Friday Favorites

I've been reading several Friday Favorite posts for months now, so I decided to join in. This is a link up hosted by Andrea, Erika, and Narci. These are my favorites for the week!

{ONE}

I'm all about basketball this week. One of Bug's besties was on the opposing team last week and they were matched up to defend against each other. It was a great game! Bug didn't score, and her team lost, but she is an AWESOME defender! Every game, she gets a little better. She was awarded a star at her last game for best defense!

{TWO}

Girl Scouts are a favorite this week! Bug is new to the troop so she's still learning the ins and outs of the whole system. But the best part is that it's girl Scout Cookie time!

I LOVE me some girl scout cookies! Bug's goal is to sell 165 boxes. At first, I thought that was crazy. She's not going door to door, and I'm not one to push sales at work, so how is she supposed to sell that many? I really didn't want to put any pressure on her. But good Lord, people love those cookies. I've just kept the order form at my desk and I've sold 70 boxes. And the troop got some pretty good booth locations (one at Target, one at Bass Pro, and one at a fancy overpriced grocery store) that Bug will be working at, so I think she might make her goal.

If you don't know a girl scout and are craving some thin mints, you can click here and order them online! I love that they offer a sample pack-- one box each of all 8 flavors.

{THREE}

The rain is a favorite this week! You probably know that California has been in a drought for the last three years. Well, El Nino is here! It's been raining at least a couple days a week for the last several weeks. Our snow pack's at 115%! We're not out of the woods yet, we need a few more heavy winter storms, but it's a step in the right direction! And the forecast for today is.... MORE RAIN!

The only bummer is that the grass has been too wet, so they keep postponing BK's baseball draft for Little League. Fingers crossed that it will happen next week.

What are some of your favorites this week?

what i wore wednesday from a real girl

I thought I looked pretty cute in this outfit. The Agent even commented on my cuteness when I walked out the door on my way to work. I had Bug snap a picture of me and then I was on my merry way.

The outfit still looks ok, but I need to rethink my make up choices.

The cardigan came from Target, here. It's from their new Ava & Viv plus size line. This sweater is super comfortable, but it sheds and pills like nobody's business. My office chair was polka dotted by the time I left for the day.  The color is sour cream.

The shirt is from Forever 21, about 100 years ago. It's just a basic scoop neck top. You could buy one of 60 black shirt  options here.

The slacks are also from about a million years ago. They were my purchase ever from New York and Company, back when you could get a nice pair of work pants for $7.00. Those days are long over. Lots of similar options are here, ranging from $25 to $50. New York and Company still makes my favorite wear-to-work clothes. Thank goodness the closest one is 30 minutes away, or else I'd be even broker than I am now.

The shoes were a Christmas present. You can find them here. The color is blush, which I thought was nude when I saw them online, but they're more pink than nude. Just a little slight POC.

You can't really see the shoes in the picture, so here's a close up:

someone once told me toe cleavage is sexy.... I think that's kinda gross

That's it! See you next week!


~The Lovely One

Let's Talk!

I decided to do a new link up with Andrea and Erika.

This month's topic is New Years. I already wrote about some of my goals for the month back here.

I'm doing great on half of these goals, the jury's still out on the other half. Stay tuned for a recap next week.

Instead, I think I'll talk about a few things that I'm excited about in 2016.

I'm excited about going on a vacation! Where should we go? Should we bring the kids, or make it an adults only getaway? If we take the kids, we may go to Disneyland, or the Grand Canyon, or The Agent has a desire to see Wisconsin (side note-- is Wisconsin a vacation getaway? Where should we go and what should we do when we get there?). If we do an adult only getaway, I'm thinking Seattle, Boston, or Mexico. But then who will watch my babies? Do YOU want to watch them? Yeah, I didn't think so.

I'm excited about my career. I have been really liking my job since I've been promoted. I'm learning a lot and I'm excited about where I'm heading. I don't know how long this will last, but I am happy for now. I'm also excited that raises come out in March!

I'm excited for milestone birthdays! My Baby Bug will be turning TEN in March! Double digits-- where does the time go? She's already been planning her party-- she wants to have it at a laser tag place. I am totally ok with that-- I don't need a bunch of crazies at my house! In addition to Bug, my brother will be 30 and one of my best friends will be 40, both in October. My brother has already decided he wants to go to Reno for his birthday, but my girlfriend hasn't decided where  she wants to go, although she mentioned a long girls weekend in Nashville. I would be down for that!

I'm excited for a busy sporting season with the kids! Bug just started basketball season. Right when that gets over, BK will be starting baseball, and then when THAT'S over, we'll be doing swimming (maybe. I might be exhausted by then). BK is super sporty, but this is the first interest Bug has ever shown in sports. So far, she's doing great!

What are you excited for this year? Join in the kink up and let's talk!

The Price of Education

Have you read this article? It says, in a nutshell, that if your family makes less that $125,000 a year and you are lucky enough to get in to Stanford, your tuition is free. If you make less than $65,000, you don't even have to pay the room and dorm fees.

If you get in to Harvard and your family makes less than $65,000, tuition is free. If you make less than $150,000, you only have to pay 10% of the tuition.

Harvard's tuition is currently just under $65,000 a year, including room and board fees. Stanford, by comparison, is a deal at only $60,000 a year.  Since these schools' tuition have increased by 13% in the last 5 years, we can assume that tuition will be $78,650 by the time Bug goes to college, and $81,900 when BK goes. That's for just one year.

That's a whole lot of money.

Stanford is the number one ranked business school in America. Harvard is #2. Bug wants to open a bakery when she grows up. She will need a business degree in order to do this.

I'm going to need The Agent to lose his job, just so she can get in to Stanford for free.

Or she can go to UC Berkeley, currently the 8th ranked business school, and only $28,000 a year. That sounds much more feasible. And she only has to be in the top 9% of her class (there is not an academic requirement to get in to Stanford, but it goes without saying that you have to be amazingly smart).

Much to The Agent's dismay, neither child is interested in following in his footsteps and going into engineering

BK, meanwhile, still has dreams of being a firefighter, and a professional baseball player. Not or. AND.

Logic in the world of BK

I hope they both reach they're goals. And I hope I win the lottery.

I'm Popping over you

I was searching Pinterest for Valentine ideas the other day. I am going to be out of town the week before Valentine's Day, so I will not be able to help the kids make cute Valentine's to give to all their classmates. I need to plan ahead so the babies can have their Valentines ready before I go on my trip.

BK's Valentines from two years ago

"But why are you planning so early?" The Agent asked as I searched.  "It's still a month away. You have plenty of time."

last year's treats that I gave to my coworkers

"No," I insisted.  "First I need to figure out what we're going to make, and it has to be cute, but something the kids can make without much help from me. Then I have to buy the supplies and stuff. Then the kids have to make them. And this all has to happen before I leave. Unless.... well, do YOU want to make them?"

Bug's Valentines from three years ago

"When I was a kid, you could buy a pack of 30 cards for like $2. Why can't Bug and BK pass those out? Their classmates will look at them with just as much excitement. But if you think I'm going to make 50 pink popcorn balls with a hand-calligraphy card that says 'I'm POP POP POPPING over you!'... Yeah, that's not going to happen."

Too bad. That's a really cute idea.

Bug informed me as I was writing this that 4th graders are entirely too old to give out Valentines. I disagree. I'm 42 and I still wouldn't mind getting a Valentine!

the real girl's guide to what I wore wednesday

It was a casual week at work last week!

There are a few repeats in this outfit that I've shared before. The sweater is from Leith found here and the shoes are from Rampage found here. 

I bought the t-shirt from Target, made by Mossimo, found here. I'm wearing a large. This is not my favorite shirt ever, but I've had it for many years, and it coordinates well with the sweater. 

The jeans are by Levi's, found here. They're a curvy boot cut, and the fit is awesome. The link is for a plus size fit, but the pair I'm wearing is a regular misses. I've worn this style for many years. I've gone as small as a size 10 once upon a time. But these are a size 16. Here's hoping I can squeeze into a 10 again some day! 

Here's a close up of the earrings (after I decided to put my hair down):

These were a gift from one of my girlfriends, years ago. She got them at JC Penney. I can't find anything like them, but this style is similar, although I prefer the green:

The Agent came in while Bug was taking my picture, and he thought he'd get in on the act. This is his impression of me:

He thinks he's funny.

Weekend update

It's freezing cold right now.

It's 59 degrees.

I understand that 59 degrees isn't really that cold for most of America, but this is California. We don't do cold here. Mama needs a pair of gloves to keep her fingers warm!

Bug had her first basketball game of the season, and I thought she did great! She didn't score at all, but I saw a lot of effort from her the whole time. There are a couple girls (the coach's daughters) who tend to dominate the ball, but Bug held her own. She needs to work on her offensive game a little more, but she's an excellent defender.

There's always time for a quick pose before the game! 

My parents went to the game, and said that the coach should have participated more. I don't necessarily agree with that. I thought he was fine. My parents also commented that Bug didn't get as much game time as the coach's daughter. Again, I disagree. I thought it was pretty equal with all the girls, plus Bug got to start, which I thought was a pretty big deal. And the important thing is that she get out there and have fun, which she did. I'm just happy that she's getting active.

she was most excited about getting a cookie after the game

Sunday was my stepmother's birthday, so we went to Alice's parents house for a birthday celebration.
It was a nice visit, but I gotta tell you, I was exhausted from so much social activity! I would have rather curled up with a good book all day. The was much talk about Bug's height.... she's nearly as tall as my stepmother now. We get it, she's tall.... but in all fairness, Alice is pretty short.

We got home and put the kids to bed just in time to watch Downton Abbey! It was a busy weekend, but nice!




 

The real girls guide to what I wore wednesday

This is my new favorite post to do! Except I need to teach the kids to take better pictures of me. Or maybe dig out the tripod.

This is what I wore to work last Wednesday:

The tunic is made by Lush and I found it at Nordstrom. It's supposed to be a dress. That's a joke. I don't even think it covers my butt. This is an XL. The Agent liked it, but in looking at this picture, it does nothing for me. Maybe it will look better on you-- check here.

The cardigan is currently my favorite sweater. It's  from New York and Company here. And guess what?  It's 50% off right now! Whoop whoop!  I went online to get the link and there were at least 7 other sweaters I wanted to buy. This one is cute and so is this one and even this one. I'm wearing a large.

The leggings are from Hue. I've talked about these before. Magical leggings. You can find them here. Don't forget to get the 'Ultra' wide waistband. That  ultra makes all the difference in the world. Believe me on this. I'm wearing a large.

I bought the boots at Macy's on Black Friday, but they're on sale now here for only slightly more than what I paid. I'm wearing a 9.5. The first time I put them on, it was a real struggle to get the zipper up, but now  they come on and off with no problem. Either my calves have gotten smaller or the boots have stretched a bit. I don't think it's the first one.

That's it! Make it a great day!

Weekend Update

I looked at my calendar on Friday afternoon, and realized that this was going to be our last entirely free weekend for the next several months. After this weekend, we're going to be bombarded with basketball games and then baseball games and then it will be summer! That's a scary thought!

The Agent used the time to work on my fireplace. It's coming right along. The Agent did all the demo, then framed out the cut out and installed the dry wall. He hired someone to do the texture, and then he painted today. The next step is for The Agent to build the shelving, and then everything will be ready to  install. I think. There might be a few steps I'm missing there.

The fireplace is going in the cut out on the right, with the tv hanging above it. Shelves and cabinets are going to be in the left cut out. The brass flamingo oversees all the work. 

While The Agent was painting, I took the kids out to the mall so they would stay out of The Agent's hair, and so he would have no excuse for not getting it done. We returned a few things and didn't work out as Christmas presents, and then bought a few more things, and then the kids conned me in to letting them do this bungee jumping thing they have at the mall. They both said they would pay for it with their own money, so I figured it wouldn't hurt anything. BK loved it, but Bug said it kind of hurt and she didn't need to ever do it again.

Sunday was a lazy day. I spent most of the day reading, stopping only long enough to go to the market to buy groceries for the week and to do a couple loads of laundry (and really that was only because I needed to charge my kindle). I've been a reading machine lately! I'm already on my 6th book of the year! I've been reading the Home series, by Megan Nugen Isbell. Has anyone else read these? It's a romance series, but not too dirty. More romantic.

This is the first book in the series

And then we wrapped up the weekend by watching Downton Abbey. Who else is a fan? I'm surprised I was able to get The Agent interested, but he's as addicted as I am. I'm sad that this is the last season! There's still so much to wrap up! Will Bates and Anna ever have a baby? Will Edith find love? Will Tom come back? So much going on!

Hope it was a great weekend for you!