Life with Helen

Well, I seem to be wrapping up a great year with a terrible week. Our office flooded on Christmas Day, so we have been lucky enough to spend the past few days covered in mud (and who knows what else) while packing boxes and moving things around so that Servepro could start the process of cleaning it all up.  It looks like we will be working from home for the next few weeks, which isn't ideal, but better than nothing. I just read through my blog from this time last year, and well...that didn't go as planned! Not necessarily a bad thing! I was feeling a little unsure of where my life was headed while writing that blog. I had hoped writing it would help me find a direction, but my goals weren't very specific, nor were they very important to me, so I just couldn't find my groove. Isn't it funny how you think you know what's happening, but God has other plans?   On New Years Day a girl (that I follow because she has a fun life, but I don't really know)

I am definitely not under some delusion that I have things "figured out" at the ripe ol' age of 26, but I have made some positive changes in my life that have resulted in positive outcomes. It's not always easy, and it takes some time to adjust, since I am only human, but I just want to share what I'm learning! 1. Setting Goals This has really been the most life altering thing I've done recently.  Set realistic goals, then take it a step further by telling people your goals.  Basically you need to put yourself on blast!  I appreciate my friends and family asking me "where I am" in reaching my goals.  It keeps me in check!  During my evaluation at work my boss asked me what my short-term goal was.  I said "My goal is to be the Loan Specialist for our program by the end of 2015."  In October that happened.  When I joined Younique I had no intention of selling products.  I just wanted to get $125 to stay active and help my friend advance. 

I  have a confession.  I think....I have...too many social media accounts.  I know, I know, but I just can't help myself! I love them all so much!  When my coworkers start chatting about how they hate Facebook, or they think Instagram is stupid,  I jump to their defense like someone is picking on my little brother.  It's totally ridiculous. So, in addition to keeping up with my own personal accounts, I have now included my @Fit2beBride Instagram, my Younique Products Kellie Lewis  Facebook page, my Bridesmaid's Facebook Group, my Younique Party Groups (which I actually LOVE and think are really fun!), and I help manage the Tyler Kincaid Foundation Facebook page and website! Believe it or not, I want to add a YouTube channel to the list. I know, as if I don't have enough going on! Between maintaining my relationships with Matt, friends, and family, Ozzie, work, wedding planning, monitoring Helen's bridesmaid dress making, going to Weight Watchers meetings, and

The new Touch Minera Liquid Foundation is my fav!  I used to HATE liquid foundations, but it has made me believer!  After months and months of thinking and weighing the pros and cons (actually probably closer to a year) I have finally decided to become a Younique presenter! As y'all know, I love me some make-up and products, so I'm looking forward to sharing the love! I've been using their products since my friend, Brandy, started selling them back in early 2014-ish. I kept telling myself that I would sell when I actually used most of the products, since I started out with just a couple of pigments. Last week I was doing some wedding make-up for a friend, and when I looked down at my bag I realized that it had happened. The majority of products in my bag were Younique!  This is one of my favorite "going out" looks! I love this lip pencil in Pompous! I'm not saying I only use Younique and I won't tell you that you should either because I sti

On my way to work this morning, I was scanning through radio stations and stopped when I heard "I Am Not Alone" by Kari Jobe.  If you haven't heard it, go listen! It's beautiful!  She's beautiful!  I guess I was distracted this morning because when I "came to" I was listening to the radio DJs chat, and that NEVER happens. The station was New Life 94.5, and the DJs were Steve and Amy. I won't lie, I had to google that. Amy was rattling off a list when I started paying attention, and it was something like - "lose weight, read my Bible and pray, spend time with my kids, spend time with my husband" etc.  I quickly figured out that it was a list of things we say that we will do tomorrow, yet it seems like tomorrow never comes.  Soon it becomes days, weeks, months, years, and eventually it's too late. I needed that. I've hit a bit of a plateau on the weight loss (don't worry, I don't plan on staying long!) and I've been fr

I am ready for the month of August to come to an end, and I am really looking forward to a fresh start in September.  What a crazy-busy month (and year) this has been so far!  I am strugglin' to keep up with everything y'all!  Saturday night I gave up my title as Ms. Bridge Day, and spent the day in Oak Hill with some fabulous ladies.  So, I want to first say congratulations to all of the new titleholders.  Now, onto what this blog post is really all about! This weekend was extremely eye-opening for me.  I think I had a little "come to Jesus" moment.  I have always been a little full of myself, and y'all know I absolutely love attention.  Lately, I feel like it is getting a little out of hand, and is becoming a problem.  Not so much for other people, but for me.  I very rarely act on my feelings when it comes to this kind of thing, but it eats me alive inside. Okay, what am I talking about? This is just an example - I like to make memes and funny things to

A thought crossed my mind the other day as I was leaving for my lunch break.  I was trying to decide what to eat, and secretly being bummed that I couldn't grab some fried pickles at Buffalo Wild Wings with my co-workers.  As I was leaving the parking lot I saw a "skinny" girl walking into The Hog Troth (you might know it as Golden Corral) and I thought to myself... I wonder what it feels like to never think about weight? It might sound silly to you, but the last time I remember not worrying about how much I weigh was probably Kindergarten.  In my entire school age/adult life I have never known what it feels like to not be concerned with what the scale says.  Every bite that enters my mouth and every step I take is calculated, and each outcome is analyzed.  Did eating this and doing that make me lose or gain? Should I do more or less?  I know I am not the only one who thinks this way.  I just wonder what it feels like to open your mouth, insert food, chew, and swallow

It's been a couple of months since I started my @Fit2beBride Instagram account ( Fit2beBride ), and I think things have been going well!  I have over 200 followers, which isn't amazing, but it's okay! I feel motivated.  I feel like my motivation is motivating others.  Above all it's been really fun-and because it's fun it's helping me to stay interested-and because I'm interested I'm able to succeed! I've been pretty open and honest with my followers about my lifestyle and progress! I  started going to Weight Watchers, which has been really good for me! I was so used to restriction and being hungry that it took a few weeks to figure out that I could "have what I want, but not all I want." I have to admit, a couple of years ago I could have never walked into a WW meeting and admitted defeat. I especially wouldn't have told you all about it! I just don't care anymore! I will do what works for me, and for the first time in a long ti

It's been one whole year since my last post about  My Favorite Beauty Products , and as I mentioned in that post, my routine is ever-changing.  Yours should be too!  If you've been wearing the same lip color and eyeshadow since 1999, it's time for a change, girl! My friends are just as obsessed with make-up as I am, and we are constantly exchanging tips or recommendations for products we like, which is super fun...and expensive!  I will tell you, I'm frugal when it comes to a lot of things, and I get that from my dad, but make-up is not one of those things.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to pay $50 for a tube of lipstick, but if I really like a product, I will shell out the cash for it.  So, fair warning, some of these products might be pricey, but I wouldn't recommend them unless I thought they were totally worth it! Younique Glorious Primer This product is great for smoothing out your face before applying any make-up.  It just takes a tiny pea

As some of you know, if you saw my Facebook posts a few weeks ago, my sister and her husband have been in the process of selling their house.  They only had about 90 days to do so because they had already found a new house to buy! Yay! However; this was incredibly stressful for them.  We'd been asking everyone we know to pray that they find the right buyer, including Mamaw.  I like to call her "the Prophet Mamaw" in times like these, because whatever she says God tells her is absolutely correct 99% of the time. Helen had been telling her to pray for weeks about the house situation, then one day, out of the blue, she said "Helen, tell them not to worry about that ol' house.  God told me they were going to sell it."  We all thought, well that's great to know, but we need it to be sold in 90 days!  The clock was ticking!  Another week went by with no progress, and the pressure was really starting to build.  A couple of weeks later Helen was taking Mamaw so

I know I use Facebook and Twitter quite often, but my favorite form of social media has to be Instagram.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Insta, it's basically just pictures.  I like to pretend like I'm some sort of professional photographer with the filters and whatnot, but I think it's fun!  I also like it because it seems like there are fewer things to be annoyed with...sometimes.  Besides following my actual friends and family, I follow celebrities, make-up artists, magazines, TV shows, and a good number of fitness accounts.  I love seeing what they eat, what they wear to the gym, what their workouts are like, etc.  Most of them are very informative, motivational and inspirational. So, on Monday I was just getting back to the office from being in San Antonio for training all week, and was feeling overwhelmed with all of the things I had to do.  I had to take a moment and shut down my brain.  I do this from time to time in order to function.  I was making

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been anxiously awaiting this day since I met Matt 3 years and 3 months ago!  We had been on one date, actually a 4 hour date at Rio Grande (which has to be some sort of record) when I knew that he was "the one."  When we first started dating, and all of my friends and family were asking me about him, as they usually do, I told them all, without hesitation, that we would get married someday.  It's so true that when you know, you know!  Thank God Kathy Lilly came to my Zumba class and casually mentioned that she had a son close to my age!  Then a few of her friends casually hounded me about adding him as a friend on Facebook! ;)  I wasn't convinced after he accepted the friend request and I didn't get a message! I told him later that I was slightly offended! After talking to Carolyn at work about it, she said he was probably shy (which I know now that he is...sometimes) and that I needed to quit being a baby and message him..

I can't escape this snow! We had a big snow storm a couple of weeks ago, then I went to Raleigh, NC (foolishly thinking I would be in warm-ish weather) and was hit with a snow storm there.  I came back home to be welcomed by yet another snow storm.  I'm starting to think it's me!  With all this bad weather, I've been stuck inside like the rest of you, which means I've had a lot of time to think...and be on all of my social media accounts. I don't know if this weather is making everyone crazy or if I've just been too busy to notice, but I have to tell you guys something, and hold on to your hats because I'm about to blow you away. This may come a shock, but you CAN be friends with people who have different beliefs. Gasp! I knowwww! Crazy, right? I heard about this app called She Reads Truth back at the start of the new year, and it guides you through reading the whole Bible in 365 days. I love it. I am 17% of the way through so far, and it's trul

Have you ever had THE most fabulous idea, then once you get started you can't help but think "Oh no, what have I done?" The worst part is that as you try to remedy the situation, you just seem to make things worse! Yeah, well, I had one of those ideas! Poor Jeff... Kathy has introduced me to the show Fixer Upper on HGTV!  I know, I'm late to the party, but I'm kind of obsessed with Chip and Jojo! They're always going crazy over this wood paneling called "shiplap" on the show (I WILL have some in my "real house" someday) Anywho, watching the show gave us (Kathy and me) a fabulous idea to paint my ugly, made for a retirement home, diagonal, dark (did I mention ugly?) wood paneling that covered two walls in my living room. I cannot tell you how much I hated this paneling. It made the room look so old, dark, and small!  If you know me, you know I am not a "rustic" or "primitive" person.  I like for things to look like t

I mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to start telling more Mamaw stories in my blog, so why not start today!? (Just to remind you, Mamaw is Helen's mom!) My Mamaw is a God-fearing woman. She has gone to church throughout her entire life, she knows God's word like the back of her hand, and I swear that woman has some sort of special connection with Him, but we'll get to that in a later post. When I was in high school, we started going to Nitro Church of God with her. She had recently broken her ankle and wrist, so she needed a little extra help getting to and from church. Since she lives right across the street, we just had to hold hands while we crossed, but it made her feel a little special. Nothing wrong with that! Each Sunday after church she thoroughly enjoys cooking a big lunch for the whole family. Even more, she enjoys spending time with her kids and grandkids. One Sunday, we were sitting around the table eating our fried chicken with all the classic home f

Well, my weekend was filled with glamour and gowns!  On Saturday night I attended the WV Association of Fairs and Festivals pageant with some pageant pros!  We were thrilled to watch my fellow Putnam County, Bridge Day girl, Courtney, place in the top 15! In a pageant with 76 other beautiful girls, that's huge! We are so proud of her!  Then Sunday came, and after a day full of football with Matthew (and a Pack win) I was ready to settle in and watch the 2015 Golden Globes!   First, I just have to show you two of my favorite, super hot couples!     How can you not love the Tatums?     And then there is John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, one of my best dressed! I thought she looked incredible...   Even with the ugly cry!   This year seemed like the year of the silver. Some good, some bad.   The wrong way to do silver...   Dakota Johnson and Julianne Moore Someone needed to tell Julianne that she's a woman, not a 21 year old girl.  No