Weekend Recap: Maximum Effort

Saturday: 
Woke up fairly early and Robert suggested that we might go and see Deadpool if my parents were willing to watch Kyra for a bit. I called them up and they were of course delighted. So we all got ready and we dropped Kyra off who handled the whole thing so well. Sometimes she is completely fine being left at my parents and sometimes she only wants Mama and then it is painful for everyone. Today however she was ready to go and have some fun. 

Robert and I headed off to the movie that was HILARIOUS. Yes it was inappropriate, perverted, sarcastic, crass, and there was a LOT more naked than in other Marvel movies but it was so wonderfully Deadpool. Honestly I don't think they could have gotten it more perfect if they tried. We laughed so hard throughout the whole thing and yes it will be one that we purchase in the future. Well Done. 

I was surprised that there was an entire boy's soccer team there...they were all around 9 or 10 years old and I thought that was a bit young for this but....well I'm not their mom so whatever. 

After the movie we grabbed a quick bite and then went back to pick up Kyra. We had a double birthday party to go to for my husband's dad and stepmom later that evening. 

Kyra wasn't willing at first. She was getting to play in the mud and had gotten to feed the horse and the chickens and basically was living it up at my parents. However finally we convinced her to go and after a bit of clean up we went to the birthday party where she was really well behaved and made me so proud. It's tough to be a well behaved two year old especially when the other kids are older and get to do things you don't get to. However a bottle of bubbles can fix just about anything and she was pretty content to chase bubbles through the yard so long as Mom and Dad kept blowing lots and lots of bubbles. I have no pictures of this entire evening because I was playing with Kyra. #notsorry

Needless to say after that day we all slept pretty well. 


Sunday: 
I made breakfast of bacon and eggs and had planned to spend the day doing laundry and meal prepping but it was 75 degrees outside and Robert and Kyra were itching to get out into the world. 

So we went out to wander around a bit. We hit up the Tabletop game store to see what was new and Kyra of course charmed everyone there with her exclamation of "Games! Monsters! KITTY!" (They have a resident cat and Kyra is in love with.) 

After the Tabletop store we just went and hit up Home Goods and Marshalls but by far our favorite stop was 5 Below. We had never been in one before and spent the majority of the time laughing at hilarious cards in the card section, trying on bunny ears in the Easter section, and just generally being those people you stare at and walk away from. It was a blast. 

Then we started heading back home but Robert made a stop by the store Yoki. It's a store with tons of Japanese inspired items. We wandered around in there for a good while before picking up a few items. 

The first thing I got was this little bundle. It is makeup remover wipes, 3 face masks, and a towel. It was only 7 bucks! Had to have it. 

The second things we got I can only show you the wrappers of because we ate them before I remembered to be a good blogger and take a photo. 

Green Tea Kit Kat

Cheesecake Kit Kat

The Green Tea Kit Kats were our favorite and I will have to get more at some point. Delicious! 

Then we had to head home where it was time to have dinner and just kind of veg out for the evening. We attempted to watch Fuller House. Robert's idea not mine. He will watch literally ANYTHING that is new... but after two very painful episodes even he admitted that it was just too bad to watch. Yeah just skip it. 

Then before you know it it was Bathtime/Bedtime around here and the weekend was Poof! Gone. 


So what did you all get up to? Anyone else see Deadpool?? 

Read More

Friday Favorites 22/6

It's Friday Favorites Time.

Fashion:

I love these! The lace ups are so awesome!

In love with these rings. I used to wear rings all the time but having a kiddo around makes them a little less easy to wear.

Beauty:

I need all of these. K THX

This makes me think of Unicorns and Easter....is that weird?

Nerdy Girl:- Apparently this week I am wanting to go back to school again....

Funnies:

This dog gets my life.

I know this feeling. I live for this feeling.

Song of the Week: Throwing it back this week.

 

That's it for me this week! Have a great weekend Everyone! 

Read More

Thursday Thoughts 2/25

1. This post is late because I was adulting this morning. Adulting is hard. However it was successful and many things that I was dreading have now been crossed off the to do list.

2. I HATE when my online account acts up and I have to call and talk to an automated system that also doesn't work and then have to talk to a person that I cannot understand. Seriously anxiety spikes every time. 

3. The ridiculousness on my Facebook feed due to the election, Jessica Simpson, Charlize Theron prompted me to do a purge. I have never felt better. 

4. I love when I get into reading again. My housework suffers but I love the feeling of reading a book and knowing I'm ready to jump into reading at least three more. 

5. I made Chocolate Chip Cookies on Tuesday night for no other reason than I wanted to. It was awesome. 

6. Planet Comic Con is stepping up this year and there are so many guests I want to see and so many cosplayers that I'm just jumping up and down every time I get an email about it. Seriously I don't know if I will make it to May! 

7. I have been working behind the scenes on a separate Cosplay blog. I wanted to do a weekly thing on this one but since I had so many things I wanted to do it made more sense to start a new blog. I hope it goes well....I'm really pumped for it! 

8. Kyra is starting to get into board games. (Not a surprise in this house.) And right now Connect 4 is a front runner. She doesn't really understand the rules but she has fun and begs us to play with her so really it's all worth it. 

9. I NEED to try the new Starbucks take on Butterbeer. Seriously. Need. 

10. Thank you to everyone who sent kind thoughts for my little dog Kiya. She is doing AWESOME and is nearly back to her old self. She hates the cone and wants it off but she still has another week before that happens. I'm just happy to see her tail wagging again and that her appetite is right back to normal! 

 
Happy Thursday Everyone!

Read More

Currently......February

Reading....Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 

Watching....X Files I loved the show way back when and I love it now. Mulder and Scully are just awesome.

Wanting.....more brush pens. Seriously Bullet Journaling has just given me an excuse to indulge in all the office supply things that I love. That was always my favorite part of back to school. New supplies!

 

Loving.....London Fog. I found this recipe on Pinterest and the name was what caught my attention at first. I didn't realize they make something similar at Starbucks and I have never had their version but man I am in love with this drink. It's becoming an almost nightly ritual.

Writing....1000 words a day. Sure most of it is awful but I'm writing and every day it gets better and better.

Cooking....these awesome egg muffins by Steph! I tried these this week and now I will make them pretty much forever. So tasty and simple! 

Also cooking up some really tasty chicken mushroom broccoli....low carb and YUM!

So what's up with you Currently?

Read More

For the Love of a Dog

My weekend unexpected took a turn starting Thursday. I had noticed that Kiya wasn't herself. She seemed tired and slow and I got worried. Then she wasn't eating her food. So I tempted her with some ground beef to see if she would eat that. Nothing. This was serious. My parents came over that afternoon to visit Kyra and my mom said to go ahead and take Kiya to the vet while they watched over Kyra. 

The vet visit did not go well. Kiya had a very serious infection that would require surgery. My vet no longer does this kind of surgery and he referred me to several different vets in the area. I asked for a ball park figure on how much it was going to be....$2000-$3500..... and if she didn't have the surgery immediately she wasn't going to make it...like she wasn't going to make it to Monday even.

 I just started to cry. 

I left the vet and immediately began calling all the vets nearby. My husband began calling as well. Finally we found one that would do the surgery that night and for a price that was more in our budget. Robert ran Kiya to the vet (about 50 minutes away) while I stayed home with Kyra. They said they would get her into surgery and call us once it was done. 

It was so hard to wait and not know. Kiya is 9 years old.....what if she couldn't take the surgery? What if the infection had gotten too far? I was worried sick. 

Finally they called. She made it through. They would keep her overnight and call in the morning. If she was okay through the night then I could pick her up. 

I can safely say I did not sleep well. 

Friday morning promptly at 8am they called to say she was doing fine. I was so so relieved! 

Robert was actually leaving for the weekend so my parents offered to take Kyra and me up to pick Kiya up. 

She was SO happy to see me! I was SO happy to see her! 

She is doing so much better now even though she REALLY hates the cone of shame but I couldn't be happier with her care. They saved my little pup's life. I am just eternally grateful. 

Now it's been a long weekend and I am pretty exhausted. Kyra also got some stomach bug over the weekend so I spent the whole time taking care of a sick little girl and a sore little pup. Lots of work...but lots of love too.

Read More

Meditation App Review

I posted on Tuesday about how I've started Meditating and I mentioned that I would let you all know what apps I have been using and what worked for me. I was actually planning on posting this next Tuesday but since I had so much interest in what I was using I bumped it up! 

All these apps are "free" apps that I found by searching the app store and also from reading meditation/mindfulness blogs. Reviews are my own and are not sponsored in any way.

So here's the list: 

Stop. Breathe. Think.- This is by far my favorite meditation app. It asks you to check in each day and identify just what emotional state you are in. You select emotions from a lists and then it generates a list of meditations that will go along with what you are feeling. Whether you need to simply do a body scan to release tension or you simply want to find some gratitude for the things you should be grateful for, this is a really wonderful app. It has several selections for time and should you not like the generated list you can select a different option. 

I also like that you get rewarded for checking in with a daily counter of your meditation streak. I'm a gold star kind of person and I love seeing my progress each day. Also you get stickers for completed meditations and time spent meditating which of course I love. 

This app does have the option to purchase packages with more meditations but the packages run you around .99 cents. This doesn't bother me too much as I am still working through all the meditations that are free and I've been doing it since the beginning of January. However 99 cents isn't that much and I will most likely end up purchasing a few of the packages in the future.

Headspace- I really enjoyed this app. I love his voice. I love the ten meditations and how he explains how thoughts work in a way that makes sense to me personally. There were also animations that were very helpful and fun to watch before certain meditations to prepare you for the mediation itself. The app itself is free as are the first ten meditations. 

This is where I get a little irritated with this app. The first ten meditations were amazing and free but you have to subscribe in order to continue. The subscription is $12.99 which is out of my budget for a monthly subscription. So while I very much enjoyed the app I won't be continuing with it.


Calm- This is also a guided meditation app. It is a good app if you just want to do a body scan and focus on each part of your body in order to release the tension in each step. Very relaxing right before bed though I will admit her voice isn't my favorite. I also like the option of changing the scenes if you aren't the type of person to close your eyes during meditation.

 This app is good for when you just want to shake out the tightness in the shoulders and neck and back...that is if you tend to carry your stress in those places like I do! It also has the option of the 7 days of calm which is a great intro into meditation. I am still working with this one as it is the newest of the apps that I have started.


Take a Break- This app is not a guided meditation app and will link you to other apps. Not my favorite but the sounds are relaxing if you are into a white noise sort of meditation. It does have settings for length which would make it more ideal for breaks at work. I kept the app but I rarely use it. I might use it more if I were still working in an office setting however. 


I hope you all found this review helpful and hopefully you find one of these that will suit you.

If you do end up trying them please let me know what you think! Also if you find one that you like that I didn't mention I would love to know and try more! 

Read More

Confessions: What I did while my husband was in Vegas

1. Made a super epic hot cocoa of goodness. I had had this pinned for a long time and as you can tell by the title of the blog I am a lover of all things cocoa so I just had to give this one a go! It was as delicious as it looks. 

2. Awesome face masks that make you look like a serial killer. I am in love with these Tony Moly masks. They carry them at Ulta for like $6 bucks but I bought a pack of 11 for $9 on Amazon. They look creepy but seriously they feel amazing! 

3. Binge watch all the girly shows and movies that he isn't into. It was so nice to just watch what I wanted after the kiddo was down for the night and just enjoy it. 

4. Blast my favorite cheesy pop/80s/random music and have crazy dance parties with Kyra right in the middle of the living room. Sometimes you just need to dance it out! 

So there's the confessions for the week! What would you all do? 
 

Read More

Meditation and Mindfulness

At the beginning of the year I decided that I would start carving out more time for myself. I have always enjoyed listening to relaxation audios and so I thought that I would go ahead and start a meditation routine. I wanted to start small and I wanted a guided meditation to help since my mind tends to wander and it usually wanders to stressful places. 

So I did a little research and downloaded a few free apps to see if it was for me. I was doing well and enjoying myself as I took 5-10 minutes for myself. Then of course my miscarriage happened. 

That week I was obviously a wreck and did not feel up to any sort of meditation but the following week I tried again. I will be honest and tell you that it was really hard at first. I cried and cried through each sessions but slowly it got better. It got easier. I was finding a calm inside myself. I was dealing with my grief in a different way but more importantly, for me at least, was that it gave me permission to simply stop thinking. I didn't have to think about it for 10 whole minutes. I could focus on my breathing, on my posture, on the feeling of being connected to the ground beneath me. That feeling of being on solid ground helped so much. 

Now I look forward to my daily meditations. I am more mindful of my emotions and am able to breathe through a great deal of my daily frustrations. It's a habit that I am happy to have formed. 


Do you meditate? Have you been considering starting a meditation routine? Let me know in the comments! 

Also I am doing a post on what meditation apps I have used and which ones were awesome and which ones just weren't for me!

Read More

Weekend Recap 2/15

Friday: Robert came home from Vegas! There was a little confusion on landing times as the time zone differences seem to really mess with Robert, but we did managed to get it worked out and picked him up on time. Once again I was grateful that our airport is super easy to navigate. They are planning on changing it and that is slightly depressing as it is SO SIMPLE and easy to get right back on the highway. 
After we got home and looked at some of his pictures from the trip (it was a business trip so there weren't a whole lot) we all basically just passed out for the night. None of us had slept well while he was away and we were all exhausted. 

Saturday: We decided to go out for a bit and go visit the Tabletop store at their new location. It is a really nice new place but they were pretty picked over so all we picked up was an expansion pack for one of Robert's games. Kyra was happy to be there again as she loves the in house cat that prowls around and also has a strange fascination with a Medusa type monster picture they have hung up there. 
After the game store it was off to Joann's where I picked up some new pens for my Bullet Journal. I will be doing a whole post on my journal and the spreads that I have been working on this month. I am totally hooked on this system. 

Then it we decided to get something to eat and after waiting approximately FOREVER we finally did get to eat. It was delicious though so all is forgiven in the end. 

We decided after dinner it was time to go home and thought it would be fun to rent some movies. Well that was just a major debacle. I was trying to use the Redbox app on my phone with 3% battery and somehow managed to not only order movies at different boxes but in different towns. #Fail Well we had to go and them because there is no cancellation option and we were going to be charged either way.

Sunday: Valentine's Day. Robert and I didn't do anything big because well...just not necessary. We did exchange cards and we had some candy but really we were more content to give Kyra cards and candy and let her feel all the loves! We did got out to Sam's Club for some supplies but then it was back home to have a late lunch and then catch up on all the Hulu shows from last week. I was a nice wife and didn't watch our shows without him. Then it was bath time/bedtime routine for Kyra followed by writing/blogging time for me. Super simple. 

There you have it, our weekend. 

How was yours?

Read More

Friday Favorites 2/12

It's Friday and that means it is time for some Favorites!

Fashion: 

 

Beauty: 

 

Nerdy Girl: 

 

Funnies: 

Song of the Week: 

This is the song of the week because 1. It's a good song 2. The video is AMAZING!

That's it for me this week! Have a safe and fun weekend everyone! 

Read More

Thursday Thoughts: I want More

More Fresh Food- Food that I have to cook and put together. Less food from boxes. Less processed junk and more of the things that make me feel good both inside and out. 

More Me time- Self care is important. I tend to put myself last, like pretty much all mom's tend to do...but I still deserve time to myself and for myself. I deserve some things that are completely selfish and just about me. I need to take more time for myself and thereby decrease the amount of stress that I put on myself.

More Unplugged Time- This applies to Kyra as much as it does myself.  I admit that when I am working on blog posts or writing or just surfing Pinterest that she is often on the iPad watching YouTube Kids. We need to decrease our screen time for both of us and spend more time together reading and singing and being present.

More laughing- I make no secret of how hard these past weeks have been for me. I have cried so much that I honestly feel as though I could have filled oceans, but life continues on and I want to remember to laugh at the silly things and remember all the good that there is in life. There is so much to be grateful for and I don't want to miss it!

More Mindful- This goes hand in hand with being grateful and actually goes with another post that I am working on for next week. I want to be a part of the things that I am doing. Even if it is simply sitting and watching a movie with Kyra, I want to be there and in that moment with her. As an introvert I spend a lot of time in my own mind working things out and at times I can distance myself from just what is happening in the now. I want more of the NOW. 


What are some things that you want MORE of??

Read More

The Return of Confessions

I confess it is damn good to be back here confessing again.

I confess that while I know he is there for work and isn't having any fun, I am super jealous that my husband is in Vegas this week. I have never been and I wish I could have just tagged along to wander around with Kyra.

I confess that I haven't been super patient this week. Kyra has been really clingy and needy and I'm just not good with being constantly touched and called after ALL. THE. TIME. Also Robert was nervous about his flight stuff and work stuff and he tends to overthink things and go ON and ON. I'm an introvert....we don't handle that stuff well. I love them. I love cuddling Kyra and snuggling and I want to be supported and helpful for Robert but sometimes I need space. I don't mean to be impatient and I feel horribly guilty about it. 

I confess that while I am super jealous that my husband got to go off somewhere I am super happy that I get his car for the week! I don't know where I am going to go but it is nice to have the option to do so! (My car works but it is having some issues and I don't trust it to go further than the grocery store. It's just nice to have the vehicle that I know I can count on to go all the way into the city if I wanted to!)

I confess to eating my feelings the past few weeks and I am so over it. I want to get back on track and eat healthy and well again. I am tired of punishing myself over this, I just want to be the best version of myself.

Short confessions this week but I am glad to be back to doing them again! Be sure to check out the linkups and join in with confessions of your own! 

Read More