Feelings

jealous: feeling or showing jealousy: such as a : feeling or showing an unhappy or angry desire to have what someone else has via

I need to remember the next time I recognize myself feeling jealous how ugly it looks on somebody. It has been a good, yet challenging last few weeks as I know that there is jealousy all around me. I know that I am shutting down and shutting them out, and as much as I know I shouldn't do that, I struggle with how to deal with it. Please pray for wisdom on how to do better with it.

My uncle's surgery on Friday went good. The Dr was pleased. A lot of life changes for him and my aunt, please pray that they can accept these changes and lead a better life.

Nurse?

Wondering if I'm meant to be in a nursing position? Spent the last few days at the University hospital with my aunt and uncle, my mom is set to have surgery in 2 weeks (her 2nd in the last 6 months) and in March I will be helping a friend recover from surgery. What in the world?! :)

the last 13 months

I can't believe I've let this go for thirteen months! I blame it on the fact that I'm still unemployed and just not a lot going on in my life, at the moment. I'm praying that things pick up quickly! Before I upload pictures (blogs are better with pics, I know!) I'm going to see if I can keep up with this first.

Some highlights of the last year:
My nephew made it to state in wrestling.
My niece had some artwork that made it to the state capitol building to be put on display and was given an award.
This proud Aunt was able to make it back to be a part of both events.

Jax turned 2. At times he still very much has a puppy mentality, but on the other hand he is so smart and so funny. I adore him and don't want to imagine my life without him.

For the 3rd year in a row, I volunteered with the Kansas City Susan G Komen Race For the Cure. An amazing event, I hope to be able to be a part of this for many more years to come!

My mom fell and broke her elbow and my brother broke his arm, all within a matter of a month of each other. First broken bones in years in this house.

I've been blessed with the opportunity to spend a lot of time where I grew up from October-ish through now.

As I said, not a lot has happened, but a lowe key life is pretty nice most days.

Erin Condren giveaway

Megan is giving away a $25 gift card to the fabulous Erin Condren. Head on over to Megan's page and comment for a chance to win!

http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/2012/01/erin-condren-giveaway.html

Good Luck!

Pecan Pie Bars

picture via here
Recipe courtesy of my bestie!


2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package (10 oz) English toffee bits or almond brickle chips (7 1/2 oz)
1 cup chopped pecans


Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press firmly onto the bottom of a greased 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 350* for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the egg, milk and vanilla until smooth. Stir in toffee chips and pecans; spread evenly over baked crust.

Bake for 20-25 minutes more or until lightly browned. Cool. Cover and chill; cut into bars and serve. Store in refridgerator.

Recipe

Christmas Nut Pie

1/2 c butter, melted
1 c sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c flaked coconuts
1 c chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 unbaked 9' pie shell

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Mix together all ingredients except pie shell in bowl until well blended. Pour into pie shell. Bake 40-50 minutes or until set. Cool on rack.

the last 90 days

Jax snoozing by my parents fireplace

trying to get a pic of Jax with antlers

Merry Christmas!

attempt with the antlers

get these things OFF of me!

my parents! love them!

silly bands... I think he had 78 in this picture

enjoying the freedom of the country life

this is where J sits most of the time, on my chest

my BFF

comparison of July to December with two hair cuts...

If I had the patience I'd sort the pictures... but I don't, even with all the time I have on my hands these days.

On Thursday, September 30 I lost my job. After 9 years, 10.5 months, it was gone. I guess almost 10 years at a company doesn't mean a whole lot these days. I was / am okay with it. Do somedays I get a little sad, maybe.... okay, yes. But, at the end of the day I know God has a better plan for me. I had been unhappy for a good year, maybe closer to 2 years in this place with the company. For the longest time I thought bman was a friend, but over the last few years I came to realize he wasn't and it became really clear that day. He had known for weeks that this was going to happen.

I left the next day and spent a couple of weeks at my parents. Spent some time just relaxing, seeing friends and family. Its the first time in 14 years that I've truly been able to enjoy my friends and family and not dread coming back home! Jax got so used to being able to go outside and just roam, to run, to be free! He's a city boy but he sure loves the freedom of the country.

So, not only did I lose my job by my home computer had shot the craps. I spent many days at the local library looking for jobs. The pain point of this was you were allowed 1 hour on the computer at a time, unless it was slow then they would grant you more time. But when you see people standing and waiting for a computer, I felt guilty. Thankfully, my parents came to the rescue... they basically financed me and I'm now paying them back for the wonderful computer I now use.

Out of the month of October, I probably spent 2.5 weeks in Iowa, including Halloween. Jax went nuts having the little kids in costumes show up. Sadly, we only had about 10 trick-or-treaters because of some mis-communication. It was sad and disappointing.

Thanksgiving was good, as always. My favorite holiday. Spending time with family, eating great food, getting our lists ready for Black Friday. Ahhhh... Black Friday. We left my parents house at 2:20 am! We got home around 5:30 or 6 that night. Pure exhaustion! My trunk barely shut and my Mama literally had enough room to sit in the back seat. It was awesome!

Christmas is now 15 days away... that just seems to surreal to me. Time has flown.

I've applied for so many jobs, had one interview and a few phone calls. I'm starting to stress a bit, but I know that God has a plan. I trust him completely!

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and safe New Year!

At this rate, I'll write again in another 3 months, ha!