Happy Birthday Kate!!!

When I was little, all I wanted to do was everything my older sister, Katie did! The nice thing about having a sister 4 and half years older than you is that you have a built-in playmate right when you're born. Kate and I have always gotten along. From sharing a room for years, to playing church with our dolls every Sunday, to playing Barbies in our shared room all day, to playing school (yes, I was her first and best student, then again, I did everything she told me.) I loved being with my sister and I can happily say that has never changed. I still love talking to and being around Kate. 

     Kate is one of the funniest people I know. She might seem kind of quiet and shy, but wait till you get to know her. She is a blast when she has had cherry coke too;) She is also one of my biggest role models. I wanted to be a teacher for the longest time and I think the reason why is because Kate always wanted to be a teacher. And like I said, I wanted to do everything Katie did. Last year whenever I didn't have school, I would go help in my sister's 2nd grade classroom. Last year was her first year of teaching and it was so much fun getting to go and see her in action. I also loved getting to hear her teacher voice, because all of a sudden I was 5 again, playing school with her! I even lucked out and got to see her in action this year too! Kate is a wonderful teacher and if you have children, trust me, you want them to have Miss Boelman as their teacher!

     Kate and I also have our favorite thing to do together. Shop. Katie is my absolute favorite person to shop with. First, we shop at the same speed and we are sale people. We have a plan and when we are done with one store, it's on to the next. I hate to guess how many hours we have spent shopping together. And I am pretty sure we should get some discount at Target, for the amount of times we go there! I know this may seem silly but we really do bond while we shop! It's why I will send her pictures in the dressing room asking her what she thinks while I am shopping here. (P.S. Kate, are you ready for a major trip... I mean trips to Target when I am home this summer ;)

      As we have gotten older, our relationship has only gotten stronger.  I think it's a good thing she went to Wartburg and not NYC for college, because I don't know what I would have done not seeing her every week. It's strange now being so far apart, so thank goodness for facetime! I know Kate always has my back, and will threaten to beat people up who hurt my feelings, or give me crap about boys. I love that she will do a u-turn just so I can have a J's cookie, I love singing duets with her while driving, I love when we run the daycare together, I love that Scratch is one of our favorite places, I love that she supports and believes in me. I love that we can hang out watching a movie on tv, or on our computers, but still love that we are just together. I love that we are the same size in clothes and shoes, and that my closet doubles every summer. But, most of all, I love that she is not just my sister, but one of my best friends. 

      I couldn't imagine my life without my sister Kate! So Kate, Happy Birthday! Have a wonderful dinner with Mom and Dad and in 10 days I will have a hug and the Gap waiting for you!!! 

I love you so much!!!!!!!!!!

Why I Believe In Love

 I am one of those people who thinks that Valentines Day is kind of silly, but maybe I will change my mind when I am married or in a serious relationship.... or not ;) I guess I am not sure I fully get the reason why we have it. Growing up my mom and dad always gave us a nice card, candy, and a little present which was nice.  I love that my parents wait until the day after Valentines Day to get each other candy because if you wait the next day its 50% off. Pretty sure I am going to carry that tradition on! But as the month of Feb. was beginning, I started to think about if I believe in true love and what that really means now a days. But, all I have to do is look to my Grandma and Grandpa Neymeyer to really know what true love looks like.

     How my grandparents met sounds like something out of a movie. I interviewed my Grandma for a school project last year and she told me how they met. It makes me smile every time I think of it.  It's short and sweet but you really don't hear love stories like this now a days and so here it is:

      It was shortly after WWII had ended and my Grandma Stella was at a church picnic. And there came my Grandpa Lester walking up in his war uniform. She told me that she remembered thinking he was very handsome. My grandma says she liked him right away, but it took my grandpa a while before he got the nerve to ask my grandma out. He finally did and soon after they were married. 9 months after their honeymoon my uncle was born, followed by 5 girls. My grandparents were married 59 years before my grandpa passed away. I remember always loving being around my grandparents.  I think the main reason why is because you could not only see the love they had for each other but feel it all around. From the way they joked with each other, to how they had devotions after meal. For 59 years they enjoyed being married and having a family they could be proud of.

     And this is why I believe in love. Not because of movies like the Notebook or the Vow, but because I got to see what loving someone till death do you part, looks like. It doesn't mean it will always be easy, but it will be worth it.  Because I believe when you find love like that, you hold onto it and enjoy the ride it takes you on. My grandparents had 6 kids of their own, 18 grandkids, and I seriously don't know how many great grandkids there are now. But, I do know that all of us have the very best models of what a loving and healthy relationship looks like, thanks to them.

     I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines Day and gets to enjoy being with ones they love!

  Sending Love From NYC,

   Lisa

P.S. It doesn't hurt when you receive a package in the mail the Saturday before and find these waiting for you:

I love each of my very special Valentines! Thanks daycare and I love you all very much :)

Homemade and A Little Treat :)

   I have always enjoyed cooking and baking, but what I am finding is you don't do that a lot when you are cooking for one! My meals are basically grilled peanut butter sandwiches and chips and salsa. I finally got to Trader Joes on Thursday, where I stocked up on some good stuff. I decided to get some pizza dough for $.99. Friday night I made a simple but yummy homemade pizza. All I had to do was let the dough rise for 20 min., roll it out, put the sauce and cheese on, and 12 min later I had pizza:) Here is what it looked like before going into the oven:

I am very boring when it comes to my pizza, because I like just cheese!

Here is the finished pizza!!! 

It was a delicious meal and hit the spot!

   I also had the day off on Saturday. My original plan was to go to this famous dessert/coffee place called Serendipity. I learned an important lesson...don't go to a cute, coffee type shop in the afternoon on a Saturday, the weekend before Valentine's Day! I decided instead to go to Dylan's Candy Bar, which was close by!

Dylan's Candy Bar is owned by Dylan Lauren, a.k.a. fashion designer, Ralph Lauren's daughter. This shop is three levels full of every kind of candy you can image. It's a really neat store but don't go in if you are super hungry ;)

Upstairs is a little cafe, so I decided to try the hot chocolate and a cupcake. The cupcake was chocolate peanut butter cup and boy was it tasty. The hot chocolate was very good. Not too chocolaty, but just right. I would give this little treat two thumbs up:) 

  It has been fun to cook some yummy meals and try out some treats. I can't wait for the "fam" to come out next month, where I am sure we will have lots of yummy treats and meals!

  Much Love From NYC, 

    Lisa

A Few Of My Favorite Things!

I was doing a little cleaning this week and that included going through my dresser and refolding my tank tops~ because this is what it looked liked inside the dresser:

Such a mess!!! So, as I was refolding everything I realized just how much I enjoy tank tops with any type of glitter or sequins on it! 

See what I mean? After I took this picture I found another one. 

Then, I looked around my room and decided I would tell you some of my favorite things that I wouldn't want to live without!

    

  

My computer, phone, and Ipod touch have become like my babies. I know it's not healthy,. but I seriously use them all day long. I hate to guess how much my texting has gone up since I moved(Dad you do not need to check on this;) I also do not want to admit to how much I am on my macbook. I use it so much. I pray to God nothing happens to it.  My Ipod touch, seriously has to be charged almost everyday because I am always listening to music or playing games like temple run on my hour subway ride home! I have to say without these I would be 10 times more homesick. So, I'm thankful for them, for letting me stay in touch with the ones I love:)

For anyone who went to high school with me or knows me at all, this next one might make you fall over in shock. Yes, this is a picture of yoga pants, which I have always loved.  Now I actually wear them during the day, but only when I am nannying ;) I think I can count of one hand the number of times I wore sweats to school. Not that there is anything wrong with sweats, because I am all about wearing what you find comfortable.  I am just as comfortable in a sundress as I am wearing sweats. But, now working with a 3 month old and getting spit up on, yoga pants are my go too. Maybe I will have to make a line of cute yoga pants one day ;)

If I would lose this I would cry! I seriously have every single day planned out from what job I am working, my hours at that job,  to books that need to be returned (to the library). Also, what I am eating that day and how far I am running. I would be so lost without it.

Here are some of my favorite beauty products:

1. Vanilla Noel Bean lotion by Bath and Body Works, is my go to. I just have worn lotion for a year now and this is my favorite smell by far! I love Victoria Secret's Love Spell too :)

2. Vaseline. No, I am not kidding. This is something I am known for. I don't go anywhere without it. I use it at least 10 times a day and just love it. 

3. Curling Iron. My hair is naturally wavy, which I didn't know until jr. high. I am very blessed to have hair that curls super easy. It takes me about 5-10min. to curl my hair. This curling iron I have had for years!

4. MaryKay Eye Primer and Mascara. I love mascara, but can't wear it unless I wear eye primer because no matter how waterproof it says it is, the mascara always runs down my face! MaryKay has the best stuff and I use it everyday!

5. Forever 21 and NYC nail polish. I love painting my nails! From red, to dark purple, to blue, to french, my nails are usually painted.  I love forever 21 nail polish because it's cheap, but it stays on for a long time! NYC is great too because it's like 95 cents!

Keel's Simple Diary= Love!! I got this from Anthro and it's so easy and fun. This is what a page looks like:

You just fill it out and call it a day. It's so simple (get the title). They are really creative and get you thinking. This would be a great gift for someone too :)

 I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favorite things! It's been a couple of crazy, busy days. Hopefully, I'll get some more posts ready for you tonight about why my life has been so crazy! 

 Much Love From NYC, 

 Lisa

I Am Addicted!!

What is the biggest mistake I have made this month...getting a Pinterest account!!! Seriously, what an amazing website!!! Thanks to Pinterest I now have the best future home and wedding plan ;) I also LOVE looking up recipes. But since I am poor, I find all these awesome looking recipes that I can't afford to make. I LOVE to cook and bake. I baked all the time at home because we always had flour, sugar, and eggs~ all necessary when cooking. But I found a yummy looking recipe that only needs 3 things!!! So here is what they are suppose to look like:

Nice and pretty right...

   They are pretzel, peanut butter balls, dipped in chocolate. I thought I could do these...Here is what mine turn out as:

I got really impatient for the p.b. and pretzel mixture to get firm to roll in the melted chocolate, but they were still good!

I also took pretzels and put p.b. in the middle and dipped them in chocolate, which was very yummy :)

   So if you're looking for a cheap treat, this is a great one! Here is the link so you can make them: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/peanut_butter_pretzel_truffles.html

Much Love From NYC, 

 Lisa