Decisions, decisions...

This morning ladies, i decided i am allergic to mornings.

Yes you read that right. 

Mrs. Pancakes has an allergy reaction to mornings.

Every morning when i wake up, i start sneezing.  

I am not sure why this.

It could be dust in the air. 

But i continue to sneeze even when i get to work.

I could just be coming down with a cold.

But i would like to believe i am just allergic to mornings.

Which is just too bad...because i like when the sunrises in the morning.

I wonder if i will be allergic to mornings on vacation!

The 7 year Itch...

I think i am having the 7-year itch related to my career.

 I always loved talking and helping people.  

And the two combined led me to my chosen career choice as a Social Worker.  

I love being a Master of Social Work however recently my heart and mind has been wondering a bit.

  I still love talking and helping people but i am not sure if i want to do this in social work anymore.  

Big sigh!

I read a post recently from Elizabeth at Love is the Adventure, 

that lady is so thoughtful it blows my mind.  The post was entitled In-Between Land about the transitions that we make throughout our lives.  

And in a lot of ways, i feel like i am in-between the chosen career vs. the dream career land.  

Elizabeth speaks about tapping her foot impatiently as she waits for the next stage of her life to arrive.  

But then she realizes the importance of Tap-Dancing, 

Relishing this time and place (where she is currently). 

 And i loved this because it totally spoke to me.

I may be in transition, in-between land, 

however i should relish in this time and place.  

Perhaps in the transitions (waiting, the itching) are when we learn the most about ourselves.  

I may be experiencing the 7year itch related to my career however there are more years ahead of me.  

In the transitions, i believe are when words are whispered by our higher power into our hearts.  

Blogging in a lot of ways has reminded me of what i enjoyed when i was younger. 

Reading and writing!  

I would get lost for hours at a time writing stories and reading them.  

My cousin and i would have sleepovers 

and i would tell her stories i made up for hours at a time! 

In this period of the 7year itch, i remember these things with fond memories.

In middle school, our teacher had us write on a piece of paper our top four career choices

 which we taped on our desk for the school year. 

 My top four were: lawyer, writer, actress, dancer.  

I chose social worker instead of lawyer 

because i thought i could effect change much quicker in people's lives.  

I am not sure what happened to being a writer, actress or dancer. 

 I must have stifled my creative side.

However God has purposed in my heart the need for exploration and discovery.  

This morning Mr. Pancakes mentioned the importance of exploring my creative side--

hence why he encourages and supports my blogging.  

This evening, i came across Elizabeth's eloquent post.  

All three has lead me to admit to myself that i am experiencing a 7year itch!

But instead of leaving the itch and just being.  

I will accept the in-between land where i find myself 

and hope that i arrive in the career field where i am doing what i love. 

 Which includes talking and helping people while embracing my creative side.

Here's to tap-dancing and relishing in this time and place

Source

Thank You

*God for always being on time.

*Mr. Pancakes for being who you are!

*Elizabeth for the inspiration.

The Inconsiderate Gap...

I work in a place with mostly individuals my age or ten years older so we are all in the same bracket or close to being in the same bracket.  Needless to say, there is a new individual that works with us that is not in our bracket and that is making things a little weird and tense around the workplace.

The age gap can definitely occur at work however i have never really experienced this before.  I am trying to be polite and listen when this individual has stories.  But i am left shaking my head at the lack of recognition to how inappropriate and inconsiderate she can be at times.

She proceeded this afternoon to share a story about an entire family that was killed in a highway accident.  And can we imagine this ever happening? Ten she had pictures of the family from the funeral that she attended! SHE HAD PICTURES!  Didn't we just have a Hurricane and an Earthquake occur? Maybe, just maybe someone is traumatized by all the events of the last few days!!

Perhaps she needed to talk to someone about how upsetting the event was. Which is understandable. But there really is a time and a place for everything.  Perhaps, it's not even an age gap but an inconsiderate gap!

There has to be something called the inconsiderate gap that is related to the age gap that exists in my place of work.  I am trying to be understanding and asking God for patience and understanding.  But there are some days, i really wish i was a professional blogger so i could stay home and work.  At least if someone is being inconsiderate online, you exit out of their blog or url. 

Unfortunately in person, i do not have an exit button. Darn!

Free Spirit Apparel

When i say Free Spirit Apparel, what comes to mind?

Well if you said, clothes that are made for people with free spirits, then you are right on!  

Free Spirit Apparel is a clothing company that was started by Teri and Deb, the awesome duo!

The ladies create skirts that are "cool, cotton, and comfy."  

The skirts are all handmade to your specific measurements. 

Their linens are inexpensive 

and made to last however it looks and feels expensive!  

Which is fantastic for us ladies on a budget.  

To get your skirt, it's pretty simple.
It's like picking a favorite ice cream cone!
Go to their website: www.freespiritapparel.com

Choose from the materials you like

Pick your favorite style 

send in your measurements

pay a reasonable price
and within days you get a skirt that you designed
and was handcrafted with love and care

There are a variety of styles, prices and materials to choose from.  

So it is definitely for everyone!

I was fairly excited to get my skirt.  

And i couldn't have been happier when i received it!  

I was able to spruce up my skirt a/b ways:

a) with heels for a night out with Mr. Pancakes

b) with flats (for a day at the beach!)

The skirt in question...

With Heels

With flats...ready for the beach!

Ladies, check out the duo at Free Spirit Apparel at: www.freespiritapparel.com!

Be a Free Spirit...

and get yourself some apparel that are affordable and stylish!

P.S:  I have to give Mr. Pancakes kudos for the pictures.

I am glad i am not a fashion blogger.

He thought i was posing too much:-)

LongLazySunday: Live, Love & Laugh

Team Pancakes believes in our motto, Live, Love, Laugh in the middle of any situation.  

Here are some illustrations on this longlazysunday!

LIVE...

We lived through Hurricane Irene.  

Thank goodness that unlady Irene did not do the severe devastation that was being reported to the East Coast.   My prayers go out to the families that were affected in some way.  

Our lights remained all the entire night. 

 We slept through the night without any major issues.  

To say we are thankful is not saying enough.  

Church was cancelled this morning.  

I have a cold.  

But at least we are all alive and safe.  

Source

LOVE...

What do the Pancakes do when the media suggests the world is about to end?

We hold each other, 

say "i love you" and 

HAVE A MASSIVE PANCAKES BREAKFAST! 

buttery rich pancakes, fluffy eggs and turkey bacon!

It was so delicious and nutritious!

LAUGH....

And just because Mr. Pancakes and i use humor in the midst of a crisis! 

We laughed this morning. 

We hope you do the same!

Enjoy your longlazysunday!

Source

How do you know when you are on a budget?

Disclaimer: Stole this from Dave Ramsey because i thought it was hilarious!

1) Kristen: Your four-year-old asks, "Mommy do we have a coupon for this?" about any item she wants to buy in the grocery store! 

2) Stephen: When you're reading this in your father-in-law’s driveway because you have to glom off of 

his wi-fi. 

3) Leslie: When you use a coupon for a free hamburger from Mc Donald's and then come home and put your own piece of cheese on it! 

4)Carrie: When you find yourself saying "Dave would not want me to buy that!" and then walk away. 

5) Kirsten: School supplies become birthday presents. (my poor future kiddies!)

6) Jeff: You have all the local supermarket ads spread out on the kitchen table, and you begin to strategize your coupons like you're about to invade Normandy. 

7) Micki: You get one leg waxed at a time. 

8) Natalie: You ask yourself, How many shifts will I have to work to pay for this? 

9) Jondelyn: You search on the internet for recipes with ingredients in your pantry. 

10)Jay: Everyone around you thinks you are crazy. 

11)Michelle: When, you're shopping with the kids, the three-year-old asks for something and the seven-year-old tells him, "It's not in the budget." 

12) Will: When you notice George Washington squint at the sunlight when you pull a dollar out of your wallet.  13) Ashlee: When your five-year-old asks, "What is a mall?" 

14) Sarah: Your kids get $5 in a card and you're jealous. 

15) Gary: When you don't go out and spend money on Friday night, but instead stay in and list stuff to sell on eBay. 

16) Lisa: The liquid soap in your bathroom is milk 'n' honey-orange-vanilla-coconut-cherry-watermelon-apple-lemon scented, because you just can't bear to throw that little bit in the bottom of the bottle away. 

17) Lorien: When your five-year-old makes her own coupons to play store with! 

18) Kelly: When you really "get" all the posts on this thread and have laughed out loud several times reading them! 

19) Travis: Your kids are constantly ticked off at Dave Ramsey!

20) Mrs. Pancakes: when me and Mr. Pancakes feel the breeze from our bedroom window and think we are on vacation!

20) Your turn, how do you know when are on a budget?


P.S: Ladies, be safe this weekend! Do Not Be Adventurous!

The No-TV Challenge: Finito, Fin, Finish, Complete, Done!

The No-TV Challenge is officially over, 

finito, fin, complete, finished, done--you get the point!   

And just in time for Project Runaway! 

It was a great show today by the way. 

And Mr. Pancakes was able to catch the Ravens and Redskins game too.

What i did:

1. Finished reading The Help (will write on this later)

2. Made couscous for dinner

3. Went on a girl's weekend to Virginia (still waiting on pictures)

4. Went to a baseball game with the hubby (celebrated our 120 days of marriage)

5. Survived an Earthquake

6. Discovered a few exciting blogs (i love thealternativebride.blogspot.com: awesome blog)

7. Realized i didn't need television to enjoy my evening

8. Got some extra paperwork done for work

9. Worked out twice a few days out of the week

10. Went to bed at 10pm on monday (that never happens)

11. Completed a few fun posts for TC30s

12. Had my most commented blog entry ever (it was too funny)

13. Learned a little bit about reviews and giveaways on blogger (my first review is coming up next week)

14. Played phone tag with my sister because i was all over the place

15. I am sure i did a lot of other fun fun things i cannot remember now

16. When i turned the TV today, i realized the TV makes a lot of noise!

Am i more self-disciplined because of the No-TV Challenge?

Probably a little more but i am still working on my self-disciplined skills.

Overall, would i do the No-TV Challenge again? 

Definitely YES!

I think moving forward, i will turn the TV on a little less and enjoy other activities a lot more.  

Mr. Pancakes suggested we cancel the cable but i am definitely NOT ready for that.  

But i might try the No-Blog Challenge soon...eek! that might be a little more challenging!

My Husband was kind of a slut....

Heck no...not my husband!

But it was a catchy title from an article i read in Redbook recently.  

It totally peeked my interest because why this nice lady would want the world knowing her husband was a slut was beyond me! And even before that why she would marry a slut to begin with? But then again, this is not my story so let me share some background information.

Here is the magazine. 

Needless to say, the writer shares her story about her husband's exploits which he detailed in his blog and then a book.  The lady knew about all her husband's sexual exploitation and inappropriateness prior to continuing the relationship and subsequently marrying him.  In the article she speaks about hatching a plan to prick her then boyfriend with a needle to get blood to test for HIV.  This is when i went, huh? 

Is this lady really telling the world that she knew her boyfriend of six months was sexually promiscuous (since she started reading his blogs after their first date) and slept with him without worrying about his HIV status prior to sleeping with him? And now she is sharing her story in Redbook.  Am i missing something? 

The tag line in the article is: Could he (the husband) truly have let go of his past and become a one-woman guy? Which makes for an interesting read right? But as soon as i started reading the article, the question that popped into my head was: is this woman crazy enough to even start a relationship with a man that wrote in his blog that he had cyber-sex, indulged in threesomes before his first marriage and slept with prostitutes?

I mean, is she NUTS! Please read the article here if you are interested! 

His answer after she confronts him is: "Those women, those days, are gone...you are exactly what i want. I'll do anything." Two years later, she married him. 

The message i am assuming from the article is learning to trust the person you are with regardless of their past! After all, love conquers all.  

But really ladies, let's get real, 

Would you date or even marry someone that was considered a slut?

  

I'm Feeling Blessed!

There was definitely an earthquake in the DMV metro area!

And it was scary!

 I feel blessed that it wasn't worse.

 I know there is a lot of panic out there right now. 

I am even afraid to get into the traffic.

But thank the Lord we are all alright and safe!

Hug your husband, child, other family members a little bit closer tonight!

Hope everyone is safe tonight!

Celebrating 120 Days!

Dear Mr. Pancakes,

It's been 120 days since we said i do and i am still smiling. 

I know for sure and true that i will be smiling 120 days from today and so on and so forth!

I guess this how people get to 60 years of marriage...smiling every single day with the one they love.

And i love you to the moon and back

 (stole this from one of my blogger friends)

but it's true that's how much i love you!

Love, 

Your One & Only Mrs. Pancakes!

Here is how we spent our 120th day of marriage!

One of our favorites...at the baseball game!

The Nats doesn't always win but it's always a fun time!

We totally did a random act of kindness...the lady had free tickets,
the family needed some so we connected them!

Can't be a baseball game without good grub...

Love the chicken tenders and fries...

Gotta have a cold one...

Let's Play Ball!!

  

The Hug, the Kiss and the Ice Pack...

While i wait for my girlfriend to email me the pics from our VB vacation,
 i will share a little story of what happened the morning of.

It was Saturday around 5am. 

Mr. Pancakes had an early morning boot camp session.

I was going to Virginia Beach at 8am.

I heard him wake up.  So i woke up.

He was sitting by the edge of the bed on his side trying to turn his alarm off.

He is not a morning person.

Neither am i.

I reached out to hug him from behind.

He didn't see me.

I saw his elbow coming back towards me.

I thought to myself "move your head!"

It was too late.

His elbow had connected to my right eye.

The pain was instant.

I screamed.  He turned around.

"Oh babe!" he said.

"Ouch, ouch...i was trying to give you a hug."

Clearly he had no idea i was trying to hug him from behind.

He gave me a hug, a kiss an ice pack.

Two out of the three i wanted!

Thank goodness, there was no black eye by the time we left for the beach.

Emma's a Great Kid

Emma’s a great girl but she’s had a lot of trouble making friendsat her new school so she spends a lot more time at home now than she ever did before. We had always been strict about no TV in the house but I felt like it was time to help her out so I went toWWW.expertsatellite.com and got satellite so she could start watching all those MTV shows all the kids at her school did. Who would have guessed that would be the thing that helped her make friends!? So it turns out she struck up a conversation with another girl about Jersey Shore and now they’re pretty much inseperable…Johanna is the greatest girl in the world and I know she’s really rubbing off on Emma which is going to make this whole transition so much easier for her. Anyway, I’m really proud of my daughter for putting herself out there and you can just see how well it’s worked out for her! She’s great and I knew she was going to make it work.

The No-TV Challenge: The Wolfpack Weekend!

Day 4: Came home and cooked the heck out of my kitchen

Days 5 & 6:  Virginia Beach--since there is no-tv all weekend, the Wolfpack is going on a mini vacay!

My girlfriends and i call ourselves the Wolfpack. The Wolfpack came about as a result of watching and loving the Hangover movie. We are not crazy as those boys but a group to be reckoned with.  Sometimes we refer to ourselves as the Wolfpack plus baby because of my godson that is usually in our midst.

The Wolfpack has an annual summer trip every year to the beach.  Last year, we did Rehoboth Beach and this year we are doing Virginia Beach. 

I believe i have all my essentials for a great holiday! 

Wolfpack

The location

The Bathing Suit

The Beach Towel

The Sunscreen

Sunglasses

Dress One

Dress 2

The Sandal

The Skirt

The Bag

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Here's to No-TV but lots of beach, sun, sand and fun!

The No-TV Challenge: Days 1-3

August 16, 2011:

 In the morning, i listened to gospel music

Gave my hair a relaxing shampoo

Shaved my legs

Saw a father walking his son on the baby leash 

(hence the post..thanks for all the comments ladies!)

Probably bothered Mr. Pancakes a little too much with my bantering

August 17, 2011:

Slept in

Worked out in the morning

Worked out in the evening (Tae-Bo anyway)

Worked overtime (is this what happens when you have time on your hands)

Discovered some new blogs!

August 18, 2011

Worked out with Mr. Pancakes (we haven't done that for a while)

Saw the bff

Worked overtime (not by choice)

Went to CVS to print some pictures

Made bbq for dinner

Worked on TC30s

I wish i was reading more but i think that's because i've been coming home late from work.

But Yup, still no tv and I AM DOING JUST FINE!

Baby Leashes Anyone?

I know i am not a mom yet and so i have no basis for this one...but really are these necessary?

Sorry, the proper term is Child Safety Harness...but nevertheless, 

are they really necessary?

Really lady...maybe with triplets...it's acceptable? but really?

Celebrities do it in style...

 

My favourite celeb couple, Brangelina on the other hand...do not use safety harnesses!

No...instead they use the hand holding chain method! 

Pretty humane and safe i think!

Maybe i am totally off base because i have yet to have children i want to keep safe!

Or maybe i just have too much on my hands because i can't watch television!

The No-TV Challenge

Starting August 16th, 2011, I have decided to give up television for a complete week. 

7 full days. 

168 hours. 

No television!  

I have been meaning to do this for a while because truth be told, i watch TV, alot.  

As soon as i come home, i turn the TV on.  I watch TV when i am blogging, stretching from a workout, eating, texting and sometimes when i am sleeping.  Well the TV has to be on when i am sleeping (if Mr. Pancakes is not home that is).  I have become a little attached to the TV.

Mr. Pancakes on the other hand could care less about TV unless there is a football or another sporting event on.  If not, the TV is turned off.  Sometimes, i come home, turn the TV on and it's on the same channel from when i last watched TV.  I think God brought Mr. Pancakes into my life to teach me some self-discipline.

Therefore I have decided be self-disciplined and challenge myself to No-TV!

Oh the horror!

As soon as i thought about this challenge, i said to myself, 

"self, i am sure there are plenty of things you can do aside from watching television!"  Including:

 house cleaning,

go to a baseball game,

working out in the evening, 

expanding on our readership at TC30s

trying new hair styles,

finish reading the books that are due back at the library next week, 

catch up with friends from Canada, 

skype with my sister, 

trying new recipes from Fitness Food and Fait

write in my journal,

discover new blogs, 

helping Mr. Pancakes with the family business

studying for my clinical exam in October

learn about doing a giveaway, 

have a random date night at our favourite restaurant

spend quality evening time with Mr. Pancakes with the TV turned off.  

Of course, i was ready to start the No-TV challenge next week but of course my self-disciplined husband says to me, "why put off what you can today tomorrow?"  I looked at him and thought about all the new shows i could be missing and took him up on the challenge to start on August 16 and finish on August 23rd.

What's the point of this challenge anyway?

 Aside from showing myself and my husband i can be self-disciplined, 

i believe i am a little addicted to the TV and spending sometime away from it will give me a better appreciation for all the other lovely things i enjoy doing, 

like reading, working out, journaling and spending time the Pancakes.  

I am hopeful if i can be disciplined with the No-TV challenge, i can be disciplined in other areas of my life.  Here's to being optimistic without television for a week and discovering something new and awesome in the next week.  

I just hope i don't accidentally turn it on!

Have you given up something you really really really liked for an extended amount of time?

LongLazySunday: The I Love My Husband edition!

This has been a rainy longlazy sunday which would have been great if i could have slept in! However, today was church and i was ushering so i needed to be there!

The rain has been good since it's been so hot over the last several weeks.

Mr. Pancakes and i both chose the same woman for a contestant on Baggage! We are so in sync!

And now to the reason, i love my husband!

On Thursday night, i said to my husband i needed to buy more workout clothes.  I started working out again.  And when i came home Friday night...i saw this on the bed:

Mr. Pancakes' surprised me with an awesome workout outfit! 

Nike dri-fit with a reversible top!

I was so genuinely surprised!

How can i not love my husband after this surprise!

Hope you enjoyed your longlazysunday!

Friday Funnies

The update on my iphone is that I've had it replaced three times.  But it was by no means the fault of apple.

Apparently, there was a virus on my itunes so whenever i would sync my phone, the virus would be transfered back into my phone.  

This went on three times until someone at the GeniusBar informed me what the issue might be.  Of course, Mr. Pancakes mentioned the same thing the day before.  My husband, the apple genius!  Needless to say, my iphone is back in full force. Thank God! I was depressed for a few days!

This brings us to the friday funnies.  A co-worker introduced me to the website, DYAC--damn you auto correct.  

The Auto Correct feature can be your best friend or your worse enemy.  It's a feature on most smart phones that is supposed to correct a word however sometimes it changes the words to whatever it think it's supposed to be.  The DYAC website is completely dedicated to the funny messages that results due to auto correct.  And most of them are pretty hilarious!

The founder behind this website is pretty creative to take something so simple and turn it into an awesome business.   And it makes for some Friday funnies.  Of course enjoy the website after work!

Have you heard of DYAC?

Have you pressed send only to realize the auto correct has taken over?

Here are some examples from DYAC; be warned: they can be inappropriately funny:

Secret Newlywed Behaviors: High School Version

This version of Secret Newlywed Behaviors is brought to you by way of Superbad!

When my best friend and i were in high school (in Canada), we went downtown into this dark and dingy store where the stairs led us into a basement.  I am not even sure who told us about this place.  But there we were, two high school kids in a dark and dingy tattoo parlour.  No we were not there to get tattoos... but fake ids.

Yes we did a McLovin! Such a cliche but so true.



It was actually very easy for the bff and i to get our ids.  We paid like twenty bucks.  They took our pictures and superimposed them on US driver's licenses.  They were meant as a souvenir and not meant to be used as a proper ID the dude informed us, ever so legally!

My bff and were beyond excited.  For like three years, from 15-18, we used our ids to attend numerous over 19 clubs.   We had a lot of fun those three years.  I think we told our parents we were going to all-ages clubs whenever we went out.  We didn't do anything bad.  We would go, dance and just have fun! We felt so grown-up. (in hindsight we had no idea what it meant to be a grown up!)

There was of course that one time that the bff was asked by the bouncer, "what's your zip code?" and she looked at him with a blank stare!  A. total. complete. blank. stare!  Needless to say we didn't get into the club that night.  So embarrassing!  Or that time the bouncer told me there was no way i could be who i say i am.
Total Fail!

.  

The things we do as teenagers! When we finally started going to clubs legally, it wasn't even fun because we had been going for like three years, illegally!  I am so scared of what my kids are going to come up with.  And i don't even have them yet.  Secrets do catch up with you sometimes through your kids! (i think).

What is the craziest thing you did as a teen?