Tag Archives: Friends

BlogHer & Friends

Posted on by

BlogHer is done and over with for another year and that means for at least the next week or so the blogosphere is going to be saturated with BlogHer wrap up posts, pictures, and more tweets about how everyone is missing each other. I am no different than all the others and am jumping on the bandwagon.

So was my first BlogHer everything that I could have ever wanted it to be? eh… sure. It was really good but I missed out on the keynotes, VOTY awards, and the sessions and that was my own fault because I didn’t get a full conference pass. It’ll be okay though because now that the sessions are being transcribed and posted on the BlogHer site I can read through them at my own pace.

There are a few things that I did learn though. First of all the conference really solidified how much of an introvert I really am. I mean geesh… I spent so much time worried about being the annoying person that didn’t have friends that I didn’t just walk up to groups of people and talk to them. I tended to keep to myself more than I should have and I think that hurt my overall experience.

On the bright side I met just about everyone on my list of must meet people as well as so many other wonderful people. There were smiles, laughter, and lots and lots of hugs. I felt like I belonged and accepted to a special group of people. I was with friends and it was amazing because these people who I have “known” and chatted with for the past three years were with me in person and the best part… these women were no longer just my friends in the computer, they were my real life friends.

BlogHer 1

Did I mention that there was lots of hugging? What about the squeeing? Well, there was a lot of that too.

The first day that I arrived in Chicago I met up with an amazing group of women…. there had to be close to 20 of us there at lunch. Most of them I had met through blogging and others were totally new to me. Regardless, I was met with smiles and hugs… I felt totally welcomed to the group. The rest of the weekend was much of the same.

BlogHer 2

My biggest regret? Not taking enough pictures! When I was going through my phone looking at the pictures I did take I realized that there weren’t that many and I didn’t get pictures with everyone!

Another thing that I learned was actually before the conference began. The women who were once just online friends are open, honest, and trusting… we swapped phone numbers without a second thought and almost immediately started talking to one another. And we are still talking.

I’ve found my ‘tribe’. The group of bloggers who I trust completely and would help out in anyway that I could if they asked. They’re women that I could sit up talking to late at night sharing silly stories, laughs, serious conversations, and more. I made connections that I value greatly and they’re connections that I will continue to maintain and grow because aside from simply being a connection they’re friendships and that is more important.

It’s Wednesday and because of that I’m linking up with Shell for Pour Your Heart Out and Angie & Amanda for Wordful Wednesday.

When I Grow Up

Posted on by

There are days where I wonder what in the world I’m doing and if I’ve made the right career choices. Often I find myself wondering what I want to be when I grow up… I suppose that I should figure it out soon though.

But instead of talking about what I could be when I grow up here I’m over at my good friend Wendy’s place guest posting on her Friday Take Over series. You can read it all over there.

I turned the comments off here so if you don’t mind stop over at Wendy’s and leave some love there!

Cinch Update ~ Fall Edition

Posted on by

Well, it’s been 4 months since I’ve started the Cinch and it really has been life changing for me. I’ve learned so much about myself, losing weight, and how a support group is key that I just can’t say enough about it. It is awesome!

I’m at the point right now where I’m kind of stuck though… I want to get down to 150lbs but seem to be hovering between 157 – 160 (depending on the day). And for those of you following along that is a loss of over 20lbs and almost 40lbs since I started back in May with Wendy and her #iwillrock this challenge. Not bad, right?

Aside from losing the weight there are some major successes as far as I’m concerned and some of these might just be the best part about the program.

  • I look pretty damn good for the first time in a while. Yes, I know it sounds vain but after seeing what I looked like last winter and seeing myself now I think it’s okay.
  • I weigh the lowest in a long time. So long I don’t even remember.
  • I drink a lot more water and a lot less pop (soda for those of you not from Michigan).
  • I feel better about myself & don’t hide behind clothes that are to big.
  • I exercise more then I ever have in my entire life.
  • I really think about what I’m going to eat, the calories involved in it, and if I really need it or not.
  • I’m healthy!
  • I like shopping again!
  • I am encouraged to keep the weight off and work towards my goal no matter how long it takes!

I may have said it before but I’m going to say it again. Cinch works. It truly is an great program and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is ready to start their own weight loss journey.

So let’s take a look at some pictures!

June 2012

june 2012 june 2012
Hmm… Not so happy looking and kinda lumpy.

October 2012

October 2012 October 2012
Ahh.. that’s better! Thinner and smiling.

There is one thing that I wish I would have thought of a long time ago… one of my friends and #Cinchspiration team mates, Maribel, has a series called Wear it again Wednesday where she pulls something out of her closet that she hasn’t been able to wear in a long time and well… she wears it! I got rid of all my smaller clothes because I never thought that I’d fit into them again. Aside from that she’s a great cheerleader and is always doing something to inspire me to keep on going! You need to check our her post today! Go… do it!

I have to mention Sommer! She is our brave leader and is there for all of us on the Cinch program to support us, to challenge us, and to lift us up when we think we just can’t do this anymore. I was so incredibly lucky to have met her earlier this month along with two other Cinch ladies who I am so happy to call friends as well, Jennifer and Maggie.

Cinch Group

Me, Sommer, Jennifer, and Maggie

I have to thank Sommer & her sister for taking this pretty awesome picture of us! We had a really fun weekend together and I hope that we can all get together again.

If you’re interested in getting started on your own weight loss journey and are interested in Cinch let me know. I’d be happy to answer any questions that you have and help you get started.

Update!

I did some measurements this morning and I finally have seen some dramatic changes in the numbers!

So here are the June measurements…

Chest: 34
Waist: 36
Hips: 44
Thighs: 25 1/2
Arms: 13
Weight: 180
BMI: 27.4

And here are Octobers…

Chest: 32
Waist: 30.5
Hips: 40
Thighs: 24
Arms: 12
Weight: 157
BMI: 24.0

So that is a total loss of 23lbs and 14 inches!

This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporations’ Team  #Cinchspiration Campaign. I have received free products, online support and incentives for my participation. However the opinions and pics are my own! 

In a mood

Posted on by

I don’t know what it is lately but I’m in a mood and I can’t seem to shake it.

Maybe it’s the weather here in Michigan. It’s cold (bitter cold this week), windy, gray, and almost always overcast… dismal is a good way to explain it. Where I’m at we don’t even have snow to make it somewhat tolerable and the sun sets so early that it’s like it’s night all the time (I’d hate Alaska… a lot).

Maybe it’s the kids. When you have four kids ages 16, 12, 9, and 2 (well 2 at the end of the month) and everything is non-stop go…go…go… Or NO! Whine…. cry…. scream…. complain…. and my favorite yet…. mouth off.

Maybe it’s the fact that I feel like I don’t measure up to my kids standards sometime.

Maybe it’s my husband’s business. He owns his own business and it’s doing really well but it takes so much of his time that there are times I feel like I’m a single parent. He’s always working…. doesn’t matter of it’s a weekend or not. If a customer needs something he deals with it.

Maybe it’s my job. I realized today that I haven’t had a headache in over 2 weeks…. know what that means? While I was on vacation there wasn’t the stress of work hanging on me. It’s work that is causing my headaches.

Like I said… I don’t know what it is. But it had my stomach in knots last night and in tears for almost two days. All I know is I want things to be normal… is that to much to ask for?

Here’s the absolute worst thing of all. Blissdom is coming up in February and I may not be able to go now that I’ve figured out the total cost and it kills me…. I want to go for so many reasons. I want to meet up with all the wonderful people I’ve met online, I want to learn & grow so I can further my goals, and most of all I want to meet my best bloggy friend ever, Jill.

What do you think? How do I get out of this slump? How do I change the mood I’m in?

*** Don’t forget to enter the Red Gold Tomatoes Giveaway! ***

Mom Fail?

Posted on by

Lately conversations with my oldest have been strained…. tense… or whatever you want to call it. But today I feel like today was a total mom fail (again).

Cait

My beautiful Cait

My oldest, Caitlin, is an incredibly smart, talented, and beautiful child. And I’m not just saying this because I am her mom… it’s proven by the grades she gets (her current GPA is a 4.50), the awards she has gotten for band & choir competitions, and through conversations with teachers. She’s well behaved, doesn’t get into trouble at home or at school and does what she’s supposed to. Almost sounds like the perfect child, right?

This is what’s bothering me. She is very focused, very driven, and wants to excel academically. That’s good. But it seems to come at the expense of everything else. And by everything I mean that she doesn’t go out with her friends ever, she doesn’t go to school events (like the homecoming dance), she doesn’t take part in all the fun things that make high school a little more enjoyable and make it more than just education.

I feel that one day she is going to look back at her time in high school and regret not having enjoyed the time she had. The time when responsibility was next to nothing, the time when you can just have fun with friends.

Then I learned something. Something that shouldn’t really shock me since it happened when I was in school. Drinking… lots and lots of underage drinking.

She told me that all kids do is go out and party and drink. They’ve come to band camp practices still drunk or hung over this summer. Really? Is this all there is to do around here? What the hell!

I’ve been trying to push her to do things with her friends but she pushes back and doesn’t do anything with them. I get the normal excuses… there’s nothing to do, what are we supposed to do, and so on.

I thought about it for a minute and there isn’t a lot to do around here where I live for teens but you can still make your own fun. Go to the movies, rent a movie, hang out at each others houses, or go to the park and play (Yes, teens can play at the park too!). All of these ideas were scoffed at.

She’ll go to the movies with her boyfriend or watch movies at his house or ours. But other than that she is at home with us.

She’s to grown up. Having fun & being silly doesn’t seem to be part of who she is anymore.

This is where the mom fail part comes in. Is this my fault? Did I push to hard for her to do well in school when she was younger? Did I not give her enough opportunity to have fun, play, and do things with friends?

The answer is I simply don’t know.

What I do know is that I feel bad for pushing her to do things with friends. I want her to know that I love her and want the best for her but also that she needs to have fun, enjoy life, enjoy school, enjoy friends, and everything that goes along with that. I want her to do well in school and life after school. But most of all I don’t want her to look back with any sort of regret. I don’t want her to miss out on anything.

Do I let it go or do I try to get her to do things with her friends? I don’t know anymore.

They are the Fab Five!

Posted on by

Thanks to Trop50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 Fabulous Wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous!

There are so many amazing bloggers out there that I admire and love to read and to narrow it down to just five of them is no simple task. How do I pick one over another? What if I leave someone important out… what if this…. what if that… Do you see my dilemma?

Well, I’m going to try and narrow this down for you and share with you some new, some of, but in the end they’re all friends and great bloggers.

1. Single Mom on a Budget

SingleMomonaBudget

I’ve known Jill for almost a year now and she is a terrific friend and has some of the best deals around for the Denver area, coupons, giveaways, and great ways to save. We met last fall during the Back to School, Back to Blogging even that Gigi over at Kludgy Mom was running. We both were looking for someone to be a faerie blogmother and decided that we’d do it for one another and since then we’ve been supporting each others posts, guest posting, and just helping out in general when one of us needed.

We quickly found out how much that we have in common and that we got along well! She’s been a great friend and is always there when I need her.

So take a few minutes and check out her blog and some of the incredible deals she has to offer.

2. Ciao Mom

Elena and I met when we were paired as writing partners for The Red Dress Club. She is an amazing writer and I love reading what she writes whether I see if before it’s posted or if I just happen to be wandering by her blog. She recently vlogged and I was finally able to “meet” her! She’s a wife, a mom, and most importantly a survivor. Go over and read what she has to say… you won’t be sorry. I promise.

3. Mommies in Timeout

For some reason Elena (yes, there are two of them on my list!) doesn’t have a button, but I’m fully confident that when she has her blog redone that she’ll have one then!

I met Elena a few months ago through The Red Dress Club as well. I started reading through her posts based on the prompts and was pulled into her blog and have been reading it ever since. She too, is a great writer and knows how to tell a story! I should also mention that she is one of the reasons that I actually stepped outside of my comfort zone and started doing vlogs. So a huge thanks should go to her for that because I vowed that I would never do it!

I recently had the opportunity to actually met her in real life and she is one of the nicest people that I’ve met and I was so glad that I had that opportunity. What’s even better is that we live less than 2 hours apart and can get together again.

4. Kludgy Mom

Kludgy Mom

Okay, first of all if you haven’t heard of Gigi’s blog yet then you must living under a rock or something! She’s is so talented and always has something really cool going on at her blog like the Facebook 500, App Girl Friday, Back to School, Back to Blogging or her newest event, The Summer of Love.

I have learned a great deal from all the great info that she has shared with everyone and really appreciate it. It’s people like her that help us who are new to the blogging world and encourage us to stick to it.

5. Dysfunctional Supermom

Dysfunctional Supermom

Brandi is just awesome. She is funny, open, honest, foul mouthed, and all around a great friend. We met a while back on Twitter when she asked about blog buttons or something and I offered to make her one. Since then we’ve been friends and I’ve been reading her blog daily (or when she posts).

She tells it like it is and doesn’t hold back, and best of all she doesn’t apologize for anything. She is who she is and is confident in that. I admire that because I’m the quiet chicken in the back of the room where as she’s the one being loud and having a great time talking to everyone. I know that if I needed something and asked her she’d come through for me even though we are several states apart.

There you have it friends, the Fab Five! If I didn’t mention you that doesn’t mean that you aren’t totally awesome too… it just means that I was limited to five and these ladies were the first to come to mind.

Share with me a great blog that you read!

Don’t forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.