moody monday

Not gonna lie y'all...I'm in one sour mood today, and honestly it's just a bunch of life.

1.) I woke up to a mouthful of painful blisters things this morning...thanks to an extra whitening mouth wash that's from satan himself. These are terrible! All inside my bottom lip, and under my tongue...what? It's enough to make you want to cry because they hurt so b a d l yyyyyy. Skip the mouth wash peeps, cause this is crap!

2.) The big truck started acting up, so I had to drive it into work this morning...which makes total sense because, hello?...I work at a car dealership. But I was running late because I was messing with my new bangs (annoyance #3) and lost track of time. So I threw it into high gear, jumped in the beast truck to be greeted by the dinging diesel light, mumble a lot of useless mumbo gumbo, drive to the gas station, put just enough in to turn the light off, mumble more because I forgot my jacket and I'm shivering...it's a a chilly 54 degrees, and finally make my way into work...with mud on my black pants from the dirty truuuuuuuck!

3.) The bangs. Do we like them? Do we hate them? It just depends on the day...meh!
4.) Today is GORGEOUS!!!! I just want to be home, open all the window's, light my pumpkin spice candles and clean! Fabulous fall weather like this energizes me to clean, clean, clean! But instead, I'm at work, work, work.

5.) Some relationships in my life have taken a hard hit as of late, and today was no exception. What is going on? I know I just gotta keep things in perspective, and truly believe that no matter what, God has it under control, and under His feet, but y'all...this sucks. I'm just feeling defeated and frustrated.

So enough with my insignificant complaining, I think I just needed to vent a smidge.

Thanks for listening, or laughing, or whatever. I pray the rest of your Monday is delightful, blogsters!

xo!
K

mean girls

Girls are mean. Seriously.

Not to say that boy's aren't, but girls are just down right hateful sometimes...you know? I found this totally fitting for today's post. "The Plastics" make me laugh! Sidenote: so hard to pick just one clip!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re5veV2F7eY

Maybe it's because we're female...so we have PMS, and cray cray hormone levels, and attitudes. We can be overly critical of another woman from her weight, to her social/financial status to how she raises her children, or treats her husband. We can struggle with jealousy, and discontentment.

But who really know. Girls are just mean.

I had my mean girl encounter yesterday. Without getting gossipy or detailed (because y'all know chicks LOOOOVE a juicy gossip session) this was completely unexpected, and totally 100% unjustified. But I let her have her moment, and say whatever nonsense she needed to say, and just had to let it go.

Hmph!

Not to say I wasn't totally seething in anger..."Wait...what? Did she seriously just say that?? No!!! I will......"

We're human. We can get a little pissy sometimes, and might blow a gasket or two...three, or four...but we gotta let it go. Learn from it. Change it. And move on.

Do you know a mean girl?

No. Don't tell me about her. Pray for her. Love her, and for the love, please refrain from slapping her, ok? Even if she might need it :) Behind every mean girl is a scared, lonely, and super insecure child who might just need a little grace.

Here's to all the Karen's, Regina's, and Gretchen's of the world!
Happy Monday, good girls.

xo!

tall one turns 20

This is my Austin.

Today he turns 20.

Gosh, he's cute.

Austin Taylor Williamson came into our family on October 19, 1992. He was sibling number 4. He had jet black hair, the sweetest smile ever created, and a fiery temper like the devil. My Mom use to cry when she tucked him into bed at night because she had spent the past 12 hours disciplining him/time-outing him/yelling/parenting times a thousand him. And the next morning it would start all over again. Austin never cried. I use to think he was half human, and half steel because he was so strong willed.

As he grew, God mellowed him out...and we are thankful :)

He is gentle, soft spoken, and has a heart of gold. When he's home from college for the weekend, he and Trent are typically attached at the hip. I love that about our family. We genuinely like each other.

He's also tall. Really tall. I only come up to his arm pit...which makes me think I got the shaft in the height department. We call him "Biggin' and Tall One."

And he's funny as crap.

I love and truly admire who you are, T. You have grown into such an amazing man of character, and just make me really proud to be your sister. I hope you feel loved, and treasured today. You greatly bless my life, and I'm just thankful to call you my family.

Happy 20th, tall one!
xo,
Kiki

gratitude

I recieved a sweet compliment from a precious lady at work yesterday. Her name is Mrs. Nancy.

She has worked for many years as the office manager here, and she's a trip! It's always fun to see her, and her husband Bill drop in every 3,000 miles, or so for an oil change, and give her round of hugs.

She came over to my desk, reached over and squeezed my hand, and gave me a warm smile, "Krissy, I just wanted to tell you that your by far the best receptionist this dealership has ever had. You have the kindest voice, and I just really wanted to tell you that, dear."

Mrs. Nancy, you are cute!

I'm choosing to share this with y'all for a few reason:

1.) It just made me smile. Compliments tend to do that to people, and we should give them more often.
2.) I was a little convicted.
3.) Well...I just wanted to share :)

As most of you know, I've been working as the front desk receptionist at my local Ford dealership for 3 years now. My Ford family has been loving, and gracious to me, and I'm so very thankful for them, but I've been struggling with my job for a while now. While I truly like my bosses, and co-workers, I can't help but think that I need a change. I need a challenge. I need more...

Have you ever felt like that?

It's easy to get hung up on the down sides of what you do, or maybe even loose your focus, and drive. Maybe your a stay at home Mom that just gets really tired of being poured out all day long for your little people. Maybe your a 40 hour a weeker that really needs better pay, or a vacation. Are you a student that just feels overwhelmed with classes, and deadlines?

People, I feel ya!

Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV)
14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the Word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Ain't that just like God to bring you back to reality, and give you a big ol dose of "get over it"?!

So, will y'all join with me today in learning to be grateful for whatever place God has you?

Cool! Happy Thursday, friends!

xo,
K

taco's!

Oh my...I am dying!!! I stumbled across these lil yummer's posted by another fellow blogger, and thought these were too fabulous not to share :)

Eat up buttercup.

Oh, I will most likely sub grouper, or tilapia for the salmon. I don't dig the salmon. I think it smells/taste like cat food. Sorry salmon lovers...no offense.

By all means put whatever lil fishy's you want...I won't judge. I have a weakness for tacos.They're abundant, typically cheap, and vibrantly flavorful. When I cook at home, I strive for healthy dishes that are rich in both flavor and color—and these tacos win on all fronts. The spice rub is so simple and so versatile: you can use it with veggies, tofu, shrimp, fish or chicken.


Recipe: The Best Healthy Tacos

Serves 4

For the salsa:

*2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered

*4 green onions, thinly sliced

*3 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

*1/2 small jalapeño, finely diced

*Juice of 1 lime

*1/2 tsp. sea salt



For the salmon:

*1 tbsp. paprika

*1 tbsp. cumin

*1 tsp. chipotle chile powder

*1/2 tsp. sea salt

*12 oz. wild Alaskan salmon, in filets

*Corn tortillas for serving



Garnish:

*Feta cheese, crumbled

*Lime slices

*Cilantro


What to do?

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

First, make the salsa. In a mixing bowl, combine the cherry tomatoes with the green onions, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice and sea salt. Set aside until ready for use.


Next, combine the paprika, cumin, chipotle and sea salt to make the rub. Generously season the salmon with the rub. You may have a little left over—you can save it in a sealed glass jar in the pantry for future use.


Lightly grease a medium baking dish and place the salmon fillets inside, skin side down. Roast for about 12-15 minutes, until the salmon is cooked through but not dry. (Cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your fillet—so be sure to check after about 10 minutes.) Remove salmon from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Flake the salmon with a fork for serving.


Prepare the tacos on a single corn tortilla with the salmon first, followed by the salsa, feta cheese, and a cilantro/lime garnish if desired. Enjoy!

Thank you so much, Kimberley!

shout out to mom's

Well hey there, friends! It's been a good bit since my last post, and I suppose I've been a little lost of inspiration. Sorry. But good news...

We're back in action!

I woke up really early this morning...2:34 a.m. to be exact. This rarely happens. I'm usually out like a light once my head hits the pillow. But for some reason Nick just couldn't sleep, and was wide flippin' awake at 2 a.m. His excuse: my snoring woke him up. I snore? No way...this can't be?!?!

Nick not sleeping rarely presents a problem, unless he's rediculously loud, and disruptive...which he totally was in the wee early hours of the morning. I'm a super light sleeper, so once I'm awake, it takes a while for me to go back to sleep because I hear everything. This morning I heard the toilet flush, light's flick on and off, the T.V. talking, the shower running...endless. He finally slipped back into bed just after 4 a.m...after he paid bills. Lordy.

This made me think of all my "Mom" friends, and really put things in perspective for me.

It's probably very typical for most of you to be awaken by a crying baby, a sick toddler, a scary dream, wet underpants, a monster in the closet, and the list goes on...

How do you do it, Mom's? Do you just run on adrenaline, and caffeine? It's only a little after noon, and I'm feeling the great effects of my very broken sleep last night.

I just wanted to take a moment, and say that I'm really amazed by all my fabulous, and awesome mom-friends that God's generously placed in my life! I LOVE living vicariously through you all, and being apart of your really long days...and nights :)

Calling my best friend, and hearing "KIKI" through the phone because the little girls know who's talking to Mommy.

Trying hard not to laugh when their getting scolded for talking back, or being sassy because I see "mini me's" of the personalities that I love so dearly.

Smiling when I hear the sweet baby sounds of the itty bitty's.

Cracking up when my girlfriend calls me to tell me that her daughter just dressed herself, and it involves a pink leotard, daisy dukes, a fedora and shoes on the wrong feet.

Mom's- I love y'all dearly, and have such a respect for what you do! Cheers!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!