*GASP*....No, it can't be true!!

I'm going to tell you a secret...it's a BIG one...I mean REALLY BIG...this year I turn the BIG 4...0...Yeah, I can't believe that I just put that secret out in blog-land! 

I know what you are thinking, "No, way is Kirstie almost 40. She can't be more than 34!" but alas, it's true. On May 28 I will turn 40! Mostly I don't mind, mostly, I think I am doing great. I have an amazingly blessed life, God has been so good to me. But, girls, really you know what I'm saying, "40!", back when I was 16 40 was ancient! 

I have a great friend who says "40 is fabulous!" and I mean really who wouldn't want to be fabulous; no matter what the age! To celebrate this milestone I'm doing something I've never done before. Another great friend has challenged me to run a 10K with her. I have done some 5k's (well, two actually) with her before. She had a great point to celebrate 40 I should go all out. I'm excited about it; to see if I can really get my body (my 40 year old body at that!) 10K ready. Now if I could ever get rid of this sinus funk I could start training! I'll let you all know how it goes!

and FYI...I finally got around to trying the Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites and yeah, not so good! May have to tweak it a bit! 

COOK-ing is it a four letter bad word??

My daughter likes to cook; well, actually that's pretty mild she "LOVES" to cook. It makes her happy! Me, well, not so much! It does not make me happy; maybe, I view it as a too much of a chore to find happiness in it. Personally I would much prefer to decorate something for fun. However, as a mom with a family of 5, cooking is somewhat necessary. I was reading this gal's blog and came upon another gal's blog (that's how it goes in blog-world). I really liked everything I saw, and she met a couple of my most important criteria for cooking: low fat and a crock-pot. Here ya go in case your interested.

Here is a LINK to her site!

In fact as soon as I hit the publish button on this post I'm headed to cook something I found on here...Buffalo Cauliflower Bites. I'll let you know how they turn out!

...toes in the sand

As the thermometer reads a balmy 33 degrees this is where my mind wanders. Am I the only one?

Thank You, Pinterest...

Thanks to Pinterest, that fun place we all love to go when we are bored, I have found the best website. I love it. I read it daily. I have learned things from it, and I have taken advice from it. I am pleased with everything I have purchased as a result of something I read on her site; not to mention that everything she talks about can be found at drugstores all over America. It's the best. If you're interested you can find a link to her site HERE. You certainly won't be sorry that you did.  Did I mention that her claim to fame is experimenting with drugstore cosmetics, finding how they rate when compared to high-end cosmetics, and giving us inexpensive but high-quality choices? Here are just some examples of things I have purchased and love...all in all I've spent less than $20.

I loved this...and I would still be using it if I hadn't accidentally flushed the powder down the toilet. I will be replacing it ASAP. 

Longest wearing lip gloss I've ever used, ever.

This really works. I admit I was skeptical, I mean it only cost $1.72 could it really work? but yep, it can, and it does! Love this look!

All of the above cost around $12...not to mention the lip gloss had a coupon on it (thought you would appreciate that JM!)

Fun fact: The mascara I just wrote about last week just so happens to be one of her favs! Great minds think alike I guess. Did I mention she has my dream job??

...two sides

How many times have we heard, "There are always two sides to every story?" Many times, I'm sure. It's sage advice. Advice that happens to be true, of course, but often forgotten. As we hear stories of things that happened to "so, and so" and "such and such", this sage advice isn't usually at the forefront of our minds.  But it should be. We should remember that each and every situation has two versions, and there is very rarely one truly innocent party. True, some may bear a greater amount of responsibility, but that doesn't mean each party isn't guilty of something. I recently have seen how forgetting this advice plays out in real life. It's not too pretty. In fact, it's quite ugly. But the fact of the matter is sometimes no matter how much you want to change things we (people) believe what we want to believe and see what we want to see. And nothing that anyone else says will ever change that!

OK so, now I'm off my soapbox!  

stocking stuffers, mascara, and a hubby who really knows me...

No denying that I really like Christmas; I mean I really really do, promise! I love it so much it's really hard for me to decide on one favorite aspect of it for me. However, stockings rank pretty hight on my list along with: the Christmas story of Jesus' birth, Christmas Carols, and Elf on the Shelf. I love stockings so much that Terry and I still get each other stockings stuffed full of all sorts of stuff! Terry is quite possibly one of the best stuffers around. Even better than me! He always gives me cool stuff that he knows I would love but might not buy myself. He heads down the make-up section and just loads me up. 

Now, it's also not a big surprise that I'm a pretty big girly girl. However, that being said I must admit that I HATE mascara. I know all about how we should wear mascara above just about any other make-up, but I just don't like it. It flakes. It looks impossibly bad on me. That is until this Christmas...so, lets go back to my sweetie's great stocking stuffing ability. In this years stocking, I received this...

Now, I admit I was just a little bit concerned when I saw this in my stocking. Actually, I was thinking that this was just a colossal waste of money because I would never wear it. First off its mascara (I've mentioned that I don't like it, right) and secondly, it's waterproof. Much to my great surprise. I LOVE this mascara. I mean I really love it. I wear it all the time. This just goes to show just how much my Prince Charming knows me...

in the dark...

January and February can be the kiss of death to a home schooling Mom, or at least to this one. The newness of summer is long gone, and the excitement of December have left you both tired and deflated; the spring renewal seems so far in the distance you can't even see it. Everyone is stuck in the house together because it's just too cold to leave. This is January and February in homeschooling...or my experience anyway. In an effort to combat this phenomenon, I took some advice I read earlier this year. This advice was to start something new: a new curriculum, a new book, a new subject. Anything, just something to revive the excitement of a "new" year. One of the new things I have planned (I'll blog about the others soon!) is a character class. In my planning for this class I read this quote..“Character is what you are in the dark.” -Dwight L. Moody. I can't stop thinking about it actually. Who are we in the dark? Who are we really that we would NEVER let anyone see? Yet, that tells us who we really are. It's a sobering thought to be reminded of as we start this new year!