roughin it

We went camping this memorial weekend. We stayed Friday and Saturday night. We saw a lot in 2 days so we have plenty of picutres.

We set up that extra tarp cover because it was raining quite a bit before we got there and we werent sure how much rain we would get.

Fiona hanging out by the fire.

Gales Creek

Fiona was showing me how to play the leaf :)

She had to make sure I saw this slug

Then we took a trip to Tillamook. The funny thing about this picture is the lady who was unaware and walked right through. Her kids attend taekwondo and we don't exactly know each other but we've crossed paths many times at the taekwondo school. We ate some yummy ice cream while we were there and sampled the cheese.

This was cool, its a tree called the Octopus Tree. It has no central trunk, each limb comes directly from the roots.

Not sure what this lil guy is, maybe a mole? But he was close to being stepped on as we were walking back from the tree.

Then it was off to see this lighthouse. It was in Cape Mears. We got a tour of the inside and it was pretty interesting. The guy who was volunteering there was pretty passionate about it. He has been volunteering there for 17 years. The volunteers keep up the place only by money raised from donations and the little gift shop.

If you look at the reflection of the ocean, it's upside down!

Fiona got a ride back to the car on Marcus' shoulders.

Finding some shells on the beach.

Fiona left me a note on the rock making sure I knew that the fire was hot haha.
So thanks to all of those who have served for our freedom. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the long weekend.

Ahhhhh

The sunshine is back! Although I hear it won't last long :( Fiona and I are at the park enjoying while we can.

Last week I was grumbling about not having enough work. I shouldn't have spoke so soon because I've worked every day since then. Yesterday I even had 4 massages!! I forgot what that felt like. I'm glad to be working and I'm taking some continuing education this week in order to renew my license in June. One of the courses is on marketing so I'm excited to see if that helps.

As far as my diet is going, I'm down 6 lbs in a week. Even with going off the plan for 2 days over the weekend. I'm trying to stay strict and not eat anything I'm not supposed to. After tomorrow I will be in a mild fat burning state that will be working 24 hrs a day!

I'm going to sign off with some pictures of this beautiful weather and I hope the people affected by the storms in other parts of the country are OK.

On my own

Working for yourself sounds so awesome doesn't it? Truth is, it's really hard. Today was the first time I had someone on my table in a while. I'm still waiting for groupon to process my application. I have a handful of clients and I'm very greatful for them but I need more! My marketing efforts aren't working and it's frustrating because I don't have the money to do any more. I'm thinking of getting another job :(

Anyway, I don't want to be a Debbie downer. I think I'm a bit moodier than usual because I'm still getting used to these eating habits. Plus the sun disappeared on us. I hope it comes back soon.

Random change of subject. Check out these new kicks I got a while back for 8 bucks.

I also got a new breast cushion for my practice. For those who don't know, it helps women not squish 'the girls' when laying face down. It makes it a lot more comfortable. (So I hear because I don't have enough to get squished)

Rad Rainbow

I mentioned that I was going to start a new program to help me lose weight and get back to better eating habits. Today is day 3 and I'm feeling a bit hungry but that should pass by tomorrow. I'm eating small meals every 3 hours and drinking lots of water. I need to get a new battery for my scale so I'm not exactly sure what my starting weight was. Although weight is a good way to keep track of your progress, measurements are important too. Sometimes people get discouraged by that number staring back at them but that doesn't mean they haven't lost inches. How you feel and how your clothes fit is what really matters.

I promised a picture of my awesome leggings from last weekend. I tried wearing them with a few different outfits but there was only one that I really liked.

Maybe I need another thrifting trip to find something else to pair them with.

Sometimes you just have to be silly :)

My little kittens are getting so big too. They're running all over the house and popping out from all kinds of hiding places. They're so cute, it's hard to believe they will be 8 weeks old soon and we won't have them around the house anymore. I walked into Fiona's (messy) room and found this little girl looking at me.

This guy was actually asleep

And this is the lil guy I 'think' we're gonna keep. Fiona wants to call him Cody but she also mentioned Smidgy which I think is the cutest. She says because he has a little smidge on his face.

La la la la

Where do I start? So much going it feels like a whole month went by just over the weekend. First was all the craziness of getting ready for the open house.

My hair was a bit crazy but I didn't care, it was time to get busy.

I pulled everything together and didn't feel to rushed or anything. When it was time to set up and the vendors were arriving is when everything changed. This open house was meant to bring people in to see my space, maybe buy some gift certificates, shop around and if they were interested, get a mini facial using a new product I am selling. Withougt going into so much detail, it turned out being mostly about the facials and I felt like I was pushing this product on my guests which isn't what I wanted to do. Overall it turned out ok but I hope next time it will go a little smoother. Here are some pics.

Here is the PartyLite and some of the Gigi Hill products

More of the Gigi Hill purses and accessories

I should have gotten a better picture of the Paparazzi jewelry but this is Shuntena (in the back) with all her cute stuff and Tina who had all the candles and purses.

Here are all the wonderful participants of the presentation of the skin care products. Even though I was stressed we did have fun and had some laughs.

The only pic with me in it :)

After all the excitement of Friday night, it was nice to chill out with this yummy mocha Saturday morning.

Then I was excited to visit Crafty Wonderland where Krista was helping Christi @ Kiss Me Kitty sell her awesome leggings that she makes herself. There was so much cool stuff there it's a good thing I forgot my wallet in the car. I didn't get a picture of Christi or her leggings tho:( I'll save it for next time but Krista bought a pair for me and I love them. Not sure what to wear them with yet.


After all that there was still Mother's Day yesterday which was pretty uneventful but Fiona and I did go to the movies. It was nice.

Metamorphosis meta meta morphosis

It's a time for change. Fiona lost a tooth today which was sort of a big deal. All of her teeth are a big deal. She gets nervous and cries a little bit when she knows it's about to come out. And the one right next to it will probably be out in a day or two.

After babysitting we went over to the spa for a bit. She's been begging me for bangs the last couple of weeks so I finally said OK. She couldn't help but smile during the haircut. She's pretty happy which is all that matters cause personally I didn't want her to cut it.

Now I need to focus on my big grand opening tomorrow night! I'm excited because I've had more rsvp's than I expected. I have a few vendors coming in so my friends can display their businesses as well. It should be fun.

I finally contacted groupon too. I don't know what I was waiting for. I guess I  was nervous that I wouldn't be accepted or something. Overall though business has been much better since I left the corporate job. I still need an A-frame sign for outside and a few other things but I'll get there. If you asked me 1 year ago if I thought I'd be working for myself I'd probably laugh. So for now I'm doing OK! Bring on the change.

Poppin' tags

It's only Wednesday and this week has been a tough one already. I decided to cut back on drinking so much coffee. I've done this many times before but I always end up drinking 2+ cups per day. It could be worse but I don't want to be drinking that much. On top of having the withdrawl headaches, I've been babysitting my friends two little boys in the mornings. They're 3 and 1 but thankfully they are both really good boys. It still takes a lot of energy to keep up with them though.

I also haven't been as gung-ho as I set out to be with my workouts. But I did manage to take a pretty long walk over the weekend. 2 and half hours to be exact, followed by some yard work (not my yard) that was way overdue. I know just working out is not going to get me where I want to be so I decided to get back on the program; Take Shape For Life that is. I was a health coach for the company years ago and I really believe in it. It was just really hard to find people who would follow the program correctly and not give up so quickly. I'm excited to get back on the plan though.

Theres something else I'm excited about :). Today I took an impromtu trip to Goodwill and I actually got some good stuff! My lovely friend Krista is the queen of getting awesome things for cheap at thrift shops. I've been a few times and I never really found anything that fits, but today I found some keepers!!

Here's a dress that only cost $7. It still had the orginal tag on. I like the print and its comfy too.

My photographer is only 6 so these aren't the most flattering pictures. This dress is the most vintage I've ever had. It also had an orginal tag on it.

I got these Gap pants and cute shirt with birds on it to wear while I'm working. I want to be comfy but still look professional

I have a REALLY stupid look on my face in this one lol. But I liked this fun pattern and colors

And just another comfy shirt to work in. For all of this I only paid $40!! Not too bad if you ask me

Just Do It

Ok so day 3 didn't turn out like I had planned. I ended up not running outside but I did some dancing with Fiona on the xbox kinect. There is a fitness setting on the Dance Central game, pretty cool if you ask me.I also didn't take an epson salt bath but the good thing is that I'm not as sore today.
My morning routine as of lately has been wake up Fiona and get her ready for school and then come home to sleep another hour or so before actually doing anything. So today I am breaking that routine, although I do need some coffee :)
Here are a few inpirational quotes that will help keep me going today


And of course...

What will you do today?

It's only the beginning

It's day 3 since I decided to start workingout again. Damn I'm sore! I know it will get better so I will keep on truckin'. I have been doing my Nike+ trainer on xbox. It personalizes the workouts based on a fitness test you take on the first day. It's actually pretty cool. You have 3 goal options to choose from: Get strong, Get lean or Get tone. I chose get lean so it's a lot of cardio with some strength thrown in.

Today is such a nice day I'm thinking I'll take a run outside instead. The problem is, Fiona just got home from school. Maybe I can convince her to ride along next to me on her scooter. If anyone reading this has some other ideas on how to workout with the little ones around, I'd love to hear them.


This is the view from my apartment right now. It's still hard to believe that in Oregon we are having such nice weather. Athough yesterday we did have a rainy day. But I'm not complaining. I love the sun.
My cat Olive loves the sunshine too. She just had kittens about 4 weeks ago and shes been cooped up ever since. Here is a picutre of mama kitty.

And here are some of the babies. They are just too cute.

Its hard to get a clear shot of them because they're so wiggly

I just love this little guy <3
Anyway, I'm going to start taking my own advice and soak in some epson salt tonight to help my soreness. I think I need a massage too! For right now, it's time to get moving.