Go ahead and brace yourself... this isn't a "kid post"!
It's been forever since I updated you on *MY* life so, I figured I'd take a few moments at 12:30am on this MLK Jr. Day to document my life as it is right now. Why at 12:30am, you ask? Because I made a pot of coffee. At 3pm. And I'm STILL going strong from the caffeine. HA!
And for kicks and giggles - since I know you *love* seeing pictures of my presh baby boy, I'll weave in a few pictures of his adorable self for you too. Don't want you going through shock/withdraw ;-)
So let's get started. Let me tell you about work this year. Let me tell you how AMAZING my kids are. Let me tell you how WONDERFUL my team is. Seriously, this is my best year at Pangborn yet. My students are the sweetest group that I've possibly ever had... they are kind to each other, smart, funny, and they love to learn. They make me excited to come to work every morning. :-) Now don't get me wrong - there have been kiddos in past years that resemble all of those characteristics as well - but I can honestly say I don't have a "stinker" in my room this year. It's amazing to be able to teach without having to manage problematic behaviors left and right. Another REALLY exciting work-related tidbit is I am mentoring my first student teacher this semester! You may know her, actually. She used to be a disc jockey on 104.7 WAYZ... anyone remember Katy from the Tiny and Katy Show? ...Yep, Katy is my student intern! I'm so excited to work with her this semester. I can't wait to see how much we learn from each other through this experience :-)
I was pretty busy with my photography business in November and December. I have taken most of the month of January off to decompress, and I'm already starting to book a few sessions for friends over the next couple of weeks. {{As if I need another business venture...}} I have also *very recently* signed up to be a Wellness Advocate for doTERRA! This is something that I wanted to do to get my essential oils at wholesale prices... but honestly, these oils have worked in so many amazing ways in my life that it seems like a shame NOT to share them. I have some events on the horizon where I will be sharing doTERRA oils with others and helping to educate them on the many wonderful powers of these oils.
If you've known me for any length of time, you know that my immune system is TERRIBLE and I get sick frequently (and Jesse, unfortunately, seems to have inherited my weak immune system). Well, I have been using On Guard oil on him and I through most of December and January... and guess what?! NO SICKNESS! There have been a couple of mornings where I did wake up with a scratchy throat and congested sinuses... but after mixing up some oils (On Guard, Lemon, and Oregano) with some warm water and honey, and also applying Breathe Oil to my sinuses and nose, I feel better within an hour... like, SERIOUSLY BETTER... like, normal. And the rest of the day goes on and I feel totally fine. These little oils are such precious miracles. I also use Lavender Oil on Jesse and he sleeps SO much better when his has his oils on (or as he says "Oy-wees"). Since my big fancy order, called the Home Essentials Kit, has arrived I have also broken out the Frankincense and Melaleuca oils to combat that scratchy throat/sinus congestion. Frankincense is pretty powerful stuff, amazing healing properties... it's no wonder the Wise Men offered it as a gift to Baby Jesus! Now, I don't want to become an annoying salesperson who posts non-stop about their business, so I will try to keep my doTERRA posts to a minimum - but if you ever want a 1:1 consult or to schedule an event to learn more about the oils, feel free to email me. Otherwise, I'll just share out my testimonials as these little miracles continue to heal me and my family.
Here's my website if you want to educate yourself on what essential oils are, where they come from, and how you can use them.
Another "thing" worth updating you on is my New Year's Resolution to get healthier. On 1/6/15, I posted this, which pretty much sums things up:
So far, so good! I'm exercising (willingly, not even having to force myself - woohoo!) 6x per week for at least 20 minutes on each of those days. I'm also tracking my calories/nutrition and trying to stay within 1600 calories a day (the estimated # of calories I should consume, based on my weight, to lose 1 pound per week). I'm hoping to be 20 pounds thinner by my birthday in July. I'm learning a lot about portion control and how to plan out healthier meals/snacks so I'm less likely to resort to poor food choices. I'm part of a Christian health/fitness group on Facebook where I'm held accountable for my weekly food/exercise goals. I'm also reading Made to Crave: 60 Days to Craving God, Not Food which has helped to shape my mindset for success. So far, almost 2 weeks into my "plan", I have lost 4 pounds. I'm super proud of myself because the weight is slowly starting to come off - and I would rather lose the weight slowly making realistic lifestyle changes instead of depending on shakes/pills/whatever else people use these days to drop a lot of weight quickly. My hubby is supporting me with this endeavor too. Tonight, he took over baby duty so I could do a 55 minute workout on my Turbo Fire DVD's. It's wonderful to have his support, and to hear him telling me I can do this.
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| text excerpt from Made To Crave that really spoke to my heart! |
One of my newest favorite healthy snacks is Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt. It's packed with protein and not a ton of sugar. I can't eat the entire bowl in one sitting, so this recipe makes 2 servings for me:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 TBSP honey
2 TBSP peanut butter
splash of vanilla extract
2 TBSP chocolate chips
pinch of salt
So there you have it... a little update on my life. Life is as busy, chaotic, and hectic as always... but it's a good life. Cheers to the new year, everyone!
