Motivation, or The Lack Thereof

Bleeeergcccch....Hitting a wall as far as motivation in my work out goes.  I was doing really well with keeping up with my workouts and making healthier eating choices. Somehow, after my party things went awry.  I need to get with the program though so I don't fall back into the Abyss(Depression)   I know in essence that I have to just keep myself going and that just getting up and out the door is half the battle, but I feel like the other half of the battle is getting out the door with a willful and spirited toddler in tow.  So I ask you, how do you stay motivated to keep on keeping on with making healthier food choices and going to the gym? If you have a child/children, how do you manage getting everything done and still make the time for yourself to workout? Do any of you plan meals for the week? Do you just shop and then work around what you have on hand?  This inquiring mind would like to know...

3viee

Favorite Things Cont... Featuring: Hannahs Jewels

Featuring today is Hannah's Jewels. Hannah is the creative force behind the jewelry and believes that something as simple as wearing jewelry can completely change your day. She sells affordable, beautiful, handcrafted pieces all made by her in her Etsy shop. Stop in for a minute and check her out.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HannahsJewels

Favorite Things Cont... Featuring: Crafty Night Owls

Not a Michigan business, but a new bloggy friend is Crafty Night Owls. Run by two of the sweetest gals you could hope to know, sisters Carrie and Shauna. They have a blog and an Etsy shop where they feature some of the cutest quilting patterns! They also sell kits and other homemade goodies. Please take a look.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftyNightOwls
http://craftynightowls.blogspot.com/

Edited 2014:
Crafty Night Owls had to change their shop name, you can find them here now at https://www.etsy.com/shop/City2CountryShop

Favorite Things Cont. Featuring: Less Ordinary Designs

Today I would like to feature Less Ordinary Designs. Run by the multi talented Sara Luke. She creates unique custom photo birth announcements, holiday cards, birthday party invitations and printables, save the dates, shower invites and has so much more in her Etsy shop
http://www.etsy.com/shop/saralukecreative
  Also check her out on her website here http://www.a-life-less-ordinary.com/

Favorite Things Cont.. Featuring: Denny Dicks of DSquared

Denny Dicks is an up and coming Michigan photographer from Ann Arbor. He takes some really astounding photographs of Michigan scenery and has a really unique perspective that comes out in his photography. He was a winner in the Lake Superior Magazines yearly photo contest and his work will be featured on an upcoming NBC comedy. Be sure to check out his Etsy shop and let him know we sent you.
http://www.etsy.com/s

hop/DSquaredPhotography

Family and missing mom...

So some of you may know that I lost my mom last year to lupus.  It has been really hard on all of us.  I am finding that I haven't really grieved over her loss this whole year, and now it is really hitting me hard.  The loss feels brand new still, and lately I haven't been able to keep the tears from flowing.  Though the week mom died, I read an amazing blog post from Lil Blue Boo about when she lost her dad.  I have read that same blog post nearly every day.  Here's the thing.  I have a huge family. No, really.  I mean it. HUGE. It happens in split families like adopted families.  I was blessed enough to be able to locate my birth mom around my eighteenth birthday and slowly get to know her and my dad again after thirteen years.  And for twelve years I did.  We got especially close the past six years or so.  Especially once B and I married and had Mu.  I feel incredibly blessed for her to have been able to see me get married and have my son.  She had an awesome relationship with B.  Her love for her grandson knew no bounds. He was the apple of her eye and I truly believe she fought to stay with us the last year to be able to spend more time getting to know Mu and loving on him.
      I miss her though, we would spend hours on the phone just talking and laughing over Mu's newest antics. Or we might just chat about something I was concerned over.  She might just encourage me about some insecurity I was going through as a new mom.  When I was going through PPD, mom talked me down from the ledge most days.  I will always be grateful for these past few years that I really was able to come to know her as a person.
    My adopted mom is a great person, and I am so glad that I am able to work on our relationship still. She absolutely adores Mu and she really likes B.  Both really important to me.  She was actually there when Mu was born.  It was an absolute amazing experience for all of us.  Momma Paige is becoming someone I am growing to respect more and more. I see now since becoming a mom myself how much she gave of herself to have us become a family.
     Most of my family are really great people, and I wish I could spend more time with them all getting to know more about them.  I am really shy though.  I seem really extroverted, but I am not!  I miss hanging out with my cousins and other extended family members. I am hoping to try to work on relationships this year, and learn when it's time to let go if necessary. Praying that it will be a fruitful year and many new experiences gained.

3viee

Favorite Things Cont... Featuring: Meli and Me

Meli and Me is our featured Michigan business for today. Lindsey is the own and operator of this adorable Etsy shop where she makes really beautiful handcrafted silver, gold and gemstone jewelry that you can wear everyday. Please take a minute to look around her shop!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MeliAndMe

Favorite Things Cont. Featuring: ChicalooKate

Today's featured Michigan business is ChicaLooKate! Kate creates quote print artwork. She has all sorts of neat items such as quote prints you can frame and admire, along with notebooks, mirrors, magnets and so much more! Definitely worth a peek. Check her out at http://www.etsy.com/shop/chicalookate

Hand Mirror

Awesome Recycled Notebook

Favorite Things Cont... Featuring: For The Love of Maps

     Chris and Nina are the design team behind For The Love of Maps. They have some great prints in their shop and you can tell they really love what they do. They are a fantastic couple to work with and I am excited to feature them today. Take a few minutes to check out some of the items in their shop or check out their blog.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/for
theloveofmaps

http://www.fortheloveofmaps.com/p/about.html

Favorite Things Cont... Featuring: Marchello Art

Marchello Art is who is being featured today. John is the owner and artist of this Esty shop where he makes spoon rings, fork bracelets, and fork art. It truly is one of a kind unique jewelry and art. He has a lot of ready to ship items and also takes custom orders. One of my favorite MI businesses. Check out his Etsy store here
http://www.etsy.com/shop/

MarchelloArt

Favorite Things Cont... Featuring: Kemaily

Today I am featuring Kemaily. A shop run by Meg and her family. They have the most adorable items for baby and toddler but really anyone who loves soft blankets would love them too. You can find her either on Facebook or her two Etsy shops. Check her out. http://www.et

sy.com/shop/Kemaily or http://www.etsy.com/shop/KemailyBoutique

Favorite Things... Organic Makeup

     So I have been sort of stalking this indie makeup business for a while and I finally took the plunge and went and visited the shop.  Oh my goodness you all, it was amazing!!!  The owner/creator/evil makeup genius, Sandi is sweet as pie and super helpful.  Plus she has the cutest little mascots you could ever hope to see.  Sparky and Ruby, chihuahuas.  Here is the most amazing part.  The make up is almost 100% organic and natural.  That means free from harsh chemicals, parabens, nastiness!  I am hooked.  If you ever get the chance to check her out, do it! Check them out here!  http://shop.brazencosmetics.com/

my Brazen Cosmetics haul

Favorite Things Cont... Featuring: Eskimo Jacks

     Up today is Eskimo Jacks Artisan Cookies and Ice Cream. Their tagline is: Warning! May cause uncontrollable happiness. Well, only if you like cookies and ice cream! Which lets face it, most people do. They have two locations, one in Southfield and another right inside the Oakland Mall. You can find them here on Facebook or at their website www.eskimojacks.com. If you do check them out please let them know Candi sent you.

Edited 2014:
Eskimo Jacks closed their location at the Oakland Mall. They are excitingly now in two new locations.   One in Birmingham, MI and the other is in Florida.  My orignal statement still stands, they are still amazing and you should check them out immediately if you haven't already.

Favorite Things Cont... Featuring: Area Fare Kids

     Today our featured business is: Area Fare Kids! Jen is the creative brain behind the shop and does amazing print work for the nursery and home. ABC prints and cute sayings. She even customizes if you have a different color scheme in mind. If you have a chance get on over to her Etsy store and check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/AreaFareKids

Easy Like Sunday Morning, Errr Afternoon...

     Today was a much needed lazy Sunday for our family. Basically we laid around ate leftovers from the party(yummy). Watched two movies I had never seen before but I am sure are now two of my favorites. "Come September" and "Have You Seen My Gal" both on COSI, then we watched Monk on ION. We all needed a lazy do nothing day.  Since we were all up into the wee hours of the morning(Big Daddy crashed after 1am and Bearcat and I stayed up until closer to 3am).
    We had a really tiring, mentally and emotionally exhausting week. Good bits: we got to visit with and see family that we only usually get to see on holidays a few times a year.  Bad bits: it was a really sad occasion.
     
     Our party was such a blast!  I had my friend Ms. Efficient who came early to help out and she was amazing.  Totally took charge and got it done and helped make it look beautiful. Paulette, you are awesome-sauce.   Jessica, you know I love you and it was so much fun having our belated birthday/girls night together! To Rach who stayed after to help me clean up and keep me company, thank you. To all the wonderful ladies who came out to celebrate with us Thank you.  We had so much yummy food, lots of laughs and of course favorite things!
      Also a big Thank You to all the wonderful businesses who sent swag and lent support and friendship in helping to make this party over the top fabulous, thank you from the bottom of our hearts! I will be featuring each business over the next few weeks so that you all can see why they are some of our favorites(and because I don't want you guys to miss any details)

     I also have to say thank you to my amazing, always supportive even when I drive him nuts husband.  I basically left the house forlorn and in shambles(yes, yes I did) but I came home after the party and my house was immaculate. Thanks Big Daddy.  
     The moral of this story. Throw a Favorite Things party. You will not regret it and it will be epic. True story. 

Blessings
3viee

Melody Farms my very first friend

     Ice cream and dairy products?  Nope, an actual person.  One of my very first friends that I can remember.  Her name is Melody.  I just wanted to write this down somewhere so that I have it to remind me of how goofy I was as a kid.
    *Let me preface this by giving you some background on myself. I was in foster care. I had been placed in about half a dozen homes by this point. My normally gregarious personality was replaced by an insecure and meek kid who could barely eek out a hello to the teacher. I knew no one and was in a completely different socioeconomic area with a completely different demographic*   I remember it pretty well.  I had just started a new school. I came into the school year about a month or two after school had already started.  Yeah, nothing like being the new kid after school has already been in session a while.  I was walking home from school by myself.  I was kind of a daydreamer and was in my own little world when I noticed a girl a little older than me kind of walking quickly behind me.  I got nervous and panicked, so I walked faster.  She walked faster behind me.  I got a little more nervous and started walking like the mom walkers at the mall.  I looked out of the corner of my eye.  Oh no, she walked at full brisk pace.  I started jogging.  She started jogging. I kept thinking, "What is up with this person!"(I was only six at this point, yes six, I skipped ahead two grades) Finally I looked behind me and realized she was catching up.  At this point I broke into a full run. I heard her yelling out, "Hey, wait a minute!"  Finally, I ran out of steam and she caught up to me.  She introduced herself and we were friends from that day.  Melody, if you ever read this. I want you to know you were my first and my best friend.  You took my eccentricities in stride and never poked fun at or laughed at me for being different.  I wish I had kept in touch with you after we moved apart, but I am still thinking about you to this day and wishing you every success!  Thank you for being my first real friend.
   I think about her often(and also laugh to myself about how silly that scene must have been) I had another really good friend who I think about a lot as well.  A boy name Mel.  He was awesome.  He reminded me of Encyclopedia Brown.  That kid was sharp! He was a really kind little boy and we were in class together.  I don't know what happened to him or to Melody.  But they touched my life forever.  I think I will probably remember them unto my death.  They just made me feel like I mattered and made it more bearable to go to school everyday.  To a six year old transplant it meant everything in the world to be accepted by and befriended by two kids who could have pushed me to the outside for fear of what people may think of them.  Mel, thank you for being my friend and just always pushing me to be more curious. I don't think you realized how very much I needed a friend and that your character and even your integrity would remain a testimony for me forever.
      I know we hear a lot about bullies and I am not saying we shouldn't do more to keep that from happening, but I think too it is important to focus on the good relationships we do have and encourage young people to find them and build them up with others.  I know that having a few good friends in school made those days when I was being picked on and made fun of truly liveable.  My question to you out there is this: Did you have any school friends who you still think about even though the friendship has faded? I'd love to hear about it so shoot me a comment.

Blessings,
3viee

A few of my favorite things...

Since I will be having my "Favorite Things" party in just about two weeks, I thought I would share with you a few of those things here.  Lately, one of my most favorite things is checking out a couple of books on tape and listening to them as I hit the gym, do chores, have a little quiet time.  Right now I am listening to, The Help and Anna Karenina.  I am enjoying both so much.  I have in the wings and ready to go, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Tom Sawyer for Bearcat.  For myself and Big Daddy, Cornelia Funkes', Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdeath after Bearcat has gone to bed and we are quietly sitting working on our separate projects, but still in the same room.
      I just recently learned to knit and while I secretly think crochet will always be a love of mine(mostly because of the instant gratification of it) I am slowly learning to enjoy the process of knitting. The drape of the fabric as it is being knit up is a thing of beauty. Also relearning the tunisian crochet my TT taught me. It is a really enriching process and if you are like me(need to keep your hands busy most of the time) you may really enjoy any of these fiber art crafts. Some of my very favorite yarns are from CakeWalk Yarns(just learned that Cake Walk Yarns is no longer in selling their gorgeous yarn!), Madeline Tosh and Wollmeise.
     I never really thought I would say this, but one of my favorite things is actually working out.  I get this great feeling afterwards and feel really mentally clear. Right now I usually do two or three days of water aerobics in the morning. My treat is nice, long, quiet shower afterwards.  Haha, can you tell I'm a mom?  It's a luxury, I tell ya!
     Favorite foods: Well, at this time it might seem really strange to say after saying I enjoy working out. I love homemade chocolate sauce. Dark. Chocolate. Sauce.  Need I say more? Oh, and it takes about five minutes to make. Five minutes! Seriously, I do not know why I never made this stuff before it is so good. Other favorite foods lately, Big Daddy's saag and his potato dish that he makes. Super spicy, but sooo good. I also love my grilled tomato and cheese at Panera Bread. Yum, I splurge about once a week there.
     Well, that is about it for now, looking forward to sharing more with you all later.

Be Blessed,
3viee

Clean Slate and My Favorite Things

Announcements, announcements, announcements!

First, I have been sort of thinking about restarting this blog. So, I deleted all my old posts.  A whole year and a half's worth of them. I just really needed a fresh start. I hope you will join me as I learn more about this awesome state I live in. I am really looking forward to just letting this be a place where I can journal about the goings on of a mid-western girl and her family.
     Secondly, my beautiful, quirky cousin and I have been planning a combined 31st birthday party! A, My Favorite Things Party.  I wanted to throw one for my 30th and it just didn't happen. Since our birthdays are only two months apart we decided that this year we would celebrate together. Well, again this year it almost didn't happen. A few days before my planned get-together I had an awful sinus infection that had me out for a while, until almost Christmas.  Then after that we had the usual holiday hustle and bustle. Then it just seemed one thing after another was going to keep us from throwing this party. That nasty cold/flu thing that was going around passed between everybody in this house at least twice before we got rid of it.  Then she moved.  We were not to be deterred though. Friends, good times and cupcakes have persevered.  We are finally on April 6, having our Favorite Things party! I looked around at a lot of blogs and got so many great ideas.  I may give you a sneak peak of some of the great things going on later on this weekend(if I can ever figure out how to load photos onto this blog, hahaha) I am so excited about this party I squee just about every. single. day. No kidding. Well I have to keep some of it secret for now, can't have the guests knowing all the details now can I?  Be well.

3viee