Winter Time is Here...

It's officially winter and I couldn't be happier.  I prefer the cold weather to the heat.  However, I am coming down with the FLU...I do believe.  My husband has been sick for about a week now and it has finally grabbed hold of me.  I woke up this morning with achy shoulders, back, neck and head.  I am also exhausted beyond belief.  Ugh.  Did I mention, I got the flu shot so I am a little annoyed at the prospect that this may be the flu!  I have to make it until Friday this week at work...I will be off from work until mid-week next week and I have a feeling, I am going to need it.  All I want to do is sleep!  Wish me luck and a speedy recovery!

A Few of My Favorite CHRISTMAS Things...

Amen...

Festive Holiday Reindeer Makeup...My How To.

At work, we had a most festive holiday attire contest.  I chose to be a reindeer...Rudolph to be exact.  I posted earlier on my blog...pics of me with all of the reindeer makeup.  However, the pic above is of a more subtle tone.  The primary things I did was use contouring makeup.  I used a very light yellowish color and a very brown color...both were a very thick powder.  I used the light color all around my eyes, upper cheeks, chin and forehead immediately above the brows.  I issued a very dark brown and contoured right under the cheek bones, temples and hairline on forehead.  I then used a fat white eyeliner pencil to make my fawn dots all over the sides of my face.  I used a gel eyeliner in black to make my eyes very dramatic like the outer eye lines of a deer.  Again, the above picture is a toned down version, but you get the point.  Below is my more dramatic photo with full makeup on. I have a much more dramatic eye.  I also used the same gel eyeliner to draw the line from my nose to my upper lip and to color in only my top lip.  Believe it or not, I used red matte lipstick on my nose and covered my nose in red glitter.  It worked great.  The picture here does my red nose no justice at all.  So, if you need a creative costume idea for Halloween or Christmas, here you go.  Super easy.  There are many tutorials on youtube to show you how to achieve this look, but I didn't want my look near as dramatic as those created on the youtube videos.  Thanks for letting me share!

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Me...At This Moment.

God's Love...The Strongest of Loves.

Image Credit: thesouldoctor

I am learning this every day and have been for several months now.  Throughout the most recent bouts of tribulation in my marriage and the love that was almost lost, I have come to understand that only God's love is unfailing, unwavering, unconditional, unexplainable, undeserved and ever present. I can do nothing to make God "unlove" me!!!  Through the brokenness of human love, God's love is revealed more clearly to me.  He is always there...never failing or forsaking!  I am learning just how much my Father loves me and just how much He is fighting for me.  It's so powerful isn't it?  No matter what I do, what sins I commit, how many times I turn my back on God or shame Him...He never leaves me, but continues loving me.  When I am weak...He is strong!  When my love seems depleted, His is boldly embracing me and making Himself known to me.  

A Great Prayer Guide...

If you are looking for a guide to prayer for your husband, marriage and/or children, these books by best selling Christian author, Stormie Omaritian are AMAZING!!!!  These books provide biblically based prayers to overcome the enemy and to pray powerful prayers for your loved ones.  I highly, highly, highly recommend these books.  Great reads and great results!

Embracing the BIG 4 - 0...

So…I just turned 40 years old yesterday.  In some ways, I am in a state of shock and denial.  On the inside, I feel as if I was just in high school yesterday.  I think I am struggling because now I am actually considered middle aged by the world.  Additionally, I realize that life passes us by so fast.  I also vividly remember when my mom turned 40 and at that time, I was roughly 17 years old and I recall thinking…man, she is old!  Here I sit today remembering that day and realizing…maybe she wasn’t that old.  Did my mom feel the way I do?  I am here…I am 40…that big, bold number has now hit ME!!!!

I am not depressed or sad about it at all.  I think I am just trying to grasp the number that now defines me in many ways.  This number is now part of who I am. Wow!

I am not exactly where I want to be in my life in some ways, but in many ways, I realize I am exactly at one of the most wonderful places in my life.  I am so grateful for so many things.  First, I am grateful and blessed by my Creator to have made it in life this far.  I have been healthy, safe and I am one of the lucky ones to see the age of 40.  For that, I thank God.  I have my beautiful girls and I am so in love with them and where they are right now…I don’t want to miss these moments and these moments are happening right now…at 40!!!  My marriage has been rocky over the past few years, but in the last two to three years, I have come to learn a lot about myself and the love I have for my husband.  I have matured in many ways and I owe much of that to the various experiences I have had for the past 40 years!  I see friendships and relationships and have a much better understanding of what is and what isn’t important to me.  I think realizing who/what to invest in and who/what not to invest in has honestly taken me FORTY years to understand.  I don’t have time to waste on non-sense.  I believe I have come to appreciate my parents in a new way as well.  I guess, my relationship with my parents is based on  a protective and caring sense…I see my parents through adults eyes now. 

My point is, I see ways that I have grown immensely over the past three to five years and only at 40 do I truly grasp what's valuable in this life.  I see life more clearly now.  I know what is important and worth my time and those are things that I didn’t understand fully until now.  My time is valuable and so I choose to invest it in things that are of worth.  I also don’t really care what others think about me anymore.  You either love and appreciate me or you don’t.  I don’t have an interest in justifying my existence or selling to others my worth.  You either get it or you don’t. Slowly, but surely...I am beginning to embrace and love me...I think.  I am not perfect in appearance or as a person, but I am slowly...very slowly learning to embrace me...my curves, my scars, my imperfections, my successes and me as is.  This is still a work in progress, but I see it beginning to happen.  

God willing, I will exist for another 40 years.  I am smack dab in the middle when you look at it through that lens and that really isn’t so bad.  I have so much more life to live and so much more to learn and experience.  I am blessed beyond measure.  So, I am wrapping my mind around the greatness of 40.  Now, I just have to try and not shame the number anymore, but rather envelop and embrace it for the beauty it possesses.  How lucky am I?

Did I mention that my birthday celebration wasn’t so shabby either?  My amazing husband purchased me two gorgeous rings! GORGEOUS!!!  One is a new wedding band to go with my set…I have been dying to get this for years.  He let me pick what I wanted and I couldn’t be happier.  Once it gets sized, I may post a pic.  The other is an anniversary style band for my right hand that is breathtaking!  I never expected this from my husband as it is an extravagant extra and he got them both for me on the same day.  What, what???!!!  I will wear these rings every day for the rest of my life.  Just another great part of turning the BIG 4 – 0!!!!  I also had a great surprise luncheon at the Cheesecake Factory with some family and friends…even enjoyed a piece of amazing cheesecake.  Oh and I got to pick up a few things for myself.  What is there to be sad about???  NOTHING!!!  Thank you all for letting me share… 

Celebrate Life...It's Beautiful and SHORT!  Below are some pics from my birthday and birthday week...

The Cutest Girls On Halloween...EVER!!!

Happy Halloween 2016!

Halloween 2016

Clark Kent this year for Halloween.  Don't ask me why I chose a male character, but I did. The only thing I didn't have was the Superman shirt which I purchased for really cheap.  I used my husbands tie and my friends glasses and voila!  I haven't seen anyone else in this before so I liked it.  What will you be this Halloween?

His Dear Rest...

My Favorite Delicious Healthier Choices...

You have got to try these amazing "healthier" choices!  I am completely infatuated with my newest find at Panera and that is the BBQ Salad with Chicken!!!  OMG...Heaven in my mouth.  This is hands down my favorite salad.  Second, the amazing Terra real vegetable chips - Original.  I literally go through bags of these.  They are a great alternative to potato chips and they taste amazing!  I actually prefer them over potato chips.  They are a bit expensive and the bags are usually smaller in size (I believe Cost Plus World Market has larger bags) and can be found at Walmart, Target, Kroger, Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc...You don't know what you're missing!  I didn't even have to aquire a taste for these. Favorite snack ever!!  Next, is an apple!  Ha ha.  I have recently discovered these delicious Honey Crisp apples.  These apples tend to be so juicy that you often feel you are drinking apple juice.  They sell them everywhere, but if you go to Sprouts, they have ginormous sizes of these apples...like 1lb each.  Finally, let's not forget the El Sabroso Guacachip.  This chip is delicious and has a bit more kick to it than does a regular tortilla chip.  I bought mine at Cost Plus World Market. Mmmmm...so good.  If I could only suggest two of these amazing food choices for you to try, I would recommend the Panera BBQ Salad with Chicken and the Terra real vegetable chips - Original.  You don't know what you're missing!  Where have you been all of my life?  Give them a try!  

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The Father, The Husband and The Wife...

Goodness...

You Are Covered...

Choose To Be Reliable...

Today, I am bringing forward a topic that has been on my mind and is something which has become normal to many.  It is a truth that will hopefully make many people take a good look in the mirror.  I am finding that many people these days are pretty unreliable!  Whether it’s some family members or some friends…I experience disingenuous people often whether intentional or not.  I don’t understand why people feel the need to tell you they will do something and then…just NOT DO IT!  Shouldn’t this be an exception to the rule and not the rule?  Why commit if you cannot follow through?  It’s okay to say you cannot do something.  It’s okay to say no, but to say you’ll do something and not do it is…unnecessary. This seems to be an epidemic in today’s world.  Many people in this world are becoming increasingly selfish and inconsiderate.  People do not follow through.  Perhaps, someone doesn’t call or text you back, doesn’t attend an event you are hosting, maybe they tell you they will meet up with you and never do, maybe they never rsvp to an invitation that has been sent, it could be that they don’t show up for special events in your life or they just don’t respond to messages you send…the list goes on. If I tell you I am going to call, I will call.  If I tell you I will get back with you, I get back with you.  If I tell you, I am coming over or coming to an event, I go.  I suppose my mom raised me to be respectful of others feelings and time…this is called courtesy and respect.  She taught me that if I commit to someone, I follow through on that commitment.  She taught me to be reliable.  I am baffled at the growing rate at which unreliability and thoughtlessness occur.  I get it, everyone is busy!  EVERYONE!!!  I am extremely busy with full-time work, three kids, family and my daily commute.  Being busy is always the excuse…but, it is not a good enough excuse to make commitments and not keep them.  Why not just be honest from the start?  Wouldn’t that be so much easier?   Or, if you don’t follow through on a commitment, just apologize for it and acknowledge it so the other person knows you are sorry.  So many people go on acting as if they’ve never bailed on their commitment.  I guess if you act as if it didn’t happen, maybe it is easier for you?  By the way, it still happened.  My husband has always told me, “don’t have any expectations of others and stop stretching yourself thin to be there for others because when it boils down to it, your feelings are always hurt because they don’t come through for you when it’s their turn”.  Wow!  It has taken me years to come close to accepting this truth.  I still struggle with it today and that leads to major disappointments.  The toughest pill to swallow is when it’s close family members or friends who let you down.  It’s pretty simple really…the courtesy concept…if you cannot do something or have no intentions on doing something, don’t say you will.  If everyone would just be honest up front, there would be no issue on either side.  Nobody would get their feelings hurt and you wouldn’t have to play charades.  Again, I know that people have things come up from time to time, but when it becomes a habitual behavior…it’s a huge problem.  The issue is that I still have expectations of others.  The problem is I hold people accountable for their words and actions.  Maybe I am the problem?  I just try and consider the Golden Rule when dealing with others…how would I feel if someone did this to me?  Too many people today are overly saturated in self and are ”too busy” to consider anyone else and how they feel.  I think, just be like them, but I can’t!  Wouldn’t it be so much easier for people like me if I also became unreliable and nonchalant?  It is not in me to do it.  I refuse to be that person.  So, the entire point to this post is...BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHERS and TREAT THEM THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED.