The start of my THM journey

I recently purchased the book Trim Healthy Momma's and I am taking the plunge into the crazed madness...lol!!!! I can not put the book down, I read 10 chapters the first night!
I have been eating clean about 80%-90% of the time for the last year and a half. I have had some wonderful victories and weight loss in the process. But, over the last few months I have hit a plateau that had me ready to throw in the towel and tempting me to grab a supper size bacon cheeseburger meal, with a shake on the side.

Then, my friend (and prayer-partner in this journey) encouraged me to get the book. That was the best advice I have ever been given. I have been playing around with meals and recipes for a few days and have already broken plateau!!!!...thank you THM.
Seriously, this has been an answer to my prayers.
I had literally done everything humanly and spiritually possible and the weight was not budging. Yes, I have been seeing Non Scale Victories but I needed that validation of my hard work by seeing those numbers go down.  And easily, with THM..it did. I'm eating carbs, fats, sweets and eating a lot more food!!!
I believe I have truly found Food Freedom and an answer to my prayer!

I want to add that I have not bought their cookbook, special ingredients or any special foods yet. I have been going on Pinterest and on thier website to get recipe ideas and im using the food I have at home.

I decided to blog about it because I wanted to be accountable.  So,  I'm going to journal my progress here. While I'm not ready to share my weight I will say that I am currently  between an 8-10 and my 8s are snug!
I'm so excited to see what the future has in store for this THM newbie!!!
Maybe you have been on the fence ready to take the plunge but are hesitant for whatever reason..may I encourage you to take the jump!!! Get the Plan Book and go for it.

The ER and Easter Sunday

Like I mentioned, Arlee got bit by a fire ant.  I saw the ant on him when he came running to me crying "buk, buk". But once I got the ant of he was just fine and never mentioned it again.

Hours later he came to me again saying "Boo boo" and showed me his middle finger. Which was extremely swollen. We did not have any medicine so my hubby had to go get some. We got the medicine in him hoping that would help.  But, By the end of the night his finger and hand were so swollen and the bite mark had turned into a huge bubble.  The medicine did not seem to be helping.

Neither of us had ever seen anything like this.  I tried to call my sis and some of my nurse friends,  but unfortunately could not get ahold of any of them. I noticed red streets running down his hand and just had a bad feeling.

My sister, finally called back and encouraged us to take him on to the ER. And I'm so glad we did. Poor feller was so miserable.  They gave him 3 medicines and put him on 2 different antibiotics. It was a long night but he was such a good trooper!!
These pictures do not do the swollen finger or blister justice.

 Thank goodness for TV, cartoons and cell phones!

            He has discovered funny faces and selfies!!
And like any 2 yr old you can not keep them down for long.

It was a long night but thankfully the medicine allowed him to sleep through the night peacefully!!
Thank goodness since we had church that morning.
Since our church was just having a 10:00 service we got a little extra sleep.

We had a wonderful service. The music and preaching was amazing.  We enjoyed it and had a lovely meal with Jessica and Tanner afterwards at Taylor's. This has become our traditional Easter Restaurant...with its chocolate cobblar!!!

And because of the crazy night the Easter Bunny forgot to come that morning!!!! But after lunch and nap time He graciously arrived with his goodies for Arlee. Puzzles and Bubbles!!

And of course our traditional annual Easter Pictures...we did lavender for our family color.  I picked the wrong color this year, because I could find ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Lee and Arlee were easy. .but not me.

 The first store I went into had a beautiful dress but it was higher than I like to spend.  But after going to every store (literally every store) and losing hope because There was nothing in this color this year!!!..next year I will probably find it everywhere.

My sweet husband knew I really loved the dress from the first store,  so he bought it for me!!!..next year the boys outfits will coordinate with my dress.
But I do adore how it all turned out. And at least one time a year we can all be matchy!

It was a wonderful day that even involved a wonderful nap!! What a perfect Easter

Easter Egg Hunt

This year I had the honor of hosting our family's Easter get together. This was the first time I have hosted a holiday on my husband's side and I was tickled pink!!! I love hosting parties and gatherings.  Call me crazy but I LOVE IT!!!

I also made Arlee a little Easter shirt with some left over fabric. I used a t-shirt he already had, so I did not spend any money on this little project. I got the idea from Pinterest, of course.

 His name and bow tie were made from on iron on patch and the bunny was put on with 2 sided sticky tape...this item allows me to be creative and not sew!!!..because I can't, don't and won't.

We did a BBQ themed lunch that was delicious.
I did this chalkboard menu...who knew drawing pigs could be so challenging!!!

And of course a family egg hunt, that may have involved a little cheating!!!....oops. But the lesson to learn here is never leave your basket of eggs laying around unattended!!!

                     Jessica and Kasey, teammates

Jackson is just not sure about all the craziness

The crazy sisters!

 Smart little Arlee knew the prize was in the egg so he was more interested in getting the candy out of the egg instead of collecting the eggs.

                Sweet Lilly caught on very quickly!!!

 Jessica, Kasey, Andrea and Anna fighting to find the very last egg!!

I adore this picture..and check out Arlee on the background!!

In the end Dexter and Sarah won!!

                  The Grandparents watching!!

                                    All the girlies

Overall it was an amazing day. The only bummer was that Arlee got bit by a fire ant which involved a large night trip to the ER.

That is another post

Jealousy

Jealousy
We all know what the word means.
We don't need a dictionary to look up the meaning.
There is no confusion or misunderstanding of the word.
It is the Green- Eyed Monster.
It is one of Satan's most powerful tools to destroy.

It is the little anthill that turns into a huge mountain.

It is most women's biggest secret and causes the deepest wombs.

It is  that nagging voice of unreason and doubt.

It is the little seed that settles in the core of our hearts and if left to itself will destroy our very souls.

It has ruined friendships.
It has destroyed marraiges.
It has split churches.
It has no respect of person and holds all as it's very own prisoner.

It lies to you.
It hates you.
It sucks the life out of you!

So how can we live a victorious life against such a vicious enemy?

One word: God

We all know that name.
We don't need a dictionary to look up His name.
There is no confusion or misunderstanding in this lovely name.
He is our Saving Grace.
He is the Captain of our Army and the only One who can deliver us from the attacks of Satan.

He can turn our biggest fears into huge mountains of faith and victories.

We can bare our deepest darkest secrets to Him.
He is the way, the truth and the life and he alone can heal our deepest wombs.

He is the voice of Reason and Truth.

He can take those little seeds of doubt and destroy them with His Calming Love  and Assurance.

He restores friendships.
He delivers marriages.
He rekindles churches and ignites them with a Flame that Satan can not blow out.
And only He can set the prisoners free.

In Him is Truth.
In Him is Love.
And in Him is abundant life filled with joy and peace.

Life is too short to allow jealousy to destroy you.
Let God sparkle and shine in your life.
Let Him destroy the firey darts of the Devil and deliver you from the chains.

Live your life to the fullest and let the jealousy go.

A Surprise Weekend Getaway

It's amazing how God always knows what we need, sometimes before we even know!!!! Such is the case with my husband.  God knew exactly what I needed in a husband.  He knew my needs,  dreams and desires. God gave me everything I had ever asked for and what I had only dreamed of but never asked.
Eph. 3:20 says that "Now unto him that is exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think....."
And that is just what God did, He did exceedingly abundantly above. I'm still in awe at the amazing man God choose just for me.

This weekend my husband whisked me away on a surprise weekend getaway. And might I add. ..a much needed one!!!!! He had been carefully planning this for months.  It started off on Valentines Day with a sweet card telling me that I was in for a  surprise the next Saturday. He also told me not to make any plans for the next weekend cause we needed a slow weekend.
Well on Wednesday he sent me a txt that told me to pack and how to pack!!! He told me to also pack for the little man that he was staying with his Nana....whoohoo!!!! And the only other piece of information he would give out was that we would leave Thursday evening after I got finished teaching piano.
Boy,  Thursday evening could not get here fast enough! !!!!

When I was finished with piano,  the boys picked me up,  we had a nice dinner and we were off to Nana's house.  We stayed there for the night and had a wonderful time laughing at Arlee....

Yes...he is playing with sticky bra pads!!!!!
Oh this kid...lol

The next morning we snuck  out while the  little Chicken Nugget was still asleep and we headed off down the road....I still had no idea where we were going. We stopped and had a nice breakfast, but boy was it strangely quiet with just the two of us!!!!!

A few hours later we arrived at our destination...
Hot Springs, Arkansas. Neither of us had ever been. And it did not disappoint.

I got to start my weekend  off with a fun shopping trip to one of my all time faves...Hobby Lobby!!!!

Then after a little shopping and a light lunch my amazing Hubs surprised me again with an envelope!!..it had tickets for a dinner/theater. That is one of my favorite things to do...oh this man gets me

So we dressed up and went to dinner, then downtown for the play......

Afterwards he took me out for dessert. He totally knows my love language!!!!

The next morning he surprised me again with another envelope. This one was for a one hour massage.....a much needed one too might I add! 

 I also got an essential oil that will help with neck pain....I'm very excited about that happy! !!

After the massage we went exploring the city. We found the most quaint little toy store downtown where we got Arlee a few wooden puzzles. I have been on the hunt for some so I was thrilled  to find them. .. one became a little happy for him when we picked him up and the others I'm saving cause they will make a great Easter Basket gift!!

We went to lunch at the best little place, the Dixie Cafe. The food and the service was amazing!!!

Then we found a fun antique store. I found a couple of kid books in great condition. That is another item I'm always looking for.  Arlee loves to "read".
I also found a beautiful pottery bowl....and for $6.
Not too shabby..lol

I was informed that we needed to head back because there was another envelope awaiting me. Woo-hoo!!!!!
This sweet gift was for movie and popcorn. And this thoughtful feller picked out a movie I had been dying to see. Going to a movie is such a fun date for us but we never get the opportunity anymore..so this was a special treat for us.

 After the movie, we did a little more shopping. I found this lovely little lady sitting all alone on clearance.  She was begging  me to take her home. ..so of course I had to.  She was the the cherry on top of the Sunday.  It was amazing how this new spring purse was on clearance.  I had been wanting a blush colored one.  But I could not and would not pay full price for one.  But this very purse in the very color I wanted was there,  on clearance,  all alone.  Was this a coincidence???? Oh. I think not.  God had this little happy there waiting for me.

After an amazing and fast weekend, we packed up and headed home so I could get my hands back on my little firecracker 🔥 

As much as I needed this weekend and this getaway, I was ready to get home and love on my little man.

 All of my goodies... not included in the picture is the pottery (which is already in my china cabinet)
And the books and puzzles. Those have been confiscated by a 2 yr old and the Easter Bunny.

This was most definitely 

an amazing weekend to remember. Maybe one of the best I've ever had in my life. I was spoiled and made to feel like a princess!!..for that,  I will be forever grateful.  Thank you God for the amazing husband you have given me.  I'm undeserving and humbled.

Keeping up with the Joneses

One of the biggest dangers  I have noticed on Social Media is falling into the trap of "Keeping up with the Joneses".
We get to take a small peek into other people's lives. And sometimes we mistake thier pictures for perfection.
They may have a beautiful family, a huge house, gorgeous clothes and a nice shiny expensive new car. They may have perfect hair and perfect teeth that sparkle in every picture. They may seem to have a perfect marraige with adorable clean kids who smile for the camera.
And before we know it we begin to compare our lives and our belongings with what they have.

 Without meaning to, we become dissatisfied with what we have been blessed with and we soon desire more. We focus on all the things we don't have instead of counting our blessings for the abundance of things we do have.
We fall into the pit of "Keeping up with the Joneses"
We think we have to have things we don't need but we want it simply because they have it.

While doing the Fashion Challenge during Valentines, I was honored to meet some of the most amazing women.  There were ladies that had the most incredible style and there were a few that had very expensive taste. There were also many ladies that shopped at thrift stores and were so talented with piecing outfits together.
One of the challenges was  not to  buy anything new but put clothes together that you already had.
I really appreciated that.
The emphasis was not on who had the cutest clothes, or the most expensive but the focus was on being creative with what you had in your closet.

It would have been so easy to compare myself to all these amazing fashionistas. But, I would have instantly drowned myself in insecurities. It would have been so easy to fall into the lie that my clothes and my style did not measure up and I needed what they had. But that would have defeated the whole purpose of the challenge.
Instead, I focused  on making new friends and gleaning  some inspiration from thier expertise.

I wanted to share this thought with yall because I know that I must not be the only human being with these struggles.
It's easy to compare ourselves  and feel we don't measure up.
But this is a lie from Satan himself. He wants us to be discontent with our lives and our families.
He wants us to buy things we don't need and can't afford.
He wants us to fall into the dangerous trap of keeping up with everyone else.
He knows financial struggles will destroy a family.
He knows if He can get us to compare our family with someone else's  picture perfect family that we will soon become unhappy.
He knows if He can get us unhappy He can come in for the attack. And then He will try to destroy.....And believe me He is out to destroy our families!!!

So my plea for all of us is,
don't fall into the social media trap that someone else's life is perfect.
 It's not!!
Everyone has thier own struggles and insecurities. Behind that perfect picture of the perfect family with the huge house and shiny new car that you are jelous of. There just may be a debt that is crushing their  marriage.
There may be a secret that the camera is hiding!

So...
Be confident in who you are.
Be content with what you have.
Enjoy your life.
Love your life and
Live your life.
(It's the only one you will get)
Sparkle and shine for the Glory of God.
And don't try to "keep up with the Joneses"

Playing Dress Up!!!

Last month I did a health challenge. #20in20.
20 days of at least a 20 minute workout and 20 days of no sugar. I did great. I lost 5 pounds and I feel like I really got the sugar back out of my system. I plan to just stay away from it this year!! I hate how quickly it affects my body and not in a positive way..boo!

This month I am hitting up a new kind of challenge. A fashion one! As I have shared before, I love all things fashion, so I think this will be fun.
Both are Valentine's inspired challenges.
When I think of Valentine's Day, I think of  dresses and skirts, lace and satin, pearls and sparkles, pink and red, and of course, all things girlie and feminine.
Since I do not get the opportunity to dress up often, I am looking forward to the challenges. I plan to play a little dress up when my little man is napping.

Today I found a little inspiration with pink, red, pearls and silver sparkles.

Okay, so other than the obvious that I need a tan, I loved dressing up. I guess the little girl in me has just never gone away. A part of me would love to dress up like this everyday again. I have so many clothes and shoes in my closet that I adore and they do not get used that often. But honestly,  I would not trade all the pretty dresses in the world for the blessings of staying home and raising my little Peanut.
So for now, I will continue on with my cute and comfy mommy style and play dress up every once in awhile!!
I would love for you to follow me on instagram during my fashion challenges.
Dots_frugal_fashion
Wish me luck!!