Why Did This Guy Bug Me So Much??

Let me start by saying that I’m a huge football fan. HUGE. Always have been, always will be. I love the Broncos and I love the Eagles, but my loyalty always has been and will be to the Broncos. I grew up with a family who was obsessed with the Broncos. My Grandpa had season tickets. My brother and cousins and I went to the mall to see “The 3 Amigos” when they were headed to the Superbowl and spent hours tearing up newspapers (what are those??) to throw in the air after a Bronco score when we went to the games. We had big get togethers to watch the games. I never went Black Friday shopping because CU played Nebraska that day and we watched the game. Football has always been a big part of my life. Now it’s a big part of my own family’s life, as I married a fellow Denver native and gigantic, life-long Bronco fan. My son chose tickets to the Bronco game vs. a birthday party for the 2nd year in a row. The last time he chose a party? We did a tour of the Broncos stadium. You get the picture.

After the Broncos won the AFC Championship and earned a trip to the Superbowl yesterday, we were excited to watch the next game and see who they’d be playing. I told my husband that I kind of liked both teams and wouldn’t mind seeing either of them play in the Superbowl but that I probably leaned toward the Seahawks. He said “I’m surprised you like them, as much of a trash-talking team as they are.” That shows how little I’ve watched them play, as I wasn’t really aware of that. I just know that Marshawn Lynch is a running machine and Russell Wilson is an incredibly talented athlete. Oh, and I like their uniforms. I thought the guy stretching with his gloves hanging out of his helmet was weird. That’s pretty much it as far as where my head was before the game.

Well, at the end of the game – I had one word in my mouth: EW. My kids were watching and they were all caught off-guard and asked what his deal was. We just said he was really wound up and it was too bad that he decided to act like that because he should have been celebrating with his teammates and enjoying the moment. While we were watching the trophy presentation, my five year old even said “That guy doesn’t deserve that trophy. He’s too mean!” as he watched Sherman hold up the NFC Championship trophy. What you should know about our five year old is that he struggles with not throwing pretty obnoxious (more than the usual five year old norm) temper tantrums and is told on an almost daily basis “Do we EVER reward that kind of behavior?” when he’s yelling, whining, arguing, talking nasty, hitting — whatever his current struggle might be. He knows the answer: NEVER. Of course seeing Sherman hold up that trophy didn’t make sense to him — it went against everything that he is told in this house on a daily basis.

I participated in some facebook conversation last night after the game about how gross I thought this guy’s behavior was and got a kick out of the fact that one of the first things people who were defending him said is that he went to Stanford. Okay, great. So, he’s a well-educated butthead was my first thought. Did you SEE and HEAR this man? Ew. Classless. That’s where my head was at last night.

We had a quiet morning around here today since the kids don’t have school and my husband and I both have the day off. While I sipped my coffee, I decided to try and learn more about the guy that irritated me so much last night. One thing we talk to our kids about is that everyone has a bad day. Everyone makes mistakes, especially when you’re emotional and in the moment…and since my kids watched his um, “interview” and had strong reactions of their own – I thought I’d do some research so that I could talk to them about what kind of player this guy really is. I did chuckle when I saw the title of this documentary in my google search (clue #1) but I watched the whole thing with an open mind. I also read his own response to last night’s events as well as a Forbes article which gave another perspective, mostly supporting why what he did and said was okay.

After all of that, here’s my opinion…

My impression is that Richard Sherman is a truly intelligent, super talented man who has combined those traits with a strong drive, commitment, passion, determination, family support and sense of humor to follow and achieve his dreams. I am impressed with all that he has accomplished, am SO glad that he’s remained true to himself and gives back to his community, and agree that he is an obvious asset to his team and that his talent should be respected. He said it best himself in the NFL film — even though he’s been named an All-Pro, he’s yet to be voted by his peers to the Pro Bowl because he rubs people the wrong way and they just don’t like him. To me, that speaks volumes about life in general — your talent will ALWAYS be outshined by your attitude. Always. That’s just the way it is. If he’s at peace with it, good for him. Carry on, sir.

Anyone who knows me knows that I like a good trash talker now and then. I seriously love the video of Shannon Sharpe pretending to call the National Guard because the Broncos were “Killing the Patriots” from years ago. It makes me laugh. Why is it funny to me? It was on the sidelines, with his teammates — not in the face of his opponents the minute they were trying to process a crappy loss. He waved goodbye to the fans that had given him grief all game — he didn’t flip them the bird. I’m not saying everything Shannon Sharpe has ever said or done has been classy and respectable…I’m just saying that I can appreciate that clip because it was funny and not “out of bounds” or in someone’s face.

I can appreciate that Richard Sherman brings some of that to the game. My problem with him is that he is not someone who appears to take responsibility for his own behavior when it crosses the line. That’s a huge pet peeve of mine. We tell our own kids that it’s always better to leave other players/fans talking about your talent, not your attitude and that your sportsmanship, or lack of it, will always speak louder than what you do during the game. Saturday morning my son’s basketball team got crushed. The mercy rules were in play, if that tells you how lopsided the game was. It was a painful loss to a much better team – which in the moment seriously sucks, let’s be honest. What stood out the most though? The kid on the other team with a beautiful shot? At first, yes. He was GOOD. After about 3 minutes though, another kid on the opposing team who threw his hands in the air every time things didn’t go his way, a foul was called on him or he lost the ball. It couldn’t have ever possibly been because he did something wrong – it was always cause for whining, an open jaw and complete disbelief. Where did he look at these moments? Straight at his parents on the sidelines for support. Did they say anything? Not sure. I never followed his gaze but they didn’t appear to shut him down because it happened during the ENTIRE game. We have MANY talks about sportsmanship with our own kids — trust me, they are far from perfect. My 11 year old son got sat on the bench early in that basketball game because he had 3 fouls by halftime. He earned them all, and if he would have turned around to us looking for sympathy at any point, he would have simply heard “Knock it off. Turn around and take care of business.” Please don’t hear me say that we’re perfect parents, we simply expect them to save the discussion for that kind of thing for the car ride home. On the court or field, you leave that kind of thing up to your team captains and/or your coach. Period.

There’s a balance between enjoying the game, sharing some banter with the opposing team and carrying yourself in a way that honors your team, your family and the fans on the sidelines supporting you. You learn as you go and hopefully we are helping guide our children into a good balance. (There are mistakes we make along the way, too. We talk about those as well.) I was an athlete growing up and I had a mouth on me as a volleyball and soccer player — trust me, I get how hard it can be to control your temper and words when emotions run high. Now, I can easily be “that mom” on the sidelines, and constantly have to check myself when our kids are playing a team that brings some dirty play/trash talk to the game. It’s irritating. People (even 7 year old girls sometimes – LOL) get under your skin when you have a competitive nature. I get it.

Back to football. Another thing to know about me is that while I appreciate his talent, I’ve never jumped onto the Peyton Manning bandwagon – I don’t dislike him and I definitely respect his talent and leadership. I’m just not a Superfan like 99% of Broncos Nation. I will say this though — Richard Sherman can definitely take a page out of #18’s post-game interview playbook. They played in games with the same meaning, the same outcomes and like the whole Crabtree/Sherman situation, Manning was pitted by the media and sports fans against Brady ALL WEEK. Everyone was questioning Manning and his ability to finish, quoting all of the statistics, talking about how none of his accomplishments would mean anything and how he’d be remembered for this loss instead of all that he’s achieved up to this point if he didn’t win the game. If *he* didn’t win? That bugged me all week long. How about if THE BRONCOS didn’t win the game?

So, what did he do? Peyton let his play speak for itself, just shook hands with people (including Tom Brady) after the game, and in his post-game interview gave his coaches and teammates all of the credit by repeatedly talking about how it was a collective group effort. This man broke almost every possible record this season and had every right to claim he’s “the best” but instead he pointed the praise to those around him and shared the spotlight in a classy way. It was pretty cool.

Richard Sherman could surprise everyone by occasionally classing it up and humbling himself a bit. Whether or not he should is a difference of opinion with many people. I personally find it hard to believe, after reading all that I’ve read about him, that Sherman was truly just wanting to shake Crabtree’s hand and say “Good game” and that his butt slap and in the face talking that followed was a result of Crabtree ignoring him. If he was, well — my doubting his intentions is a direct result of his own pattern of behavior — even if he doesn’t want to take responsibility for them. More than likely, he was taunting and pushing buttons — just like he’d been waiting to do all week. When Crabtree wouldn’t react, he took it to the camera. Not the classiest move.

Most disappointing of all to me? THIS is what people are talking about this morning. Not the Seahawks and their fabulous year, awesome home record and win after a hard fought game. Football fans everywhere are talking about Richard Sherman today, no matter which side of the argument they fall on.

I guess he got what he wanted — the spotlight. It’s just too bad that it is at the expense of the rest of his team.

GO, BRONCOS!!!

Rebuilding…

I’m in the middle of reading this book and it’s talking a lot about loss, renewal, rebuilding.  One of the characters was talking about the loss of his family’s home in Biloxi after Hurricane Katrina and how the neighbor a few doors down lost every picture she had of a daughter that had passed away a few years prior.  He said after that conversation he just didn’t feel sorry for himself and followed it up by saying, “Somebody has to be left standing to put the pieces back together.”

It’s a novel, just a story, but it got me thinking about my own journey through life.  Like anyone else, I’ve experienced loss in many different ways over the years.  Sometimes other people have helped me back up, sometimes it’s me picking myself back up.  Either way, it seems that I’m constantly in a state of rebuilding — be it my emotions, my spirit, my physical surroundings or my body and physical health.  At least one of those things is always in a state of change that requires a repair or rebuild of some kind.

I think that the thing about loss is that you’re never prepared.  Even when you have advanced warning and may even see it as a blessing, when the actual moment arrives where someone or something that’s been precious to you in some way is gone…there’s still a space. A gap.  Something was there and now it’s not — there’s a void and no amount of knowing it’s coming can give you a sense of what it will be like to live with that hole.  There’s just no way to know what life will be or feel like on the other side of that loss.  When you don’t see it coming at all, getting blindsided is something that can truly just flatten you in a variety of ways.  Sometimes the loss is gradual and you don’t even know it’s gone until you look around and one day realize it’s the something that’s missing.

In any case, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about the past few days while I’ve been reading this book.  It’s also the start of the New Year, so a theme of renewal and new beginnings is swirling around in everyone’s conversations, commercials, facebook posts, etc.  A friend recently said that her yoga instructor suggested thinking of things in terms of “intentions” vs “resolutions” and I really like that.  What do I intend to do with my life this year?  What changes do I intend to make?

I’m looking around as I consider this giant, open-ended question and have come to realize (again) that my God is the one who is still standing to help my rebuild.  He’s faithful.  No matter who or what has changed in my life this year, He has stood by my side with a sense of peace and comfort and surrounded me with people who will help me.  He’s planted seeds in this past year that are starting to sprout in ways and areas that I didn’t even know I’d need.   I’ll need some time to pray and reflect and still myself for answers that are bigger than me.

I’m left feeling a heightened sense of purpose, hope and gratitude.

Truly blessed.  Humble and grateful.  Praying for strength and guidance.

May you be blessed this year.

Tuscan Bean Soup

I just ate the last of a batch of my favorite homemade soup and posted on FB that I was sad there is none left for tomorrow.  A friend requested the recipe and when I posted it, someone else said I needed to pin it…DONE.

It truly is the easiest, yummiest, good-for-you soup recipe I’ve ever tried.  You know those little mini-recipe books they hand out at health fairs and the grocery store?  I think this recipe came from one of those throwaway things from the heart association about 15 years ago, so don’t ever throw those little gems away without looking through them first!

Anyway, I love this soup and make it A LOT.  Every person that’s ever tasted it has always asked for the recipe.  (My husband even likes it a lot…it’s literally the ONLY recipe I have never seen him pick a tomato or onion out of.)  Do yourself a favor and try it at home! It’s perfect for this time of year — when I see my friends in Dallas posting snow pictures, it’s definitely soup season!

And First Place Goes To….

So, as it turns out, even if you have a Facebook page dedicated to health and fitness, you can find yourself in a huge slump.  Who knew?

I have the exercise thing figured out.  I truly do love my Beachbody programs — they keep me from getting bored and allow me to get fit/strong at home.  I get in walks and runs in my neighborhood.  I exercised ALL summer long!  I did my first 90 Day program. Go, me!

I KNOW about good nutrition.  I know how to fuel my body to stay healthy and strong.  I truly DO love Shakeology and will drink it until they quit making it.  (I don’t think they’ll ever quit making it, so there ya go.)  I am not a great baker but I am a pretty competent cook and find it easy to modify most any recipe to make healthy, delicious dishes that my whole family can enjoy. I have tracked my food all summer long, even on vacation!

So why am I in a slump?  Why is it so hard for me to make any progress with regard to my own weight loss goals?

Simple.  I’ve put anything and everything in First Place in my life, ahead of God.

Three years ago, I lost 60 lbs.  I distinctly remember a dinner party with a group of girlfriends where I spent pretty much the entire evening talking about my weight loss.  (Not that I was running around talking about it, but person after person asked me about it over the course of the evening.)  I remember telling them “Ya know, I really just watched what I ate and exercised regularly.  That’s about it.”

WRONG.  Want to know what the REAL answer is?

I put God in First Place.  Every day.  In everything.

I was part of a Christ-centered weight loss group that met every week.  I went EVERY week.  I stuck to the commitments of the group, ALL of which focused on GOD.  I experienced extraordinary success.

The group stopped meeting.  I stopped doing everything except paying attention to what I was eating and working out.  I took God out of First Place and the plateau began.  I have yet to get the train moving again.

I don’t have time and to be honest, don’t really WANT to do another in-person meeting.  I DO have a strong need and desire to be accountable to people about who and what I am choosing to put in First Place.  I’d love to say that I’m the type of person who will tell you “Yeah, I do my Bible Study EVERY morning.  I have prayer time EVERY day.  I work on memorizing scripture EVERY day.”  No.  I don’t.  It’s not me.  UNLESS I know someone’s going to ask me about it.  That probably sounds backwards and ridiculous to some, but it’s the truth and more importantly, it’s MY truth.  I also know that I’m not alone.  I know I’m not.

So.  Here’s where I’m at.

I am feeling led to start a Facebook group for women who want to put God in First Place with regards to their health.  *Listen to me.*  I didn’t say women who want to lose weight.  (Yes, you are welcome in my group — but not just you.)  You can join my group if it would help your health to GAIN some weight.  You can come on in if you need to focus on your MENTAL health.  Get on board if you need to lower your cholesterol.  Whatever it is, if your health is an issue for you in any way, shape or form and you feel like you would like to be part of a group of women who are committed to supporting each other in a Christ-centered environment, join us.

By the way, I don’t care if you EVER go to church. I don’t care if you go to Church every Sunday and Wednesday, even on vacation.  I don’t care what denomination you are or aren’t.  I also don’t care if you are simply curious about a relationship with Jesus.

YOU. ARE. WELCOME. IN. MY. GROUP.

Please also understand that you are NOT welcome if you have any inclination to judge the people or conversations in this group.  It will be a SAFE place…I will not tolerate drama or breaking the confidentiality of the group and I *will* boot you out if either become an issue.  We will be like Vegas without the drama — what happens there, stays there.  End of story.  That said, I’m generally a nice person. (Obviously, right? Ha!)

I am not a counselor, pastor, priest, expert, nutritionist, nurse, trainer, or anything like that.  I’m a very imperfect woman who knows that she needs the help of other like-minded people to get her life back in order.  That’s all.  You’re joining a group led by a believer who just might make other believers cringe — so know that ahead of time and lower those expectations.  I guarantee you, if you’re not supposed to think it, say it or do it — I’ve probably thought it, said it or done it…and maybe even today.

So, here’s the deal.  Either message me or leave a comment with your email if you’d like me to send you an intro to the group and what it will be about.  Then you can decide if you’d like to join.  You are also free to extend this invitation to friends/family who also might need a boost.

*big breath out*

Being honest usually jumpstarts my anxiety (which is a huge struggle for me).  Starting new adventures is scary.  Right now I feel anxiously excited and frightened.  Most of all, I feel hopeful because I know I am setting myself up to succeed by taking myself out of First Place.

Be blessed today!

My New BFF Is A Gallon Sized Freezer Bag…

One thing to know about me is that sometimes I am sadly NOT internally motivated to do things that need to be and/or should be done. Would I have ever signed up to run two 10K’s last year without my friend wanting a group of us to run one for her 40th birthday?

A-ha-ha-ha-ha….NO.

How about cleaning my house vs. just wiping it down sometimes if there isn’t a group of people coming over for a party?

Exactly.

Reading my Bible if there’s no study group to prepare for?

😦 *sigh*

You get the picture. The nutshell version is that I do better with a group of people and deadlines motivating me. This is why when my friend invited me to a freezer meal party I was excited. Hanging out with a group of friends, having a glass of wine (or two) and leaving with 10 healthy meals ready to pop in the freezer? YOU BET. I had always heard of the Dream Dinners concept, but never did it. The fact that this party involved organic, natural, healthy ingredients? Super bonus land for me!!

I have a ton of freezer meal things pinned on my pinterest boards that I have yet to utilize.  Why?  Because it’s just ME.  They look great, but then they just sit there. I decided to bite the bullet and go for it.

It took me exactly two hours to prep and prepare the meals before/during the party.  I got to stick TEN meals in my freezer.  AWESOMENESS.  The good news? My family (and by that I mean ALL FIVE of us) loved every meal!  Score!  I loved it so much I ended up hosting my own freezer meal party last month.  It was SO much fun — I got to have 10 of my friends over for a girls’ night in and by the end of the night all of our lives were easier. (By the way, it cost me about $140 for all of the ingredients for the first party, if you are wondering. I also had enough of the spices/oils left to make every meal at LEAST once more, so it’s pretty budget friendly.)

Last night we had Herb Crusted Tilapia.

How the meal comes out of the freezer

You can definitely grill it, but as we were feeling lazy, we opted to bake it (at 400° for 20 minutes, flipping the filets after 10 minutes) this time. We added just a touch of grated parm and squeezed some fresh lemon juice on top after we took it out of the oven.  My kids typically only eat fish in stick form, but I keep trying.  This recipe?  COMPLETE SUCCESS!!  All three of them gobbled it up and my 9 year old even had another helping. I was so happy!

If you ever host such a party, I highly recommend putting your own meals together either the day before or the day after.  I really enjoyed just strolling around with a glass of wine, filling up people’s plates with munchies, refilling drinks and getting to talk to everyone.  It was great.  Also — if you buy your proteins (fish, chicken, etc.) at Sam’s or Costco or someplace like that, you’ll probably have extras like I did.  The first time I did this I wasn’t sure what I was doing so I just froze the extras plain in freezer bags.  This time, I made some of the recipes 2 or 3 times instead of just one.  I ended up with 18 meals this time!  Woohoo!  The other thing is, have plenty of healthy snacks — I served cheese and sesame crackers, raw veggies, fruit and mango salsa with whole grain chips.  I also got a 3-pack of some frozen yummy pizzas when I did my meal prep shopping in case anyone wanted to hang out and stay for dinner which ended up being great, as 4 or 5 ladies stuck around for awhile.

I was thinking last night about how much I love opening up my freezer during our crazy, busy weeks and having a big selection of yummy, healthy meals waiting for me to just pop on the grill or into the oven, so I thought I’d share.

*Side note*  I am NOT in any way affiliated with Wildtree — I have simply become a big fan of their products and this party idea.  I definitely support you finding a Wildtree rep in your own area to host your own party if it sounds like a good idea to you, too!  So much fun!!

Working out at home with my girl…

A lot of people ask me about the different workouts…what are they like, how long do they take, how challenging are they, etc. TurboFire is a fitness program that I had honestly never heard of before I started Coaching with Team Beachbody, but I am sure glad I know about it now!

TurboFire is a great mix of kickboxing, dancing (the booty shakin’ kind), plyometrics, and toning/core work. The workouts vary from 15 minutes to an hour, so unless it’s my rest day — it’s more of an excuse than a reason to say “I didn’t have time to workout.”

I will admit that when I first started with TurboFire, I got frustrated. I am the kind of person who likes to automatically know what she’s doing. As in, instantaneous perfection. (Yeahhhhhh, as a matter of fact, I DO let myself down on a regular basis with those types of expecations! Go figure!) That first week or two I got grumpy working out because I didn’t have the choreography nailed down.

Then a switch sort of flipped when I got more comfortable with it and now it’s GAME ON. It’s so much fun — you definitely can’t say it’s boring! A friend of mine comes over and works out with me three evenings a week while our boys are at soccer practice. Last night we were both just S-T-R-U-G-G-L-I-N-G. We’d had long days at work, neither of us had gotten enough water during the day, we were both physically tired — it was pretty rough. About 30 minutes into the hour long Fire 55 workout, we asked each other (out loud, not just with sad, pathetic looks — although those were definitely exchanged!) if we wanted to quit. We both decided to suck it up and I’m so glad we did. It wasn’t pretty but we got it done, and 353 calories later, I was sure glad we didn’t give up! We both said we will probably feel like rockstars, killing it in our next workout compared to that tough day!

Anyway – here’s a quick video to show you a bit of what it looks like. I took this on Sunday and had the joy of my six year old daughter’s company while I worked out. She’s a trooper and loves to get busy with her momma! 🙂 Enjoy!

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail – SO TRUE!!

Yesterday, I didn’t plan a thing for me.  It showed.

I ended up with about 4 hours of sleep the night before, and not all at once.  That does NOT equal a me who is functional on all levels.  It also meant that I skipped my morning workout in favor of 2 of those last 4 hours of sleep…by the time I had a spare hour between work and my brother’s 40th birthday dinner, I could barely keep my eyes open, let alone think about working out.

I didn’t pack a lunch. I didn’t pack a snack. I grabbed ONE bottle of water.  Not good for someone whose office is their car for the entire day.  I did end up going to the drive thru out of necessity, but I got a side salad (basically lettuce since I took all of the fatty yummy seeds, croutons, cheese and dressing off) and waited until I had 15 minutes to swing by my house.  I put on a smidge of my own better-for-me dressing and wolfed it down.

For a snack when I was starting to have serious stay awake issues (again, NOT good when I’m not only trying to work but DRIVE), I stopped and got a small coffee and a Kind bar.  Could have been worse.  At this point in the day, I tried to use my beloved food/exercise tracking app (ps – you can friend me – TaraMKL) on my phone, but it was acting up and wouldn’t work right then.

At dinner, I didn’t have many options and I was so tired — I just decided to enjoy.  Had a few stuffed mushrooms, some lasagna a big salad, a piece of bread and two small glasses of wine.  I also had just a taste of the desserts instead of a gigantic serving of all of them, which is what the tired, emotional me WANTED to do.

I think something new for me is that instead of saying “Screw today – this sucks!” like I would have done even just a few months ago, I decided to do the best I could and minimize the damage.

The first thing I did this morning was sit down and plug it all in.  I ended up almost 900 calories over my goal, but as I put in the foods that I ate, instead of punishing myself for having such a big eating day — I actually was kind to myself as I realized what I *could* have eaten instead and how much worse it would have actually been.  BIG PROGRESS over here in the be as nice to myself as I am to others department.

Sooooo, basically — if you are looking for a Coach who has perfect days ALL of the time and works out like a badass EVERY day…you haven’t found her. If you are looking for someone to walk beside you as she navigates her own journey in the midst of real-life chaos and at the end of the day wants to just feel good about the choices she’s making in the hopes that she is growing as a person?  You might have found her.   🙂

Happy Saturday!  I’m actually looking forward to a workout this afternoon — gonna “Burn some goo” as Tony Horton likes to say.

Tara Starts A Blog, Take 2!

In 2005, I was pregnant with my 2nd child, which meant most nights I was up for hours at a time, unable to sleep.  Not wanting to disturb my husband, often I would waddle down to our office and hop on the internet.  Somewhere along the line, I discovered the world of blogs.  I began to read several of them every single day (well, night) and truly felt like I knew these people!  After a few months of this, I felt such a strong connection that I simply had to communicate with them, so I finally got brave enough to leave a comment.  Much to my surprise, the authors often commented back to me!  Before long, I was feeling a pull to start my own blog.  Little did I know that simply writing about me and all that goes on in my little corner of the universe would allow me to have such a special connection to people I’d never met before…I’m happy to say I’m still friends with many of those same people today!

I got out of the blogging habit for some reason, but I really do miss it.  I love to write and it’s always nice to connect with other people about the ups and downs and ins and outs of the crazy world we’re all trying to navigate through, so I thought I’d give it another go.  (The funny part is, I started that first blog in the middle of the night and this time — what do you know?  It’s 3am!  We had a HUGE storm roll through and I couldn’t go back to sleep, so here I am!)

I’m looking forward to having a creative outlet again.  Much like the old blog, it will probably be a mish-mash of stuff from my everyday life…usually just me trying to find a healthy balance and a small slice of serenity in the midst of chaos.  Never a Dull Moment, Part 2, I guess you could say!

So, here we go — I’m excited to be documenting my journey once again…