Let's Pick Up Where I Left Off.

Last post I was talking about how to heal cold sores. Super fun. Super sexy.

 That was 5+ months ago and a lot has happened since then, thankfully nothing to do with lip herpes. I've started several posts that have gone on for so long that I got tired of hearing myself talking in my head and gave up. I would like to continue writing on my blog regularly but it feels weird to pop back in after 5 months without even mentioning that I had a baby, so here is a brief over view of what's been happening.

May 30th I gave birth to our second son Louie. He was 8.1lbs and we all fell in love instantly.

He is now a giant 4.5 month old, in the 96% for weight and 91% height. I call him my mammoth baby. He is the smiliest baby I have ever known. Even if he is in the middle of a complete meltdown, (which he often is) if you smile at him, make a fart noise followed by a funny face, he will stop screaming long enough to give you a huge smile, maybe even a giggle too, and then continue screaming and crying.

He has revealed to me what true sleep deprivation is. I have nearly lost my mind entirely from it. But he has also made our lives so much more fun. We are constantly laughing and taking in his huge personality. Watching Louie and Henry interact has become my favorite thing. Louie has turned our lives upside down and when I'm not curled up in the fetal position, crying over being woken up for the 4th time in a 6 hour period, I am loving all of the craziness. I am obsessed with this baby. He loves to be tickled and whispered to. Even though getting out of bed to feed him feels like a trek to Mordor, once I sit down to feed him, I love the calm, quiet moments we have together. I smell his hair and kiss the bridge of his nose. When I was pregnant I would often lay awake at night panicking because I felt sure that there was no way to love Louie as much as I love Henry. Of course I was wrong. This baby, like his brother, makes my heart feel like it's going to burst from my chest.

Six weeks after Louie's birth we all headed to Washington state for the first time in nearly 3 years. I  don't remember much from the trip. I have to look at pictures to remember what we did. I was exhausted and hormonal and sleep deprived, but I  know I had fun and loved being with my family again.

Coming back to Georgia was harder than I thought it would be and Andrew and I have since discussed the possibility of buying a property up there and putting a mobile home on it until we can build a house after retirement. There is nothing like the PNW. I feel so sad that I am not there during the fall season but if there is one other place I'd rather be, it would be here, in beautiful Georgia.

Henry continues to be the most easy going, happy and sweet kid I know. I am thankful every day for the patience and forgiveness he gives me when I don't always have much to give. He is very sensitive to the feelings of others and he often has comforted me when it was obvious that I was overwhelmed or sad. He is a special boy who will do special things , no doubt.

 He started Kindergarten and is riding the bus to school. Just a couple of months in and he is already reading and learning math at a speed that astounds me. As a lover of literature, listening to Henry read out loud has brought me a joy that rivals his birth. I am practically jumping out of my seat waiting for the day that I can hand him the first Harry Potter book and watch his life change. I will happily hand him a flash light so he can stay up way too late on school nights to read them. I will totally fall for it when he says he's sick just so he can stay home to keep reading. And if he doesn't like Harry Potter, than I Andrew and I will have to build a fake stair case in our ranch style home because that is where Henry will be living his days, surviving on crusts of bread and only coming out to make us breakfast until he learns to love Harry Potter.

Andrew and I celebrated 13 years together, 8 years married, at the end of September. I recently found this picture of us from the day I introduced him to my Grandparents, just after we began dating.

We went over to help them with yard work and I remember my Grandfather telling me that he had never seen a young man work so hard. He kept his head down the entire time. If I remember correctly, Andrew re did the front entrance of their driveway. Hearing my protective Grandfather approve made me so happy. Andrew continues to be the hardest working man I know but he also loves family and fun and is generous with his time, even when he is exhausted.

Now here we are, 13 years later....1 mission, 1 marriage, several moves, 2 kids, 1 deployment later. Look at them. I am a lucky woman.

My Cold Sore Remedy

This last month has been super stressful. I am a laid back person who avoids a busy schedule. Actually, to be honest, I avoid schedules in general. I am a naturally anxious person. When it comes to stress there is no in-between for me. I go from 0 to 100 in 1 second and when that happens I  sometimes feel that awful tingling on my lip that most of the time indicates a cold sore is about to show up. I think the last one I had was just before my husband came home from Afghanistan last year. This time around it was the stress of multiple doctor appointments, a broken AC in 90 degree whether, the $1000 it cost to fix it and the sales booth and ultimate flop of said sales booth at a local community sale. Oh yes, and expecting a baby anytime in the next few weeks.

When the first blister started I went with the remedy I found on earthclinic.com that worked really well. It's not the best remedy as it is hardly wholesome but wow was it affective. Basically I just applied a q-tip soaked in acetone nail polish remover on the area every 15 minutes for an hour or so for the first day as opposed to the gross multi bubbling that is whitish/yellowish. the acetone basically killed/dried ( or lets be honest, burned) out the virus and went straight to a scab in a few days verses the 1-2 weeks it can take with over the counter creams.

This time around I decided to beef it up a little. I have recently educated myself just a bit on the help of oils. I already knew that coconut oil has antiviral and anti fungal properties so I wanted to start there. I also had tea tree oil so I looked up how it can be used for cold sores and as it turns out, it can be used in a really simple recipe of just 1 tablespoon coconut oil to 5 drops tea tree oil. I added that to my treatment list and then decided to try out a direct application to reduce the swelling. 1 crushed ibuprofen with a little water to create a paste. I applied that once in the morning and once at night to significantly reduce the swelling.

My total routine goes as follows.

1. Apply acetone by q-tips once every 15 minutes for an hour or so.

2 &3 . I know it's a big no-no, BUT, I went ahead and popped the blister to apply the coconut tea tree oil mixture. I wanted it to get right in there and work it's magic. I applied this mixture all day.

4 &5. In the morning I made a paste of baking soda and water and I gently scrubbed my lips, including the sore area. After I rinsed I applied the paste of ibprofen and water directly to the sore and let it sit for about 30 minutes.

6. After rinsing the paste off I went a head and reapplied the tea tree/ coconut oil mixture and did that all day.

7. At night, I applied the tea tree / coconut oil mixture directly to the sore and then slather the rest of my lips with vaseline.

My sore, which was huge, was already scabbing and healing within 72 hours. It started Tuesday morning and here is a picture of me on Thursday evening.

I'm lucky enough to be a SAHM who can basically work on the treatment all day. If you have to work, carrying a small jar of the oil mixture and a baggy of q-tips to apply it all day like you would chapstick.

Unfortunatly for me, between that stress and these blasted pregnancy hormones, while the first one started healing a second one popped up next to it. BUT, I immediately popped the thing and did an acetone treatment and  applied the oil and by the end of the day it was clear it was never going to be visible. By the next morning it was even more clear that the second cold sore would never fully form and by day three there i am having a hard time even finding where the tiny bubble was with my magnified mirror.

WARNING: When reading about these treatments I did read that several people had bad reactions to the acetone which makes a lot of sense since it is a chemical and if you have sensitive skin or even normal skin, if you are not careful with application you can end up with a chemical burn. From what I've read but have yet to try that Braggs Organic apple cider vinegar works just as well to dry out the sore. It wouldn't surprise me if it really does. I've used it for planters warts in the past ( I feel like a total leper now) and it really worked. The only reason why I didn't use it this time is that I knew the acetone had worked for me previously and I had two events coming up so didn't couldn't really afford the time for a possible failed treatment. But i do recommend going as natural as possible.

The same warning applies to using the ibuprofen paste. It's recommended for oral use only so it's always best to ask your doctor or look up a alternative natural treatment.

If I wasn't such a picker I probably wouldn't have needed to use the ibuprofen paste. I am though. In fact, if It wasn't for me constantly biting at my lip, I'm sure it all would have healed a lot faster. But I'm still so happy with the results.

Losing weight and loving yourself

Technically, I'm "In shape" since apple is considered a shape. Am I right?

There is no denying, I am and have been apple shaped for more than half my life. Discovering I was insulin resistant and have PCOS at age 21 helped me understand why I struggled with my weight, why I couldn't eat like everyone else and why I suffered from depression and chronic fatigue. You would think getting a real answer for nearly all of my health issues would put me into immediate high gear to lose weight, eat right and get healthy but here is the thing; Breaking 21 years of habit is hard. So much so that 9 years later, while I have definitely improved, I really have not made the change essential to get to a healthy weight.

 If I'm being honest, the real difficulty with losing weight isn't giving up foods or even getting in regular exercise. I eat bad foods and hide from exercise because of a short list of mental barriers that keep me from doing what I have to do.

Patience- I have to have more than most since my PCOS and Insulin resistance makes it a slower journey but I have found that I am not alone in this. I know so many women who struggle with PCOS, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues. Our minds are racing towards the finish line while our bodies are miles behind. Our minds stand at the finish line, jogging in place, routing our bodies on while our bodies take one step forward and ten steps back. And just when our bodies find a rhythm and start showing results, our minds start to feel the exhaustion and eventually fall over and pass out for the next 3 months until we find the strength to get back up and try again. Mean while our bodies are not where we left them. They didn't even go back to the start. Mostly likely they are 10 miles behind the start line. It is a frustrating process.

Fear- Developing an adult female body by age 12 was scary as hell. Male attention was often aggressive and unwanted. As an adult, every time I start losing weight and the attention comes, I run straight for a bag of candy and go hide in my house. There are two things I want from men who are not my husband. I want to either be invisible to them or I want them to fear me. FEAR ME!!!! Well, ok, not fear me. But respecting me would be nice.

The Sag- this is in the fear category as well. It's hard when you live in the Internet age. You see all these before and afters and you get it in your head that when you lose this weight you are going to be a tight body. But then, you step out of the shower, look in the mirror and realize that your stretch marks and aging skin are not going to let you look like anything but a hairless cat. Wrinkled and saggy. So which body do you decide to love to hate? Which is more important to you? Do you keep your overweight and unhealthy body simply because it fills your skin out, or do you choose your health and deal with the loose skin. Sure, I could get a tummy tuck but I've already had my breast reduction and feel like Frankenstein most days. Between the scars and stretch marks there is so little of my smooth skin left. Which one will make me hate my body the least?

Self Love- That's where the hardest choice comes in. The choice to just love myself no matter what. Fat, fit, stretch marks, scars.

If I can learn to love myself, to treat myself kindly, I will find the patience that I need, the strength that I need and the desire to keep going until I am healthy. Not skinny, not hot. Just healthy. Beauty is  nearly useless at this point in my life. It is merely a hobby, not a necessity. My health is essential to being with my family as long as possible. It is essential to my mental stability, to keeping my family healthy and to set the right example for my boys about what is truly important. If I don't want my boys to search out vain women than I need to stop treating myself like my only worth comes from being physically beautiful.

That doesn't mean giving up make up or dressing nicely. I have found a new love for makeup and I know that looking good can help you feel good. It just means making it clear to yourself and your children that those things are an afterthought to the real happiness that being healthy can bring.

Beauty- March's Ipsy Bag

Catching up! I know it's not on the right day of the week but I want to post quickly about March's Ipsy bag since April's should be here in the next day or so.

I really loved March's Ipsy bag even more than February's, despite being only 4 products rather than 5 this time. I saw that a lot of people complained about that but when you sign up it clearly states that you will receive 4-5 products a month in your make up bag. And considering the quality of products received, it's kind of silly to complain.

Here is what I got in my lovely bag designed by California artist, Klari Reis:

The Chella eyeliner came in Indigo Blue. It's really pretty and the application tip is amazing. I plan on shelling out the $24 for one in black because it really is worth it. I have never had such an easy, mess free experience putting on liquid eyeliner.

Wearing Chella's Indigo Blue eyeliner

The Pixie flawless beauty primer gives my skin a really pretty glow which I desperately need as I have very pale skin. It's shimmery but not obnoxious. I'm a 30 year old Mom who wants to look good without looking like I'm trying to be 21. I don't like sparkles but I do like a subtle glow and Pixie's beauty primer is perfect for this.

I also got the NYX Love in Rio Pallet eye shadow trio which is nice but a little dark for me. I don't wear eyeshadow often and when I do I try to stay away from darker colors because they make my eyes look droopy and small. I did end up using it and was impressed with it's stay and it didn't seem to fall under my eyes like other shadows Ive used in the past. I think the problem for me is that I lack a knowledge in eye shadow application. But I did like it and I'm sure I'll use it on special occasions.

The one product I was disappointed in (or rather, disappointed in getting) was the Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie lip stick in Get Ready. HOWEVER, as I've said before (or maybe not) I am not a fan of lipsticks. They make me feel elderly and in my opinion, only emphasize how small my upper lip is. I put some on anyway and was not a fan of the color for me but the actually lip stick is rich and creamy and has a good stay.

Considering that Ipsy cost a total of $10 a month, the Chella eyeliner alone cost $24, illustrating just how great of a deal you get with your Ipsy subscription. If you are interested in signing up follow THIS LINK. You'll do me a solid by helping me earn Ipsy points to use towards free products. In full disclosure, you may or may not be put on a waiting list. Ipsy has been allowing people to get off this waiting list by either providing a link to simply post on Facebook or by giving you a link that is a sign up referral link. If you have any friends and family interested in signing up, they can follow your link to do so, getting you off of the waiting list and helping you to earn extra IPSY points towards free products.

Also, it's important to say that after you get your bag, if there is something that you wanted but didn't get, or in my case, something you loved and want more of, Ipsy provides you with links to the products along with promotion codes to get discounts or free gifts on purchases of that product. So when I want to buy my Chella eyeliner in black, I can use the promotion code they gave me to get 25% off. I've seen codes for up to 50% off of products for that month as well.

Off topic from Ipsy and back on the subject of lipsticks; even though I don't wear lipstick, I have come to appreciate and wear a lot of tinted lip glosses, butters and balms. Recently on Pinterest, a friend pinned Revlon's Colorburst Lip Butter in a pretty color. When I went to buy it, I forgot which shade I wanted and ended up buying it in Sugar Plum.

I didn't realize until I got home and opened it, how dark it was but it's lip butter so it doesn't go on like regular lipstick so I ended up loving it and wear it everyday. If you are like me and want a little lip color but don't like lipstick, I definitely recommend this product.

That's it for today. I'll post about April's Ipsy bag this Tuesday.

Off Topic- complaining just to complain.

I have not abandoned this brand new blog. I have many plans to use it for many things. Rather than talk about DIY's today, of which I have 3 started that are all half finished, I would like to release into the world my current stresses so I can focus on something else.

Today Henry and I said goodbye to Andrew for the next 6 weeks. ZERO contact. I can't tell you how nervous that makes this 30 week pregnant lady. What makes this particular separation harder than his 2 year mission, basic training, multiple TDY's and even his 6 month deployment is that it will be the longest we have ever gone in 12 years without talking to each other by any form of communication. I can't even express how terrifying that is for me. He is the Yin to my Yang. When I'm stressed he listens to every single word of worry and bullshit and concern that comes out of my mouth and directs me through it. When I'm pregnant he is even more sympathetic, helpful and support.

Seeing Henry say goodbye to his Dad, his best friend in the world, it was hard. Especially knowing that by the time Andrew gets back, Henry will only have his Dad all to himself for a few more weeks.  That's one of those things about turning an only child into a big brother, really without his consent, you have to prepare for the transition that might include some resent, sadness and anger. He's such an easy going kid, I would like to believe that it won't be an issue but I know that I can't ignore the reality that he is going to struggle. Even as excited as he is to be an older brother, he may feel some insecurities about his place in the family. I'm preparing for Louie's arrival by talking to Henry about everything he can do with Louie and I think the trip home to visit family will help too.

On top of Henry having to say goodbye to his dad this morning he has a 102.7 fever. He was so talkative and energetic when we woke him up this morning. His mood suddenly shifted and I took him out to breakfast before school thinking he was sad about saying goodbye to his Dad. I thought he felt a little warm but he wasn't complaining. I took him to school and when I picked him up he was even warmer. When I dropped him off at school that morning I told his teacher that he was having a hard morning, otherwise I think she would have checked his temperature since he is typically more animated. I'm really hoping this bug doesn't involve throwing up. Between Andrew leaving, my being pregnant, and possibly dealing with the 2 of us being sick with spring break around the corner, combined with doctors appointments and trying to take it easy so this baby stays in while Andrew's gone; it's all a little overwhelming to think about. Not to mention I've been having several panic attacks every day for the last 2 months. If there was ever a time to be drinking it would be now. Thanks a lot baby.

I haven't been posting as planned this week because I've been hiding out. When I prepare for something difficult, like separating from my husband, I prepare in the worst way. I shut down. This time around I was better than usual. I still spent time with friends and distracted myself with some projects but the laundry has been neglected and I haven't felt like updating like I planned and the kitchen sink is full of dirty dishes. To add to the already Everest size pile of laundry, the cats peed on Henry's bed this morning so I've got another full load to wash. As annoying as that is, it's a motivator to get it all done. So a big thanks to my cats for supporting me the only way they know how.

On a more positive note. I had a OB appointment today and Louie looks good. In fact, he is already looking pretty plump which makes me excited. Kind of. I think I would rather deliver a runway model than a 8+ pound baby. But fat babies are the best so even if he is over 8 pounds at delivery eventually my complaining will be replaced by the sound of nibbling on some chunky baby legs.

More great news today is that because I check my blood sugar weekly my Doc said that I could skip the 3 hour glucose test. I thought he mentioned that in the beginning of my pregnancy but when I mentioned it to the nurse at a later appointment and then to another Doc while my regular was on vacation, they both said I still had to do it. I was really happy to hear my Doc reconfirm that I didn't have to drink that crap.

I'm thinking after this emotional day+ sick and sad kid, if Henry is up to a quick run down the road, I'm going to go pick up some ice cream and order in some pizza.

I did find some great stuff at the Goodwills this week so I think I'll be back to regular posting tomorrow.

Food-Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Donuts

Last week was a current favorite recipe and today is a quick mention of one of my favorite gluten free indulgences. At some point I will get to something healthier but that day is not today.

In the beginning of going gluten free I was (and I'll admit, I still am) intimidated by all the strange ingredients needed to make a baked good. Xanthan gum? Rice flour? Huh?

When you are first starting out with gluten free baking it's a lot of trial and error and time and money. It's more expensive to bake gluten free. If I start reading a gluten free recipe and the ingredient list puts me to sleep before I can finish reading the recipe, than it's safe to say I'll never actually make it.

When I saw Kinnikinnick donuts in the freezer isle at Earth Fare I decided to give them a shot. The price? Over $6.50 for a box of six. As far as store bought baked goods go, especially ones in the freezer section, it was very little for a lot of money.

the perfect start to a lazy Sunday.

I brought them home and let them thaw and then tried my first one. A vanilla glazed. I almost cried tears of joy. Not only was it delicious for a gluten free product. It was just delicious for any product. It tasted and had the texture of a regular old fashioned donut. Pop one in the microwave for a few seconds and you've got something really special. These amazing donuts come in vanilla glaze, chocolate glaze and cinnamon. The glazed ones are sweet enough that I don't usually go for a second one. The cinnamon ones are less sweet but still great.

Beauty- Lets Pretend It's Still Tuesday (Gel Polish Kit)

I didn't forget about yesterday's post. I simply got to the one second at the end of my day when I had some time to write it out and chose to pass out instead. The nesting phase has come and I was a tornado yesterday, organizing while simultaneously creating an even bigger mess. Before I could finish I had to pick Henry up from school. Thankfully, after my husband came home from work, he and Henry called a friend to come over and lift so I had a few more hours to finish up.

What I really wanted to write about yesterday was my love for my gel nail polish LED kit, so that's what I'm going to do.

Before my husband and I had kids, he worked as a truck driver and I worked as an adoption coordinator. We were making really good money and other than making sure our few bills were paid we could do pretty much whatever we wanted. It wasn't unusual for me to go get my nails done then. I liked going into the salon, the smell of acrylic, getting pampered, the feelings of a freshly done set of nails. I've never been kind to my hands though so my sets never lasted long. I'd pick at them, or decide to start a new hands on activity that beat them up or I would do something and accidentally rip one off with my real nail attached. When we planned and conceived our first kiddo we were excited, but the economy was tanking and my husband lost his job. He got another job but with half the pay and then lost that one too. I was still working and the plan was to bring baby to work with me after he was born since my boss was amazing and we worked in a really casual environment out of a small house. Unfortunately, by the time Henry was born I also had to be let go. Giving up an occasional manicure was the last thing on my mind. I wasn't sure how we were going to afford a baby with one job and our income cut by 3/4. My husband and I had been discussing for a while the idea of him joining the military and it looked like it was time to make the decision. We did and it's the best decision we ever made. Even though we are still on one income and expecting our 2nd baby in June, we are older, wiser, have savings accounts and budgets.

Yes, we have a specific budget, but fun is included in that budget and I had been eyeballing the Sally Hansen and Sensationail LED kits for a couple of months. My husband was overseas and I had been having a hard time and decided to do something nice for myself. So I purchased the Sensationail LED kit at Target for about $50. That's the cost of 2 sets at the salon. I've done at least 15 sets since buying this kit, only spending extra money on new colors and one box of cleanser. The polishes run the same or a bit more than OPI polishes and I find them on sale regularly. This kit is not for applying acrylic tips but the polish is thick and hard and allowed my nails to grow really long so that it appeared as though I was wearing acrylics.

Click here to purchase on Target.com

I think my 2 main concerns about spending the money on this kit were number 1, that it wouldn't actually last as long as they said it would (up to 2 weeks)  and number 2, that I didn't have steady enough hands to get a professional look.

As it turns out, I do have a steady enough hand AND it really does last up to 2 weeks. As long as you aren't a picker like I am. And I've learned not to be. The manicure lasts so long and is so easy to do that I get impatient to try another color and end up removing it by week one. But don't be fooled, this is a very strong polish system. Right after I did my very first manicure using the LED gel polish, I went out and started building my garden by moving and stacking cinder blocks. I was hard on my hands and after it was all done I didn't have one chip. I just had some light scratches in the top coat and ended up quickly brushing on a new clear coat and curing it which took about 60 seconds.

Here are some things I've learned by trial and error with LED gel polishes.

You can mix gel polish kits. I have Sally Hansen, Red Carpet and Sensationail polishes. I've used Sensational polish with Sally Hansen, top and bottom gel coats and vice versa. This also goes for Red Carpet brand. All the primers work with the above mentioned polishes. Not sure about Gelish polishes because I have yet to buy one and I believe Gelish is set with a UV light and I just realized that I have no idea whether or not UV lights will set get polish the same way LED lights will. I'll have to investigate that.

Also, you can use your regular polish with the LED light but not for the purpose of drying them. An LED will not harden your regular polish. However, if you want to use your favorite color of non-gel polish, you can follow the instructions for your LED kit to put on your clear base coat and cure dry it with the light. THEN you can apply your regular polish. The trick to making it work is to apply a thing layer, let it dry completely, apply another layer (or however many you want), let that dry completely then use the clear gel top coat, cure dry with the light and you are done.

The key to getting a nice looking coat on your nails with this process is to let the regular polish thoroughly dry, otherwise when you put that top coat on and light cure, you will get ripples and possible bubbles in your polish. Also, make sure to cap your nails with the clear polish to keep it all from chipping.

One more tip is make sure your hand is being held flat while you apply polish. Try not to tilt them up to look at them before you dry them, otherwise the polish will float back to your cuticles and make an unpleasant edge around the bottom of your nails.

I cleaned my nails off with the intention of trying out a new color I recently bought for this post but never got around to doing it yesterday and my feet are currently in mourning as there was a freak accident involving moving furniture and I ripped my entire big toenail off of my right foot.

But here are some pictures of past pedi's and mani's.

Look at that glossy shine!

And finally, just to illustrate how long this polish can last, here is a picture of my toenails about 2 weeks into a pedicure. This was taken after I ripped my toenail. RIP big toe nail. You are really missed right now. Especially with sandal seasons coming so soon.

That's it for this week. Next week I'll post about my March ipsy bag.

Life- let me put you to sleep by telling you about my weekend.

I don't think our weekend could have been less eventful. Aside from Henry getting a haircut that was very needed, and he and Andrew building a mini Star Wars Lego set, and going to Andrew's brief Crossfit competition, we pretty much hung out and picked our noses all weekend. I had a busy week and was a bit worn out and Henry had a really late Friday night that put him in a horrible mood on Saturday so we didn't feel motivated to do much at all.

But going to watch Andrew compete the last few Sunday's has been something I look forward to each week. Right now the Crossfit Open is going on. It's 6 weeks of challenges, each challenge announced on Thursdays and then performed on the following Sunday. This Thursday we had some friends come over to watch the next challenge announced, do a run through and then had a small potluck.

Andrew has been doing pretty well with the challenges but this week he really excelled, putting himself around the top 10% of people competing around the world. Considering there are over 200,000 people who entered the competition, I feel like I'm perfectly justified in how impressed I am with him.

I had us all get there early to watch the women compete. I sit, 7 months pregnant, watching these women perform and I get really anxious for my due date and 6 week recovery to come and go so I can get started.

This week I have nothing planned and I'm really looking forward to it as I've been in the mood to nest but haven't had any time during the week to do anything about it and once the weekend rolls around, with Henry home I don't get the time to get to it and when I do I'm exhausted and just want to lay like a beached whale.

Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to yap about next week.

Health & Fitness- Going Gluten Free

When my sister called to tell me she had been diagnosed with Celiac's Disease and then recommended I go gluten free for a while to see if it helped with the chronic pain I've been dealing with, I decided it wouldn't hurt to try. And it didn't hurt. In fact, after the first week I felt better than I had in several years. By the second week I felt better than I had since I was 12 years old when the first symptoms of my PCOS started showing up.

Not only had the constant daily pain reduced to almost nothing but that huge, thick cloud of mental fogginess that had been looming around my head for years, finally cleared away.  In just 2 weeks.

I started my gluten free trial with the intention of breaking the fast on Thanksgiving which was two weeks later. I won't lie, I was looking forward to everything gluten filled at that meal. But the day after my feast I was sick as a dog. Not just sick to my stomach, but sick with pain. The pain was in every part of my body, the inflammation obvious in my bright red, cheeks. I immediately knew that it wasn't just a fluke, I was at the very least, allergic to gluten.

I immediately contacted my doctor to get tested for Celiac's Disease. The tricky thing about Celiac's Disease is that it doesn't always show up in your blood work the first time around. Or the second or third of fourth. In fact, I believe my sister was test 5-6 times before they found confirmation in her blood.

So when my first test came back negative my doctor and I both agreed it didn't mean anything and she diagnosed me with Celiac's Disease based on my many other symptoms and scheduled me for a stomach biopsy just to have the confirmation for my medical file. I never ended up having the stomach biopsy done. By that point I had been gluten free for a few months with only a few accidental exposures. Those accidental exposures continued to confirm that they chronic pain I had been living with for so many years was all thanks to gluten. My husband was over seas when I was in the middle of testing and the pain of exposure made me so out of it that when my doctor told me that I had to start eating gluten again before my stomach biopsy to get the most accurate results, I told her I couldn't do it.

I'm not entirely sure how I managed to live with my pain for so many years. I know that during those years I didn't do much moving. Since every meal was followed by pain and exhaustion and almost all meals contained gluten, I was always sedentary. Going gluten free relieved me of that pain so well that the thought of experiencing it again, being that mentally and physically disconnected and uncomfortable again, made me fear ever going back to that place. Especially while my husband was away and I had my son to care for alone.

In addition to feeling so much better, my husband and I were finally able to conceive baby number 2 after 3 years of trying. While reading up on Celiac's Disease I discovered that many women who suffered from it also dealt with infertility. I also deal with PCOS but since we were able to conceive our first son after just 3 weeks, I suspected my PCOS wasn't the real problem with trying to conceive baby number 2.  I was hopeful that when my husband came home that we would be able to try again with successful results and I was right. Just one year after going Gluten Free, and one month after my husband came home from his deployment we got that positive pregnancy test.

Is going gluten free difficult? It was at first. I really missed the foods I was used to eating. Especially sandwiches. But after a few months and thanks to several fantastic gluten free products out there, I find that it is a rare occasion that I miss gluten filled foods. Not only does going gluten free make me feel better but it also helps reduce the amount of grains and sugars I eat which is important for dealing with my insulin resistance and PCOS. There are so many pro's verses the 1 con of missing out on certain foods, that there is really little reason to complain.

If you are questioning whether or not going gluten free is right for you, definitely give it a try. Just 2 weeks. You don't have to go low fat or low calorie or low carb or even low sugar.  It's not about participating in some silly diet fad. It's about reducing or eliminating a food that you may have a severe intolerance or allergy to. It was once thought that Celiac's Disease was rare. Now a growing number of people are discovering  that their health has been compromised do to gluten allergies and Celiac's Disease.

Next week I'll talk about living with PCOS and how to relieve some of those symptoms.

Entertainment- music, books, movies, TV, internet

Music: Lorde, Pure Heroine

The first time I heard Lorde I knew I was going to love anything she wrote and sang. I was right. Her entire album is great and there is something so relatable about it for me. I love that it's not an album about love, which is what every other album out there is about. It's about life, living, struggle, fun, being young but not in the irritating Ke$ha way. At this point she can do no wrong.

Movies: I FINALLY watched Catching Fire and was so much happier with this movie than the first. They touched on almost everything important and at the end I was excited for the third and fourth movies which was not how I felt after I watched Hunger Games. It wasn't that Hunger Games was horrible. Other than a lack of small but important characters and cheesy CGI, it was enjoyable.  I guess what I was hoping for was a R rating and some hard to watch violence involving children. Does that make me a monster? Probably, but I refuse to apologize for it.

TV: The husband and I finally caught up on The Americans and The Following. Watching TV with my husband is....difficult. His commentary often centers around the stupid and unrealistic choices of the characters. It's not that I don't notice the same things but unlike my husband I choose to get lost in the imagination of the show, realistic or not. I'm a dreamer and spend half my days in fantasy land while he is deeply rooted in reality which is how we work so well together in normal life but what causes us to roll our eyes at each other when it comes to TV and movies.

I think watching the FBI character's in The Following continue to make bad tactile decisions and judgements made it difficult for the husband to get into it until about half way through the season. It's really all of Joe's insane followers and their hilarious hypocrisy (Emma upset that Joe's ex-wife tried to strangle her. HA!) that keeps us both watching. Season 2 has been been fun to watch as the the writers some how managed to introduce characters that make Joe look like a harmless kitten. I'm a little disturbed at how concerned I've begun to feel about mommy killer Mandy, Joe and Emma when I should really just hope a giant asteroid lands on the entire cult camp taking them all down.

I remember when The Americans first started that I got bored by the 2nd episode. I always wondered what happens to me between the first time I try something and the second, when I go from disinterest to fascination, in such a short span of time. That's what happened when I started watching the Americans from the beginning the second time around. I wanted to fight my pregnancy exhaustion just so I could pull an all night marathon. Now I have to suffer through watching the current season one episode a week. This past weeks episode was not eventful BUT I was happy to see, just when I thought  Elizabeth turning against the mother country was never going to happen, she decided to burn the letter. A symbolic little flame of hope? I think so!

Internet: Recently I've become involved with the web site Influenster. It's a site where, based on how many points you earn, you can qualify for boxes of free stuff.

"Influenster is a community of tastemakers, social media hotshots, and educated consumers who live to give opinions of products and experiences. In Influenster Nation, influence is currency.

Influenster partners with brands to sample products to members of our social media-savvy community. In turn, members test and review those products on their social networks. Qualified members gain access to the latest products, share their expert opinions and spread the word on their favorite discoveries."

Apparently boxes can be hard to come by and the higher your profile score and the more unique your profile, the more likely you are to be offered challenges and sent boxes of fun stuff to review. With Henry in school all day I really don't do much but clean the house, hit up the thrifts stores, gestate Louie and eat and sleep. It doesn't take up as much time during my day as you might think. When I heard about Influenster I thought it would be a fun challenge and motivate me to get the blog that I had been envisioning up and started. So here we are. 

Books: I wish I could say that I am currently in the depths of a great new book but because I spend so much of my time these days fighting the exhaustion of pregnancy; sitting, or laying down to read a book simply invites sleep that much easier. Last year I bought, read and enjoyed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Last month I was walking through Walmart's book section and noticed a new book with a cover that had a similar look to Miss Peregrine's and as it turns out it was the sequel, Hollow City! I'm a fan of book series so I was so excited to find out that this truly unique story was going to continue. The only issue is I can't seem to crack it open. I've carried it in my purse,  and placed it by my bed just waiting for some time to dive in but so far no luck. I'm really hoping next week I will have something wonderful to say about it. For now, I strongly recommend the first book, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. It's odd and mysterious and fun. 

That's it for this week. Next week, I will shamefully admit how much and why I love this season of Real World and hopefully have something great to say about Hollow City.

Vintage Finds and Favorites

I would love to start with why I love vintage and how it became a part of my life but as I sat down this morning to write about where it all started, I realized that what I want to say is going to take some time. It's a part of me that's important and I don't want to simply brush over it for the sake of getting Friday's post done.

So, for now, I want to use today to post some of my finds during yesterday's Goodwill excursion. Thursday's are military discount day at the Goodwill's in my area so I like to take advantage of that. But up until the beginning of this month, before my husband and I sat down and created a very specific budget, I took advantage of having my only child in school Monday through Friday, to go to the thrift stores every day. A lot of friends and family call me lucky with the amount of great finds I make but it's just about frequency and timing. The more often you go and the earlier in the day you go, the more you find. The last few weeks though, I've been having a bad streak. Despite dedicated shopping and my husband taking me on a 10 thrift store tour for my birthday I have found zero, zip, nada. Thankfully, yesterday the bad streak was broken and I found several thing. Some needed, some not, one for the shop.

My favorite find of the day yesterday was this toddler sized vintage Disney (knock off) pull over knitted sweater.

I'm not usually a fan of Disney apparel but it was so classic, and I had already found a great pair of red, white and blue plaid shorts that go perfectly with it.

My next favorite find(s) yesterday were these three pieces of Fire King I found.

I know Pyrex is the vintage favorite right now but I am a big fan of Fire King. Especially their zodiac  milk glass series of which I have several that I am supposed to list in my shop but get a bit weepy when I think about parting with.

Some of my favorite past finds from around my house are this pitcher and set of juice glasses.

My Mom came for a visit in December and spotted this water pitcher. We both recognized it as one that my Grandmother owned that my Mom now has at her house. My Mom bought it for me and a couple of months later I found this set of 4 Libbey orange juice glasses that I couldn't pass up. Turns out they compliment each other. I'm not sure how it started but I've grown a little obsession with tumblers and picked up several sets over the last year. I have every intention of listing them but can never really bring myself to do it. My cabinet space is running out though so sooner or later I'm going to have to part ways with some of them.

I finally put this beautiful Mikasa platter to use last night for a small BBQ we put on last minute. But I just realized this morning that the top of the glass cake dome I purchased at Goodwill a few days ago, sits perfectly on top of it and I can't think of a more perfect use for it. I can't just let this sit hidden away in my kitchen cabinets. It needs to be out and admired daily!

I have several ( *ahem dozen) items that need to go into the shop but first I have to get some time to take pictures. For now there are several great items already listed and ready to find new homes so go visit my Etsy shop by clicking this link ----> MyRetroSoulEtsy .

You can find some really great vintage purses and glassware.

That's it for this week. Next week I'll post new items in the shop and how I fell in love with the world of vintage.

Crafts/DIY- Simple Children's Blanket

My almost 5 year old has been obsessed with Angry Birds since he was 3 and when Angry Birds mashed up with Star Wars my son lost his mind. I don't think there is anything he loves more than Angry Bird Star Wars. It's been all he's asked for for the last two Christmas's and Birthdays and any time we see anything related to it while at the store. I was so sure, like most toys, he would tire of Angry Birds and move on but I was very wrong.

When I saw Angry Birds Star Wars flannel at Joann's fabric store I picked it right up for Henry. He's such a good kid and I love surprising him. When my friend volunteered to take him over night a couple of weeks ago so that my husband could take me out of town for my birthday, I wanted to make him the blanket to help him sleep better with out us.

This is the easiest blanket to make.

Because I was in a hurry to get it done to send with him to the sleep over, I skipped a couple of steps. If you are looking to make a lap blanket like I did, and want to do it right from beginning to end, here are the full instructions. *This will hopefully be the first and last tutorial with no step by step pictures.

Childrens Blanket/ Lap Blanket

• Choose 2, 1.5 yard cuts (or smaller if you prefer) of your favorite fabrics. 2 flannels is great and so is a cotton and a flannel or even 2 cottons if you want something really light weight.

• Wash and dry both of your fabrics so that they can shrink up properly. There may be a thread mess you have to cut through after every thing is washed and dried but don't worry, you fabric isn't ruined, you have to trim up the edges anyway.

• Iron out your fabrics and using a temporary fabric spray adhesive, stick them together (*Right sides facing each other! You are sewing this blanket inside out and leaving a hole to turn it right side out.) so they don't shifts for the next 2 steps. Smooth out the fabrics on top of each other while trying to match them up as well as possible. One piece might be wider or longer than the other but thats not a problem. 

• Next use a rotary cutter, cutting mat and clear ruler to straighten up all four sides and corners so that the blanket is an even rectangle set some larger pieces of the scrap fabric aside. 

• * Before you start sewing, take a scrap piece that you cut from around the edges of both fabrics, place them together and sew a few lines through the fabrics to make sure the tension is good on both the bottom and top. This is especially important if you are using two different kinds of fabrics like a cotton and a flannel. If the tension is off, just adjust a little bit at a time and continue to sew practice lines until you get the right tension.

• Next use a quarter inch presser foot to sew a straight seam around the entire blanket, leaving only a small 5-6 inch hole. 

• Next put your hand through that hole and pull your blanket right side out and smooth out the blanket. Fold the raw edges from the hole inwards about 1/4 inch and press with an iron. Then take the iron and press the edges of the blanket all the way around so that it's nice and flat. 

• Next use your 1/4 inch presser foot to sew a seam all the way around the blanket to create a boarder. Start with the hole to make sure that those raw edges you folded inward stay put. 

That's it!.... unless you want to give it a little bit of a quilted effect. You would just need to use a fabric marker and ruler to mark off a even square grid on the blanket and sew through those marked lines. 

Food- Gluten Free Cheese Cake

I'm all aboard the Gluten Free train. It was a rough ride at first and I was in some real denial about just how hard it was going to be and how dedicated I was going to have to be after I got diagnosed with Celiacs Disease.

Over the last year I've learned a lot about eating gluten free. Where to buy the yummiest products for the best price, how to adapt, experiment and try new flavors and how to budget when I want to spurge on those delicious but pricey treats.

There are several great grocery stores in my area that carry a decent selection of GF products. Publix, Walmart, Earth Fare and my favorite, Kroger. Kroger and Earth Fare carry the biggest selection but Kroger's prices can't be beat. Not only can you find a large selection of GF products in their organic section but I have noticed more and more GF products filling in the regular isles. One day, as I was walking down the baking isle I noticed Betty Crocker Gluten Free cake mix. I was skeptical of how good it would taste but I was and continue to be willing to try any new GF product I come across. I went home and made cup cakes and they were wonderful. The texture was different than regular cupcakes but it was still a pleasant texture. The taste was great too. The only note I made was to add an extra egg to make the cake fluffier or to fill the batter to the top of the cup, since GF batter tends to settle heavier than regular batter.

Since then Ive purchased several of Betty Crocker's GF products. I especially love their brownie and sugar cookie mix.

The other day I had a craving for cheese cake and I had everything I needed for it except for the ingredients to make a crust. I did, however, have a box of Betty Crocker's GF sugar cookie mix and thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. So I made the cookie dough following the box directions and then pressed half of it into a pie pan. I quickly mixed up my go-to cheese cake recipe and poured it in, baked it and 45 minutes later out popped the most delicious cheese cake! I topped it with fresh strawberries and it tasted like perfection!

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 325-350 degrees.

Crust: 1 box of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Mix. Make the dough as direct on the box and then press half of the dough into a pie pan. Set aside.

Cheesecake-

1 1/2 8oz packages of cream cheese softened

1/2 cup Sugar

1 Tbls lemon juice

1/4 Teasp vanilla

2 eggs

In a bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Next add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.

Poor Filling into the the pie pan.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Time will vary based on how thick you pressed the "pie crust" into the pan. Check the center with a tooth pick to determine if it needs more time.

*Optional Topping

Mix together:

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbls sugar

1/4 teasp vanilla

Take the cake out 10 minutes before it's finished cooking, spread the sour cream mix on top as well as any fruit or other toppings you prefer and then place back in the oven for the remaining 10 minutes.

That's it for today. Next week I'll talk about one of my favorite GF products that I eat daily.

Beauty- What is Ipsy and why I signed up for it.

I'm glad my first post falls on a Tuesday- Beauty day. When I find something new that I love, I really enjoy sharing it with others. Lets see if I can get through this post without sounding gimmicky but I think it will be hard to do when I'm so excited about ipsy.

A couple of months ago I was on a mom forum when I noticed a thread titled "Who's excited for their ipsy to come!?" or something along those lines. Out of curiosity I opened the thread and read a little about this fun subscription company. Ipsy is a monthly make up subscription service that sends you a cute little make up bag with 4-5 of some of the newest beauty products on the market. The description says "sample size" products but as far as I could tell from my first bag, the only sample size was the face mask.

What's great about this particular subscription service is that it only costs $10 a month and that includes shipping. For $10 you get at least $50 worth of products. You just sign up and fill out your personal quiz that will help determine which of their monthly products to send you. These questions range from your style preference to your hair, eye and skin color and what brand name products you are interested in trying.

My first bag came in February. I was and continue to be really happy with these products.

 Why did I sign up for ipsy? I became a bit of a feminist in my 20's and while I hadn't completely thrown out makeup, I rejected the idea that looking good would make me feel good. How stupid is that? And yet, for some reason it's true. Beauty can be captivating and when you want for some one to listen to what you have to say, starting your day with a fresh, rested and kind face staring back at you in the mirror can make you feel more open to sharing and communicating with others and can often times really help others to open up to you.

I recently turned 30 and I can see the years of worry and anxiety on my face. In addition to turning 30 I am currently 7 months pregnant and a Mom to a 4.5 year old and so no matter how much sleep I get, I feel tired. On top of that, my husband continues to look more handsome and rugged with each year and when I stand next to him I feel haggard. I knew I needed to do something fun and nice for myself so when I learned what ipsy was, the cost, the element of mystery and the excitement of getting a package in the mail every month was just what I needed to find a passion for makeup that I haven't had since I was 13. 

If you are interested in signing up for ipsy please follow my referral link: http://www.ipsy.com/r/6nf7

You may or may not be put on a waiting list but no worries! Just share the link that ipsy will provide you after you sign up, on Facebook, and you should get off the waiting list immediately. Share your referral link with your friends and family or followers on twitter, blog, etc., and you get ipsy points that you can turn in for free products.

March's bag should be here in the next week or two and I'm so excited. I will admit, I peeked at what's in my bag. I have a love/hate relationship with surprises so when I had the opportunity to peek inside my bag before it got here I took it.

* In case you are worried about surprise charges, I've only been charged for 2 months so far but it's exactly what their company promised. A once a month charge of $10. If you find yourself stuck on the waiting list you don't have to worry, your account will not be charged until you are off the waiting list.

That's it for this Tuesday. Next Tuesday I'll be talking about my new love for gel nail polish using UV/LED lights, some reviews on polishes and I'll share tips for getting the most professional looking results.