Do Resolutions You Make On NYE Last?

    My NYE resolutions never last more than two weeks. That's probably average for most resolutions. It's a terrible number like I seriously couldn't work out 4 times a week for more than 2 weeks? Shame. Although I love the theory and idea of New Year resolutions I also believe that you don't have to wait till next year to change. It happens whenever you make the move not when the calendar says January 1st. This year I am going to stick with my goals and dreams for the year. How I'm going to do them is another story.

    My mother was recently browsing Barnes and Noble and found a great book on how to make a change and actually stick with it. The book is called Small Move, Big Change: Using Microresolutions to Transform Your Life Permanently by Caroline I. Arnold. I have only read a couple pages and am interested to see if it will help make changes I want stick. Hopefully longer than 2 weeks, am I right?!

    Here are a couple of things I'm thinking to change this year...

• Beat myself up less- By this I mean not to demean myself. You always know the right and wrong buttons to press when it comes to making yourself feel good or bad. I for the most part am not so hard on myself but recently I have found myself demeaning myself to others as well as me. It's not a good thing to do and hurts yours, or in this case my, self-esteem.
• Work out more- It does the body good to get moving and not only for weight loss reasons. It gives you more energy, helps keep you looking younger, and clothes fit better. It's a win win.
• Travel- Part of me want to travel the world right not but honestly that's not possible. I don't have a boyfriend and most of my friends are either married or close to it and I don't want to go alone. To travel you can go any where. I just want to go somewhere this year that is not somewhere I have been before.
• Write more- I love to write. It gives you the freedom to do what you like. I love this blog because I am able to say what's going on in life and be able to connect with others. I want to write more on here as well as other parts of my life. What the last part means I am not sure but will find out I guess.
• Better skincare routine- I am terrible at washing my face, moisturizing, and all that other crap twice a day. I'm lucky if I do it once a day. I wont be young forever so I need to start keeping my shit together now!
• Read more- Reading is something else I love to do. It's an amazing feeling when a book becomes part of you and you are rooting for that character. I read a lot of fiction books but I want to read more about other parts of the world. Books on other countries, different religions, behaviors in other cultures, etc.

        This list is just a draft of my New Year resolution, just some things I have been thinking of. Tomorrow is NYE and I will have my perfect list ready for you then. Have you thought about some things you want to change in the new year?

Christmas Cookies, Internet, and Thanks

    I recently lived with no internet for a week which reminded me of the good ole days however it made it very hard to blog. Not to mention I left a huge cliff hanger with my Christmas cookie drama. I have no idea what happened to my computer or the internet but the both failed me. Currently they are working perfectly again so I can bring you up to date. Let's talk cookies...

    Every year I make Christmas cookies for family and friends. It started as a tradition with my sister in high school when we were poor and unable to buy gifts for everyone. Now that we are older and have more money we still love to keep the tradition alive. I decided to make four different kinds of cookies this year and I set a certain amount of time to make them. I only had a couple hours one day but I had a plan and knew I could get it all done! But reality hit and that was not the case.

    It all went down hill when I had to go to three different stores to get all my ingredients then I made the first dough because it had to chill for an hour. The plan was that during that time I would make the other cookies. Well turns out the next cookies in line needed to chill for two hours. So already I was far behind. Long story short during my allotted time I only made one cookie recipe, ONE! I needed to make FOUR!

    I had to work that day as well which is why I only had a certain amount of time. I went to work and got off around 10pm. I came home and made the rest of the cookies. I had to finish them because I was bringing some to a girl at work who bought me a little gift a couple weeks ago for a welcome back to work thing. She loves cookies so it was a great way to repay her. I didn't go to bed till after 2am and had to be at work the next day at 9am. There was not enough coffee to help me that day.

     The cookies though did all end delicious, maybe not so pretty but throw some icing and no one will know! I got a lot of compliments on the baking which made all the stress and back-ache worth it. Here are some pictures and I know there aren't many but I really just wanted to finish not do a photo shoot. Below the pictures are the link to the recipes! If you try any let me know I would love to know how the baking goes for you!

 

My kitchen or better known as my mess. This was just making the first batch and the second dough.

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

I make these every year and they are the first to go. SO YUMMY!!

Cinnamon roll sugar cookies were a big hit! They didn't turn out pretty but everyone loved these the best!

Mess from the cinnamon roll sugar cookies.

What they looked like after baking. I drizzled cream cheese icing and they were perfect!

These were suppose to be oreos drizzled in vanilla chocolate melts but I could only find marshmallow melt left in store. It worked great they were good...

... and turned out really cute! Hey little snowmen!

Grinch cookies! I thought it was too much sugar and they would turn out awful but...

...they turned out great but not green. Only problem is they are suppose to be green hence Grinch cookies. I followed the recipe but one drop of food coloring is not enough!

My dog Moo Moo helping bake at 1am.

 

 

 

RECIPES

 

 

Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies

 

^ The trickiest part I found was getting a really tight roll so they didn't fall open during baking.

 

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

 

Oreo Snowmen

 

^The cake pop sticks did not stay in the double stuff oreo. Marshmallow melt did not drizzle at all maybe the vanilla one would have worked out better. Also don't break teeth on the orange tic tac nose.

 

Grinch Cookies

 

^Need more than one drop of green food coloring. I couldn't find the heart candy so was going to draw one with icing but bought the wrong kind of icing. I told you it was all a mess!

 

 

Good luck making any of these! Hope my notes help! If you make them let me know also I want to hear about your Christmas cookie baking! Thanks for being so patient with me and my lack of posting recently!

 

 

 



2 Days Till Christmas

    Please check back tomorrow on a post about my Christmas cookies. It's 1:00 am and i am still backing... I really don't want to talk about it.

3 Days Till Christmas

    Just a couple more shopping days till the big guy comes down the chimney! There are still a lot of last minute shoppers out there scurrying around. If you are one of them well good luck! Stores have been crazy! If you need a little inspiration for gift ideas for a friend, mom, sister, aunt, or who ever here are a couple ideas for you...

 

Modern Muse is a really popular perfume this year. It has been selling out of stores around here. I know because I was in search of it and so was my mom! Check Macy's, Ulta, or Sephora.

 

If you aren't sure what perfume to get try the sampler at Sephora. It's a great idea because your recipient can try several to find her favorite!


Purchasing make-up for someone else can be difficult but getting a palette with neutral colors is a safe way to go. Try Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette. I have this one and even bought one last year for my mom. I use every single color in the palette. Perfect gift for someone. Make a set and add some mascara and you're all ready!

 

Another idea is a purse. You can get an inexpensive one or go a little pricier. There are so many options. If you are looking for a good pricey bag but not looking to pay the full price try an outlet store! For Christmas this year we bought my sister a Kate Spade work bag for 70% off. Great deal, right?

 

 

 

 

Good luck with your shopping and check back tomorrow to see how my cookie baking went! I'm still trying to figure out which ones to bake! Merry Christmas! #ilovetheholidays



4 Days Left To Christmas

    I celebrate Christmas but my stepmom celebrates Hanukkah so today was her annual Hanukkah party. It was so much fun! I ate way too many latkes which are my favorite thing! I skipped over the bagels with lox gladly, seafood is NOT my favorite no matter how hard I try. Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate! Hope you have 8 wonderful nights!
  

 

   No matter what you celebrate make sure you take time to be thankful for all you have. The holiday season can be extremely crazy and all about the wrong thing. Take some time to enjoy your decorations, lights on your neighbors' houses, family, friends, etc. Grab some hot chocolate, a blanket and throw in a holiday movie and enjoy the night. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all!

5 Days Till Christmas

    DIY is really popular in general but during the holidays it's the best thing to do for gifts. Personally I am not really all that great at DIY but I have seen a bunch of stuff I want to make. Below are some great girls who really know how to DIY. Hope you are inspired and they help make your holidays a little better :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are your favorite DIY?



6 Days Till Christmas

    It is tradition to spend the weeks before Christmas watching Christmas movies. It's probably one of my favorite ones. There are even certain times we watch certain movies such as when we open gifts we always have A Christmas Story playing. I absolutely love sitting in the decorated living room with the lit tree watching a great movie. Here are the movies I love to watch during this season

 

MUST WATCH CHRISTMAS MOVIES

 

 A Christmas Story

Elf*

Home Alone*

Home Alone 2*

Love Actually

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Polar Express

A Year Without Santa Claus

Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer

The Santa Claus

Christmas With The Kranks*

It's A Wonderful Life*

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

The Holiday*

Miracle on 34th Street

White Christmas*

Frosty The Snowman

The Family Stone (Can't watch every year because I cry too much during)*

 

 

*Movies I have already seen this year. As you can tell I still have a lot more to watch before Christmas. Of course there are a lot more Christmas movies and maybe even some I love to watch that I am forgetting but this is pretty much the list of the usual ones I watch every year with my family. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

7 Days Till Christmas



    Tonight I watched It's A Wonderful Life which is not one of my favorites but it is really good. When ever my grandfather watches it and it gets to the bell ringing he always says I got my wings. My stepdad had never seen it before which I couldn't believe! He enjoyed the movie as well.

 

    For my Christmas post tonight I am going share what I bought my mother for her stocking. Every year for Christmas we put all our names in a hat and draw out a name for a sort of secret Santa stocking. As I stated before got my mom. Here is what I bought her...

 

 

 

All but the tights (Gap) and It's A Wonderful Life (Target) were bought from Sephora

 

Sephora Face Mask in Rose

 

 

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer

 

   

Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Tarte Mascara

 

            

 

*No longer available is the Origins Face Mask Set and Sephora Favorite Face Wash Collection*

      

 

I also plan to buy her Lavanila Deodorant which is a healthy deodorant with no aluminum. I have the big one and love it. I believe my mother will as well.

 

Lavanila Pure Vanilla Deodorant 

 

8 Days Till Christmas

      Till Christmas I am going to post some type of Christmas post. I will include gift ideas, my Christmas list, my family's list, cookie recipes, etc. If for some reason I fail to keep the promise to post every day till Christmas then please feel free to email and yell at me. Hope you all are having an amazing holiday season!

    Oh my word there are only 8 days remaining till Christmas! There is still so much to do! I have cookies to bake, presents to buy, and lots of holiday movies to watch. Currently I am watching Elf while wrapping presents. Will Ferrell is an amazing actor in this movie, well in all his movies. Elf has become a must watch during the Christmas season and any other time.

 

 

"Buddy the Elf what's your favorite color?"

 

 

 

   Today I'm going to share what I asked for, for Christmas this year. Maybe it will give you some ideas of what to get someone or perhaps something you want to pick up for yourself. Every year my mom makes my sister and I write a Christmas list. This year I was really helpful by putting exactly where she can buy my gift, how much it costs, plus I gave her a bunch of coupons to use. She was appreciative and thought it was funny. Alright well let's get started...

 

 

From Etsy

 

*"Treat Yo Self" 11x14 print in black and gold- from Paperchat- $30

 

Ulta

 

*Tarte Airbuki Bamboo Foundation Brush- $26

*Real Techniques Shading Brush- $5.99

 

Victoria Secret

 

*T-Shirt Bra- $39.50

*Pink Fresh & Clean Body Lotion- $15

 

Target

 

*Big Bang Theory- Season 7- $29.99

*iTunes Gift Card- $15

*Blonde Bobby Pins- $3.69

 

Macy's

 

*Kate Spade Glitter Studs- Multicolor- $38

 

Barnes and Noble

 

*Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky- $10.77

*Being Audrey Hepburn by Mitchell Kriegman- $14.85



 

 

 

~HAPPY HOLIDAYS~

Letty Juanita Melton Stewart

    This past week I have been in Georgia with my family for the funeral of my great grandmother Letty Juanita Melton Stewart, 91, who died on November 30, 2014. Everyone called her Juanita except for her husband. I had not seen her in a while but when I did see her last she did not remember me or anyone else in the room. For about seven years she had been dealing with dementia and no longer knew anyone including her two sons who often visited her. It's hard to have a family member go through that but now she is in Heaven and has her memory back. Her husband Clifford died a long time ago. I was very young and don't remember exactly the date. I'm guessing Clifford welcomed Juanita with a big hug and kiss.

    The past week has been a roller coaster of emotion. It had some really low points and some really high points. Funerals tend to turn into family reunions and I saw a lot of family I hadn't seen since I was really young. I even met people who knew me and I had no idea who they were. It was great to reconnect and look through old photos of everyone. Juanita would have loved her funeral since it was a great celebration of her life. Don't get me wrong there was a lot of crying but also a lot of laughing at old memories.

   Funerals in the South are a bit different than funerals in the North. The funeral home was set up with a giant kitchen with a bunch of tables, fridges, and a shelf for food. People brought in a ton of food throughout the day. It was nice since for the viewing you literally were there all day. For my great grandfathers funeral I was told that it lasted three days! Apparently it's also an Irish thing which my family is. Juanita's lasted only two.

   There was a lot of cool/interesting things that happened as well. One being that my aunt had accidentally booked a room on the wrong floor of the hotel than the rest of us. After one night she moved rooms to our floor. She opened the door and a gecko crawled behind the mirror in the room. Of course there was some freaking out about a gecko being in a hotel room but it became cool/interesting when we remembered Juanita. She use to have a gecko who lived under her stairs in her back yard. As soon as anyone stepped on the step it came out to see who was there then went back under. Juanita's spirit was with us.

    Another incident being that we always go to this one restaurant any time any of us go to GA. It's this small Southern place called Bea's. I have been going there for as long as I can remember. After Juanita was buried on Wednesday we went there to eat and the waiter mentioned that this was the last week they were going to be open then they close for a month. My grandmother said that she (Juanita) knew she wouldn't make it to next year so she left us sooner so we could eat at our favorite restaurant we've been going to for years. It's quite possible.

    The last thing that was cool/interesting is that when the funeral precession was driving to the cemetery people on the road pulled over for us and stopped! It was insane I have never seen that happen before. One guy was working on a roof and he saw us coming and stopped working, stood up, and took his hat off while we all drove by. I think that is such an amazing thing to see and really respectful. In NJ people don't even pull over for emergency vehicles so it was great to see.

   This has been a long post and I'm sorry about that. I just want to leave you with two things. An old picture of my sister and I with our great grandparents and also a poem that was read at the service called The Dash by Linda Ellis. If you have not read it please do it's beautiful and something to consider. If you have read it, reread it and remind yourself. Thank you!

 

Juanita and Clifford in the back. Me and my sister in the front.

 

 

 

 

The Dashby Linda Ellis copyright 1996

​I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
​the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

​So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?


Frustrated by Family Drama

    For Thanksgiving my mom and my sister's mother-in-law flew to Seattle to spend the holiday with my sister and her husband. Tomorrow the mother's fly home in the morning. Tomorrow is also the day of my sister and her husband's first half marathon that they are running which they are excited and nervous about. Tonight apparently all hell broke lose there. Obviously I was not there to witness anything but I got a call from my sister. She was whispering and I could barely hear her but I eventually understood that my sister and mom got in a huge fight and the mother-in-law yelled at my mother (I'm assuming it was because she was standing up for my sister).

   My mother is not saying much about what happened but I do know she is crying and upset, same with my sister. My mother is extremely upset that the mother-in-law yelled at her. She probably should not have gotten involved but then again I wasn't there. From what I gathered they were fighting over my sister's wedding week where all the family was in Seattle celebrating. Well sort of celebrating there was a lot of drama between my mother and I as well as my mother and sister. Mean things were said and done. A lot of hurt feelings on every side. Something that should have been memorable in a happy sense has sort of a bad taste to it.

    I do not want to throw my mother under the bus but in recent years she has been unable to handle confrontation. She runs from it or turns to hurtful words. Of course people sometimes do that but when your mother does it it can sting a bit harder.  I texted both of them to tell them they should work it out while still near each other. It would be much harder to work things out so many miles away then there in person.

   While typing this post I received a text from my sister saying she talked to my mom. That's basically all it said. I'm hoping that means things are better between them but I wont know till a later time. You are probably wondering why I would share such personal information and it's for a couple of reasons. One being that it's nice to know you aren't the only person who has fights or family drama. It's normal and totally not fun. Another reason is maybe you can take something useful away from it. It's hard for me that my close family is fighting and so upset and I'm so far away.

   My advice if you are having family, friend, work, or any kind of drama is to meet with the person you are fighting with. Come together knowing that each of you will say your peace. When you are sitting with this person let them say their feelings, they are entitled to them even if you disagree. After they say their peace say yours and they should not interrupt you. After you say your peace make a plan to move forward. Don't have a plan? Just leave all the drama behind you. You said what you wanted to and they said what they wanted to. Move forward! It's not easy but it will get easier and is so much better than holding a grudge or feeling bad.

   If you are having a hard time with someone the best solution is to take care of it and not let it fester in you. Try to reach out to fix the problem so you can both move on to a happier life. If it's unsuccessful at least you know you tried your best.

 

Hope you all are having a better night! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

    Traditionally Thanksgiving is a time where we realize all we are thankful for. We should be thankful everyday but today is the day we stuff our faces with our family and friends and say what we are thankful for. Recently though it's also become a day of shopping. Instead of hanging around the TV watching football people are standing in line at Target or the mall waiting for the door buster deals. Personally I think it's stupid but don't get me wrong I am all for Black Friday shopping but it should not start ON Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving should be about family not shopping. I worked in retail on Thanksgiving into Black Friday and it's awful! I had to leave my family really early to get to work early to set up for these ridiculous crowds. If you do go out shopping please be careful! Don't get trampled no object is worth your safety!

    Before I head over to my Thanksgiving with my family here is my list of what I am thankful today and everyday in no particular order:

1.)  My Family
2.) My Friends
3.) Mine and My Family's Health
4.) My Doggies
5.) A Roof Over My Head
6.) A Job

    Have a happy Thanksgiving! Be safe and eat too much, you can always work out tomorrow! :)
   

Blah Blah Blah

    Ever have one of those days where you just feel blah. Nothing seems appealing like it normally would. Well that was me yesterday and I could not shake the feeling. I tried to do things that normally would make me happy or energized but nothing made me feel different. I wasn't sad or anything I just didn't feel like... well, anything. I decided to watch some Netflix and got totally wrapped up in Gossip Girl.

    I guess it sort of made me feel better some how. I watched an embarrassing amount of episodes yesterday but I was just glad I found something that seemed entertaining. I was such a downer yesterday that reading didn't help, hot chocolate didn't help, and nothing on the internet (except Netflix) helped.

   Have you ever had one of those days where you just want to crawl in bed and not be disturbed for whatever reason? I'm glad that my blah-ness only lasted a day. Today I feel energized and ready to accomplish the long list of things I have to do today. If you are having a blah day today I'm sorry because I know it's no fun. Try to find something that will help turn it around. Tomorrow is another day to start fresh!




   Also on side note do you remember Gossip Girl when it was on? I watched a bit of the first season and couple episodes of later seasons but I completely forgot how dramatic it is. I'm also a bit jealous of the Upper East Side's money and extravagant purchases. Blair is evil but she's so entertaining. I don't think I can pick my favorite character. Who's your favorite?