Day: July 18, 2020

Cleaning/organizing, Lifestyle

My Favorite Items to Collect..

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I have to start out with a disclaimer because I try my HARDEST not to collect, because it tends to make piles around the house and I am always trying to dejunk to keep my house tidier….

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However, there are things I collect, and some things I collect I didn’t even realize I collected but I do.

Here is my list of collections:

  1. Watches. 

When I was dating my husband I had 36 watches! 

Keep in mind the most expensive watch I own was a $150 Guess watch…and the cheapest one was a $6 Target watch. pexels-photo-1162519

When I was in 5th grade I remember getting a watch where you could switch out the colors around the face of the watch…I loved that watch, and was so careful to keep that watch nice and shiny.

I have always loved watches. The different styles, colors and designs. 

And then smart watches were created…and I have given away quite a few of my watches, and yet I have kept a few because…who knows, perhaps my daughters will enjoy my watches one day?

Probably not, but that is my reason for keeping my collection.

PS- My favorite watches until I got my smart watch were my Guess Watches and my Fossil watch. I always hunted for deals on these name brands and rarely paid full price.

2. Souvenirs: 

If you know me, you know I LOVE to travel.

I love to buy a souvenir from my different trips. I have a wide range of souvenirs, from magnets, to jewelry, to pictures etc.

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I just don’t have the heart to discard souvenirs from my many travels because they are so symbolic to me.

 

3. Old cell phones

I know, this one is weird. And there have been a few phones that I gave away, but I do like to collect them.

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My toddlers have an old phone of mine that of course doesn’t work, that they play with all the time.

I guess the history major in me wants to hang on to this technology to show my children the progression of cellphones over time.

I know it’s strange, but I have quite the collection over the years.

 

Those are my main collections I have in my home.

As mentioned I really try to simplify and discard items that aren’t being used much. 

However, I can’t help but collect my certain things.

 

So now I ask you….what do you collect and why?

 

I think it’s fun to hear what people enjoy collecting.

 

Until next time,

 

xoxo,

Christy Lee

Family, Food, Gluten-Free, Recipes

5 “Go-to” Meals that Our Family Loves…

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Isn’t it wonderful when you make a meal, and you’re ENTIRE family eats it?!

As a mom with young kids, it makes my day when I can focus on one meal instead of feeling like a short-order chef, cooking multiple items.

I wanted to share with you our families’ FIVE “go-to” meals that even my pickiest eater enjoys!

1- Korean Beef

This Korean beef recipe is easy and a favorite. We make it at least once a month.. sometimes more.

You can eat this meal with rice, noodles or really anything that sounds tasty with it.

2-French Toast Bake

Do you ever make breakfast for dinner? My kids love when I switch it up, and they LOVE this French toast recipe.

Many of you may know that I have to eat gluten free, so I figured out my own way to make this recipe gluten free. But if you want the regular recipe click here . I found this recipe on Pinterest and it’s delicious.

For the gluten-free version click below :

3- Roast Beef & Corn on the cob

You may be thinking, why not potatoes and gravy with roast beef? Well, my kids aren’t big fans of potatoes and gravy.. but if you throw in corn on the cob … they are happy!

To cook roast beef just right I follow this steps:

1-Thaw it in the fridge the night before

2- stick it in the crockpot.

2-Pour 1 cup of beef broth over it and cover it with salt and pepper.

3. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, to your desired tenderness.

4-Grilled Chicken & Carrots

My husband is a master on the grill and we found that if we wanted to get my kids to eat chicken, they love it grilled!

We add BBQ sauce or ketchup on the side depending on preference.

We add raw carrots for a veggie and my kids love it.

5- Rice & Meatballs:

My kids love meatballs but don’t always eat the sauce so I always make sure to make some meatballs that aren’t covered in sauce.

Here is the recipe I use, it’s actually gluten-free but my kids love it!

I hope some of these recipes can be useful to you!

Now the question, what are your “go-to” meals?

xoxo,

Christy Lee

Family, Gospel Topics, Lifestyle, Relationships

How My Prayers Have Changed as I have Aged…

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I remember I was twenty-seven years old praying for the same things over and over and over again.

One day, it dawned on me, and truthfully hit me hard when the thought came to mind “it’s not always the way you want it Christy.”

Yes, it took twenty-seven years for me to understand that I needed to stop telling Heavenly Father every thing I wanted in life, and I needed to start praying that I handled my current situation well, no matter what the end result may be.

You see, it took me a bit to find my husband. For years I prayed for a husband and a family.

One day, with a tear-stained face, I said a prayer and I had the overwhelming thought to “pray to be ok with being single for now.”

No, I didn’t want to be single. But you see, I was struggling with this “single identity.”

In my mind, I was not ENOUGH because I was still single. My self-esteem was rock bottom and I knew it was time to change my prayers and TRULY talk to God.

I knew it was time to tell my Heavenly Father my struggles and trials with being single, and then be in tune enough to listen and try to understand how to deal with my situation better.

Fast forward 8 years … and now I have that wonderful husband and 3 beautiful children .

My cute husband and 3 kids.

My family brings me so much joy, but I also have worries.

From health issues, to safety, to my kids social life… I worry about my little kids a lot. And always, pretty much always, in the back of my mind is my baby girl and her heart problem.

Baby girl was born with WPW, an extra circuit in her heart that can cause an arrhythmia to start and can be very dangerous.

So far baby girl has done well with this condition, but it truly can haunt me if I let it.

So what do I say in my prayers with all the worries and woes that come with having a beautiful family?

I thank my Heavenly Father for the many blessings we have, I ask for many blessing to come, and I plead with him to help me through the current situation that we are in.

We all know that God knows the big picture that we can’t see.

So why do we forget that he knows best how to navigate the present time and can keep us on a happy, healthy track?

Every stage of life we are in, comes with amazing blessings.

And yet, every stage of life comes with some really tough burdens.

Don’t leave those burdens for you alone to lift.

I know God can help us lift those burdens.

He can help us through prayer if we remember to ask “how can I navigate my current hardship?” Instead of “take away this terrible burden that is too much for me to carry.”

Here is a wonderful scripture related to this topic. The scripture is found in The Book of Mormon:

Mosiah 24:14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

So I ask you, what burden can you pray to our Heavenly Father about?

And this time, instead of asking God to take away that burden, ask Him to help you know how to carry it.

I know God is there to help.

God may not answer our prayers according to our desire.

God may not take away some heavy burdens…

But I know Heavenly Father will ALWAYS help us through our struggles.

This I have no doubt.

I hope it doesn’t take you twenty-seven years to learn this, like it did me.

I Pray that you can turn to HIM always.

Have a beautiful Sunday and a joyous week!

Xoxo,

Christy Lee

Lifestyle

3 Shows Worth Watching on Netflix…

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With the current Pandemic .. Netflix has helped our family pass the time. I wanted to share some of my current favorites shows that I have enjoyed on Netflix:

In no particular order:

1-Sweet Magnolias: I’ll be honest, at first I wasn’t sure about the acting, but as time went on I really was intrigued and have not been able to stop watching it.

There are some good twists and turns and it’s been a great show to watch!

2- Selling Sunset: I’ll warn you this season has some language that I don’t love, BUT it’s fascinating to see some of the amazing homes they sell on this reality show.

The show is based in California and it’s about Real Estate Agents selling homes in the Hollywood Hills.

And there’s some drama thrown in of course, so that makes it intriguing as well.

Now I just need the next season to come out:)

3- Stay Here: If you like watching HGTV type shows you’ll love this show!

A top designer and a top real estate agent team up to help improve Air BNB listings. It’s quite incredible how beautiful the real estate spaces change.

Pretty much I want to stay in all these rentals !!

So there’s 3 shows I have enjoyed, now what are some shows you have enjoyed!

I have lots of laundry to fold and am always up for a fun show to pass the time:)

Until next time!

Xoxo,

Christy Lee

Family, Lifestyle

Why It’s OK to NOT Have it All Figured Out….

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I think this post is highly needed for everyone in the world.

It seems we all have our moments, no matter what walk of life we are, where we feel like we should have it “figured out.”

Well guess what?

We shouldn’t.

Why do I say that?

Is it just to make us all feel better?

No.

I say this because if we had it all “figured out” then how would we grow?

Afterall, it’s important as human beings to constantly be improving and growing in all aspects of life right?!

So then why do we beat ourself up when we don’t cook like Martha Stewart or lift weights like John Cena?

Of course there are people that have areas in their life where they thrive. I mean Martha Stewart probably does have one of the greatest gardens out there, but can she change the oil in her car too?

Maybe she can, I don’t know. But what I do know is that Martha Stewart has areas in her life where it’s not all “figured out.” And guess what? That’s great!

The overall point here is to remind you to embrace the areas your working through.

As a stay at home mom of three little kids there’s areas I’d love to have it all figured out. I’d love to have the cleanest home, better family scripture study, workout better…. and the list goes on.

However, at the end of the day, if I can continue to improve myself each day, that’s all that matters.

And we may have days where we don’t do great… because we are human.

So am I giving you an excuse to stop trying and to stop setting goals? No way!

I’m giving you some mercy.

Even more, I’m telling you that you don’t have to get mad at yourself all the time for not being where you THINK you should be in life.

Give yourself a break.

We tend to give everyone else a break but ourselves.

So keep chugging along, doing your best.

And just remember, NOBODY has it all “figured-out.”

Until next time,

xoxo,

Christy Lee