My husband will be home from AT tomorrow night. I remembered that I'd put together the impossible list of things to do and thought it might be fun to check our progress. Given that I haven't referred to it since he left, I can only imagine how far short we may have fallen.
Let's look it over together, shall we?
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Yesterday was my daughter's birthday. But, she wasn't the only one who received a present. Oh, no siree bob. Mom received a present too. A little present that comes in the mail once a month and make that day like Christmas!
I joined Birchbox a few months ago. For $10 a month, I receive a box of awesomeness in my mailbox. The box it comes in alone is worth a portion of that $10. I will be reusing and repurposing these for a long time to come!
This month, I was in awe when I opened the box. Not only did I see a full-sized liquid eyeliner, but also a set of earbuds.
Plus a Larabar sample in a flavor I've never tasted.
The perfume sample from Harvey Prince smells absolutely divine. Very citrusy and clean--such a needed combo during the ridiculous summer heat.
Askin cream sample from boscia seems intriguing as it's described as something my skin could definitely use. That's what's extra cool about Birchbox--when you sign up, you put in information about yourself so that the products that come in your box are aimed at your skin, hair, etc. I like the idea of products targeted to me and my areas of concern. And, although I find some of the make-up colors, etc. for 20-year-olds interesting, I'm not 20 anymore and my job isn't really somewhere that neon green eyeshadow would be seen as a sign of mental stability and maturity.
I'm looking forward to the hair treatments, but may need to share at least one with M1--she's always looking for new things to experiment with when it comes to her hair. Hence, she's on the Birchbox wait list as we speak.
The Birchbox site keeps track of your boxes and the products inside which is super helpful because you can purchase any of the items via their site. You can refer to that handy list to remind yourself what exactly it is you love so much.
In June, there were several cute things that I loved. The timing for the box couldn't have been better. I was able to send M1 to New York with some handy nail polish remover packets.
The plastic bag (mine was in orange & bright pink--love!) is perfectly sized for carry-on travel.
The full-sized lip tint accompanied with the lip stain made me very happy--I've never used a stain before and having a product for my lips and cheeks in one container is nice.
The tonic for my hair is something that smells delicious and does leave the shiny results it's supposed to--not sure it's something I'd purchase outright, but I have enjoyed using it since receiving it. Maybe once my color is freshened up, I'll try it again and see if its results are even more noticeable.
May was my first Birchbox shipment and in it, my very favorite product so far.
I love, love, love the Algenist Regenerative Anti-Aging Moisturizer. Of course I do. It's $90 a jar.
Ha!
But, I've spent $40 on moisturizer that has broken out my skin and sat in my medicine chest until it went bad.
This sample of the moisturizer has lasted even until now because you have to use so little of it.
Am I planning on spending $90 on face cream? Not anytime soon. However, all the stuff I use from now on will be measured agains this cream. The only one I've used that has even come close is from BeautiControl. And, that product is $52 for 28 grams/1 oz. The Algenist is 60 ml which converts to 2 ozs. Not that I'm trying to make it out to be a bargain, but just that you never know when you might find something new that works that seems expensive until you compare it to something you've already used & paid more for less.
Birchbox has been a fun experience & I LOVE when it's Birchbox day!
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This is one of my favorite photos of my girls.
It was taken not long after M2 came home from the hopsital & was finally allowed to be off her lamp that treated her slight jaundice.
The girls are sitting in the bed I was given as a girl and slept in until I moved to college. It then became a guest bed and then, finally, M1's bed.
I love this because it shows the girls as they are at their cores. M1, always calm, always go-with-the-flow, always making the best and smiling through even the most chaotic situation. M2, never afriad to let you know she she isn't happy with her situation. Always vocal about what ails her. Not scared to let it all hang out, even when someone has a camera to capture the moment.
She was so tiny and I can still see her like that, even if she is 9 today.
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Pretty sure the Lemon Orzo with Asparagus & Tomato recipe I linked to yesterday will become a summer staple at Ft. W.
The fact that it takes no time to make, it can be eaten hot, warm or cold and it is as light as can be increase the likelihood that I will make it again and again.
M1 loved it as did I. She had two helpings!
Great color. Great texture. Wonderful taste. The lemon and garlic with the olive oil made an amazingly light 'dressing' for this orzo salad.
Definitely recommended & something in which you can use all those teeny tomatoes from your garden.
Thank you, Pinterest!
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Aside from being hotter than the Devil's oven, this summer has been a hot mess for a multitude of reasons. Did we not already mention that summer is nearly half over & I have yet to do anything super fly with my children? I thought so.
Add in some non-exercise, non-healthy eating habits and you have yourself a finely uphostered hot mama--aka ME. Looking ahead to Vegas in a couple of weeks has me pondering exactly what I will wear because Lord knows I don't do summer skivvies anyhow and there is nothing bearable about this bod at the moment.
It's been decided that the next couple of weeks will be a gigantic overhaul at the house--I'm not sure everyone received the memo, but I'm really the only one who needed it anyhow. I would love to think that M2 would get one board with eating things that don't come in a box or bag more often than not, but that will take some doing, I think. M1 has always been my would-rather-eat-salad-than-fries kid--as a toddler, she once gnawed a raw zucchini through the veggie bag while I was distracted in the produce aisle at Kroger.
Fort Warthman climbs aboard the healthy train with the following meal plan for the upcoming week:
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No married soldier ever deploys without a spouse who has a to-do list of epic proportions. It seems as if things like reading the classics; painting the entire interior of the house; losing 50 pounds; and organizing my entire life fall onto more than one spouse's list. The months pass and a couple weeks prior to the homecoming, the spouse mentally checks the list and decides "shaving my legs" and "buying a cute homecoming outfit" will have to do. Things become real really quickly when you're tasked with being a one man band. For me, if the dogs were alive, the kids clean/fed/breathing and the house standing, it was a WIN.
For National Guard families, there is that magical "2 weeks a year" we always hear about that comes in the summer. The soldier goes to Annual Training (AT) and the spouse is left home with a couple weeks.
You would think by now, I would realize that this falls in my busiest time of year. We are less than three weeks from go-time for my bar exam takers. And yet, after all these years, I still think I will be able to accomplish some sort of list while my husband is off doing Army things.
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It's July already. I don't deal well with regret--I try not to have any & if something goes awry and I am aware that regret is possible, I pull back on the reins and try to manage a 180.
Summer 2012 is providing me with the red flags that regret is on the horizon. I need to quickly apply some force or I will be sad when next month shows on the calendar.
So far this summer I have spent no appreciable time with my girls--especially the two of them together. They have been here, there, and everywhere but home. I understand this is a phenomenon known to many parents, but frankly, at their ages, this is a little too early for me to accept the empty nest. I take partial blame too because my job's busiest time is from mid-May to mid-July.
I want to document my plans for July and early August here so it's staring me in the face, in writing, so I don't miss the chance to say we had fun this summer.
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Growing up, I lived in an old farmhouse that didn't have central air. We had a couple window air conditioners, as did most everyone else I knew, and I don't remember feeling particularly near death during summers.
Once I graduated high school and moved to the "big city" for college, I enjoyed central air in the dorms until I moved into the houses in the student neighborhood ("The Ghetto") at which point I ended up moving into my fiance's apartment and mooching his central air.
This weekend, a storm took out electricity for thousands and thousands. Our home joined the ranks of the powerless from Friday afternoon around 4:30 until Sunday evening around 6:30. I am pretty sure if my husband had not been home, I'd have croaked. Literally.
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The woman holding the little boy in her arms is the Mom in Ethiopia we sponsor through Because Every Mother Matters.
What you see in front of her is her business.
She has a "big" business selling coffee (my fave!), barley, corn, chickpeas, vegetables and eggs from the three chickens she recently purchased.
If you remember, she started her business with just a half-month's worth of sponsorship money before we agreed to sponsor her.
Her motivation and drive attracted me to her and her dreams--I wanted to stand in the gap. I think that's how things work best. I can't fix everything, but I can fix one thing. And, nearly 100 moms are no being sponsored by people who think that making a difference for one is better than not even trying because you can't fix it all.
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Things are growing & blooming around Ft. W.
I had an amazing before picture of this previously hideous spot near our front door. But, my phone only pretended to take it--when I went to retrieve and upload it (AFTER I'd repotted and arranged the plants, of course), the photo wasn't actually in my gallery.
I usually spend Mother's Day planting, but not so much this year. My first mother-in-law sent me a gigantic patio pot from her favorite local florist (who did my first rehearsal dinner & wedding) and it is gorgeous right now! Trailing, bright pink and purple petunias, etc. It made me want to do some other things around the front door.
In addition to these guys, I cleaned up an ivy plant (from a previous planter from my first mother-in-law...how much do I love her?!) and put in some coleus to create some visual variety with the green ivy leaves. We have mums planted all around the house that are FULL of blooms and are ready to burst open at any point.
Plus, our raised bed full of volunteer mint and tomatoes continues to be wildly thriving. I'm stockin up on canning supplies so I can be ready this year and not let the tomatoes go to waste.
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