At My House Survey

Happy Thursday Friends! I have seen this survey floating around on a few different websites and thought it would be fun to participate and to see what some of your responses would be as well. 

I really love participating in these types of surveys because they are fun and lighthearted.  Plus, you can learn a lot about a person with a survey like this.

Okay, here we go!

At My House Survey:

Household chore I actually enjoy:  Hmmm, a chore I enjoy? I think I would have to say decluttering the house.  I love going through things and organizing them and making the space more efficient. Probably my favorite thing is to go through the mail and shred the pieces we no longer need.  When I asked Justin what he thought my favorite chore is, he responded with vacuuming.  Funny that we both have very different opinions of what I actually enjoy.

Biggest house disaster: This one is a no-brainer: The Guest Bedroom.  For some reason, this space seems to be our catch all for all of the stuff we do not need.  Every few months, we take the time to organize the space and try to make it more functional, but we quickly fall into the routine of, "Just through it in the guest bedroom, we will take care of it later".  Whoops haha

Before company arrives, I hide: There are a few things I would say I hide - 1) any miscellaneous papers around the house {we really are horrible at putting them away} and 2) Our shoes.  There is a place for our shoes, but they seem to always end up in the middle of the hallway.

Most recent music download: I went through a kick and downloaded a bunch of music from the early 2000's: think Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan, All American Rejects... Talk about re-living my middle school/high school days.  

The last thing I bought online: This Lego Set for Justin as a Valentine's Day gift.  He is super excited that Lego has been coming out with more super-hero themed Legos than when he was a kid and it makes him super happy when I buy him the sets.  

I hate to shop for: Pants.  I seriously hate shopping for pants for myself.  I'm a curvy girl, with a wider waist, and I'm short {think 29" inseam} so it really becomes difficult to buy pants.  

Favorite family ritual: I love when Justin and I spend time watching t.v. together.  I know it sounds a bit lame, but I love when we cuddle up on the couch and the cats join us and we just watch t.v. - it brings happiness to my soul.

I sleep in: Capris and a t-shirt usually.  Depends on how warm it is out, but I definitely prefer capris to shorts/pants.

I have style crush on: I am in love with Shaeffer's Styel from Pinterest Told Me To.  Seriously.  It is everything I dream my style to be, but alas, it is not.  Someday... maybe. 

Link to Photo

I’m currently reading: Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames by Thich Nhat Hanh.  This book has been pretty awesome so far and I've been taking a ton away from it.  I mean, I actually have a page of notes quoting sentences in the book.  Once I finish reading the book, I will make sure to share my reaction with you all.

What’s up with the body shaming trend? I have seen SO many posts on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter about how everyone should love their bodies and on almost every.single.post. I see people shaming them.  It drives me crazy how people are so quick to judge someone for being too skinny or too fat.  I definitely live the by "live and let live" standard.  I do not know your back story so I have no room to judge you one way or the other.

How did I ever live without… My cell phone.  I hate to admit how much time I actually spend on my cell phone.  I considered giving it up for Lent, but then I realized that I may not make it! Haha

Question of the Day:

What is the one chore you actually enjoy doing?

I'd love to hear from you!

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Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

Happy Hump Day Friends! I hope all is going well and you are having a great first half of the week and you week only continues to get better.  Today I wanted to share with you a quick review of one of my January Books {I am currently working on my 3rd book for the year) 

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

About the Book:

Bernadette Fox is notorious. 

To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book.  At first I was a bit confused about who Bernadette is and what was "wrong" with her, but once I dug more into the story, I realized that she is just a misunderstood person who is in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I had a hard time putting this book down and found myself spending several hours reading the book and not realizing how much time had actually gotten away from me.  I really appreciated that Semple took the time to do her research when referencing geographical locations and made sure the reader understood exactly where everyone was located while giving you the perfect visual.  

If you enjoy a bit of a mystery with adventure mixed in between, then this book would be a quick and enjoyable read for you. 

Other Responses to the Book:

• Leeswammes Blog
• A Little Blog of Books
• Lost in a Great Book

Think You Want to Read the Book too? 

Buy it here

Question of the Day:

What good book have you read recently? 

I'd love to hear from you!

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National Wear Red Day

Happy Friday Friends! I hope you have enjoyed your day thus far and are able to have a fun and relaxing weekend.  

My day started off a bit weird to say the very least.  I had an early meeting at work today that required me to leave my house before sun up (or 6:30 am) so that I could arrive on time for my 7:30 meeting.  I am not really a morning person but I am proud to say that I was able to get myself up and get going to leave by 6:30.  Everything was going smoothly until I got to The People Mover and things just did not go as planned. 

About half way between the station I hop on and the station I hop off, the car decided that id did not want to keep going and stopped right in its tracks.  Now, if you're not from around here, it may not seem like a very big deal, but the platform is at least 1-2 stories up so we could not just hop off the People Mover.  I was fortunate enough to have some company on the train so we just sat and talked while we waited for someone to come "rescue us". 

I have to say, I was laughing because they would announce that service would resume in six minutes then five minutes would go by and they would announce, "service will resume in five minutes".  It would appear that someone is not great at estimating time. 

After about fifteen minutes, a man just popped up and opened up the door to come and fix the car.  He must have walked down the tracks you see in the above picture because there was no other way to access us than through that very route.  He fixed the car and we were on our way to our destinations.  

Did you know that today is National Wear Red Day? If not, that is okay! Several of my coworkers and I all made it a point to wear red today in honor of National Wear Red Day and the American Heart Association. 

Downtown Detroit is also sporting red and hearts in support of National Wear Red Day.

Both GM Renaissance Center and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan buildings were sporting some red in honor of today.  Plus, how cute is the heart for Valentine's Day?! I hope they keep it up for the next week to spread the love.  The Blue Cross Blue Shield always has these fun designs and it truly makes my day sometimes.  It is the simple things.  

Question of Day: 

How did you sport red today? 

There's a 5 Year Old in Our Midst!

Happy Thursday Everyone! I hope your week is going awesome and you are looking forward to some exciting plans this weekend! 

Over the weekend, and during a crazy snow storm, Justin and I trekked our way to celebrate our nephew, J.P.'s, 5th birthday.  Can I just say that I am having a hard time believing that J.P. is already 5! It feels like just yesterday he was that "little old man".  

This year, J.P.s birthday theme was Batman.  But not just any Batman, the blue and yellow batman.  My sister-in-law always does such an excellent job with decorating for the kids parties and she is always so creative! I mean look at how cool the cake and cookies are?!

All the family was there to celebrate little man turning 5 and it is always so enjoyable to spend time with the family.  We had pizza and salad for lunch then enjoyed the delicious Batman cake.  And let me tell you, it really is super delicious! Red velvet cake is one of those cakes where I can kind of take it or leave it if that makes sense? I finished every.single.bite. of this cake and it took everything out of me to not go back for seconds.

The party ended with some cute pictures of the kids with their cousins.  I love how cute all of the kids were being in each picture.  You can really see their personalities in each picture.  

Happy Birthday J.P.!

Question of the Day: 

What fun themes have you seen for Birthday Parties?

Show and Tell Tuesdays: Groundhog Day Edition

Happy Tuesday Friends! Michigan has been pummeled with anywhere between 12-19" of snow the past few days and we are slowly making our way out back into the real world.  Justin and I both were able to work from home yesterday, which was super nice.  I love getting days home with him to just relax and spend some quality time together.

I came across this fun bi-weekly post on Mix and Match Mama's blog and thought it would be super fun to do! This year (well the rest of the year anyway haha), I'm going to be linking up to Andrea every other Tuesday for her Show and Tell Tuesdays...

Just so you know, here is what's coming up this year on Show and Tell Tuesdays...

Today, she's asking us to pick our Groundhog Day...you know, that day that you would pick to do over and over and over again (like the movie Groundhog Day).

Can I just say, it is super hard to pick just one day to repeat over and over.  I have been blessed to have several days that I would love to repeat over and over but if I had to pick just one, I would pick...

October 28th, 2011

Or Our Wedding Day.

I know it sounds super cliche to pick this day because every bride should want to repeat their wedding day, but I have to say that I would love to repeat it over and over.  

This day ended up being so special for several reasons:

• The weather was absolutely gorgeous! It was a "balmy" 50 degrees and sunny 

• We were surrounded by our loved ones: family and friends 

• I got to commit my life to the man of my dreams

• This day meant a new adventure was beginning

It was a perfect day :).

This would be my Groundhog Day.

I had a huge sleepover with my bridesmaids.

We all got dolled up and gorgeous.

I committed my life to Justin - the man of my dreams.

We danced and had fun as one big happy family until the clock struck 12.

The adventure of our new life together began.

And there you have it! This is the day I would happily repeat over and over.

Question of the Day:

What day would be your Groundhog Day?

In two weeks, we will be talking about how we met our mate and got engaged... I don't think I have ever shared this story before, so I am very much looking forward to sharing that with you all!

February: Month at a Glance

Happy February Friends!

Hi there! How are you doing? I cannot believe that we have already flown through January and are making our way into the the month of love.  I had such a fun time in the month of January, that I am really looking forward to seeing what February brings for us! 

Yesterday Justin and I went to celebrate our nephew's birthday and then had a few people over to watch the Superbowl.  When I have a minute, I will make sure to share a few pictures, but in the mean time, here is a sneak peek.

In Chronological Order: 

• JP's 5th Birthday Party (how is he already 5?!)
• SuperBowl Sunday with Friends
• Manicures with Danielle
• Coffee with my photographer friend Kristine at Tickled Pink Photo
• Valentine's Day! 
• Trip to Iowa to visit Wendy
• Lazy Sunday with my girlfriends

Other Happenings in February:

In January, I was able to finish two books (be on the lookout for reviews) and started two other ones.  So I would like to continue my speed of about 2-3 books a month.  Currently I am reading, 20 Something, 20 Everything and Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames.  If I can finish those two plus one more I will be in great shape for February!

In February, I would also like to run one 5k (either a race or just for myself) which means I need to keep up on my running which I have not been all that great at.  

I would also like to actually start the #jackabeedaily2015 Challenge and start sharing pictures with everyone! I have been taking pictures on and off for the month of January, so I might just make an entire #JackabeeDaily2015 January Photos post sometime this month so I can catch up a little bit.

I am also hosting another fun Photo Challenge on my Instagram! Just head on over to my Instagram and start sharing your picture of the day - I truly love when people get involved in these posts.  It is so fun to see the wide variety of interpretations for each day.

Question of the Day: What fun things do you have planned for the month of February?