realtalknic

OK......it's that time! If you haven't done it...you're cutting it close! Even the pickings in the heart filled aisles are getting slim. If you have followed the blog you know I never met a project I didn't like....especially when it comes to my lovies....my Goddaughters!! Those two bring out the extra sass.in me...not that I need any more!! So last year Sydney went to school with the "you got the "write" stuff valentines! So cute!! You can check them out here:  http://realtalknic.blogspot.com/2013/02/love-is-in-details.html This year....well it's double trouble! That little one....Ladybug Lauryn has a class of her own! OH BOY!! So it has to be easy and it has to be cute and well a low price wouldn't hurt!! So PINNEDIDIT again!! Easy breezy covergirl! Take a pic....jazz it up with Picmonkey ( http://www.picmonkey.com/ ) add a blow pop and you are done! Isn't she the cutest? Lollipop is placed with hole punch directly above the hand!! ...

Wow! It's been one year! Here's what went down: Cut the word BLOGGER out of a magazine and placed it on my vision board as part of an assignment from work (those vision boards really do work) Co-workers egged me on and read my posts and helped me more that they should have..... Took my chalk painting to the next level and encouraged others to DIY Got a whole lot a folks saving...because, well, saving is sexy! :-) Talked about some touchy things and kept it respectful. Sharing information brings us closer, solves problems, reminds us all of how much more we are alike...than different Pinndidit! (actually did some of those niftly things you see on Pinterest Got picked up by a national Blog and published many times on the Chicago Tribune's online site SIXBROWNCHICKS correspondent (hello......weren't they on Oprah's network? :-) 8,000 plus visits! (this makes me smile)  The list goes on and on and more than anything.....for an oversharing chatterbox like m...

I was just commenting on my need for Spring.....my desire to get in my garden and maybe even do a little composting when the mailman knocked on my door. Among the packages was a weird note from South Jersey Gas company. Oh boy........what is the problem? The letter starts with...."perhaps terminating your service will allow you to be as concerned as we are about the issue at your property" ......................what the what? Please read your meter and call us. Oh, I am on it! They do not know who they are sending letters like this to! (disclaimer....I had thrown out a few notes from said Gas Company because they want me to buy insurance from them which I am not interested in) Surely I didn't toss some important note? (right?) Anyhoo......I did what any self respecting, decision making woman would do and instead of grabbing my phone I gave it to the big guy and asked him to call and straighten them out! 2 minutes later I see him go out the front door and in 2 second...

Ok peeps....my neck and arm feel like they may be forever in pain but I think it was worth it! The family room ottoman is complete!!! Woop! Before I give you the deets......a lil background... I hate replacing things I already have! Oil changes and air filter replacements? HATE! New tires? HATE! It feels like such an investment for something you already have.....I know....gotta do it but I hate it! So after 7 years my beloved (and expensive) leather topped ottoman had started to peel. Yup. Nasty! I ignored this for a few months. Even pushed her into the corner for my annual Christmas Eve party. (Nobody puts baby in the corner!!!!) Then as it started to really bother me I started looking for a new table. Problem was.....I really like the one I have! Of course I find one that is out of this world fabulous! This baby here can be yours for $1600. Even if I hit the lottery I wouldn't pay $1600 for a coffee table. (OK, let's be serious....if I hit the lottery that scrumptious...

That's right! I PINNEDIDIT! And OMG was it good! Chicken tortilla soup! Under $10 and under 30 minutes! Say it with me....what, what!! Yep! There has been a lot of ohhhing and ahhing and a whole lot of Pinning but......I wasn't doing anything. You know, where you put into action what you see....lol. It's a new year and I can't have a year full of would of, could of, should of's. So, dang on it....I went and PINNEDIDIT! Yep....I looked, I shopped, and I did! Here is the skinny................ Peeked at pins......(there are a ton and I hope you make it a ton plus one by pinning this!) Went for ease and speed and came up with this.... Chicken Tortilla Soup 1.5 pounds of chicken breast 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper 4 cloves of garlic big spoon full of Jalapenos (and a lil juice too) 1 big ole onion 1 can chicken broth 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes 1 can black beans 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can enchilada sauce 1 can corn salt and pepper (and ...

“Good night. Don’t be rude. Say it back,” followed ten hours later by, “good morning,” followed by a gun shot at 3 pm the same day, that will be followed by nothing else. These were the last Facebook posts from a 13 year old boy shot on his way to school. What morbid curiosity led me to even look at these posts? What was I expecting to see? Something…….something to offer an explanation or to stop my heart from breaking at the senselessness…..but really…..would anything be an answer to a life ended before it began? The news is full of stories like these so why my outrage at this story? I didn't know this child or the shooter…..another life over for all intents and purposes. I am outraged not by the senseless shooting……….but our community’s commitment to being trifling. Let the backlash begin. I do not care. It needs to be said. And I am clearly not talking about every single person in the community, so stop….before you even start. But instead of saying NO to guns ...

Loyalty is high on my values list. I consider myself a loyal person. I wear that definition with pride. When asked who and what I am…..loyal is always a word I use as a descriptor. I am friends still with my very 1 st best friend and many others from my childhood days…..married 21 years……I show up when I say I will for milestones in the lives of others because being loyal is a verb. It requires action, not just words. As the year winds down and the calendar points us to a reflective and planful place it’s natural to consider the relationships in your life and make some decisions around with whom and how you enter the New Year. So while thinking of this for my own self I had to revisit the definition of loyalty. loy·al adjective 1.     giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution. loy·al·ty noun 1.     the quality of being loyal to someone or something After pondering over this definition and careful c...