Nail Biters, UNITE!

I have a secret.

I used to bite my nails.

All throughout my childhood until I was a teenager, when a mishap broke off my front tooth.  My mom took me to the dentist, and they put on a cap.  Biting my nails just never "felt" right after that.  (Other nail biters will understand this.)

Even after that, for years, I did bite my cuticles.  Fingers always in my mouth.  It was gross.  They were cracked and bled and it was so embarrassing.

Here's a beautiful thing:

That's after wearing Jamberry wraps for a few weeks.  Can you see how healthy my cuticles are?  How long my nails (except the thumb) are?  Never happened before Jams.


Here's some pictures of fellow nail biters.

That is a friend, who had been biting her nails for 50 years.  After 2 weeks, she took off her Jams ... and started biting her nails again.  They went right back on.

Do you see how amazing that is?  Same hand, just a couple weeks apart.

On the left is day one, but technically she's been wearing samples for a little while.  On the right is day 34.  FIVE weeks!

Can you see how all of their cuticles look so much healthier after just a few weeks?

Jamberry nail wraps change lives more than just financially.  Wraps can free you from embarrassment about your nails and hands.  I know that sounds silly to some of you.  But to those who bite their nails or chew their cuticles, it can change your life and that embarrassing habit can go fly a kite.

Let's talk Jamberry

The Rock hasn't worked now in 11 months.  I am working a part-time job doing medical reports again, started about a month ago, and that is going all right.  I also started selling Jamberry about a month ago.

First, a little explanation.  Jamberry nail wraps are vinyl wraps that are applied to your nails with heat and pressure.  They are utterly adorable, last a long time without chipping, and I love having pretty nails.  But if you know me pretty well, you might wonder what changed my mind into doing direct sales ever again.

In March, it seemed like about 10 of my online friends (who all know each other) all signed up at once.  I hadn't even heard of them before and thought at the time, "Huh.  Wonder what that's about."  I quickly got overwhelmed with all of the Jamberry activity on my facebook feed and tuned it out.

Then.  I saw Dr. Who wraps.  Kiddo LOVES Dr. Who.  I bought some of those.  A good friend did a pedicure on me with HER wraps that she had bought around the same time in March.  And another friend who sells them made an offer I couldn't refuse -- a sale.

I tried them.  I fell in love.  And there was no way in hell I was going to sign up to sell them.  End of story.

Except, the one who offered the sale ... I know her, have known her online for about 6 years.  And she mentioned how much she'd made the previous month.  Knowing a bit about her, I thought, "Oh gosh ... if she can do this and make that kind of money, so can I."  Especially because of the training that she and my sponsor have given me.

It's been a month.  I am hitting milestones, landing my goals, making money, and having fun.

About 2 weeks in, I had the thought that, "Who would have thought stupid nail wraps would be an answer to a prayer?"  And then?  One of my recruits said the exact same thing about a week after that.

I'm grateful for the opportunity.  I love these things, and I am way excited about them!  I will never be offended if a friend tells me no or chooses not to buy this product or whatever.

Stuff my kids have ruined

1.  Little Mister broke my camera right after Cat was born in 2010.  I have very few pictures of Cat from the first couple years of her life.  She was absolutely beautiful, still is.  Someday, she'll hate me for the lack of photos of her gorgeous self.
2.  My VAIO.  Little Mister stepped on it, cracking the screen.  It still worked, so we limped along.  Then someone dumped something on the keyboard, and in an effort to clean it, *I* actually broke the space bar.  Then!  Little Mister tried to put it on my bed one day, threw it, and missed the bed completely.  The screen went from one small crack line to 1/3 of the screen not being viewable.  By this time, it needed an external keyboard as well, so we used it as a desktop for quite a while.  Until Cat decided the cord would make a good jump rope a few months ago.  It no longer turns on.
3.  A portable DVD player I bought right before my heart surgery.  Now, that sucker lasted for years, but at one point, Little Mister knocked it off the TV and the screen broke partway off of the DVD playing part, but the connections still worked so it still played ... until the last couple weeks, when the power cord gave up.
4.  Another camera.  They got it down and stepped on it while it was in the case.  I have no idea who did this.
5.  My recliner.  We bought it (with the help of parents) when LM was born and I needed to nurse a lot.  After Cat was born, LM decided it made a good trampoline and jumped in it until the springs in the seat snapped.
6.  My phone, with camera.  Cat must have thought it looked like an Oreo, because she gave it a good dunking in a cup.  Dead.

There are more -- grease paints all over an unfinished cabinet, fingernail polish all over carpets and vinyl flooring, chalk painted onto the front door ... But you get the idea:  KIDS BREAK STUFF.

There are all kinds of photos around the internet of things kids ruin.  I did not take photos of any of these things, because my kids are evil geniuses, and #1, #4, and #6 prevented me from getting photographic proof.

What most of the websites and photos don't address is this:  I wouldn't trade any of the children for any of these objects.  The teen makes me insane, the 5yo is hyper and talks nonstop, the 3yo is destructive on a milder scale (breaking lots of little things like markers and pencils, or coloring all over the house, not destroying big-ticket items), and the baby is an attention hog.  But I love them all and am ever so thankful they are in my life.  Even when I want to throw everything we own away and start all over.

The baby and the mama

He's so cute.

That is all.

I really did hurt. Still do.

I didn't get up yesterday to get the gym.  My sons were in bed with me, climbing all over me and wanting to snuggle, and I was too sore and tired to get out of bed.  So ... yeah.

Sitting in classes all day was rough -- the longer I sat, the worse I hurt.  I did walk around the building on my lunch break and felt a little better.  I would have gone twice but it was getting cold and raining and my hoodie has mysteriously disappeared (probably into the teen's room).  But I had 3-1/2 hours of lecture left after that ... plus driving ... I got very sore again.  Took another Epsom salt bath, which was interrupted when the fighting children woke up the sleeping baby.

I was still sore when we got up this morning, but I went to the gym anyway.  Moving and lifting again helped me feel less sore, which I knew would be the case but it's hard to make yourself do it when you are in recovery.

It's interesting ... I know if I'd been more consistent the last few months, I would be seeing more/better results.  There's a lot of mind game stuff going on when you are on a journey to change your life.  Part of me still expects that after a good workout, I should have lost 10-15 pounds or something.  Logically, I know that's not how this works.  But part of my brain says, "Boo!  Go eat all the chocolate!"

Today, I'm just glad that, even though I can't quite lift what I was doing last fall, I can still lift a lot more than I could when I started out last spring.  I know eventually my body will get used to doing this again.  Last spring/summer, it only took a few weeks to get to the point where I didn't hurt after a workout anymore, even when I pushed like I did Tuesday.  I'm hoping it is soon!

I am going to hurt tomorrow.

After several months of not consistently working out or lifting weights, basically only doing some cardio and not even regularly, I made it back to the gym today.  (That's 2 days in a row; I can't remember the last time I did that.)  And today, I lifted.  Not as heavy as I'd been lifting before, but heavy enough.

Except, it wasn't enough.

I kept pushing and adding weights until I realized I have to walk tomorrow and deal with school and tiny desks and giant backpacks and homework and ... yeah ... um.  Dumb.

I did stop way before I hit my personal records for weights, and I'm sure it looked like I was wimping out.  But man, I was feeling it before I hobbled out of the gym.  I'm feeling it more now, even after an epsom salt bath.  But it is a good hurt!

Here's the thing:  I don't really get a runner's high from cardio.  I realized today, I get high from lifting.  I LOVE IT.  Add more weight, do another set, keep going.  It is what I enjoy the most when it comes to formal exercise.

I hope I get some sleep tonight so I can be at the gym at 5 tomorrow to do HIIT again before classes.

Speaking of classes ... I need to find a play to watch this weekend.  *bad word*  Since our whole family was sick, I missed opportune moments and have a paper due next week for my theater class.  Wheee.  I also have 3 exams next week, so that's going to be way too much fun!  There's a meme going around facebook about how every week feels like finals week in nursing school.  It's more like every other week at this point, but I'm only on week 6 or 7 ... so ... we'll see how things pan out.

Must get some rest tonight.

Happy Monday!

No school today.  We're all thrilled with that fact!

I told The Rock yesterday that I absolutely have to make some big changes because I am tired of being tired and fat and in pain.  He, like always, said, "I support you in that."  But sometimes, the follow through and helping with the kids doesn't compute.  

So last night before bed, he asked what time I wanted to go to the gym today.  "um, 6-ish."  He said that was a good idea, since we don't have school.  It would let me sleep in a little bit.  Then he also said, "Hey, I can take the kids to school on Tuesday and Thursday so you can go to the gym during that time."  Which is what we USED to do, but this term things changed, so I haven't been able to.  Well.  About 4-ish Little Mister climbed in bed with me because he had a bad dream, and ... that was that.  I didn't get out to the gym.

Instead of getting grouchy or mad about it, I just decided to go later.  When The Rock saw the boy in the bed, he said, "I know you're not going right now.  Please make sure you go later, OK?"  Heck yeah, thanks for supporting me for real!

So I really did get to the gym.

I'm still doing baby steps to get to where I want to be as far as conditioning, strength, and endurance go.  Eventually, I'd like to be able to run 5 miles nonstop.  I'm not sure I'm crazy enough to do a marathon or an ultra like my cousin ... So I did HIIT today -- five 1-minute runs, walking 2 minutes in between.  I am energized but also tired, and the fatigue in my body is different than the pains I get when I'm more sedentary.

Today, I'm going to plan my lifting for tomorrow, and I will be at the gym at 8 in the morning.  I just have to buckle down and do it.  End of story.

It's Wednesday!

Today is my long day at school.  It's long for everyone -- me, the kids, the husband, my mom and sister and their household ...

I make lists the night before of what I need to do early in the morning on school days because my brain doesn't work at 5, 5:30, 6.  I usually make my lunch the night before, but my baby was not sleeping well so I put on the list to finish making it this morning.

I decided I wanted to sleep in this morning, so I showered last night.  That way, I could stay in bed until 5:30.  I need to say that I am NOT a morning person.  At all.  I am learning to be one, but I am really not thrilled getting up that early.

When I did get up at 5:30, the baby decided it was time to get up, too.  So he started playing in bed with me while I pumped, but then he noticed there were boobies out.  He tried to nurse through the pump, and when that didn't work, he tried to yank it off.  At that point, I decided I'd better just pump on one side while he nursed on the other.  We were both much happier.

Kiddo got up at 5:30 as well and got in the shower.  When she came in my room at 6, she took the baby off to change his diaper and get him dressed.  (She is SUCH a good help with him.)  Little Mister also got up at 6 and, after he went to the bathroom, I reminded him to get ready for school and actually wear pants (not shorts).  At that point, I was finally able to go to the bathroom and put on some makeup.

I went into the kitchen to check the list.  Pulled the flounder out of the freezer for dinner, stuck a note for the husband about starting dinner on the fridge (I wrote the note the night before when I made my list), and finished making my lunch and put it in my lunch bag.  I also started the car to warm up for 5 minutes so the car seats weren't freezing.

At that point, I ran downstairs and changed the laundry because we are out of towels and will need them for baths tonight.  I also kissed the husband and said goodbye for the day, then went back upstairs.  I stuck a frozen burrito into the microwave and nuked it while I washed out the pump parts and dried them, then packed them in the bag to take to my mom's.  Princess Cat was still asleep, so I went in her room and woke her up while the teen took the boys out to the car.  She was actually wearing PJs to bed (she usually sleeps in a diaper or a T-shirt and diaper), so I just gave her a jacket and shoes to put on, and we headed out to the car.  I was carrying my backpack, lunch bag (including the burrito), diaper bag, and the pump.

At 6:50, we rolled out of the driveway and headed to my mom's.  Ate the burrito on the way to mom's.

Once at my mom's, I took Cat to the bathroom.  Potty training is so much fun!  She was still dry, so she went potty and put on real clothes instead of her PJs, and I brushed my teeth.  My classmates will thank me later.  Mom found there were only two clean bowls in the dishwasher, so I took another minute and washed the other cereal bowls so she could actually feed all the kids.  I know she is capable, but I had an extra minute and I really didn't mind helping out.  So I kissed the kids goodbye, squished my squishy baby, and left for school.  Rolled out of their driveway at 7:20.

I got to school at 8 a.m., feeling a little tired and I was thinking about why that might be ... well, there you go.  I'll be here until 3, then go back to mom's, where I'll pump, nurse the baby, and then get all the kids and their stuff back into the car.  We'll get home around 4:30, and the husband should have started dinner by then.  I'll finish making dinner, feed the kids, do baths and bedtimes and stories and probably change the laundry again and break up fights and talk with the teen ... After they go to bed at 7:30 and 8, I will take a few minutes with the husband, do some homework, and go to sleep.  The first two weeks of school, I passed out while the kids were eating dinner, but I'm feeling less tired now.  Yay!

And this is why I'm REALLY glad I have Tuesdays and Thursdays off of school -- I need a day to recover after this madness!

Two weeks of the first semester of nursing school done!

I'm taking 13 or 14 credits, most of which are nursing classes.  I'm still working on some generals for my bachelor's degree.  It's been a long two weeks, but also very good.  I feel more settled into my classes and the expectations, and even though we're still just getting into the groove, it feels good to get started.  We wore our scrubs today for the first time as they are only required on clinical lab days.  (Actual clinicals when we'll be working with actual patients don't start until close to the end of term.)

My kids are surviving at my mom and dad's, with my sister and her kids helping babysit.  I know it's hard on everyone but I sure appreciate their help.

I'm going to be doing some batch cooking this weekend -- casseroles to heat up for dinner, breakfast burritos for my breakfast, muffins for the kids.  I did really well most nights, but there were a couple nights that didn't go so well, and cooking and eating breakfast at dark-thirty in the morning isn't easy either.

I'm also hoping to get back to the gym next week.  I just need to make the plan and stick to it so I can.

The Rock's bipolar is helping keep me on my toes, too.  Even in the midst of chaos, most of the time, I feel at peace and comforted that everything is going to be OK.  There are days I feel lost and confused, and that's generally a reflection of The Rock's days where he's not doing so well.

I'd better go work on dinner.  The littles are starving ... so the 5yo is cleaning up toys while he waits for dinner.  He wants a smiley face!  The other kids are hanging out downstairs, hopefully cleaning up toys too.  Ha.