summer faves.

share time.

with the end of summer quickly approaching...waaa! i found it most appropriate to share some of my favorite things this summer. i love all of these items, so they are listed in no particular order.

1. Advocare Products

I started using Advocare products on a daily basis and have loved all that I have tried. I won't ever give up coffee 100% but i have surely cut down my intake by leaps and bounds. The spark is a great product for energy without the jitter or crashing effect. I started using Catalyst which helps maintain muscle during exercise and weight loss. It goes great with the Spark. I love spark in the Watermelon, Citrus, and Mandarin Orange flavors. Yummmmmyyy and healthy! If you're interested in trying some too, visit my site. https://www.advocare.com/130723839/default.aspx

2. Ulta Bronze Tinted Self Tanning Suncreeen SPF 15

This product has been amazing. It has an SPF 15 and a tint so it can be applied daily or when you're ready for fun in the sun. It is reasonably priced and right now they are running a special BOGO 50% off. I highly recommend this product. However, if you're using it just for the tint...you could be disappointed. It didnt tint as well as I had thought. But I loved the sunscreen part and the fresh fragrance of this product.

3. ESSIE White Bright Pen

Using this pen on dry and clean nails, it brightens up your natural nail look. In just seconds, my nails had immediate shine and brightness to them for the summer natural look. I got mine at Beauty Brands on clearance for $4.50. Quick and Easy must have for a natural manicured look. 

4. Altar'd State at Zona Rosa

This store is amazing. It is what I would call a Christian Boutique filled with almost anything you could think of. Candles, Signs, Jewelry , Clothing, TOMS, absolutely anything. Their prices are very reasonable and their products are amazing. It is a perfect store to find the perfect gift for ANYONE. 

5. Loafers

I can't wait to wear my new loafers this fall. I found mine at Nordstrom Rack for an amazing price and they are definitely something that will stand out amongst the rest. I have my eye on a few other cute pairs from Target & Dillards as well. Best of all, they are so comfortable and sophisticated.

6. Mayeblline Baby Lips

This is the softest product I have found. It is light and shiny! It comes in many different colors and they are all fabulous. 

I know this isn't the most exciting post, but I love sharing great product for great deals. What are some of your favorite things this summer?

never.say.never.

[new adventure.]

i have never been the healthiest person. i won't deny that i don't love hot wings, french fries, and chips and salsa...but it was a day at the end of 2012 where i was exhausted, unmotivated, and just tired all the time. 

yes, diet is important. but i am 27 wishing i was still 24 and shouldn't be drained all the time...shoot, i don't even have kids yet!

i remember a good friend and coworker a couple years ago suggesting i try a product by Advocare called Spark. she said she was able to replace Spark for her daily sodas and it was just what she needed to get through the long days of teaching and also provides healthy vitamins and minerals. 

i never tried it. the sample sat around. 

fast forward to Jan 2013...i had committed myself to a healthier lifestyle. i don't want need to be skinny. i want to be healthy and thats all that mattered. 

i committed myself to hitting the gym 3-4 times a week and watching what i was putting in my body. this included sodas and coffee. in march, i decided i would drop it cold turkey. 

my body his a stage of detox with terrible headaches and it was then, that i realize just what all this fake caffeine was doing to my body.

i called my good friend and ordered a canister of Spark. Spark has replaced my daily sodas and though, i will never give up coffee for good...i can say that i don't drink it everyday...it is more of a treat and i drink smaller portions when i do. 

i have seen a change in my energy and focus levels. i am not drowsy or exhausted. i have the energy i craved to enjoy this beautiful life i've been given.

..which leads me to my next part...after much thought, i decided i wanted to share my love for these Advocare products with others...

last wednesday, we started a new journey. we have officially become Advocare distributors; in hopes, that we can share these wonderful products with others. 

{cheers to new, healthy, and energetic journeys!}

join us!

check out the products and stories here.

https://www.advocare.com/130723839

email me, call, or Facebook if you'd like to try samples of the Spark {in delicious Mango Strawberry} or SLAM. 

{no more m.i.a}

updates...

the thing i absolutely love most about summer  July is that i get to spend everyday the way that i want. no worries about whether today is sunday or thursday or if i need to work the next day. i simply go with the flow and take full advantage of each day ive been given. its crazy but you dont realize how much time is spent planning, doing, going, and being so busy during the school year that you forget to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. 

so my simple pleasure today...updating my blog. 

because, i dont care there is laundry piled in our closet or there's no groceries...because i have all the time in the world {for july} and i can get to whenever i please. aaahhhh....

its relaxing and comfortable. 

{may}

may was a great month. i finished up wrapping up my 4th year of teaching. one of my friend's introduced their sweet baby boy beckham into the world  on may 23rd and summer was just around the corner. 

{june}

june was crazy busy and i loved every moment of it. 

i started teaching 1st grade summer school. {praise you teachers of the true elementary age. you are truly saints. i was lucky to make it a mere 20 days and i don't know how you do it, but god bless you.}

much of early june was planning final touches for our 2nd annual golf tournament. 

june 12, my dear friend jeni and her husband brandon, welcomed a sweet baby girl named Zoey into this world. 

june 15 in general was a busy day. 

NEDA just so happened to be sponsoring a walk in here KC, and it being my brother's birthday...we truly felt like it was meant to be. it was an amazing and humbling experience being out there with our family and so many other people that have had their lives affected by eating disorders. there were so many emotions that day. excitement, sadness, motivation, worry, fear...it was just a really neat day. 

on brandon's 21st birthday {june 15, 2011} just a few months after he went to be with Jesus, my family and i started the tradition of releasing 4 balloons on his birthday. 3 white and 1 blue. there is something calming and heart wrenching about this tradition, but i love it and will never stop doing it. this year, we released our balloons at the walk site instead at my parent's house. 

after the NEDA walk, ryan and i made the trip to the lake for his family reunion. it was wonderful to get away just for a day. 

june 20 - my teammate of 4 years and close friend caitlin and her husband joe welcomed a handsome baby boy into their world. Calvin is already a ladies man. 

june 22 was our 2nd annual Brandon Jacques Classic. we had a new venue this year and everything turned out fabulous. we had 135 golfers and were surrounded by family and friends who not only love us, but love Brandon too. we are so grateful for each of those people. we look forward to another great event next year. 

{the tournament deserves a post of it's own with pictures..coming soon}

it's not much and it's not exciting to everyone, but thats what i've been doing the last month or so...now that i have a little bit of down time...im hoping to stay caught up a little more. 

what is your favorite thing about summer time?

love,

h

closing of another chapter...

for a teacher that is.

those of you not familiar with the life of a teacher, you might be thinking...

you only have 7 days left of school, then summer. life for a teacher is so easy. you work for 9 months, get the summer off. you get all the holidays and breaks.

riddle me this...

Do you others out there after nine months of working 8 hours in the same room with someone just have to shut the door and move on? Do you take pride of other peoples success so much that sometimes your heart literally hurts? Do you hurt when YOUR coworkers hurt? Do you cry when YOUR coworkers cry?

For teachers...our coworkers..are our students my children. We spend 9 months, 8 hours a day, in one room within inches of each other. We spend more time together than we do our own families...

Now, do not get me wrong...I am not down playing any profession out there. I am simply saying that as teachers we make room in our hearts for 20 something little souls that we nourish with knowledge and work hard everyday to inspire, motivate, and educate. I dont know about you, but thats a lot of pressure...

Here's what I do know...

this is my favorite time of the year. I have these little minds that have done SO much and never cease to amaze day in and day out. I see so much maturity and learning in them and it gives me so much joy to know that I had a part in that. Bad days? Yes, everyone has them. But the good days...they always outweigh the bad.

I have to share this story with you...

Last week, my class and I were talking about poetry. We had been using the Close Reading steps to analyze the poem The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. While opening our room to another school and teachers observing, I was simply having a conversation with a young boy about his thinking. His thinking was so incredibly deep and elaborate...that right there...sitting on the floor..with other adults watching in...i cried. i literally sat there on the floor and cried in front of him... for that was the BEST thinking he had ever shared. he did it. he got it and made my heart so happy i couldnt contain the tears.

that is was teaching is all about.

so here you have it. 7 6.5 days left and i am going to use them to the fullest potential. i am going to hug on everyone of my kids. share secrets with them. laugh with them. let them work with others. and spend as much time as i can with them. For they are my fourth class that I have raised and I will send them on to fifth grade knowing I did everything in my power to make them great. and then...I will cry. The last day of school will come, I will walk them to their busses and I will cry as they wave goodbye.

I am blessed that I have been able to build incredible relationships with my students in all my years teaching and I love and will miss each and everyone of them in their own little ways.

so here's to making the most of these last few days...it's not over yet.

Make the most of everything you've got...

fair vs just

life's lessons.

it is truly amazing that on the shady side of my 20s; i continue to learn a life lesson each day. some, much bigger than others.

lately, i have feeling {blah}. the weather here has been ridiculous, spring has still not arrived, so many changes are happening around me, and well if i want to be real with myself...since 2011 this time of year just seems harder than others.

i think back to May 1st of 2011...and i was feeling so much numbness. i was getting ready to embark on the one month date of losing my brother. honestly, i wish i could go back to that. i was still so naive is the grieving point, that it seemed much easier. i spend so much time of each day just thinking about my brother and all the things we did. some days, yes better than others. and other days are just plain crappy.

tonight, i went to my parents for our first golf meeting for our upcoming tournament. it was truly amazing the joy that planning this tournament brings to me. it is me...talking about doing things in my brothers name..perfect and honorably. i feel so proud. to think of it, i think its my way of continuing my role of that older, protective, stubborn sister.

but it seems like on that crappy days, i think that sometimes life isnt fair. i think we can all agree that at some point or another we have all thought "my life just isn't fair"

....and you know what? it's not. and God isn't fair either.

driving home tonight, i heard the best explanation of fairness.

"life just isn't fair..."

Fair means accordance with rules or standards. Would you really want God to treat you according to your sins? He is a JUST God. A God who will reward us based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair...He will not treat us towards our sins because He is just. Not fair, but just. If He sees we are trying to fight it, He will plan accordingly. If we so happen to fall and get tangled into it, we must remember to repent. God is just.  

So, in fact God is Just which is more than fair. His grace is far beyond anything we could deserve. God is generous, full of grade, full of mercy, loving us even though we don't deserve it. 

this gave me a great reminder that although sometimes i can feel like life is not fair...i must remember that God is JUST and although fair sounds great...
             i'd take JUST over fair any day.

happy wednesday.

brother.

always my baby broth. 

i can remember the day my parents told me i was going to be a big sister so vividly. we were in our kitchen at our old house. fabric chairs on wheels, yes it was 1989. it was a sunday morning and my parents were at the kitchen table. with the sunlight shining through our pink/mauve blinds i remember my mom looking at me and telling me those sweet words "you're going to be a big sister". i remember looking at my moms stomach in her white and green diamond pajama shirt and wondering "theres no baby" while saying words of pure UN.excitement.


what do you mean? im going to have to share my two favorite people in the world with someone else? absolutely not. no way. they were clearly out of their mind.

little did i know that several months down the road i would have a complete change of heart. after all, i was meant to be a big sister. from the moment he was born, i was in love. there was nothing that would ever separate the two of us. no one was going to hurt him. i felt like i was his protector. i mean, before my brother was born i was sleeping night after night with my parents. when Brandon came home, i moved my sleeping arrangements to my own bedroom upstairs, next to his. just in case he would need me.

now, i wont play fake and tell you that we never fought, argued, or tried to get one another in trouble. because yes, that did happen. but with us it was different, our fights were over in a matter of minutes and we'd be back to doing what we were doing. Brandon was the first person in my life to push me. To challenge me. To argue with me. i honestly credit some of my confidence to my baby broth.

i could write for days on our relationship growing up. i could tell you story after story. everything from getting in trouble at school to a first kiss. i could tell you that he had a heart of gold with an armor exterior. i could tell you that he loved his family and friends more than life itself. i could also tell you that he called me sister. not just as relation, but as we got older my name went out the window and sister was just who i was to him.

here's a look on my favorite relationship with the most perfect baby broth anyone could have asked for.

love at first site. June 15, 1990

 

Broth,
   As tomorrow approaches I can't help but remember when I found out what had happened. I was in shock and my hurt was full of pain. I won't forget that day. I also won't forget all the memories we had shared in your 20 beautiful years of life. I am so thankful that you let me always be your big sister. I am thankful that you never pushed me away or were too cool. I wish we could spend more time together and we will, someday. But for now, I think about you always, miss you like crazy, and want to leave your legacy. You are the best brother anyone could have asked for and as tears are running down my face, my heart literally aches and I would do anything just to see you one more time. I love you more than you'll ever know. See you later,

                                                                                 Love, Sister