A Little of This and That

Just before Christmas, a friend's husband asked about Alex and Ani bracelets as a gift for his wife. I must say that I had not heard of Alex and Ani so I googled...it was love at first click. The bracelets are bangle and expandable. I have very tiny wrists and bangles are generally not my friend. These, however, are smaller to start due to the fact that they are expandable. They are also made in the US and promote a positive (+) energy vibe. The story of Alex and Ani can be found here .  On top of all that, they are super cute and look great stacked. The charmed bracelets come with a card explaining the significance and meaning behind the charm. After spending much time on the site, I finally made some choices... I really like  love my new bracelets.  They look great on, but the best part is that they have meaning too. There is personal meaning behind each one that no one really knows except me.  So I say thank you to the many compliments I get, b...

This Midwest winter weather is leading to fairly regular past vacation reminiscing. Today's daydream... Dreams Villamagna  in beautiful Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In actuality it is in Nayarit, but a mere 40 minute cab ride to PV. It was our first visit to the west coast of Mexico. We previously honeymooned in Riviera Maya south of Cancun. Let me just say I loved the Puerto Vallarta area. So much so that vacation #2 is in the works, but that is another post. Dreams Villamagna is all-inclusive and right on the Bay of Baderas. The bay is also surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains. It doesn't get much better than that. The room was spacious. The layout would be a bit awkward (read: not much privacy) for a family, but perfect for a couple. The balcony had views of the resort and ocean. The back of the resort had beautiful views of the mountains. It was simply paradise. Beautiful grounds and pool. Palapas and chairs on the beach. Waitstaff to bring you drinks. It was very relaxin...

It's been a while... a long while. A lot has happened since the last post. Two days ago revisited this blog for the first time since 2011. Must be something about snowstorms...  Anyway, I have decided to get back at it. Some posts will be current and others will revisit happenings of the past. As of now I am the only reader, but maybe this time that will change. If not, that's ok too because in reality I am doing this for me.

I have recently embarked on a new approach to parenting my two girls.  After hitting bottom with my oldest, I decided that it was time to seek help.  Initially, I thought to look for outside help because obviously what we were doing was not working.  Outbursts were frequent daily.  Yelling was becoming the norm.  Tears flowed freely and emotions were running high.  The distance between us was growing every day.  It was not healthy.  If this is how it is now, where are we going to be during the teen years?  I started doing some research online.  I stumbled upon a book, Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka.  As a parent, I found it hard to admit that what I was doing wasn't working.  Surely it wasn't me, was it?  In a nutshell, the book focuses on emotional intelligence and being an emotional coach for your kids.  You essentially coach them on how they are feeling and how to express those ...

This week's You Capture  is warmth.  It's rather fitting, no?  Last week's was cold so naturally the focus was the below zero temps.  This week a warm up has hit the region.  Birds are singing, snow is melting, sun is shining.  Spring is in the air...at least for a few days.  The temp today 52 and sunny. Perfect day for an open sunroof, loud music, and subsequent fast driving.  I am not sure why that is, but is seems like the nicer the day, the louder the music, the faster the driving.   Fabulous day of spring like driving.  If only that tree had some leaves, then spring would really be right around the corner...not just teasing us.

Today's You Capture  is cold.  Rather appropriate considering this morning was the coldest so far this winter season.  It was a frigid 10 below at 7 this morning.  It has warmed up 25 degrees today to a balmy high of 15.  I am seriously over the snow and the cold.  A heat wave is on the way though.  And with the upcoming 40 degree days, we will also having flooding from all the snow that will surely melt.  Is it summer yet?

Blizzard 2011 officially gives me that "Remember when..." story.  The most telling part of this blizzard...3 snow days.  Yep, no school for 3 whole days.  It snowed for 24 hours straight.  It was 72 hours before the girls and I actually left the house.  I did kick them out to play in the snow.  When your pushing 20 inches of fluffly white stuff, who doesn't want to go out and play, right?  It was a struggle to get around.  They got stuck in a couple of drifts, but at least now they have their own blizzard 2011 stories to tell.  In the midst of all this, the groundhog saw his shadow...early spring?  I'm not so sure...