You’re 35 today! You’re finally the age my Dad thought you were when I first introduced you to him 8 years ago (ha ha ha). Happy Birthday MY Tall Handsome Bearded Spouse!!!
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// by Lizette Villa// 1 Comment
// by Lizette Villa// 1 Comment
Today was a huge milestone for our family, I mean HUGE!!!! Elias sat through an entire haircut and Tommy got his first facial shave!!! I choke up just thinking about it!! Elias got his very first hair cut when he was a little over 1 and it was the perfect experience. Perhaps because he didn’t know what was happening, but he didn’t move, he didn’t cry, he didn’t whine, he posed for pictures. IT WAS PERFECT!!!
Then came the 2nd and I’m not sure what triggered the change but it didn’t go so well; he hesitated, he cried, but he got through it with encouragement. The 3rd was more challenging. He began to fight it, he kicked, he screamed, he cried, he wiggle and moved, he didn’t get through the entire session! By the 4th and 5th attempts, Elias was boldly refusing. He was kicking, screaming, crying hysterically. It was a tantrum at its finest and anxiety for all us involved. Toddler haircuts increasingly became a dreaded task.
I tried every recommended tip and trick on toddler haircuts: bribes, toys, phone time, candy, I even took him asleep one time. We tried cutting his hair with scissors only, we encouraged him to hold the clippers & scissors (with supervision of course), we had him watch his little brother get a haircut before his got his to show him everything would be okay. I went to every recommend kid friendly, adult, specialized salon and barber, most of them turned us way as soon he began refusing to even sit on the chair, or they didn’t finish the session. I even bought a kit and tried to cut his hair at home. IT WAS BAD!!! …
// by Lizette Villa// 1 Comment
If you’re looking for a no fail, extremely easy, crowd pleasing, delicious appetizer, this buffalo chicken dip recipe is the way to go. I’ve made it for birthday parties, super bowl parties, holiday gatherings, potlucks and it never fails to gratify! This is one of those finger licking good dishes that keeps you coming back for more….it’ll be the dish your friends and family ask you to bring to any event!
Jose introduced me to this buffalo chicken dip recipe a few years ago and it instantly became one of my favorites. Truthfully, I think he got tired of me asking him to make it and he eventually shared the recipe with me. That was a bittersweet moment for me, I still prefer it when he makes it!
This buffalo chicken dip is very simple to make using only one dish (I love this!). And you can make it a day before your event and pop it into the oven 1 hour before you’re ready to serve.
So how do we make this deliciousness happen? Easy! All you need are…
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// by Lizette Villa// 5 Comments
When I first started thinking about the potential possibility of starting a blog, I thought to myself what on earth do I have to write about? Who in the world would care to read MY blog? I still think this, but as I continued to revisit the idea it became clear to me that this was something I wanted to do and should do FOR ME, it was a project that would make me happy, and IT HAS! Every time I complete a post I feel a small sense of accomplishment, gratification and pride. Every time I figure out a small detail on how to put the blog together, whether it’s changing a font, formatting a page or uploading a picture just the way I want it, I feel sooooooo excited and it’s fulfilling… even if it took me half the day or an entire day to do it. Every step forward, no matter how many steps I feel I may have taken backwards feels great! I’m learning something new every single time; I’m learning about blog development, using social media, editing pictures, about myself and my style…whenever I invest valuable time into this project, I walk away with just a little bit more knowledge and this to me is invaluable.
One of the main things that attracted me to blogging was writing, I really enjoy writing. As a kid/young teenager I journaled quite a bit, I kept a lot of those journals for some time, but between a few moves, closet clean outs and impulsive moments of “what do I need this crap for” most of those journals are gone. I regret not keeping them! It would have been nice to remember what I was like at that age, how I thought, the things I felt mattered, who was important in my life besides my family of course. I’ve forgotten a lot of those details about myself, even though I think I know what kind of kid I was, I’m fairly certain my memory of me isn’t entirely who I was, I think I’ve been selective in what I’ve chosen to remember. However, I do remember the feeling I got when I wrote in my journals or diaries…. I’m not sure what I called them at the time. I remember feeling comforted, relieved, peaceful, happy. As an adult I revisited journaling here and there but never really committed to it until now that I started my blog. It’s been very therapeutic for me, it’s my haven. I didn’t realize I had been neglecting myself and my soul this much. I’m beginning to allow myself the opportunity to streamline my visions, and understand or at least try to understand my feelings and emotions. I’m also taking time to create a plan and take action to improve those areas of my life I haven’t been paying much attention to.
An unexpected benefit of blogging is the opportunity to track and narrow in on short term and long-term goals; I’ve found that I hold myself more accountable on committing to my goals and I procrastinate just a little less. I track my achievements and push myself to work on areas I’ve neglected. It’s not novelty that physically writing things down has many benefits. It helps you stay focused, it helps you think bigger and better, you get distracted less, you remember more, it helps you commit, you have tangible records, and I’m sure much more! When I’m preparing for a new post, I personally like to physically write things down, there’s something very personal about this for me. Once I have a good outline, I start typing and doing my editing. But just the simple act of writing it down and seeing the list of things I want to write about or things I want to do, motivates me to follow through; a quality I can shamefully say I haven’t been to keen at for the past 10 or so years. …
“The most important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy – it’s all that matters.” Audrey Hepburn
“You suddenly realize what a tremendous opportunity it is just to be alive. The potential. If you can keep a-goin’–you actually can do it. So just keep a-goin’–you can win. It’s when you stop that you’re done.” Katherine Hepburn
Thank you for visiting my blog. I’d love to hear from you, feel free to message me if you have any questions. You can email me or follow me on social media by clicking on the links below. Until next time! Much Love, Lizette