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All in a Week’s Whirl

It’s been delicious madness around here lately. 

Between fun and food and friends and farting children and family {please notice the pause between children and family} and…fesign fork…I haven’t had a moment to sit down and tell you all about it in mind-numbing detail, as I am accustomed to doing.  {Clearly there’s no way to get ‘design work’ to start with an ‘f’ without it sounding anything but unkosher}. 

Did ya’ll miss me, huh, huh?

Don’t answer that unless it’s wildly kind and incredibly gracious.

I’ve been designing my little ample heinie off on everything from book covers and logos to wedding invitations and 6 foot banners.  I realized the other day that you’d never know that I actually design anything for rizzle beyond the little ditties on this blog, seeing my design blog hasn’t been updated in, I don’t know…2 years.  It’s not that I don’t care.  It’s just that…I don’t care right now.  If I have a moment to spare…I’d much rather spend it right here.  Simply blooming.  Emphasis on the ‘simply’. 

I’m cheesy, I know.  And I prefer it with a glass of moscato.

I’ve been so blown away by the 5 out-of-state clients I work with consistently {that stumbled upon my pathetic little blog by some act of God and decided to take a chance on me…and then promptly fell in love with my astonishingly delightful personality and wicked design skills cheap fees}…that the thought of much more work overwhelms me entirely.  How cool is that for this little never-had-a-design-class-in-her-life girl?

{He loves me!}

Once Mr. Bug scoots off to preschool and Madame Bean flits off full-time…I’ll attempt to make myself appear more professional and open for business.  Until then.  We eat.  Laugh.  Build forts.  Have dance-a-thons to the oft requested Jeremy Riddle.  Do zumba on a smashingly regular basis.  Take middle-of-the-day baths.  Bake, because it’s Wednesday.  Or 10:00am.  And continue to hope we’ll make it to the bathroom before he pees on my feet.  We attempt to get dressed before we spend yet another day in pajamas.  Oh, and there is always farting.  I do parent a 2 and a half year old boy, remember.  It’s a highlight of our his day.

I’m rambling.  I need sleep.  Or more tea.  Or both.

Moving right along.

A glance at some of the shenanigans we got up to…

All in a week's work

1.  I made these little suckers last night for no good reason at all.  And they’re fabulous {and relatively not-bad-for-you}.  Recipe coming soon!

2.  I decided to live on the edge and sprout wheat berries.  I’m wild like that.  We ate them on salads, on swiss oatmeal, and by the handful.  Because they’re sweet and yummy, and because they make me feel way more healthy and “granola” than I truly am, which – in turn – makes me feel much cooler than I am.  Which makes me smile on the inside.

3.  My lovely loin-fruit decided an impromptu worship session was in order.  They belted out a few versions of “we love you, Jesus!” with more raw passion than I’d ever witnessed in their little voices…and promptly followed it up with a less awe-inspiring rendition of “I love poopie” {Bug} and “I love wee wee” {Bean}.  It was a glorious cacophony indeed.

4.  We got artsy fartsy.  By far my favorite hand-print craft to date (Bug’s little mitt on top, Bean’s below).

5.  I roasted massive amounts of garlic and red peppers {simply drizzle whole bulb – top lopped off – with olive oil, bake at 400* for half an hour}.  The wee ones ate half a bulb, which they often do raw, with cheese…but this proved to be even more delectable.  And less nasally offensive.  I stashed a few roasted bulbs in the fridge for spontaneous clove urges.  We used the last bulb tonight with penne and sautéed veggies in a garlic white wine sauce…it was bliss.

6.  I broke out of my usual hummus rut, delicious as it may be, and threw in two of the red peppers I roasted and a few dashes of coriander {the spice I am currently having an affair with}.  It was fah-bulous!  We’re still eating it on sandwiches and with every vegetable in the house.  Including red peppers.  Because…

7.  We’re all about a good deal, so every time we’re at the grocery store, we scope out the “reduced vegetable” section and load up on colored peppers {among other things}.  We scored 15 gorgeous peppers for $3.50.  I chopped, sliced, froze and roasted my little heart out.

8.  We’ve been battling the yuckies around here for what feels like the entire Winter.  Despite the mild weather – which, admittedly, I’ve loved – it seems as though the lack of frigid temperatures has allowed all sorts of bugs to flourish.  After the 3rd time, in 2 months, of being knocked out by a virus, Bean fell fast asleep on top of a triple stack of sofa cushions while playing ‘mountain lion’.  Recovery is brutal, even for the wildest of cats.

9.  The spring cleaning bug has officially bitten and I’m slowly working my way through the scary closets, totes and corners that surround me.  You know the ones…the neglected, cluttered, hidden-for-mighty-good-reason ones.  The craft tote{s} have sneered at me for months.  I finally conquered them and consolidated their madness to one main location.  Watch out, hallway…you’re my next victim.  Mwah ha ha.

In other news…my husband evicted my wedding dress from the attic of the man cave, and while I haven’t the foggiest notion where to stash it now, I did cross my fingers, toes and legs and try it on for the first time in 8 years.  And, good golly miss molly, it fitted {insert sobs of joy here}.  Except for the chest area {insert sobs of self-pity here}.

I got to talk to a fabulous group of mommas last week about physical, spiritual and emotional wellness.  I loved it!  They survived.  Next, I get to talk to more lovely ladies later this month about upping the sizzle factor in their marriages.  Brown chicken, brown cow. 

And lastly {while I’m rambling}, my hubby and I are participating in a murder mystery dinner next weekend.  It’s an 80’s high school reunion theme, and we’re marching band sweethearts.  We can’t wait to don our mock marching band uniforms and ham it up for the night.  Who knows, we may even commit murder in the process.  Certainly makes for an interesting date night, now doesn’t it?

Over and out.

Related posts:

  1. Hormones, Crafts & Snow {this week, in no particular order)
  2. Whip It
  3. The Week in ‘P’s
  4. Peter Piper Picked
«
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Complete nonsense, Crafts and Activities, Daily Life, Designs, Family, Frugal Living, Keepin' it Real, The Kiddos

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Simply Bloom exists to empower women to embrace their stories, live out their passion with purpose, and leave a legacy of love.
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Hello there! I'm Joy. Speaker, designer, author & coach, and creator of the #weROARproject. Welcome to Simply Bloom Co., where passion & purpose collide.

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Praise isn’t pretending everything is fine, it’s r Praise isn’t pretending everything is fine,
it’s remembering who God is, even when it isn’t.
It rarely changes our circumstances,
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God is never careless with the pruning knife. If H God is never careless with the pruning knife.
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that it is ultimately for our good,
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Sometimes God prunes what is still alive. Not beca Sometimes God prunes what is still alive.
Not because He is cruel, but because He is kind.

It’s unbelievably hard to walk away from something that was once deeply fruitful. But when a season ends and God lifts His grace from that role, relationship, or project, lingering often hurts far more than leaving.

Trust His heart for you in the pruning. 🌱
He cuts with purpose, and always with love.

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I stumbled across the word I chose and lettered fo I stumbled across the word I chose and lettered for 2023. Held. I thought it might reopen old ache. Instead, it reminded me of the deeper song beneath our hardest seasons: even in the unraveling, we were held.

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Honor the slow work of becoming.
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you are held.
As we stand on the edge of a new year, remember th As we stand on the edge of a new year, remember this:
God doesn’t prune to prove a point;
He prunes to produce fruit.

Trust the precision and the heart
of the Master Gardener.

What felt like loss this past year
may have been His clearing away of the old
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For the person who doesn’t love journaling but doe For the person who doesn’t love journaling but does love growth…the R•EVOLVE Journal was created to make the practice simple, sustainable, and meaningful.

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Sometimes God prunes what’s still alive. Not becau Sometimes God prunes what’s still alive.
Not because He’s cruel — because He’s kind.

🍃 Episode 003 of OGG is live: Making the Cut | When Love Looks Like Loss.

We’re talking about the difference between punishment and pruning, and how the wilderness can be proof of love.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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When we fail, when we flounder, when our fragile f When we fail,
when we flounder,
when our fragile faith starts to tremble…
we can trust His heart for us.

His love remains unchanging,
and His purposes remain unshakable.
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