Let's have a chat

It's been a while. Not sure anyone out there will read this but that's okay. I'm starting this little corner of the web back up again and hope I can stick with it a little longer this time around. So much has changed since I left my blog last. Too much to really catch up on in one post. If you follow me on the socials then you've been with me the last year and there's no need for updates! If you haven't, I will be including snippets here and there to help explain things a little better.

Blogging for me is so much bigger than what I write here. It's interacting with a group of women that have inspired me and I've come to admire. I want to make more of an effort to catch up with all of them again, that's one of the biggest reasons I came back. I also have some fun things to share with you!

Starting today I'll be working on getting weekly posts done. I want to start a fashion series called "Sunday's Best" and tell you all about what I'm wearing on Sunday's or what I've had my eye on in the current fashion market (Target fall clothes are coming!). I also want to take you into my world of crochet and showcase some of the pieces I've made, who they're for and the meaning behind why this craft is so important to me. If Wordless Wednesday is still a thing, you can count me in for some short and sweet posts on Wednesday's just to say hello.

I'm in a good place. For the first time in what feels like years, I feel like things are changing for the better. I'm changing for the better. Hope you'll join me. :)

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Thanks for the chat!

See you soon!

Changes

Hi friends! Notice anything different? I went ahead and made the changes I discussed in my previous post. Unfortunately, because I changed my URL all of bloglovin' followers are gone :(. It's fine though, hopefully after reading this post most of you will click that little button down below and I'll be back to where I was in no time!

I'm excited about the changes! It feels like a clean slate. My biggest challenge will be consistency and confidence. I know I'll get there eventually.

As far as updates go, I've started physical therapy again! I've been going twice a week for a few weeks now and I'm loving it so far! Don't get me wrong, it's hard and painful but I know it has to be like this before I start seeing results. I'm hoping to get in some aqua therapy classes too! It's all so exciting! For the first time in a long time it feels like things are moving in the right direction.

If you follow me on social media then you know that my Dad has cancer. Since his diagnosis we've had our ups and downs with his care but he's finally in an amazing facility and getting the care he needs. I have so much going on with my own care but somehow I've managed to care for him as well as myself, thanks to the support of family. Dad and I got so lucky. :)

I have been very busy with all of our appointments lately but I still manage to spend time with family and friends when I can. My cousin is getting married in a couple weeks and I'm so looking forward to the wedding and seeing all of my family from near and far again. Sooner than that I'll be going to Passover dinner at my Aunt's house this weekend. Some of my fondest childhood memories are playing "hide the matzo" with my siblings at my Aunt's house.

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I'm so happy to be in a place where I feel like change can be good. The fear and pain will always be there but I'm choosing not to let it control me anymore. I deserve so much better than that.

Thank you so much for reading this and I truly hope you choose to stick around. :)

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Re-branding?

Hey guys! It's been a little bit since I've blogged and I've gotten the itch. Lately I've been observing other bloggers and YouTuber's and how they brand themselves. Now, I don't really have any goals set yet for what I'd like my blog to grow into but if I choose to let it grow, maybe re-branding wouldn't be such a bad idea.

When I first started this blog it was to help me connect to other military spouses and it has been so wonderful for that! What I have noticed though is that with my disability, my mind is no longer where it was when I first started. I don't lead a very adventurous life and I don't really see people sticking around to hear about my day to day. What I do really like to talk about is sharing my story of living with chronic pain to maybe help others who may feel as alone as I do sometimes. I also love vintage fashion, makeup, skincare and dogs! I do a lot of research on things that work for me so why not share that advice with others.

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If I can stick with it and stay consistent I feel like my voice could be heard and I'd be able to connect with so many more people that share the same interests as I do.

With all that said, I'm going to take the steps to re-brand my little corner of the web. I'll be doing more research on changing the domain which may lead to me starting fresh with a brand new blog. I'll keep you all posted here and on social media. I'm playing around with the new blog name, Kimberly Erin. I like how it sounds together and its 100% me. I'd love to know what you all think and if you have any suggestions before I go public.

Hope you're having a great week!

Begin Again

Maybe it's the start of a new year that has given me this longing to write but for a good week I have not been able to stop thinking of my next blog post.

I often get overwhelmed with everything that can come with blogging. Will people want to read my content? Do I care if people read it? My blog isn't as pretty as others, does that matter? Is my email address not professional enough? It's almost as if I want to start from scratch just so I can apply all that I've learned to a new blog. A shiny, sparkly, clean slate.

I'm going to start doing some research and see where it takes me. If you have any advice on how you've stayed motivated to blog I would appreciate any help. There is so much I want for myself. Keeping up with my blog is a small goal but a goal none the less.

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Speaking of goals, this year holds a lot of promise. Not just for myself but for my little family. :)

• After a bit of a bump in the road with my looming surgery, I'm hoping 2015 will be my year to get treated and recover.
  
• My weight loss continues to go down and I'm determined to lose my last 20 pounds this year.
   
• My husband is working on his own personal goals this year and I'm looking forward to standing by his side as he accomplishes them. ;)

• I want to go back to school. Right out of high school I attended a state university for 2 1/2 years. It's time I go back and finish my degree. I feel I'm finally in the right mind set to make it happen. Here's hoping my university can accommodate my disability.

• Continue to focus more on myself and doing things that make me happy. Blogging, journal writing, traveling and seeing more of my dear friends. 

These are just a few of the goals I'm carrying into 2015. They're not necessarily new but I'm a list maker and writing them down sure does put things in perspective. I don't really have a plan as to when some of these things will get crossed off my list but I know I'm going to try, and that really is all I can do. :)

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I hope you have a great week!

It's Okay

I've taken yet another blogging break and I'm totally okay with that. I realized that I'm not an everyday blogger right now. Life is moving right along and I don't have much to talk about these days.

Learning to let things go and be okay with certain things has always been a struggle for me. This journey I'm on with dealing with an injury and waiting for surgery is hard. Maintaining everything is hard. I'm learning to be okay with the fact that things aren't always going to go the way I want them to and I need to keep moving forward.

Last week sucked. I had my weekly weigh-in with Jenny Craig and I gained! I was heartbroken. So many questions and so much disappointment. I cried off and on all day. The stress and pressure to lose weight for surgery finally broke me. I'd like to say I'm losing weight to get healthy and fit and although that is a plus it's not why I'm losing the weight. I'm doing this to qualify for surgery and finally be pain free.

After a lot of thinking I finally realized that it's okay that I had a gain. It's all part of life right? There are going to be ups and downs with everything. I need to just keep moving forward and go with the flow. It'll all work out. I know it.

This weeks weigh-in was a little different than my past ones. Although I wanted a loss, I knew that I'd be okay with whatever I got. I have worked so hard these past few months. It's time to stop second guessing myself.

I ended up losing the most weight I have since I started the program and made up for last weeks gain. :)

I'm not sure why I gained or if it even matters at this point. Staying consistent is going to be my main focus. The pounds will come off on their own. Consistency will be my biggest focus.


I can do it.

My thoughts are kind of all over the place right now so this post may not make the most sense but putting them down on "paper" is such a benefit to me. I can't wait to look back and see how far I've come.

Hope you're having a great week!

Motivational Monday: My Journey...So Far

I'm back! Lol. I really am this time! I finally got a new computer and it's small enough for me to carry everywhere and be comfortable on the couch when my back is really sore. :)

I've been pretty busy lately! It's mostly due in part to getting a good handle on my depression. I've been able to cope better and losing weight has definitely boosted my confidence. That's right, this girl has lost 22lbs! Yay! I've been on Jenny Craig since September 24th and I've been loving it. It was really hard at first but like anything new, it takes some getting used to.

I plan on posting before and after pictures eventually, but I think I'll wait until I reach one of my goals.

 



Right now I'm keeping busy with trying to walk at least three times a week. Working through the pain is difficult but I'm getting through it. :) My Dad is finally getting a good hold of his health issues and my husband and I are taking turns with helping him get to his appointments and run errands. I never realized how hard it would be trying to take care of myself and my chronic pain while also trying to help my Dad deal with his issues. Tough stuff! It's all part of the journey I guess.

 

This has really been resonating with me lately. I am doing it.

I can finally say I see an end in site and with a few more pounds to lose I'm almost there! Once I reach my weight loss goal I'll be getting ready to meet with a surgeon. I've exhausted all my recovery options these past two years and I'm looking forward to finally feeling like something might work.

 

It feels so good to be back blogging and finally catching up with my dear friends in the blog world. I've missed you! Stay tuned for Wednesday's post!

 

Hope you have a great day!

Happy Holidays and more!

I'm back! Yay! I know in my last post I promised to blog soon and of course life got in the way. But I'm here and plan to update you all on what I've been up to!

I'd like to do separate posts about everything but I'll try to sum it up here to give you a bit of a preview. :)

I officially started Jenny Craig at the end of September and I'm 3 months in! I've lost 15lbs and feel wonderful! I'm learning how to eat all over again and exercising a lot of self control! Dieting like this during the holidays is a challenge and I'm so proud of what I've accomplished so far.


For Thanksgiving I headed out to Colorado Springs, CO to visit my sister and mom. I got stuck in my first snow storm and was constantly amazed by the beautiful snow-filled landscape. My sisters German Shepherd, Kilo, kept me entertained and gave me lots of love when I was missing my fur-baby at home. I also met up with a friend I met through Facebook when our husbands went through training together! It was a great day! I'll give you a full update on my trip as soon as I can. :)

My sisters front yard :)

Look at that face! My "nephew", Kilo. :)

Amanda and I. Love this girl!

As soon as I got back from my trip I began decorating for Christmas! I absolutely love this time of year! I decorated the house and sent out holiday cards to friends, family and Amanda's Somewhere Over the Camo holiday card exchange. I also made a cake for my brother-in-laws 15th birthday and went to a "costume" party for my best friends birthday. That was all in the last couple of weeks! This past Friday my husband and I also went to his Judo Club's holiday party and had so much fun! :)

My sweet boy in front of our tree.

Holiday cards were sent out!

My brother-in-law's birthday cake.
 

"Costume" Party with my Bestie! :)

This week my Mom has been in town and we've been spending a lot of time together. Tonight we will be having dinner at my brother's house and then it's Christmas! I'm so happy to be back blogging and hope I can catch you up even more in the next coming weeks.

Happy Holidays!

I'm still here!

It's been so long since I've blogged or visited my favorite bloggers! I think of it everyday!

Life is keeping me busy and no wifi on top of that is really why I've been gone so long. 

I can't wait to get back soon! I'm still on my weight loss journey, went to Colorado for a week and I'm finally tackling my Christmas decorations! I'll be planning a few blog posts in the next week and I hope some of you have stuck around. :)

Happy Holidays! <3

Hey Stranger!

I just thought I'd drop in and give an update. :)

Our computer decided to stop working hence yet another break from blogging. I was hoping to have a new one by now but it may take a bit longer. For now I'll try to post as often as I can on my phone. :)

I haven't even been able to read many blogs and feel so behind! Hopefully I can catch up soon! I miss my bloggy friends!

As for an update, not too much going on. I met with a psychologist for a pre-op evaluation today. It wasn't the best news but he did say with weight loss and some core strengthening work outs, I should be ready for surgery. Slowly but surely I guess. I'm still moving forward and taking each day as it comes. 

The book I was given by the Doctor. Getting ready!

Can't wait to catch up with everyone soon! Hope you are having a great week!

Wordless Wednesday

Since I took a bit of a break from blogging, 

here is a little bit of what I've been up to. :)

(Warning: This post is picture heavy!)

 March started with some time spent with my Mother-in-Law. 

Here we are at a neighbors baby shower. Being there definitely gave both of us baby fever. She began planning my "future" baby shower right there! Ha ha!

My husband and my Mother-in-Law started walking together around the neighborhood. I've been getting a bit of cabin fever from staying in so much, so they took me along with them! 

Here is my husband pushing me in a wheel chair. :)

I found this wonderful flower maker on Facebook 

and purchased some of her flowers. 

The top one was one I found in her shop that I love! 

My husband likes it too ;).

The bottom one I had her custom make for me. 

I love that I can represent the best hockey team in the NHL on a flower! ;)

Speaking of hockey! Here's an OOTD on game day! 

I'm wearing my Kings flower with one of my favorite Kings shirts.

{My mirror is lined with all of my flowers. I'm a collector. :)}

On Easter Sunday, we had some beautiful weather here in So Cal.

This is the view from our balcony at sunset after a brief rain shower.

My husband's best friend just had a birthday,

so we all went out to our favorite local deli for lunch.

No one wanted their picture taken but my husband. He's such a good sport! Ha ha!

On Sunday, Wan and I got ready and headed over to my Dad's for lunch. 

I got some new make-up I've been playing around with 

and got all dolled up just because.

I'm a lucky lady to have such a sweet man in my life. :)

That is all I've been up to! 

I hope you enjoyed catching up with me 

and can't wait to get back to blogging more. 

I know I don't have many readers, but if you have any questions you'd like to ask me I'd love to answer them!

Happy Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday

I'm starting to feel a bit better and taking each day as it comes.

Here's a little glimpse of what I've been up to!

 Hangin' out with my love in his truck.

 Gifts from my sister! Part of a coupon haul she did.

I got a haircut! It's been way too long and I love it!

I also just joined up with Bloglovin' and I hope you will follow me! 

The link is in the right sidebar. :)

It's Ok

 

I am so happy to be able to finally take advantage of my first link-up! I've been following Neely for a little while and saw she hosted this great link-up! I'm still pretty new at this and I hope I'm doing it right. A lot has been going on with me and I'm finding that my blog and the support I get from it is so wonderful I should be sharing a lot more! The husband got Assassins Creed III for Christmas so that gives me lots of extra time on our computer now! Lol.

 

Without further interruption, please enjoy my first "It's Ok Thursdays"!

 

It's Ok...

 

To not want the Christmas season to end and have to put away all my pretty decorations. :(

 

To be scared of the possibility of a very complex back surgery in my future. Everyone is telling me to go ahead with it, but the thought of being cut open and spending a few nights in the hospital scares me.

 

To be sad that my Mom and Sister couldn't make it for Christmas this year. I miss both of them so much! Hoping Mom will make it out here in a couple of weeks!

 

That I've been sleeping so much lately. The holidays have kept me pretty active which takes it's toll on me physically. I sleep because my body needs to heal and the meds keep me tired!

 

To not be sure of anything any more. The future and my plans are so up in the air these days. I need to be patient and know that things will fall into place when the time is right.

 

To have my phone full of pictures of this little guy. He makes me so happy! I was blessed with the best fur baby in the world!

 

My cuddle buddy, Rocky <3

 

 



The Liebster Award

Today I found out that I was chosen for The Liebster Award by Jen at The Adventures of Our Army Life! I am so excited to be considered for this, especially because my blog is still so new and tiny. Thank you so much Jen! Please go visit her and give her blog lots of love!
 

So what is it?

The Liebster Award is given by fellow bloggers to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

So what does it mean?

Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

What's the rules?

Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

Answer the questions that the nominator set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve nominated to answer.

Choose 11 people and link them in your post.

Go to their page and tell them.

No tag backs!

 

11 Things About Myself

 

1. I have different colored eyes, one blue and one green.

2. I am obsessed with HGTV and dream of having a TV show makeover my home one day.

3. I am one of the biggest Los Angeles Kings fans! Go Kings!

4. I hate scary movies. I have to leave the room when my husband insists on watching them!

5. I love going to classic car shows! My husband has a 1960 Ford truck and my dream is to get a 1960 Ford Falcon one day.

6. I am the middle child of 5 (3 brothers and 1 sister).

7. I hate seafood but recently got introduced to salmon (not bad!).

8. I went to Israel in 2010 and it changed my life.

9. I cry a lot! My mom says I just have a big heart.

10. Since my husband joined the Army I've become extremely patriotic! Go USA! :)

11. My dog is like my child. I love him so much!

 

My Questions from Jen

 

1. If you could be any color, what would you be and why? I would be blue. It's my favorite color and makes me feel calm and at peace.

 

2. Do you have any pets? I have a Morkie (Maltese-Yorkie) named Rocky. He's my little man and I'm in love!

3. If you could meet anyone living or dead who would it be? My grandparents on my Dad's side. They passed long before I was born yet I feel so close to them and have visited their graves more than once.

4. What is your favorite meal? That's such a hard question! I would have to say Thanksgiving dinner. There's something about the combination of Turkey, Ham, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, etc. that I absolutely love!

5. If you could pick any actor to play you in your life story, who would you choose? Zooey Deschanel. I love her style and humor.

6. Are you a tomboy or girly girl? I would say both. I was very much a tomboy when I was younger and have incorporated that into my girly adult style.

7. Do you have any siblings? I have 4 siblings. An older brother and sister and two younger brothers.

8. What is your biggest pet peeve? Talking with food in your mouth or smacking! It drives me crazy!

9. Are you allergic to anything? I have seasonal nasal allergies. It sucks to be me in the spring!

10. Are you afraid of anything? I'm afraid of the dark and will probably always have a night light around.

11. What is your favorite type of music? I am a music lover and love all types of music. My tops include punk, rock, oldies, country, singer/songwriter, psychobilly, etc.!

 

11 Bloggers That I Chose

 

Camo-Colored Chaos

 

Acronyms. Latin, and Love

 

Combat Boots & Booster Seats

 

Liz's Diary

 

Somewhere Over the Camo

 

Then There Was We

 

Un-Laced

 

Life Adventures of a New Army Wife

 

Dandelions and Daffodils

 

Stars, Stripes, and a Military Life

 

The Misadventures of Mrs. Duh

 

11 Questions That I Chose For These Awesome Bloggers

 

1. What is your favorite fall activity?

2. If you had to choose Thanksgiving or Christmas which would it be?

3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

4. How would you describe your fashion style?

5. What is your favorite book at the moment?

6. What is the best thing about where you live?

7. What was your favorite childhood TV show?

8. Describe a perfect date night with your significant other. If you don't have one what would be your dream date?

9. What is your dream career?

10. What would be your dream vacation spot?

11. What is your favorite quote or song lyric?

 

I am so happy to have been part of such a great blog award! I am still new to the blog world and I am very excited for my future with this blog. I truly hope those I chose decide to participate.

 

Thanks again Jen!

Sunday Randoms

Today I logged on to Facebook to find that I won my very first Blog Giveaway! I've been following blogs for a while now but it took a little bit for me to gain the confidence to actually start participating. I think I was nervous of my own blog just not cutting it next to all the wonderful ones I have been following for so long. Well now I know that this blog is not for anyone but me! It's a way for me to express myself. Now I'm not going to lie and tell you I don't get excited when I get a comment or a new follower because I do! I guess it's just validation that there are people out there that actually want to read my little blog here.

Anyways, back to my giveaway win! Katie over at Camo-Colored Chaos picked me as her winner! I won a $50 gift card to her cousin Jessica's Etsy shop Define Bliss. She creates custom pieces for the home that I am absolutely in love with. I can't wait to see what she can help me come up with and share with you!

This weekend has been pretty chill. On Friday night my husband and I had a very impromptu conversation about the future. We talked about what we want and where we want to be within the next year. It was so great to just talk about things and agree about where we wanted to go. Unfortunately, we're not quite ready to share with the world what we're up to but the Army is definitely playing a key role in our plans. It's exciting and scary at the same time but I know as long as we stay strong together, we can make it through anything.

We didn't do anything for Halloween this weekend because I'm broken, but we did decide to go Trick or Treating with some family. I am going to bring out an old Devil costume that I have and my husband has some bloody prosthetics that we'll glue to his face. I'm going to be in my wheelchair, since I can't walk or stand for too long. Hopefully, we can come up with something cool to decorate the chair with. I was thinking LED's! Lol. Too ghetto fabulous you think? Maybe some spinners?! Haha. I'll keep you posted and try to take some pictures of Wednesday nights fun.

Halloween 2008 | My devil costume w/ my dearest friend Rosa

Blogging

Two posts back to back! I'm on a roll!

I love blogging! I love sharing my day with the few followers I have and I love reading blogs. The lovely women behind the blogs I read have inspired me to invest more time in my little home away from home here. I have so many great ideas and advice I feel I can contribute too. Unfortunately, we are a one computer household and my husband loves his YouTube! Every chance he gets he is on the computer. This leaves me with very little time to get to the computer. Tonight I'm lucky because he's working late ;).

I've decided it's time to invest in another computer. The laptop we have now is a few years old and very big and bulky. It leaves it hard to blog while resting my back on the couch. The deployment word has reared it's ugly head into our conversations as well so having a smaller lighter laptop would be good for my husband to take with him too. I'm trying to think of all the reasons why this is a good investment right now! I hate big expensive purchases! They stress me out until I finally take the jump and then I feel so much better. This purchase might take some time!

Once I get a new laptop I'll be able to invest more time into my blog. I can't wait to see what I can turn it into. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. Right now I'm reading all my blogs on my Kindle Fire (which I love!). It's very convenient but not great for typing. That touch screen drives me crazy sometimes! I truly appreciate the followers I have and hope I can gain more in the future. Connecting with other people that share the same interests as you all over the world is truly one of the greatest parts of blogging.

What's your favorite part of blogging?

Have a great weekend!

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