What’s up, mid-October?!?! Crazy, right? This weekend I am so excited because it is my baby shower weekend! My sister and sister-in-law ar emy sweet hosts and I am excited to spend some time with family and close friends. I also have dinner plans tomorrow night with my mom and sister, so fun! I haven’t seen my mom in a few months because her work schedule is so crazy so I am excited for that.
Favorite Moments:
–Yesterday, Laura and I went to lunch at Saigon Noodle House. Since I have already tried their pho, I wanted to try one of their other specialty dishes so I ordered the B4. This had marinated grilled pork over vermicelli noodles and topped with egg rolls. SO GOOD! Laura and I also split the chicken spring rolls because they are literally the best I have ever had from anywhere.
–Getting to work from home today! The AC on our side of our office building has been out for the last three weeks. The replacement units are finally coming in today and my boss told us since even more than just our unit will be down it, would be getting pretty stuffy in there and said we could work from home. Don’t have to tell me twice! To be honest, I am more productive at home. I start working two hours earlier and get so much more done because I don’t have to listen to other people’s noise and conversation in cube world. Also, this guy gets to be my assistant.
Mac does this new thing every night where he goes and sits on the pillows away form us and acts all pouty. Not really sure what the deal is but it is pretty adorable. And pathetic.
Favorite Recipe: I have a few bananas left over this week and am totally trying this simple recipe!
Favorite Fall Treat: I wanted some chocolate last night while I was running errands and I happened upon an end cap of M&Ms. I went to reach for my usual ones and then noticed that they made white butterscotch. YOU GUYS!!! If you like butterscotch at all, do yourself a favor and pick these up. So damn good!
Favorite Lusts: I want to get a few tunic type tops that will fit over my pregnant belly now, and I can hide under after until I get back to my usual size. I can’t seem to find any that are bigger than a regular medium. Ugh! Anyone know where to get some cute ones like this…
For Alyssa’s prompt, “one thing about today you wish you knew one year ago,” so many things swam through my mind. The one that really stuck out for me though? The fact that no matter how good your intentions are to keep friendships going, if you don’t continue to cultivate them….you will lose them quickly. Cultivating relationships of any kind is so important for happiness.
It is hard to make friends as an adult, can we all agree on that? There are so many different “life stages” to go through and we all hit them at different times. I am 33 and some of my friends had kids ten years ago and are immersed in football games, cheerleading competitions and hosting sleep overs at their house. Other friends had babies in the last year or two and don’t really get out much because babies are a lot of work! So they really only hang out with other friends that have kids around the same age and understand. Then there is the group of friends that are wild and free and are out partying it up every weekend and that just sounds exhausting. We all have work, family or personal obligations, organizations we belong to and really just our own shit to deal with.
What I have learned is, if you don’t continue to make the effort to hang out….then you never will. Sure, you might get that reminder on Facebook that so-and-so’s birthday is today so you leave a message on their wall telling them that you miss them and you should get together soon. You never do. Or while you are standing in line to check out at a fast-casual restaurant, you run in to an old co-worker you used to hang out with all the time and you mention that you guys should grab lunch soon, but don’t set concrete plans.
This is how we lose our friends. You need to do more than just have good intentions, you need to have follow through. I very much regret not keeping in regular contact with a few people that I was very close to when I lived in Atlanta. I regret very much not making actual plans with a girlfriend that I ran into grabbing lunch one day last year. Because you know what, I haven’t seen or spoken to any of them since. And that makes me sad.
I can sit here and say, well they never reached out to me either. But how does that make it better?
So what I wish I could have told myself one year ago, is to keep cultivating the relationships with those that I enjoy having in my life. Life gets busy, but it isn’t an excuse to not make the time to grab a drink or get the kids together for a play date.
When Alyssa came up with a Blogging Non-Challenge Challenge, I thought….I’m in!!! To get the prompts and details, you can check out her post on that here. The very first prompt was songs that define your life and why. Music has always been important to me throughout my life. I am one of those people that has about a million different favorite songs for different reasons. And if you looked through my Spotify playlists you would never guess that they all belonged to one person, as I like so many different genres of music.
There is just something special about certain songs for me. They spark a memory or certain time in my life. A certain lyric reminds me of where I was or my potential to be where I want to be.
Here I Go Again by Whitesnake
I don’t know where I’m goin’
But I sure know where I’ve been
Hanging on the promises in songs of yesterday
An’ I’ve made up my mind, I ain’t wasting no more time
Here I go again, here I go again
We moved several times when I was younger, but our very first big move was from Pennsylvania to Missouri. I will never forget the day we backed out of my grandmother’s driveway and this song came on. I remember looking back with tears rolling down my face knowing that we may never move back “home.” Here I am, 23 years later and I was right. I never did move back home. In fact, we moved from Missouri to Georgia, and then when I was in college….my family left me and moved to Alabama. I moved around different areas of Georgia for 13 years before I landed myself in Alabama. If you would have told 1993 Nadine that she would be living in Alabama and starting her family there….she wouldn’t have believed it!
Glycerine by Bush
Don’t let the days go by
Glycerin
I heard this song for the first time the transition summer between 8th grade and my freshman year of high school. We were moving from one area of Missouri to the next and I was upset because I felt like I had finally gotten settled in to my life and who I was at one school and now I was being uprooted right before…what I thought at the time…was one of my most important transitions in to high school. I can’t tell you how many times this song has been played by me.
All I Have to Give by The Backstreet Boys
But my love is all I have to give
Without you I don’t think I can live
I wish I could give the world to you
But love is all I have to give
I couldn’t make a soundtrack to my life without including at least one song from Backstreet Boys or NSYNC. I think I liked NSYNC a little more but this is my absolute favorite song out of all of them.
My Way by Butch Walker
So you grew up in a town where everybody’s all the same.
Like a city full of zombies going by the same name.
Saying “Eat this”, “Wear that,” Think ya know just where it’s at,
when everybody’s just alike, Now tell me how you deal with that!
This much is true, So here’s the finger let me say it.
There’s the right way, then there’s my way
there’s a highway, if you don’t like it you can take it.
So just talk away, I don’t hear a word you say.
I’ll be my way. If you don’t like it you can take it.
I can’t tell you how many times I have seen Butch Walker in concert, alone and with Marvelous Three. This song reminds me of high school and college. I can be in the worst of a mood and as soon as I hear this song it just cheers me up!!! Same goes for this next song….
Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi
People told me slow my roll
I’m screaming out fuck that
I’m a do just what I want
Looking ahead no turning back
If I fall if I die
Know I lived it to the fullest
If I fall if I die
Know I lived and missed some bullets
I’m on the pursuit of happiness and I know
Everything that’s shine ain’t always gonna be gold (hey)
I’ll be fine once I get it, get it in, I’ll be good
Who isn’t in the pursuit of happiness in life? Life moves so fast and sometimes you get down but you have to get back up again. I think so many people can relate to this song.
Meet Me Halfway by The Black Eyed Peas
Meet me half way, right at the borderline
That’s where I’m gonna wait, for you
I’ll be looking out, night n’ day
Took my heart to the limit, and this is where I’ll stay
This song came out around the time that Chris and I started dating. I lived in Atlanta and he lived in Birmingham. Every single weekend one of us would travel to the other, usually it was Chris coming to Atlanta. We always joked that this was our song during our long distance part of our relationship.
First Dance by Corey Smith
I see heaven in your eyes
And feel god movin in this room
Ain’t love the greatest gift of all
Ain’t it amazing what desire can do
This is the first dance
But it won’t be the last
Timeless moments like this
They won’t ever be a thing of the past
We’ll spark a candle tonight
An eternal flame of romance
When the honeymoon is over baby
I’ll still move you like the first dance
Yeah I’ll always turn you on
And move you like the first dance
If Chris and I would have had a traditional wedding and reception, I would have wanted this song to play at some point. The lyrics are so beautiful and it is how I feel about marriage. You should always still want to move like the first dance.
XXX XXXX
I have one more song that I would like to add to the soundtrack of my life, but I wont be sharing that for about 7-8 more weeks. When I finally do share it, you will know why!
Just for funnsies, here is a quiz to help you find a song lyric that describes your life right now. I for FM Static Hey Now.
“Every minute I’m not with you
I hope I’ll see you soon,
There’s just something that happens
When you walk into the room
And instantly I feel so complete
It hits me right about the time you kiss my cheek
And you give me this feeling
It’s like no other feeling
But it knocks me off my feet”
You’re either in love, or crushing hard, and very happy. Maybe you have an amazing bf/gf who knocks you off your feet, or maybe you just have a crush
I am in love and happy 🙂 Tell me what you got if you took the quiz!
To be honest with you, I didn’t really know how I felt about this book while I was reading the first half of it. It sort of crept up on me and then I found myself needing to know what was going on and thinking about it when I wasn’t reading. It is sort of a not so straight forward love story with a little life lesson of not taking things for granted thrown in. And how powerful a wish could be. I really enjoyed the characters and the whole story and overall I really liked it more than I thought I would. Also….this is the same author as Practical Magic. I just loved that movie!!!
Bottom Line: Read it! If you are in the mood for something different this would fit the bill. I really did enjoy it.
When you read the premise of the book, you know you are going to be in for a deep, frustrating ride based on the subject matter. Especially in the heat of all the racial issues going on in our country right now. This book flips between the views of Ruth Jefferson, Kennedy (her attorney) and Turk Bauer (white supremacist father.) I liked the flow of the book and some of the back story from past memories that the author shares.
No matter how far society has come on racial issues, we still have SO MUCH further to go and this book is a great reminder of why. While it took me longer to read this, I really enjoyed it and got to know each of the characters. You can tell that the author has done her research and I feel like she really nailed the emotions.
Bottom Line: If you are looking for a book that hits on a deep topic like race or something that makes you think, then this is certainly for you!
Rating: 4/5
**I received a copy of Small Great Things from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**
Call me cliche or cheesy, but I just love me some Nicholas Sparks. I have read every single one of his books dating back from high school and I am always in the mood for more. For me his books are just consistent. You know what you are going to get and sometimes I need that. What I really liked about this book that differs from most of his others…is there is some action and mystery!
Bottom Line: I really enjoyed this book. If you are looking for a little action, mystery and love…then give this a go! I found myself not being able to wait to get back to it to see what was happening.
You all know my love for Janet Evanovich!! This is the newest installment of the Stephanie Plum series and I basically LOL’d throughout the entire book. You get everything you expect in a Plum novel…hotness between Stephanie, Ranger and Morelli…crazy Grandma Mazur…Lula and all her hilarious remarks…and the rest of the wacky characters you expect to meet along the way. I felt like the ending of this one gave a hint that maybe Stephanie is finally deciding what to do with her life? Then again, Janet could go on writing these forever and I would never tire of them!
Bottom Line: If you are in love with this series like me, you will not be disappointed! If you haven’t read this series yet….go back to book one and see what you think!
I was excited to look through this book. The photos are just gorgeous and really got me excited to add some more veggies back in to my diet. I liked the way that this book was laid out and there are certainly some recipes that I am excited to try! There are some very basic recipes in here, and then some that are a little more involved. I liked the mix. I will say that if you have other Martha recipe books, you might see a few repeats. I was ok with that because I like that all the veggie and side recipes are in one place for me.
Bottom Line: If you are looking for great vegetable recipes for side dishes or you are vegetarian…I would say this would make a great book to have in your arsenal or gift to a friend!
Rating: 4/5
**I received a copy of Martha Stewart’s Vegetables from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are of my own.**
I will say that I was expecting some life changing information in this book based on the title and other reviews I have read and it sort of fell flat for me. I really loved the idea of only keeping things that spark joy but to be honest…I hold a screwdriver in my hand and I think ughhh this is so not joy. But it is a necessity and something I need for time to time. So that whole theory is crap. But I do see it working on things like clothing or dust collectors around the house.
Her idea of talking to your items or thanking them for their service to you is pretty ridiculous. I laughed out loud when she said something about not balling your socks because they needed rest in your drawer. Socks aren’t a person. And her idea of using shoe boxes to organize everything? I don’t want a bunch of shoe boxes sitting around my house that don’t have the shoes in the picture on my box! And taking your items out of your purse every evening just to need to put it all back in the morning when you leave is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of in my life. It was all sort of hokey for me.
One thing that I liked that really stood out was when she was talking about having a few clothing items that you don’t wear out but you save them from lounge wear instead. But then never wear them as that either. I totally do that! So I will say this book is making me go through my closet one more time to do a final purge of the things I haven’t been able to let go. And I guess that is really all I could ask for from this book.
Bottom Line: If you truly need inspiration to get your life and house in order and don’t know where to start or how to organize, I think this would be a great read. If you have a grasp on organizing even a little bit, you probably don’t need to read this book. I honestly skipped parts because my head hurt from rolling my eyes.
Did anyone watch the debate last night and wonder how either of these candidates have gotten this far??? I felt like I was watching some five year olds go back and forth blaming each other for things they did and not focusing on anything real. Such a disgrace. There were several times I literally hid my head under my cover because I couldn’t deal. I guess I watched my scary thing for October. Can’t we all just agree to vote for a third party now? Woof.
Anyways, this weekend started out with a delicious lunch at Chicken Salad Chick on Friday with a sweet friend! I love that they always give you a cookie with your meal. Who doesn’t want a cookie?
Saturday morning I got the house cleaning knocked out early and then had a mini heart attack when I realized that Mac wasn’t in our backyard where I had left him. That little stinker crawled out of the tiniest infraction in our fencing and had himself a little adventure. I drove around in my car for a few minutes looking for him while Chris stayed close and searched on foot. Luckily, Chris spotted him trying to sneak back in to our backyard like the little asshole has done this before and we didn’t notice. When I got back home and picked him up all the adrenaline came rushing to me and I started shaking. Damn dog, worrying me like that. Needless to say, he isn’t allowed outside anymore alone until the fence is fixed.
After that whole ordeal, I got the nursery taped off and prepped to be painted. Again. My sister came over around 1pm and we got right to it. It looks SOOOOOO much better now and actually gray!!! I am really happy with the results. Our trim and doors look better with this tone of gray over the cooler tone that we had. I am going to tell any of you pregnant women out there right now, do NOT wait until your 32nd week to paint. Holy balls was I in some pain. Sadly I was huffing and puffing like I have never worked out a day of my life or something by just rolling. Baby girl is seriously crowding my lungs!! (And all my other organs.) My sister forced me to take several breaks. At one point she literally ripped the roller right out of my hands and told me to go sit. So thankful for her help!
The rest of Saturday, I parked my ass on the recliner watching football and didn’t move. Mac didn’t seem to mind. He was exhausted from running away, apparently.
I made some zucchini pizza bites for Chris a few times this weekend, they turned out really good and were so easy!!! All you do is turn your oven on to Broil, slice up some thin zucchini slices, add just a little bit of sauce, cheese and sliced pepperoni and broil on the top rack for about 3 to 4 minutes. Perfection!
Sunday I read for a little while then headed out to get our grocery shopping done. I haven’t been sleeping well so I felt the need to stop for a small iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts on the way!
I hope that you all had a fabulous weekend! Linking up with Biana.
