tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91697498599547107422024-03-13T15:12:49.986-04:00Nicole: My Life. My Blog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger326125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-47161898972353060492017-07-11T23:00:00.000-04:002017-07-11T23:00:22.094-04:00This past year.I am the world's worst at journaling. I am the world's worst at a lot of things. And as you know, consistency is not my thing. It's something I truly yearn for & just haven't figured out yet. I also yearn to journal, so I feel guilty and beat myself up a lot about that.<br />
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Beating myself up isn't why I am posting this update though.<br />
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A whole year has gone by and I haven't blogged. and I LOVE blogging. Seriously, I do. So, that just goes to show ya. Maybe I just have more time in the summer so I finally get around to it. I wish I blogged more. If anything, I may just start a private blog to ACTUALLY journal. I can type my thoughts so much quicker than I can write them. And I have a lot of thoughts, y'all, contrary to what some of you jokesters may think! Some that may or may not be "public appropriate."<br />
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But actually, I've been a little busy this past year.<br />
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<a href="https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/19959034_10103017557607458_6808865148960810542_n.jpg?oh=02d18daa6b74a034a2be408f2d95f897&oe=59C71E34" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: 1 person" border="0" height="200" src="https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/19959034_10103017557607458_6808865148960810542_n.jpg?oh=02d18daa6b74a034a2be408f2d95f897&oe=59C71E34" width="150" /></a>Karis Jane is no longer 3 months old.... HA! She is 16 months now, and just the best. Words can't express my love, the pride, the joy that girl brings my heart. I can't imagine a better child. I will believe until I die that God hand-picked her just for me. He knew what I could and couldn't handle. He knew I had no idea what I was doing. She's getting so big, so much more independent. But when anyone asks her whose girl she is she will plain as day tell you, "MA-MA!" That just makes my heart so full, y'all. She did say Da-Da and Nana for a while when asked that question, but she said Mama one day to the question & hasn't looked back. (Sorry DaDa & Nana!)<br />
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<a href="https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/19429784_10102971722391598_299725372123084714_n.jpg?oh=0cc0e9b32f3a1c6dc4c15d33f76a19b8&oe=59FFFE25" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: 1 person, baby and outdoor" border="0" height="200" src="https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/19429784_10102971722391598_299725372123084714_n.jpg?oh=0cc0e9b32f3a1c6dc4c15d33f76a19b8&oe=59FFFE25" width="150" /></a>We took her for her now second beach trip this summer and she was a champ. She didn't sleep the whole way there & back like she did last summer when she was 5 months old. But, she played until she was wore out, napped great, waved to everyone on the beach, wasn't scared of the ocean, and was in her normal amazing mood 99% of the time.<br />
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She spent this past school year with Danae & her boys, Easton & Gavin, two days a week. That was a Godsend and I will forever be grateful to Danae for loving my girl so much. I never worried about her care and got some super sweet momentos from their craft days. KJ loves them all! KJ's "Nana" watched her the other 3 days of the week & that was a blessing in many forms. The most I worried about was her spoiling her rotten....which happened....so, that's that. Karis LOVES her Nana!!<br />
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Joke's on Nana though because after she spoiled her rotten, we moved into my in-laws' house! We sold our second home & are in the process of building our next, hopefully forever, home now. I know the Lord is calling us to build instead of buy. First, He calls us to be wise with our money, and buying right now just isn't the wisest decision for our family. Building is going to have to teach me patience, and the Good Lord knows I need it. I want it, and I want it right now. I am not a fan of waiting.<br />
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So now we all get to spend lots of quality time with Nana & "Pop," which is a blessing because they're also the best. I couldn't ask God for better in-laws. And Karis goes and hangs out with her Mimi (my mom) & Mawmaw (my grandmother) two evenings a week for a couple hours so they can get their Karis fix.<br />
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On April 25th we lost my beloved Pawpaw. I don't have the words right now for that. My heart has not fully healed, nor do I think it'll ever. Maybe one day I'll blog about it. But, I know Mawmaw's heart is happy, even for a little bit, when Karis comes to visit. Some days I work all day & miss that girl so much, but I know she needs her Mimi & Mawmaw time too. And plus, that gives me a couple hours of "me time" to do whatever I need or want to do.<br />
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I have been spending any "me time" I get starting my own little business, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/NicoleMullenDesigns" target="_blank">Nicole Mullen Designs</a>. I sell mainly digital files on Etsy & so far, it's been a success! I really want to pour myself into that because it gives me the best return for my time. Time is so of the essence, y'all. I am learning that more and more these days. I have also started a Facebook group "Nicole Mullen Designs" to share what Cricut creations I have worked on for others & for our little family. (Join!) It keeps me as busy as I let it. I have to rein it in or else it'll consume me. I wish I could take orders from everyone full time, but realistically, I can't. So I've had to learn to say no. Which is hard, y'all!! I hate to turn down money too. But, again, time is of the essence. (I think I'm using that term correctly. I mean: time flies & you don't get it back, so spend it wisely.) I enjoy doing what I can when I'm able. I love making people happy & creating for KJ & myself.<br />
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<a href="https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14102430_10102320649896098_91803546432009499_n.jpg?oh=7f28a63f1f38731c64c8199258a5d74d&oe=5A0B342C" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, eyeglasses and text" border="0" height="200" src="https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14102430_10102320649896098_91803546432009499_n.jpg?oh=7f28a63f1f38731c64c8199258a5d74d&oe=5A0B342C" width="200" /></a>I am about to start my second year at Fred T. Foard High School. It has definitely been a change in scenery & I am grateful for the opportunity to work there and to have wonderful coworkers. I do miss my Hickory High people but keep up with them & their shenanigans and meet up with them as often as I can. FTF has given me the ability to spend more (again) TIME with Karis this year, being a little closer to home & us dividing the workload to enable me to leave at a decent hour most days. There's no way I could have done everything I was doing at HHS & have a newborn. I would have driven myself crazy & missed so much of KJ's first year. The Lord knows, y'all. He knew what I'd need & he knew I wouldn't leave that place for just anything. He made a way & opened a door & I am forever grateful for that.<br />
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Where this year will lead me, and us, I don't know. I hope to blog more but won't promise you. We have a couple big things coming up, including my big 3-0 (eek!) & hopefully this time next year we'll at least be settled into our new home.<br />
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Until then....<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-30261497205865742772016-07-07T22:18:00.000-04:002016-07-07T22:26:33.710-04:00My Time at Hickory High <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Two and a half years ago, I closed a chapter of my life and started a new one. I started a whole new career in a place I didn't know a soul. I was desperate for change and eager to learn. I traded in my DSM as a mental health counselor and entered the school counseling world! I still had to travel half an hour to work everyday, and I had to get up earlier, and I couldn't wear jeans anymore. I didn't know how much I'd love it, but like I said, I was eager and ready!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graduation 2014</td></tr>
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I joined the staff at Hickory High School mid-year, which I don't ever recommend for a brand new school counselor. I had a lot to learn and asked my team members a million questions. I learned quickly and there was a handful of students who I gained actual relationships with who I was able to help in my short time with them before they graduated that June. That felt nice!<br />
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The next two school years I had the wonderful experience of working with some of the best in the business, seeing how things <i>really</i> work in a school, gaining some unforgettable relationships with some of the most amazing young adults, and doing what I could to help my team, my students, and my school.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graduation 2015</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graduation (morning) 2016</td></tr>
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Growing up, going to Lincolnton High, I had Wolfpack pride! Especially after my years at Appalachian State, my "pride" colors were black & gold! For a few years I will admit that I cheered for North Lincoln High School, but that was only because my brother was playing football for them. After he graduated, that wasn't a thing. I luckily got to put my black & gold back on for a couple years when my cousin Nick played football for LHS. That felt good to pull for my home team again! (If you know me, I'm not usually at sports events unless I know the players. I'm <u>their</u> fan, not really a "sports" fan, ESPECIALLY if it's cold out.) So when I joined the staff at Hickory High, I have to admit, it was weird. I have never been "a part of" another school before, aside from Lincolnton High. I didn't own anything garnet & gold... sounded like Redskins colors to me!!<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W90YnV1GR8w/V38LFNALY7I/AAAAAAAAPS4/c7wam4odLH4EnTjnuJU19RyekAgB1wBuwCKgB/s1600/hickory3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W90YnV1GR8w/V38LFNALY7I/AAAAAAAAPS4/c7wam4odLH4EnTjnuJU19RyekAgB1wBuwCKgB/s200/hickory3.jpg" width="200" /></a>Slowly my wardrobe grew and I now have approximately 700 Hickory High t-shirts and random garnet & gold wardrobe staples and accessories. When people around town (Lincolnton) would see the magnet on my car of the Hickory High logo, they'd ask, "Why do you have THAT on there?" and my reply would always be "That's my school!" and I meant it. Hickory High had become my new home. I was proud of my school and my students. I loved my job. I didn't love the commute, but I loved working in Hickory, you know, near Hobby Lobby & Target. If I'm going to live in Lincolnton without sufficient shopping, I might as well work in a town that I can shop in, amiright?!<br />
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I gained some close friendships at Hickory High in my coworkers, but what I value the most is the relationships I formed with students who (I feel) really needed me and I was able to help. I know I didn't get to "save" them all. Heck, I know some of my students didn't even graduate. But don't think I wouldn't stop on the side of 127 if I saw them walking down the road to ask them why their butt isn't in school. I love my kids. I truly care about my kids. I will be in their corner, root for them, advocate for them, and do whatever I am able to see them succeed. Trust and believe that. I love working in such a diverse environment. Hickory has it all. The low of the lows, the high of the highs. (Is that a saying? If not, you get what I'm saying.) I mean that in academics, as well as in socioeconomic status. It has students who can't read on a middle school level. We have students who can get into whatever college they want. We have homeless students. We have students who live in mansions. I LOVE the diversity at Hickory High. I think because it reminds me so much of the diversity at Lincolnton High. I'm a sucker for oneness, living together, and learning from each other.<br />
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I have learned through my time at Hickory High School that I can. I can learn. I can try. I can do. I will fail. I will learn lessons. I will succeed. I also learned that home is where you make it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My HHS baby shower in January 2016</td></tr>
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June 14th was my last day as a Hickory High Red Tornado. It was a very sad day for me, but it helped that I was hurrying to pack up and head out because the building didn't have air conditioning, haha!! I will obviously miss it, but am excited to start a new chapter in my career, as a Fred T. Foard Tiger! I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me there. I've heard nothing but great things about the school. Hickory will obviously hold a special place in my heart, but <b>home is where you make it</b>. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*See story below :)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>*Funny story: Returning from maternity leave, I needed to pump at work to continue to breastfeed KJ. Twice a day, I had to go in my office, lock the door, pump, and pretend I wasn't there. The first time I did, I must have forgotten to put a sign on my door, so my amazing pal, Frank Pait, put this sign on my door. Now that's love!! I used it every pump session for the rest of the year. :) I am going to miss the friendships and moments such as this-- just simple signs that say, "I got your back." Poor Mr. Pait, surrounded by all those women!! Haha!! </i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-23951640360131842332016-06-26T20:19:00.002-04:002016-06-26T21:36:34.382-04:00Becoming A MotherA year ago today.<br />
A year ago today my life changed forever.<br />
A year ago today was one of the most exciting days of my life.<br />
A year ago today I found out that I was a mother.<br />
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I am a firm believer that I became a mother when Karis was formed in my womb by our wonderful Creator, God Almighty. But once you KNOW you're a mother, everything changes. Your mind changes, your anxiety level changes, your body starts to change, your priorities change, your eating and drinking habits change, your prayer life changes, your marriage changes, your conversations change... you get my point.<br />
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A year ago today was one of the best days of my life.<br />
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A few weeks before this, my gal pal, Becky, was over and (of course) talking to me about babies, pregnancies, and whatnot. That was the topic of conversation 99% of the time those days. She must have been newly pregnant, because she was telling me that she found out she was pregnant with both of her pregnancies four days early (pp) on a $1 Dollar General pregnancy test. I was shocked! I don't know why, but I just always (wrongly) assumed you had to pay $10+ for a test to tell you accurately if you were pregnant or not. Well, once I found out you could accurately find out for $1, it was game on!<br />
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I knew I would be getting a visit from Mother Nature soon, so I thought, "What the heck!" For months I had been thinking I may be finally pregnant and then wasn't. If you haven't experienced this, you don't know how frustrating it can be. And annoying. And does all kinds of crazy things to your mind. I thought if I wasn't pregnant, then I wasn't pregnant, and nothing was new. But if I WAS pregnant, then I could potentially find out EARLY. For just a few dollars!! Why not, right?!<br />
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So, every morning, my ritual was to get up and take a pregnancy test. And if it didn't show pregnant, I just told myself that it was too early to tell, and I didn't get upset. It wasn't even "time" yet. I started 7 days pp, and by 5 days pp, I squinted, went a little cross-eyed, and shook it off. I'd try again tomorrow.<br />
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It was one of my first days of my summer vacation. I woke up and took a pregnancy test. It was becoming a part of my morning ritual, haha. (Call me crazy.) On this day, 4 days pp, I saw something! A super faint line. I had never seen a positive pregnancy test before, so I thought it was potentially a dud. I texted my gal pal Whitney, who knew what craziness was ensuing, and Becky. I asked Becky, "So...when you said you found out early...was it obvious or a super faint line?" I didn't even think I was telling on myself, I thought I could get away with "just asking." HA! Becky's immediate response was, "Did you get a faint line?? If so, you are for sure pregnant!!" Ummmm..... what?!?! I texted Whitney, freaked out, and went out to get a "real" pregnancy test. I needed to see the word "Pregnant" spelled out for me. I had used those expensive tests before. It's clear as day, usually that I was "Not Pregnant." I had previously vowed that I wouldn't spend money on one of those expensive tests again unless I really thought I may be pregnant. Well, today was that day.<br />
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I got home, took the test, and that was the longest minute or so of my life. I didn't want to look. It was like one of those scenes out of a movie. What if I wasn't pregnant? Now I'd really be sad. But what if I was?!?!?! I hadn't really processed what I would do or how I would feel if I WAS pregnant.<br />
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When I saw the word "Pregnant" on that test, I literally just started crying and praying - thanking the Lord for this blessing and praying for protection over this child. I had heard tons of horror stories of miscarriages and health problems and I just wanted a healthy baby.<br />
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I was expecting a child! [Enter Freak Out Mode] Only two people knew, and none of them were my husband. Oops! I had a good reason for that though. I wanted to think of a super cute way to tell Alex. No better way to brainstorm than to go walk 6 miles on the rail trail with Whitney. She had been there with me through my emotional roller coasters in the past months and was great at these kinds of things! I just knew I had to include our dog, Chloe. We decided I could go get a dog shirt, or infant shirt, and Whitney could quickly embroider it. We'd put the shirt on Chloe and the shirt would somehow tell Alex I was expecting!! I also was determined to find a way to video the interaction. Fool proof, right?? Ha....<br />
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Side note: I have to give many many thanks to Whitney. She listened to me yap about baby stuff, followed by pregnancy stuff, stopped what she was doing to make me an impromptu shirt for this momentous occasion, and just has gone above & beyond in the friend department through it all. Love ya Whitney & THANK YOU !! </blockquote>
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I wish I could show you the video. But if I did, Alex would kill me. He's super private that way. But I can tell you that it went a little something like this: Chloe wore her "BIG SIS" shirt, walked right up to him and sat on his lap, it took him a few seconds to even acknowledge she was wearing a shirt, then he told me she hated her shirt (he's anti-dogs wearing clothes), and didn't even acknowledge what the shirt said. It took him a few more seconds, and he read the shirt. He asked if we were getting another dog. (Ha!!) While I continued to be sketchy and video him, he asked "Why you gotta play games?" and then asked me if I was pregnant. When I said yes his first words were "That's awesome." and I said "Good answer." He was then sketched out by the camera and I respectfully quit recording. LOL<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U7dzKU9f9k4/V3B9Q29TUsI/AAAAAAAANzI/gfSarJU6d54tMg8SXOV7p0Ji6hvDQYarwCKgB/s1600/blogger-image--881118766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U7dzKU9f9k4/V3B9Q29TUsI/AAAAAAAANzI/gfSarJU6d54tMg8SXOV7p0Ji6hvDQYarwCKgB/s320/blogger-image--881118766.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YHsJPu8GhJY/V3B9NsFW2rI/AAAAAAAANy4/oa6qk4k3H7U-hE_3mqmqTb0rWpVcq2h6gCKgB/s1600/blogger-image--373731148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YHsJPu8GhJY/V3B9NsFW2rI/AAAAAAAANy4/oa6qk4k3H7U-hE_3mqmqTb0rWpVcq2h6gCKgB/s320/blogger-image--373731148.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Telling everyone was so fun and memorable. I will have to share other videos in a future blog post. I videoed as many as I could. :) I will always cherish those videos... and that's why I am always shoving a camera in my loved ones' faces, to later have memories of a lifetime!!<br />
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I just can't believe a whole year has gone by that I've been thinking of this baby, praying for her, and doing what I can to be the best mother I can. She now comes first. She's so precious and dependent and seriously the best baby that I could have dreamed of. I now can't imagine my life without her. The Good Lord surely knew what He was doing when He picked her for me, or me for her. Either way, she's an awesome baby who loves to eat, sleep, smile, and be happy. Just like her Mama. :)<br />
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A year seems like such a long time but I can remember this day like it was yesterday. It was one of the best days of my life and I will never forget it!!<br />
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Pregnancy blows my mind.</div>
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When you think about it, something this small...</div>
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...turned into this 7 lb. 14 oz. bundle of pure love. </div>
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Praise the Lord!!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-54845779959816198282016-06-07T10:29:00.000-04:002016-06-07T12:14:50.291-04:00Karis Jane: 3 Months! I gave you all a little update at one month, and here we are, two months later. Time is FLYING by and it's super bittersweet. While I can't wait to do certain things with KJ once she's older and more able, I also am going to, and already, MISS MY BABY! I swear she grows every night in her sleep.<br />
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I can guarantee you the Lord knew what He was doing when He made me her mama. He knew I had no idea what to do with a baby and gave me as low maintenance of a baby as possible.<br />
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Karis Jane is such a happy go-lucky baby. She is happy from the moment she wakes up and will just sit happily, kicking her fat little legs around, in her crib for a while before crying for someone to come <strike>get</strike> feed her. This may or may not happen in the middle of the night since, you know, I'm sleeping. Speaking of sleeping, Karis is still doing a lot of it!! While she is definitely awake more than she was, she still loves a nap! She get it from her mama! Since I returned to work, we tried to move the time we put her to bed from 10:30-11:00 to more like 9:00-9:30. Again, she's a super easy baby so we just put her pajamas on, nurse her, and she's out like a light 99% of the time. Thank goodness that cluster feeding has calmed way down! While she's nursing before bed, Alex reads her a Bible story & we pray over her. This is probably my favorite time of the day. She'll sleep for about 5-6 hours before she wants to eat. Not bad! Since returning to work, Alex shares some nighttime duties with me, which is definitely helpful. I wake him up (do men not hear crying babies?!) and he goes and gets her out of the crib, changes her, and brings her to me in bed. I'll nurse her for about 20 minutes and she'll pass out again. Then she'll sleep for another 3-5 hours! I'm telling you, my baby loves her some sleep. <i>Dear Lord, please let this last. </i><br />
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I returned to work after 13 weeks of maternity leave. Going to work wasn't THAT bad. Knowing me and my love for my job and my work ethic, there's no way I wouldn't be making appearances at the end of the school year anyways, so I might as well be getting paid for it, amiright?! I had to return to work with two more school weeks left, then work the following workdays. Again, not bad. God DEFINITELY timed my pregnancy & subsequent maternity leave PERFECTLY. Alex's mom could watch Karis Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and my mom graciously took off work Mondays and Tuesdays while I am back at work a few weeks. Then I'll have my summer off with my baby girl!! I am super excited to spend the time with her. She's growing like a weed & is such a joy!<br />
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<b><u>3 month stats:</u></b><br />
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<ul>
<li>Size 2 diapers</li>
<li>Wearing 0-3 or 3 month clothing</li>
<li>Probably 13ish lbs now... She was 12 lbs 1 oz at her 2 month appt. </li>
<li>She has been sleeping in her crib full-time for a couple weeks now. </li>
<li>She can ALMOST roll over. She sleeps on her side. :) </li>
<li>Starting to use her hands for things.</li>
<li>Still sticks that tongue out for pics and smiles A LOT. :) She is starting to baby laugh too and it's THE MOST precious thing. </li>
<li>She doesn't gag EVERY time we offer her a pacifier. She prefers her hands right now!</li>
<li>She loves bath time, watching the ceiling fan, to ride in the car or just basically always be moving, and her swing! Her swing is still her favorite thing. (That was the best investment.)</li>
<li>She still hasn't lost her hair & her eyes are still blue. We may end up with a blue-eyed baby after all! </li>
<li>Still nursing! Getting better all the time... but still takes a bottle like a champ! Woo-hoo! </li>
<li>Usually just cries when hungry, but starting to teethe and fight sleep a little... Nana purchased an amber necklace in hopes it helps!</li>
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I get it now. The overload of pictures. The missing your baby. The pure pride and joy. The bittersweetness. I get it. Motherhood is going to wreck me, but it's a pretty awesome job! Again, thanking God Karis is who she is. While I can, I also can't wait to see her grow into the little girl <strike>and later young woman</strike> God has created her to be. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xw9aIEOSGU8/V1bZBLz84KI/AAAAAAAACzY/xAlST_WkvNIQVuS64K8WnzXrX4fAQMT2ACLcB/s1600/karis1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xw9aIEOSGU8/V1bZBLz84KI/AAAAAAAACzY/xAlST_WkvNIQVuS64K8WnzXrX4fAQMT2ACLcB/s320/karis1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7 weeks old - first REAL smile caught on camera :) :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EIjbfMgLY0M/V1bZBLDSeQI/AAAAAAAACzU/Dg-jr1ZzkYEGIFxnAVWLFdsH2OBxdaoPgCLcB/s1600/karis2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EIjbfMgLY0M/V1bZBLDSeQI/AAAAAAAACzU/Dg-jr1ZzkYEGIFxnAVWLFdsH2OBxdaoPgCLcB/s320/karis2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8 weeks old</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 months old</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11 weeks old</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11 weeks old</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UKHdEZgXFEk/V1bZBo52fLI/AAAAAAAACzg/5mi7IE5gu9MGnTueVDx-ky8Tlr-QUbzxQCLcB/s1600/karis6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UKHdEZgXFEk/V1bZBo52fLI/AAAAAAAACzg/5mi7IE5gu9MGnTueVDx-ky8Tlr-QUbzxQCLcB/s320/karis6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12 weeks old - Mama's last day of maternity leave</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-okzXvSpa_bA/V1bZBpfJHxI/AAAAAAAACzo/GrBp6wcKEzg9CgR4G8vNeyqGC-GcnAVEQCLcB/s1600/karis7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-okzXvSpa_bA/V1bZBpfJHxI/AAAAAAAACzo/GrBp6wcKEzg9CgR4G8vNeyqGC-GcnAVEQCLcB/s320/karis7.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Memorial Day 2016 - 12 weeks old</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vAV6ciRw0xk/V1bZB82mqeI/AAAAAAAACzs/IFGB5tpLx4QAFOFbx0fQCFZ1J4F-DDvzACLcB/s1600/karis8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vAV6ciRw0xk/V1bZB82mqeI/AAAAAAAACzs/IFGB5tpLx4QAFOFbx0fQCFZ1J4F-DDvzACLcB/s320/karis8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">still loving that swing!!</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-49397827665853394482016-04-02T14:48:00.000-04:002016-06-07T10:30:16.891-04:001 Month Into The Best & Hardest Job EverWhile I have the house to myself for a little while I wanted to go ahead & jot down some thoughts I have. As important as I think journaling is, I certainly don't take the time to do it enough. That, among a million other things.<br />
<br />
But here I am. Today marks 1 MONTH! One month of my most important job ever. One month of long nights and days flying by. One month of the biggest emotional rollercoaster I think I've ever been on.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Side note: This blog takes me back to the year 2005. Almost 11 years ago! I was just starting college & I'm pretty sure some of those early blog posts were copy & pasted from my MySpace account to preserve them forever. Which was a good idea because after a little investigation, my MySpace account is restricted & the good Lord above only knows that old account information! BUT MY POINT IS... This blog & I go way back. I really need to keep cleaning it up, just to keep what's here relevant, but - over 38 THOUSAND people have viewed my blog over the years. And I just can't bring myself to start a new one. This is me. This is my life. Hence, the name of the blog. :) </i></blockquote>
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So, this blog's hopefully going to help me document this new job of mine: motherhood.<br />
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This has been the best and hardest month of my life. ... "The things they don't tell you..."<br />
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I mean, they let me bring a BABY home, y'all. A real-life CHILD. And trusted me with it!!! For years I always said, "I don't know what I'd DO with a baby." Not like, I don't know what I'd do if I got pregnant, but like LITERALLY- when *this* happens, what do you DO?! How do you know it's okay? How do you know you're doing a good job? How do you know what you're NOT supposed to do? I had no idea what to do with a baby.<br />
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If you're like me and currently pregnant, thinking of/worrying about getting pregnant, or just think you MIGHT be a mother someday, don't worry. Luckily they do teach you a couple things in the hospital. And offer you some reading material. And offer you some classes before you go into labor. And there's some WONDERFUL Facebook groups of moms who just let you post completely random questions & they will answer you in an attempt to help (Shout out to my 16 Clovers!). And for the love of the Internet! There's YouTube videos and websites (<a href="http://kellymom.com/category/bf/" target="_blank">www.kellymom.com</a>) and anything you want to know out there. MORE than you'd want to know! Oh and there's your people. Mamas all around you will offer you support & advice....whether you want it or not. Just take it ALL in & use what you want. Everyone has a different opinion but man, I'm glad I have the love, support, & advice from all that I do. I've learned so much & still have approximately two million questions, but that's okay. I'm learning. WE are learning!<br />
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I say we because I have come to learn that Karis is new at this too! For almost 10 months she was packed tight in a warm space & didn't have to worry about or work for a thing. Now we put her in this world with all these lights and people and noises and smells and sensations and expect her to just adapt. While babies are surprisingly resilient, and some things ARE natural, but she's on a learning curve too! She is learning, and improving, and surprising me every single day. She's pretty great. :) But also Alex. While he probably does a few Google searches a day himself, he knows I've done some research & listens when I suggest new things. He's learning. He's a new dad & I am in awe of how amazing he is at it. Not that I didn't think he would be, but, you know what I'm saying.<br />
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I ended up having an unplanned c-section & was out of commission for a while after the birth. I think 2 or 3 days went by in the beginning when I didn't change a diaper, or her, or anything actually other than hold and nurse my baby. Alex did EVERYthing. And didn't bat an eye. He gets all the awards for being so awesome then and now. God surely blessed me with a wonderful husband and father to Karis!<br />
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My people have also been the best. Shout out to Danae for coordinating meals for us while we came home & adjusted to life. I can't begin to tell you how extremely helpful that was. Shout out to our friends, family, and neighbors who have provided the meals and the company. And when I say Karis has some amazing grandparents, I mean it. They are there at the drop of a hat if needed & have supported us in ways I can't even begin to name. She is already spoiled rotten & so, so loved. My gal pals have been absolutely wonderful: Coming by to bring me sanity, monogramming Carolina onesies on demand (that was all Alex's doing, y'all), wishing me well, asking me how I'm doing, and offering me support when times got tough. I truly appreciate each & every one.<br />
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While it's been so awesome to see everyone come together to help us introduce this little lady to life, it HAS been an adjustment and honestly so hard at times. I am thankful for tough times because that's when I can just cry & pray & have faith that the Lord will provide. And how He has! He always does. And I have faith that He will continue to do so. The Lord knows just what you need, when you need it. The Lord has provided me with a child who loves to sleep as much as her mama, all the support mentioned above, improvements in our breastfeeding journey (LORD, GIVE ME STRENGTH), and countless other things I do and don't even realize. It's by the grace and mercy of God that I can CELEBRATE making it to this one month mark!!<br />
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Happy 1 Month Karis Jane!! You are loved!!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-58406369373855830472016-01-01T12:51:00.003-05:002016-01-01T13:08:37.895-05:002015's Goals: Where are they now? 2015 has come & gone and man, what a year it was! Remember when I made some goals for myself for 2015? (Probably not.) Well, here they are with some updates... Just wanted to give MYSELF an update & also remind any readers that it's okay to not fulfill every promise to yourself. Did I set myself up for failure? Probably NOT, but, I definitely needed to be reminded more often of my goals in order to maintain them. I think I did okay! I'm not beating myself up at all and you shouldn't either.<br />
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Here's what I plan to do in 2015... Wish me luck!<br />
<ul>
<li>I want to have technology-free evenings with my husband. At least one a week. <span style="color: red;"><b>Doesn't happen. Don't even know if I brought this up to him. Maybe I should? </b></span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>I want to stick with Weight Watchers and lose at least 25 pounds to start with. <span style="color: red;"><b>I worked my butt off with my gal pal Whitney & only lost 10 lbs. Then I lost another 5 lbs during my first trimester (gotta love morning sickness!) Either way, I did lose some weight, which I was thankful for when I started packing on the pregnancy pounds. </b></span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
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<ul>
<li>I want to sew/hem all my clothes that need it, and get really good at doing it so that maybe I can hem for others in the future. <b><span style="color: red;">Okay, I don't foresee me doing much for others, considering I currently have a growing stack of to-hem clothes. Seriously every pair of bottoms I buy (pajamas included) need hemming and it is so annoying! I promise I'm getting around to that. </span></b></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>I want to get rid of all my clothes that are really too small. Some things I envision fitting back into in the near future, but some stuff I just need to kiss goodbye and donate to someone in need. <span style="color: red;"><b>Done and done. I am so not a packrat. </b></span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>I want to keep growing my hair out. This will be a challenge, as I get easily annoyed & tend to just chop it off on whims. <b><span style="color: red;">I have not cut the front of my hair at all this year!! The back grows so much faster than the front. Am I the only one whose hair does this? I think it has to do with me wanting the front more perfect, and using heat, etc. more on the front. I did chop like 4" off the back to make it a longer angled bob. The back caught up to the front.... the cycle continues. </span></b></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Keep my new car clean. Inside & out. <span style="color: red;"><b>Not a chance. I am who I am. </b></span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Find a way to organize all my jewelry laying around.<span style="color: red;"><b> I did but I'm not loving my system, and it has currently failed me at the moment. Or maybe I failed it? Either way, I need to find a better home for my jewelry. </b></span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Create a 2014 photo book on Snapfish. Forget scrapbooking. I ultimately want to make photo books for every year and occasion I can. That'll have to be a summer project. <span style="color: red;"><b>Didn't happen. Still want to do this. </b></span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>100% housetrain Chloe. She is good most of the time but if it ain't 100%, we need to work on it. Sometimes we take her out in the mornings & she won't go, but then she's stuck inside all day while we work, and of course she goes inside then. Ugh! Somebody just come take & train my dog & bring her back all obedient and well-mannered. <b><span style="color: red;">Chloe's good 99% of the time. If she messes up, it's typically our fault. She's great, really. :) </span></b></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>GO TO NEW YORK CITY. FOR THE LOVE! <b><span style="color: red;">YES YES AND YES! I did it! FINALLY! I've only been talking about it for 10 years! I'd like to say I'll blog about it, but I think I know myself better by now. I'd still like to though! To sum it up: I had a wonderful time with my gal pal Elizabeth & her sister, Emily. It was 3 days of awesome. </span></b></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Go on a fun beach trip. <b><span style="color: red;">HAHA!! So, I totally went to the beach. While I was about 7 weeks pregnant, and SO sick. Worst idea ever. Remind me to never do that again. Alex can leave my butt at home next time. Wait though.... we DID go on a cruise to the Bahamas this year for our anniversary!! That's a fun beach trip!!!! I totally didn't forget about that. I just hear "beach" and think of all the yuckiness from this summer. Sorry, Bahamas! </span></b></li>
</ul>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ejqvY3Mb6JQ/Voa_Nu3hSTI/AAAAAAAACwM/8-2XM-l_eqs/s1600/blog%2Bpic%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ejqvY3Mb6JQ/Voa_Nu3hSTI/AAAAAAAACwM/8-2XM-l_eqs/s320/blog%2Bpic%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cruise to the Bahamas in April 2015</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li>Do more couples devotions and praying with my husband. <span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">While we have improved in this area, we have a long way to go. </span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
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You win some, you lose some. With a baby on the way, the amount of things I'm trying to improve is seriously so overwhelming. I am just trying to take life one day at a time and hope for the best!<br />
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Until next time, readers... here's a pic for the road!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LY5PjKWBtos/VobAAOE528I/AAAAAAAACwU/Lb5XOZIlgYo/s1600/blog%2Bpic%2B4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LY5PjKWBtos/VobAAOE528I/AAAAAAAACwU/Lb5XOZIlgYo/s400/blog%2Bpic%2B4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas 2015 & 30 weeks along with Baby Mullen</td></tr>
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Wishing you all a very happy & healthy 2016!<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,<br />
NicoleUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-78730858884675765302015-11-01T22:13:00.001-05:002015-11-01T22:13:20.214-05:00A Confident Heart: Chapter 1Our church has recently started a Wednesday night series for women geared towards the book, <u>A Confident Heart</u> by Renee Swope. The cover says the book's about how to stop doubting yourself and how to live in the security of God's promises.<br />
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As I read I like to highlight things that stick out to me. I'd love to share those with you in case the words also resonate with you, and also share bits and pieces of my heart as I go along. If you like what you're reading, then I encourage you to read the book!<br />
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Some of my excerpts will just be quotes I like, Bible verses to read, or passages that really spoke to my heart. Some I'll elaborate on, some I just want to share for quick readings.<br />
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I think the whole point of reading a book like this, or being in a small group, is learning that you're not alone. So many of us feel the same exact way, for many different reasons, but feel as if we're alone or the only one going through a certain situation or emotion. Know you're not alone!! Whether you're willing to open up to a confidant or not, you're never alone. Jesus has seen it all, knows it all, has been there with you through it all, and has never left you and will never leave you. You aren't alone! But I know sometimes it makes it a lot easier to know you're not the only visible being feeling the same way... so hopefully that's what this book and/or blog post(s) will do for you: Let you know you're not the only one!<br />
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Now... here we go...<br />
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<b>Foreword</b></div>
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<i>"Why do we look to things of this world to give us security, self confidence, and fulfillment? I think it's because the message that wordly things can fulfill us is all around us. It's on TV, it's the focus of countless songs, and it dominates advertisements. We can't even stand in the grocery store checkout lane without being bombarded by empty promises for a more fulfilling life. A better husband. A better body. A better career. A more beautifully decorated house. The magazines seem so slick, their promises so enticing. They sneak into our thought processes and make us think, 'If only I had _____, I'd be so secure and fulfilled.' But the reality is, every single thing the world offers is temporary. No person, possession, profession, or position can ever fill the cup of a wounded, insecure heart -- not my heart, not your heart. It's an emptiness only God can fill. Only God can give true confidence." </i></blockquote>
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<i>"[God's] truth waters us, sustains us, breathes new life into us and remakes us into the women He always intended us to be."</i></blockquote>
Those actually came from the foreward from Lysa TerKeurst but still... that really resonated with me. I don't know about you. I never thought of advertisements being advertisements of things to FULFILL you, but I guess they really are. They are marketed to show how your life will be better, more satisfying once you have this worldy thing, or that worldy thing. We buy, try, and feel so discouraged when the As Seen on TV item isn't what it seemed, or doesn't seem to work FOR US. We think it works on others, but not us, because we're just lucky like that. Or we think: If only I could get that promotion, or that new job, or that car, or those abs... life would simply be so much better! If this is our thought process then A) we aren't content with what God's blessed us with already and B) we are looking to things of this world to make us genuinely happy, which will never permanently work. Keyword there: permanently. I'm sure whatever it is you're willing to put time and money into will improve something for a short time, but it's never enough, is it? There's also more you want, more you need.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Chapter 1: Discovering the Shadow of My Doubts</b></div>
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<i>"So do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised." (Hebrews 10:35-36)</i></blockquote>
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<i> "You can only see the shadow because you have turned away from the light. Turn back towards the light."</i></blockquote>
Never have I ever thought about this. She spoke about how her shadow seemed so much bigger. Our problems (shadows) can often overwhelm us, because they often times look so much bigger than what they represent. Never would we even know this if we had not turned away from the light. I'm sure she meant this as a metaphor to Christ (the Light) but that's totally how I took it. If we continue to face the Light, we will not even see the large shadows behind us, ready to overwhelm and discourage us, keeping us from his Will and purpose for our lives.<br />
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<i>"Have you ever agreed with the whispers of doubt and found yourself living with a sense of discouragement and defeat? Have you felt paralyzed by insecurity, and let it stop you from living confidently? If so, you are not alone."</i></blockquote>
I know I have often let doubt and overwhelming feelings keep me from doing things. Like sharing with you all, for example. Or completing a large task. If I can't convince myself that it's worth it, or that a large task can be broken down into smaller, more manageable tasks, then I say "Forget it." Which usually turns around to bite me at some point -- whether it's physically, emotionally, or spiritually. So yeah, you're not alone.<br />
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<i>"Perhaps you are good at hiding your doubts and no one but you knows the paralyzing power they have on your life." </i></blockquote>
I am sure SO many of us hide what's REALLY going on in our minds and spirits for whatever reason. I hope that we can all grow to confide in at least one person. Not just any person, but someone who will not judge you, or shame you, or break your trust.<br />
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<i>"Doubt keeps us from believing things can get better. Doubt convinces us that it's not worth the effort. Doubt shouts from the sidelines. 'It's too hard.' or 'You might as well quit.'" </i></blockquote>
AMEN! Doubt stinks. It really is convincing at times. Doubt comes in all kinds of voices and can really deter you from living up to your full potential, or living in the blessings that Christ has planned for you. When you hear doubt in your mind, think about the potential that God has something great planned for you, and this may be the Devil trying to keep you from having that blessing. <br />
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<i>"Don't listen to those thoughts, my friend. God doesn't want us stuck in a cycle of defeat or living in the shadows of doubt." </i></blockquote>
Again, because there's that chance He has something great planned for you, if you only listen to HIM and not that stupid doubt.<br />
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<i>"Doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time. As God's girls, we need to know and believe that change is possible. We need to hope that life can be different. Otherwise, doubt will win every time and our hearts will be eroded by attitudes and emotions of defeat--but it is not supposed to be this way." </i></blockquote>
We are never stuck in our ways. The great thing about Christ is that He makes us NEW. He renews our mercies every morning. He doesn't hold our past against us. He loves us NO. MATTER. WHAT. and that's just a hard thought to grasp sometimes. We cannot be held back by doubt and also hoping that Christ is making us new. He did not create us to live a life of self-loathing and discouragement. We are made to live joyful lives, serving and worshiping our Creator!!<br />
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<i>"God has led me beyond believing IN HIM to really believing HIM by relying on the power of His words and living like they are true no matter what my feelings tell me. Some days I do better than others, and you will too. But I've found that when I choose to dwell in the assurance of Whose I am and who I am in Him, I have a confident heart."</i></blockquote>
This is a true task....not only believing IN GOD, but BELIEVING GOD. Believing what He says is true. About you. About Him. About others. Sometimes our feelings tell us one thing, but it's the opposite of what God tells us in his Word. We need to train our minds to recognize when we're thinking the opposite, and shake those thoughts and believe what God says is true. <br />
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<i>"We can be confident that we are praying God's will when we pray God's Word!" </i></blockquote>
This is kind of a "DUH" statement but I can't say I have thought this thought one million times in my life. I'm sure I've heard it somewhere before, but it didn't really stick. But this is such a GOOD POINT. If we are praying for things that God promises us in His Word, or praying for us to transform into what He says we are meant for, then we can't go wrong! We aren't being selfish. We aren't cheating. We aren't praying the wrong prayer! We are asking for exactly what God wants for us in our lives, and He won't let us down.<br />
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I hope some of these things resonated with you like they did with me. I'm digging this book so far & can't wait to see what else it shares.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,<br />
Nicole<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-77622046062959424972015-10-01T18:32:00.000-04:002015-10-01T19:11:24.233-04:00I Think I'm BackEvery so often, I try to give this blog thing another go'round! Well, here I am again. It's not really that I haven't <i>wanted </i>to blog, but that I've really wanted to give my blog a major makeover, and just never did it. I spent some time this winter going through this blog. I really do a horrible job at consistently blogging but this blog is an interesting "journal," if you will, documenting my life since 2005, my senior year of high school. And for that, I am thankful. I am super into nostalgia and reminiscing, if you didn't know. :)<br />
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I don't know what all purposes this blog has served. It looks like in the beginning I just copied & pasted some blog posts from my MySpace since that was becoming a thing from the past. Then I used it as a place to store quotes I found online that I liked. Then I would update about life (procrastination and grad school mostly).<br />
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I ended up going through all my posts and cleaning up the tags, deleting pointless posts, and deleting posts of videos that you could no longer access. (Stupid, YouTube.) It was all fun and games until I got to the year 2010, when I guess I <i>really </i>started blogging. I had 156 posts that year. So that took a(nother) backseat. I'm still not 100% done cleaning up the place, but I did give her a little plastic surgery. I am growing as a woman and sometimes just crave the simplicity. My blog was stimulus overload and it was time she looked her age.<br />
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Funny story: I think I attempted a blog post 1/31/2015 and it just never got published. Just found it in Drafts, actually so... just for kicks... this is what it said:<br />
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<i>I literally have so many things I'd love to blog about. But-- I'll be realistic, and maybe skip all that I wanted to say I'd been thinking or up to, and say this:<br />2015 is here and technically, at this point we're are 1/12th of the way done with it already! SERIOUSLY!</i> </blockquote>
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<i>I saw a blog post that listed goals for the year & then at the end of the year, relisted those goals & stated where the blogger was in meeting those goals. Seems a bit far-fetched for me to think I'm going to remember to revisit this in a year, but why not try? Amiright?!</i> </blockquote>
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<i>Here's what I plan to do in 2015... Wish me luck!</i> </blockquote>
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<li><i>I want to have technology-free evenings with my husband. At least one a week.</i></li>
</ul>
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<li><i>I want to stick with Weight Watchers and lose at least 25 pounds to start with.</i> </li>
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<ul>
<li><i>I want to sew/hem all my clothes that need it, and get really good at doing it so that maybe I can hem for others in the future. </i></li>
<li><i>I want to get rid of all my clothes that are really too small. Some things I envision fitting back into in the near future, but some stuff I just need to kiss goodbye and donate to someone in need. </i></li>
<li><i>I want to keep growing my hair out. This will be a challenge, as I get easily annoyed & tend to just chop it off on whims. </i></li>
<li><i>Keep my new car clean. Inside & out. </i></li>
<li><i>Find a way to organize all my jewelry laying around. </i></li>
<li><i>Create a 2014 photo book on Snapfish. Forget scrapbooking. I ultimately want to make photo books for every year and occasion I can. That'll have to be a summer project. </i></li>
<li><i>100% housetrain Chloe. She is good most of the time but if it ain't 100%, we need to work on it. Sometimes we take her out in the mornings & she won't go, but then she's stuck inside all day while we work, and of course she goes inside then. Ugh! Somebody just come take & train my dog & bring her back all obedient and well-mannered. </i></li>
<li><i>GO TO NEW YORK CITY. FOR THE LOVE! </i></li>
<li><i>Go on a fun beach trip.</i></li>
<li><i>Do more couples devotions and praying with my husband.</i></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Maybe we'll talk more about that later? Again, not making any promises! Haha! But, life is taking a major turn and I have been having the urge to document again. I hope I stick with it. I find it stress-relieving and always love looking back at where I was mentally, physically, and spiritually during certain points in my past.<br />
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Stay tuned...<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-91611460521905595622014-08-04T13:31:00.003-04:002014-08-04T14:04:08.831-04:00Sharing & Reviewing My Premier Lay Flat Wedding Photo Book from Snapfish<div style="text-align: center;">
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FYI: this blog post is serving 2 purposes...<b> </b>1) to share with you my wedding book, and 2) to <strike>kind of</strike> give a review of Snapfish's Premier Lay Flat photo books since there are ZERO online with pictures. {I know, I looked.} So, this might be a doozy...get ready!!</div>
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Last summer, one of my items on my Summer To-Do list was to make <strike>my</strike> our wedding photo album. For various reasons {#1 being I'm a slacker} it just didn't get done. Fast forward ten more months, and summer is fortunately here again! I've been out of work for about 6 weeks and <i>finally</i> I can say that our beaUTIFUL wedding pictures are displayed to my crazy OCD standards in a photo book that I made my very own self!!</div>
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I have previously used Snapfish to make our wedding <i>guest</i>book. I used pictures of me & Alex from the very beginning {2002!!} to our most recent engagement pictures. Instead of having all our wedding guests sign a book with just their names, they got to sign our photo book and leave a note if they wished! It turned out wonderful and I still look at it from time to time. It makes my heart smile. It's a great little treasure of mine.</div>
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Wedding pictures were SUPER important to me. I had a great photographer, Kerri Crutchfield, and from the moment I saw her sneak peek on Facebook I just knew I was going to love my wedding pictures!</div>
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This is what I knew:</div>
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-I wanted a {nice} photo book</div>
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-I couldn't dare pick out "just" 100ish pictures for my book</div>
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-I am too particular and would be super annoying to someone if they were trying to make a book for me</div>
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-Therefore, I wanted to design the book myself</div>
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-I hands down prefer Snapfish's photobook-making software over any other company's</div>
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-I needed to make this happen for as cheap as I could... {do y'all know my husband?!?!}</div>
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So obviously the thing to do was make another Snapfish book. I knew I wanted a 12"x12" book. I wanted it bigger than my 8"x11" guestbook and thought 11"x14" would be a bit "much." Luckily for me, Snapfish just came out with their new Premier Lay-flat Photo Books, which apparently is different from making a custom book and upgrading to have the pages lay flat. This new book is described with the statement, <i>"New seamless lay-flat binding, extra-thick premium pages, and a deluxe matte cover make these books perfect for celebrating weddings, vacations, and life's sweetest moments." </i>Sounds good to me!! I just wanted thick pages and lay-flat binding in a 12"x12" book so this worked perfect for me!!</div>
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Anyways, I worked on my book when I felt like it and got it all nice & finished. I had a question because I was being super particular, wanting to make sure the cover would be perfect. I used Snapfish's "Chat with us Live" online customer service option {which I always use with companies...way more efficient than calling a toll-free number!} and after chatting with the representative, they gave me a coupon code for 50% off my book!! A previous rep had told me you can only get 20% off the Premier Lay Flat books, and typically 50% off coupons I see do exclude those. I was SUPER happy to see that the new coupon code worked and I saved **$82**!!</div>
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Don't tell Snapfish, but I would have paid the full price for the book, I love it that much. ;) I was happy with the 20% off coupon. So yeah, ecstatic about the 50% off!</div>
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Anyways, I ordered my book July 28 and received it in the mail on August 2nd... that is a FAST turn-around time! My tracking showed an expected delivery date of August 8th, so my package was 6 days early! Just another reason I love Snapfish.</div>
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So far, in looking at my book, there are only two <i>tiny </i>issues. One Snapfish can work on in the future, and one I am currently chatting online with a customer service rep about.** My one beef is that there's nothing to keep it in. I know that's not included in the price and they never said it did. I just wish I had something to kind of wrap it up in or keep it from wearing with time. Y'all know what I'm saying?! I might have to make something. {HAHA! Just kidding!}</div>
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And my other beef is that my book preview showed that I filled all the pages up, but when I received my book there is a blank two-sided page in the back (shown below). It doesn't look too bad, just looks like I didn't put anything on 2 pages. And I would have, had I had known the page was added. Just sayin'! <b><span style="color: red;">{SEE THE UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST REGARDING THIS ISSUE!}</span></b></div>
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<img border="0" height="115" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_TPt4IBuh_A/U9-mED27yUI/AAAAAAAACY0/CwujDE5zb2g/s200/blogger-image-89483503.jpg" width="200" /><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nWwxYe3fLJo/U9-mfj0wOLI/AAAAAAAACZk/Gp4fzZv0zWk/s640/blogger-image--1917486524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="103" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nWwxYe3fLJo/U9-mfj0wOLI/AAAAAAAACZk/Gp4fzZv0zWk/s200/blogger-image--1917486524.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Okay, so, now for the big reveal...</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-iJCpB8YULxY/U9-l_1M-EpI/AAAAAAAACYs/Nt5pKoMknJo/s640/blogger-image-1392932272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-iJCpB8YULxY/U9-l_1M-EpI/AAAAAAAACYs/Nt5pKoMknJo/s320/blogger-image-1392932272.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happiness Within is right!!</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yfypDctLxKM/U9-maiXwWZI/AAAAAAAACZc/uhfDzUuaPAI/s320/blogger-image-718505123.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the front cover</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PP1vU8IAkLc/U9-mvW3sjjI/AAAAAAAACaE/BbzqNA1ArfI/s320/blogger-image-2108186169.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the back cover</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7G7Y8f0tYuA/U9-lvVf0jWI/AAAAAAAACYM/O94hKuiI5bo/s320/blogger-image--505172477.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A piece of tissue paper/vellum/whatever it's called in the front</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nuULlcIWuPo/U9-mQvMJMXI/AAAAAAAACZM/D7XbaIAgEkM/s320/blogger-image--542133447.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Page 1 :)</td></tr>
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One thing I will say is that I knew I was gonna be pushing it with fitting all my pics on 100 pages. {I am not crazy. I promise.} I didn't want to smoosh all my beloved pictures onto a small amount of pages. I wanted the photos enlarged so you could see all the smiling faces, little details, and the beautiful backgrounds. Surprisingly, I actually ended up fitting almost all my wedding photos on 85ish pages, which saved me a little bit of money! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-KjA8IsRVrDM/U9-mMJ1lnOI/AAAAAAAACZE/CCYq8UmCzQs/s320/blogger-image--993652575.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">nice & thick :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i8MoSypZ-H8/U9-mV9PopNI/AAAAAAAACZU/DTVIcCoKunw/s320/blogger-image--236398274.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">trying to get a good pic of the thickness of the pages</td></tr>
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And here's just a couple snapshots of some of my favorite pages...</div>
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{excuse the blurriness of my photography!}</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0Wpt_xEzEow/U9-_9CNVADI/AAAAAAAACbk/i-6yV4qvJ1E/s320/blogger-image-1523790893.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: start;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the details</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-N0QrczPGCas/U9-_SbzPtMI/AAAAAAAACaU/YNI0q1_mj6c/s320/blogger-image-390629215.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: start;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the dress</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-fddzlFV6dxQ/U9-_o2lHrFI/AAAAAAAACa8/hIrg2KcCh5s/s640/blogger-image-6702990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-fddzlFV6dxQ/U9-_o2lHrFI/AAAAAAAACa8/hIrg2KcCh5s/s320/blogger-image-6702990.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"what might have been" / our "Plan A" ... thanks, rain! </td></tr>
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<tr><td><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-nDEYLG3dClA/U9-l3bBvsmI/AAAAAAAACYc/05XQS7WvKP4/s320/blogger-image--1997043584.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Pawpaw got a full-page spread!! <span style="color: red;">♥</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Cv8oTqyfglQ/U9_ACrTH2vI/AAAAAAAACbs/RThe_vUcIog/s320/blogger-image--1177524076.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: start;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me and my beautiful bridesmaids</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z-Bnf-qoDz8/U9_D_xxU1MI/AAAAAAAACb4/ujNf9eAaw8A/s640/blogger-image-1750551835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z-Bnf-qoDz8/U9_D_xxU1MI/AAAAAAAACb4/ujNf9eAaw8A/s320/blogger-image-1750551835.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">love the pops of yellow all throughout the book!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uQg1QhwTwzU/U9-_sTwY74I/AAAAAAAACbE/rnGdoDdtVvo/s320/blogger-image--1265030961.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: start;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">special moment with my Dad</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Zu4f0u-_c6U/U9-_wQnhlHI/AAAAAAAACbM/SMbIkd0x3G0/s320/blogger-image-70384664.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: start;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the kiss</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-16xrqN14Ka4/U9-_hZlwR_I/AAAAAAAACas/UwoKJnZZkLU/s320/blogger-image--880049937.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: start;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will cherish these pictures of my Pawpaw crying happy tears forever <span style="color: red;">♥</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3uG-eIUUTzc/U9-_dA40yHI/AAAAAAAACak/JYV9Ukgwmng/s320/blogger-image--1987623971.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"and they lived happily ever after..." <span style="color: red;">♥</span></td></tr>
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As you can tell, I ended up not going with any single picture full-page spreads. That's probably the purpose of the lay-flat books, but I did not necessarily have any picture I wished to enlarge to 1 ft by 2 ft. Haha! I did do several pages with just one picture, and that was big enough for me and my book. I personally just wanted the lay-flat pages to keep it clean and professional looking, as well as to be able to see all of any page that had pictures right up to the edge. </div>
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**<b><span style="color: red; text-decoration: underline;">UPDATE:</span> </b>I chatted with "Yeshwanth" online, telling him/her about my issue. At first, they said it was "just the cover" or something like that. I was politely adamant that no, this was an error. I did not ask for anything specific, just wanted to make them aware of the issue and see if there was anything I could do about it. Yeshwanth had me upload pictures of my issue with the book {shown above} to confirm it. After confirmation, the conversation went a<strike> little something</strike> exactly like this...</div>
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<div class="operatorText" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 4px;">
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
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<span class="operatorName" style="font-weight: bold;">Yeshwanth: </span>Nicole , I have just now checked the snap shots and i see that the extra page has been added to the book . Please accept our sincere apologies for the extra page.</div>
<div style="color: #3f3f3f;">
<span class="operatorName" style="font-weight: bold;">Yeshwanth: </span>Shall i resubmit the order for you for free of cost?</div>
<span style="color: blue;"><span class="visitorName" style="font-weight: bold;">nicole mullen: </span>Would I need to send the 1st book back</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span class="visitorName" style="font-weight: bold;">nicole mullen: </span>?</span><br />
<div style="color: #3f3f3f;">
<span class="operatorName" style="font-weight: bold;">Yeshwanth: </span>No need of sending the book back to us.</div>
<span style="color: blue;"><span class="visitorName" style="font-weight: bold;">nicole mullen: </span>Oh my gosh, well then Yes, that would be marvelous!</span><br />
<div style="color: #3f3f3f;">
<span class="operatorName" style="font-weight: bold;">Yeshwanth: </span>Please give me a moment.</div>
<div style="color: #3f3f3f;">
<span class="operatorName" style="font-weight: bold;">Yeshwanth: </span>Just now I have re submitted your order with 2 day shipping to the above address at free of cost.. You will receive a confirmation e-mail from us within few minutes.</div>
<span style="color: blue;"><span class="visitorName" style="font-weight: bold;">nicole mullen: </span>I appreciate it so much</span><br />
<div style="color: #3f3f3f;">
<span class="operatorName" style="font-weight: bold;">Yeshwanth: </span>It was a pleasure assisting you. Is there anything else I can help with today?</div>
</blockquote>
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Now how is THAT for customer service??? 100% customer satisfaction is what I am talking about!! That right there is what keeps customers coming BACK. Can I get an Amen?! </div>
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So, as you can see, the photo books are definitely worth their price, especially to commemorate such a special occasion. I think the cost right now is $79.99 for the Premier Lay Flat photo books. However, that's just for their standard 20 pages! I think it's $2.79ish for a set of two extra pages {so 4 pages including front & back} after that. My book ended up being like $164 in the end, but remember, there's usually a 50% off coupon you can find/use! {Try retailmenot.com or chat online with a customer service rep ahead of time to get a code!}</div>
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Hopefully this post will give future photo book makers a better idea of what they're doing and investing in. If you have any questions, leave a comment! :) </div>
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At the end of the day, I just loved the thing & wanted to share my great experience doing this! Now, onto the next thing on my summer to-do... only 2 weeks left of summer! {OMG!}</div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,</div>
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Nicole</div>
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<i>Oh, and in no way did Snapfish ask me to do this or pay me to say these things. But I'd so advertise their stuff {obviously} ;)</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-37298140061082390362014-08-01T17:56:00.001-04:002014-08-01T17:58:02.207-04:00Recipe: Low-Carb Dark Chocolate Truffles This is another recipe that I got from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/lowcarb4life" target="_blank">LowCarb4Life on YouTube</a>. I just had to find me a way to incorporate chocolate into my low-carb diet, so this was an easy way to do it. Her videos aren't too long and show you how to make the entire recipe, so I {being the non-foodie that I am} really appreciate that. However, she doesn't actually list out her recipes. So I have done you a favor, watched the video, written down the recipe, and counted the carbs for you!! {You're welcome!} Here you go...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Low-Carb Dark Chocolate Truffles </u></b></span><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>2 tbsp. butter</li>
<li>1/2 tsp. sugar-free vanilla syrup</li>
<li>1/2 tsp. almond {or vanilla...I chose vanilla} extract</li>
<li>2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream</li>
<li>1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips</li>
</ul>
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<b>Directions:</b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Melt butter & chocolate chips together in microwave, stirring every 30-45 seconds.</li>
<li>Add whipping cream, extract, and syrup to your buttery chocolate mixture & stir well.</li>
<li>Spoon approx. 1 tbsp. of the mix into mini cupcake liners {I just used regular sized ones}. </li>
<li>Freeze cups for 30-45 minutes.</li>
</ol>
THE END. SO EASY!<br />
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<b>This makes about 10 truffles</b>. I just stuffed the cupcake liners filled with mix anywhere I could sit them in my freezer. I also kind of rolled the liner around until the mix filled the entire bottom of the liner, if that makes <i>any</i> sense. <b>Just make sure that you don't remove from freezer/fridge until you're about to serve them...they melt/soften fairly quickly!! </b><br />
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They taste like fudge, give you your chocolate kick, and are only <span style="font-size: large;"><b>ONE net carb</b></span> per truffle!! Amazing! The entire recipe was 10 net carbs, so divide that into however many truffles you want to make, if you want to make them larger or smaller than 1 tbsp. each. :)<br />
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And here's the video if you want to watch...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0G1WkUw6RBY?list=UUIsZW8CjGcuugoYh_TfX5qg" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Enjoy!!<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,<br />
NicoleUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-49969742173792507282014-07-28T23:31:00.001-04:002014-07-28T23:37:59.768-04:00Progress Summary: Low Carb Round 2 - Week 2<div style="text-align: center;">
Well, week 2 is over! As you can see, <a href="http://nicolemsykes.blogspot.com/2014/07/progress-summary-low-carb-round-2-week-1.html" target="_blank">in week 1 of "Low Carb Round 2" I lost five whole pounds</a>. I really tried for a whole two days to continue tracking everything on here, but in pure Nicole fashion, that just did not work out. I have a few minor {and I mean minor} cheats throughout the week, and did not work out as much as I did during week #1. Last week I worked out {cardio & weight lifting each day} for five days. This week it was both for two days, cardio another day, and weight lifting another. I blame that totally on my gym partner leaving town! ;) It really does make a world of difference having someone meet you there & go through the motions with you. She also decided to "do low-carb" with me! What a pal!! </div>
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So, since I didn't track everything like I did last week, let me just tell you what I've been eating and some of my to-go-to low-carb options for the week. </div>
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Basically this week's dinner consisted of whatever concoction of hamburger meat we wanted to eat. It was either a burrito bowl or a low-carb pizza for lunch and/or dinner most nights. Salsarita's burrito bowls were definitely my inspiration and they are so easy and cheaper to make at home! </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fRbp0omK4j8/U9cRhGrrSnI/AAAAAAAACXo/ve2uO-_J1Jw/s1600/image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fRbp0omK4j8/U9cRhGrrSnI/AAAAAAAACXo/ve2uO-_J1Jw/s1600/image.jpeg" /></a></div>
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I know that is definitely not Pinterest worthy, or appealing to the eye, but YUUUUUM!!!! It's lean hamburger meat with taco seasoning, shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo. </div>
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And here's a non-Pinterest-worthy pic of our low-carb pizzas....</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3OKH5Mj_Xp8/U9cRi5eqXqI/AAAAAAAACXw/0D35r3bJzKU/s1600/image+(2).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3OKH5Mj_Xp8/U9cRi5eqXqI/AAAAAAAACXw/0D35r3bJzKU/s1600/image+(2).jpeg" /></a></div>
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We use large low-carb tortillas for the crust. Pizza sauce, Italian seasoning, lean hamburger meat (no taco seasoning this time), shredded cheese, onions, and red and green peppers for toppings! Cook for 6ish minutes at 350 degrees and voila!! You have a super yummy low-carb pizza option!! Alex asked for these two nights this week!! Warning when making these: We cut ours into four slices each, then you have to fold and hold each piece because the bottom's kind of flimsy. Either way, YUMMY! </div>
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As always, my Premier Protein shakes came in handy when I was on my way to the gym and hadn't eaten since brunch. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m0DwIyXI6-U/U9cOwkdjBUI/AAAAAAAACXM/Uo7LYJSdiKk/s1600/protein+shake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m0DwIyXI6-U/U9cOwkdjBUI/AAAAAAAACXM/Uo7LYJSdiKk/s1600/protein+shake.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.premierprotein.com/product/chocolate-shake/" target="_blank">Premier Protein Shakes (2 net carbs)</a></td></tr>
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EGGS!! Hard boiled, soft boiled, scrambled, you name it! At 0 carbs per egg, I definitely fill up on them about every morning!! </div>
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And every morning I have to have a non-water drink! HAVE TO! My drugs of choice are...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PvrE3Uvcp5E/U9cQIsMkU_I/AAAAAAAACXU/sQAQuW6rJHM/s1600/diet+dr+pep+cherry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PvrE3Uvcp5E/U9cQIsMkU_I/AAAAAAAACXU/sQAQuW6rJHM/s1600/diet+dr+pep+cherry.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Pepper really makes the only drink with "diet" in the name that I will drink!</td></tr>
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and...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DOZTunixwJo/U9cQLLKpcPI/AAAAAAAACXc/TpakGhO1tBE/s1600/coke+zero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DOZTunixwJo/U9cQLLKpcPI/AAAAAAAACXc/TpakGhO1tBE/s1600/coke+zero.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DEFINITELY better than Diet Coke!! </td></tr>
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I have left these in my car since I always want a snack in the car... About 28 nuts is only 2 net carbs!! </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QDKkbS8392Y/U9cT6NfdgOI/AAAAAAAACX8/3-HZ5Yi5EJc/s1600/almonds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QDKkbS8392Y/U9cT6NfdgOI/AAAAAAAACX8/3-HZ5Yi5EJc/s1600/almonds.jpg" /></a></div>
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Nothing super special this week...just keepin' on keepin' on. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>I lost another 1.8 this week!! </i></span></b></div>
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I know 1.8 isn't a lot, but five last week was, and was honestly surprising. I am okay with just going continuing to go down every week, even if it's in small increments. </div>
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Today was my cheat day & by the end of the day I was ready to vomit. :( Eating low-carb has made me feel better for sure!! I also think I'm gaining energy while staying full, which is always a plus!! Maybe it's sleeping in a little, but I haven't wanted to nap at all this week, except today when I was in a carb coma. :/ </div>
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So tomorrow starts week 3, kinda. Today should have started week 3, and I should have cheated yesterday, but that just means I waited even longer to really cheat. And it was really hard when my mother-in-law made this Oreo dessert for dinner on Sunday. She graciously gave me a piece to-go for my cheat day the next day though, don't you worry! ;) </div>
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So "week 3" starts tomorrow. I guess my weeks will be 6 days long instead of seven and I plan to cheat a little one day per week, just to keep myself from feeling deprived. I definitely am going to try to avoid this carb-induced yuckiness feeling though...a feeling I think I am thankful for!! </div>
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Have a great week!</div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,</div>
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Nicole</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-70446660413536831262014-07-21T22:01:00.004-04:002014-07-23T11:55:44.330-04:00Progress Summary: Low Carb Round 2 - Week 1Okay, here's the deal. I thought I was going to totally going to track these carbs like a pro this week. I tried really hard and did <i>alright.</i> I am not eating a ton of times so it's kind of easy to remember what I had yesterday. The real kicker was recipes, which is totally normal, right? It wasn't until the week was over that I really counted the carbs in my three recipes I made, and, well, that was a no-no. Thank goodness my chocolate torte {pie} was only 3 carbs per piece, but my two others could get a little high in carbs if I didn't watch it. And I didn't watch it. Totally my fault. Lesson learned. Will do better next time!!<br />
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Now, here ya go! My week. My carb intake. As well as what I did for exercise. My goal was 15ish carbs per day. You can see that some days were spot on, some better than I expected, and some, well, went <strike>a little</strike> pretty overboard {by accident}.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Day 1: Total Net Carbs: <strike>15</strike> <span style="color: magenta;">12</span></b><br />
<b>Breakfast:</b><br />
3 eggs (scrambled) - <strike>3 carbs total*</strike><span style="color: magenta;"> 0 carbs</span><br />
1/4 cup of Kraft Three Cheese shredded cheese - 1 carb.<br />
1 tbsp. of "Real Bacon Bits" - 0 carbs<br />
1/2 a can of Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry - 0 carbs<br />
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<i><strike>**Depending on your resource, eggs vary in their number of carbs, anywhere from 0.4 to 1 each. I know that's not a HUGE difference, but it's the difference in 2 for 1! To be fair, I just said each egg was 1 carb and called it a day. </strike></i><br />
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">Edit: I have no idea where I got 1 carb per egg for these eggs. The nutritional facts under the carton lid & My Fitness Pal both clearly say 0 carbs per egg. So... I guess I did better than I thought!! :)</span></i><br />
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<b>Late Lunch/Pre-Workout Snack:</b><br />
1 Chocolate Premier Protein Shake - 2 net carbs<br />
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<b>Exercise:</b><br />
30 minutes on the elliptical at levels 5 and 10<br />
Biceps and Abs for another hour, rotating with my new gym buddy, Whitney :)<br />
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<b>Dinner:</b><br />
Small-sized Low Carb Wrap - 5 net carbs<br />
with Ham, Mustard, & Mayo - 2 carbs<br />
Salad: sliced almonds, bacon bits, shredded cheese, EVOO, & red wine vinegar - approx. 2 carbs?<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Day 2: Total Net Carbs: <strike>15</strike> <span style="color: magenta;">11</span></b><br />
<b>Breakfast:</b><br />
3 eggs (scrambled) - <strike>3 carbs total*</strike> <span style="color: magenta;">0 carbs</span><br />
1 Slice of American cheese {tasted better than the shredded cheese yesterday} - 2 carbs<br />
1 tbsp. of "Real Bacon Bits" - 0 carbs<br />
1/2 a can of Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry - 0 carbs<br />
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<b>Lunch:</b><br />
1 pack of Starkist single-serve Light tuna....add mayo - 0 carbs<br />
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<b>Pre-Workout Snack:</b><br />
1 Chocolate Premier Protein Shake - 2 net carbs<br />
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<b>Dinner:</b><br />
Texas Roadhouse's grilled chicken salad {chicken, cheese, eggs, & bacon**} - MAYBE 7 carbs {I would have said 4 before I added the ranch dressing but I do enjoy me some salad dressing!}<br />
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<i>**I took off the tomatoes due to preference, and the onions and croutons to lessen the carbs. However, the amount of onions I would have had on there would have been "low carb," since 1 "medium slice" (1/8 inch thick) is 1.3 carbs and I don't douse my salad in onions. Nonetheless, the hubby was thankful! ;) </i><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Day 3: Total Net Carbs: 21 {higher than I'd wish}</b><br />
<b>Breakfast:</b><br />
1 Chocolate Premier Protein Shake - 2 net carbs<br />
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<b>Lunch:</b><br />
Salad: Lettuce, cheese, ham, turkey, chicken, tomatoes & ranch dressing. - Maybe 4 carbs?<br />
Coke Zero- 0 carbs<br />
1 single "Everything" flavored Pretzel Chip - 2 carbs... had to try just one, and I promised I would count it in my total....not worth it.<br />
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<b>Exercise:</b><br />
30 mins on the elliptical, at levels 5 and 1<br />
30 mins on the treadmill at level 10 incline<br />
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<b>Dinner:</b><br />
<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://lowcarbfamily.com/archives/category/recipes/savory-recipes/creamy-salsa-chicken-breasts" target="_blank">Creamy Salsa Chicken Breast</a> </span>- 4 carbs guesstimate<br />
Salad: cheese, bacon bits, almond slices, & leftover "cream" from the chicken recipe as my dressing - 6 carbs guesstimate<br />
1 slice of my new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZjFaLqY7XE&list=UUIsZW8CjGcuugoYh_TfX5qg" target="_blank">Low Carb Sugar-Free Chocolate Truffle Torte</a> - 3 carbs<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Day 4: Total Net Carbs: <strike>28</strike> <span style="color: magenta;">25</span> {Oops!!}</b><br />
<b>Breakfast:</b><br />
3 fried eggs with bacon - <strike>3 carbs</strike> <span style="color: magenta;">0 carbs</span><br />
Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry - 0 carbs<br />
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<i>I think I was full from my late breakfast, or forgot to eat lunch or something...</i></div>
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<b>Snack:</b></div>
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1 slice of my new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZjFaLqY7XE&list=UUIsZW8CjGcuugoYh_TfX5qg" target="_blank">Low Carb Sugar-Free Chocolate Truffle Torte</a> - 3 carbs</div>
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<b><br />Exercise:</b></div>
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30 mins of elliptical, primarily on level 1... I was beat! </div>
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30 mins of biceps</div>
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<b><br />Dinner:</b><br />
Shredded Buffalo Chicken w/ Mexican Cheese & sour cream - 14 carbs guesstimate {total low-carb mistake}</div>
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Brocolli & Cheese - approx. 5 net carbs</div>
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1 slice of my new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZjFaLqY7XE&list=UUIsZW8CjGcuugoYh_TfX5qg" target="_blank">Low Carb Sugar-Free Chocolate Truffle Torte</a> - 3 carbs</div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Day 5: Total Net Carbs: 21 {dang it!}</b><br />
<b>Breakfast:</b></div>
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6 sausage with maple syrup links with mustard- 4 carbs</div>
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Coke Zero - 0 carbs</div>
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<b><br />Lunch:</b></div>
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1 slice of my new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZjFaLqY7XE&list=UUIsZW8CjGcuugoYh_TfX5qg" target="_blank">Low Carb Sugar-Free Chocolate Truffle Torte</a> - 3 carbs</div>
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<b>Exercise: </b>30 mins of cardio, then weight lifting {abs & legs}<br />
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<b>Dinner: </b>some more of that buffalo chicken from Thursday night... - Guessing another 14 carbs :(<br />
<b><br /></b><b style="font-size: x-large;">Day 6: Total Net Carbs: 39 {toooo many!}</b><br />
<b>Breakfast:</b><br />
Leftover buffalo chicken {don't judge me...it was brunch!} - Guessing another 14 carbs :(<br />
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<b>Lunch:</b><br />
A burrito bowl from Salsarita's {beef, cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream} - approx. 5 carbs?<br />
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<b>Exercise:</b><br />
NONE<br />
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<b>Dinner: Outback Steakhouse: </b><br />
A side salad with honey mustard dressing {no croutons} - probably 15 carbs? Honey Mustard dressing will get ya!!<br />
9 oz. sirloin - 0 carbs<br />
& the best broccoli & cheese I've EVER had. So sad that they quit selling green beans.. :'( Those were my favorite!! - 5 carbs?<br />
<b><br /></b><b style="font-size: x-large;">Day 7: Total Net Carbs: 7</b><br />
<b>Breakfast: </b>1 Chocolate Premier Protein Shake - 2 net carbs<br />
<b>Lunch: </b>Salmon & mayo mix {not my best idea} - 1 carb<br />
<b>Snack: </b>Smokehouse flavored almonds - 2 net carbs<br />
<b>Exercise: </b>NONE<br />
<b>Dinner: </b>2 bacon & cheddar-filled burgers {YUM!!} - 2 carbs<br />
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It will be a miracle if I can keep this up, the logging. I am not handing out false promises today, so, I will just try to do a summary of what I ate...and you trust that it's low carb. How's that sound? I'll try to guestimate the number of net carbs I eat in a day. Sometimes it's hard with recipes you're making with ingredients and serving sizes and blah blah. But I WILL <u>TRY</u>. But if I don't, don't judge me. But as you can see, I did not starve. And I'll be honest, I didn't really miss carbs that much. Until I passed Cold Stone Creamery, and a pizza restaurant. That is mostly thanks to my new love, Coke Zero. It makes me temporarily forget Mello Yello exists.<br />
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But, nonetheless, my low-carb diet was well worth week #1. I will definitely be keeping up the good work. Why, you ask? Because the scale was at <i>onenumber </i>on Monday when I was chatting with Whitney at the gym, and on the morning of day #8, the number of the scale was <i>onenumber minus <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>FIVE POUNDS</b></span></i>!! Not even joking. I think it was a low-carb miracle.<br />
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So, wish me luck in week #2. At the end of week #2 I am having me a cheat day of all cheat days. Not that I think of it often or anything... :)<br />
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Have a great week!<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,<br />
Nicole<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-25583281655173606732014-07-18T16:48:00.000-04:002014-07-18T16:58:08.293-04:00Recipe: Low-Carb Sugar-Free Chocolate Truffle Torte!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V8Fper_WepY/U8mKN_-wSJI/AAAAAAAACWw/c390g1bfyb0/s640/blogger-image--1450432815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V8Fper_WepY/U8mKN_-wSJI/AAAAAAAACWw/c390g1bfyb0/s200/blogger-image--1450432815.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I posted a Facebook status and later an Instagram picture of my new favorite "low-carb chocolate pie" and afterwards had several people asking for the recipe. The recipe was found on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIsZW8CjGcuugoYh_TfX5qg" target="_blank">LowCarb4Life</a>. It's amateur videos of a normal person making yummy low-carb food in their home! So relatable! I haven't watched all her videos yet, but plan to watch more soon. She stopped making videos in 2008. I really wonder where she is now. The video is at the bottom of this blog post if you're interested in watching! This is my to-go-to this week as <a href="http://nicolemsykes.blogspot.com/2014/07/here-i-go-again.html" target="_blank">I begin my low-carb journey again</a>. It's sugar-free, low-carb, and will most definitely give you your chocolate fix with just one piece. LowCarb4Life doesn't listen a ton of nutritional value in her videos, just uses low-carb ingredients, so I did the homework myself. Each piece of this yummy goodness is only <b><u>3 carbs</u></b>! Try it for yourself!<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
6 oz. sugar-free chocolate chips {WalMart sells Hershey's brand...Harris Teeter doesn't have them}</div>
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1/2 cup butter</div>
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1 cup Splenda {I used the Walmart's Great Value brand....same ingredients, way cheaper}<br />
3 eggs<br />
1 tbsp. of cocoa powder {I used Hershey's brand}</div>
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2/3 cup heavy whipping cream<br />
1 tsp. vanilla {I think vanilla <i>extract</i>, but I didn't have any, so I used Torani sugar-free vanilla syrup}</div>
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<b>Steps:</b><br />
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.</div>
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Put chocolate chips & butter in a bowl & melt in microwave, stirring every 45 seconds.</div>
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Whisk in the cream, vanilla, cocoa, Splenda, and eggs. {Make sure it's stirred up good!}</div>
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Grease "torte/truffle" pan. {I used a pie pan}</div>
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Pour mixture into pan.</div>
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Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. {It'll be jiggly on the inside when you take it out of the oven.}</div>
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Let chill in fridge for at least 30 mins.</div>
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Here is the video if you are interested in watching:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HZjFaLqY7XE?list=PLDC6ED519A3A66F5A" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Entire recipe is sugar-free and each piece only has 3 carbs! ENJOY guilt-free!! :)<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,<br />
Nicole </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-76003815152809685892014-07-14T11:24:00.000-04:002014-07-14T11:37:38.192-04:00Here I go again...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WYokGlNPTcw/U8P0Q9BW0WI/AAAAAAAACWA/Prlojg-5nkM/s1600/20130430_205354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WYokGlNPTcw/U8P0Q9BW0WI/AAAAAAAACWA/Prlojg-5nkM/s1600/20130430_205354.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">personal thinspiration from our honeymoon<br />
(April 2013) </td></tr>
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Last year, for a solid 5+ months, I "did low carb." Of course, getting married will kick any undisciplined person into high gear & the result of my dedication and sacrifice was a much needed 25 lb. weight loss. After the wedding & honeymoon, Alex and I kind of climbed off the carb crazy train, just tried to "eat better" and continued to exercise-- a.k.a. we introduced carbs back into our life. Please hear me when I say that introducing carbs back into our diet did NOT backfire. I often hear people say, "You can't go on a low carb diet successfully because when you stop you will gain all the weight back," and then some people finish that sentence with a, "Plus more." Yes, I kept exercising. No, I didn't gorge myself in sweets. <a href="http://nicolemsykes.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-weight-loss-journey-9-months-later.html" target="_blank">I maintained a 20 lb. weight loss.</a> But it wasn't until I went back to work, which was extremely stressful, and ate like straight up crap for weeks and did not exercise one time that I gained not only a few lbs. back, but every single pound that I had lost.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>LESSON LEARNED. </b></span><br />
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It's high time I get back some discipline. I did it before and I can do it again. I know the efforts will be worth it, I just need to get to work. And by get to work, I mean plan, and track, and avoid, and tell myself no. And pray for God to help me find the strength to not have Mello Yello or sugar. Sounds like a drag but I know I can still have foods I love, and I know I will see some results. I won't have to worry about calorie-counting, or SUPER restricting myself. So.... I am thinking positive thoughts! :)<br />
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In the mean time, I will be looking for new low-carb recipes. If you have any suggestions, or websites that give some *easy* (y'all know I'm no pro in the kitchen) options, please send them to me! And wish me luck!!<br />
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<b>PS:</b> I realize <a href="http://nicolemsykes.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-weight-loss-journey-9-months-later.html" target="_blank">I said I was starting "Round 2" last August</a>, but that's when I started my new position at work and started hating life SO- like I said... It's high time I get back some discipline. For real this time. I had an xL Mello Yello last night, and I am READY. Get ready for some #lowcarb all over the place.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-64784059244728612822014-06-28T20:53:00.001-04:002014-06-28T21:17:36.830-04:00Alyssa & Joe's Wedding Video Before I say anything, I want to <strike>say</strike> scream <b><span style="font-size: large;">THANK YOU</span></b> to Alyssa for being <i>super </i>patient with me. Her and handsome Joe got married October 26th and here we are, eight months later, and she finally gets to watch her wedding video! I started this "venture" last summer, having absolutely NO EARTHLY idea what I was doing. I had a "great" idea, a camera, some awesome editing software, and some time (then). I didn't think that booking 3 weddings would consume my time and emotions the way it has for the past 10 months. Yeah, I said it... TEN months!! To try to make myself feel better, I have only been working on Alyssa & Joe's video for less than two months (43 days to be exact). And that's not bad, right? :/ Yeah... again, I am sorry for the delay y'all!! I hope the wait was worth it when you see your video!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E2r1J-oh05A/U69pIiCZOLI/AAAAAAAACVg/Y8aMVsM3G-k/s1600/alyssas+wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E2r1J-oh05A/U69pIiCZOLI/AAAAAAAACVg/Y8aMVsM3G-k/s1600/alyssas+wedding.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>Okay, to the main point of this blog... Alyssa & Joe's wedding video is here, and done, and so so sweet!! Can I just say... Alyssa might watch this video & be like, "Is this the Joe Show?!" and the answer is yes. It kind of is. I say that because Joe was working it on his wedding day!! That man was a big ball of emotion and who <i>doesn't</i> want to watch a groom wipe tears away and laugh with his beautiful bride?? I love how mommas and bridesmaids and, again, the groom cried happy tears about the whole time! Alyssa, way to keep it together, girl! At least for the camera. ;) When they weren't laughing, they were crying. It was absolutely precious. And oh how I loved how the bridal parties prayed over the bride & the groom before the wedding. It was truly precious. I know I just said "precious" twice, but that's just how darn precious it truly was!! I can't wait for Alyssa & Joe to watch their raw footage. There was 2+ hours of footage that had to be cropped and fit to music. So much awesome footage "didn't make the cut" and that kind of made me sad. There were sweet clips of Alyssa's late grandfather, full footage of fun dances, and, of course, audio. :)<br />
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This couple loves them some Jesus and I loved filming their big day for them. Their wedding day was perfect and they are a blessed couple! It's been eight months, but I still have four months of well wishes to send you, Alyssa and Joe. I hope the first year of marriage is treating you well and you continue to fall more and more in love with each other and with Jesus every day. Y'all are an inspiration. Keep on keepin' on!!<br />
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Without further ado, here is Alyssa & Joe's wedding video**...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/99431458" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/nicolemullen/martinezwedding" target="_blank">Joe & Alyssa Martinez {10.26.2013}</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/nicolemullen" target="_blank">Nicole Mullen</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/" target="_blank">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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**As always, view in HD, if you can, to improve image quality. Enjoy!! :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-73480639360182805452014-05-06T15:30:00.000-04:002014-05-06T15:41:14.718-04:00Holly & Clint's Wedding Video<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cj9lFvhM95Y/U2k4ILEuWyI/AAAAAAAACTE/dlA6lTIVDg8/s1600/holly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cj9lFvhM95Y/U2k4ILEuWyI/AAAAAAAACTE/dlA6lTIVDg8/s1600/holly.jpg" height="320" width="244" /></a>3 down, one more to go!<br />
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I know Clint and Holly are glad to finally hear me say, "Your video is ready!" They have been sooo patiently waiting on me as I worked on videos to do before theirs and ya know, did life in the mean time. They have been SUPER understanding and, for that, I want to shout a big THANK YOU to them!!!! </div>
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Clint and Holly were my first paid "clients" so I wanted to do 110% for them. I knew I could/should not rush through editing their video to get one more thing off my plate (which is another reason this has taken me so long). As I started watching and cropping their (then 2+ hour) video footage, I fell in love with their wedding day. I guess I couldn't "take it all in" the day of, just because I was "working" and stressed about doing a good job, especially since they paid me. I was there as the girls began to get ready and left mid-reception once my lighting ran out. (Don't forget, I'm an amateur!) Therefore, I got to see the roller coaster of emotions throughout the day and love love loved that I got to capture most of it on video. </div>
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First of all, Clint and Holly had the good Lord above on their side on their special day. They got married at Vesuvius Vineyards in Lincolnton, NC ..... which translates to: they had their ceremony outside. Now, doing so in the late afternoon in July is 100% a risk. A risk I know all about, seeing as how I had just gotten married outside in April. It rained on my wedding day, resulting in us having the ceremony under the tent we planned to have our reception under. While my special day was imperfect, yet still beautiful and amazing, I didn't want Holly to have any regrets. About 45 minutes before the ceremony was to begin, the bottom fell out and it POURED rain!! As you will see in the video, Holly looked a little worried/stressed out/whatever you want to call it as she looked out the window, but like I said, the good Lord above was on their side and knew they were meant to have their ceremony as planned, because about 10 minutes before 6:00, the rain stopped and the sky cleared. The staff at Vesuvius Vineyards got to chair-wiping and we all reminded Holly to breathe, as her big moment was about to happen!! Holly, I want you to know just how blessed you are!! Clint, you too, but you could have probably cared less, haha! </div>
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Second, Clint and Holly get the award for The Couple Who Kissed The Most On Their Wedding Day!! Have mercy!! :) You could tell they were madly in love and by gosh, that's what it's all about! </div>
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And I love Holly's choice of music for the video. She picked music from their wedding for the video and I love her taste in music! While HelloGoodbye's "Here In Your Arms" is always fun, it made it a challenge to include her father-daughter dance as well as her stepsister's touching speech while it sang about lips touching and liking how you sleep next to me, but, my crazy perfectionist self made it work! (I told you...110%!) </div>
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Without further ado, here's a link to Clint and Holly's wedding video... Enjoy! :)</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/93978581" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/93978581">Clint & Holly Hennessee {07.20.2013}</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/nicolemullen">Nicole Mullen</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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PS: I shot and uploaded the video in HD. The option was set to automatically view in HD, so you can see the video in its best quality. If you are viewing on a device that does not support HD, the video may appear a bit distorted- and that's why! </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-43484437067895271842014-04-25T00:53:00.000-04:002014-04-26T11:52:22.437-04:00Year #1: A Reflection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, as I reflect on this past year, learning to be a wife and to do life with someone else, I realize how beautiful of a day it is. I know someone's getting married today, and probably outside because they were a risk-taker like myself. Well lucky for them, there's a 0% chance of precipitation today in this part of North Carolina. {As much as I want to "get over it," it's still hard. BUT} somewhere someone is getting married outside today <b>and it will rain</b>. First of all, I hope you have a plan B. And second, I hope your plan B is as beautiful as mine was. My plan B wedding was beautiful, but what made it the most beautiful was the people there. I will never forget that day as the day spent with all my loved ones, supporting Alex and I as we began our life together. The efforts from those who had to move things around at the last minute, get wet in the rain, and stress for me did not go unnoticed and I will forever be grateful. I promise you that. </div>
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But, today I am not really reflecting on our wedding day, but the crazy year following that wedding day. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">They say the first year of marriage is hard. I'm scared to say it's the worst, because you never know what the future holds, BUT-- I can see how some people say it's the worst. As you may </span><i style="text-align: center;">or may not </i><span style="text-align: center;">know/care, Alex and I did not live together before we were married. So it went a little something like this: You have the hustle and bustle of wedding planning, followed by one of you moving (for us, it was me...fun), and then all of a sudden you have a roommate, who is not only a boy, but is now your HUSBAND! That's a lot to do and a lot to figure out in a short amount of time. The good news is, we have the rest of our lives to figure it out.</span><br />
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This past year, a lot has happened:<br />
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<li>I moved (like I said) for the 11th time in eight years. (No joke. I am not a fan.)</li>
<li>We spent a week honeymooning in paradise. (We highly recommend Sandals Grande Riviera in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.) </li>
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<li>I finished my first and (little did I know) last full school year doing school-based therapy at Bessemer City Middle School. I really miss the staff there and most of my kids. ;) That had the potential to be an amazing job. </li>
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<li>I spent two months taking a break from life, work, and stress. I consistently worked out, slept well, ate carbs again, and didn't gain any weight back from my pre-wedding diet. I had lots of girl time with my gal pals and spent lots of time at my in-laws' pool. It was amazing.</li>
<li>I started a new position at work in August. I absolutely hated it and unfortunately, it showed in and affected every area of my life. </li>
<li>In September, we had less than a week to decide if we were going to move. An opportunity arose for us to invest in another fixer-upper and we jumped on the chance. I say that lightly, but putting our house on the market, fixing a house up for a month, and then moving (for my now 12th time in 8 years) was taxing. Taxing, but worth it. </li>
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<li>By November, I was looking for a plan B. I signed up to take the Praxis so I could obtain my school counseling licensure. Working in mental health was not what I thought it was going to be and I couldn't let the negatives of my job continue to affect the rest of my life. I wasn't even seeing clients anymore, so I didn't have much left to miss. </li>
<li>I learned a great lesson. I learned that no matter how perfect something seems, if it's not God's will, you need to be able to walk away. I had the most amazing job interview. I nailed it, or so I thought. We laughed. I answered all their questions promptly and with ease. We discussed start dates and me having to put in a notice at my current job. They told me they valued my integrity. They complimented me often during the interview. And more importantly, I had connections. I was told I'd hear from them within 2 days as I was their last interview. I waited <strike>patiently</strike> to hear back. Christmas break came and went. I never heard another word. As perfect as it had seemed, I had to let it go. I was still miserable at my current job, but knew God had something better in mind. As perfect as I <i>thought</i> that job opportunity was, it obviously wasn't. (Note to employers: Don't say you'll notify an interviewee either way if you don't plan on doing so. That's just mean.) It's a perfect life lesson to take with me in all aspects of life: <b>Just because something seems perfect, doesn't mean it's for your best. Let God do the working out; you'll thank Him later. </b></li>
<li>We celebrated our first holidays as husband and wife. We've been together many-o-holidays in the past 10ish years together; however, we've never actually celebrated all holidays fully together. It was awesome and different and a learning experience. I am grateful we have so many loved ones to visit. Balancing how to see them all in a decent amount of time without going crazy will be something we hope to figure out in years to come. :) </li>
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<li><span style="text-align: center;">I started my new job at the end of January. Saying "see you later" to my life working in mental health, and to my amazing co-workers was tough, but I knew it was necessary. I didn't worry about seeing my co-workers again. Almost all of us have left now and we get together on a regular basis to have girl time. Real friends stay in touch. I value my time, experience, and relationships formed from working in mental health, but now it's time to start new experiences and form new relationships. </span></li>
<li>I have yet to complain about my new job. It may come in the future, but it's 10x better than the day-to-day I previously faced, emotionally speaking. It is absolutely draining to hate your job. Once I started my new job, I had to figure out how to get my life back. I (of course) had gained back every pound I had previously lost. (Stress and depression will do that to ya.) I had to get back to eating better, getting rest, exercising again, and trying to be the wife and friend I knew I could be. That's tough--knowing you need to do better in 10+ areas of life and trying to improve in them all at the same time, knowing it's what you and your husband deserve. That alone is stressful, but I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to try. I am super grateful for Alex being as supportive as he has been. He is so thankful for my new job as well, and he tells me he sees a difference in my mood, spirit, and energy since changing jobs. He was there on days I needed him to give me a lift. He was there for me on days I needed him to hand me chocolate and just let me wallow. And that's reason #261 why I love being married, and love being married to Alex. </li>
<li>We just spent our last week of year #1 in Mexico, celebrating our one year anniversary.</li>
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<li>...and Alex started his new job the day we came back from vacation.</li>
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That's a lot of big changes. That's a lot of transition, which brings lots of emotion. Learning to juggle those emotions with learning how to live with a new person and BE MARRIED is tough stuff, which probably has something to do with the fact that people say the first year is the toughest. But man oh man, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am eternally grateful to say that I am married to my husband, to his family, and to our life together. I am no longer me, I am part of an us. A for-real, legit, committed, signed and sealed official, and ready-for-the-long-haul version of us. That's scary but so awesome at the same time. I am no longer responsible for just me (which I have always struggled with), but I am also responsible for half of us (and sometimes both of us, haha) and that's something I need. It's good and healthy for me to learn to live, grow, and be with my favorite husband. It's good to have someone you can be 100% vulnerable with, and I think it's even better that we chose to wait to figure life out together until we were married. This way, there's no exit option. ;) Haha.... but really, we chose and vowed to not only live life together, but to figure out how to do it in a way that's best for us and hopefully glorifies the Lord along the way. We have learned a lot about life, each other, and what it means to be married this year. But all in all, we know we have a LOT left to learn. We are newbies at this. We WILL mess up but we WILL figure out how to fix it, some how, some way, at some time. We are in this together and for that, I am pretty excited to see what year #2 holds. I'm sure it'll bring some sort of transition. Each year seems to do that. But togetherness is what it's about. I am so thankful for the other half of my us. I feel secure knowing he tries to make every decision with my and our best in mind.<br />
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I always hoped I'd get to marry my high school sweetheart; he had a lot of great qualities. Thank God we're not who we were in high school, but as we grew up, still gravitated towards each other. I thought I liked him when I was in 10th grade...but high school Alex has nothing on adult Alex and I am so thankful I got to marry adult Alex!! Like I said above, "<b>Just because something seems perfect, doesn't mean it's for your best. Let God do the working out; you'll thank Him later." </b><br />
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Staying tuned to see what favor we'll experience and lessons we'll learn together in year #2..... <span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-41759451060400645242014-02-02T15:00:00.001-05:002014-02-02T15:40:25.290-05:00Finally, Mark & Delora's Wedding Day Video! It's here! It's here!<br />
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To make a long story short, my spare time and energy was completely non-existent for a (longer than I had wanted) while, so I unfortunately have taken WAY longer than I had expected to finish my first video. I recently began a new job (which is going AMAZING by the way) and my prayer is that I will regain my life, energy, time, and positivity very soon for my next two brides awaiting their videos!<br />
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I know I said <a href="http://nicolemsykes.blogspot.com/2013/09/our-wedding-day-video.html" target="_blank">this was my first video</a>, and it was, but I have just finished my first video <u>from scratch</u>! I did the shooting AND editing. So, it's technically MY first. I am proud of it yet realizing where to improve with future videos.<br />
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Alright, so... Delora was the bride of the first wedding I shot. I have to give a shout out to Delora for allowing me to be a part of her big day! I did not charge her because I had no earthly idea what I was doing, but the experience was definitely needed and I now have one more video under my belt! :) And thank you, Delora, for being so amazingly patient with me! I hope your video is at least something you can keep to help you reminisce whenever you want about one of the happiest days of your life. :)<br />
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I also want to give a shout out to ANYone who does videography (or even photography) as a hobby or a part-time job. Man oh man oh MAN did I underestimate the insane amount of TIME that it would take after the big day. I was with Delora from the time she began getting ready until my camera died (lesson #1) pretty late into their reception. I had a few hours of film to review, crop, edit, and put to about 15 mins of music. Seriously, one of the hardest parts is cutting so much footage. I will definitely be giving her the raw footage so she can hear her guests' comments/well wishes & seeing what isn't included in the video.<br />
<br />
Without further ado, I present to you my first made-from-scratch wedding video, the video of Mark and Delora Benfield's very special day!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/85631610" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/85631610">Mark & Delora Benfield {06.08.2013}</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user20593360">Nicole Mullen</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Please let me know what you think- while remembering...<br />
I'm not a professional.<br />
I had no idea what I was doing.<br />
This is solely a hobby.<br />
& I am open to any advice! :)<br />
<br />
Also- I have yet to figure out why the video, which was shot in HD, looks grainy the bigger the screen gets. I haven't tested it on the TV yet, but the bigger the player (for example: straight off of Vimeo's website) the worse the quality looks. If anyone wants to help me with this, I would sure appreciate it! I've Googled it a lot and it appears that my settings are what they should be (94% sure of it) but the quality still looks worse in bigger video players! :( I am sorry about that! AND, I apologize for any darker scenes... the lights are typically dimmed during receptions and I don't have an additional light. (Reminder: this is just a hobby for me!)<br />
<br />
If I can get the problem solved I will re-upload the video & let you know! :)<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">♥</span>,<br />
Nicole<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-39098846260213758272014-01-20T11:27:00.000-05:002014-01-20T11:30:38.656-05:00Lightening my load...plus extra random tid bits on my mindSometimes I find myself creating a really long, random Facebook status/post about five different things. Sometimes I actually do think before I post and delete, telling myself: A) that was going to be way too long & B) who cares?<br />
<br />
Sometimes I want to post like five different things back to back. I guess that's what Twitter is for. But I just cannot manage the 140 or less character limit. Nor can I stand checking Twitter. And I don't know who I actually know that's on Twitter that <i>isn't</i> my Facebook friend. Facebook's way easier. I really don't even know why I have an Instagram. (Oh wait, yes I do) - because everyone I know posts their IG pics on IG & on Facebook. And then there's those 2 friends who are on IG but not on Facebook (hey Ashley & Julie!)<br />
<br />
Anyways. I'll resort to vomiting my random thoughts/feelings on HERE instead of on Facebook. That way, only those who stumble upon my blog will read it...and if you're this far into the post & still reading, it's because you want to. I may or may not post a link on my FB wall to check this post out *if you want*.. get it? That way you can only say you know because you went that extra click to see what I had to say. Because you care. Or because you're super nosey, but whatever.<br />
<br />
I can really get off topic. What I was GOING to say was... (a few different things I feel like bullet-listing today)...<br />
<ul>
<li>I am so thankful for a day off work. I put my notice in a week ago and it felt SO good. Only ONE more day of evals & 4 more workdays! Thanks be to God! I had a nightmare last night about doing evals...and how my 1 eval turned into 1 with their 3 kids (making it 4 evals) and I had an allergic reaction and my mouth and tongue swole up and I could hardly breathe. And I was told to figure out how to get them all done anyways. Even knowing I'm on my way out and I'm still having work-related nightmares. This is not okay. </li>
<li>On that note, I am so excited to start something completely new and challenging. A healthy kind of challenging. I am so eager to learn and get my feet wet. I am so excited that I get to begin my school counseling career at a high school. While I would have taken any job and made it work, high schoolers are my thing! Don't get me wrong- I loved doing therapy with my middle schoolers last year, but I kept finding myself thinking, "I'd love to talk to you in three to six years." :) </li>
<li>I am off work today (I think I said that already) but I am doing what I can to take some weight off my shoulders....and the rest of my body. I am letting this unhealthy breakfast settle (don't judge) and then I am getting my butt to to gym for workout #1 for the day. Then I plan on coming home, parking myself at the dining room table (where I feel I will be most productive) & getting as much wedding video editing done as possible today. I hope to reveal my 2nd video to you super soon! <a href="http://nicolemsykes.blogspot.com/2013/09/our-wedding-day-video.html" target="_blank">Here's mine/my first</a>. :) THEN I will be attending my first ever yoga class this evening! More on that later...</li>
<li>And I have to figure out how to drug myself & with what to get myself asleep at like 9pm tonight so I can get on my new crazy sleep schedule. I'll have to be at work at 7:15. While means I need to leave the house at 6:45. Which means I need to wake up at like...5:15 to be safe. Which means I need to go to bed at 6pm. (just kidding....but seriously, have to figure this thing out or I will die.)</li>
</ul>
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So many thoughts...so little time! I hope you are having a wonderful day, whatever day you read this! Do something today to lighten your load...your physical or your mental load. Either way, weight's hard to carry. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">♥</span>,</div>
<div>
Nicole</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-87648759072142964582014-01-18T22:48:00.000-05:002014-01-18T23:02:20.629-05:00Starting off 2014 a little more positive So the last time I blogged I think I was having a nervous breakdown. I was completely overwhelmed and that was mid(?) November. Fast forward to mid January. It's 2014. It's a new year. And I am working very hard to make this year better than the last. I think that should be a general rule: Try to make this year better than last year.<br />
<br />
I think some work-related depression coupled with my anxiety just spun things out of control. Any small task seemed like the end of the world and when I'm overwhelmed, well, good luck. I am glad I am a therapist and know "the secrets" of what to do in situations like that. Not that I readily use said skills, but I know what to do in case I want to do what's best. Sometimes I just want to close my eyes, or sleep, or cry, or just watch The Mindy Project on the couch with my favorite husband while I eat whatever I want. And that's okay!<br />
<br />
But this is 2014 and I'm doing things differently like everyone else, right? Fingers crossed! I got together with some work gal pals a few weeks ago and it turned into a self-help group. We all work(ed) together so we felt each other's pain and could vent and laugh about our frustrations and just how low things had gotten. We made a self-help plan if you will, which we called Operation 4-3-2-1. This was primarily for me & one other gal pal, and the other two used their therapeutic skills to help us make realistic, small, obtainable, measurable goals...because that's what you do as a therapist. Right? Right! I was supposed to make sure I did the four things however many times a week I was supposed to. Well, so far not so great but dang I'm trying! I have increased my exercise, cooking, vitamin-taking, and ... other things :) & that's what matters! I am on my way! Wait on me...I'm coming!<br />
<br />
I really do want 2014 to be better. 2013 was my best year yet. SOOO many amazing things happened in 2013. God rained down blessings upon me & for that I am thankful! 2013 was also pretty difficult for me and I could have done some things better. I really shouldn't beat myself up, but when you have anxiety brain like I do...guilt and shame typically follow. I am working on it!! :) I just started the book <u>Grace For The Good Girls: Letting Go Of The Try Hard Life</u> by Emily P. Freeman. A local church just began a Bible study on the book last week (& I missed it! Ugh!) but I plan to join them next week. The book was recommended to me by a few friends after they read my last blog post/meltdown.<br />
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I am extremely thankful for my gal pals that have supported me lately. I have felt the love, y'all. You ROCK!<br />
<br />
As A-MAZING as 2013 was, I have a feeling 2014 will be even better!! Don't ask me how because it's got some big shoes to fill! But a new job, having my summer off (and all other school scheduled breaks), celebrating our one year anniversary, turning 2-7 (yikes), and whatever else 2014 has to offer won't hurt!<br />
<br />
{Insert your thoughts about the fact that 2014 may include a baby Mullen....you all do that to me any time I talk about good things happening, haha.}<br />
<br />
Hopefully with the new job I will have some more time to do life. I already have a pending to-do list and have made the executive decision to not add any un-needed responsibilities on my plate until I get my life back together. That's a start, right??<br />
<br />
Wish me luck!!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,<br />
Nicole<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ocJgVZm1OE/UttOIIHyRiI/AAAAAAAACOM/7e6skbnhdBo/s1600/new+years.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ocJgVZm1OE/UttOIIHyRiI/AAAAAAAACOM/7e6skbnhdBo/s1600/new+years.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Insert random pic of me & my favorite husband ~ Happy New Year!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-33611141494755103212013-11-16T23:28:00.000-05:002013-11-16T23:28:31.357-05:00My Crazy Mind: This Is Not Okay. I love to read blogs when I get a minute. I've fallen in love with Candace Cameron Bure & I read all of her blog updates. Her latest one was a guest post talking about <a href="http://candacecameronbure.net/practically-speaking/finding-rest-in-the-midst-of-a-busy-world/" target="_blank">"Finding Rest in the Midst of a Busy World"</a> and it read my heart exactly. I yearn for spiritual (and literal) rest lately. This isn't going to be an encouraging, tip-giving blog. Not that I "do those" but I do typically like to provide solutions to problems instead of just complain. I actually prefer to solve problems ASAP but, nevertheless...<br />
<br />
I kind of wanted to throw my thoughts out there in the blogosphere, let it all out & hope that maybe I'm not the only one or, if I'm lucky, get some tips or some encouragement back.<br />
<br />
I like to think of myself as independent, determined, and a problem-solver. Realistically, I am EASILY overwhelmed and depressed. This is not okay. I can't remember a time when I was bored, or didn't have the weight of a large to-do list on my shoulders. The to-do list could vary from things others are depending on me for or crazy things I mistakenly add to my own plate. If I sit, I feel guilty. But ironically enough, I find absolutely no guilt in napping. Crazy how that works. Sleep is one of my top five favorite things in this world and I am not ashamed to admit it. I used to nap a lot...but with marriage and working a full-time job, I really don't anymore. Maybe that's the problem. ;)<br />
<br />
I just wanted to give you just a glimpse of maybe an <u>hour-long</u> span of my crazy personal thoughts lately so you can see where I am coming from:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I am so behind at work. I must work a little bit from home, even though I vowed I was going to stop doing that. If I work a little bit later, I'll get more done. I have SO many evaluations to write. I'll never be caught up. There's no point in even trying. The 10% paycut doesn't help. My student loans and medical bills are outrageous! That. Is. Not. Fair. Why did I even go to graduate school? </i><i>I need to go see Mawmaw in the hospital. She's lonely out there in Mount Holly. She's one of my most favorite people ever. I don't want her to be lonely. </i><i>MY HOUSE IS A DISASTER. There are boxes everywhere. My husband hasn't thrown anything in his nightstand away since high school...or before. I cannot deal with all this clutter. I should have taken a week off work to deal with this. I can't put anything up until the paint's done. The painter's not done yet. Where is our {fill in the blank}? I hear animals in the attic. We probably should do something about that. What are we doing for dinner? I will be home late. I don't have the energy to cook. I don't know how to cook. I want something quick, cheap, and yummy to eat. But fast food's horrible for you. And I've only been to the gym once in 2-3 MONTHS. I am gaining weight again. But I don't question why. But I feel bad. But I'm busy. But I am gaining weight. Do you know how hard I worked to lose the weight I did lose? I don't know if I want to do low-carb or low-calorie. Either way, I'll have to go back to the gym. But I'm tired. And I didn't get home until after 8:00. But I'm gaining weight. But fast food is so yummy. But my house is a wreck- I really should be fixing that. And wedding videos!! I am so behind on wedding videos. I had no idea they'd take this much time after-the-fact or I would have never signed up for this. But I enjoy doing it. But I have zero time to finish the videos. And thank you cards! I have not finished my thank you cards from all the amazingness I received for our wedding. I feel so bad about that. I really am thankful. I need a shower. But doing my hair is so annoying. I could go to bed with my hair wet. I don't think Alex likes it when I go to bed with my hair wet. What am I going to wear to church tomorrow? What'd I wear to church last week? I don't want to wear the same thing 2 weeks in a row. I dread getting up early in the morning. I'll probably want a nap tomorrow. Who has time for a nap? I have so much to do here before I go back to work Monday. I am so behind at work... </i></blockquote>
<i><br /></i>
And the cycle continues. I feel like I need to do as much as physically possible to fix the problems that I can, and am willing to, fix. I have spent every waking moment unpacking, organizing, and cleaning in the "simple" attempt to get this house under control. I think if I can get the house under control {when has that ever happened?} then I will feel innocent enough to sit and work on wedding videos or write thank you cards. The only reason I sat down to blog was because I am too tired to stand any longer. I have been working like a crazy lady all day and I simply need some R&R. But then the guilt set in and I was all like, "This is not okay."<br />
<br />
I am sure...or at least I hope that I am not the only one that feels like this. I'm sure I'm not. The internet is full of women who protest social media because all it does is make you feel inferior. Inferior as a wife, mother, homemaker, clothes-wearer, whatever. I 100% believe it does, but for different reasons. The internet especially has made me realize that some women seem to get more done in a day than I do. Why is that? I have no idea. They probably sleep less. They probably wake up super early in the morning, chipper, ready to take on the day. They probably have super high metabolism and don't need to work out to stay attractive. {I tell myself that a lot to make me feel better but I know that belittles their physical effort so I take it back.} I am sure they have money and can delegate some duties out, or don't feel obligation to work 45-50 hours per week to <i>try</i> to stay on top of things. Again. I don't know..just throwing some guesses out there. I read someone say recently, "We all have the same number of hours in a day as Beyonce." How ridiculous for someone to even think that, let alone say it! Beyonce has a ton of MONEY, and a TEAM of people to help her get it all done. She BETTER get a lot done!<br />
<br />
My dad always told me growing up that I cannot do it all, as in...things cost time and money and you only have so much time, money, energy, and resources. I think he was teaching me a lesson in prioritizing and the value of saying no. I have obviously not learned that lesson yet, but I already appreciate it.<br />
<br />
And of course, when your brain is chaotic, and guilt-ridden, and you just have a million things to do, but you're tired, and exhausted, and hungry, and haven't spent any time with your husband yet today...what's the first thing to go? If you're anything like me, it's probably your relationship with Christ, which I feel the most guilty about. I try to find ways to connect with Him throughout the day, but it's not enough and it's exactly the problem. If I was as God-centered as I should be, I highly doubt I would be driving myself this crazy. But would I find more time to do things? I don't know. Would my house be any more cleaner or organized? I don't know. Would I be able to spend time with my family, husband, friends, God, and get my work done? I obviously don't know. But I would have more of a peace about things. I am horrible with commitment, so I'm not going to make any promises. But I just want you to know that I know that's the problem. And I really want to solve that problem, as soon as possible. I'm going to take my sleepy self upstairs, open up my Bible, and hope time stands still for a while so I can still get maybe seven hours of sleep.<br />
<br />
<b>Am I crazy? Am I normal? Do you feel like this too? What do you do to pull yourself back together? I obviously am welcoming any & all suggestions. ;) </b><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-21252696732212587942013-09-07T21:41:00.000-04:002013-09-08T00:17:50.637-04:00Our Wedding Day VideoWell, the day is here. And it's about time! Over four months later, I am completely finished {as much as I'm going to be for now} with our wedding video. Cut me some slack, please. I know I've been talking about it since we got back from our honeymoon in the beginning of May. But it wasn't until mid-June that I was introduced to some amazing video editing software from my lifesaver, Travis. I don't know what my plan was before I was introduced to the software {Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum} but I am just thankful to God above that Travis saw that the software was being offered on Groupon and gave me the heads up. I didn't get the software in the mail for another three weeks....so <i>really</i> I have been holding on to this project for only like, two months, right? I did have a LOT to learn, teaching myself the new software. I am so thankful for Google and YouTube tutorials. Without them, I would have been completely dumbfounded. And going back to work a week earlier than I had planned really threw a kink in my summer plans, which was to not do anything all summer and complete my summer to-do list in the last week of summer. Duh. But anyways, two months isn't bad, right? Right! I am busy working 40+ hours a week, juggling two to three positions at work right now depending on the day, and still adjusting to being / attempting to figure out how <i>not</i><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>to be the world's worst wife ever. Oh and doing crazy things like taking sewing classes and <a href="http://nicolemsykes.blogspot.com/2013/09/obsessed-withadoption.html" target="_blank">being consumed by all things Jen Hatmaker and adoption</a>. But the wait is over!<br />
<br />
First of all, I want to say that I cannot take the credit for this video. Yes, I put it together. But of course I did not video our wedding day. The ever-so-gracious Preston Springer {husband of the fabulous Deedie Springer, owner of <a href="http://springvinedesign.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Springvine Design</a>- check her out} videoed the day for us. Bless his heart. I also incorporated pictures from our special day that helped tell the day's story. Our photographer was the awesome Kerri Crutchfield with <a href="http://www.lilliangraceimages.com/" target="_blank">Lillian Grace Images</a>.<br />
<br />
I really enjoyed watching the video clips and stringing them together to tell our very special story. So much in fact that I got the notion that I might want to attempt to try videoing other brides' special days! I bought the camera for Preston to use on our wedding day. I bought the fancy software. I figured out how to use it as much as my brain will comprehend. So I thought I am already invested so I might as well give it a try! Therefore, I now have two other videos to show you... as soon as possible! I promise! ;)<br />
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So... if you have 16ish minutes of time to spare, please take a look at our wedding video! It's a behind-the-scenes or an in-case-you-couldn't-make-it look at our special day. I worked very hard on putting it together. And it's my first video baby. <u>I know it's not perfect.</u> But it's my wedding video and I will cherish it forever. I am so grateful I have footage of our day. Photography was top on my list but videography adds that special something extra.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/74029403" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> </div>
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Please let me know how you like it! Or that you watched it! Ensure me it was worth taking the time to figure out how to compress the file size and upload it online! It's something personal, of course, that I want to keep for myself, but I also wanted to be able to share the joy of the day with you as much as I could! And I'd love any positive, constructive feedback you have to offer because like I said, this is my first video and I still have a lot to learn.<br />
<br />
I hope you like it!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,<br />
NicoleUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-57424121559649611142013-09-05T23:08:00.003-04:002013-09-06T23:43:06.271-04:00Obsessed with...Adoption???Something is stirring inside of me. I can't exactly tell you what it is, because I don't know. But God is at work. I have a passion stirring inside of me and I don't know what to do with it. God has placed something on my heart and it is <b><i>consuming </i></b>me. {Ask my husband for confirmation. He is borderline annoyed.} And I have no idea why this is happening. But one thing I do know is that <b>God is at work</b>. I can just tell. Call me crazy, but I am so consumed.<br />
<br />
What is consuming me, you ask?<br />
<br />
The idea of, concept of, process of, transparency (and lack thereof) involving, act of, positives and negatives of....adoption.<br />
<br />
I want to know so much about it right now. I want to know it all. I want to figure it all out.<br />
<br />
I have been completely obsessed with <a href="http://jenhatmaker.com/" target="_blank">Jen Hatmaker</a>. I mean <i>completely</i>. My "lunch breaks" at work since school has started back has consisted of scarfing down a Tupperware container of yogurt & fruit while reading a new blog post of hers. I could spend hours reading her posts, as well as the thousands of comments her readers post. Some are about her life. Some about her children. Some about her job. Some about her passions. But a lot are about her adoption story. I'm honestly obsessed with her in general because she is completely hilarious and I think we have a lot in common, BUT- I am so into reading her blog posts about adoption because they are honest. They are transparent. They are heart-wrenching. They bring you joy. They make you want to cry (sad and happy tears). They are so realistic. They give you hope. They inspire you to adopt. But more importantly because <b>they are realistic in a scary way and still inspire you to adopt.</b><br />
<br />
I'm going to do <strike>myself</strike> you a favor and one day {soon} compile all of her adoption posts into one, chronological list of posts. <i>By the way, Jen, there's these things called "tags" that you can categorize your posts with. PS, I love you. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>Until then, check out this awesome canvas art I found at a store in Wilmington, NC in December 2012 and just had to take a picture of. I wish I would have bought it.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GMUwt59KGEw/UilAkwjR1hI/AAAAAAAACKM/2ZpqzIiWclg/s1600/adoption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GMUwt59KGEw/UilAkwjR1hI/AAAAAAAACKM/2ZpqzIiWclg/s400/adoption.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
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I just wanted to throw this all out there, just in case one day I'm wondering, "When did this all begin?" or something of the sort, I can take an ol' looksie through my past blog posts and figure it out. Because I do tag my posts for easier findings in the future. ;) </div>
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I have so much going on in my head & it's just so hard to even get it all out.<br />
<br />
Don't expect Alex and I to surprise you tomorrow with news that we are soon-to-be parents of a 7 year old boy or anything...but <b>something is going on</b>. I'm sure of it.<br />
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I want to help in more way than one. Adoption is too hard and there are too many orphans in this world.<br />
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I just don't know what to do with my thoughts yet. So I'll wait and see where I'm led. But when that time comes for an answer, don't say I didn't warn you! <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>If you are in the process of adopting a child/ren, holler at me! I'd love to chat with you!</b></div>
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<b>If you've adopted a child in the past, holler at me! I'd love to chat with you!</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Nicole</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-23214934070523863542013-09-03T21:34:00.000-04:002013-09-03T21:44:05.885-04:00Fall Wreath Fail <div style="text-align: left;">
So much going on in my life and in my head. I wish I could share it all with you! </div>
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And no, I'm not pregnant! ...That I know of. Ask me in a couple days.</div>
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But I just wanted to say this...</div>
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<a href="http://nicolemsykes.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-diy-fall-wreath.html" target="_blank">My sweet baby fall wreath I made last year</a> has made her appearance for this year! </div>
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...And as I find myself finding that link for you I noticed something VERY important. </div>
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Here's my girl last year, in all her glory...</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yMok5F7j9gg/UiaMxgo88uI/AAAAAAAACJs/davOHyT8A7I/s1600/fall+wreath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yMok5F7j9gg/UiaMxgo88uI/AAAAAAAACJs/davOHyT8A7I/s1600/fall+wreath.jpg" /></a></div>
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And here she is this year...</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WKE9JEUZ3Nk/UiaM-K9NUsI/AAAAAAAACJ0/G_ALGZpkvNY/s1600/fall+wreath+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WKE9JEUZ3Nk/UiaM-K9NUsI/AAAAAAAACJ0/G_ALGZpkvNY/s320/fall+wreath+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Um. I know it's been a long year, but GIRL! I'm convinced she fell apart in the closet, or I had her on backwards, or <i>something</i> because she's all kinds of twisted & naked!</div>
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I am off to solve this mystery. </div>
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You know, instead of doing my three service notes due in the morning.</div>
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Or finish my wedding video that I was really really really excited about.</div>
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Or go to bed because that's what I really should be doing.</div>
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This is my life and that's what I blog about. </div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,</div>
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Nicole</div>
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<i>Edit: Problem solved! I can sleep soundly tonight, as I won't have to dig in the closet for a flower that's not there. She was just put on backwards! She is still as beautiful as ever! And yes, my wreath's a she. I should really do those service notes. Also, I can't remember what I was going to blog about to begin with. {ADHD much?} It was obviously super important. Guess we'll never know.</i></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9169749859954710742.post-34702667929639111082013-08-04T23:46:00.000-04:002013-08-04T23:46:10.273-04:00My Weight Loss Journey: 9 months later...In the beginning of November, I "went low-carb." <a href="http://nicolemsykes.blogspot.com/2012/11/going-low-carb.html" target="_blank">Read all about it here</a>.<br />
To make a long story short:<br />
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<li>I started in the first week of November 2012.</li>
<li>I had 12 cheat days over Christmas break {and was already/still down 8 lbs!}</li>
<li>I started working out in January 2013</li>
<li>I remained consistent with my low-carb diet </li>
<li>I was down 25ish pounds on my wedding day!!!!! {04.27.13}</li>
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Thanks to some great friends and their help/advice with their successful experiences losing weight/living life eating low-carb {shout out to Samantha & Laura!}, I learned a thing or two.</div>
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I learned it was possible & did not have to be excruciating!</div>
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I learned I could have one cheat day a week & it wouldn't hurt me at all.</div>
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I learned I can still have pizza, and ice cream, and chocolate, and cheese, and bacon, and a ton of other yummy things! </div>
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In January, I also learned that somewhere along the way <a href="http://nicolemsykes.blogspot.com/2013/01/pancreatitis.html" target="_blank">my pancreas decided to {hopefully temporarily} quit working</a>.</div>
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A high-fat diet was the only *guess* as to what could have caused it.</div>
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<a href="http://lowcarbfamily.com/archives/725" target="_blank">I am not so sure anymore</a>.</div>
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Just for the record, the medical bill was not worth sticking around for the specialist to come take a guess at the cause.</div>
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Lesson learned. </div>
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I consistently ate under 20 carbs a day for six days a week.</div>
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When I tell people that, it blows their mind!</div>
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Apparently that's not a lot?! </div>
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I now know that everyone's carb tolerance is different.</div>
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One person may be able to consumer 60 carbs a day & maintain their weight, another person may be able to eat 80, while some may only be able to eat 40.</div>
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Everyone's different & I was recommended to slowly start introducing carbs back into my diet and figuring out what my specific carb tolerance was.</div>
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I didn't do that. </div>
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After our wedding day, we went to Jamaica, and ate, and ate, and ate.</div>
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And we went home, and didn't really look at what we were eating.</div>
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Then we semi- counted our calories, but weren't doing anything specific.</div>
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...Okay, Alex counted his and I didn't. :)</div>
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Meanwhile, <i>I was working out </i>3-4 days a week consistently, mostly running on the treadmill {2ish miles a day}.</div>
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I am proud to say that <span style="font-size: large;">I have maintained an approximate 20 lb. weight loss!! </span></div>
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If you know me, you know I'm a picture freak.</div>
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It didn't take me long to find some "before" & "after" pics.</div>
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Here's some before pictures...yikes! </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DjQBzj3_kbs/Uf8ZpYSRYsI/AAAAAAAACHU/J2-df91qpCU/s1600/Before+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DjQBzj3_kbs/Uf8ZpYSRYsI/AAAAAAAACHU/J2-df91qpCU/s320/Before+1.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dx36EESRMg4/Uf8ZwuJNMwI/AAAAAAAACHc/k5km_x-mYY0/s1600/before+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dx36EESRMg4/Uf8ZwuJNMwI/AAAAAAAACHc/k5km_x-mYY0/s320/before+2.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8ezB3r7_nTo/Uf8Zw1zM70I/AAAAAAAACHg/axSFuhgj5vU/s1600/before+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8ezB3r7_nTo/Uf8Zw1zM70I/AAAAAAAACHg/axSFuhgj5vU/s320/before+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ctrRoY1kBkI/Uf8eMefUWyI/AAAAAAAACIM/TWsamYZjzWo/s1600/before+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ctrRoY1kBkI/Uf8eMefUWyI/AAAAAAAACIM/TWsamYZjzWo/s320/before+3.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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I will say it warms my heart to know that <a href="http://alexandnicolemullen.blogspot.com/p/the-proposal.html" target="_blank">Alex proposed to me</a> at my largest. He must really love me! ;)</div>
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And now, my "current" pictures...</div>
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{I'm hesitant to call them "after" pictures. Hopefully I will be able to do that after this next go-round!}</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xw_xpgpA45A/Uf8dpXkMTTI/AAAAAAAACH0/7JwA94nu4YU/s1600/after+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xw_xpgpA45A/Uf8dpXkMTTI/AAAAAAAACH0/7JwA94nu4YU/s320/after+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the night before our wedding <span style="color: red;">♥</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wlW7o0IiJgk/Uf8dpcLP9II/AAAAAAAACIA/yFQRzTVH7gM/s1600/after+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wlW7o0IiJgk/Uf8dpcLP9II/AAAAAAAACIA/yFQRzTVH7gM/s320/after+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hottie hubby lost 20ish lbs too with low-carb pre-wedding! proud of him!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0VKXAiEry8w/Uf8dpQHQgMI/AAAAAAAACH4/PYCZp72RbX4/s1600/after+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0VKXAiEry8w/Uf8dpQHQgMI/AAAAAAAACH4/PYCZp72RbX4/s320/after+3.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, that's a bikini! I hadn't worn one of those in 2+ years!</td></tr>
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So I said all that to say this...</div>
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I am starting round 2 tomorrow! </div>
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I had so much success during round 1 & I've binged long enough to start feeling blah & seeing the number <i>slowly </i>increase. </div>
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For some reason, I have such motivation this time! </div>
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I am not even worried about missing my daily Mello Yello(s) or not eating fast food.</div>
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Now, I <i>will</i> have to grocery shop tomorrow.</div>
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And I am dreading that more than going on a diet. </div>
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I'll let ya know how it's going and will be posting on Instagram {@nsmullen} some of the yumminess I make! Follow me! :)</div>
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Wish me luck & feel free to comment with some advice or encouragement! :)<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span>,</div>
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Nicole</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4