Like many people these days, I do A LOT of my shopping on Amazon. Having a new baby in the house makes it hard to get out and shop, so throwing stuff in my cart and having Prime really makes life that much easier. I mean if I am being honest, I don't like to go out and shop, so I have been shopping this way since wayyyyyy before the baby. #lazyshopper

Let's see what I bought in June... (This post does include affiliate links btw)

We have been trying REALLY hard not to buy new furniture until we buy a house next year. I purchased this H.VERSAILTEX slipcover in the pretty blue to keep things fresh (and cover the damage my cats cause from thinking the couch is a scratching post!)

I really like this cover. It was really easy to put on and the price was pretty sweet ($45.99 and Prime approved!). We bought a pretty expensive one after our wedding back in September of 2016 and this one is comparable, but it almost feels more durable. I am excited to see how it goes.


Now that I am getting more serious with my blog again (and I really like to take selfies) I decided to try out a ring light for my phone. We all know we use our phones WAY more then we want to admit when it comes to taking photos (and pretty much everything else in life). This light by QIAYA is pretty great. For $12.99 and Prime approved, it is worth the try. It has 3 different lighting options and easily clips onto your phone.

We hear this saying all too often. "Home is where the heart is", but do we ever stop to think how true this is?

Our bodies are ultimately our homes. We live in our bodies everyday. Our heart beating keeps us going. It also becomes the source of our emotions.

Sayings like "Putting your heart and soul into it", or "She was broken hearted when her dog passed away" will reference the heart with an emotion.

Today I am thinking a lot about the emotion side of the heart and body because of something that happened recently.

The other night I was sitting in bed with R and our cat Grace. She wasn't feeling good through the day and she had lost a lot of weight. She came up into the bed and was being super affectionate and cute like she is when she wants attention.

My immediate reaction was, something is really wrong. Maybe she's sick and she doesn't have a lot of time left. Maybe she is here trying to comfort me so it will be an easy transition whens she goes. I had all of the emotions running through me.

My heart was literally breaking and full of love all at the same time. I wanted to be strong for her but sad because I love that little cat like she's my child. I sat there petting her and the tears started falling. She just kept on butting her little head into me, like "Mom, it's going to be okay. Please stop crying".

My body literally reacted to the emotions before I could even make that connection myself. The heart and emotions are such a powerful force of nature. My body reacted to these emotions and helped the tears along, which alerted Grace to comfort me more. Such a powerful moment.

I was able to calm myself down and talk about it with R. I wanted to be in control so I could prepare myself if something was wrong and she didn't have time left. This pushed my emotions into a place of comfort while I remembered all the times I spent with her. My silly little furball, who will only be 3 next month. Too young in my opinion to be sick and dying.

R comforted me to remind me we didn't know she was on her way out. We needed to trust that things were going to be okay. We needed to take her to the vet to have her checked out.

Yesterday she went to the vet, and miraculously she was feeling better. She was eating and seemed to have gained all this weight back, which I am not sure how that could even be. The night before she was so frail and I could feel every bump of her ribs and spine as I rubbed her back and belly.

I was relieved and felt whole again when the news came to me. I realized at that moment, that Grace is home to me. My heart reacted with those emotions because;

Home is where the heart is.  <3

I've got those Friday feels! This week has been long and it was only Wednesday when I realized it's Memorial Day weekend which means I go back to work in a week and a half. Booo! 8 weeks go fast when you're not sleeping and snuggling a little baby.

So a couple of things...

1. I feel like I need to start a new series called "Tales from the Midnight Feedings". There is always something happening when I'm up late. This week I was literally attacked by a spider! I was sitting in my rocker pumping when I looked over at the arm just as this black spider charged at me!

I literally jumped up, still attached to the breast pump trying to get away as I was being restrained by the pump. Good times. The spider then ran under the cushion. I kicked at it and it went running under the chair. Guys, I can't even!

This spring has been THE WORST for creepy crawlies in the house. I'm also dealing with ants. Why?! My kitchen is currently spotless amd they are still invading. God give me the strength not to burn my house down!


2. Next up, Baby Bloob turned 6 weeks old this week. He's eating like a 12 year old boy and I can't keep up! He is desperately trying to catch up because of being 5 weeks early, yet he is still in newborn clothes. We have finally graduated to size 1 diapers this week though. I call that a win.

3. I think Spring has finally showed up just in time for Summer. We are having pretty warm weather and lots of sunshine. We got our garden planted this week. It's small, but we are working with a hard situation. We don't have a water source outside, so we must haul buckets of water out to the field. We are praying for rain this Summer as last time we did the garden 2 years ago it was so dry nothing did well. *Rain Dance!*



4. I am working on a new series called 100 Dreams. Basically this is a list of 100 dreams I have broken up into 10 weeks. The reason for this is, it's really hard to actually come up with 100 dreams you have for yourself. I am doing this as a personal growth project. A friend of mine took a seminar on this and it's incredible what you learn about yourself and your strengths. Feel free to do this with me. I think it is going to be a great project!



5. Lastly, I think this is the first Memorial Day weekend that it is supposed to be really nice that I don't have any plans! Normally we are going to a BBQ or something and it rains. I am welcoming a calm holiday weekend being we need to catch up on some sleep and probably some housework.

What are you doing this weekend?

I want to also mention some gratitude before I end this. I am super grateful to have this blogging community to remind me to do me everyday. I am constantly struggling to not compare myself to what others are doing and that really makes blogging not fun. I want to thank everyone who has encouraged me to keep on going with what makes me happy. Love you all <3



Have a great weekend!

Namaste.

You guys.. Baby bloob is 4 weeks old today! How in the world did that happen? I sure as heck don't know. He is currently grunting in his stroller while trying to nap. Or at least that is what I am hoping is going to happen.

Little man at 4 weeks!

I figured today would be a good day to tell you a little about my little guy and go into the birth story. I am going to break this up into 2 parts because it will get a little lengthy.

If you were following along with this blog prior to this post, you will know that he his actual due day was May 13th, which is this coming weekend and Mother's Day.

When I found out I was due on Mother's Day, I knew it was a sign. I was meant to have this little guy. It was not easy and like many sweet ladies I know, getting pregnant is not the easiest tast. I was 34 when he was conceieved and that put me into the "old" category because I would be 35 when he was born.

I had a pretty text book pregnancy. He was growing and on track and I had no issues. As I got closer to my due date, my stomach was enormous. I got the usual questions... "Are you sure you aren't having twins?" and "When are you due? Are you sure?"

Messy messy bedroom.. oops. One of the last photos I took before baby was  born.

I was surprised I was all belly. I didn't put on any other weight that was noticeable. A total of 27 pounds. I was impressed. Towards the end of my pregnancy I joked that he could come early because I was so big.

Fast forward to April 7th, the day of my baby shower. I was getting ready to go on the 2 hour drive to Pennslyvania which is where the shower was being hosted, when I noticed some extra fluid after using the bathroom. I told R that I thought my water broke. He thought maybe it was just that we were getting close to my due date and that is all that was happening.

I called my mother and she had mentioned maybe it was just the mucus plug, which didn't necessarily mean I was going to have a baby anytime soon. We all agreed it was probably that and we proceeded to travel to my shower. I would just monitor the situation and call my doctor if anything changed.

I had a wonderful time at my shower visiting friends and family. I felt more antsy than usual but was also at that stage where I was pretty uncomfortable no matter what position I was in. I walked around a lot and everyone joked that I was going to make the baby come by doing that.

My shower was robot themed. We also did the nursery in Robots. It is not actually done yet due to little mister coming so early. We are working on it. Will post photos when we have it done. Also.. Baby bloob took the whole, welcome tiny human literally that day...

The shower ended with no unexpected guests, and we headed back home. On the drive I felt a little crampy, so I made the decision to call the doctor when I got home. I was told to head to the hospital to be evaluated so I packed a small bag and hopped in the shower " just in case". We got to the hospital at around 8pm and had a few tests run. While waiting me and R joked that little man wanted to come to his party so bad he got a little routy but now that he missed the party this was just a false alarm.

The nurse came back in with the results, and as she put it, little man REALLY wanted to wear his new clothes, because I was in labor. Say what?!

I was admitted at 8:35pm under the care of one of the doctors on call. Because at the time I was considered 34 weeks 6 days, I was not able to be cared for by a midwife. This would become super confusing as the days went on. More info on that later on.

I was told because my water had broke at 10am that morning, I should expect to have a baby by morning. I was also told to expect a 4 pounder.

Fast forward to midnight. I was not making any progress so I was hooked up to Pitocin to try to get things going. I was on a drip through the night. Because I didn't have a baby by midnight I was now transferred back to the midwives who I was seeing throughout my pregnancy. One of my midwives came in the next morning to check progress. Zero progress had been made.

It was also noted that even though I had amniotic fluid trickling down, not all of my waters had been broken. Let me tell you ladies, no one ever mentions how uncomfortable checking dilation and then breaking your water can be. I was not expecting that kind of discomfort.

But to soothe the discomfort I was told, now we should see a baby anytime now!

So here I was hours later, water broken, pumped full of Pitocin and no sign of a baby coming. My feet and legs were swollen, I was tired and I had no idea what was going to happen next. All I kept getting told was, the baby is fine and so are you. So now all we do it wait...

My poor, poor feet and legs.. they were just so swollen. I thought I was going to pop!

I am going to stop there. That covers 2 days of my labor. Come back on Thursday to read the rest of the story. Part 2 is more emotional for me so I need to cut this up. Not only for length but because I need to keep myself from bawling all over the place. You know, hormones, trauma, etc..

See you back here Thursday, where you may or may not cry with me.

Have a great Tuesday!

It's finally here! 2018. A year that everyone is hoping to be much better than 2017 was. As much as I am hoping for a great 2018, just as I wished for a great 2017, I feel like each year teaches us so much about ourselves.

I struggled a lot in 2017 with this blog. I came back time and time again to just fall back into the same cycles. Writers block. No time. Excuse after excuse.

I have been blogging just over 3 years and I can say with certainty that 2017 was the hardest for me to keep up with. I blogged less often. I fell through on my promises and I just overall felt pretty crappy about this site. I thought about giving it up, but couldn't do it.

I have seen people come and go over the years. I vowed I wouldn't be one of them. I was going to keep this blog going on forever and ever and ever. (What a great thing to fantasize about right?)

Looking back I can now see why I struggled so much. I wanted instant gratification. I wanted things to move quickly. I wanted this to be my source of income. I wanted to be just like everyone else that were doing it all.

That's where I went wrong. I was trying to be everyone else. Something I am not in my every day life. I don't strive to be like everyone else. I strive to be me. The blogging world is fun and I love it, but I do see times where it pulls me into that competitive place where I want to compete.

That's not what this was supposed to be about for me. This was a place to unwind. To connect. To share about my life and my interests.

Do I want to do this as my day job? Sure. But I want it to be on my terms and with my own ideas.

Over the past few months that I have been pretty absent from this space, I  have been working on things to unblock my chakras. I have not felt creative. I have felt pretty stagnant. I thought it was just about me being pregnant. I was feeling less active. I was more tired. Easy enough to blame on the growing life in my stomach.

After some Reiki, journaling, and some cleansing of my spaces, I am feeling a bit more like me. The one who started this blog for fun and enjoyed the space.

2018 is going to be a new journey for me on so many different levels. I will bring a child into this world that scares the crap out of me. I want to make this baby live in a safe place where they can be whatever they want to be.

I am also working on my again. It will be tough with an infant, but I can't let myself fall into that slump again or the baby will suffer too.

I will also be transitioning this blog over to my new site where I want to start fresh. Once I get that all settled I will share with you the address.

Until then. I wish you all an amazing 2018. I hope all of your dreams come true. I also hope you are happy. That is the biggest accomplishment  you can make <3

Namaste

Whew! Do I have a lot to catch you up on! I am excited for this post today. I am excited to finally be sitting down at my computer and writing. I really have missed it.

First thing first. What's been going on?

For the past 3 months, I've been ziplining with my mom for her birthday, driving 26 hours round trip for a girls getaway,  celebrating my one year wedding anniversary, and traveling to NJ for work were I got to see a Broadway play as well as a private tour of NYC at night with my coworkers.

I did all of this while.....


Baby "Bloob" as we are calling it, is due May 2018!

Today I am officially in my 2nd trimester. When we went for my first visit on 11/2 I was way further along than anticipated and pretty much out of my 1st trimester.

I will do more of a detailed post about this soon. but for today, I was just super excited to let you all know where I've been and give the happy news!

Happy Monday!

Life. It's always give us new twists and turns. Sometimes we have no idea what is just around the next corner. We can to an extent control those twists and turns, but sometimes they just come out of nowhere and we are forced outside our comfort zones.

The comfort zone is something I feel like I have been clinging onto for way to long. I have made safe choices and I hardly ever leave room in my life for risk. I am starting to feel like that is a mistake.

I am not growing any more because I am refusing to push myself. I thought I was pushing, but now that I look at the past few months, I've really made the same choices I've always made. It's a pattern so to say.

Today I am making a pledge to not just push myself, but to shove myself off that ledge. I have to many dreams I am not pursuing because I am staying safe. I don't want to regret those decisions in 10 years. I want to know I tried. I did everything I could to pursue those dreams.

If they don't work out, I hope I at least find another path along the way. But I will know I tried my hardest to get there.

This is something that has been pressing on my mind heart lately. It's been heavy. It's been a different kind of uncomfortable. It's a reminder that we all eventually run out of time, but also a reminder that it's never to late to start.

Maybe that is why this blog still seems to be standing still. I have ideas, but they never come through. I don't want to let this space go. I love coming here, but I also realize how much I neglect it and all of my readers by not showing up.

It's not you. It's me.

I'm the scared one. I need to get over that and let the creativity and ideas shine through.

Now on to figuring out how to get my butt in gear.

Namaste.

I realized I have never done an obsessions list. Or in better terms, a list of things I am loving at the moment. This came to my attention last night when I realized I have a very real obsession with a new drink I just tried.



My first obsession is kind of a double whammy. I am in love with the eatery CoreLife. This is a chain restaurant that opened here a few months ago. I have been several times now and it is amazing. It keeps me in check with eating healthy. The pricing is reasonable and the servings are large. They have selections of salads, broth bowls, and grain bowls. They have a fantastic blog as well that has healthy lifestyle tips. They currently have 23 locations and they are opening more stores through 2018!

Now this next obsession also comes from Core Life. They have a seasonal drink for Fall and it is apple cider green tea. It is to die for! It is just perfect in flavor. I am going to be super sad when this drink goes bye bye.

Now that it is officially Fall, I am so happy to get all things pumpkin and spice out. I will admit I have only had two pumpkin spice coffee's since they came out, but part of that is I work at home and I don't go out as much anymore. I am however rocking my Leaves candle which makes everything smell amazing. Obsessed.

I bought a new velvety soft blanket at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago, and now that it is getting chilly out. I am in love! It is just what I needed to keep my all snug and warm through the winter.

So what have you been obsessed with lately?

Happy Friday everyone! I just wanted to pop in to say hello and to assure everyone I was indeed alive. I finally decided to take a well needed break. September was super busy for me and I just needed a few weeks to be lazy on my couch. #sorrynotsorry.

So how are all of you? I hope well! I can't wait to catch up on all of your blogs. I miss reading. I will say it has been super nice to stay off my computer after work hours, but I do miss the blogging community when I'm taking a break.

I have so many drafts ready to go that I need to add finishing touches to, so hopefully I will get some done this weekend and get posting!

I celebrated my 1 year wedding anniversary on September 24th. I want to share on that. I also want to share on my trip way back on labor day weekend. That was an amazing trip and much needed. I also promised a stitch fix post on my 5 of 5 keeper.

It's all coming! I promise!

So tell me something good that happened to you this week?

Happy weekend!
Namaste

Tuesday sounds like a good time to talk about life updates right?

I had every intention of setting goals for September. I figured things would slow down as Summer was winding down. Man was I wrong.

Labor Day weekend turned into a very busy couple of days that wasn't planned for. I agreed last minute to house/dog sit.. so Friday and Saturday I made myself available for the dogs. We also had a birthday party on Saturday that we juggled in.

I had intended to relax those days as Sunday was my big drive down towards North Carolina for my girls vacation. I left my house at 730 am, picked up my friend at 930 am and we drove and drove. It was just after 8pm when we got to our hotel for the night. Long day.

We drove a few more hours Monday making a few stops along the way before arriving at our destination at 2pm.

We had a full day of relaxation on Tuesday but decided to start our drive home early. We drove 4 hours Tuesday night to get a head start.

Wednesday we drove the rest of the way home. I got home at about 8pm. Another long day.

I went back to work Thursday and Friday. Had to make another longer drive Saturday to attend a funeral. Again we left the house at 830 am and didn't get home until 1030pm.

I can't even remember what Sunday looked like at this point.

Another full week of work that seemed stressful and I didn't feel good. My body was tired and run down. Saturday was busy again. Teaching, apple picking, and celebrating a friends birthday. I was in bed by 1030pm exhausted.

So here we are at Tuesday, September 19th and I am kind of starting to slow down. Maybe just a bit. I don't see anything on my calendar for this weekend and I'm crossing my fingers that I didn't miss something.

Also, maybe I'll get a chance to write up a few posts that I have planned out. Trip details and my 5/5 Stitch Fix review.

How's your September going?

I have been seeing "first day of school" photos in my social media feeds for weeks, but today is the day when the kids go back to school in my city.

Last night I returned from a girls weekend in the mountains to an anxious almost 7th grader. He was packing his book bag, picking out his perfect "first day" outfit, and worrying all the same.

It took me back to my first days of school. I was a military kid so sometimes my first days were normal jitters and other times it was pure fear. I would sometimes start school with friends and sometimes I'd be the new student again.

I always loved the first day none the less. I'd get to wear my new "school" clothes and get to use my new supplies. I'm still a sucker for new office supplies.

It never failed the the first day of school would always feel just a little cooler outside. Almost like mother nature knew Fall was here and worked her magic to out a little chill in the air.

I'm sitting here typing this wrapped in a big wool knee length sweater feeling warm and nostalgic.

I'm wishing today was my first day back to school. Funny how that works when you're an adult. We miss the routine and innocence of being a child.

Instead I'm going to drink myself a cup of hot coffee, sit out on my deck, and count down the minutes until I have to go log into work.

Does the beginning of the new school year bring back memories for you?

By midmorning on Saturday I had come to conclusion that I needed a vacation from my social media platforms. I was running late to my yoga class that I was teaching and the only option I had to get in touch with my students was via Facebook. I sent them each a message letting them know I was running behind and left it at that.

I arrived at my class exactly 30 minutes late to a room full of no one.

I quickly checked my phone and realized people had only just saw the message and probably came to the class thinking I just didn't show up. I felt crushed. I felt like an irresponsible person.

 I sat in silence for about 10 minutes when the thought came to me. I needed to get my priorities straight and a big part of that was disconnecting from social media and taking more to phone calls and face to face time with people.

I sent message off to my students asking for their phone numbers (the place I teach only asks for email on the registration sheet). In the future I would call everyone to let them know if there was a problem before they made the trip to the class.

Once I had the messages sent, I uninstalled Facebook from my phone. I had previously uninstalled Twitter as my phone was getting full and I don't use Twitter half as much as Facebook.

I made the decision that social media was too distracting and wasn't always reliable. From the moment I removed the app, I began to think about all of the other things I needed to achieve for the day. I did find myself  checking my phone for the first hour, but after that the habit seemed to pass.

I had a massage and then went a bought myself lunch. After buying lunch I went into a few stores. I bought myself a nice plush blanket for the fall and winter months and I headed home. I had the day to myself as R was out of town for the day.

I made myself a hot cup of coffee and downloaded a new book on my Kindle and cuddled up on the couch with my new blanket (yes it was chilly enough at one point to do this!). It was nice knowing I was controlling my own feelings of the world at that moment.

There was no social media to sway my thoughts. I didn't have to scroll across the latest Trump drama or see a friend ranting about something that was probably important for them at the time but would also probably realize later that it was silly to post.

My feelings and thoughts were in the then and now and the only one who could change them at that point was me.

I enjoyed the New York State Fair yesterday without distractions from my phone. I was with my friends and her kids and I had so much fun interacting with all of them then messing with my phone. My husband was impressed that I was able to control not being on my phone all day. I was proud too, but a part of me knew already that it wouldn't be hard.

I continued to live off the "social  media grid" through last night around 7pm. I did sign in to check my Yoga page messages to make sure I didn't have any issues I needed to respond to and I signed back out.

I think I am going to continue to keep myself off of social media, other than to do work stuff. I will post for my blog and keep up with my yoga page, but other than that I am going to focus on other things. I am going to get other things done first.

After 31 hours of being off the grid I realized, I didn't miss much. If someone needed to get in touch with me, they did. When I scrolled through my feed quickly I didn't see anything so important that I felt I missed something. It was pretty magical.

Now to continue this week as this coming weekend I am literally going off the grid to the mountains of North Carolina where they may or may not be any form of cell service.

Bring it on!

Namaste.

Do you ever get the feeling that you're trying to hard, and nothing gets done?

Welcome to my life.

I have been on this spiritual journey this year to help me feel more grounded and centered in my everyday life. There is just one tiny little problem.

I feel even more lost today than I did 8 months ago.

Why is that I wonder?

Me, being the person I am of course had to do some research and thinking on my own about all of this and have come to the conclusion that once you start a journey like this you open up new channels of thinking.

I have had so many great ideas and new inspiration come to me through this journey, but now I am lost on how to implement them all.

I have gotten many signs alerting me that I am on the right path and that I need to continue to move forward. Sometimes you get the response you need to let you know you are on the right path, but it is up to you to figure out how to continue the path.

This is the part that I find most frustrating. I am forever grateful for my life and the things I have, but I get so stuck on moving forward on my ideas. I have a new website sitting there with 1 post and I have yet to move forward with it.

Why is that I wonder?

I'm afraid of change? Maybe I am afraid of success more than I am of failure? That question has not been completely answered for me. As I mentioned on Monday about the solar eclipse, I am onto a new 18 month life cycle where I have set intentions of moving forward in these changes. Since the eclipse I have felt physically and mentally drained.

I can only hope this is a sign that things are moving within me and change is finally on it's way.

In the meantime I am going to make an effort to meditate everyday and practice more self care. A massage is scheduled for this weekend and I've sat for 10 minutes in mediation this morning. Here's to opening that thought process and moving forward.

How do you feel when you get lost? What are your rituals to get you back to center?

Today is the day. The solar eclipse we have all  been waiting for. Today means a lot of different things for different people. Some are only into it for the science. Some just think it's cool. For others, they use this as a day to set good intentions for the next cycle of their life.

What do I mean? Well if you follow astrology and believe in the energy and power of these events, this is a pretty powerful day. It is believed that when the eclipse happens we are setting ourselves up for 18 months. We need to be prepared to live the intentions we set today. An old cycle is coming to an end, and if  you aren't sure what is ending for you, you need to look back 18 months.



For me, I know what is ending for me. It was a very difficult 18 months, and just yesterday it literally hit me out of nowhere how much has changed, for the better from 18 months ago. I believe in this with all of my heart. I can see the cycles in my own life. Whether they are in my head or actually occurring, I guess I don't know.

I do notice my moods and performance in everyday life changing with the stars if you will. Today I need change. Today I am looking towards the sky and the energies for the next cycle of my life. I can not let myself stay down after my insanely hard week last week.

I don't want to let myself or others down by living in the negative. I need to honor those who have passed by living the best life I can live. I need to continue their missions to make this world a better place.

So grab those eclipse glasses, and maybe some stones, or sage, or anything else that helps you set good intentions and embrace today with pure love and positivity. Your 18 month into the future self will thank you.

Namaste.

The air became so insufferable, I could hardly breathe. My chest was tightening and I felt like I was losing control. Time stopped and I could not get a grip on reality. The moment lasted a lifetime. My focus zeroed in on death. Why death? Why was your name attached to the word death?

It became silent. Was I just punched in the stomach or was I shot? I couldn't tell. I should probably seek medical attention. I must be severely wounded. Where am I? Everything is different now.

That's when I felt it. The tears streaming down my face like a warm summers rain. I felt comforted and like I was drowning all at the same time. The warm tears flowed down my face as I became aware of my surroundings again.

You are gone. How is that even possible? You were just here yesterday showing us what a bad ass leader you were! You were radiant as the confidence flowed off your body. I couldn't see you, but I could hear it in your voice. You spoke with such ease.

Today my eyes are swollen. The tears continue to come. How could someone so young, compassionate, funny, amazing, be gone so soon? You had a life time ahead of you. You had many more speeches to make. You had so many more peoples lives to touch.

This was Allie every single day. Kindness.

Your last month of life was challenging for you, but you took it with a grain of salt. You smiled. You laughed. You joked about your bad luck. But no one could see this one coming. How could we? The universe played one not so funny joke on us. They made a mistake.

We were supposed to get together next month and have that drink that reminded us of paradise as we sat outside on the patio, laughing about work, life, and anything else that came up. We were all supposed to be there.

Sweet gentle soul, you have impacted my life more than you could know. I hope I told you daily how much I appreciated every thing you did for me. I have 10 minutes before I need to be to work and I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can sign in knowing you won't be there to tell me some funny story about your cat, or how diet chocolate shakes aren't really food at all.

Please God, the universe, my angels above, give me the strength to get through this horrible time. As I stare through these swollen eyes and breath through this stuffy nose, remind me and everyone else that life is so damn precious. We all get in these places where we don't feel like we are enough.

Allie reminded me daily that I was enough. She reminded me that even on my worst days that I could do this. Today at work her presence is unknown. But today I know she is sitting with me holding my hand, reminding me that I could do this. Reminding me that she believed in me.

7 months was not long enough for this friendship. 27 years was not enough for her life.

Rest easy my beautiful friend. Your soul will forever be in my heart.

Namaste.

**I do not own the photo I posted above. Through tears I saved this because it reminded me of my dear friend. If this is yours, thank you for making this. It truly speaks volumes for the beautiful soul we lost.**

Today is the day (with a few bumps in the road! Oh technology!). A new link up is born! For those of you who are new to the blog, this link up will be a monthly link up that will occur on the third Wednesday of each month. It is a link up for entrepreneurs  to link up their latest projects, collaborations, sales, etc.



I want to share the love. Please make sure you are sharing the love as well. These should be blog posts, not just links to your business. Also share with your friends! The more people who know, the more people you can show (your business too!), and the bigger we grow!

No rules other than if you share your business, please share the love and visit someone else's page!

Each month I will be featuring a business!

Thanks! Have fun!

Some weekends I feel like I am stuffing too much into 2 days and by Sunday afternoon I am exhausted. This weekend I am coming off a high of sorts. I had so much fun and even though it did tire me out, it was a different type of tired.

On Saturday my mom had a birthday and she wanted to go ziplining. Now a little back story. Me and my mom went ziplining in Montana a few years ago and we both loved it. When I asked her what she wanted to do this year for her birthday and she said ziplining, it didn't completely surprise me.

We went to Camelback Mountain Adventures in Pennsylvania. It was a little over an hour drive from my parents house, so  it was the best option for us. We got there around 4pm and we were able to zipline twice and the weather was excellent. Camelback was amazing and the staff was super helpful! I recommend it if you are looking for some adventure and are in the area!


My first ride was so freeing. I felt like I could leave behind any stress I had as I soared through the air. My landing was not so graceful, but that's okay. No one got hurt and that's all that matters. My mom went down before me and she had a blast.

On my second ride down I wanted to take video of my mom ziplining down. I had my phone aimed at her and at the end I realized I messed up the video and did not get the video I wanted, but I ended up getting this random photo of my self.

After a busy weekend of new babies, outfit changes, and food shopping I have come to the realization that I need to lose some weight. Yes a subject most women hate to talk about, but indeed it is time I face the facts. I'm overweight.

During my work week, I swear a lot of leggings and comfy oversized shirts. When I had to put on actual pants this weekend, like jeans, they were pretty hard to get on. I wanted to cry, but it was that moment that made me decide it was time to make some changes.

Many years ago when I was going to the gym regularly, I was working on a 10/10 schedule. I would spend 60 minutes at the gym broken up to 10 minute increments between cardio and weights. I would do three sessions of cardio in between three sessions of weight lifting.

This may not work for everyone, but honestly I get bored really easily. My attention span when it comes to working out wanders quickly. Working on a 10 minute incremental schedule like this helps me keep to the hour I planned and keeps my body guessing on what I will do next.

I did this routine last night for the first time in 7 years and it was awesome. I was able to commit to the whole hour without ducking out after 30 minutes. That has been my routine whenever I go to the gym lately. I barely break a sweat and I'm ready to go home.

I am planning to keep a schedule as follows:

Monday: 1 hour at the gym: 10/10 routine
Tuesday: 1 hour at the gym: 10/10 routine
Wednesday: Teach 1 hour yoga class (50% rest)
Thursday: 1 hour at the gym: 10/10 routine
Friday: 75 minute yoga class as a student
Saturday: Teach 1 hour yoga class (50% rest)
Sunday: Rest

I am going to follow this schedule for 4 weeks and re-evaluate and make tweaks. I am confident following this schedule will show me some results by that 4 week mark. I am not planning to lose weight quickly, but I am confident I will notice a difference by then using this schedule.

On top of exercise I have already upped my water intake and cut out soda and juice. I went food shopping yesterday and stocked up on lots of fruits and veggies, lean proteins, and healthy snacks. I feel very confident about all of these changes and can't wait to reap the benefits of all the hard work!

Do you have a routine you follow to stay on track?

Have great week!

Hey all!

Popping in on this fabulous Friday to say hello. I also wanted to announce a new creative thought I had over the past few days. I want to do a monthly share/link up for all of you beautiful souls. I want you to share your businesses! I want to be able to support you all in anyway that I can! I will also pick out businesses of the week from each monthly link up to feature on my blog for free!

I am doing this because I simply believe in just being a good person. Being a good person helps bring luck back to you. I strongly believe that.

The only thing I ask of you in return if to return the favor. Help your fellow entrepreneur's out. Whether you are a girl boss, a boy boss, or just getting started, sharing the love is always the best way to get your business moving.

This link up will start on Wednesday August 16th, and will continue every 3rd Wednesday of each month!

More info to come soon as well as a graphic. I will also come up with an official name for the link up!

Also more exciting news on Monday about where this link up may end up...

In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on this! Do you have ideas? Do you wasn't to collaborate with me on this? Let me know! Always wanting to share the love anyway that I can... Plus doing things with friends is more fun!

Happy weekend beautiful souls! See ya Monday!