July Birchbox

     Today I'm going to review my July Birchbox that I received in the mail yesterday. For those of you that don't know what Birchbox is, it's a subscription for $10 a month & you receive a box of samples from various brands every month. Sometimes the box is awesome, others are not so great. I had seriously been thinking about canceling my subscription. Let me know what you guys think. You can check out the website Birchbox.
    

Product #1 (far left)- KLORANE Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk: This is an award winning powder spray that absorbs oil and plumps up second-day hair.

 

Product #2 (second product from left)- THEBALM COSMETIC Instain Long-Wearing Powder Staining Blush: Budge-proof pigment lasts from sunup to sundown.

 

Product #3 (middle)- BIRCHBOX Bobby Pins: Add style to summer hair with minimal effort. Jazz up simple ponytails, or use to secure errant bangs or layers. (Sorry you can't really tell the detail of these or see their cute pattern.)

 

Product #4 (second from right)- ATELIER COLOGNE Mistral Patchouli Cologne Absolue: Zetsy and woodsy, this enticing scent has notes of pepper, grapefruit, and Indonesian patchouli.

 

Product #5 (far right)- DDF Acne Control Treatment: An overnight treatment with purifying salicylic acid to tackle blemishes and inflammation.

 

 

     Alright, there you have it. I will be honest, I was not thrilled with this months box. I am excited to try the dry shampoo to see how it works. I have tried other brands & haven't had much luck. I have found the one brand that works is the KMS brand. It works great. The bobby pins are super cute, but hard to put in your hair. The perfume doesn't smell all that great. I mean, it smells woodsy....come on now, what girly woman wants to smell woodsy?! haha. I am pretty excited to try the DDF treatment cream. I have some blemishes on my face that I would like to go away! I may try out the blush today. I have actually received other product in my Birchbox's from theBalm & love them.

 

     If you like any of the samples that you receive in your box all you have to do is go to the Birchbox website to order the full size product. Hope you guys have a great day! 

 

Makeup Superstar

If you haven't seen any of Jaclyn Hill's makeup tutorials, please visit YouTube & subscribe to her videos! She is awesome! I watched several today & I am so excited to test out my new skills! 

If any of you ladies like NuMe products, Jaclyn has a promo code on one of her videos & you get like 60% off your order. I ordered a magic wand today & can't wait for it to come in. I also ordered some M.A.C. Makeup. Woohoo!! Can you say ExCiTeD?! 

I will post another post when all my product comes in! 

😁👄💄

Infertility

I have decided that I want to share this struggle that my husband & I have been dealing with for some time now. It is something that I struggle with every single day. It hurts. I have so many questions & no answers. For a while J & I decided that we were not going to tell anyone about the struggles we were having with infertility. However, as times passes by, it gets easier to talk about & I actually don't mind telling others & sharing about our struggles. I know it is something that many couples struggle with.

J & I started trying to have a baby in Dec of 2011. Yes, it is now July 2013. It has been an extremely hard road so far. We got pregnant last year, but had a really early miscarriage. That was by far the hardest thing ever. We have both had tests done & so far every test has come back with normal results. We don't have an answer yet as to why we can't get pregnant. I have an appointment with a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) this month so hopefully we will get some answers there. We are having to drive 2 hrs just to get to the doctor because he is one of the closest fertility doctors around. I am very excited about the appointment because it means that we are one step closer to getting our baby!

This journey has been so stressful. Not only the fact that we are having trouble getting pregnant, but also the financial aspect of it. My insurance doesn't cover infertility so we are basically having to pay for most everything out of pocket.. meds, tests, ultrasounds, etc. We are very lucky to both have really good jobs! I don't understand why insurance shouldn't have to pay for infertility or at least help with it. Women do not CHOOSE to suffer from it. However, people CHOOSE to smoke which causes multiple heatlth problems that lead to hospital stays, ER visits, disease, etc & the insurance companies help cover it.
But, whatever.

Here lately I have been in better spirits about this process. I know that one day J & I will be parents. Right now is just not the time. God has different plans & when it does happen, it will be perfect timing. I just have to trust & believe.

Please feel free to message or email me if you are struggling with infertility & you need someone to talk to. It is a very hard thing to go through. And honestly, if you haven't ever been through it yourself, you don't quite understand. Sometimes it helps just to let things out & talk about it.

New Adventure!

Hello. Haven't posted in a WHILE, but I have some exciting news!

I am now a Initials, Inc. consultant!

I am beyond excited.

Since I am home all week by myself I wanted to find something to do to keep me busy & something that would be lots of fun!

I just joined yesterday, so I am still waiting for my starter kit to arrive in the mail!

Initials, Inc. carries organizational items, a baby collection, bags, totes, accessories, travel items, & much more! Also, personalization is FREE!

 

If any of you ladies are interesting in hosting a catalog or online party please feel free to let me know!

I would be more than happy to mail you some catalogs or you can just host an online party!

If you haven't ever heard about Initials, Inc. please head to my online shop & take a look around. I am currently having my very first online Launch Party!

Just simply go to www.myinitials-inc.com/katclark & click on shop, then find the Launch Party event & click on shop now.

As soon as my kit arrives in the mail, I will be posting pictures of the wonderful items that I received.

 

I will end with a few pictures!

 



Thursday

Didn't know what to title this blog. Haha. So, my birthday was a good day. I had lunch with J & dinner with the rest of the family. We went to Outback & it was delicious. For my birthday I got money from my parents & J's parents. I got 5 $10 scratch off tickets & a red velvet cake from J. Haha. Our Vegas trip the end of this month was my Christmas/birthday gift from J! So part of my birthday gift I got on Christmas. My brother gave me a $25 iTunes card & I of course already used it downloading music this morning. I downloaded the new Chris Tomlinson cd, Hinder, & Pinks new cd. Oh, & I purchased the single from Nashville soundtrack called Change Your Mind. I have already been jamming today! Music always puts me in a good mood.

I am so happy I purchased this iPad mini! I absolutely love it! I use it every single day & don't think I could live without it now. That's sad isn't it? I hardly ever use the desktop or my laptop anymore.

Tomorrow night it is back to work for me. Bummer. I love my job, but I love being home too. I could so be a housewife! I just love to spend money too much not to work! Haha. I am sure my priorities will change once we have a little one. Speaking of that, I have thought about blogging about our trying to conceive journey just so I can remember a long time from now what we actually went through. I'm kind of hesitant because I didn't want to be so public about it, but honestly, I don't think very many people if any read this blog. It is more so I place for me to write how I am feeling & what is going on in our lives more so than anything. I don't have a very good memory so I need something like this to look back on one day.

I'm going to think about it some more today & make a decision whether or not it is something that I want to open up about in this huge cyber world. We will see.

I really need to take some pictures of the kitchen now that we have finished it so I can post on here & do a before & after. Can't wait to compare pictures! I love my kitchen so much now! My hubby did a wonderful job!

That is all for now!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday To Me!!! I am 25 years old today. Halfway to 50, oh my! It just feels like another day. I miss being little when your birthday seemed like the best day of the year & you got lots of presents! Haha. Is that bad? My husband says its my birthday everyday of the year, because I am always buying myself "presents". He is too funny some times! My great aunt BB died this morning around 4am. I hate I didn't know her better. She was such a sweet lady. God definitely gained a wonderful angel. I just hate my birthday now has to be shared with the death of a loved one. We plan on going out to dinner tonight with family. I get to choose where I want to go & I haven't decided if I want Outback or Texas Roadhouse. I am going to meet Jason for lunch in a little while. I have been working on a photo book of our Honeymoon all morning. We already have a little photo book, but I wanted a really nice one. I just got a new digital camera last week so I plan on taking tons of pictures from here on out. I feel like Jason & I have hardly any pictures of our first few years together. Hardly any since our wedding & honeymoon. Jason surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas for Christmas! I am soooo looking forward to it & plan on taking lots of pics then! I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Instyler

Today I thought I would blog about a wonderful product that I use mostly everyday.

The InStyler.

It's a hair product that straightens & curls your hair at the same time.

I love it because I have to straighten my hair everyday or else my hair is very frizzy & bushy.

Before I got my InStyler, I straightened my hair with a regular straightener you can buy at Walmart or smililar stores.

I liked my hair being straight, but it was very boring & looked very plain.

I would sometimes straighten my hair & then try to curl it with a curling iron..

Epic Fail!

My hair would not hold the curl... No matter what kind of hair spray or other products I tried.

Then, I discovered the Instyler.

I was hesitant to buy it because I wasn't sure how I would like it, but I am now extremely happy I bought it!

For some reason, I don't really know why, but my hair holds the curls when I use the Instyler.

And I mean holds the curls all day!

I would definitely recommend this product if you want something that is super easy to use & gives you great looking hair!

Also, did I mention that it only takes me 7 minutes a day??

I LOVE IT!



Family

Today I am thankful for my family.

Thankful that I have people that love me unconditionally.

What are you thankful for today?

I found Courage

I finally found the courage to post something that changed our lives forever.

Both for the good & bad.

I wrote the original post back in June, however, I am just now posting it to my blog.

You can find it here.

I will warn you, it is very emotional & is something that is very close to my heart.

Decisions

I have never been one to be great at making decisions.
I married my husband & that was a wonderful decision.
I decided to become a nurse, which I feel was the right decision.
However, my career has me stressed right now to say the least.
I have been working weekend nights for one year now.
I work every friday, saturday, & sunday night.
Yes, I work when my husband is off.
I work when our families have get togethers & dinners.
I work when Jason races.
I work basically when "normal" people are at home.
It has its positives & negatives.
I am now stuck trying to figure out the which out weighs the other.
By working on weekends, I'm off monday through thursday every week.
It's very easy to make doctor appointments, hair appointments, etc.
However, I'm home alone at those times.
I have no hobbies.
I get very bored & very lonely.
I find myself sleeping a lot & feel as though I'm in some kind of rut or funk.
Jason makes comments all the time that he wishes I worked during the week so we could go places on the weekends.
He makes statements like, "well if you didn't work every weekedend, we could go to the beach".
I work with such wonderful people that have taught me so so much.
We are close & we work as a team.
I started off my nursing career working week nights.
I hated it.
I didn't hate when I worked, I hated one particular person at work.
She was very hateful & not a very good person to work with.
I was miserable & I really think she was the reason.
Another thing about working during the week is that I won't have a set schedule like I do now.
One week I may work mon, tue, wed...one week I may work mon, wed, thur...etc.
And one week I may work mon, wed, fri.
Thats one of the negatives that I really don't like.
I will also be taking a pay cut.
I make more money for working weekend nights.
About $11 more an hour.
Thats a pretty big deal I think.
I say all this because I am torn.
I don't know what to do.
The lady that I mentioned above that I hated when I worked week nights is now gone.
She no longer works at the hospital.
My husband I think would be more happy with me working week nights so we can be together on the weekends.
I however, have absolutely no idea what to do.
I talked with him tonight while we were in bed & he said that he wanted me to stay on weekends if thats what makes me happy.
But, I want us both to be happy.
We put almost 20,000 miles on our car when I worked during the week.
Since I've been working on the weekends, we have put 5,000 miles on the car.
By the time Jason gets off work during the week, we don't have time to go anywhere.
I wish this were an easy decision.
I know if people are reading this, you really don't give a rip.
I wanted to post this because I want to remember important things in my life.
And this to me is important.
Right now my gut is telling me that I should give week nights a try again.
However, it is 3am & my brain isn't functioning at its best.
I will think on this some more tomorrow & talk with Jason some more about it.

Update

So, I haven't posted in a while.

I know, I'm getting slack.

We are actually finished painting the laundry room & we have yet to start in the kitchen.

We've had a lot going on lately.

Right after Jason started painting, his papa was put in the hospital for a possible stroke.

Thank God it was not & he is home & doing well.

I need to post some pictures of what we have gotten done in the laundry room.

I will try to take some pictures later today.

 

I found 2 rugs for the front porches finally.

I found them at Big Lots for $5 a piece.

I still have to find the stencils though, & get the paint to put on them.

If you are wondering, I plan on doing like Emily did here.

Isn't it cute?

 

I also found 2 little trees to go on either side of the main front door.

I'm currently waiting on the pillows I ordered from Etsy to come in for the front porch also.

 

With my new pillows, wreath, rugs, & plants, my porch should look amazing! haha.

Hopefully so.

 

I plan on taking a picture of my porch before & a picture of my porch after the sprucing up!

I have already posted before pictures of my kitchen & laundry room.

I just need to post some pictures of what we have gotten done.

 

Jason & I went to vote today.

So glad we went ahead & got that over with.

I can't wait to find out the results of who our next president is going to be.

I know who I want it to be, but I am one who keeps my political opinions to myself.

 

Well, thats all for now. I need to get started on some laundry & cleaning.

It's back to work for me tomorrow night. 

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful hubby!

He is the best!

I fall more & more in love with him every single day!

 

 

I LOVE YOU =)



Day of Silence

 

Please join me in a media silence day to honor the life of Matt Turner.

My heart is so heavy today for his family, especially for his wife Julee & daughter Preslee.

I don't know Julee personally. Only through reading her blog.

I can not imagine the pain.

Please join me in prayer for this fmaily.

Psalm 34:18The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

 



Friday

It is 12:28am.

Yes, I should be in bed.

However, I was suppose to work tonight, but I got put on call.

Therefore, I am wide awake because I slept until 2pm today.

 

Anyways, Jason painted some more in the kitchen today & started working on the cabinets.

While he was painting, I cleaned out the cabinets & wiped them down.

Yes, I know I'm going to have to do the same thing when we get finished.

I just didn't want anyone to come over to the house & our cabinet doors be off & they think we're nasty people because of how awful the inside of our cabinets look!

They were horrible!

 

We went to Lowes before getting supper tonight so we could pick out a light fixture for the kitchen & also so we could pick out new hardware for the cabinets.

Lowes is awesome.

Its funny how Lowes use to be the most boring store to go in.

Or so I thought growing up.

However, now that I have a house of my own, I love that store!

You can get so many great ideas there.

I know my hubby hates taking me there with him.

LOL. I come up with more projects every time I enter the doors!

 

I really hope work doesn't call me anytime soon to come in to work.

They have been known to call at 1:30am.

Yes, annoying.

I can't complain though, at least I have a job.

A very rewarding job at that.

I get to help save lives every weekend.

Peoples lives are in my hands.

It feels pretty great.

 

I think I'm going to head to bed & hopefully get some sleep.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

I probably won't be blogging again until Monday or Tuesday.



Day #1 Kitchen

Well, Jason started painting the kitchen tonight!

YAY =)

I was so excited!

I love the color so far & he has just started!

 

First I'm going to post some before pics.

Then I will post some pics I took tonight.

 

 

BEFORE PICTURES:

 

 

 

PICTURES FROM PAINT DAY #1:

 

I'm liking it so far! Hope I continue to! We still have a TON of work to do!

But, for now, I'm heading to bed.

I have to work all weekend while hubby is at home doing Project Kitchen!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

I will be posting some more updates in the next few weeks!



Front Door

Alright people.

I received my new peacock wreath in the mail today!

Yippe!

I love it.

This picture does not do it justice.

The coloring is a little funky because I took it with Instagram & played with the coloring a little.

Anyways you can find some of Becky's other SUPER gorgeous wreath here at her Etsy shop.

You can also LIKE  her facebook page.

I only took a picture of the wreath & not the whole door because my whole front porch including my door is so drab.

It looks a lot better now since I have my new wreath!

But, I want to put up a storm door & buy 2 plants to go on each side of the door.

I want 2 tall trees/plants.

Any ideas?

Something that can make it through the winter here in NC.

One problem I have, however, is that I don't know what color storm door to get.

I know I want it completely glass, but I don't know what trim to get.

My house has dark brown siding with beige trim.

Yes, I'm trying to livin' this place up a little!

Any ideas for what color storm door to go with?

I may just ride to Lowes this evening to look.

I will definitely let you guys know how everything turns out.

 

O yea, we went to buy our paint today so we can start painting the kitchen this weekend!

I'm excited!!

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Olioboard

I have found a new love.

Olioboard.

If you haven't checked it out, you must do so.

It is sooo much fun.

Here is a look at a Living Room that I created.

I can't believe I actually did it.

So, what do you think?

I think I did pretty good considering I have no idea what I'm doing!

I really like it, & I think I want to use these colors when I re-do my living room.

I hope everyone is having a good day.

I'm in a much better mood today & not as sad as yesterday.

Sometimes I wonder if I need some medicine.

I'm so emotional & moody.

I can't stand myself sometimes! lol.

Today I will smile because I know God has a plan for me!

I'm Tired.

Yes, I said  I was tired.

Tired of feeling sorry for myself about a certain situation.

There is nothing I can do about it.

I have no control over it.

GOD does.

That should be enough.

I'm tired of lying awake at night wondering WHY?

Tired of laying around all day wondering WHY?

I should trust that He has a plan for me.

I always wonder..

What if I do this?

What if I do that?

Will that work?

Will that be enough?

Why can't it just be?

Why does He let others have them, but not me?

I'm tired of letting this situation control me.

Tired of it making me miserable, lazy, & mad.

I wish I could let it go.

I can't though.

It's too hard. Too hard.

I know this makes absolutely no sense to you.

But it does to me.

Right now, it does to me.

And I needed to let it out.

I need to have somewhere I can go & let it all out.

This is the place.

If you don't like it, you don 't have to read my posts.



Kitchen

We are in the process of starting to paint our kitchen & kitchen cabinets.

I have picked out 2 colors:

Gray Screen by Sherwin Williams for the walls & Snowbound for the trim & cabinets.

You can find my inspiration here.

The gray screen actually has more of a blue tone to it in person.

I really hope I like it. I'm sort of nervous.

I don't want it to be drab or too gray.

We will see I guess.

 

 



Patience

Have any of you ever wanted something soooo bad it hurt? I know everyone has. I'm not ready to tell what I'm actually talking about, but I need to get some things off my chest.

I want something so bad. More than anything else in the world. I have wanted this for almost a year now. Both my husband & I. I have tried to be so patient, but my patience is running on fumes.

My engine is about to shut off. I don't know how much longer I can wait. I cry, I'm angry, I'm resentful.

IT HURTS.

I know, however, God has plans for us. He knows exactly what He is doing. I know that His timing will be perfect. But, I want it NOW. I see it happen with others. What's wrong with me? What is He waiting for. How much longer do I have to wait?

I pray. I try to live right. I'm doing everything I know to do. What more is there? Is God waiting on something else from me? I don't know. I wish I did.

There is a reason for everything. I know this. I need to pray for patience. I need you to pray for patience for me. I'm growing more & more angry & resentful with with each passing day.

I don't want to be that person. I want to know that everything is going to work out.

God has a plan for all of us.

He has has a plan for me. He knows exactly what He's doing. I just have to trust & believe.

Psalm 56:3

                                                               When I am afraid, I will trust in you.