Too busy.

I love my job. I'll always start with that because it somehow makes me feel better about all the hours I spend doing it. People hear who I work for and wonder how it can be that big of a deal but we are serious about what we do. We have project teams, strategic planning 3 years in advance, and read hundreds of pages of research in an effort to try our best to succeed in our mission. A majority of our staff (cause, let's be honest, there are always folks who aren't engaged) is deeply dedicated to our "cause" and give lots of extra hours, tons of heart, and lots of brain power to keep us moving in the right direction.


That being said. I'm exhausted. I don't feel like I can give my home life the attention that it needs and I feel guilty for wanting to be successful in both my work and home life. Can you really have it both ways? Someone told me recently that if they had to choose between a successful career that they felt good about and a family that they would choose a family - simply because they didn't think they could give both 100%. Does it have to be all or nothing? I don't even have children that I am trying to raise and I already struggle with spending enough time on either work or home. If you give too much at home, work thinks you aren't dedicated. If you give too much at work, your family and home suffer. Honestly, if I had to choose, I would pick a healthy family and those relationships over work. But I love what I do and I feel like I am pretty good at it. Can you have both? Weigh in here folks, I need some insight.


That being said, I will be in Knoxville or out of town for 12 out of the 21 working days in March. Between team meetings, presenting at a conference, a staff meeting, and multiple 2 day meetings for the big project team I am working with, I won't be home much. I feel really bad about it for some reason. I know that Chad works second shift and it isn't like he'll be home at night most nights if I was there but I feel guilty. He's not getting the best of me when I am there and he surely isn't getting the best of me when I am in a hotel in Knoxville. But I believe in the work we are doing. Deeply. But I come home and I don't want to do dishes or vacuum because I am just too tired. Is there a happy medium? I have plans to take 3 days off the end of March to hang out with my guy. He wanted to burn some vacation time and I am all too happy to oblige. Is that the compromise? Work hard and then play hard but don't try to do both?

My valentine.

 

Chad had to work on Valentine's Day so I ended up at dinner with his uncle and parents and some friends. It wasn't a bad way to spend the evening - Uncle J and I even went to look at appliances. You know you are an adult when....oh well.

Chad was, however, off this weekend so we had big plans to spend the days together. On Saturday, we went to sweet C's birthday party. I can't believe he is 2 years old and we have so enjoyed watching him grow - and his parents are wonderful friends. You can see the joy of Jesus in their lives and in their parenting. It is sweet to see. Anyway...Chad and I left there and snuck to Rembrants, a local coffee shop.

I had a lovely pot of tea and Chad had decaf coffee (and claims his own brew at home is better).

 

My mom asked for pictures of our treats but I sort of forgot to take a picture until it was mostly eaten. Sorry Mom. I had a delicious éclair and Chad had a muffin. His was long gone before the camera came out.

 

But trust me, it was delicious.

I did manage to paint my nails for the occasion. Hearts for fun.

 

We enjoyed some lazy time together the rest of Saturday and Sunday...and ended our weekend with a trip to the local observatory that the university owns now. Apparently they do this weekly get together but invite the public - who ever is interested in coming - so we went! They talked about telescopes, we watched a little planetarium show, and then they let us go look through the BIG telescope (you know, the kind that points out the domed roof!). They had it pointed at Jupiter, one the brightest spots in our night sky, and we saw at least 3 moons and Jupiter's rings. I am a little space obsessed and I thought it was the coolest thing. I am really thankful Chad knows my love of space and took me. What a guy...

All in all, it was a lovely weekend with my favorite dude.  

February Birchbox!

It is Birchbox time! This was a pretty good box this month - it looks like they partnered with Us Weekly (magazine) but I am not really sure where anything different or special happened because of it. That's ok with me since it is basically a gossip mag - something I am interested in having less of in my life. :)

Upon first opening...the theme looks like Step. Pose. Repeat. I know this is NY Fashion Week so maybe that is the connection.

Here are all the goodies before inspection...

This is Dr. Brandt brand "Pores No More" pore refiner. I don't think I really have a problem with large pores but sometimes I use products like this before my foundation when I am really trying to pull it all together. So, I'll stock it away!

This is the "lifestyle extra" for my box this month - 32Oral Care brand effervescent breath crystals. I am not sure if i will be able to convince myself to use them since they pop in your mouth - I'm a sensory gal. Mint flavored Pop Rocks aren't my jam but I will probably stick them in my desk drawer at work in case I need them! :)

I am excited about trying another product from the Beauty Protector line of haircare. I loved the last one - a spray de-tangler, heat protector,  and this one is similar. It is the Protect and Oil product and defends against UV rays, heat, and breakage. I like to use these on days I know I will be drying and curling my hair - I think it really helps!

I edited my beauty profile to include "no more than 6 perfume samples" per year and they have actually done a good job of that. I was getting one in every box and now I only get one in about every 3rd box so that is nice...makes me more exited to get other things and more excited about perfumes when they do show up. This is another Juicy Couture brand scent "La La Malibu"...smells nice. I'll add it to the collection in the bathroom and use it periodically. 

This is the thing I am actually most excited about. Ruby Wing brand nailpolish that changes colors in the sun. Oh yes. Excited. The color is called Kitten Heels and it changes from the bright pink to a darker magenta pink...I might whip this out next time I paint my nails. I am desperate to change to bring spring colors! :)

All in all, a fun and interesting box. Thanks to the person that gifts these to me every month! :)

Spatulas.

First, my mom is hysterical.
Second, the story...
Mom came to visit a few weeks ago and ever since I haven't been able to find a couple of my spatulas. I am not ACCUSING her of taking them...nor do I think she actually did. It is just a little coincidental that they went missing upon her visit.
Yesterday, I got home from Knoxville and checked the mail. I found a set of spatulas from my mom. Just clear wrapped with a mailing label on them. Hysterical.
(P.S. if you didn't know, you can mail most anything as long as it isn't dangerous. It doesn't have to be in a box - just needs a label. I remember working at camp many summers ago and people had things like hula hoops and kickballs mailed to them. Awesome.)

January Birchbox!

It's January Birchbox time! I think I completely forgot to blog about last month's Birchbox - my first miss! - so I will try to do better (sorry Mom!). 

This month's box had a theme of "Go Time" and honestly my favorite part was some little postcards with pretty quotes on them that will probably make their way to being displayed at my office.

 

This is Nail Rock's sequin nail polish. it is a clear polish with a little pot of glitter that you press on your nails after you paint them. This is a full size product and retails for $6.99 which is pretty cool. However, glitter is a beast to get off your nails so this will be a special use polish for me. I did score a really interesting green color which wouldn't normally be my first choice BUT it is Girl Scout green so it will be fun to use it for a special event!

 This is the second or third time that I have gotten tea bags in my box and it is always sort of a letdown. I don't drink that much tea so I usually end up giving it to my guy but I would rather have the beauty product! Either way, Chad will enjoy it so it's OK with me...

 Of all the products I received this month, I am most excited to try this one. This is a Fekkai brand Brilliant Glossing Creme. It is a frizz tamer (that's me!) and has a teeny bit of shimmery stuff in it to make your hair shiny. You only need a pea sized amount each time you use it so this is actually a decent sized sample! This brand is well known in the hair care world so I am always excited to get something of theirs!

 This is a mascara sample from the 100% Pure company. It is pigmented by fruit so it actually smells really good. The full size is $18 which is a little more than I would spend on a regular mascara but I haven't tried this one yet because I got an awesome one for Christmas, thanks to my sister. I will definitely try it!

Finally, I think I might have saved the best for last. This brand is called Paula's Choice. At first, I was like wow....they customized this box something serious (kidding) but then I was excited to see a higher end beauty brand with my name on it! This is the Resist Ultra-light super antioxidant concentrate serum (that's a mouth full). Supposed to be great even under eyes and I am always looking for a good moisturizer that doesn't leave me greasy but does its job. Excited to try this one out!

So, there you go! January's Birchbox...great except for the tea. :)

Sushi. A post for my mother.

My mom was in town this past weekend and we had a lovely visit. I love it when she comes and we just do stuff together. Nothing special - ran errands, took a nice walk around the neighborhood, just generally hanging out. I enjoy her company. Chad had to work this weekend so I had her all to myself for a while on Saturday afternoon and it was wonderful.




Friday night we had a sushi date with Uncle J. Mom, of course, does NOT each sushi and enjoyed a salad and some veggie fried rice (which she always orders when I drag her to sushi restaurants). This visit inspired me...tomorrow we are having our monthly work potluck. They usually have a random theme - whatever the person in charge picked for the month - and tomorrow is Oriental. Sometimes we try to do all healthy versions of our favorite themed food, sometimes we don't care. Tomorrow we are supposed to bring whatever Oriental food we like to share. I like sushi. But I really like dessert.



So, I'm making sushi dessert.




Rice crispy treats on the outside.
Thinly sliced strawberries and bananas.
And homemade chocolate mousse on the inside.


You betcha. It is gonna be awesome.


I typed all this out because I was going to include pictures - since my mom won't see the goodness on Facebook or Instagram - but Blogger won't let me upload pictures at the moment. I promise, they are super cute. And I will try to add pictures later. Love you mom!

My sweet mom.

I might have talked about this before but it is absolutely worth talking about again...so I will. Pretty much ever since I moved to Chattanooga, my mom has done her best to come visit about once per month. She leaves Columbus on Friday, stops in Atlanta to see my sister, and then spends the weekend with me. We sometimes don't do much but fold laundry and watch movies but sometimes we manage to do things that are a little more exciting. Usually, over Christmas break, we both get out our calendars for the next year and go ahead and pick weekends. Sometimes they have to change as the year goes on but usually it is pretty dependable.


That being said, this weekend is mom weekend! I have a running list of things we want to do in Chattanooga - weird things to go see, places to eat that she hasn't eaten before, etc. so we are going to try to knock some of those off our list this weekend. I am excited that she will be here. Sad that Chad has to work and will miss some of it but then I get her all to myself...and that's ok too.