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!

the real girl's guide to What I wore wednesday

This worked out well last week, so I thought I'd try it again!

This is what I wore last week on a visit to see my mother, my niece, and my nephew:

(side note: on this visit, my mother asked if I had gotten my hair permed. After 42 years, you would think she would know that my hair is naturally curly. And this is not the first time we've had this conversation.)

There's a fashion blog that I read and love, because she's funny and her fashion sense is much like my own, but dang near EVERYTHING she models is from Nordstrom. That's great for a splurge every once in awhile, but I can't afford that! I need to follow a Target fashion blogger!

Here's what I'm wearing:

Cardigan by Barefoot Dreams found here. OK, I did get this at Nordstrom, but it was on sale, and it's well worth it. It's so soft and cozy, it's like I'm walking around with a blanket wrapped around me.   I can't find the striped one, so it must be out of stock, but I am intrigued by this ombre one.  This is my second cardigan by Barefoot Dreams. The first one I bought (in Cocoa) was in a regular large, and the arms are just slightly too snug. I sized up on this one and got a 1X in plus size, and now it fits a little loose, but I can wrap up like a blanket that way.

Shirt from Lucky Brand found here. This was a gift from BFF this year. I'm wearing a large.

The cami that I'm wearing is from Costco. It's made by Hanes and you can buy them in a three pack, in either fun and funky colors, or in practical black and white. I like these because they're super long but they're not bulky at all.  But you know how Costco is: if they have them in stock this week, they probably won't be there next week. If you can't find them at Costco, you can get them on Amazon here. I'm wearing a large.

The leggings are fleece lined, and I found them at Walgreens, of all places. I'm wearing navy blue, and the size is XL. My favorite thing about them is that BFF is 5'4" and I'm 5'10", and we both bought the same leggings. They're like the sisterhood of the travelling leggings.

The boots are from Target. I bought them this season, but I can't find them online anymore. Similar ones are here.  I'm wearing a 9.5 regular, but I have to really struggle to  get the zipper up my calf. I could have used a wide width boot.




The boot cuffs are also from Target, found here. I love anything that's one size fits all! They add just a little bit of flair to the outfit. Mine are dark Taupe, but I want to go back and get the other two colors.

January Goals and the weekend recap

Happy New Year! I hop everyone had a wonderful weekend.

We didn't go out on New Year's Eve. Instead, we stayed  home, enjoyed appetizers for dinner, and watched movies until midnight.

The kids LOVED that we just had snacks for dinner. I made a 7 layer dip, The Agent made homemade taquitos, and I served veggies and dip, just to have something healthy in there. The kids asked if we could have snacks for dinner every night.

We do not look our best at midnight:

We were in bed at 12:02.

We DID go out on Saturday night. We got a babysitter and went to BFF's house for what she called a "Post Holiday Get Together." The Agent groaned and moaned the whole time about having to go and not wanting to, but it turned to be ok.

I think I already mentioned that I wasn't going to do a 52 in 52 list anymore. Instead, I decided to work on monthly goals, just little things I want to work on each month. Here's my list for January:

* Read at least 3 books. I feel pretty confident I can do this. When I'm in a reading mood, I can block out the world and get through a book pretty quick. I already read one this weekend!

* Lose 5 pounds. Time to get serious now. Nose to the grindstone. Pedal to the metal. I don't want to say "lose 50 pounds" because thinking of that makes me was to eat a whole cake. So let's just start out small. I can do that. Right?

* Make 2 new recipes. I feel like we're in such a rut with dinner. I have like 10 things that I keep making over and over. I'm going to try to mix it up this month.

* Limit Candy Crush to one night a week. Dude. This game is like crack. I was playing it every day, every chance I could get. A lot of people have already given up in this game, and I applaud you for that. I would love to join you... as soon as I get past this level.

Do you make goals for the month? Let's hear about them!