Keeping Busy

Life has a way of keeping me busy and away from the computer these days. I have been working outside caring for the farm with my in laws and enjoying friends celebrations like graduations ( tis the season right *wink*). And as always crafting, though at the present moment it is slow. I had to revamp my box plan for the hubs and sent him a food box and a birthday box- which I did snag a picture of .. but it's really not worth the show.. I simple used sharpies to write things on the inside of the box lids and had his mom, granny and little bro write something as well. Simple yet perfect.

His next box is in the works and now that I have an amazing camera once again and not just my phone; I will be able to take much better photos! My hubs rocks he got me a Nikon 520 for our five year wedding anniversary. I miss and love him dearly but I save that mushy, gushy lovey stuff for another post!

I am trying to plan out my vacation from school and my continuous journey when it comes to losing weight and getting healthy. As of right now I am currently having female issues and on my way to see an ob/gyn to find out exactly what is going on ( suspected PCOS and an unofficial diagnosis of Endometriosis). This shall be interesting, hoping if there is something "wrong" that I can nip it in the butt( and share my experience with others who may also have same issues). So we can start our little family.

There is so much to write and there are days that I tell myself " Hey! Blog time lady! Hop to it!" I should have a blog writing challenge! Haha! Who's in? ( Seriously!) I know I am jumping all over the place.. forgive.. I got to back in the groove of things.

On a more spiritual note. I am working on be ready to go the LDS temple and I am so excited for it to happen... I am preparing myself with prayer, fasting, and as always studying the scriptures. I recently started reading the bible from the beginning. It has been years ( since I was 16 I believe and I will be 27 in July). I also have a few other things I plan on accomplishing or doing.

Well I guess I will leave you all with that stuff.. There are plenty more tangents to be had, but will save those for another time!

~Lexxy~

~LIVING~ Health & Wellness- WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE 2013

I am so excited for this Weight Loss Challenge! Let me give ya'll some background on the group and details of the challenge. LIVING- Health & Wellness is a Facebook group I created sometime ago and it is a group that isn't just about  typical weight loss. We cover the broad spectrum of living for overall wellness. We have members whose goals are to gain weight or eat a certain way. We have people who are Paleo/ Primal, Gluten Free, Vegetarians, and on diabetic diets. These are just some examples of what makes this group unique and individual.

I have the most amazing team of admins as well! Marie, Jessica, and Stephanie have totally changed this group and helped shape what it has become. When it began  it was just lonely me and these ladies are truly a God-send. I wanted this group to be about the people for the people. These ladies make it possible with their varying experiences and views on health matters. A big shot out to them! We are not experts by any means but we have a passion for living healthy and happily.

To view this group go visit this link: 

~LIVING~ Health & Wellness

With this new challenge, we have 3 prizes to give away to those who come closest to meeting their weight loss goal by August 1, 2013. This is what makes this challenge exciting and fun. Weekly updates on weight loss, tips and tricks, and of course a support system! I am participating to a degree. I have a goal of losing weight as well, but no prizes... sadness right! NO! I get to be part of journeys' to health including my own! That right there is suffice enough!

So, for me, let's look at my personal goals of weight loss. I am currently 222 pounds ( Really quick I have managed to keep myself between 218-222 pounds and have kept off 16 to 20 pounds in the last few months- I weighed 238 pounds last year!)  and my goal is to lose 35 pounds by August 1st so the goal is 187 pounds. 

Tips & Tricks I gave to the group:

First one of the tips I gave was announcing your goal publicly to family, friends, and heck! Even strangers. You could create a blog to record your journey, join a site that let's you keep track of food, exercise, and water intake. Personally I love MyFitnessPal.... speaking of this I have slacked, yes,  me I know Sheesh! I need to log in! *chuckles* 

I also gave the tip of tracking your food intake, your calorie intake and whatever else you feel you need to. Some people will not like this idea. Instead of counting calories and getting stressed about the calories you can only have in a certain amount of day; think about it like this: You have energy in and energy out. I have a goal of eating 1500 calories a day, but exercise and activity change this amount. Now this doesn't mean I eat more and more. I look at what my body is using and make a goal of burning 1000 calories a day. I also do different work than most. I'm outside on a farm. Your circumstances will be different.

What I suggest is just seeing how you eat. See what your totals are for carbs, fats, and proteins. Make sure you are meeting your daily limit. If you go over carbs for example and you are lacking protein and fat. Plan to eat more the next day. It's all about nutrients too. When I keep track of all this stuff through MyFitnessPal I lose 1 to 2 pounds a week and more often than not it is 2 pounds! The first half of this year I really struggled between 225 and 230 pounds. Up and down! It was terrible but as soon as I made sure to keep track of my stuff. Viola! Weight loss. 

I know it works! So good luck to those who have joined and for those of you reading- interested- join the group through Facebook. I am leaving sign up open till Monday Morning ( April 8th). 

Over & Out!

~Lexxy~

Crafty To Do Number 2

Number two on my Crafty To Do List: Use fingernail polish to color coat keys.

When I first began this quick & easy project I used solid colored polish but have found I love glitter polish better. Glitter is the shizazzle! For the polish I suggest using Essie for solid colors & for the glitter - Sally Hansen Gem Crush.

First thing is first get your keys ready to be polished. Several coats are needed before applying a layer of top coat. I do this to keep the polish from chipping so far so good.

I've polished several keys ones I needed color coated ; others just for fun like my keys for our Ford & Mazda. I'm thinking of other things to polish as well! It's mildly addicting! *wink* so I forewarn you!
Here are some pictures below :-)

~Lexxy~

P.S let keys dry before applying more coats of polish.

Head covering 1.5

I was thinking about all the different ladies I know who head cover and their different religious/spiritual paths and how well we all accept each other for those differences and we also have head-covering that unites all of us. This post is dedicated to them and future ladies ( and gentlemen) who take the plunge to head-cover. Now plunge sounds like a very intense word. Especially for this particular practice. But I believe that there are many stories out there similar to my own.  Head-covering intrigued me; I longed to do to it, but always felt I couldn't then one day I just decided all my fears were about how others would react. When it comes to head-covering, it has nothing to do with other people!

It really begins with you, and your desire/ need to cover your hair. There is no reason why you shouldn't hearken unto the call. Especially one with a such a profound history.  When you read up on the history of veiling ( head-covering, etc) you will find that many cultures practiced some form of covering their hair. In my last post I gave my reasons for starting to cover. These are good questions to ask yourself. But this post isn't about that really. What it is about is dealing with others as you begin your journey into covering your head.

Whether you cover full time or part time. You are always going to get funny looks, questions galore, and sometimes this is overwhelming. Questions from family, friends, and spiritual leaders ( for example). How do we deal with this? How can we react positively to these inquiries. For me a lot has been said to other people who asked my friends or family. One of my friends was AMAZING and responded so well. When covering I try to find a similarity in my current spiritual path. I go to the LDS church ( The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) what my friend said was  something like this:

" Lexxy wears her head-cover just like you would wear your garments"

This is very accurate as I love modesty practices from the way I dress to what I cover my head with. I believe in being modest, my body is precious and I love being provided a way to express my love of modesty. I also love that I can keep my body covered and the only person who sees all is my husband. Anyway find something similar in your religious/spiritual path that you can relay to others. This often helps them understand your choice better. 

Be honest, let them know the whole story and when you decided to start covering. This shows people you are willing to share with them your personal experience. What I have noticed in the LDS faith is that my bishop said it is not something the church suggests. I sort of chuckled. OF COURSE NOT! I let him know it was more of  personal revelation for me. If spiritual leaders seems dismayed, no worries let them know it is personal and that you have prayed about it ( or however you speak with deity). 

Actions often speak louder than words. even when you share with people your reasons ; some people will still be turned off. I simply ignore this. I just continue to  be myself. I do not shun those who seem to really have issues with it. In fact I make sure they know I still want to say hello and ask how they are doing. In general I care about people. Even if I do not know them, I always wish the best for them and theirs. I wouldn't be very Christ-like and I strive to follow his example. 

Basically stick to your guns. And last but not least. If someone is harassing you over your choice... I would simply tell them that the issue is theirs, not yours. A lot of people forget that you can't make a person conform to your will and you shouldn't want them to. Live and let live I always say. I also think some people need a reality check. If they are more concerned about your personal business than their own they need to stop and do a double take on the situation. Of course don't be rude to the person. Just make them think. 

I hope this post helps those who are in the process of getting ready to cover or who are. Either way i support people's choices and head-covering holds a special place in my heart. 

~Lexxy~

F.H.E ( update) & Date Night via Skype

I realized I failed to give the update on F.H.E/ Family Home Evening via Skype with the hubs. It went really well and we have a schedule in place of who is going to do what till May. It really helps to have things planned out for the both of us. So if you and your spouse are long distance for the current moment. Plan something over Skype! Trust me it will be lot's of fun! Every Friday ( well Friday here) we Skype and immediately start off with F.H.E. I think it sets the mood for our conversations.

There is more positive energy and conversation than negative. Which is is exactly what we need to grow closer together. Even with the distance between us. Anyway! So F.H.E has been a total success!
Now on to "Date Night" I decided that it would be fun to play a questions game over Skype. Being apart we tend to forget what things our significant other likes and dislikes. The first part of  our date was filled with questions like:

 " If there was anything that I would like to do for the weekend what would it be?"

Both have to answer questions like the one above. It gets you thinking and not only that you have to think like your spouse would! These types of questions help you to see where you might have been missing something or unaware. Or if you answer correctly- Awesome job!  We both did pretty well with that. Then it was questions like:

" Your ideal breakfast would be?" 

Now the questions are personal but it nice to see the variety in answers and learn more about each other. If you Google questions to ask your spouse ( or whatever you consider the relationship) you can find ideas for questions to ask. I loved doing this! the hubs and I both had a blast with this! It changed our usual conversation over Skype into something different and fun. Basically keeping things "spicy" *wink* tehehe. 

I am in the process of finding other Date Night activities we can do long distance. I hope this post helps some of you out there who may be in a long distance relationship. I will suggest this to our military spouses for sure! And on that note! I am off like a dirty shirt...

~Lexxy~

The Original Box Idea

100 reasons care package - http://pinterest.com/pin/229331805995181497/

My last post was about A Year of Boxes. Here is the pin that inspired me. I figured it is a good idea to link back to these...After all, the people who created it first deserve some link love right?

~Lexxy~

A Year of Boxes

(First off- all hail Pinterest! You inspire me to craft more & more!) For this post I will be sharing the box I jazzed up inside for my hubs for the month of Feb and what I have planned for coming months.

A Year of Boxes
:
What is a year of boxes? Where did this idea come from & what inspired me. Well Pinterest of course. Some time last year I pinned a box idea- the inside of the box was decorated with paper, love notes, and packed with goodies inside.

It was listed under deployment ideas and I pinned it to my "Army Wife" board for future reference. I really liked this idea but took it further. Each month I plan on sending a box whether it is big or small. Each month will have a "theme" to fit the box which I will share after the hubs has gotten his box. Since he can read this blog- I don't want to give away the surprise!

Anyway! Shout out to all military wives! Feel free to steal my idea! I took it further than the pin. For this month I sent a Valentine Box. I had my grandma in law & mother in law chip in too! They bought things for the box. I packed everything- wrapped gifts, etc.

The box decorating is fairly simple- I bought stickers, cool paper, glue, and keep my exacto rotary cutter handy if I need to trim paper. I glue fancy pieces of paper to the inside of the box- I do the "top" part of box where it is opened- but you can do all of the box if you want. This is where you can get creative. Love notes, valentine sayings, etc.

When sending foodie goodies and toiletry items I suggest using a food saver for toiletries in bottles- I seal all the bottles up and place the food in bags as well. You never know when something might "explode" or leak when sending a box overseas.  No food saver- just use bags! I'm just weird and chose the food saver. It does work wonders for any baked goods you send though! Think "fresh" oh and  it's a very good investment in the long run!

Anyway! Here is my first box of the "year" along with a cute kitteh to boot! (Never fails- if you have a box around the cat is surely to get "trapped" for hours in said box).

~Lexxy~