We don’t get out much “like just us two (2)” on dates and things like that … but My Hubby surprised me with an early anniversary date night the other night.
July 4th is actually our Wedding Anniversary, so Happy Anniversary to us! 🎆
but, for our date night, he took us to this super fabulous restaurant. It was a roof top restaurant with yummo delish food and we watched the sunset too. 🌅
It was a beautiful night indeed. We dressed up. I put some make-up on, I did my hair, and it was nice for both of us to just “be” for a few hours.
We smiled and we laughed, we held hands, we talked about our girls 💗💗💗 (of course.) We also discussed that we both know we need to do this more. We truly have to find the time to pencil in date nights more … (maybe every couple of months.) 😉
My besties have been telling me this for years and most recently one of them had a discussion with me on, “You need to fill your cup, he needs to too, you both need to fill your cup!!!” 😉🥰
I mean, since having babies we still can count on one hand how many times we have been on a “date night!” Don’t get me wrong we have been to weddings and in quite a few too, in the last eleven (11) years. Yes, our oldest little love 💗 is ELEVEN (11) years old, WOW – man time flies when you’re having fun!!!
Again though, what a fun night …
So, possible goals – plan on “dating” more again soon, maybe? 😉 …
I am a girl, who’s mind is always going. This year like I have said, has been NONSTOP!!! Actually, we picked up even more so, on our “busyness” during Covid. Crazy right?
It’s true though, my husband got promoted during Covid. Our girls were in school remote and took on Soccer ⚽️ in a whole new fashion because it was their only outside outlet. I was insanely busy with Scentsy and so forth …
It’s crazy looking back. Things began to open up, the schools opened up fully too. My husband was now “in person” at work due to him being an essential employee and we were trying to go back to some sort of normalcy.
So now, it is SUMMER ☀️🍉⛱ time, so we are home 💗💗💗 and all the pile up to-do’s that have been piling up, and piling up all school year long. Well, it’s time to tackle them! I am going to pause as I write this and say, “Give yourself a little grace because there is a lot to do, so take your time and don’t rush it!”
That ⬆️ is not easy for this Mama, but here goes … one thing at a time!
First up, craft/school room and check ☑️ at least it’s now cleaned out, organized and much was donated!
and the pantry ☑️
one of the closets ☑️
(there’s two (2) sides to these closets ⬇️, but we want to change out the doors and add some lights! 💗 So closet change-up to follow 😉)
Okay, taking a break today … It is Friday and our little loves 💗💗💗 want a pool day and a day to just relax. So, penciling this in, along with some haircuts too.
I am making progress though and you get the idea of what my goal is … 😉
I remember years ago, especially as a new mommy. The “real” to-do list began!!!
Now, listen there was always a “to-do list.” However, the overwhelming-ness that attached to it, definitely increased once you became a parent. Along with the NOW factor!
I know we all have our things, our schedules, but then we add in our house things, parent things, and your kiddies’ schedules, sports ⚽️.
My lanta!!! – right!!! lol
Now me, I am type-A, a perfectionist type of a gal, but let’s just say “HOT MESS!” That’s how I feel most days!!! I found a way to embrace this “Hot Mess” too! Which, meant that my hair would not always be done, my make-up would not always be on …
Yes, I would wear sweatpants, leggings , and work-out clothes as my “SAHM mom fashion!” 🤷🏻♀️🤣🤷🏻♀️
However, the to-do list, it is non stop in this house. I mean I am a SAHM, and the “to-do list” never ends. I drink my coffee in the AM and when I can, I will blog. Which is what I am doing at the moment. I am actually at the car garage because I have to get a new tire and then after, I need to run out and get some things for the house and for our girls. 💗💗💗
Like “all,” we try to just manage. As we know, “the things” will always be there, and always need to get done. We also know, we are not alone. I mean I talk to parents, mom friends, our friends, family and it seems to be the norm for all.
I look at our schedule though … and it has been a “My Lanta moment” most recently!!! 🤷🏻♀️😉🤣
My husband though, is more of a calm, let’s just do and get it done, check off ☑️ the to-do list kind of guy. Where due to my type-A, perfectionist personality, things like a “to-do list” can overwhelm me at times! 😬
I had a talk with one of my dearest the other day and she truly brought much to light for me. We were just talking about life and the simplicity of being in our twenties (20’s), before babies. She said, “In the busyness, we also need to fill our cup.” This was an “ahh moment!” for me. It is something that seems so simple, but to me/us, we often forget this.
Ohhh to fill our cups, okay how to pencil this in too? That’s truly how my husband and I think, to go on a date night, out to eat, away for the night … Without kids, Ha!!! Yeah, nope!!!
I often will watch/listen to how people will write the word or even say, “Mama” …
I watch and I listen … many when talking about this role often say, “mom” of course. They will say, “mommy”, but I smile when I see others say or even write momma and truly what gives me more of an aweee 💗 is when I see it written out as “mama.”
Mama is near and dear to my heart. This was my title for awhile in this house. Our first little love called me mama when she was first learning how to talk, and then one day switched it to mommy. I remember crying when she said mommy too, (listen it’s a mommy thing for this mama, okay! 🤣)
However, out of no where she said mommy one day and she was confused as to why I was now sad … She actually went in our bathroom and grabbed me a tissue and brought it over to me, looking at me confused! 💗
Yes, my sweet little almost two (2) year old, knew to bring me a tissue whenever I was sad!!! Cute, right? 🥰
So, here’s the thing … she actually always thought she was saying “Mommy,” but since talking was all new to her, it was coming out as “Mama!” 💗 I truly loved that she called me Mama. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that she was now calling me Mommy too! 🥰 but Mama … is just, 💗 tear!!! 🥺
Oh those Mommy stories, so I will often write “Mama” and whenever I see someone else write out “Mama” I just smile, because it’s just near and dear to my heart! 💗
My sister was trying to get me to switch from Yankee to Scentsy. My husband and I use to have shelves upon shelves of Yankee candles and a scent in each room of the house too. My sister would tell me Scentsy is more you, it’s a healthier candle approach and the scents are amazing, etc.
I would say, “Nope, not letting go of my favorite scents!” and to be honest I still have quite a few! 😉
… but I finally gave in, and I bought Scentsy one Summer day, then a scent sold me to Scentsy. “Summer Holiday!” Yep, I was SOLD!
So, from then on Scentsy was our new candle scentsational scent of fun. Not to mention their super cute WARMERS too!!!
Well, one day I am smelling the scents and (as many know, I am gluten free and labeled, undiagnosed celiac), so I smelled a scent called “Blueberry Cheescake” and suddenly I now wanted a Blueberry 🫐 Muffin! – lol 🤷🏻♀️
So, I added this scent to my order. When it arrived, I put it in my warmers and loooved it. My husband and our girls 💗💗💗 loved it too! So, I ordered more right away, and after spending close to $200 on Scentsy in one single month. I joked and said, “Maybe I should just sell this stuff at this point!” The girl I bought from responded with, “‘You should, you alone would keep yourself in business!” lol 🤔
So, asked a few more questions and talked it over with my husband and I signed on that Month as a Scentsy Consultant and began my little business in June of 2019. So, it’ll be three (3) years this June. It is just something small I have on the side of mommy life, family life, etc. Something part-time for me to have and it brings in some extra cash too! (I actually make more now than when I was working part-time, while pregnant with our first little love 💗)
Scentsy is slower right now though, but it’s still busy too. Not as busy as it was in the beginning of Covid, but once people’s smells were effected (like this gal) and the gas prices increased. People slowed down with it, but it’s a great product, and it’s a healthier candle approach too. So, if you’re interested in this “wickless candle approach, that’s cleaner, safer and healthier!” Contact me and if you want a part-time little business, contact me too! 🥰
Okay “busyness” … well, it is the new “norm.” in this house.
(Especially, once you become a mom and dad, and more specifically when your kiddies are old enough to all be in school and play sports, or cheer, dance, etc.)
We have been nonstop, like NONSTOP lately … I mean, we quadruple booked this Easter 🐣 ✝️ Weekend. We had two (2) Soccer ⚽️ Tournaments (that’s six (6) Games), our good friends’ wedding and Easter Sunday. Now, because of the craziness we spread out the games for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but we also had to coordinate getting to the wedding, did not host Easter this year, etc.
Not to mention, earlier in the week our littlest love caught a bug. Poor little thing 🤒, she’s doing better now. 🙏🏼 Still fighting off the tail end of it, with a cough, but her fever is gone, energy is back, and her appetite is back! Praise God! 🙏🏼
I think I lost it for a brief moment 🤯 I mean #mommying, in between the phone calls, the soccer ⚽️ things, germs, events, work, etc.
My husband and his calmness though, as he says, “We will figure all out and never book our schedules like this again!” 💗
So, here we are … It’s Monday morning, we all are tired 😴, but all turned out pretty good! 🙏🏼 Our one little love won 1st 🥇 place in her division. ⚽️ My husband rocked as a coach and our other little love handled poor sportsmanship well from the other team she played! 💗 I got glutened of course, so still fighting that off 😬 and our littlest love has been fever free for over 48 hours!!! 🙏🏼 and Easter was very nice! 🐣✝️
My Hubby has events today at work, so I am home with our littles. I am cleaning all, doing laundry, and the pup 🐶 needs to get to groomer, there’s errands, etc., but all that was 🤯 is now ☑️ …
It’s now mid way through the month and I have not written out our calendar. 📆 I need to do this today or maybe tomorrow? 🤷🏻♀️ and I need to regroup/think and just pause! 💗
Bringing it back to “cozy” … after all, my new blog is called “Cozy Styling” and like I said in previous blogs/posts, “I think we all need to find that cozy in life, from time to time.”
Oh and Happy Friday!!! – now this is Cozy, well, later tonight that is … all at home, eating yummy food, playing games, maybe a cup of hot tea. ☕️
So, what is your cozy?”
Okay, so if you follow me in my IG story posting, Scentsy posting, blog posting … I am a pinterest gal. To be honest, a good amount of my ideas, stem from Pinterest. I’d love to sharpen my photography 📸 skills too, so I can add to my now pinning and blogging, … but there’s only sooo many hours ⏰ in the day 🤷🏻♀️
On many mornings, I wake up and before my coffee, I find a coffee stock photo on pinterest, to post onto my Scentsy page.
A little of what catches my eye or grabs my attention. Fitness pictures, Healthy foods, Posts on Faith, Coffee photos (but ironically don’t “love” coffee 🤷🏻♀️ only in the mornings.) Fashion, cozy fashion in the winter, even in the summer, and just cute fashionable things. Nail pictures, I love my nails painted, but DISLIKE getting my nails done 🤣 (this is a new thing I now “know,” but the piggies love them painted and love a pedicure too.)
More on cozy … facials are another new thing, loving at home facials or scheduling one at a salon or spa.
I love, like looovvveee organization. It’s interesting (and my husband often jokes about this) nothing like a clean house, my bed made, angles, a new comforter, an organized pantry, a new journal/planner, etc. just looovvveee!!!
Speaking of journals, I love notebooks, odd yes 🤣 but I do … nothing like a fresh notebook, journal or planner! 🙂
and loving leopard, WHAT!!! … what happened? I am now loving leopard too. 🐆
Just a little of this and a little of that on this Friday, time to get some errands done! ☑️
Okay … eating for “nutrition” is not as easy as one would think! 🤔
This may sound crazy, but making sure you are eating enough … for some of us, this is difficult in itself. I mean us ladies, since we were teens, have been influenced by the “world” (for lack of better words), and on average, have been watching what we eat, watching our weight, or watching how we look for most of our lives!
This is not all of us, but probably many of us …
So, to actually have an education and knowledge on what food is, when it comes to our health, what nutrition is, that foods can cause inflammation, etc. 🤷🏻♀️ Huh??? 🤔
My lanta!!! ✨✨✨
When I was younger (like middle school age) I remember having a convo. with this High School boy, who was into fitness. He was a football player, drinking fitness shakes, lifting and all the things. I was like, “Guess what “so and so”, I only ate a Snickers all day today!” 🤣 All proud of myself – lol … he said, “Well, I’d eat a little more than that, and next time when you do eat, especially if only one thing all day 🙄 which I don’t recommend. Focus on something a little healthier!”
I was like, “Oh!” 😬 and a little embarrassed 😳 I was thirteen (13) years old at the time, and he was eighteen (18) years old, and he just graduated from High School! (So, he was cool!) 🤣 He was right though … like really, starve yourself and then pick a snickers to eat! 🤷🏻♀️
Side note – This boy and I were friends and penpals for awhile, after this Summer. There was a group of us that hung out during our Summers up at a Country Club on a golf course in Idaho. We all met up every Summer. (I spent my Summers with my grandparents in Idaho as a kid, which my Idaho Summers is another blog for another time), so to be continued … but my Idaho Summers were indeed wonderful! 💗
Idaho – Golf Course
Back to nutrition, (as I think back to my relationship with food.) I would like to think that I learned earlier, that eating only this or that all day long, was not okay. However, I did not! I would sometimes tell myself (during those college years, to be exact) “You haven’t eaten all day, so you can have Wendy’s tonight!” 🤷🏻♀️ (something I wouldn’t even consider eating now, especially since being gluten free!)
I did this more often than I would like to admit. I never counted calories per-say, but food was … something I limited to like a meal a day, here and there. Once I was thinner (I was always thin, but didn’t see this as a teen) … but again, once I was thinner, and was told by others that I was skinny. I liked hearing it, so I knew basically what to eat and what not to eat.
Food was never about nutrition for me, at this time in my life. I was a college kid, so food was something I would eat, when I was hungry and not eat when I wanted to lose five (5) pounds. Just being honest! 🤷🏻♀️
When I met my husband (the Summer before my senior year of college) I was weighing in like the nineties (90’s.) I had a problem at this point though, I ate very little and was okay with being “skinny.” He’d take me out to eat constantly when we first met. We were friends for like six (6) months before dating, 🥰 but if I wanted mozzarella cheese fries, he’d say, “okay let’s go!” lol 🥰
I remember my grandma calling me one day too, and checking in on me. I remember it vividly too, (I was sitting in my bedroom on my desk chair in my roomies and my rented town house at the time), and she said, “Be careful Jennifer, what you are doing to your body now … it may not effect you now, in your twenties, but it will effect you by your thirties!”
I now look back, and often say, “hmmm, was she right?” 🤔 I mean, after our first little love was born, I was in my late twenties (20’s) and this was when I realized I had an intolerance to gluten, and the possibility of celiac disease? As I had my next baby, I now had a food allergy to citrus too and many other things were now going on …
In a previous blog, I was discussing “female things” and after talking with a girlfriend who has had similar issues to what I dealt with and am dealing with, she was telling me how she fixed her issues with Nutrition. She said, “After talking with a Nutritionist, she never realized that food is like medicine too for many (if not ALL of us!) So, this got me thinking 🤔
I actually went home after we talked, (this was before my Doctor’s Appointment) and started researching, much about this topic and I am actually considering, taking a few Nutrition Classes now … (yeah, I know, where would I fit this in?)
In my little research that I have done already, and after talking with a Nutritionist too. Females need certain things, (especially when it comes to Hormonal Health!) Now, you may say, “Well, I am fine and so and so is always on a diet, doing this and that, and they’re fine!” What I say to that, “That may be true, and that’s great for them, but we all are wired differently!” For example, my body may need more folic acid or more healthy fats, and if I am confirmed Celiac (already know I have a gluten intolerance) then my body wasn’t absorbing certain nutrients for years while eating food in general! Especially, when not eating the “right” foods!
I am a smaller framed female (5’2”, wear an xsm/sm), and it took me becoming a mommy to realize this too … I no longer limit myself when it comes to food, but I think I did and may even still do, in some ways subconsciously. Like, I will stop myself from eating this or that, overeating is a no, mainly because I don’t like the feeling of being super full and have had digestive issues, off and on for years. I on average choose not to eat certain sweets, no to diet beverages too. Then I wouldn’t eat all day, but use to eat snickers and candy saying to myself, “It’s okay, you can eat this, since you didn’t eat anything today!” (I do like candy, but eating just sugar as my food intake, not good!) 🤷🏻♀️
This was years ago though (before Covid actually!) No longer do this …
I am also a person who’s not always a breakfast eater. There’s hungry days though and these days, I no longer ignore. So, if my body is craving extra food, I now EAT! You, see during my research, your body will often crave things, when it needs something. If you know me, I am a gal who has ALWAYS craved things. Random things too, like a cheese burger, a milk shake, mozzarella, etc. I have learned to give into my cravings more now, compared to only when I am PMS-ing and pregnant.
Some of the things I have found in my research relating to hormonal health. Drink Matcha tea and green tea more. I am consciously trying to eat 1/4-to a whole avocado daily. 🥑 Females, NEED healthy fats, especially for hormonal health. Red meat, (okay, don’t really eat it), but for hormonal health red meat is “inflammatory,” so like I love tacos, we eat them weekly. Taco Tuesday in this house, so I’d eat red meat when eating tacos. However, now, I consciously will make ground turkey for tacos, especially for me!
I won’t say that I will not EAT red meat ever again, I just try not to eat it “often.” Also, I am now eating more plant foods, you know fruits and VEGGIES, eating more fish, certain proteins, etc. I am gluten free already, so paying attention is easier compared to years ago, when going gluten free. Like I do need carbs, so I’ll make rice (often), a gluten free pasta or I will eat some gluten free pretzels. Especially, if my body is craving carbs. Sugar I’ll even crave at times, ever so often, so I listen and grab a Hershey kiss, a small Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or something little.
HYDRATION is also a thing and it’s a HUGE thing!!! Hydration, is a whole other blog post 🤣 so to be continued on that … but I am trying!!!
There’s so much to “Nutrition” when it comes to foods, so I am going to see if it helps? 🤷🏻♀️
I started up Wellness Wednesdays, a few weeks ago. I wanted to try to take fifteen (15) minutes to an hour or more to do something for “myself”, like wash my hair, maybe a mani/pedi at home, facial, take a bubble bath, etc.
Just a moment to pause …
So, I had a “day of rest” yesterday for Wellness Wednesday. After a Doctor’s Appointment that went well on Tuesday, praise God. 🙏🏼 I said to myself, “Just relax today, take a bath, blog again and just be, and don’t feel guilty. You owe this to yourself!” 🙏🏼
You see … Mommy life, and life in general. I just often do not schedule in those little things that I once did for myself, before having babies. Life is just busy differently now, so things like hair and nails aren’t a constant anymore.
So, for example, I normally get my hair done maybe twice a year. (So here was the deal, I haven’t had a hair cut, gosh in like 6-9 months, maybe longer. I mean, I did get to the salon in October, to get a quick gloss because my hair was lighter over the Summer … Yes, I actually for the first time EVER was at the hair salon three (3) times over the Summer going lighter.) So, anyways, my roots were now like 2 inches long, so I decided to go back to brunette (and now, not sure if I’ll go blonder again this Summer. 🤷🏻♀️)
Now back to being busy, so I often will schedule a hair appointment and then cancel, schedule, then cancel. No worries though, I finally made an appointment and actually went too. Just wanted to get my hair cut and I ended up taking a good 4 inches off, maybe more 😉 so back to self care, I was actually getting my nails done for a few months in the fall, because I told myself, “You can do something little like this for yourself” … but now I am over that (not a surprise) so stopped with that all together because my nails just got too weak.
Wanted to explain something, I have never been “that” kind of girl. Who’s always at a salon. I just cannot sit at salons for hours 🤷🏻♀️ I think I am just too type A. 🤷🏻♀️ I mean I try, I do, I try, but then I am like okay, no! I don’t feel like sitting in here for an hour or more.
However, I do want to have moments (from time to time) of feeling pampered, so I love to get a pedi, and maybe I will start scheduling facials? I am trying to learn to go to the salons more … especially now that Covid is lifting. 🙏🏼 (we are praying that is … )
So maybe, I’ll schedule them in from time to time now, on Wellness Wednesdays. 😉
Cozy Styling 