Organization |Yay? Nay? |

I'm all for bettering myself.

So far we are about a month into the new year of 2013.

And so far I have stuck to my "eating healthier" goal, my 30 day green smoothie challenge (Ok I fibbed 2 or 3 days when I needed to go grocery shopping desperately but that is all, I swear!) and keeping up with exercising in some capacity 4-5 days a week.

My goal of getting myself/my life/my home more organized???. ..Umm..well.. I am working on that one.

God knows I am not the most organized of people. Nor am I a neat freak. Not hardly. I attribute those things to being more laid back, and kind of a right brained person. Granted, having kids makes you become more organized in a sense. And, being married to a military man does too. (Although being married to me as well as having two daughters has also changed him and forced him to become less of a neat freak, haha!)

But, really, I DO want to be more organized. I like to think that I'm artistic and I'm just not predisposed to the organization gene as much as others are. That might sound ridiculous to some people, but that is how I have thought of it. :)

I also blame attribute some of this on moving around so darn much! How am I ever to get organized when we are moving so often and a quarter of my things I feel like I am just digging out of a box when it is time to up and move again??! Do ya blame me ??

However, I have found my lack of organization also limits me. For instance. I love clothes but keeping my closet and shoes neat and tidy is something I've always had issues with. So here I have clothes, and love shopping, but finding a certain piece of clothing on any given day is not my forte'. Just when I am looking for one thing, I don't know where it is!t! (Which is frustrating.)

Another example: I started a Photography Workshop two weeks ago on Clickin Moms. I love learning new things when it comes to photography and after years of owning a nice DSLR , realize I still have lots to learn about it all. We have weekly photo assignments and daily posts to make, but yesterday my camera's battery died and.. I spent at least an hour and a half searching the house for my charger. I cannot remember where I last placed it. The dining room? The 3rd floor play area? Ughh!! Today I still cannot find it. Frustrating!


Personally, one way of making myself feel more organized is by cutting back on the amount of "stuff" we have in our house by either selling on Craigslist or donating to Goodwill. You know, things we don't use anymore (like old baby items, or clothes that I'm just not into/bored or tired of) Plus, it makes me feel good that i'm giving these things a new home!

But, I still need a LOT of help in the organization department. I recently saw these books on Amazon and I am considering investing in a few. All deal with organization. I have no idea how good they are or not, but the reviews are decent. I thought I would share with you all that also may need a bit of help.
From those of you that are already totally awesome organized - share with me and the rest of us how you do it!!

I'd love to hear from you!

peace-
Jen

Books on organization  that may or may not rock (from amazon)

Now..if only I had time to read them all!!

| monday | pep talk

We all need a little encouragement from time to time. And, sometimes even more so on Mondays! So check out this cute, funny and inspiring pep talk from Kid President. It's worth it!

Happy Monday, and be AWESOME!

| kid friendly| lasagna rolls |

Although, I don't really anticipate becoming a food blogger, you may see a recipe or two show up on here from time to time if they really hit the jackpot for me/us. So, I have to give a shout out from Budget Bytes for the lasagna rolls.

 First, let me tell you that I have two daughters (one of whom is notoriolusly picky) and although I had to make some changes to this recipe.. picky daughter loved it!! That is huge in my book is huge! It isn't necessarily the healthiest or the most nutritious, but anytime we get to sit down at the dinner table without whining/complaining/crying about something being too gross or disgusting is a success in my book. The recipe calls for spinach but my oldest daughter wont eat anything that is green, or even has a tiny bit of green in it ( with the exception of sweet peas and even then she swallows them whole so that she cannot taste them) so I had to omit the spinach from her portion. She is also not big on red sauce of any kind (marina, spaghetti, etc..) both of which this recipe calls for. But, it was easy enough to make one batch of filling for the rolls that was "spinach free" while the rest of us ate with spinach. Also, although I did still put marinara on all of them when it was time to bake for the sake of not drying the rolls out, it was easy enough to scrape off after they were out of the oven. The prep time was not too bad and it was only 30 minutes to bake.

 So, thank you again Budget Bytes for this great lasagna recipe. Picky kid (with adjustment) approved!

 p.s my husband liked them a lot too!

sickness|

The lack of blogging, can be summed up in one word. Sick.

It seems we cuaght a bug around here. My oldest was sick first, then my younger, and now..yep, me.

A's bedside table. Lots of water and tea.

My husband probably wont get it (lucky bastard) because he rarely seems to get all the sickies that my kids bring home. I have no idea how he does it. He eats OK and he doesn't take ANY vitamins. And here I have been the one drinking green smoothies for the past 3 weeks and watching everything I eat. Ah well! Some people are just "lucky" that way aren't they?!

| Box Squared | Exhibition |

 The Center for Fine Art Photography's 'Box Squared' Exhibition.

I don't enter a lot of photography exhibitions, but there's something always exciting about the process for me when I do. And, of course, even more thrilling is finding out when one of your photographs was actually selected.


 That said, I am honored to have one of my photographs selected in the 'Box Squared' exhibition at the Center For Fine Art Photography. The juror for this exhibition was Kim ARam who is the founder/publisher of BLINK*magazine (very cool online photography mag).

 The exhibition is on display at the Center's online gallery and physical gallery from January 11 - February 9, 2013. To view my piece "head stones" as well as the other chosen photographs visit The C4FAP's online gallery.

 And, if you are in the Fort Collins, Colorado area don't miss the public reception on February 1, from 6 - 9pm. (unfortunately I wont be able to attend personally, but would love to hear from anyone who can go!).

Green | Smoothies

It seems Green Smoothies are all the rage lately, and I'm just the latest to jump on that bandwagon.

In fact, just after the new year I joined a 30 day simple green smoothie challenge.( If you are interested, you can find them on Facebook). I've also pinned a dozen or more green smoothie recipes on Pinterest (follow this link to Pinterest if you want to take a peek!)

 I've liked almost all of them a LOT. But, today I decided I would make up one of my own, with the things I had left in my refrigerator/freezer (I need to get to the grocery store soon as my items to choose from are dwindling)

Anyway, surprise, surprise! The smoothie I made today is actually one of my most favorites to date. and yep, I made it up. (Oh yeah,  Go me!!) I liked the texture, (not too icy- and not too watered down either) as well as the taste of the fruits blended together making an exotic taste.

I love being able to get my veggies/fruits in such a fun way via a morning/mid-day smoothie. I really feel like it gives me an energy boost. Plus, it's just plain good for ya!

OK, Here's what I used.

Tropical Green Smoothie

1 1/2 C. Spinach

1 C water

1/2 C Almond milk

1/2 C frozen mango chunks

1/2 C. Frozen Pineapple Chunks

1/2 Tbsp. Honey

1/4 Teaspoon Chia Seeds

and, Voila! Yummy green smoothie...

new year, new goals? or not. so. much.

OK now that we are a few weeks into the new year. Did you make a New Years Resolution? And if so, How have you fared thus far?

For me- I don't know if I like the word "resolution". It seems there is a lot of expectation involved in that word. But I did make a new year "goal". Mine is a goal that many people can relate to of course,  but I'll share anyway.

Live /eat more healthy!!

Yes, I love chocolate and sweets (and chips and carbs, and just food in general) and I tend to go overboard when I eat these things :) My goal is to become more concious of what I put into my body. To take a more thoughtful approach to my own diet. I would not mind shedding a few pounds either  (esp as we head into the scary bathing suit season) but that is not my main intent. Mostly I don't want to eat crap all day and feel sluggish. So, I've started this journey with a 30 green smoothie challenge. They are simple to make , an easy way for me to get in fruits/veggies (which I usually am not so great about doing) and I'm finding that I don't dread them either ! Heck, some of them are actually even kinda tasty and I feel like I'm getting a mid-day energy boost by drinking them at lunch. hehe :)

Wht is your GOAL for the new year?? (if you have one) please share by adding a comment. I'd love to hear!

-j

| Just CLICK it with me |

| Happy New Year | 

Jennifer Edgerton Photography

One of my personal goals (for the new year?) is to photograph more , and not just more. But to share more of the things that I do photograph. I figure, why not combine two things that make me happy (photography and blogging) and create a blog about it all! AND maybe meet a few new souls here and there along the way.

My personal inspiration and style is a photo-journalistic in nature, I tend to photograph daily life stuff that many may just pass by without giving a second glance. But me, I see the beauty in it. However, no doubt since we are living long the coast of South Carolina, the beauty of the area beckons me to photograph it as well and I just may do more of that.

Being a 365 day blog, I shall post at least one photo a day. It may be a photo- it may be a digital photo (I use a Canon 7D), or one of my medium format film cameras (yes, I do love film cameras too), or a simple iPhone shot I took.

I look forward to sharing--and hearing-- from you.

Best,
j