Why is my life so hard?



Why is my life so hard????

A friend of mine used to say this years ago. She would say it purely for the drama. Like"Why is the shake machine broken at McDonalds? I just want a shake! Why is my life so hard?" Completely ridiculous. Always made me laugh and still does.

I also like to use this when our 10 year old son starts whining. Its always about not getting enough iPad time or how I refuse to let him have a tv in his room or his own computer. Horrible Mom, right? My typical response is " I know. Your life is so hard." He usually agrees with me but gets the point and moves on.

It seems like life had been dealing out some harder lessons in the past few months or so. And for a while I just kept going along. Not really taking the time to realize all that was coming our way and filling up our plate. But, then it hit me. Leaving the gym last Sunday after having a brief conversation with a very inspiring older man. It made me feel great but as soon as I got in my car I lost it. Like sobbed. Huge tears. The 'I cant stop these tears! Why am I crying? WHY?' I just let them go and figured why fight it. It was good.

My life is no harder than anyone else I know. I don't think anyone just cruises through life with no stress, no heartache, no loss, no worries. Maybe others just hide it better, deal with it better or just chose to ignore or deny it. There were other times in my teens and 20's and early 30's that I thought "Why is my life so hard?" but looking back was it really that hard? If I were to go through those things now it would seem so much easier than it did then. Perspective? Wisdom? Strength?

I'm not a terribly religious person but I pray everyday. Thank God for all of my blessings. Sometimes I pray to my Granparents or other family members that we have lost. Asking for help or guidance. My husband likes to say "Why would you pray to them? They aren't a God." I find this funny. Maybe he is right but maybe they will put in a good word for me:) I read somewhere that you shouldn't pray for things but instead visualize what you want and instead of saying please, say thank you for what you are visualizing. Makes sense.

I am starting to see the light at the end of this. I am sure there will be another time in my life that will make me stop and say "Why is my life so hard?" but I know I can put check marks by all of these challenges and know that I can handle it. I made it. We made it. And, I will do it again.

With the popularity of Pinterest it seems like Home Remedies and DIY's are the greatest things ever. You can green up your lawn with Epsom Salt and exfoliate your face!!  Who knew?

 

I've been doing several natural, make your own things for a long time now. Some that my Grandma used to do and I have been doing for years and others that I've been doing for several months now. All of these are tested, used and recommended.

  

·         When I was little and would spend the night at my grandparents, when it came time to wash my hair it meant...laying on the kitchen counter, Johnsons Baby Shampoo and a Apple Cider Vinegar rinse. I hated it but my Grandma swore by it. She was right! About once a week I wash my hair like normal, rinse the shampoo out, then pour the vinegar over all of my hair. I let it sit for a minute or two then rise out. The colder you can stand the water the better. It removes tons of build up, makes your hair super clean and VERY shiney. And, the smell goes away pretty quickly and is totally gone by the time it is dry.

 

·         I also use a solution of Vinegar, baking soda and water as my go to cleaner. It works great on counters, sinks, stoves, fridge, toliets. You name it.

 

·         I've had a horrible time with adult acne. But, not the normal kind of teenage kind. Like painful welts and very oil skin. I've determined that I am now allergic to eggs (I feel another Blog) and that is a part of the cause. But, a friend recommend this Pin she found. 3 parts Castor Oil to 1 Part Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Mix them up in a bottle. Everynight I massage this all over my dirty face. It removes EVERYTHING. I run the water as hot as I can handle it to get a washcloth damp and hot. I place that over my face to sort of 'steam' out the oil and dirt. After a minute. I wipe it off, rinse off the washcloth and repeat. Thats it. In the morning I just splash my face with cold water and go. I've never had such smooth, clean and oil free skin.

 

·         Hair mask of 2 egg yolks with 2 tbsp of olive oil, dilute the mixture by adding a cup of water and then slow massage into your scap. Leave on for 15 to 20 minutes. Then rinse. AMAZING. Shiney and reported to help your hair grow.

 

·         My mom has always used this on all of my bug bites. I do it with my kids. Works great! Make a paste of baking soda and water. It needs to be thick enough to stay on the bite but thin enough to spread. Leave on until its crusty and flaking. Then rinse.  It pulls the yucky stuff out and helps the itching.

 

·         Vaseline as eye moisturizer. I put it on every night under and around my eyes. I never feel as though my skin dry or tight. And tons cheaper than the over the counter stuff.

 

·         And recent recommendation from a friends 'granola' mom... Charcoal tablets for tummy issues. Bad food, feeling the 'bug', upset tummy. Take these tablets. The can be found at Walgreens. They take all of the bad stuff in your stomach, absorb it and get rid of it. Safe for kids too.

 

Give ‘em a go. Let me know what you think!

25 Random Facts About Me.......

Cinnamon Toast Crunch is the best cereal ever. Period.

I hate milk. Its gross. I only use it on the above because water would be gross. I pour as little as possible on the cereal, scoop with the spoon & tilt it against the bowl to get most if off the spoon.

Toast with crunchy peanut butter - I could eat it everyday.

I love Neil Diamond!

The cotton inside medicine & vitamin bottles creeps me out. Can't stand touching it.

I'm OCD about my nails. Finger & toes are always painted & they always match. 365 days a year.

Some of my adult teeth never came in because my mouth is too small. Bet you would've never noticed.

I miss my grandparents every single day.

I went to college to be a vet tech.

I should've been a Nutritionist. I am fascinated by food & science & the body.

My Mom is my hero. My best friend. I hope someday my boys think I'm as great of a mom as she is.

I believe in ghosts.

My ultimate vacation would be Italy & Greece.

I feel that most people are judging me.

I have 6 amazing girlfriends. Some I've been friends with for 24 years. I'm so lucky to be able to say that.

My happy place....under water.

Tulips & Peonies are my favorites.

I have 3 tattoos.


If I would've have my way my boys would have been named Jack & Max instead of Hunter & Dane.


Walking next to railing or ledge,makes me sick to my stomach.

I'm scared to death of storms & tornados.

Banana Laffy Taffy. Cant get enough.

I have moved over 16 times in my life.

Laughing until you cry or pee. My favorite.

Ryan Reynolds. Enough said.

Gimme 5!

 

 

 

 

It seems that most people are always looking for ways to save money. Quick, easy, painless but effective. Well, I've got one for you.

Now I'm no financial expert. To be quite honest I am barely able to balance my checkbook most days. And lord knows I've made plenty of mistakes along the way. But, this I can do! My husband found this idea online several years back and it sounded easy enough. So we tried it.

A $5 dollar jar!

For over 6 years now we have saved every $5 bill that we get.

True. We are strict with it too. If we go in with a $20 bill and buy something small & end up with 3 $5's in change, guess what? That was an expensive trip but good for our savings.

Think about it. If you just do one $5 a day that's $1825 after one year! What if it was $10 a day? That's $3650 in a year!! How easy is that?!

You have to make an effort to consistently use cash. Believe me its easy just to use your bank card but that wont feed your savings account.

Just to show you how quickly it adds up. After about 2 months of starting this we were able to recarpet our living room & stairs! We were getting ready to put our old house on the market & being able to literally pay cash for this project was such a huge bonus.

6 years later we still do this everyday! We don't miss those $5's and our savings account thanks us!



Here's to 2013

Dear 2012

You weren't my best year. I can honestly say that I'm very happy to end this chapter and move on to the next.

2013 is the year of continued health.

I'm hoping for a household with no surgeries this year.

I did my first, second & third 5k's this year. Probably my proudest accomplishment for 2012. In 2013 I hope for my forth, fifth & sixth.....and to shave 5 minutes off of my time.

I will continue my weight loss, healthy eating choices & healthy living choices. I will think positively, keep a smile on face even when it would be easier not to. I will not let others bad choices, bad attitudes become my problems & my bad attitude.

I will work on bettering myself inside & out. Would I be embarrassed or disappointed of my children did this? A good way to make me stop & think before I open my mouth!

Less stressing over a clean & spotless house, getting laundry done, or any other thing that can wait & spending that time with my husband & boys. Making smiles, laughter & memories.
Here's to a great year!
Cheers!!

Coupon Crazy?

I’ve always wanted to be one of those people that clipped a few coupons and saved a couple bucks on the grocery bill every month. But, I never understood the people that were coupon crazy. You know what I am talking about, walls of toilet paper, 146 bottles of shampoo, 306 toothbrushes.  You get the idea.

 

As I’ve watched our grocery bill consistently go up every month for the past year or so, I was getting frustrated and disgusted.  I’m not buying anything crazy. Just the normal stuff – yogurts, granola bars, some fruit, veggies and the required case of Diet Coke.  Something has got to give.

 

I finally decided that I have to change how I shop for our family.  Time to get organized. I started with our local paper and looking at all of the grocery store ads and writing down a list by store and the price – only getting what we use, not buy anything just because it’s on sale.  That helped a little bit. But, then I got the big paper and started clipping coupons. Then signing up with a few sites to get notifications on sales.  I have to admit that I am a mom with a coupon organizer in my purse at all times.  Each pocket labeled… health/beauty, dry, paper, frozen, store and misc.

 

Now to take the time to make several stops at different stores. It’s not a fun thing to do but it will pay off – I promise you!

 

 

 

Look at my coupon/sale mission from last week! This is 4 stores…. 6 boxes of cereal, 5 pounds of chicken, 12 cans of soup, 4 boxes of Mac and Cheese, 2 dozen eggs, 2 lunch meats, 3 candy bars, 2 bottles of dish soap, 3 bottles of hand soap, 3 boxes of Kleenex, 3 bags of chips, avocado, pomegranate, pineapple, tortillas, fresh mozzarella, couscous, 5 cans of fruit, 1 gallon of milk, crescent rolls & 3 different sizes of baggies. Would you like to guess the grand total of this?????

 

$68.12

 

I couldn’t believe it. Best trip yet. My usual grocery trip is around $120 per week. This is cutting my monthly grocery bill in HALF! How can you argue with that?

 

A little extra time and preparation and creating a little extra space to store some of your stock ups.

 

What will you do with all of your extra money???