No One Ever Believes...

...that I'm actually an introvert.

I found this great article a little while ago and it sums up my situation perfectly.

I may be a very social person, but that doesn't mean that I'm an extrovert.

As a friend of mine so eloquently put it, "I'm an introvert who leads the life of a social butterfly."

I have been told that I could talk to a wall and the wall would talk back.

I love hanging out with my friends and being social.

I love teaching my nuggets and talking with my coworkers.

However, in order for me to do that, I MUST MUST MUST have time alone.

Whether it be blogging, trolling the internet news sites for some random bit of gossip, watching a show I've already seen, or crocheting it has to be done.

I went through a very bad time in my late teens/early twenties.

Panic attacks GALORE.

I now realize that it was in part because I couldn't recognize that I was actually an introvert and was therefore going against every fiber of my being.

Whether a person is an introvert or an extrovert isn't determined by how they act around people.

It's determined by how they recharge their emotional "batteries".

Introverts recharge alone, extroverts recharge around others.

So, which one are you?

I'm off to be alone! :)

Mrs. B

High 5 for Friday! 8.2.13

Woot woot for Friday!

Boo hoo for my last Friday before school starts on Monday.

1.  I have crocheted my brains out this week.  I have made 8 hats, 7 decorative flowers and zero progress on putting my granny square quilt together.  

I have a few more hats to make for some friends.

I LOVE the easy patterns I have found over at Sarah's blog.

2.  I have loved doing the crossword puzzle each day this summer. 

I'm sure going to miss it when school starts.

3.  I went into my classroom for the first time all summer and made a little headway.

Simply putting my desks where they belong made a HUGE difference.

4.  I got my polish on today.

I don't usually paint my own nails because I'm not patient enough to wait for them to dry.

However, the dealership that we got our Escape from has a manicurist on staff.

And it's free!

This may become a weekly thing until the baby comes...

5.  I had my first, true pregnancy craving this week.  

I wanted chicken wings from a place we never go to.

They had to be the real deal, too.

No boneless wings for this baby.

Handsome Husband laughed at my insistence.

I hope you had a great week, too.

Please forgive me if I don't post every day since the school year is starting up and I never know what could happen!

Check out the other H54F blogs here.

Laters!

Mrs. B

Let Them Eat Pasta

My Aunt Sarah came up with that title...she's so witty! :)

So, I wanted to share this little gem that is partially inspired by Pinterest but put into action by an instagrammer I follow.

Have you all seen the "One Pot Pasta" recipe floating around on Pinterest?

I have the awful habit of being an I'm-gonna-pin-it-but-I'll-never-try-it kind of gal.

However, when I saw that my Instagram friend had tried it and given instructions I was a woman on a mission.
And ermagerd!!!!!
Magic in a pot. 

I tried it for the first time last week to figure it out and see if I needed to change anything.

And it's a good thing I did!

The little tweaks I made to the recipe made it sooooo much better.

Here's what you need:

12 oz. of linguine (one normal-sized box)

4 cups of chicken broth (I used a 32 oz. container)

2 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes with the juice

2 TBSP olive oil

garlic to taste (which means I used 4 heaping spoonfuls)

4 sprigs of basil leaves chopped or torn

2 TBSP red pepper flakes

1 TPSP oregano

1 medium onion sliced thinly

**optional**

chicken breast

parmesan cheese

I put all the dry stuff in first.

The first time I made this I put the items in as I came to them...bad choice.

The noodles sat in the liquid as I was chopping the onion and such and became a gooey, sticky mess.

They were clumped together in the most unattractive manner.

I added the wet stuff right before turning the burner on.

Bring it to a boil uncovered.

Once boiling, cover and lower to a simmer.

Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

I cooked it for 15 this time because I wanted the noodles more al dente than the last time. 

**Optional**

I baked some chicken while I was cooking the pasta to round out the meal.

I put sea salt and pepper on it before cooking.

Doesn't that look good???!!!

The broth, tomato juice and olive oil create a light, yummy sauce.

Garnish with parmesan cheese if you so choose.

It was pretty awesome to hear Handsome Husband mumbling, "So good!!" while he was eating.

Let me know if you try it!

Laters,

Mrs. B

The Nursery Has Begun to Become...

This whole baby thing-a-ma-jig is starting to get more real.

For one thing, I think that my belly bulge is starting to become more baby than residual I-shoulda-worked-out-more gut.

For another, I painted the room that will be the baby's nursery!

I am in LOVE with the color I picked.

I wanted to go a little outside the box with whatever was chosen.

A BIG thanks to Julie Bergdall of Red Door Design for helping me pick the color!!!

We are not finding out the gender of our child, so it had to be neutral.

However, I did not want to go with the old standbys...you know...grey, yellow, green, etc.

While this color may not be neutral to some, it goes with so many more colors that even I thought.

We will be accenting with rich colors like dark grey, rich red, navy blue, yellow, and white.

Here's the before:

The grey wasn't bad or anything, I just wasn't feeling it for the nursery since I know that I want to use grey as an accent color.

This color is called Breaktime by Sherwin Williams.

It's a compromise for both Handsome Husband and me.

His favorite color is blue while mine is green.

It brightens the room and makes me want to put the whole dang nursery together now!

However, Handsome Husband and I rent our house out during Notre Dame's football season and we need this room for some revenue for a while yet.  :)

Here's the list of to-dos for this room:

paint walls

hang curtains

set up crib

sand and paint trim

find an area rug

wall art

pillows and other decorations

replace ceiling fan with one with a light

replace outlets and light switch with white ones

crochet a blanket (or five) for the room

We've got a way to go, but plenty of time!

Laters!

Mrs. B

As for a little side-note...I will NEVER paint with another paint ever ever EVER again.

I have used Sherwin Williams' paint plus primer for the living room and nursery and have been blown away.

The dark wall in the living room needed two coats while the others only need ONE!!

The same thing for the nursery!!

It is quality, quality, quality.

LOVE!

Pencil Sharpener Envy

Ho-kay...

Sharpening loads of pencils everyday is the bane of my very existence.

I have to do it since my kiddos have already destroyed one sharpener.

However, I keep reading about this awesome pencil sharpener.

And, luckily enough, Saddle up for Second Grade is doing a giveaway featuring this very sharpener!

It's a dream come true!

So, I am keeping my fingers crossed that I win this sharpener!

Go ahead...enter yourself!

Laters!

Mrs. B

Dressing Up My Drawers

Don't worry!

I'm not talking undies in this post.

I'm talking the wonders of how consignment furniture + a little paint and tlc = a fanabulous new piece.

I found this little number for $50 at a local store.

It has great bones, but the color just doesn't cut it for my eyeballs or my kitchen.

My kitchen is white and tan with some pops of color.

This color was too washed out.

So, with the help of the ever-so-wonderful Julie Bergdall of Red Door Designs I picked Rave Red by Sherwin Williams.

Since I wanted the paint to have a bit more durability I used Sherwin Williams' latex enamel paint. 

(FYI...make sure that if you use this kind the person mixing your paint double, triple, quadruple checks the tint.  It took 4 tries to get the color right, but we did!!)

I reused the original handles.

I spray-painted them using Valspar black in gloss.

I am in LOVE with the result!

Doesn't it just POP??!!

I can't wait to get my paint-covered hands on something else!

Laters,

Mrs. B

High 5 For Friday!

Fridays don't have quite the same appeal during the summer as they do during the school year.

They simply mark that the school year is that much closer!!!

Boo.

Oh well!

Here are my top 5 from this week:

(top row, l to r)

1)  Handsome Husband and I took his parents dogs on a long walk the other day.

It was absolutely GORGEOUS!

The only problemo was that kinda stinky dogs + close quarters in the car + pregnant woman = the pregnant woman hanging out the window while moving...not the dogs.

I may have to drive separately next time...blech!

2)  I have been finding some GREAT furniture at consignment stores and garage sales this summer.

I got around to painting this dresser this week.

When it's done it will go in our kitchen to house towels, placemats, potholders, etc.

I LOVE the color.  

It really pops in our kitchen.

3)  Handsome Husband and I F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. got around to eating our wedding cake topper.

We completely forgot last year, so second anniversary it was.

It was still sooooo good.

I definitely recommend Mrs. T's Bakery for your wedding cake and other occasions.

(bottom row, l to r)

4)  I painted the future nursery this week!

The color is Breaktime by Sherwin Williams.

I love the color.

It's neutral without being grey, yellow or green.

5)  I moved my dresser while painting and found the message that my mom had "written" to me when we painted the dresser after we rescued it from the side of the road way back when.

I love finding old memories like that.

6)  Handsome Husband ADORED his anniversary meal.

We went to a local restaurant where he ordered the "Sword of John Adams".

It consisted of a ribeye, quarter chicken, and small rack of ribs.

So cool!

(I love the look on his face!!!)

I hope your week was great, too!

Check out other posts here.

Laters,

Mrs. B