A Day in The Life of a Mom

In honor of Mother's Day a sweet friend, Sally Brigg, shared the following video.  I couldn't think of a better way to describe "A Day in the Life of a Mom." Plus its a good laugh.  Enjoy!!

What is Real Beauty?

We celebrated my husbands big 5-Oh this past week. (He was a real good sport letting me take this picture of him with his new glasses.)   This new decade has caused us both to reflect on where we've been and where we're going.  Doing so we have decided to make some big changes.    

Up until now we have both felt invincible and that the end of our days wasn't even on the radar.  I still have 5 1/2 years to go until I reach this milestone, but being a woman in your 40's still makes you reflect on similar emotions.  One particular emotion that I have been struggling with, as I assume most women in their 40's do, is how your appearance starts changing.  Keeping that youthful look takes a lot more work and despite all your efforts, your skin and waistline have something different in mind.  In fact it made me start recognizing that almost Mom you see on television no matter the age, except for Roseanne, has a very nice figure.  On the flip side, you'll notice that most Dad's on these shows can't say the same.  Makes we wonder why it is okay for the men to show their years, especially in the middle section and not women.  Think about it, even Marge on the Simpson's has a smokin hot body while Homer... well that's a different story.  What's up with that?  I guess that's another topic for another post.  

Tonight I stopped by the blog Naked Girl in a Dress which put these concerns in perspective for me.  She shared a quote from Audrey Hepburn which really hit home.  I'm already a huge Audrey Hepburn fan, but I think this quote below makes me adore her even more.  I now have a new outlook on the meaning of true beauty:   

• For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
• For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
• For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
• For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
• For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
• The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
• The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. 
• The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
• It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows.
• The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years.

All those concerns and pressures of trying to keep up with those unrealistic looks you see plastered all over magazines and the media now seem much more insignificant.   

Thank you Audrey!   

What To Do on a Beautiful Day in Seattle

What to do, what to do?  It’s Friday morning, early Friday morning mind you because my daughter has orchestra rehearsal before school so there is no sleeping in (which comes quite naturally on these rainy, gray Northwest Spring mornings). I also remember this is the Friday that the wonderful Caprice of Cinderelli Cleaning is coming to magically transform our house into a sparkling clean haven once again so we are back to the original question: what to do, what to do? Well, the obvious choice is… Seattle Urban Fix!  My husband and I love the city, any city, so it’s in the MINI and  off to discover something new just 20 or so miles from our little suburb by the sound.

We decide on Capitol Hill.  We had been through this area a time or two but never in discovery mode so we didn't know what to expect.  Not really having any expectations we just drove up or down whatever street looked interesting and by this method we ended up on 15th Avenue.  Keep in mind it's the morning and of course that dictates the need for breakfast so now our carefree plans of exploring and making new discoveries have suddenly become not so carefree.  You see there are many delightful eateries along 15th Avenue so now that we have to make a choice of which one!  We eventually give the nod to The Coastal Kitchen at 429 15th Ave. which turns out to be an excellent gastrononmic decision!  

Charming décor, terrific service topped off by superb food! Good call! Well needless to say we were back in the land of carefree! Being back in our original mode, the obvious after breakfast activity would be simple; a stroll through one of the most architecturally pleasing neighborhoods in the city (or country for that matter!).  We begin our trek but don't get very far when we are  greeted by Mr. Alex Soto who is just stepping out of Flowers on 15^th  at 515 15th Avenue (That’s a lot of 5’s).  The serendipity continues as Alex invites us into his amazing shop of floral delight and introduces us to Carolyn who is busy creating beautiful arrangements and a warm, homey atmosphere.  

We had the most engaging conversation with Alex and Carolyn who not only have a thriving business but an admirable care and concern for the neighborhood and community!  Along with flowers and arrangements they allow other artisans to display and market their wares and encourage local participation!  They even kindly offered to help my promote my Scentsy business by proudly displaying a Scentsy warmer along with my business cards in their delightful shop.  I highly recommend stopping in.  It was a completely unexpected discovery for me (which I usually find is the best kind!) and meeting Alex and Carolyn was a blessing and joy!

Hope you get downtown to meet them soon!

I'm a Belieber... "Never Say Never"

After reluctantly taking two 10 year olds to see the new Justin Beiber movie "Never say Never" I walked out a Belieber and the two 10 year olds walked out with a new found inspiration.  Needless to say we enjoyed the movie and yes, I would see it again.

After watching how an average yet talented kid could get discovered on You Tube, they came home inspired to make their own You Tube video show casing their own musical talents.  I know I'm the biased Mom, but I also watched my daughter grow up intrigued by music.  She is always in perfect key, rhythm and beat, just like Justin Bieber.  I enrolled her in piano lessons and after 3 lessons she is playing "Clocks" by Cold Play perfectly, however her instrument of choice is violin.   She quickly learned how to read notes and started writing her own songs at the age of 8.  We often play duets, with me on the piano and her on the violin.  Currently we are practicing Canon in D by Pachelbel.  Well, we'll see if her talent has the same luck and destiny of Justin Bieber.

I present to you.... Grenade by Bruno Mars performed by Talent Extraodinaire.... 

February Snow in Seattle?

It is the end of  February and Spring Break in Seattle and here is a picture looking out our living room window.  It has only been snowing for the past 3 hours and has no signs of slowing down.  I can't imagine how the snow is going to look  by the end of the day.  Perhaps we'll have 2 feet of snow like the picture below.

Snow is a rare thing here, especially this time of year and it looks like a good 'ole winter storm in the Wasatch Mountains.  Seattle isn't equipped for snow removal, so I am glad it is spring break and we don't have to drive.  I learned the hard way about driving in the Seattle snow, the first year we moved here.  Seattle was experiencing their biggest snow storm in over 25 years.  The entire city was paralyzed and people were sliding down the hills on couches.  If you didn't need emergency care or garbage removal it was kind of fun.  That year I quickly learned that we weren't driving in Utah snow anymore.  It's slick and icy, much different than driving in a good 'ole Wasatch Mountain snow storm.  I was getting in my car and my neighbors were yelling at me saying" thanks for bringing your Utah snow with you."   I didn't understand their concern.  It was November and snow was a regular gift from Mother Nature.  I decided to run some errands and as I was leaving my driveway one of my neighbors begged me not to drive in the snow.  I thought, wow, these Seattle people are wimps.  I'll show them how to drive.  I was quickly humbled as a headed down the hill and realized I was completely at the mercy of Mother Nature.  I was grateful that not many other drivers were on the roads as I slid right through stop signs and main roads.  If I wasn't worried about ending up off the side of the road in a ditch it could have been a better ride than anything they have at Disneyland.


Needless to say our plans of enjoying this week off of school and taking Ferry rides to unexplored destinations are quickly turning to stay at home activities.  That's okay, sometimes those are the best memories.

Wordless Wednesday

Since my husband is retired from the airlines, we try to travel as much as time allows, but we haven't experienced a "pat down" yet.  Nevertheless, I thought this cartoon was still worth a good a laugh, even though it's not wordless.  Happy Wednesday! 

Scentsy Expanding into The United Kingdom and Germany!

Big Scentsy News Today!  

Scentsy just announced they will open their doors in Europe this Spring! 

October 2009 Scentsy opened their doors internationally for the first time in Canada.  Now I am so excited to announce that key executives will be going to Europe, specifically the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland,  Scotland, and Wales) and Germany (Deutschland) in March to meet with existing Scentsy Consultants on military bases and with any other interested prospects who want to learn about Scentsy.  

This is big news for Scentsy, and those of us within Scentsy, who have already had the opportunity to be on the ground floor of this incredible Home Based business opportunity.  Scentsy is only 6 years old and is already the fastest growing party plan company in history.  In these six years Scentsy has grown to over 144,000 Scentsy Consultants in the US, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico.  Compare these numbers to Avon who has over 5 million representatives globally.  So you can see for yourself, what an incredible ground floor opportunity this really is.  

Scentsy has given a lot of consultants here in the U.S and Canada the opportunity to earn six figure incomes in this short time.  The Scentsy compensation plan is competing with Doctors, Lawyers and Executive salaries all while Scentsy Consultants, have fun, work from home, have a flexible schedule and get to be their own boss.  Now this incredible ground floor home based business opportunity will start all over again in Europe.       

Scentsy is working on catalogs, Starter Kits, enrollment documents, and all of the other Scentsy candles,  products and tools needed to successfully launch this international venture in the United Kingdom and Germany.  Scentsy will allow existing Scentsy Consultants to sponsor in these new markets, but will not allow cross-border sales. Scentsy's hope is to grow their European base organically and virally, just as Scentsy, Inc. has grown in the U.S. and Canada. 


I can’t wait for Scentsy Consultants to share Scentsy in Europe and look forward to learning all we can in the UK and Germany so Scentsy can use that knowledge to launch in other countries throughout the world.


Watch out World... here we come! 

MP Office and House Cleaning Services

With everyone's busy schedules, who doesn't dream about having a house cleaner?  Here is your chance to make that dream a reality.     



MP Cleaning Services

Monika Purpura – Owner - Licensed

(360) 941-0503

Residential And Small Office Cleaning

Bi-Weekly / Weekly / Bi-Monthly / Monthly

Gift Certificates For Special Occasions

Referral Program

Refer a New Client Program

If new client uses my service three times you will receive a free house cleaning

(one time only per new customer – excludes Gift Certificates)

Gift Certificates

Great for New Moms, Parents, Birthdays and special Holidays

Call now and receive 10% off your first house cleaning!

Residential Cleaning

Hourly Rate: $19

First thorough Cleaning $150-$200 depending on size of house

Package Deal:

$80 for 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath

Additional bedrooms and Baths $10-$25 each depending on size

Service includes dusting, moping, vacuuming, furniture polish (excludes Sofas and anything of that nature), Kitchen Counter(s) and sink(s), Bathroom(s) including Toilet(s) and bathtub/shower

$25 for Refrigerator

$25 for Kitchen Oven

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Feel free to give Monika a Call Today -

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Vicki Derks Photography - Seattle

Being an Independent Business owner, I have had the pleasure of meeting some incredibly talented business women.  So, for my next few posts I would like recognize them and show off their artistic gifts.        


To get started, I would like to introduce an extraordinary photographer, Vicki Derks from Vicki Derks Photography.  Vicki is well renowned here in the greater Seattle area having shared her beautiful photography with the community for many years.  I met Vicki at Red Cup Coffee, where my husband and I will occassionally visit before getting started on the more serious matters of the day.  While waiting in line one day Vicki and I started chatting and as I usually do, I was talking with my hands.  While doing so, one of my Scentsy business cards flew out of my pocket and landed at Vicki's feet.  So, if you are looking for a great way to meet new people, I highly recommend "accidentally" throwing your business cards around coffee shops.  You meet the greatest people.  :)  LOL


Vicki immediately started inquiring about Scentsy products and next thing I know her photography studio is enriched with the wonderful fragrances of Scentsy.  Vicki said she had heard that photgraphers use Scentsy fragrances to help "set the mood" during photo shoots, so she wanted to try for herself.  Vicki chose a few of the Fall/Winter Holiday Scentsy scents to help set the mood, such as Sugar Cookie, Rustic Lodge, Vanilla Walnut, just to name a few.  


I picked out a few of her photographs, to share with you.  I would like to think that Vicki's new Scentsy Scents helped in creating these beautiful holiday photo's.  

Beautiful work Vicki!

This Old House - Mommy Madness Friday Blog Hop

Our theme of the week is: 

Show Off Your House

It can be a picture of your house, a room or just a decoration you really like.

If you don't have a picture then just share a story.

(As a general rule, please follow everyone back that follows you)

Want to join in on the fun this week?

To Join Us -

1. Become a follower of the 3 hosts (first three listed) - Life with the Lebedas, Call Me Laura Jane and Mommy Moment and if you like, I would love it if you followed me as well. 

**We all follow back - just leave a comment so we know your following from the hop**

2. Grab our Mommy Madness button and add it to a blog post with your picture or story.

3. Link up to your blog and Start hoppin'!

(Blog link only - no giveaways or others, those will be deleted)

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I'm really excited about this weeks theme.  I have a strong passion for old houses and remodeling.  I watch "This Old House" and "HGTV" like a a soap addict.  In fact I have my daughter hooked.  We watch HGTV and boo and hiss the bad remodels and applaud the jobs well done.  The pictures below are of a home we spent over 5 years restoring back to its original luster.  This house contains a lot of our blood, sweat and tears.  Before we came along, it had been horribly neglected.  It had been through some frightening remodels, especially in the 60's and 70's.  It had been turned into a boarding house and had 10 bedrooms when we purchased it.  It sat on the market for years.  No one dared take on this project.  Call it vision or stupidity, but we saw the potential of this 1909 victorian.  Due to its neglect, almost everything is new, inside and out, but we did our best to keep the original charm.  During the remodels we found a lot of old newspapers in the walls.  We left a few and added our own time capsules before the finishing touches.  We have since sold this home, and moved on to another old house remodel, which I am also quite proud of.  The itch is starting again, so we'lll see what is in store for us next. 

  ~  Katie

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