Mimi – Page 18 – Unlikely Martha

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Home DIY | Ways to Proactively Save Money Around Your House

Being a grown-up isn’t always fun but saving money is. Thank you to The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District for sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine!

Whoever said growing up is a trap, hit the nail right on the head. Being a grown-up at times can be completely overrated. Completely.

This weekend my neighbor took me to brunch for my birthday (remind me to tell y’all about turning 40), and over mimosas, she talked about how the county came to inspect her property after thinking she may have had a water leak when they noticed more water than usual being used at her home. Turns out, she forgot to turn the timer off on their sprinkler and it had been running every 4 hours or so, every day for the past two weeks. Sprinkler systems are fabulous, and can even help reduce overwatering, but they need to be monitored!

We hollered laughing at how high her water bill is going to be and how mishaps like this seem to be the foolishness that adulthood and homeownership are made of. Between tears of laughter, cause in these cases you have to laugh to keep from crying, I shared how high our bill was when we attempted to use the irrigation system and later decided the old school method of moving that sprinkler we ran through as kids manually around the yard and watching as areas got well watered was good enough.

I think everyone is trying to save a few coins instead of giving them away and one way to do that is to be proactive about home maintenance. Whether you rent or own, you can take steps to make sure you are doing your part to protect the environment, your property, and your coins.

One of the easiest ways of doing this is by paying attention to your water usage. You know the usual, don’t run the water when brushing your teeth, or washing dishes. Shorten your shower by 2 minutes. Wash your clothes in cold water, or the least amount of water needed. There are so many minor tips we can use to conserve water, but one we may overlook is simply checking our faucets and under our sinks for water leaks.

March 1th – March 24th is the EPA’s Fix a Leak Week. This initiative is aimed at making the public aware that there are more than 1 trillion gallons of water lost every year from simple home leaks. 1 TRILLION.

TRILLION.

That’s a lot of water… and money lost.

If you follow my Instagram stories, you know Adrian is all about keeping this house together. Whether you are an avid DIYer or a call in the pros type of person, spring is the perfect time of year for home maintenance. You can start by simply looking under your sink for leaks.

Things you’ll want to look for include: water drops along the pipe, a damp cabinet, or any sign or sound of dripping water.

According to the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District this is how much water we can easily waste:

A faucet that leaks one drop of water per second is equivalent to 8 gallons per day

A running toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water a day

Household leaks are the most expensive form of property damage (that can be prevented

Yes, all of these from a simple drip, drip, drip, out of the faucet. The Metro Water District is passionate about educating the public on how to conserve water and money. Their efforts have helped the region decrease water usage by more than 10 percent despite having a million person increase in population!

Interested in learning about more ways you can conserve water and save money? Be sure to visit The Metro Water District online, as well as on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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Living

Little Mermaid Girls Night In

I was compensated for this post. All opinions are mine.

When Addison insisted on watching Brave 2,894,812 times I just hit play again, again, and again figuring it was some sort of karma for making my father watch the Little Mermaid with me an equal amount of time many days back in the 80s/90s.

Let me tell you, you know you’ve watched a movie a million times if you are 40 and can still quote it word for word. THIRTY years ago The Little Mermaid hit big screens and in honor of this milestone the movie is being released on 4K Ultra HD and BLU-RAY for the first time.

Nothing says parenting like doing things with your child that you did as a kid. Addison and I spent an evening in the theater singing along with the movie. I’m surprised she knew the songs as well as she did. I’m telling you, there will be many nights watching this classic with my girl.

Things tend to get better with time and that includes this new and improved version of The Little Mermaid.

This release on BLU-RAY and Digital includes:

Sing-Along Mode – Sing along to the movie in this sing-along version of the film.

“What I Want From You…Is YOUR VOICE” – Enter the recording studio and get an inside look at the cast of “The Little Mermaid” in their original recording sessions.

Stories From Walt’s Office – Gadgets & Gizmos – Like Ariel, Walt Disney was a collector of many different things from miniatures to early mechanical characters that inspired the invention of audio-animatronics. We take a look at some the collections that Walt kept in his office in the third episode of this series.

#TreasuresUntold – Join Ruby Rose Turner and Olivia Sanabia from the Disney Channel Original Series “Coop and Cami Ask the World” as they take a deep dive to explore some hidden treasures and fun facts about Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”

DCapella “Part of Your World” Music Video

Classic Bonus Features – revisit four exciting bonus features from previous releases including:
- Deleted Character: Harold The Merman
- Under The Scene: The Art Of Live Action Reference
- Howard’s Lecture
- Audio Commentary With Ron Clements, John Musker and Alan Menken

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVES

“Part of Your World” – A 30-Year Retrospective – Songwriter Alan Menken and Jodi Benson, the acting and singing voice of Ariel, sing the epitome of Disney “I Want” songs “Part of Your World” and discuss its impact since it was first heard 30 years ago.

I thoroughly enjoy spending time with Addison, she’s so full of joy. I’m looking forward to many more Little Mermaid movie nights with her!

What was your favorite movie as a child?

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Food

Tomato + Cucumber + Mint Salad

This post was sponsored by Fresh From Florida as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central, however all opinions expressed are my own

The year before last, my garden spawned so many tomatoes that I didn’t quite know what to do with all of them. Like, so many of them. I gave them away to neighbors, my dad, and anybody else who came to my home got sent away with tomatoes.

Last year, I got nothing. It was quite ironic, but not having the headache of trying to stake a 6-foot tall tomato plant, and removing horn worms was welcomed. Not having to grow my own tomatoes doesn’t mean I didn’t have access to fresh ones thanks to Fresh from Florida.

I have quite a plethora of tomato recipes that I enjoy making, but simple always wins. Fresh tomatoes on a salad always work, and we have Florida farmers to thank for providing us with options for fresh tomatoes all year long, just search for the Fresh From Florida label at your local grocery store.

It’s almost porch season, which means I’m looking for easy recipes and strong drinks. A quick go to is simply tossing cut up tomatoes, cucumbers and a few sprigs of mint with a little olive oil and Italian seasoning for a refreshing salad. The Fresh from Florida website and social channels have all of the recipes for your get-togethers. You can find a variety of them here. Don’t feel like sifting through all of the good recipes and want to get straight to the tomato recipes? Here you go.

Entertaining yourself or others with good food doesn’t have to be difficult. Tomatoes are the perfect warm-weather produce that makes throwing together a tasty spread effortless. Be sure to look for the Fresh from Florida label this spring and summer!

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Living

13 Years of Marriage | What I’ve Learned So Far

Let me just say, thirteen years is a long time, and during that time life happens. You grow and change. Your spouse grows and changes and somehow you are charged with keeping it together while growing separately. I’m convinced personal growth is a necessary evil, even in marriage.

My online life has never been one about portraying perfection, it is what it is. Not even in the cliche mention of not being perfect…while still portraying perfect is an image I hope my online presence doesn’t portray. I want to feel touchable, reachable, like I can be your friend in your head so my musings on what marriage has taught me over the years is going to be real.

Ready? Let’s go.

PATIENCE. Pretty sure at this point I have the patience of a saint. I’ve always been fairly patient but I’ve learned to let things slide that aren’t worth my energy. HOWEVER, I will go off if I am continuously tried with the same thing.

PICK YOUR BATTLES. Listen. Everything doesn’t warrant your attention or energy. If it doesn’t ignore it. That goes for anything in life. If you are passionate about it, stand behind your conviction but really and truly sometimes it’s worth it to be the period in the discussion. A simple okay when someone expects you to carry on is the ultimate level of shade.

BE MINDFUL OF EACH OTHER’S UPBRINGING WHEN SETTING EXPECTATIONS. At one point in our marriage, I was needing something from my husband that he just didn’t seem to get, and vice versa. We were missing each other like two ships in the night, until it dawned on me that he never had a strong father figure. He was doing the best he know how, while I grew up with a father that is the poster child for being a great husband and father. I realize now it’s hard to expect someone to give you something they have never seen. The best thing we have ever done is talk through this, and in doing so we’ve learned to communicate what we need instead of expecting the other person to know.

FORGIVENESS. Self explanatory. Hard at times? Yes. Necessary? Yes. Ever heard the saying that “Forgiveness is for you, not the other person?” This is so true. Holding grudges is not productive and can tear a marriage apart. When we let ill feelings compound it creates a mountain that is hard to climb and get over.

LEARN THEIR LOVE LANGUAGE. I wasn’t a firm believer in this until we took the test and were total opposites. It was then that some missing pieces were finally put in place for me… and that was just a few months ago.

BE KIND…EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT. Kill ’em with kindness they said. Let them be mad by themselves… or if you are the one mad, you can be mad by yourself. Let’s forgive and move on for reasonable circumstances. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the ugly has to come out, but save the alter ego for extreme circumstances.

IF IT NEEDS TO BE DONE, JUST DO IT. We’ve moved away from gender roles and it has made everything so much better. This to me is the real definition of teamwork.

LAUGH TOGETHER. We do this well. We are very good friends, and let me tell you it is very important to be friends with your spouse. There will be times when love isn’t enough, it’s then that the friendship kicks in to get you through.

ADDRESS TENSION. Somebody has an attitude for seemingly no reason? Don’t feed into it, ask what the problem is. They may assume you know and vice versa. We’re not relying on mindreading these days, please use your words.

LOVE EACH OTHER UNCONDITIONALLY. My husband and I aren’t perfect, we are about as far apart on the spectrum as possible, but our love for one another is very strong, and very real. Yes, he gets on my nerves, yes there have been times I’ve wanted to throw in the towel but the love we have has stood the test of time…well 13 years.

I’m joining a couple of other bloggers for a fun blog hop. We’re all sharing our love stories and hosting a fun giveaway on Instagram for a $100 gift card to Ruth Chris Steakhouse. For the next blog on the hop, head over to Decorating Cents to read her love story. Then slide over to Instagram to enter to win the gift card!

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