Till Then Smile Often

Be Kind To You

I am changing things up a little bit this week because after such a busy weekend and some recent happenings I have just really dropped the ball. I am trying to find the balance again and get ahead so I don’t struggle too much during the week. Don’t worry I have things planned they just take more time than I had this week to complete.

I have been struggling finding the happy lately and feel like I really need to change a few things in my life so this week I am going to try to Be The Change for myself. We sometimes forget to take care of ourselves when we are caring about others and I need to remember that I need some attention sometimes.

So to pamper myself and allow myself a little quiet time to think and regroup I am going to do these few things to get back some balance.

1. Bubble Bath – Nothing better than sitting in a warm bath with a glass of wine and just thinking, and planning.

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2. Hiking – For me being in nature is relaxing and I usually bring headphones but I still zone out and do a lot of thinking when I hike. 

Hiking Trails

3. Wine – A nice glass of wine can be relaxing and get rid of some of the stress. I got a lot of bottles of red wine from my Aunt and Uncle at Thanksgiving that I haven’t touched yet so I just may have to make some more Gluhwein this weekend.

Gluhwein - Mulled Cider

4. Look at Inspirational Quotes – Sometimes it is just the thing to make you smile. So I am going to choose to smile through it till I figure it out.

 

By the way...I'm wearing the smile you gave me.

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I technically did a Random Act of Kindness since I did send a mug to Kathy at Vodka and Soda. It was more so a “You’re Awesome” gift though. You can read more about it here.

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What do you do when you need to think over some hard decisions?

How do you pamper yourself?

Are you considering doing your own Act of Kindness? If not, what is stopping you? Grab a button if you would like to spread the word. The change that we seek in others has to first come from within. This year I hope you decide to Be the Change You Seek.

Till Then Smile Often

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Chicken and Cheese Casserole {Guest Post}

 A few weeks ago I had a guest post from one of my best friends Lynnie with the Creamy Chicken Ranch recipe, well her twin Heather was feeling a little left out and she wanted to share a recipe she recently tried with you all.  This one was a nice quick meal that is perfect for the busy Moms out there or just those wanting a quick meal to add to your rotation.  For the vegetarians out there feel free to omit the chicken. Be sure and show her some love in the comments.

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casserole

I found a new website for recipes and meal planning. It is called KitchMe and creating a login was easy. It asked a few simple questions and provided the opportunity for me to filter recipes by a number of diets (low calorie, gluten free, low fat, etc.). It will ask for your location and then list supermarkets and grocery stores near you. After choosing your top three, it links coupons (the site is sponsored by coupons.com) to your recipes and shopping list. When you print out your shopping list, you get the option of printing out the coupons related to items you will need to purchase for the recipes. I also really like the weekly calendar at the top where you can drag recipes to plan out your week.

As a busy Mom, this is super helpful! The site isn’t perfect and seems to need some updating, but so far the glitches haven’t made me lose interest! So, as I chose a low fat filter, I got this chicken and cheese weight watchers recipe. It takes about an hour to prep and cook, but is SUPER easy. As a Mom to a 4 year old who only wants mac and cheese, I’m always looking for ways to add something more to her favorite meal and keep it within my diet plans. I added 2 TBSP of Tastefully Simple’s garlic and pepper shaker as I thought the recipe lacked flavor. I used Kraft fat free shredded cheddar cheese and for the macaroni I used Barilla Veggie Elbows.

Barilla Veggie Elbows

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Now, we are getting protein and veggies with our mac and cheese! The elbows are made from carrots and squash so the color was a perfect “cheddar” and my daughter didn’t seem to notice. My only recommendation would be to partially cook the chicken before adding it to the casserole dish. I got nervous when I served as some of the pieces didn’t look done. I returned the casserole to the oven for an additional ten minutes. Cutting the chicken into smaller pieces might have fixed this problem too. Otherwise the dish was yummy and my daughter reports that it is “mmm, good!”

 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked Veggie macaroni ~ 2 cups boneless, skinless chicken breast – cubed ~ 2 cups cream of mushroom soup, undiluted ~ 2 cups skim milk ~ 8 oz fat fat cheddar cheese ~ 2 TBSP of Tastefully Simple’s garlic and pepper shaker (OPTIONAL)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large casserole, combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until combined. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 35-45 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool 1-2 minutes and serve.

 

Martinis & Bikinis

 

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Bursting Full of Fun

Friday: I curled up on the couch with a Parrot Bay Strawberry and Sprite and a new book called Backwoods by Jill Sorenson. It was not at all what I thought it was going to be but it was still decent. 

reading

Saturday: I got started early doing errands as well as some shopping. Target had daisy dukes for 6 YEAR OLDS!!! What is wrong with them. So I had to head to Kohl’s instead.  I also went to the Post Office to mail a package, then hit the back roads to the Nissan dealership. It seems thanks to the potholes in Massachusetts my 3 year old Nissan has issues with my struts. 🙁  So I will have to make some time to have it worked on and my tires replaced too. However while heading to the dealership I went through the more rural parts of my town and saw a farm with the horses out grazing. I really should have been a farm girl.

horses

I headed home after the dealership and read for a little bit, took a nap and then got ready for the Sip Happens wine party with Kate, Jodi, Allena, and Emily. We had a blast and a lot of laughs. We got to try a few new wines that we haven’t tried before that night. It started at 7 pm and we didn’t leave until midnight. Look forward to getting to hang out with them again.

Sip_Happens

Sunday: Seamus was kind enough {extreme sarcasm in case you missed it} to wake me up at 6:45 so after getting only 5.5 hours of sleep I got up had breakfast, read a little bit then went grocery shopping. I packed my nieces birthday gift and a small Easter basket I made for them. It was a little early but I wasn’t sure if I would see them before Easter.

It was a tea party and the theme was based on the Children’s book Madeline which was where my niece got her name. They also painted pots that they got to plant seeds. I also got roped into taking pictures to which all the parents ran screaming leaving me with like 12 kids. Even Daycare centers have limits to the ratio of kids to adults!!!! Not right.

birthday

 It was a good day but I was glad to get home around 6pm to finally relax and catch up on my DVR shows. It was a busy weekend but also really productive and fun!

I would have liked to get some time to shoot the lake by my house for the Water Picture challenge but you get a picture of my water jug that I bring to work everyday. This reminds me to get in my gallon of water a day. It may not be pretty but it gets the job done! 😉

 

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How was your weekend?

 
Linking up with Leeann from Join the Gossip and with Kelli of She Crab Soup


 

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Friday to remember

Can we just all sit back and enjoy for a moment that fact that it is Friday. It’s okay I’ll wait. Done. Okay. This weekend will be a busy one for me but I am still looking forward to it.

 

One. I am excited to be heading over the apartment of Kate from Another Clean Slate this Saturday for her SIP Happens party. Basically a reason to drink a few different brands of wine picked solely for their labels. The best part is I get to finally meet Kate and also Jodi from Jodi Bean’s Blog.

Sip-Happens-Party-Button-#2

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Two. It’s virtual mug time!

Jessica from Wifesicated has a full house of animals, and I am not talking about the 3 boys in the house! Girl has 6 dogs, 5 cats, plus a few other animals. She is also starting a 90 Day Bikini Challenge so check her out! 

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 Danae from Duh Danae looks like a badass but she has a heart of gold. She reconnected with her man after 10 years apart and he put a ring on it and they are now celebrating wedded bliss. She is a connoisseur of Vodka and every month shares a new brand to try out.

double shot of expresso mmhm maybe not - cool coffee mug

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Three. I am reading this book right now and 3/4 of the way through. It is a wild goose chase of who done it, with a love connection thrown in the mix.

The Broken

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From Goodreads: He took her life, but left her alive.
Three years ago, reporter Kate Johnson was the first victim—and only survivor—of the Broadcast Butcher. Scarred both physically and psychologically by the brutal serial killer, Kate lives life on the run, knowing that one day, he will find her and finish what he started.
In the pursuit of justice, you sometimes have to step outside the law.
Agent Hayden Reed spends his life chasing monsters. The only way to stay sane is to detach, but the second the Broadcast Butcher case crosses his desk, Hayden knows this is the case that might just cost him his soul. To catch this vicious murderer before he strikes again, Hayden must find Kate and earn her trust. For it’s her darkest secrets that hold the key to stopping this madman once and for all . .

 Four. The Awesome Note App is really helping me get organized. It costs $3.99 but totally worth it. The one negative to this app is it does not copy to other devices like other apps do. So if you purchase it on your phone you would have to buy a second copy for your iPad etc. What I love about this is you can have multiple folders and lists within those folders. You can easily transfer items from folder to folder. I set it up to manage my daily to-do lists, weekly to-do, and monthly or soon (things I may need to research or save money for before I can do it) then I have my grocery/shopping lists, and goals lists. *Disregard the Goal Folder I updated it before I saved the image.

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Five. A little funny to round out the list. Jim Gaffigan explains why Southerners are so slow. Biscuits with Gravy and Chicken & Waffles might be involved. 

 

 

What do you have planned for this weekend?

 

THE GOOD LIFE BLOG

 

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Help a Pup

You know my love for Seamus if you have been reading for any length of time. When I took him to the vet last month I was petrified something was wrong with him and I was a wreck all week waiting to find out what was wrong. It was just some fatty tumors and he was totally fine. Warner and Ashten of Always Ashten were not as lucky.

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Warner suffers from Protein-Losing Nephropathy, The cause of the disease is unknown & often leads to kidney failure. This fund is to keep Warner happy & comfortable for as long as possible.

 For this week’s Random Acts of Kindness I made a donation to the you fund page set up for them by a friend. If you want to help you can donate here.  Medical bills for pups can get really expensive and if there is a change to help I think that is always a worthy cause.

Are you considering doing your own Act of Kindness? If not, what is stopping you? Grab a button if you would like to spread the word. The change that we seek in others has to first come from within. This year I hope you decide to Be the Change You Seek.

Till Then Smile Often


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