my fetish, and life realization

nail polish ;) surprised? lol

sometimes i wish i could be a hand model :)
i love playing with color pallets, doing reviews for ladies that make polish
(newest one HERE)

and since i've been doing them a lot more often through the past couple years, expanding my horizons with different tools, brands, etc.. my nails and hands have gotten much healthier.

i think the thing i love the most about it is i can express how i feel through the different textures, prints, nail accessories, color combos..
it's like an art form to me.. and it's like how some people wear makeup.. they do different things at different times, etc.

it's like how i show my "beauty".. beyond my face.. beyond my heart..
beyond how others might think of me, or how i might even view myself..

playing with nail polish is an outward extension of who i am inside.

intriguing.. i think.
i love watching nail art tutorials on youtube.. (my favorite is Robin Moses)
different techniques i can learn..

it's great to have healthy nails again :) and to also make that time for myself.. to pamper myself.. and to try new things that i wouldn't have before. 

through this, and through experimenting with exercise and diet.. i'm getting to know and create a new, better me.

tired and unmotivated

laying in bed last night, having my back and my hair stroked by my husband.. you'd think i would have slept well.

but i didn't.
it's nights like that that leave me exhausted the whole next day..

restless.. barely asleep.. tossing and turning.. ugh.

what on earth causes such sucky nights?

...
leaving me totally unmotivated the next day..
i haven't wanted to do anything today..

but i got up (even though school was canceled.. apparently there's ice on the backroads).. had my coffee.. fed my kids.. fed myself.. then got dressed and got the laundry baskets finished and put away since my mother was coming over.
it's always nice to have my mom over for lunch/coffee and playing with the kids. they showed her Mario on the DS.. and she read Livy's school book with her.

Zoe did a little dance routine, and Jazmine had her help with online math work.
...

Brian (my husband) introduced me to a new game app on my phone today.. yay, now i'm hooked... lol. Thanks, babe. ;)

...

i made a foldable playhouse for their playroom out of a cardboard box via online tutorial..
here's the Tut:
DIY collapsible cardboard playhouse

here's my version: (5 year old included.. the other two are playing in the snow with a friend)

Well, time to get in a workout.
I plan on yoga/pilates.. and Zoe wants to do the Cha-cha with me.
we'll see what comes of it!

tootles!
and God bless!

headaches

why? why? why?

so debilitating.

i'm a mom
i have things to do
i don't want to NOT want to do things.

got up, got two kids on the bus.. laid back down.
got up, put a movie in for my other daughter.. laid back down.
got up at 10.. yup, it's a migraine.

ate something, took some medicine, and my vitamins for the day.. keeping the curtains closed.

open my computer..
get a message from the women's wellness center, they have money for me from a sale in their store. :)
thank the Lord!

get a post on my wall of marble nail polish that someone tagged me in saying it made them think of me..
thank the Lord!

people already lifting me up..
God is good.

no matter what my situation.. why NOT me?!
I am surrounded by people who think of me, who love me, and who are there when i need.

so let me say it again..
thank the Lord! for even in my hard times.. He shines through His people, and makes Himself known.

Mondays :)

I know most people hate mondays..

but I love them.. why?

It's a fresh start
a new day
a new chance to walk with God

why would I not want to wake up?
why would I pass up the opportunity to love on my kids? to have a cup of coffee?
to push off the blankets from my bed..

and count EVERY blessing?

i have healthy children
i have a bed with a pillow, sheets and blankets.. that I get to share with my husband of 10 years
i have a home that's big enough for all 5 of us
my girls are dressed everyday in clothes that aren't worn out

i have an alarm clock
and a chance to walk on my own two feet

Mondays? Tuesdays? Wednesdays? why should the day be any different from the last?

use EACH and EVERY day to be a testimony for others

peace and love

sitting alone, enjoying the silence in the room.

listening to my children play together behind a closed door

1 cup of coffee in my belly.. ate breakfast with my husband this morning (mmm, sausage patties and biscuits.. that were slightly frostbitten in the freezer). 

hearing him scrape the packed snow off the sidewalk.. love him for all the hard work he does for this family. 

I am blessed by him. 

a warm blanket on my lap.. the bubbles created by the humidifier.. and the slight kick in the vents when the warm air starts to blow.. 

i’m comfortable in my home. 

unlike many who aren’t so lucky

Dear God, 

I pray for those with no homes, with no family, with no love, and (in their minds) no hope. I pray that some way, somewhere, someone will reach out to them and tell them.. there IS hope. That hope is found in finding you.. You lead us to where we need to be. Every day, every step, is orchestrated by you. 

Let us never lose sight of the hope and the freedom we find in knowing You and loving You. Thank you for the love that surrounds me everyday.. in forms of friends, children, spouse, food, clothing.. warmth.. 

I pray I never take that love for granted, and that I can pour that love into others. 

Creating a domino effect.

The things we take for granted. I never want to forget that all blessings, no matter how small, come straight from you.

snow day.. again

wow.. by the time we woke up this morning.. there was so much snow.. i'm LOVING it. i think i can understand how people can get sick of it.. but not me..

i don't know if there will ever be too much snow for me. :)
and to think.. every single flake is different.. all these tiny little crystals of frozen water.. formed by one God.. can make sooo much more.
it's so beautiful.. amazing.. creation is just astounding to me.

...
this also gives opportunity to help people more..
like shoveling people's walkways, helping a neighbor jump their car, plowing out driveways.. offering hot cocoa to a friend..

pulling cars out of ditches, salting roads..

this is my winter paradise.
i swear, living in Michigan really gives me more of a chance to believe God is who He is.. these seasons and colors and quick, frequent changes.. could only be orchestrated by a Master Composer.


...
snow days also give me a chance to test my patience and love for my children.

I am a work at home mom..
i run my business from my computer and my basement..
getting them involved with my daily exercise, taking some time out during lunch break to be with them, plan activities to keep them occupied..

and tonight i'm going to be going on www.swagbucks.com with my oldest daughter (Jazmine, is 8 years old) and checking out what kind of hairstyle she wants for the daddy/daughter dance on Friday. :) I'm excited to play with her hair and make her feel the beauty that God gave her. :)

starting over

well.. here i go again. hoping to write.. something.. worthwhile.

i've been getting sentimental lately..
catching up on my scrapbooking, that hadn't been done for a year..
reading some of my old journal entries from, get this.. before i got married.. it's been that long since i really, truly wrote.

so here i am.. trying to do it again.. 12 years later.. pushing forward, hopefully, into a new chapter of my life.

turning over a new leaf (cliche')..
getting a handle on taking better care of myself, now that i'm in my 30's (that sounds weird.. lol)..

hopefully showing my daughters what a Christian woman looks like.. faithful to her husband, loving him the best way i know how.. reading my Bible (weather the actual book, or a passage on my phone).. exercising and eating right to keep my body strong and healthy..

and showing them what love is about. God's love for us, no matter what we do.
we stumble.. we fail.. but He's not, and He won't.

and going for my goals.. MAKING goals.
things will only happen if you do them..
not if you wish all day.. and sit on your butt.

reach for the stars, girls.. and follow God's lead!