Friday Pick Me Up

I was recently reminded of how hilarious/ridiculous this video is. Highlights include: winking (or lack thereof), outfits, hair, and dance moves. Enjoy! Happy Friday!

Lemons

This is just a brag moment/look-I-can-be-creative-with-decorations moment. I got this pitcher for my birthday in November. And I absolutely love it. So much so, that I can't put it away. So it has become the centerpiece of our table.

I thought I'd spruce it up a bit and throw in a splash of color. And lemons do the trick. And since Tyler needs more lemons in his diet (to help prevent kidney stones) we will have an abundance of them around here.

What do you guys think? I'm probably behaving like a child with how proud I am of my super simple centerpiece, but I came up with the idea all on my own! No pinterest involved!

Remember Those Curtains?

Yeah, the ones I made from flat sheets I bought on sale at Target? The ones that I procrastinated hemming for 5 months?

Yeah, I finally got around to hemming them. Better late than never, right?

Pantry

Here's a peek at what I've been up to lately:

Yep, that my friends, is the content of my pantry. All spread out on the table. And floor. And on the chairs that you can't see behind the table. I'm doing a bit of reorganizing and evaluating how effective my 3 month food storage supply is. (Which, by the way, I'm not really sure how to measure. It's not like I plan on not grocery shopping for 3 months just to see how far all of this goes)

I'm planning on a trip to the LDS Home Storage Center today and stocking up on some more essentials. Can you believe I only have 2 cups of white flour left?!

I'll keep you posted on the finished pantry results.

Spring!

I snapped this picture with  my phone the other day. Looks like spring is on its way! Can't wait for my tulips to bloom too!

I Left My Heart in Seattle

Last week I had the opportunity to make a quick trip up to Seattle to meet my new nephew. Well, it was quick, as in, last minute pack my bags and leave the next day. Boy am I glad I could make it up there! Big E is such a cutie! I think I might have gone overboard on taking pictures of him, but how am I supposed to stop with just 1 picture? I'll let you take a peek for yourself.

I miss holding his tiny little body and dancing with him to Coldplay. He will definitely be spoiled rotten by his Aunt Binny! His little hands have quite a firm grip on my heart. :)

Oh, and while I was up there Nicole took me to the Oroweat Outlet store where I scored this sweet stash for $11! When the lady saw I was from Oregon, she told me that their bread comes from the bakery in Beaverton and there is an outlet store there too!  I never knew it existed, but now when I need a good bread fix I can go get fresh good stuff for $1! Very happy to get my own cheap Oroweat bread so close to home. :)

Why I Hate Valentine's Day

I've never liked the color pink. Or hearts. Or doilies. And I'm diabetic so the extra sugar on Valentine's doesn't do much for me. That's strike 1 against Valentine's Day.

Strike 2 occurred in 5th grade. Think back to when you were in elementary school and Valentine's Day meant a class party with red punch, sugar cookies, and mailboxes to receive all of your valentines from classmates. That was when Valentine's Day was fun and awesome: it was an excuse for a party during school. I looked forward to these parties every year and 5th grade was to be the ultimate party because it's your last year in elementary school and lets face it, there aren't any Valentine parties in middle school. Unfortunately for me, I have only missed 1 day of school in my entire K-12 years. And that one day occurred on Valentine's Day in 5th grade. Yes, I was puking my guts out on the day that was to be the party of all parties. I couldn't hand out the Valentines I had so tediously worked on, wouldn't get to eat heart shaped cookies and instead sipped on ginger ale. I missed out on the last awesome party in elementary school. Thus began my disdain for Valentines Day.

As I grew older I nicknamed Valentine's Day "Singles Awareness Day" because lets face it, this holiday really sucks when you're single. Enter feelings of loneliness, self consciousness for not being pretty enough, and what's-wrong-with-me-why-can't-I-get-a-guy feelings. And all over facebook, school, and blogs, everyone brags about that special someone they are with on this day. It seems like mylar balloons, chocolates, and roses are slammed in your face, reminding you how incredibly lonely and pathetic you are on this day. Strike 3.

Now that I'm married, I still loathe this day, despite having someone to share it with. Why? I think it's because the world has decided this to be the one day a year we declare love for each other. And Tyler and I do a pretty decent job sharing our love for one another everyday, not just Valentine's Day. We say "I love you" multiple times a day, surprise each other with little gifts randomly, not just on this one day of obligated gifts. We perform acts of service for each other that show our love. Why do we need a silly holiday to remind us we love each other?! We already know that and show our love daily!

The whole concept of Valentine's Day is so superficial to me, and true love is so much more than that. Sure, you can post a picture of the flowers your love gave you, but does that really mean anything? If he truly loves you, he'd empty the dishwasher for you, or take out the garbage showing you how much he loves you. I think a husband who sits down and helps me fold laundry is so much more romantic that one who brings home a box of chocolates.

And lucky me, my husband does that with me weekly.

Who needs Valentine's Day?!