Life

Currently – November 2019

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

Compared to last month, this month has been quite eventful. The first weekend of the month I went to a small baby shower for my sister-in-law. The second weekend we watched my nephews overnight at their house – 3 small boys in one house and another cousin that came to visit the next day, so make that 4 small boys. It was super fun, but super exhausting!

Mikey and I were also able to go on another date night (woot woot!). No pictures this time, but we went out to our favorite all-you-can-eat Mongolian restaurant and chatted the night away.

Then we went to a Friends-giving this past Tuesday, which was really nice and then there was of course acutal Thanksgiving…which turned out to be kind of a bummer. Gryffin came down with a nasty, awful cold, complete with a 103.5 fever…poor guy! We got his fever down, but stayed home all day and missed out spending time with family. My brother was awesome and brought us over some turkey, stuffing, etc. and we traded them with rolls and a bottle of sparkling cider. The fact we still ended with some turkey and pie made it somewhat better. :)

Anyway…here’s what else we’ve been up to this month.

Currently Watching

Helllooooo Disney +

Image result for disney plus

There has been lots of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (thank goodness we have a break from Blippi!), The Little Mermaid, The Aristocats, Cars, and Monster’s Inc.

Also, Doug! Did anyone else grow up watching this?? Gosh, it’s so nice to see parts of my childhood back! It was kind of exciting.

Currently Reading

Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life by Shauna Niequist

I finished a book! This, in and of itself, deserves to be documented because it has been that long since I have finished a book cover to cover. Granted, this was an audio book, but it still counts!

I enjoyed it overall. It’s not going on my “favorites” book list, but I don’t regret reading it either. This book was full of little snippets of the ups and downs in her life. Some parts were more relate-able than others, but I absolutely loved the way she wrote. Her descriptions were perfectly detailed, making it an enjoyable journey as she took you along with her as she shared each part of her life story and the lessons she learned.

My only “complaint” is that the stories she shared of her life were not in order. She organized them by subject rather than consecutive events. This kind of drove me nuts and made me wonder if I somehow had the book on “shuffle”. With that being said I wouldn’t let that stop you from reading it.

Unseen: The Gift of Being Hidden in a World that Loves to Be Noticed by Sara Hagerty

Ok, this is back on my list. I had to re-check it out as an audio book after I finished Cold Tangerines. This is the kind of book you let certain insights sink in and your marinate on it for a bit. I think it would be better if I read this as a book book, so I could underline and highlight and take my time, but for now I’m making progress with the audio book and it will do.

Currently Making/Baking

Dairy Free Potato Corn Chowder – You can click the link to the recipe and photos here.

This is my most favorite fall and winter soup recipe! I’ve mentioned many times that my little 2 1/2 year old is sensitive to dairy so it was so exciting to find the perfect fall soup that we can all enjoy. *happy sigh*

PC & Recipe from Regina with leelicious.com

Current Obsession

Deep cleaning!

While spring seems to be the most popular time to deep clean for most people, there is something about the holidays that makes me feel the need to clean like a crazy, mad woman.

After being cooped up inside for so long I start really noticing the grime that settles in over time – anywhere from the extremely dusty blinds in the bathroom, to the laundry room floor that I keep putting off, to the dishwasher base and filter.

I took advantage of daycare this week (before Gryffin got sick) and took some extra time off so I could spend an entire day scrubbing the bathroom from the ceiling to floor.

I created a detailed bathroom deep cleaning list and plan to share that with you in the months to come. I would share it now but I need to make a few tweaks to it. I also want to work on a few more deep cleaning lists as well, including the kitchen, laundry room, and living room…so just something to look forward to in future. ;)

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I honestly can’t believe December is here tomorrow! I hope you all had a wonderful November and a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!!

Much Love,

Cami

Currently – October 2019

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

This month has been pretty relaxed…and I’m perfectly okay with that. I created a fall bucket list, but we haven’t been very proactive with it. It’s good to have this check-in because I’m determined to check at least a couple items off the list!

The highlights of the month happened within the last week. I was able to meet up with a dear friend of mine for lunch. She is expecting her second baby and she’s having a girl! She was there for me during one of the scariest moments of my pregnancy and showered us with gifts after Gryffin’s arrival. She will always be near and dear to my heart. Aaaand the second highlight is that Mikey and I were actually able to go on a date! More on that below. :)

Here’s what else we’ve been up to this month.

Currently Watching

Friends…kinda. Our 2 1/2 year old has been really struggling at bedtime, so Mikey and I really haven’t had time to watch anything before he goes to work, but we try and catch an episode here and there when we can.

Currently Reading

Unseen: The Gift of Being Hidden in a World that Loves to Be Noticed by Sara Hagerty

Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life by Shauna Niequist

*gasp* I’m reading two books! I am loaning both of these from the Hoopla app through our library. I downloaded Unseen as an eBook and Cold Tangerines as an audio book. I’m finding it much easier to find time to listen to the audio book than to sit down and read the e-book. My loan will expire before I get a chance to finish Unseen, so I will check it out as an audio book next….and stick to just one book at a time.

More on these later (I think I always say I’ll do a review and then never do. Hopefully I can actually do one this time!)

Currently Making/Baking

I’ve finally started cooking again. I made Tamale Pie again and a super easy sausage and rice dish.

I thought about taking pics for the blog and then chickened out because I was using different colored plates, and then the lighting was bad, and then I was worried about “what if someone thinks my food looks gross?” lol. But really, I probably just need to get over it and post some pics.

Current Obsession

The Dating Diva’s

This site is the best! There are tons of date night ideas and free printables on their website – everything ranging from stay-at-home dates to more adventurous date nights. If you are running out of date night ideas or just want do something different, go check them out!

I’m not going to lie, after having Gryffin our date nights became almost non-existent. In the early days we were tired and trying to figure out home and work life after a baby. After that there was guilt of asking friends and family to watch him. Then there were times that money was tight. On and on our excuses went…

I have been following The Dating Divas on Facebook and Instagram and watching their stories and seeing the feedback from other couples, and that’s when I realized we needed to get back into the dating game with each other again.

We’re on a roll now. The first date we tried from the Dating Diva’s was the Internet Scavenger Hunt. It’s super easy to prep and very low key, which was perfect for easing ourselves back into date night. Also, this can easily be done after the kid(s) go to bed.

Then, we went on a bigger date. We actually got a babysitter (ok, well, my brother and his family watched Gryffin for us) and we went to an actual sit-down restaurant just the two of us. It was soooo nice.

We started with some garlic and onion bread and I got the French Dip. They won the award for the most unique French Dip I have ever had. It had a caramelized onions – almost like a relish, and horseradish mayo. It was very interesting, but in a good way. Mikey got the Shrimp and Scallop Linguini, which he thought was amazing. It was a really great ending to our week and we felt so re-energized after. Much needed.

I’m super thankful for the Dating Diva’s and helping us get our date nights back.

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I hope you all have had a wonderful October and have a Happy Halloween!!

Much Love,

Cami

Fall Bucket List

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

I had debated on whether or not I was going to create a fall bucket list this year, but after pinning things to my “Fall” Pinterest board (which, if you haven’t already, you can read more about these pins here) I decided I would go ahead and make one after all.

So here it is!

We had such a fun time with our summer bucket list this past summer, and although we didn’t finish everything on our list, the fact we even created one helped us to make an effort to get out and do more. I’m looking forward to having some fun this fall!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week so far!

Much Love,

Cami

Currently – September 2019 (and posting in October)

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

Soooo…I did mean for this to go up yesterday, but after having a full day I didn’t quite make it. Since I know it’s not the end of the world to anyone, I figured it would still be acceptable to still post a day late, even though we’re now in October.

It is officially fall, but it feels more like winter here. I’m calling it Finter (Fall +Winter = Finter). We already had our first snow fall in SEPTEMBER! It usually averages 65-70 degrees still in September during the day, but we’ve been hanging around the 50’s and 60’s, with the last weekend being in the 40s. Bbbrrrrr!!!

We haven’t been up to too much this past month, except we did manage to make it the fair and that was fun! Gryffin still loves horses, as do I, and the Mutton Busting (kids racing on sheep) is still a favorite to watch.

Here’s what else we were up to this past month…

Currently Watching

Friends!

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer in Friends (1994)
PC: IMDb

I’ve seen episodes here and there, but I’ve never watched actual seasons, until now. I’m bummed we waited so long to get into it. I know Netflix lost the contract and I haven’t looked up to see when it will be leaving, but I know it’s coming at some point. *sigh*

Currently Reading

Ugh, I promise one day you will see something here that I’m actually reading!! I refuse to take this section down.

Currently Making/Baking

Great Value Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Image result for great value chocolate chip cookie dough

This is my favorite pre-made cookie dough. I even like it better than Toll House cookie dough. I don’t typically make so many brownies or cookies, but I just can’t seem to help myself lately, especially with it being cold now.

I do plan on making a few recipes from scratch soon, so stay tuned for a more exciting Making/Baking section next month!

P.S. I definitely need to increase the amount of workouts I do each week, because this sweet tooth I have is just not good.

Current Obsession

Azazie Online Bridal Dress Shop

A very dear friend of mine is getting married next summer and I couldn’t be more happy for her! She has asked me to be a bridesmaid and I haven’t been able to stop looking at dresses ever since! She was a bridesmaid in my wedding 11 years ago and I’m honored to be in hers. The Azazie website has an amazing selection and I love their prices.

I’m not 100% sure yet if this is where I’m going to get my dress, but we shall see. It’s between Azazie and David’s Bridal.

Let me know if you’re interested in seeing what I pick out!

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I hope your Fall season is off to a great start!

Much Love,

Cami

Life & Lemons

/ Cami Grace / 2 Comments

Financial instability, challenges within work, and life circumstances can be really hard to deal with.   

Certain situations have been personally rough, both at work and in my personal life.  For weeks, even months, I was waiting for these challenges in my life to get easier or to flat out go away.  Nothing catastrophic happened, just a lot of little things were adding up to make it really difficult to deal with.

Thinking it was just a phase, time kept passing and if it wasn’t one thing, it was another.  After a while it felt like I was carrying around one giant, heavy pit in my stomach. 

That’s when it hit me – I need to accept the fact that it’s not going to get easier.  I honestly don’t mean for that to sound negative – it’s just reality. 

Life is hard and that’s ok!

The fact I needed to change my mindset finally clicked. I needed to move beyond the simple fact that life is hard to the part where I say “that’s ok”.  It was time that I accepted it and stopped fighting.  

We are all dealt lemons in life that we don’t like.  I finally stopped whining and complaining about mine.  I looked at the different situations with fresh eyes and said “okay, what can I do with this” and then started taking action. 

Because I had been carrying that heavy pit for so long I had to do a mental inventory and pin point each topic on my heart and mind that was causing heaviness and/or pain and really examine it to find out the root problem and find a solution.    

I’ve been asking myself questions like:

  • Does this really matter?
  • Does this need to happen right now?
  • This is my current situation, so how can I make this work?

Some situations require different questions and sometimes it’s a matter of simply accepting “it is what is” and moving on. 

Praying and keeping close to God has helped me the most. I’ve reminded myself that God is good.  The situation might not be, but God is and He can be trusted with all of this.

There’s a saying that says God doesn’t give us more than we can handle – but that’s not true.  We are often given situations in life that we can’t handle and that’s why we need God so much in our life to lean on Him and let Him handle it.

I don’t know if this helps anyone by sharing any of this, or if you can relate, but this is just where I’m at in life with certain circumstances and it’s ok.  Life is a journey with ups and downs. 

I have so much to be thankful for and am so glad God knows the future and has a plan for my life.  When I keep Him in perspective, all things fall into place, even the ones that are still up in the air, and I can find it easier to rest.