Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Halloween Costume Flash Back!
Monday, October 29, 2012
Before the Storm
Hi! It’s Jilly. Everyone here is freaking out about the Hurricane Sandy, which is on its way. We live in the Southern Tier of NY, about 3 1/2 hours northwest of NYC, and we are expected to have a lot of rain, high winds, and flooding. There was a storm last September that caused a lot of damage due to flooding and high winds. This storm is predicted to be even worse than that storm was.
We feel fairly prepared, but stopped by the store on Saturday to pick up a few things just in case, and this is what we found.
No water.
No bananas. Other produce running low.
These signs seemed to be placed all over the store!
It is so crazy! Guys…seriously…GET YOUR 72 HOUR KITS TOGETHER AND YOUR FOOD STORAGE!! I don’t usually use the caps lock, but this is important! We had friends driving all over town looking for batteries because every store was sold out. All the stores are out of basic necessities. If this is how bad things are before a predicted storm (a super monster storm, yes, but it hasn’t hit yet), then how bad will it be if there is an even bigger disaster?!
For those of you who need it, here is a link to the Red Cross’s Flood Safety Checklist. For those of you who need to figure out what you need to do to get prepared for whatever may happen, here’s a link to Provident Living to help you out. To learn how to make a 72 hr kit, including a checklist and video, go here.
While looking at all this stuff I found a cool website called Stock Up Food. You can plug in what you already have and it will tell you how much you still need in which categories to meet your food storage goals. It saves the foods you add, so it’s a nice way to keep track of what you have, too. You can check out their blog here.
Hopefully things won’t be too bad, but we’ll see. I’m kinda nervous!! My brother-in-law is a lineman (works on power lines), and they sent him and bunch of other lineman out East all the way from Oregon in preparation for the power outages from the storm! Wish us luck and keep everyone on the East Coast in your prayers!
Friday, October 26, 2012
Weekend Blog Walk- Link up!
In honor of my 100th post, let's try to get over 200 link-ups!! So, share the Walk on your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+! The more links, the merrier!! :)
When saying hello to people you meet from the hop on Twitter, be sure to use the hashtag #WeekendBlogWalk. It will be like a little Weekend Blog Walk club!
Here's Jessica with the "deets" of the hop!
Jillian from Hi! It's Jilly.
Jenna from Call Her Happy
Sarah at Life in a Breakdown (Guest Host)
Melissa at My Watermelon Moon (Guest Host)
Allie at Coupon Gator Mommy (Guest Host)
Michelle at Krumble Cakes and Sweets (Guest Host)
3) Hop around and visit at least a few new blogs and meet some new blogging friends.
Have Giveaways or want to enter? Do that here.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Thoughtful Thursday
So, here we go!
This quote sums up a lot of what has been weighing on my mind lately. I feel sooooo inadequate all the time it's not even funny. I feel like I am at the bottom of the loser totem pole and can't seem to do anything right. I'm just a huge mess! It's like..oh, how do I say this...it's like there are all these areas of my life that I have to keep track of- wife, mother, homemaker, friend, etc, etc- and I can't do it! I am emotionally exhausted. I can barely bring myself to do anything. I only get out of bed because I have to. It's like I'm SO far behind that I feel like trying to catch up is fruitless. I know that not doing anything will only get me farther behind, but my brain just says, "Meh." to everything.
I have a good life. I know I do. I have been blessed SO much, and have SO many things to be grateful for. But, I just feel like there's this picture of my life that other people see, and it looks like everything is awesome, but I don't feel awesome. I have three great kids, a loving husband who puts up with way more crap from me than he should have to, great friends...the list could go on and on. But yet, I feel so disconnected from it.
AND, the thought that someone looking in would think I'm perfect because of the way my life looks make me feel sick to my stomach. I hate the thought that someone would ever compare themselves to me and think I have it all together, because I am one piece of straw away from breaking that poor camel's back! I would want to grab that person by the shoulders, shake them, and say, "No! It's not like that at all! You have NO idea how screwed up I am!"
This quote talks about comparing ourselves to others, which is definitely a problem. But, I think my biggest problem is comparing myself to ME. And, I don't mean "me", as in my current self. I mean "me" as in the "me" I think I should and could be if only I was better at being me. Does that even make any sense? It's like I have a picture in my mind of how I should be at this point in my life, and how I could be if I would just grow up and make better choices, manage my time better, etc. But, because I am weak and lame I don't, so I'm not. How can you compete with the vision of what you could be?
I know that the only way to move towards becoming the person I could be is to change my habits, make good choices, and get better a little bit each day. But, I'm so overwhelmed that I just want to curl up in a little ball. It's like I feel paralyzed. I've tried to explain this to my hubby, but I'm not sure he totally gets what I'm saying. He just gets out his "toolbox" and starts giving me suggestions. "Well, maybe you could fix that problem by _____" or "Do or do not, there is no try" or "Things won't get better if you don't do anything at all. It will just get worse." I know, I know! But, but, but...I can't! I feel like I am the lamest of the lame. Why do other people my age, and younger, have this stuff figured out, and I'm over here in a big 'ole mess?!
Am I the only one who has ever felt this way, or do other people feel like that? I think I'm losing my mind! Does any of this make any sense at all?
Thanks for "listening" to my trip to Crazytown. Don't worry...next week's Thoughtful Thursday will be a lighter fare! I've just had a lot on my mind lately, and I feel like I will burst at the seams if I don't let it out!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Menu Plan Monday
Since I need to go shopping today I figured I should probably go with some kind of plan, right?! So, I actually made a menu for this week! (Go me!)
And, I thought I would share my plan with you, because sharing is caring. Maybe my plan will spark some meal ideas for you! Here we go...
Monday: Creamy Mexican Turkey Soup with some of our leftover turkey. My husband decided last week that he wanted to make a turkey. Ok, hubs. Whatever. As long as you're cookin', I don't care! This recipe is from Recipe Girl, and it is awesome!
Tuesday: Spinach Lasagna Rolls. Recipe from Skinnytaste.com. These are SO easy to make! I made a bunch of them with the 8-11 year old girls at church for an activity, and they were able to make them with little direction from me.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Weekend Blog Walk!
As always, we are so happy to have you here at the Weekend Blog Walk! Leave a comment if you are new to the hop so I can say, "Hi!". Let's get walkin'!
Jillian from Hi! It's Jilly.
Jenna from Call Her Happy
Hayley from Hayley's World
Misty from Monkeys and Tutus (Guest Host)
April from Darlingest Dr. Momsie (Guest Host)
Danielle at The Periwinkle Piggy (Guest Host)
3) Hop around and visit at least a few new blogs and meet some new blogging friends.
Have Giveaways or want to enter? Do that here.