Motivation Monday: Every Day Find a Simple Way to Spoil Yourself

It's August 1! Where is the time going? I've already seen countdowns to Christmas and Halloween appear on Facebook and such. Apparently people are REALLLLY excited about those things. I mean, I love Christmas but...it's a bit too early. I'm still soaking in the Pensacola heat over here. And by "soaking in," I should clarify that I am literally soaking wet from the humidity and my personal glistening.

August is an exciting month for our little family. We find out where we go next on our Air Force adventure, and that move may just come way sooner than we even realize. 

Anyways, back to the topic. Motivation Monday. (Links to my past posts in the series.) Today's motivation is as follows:

"Every day find a simple way to spoil yourself."

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This design is inspired by a chalkboard series I designed last month for a church camp; I've been itching to design some other things in the style. Tadaa! Here's the result.

I've been thinking a lot about how I can find joy in my life every day. And I've realized that more often than not, that joy comes in very small, even minuscule things. Recently, I've realized that I love burning candles in my home. I love the ambiance a candle provides; I love the flickering of the tiny flames; and I love my environment smelling awesome!

Now get this—until recently I NEVER bought candles. If you know me, you may know that I kinda hate spending money. I'm a total saver, and when it comes to buying things...well, there has to be a REALLY good deal for me to justify my purchase. Candles just seemed like a frivolous item. (And candles aren't even that expensive!!!) If I DID happen to have a candle, I never burned it. I think I'd get in the mindset of needing a reason to burn the candle, but then I'd never use it, which in turn would make me think I shouldn't ever buy another one. (Anyone else get caught in that cycle??)

Throughout the last few months I've been burning a candle as much as I can. One of my favorite things to do is light a candle in my room while I get Emerson ready for bed. Then, by the time he's asleep and I'm getting ready for bed and settling into my room, there's a great smell and relaxing environment waiting for me. 

A few weeks ago, I was having a really bad day and my upset self went off shopping. I bought myself a new shirt, some Twizzlers, and a candle because I wanted to cheer myself up. I've LOVED that new candle and realized I don't need an excuse (like a bad day) to treat myself with something I really enjoy. 

With that said, I want to emphasize that there are a million ways to "spoil" yourself that don't require much, if any, money. Whether it's actually giving yourself some quiet time to read a book, attending your favorite fitness class, taking a long shower, watching your favorite show, enjoying a special meal, writing in a journal...the list could go on and on!

So, I challenge you. Get out there and spoil yourself! Find something simple you love and see how you can regularly add it to your life. 

Popcorn Games

Last night was one of the nights that highlighted how awesome marriage is. For me, it was one of the evenings that I'd daydream about when my single self imagined everything I hoped my future marriage would be. And because of that, I had to document it. Because when times get tough, mundane, or simply too routine, I want to remember this experience and do whatever I need to do to recreate it, in some way.

For last night, all credit goes to Jake.

Jake stopped home for dinner but then went back to work for a few more hours. This meant I put Emerson to bed and did all my winding down and nighttime stuff alone. By the time Jake returned, I was in bed, with contacts out and glasses on, makeup off and face washed, browsing my phone and thinking about reading for a bit before I fell asleep. (I do have to mention that Jake didn't come home WAY late; we simply usually go to bed really early. :P)

Anyways, I greeted Jake when he walked in and started getting ready for bed. After a little chit chat, he said he was going to get a snack before bed. A few minutes later he walks in with a couple frozen lemonades (one for me!) and a bowl of popcorn. He asks if I want to play a game.

Recently we've been playing a game or two of Rummikub at night so I thought he was talking about that. I said, "Sure!"

But that wasn't what Jake had in mind. His game revolved entirely around the bowl of popcorn. And for the next half hour, maybe forty-five minutes, maybe even an hour, one game evolved into another, another, and then another. First, a popcorn version of pick-up sticks. Then some evolved rules. Then how many pieces can you get to stick on your tongue. Then a series of catch the popcorn in your mouth.

All of these games were extremely silly, and to be honest, slightly gross. (Something about wet popcorn...) But both Jake and I were laughing sooo hard the entire time. I was pretty sure we were going to wake Emerson, but that kid sleeps through anything.

This spontaneous, random game reminded me how much I love Jake and how lucky I am to be married to my best friend. Sometimes we get so focused on our to-do lists and day-to-day activities that we forget to let loose and spend some time simply enjoying being around each other. It reminds me how important it is to continue dating your spouse and to take time to have a little bit of random fun.

Thank you Jake for a memorable evening. And yes, I'm pretty easy to please.

I'm Thankful for...Emerson

Emerson. Ah. Of course he needed to be next in my recent gratitude series.

That little guy is my favorite. I just can't get enough of his cute toothless smile, curious eyes, and of course, those chubby legs. I find myself holding him for much longer than needed after his nighttime feeding when he typically falls asleep in my arms. I just can't get enough of his cuddles and love.

Let me share a moment I had in the hospital room the day after Emerson was born. Now, you may know I didn't have a perfectly smooth pregnancy. Actually I DID have a really smooth first and second trimester but the third trimester wasn't so smooth. (Blood clot, hospital stays, crutches, etc. Find more info here.) With that said, I know people have FAR, FAR worse experiences, and I was blessed to be able to return to activity and finish out my pregnancy.

In the hospital room, with pregnancy and delivery out of the way, Emerson was sleeping in his little crib. I looked over and just had the feeling that he was going to be a healthy, happy baby and that my biggest struggle, i.e. everything from the last part of my pregnancy, was behind me.

I don't think I really knew what that thought meant. But as I've now had six months to think about it, I understand a bit more and am so grateful for the blessing in my life that is my son Emerson.

First, Emerson's health. He has been a very healthy boy from the beginning. He had none of even the common minor newborn issues. He is also a great eater, which may show in his growing chubbiness.

Emerson is also the happiest, most content baby. He smiles all. day. long. He is an observer and is always happy to sit and watch whatever is going on. I can sit him next to me in the bathroom while I get ready, in the kitchen while I do dishes, or on the bed while I fold laundry. He is happy no matter what. I can count on one hand how many times he's cried for apparent "unhappiness." (The only other times he cries is if he's hungry.) I'm so grateful for his demeanor because it's allowed me to return to teaching fitness classes. I'm so grateful I can bring him around town with me and even have him hang out with us during class.

As he gets a little older, he seems to get even more happy. He has a look of joy in his eyes that accompanies his adorable smile. Recently, as I've been playing with him or holding him, I find myself thinking a year or two in the future when Jake is deployed and gone for a while. I know Emerson will be my rock during those times. He will be my little buddy who is a constant reminder to be happy and look for the positive in everything. It's crazy how he's already doing that.

I'm also so grateful that Emerson is a great sleeper, both at night and during naps. Like how did I get so lucky? I've mentioned recently in my "Five Things I Thought BEFORE Having My Baby" that we don't have a regular nap schedule. Emerson is such a flexible dude who goes with the flow, which has proven to be so necessary with my crazy schedule. Before he was even 2 months, he was sleeping 10-12 hours at night. Since then, he's had his ups and downs at night, but eventually returns to his 12 hour routine (7pm-7am ish). And even during his "bad" nights, he would only wake up once, maaaybbee twice, before he quickly falls back to sleep. His naps during the day average 2-3 hours and that's usually with me waking him up either to leave the house or so he has enough awake time before bedtime. He will sleep in the car, in his crib, in his mamaroo, in the bed with us, in the pack 'n play. He is not picky.

All in all, I'm so blessed to even have the opportunity to be a mom, not to mention being a mom to such a perfect-for-me baby. (I don't quite identify as "a mom" yet, but that's a topic for another day.) Emerson has made the transition to motherhood practically seamless and so enjoyable. I feel so lucky to have a happy, content, chubby, and loving baby who loves to eat and loves to sleep. And I'm grateful I get to continue seeing Emerson grow and learn.

Motivation Monday: Live in the Now

Living in the now. It's a concept that seems simple but is a lot harder than one might think.

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As of this morning, Jake officially passed his final flight in his training program for the Air Force. He has a few more weeks of academics, but we will find out his next assignment in less than five weeks, followed by his graduation, and a whirlwind of things that ultimately lead to us moving to wherever the Air Force sends us next.

The point of all that is that here in Pensacola, we are only a few months (weeks maybe?) away from an upcoming PCS (military lingo for "permanent change of station"). This beach town has been the Ortiz home for more than a year now, but in many ways we seem to just starting to settle in. (Story of military life, right?)

Typically at this point prior to big change, I tend to set cruise control on my life and ride out the remaining time until I move/graduate/get married/switch jobs, etc.

A few weeks ago the studio owner where I teach asked if I wanted to put together a barre fitness class. The first thing I thought was, well, I'm moving soon. But I decided to say, why not? Barre has been on my radar as the next class I want to teach, but I've put it off. So she and I proceeded forward in planning and putting a class in the schedule. I officially taught the first class last week and now will be doing two classes a week through... whenever.

Now taking on something new this close to a move is not something I would typically think about doing. But it's been a great exercise for me. Even if I teach this new format less than two months before moving, I have a new skill and class plan to take with me.

As an opposing example, when I was in 10th grade my family was planning a move across the country. My dad moved first while we kids stayed behind with my mom while we sold the house. Well, a couple months turned into eight, nine, ten months. (I'll be honest, I don't remember the exact timeline or plan.) But this is around the same time the olympics were taking place in the state. Because we thought we'd be gone long before that event, I turned down many free tickets and opportunities to attend.

Seasoned military families are probably much more skilled at "living in the now," so I know I've got a lot to learn. There seems to be a fine line in wasting resources and embracing opportunities as they come. But right now I'm focusing on the now, not getting too far ahead of myself, and continuing to live day by day in the best way I can.

I'm Thankful for...Jake!

I mentioned doing a gratitude series a couple months ago in this post, so here I am. Today on this lovely Saturday afternoon, I want to take a minute to talk about my awesome husband and best friend.

As I type, Emerson is taking a nap (and probably waking up soon), I've got two loads of laundry in progress (plus I already folded and put away a couple), I'm half watching, half listening to "How I Met Your Mother," and I've got nail polish drying on my toes. And I'm procrastinating doing the dishes and some kitchen cleaning.

Jake?

Jake is working. Well, flying to be more accurate. He's likely landing soon and will then discuss the flight with his instructor and maybe, just maybe, he'll be home by dinner time. On a Saturday. By the time he makes it home, he will only have one flight left in this year-long training program we've been in Pensacola for.

Seeing Jake complete this training program has shown me so many amazing things about him. For one, Jake is so incredibly hard working. He is often the first to arrive and the last to leave. We discussed schedule stuff multiple times this year and agreed that, even when he has flexibility in his schedule, we'd plan on him doing at least a normal 8-5 work day. Jake likes to be prepared and wants to put in his all every day.

Now one thing about Jake is that he never saw himself being in this particular career at any point. He's the back seater in the plane and kinda randomly found himself in this position. (And that's how things work in the military.) Lots of the people in his program have wanted to be pilots their whole lives or to have any job in a plane. Lots of his fellow trainees are, mmm, better suited to this field than he is. That said, Jake is eager to learn and puts his ALL in everything he does. Nothing in this program comes naturally to him. And to be honest, he has struggled. Last winter, he wasn't sure if he wanted to continue in the program; he wasn't enjoying it and thought that he'd be happier and perform better in a different field.

But Jake continues to amaze me. With all that in mind, Jake has placed in the top third of his class in both sections of his training. (They rank you by top third, middle third, bottom third, and leave the specifics beyond that private.) To me, that says sooo much about Jake. He is willing to let his vulnerabilities show. He's willing to put himself out there and to push himself beyond what he naturally is comfortable with. He struggles at first (because, hey, this is all new to him), but doesn't stop working, studying, practicing, planning. And in the end, he pushes through, improves, and is able to perform well.

And to be honest, he does all that for me and Emerson. I know that like he's shown throughout this training, he will continue to do everything and anything to provide for our family—wherever and however that unfolds in the future. I'm so grateful he does what he does. I'm grateful for his tenaciousness. I'm grateful that he is ALWAYS aware of the big picture, planning for the future and working for his goals.

Serious stuff aside, I have to say how thankful I am for a best friend/husband who I can laugh and be silly with. Almost every night ends with us laughing as we talk and joke before falling asleep. (I'll have to post about our 8 pm bedtime another time...)  He is the one who gets me, and I'm the one who gets to see every serious, goofy, sensitive, loving, sweet, hilarious side of him. (And yes, we both tell jokes that only the other would laugh at.)

Jake is the best dad to Emerson; this I knew would be the case long before we were parents ourselves. He's creative, kind, and loves to spend time with our little guy. I forget that he doesn't get to spend as much time with Emerson as I do (and who knows how future deployments will affect that), but on multiple occasions I've been holding or playing with Emerson, and Jake says something like "Can I hold him? I haven't seen him at all today." Like whaa? Of course, love.

All in all. I love Jake. He's my best friend. He's the only person I want to see each and every day. The one I get to put my cold feet on when the bed is freezing. I'm grateful for his sensitivity and huge heart. I'm grateful that he wants to know everything about anything he does. I'm grateful he wants to provide for our family. I'm thankful he supports me in everything I do. He's my partner, and I'm so proud of him.

This is legitimately the first picture we took together...back when I had dark hair.

How I Earn Target Gift Cards—Free Money!

Who doesn't want Target gift cards? I KNOW I'm not the only one who stops in for a certain item and leaves with a cart full of stuff. I personally love browsing the end caps for clearance items and may have the markdown schedule memorized.

If Target isn't your jam, no worries, you can also earn gift cards to Walmart, Old Navy, Lowes, and more. Check the end of the post for more ways to earn money for things you already do. 

The process is simple. Download the Shopkick app. Go to stores you already go to. Scan some products. That's it.

I had heard about Shopkick loooong before I downloaded the app and tried it out. And I wish I had started earlier. In the short time I've been using it, I've earned about $40.

I've now decided to save up my points to buy a new car seat for Emerson when he outgrows his infant seat.

Use my referral link and we both get a couple hundred bonus points—win, win! Earn this baby a new car seat! :D

Here's how it works!

Step 1: Download Shopkick app.

Step 2: Turn on your phone's location and bluetooth

Step 3: Open the app and see where points await

For example, you'll see below that Target is offering 30 walk-in kicks and 95 kicks for scanning products. Winn Dixie is offering 100 scanning kicks and 450 purchase kicks. (More info about those below.)

Step 4: Earn Walk In Kicks

If your bluetooth and location settings are active, the app will recognize when you are in the store and automatically award your kicks. If not, just open the app and click on the walking man icon to manual get those points. Typically you need to be in the entrance area of the store, but I've actually earned these quite a few times when I'm still in my car by the entrance haha. (But of course, you can't guarantee earning those).

You can get walk-ins each day, but there is a limit per month or something. I've also seen walk-ins worth as high as 300 kicks, especially on holiday weekends. 

Step 5: Scan Products In Store

The app will show pictures of the items available to scan and how many kicks they are worth. I've found that the scans tend to stay the same for a bit, so when I go into a store I typically know exactly where all the products are, and scanning does not add much time to my shopping trip at all. 

Step 5.5. Scan Receipts or Connect Card Purchases

You can also earn kicks for buying certain items or you can connect your card to earn kicks for every dollar you spend in a certain store (like Best Buy or clothing stores.) I have never earned kicks in this way so I can't vouch for how it works. 

Step 6: Redeem Kicks for Gift Cards

After you've acquired some points, you can browse the rewards area and decide how to redeem. The app will show you what you are eligible for and show how many kicks are needed for higher priced rewards. 

 

Step 7: Spend Your Money!!

When you select a reward, the digital gift card is actually stored right in the Shopkick app. Below is an example of a Target card I earned. You simply have the cashier scan that barcode at checkout or the numbers during an online checkout.

This is not an active card! 

Again, feel free to sign up for this app here and earn yourself a new pair of shoes. (I think I got myself two.) I love earning these small amounts of extra spending money while doing things I'd be doing anyways.

I've also earned a few hundred dollars through the Pact app (I wrote about the app when it was still called GymPact.) Of COURSE, I use Ebates for all my online shopping. It's the best and gives you cash back for a percentage of all your purchases! Use my referral link and I believe you get a bonus when you sign up.

And I use Ibotta for grocery shopping. It's like cash back couponing. I'm still exploring how to best use it for me, but this referral link will give you $10 when you sign up and redeem a rebate within 2 weeks. (You can earn for general things like purchasing milk, eggs, bread, and veggies!).

I've also heard people rave about the Walmart Savings Catcher program (via the Walmart app). I have not yet tried this one myself, but I hear great things! 

Do you use any similar programs?

5 Things I Thought BEFORE Having My Baby

We've all heard the lists of things non-parents swear they will never do when they have kids. (Think poo talk, screen time, leaving the house a mess, etc.) This list isn't like that.

Today I'm recounting some of the things I personally planned or thought that have NOT panned out the way I expected.

Nine months pregnant!

1. The baby would sleep in our room for at least six months.

Emerson was born in January. I knew we'd be moving sometime around August or September. I wasn't planning on having a crib before we moved because he'd be sleeping in our room for most of that time anyways. I planned to only have a pack'n play and stretch its use until after we moved.

Just a family nap!

Lucky for us, I found a family giving away a gently used crib, and I snatched it up. I didn't plan on having a crib, but when you get a free one, why not? Well, Emerson has proven to be an awesome sleeper and has been in his own room since 1 month, mostly sleeping through the night with only a few bumps here and there. I remember thinking when he was 3 months that I couldn't imagine him still being in our room. I know some babies do this, but I especially can't imagine him being with us for 9 months!

2. I'd have a skinny/small baby

All through my pregnancy I measured very small. I was always several weeks behind, and people always commented on my smaller-than-expected belly. Granted every pregnancy and body is different, I know. My sibling who I tend to be the most similar too also tends to have small babies, so for some reason I just assumed I'd have a small to normal size baby. 

Emerson and his cousin (who is 1 month older)

Emerson was 7 pounds, 8 ounces when he was born, which put him just above the 50th percentile. But he's been a good eater and steadily gaining weight since. Now at 5 months he's at least a steady 19 pounds tipping towards the 20 pound mark, which puts him right around the 90th percentile for weight. He is already in size 3 diapers, and I may have to try size 4 fairly soon. (I stocked up on diapers beforehand and have had to exchange quite a few size 1 and 2 packs for larger sizes.) He comfortably wears 6-9 month clothes, though I still try to squeeze him into some of the larger 3-6 month outfits.

Love that chunk!

3. I'd hang up baby clothes.

I was pretty good at washing and organizing Emerson's clothes before he was born. I snagged a huge free lot of baby boy clothes and filtered out what I wanted to use and organized everything by size and type. I was gifted several packs of child hangers and liked being able to see everything I had. We did purchase a small dresser to double as a changing table, and I designated certain drawers for sleepers or blankets. I wanted simple solutions for organization and in asking around, several people advised that they never used a dresser and use the closet or bins for all clothes.

Today the huge walk-in closet in Emerson's room operates pretty exclusive as a storage area for clothes he has grown out of, clothes he has yet to grow into, extra diapers and wipes, and other assorted baby items. EVERYTHING Emerson wears resides solely in the small, three-drawer dresser. I can't image hanging anything up and am baffled at the advice people gave me. I try to keep things as simple as possible so organization goes like this. Top drawer: half diapers and burp clothes, half bibs, socks, and hats. Middle drawer: onesies on the left, pants in basket in middle, rompers on the right. Bottom drawer: sleepers on the left, swaddle blankets on the right. That's it.

I also have a small basket right by the dirty clothes basket where we toss any clothes Emerson has grown out of. (I got that system from Do It On a Dime.) My own closet organization is also mostly hung up. I'm liking the idea o

4. I'd try to have a nap schedule

Like most newborns Emerson slept A LOT. After a bit, we did introduce a pretty regular bedtime routine but naps were pretty sporadic. Before I started working, I decided I would first finalize my schedule and find a set nap schedule to work Emerson into as he got a little older.

Nope. We have definitely maintained a go with the flow routine during the day. Bedtime we are very regular about, but it just hasn't worked out to do regular times for naps. (SO FAR...we'll see as he gets older and my schedule changes.) With my work schedule now, Emerson has several longer car rides where he takes short naps. If I'm home all day, we do usually get two longer (at least 1-3 hour) naps in. But other than that, we are out and about. He'll definitely sleep when he needs it though, whether in his carseat, in his carrier, or in the middle of the living room. (In the instance pictured on the right below, he'd been up maybe 1 hour from his morning nap...guess he needed more!)

5. My baby'd have sensitive skin.

My hubby has INSANELY sensitive skin. He practically scars from someone touching him. So add that in with naturally sensitive baby skin, I mentally prepared to have to very careful with our little guy. 

So far we've had no sensitivity issues. We had a diaper rash spray that we used as a preventative measure for the first few weeks but have never actually had a problem. I still wash most of Emerson's stuff with a baby detergent but also throw things in with regular loads and regular detergents and everything's been fine. I am still paranoid about the sun (who wants to deal with a baby sunburn?), but overall we're loving NORMAL baby skin over here so far.

Ready for the pool! No sunburns please.

Motivation Monday: Think Simple

I know myself. I know that I too often get caught up in the long-term, big picture aspects of anything and everything. What happens when I do this?

Not much.

At all. 

So this week's Motivation Monday thought is..."Think Simple."

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How am I going to implement this? For one, I'm going to try to not think about things too much. When I have something on my to-do list, I'm going to remember that "hey, this isn't really that hard and doesn't take all that much time. Just do it."

I started trying to think this way yesterday, which happened to be Father's Day. Because I was trying to give Jake a bit of a break from some of his daily responsibilities at home, I had to actively pause before I asked him to do something. For example, I'd be feeding Emerson and need a burp cloth or his pacifier. Typically, I'll ask Jake to bring them to me. Instead I'd stop and realize that I could just as easily get those items myself. (Although, yes having a second set of hands can be very helpful.) 

I've mentioned recently that I kinda stink at making dinner or keeping up with housework. I definitely don't get the housewife of the year award, I'll tell you that. Part of my problem is that I think I need to have a meal plan, or that if I vacuum one section of my house I need to vacuum the whole thing. So instead of focusing on doing everything, I'm going to remember to think simple and be content with maybe just sweeping the entryway, putting away a handful of things that are out of place, or even heating up and preparing leftovers for dinner. 

Simple and done is way better than complicated and never finished. 

When it comes to my business, I'm focusing on the small chunks of time I have here and there. When I have time to finish up the invoice for one client, I'm going to do it. I don't need to find a bigger chunk to get all back end tasks done at once. Small steps of progress are still progress. And that's what I'm trying to focus on. 

What is one way you can try to "think simple" in your life?

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My Outdated "About Me"

A few weeks ago, I took a look at my "About Me" page and was shocked by how out of date it was. Tasks over here in blogland have fallen to the bottom of the to-do list, haven't they? I had written the original about three years ago and, well, a lot has changed in that seemingly short amount of time.

Below I've taken a look at the outdated information to see what's changed, provided a few updates, and documented some of those changes via the very posts on this blog. Let's take a look.

"Put simply, I'm a young professional (writing, editing, and publication design) striving to find a balance between my full-time job, side projects (Zumba and freelance), personal goals, friends, family, and sleeping!"

Is 30 still considered young? I think so, but I'm gonna nix that description because I don't feel new to the field and typically work in management positions. I also quit working a traditional full-time job shortly after originally writing this (I wrote about the decision to quit working full time here) and made the side projects mentioned my main sources of income.

"Sometimes I don't think my inadequate self will ever be able to accomplish everything I want to, but I'm learning to focus on the little things and rejoice in small victories. Some of my dreams? I want to start my own business." 

I started Annesali Communications shortly after this to encompass my freelance work and additional clientele after quitting my full-time job. (See my post "Introducing Annesali Communications".)

"I want to find the love of my life." 

Wow. Check. I think I met Jake two, maybe three months after writing this. My first and only slight mention of him on the blog while we were dating was in my October Instagram recap where I show flowers he gave me. But I did write up our proposal story!

We have now been married for a bit over two years. And he is definitely the love of my life. My best friend. The one I want to do anything and everything with. My biggest supporter. And I'm completely heads over heels for him.

"I want to have a family of my own." 

Jake and I were extremely blessed to welcome our son Emerson this past January. He is a happy, chunky little guy and the perfect addition to our lives. Emerson hasn't officially appeared on the blog, but I did share his and her reactions to finding out I was pregnant.

"I want to live free and embrace happiness."

Happiness intrigues me apparently. I can't seem to stop writing about it.

Happiness Comes in the Little Things—Dec. 2013
A Happy Happy Life + 2 Goals - May 2016

I think my post "3 Things I Love About Life Without a Full-time Job" reflects what I mean about wanting to live free. 

"When I'm not writing, editing, or designing, you might find me teaching a Zumba Fitness class. I also hope to soon earn my group fitness instructor certification and explore the fitness world more from the instructing side."

I have definitely dived more into the fitness instruction world. I did earn my group fitness certification through AFAA (find my tips here). I also certified in and have taught U-Jam Fitness (my certification experience) and Piyo, and added in multiple Zumba trainings including Gold (seniors), Kids, Sentao,  and Pro Skills. Next on my list is barre!

If you made it this far, thanks for joining me on this little flashback through the past few years. I'm writing up a new description of me and this blog, so hopefully that will debut soon.

Motivation Monday: How Many Daydreams Will You Make Come True?

I'll be honest; I did not know what I'd use for today's Motivation Monday until last night during my son's bedtime routine.  I had brainstormed ideas, pulled a few quotes and had even considered using a side project I'm working on for a church girl's camp (maybe next week!).

But after bath time and reading time, we have a last feeding time, during which I sing a few bedtime songs. I'm not much of a singer and am possibly worse at remembering lyrics, so I stick to the same few songs every night. One of those songs is from my youth attending girl's camp. The song is called "Misty's Song" and the lyrics are as follows.

Tell me the reason I was born to roam,

Tell me the reason I am so far from home,

Tell me the reason only birds can fly,

Tell me the reason I was born just to die.

How many mountains will I have to climb,

How many memories will I leave behind,

How many daydreams will I make come true,

How many heartbreaks until I find you?

There is a valley called Peace of Mind,

There is a river running right by it's side,

There is a moment of Glory so new,

There is Eternity to spend loving you.

Last night as I sang the second verse, I was moved by the idea of daydreams. I thought about many of the things I have once hoped for, aspired for, and most importantly, worked for to make happen. I thought about my hopes now for the future and reveled in my personal knowledge that, yes, dreams can come true!

I love that the lyric emphasizes that I, myself, am who makes things happen. I can't sit around and simply wait for my dreams to magically show up. I can put in the effort, make a plan, set things in motion, and focus on the progress I make day by day. That's how reaching dreams actually work.

So today I ask you to think about the daydreams you've seen come true in your life. How did you make those come true? Do you have new ones or ones you still hope to see unfold? How can you make them happen?

How many daydreams will YOU make come true?

Follow the links below if you're interested in download high-res versions of the images in this post. There is both an 8.5x11 option and an 8x8 option. Thanks for reading. 

Motivation Monday: Do What Makes You Happy

Welcome back to my resurrected Motivation Monday series!

I've kinda been on a "happy" kick, huh? (In case you missed my last posts, check out "A happy HAPPY life" and "Happy does not equal perfect.") I suppose I'm trying to capitalize on my current situation and adopt life practices that help me maintain that outlook and continue to feel this way, regardless of circumstance.

Thinking about the topic actually brings back a lot of thoughts from the book, "The Happiness Project." It's been YEARS since I read it, but I'm definitely going to pick up a copy and re-familiarize myself with it. Oh, plus I want to check out the author Gretchen Rubin's newer books "Happier at Home" and "Better Than Before."

In case you aren't familiar with the bestseller, "The Happiness Project" follows the author's journey through self evaluation and noticing some simple ways to capitalize on her happiness. (Yes, that is my own personal, very brief, and very generalized summary.)

I commented on some of my take away from the book in my post "Little Ways To Live a More Simple Life." 

Today's Motivation Monday quote, "Do What Makes You Happy," is a reminder to ME to continue to seek out those little things that make me happy. Most recently, I mentioned my goal to add more writing and designing into my everyday life. Those are both aspects of my career that I don't get to do on a day-to-day basis anymore, and I've missed them.

Download this image with high resolution here! 

That said, I also what to add the reminder that the things YOU do to be happy might not be what anyone else would choose to do. And what someone else does might not make you happy. Incorporating this reminder requires you to know and accept yourself for who you are. (Which I think is a beautiful process!)

So take a minute to think about what makes you happy. What's one thing you could do to be a little happier today?

Happy does not equal perfect

A look at this moment: I'm sitting on my bed with a load of laundry to fold and Emerson laying next to me kicking me with his feet. Though we tried for a nap in his crib, he wasn't having it and squalled until I brought him into my room with me. (Granted, he slept a lot this morning in the car so we'll just do an afternoon nap.) While he was quiet but not asleep, I did manage to heat up a small lunch. After that we all headed to my bed to work (and me to eat). 

P.S. Emerson fell asleep next to me after about a half hour of watching me work on my laptop. 

P.P.S. I got a little work done on an impromptu design project for my sister but then we had a pooping-on-the-comforter incident, a spitting-up-on-the-sheets incident, and several we-definitely-won't-get-anything-done incident. 

P.P.P.S. I am now continuing this post. Two. whole. days. later. 

Wow. The struggle is real, folks. I'll say that my intent with the above information was just to show what my day might look like for a single snapshot of time. In fact, I thought it might be a fun little detail to include on any of my personal life posts going forward.

However, with each additional "P.S." I realized that the unfolding of events actually demonstrates the topic of this post pretty well.

See after I published my "Happy happy life" post, I continued to think about what I wrote. (Other people do that too, right?...right?) And I started to come up with all kinds of "wait a minute" reasons about why I shouldn't be as happy as I've been feeling.

I am constantly behind on housework
As much as I intend to meal plan and make dinner every night—shoot, every other night—I rarely do
I don't have huge attendance at my fitness classes
I have baby weight and am sensitive about unflattering pictures of myself
I am horrible at responding to or even reading text and Facebook messages and am horrible at staying in touch with friends
I have so many personal professional projects that I have never moved forward on
I still haven't scheduled the dental appointment I've been needing for months
Somedays Emerson and I don't leave the house
I have moments where I am frustrated, tired, and overwhelmed
I often don't get done any of the things I wanted to that day

Overall, the idea that kept coming up was that I have a thousand reasons NOT to happy, namely because I am not perfect. I didn't want others to think I was putting on a front to appear better than I actually am. I mean, I have so many downfalls and my life is most definitely not perfect. I don't want to be a person that pretends my life is something that it's not.

But I realized that everyone will ALWAYS have thousands of reason not to be happy. And perhaps the most gratifying thing about "happy" is finding it even through the many reasons not to.

Happiness is not dependent on perfection. Happiness is not dependent on success. Happiness is a daily choice. Happiness is thriving in the moments that give us joy. Happiness is knowing and accepting who you are and loving that person.

Happiness is driving home from a daily errand and seeing beauty in the moment. And smiling.

A happy HAPPY life + 2 GOALS

Look at me.

It's the middle of the day. I have my laptop open. I'm actually writing a post!

Since I'm working (aka freelance design) less these days (plus the addition of Emerson, my now 4 month old), I find myself rarely using my laptop. Most things I can do on my phone, but not being on my laptop majorly cuts back on any motivation to blog, design, and the such. As a side note, I also don't see a lot of Facebook messages and other notifications type of things. I need to seriously dedicate some laptop time to those things.

So to get into WHY I'm wanting to post right now.

I am been feeling so incredibly happy lately. And I feel the need to document that.

Over the past few months, I have found myself on multiple occasions just stopping for a second and thinking, "Man, I'm loving life right now."

And I feel so incredibly blessed.

I'm thrilled to be at a place in life where I am content and satisfied with who I am, what I have accomplished in life, what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis, my relationships (hello hubby!), my adorable baby boy, my work life (which right now is fitness and 1-2 professional projects a month), my friends, living in beautiful Pensacola, planning for the future (and welcoming the military unknown), and everything in between.

In April I turned 30 and of course that had me thinking a lot about the past and what I want to accomplish in the future. I definitely thought about tons of stuff and need to sit and write and plan some new goals. Because, yes, I am the kind of person that won't do anything until I have a plan and have thought things out as much as I can.

As I'm writing this, I'm deciding to do a little gratitude post series because right now I can't focus on one thing and I feel so happy and blessed about so many things. Jake and I just had our two-year anniversary. Emerson is seriously the best baby ever. I know everyone says that, but I can't imagine anyone having a better baby. I feel so lucky to not have experienced (at least yet) any sort of postpartum depression/anxiety and the such. (And I have to say, I thought I would. And Jake was sure I would.) I feel like I have the perfect schedule of fitness classes. So much good in life right now. I know life won't always be like this, so I definitely want to focus on the positive and make the most of my current situation right now.

Last week I sat Jake down telling him I wanted to talk. Basically I wanted to just tell him how happy I've been feeling and sharing some of my profound little "loving life" moments the past few months. He is obviously a huge part in all of this and is my best friend and the best partner for me and I wanted to say thanks and share the goodness.

With all this in mind, I started thinking about what I'm NOT doing that I wish I were doing. Two things came to mind.

Writing and designing.

So I've decided that I'm going to make some personal goals to write more (aka blog) and start doing more personal design projects. (Typically I just design commissioned professional projects that tend to be more technical and I'm hoping to do some more fun type of things.)

And if those things stress or detract from my current happiness and love of life, I may cut back on them once again. But I AM looking forward to pushing myself a little more and working on some small personal goals.

You heard it here first. :P

Homemade Dishwasher Tablets

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my post about making DIY dishwasher tablets. Seriously, I don't know why I was suddenly inspired to make this. I am beyond stocked up on laundry detergent from some couponing deals, but when I saw we were nearing the end of our tablets, I decided to go for the homemade option. I seriously had the ingredients on my shopping list and while shopping with Jake he says "We need dishwasher detergent" and I'm like "Oh that's what all these ingredients are for!" He definitely gave me the side eye with that.

First off, let me say so far the tablets work great! Granted, I've only used them a couple times, but so far so good.

I decided to try this recipe from the site Say Not Sweet Anne (found on Pinterest). When looking at recipes, it seemed like there were either ones that used Borax or ones that proudly claimed "No Borax here!" Now, I don't personally have anything against Borax and tried to do some research to find why people are so anti Borax. In the end, I didn't have conclusive info and decided to just go with the option without Borax.

I also avoided recipes needing castille soap because that stuff is expensive and I didn't want to invest in that much initial cost with just trying something out.

The recipe I link to above is one of the simpliest I found. Here is a look at the ingredients and where to find them.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups washing soda (laundry aisle & apparently you can make from baking soda if you want)
1 cup baking soda (found in baking - at my store the small boxes were cheaper by ounce than the large box)
1/2 cup kosher salt (found in baking with other salts)
2 packets lemonade mix (found with drink mixes) ** This may be my favorite part of the recipe...I kinda wanted to add in like 4 of these for extra lemon smell!
1 cup water (I added a liiiiitle bit of vinegar instead of the full cup of water)

I had read that sometimes people have problems with residue left over on the dishes and needed to add vinegar to the liquid rinse space. I REALLY DID NOT WANT TO HAVE TO DO THAT so I opted to add a little bit instead of the full cup of water. Several recipes I looked at did include vinegar so I figured I couldn't throw the recipe off too much.

The Process:

This was SO easy. Seriously add all the dry ingredients. Add the water (and vinegar in my case). Stir together. This video shows the initial reaction and me trying to mix everything together. I apologize about the awful camera work, stirring a thick sand-like mixture while holding a phone is quite difficult. **Side note, the background music is Jake playing his guitar. I was seriously confused when first watching the clips and thinking "How did I add music already??"

Setting Into Tablets:

If you have some spare ice cube trays or any kind of molds, I'd use those! (Just make sure they will still fit in your detergent compartment.) I did not have any trays (I must have gotten rid of them in the move) so I was planning to use a tablespoon to scoop out the portions.

The tablets drying on the countertop.

Now, my mixture was initially VERY wet. There was no way I could separate this out into tablets.

This may be because of the Florida humidity or maybe I added too much vinegar or maybe I just needed it to set a little bit. I added small amounts of each of the dry ingredients to thicken it up and just kept mixing. Finally, I decided to just let it sit for a few hours.

This helped A TON! Suddenly the mixture was very moldable.

I actually had filled my tablespoon with some and THAT was a perfect tablet having dried in the mold. Hence why I'd recommend the trays. You can immediately work with the mixture and pack it in. I had to go back a couple times as the mixture loosened up as I worked with it more and then I'd need to let it dry again. Once the mixture was TOO dry so I just added a tiny bit of water and things worked fine.

(I also have to mention that I made the mixture right before Jake and I were going to bed because you are supposed to let it sit out for 24+ hours. Then my pregnancy insomnia kept me up and so I finished this project throughout the night when I'd get up. :P)


In the end I made about 40 tablets. Some are prettier than others but overall I'm pretty pleased! :D  I am just storing them under the sink in the container from my old tablets.

Returning to Couponing

Years ago I was pretty into couponing. However I was single and found myself with waaay too much food to handle and constantly giving away gift baskets of my random freebies I picked up. Eventually my efforts died down because seriously, it takes a bit of time. I was getting back into it in Utah a few months before we moved but down here in Florida, the grocery stores are completely different and what not. I do miss my Smith's deals.

No this is not mine! :D Just an example...but when do you have too much?

Anyways, with Baby Ortiz on the way, I definitely wanted to get stocked up on diapers and wipes. That's the motivation that got me going. I'm still trying to find the right "stock up" price because in reading other blogs, the price points vary so much. For example, one person says she aims to pay .08 per diaper while someone else says .11-.14 is excellent. (Those exact numbers come from their estimates for size 1 diapers.) For ME, I've tried to stay around .11-.12/diaper or at least 50% off regular price. Wipes is at least .01/wipe.

I'm hoping to be able to use a variety of brands but so far I've stocked up on Honest Diapers and Pampers. For wipes I have Huggies and Up & Up so far.

Today I picked up this wipe deal at Target and attempted a deal scenario to take advantage of their spend $50 on food/drinks, get a $10 gift card. I typed up a thorough break down of my whole deal, but here are my highlights.  (If you are interested in the rest, let me know.) <---- JK, I included it at the end.

My Target trip

3 Betty Crocker cake mixes at .17/each
1 Pillsbury cake mix at .04
2 Buitoni refrigerated ravioli at $1.61 each (reg $3.99)
4 Simply Balanced fruit strips at $1.4 a box (reg $2.99)
2 Ocean Spray juices at $1.02 each
1 V8 infused water at .01 (after Ibotta deal)
Orbit gum at .38/each

Spaghetti that fits in the pot...brilliant!

Oh and I got this little box of spaghetti for .57. I used to get pasta for free all the time, but seriously how cute is that box?

I admit I'm not good at planning trips yet and end up staying FOREVER in the store. We don't have Super Targets around here either so I'm never sure what the store will actually carry. I picked up a few items that I needed at regular prices so there's that. I calculated the final prices by dividing the $10 offer by the number of items I had and evenly subtracting that amount from each price.

I also stopped at Walgreens where I scored some money-making makeup deals. Granted, it's Wet & Wild, but I'm not picky and think the lip products go great in gifts. In my area, Walgreens offers a 15% military discount on Thursdays on top of all sales.

(P.S. Speaking of Wet & Wild makeup, I have to give a little shout to this lovely makeup channel on YouTube that I watch all the time. She has done some great videos about cheap drugstore makeup including Wet & Wild, ELF, etc.)

As a simple breakdown, I got 2 boxes of Kellogg's cereal, 2 dispensers of Scotch tape, 1 Christmas gift bag, 2 Wet N Wild mascaras, 2 eye pencils, and 4 lip products for $4.82 after submitting a .50 cent Ibotta rebate.

My Walgreen's trip

OK, this is probably too much info for this platform, but I went ahead and included my price breakdowns below. Otherwise, I'm done!

Oh, oh...do YOU have diaper and wipe price points you aim for? I'd love to hear.

(P.P.S. I've never quite gotten into Ibotta. I started using it but then always forget to scan my receipts and the product and it seemed like a big hassle. I'm going to try again.)

- - - - - - -


Walgreens

2 Kellogg's cereal: On sale for $2 - 15% military discount - 2 .50/1 Kellogg's coupons = $2.38 or $1.19 each
2 Scotch tape: On sale for $1.29 - BOGO free - 15% discount = $1.10 or .55 each
1 gift bag: Priced at .29 + 25% discount (I don't know why this was more) = .22 and submitted for .50 Ibotta = .28 = rebate MONEY MAKER
2 Wet N Wild matte lip color: On clearance for $1.79 - BOGO 1/2 off - 15% discount - 2 .75/1 WNW lip product = .78 or .39 each
2 Wet N Wild mascara: On clearance for $1.29 - BOGO 1/2 off - 15% discount - 2 .50/1 WNW products = .65 or .33 each
2 Wet N Wild lip gloss: On clearance for $1.09 - BOGO 1/2 off - 15% discount - 2 .75/1 WNW lip product = -.11 = MONEY MAKER (of course this just came off my total)
2 Wet N Wild eye pencils: On clearance for .59 - BOGO 1/2 off - 15% discount - 2 .50/1 WNW products = -.25 = MONEY MAKER
Tax = .55 (rounding numbers made my receipt .06 cents off the total)

Target

To figure out my final product prices, I grouped the Tic Tacs as 1 item and then divided the $10 gift card by the number of items I purchased (21) and evenly subtracted that additional .476 from each item.

My total before ANY coupons came to 55.28. I had one set of items that were buy 3 get 1 free and that free item (2.99) seemed to not count toward the total automatically so I had to add a little more.

FYI:
CW = Target Cartwheel offer
TC = Target coupon

1 Orbit gum value eight pack: $5.49 - .75/1 TC - 25% CW = 3.55 - .476 = $3.07 or .38/pack of gum (Jake's favorite + Christmas stockings)
4 Tic Tacs: $1.14 (4) = $4.56 - 20% CW - BOGO FREE (-2.28) = 1.36 - .476 = .884 or .22/each
1 V8 Infused Water: $1.66 - 40% CW = .99 - .50 Ibotta rebate = .49 - .476 = .014
1 Market Pantry spaghetti: $1.11 - 5% CW = $1.05 - .476 = .57
1 Market Pantry parmesan cheese: $2.97 - $5 CW = $2.82 - .476 = $2.34
2 Chex cereal: $2.50 each - $1/2 coupon = $2 - .476 = $1.52 each ($3.05 all)
1 loaf bread: $1.97 -.50 Ibotta offer - .476 = .99
3 Betty Crocker cake mixes: $1 each - 10% CW - .75/3 coupon = .65 - .476 = .17 each (.52 all)
1 Pillsbury cake mix: $1.09 - 20% CW - .35/1 coupon = .52 - .476 = .044
2 Ocean Spray juices: $2 each - $1/2 TC = $1.5 - .476 = $1.02 each ($2.05 all)
2 Buitoni pasta: $3.99 each - 40% CW - $1/2 TC = $2.09 - .476 = $1.61 each ($3.23 all)
4 Simply balance fruit strips: $2.99 each - B3G1 Free - 5% CW - $1/$5 TC = $1.88 - .476 = 1.4 each ($5.62 all)
Pop Secret: $4.49 - 50% CW = $2.24 - .476 = $1.76 (This was my filler items so I kinda threw it on but wish I had picked something else.)

A little blood clot update

Jake painted my toes for me. :)

I wanted to write up a quick blood clot-related update since I've had so many people ask me about it. I had a draft from when I was still in the hospital written up but I think once they released me, I apparently lost motivation to sit in one place and type. Haha.

Well, I'm happy to report that things have gone and stayed well since that second hospital stay. Putting me on the heparin drip for those few days really seemed to do the trick and get my blood coagulation right where it needed to be.

When I was in the hospital they took care of my Tdap and flu shots AND my glucose testing. If any of you follow me on Instagram, you may know that the glucose test turned into a little bit of an ordeal.

But they released me Friday morning/early afternoon. Jake off course had to work, but we were able to time everything so the nurses, pharmacy, doctors, etc. had everything done and me ready to go for the 45 minute lunch break where Jake could come pick me up. Leaving the hospital and going home is seriously one of the best feelings.

The swelling in my leg was almost completely gone, if only present ever so slightly. As far as medication goes, I was put BACK on my lovenox injections but this time with a higher dosage. So I again got a huge box of needles to take home. And I still have the lower dosage needles which obviously they can't take back. Sooo we'll see what ends up happening there.

I stopped taking percocet after the first couple days in the hospital and while I was allowed to take it, I never felt that much pain again. I think I took Tylenol maybe once in twice in those first few days home. But the "pain" aspect of the clot was over. I was still on crutches for a little over a week after that, but everything smoothed out and I first started walking on my own around home, then brought crutches but left them in the car, etc.

I was able to pick up a temporary handicap parking sticker Monday after leaving the hospital. That has been extremely helpful. Obviously when I was on crutches, but even now that I'm not, walking and activity really does tire my leg really quickly and I've been thankful for that (even though I'm a bit embarrassed at times to be using it.) I also took full advantage of driving carts at stores for a few weeks and Jake told me multiple times that I apparently have no shame. Yes I'm going to park in the handicap spot and yes I'm going to drive my slow cart around the store, thank you very much. :D

After being home a week, I decided to teach my senior Zumba class. I had been on crutches this whole time but didn't really want to show up on them to the gym. So I braved without the weights and adjusted class so I could be sitting down more. Because you can do that with senior Zumba. Class went well but it was definitely a bit hard for me. The next week teaching went WAY better  with my only needing to sit for 2-3 songs. Today will be my third week.

Jake and I went on a morning walk this week. While it wasn't as long as we usually go for, it was longer than I've done since the hospital. I'm hoping to attend some regular Zumba or fitness classes to see how I do and then MAYBE try teaching for a few more weeks until the baby says no again.

That's pretty much the gist at this point. I gave myself 15 minutes to write this update but have several more, mostly unrelated, posts to add. I'm finishing up my 31st week and I'm trying to get some many things in order. Yes, the nesting has begun.

My box of medication to take home.

Yay! Going home

Week 30