A new(ish) job, a baby/toddler status child, a busier than busy husband....suddenly my life is crazy!! I can't remember the last time I painted my toenails (cringing inside) or woke up feeling rested. Oh my goodness, just laughable.

I am successful. I am in love with my husband. I am a happy, hands-on mom. I am absolutely awesome and a total, complete, chaotic hot mess! It's ok though right? It gets easier right? That is what I tell myself as I am downing my glass of wine with the dinner I just flawlessly made at .... 10 o'clock at night.

My son is my world. He is walking now and it is so adorable. He is the grossest, dirtiest, stinkiest thing I have ever been responsible for in my life and I love it. He is gratefully past the stage of making certain I smell like barf all the time, which is also very awesome.

My husband is busier than ever, which makes romantic time rare and sleepy-eyed but we are happy. We yell at each other, I yell at him mostly...about him watching football mostly. I mean really? Does everything have to be watched at the decibel level of military weaponry? Apparently yes, yes it does.

My point is this - it has been a long time since I slowed down and took a look at myself. A real look at the mom, wife, friend and co-worker in the mirror. I still like her, she is pretty fierce. I am going to get reacquainted, spend some lovey, quality time with me.

I want to slow my mind down a little. Life is going by so fast and I want to step back to enjoy the scenery. Be happier, be more easily satisfied.

As much as I am enjoying this much overdo post, I have a screaming baby in the other room who has a 6th sense about me relaxing and enjoying myself. Going to get off for now, but be back soon!

Ryan's Favorite Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

For chicken:
- 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 lbs shredded chicken (I used about 2 1/2 breasts)
- 1/8 tsp of each; black pepper, cayenne, garlic salt, cumin and onion powder
- 1 1/2  cups sliced white mushrooms
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 3 strips uncooked chopped bacon
- 1/4 cup chopped white onion
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cans diced green chilies mild (I substitute 1 can with diced jalapeños for the heat)
- 1 can cream of chicken condensed soup
- 1/2 small can of green enchilada sauce ( I save the other half to add to breakfast skillets)
- chicken stock from cooking chicken

For the enchiladas:
- 4-5 flour tortillas
- 2 1/2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a shallow baking dish with foil, take care with the foil since you want all the yummy juices saved. Fillet chicken breasts and arrange in dish. Season chicken breasts with black pepper, cayenne, garlic salt, cumin and onion powder.  Bake fillets for 20 mins.

While chicken is baking, saute white onion, bacon, mushrooms and minced garlic. Set aside.

When chicken is cooked through, (saving all the juices and combining flour to them) remove chicken from pan and lay out to cool. Bump up the oven temperature now to 375 degrees. Shred chicken when it has cooled. Combine shredded chicken with bacon and mushroom mixture. Set aside.

In a separate bowl combine cream of chicken, chilies and/or peppers, sour cream and enchilada sauce. Gradually add saved stock to sauce mixture to taste.

Smother the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish with 1/2 cup sauce mixture. One by one,  lay tortilla in baking dish and fill with 3/4 cup shredded chicken, layer 3 tsps of sauce and then 1/4 cup of cheese. Roll each tortilla and repeat. Cover enchiladas with left over sauce once you have them all rolled. Top enchiladas with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let stand 10 mins after cooking.

Doing what YOU love and being proud of it ♡

I found this ingenious tidbit of insight on Pinterest today and it struck a cord in me.

There are so many strong women in my life and it made me think of all of them. They inspire me to be me, not "one of them", but myself. I have women in my life that are fearless, outspoken, successful,  proud and completely unique within themselves.

Recently I have made drastic, life-changing decisions about myself and my future and I am so HAPPY!!! It's a real thing....happiness I mean. I was depressed and hopeless and I decided to do WHAT I WANTED. I stopped working (huge adjustment) and moved in with the man of my dreams. Now...

I am a stay-at-homer! I fill my days with cleaning, ironing, cooking, crafting, walking my dog, my friends, laundry and researching ways to be a more productive person, friend and homemaker. This is the most rewarding role I have ever had in my life. I devote my life and energy daily to taking care of the man I love, our home and everything and everyone that is important to us.

My life is absolutely not simple or mundane.  Everything I do I put my love and pride into. From making a wreath for the front door to ironing Ryans shirts,  I do my best and it has made me beyond happy and fulfilled.

I am a woman, a beautiful, young, driven and loving woman. I am a woman that is so grateful for the opportunity to do what I do everyday. I am blessed.

I encourage every woman I know to acknowledge the things that you ARE NOT doing that would make you happy. Things that may just be for you.  No matter what it is, taking an active role in your own happiness feels amazing and I hope everyone can find that for themselves!

My newly created Steak Fajita Tacos!

So incredibly easy!!!

I had an extra ribeye steak in the fridge I needed to use and some bell peppers hanging around. Usually I would have gone the stir-fry route, but I'm doing my best to step out of the box in my cooking lately. No one likes the same things over and over again (even if they are amazing things 😉). So....

- I cut up the ribeye steak,  removing most of the fat and cutting against the grain to keep it tender.
- I sliced four different colors of bell peppers (not necessary but visually exciting) and some white onion
- I cooked the ribeye with minced garlic and Fajita seasoning. I added a little oil for moisture.  I VERY quickly cooked the vegetables because we like the fresh taste and crunch of bell peppers. I also put a little bit of the Fajita seasoning in the vegetables.
- Then I whipped up a very simple packages Spanish Rice and layered it all in flat bottom hard taco shells. Rice for the bottom layer, then vegetables and then meat. I topped with shredded cheddar!

ALL DONE!!!

These were so easy and Ryan was a huge fan. He said I need to add them to my "recipe rotation". 😃

Coffee & Cocoa.. Yes! I think so!

I have been doing really great keeping up with my schedule and my HMB (home management binder) so I decided I wanted to treat myself. I wanted to save some money and not get too crazy so I start looking for homemade facial masks. Girls, let me tell you, I don't see a reason to ever pay someone to do this for you ever again! There are so many fantastic recipes out there and you can stick with all natural options! I found this recipe for a Coffee & Cocoa Facial Mask.

I have very dry skin so this recipe was a great starting point. I tweaked it just a little:

• 4 Tbsp. finely ground espresso or coffee beans (I used instant coffee but for sensitive skin a very finely ground coffee would work better)
• 4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (your basic Hershey's is perfect here)
• 2 eggs whites. (I like the way this sets up when you let the mask dry).
• 2 Tbsp. honey (if you have dry skin) or lemon juice (if you have oily skin)
• 1 tsp. olive oil  

 After mixing all these ingredients I put on the mask with a Popsicle stick and let it dry. When it was dry I got a washcloth wet with the hottest water I could stand and started to soak of the mask. As I was wiping off the mask you can feel the coffee exfoliating, don't get over-zealous here though because the coffee can scratch your skin. 

I rinsed with cool water and a light cleanser then moisturized. My skin felt so wonderful, well worth it! Hope you enjoy!
 

First time for everything...

Today I decided I would try these adorable little flowers I found at http://pinterest.com/pin/304907837241306429/! These are my very first ones so they are a little lop-sided :). I LOVE LOVE LOVE them anyway!

Come visit me at http://pinterest.com/tawnyleigh87/.

HMB - Home Management Binder

A lot of women are feeling stretched thin these days, I’m talking very thin. I see it everywhere! Women standing in the grocery store, six o’clock at night in four inch heels wearing a power suit holding a screaming toddler, usually with a confused and angry look on both their faces. So what is the problem here? Women are proud, fierce creatures who want to succeed at everything they do. More power to you ladies!!

I’m not here to offer an opinion about working mothers or stay at home mothers. My goal is to include everyone on my quest to become more efficient and less exhausted. Is it possible, you say? Well I’m going to find out.

The first step in my plan is to create a Home Management Binder (HMB). These are ever increasing in popularity, especially among scrapbookers. I’m a list maker so I figured this HMB may be an entertaining tool for my household. The concept is simple: Put your life in order and stick it in a binder.

So today I am going to make this remarkable tool. I'm headed to the scrapbook store. When I come back I will let you know what I find!!

Yay!!! I'm finished... I like it, I like it a lot.

P.S. I got the cork board idea from Kelly @ http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/2012/03/my-home-management-binder.html. Pure genius!!

Today is the day!

This is my first time.... so I may be a little shy ;). 

This is the beginning of the rest of my life. I am attempting to find functionality and purpose in my life and you get a front row seat. I can guarantee it will not be pretty or graceful, it probably won't even be funny but I will be honest in all my endeavors.

I'm 25 and newly married. I have no children and do not work. My very lovable husband works on the road during the week and is a very busy man on the weekends. Obviously this leaves me with lots of time on my hands, so how is it that I never seem to accomplish anything? Good question, right?! I'm taking a look in the mirror and making a promise to myself. 

"From this day on I will live my life with purpose and ambition, however messy it may be."

I have lots of ideas I am going to be sharing on this blog. Some of these things are personal and sensitive, some of them may be silly and light-hearted. All-in-all this blog is about self-exploration, hope, dreams and everything in between. I'm so excited, this is going to be great! Stay tuned...