The Tension...when home is no long your HOME!

So it has been a long time since I have seen my family.  

Well so that you are not confused, let me define family for you---my parents, grandmother, nieces and nephew that live back at home.

Then once I use the word home I guess there needs to be another definition---when I refer to home, I am referring to the place where I grew up, and my mother and most of my family are at. 

Then again, when I am "home," I also refer to Abilene, which is where I have lived for the past five years as my home.  

And then again, my husband, whom obviously I live with in Abilene, is also my family. 

Do you see what I mean by The TENSION! 

I am at a place in life where it is really hard to define home, and my family.
I will tell you this though, as much as I love my life and my home here in Abilene with my sweet husband of two and a half years, I also can get very homesick for my "home" that I grew up in.  And I desperately miss all of my family there!


Then, I also have this tension of how to use my time off from work.
You see, being married, I enjoy a little vacation or two with my husband, and he enjoys it too!
Plus we really enjoy going on mission trips together with our church.  This year we are even  leading a trip.
Then there is going to see our family, which I always want to do, and hate only having a short weekend for that.

So where is the balance.....? 

How do I decide where to put my vacation time? 

There is one blessing that I know not all of you have.....my parents and my in-laws live about 20minutes from each other! Which is actually such a blessing.  Although we do have to split the time when we go home, at least we don't have to plan one trip to see my family and one trip to see his, we can spend time with all of them when we go visit.

Still though, this is a very hard situation.....surely some of you understand this or have felt this :-)


It's just a hard place to be in.....I have been married for right at two and a half years, and still I am learning to get used to the tension of where my home is, and how to spend my vacation time while pleasing my husband and not missing time with our families.

This is such a random post, but I really felt like maybe a few of you could understand this! Let me know if you totally understand and feel this same tension sometimes! 

SIDENOTE: This is not a complaint :-) Just wonderings in my heart as I am finally being able to head back to my families house to visit for a short two days this weekend! I have missed them dearly and cannot wait to see them! :-) 

Don't forget to Link Up to the Naturally-Nifty Party! 

Weight Loss Wednesday #10

It is so very exciting to me that we have continued with WLW blogs for 10 weeks. I look how far I have come in this time and I hope that you have done the same. We would love to hear from you about your WL challenges and successes... tips, recipes! Anything. Feedback is always awesome and when it comes to helping each other... what more can we do... so share with us how you are. I do not know who all reads this blog... but I can tell you, you guys are such a huge part in why I am becoming successful! You guys help hold me accountable. You will never know.. Thank you.

This week I reached a milestone. I hit the weight I was when I found out I was pregnant: 26 months ago. Sad to me that I let myself go for over 2 years... but so exciting that I am finding myself again. I am loving me so much... and it makes me love my husband, son, and friends even more. My husband said it to me so perfect tonight:

"This fits you. You are so much happier, goal-driven, and well just happier when you are fit and active. When you aren't you become complacent, depressed, no eagerness to do anything, and lose your joy." 

I love him so much and that he knows me so well. I only wish that food didn't have such a stronghold on me. I have really come a long ways with this and I feel great. 

I have really began to looooove working out again! My son and I have so much fun going to the gym! However, in the past two weeks it has been so beautiful outside... so I have been skipping out of the gym and either working on my garden or running in the beautiful weather. I am growing a love for running again. It feels so great! My 6 month gym membership expires on 30May. I have decided NOT to renew it.  Why? I feel like it will not be utilized to make it worth the money during the summer months. We also purchased a home gym a while back and my husband is going to move it inside and we are going to begin  using it together. My biggest worry about getting rid of the membership is the lack of strength training- but with our home gym, I will be set! :) 

With the money I will be saving, I am finally getting something I have always wanted...  I am so very excited about my newest purchase... I purchased a Garmin GPS Watch. I am so eager to get it and it should be here today!! This awesome watch not only tells time but also will tell me how many calories I have burned, my heart rate, how many miles I ran, and my pace. It will do so many other things too... but this is just the basic things that I want it for! 

I am doing my first race (since 2008) on Monday. It is Memorial Day so my daycare is closed.... and I am running a 5K. I can't wait. I am doing it alone with my little boy... I hope to find a couple more this summer to do. My schedule is just so odd... that it is hard to plan runs! 

A new thing we are starting this week with Weightloss Wednesday is that we will be pinning fitness/workout stuff to our new "Fitness Motivation" board on Pinterest! Follow us there to get motivated!! 

Here's our stats for this week: 

WLW Stats for BIG SIS:(Cassey)

Starting Weight: 210

Wed. 3/21: -13lbs total 

Wed. 4/3: -16lbs total

Wed. 4/10: -22lbs total

Wed. 4/17: -25lbs total

Wed. 4/25: -29lbs total

Wed. 5/2: -32lbs total

Wed. 5/9: -34lbs total  

Wed.5/16: -34lbs total

Wed. 5/23: -37lbs total

WLW Stats for LITTLE SIS: (Brittany)

Starting Weight: 170

Wed.3/28: -3lbs total

Wed. 4/10: -6.5lbs total

Wed. 4/17: -7.5lbs total

Wed. 4/25: -7.5lbs total

Wed. 5/2: -8.5lbs total

Wed. 5/9: -10.5lbs total 
Wed.5/16: -10.5lbs total
Wed. 5/23: -10.5lbs total


I'M STUCK!! ANY SUGGESTIONS!?!??

Naturally-Nifty Party #15

Party #15 WHOA! Bring it! May is such a beautiful month for me! I love the warmth that it brings... I love being outside. I am so excited to start seeing summer link ups... We have some great blog posts about gardening and a dining room reveal. Check them out! 

But for now- get to linking... :) 

*A special request from Big Sis... if you have any awesome ideas for gifts for kids to do for Father's Day, I would love to see them*

1. Tiffany over at Home Grown Families shows us an awesome way to change your trash to treasure. I love this because I have had this planned in my head to do. I am always on the lookout for an old mirror with a unique frame... no such luck yet. I love how she changed the frame to a chalkboard. I think it is so sweet that she made it for sweet notes for her girls. Myself, I plan to make on to put on the wall in our bathroom-- in the part with just our toilet... for notes to and from my man! :) Thanks for sharing, Tiffany.

2. I am so excited that NZEcochick linked up these awesome Garden Spoon Labels. Previously I posted sharing my garden labels that I bought. However, I love these. We have added lots of new planters and plants to our garden so I believe I am about to take this awesome idea and create new labels. Yard sales, here I come. NZEcochick has a lot of awesome things on her blog.. you should go check her out. Thanks so much for linking up. 

3. Who doesn't like donuts?! What is better than making your own? I am so eager to try this recipe. Simply Sweet N' Savory linked up this week some awesome Churros. This is a unique Spanish donut recipe. This blog is amazing.... you can find almost any recipe here. Her baked goods are so amazing. We really appreciate when you share your awesome goodies with us. Friends- have a bake day and bake some of these great donuts- I am! 

Such a great tutorial over at Welcome to the Good Life. She shares her experience dying mint colored jeans, and this really inspires me to want to try this! I just need to start looking around at thrift shops for some white hands! The great thing about this post is that she shares the mistakes she made and then at the end gives you instructions and what you will need to do your own! And look her great her new mint jeans look! Doesn't it make you want to try this!!?!

Jordann over at J House Tawk shows us this awesome update she made to this old sewing machine! My favorite part about this project is that she kept the natural wood on top with a darker stain and painted the rest of the desk.  I just inherited a sewing machine desk from a garage sale that I want to paint fun like this.  My husband thinks it needs to just be re-stained though, since it is so old, we don't need to paint it. I feel like this could be the perfect compromise though! Great color choice Jordann, this looks SO GOOD! 

Vanessa over at Nifty Thrifty things shared an amazing tutorial with us of something that I think everyone could find a use for! This fantastic posts shows us how to make our own tape out of cute fabric! I am planning on doing this soon with some of the smaller scrap pieces of fabric I have! So fun, and I love the use of the crafting scissors to make the side zig-zag! You definitely need to go check this project out! 

Thanks so much to everyone that linked up! And remember as part of being featured, we will be pinning these great posts to our Pinterest boards, check it out! 

We want to see any and everything that you are up to! 

From Home makeovers, craft projects, DIY, recipes, tips, kids games or crafts, or anything else you are up to!!

Just Remember....

Please SUBSCRIBE to our blog on the left sidebar!

Also, we have moved our Naturally-Nifty Party Buttons to the top tab, so take one of those and put it on your blog or add us to your linky parties tab on your blog!

And please stop by our FACEBOOK page and like us there and follow us on TWITTER

Dining Room Remodel Reveal!

So if you haven't read my prior post about helping to remodel my newly married friend's dining room, you should go check that out first at Remodeling a Dining Room.

First I would like to describe the outcome of this adorable dining room as QUAINT--which I looked up and the definition fit her new dining area perfectly! 

quaint [kweynt] 

-having an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm; oddly picturesque: a quaint old house.-strange, peculiar, or unusual in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way: a quaint sense of humor.

-skillfully or cleverly made.

Each one of these definitions is perfect for this new space.  Why don't you check it out and tell me what you think! These photos were taken at her graduation party this weekend, so it's even cuter, all decorate for a party! 

Super Cute! What do you think?? 

Garden Markers

I love my garden! :)

It is so great having my own place with my own back yard where I can grow my very own garden. I was really worried about it at first.. but it has become my baby. The first things I planted were garlic, onions, and potatoes. I put them in the ground and they have grown so well. I blogged a little while back about the raised bed that we made... I love it! LOVE it! I have been wanting to make some Garden Labels for each plant but I just never found the time. I looked up several cute ideas on Pinterest, but could never get the motivation to create my own. 

So today we went to the Opening Day for our Local Farmer's Market. I was so excited... I love markets. But there was a nursery there with lots of herbs. I needed/wanted some basil so I stopped in. Wouldn't you know it- they had Garden Markers already made that I could purchase. Obviously it would have been cheaper to make them, but I didn't. However, now that I see what I bought, I know that husband and I could totally make these. 

I purchased a set of eight markers that are covered in chalk paint. It came with a stick of chalk as seen above. However, I decided I was going to just use a paint pen. Obviously to reuse these I will have to repaint with the chalk paint, but that is okay... I didn't know how well the chalk would stay on when I watered my plants or it rained.. 

So I wrote the name of each different plant that I have in our raised garden. We also have, as previously mentioned, garlic, onions, and potatoes. We are also growing some watermelon and parsley. Next year I hope to grow more herbs... and I want to put them in a raised bed as well. The main ones that I wanted this year were parsley and basil ... so that is what I am starting with. But how easy were these Garden Markers?!?! SO EASY! (yea, because I chose to be lazy and NOT make them myself)

Above you can see my garden from far away.. You can see the sticks sticking up. I knew what everything was but for some reason could not remember what my middle row was... but now I can't forget with my labels. 

I am so proud of this garden. My red chard in front is growing so well. Actually all of it is. I LOVE IT. I can't wait to start using the food from my garden. How great it will be when I need a tomato or jalapeño to walk right out my back door and grab it. 

It is the small things in life! :) 

Guest Post

We are so excited to be able to do a Guest Post over at Newlyweds on a Budget! Jump on over there and check out Lil' Sisters Low Budget Mantel. She did an awesome job!! While you are there, go ahead and join Newlyweds on a Budget blog so you can read all about their awesome ideas! 

Don't forget to link up!

We want to see any and everything that you are up to! 

From Home makeovers, craft projects, DIY, recipes, tips, kids games or crafts, or anything else you are up to!!

Just Remember....

Please SUBSCRIBE to our blog on the left sidebar!

Also, we have moved our Naturally-Nifty Party Buttons to the top tab, so take one of those and put it on your blog or add us to your linky parties tab on your blog!

And please stop by our FACEBOOK page and like us there and follow us on TWITTER 

Weight Loss Wednesday #9

Hello Friends! 

How are yall doing!??

We want to hear from you on these posts too you know, and know how your fitness challenge is going, what you are struggling with, and things you are conquering!! Let us know, we are all in this together and want to help and encourage one another.

So here's an update from me, Little Sis! 

This week has been okay, but Sunday, I went to the Texas Rangers Game with my work, and my husband joined us! We had an absolute blast! We just loving going to sporting events like that.  Meguell (my husband) and I always say that if we lived in Dallas, TX. we would definitely have to make it fit in our budget to have season tickets....our first choice would be to the Dallas Mavericks games! We just love them....good thing we don't live there though, because the prices are outrageous for season tickets, but it is just so much fun! 

Here's a few photos from our fun night! 

 Me & my man!!

 My cute Rangers outfit!!

Some of our friends there! 

Anyways, so are you wondering why the Rangers game made it a hard week? 

Well that is because we bought tickets in the all-you-can-eat section! This was my first time to do that, but it was so much fun.  And not only that, but before the game my boss wanted to take us to eat at a wonderful Mexican Restaurant, and I love Tex-Mex! My main weakness in life is chips and salsa and queso!! OMG I could live off that stuff! 

So we ate dinner and stuffed our faces then went straight to the game and had the freedom to eat more! and they had nachos, which I wanted more of event though I had just eaten chips and queso! SERIOUSLY MY WEAKNESS! :-)

Anyways, I am getting back into the swing of things though, weekends are really just more difficult though because my schedule is so different, and I have more freedom to do things like go out to eat, etc.  How have your weekends been compared to your week? Let us know what you are doing to overcome those weekend challenges, and not set yourself back every week because of the weekend. 

Here's our stats for this week: 

WLW Stats for BIG SIS:(Cassey)

Starting Weight: 210

Wed. 3/21: -13lbs total 

Wed. 4/3: -16lbs total

Wed. 4/10: -22lbs total

Wed. 4/17: -25lbs total

Wed. 4/25: -29lbs total

Wed. 5/2: -32lbs total

Wed. 5/9: -34lbs total  

Wed.5/16: -34lbs total

 (176)

WLW Stats for LITTLE SIS: (Brittany)

Starting Weight: 170

Wed.3/28: -3lbs total

Wed. 4/10: -6.5lbs total

Wed. 4/17: -7.5lbs total

Wed. 4/25: -7.5lbs total

Wed. 5/2: -8.5lbs total

Wed. 5/9: -10.5lbs total 
Wed.5/16: -10.5lbs total
 (159.5)

Also, just a little tip from me! 

Lately, I have gotten hooked on these meal bars! I have always been a meal bar kind of girl, which I get from my mom.  I used to eat Fiber One bars a lot, but after going to Africa and eating them so much last summer (because I am so picky :-) I had to find something else, and that I did.

I have recently started eating Clif Builder's Bars for breakfast, mostly every (weekday) morning at work.  So here's my routine.  I grab one on my way out the door, and as soon as I get to work I go fill up my water bottle! Then I sit at work checking my email, etc. and SLOWLY eat the bar and drink entire (really big) bottle of water, basically it is two normal sized bottles of water.  And that really kickstarts my day! I just have to make myself go slow, because these bars are so yummy....but if I go slow and drink the entire bottle throughout eating the bar I get full, and am not still hungry after.

These bars come in two flavors (that I have found), Peanut Butter and Chocolate.  I just buy a huge box with both flavors mixed from Sam's and that lasts me several weeks, maybe close to a month.  

Each bar is packed with 20 grams of protein which is awesome, and only 270 calories, which if this is your entire breakfast is not bad at all! Anyways, give it a try, or at least try drinking lots of water with breakfast! It's a great way to start the day, then continually fill your water up multiple times a day. I basically just sip water all day at work!

Also don't forget about the Naturally-Nifty Linky Party that is happening right now!! Stop by and link up & have a good time at the party! 

**Just a sidenote before we get started! We will be out some during the month of June and we are looking for some guest bloggers to feature a great post here while we are on vacation! Please email us if you are interested (you can do that by visiting our contact us tab above)