Dear 18 Year Old Me,

If only I'd known what I know now....

I would tell you...

1.) Credit cards are not your friend. Cut them up!

2.) You don't have much time left with either of your Grandpas. Visit them. Spend time with them.

3.) When your Uncle offers to fly you to Hawaii to officiate your marriage, say heck yes! You can always have a reception for friends and family when you get home.(Story behind this, my uncle who lives in Hawaii married my husband and I. He offered to fly us over there, versus him and my aunt having to fly to the states for the wedding.)

4.) Moving to Oregon was the best decision of your life. Don't forget that.

5.) Your family should be priority. Stay in touch.

6.) You think you're "fat" now, ha ha, wait till you are 28. Wish I was as "fat" as I was back then....

7.) Buy a car, pay it off, keep it. Seriously, you change cars like you change your panties. It's a mode of transportation, it doesn't define you.

8.) Save your pennies for a rainy day. For goodness sakes, just start saving!

9.) You do want kids someday. Really you do.. and when you do. It will be amazing. And you will be a good Mama too. I promise.

10.) You've already met the love of your life and best friend. Treat him well. He's your rock and will ALWAYS be there for you.

Wanna find out what other bloggie buddies would say to themselves 10 years ago? Head on over to Mom2MemphisandRuby's Tuesday 10 Link Up.

Hello milestones....

Hello friends,
I've missed you.

I'm still here. I promise, I haven't quit blogging, regardless of my recent lack of posting!

I've had a busy month. Who am I kidding. I am always busy! Full time job, 2 year old, Etsy shop / side business, house to keep clean, etc. (bwahaha... right.)

But seriously, I have been busy. Busy with things like planning our upcoming 1 year Shop Anniversary!!! Yup, October 8th marks one year of the Etsy shop "being in business." Giveaways, contests, sales, you name it, I'm working on it.

If you want to get your fix now and have a chance to win some amazing schwag... I'm giving away some shop credit over at Living in Yellow. There are so many other fantastic items up for grabs too.

Oh and on a personal milestone note. I bought my daughter's first "big girl bedding" set today. She and I were shopping online. Yes, she LOVES shopping. And she was saying, "That's not cool." "That's not mine." Then this bedding came up, and she said, "That's mines." I was pretty excited, since I liked it quite a bit myself! I am going to have so much fun putting her room together, and can't wait for the bedding to arrive. Now to pick out the bed to go with it too!

And for a final milestone, I totally just reached 200+ followers here on the blog!! Just the validation I needed on a crappy Monday morning. Yes, somebody is actually reading my nonsense and wants to come back for more! =)

To all of you.... Thank you!!!

Week Night Gourmet: Stuffed Shells

As a full time working Mama & Wife, I'm always looking for new recipes that make week night cook quick, easy, and nutritious. Here is one of my all time favorites.

** Warning: I do not use recipes when cooking, I wing it... so bear with me, while I try to break this down. **

What you will need:

Uncooked pasta shells (large ones)
16 oz. container cottage cheese
1 pack frozen spinach
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded italian cheese
1 pound ground italian sausage
1 large jar spaghetti sauce

In skillet, brown italian sausage. Once browned, add jar of spaghetti sauce. I used Classico Tomato Basil. Keep on low heat.

While cooking the sausage / sauce, get the water boiling for your shells. Once boiling, cook your shells, drain, and rinse. Set aside for "stuffing."

While the shells are cooking, mix the cottage cheese, eggs, spinach, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese in a mixing bowl. This time I added 2 tablespoons of pesto to the mix. I don't always do this though.

Once the shells are cooked, preheat the oven to 375*, and stuff the shells with the cheese mixture, then top with the sausage / sauce mixture and top with last 1/2 cup italian shredded cheese.

Bake approx. 30-35 minutes, then let sit 5-10 minutes to cool before serving.

Less than an hour, start to finish. And even my picky 2 year old approves!

I'm still a horrible blogger...

A while back, I wrote a little post about why I am a horrible blogger. And you'd think, after calling myself out, in public, I'd have decided to improve. But alas, I logged into the blog tonight and realized, I haven't posted in nearly a full week. And it's been even longer since I posted a recipe, tutorial, or anything beyond my non-sensical rambling.

In my last post, I said....

I'm not quite certain their are pre-requisites to being a successful blogger. Your success varies greatly by your goals. Some bloggers use their blog as an online journal, not even caring how many followers they have. On the other end of the spectrum, there are others who blog for a living, and do well at it!

And now, here are my responses to my previous reasons, and a few more I've decided to add, just for good measure, in case you doubted me the first time.

I am inconsistent. My life does not allow me the opportunity to post consistently. I post when I can, about what I want. Readers want new content. Quality content. And on a regular basis.

Ok, I've already called myself out on this one. I have so many wonderful ideas, but like the horrible blogger I am, never take the time to execute them. Oh the recipes I'd love to share with ya'all! Ok, I did post some good helpful Etsy tips here and here...

I do not like myself enough. I hate having my picture taken. I am not saying all bloggers are vain. Their self portraits and what I wore outfits are adorable. I'd love to have that kind of confidence to plaster myself all over my blog. But I don't. Therefore, you will see very few photos of me on here. And you will never get a VLOG from me. Never!

All still 100% true, although, I did branch out and try a "What I Wore" post awhile back. Epic Fail. Don't believe me... check it out, I DARE YOU!

I am not trendy. My fashion sense is, hmmmmm, lacking? I definitely cannot do skinny jeans, and I don't keep up with what is in style. I don't have cable tv or satelite so I cannot blog about reality tv shows or breaking news. I haven't read 50 Shades of Grey, and do not intend to. Yeah, I'm just kind of boring like that.

I am still totally oblivious to the majority of pop culture. I still refuse to read 50 Shades of Grey, and to top it off, have yet to read or see "The Hunger Games." Wanna know something even crazier, I don't even have poor people TV access.. no local channels even! #darkages

I have really been working on that one photo per post still. But finding just the right one was a toughie....

Enjoy!

P.S. Bonus Reason (is still in effect)... I do not have InstaGram...because.. drumroll.. I do not have a smart phone! #yikes

If You Really Knew Me...

Got the idea for this post from Mama Laughlin. Thanks for the content today!

If you really knew me...

...you'd know I'm NOT a cat fan.
...you'd know I can quote a wide spectrum of movies and often do.
...you'd know I have 2 tattoos. 1 of which I whole heartedly regret.
...you'd know I have never read 50 Shades of Grey (or it's sequels)and don't care to.
...you'd know I don't watch much TV but am so excited that the newest season of Parks & Rec is on Netflix now
...you'd know I'm a sucker for a good microbrew.
...you'd know I am so ridiculously excited for Halo 4 to come out. (It's a video game...) Channeling my inner 12 year old...
...you'd know I love the ocean and would live at the coast if I could.
...you'd know I don't fix my hair nearly often enough.
...you'd know I've never had a pedicure.
...you'd know I hate people touching me. I feel comfy in my bubble, thank you.
...you'd know my daughter means the world to me.
...you'd know I recently picked rice out of my cleavage after a lunch at a japanese restaurant. Thanks to my 2 year old, of course.
...you'd know I never did finish college, and probably never will.
...you'd know Johnny Cash is just as likely to be playing in my car as Pantera, Taylor Swift, Jack Johnson, or anything else. No rhyme to my reason.
...you'd know I spend far too much time checking my Etsy Shop stats.
...you'd know I talk far too much about my Etsy shop in real life.
...you'd know I really need to get my eyebrows waxed.

Wordless Wednesday - Back from Vacation

Ok, I know this is supposed to be wordless. But I wanted to share where these photos are. They are taken from my visit to North Idaho (where I was born and raised.) The sunsets on the prairie and lakes make me home sick the most.