Audrey Hepburn's Top 3 Words of Wisdom

Audrey Hepburn is such a timeless beauty. Not only is she pretty, she is inspiring. I came across some quotes from her today and thought I'd share :)

1. Your outside is a reflection of the inner you.

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”

2. Don’t worry what others are thinking about you.

“I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people’s minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing.”

3. Finally getting something may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

“Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you’re exactly the same.”

{via}

jury duty

(via)

Today I have jury duty. I had to call last night to find out if I had to report today. Sure enough, my group number was the last one to be said. The last time I had jury duty was in 2006, so I guess I am due. I actually got picked to be on the jury last time I went. It was a very interesting experience to see how the legal system works. Kind of what the old lady in the upper-right corner is thinking in the cartoon. :) The trial I was on was not very exciting, but it was still a cool experience. I got a summons to the Mesa court this time and actually got another summons to the Chandler court for next month. I don't think I will have to go to the one in September since I am going today. I think you only have to go every two years or something like that.Wish me luck!

quote of the day.

 

The human heart feels things the eyes cannot see,
and knows what the mind cannot understand...

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cooking organically

One thing most people know about me or learn very quickly is that I LOVE food! I especially love sweets :) One of the goals I have set for myself is to try to cook more and to use organic ingredients. With such a busy and inconsistent schedule, it is so easy just to grab some food on the way home or to eat out. Besides draining my wallet, it is also detrimental to my health. 

It is crazy to read the ingredients on many of the frozen and prepackaged food at the grocery store and realize I have no clue what 95% of the things are in the food I was eating. My rule of thumb is if a third-grader cannot pronounce the ingredient, you shouldn't be eating it :) It is definitely challenging to change your lifestyle when you are accustomed to living a certain way, but once you start eating more fruits and veggies and whole foods, you will feel so much better and have more energy. My goal is to plan a rough menu for the week of what I will eat so it will be easier and I won't have to try to think of something when I get home from work. Another thing that will help is to plan healthy snacks when you're on the go. There are a lot of recipes for the crock pot too which I love because it will be ready when I get home from work. 

Many times people use the excuse that cooking organically is too expensive. The way I see it is, you can either pay a little more for good food now or you can pay for it in health bills later. I would rather pay a little more for the food now :) Chemical free skinny posted an article about buying organic on a budget and I thought it was very helpful. Here are their tips:

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1-Eliminate all processed/prepackaged foods from your grocery cart.  This will allow more available funds for healthy/organic items. Anything that is frozen is going to have preservatives in it that are very bad for you. More or less, only buy things that can eventually spoil.
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2-Buy foods that you prepare and cook yourself rather than ‘convenience’ versions—they are far cheaper. (Example: buy individual salad ingredients rather than bags of packaged, pre-cut salad; buy blocks of cheese and a grater rather than bags of pre-shredded cheese, etc.) I used to do this all the time. It is so easy to see a bunch of cut-up fruit and buy that package. You can buy a small amount of cut-up watermelon for 2.49 or a large watermelon for .99...you just have to cut it up.
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3-Invest in a good cookbook (used copies can be found online) and collect a file folder of recipes you find for free online. You can never have enough recipes. It is always fun to try new things. It is also fun to do a recipe exchange with friends :)
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4-Avoid eating out (it’s expensive and unhealthy…most restaurants obtain their ingredients in bulk—ingredients that are frequently filled with potentially dangerous preservatives as well as colorings and additives) and instead invite your friends and family to potluck dinners of healthy/organic dishes. Now it is unreasonable that you will never eat out...the point here is to do it sparingly. When you do eat out, don't be afraid to ask how things are cooked or what is in a certain dish.
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5-Take advantage of the times your local health food/organic store has specials on large shipments of fruits and vegetables.  If you have a good supply of recipes you can save money by getting the fruits and veggies that are on sale because you will know what to do with them/how to prepare them. Farmers markets are also great for getting things in bulk for very cheap!
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6-Make grains and beans a key part of your diet.  They supply plenty of nutrients and can be purchased very cheaply in bulk.  There are many delicious recipes that focus on both of these food groups.
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7-Grow your own vegetables and herbs/seasonings.  We have posted numerous pieces on how to do this including for people who have apartments or even a single room they are renting. Arizona is not the best place to grow your own garden, but I'm sure there are ways it can be done.
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8-Check your area for community gardens and discounts with local farms. Many offer deep discounts for picking your own fruits and vegetables and/or volunteering a couple hours a month.
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9-Make your own healthy/organic snacks and breakfast drinks rather than buying prepared versions.  We have posted recipes for both so check our blog and watch for future postings. Once again, planning is key here. It is so easy to grab an unhealthy snack. If you plan ahead, you can have snacks handy that are healthy.
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10-Use the recipes we have posted on this blog to make your own grooming products like shampoo, conditioner, facial wash, masks, etc. Not only are these organic versions chemical-free and healthier for you but you will save a significant amount of money that can be put towards your organic food budget.

thoughts of the day..

 

 

 

 

Images found: {here} & {here}

Today in church, a couple spoke who were once worth 8 million dollars...they are now worth {negative} 2 million dollars. It was very humbling to hear them talk about going from having it all, to having very little. They said they learned that it is not how much you have in the bank that matters, but it is your relationship with your family, friends and God that is what is truly important. Time goes by so fast that many times, we forget to stop and think about the simple things we have, which when it comes down to it, are the most important. I know I take many things for granted that I shouldn't. Like they said, in twenty-five years, it will not matter what car you drove to drop your kids off at soccer practice or how big the house was that you lived in. Those things are temporary. I need to remind myself of this more often. Most people like nice things...I know I do; however, those things do not define us as humans. The next time you are having a hard day and nothing seems to be going right, take a moment to appreciate the little things. It will put everything back into perspective. :)

Happy Sunday lovelies!! 

Charlie St. Cloud

I saw the movie, Charlie St. Cloud the other day and much to my surprise, it was actually decent. I did not have high hopes because it did not get very good reviews. I was not a huge Zac Efron fan before I saw the movie, but he definitely grew on me. I thought his younger brother Sam was so adorable. If anyone saw the previews, you knew that Sam was going to die. I was just waiting for the tears to start coming and sure enough, they did. The whole movie I was wondering where it was filmed because it was absolutely beautiful. I actually had to look it up really quick while I was watching it because I had to know. It turns out it was filmed in Vancouver, Canada. I have decided that I have to go there someday.

How BEAUTIFUL is this place....

I would like to go there in the summer AND winter so I can get a taste of both seasons. Who wants to take me?!

xoxo,

Some things never change

 "Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not all still friends."

The girls at Oregano's

I love how I am still close with all of my friends from High School. So many people are shocked to know that we all still get together on a regular basis. It is so much fun to have regular girl's nights out and catch up with everyone and to talk about what is going on in our hectic lives. Hallie is going to be welcoming a baby girl into the world in October and I can't wait to meet her! It is going to be so much fun having a friend with a baby to spoil. Ava, we can't wait for your arrival :) 

 

 

Smile Mon

Like I said here, I recently went on a trip to the Bahamas. We went to Freeport, Grand Bahama Island and Great Stirrup Cay. I didn't know water that clear even existed!

This is the view from our hotel room in Miami, where our cruise left from. There was a nice rain storm followed by this beautiful rainbow :)

Reading in the hammock

Pretty Florida sunset

First night on the ship

Such a pretty view!

Hanging out at the beach...we rented a mat and some snorkel gear so we switched off floating and snorkeling. I have never seen so many pretty fish! We meant to get an underwater camera, but forgot :(

In Freeport, we did some shopping and hung out at the beach. They had a store with all kinds of knock-off purses and jewelry and I couldn't believe how much they were trying to sell them for! A fake Coach bag was going for $250 when you could buy a brand-new one for that price. I wondered if tourists who had no clue bought them hoping they were getting a good deal.

This is our ship...The Norwegian Sky. There was always so much to do on-board. One night we did a pub crawl...

This is the guy who lead the pub crawl...he was crazy! He wore this crazy pink hat. We had to go to five different bars on the ship where they had drinks waiting for us to pretty much chug. Needless to say, by the end of the night we weren't feeling so well!

Jason and I on the pub crawl. We had to come up with fake names. He was "Dirk D" and I was "Kandy Kane"...don't ask :)

This was our last port-of-call. This is Great Stirrup Cay, which is the cruise line's private island. They had a BBQ and all kinds of activities for us that day. 

We had a blast on our trip! We got to go to so many places in such a short amount of time. We flew into Jacksonville and then drove to Orlando. From there, we went to Tampa to visit Jason's grandmother. After Tampa, we went to Punta Gorda and stayed right by the water. From there, we went to Miami where we left on the cruise. After we got back from the cruise, we drove to Savannah, Georgia, where Jason had his ten-year high school reunion. Coincidentally, that was a dinner cruise also :) He had fun catching up with all of his old friends and I got to meet all kinds of people!

xoxo,

A few things...

Making me happy today:

What is making you happy today?

I'm BACK!

I drove up to Flagstaff yesterday in my new convertible to meet my boyfriend who was already up there. I rode along as he golfed at Forest Highlands, a really nice private golf course. I had so much fun caddying, reading and just enjoying the day. It was an amazing 73 degrees. We even got sprinkled on towards the end of the round. Today we caught the morning practice of the Cardinals and got to get a little sneak-peek of what we have to look forward to in the coming months. I am pretty hopeful for the team this year! Leinart doesn't look too bad and the 2nd string quarterback, Derek Anderson is also looking good! I am so excited for FOOTBALL!! It is so nice being about to drive two hours to such a pretty place with the temperature being 30 degrees cooler than the valley.

I haven't blogged in, oh... 5 MONTHS! I feel like I have so much to catch up on but instead of trying to do that, I am just going to make it my goal to be a more regular blogger. We did have an awesome vacation last month to Florida and the Bahamas. I will definitely put up a few pictures from that trip :) I am so ready for summer to be over and for the weather to cool off. Every summer I swear it will be my last in Arizona but then October rolls around and I totally forget about sweating my butt off in May-June-July-August. Hope all my blog friends are doing well :)
I leave you with this...

"Remember, life is not what happens to you, but what you make of what happens to you. Everyone dies, but not everyone fully lives."
-Anonymous-