Hey Friends! I hope each of you are well and have had amazing Novembers!
I cannot believe it has been three weeks since my last post. I shared my struggle with balance that day and then disappeared from the blogosphere. It wasn't intentional, it just happened. In all seriousness, I had been going full force in regards to the blog and realized I needed to step away for a bit. What I mostly sacrificed was sleep and lunch breaks - life got busy, lunch breaks didn't happen, and sleep won out every night. I hope that you understand the need for some temporary distance and that you still remember this here lady juggling a whole lot of chaos with a little bit of class!
So, let's chat about some of the highlights from the last three weeks. It's been a whirlwind, that's for sure.
Christmas Decorations are up and still intact - for the moment anyways. It is our tradition to decorate for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. Little J helped put ornaments on the tree this year and keep Little L out of the tree. You can see the temptation all over Little L's face when he looks at the tree, but he's doing good at listening to "no" and resisting the urge. It's really quite adorable. And Little J is quite protective of our masterpiece - that's a whole bunch of cuteness too.
New NCIS and Scorpion episodes have all been watched. *Spoiler Alert* I'm really bummed for Bishop and Jake. I didn't really see his affair coming. I suppose I should have. I'm really curious where the authors are going to take this new development. And I'm growing a tad impatient when it comes to Walter and Paige's relationship on Scorpion. But I guess the sooner it plays out, the sooner the anticipation of it actually happening disappears too.
I've been doing some reading. I cannot recall who mentioned the author, but I was intrigued instantly and have read two of her books over the last couple of weeks. The author is Tracey Garvis Graves, and so far I have read On the Island and Covet. I really enjoy her style of writing, alternating character points of view and only occasionally using language I would never use.
I am so happy I quit R+F. I know this is not what you usually hear, but I am so glad to have my face back. I tried the Unblemish line for about 6 weeks and was not blown away by the results. Are you? I definitely should not have used the Spot Fading Toner. My face is a whole shade lighter and I've had to change my make-up color because my normal was too dark. My face turned dry and felt tight. Had it been a cure all for the acne and blackheads, I may have felt differently. But it just wasn't for me. I'm sure it was simply the wrong product for me, and maybe I'll try one of the other lines sometime in the future. I went back to using my favorite - Clinique Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser Mousse and started using Biore Warming Anti-Blackhead Cleanser. I really like the Biore cleanser. Do you struggle with blackheads? If so, what do you use?
I need your opinion. Car rides are becoming a bit rough. Little L is around 28 pounds and is almost 15 months old. He is still rear facing. When did you turn your little ones around so that they were forward facing? I'm wondering if that would make all the difference in the world. He seriously fusses almost the entire time of most all car rides. I'm torn. Would love your advice.
This is the parade that never ends... My friend and I decided to be a little adventurous and pack up our combined four children and attend the annual Christmas Parade. Ranging from age 15 months to 6 years, we knew our hands would be completely full. But it would be totally worth it to see the smiles on their faces when the floats would come by and the candy would fly. And they did have a great time, they did. But what my friend and I will most likely remember is the spilled hot chocolate fiasco, the roller coaster of emotions - from "this is the best parade ever" to "I never want to go to a parade again", the never ending line of floats - over 2 hours, and the time that my friend's 3 year old picked up two half-smoked cigarettes that were still burning - shame on you whomever you are for dropping your cigs on the ground still lit around hundreds of children. I don't believe we were ever more glad for the parade to end, to find our cars, and make our way home.
What do you use to study your Bible? I need some help again. Are there any really good reading plans out there that help you read through your Bible? I'm open to anything, really. I need to get back into reading His Word daily and it's so hard for me to make the time. I always do better if I have a schedule of some sort to follow and keep me on track. Would love to hear any recommendations.
My kid discovered the How to Train Your Dragon movies. We happened to catch the first one on television the other day and have watched it countless times since. He used some of his birthday money and purchased How to Train Your Dragon 2. I have to admit, they were both great and even I didn't mind watching them over and over again.
Anyone else addicted to Hallmark? I love curling up on the couch, covering up with a blanket, and watching a good Hallmark Christmas movie. Every man's dream! He would never admit it, but my husband gets roped in too. Hallmark is the one channel where I feel I can watch TV and have the kids in the same room. The movies are clean and so are the commercials.
Speaking of commercials... I sometimes like the movies that come on ABC Family, the reruns of classics. But I refuse to let my children watch them because of the commercials. Not family friendly at all. Thumbs down, ABC Family.
Absolutely absurd is the bag full of trash I cleaned out of my car one afternoon last week. I seriously never want my car to get that bad ever again. I'm embarrassed. What is all of that? Papers from school, wrappers from snacks, a partially eaten cake! Unacceptable, that's what it is.
Coolest thing ever. Okay, maybe not ever, but this is really cool. My mother-in-law picked up this Olaf Snowman Kit the other day and Little J cannot wait for a snowfall big enough to make a snowman. Speaking of snow, we did see a few flurries a couple of weeks ago, but that's it. As a matter of fact, our temps have been crazy high for this time of year - breaking mid-sixties and even seventy. The boys have loved it!
Well, I think that's all I know. I plan to get back to blogging regularly and even have a giveaway in the works that I'm super excited about! I will do my best to get caught up on your latest news, but my Bloglovin' feed shows 279 unread posts, I'm certain I'll miss some. Do forgive me.
Hope you guys have amazing weeks!
~Trista~
I cannot believe it has been three weeks since my last post. I shared my struggle with balance that day and then disappeared from the blogosphere. It wasn't intentional, it just happened. In all seriousness, I had been going full force in regards to the blog and realized I needed to step away for a bit. What I mostly sacrificed was sleep and lunch breaks - life got busy, lunch breaks didn't happen, and sleep won out every night. I hope that you understand the need for some temporary distance and that you still remember this here lady juggling a whole lot of chaos with a little bit of class!
So, let's chat about some of the highlights from the last three weeks. It's been a whirlwind, that's for sure.
Christmas Decorations are up and still intact - for the moment anyways. It is our tradition to decorate for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. Little J helped put ornaments on the tree this year and keep Little L out of the tree. You can see the temptation all over Little L's face when he looks at the tree, but he's doing good at listening to "no" and resisting the urge. It's really quite adorable. And Little J is quite protective of our masterpiece - that's a whole bunch of cuteness too.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree
My favorite wreath. I received this when my grandmother passed several years ago.
The Nativity Calendar on the left, I ordered from Amazon last year. Little J loved it. My sister-in-law picked up the snowman a couple of weeks ago. We're ready to start the countdown!
New NCIS and Scorpion episodes have all been watched. *Spoiler Alert* I'm really bummed for Bishop and Jake. I didn't really see his affair coming. I suppose I should have. I'm really curious where the authors are going to take this new development. And I'm growing a tad impatient when it comes to Walter and Paige's relationship on Scorpion. But I guess the sooner it plays out, the sooner the anticipation of it actually happening disappears too.
I've been doing some reading. I cannot recall who mentioned the author, but I was intrigued instantly and have read two of her books over the last couple of weeks. The author is Tracey Garvis Graves, and so far I have read On the Island and Covet. I really enjoy her style of writing, alternating character points of view and only occasionally using language I would never use.
I am so happy I quit R+F. I know this is not what you usually hear, but I am so glad to have my face back. I tried the Unblemish line for about 6 weeks and was not blown away by the results. Are you? I definitely should not have used the Spot Fading Toner. My face is a whole shade lighter and I've had to change my make-up color because my normal was too dark. My face turned dry and felt tight. Had it been a cure all for the acne and blackheads, I may have felt differently. But it just wasn't for me. I'm sure it was simply the wrong product for me, and maybe I'll try one of the other lines sometime in the future. I went back to using my favorite - Clinique Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser Mousse and started using Biore Warming Anti-Blackhead Cleanser. I really like the Biore cleanser. Do you struggle with blackheads? If so, what do you use?
I need your opinion. Car rides are becoming a bit rough. Little L is around 28 pounds and is almost 15 months old. He is still rear facing. When did you turn your little ones around so that they were forward facing? I'm wondering if that would make all the difference in the world. He seriously fusses almost the entire time of most all car rides. I'm torn. Would love your advice.
This is the parade that never ends... My friend and I decided to be a little adventurous and pack up our combined four children and attend the annual Christmas Parade. Ranging from age 15 months to 6 years, we knew our hands would be completely full. But it would be totally worth it to see the smiles on their faces when the floats would come by and the candy would fly. And they did have a great time, they did. But what my friend and I will most likely remember is the spilled hot chocolate fiasco, the roller coaster of emotions - from "this is the best parade ever" to "I never want to go to a parade again", the never ending line of floats - over 2 hours, and the time that my friend's 3 year old picked up two half-smoked cigarettes that were still burning - shame on you whomever you are for dropping your cigs on the ground still lit around hundreds of children. I don't believe we were ever more glad for the parade to end, to find our cars, and make our way home.
What do you use to study your Bible? I need some help again. Are there any really good reading plans out there that help you read through your Bible? I'm open to anything, really. I need to get back into reading His Word daily and it's so hard for me to make the time. I always do better if I have a schedule of some sort to follow and keep me on track. Would love to hear any recommendations.
My kid discovered the How to Train Your Dragon movies. We happened to catch the first one on television the other day and have watched it countless times since. He used some of his birthday money and purchased How to Train Your Dragon 2. I have to admit, they were both great and even I didn't mind watching them over and over again.
Anyone else addicted to Hallmark? I love curling up on the couch, covering up with a blanket, and watching a good Hallmark Christmas movie. Every man's dream! He would never admit it, but my husband gets roped in too. Hallmark is the one channel where I feel I can watch TV and have the kids in the same room. The movies are clean and so are the commercials.
Speaking of commercials... I sometimes like the movies that come on ABC Family, the reruns of classics. But I refuse to let my children watch them because of the commercials. Not family friendly at all. Thumbs down, ABC Family.
Absolutely absurd is the bag full of trash I cleaned out of my car one afternoon last week. I seriously never want my car to get that bad ever again. I'm embarrassed. What is all of that? Papers from school, wrappers from snacks, a partially eaten cake! Unacceptable, that's what it is.
Coolest thing ever. Okay, maybe not ever, but this is really cool. My mother-in-law picked up this Olaf Snowman Kit the other day and Little J cannot wait for a snowfall big enough to make a snowman. Speaking of snow, we did see a few flurries a couple of weeks ago, but that's it. As a matter of fact, our temps have been crazy high for this time of year - breaking mid-sixties and even seventy. The boys have loved it!
Well, I think that's all I know. I plan to get back to blogging regularly and even have a giveaway in the works that I'm super excited about! I will do my best to get caught up on your latest news, but my Bloglovin' feed shows 279 unread posts, I'm certain I'll miss some. Do forgive me.
Hope you guys have amazing weeks!
Linking up with Biana | B Loved Boston, Meg | Life of Meg, and Ashley | A Cute Angle.
~Trista~
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