Girls just wanna have fun!

Two of my college roomies and another college friend have been getting together once a year for some girl time in Omaha.  We talk, we shop, we get manis and pedis and treat ourselves to massages, and laugh a lot.  We simply do what we want, when we want, and recharge.  

For the longest time, we've said that when we turn 40, we were going to up the ante and take a fun trip together. 40 rolled around quicker than we thought, and we had to live up to our promise to each other ~ at least that's what we told our hubbies!   

Cancun in the middle of February sounded like just the ticket to four midwestern gals.  We wanted nothing more than to spend some quality time together digging our toes in the sand and enjoy both the rolling waves and the pool while soaking up some glorious rays.

We did all of that and a little bit more (water slides, shopping, cliff jumping, getting run over by bicycles, karaoke, learning how to say goat in Spanish, iguana whispering and much more that shall not be revealed here ~ especially in pictures) in the four days that passed by way too quickly.  

If this is what it’s like to turn 40, I think I’ll do it again next year!

Addiction

Hi.

My name is Lisa.

I'm addicted to Candy Crush.

I curse my mother the person who bears responsibility for this addiction.

I may only be able to work around the house in 30 minute increments while I wait for new lives.

Don't blame me.

It's my mother's an unnamed individual's fault.
 

It's Ace's Day!

Happy Birthday to my amazing hubby!  It’s his special day today and we are going to celebrate by hunkering down at home and watching the snow fall!  Maybe I’ll swing by and rent a movie for us to watch with the early out from school. I’m sure it’s exactly what he had in mind! 

Actually I’m thinking he’d rather be back in Mexico doing handstands on the beach! 

Acts of kindness v.6

Act of kindness 17

This one nearly got me in trouble :(  Oopsie!  At our last book club I decided I was going to pay for one of the gal's meal who has had a rough go of it lately.  This ended up being a bit tricky because I didn't want her to know who did it.  Unfortunately the restaurant was not very busy that night which made my sneaking around trying to get her meal taken care of with the waitress quite difficult.  

When the checks came, my dear friend was NOT a happy camper and insisted on knowing who did it.  She didn't want anyone taking pity on her. She demanded to see everyone's bill.  Somehow I managed to hold my finger over my total and escaped her peering eyes.  Our waitress did a great job of covering for me which I was so thankful for!  I really just wanted her to be able to enjoy a night out without having to worry the financial side. Thankfully everyone in the group assured her she could simply pay it forward.

Act of kindness 18
While running errands one afternoon I dug up all the change that I could find in my purse and van and simply walked through a downtown block and fed all of the parking meters. 

Act of kindness 19

When dropping off Austin at confirmation this week, I dropped off a card that had a Subway gift card tucked inside it in the student center at church.  Since we attend a church in campus town, there are many students who use our student center as a quiet place to study.  Hopefully whomever stumbles upon it will have a little brighter day!  

Celebration

Carter chose to have his birthday dinner at Fuji Japanese Steakhouse.  Austin is the only one who had been before, so we had no idea the show we were in for. 

Needless to say, when you are the birthday boy, it's an extra special experience for you! 

They make you a special "birthday cake" that turns into your delectable rice side dish.  Carter loved the joke the Hibachi chef told after he made the "cake".  He asked Carter if he would like to see Goofy next.  Carter said, "Of course!"  The chef pointed at Austin and said, "There he is!"  

Our Hibachi chef was an absolute riot and kept us entertained the entire meal.  I'm sure the boys have figured out their mother is not nearly that entertaining in the kitchen and definitely should not juggle forks and knives.  

He had a knack for fire with his cooking that I seem to lack. For some reason, Ace gets a little upset when smoke starts rolling out of our kitchen!  

 The highlight of the night was the Japanese birthday song complete with a tambourine and accompanied by Carter's favorite food of all time...ice cream! 

What a fun family celebration in honor of our newly minted 11 year old!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 11^th Birthday to our Carter! 

It simply doesn't seem possible that 11 years ago today our family became complete with our second bouncing baby boy.  He is a talented guy with a variety of interests. Not one to sit still without getting bored, he keeps us on our toes and on the go. His expressive eyes usually tell the full story of his character at any given moment. He's strong-willed, one of a kind, and we wouldn't have him any other way.  We are so blessed to have him as our son.

Acts of kindness v. 5

Act of kindness 14
My "daughter" and her roomie were having a rough start to the semester with some pretty intimidating classes, so I invited them over for some homebaked goodness. They got homemade cookies right out of the oven with a nice stash to take with them as well as a home cooked meal.  Bellies were stuffed, smiles were returned to their faces, and they were sent on their merry way to do their homework.

Act of kindness 15
The weather has been a bit cold and nasty lately, which sure can't be fun for the kids who have to walk to school.  Austin and I saw a middle schooler trekking to school recently on a blustery cold day and stopped to give him a ride.  He was quite appreciative and even sought me out later in the day to thank me.

Act of kindness 16
Mom and I had lunch last weekend at Hu Hot in Ankeny after we took a card making class.  I simply left a fun little box of chocolates on our table for the next diners or our waitress to enjoy.

YIKES!  Somehow I thought I could manage to have 40 acts of kindness done in 40 days.  Silly me!  Apparently that's not going to happen.  I will complete those 40 acts; it will simply take me more than 40 days!

Is your comfort zone overrated?

Have you ever realized you were in over your head and totally out of your element within the first two minutes of getting involved with something?  This is exactly where I found myself last weekend sitting in a class called Oodles of Doodles at my favorite scrapbooking store. Now mind you, my mother-in-law was supposed to be there with me as taking this class was her idea.  Somehow I was there, but she was mysteriously absent. (really, she was just busy)  Hmmm...I think maybe secretly she knew something I didn't!

Now normally I stick to scrapbooking and card making.  If you've ever seen my scrapbooks you know that I have a distinct style and everything in them is symmetrical, has straight lines, and is full of color. Rulers and straight edge trimmers are my friends. The only thing truly done by hand in my scrapbooks is the journaling, which is simply a soapbox topic for another day.

Upon arriving at this class with my trimmer and ruler in hand, I was immediately informed that everything would be done QUICKLY (problem already) and by hand (uh oh!) for that whimsical look. Oh yeah...and it would all be done in black and white.  HUH?!? I think I signed up for the wrong class! I'm sure at this point I had a look of panic and a snarl on my face.

Determined to do this and figure out how in the world I was going to show my mother-in-law how to doodle like a pro, I tried my best to ignore the heart palpitations that were beginning and had to get down to business as it was rapidly evident to me that this was going to be a fast-paced class.  

Somehow I made it through and created this little doodle journal that I plan to use for our spring break trip to San Antonio.  Hopefully it'll turn out okay.  If not, I always know the trip pics will end up in the scrapbook and look fabulous :)

I'm really not sure what I think about the entire thing.  A part of me is intrigued by the whole doodling concept even knowing it's W.A.Y. out of my comfort zone.  A part of me is completely embarrassed to even show it to you. If you hold the pages of this creation really far away and squint, I suppose it does look whimsical.  Really, I think the consensus around my house says it probably looks like a second grader did it.  I'll let you be the judge.

Acts of kindness v.4

Act of kindness 11

My sweet friend Heidi was already doing her own acts of kindness with her Take Heart program for Valentine’s Day. If you know me at all, you know I absolutely LOVE photos of my boys and really can never have enough and wanted other families, especially those in unfortunate situations, to be able to take advantage of Heidi’s amazing photography skills and have cherished memories of their loved ones. It was an easy decision for me to participate this year as one of my acts of kindness.  As a bonus, the boys and I got to hang out with Heidi and Beckett too!

Act of kindness 12

The boys and I paid for the car behind us at the drive through.  Okay...I paid but the boys were giggling and watching out the back for the reaction from the car.  They loved the look of surprise on the person's face!

Act of kindness 13

On my birthday I received a text from a friend and co-worker from when we lived in Kansas City.  It was a sweet birthday surprise, but unfortunately led to me finding out about some pretty serious health issues with this individual.  When we worked together, I always referred to her as sunshine. I figured a sunshine package would be something that would help to brighten her increasingly difficult days.  So, off to the store I went in search of anything and everything yellow and happy to create a box full of sunshine!