bread crumbs

Have you ever noticed that God plants people, events, or flat out obvious clues that you are on the right (or wrong!) path in life?

The past week and a half has been really rough for me, I've been battling night and day headaches, trying to keep up with grad school work, planning decorations for a baby shower, and taking care of the house.

Generally, I've felt deflated and discouraged.

Thankfully God has been leaving "bread crumbs" along the way to let me know I'm doing the right thing and to keep pursuing.

A phone call at the just right, perfect time.

A card in the mail.

Compliments or comments from a stranger.

Delivery of a book from Amazon to remind me of my goals.

Unsolicited encouragement from a friend.

Motivation.

....and at times a general sense of peace

I am a firm believer of "bread crumbs" or whispers in our lives, we just need to keep our eyes peeled for them and accept them without doubt.

Any "bread crumbs" in your life lately?

-h

comfort

It is cold and dreary. D is out of town and I am home alone which equals comfort food in my world. Today I made shredded chicken for sandwiches in the crockpot. I love love love this recipe. It's super simple, low calorie, and tastes like a hug....does that make sense? ha ha

4-5 chicken breasts
1 cup chicken broth
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
2 tbs light sour cream (I prefer Daisy brand)
salt, pepper, onion powder to taste

Combine chicken, broth, seasonings, and soup in the crockpot and turn on high for 5-6 hours (if your crockpot runs hot, watch for browning or burning around the edges, turn down to low as necessary) At this point your chicken will be EASILY shredded. Shred the chicken with 2 forks. Add sour cream. Serve on bun (with potato chips!! yum!!)

Today we switched from Time Warner Cable to Direct TV. Our cable costs were continually rising and as much as I love TV, I was not willing to pay an arm and a leg for it. I gotta tell you, TWC was downright rude when I called to cancel..leading me to believe I made the right choice in switching. D and I are saving hundreds of dollars a year by using a different cable service provider and we now have whole house DVR = a happy Halley.

Teen Mom 2 is on tonight! Love me some smut tv. ha ha

-H

drinking wine and doing school work = productive ?!

mission accomplished...so far

Well I put myself "out there" telling you all about my 5k goal. I was hoping for motivation and accountability and it worked! I have received so many positive comments and encouragement. Gracias!

Yesterday I was tired and walking seemed like the last thing I wanted to do, but I did it anyway because I was worried one of you would ask me about it....low and behold one of you actually did! ha!

A few of my running friends tell me I am "welll" on my way to running a 5k. : )

You guys know I'm only doing this so I can get a t-shirt and a medal, right? You get medals if you finish a race, right? right!? ha ha That's my other biig motivation.

-h

p.s. this is my 300th blog post!

it's a deal!

I saw this from my friend RR. Living Social (similar to Groupon) is offering a $20 Amazon giftcard for $10. I loove me some Amazon and there are a few books I have been hoping for....so sorry D! I'm jumping on the bandwagon. : )

old habits die hard

I am anti-News Years resolutions because all they do is make people feel guilty.

I'm more of a "It's a new week resolution" type gal because doing something just for one week is more attainable and we all need a little success in our lives to keep us motivated.

I, like everyone else on the planet, and striving to lead a more healthy lifestyle. I'm eating "cleaner", adding an extra dose of fruits and veggies each day, and moving a little more.

Can I be honest? "Moving a little more" is a hard habit for me to get into. really. hard.

I shared with a few friends that one of my goals is to run a decent 5K.

That is attainable! 3.1 miles? I can do that!

3.1 miles at a non-embarrassing time? That, might take a bit of work.

So I'm training at home. I haven't picked a race yet, right now I'm focusing on building stamina.

I thought if I put my goal on the blog I might be held to some accountability....and be motivated to train regularly as now you all know about it.

: )

I would really rather be catching up on Desperate Housewives from last night, instead I'm going to walk 3 miles while listening to Glee. My goal this week is walk 15 miles. Pray for me.

-h

16 and Pregnant

Conversation at the H/D household concerning 16 and Pregnant....

D: If you got pregnant at 16 you would have a 9-year-old right now

H: uh huh

D: and THEN you'd have an excuse to listen to the music you listen to

hahaha

There are plenty of 25 year old women who listen to Kesha, Glee, Ga Ga, and that Grenade song

right?

clearance shopping

Am I the only one who goes crazy clearance shopping after Christmas??

Maybe I have too much time on my hands (possible) but I loove the thrill of catching a good deal and stocking up for the next year.

I bought a second tree for our house, which is considerably bigger than our apartment and OBVIOUSLY (ha ha) requires another tree, for $22! It's 7 foot and pre-lit and $22! How could I pass that up? I also got a tree stand for....wait for it...$1.87.

The new tree OBVIOUSLY requires ornaments...Bed Bath and Beyond had box sets of 41 ornaments for $2.50. They only had three boxes left and I bought all three. It was such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up! I decided that if I couldn't use all the ornaments, I would give them as gifts to newlyweds this year! Good idea, no?

This past year D and I made and assembled cookie/goodie baskets for our friends during the holiday season. I had a great time selecting little trinkets that matched the personality of each couple to include in the baskets, while out and about sale shopping I found the perfect little "trinket" to include in our baskets next year for $.75.

I love stretching my dollar with sale items.

-h

new year traditions...

One of my very favorite traditions that D and I have started, is having a "family" (meaning me and D) calendar in our kitchen. We try to keep it up to date with plans, events, and travel throughout the year.

My favorite part?

Take a big 'ol guess?

Our calendar is personalized!!

I can hear the roaring "duh!" from the crowd. ha ha

We use pictures from the previous year as the background and are able to type important dates-birthdays and our anniversary-directly into the calendar boxes. I just love it.

This year I ordered D a smaller desk calendar to keep at the office. It's my way of keeping a revolving, semi up-to-date, set of pictures on D's desk. ;)

I think opening a brand new calendar is exciting. Every January I write in our already established plans for the year and then set back and marvel at the emptiness....that only lasts for so long....I try to anticipate the year's events but always find myself surprised as to who is getting married, having a baby, planning a party or reunion, or a vacation. Our calendar inevitably fills up quickly, but rarely do we regret the time spent running around with family or celebrating with friends.

So as another year ends, I take down the previous year's calendar, flip through the pages, find myself grinning at the memories made, and then tuck it away as a time capsule of our lives.

sappy I know.

but I love it.

-h

2011

I am so excited that D and I welcomed the new year WITHOUT a bang! ha ha

I requested a super low key evening and that's just what I got! We went to dinner with friends, played UNO/Wii, and drank champagne. It was perfect.

I woke up this morning and ran to the store for sauerkraut and potatoes. It's tradition in my family to have pork, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes on New Years Day... isn't it funny how different families and regions of the country have different traditions? I invited some friends over for dinner and they were puzzled by my dinner choice! I was shocked! : )

While I was at WalMart I found some great clearanced Christmas items, including a new Christmas tree (7ft, prelit, umbrella set up??) for only $22! I was thrilled! I love that I started the new year with a bargain!

D is napping, I am cleaning and preparing for guests. I am content and relaxed, which is just how I want to be the rest of the year.

-h