A Week In The Life: Day 1

I have decided to do A Week In The Life, a project created by Ali Edwards. I started yesterday and am loving it so far!

Are my photos perfect? No. But I feel like I am doing a pretty good job of catching the daily stuff. This week happens to be the calm before the storm. School is up and going, but it is a couple weeks until many things start that will add to our schedule...dance, increased work hours, etc. So I could definitely see myself doing this again during a different time of year, simply to catch different events and activities that occur in our lives.

I decided that I not only wanted to document things we do each day, but our surroundings as well. We have been in our new home for just a year and thought it would be good to use this to document our new home. I am trying to focus on different areas on different days, trying to tie it together with things that are happening in them. I am also trying to catch different angles on the things and places we consistently spend our time on/in. For instance, we have a fairly long drive to and from school everyday, so each day I am trying to catch a different part of that drive, etc.

I am using my regular camera as well as my smart phone for photos.

Ok, here goes Day 1:

Morning:
A photo of me and our dog, Annie sleeping. This was our first day of 8am school start (school started last Wednesday, but they had 9:30 start all last week). Definitely an adjustment. I did a screen shot of my phone marking the time I was up...I like this and think I will try to do this throughout week. I love that the home screen on my phone shows time, date, temperature and weather. This week is definitely a transition to fall type of weather week...love that!!!

When I get up, one of the first things I do is let Annie out. Currently, we also have 3 outdoor cats, along with a Tomcat we named Igor (explain more later about him). You can tell by this photo that they are ready to get fed! You can also tell that Swirls (the dark one) is suspicious of miss Annie. And rightly so as Annie likes to chase her. The 2 orange ones are males and are so, so sweet.

Keaton is awesome about getting up and going, dressed by herself. While I am helping Mallory, Keaton takes care of the cats...we have the outdoor ones and we have a mama with 6 little ones in the garage. They are SOOOO cute. So cute, we will be seeing lots of them, lol. I went out with Keaton this morning and mama gave me some lovin'.

After the garage cats are taken care of, time to feed the outdoor cats. Here I will introduce Igor...he is the one with the huge head (that is buried in the bowl). He is such a weird cat (and pretty sure the daddy of the little ones in the garage). He rubs against your legs and does this little jump. It is so funny. He is weird, but is sweet and we are happy to feed him. : )

Once done with the feeding of the animals, Keaton settles in to the kitchen and watches TV while brushing her hair. Right now she loves Castle (she is really mature for her age...she loves this show!). Mally works on her hair as well. Always the most challenging thing in the morning with 2 girls. : )

It definitely is starting to feel like fall. It was chilly outside, dewey, foggy...the colors are starting to change. After I got home from taking the girls to school, it started to rain.

We leave for school around 7:15. We have a half hour drive, a few miles on gravel. So we always want to leave plenty of time. This is a photo of our driveway (no, not fun in the winter, lol).

Some photos of our drive. We have 4 miles on gravel, then the rest of the way is highway. Some days we carpool with a friend who lives between us and the town where our kids go to school. We did not get organized for this morning, but she does bring my girls home after school and we get a schedule set up for the rest of the week.

My girls in the backseat. Keaton is reading a book (part of the Maze Runner series), and Mallory is eating her breakfast-a chocolate chip granola bar. We are not big breakfast eaters so this often happens in the car...along with last minute or forgotten homework, studying of spelling words...And me? Well, it is Monday and I have nowhere to be. Hence no make up. No hair done. Reality. : )

Shortly after I get home about an hour later, Dan leaves for an overnight business trip. Another part of our reality. He offices from home but travels a lot...

I have NOT been doing well with my eating and so I get out my Xyngular supplies to get going again on the shakes and supplements. I really need to do an 8 day (where strict on carbs), but this week am just focusing on doing better, working the shakes in, and remembering to take the supplements.

Then time for laundry. I usually do this on Sundays, but Dan and I were away for the weekend for our anniversary so that threw me off.

A side note. I hate our kitchen and laundry room floor and counters. BUT, it will be a few years before I get to redo them I am sure. : )

The girls had stayed with my brother and sister-n-law while we were in Omaha, so I got their bags unpacked, laundry put in the hamper, etc.

While I am home and doing things around the house, I almost always have the news on. I like to stay informed and even if I am not watching, I listen.

Annie...well, she just lays around...

For breakfast, I drink a shake and then I head downstairs to get some work done. I have an antique bowl (that belonged to my Grandmother) that is next to our door to the basement where I put paperwork and other items that need to go down.

I do some work in my office as well as catch up on email, social media, etc. Work for me involves all bookwork for the business I am in with 2 other girls, The Corner Nook--which is a combined coffee and gift shop.

I share an office with my husband. Our two sides could not be more different. He is definitely more messy than I am. : )

After I do some work, I eat a mid morning meal (at this point, was going to do 8 day then changed my mind later). Left over grilled pork chop and broccoli with parmesan cheese on top.

After I eat, I decide I better get cleaned up. I take a bath...love the view out of our master bath. We (obviously) live in the country and can see for miles from most places in our house. Ahhhhh....(however, after...still no make up or hair-I only do them if I absolutely have to, lol)

After a nice hot bath I do some other chores not photo worthy---emptying out the cat litter, etc. Then, it is time for lunch. I eat some leftover chinese.

After lunch, I get pretty tired. I had actually woken up at 3:30 in the morning and never went back to sleep. I decide to lay down and read a book I am reading for book club (it is being held next Monday, something I do with a few friends), and fall asleep for a couple of hours. Definitely needed it!

After the much needed nap, I finish up some dishes...

And then off to get the girls. My friend is bringing them home, but I meet her at the corner of the highway and our road, so I have about 4 miles. If we meet at her corner, it is about 10 miles. I stop and grab the mail on the way. It usually comes late morning.

When the girls and I get home, our rules are homework before everything. Keaton did not have any, but Mallory did.You may notice in the photos she has multiple snacks. She was soooo hungry. She ate 2 granola bars, and half a thing of ham slices. Growing girl. : )

Then Mally wanted to play with the kitties. Oh, how she loves them. Love the photo of one looking up at her and the other (my favorite) licking her feet. Also love how she has all of the attention...I think she threw one of their toys. Keaton also came up and fed them all again, round 2. This is a better look at Igor.

While the girls went off and did their own things for a bit (most likely involving computers and tablets), I watched The Five and a DVR of Who Do You Think You Are. LOVE this show! Also sat outside for a bit as it was absoluteley gorgeous outside. (Yep, more animal photos, lol)

Supper tonight was easy...we did sandwiches, chips, oranges, and applesauce. I will get in cooking moods where I do more involved meals and try new things. Not in one of those now. Their food is on plates that Keaton made, I love them so much. : )

After supper, we go back to doing our own things. Mally and Keaton played for a little while in Keaton's room. They, of course, enjoy their screen time. Youtube, Mine Craft, Five Nights at Freddies, Sims...

I also headed downstairs to the basement for the evening. This is our hallway down. I love these walls...

I scrapbooked for a while while watching Bachelor in Paradise (although first I had a big ol mess to clean up from shopping), I had a show to catch up from Sunday night and then the new show on tonight. Yes, yes, it is a bit trashy...one of my 'vices' for sure. : ) The layout I worked on was for a challenge I have on my You Tube channel and Facebook Page

Mally's bedtime is 8:30, Keaton's is 9. Mally and I are reading the Ramona series I got her while in Omaha (got Keaton some Nancy Drew mysteries). We read a few chapters and then...good night!

There are a few more photos I took that I will not include here. I grabbed a bunch of cute photos of Annie (the dog) in different sleeping positions, thought that would be a cute mini spread. Also, took screenshots of the home pages of all of my social media pages. Lastly, but most importantly, I took a screen shot of the Bible Verse of the Day from a Bible app and will do that each day.

Whew! I have a feeling my 6x8 album may not work...unless I really pare down these photos. We will see. If need to be a 12x12, so be it. : )

On to Day 2!

My Health Journey

During these last couple of months, I have been really focusing on my health. I started with signing up for Young Living Oils. Now, before I finish this post...I am not a good sales person. That is my husbands schtick. But, I really want to share my journey with Young Living and with Xyngular, a health program that I have benefited from greatly as well.

Ok...Young Living.

I first tried it just because I had heard great things about oils and their use for sickness. I was seeing them all over facebook and thought I'd try them out. After I signed up, I had success with one of my daughters using them for tummy troubles...but it wasn't until I started using them regularly that I started noticing a major change...

I lost my desire for pop. Completely. About a week after I started ingesting (via capsule) the oils I had scanned for which were basically for digestive issues, weight loss and addictions...I noticed that I no longer desired pop. I had also been drinking ice water with a drop of grapefruit oil and a drop of peppermint. I craved that. NEVER in my life have I craved water.

The oils were doing their thing. Amazing. As I started to read up and take facebook classes, I realized the benefits were countless. I now use them for cleaning, skin care, making the house smell good, for mood regulators, for sickness, and continue to use them for keeping my cravings in check.

Oh yeah, and for loss of inches on my legs. Let me explain. I had learned about this detox program (oils go after toxins in our body) via a facebook YL class a couple of friends put on. I ordered the oils and did it. I lost 2 inches off of each thigh and my skin on my legs has tightened in a major way. A good portion of my cellulite is...gone! (Not all, but a HUGE difference). Now, I have always had that yucky cellulite on my legs...even when I was a regular weight lifter. But what I learned was that fat cells hold on to toxins for decades. When the oils eat the toxins, the cellulite goes away. Here is a link to the info.

Aside from physical benefits, oils have also helped me a lot with mental/emotional issues. A lot of emotions (and addictions) live in our liver. After taking some oils specific for cleaning out the liver, I literally detoxed emotionally. Sounds weird, huh? I had a couple of days where I felt this crazy amount of emotions--anger, anxiety, frustration...(no, it wasn't that time of the month), and then done. Ever since, I have noticed I am way more level emotionally. It is hard to explain, but believe me, I feel much better. It is similar to physical detox...which I experienced early on as well. Headaches, feeling sick, etc. are a sign of detoxing. Oils did that for me very early on, however I did not know it at the time so I did not drink nearly enough water. That is the key for sure to flush them out.

I could go on and on...literally. But instead, I will put the offer out to answer any questions you may have. If you are a facebook friend, private message me. Or shoot me an email at nicmackin@hotmail.com. Or call me, 402-984-2816. I would love to answer any questions you may have!!!

If you are interested in signing up, please let me know! I can do it virtually or over the phone. As a benefit of signing up, I will give you a free (what I call) oily Bible. : ) It is a thick resource where you can get all the info you need...you can look up by oil, by problem/issue, by application. Such a great resource which has a $25 value and I will give that to you for free as a thank you gift.

Now, for my weight management...Xyngular

While Oils helped with my sugar and caffeine addiction, my experience with a health program called Xyngular has been well...awesome.

A close friend had been using the program and was having amazing results. So I went to a party, bit the bullet and purchased the 8 day Ignite Program (which has more product than for 8 days, btw).

A.Ma.Xyng.

Now, a couple things...you have to be committed to making a change. But it was not hard at all. You eat. Alot. And drink LOTS of water. And you notice a difference right away.

I lost 6 pounds in the first 2 days. I discovered I love salmon and asparagus. And that eating good fats is a must (OK!). At the end of the 8 days I had lost 10 lbs. and felt my body shift back to the way it used to be. I felt awesome, the products are so great. They are natural and do things from provide you energy to helping your body burn excess food it doesn't need. My bloat went away within a couple of days.

After the 8 day, I loosely followed the program for a couple weeks. Then went completely off the bandwagon for about a week. Although I still made better choices because I had trained myself to during those 8 days. I kept every pound off. Every one. I am now in day 1 of a new 8 day and will update on progress. I have beginner photos...I will share them when I am to my target weight.

The kicker---I have not worked out. At all. And I want to! I can not wait to see what results I will have once I start incorporating regular exercise!

Now, the thing with Xyngular is that it is kind of pricey. However, if you get 4 people signed up, your product is paid for (if you want to sign people up, you will need to do a monthly autship...you can cancel that but then will have no chance of making any money...up to you!). Getting wholesale prices is a bonus too, but if you just want to try an 8 day, you can just start with the product.

If you are interested in making this lifestyle change (and great timing right before summer!) let me know! I'd be happy to answer questions and get you started.

So...I am still in the journey. I would like to lose about 20 more lbs. And I will keep you all updated. But I wanted to share. I only share if I truly believe in the product. I know there is SO much out there these days. So, I wanted to keep it personal and tell you my story. Thanks for reading.

Nicole