First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for the sweet comments on my last post.  That was actually one of the hardest posts I have hit 'publish' on, believe it or not.  I got tired of it just sitting in the back of my brain, nagging at me.  Ha!  What is it that they say?  Sometimes you only need 20 seconds of insane bravery to change your life?  I believe that was mine.  :)

Since I am in a period of transition here on the blog, I thought I may take today to stop in and say "hello" and fill you all in on what is going on.

I am in contact with Jessica from CreationsbyJLyn and we are working together to create a brand spanking new blog for this little space right here.  Up until this point, I have done most of the work around here, but I wanted to step my game up a bit and have an expert come in and give this space a face lift.  Guys....it's going to be epic!!

Secondly, I've been doing tons of research on blogging and really trying to get myself organized since I am going to be managing two blogs instead of one.  There is a lot of information out there on managing your time, how often you should post to social media, SEO, blog organizers, your about me page....I mean, Pinterest is full of this stuff!  I have been reading and pinning so late into the evenings it's shameful!  I have found a lot of great things though, so there is that.

Lastly, I've not really talked about it much here on the blog because I didn't want to jynx myself, but....I've been working out.  I have been putting L down for a nap and walking on the treadmill (that my completely awesome husband got for me) every day since the beginning of February.   I am up to walking two miles a day (at 3.8 mph) and have noticed some results.  My waist is a half an inch away from pre-pregnancy and my hips are about an inch and a half away from pre-pregnancy size.  This is the best I have felt in over a year and I don't even care what the scale says.  I never thought I would say that.

So, there you have it!  I am still here, I'm just decompressing.  I am nearing the end of a chapter in my life and I am getting ready to begin a new one.  I am all kinds of emotions right now, but they are all expected.  I will keep you all updated on the progress of this blog and will let you know when the changes take place so you can come celebrate with me!

Have a great weekend everyone!

I have always felt myself to be a two-sided individual.  One side wants to be fashionable and girly.  The other side loves her books and her writing and would love to be a librarian or a book store owner.  (Read: Nerd)  It has always been very hard for me to get those two sides to coexist within myself.  For a very long time, I was of the mentality that it wasn't possible.  I don't know how that way of thinking got embedded in my brain, but it did, and I have virtually had a block going on for years.

Around the first of the year, I took a very hard look at myself and my life.  I didn't look at myself as a mom or a wife, I looked at myself as an individual with dreams, goals, likes, dislikes, and aspirations.  I thought a lot about my life before L and how I had changed since she came along.

Two things became very clear to me:

1.  I was doing my daughter a major disservice by not being my true and authentic self.

2.  All those years I spent in college, being completely in love with my major (the second time around), buying fashionable clothes so I could look decent in the classrooms that I was observing (and eventually teaching in) was two sides coexisting to create one kick ass woman.

So, basically, I discovered at 30 years old that I am a kick ass woman and I've been blind to it this whole time.

Imagine the money I could have saved on therapy! :)

Since discovering that I am, in fact, a kick ass woman-I have made some plans for myself in regards to some more personal goals of mine that are separate from this blog. However, by making these plans and putting them into motion, I'm going to have to do a little pruning and re-planting around here.

With all of that being said, I did say at the beginning of the year that there would be changes coming to the blog.  After many hours of thinking and research, I have decided to re-brand A Plethora of Ponderings.  In the next few months, you will be seeing a new name, design, and focus here at APOP.

I have decided to open up a separate blog for just my writing.  So, for those of you who enjoyed reading things like a letter to a mother I didn't know or about the old man in the parking lot, be watching for that blog because it is coming very soon.

As for this space here, this will become a life and style blog.  This space will become more colorful and lively.  This space will be where I talk about being a mom, sharing recipes, crafts, and DIYs, and how I am finding my way back from the fashion catastrophe I was in with the yoga pants series. I will be letting my hair down, so to speak, with this new focus.

I am excited for the changes that are coming.  You will be learning a lot more about me as a thirty year old woman and how I handle life as me.

Source

With Valentine's Day coming up on Friday, I thought today would be a good day to offer some easy, last minute ideas to make for your Valentine.

Today is National Wear Red Day.  NWRD is is always the first Friday of February and is done to bring awareness of heart disease in women.

Heart disease is the number one killer in women, which is why National Wear Red Day was started.

I decided to do something a bit different today since I have been thinking a lot about my Spring wardrobe.  I am basically starting from scratch, so I have been pouring over countless spring looks for the past couple of weeks.  I have had several things catch my eye and I am actually excited to shop for Spring!

When I think of Spring, I think of bright and cheery colors, so that is what I stick with, despite what the fashion gurus may say.  I am a firm believer in wearing what you love, not what a fashion mag is dictating.

I'm also a firm believer in not spending a fortune on your wardrobe.  We are a one income family with a two and a half year old-we can't afford to go out and shop at designer locations and pay full price.  It just can't happen.  This is why I shop at TJ Maxx, Marshall's,Target, Kohls, Old Navy (not their jeans), and the occasional Wal-Mart purchase makes its way in there from time to time.  Do I love looking at things from the Gap, Loft, The Limited, and J. Crew? Oh, you bet I do!  However, I have a hard time paying their prices, so I am always trying to find similar items at a cheaper price.  I've also been known to stalk items until they get cheap enough for my wallet.  Ha!

Anyway, now that I have rambled on long enough (oops!), how would you like to see my Spring faves?

It snowed, again, here yesterday.  As I am writing this, it is still snowing and is supposed to until about 3am.  Ugghh!  I am so sick of the cold and the snow!  I am not a winter girl.  I love all other seasons, but winter, winter is not my friend.

However, I do happen to love a nice warm and hearty meal on a snowy night.

I realize that a chicken and dumpling recipe is pretty common, but I just couldn't help sharing this with you all.  It is a very simple recipe with tons of taste.  If you are looking for a way to spice up your personal recipe or you are in need of a simple chicken and dumpling recipe because, lets face it, those from-scratch dumplings can be intimidating, this is a great one for you, too!

I originally mentioned this recipe in My Top 10 Slow Cooker Recipes post.  Since September, I have been fine-tuning this recipe in hopes to one day get it on the blog.  That day has come!  I didn't tweak the original recipe much, but I did substitute something and add a couple of ingredients.

Sooo, this post was supposed to go up yesterday as a weekend re-cap, but it didn't.  Instead, it's going up today as a whats-been-going-on-around-here post.  I spent most of yesterday feeling like I was running behind, but I was truly just trying to catch up from the weekend.

L making a card for Daddy.

My "perfect top" cupcakes. It never happens, so I had to document it.

L adding the "special sprinkles" to Daddy's cupcakes.

The finished product.  Nice, huh? I was worn out by the time my head hit the pillow Friday night.  I signed up for my first 5k on Saturday morning.  I will be walking in The Color Run this year! Next year, I plan to run.  Wish me luck!  Saturday evening, L went to spend the evening with The Hubbs' parents and we went out to eat with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend at Lotawata Creek  We ate too much (but it was sooo good) and we came home and vegged on the couch for the rest of the evening. We slept in on Sunday, went to lunch with The Hubbs' parents for his birthday at Red Lobster, and came home and vegged some more.  The Super Bowl was on, but we only watched for the commercials.  Ha! I always have to see the new Clydesdale commercial and both of the commercials did not disappoint! I spent yesterday catching up from the weekend.  We had to run to the store and pick up a few things before the next round of snow came in (it's now here...snowing it's butt off..ugh) and I did my first work out on my treadmill yesterday.  Last night, L had her first play class at one of the local gyms.  We had loads of fun!  I counted it as a second dose of cardio yesterday-we did that much running around. That just about sums up the past four days!  I'll be back tomorrow with a new recipe!