Give me a break, Give me a break

I'm having a really hard time right now. I don't really want to talk about it but I'm okay. I'm feeling really alone but at the same time I kind of want to be alone but then I don't...it's strange. I'll probably take a break from the blog for a bit it might not be too long but then again I'm not sure. Before I go I'll share one story.

We've been doing one Christmas activity a day this month and it's been fun. This past weekend we went to the Singing Christmas Tree here in town. It was really wonderful and I've been hearing people talk about it for a few years now so I'm glad we finally got to go.  I was describing the show for Remy and the final number the (male) Pastor gave a little message and sang. The Pastor sang and then a young woman took over and sang the rest of the song while the Pastor went back to directing the choir.  I leaned over and whispered "It's still the Pastor." We both busted up laughing and got some dirty looks, oh well :)

Bad girl bad girl whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

Tonight was our ward Christmas party and we asked mine and Remy's friend Jess if she's like to come with us. It was so nice that she was able to join us. We had a lovely dinner and the desserts looked wonderful but unfortunately I wasn't able to eat any of them (I only bring this up because it comes up later). Santa made an appearance and then we cleaned up.

I was able to drive Jess home and eventually find her house. We dropped her off and wished her well in her homework filled weekend. As we drove away I saw the big "M" of McDonalds in the distance. I decided that I really wanted a sundae after the day I had and I had to sit and watch everyone eat stuffing and desserts (and I had to watch everyone eat yummy yummy chocolate cake yesterday) so I "earned" a.k.a justified it. I pulled into the parking lot and was about to get into the drive-thru when I see police lights behind me.

First I just thought he wanted me to get out of the way, then I thought maybe it was someone else, then I realized it was me they were after.  I had to back up and was terrified I was going to back up into the cop car and then put it in park and rolled down the window.

He strolled up to the window and asked if I knew why he pulled me over. I was minutes away from bursting into tears when I replied with "I have absolutely no idea whatsoever." He  looked at me with slitted eyes and said "You have no idea?" "None." He was very stern and said "I need to see some id from both of you and registration." I was fumbling in my wallet and he asked us if we had been drinking tonight. I told him "No (Remy said "No sir" and he did NOT like that one bit. He said "Sir eh?") we don't drink EVER."  He looked at me with disbelief and said "Ever?" I said "Never...we're Mormon!" He asked us where we were coming from and I told him a dinner at our church! He asked us where our church was and what it was called, I told him. He said "So you weren't in cedar." "Nope" "And you didn't just leave the Esso gas station." "No I just came to McDonald's" He then left for a minute or so and then showed up on the other side to get Remy's id. The whole time I am freaking out.  He then comes on the other side to tell us that they made a mistake. They had gotten a call about a drunken driver that matched the description of our vehicle. He said he was sorry and told me just to breathe and then smiled before he left.

I was still so shook up I just sat there for a while, I even had a nice stress relief cry. I lived through my first time being pulled over but I certainly don't hope it ever happens again.

So what did you get pulled over for?

Come and roll your sleeves up So that we can pitch in Cleaning crud up in the kitchen

We were so poor Wednesday

As I mentioned Gary was so nice to let us move in with him. In the downstairs where we were there was two bedrooms (one for us, one for Gary), a living room, and bathroom (with no shower). So we ate out of cans and never showered for 6 months! No no no, the woman upstairs was so nice and let us come upstairs to shower and cook whenever we needed to. It was a great arrangement until...(there is always an until) she moved.

The next woman who moved in wasn't as generous. She knew our living situation and knew what she was getting into and didn't really care. We were not allowed to use the kitchen at all and could only shower when she wasn't home. Gary bought us a little oven (our casserole dish didn't even fit into) and a hot plate. It was interesting cooking that's for sure.

The other thing about not having a kitchen is you don't have sink to do dishes in. We got these plastic bins that we would fill in the bathroom sink and do our dishes, as you know from a previous post we didn't have that many, although they still needed to be done after every meal.  :)

When we moved into our next place it felt so good to have a kitchen, dinning room table, sinks, counter space, all of those things I've started to take for granted again.

I'm too sexy for my shirt

Fashion Friday

I've never really been into fashion. My clothes are always clean and I try to always look nice but fashion and style have never really been my thing, I'm much more into comfort (read: PJs). I don't think I'd ever qualify for that show on TLC, ya know the one where women wear sweaters with cat on them, so I guess what I'm saying is I'm more of a middle of the road kind of girl. My sister on the other hand was always into what was in and "hot".

There is a group of women are church that are so beautiful and fashionable. As I watched them at church I thought, I'd like to be more like them. For a while I spent far too much time picking out my clothes and worrying about what other people would think. I was getting stressed and a little sad. I joined this website to help me a little bit. I felt like I had no fashion sense. I started to create outfits on this website and people really liked them, like actually liked them.

It gave me the boost I needed to realize that I am okay, that while fashion is fun it doesn't define me, and people shouldn't want to be my friend because I dress well. I'm only 24 and isn't our 20s all about finding ourselves in fashion, make up, and all things girly.

So here's some outfits that I put together that are my favorite. (I realized that I pretty much love jeans/t-shirt/sweater combo)

 

And the knife ran away with the spoon

We were so poor Wednesday

After Gary found out about our living situation he couldn't believe it and offered us a room at his place. Our room would be bigger, our living quarters smaller, but the rent was considerably less a.k.a the right price. We moved in right away and found that we were um...lacking a few things. Remy and I had always had roommates who came with all the normal "living on your own" items. One of the items was silverware. Between the two of us we had  one knife, two forks, and two spoons. We had to do dishes after every meal but it's not like we had to share a fork during our meal or anything, I mean a knife yes but not a fork. To be honest we didn't think much of it.

When I went back to Michigan for a visit I told my grandma about it and laughed. My grandma could not believe it. She was going to send me back with a whole silverware set for 8 but changed her mind. She didn't want me to have to carry around all that silverware in my luggage. Instead she sent me back with some money for silverware even though I promised I would buy some silverware when I got home. She insisted. When I got home we went and bought some silverware

and then set up our silverware drawer.

I miss my grandma an awful lot. We have since gotten more silverware but I still think of her when I grab one of these forks.

Sick as a dog, what's your story

Tried It Tuesday

Remy and I have been really sick lately. We are never sick at the same time...like ever, actually Remy is never ever sick. It's almost like he walks around with this impenetrable immune shield. I've asked to borrow it, he won't share but lucky for me he takes really good care of me when I'm sick.

The thing about my calling is I'm around three year olds every week for two whole hours. As moms know, a lot can happen in two hours and sometimes you are so busy running around making sure that the kids don't blow themselves up that you forget how gross kids are.  Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do for the sake of keeping everyone happy and sometimes that means you get coughed, sneezed, or spit upon in the process. So we'll just say I've been sick a few times that coincidentally have happened right after a child in my class has been and that my immune system just kind of sucks.

Knowing that cold and flu season hits me hard I planned ahead this year. I found this great idea on the internet about freezing soup in muffins tins. The first thing we did was made some homemade chicken noodle soup.

After the soup was made I spooned it into each muffin cup?

 Then I cleaned out some of the stuff in the freezer that would be okay out for a couple of hours or at least in the frigerator (see what I did there Rem)

 I left it in there for a few hours and here what they look like:

 So I ran some warm water on the back and popped them out.  After I got them out I put them in a freezer bag and stuck them back in the freezer.

They have been such a life saver.  We usually do about 4 "pucks" per person and either heat it up in the microwave or a pot on the stove. Bam we have homemade soup for those night when only soup will do (and I am way too sick to make dinner).

I want to thank you

Today we take a moment to remember all of those men and women who have served and died for our country's freedoms.I recently found  some old writing of mine from when I was 12. I wrote a little bit and thought I'd share, I actually can't believe I'm doing this but Remy always complains he can't read any of my old writing so this is for him. It's a little cheesy, I'm pretty sure I was going through a phase, but it was heartfelt none-the-less. Also in the US we have Memorial Day is May and Veterans Day in November, I wrote this on Memorial Day but the idea behind it is the same.

"The day we stop and think. We may thin k it's a day off from work but there is much more to it.
the hustle and bustle of people getting their boats out that were locked up during the winter. Old friends coming to visit. Dogs running all about. Yet nobody seems to have time to stop and think. The American flag standing tall and high. Gentle waves greet the shore. The trees swaying back and fourth to the rhythm of the wind. Long conversations being exchanged. The gardener taking a well deserved break with some cool lemon-aid.  Nobody seem to be talking about the soldiers that risked it all. 
As all of these things are happening and my attention goes to my little brother, so tiny. He needs to know what happened and why we remember today. But who will be there to tell him? Maybe he will never learn. Maybe today will just be a day off for him. Sure he might learn it in school but that doesn't make as big of an impact as hearing it from someone who has been there and knows. Stories used to be shared but as time goes by the stories just don't get told."

My Papa was a vet and even received a medal for the time he served. He wasn't very open about the things he experienced during the war but he did share a couple of stories and I am so grateful he did. I am so thankful for the men and women that serve our country and the sacrifices them and their families make. Thank you. 

Happy happy birthday Remy dear!

I would like to interrupt our regularly scheduled blog post to announce that today is Remy's 29th birthday! I would just like to wish my dear husband a very happy birthday and to thank my mother-in-law for having and raising such an amazing man.

29 Things I Love About Remy:

29. I love your laugh. You don't really do your real laugh for too many people but I love when you do.
28. I love the look on your face when it's a really sad or touching part of a show or movie. You have never cried in front of me (not even when we watched My Girl...who doesn't cry during that movie fo' realz)  but you get this certain look that melts my heart.
27.You have so many more talents than you realize.
26. You are such a good sport.  You go along with almost all of my crazy ideas (remember DJ Cray Cray). The latest example was at the Harvest Ball last Friday when you danced with me the whole time even though you don't really enjoy dancing and get embarrassed by it.
25. You are  incredibly handsome and I'm not sure how but you look even better than the day I met you.
24. Your sense of humor, although not for everyone, makes me laugh all the time.
23.You are quick to forgive.
22. You are quick to say I'm sorry (sometimes in the middle of an argument)
21. You are so loving and kind.
20. You are a talented writer
19. You really want to help people in any way you can.
18. You are so patient with me and the people around us.
17. You are such a go with the flow kind of guy. I must admit I have a love/hate relationship with this attribute...mostly I love it.
16. You are very genuine with what you say, I really appreciate that about you.
15. You have never made me feel bad about myself in any way. I have done some really silly things, my weight has gone up and down our whole marriage, I still get break outs like a teenage boy, etc. but You have always helped me feel good about myself the whole way through.
14. You are calm during stressful situations. We balance each other out perfectly in this regard you are calm when I am stressed and I am calm when you are stressed.
13.I love the "conversations" you and I have while you play your games. It can get super frustrating but it still is hilarious.
12. I love that you will drop whatever you are doing when I need a hug or a snuggle.
11. I love love love when you sing in church. You always turn your head so I can't hear you but I always sneak a peek and it makes me smile.
10. I love that you shares your thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, and fears with me.
9. I love how unselfish you are with everything, except your chips.
8. I love how practical you are about things.
7. I love (and yet it drives me crazy at the same time) when I will tell you what an amazing deal something was and then you you will ask "Is that good?"
6.I love how thoughtful you are with me and your friends.
5. I love that you stand up for me and your friends around other people.
4. I love that not only do you have a great sense of humor but you are just fun to be around.
3. I love the way you eat your chips.
2. I love the little look I get when you are about to do something that is totally dangerous. In those moments I can quite clearly see little boy Remy peaking out.
1. You are the best eternal companion a girl could ask for and I am so grateful you are mine.

I am so happy that 29 years ago today little Remy Charles Chartier was born. I love you so much and I hope you have a wonderful birthday.

We'll share the shelter of my single bed

We Were SO Poor Wednesday:

When Remy and I first got married I moved into the place he was already living. It was a basement suite with two roommates. We were so grateful that we didn't need to find a new place to live. Now that I look back I can't believe what we were thinking. The landlord worked with Remy on the same project and so he lost his job the same time Remy did. In order to make up for his lost income he raised our rent to an obscene amount. Let me tell you about our room. In every other house on the planet it would be considered a storage room.

When you walked in you couldn't open the door all the way because we had our bedside table (cardboard box, no joke!) right next to the bed that prevented the door opening.We had a twin bed. Can you even imagine two adults sleeping on a twin bed every night. We had a tiny little walkway in-between our bed and the closet, we had to shimmy in sideways. Actually you could just sit on the end of the bed and pick out your clothes in the closet (which was only selves). Last but not least we had a desk that was our landlords in there that he wouldn't let us move.

 

  We have come a long way since then. We think back about our first place and laugh and wonder how we made it work. but you just do you just make it work. The great thing about starting so small was A. it happened when we were newlyweds and pretty darn snuggly B. We can't get much smaller and C. If we have to downsize in the future at least we know we can do it.

Pick up the soap Now don't try to to bluff Work up a lather An' when ya got enough Get your hands full of water Ya snort an ya snuff An' go blud-dle-ud-dle-ud-dle Ud-dle-um-dum

A few month ago I started to notice I was getting this awful rash on my hand. It was it itchy, ugly, and painful but I could live. We then ran out of hand soap and so we used some dove bar soap until I could get to the store. Almost instantly my rash went away. But but but the other stuff smelled so good...so I bought it again and yeah you guess it.

As it got closer and closer to my birthday I knew that I still needed to change one cleaning item over to a greener option. I was on pinterest and found a recipe to change a bar of soap into liquid hand soap. I hate bar soap, it grosses me out so this was a great option for me. To put this play into action I needed two things: glycerin, and a natural bar of soap. Remy and I went shopping and we were able to find the glycerin (actually kind of a pain but we found it at Wal Mart in the pharmacy section for like $3) and then I needed my soap. Remy then asked if I could please just use the dove we already had at home. I figured oh what the hay but I think what I really said was "I hear what you are saying and I value you as an equal member of this marriage so I will use your suggestion." We are goofs like that.

Yesterday was THE day that I tried this out. It didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to but I realized when reading through all the comments that dove caused a lot people a lot of problems, so if you were to try this with any other soap in the universe you would be fine.

You will need:

1 cup grated soap
1 Tbsp Glycerin
10 cups water
1 pot to combine everything
1 large container to put it all in (I used an old 4 liter vinager container)

While your grating your soap  put your 10 cups of water in a large pot and put on mid-low. Once you've grated your soap put it in the pot with your 1 Tbsp of glycerin.

Keep it on the heat and stir until the soap flakes disappear. Now if you're lucky you should have your liquid hand soap! IF you aren't so lucky here are some suggestions:
1. Wait. Sometimes it just needs some time. I let mine sit for a few hours and I saw no change so...
2. Bring it to a boil and then let it sit overnight.
3. If you still aren't getting what you want try adding this salt solution: 1 cup of HOT water and 3 tbsps salt. Slowly whisk in and let sit overnight.

 

I tried all three and left on the counter overnight. It was much better this morning. I wasn't as happy with it as I wanted to be but it will certainly work and I will try this again. Let me know if you try this and it works for you!

Money, Money, Money

I thought it might be fun to do a series on here. It's called:

We Were So Poor Wednesdays

When Remy and I first got married Remy was working and going to school and I was working with plans of going back to school. We had a plan and we were going along our merry way when the unthinkable (at least to us) happened.  At a month into our marriage Remy lost his very secure job along with three other employees (they shut down the department he worked in). Remy came home, sat me on the couch and told me the news. I cried and cried and cried, it felt like my world had just turned upside down. We had just gotten married and were getting into a rhythm of married life. I had no idea what we were going to do, my job was part-time and minimum wage. We had to make some changes and life certainly would be different. Luckily for us Remy and I were both savers so we had a comfortable savings (we actually lived on it for a year!) but we still had to scrim and save to make that money go as far as possible.

This series I want to laugh about the crazy things we had to go through and do to save some money.

 To you this may look like an ice cream bucket but to us this was a mixing bowl for months and months and months. We mixed dinners, desserts, breakfast...you name it. BUT wait it also had another purpose, a Tupperware container! So basically we spent about $4 to get: ice cream, a mixing bowl, and a Tupperware container.  Not too bad of a deal if I do say so myself.

Blinded by the light

I just spent about a half an hour typing up a long and witty post that you all would love about our night and blogger ate it. Here goes round two but I've got to be honest I may have used up all my wit on the other one.

A couple of years ago Remy and I hosted a "Night of Darkness" with the YSA (young single adult) for 17 people. We started the night off with a buffet dinner, then a walk, recreated a closet and had them pick outfits depending on the occasion, played some blindfolded basketball, talked about some of the everyday problems that come up in our life, and ended with a described video. It was a blast and people talked about it for months after. We had such good feedback about it we thought it might be great to do it with the Young Men and Young Women of the church. We talked about it with the leaders at the time but didn't really hear anything. When Remy was called to Young Mens he brought the idea up again and plan were put in motion for it to happen.

When we first heard that we were going to be doing it again we started brainstorming ideas and making plans but with it so far in the future we didn't need to have anything set in stone.  A couple of days ago Remy reminded me that it was THIS Tuesday. Cue panic planning. Isn't that the way it goes though.

Tonight we went to the store to grab the snack. We hit the ice cream isle (I mean I'm sure they sell other things in that isle but let's be real) and the ice cream topping isle and were on our way to the check out. As we got closer to the check out I realized that I couldn't hold it anymore. I needed to find a bathroom ASAP! I asked a cashier where their bathroom was and she replied with "over there" well once I checked "over there" only to not find the bathroom I found another person and begged them for the secret location of their bathroom. He replied with detailed instructions and I ran across the store clenching my knees. I arrived only to find the women's bathroom door locked. Standing in front of the men's room with my back teeth floating about to burst into tears I had a light bulb moment. Yup I went into the men's bathroom and it was gross and glorious all at the same time.  I've heard of other women doing this during desperate time and now I can join the ranks.

We then rushed to the church and realized we were a bit late. I ran into the kitchen to do some prep work for the snack while Remy went into the other room to get the activity underway. We did a quick lesson about trust and then sent them on their way.

 

Our friend Kirsten lead them on a walk of zig zags and twists around the church while one person was blindfolded and the other person lead. They walked around the church once and then switched who did what. They seemed like they were having lots of fun and were talking and laughing.

Once everyone got back inside we talked to them a bit more and showed them braille, Remy's cane, and speech reading software.  We asked them if they had any questions and I was really happy that some people did ask. After our chat we had them line up blindfolded and serve themselves a sundae bar.

 

They had to serve their own ice cream and toppings. After they got their ice cream they went back into the room and listened to a described video (well that was the idea anyway we kind of had lost them by this point). We closed and then had as an option blindfolded basketball that some people came in and did. One young man actually made two out of the three baskets! I will so impressed.

It was a lot of work and a great night. I am glad we did it and hopefully someone got something out of it.

Don't wanna be the jack-O -lantern scaring away every candy loving kid that's trick-or-treating today

Today was FHE (family home evening). We had an amazing lesson that Paul did on The Family: A Proclamation to the World ( Read it here). It was wonderful to be able to discuss ideas and thoughts with people of similar values.

For our activity we decided to carve pumpkins. I really enjoy carving pumpkin but I also get a little stressed out, I know this will put me in the cray cray train but I feel like it's a lot of pressure. I mean it's your HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN that is kind of a big deal. You don't even get it (they don't get it *that's for Ash*) EVERYONE who comes to your house friends and strangers are going to look at and mentally judge. So yeah it's kind of a big deal.

Before everyone came over I started looking at pictures of pumpkins to get an idea of what I wanted to do. I searched and searched and finally saw one I really liked. "I am totes going to do this one" and it was all figured out, well then I got to thinking that it looked awfully familiar so I started looking through old pumpkin carving pictures, sure enough I had already done it. (It was the one that I did with You *Andrea* and Chris) I guess my tastes haven't changed much.

I kept searching and found choice number 2 but it unfortunately didn't have a pattern you could print off. I decided that I would try to free-hand it and it actually didn't turn out too bad. It wasn't even or perfect by any means but I felt pretty good that I did it. Remy did all the gutting for me and then let me go at. They all turned out great!

 

While we were craving our pumpkin we snacked on the cake I made for mine and Tanya's birthday. It was my very first two layer cake. Pretty exciting stuff that. (No pictures, it was kind of ugly) We had a great night and are so thankful for good friends that we get to hang out with.

UPDATE: Today was laundry/cleaning day and I tried out the laundry detergent for the first time and it was resounding success! I love it!

P.S. When I was trying to figure out which song to use for this blog post I ran across this gem. Enjoy!

You can't always get what you want But if you try sometimes you might find You get what you needat you need

It is your birthday. - 1,000 points to whomever gets that reference.

It's my birthday today and well...it was exactly like every other Sunday at our house except Gary and Remy made me homemade Chinese food. Yum! It was so extremely yummy.They did such a great job!  They made a veggie stir fry, sweet and sour chicken, and rice noodles.

 Today was also Stake Conference. We got there right when it was to begin and had to sit in the very last row. One of the little girls from my class came and sat with Remy and I. We had such a nice time talking and drawing. I started to feel guilty about not paying attention to the speakers and then I came to the realization that sometimes this is just as  important. While the talks were extremely important, for right then it was more important for me to talk with this little girl, to let her feel my love for her as her primary teacher. I felt she needed to know that I was her friend and that she was important and I would take the time to talk with her. I will probably get to hear the messages again at one point in my life but the time with this little girl I probably won't get that chance again. This is such an important lesson for me to remember and learn, so although it wasn't anything the speakers said I did learn a lot today.

When she found out it was my birthday she let everyone in our row know. It was cracking me up. She would run down the row stopping at each person point to me and say "it's her birthday today!" She decorated my hands in princess stickers and drew me a picture. While she was drawing me a picture she asked if I could write down my house number. I did, and as soon as I was finished she rushed to her Mom and told her and they needed to go here *pointing at the numbers* today for my birthday party. She then rushed back and asked me to draw a picture of my house. I did and she instantly rushed back over to show her Mom what my house looked like. She told me they needed to know what my house looked like so they knew how to find it when they drove to it later. I told her I wasn't having a birthday party and she looked at me like I had two heads she then said, "When are you going to eat cake?" I told her I would probably make one for FHE on Monday and she replied, "Oh okay, we'll come over then." 

As silly as this sounds she made me feel special and it's nice to feel special on your birthday.

Also I'll let you know how I did on my birthday goals, I'll admit right now that I didn't finish them all but I'm okay with that. 

Chelsea Goals:

Church:

•                     Go to the Temple  (June 14,2011)

•                     Get sealed (June 18, 2011)

•                     Complete Book of Mormon reading (June 7,2011) (actual May 16,2011)

•                     Complete Young Women Personal Progress

•                     Spend an hour on genealogy (3/6) 

•                     Finish temple booklet

•                     Go to the temple (1/3)

•                     Get certificate for institute

Finances

•                     Keep track and stick to budget (0/3) (honestly we had way too many unusual expenses lately to make this possible but now that things are getting back to normal we can actually get back to budget)  

•                     Move money into safety deposit box

•                     Look into disability bond

•                     Research new cell phone carries and choose one

Body

•                     Learn more about running and buy correct shoes

•                     Run 10 continual minutes

•                     Run 15 continual minutes (I'm up to 13 min)

•                     Run 20 continual minutes

•                     Find better skin care regiment

◦                     Lush

•                     Cancel proactiv

Food

•                     Try 10 new recipes         

•                     Try 3 new foods

•                     Don't eat after dinner for one week! (0/7)

•                     Have one couple over for dinner or dessert once a month (7/7)

Mind

•                     Read books I have before buying any new ones

•                     Get my N (July 13,2011)

•                     Take a community class

•                     Get up before 9 (7/7)

•                     Get up Before 9 (30/30)

•                     Find out about graduation

Community

◦                     Call company for HR rep name

◦                     Format resume and cover letter

•                     Complete 3 service projects of my own (2/3)

Hobbies:

•                     Finish the top of my quilt

•                     Make a skirt 

•                     One picture a week (29/29)

•                     At least one blog post a week

•                     Write in my journal once a week (7/29)

•                     Go camping (backyard Sunday May 22,2011) (Andrea and Chris August 20,2011)

•                     Do a photostrip at the mall (Friday October 21,2011)

Home:

•                     Research and switch over one cleaning product to a more natural one. (Laundry detergent! and plans for homemade hand soap) 

So tomorrow I'll have a whole new set of goals and Remy is even getting in on them with me. I can't wait. Do you have any goals your working on? What's been your favorite birthday as an adult?

P.S. Happy Birthday to my almost birthday twin Rachel!

Walking on Sunshine

Tonight began the "Chelsea's birthday weekend EXTRAVAGANZA." We were going to start the night with a nice dinner. I started to get ready to go when I began to realize that tonight was going to be one of those nights that I didn't like how anything looked on. Don't you just hate those nights? I went through practically my whole wardrobe looking for something that looked good and made me feel good. *Don't worry it didn't take too long, I don't have that many clothes* In times like this I usually try to focus on one thing, so my hair it was. I was going to make my hair look nice and let the rest follow.

I wanted to do something with it I don't usually do. I remembered that I read on a blog a while back about making your own headbands. I thought I would give it a try tonight and let me tell you, You've got to try this. You will always have a headband to match your outfit and it takes less than ten minutes. This would be great for yourself, a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece you get the idea...anyone with hair. Oh crap now I've gone and spoiled Remy's birthday present.  

First you'll need:
An Iron
Ribbon
Elastic
Hot glue gun or needle and thread

1. Iron your ribbon. 2. Cut the ribbon so that when it's on your head you have a little behind your ear on each side. 3. glue gun one side of the ribbon and elastic 4. put on head and measure how much elastic you'll need 5. cut and glue the other side

I was so happy with the way it turned out. After I made this one I was like...I am going to make A MILLION of these. In this picture I am in my jammer jams because I actually didn't end up wearing my headband out to dinner.

The original plan was to go out to dinner then go to the mall to window shop and walk around. Well we got in the game a little later than planned so we had to go shopping first and then dinner (the mall closed sooner than the restaurant). When we got to the mall this was my idea of how the mall portion of our night would go: a leisurely stroll around the mall while window shopping and talking. Remy's idea was a bit different: walking quickly around the mall to a destination.(Typical man) So we were holding hands and race walking around the mall. (You know those mall walkers, well picture that except holding hands and without the jump suits). Half way through the mall I said "Honey slow down I can't even tell what I'm looking at." I then explained what I had in mind and the rest of trip around the mall went a little slower and less blurry. Who knew you still had to communicate after three years of marriage.

After our power walk we went into the photo booth. This was the first time I have ever done one of these and it was fun. We then went to dinner and had a really nice meal at 9:30 pm. The manager, and two waitresses sang happy birthday to me which was really nice. What a great way to kick off the birthday EXTRAVAGANZA! I hope you all are having a great weekend. Send me a picture if you make one these headbands.

Singing as we fetch the detergent box for the smelly shirts and the stinky socks

My birthday is coming up in a few days (like actually a few as in three) and I am hurriedly finishing up my birthday goals. One of the things on my list was to change one of my cleaning products to a more natural one. I hemmed and hawed over which one to change for a while. I really love the stuff I use to clean my bathroom because I really feel like it's clean when I am done, same with my kitchen. I looked at a few different options for other things. I kept seeing people trying homemade laundry detergent. I wasn't sold on the idea not that I didn't think it worked I just didn't know if I wanted that one to be THE one.

I was still in the process of deciding, well actually I decided to make homemade liquid hand soap when...we ran out of laundry detergent. (I still am planning on doing the hand soap don't worry.) We were due for our big grocery shop so I decided that if superstore had what we needed we would do it.

We got to the laundry isle and found EVERYTHING we needed, which was a good thing because by the time we got to this isle I really wanted to do it. I was so excited! Actually my level of excitement wasn't really appropriate to laundry detergent, maybe a new car or even a perfect pair of jeans but not laundry detergent. I wish I was joking, it was like it was a surprise birthday party in the cleaning isle. Remy was looking at me like I was off my rocker. I feel like I might be too young to get this excited about a cleaning product.


When we got home I got started with my project while watching an extremely educational and uplifting TV show the real housewives of new york *ahem* IT WAS SO EASY! If you can grate cheese you can make your own laundry detergent NO JOKE. ANDPLUSALSO it's sooo cheap think of your cheapest cleaning product, this was cheaper. So this is what I did:

1 cup Borax
1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
2 Sunlight bars (you can use other laundry bar soap I like sunlight a lot)
Grate 2 bars of soap (this took me about 15 minutes). Add 1cup of borax. Add 1 cup washing soda. Mix together and store in air tight container. Use 1-2 tablespoons per load.

 I ended up putting it in an old large peanut butter container that I cleaned out (my most hated chore EVER!) this makes a lot about 6-7 cups.

You only need 1 Tbsp per load. Isn't that crazy! You really need to shake it every time you use it. I can't wait to make our hand soap.

What are your favorite green cleaning products? Bonus points if they are cheap. Let me know if you make your own laundry detergent.

Come What May

I can't believe it's been over a month since I've last written.  I have unfortunately been dealing with some health issues and haven't felt up to doing much. I just wanted to let anyone who reads this know I haven't forgotten about my blog nor do I plan to stop writing. I hope everyone is having an amazing start to fall!




 For those that  might be curious about what's going on:  **Warning: this may be TMI and a bit graphic**


The last four months I haven't had a period. I've had a day of spotting a day of light and another day of spotting. I became concerned because I have also been in quite a bit of pain as well. At three months I went to the doctor and had a pap and blood tests ordered. She tested my thyroid, blood sugars, liver, kidneys, pregnancy, full blood panel, iron, and a couple of others I can't remember. Everything came back great, which is great news. The next step to finding out what's wrong is getting an ultrasound.

While I've been waiting for the ultrasound the pain has been getting worse. It sorts of feels like someone has my ovaries in a vice grip and is trying to rip them out of me all the while scraping my insides the whole way out. Yeah...that pretty much sums it up. The good thing is this has only happened two or three times and only lasts about 3ish hours (thankfully I have been at home during these times). The constant pain I'm feeling just feelings like I am being punched and kicked repeatedly in the pelvis. Luckily I have been able to suck it up enough to still go out and go to social events.

Since we have no idea what's going on with me the doctor said she didn't feel comfortable telling me to take anything or prescribing anything. A good friend of mine mentioned that flax seed might help with pain management.  I have taken a few T3s since the pain has gotten worse and although it doesn't take it away completely I am able to walk around.


I should be getting this sorted out soon and back to feeling better but in the mean time I have some great books to read.

Do You Believe in Magic?

My name is Chelsea and I am a Harry Potter nerd. When Harry (we don't feel the need for last names, we're BFFs) first came out I didn't really get into it. I wasn't against it but I didn't really like it either. I started reading it and decided it just wasn't for me. I watched the movies and enjoyed them but didn't read the books.
Fast forward a lot few years to meeting Remy. Remy and I both had a passion for books and reading. He really enjoyed the series and told me I should check it out. I did it because I was the way awesome girlfriend who was all like, "Your suggestions are important and I will take your advice, what a great trait to have in a wife huh?"
I read them within a few months and I loved them. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE HARRY!?
Remy and I have since read the series together and had a lot of fun doing that. We own the movies and even have a way cool HP game.

When I found out the last movie was coming out I thought we should do something fun for it. We have some awesome friends that like HP too. So mission HP was put in place.
We got together the night before to design and make these AMAZING T-shirts. We actually wear them every time we hang out together. Alright so not really, how lame  would that be? No, really would that be totally lame?

Paul and Kirsten did Dirty Harry.

Remy did a quote from the book.

I came up with this while we were planning out our T-shirts.

 

Kirsten and Paul's finished shirts.

 On THE night Kirsten and Paul came over to make some homemade pizza for dinner.

Eating our yummy homemade pizza!

 After our pizza we raced off to the theater. Once we got there we realized two things, A. we were an hour early and B. they were only showing 3-d HP and we weren't sure if we'd be able to do the 3-d. Luckily it was a go.  My bad. So while we waited we went to DQ for some ice cream. Lesson here early=ice cream.

Paul's epic photo bomb.

Back at our place after the movie to discuss how great the movie was.

It was a great movie, wonderful company, and a fabulous night. Thanks HP.

Remy's rants - My job situation and those who complain about theirs

Hey everyone. Remy here. I’m in a really frustrated mood right now, and I feel the need to unload an enormous ranty blog all over this page!

We all know jobs are hard to come by in this day and age. Right now the job market sucks more than a flushing toilet And if you don’t know that then you’ve either won the lottery, managed to remain in the industry you started in, got extremely lucky, or you live off the government and don’t really care.

This brings me to my first point: I need a job. I need a job like a drowning person needs air because right now, I’m drowning in feelings of social and financial inadequacy. I feel … well to be honest I feel friggin disabled. I feel like a dog might feel after being neutered. Sure he’s still loved, sure he can still play and run and pee anywhere he wants …. But there’s something missing. He’s half a dog. And right now I feel like half a man … the bottom half. Every time the parents or the in-laws call , it’s the same old tired tale. “I’m still looking.” “I’ve got an interview.” “I just got rejected again.” Those are the three variants of “that” conversation.

“What, do you have a piano tied to your back cheeks or something? Get up and pound that pavement boy! When I was your age I was out there every day going door to door like a pretentious salesman spouting my resume at anyone who would take it. Finding a job IS a full time job! So forget yourself and work! Work! Work!”

Yeah yeah, I’ve heard variations on that old speech more times than I care to think about. Guess what? I AM trying! I am trying, and I’m sick of trying at the same time. No, I don’t apply to every single job that comes along in the hopes some compassionate soul will throw me a freekin bone – I already feel desperate enough! But I DO apply for jobs. Many many jobs! I do call and ask for information. I do research. I do put my all into a cover letter and a resume. And both are even pretty good! I have two professional reference letters, and three professional references all of whom would speak highly of me if ever contacted. I might not have the paperwork, but I do have a fair bit of transferable experience. And I am eager and willing to learn. Heck, I don’t even mind working collaboratively on a team! But is that enough? Noooooo! It seems nearly every effort is met either with silence or with “We’ve reviewed your resume, and you are not exactly what we’re looking for at this time. Soooo sorry, but do feel free to keep trying so we can send you the same form letter a few more times.” Although recently I have gotten a few emails and one interview which basically told me that “we really thought you were great, but we have someone who is just that much better. SO sorry, you were number 2, but we needed number 1”.

You want number Two? I’ll give you a friggin number two. And you can take that number two, and you can go suck it. You can suck it until it’s all gone!

I’d be a bloody great worker. The thing about having a disability is I KNOW how hard it is for people like me to get a job. People see someone blind and they wonder, and they scoff. Even if outwardly they are supportive, there’s usually uncertainty. So that’s why I would work all the harder. I know the trust that’s been given to me when I’m hired, and I know I have a lot to prove. And in the last few “jobs” I’ve received, I’ve done my best to make sure I do. And to the best of my knowledge, I have.

This brings me to my second point. People who can’t seem to figure out how to do the jobs they’ve been hired for, and people who piss and moan about how tragically terrible their jobs are. To them I curse a pox on all their household, and for them to be turned to living stone. That’s the kind of petrification where your body is fully transformed, but you remain completely aware of your surroundings, and the passage of time.

If you can’t at least attempt to do a job correctly, quit. Quit and leave the job for someone else who needs it. Now, everyone makes mistakes. We’re not perfect. But I swear, some people simply ARE mistakes. It’s like their spirits are trapped in the wrong body or something because they just can’t figure out the simplest of tasks, or they simply don’t care. I’m not talking about Fred Furball over there at the sales counter who fumbles with words, or with the cash register. I’m talking about those stupid bum darts who probably spent half their lives peeing on the toilet seat until someone told them to lift the lid before they start. These are people who consistently provide inaccurate information, or who have a work ethic and personality at constant odds with the very job they’ve been hired for. Case in point, a counselor without empathy or compassion. Or a doctor without a burning desire to see people healed. Basically, I’m talking about people who when you see them, you just can’t help wondering “how did someone like you end up working here?”

Now, those people who feel the need to constantly ejaculate verbal diarrhea about how terrible their jobs, their bosses and their work lives are …. Ooooh, please let me mentally punch them right in their gaping, flapping mouths! I realize we all have bad days. I myself have been known to complain at times about the stupidity of the work place. I’m talking to YOU, NCO! But the truth is, I was always thankful for my job. If you feel the need to complain about the bad day you’ve had at work every once in a while, great! We need amusing stories about the silliness that goes on at work. But when it’s time to go to work and all you can do is moan and groan like a hippo giving birth? That’s when I have a problem. If you hate your job THAT much, quit! Free the space up for someone who will at least appreciate it. I’m so incredibly sick of this. I swear it makes up a decent portion of the Facebook statuses and bus conversations I come across. You need to nut up and shut up, sit back and thank the good Lord, Allah, Buddha, Krishna, the eternal goddess moonbeams or your beloved Iphone that you even have a job at all!

We’re supposed to be moving soon. It’s been in the works off and on for a few years. It’s frustrating because it’s all up to me. Wherever I can find work, we’ll move. I feel under the weight of constant pressure. I know I’m being over-dramatic, but every time someone asks us when we’re moving, it’s like having a gentle punch in the testicles. You feel a tightening in your bowels, and a slight bout of nausea. It’s not enough to make you sick, but it’s enough to make you more than a little uncomfortable. Just once I want to be the barer of good news during such a conversation. But right now, I’m just feeling drained. After the constant prayers, government sponsored employment programs for people with disabilities and my own initiative, I just wish I could catch a break. Am I asking for too much? Am I not trying hard enough? I honestly just don’t know anymore. All I know for sure is after so many hard-working attempts have led only to rejection, It gets harder to give it your all.