Workouts and Neti Pots

Life for me has been a little crazy and tiring lately, and I don't know why! Brandon and I joined the local YMCA Wednesday, and I completed my first workout since the end of summer. I knew not to go all out, so I just walked for a mile. I changed my incline and speed accordingly, and the workout went well! I wasn't sore the next morning, which was my goal! Even though I was feeling great from working out, the next morning, I woke up feeling not-so-great. I woke up feeling a little bit of sinus pressure on both sides of my nose. I knew it was only going to get worse, and it did! By the end of the day, I felt (and probably looked) like crap! I ended up going to bed early that night, but before I went to bed, I used our Neti Pot. 

This is the Neti Pot I have. I got it at Wal-Mart for approx. $15. 

Neti Pots are designed to clear out all the junk in your nose and sinuses. All you have to do is mix the Sinus Rinse powder in the Neti Pot with 8 oz of water. Shake and pour solution into one nostril. You need to tilt your head so that the solution will pour out the other nostril. After pouring half the solution down one nostril, blow your nose, and pour the remaining solution down the other nostril. 

I swear by Neti Pots! They are amazing! My Neti Pot has helped my sinuses and allergies to the extent that I can feel, hear, and smell immediate results. 

Hopefully, my sinuses will clear up soon because I'm tired of feeling this way. GOD BLESS!

Sparkin' It Up!

A great friend, co-worker, and neighbor of mine shared with me a great little website that helps a person lose weight and get healthy. The website is www.sparkpeople.com. This website helps you track the exact calories, fat, etc. of every food that you eat every day. It also will track your workouts, water intake, gives recipes, etc. This website is absolutely amazing! I encourage everyone to check it out!

I'm really trying to focus and stay on track with the number of calories they "advise" me to eat. I want to lose weight, but I know eating healthy is not going to do everything for me. Really, the best and only way I lose weight is if I run and lift weights.

Knowing that, tomorrow, Brandon and I are going to the local YMCA and joining. I can't wait! It's been way too long since I last worked out. I truly do love working out. I love the overall tension and stress reliever. I love the feeling after working out. I love the feel of sweating. I know. It's gross, but I love it. Good Night and GOD BLESS!

Hello Friends...It's Been Awhile

It's been an entire week since I last posted. What can I say, except, "I'm slacking!" Not much went on this week. I'm adjusting very well back into the contacts world. I love my new contacts! It was a bad choice to stop wearing them in the first place. 

Here's a brief review of my past week:

• No school on Monday because of President's Day. YAY!!!! Even though I may not agree with everything each president has done, I appreciate their hard work. I pray every night for the President, Senators, Representatives, Judges, etc. that they lead us and this country in the right direction so that one day our grandchildren will not be disappointed in us and our decisions.

• Tuesday and Wednesday were rough days. I had a teacher(s) complain about me because she believed that I was not getting my speech kids enough. My response to that was the following:
• I serve approximately 50 kids for speech and language services.
• I serve these (approx.) 50 kids in a matter of 3 1/2 days. Normally, this is conducted across 5 days. One day a week is devoted to helping test kids in the 12 school districts that we serve. The other 1/2 day is devoted to meetings in Houston. Because of my crazy schedule, I don't have the luxury or flexibility to make-up for missed sessions. I would if I could. 
• I don't see kids just because I don't want to see them. The ONLY reasons I "skip" sessions are because of IEP/Evaluation meetings, assemblies, and/or class parties. 
• Recently, I was gone for an entire week because my grandpa died and because one of Brandon's grandpa died. 
• We've missed an INSANE amount of school because of snow. 

• On Friday, my SLP Supervisor came to observe me. He looked over my nicely charted week with all my kids and times on there that I serve. He was in shock. He told me that he would talk with our boss about letting me devote my Mondays to serving kids. YAY!!! I hope this gets approved by our boss! That would be amazing! 

• On Saturday, we went to West Plains and did some errands. After awhile, I went to my Grandma's house and spent some quality time with her, my mom, sisters, and nephew. It was nice spending time with them. 

• Today, we did absolutely NOTHING, and it was nice. We've decided that we are going on vacation this year to Carolina Beach, NC. We looked at a few different condos that we might stay at. I can't wait for July to come around so I can spend an ENTIRE week on the beach just relaxing! 

So that was my week! I know...BORING! But, hey, it's my life. I hope this week is better than last week. Last week was a bit of a downer. I plan to listen to upbeat songs while getting ready in the morning. Hopefully, that will charge me and put me in a positive mood before going to work! Good night and GOD BLESS!

I'm Blind

Last night, I took my eye glasses off my face to clean them, and then the frames broke! I was and still am upset. I ran out of contacts last summer and depended on my glasses to improve my vision. I didn't go to the eye doctor at the time to have an exam and receive new contacts because my insurance ran out. Even when my insurance with the school kicked in, I decided to wait to go to the eye doctor to save money. However, since my glasses are broken, and I'm LITERALLY blind, I have no choice but to find an eye doctor to go to on Monday.

Just imagine yourself as me. No eye glasses. No contacts. Everything you see around you is blurry. You can only see things that are at least 6 inches or less in front of your face. No driving. No reading. No watching tv. AHHHHH!!!!

Luckily, I did find an old pair of glasses. However, the prescription is NOT the same. So, things are still somewhat blurry.

Hopefully, 1 of the 2 local eye doctors, that are within my insurance, can take me Monday. Please Dear God, let at least one of them have an opening! GOD BLESS!

Valentine's Day

Good Morning Everyone!

Last night, Brandon and I celebrated Valentine's Day. I know. I know. Valentine's isn't until this Sunday, but it worked for us. Before we went out for dinner, we exchanged gifts. We kept things very basic and didn't go all out. I got Brandon a "Honey, I love you" kind of card, Reese's heart-shaped peanut butter cups, and Michael Jackson's This Is It bluray. Brandon got me a "My Wife Is Sexy" kind of card, Russell Stover chocolate's, The Time Traveler's Wife novel, and The Last Song novel.

We then debated on where to go eat. Where we live, there's not a whole lot of choices. However, just 8 miles east, in another town, there's a mexican restaurant that is great! So, we decided to go there. Once we got there, Brandon didn't know what he wanted to get. He's the type of person who is afraid to try new foods because of the fear that he won't like what he gets. So he ordered a chimchanga, and I ordered tamales. Before we got our food, I loaded up so much on salsa and chips (one of my favorites!), but I ate half of my food anyways. Because I know Brandon doesn't step out of his "bubble", so, I had him try just a bite of my tamales. HE HATED IT! He literally told me that he wanted to vomit and to never do that to him again. LOL!!!! Oh, how I love my husband.

After dinner, we went home and watched The Time Traveler's Wife. OMG... I literally cried through the entire movie! That was the first time I had watched that movie, and I don't know when I'll be able to watch it again. It touched my heart in such a way that I LOVE the movie, but I know it will make me cry a river every time I watch it. I'm such a sucker for romantic movies and books!

On a lighter note, I LOVE MY HUSBAND! He's everything I've wanted and more. He's shown me love and how to love another in a way I didn't know even existed. He's supported me and loved me when I felt like nobody loved me. He's my everything. He's my all. I love you Brandon. Always and Forever.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I Could Use More Days Like Today

I had a pretty awesome and productive day today. Since there was, yet again, no school today, I decided to sleep in. Don't get jealous yet. I only slept in til 8:30 this morning. I got up, had my morning coffee, and started cleaning the kitchen. I ignored my kitchen all day yesterday; therefore I had a mess on my hands! After the kitchen was cleaned, I sat down and ate breakfast.

I didn't sit down for long because 2 Christmas trees were staring straight at me, and I knew today was my only chance (well, besides Saturdays) to take them down. I didn't think twice about it and got to work. After 2 hours, the trees were down, decorations were put away, and the house was back to normal. I must say though, the house seems "naked" without them.

I got done with the trees about noon and ate lunch. I had left over taco soup. I absolutely love taco soup! I made it for the first time yesterday and cannot believe I had been living without eating this soup! After lunch, I headed towards my sister's house.

I stayed at my sister's for a few hours. There, my sister, Kelli, and I caught up with one another and our lives, and we also were entertained by the wonderful Matthew. It was so nice to get out of the house and visit with an adult! With the recent snow, I've been secluded to the house, so I was in need of adult conversation. I couldn't stay at their house all day (even thought at one point Matthew shouted out, "Yay! Amanda's going to stay the night!"). After talking for a while, I headed home. When I got home, I found Brandon laying on the couch sleeping. I let him sleep and started dinner. We had such a yummy dinner; Country fried steak, white gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans! :) Good Night and GOD BLESS!

Another Snow Day

This evening, I got the phone call that we were not having school tomorrow. Therefore, I'm taking it easy!!!!! My husband and I went out to eat tonight and then to Wal-Mart. We took our time going up and down the aisle just wasting time. We got to all of the Valentine's stuff, and Brandon asked me, "So what exactly do you want for Valentine's Day?" When asked what I want, I ALWAYS respond with that he doesn't have to spend anything on me because I know he loves me. Seeing how he doesn't accept that answer I have to supply him with materialistic items. Also, I would like my husband to just instinctly know what to get me, but he doesn't operate like that. He wants to know exactly what I want; that way, no surprises and no disappointments. I've come to terms with this, and I love him for it! So, this is what I told him:

I love to read; however, I 'm just getting back into reading. Therefore, I'm not quite sure on what books to get. I've heard that the Time Traveler's Wife is a good book, but to be on the safe side, I told Brandon that I would be satisfied with a gift card to Barnes & Noble. (If anyone has any suggestions on what I should read, please tell me!)

Another item that I told Brandon that I wanted was a romantic movies. One of my FAVORITE movies is Dirty Dancing; therefore, I think it's a very appropriate gift!

So those are just some simple items that I would like to have for Valentine's Day. Again, if you know of an author or a specific book that I should read, let me know! I'm eager to read a good book! Good Night and GOD BLESS!