blah

Feeling a bit under the weather today.  I think I'm just fighting off a bit of the yuck probably due to getting a bit run down lately.  I've been under the weather since Wednesday and I'm just determined to wake up tomorrow feeling perky as normal.  It's just not fun not to feel good when there is just soooo much to do. Food is about the last thing that sounds good to me right now but I'm trying to force myself to keep eating.  I'd hate to wither away - ha ha! Like that could happen anytime soon.  While I was making everyone a little lunch my hubbs said he'd go run my errands for me.

SWEET!

So not only is he going to get my hair care products, but he's bringing me the one and only thing that sounds good to my belly. 

An ICEE!

(via google images)

AIN'T HE SWEET!

Amber is the color of my energy

Whoooaaa, shades of GOLD displayed naturally

A lil peek at my new kitchen.

I don't even know what to call this color.

Let's see, if I was Benjamin Moore I  think I may name this color...

SPAGHETTI SQUASH

AMBER ENGERY

SUMMER WHEAT

CORN TORTILLA

(okay, maybe not corn tortilla)

But the point is - I LOVE THIS COLOR and cooking in this kitchen will be a pleasure.

And what do you know... I'm sporting almost the same color myself today.

Insert big sigh of relief... ( "HERE" )

Today I feel such a sense of accomplishment. We've been on the road of buying a new home since October now but it's truly only today that I have a true peace about everything. So this morning while the Popo is at a trial I think I'll do a couple loads of laundry and stack a few more boxes to keep them out of the way.  Only 12 more days of living in the midst of cardboard - yay!

But instead of working my booty off non-stop all day (as usual)  trying to get everything in order, I think I'll throw on my favorite cozy clothes, maybe my hubby's favorite cap and forgo the makeup and just veg out.

YEP.

IT'S A PLAN!

LET'S CELEBRATE!!

Thank you - Thank you - Thank you 

to all of you for your prayers.

(viaweheartit)

We just got word they accepted our offer on our dreamy home!

(It will be ours in 1 week and 6 days)

no whammies

Well we haven't heard an answer yet and my tummy is truly tied up in knots.

I am on pins and needles right now awaiting this answer.

You see, I'm the type of girl who's always got a plan and loves to know exactly how it's all going to go down.  Well this whole situation is forcing me to be a little more spontaneous.

I like spontaneity and all but not when it comes to where we are going to live. 
Ya know?

I mean who cancels their only contract when they have to have a place to live in 33 days?

US.

That who.

But as the girl who talks with her hips says...

LIFE IS EITHER A DARING ADVENTURE OR NOTHING!

Okay, so I'm gonna go tuck the kids in, say another prayer and then take an ambien so that I can actually sleep tonight.  

I envision I'll be dreaming that I'm on a game show with our dream house as the grand prize.

NO WHAMMIES!

NO WHAMMIES!

*crossing fingers*

STOP!

Update

Just four days before we were supposed to move we have withdrawn our contract on the home. 

(refer to yesterdays post)

But as I said, hope on the horizon right?

Back when we first looked in this neighborhood I spotted the most gorgeous home that I would squeal for as we drove by.  It was gorgeous, dare I say, spectacular.... But I assumed it was waaaaaay out of our reach.  Well with all of the crazy stuff that went on yesterday I decided to go in search of that beautiful home.  

What did I have to lose...

Well, we saw it this morning and folks, we fell in love with it.

  In fact, it's so lovely that I think we could easily consider it our 

FOREVER HOME

We put our offer in just an hour ago and are impatiently patiently awaiting the word if they accept.

Would you please say a prayer for us?

tears and frustration

Okay well maybe not tears... but I'm sure if I was acting normal in any way, I should be crying.

But nope folks.

NOT ME

NOT TODAY.

This morning I got a call from my very lovely realtor saying that there was trouble in pleasantville.

You see we were supposed to close on our home this week and move in on Saturday.

But alas, trouble has snuck up and reared its ugly head (again).

The house we are in contract on actually has renters in it right now and they were supposed to move out last Saturday.  But would you believe that not only did they NOT move out, they REFUSE to move out.

THIS POSES A PROBLEM.

So judges and lawyers and police are now involved and we are fed up.

So tomorrow morning we are looking at a new house.

YEP, another new house.

But on a very positive note...

THIS HOUSE ROCKS MY WORLD!

Now we have to go tour it tomorrow and make an offer they will not want to refuse.

GOD'S in this folks and I refuse to doubt or be glum right now.

There are a lot more things worth stressing over in the world than a house.

I know that the right one is out there waiting for us and hopefully we'll be closing in 10-15 days.

TEARS AND FRUSTRATION...

BUT HOPE LINGERS IN MY HEART

(via weheartit)

Honestly though, I'm ready to wrap this up.

Would you please be in prayer with us over this whole house situation?

I'll keep you posted.

-JILLIAN-

a little bit of this and a little bit of that

TODAY INCLUDES:

Ponytails

Packing

RockStar No Carb

Boxes

Newspaper

Skipped lunches -ooops!

Meetings

Phone calls

 possible teary eyes 

mucho kisses

a movie with my curly Q

a quick hello from dear friends

and 

a 

whole 

lotta

SMILES

Happy Friday Friends!

SURPRISE!

Today I got a HUGE

SURPRISE!

We had just gotten home from running our errands and my husband told me he was gonna run grab us a couple energy drinks.  I thought to myself, "cool, we're gonna need a little bit extra energy to do some more packing today." 

I stayed at home working on stuff and then he called to say that he was gonna swing by Best Buy to check out a video game he's been wanting. 

Now ladies, don't you just LOVE when you say just the right thing?

  I mean I could've said, 

"Seriously, do we need to have a new game to play when we are soooooo busy", or "Didn't you just buy a new game?"

But luckily I said, "Sweet! Take your time."

And boy am I glad I did.  Because he walked in the door to our home and walked up to where I was sitting on the kithen counter but not with a new video game. Instead he handed me a big PINK bag filled with bright PINK tissue paper and said, 

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!"

What? Uh, it's not my birthday. Ummm... it's actually in MAY.

But who am I to refuse a present right?

I looked into the lovely bag and what do I find but a 

MAC LAPTOP

No, seriously!

I kid you not, my friends.  

This puppy is mine... all mine!

I honestly am still in shock.  I'm blessed beyond measure and have had my lips on this boys face all day long.  What can I say, I'm THRILLED!

You rock my world baby!

SMOOCH and DOUBLE SMOOCH!

I'm in a FRENZY!

Thanks to my girl Tracy, I've got a recipe I'm currently drooling over and must try snappy fast.

Gotta love me some GINGER!

So here it is lovies, I'll share.

Ginger Veggie Stir Fry

loving...

loving...

 Ginger

ginger chews, ginger ale, homemade ginger candy, cooking with ginger root

I SUPER HEART REED'S GINGER CANDY 

I'd love it if I could have ginger colored hair like super hottie Marcia Cross

but that won't happen anytime soon cuz for one thing I do like my hair color

 (and yes, it's 100% natural cuz some of you are wondering...)

And for another thing, can you imagine that re-growth if I did choose to color!?!

Maybe I'll try it when I'm old and this dark hair no-longer suits me - aka when I'm grey - 

And while we're on the subject of GREY... is it grey or gray?

Back to the hair... if I color it like this someday will you humor me and call me GINGER? 

doin' it and doin' it and doin' it well

My whole day can be summed up in one word.

~PACKING~

The hubs and I spent the morning running errands like getting our mail forwarded and running to Target to pick up extra totes for the mountains of clothes my little princess has. We then began disassembling the children's beds and and packed all the rest of their toys and books etc.  We got so much done today that I think it will make for a very simple moving day.  I really can't believe in one week we'll have our new home.  YAY! and  DOUBLE YAY!

I think we packed for about 4 1/2 hours today and I'm pretty sure that if you could have had a snapshot of my day you would have seen me at some point like this...

(via wehearit)

There are definitely moments that I wish I could just pack myself and someone would deliver me to my home. 

Now on to dinner... I think I'm going to create a new recipe tonight.  Bwa ha ha ha ha.  I feel like a mad scientist in a lab.  

Stuffed poblanos anyone?

(via google images)

the winds

I feel the winds of change blowing in every area of my life right now.  There is a lot of good change happening as a result of us perusing it but I also think there is a definite need for some other types of change too.  I know, I know, that all sounds really mysterious and I don't mean for it to.  I guess sometimes having a blog also = censorship (which is a pain).  But this is my place to be "me" regardless of who reads or what people might think. So even if I choose to be a bit mysterious to spare others feelings, it is my outlet and in essence a journal.  So I'll leave it at that. 

(weheartit)

Sometimes in the winds of change we find our true direction

-Anonymous-

sneak peek

I've decided that I want to mix up my repertoire a bit.  Seeing that I heart cooking so much it would be sad to not truly expand my horizons right?  So with that being said, I have decided that I'm going to make 1-2 new recipes from different FOOD NETWORK chefs once a week.

-Today's dinner is-

MAPLE ORANGE CHICKEN with SWEET POTATOES and ACORN SQUASH

Now honey you add acorn squash to a meal - well, I'm in Heaven but then to throw in sweet potatoes!!!  Thank you Robin Miller for coming up with such a tasty sounding meal.  It even has delicious LEEKS in it.  And what a pretty dish it's going to be.

Here, I'll give you a sneak peek...

Chicken will top off these delicious veggies and the glaze has Orange Marmalade, Hoisin Sauce, Maple Syrup... Are you drooling yet?  I'll post the results tonight.

And here are the results...

Cloudy with a chance of sweet potatoes

What started out to be  beautiful and vibrant  turned into a kinda ugly looking dish but the fam really enjoyed it.  I think the chicken really shined and picked up just the right amount of sweetness, but in my opinion the veggies were too SWEET for my taste.  Over all it was good and the fact that it's a slow cooker meal was super sweet too - no pun intended.

the greatest of these...

Today I laid back down after getting out of bed and fell into a deep blissful sleep.  My kids cuddled together on the couch watching cartoons and I was able to catch a little bit extra much needed rest. It's one of those mornings where you open you big sleepy eyes to realize this day is going to be great.  You squirm around in your covers, breath in a big deep breath  and enjoy the cozy comfort once more before climbing out of the big fluffy bed.

I was greeted with a chorus of "Mama-aaaaaa" and smothered in loves.  We made great big bowls of VANILLA YOGURT, GRONOLA, and BLUEBERRIES.  

Mmmmm mmmmm mmmm.

I LOVE mornings like these... it makes you know that no matter what is going on around you in the world all ya need is 

LOVE

the crave

I am cravin' WARM WEATHER. 

(weheartit)

A getaway perhaps or even just SUMMERTIME warmness

I need BBQ's and Tiki Torches

I desire swimsuits and the smell of SUNSCREEN and tan lines too

Evening jogging with the SETTING SUN

Away with warm soups and chili, Uggs and overstuffed coats!

I'm through with you winter.  You can imagine my excitement when I saw tulips at the store today - only a couple more months and the mountain sun will begin warming the valleys. 

 JOY!

Ze' Menu

 Maple Orange Chicken with Acorn Squash and Sweet Potatoes

Chili Dogs, fritos, pasta salad

 Sesame Chicken Strips with eggrolls and rice

Stuffed Poblanos with chorizo and bacon

Hamburgers, baked potatoes, peas

Mac-Daddy-Roni and beef roll ups 

Beer brats and bbq beans

So this is what I'm leaning towards this week for our dinners.  It should be my last week of semi-serious cooking before the big moving week which will equal lots of fast food and pizza.  Hold my hair while I hurl... okay?  No I'm kidding.  I'm sure after a long day of moving that a greasy burger and a pop will rock my world.  So here's hoping that in the middle of packing all of these meals will get made.  You'll notice I threw in a couple easy ones like Chili Dogs, Hamburgers and Brats... I'm going to be packing so dirtying up the kitchen and cooking for 2 hours won't exactly be an option.  Here's hoping your week is packed with delishes dishes and lots of love.

a SPLASH of color

My mind is going a million and one different directions.  We are closing on our home at the end of this month so I'm trying to juggle paperwork and phone calls and appointments while packing and cleaning and picking out carpet.  But do you know what's consuming my mind? The decor of the kids rooms!  I am absolutely ga-ga for decorating kids rooms.  From picking out the paint to quilts and wall hangings.  I just love it!  

We've decided to go with a whole Rock N Roll theme for Hunters room.  He going to be 10 this year and he thinks he needs something a bit more "pre-teen" - oh my gosh I can't believe I just typed that.  The thought makes me shudder and think all those thoughts like, "where'd the time go...".  

RED GREY BLACK

I think this will be a great big kids room for my great big boy!

_________________________

Tasia's room is going to be an explosion of 

COLOR

Oh and just wait till you see what extra idea I have for this room! Bright, vibrant colors are an exact statement of Ta's personality.  She's bubbly and happy and full of life!

_________________________

Xander's room is of course going to be 

-TRAINS-

My Mama is going to be making his quilt because she is amazingly talented but I do love this one from Pottery Barn as well. Oh and  I just bought metal train crossing signs and stop signs off ebay. He also just got a giant train table for Christmas so his room will be a breeze. The quiet simplicity of wooden trains are perfect for my little laid back curly Q. 

I think this time around I want my kids room to be clean, crisp statements of their personalities.  In the past I've painted murals of Neverland and Jungles but I'm really like the simplicity this time around.  

Now they just need to make a discounted version of Pottery Barn like Old Navy is to Gap - Ha ha!

holy cow!

Aren't you so glad that they are inventing better toys these days?  

Check this out..

Oh but make sure you mute the tunes on the left sidebar first.

But then again I bought this gift for my friends little girls 7th birthday.  I swear I had no idea what I was buying!

My friend Jamie actually said, "Did you realize you bought her a pooping dog?"  HA HA! I guess it made for good laughs.  I promise I'm usually a better gift giver!  Honestly, a cow you can milk and a pooping dog... what's left?

this weeks menu

-Spaghetti with marinara and garlic bread-

-Chicken Piccata with herb roasted onions by The Barefoot Contessa-

-MacDaddy Tacos-
-Burgers-

-Cayenne Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa by Martha-

-Pizza (on the go night)-
-Breakfast Burritos with turkey sausage-

Signed, sealed and almost delivered

Good news my fabulous friends!  Our offer for the house was accepted today.  Jump for joy and do a happy dance because the crazy house hunt is over.  We will be closing at the end of the month - so let the adventure begin!

(via.weheartit)

I guess this means I should start packing...

On to new things and new years

I would love to say that I've got so much to say and so much free time to write but quite the contrary.  Every time I sit down to write I am blocked because there's so much to say and not nearly the words available to convey the way I feel.  The last 2 1/2 months have been non-stop crazy.  We found the most adorable home in October and offered them their exact asking price and as of yesterday were still in limbo if the bank was going to accept our offer.  It was one of the short sale things - meaning the people owed more than it was worth and was about ready to go into foreclosure.  Then we step in as the so called super heros and say we'd love to buy this property and keep you from loosing your house to foreclosure. Well long story short winter weather arrived and I pleaded with the bank to winterize the home and they refused.  Well after months of being so excited to buy this darling home, we arrived yesterday to take a look at it to find water frozen solid in the toilets.  Our hearts sank.  We not only invested our time but our hearts in this place only to have it go down the toilet (pun totally intended) due to ignorance and irresponsibility on the banks part.  After talking with 2 different plumbers both of them estimated 20k to fix the damage. YIKES! So to make a long story longer, we pulled our offer yesterday and put another one in on a beautiful stucco home in a great neighborhood down the road.  We should here tomorrow if they accept our offer - so big prayers folks!

And don't worry I'm not crushed by all of this.  I think God was for warning my heart about a month ago that there was trouble so it didn't really surprise me at all.  The new home is a superb home for entertaining with an killer kitchen which is fine by this girl.  So all that being said, I love you all and haven't forgotten you.  I'll get my blog up and running soon but hang in there with me cuz I'm pretty darn swamped right now.

Here's to a new year, a new home and a new adventure in 2010.

(via weheartit)

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

-Hellen Keller-

HAPPY NEW YEAR LOVIES!