No fussing and fighting, my friend.

Hi there. It's Tuesday which means it's back to the grind for me. :) It's all good. I like routine. It keeps things somewhat calm in my extremely hectic world. 

My grandmother is not doing very well at all. I am trying to figure out when I can get out there for a couple of days to see her. She has been doing poorly for some time and has the aneurysm. They were waiting for the pneumonia to pass to operate. Apparently she has too many other issues and is not a good candidate to operate. She will go to a rehab facility to heal from the pneumonia and then go home.The operation could have killed her but now she will wait for the aneurysm to go. 

These times come and I am so sad especially because I haven't been able to see my family as much as I would have liked in recent years. She has been feeling so bad for so long that I think everyone is ready (including her) to end the suffering. I do need to get out to see her. I was her first grand-daughter. Many of my favorite childhood memories include my grandparents. I was the only grand-daughter for some time and was surrounded by boys. So my grandparents on my dad's side would take good care of me. My grandpa would spoil me. The former Lt. Col in the Army who fought in WW2. I had him wrapped around my little finger. We were very close. He died when I was a Freshman in high school and he is waiting for her. So my heart is hurting but I don't want her to suffer anymore. That hurts too. 

So please keep her in your thoughts and prayers for strength and ease while dealing with this. I would greatly appreciate it. :) 

I hope you all find a way to make it a good day. Do something for yourself. It's not a bad thing to put yourself first. So many say they put their own needs aside for the needs of others. And many of us juggle that. However, when it comes to how you feel. Your health, appearance, etc...you deserve to make that a priority because it will help your energy level both mentally and physically and you'll be of more use to your loved ones then. So make it a priority to get some exercise every day. Eat healthy. Take a bubble bath. The better you feel the better you will be for yourself and everyone else. 

My son Sammy took a photo of me! haha! So funny. Blurry is a good look! :) 

"Life is very short and there is no time for fussing and fighting my friend" - The Beatles 

God bless! 

Tami

Buy a plant. Make a happier home. :)

Hello there. Hope you all had a lovely weekend. Mine was really nice. :) 

I had a great workout yesterday! I actually broke the elliptical, haha! I have it set to the highest level and was using my arms and legs to pull hard and suddenly the resistance gave! Whoops!! I always joke that there is smoke coming out the back when I'm on it. And I actually broke the machine. Too funny! When did I become Wonder Woman?! ;)

I am in need of new athletic shoes/sneakers. Mine are way old and have a hole. Yikes! They are Asics and they have been great. Lasted a LONG time. But they are a little on the pathetic side now. I have heard the Asics Gel Kayanos is a great shoe though I like Nike as well, especially as it's a Pacific NW company which I try to support. Hmmm, decisions! I need something soon though. The amount of cardio I do and my assy lower back needs good support. 

I have a serious addiction to sweet potatoes. I bake and eat one almost every day. They are high in antioxidants, a good source of carbohydrates and natural sugars to help regulate blood sugar levels and are rich in digestive fiber. They are also an excellent source of folate so they are a great food to eat if you are pregnant or trying to conceive. And they are nutrient dense and very helpful in supporting the immune system. They are rich in potassium which can give you more energy and help prevent muscle cramps as well as regulate blood pressure. There is so much more information about these amazing little vegetables. I know some are very anti-sweet potato but if you do like them, try to eat them as often as you can. 

I think I am going out to buy a plant or two today. My mom had an amazing green thumb and our living room looked like a garden growing up. And she took the time to nurture them properly. There is so much good to having them in your home. And part of my bucket list is to have them and keep them alive!  I did make a garden when I was in high school and grew several vegetables. It was all going so well but then I over fed them! :( 

Apparently the Areca Palm, Snake Plant and Golden Pothos are the three plants that will improve the air quality at home. Having these plants in your home has the potential to increase the oxygen levels in your home and help reduce headaches, asthma and eye irritation. Other benefits of plants can be better immunity, lower blood pressure, reduce carbon dioxide and clear congestion among other things. And studies have shown that being around plants can make you happier, improve mental health and make your brain work better. And did you know that exposing your children to plants from early on can help them build a tolerance to the allergen? It's like a natural allergy shot. Amazing right? That might be why I didn't really have allergies early on. Our house was full of them. And I've had more allergies since moving out and not living with a lot of plants. Very interesting indeed !

So let's see. If you do two things today. Or buy two things. Let them be sweet potatoes and a plant or two! :) 

Enjoy the day! Just be happy. Don't worry, be happy! lol! Don't let anyone else determine whether or not you have a good day. 

Listen to this. I love this song by Mumford and Sons and this acoustic version is really pretty. 

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned" - Buddha

xoxoxo
Tam

Enjoy your day! :)

Good morning all! Happy Sunday! 

I didn't blog yesterday. I was so tired and ran out of coffee. I didn't trust myself to write with that morning brain fog. I think you'll all appreciate that too! :) 

Had a good Friday and Saturday. Regarding Friday night, I will plead the 5th about what I did. That's for me to know. :p. And Saturday was good. I spent some time with friends. Got to hang with my "bud" Jessie who I don't get to see as often as I'd like. Stinkin busy life! She is the Lucy to my Ethel. We "get" each other and our sense of humor is the same so it's always nice hanging with kindred spirits like that. We both attended an "at home" party for skincare products. We got facials. So much fun. The company is Arbonne. It's not as big here in the states but I was impressed with their line. A bit on the spendy side but when it comes to great products to put on your skin, sometimes the better stuff is more expensive. And not full of disgusting fillers. In all honesty, the stuff that is allowed to be put on the shelves here is enough to make you throw up sometimes. Both in food and skincare. But the Arbonne products are all natural and full of good stuff. Many of them are Vitamin-C based which I've said before is great for anti-aging. 

Today I am heading to the gym and have some cleaning and laundry to do. Yep, that's how it rolls on my days off from work. I try to keep it up during the week but it's tough. That saying that cleaning with kids around is like shoveling during a snowstorm is very accurate. And laundry and dishes.....are the devil. They never end!!! 

I would like to ask for prayers or good vibes for my grandmother. She has been in bad shape for awhile. She's a toughie and holding on but she has been back in the hospital with pneumonia and is in need of surgery. She has an aneurysm in her lower aorta and the surgery was post-poned due to the pneumonia. I am preparing to get out to the West Coast. (She's in Washington state). 

Have a lovely Sunday. Enjoy each other! 

xoxoxox
Tam

Negativity stinks!

How do you keep negativity from your life? It's everywhere. There is so much violence in the news and  people being less than nice to us. Both people we know and strangers. You try and try to live a positive life and surround yourself with people that are positive and encouraging. Honest criticism is fine if it's helpful and done in a nice way. 

I try and keep things positive and just limit the negative. Unfortunately there will always be those in your life who feel the need to spew ignorance and make little jabs. Even though the truth is something else altogether and has nothing to do with their comments. There are those that feel inferior and have to do what they can to belittle others so they can make themselves feel better. I guess it really is a reflection of them and who they are and how they feel about themselves and at the end of the day has nothing to do with us. 

It was nice to see strangers helping each other in the wake of the Boston bombing. It is amazing to see the humanity when such horrible tragedies occur. I just wish it didn't take these awful events to be humane. These are people that were walking next to each other moments ago, maybe annoyed when someone cut in line to buy something or someone is in the way. Little, everyday things that people get irked by continuously then immediately into helping those same people. It does say that when the going gets tough, people do the right thing. I guess that is the important thing. 

It's a short one today. I just had these thoughts based on some things said by people the past couple of days and the negativity involved. I never understand it. Some feel a need to be brutally honest when it really is nothing that is beneficial to you and is only their opinion which is sometimes better left unsaid for the sake of relationships. Just because you think something doesn't mean it has to be said. Learning to be tactful and edit yourself does a lot more. Think before you speak. 

So yes I got rid of the "Ombre" hair color. And back to dark brown. Whaddya think? With a cameo from my son Sammy! :) 

Have a lovely Friday everyone! Keep it positive and enjoy it. 

xoxoxoxoxo
Tam

Go Jay Bukowski!!

Good morning! 

I hope you are all having a good week. Mine is pretty decent. Quiet and calm. That's always a good thing. I do so love calm. :) 

I see that those in Russia have now over taken my German audience. Interesting!........sooo Здравствуйте, мои русские друзья. Надеюсь, что вещи хорошо путь там! I totally Google translated that. :D Such a cool looking language though! 

What does tam mean in Russian? That tends to be my nickname a lot. ;)

My meals yesterday. I had coffee in the early morning after 24 ounces of water. Then I drank an Odwalla Berries Go Mega smoothie on the way to work. I also had a green tea and more water and munched on nuts (cashews and almonds). For lunch I had my spinach salad piled high with cucumbers, bell pepper and shredded carrots with grilled chicken and had another Odwalla C-Monster smoothie. I am keeping my immune system in fighting condition as I can tell my body is fighting something this week. And then for dinner I had some chicken and a baked sweet potato with a little honey and cinnamon on it and broccoli. Then my boys and I shared some popcorn. They are popcorn addicts! 

I also had my daily multi-vitamin and Gingko Biloba too. I am not sure if the second is really something that works for memory, etc...there are mixed studies. And I find it actually does make me a bit nauseous which is annoying especially since my multi-vitamin does not. Hmm. I will finish the bottle I got at least and will decide if I want to continue with it. 

My boys practically wrestle over who gets to sit on my lap on any given day. It's pretty hilarious and sometimes taxing when my little one is throwing a tantrum and my bigger one has his sad face saying "But I want to sit with you". I can't clone myself. They are cute though!!

Kind of a quiet day and I have to get up and around and head to work here soon after I drop my son off. It's Spring Break around here but because my son missed a ton of school due to the blizzard we had, he only gets tomorrow off. :( 

I had to share this laugh. My oldest, (in the photo above) asked me "Hey mommy, is Jay Bukowski alive or dead because he makes the greatest songs".........I said "Jay Bukowski? I have no clue who that is".............and he starts singing "Duh duh duh duhhh duh duhhhhhh" (It sounds a lot like the march from The Nutcracker)...and now I understood that Jay Bukowski is Tchaikovsky! Hahaha! Classic! :) 

Have a lovely day!! 

xoxoxoxo
Tam

Truth.......or Dare?? ;)

Namaste! Happy Wednesday! :) 

It's a fairly quiet week at work but it's good. My work is never truly caught up and I usually just keep things under control. However there is always extra paperwork that needs to be gone through and cleared out which is what I'm working on this week. 

I had a nice surprise. My friend stopped by to drop off a little gift for me. Something small. She was at the mall and saw a key-chain with Audrey Hepburn on it with her quote "Nothing is impossible. The word itself says "I'm possible". Thanks Katie!! That is one of my favorites. I love her too and I love that my friends know me and see something that positive and it makes them think of me. I feel like my goal of living a positive life and really being ME is truth. Awesomeness!! :) 

Some other random facts about me if any of you are interested. I love old war movies and westerns. I grew up with them and my family loves them. Clint Eastwood and John Wayne rock. One of my favorite movies EVER is a 70's war movie called Kelly's Heroes. Has Clint and a bunch of others. Both my parents love it and it just makes me all nostalgic. I just recently got a vintage Pyrex bowl set off of Etsy for the same reason. My mom had the entire set and it just makes me feel like I have a piece of home with me. I love Broadway shows, my favorite cereal growing up was Golden Grahams, I've gotten Migraines from the time I was a little girl but they have eased the past couple of years. I was recently diagnosed with an astigmatism which may have contributed to them. But with pregnancy and becoming a mommy, I don't seem to get them as much. Possible body chemistry change?? Lets hope I didn't just jinx myself. *shudder*. Star Wars is like a family member. I am into the vintage, classic, fun style of home decor and Pinterest is inspiring me to up-cycle everything. Not really into "modern" styles very much. I like warmth, softness, comfort, welcoming. I have mentioned my liking certain trends here and there and that's true. I don't like them because they are popular and celebrities wear them. I like them because I like them. That's my style! :) I have two friends that are fashion forward and own boutiques. Perhaps they can get me to be more of a fashion diva! Hehehe! And my favorite style of home, at least here in the United States are the Craftsman homes, especially the Craftsman Bungalows. LOVE LOVE LOVE them. So much charm and character and coziness. Ahh. Perfect. I have an entire board on Pinterest for them. 

I have realized to be happy I need to incorporate certain things into my life. Actually I need to stop doing certain things. And I am succeeding so far. The first is I just remain true to myself. I am a nice person. Sometimes too nice. I used to have an assertiveness pact with my friend and being more assertive is good but at the same time I like being a nice person. Not a door mat. A nice person. I feel like I'm honoring my mother by being the kind, fair and well-mannered person she raised. 

I've stopped worrying about the future so much and stressing about what's happened in the past. Neither of these things has anything to do with the present. Yes, making plans is good and ensuring my boys futures is important but worrying about what may or may not happen is not going to do any of us any good. And what's done is done. The past is over with. We can't change anything but we can learn from it. And honestly, what's happened to us good and bad are what makes us tick and what makes each of us individuals and interesting. How boring if we all lived normal, un-eventful lives!! haha! Having stories to tell is good. 

I've learned to stop thinking so much. Thinking causes worry way too often. Feeling and doing is so much better. Live each day as it comes. Feel. Let your intuition guide you. Follow your heart. Stop focusing on what you don't want. Focus on what you do. Avoid the drama. And let go of what does not serve you or enhance your life. 

I also stopped trying to make myself happy through other things. Mine was food for a long time. We numb ourselves with things. Whether it be drugs, alcohol, salt, sugar, gambling, sex. These are all ways to avoid reality and get through life but it's not helping much if you aren't fixing the issues causing you to turn to these things. I was so unhappy within myself for so long and food and allowing myself to be out of shape was a suit of armor of sorts. It made me feel safe. But I was miserable. Now I am living the life I should have been living all along. And have the stamina and confidence to enjoy myself. Of course I have insecurities but they don't define me or my happiness anymore. 

And a huge one is I stopped worrying about the opinion of others so much. Yes you want to please certain people in your life and the opinion of my mother drives me to be a certain way. I'd say inspire. She was a strong woman and she taught me not to wallow in self-pity. But I live my life for me. I don't worry about what others think. Like I've said before, the ones that are true friends will be there anyway and support you anyway. It's quality not quantity.

I asked to separate and divorce at 6 months pregnant with my second child with my entire family on the other side of the country. I just knew in my heart and soul that things would never change and I didn't want to stay in a miserable situation for the rest of my life. I said I'd rather be alone than deal with what I was dealing with. I'm sure there are many that judged or thought things about me but what can ya do? I can't force people to think a certain way about me based on minimal information. If they want to make a decision and not really get to know me or understand why then that's on them. I know the truth and God knows the truth and my true friends know the truth. That really is all that matters.  It has been an interesting few years though. :) 

Lastly, some truths. If I were to describe myself...I'd say I'm genuine, friendly, funny (I think I'm pretty quick witted and it's the little things in life that make me laugh a lot), reliable, strong, sensitive (too sensitive sometimes!! I fully admit that!), sometimes stubborn and I can be opinionated but I don't think I'm ever unfair. I think my expectations of people make me irritated at times. I don't deal well with irrational or diva like behavior or those that need to bring negativity. I just don't know HOW to deal with them as it's not my way so I'm left just being me and going about my day anyway. I talk and laugh and have fun. When I get quiet is when you know something is wrong or I'm overwhelmed with life. When I was little people would say I talked too much. So I started talking fast so I could get everything said in a shorter period of time. :p So yes, me quiet is usually indicative that I'm not myself. 

Anyway....enjoy your day. Just be you. Diversity is a beautiful thing.  

"Instead of jumping at the chance to be offended, choose to be amused. Rather than filling your thoughts with resentment, fill your heart with forgiveness" - Ralph Marston

God bless! xoxoxo
Tam

Love yous guys!! :)

Hello all. 

Feeling so sad and just don't understand the senseless violence in Boston yesterday. To think people can't even participate or attend something as innocent as a marathon. They didn't go there to talk about politics or religion. They went to run. People in peak physical condition wanting to do something amazing. But then I live close to Newtown, CT where another senseless and heart-breaking tragedy occurred in an elementary school. And I have friends in Colorado where attending a movie turned tragic. And of course I don't live far from NYC and saw the smoke billowing in lower Manhattan the day of September 11th. 

How do you wrap your head around this? I know countries across the world have been dealing with this kind of violence for a very long time and it's always saddened me. The frequency at which it's happening in this country is now alarming. Whether it's an act of terrorism or a very sick individual, how do you prepare yourself and your children for a world like this? I know the United States is a target. I come from a big military family which two grandfathers who were Lt. Colonel's in the Army so   I am patriotic and support our military but I just wish it didn't have to be this way. I know that's pretty naive and simple. But I do wish it. I wish I was raising my boys in a peaceful world but it's terrifying to think they will deal with far worse than I ever have in my life. But it's not like violence in the United States is new. Crime has always been around. And yet here we are wondering what the hell is going on. I guess there really are no words or explanations for such atrocious acts. 

So my heart and prayers are with the people of Boston today. It's one of my favorite cities as I am a history nerd. And one of my very good friends lives there. Love you guys! Stay strong!! 

My thoughts today are on giving each other and ourselves a damn break. There is so much ugliness and hatred in the world and here many of us are treating ourselves poorly. We are all so hard on ourselves to be perfect and look a certain way and feel inferior if we don't. That needs to stop. I know I am probably idealistic. Sue me! I just wish everyone could relax and not be so stressed out about everything and be more accepting of each other's differences. One thing I love about this country is the fact that everyone has different heritage and background. I am a complete mutt and I love that. I have ancestors from England, Scotland, Ireland, France and I think there are some that are Mediterranean. I also have Native American on both sides. My great aunt even found out I'm related to Pochahontas! Sweet!.... I think the mix has made me look more European and even in high school I had newcomers wonder if I a foreign exchange student. When I went to Italy they thought I was Italian or Greek. It's cool though. I love being a mutt! :) 

I have pale skin and some freckles, and darker eyes and hair. I have a scar on my forehead from tripping when I was a little girl and needing stitches. I have a c-section scar, and scars on my leg from riding my 10-speed bike and crashing it when I was a teenager and I have a burn on my arm in the wrist area from when I took culinary classes and was turning the big beef bone and the grease splattered me.  It is what it is. I've decided to accept what I am and just own it and make the best of it. I don't really have a desire to be super tan. I look weird when I am. I will try trends here and there but I don't consider myself trendy. I like vintage, I like classic but I do like some current things like the Chevron look. So pretty! And there are parts of my body I am less than ecstatic about. What are ya gonna do? I am a human being, not a robot. I think when we all just relax and accept ourselves life becomes easier. Not easy...easier. We aren't going to please everyone. Just focus on being yourself and being happy and healthy and the rest falls into place and those that are meant to be in your life will be there. Those that don't want to be there based on superficial things are not worthy and you won't miss them in the end. Plain and simple. 

I've had a few days off. Partly from being sick and also just my normal days off. I am feeling better! More myself. I have normal energy and have had some good workouts which always helps me feel more ME. I did color over the red part of my hair last night. No more ombre. It was fun and I may do it again but for now it's back to my dark brown. And I have plans tonight. ;) 

Have a great day everyone! My Boston friend posted this last night and it's a great message. Not the Coca Cola part. No SODA!! lol!! I'd like to buy the world some water and green tea! :) Gotta love the 70's! I'm pretty happy turtlenecks are not as in style as they used to be. They make me feel like I'm being strangled. Eeeeessh! ;) 

Have a blessed day!! xoxoxox
Tam