December 2011 – Adventures of a Life-Aholic

I owe all of my readers a sincere apology. I put excuse after excuse up, but the reality is that this year, I just plumb forgot to blog regularly. Ooops.

Well, not in 2012. See, I’ve never been one to make “New Years Resolutions.” I’m a “goal setter” so I set goals instead. And the goals I set out for 2011 just didn’t move me. It was almost like I made them just to have goals, not because I was passionate about achieving them. And my life has reflected it. I was so ridiculously unproductive and such a procrastinator this year. All of my beloved hobbies and inspiring work fell to the wayside, only to be replaced by countless hours staring at my smart phone. (This won’t be helped much by the fact that I am getting an iPhone soon…).

This coming year, however, my goals are shifting. They are “overall goals” rather than “specific goals.” Things like less stress in my life and more family time. Goals like finding new hobbies or passions, which will help me to find and renew my old passions. Sure, there are specifics among the vague – I WILL BECOME A PAMPERED CHEF DIRECTOR IN 2012! But the theme this year is to simply be a happier, healthier, and more inspired ME.

I’ve already started. I’ve gone back to my sewing machine. My SIL and I are kicking each other’s butts and helping to make sure our side businesses (hand crafted items such as quilts and aprons for me, and hand-made hair bows for her) take off and soar. We are already working on stocking our inventory for a large local craft fair in March and I couldn’t be more excited!

I’ve promised myself I am going to get back to the written word. A love and passion of mine since the first time I tested past my standard reading level in elementary school. I am going to read more this year. I intend to gobble up every savory chapter I can. I will re-read my old favorites (Pride and Prejudice, The Red Tent, A Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Emma, The Harry Potters, etc), and dive into something totally new. Any suggestions? I am starting my reading this year with “The Help.” But I’ll need more after that!

And of course, that passion brings me back to this one. Writing. Several months ago, Anthony and I scolded each other for not picking up that pencil and doing what we do best with it. For me, writing. For him, sketching. He has a jump on me – working on “The Sketchbook Project” and his finished product will tour the country next year. I couldn’t be more proud of his efforts. So much so that I promised him we’d go see it (and all the others) on display in San Fransisco – his favorite city – even though it will come to LA. We will probably see it there, too. I’m looking forward to sharing that milestone with him. I, myself, have had a goal to be published in some way since I was 15 and have yet to succeed. And I’ve decided. 2012 will be the year! No, the book is not done. That is a long way off. But my short stories and a shorter version of what I wrote here during our Adventures with Abigail have homes in magazines like PARENTS and BABY among others. But most importantly, I’m coming back here. To this blog. This site devoted to my life and everything it entails. Yes, that means more adorable pictures of the Princess, but it also means more of my own adventures, too. More about me and the hubby, more about the things I’m passionate about (including my “Soap Boxes” category), and even more about my journey to further this crazy entrepreneur lady I’ve become. I promise not to bombard you too badly with “Last Chance to Buy” posts (although, those will exist) and instead focus on the love of what I do. More pictures of me in the kitchen, more recipes that work (and that don’t) and a little self publicity along the way.

Christmas comes this weekend, and our annual NYE trip to NorCal will follow soon after. I’m glad I took this opportunity in the calm before the storm to write this. And I plan to hit the ground running come the 1st of the year! Get ready to read, people! Because I’m ready to write!

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you have a fabulous Holiday Season with your family. Get those 2012 goals set, and tell me about them!! I want to cheer you on in your passions, too!

-Jen

I still can’t believe I haven’t been able to make the time to blog about OCTOBER!!! And with each passing day, the stuff I wrote before was less and less relevant. So, here it is – a recap of October in a flash, with a few pictures that I love thrown in.

Drum roll please:

The first weekend I had a Pampered Chef Event that required my SIL’s help, so the boys (Anthony and his brothers) took the three kids to the Zoo. It was Abby’s first trip and she seemed to have a blast! And during that trip, Hubby took what is easily the BEST picture of the three musketeers to date:

Aren’t they adorable? I know I’m biased, but seriously people – those faces make my heart melt.

Anywho – that same day was their cousin’s 4th birthday! So we all went to celebrate at a children’s museum in Oxnard. Abigail had a blast! We played and ate and had a great time with the family.

Rowing a boat with Daddy and Uncle Phil

Pretending to be captain of a submarine

Getting in some good playtime with her cousin, Kyle.

Unfortunately, that was really all there was to report for the first bit of October. Because as fun as the museum was, both Abby and Max got sick and were out of commission for about 2 weeks. It was the first real illness Abby has had since her bout with RSV in January, and it had me worried because we did need to use the breathing treatments again, but she bounced back just fine and we had a fabulous end to October.

Here are some pictures of the three cousins helping their Teta (Anthony’s Mom, their Grandma) in the garden in our backyard:

Laila showing off the watermelonAbby playing in the dirtAll three hard at workNear the end of October, we had a chance to take Abigail to Underwood farms to pick out some pumpkins (as the ones in the garden are not big enough to pick yet). My mom got a great shot of her on one of the giant pumpkins reminiscent of the one we took last year. It is one of my favorite pictures right now.And, of course, the end of october brings Halloween! Abby got to go trick or treating for the very first time. I was super excited, not only because it is one of my all time favorite holidays that I hope to pass on to her, but because she was well enough to participate. She had so much fun. And she had her first piece of candy – a chocolate lollipop – that sent her on an hour and a half sugar high. It really was a great night.

She was a lady bug, and Laila joined us as a butterfly. Abby was determined to climb the stairs herselfHer very first Trick-Or-Treat with our neighbor, Mark, next door. She was just a tad excited about the whole thing.Probably my favorite picture of the night. Anthony caught a real moment in time on film. My face says it all – that this little girl (who isn’t so little anymore) is incredible. I can’t tell you how special it was to be able to take her out like that. Like any other kid. To treat her 100% normally, and for her to enjoy it as much as she did was a real blessing. I couldn’t have been happier.Well, there you have it! October, the short version. Typed up on the first day (and into the second) of December of all things. I gotta get better at posting! I’m working on Disneyland and Thanksgiving. Promise.