life « The Everyday Warrior

We Are Moving!

by Betsy

If you saw this post from yesterday then you have probably already guessed that Little B and I are moving. And that is correct! But what you may not have guessed is that we are moving in with Chris!

That’s some big news, right!?!

We are both super excited about it and all of our kids are too! (Chris has two boys.) As you can imagine we have lots and lots of things to get done before the move. Chris has to make room for two more people, I need to pack, move things that we won’t immediately be needing to a storage unit and many more things I am probably not even realizing right now! Eeeek! The plan is for us to move into Chris’s house for a few months while we save up some money to get a house that will better accommodate our new blended family. In the mean time we will all have to adjust to our new life together which includes making small sacrifices to make our new living arrangement work. I am sure that there will be bumps along the way but we are ready to face them and are confident that we are making the right decision for everyone involved.

Despite our current excitement about the changes, I do have to be honest about something. A week ago or so, I stressed myself out unnecessarily by playing the what if game. You know what I am talking about right? The what if game goes a little something like this:

- What if we don’t like living together?

- What if the kids don’t get along?

- What if Chris drives me crazy?

- What if I miss my personal space / me time?

- What if Little B doesn’t adjust?

- What if it turns out to be a bad decision?

You get the idea.

I am a worrier by nature and have a tendency to over think things. (Poor Chris!) But the reality of the situation is that the issues that I was worrying about don’t currently exist and may not ever exist. I would be short changing myself to allow those fears and any other fears to guide my decisions. If any of my worries come true, we will just deal with them when they do. Life is all about taking chances and this feels too right to not take a chance on it!

We are going to be like The Brady Bunch! Now how do I get an Alice?? (source)

Any moving tips for me or tips on successfully merging two families together? I would appreciate both!

Dating Family Kids Life Parenting

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Wordless Wednesday #41

by Betsy

Dating Family Life

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Wordy Wednesday #5

by Betsy

Family Fun Kids Little B Parenting

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Wordy Wednesday #4

by Betsy

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Kids

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March Recap & April Goals

by Betsy

It’s goal time!

Here is how I did on my goals for March!

1. Get adequate sleep – Let’s face it, no matter how much I focus on getting adequate sleep I am always going to be in need of more. That’s just a fact of life as a busy adult. But that aside, I think I did a good job overall of being more conscious about going to bed at a decent time. Yay!

2. Run Rock CF 5k – Done! Check out the recap here if you haven’t already read about it.

3. Go to the circus - Little B and I DID go to the circus. Stay tuned for a post later this week all about it!

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Moving on to my goals for April. April is a little tricky because I will be doing a lot of travelling which is going to limit the amount of time I can commit to goals so I am going to go easy on myself.

1. Clean up my eating - I eat relatively healthy as I eat a lot of whole foods and I try to make food choices that are in line with my overall goals but I think I could pay more attention to the packaged food that I do eat. I am going to focus on reading labels and learning about the food so that I can make educated decisions about what I am allowing in my diet. This will be just a small change so I think it is very doable.

2. Run the Shamrock Shuffle – One of my trips this month is to Chicago for the Shamrock Shuffle 8k! This race kicks off the running and racing season in Chicago (but we all know must runners run year round) and it will be my first time running it. I have my green attire ready and I’m looking forward to it!

2. Complete the Ohio Tough Mudder - This will be one of two Tough Mudders that I have planned this year in order to cross off my running goal of completing two Tough Mudders in 2013! I am ready for some mud and obstacles! But not ready for the electrocution. Gah!

How did you do on your March goals? What goals do you have in place for April?

Happiness Project Monthly Goals

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My First Mammogram

by Betsy

Add a mammogram to your to do list!

I had my first ever mammogram last Thursday. It is not something that I thought I would blog about, instead I thought it would be something that I would try to forget about untill I had to face it again next year.

So why AM I blogging about it? Because I feel like I need to let women know that it is not as bad as everyone thinks that it is going to be. No, really, I am serious it’s not bad at all! I dreaded having to make the appointment to get a mammogram. I know it is an important test as my Mom is a breast cancer survivor but I have heard so many horror stories about how painful and difficult mammograms are. The day of the mammogram I was quite nervous and worried about the pain factor. The staff at the mammography office tried to assure me that I had nothing to fear but I didn’t believe them. Turns out they were right! At worst I would say a mammogram is uncomfortable because of the awkward positions that you are put in but it is definitely NOT painful. This was such a relief!

I should mention that the National Cancer Institute recommends that women 40 years and older should get a mammogram every 1-2 years. So if you have been putting yours off, now is the time to make that appointment!

In my case, my doctor recommended that I get a mammogram earlier than the recommended age because I have a family history of breast cancer and also because she noted two areas of concern at my yearly check-up. I should have the results sometime next week.

Have you had a mammogram? Was it as bad as you thought it was going to be?

Health Life

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Managing Stress

by Betsy

This was me before going up to the top of the arch. My scared & stressed look.

To say that I have been stressed the last few months, is an understatement. Most of it has been work related and I don’t talk about work here so you will just have to believe me that my stress level has been through the roof. Because I have been so stressed I have had to come up with different ways to manage it. Here is what I have found works best for me.

1. Run it out - Running has always been my go to stress reliever. It calms me and provides a sense of clarity over what is stressing me that I can’t get when I don’t run. Other types of exercise work too but running is my prefered outlet.

2. Breathe! – I’m not one to meditate, although I am sure if I applied myself I would find it very beneficial. I do however take a few minutes to breathe deeply and that helps keep my stress level in check.

3. Perspective - I ask myself two very important questions about what is stressing me. Will it matter 1 year from now and do I have any control over it? If my answer to either of those questions is no, that helps me gain perspective on what is stressing me and allows me to calm down about the issue.

4. Get sleep – Being in a constant state of stress is very taxing on my body. I try to make sure I get a good amount of sleep to help myself handle what is bothering me. Although it is easier said than done sometimes.

5. Family & Friends – There are definitely times when I am stressed that I would like nothing more than to stay in my bed and hide under the covers. Unfortunately that doesn’t make what is stressing me go away or help me cope with the stress. Spending time with family and friends always helps though!

6. Fake it! – Sometimes none of the above tactics work and when that happens I resort to faking it until I make it. If I act like I am not stressed I will eventually convince myself that I am not. Seems strange but it is true.

Now that you know my stress management tactics I want to know what you do to handle stress. Leave a comment below.

Health Life Running

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

by Betsy

Happy belated Valentine’s Day everyone! <3

I think you all know who I spent my day with but just in case you forgot, here’s a little reminder.

Cutest Valentine ever right?

Yesterday my Facebook and Twitter feeds were filled with an equal combination of those celebrating Valentine’s Day and those who were not. I fall on the side of those who celebrate it. I wholeheartedly believe that you shouldn’t wait for a special occasion or holiday to tell or show the people in your life how much you love them but I also see nothing wrong with taking advantage of special days or holidays to make someone’s day extra special!

To make the day extra special for my little Valentine, I surprised him with this.

The mailbox had some of his favorite sweets and a cute little stuffed animal. The card had a knock-knock joke on the inside which was perfect for Little B because he LOVES knock-knock jokes. Want to hear it?

Knock-knock?

Who’s there?

Jamaica.

Jamaica who?

Jamaica me smile every time I see you!

Feel free to use that knock-knock joke anytime you want!

Little B also got this as a surprise.

How is this a present for him, you might ask? Well his little dresser and lower closet rack allows him to pick out his clothes all by himself. For a five-year old, there is no better gift than being more independent! Technically it was a gift for me too. I love it when things are organized and now I no longer have to stand at Little B’s closet and show him every piece of clothing so he can decide what he wants to wear for the day!

Now I want to know how your Valentine’s Day was! And what side are you on? Do you celebrate Valentine’s day or not?

Fun Kids Life Parenting

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A New Chapter Begins

by Betsy

I thought about titling this post “Another Chapter Ends” but saying something has ended seems so negative and I like to try to focus on the positive.

There is no good way to say this other than to come right out and say it. Mr. Sarcastic and I broke up a few weeks ago. I’m not going to share they whys and the hows of the break up but I will say that our relationship together was one that I am glad that I had and it was one that I needed to have. It was a relationship that I will look back fondly upon as I am grateful for all the good times that we had together and for all the things that we learned by being together. It was a relationship that will forever change what I look for in future relationships and it has helped my define what I need in a relationship in order to be completely happy. And in all honesty, it was a relationship that was difficult to turn the page on.

It was a relationship that taught me that although it may be difficult to turn the page, sometimes you have to do just that. Turn the page.

Dating Life

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January Recap & February Goals

by Betsy

Happy almost Groundhog’s Day! I don’t know about you but I am hoping for an early Spring. Now it’s time to spring into my January goals and see how I did on them! (Did you enjoy that transition as much as I did?)

1. All About Little B – This was an easy one! We had such a fun time this month doing projects and going on adventures. I also did a pretty good job of being more patient and firm with him as well.

2. Start a Happiness Jar - Done! It’s more of a happiness box though. I re-purposed an empty tissue box that I thought was too cute to throw away.

3. Cross one item off my bucket list - Done! I went to Zumba!

Now let’s Spring from my January goals and look at my goals for February!

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1. Get Organized - This is my Happiness Project goal for February. As a general rule I am an organized person but I have hidden areas of disorganization that drive me crazy. I want to get those areas taken care of. I also plan to follow the one minute rule to keep things tidy. So if a task will take one minute or less, I plan to do it right then and there instead of doing it later.

2. Complete the Sandmine Challenge! - It is a 4 mile obstacle race in a sandmine near St. Louis! I can’t wait!

3. Cross one item off my bucket list - I figured I might as well keep this goal going, I have a lot of fun things I want to tackle on that list!

How did you do on your January goals? What are you planning for February?

Happiness Project Monthly Goals

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The Everyday Warrior

Turning the everyday into a day of badassery through fitness, fashion & fun.

We Are Moving!

Wordless Wednesday #41

Wordy Wednesday #5

Wordy Wednesday #4

March Recap & April Goals

My First Mammogram

Managing Stress

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A New Chapter Begins

January Recap & February Goals

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