09/10

my lips are on fire…and not in the good way!

This is the story of a break up…cue the sad music…

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Last Friday my lips started tingling and felt like they were on fire.  If I remember back correctly, Thursday they started feeling really dry and tight, but I have a history of dry lips so I didn’t think anything of it.

When I woke on Saturday, they were still tight and burning and I started thinking something was definitely wrong.  So, what do you do when you need answers? Turn to Google of course!  After self diagnosing myself (don’t we all in this digital age), I narrowed it down to an allergic reaction, a burn of some sort or a cold sore.  I didn’t use anything new or eat anything different so I dismissed allergic reaction and I hadn’t been out in the sun or had anything on my lips that should have given me a burn.  By Saturday afternoon I was starting to worry it was a cold sore.  I’ve never had one before but I read that you get a tingly, sometimes burning sensation before one starts and I could see red splotches on my lip even there were no full blown blisters yet.  I bought abreva and Herpecin at the drugstore just in case and applied them separately that night and the next day.

Now we’re on to Sunday…my lips finally stopped burning and were starting to feel somewhat normal again.  I read that a cold sore erupts within 48hrs of the tingling/burning sensation so I was starting to think that maybe it wasn’t that.  I was happy to be on the mend, but still puzzled as to what happened to my lips!  I was only using aquaphor at this point because I wanted them to be free of any irritants while they were healing.

Fast Forward to Monday…I had a coffee date with a local blogger (who is instantly an IRL friend now and is just as sweet in person as online).  It was our first time meeting and my lips were a mess!  What a first impression, eh?  lol.  They were feeling pretty good that morning, but by the time I got to the cafe my lips had soaked up most of the aquaphor and were starting to peel.  I hadn’t really been out for extended periods of time since my lips started doing this freaky thing and I usually have lip balm in my purse, but of course, I had nothing in there when I really needed it.  If you knew me, you’d know that not having lip balm is so unlike me.  I have lip balm stashed everywhere…usually!

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As soon as I got in my car I grabbed my favorite EOS mint lip balm out of the console and slathered it on.  I was slightly hesitant because I knew the mint flavor was a little tingly, but my lips just needed something, anything to get hydrated until I could get home and put aquaphor on them.  Unfortunately, about 2 min after I put the EOS on, my mind started racing and wondering if maybe my beloved lip balm could be the reason my lips were jacked up.  I quickly found a spot to pull the car over so I could google it (seriously, what would we do without smart phones?!) and low and behold, I found a couple hits (here and here) on the first page!

Noooooooooo!  And I put it on my lips just when they were starting to get better!  I immediately fumbled for a napkin in my glove box and frantically started wiping all of it off my lips!

Of course, they were burning now again and they still needed hydrating.  Off I went to track down a drugstore so I could buy some aquaphor, ASAP!

Here what my lips looked like 2 hours after I mistakenly applied the lip balm yesterday…you can see the red dots/bumps/irritation.

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They were not inflamed like this that morning, it only got bad again after applying the EOS mint balm (even though I wiped it off 5 min after applying it!).  Now, I can’t be 100% that EOS lip balms were the culprit.  I’m only accounting what actually happened in my experience, but I’m sure enough never to use one again!  Which makes me super sad to say.  I took photos recently of my little egg balms and was going to write a post about how much I loved them.  I’ve been using them for a couple of months now and was just telling Eric that it was becoming an obsession because I felt the urge to buy every new one they came out with.  I mean, I just purchased this orange medicated version less than a week ago…

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but it’s now in the trash with the rest of them.  🙁

So, farewell my cute little 95% natural ingredient, egg shaped lovelies.  It was good while it lasted and you will be missed (although it would make moving on a lot easier if I didn’t have to see your face every time I checked out in the Target line!), but I’m apparently better off without you
and there are plenty of fish in the sea!

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08/21

I cook…sometimes

My husband goes through health food phases trying to find out what his body does best with. For awhile he just ate healthy and exercised. Before that, he did the Atkins diet. A few years ago he focused on low sodium to get his blood pressure down…it worked great! He still watches his sodium, but not to the extent that he did when he was focusing on it hard core. After that, he did vegan which transformed into flexitarian without dairy. Now, he’s trying no gluten. Gluten can be linked to a myriad of health issues. I’ve told him for a year or so that he should try to cut out gluten. Well, he finally did it and like every new dietary phase he goes through, he starts to hate it after a few days because he feels super constricted and like he has a very small menu to eat from each day. I’ve been trying to find gluten-free products that he could munch on and we always look up gluten free options at restaurants.

Well, he’s in the hate it phase right now and he’s tired of eating out so last night he says to me,

“Do you think you could cook dinner tomorrow night?”

“Sure”, I said.

I was thinking today and thought, “What the heck? Hello crazy man, I made dinner last night!”

I mean, I got our food from the grocery store and we ate at home. End of story. I cooked!

Nevermind the fact that it was crab legs from the meat department and I had them season and steam them for me.

Details schme-tails, people! I still had to do dishes afterwards and that’s the WORST part of cooking dinner, so in my mind…I cooked!

Just sayin’

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08/19

First day of school = Wahoooooo!

It’s the first day of school!  Woot woot!!  Back to Starbucks lattes & browsing Target alone, back to doing whatever the heck I want to during the day, back to working out, back to eating lunch while catching up on an adult tv show, back to reading a book midday with no interruptions…the list goes on, but you get the idea.

Don’t get me wrong.  Seeing the kids grow up is bittersweet.  I already long for their toddler days where we just hung out together and Eric & I were the most important things in the world to them.  I loved teaching them the alphabet, making farm animal noises and having little toddler conversations.  I know I’m biased and all, but they were pretty sweet back then.  So filled with wonder and excitement.

But, time flies…and they grow older…

Gone are the days that I can do the tiniest thing and have C erupt in a fit of giggles…Now if I do something silly, she just gives me a look and tells me I’m not funny or looks at me with a “you’re a dork” look

Gone are the days that I rock H to sleep as he snuggles into my arms…he still snuggles for a minute now, but it’s not the same

They can’t stay little forever though, nor would I want them to.  I like that they are getting older.  They are growing and changing into little adults that I am proud to call my own.

My big 7th grader will be 13 in a few weeks and while most days she is still that sweet girl I remember, there are other days when her inner teen is unleashed.  She is a bright, talented, empathetic, loving little lady and I’m excited to see the woman she will become.  I know she’s gonna be amazing!

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H is a safety patrol in 5th grade this year.  Last year was the first year that I didn’t take BOTH of the kids to school and walk them in.  This year is the first year that I didn’t walk either of them in.  I watched C drive away with daddy and I dropped H off in the car line because he had to report for safety patrol duty.  It felt wrong.  Like a bad dream where you’re doing something so strange and not at all what you’re supposed to be doing.  School doesn’t start until 9am, but when I dropped H off at 8:25, there was a huge crowd of parents & students waiting to get into the building.  It felt very weird to just drop him off, but I knew that getting out and going up to the door was pointless.  It was sad to just tell him goodbye on his way out of the car though. 🙁

He has always been my baby boy.  He was a bit of a high maintenance little dude when he was younger and even though he drove me insane sometimes, I think I like that he “need”ed me so much.  I have to say though, he’s growing into quite the little man…smart, handsome, funny, talented, driven and chivalrous…I couldn’t ask for more!

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08/18

Sunday Social :: linking up

SocialSundayButton3I love to link up with other bloggers.  It’s a way to find new blogs and it’s fun to feel like you’re part of something bigger.  Sometimes I have time to join the link up and other times I see it too late.  Sunday Social is one that looked fun, but I’m rarely on the blogs on Sundays so I usually miss it. But, not today!

Sunday Social is a question and answer post to get to know other bloggers.  🙂

Here are this weeks questions…

1. What is something you’ve always wanted to do but are afraid of?  
I’d love to live abroad for a little while.  I think it would be awesome to immerse myself in another culture for a year or two.  After going to France this year, I can’t wait to travel again!

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2. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Hopefully at or working towards a career that I am passionate about.  My kids are older and I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.

3. What are you looking forward to before the end of 2013?
I got a new car last year and went to France this past March.  There isn’t anything in particular that I’m looking forward to before the end of the year.  The holidays maybe.  They are always crazy, but fun.

4. What are your hopes for your blog?
That people enjoy what they read.  That maybe I help or inspire someone.

 5. Do you always see yourself living in your current town/city?
No.  We are natives to our current city, but we stay here because we wanted to be close to family while the kids were young.  I would love to live somewhere different (see question 1!).

6. What is your morning routine?
Wake up, make a cup of coffee, sit and surf on the computer while drinking my coffee.  That is every morning unless I have to get up super early for an appointment or something.  On school mornings I have to make lunches and get the kids off to school after my morning coffee & internet quiet time.

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08/18

bye bye summer

Tomorrow is our official first day of school. At the start of summer I was ecstatic…no more schedules, trips to the pool mid-week, sleeping in, no more driving across town 4 times a day! Mid summer, I was still pretty pumped…we were having fun and relaxing. Two weeks ago, I couldn’t wait for school to start back…I was tired of being the entertainment and I’m ready to have back my quiet time during the day. Today, the weight of it hit me…back to early mornings, school supplies, making sure I have groceries for lunches, transporting two kids to/from school 5 days a week, HOMEWORK!

*sigh* Guess I can’t have my cake and eat it too. Gotta take the good with the bad.  Tomorrow we’ll be back to school and routine, but today I’m reliving the summer adventures we had.

“S” is for Summer (and strawberries!)

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Sun, sand and surf in Destin, FL…

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Farewell summertime, you were good while you lasted and I’m certainly ready for you to be over, but come back soon!

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I’m using today to prepare for the week (yes, in case you weren’t aware, I’m a procrastinator).  Anywho, I was wasting time online and started reminiscing about last year while looking at photos on my computer…easily distracted much? Why yes, yes I am.  Thank goodness I do get distracted though because while looking at last years first day photos, I realized that I still needed to print a “back to school” sign for first day pics!

I found two cute designs to pick from this year.  I think I’ll probably use the chalkboard ones, but I thought the notebook paper ones were super cute too.

FIRST-DAY-OF-5TH-GRADEGo here to download signs for all grades

7thgraderGo here to download all grades!

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05/28

Getting my groove back…

I’ve been in a bit of a funk…

slacking in exercise

slacking in eating healthy

slacking in day to day duties

Gotta.get.my.groove.back!

So, it’s 10am as I’m writing this.  I have a sick kiddo home, but hubs can stay with her so it’s pretty much going to be a normal day for me.  I was feeling good around 9:30 b/c I’d taken a kid to school, sent a load of clothes through the washer, showered and was half dressed for the gym.  Then, I sat down to write this blog post and got lost in the interwebs for a half hour…story of my life.

I feel kinda all over the place lately.  I don’t know if it’s turning 35 or the kids getting older or what, but it’s time to figure out what makes Katie tick.  I’ve spent a long time being a mom and a wife and while I am still both of those things…it’s no longer enough.  I’m longing for more.

Soooo…I’m working with a life coach/counselor to figure out what I want out of life.  And starting this week, I’m going to work harder at exercising and eating better. I feel better when I’m working out a few times a week and not eating so much junk so I’m going to the gym today and going to try to keep my food/exercise log up at myfitnesspal.com.  The food log will come and go b/c I try not to worry as much about calories as I do about eating the right foods.  Not to mention that counting calories just plain sucks.  😛

In other news…#whatiwore this past Memorial Day weekend…

hanging with the hubs
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hanging with all my siblings at the mostly non-existent Silver Springs
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Sorry for the not so great photos.  I’m trying to get better at it, but I loathe asking people to take my picture and I rarely have time to try to take a self timer photo of myself.

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05/15

today…

Day 15, Wednesday: A Day in the life

Wake-up around 6:45
Make a cup of coffee and catch up on blog reading while trying to wake up
7:20am – Play cabbie driving the middle schooler to school & rewarding myself with a latte while I’m doing it

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9:30am – Take dog to the groomers

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10am – 12pm More computer time with laundry & dishes mixed in
Thoughts of needing to get dressed and go exercise
Phone calls that lead to someone coming to our house at noon (guess the gym is out now!)
1pm – lunch

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2pm – back in the car to pick up the dog from the groomers (^^aww, she’s so purty)
3:30pm – Afternoon school pick up.  More driving…yay!  :o/
5:30pm – Head to yoga for some much needed stretching and relaxation
8pm – pick up dinner on my way home from yoga

relax

9pm – shower
10pm – on couch, snuggled with the hubs, watching some tv and surfing on the iPad

The End  🙂



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05/10

Printed photos make me happy…

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I don’t know about you, but I am terrible at printing my own photos.  I take a gazillion photographs, but after the instant gratification of seeing them on the computer when I download them, I drag my feet on the printing process.  Which is why after returning home from our France trip, I made a significant effort to cull through all our photos and edit them slightly.  I printed 4×6’s immediately just to have, but I knew I wanted to eventually print them in a photo book.  Question was, who to use….

I knew I wanted some control over the layout, but not so much that I was spending hours making page layouts from scratch and I knew that I wanted a good quality book.  I had a calendar printed as a Christmas gift from Pinhole Press and it was beautiful, so I started there.  Unfortunately, I found out the hard way (aka after I made 40 pages) that the book had a max page limit, yet I was only halfway through our trip photos.  Mmmkay, Pinhole Press out!  Although, I do still very much want to try their books!  I moved on to My Publisher, but it seemed complicated and I got annoyed quickly so, I moved on to another company.  Finally, I settled on Blurb.  Hallelujah…winner, winner, chicken dinner!!

After I got the software from the website downloaded, it took me a few hours to put the book together.  I was able to add journaling and had a variety of page layouts to choose from.  To say I’m thrilled with the final result would be an understatement!  It’s beautifully printed and it makes me incredibly happy to have photos from our trip on display.

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Book details:
Standard Landscape 10×8 inches
Hard cover, Image wrap
76 pages
Standard Mid-Grey End Sheet
ProLine Pearl Photo Paper (upgrade)
$76.49 (I googled for a coupon code and found one for 10% off!)
Final price: $74.44 (shipped)

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05/06

April :: Project Life 365

Shew…made it another month without missing a day!

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05/03

things that make me squirm…

Day 3 in the bloggity blog challenge…What makes me uncomfortable

Not the usual stuff like talking about myself (I’m pretty much an open book and will tell you more than you want to know) or having boudoir photos taken, standing in my skivies for my dermatologist or even going to the gynecologist.  Geez, it kinda sounds like I’m full of myself, but that’s really far from the truth.  Those particular things just don’t bother me, but there are plenty of others that definitely make me squirm…

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  • Bodily functions
  • Awkward silence
  • Confrontation :: I will do just about anything to avoid confrontation, even though that sometimes means I get walked all over.  I have this irrational need to be liked by everyone, regardless of whether I like them or not.  Not to mention that just because you speak up for yourself doesn’t mean they won’t like you.
  • Meeting new people :: this one is a biggie for me.  I am so bad with meeting new people.  I want to meet new people and I like to be around them, but if I’m in a group setting, my mind will go blank and I can’t make conversation to save my life.  If I’m one on one, most of the time I end up with verbal diarrhea and say whatever crosses my mind.  People usually have a misconception of who I really am.  In school I would gradually start talking to people and after they got to know me they’d say, “I used to think you were so stuck up”.  In reality, I was just shy and introverted. Once I get to know you though, I am fairly normal (I think, lol).
  • Being put on the spot :: undoubtably I ALWAYS freeze up.  My mind goes blank and then everyone thinks I’m lame.
  • Vain things like having a huge zit or when my pits sweat and my shirt is visibly wet under my arm.  I seriously have a pit sweating problem.  I’ve tried all kinds of deodorants (antiperspirant & deodorant), but nothing works.  If I didn’t hate needles so much I’d botox those buggers!


Wanna join in the challenge? Click that pretty little image ^ there.

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