Thank You :)

Thank you so much for your sweet comments on my post below. :) It's funny, I had actually written this post out on Thursday and scheduled it to post on Friday morning. Thursday night I got to thinking and thought that it was just too negative and decided to delete it but I forgot and then woke up to several comments from my friends in other time zones that had already read it Friday morning. :) I guess it's a good thing though, it is healthy to be honest with how we are feeling versus pretending everything is peachy.

We are having a nice Saturday. I'd rather it not be filled with car shopping but alas, it is. We slept in a little, went to Panera (thought of you Melissa, ha ha) for breakfast, went and looked at some cars and now we're home. Ems is sleeping, I changed into my fleece pajama pants and slipper socks and am feeling cozy. I suspect we'll do a little more car shopping this evening. Normally it doesn't take us *this* long to make a decision but we're trying to take our time and make the wisest choice. I sure am tired of talking about it though. :)

Last night we went to the mall to pick up Toy Story 3 that my mom pre-ordered for us the last time she was out here (thank you MiMi!!!). While we were there, we had a coupon for $20 off a $40 purchase. I hate those kinds of coupons....I always feel the need to use them!!! We ended up buying the new "Beauty and the Beast" as well as some Toy Story figurines for E. We let her play with Rex but I think we'll put Buzz in her stocking.

Since this post is kinda boring, I will leave you with a repeat recipe from last year. It's a delicious soup that would be wonderful on a chilly fall or winter day. Enjoy!!

Mama Leone's Chicken Soup

(makes about 15 cups)

1/2 Pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast or Tenders

2 teaspoons kosher salt plus extra for chicken breasts (divided)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper plus extra for chicken breast (divided)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons paprika

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

8 cups chicken broth (can use low sodium)

1-14.5oz can diced tomatoes in juice

3/4 cup whipping cream

2 cups thinly sliced fresh spinach

Sprinkle salt and pepper on both side of the chicken breast and lightly sauté. When cool enough to handle, dice the meat and set aside until needed.

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the butter and melt. Saute the onions and celery until the onions are translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, tarragon, oregano, paprika and remaining 2 tablespoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, for 3 or 4 minutes Add the flour and stir until well combined. Slowly whisk the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes and cream. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the reserved chicken breast and simmer 10 minutes more. Just before serving, stir in the spinach.

As you see in the picture above, I didn't cut up the spinach....I had already served the soup to our guests and just wanted to get the spinach into the bowl.

I have served this to lots of different people and have yet to find anyone that doesn't think it is exceptionally good!

I discovered this soup at a deli downtown several years ago...before I was married even. I loved getting a cup of this for lunch with a roll. Then, by a stroke of good luck, I saw the recipe for this soup in the newspaper and I cut it out to be saved and cherished forever!

Bon Appetit!

Emotional

I've had a couple rough days this week just really missing my Gigi. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around never seeing her again (this side of heaven). There is no amount of money that I can ever save up for to get to see her. There is no amount of time that I can ever wait to see her. It's just hard. I really feel for my mom who is reminded far more often then I am of her absence since Gigi lived there before she passed away. It's a good reminder to pray for her often though and be a supportive daughter.

I often feel remorseful that I didn't call my grandma enough, I didn't write her enough emails, etc. But I know those are not logical thoughts. My Gigi knew I loved her and I need to just cling to that. I didn't expect to have as tough of a time as I am having and frankly I don't like to talk about it. I tend to be a little guarded with these emotions, especially within my family. If I want to talk about it, I want it to be on my own terms and it to be something I bring up. I tend to be a little short if anyone asks how I'm doing with it (sorry mom).

I'm a little emotional overall this week. I'm feeling a little fried because of our one car situation. I don't feel like I have enough time in life to be both a good wife, mom and friend. I have guilt issues over being a "taker" in life right now. It's not easy for me to be on the receiving end in life but I think the Lord has me here so that I can better support my friends in the future when they need me. I'm so grateful to my friends who have stepped up and helped me during this season of my life, whether it be through watching my daughter, making me dinner or just understanding that I'm having trouble achieving a good balance and loving me despite my flaws and lack of time to hang out.

I've been short with my husband lately and really need to work on my tone. I get impatient quickly and know that my attitude problem could easily be remedied by spending time in God's word. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Thank you Missionettes for helping me remember that verse throughout my entire life. :)

This is a whiny post and I apologize but it's how I'm feeling and writing it out helps me work through it. I know that an end is in sight to balancing work and home and I can't express how grateful I am for God's faithfulness in my life. I also know that I talk about this incessantly but again, it's on my mind and this is MY blog. :) :)

I'm looking forward to a weekend at home. Please pray for an amazing deal on a car to come our way and for wisdom. And while you're at it, you can pray for my husband too. He needs all the prayer he can get, his wife gets cranky all too often. ;)

Thursday Tidbits

*I'm quite pleased with my NaBloPoMo progress. I've been able to keep up with daily blogging and it's fun.

*I registered Emersyn for an Hawaiian Airlines frequent flyer program this afternoon and it was so cute to see an account number with her name on it. We are going in March and I figure she might as well start getting the rewards at a young age. I'm not sure when we'll go to Hawaii again after this trip though. It's our last trip for awhile....then time to start paying off cars and spending our money on different things.

*Last night Brett and I went on a date while Ems spent the night at her Nana's due to a variety of circumstances (good ones). We ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and had the stuffed chicken tortilla's. They were SO tasty!!!! After dinner we decided to just go get some ice cream instead of splurging on dessert at the resteraunt. We made a special trip to the store to buy the ice cream and then came home and fell asleep after watching Biggest Loser online. Perhaps the show about weight loss made us subconsciously not desire the ice cream? Probably not, I think we both just forgot about it.

*We are still on the hunt for a car. We found one that is a *good* deal but we want a *great* deal. We're playing the waiting game and hoping the dealer comes down in price or that another deal comes up.

*I've decided to schedule one family weekend a month where we have no plans except to have fun and enjoy each other. I don't want Emersyn to look back on our lives and not have any memories of just being home on the weekends and hanging out. This weekend is our family weekend and I've carefully guarded it (although we may end up car shopping). I've turned down offers to hang out with friends, get my hair colored (which was a hard one to refuse) and go to a baby shower. I'm proud of myself. I'm looking forward to getting the garage cleaned up and maybe even our master bedroom closet. I should take before and after pictures but I'm too afraid of being judged for the "before". It's bad folks, REAL bad. :)

*I had a great meeting this morning with the "retreat committee" at my church regarding our 2011 women's retreat in February. I am also coordinating the "young married's" retreat in April. Something about me makes me a good candidate for retreat planning I guess. :) For the women's retreat I am in charge of my least favorite thing ever.......FUNDRAISING. Bleh. It is totally outside my comfort zone but I am doing my best to have a good attitude and let myself be challenged and stretched. Wish me luck. :) The committee is fun....I'm the youngest person on there easily by 20 years or so. ;)

Wee bit of Wednesdays

Two posts in one day?? Dare I??

Yup. It's happening. I love a good blog meme and this one looked like fun so here I go! Link up here if you want to play along!

{one} do you collect anything? if so, what and how long have you been collecting?

I don't really collect anything. When I was younger I loved pigs and collected them but I've long since purged my pig collection. :) I think we usually buy a deck of cards whenever we go on a vacation. We had several decks from Vegas, some from Hawaii, Seattle, etc. I'd like to collect something though....my mom collected spoons for me when I was a baby/child. I have those souvenir spoons from all over the US and even other countries.

{two} what is one cleaning tip that you swear by?

This one I got from my mom. Start at one end of the room and work your way around it. I get overwhelmed very easily when I clean but I know if I start at one end, I will eventually make it to the other side and it never fails me. Thanks mama!!

{three} who would you call for bail money?

For some reason my first thought is Caitlin? Ha ha. No really though, I'd probably call her....Brett might not be thrilled to hear his wife is in jail. Although if I were in jail it just might be with Caitlin so in that event, I'd have to have a backup.

No really though, I don't plan on EVER going to jail. Just so that is clear.

{four} what is one thing you miss about being a kid?

NO BILLS. Being an adult is HIGHLY over rated at times.

{five} name a few of your guilty pleasures.

Starbucks. Reading celebrity gossip magazines.

{six} how early do you start your holiday shopping?

Not too early but I imagine this might change as the years go on. I am always on the lookout for a good bargain though and will snag one if I see it for a gift!

{seven} what is a family tradition that you would like to pass on to your significant other/children?

My family has always done communion at special and holiday dinners and I think it's very special and intimate.

{eight} what do you consider your greatest achievement?

giving birth to an amazingly perfect baby girl (thanks to God's grace)

{nine} what do you do to pamper yourself?

I love a good mani/pedi...especially one that is *funded* by my mom. :) I also love getting my hair cut and colored.

{ten} if you were to start your own restaurant, what would it be called?

Hmm....I have NO idea!! Maybe something super un-original like "Brett & Patti's". It would be fun to hear our names around town as having the best breakfast or whatever. I could see us having a breakfast resteraunt. Or maybe breakfast and lunch. Or maybe a coffee shop. :)

Wordless Wednesday- Skype Date with MiMi

Treading water

Do you ever feel like you are in a place in life where you are treading water? That is how I am feeling these days....I feel like I am counting down the days/hours/minutes until I quit my job. I'm still enjoying my daughter and husband every day, but I'm feeling like I'm putting things on hold until after the holidays. I am desiring to create a little more routine in my life but I know that it is all going to change up when I no longer have to juggle my part time job, hallelujah. I'm very inspired by this post over at Money Saving Mom's Blog. I don't even know if you know how excited I am to not have to pack up my daughter's things 4 times a week. To not have to think about what she's doing, if she's happy, if she's being stimulated and learning, etc. Ever since I went back to work when she was 4.5 months old I've had to share the responsibility of raising her with other caregivers, whether it be her Nana (who has her most of the time), friends, or babysitters. As of December 17th, I am going to be the one who solely cares for my daughter and I.can't.wait.

I'm excited to go on more/longer walks. I'm excited to do more arts and crafts with her. I'm excited to teach her more about this amazing world that we live in. I'm excited for more playdates. I'm excited to have more time to devote to the ministries that I'm involved in at church. I'm excited to have more time to pursue real estate business on my own terms. I'm excited to be a better friend. I'm just excited in general.

I know that staying home will bring it's own set of challenges. I feel right now like when I go to work, it's "me time". I will never ever take for granted staying home and I can say that with full confidence. If God had me work for two years just so I could appreciate staying home, then I am grateful for the lesson. I also feel like I can be a wonderful support to other workings moms because I understand first hand what they are going through and the struggles that accompany working while raising children.

This is kind of a random post I know, but these thoughts are on my mind. I feel like I'm about to have another baby in a sense (not literally though, I promise), it's just a whole new uncharted territory in my life and I'm so so grateful.

Yay.

I'll leave you with a super cute picture of the "countdown" app that I have on my phone. :)

Sunriver

A good friend of ours invited us to come to Sunriver with a group about a month ago and of course we said YES!! We had the priveledge of staying at an AMAZING vacation home that our friend's dad owns and we got a killer deal. It normall rents for $600-900/night...it's incredible. (Here is a link in case any Oregonians are ever looking for a large vacation home).

Brett and I drove down on Thursday night with some friends of ours and their 8 week daughter. Amazingly, both the girls were angelic on the drive down. It was fun to get to spend an extra night away....two nights just never seems long enough but three nights is just right. While we were there, we all marveled at how many of us have been friends since we were kids and now we're all married with kids of our own. This is such a fun season in our lives.

We spent the weekend mainly lounging around and we did take a nice walk on Saturday afternoon.

It was so fun to have my brother and sister-in-law with us for the weekend too!

I brought some Trader Joe organic suckers for bribery purposes a special treat on our trip!

Playing air hocket with Daddy

Ems wanted to sleep in one of the big girl bunk beds one night. I put her back in the pack and play though, I didn't want her to fall out in the middle of the night or wake up and not remember where she was.

Painting nails with Wendy. Emersyn was a flower girl in Wendy's wedding this summer.

The gang (minus Brett who was taking the picture).

Going on a walk. The weather was beautiful!!

YAY for Sunriver!!