Life with Helen

Each year I like to write a post about just that - the year. I like to reflect, reevaluate, set goals, make plans, and figure out how to make the upcoming year better than the last.  I don't know how to do that this year!  2014 was a REALLY good year for me.  I did stuff! A lot of stuff! Things that I never even imagined would be on my radar are now in my rearview mirror.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud of myself.  I think I'm allowed to be! Some of the things on my list weren't easy, and you know about my struggles, highs, and lows because I've written about them here. So, here I am, just being 25, and I have no idea what to do with myself. I'm a planner.  Anyone who knows me knows that I like to act like I can just go with the flow, but that is not the case. If you REALLY know me, you know that if there is no plan, I am not okay.  I like to be in charge, and it is really hard for me to just let things...

Christmas has always been a big holiday in the Lewis household.  Helen and dad get REALLY into the decorating.  As you all know Helen loves sewing, so she makes EVERYTHING.  Christmas pillows, curtains, blankets, tree skirts, chair covers, place mats, pajamas, dresses - you name it!  There is not an inch of our house that isn't decorated.  And then there is dad's enormous collection of Santa Clauses all over our house.  Growing up, helping them decorate was seriously THE WORST.  It seemed like it was never ending! One of the worst arguments Tara and I ever had was over helping dad carry in the decorations (next to the great hair straightener debacle of 2004).  You have to admit that carrying boxes from the storage shed, up the stairs, and into the house about 20 times in the cold is a miserable task for children!  Boarder line abusive! BUT if we didn't help, no presents from Santa!  Such a cle...

WHY YES, that IS my face on a sexy pilgrim riding a giant turkey! Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!  I have to admit, I've never really LOVED Thanksgiving.  I mean like Thanksgiving, what's not to like? A day off from work, hanging out with my family, and eating tons of delicious food sounds like a good time to me.  It also means that Christmas is just a month away! WOOOO! BUT it's just not my favorite holiday. The past few Thanksgivings have felt like running a marathon for Matthew and me!  We have big families with tons of places to be.  We bounce around from dinner to dinner, picking at our food and feeling super rude when we have to say "Oh, no, we just ate" or "We can't, we have another dinner." Matthew absolutely hates it, and each year I have to remind him that he had better get used to it! One thing I am thankful for this Thanksgiving is the lack of "I'm thankful for..." status upd...

To quote Forrest Gump, " Momma always says there's an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes..." How incredibly accurate!  I love shoes.  I love weird shoes.  I've rocked some interesting footwear in my day, and I absolutely encourage others to do the same!  BUT I wear them because I like them, not because they are what everyone else is wearing. I think there is a huge difference in wearing a shoe because it speaks to you VS. wearing the shoe because it is a trend you feel like you should follow.    Now, I know some of you reading this post may own a pair or two of shoes on my list, so I say this with love - it's time to retire them.  AND DON'T YOU GIVE ME THE "IT'S COMFORTABLE" LINE.  I will tell you right now,  I don't care. I don't want to hear it! I am on my feet A LOT, so I know that there are cute, affordable shoes that are very comfortable! Again...

WHAT AN INSANE WEEKEND!! It was full of ups and downs!  This Friday was Halloween, my second favorite holiday! Christmas will always be número uno in my book! I love Halloween mostly because of the candy, Hocus Pocus, and, of course, costumes.  My sister and I are lucky enough to have parents who are not only creative, but very crafty! We never had to buy Halloween costumes because Helen and dad made them all! That is until we went through our "college girl slutty phase" and had to buy costumes because Helen refused to make them! Now I appreciate the girls who go for funny, clever, creative costumes instead of the "Mean Girls" version of Halloween. Friday night was Beth's Halloween party! I think we've decided to make this an annual event. The theme this year was Disney Villains, and I think we covered most of the bases! I was SO impressed with the creativity of the costumes!  I was Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Luckily, I already had a black, poofy dr...

When you are just one person in a two bedroom house, one of the most common questions you have to answer is "What are you going to do with that other room?"  My spare room has been like the black hole of my house.  I'll admit that I'm a little messy.  I like my kitchen and bathrooms clean, but I don't really care if there are clothes on the floor and stuff on my coffee table.  That's just how I roll.  So, if I don't know where to put something, I open the door to the spare room, and throw it in!  I still haven't figured out how that room could accumulate so much junk in just one year!  I have attempted to clean out the spare room no less than 10 times, yet I am defeated each time.  It's like a little elf follows me around the room making more messes...or it could be because I am easily distracted, and my gnat-like attention span just can't make it through such a tedious task! My initial plan when I moved in the hous...

It's true.  Tonight is my last night teaching regular Zumba classes at Snap Fitness (not Zumba Kids-we still have ZK). I have been a member of Snap Fitness since the first week it opened almost 4 years ago! I was thrilled to hear that they were going to offer Zumba classes because I had been dying to try them, but just didn't want to drive from Midway to Teays Valley a few times a week to take them!  I was even more thrilled when I learned that Megan would be the instructor!  I think we were only half way through the warm-up when I decided that Zumba was the greatest thing since sliced bread! I was hooked! I was still in school at the time, so I even scheduled my classes around Zumba class times! After about 6 months, Megan mentioned that she was taking a new job that would require a lot of travel, and her usual substitute was moving away. She joked with me about getting licensed, and at first I thought she was crazy, but the more I thought about i...

Matt <3 If you have some type of social media account (and obviously you do since you're reading this) you know that this weekend was Bridge Day! Every year people from all over the world travel to Fayetteville, WV to BASE jump off of the New River Gorge Bridge! I think most of us just prefer to watch! Watching is terrifying enough! I can't even imagine the feeling! They even have a human catapult that flings them into the air! It's just crazy to watch! Kudos to all those brave enough to take on such a dangerous, thrilling sport! Dancing with a sweet girl! Being Ms. Bridge Day 2014 was a blast! Matt, Helen, Dad, Tara, Adam, and I all headed down to Fayetteville on Friday to attend A Taste of Bridge Day at Smokey's on the Gorge! The food...oh the food. It was incredible! My dad was like a kid in a candy store. It was just like when you go to a carnival with a child, and you hand them 10 tickets and say to use them wisely! He was downright giddy! At one poin...