Back on TRACK!

I am back on track and feeling good. I got to work a little early today, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and my new book and sat at my desk until it was time to get to work. It is moments like these that I cherish. I love being relaxed. Sleeping well is key to feeling this happy.

I am feeling especially energetic today and have lots of aspirations for the day. First I am going to work. Blah! That is not fun. I am off early every other Friday due to my RDO, so I plan on making a grocery store stop. Then home to run with my husband, I am making him run. It will be a light run. He complains, excuse me I mean has issues with shin splints so we can't run for long. Then eat a little dinner. Thinking BLT's would be yummy, and then maybe a late movie. Him and I are going to start living our lives a little more. We are homebodies a lot of the time, and I think we need to get out more. We sound lame, but it's true.

The weekend holds, cleaning, cooking, and a little organizing. I have to go to Lowes and get some more vegetables for my garden, and a couple of rods for my snap pea plants. My garden is looking pretty good so far. Not producing anything yet, but it is close. I am going to roast a chicken, make some pizza dough, and some spaghetti sauce. All my recipes are from Dinner A Love Story. One of my all time favorite family food blogs ever. She talks about the importance of a family dinner, and how to plan for them. I am really looking forward to the weekend. My plan is to get my house and upcoming week in order. Plan out dinners and so forth.

Check it out.

http://www.dinneralovestory.com/

You know what is weird about my motivation to plan out my week. The fact that if I really what to feel like my weeks are prepared properly, I have to take the same steps every weekend. That is daunting to think about. A routine would probably be good for me. Hmm... might have to think this through a little more.

Side note: This is what happens when I am at work and Brian is in charge of Averie. Is it clear why I want to be a stay at home mom yet.

Well, I guess this is good bye for now. I will leave you with the above picture and get back to work. I have to do a little bit even though it is Friday.

Running away from me

Oh how time has ran away from me. Talk about a total fail with my own challenge, what a loser right. I am going to make it up right now. This may be the longest post ever!

The last time I posted it was June 5, 2014. So I have a few days to make up. It's my challenge I can do what I want, even if that means promising to post everyday and doing all the posts in one. *haha* Don't judge.

June 6, 2014. My 31st Birthday. I had a pretty good day. I worked unfortunately, but I treated myself to a little retail therapy, and a fantastic lunch at one of my favorite places. I think it is high time that I started taking care of myself instead of waiting for someone else to take care of me. It's nice to feel like someone cares, but it is not a requirement any longer. After work I went straight to the Sacramento Zoo for Dream Night. This is a great event that DSIA (Down Syndrome Information Alliance) puts on every year. The Zoo has all sorts of Special Needs vendors, snacks, and the rides are free. They even give the kids a free stuffed animal at the gate, Zoo animal themed of course. This event was even better this year than last, cause I got to spend it with my Husband. This was the first year that he has attended and it made it better for sure. After we went back to my parents for dessert. My favorite way to spend any special occasion or holiday is to be with my family. I couldn't ask for a better birthday present. Brian did buy me a gift, something that I have been wanting for months. SPERRY's. He even picked out the color on his own. Good Job babe. They are my summer go to shoe now.

Averie eating popcorn at the Sacramento Zoo

June 7, 2014. This was an exciting day too. It is Tattoo day! Scary I know. It actually was not as bad as I had expected. Once I got there the nerves magically went away. It was the anticipation that was killing me, the drive there, and then waiting. I just wanted to do it. Once I laid down on the table and she started everything seemed to fade away. It really did take me to another place. All you can focus on is the needle. You dont think about money, family drama, or what chores you should be doing instead of getting a tattoo. *laughs* I am in love with my tattoo and am eager to get another. The only foreseeable problem is that tattoo's are expensive, and not really a priority in my life. I have other things that I could spend hundreds of dollars on. Like vacations, or clothes for Averie, or a new stroller.

This is a funny story actually. I have wanted a nice jogging stroller for years. Like a BOB or something comparable, so that I can run with Averie when I get home. Right now I have to ask for her to be watched and I hate doing that. Well the stroller is between 300-400 dollars. Too expensive right. I have asked Brian on multiple occasions, and his response every time is that is a lot for a stroller. However when I mention getting a tattoo that may cost upwards of 500 bucks. That seems practical. Hmm..... Where are our priorities people. This makes no sense to me at all. 500 dollar tattoo, or a 300 dollar stroller so that I can exercise. Talk about confused. Onward....

My tattoo right after it was finished

June 8, 2014. I spent the whole day cleaning, wasn't fun, and not interesting to talk about at all.

June 9, 2014. This is a fun day. I WORKED! Lame

June 10, 2014. Brian, Averie, Anessa, and I woke up at the crack of dawn to head down to San Jose. That's right people it is Freshman Orientation time. I am so excited for Nessa. We dropped her off at the school at 9am, and headed  to Santa Cruz. The life, she is at school while we play, this is how it should be. We drove to Capitola and walked around looking in all the little shops. I love shopping, it's my cardio. I found this great lotion/soap place, and got my Mom a lotion, and my Grandma some great Hibiscus loose tea. Then we attempted to walk along the beach, but it was pretty chilly, and Averie and I were in shorts. Not a good recipe for fun if you ask me. So that ended after about 5 minutes. Then we decided to go for lunch, which turned into breakfast for lunch. It was delicious, we found this little hole in the wall diner. It was perfect and imperfect all at the same time. Just what the doctor ordered. Once we were well nourished we checked into our hotel. We stayed the night in Santa Cruz and woke up the next morning relaxed and ready to pick up Ness at SJSU. June 11, 2014 we headed home. It was a long drive home, but my house was clean when I got there which is always a welcomed sight.

San Jose State Freshman Orientation

June 12, 2014. Finally this day has come. I have an appointment for a hair cut and color. Ugh this is so overdue. By like 4 months overdue. HA! Well it is here, and I plan on keeping up with it. You would be surprised how looking decent affects your attitude. You are more confident, happier, and seem to be a little more understanding. Well as far as I am concerned. Bad hair makes for a grumpy mommy in my case. Here is a little play by play. Talk about a change. Amber, my best friend, and I spoke after and came to the conclusion that I could have gone a little shorter. Maybe next time. She cut about 5 inches off. How could she not. Look at that untamed mop. Night and Day difference if you ask me.

Overdue Hair cut and color

 June 13, 2014. Almost to date. Hang in there. My RDO(Requested Day Off). I spent the day hanging out with Averie and cleaning. I always clean when I am home. No matter what I feel like there is always something that could use a good scrubbing, dusting, or vacuuming. I also tried my hand at this new meal service called Plated. Here is the link if you want to check it out.

https://www.plated.com/

Quickly, this is how it works. This company puts meals together and ships them out weekly. You have the option of a 2 plate service, or a 4 plate service, and they ship to arrive on Tuesday's and Friday's. You also have the option of menu choices. Vegetarian, Land, or Sea. I think those options are very self explanatory.

I received my first one on the 13th of this month, and selected the Butter Basted Steak.  It was delicious. Brian and Anessa gobbled it right up. Even Averie enjoyed the steak. We don't eat a lot of red meat, so I think when we have steak for dinner, they devour it. I wish I had of taken more pictures of the process, but I was so involved that I forgot. Let's just say that it was worth the $20 bucks. Now I have to be honest. The pricing is not the best. You have the option to purchase a membership for $10 a  month, that allows you to get the plates at the membership price not the Al-A-Carte price. The diffidence on most plates is $3, if  not all. Here is the pricey part. You have to select 4 plated to fill an order. Spending $48 if you have the membership, or $60 if you don't. Then you have to pay $20 for shipping, so you walk out of there for a minimum of $68 for 4 meals. That is a lot in my eyes. If you are single maybe it would be practical, but for a family of 4 we can go out to dinner for under $68. Well I hope that was helpful if you were looking into this program. The reason that I paid $20 is because I had a promotional code. It gave me a 4 plate service for free. All I had to pay for was the shipping.

Butter Basted Steak

 June 14, 2014. Brian worked and I stayed at home with Averie, and surprise! Cleaned the house some more.

June 15, 2014. Happy Father's Day. This was a good day too. I seem to be having a couple of those. Presents, oh fun! Averie and I bought Brian an authentic Louisville Slugger baseball bat engraved with the Braves logo, and his name. He loved it. I bought a case for Nessa's home run ball from the Optimist game and had her sign it and give that to him. My Dad is so special to me. I always am looking for ways to spoil both my parents. Especially with the limited funds that I have these days. I bought him a Seattle Seahawks Superbowl T-Shirt and a cover for his phone. It says, "A Son's first Hero, and a Daughter's first Love." Sweet right. He liked the case more that the t-shirt which made my heart melt. We all went to Caballo Blanco for dinner and then back to the house for dessert. It was a great day with some of my favorite people.

June 16, 2014. More work. This is a given I guess. I work all the time. It's safe to say that this is also the agenda for June 17, 2014.

That brings us to June 18, 2014. TODAY! Finally right. This is where I am at now. I am saving up for my jogging stroller. I want it more than a tattoo. Nessa is almost 3 weeks out from surgery. Brian is working hard and late, which I am growing not to mind as much. I get a little sad and lonely but why dwell on things that you can't change. I am doing things to make myself happy. I have been writing down what I am eating in an effort to make sure I do eat. We have been eating better too. Not as much crappy food is making it into our house these days. Thank goodness. I am also going to run here soon. It would be easier with a stroller and a lot more fun, but in due time. I know that exercise makes me healthy and happy and that is all I want in life. The plan for the remainder of the week is kind of up in the air. I will update the blog this weekend. But.... don't hold me to that.

Day 1 of my blogging challenge

I am going to blog everyday for 10 days straight. Even if it is mindless blogging. I am going to take this more seriously starting NOW! I turn 31 tomorrow and need to step up my game.

Lets talk today about eating habits. I have none. I am not even much of a meal eater. I snack all day, everyday. It's a bad habit to get into, and an even harder habit to break. I am going to run today, and attempt to stop snacking tomorrow. Puh! We will see about this. I have been depression eating lately. See.... It's good to take out emotions on food right. Exactly what every psychiatrist says not to do I am sure. Oh well better luck tomorrow. MY BIRTHDAY!

I will do better promise. It is just so hard. Well I am signing off. Come back tomorrow for more foodie updates, and a brief recap of Nessa's surgery. Fun!

Coming to an END

It is May 20, 2014, and there is a lot of endings in my future. The softball season is coming to a close. Nessa is Graduating in 9 days. She is going off to college in 93 days. The summer is quickly approaching and the Kaylor family will be softball free for the first time in 8 years probably.

Nessa has an injury that will require minor surgery in June, keeping her out of the summer softball season. Which is a catch22. It is a relief financially, but a bummer cause we do like to travel. I think the end result was for the best. This is the one aspect of our lives in which we live beyond our means. That is something that my husband always says to me. The reality is that the thing he loves best is actually the biggest culprit. Irony?

I am very excited to have the summer to myself.  We are going to save money like it is going out of style. Well I hope. Lets see how much hiding I can do. I have a feeling that will be the only way to actually save money. My family is in the habit of spending it as fast as we get it.

Day Dreaming of maybe a vacation. Lots of BBQ's and spending time with family. Cooking, and playing outside with Averie. Oh and moving in August. That is what I am most excited for. A fresh house, to be lived in by the 3 of us. What will that be like. A new ADVENTURE!

I am excited to see Nessa's dorm room. What an adventure that will be. I would have loved to go to college and stay in a dorm. Just for the experience. A real college student she will be come this August. It was a lot of work getting everything together and all the applications in on time, she will thank me some day.

I am working on a raise at work. A promotion actually. My dreams of being a SAHM are pretty far away. Which is sad cause that would be amazing. I think that I might be the happiest person on the planet if I were given that opportunity. Maybe in the future. For right now, I am excited about a possible promo. My interview is Friday fingers crossed.

Averie is doing well, she is loving preschool. She goes everyday and leaps out of my arms into her classroom. We also have her in speech and PT. All covered by my insurance. Grammy is still my ANGEL! She is amazing with her, and I fear the day when she says that she needs a break, and can't watch her anymore. I think I will cry an ocean. Hopefully that day is not in the near future. Fingers crossed on that one too. She is taking Averie to the doctor to have her tubes replaced this Friday. She is talking so much these days. I am really hoping that the tubes being replaced with help her hear better improving her speech. I am so excited for her to start talking, but I think she may never stop. I have a social butterfly on my hands already.

Mother's Day was good and then bad, then good again. I will spare you the details,but it ended with a really nice dinner and a movie. It will pretty awesome. Brian and I also went to our first Braves game at AT&T park this past Monday. First game since the baby was born. Yep 3 whole years. Unfortunately the Braves lost. Bummer. Better luck at the next game we go to.

This weekend I have family from Colorado coming to town, and we are going to have a little BBQ. Our girls are around the same age so they can play while we chat a bit. Love having family over and socializing.

I have made some changes to my lifestyle. I know I have mentioned doing this before, but for the last month I think I have stuck pretty close to my goal. I miss a vitamin here and there and sometimes cheat with caffeine. Rules that I am living by:

1. NO caffeine after 2pm. This has allowed my body to get tired, and I am able to get to bed at a decent hour. Before I would stay up really late and not be the least bit tired.

2. Eating a little better. I have added breakfast into my routine, and am trying to eat dinner. I normally get so wrapped up making it that by the time I am done I am too tired to eat. Lunch is a must during the day. I usually have a salad. Confession I have been buying lunch a lot. I need to plan better at night, but because I have no caffeine I am too tired. Ugh a never ending cycle.

3. Back to running. I love running! I have only ran once in the past few weeks, due to this apocalyptic cold I have. I will be better scheduled with this as soon as I am better. My plan is to wake up at 5am, run, shower, and head off to work.

4. Making dinner. This is a hard task some nights. It takes patience, organization, and juggling. Yes juggling. I have to please everyone, or so I think. So I have to make sure Averie is set before starting to cook anything, which isn't always possible if she is eating what we are eating. Get my drift.

Well that is the update to the ole life. It is going to get interesting so I will try and come back frequently to update. I know this post is all over the place, but here is a little collage of things that happened. I will have to post later on Easter. It was a great day kind of. For the most part.

Coffee, Tired, Coffee

This is the routine these days. Or all days for that matter. I could complain about everything that I have taken on, but instead I am going to talk about the great weekend I had.

Nessa has been spending a lot of time with her Grandma lately (because her boyfriend lives out there too), so we are getting a taste of what it will be like when she goes off to college. The conclusion is that we get a long just fine for a weekend. It should be interesting to see what it is going to be like when we know she won't be home. I think that we will all manage. Like I said in previous posts. I have a lot planned for the end of the summer. Lots of positive changes.

Friday, was pretty relaxing we didn't do much. To be honest my memory is so terrible, and I have no idea what we did on Friday, even though it was only a few days ago. 

Saturday, Brian and Luke (Brian's Nephew) watched softball for most of the day. While Averie and I stayed home and relaxed. It was much needed. I was able to get a lot of cleaning done. I even managed to start organizing Averie's closet. I will make sure to post a picture by the end of the week.

Sunday, was also relaxing. Brian and Luke went to the cages and then we went to my Parent's for dinner. It was a lot of fun. I love relaxing at their house. It is down the street and so convenient. We are there just long enough that Averie get sleepy and falls asleep on the drive home.Oh, and my Mom makes killer Sangria. I think I had 4 glasses. EEK!

All in all a great weekend, and am looking forward to my next weekend.If all weekend were like this past one. I think I would look forward to them more. Mostly I feel like they are too busy, and go too fast.

Inspiration(and 2 posts in a day)

I love reading other blogs. I have a few that I really enjoy. To the point where I could read some of the same posts over and over again. I really do pull inspiration from them. I am inspired to make mine better.

I am going to change a few things about my blog. The first being, I am going to try and complain less. I think it might be considered a little tacky. I understand that it is okay to vent time to time, but I think it best not to dwell. Let's put an end to this. Just maybe if I complain less I will have a better outlook, or just a positive outlook. Worth a shot I think.

I need to fix some of the formatting. I might have to find someone to help me with that. I would hate to lose content while trying to tweak something.I foresee a little bit of research in my future.

I have to, HAVE TO, figure out a way to take more pictures. What is my deal. I have to get it together and break out the camera and document the life of my sweet little girl. She is a blast to photograph. The cute funny things are priceless.

Lastly, where is the organization. I mean my labels are all over the place. I have to make things clearer, if not for myself for my family that reads my blog. If I am able to clean those up, that would streamline my searching. Whew! Sounds like a lot of work. I guess Over the next month I have my work cut out for myself. I love the design, so at least that doesn't have to change. Here I go.....

If anyone has any tips for me. I love Mandy Chiappini's blog. I wish I were as talented as her. Her blog is so clean and easy to follow. I would love for mine to have similar qualities.