Last 6 months in a nutshell

I have been MIA in the blog world for about 6 months.  I was going to delete it and forget about it completely.  The other day I scrolled through my past entires and it was kind of fun remembering things I blogged about.  So even if I am the only one who reads it, I am going to get back into blogging.  

Since it has been quite a while since my last post, I will fill you in on what has been happening in my life lately!

I started a new nanny job with these adorable kiddos!!

A lot of my future blogs with probably involve how I spend my days at work with these two.

We do a LOT of baking together!

I did a couple really fun races and actually did pretty awesome!

 First place in my age group at Stampede in the Park

Hard core "Gladiator Race" with my gym buddy Allie and her sister Hannah

So FUN! I was sore for like a week after though! Cinder block burpees, tire lunges, rope climb, and jumping through fire were just a couple of the obstacles. Oh, and there was just a little bit of mud!!

Jim and I got to take an awesome trip to California for my sister's wedding! It was amazing! The wedding was in Sonoma Valley.  We spent a whole day wine tasting at three different vineyards, spent a little time in San Francisco, and of course plenty of celebrating with Lori and Conor!

 Beautiful bride!!!!

 Fun Pose!!

 Even though I don't really like wine, the tours were really fun!

 And the weather was gorgeous!!! 

Golden Gate Bridge

Well, other than that not much has been happening! Jim and I are still loving our "new" house. The animals are as cute as ever! I still go to the gym every single day and love baking and trying new recipes.  Although I haven't done nearly as much baking/cooking as I should be...Hopefully I will be blogging a lot more in 2014! Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Comeback

First of all...Merry Christmas!! I know, I know, I am a little late.  I decided to get back into some blogging.  I will make a post later to catch everyone up on what has been going on lately, but for now I just want to share some Christmas funness!

Jim and I decided to host our first big party this year! The Hoeltje Holiday Hoopla!! I like to think it was a success.  My favorite part was the hot chocolate bar.  Complete with two kinds of cocoa, three flavored vodkas, LOTS of topping, and of course plenty of cookies for dunking!

 YUM!

 Salted Caramel and Double Chocolate Cocoa

 Sooo many cookies and sweets

Marshmallows (three kinds), mini chocolate chips, caramels, peppermint sticks, sprinkles, whipped cream...

Jim and I tried to keep to a budget this year, but like always Jim bought me lots of nice things :)

If you know me, you know I LOVE brightly colored clothing! And comfy clothing.  Jim really nailed it with this super bright (the picture doesn't even come close to showing the true brightness!) and super comfy hoodie.  

Sadie helped me open some yummy sea salt and almond dark chocolate! She did NOT help me eat it.

My parents got us a Keurig! I have always wanted one.  Also, plenty of fun flavors to keep us caffeinated for quite a while.

My sister, Lori, who lives in Texas came home for the Holidays! Sadly her new husband had to stay in Texas :(  But we did have a nice time.  We took a family trip to Falling Water.  A very cool house built into a waterfall! It was very rainy and cold but I highly suggest taking a trip to see this architectureal masterpiece!

Lori, Mom, Me

I was trying to look happy but I was soooo cold!!

Jim and I had a wonderful Christmas and are excited for 2014!!

This towel is so me!!

I hope everyone had a super wonderful Christmas!

Beautiful Discoveries

My husband and I bought a new house over Thanksgiving. We are all settled in and couldn't be happier! It is pretty much our perfect dream house. We were so lucky to find it!

Since this is our first summer in the house, we had no idea what things would be sprouting in the spring. We didn't really do anything to the yard and figured we would just wait and see. 

So many pretty things were already planted!

I love yellow flowers! They are just so cheerful and happy!! Well, if flowers had personalities...

Most of the backyard is covered with these jungle-ish ferns. I think they look pretty cool.

This puggle is the king of the jungle! She loves to run through them.

Who doesn't love a pretty rose bush?! In my favorite color, pink :)

 

I planted a vegetable garden in the spring (with the help of the wonderful Jim). Things are looking good!

Lettuce is almost ready to be picked for a fresh salad!

Add in a comfy hammock and we have one awesome yard! We didn't have to plant anything! 

Jim brought home a pretty hanging basket as a little surprise.

So there you have it! I sure am glad things turned out so beautiful because I definitely do not have a green thumb! I could never have made it look so pretty.

Do you have a garden?

Do you prefer to plant flowers or vegetables? 

Rainy Nanny Day

For those who may not already know, I work as a full time nanny and care for 3 cool kiddos. My job is pretty awesome! However, rainy days like today can sometimes be tough. No park, no picnics, no pool...

I should have taken a screen shot earlier in the day when the chance of rain was 100%. Bleh...

Anyways, we managed to have a super fun day despite all the rain.

We started off with a tasty rainy morning breakfast.

Confetti pancakes! Sprinkles make everthing better. Whipped cream makes things even better!

Since we had so much fun making pancakes, we decided to bake some more breakfast food. Peanut butter chocolate chip muffins. I found the muffin recipe on Pinterest.

They turned out pretty good! A bit dry...next time I would add a little more liquid. Maybe some extra milk, butter, oil, applesauce...something.

They were a great mid morning snack. Warmed in the microwave for about 15 seconds.

The chocolate chips got all warm and melty.  

After giving the kids plenty of sugar, we needed a way to exert some of the hyperness! Bowling!

Not just any bowling, but cosmic glow in the dark bowling. It was a blast!

The shoes were actually pretty cool too.

Group shoe shot!

Not gonna lie, I did get beat by an 8 year old. In my defense he was using bumpers and I was not! I did win the second game with an amazing score of 127! Woo!

We spent some time making Father's Day cards. 

Gotta love the classic hand print :)

We finished off the day with a little Wii and Netflix. Overall, I would say the day was a success.

So there ya go. A day in the life of a nanny on a rainy day!

What is your favorite rainy day activity??

I love curling up on the couch in my jammmies with a big mug of coffee and a good movie :)

Good Reads!

I hate to admit it, but I am terrible at reading books! Before you make fun of me, let me explain. I am a great reader! I can read pretty fast and usually retain the information quite well! The part I suck at is finishing a book... I start books and then get bored never finish! 

The last book (series actually) that I actually finished was The Hunger Games.

I found the whole idea of hunger games to be very interesting.  I am pretty sure if it was me I would win!! Ok...maybe not...but my super competitiveness should would help.

Another book I actually finished was Life Without ED.

This book was phenomenal!! The woman is so honest and I could relate to so much. It made me feel not so alone and crazy!  I also liked the little bit of dark humor. For example, referring to an eating disorder as ED.  I like referring to it/him that way.  It makes it easier to talk about. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is struggling with an eating disorder. It is also helpful to friends or family of someone struggling. I had my parents and husband read it and they said it helped them understand my thinking a little. 

I wouldn't say this book helped me actually recover, but just made me feel hopeful!  I plan on reading it again now that I am actually "in recovery".

Now for my current read! 

Unbearable Lightness. I am less than half way done, but so far it is really good! It is the story of Portia De Rossi and her struggle with an eating disorder. It talks about how her ED really spiraled out of control once she became a famous actress.  Once again, I love her honesty. I really enjoy hearing and reading stories of those who have recovered or are in recovery! Gives me the hope and strength to keep moving forward with positive actions.

I love reading outside on a nice day! I just can't seem to concentrate when I am inside... I dunno why??

Oh how I love the sun!!  I also discovered a new favorite summer time beverage.

I have always been a fan of Snapple. This mix of iced tea and lemonade is so refreshing! Perfect to sip while enjoying a good book.

I sure hope I finish this book. I will let you know how it goes :)

What is the best book you have read lately??