Ready For Home: Packing for a Week

I haven't been home for a holiday in about 5 years, so I am beyond excited! We are heading to Pittsburgh and it will be a 14 hour drive. Yikes! But it will be ok. The husband and I will be trading off (I think, I may just be asleep) the driving duties but it's still a long trip.  We are going to Pittsburgh, then Michigan, back to Pittsburgh, Charlotte to drop my sis off, then home to GA. Let's just go ahead and say this isn't a "vacation" but a much needed, crazy, hectic, trip to see the fam.



Crazy and Hectic. That about sums it up.

My sister, the little begging bastard, is already asking for new jeans.

My brother wants to drive my car.

My mom is talking about us all going to the club! Ok, that I'm excited about!

Last time me and mom went clubbing

Daddy just want to love up on his oldest baby. Hehehe

And we are taking the babies.

What a damn week...but I'm pumped.

Now it's just a matter of packing light, but making sure I have enough outfits. Saturday we are taking the siblings to the mall and to see Hunger Games. PUMPED! Sunday and Monday we are spending the day with Rob's family in Michigan and I can't bum it out like I want...ITS COLD! Then its back to Pitt on Tuesday to hang out and prep for Thanksgiving. club Tuesday night. Who knows what on Wednesday and the big day on Thursday. And I have no idea what's going on after that.

I'm thinking

• 1 pair of jeans,
• A cute compression suit to travel in 
• 2 pairs of slacks, 
• 1 pair heels, 2 pair boots (uggs included), 
• 7 shirts, 
• 2 pair of leggings, 
• two cardi's, 
• 2 scarfs. 
• Pajamas

Too much? I don't think so. I have comfort, style, club, and warmth covered. And the scarves help switch up with variety. Lil pizzazz.  Lil Spice! lol.

I have to days to get my life in order but it's so hard! I don't feel like cleaning, or washing clothes, or doing anything but cuddling with my doggies and watching old batman cartoons. But I must. I can't leave my house half way dirty, and I need to wash clothes. I also have to get my nails and eye brows done, give myself a pedi, pack, and make sure my ipod is in order and my ibooks are up to date.  By the way. I got an iphone 6. I'm such a trader! And I love it!!!

Do you see my Hogwarts Lock Screen. Uh huh. I'm that guy!

I am REALLY in love.

I am going to take a million pictures. Ohhh, Note to self charge my camera!

How do you get yourself ready for a big trip?

Super Cute Motivational Bottle

As you know, I enjoy cute things. Not just everyday run of the mill cute, but pink cuddly cute things too. As you also know, I've been off and on (read: struggling) with getting back on my fitness regimen. I've been having some trouble getting back on the ball and STAYING on the ball. So anything that can motivate me is welcomed. I was truly in love when I saw this water bottle company on instragam.

How cute is it!? And the message on the front reads "Fall down 7 times Get up 8". What a super cheesy (in the right kind of way) phrase! I love it. Because I am also a connoisseur of all things cheesy. It also comes with a little diffuser in case I want to put some fruit inside.




I love that it's removable. I can take it out and just use the bottle to fill it with ice. Which is what I ended up doing today.

I think my favorite part is the time keeper on the back. You can easily keep up with your water intake all day by looking at the back of your bottle. Very practical indeed. Also they are BPA free (I know that means something important! hahaha J/k I know what it means!) and made of a durable plastic. 

Now since 27oz isn't enough water for my daily intake, I drink a liter of water before I leave the house every morning (I did this even before the bottle). This way, the extra 27oz during the day is just water in the tank lol. Then I drink more once I get home. I try to anyway. Sometimes I feel like a damn fish. All I do is drink water.

I have no complaints about this bottle. The top of the bottle snaps closed and there is NO LEAKING!! I mean, When I look at the cap, I definitely thought there would be some spillage, but I was pleasantly surprised. The spout is nice and wide as well. I love the fact that I can just pour the water in my mouth without having to suck. Hehehehe dirty mind.

Anyway, I've carried it everywhere with me. What a conversation starter. I believe I've already convinced 2 people to go and buy one. Here is the website if you're interested.and for $19.95, I think its a good deal. And hell, anything that makes me feel good about working out... WIN!

Do cute things help you get in the work out mood?

This Week's Spread and a Few Journaling Topics

Happy Monday! I don't necessarily like Monday's, but I think they get a bad wrap. I'm just swinging by to post pics of last week's spread in my midori. I don't know how, but all of a sudden it was blue and more blue. It's a little sparse because I had a lot going on off paper (including spending most of my time trying to hit my word count for Nanowrimo) so I couldn't get as much logged as I would have liked. But here it is, in it's delicious blueness.

There were lots of little stickers this week. My focus was centered on having a successful week. Both with my yoga, exercise, positive thoughts, and writing. I had QUITE a lot of obstacles in my way- the internet people giving me the run around, PMS, and the anger that comes a long with it- but overall, I'd say it was pretty good. My internet did get fixed, and I was able to exercise 4 days this week even with all the Pms pain. That is a victory in itself! The quote from Alice in Wonderland was just to remind me that even though this week I'm crazy, emotional, and sometimes ready to cry for no reason, I'm still awesome... The best people are off their rockers!

And as promised, here are a few journaling topics I'm going to be writing about this week. Ultimately, the more I write about myself, the more in tuned I am with myself and my character in my novel. I am also at that point in time where I am trying to figure out my next move. Will it be in education? Leadership as a Principal? Education at the college level? That last one is what I want, but I'm not so sure how to get there. So I am answering thought provoking questions to better understand myself and my future. I think sometimes we spend a lot of time rushing though life and we forgot to check back in with ourselves to see how we've changed.

1. When was the last time you tried something new?
2. Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?
3. What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?
4. What gets you excited about life?
5. What life lesson did you learn the hard way?
6. What do you wish you spent more time doing five years ago?

This is going to be interesting!

Lets make this fun! Answer one of the questions in the comment section!

Coffee Shop Talk

A thousand years ago, I started this thing called coffee talk where I caught up my readers on my life by pretending we were having a nice Java in a swanky little coffee shop somewhere...but not Starbucks because chains SUCK! Anyway, I liked it, so I'm bringing it back!

So let me set the mood...

Its 7pm on a Friday night. And I am talking to all my best friends rolled into 1 person. I respond how I think they would. I am tickled just thinking about it. I am drinking a Salted Caramel Mocha and you opted for a Chai Tea Latte.

Why don't I have more money? Amen girl! I feel like I have even less money now that I'm working than I did when I was unemployed. Is that crazy. Nah, you just working hard now and you think you should have more money. Truth. Teaching is hard work, and Georgia ain't paying me didly squat.

Why didn't anyone tell me I could get fat again? When I was leaving England I had a series of asthma attacks and I was put on a pretty heavy dosage of prednisone. If you know anything about the steroid, it makes you gain weight at a pretty quick rate. Well, I didn't remember that. At all. And I was in the middle of moving to a different country so I had no kitchen and I really took advantage of the foods I missed once I came back to the states. Damn you waffle house. Girl, I just went there this morning. I used to look at those magazines and wonder how the hell people could say they lost a bunch of weight and gained it bacl, well, now I get it. It happens so fast, and before you know it, you can't get your pants over your thighs anymore. So now I'm working slow and steady to get it off again. And it is SLOW going! Ugh. But you still cute though. Thank you boo.

And honestly, I'm my own motivaiton. Looking at pictures of myself from when I was working out every day and eating the way I should, has made me get on the ball. So I've restarted insanity...again. I'm very upset with how out of shape I've gotten. My body doesn't move like it did even 6 months ago. But I am not ashamed or discouraged. There are so many other things that I could be/have, and chunky damn sure isn't the worst. So I've made my own Shaina Shrine hahahaha to commemorate a skinnier time in my life. It is currently my Ipad background. Don't judge me. Vain ass. *sips chai tea latte*

And even though I know I'm sucking in in all these pictures it doesnt matter...

Peps me up.

Maybe I'm not such a great writer after all? I've been pushing out content for Nanowirmo, and it kind of sucks hahahahaha. Who the hell told you you could write anyway? Shut up. I'm a damn writer. Well you ARE trying to write a ridiculous amount of content in a short time so maybe the quality will suffer a little. True, so I figure I will write until its done, and edit until its good. Hey I like that! Cue inspirational meme!!!

I'll get it on paper, and then worry about making it Pulitzer prize winning. Ok, maybe not that good, it is a fantasy novel and I haven't known those to win any accolades for real.

And I'll close this coffee talk with a series of random things I am currently thinking about.

Can't wait to see my family for thanksgiving but not looking forward to that drive.
My puppies are big boys and they stay in the house without being in the cages!
Cramps can kiss my ass.
My journal is always with me. Might as well be another boob.
I spend way too much money eating out *contemplates where to go for dinner tonight*
I wish I was on someone's remote beach in a hammock.

Well, that was a little taste of my upcoming coffee talks.  I hope you've enjoyed me ultimately talking to myself hahahahaha!

Tell me something random in the comments section!