25 questions before 2014!

I found this by reading Allie's blog :)

Life is a Sunset is the blog that started it, and made it a three day Link up
I decided to do it all in one post, so please don't hate me :)

I love posts like this. I am going to reflect over this past year and you will get to know a little bit more about me! Its a WIN WIN situation!

Sorta long post, but HEY its Friday, sit back and read my answers :) I was short and sweet!


 1. What am I most proud of this year? I am most proud that i have stuck with college, it can be damn hard and i have times where I want to give up. I have ONE MORE year left. I CAN DO THIS! 

2. How can I become a better _____________? I need to work on my patience...having more patience would make me a better person

3. Where am I feeling stuck? I can't say that i have felt "stuck" in 2013...Life for the most part has been great

4. Where do I need to allow myself grace? I don't really know how to answer this, I need to now be so hard on myself, and stop worrying about the small things. 

5. Am I passionate about my career? Am i passionate about taking care of me, tevis, my dogs, my house, delaney, YES i love my job!!! I feel in control and know everyone including me is ok :)

6. What lessons have I learned? Is that just because they are suppose be family, doesn't mean they wont stab you in the back! BLOOD does not always mean family! 

7. What did my finances look like? I am supported by my wonderful fiance, and we did just fine this past year. In a year or so we will be great when i find a job after i graduate college : 

8. How did I spend my free time? Well, i blog, obviously :) I love to Spend time with Tevis and Delaney, his family, my family. We bowl, go to movies, go to dinner with friends. Go go Colts football games, and Indiana pacer games :) 

9. How well did I take care of my body, mind, and soul? I am not gonna lie, sometimes i forget to focus on myself, but Tevis is doing just fine So i have been trying better to relax and live life each day to its fullest. 

10. How have I been open-minded? I am always meeting new people, moved to a bigger city has been scary, but amazing all at the same time. 

11. When did I feel most creatively inspired? i don't know how to answer this one, it comes in spurts. I just take it and run with it. 

12. What projects have I completed? TOO MANY to type. We re-did a lot in this new house of ours!!!! 

13. How have I procrastinated? my homework on many occasions, house work, cleaning out garage before winter came, OOOPS. 

14. In what ways can I re-structure my time? I need to learn how to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. I waste most days by sleeping in. 

15. How have I allowed fear of failure to hold me back? my weight-loss is my biggest fear. I KNOW i need to lose weight and i know i will fail so i don't ever put forth effort. I am finally back on the wagon and can proudly announce in 30 days i have lost 12 lbs! I CAN DO THIS.

16. Where has self-doubt taken over? school, i have wanted to give up! I dont think i am smart enough. I KNOW I AM!!! my gpa is 3.20 and out of 15 classes taken so far i have only received 2 C's

17. When have I felt the most alive? over the summer, moving, re-doing our house! Just happy happy happy!!! Still am :) 

18. How have I taught others to respect me? I treat them with the respect i would want, so in turn i get respected

19. How can I improve my relationships? Make sure i am always open and honest. And give the effort i would want in return. 

20. Have I been unfair to anyone? not that i can think of..

21. Who do I need to forgive? (feel free to be vague in your actual post answer) no one that deserve it. 

22. Where is it time to let go? i don't quite understand this one

23. What old habits would I like to release? Just wish my anxiety habits would go away...insomnia, picking my head. things like that :/

24. What new habits would I like to cultivate? i don't know if this can be a habit, lol, but i want more confidence!!!

25. How can I be kind to myself? Giving myself more self-affirmations on a daily basis. Being positive everyday. 

Thirsty Thursday- Christmas Party style!

I love Kristen @ Hopelessly Ever After, she is one of my favorite bloggers! So check her out and Link up with all of us today!

I am gonna show you all some Christmas-y ideas for a Pinterest inspired Christmas party :)

Cute idea for kiddos! 

thought you might like this one Kristen :) 

these look tasty

Christmas cake pops 

Christmas Tree Brownies! I WANT THEM 

this would be a great party favor!!! 

 I love love love Pinterest! I pin stuff daily, mostly about healthy recipes and stuff i can do to my house! Kristen, i hope you get some good ideas for a Christmas party! 

Happy Thursday everyone!! Its almost the freaking weekend, CHEERS TO THAT! 

WE CAN Wednesday! LINK UP - 2

Welcome to another Wednesday of a WE CAN link up :)
Share anything you want healthy lifestyle related.

I will start off by giving an update on my weight loss:
Starting weight, 220
Today's weight..... 208

5 REASONS TO DRINK MORE TEA!

“If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are depressed it will cheer you; if you are excited it will calm you." - William Gladstone

Many women chose a cup of coffee as their standard hot drink, but when was the last time you had a cup of tea? Tea is full of enriching benefits for your mind and body, so read on to discover a few reasons why you should drink up.

Tea Has Amazing Overall Health Benefits

The flavonoids in tea may help reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Drinking tea also aids in lowering cholesterol, and even has antimicrobial qualities.

Tea Aids in Weight Loss

Green, white, and oolong teas in particular have shown to help the body burn fat and calories. Sign us up!

Tea Has Wonderful Variety

There are so many different varieties of tea, including white tea, black tea, green tea, and herbal tea. Each has its own unique properties that bring out its flavor. Since there is such a variety, you’re sure to find one that you enjoy.

Tea is a Natural Cure for Common Ailments

Whatever you ailment may be, there’s a type of tea for it! Check out this list:

Anxiety = Passionflower Tea
Bad Breath = Black Tea
Headache = Ginger Tea
Low Libido = Ginseng Tea
Sweet Tooth = Licorice Root Tea
Allergies = Nettle Tea
Constipation = Peppermint Tea
Insomnia = Valerian Root Tea
Tea Relaxes You


A nice, warm cup of tea at the end of the day allows your body to unwind and calm down. Just think of tea as being a hot bath for your soul! If you’re drinking it before bed, make sure you look for a caffeine-free variety. Celestial Seasonings even has a variety of tea called Sleepytime,which is a combination of chamomile and other natural ingredients that promote sleep.

I am a TEA drinker and recommend a cup a day :) 

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Britney & Lady Luck

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THIS or That Link up, Christmas Edition

IT IS TUESDAY!!! 
 Which mean I am Linking up with some awesome girls for a THIS or that link up.
Candra, Jodi, Kristine, and Katie
I think its the last week, i am not 100% sure though, correct me if I am wrong ladies :)

Celebrity Christmas Carol remakes, Chipmunk Carol remakes?  I am not against any kind of remake, i love them all. New, old, remakes, Doesn't matter. But these chipmunks are so cute!!! 

 

Gift cards, gift baskets? I am a SHOPPER! So Gift cards are very much welcomed! I would be ok with a gift basket full of gift cards, HAHA. 

Naughty or Nice? I am ALWAYS on the nice list! :) 

Getting everything on your wish list, Giving someone everything on their wish list? You can go read my wishlist HERE.... BUT honestly, i know a couple people i wish i had my darn money tree and could make all their wishes COME TRUE!!!!! I am a giver! I love this time of year! 

Presents on Christmas Eve, Presents on Christmas morning? We do Christmas with Delaney On Christmas Eve and then its always been a tradition to open presents at my parents house Christmas morning! I am SOOO EXCITED for Christmas this year! Love family time. 

Here is our Christmas Card! Merry Christmas everyone! 

Delenay's Christmas Wish List! 2013

Thought it would be a good idea to show ya some thing on Miss Delaney's Christmas wishlist this year! She is 7, 8 In march and going on like 18! haha. Most of the items I am showing you, we got her :) She circled a bunch of stuff in the toys r us and target catalog. The great thing about this year is most of what we are getting her will stay at our house, so she is getting quite the collection of toys here FINALLY! I am sad to say that she is getting to the age where she will soon not believe in Santa! Kids at school last year were already telling her he wasn't really. So I am sure its only a matter of time.  :(

Toys R US, Journey Girls. This is Dana! She first wanted American Girl Doll, which we all know they are $100+++ it was beginning of November, and we realized the doll she wanted was on back-order. So thanks to her mom, showed her they journey girl doll. So we got her Dana and tons of accessories to go with her :) 

Nerf Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow and Arrow, we did NOT get her this. Not sure if her mom did, but boy was she all about this. I hope Santa brings it for her :) 

Trixie, So cute, looks like it would be a lot of fun. Tevis' Dad and step-mom got this for her :) I bet she was so excited. She got it yesterday while hanging out with them and going to see Santa. 

She has loved these Lego friends for a few years now. Each year on christmas or her birthday she gets something new. This year she liked this one. We got her this plus a few other ones 

Now i thought this was SOO COOL. Delaney likes her barbies, but we decided not to buy it for her, maybe Santa will 

I have NEVER seen these. and I am not sure Delaney has ever had one. But i seen them in the store they light up and seem cool. So bought her a couple. Excited to play with them with her. 

Aren't those some cool gifts :) This of course isn't even close to what all she put on her list but that little girl is going to be spoiled this year :) I love it, would not have it any other way! She deserves it. She is such a good kid! Hope everyone has a great MONDAY!

9 days until Christmas! 

Festive Favorites Link Up

I am Link up with Amber And Jennifer for a very cool link up!



Favorite Christmas song. I have always always been a fan of Santa Baby

Christmas song you can’t stand. I cannot think of any, maybe the Jingle bells batman smells version, i think its silly and immature. 

Favorite holiday movie. I love to watch all the Christmas movies they air on tv :) but My all time fave, is A Christmas Story. I can turn it on watch it over and over. I love having it on in the background or falling asleep to it :) 

Real or artificial tree? I remember being younger and loving to go cut a real tree down with my family :) But as i grew up and now have my own house I am loving my fake white tree that has blue lights on it and sports ornaments :) It was fun to have a little fun with our tree this year,. Next year i want a bigger tree. I found out tevis likes real trees so maybe we will go that route. We will see :) Its fun to do what we want. Blue and white theme was for the Indianapolis Colts :) 

White or colored lights? If I could put lights on our outside outside, i would do Blue and White. GO COLTS. This is a house in Franklin :) we go see it every year :) 

All matching ornaments or more random personal ornaments? This year we went with blues and whites for the Colts and then MISC. Sports ones, Yankees, Colts, Michigan Wolverines

Favorite ornament. This Represents our first Christmas together in our own house! <3

Angel or star tree-topper? I am a Star tree topper kinda girl :) 

Does Santa wrap presents or leave them unwrapped? I "santa" Wraps EVERYTHING! 

Favorite childhood memory. Waking up Christmas morning at my grandparents house, whether it was my Grandma and Grandpa Snyder or Nana and Papa Mathis, i always loved seeing my family! 

Coffee, hot chocolate, or eggnog? I am a hot chocolate kinda girl with lots of marshmallows :) 

Christmas morning at home or do you travel? I will always want to be with my family Christmas morning. So what we have been doing is, we have Delaney on Christmas eve for a little bit, Then we drive to my parents house. I love waking up at my mom and dads house, probably always will do that.

Traditional holiday meal or something unconventional? I love my mommas cooking. She usually cooks a traditional dinner, but last year we had steak and i think this year we are going to do steak too :) 

Personalized photo Christmas cards, store bought cards, e-cards, or “ain’t nobody got time for that”?
Photo Cards, Sending mine out tomorrow! Can't show ya yet :) I want it to be a secret! 

We Can Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday my lovely readers! I hope your having a great week so far. We are almost to the weekend. :) 


Our first Link Up. We started this so we can talk about our weight loss journey or anything healthy lifestyle related at least once a week. My blog is all over the place, i talk about everything. So this is a good way to break it up. Even if no one ever links up with us, at least we have this to stay accountable. 

TIPS TO STAY MOTIVATED DURING WEIGHT LOSS!

1. Don't just measure success by pounds. Measure it by size lost, confidence felt, strength gained, etc.

2. Don't expect miracles in days. Enjoy the journey of weight loss. See it as a game, NOT A CHORE!

3. Go through your closet and sell/donate all the clothes that are too big for you. It'll encourage you to keep going and you get o buy new clothes.

4. Do this for you and ONLY YOU. You have to 100% committed and confident in yourself to succeed.

5. Experiment with healthy recipes. It can be fun.

6. Don't deprive yourself, occasional treats keep you sane and motivated to work harder.

7. Take lots of progress pictures. You'll be so glad that you did when you reach your goal and you can use them to motivate others.

8. Change how you see "rewards". Don't reward yourself with food. Choose things and experiences.

9. Don't aim for a specific "goal weight". It'll make you extremely frustrated when it is time to maintain

10. keep a journal or your weight loss journey (or BLOG) like most of us. Use something like My Fitness Pal to track your calorie in take and exercising also.

Grab the button below and share with us! :)

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Make sure to Link Up with us.


Update on my weight loss:
Starting weight was 220 almost a month ago
Today i am at 210.8 :)

THIS or that LINK UP

IT IS TUESDAY!!!
 Which mean I am Linking up with some awesome girls for a THIS or that link up.
Candra, Jodi, Kristine, and Katie


This weeks questions kind of fit perfectly since we just got tons of SNOW!!!!


Fashionable snow boots, practical snow boots?  Fashionable Snow Boots! Specifically My black Uggs, i got last year :) 

Hat, ear muffs? I think i'll go with ear muffs, i hate my ears getting cold! I need to get to target and find some cute ones :) 

Snowed in, playing out in the snow? Snowed in, with my hunny and dogs, fire place going, drinking some hot chocolate and watching tv/movies all day :) 

Sledding, snow tubing? I have not gone sledding in forever, i would LOVE to do that with Delaney sometime. :) 

Almost winter, Winter’s almost over?  I would rather Winter be almost over, we just got our first BIG snow storm. I am already over it all! I don't like driving in the winter time, don't trust other crazy drivers either. Maybe one day we can live in Florida or somewhere warm for Indiana's winter months. 



I hope Everyone is having a great Tuesday!! 

This was Delaney from Sunday :) I wanted this picture so bad, she hated it! haha Love her though. So darn cute! She will be 8 years old In march. CRAZY!

If you would like to join next weeks link up, the topic will be CHRISTMAS! So exciting!! The questions are:

Celebrity Christmas Carol remakes, Chipmunk Carol remakes?

Gift cards, gift baskets?

Naughty or Nice?

Getting everything on your wish list, Giving someone everything on their wish list?

Presents on Christmas Eve, Presents on Christmas morning?

Snowy Weekend!

It's Monday, AGAIN! I typically hate Mondays because it means the weekend is over and a new school week begins with new assignments, quizzes and tests! Today means the last week of classes until January 6th so i am okay with it being Monday :) I have three finals to get done before Friday i hope i'll be done tomorrow! WISH ME LUCK! One more year of school everyone, WAHOOO!

So I hope everyone had a great weekend! We started the weekend off with SNOW....

This was ICE 

& then the snow started. I think we got almost 10 inches of snow.

My car that hardly ever moves LOL 

I shoveled at midnight just in time for Tevis to get home. Last thing we need is him falling. And yes, our cars are in the driveway when we have a garage. Listen.... we have a garage full of stuff and tons of people in our neighborhood use their garage for their vehicles LOL maybe next spring we will get it cleaned out. 

Except for when Tevis took Delaney Christmas shopping Saturday and me taking her Sunday, we stayed home with storm and stayed warm! 

Storm is 6 months old today! My baby is growing up. 

She had her surgery Friday, got spayed and back dew claws taken off. I was so anxious and nervous for her. We picked her up Friday afternoon and i was in tears, my poor baby. 

She did great just came home all drugged up slept off and on until Saturday morning and most of Saturday too. She didnt eat anything until Saturday evening, really wont touch her dog food so we've been cooking her chicken. She has to take antibiotics so needs something on her belly. Any other suggestions, welcomed, please! 

Another picture after we got home

Sunday she was getting into things and trying to play, so slowly but surely getting back to herself. Still couldn't leave her alone, so we are missing Tevis' nephews birthday dinner/cake plans, I hope they understand.  It has been a PAIN taking her outside with all this snow, because her bandages cant get wet so gotta put bags on her feet every time. I hope when we take her tomorrow for a check up that they COME OFF!!! I am gonna be glad she is back to her 100% self and all good to go. I am glad we did it though, now just gotta make sure she does not get fat on us. 

Is everyone ready for Christmas?? We are completely done with Delaney, just need to wrap a few things. We gotta get her desk together soon. EEEEK i need magic so it can be done by itself, haha.

I am ready for my three week break from school, and holidays with friends and family. 

Hope everyone has a great Monday!