Something Wicked

In a Halloween kind of way. =)

I am trying so hard to hold back, slow down and enjoy September. But it's hard. Halloween is so much fun. I decided to start working on some Halloween printables to help fight the urge to decorate my house!

I will have at least a dozen to share over the next month or so; even some exciting news later in in Sept. But for now, to help YOU get in the mood, I have two free printables!!

You right click and save as OR download them below:

As I mentioned, I've got a ton of printables in the works, so please feel free to check out my Halloween Printables folder on Box throughout the next month or so for new {free} printables.

31 Days... revisted

Lost my Mojo

Maybe you've noticed that my workout posts are non-existent. I can tell you that I spent the last part of the summer packing on the pounds.

Insert frowny face.

Remember my trainer?  I saw him on Monday night. He pulled up next to me. At Little Caesars.  He didn't see me, thankfully. I had to giggle at the situation, though. Of all places to see him, why Little Caesars?

He's tried getting me back to the gym over the last few months. At first it was scheduling conflicts. Then my back became an issue. Want me to go on?  I have a ton more excuses I could conjure up.

I guess the ball to my chain has been feeling the need to get into shape some. He went online and ordered a clotheshorse treadmill. It hasn't arrived yet, but when it does, we have the perfect spot for it. In our bedroom, in front of the television.

It's funny. When you tell people that you've just purchased a large piece of workout equipment, they take a gander at you and then give you THAT look. You know the one.

My own doctor gave us that look last week. Marcos and I went in for our yearly physicals on Thursday. I say yearly, but it's only the second time we've really done it. We were so cute together, in a doctor's office that caters mostly to the Senior Citizen crowd, sitting together, holding hands. And when we left, we had matching tape around our arms from where they drew blood. We were also both deflated. Because our own doctor gave us that look. And then went further and told us to NOT let the treadmill become a place to throw our shirts on.

Duh, Dr. Dude! We have the floor for that.

Anyway... back to the treadmill and physical and such. Besides my back, my kidneys have been hurting. Perhaps it's because the only H20 I was drinking involved the shower water as I kept my mouth agape, to lazy to move out of the way, or the sink water when I was brushing my teeth - you know, the accidental swallow?

I think I had a Dr. Pepper (or seven) glued to my hand every single day since June. Not good.
Well, they were good. Ah, you know what I mean.

My back can't take it. My kidney's can't take it. So, we are waiting for our treadmill delivery. And with the weather hopefully getting cooler, sooner rather than later, I have plans to get back outside on my bike. I love my bike.

I am proud to report that since Thursday, I've been drinking ice water as if it were going out of style. I find that a clear plastic cup and a straw help. I am materialistic that way, I guess.

While this isn't my great come-back post... please know that one will be forthcoming.  Soon.

Excited much?

The Real Fall Frenzy

If I am being honest, the frenzy that is going on right now isn't just about decorating the house with burnt oranges and reds. It's not just about back-to-school or the sun setting much sooner in the evening. All of that is happening, but there is more.

This is about to get deep, yo.

As I start to settle into a new routine, perfect or not, I realize that I have a tugging in my heart. The days, they are flying by. There is so much going on; 99 percent of which I cannot control. I try, but I fail. I don't fail in an epic kind of way. I guess it's more that I realize there are some things (okay, a lot of things) that are out of my control.

I find that how I react to certain situations is lacking heart, maturity, authenticity...
I can control my reactions, but have I been? As I analyze the way I respond to people and situations, I have a longing to learn more; mostly about myself.

Some days, it's hard to get going. Even though there are million things I have jotted down on my 'to-do' list. Even though I have a family depending on me. Even though I want to, I truly do.

Thankfully, I don't believe there is a dark, robust cloud hanging over me. I think I would know, right? But just in case, this is me, pulling out my umbrella. This is me, looking to learn a life-lesson. This is me wanting to be a better wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. In that order.

Perhaps it's because we are coming up on 19 years of being together, since we were 16. Perhaps it's because I see what a good man he is, despite his faults and because of them, too. Lessons learned, right? I cherish my husband and I want him to know that, without a doubt, each and every day.

I want my kids to feel the same. I cherish them. Even when they are annoying or loud or angry. I can tell you that even though I am working all day, I feel lonely without the kids around. Or maybe I just miss the sound of SpongeBob in the background. Either way, it's quiet. Too quiet.

I want people in my life who are real. But at the same time, I don't want to spend all of my time keeping up with them. I have mixed emotions about this particular topic. I have to think more on it, before I share more on it.

The frenzy in my life right now is a hiccup; it's a small fraction of time. I document my feelings and desires because they are getting stronger. The whispers are getting louder.

These declarations may not be life altering. Yet.
They may not make sense to you, or you, or you. Yet.
They may seem vague, or just the opposite, too big. I get that. 

Do you remember this post?

I think I might have a contender for my topic.

Fall Frenzy

A personal record, I'd say. Last year I made my fall wreath and posted about my love for fall a whole 10 days earlier. I can't believe I held out this long. While I am certainly in a frenzy to get fall started, I am also a little depressed.

My office is a mess. Ever since we pulled the carpets out of the formals and family room, a ton of items have been thrown into my office/craft room as a temporary home. In addition, I still have furniture (bookcases and a chair) in my hallway. I am hoping the builder hurries up and gets their concrete people to finish my floors so that Marcos and I can then REALLY finish my floors. I don't feel like I can do any inside decorating, as it will all be lost in the chaos and concrete dust.

Of course, that doesn't stop me from starting on the outside of the house. I made my fall wreath yesterday... I wanted to use apples in my theme. I found these cute small crafting apples from 32* North (on Etsy). They were $4.95 for six.

Besides the wreath, I cleaned up the front porch a little. I had to trim (or completely pull out) some of our greenery. It was creeping over to our neighbor's side and it was a mess. Marcos and Alex cut the grass and did an overall yard clean-up. My rocks look muddy because it has been raining like crazy around here, and this area floods. :(

We've had such bad dust storms, that I was glad to finally take a broom to the porch and to also clean the windows. They were nasty!

I know what you are thinking... it's still too green and blue to look like fall, but I am trying... =)

Here's a close-up of the newly decorated seating area.

1] New pillows from WalMart - $12 each (can reuse them for Christmas)
2] New glass top table from WalMart - $15 (got rid of the seventies one I found at Goodwill several months back)
3] Fall flowers - 2 bunches $5 and $2 in a wooden vase I already owned
4] Cheap kitchen rug $5 (it's perfect... if it gets ruined, it only cost five bucks, no biggie - but it DOES add a pop of color)
5] New-ish chairs we had to purchase when the HOA decided to hate on our teal Adirondack chairs - $19 each from Home Depot

For less than $100 - I was able to spruce up, add color, and decorate for the Fall. As I start to clean out my office, I may find more fun fall things to use - you know, as we actually get CLOSER to fall?!

All this will be up through September, because once October 1 hits, it will be Halloween Central around here.

Published!

Okay, maybe it's not that big of a deal, but I was excited. A few days ago, a friend on Facebook asked me if I was the Jaime who was quoted (?!) in the September issue of Family Circle magazine.

I scratched my head.

And then asked her to take a picture and post it for me. And she did.

I totally forgot about it until I saw her picture (which I cannot find any longer). I did go out and purchase my own copy, you know just because I am cool like that.

What I think is even cooler is that if you go to FamilyCircle.com and type my name (Jaime Ayala) in the search field, the article comes right up...

via

Basically, Family Circle, on Facebook, asked what we thought of new efforts to ban books. They ended up choosing six comments and published them along with the article. I was one of those six.

Here are my thoughts (from FamilyCircle.com):

Isn't that kinda awesome?

Hey - it gave my mom something to show people at work. Page 118 of Family Circle. =)

What are YOUR thoughts on people trying to ban certain books?

Adventures in Kindergarten

My baby boy is starting his third week of Kindergarten today. Mornings have gotten a tad bit easier. Maybe because we bribe him with frozen yogurt and Legos?! This morning, before he climbed on the bus, he waved at me two times. And then ran over and grabbed me in a hug. I was so scared he was going to breakdown, but he didn't.

Last week, on the way to our frozen yogurt treat, Nic told me that he had to make a sign at school. The kids were asked what is one thing they SHOULDN'T do in school. The teacher went child-by-child and wrote down their answer on a yellow sticky that the kids were to copy.

Nic decided that the ONE thing you shouldn't do in school is shooting. The sign actually says "No Shooting," I couldn't grab the "no" in the pic. But look at the gun. First thought?! AK-47? High powered automatic?

Nope.

via

It's a British gun called a Famas. I guess it's a common gun in a video game Alex plays. And we all know what kind of memory Nic has. I cannot believe he even remembered to put the magazine at the back of the gun.

I am not a fan of guns, but since I was raised by a military dad and two card-carrying enthusiasts, I accept them (when handled correctly). I will tell you, after being laid up in bed (due to my bad back) all weekend - and watching back-to-back episodes of 48 Hours | Hard Evidence on the ID channel, I was leery to even Google the Famas gun to provide you a picture. I am soooo paranoid now. lol...

Nic was upset that he "forgot" to leave the sign at school to hang up with the other kids' pictures. I am sure that it was sent home on purpose. I do want to point out that before the picture was even drawn, the teacher did write down "no shooting" on a sticky for him to copy (based on what he wanted). In this day in age, I think it's a GREAT sign to have.

NO SHOOTING in the classroom (or at movie theaters or football stadiums!).

Makes sense to me.

I am hoping that Nic continues to do well in school and that his tiny meltdowns before getting on the bus fully subside. His Legos collection has expanded significantly; he may have to move out of his room soon! =)

Busy as Bees (and Guest Bath Update)

The last few days of last week proved to be challenging. My back was acting up and I was unable to work on my to-do lists. Don't you hate when you have energy and WANT to get to work, but you physically can't?

Thankfully, the husband was a dreamboat and worked his butt off to get stuff done around the house, including making me some good grub, morning, noon and night.

The husband installed our new surround sound speakers. It's a 7.1 (whatever that means). Well, what it means is that we have 6 newly installed speakers in my family room. SIX. Which is maybe four too many, IMO.  Eh. Maybe it will be a good thing as we get older and more hard of hearing. ;)

We also pulled the carpet up from our family room. I think I mentioned we found some issues with the concrete in the formals, and since we know we are going to replace the carpet in the family room soon (with tile), we decided to go ahead and pull to have it ready when our builder comes to repair the concrete. I am glad we did, there were issues there, too. So, now it REALLY is a concrete jungle in our house!

Finally, we worked on the guest bath for a bit last night. I mentioned before that we removed the builder-grade mirror and painted and started on the board & batten. However, after giving it some thought, I decided to NOT do board & batten... instead, I've decided to do paneling - with a little extra trim work. Yes, paneling can be considered a bad word. But, I think when you do it RIGHT, it can add tons of charm to a small room.

I had to remove the boards I already had in place... and start over. This was from before:

And this (below) is where we are now, but lease note...

The paneling piece comes in at four feet wide. However, I decided to be CRAZY and place the paneling on it's side so that the "boards" are horizontal instead of vertical, thus, the height of my paneling was going to be four feet TALL (and 68.5" wide). I added a trim piece at the bottom to give it a tiny bit more height, and then added the primed MDF boards at the top to give it some additional character and picture rail.

We have a lot of caulking and painting to do, but so far everything looks great. We are going to keep the paint neutral in that room, using Natural Linen by Glidden (the same color as our formals) and then bring color in with the accessories. We also have plans for a bit of back splash tile. Fun!

So, with the back issues, I couldn't help out a TON, but I did lend my support and made a kick-ass dinner for my peeps (if I do say so, myself). No one complained! ;)

Well, it's Sunday - I have a ton of things to do to get us ready for the upcoming week. However, first on my list is to take Isa to go see the new Timothy Green movie. Can't wait. POPCORN!!

Fab Food Friday

I am changing the name of my previous menu planning attempt from Yummy Menu Monday to Fab Food Friday. Why? Because we start our menu week on Friday night. Weird, I know. But it works for us!

With all of the new craziness in our lives (you know, three kids in school, sports, etc), I've decided to start back up the menu planning. I always do it in real life; however, I am going to be sharing it with you all again. Who doesn't love a great crock pot recipe? No one, that's who.

• Friday - Taco Night (this never gets old), Spanish Rice
• Saturday - Oven Roasted Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Veggies
• Sunday - Chicken Pot Pie (Hot Pot Diaries - Recipe below)
• Monday - Ranch Chicken Sandwiches (Ree Drummond)
• Tuesday - Beef Kielbasa with Pasta, Veggies
• Wednesday - Fried Chicken Tenders, Corn on the Cob, Biscuits
• Thursday - Tuna Casserole

Gimme a V!!

Last night, the good husband took the good daughter into Urgent Care to get a last minute Sports Physical.
Volleyball tryouts start TODAY! I know it's going to be more competitive this year; more people will be cut then ever (the school's attendance has doubled!). Last year was Isabel's first year playing - I hope she makes it again!!

Please cross your fingers and toes and eyeballs!!

Mirror, Mirror off the Wall

This past weekend, among a dozen other small chores, the husband and I jumped the gun. It's funner (more fun?) that way. The floor in my formals are still bare, and furniture is askew, but I wanted to get some work done in the Guest Bath.

Generally how it occurs is that I bring a tool or two in from the garage. A screw driver here. A roll of Blue tape there. "Honey, do you think I taped this well enough?" Once "honey" gets up to look, I know I've piqued his interest. And down comes the HUGE builder-grade mirror. YAY!!!

Only Instagram shots of this people, I was too lazy to take out the camera!

Since we are replacing the old mirror with a smaller mirror (that we have yet to research or purchase) that will be centered only on the sink, new lighting is in order. Hey, I don't make the rules people.

I made a quick run to Home Depot and Lowes yesterday to see what our new lighting options are. I know we need oil-rubbed bronze since our bathroom fixtures are all oil-rubbed bronze, including the faucet. I want to keep the Guest Bath BRIGHT, casual, farmhouse and vintage, as we are putting bead board on the main wall (instead of the board & batten I originally had planned - more on that in a different post).

Here are a few options I found... Keep in the mind, the glass will actually be CLEAR (more vintage looking and capable of bringing out the best light).  To me, Lowes had the best options. You could pick your fixture, then pick the glass lamp/piece/thing that you wanted. Kind of custom.

The two sconces are from Home Depot, but Lowes had something similar. However, I think my heart is palpating faster each time I look at the 3-light bar. It just feels right for the space. While we opted to take out the medicine cabinet, too (oops, forgot to mention that, did I?), I think trying to put a sconce in that left corner along with a new mirror might be tight.

Okay, enough tiny Instagram photos for this post. I promise to charge my camera and have it handy for my next post. ;)  We are moving right along on the guest bathroom and I cannot wait to slap some paint on those walls and really start to see the small space take shape. Now if I can only decide on a paint color.

Dun Dun Dunnnnnnnn.

Speaking of Snapshots

You may have noticed that I have a new picture off to the right.

My friend, Amy, is a local photographer and willingly accepted my request to shoot me.

I had no one to hide behind. Do you know how awkward that is? Thankfully, Amy made me feel super comfortable and we were able to get some good shots. I am so not photogenic (as I've stated before), but as my kids put it... that's how I look. Whatcha gonna do?!

This last one is nice... but I feel like I should be co-anchoring with Ron Burgundy.

Just trying to keep it classy.

Lovely & Lacey

I love when I stumble upon the perfect thing. I thought I knew what I wanted for my kitchen's window coverings; I was wrong.

I was on Pinterest looking through the house decor pins for nothing in particular and came across this picture:

Now... I've been stalking Layla's blog for quite a while, so I knew it wasn't her house. But after I clicked over to see the deets, I realized that Layla had been visiting a friend and took pictures of her kitchen.

I love everything about the dressings. The lace, the bulky, black clips. Hey, look - a pendant light! Similar to mine.

Now I just need to find the perfect lace. And bulky clips.