Monday Musings

Hey guys,

First Monday Musings of the year, and I'm talking Facebook today. Facebook and I have a love/hate relationship.

I love staying connected with family and friends. I have so many in different states, so dropping Facebook isn't really an option for me. I just hate the drama that can be tied in with it. I also hate how some of my worst tendencies can come out because of Facebook. These being jealousy, comparing myself to others (Which causes me to be ungrateful and bratty. It also causes me to look at myself negatively) Which is something God didn't call me to do. Now I can't blame FB for all of it, I definitely take responsibility for my actions and know that I'm only human.

So a new goal that I didn't mention on the previous post is using Facebook less. I took a break for about a week and now I've decided to only check FB once a day if that. So far it's working really well and I already feel better. :)

***I'm also glad that I waited to make this post. It could have turned into an unnecessary rant.***

So how do you feel about Facebook? Love it or Hate it? Sound off below! :)

<3 Anna

Monday Musings

Hey guys!

 I'm back with my first Monday Musings post since Declan's birth. I've decided that I'm going to try to narrow it down to 5 musings a week, keep it simple. ;) So this past week these are a few things that have been on my mind:

So many of you know that I adore fall. It's my absolute favorite time of year, what you may not know is that I get like a kid on Christmas morning, when I find out that the fall creamers have arrived in stores. (I know I'm a geek.) So I was very happy when I found pumpkin spice had arrived in stores and then my better half, went to the store and found this gem! I've been enjoying it ever since. :)

I recently treated myself to a mini shopping spree, I got an Ulta coupon off of fb and just had to check out what all the fuss was about. ;)

This is what I ordered. It's a 12 piece makeup set.

The top of the case...two eye shadow looks to try.

And this is the set.

So overall, I was very impressed with my order. Not only did it include this, but three samples I requested and an additional two. (I will review those as I use them.;)

Lip gloss---I loved the lip gloss it was not sticky...which is a big no-no in my book. It went on nicely and I think was a good color for me. The only issue I have is  that it didn't stay on very long.

Blush--- Too dark for my taste. I won't be using this often, if at all.

Eye shadow--- I tried the Golden Smoke look, I did an okay job applying it. You can see which colors these are in the picture above. I was very impressed with the eye shadow. It stayed put and looked great, even after one of my naps between feeding D. ;)

So I would definitely order from Ulta again. My order came promptly and I'm one satisfied customer. :)

I'm not liking this picture, but it's the finished look.  (This makes me hope I can get a better camera on my phone with our upgrade.)

I mentioned before that we are moving soon. Our date for moving is December 1. The funny thing is, we are not sure where we are moving. We have everything set to move to a bottom floor apartment in our complex, but John just found out about some houses for rent only 5 minutes from his work. We are currently around 15 minutes away. John is helping his friend from work move today into one of these houses. He hopes to talk to the landlord and see if this would be a better fit for us. So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we make this decision. We truly want to be where we can stay for a few years and not have to think about moving for awhile.

This also brings me to working on cleaning and organizing the house, when I'm able. It's not an easy task with an infant. I'm looking at blogs like this one for inspiration.

Before I end this post, I have to recommend this book for new mommy's, especially those considering breast feeding. It's been a big help to me and I imagine, I'll be referring back to it often. :)

So that's it for this week. What is on your mind today, my lovely reader?

<3 anna

Monday Musings!

Hey all,

 I'm excited about the response to my first installment of Monday Musings! So it's good to be back and have something to be excited about on Monday. ;)

 * First off, I'm really excited about Scentsy Fragrance's new fall/winter catalog! Fall is my favorite time of year and I can't wait to share with you all about it. :)

 * John and I had a wonderful anniversary/b-day celebration. I forgot to take pictures...BUT we enjoyed a nice meal at Olive Garden, we had the best waiter ever! I have to brag on him, because I know these experiences can be few and far between! We then went home and watched The Vow and The Help. The Vow wasn't what I expected, but I enjoyed it. I think the biggest flaw may have been a lack of chemistry between Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum. I'm not sure, I can't really pinpoint what was off. The Help was wonderful! I absolutely loved it! I really want to read the book now more than ever! :)

 * John and I recently signed up for The Design Class at our church. I'm really excited about it. We got our assessments for the class, so we will have a little homework to do before next Saturday. The point of the class is to help each person discover what their spiritual gifts are and what volunteer position at the church would best fit each person. I'm looking forward to learning more about myself and finding out what position would best fit me. :)

 * Besides volunteering at the church I would like to get involved with something in the community. I'm just unsure of what direction to go in, unfortunately, in the past some of the things I've tried to get involved with have fallen through, but this is something that is on my heart and I know I need to start praying about it. I also know that I'm going to need time to adjust to being a new mommy and Declan and I getting used to one another..lol.

 * I have had baby on the brain lately. I'm trying to get everything ready for his arrival and some days it can be quite overwhelming! My to-do list is quite full and the big day is approaching quickly. I just have to remind myself that I likely won't have everything done, but to just get the essentials done, such as packing my hospital bag and John installing the car seat. I'm just so excited and scared all at once for his arrival! God has given me such a love for this little boy and I want so desperately to be a good mother. I know with God's help, I can do this. I also have to say that I'm very thankful for all the sweet blog mom's out there that have reached out to me and welcomed me to the club. ;)

 * Another thing that is weighing heavily on my mind is November. November is the month that our lease is up. John and I have decided to move. We had originally hoped to stay in the apartment complex and just switch apartments, but this plan fell through because our complex is very popular and there are rarely openings, also John and I really want something closer to John's work. So back to the drawing board. Now we are trying to decide whether to buy or rent. We are hoping to find something really close to John's job, 2-3 bedrooms, a yard, and a basement is a major plus! (Also within our price range, of course;) So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers about this. This is a big decision and we want to do what is best for our family.

 So what is on your heart today? Any prayer requests? Feel free to share whatever is on your mind. This is a safe place. :)

Monday Musings

Hey all,

Today is a new week and with that brings me to introducing a new blog theme for Mondays. I'm really excited about Monday Musings. (You are probably wondering what is Monday Musings?) Great question...but hold your horses...I'm getting to that! ;)

Monday Musings is the product of a random conversation I was having with John. I was looking at an ad in one of my issues of Glamour and noticed it was for Beach hair. It was this spritz bottle stuff that you apply to your hair and it's supposed to give you that "just hung out at the beach all day look." So I was commenting to John about how they are selling a look that I'm always trying to avoid. I love the beach, but I hate the feeling and look of my hair after being there. I kind of rambled on a bit about it, and my husband just looked at me with that glazed..I have no idea what you want from me look...lol. This is when I realized that my blog is the perfect place to share all these random tidbits. I figure this will give you a look inside of my head, it can be a very scary and random place. ;) So for now on I will try to record some of my random thoughts and share them with you each Monday. I hope this will be a fun and interesting way to get to know each other.

My hair does not look this good after a trip to the beach...lol.

So to continue with the beach hair thing,this lead me to think about the wet hair look. Some people use gels and various products to get wet disheveled look and then there's the bedhead stuff. I just don't get it. These products are definitely not being sold to people like me. These are things I'm trying to avoid and don't wish to look like a drowned rat, beach bum, or bedhead. BUT maybe that's just me.

I kind of feel like this intro is turning into a Jerry Seinfeld skit. "What's the deal with...." lol

So here's some more of my musings for this week:

*I've always been an insane list person, but pregnancy has seriously reinforced that fact. I write everything down, not just because I love making lists, but I'm so darn forgetful now. The other day, I was in the kitchen cooking and I asked John where the baking soda was..? I had torn apart the cabinets and the fridge and couldn't find it. Just as I begin a rant at John about putting the baking soda in the side door (he likes to put it in other random spots in the fridge) I look over on the counter and there it sits. I blush, apologize for being a crazy hormonal pregnant lady and continue on with my cooking. SMH

*What they say about nesting is so true. I'm a crazy person trying to get everything just so for Declan's arrival. This has brought about times of tears and times of feeling a great sense of accomplishment when I can  check something off.

How can you not love this girl?! Her smile is seriously contagious!

* Gabby Douglas is just adorable! I can't believe anyone would want to say one hateful word to or about her. She is so talented and seems to have such an amazing heart and spirit. I hope she doesn't take the criticism to heart.

* Letter Writing is quite therapeutic. In times of stress, I love to sit down and write a nice letter to a friend. I also enjoy baking when I'm stressed as well as a nice hot bath. :)

* I truly enjoy the simple things in life. I think this comes more and more with Declan's upcoming arrival. My perspective has changed so much! I want more now than ever to learn how to best serve God and be the best wife and mother I can be.

Goodies we got from the shopping trip with "Grandpa and Granny Nell"

Package from "Noni and Papa" (John's mom and Tom)

* Saturday, my father-in-law and step mother-in-law came by for a day visit. They brought us Declan's mattress and another car seat for when he outgrows the first. We had a nice lunch at Firehouse Subs...I had never been before, but would highly recommend it! We then went to Babies R Us after checking out a consignment shop that didn't come up with any finds. Anyway, we get several things for Declan (pictured above) and Lynell was just asking if I needed anything else when I saw a wipe warmer, now everywhere I had read recently, had said that these were pretty much a luxury and not something to worry about buying...so I was kind of joking and talking about how I knew I didn't need that...when a mommy nearby chimed in and was singing the products praises. I was so surprised! She was like, "I was skeptical about it, just like you, but it was so worth it and I'm so glad I got it!" How could I argue with a review like that?! So we added it to our cart. There is something truly amazing about mommies---there seems to be a camaraderie and sisterhood to it that I really felt blessed to see yesterday. I feel like in the past couple of months, I've really had my eyes open to a whole new stage in my life and so many of the moms I know have welcomed me with open arms. It's the coolest feeling! <3>

* I'm so ready for fall! It is my favorite season and I'm so ready for everything that goes with it. I've decided that I may put up some of my fall stuff early, maybe at the end of the month---I'll just see how I'm feeling, I may do it sooner so I can enjoy decorating and such before I feel like I'm about to bust! (I kind of have that feeling now!)

It's so not like this.

and more like this for me. Yep, that's a fainting goat, poor little guy! 

"A fainting goat is a breed of domestic goat whose muscles freeze for roughly 10 seconds when the goat feels panic. Though painless, this generally results in the animal collapsing on its side." (Quote from Wikipedia)

 *So one lovely or truly not so lovely detail that I didn't mention above on Saturday is that I fainted. :/ I have these spells from time to time, so it wasn't too shocking and thankfully I was sitting in the car and we were headed to Babies R Us. They usually come on pretty fast and I can't do anything about them. I have been tested and no one knows why I have them. I could probably get further testing, but I don't have that kind of money lying around...so I just deal. It doesn't affect my day to day life, so I make due. Anyway, I was thinking about how I hate how in the movies and on tv, they make fainting seem so graceful and lady-like...if you have ever fainted before it's so NOT! It's very scary. For me my vision usually blurs---sometimes it goes all black and green---sometimes it's just really fuzzy. All I remember this time was feeling this overwhelming sense of "Oh no! It's happening again!" then my eyes started twitching and I felt so hot...John turned up the air and I remember closing my eyes and willing my body to stop this. John pulls over and gets me some water at a nearby Zaxbys. The traffic was pretty crazy (as usual in Hickory) so this took some time. By the time we get to Zaxbys, I'm feeling slightly more myself. I talk to Mark and Lynell about my spells and reassure them that this is nothing new for me. I push the fluids the rest of the day and later talk to John about the experience. I am shocked to find out that I did go out for a bit. I don't remember that at all. So I say all of this to say, that if you have never fainted before, please don't think it's like what you see on tv and movies. It's not.

 * I use to selfishly think that everyone has this one big special purpose in life. Over the years, I have re-evaluated that thought and I no longer think it's true. I'll explain. I say this because in my faith and throughout my life I have been searching desperately for my one special purpose. I finally came to the conclusion this year that I don't have one. Now this is not to sound depressing or upsetting, it's to say that I believe that God has specific goals in mind for me and He wants me to do and be the best that I can be (with Him), but that I don't necessarily have one job or one purpose in life. I believe that life is full of opportunities and as long as I am seeking God with my decisions He will bless what it is I am doing and give me a peace to know that what I'm doing is the right thing. I think realizing this has helped me so much! It has taken so much stress from me and has helped me to clear my mind and to begin thinking creatively again. This has me very excited for the future and for all the projects to come! :)

* I seriously miss sleep. I know that once Declan gets here I won't have much of it, BUT what I didn't know is that I would not be getting sleep now. Sigh, I miss it so much! Thank, God for Pinterest and websites like that. I can jump on and kill some time and not keep my poor hubby awake.

Well that's all for this week! Stay tuned for another post next Monday. What do you think of Monday Musings? What is on your heart today? Please share your musings for the day. It can be something random like my story about beach hair or it can be something specific...whatever your heart desires. ;)