Best of the Best: Top Recipes of 2014

Wow, I'm flattered! 

All Free Slow Cooker Recipes named my crock pot orange chicken one of its top recipes of 2014!  

This recipe goes way back to when I first started blogging years ago, and somehow, it caught on right when Pinterest took off.  Since then, it's gotten more hits than I could have ever imagined on my little old blog.  It's really an awesome recipe and one of my absolute favorite from the last several years.  You must try it out if you haven't yet!

Introducing the newest addition to Team T!

Meet Caylee!

She was born on June 10th and we're so happy to have her to complete our family.

As some of you know, I had a somewhat difficult pregnancy with some health issues, so I've been kinda MIA.  Now that I'm on maternity leave, I have a little more time to get back to blogging.  Hopefully, I can try to keep up a little better...at least for the summer while I'm off work!

I have kept up with my baby blog that I update every few days with way too many pics of my two little ones.  Feel free to check it out here if you're interested...

So anyway, I wanted to say, "Hello!" to all my old blog friends out there! ::waving:: 

Hope to catch up with you soon!

Guest posting with a new craft!

Stop by Mom on Timeout to see my braided fabric coasters!

Thanks for letting me share my crafts with you!

Really? You really love me?

I was beyond shocked that I hit 600 followers today.

I don't spend nearly the amount of time that I would like crafting, sharing & meeting other bloggers, but you all know how life gets busy. Thanks for sticking with me and always leaving me such sweet comments!

So as this year comes to a close and my blog hits a milestone, I wanted to wish all my friends out there a HAPPY NEW YEAR and a wonderful 2012!

Blogging with one hand...

Yep, I've done a lot of blogging and commenting on your blogs with one hand in the last 3 months - One hand on the keyboard and one hand holding the baby while I breastfeed.

The last 3 months have gone by way too quickly and now it's just about time to get back to "normal" life or my new normal which is life as a working mom. I go back to work on Tuesday. :::sigh::: I know a lot of you are working moms and I don't know how you do it. I really thought it would be a lot easier than it's turning out to be.

While I don't want to go back to work, I do miss my coworkers and the gossip. I also miss blogging and being about to chat with YOU more often. (Ok, I admit it. I blog at work when I have time.)

I know I promised this blog would remain a fun crafty, DIY & cooking blog, so I won't overload you with the baby gushing. I decided to make my baby blog public (for now at least), so if you're interested in reading it, go here.

But before I end this post, I can't help but add a few of my favorite photos from the last three months!

Guest posting & baby craziness!

Wow, I don't know how you all do it! It's pretty time-consuming to take care of a baby (and yourself and your house) and then have extra time for blogging! And those of you with multiple children...you're rockstars!

Our little Connor is doing great and I'm still getting the hang of being a new mom. I've got more blog posts planned, but I want to have more time to chat & get back to reading your blogs too. I promise I'll be back soon once I get into a routine!

On an exciting note, our baby nursery is being featured today on All Things Fee. Felicia had a baby last week too! Congrats to her and her family!

Still hanging in there...

After the nursery reveal post, some of you have asked about labor progress and if the baby is here yet. I'm officially due on Wednesday, but still have an inside baby as of now.

If you would have asked me a week ago, I would not have been ready and I could have gone on for weeks. But now, I'm totally ready and getting impatient! As much as I would have liked to finish the house projects we've had going on this summer, it's not going to happen. With the basement flood, power going out for days at a time, and me being a whale, they just didn't all get finished. I'm at a stopping point (as much as I don't like things unfinished) and I'm ready for our little one to join our family.

Like I've said before, this blog is meant to be about crafts, recipes, projects, and fun things that make me happy. I have another baby blog that will probably turn into a "Look how cute my baby is!" blog. It's private, but I'm happy to give anyone access that wants to read it (just send me your email address). Hopefully, my baby will sleep lots (I can dream!) and I can be on here blogging away as usual during my maternity leave.

Hope everyone is enjoying that last little bit of summer! I'll keep you posted!

A Blogging Tip - Who Are You?

I've been meeting a lot of new bloggers lately (hello to you!) so I just wanted to give you a quick tip that will be very helpful.

Some of you may not have all your Blogger.com settings updated so when you comment on blogs, your comment will come from the generic address we know as noreply-comment@blogger.com. When this happens, the person who received the comment can't reply and respond back.

There is an EASY fix! I posted the secret awhile ago and I want to pass it on again. Go here to follow the instructions and fix it.

Happy Friday!

National Infertility Awareness Week

I don't usually get too serious on here, but this is a topic that is now very important to me. Some of you have followed my experiences of infertility, miscarriage, and now pregnancy. I'm just trying to get the word out so I'm participating in the Infertility Myth Blog Challenge.
MYTH: Just relax and you'll get pregnant.

BUSTED!: Really? That's all it takes? Thanks for the advice! Argghh, this one is the worst! It's not hard to figure out that most women with a fertility issue have some kind of medical problem...whether it's been diagnosed or not. In my case, it was that I wasn't having a period or ovulating. We never figured out the cause of this, but that's an obvious reason why I wouldn't be able to conceive. Infertility might cause a little stress in your life, but it sure isn't the reason you're not able to get pregnant.

MYTH: You're too skinny.

BUSTED!: I'm not a doctor, but I'm going to try to bust this one...or at least give my take on it since I got this one a lot. Don't health care providers tell all adults that they need to get an hour of exercise 5 times a week or something similar? So if I was doing that regularly, doesn't that make me healthier? I was born with a thin body and I worked hard to keep up my flat abs and tiny muscles in my arms. I also regularly ate 3 meals a day plus 2-3 snacks, so it's not like I'm starving myself. Just because I might look skinny doesn't mean I'm unhealthy. Making a judgement like this is the same thing as assuming I have an eating disorder because I'm thin. While the weight thing might be the case for a small percentage of women, don't assume I'm part of that.
After going struggling with this process for over a year, I have learned a lot about myself and others. The stress, sadness, and pressure is something no one will understand except for another woman who experienced the same thing. People around you will tell you things that are rude, inconsiderate, and false as I mentioned above. Though it might be hard, you can't let it bother you. You need to be proactive for yourself and get treatment with a doctor you love. (And if you're in the Chicago area, I can recommend one that I love.) If you feel alone in this process, get some help from others who have been through the same thing at a support group, or try individual therapy. My support group was one of the things that really helped me during my worst times.

I never, ever thought I was going to be one of those girls that needed fertility treatment, never thought I would have a miscarriage, and then never thought it would take THAT long to get pregnant. But it happens to a lot more females than you would think. Once you get people talking, it's a lot more common than I ever thought. This topic should NOT be taboo and needs to be more publicized. Get the word out there and bust those myths!

Go here to learn more about infertility and here to read more about National Infertility Awareness Week.

If you'd like to participate, submit up your blog post here.

P.S. If anyone wants to vent privately or ask questions, I'd be happy to chat. Send me an email at kermiefrg@aol.com

Blog advertising?

How do you feel about advertisements on blogs?

Do you notice them? Do you avoid blogs that have giant ads all over them? Do you support other bloggers who try to make some extra money from ads?

As of now, I have chosen NOT to have ads on my blog because that's not what blogging is about, IMO. My blog was about searching for happiness and sharing my creativity with all of you. There have been times when people have asked me about advertising and I turned them down just for this reason. Maybe one day I'll change my mind, but for now, it's all ME : )

Every blogger has the choice about whether they want to have ads on their personal blog. I understand that everyone has their own opinions and they choose what they think will work best for them.

Please share your opinions!

The Best of 2010

I did this same post last year and it was fun to look back on everything, so I thought I'd do it again this year.

Project: What did you start this year that you're proud of?

We've fixed up 4 rooms in a little over a year! It's been a huge struggle to get through all the dust, mess ups, and drama that goes on when you DIY, but it's totally worth it! My favorite project we did this year was our bathroom makeover.

From this...

To this!

Recipes: The yummiest cooking from the past year

There's so many! I got into a bit of a cooking obsession for awhile when I needed things to keep my mind off the stress going on. These are a few of my faves (and your faves):

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

Chocolate Pecan Coconut Macaroons

Cheesy Stuffed Meatballs
Crock Pot Orange Chicken

Best Craft: What got your creative juices flowing?

Again, so many to pick from! Here's some of the ones I liked the most:

Cute Cleaning Gloves
Summery Garden Flag

From Curtain to Scarf

Burlap Pumpkins

Tissue Box Cover

Night Out: Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?

It wasn't a night, but does day count? We spent a day at the zoo in July when I needed some cheering up. It was just what I needed and I had such a fun time! We went super early and got to take advantage of the petting zoo being completely empty. You really don't want to be with me in a petting zoo because I'll spend hours petting all the cute animals and "awww"-ing at every little thing they do!

Moment of Peace: An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind?

A moment of peace and me don't go together. Even the thought of peace makes me laugh! I'm usually a ball of stress and anxiety! No matter what I do, my mind is always racing with thoughts and I can't relax. My best teacher for peace is Kitty. Just watching him snuggle up in a ball makes me smile and I love watching him sleep.

Challenge: Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the biggest challenge of the year for you?

Unfortunately, this question is easy to answer. In July, I spilled my guts here and confessed that I've been undergoing fertility treatments since January of 2009. It's been a very overwhelming, stressful, and emotional thing to go through. I was excited to find out I was pregnant in June and my life was great! 8 weeks later, the heart beat was gone and I had to terminate the pregnancy. It was definitely one of the hardest things I've ever had to endure. The pain, anger, and questions still stick with me months later. As I continue on this fertility journey, it's quite a challenge as you can probably guess. I'm just hoping for a good outcome in 2011.

The Best Place:
The bed. Obviously. I spend a LOT of time in here! I eat, blog, sew, cry, laugh, snuggle, sleep, and would pretty much live my life from here if I could. New Food:
It's not completely new, but peanut butter is back in my life! I've always disliked peanut butter unless mixed with chocolate because I was scarred for life from a bad experience with PB&J when I was younger. (The thought makes me want to vomit.) Anyway, when I was cooking those fabulous peanut butter pretzel truffles above, I took a lick of the spoon and realized what I've been missing out on! Now I spread it on anything I can for a quick & easy snack. Love ya, peanut butter!

Best Accomplishment:
During the spring and summer, I posted a lot about how I got into running all of a sudden. I've never been able to run more than about a minute without stopping, but something changed in February and I could do it! It was such an accomplishment for me that I kept pushing myself to beat my best times. Throughout the summer, I broke record after record for my personal best and it was an amazing feeling. My final goal was to run an official 5k and I finally did it here!

New person/people:
All of you! My blog went from pretty much non-existent to now having a lot of "friends" that I chat with regularly! It's been so great to meet all of you living all over the country and seeing the creative talent you have to offer.

Web Tool: It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

Flickr! In July, I posted that my photos weren't looking very nice when I uploaded them with Blogger. I didn't have a lot of other options because my Mac laptop at home is so old. But a few of you suggested Flickr and it made a huge difference! I used up all my free uploads and now I'm going to have to give in and pay for it. Worth it?

My goals for 2011:

• Finish remodeling the man cave

• Finish remodeling the craft room

• Finally get to be a mom

• Try to remember why I started this blog: to remind myself of the things that make me happy

Happy New Year!

Linking up to:
Southern Hospitality's Top Projects of 2010
Savvy Southern Style's Best of 2010

Share & chat with me!

Most of you are off for the holidays or on some fabulous vacation in warm weather, but I'm stuck at work all this week and next week. So to help me pass the time and keep me entertained, I'm asking for YOU to chat with me!

Leave me a link, comment, story, or photo of your favorite recipe, project, happiest moment, night out, etc. from 2010. I'd love to see all your awesome ideas and memories and it will keep me busy this week! Next week I'll post my faves for you to check out.

Hope you all have a lovely holiday and new year with your family and friends and I look forward to reading what you have to say!

Thankful Thursdays

My friend over at The Cape on the Corner inspired me to join in on the Thankful Thursdays posts. As I've said in the past, I have a hard time being positive and usually focus on the negatives in my life. That's why this blog is called The Pursuit of Happiness and it helps to remind me what makes me happy.

There are the obvious things to be thankful for like family, friends, etc, but what about all the little things that keep you going? So here's a few things I'm thankful for this week:

1. Pumpkin anything
As much as I hate fall because it turns into winter, I love pumpkins. Pumpkin-flavored food gets me so excited and I love picking out the perfect pumpkin every year. Speaking of pumpkins, I did want to add that my miracle pumpkin that I saved from last year has finally died. It started getting icky a couple weeks ago and I decided it was time to say goodbye.

2. My sock monkey
I have had a slight obsession with sock monkeys ever since that Kia commercial came out last year. I kept saying that I wanted one, but never wanted to spend the money. For our wedding anniversary, Hubby surprised me with a handmade sock monkey that we saw months earlier. The day he gave it to me was a very stressful and emotional day for me so it was the perfect surprise to snuggle up with. Ever since then, he always reminds me to hug the sock monkey when I'm having a bad day. (Eww...can I be any more pasty on our anniversary in August?)
3. My car in the garage
My car is back in the garage! After some small projects, we finally have everything cleaned up so I can park in there. Just as it's getting cold, I needed this! I parked outside for 5 years at our old house and I'm so glad not to have to do that anymore.


4. My BFF, Kitty
He's there for me through thick and thin giving unconditional love.


5. Bravo TV
Seriously, what would we do without our daily fix of trash, drama and reality shows?
What are you thankful for today?

:::blushing:::

I didn't sleep very well last night and woke up with a sore back and cold feet. But this morning when I grabbed my laptop (still in bed, of course) I refreshed my Google Dashboard and saw my smiling face up there.

I'm featured on The Hand Me Down House today! Amanda is one of the sweetest bloggers I've met and she is so creative when it comes to ideas for her house. Her unique projects always amaze me and I wonder how she even has time to sleep with everything she's accomplished!

Then I went to eat breakfast and came back to find another feature of me on Amaretto Vineyard! Jessica is a new blogger who started a blog just as she began the journey moving to a new house (like me) and to share her creativity and bargains with others (also like me). So I look forward to seeing her new home and future projects!

I'm truly honored to be chosen twice in one day! Thanks so much to both of you and all of my other blogging friends who keep me inspired on a daily basis!

Where do you blog?

I saw this question on Centsational Girl and I thought it was a really interesting discussion to have. We're all bloggers and we're all inspired by our blogger friend's posts. But we all have crazy lives and have to make time to blog.

So where you do sit when you blog?

Is there a special place in your house where you can go and hide to catch up on your favorite blogs?

I'd like to show you were I usually blog...

1. The family room couch

I sit right in that crack between the seats so I don't lean to one side or the other. I set up a tray table to put my computer on and another one for my food.

I usually sit here when I want to watch tv on our big flat screen. It's also the perfect space to hang out while I'm doing laundry since the laundry room is only a few steps away.

2. The bed

I'd live in my bed if I could! It's comfy, it's light, and it's relaxing. I usually blog from here at night when I'm browsing blogs or hanging out in the bedroom with Hubby and Kitty. I use this little lap desk to keep my laptop from burning my legs.

And here's my tv so I can watch while I blog.

So show me where you blog!
I'd love to see where you hang out when you're reading blogs!