It's Okay Friday

It's Okay...

*To wear jeans a few times before washing them again and not care if other people get grossed out by that. They are jeans!

*To be so excited Julie started her food blog again, I already stole recipes!

*To think that the sound machine that my husband bought me so I can sleep at night is the BEST. Present. EVER.

*To not be planning to dress up for Halloween.

*To have the highlight of my day be a 17 minute phone conversation with my baby brother. Man I miss that kid's guts!

*To love the smell of rotting leaves. Mmmmm, mmmmmm!

*To be excited to clean this weekend and catch up on laundry, traveling always throws me off!

*To have pretty much laugh/cried/bawled my way through 50/50.

Happy Weekend!!

My Imperfections

Envy. Jealousy. Covet.  Lust.  Greed. Bitterness. Resentment.

These are all words that I would strive to never, ever be associated with. However, in my imperfect human form I am ashamed to admit they are things I have been internally struggling with. I don’t outwardly express these emotions when they happen to anyone outside of my Mom, my Dad, my hubs and my BFF. Because, quite frankly, it makes me sound like a whiney wench and I don’t WANT to be that person.

Here is the deal. I am not perfect. So sue me.  I strive towards righteousness and good karma but sometimes, I fall short. I try not to be too hard on myself when it happens – after all we are only just human – but I prefer to focus on my achievements of selflessness, good works, kindness, unconditional love…you know, the things that make me sound like a better person than all those words I listed up top!

BUT….

….as unglamorous as it sounds, I have struggled with them. I hope that we all have in this journey at some point or another had to admit we were human and we make mistakes and we want things we don’t really need and we look at the other side of the fence sometimes and the grass just looks so much greener...

I have a good husband who doesn’t make me feel like an awful person when I express my irrational, unattractive emotions. He loves me for being imperfect and helps me be better every new day.  I have a mother who encourages life experiences without smothering and embraces the mistakes I make as a parent not trying to prevent me from crying, but to ensure I learn a lesson from what made me cry. I have a father who believes in metal being refined and chiseled over time into a beautiful masterpiece….and reminds me I’m just still being molded. I have a friend who knows all the ugly parts of me, calls me on them, helps me face them head on, and still loves me at the very end of every single day despite my imperfections.  She also says things to me like this:

“…The things they have are purely temporary. What you have is eternal and worth so, so much more...”

It’s true…I’d rather have a good heart than a new car. I’d rather have a week full of good deeds than a manicure. I’d rather have to hand wash my dishes in exchange for spending time with my husband than have him working all the time to buy a brand new appliance. I'd rather spend time with people who make me laugh then people who tear me down behind my back. I'd rather use my cracked blackberry that reboots every other day and spend evenings with the hubs than get a second job and buy an iphone.  I just needed reminding.

The thing is…I’m a work in progress…and even on the tough days, I’m enjoying the work.

We Want to Know

This week's questions are hosted by Mamarazzi, Queso and Crazy Mama...link up!



1. When was the last time you lost your temper?
Hmmmmmmm.....it's been awhile honestly.  I think it was like months ago.  I don't have a very short fuse. I used to have a short fuse but then my parents made me go to anger management and now it takes a seriously large thing to tork me off.

2. What 3 words best describe you?
Loving, Kind, Funny - I wish the first thing that came to mind was drop dead gorgeous. Or rich.

3. What movie could you watch over and over again and never get tired of?
This depends. My go to break-up movie was "The Sweetest Thing". I have to find a reason to watch that movie again since there will be no more breaking up in my life. Gosh now that I write it out, I could watch that movie over and over again and never get tired of it!

4. If you could do something dangerous, just once, with no risk, what would you do?
I am not a big thrill seeker...I'm too much a scaredy cat. So if there was no risk than there would be no fear right? In that case, I would go zip lining with my hubs. He really, really, really wants to do it. I would rather die. Unless there was no risk. And therefore no fear.

5. Which is more important, intelligence or common sense?
Common sense.....because I cannot carry on a conversation with a person if they have no common sense. You don't have to be intelligent to maintain dialogue, but you do need to have some common sense!

In 24 Hours or Less...

This weekend the hubs and I went to Rock Springs to visit the family. The hubs ALWAYS works on Saturdays so we never get to go anywhere for very long...in fact when we do go to see the family it is literally for less than 24 hours! I don't mind the driving in the good weather and mostly the hubs drives anyway. Plus, it is always nice to see everyone so it makes it worth it!  This weekend we took a family picture....

It was a special occasion because we all rarely end up in the same place at once so even though Doug and I are in Wyoming t-shirts I thought it was a great success.  Then, there was this one...

...which Doug thought was a great success.  What I love is everyone's face in this picture! If you aren't lucky enough to know my husband, I strongly recommend becoming his BFF on the double. He can make people laugh more than any person on this earth. It is one of the many reason I love his face.

My Mom-in-law made a full on turkey dinner for dinner on Saturday night and everyone ate plenty. I was going to by pass the green bean casserole so I could eat more sweet potatoes but the boys made sure none of that went to waste. I learned this weekend those Hammond boys are serious about their green bean casserole!

Everyone went and played Sardines on Saturday night but I wasn't feeling well (gee, could it be I gorged myself on that food?) so I stayed home and slept. It was a delightful sleep!

We got to see baby Cooper, who at nearly 5 months old only weighs 3 more pounds than the Hubs did when we was born!

Then before we left town we squeezed in a quick visit with Emma for her birthday.  I can't believe how much she looks like a little girl now and no longer a baby. Where does the time go???

It's always an adventure when you travel in Wyoming and like I mentioned before, I rarely drive. However, the Hubs was feeling tired and asked me to switch with him at Wamsucker. I mean Wamsutter. He never really sleeps when someone else is driving - I would say he has control issues - but he did at least get a little bit of rest in. Until....

...don't worry, our tire didn't blow out. I was just coming up on a tire that HAD blown out.  I quickly evaluated my options and due to the traffic, changing lanes wasn't an option. So I just said, "Ah, hell" and straddled the debris.  It hit the bottom of the car a wee bit but nothing that would cause damage. Doug laughed the remainder of the way home over the fact that I just accepted my fate with an "Ah, hell" - but what else can you do?



It's Okay Friday

It’s Okay…

*To be gushing at the fall weather promised this weekend. Last weekend snow ruined our plans but we have a clear and sunny 60 degree forecast for this weekend. Yay for fall!

*To be so stinking excited about trying to get my Dad’s Christmas present made. I can talk about it here because he doesn’t work the interwebs, and for all the people whom I have enlisted help from…thank you, thank you for your future contribution of old photos. You’re the very best.

*To know you are good at something. You don’t have to be a jerk about it or a braggart but I decided I can bake – bread, cookies, cakes…you name it. I got my Grandma’s baking genes and I am saying it loud and proud. Now the decorating of said delicious baked goods….not so much.

*To have been so busy this week I haven’t blogged since my last “It’s Okay Friday” because technology failed me. FAIL.

*To have the kind of reactions to a photo that make my heart hurt, like literally in my chest, because the memory is just that good.

*To want to get my nails painted orange and a Jack-o-lantern on the thumbs or pinky or something!

*To think the X Factor is dumb. That’s right, I said it. I made my official stand on the show. It is a knock off copycat with similar judges as it’s predecessor…American Idol for life.

*To be so, so, so glad Jake is gone on Top Shot. What a whiney punk he was. I just wanted to punch him in his face constantly.

*To be excited to attempt Rock Springs take two after the hubs’ shift this weekend. Wish us luck.

Happy Friday!!

It's Okay Friday

It's Okay...

*To be tired at work on Friday mornings because Thursday nights are quickly becoming my favorite day of the week!

*To be excited that I ordered some stuff to venture into my first real crafting experience outside of scrap booking. I am hoping I am good at it!

*To have told the hubs I don't want a Christmas present, I want to spend money on my cruise on silly things. For example, I am hoping I can find a purse stand full of bags that are like fake Prada and Coach. That would be amazing.

*To be oh-so-excited that I have cute fall boots! Now I need to find some cute jeans to wear them over.

*To want to make it to Red Lobster for endless shrimp before it, well, ends...but have no idea exactly when it ends.

*To be struggling with "pumpkin season." You see, I love everything pumpkin: pumpkin bread, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, pumpkin drinks, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin roll. You name it, I love it. However, all things pumpkin are pretty much guaranteed to expand my waistline. Which is counterproductive since I've been working so hard to shrink it. Saddest "pumpkin season" ever.

*To be pretty much be over Derek being such an ass to Meredith. Really, dude, it is time to move on.

*To think I will boycott the last season of Desperate Housewives if Susan and Carlos have an affair.

*To not be quite ready for winter just yet...only because it ruins my ability to travel and visit people.

What IS spare time?

"There are just not enough hours in the day! I feel like someone flipped on the GO switch back in 2003 and NEVER turned the friggin thing off." ~ Alicia aka Queso - join her with Mamarazzi for this week's We Want to Know.





{1} If you had an extra hour to do ANYTHING for yourself each day what would you do?
Read. I am addicted to TV, I have no problem admitting that, but in my spare time when all the world is quiet and the hubs isn't blaring music or sports so loud the neighbors can hear - I just LOVE to read.

{2} Are you a morning person or a night owl?
I am a morning person when I get the proper amount of sleep (see below question). I like to get up early and work out before the gym is crowded, get good parking spaces before the streets are littered with cars and just watch the world wake up.

{3} How much sleep do you get on an average night?
If I am going to function that day without a cranky outburst or random sobbing, I need at least 7-9 hours of sleep the night before.  I do not do well on small amounts of sleep. Me on 4 hours of sleep turns into a combination of a drama queen, a demon and a completely unstable woman.

{4} When do you find the time to blog/surf the ol' interweb?
Facebook is on my bberry so it is with me everywhere I go, but blogging and shopping and surfing occurs either on my lunch hour or in the evening.

{5} What is the ONE thing you're never too busy for?
People I love. I can't say just the hubs or just my brothers or just my BFF or just my cousins (who I love like they are my siblings) because in all honesty, I am never too busy for someone I love.

Can hearts be too big?

I love fall. I love the shedding of the leaves in preparation for winter and the promise that in 7 months they will sprout new leaves.  I love the feeling in the air. Fall feels like I try to live my life – full of happies and joy and kindness. With fall comes the boy scouts selling popcorn and the story of my too big heart.

Exhibit A: A nice young man came around at work selling popcorn. I couldn’t tell him no. He was just so darned polite. Then, two days later, while walking into Safeway the sweetest, politest, cutest little guy I’ve ever seen said to Doug, “Excuse me sir, would you be interested in supporting cub scouts by purchasing some popcorn?” While I heard my husband preparing to say “No thanks” I whisper-shouted “You say yes right now and buy some popcorn right now!” I just couldn’t stand the thought of crushing that sweet little guy’s heart!

I could go on listing all sorts of exhibits to support the story of my heart, but when I write it all out even I have to admit I sound silly. I am the person who buys a sandwich and gives it to the man begging on the street corner. Is it possible he doesn’t need a sandwich and is just trying to get money? Sure, but my heart just won’t let me let it go.

When I see an elderly person loading their groceries into the back of their car, I offer to help. Yeah, I am that annoying girl. When I see someone with special needs feeling lost or confused, I ask them if I can help them. If there is a small child crying because they lost track of Mom, I just can’t walk by and not try to help. That’s right, I’m the creeper you guys are staring at in Safeway.  Helping people.

I cry when I read the e-Woof newsletter and think of a dog who might not get a home on time. I hate when I see people hit squirrels with their cars.  I smile at every person I pass because I like the idea that kindness might help them through whatever battle they may be fighting within themselves. I mostly just try to be like Jesus.

When someone I love is hurting, I hurt with them.  When I introduce my cousins I might as well say they are my siblings because I care about them THAT much. My heart is so big it can just hold that much love for them and some people think I’m just a fruit cake for it. I miss my little brother every day.  I don’t care that we are grown ups, I still wish we could live in the same house and play Mario Kart.  When the hubs works 8 hour shifts opposite of mine, I get lonely.  My heart misses him. When I can’t help, when I can fix, when I can’t patch…my heart literally hurts in my chest. I just can’t help it! I want to find a home for the homeless and food for the starving and help for the helpless.

Someone once told me I wasn’t weird, I was just already a “Mom.” What if they are wrong though? What if my heart is just too big? Is that a real thing? Or what if when I do finally have kids I turn into this super freak because my heart is bursting because it was already so full?!?!