move

 

I was fed up but it took me 3 weeks to get there. So I decided to move.

At the end of January, after suffering for 3 weeks with chronic low back, hip, and leg pain…after several chiropractic adjustments, some x-rays, and lots of ibuprofen, and nothing appeared to be wrong,  I was advised to move. Move my body more, that is.

I was reluctant because I am kind of lazy by nature when it comes to formal exercise. I like to walk or hike outside. I DON’T like that gym, AT.ALL.

But Folks, it’s been one hell of a winter in Minnesota. So cold you would die, literally, if you were outside for more than 5 minutes at a time. And it is not letting up anytime soon. If it is not Polar Bear cold out, they sky is dropping some serious snow on us. Can you tell I am ready for Spring?…I’m all singing. “where have all the flowers gone?” Seriously!

Well I gave in to Old Man Winter, and got a gym membership just so I could walk on the treadmill. I admit, I was a bit of the unbeliever when I was told that walking on the treadmill alone was going to cure this most annoying pain but I am here to tell you it has! It took about a 1 1/2 weeks to really make a difference but now that I am in my 3rd week of walking 3-5 times per week, that annoying pain is gone!

PLUS I have also added an hour of Yoga 1 day a week at a cute little studio, and I absolutely love it. I have always loved Yoga from the first time I tried it. It is challenging but it is so gentle. I will admit right now am not the girl who will be a runner(I don’t like my lungs burning or the pounding against the pavement) or pumping weights like a maniac at the gym. It is just not my style. I like gentle but effective exercises like Yoga, Walking, Hiking, and Pilates.

My ultimate plan is to get to 2-3 days per week for Yoga,( 2 days at the studio, and one day at home) on top of my 3-5 days of walking for 30 minutes on the treadmill. I might even throw in a day of Pilates if I am feeling super ambitious.

As I get older I can clearly see that inactivity is NOT my friend. This body needs to move or it starts to get belligerent and nasty, wreaking all sorts of havoc in the neighborhood.

It’s all about baby steps! I started on the very lowest level on the treadmill, 3 days a week for 30 minutes. I have now moved up a level, with a higher incline and a faster speed because I feel just a little bit stronger than I did when I started.  I am also to the point where if I don’t go walking my body starts to crave it. That is when I know things are really moving in the right direction.

What are you doing this winter to keep active? If you are not being active and getting exercise, what is keeping you from doing so?

Enjoy The View~ Jenifer

light

 

Remember how I had this grand plan to make my own light fixture so it would look something like this:

But with this type of light fixture:

Well this fickle girl changed her mind.

The original light I wanted was the one I ended up with. I saw this light fixture and really liked it because it was reminiscent of an old school house light. But then I saw the industrial farm house light with seeded glass and it kind of stole my heart.

After it was sitting around for a couple weeks I had a change of heart because I wanted 3 lights above the mirror instead of just 2 and I think 3 of the industrial farmhouse lights would be overwhelming.

So I headed to Home Depot and exchanged it for the original light I had my eye on, and Folks, I love the look. However, it is incredibly hard for me to photograph this bathroom. I think I need a wide angle lens or something. It is not a real small bathroom but it is narrow, so I don’t know if you will ever get a full shot of it all in one picture.

Anyway, here is the new light, plus you can see the new paint color better on the wall. It is Glidden Polished Grey:

Again, I am so far from being a photographer and the space and lighting are a huge challenge in this bathroom. Someday I might learn  

 

Stay tuned for updates further down the line. My plan next is to do a peel and stick floor & frame out the builder grade mirror. I am also on the lookout for a shower curtain I love and vanity hardware.

 

EnJoy The View~

Jenifer

vanity

 

For those who do not know, I am in the middle of a bathroom redo on a budget. This is our main bathroom on our upper level of our home. My budget is right around $250. It’s gonna be tight, but fingers crossed, hoping I can stick to it. This may or my not include a new floor

First things first…painting the yellow/orange oak vanity:

 

 

 

 

 

ALL of the wood work in our house is this color. While I am blessed to have such a nice house, I do not love this wood tone. I would like to paint it all, but that is a HUGE job, so, I will just start with the vanity.

I choose the color Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore. I came across a kitchen on The Inspired Room, and I LOVED her colors she used in her kitchen. I thought it was a great starting point and inspiration for something different in this bathroom.

I had a couple hiccups along the way. My first thought was to use Benjamin Moore Advance paint, because I have heard rave reviews on painting cabinets and trim with this. It is a hybrid paint that is part oil, part water. It is also self leveling. The paint cleans up with soap and water but hardens and has the durability of oil based paint.

But lazy ‘ol me wanted to short cut and thought, “Hey, I will make some homemade chalk paint with this color and then it will not need any prep.”

UM, NO! I either didn’t mix the chalk paint strong enough to adhere to the glossy finish of the stock cabinets or something, because when I tried to polycrylic them, the brush took the homemade chalk paint right off the wood

So I went back to my original plan and went out and bought some of the fabulous Benjamin Moore Advance paint in Kendall Charcoal. DUH, I should have done this in the first place. It is such a great paint. Easy clean up, slower dry time compared to a latex so you have more time to work with it, but not too slow where there can be paint sag like some oil based paints can cause because they dry so slow.

Here is an example of paint sag:

(image source)

So far I am loving the result, even though I have a ways to go on this entire project.

Currently I am on the hunt for some beautiful hardware for the vanity, it never had any. This girl needs some jewelry!

Let me leave you with an AFTER picture of the vanity. Do not mind the messy paint on the back wall..all those walls will be painted a different color, this is why I started with the vanity, because I knew it would be messy and I do not tape anything off.

This color is actually a little darker in person than the monitor shows. The flash washed it out a bit, and there is no natural light in this bathroom, plus I am a total amateur in the photography department.

Next step: Paint walls Polished Grey by Glidden, and change out the light fixture above the mirror.

Here is a sneak peek at what the light will look like(there will be a couple tweaks).

 

EnJoy Your View~

Jenifer

Spark!

 

Great News here at House of Views…..I am now an affiliate for a wonderful Essential oil company called, Spark Naturals.(SN)

I am beyond excited because SN is a certified Pharmagrade company at very affordable prices!

This is not an MLM company & there are no sign up fees(for you or I)! What this means is I can offer you 10% off of all your orders through Spark Naturals. AND if you order $99 worth of product(after discount) you will get free shipping too!

I will do some blogging on the blog here, but I do a lot of my daily writing on facebook at House of Views, especially when it comes to my journey with essential oils(EOs).

I am pretty new to the world of EOs, with so much to learn, but the small amount of knowledge I have right now, makes me all the more excited to learn something new everyday about them!

They really are natures pharmacy.

All I ask is that you always use coupon code(at checkout): houseofviews. This will get you your 10% and little something in return for me for referring you to this awesome company!

If you have any questions I will be happy to help, if I do not know the answer I will try my hardest to find one!

goals

 

I spoke about living my life with intention & setting mini goals for the New Year  in my last post here.

I imagine my mini goals will change and evolve throughout the year. The whole purpose of setting small, attainable goals is to make them simple enough that they are achievable but have a purpose.

 

                            

Here are my first steps to being successful in health:

#1 goal:  Drink 75 oz of filtered water a day. Purpose: staying hydrated, being more alert, flushing toxins.

#2 goal: Drink 1 green smoothie a day. Purpose: add extra nutrients to my diet & more energy to my day.

There ya have it folks, this is how I am rolling in the New Year.

What are your New Year goals?

birth

 

I sat on my couch in the very early hours of Christmas Eve Day…many thoughts were running through this brain of mine but none of them pertaining to Christmas exactly, or were they?

A hot coffee, a warm fire in the fireplace, and the Christmas tree lit with everything mostly quiet, except for the faint sound of Suzy Bogguss quietly playing in the background as the B’Dog unwound on the computer, playing Free Cell, of course

I sat there, thinking about the many blessings in our lives, but then I felt a wave of guilt, the guilt of being a fraud….mostly because I take them all for granted. All.The.Time.
My health, my good fortune, material things, friends, family…

It always seems to be this time of year when I think about how I am going to live life differently.

The New Year approaches and I ask the same questions…”What will I resolve to do?”….”Should I have a word of the year, like last year(Simplify) or should I just throw out a random goal I want to accomplish?”

I happen to come across a blog post about how we as people are too vague when it comes to setting goals. OH! That is so me. to. a . tee.
She suggested picking 2 things that would lead me to the success in what is usually a grandiose goal…losing 50 pounds, reading 100 books, exercising 7 days a week, yada yada yada. We all know the song and dance.
I am here to tell you, THOSE NEVER HAPPEN. ever.

So I am setting my goals that are small but intentional.

And there it is…my word for the year.

Live my life more intentionally.

I am not quite sure what that looks like but I am imagining it will mean I am doing things with purpose, leaving my comfort zone(OH BOY!), being extra kind to others, remembering to set a daily intention every morning, being more available as a parent, wife, and friend. I want to be more intentional with the time I spend with God, because too many times he is just an after thought. And I want to be more intentional with my health more movement, more clean eating, more stretching, and more journaling.

So along with the season of the birth of a baby Jesus, for me comes the birth of living lifeintentionally. Getting real and doing things with pure purpose and for me that takes planning. Not just winging it.

stay tuned for my mini goals….

Life View- If you are happy and you know it clap your hands (cue awkward silence here cuz I ain't clappin')

*Disclaimer...I LURVVVE Miss L, more than I have ever loved anything or anyone in the whole wide world. This post should, in no way concern anyone that I am going to leave her on the 1st street corner I see, with a "Will work for my Moms sanity....because my Mom thinks summer break is 4 weeks too long" sign around her neck. No sir-ree. Please do not turn me into social services.

Okay!.......I am keepin' it really real today.

Parents....Are ya done with summer break yet? 

I mean, really, really done with summer break?

I am.

No routine, no schedule, makes a Mama more cray-cray than normal.

It's all.... "MOM, can we go...." Mom, can you make me...."MOM, MOM, MOM"......and it's always when I am just getting into a project. It.never.fails.

These last couple weeks I've been nothing if I haven't been... touchy, crabby, impatient....and if there are any other adjectives out there to describe a part time stay at home Mom's disposition 10 weeks into summer break...I am probably that as well.

I've been on all sides of the fence as far as working full time outside of the home, full time stay at home, and now part time working outside the home kind of Mom.

As far as my sanity goes, working full time outside of the home was clearly the winner for me.

YEAH YEAH, I know, sounds like I am complaining. Yes I might be, right now. 

However, I also know how blessed I am to have the opportunity to be at, and take Miss L to, all of her activities, make her dinner, bring her to school & get her off the bus..

I know, I know, I really do! 

But mentally 10 weeks in, the blessing of it all...is a bit....out of focus. 

Want to know something that has become a bit more clear, as the blessings of summer break become a bit hazy?

If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

True Story.

For some reason, I have become the go to person for mood setting in our home.

If I am happy...everyone else seems happy, or the ones that are happy can easily overlook the "unhappy" one(s).

If I am sad...the rest of the house gets sad right along with me.

If I ain't happy...there ain't nobody happy. 

They can be happy when they walk in the door, but the minute they smack into my wall of unhappiness...BAM...they pissed...just like ME.

I don't get it. 

Why do I have to be the designated mood setter?

It's way too much pressure and guilt!

Are you the mood setter in your home too?

I assure you I am not always Ms. Crabby McCrabberston. 

Most of the time, like 3 weeks out of 4, I am a pretty happy camper. 

But a girl has her psycho moments and 10 weeks in,  my 3 good weeks have dwindled down to about 3 good days....and that might be stretching it. 

I KNOW I am not alone. 

Because all you frazzled Mamas out there have been lighting up the Social Media world with "Summer, you are dead to me" posts.

Tell me how you are coping with the last couple weeks of summer break.

I'm not counting but....22 Days until my partial sanity makes its return.

EnJoy the View~

Jenifer