Kelly

The Haps…

February 7, 2016 By kelly Leave a Comment

Okay…dumb blog title, but I’m cutting myself some slack because I couldn’t think of anything more creative at the time I sat down to finally update.

So, some good things are happening around here lately…

Mickey and I rocked out and completed our first Whole 30! We haven’t gone off the wagon yet, either. He’s had a little piece of candy Macey saved for him, but only ONE, and we have both tried a little reintro of cheese, but we are mostly sticking to plan. Last Tuesday (February 2nd) was Day 30 and I’m so proud of us for making it all the way and beyond! I cannot say enough about how beneficial this has been for both of us. W30 isn’t supposed to be about weight loss, but I’ll say that’s a nice little perk. Besides that, we’ve both had an upswing in overall energy, clearer skin, far less snoring (not me!), no headaches in weeks, and MORE. Also, a big shout out to Mickey because he not only did all of this, but he went so far as to cut his caffeine habit completely which, frankly, is a serious accomplishment. I’ll be perfectly honest and say that it’s not the easiest thing to start, but once you’re rolling it gets easier. The keys, I really believe, are to be over prepared with your food and recipes and to have good support.
One of my 2016 goals was to experience some firsts this year and I’ve done some of that already. In January, I attended my first volunteer leadership conference with my job. Sure, it was work, but it was AMAZING and was a first for me! Just last week I had another first in that I treated myself to a salon hair cut and color and went with some purple highlights. LOVE it and so glad I took a chance on that first. Firsts can be totally fun. I’m digging this firsts thing.
I’m also working on my goal of being more intentional this year. I’m not just saying “Hey, let’s get together sometime”, but I’m saying “Hey, let’s have brunch. How’s Thursday?” It doesn’t always work out, but putting the intentions into action have been good and have given me some good family and friend time already this year, with more in the works.
I recently read Nobody’s Cuter Than You: A Memoir About the Beauty of Friendship by Melanie Shankle and looooooved it. It was just what I needed to read and I highly recommend it for friends. Seriously, get yourself a copy of this book today if you haven’t ready it already — it is just THAT good. I have honestly never read Melanie’s blog* but I probably should since I enjoyed her book so much. And I’ll pick up others of her’s too! (*Sorry, Melanie, if you ever randomly stumble upon this blog…which won’t happen, but…just in case. Gotta have my manners in place.)
We recently had a little family retreat to a cabin in the mountains in North Georgia. It was a sweet little cabin, just perfect for us, and secluded. Ahhh!! We had plans to maybe hike or make a bonfire or all sorts of things, but the main thing we did was have some R&R which, honestly, was just right. We also went to see the band I am They in concert which was great!! If you haven’t given them a listen yet, let me recommend them too.

So, that’s the basics of what’s going on around here lately. Plus, I mean, work and school, trying to keep up with laundry and housekeeping (and failing like crazy), while maintaining what little shred of normalcy we can muster. In other words…life is good.

Best,
Kelly

Just a few pics this time.

A side view of my new ‘do. Can you see the purple?
purple

The view from the front door of the cabin:

cabin_view

Mickey and me before the I am They concert:
honey

Our girls before the concert:
girlies

Reclaiming January.

January 10, 2016 By kelly Leave a Comment

I’ve realized that if I’m going to write on this blog and share stories and such, there is a degree of transparency that I have to be willing to submit to in the process. While I’m not talking about delving into the deep of “total TMI” situations, I do mean that I feel that it’s good sometimes to share thoughts and experiences because, you never know, someone out there might benefit from knowing someone else has been through the same. The possibility may even be remote, but I was thinking about this today. I want to be as transparent as I can be on this blog mainly because I want to keep it real and I want to connect with people on that kind of level.

So, if I’m just being honest, January isn’t my favorite month ever. I just don’t dig it, generally speaking. It’s stinkin’ cold (which I don’t like), the joy of the holiday season (Thanksgiving through New Years) has passed, there’s very little football, usually, for our teams, and January has been a time of loss in our families. For three Januarys in a row (2003-2005), we lost Mickey’s Grandma Lois, then his Grandpa Vic, and then his good friend Brian. Needless to say, in 2006 we didn’t want to answer the phone much in January. Not being fearful, mind you, but just not wanting to face another loss. That next loss didn’t come until last year, but it was a big one for me because my beloved Pop passed away on the 22nd of January. As I have said before, and I’m likely to say over and over again, I miss him every day. So…January is really not a month I tend to look forward to even with the turning of the calendar for a year and all.

I wouldn’t say that I suffer from seasonal affective disorder at all, but I do know that I most certainly get the winter blues. Typically, in January I will just feel a significant decrease in energy, I’m more tired, my motivation lacks, and what I really want to do is sleep and eat. I sort of feel like Eeyore. (No offense to the adorable gray donkey, but we can all agree that he’s not the happiest of sorts.) I have tried taking supplements to combat it, but it didn’t really seem to do a lot. I even asked for, and GOT, a sun lamp for my desk to try to help it this year.

Last Monday, I was feeling it again. It was the first day of Whole 30, but it was also just a day when the winter funk was on me like a heavy blanket. I did start using my sun lamp on my desk at work, but it was flippin’ cold because the building heat had apparently been OFF over the weekend. I basically felt like a human popsicle all day and I just didn’t feel like ME, besides. Then, a rassafrassin’ headache settled in on me and had me awake at 2:30am on Tuesday and, just…UGH. Seriously. Stink!! On Whole 30, you’re encouraged not to take any OTC meds, but, listen – it had to happen. Diffused oils weren’t cutting it and it hurt to so much as move my head AND I wasn’t able to sleep due to the pain. Enter a decongestant tab and some ibuprofen. AHH! I went back to sleep after being awake more than an hour and, just being real here, I was a total negative nelly (which is not like me) thinking there would be no way I’d be getting up on time or able to go to work the next morning. Guess what? The alarm went off and I was fine. Significantly reduced headache and I didn’t feel like a truck hit me. I did pop a couple more meds throughout that day, but I didn’t feel horrid. I also kept with the Whole 30 plan, of course, and I also continued to use my sun lamp during the day. Okay…fast forward a couple of days…by Thursday I could NOT believe how good I was feeling! I’m feeling THIS GOOD IN JANUARY?! WOO HOO!!! This is awesome!

If I gain no other benefits whatsoever from Whole 30, just feeling this much better, in general, is amazing!! In addition to having more energy, I’ve also gotten rid of some post gallbladder surgery issues I had been having for weeks! I am just amazed!! In seven days of being on this program, I’ve already seen incredible results. I’m not talking about a scale – heavens no, I avoid those jokers like the plague. I feel a resurgence. I feel like the me I want to be. I’ve reclaimed January! And, that is pretty stinkin’ cool!

Kelly

Two Days into Whole 30…

January 5, 2016 By kelly Leave a Comment

Well, here I am…two days into the Whole 30 plan. And, I’m making it. Barely. No, I’m mostly just kidding around when I say that. It’s really not that bad, but, then again, I’m only two days, six meals, into this thing. For me, when I do any change in eating, the key for my success or failure is getting past day three. Seriously. I have gotten to day three in other plans before, sailed through and had success. I’ve also gotten to day three and fallen head first off other wagons. It’s make it or break it time. In other words, tomorrow is key. And, to that end, I’m preparing myself to steel my will, double down my resolve and continue to make it happen. I’ve done my meal prep, so at least I’m ready. That’s usually a deal breaker right there. I get behind, don’t have what I NEED to eat and…bam…I’m shame spiraling into QuitsVille. Not this time. Nope. I’m going to stick to it. Please wish me luck!

So, let me back up a little and talk about how I got here in the first place. I’ve been hearing about The Whole 30 for awhile now and have heard all along that yes, it’s challenging, but it’s worth sticking with to get results. And, frankly, I need a reboot. I won’t go into lots of detail at this point, but, well, a lot happened in the last year and I’m a stress eater PLUS I have a mouth full of sweet teeth AND carbs are delicious. Like I recently read on FB, “It’s all fun and games until your jeans don’t fit anymore.” Ahem. I’m not one to weigh myself because I get obsessive about it and the number drives me crazy. So, I honest to goodness, I have no earthly clue what I weigh right now and I’m okay with that. Ever since I gave up the scale, I have reminded myself that the number I am concerned about is the one on the tag in my jeans. In other words, as long as they fit well, I’m good. Well, right now, some do and some — not so much. Besides that, I’m prone to the winter blahs and I need an uplift in energy. Basically, it came down to the fact that I really felt like I needed a reboot. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to challenge myself. Surprisingly enough, I got Mickey on board too. So, we’re both doing it and we’re both determined to succeed. Yes, it’s challenging, but it’s not impossible. There are way harder things out there and I know it. I don’t even have to go into a list to say that people HAVE to do things every day that are unbelievably hard – they don’t even have a choice. So, I won’t begin to say what I’m doing is hard. Challenging? Sure. Any hardcore change, even for “just” a month, will have challenges. But, this isn’t hard. Hard is a word reserved for other things, not this. This, I can do. I may have stupid sugar withdrawal headaches and I may get the worst case of the grumps ever, but that’s temporary. Better things are to come and I am pushing forward to THOSE THINGS. Bring on the “tiger blood” and the better sleep. I’ll sludge through some headache mess for a better feeling ME. Oh yes…I sure will!

So, back to day two. It’s been a little bit on the BLAH side at times, but I find that my energy level tonight is elevated from what it normally would be at this time of day. I woke up with a wretched headache in the middle of the night last night, despite defusing my trusty oils, and I was MISERABLE, so I did cave and take some meds. That helped me rest which I needed. I had a dull headache most of the rest of the day, so I hydrated like it was my job. I also found that eating helped my headache subside. I know I’m not out of the woods as far as the “icks” from sugar detox go, but I’m seeing that it’s not insurmountable. (And, when I read this blog entry from Whole 30, I see the crazies are probably AHEAD of me for a few days yet. ACK! But, the pay off should be more than worth it!) What I know for sure is this — succeeding at something difficult will feel ten thousand times better than quitting when the going gets tough. I can hang tough. VIRTUAL FIST BUMP, PEOPLE!!

So, that’s where I am today. Two days down, 28 to go. It seems a long way off now, I’ll be honest, but the time is going to pass anyway, so I might as well be doing something to make me feel better. Plus, I have Mickey doing this too AND I have the support of friends also on the journey. If you’re on the journey too, I’d love to hear from you. To me, the keys are determination, preparation and dedication. I’m bringing it! Whole 30 or bust!

Blessings,
Kelly

fun_games

Okay, 2016…Let’s Do This!

January 1, 2016 By kelly 1 Comment

Two blog posts in two days. Say WHAT?! I’m certainly not willing to say I’ll post every day for long periods of time, but this is a pretty decent start to reviving the old blog.

NYE 2015 was a pretty fun evening. Typically, the fam stays up and I go to bed because I am a go-to-bed-early girl (ask ANYONE I know) and I’ve always said the new year was coming in with or without me, so I could ring it in behind my eyelids, thankyouverymuch. With that thought and plan in mind, we made plans to head out to the square for dinner and then catch the 7pm ball drop. Right here and now I’m owning my wimpiness because I don’t do late and I don’t dig big crowds. So, this seemed ideal because it would get us out of the house for a bit AND I could be in PJs fairly early. Win/win! And, it really turned out to be a fun plan. We had a great dinner and then did some cute and fun stuff around the square before the drop was to happen at 7pm. Here’s our family in a selfie just before the drop:

nye2015
(Side note/question: WHY do my side bangs separate lately?! Dude.)

Just before 7pm, the countdown started and DOWN rained stuffed Chick-Fil-A cows. I am totally not making this up. It happened. If I’m being completely honest, it was fairly anticlimactic, but…whatever, we made the drop. HAPPY NEW YEAR…in England! Cheers!! And, off we scurried to head home. It was colder than we anticipated and we didn’t want to fight crowds, so we got up out and I’m not even remotely ashamed that we were home by 7:20pm.

The rest of our evening consisted of much vegging, watching “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” and catching some of NY Rockin’ Eve. I did NOT anticipate making midnight, but once the movie was over and it was almost 11, I knew I had to suck it up, buttercup. So, I did. I made midnight. Barely. HAPPY NEW YEAR again…this time in Georgia! And, off to bed. YES!

I had every intention of sleeping LATE this morning, but I woke up at 8-something or other and only snoozed slightly past. One thing nobody really tells you about being over 40 is that sleeping in really isn’t as easy as it used to be for a whole lot of reasons. But, there’s coffee in the house AND we can still have stevia and creamer since Whole 30 hasn’t started yet, so I was motivated to mosey on downstairs and start my day. Plus, being up before the girls gave Mickey and me some time to commandeer the WiiU and play some Mario Kart this morning. He dominates that doggone game, man. No joke. He has no shame in kicking my tail, but I digress. It was pretty cool just to have some mindless video game fun, just the two of us.

Macey got moving and we eventually poked the bear out of hibernation — I mean, we woke Mariana. We met up with our friends, Helen, Chris and Lewis for brunch at Goldberg’s. Remember how I posted about experiencing firsts this year? Well, I did one today. I had never had a latke before, but I had a couple with brunch today. Seriously delish! Good food and great company started our New Years Day off just right!! Came home and tried to nap, but I had a nap fail which annoys me because WHO FLUNKS AT NAPPING BESIDES ME?! For the love. Got up and did very little of anything for about an hour and then I prepared our traditional southern New Years meal. We had pork (well, not me — the fam. I don’t dig the pig.), turnips/mustard greens, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese and cornbread. Yea, it rocked.

ny_meal

Had a little family round of Mario Kart after our meal. Mickey is seriously shameless, y’all, and beat the stuffin’ out of the girls and me. No shame in his game. While that was going on, I had peanut butter cup brownies in the oven, so we had those after he outraced the girls and me. We decided to watch another movie and went with High School Musical. How in the world did this movie come out ten years ago already?! Gah. Unreal. But, hey, it’s campy fun and it was an easy watch.

So, that’s our day. 2016 is off to a great start. Although, if you spend your year, per wives tale, doing what you’ve done all day on the First, we are going to be lazy slugs this year. Just keepin’ it real. But, no…really, we did have a low key day, but it was a great day. Family time, friend time, good food — well, that’s just what we needed.

Here’s to 2016 — may it be kind to us all. As I posted on my FB a couple of years ago and again today, let’s embrace the good times, share the burden of hard times and love all the time!

Blessings,
Kelly

Good Enough for Target…

October 27, 2014 By kelly 3 Comments

Is it just me, or do you ever have those mornings where you just can’t find a darn thing to wear that you like and feel good in, even though you have a closet full of clothes? Just me? Nah, I didn’t think so. We’ve all been there, right? Especially us ladies because, let’s be honest, this is a girl talk here. Whether we are at “fighting weight” or if we have some excess baggage, there are just days when the we have that busted-can-of-biscuits feeling when getting dressed. What’s with that, seriously?! This was my morning…

Get up, get breakfast ready and on the table thanks to the help of my awesome husband. (Seriously, we have a morning routine that rocks!!)
Pack snack for our third grader, get her ready and out the door she goes with Daddy so he can take her to school on his way to work.
Toss a load of the dog’s blankets in the washer because, YUCK, they reek!
While the washer is going, make middle schooler’s lunch and check emails, etc.
Throw the dog’s linens into the dryer and rush up to take a shower.
Here’s where the crazy hits. Today is going to be unseasonably warm, so I wanted to dress appropriately. Grab a pair of cropped jeans and…oh no…it’s a busted-can-of-biscuits day. Awww man!! So, I think maybe I’ll find a long top and make it work. Only, shoot!, all the long tops I have really look better with open toed shoes and since I’ve had zero time to do my toes OR have them done, that’s not an option. Plan B, a cute tee and scarf with the cropped jeans. Where’s a black tee? Every mom has a black tee she can go to, right?! Evidently not a short-sleeved one for this mom. Throw on a cute crochet top, NOT HAPPENING. Find an orange-ish tee and decide it’s okay. It’s good enough for Target after carpool and that’s all I’m really after at this point in time. Only, crud, it’s apparently lost its shape after a few washes. UGH. Ditch the cute cropped jeans and go to my favorite pair of ripped jeans that I cuff at the bottom. Again I say…good enough for Target.
Not feeling like a fashionista, I head off to the carpool and then to Target. While in Target, my ever faithful Google Calendar app texts me and reminds me that I’m working the front desk for my volunteer shift today at middle school. EEP! I forgot because it’s a new day for me. Throw it into high gear and Target and dash home because, seriously, the ripped jeans and crazy tee that were Target worthy are NOT middle school front desk worthy. Not even.
Get home and grab an old faithful, but still CUTE and well structured, black layered t-shirt dress, iron that right quick, throw on a scarf and some boots. Ahhhh…now, I feel like ME. And, that’s good enough too.

So, does that resound to anyone? Do you just get it SO wrong some mornings despite your best efforts? And, you just think, after a point, whatever you have on just has to be good enough for the carpool…or Target…or the grocery store…you get the drift. (No offense to Walmart, but I’d say most of us wake up and roll out of bed Walmart worthy. Can I get a witness? I mean, no one ever made a website about the People of Target, so clearly we are doing okay there.) Those days can just make you feel like a SCHLUMP, can’t they? I know because I just went through it myself. You just find yourself feeling ick and you truly want to go to the store where you are least likely to see anyone you KNOW and just want to get in and out of there so you can skitter on back home. I get it and I lived it today. But, let’s be real here, we all do it. So, go to your normal store. If you see someone you know, don’t be mortified because we’ve all been there. Even the most put together of us has felt that way at some time or another, I’m sure. Being on point all the time is just too much. Every so often, we just need to give ourselves a schlump day and let it be. I tried not to let mine define my morning. In fact, I’m probably going to put those holey jeans back on because they are comfy and I am all about some comfort today. Sure, I like the dress and boots, but comfort is the name of the game for the rest of this day.

You know what’s ironic about my schlump morning? Thirteen years ago, on this very date, I was a bride. All dressed up and done up to the nines. All aglow with wedding and marriage happiness. Today, I’m a happy, blessed and BUSY wife and mom. Today I’m not decked out and I’m not in any finery, for sure, but I’m sure happy where I am. Oh yea, I felt like a sausage this morning for a little bit and I truthfully didn’t want to see a soul I knew at Target, just keeping it real, but it’s better now. When I look at my life on the whole, I see happiness and that’s what matters most. And now, here’s to a HAPPY 13th ANNIVERSARY to my sweetheart and to putting the busted-can-of-biscuits morning behind me to focus on a great day!

Kelly

PS: A wedding photo from October 27, 2001. I sure do love this man of mine!