Friday Night Fun Night

Staying On Track

Today I'm checking in! I actually had this post planned for around the first of February but I had some things come up and had to plan it for another day.

I wanted to let you know what I was using to stay on track this year.

I have a Filofax Domino Personal size that has all the things that I need to help me stay on task and I can fit it into my purse to take it anywhere with me. I have had it for awhile and its a little battered but it serves its purpose.

I recently purchased printable planner inserts to try this month and I can't make a judgement yet if they are working at this time as it is hasn't been a full month. 

The shop is called Kinleighs Doodles- Planning for Better Inserts ( I am not affiliated with this link, it is for the purpose of sharing the shop where I purchased my planner inserts).

I purchased their personal size weekly on four pages layout and middles. So far I am liking it but I can't really say as it hasn't even been a full month.

So what are you using to stay on track with goals for this year, let me know!

I also have been playing around with digital design and made a free printable planner dashboard. Just right click on the image below and save.

Thanks for Stopping by!!! Don't forget to Follow for future free printable!

New Chapter in LIfe

I'm sitting here home alone today trying to get some work done but I keep going into deep thought. I planned an update post for staying on top of your goals this year. It was suppose to go up the beginning of February and I have been very busy. But my oldest child (my only daughter who is 18) came over yesterday and went though the things left in her room. Last night I was going through old photos of my kids and family and all the things that we did together. If was fun to see how much not just my daughter has changed but all of my kids have. Only today did it hit me that she hasn't been home in over a month and she really moved out. We are repainting the room and turning it in my youngest sons room/my craft space (the room is huge).

I am a little emotional over this epiphany that I had today. I thought I was OK with it but then it just really hit me after seeing all those old photos last night. I miss all those times we went camping, played in the snow, took them treat or treating, went to the circus, the fair. I am very happy that I captured all those memories and I can look back on them anytime and have those memories.

 I know that I am entering a new chapter in life and no one has said that life was easy. I am not and was not prepared for this chapter. I truly believe that no one is, as there is not a manual on parenting. I will always worry about her, I will always miss her constant presence in my home. No she didn't move miles away and I can go see her anytime and she can come over anytime. Its the fact that she is now on her own and out in the world trying to figure out adulthood.

I wish her the best in this new chapter for her as well in life. I want her to know that I will always be there for her wherever her journey may take her.


Its time for me to get some work done so until next time.

God Bless.

Krystal

Checking In

2019 Make it your Year!

So here we are 3 weeks into the new year. Goals have been set, steps are in place.
Are you keeping up with your goals?

Here is some questions to ask yourself that helped me check myself to make sure that I am on track.

Am I achieveing the small weekly/daily goals that I have set for myself?

Pulling out the planner,  vision board etc, where ever you wrote out your goals. How many have you checked off and successfully completed?

Looking at where you have worked the least, what needs to shift too work on what you have been putting off?

Is it time management or effort that needs to change. Maybe it’s the situation, is it a realistic goal right now?

What can be done right now to get back on track if you have fallen off?

Always look at your goals and what the end result will be never stop rearranging to make each and every goal happen this year. If one can not be reached in the now, is it a one that needs to be moved to perhaps a monthly goal instead of weekly.

It’s not to many questions to ask, its just a few to ask yourself often. Always check where you are with your goals helps you to stay on track and watch  get closer to the end result. It may seem far off now but before you know it it wil be on the horizon.

I am currently on track with my goals. As this blog was one of them.  My goal for the blog was to start posting content again and so far so good. It maybe small but I’m getting there

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to follow so you can join my families crazy adventure called life!

Sunday Evening Thoughts

Laundry is done, dishes are washed, house is cleaned! Ready for what the week has to bring us.

Do you ever feel that you some times wok for your weekends. Then when the weekends comes you do nothing but clean the house which is more work. 

Most weekdays I feel that I work for the weekend only, to have the weekend off to clean the house and do the laundry. I have very capable children and a husband that can help with these task at home.  They clean up after themselves its not like my house is in total shambles but some days it feels like it.
My day job has me feeling this way a lot lately of working for the weekend.

Doing the house work is not the problem, the problem is for me finding the motivation to get up everyday and going to my day job. Some might say that its time for a vacation. While I agree with this but I try and think of other things as time off I don't have right now. I have to remind myself often that the bills are not going to pay themselves.

I have a feeling of satisfaction when my house is clean and organized, I spend the days with my kids at home. Going to work and working the day away doesn't make me feel that way anymore. Work has just become that work.

I sit on my Sunday evenings dreading the following day, Monday. I just pray that God gives me the strength to do what I need to do to continue on. I also think of all the things that I can do to change that feelin. I know that its going to take time to change and for God to show me the way. But in his time it will happen.

I also sit and think about how blessed I am that I even have a job as most don't right now. I guess I sit in my own self pity as I would rather be home with my children doing something that I love. I have also sat and thought that in due time I will be able to do these things. I have set goals and I am sticking to them this year and working fr the end result.

 What I need to do is sit and think about what I am grateful for more often not just on Sunday evenings. I have done so much this weekend and accomplished a lot of the “to-list”. My kids are happy and healthy and they have a roof over their heads. My husband is enjoying his football game all while being by my side.

 Yes the house is clean, the dishes are washed and the laundry is done for the week ahead. I am ready to face what ever comes my way this week.

So now that I am off the pity train a bit I am going to end this post here.

May God bless.

Don't forget to follow!

Krystal

How to be happy in 2019

Be happy in 2019 Live your best life 

I am going to share with you a simply list of things that I have come up with to be happy in the new year. I have done a lot of soul searching since before the new year began as I wanted to be a happier person. This is what works for me. You can try them all or choose at random, it’s totally up to you.

1. Enjoy the small things- no this is not easy for those of us that want everything perfect and in order in our lives as we live by routines. But sometimes it’s satisfying  to step out of the routine and enjoy that extra moment.

2. Start a gratitude journal- sitting and thinking at the end of the day what you are thankful for is a good way to reflect and appreciate  things.

3. Journal your feelings- had a rotten day, write it down and let those feelings out on the pages in your writing. Had a fabulous day document it in a journal. Writing your feelings

of any sort help get them out and not clog up your happiness.

4. Live in the moment- this goes hand in hand with enjoy the small things. Don’t let your past keep chasing you. Don’t stop dreaming of your future but be present in the now.

5. Be kind- spreading kindness in your words and actions can be a game changer for everyone. Do this no matter how someone treats you at the end of the day that stranger may reflect on it and be the highlight of their day.

Hope you enjoyed, thanks for stopping by.

Tell me in the comments what’s on your list to be happy.

God bless
Krystal 

Bloglovin

So I had to redo my Bloglovin account as I haven't been on it in so long. So this is a short post to let everyone know to follow me over there. Remember the profile is new and I'm going to have to build it up again.

Follow My Blog on Bloglovin

Hope everyone is having a great Thursday, God Bless.
Krystal

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year readers, I have been planning and setting goals all day. I’m a little behind on the vision board but I am determined to get it done today for the year. I am setting goals for the year and the month and setting up my very first vision board to keep them in site for the year to reach each one. This is in hopes that I can follow thru and keep myself accountable for everything that I do this year. I want change this is the year to do it. Why now you ask, I have so many hopes and dreams that I never put them in a visible place. I may write them down here and there but not actual follow thru. I’m tried of them being just hopes and dreams, I want them to be reality. Now is better then never and I figured with the year I can start fresh and watch the results for a whole year. In the end I want to see he goals hat I actually reached and did and say that I did it. I made it a reality. Now I know that this isn’t all going to happen over night that’s why I started at the beginning of a brand new year. I have plenty of time to set smaller goals to reach the bigger ones by the end of the year.

Some of my goals are to work from home and own my own business. I feel that since I started working outside the home again 6-7 years ago I have lost a lot with my children. They no longer have the routines and stable structure of a smooth oiled machine. When I get home from work I’m to tired to do anything else and don’t spend that quality time with my children making dinner or doing homework. I have come to rely on them solely being responsible for their school work on their own and that has failed. No I am not a single parent my husband also has a job but he is the same way when he gets home. I don’t take the time needed from work to take them to the dentist or doctors let alone special school events. I don’t blame working outside the work fully for this but it has a lot to do with it. Yes three of my children are teenagers one being 18 and I have a 12 year old and they are all doing their own things in life but I want to be in the moment with them.

Another goal is starting a business and having it be successful. I know my goals do not come without there ups and downs and I’m ok with that. I will go thru trial and error to find what works and what don’t. I’m not expecting things run smoothly or just take off on their own. I know that each goal requires me to put int he hard work it takes to get them where I want them. I am currently in the stage of research of what it takes to start and run a business also what exactly it is that is the best business fit for my family and I.

Another thing I did today was choose a word for the year. My word is possibility. There is going to be possibility in everything that I do this year. I will turn possibility into possible by the end of the year as it goes perfectly hand in hand with my goals. The possibilities as endless with my goals this year and I am over the moon excited to see what it brings.

So in closing have you made any goals for the upcoming year? Do you make a vision board?  What do you hope the New Year brings?

Until next time God bless,
Krystal

Long time no blog!

Wow it’s been quit sometime since I have been on my blog!  Long story short, I had to get a full time job outside of the home after my husband got laid off quite awhile back. In doing so it took a lot of time away from me and I stopped doing a lot of things that I loved. One of them being this blog and another is scrapbooking itself. Another reason is we have moved a few times and I have lost the space that I can call mine such as my scrapbooking room. Most of my supplies are in the storage shed out behind our house and are collecting dust 😞. We are now not only buying one house but two, so we are not moving anytime soon.

I have found a small balance between work and home life so I am easing back into things. My hope is to start blogging more as I love to do it and a passion I never lost. As for my hobbies they have changed drastically. I picked up oil painting and I have been doing that for about a year now. I have recently been doing acrylic paintings. No surface is safe with me around, I started painting on rocks and that has taken a whole new direction for me. My husbands family are rock hounders and he showed them my work on the rocks and suggested that I start selling them at the rock shows. Then I shared them on social media and that opened a whole new door for me. Everyone suggested that I sell my masterpieces, so I have taken the plunge and I opened an Etsy store (Click here to check it out). I have yet to make a sell but in the mean time I am doing all the research that I can and painting to relax.

Here is a picture of the first rock painting I did with acrylic.

I only paint on the weekends as I am to tired to do anything when I get home from work. It is also dark when I get home plus cooking dinner, homework with the kids and winding down for the night after along day.

Now that I have went on a ramble, back to other things that I have been up to.

We went on a family vacation about a year ago to go see my husbands mom and dad in Georgia. It was a nice but stressful all in the same sense. My kids had experienced a school shooting prior to us leaving which took two classmates lives. We were dealing with all the emotions that go along with that as well as the anxiety. Then in July this year we went to Mississippi to see my family that I haven’t seen in 17 years. That was good a trip but just like the Georgia trip it was stressful. There was a few things that I learned on both of those trips that I would not do again if I was to make those trips again.  My daughter graduated in May before we left and that was stressful ad crazy. At one point I didn’t think it was going to actually happen. She got thru it and made and I couldn’t be more proud. Then she turned 18 is June and that wasn’t so bad but it did make me feel old.

So in a small nutshell that is what has been going on in my life besides working. So I will go ahead and end this post and hope it wasn’t to boring.

Hope to see ya soon,
Krystal

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Hope your all having a great Wednesday!!! Wow it has been a while since I have wrote on this blog once again. So why not start back up with a link in!!! Here is the original post and where the link up start http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/


1. March is known as the windy month. Which of the following phrases best fits your March so far....'throw caution to the wind', 'three sheets to the wind', 'runlike the wind', or 'seewhich way the wind blows?

Well I would have to say that see which way the wind blows. One day here it is nice and sunny then the next the wind is blowing everything around while the sun is out and it is chilly.

2.Your favorite green food? Your favorite dish made with your favorite green food?  Favorite green food, hmmmm that one is a little hard considering that I like all kinds of foods that are green. so I am going to say okra. I love to make fried okra it is so yummy!!!

3. Ever been locked out of your home-car-office-anywhere? Do tell!!!
Oh I have been locked out of my house and my car. One day I was at Tuesday Mornings with my youngest son and I was done shopping and went to get in the car and realized that the keys were still in the ignition!!! My husband was out of town and I didn't have any money to call a locksmith. So I had to break into my own car and everyone around me was giving me the stuff to do so but the 2 cops parked across a couple of spots did nothing. Mind you that this was in the summer time and my son was so good. He sat on the parking block in the shade and played with his toys while I broke into the car.

4. Yoda, Kermit, Shrek, The Wicked Witch of the West, Oscar the Grouch, The Grinch, or Mike Wasowski (Monster Inc).... of the green characters listed, which one's your favorite and why?  I have to say that I like Shrek, he reminds me a lot of myself. He tries to get his point across but no one ever takes him seriously, I have to say Mike Wasowski too. He is the same everyone just runs him over while he trying to be serious as well.

5. "The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive. "-Joe Batten" do you agree? Why or why nope?  I do agree because if you don't have hope then you have nothing to live for. You have to have hopes and dreams because of you don't you have anything to live for.

6. Share a favorite song with an emotion in its title.
Hmmmm, this is another one that I have to think about. I do listen to a lot of music but I'm not really keen on remembering names and titles. I am the same way with movies.

7. Whats a road trip you'd like to take? I would like to take a road trip with my family to go to Mississippi to see the rest of my family. It has been 13-14 years since I have been back there to see them. My daughter was just barely a year old the last time I have seen them and she is now almost 14.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Random thought for today is all work and no play til 5 o'clock when its the end of the work day!



Sorry there is no pictures to make this blog post more eye catching but my computer doesn't want to work in my favor rite now Lol.

I have everyone enjoyed and have a great and blessed Wednesday!


Krystal and Family.

Tuesday Talk

Well I know that its been a while since I have done any blogging. I have no excuses for it, I have just been lazy. But this Sunday I sat down and thought about it and I have came up with some ideas that might help me stay in the game.

I have decided to make fun titles for each day of the week and they are all related to what the topics will be talked about in the blog that day.

I have also decided that I will dedicate Sunday evenings to a time to sit down and plan out each blog post as much as I can so it can be published throughout the week.

Like the title of this blog post Tuesday Talk. I am hoping that every Tuesday that I can keep up with talking about random things that are going on in all parts of my life. So that is my Tuesday Talk for now stay tuned to find out what tomorrows topic will be!!!


Have a great day,
Krystal and Family

Monday Blues

Well its Monday once again and it that time again to go back to work. I am glad that I have a job that I love so its not that bad but I know a few people who snarl when this day comes to go back to work. We had a great weekend of cleaning, watching The Walking Dead and plenty of family time.

My daughter and I got to spend some time together on Saturday and we got our hair cut. I went from lots of length with one layer to short with layers. My daughter has the same haircut but hers is a little shorter then mine, but we both love our haircuts.

Here is the after and before pics of me since I seemed to have uploaded them backwards.

 

My hair before was long and stringy because I have very fine and thin blonde hair but after I got it cut it looks and feels so much more fuller and thicker!!!! Man, how a haircut can make a difference.

 

  I hope that everyone has a blessed day
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HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's Eve and are recovering nicely today. We didn't do anything to special, we stayed up with the kids and watched The Walking Dead on Netflix all night. I believe that we are almost caught up to the current season.

I am very thankful for 2013, a lot of things have happened good and bad, and I am very blessed because it has all helped me shape me into the person I am today. I have learned a lot about my self also. So good-bye 2013 and bring on 2014. I am ready to self discover some more and see what great things lay ahead for the New Year.

Today I am off from work and plan on packing up the Christmas décor. Then clean up the house some and relax.

How are you bringing in the New Year today?

What are your plans?

What great things do you want to happen this year?

I didn't set any New Year's resolutions because I never seem to stick to them any way. So this year I am going to go with the flow of things.


Hope you all have a blessed day and a Happy New Year!!!

Krystal and Family

What a Weekend

I know I have not posted anything and I even missed Wednesday Hodgepodge. But the Hepner house has been struck with a common cold and we are all stuffy, runny, and even coughy around here. Needless to say I haven't even vlogged. I am hoping to get back in the swing of things tomorrow. I have just been so out of it and then trying to help the kids and get medicine in them to help them to be able to breath through the snot. I am still stuffed up and probably sound weird but I am going to go for it, I am not going to let any thing stop me.



So I was thinking about doing a Sunday Psalm Verse every Sunday, so I thought I would start with today. Here is today's verse:

 

Hope you have a great day and May God Bless!!!

 

Krystal Hepner

One of those days

I have been having a rough few days at work. I have a coworker that makes me feel as if I'm a child and I'm stupid. When I ask a question she reacts as if I'm a child then she yells at me which makes me feel stupid. I can't wait for my days to end so I can go home when I use to enjoy coming to work. I am going to make the best of today and get through today with a smile no matter what.

On a different note I got a new toy!!! My husband got me a Nikon D80 with a telescope lens!!! I have been in heaven with it. It takes great pictures, my kids hates it because all they hear is click, click, click lol. When we put up our Christmas tree a few days ago I took tons of pictures. I well share later because I'm at work and don't have access to my pictures our the camera.

Well I hope everyone has a great day, I'll try and be back later with photos!!!

God bless!

Krystal Hepner

Happy Saturday!!!

Hope your enjoying your Saturday. We are on our way to go and pick up my step son from his mom. It's going to be a long drive especially with the other 3 kids in the car for 4 hours then all 4 of them in the car on the way back for 4 more hours. But I cleaned up the house before we left and all that is left to do is laundry and dishes, which there isn't a lot of. So I can relax when we get home later this evening. I have nothing really planned for dinner but I have plenty of time to think about it. I do know it's going to be something quick and simple.
Well that's all for now have a great day and God bless.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I hope you are enjoying this beautiful day with your loved ones and with those we keep in mind daily. I have a few hours til we are due to show up for our Thanksgiving feast and we had dinner with my mom and brother and my family last night. My mother is one of the ones that have to work on Thanksgiving every year and Black Friday so we always do Thanksgiving with her and my family the day before Thanksgiving itself. I thought I would stop in and say a quick hello to everyone.

Have a great day and God Bless!!!

From my family to yours!

The Hepners

Trying Out A Linkup and Wednesday Hodgepodge

Hello again my friends!!! Two posts in one day oh my better write that down on the calender lol.

I have a blogger that I follow (The Glamorous French Housewife)that link's up with another blog and they do a Wednesday hodgepodge, I thought I would jump in and take a try

1. Are you settling for something?

I try not to settle for things but in life you have to come to a compromise with certain things. I try and settle for things that are no less then the best. But at this time I am settling with the fact that I have a dysfunctional family.

2.  It wasn't that long ago almost every store in the US locked doors and turned out lights on Thanksgiving Day. This year many will be open all day Thursday, giving shoppers a jump start on 'Black Friday'. In your opinion is this a good thing or a not so good thing? Will you be shopping on Thanksgiving Day?

I do not agree with shopping on Thanksgiving or working for that matter. Thanksgiving is a time for family and if you are out shopping you are taking that time away for someone else because they have to be at work in order for you to shop.

3. Speaking of shopping...I saw a recent article on the twelve best shopping cities in the world. In order they are-New York, Tokyo, London, Kuala Lumpur, Paris, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Vienna, Dubai, Madrid, Milan, and Seoul.

Ever shopped in any of the cities listed? In which city would you most like to pull out the plastic or cold hard cash?

I can not say that I have shopped at any of these place lol. I have barley ever left my state that I live in lol.

4. When did you last dine by candlelight?

I am not sure if I have ever done this yet because I can't remember a time that I have done it. :)

5. What do you have too much of?

Well I have to much scrapbooking stuff that I will probably never use all of in this life time but I just can't bring myself to get rid of any of it and to stop buying more.  

6. The Hunger Games...are you a fan? Did you read the book(s)? Will you/have you see the movie? Will you/have you seen Catching Fire?

Definitely love the books and the first movie. I plan on watching Catching Fire but probably not til it is out o DVD. Having 4 kids under the age of 13 makes it hard to go anywhere or have the money to do so.

7. Share your plans for Thanksgiving Day. The who, the where, the what..especially the what! As in what's for dinner? If you're one of my International visitors, whose homeland doesn't celebrate American Thanksgiving (the whole world doesn't ya know!) then still tell us your plans for Thursday.

While we are actually having a Thanksgiving dinner tonight with my mother because she is one of the ones that have to work on Thanksgiving. We are have rotisserie chicken, stuffing, pecan pie, green bean casserole, cheesecake, vegetable tray, cranberry sauce and I bet there is more but I am not sure.

Then tomorrow we are going to my ex's brothers house for Thanksgiving and I know that we are having turkey (because we are bringing it) and that's all know there.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Random thought for today was, why does my husband have to come up with such strange ideas at 6:30 am I'm not even awake/alive yet nor have I had my coffee. :)

Hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have hope you all have a great day, God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!!

Krystal Hepner and Family

LINK UP!!!

I'M BACK!!!!

I am finally back online!!! I have recently gotten a job and have been very busy. My husband also lost his job the same day that I got mine. So things around here have been really stressful and busy. But I am thinking about keeping up with this blog more and doing vlogs, but first I have to get my blog out there and then start a new Youtube channel so that I can put the vlogs out there. I don't know if my life would be interesting but I did start videoing some of my life when I went on a trip a few weeks ago. I am up in the air as to what to do because I really would like to do it. Not just to share my life with everyone but for my own reasons.

You know you see the reality shows on TV and I have to say that is not reality that is reality with a splash of Hollywood. My family life can boring at times or it can be serious at times or just plan out silly some times.

But we will see were it takes us and how it goes. So until next time, God Bless and Have a Great Day oh and don't forget to smile!!!

Ivory 2-in-1 Review!!!

I reviewed this product to do a review on and I have to say I am loving this product!!! It has a great smell to it and you can use it as body wash or shampoo or for both!!

I also love how it has more then one purpose. It saves money by being more then a body wash. It also has conditioner in it so therefore it saved double time and money!!