A breath of fresh air, a 365 day cleanse

Every lent, I give up my social media for 40 days. And let me say, it is the most refreshing 40 days of my life. I feel like I get a chance to focus on me and I stop constantly comparing myself and my success to other people. I get a chance to accomplish things that I keep putting off. It overall has been a great experience every time.  I have been kicking around getting rid of my social media for quite some time now, but unfortunately our generation is so wrapped up in it, that it's been a struggle. So I've decided to take the same approach my mom told to take when I wanted to get a tattoo. She had told me if it was something I really wanted, to have the saying I was getting somewhere visible on me, like a piece of jewelry,  for a year straight and if come after a year I still wanted it, I could get it. Not quite the same, but I've decided I don't need Lent to give up social media, or anything else for that matter. So instead of deleting everything cold turkey, I'm going to start with a "31 day cleanse". For the month of July, I've taken on the challenge, with my friend Sara, to delete all my social media apps off my phone, and to stay off of them. If after July I don't feel a need to open them, I plan to expand that cleanse another month... and so on, until a year is up, and see where I stand. It's going to be a challenge, but I know it is doable. It will give me a chance to focus on me, reconnect with important people that I feel I have lost touch with because of social media, and most of all to really live my life instead of painting a picture of it on social media. With this challenge though, I have made some exceptions, only because as I have said, social media has indeed become a big part of our lives, but I would like to point out that it is not all for bad. I have used it as an important tool in sharing my fundraising for charities. Since I am currently in the middle of a fundraiser until mid-July, I will also utilize my social media for that, primarily Facebook. I have also decided to make an exception for Facebook in that I am going to do another photo project 365, posting a photo a day for a year. I will have all notifications turned off, but it will take a lot of self control to not browse as I log on to post the picture, but I have faith in myself. Of course my blog will be an exception as well, but I don't group it with social media for the simple fact that it's more for my personal use for others to read. It's not here to paint a fake picture or to get attention. It's just here for me to share some stuff, whether people actually read it or not. I really think this is going to be a great experience, and I can't wait to see the things I discover along the way.

It's the thought that counts

Even before Pinterest got big, I was into making creative, thoughtful gifts rather than buying another pointless item. I normally need some kind of idea to spark my creativity, but once I think of it, I'm normally on a role. My most recent idea came when I was home visiting during my high school's spring break. I was helping mom unpack boxes, and saw all of her jewelry just stacked in a haphazard pile on her dresser. So my thought? She needs a new jewelry box. My mom owns a decent amount of jewelry, and especially pieces that might not necessarily fit in your standard jewelry box. So instead of hunting for one that would work, I decided to just make my own!

Michaels has (dangerously) been my best friend during my creative kicks. It was a one stop shop this time. I simply found a box that would be big enough for her jewelry (which was a bit of a challenge), a few pieces of thin wood to make the dividers on the inside, some classy dark expresso stain, staining brushes, and then my favorite part, all the fun stuff to decorate with! I've fallen in love with mosaic, so that's the route I chose to go. I picked up some mosaic pieces in two different color sets, sea glass, some craft glue, and then grout. I wanted to go with a beachy theme because there's nothing my mom loves then sitting in the white sand by the beach in Mexico.

The assembly wasn't that bad either, just some timing to work out. I stained the box and the dividers on our back patio, and let it sit for 48 hours to dry. I took a day after it dried to set up the pieces in a pattern I liked and glued them down, let that dry as well. A day after I did the grout, and then finally once that was dry I glued down the inside dividers. I was sure to get extra pieces for the dividers in case they get broken. And just like that mom had a new jewelry box that was one of a kind!

Now we can't forget about my very pregnant sissy. We recently had her baby shower, and I went back and forth of whether I wanted to get something off her registry or do something a bit more thoughtful and creative. Naturally, I ended up going the creative route. I figured everyone thinks of the baby during the shower, but what about Mommy? She needs some pampering too!

So I decided on a mommy survival kit, basically all the little things she would need for herself after the baby came that she wouldn't think to get herself or may not have lying around. This was a fairly easy creative task as well, the most time consuming part was buying all the stuff and then labeling it all. Here's a list of what I included in the survival kit. You can pick other things, add to it, etc, these were just the things I thought of myself. I put cute, witty notes on them to explain their "rationale" in the basket. I found cute chevron patterned ones that matched her theme to write on. For the basket I just got one at Target in the colors for the nursery. 

The contents:

Kleenex- for all the tears, happy and sad

Piggy bank- because it's never too soon to start saving for college ;) I went with Ninja turtles, because, well they are awesome, duhhhh

face masks- since mommyhood ages you

maxi pads- from what I hear, mother nature  HEAVILY blesses you after that 9 month grace period... I also was educated on what a mommy padsicle is and what wonders they can do lol

chocolate- kind of self explanatory

flushable wipes- I hear they come in handy post partum

special K protein bars- for a healthy, almost hands free snack 

tea- to have a cup while Auntie Chrissy comes over to clean and take care of the baby ;)

deodorant- because showers are a thing of the past when you have a newborn

dry shampoo- goes hand in hand with the deordorant

bubble bath- for when you finally get some "me" time... i got spongebob kids bubble bath to remind her while shes enjoying herself that she is a new mommy

candles- to set the mood for the bath

nipple cream- because breastfeeding does its fair share of wear and tear on mommy

nipple protector pads- goes hand in hand with the cream... for these two items I got Lansinoh because I heard great things about it

good smelling handsoap- for everyone to use before snuggling the baby

a notepad and pens- to either document feedings and sleep schedule, write out her feelings, or whatever else new mommy's need

pony tails- to keep the mane out of reach of the grabby baby

aveeno baby lotion/cream- safe for baby too, and extra moisturizing for all the hand washings

starbucks expresso energy drinks- because new mommy's need a pick me up

hand sanitizer- germs are mommy's worst nightmare

a bottle of wine- 9 month hiatus... need I say more

snickers- again... candy...chocolate...need I say more?

gum- for when you don't remember the last time you brushed your teeth

chapstick- everyone needs some good chapstick

Now onto the actual shower.. we had some cute things up our sleeves. Mom picked the games, I'll give her credit for that, I did the creative work.. Designing borders to match her theme, setting them up, etc. And I had "elephant duty"... My sister picked elephants for the theme for the nursery. So, we thought of a cute idea for a party memento from the shower. I designed/shaded an elephant to hold onto balloons. At the shower we had everyone sign one, (The balloons, by the way, were the hardest part to find. I ended up finding gift tags at Hobby Lobby to use) and I went to work strategically placing them to make balloon bundles for the elephant to hold. I just used different colored strings cut and pulled tightly to "attach" them to the elephant. I think it turned out rather nicely :)
I also had "diaper cake" duty. I had already made one for her birthday so this one was a breeze. We got a 96 pack of pampers swaddlers size 2, and I set aside 40 for the "midnight diapers" shower game, and used the rest for my cake. I used little rubber bands to roll all the diapers. I put an empty paper towel roll in the middle of all of them and then just began placing them in a circle. I don't remember how many I used per layer, I just kept placing them until the spaces were filled in and it was rounded. Then I used a giant rubber band to hold them all in place. Once all the layers were in place, I used cute ribbons to cover up the rubber band. I had a thicker safari animal print I used and then bordered it in the gray. Once the ribbon was done, I just used gift ribbons and crinkle paper to fill in the rest. and of course it had to be topped with an elephant.
The shower games were fun... we did "the price is right" where the guests had to guess the prices of the baby items, and the closest to the actual total wins, "baby bingo" where the guests filled in their bingo cards with items they think mom would get and checked them off as she opened gifts, "midnight diapers", which wasn't actually a game, but something cute and funny. We had the guests write messages to mom and dad on the diapers, and we designated the box to be used for the 2 am night changes. Just some cute, easy ideas to keep it interesting!

Staggering Statistics

So as I recently mentioned, Pancreatic Cancer is one of the most deadliest forms of cancer out there... It's extremely difficult for people to have faith and hold onto hope when they know this fact going in. I firmly believe that a big part of this is lack of funding... as you'll be able to gather from the last two statistics on the list. So what better way to tackle this problem than head on? Donating directly to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network will ensure that funds go directly toward the research specifically for pancreatic cancer. The more we raise, the brighter the future looks.

PANCREATIC CANCER FACTS

An estimated 46,420 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S., and over 39,590 will die from the disease. Pancreatic cancer is one of the few cancers for which survival has not improved substantially over nearly 40 years. Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. 94% of pancreatic cancer patients will die within five years of diagnosis – only 6% will survive more than five years. 74% of patients die within the first year of diagnosis. The average life expectancy after diagnosis with metastatic disease is just three to six months. Few risk factors for developing pancreatic cancer are defined. Family history of the disease, smoking, age, and diabetes are risk factors. Pancreatic cancer may cause only vague symptoms that could indicate many different conditions within the abdomen or gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms include pain (usually abdominal or back pain), weight loss, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), loss of appetite, nausea, changes in stool, and diabetes. Treatment options for pancreatic cancer are limited. Surgical removal of the tumor is possible in less than 20% of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Chemotherapy or chemotherapy together with radiation is typically offered to patients whose tumors cannot be removed surgically. Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer death largely because there are no detection tools to diagnose the disease in its early stages when surgical removal of the tumor is still possible. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) spent an estimated $105.3 million on pancreatic cancer research in 2012. This represented a mere 1.8% of the NCI’s approximate $5.8 billion cancer research budget for that year. Source for statistics: American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts & Figures 2014 and NCI Annual Plan & Budget Proposal For Fiscal Year 2012. http://www.pancreatic.org/site/c.htJYJ8MPIwE/b.5050503/k.40C9/Pancreatic_Cancer_Facts.htm

Running for a Cause- check mine out!

Like I've said before, I don't run for me. Yes, it is therapeutic. Yes, it helps me run off whatever current overwhelming emotions or life happenings are occurring. But when I decided to start running big time, I knew I wanted to do if for something bigger. Running my first half marathon to benefit a child who hadn't even been given a shot at life yet was the most rewarding experience I think I have had to date. After that, I knew I wanted to keep running marathons, and moreover, to keep running them for charity.

My latest cause I actually discovered through my running app, MapMyRun. I noticed a while ago that they always have new "challenges" you can participate in. It seemed more like a bit of motivation, so I never participated in one before, until recently I had one catch my eye. It was called I workout beCAUSE, hosted by everydayhero. The motivation behind it? Fundraising for a cause. I knew this was exactly what I needed.

I recently lost one of the most important men in my life to Pancreatic Cancer. It was devastating, rather unexpected, and terribly frustrating. I will never understand why bad things happen to good people. I am so beyond blessed to be able to say I knew him. He played such an important role in my life for 23 years, and sometimes it is still so hard to accept that he is gone. When I went to his service, and even his celebration of life, I couldn't help but be amazed at how many people showed up and to see how many lives he had touched, though I shouldn't be surprised with how amazing of a man he was. I definitely wouldn't be who or where I am today without him.

 While I can't undo what happened, I do know I can continue to make him proud. I had said I was going to run my next half marathon through project purple to raise funds for pancreatic cancer awareness and research, but when I saw this, I thought why wait? I saw what this nasty cancer did to him and everyone that loved him, and I want to do everything in my power to prevent it from happening to others, and at the very least decrease the number. My fundraising will benefit the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. While ya'll may not have known Joseph (Chip) Ferencz personally, I know many of you have experienced loss, especially due to cancer. I encourage you to donate to this wonderful cause, especially given that Pancreatic Cancer is one of the most deadliest cancers out there, and ironically, one of the least funded. Every little bit counts and makes a difference, pay it forward.

https://iworkoutbecause.everydayhero.com/us/chrissy-2