HAVE I QUIT BLOGGING?

Well, hello there stranger!

I'm sure you've noticed that I've been MIA for over 3 months.  Why, you ask?  Um, not totally sure except that I just needed a break!  I've been blogging for 10 years now.  Over the past two years, I've published 2-3 new posts per week.  It took a lot of time and energy.  By the time I posted our 10 year wedding anniversary post, I decided I just needed some time away.

Photo by Emily Lynn Photography

I signed up to be mentored by Lindsay Teague Moreno all of 2018.  With what I'm learning, I felt I needed to take a step back and re-evaluate.  What am I truly interested in?  What topics do I want to learn more about?  Where do I see my social media going?  How am I growing my personal brand?  I've been doing a lot of brainstorming and experimenting to see how things go.  You might have noticed some changes on my social media accounts!

As in the past, I'm still interested in crossing things off my Bucket List, minimalism, veganism, essential oils, being a small business owner and reading good books.  Lately though, I've become more interested in fitness.  I also want to get more into fashion.  Not to mention, Ironman wants me to begin to enjoy gardening with him!

Photo by Emily Lynn Photography

This time away has been good and I feel like I'm coming back refreshed and renewed, ready to blog again.  So, the answer is no, I'm not going to quit blogging!

What are some things you'd like to see on my blog in the future?  Spring Cleaning?  Essential Oils?  Business?  More travel?  I'm all ears...your ideas are welcome!

10 TIPS FOR 10 YEARS OF WEDDED BLISS

Tomorrow, December 8th, is our 10 year wedding anniversary and I am totally shocked at how the time has flown by.  I absolutely love being married to Nick Stewart.  He is the best person you'll ever know and the best husband you could possibly find.  Over the past decade, I've learned, grown and changed...so, I wanted to share my 10 tips for a happy marriage.

1.  SAY THANK YOU

If Ironman takes out the trash, I tell him thank you.  If I do the laundry, Ironman says thank you.  If he stops by the store, thank you.  Thank you thank you thank you.  Sometimes we even laugh because of how often we say thank you to each other.  But it's important!  I don't want to ever forget to show Ironman how much I appreciate the things that he does for me and our home.

2.  TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

I'm Ironman's only wife, so I want to be a good one!  When he fell in love with me, he was attracted to the way I looked, dressed, my personality, etc.  So, it's important that I do my best to stay the person that he married.  Eating well, getting exercise and dressing nice are all things that Ironman notices and cares about, so I do my best to make them priorities in my life!

3.  TELL EACH OTHER THE TRUTH

Although it's hard to be honest about the hard things, it's much better to do it before they become big things.  When we think something or feel something, we take time to talk through it now.  No need to wait until it becomes built up and one of us explodes.  Most times, if we share in the very beginning, it will be something that we can more easily work through together and move past quickly.  In the long run, this means less arguments!

4.  TAKE A VACATION ALONE

I know it's tempting to go on vacations with friends and invite everyone you know and love so that no one is left out.  I get it.  But, the few times that Ironman and I have been on vacation alone have been some of our best.  We get away from everyone, turn off the social media and focus on each other.  By the time we get home, we almost always feel refreshed and have good memories of those trips together.

5.  SHARE A HOBBY OR TWO

Ironman and I love to travel together.  We love to go on bike rides.  Finding a Netflix show to binge-watch together is our favorite.  There are lots of things that we enjoy doing together and look forward to.  This is important, but it doesn't mean we have to love doing everything together.  For example, I will help with the yard but don't enjoy it.  Ironman will walk the rail trail with me, but doesn't enjoy going as often as I do.  Although we will still do things together that one of us likes more than the other, I think it's important to focus on a few favorites to share and look forward to!

6.  TALK TO EACH OTHER DAILY

I don't mean just update each other on what you did that day, but really talk.  Tell each other details of your day that stuck out or meant something to you.  Share something that you've had on your mind.  Talk through ideas that you've been brainstorming.  Dream about the future together.  Don't just talk to check off the list, talk to each other like when you were dating and trying to get to know this interesting person you're crushing on!  When we got engaged, someone gave us the advice to go to bed together every night at the same time.  We've been doing it our entire marriage and I think it's a great habit!  Many good conversations come at the end of the day, while cuddling in bed, falling asleep.

7.  GIVE COMPLIMENTS

Ironman thrives on compliments.  He loves to hear that he's doing well, that he's a hard worker, that our Fixer Upper looks beautiful, that he's talented and athletic, that he's attractive and all the other little things that I love about him.  Think about it, you go through most of your day not getting compliments.  So, when you do get a compliment, it makes you all warm and fuzzy inside and you think about it over and over for a long time.  Men and women are the same in that we both want to be complimented.  I try to compliment Ironman as often as I think about it because I want to be the one that makes him feel like a million bucks!

8.  NEVER SAY ANYTHING NEGATIVE

When we got engaged, my Grandma Jackson told me the best marriage advice ever..."Don't ever say anything negative about Nick to anyone".  Although Ironman is not perfect, he's perfect for me and that's good enough.  The world's hard enough already and people are just trying to survive.  There's no point in talking crap about your spouse to other people.  For one, those people will get sick of being around you because they will be tired of hearing you complain.  Another reason to avoid it is because the more you dwell on the negative, the more it will consume you.  If you are someone who talks bad, complains or says negative things about your spouse, hears some advice: stop focusing on them and start focusing on the things that you need to improve on.  I bet it will improve your marriage almost immediately.

9.  GROW TOGETHER

Just like a hobby, you need to be learning together.  Watch some documentaries, join a Sunday School class, read aloud to each other, take a course together.  If you find that you have nothing to talk about with your spouse, it may be because you aren't learning or growing.  Take time to educate yourself on something new and share your new knowledge with your spouse!  It's always fun to be around someone who loves to learn and is excited about life.

10.  GO ON DATES

Yep, get dressed up and go out to dinner or a movie or whatever you two enjoy.  I know we are slack in this area because we don't have kids and we enjoy being at home, so it's easy to just stay in.  But, there's something about making a plan, looking forward to it, putting on a great outfit and sitting across the table from each other at a restaurant.  Plus, wives really appreciate not having to plan a meal, grocery shop, cook and then clean up.  Less time doing these things means more time focused on her hubby.  And men like extra attention, right?  So, men, take your wives out regularly and treat them to a nice dinner.  It will mean the world to her.

Don't you LOVE our photos?!  Emily Christopher from Just Because Blog snapped them for us just two weeks ago!  If you need any photos done, I can give you her contact info.

WHY SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY ISN'T SMALL TO US

I’m the girl who would have NEVER chosen to be a business owner, but it has been one of the best decisions we've ever made. 

Nick and I have been able to travel more frequently (including a 3-month vacation to South America), give more money to our favorite non-profit, become physically healthier, pay off more than 26k in debt and in January, we are headed out for another 3-month vacation while we road-trip the USA and Canada. We’ve never had another job with this much freedom. I’ve been able to work the days and hours that I choose and take time off when I want or need to, without having to answer to anyone or worry about still getting paid. It's seriously a Bucket Lister's dream job 🌎✈️😍 

Sounds too good to be true, right? It’s not. Want to know how we got started? We simply bought our own Young Living Premium Starter Kit. That's it. We didn’t go into tens of thousands of dollars in debt to start a small business. Just $160 to get our starter kit with 11 popular oils, a diffuser and samples. That's it! Plus, our team gives us all the training and resources we need for FREE. Starting a business doesn’t get any better than that. 

We are now Gold Leaders, going on Platinum and making enough money for Nick to step back from full-time construction right after Christmas. This may be a “small business”, but it's not small to us...it's changed the course of our lives. 

Do you want a change? Do you want more freedom? We would LOVE to mentor you through launching your own Young Living business and teach you exactly what we did to get to where we are today!  Even if you’re just curious, don’t be afraid to ask...we are open books and want to answer your questions 😉   Reach out to us today and let's talk! 

Oh, and because we talked money, here's the Income Disclosure Statement.

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HOW WE BECAME RAW VEGANS

Since Ironman and I got married in 2007, we have been eating mostly plant-based.  Not only do we believe that it's healthier for us, but it was cheaper when we were poor, young and married, while still going to college full-time!  Although we believe this lifestyle is healthier for us, we are by no means perfect and have fallen off the path many times.  But, doesn't that make you feel better?  No one's perfect.  Isn't that a relief?  So, I want to share our journey with food that got us to where we are right now.

PLANT-BASED (with cheating):  

Since 2007, we have mainly stuck to a plant-based diet except for a few circumstances.  One was Friday night pizza night...our favorite tradition together.  It's just wonderful to come home after a long week, get a pizza (not cook), watch a movie and go to bed early (with little clean up).  Am I right?  And now that we're talking cheese, that was our major weakness.  Oh yea, and every now and then, I wanted a good burger when we were out at a restaurant.  But, the hardest time to stick with plant-based was when eating with other people...especially when invited into their homes.  We never wanted to offend or hurt feelings.  So, this was us: mostly plant-based at home, but occasional slip-ups.  Got it?  Let's fast forward about a decade.

SLOW CHANGES:  

At the end of 2016, I was ready for a change.  I had been trying to get in better shape, exercising more and beginning to feel better.  I wanted to take it to the next level.  My sisters introduced me to FullyRaw Kristina on Instagram and I was intrigued.  I never knew that some people only lived on uncooked fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds.  I couldn't imagine, but made it my goal to be a raw vegan by the end of 2017.  During the first few months of this year, I continued to follow Kristina on Instagram and watched almost all her YouTube videos.  I loved what I was learning.  From January 1st through May 31st, I started making better choices with my food and noticed pretty significant changes in my body and health.

SERIOUS CHANGES:  

I decided that on June 1st, I would make a few drastic changes to keep the ball rolling.  I cut out caffeine, sugar and alcohol (wine) and my remaining toiletries with dangerous toxins (deodorant).  The first month was pretty easy and on July 1st I treated myself to something sweet.  I wasn't perfect and still "cheat" some with coffee, sweets and the occasional glass of wine, but I was improving a little each day.  Sometime during mid-July, my family watched What The Health and it really affected me more than anything else I had watched or read up until that point.  I seriously couldn't even look at cheese, let alone eat it.  Mid July I had my annual check up an the nurse commented that I had lost a significant amount of weight and my blood pressure had dropped since my last visit.  She said "whatever you're doing...keep doing it".  I was very encouraged and motivated to keep up the hard work!  At the end of July, we went on a 17-day road trip and it was hard to stick to our lifestyle 100% because we were traveling and didn't want to offend or hurt people's feelings that we were going to be seeing.  However, we were so used to feeling good that now we really noticed when we ate food (animal products) that made us feel bad.  By the end of that trip, Ironman and I both decided that we are in this vegan lifestyle 100% from now on.  Since that decision, we haven't had any animal products (knowingly, at least).

RAW VEGAN:  

One day towards the end of the summer, my sister was talking about people who were 80/20 raw vegans.  Meaning they eat raw vegan foods 80% of the time and cooked vegan foods 20% of the time.  It's also sometimes referred to as "raw 'til 4" because they will eat raw all day and then dinner is cooked.  Anyways, my sister was talking about it and it dawned on me that I had basically become one of these types of vegans!  During the day, I eat raw vegan (uncooked fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds).  It's habit now and I don't even think about it.  Once Ironman gets home at night, I have a cooked meal prepared.  As soon as I realized this, I felt so proud of myself.  Yes, it had taken 9 months of slow changes, but I was on the right track towards the goal I made at the end of last year!

NEW LIFESTYLE:  

During September, we headed to Florida to enjoy the beach with Ironman's parents for a full week.  In the past, we would have felt too guilty to be picky about our food.  We would have caved and eaten the same things as everyone else and we both would have ended up feeling sick.  Although we felt bad to be "difficult", we simply let his parents know that we are being more strict with sticking to plant-based and that we weren't going to cheat.  They had some questions, but accepted it and we didn't have any trouble.  All week, we found things that we could eat!  Since neither of us felt sick to our stomachs or bloated after meals all week, it made for a much more enjoyable vacation and we were really happy that we had stuck to our goal.  Also, it confirmed to us that it can be done whether at home, out and about in town or while traveling!

Some people, like FullyRaw Kristina, simply become a fully raw vegan overnight!  That's awesome.  As for us, it's been a journey over a decade long (even longer for Ironman) of watching documentaries, reading books, doing research, trying new recipes and slowly making changes to our diet and lifestyle.  It takes sacrifice and consistency, but I'm loving the changes.  I enjoy food prep more, I'm more in tune with my body and I crave better foods.  We both truly feel so much better since deciding to stick to 100% vegan. 

Let's cover one thing while we're on this topic.  I know many people say there is a difference with "eating vegan" and "living vegan".  We like to eat a raw vegan diet.  This means we eat veggies, fruits, seeds, nuts and some beans and grains, avoiding all animal products.  Aren't sure what an "animal product" is?  One of the men on the Forks Over Knives documentary put it like this:  If it walked, hopped, swam, crawled, slithered, had eyes, a momma and a daddy - don't eat it.  Basically, if it's not a fruit, veggie, seeds, nut, bean or grain, don't eat it.  One area we haven't changed is we still use honey, which is an animal product.  However, we don't strictly live as vegans in every sense. Our car has leather seats, I own a leather purse and leather boots and we probably have many other things that are made from animal products that we may not even realize!  Although I haven't been careful in these areas in the past, it is something that is coming to matter to me more and more as I learn about animal cruelty.  

Long story short, we both feel great and highly suggest a raw vegan lifestyle! Remember, we aren't perfect and it's not about perfection.  The important thing is to spend time learning, try out new things and decide what's right for you so that you feel your best!

5 REASONS YOU SHOULD GO CAMPING

Ironman and I just got back from camping at Lake Hartwell and, as always, we loved it.  Sure, the weather was cold and ended up raining the morning we were leaving, but we always enjoy camping.  Not only is it so good to get out of town and away from our everyday life, but to unplug from the world and spend more quality time one on one.  I truly recommend it!  Aren't convinced yet?  Here are the 5 reasons why I say you should go camping ASAP:

CHEAP.  We often can't afford a hotel, but a tent site can be as cheap as $14 per night!  Once you've invested in your camping gear, you'll have it for years.  We did that back in 2011 and haven't had to buy anything else so far.  So, a weekend camp trip may cost $30 for your site, money for food (which you would have eaten at home anyway) and gas to get you there.  That's a pretty inexpensive getaway!

QUIET.  You won't have plugs, so even if you stay on your cell phone a lot the first day, it will quickly die.  Then, you're just left with the quiet breeze, sound of the birds and the crackling fire.  It feels so good to hear nothing.  I often feel like I can finally hear myself think.  Settle into a comfy camp chair and bring a good book or climb into your ENO and take a nap.  It's so wonderful to have options taken away from you so you are forced to truly rest!

RELATIONSHIPS.  There's nothing out there to distract you, so you end up having some really good conversations.  It's so good to get away from your normal life and be able to think more clearly about the present and future.  Each time Ironman and I camp, we talk through a lot of bigger issues that just seem like too much to handle at home.  We always come home renewed because of it.  More than likely, you'll also make new friends with your neighbors at the campground or you can even invite friends to join you!

TRAVEL.  Each time you camp, you can pick a new park in your state.  Not only is it not too far to travel in state, but it means that over the years, you will have really gotten to know the area around you.  Plus, since it's cheap, it means you'll get to travel more often!  One camping weekend per month is not too hard to make happen.  By the end of the year, you'll have taken 12 mini vacations!

EXERCISE.  Camp near an area that you want to get to know on foot.  Take a hike.  Check out some local waterfalls.  Walk around some unique little town.  Choose someplace new so that you get out there and explore.  During our normal work week, we spend so much time sitting down.  Use the weekends to get outdoors and get moving!

Are you already in love with camping?  What's your favorite part of it?  Share in the comments below!