Days 1 & 2...

There's good news…and bad news…

Day 1 of Whole 30:

B- 2 hardboiled eggs & banana

L- Big veggie salad with hardboiled egg & grilled chicken

D- Grilled steak and broccoli 

Pretty basic- but for me I need to keep it simple 'till I really get in the swing of things...

I felt OK until the evening and I started to develop a headache so I went to bed early, still not feeling well…

Day 2 of Whole 30:

Woke up with the headache…got ready for work…began packing my lunch and all of a sudden I felt very very ill…I laid down on the couch and couldn't get back up without feeling nauseous…

I had to call out of work and spent the entire day throwing up…I wasn't sure if I had the flu or it this was Whole 30 related. I knew I had a wicked headache, but it didn't feel like a typical migraine. 

Around noon I woke up still in a lot of pain so I took some Excedrin and I DRANK A COKE!! I don't know if this is a mental thing or if it was just the Excedrin, but I swear my headache was gone within the hour. I also ate some saltine crackers! (gasp!)

I have come to the conclusion that it was a migraine and that the vomiting was related to that because I never had body aches or chills…I also feel pretty good now…just worn out. 

I ate 2 boiled eggs and an apple with almond butter for dinner. 

I am not going to feel guilty about today…I was very sick. Tomorrow is a new day and I'll just keep going from there. I'll still call it Day 3…even though today was a major bust. I am human and I'm going to give myself a pass for today. 

Hope all of you are doing well…and your day was much better than mine!! ;) 

Jumping on the Whole 30 Bandwagon!

Well, let me begin by mentioning how very awesome I am about keeping up with blogging…haha. I am the worst- and I knew when I started I'd be really bad…I was the girl who would always buy pretty journals to record my innermost thoughts…and then write one entry and call it quits. I wonder what that  says about me…what kind of horrible person am I!!??? :)

So, on to the real purpose for my visit here today…I have decided to begin (and hopefully complete) the Whole 30 program…starting TOMORROW! I am excited and nervous. Those of you who have read about it know that it claims you will have more energy, sleep better, and feel a lot better. You basically eliminate any foods that can cause inflammation and allow your body time to heal. That's the word that really got me interested…when I started thinking about that word, heal, I realized that my body is actually very sick from all of the poor food choices I continue to make. Those junk foods are actually making me ill. I hadn't really thought about it that way until then…and it kind of scared me.

"Junk food is not a reward, it's a punishment"- that's a quote from Drew Carey that I recently came across in all of my researching about eating better. Another one of my favorites, "You are not a dog, don't reward yourself with food."…I hope that I can get to this mindset soon. I want to eat to live- not live to eat (which is what I do now.) I love food- and I have slowly come to realize that I have a very negative relationship with food…I turn to food when I have a good day, bad day, stressful day….basically any day. PROBLEM much?

So…here we go- another chance to get my act together and get healthy- I am really hoping to break some bad habits and to establish a more positive relationship with food. I thought that since I'm starting this journey tomorrow it might be helpful if I'd share the issues that I am having currently so that we can track any improvements or changes.

1. acne (always have a few pimples it seems…)
2. digestive issues (no details needed…but almost a daily occurrence)
3. lethargic (very low energy levels)
4. sleep issues (usually 5 or less hours per night- never sleep all the way through the night)
5. wrist pain (i think it may be carpal tunnel)
6. pain in my right elbow (may be linked to wrist pain..)
7. hip pain (numb feeling when i walk or stand for a long time)
8. knee pain (when squatting)
9. tension in neck and shoulders (feels like it never goes away)
10. headaches (daily)

Oh  my, I sound like a hot mess! And obviously I am, which is why I need to get serious about this!!

My goal is to let you know each day what I am eating- how I'm feeling, etc.
Hope you all stay motivated no matter what your New Year's Resolutions…Here's to a successful 2014!

Quality over Quantity

There is something fantastic about this time of year...the end of the summer and the beginning of a new school year. I don't think it's just because I'm a teacher, I've always been excited for the beginning of school. I love school shopping and buying new supplies...It's also a time of renewal. Most people like to set new goals in January, but I always set new goals for myself in September as well. I'm always hopeful that I'll become more organized, be more creative, or save more money.

Another major plus to this time of year is my wardrobe. It is much more flattering than my summer wardrobe and way more comfy. I love cardigans!

The official end of summer, Labor Day weekend, brought me two of my favorite people and turned out to be a wonderful weekend with my beautiful friends. I've said it before and I'll say it again- my friends keep me grounded and help me remember where I came from and who I am. It's always good for my soul to spend time with them. As I get older it has become more and more apparent to me how vital it is to surround yourself with good people. I know that I need people around me who support me and believe in me and don't judge me. I have no space in my life for anything less than that and I believe that as you get older you can also become more picky with your time. I know that I worry about not having enough friends around, but I try to remind myself that real friendship is more quality than quantity. I'm thankful for the quality.

to infinity...and beyond

I have been dying for an infinity scarf for awhile...I have also been trying to be more stylish in hopes to some day NOT end up on What Not To Wear. I never could find a scarf that I really liked and/or didn't cost more money than I could reasonably spend on a scarf. When I found this idea on Pinterest I couldn't wait to try it. Then I remembered I can't sew...so I waited for awhile and kind of forgot about it. Then I found a MUCH easier version that even I could handle.

First you find an old T-shirt...I used my husband's. You need an XL or larger...

Cut off the bottom seam and cut off the top...just below the armpits. You're left with a "sleeve" like piece of fabric. STRETCH it (I put my feet in one end and pulled up on the other) until it is the desired length.

There ya' have it. Easy as pie. It's perfect for summer. 

Let the old become new...

So something exciting happened since last time I blogged...Joe and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary!

We celebrated by buying each other "His" & "Her" iPhones, going out to a nice dinner, and beginning summer school (haha)! Joe also bought me a beautiful Swarovski bracelet that I'd been eyeing. We also started an anniversary journal- we basically just wrote down the highlights of our first year and things we are looking forward to in year 2. It was a perfect day. Oh yeah...we also ate a piece of our wedding cake and it was DELICIOUS! 

Don't you love our classy plastic dishes? 

But now for the real reason for this blog...We've recently become addicted to the Flea Market and we keep finding lots of great pieces that we can restore to our exact liking...it's a really fun hobby and it's saved us a lot of money we would have probably been spending at IKEA. 

Joe is (was) in desperate need of dressers. He has so many clothes and not enough space...so that has become our first order of business while we're at the Flea Market or tag sales. On our first trip out about a month ago we found a great dresser...but it was that boring (ugly) brown with horrible hardware...so we decided to paint it and change the hardware. Unfortunately I didn't take a before picture, 

but here's the after: 

I'm in love with the colors! 

So this still wasn't enough space so this week we started looking for another  dresser...I went to Craigslist and found this....

We paid $25.00 for this guy...it's in great shape and we already had the paint from the last project.

 After Joe's TLC here is what it looks like now...

And the coordinating pair: 

I really shouldn't take any credit for this project other than picking out the colors because Joe did all of the painting and sanding. I really think they turned out amazing and it was such a fun way to get exactly what we wanted. 

Now my projects weren't that intense, but fun nonetheless! 

First: We have a problem with forgetting to send out mail because it's not beside the door where we grab our keys. I've been looking everywhere for a mail organizer system I could hang on the wall, but I really just needed an "out" box. So I was inspired at a tag sale when I found this basket:

I knew that it was the perfect shape, but of course that Christmas "decoration" had to go. It was just hot glued on so I easily pulled it off. Then I took off the handle and painted the basket the only color I had on hand. (Left over from my mom's party) 

I added a ribbon and a piece of scrapbook paper. 

I had the ribbon left over from our wedding and the paper and letter stickers in my scrapbook supplies. This basket was part of an "All you can carry for $5.00" tag sale and we carried out about 10 things...

so it was basically 0.50 cents! 

The next project I finished this weekend was inspired by my excess supply of burlap. Again, after my mom's party I have a TON of it and I have been searching Pinterest for ideas. I found this idea on Etsy  and then I remembered I had a bunch of red buttons from the party as well that I never used. I created this with a frame I found at another tag sale for .50 cents and I didn't even paint it because I really liked the color and I thought it would go well with the burlap and red. 

(I know it looks black in the picture but it's really a faded navy blue) 

I'm really loving it and the red actually will go well with the photo gallery wall we have in our stairway because we have a couple of red frames. It was super easy to make and it makes me smile. 

First I wrapped the piece of matting that came with the frame with the burlap. Then I laid out all of my buttons BEFORE I started gluing. I read a bunch of blogs of people who had completed this project and they warned against gluing, but I have no sewing skills and I thought that the glue would be fine since I was using burlap. I think I was right because it turned out really great. I was worried for a few minutes that the glue wouldn't dry clear, but it did and you can't even tell. I used felt glue because it was the only glue I had other than the hot glue gun. It worked great and was easy to work with without getting everywhere. 

So needless to say it was a very productive weekend! I have a few more projects on the docket for this week or next weekend. I bought the supplies to make a couple of wreaths, an infinity scarf (no supplies needed...just a couple of Joe's old T-shirts), and we bought this: 

We are probably going to refinish it in someway and use it in the living room as storage/mini desk. I'll post pics as soon as we're finished. The best part is that it was $10.00 at a church sale!!

I also have a couple of cheap round end tables I bought at BB&B a few years go. I plan on painting one in the chevron pattern and modge-podging the top of the other. I'll keep ya' posted! 

Party in the Dark

So Friday was the long awaited birthday party! My mom had a blast and so did the guests, even though about 30 minutes in the "storm of the century" hit and we lost power...meaning no AC, lights, etc. I was pretty upset at first because I'd put about a year's worth of time and energy into every little detail and I felt sort of robbed...no one would get to really enjoy everything I had worked so hard to put together.
THEN I realized it wasn't about ME but about my beautiful mother and her birthday celebration so we partied on in the dark and everyone actually hung around and didn't seem to want to leave. We pulled out flashlights (and when I say flashlights I mean iPhone apps) and ate, talked, and enjoyed ourselves. I'd say is was a success. My mom loved it and that's really what I was going for :)

This was a last minute idea...I had some extra ribbon and really couldn't figure out what to do with the cupcake streamer so this was what happened. It actually turned out really well and I needed another place to display pictures.

Originally I wanted to do the yarn wrapped letters, but that proved to be too tedious for me. Instead I simply covered them in scrapbook paper...easy and I really love the way they turned out. This table was the guest sign in table and they were asked to write down their favorite memory of my mother and now I'm going to scrapbook them all for her.

This was the photo backdrop that my awesome cousin Taylor created. I wasn't really sure if a photo "booth" was going to be well received but everyone had a blast taking pictures and posing with some silly props. I recommend having one!

These were the centerpieces...I bought these pots at Crafts 2000 for .67 cents and the yarn I had lying around. I used a pom pom maker to create about 70 different sizes and colors. I actually went to my niece's one evening and we had a pom pom making party! There is a piece of styrofoam in the bottom with some grass also bought at Crafts 2000. We used bamboo skewers as the stems and painted them green ( the next day I found actual green ones!!) !!

The food tables...I made these banners out of burlap. I printed out the stencils from my cricut and just painted the letters on with some acrylic paint. I used tiny little clothespins to clip each triangle to the string. (Note..I reused the cake stand from our wedding! :))

The tables. There is a light blue table "cloth" and I just used red bandanas for some color. Originally I wanted to do burlap on the tables but it was too expensive for my liking.

My momma opening her presents in the dark! It was definitely memorable...almost everyone said "I bet you'll never forget this party..." or "I bet you have never had a party in the dark before."
I really enjoyed planning the party and seeing the happiness on my mom's face throughout the evening. I had so much fun with every step of the process and I know that I'll always be glad that I took the time to do something really memorable for my momma.
Happy Birthday Mom...here's to many more.

Mama Said Home is Where the Heart Is...

So we've been in West Virginia for the past week or so and it is SO great to be home. I love being able to spend time with my parents, family, and friends. I've really been busy getting everything ready for my mom's birthday party which is Friday. (Pictures will come) I've been working on about 50 Pinterest ideas :) The time we spend here always seems like it flies by...we'll be leaving in about a week. West Virginia is my most favorite place on Earth.

I always thought I'd move back here and start my family close to my parents. As the years go by it looks more and more less likely. I've had almost every emotion about this...sadness, anger, and I think finally, acceptance. As I'm getting older I realize that your home is where your heart is...for real. Part of my heart will always be here, but most of my heart will always be wherever my husband is and wherever we decide to settle down and start our own family. Joe actually was offered a job in West Virginia just this past week...he declined it after much discussion, research, and consideration. We decided that it just wasn't what we wanted- the job was 4 1/2 hours away from my hometown and the town itself was not a place I would like to live. Not to mention we would be taking a huge pay cut. It was hard for me to come to terms with this because living and working in WV has been my dream for the past 5 years...and when it was possible it just didn't seem right. I think we both realized that we should be grateful for the job and living situation we have now in CT. As I explained it to my husband, it's not that I don't like Connecticut or my job or where we live- I actually really love all of those things...but I just hate how far away we are from family. It didn't make sense to take a job in WV in a town that we would probably hate and struggle to pay our bills just to be 4 1/2 hours away from my family and 5 hours away from his.
When I think about living long-term in Connecticut the thing that scares me most is raising children in a place where we would have no support...I couldn't call my mom to pick him/her up from school if there was an emergency, it would be impossible to have everyone over for a birthday party, and I dread the thought of holidays. I know people do this everyday...raise children without any extended family support...and some even raise children alone- those people are awesome. I just get really bummed out when I think about not having those people around to help/watch/enjoy the process. I already feel as if I miss out on things like graduations, girls weekends with my friends, and countless other events because it just isn't feasible for me to get there. Joe says we will just have to make more of an effort to make it to those things because they are important and vital to our happiness...but often it's easier to say than actually do when faced with the demands of work, money, time, etc.

My new thought process focuses on this...
Maybe Connecticut is where we are meant to be...maybe God has great plans for us there. I'm finally getting really excited to see what those plans may be ;) By constantly planning on moving to WV I never really let myself embrace Connecticut as much as I could have...I didn't want to get too settled or comfortable because I always thought I'd leave. It's going to be a big process trying to switch my brain to think in a different way, but I know I have to in order to live a happy and fulfilled life. I don't do anything half-way and I definitely don't want to live my life that way...who knows what the future may hold, but I want to enjoy my present and make the most out of every day.