a few of my favorite things...

I am spending my day off suffering from an icky cold, a gift from my dear husband! Thanks P! ;) Kleenex and Cold medicine are my friends today.  I read someone's blog about one of their favorite things... mason jars. I heart mason jars too! I decided to blog about some of my most favorite things. Of course my top favorite things in this world are my God, my husband, my step-daughter, my dog, friends and fam.. .but these are my favorite THINGS. Just the little things in my life that make me :) :)

Blue Mason Jars. Love them. I used them for vases at my wedding. They are also great for holding pens, paper clips, and so much more. Most of mine are my granny's and I will treasure them forever. Others I found at random antique stores.

My Pandora bracelet. My mother and sister in law started me on my Pandora bracelet. Most of my beads are gifts from them, my mother, Patrick, or Melissa. Each one has a special story behind it!

Watching the TODAY show. On my days off or days I work the later shift, you can find me drinking a cup of coffee and watching the TODAY show. Its how I keep up with whats going on in the world. I especially love the Hoda Kotb/Kathy Lee Gifford segment at 10. Good times!

COFFEE. COFFEE. COFFEE. I can't resist a good cup of coffee! My mom used to tell me I would be a coffee drinker once I got into my thirties... I never believed her but she was right! Whether its from Starbucks or my beloved Keurig, its an absolute necessity these days. 

BIRDS. Not bird watching but bird "things." I <3 all things bird. This is my favorite

bird picture that I have in my bathroom. I found it at The Perfect Choice in Bentonville.

Sweets!! I have a sweet tooth for sure. I need sweets every day! I LOVE getting dessert at restaurants and always try hard to save room for it. Its the perfect ending to a great meal. One of my all time favorite desserts is...

TIRAMISU. :) I have never been brave enough to make it myself. Maybe one day...

GOOD TuNeS.  I need good tunes when driving to work in the morning or driving on road trips. A good tune  sets the tone for my day. Currently, I am listening to Chris Tomlin's newest cd, I will follow. GREAT cd!

Hunting for BARGAINS!!  Finding a sweet deal on something is like finding a treasure! I love stores like TJMaxx. Yes, I am a maxxinista! I have found super deals from TJMaxx...but you have to be in the mood to "dig" and find that special treasure. My fav buy from TJ's is this Big Buddha bag that I got for 39. Love it!

QUILTS... not just any quilt, but family hand me down quilts. I have a few quilts from my granny/great granny that I hope to pass on in the future.

Well, these are just a handful of my favorite things! What are yours? 

<3, kjm

Two are better than one...

Just got home from a long day of hard labor. No, not at the pharmacy, at our "other" house. Patrick and I have been working on what was his house before we got married for quite some time now (& he worked on it for a while before I came along.) We go through spurts of working on it A LOT and then times when we can always find something BETTER to do than go work on the house. It needs LOTS of TLC. Its really come a looooong way though.
The projects that we have left to do are:
-finish installing wood floors in dining room and part of kitchen,
then sand, stain, and finish all wood floors downstairs
-finish painting kitchen cabinet doors
-finish painting trim all throughout the house
-install new countertops in kitchen (after we find and buy new ones)
-install new hardware in kitchen
-install new front door
-touch up painting throughout
-paint all doors upstairs and closet shelves
-bathrooms upstairs need lots of work
...and there are lots of other little things that need done that I am sure I am leaving out.
Notice I said the word finish a lot ;) My dear sweet husband is a master at starting projects, but many of them need to be "finished." We make a good team because we work well together and I encourage finishing an entire project before we start a new one. He is quite the handy man and can do just about anything on his own. He makes me proud!
This house has been a downer for us both for quite some time. Its been the cloud hanging over our heads that we wish we could just pretend wasn't there and move on. We have recently found some motivation within to get our bootys out there and get it done. We have had some help along the way that was much appreciated! Any little bit helps! :) Since the weather is cold and icky and we don't have too much going on the next few months, we are using any free time we can to get over there and work.
Today we left feeling a wonderful sense of accomplishment and a little more motivated about our other house. Our goal is to get it fixed up to a comfortable, livable state and when we sell our current house, we will move to it. THEN one day sell that house and find our "dream" house together. Its going to take a lot of faith, hard work, dedication, and motivation to get to this point so say a little prayer for us!
This verse comes to mind when I think of  Patrick and I and all the hard work that we have put into this place together over the past year... {its also extra special because it was the verse we used in our wedding ceremony}

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ⁹ Two are better than one,
   because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
   one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
   and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
   But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
   two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken

I found this snazzy artwork when googling the above. It was on someone's ETSY site, but its sold :( might have to put my creative cap on come up with something similar! LOVE IT!

<3  kjm

Life Lessons.

Recently I had a nasty encounter with a customer at work and I haven't been able to let it go. What made matters worse was the way it was handled after the fact. Without saying too much, the customer was compensated and I was left feeling VERY much unsupported. What happened was very unfair in my opinion, {people in the corporate money-making business world might disagree.}  I am a sensitive, wear my heart on my sleeve kind of girl and luckily I rarely have any bad confrontations or encounters in my workplace...but when I do, it hurts me deeply. 
A new friend & new neighbor posted this on her facebook wall just a few days ago:

...having to admit that, no matter what wonders life brings, the real struggle is within my own mind to stay positive, be grateful and let things go.

Wow, what a great life lesson to learn! It was just what I needed to help me get back on track to positive thinking. I also found these inspiring bible verses...


A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22


Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32


Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8




My goal going forward is to not let those angry, bitter, and slanderous people get to me & to pray for my "enemies."
** But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44

On a completely different and happier  note, I wanted to blog about my favorite day of the week... THURSDAYS!
I <3 Thursdays because its DATE NIGHT! 
Date night started because of something that that was said in our wedding ceremony back in October 09'. The our wedding ceremony, the pastor told Patrick to,"Always date Kim." This might could possibly be the best advice we have heard to keeping your marriage romantic and strong.
Date night for us is sometimes as simple as a cozy night a home together, enjoying a home cooked meal and a redbox movie or maybe a fun shopping trip, game night at home, movie night, a nice dinner & dessert out on the town...the possibilities are endless. 
Last night, we wanted to stay close to home due to the road conditions, so we decided to try out the new diner just down the street in downtown Rogers. LUCY'S DINER has moved into where Hi-D-Ho used to be and they have a large variety of 'comfort food' dishes and a fabulous pie selection too! They are also open 24 hours and serve breakfast round' the clock for those who love breakfast at any time of the day!

 Go check it out!  After Lucy's diner we rented a redbox movie and had a cozy night in, snuggled with the dogs on the couch. I love nights like that! <3 I recommend having a "date night" to all the married couples out there!


Have a blessed weekend!!


~kjm

NKOTBSB!!!

I am sooooo excited to be going to the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys tour in Tulsa on July 17th! Tickets went on sale this AM and I bought them just as soon as I could. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to see NKOTB on their comeback tour in New Orleans. It was such an awesome show.

 Yes, I am a grown woman but NKOTB and BSB were such a hit in my younger days and to see them together will be a treat! Make fun all you want! :) I can hardly wait and I have a looong time to wait.. 7 months and 2 days to be exact! I guarantee that I will be one of the crazy screaming girls singing "Hangin' Tough", "Step by Step" and "I want it that way" at the top of my lungs. See you soon boys!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is a special day, My Mom's birthday! She is very special to me. Not only is she my mom, she is just like a best friend. We have so much in common and share many hobbies...we both love crafting, shopping, & antiquing. We are both pretty creative, her more so than me! She has a small little business called "Vicki's Initial Thoughts" She creates and monograms really cute stuff that work great for gifts. We both work in the pharmacy world and understand each other's crazy work days/stories. Sadly, we live about 5-6 hours apart but we get in as many visits as we can throughout the year. Quite often when we have been together, people mistake her as my SISTER! She loves when people say that :) She is hip and stylish (with my help) and fun to be around. Last April we went to the Bon Jovi concert in Tulsa, Ok. Not many people can say that they went to a BON JOVI concert with their mom! We had a blast! One of our favorite things to do together is going to craft fairs. She loves to come up every year and go to the huge War Eagle craft fair and other local fairs.
I got all of my best qualities from my mother! She is truly the best! MOM, I hope you have a super great birthday! Wish I was there to celebrate with you! Love you tons!!!

So GOOD you'll SLAP yo' MOMMA ;) ( jk Momma! )

Cold snowy days such as today inspire me to cook up a hot hearty meal. I found the following recipe from browsing a fellow blogger's page (Amy) and it sounded so delicious I just had to try it. Amy has exquisite taste, so when she blogs about a recipe, you know it must be GOOD!
The recipe is for PENNE A LA BETSY. It is a Pioneer Woman recipe.
If you love to cook, you must check out the Pioneer Woman website! Its full of yummy recipes and other fun things.
Introducing Penne a la Betsy... (picture by Kim)

I LOVED this dish! It got the husband's stamp of approval too ;) AND... 

even the dogs were begging to try it!

Here is the recipe from the Pioneer Woman website:

Recipe: Penne a la Betsy

Prep Time: 25 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 25 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 6

Ingredients

• ¾ pounds Penne Pasta
• 1 pound Shrimp
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 whole Onion (small)
• 2 cloves Garlic
• ½ cups White Wine, Or To Taste
• 1 can Tomato Sauce (8 Oz)
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Fresh Parsley, to taste
• Fresh Basil - To Taste
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm, also known as al dente.

Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp. Heat about 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite –sized pieces and set aside.

Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup).

Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.

Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil, or if you’re feeling very proper, chiffonaded.

Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir.

I heart a bargain!

I heart a bargain! I LOVE shopping but hate to pay full price for ANYTHING! If I can find an incredible deal on something that I want or need, I can't pass it up! :) Lately, I have been wanting some rain boots. I have wanted them for a while now, but could never just break down and buy them, mostly because I didn't know how much I would really use them. This morning when I took the dogs outside, a light bulb came on! I REALLY needed some boots I could wear around in the rain/snow... so I went searching on the internet. I came across the Target website and searched for rain boots. Low and behold, tons of cutesie rain boots were on SALE! I found the perfect pair for only $12.48!!

So exciting! I found another pair for Melissa that were only $8.74

Hopefully these cute boots will work for both rain and snow, I can't wait to wear them ;) They have many other patterns and colors on sale.. so check it out HERE!

Well that totally made my day and I just had to share, now to get ready for work. Unfortunately, Walgreens doesn't shut down for Anything...  Snow, Tornado, Hurricane..we are there when you need us AND your drugs!! ;) I have a short shift today, just 2-8 so it should be any easy one. Luckily my sweet hubby has offered to come get my and take me to work so I don't have to drive there and back. He's the best!

Have a fun and safe day!!

~Kim