Category Archives: other nuggets

Working with Style {3}

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Fall is upon us here in the PNW that means I’ve put away my capris and skirts and pulled out my pants. Since I work in a very relaxed environment, I normally wear jeans, but I’ll be honest…I get sick of wearing jeans everyday. On the day I wore this I got asked why I was so “dressed up” no less than 3 times. See what I mean by relaxed? I mean, it’s not like I’m wearing a suit or anything!

Oh, and now that it’s fall, it means we’re using our wood stove, hence the stacks of wood…I think I’ll need to find a new place to take my photos…

That necklace and bag? I love them both. They each came from a different grandmother, yet the coordinate so well, am I right!? Technically, the bag is actually one of Rylee’s dress-up bags, but I totally snagged it for this outfit. Shhh…that’ll be our little secret.

I linked up with Liberating Working Moms new “Working with Style” again this week.
Are you a working mom? Link up with us!

I think it’s my favorite day of the week.

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Ahhh…Tuesdays…glorious Tuesdays.

Wait…what?? Tuesdays?

Oh yes, my friends, you read that right. I love Tuesdays. Like, a lot.

Tuesdays are normally a great day all the way around.

I wake up semi-rested on Tuesdays.

For whatever reason, I typically look halfway stylish and cute on Tuesdays.

I’m all sorts of productive at work on Tuesdays.

Rylee has a great day at school on Tuesdays.

Andy always tries to get home a little earlier on Tuesdays.

But, my favorite part about Tuesdays? Well, that comes after work.

Tacos.

My whole little family loves tacos. So, that means Rylee eats a great dinner on Tuesdays.

A great dinner is follow by some sort of sweet treat on Tuesdays.

Kitchen clean-up is easy on Tuesdays.

There’s extra time for another round of Candy Land or just to snuggle by the fire on Tuesdays.

And NCIS.

Andy & I were never into “shows” before we had Rylee. But, anymore, by the end of the day all we want to do is veg on the couch before bed. That’s when we discovered NCIS and we’ve been hooked ever since. NCIS is on Tuesdays.

There’s always some of this…

And sometimes even this on Tuesdays…

So…yea…Tuesdays are pretty great…

Don’t get me wrong, I love me some weekends, but Tuesdays hold a special spot for our little family.

What about you? What’s your favorite day of the week?

Feeling…uninspired

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I don’t know what it is…lately, I’ve been feeling kind of…uninspired. And I’m not even sure that’s the right word for this feeling.

I feel kind of like a drone. Just going through my day to day routine. Kind of in a haze. I haven’t felt like taking pictures…probably because we haven’t really been doing anything that I feel warrants pulling out the camera.

The other day as I was uploading the “day in the life” photos from my phone, I scrolled through some others. And boy did it have me missing summer. Not that I’m complaining about the rain already…because I’m not. I love the rain actually. It had me missing more of the summer state of mind, if you will.

Everything seems more laid back in summer. It’s lighter later so I don’t feel that rush to get things done when I’m off of work. Andy is home all summer so I know that all the things around the house aren’t falling on me to be crammed in and taken care of on the weekend.

With fall comes a new school year. With a new school year comes late nights. There’s been nights where the clock strikes 8 and we’re still at the dinner table. Right after that it’s time to get Rylee to bed. Then after she’s in bed, I’m about ready to pass out because I’m so exhausted so all we do is sit on the couch and watch TV. The first couple of months of the school year are always a little rough on our family.  I fully realize we do this to ourselves because eating together, at the table, as a family is so important to us, but…I miss my husband.

My work is picking up…it’s always some level of crazy but the 90 days before a product launch is always a special kind of crazy. Then throw in the fact that close to half my time is spent doing work for another job, in addition to my own, and it gets kind of overwhelming.

A more hectic schedule means a more frazzled mama and a toddler who pushes the boundaries more. And I don’t know about you, but it seems like within 5 minutes of the best part of my day {picking up Rylee and seeing her sweet smile and getting a big hug} the struggles start. What is it about that “happy hour”? I find myself constantly checking my phone to see if Andy has called to tell me he’s on his way home, then counting down the minutes until he will walk in the door and make it all better.

I don’t like feeling like this.

I guess a better word to describe all of this is overwhelmed. I’m kind of overwhelmed by life right now.

This weekend we have some fun family plans. We’re headed to our little town’s open house at the fire station then to a family friend’s birthday party. After that, we have no plans for the afternoon and I fully intend to keep it that way. Maybe we’ll go outside and pick apples off of our tree. Maybe we’ll start to decorate for Halloween. Then on Sunday Rylee and I are going to visit with my cousin who, even though she only lives across town, we rarely see. I’m really looking forward to that visit. She always puts a smile on my face. And gives good hugs. I need a good hug.

Wow…that all sounds like a big sob story. Sorry about that. Bottom line is this…it’s life. Sometimes it sucks, but I’ve got a family that loves me and a hardworking husband and a job that I love. I am blessed beyond belief. I need to remember to be thankful for my blessings…it is after all Rule #2.

And because they make me smile, here’s some of those summertime photos I was referring to…

A day in the life…or something

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So it turns out, a day in my life? Not very exciting. At all. But, I went through the trouble to remember to take the photos so I figured I’d share anyway.

 

Alarm goes off at 5:20 AM…my first thought: Ugh, already!? I’m the first one to get up, so I shower and start to get ready for work before Ry wakes up.

By this point it’s just before 6:45 Am. Andy’s been gone for at least 15 minutes already. Ry is up and eating breakfast. {The one step in our routine that takes FOR.EV.ER} On the menu this morning is a nutri-grain bar, applesauce and then a bowl of fruit loops. Growing much? Wild Krats on PBS might be her new favorite show. I continue to finish getting ready. Get my lunch together. Make coffee. Eat some breakfast.

Almost at work. We left the house about 7:20 am. I dropped Ry off w/ Grandma and headed to work. Pulled in at 7:59 am.

Most of my morning looks like this. It’s Monday so there’s lots of emails to check and follow up on. Orders to write up. Facebook & website stats to check. I put off most all of my phone calls for the afternoon. I hate returning phone calls.

Lunchtime at my desk {like normal} involves left-over spaghetti and blog reading.

My afternoon pretty much looks like this. A couple of conference calls. Product launch planning for 2012 {T-Minue 60-ish days until launch!}

5 PM {ish} I’m out the door and on my way to pick up the monster. Looks like she had fun with her Grandma today. Silly little girl.

We get home about 6 PM…Andy is already home {this NEVER happens!}. I immediately get started on dinner. Tonight, we’re having homemade hamburger soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. We actually sit down to eat about 7:10 PM. Dinner time is anywhere between 6:45 to sometimes almost 8 PM, it just depends on what time everyone {read: Andy} gets home from work. It’s important to us that we all eat dinner together at the table.

I take care of dinner clean-up tonight and Andy & Ry hang out by the fire {the first fire of the season!} and Andy gets his ass handed to him at Candy Land. I tell you what, that girl is a shark. Other nights if it’s not a board game, it’s a puzzle or books or blocks. We continue this until it’s time to get ready for bed which is normally between 8:15 and 8:45 PM…just depends on how late we end up eating dinner.

Andy is putting Ry to bed tonight {we normally take turns}. It’s now just after 8:30 PM and I’ve got our Monday night shows on and I’m treating myself to a bowl of ice cream while sitting next to the fire because…well, why not.

9:30 PM rolls around and during a commercial I get ready for bed. And, yep, I feel about as awesome and awake as I look. Andy stays up to watch one more show and I’m in bed at 10:15 PM going through my mental to-do list for the next day in my head.

See…I told you it was nothing exciting. Just another Monday.

Today? Well, today is Tuesday which happens to be one of my favorite days of the week. Ry always has a kick-ace day at school, Andy comes home early, it’s Taco Tuesday!, and it’s NCIS night. So many of my favorite things. What’s not to love?

What’s your favorite day of the week?