when I started my cupcake business. It was a way for my creative side to come out, my love for baking to grow and to satisfy a wanting, of sorts, of recognition, without having to go to work and start a career working toward a goal. I could earn some money, still be a stay-at-home mom but feel like I am using my creativity. It has been a great year and I hope it continues because it really is quite fun!

Next was my wardrobe, sounds funny I know but I was wearing mom jeans and sneakers..never did I wear sneakers as a teenager and young adult except for gym class and although there is nothing wrong with that, it wasn't me...I don't care for sneakers but I didn't necessarily need to go back to my heel wearing days either, I mean it's 20 years later, heels don't feel nearly as good as they did back then but I need style...just some style...that's it. So I slowly started changing things, adding items, taking items to Goodwill and although I still have more changes to make it is far better than it was. How did that even happen to me? Well, easy, I only had eyes for my kids and my hubby and I left myself go and I'm not even talking about weight gain, that came without warning after children and especially after turning 30 and now I'm 41 so well, at least my clothes and hair look good...hehehehe. I'm talking about just not being worried about being fashionable and trust me, I was very trendy in my day.....or again, maybe I just thought I was...hehehehe. Still, I feel much better about what's in my closet!

Then summer came and I got myself in my swimsuit, went to the beach with a friend and had so much fun I couldn't wait until the next time, in fact, I wanted it to be the next day, everyday. I didn't feel self concsious, I didn't care what others thought, I was there with my kids and friends and we were laughing our butts off and all the worries went right off of my shoulders and so did a little of my bad self esteem. :)