Project 31 - Day #12

What wears you out as a woman?


Warning:  Honesty ahead!

What a great question today to answer - where do I start?  What wears me out the most is people who do not appreciate the work that I put into things - let me explain from each of my "roles"

1.  As a mother, I try very hard to provide for my kids and to make them happy without comprimising their overall well-being.  Owen hasn't exactly been appreciating me trying to get him to try new foods and to eat his vegetables (when he was little he ate anything, now hardly anything!)  This little fight at every meal time is wearing me out.

2.  As a wife, I feel like I do a lot to make my hubby happy.  When he doesn't notice how much I try to do to make him happy and doesn't show me his appreciation, it frustrates me and then makes me feel like that work I did wasn't as worth it and it then begins to just wear me out.

3.  Finally, and most often lately, as a teacher, I like putting in the time to give my students great learning experiences and to challenge their minds.  However, when the students don't put in the work back or whine about the work they have to do (or complain about exam grades), it makes me enjoy it a bit less and that makes it seem more like real work, and thus wears me out.

So each of my roles can wear me out in different ways.  But when people appreciate what you do it makes it a lot easier to keep going.

Project 31 - Day #11

Post a recipe

Here are a couple that I get asked for!

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 6-8 Baked potatoes
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 4 14oz cans of chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 dash of basil
• 1 dash of sugar
• 2 sticks of butter
• 3/4 cup of flour
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Garnish

• 4-6 pieces of cooked bacon, chopped
• 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack / Cheddar cheese blend.

Directions

Bake the potatoes, peel and set aside to cool some.
In a large soup pot, melt the butter over a low to medium heat, being careful not to burn it.
Add the onion and cook until softened.
Add the flour and stir while it cooks for about 3 minutes.
Slowly add the chicken broth, water, salt, pepper, basil and sugar.
Bring to a boil, stirring often with a wire whisk.
Gradually add the heavy cream until you’ve reached the proper consistency.
Chop the potatoes into bite sized cubes and add to the soup.
Simmer for approximately 5 minutes to bring the potatoes to temperature.
Ladle the soup into individual bowls and garnish with chopped bacon, chives and the cheese blend.

Kool-Aid Cookies

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup oleo
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 package unsweetened koolaid

Cream together oleo, sugar and egg. Add milk and mix.
Stir in dry indregients and mix well. (I add the Koolaid last to ensure that in mixes well).
Drop by teaspoonfuls on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes (until bottom is lightly brown).

Makes approx 3 dozen, depending on size.

Cool; then frost with powdered sugar frosting with 1/2 package Koolaid mixed in.

Cheesy Potatoes

• 1 package southern hashbrowns (frozen)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 stick oleo, melted
• 1/8 cup milk

    Grease 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.  Add hashbrowns.  In a bowl, mix together soup, sour cream and milk.  Then mix in cheddar cheese.  Spread on top of hashbrowns.  Top with melted butter.  Bake at 325 for 75-90 minutes until just beginning to brown.

Project 31 - Day #10

Well, I may have gotten off the pattern, but I'm going to keep it going!

Question:  What has God taught you as a mother, wife, woman?

• I have learned to be very empathetic with other people's situations, though I feel like I'm better at doing this with those who aren't living in my house!  I definitely am being taught that I need to do that and my family deserves that!
• Humor - I need to laugh and enjoy life more day to day!  I also am trying to learn to be able to laugh at myself and find the humor in a tough situation.  (For example, finding out that your son pooped in the middle of the night and then sat on the carpet to change his underwear...)
• Patience - for other people, what I want/need, with myself.
• Perseverance - even at times that I feel like giving up on someone or a goal in life, I know that I am a strong capable woman!

Last but most important:

• Love - without this I don't think life would really be worth living.  Giving and receiving love is what keeps me going and I have a great opportunity to share this with all of those around me!

  

Project 31 - Day #9

What virtues do you value in yourself?

Let's start with something most people know about me - I really don't like to talk about myself too much - I always feel like it is "bragging."  But, we'll try to get over that.  That is part of what this is about - too appreciate the person I am more and be proud of who God made me!

1. Empathy - I really try to put myself in other people's shoes and think about how they want me to react (not that I always do).  I probably do a better job of this with my students.  I work where I do because my family is what should always come first to me, and I expect that my students will be the same.  I want them to put their kids first, their parents first, etc.  I try to help them catch up if they take the responsibility too!  I also think that since it hasn't been that long since I was a student, that helps :)
2. Honesty - I try to be who I really am all the time.  Granted, I may still have to keep some of my thoughts/comments to myself, but that is for everyone's good :)  I don't just tell people what they want to hear - I try to tell it like it is!
3. Patience - this probably used to be my "best" but I have to admit I have gotten a bit less patient, especially with my son (and some of my students - it isn't that hard to follow directions!).  Owen has easily been testing this lately with his eating and his "no" behavior.  Overall though, I think I am still a pretty patient mom and teacher.

We all have things to work on - if we ever don't think that we do, we're lying to ourselves!

Project 31 - Day #8

Share a beauty secret


I don't really think I have that many beauty secrets.  One of the things I usually get compliments on is my hair, so I'll give some info about how I keep it as healthly as possible.

1.  I try to only wash my hair every other day - my hair is a bit on the drier/frizzy side so I try not to wash it (or even get it wet) more than every other day.  When it is washed, I use a pantene shampoo made for "curly hair" and an herbal essence conditioner made for curls too.  I then dry my hair with paper towels some and then I put either mousse or a curl enhancing gel in my hair and I almost always let my hair air dry.

2.  I only curl hair around my face to try to keep things relatively simple in the morning and most of it still natural. 
 
3.  I think my hair has gotten healthier since I started sneaking Owen's Flinstone vitamins :)

Project 31 - Day #7

Write a blog to encourage another beautiful woman


There is a very special woman in my life who I believe doesn't know how amazingly beautiful of a person that she is.

This woman is beautiful inside and out.  What makes her so beautiful?

• her "light up a room" smile
• her gorgeous dark hair
• her "adventurous" side (whether willing to travel and try new things or to pick up and move!)
• how she puts so many people at ease around her
• she is always there when you need her, and she is willing to come to me when she needs me (she won't have one-sided relationships with those she cares deeply about)
• the effort/time that she puts into everything that she does
• wanting to be there for everything important in your life
• being able to have tons of fun without ever leaving the house!

But most importantly - she is who she is.  No apologies for it.  She cares so much about those who care about her. 

However, I don't know if she believes that she is beautiful.  I never knew that I could have someone this special in my life and sometimes don't know if I deserve her.  We can go weeks without talking to each other and then just pick right up from where we left off.  If you can have a soul-mate friend, this is definitely mine. 

You know who you are - and I love you lots!!

Project 31 - Day #6

Has the world's definition of beauty ever jaded you?


Now there's a question that is opening a large can of worms.  I honestly can't remember back to the time when it didn't.  Going back to the first time I really remember, I have always been overweight (sometimes more than others), or at least I thought so.  Maybe part of it was that the majority of my friends in middle and high school were so skinny, I just really felt overweight.  Now looking back at how I looked in high school - I think I looked healthy and only wish I was that size now!
 
Very few times did I ever really feel beautiful in high school - with boys, I always seemed to be in the "friends zone" and I definitely wasn't as confident of a person as I am today.  I'd read magazines telling me what guys were looking for (look wise) and knew I could never look that way.  How many women are at least 5' 9", weigh less than 120lbs and have stick straight her?  That is what I thought I was supposed to look like - that was beautiful and the totaly opposite of my 5' 4" then 140ish lbs with wavy/curly hair.  Only one of the boys I dated in high school ever actually made me feel beautiful as I was, most others made me feel like I should change to what they wanted.  (Man, I'm glad I never did!)
 
In college, things felt about the same for me - again, no boys really seemed to want to go out with me.  So, I felt pretty ugly.  What was so wrong with me?  However, in college, it was finally "cool" to be smart and I began to get my confidence through my knowledge and then realized that confidence is what really makes someone beautiful - the willingness to be proud of who you are and how you look.  Then I met my to-be husband.
 
To date, let's just say my height and hair haven't changed all that much, but my weight is still larger than I want it to be.  However, with all that even said, at this point in my life I am getting more compliments about how "beautiful" I am than I ever have.  But today, I am also a confident woman in who I am and how I look.  Will I ever be that 120lbs I talked about?  Probably not, but I will remain positive that I can get even more confident in how I look and hopefully lose a few more lbs!

Project 31 - Day #5

Day #5    Write about someone who made your heart come alive

Ask anyone about me as I was growing up and they will definitely tell you that I am a planner.  I like to know what I'm doing well in advance and like to look forward, maybe even too much.  I thought I had everything perfectly planned - went to college, got married, went to grad school and then I'd have a baby.  Little did I know that the last two were going to coincide! 

They say that when you make plans, God laughs - then He must have had a pretty good chuckle when He decided to bless us with a child earlier than I had "planned."

Having to worry about this new little person growing inside of me made me more aware of how my behavior impacted others since here, it was having a direct impact on someone else. 

When having my son, my world changed in so many ways.  I realized just how fragile that this life I lead is and that I have someone else literally depending on me in so many ways.  I began to live more in the "here and now" instead of always looking and planning for what is to come.  Owen brought so much joy into my life, I can't even imagine my world without him.  It is amazing how becoming a Mom can change you in so many ways, most for the better! 

Project 31 - Day #4

Post a picture of yourself in your favorite outfit.

I don't really have a "favorite" outfit as I'm getting a bit more comfortable in my own skin.  I'm posting a picture of an outfit that I feel confident and pretty in.  Of course, my daughter is in it with me :)

Oh, and do we like the shorter hair?

Project 31 - Day #3

Who is someone you know that inspired beauty?

When I think about answering this question, I'm going to answer it with regards to who has inspired the beauty in me.  There are a few people I have to address to answer this question.

1. My Mom - although this may seem like the most standard answer to this question, I don't care.  I need to let the world know what a wonderful mother I had and how much that she has inspired me.  She is the one that helped me realize that I need to be who I am regardless if that meant some people didn't like me or that certain boys wouldn't want to date me.  She is the one that made me realize that I shouldn't settle in life and I should want to (and get to) have it all!  My Mom always made time for me whether that meant a talk or showing me how to cook something.  She has a tendency to bring out the positive side in people and yet she is truly genuine about it.  She isn't putting on a show so that people think that she is that way, she really is!  One of the most amazing things that she has recently done is quit smoking after about 35 years of smoking!  She has been smoke-free for about 5 months!  I just hope that my Mom really does know how much she has inspired me and what a beautiful person she is!
2. My Dad - maybe not in the traditional way that you may think.  He has inpsired beauty through how much he does for us and others that he doesn't even realize.  He has been a great role model to me of what a man should be.  He worked long hours (generally more than 50 hours a week) while I was growing up and he still made time for his wife and kids.  He helped out around the house (this was something that grew as they were married longer), he played with his kids, and he still made time to volunteer at the church.  He did his best to be at his kids' activities and has been an outstanding grandpa as well!  (He has also been smoke free for 5 months!)
3. My husband and kids - they make me see the beauty in the day-to-day side of things.  I can find the beauty in the little things such as Owen spelling a new word or playing a game of Chutes and Ladders, or when Quinnie rolls over for the first time or laughs when I kiss her tummy.  My hubby has made me realize that I am beautiful all around with the way that he compliments me and supports me. 

I love them all so much and hope they all know how much they mean to me!

Project 31 - Day #2

What makes me uniquely me?

So what makes Jackie, Jackie?  Hmmm.  Wow, I have never really thought of myself as being all that "special" or unique.  I think one of the biggest things that makes me me is my stubborness of wanting to have it all!  I went through a lot of years of school to get the job that I really wanted.  With as much as I love what I do, I refused to do it at the expense of getting to be a real mother and wife.  I want to be there for everything that my kids go through in life.  I want to be at their doctor's appointments, their first days of school.  I want to be able to be home with them when they are sick.

One of my biggest qualities that makes me uniquely me is my inability to be content.  I'm always worrying about something or planning for the next big thing in life.  I got a small chance at getting to be content over Christmas break just being happy with my family.  Not worrying so much about what tomorrow holds and knowing that everything would work out.  I wish I could get better at that.

Finally, I am getting better at being happy with who I am inside and out.  Not everyone will like me and that is ok!

Project 31 - Day #1

I decided to joing this Project 31 and blog about women's beauty.

Day 1 - What does beauty mean to me?

This is actually a hard question for me to answer.  Beauty is not something I believe I see as much as I feel.  What I consider "beauty" of "beautiful" is what makes me feel happy or makes me smile.  Seeing my daugher smile at me or having my son run up to me screaming "Mommy" when he is so happy to see me.  Coming home and having my supper already cooked for me.

Beauty is looking on the positive side of things, taking time for the most important things in life and feeling confident in myself and ability as a mother, wife, teacher, friend...,.  I know I have a hard time doing many of those things.  Why do women have such a hard time with these things?

They say that "beauty is in the eye of beholder," and this is very true.  In God's eyes, we are all beautiful and so is everything that He created.  Unfortunately, we don't see through His eyes and we can only hope to get close to this.  What we can do is at least try to remember that He has made us beautiful in our own way and that we should try to live up to who He knows we can be!