World Gratitude Day | 9.21.15

Happy World Gratitude Day!

There are so many things that I am feeling grateful for today that I thought I would share a few with you.

My Husband. He is my partner in life, the one that keeps me grounded, the one that loves me unconditionally, the one that puts up with my crazy ideas, my low days and is always there to support and love me no matter what. He is an amazing man, father and overall an amazing person that I am so grateful and lucky to have in my life.

My Children. Edith and Alder bring light to everyday, are constantly teaching me things about them, myself and the world around me and I am so grateful to share my life with them.

My Friends. My supporters in this crazy life we are living. Moving across the country and having to make friends as an adult is hard but I am so grateful for the amazing people who have come into my life over the past 2+ years and make life that much better.

What are you grateful for? Share something you feel grateful for in your life today.

*This is not sponsored – just a huge GT’s Kombucha fan and I did receive a bottle in honor of World Gratitude Day. GTs Kombucha is grateful for being able to share kombucha for two decades. To say thank you for all the support they’ve received for the last 20 years, they are introducing a new, limited-edition, raw, organic kombucha flavor called Sharing Gratitude in a beautiful screen printed bottle. With delicious, fresh-pressed, root-based vegetable juices turmeric, carrot and ginger, the flavor is a symbol of the company staying true to its roots. In addition, they are making a donation for every bottle sold.

Learning to Commit to Myself

Random photo for fun

Random photo for fun


I have a problem with following through with things. Not all things rather goals or challenges I set up for myself. I just can’t commit to myself .I don’t know what it is but when it comes to committing to myself I start a task and tend to lose steam about 25% of the way in and by the half way point I give up. At least I can say that I follow through 90% of the time (hey I’m only human) to commitments that I have to others.    

I finally came to terms with this a few months ago and have been making an honest effort to follow through. The first challenge I had for myself was my DietBet* challenge. I did this because I wanted to get myself back on a healthy path. I knew I couldn’t lose the 4% body weight  healthfully while nursing but I did know that I could get myself into a better place and I did it. I followed through and while I didn’t see a big drop in the numbers I did in the way clothes fit.

My second challenge to myself has been to participate in the #Elf4Health challenge this month. I love having the connection with other participants and my own elf and I have committed to giving daily updates on my Facebook page regarding each of the tasks. This has been such a great challenge to participate in and I’m so glad I opted in and have followed through. I have made more time for myself, focused more directly on my health and fitness and have made connections with others. This challenge is not over but with only a few days left I can say that I already know that this is a success.

My third challenge is one that I did because Neil decided he wanted to do a juice til 4 cleanse. Now I did not juice til 4 with him due to the negative side effects that a cleanse can have while nursing but I did agree to challenge myself to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables I ate and have no coffee, gluten, processed foods, or alcohol for four days with him. I did it! But even more notable is that HE DID IT! My husband spent the last 4 days doing a juice til 4 cleanse and I have never been so proud of him, okay maybe I have but still this is huge, if you know my husband you might know his will power to pass up free treats is low and he is notorious for being one of those “well I worked out so..” type do people and yet he did his. 100% committed did it. He feels great, isn’t craving the crap that he was and just overall is feeling like the restart button has been pushed. I feel better too and just like him cut the cravings for processed food and sweets. 

What Have I Learned? Committing to myself feels good. I have been feeling successful and healthier both mentally and physically. That being said I am thinking that monthly challenges for myself might be a good thing to try. I have done this in the past and they have helped me out a lot but I also have learned that I do this better when I can do it with others. So that being said who wants to take on some monthly challenges with me? I am thinking starting January doing a monthly health or fitness challenge would be fun. I know that incentives help so I am thinking a giveaway at the end of each challenge for those who finish a challenge might be a fun addition. That being said who is interested and what kinds of challenges would you want to participate in? 

*For full disclosure I made $0 off the entire game after deducting Neil’s entry into the game. 

Happy Holidays with UncommonGoods

UnCommon Goods- Merry xmasUnCommon Goods-stockingWe are just a few days away from Thanksgiving which for us is the big kick off to the Holiday season.Can you believe that it’s almost December? This holiday we are really focusing on spending time doing special things as a family and with friends. While we will be exchanging gifts we are are limiting our gift giving to five gifts each and a stocking. Besides putting a cap on the number of gifts we give each other we are also requiring that 75% of the gifts purchased come from local shops and/or ones that give back.

One shop that we will be supporting this holiday season is UncommonGoods a Brooklyn based;privately-owned;retailer that features unique designs and handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the;environment and without harm to animals or people.

I had the joy of searching through theUncommonGoods site and choosing some gifts from their suggest Christmas gifts, stocking stuffers and personalized gifts. I ended up shooting the photos of all of these items while Edith and Alder were napping because there a few fun things that I just can’t wait to give them. Luckily they don’t know how to use the internet yet, although Edith is getting there, I can share them here with you in this post. Neil on the other hand is very experienced with using the internet so instead he gets a few of these gifts before Christmas and some will be given to friends and family who just might be reading this right now.
UnCommon Goods food faceI can’t believe that Alder will soon be eating solid foods so in anticipation of that and Edith’s love for playing with her food I chose these fun Food Face plates. Honestly I think I should have picked out one for each of us because how fun are these? Oh and these Animal Hands will be perfect for Edith’s stocking and since she is so little I think Neil and I might get to play with them too.
UnCommon Goods potlicker beer jelly UnCommon Goods mustache & beardFor the man/men in your life you might like these two fun gifts. The first is a selection of beer jelly’s that are actually made in Vermont (my home state!). UncommonGoods sells a four pack that includes four different types of jelly’s for the beer lover in your life.As a stocking gift you might be interested in this mustache and beard comb especially a great gift for those who have been participating in Movember! Neil has already tested this out and it’s now permanently in his pocket.
UnCommon Goods relaxing tub tea UnCommon Goods eye pillowLastly we have some relaxing gifts for the ladies. I’m not going to reveal which lovely ladies in my life will be receiving these but I hope that they use them and feel relaxed. Both the bath soaking tea and the eye mask smell so amazing and would be perfect as a combination gift or even as stocking stuffers.

UnCommon GoodsA few reasons that we love this online retailer:

It is aB Corp: B Corporations use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. As a B Corp UncommonGoods meets rigorous standards on a wide range of issues, including wage levels (the lowest paid seasonal worker starts at50% above the minimum wage!), environmental impact, and giving back to our community.

TheirBetter to Give Program: With your purchase UncommonGoods is proud to donate $1 to the non-profit of your choice. Since starting the program 12 years ago they have donated over $300,000 to charities around the world!

The Products:Half of what UncommonGoods sells is handmade, most are created in the USA and 1/3 are made from up-cycled or recycled goods.

Visit UncommonGoods to find the perfect Christmas gift for everyone on your list.

Make sure you check out all of the gifts on UncommonGoods that you can have personalized.

Oh and don’t forget UncommonGoods impressive selection of stocking stuffers.