Pleasant Surprise

Before I tell you about our "pleasant surprise," here is a fun little fact that I learned yesterday.

          Did you know that the year 2013 is the first year since 1987 to have four different numbers?

Go ahead -- process that for a second and then keep on reading! :)

I shared that with a few people yesterday because I thought "huh, that's kind of interesting!" Funny how the littlest things can grasp your attention!

In other news, it is now day 3 on my journey of changing myself, and I have not cursed or anything. I've prayed and quiet myself more {which I am 100% convinced is the reason I've been successful} and its been really nice! I can't believe cursing has even become a problem for me??

I found it strangely convenient that on my first day of changing my attitude, my reaction to things and so forth; that I would not only break the top to our Scentsy warmer, but I broke it all over our shiny wood floor and of course it had lots of warm, melted wax inside the bowl. I didn't say or do anything when it happened. I simply got up, grabbed something to scrape the wax off the floor, a dust pan and some cleaner. I didn't curse, I didn't get mad ... simply nothing. And guess what? IT WAS FINE! No big deal and it didn't ruin my whole morning!!

Its important to learn how to underreact at times I think. I find that for most people {and this definitely includes myself}, their initial reaction to a situation in general is an overreaction. Then, when its time to really get excited about something, it requires us to be so far gone over the top its ridiculous!!! But maybe that's just in my world.

Also, while Jocelyn and I were driving into Topeka to go swimming yesterday evening, I heard a good and thought provoking story on Air1 {for those of you that don't know, this is a Christian radio station}. The story was about two sisters that were prisoners in a concentration camp. Now, this is a true story, both of them were Godly believers, felt it was important to always give thanks and praise in every situation because they believed everything happened for a reason. The minute the host said that last little bit ... that "cliche" ... I rolled my eyes and instantly he says "I'm sure a lot of you listeners just rolled your eyes about how everything happens for a reason." Go figure right? Him saying that made me go "Geez! Stop spying on me!" haha

Anyways, the story continued with explaining how one of the sisters attempted to followed this way of life more so than the other sister. So here they were, in a concentration camp that I imagine was quite literally Hell on Earth. Well, the campsite that these particular sisters were being held at, became infested with fleas. The one "everything happens for a reason" sister voiced how they needed to give thanks for the flea infestation. Of course the other sister spoke up and said "What?! How do we, or why would we, give THANKS for fleas?" Trust me when I say, if that were my own sister telling me to "give thanks" while my body itched and ached from bites, as fleas crawled into my ears as I slept and no orifice of my body was safe from fleas making themselves at home; I'd probably tell her she was delusional and exactly where she could put that perky, positive attitude!! I'd like to think I wouldn't, but I'm sure I would have thought she was just trying to get on my nerves and by far too positive for the situation at hand!!!

Turns out, because the fleas were so bad, it often prevented the concentration guards from coming to their campsite to hurt or torture the prisoners ... those sisters were in a sense, saved by the fleas. So yes, while they were often covered in disgusting, biting, disease carrying fleas; they were not receiving the harsh beatings, punishments and treatments as other prisoners in different camps.

This gave me a new perspective about "Giving Thanks in Every Situation" --- I'm not so sure I could give thanks under such horrible, bleak circumstances? Perhaps I could, but surely not until the end or until after I saw there was an upside. But to see the goodness, or potential goodness, during such a dreadful time as I was being bitten by fleas, a prisoner, starving, beaten, watched as I lost loved ones and the list would be endless ... I'm not so sure. Gave me much food for thought and caused me to reevaluate my, and my family's, current situation. Maybe during trying times of my own, I will cling to this story/memory and really live so boldly!

Ok, so I promise there is a pleasant surprise!

After Jocelyn and I went swimming and got cleaned up, we met up with Justin and went out to supper {on swim night, we usually treat ourselves to a meal out and I think we all look forward to that :)}. I told Justin it was his turn to pick and he choose Famous Dave's. Justin avoids chain places, and especially chain BBQ places, because they tend to not be all that great. But as we were sitting there waiting for food, two different people came up to our table to thank Justin for his service to our country, and also even thanked me for being the support he needs to "do whats necessary." In case your wondering, he stayed late at work so he was still in uniform, but gosh, I thought those people taking time out to come over at all was the sweetest gesture.

What else was a sweet gesture? The manager came over to our table and gave us a free bottle of their signature BBQ sauce, a $10 gift certificate and also thanked Justin.

What else was a super sweet gesture and pleasant surprise? Someone that asked to remain anonymous, bought our entire supper for us!!! Is that not the nicest thing in the world???

I'm telling you, I don't know if it happens to you once you become a mom, if its because I'm a woman, if its because I'm trying to live my life as God intended and He's continually softening my heart, if its getting closer to "that time of the month" or what ... but I about started to cry right then and there. I just couldn't believe that everyone was so nice ... so generous ... and it was out of the blue.

I felt so blessed ...
          ... to be with my family, to be warm, to have food in our bellies, to encounter such wonderful people ...

Just totally and utterly blessed!

New Year

BRING ON

I'm ready for it!

........ I think! haha

 

We spent our New Year's Eve making homemade laundry soap {well me anyways! I'm a real party gal huh? haha} and the sweet husband spent some time drawing and calculating ways to make special needs equipment affordable to other special need parents that can't afford the insanely high cost of simple equipment like a bench, tray or adjustable table. I totally fall more in love with him, have even more adoration and beam with pride when he wants to help others like this. His preliminary plans, figures and drawings look really promising and so I'm excited for him. He's already jetted off this mid-morning to go get the supplies to try his idea out!

 

In regards to my laundry soap? I'm super excited to try it today haha!!!

 

Man! I'm such a nerd! Ha! And one of the best parts? It cost pennies, you only have to use 1-2 tablespoons for typical loads and the recipe doesn't make suds in your washer, so you can use it in ANY washing machine!!!

 

There are many recipes out there, but I choose to try a powdered detergent {mainly because it was easier and faster to make!}, but here's what I used:

• 1 bar of Fels Naptha Soap finely grated
• 3 cups 20 Mule Team Borax
• 3 cups of Arm & Hammar Super Washing Soda (NOT baking soda!)

***I saw were that you might want to consider decreasing, maybe even perhaps eliminating fabric softener. I'll just have to do trial and error to see what I think personally. Also, for this type of concoction, people recommended to use 1 tablespoon (T) for light or small loads, 2T for normal loads and for heavy loads, use 3T or allow the clothes to soak in the soap mixture overnight inside the washing machine. Simple and CHEAP enough in my books!! :)


{I love the way the Naptha soap looks -- so bright and yellow! 
 I used the finest part of the grater and it really came out nicely.}

{After I grated the whole bar of Naptha, I added 3 cups each of the
two ingredients above, gave it a good mix and then put it
in a sealable container. Wallah! Easy right? I'm happy!}

Also, yesterday I spent a little bit of time reflecting on this past year, what are definites to come in this new year, what I would like to see happen or change, my hopes and goals for 2013 and of course excited for all the surprises {and again, hopefully they are wonderful, positive surprises} that will come along.

I decided to make a list of my goals which will be hanging in my bathroom as a daily reminder. And the key element to the goals? I thought of the "how" ... the "how" is equally important in my books because if you don't have a plan, you won't know where to start and almost guaranteed not to be successful! :)

Goals:

1. Rekindle my relationship with God by praying daily and earnestly for my family and friends, digging into His word each day and listening to sermons online {going to an actual church right now is very difficult for us}.
2. Rekindle my relationship with my hubby by talking and really listening to one another, less TV {and guess what that means, we both agreed to cancel our cable!}, more alone time and quality time together, more touching, more laughter, be respectful in our tone of voice, bring God back into the center of our relationship, be more understanding, more honest and loving. Just more more MORE of the good stuff! A couple's relationship often dramatically changes once you have kids, and when you're a couple that has a special needs child, its even more taxing because there is never a break, the rigorous routine never ends, there is so often no energy, no desire ... just simply nothing ... left over for your spouse, your friend, your lover ... and that has to change!
3. Invest more in Boogie's spiritual life instead of all my attention going towards her ability to communicate or her physical and cognitive development. It doesn't mean we will stop doing all her therapies and the normal things we do, but life is more important than having that type of tunnel vision. Jocelyn might not ever be able to met our worldly goals, but this life doesn't last long and I want her to know there is more to God's purpose and plan for her life. 
4. Get my passion and enthusiasm back for God, my husband, my daughter and the life we have been given.
5. Take care of my body for my family, for God and for myself by continuing to workout, get more sleep when possible, make better food choices and not overindulge.
6. Stop Cursing! Somewhere along the line after having Jocelyn, I've gradually allowed cursing back into my life. Its negatively affecting my thoughts and attitude, fueling anger and my perception on life in general.
7. Help my husband more with the family business by being eager, encouraging, do some independent learning so I am knowledgeable and can offer educated advice and opinions.
8. Learn to take pride and honor in every single thing I do as a wife, mother, friend, individual ... no matter if its the simplest of things ... and truly know that even though my life is in a place I never imagined ... that God has a purpose for me and my life right where I'm at and in every situation I, and we as a family, encounter.

I pray each and everyone of you are on your way to making this year absolutely spectacular!!!

This-n-That

Not too much has been going on around here in the Powers' household. We've been staying inside where its warm and away from the bitter coldness and people's nasty germs! Seems like everyone we know is starting to get sick, actually sick or getting over an awful bug. So far this winter, we have all been healthy ... trying to keep it that way {key word: TRYING} ... but I'm sure soon enough it will hit one of us.

We actually didn't go to one single place this Christmas. Kind of weird, but it was nice to be HOME! We did pack up the van and head out to go see my family on Thursday the 27th {I even got up at 4:30am to ensure we were all on the road by 6am because Claflin is far away and wanted to make sure we got plenty of time with everyone}, but just as we were getting on the road and almost hit the Interstate, my mom texted me to let me know that my nephew was sick and vomiting throughout the night. I'm thankful she let us know so we didn't get sick as well, mostly so Jocelyn didn't get sick, but I was also bummed that we weren't going to see my nephews before they headed back to Florida. I don't get to see my nieces and nephews enough ... always miss them! It's a lot of work to leave the house for an extended period of time {many truly don't understand ... its hard for parents with small kids in general, but things are different with/for us and we always have so much to bring "just in case" etc}.

So like I said, we haven't been doing much besides being silly ...

{On a side note, Justin's been growing out his stache just to drive me nuts!!!}

{She was REALLY wanting to chew on this bottle and I grabbed my camera as fast as I could because we couldn't stop laughing -- definitely one of those "you had to be there" moments because she was seriously almost growling haha}

Doing some studying for an another upcoming schooling for the military ...

I've been enjoying our wall of Christmas cards this year and see it all day long since its on the inside of the front door.

Last year I had them all on my fridge, but now that we have a different fridge with the freezer part on the bottom and double doors at the top, that wasn't such a good idea. I think I didn't take down my 2011 Christmas/photo cards until we moved in April/May!! Can you believe that? They always make me smile, feel loved and I enjoy seeing my friends and family's smiling faces. Guess I just plain like them!! :)

All week long we've also been doing our normal therapy stuff but not intensely whatsoever!! Its so easy to get burnt out as progress is slow ... if any. :(

{I look SOOOO tired! I'm sure I was haha and yes, those are books to
make the bench taller haha Yous gots to do whats you gots to do!}

{Working on some walking while being fascinated with the condensation on the door}

{Of course we've got to spend some time in the stander -- at least she was smiling}

{And our least favorite? Floor work!}

In other news, my newest addiction this past month has been recycling.

Is that lame?!?!

 

I can't help it -- I'm totally hooked for some reason. Now that we are living in Shawnee County and they implemented an easy recycling system, there is no reason not too. No matter if you participate or not, it will still cost you $4 a month {which is super cheap in my books ... not to mention that I'm thankful for that its not pricey because if you have no choice in the matter, at least its not an expensive one!}.

 

I've always wanted to recycle but in the past its been quite a bit of work to sort, haul and then unload it all. Oh, and not to mention in many towns, you have to be put on a waiting list for them to come by your house for pick ups! Really?? No wonder more people don't recycle.

 

So anyways, they gave us a huge, clean trash can that everything can be piled into with no required sorting. I'm honestly embarrassed by how much we should have been recycling all along. In just two weeks, I have the thing nearly full!! I get after Justin now because I'm like "Hey! Don't throw that in the trash honey ... it just needs to be rinsed and put in recycling."

 

I'm sure you can imagine how thrilled he is with me right now!! haha

 

I've also totally fallen in love with Nutiva Coconut Oil.

It has a true coconut smell and not that sweet, sticky fake coconut smell. Its ridiculous how many ways you can use this stuff, but my personal favorite lately, is simply using it directly on my body!! If you put some in a bowl and use a mixer, it turns into a smooth, fluffy, whipped mixture that instantly melts on your skin. Love the silkiness and that its natural.

If you're interested {I found it interesting and have tried many of these "uses" out already}, you can click HERE to see a variety of uses for coconut oil. I'm not saying all the uses listed really work, but I have discovered that several do! :)

A little bit of personal tidbit --

          I've ALWAYS had a problem with razor burn/bump along my bikini line {I hate hairiness ... TMI? ... can't help it ... I do!!! And MANY of us deal with this issue ... both men and women!}, but its always so painful and unsightly. Seriously, no one wants to see that!!

          But this stuff is EXCELLENT as "aftershave" and it virtually takes none! It doesn't clog the pores, smooths skin, heals with it anti-inflammatory/anti-bacterial properties and it smells super super good!!!! Since I've been using it? No burn ... no bumps! Besides, what girl doesn't want extra supple skin?

Speaking of things I'm stoked about ... the hubby ran to Subway and grabbed us sandwiches for lunch {for all of you that don't know, I use to work at Subway during my high school days and I still love love LOOOOVE it!!!}, and we both ate for under $5! Can you believe that?? Now, they were cold cut combos and I'm not a huge fan of those, but for that cheap, I'll down one with a happy face! Besides, when you pair any sandwich with Arts & Marys Jalapeno Chips {BEST.CHIPS.IN.THE.WORLD!!!}?? You got a hell of a meal!! :)

Now that I have a full and satisfied belly ... perhaps its nap time?

Christmas Memories!

We are enjoying being together as a family this year during this Christmas season. Last year, we weren't as fortunate with Justin being deployed to Kuwait. Now that Jocelyn is a little older, its especially nice that we get to be together to make sweet memories.

Christmas Eve was a fun one last night. We didn't go anywhere, but we filled the day and evening with good stuff. We mostly played together, made lots of "bad-for-you" foods and of course ate lots.

Part of the yummy festivities included making Nutella cookies and chocolate-butterscotch fudge {both of which I've never made}, and a new banana bread recipe which turned out to not be our favorite, but still decent.

{We made up a goodie-tray and took some to our neighbors. It brought
a smile to their faces, so our ultimate goal was achieved! :)}

The fudge was a pleasant tasty surprise, but the Nutella cookies were a homerun with the hubs!

{Such a handsome and mostly sweet fella!}

We didn't stop with those treats -- We still needed something for supper!

          HOMEMADE PIZZAS were the desired Christmas Eve meal!

{We both used basically the same toppings but mine totally tasted better -- just ask me! The toppings? Lots-o-sauce, pepperoni, canadian bacon, fresh cut pineapple, jalapenos and mixed cheeses. I honestly can't remember the last time I had such a good pizza!!!}

We've had Boogie's stocking hanging for a while {she has a super cute pink sock money that plays Christmas music and of course she's now terrified of it ... poor girl!}, but before we went to bed, Justin says "We can't forget to hang our stockings for Santa to fill!" We've never bought ourselves stockings, so he did some improvising.

{He's so silly and I love him all the more for it!}

Then comes our Christmas morning.

Boogs thought it was an excellent idea to make sure we all were awaken with giggles at 4:45am. She has been sleeping relatively good since giving her melatonin, but today she was rearing and ready to go! Surprisingly we were pretty awake and indulged in her early morning fiasco.

We spent the wee-early morning hours cuddling in the recliners watching "Elf" -- Great way to start the morning!

{She's so full of laughter in the mornings! I was holding her new PJ's
and candy that was in her stocking. She's getting so big that Santa
had to bring 4T PJ's and she's not even 3 years-old!!}

Before we opened presents, we made our first homemade donuts and Boogie even got to Skype with her Aunt Cindy which is one of her top things to do!

Justin wanted to be in charge of making the donuts and I of course was not going to object one single bit!

{The top picture is Jib's "dough raising" techniques haha -- He was busy at it!}

{They were actually pretty good! Justin made a coconut flavored icing -- YUM!}

After we all had full belly's, it was present opening time!!!

We didn't buy a whole lot of gifts -- we never seem too -- and I like that actually! :0)

Jocie doesn't care what she gets, she wouldn't care if she didn't get anything to be honest. She just wants to have fun and get attention ... all of which she gets lots of!

My favorite "excitement" picture?

{I can't believe I was able to snap this shot but its pure awesomeness!!!}

{Simple toy = simple pleasure!}

{This little vibrating bug cost $2 and it was instant love!! She giggled and giggled when I ran it up and down her back. This little sucker is powerful because her whole hand will vibrate!}

We even got each other Christmas gifts this year. Justin said he loved his coupon book the most which of course made the effort worthwile! :)

And the best part?
          Just simply being able to hug and love and kiss on one another!

Boogs is seriously the sweetest thing I've ever laid eyes on.

And one of my most favorite pictures of the day?

Boogie was loving how crazy we were getting with the wrapping paper. She loves to tear things and thought it was the best thing on earth when we were crunchy it and making it rain shiny paper haha.

I'm so thankful for today ...

          Getting to be with my family ... all day ... not having to be anywhere ... not leaving to go to one single place and just enjoy one another? That is truly better than any possession on earth.

Thank you sweet Jesus for giving and blessing me so much! Today as I celebrate being with my family, I also celebrate you my beloved Jesus. Happy birthday King of Kings!!

Dirty in Public -- Our Dilemma

Here's our dilemma ...

What do we do when Jocie is dirty, in need of a diaper change, and we are out and about in public?

Use a baby changing station you say?

Why sure, that would work ... in the past! And you would be surprised how many businesses do not even have one, or a handicap stall!

Now that Boogie is nearly 3 years old, over 3 feet tall and over 30lbs; those little baby changing stations no longer work. If we get rrrreally lucky, we sometimes find an extra large changing station or better yet, a counter or bench; but that rarely ever happens.

So if you were us, if you had a child like our sweet Jocelyn that was unable to stand, has difficulty sitting independently at times, unable to assist and help you with changing themselves, that continues to grow larger with each day passing and with a real likelihood that they may perhaps always be in diapers ... what would YOU do as his or her parent?

I hate even thinking about Boogie being in grade school, high school, a young adult ... and perhaps still requiring a diaper for her toileting needs {on a side note: the Kansas Department on Aging (KDOA) would slap you up side your head if you ever refer to an adult as wearing a 'diaper'...I still remember a few things from my employment days ;)}.

Our ability to control both our urinary and bowel needs, are controlled by our muscles which in turn, are controlled by our brain. Since Jocie has had extensive damage to her brain, she has problems controlling her muscles {which of course is what gives her the diagnosis of cerebral palsy} and even that ability to communicate that she has to go in the first place. Unfortunately, Jocelyn has been diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy, so the degree of her muscle tone &/or strength that is affected, is relativity significant and plays a large part in dictating her ability to control toileting functions. As if that's not enough, we then of course have the communication piece which is just as important as muscle control.

Kind of feel like that's two strikes against us. :(

When you first find out that your child has CP, their future toileting ability is totally not on your radar. But as your child grows, develops and you begin to plan future needs ... this aspect becomes huge. Its a huge ordeal as a parent and what that means for you, but definitely also what that means for Jocelyn. Its a gigantic milestone when a child is officially potty-trained, and even a more momentous occasion when a child has CP. I pray that one day we can achieve this desired goal.

Until we are blessed with toileting abilities {and I pray so hard that God grants us this prayer}, we will continue to have to face this problem head on.

So again, what would you do?

Here have been the options in the past:

1. We now have a van and the back seats have been removed. When its feasible, we change Jocelyn in the back and put any dirty/soiled diapers &/or clothes into plastic bags and dispose of them later. Sometimes this doesn't work because like it is now, its cold ... or, when we are in the middle of shopping and Boogs requires a change right then. After you are already in a store, with a full shopping cart, would you take your child out to the van to change them? No way!
2. The second option has been to simply do our best with whatever changing table/station we can find. Recently this has gotten pretty scary and it simply is no longer a safe option.
3. Use a family restroom and lay down a whole bunch of paper towels or a trash bag that is longer than Jocie's body so that shes not laying on the nasty, disgusting floor. The problem? There are rarely family restrooms and sometimes there aren't even paper towels.
4. Bring a blanket or towel along and use that on the floor as a barrier. Once you are done using it though, then what? Roll it up and put it in the backpack? No way! Gross! Put it inside a trash bag and then inside the backpack? Perhaps, but still pretty gross and takes up so much room.

Right now while Jocelyn is still light enough {and I use this loosely because she is a HEAVY nearly 3 year-old. Boogie might not look like she weighs a lot, but when a child has low tone and doesn't assist you with some of their weight when you go to lift them, its almost like dead weight and making it all the more awkward}. Once Jocelyn becomes older and heavier, we will have to reevaluate our options.

It was suggested for us to change Jocelyn in her wheelchair {the back of her seat reclines fairly well} or to use the Tomato Jogger Stroller that we've recently acquired {this thing completely lays flat which is actually pretty awesome!}. The problem with both? Right now, changing Jocie in her wheelchair doesn't work because we need more space {she gets pretty messy ... like, a need for a whole new outfit messy} and her hips hurt pretty bad. The jogger would work great, but it's really long and not ideal for shopping in stores.

Other suggestions that we've received when asking other special needs parents were "Don't go out in public" {uhm, yea ... that was helpful and yes, it's extremely hard taking Jocie out and about, but its GOOD for her and me!}, or "Keep your daughter at home while only one of you go out" {again, its good for Jocie to get out, and not to mention that the hubby is often gone so then what?}, and others say that they double-diaper their child {I don't particularly know how this would be helpful or good for any child, let alone one like ours that often needs a wardrobe change}. None of these ideas would work for us, so we started brain-storming.

Justin's idea:
          A portable, collapsible cot!

Not a bad idea eh? He is borderline genius but don't tell him I said that!
     If we use something like this, then we wouldn't have to change Jocie ON THE FILTHY FLOOR, it fits inside its own tote bag and can be easily cleaned.

Bad thing?
     Its relativity heavy, long and more expensive.

The actual idea that's going to be implemented starting now:
     {until Jocie's too heavy to safely get up off the floor that is}
          A yoga mat inside a yoga mat carrier!!!

The perks?

     Its lightweight, can easily be disinfected, portable, inexpensive {mat and bag together only cost $17!} and will attach to Boogies wheelchair easily!! I love that I found this cloth, cinchable bag to house the yoga mat so that this will prevent contamination of the diaper bag which contains Jocie's feeding supplies, etc. With a permanent marker we labeled one side "FLOOR" and the other side "CHANGE." Oh, and look, that little pouch on the outside will hold disinfectant wipes so we can clean the mat right after using it!! Yay! Oh, and look again, we subconsciously got K-State colors hahaha double yay!!!!

Hopefully this solution will work well for a long while, or like I said, until we hopefully achieve some form of potty-training!

My Sister Sent "Warmth"

How did she do that you ask?

She sent me her SENSEO!!

 

My sisters had her Senseo for probably 5 years or so, and ever since I had a cup of coffee at her house with this sucker, I have wanted one! They aren't terribly expensive {nothing like a Keurig} but it was a "want" of mine and not a "need" because I have an old traditional large pot coffeemaker, so I never could seem to make myself buy one.

 

Luckily, my sister's husband is a coffee fanatic and has this super fancy coffee machine, so she didn't need her Senseo anymore. So like the good big sis she is, she sent it to meeeeee!

 

Not only that, but since she sent me her Senseo, I've been having a heck of a time finding coffee pods in town. So what did she do? She took that extra, thoughtful step and yesterday, by total surprise, I got like over 50 coffee pods in the mail!!

 

          ***SQUEAL***

{Look at all this deliciousness!!! The ones in the zip-lock bags are
Cafe Classics, Donut Shop Classics and Marley Coffee variety packs}

I was so surprised when I opened the box to find all this coffee because that meant I was actually going to get to use the Senseo now -- I was acting like a kid who just got that "must have" toy or that delicious piece of candy. I literally was squealing! haha

 

This morning my flavor choice was cinnamon coffee cake and Justin had french vanilla cruller. Don't those sound delicious? Then, right before Boogs and I headed out the door to go to therapy, I had to try another one. The best part? It took SECONDS!

{Yes, I took a picture ... I said I was excited dang it!}

The next one I tried was called jelly filled {I thought it said jelly fish haha mmmm "this coffee is so salty" hahaha}. Anyways, the jelly filled flavor was AWESOME! When I opened the package I instantly smelled jelly. Now, if your like me, both my mind and face said "eeewwww ... jelly?" I mean, don't get me wrong, I like jelly and all, but its not like "woohoo! JELLY!!!" haha But so far, this is my favorite! SO GOOD!

 

Look at how good this coffee looks!

Yum right??!!! :)

 

I know to many, something like this might not be a big deal, but I've been wanting something like this for a while, and my sister didn't have to take the time and money to mail it to me. She could've kept it, sold it, whatever ... but I'm thankful she thought of me and wanted me to have it!!!

 

Thank you, thank you sissy!! Because of you, now I'll have yummy warm drinks to get me through the winter!! 

Homemade for the Hubs

With today being a snow-day, and with Boogs feeling so crummy and sleeping quite a bit,

{not sure if she feels crappy because we messed with her shunt yesterday, or

if its simply that this bitter weather makes her muscles more tight which in turns

causes her joints to hurt. Either way, she's been a whiny, cranky bear today}

but I managed to find some time to make the sweet hubs a homemade Christmas present.

What did I make?

          A Coupon Book!!!

Way back when we first started dating, which was like 10 years ago or longer, I made something like this for him for Valentine's Day and he loved it. As the years pass by, its easy to let the simple things slip right on by as well. So this year, I thought I would get back to something heartfelt, meaningful and definitely a gift that will keep on giving!!

Here is an example of the coupons I made -- The PG version of them anyways haha -- ya'll don't need {or WANT} to see the others! C'mon, I'm his wifey ... gotta make it fun! ;)

I was thrilled that I found vintage looking paper and little ways to decorate and dress them up them on the computer before I printed them. I was going to make super cute ones with all types of embellishments, then stopped and thought to myself "Who's my husband again?" and then remembered he wouldn't be into that!! So this is about as fancy as he'd want which is a-okay with me! :)

After making up approximately 50 cards, I printed one of us and tied it all together with some leather string and a cute epoxy brad {on a side note, I didn't know that the little tab thingies I use a lot, were called epoxy brads until my friend Sarah told me hahaha}.

Here's how it will look when Justin opens his present in only FIVE DAYS!!! {Can't believe Christmas is in 5 days!!!}

{There actually isn't a brown spot on Jib's nose -- some of the leather came off and I didn't see it until now. It won't be there later obviously, but I think they turned out great, will make him smile, feel special and I'm sure he'll love all the fun coupons inside}

Some people don't really like homemade things, but they take time, energy and thought so I always feel good about making and giving them.

I'll have to post later what I made for some of the sweet gals in my life!