Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Ain't It Funny How Life Changes.....


Well I realize it's been a very long time (almost 8 months!) since I've written here!  The last time I wrote I was getting ready for the Indy Mini Marathon in May, I was doing another Whole30, I was living my everyday normal life: going to work, taking care of kids and a house.  Well I did complete another Whole30 (HOLLAR!).  I also got another PR at the race on May 5th (HOLLAR!).  Life was pretty good.  The school year was winding down for the kids.  And this is about the time the proverbial rug got pulled out from beneath me.  My (then) husband filed for divorce.  There had been conversations about this topic before, but I obviously did not have my eyes or ears open, nor did I believe this would ever happen to me.  So I found myself looking back at the past 22 years of my life and everything that I believed and thought and trusted in.  My life as I knew it no longer existed.  

Ain't it funny how life changes
You wake up, ain't nothing the same and life changes
You can't stop it, just hop on the train and
You never know what's gonna happen
You make your plans and you hear god laughing
Life changes, and I wouldn't change it for the world, the world, oh no
And I wouldn't change it for the world, the world, oh no  (Life Changes ~Thomas Rhett)

There are many things I could say about what led to my husband filing for divorce.  But I do not feel this is the place to air my dirty laundry.  I also know that there are two sides to every story and there is also the truth.  I just have been reminding myself over and over that everything happens for a reason.  It may takes weeks, months, even years to figure it all out.  But nothing in life is wasted and there is always something to learn.  I've also learned that just about every country song is about a relationship, a break up, or getting over a relationship or break up!!  


So what have I been doing the last 7 months?!? (besides listening to country music)

1.  I've learned A. LOT. about myself.  I've learned I am way stronger than I thought I could ever be.  I've learned I can get shit done!  I've become way more independent than I thought I ever could be.  I've dealt with things I never thought I'd have to deal with.  I've become a happier person.  I've focused a lot on myself.  I've gotten sad and mad, but have quickly gotten over it.  I also found out how many people really love me!  #NewMe

2.  I bought my house from my ex and myself.  I applied and qualified for a mortgage all by myself.  I got that done in less than 60 days!  I then decided to paint my horrible orange and brown kitchen a beautiful shade called Mindful Gray and absolutely love it.  It's amazing what a new paint color can do.  It's kind of like starting all over which I felt like I did every single morning I got up. #BeginAgain

3.  I picked up more hours at work.  I officially became a 40 hours/week employee.  Something I hadn't done in over 15 years!  I also had to get my own insurance benefits from my employer. Something I hadn't done in over 21 years!  So basically I became a functioning member of society all by myself.  #LifeGoals

4.  I've done more things that I never had to do before.  Yard work.  Unclog toilets. Take out the garbage.  I've also learned to take care of myself.  I've clung to everything that Whole30 taught me.  I decided I could either get fit or fat the last 7 months.  A friend from work and I decided at the last minute to sign up for a fall mini marathon.  I think we had less than 8 weeks to train for it.  And wouldn't you know we crushed it!  I got my PR in November with a time I never would have thought possible.  I have been healthier this time of year than I can ever remember.  No Christmas chub for me this year....hallelujah! #TakingCareOfBusiness

I cling to the promise that "The Best is Yet To Come!!"  When someone tells me, "You look happier" (which has happened several times), that is the best compliment I can receive.  I truly believe the best years of my life are ahead of me.  





Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Whole 30 So Far This Year

I thought I'd do a Whole 30 2018 update.... I know everyone's been waiting for this 😃

JANUARY
I started a new round of Whole 30 on January 1st.  After more than 2 months of awful eating (hello Reese's pumpkins and trees, Halloween candy, Thanksgiving, and Christmas food everywhere), I felt awful.  My clothes were getting tight.  My scrubs at work were getting tight.  The Christmas chub really caught up with me.  I'm not going to lie, this round of Whole30 was my worst one!  I felt better, but not amazing like other rounds.  My clothes fit a little better.  And I started really training for the mini marathon which is May 5th (Cinco de Mayo).  I finished my 30 days, and went back to "normal" eating.

FEBRUARY
For some reason February seemed like a really long month, even though it's the shortest.  Weird.  I continued adding miles each week to my running.  I would do a short (3.1 mile) run on Wednesdays, then a longer run on Saturdays.  Our gym started a running club, so a co-worker and I would meet at 8 am Saturdays to run.  I also started eating more.  My mindset was "hey I'm running lots of miles each week, so I can eat whatever I want", which is totally the wrong way to think.  I would buy a treat that would turn into 3 or 4 days of eating junk.  Then Monday would come and I'd try to start eating healthier, then the cycle of running/poor choices would continue.  Crazy!!

MARCH
More running.  More bad eating.  Every time I would start to make better choices, something would pop up.  I know.  Life happens.  Easter candy makes a yearly appearance.  Chocolate is on sale...I buy it....I tell myself "it's for the kids"....then next thing I know I've eaten an entire 6 pack of Reese's Eggs. (do you see a theme here?!?)  I should know better by now.  I keep adding more mileage every week.  And I tell myself a new round of Whole30 will start the day after Easter...April 2nd!!

APRIL
Easter arrives.  I eat a lot of food.  I eat a lot of dessert.  My niece made a three layer cake with buttercream frosting, and I eat a large piece.  I'm almost to the point of nausea from food-overload.  I know Whole30 starts tomorrow.  So I wake up Monday morning rearing to go.  By 3:00 that afternoon I'm dizzy, nauseous, and have a horrible headache.  I try hydrating and finally take some tylenol.  I want to go to bed.  I know that 2 months of eating junk is not good, and my body is telling me this same information.  Thankfully I wake up feeling much better the next day, and every day after that!  I'm doing well this round, and I'm going to feel great for the Indy Mini Marathon.  I've had two 10 mile runs the last two weeks, and have not died yet!  My clothes fit so much better.  My scrubs aren't tight...hallelujah!  We have to order our scrubs at work, and I didn't want to have to go up a size!  I keep telling myself to remember how good I feel right now.  I'll update once the #IndyMini is over!!

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

My Completely Honest Review of The City Museum in St. Louis

It’s Spring Break time here in Indiana.  My kids have 2 glorious weeks off. (We are on a balanced calendar schedule, so our break is a little earlier than most schools.)  It’s definitely not warm! It’s the first day of Spring, and it snowed. I’m a nurse who works with lots of other moms of school aged children, so taking time off during school breaks is a precious commodity.  This year, I took ½ of the first week off so I could spend some time with my 12 year old twins. Their almost 17 year old brother is on a church mission trip this week. So I decided to take the twins to St. Louis rather than sit around the house and fight for 3 days.  Might as well fight in another city!

I’ve heard lots of good things about the City Museum, and did a little research.  The day I planned to go I woke up in the hotel room with the worse case of vertigo ever.  I’ve never had this before, and don’t know what cause it. I’m saying I was dehydrated from driving all day the day before, then not drinking any water the rest of the day.  Who knows?!? So we got a much later start than I had planned. Our hotel was on the south side of town, so by the time we got downtown it was a little past noon. I knew the museum closed at 5:00, so we’d have at least 4 hours there.  It was a very cloudy cold day. The website mentioned the serpent parking lot that charges $10. I totally missed that lot, but ahead was a giant sign that said MUSEUM PARKING and a guy waving a flag. I totally fell for the flag waving, and thankfully we pulled into a ground floor spot.  When I went to pay it was $15, which I wasn’t going to complain about. It was covered parking and there were free dum-dum suckers for the kids! So we left the garage and it started raining (of course I left my hooded coat in the car because I didn’t want to carry it), then the flag waving guy comes running out to tell us we are walking the wrong way (of course).  So the walk to the museum in the rain took even longer. We finally find the group entrance and walk around until we find the area to pay. I’m soaked and now carrying 2 wet sweatshirts!

We paid our admission fee of $14 each person.  Our total was $45.86. We were each given a City Museum bracelet to wear.  They recommend writing your phone # on your kids bracelets...highly recommend.  I saw 3 lost kids in the time we were there….one hysterically sobbing...and two normal frightened/lost kids.  There’s also a sign reading “NO WI-FI. PLAY WITH YOUR CHILDREN”. Also note there are no physical maps. I’m guessing this saves paper and money.  But I have no idea if we saw everything in the museum or not. There is a large outdoor climbing/play area that was closed due to weather. We were bummed about this.  The outside climbing area looks like lots of fun and would make for some great photos!

There are tons of tunnels, slides, crawling mazes, and places kids can pop out of.  Some of them you have no idea how they got there. You look up and there are kids above you….pretty strange.  I’m a tall mom (6’) and I’m training for a mini marathon so my knees are not in the best shape right now. Also the vertigo was better, but I was definitely not feeling 100%.  There’s no way I could have crawled through any of these tunnels. Also the darkness kind of freaked me out. Luckily I have 2 12 year olds, so I told them they had to stay together at all times.  And I showed them where I’d be waiting. Every time they found me! I would not have sent younger kids or kids by themselves through these. I saw a few loyal dads with knee pads on, and I saw a few freaked out moms because they had no idea where their kids were.  There are multiple slides in the museum. The slides were my boys favorite parts. Crawling to them not so much. They were definitely sweaty after a couple of slides, and they are both in pretty good shape. I was a chubby, not in shape kid growing up, and there is no way I could have done half of the stuff in this museum when I was a kid!  Seriously! Also if I had younger kids, I don’t think I would have let them climb by themselves. Like I said I saw 3 lost kids in the time we were there.




After being there for close to 2 hours, they said they were ready to go. I talked them into some food hoping they’d get a second wind.  We got 2 small pizzas, 3 waters, and 2 chips for the price of $25.25. The pizza was a cracker like crust, and my kids did not enjoy it.  I carried around 2 boxes of pizza the rest of the day because I’d just spent $25!! I talked them into walking around a little more. We found a couple areas we hadn’t seen yet.  There was a warp wall which my boys enjoyed climbing and another slide. That lasted maybe another 30 minutes. And that’s all I could squeak out of them. By this time they were more than ready to go.  So we took another rainy walk to the parking garage (we took the right way the first time), and went back to our hotel.

*We totally missed the circus.  I think we would have enjoyed watching it.
*The roof was closed for the season.  I’m sure it’s open in the summer.
*Having the outside part open would have been way more enjoyable for my kids.
*We bought nothing at the gift shop.  My boys didn’t even want to look inside!
*No one in my party got lost!
*Total spent $86.11

So that’s this mom’s take on the City Museum.  When I asked my boys if they’d go back they said only if they could play outside.



Wednesday, February 14, 2018

The Masterpiece

Happy Valentine's Day!  Just a quick book I want to share with you all.  Yes, its' a love story, but it is also a great read!!  This was originally an Instagram post, so I actually finished this book a week ago...

So I just finished The Masterpiece this morning! Redemption and Romance are the two themes woven throughout this story. She uses a graffiti artist as one of the main characters which I found interesting!  I loved getting to know the two main characters and how they use the past to connect to their future.  Kind of like the love God offers us on a daily basis.

My favorite quote from the book.....

“God had been drawing them to Him from the time they were children, both desperately in need and longing for a father. Long before they knew Him, he had been at work in their lives. The Lord had promised those who believe that He would take away the stony, stubborn heart; give them a tender, responsive heart; and put His Spirit in them so they could follow Him.” 


As a Tyndale blogger, I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review.  Opinions are mine.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Whole 30

* photo from whole30.com *


So I just finished another round of Whole30 yesterday! I honestly can’t remember how many rounds I’ve officially finished. I’m thinking 3 maybe 4? Anyway January this year has been the slowest month ever. I just saw an Instagram post that said it feels like January 74th.... and that’s exactly how I feel. I’m hoping February goes a little faster. To celebrate my Whole30 today I ate a Greek yogurt (the zero additives kind which I'm pretty sure was a Kroger freebie) and a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips because I know how to par-tay!!!  What do the next 30 days look like? I’m thinking more healthy eating and more Whole30. The Indy Mini will be here before I know it. Then summertime! Come on May!! Come on warm weather. I’m never going to complain about it being too hot after this winter.  (Yea right!?!)