Forever, and ever, and ever I have been trying to figure out how to get a menu bar at the top of my blogger. Silly, I know but it is something I never had time to look into.
For 2015 I really wanted to simplify my life and part of that was doing a really simply Blog redo. (How do you like the cleaner, newer, fresher me?)
So I googled, I you-tubed, and I finally figured out how to make that silly menu bar work for me!
Now if I could just figure out the gadget I need to get all my social media in one cute little box on the side with the right buttons to get everyone to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest and how to make a button for my blog, (I figured out the button part...so just my picture now works as a button!) my blog life would be fulfilled. ;Yes, I played with it all at lunch and figured it out!
Well, as much so as it can be until I actually take the leap and pay someone to redo the whole blog. That is coming in the future but right now, we have things like water pipes to fix and floors to refinish so priority isn't a new-fancy blog design.
I am not promising this is the final 2015 change, only that whatever 2015 holds in store for my blog, it will be much easier to navigate. I am putting my blog big-girl panties on and getting ready to launch a whole new side of this blog.
Make sure to check out some of my favorite blogs where I give a shout out to the women who inspire me to be a better blogger and are just some awesome friends. A few don't even know I exist but they give me all kinds of crazy ideas and I wanted to share.
So, it is almost the weekend and while I have been busy working on my blog in my freetime...
I haven't forgotten to plan for some weekend time. Except that my weekend time is going to be rudely interrupted by work. Yes, I am going to be working Saturday. It is a general pain but a good thing in the long run!
Meanwhile, on my Twitter feed I have noticed an odd happenstance.
There is tons of baseball talk starting to happen. I love this time of year. Everyone has a real hope that their team our RANGERS are going to finally put together the team that will take them all the way (back) to the World Series and win the elusive 'all'. I am ready for the crack of the bat, the smell of the grass, the sound of balls hitting leather gloves. It is almost Time Texas!
It's Okay Thursday: Baseball, Healthy Eating and so much more!
I know there isn't an 'It's Okay' Link up anymore but really, I just need this today, and that is OK!
My food on the Whole 30 challenge.
Chicken Mango Salad
I know I said I wasn't posting pictures but, I lied. How amazing and healthy does this stuff look? It's Okay that I am posting these because....YUM! I am living off salads, veggies, lots of fresh fruit, and healthy meats with an occasional bite of cashew or almond butter and guess what? I do not miss sugar at all!
My Rangers coffee mug!
I love my Rangers coffee mug that my hubby got me for Christmas. I love that it is almost baseball season and that't really, really OK by me! It's also really ok that my life has gotten so full, that I don't plan on spending half my summer at the ballpark. Life happens. I will be there when it matters.
It's ok that I am still fighting this stupid cold.
It is ok that this morning when I saw the slushy rain falling, this song came to mind and I had to tweet it, share on facebook and now with you all. It's been a long time since I heard this song and while singing, trying to sing, cackling as I drove in traffic, I was enjoying this happy tune!
It's ok that I sometimes get frustrated with all the negativity around. I noticed yesterday (and may have tweeted) that people sure are down on life. We all get frustrated but trying to find the positive is the biggest thing I am working on in 2015, aside from my diet and getting healthy.
It's ok that I have read several blogs lately on infertility and the struggle and coming to terms with not being a mom. This blog explains the struggle better than anything I have read. I read this blog with tears in my eyes and realized, it really is ok that I am not going to carry a life. If God has a plan for me, His plan is better and accepting that His plan doesn't include me giving birth, is OK. Honestly, for the record, this doesn't mean I am not a good step-mom. For years, and years, and years, I put so much pressure on myself to find a father to my child, not a husband for me, because my biological clock was ticking. I found a husband who makes me laugh and feel safe and pushes every button I have and that is so much better then a sperm donor.
It's okay that my purpose may be to be the best step-mom I can be with the child God has put in my life and to that end, I am trying to give her new stability and new ways of thinking and doing things. Like a chore board. It is really ok that she fussed about this because when she came over the other day and saw it, she immediately went to town cleaning the toilets and then planning her week so she could get her allowance. I am not kidding when I say that, for her, I think this has become a game. There are a few things she told me flat out she wasn't going to do...even for $3 extra. (Apparently, picking her school stuff off the middle of the living room floor each day and putting it in her room is just asking too much!). That's ok.
It's ok that I worry about people that aren't a part of my life anymore. I posted this on Facebook a few weeks ago. There is someone from my past, a friend, sister, someone I use to know, that is sort of bugging me. I worry about this person, dream about this person, and pray for this person, even though we are not friends anymore. Don't ask me why because I do not know but after dreaming about this girl for months and months, I just decided I needed to pray for her and whatever struggle she is having. Maybe God knows she needs all the prayers she can get. Maybe I just need to say an extra prayer a day week, and that is how God works.
It's ok that there are so many things I want to do with my house that I can't figure out where to go next with the stuff. My house is great. I love it. I do however, hate the carpet and can't wait to tear it up and see the original hardwoods underneath. I need to know what I have to work with!
It's ok that I am thinking of starting my own side business. I am getting excited and working on the what, when, and how's now. Stay tuned!
It's ok that my husband told me 10 times this morning to drive safe in the rain and my step-daughter told me 3 times. I seriously do not know if I am suppose to laugh because they love me or laugh because they think my driving sucks that much! (I am not a bad driver, BTW.)
It's ok that I made a list the other night of all the things that I have done since I met my husband that I Never would have done in a million year could never imagine doing before I met him. This list includes: Shooting a handgun, shooting a rifle, shooting a muzzle loader, shooting a shotgun, sitting in a deer blind, using outside restroom facilities (that means a whole in the ground for those not translating my modesty), crappie fishing on freezing lakes, cleaning a fish....yes, I helped clean them, touching a dead hog, thinking about shooting a pig of my own, and asking my hubby to buy me a hunting rifle of my own, for that purpose. Oh, this list is actually much longer, but I think you get the picture. I have helped him experience new things too but I don't think mountain biking, baseball games, Dallas Stars hockey, and eating some foods he had never tried (tortilla soup, really honey!) are as crazy as the stuff this girlie-girl has accomplished.
Well, that's a long good list. Happy Thursday y'all! We almost made it!
If you follow along you know I became obsessed with Serial and podcast and this led me directly to Audible.com. Not only does Audible sponsor a lot of podcasts but listening to books and podcasts has become my way of entering my mind while I work, cook, drive, and in the all too rare times, work out.
Audible is easy to download and yes there is an app for it that transfers anything I get online to my phone. Best of all, they have daily deals and sometimes you can get a book for $2 or $3 that you really want to "read" anyway.
I am in-love with audible.com as much as I am in love with some of my true crime type podcasts. The only suggestion I have for anyone wanting to listen to a book is that if you pick something with a ton of detailed info, it may not be the right book to listen to. I purchased "It Starts with Food" on audible but found it way too hard to take in all the information they included without giving it complete attention so I can ended up just getting e book to read.
That's ok because apparently audible will change out any book you download and realize it isn't what you wanted, although I haven't figured out that part yet.
Monday is the first day of 30 on my Whole 30 Challenge so of course, I am sick!
Never fear, I am not going to let a little Sniffling, Sneezing, Coughing, Stuffy head...well you get the point, stand in the way of the healthy meals I am eating for the next 30 days. Ok, it may stand in the way of me getting any massive amounts of cooking in right away but I have the veggies and eggs so I am good.
So what is the Whole 30 challenge? Google it and you will find the site with a list of downloadable approved foods. Basically, it is eating veggies, fruit, and meat for 30 days. No dairy, wheat, grains, legumes, sugar, artificial sweeteners. In short, it's a food detox.
The book explains a ton of reasons why this works. Honestly, I want 3 things out of this:
1. Relief from allergies, food any otherwise.
2. Rid myself of sugar cravings.
3. Lose a little healthy weight.
So who has survived the Whole 30 challenge? How was it? I plan on keeping you semi-updated although I doubt I will be posting endless photos of food. I did check out some recipes on Pinterest but I am not sure I plan to get fancy, especially in week one, with this terrible, ugly, awful crude I have.
