Laina Turner's Blog, page 61

Pick me up Wednesday

It’s been one of those weeks. Actually, it’s been one of those last couple weeks. When that happens some chocolate, some wine, and some words of wisdom can help boost me out of a slump.

I thought I would share some of my favorite pick me up sayings.

Have a wonderful day!

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Trip to the Liquor Store

I love liquor stores that wines other than my normal Barefoot wines.

First there was this tasty root beer schnapps shot.

The high school throwback. Not that I was an underage drinker or anything.

And for fun…cool labels.

 

 

Now I didn’t sample all this but I sure wanted to!

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Being A Sports Parent

I love being a parent.

100% of the time. You might be thinking no one loves it 100% of the time and while technically that’s true, parenting isn’t one of those things where you can only be 90% in. It’s an all in type of activity for this reason I’m in and loving it 100% of the time.

I have 2 very active kids. My 8-year-old daughter is in gymnastics and cheer, 2 things I participated in as a child and that I understand. My 13-year old son plays football, baseball, and this year started wrestling. None of which I understand nor care about. I know that sounds horrible, but I’m not a huge sports fan. I enjoy watching him, but I certainly wouldn’t be there if he weren’t. He knows I have no clue as to what happens on the field or on the mat, but he loves that I’m there. I love that I’m there.

That’s what’s important.

I love that they’re active and involved in things since as it is they spend enough time on video games and on the iPad watching Netflix or playing Minecraft or whatever. They both get good grades as well so really what more could I ask for.

I know.

A chauffeur to help take 2 kids to 2 different places and the same time.
A cook to make meals to take with us as we eat in the car between school and practice or on those long Saturdays at tournaments.
A housekeeper to do laundry, clean the house and do the grocery shopping.
A ringer to do my job because it seems as very little starts after 5pm and I’m always quitting early to get the kids to where they need to go.

It sounds like I’m complaining. I am. Just a little. I want my kids to be able to do whatever it is they desire, but it can take such a toll.

On the other hand, it’s also the most rewarding job on can have. As I watch my son excel in all, he tries and see him changing from a boy to a man right before my eyes it makes it all worth it.

Not that I’d decline the offer of a chauffeur, cook, or housekeeper. I may be crazy, but I’m not that crazy.

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K is for KATZENJAMMER

KATZENJAMMER A hangover; anxiety or jitters; a discordant clamour. In the sense of a hangover, this word was known in the US from the middle 1840s. It was taken from a well-established German word (it turns up in at least one work by Goethe, for example) which derives from Katzen, cats, plus Jammer, wailing or distress.

In German it could also mean the unhappiness or depression that follows intoxication and so developed in American English a more general sense of what one might call a case of the willies.

Let’s have fun this weekend folks but don’t have too much fun that you have katzenjammer.

I challenge you to use it in a sentence in the comments!

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Fab 5 Friday

I wanted to share with you 5 of the amazing blog I came across this week. If only I could share them all

Karla’s Closet – Sitting Quietly. I fell in love with this photo.
Laugh out loud mommy – How to create the illusion of a spotless home in minutes. Who doesn’t need this piece of advice?
The Nectar Collective – How to forgive someone who has hurt you (including yourself). I think we could all learn from this post.
Nose Graze – Let’s stop letting drama bring us down. I could use this in more than just blogging.The Nectar Collective -
Autumn Leaves – 12 useful sites for new and established bloggers #8. I love finding out about new things.

Have a great weekend!

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Dance Moms Rocks!

I made a HUGE mistake last week. I was on Netflix looking for something interesting to watch and I happened upon Dance Moms. I had heard about it in about the same vein as I’ve heard about Honey Boo-Boo (which I’ve not seen). Akin to a train wreck you just can’t stop watching. And I admit I enjoy trashy reality TV. It’s a great escape.

I also recently saw the controversial video by singer SIA, Elastic Heart, which features Shia LeBeouf (who knew he could dance) and Maddie from the show Dance Moms.

OMG. Once I started watching, I got so sucked in it was ridiculous. I kept wanting to shut it off and just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Abby of Abby Lee Dance Studio is such a beotch, but in a way I kind of like, that I felt compelled to keep watching.

Is she harsh? Yes.

Is she brash and sometimes mean? Yes.

BUT as she has said herself these girls are in competitive dance. In order to do it as a career and while her brand of tough love isn’t for everyone, you do have to have a thick skin.

Do I think she could be a little softer at times?

Yes. But I believe her heart is in the right place.

If you’ve watched the show I know what you’re probably thinking. How can I defend her?

I know that’s what you probably think because I have had a few friends who have watched the show say that exact thing to me.

Frankly the moms act much worse than Abby, in my opinion. I’m not a nice mom. I’m a suck it up cupcake, put your big girl panties on, shake it off kind of mom. But those moms seem to pick fights with Abby (and each other)and walk out (several times) for no good reason. They seem to act counter productively to what their child’s dreams are. I mean the reason they come back is because Abby is good at what she does.

The really interesting thing here is that this show has fantastic ratings from what I’ve been able to find. I believe it has 3 seasons out and they’re currently filming a fourth.

So I’m not the only one who started watching and couldn’t turn it off.

What’s YOUR guilty TV pleasure? C’mon…you can tell me…

 

 

 

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Do you use Bloglovin?

Have you heard of Bloglovin? I’m sure you have if you’ve been blogging for any length of time. If you haven’t then drop everything RIGHT NOW and go check it out.

Ok, now that you know what Bloglovin’s all about let’s continue.

If you’re serious about blogging or finding cool new blogs to read, you want to be on Bloglovin.

Why?

Here are just a few of the reasons.

Bloglovin is social media for blogs. It’s a great place to get people to notice your blog.
It’s easy to create an account and claim your blog and then you’re well on your way.
You can put a handy button on your site so people can easily follow you. You follow people, and they follow you. You can then easily find the blogs you read all in one place.
You can find new blogs to read and comment on – which is a great way to grow your blog. And a great way to make friends.
There is an easy to use app for your phone/tablet so it’s easy to read on the go.
Bloglovin is categorized so it makes searching for new blogs that fit your niche easier.

Blogging is a lot of work. There are a ton of different social media platforms we bloggers feel compelled to be on in order to get noticed, but I rank Bloglovin in the top 2. This platform has really helped me grow my blog not to mention help me connect with tons of other great blogs out there.

Being able to read all these awesome blogs helps me find ideas and inspiration as well and new blogging friends.

Do you use Bloglovin?

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I fell off the wagon!

It’s only the 3rd week of January, and I am sad to report I have already fallen off the wagon as it relates to 2015 goals. Specifically, the healthy eating and exercise goals that I really need to hit if I’m going to get married in July. The rest I’m on track with – a positive thing.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts stress is a huge eating trigger for me. I’ve also found that traveling also makes it hard for me to stay on track and my schedule has had me out on the road and not in my own comfort zone where life is set up for eating right and working out.

I’m not doing as well at handling the stress that is my life as I had hoped, and I really need to figure that out so I can stop eating. Or maybe I can have someone follow me around taking the chocolate out of my hand before I eat it. I think that would totally be worth the cost.

So even though we are still at the beginning of the new year I am already re-evaluating and trying not to stress myself out with how much I haven’t accomplished, and how overwhelmed I am, and instead working on getting back on track and not beating myself up over not staying on track.

You sometimes just have to accept what you can do and celebrate it! Not dwell on what’s not done.

Are you on track to your goals?

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Childhood Memories

Last month I went back to the area I grew up to attend a wedding of a long time friend who still lives there. My fiancé went with me, and we drove up early so I could take him around where I grew up and show him the houses I lived in.

I mostly grew up in Clio, Michigan, which is just 15-20 minutes north of Flint. Then moved to Millington, Michigan, which is about 20 minutes slightly north and west of Clio, when I was a sophomore in high school. So my entire childhood was within the same general vicinity though the towns were very different.

It’s interesting how big things look like as a child and when you’re used to them because after being away from the area for 13 years and going back it was almost shocking at how small the houses looked. Moreover, how annoyed I was that someone in the last 13 years painted my childhood home red from it is totally 1970’s gold. I wonder if they also took down the green velvet wallpaper in the living room? I would have loved to see the inside, but I’m not that brave to knock on a stranger’s door and ask so instead I just looked like a stalker parked across the street taking pictures.

The cute window above the front door was an attic that was accessible from the closet in my bedroom. I loved sneaking in there. It was small and my parents didn’t really keep anything there so it was like my own little playhouse away from everyone.

To the right you can see a tree that in spring is a gorgeous apple tree – or at least it used to be. The window that faces it was my bedroom and I remember having the window open in spring and the amazing smell of the apple blossoms. There always used to be a huge lilac bush at the corner of the house by that window and to this day lilac is my favorite smelling flower.

We then drove to the next town to see the farmhouse my grandparents lived in and that my family moved into. We actually lived next door for a couple years and when my grandmother passed away sold that house and moved into this one.

The farmhouse was built in the 1800’s at sometimes, not exactly sure when, and when my grandparents owned it, it was part of a 60 acre parcel. As my stalking resumed I think, it’s still the same as there weren’t any other houses built around it. The out buildings definitely haven’t stood the test of time that well which I understand old wood is old wood.

You can see in the below picture the fallen down barn which is where we stored the hay and had the horse stalls and other items. The white building to the left is an old pump house for water and the brown building to the left of that was the chicken coop. Which looks to be in pretty bad shape also.

The house was still beautiful to me. That large wrap around porch…I remember sitting out there drinking coke from a glass bottle with my grandpa listen to the Detroit Tigers play on the radio. Those were great childhood memories.

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F is for Floccinaucinihilipilification

pronounced floc·ci·nau·ci·ni·hil·i·pil·i·fi·ca·tion

/ˌflɒksəˌnɔsəˌnaɪhɪləˌpɪləfɪˈkeɪʃən/ Show Spelled[flok-suh-naw-suh-nahy-hil-uh-pil-uh-fi-key-shuhn]

Meaning Definition: an act or instance of judging something to be worthless or trivial

How can a work that big mean trivial?

 

PS it’s the 5th longest word in the English language.

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