Confessions of a Nail-Biter

For as long as I can remember, my hands have been in my mouth. My teeth chewing away at the skin around my fingertips and leaving them raw. The earliest photos and videos of me show just how long I’ve been biting. At least eleven years of biting and my fingers show the proof.

My fingers are red around the edges and frankly hurt all day. Here is incriminating evidence of my habit———>

You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve told myself, ‘We’re stopping the nail biting, just DON’T DO IT’. It all ended quite unsuccessfully, though I did manage to stop biting my actual nails and slowed to just the skin. Thank goodness for nail polish right?

A few Q&A on Nail Biting:

Q: Have you tried the nasty tasting nail polish?

A: Yes, and it is awful….I(and this sounds awful) just shrugged it off and got used to the bitter taste….

Q: Don’t you know how bad it is to eat your fingernails and skin?

A: Yes, I don’t actually eat them. I just peel it off and basically spit it out. I’m pretty sure most people do as I and just spit out the chewings. This is sounding worse and worse isn’t it?

Q: Do you bite them in public?

A: I’d have to be super comfortable with people or not care what they think to bite my nails in front of them. The only people that have really seen me eating my nails is my family. My friends probably have no idea that I do.

Q: Why haven’t you just stopped?

A: Why don’t you just stop humming that song stuck in your head? Exactly…for most people, including me, bad habits are very, very hard to stop. It takes (from what I’ve heard) two weeks of not doing it at all to end a bad habit.

Q: Are you going to try to stop now or is this post pointless?

A: This is sooooo not pointless…. And yes, I am going to try different ‘Bad Habit Stoppers’ to try and end an eleven year ordeal. Will you stay and fight your bad habits?

So……. I went over to WebMD and found their list of how to fight a bad habit

• Keep your nails trimmed and filed. Taking care of your nails can help reduce your nail-biting habit and encourage you to keep your nails attractive. CHECK
• Have a manicure regularly or use nail polish. Men can use a clear polish. Wearing artificial nails may stop you from biting your nails and protect them as they grow out. CHECK
• Try stress-management techniques if you bite your nails because you are anxious or stressed. I am not stressed so not this one either:)
• Paint a bitter-tasting polish, such as CONTROL-IT or Thum, on your nails. The awful taste will remind you to stop every time you start to bite your nails. As I am 15 and broke, I will not be buying that….
• Try substituting another activity, such as drawing or writing or squeezing a stress ball or Silly Putty, when you find yourself biting your nails. If you keep a record of nail-biting, you will become more aware of the times when you bite your nails and be able to stop the habit. NEED TO DO
• Snap a rubber band on the inside of your wrist when you start to bite your nails so you have a negative physical response to nail-biting. NEED TO DO (Ouchy)
• Wear gloves, adhesive bandages, or colored stickers whenever possible to remind you not to bite your nails. MIGHT DO….

 

Will you join me in stopping a bad habit??????????

 

I will try each thing and depending on how it works, will post results. I hope to be cleared of nail biting in three weeks. I will add more time if needed…

 

Love, Lizzie A. xoxo

 

 

Impatience and Nails

My nail polish experimentation hasn’t gone very well recently. I am just too impatient to wait for each layer of nail polish to dry. I mess them up less than five minutes after I complete them and they look sloppy. Soooo I’ve been trying to have some patience. If you have this problem read below!

Three Steps in Patience while Painting Nails

• Put on music while painting your nails. It certainly helps me relax and wait for each layer to dry if I can just listen to music while waiting
• I use to completely paint one hand (the nails on one hand;) and design them and then go on to the next hand. I’ve started just painting a layer on one hand and then moving to the next hand. It gives the polish time to dry on the first hand so when you come back to it, you don’t have to wait FOREVER!
• I paint the white base coat before I’ve completely decided what I want to do. Then I can go on Pinterest and see what I like. I find a design and my nails are ready to be designed!

 

Here’s my recent nail designs…

 

They are messy(i) but I like the design. I’ve started using acrylic paint and I LOVE IT!!! It is wonderful:)))

That’s All I have to say,

Love Lizzie A. xoxo

P.S Does pool water peel off anyone else’s paint? My paint completely peels off

Mom’s Schedule

Mom’s Schedule

 

I use blogs like crazy! So many mom blogs out there have terrific recipes, DIY ideas, home school notes, organization tips, etc… And, I always go to the about me page to learn more about the blogger. To me, finding out how other moms run their home and schedule their time, keeps me optimistic about running mine.

 

Because we move often we deal with changes frequently. Everything is different~ the house, shopping, friends, extra curricular activities available, church, even weather. We have evacuated for two hurricanes, been in an ice storm, took safety from tornadoes multiple times and even lived in Japan during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Every time we move, my husband’s schedule also changes. Some places, he is away more than he is home, others he is only seen by the kids late at night and there are the schedules that rotate every two weeks. My goal as a stay home mom is to keep a constant schedule that varies little day to day for the kids. By having this schedule in place, the kids have a foundation. They know what is expected of them, they know where mom is and we have the feeling of “home” no matter where we live. I have learned over the years to be flexible and not let the schedule rule our lives, but to be our guide.

So, I’ve let you know all of this, because obviously my schedule is suited for my family. I wear workout clothes Monday – Thursday, this is my uniform. Therefore my schedule may be very different from yours and I’m just posting mine to show how we tailor it to our needs. And encourage other moms with like situations to find their sweet spot, try not to stress and just make life work for you and not against you!

 

6am-7:30-Wake up, dressed, prayer, Bible then clean face and put up hair

7:30- 8:00- Breakfast made

8:00 – 9:00- Kids up, chores done and eat breakfast

9:00 – 9:50- Big kids school, Mom and little ones outside / mom Pilates ~ kids play

Break

10:00 – 10:50- Mom school with little ones

Break ~ eat some fruit or have a smoothie

11:00 – 11:50- Mom chores, little ones play in room or help with chores

Break

12:00 – 12:45- Mom prepares lunch and little ones help or craft / color in kitchen area

12:45 – 1:15 -Lunch, kids watch video, mom reads

1:15 – 3:00 -Finish school, Mom and little ones play time, yoga, extra chores, writing

3:00 – 4:00- Mom on treadmill, little ones read / play safe distance from treadmill

4:00 – 5:00- Mom cooks dinner while all kids have free time

6:00 – 7:00- Mom clean kitchen, with big kid help

8:00 – 9:30- Showers and bed times

9:30 – 10:00- Mom and Dad time to relax, then off to bed!

 

I run errands only once a week, after lunch. We also have soccer nights and my hubby and I take turns picking up and dropping off kids. When we have game nights, we pack dinner, blanket and chairs to take to the game.

How Different is your schedule? Tell me in the comments!

Stephanie A.

Left-Handed Problems

 

So I was trying to open a can of baked beans when I met one of my worst enemies…

The CAN OPENER!

This tool is cruelly made for right-handed people, and as I’m part of the ten percent that uses their left, cannot use it correctly. I peel off the wrapper, shred the metal, and manage to take off the entire top…Here’s the photographic evidence

 

Some call it luck, some call it skill, I call it the lefty curse…

 

What else bugs a Lefty? Let me tell you….

• Scissors, evil things they are. I am awful at cutting paper and right-handed scissors are the reason why!
• Three Ring Binders, Spiral Notebooks, and Rulers! Ugh, don’t even get me started on these horrible things!
• Measuring Cups. I feel like a yoga teacher trying to twist my arm around to read the cups…
• People asking, “Are you left-handed?” when I’m obviously using my left hand
• Smudges on your right hand when writing or drawing
• Computer Mouses (You can change to left hand settings though)
• Number key pad is on the right side of keyboard
• Trying to open a bag and the seal is folded to the left. Seriously annoys me!
• Elbowing people when you’re eating ’cause they put you one the inside
• Kindle app page turning is horrible….
• People saying I’m going to die earlier

Perks

• You are rare!
• No one expects a soccer player to kick with their left foot
• That goes for all sports, left-handedness is helpful to offense or defense:)
• Supposedly we’re smarter

And we are awesome! Left-Handers Unite!

Shhh! The Best Books You Haven’t Heard Of

We all have heard of the hyped books, The Hunger Games Series, Divergent, Harry Potter, and Twilight. But what about the not-so hyped books that are just as good? Here’s a list of books you’ll wanna read!

1. ‘The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom’ & series (still being written) These books follow the Princes Charming through adventures you won’t want to miss!

2. ‘The Girl Who Could Fly’ This novel is about a farm girl who can fly. Might sound a little cliché, but it’s worth the read.

3. ‘Septimus Heap’ Series. This magical series reminds me of Harry Potter, but don’t compare them. They really are very different. I definitely recommend

these!

4. ‘FableHaven’ Series I was stuck on this book when I was younger. It had everything exciting I could want! Magic, Mystery, and a bit of Humor.

5. ‘The Giver’ Series. The first book is being made into a movie, but have you heard of the next three? They offer even more insight into her dystopia world!

6. ‘Ender’s Game’ Series. Don’t let the slightly disappointing movie scare you off. This book and the many books written about the characters of this book are amazing!

7. ‘Fairest’ This is a good book with lost of depth!

8. ‘A Mango-Shaped Space’ This book and any others by Wendy Mass are good. Enjoyable, fun, and life-lessons guaranteed!

9. ‘The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane’ This book…Wow, just…Grab tissues okay?

10. ‘The Legend of Holly Claus’ This book is great! An interesting plot with lovable characters.

11. ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ Okay, so these are pretty well known. However, does anyone know there are 13 books in the series? Read them all

12. ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ I love this book! The pictures are creative and the plot is awesome. Read it! http://www.amazon.com/Invention-Hugo-Cabret-Brian-Selznick/dp/0439813786/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401299786&sr=1-1&keywords=of+hugo+cabret

 

Have any other books the world should read? Leave a suggestion in the comments!

Love,

Lizzie A. xoxo

 

Palm Tree Nails & Wild Flowers

Hi!
Lizzie Here. I’ve been busy painting my nails and thought I’d share a tutorial I followed along with results.

Here’s my nails!

I love how they turned out! Awesome!

A few things I changed:

• I only used two colors for my ombre
• I used an eyeshadow sponge instead of a make-up sponge, it works sooo much better
• I just used black nail polish
• Make sure you don’t use a quick-dry nail polish as it will dry before you’re ready to use it! It wastes so much nail polish

There’s a simple nail polish design I created. Not difficult, actually very easy!

You will notice that I used sparkles, but sparkles aren’t mandatory;)

Well, I need to paint my toes so I have to go. Hope you likey:)

Lizzie A. xoxo

 

Introduction to Us

Hiiii! This is Lizzie, the daughter and main blogger of this blog. My mom and I have taken it upon ourselves to create a blog and keep up with it. I will post things that interest me; poetry, books, hairstyles, and nail designs and my mom will post her raw recipes, shakes, and household helps. I hope you enjoy our posts and that it is enjoyable:)

A little bit about me (Lizzie)

When I write, my words will be bold. When my mom writes it will be italicised.

I am 15 years old, the eldest daughter in a military family of eight. That’s including my three younger siblings, parents, and two dogs. I love soccer and writing poetry. I also enjoy short-distance runs (like, no more than a mile) and believe having friends is better than most things in life. I’ve recently discovered the joy of long nails after years of stubs so painting my nails is a new hobby that takes up a lot of time. I love movies and T.V shows so expect some quotes and references in my posts. Right now I’m in love with Doctor Who, but I haven’t seen the latest season so DON’T ruin anything for me.

Books right now I’m trying to read a million times

1. “The Hero’s Guides” I am in awe of these books. Seriously….
2. “Ender’s Game” Don’t let anyone tell you the movie was horrible.
3. “Unbroken” Wow. This book…I’ve read it so many times…Amazing

I am a Christian teen in a Christian home. I am homeschooled and love it! Yes, I have been to public school and I believe homeschool is better. Of the courses I take, my favorite is American History and English. Math is my worst enemy….

^^^^That is the truth!

I will now show you my recent nail designs 🙂

 

 

Here’s my attempt at a monarch butterfly design. I like how this one turned out!

An ombre done to match my Messi F-15 cleats. That was a good day…

These extremly bright nails that I didn’t even keep on 24 hours because they were so distracting…

 I plan to post once a week at least, my mom and I will take turns. This one was mine…

Goodbye,

     Lizzie A. xoxo