Influenster J'adore Voxbox Unboxing

Just a quick post with my most recent unboxing video.  Check out all the goodies Influenster packed in here!

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day!  Be back soon!

PS.  Sorry for all the background noise!  As I mentioned in the video, Lacey was doing laps around the floor in my bedroom which was right above me.  Silly puppy! ;)

Influenster Dove Voxbox Unboxing

Hey guys!  Influenster has sent me another voxbox to review! This time it's just got one product, Dove's new Advanced Care Nourished Beauty Deodorant.

I haven't used it yet so all I can tell you so far is that it smells realllllly good and feels super moisturizing.  I'm currently using Degree deodorant but I don't feel super loyal to it.  It does the job ok, but.... it's just deodorant.  I will be posting another review in a little bit after I've had a chance to try the product out.

Later, gators!

On the Mend!

Lacey's follow up appointment went well last Saturday.  Mostly good news with just a little bit of "not good news or bad news yet". The screw is backing out a tiny bit, but not quite enough for it to need to be removed.  They will check on it again in two weeks and decide whether or not it needs to come out then depending on if it has moved anymore or not.  So we just wait and see and pray for good news in two weeks.

Not nearly as bad as the last one.

The good news is that her bones are healing.  She is definitely getting bigger and stronger!  She got her sutures out finally and is off bed rest! P. T. L!!!!!!  She is even allowed to take short, five minute walks with us again.  The ice storms have made walks a little impossible lately, but I am looking forward to being able to get out with Miss Lacey for a little exercise soon.

And since it's been a while since I've bombed a post with photos, here are some of my favorites of Lacey from the past few months:

 Puppy snuggles are some of the sweetest.

Watching the neighbor doggies play in the snow.

Christmas treats!

Christmas skirt from Lauren and Joel.

LOL.  She was not as amused as we were.

Even puppies have a post-Christmas crash.

Naps by the wood stove are one of her favorites.

She kinda got spoiled after she broke her leg...  now she thinks she owns the bed. ;)


Ok, photo dump over.  Happy Tuesday, friends!  Stay safe and warm wherever you are.  XOXO

2014 Resolutions/Goals

This is the first year in a while that I've actually made resolutions.  I'm more of a vague goal-setter and this year I really wanted to set some goals that I can measure and achieve.  It's kind of a month late to be posting these, but better now than never, right?  I'm also counting it as my one month update and hoping that this amps up my motivation since we all know how that can fizzle out right about now.

1. Run 100 miles this year (in total, not all at once - hello, I'm not crazy!)

I used to run 3 miles a day when I lived in Texas.  It was mandatory and I hated it.  I had some knee and hip problems and running became painful so I stopped and haven't really run much since. 

I'm seeing a chiropractor for some back issues now and I think the adjustments are also helping with my running issues. Doad and I started running just a little bit last Fall and we are hoping to continue it this year.  Running 100 miles comes out to a little less than 2 miles a week which I think is totally doable and achievable goal for us.  Unfortunately, so far we've only run a total of 2.83 miles this year. :/ 

Thank you, Polar Vortex.  Or whatever.

Hopefully this picks up when the weather gets nicer and my dog heals and can go running with us.

2. Get back to my wedding weight.

I've been working on this since last year and only have about 5 pounds to go, but they are stubborn those 5 pounds!  I mainly want to lose the "snack pack" that's sitting on my tummy.  My strategy is the running from my first goal above and making healthier eating decisions.  

3. Read 12 books.

This goal feels super lame when I compare it to other people's goals of reading 50-100 books this year. But I want these goals to be realistic for me and one book a month is where I'm at. 

I'm reading through the Narnia series right now and am on track so far! I've already started my second book. :) Yay!

4. Read through one book together with Doad.

Again, this goal feels a little bit lame because... one book?  

We have started several books together, but just never make it to the end.  There are two on our nightstand right now that we have been reading together for over a year.  This is the year we finish one of them!  

5. Find a cleaning routine that works.

Our schedules are kinda random and that means our cleaning schedule is really random too.  Right now it pretty much goes like this: House gets really messy.  Jess gets cranky and overwhelmed. Doad helps her clean it.  Jess feels like a bad housewife for letting it get so out of control and vows not to let it happen again.  Repeat.

This year I bought a new planner and have been great about using it so far.  I'm hoping to incorporate some daily cleaning habits as well as some scheduled deep cleaning days.  For some reason, I find cleaning schedules really hard to stick to and am hoping that I can find something that works for us this year.

6. Sell something from my online shop.

I've had an Etsy store for over a year, but haven't sold anything.  :( I haven't been too proactive about it because I really just like sewing and making gifts for friends and family.  But I am slowly building up an inventory for the store and need to figure out what I'm doing with my life how to be more proactive about marketing.  I think I'm just afraid to believe in myself and my products and don't want to come across as obnoxious.  People make success on Etsy look super easy.  Anyone wanna mentor me? lol

7.  Go to a marriage conference.

Just for a tune up and a fun weekend.  This is something Doad and I have always talked about doing but haven't done yet.  We're hoping that changes this year. :)

8. Go on a date with one of my sisters each month.

I love my sisters and don't hang out with them enough.  This is one way that I can force myself to be in their lives at least once a month.  January date = check! :)

9. Learn Spanish.

This is the most intimidating goal for me.  I've talked about this goal before on the blog and it is one I really want to complete, but it is hard.  Slowly but surely we've been chipping away at our lessons.  I feel like we're making progress and am excited to see how far we can go in a year. 

So that's it.  So far, so good, I think.  I feel like these are goals that are easy enough to actually accomplish, but are hard enough to make me proud of completing them too.  

What do you think?  How are you resolutions going?

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Pupdate

The bump on Lacey's arm turned out not to be a third elbow.  (Thank goodness.)  However, it did turn out to be the screw in her arm backing out so we had to take her back that Monday for a second corrective surgery to put in a different (bigger) screw.

(Sticking out so far! My poor baby.)

The surgeon ended up not having the screw that he wanted to use, so he had to put in a different one. He was very vague about the differences and once he could tell that I was worried about it, tried to brush it all off as not a big deal.  I'm not too happy about this, especially since she still had a slight bump on her arm once we took the second bandage off.  I'm really hoping this is just normal swelling and that they give us the "all clear" at her check-up this Saturday.  I'm gonna be one angry puppy mama if they say that this screw is backing out again too.

I swear that I've been religious about keeping her on bed-rest.  She walks when she goes out to go potty, stands when she eats, and walks the two feet from her crate to our bed where she camps out most days.  Other than that, this poor girl has had a pretty boring life for the past month and I will be super depressed if it ends up being in vain.

I love her so much and just can't wait til she can play like a normal puppy again. Seriously though, how can you not love this face?

Also, she's huge now and I can't handle having to carry her everywhere for another month.  Please let this be over now!