Thursday, May 30, 2013

Is that how this works?

So I am veering off the path that I had intended on taking on the blog today and want to share with you all some personal stuff about me.

I have recently been in a situation where I had to end a friendship. This decision was made with caution and lots of prayer. I want to share my experience with you all in hopes that maybe if you are struggling with something similar it will shed some light on your situation.

Over a few years I have had an on again off again friendship with this person. In past times when there were arguments I will be the first to admit that I wasn't the most gracious person. I have said things that I shouldn't have and throughout the periods of not talking I would feel badly about that. Then after a while it would blow over and we would talk and get along. Hence the friendship would be rekindled so to speak.

Just as I feel marriage disagreements go I also think the same of friendship. My husband and I have a fantastic relationship. We have had our times of trouble and have been through a lot together but our marriage is successful because of a few reasons. God being first and foremost a priority in our life, we take our troubles to him and trust him to guide us. But one thing that I think attributes so much to us getting along so well is this. When we have a disagreement, NOTHING and I mean NOTHING from a past disagreements is brought up.

The past is in the past.

We have moved one, even if it wasn't completely settled it is in the past and we have enough respect and love for the other that we don't want to continue a disagreement with dirty laundry.

This should be the same with friendships. There will come a time in all types of relationships, marriage, friendships, relationships with your parents, etc that will not go how you want them to. Not everyone is going to agree on everything and some people might handle certain situations differently than you would. When this arises bite your tongue and think before you speak. During this last incident I will say that while I did express my reasoning to break the friendship off I did it in a more classy way. There was no name calling, no placing blame only me saying that I think it is best for my personal christian walk to break the friendship off.

Is it wrong to end a friendship if it isn't helping you grow spiritually? Or what if it actually pushes you to the edge of breaking where you are ready to throw your hands up in the air and just say some not nice things. That is not the christian attitude that I strive to have. I do not want to be over taken with anger, especially when it is ignited by a fellow christian.

Now this might be confusing to some of you all. How does a friendship affect your christian walk? Shouldn't it be the opposite? Trust me I struggled with this at first as well. But I prayed about it and talked with fellow Christians about my struggles and I honestly felt God guiding my decision.

God calls us as Christians to love everyone but it does not say we have to be everyones friend. There is a difference between being a friend and being an acquaintance. This world is full of millions upon millions of people. We can't be friends with all those people, there is not enough time in the day but can we be friendly and smile or even speak to those in passing? Yes we can. God wants me to walk with him and be his hands and feet.

I tried at one point to say I was sorry and offer a hug but when I went home I was still unsettled with the situation. I still felt used and taken advantaged of. Then when trying to clear the air my integrity, my Christian walk, everything about me was questioned. I was told I was "greedy" and all I wanted was their "money". It was awful to hear such words from someone who was supposedly a friend. The money was not the issue but how when it didn't go "their way" you would say such awful things to a friend. I could care less about the money and it seems like the one who continues to bring up "You just want my money" is the one with the real money issues.

The words "You were prideful and boastful on your giving but I felt you showed me less than that..." Throwing words from my blog up in my face. Words that I used to give God all the glory and credit. Do friends really do this?

I do not think she reads my blog anymore and if she does then I'm not sure why she would still read my blog.

This went one for quite sometime and it was exhausting. Well after I ended the friendship I felt like a weight had been lifted off of me. I no longer had to worry about every little facebook post being questioned or every little thing I said being misconstrued to something totally off the wall. It was in the past and I started to heal and move on.

With healing comes comfort. I am was comfortable enough to speak and be friendly in passing. Well last night the hubs and I spoke and just shared a quick, "Hi, How are you?". Well the texts began again and every piece dirty laundry we had from 6years ago to now was brought up. I was called fake about 5 times and basically told me to not be a hypocrit in church. "You dislike me, Don't pretend you feel otherwise just so ppl will think you are nice". REALLY??? I have read back through this multiple times and I never said I dislike you. The word dislike never came out of my mouth...well fingers. I have even said "I do not harbor any harsh feelings to you at all I just don't think a friendship is a good idea". Is that telling someone that I wouldn't pee on the if they were on fire?? Yep that was said too and not by me.

Oh I digress.

This blog is kinda like my diary that I share with many of you all. I post some of my most intimate pictures, my daily struggles, my victories and my failures. Sometimes I need to vent and sometimes I just want others to know that someone out there is feeling exactly how you are.

As a Christian I have learned that my walk with God is most important and when I stray from that I suffer. Maybe not physically but mentally. If I was an alcoholic then I would try to stay away from alcohol 100% as to not fall back into the sin. If I was addicted to credit card shopping then I would get rid of my credit cards. Anything that can hinder your walk with Christ does not deserve a place in your life. Sadly enough sometimes it is a person that you must cut ties with to further your Christian walk. What matters most is that you handle yourself in an appropriate Christ-Like manner.

"State your case but don't let your emotions control your tongue."

Well I am done with my small rant and I hope that this will help atleast one of your move on and realize that as a Christian we are to love everyone but should be able to choose our friends without judgement.

Happy Thursday and I will get the ARMS PYRAMID up tomorrow!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Wednesday Workout Recap

Is it Wednesday already? This week has me all jacked up!!

Next week I start getting Wednesday off of work. My work is so graciously letting me takeWednesdays in addition to Friday for the summer.

YAY for an extra summer play day!!

If you weren't aware, I am a full time working momma. My husband works full time as well but my income is too much to lose. We could do it if I decided to stay home but it would take away every little extra penny we have meaning no vacations, no trips to putt putt, no movies, no date nights, no big birthday parties, etc. These are some of the best memories I have with my children therefore this lifestyle works best for us. Plus Kinley is in Pre-School and Laniebug has the very best sitter in the world so we are very blessed.

This will be my last consistent WorkOut Recap post. I finish up Jamie Eason this week and with me having all day on Wednesdays with my babies I most likely be doing all the fun stuff of summer. I will try to continue to post my workouts but they prob won't be in the form of a full post. On the good side though I have made a new blogger friend and we are working on a cool link up for you all!! YAY!! While your at it go check our Mere's blog here and read or funny So What... Link-Up She's a preatty funny gal and we are actually a lot a like! I think I found my BBFF (Best Blogger Friend Forever, duh)

Recap May 20th-26th

Monday- Jamie Eason Live Fit Day 71 (Legs)
50 Squats
Day 20 AB Challenge phase 2
 
Tuesday- Jamie Eason Day 72 (Back, Abs & Cardio)
50 Squats
Day 21 AB Challenge phase 2

 


Wednesday- Jamie Eason Day 73 (Chest, Calves & Cardio)
15min Elliptical
Day 22 AB Challenge-Rest

Thursday- Jamie Eason Day 74 (Arms, Abs & Cardio) 
Day 23 AB Challenge phase 2
2miles on the Dreadmill for Sprints
Friday-Jamie Eason Day 75 (Shoulders & Cardio)
20min on Elliptical
Day 24 AB Challenge phase 2

Saturday- Jamie Eason Day 76 Cardio-30 minutes
Day 25 AB Challenge Phase 2
PR'd my 5K 26:56

Sunday- Jamie Eason Day 77 REST
Day 26 AB Challenge Rest

Since Jamie Easons LiveFit end this Saturday I have been trying to decide what I am going to do next. I am thinking that Jillian Michaels 30Day Shred but I also do not want to give up lifting so I came up with an "ARMS Pyramid" workout. Two Options for this, with or without weights. They vary a bit though so be sure to look closely at each one.
I think I will make the Arm Pyramid a 30 Day Challenge for me personally only taking Sundays off. I also am going to start running more sprints and try to lower my 5k time. I am not running a half until December so I think if I can improve my time for short runs now it will help me get a better time for my first half.

Check Back tomorrow for the ARM PYRAMID CHALLENGE!

Don't forget to go check out the lovely SkinnyMeg for her Sexy Back Workout! Well the lovely blogger is not letting me link to her page or add her link up in here but you can check her out at www.skinnymeg.com CURSE YOU BLOGGER!!!

Ok so beside the workout stuff what would be some things you would like to read about?? I have a few ideas but would love to hear from my readers if there is anything in particular that you would like to read. Any questions to answer? You can leave them in the comments or email them to me at sweetsouthernmel@gmail.com

HAPPY HUMP DAY!


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Best Hot Dog Chili Ever!

Hello! Happy Monday  err Tuesday Ya'll!

I hope your weekend was just as fantastic as mine was! Seriously I don't think it could have went any better (well except my eating, that def could have been better). We had some wonderful family time, got almost everything done outside around the house, spend the day Saturday running and laying out, Sunday a beautiful drive through Cade's Cove and yesterday all day with great friends! WHEW, super busy but oh so fun!

I promised on Sunday to share Memaw's Best Hot Dog Chili recipe yesterday but by the time the party ended I was exhausted and just couldn't muster up the energy to post it. I even fell a sleep during The Bachelorette, SAY WHAA?? Yep I was that tired but I did get the see "Will you Accept these Abs?" Hello what kind of a line was that, I mean really did you even have to ask? 

Ok back on track. This recipe get huge RAVES everytime I serve it up. The best past though is I make it once and don't have to make hot dog chili again for months (since we eat hot dogs atleast once a week it is a great quick and easy meal). The recipe makes about 12 Quart size baggies of hot dog chili. One baggies is the perfect amount for us (note the kiddos do not eat chili so it is just the hubs and I). You might only get 8-10baggies if you prefer more but 12 is perfect for us!

Seriously you CAN NOT go wrong with this chili and I promise if you take it to your next cookout you will be the star of the show!!

The recipe came from my mama-in-law who never writes anything down. It is always "Add a touch of this and just a little pinch of that" and "Oh you know, just a smidge of this". Yeah so trying to get the amounts correct so that I could share was rather difficult but I think I got it!

PS this is NOT, I repeat NOT clean...but oh so yummy!

MEMAW'S HOT DOG CHILI

5lbs of Hamburger
2 small onions
1 cup of water
1 small bottle of ketchup
1 bottle Chili Sauce (found where the ketchup is)
1 can tomato sauce
2/3cup of sugar
2 Tbls Chili Powder

Brown Hamburger and onions, drain grease then add water, ketchup, chili sauce, tomato sauce, sugar and chili powder to meat. Mix and let simmer on very low about 30-40 min.  Let cool and divide up into Quart size freezer bags.



That's it! Super easy and I promise you will not be disappointed!

Don't forget about the awesome Book Series Giveaway I have going on right now too!! Be sure to get entered!

Weekend recap!

Saturday Morning was race day and I not only PR'd my 5K, beat my time by more than 2min but I also placed 3rd for my age group 20-29!!! WOO HOO
The time clock said 26:56 as I passed it and by the time I snapped a pic and got back into my Nike App it was 27:05. I was just hoping for less than 28 so I am super pumped with my time!


My 3rd Place Award!! (and the blasted sideways picture!)
It was the perfect weekend to take a stroll through the old graveyard and pay our respect.


DEER and beautiful mountains!



For some reason I found this sign hysterical!



Picnic Time by the Creek

Family Baseball time!

Such a good daddy!

I love these old cabins!
 Now for some Memorial Day Fun!




 
 

Then to end a perfect weekend we got our first egg from our hens!!! Little farmer boy so so excited!




 Have a great week!! See ya tomorrow for the workout Recap!





Thursday, May 23, 2013

The One Series Book Review & GIVEAWAY

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!

So who is up for a giveaway? It has been a while since I did one and I think it is about time to treat someone!

One of my favorite things to do during the summer is read. Give me a good book, a body of water and some sunshine and I am one H.A.P.P.Y. girl.

I will read just about anything but if it has romance and a little "erotica" I can hardly put them down! Yes, I read 50 Shades and yes, I (and the hubs) LOVED it! Whew....just thinking about it....

Where were we?

We tend to pass around book suggestions a lot here at work. Well it turns out that a lady I work with, her daughter (whom I have met once or twice) wrote a book series. I have never known a writer so of course I immediately bought the books and started reading.

It is UH-MAZE-ING!

I am still reading (I am a slow reader between work, two kiddos and working out) but it keeps on surprising me! I just can't believe some of the curve balls these books have. I am so amazed at her talent and I totally give this a 5 Star Review!!

The One Series written by Laurel Curtis.

Here is a little bio on Laurel:

"Laurel Ulen Curtis is a 26 year old mother of one. She lives with her husband and son (and cat and two fish!) in New Jersey, but grew up all over the United States. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, and puts that to almost no use other than forecasting for her friends! She has a passion for her family, laughing, and reading and writing Romance novels."

The One Place is the first book and is a story about a girl who was in a very abusive relationship and is looking for a way out. When she finally gets that chance she runs as fast as she can and ends up in some little podunk town where she thinks she can find some sense of normal. Where she starts to fall in love and where she...well I'm not going to tell you anymore but seriously you must read it!



The One Girl is the second book and I am not going to give you a review of this one because it will give away the first one. :)

WARNING: Explicit Language and Sexual Content....WOO HOO (for SC) :)

You can get them on Amazon for your Kindle right now for .99ea but this is for a limited time!!! So I suggest if you are looking for a great read then you should run and grab them here now!

For the giveaway Laurel is so graciously giving one reader a signed copy of both of The One Series books and then a second reader a free eCopy.
Two sets of books for two lucky readers!

To enter follow directions on the Rafflecopter :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I would also like to thank all the military men and women out there for all they do. We will never know the extent of their giving to this country and I am forever grateful for each of you!

Hope you all are having some family fun!!

Clean Eating Challenge Week 2 Menu

Well here is my Menu for next week. Monday will be a challenge seeing that it is Memorial Day and we have a BIG Memorial Day Bash at our house full of food & fun. I am going to "attempt" to stick to a semi-clean eating plan but that will just depend upon what everyone else will bring! I am going to fix "Clean" food though so that will give us some options to atleast snack cleanly. You will also see that some of it is the same because it is just easy for us.

MONDAY
B-  2 over easy eggs and 2 pieces of Turkey Bacon for me/the hubs fixes himself a 2 egg omelet each morning with peppers, onions and mushrooms

S- Watermelon & Blueberries or Jamie Easons Chocolate Protein Bars

L- Sweet Potato and Homemade Guacomole


S- Fresh Veggies and fruits with Semi-Clean Healthy Spinach Dip

D- Angus Beef Hot Dogs (minus buns) with veggies

S- Detox Tea with 1tsp Honey

TUESDAY
B-  2 Hard Boiled eggs and 2 pieces of Turkey Bacon/Hubs is having Omelet

S- Watermelon & Blueberries or JE Chocolate Protein Bar

 
L- Sweet Potato w/ Ground honey Chicken


S- Apple & 1Tbls of Dark Choc Almond Butter

S- Detox Tea with 1tsp Honey


WEDNESDAY
B- 2 Hard Boiled eggs and 2 pieces of Turkey Bacon/Omelet

S-  JE Protein Bar



L- Sweet Potato w/ Ground honey Chicken


S- Apple & 1Tbls Dark Chocolate Almond Butter

D- Zucchini Lasagna Leftovers

S- Detox Tea with 1tsp Honey


THURSDAY
B- 2 Hard Boiled eggs and 2 pieces of Turkey Bacon/Omelet

S- JE Chocolate Protein Bar


L- Sweet Potato w/ Ground honey Chicken


S- Apple & Almond Butter




S- Detox Tea with 1tsp Honey

FRIDAY
B- Banana Pancakes (2eggs and 1 mashed banana)

S- JE Protein Bar

L- Sweet Potato w/ Ground honey Chicken

S- Apple & Almonds

D- This will be hard because we will be leaving to travel to WV -Unsure about this day

S- Detox Tea with 1tsp Honey

SATURDAY
B-  2 eggs over easy and 2 pieces of Turkey Bacon

S- Almonds and Raisens

L- Traveling so I'm unsure

S- Berries and Greek Yogurt



D- Traveling-Unsure

S- Detox Tea with 1tsp Honey


I will get on making my grocery list and get it posted for ya! :)

And here is a little funny for ya just to play off of the totes hysterical and inspirational Mama Laughlin and HubbyJack who's just...well he's HubbyJack!





Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Wednesdays Workout Recap

Well I didn't post yesterday because honestly nothing felt right to say.

I did a lot of praying, all day, while I was working, eating, working out and playing with my babies. I just spend a lot of quiet time with the Lord.

Sometimes that is all that you need to do.


He is Lord now, yesterday and tomorrow. I put my trust in Him and pray that those out there suffering will feel his presence with them. 

"The Lord is near to the broken hearted; And saves those who are crushed in Spirit." Psalms 34:18

One of my favorite chapters of the bible to read. It's not long and I encourage you to take 10min out of your day today and read it.


WorkOut Recap time! 

 I did well last week but honestly I am just ready to be done with Live Fit. It has been a GREAT program but I get bored pretty easily. Her workouts do switch every two weeks which is good for my boredom level but I am just ready to move on to bigger and better things.

If you are a beginner I HIGHLY recommend this program to start with. It is simple, basic and will help teach you how to lift.

Here is my workouts from last week!

Last Week May 13th-19th

Monday- Jamie Eason Live Fit Day 64 (Quads and Calves)
DAY 24 Squat Challenge 200reg Squats & 150 PliĆ© Squats
Day 13 AB Challenge phase 1

 
Tuesday- Jamie Eason Day 65 (Back, Arms & Abs)
DAY 25 Squat Challenge 210reg Squats & 160 PliĆ© Squats
Day 14 AB Challenge phase 1
Tuesday PR'd 1mile 8:47

Wednesday- Jamie Eason Day 66 (Chest, Shoulders &Abs)
Day 15 AB Challenge-Rest
DAY 26 Squat Challenge  220reg Squats & 170 PliĆ© Squats

Thursday- Jamie Eason Day 67 (Hamstrings, Glutes & Abs) 
Day 16 AB Challenge phase 2
DAY 27 Squat Challenge 230 Reg & 180 Plie'
Friday-Jamie Eason Day 68 (Back, Biceps & Abs)
Day 17 AB Challenge phase 2
DAY 28 Squat Challenge Rest
Saturday- Jamie Eason Day 69 (Shoulders, Triceps, Calves) 
Day 18 AB Challenge Phase 2
DAY 29 Squat Challenge 240reg Squats and 190 PliĆ© Squats

Sunday- Jamie Eason Day 70 REST
Day 19 AB Challenge Rest
Day 30 Squat Challenge 250 Reg & 200 Plie' Squats
LAST DAY of Squats WOO WOO

I didn't run as much as what I had hoped to but I was super busy last week and had family in town. I still managed to do my other workouts but my running fell to the wayside. I have a long run planning for Saturday morning though.

I am on day 3 of the #melsclean 30 and it seems to be a bit easier than what I thought it would be. It might be that I am coming down to the wire on this whole fit for the beach thing but I am really hoping to see HUGE changes!

Oh an my starting weight from Monday was 137...yep I went up 3lbs but knowing that I was going to be starting this challenge I ate like doo doo last week.

Such is Life...

Go check out the most fabulous SkinnyMeg for her Workout Wednesday Link-Up!
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~Happy Hump Day~


Monday, May 20, 2013

Clean Eating Food Prep

Yesterday I did all my food prep for Breakfast, Snacks and Lunch for the week.

I shopped for dinners but will be cooking those each evening. We mostly grill during the summer months so the dinners will be simple for a while.

{If you are not following me on IG you totes should be so you could have seen some of these awesome pics in the making} @Sweetsouthernmel

Ewww gross right?!

You can look back here at the Menu for the week. Fairly simple to put together. The Jamie Eason Monster Meatloaf was the only major cooking I did. It looked like vomit precooking but pretty tasty when it came out of the oven. I guess we will see at lunch today just how good it is.


Breakfast & AM Snack
I did not do the overnight oats this week because I forgot to get those on Saturday and didn't want to be fixing them into individuals containers this morning. I barely make it out the door on time anyways, I can't be trying to do more stuff in the morning.


I will be having eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast all week and I think I might try some Egg/Banana pancakes this weekend. YUM YUM


PM Snack

Cooked Monster Meatloaf
Also please remember that the hubs is doing this with me. I am so excited about this because I can't stand to let him win anything. We are very competitive with each other, in a fun way but competitive none the less. We have 5 weeks til we leave for the beach and I know that he is dead set on getting through this challenge and getting "beach ready" as he calls it! This will help me hold myself even more accountable knowing that if I slip up I'm letting him gain on me ;)

A little weekend rewind:



My last sip of McD's Iced Coffee for 30 days....<tears> Oh how I'll miss thee


Baby girl is growing up, First time having painted toes like mommy <tears>

I busted out some #BEASTMODE at the gym on Friday...yeah buddy those are 20's
{and I am in spandex at the gym...SAY WHAAAAT? I stayed in the ladies only room though ;) }
GYM TIME


Look at those Quads  #BEASTMODE

This little guy got trapped in our skimmer...I was ready to kung-foo his butt if he jumped out of that thing on me when I took the lid off but he was kind and gave me a few seconds to run back...and snap a pic

He was totes posing

Birthday Party Planning is in full swing and I am so excited for Kinleys Camping Party! And check out these totally cute invites I found on etsy! They are totally customizable which is perfect for me since I am forever changing my mind about stuff!  I still can't believe he turns 5 next month though. <tears>

CAMP KINLEY


Summer Fun (when it wasn't raining)
We also had his Soccer Awards night but those pics got taken with the good camera so they won't make it to a computer for a few days...well probably a few weeks cause I'm a procrastinator like that.

Happy Monday Ya'll!