It's a good day to have good hair

Am I having a midlife crisis?

Probably . . . I mean technically, this is the middle of my life. And I feel . . . restless, bored, unsettled.

I think this is when wealthy people go out and buy a porche, or a yacht. We don't have the money for that, and if we did, the hubs would probably have a heart attack.

So, the poor folks like me . . . just kidding. We're not poor. I've actually been poor and this ain't it. Anyway, I'm just out here searching for the next thing. Like, tick freaking tock.

Homeschool is about the only thing right now that I am loving, which is shocking considering I never wanted to be a teacher. I always say that we didn't choose homeschool; homeschool chose us. It was something I felt called to do, but God had to close every door in our face before the hubs would buy into it. And now, I think even he would say that it's been awesome for our family. #homeschoolforthewin

There's a lot of 'stuff' going on in MK land right now so I'm just kind of riding the wave, doing what I do, building customers and guiding my team. But the future feels uncertain here for sure.

So I'm bored, which is why you're reading this post. It's the whole reason I came back to this blog. I kept getting notifications that someone looked at it. Honestly, I had completely forgotten it even existed. That's scary if you think about it . . . your thoughts are just wondering around the interwebs and you don't even remember that they're out there? Whoa 😮 But, I mean, who's really reading this thing anyway. Like, 5 people that love me anyway.

But here I am . . . trying to sort life out on my laptop. 😁

I'm having a good hair day, so there's that. 😜

#goodhairday #midlifecrisis #Wednesdaymusings #thewaitinggame #homeschoolmom #adhdmom

5 Years Later . . .

Hey, so, it's been 5 years . . .

I've had another baby, switched careers (twice sort of), and decided I would resurrect this ole thing. Let's see . . . what's new . . . 👀

- We had another baby (#3), the caboose, and by far the funniest of the 3. She'll be 4 in April.

- We home school now after a disastrous stint in public school and a mediocre experience in private school. We live in a 'great school system' and sometimes I feel like we're the only parents that hate the schools around here. I know we're not, but we're definitely in the minority, not without reason though. Choosing to home school was BY FAR the best decision I've made in the last 5 years. Well, and having Lennon (#3).

- In June of 2016, I got my real estate license.🏡 In January of 2020, I hung it up. In case you didn't know, it's really freaking hard to home school, run a Mary Kay business, do real estate, and care for your elderly father. So, I had to pick something to let go of. Real Estate was the sacrificial lamb. However, I want to say that my last real estate client shares so much good home decor stuff on her IG - daisyanddaydreams. Go check her out!

- I love my Mary Kay products, and my Mary Kay customers, and my Mary Kay team. So crazy thankful for the business opportunity and flexibility that comes with it. I mean, in the last 4 years, I've earned multiple designer handbags, a free cruise for 2, more jewlery than I can possibly wear, and countless other items.

- I'm currently working on redoing our house. Because, surprise! I'm bored and unfulfilled right now. I'll share pics of the before and afters in future posts.


So thanks for reading. Feels good to be back. I think.😜

- Laura

#blogger #lifestyle #justforfun

My Gluten Free Journey

About a month ago, I was home on a Friday night and I felt TERRIBLE! Truly, like death. I didn't have a fever or anything but I just could not function. And, as I started reflecting on the days prior, it dawned on me that I had been eating a LOT of bread. . . Sandwiches, breading on meats, the whole nine yards.

I had been told before that I really needed to eliminate gluten from my diet. I have an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's, have had for more than a decade actually, and when I eat Gluten, my body mistakes it for thyroid hormone and launches an attack. The symptoms vary and are ever-changing. Here is a sample: extreme fatigue, digestive issues, apathy, inability to focus, total brain fog. This is me most days.

So, right then and there, on a Friday night on my couch, I decided to quit gluten cold turkey. I know what you're thinking. "Big deal. Whoop-dee-do." So, I should tell you that I L-O-V-E bread. I crave it often. I can be very happy with a slice of bread and a pat of butter. I eat a lot of peanut butter sandwiches. So this was going to be very hard. And, what you don't always realize is that gluten is in more than just bread., think soups and condiments.

I wish I could tell you that I never slipped up. I did. I ate two glutinous cookies one night in a weak moment, and another day I let myself have a few croutons. A couple of times, I ate gluten and didn't even mean too! But I am on my way. My taste buds are changing, thankfully. And by default, my family is eatin less gluten because I don't buy it. If it's in my house, I will eat it. I am so weak; no will power!

I know this will continue to get easier. It's already easier now than it was a month ago. But I am still learning my way around a gluten-free world. I am reading everything I can get my hands on and Pinterest is my new BFF. (I still love you Amanda Sue!) Every weekend my kitchen turns into a testing facility. Last weekend I mastered a gluten-free cupcake. Praise God! Lord knows that I LOVE cupcakes!

Laura  xoxo

Happy New Year

I am not usually much for New Year's Resolutions. It seems that every year people make a list of things they want to do, make a big production of writing them down, and then most are forgotten by mid-January. Or maybe that's just me. 

But this year there are some things I want to accomplish so I am giving this another go. I also think it will be neat to review this post at the end of 2014 and see just how much I can check off this list.

1) the biggest thing I want is to pursue God on a consistent basis . . . Read His word daily, read books by authors of farther greater faith than me, and lean into Him, talk to Him, trust Him, love Him. Our church is going to read through the Bible this year as a congregation, so that will be a tremendous learning experience for me. I am also reading a book by Beth Moore called "Believing God." I really think God has something in store for me and my family and I can't wait to see what those things are.

2) I want to get out of credit card debt. I say this all the time and something always comes up that prevents us from getting this monkey off our backs. We don't have a lot but I want to have zero!

3) I want to firmly lead my family on a path to healthier living. I want us to go for walks together, hike together, camp, swim, anything but watch TV. And I want to change the way we eat 5 days of the week. I figure we can splurge on the weekends. Right now we are splurging everyday. 

Three is enough, right? I don't want to bite off more than we can chew and these three are fairly hefty already. I hope I can stay committed to each of these. We shall see . . .

Happy New Year!

Laura xoxo

Christmas Love

I love Christmas and everything about it . . . the busyness, the energy, the shopping, the music, even the Starbucks changes. So, of course I love Christmas decorations and try to incorporate them in several different areas of my home.

This little door knocker hangs on the front door of our home. My 17-month old loves it because he can make a lot of racket with it and drive his mama crazy

In order to fit our ridiculously large tree into our sitting room, we had to move some furniture around. This console table wound up by the stairs and turned out to be the perfect spot for these adorable deer and matching snowman. And, thanks to Pinterest, I found a shutter to house the holiday cards.

I added this wreath above the bed in our master bedroom

and this printable sign in the downstairs powder room.

This hot chocolate bar really amps up the cozy factor on a chilly night, and I definitely drink more hot chocolate since I set this up on the kitchen counter.

This is a picture of my front door, complete with little trees, poinsettias, a reindeer, and a snowman made of grapevine wreaths.

Even the dogs in my house get decorated. He looks thrilled, doesn't he?

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas! :)

My bunting obsession

I am obsessed with making buntings, probably to an abnormal degree. I want to make a bunting for everything and every occasion. My darling husband recently asked if I was going to make a bunting for every holiday. Ummm . . . maybe?

Stone was born on July 4th and nothing will make you obsessed with a holiday more than having a child born on said holiday. He has enough red, white, and blue to last the whole month. Excessive? Perhaps. We were throwing a huge 1st birthday party and I needed a bunting for the mantle. I've never had a mantle until about 8 months ago, so decorating said mantle is another obsession of mine. I'm starting to see a pattern . . .

This was my frist attempt at making a bunting. His party was a Cat in the Hat theme (also red, white, and blue) so I added a bunch of Dr. Seuss hats to his monthly photos.

Of course I had to have a bunting that indicated he was 1, so I made this one also. I found s super easy tutorial on Pinterest, showing how to make a bunting in Word. (http://justagirlandherblog.com/bunting-banner-in-word-clip-art-tips-and-tricks/) I already had something on the mantle, so we put this one on the food table.

And, I made this bunting for his 1st Birthday photo shoot with his big sister, Morgan. Our sweet friend Sparkle Hill, of Sparkle Hill Photography, took this picture of us and I definitely think it turned out "red, white, and cute," don't you?

I did not make a bunting for Halloween. I know! For shame! *GASP* But, I get so excited about all things Fall - football, pumpkins, hayrides, sweaters, scarves, etc, that Halloween just kind of goes by. We do trick-or-treat and whatnot, so maybe I'll get more excited about it as Stone gets older.

My next bunting I did not make on the computer. I found this roll of burlap, a stencil, and a sharpie at Michael's (LOVE that place) and made this "Thankful" bunting. Unfortunately, I only took a picture of it on my phone, so the photo quality may not be as good. I wanted my family to have a daily reminder to be thankful for our abundent blessings.

My last, and most recent bunting, is this one, which I absolutely love. "O Holy Night" is my favorite Christmas carol; I cannot sing it without getting emotional about the birth of Christ and the reason we celebrate this holiday. Again, a roll of burlap, a stencil, and a sharpie was all I needed. It's so easy that even a non-crafty person like me can swing it. I couldn't hang this one on the mantle because, of course, that's where the stockings go. So, I hung it in my dining room. Ignore those curtains; they are not my favorite but they'll do for now.

Now, I'm listing all of the buntings for 2014. Let's see, there's New Years, Valentines, St Patrick's Day . . . Share with me if you have a bunting obsession too!

- Laura

Whoa Nelly

And I don't meet the fly rapper . . .

I have toyed with the idea of having a blog quite a bit. I start, then I stop. I'll delete posts and wish I hadn't. Then I'll want to start again.

Today is a day where I want to start again. And when I pulled up my blog for the first time today in who-knows-how-long and saw that I had over 2,000 page views, I thought "Who's been looking at this pathetic thing." And then I thought, "oh those were probably just me hitting refresh over and over again."

I want to blog. Truly, I do. I want to be creative and post pictures of all the cool stuff I make and do. The problem is none of it is that cool. It's a copy from someone else with maybe a twist that unfortunately, and unintentionally, knocks down the coolness factor.

And I'm terrified of criticism, terribly so. So, maybe I'll blog, and just not tell anyone. Shhh, it'll be our little secret.

Maybe.

I'll probably change my mind again tomorrow.