30 Minutes of Wonderful

I can't believe that Christmas has come & gone and that a new year is almost upon us! I have no idea where 2012 went--it just zoomed right on by. It was a year of ups & downs (mostly ups, thank goodness) and happily, it's ending on the upside of things. Christmas was one of the best I've had in awhile. At 2.5, this was the first year that Owen really "got it". It was incredible to watch the excitement of the holiday through his eyes. Last year, he was done after opening his first gift and we had to beg him to finish the rest. This year, he ripped through all of them happily and was so excited about everything he got. He even remembered "thank you" and hugs and kisses. My boy is all set with new toys...all he wanted was new trucks and that desire did not go unheard from anyone! It was great to be surrounded by family and good food and I was especially happy to get a visit from my godfather last week. It's been a rocky road...he battled alc...

Enjoying some time for myself while Owen naps. Last week I had a crazy urge to watch the old HBO series Carnivale. Couldn't find it locally on DVD or on Netflix, so I just let it go. Went to WalMart Saturday night and guess what's there? Yep. Seasons 1 & 2 of Carnivale. I picked up Season 1 yesterday. I've been trying to wrap my mind around the insanity at Sandy Hook Elementary. I cannot even begin to imagine what those poor people are going through. It has made me hug my little guy a whole lot tighter and remember to cherish every moment with those I love, because we truly never know when it will be taken away. My heart & prayers go out to everyone involved and affected by this unthinkable tragedy. In cheerier topics, I managed to finish Christmas shopping Saturday. My parents kept O for the night. It was nice (and much easier) to brave the crowds with him playing happily with MawMaw and PawPaw. Last October, I started a Christmas Club account with my bank. I...

Wrapping up a pretty good weekend tonight. Nothing terribly exciting, but good, nonetheless. Owen and I started Friday with some shopping in Houma. I had to make a return at Target. The travel mug in the Grinch Christmas mug set I bought the day before was cracked. Unfortunately, there were no more in stock. Sad, because I love me some Grinch and looked forward to drinking my coffee with him every morning. Ah, well. I'll check back soon. Ended up hitting the dollar spot, though. Bought Owen a few books & picked up 2 magnetic Christmas note pads and a set of A Christmas Story pens for myself. (I'm a sucker for pens & stationary.) Also bought O two cute plates--one Christmas and one Thomas the Train. Oh, and I picked up a clearance nail polish. Because, you know, the 100+ other polishes I own aren't enough. It's "Kardashing Through the Snow" from Nicole for OPI. I've been on a glitter kick lately. We stopped at the mall for cookies (Great America...

my backyard I live in south Louisiana and grew up on the bayou. It was literally my back yard...named after my family & flowing along the 18 acres my grandfather owned. Lots of great adventures there over the years, but this one stands out in my mind.  I was 15, a sophomore in high school. There was a huge square chunk of concrete in the water, right along the bank, that had a smaller square on top of it. It was a perfect seat for reading. I spent a lot of time out there, book in hand or just watching the water. On this particular day, I sat reading while my German Shepherd, Sasha, wandered along the levee. The property across the bayou from us was a small farm. They had goats, sheep, and ducks. I saw a mama duck & about a dozen ducklings drop into the water for a swim. I smiled at how cute they were and went back to my book. Then something else caught my eye. An alligator popped up behind the ducks. Mama Duck went into a frenzy, trying to get her ducklings to safety....

This was my first month to receive an ipsy bag.Overall, pretty impressive! First off, I love anything chevron-patterned these days, plus red/white/black are a favorite color combination of mine. The bag was an instant win. I was also excited about all of the products.  The Coastal Scents eyeshadows are great. I love the colors (set #6) and the quality was surprisingly good. I'm a self-admitted Urban Decay snob when it comes to shadows. However, the CS palette blended easily & the pigmentation is wonderful. The Be a Bombshell eye liner in onyx is like a felt-tipped marker. I've never tried one before, so I'm curious to see how easy it will be to work with. Sad but true, I only learned how to use eyeliner in plain old pencil form a couple of years ago, and I'm almost 32!  I also got theBalm "What's Your Type?" mascara in "the body builder". It's black, which is always a winner. I've used it a couple of times now and I rea...

So I got an e-mail on Tuesday of last week informing me that my Birchbox  had shipped. And then later in the day, I check my mailbox and find said Birchbox in it. Because it actually shipped on the 6th. No complaints, though. I was excited to have it so quickly! I resubscribed last month for the first time in over a year. Last month's box was pretty good.  It's just "meh" this month. I got: beautyblender sponge (full size=$25.95 for a pack of two) Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss (full size=$33) DDF Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer (full size=$85) Marie Veronique Organics Anti-Aging Oil+ (full size=$80) Lifestyle Extra: LUNA Lemon Zest (full size=$18.75 for a pack of 15) I've been curious about the beautyblender for awhile, and nearly bought a knockoff at WalMart last week, so that's kinda cool. I've been using it & I really like it. I wet it first and it blends my foundation nicely. Tried the LUNA bar. It wasn't terrible, but...

I took advantage of nap time today to tackle a crafty project I've wanted to do for awhile now. Saw this on Pinterest awhile ago and thought it'd be perfect, since I can't get rid of cards! It's nice to go back later & read the sentiment. Of course, I can't find the pin now to link here, but it's simple enough. You'll get the general idea! So today, after Owen crashed, I popped Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince into the DVD player, brewed a fresh pot of coffee, and settled on the living room rug with my hole puncher, ribbon box, book rings ($1.88 for a pack of 8 (4 small, 4 large) at Walmart) , & a pile of cards. I sorted them first, into 4 piles-baby shower 1, baby shower 2, baby's arrival, & 1st birthday. (Yep, I was very luck & had two showers--the first by my in-laws in north LA and the 2nd by my parents here at home.) Then, I punched a hole in the top corner of each and put the book ring through. To finish it off, I knotted a ...