miscellany monday

1. winter blues

Its freezing here....again. I am so sick of winter. Liv and I just want to go outside and walk to the park and play. Its so cold that I dread even bringing her outside.

2. jobs

My sister started her new job in Chicago today. Pat starts his new job next week....anddd then there is me. No job. I'm kind of jealous, but still trying to be patient. Which I have come to find out, I'm not very good at.

3. healthy goals

I used to be a personal trainer and work out and really watch what I ate. I have been half-heartedly trying to get back into that, but today marks my first day of being dedicated. I told Pat over the weekend that we need to starting cooking/eating healthier. So, I started today off by going to a spinning class at 6:15am and I am going to eat something for breakfast. I'm thinking some yogurt. I'm not a huge breakfast person, but I end up really hungry and making bad food choices. I am going to link up to a few other blogs so that I can get some good ideas.

4. april

I am planning a visit to Chicago and then back home in April. I can't wait. I am a small town girl and I miss my family. I am not sure that Pat understands, but he's trying ha. I have been away from home before, for longer than this, but I didn't have Liv. I just want to share her with my family. They miss her more than me, but thats ok.

Tiger Mom

Pat was reading an article about the Tiger mom. He sarcastically said to me "maybe you should get this book to read". I asked him what it was about and immediately said "and why do you think I am interested in this?".

Has anyone read anything about the Tiger Mom? This is the article I read. Before actually reading anything, I immediately thought she sounded cruel and uncaring. I thought to myself "At what cost would you pay for your child/children to be successful"?

I have hopes and dreams for Liv. I would like her to, above all, be a caring, empathetic, and all around good person. I would also love for her to be successful in whatever path she chooses. The scary part is, what path will she choose? I have no idea. Maybe she'll want to play hockey like her dad, maybe she'll be the gymnast or dancer that my mom had wanted for my sister and I, maybe she'll follow in my footsteps and play basketball and run track, OR what if she decides to make her own path? I would be ok with that.

There are a lot of different kinds of parenting styles. I wouldn't cast myself into any one of them. I am very strict about some things, such as when I say 'no', I mean it. I wouldn't consider myself in the least bit "cruncy", yet I made all of Liv's baby food for her. I did it because I enjoyed it and so did she.
My daughter had her bottle until she was 18 months old. We are going on week three without the bottle. That would seem very soft to some people, but I just felt she wasn't ready...and I wasn't ready.

I let my daughter watch elmo, sesame street, yo gabba gabba and whatever other show I think is ok. However, you will never see her watching spongebob or hannah montana.
I read a lot of blogs. No mother on any of the blogs I read, parents exactly the same. I still am inspired by all of them. Even though I don't think I would ever use cloth diapers, shop all organic, make my daughter practice piano for 'x' amount of hours, or not allow her to watch tv. I still appreciate why they do it.

My point is, I don't think there is a wrong or right parenting style. I think every mom does what they see fit. I think we all share a common goal of wanting our children to have the best support they need to become the best person/people they can become.

isn't this what we all want? A big smile on their faces :)

some good news

Pat got a job today!!!

Whats that? You didn't know Pat didn't have a job? Well, I didn't really talk about it on here because I wasn't sure Pat would like that. Long story short though, He left his job because they basically went back on their word. They told him he would be able to work in town and that was obviously his main goal so that he could be where Liv and I were. That among a few other things were the breaking point for him.

Moving on, because this post is about good news, Pat had his first interview last week and his second this week. He had to do a presentation for his second interview, I would have been a nervous wreck in need of a cocktail before, but he was calm and blew them out of the water! He got his call today!! We are excited that he finally has a job in town and doing something where he will use his MBA. I think he's pretty excited for his new job and I am very proud of him.

I am still jobless and unable to work. Immigration is a long process and we just faxed yet another document that wasn't completed correctly....at least they allowed us to fax it because the last mistake we made caused us a month of waiting for everything to be sent back to us. I also sent a work permit application to be attached to my permanent residency application. This was something we didn't know had to be done and wasn't clearly stated. It was more money of course. Everything is about money. Nothing is free when you want to move and work in another country. This whole permanent residency thing takes about 8-9 months. And by 8-9 months, I mean for them to just LOOK and approve our application. Then it takes a few more months until I actually recieve my permanent residency. We sent my application in November and when I called immigration last week, I was informed that they are working on applications from April 2010!

To say the least, its extremely frustrating.

Either way, we are excited that Pat has this job now and are impatiently patiently waiting for my work permit to go through so that I can contribute. Well other than contributing to growing liv into an outstanding human being :).

I think I need luck on the immigration thing but not so much on the raising Liv thing...she's pretty terrific already.

this is why i needed a girl

Because, I just have so much fun dressing her up. I have more fun dressing her than I have dressing myself.

Oh. and that ponytail...it just kills me. I would like to add that my mini pat looks more like me with her hair pulled off her face.

If you don't share my opinion, please don't tell me...just let me relish in the thought of it.

olivia reading her 'olivia' book ha.

expressing herself.

the line up

In attempts to budget myself a little better, I am starting to meal plan a bit more. I love cooking so it also gives me an excuse to do so and try some new recipes. My plan is to shop every sunday or monday for everything we will need for the week. I am not so overachieving as to think that I will cook every single night, so here is what I have in mind for this week:

Most of the recipes are from Pioneer Woman because I'm biased and love her. I will eventually venture beyond, but for now this is what I felt like today.

Spicy Shredded Pork -mmmm I've made this before and its awesome. I ate it served over basmati rice with some fresh lime squeezed on top. Pat ate it in a wrap with cheese and what not. Everyone was happy with this one.

Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika - I've made this once before. Pat was super happy with this one. It was good, but I had too much stuff in mine and not enough broth. I'm a broth person. So I will try to remedy that situation this time.

Homemade Chicken and Noodles - I've never tried this before but I'm feeling icky today and this looks so yummy. I also like to use chicken at least once a week. Its the health conscious angel on my shoulder:).

Turkey Chili - This is the only recipe I'll be making that is kind of mine and that being said, it is the most simple!
I use:
-ground turkey, onion, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, and a packet of chili seasoning. I brown the turkey and onions. Then throw everything in the slow cooker and leave it. Its pretty simple. If I want to spice it up a bit, I put some added cayenne.

So, I have a plan. I spent around $100 on groceries for the week. I stocked up on fruits, veggies, and snacks for liv also. Hopefully I can keep this up.

wedding edition - belts

I want need a belt for my wedding dress.

Oh yeah, did I mention it arrived?

Here is the pictures (they aren't the most flattering pictures I've ever taken, but hey I did them myself):

It needs to be fitted. I want it to fit impeccably. I love the simple silhouette, but for it to look good it needs to fit flawlessly. A belt would just pull everything together and also bring our colors tastefully into my dress.

You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find an actual belt and not a sash. I'm the kind of person that gets something into my head and can't settle, so a sash is out of the question. I'm picturing a belt defining my waist a bit better than a sash.

After much searching...this is what I found:


Sarah Seven



Its kind of hard to see, but it has a stretch velvet band and the clasp is underneath the flowers. The belt is totally customizable and I would go for a gray belt with yellow flowers. Also, its only $50, which is more than reasonable.

Let me know what you think. Also, I would like a pair of yellow sandals or opened toed flats and I can't find them anywhere...for a good price. Send ideas my way please!

vday pt. 2

I mentioned before that we spent Valentine's Day dinner at Aunt Donna's house. I have a few pictures I wanted to share from that night. Liv had a blast running around and being the center of attention.

that little cheeser grin gets me.

dancing...