#Blogtober14: One Thing I Can't Live Without AND a Friday Happy Dance

Ok before I get into my #Blogtober14 post of the day I have to tell you guys about something that happened this morning that was SO EXCITING!!  Seriously, I’m still on cloud 9(999999…)…

I got a notification on twitter and saw this:

 

 

And I was like huh?  (side note: I’m not all that great of a tweeter and if you follow me than you have likely noticed that all my tweets come from Instagram… but that’s kind of cool because you see photos right?)… so I clicked on the link and Amanda had included one of my posts in a list of her favourite posts from the past two weeks!  How cool is that??  Coming from this little blogger right here, pretty dang cool.  Insert an immediate happy dance!!  Thank you for making my day Amanda!

 

So I’m only 3 posts into #Blogtober14 and this one is so. freaking. hard.  Nice work Helene and Taylor, really making us work for it.  One thing I can’t live without?  I thought about asking my husband but I knew immediately what his answer would be so there was no need.  And I immediately had the same answer.  And I was totally kind of ashamed.  So to help reduce my shame I am breaking the rules and listing five.  Oh and I’m not including people, pets, etc. 

 

 

1.  The one thing that I definitely could not live without…  at this point in my life… and I desperately hope this changes but I don’t think it’s going to… is my phone.  Ugh.  How gross is that?  But alas, it’s true, and if I’m not on my phone I am on my iPad.  I need a life.

 

2.  The second thing that instantly came to mind (thankfully) were my wedding and engagement rings.  I have literally turned around and drove home to get them one morning that I forgot to put them on.  I hate leaving the house without them because of what they symbolize for me and my husband (apologies for the cheese).

 

3.   I can legitimately not function without lip balm.  And actually, I am now so addicted that Aquaphor is pretty much the only thing that gives me relief.  I have to limit how often I use it because I don’t think there is anything else that would work.  And I always put it on before I use a coloured gloss.  It’s a legit #firstworldproblem.

 

4.   I need my car. I might hate driving but I have a lot of places I need to be and I’m all for public transit but we don’t have a good public transit system.  I looked into taking the bus to work and it would take 1.5 hours of transit time each way – 3+ hours of travel time five days a week??  He!! no!  Plus I just need to be able to go where I want when I want to, immediate gratification and all that.

 

5.   Last but not least, I am going with my morning protein shake.  This is because I am too lazy to eat breakfast and I just wouldn’t if I didn’t have a shake.  And then I would eat like crap for the rest of the day because I would be starving and shove anything and everything into my face.  Seriously, that’s what I did before I discovered protein shakes. 

I am also linking up  with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition!

 



 

 

Oh Hey Friday | Regroup. Refocus.

I am so relieved that today Friday.  Not just the normal ‘Yay! It’s Friday and I have a whole weekend of fun ahead of me’ but I need a mental break.  My weekdays are so jam-packed and I need to figure out a better way to survive function.   

In addition to working 8.5 hours a day with a  1-1.5 hour commute Monday through Friday, I have taken on a side gig that can really only be done during the week, after my other job.  So now three days a week I get up at the crack of dawn – actually it was still dark this week – so I can leave my day job by 3:30-4:00pm to do some side work.  And then I have to go home and make dinner, clean up, spend time with my hubby, crawl into bed… and then I try to blog.  I love this little space of mine.  I can’t remember the last time I felt so freaking excited as I do when I get a comment on a post or an email about my blog.  It makes me feel so so so good.  And right now I want to put so much energy into my blog but I am so exhausted and I feel like I’m doing the opposite and it’s actually suffering.  I have posts I want to write but have simply been too exhausted this week.

You may ask why I have taken on this side gig when it’s kind of wreaking havoc right now… well it’s an opportunity that was presented to me by a woman I truly admire, the closest thing I have to a mentor.  I jumped at the chance to work with her, to learn from her and I am determined to do what I have to in order to succeed.

I need to regroup. I need to focus.

And as a result, more Friday randomness coming your way…

1 | I want to try meditating
I need to clear my mind. I know what's important to me, I know what I want to do, I know what I need to do, but I feel like I need to shut everything out and empty my head. Relax. Breathe, really breathe. And then I can make a plan, map everything out and make it work for me and my family. 

I hear Oprah and Deepak’s 21 Day Meditation Experience works really well… have any of you tried it?

But let's be honest here - this is probably how it will actually go for me:

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2 | Blog love = SEO
My blog needs some serious SEO TLC. As in I'm basically not doing any. Thankfully I have been working with Kristyn from Chits and Giggles and she has found some great resources for me. I am actually really excited to work on this stuff and hopefully get some more exposure.

3 |Sales Plan
My new gig is all sales. I have never done sales so it's a steep learning curve for me. I need to strategize better, make a plan for say, a month at a time. I feel reactive and to be more in control I need to be proactive. If anyone has any sales tips or advice on cold calling, please send them my way!

4 |Coconut Oil
My skin is so awful right now! I am breaking out like I did in high school! And my rosacea is at an all-time high. So when I saw this posted on Instagram yesterday I took note... I haven’t been living under a rock so I have heard of all the benefits of coconut oil. I figure there is no harm in trying it on my face so wish me luck! I will keep you posted.


5 | SOA Season Premiere
Hubby and I wanted to re-watch the last few episodes of season 6 so we knew what was going on and we finished the last one last night. So tonight we are watching the premiere and I. am. so. excited. We are getting butter chicken from our favorite place, wine obviously, pjs and snuggling on the couch.

Oh and Jax. 



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Linking up with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition!

 

 

Oh Hey Friday | TV Edition

A little late to the game as usual but better late than never right?  And I have to go dump a bucket of ice on my colleague for the ALS ice bucket challenge in a few minutes so I am going to get right to it.  At the end of the day the husband and I unwind and catch up in front of the TV and of course during the summer it can get boring because there aren't a lot of new shoes… and the Mr. isn’t all that into watching Netflix (can you believe that??)… so we mainly watch reality TV in the summer.   Thankfully we have found a few shows that we enjoying watching together.

 

1 |  Big Brother 

Every spring the husband and I start getting excited for two things that summer brings (see what I did there?): lake house trips and Big Brother!  I'm not sure why we love it so much but a gigantic small part of me think it's because it's on 3 nights a week when the rest of TV is on hiatus.  Normally I really dislike summer TV series because who wants to wait 9 months to see what happened in the season finale cliff hanger??  But with Big Brother the show ends, there is always a winner.  

I am not as invested in the cast this year though, maybe it’s all the new twists this season but they all seem kind of blah.  If I had to choose I think Nicole and Derrick would be my favourites and - spoiler alert! – I thought that before she won the jury competition to get back into the house last night.  Derrick has been able to keep a low profile and manipulate things behind the scene and I think if he makes it to the final 2 he will win it all. 

Is anyone else watching?  Who are you rooting for?



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2 |  Hotel Hell 

I must have some form of sadomasochism rooted inside me because I love me some Gordon Ramsay.  I watch all his shows and my husband’s favourite thing to call me when I’m destroying cooking dinner is a donkey, British accent and all.  No worries though, it’s all in fun.

 

Should I be taking pointers from Gordon to become more confrontational?

 

3 |  Keeping Up with the Kardashians

Yes, we watch this gluttonous show (and all the spin-offs)… it’s kind of like a wreck that you can’t turn away from.  Khloe is by far my favourite and I would love to sip champagne with her for just one day.  Do you think she drinks real champagne or sparking wine?     

 



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4 |   Deadliest Catch

Even though it has its fair share of drama, this is probably the tamest reality show I watch with the Mr.  I’m not sure what exactly draws me to it but I like the cast and I practically salivate when they haul all that crab up time and time again.  Get in my belly!

 

We have a family friend who was a crab fisherman (as in retired to do something more relaxing – running two brew pubs and raising angus cattle;) and that shit looks crazy. I would never be able to do it, or at least I would be completely miserable the entire time.  And I’m clumsy so would somehow get taken out by a crab pot for sure, and the Coast Guard would be my new best friend.

 

5 |  Teen Mom 
I’ve already confessed my addiction to this show and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.  The best part is that the Mr. watches this one with me and is always excited for ‘Crazy Mom’ (thank you Babs!).

This season’s favourite for me is Chelsea but the hubs is with Jenelle and Crazy Mom all the way.

 

BONUS! |  The Big Bang Theory  

Obviously this show doesn’t have new episodes in the summer but we still watch it and I simply can’t exclude it.  From day one this has been my all-time favourite show.  I love Penny, I adore Sheldon (hubby even got me a bobble head in Vegas!), I love Leonard and am so happy for them to finally be engaged!  I really want Penny to get pregnant because that chick loves her wine as much as me and if I can watch my future self do it then maybe I can laugh my way through in real life (fingers crossed we get to experience that).

For me this is that show that I can turn on halfway through and I can watch every episode on repeat because I just simply can’t ever get enough.  The only complaint I have is that our friends named their cat after Penny because ‘she’s dumb just like the character’ and I kind of feel like they stole my future baby name.  Not that I was planning to name my future daughter Penny but if anyone in our group of friends should have get a dog, cat or even fish and name it Penny I am pretty sure it should be the person with two t-shirts, a sleepy cat pillow, a Sheldon bobble head and a series recording.  In other words, me.   I wonder how much it will take for me to bring that up…



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Well friends that’s all I have for this fabulous Friday… it’s 5 o’clock somewhere right?

Cheers!

Linking up with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition!

 

 

Oh Hey Friday: Time to Get Moving!

What is the one thing that flies right out the window on vacation... well at least for me? Any sense of food control, exercise (not like that was high on my priority list anyway), smart alcohol consumption (the Mr. is constantly asking me "have you had any water today?" because even my coffee is half booze)... when I am on vacation I am in, ALL IN.  And now that I am no longer on vacation my body is paying the price.  I feel tired, sluggish, grumpy and uncomfortable and the only thing that really fits me right now are yoga pants and oversized shirts.  Really sexy.
I'm not doing great in the motivation department so I am hoping if I make some changes then I will start to feel better and that will make me want to keep going, keep working on myself.  
So here are five changes I am determined to make.   1 |  Fitbit and My Fitness Pal.  My fitbit battery died while we were away and I took that sucker off and didn't give it another thought.  It's time to get it back on my wrist and also use my Fitness Pal to keep track of what I'm eating.  
  2 |  Drink more water. I am going to go back to drinking three big bottles of "super water" (I have been putting lime and cucumber in a pitcher and my husband loves it).  I am also hoping this will help curb my appetite because all I want to do all the time is eat.  Constantly.  Has anyone discovered the miracle appetite pill yet?  

"super water"

3 |  Walk more.  10,000 steps a day.  I can do it.

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4 |   Vitamins.  I was doing really well with the gummy vitamins but then the husband went and bought horse pills that I can barely swallow.  At least the gummies feel like a treat so I am stocking up tomorrow! 

5 |  Focus on the future.  I want to have a baby but I don't feel healthy enough to get pregnant. If I am serious about being a mother then I need to be serious about my future baby's health as well as my own. 

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I know I can do all of the things I listed above, I just need to commit to them.  Wish me luck!  

What changes did you make to get healthier and feel better, and how did you stick to them?
 

Linking up with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition!

 

Happy Friday Friends!