Regaining ground...

Oh man I was on a roll!

 Until....

The dog got sprayed by a skunk. 

Oh My Goodness does that stink.

By the fourth bath, I was already feeling the pain, and I bent over just a little bit too far and my back went out. And I mean, it went way out. All I could do is stand there, and look down at my poor wet pooch and beg her quietly not to run away. When help arrived to take over dog washing, it took me 20 minutes to even make my way into the house. I was down for the count. But I got up and dragged myself to work the next day and the day after (I got a little bit of brain activity back from the shock, and got myself a cane to help take the pressure off my back, lol!). I had the chills from the pain so I literally sat at work with my afghan around me, a pillow behind my back and my cane next to me. I felt like I was 100!

I made an appointment with the Chiropractor that I decided to cancel and went for a massage instead. 

It worked like magic and helped tremendously!  My range of motion is getting better every day and thank goodness because I am far too busy to be out of commission!

I've even gotten back on track somewhat getting more steps in every day. So in a week's time I have managed to go from flat on my back to taking the stairs again. 

The dog still stinks slightly, but she's on the mend too. ;)

School starts Thursday... and that's a whole post in itself!

Annual back to school pics to follow! 

You can start singing the Staples commercial now...

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

 

Going the Distance

I have been trying to increase my exercise. Right. Like I have time for that. 

But I sit all day at my job, strapped to my desk (literally, with my phone cord) and I only get up a couple times to use the ladies room. 

Because of my now sedentary lifestyle, I have certainly put on a few extra pounds. Boo. 

I'm done with it. I hate it. And I must change it. So, earlier this year, I bought myself a Fitbit One, and I wear it every day. I log my food and my exercise and it helps to keep me on track. Recently I have lowered my intake of Sugar and Carbs. Boo again. My goodness, how fun is that? Especially since my drink of choice, besides Diet Coke, is a Caramel Swirl Iced Coffee from Dunkin Donuts, with lots of cream and sugar. It's pretty much a hot fudge sundae in a glass calorie wise. And it's SO yummy. To.die.for. 

So, instead, for the past month I have been getting an Unsweetened Iced Tea with Lemon and Splenda. 9 little calories. It's good, I enjoy it on my hour long ride to work. I doesn't give me the sugar rush that I am accustomed to, however, when I think about it... the calories I'm saving alone will help me button my pants without jumping up and down and screaming, you know what I'm saying?

I've also cut down on the carb intake. Carbs and I do not get along. At all. I love my bread. But aside from that, I don't eat a lot of rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. But bread is a tough one. I've been really watching it and tracking my calories, carbs and sugar intake and increasing my exercise. 

On vacation last week, I walked with my father every single morning. We did approximately 3 miles a day. It felt great! Before vacation I was walking a mile and a half daily. But now that I've been walking longer distance, I feel like I'll be shortchanging myself if I go backwards. So this morning, in an effort to go the distance, I got up at 6am, got dressed, headphones on with some new tunes, and set off on my 3 mile walk.

 I was done in just about an hour and I was 

SO PROUD OF MYSELF! Go me!

Work week starts again tomorrow, so no more vacation walking, but I have been taking the stairs (76 stairs) instead of the elevator, and I walk around at my break and up and down the stairs again at lunch. Once I get home I'll be grabbing the kids and heading out for an outside walk. I hope I can keep up the distance before it gets dark but I think I may have to lessen it during the week and make sure I go for it on the weekends. 

Hoping to slim down a bit before cooler weather gets here, so the motivation is there! 

We did a little yard work today too.A couple months ago, we took a chance and planted my favorite flower. I was so shocked and thrilled to see that it's growing! I have 1 beautiful yellow Calla Lily! So excited!

I don't know if the others will come up or if it will last but I'm so glad I got to see it and take a picture of it. 

It put a smile on my face for sure. 

Now if I can use these colors in a piece of jewelry, I'd be all set!

Going to search the bead box for something. ;) 

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I need a do over...

If there was anything I could do to better manage my time I would do it in a heartbeat. Juggling a full time job now with everything else I have on my plate has proven to be a little more challenging than I expected. I am extremely happy to be working again. I've been able to get myself established and am doing pretty well!

 I have rearranged my schedule and am making things work with the kids school schedules as well. I knew it would happen though... my jewelry designing has taken a back seat. Along with Blogging. I think I'm going to try to get back on track with it though. I have a TON of beads to create with, because although I have had little time to design, it's easy to find time to shop for beads! ;)

I think that I need my outlet again. I used to love blogging about pretty much nothing. It was such a release of pent up energy and I honestly forgot that I have this outlet to do that in. I am making an effort to get back into it, and share what I've got going on, even if it's not all jewelry related. At least I'll be present and I think it will help focus me.

We took a trip to Rhode Island this past week, and the kids honestly had a blast. We go every year with my parents and my sisters family. So nice to unwind at the beach and spend time with the family. I got a little color, which is a welcome change for my white skin! After all it is summertime! I've been so busy at my house doing project after project after work, that there has been little time to enjoy the sunshine. But that's what weekends and vacations are for, right? Well, at least I had a little break, and now it's almost time for school to start again. Bittersweet.

I did manage to get one set designed last week. When I posted it on Facebook, I said that I wasn't ready for Summer to be over, and I truly enjoy all the beachy blue beads I have in my glass stash. I got these beads from Tanya Mcguire on Etsy and I just loved them when I saw them. I have a few others as well that I picked up that I'm still working with ideas for. But aren't they awesome? 

I'm calling this Poseidon's Playground and I think I'm in love.

I've got to get a few more things made to rotate stock at a couple of shops that carry my jewelry, and then I'll be focusing on getting my Etsy shop back up and running. It's been empty for far too long now and I miss it terribly. Jewelry design has been an important part of my life for the past 9 years since I started doing it, and I have to find a way to continue to create. I need that part of my life back.

 And so I set out on another path in search of a way to juggle it all, successfully. 

I am a huge Pinterest addict, and I recently saw this and it really kind of hits home:

(Sorry there is no link back to the original source, it was not found on Pinterest)

I'm starting to like taking the stairs...