In honor of my mom coming for a surprise visit today...

It's so gangster that moms are always there for you when you most need them.

(and mine just happens to be the best ever :)

I have found that...

...finding a blogging balance can be difficult.

Sometimes it requires reevaluating what your blog is for.

If it is for crafting or sewing or cooking or shopping-- you kind of have it mapped out for you.

You blog about those things.

But when it's just a "life blog", a "my thoughts" blog, a "whatever strikes me today" blog...

it can be a little more difficult.

Because, for me, a blog is more than an obligatory daily post,

but it is less than a deep conversation with my closest friend.

I want to be honest, but not transparent...

discreet, but not fake.

And sometimes that it difficult, because the reality is---

sometimes you just have a bad week.

Sometimes things don't go as you had hoped or expected or wanted. Sometimes little problems come along and disrupt your day, and sometimes big things happen that force you to reevaluate and re-plan. Sometimes it's entirely your fault, and sometimes it's entirely not. Sometimes you want to cry and stomp your feet and ask, "WHY me??" and sometimes you just want to sit quietly and think.

So, I've decided, rather than recounting my week to you,

I will tactfully and honestly tell you that I've had better.

But let me also share with you the truth that has been my joy through all of it:

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. "

 Romans 5:3-4

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:10

Yesterday I did a little

 fashion post :)

weird, I know.

But it was actually pretty fun!!

Go check it out {here} if you have any interest whatsoever in my style.

love you all :)

A few products I am swearing by these days...

Tresemme's Fresh Start Dry Shampoo--

holy cow. are you ready for this?

If you're like me and only find the time to actually wash your hair every 2 (or 3 or 4...) days-

this is your new best friend.

Three or four pumps of this magical foam applied to the {greasy} roots

and VOILA!

clean, grease-free hair.

Where have you BEEN my whole life??

and....

Arnold Select Sandwich Thins--

These things are delicious and only 100 calories!

does it get any better?

We discovered these last week when we went to Kroger's searching

for Pita bread (which we never found)

and so we picked up these little beauties instead :)

They worked great for our balsamic chicken and veggie sandwiches for dinner that night.

(I also sometimes toast them and eat them with peanut butter for a light/filling breakfast!)

Enjoy :)

Have you discovered any hidden gems lately???

Weather like this makes me feel...

optimistic...

dreamy...

curious...

romantic...

free...

rested...

child-like...

happy.

Everyday is valentines day

I meant to post this on Monday, but it's never too late to celebrate love, right?

One day when my little girl says,
"tell me a story about you and Daddy!"
I'll say...

Once upon a time there was a girl and a boy.

They were great friends.

...and they were pretty goofy.

and one day, something amazing happened. They fell in love.

they kept falling and falling...

and falling and falling...

and falling :)

                                     

at last, he asked her a very important question...

and she said YES!

And just a few months later, they were married.

and they are still living so happily ever after.

The End :)

Food. Part II

So let me give you a little background regarding my food epiphany...
Yesterday my lunch looked like this:



I suddenly became so disgusted by the "all white meat" sticks sitting on my plate and the carbonated poison I was guzzling down, that I got up and poured half the can down the sink.
Jonathan did not like that I wasted it, but i deemed it a necessary physical expression of protest.

Am I giving up soda? no. not yet.
Will I never eat another chicken finger as long as I live? highly doubtful.

But something needs to start happening. Something needs to change.

A little more background:

sorry for those of you who really don't want this much information about my digestive system, but I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
For those of you not familiar with IBS, it goes like this:
Every time you eat, your stomach feels like this-



I have become so incredibly fed up with feeling this way, that I desperately want to do something about it. I've been researching, I'm learning. I can tell it will definitely be a journey, probably a long rocky one. But I'm not looking for a trendy diet, I'm looking to establish a new way of life. and let's be honest- that takes time.

So here are some of my biggest issues that I will be working through. Anyone with advice, resources, encouragement to offer, your comments are welcome!

1) Expense. The price of organic food, free range chicken, etc is unbelievably high. Furthermore, my apartment is not equipped with a storage-friendly freezer. It can only hold a few containers and tub of ice cream at a time, which is unfortunate.

2) sacrifice. i really loooove junk food. I don't really over-indulge in these things, but I'd really like to cut them out entirely down the road, and it's going to be difficult. I need to find good replacements for some of my favorite munchies.

3)and this is a bog one... time. My days start and 8 and go till 5:30, except on Tuesdays when they don't end until 8:30. When I come home I have studying to do (several more hours of labor), chores to complete, a shower to take, and a husband to spend quality time with. Somewhere in there, I have to cook dinner. I almost exclusively make things that take under 30 minutes to prepare, cook and serve. This seems to be the greatest life-limitation for me when it comes to changing my daily eating habits.

Some other concerns:

1) Jonathan didn't sign up for this. I don't want to force him to eat vegetarian things every now and then. I don't want to deprive him of some of the foods that I know he loves, but are absolutely horrible for us. It's one thing to ask this of myself, it's a whole different thing to push it on him.

2) I'm terrified of failing. I want to see victory in this area of my life. It's hard for me to begin something without knowing if I can accomplish it. But those are the places where we experience the most growth. I am looking forward to that.

I hope you will join me on this journey toward holistic health, buckle your seat belts :)