BrauerGirl

I am a stay-at-home mom to 3 sweet kiddos and have been married to hubby for almost 17 yrs. I spent 8 1/2 yrs in the US Army (before I met hubby) but got out as soon as I could to raise my little one. My hubby and I both agreed we wanted someone (me) at home full-time. I am fortunate to be able to do this!!! The extra money we'd have if I worked is not worth missing all those wonderful hugs and kisses and sweet moments! I LOVE LOVE LOVE crafting~it's very therapeutic for me. I usually see things and think "I can do that myself, and for waaay cheaper!" I love: anything vintage, handmade, Goodwill, thrifting, garage sales, the letter 'B' monogram (my last name), my kids' sweet feet (b/c I made them!), gummies, chocolate, baking, recipes (not necessarily trying them, but collecting them), cookbooks, rocking chairs on front porches, plants, going to the library, flowers, playing with my kiddos, boardgames (my 4 yr old plays a mean, crooked game of Dora Chutes & Ladders!!), laughing, giving away homemade gifts, gardening (trying to, anyways), living simply (I'm really trying at this one, decluttering a little more everyday), hmmmmmm....what else? :o) My hubby thinks I'm a nut, but that's okay~it's what puts the spice in our togetherness. (He's a comedian and doesn't even know it! :o) I love bargain-hunting b/c it's like a treasure hunt for me~especially when I find something great! I'm a music fan, mostly country, but I do like many others--probably depends on the song if it's in a genre I don't necessarily listen to. I also love traveling; I'm trying to convince my hubby to move overseas. I'd love for my kids to get the sort of international upbringing I got due to my dad being in the Army and us moving around as kids. I made new friends every 3 yrs or so but I wouldn't trade it for the world! Our world is just so big and full of interesting people I want my kids to experience that! (Hubby says we can't move overseas b/c I can't handle living 1 HOUR away from my parents so what in the world would I do if I lived thousands of miles apart??!! ! Like I said, he's a comedian and doesn't even know it! :o) Mom and dad would just come stay with us for 2 months instead of 2 days! ha!ha! I am an avid reader and believe you can't have too many books, friends, music or artwork!

I love beading (silverware), making cards & tags, or anything I see that's too $$$ in the store that I think I can make myself at home for cheaper, book, books with beautiful illustrations, reading (I love a good story!), paper candy, salads, shopping, having tea with my girlfriends, glitter and glittery things, German gummies, white winter wonderland (only until Dec 31, then God needs to empty his snow cupboard and start throwing out some sunshine), SUMMER (tank tops and flip -flops--I am sooo WT!), BBQing, roasting marshmellows for smores over the firepit, lemonade stands, skirts, corn-on-the-cob, the almond with just a little bit of chocolate and coconut attached to it from the Almond Joy candy bar--you can throw out the rest once the nuts are eaten, laying out in the sun, growing a garden (I'm not very good at it, but I keep trying), gifts (ha!ha!), baking, trying a new recipe (I want to be Martha--although I'm boycotting that and only going to make casseroles until my hubby gets sick of having them 24-7...b/c he told me I should make more casseroles!), Christmas, Christmas music, garage-sales, flea markets, anything vintage, fresh flowers, purses and shoes (if I was rich, I'd have a closet dedicated solely to those two things!), chocolate, vanilla yogurt with granola on it, mint ice-cream, chinese food, almost any chicken dish, taking photos of my kiddos, entertaining, finding a bargain, girl weekends away! :o) giving treats to family & friends, traveling, European outside cafes, jewlery (gold in winter, silver in summer), my kids' feet (I love the way they (don't) smell, but I'm also most amazed by the fact that I, and I alone, created each of those tiny little toes with a toenail on it! (Okay, hubby helped! :o)) Not to mention the rest of their bodies!

I actually find vacuuming theraputic (don't no one mess up my nice mish-marks that I just made with the vacuum!), it makes me feel good to exercise and I actually feel skinnier THE MINUTE I'm done!), I like reading cookbooks (and making a star by the recipes I plan on making but never get around to), I'd like to get more into selling my 'wares' (as hubby calls them) at craft shows, I would love to own my own small coffee/handmade gift shop and name it..........Graciela/Graciela!, I just received my law degree from watching upteen hours of Law & Order, CSI: Miami (looove Horatio), and anything on channel 52 which usually has true crime stories on it, I like root beer, I wish I was smarter when it comes to my computer, I like flowers and flowery things, I believe in being a strong, capable, but feminine woman (in the army I still painted my nails!), I believe my 'job' right now is to raise strong, capable, kind, loving and compassionate kids who will grow up to be strong, kind, loving and compassionate adults able to contribute to our world--I love what Marianne Binetti said about her kids----she tells them "YOU ARE LUCKY BECAUSE YOU CAN GROW UP AND CHANGE THE WORLD!", leave your butter on the counter like me and you're a friend for life!, I think I'm pretty easy-going, I like to share, my kids are geniuses (aren't everyone's??), I like to exercise my brain by doing SUDOKU, I wish I had a personal chef, I'd love more manicures and facials in my life, my fav colors are pink, red and black, but I do like lavender. That's all I could think of for now. I know it's not much but I only had 5 minutes to spare to jot these things down. :o)

P.S. This actually was a good thing to write about--I'd never really thought about these things and now that I have, I'm keeping this paper.....:o)

I love flowers! My absolute faves are peonies of all kinds! My dream is to have a garden of peonies where, daily, I can choose a different one to grace my table! I also love hydrangeas, cherry blossoms, wysteria (draping on an arbor), magnolia and dogwood trees. I love anything flowery, whether vintage or not. I am no stranger to my neighbors (and actually to those I don't know) during Spring and the holidays as I knock on their door and kindly ask to clip some of their flowers, branches, and/or twigs to decorate my house or use for a project!

LOOOOOVE The Amazing Race; Dancing With The Stars; ANTM; and anything Law & Order!

stinky bathrooms, oysters, people who don't say/wave 'Thank you' when you let them cut in front of you, store workers with absolutely no customer service or manners, my big gut.

paper candy (I can eat the whole box in one sitting) and mint chocolate chip ice cream or Ben & Jerry's chocolate brownie ice cream, or on vacation I always order coffee with cheesecake--yum!yum!,

beading, doing something crafty, or reading a great book!

I'm not too big into 'fluffy' sweet-candy like scents. I really like light scents/flavors like vanilla, raspberry, rainwater, lavender, mint. (I know mint may seem 'strong,' but it's not what I call a 'heavy' scent. I just bought some lip balm that was vanilla/lavendar--totally yummy and light. They also had coconut-verbana and I gave that to my girlfriend.

Graciela: 8 years old going on adult! She seems to always have one ear piqued towards whatever her daddy and I are talking about! :o) She is a lover of dancing, doing arts and crafts, traveling, SHOPPING, anything American Girl/Hannah Montana/Wizards of Waverly Place-Selena Gomez/ and fashion. She loves the American Girl books, books on other countries, storylines where the characters are pioneers or live in the 17 or 18th century, and informational/documentary-style stories (on animals, people, how things work or what makes them tick, science, weather). Graciela is fascinated with people and their lives in other countries (b/c they are different than her own). She has a map on her wall and whenever I get a swap from afar, she goes right to her map and locates the place! She loves gummies, anything glittery and sparkly, gum, tinted chapstick, lip gloss (b/c she is not allowed to wear lipstick) and colorful, fun notebooks and/or journals. She is a girl after my own heart! She is a loving, kind, funny and very creative young lady who reminds me nightly to come tuck her in!

Cameron: my thoughtful 7-yr-old. He is crazy about BAKUGAN and is currently into anything Davy Crockett/Daniel Boone. We are in a frenzy trying to locate a proper shooter (b/c we don't say gun! ha!) that resembles one Crockett/Boone would have in his day. Cameron is going to be Davy Crockett for Halloween. He also loves Speedracer, Transformers and Indiana Jones. Anything Star Wars also grabs his attention. He enjoys playing soccer and loves basketball! He is your typical boy who loves all those terribly, tacky boy noises that human bodies make! ugh! He is witty/funny, caring, loving and brave! And yet, I am his favorite to cuddle up with at night! He loves me to the end and I love him back!

Landon: Sweet Baby Landon! "I not a baby, mommy!" says he, who just turned 4! My littlest one is a crack-up! Like his brother, he is into all the same things. He is a runner, jumper, skipper, hopper, swinger and rider of all things- bikes, skates, scooters, wagons, skateboards, and big wheels. He and his brother are fantastic fort/clubhouse builders...you've never seen blankets and baskets used in such ways! He loves to draw and put the chocolate powder in his chocolate milk ALL BY HIMSELF! He is fanatical about all kinds of trains, jets and planes. I'd never realized there were so many different ones! He also gets excited about firetrucks, ambulances, biiiiiig trucks, scoops, and sirens. He is in awe of anything that seems 'magic' and loves his daddy! He is sweet, polite, thoughtful and tells me he loves me all the time--I never get tired of it!