Ink

I have been wanting a tattoo for a long time. Since I was about 14 years old. When I turned 18, I was pregnant, so getting a tattoo was the last thing on my mind. A few years have went by, and I've started having thoughts of one again. But I wasn't sure what to get. I have a few ideas, but I'm nervous about the "permanent" part of the tattoo. What if the artist screws up? What if I hate it? What if I hate the location? Should I get one now or wait until I lose the weight? What will it look like if I gain the weight back? Is laser removal expensive? Would a scar look worse than the tattoo?
See what I mean? I'm nervous. And instead of just doing it, I keep finding reasons not to. I don't want writing, or anything that I'm not going to agree with in the years to come. Like feathers and peace signs are in right now, but, who's to say that they will be in 5 years? How crazy would I look in the nursing home with a bunch of hearts and peace signs on me? I also think it would be silly to get Jerod's name tattooed on me. Not that I think it's bad luck, or even that I don't think we'll be together forever. But I think a wedding ring is a better symbol of love and marriage than a tattoo. I wanted to get something for my son, but then again, I want 6 children. That's 6 tattoos! Yikes!

Here is one idea that I have. It's not definite- just brainstorming at this point.

This is the chemical compound of oxytocin. After doing tons of research on it, I found it to be very interesting. Oxytocin plays various roles in orgasm, social recognition, pair bonding, anxiety, and maternal behaviors. It also plays a role in milk let down, wound healing, and romantic attachment. Studies show that it increases trust and reduces fear. It is often referred to as the "love hormone." To me it represents femininity and motherhood. (Although it isn’t just found in females. In men, it promotes monogamy and empathy.) This is what makes me get butterflies everytime I look at my husband. This is why my little boy has me wrapped around his tiny finger. This hormone.

I know, I'm just a geeky nurse! And if I was to get this, it would be without the blue lettering. I was thinking that this would make a cute foot tattoo, possibly even a shoulder blade tattoo. Who knows? It's still a work in progress. 

{Weight Loss} The Playlist

For a couple of days, I have been trying to put together a workout playlist, and believe me, it's a chore. I like so many different types of music, and just about every song I listened to, I thought "I can work out to that!" So this playlist has a TON of songs. Some are derogatory and vulgar, but that doesn't reflect on any of my personal thoughts or opinions. I just love music. You will notice that I have a few artists that appear ALOT. And that just means that they're creative enough for me to like damn near the whole album. ( :

It's a long one, but here it is!






I'm open to other suggestions, so please share!

{Weight Loss} Visual Inspiration

I am super excited to share this with you! It started off as an inspirational Pinterest post. So after dinner tonight, I loaded up, went to Target, and bought the supplies. Here is the finished product!

Supplies: 2 medium size vases, 1 container of vase filler beads, 1 package of foam scrapbook stickers

The idea behind it is to have something to visualize. Let's say you want to lose 20 lbs. Well, for me, writing it down on paper or typing it in a blog isn't going to help me achieve that goal. But something visual will. When the Pounds Lost vase has half of the beads in it, I will be able to see all of my hard work. Not only in the vase, but on myself. It gives you something to work towards. Plus, I'm going to let Ian transfer the beads so that he can be involved. He was so excited when I was putting it all together tonight.

I'm not announcing any weights, goals, or measurements just yet. I planned on it, but guess who was so excited about a craft project that she forgot to buy a new bathroom scale? This girl!

Shutters and Doors

As you have read, Jerod and I have just bought a new house.

It isnt new construction, but its new to us. The inside has been freshly remodeled, so were just working on the decorating aspect. But the outside- Lord, help us.

If you can tell, all the shutters are mismatched, they are water and sun damaged, and have never been painted. And the door, well, it kinda blends into the house. The shrubs have taken over. The weeds are so thick that you can barely see the mulch. There is monkey grass that lines the sidewalk, and I HATE monkey grass. There is a huge tree blocking half of the garage door. This house and yard needs a MAKEOVER!

This house needs painted. It's too tall to do by ladder, so a paint job is going to cost us a pretty penny. We decided two weekends ago to paint the shutters and stain the doors. We realized that there was no way we were going to get the shutters down ourselves.
And then, as my best friend, Kimberly, and I were outside smoking a cigarette, (I know, smoking's bad.) it came to me!
We can get the shutters done through the windows! It was genius, I thought. But Jerod's back is paying for it now. To manuvere around and get those shutters down was really something to see.

Due to the current taupe color of our house, we went with a flat brown. North American Elm - ColorPlace to be exact. I do believe that they look 100 times better.

We stained our doors, and I'm still iffy about whether I like it or not. We used MINIWAX Gel Stain - Walnut. It will do for now, but if I keep disliking it, we're probably gonna save and invest in new doors. I'm hoping when I get our wreaths up that they will look better. 

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This was after the second coat of stain and the start of the bush removal.

More to come! Stay tuned!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

My baby boy, or little boy, I should say, will be turning 3 in just a few short months. His birthdays have always been a very big deal and require at least 3 months of planning and preparation. I have started buying and organization. We decided that he would have professional pictures taken for every birthday, up until he was able to get school pictures every year. Our friend, Kendy Schimmel does them. She is simply AMAZING! Check her out: www.kendyschimmel.com


Here are some pictures from his 1st birthday. It was royalty themed. He was the cutest little prince. We had his party at our church's CLC building. Friends and family were invited. We had the usual snack foods, candy, punch, etc. Everything went great, that is, AFTER the cake incident. Ready?

Oh God, looking at it 2 years later, I still get angry. We ordered this cake from one of the most expensive cake bakerys in town. We paid over $300 for it! We got it halfway there & THIS is what happened. After I called and had a screaming crying fit because they ruined my child's first birthday, they came and picked the cake up to repair it, and promised that they would have it fixed and back in time. They called me and explained to me that a new person was working and that the wooden dowels weren't placed correctly, and blah blah blah. I only started to calm down when they told me that i would get a refund for half of the cake.

This is what we ended up with, not nearly as cute, but suitable. I never received a refund check, and I was still missing the big bottom tier of the cake. 

Here are some pictures from his 2nd birthday. This one wasn't near as extravagant as I would have liked, mostly because Jerod was in charge. I was too busy with nursing school clinicals to plan a party. But I will give him this- he did better than I would have thought! And I thank him so very much for making it happen. This time, we chose bakery that was recommended by some friends. The cake was very affordable, super cute, delicious, and was assembled correctly! Whoo-hoo! We only invited family this time. We started his party off at Ruby Tuesday, his favorite place to eat, at the time. He loves their salad bar, and their biscuits. We then went back to our house, had cake, and opened gifts. 

His 3rd birthday party and pictures are in the works, and I'll have a post for it later on. Until then, here is a hint for this year's bash!

{Favorites} Episode 1

I will do random blogs like this from time to time. Just a small collection of things that I like, have, and used- and why. So, let's get started.

e.l.f. Eyelid Primer, $1

First of all, if you have no idea what this is, I'll explain. This is primer, similar to whole face primer, but for your eyelids. Primer does exactly what it says, it primes. It prepares your face for foundation. It helps prevent your makeup from sweating or rubbing off, it prevents creases, and it makes your skin look and feel super smooth. So in turn, eyeshadow primer helps keep your eyeshadow from creasing and smearing! Another great thing about this primer is that it is only $1! That's right, $1! I have used more expensive eyeshadow primers, and I honestly would choose this one over them! It's similar to Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, $20.

Nicole by O.P.I - Confetti Fun, $7

I am IN LOVE with this nail polish. I'm actually wearing it on my toes right now. It is much thicker than most glitter nail polish, and it only took 2 coats. It is from Selena Gomez's new polish line and can be found at Walmart and Target for $7!

Too Faced Size Queen Mascara $21

First of all, I don't know if you can tell, but that mascara brush is HUGE! It really is, the picture does it no justice. Though this mascara is a little more pricey than most drugstore brands, I prefer it. The big brush not only coats each lash thickly and thoroughly, it also gives it a great lift. I never have to use and eyelash curler with this stuff! It can be found at Sephora!

Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette $50

This set contains: Virgin (nude satin), Sin (champagne shimmer), Naked (buff matte), Sidecar (beige sparkle), Buck (brown matte), Half Baked (bronze), Smog (golden brown shimmer), Darkhorse (bronze-plum shimmer), Toasted (taupe-bronze), Hustle (mocha shimmer), Creep (near-black metallic), Gunmetal (dark grey metallic).

Urban Decay Naked 2 Eyeshadow Palette $50

This set contains: Foxy (cream bisque with matte finish), Half Baked (golden-bronze with shimmering finish), Booty Call (shimmering cork), Chopper (copper shimmer with silver microglitter), Tease (creamy pale brown with matte finish), Snake Bite (dark bronze shimmer with metallic base), Suspect (pale golden beige with shimmering finish), Pistol (light gray-brown with shimmering finish), Verve (oyster with shimmering finish), YDK (cool bronze shimmer with metallic base), Busted (deep brown with shimmering finish), Blackout (blackest black with matte finish).

These palettes are great! They have all the nudes and naturals and girl could ever ask for. They can be found at Sephora, and each palette comes with a free gift of either eyeshadow primer or lip gloss.

TOMS

I cant express how much I love TOMS. I have several pair. They are cute, creative, comfortable, and charitable. TOMS gives shoes in more than 60 countries and helps restore sight in 13 countries. Every time someone buys a pair of TOMS, a pair is given to a person in need. TOMS now manufactures eyewear, which in turn is how they are restoring sight in other countries. I love the idea, I love the aspect, I love the shoes. I love what they do, and I 100% back this company. Something new: TOMS is starting to help children in our own backyard! By the end of 2014, 35+ states will receive TOMS- that's over 1 millions pairs of new shoes reaching U.S. kids. As of now, 3 states in the U.S. are helping give sight. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Stacking Bracelets 

This is something that I have been really into lately. Grab a handful of colorful, mismatched bracelets and stack them on each wrist. My favorite place to get bracelets is Oriental Trading Co. They have a ton to choose from, and they have them ranging from prom queen, to hippie, to punk rocker. They usually have a good sale going on.

I got these when they were BOGO Free, and I didn't pay over $6 for any one of them. 

Stay tuned for another episode of "A Few Of My Favorite Things!"

{Weight Loss} The Beginning

It is time. Time to make a change.

I have been overweight all my life. Although I am considered obese, I have been very lucky not to have any other health conditions associated with my obesity. (diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, hyperlipidemia, congestive heart failure, etc.) But I feel if I don't do something now, those things will be in my future, and that scares the crap out of me. 

Looking back at pictures, I've been overweight probably as far back as kindergarten.

I have never been happy in my body. It was especially hard on me in school. I couldn't wear the “hip” or “in style” clothing. I looked like an idiot trying to participate in gym class. I would even sometimes get out of breath walking from one class to the next. It was miserable.

I guess because I had nice things, and because I was loud and bubbly, and made friends with everyone – people assumed that I was happy. They couldn't be further from the truth.

A week ago I made a decision. A decision to get my life back, the life that I have always wanted. The life where I don’t have to shop in plus sized stores, the life where I can get out of the shower and not feel disgusted when I look in the mirror.

The choice to lose weight is mine, and mine alone. It isn't about trying to look prettier or be a super model, it’s about becoming healthier. I want to be stronger, have more endurance, and live longer. I want to be around to enjoy my grandchildren and travel the country in an RV with my soul mate.

It will be a lifelong struggle, but I am ready.

Two days ago, I made a very expensive, yet important purchase. I bought  a Bowflex Treadclimber.

The TC20 model, to be exact. I’m praying that this $3,500 purchase is going to save my life. Last night I received the shipping confirmation, and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival.

To give a little background on this decision: I did tons of research. I read reviews and success stories. I read specifications, and compared other products. I am not a gym person. I am embarrassed to work out in front of other people, and I don’t like the idea of “working out”. I’m not a lazy person, by any means, but I despise the word: exercise. I wanted something beneficial that I could enjoy while listening to music or watching my favorite TV shows. I have tried diet pills, Weight Watchers, the Atkin’s diet, “miracle cleanses”, etc. I would lose a few pounds, and then gain it back and then some. I had considered weight loss surgery, but being a nurse, I know all the risks and side effects, and being so young, I didn't want to put myself through that. I know that I can do this without taking such drastic measures.

When my machine arrives, I will write another blog. In that blog will have before pictures, current weight and measurements, and my first goal weight.

Here are some pictures that fueled this life changing event. Looking at these literally make me sick. This is not how a 21 year old woman should look, and the fact that I have had a child is no excuse. There is a smaller, healthier person in there somewhere, and I AM going to find her. 

Please be kind if you choose to comment.