A New Business Venture

October 15, 2012

I’m excited to introduce what I’ve been working on for the last few months. I am currently enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I’m studying to become a holistic health coach. I’ve been in this program for around 6 months now and have and continue to grow in my own health daily. I’m learning how to take clients to make small changes that add up to huge results just like I’ve done. I’m also to the point in my training program where I can take clients to help them meet their health and life goals, as well.

I wanted to share this with you, because I have changed so much in the last few months it’s incredible. I would love your support in my new business venture at becoming a holistic health coach by checking out my new website (click the banner below) and signing up for the free email series, which will also get you on the twice per month email newsletter. In the newsletters, I’ll be sharing out tons of ideas and inspiration, recipes, and great tips for living your healthiest life possible. Come sign up now and please pass this page on to any friends or family you think could benefit from this!

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A Healthier Happy (Home) Hour

September 5, 2012

It’s been quite a while since I updated here. I haven’t really forgotten about writing here, I just don’t really know what to share these days. Just this week, I had been thinking about how it had been far too long since I shared anything when I got a message from someone asking me to share a few happy hour ideas that are healthier.

On that note, I guess I never really made an “announcement” here that I’m in school to become a health coach. So while I still enjoy a drink once in a while, I’ve been on a mission to completely revamp my own health before opening the doors to my business to help others get their health in tip top shape. That revamp has included cutting way back on happy hours and drinks in general. But after doing some thinking on the topic, I realized that I still could share some tips on how to keep happy hour out or at home a little healthier. Here are my top 5 tips for keeping happy home hour health-friendly:

  1. Lighten up drinks with seltzer water. A lot of the calories and sugar that can be found in cocktails comes from the mixers, not the alcohol itself, so swap out half the amount of mixer with seltzer water to still get the same flavor but with less sugar.
  2. When it comes to mixers, choose freshly squeezed fruit juices over sugary sodas. When making drinks at home, always opt for more natural options over processed ones to get the most nutrients out of them. Stack the deck  in your favor by getting the most nutrients out of your happy home hour by drinking fresh fruit juices.
  3. Drink water to stay hydrated. Any type of alcohol can dehydrate you, so keep sipping on water throughout your happy hour session and after to keep yourself from getting a headache later on or the next morning.
  4. Stick to natural sweeteners over refined ones. Thin honey or agave nectar with water to create a simple sugar replacement in your drinks. The natural sugars won’t spike your blood sugar like refined white sugar will.
  5. Choose appetizers and snacks that are or are made from real whole foods. When it comes to making appetizers to complement your happy hour drinks, making them from scratch from whole foods will be your best bet to eating healthier. Try to steer clear of heavier foods like breads and cheeses, as these will probably fill you up more than necessary before enjoying dinner.

While I’m still not enjoying happy home hour as regularly as I used to, I hope these few ideas can help make your happy hour at home a little healthier and more well-rounded with your goals. Remember, it’s not what you eat and drink sometimes that add up to your overall health – it’s the foods that you eat regularly. Don’t feel bad to indulge once in a while on drinks, just be mindful of your health when you do.

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One of Those Days.

February 3, 2012

You know those days where your master bathroom just starts smelling like a foul odor and you have absolutely no idea where it’s coming from, so you spend all day on the internet Googling what it might be from, while still trying to be productive and get work done but you’re so plagued by that smell that you just can’t give up and get to work?

Yeah. Had one of those days yesterday.

The bathroom smelled to me a little like garlic or onions or something odd. To my husband, it smelled like sewer or garbage or something else odd. We agreed it was foul and horrific and didn’t want to smell it any longer.

Faucet

I tried cleaning all the things I could think of. The shower trap. The sinks. I tried lifting out the stoppers but couldn’t get them out and figured that if I went any further that I’d mess something up and we’d have to pay major money to have whatever I broke fixed. It still smelled. I thought it was the sink. I Googled some more.

I came up with a plan to clean the overflow area of each sink in the bathroom which involved “controlled flooding” of the sinks with water and bleach for two hours. Another idea was to open up the p-trap and get out any gook that might be lodged in there. This was the plan. I got back to work and waiting until husband got home so if we messed something up, we both did it. Not just me.

We did these things. Nope. Still smelly. We called my step-dad, who has done some home improvement plumbing in the past. He didn’t have any new ideas except maybe the vent under the sinks (apparently this isn’t a super common thing) were failing. We called the plumber. I was so thankful for that plumber, or set of plumbers, to come out last night. Sort of.

They looked around, did what they called a “diagnostic,” then told us they’d change out the vents to see if that’s what the smell was coming from. They changed the vents. We all determined that wasn’t the issue. The plumbers didn’t smell the smell we smelled.

In the end, we all decided that the smell could be coming from holes in the back of the wall that connect to a shared wall where all the plumbing is for our condo complex. Lovely. Husband says “it’s not our problem.” I say, “it is if I have to smell it.” We pay the plumbers a little shy of $600 to tell us there’s a hole in the wall, which we saw before they came out and to go buy spray foam to fill it up and see if that helps.

Yep. $600 for a $15 hardware store solution and to see if it helps. It was one of those days. The joys of being a first time homeowner. Strange smells. No real solutions. $600 dollars. Still smelly sinks.

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It’s The Holiday Season (And A Little Home Update)

December 14, 2011

It’s been a little while since the last update! Thanksgiving seemed to come and go in a flash and I’ve been busy busy away over at my other site.

Life around here has been quite festive, as we’ve been trying to still fill in some of the odds and ends in our living room as well as decorating for the holidays. First, I wanted to show you our new couch:

It's The Holiday SeasonSee that bad boy in front of the window.. yeah that was the love seat I was talking about just about four months ago. Yeah.. we ordered it the weekend that I wrote that blog post and it just arrived last Friday. It really did take them four months to deliver it. And if you don’t believe me, check out the tag on the armrest still. Pretty crazy, eh?

You’ll also notice a number of other sa-weet additions to the room, no? Well, that new leather cognac colored chair we got the same weekend we ordered the love seat. But in contrast to that, this one came about three days later. I’m not sure why I didn’t update you all on that new addition. We love it, it’s small so we can get around it, and the color is perfect.

The next addition… the cream shaggy rug. That one was a few months in the making. My husband and I debated long hours and weeks over the perfect rug. If we wanted to get a really nice one and make it an investment piece. We were both really torn on the price, because the ones we liked were running well over $800. We just couldn’t bring ourselves to buy. We didn’t like the idea of shag in there, but after we saw that this 8′x10′ baby was only $150 at Home Depot, we reconsidered. We bought a smaller one (around 2′ x 3′) and brought it home to lay out on the floor, see if we liked the feel of it on our feet, and to see what we thought of the color. Surprisingly, we loved it and ended up getting it just a few days later, hauling it home in our little Jetta. It really lightens the room up we think. [click to continue…]

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Home Office Inspiration

November 17, 2011

My home office is where I’ve been spending the majority of my time lately. As in at least eight hours a day. And sadly, although we moved in to this place in June, the office isn’t looking much different since the last update I did on it. Sadly. After we got the desks set up, we kind of called it good.

I’ve been thinking more about how I want the new year to feel going forward and feeling good in my surroundings is one of the things I want to focus on, especially since I spend about 90% of my time at home, working and living. I know I’m lucky to have a dedicated office space, so I want to put it to good use. Here are a couple shared home office set ups that I’ve been drooling over the last few days:

I absolutely adore the overhead storage. I’m in desperate need of a place to store some books and cookbooks I have on the floor right now. Also, the chairs! Very modern and I love the clean lines. Photo Source

Loving the separate bulletin boards and storage shelves. I also love the little lamps, although I don’t need any lamps for my space. The drum light is pretty fantastic and I think would look great in our home office. I think this set up and even the accessories are pretty close to what we’re going for in our space. Oh, and again – the chairs!! Photo Source

This room I am so in love with for a few reasons: 1) the chairs (yes, again), 2) the LONG shelves that go across the entire wall for some amazing storage that is as beautiful as it is functional, and 3) the accessories. This room is all sorts of pulled together and I just need to figure out how to incorporate a few of these elements into my own space. Photo Source

On a personal note: Now that we’re in the last few weeks towards the end of the year has me thinking SO MUCH about how far I’ve come this year. It’s actually quite amazing to know that when I quit my job last December I had absolutely no idea what I’d be doing today, 11 months later. And yet, I’ve never been more empowered to say that I’m doing what I love. I’m writing, I’m cooking, and I’m writing about cooking. I’m so grateful and thankful for everything that life has given me this year and that I’m able to pursue my passion. I’m thankful that without the toxic work environment I was in, I’ve been able to open my eyes to how much I can accomplish without a steady paycheck in hand. I am so proud of myself.

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