Ahhh it's been a long few days of fun, delays, and alcohol.. I am probably half asleep right now being I am pre-writing this due to being half asleep. See how that works? :) Anywho, I will do a whole post on my trip in a few days.

Okay I do have my tickets, but I think bringing whiskey would be frowned upon and I already have some sweet company. Oh, and yeah, I am leaving tomorrow. Where you ask? Why I'm glad you asked! I have been keeping a secret from the world, and I am so excited to finally tell you! I am boarding a plane and heading down to the deep south to visit my best friend from kindergarten! We attended school together in the *gasp* 80's and reunited for a few days in the late 90's and its now been about 18 years since we have last seen each other. Thankfully the internet and social media reunited us again a few years ago and now I am finally getting to meet up with her and meet her family!

I now have an opportunity to show off my awesome travel tips. You see the first time I stepped onto an airplane by myself as an adult (I was 21) it just happened to be when all of those fun rules went into effect. You know the ones about liquids and little baggies and all that jazz? I have traveled a lot since then and have picked up some tips to get you in and out quickly. The tips I am sharing today will help you save money and time when traveling.

• Checking bags aren't cheap these days kids, so if you can cram all your stuff into a carry on you will be golden. You are allowed one carry on (Up to 45 in/115 cm (14 x 9 x 22 in or 36 x 23 x 56 cm) and one personal item such as a purse or laptop bag. Ladies you can pack a lot in there if you follow the tips below. 

This is the largest you can go with a carry on. I fit it all in for my 4 day trip!

• Get familiar with where you are going and what you are planning to do. I always start checking the weather 3 days before traveling to pack the appropriate items. This will keep your clothing options limited and won't cram up your bag with unnecessary items.
• Pack clothes that can be mixed and matched. This will allow you to make multiple outfits so you can save room in your luggage. This will save you lots of space in that carry on for souvenirs and other random things you may pick up.
• Make sure you have all of your liquids in the notorious plastic baggy so you're ready. This gets you through security so much faster if you are prepared.

Worse picture ever.. but it is my baggy. I crammed everything into that baby!

• Leave anything at home that you are unsure of. If you are nervous about something or really unsure, either look it up or just leave it at home. It will save you the frustration later.
• Wear shoes that can easily be slipped off. You will be required to take them off. They don't care if you are wearing boots that are laced up to your knees. They must come off. 
• Dress comfortable. This is not a fashion show ladies and gents. You will be shuffled from place to place and then forced to sit next so someone for the duration of your trip. Even if you are in first class, it is still close quarters and being uncomfortable is never fun.

Okay, now that we are packed like a champ, avoided frustrations in security, and saved lots of money on luggage fees, we can enjoy our trip! I am off on my adventure! See you all back here on Wednesday!

In the mean time I have some awesome guest bloggers coming your way Monday and Tuesday. On Monday you can expect some fitness humor from Christine over at The So-Called Homemaker and Tuesday, Stephanie from The Life of a Mother and Teacher will be talking about why she blogs.
I hope you enjoy what they have in store for you!

Follow me on Instagram to follow along with my adventure :)

As some of you know (Okay maybe none of you know) I just got over strep throat. (Life edit: I am battling round 2 of strep throat now! Arg!) I haven't had strep throat since I was like 12. Let me tell you, having it at 31 is a bitch! It came after having an endoscopy which already had my throat feeling a little uneasy, so full on strep was pretty awful. Anyways enough whining about that. My doctor strongly recommended I throw away my toothbrush after 2 days of being on the medication in order to not re-infect myself. Got it Doc.. Don't want that EVER again! (To late! I somehow managed to re-infect myself!)



I had been meaning to throw away the one I was using, mostly because it was not a good fit for me. If you read my blog before (You can read about it here) you would know I was using the Colgate Optic White toothbrush and it was rather large and really irritating to my gums. I was contacted by Colgate to talk more about my experience and we came to conclusion it was just not the toothbrush for me. They were kind enough to send me a coupon to get a new toothbrush to try. I chose the Colgate Slimsoft.

Look at those lovely bristles!

Let me tell you, this baby is like a dream come true to my gums. Every time I brush with it I feel like the bristles are giving each tooth a nice warm hug. It's such a nice feeling. The bristles are 17x slimmer than normal and really get in between the teeth nicely. They are so soft and gentle to my gums. I am trading my old toothbrush in for this baby full time. Mr. Optic White is taking a permanent vacation.


I am super happy with this toothbrush and will be repurchasing it when this one is ready to go (Well this will happen sooner than I had hoped! Stupid Strep!). I had such a fantastic experience with Colgate and their excellent customer service. I highly recommend letting companies know about products that do not meet your expectations or cause you some form of mishap. Most of the time these incidents can be resolved and the company gains valuable information about their products and usually gains a loyal customer if the interaction goes well.

So what do you think? Could you fall in love with your toothbrush? Which one do you use? Why do you like it? 

Since September I have not been feeling "good". Food has been my enemy off and on and I am constantly worrying about eating. I am gaining weight left and right and I feel like I am eating less and less. I have been sick more this year than I ever remember.  I have gone through numerous tests, all coming back with the same result: Normal. I have spent to much money and lost to much sleep over this mysterious illness. As much as I don't want to believe there is something seriously wrong with me, it would be nice to have a diagnosis.

Over the past 8 months I started to notice a constant in my life that I am starting to believe is the main culprit for my "illness". It saddens me to believe all of my problems have come from this. This nasty little bugger is stress. I didn't want to believe it at first; because how could stress be the main reason for my problems? I am constantly bloated, my stomach is upset and I get headaches galore. I have trouble sleeping, have pain in my back and often feel like I am having a heart attack. Can something as little as stress cause this? I did a little research and ended up on stress.org where they listed 50 common symptoms of stress. The answers I got were shocking to me.

# 1 on the list was frequent headaches.
# 5 is neck ache, back pain and muscle spasms.
# 14 lists heartburn, stomach pain and nausea.
# 19 chest pain, heart palpitations. and rapid pulse.
# 26 Insomnia, nightmares, and disturbing dreams.

There they all were. All of my symptoms listed on a common list of stress related symptoms. As I looked through the list I noticed others that I have experienced but weren't as severe. I am not a doctor or trying to self diagnose myself, but this seems like the logical answer to my question. What is wrong with me? All of the other tests have come back fine and I am so tired of hearing "Normal". Tired of being sick. Tired of missing fun events because I don't feel well. Tired of avoiding food because I "think" it is causing the pain. Tired of missing work. Tired of spending money on what seems like a lost cause. I am just plain sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Now the main question: How do I lower my stress level?

I have identified the major stress in my life and it's a hard one to get rid of. My job. 
Most people find that their job and money are the highest levels of stress that they experience. I am struggling with money like most people are, but I mostly blame my stress on my work environment. I would gladly take a lower paying job if it helped me release some of this stress.

I have taken on some new things to try and lessen my stress:
I started taking a 30 minute walk every day at lunch.
I have been trying to leave work at work.
I have started to make lifestyle changes with my diet.
I am drinking more water.
I am learning to breathe it out when things get overwhelming.

So far these changes seem to be making a good impact. I am starting to feel less sick to my stomach daily and I have lost a few pounds. I cannot change the situation at work, so I will change the way I look at it. With me luck because I am going to need it!

How do you all deal with stress? Any major things I should be changing or adding to my daily life? Anything advice would be much appreciated.

I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired ya'll.

While I was home over the weekend it made me realize how much I missed my cat Rocky. He was with me for a little while when he was a kitten, but I had developed an allergy to the kitten dander and had to give him up. My parents took him in with open arms and have cared for him over the last year and a half.

Baby Rocky

Since he has been living with them he has formed a special bond with my dad and another one of the cats in the house. He is happy there. As much as I would love to take him back now that he is grown up, I don't wan to dislocate him from all that he knows.

So for now he will stay with my parents and I will visit him when I am home. He still loves me just as much and that makes me happy. So without further adieu here are some cute little facts about my little man Rocky.

Adult Rocky. Always getting in to trouble with his bud Chip!

Deets
Name: Rocky
Nicknames: Rock, Rockstar, Rock-a-doodle, Rockers
Age: 2
Breed: Black and White Mut lol
Eye Color: Green
Sex: Male

• He has acquired a paranoia while outdoors and will not stay out if the front door to the house gets closed
• He likes to sleep and hide underneath blankets. He will cry if he can't get under one.
• He has acute asthma and often wheezes when its to warm outside.
• He is OBSESSED with little foil balls. He will ran around with them in his mouth for hours.
• He is sort of like a vegetarian when it comes to people food. He only likes things like carrots, lettuce and noodles. No meats for him.
• He has a high jump. He will do all sorts of acrobatics when playing and often jumps straight up in the air. 

I hope you have enjoyed this little profile on my favorite kitty. He is one of the loves of my lives and I am happy I got to introduce him to you all!


Reminder: Looking for guest bloggers for Monday through Wednesday next week. Please email me if interested. thetrishlist@gmail.com