Tag Archives: Well being

Dashboard Randomness: Sunrises and Bluebonnets

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Today I had a golf tournament for one of the regional associations I’m part of in San Antonio. Usually, when I go to San Antonio I will drive down the night before but I have been on the go so much lately I decided to just wake up early and drive this morning. And, boy, did four o’clock a.m. come early?!?

However, I really enjoyed drive. I got the opportunity to be let my mind wander and through anything and everything. No music. No audiobook audiobook. No podcast. No phone calls.

Just me and the open road, a beautiful sunrise, and miles and miles of beautiful bluebonnets.

The 130 loop around Austin is absolutely gorgeous right now. That might not seem like a logical place to go look at bluebonnets but there are miles of them in the huge median between the north and sound sides of the tollway.

Add to that, this afternoon I got to play golf on a beautiful course with some awesome customers, who made it a blast!

The only thing that would be better would be to be at home tucking my kiddos in tonight because I sure do miss them (and Garen too)! I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too, right?!? Thank goodness for FaceTime!

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Carry On

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Driving down (actually up but I always want to say I’m driving down somewhere for some reason) 35N on my way home today Carry On by Pat Green came on.

It’s a Texas Country classic, in my mind. Honestly, I’ve not ever put much thought into it besides that it reminds me of driving the backroads of Hamilton County in my high school days. I realize that dates me and I’m fine with that.

But today I missed the first of the song and only caught the end:

OK, alright,

I’m OK, I’m alright,

I’m OK, I’m alright,

I’m OK, I’m alright,

Oh carry on, yeah –

As it finished, I thought to myself what a great reminder it is. I sometimes get caught up in negativity. But as I heard this song, I though we all need a reminder.

I’m ok. I’m alright.

Carry on.

Dashboard Randomness.

Sweet Saturday: In the Kitchen

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Today was a great day with the girls. They love to “pay kitten” (aka Play Kitchen). They’re very creative and I only had to retrieve one chewed up plastic French fry from Kate’s mouth. I call that a success.

People often ask if they get along well. And I always answer with “Eh.” Their personalities are very much their own, as are their looks but on occasion we will catch a few super sweet moments between the two sisters when they think no one is watching.

And it warms my heart!

As you can see, we moved their rooms around so that they now have Anna’s kitchen and table that she’s “too big for” now. If it didn’t make these two so happy that might make me a bit sad. Such is life!

Downstairs in the real kitchen, I’ve almost made it a whole week back on Weight Watchers. My goal is to get healthy and fit back into my old clothes, at least the few pre-twin pieces left after last year’s KonMari-phase cleared out my closet of anything that “I didn’t love.”

This year I’m not doing resolutions since last year failed so miserably. I think the Balanced app is a great idea but took too much time. I quit about a month in.

In 2018, I’m just trying to get back on track with goal setting and one of my goals is to get healthy. Weight Watchers has been good to me before. I lost 40 lbs in college.

And now I get to lose it all over again. What a great opportunity (typed in very sarcastic tone)! The good things is, Weight Watchers seems to have done some good updates and the app is super user friendly.

I’ll probably be finding all kinds of tricks to eat as much as I can for as little points as I can so stay tuned!

P.S. If anyone has any tips on replacing tasty coffee creamers with a low point alternative, PLEASE let me know!

Photo Friday: Colorado- Where the Wild Things Live- Part 1

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Garen and I had the MCAA Midyear Meeting in Steamboat, CO in August and we decided to take a few days off before it to go to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Of course, we had a great time and, of course, Garen took some awesome photos. These are only a few because my phone is having technical difficulties (I’m sure it’s not user error).

We got to see a TON of animals in the wild. It was amazing.

Mommy Review Monday: Scott TP

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The stomach bug hit me today. Hard. It's always tough when mamma is sick.

I feel exhausted after being sick most of the day so this will be a pretty short Mommy Review Monday and I have come up with something we don't always think much of until you end up using a lot of it:

Toilet Paper
We go through a lot of this at our house since there are so many of us (and the kids still like to use more than they should), so we buy it in bulk at Sam's Club. Last trip to Sam's I had Garen get it and he picked up Scott brand instead of the Sam's Club brand (which is pretty similar to Charmin but cheaper).

I've always been told not to slap the hand that feeds you so I've not complained about the thin, scratchy paper…until today. I have officially sanded my butt.

Here's the positives of Scott brand toilet paper:

  • It's cheapest you can find at Sam's Club
  • It provides excellent exfoliation for your booty.
  • It would work for TP-ing houses because it's so cheap- although it might break mid-throw.

And the negatives:

  • No matter how cheap, it's still not a bargain because you have to use more because it's so thin.
  • It will rub you raw if used frequently
  • It comes individually wrapped- both a pain and a waste of paper

There you have it- Scott toilet paper is pretty shitty. For more amusing toilet talk, be sure to check out my story about Mr. Shitter.

Thursday’s Thoughts:  Like riding a bike

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From my Five-Minute Journal, today’s quote was from Albert Einstein:

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. 

Although this morning was the first time I’d heard this quote, I think it’s been something that I’ve always subconsciously tried to use in my life when things are a challenge. 

Just like “putting one foot in front of the other” or “taking one baby step at a time” help us make moves in the right direction, the concept of peddling to keep balanced is just as true. 

Right now you hear a lot of hype about “work-life balance.” There’s an abundance of advice on this topic but- let’s face it- this is a hard thing to do!

And, quite frankly, I get sooo overwhelmed trying to keep a good balance that I often times loose balance. Similar to learning to ride without your training wheels, you’re going along fine until you start thinking about balancing too much. Then what happens??? 

You freak out and you loose your balance. (P.S. It’s even more likely to happen if you wear princess dress pjs to ride your bike-see Anna below)The moral of my rambling Thursday’s Thoughts may sound like I’m advocating for mindlessly riding throughout life (and probably not wearing a helmet). 

But, the truth is, I think if we all just keep peddling forward without putting on the brakes so much, we’re a little more likely to have a smoother ride as we go up and down the hills and valleys of our lives. 

Safe travels and let me know your best tips for this ride through life…

Wellness Wednesday: 6 Reasons to Drink More Water & 6 Ways to Make it Happen 

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Today, one of the things I aim to accomplish is to drink enough water. I live in a state of dehydration- most days running on coffee alone. Yes, I realize that this is terrible.
So…I’m working on it. I know on the days that I have consumed the right amount I feel soooooo much better. Why not do it every day, you may ask? I could come up with a million different reasons. None of them really all that great.In an effort to “talk myself” into drinking enough each day, I’m listing a few reasons of why I should get my daily quota:

  1. Humans are 60 percent water so it affects our digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature. 
  2. Water is essential for the kidneys to function….so it makes sense that you’re more likely to get kidney stones if you don’t drink enough water. (both of these two reasons seem pretty crucial to well being….)
  3. When dehydrated, the skin can become more vulnerable to skin dryness and wrinkling (so, that explains my wrinkles…and I was pissed that my expensive skin care wasn’t working)
  4. Water is used to lubricate the joints (I can certainly feel the difference in my joints when I drink more- yes, already at 34 years old thanks to dehydration)
  5. Drinking water when you think you’re hungry may be the fix you need to avoid that unhealthy snack. 
  6. Water is the cheapest drink you can get- even if you have buy it. Cha-Ching! Frugality in its simplest form right there. 

If you don’t believe me, check it out at WebMD. 

Here’s how I plan to help myself with this:

  1. Drink a big glass of water when I wake up before working out 
  2. Drink another glass before I let myself have my first cup of coffee (I know this is going to be a hard one)
  3. Drink another glass before I have lunch
  4. Drink another glass before I have an afternoon cup of coffee or snack (can you tell I like coffee???)
  5. Drink another glass as I’m fixing dinner
  6. Drink another glass before bed

These are all big glasses so six should be plenty in combination with the fruits and vegetables that I regularly eat that also have water content. Did you notice there’s a bunch of befores in that list? Carrot and stick folks- thats the way I’ve got to roll with habit changes.

Here’s a few more things that I’ll be doing to help me:

  • Use crystal light one or two times to keep it not so flavorless 
  • Drink warm water with lemon. This makes me feel classy. That may be weird but that’s ok. 
  • Have a yeti, knock-off yeti, or water bottle with you and full at any time. 
  • Drink a few sips after every call I make (since I’m in sales that’s a lot every day). 
  • Order water with lime from Sonic rather than a fountain drink. Or just avoid Sonic works too. Again, frugality and health often coincide. 
  • Eat healthy. Eating healthy makes you want to drink more water and drinking more water makes you want to eat healthier. 

So now I guess I better go get back to drinking more water…

Stay hydrated, my friends!

For more info on Wellness and my Well Being journey check out my first Wellness Wednesday post.