Bring On Lemons

  OK OK OK It wasn't an awful week. For the most part I ate right - except that one time when I had a most frustrating conversation and ended the night with 2 bites of chocolate brownie cheesecake and 1 bite of tiramisu but heck - I'm only human... It's been beautiful here this week (I mean - it's winter in Wisconsin so not like actually beautiful, but not freezing) so I made a point of walking every day. Some days that meant a walk around the block, other days it was a walk around the office - but I'm getting back to tracking my steps and moving and shaking! How did you do this week? What are your tips and tricks for getting healthy and getting fit? What works for you? What doesn't? Do tell!!! Today's post was penned by Crystal J. Casavant Crystal Casavant writes. Everything. If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had. Her debut novel, It Was Never About Me, Was It?  is still a work in progress and shall be fully ...

 My first crochet project I gathered my materials from Hobby Lobby but quickly came to the realization I needed more yarn and when I went back they had run out of the color I started with. I ended up with a lovely love sack using 4 different colors. I decided the next project I was going to do better - and I ordered this amazing Chunky Yarn from Amazon! Here is what I ended up with! A queen size crochet blanket all in the same color - it took me 30 skeins of yarn and it's incredibly heavy but imagine how excited I was to put my new weighted blanket on my bed! It's super soft, easy to work with, and when the yarn is delivered, it's vacuum packed so you'll find it hard to believe there's really 10 skeins in the tiny box!  5 stars - I love love love it! Today's 5 star review was penned by Crystal J. Casavant Crystal Casavant writes. Everything. If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had. Her debut novel, It Was Never Abou...

I am going to keep this review short and sweet - but you'll laugh and cry from cover to cover and you'll fall madly in love with Rothstein's writing style. 5 stars - and there you have it! Today's Wordy Wednesday isn't so wordy at all - but this book will speak for itself - ENJOY! Stop by Amazon to find out more!    Today's 5 star review was penned by Crystal J. Casavant Crystal Casavant writes. Everything. If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had. Her debut novel, It Was Never About Me, Was It?  is still a work in progress and shall be fully worthy sometime in 2025. She has written for WOW! Women on Writing , Bring on Lemons , and has been featured in several magazines and ezines relating to credit and collections as well as religious collections for confessional Lutherans. She runs a busy household full of intelligent, recalcitrant, and delightful humans who give her breath and keep her heart beating day after day...

  If you read yesterday's post, you know I'm not buying bigger clothes. I am committed to getting my health back in check. I look at this picture and as much as I still love myself, and my role as a mom, I see a difference from a year ago. My face is fuller, There's so much roundness, and my wardrobe favorites no longer fit the way they should.  I'm getting back to the basics: drinking the water, eating every few hours to fuel my metabolism (small healthy meals that is), exercising regularly, and getting enough rest. These are such basic principals of life, but so difficult for caregivers.  In my case, something has got to give and as much as I enjoy a good trip to the thrift shop, I would much rather get healthier for my long term good and well being instead of shopping for new clothes and spending money on something I don't need. That is all - my temptation was to go and pick up some new wardrobe essentials and wait another week or two to gain control of my health...

  I was so proud of this girl... I honestly as still really proud of her, but today let's just talk about weight. I'm pretty sure I gained it ALL back. I worked so hard to get my weight under 200 and I was headed for my goal of 140 and then I forgot about taking care of myself and I gained a little here and a little there, and now I spent the weekend with my snowpants unzipped because there was no way that zipper or those pants were made for my voluptuous body. That moment and that zipper was the thing I needed. That was my come to Jesus moment - no more snacks, no more cheating, no more glasses of wine, no more skipping the gym. I'm not buying bigger clothes - I'm getting back on track!  Today's post was penned by Crystal J. Casavant Crystal Casavant writes. Everything. If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had. Her debut novel, It Was Never About Me, Was It?  is still a work in progress and shall be fully worthy sometim...

  I seriously can't be the only person who sends an email and waits and waits and waits only to be told "I never got anything from you" - or is it just me? I'm to the point now where my first sentence asks the recipient to let me know that they received the email and it's not lost in cyberspace. I'm beginning to think that smoke signals or tin cans with strings are more efficient than the internet.  I try not to let my anxiety get the best of me. Sometimes when I reach out and hear nothing, I find myself thinking: "no one likes me", "they must have me blocked", etc... when in reality I think most of the time it's really just an internet thing and my emails are lost somewhere - but where? Are they lonely wherever they are? Are they ever coming back? What should I be doing instead? Today's post was penned by Crystal J. Casavant Crystal Casavant writes. Everything. If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought s...

  I really enjoyed the winter youth retreats I went on as a child. So - I thought it would be fun to organize and chaperone a trip for youth from our church. I found myself "camping" with 60 tweens/teens in Wisconsin's Northwoods. Showering while teens run through the dorm building screaming playing "zombie apocalypse" is not at all serene. Trying to sleep while surrounded by rooms full of giggling girls - also not serene. You know what else isn't serene? Flying down a hill on a tube while being "splashed" with snow...then having to walk up the hill carrying the tube to do it again. These things brought me so much joy 30 years ago and yet today, every fiber of my being is aching and I feel like I have a newborn - I'm fully sleep deprived.  I'm not complaining - I'm really not. I'm just realizing that 47 is NOT the new 20. There's a huge difference between doing these fun things as a youth and doing them as a mom. I need to do a ...

  Well - 10pm Northern Wisconsin. Friday night. Snow falling. Interesting life choices were made. Who drives 3.5 hours on a Friday night with 9 youth to go to a retreat? I'm seriously ALWAYS cold. There are 2 days in the middle of the Wisconsin summer that I'm warm, but other than that, there's an electric blanket on my favorite chair, one on the bed, and I've been wearing a winter coat since late August. Yet, here I am standing atop a steep hill with snow on my hood and 9 loving children urging me to go tubing. One of us misunderstood the mission. I thought as a chaperone I was supposed to sip coffee fireside and they thought I was supposed to play like I did 30+ years ago when I was at camp as a child. What does this have to do with fitness? Well - if I could get my snowpants buttoned I could potentially go down the hill without fear of losing my pants. Or - if I were in better shape, I could consider walking up the hill carrying my tube without being short of breath....

  Hey ya'all!  If you weren't in any of my marketing classes, I'm going to give you a quick run-down of a concept called the Marketing Funnel. This is nothing new and it's not my great invention by any means. In fact, I'm not sure who to give credit to, but it's one of those things I think of often. Remember how Mr. Stodola would say we will use algebra in real life and most of you don't? Well... I do, I always seem to find a need for it and it's the same way with the marketing funnel but I digress.  Lot's of people from all walks of life come to me to help them develop things. Sometimes it's a program for a non-profit, sometimes it's help promoting a book, other times it's coming up with a business strategy. Regardless, I start by asking one question (and it's the same question asked at our dinner table on countless occasions): What is your long term goal? Doesn't that seem super easy? It's only the beginning though.  Let...

    Thank you WOW! Women on Writing for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for   Side Hustle & Flow: Shape-Up , where author Cliff Beach shares the seven essential steps to achieving a fitter, happier you. It's perfect for people looking to lose weight, get in shape, and overcome disease and setbacks. This is a delightful audiobook I am happy to give 4.5 stars!  xoxo Crystal More about the audiobook: Welcome to "Side Hustle & Flow: Shape Up!"—the second book in Cliff Beach’s acclaimed series. Following the success of "Side Hustle & Flow," nominated for a World Entertainment Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 2024, Cliff Beach returns with a powerful guide to transforming your health and fitness journey. Discover the seven essential steps to achieving a fitter, happier you: The Deciding Factor: Uncover your personal motivations and use them to fuel your transformation. Checking Your Numbers: Learn the importance of tracking key health metric...

I get not everybody likes Ramen noodles. In fact, I haven't eaten them in decades but it's not because I don't like them - it's because I DO like them but the nutritional value left with my youth in the late 90's. The sodium levels were just something I chose not to include in my adult diet. Now that I have children who can purchase their own groceries (I said CAN, as in they have the ability from time to time), they come home with forbidden foods like: Doritos, energy drinks, box mac n cheese, nutella, and top ramen. I'll be honest - when I smell that delicious salty smell of artificial chicken it brings me back to my Lakeland College dorm room at 3am. I can hear the click click click of the word processor and the whir of the microwave as my delicious breakfast was being made. Thanks for that moment... Here I am, nearly 50, and I honestly miss those carefree years. Well, to my sweet surprise, there's now a thing called IMMI and they taut themselves as a del...

How are you doing on your health goals Crystal? How about your life goals? How about your mental health? How about your work career goals?  Seriously, who are YOU and why are you asking? Those questions seem fair enough when I'm on social media talking about authenticity, right? Well let me be perfectly honest and authentic with you right now - and I'll start from the bottom up: My toenail literally removed itself from my foot I stubbed it so hard last week My knees ache because it's 33 degrees BELOW zero and I'm fat I haven't shaved my legs in days (see note about how cold it is) I just took down my Christmas tree (not sure what that has to do with anything on my body - but there you go) and I'm still sad about the lack of merry-ness in my life My butt is smaller than I'd like and my stomach is larger that I'd like (I remember being in 4th grade and my mother told me I looked pregnant...I was too young then, and now I'm too old - I think it's on...

  This isn't exactly my story to share and yet, maybe it is. I had the opportunity to care for my children's great grandmother before her passing. She died at the age of 97. Believe it or not, she died as the result of an auto accident and NOT from old age. She had many health problems, but was living at home until a few months prior to her heading to Heaven to live with Jesus. She went to the hospital for a few days stay for treatment of a UTI. They released her and due to a freak accident she was pinned between the passenger door of her daughter's car and a concrete pillar at the hospital. A gentleman had backed into them at precisely the time she was moving from the wheelchair into the car. Definitely a sight I'll never forget (though I have tried). As one of her caregivers, I received the first call and they were still cleaning up the scene as I arrived. The hospital cared for Naomi as best they could, but ultimately there was not much they could do to restore her t...

  Let me start by asking you to mark your calendars for February 1, 2025 when you can schedule a mini Valentine Photo Shoot with your family in Two Rivers, Wisconsin! I spent the day today (Saturday) with JC from JC Marie Memories and we worked on her set-up for the mini photo shoot coming up February 1, 2025 and we had such a fabulous time! JC will make you and your family feel like part of her family and you'll capture lots of fun family memories that will last a lifetime! She's also made my some photo magnets for my fridge and she's done family shoots for my friends and family and my eldest son is scheduled to have her do his senior pictures. If you think family pictures are stressful, think again! If you choose JC Marie Memories you will have nothing but fun - it's a serene opportunity for the entire family! Now you can enjoy some of our behind the scenes photos - nothing but goofy fun happening here folks! I will always give JC Marie Memories 5 stars for her attitu...