Exciting news abound!

Thirty-One made quite the announcement yesterday. The big news told consultants that the November special would be available early starting today, October 16th. Being relatively new to Thirty-One, my response was, "Ok, that's fine." The response from fellow consultants though was a little more along the lines of.....

 

Yes, that's right! For those of you who know about the medium and square utility totes, they are back from now until November 26th.

 

 

You can get either the square utility tote or the medium utility tote for only $7 when you make a purchase of $35 or more. Now, I really love my large utility totes. I have like...4 - 5 of them. They are incredibly useful and oh so stylish. :) They are, however, definitely large. The idea of a slightly smaller utility tote...we'll I'm definitely game! The square utility tote - oh the storage possibilities with this one!

 

The important part to remember is that this is ONLY available October 16th through November 26th. After that these two items are gone! They are not in the current catalog, so I have no idea when/if they'll ever be offered again.

 

 

 

These are some seriously useful bags! Here are some cool ideas I found for the square utility tote.

 

DVD storage...I have so many kids movies that could go in here. In fact, maybe it could help keep them from being out of their cases and sitting on my TV stand!

 

This is an adorable Easter basket, but given the time of year - think Hanukkah or Christmas gift! Even a New Year's gift for your party hostess.

 

 

Seriously? I want to be a guest in this house.

 

 

You know you want your pantry to look like this! It'll never happen in my house, but hey! One can dream. :)

 

Where are my crafters? This looks like just the right size to hold your yarn or latest quilting project.

 

The uses for the medium utility tote look endless! I definitely need a way to organize my gift wrap with Christmas right around the corner.

 

 

Another fall outfit for those who are fashion inclined! This collection came from the website Polyvore. I'm jealous of those with this fashion know-how.

 

 

The Littles Carry-All was another one I waved aside until I realized the million uses these little caddies have! Three of them fit perfectly inside the medium utility tote. Oh the possibilities are endless!

 

 

Snacks for the team? Girl scout troop? This would be so much easier to carry than the large utility tote. I may need this for our scout trip to the zoo this year for Halloween.

 

Finally, who doesn't need good kitty storage!?!? Make sure to get yours today and color coordinate with your cat for goodness sake! :)

 

So whose excited about this latest special? Well, why don't you spread the word and earn products for free by hosting a party! Check out my website www.mythirtyone.com/hbrowning to place an order. For those of you ambitious folks who want to earn free stuff either through an in-person party or a catalog party, e-mail me!

 

TTFN!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty-One is taking over!

I haven't touched this blog in so long. I figured it was time to make use of the thing and why not for my latest obsession. I've started selling Thirty-One in an effort to actually be able to afford childcare and formula. :)

Since my post-2nd baby body is in need of a new (non-maternity) fall wardrobe, I've been drooling over the amazing outfits that Thirty-One has paired with some of their products. As an added bonus, the Retro Metro Collection is the special for this month, so most of these that I will post here can be purchased at 50% off when you make a purchase of $35 or more. If you love the Retro Metro Weekender this is quite the deal! I'll certainly be getting one myself.

 

The jacket and the boots with this outfit - I want, I want! The bag in this collection is the Free to Be Carry-All in Brown Woodstock Floral. A great casual bag available in three fall prints. 

 

 

 

 

 



 

This red jacket is beautiful! there are quite a few Thirty-One products stashed into this collection. Starting on the left is the Perfect Cents Wallet in Grey Houndstooth. If you need about three billion places for stuff in your wallet like I do, this one is for you!

 

Below that is the All-Day Organizing Tote in Grey Mod Dot. I purchased one of these last month and have been using it as my diaper bag. The ability to zip it closed sold me. I do need to get a Hang It Up Key Fob though to add to it to hold those pacifiers. They disappear in the bag unless they're hooked to something!

 

Next is the Lunch Break Thermal in Grey Parisian Pop.  The lunch bags are awesome. The option to personalize them is even better. :)

 

Finally, we have the Zipper Pouch in Grey Parisian Pop. Seriously, I can think of about a million uses for these things and the embroidery option makes it SO tempting to buy a dozen of them...in each pattern.

 

This one is by far my favorite look. I can only hope to look this good one day. We have three essential Thirty-One items here.

 

First is the Flat-Iron Fold Over in Black Chevron. Besides being perfect for bringing your curling or flat iron with you when you travel, this insulated bag can be used for hot or cold. Stick go-gurts and cheese sticks in it for the kids!

 

Next is the 24/7 case in Black. This would be a great case to monogram for a bride!

 

Be still my heart, the last item here is the Retro Metro Weekender in Black Chevron. I'm on a mission to get one of these this month. As I mentioned before, it's one of the October specials, so get it 50% off when you place an order of $35 or more!

 

 

Here is the Weekender again, this time in Grey Mod Dot. It's impossible to choose just one pattern.

 

Finally, we have the Retro Metro Bag in Paisley Day. This is another 50% off item this month when you place an order of $35 or more.

 

I hope this blog becomes a fun place to explore the many uses for the Thirty-One products. I'm certainly having fun making it a way to support my family! I welcome comments and questions. For those of you who would like to place an order, you can do so at www.mythirtyone.com/hbrowning. Better yet, host a party and earn discounts and even free products! I've done a few Facebook parties now and would love to continue introducing people to Thirty-One. Until next time...

 

Heather

 

How do you provide motivation in a sleep deprived state?

There are two questions dominating my life right now:

1.       How do you get a 6-month-old to sleep for longer than two hours at a time at night?

2.       How do you motivate a 7-year-old to strive for her personal best, rather than just doing only the bare minimum to get by?

 

Does anyone have any suggestions, because one of these is keeping me up at night (literally) and the other is consuming me during the day?

 

I am amazed at how much my daughter is affected by sleep. Some babies can have a day of poor sleep and it takes them a day to get over it. Not my little one! She has a day of bad sleep and it has taken us a week now to get over it! The poor little girl is sleep deprieved and making it worse each day with crappy naps and terrible night sleep. Plus she’s up at 5:30 a.m. everyday now that daylight savings time has ended. Oh my aching head. Lack of sleep is tough enough, but now my semi-cold/cough is getting worse because I’m just not able to get enough sleep to kick its butt. I have tried to read everything I actually have time to read on the subject of sleep and it’s a complicated topic. Our bodies need sleep to survive and yet we oftentimes have to be taught how to get good sleep. It reminds me a little of my favorite book, Insomnia, when Joe Wiser says that doctors will tell you that lack of sleep will not kill you, but what really goes on the death certificate is much worse.

 

The second item plaguing me recently is motivation. My daughter is incredibly bright. She is above grade level in reading, remarkable at spelling, and capable of learning just about anything. However, she received a low mark on her report card. Her teacher has her pegged and realizes that she is just not striving for her personal best. She does just enough to get by. She is asked to write in her journal, so she does so for about ten minutes and then declares that she is done. She is asked to read for 20 minutes each night, so she does and then immediately closes the book and moves onto something else. She does not seem engaged to the point of wanting to learn or discover more. She is not engaged enough to want to push herself to the next level. I am completely internally motivated, so I am at a loss as to how to effectively motivate my daughter. Do I reward her for accomplishments? That hardly seems to be a good way to push her, because then what happens when we no longer provide her with a reward. Do I challenge her by letting her know that her levels are not as high as we thought they were? Her teacher actually told me that her first reading test put her right at grade level. She retested her and was able to get a higher and presumibly more accurate score. I’m assuming that she just flat out didn’t try the first time. Is the problem that she has been told so often that she is very intelligent, so she beliees she doesn’t have to try very hard to succeed? Is it possible she has “too much” self-esteem?

 

I’m at a loss.

 

 

 

 

 

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Naptime Anyone?

Whew - I'm so very tired. It's now been 8 weeks since I've gotten a full and uninterrupted night's sleep. And I'm sure the trend will continue. But looking into the face of my beautiful daughter tonight will make me forget that I was yawning and nodding off at my desk all day today.

I did manage a very good hike on Saturday. Add the 10 pounds of baby I carried with me and I think it can be considered a bit of weight training as well. I also did a sweat inducing workout on Monday, but it's not looking good for the rest of this week. Hopefully I will be sneaking in lunchtime workouts on Thursday and Friday. I just have to stop yawning long enough to get on that treadmill! I also reserved some mom and baby yoga dvds from the library. We'll see how those go. Spending time with AnnaSophia - big thumbs up. Doing yoga...well. It's never really been my favorite form of exercise. But I'll give it a shot.

Day 14: 153 pounds, 165 days and 33 pounds to go.

One journey ends, another begins

My beautiful baby girl was born on May 15^th at 6:45 in the morning. She was 2 ½ weeks early, but a perfect weight and was born with absolutely no complications. It is such a relief to have her here and even more of a relief to not be pregnant anymore. While it certainly wasn’t a terrible experience, I’m very glad to have my body back to myself. And ecstatic to be able to bend down and tie my shoes!

 

Six weeks of recovery time and now it’s time to start my next journey. I did not lose 60 pounds several years ago, just to let it all come back. As of today I am 155 pounds. My goal weight (I am 5’2”) is 120 pounds. Which leaves me with a weight loss target of 35 pounds. More than I had hoped to gain, but not an unmanageable number. If I can lose 1 pound each week, I will be able to reach my goal by March 2^nd of next year. If I can pull off losing 2 pounds a week, I can reach my goal by Halloween. I’m really aiming for somewhere in between those two dates. I think I’ll aim to hit my target weight at Christmas. This rounds out to 7 pounds a month for the next 5 months.

 

While this goal is certainly possible, it’s going to be a lot harder than it was last time. The last time I lost weight I was single and I wasn’t a mom. My finances were strong enough to afford the Nutrisystem plan. Things are a bit different now. I’m going to have to rely heavily on my lunchtime workouts and focus on crafting my own diet plan rather than having the luxury of simply following directions and eating what is sent to me.

 

My lunchtime workout today was 30 minutes of walking at a pretty brisk pace. I’d like to get up to 4 miles an hour, but today I could only pull of 3.3mph. Of course, I had the incline working against me too. I’m sure that counts for something. Then I did 3 sets of 16 reps on the leg machine (inner and outer thigh exercises) and the same number of sets/reps for my arms (bicep curls and dumbbell rows). It felt really good to be sweaty and tired again. It really felt like maybe I accomplished a little. My diet today has been okay – I avoided the doughnut and burrito e-mails and have only eaten what I brought with me from home. My water intake definitely needs to increase. I’m only on my second glass today. Though I did drink a bottle of water in the car on the way to work. I think my biggest diet challenge is breakfast. I need to find breakfast options that will keep me satisfied for a decent amount of time without blowing my calorie and fat count for the day. The Nutrisystem breakfasts were really tasty, but I’m really not able to find anything like them other than oatmeal packets. That will be my first nutrition goal – to find a good breakfast option that will fill the belly and still stay within reasonable calorie and fat limits.  

 

Day 1: 155 pounds, 178 days and 35 pounds to go.

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My love/hate addiction

I simultaneously love and hate finishing books. I finished two yesterday – a book and an audio book. It was fantastic. It was miserable. Is anyone following this? I get the majority of my books from the library. So I am constantly trying to beat the due date and oftentimes failing miserably. When I do finish a book there is the sense of completion. Something to check off the old to-do list. There’s also the feeling that I’m getting organized by placing that book in the library bag. That book is now one less thing cluttering my bedside table, exercise bag, passenger side car seat, etc.

However, I can’t help but feel empty. Lost. That I’ve somehow been disconnected from my new friends. The characters I’ve connected with, the story the author is telling me still linger in my brain taunting me about the fact that I will no longer be able to learn more about their world.

I think the worst case of this is when I finish an audio book in the car. It doesn’t matter that the story has ended, the trip is still going. And what do I listen to now? I was so absorbed into the world of the book that sometimes I have to sit there in silence. Radio is too jarring, too harsh and abrupt.

Then of course, I must move onto the next book which takes time. It’s a chapter or two before I start remembering which character is which and who is speaking etc. And there’s a time to adjust to the author’s language. Eventually I become accepting of the new book and what it has to offer me. That is until, like they all do, it ends.

 

A very long week

Tomorrow my little monster girl heads to California for a week. I can’t help but worry about her. I never quite know what to expect during these trips. My experience has been that my tomboy comes back with an unwanted haircut, a very quiet demeanor, and suddenly dressed in pink. At least it’s only a week this time. I still have a few months before the dreaded 2-month departure.

 

I feel so helpless and unable to protect my stepdaughter. I love her as though I had given birth to her myself and yet she steps out to that other piece of her life and I’m powerless to make sure that she can be herself and express who she truly is. I have been incredibly pleased that she has not been teased in school by her peers about her tomboy sense of style that I find so amazingly wonderful and unique. Yet she is changed when she returns from her visits. After a short period of readjustment, she seems to swing even more into the tomboy/boy clothes loving persona. I can’t help but worry that this is not healthy for her. Yet I have no say her. No control. My ability to protect her only extends to “my time” with her.

 

Thus begins the countdown. One week. I just have to make it until next Monday evening. And then I can once again start to repair what I can’t help but see as little holes in her heart that seem to tear with every visit. Please let them be filled with love. Please don’t let the scar tissue take over her precious and amazing heart.