Hey There.

I believe I’ve mentioned before that my mother edits my blogs for me, and half the time I almost hold my breath waiting for a text message that reads, “Huh?”

I know sometimes she must shake her head at me, her crazy daughter, and wonder how did I get so “woo-woo.” (I’m going to go ahead and blame liberal college and friends for that one btw.) But I don’t think I’m too terribly crazy . . . Remember that going forward.

You know when people tell you things, and you just kind of nod and shake your head and go, ok . . . For years, I felt like positive affirmations fell into that category –   somewhere between healing crystals and hypnosis for weight loss.

It’s always sounded just a little too out there for me. However, the more podcasts I listened to and articles I read regarding growth, development, and success, the more I learned about the importance of mindset and your internal monologue.

The fact is it’s pretty darn hard to change the way you think. Your thoughts have comfy, little patterns set in your brain, and it’s a bit painful for them to change.

So just for kicks, I decided to try listening to some positive statements before bed and in the morning. To my surprise, they really worked!

My mood has drastically improved, and I’ve been able to cling to a few little mantras when my work environment got stressful. I even went to a party and managed to use a phrase or two to help my socially awkward self make some new acquaintances. I think I’m hooked! (The fun, calming music in the background is also a plus.)

Even if it is a little “woo-woo,” I think we should all be open to trying anything to make ourselves happier and improve how we treat ourselves. If you haven’t given positive affirmations a try, check out this one. It’s just a quick 10-minute video to remind yourself – You’re awesome, and you’ve got this!

Hey There!

Have you ever met someone and forever after whenever you think of them the image ingrained in your mind never ages? No matter how long it’s been they are forever the same as when you first met?

I’m bad for doing that. There are people in my life who I’ve known for more than a decade and even though our relationship has spanned from AOL instant messenger to Myspace, then Facebook and on, when I think of them I still imagine them so much younger than we are now.

It seems that I do this with myself as well. I felt like I’d be 17 forever; then I hung on to 19 as long as I could, and in a few days I’m getting ready to say goodbye to 25, but I think I’m going to be feeling it for a long while yet.

We spend so much time when we are growing up wishing we were adults. Now, looking around at my “adult” friends, I don’t know what type of adults I thought we’d be. No one has it together like my mother always seemed to, but if different, we’re all doing pretty well.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this upcoming birthday. I wish I’d done more things in my early 20s, that I’d gone on more adventures before things were quite so serious with a full-time time career, a house, and husband when travel becomes ever so slightly more difficult. (What is it with the US and their 2 weeks of vacation time? Europe has 3 weeks y’all. Can we hop on that bandwagon?) But now I have my own cozy space to call home and someone waiting for me when I get there from my little adventures.

There are things that I still want to do and places to explore. I can’t wait to see what 26 brings!

Hey There!

Whew. Heading back into work after our vacation has been ROUGH.

I hoped the relaxation of our vacation would last more than a week, but my shoulders are tense, the eye twitch is back, and I have absolutely no motivation to do anything when I get home.

I can’t be the only one who experiences this, right?

All day at work I’m engaged and working, making sure that everything gets handled, and I make lists of all the things I need to get done in the evening, but as soon as I cross the threshold at the house, I’m done.

Try as I might it’s nearly impossible to summon any energy to do any of the things on my list. I manage to get dinner made and most times to do dishes but outside of that . . . it’s #netflixandchill.

Half the time I convince myself that tomorrow I WILL get up early and take care of things, but 5:00 hits and so do I – the snooze button that is.

I’m considering getting a coffee pot with a timer, so I have the promise of caffeine when I wake up, but I hate the thought of being more caffeine dependent. I’m down to about 1 cup a day at the office.

What are your tricks for beating the end of day slump and getting up early? I need your help!

Hey There!

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Hey There!

I hope you had a fabulous weekend. I know we did. Despite the rain, we went out with friends, worked on some projects around our cottage, and I got a little bit of baking done.

Now, about that baking – The Fellow has always been on board for living a more natural existence. I, on the other hand, have been eating diet foods as long as I can remember. I’ve used artificial sweetener in my coffee and tea my entire life. I think I went on my first diet around age 13. Well, no more. I’m joining The Fellow in his way of thinking and am making an intentional choice to eat more naturally.

While we’re embarking on that journey, I’m also not dieting or limiting my intake of foods. If I want ice cream, I’ll eat it, and I’m also putting some heavy focus on not acknowledging any sense of guilt associated with that bowl of frozen deliciousness.

My hope is that once I stop depriving myself of things that I won’t binge them when I “fall off the wagon.” If it’s not a forbidden fruit, I can just enjoy them when I want them. In reality, The Fellow and I’s meals are really not unhealthy. It’s my snacking that needs some fine-tuning. I’m excited to see what my body does on real foods when I truly listen to it.

We’re in our third week, and I’ve made some great steps. I went from 5+ beverages a day (most with 2 packs of Splenda) to using a tablespoon of real sugar. We swapped our lunch meat out for whole turkey breast without any preservatives, and I decided that I would try to make our own sandwich bread.

My first attempt at bread making was an overwhelming success. They had a beautifully even color and were perfectly sized loaves of honey-sweetened bread. The recipe made 2 loaves and lasted us about a week and a half. The Fellow said it made for the best French toast he’s ever had.

Fast forward to Sunday night – I went to make the same bread for our next week’s lunches. I decided to experiment and see if I could squeeze by with regular all-purpose flour instead of bread flour. It was also a little bit warmer in our house. The dough went wild. I’m not sure if it was the flour, the temperature, or the amount of time I let it proof, but it exploded. The dough expanded over the edges of the bread pan dripping everywhere. It was a monster!

I trimmed the overflow off (which, of course, you should not do, as I was later advised by our friend who is in culinary school) and popped it in the oven. Half an hour later, I pulled the massive loaves out. After letting them cool, we managed to pry them out of the pans. The overflow had cemented the bread into the pans. I tasted some of the baked spillage, and it tasted nothing like the amazing loaves from the previous week. I double checked the recipe and there it was – salt. I was baking the bread amid dinner preparations and neglected to put in the salt!

The fellow says it tastes fine, just too sweet, but all I taste is disappointment. I didn’t even photograph it for on here.

(Update, if I spread it with butter and sprinkle some sea salt on it, it’s actually a nice snack.)

It was certainly a learning experience though, and I gained some valuable knowledge about bread. I am excited to try again next week.

What are your best recipe fail stories? Share them with me in the comments so I know that I’m not alone!

Hey there!

Part of my focus on intentional living is taking better care of myself, and self-care Fridays are one of the things I’ve implemented to do just that.

On Fridays, the Fellow goes out with friends, and I get the house all to myself. Now I love my husband, but we both live and work together so we’re together all the time. When he goes out on Fridays, I relax. There is no rush to get dinner made and get things done so we can get to bed at a reasonable time. I stay up just a little bit later than usual. I watch the terrible TV shows he hates and paint my nails.

My self-care Fridays are the time I intentionally set aside to rest, recharge, and reinvest in myself. Giving myself permission to enjoy my “me time” has been amazing. I have to manually turn off my brain and say, “This is OK.” I don’t allow myself to feel guilty if the house isn’t clean, or I should be working on MIAT, or whatever else has been pressing on my mind (like the bathroom closet which needs to be reorganized). I enjoy the little things that bring me happiness, like a new nail color. Knowing I have Friday night coming and that I am allowed to use that time to decompress makes such an impact on my week.

I  started getting acrylic nails a year or two ago and learned that I love how my hands look when my nails are done. I don’t have the daintiest of hands, but long nails make me feel feminine and graceful. I work in an office so I stare at my keyboard and hands all day. I’d much prefer to look at well-manicured nails than chipped and uneven ones.

Having my nails done make me feel that much more put together. It makes me want to pick out my outfit for the next day and do other things to put my best self out there. What are some of your favorite self-care practices?