Poop'd.

I remain pooped after last night. I had to drag myself to the gym this afternoon and then waddled around and barely even got a work out in. I really hope I'm not getting sick and am so glad it's Friday so I can rest and relax.

I am thankful to my Mum for providing me a way to escape writing a post, since I'm kind of having a blog-block lately, with her posting of a list that's going around (that word choice makes it sound like a sickness). Yes, I'm posting another list. Except this time the list is pre-made and you just highlight the things you've done. So the items I've done are highlighted in blue. Feel free to do this as well and let me know with a comment that you're participating.

The List:
Started your own blog

Slept under the stars

Played in a band (Rockband counts, right?)

Visited Hawaii

Watched a meteor shower

Given more than you can afford to charity

Been to Disneyland/world

Climbed a mountain

Held a praying mantis

Sang a solo (Rockband again...)

Bungee jumped

Visited Paris

Watched a lightning storm at sea

Taught yourself an art from scratch

Adopted a child

Had food poisoning

Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

Seen the Mona Lisa in France

Slept on an overnight train

Had a pillow fight

Hitchhiked

Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

Built a snow fort

Held a lamb

Gone skinny dipping

Been to a Broadway show in NY

Ran a Marathon

Been in three states at once

Ridden in a gondola in Venice

Seen a total eclipse

Watched a sunrise or sunset

Hit a home run

Been on a cruise

Seen Niagara Falls in person

Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

Seen an Amish community

Taught yourself a new language

Had enough money to be truly satisfied

Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

Gone rock climbing

Seen Michelangelo’s David

Sung karaoke

Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

Visited Africa

Walked on a beach by moonlight

Been transported in an ambulance

Had your portrait painted

Gone deep sea fishing

Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

Kissed in the rain

Played in the mud

Been to Grace Kelley’s grave in Monaco

Gone to a drive-in

Been in a movie

Visited the Great Wall of China

Started a business

Taken a martial arts class

Swam in the Mediterranean Sea

Visited Russia

Served at a soup kitchen

Sold Girl Scout cookies

Gone whale watching

Gotten flowers for no reason

Donated blood, platelets, or plasma

Gone sky diving

Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

Bounced a check

Saved a favorite childhood toy

Visited the Lincoln Memorial

Eaten Caviar

Pieced a quilt

Stood in Times Square

Toured the Everglades

Been fired from a job

Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

Broken a bone

Been on a speeding motorcycle

Seen the Grand Canyon in person

Published a book

Visited the Vatican

Bought a brand new car

Walked in Jerusalem

Had your picture in the newspaper

Read the entire Bible

Visited the White House

Killed and prepared my own meat

Had chickenpox

Saved someone’s life

Sat on a jury

Met someone famous

Joined a book club

Lost a loved one

Had a baby

Seen the Alamo in person

Swam in the Great Salt Lake

Been involved in a law suit

Owned a cell phone

Been stung by a bee

This list is fun and although I have only done a fraction of these things, many items are things I hope to do in the future. I've been really into the whole living a full life thing lately and it's great to have inspirational lists and suggestions of things to do to help out with how to fill up the minutes, days, and years.

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!

25 Things

I'm copping out of a real post today because I have nothing really to write about. I went grocery shopping after work and it kinda pooped me out. Therefore I'm going to do as others have been doing lately and share this "survey" from Facebook called 25 Things. The purpose is to share twenty five "things" about yourself. If you're into it, I tag you to share 25 "things" about yourself on your own blog... or in my comments if you'd like. Mine is quite serious, but let me tell you, it can be rather silly and entertaining as well.

1. I believe in God.
2. I think that there is good in all people, they just might not know it yet.
3. My family is numero uno, with my friends being a close dos.
4. I had an aunt who had Down Syndrome. The weekend of her funeral was the saddest, most horrible, but also inspiring, of my life so far.
5. My wedding day was the best party I’ve ever been to.
6. I’ve been to the Edinburgh Registry Office (in Scotland) and found the names of my ancestors.
7. I was raised in the country, but also feel at home at the beach.
8. I almost never use the word “hate”… except when it comes to traffic.
9. I would like to visit every “state” in the U.S.
10. I’ve already been to Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Illinois.
11. My friends call me Monica. (see #11 & #12)
12. All of my clothing items/accessories have to coordinate/match.
13. I enjoy cleaning my house, cooking, and being domestic.
14. I proofread everything I write at least once.
15. I rarely abbreviate words, even when texting or instant messaging.
16. I love to dance and sing… although I’m a bit better at the former than the latter.
17. I’ve only been out of the country twice (not including to Canada)- once to England & Scotland and once to St. Lucia- but have so many more international places I’d like to go, including anywhere in Ireland and to see Vatican City (even though I’m not Catholic).
18. I am crafty and creative- I like photography, doodling, and painting.
19. I could never be a vegetarian because I like steak and venison way too much.
20. I love to be healthy and fit, but think gym exercise is really boring- even if it is more convenient.
21. I am part extrovert, bigger part introvert.
22. I used to be a champion horseback rider.
23. I am personally ready to have kids, but know the rest of the pieces aren’t lined up yet and therefore am doing my best to be patient.
24. I would rather read a book than watch TV.
25. I am afraid of being old, but hope that when I get there I have lots of awesome things to tell and can remember them to share.

Happy Thursday! Yay it's almost Friday!

Woopty Do Wednesday.

I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and was done an hour before I would normally get out of work. Therefore I was home earlier. On the drive to the condo from the doctor's office, I daydreamed about just taking a nap when I got home. Just a little power nap and then I'd get up and get some things accomplished.

Unfortunately for me and my nap desires, as soon as I walked in the condo my Suzie Homemaker switch clicked on and I made myself make a real dinner and clean up after myself, as well as do some other Wednesday-evening tasks, such as torturing the cats.

No I didn't actually torture them- at least not in an evil, pre-human kill serial killer way (wow, I might need to explain that one sometime). And really, it was just Gracie that I "tortured." Wait, tormented is a better word for it. Yeah, tormented, that's much better. Not that I torment her on purpose, she just doesn't like some of my tasks for the evening. The tasks are: giving them their hairball medicine and vacuuming. Gracie does not like either of these things. The funny part is she's smart and can tell when they are about to happen. If I move things up off the floor and go in the guest bathroom and into the linen closet, she kind of starts to cower because she knows the giant red loud monster is going to come out and chase her around... well, at least I think she thinks it's only out to get her. If I go into the guest bathroom and into the vanity on a particular night (I swear they can remember that it's the same night... although it's usually Tuesday but I forgot last night) and then come out and look at her, she runs away because she knows it's coming and then I have to kind of wait and pretend like I'm ignoring her and then catch her off guard. All the while I've got this glob of brown gook on my hand that I'm waiting to wipe onto the inside of her mouth.

Wow, I can't wait to have kids.

Anyways, this post is kind of just another bunch of bloggeldy gook (someday I'll provide a definition for that) because I've got not much else besides the daily blah blah going on to share. Oh, and I've also got this basket (seen below) that I've been trying to clean out for months but can never quite get to the bottom of... except for when I dumped all the contents (leftover from what I didn't get through last night) onto the floor tonight. Unfortunately, after some sorting, I put quite a bit of it back in.
I also took photos and made a recipe post for chicken ala kenny, which you can find below this post.

Holy crap, I need to get a life... well, I mean I need to make this one better. I guess I should go back and read my pep-talk from yesterday.

Happy Wednesday!

Not a sermon, just a thought.

It's one of those days, which lately seem to be more frequent than not, where I have very little to share (several minutes later edit: apparently I have plenty of thoughts to share, just not things that have happened to share). I really need to get some more creative projects going so I can have something to share as well as get some things accomplished.

I've got the housekeeping thing under control- which is of course easier when Hubby is gone to work the majority of the time and sleeps most of the rest of the time. I've been going to the gym every week day and will try to start a six day routine this week. I come home and make dinner for myself and then clean up whatever might need cleaning.

Now that I've got the boring but important stuff into a routine, it's time to add some more creativity. I've done very well about keeping the television (aka the creativity and getting things done killer) off when I get home from work, but it seems like the time between getting home, eating dinner, and going to bed just flies by with little accomplishment. So in the near future I'm going to try harder to be creative and artsy and nerdy and all that good stuff I desire to be. I've already been reading and as you've seen I've started to get into art journaling. But there is so much more I'd like to do regularly- like scrapbook, paint, draw, make jewelry, learn to cook new foods, and so forth.

Life is for the living and I'm learning how to do that better each and every day. The light at the end of the tunnel (aka Heaven) is going to be beautiful and I look forward to it, but I don't want to waste this life on Earth that God has blessed me with by wasting minutes and not doing the things I enjoy. If you're interested in living life to the fullest, take a look today at the the things you'd like to be doing more and start doing them.

Below is my journal page for 5Q. The Q was "how do I feel today?" Lately that can be answered with bright colors like the ones seen below. I'm-a changing and it feels good!

Happy Tuesday!

P.S. After I wrote paragraph four, I instantly thought of these commercials we have in NoVa where at the end the guy (a pastor I believe) says "not a sermon, just a thought." Consider this my reference for the blog title in case the plagiarism police come calling.

Creativity and an Award.

First I would like to thank my Aunt Cindy for the below award. I'm really trying to give life, and all that comes with it, everything I have. Thanks for noticing! I hereby give this award back to you Aunt Cindy... although it should be altered a bit for you because sometimes it seems like you give even more than you have! I also extend this award to my Mum, to those who mean so much to me but may not have their own blog but who sometimes read mine (such as Flower, sister, Grand-mama, other Aunties, and cousins galore), and all you bloggers out there who post daily about your life no matter your readership or busy schedule.

Although my weekend was pretty quiet, the creative juices were flowing quite nicely. On Saturday I made this necklace, which I love. The shell is one I found on my honeymoon (shh, don't tell on me!).

Designing and finishing pieces like this just make me want to do it more. I first tried my hand at jewelry making several years ago with some earrings for my Grama. I also made all the jewelry for my bridesmaids and a necklace for Christmas for my sister. I think this may be one of my favorite pieces yet... but maybe that's because it's for me!

In addition to making the necklace, I also created journal pages for Q2 and Q4 of the 52Q at Life=Art. (Q5 will be up tomorrow!) I'm really enjoying the project so far and I'm determined to see it all the way through the rest of the year. I started off quite simple, but I hope to try some new art journaling techniques as time goes by.

I'm glad to have a Mum who shares my interest in journaling/art journaling and two years ago for Christmas she gave me two great art journaling books: The Decorated Journal and Visual Chronicles. I have already been browsing for inspiration and will continue to use these, as well as the art journals of others, to gather ideas and inspiration in order to expand my ability to express myself on paper and through various mediums.

Geez, I thought I was done and there is one more picture! On Saturday I set up the little spot below by the window in our guest room. It's just a wood tray table and a chair, but it's a great spot to enjoy the sunshine and look out at nothing but trees and sky... I am so blessed to currently have a view that is not blocked by a building. On Sunday I sat here and did my Bible study. It was peaceful and I'm determined to make it a weekly event.

Phew, done! Happy Monday!