I'm writing this from tornado zone.

Ok not really. however right now in my area of the world there is a severe thunderstorm warning and a tornado watch(Now it actually at the time of posting this a warning and right over where my parents live) . Ask yourself this. If you were me what would you do? If the answer is throw on your bathrobe, grab your computer and a drink and head out to your local back porch...then you are just like me!! I'm out on my back porch with my laptop and in my bathrobe. Now you may ask yourself, what is she doing in her bathrobe? The answer is this. If I happen to see a tornado gathering, I want to be on the news. And when I am on the news, nothing seems more fitting than being in a bathrobe. Then I will state the following words..." I saw the whole thing".

This is me outside in the storm. Unfortunately my webcam takes tiny pics.

It won't be right if I am not in my bathrobe. I think the the storm seems to be veering off in another direction, or it's just taking it's time getting here. I will be bummed if a good thunderstorm misses us. Especially with the possibility of hail. Talk about exotic!!Oh I see. It will be in my area at 7:55. That means I have approximately 8 minutes before I have to run inside. Or sooner. So my computer and my self don't get zapped to death. May be sooner than that, the wind is blowing to hard that I am getting raindrops on my feet. Anyway, just thought I would share!!

Well time to go in it is starting to pour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rain rain go away

It's raining. Again. Or still. I'm not sure which. Last April, we had the little pool in the backyard out by the first week of April. it was hot and sunny and I kept almost planting my garden because it was to nice out to ever frost again. This year, here it is almost May and it has rained almost every day this month. When it wasn't rainy, it was so windy that my head almost blew off. There was one day when it was about 74 or so, but the wind was so bad that it wasn't enjoyable! I'm not depressed about it. I swear I'm not. And to prove it, I will now sit and write approximately 3 things that are good about the rain.

1. My grass is REALLY green
2. I can't mow my lawn because it hasn't stopped raining. The good thing is....neither can ANYONE ELSE
3. The lack of sun has prevented me from getting a tan. So don't worry husband...I'm to pale to leave you for a carnival man.


Now there is a saying everyone says and hears. "If you don't like the weather in (Insert name here) wait a minute...it will change". For those of us here in NY, it's more like "If you don't like the weather in NY, wait until April 30th" because the first non raining day we are expected to have is a week from today. So enjoy your weather wherever you are. Drink some coffee, grab a blanket and dig in. It's gonna be a wet one!!

A day to myself

I am a mom. Of 2 gorgeous fun little girls. And wife to a husband, that's a stay at home once he gets home from work kind of guy. So there is almost never a time when I am in my house by myself. I think it has happened maybe 3 times since my 4 year old was born. Today is one of those rare days. I love my family. DEEPLY. But I can't remember how to be by myself. I have the day off of work today because my coworker needs days off at the end of the week so I am covering her and my time those days, leaving me today off and going in late tomorrow. One daughter is at school, the other at the daycare where I happen to work. She is there until 4. My husband is obviously at work. I thought, since I could, I would document my day from the time I dropped the youngest off until the time I pick her up to see how I would spend an entire day alone. This is how it went:

9:03 AM-Dropped E off at daycare and instead of leaving right away chatted with my coworkers until 9:15AM about what I would day alone.

9:17AM-Go through the drive thru at Dunkin Donuts and watch a girl smoke on her break while waiting in line to order. Get to window and almost receive the wrong drink.....again, but luckily I called it to the woman's attention and major life crisis averted. No worries.

9:19AM-Ponder while sipping my latte what exactly I should do with my time off. I decide to head to the local Salvation Army. Pull in parking lot. Realize I have to pee desperately and pull back out and head to the gas station.

9:24-Run in to Fastrac to pee, and decide to get gas. I was almost on E and gas at the Fastrac was still the low low price of $3.95. Knowing tomorrow when I take the girls to dance it will definitely be over $4 I get 3/4's of a tank. Now, I hit the $40.05 mark and quit. I couldn't bring myself to go all the way for fear I would break down and cry at the gas pump. I'm sure lately that has happened to others.

9:27-Hop back in my car and head back to the Salvation Army where I proceed to spend approximately an hour and half looking and relooking at the shelves and racks. I first head to housewares because that stuff gets snapped up fast. I found a bunch of fun stuff. Then I spent a large chunk of my time there looking at the books which was nice because I found 3 I needed to have. Tried some clothes and listen to the pregnant chick get discouraged because she could find nothing to fit her and as her mom pointed out, her ass was never gonna again look the way it did, because if she hadn't noticed.....thinks were shifting back there that shouldn't be:)

11AM-Walk out of store with ridiculous grin on my face because something I bought is so silly. I sit in my car and ponder if I should head somewhere else or head home. I head home. If I don't try out staying at home alone, how will I get better at it and learn to relax?

11:04AM-Come inside and dump my stuff on living room floor. notice that across the street neighbor is placing trees in a line to I can only assume give him and his family some privacy from the guy that has a Confederate Flag hanging on his house.

11:05AM-Sit down at desktop computer and check mail and of course facebook. Take a moment to brag that I am home alone and then sigh.

11:25AM-Ask Neptune(my rat terrier) if he wants to take a nap and watch him run for the stairs. We go up and I set the alarm for 12:30PM so as not to sleep my day away. Lay in bed thinking of all the things I could be doing because I'm home alone. Get so confused about what I want to do when I wake up, that I can't sleep.

12:03PM-Climb out of bed. Come downstairs and check facebook again. Make myself a Spinach, Chicken Artichoke lean Pocket(not bad) and then decide to take a picture of all the stuff I got.

12:27PM-Post on my sisters wall that I am going to do that then walk in my dining room and realize first I have to clean off my table.

12:28PM-Realize in order to do that I need music. So I go and get my laptop and turn on music. Proceed to clean off table.

12:42PM-Realize a song is making my depressed and that I should change it.

12:45PM-Eat 2 cherry tomatoes while gazing out the window. Wonder if it will ever stop raining. Decide I like the rain. Because once it stops raining in 10 days, the lawn is going to need to be mowed.

12:48PM-realize if it doesn't stop raining I can't get my garden figured out.

12:53PM-Decide it would be fun to write a blog documenting my wicked exciting day. So instead of taking pictures of the stuff I bought and have cleaned off the table for, I sit down to blog about it instead:)

1:10PM-Save my blog so I can add on as the day progresses and realize now I have to figure out what to do next...about those pictures!

1:14PM-Go to look for my camera bag and think it's in my car. So I go out there. It's cold and raining. Bag isn't in the car because it's laying in the living room on the floor next to the table.

1:15PM-Begin photographing my models:)

1:32P-Finish photographing and uploading the pictures. The short white glass is a Napco piece. The amethyst looking bottle is what I am going to put dish soap in so I can get rid of the plastic bottle. The doll...well the doll is my favorite. Sorry but it is. So awesome. 2 of the 3 books I bought I have been wanting to read. The crates...I think I am going to paint them and put them on the wall for shelves. The other stuff I don't know about yet, but they spoke to me. 

1:35PM-While getting ready to put the tablecloth on the dining room table, I read the following article about procrastination-oooh the irony-

http://christinekane.com/9-simple-solutions-for-procrastinators/

Ok so I am a procrastinator. For the sake of not ruining and wasting the rest of my glorious day, I am going to do something.

1:52PM-decide to just go ahead and paint one of those crates now. I grab a blue I've had a while and paint the outside of the thing. In a few minutes-who knows if I will wait for the paint to dry all the way:)-before i slap this crackle making stuff on it. I decide that the thing was $1.99 so if I screw it up who cares and I can paint over paint. AND furthermore, if I wait till  I know just what I want...I won't ever do it.

1:55PM-go to rinse paintbrush and realize I can't because the sink is full of dishes. Commence loading dishwasher.

2:06PM-Finish loading dishwasher and rinse paintbrush off.

2:08PM-Rinse new amethyst bottle and load it with purple Oil of Olay and Dawn Dish Soap

2:11PM-realize how goofy it was for me to wash out the bottle that I was going to put soap in. 

2:11part 2-Hey it stopped raining. 

2:17PM-apply next part of my project. Didn't wait for paint to dry. smeared it some. DON'T CARE. Next coat smells AWFUL. Finish painting coat on and look out window. Yepp. Raining again. 

2:19PM-Must be time for coffee again right?

2:20PM-Invaded a birds privacy by watching it take a bath in the neighbors pool cover. It seems to me it could have just stood still and gotten a shower. What do I know. I guess it needed to get into those little crevices:)

2:43PM-Got distracted reading Something Blue by Emily Giffin. The writing is so similar to the women who wrote Bitter is the New Black it's almost sad. But entertaining anyway. Time for some coffee.

2:52PM-Pondering. I've been on this kick reading absolutely shallow books. It's helping me to get out of my head and lighten up. 

2:57PM-snack time. And the coffee is ready. Actually I'm thinking sandwich. Yes I know it's 3pm or almost. But see I'm hungry now. 

3:18PM-played Lord of the Rings online for about 20 minutes. My oldest daughter just walked in the house wet from the rain. Oops. I should have gone to pick her up. Now I am signing off to see about some ice cream. Then it's off to pick E up from daycare. It has been a good day. I've enjoyed it immensely.

eating for me

Today I am focusing on my health and attitude. I am counting my calories, drinking my water, and wearing my workout clothes around the house. That alone encourages me to get moving. It's not that I think I am fat. I don't. But I know how I feel when I am smaller and that's so much better than how I feel now. I am currently 170. No, I'm not afraid to say so. I used to be about 130. Yes, I loved my body when I was 130. Even though I still thought my thighs were huge...those were the days:) Anyway, I don't hate my body at 170. I don't get depressed to see it. But what I do know is, my body doesn't feel good at this weight. It feels heavy and tired. I want to feel energetic. Know what makes me feel energetic? Drinking a crap ton of water. I mean around 80 ounces. That makes me feel amazing. Know what else makes me energetic? Only eating when I am actually hungry. And then eating good for me stuff. Know what else makes me feel energetic? MOVING!! The more I exercise, the more I want to move, and the more I move the more I want to move and the more I move the more I......well you get the point. My goal is to be down to 146 by July 3rd. I have a pair of jeans that I bought last year after I had lose 10 pounds. Then they got to the point where I could pull them off without unbuttoning them. Then I gained all but 6 pounds of the weight back and now those jeans are way tight. I think I would like them to fall off of me again! that would rock. So with that in mind, since I do not have work this week and can really concentrate, I am going to focus on my health, and make it a habit to be healthy so when I return to work next Tuesday, i am well on my way to let nothing stand in my way.

Amen
Love Kira

scrapbooking some stuff

I used to love scrapbooking. A long time ago. Then it got to complicated and I felt like I was under pressure to make it perfect and all that stuff. Then I had another baby and was in school and working and well, when I had time to do it, I didn't want to. So anyway, I think aI have done maybe 4 pages in 4 years...ish. Today I sat down and made 3 complete actual pages. With writing on them and everything. To say I am excited is an understatement. For the sunset page I actually embossed it myself using gold embossing powder and a clear stamp:)

SARK

Ok I love SARK. She is the most fun, vivacious person. Her books and journals are wildly fun and imaginative and they jiggle so much in my brain free. I am so excited to announce that I am now a SARK affiliate. I get 25% of anything that is purchased through my link.. That's alot! She has amazing eprograms, inlucind the 2011 Dream Boogie Spring. If you are searching for that something to make life a little more fun, or trying to jiggle loose what you want to be when you grow up, or how to get more done creatively, check this amazing program out!

SARK Dream Boogie Spring 2011

Oooor if that doesn't ring your bell she has tons of other great programs as well.

SARK EStore

Her programs are so colorful you won't be disappointed!!