Technology's Negative Impact on Relationships

I've found that lately I have such a strong desire to escape back to my honeymoon. There's something to be said about a carefree, tropical environment with NO smartphones, iPads, laptops, and minimal television (because it's not so interesting if you can't understand the language!). Oh yeah, and getting to spend quality time with my favorite person, ever. That's what makes it so perfect ;)

I've found technology to be increasingly frustrating lately - maybe it's because I've been a stay-at-home wife for about a month now (my new job starts Monday...more on that later!). I've cleaned the house so many times that I've confirmed I'm OCD, taken Paige on countless walks, shopped (too much), worked out so much, stalked Facebook one too many times, and made nice dinners almost every night for the past month. It's truly exhausting...and the thing I've realized most is, I'm bored. Being a 'stay-at-home' wife is not for me, I tell ya. At the end of the day, I'm so ready for my husband to be home...simply because I crave interaction and carrying on a conversation with someone...particularly him, of course! And that's where I'm going with this post...the interruption of technology in all of our lives.

Why I referenced our honeymoon earlier: because it was the best week of my life. And even the first week or so afterward was pretty spectacular. Then, things started to get busier for both of us: me, stressed over the job I had, while searching for a new job....and my husband, working AND getting his MBA, which means 3 classes per week in the evenings (he graduates in the Fall, thank goodness for both of us!). Everyone asks 'How's married life?' (it's great!) and 'Are you still in the honeymoon phase?' - which we very much are! :) The only thing that I dislike is the impact of technology on our lives (and everyone else's lives)! Why do we sit on the couch in the evenings together, yet we're so engrossed in our silly smartphones or on the laptop or iPad? I mean, this is a common theme in life, I see it all the time - you go to a restaurant and see two people sitting at dinner, both captivated by whatever is on their phones instead of being captivated by what each other is saying. To say that I'm kind of 'over it' is an understatement - and I KNOW that I'm so guilty of it! It's become a natural habit to constantly check my phone, because God forbid I'll miss new photos on Instagram. I mean, really. Saying that aloud makes me feel like an idiot. 

I'm really into social media, obviously...it's always been a big part of my career, so naturally it plays a role in my life. However, I think being home and away from working full-time for a month has really helped me change my perspective a bit. In my last job, it was necessary to keep a close watch on the company's social media presence, in case I needed to respond to a situation ASAP. However, now that I've stepped away from that role, I don't really 'need' to check Facebook every 10 minutes. Truthfully, I probably didn't NEED to back then, either - it really interrupted my life outside of work and I didn't even realize it at the time. 

I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this post, but with the promise I made of being more open and honest, I just felt this was worth sharing. I'm positive that we all can relate to this - I've read many blog posts and articles on this topic recently, so it's clearly on our minds. The next step is actually taking action...by stepping away from the computers and smartphones, and maybe even setting up a time frame for when it's okay to use them at home. How can I make some changes, personally? Well, my husband has class three nights per week, so when he's in class, I don't feel so bad about reading blogs, checking Facebook, etc. But when we get home from work, and we're cooking then eating dinner, maybe we should be more in tune to each other and having an actual conversation rather than burying our faces into something as irrelevant as Facebook. And the very few evenings that we actually spend together when he isn't in class, limit the amount of time we're on our phones and use that extra time to actually have a meaningful conversation. I'm definitely not saying we don't ever talk or have meaningful conversation, but it usually happens after we're 'done' using our phones/laptops/iPads....so usually right before we fall asleep at night. It should definitely be the other way around: we should spend a majority of our evening just being present, and enjoying each other's company...and then a few minutes before bed is the time to check to make sure we don't have any urgent messages to handle before the next day. 

I actually think that this is a pretty hard 'challenge', if you will. Like many others, I'm so complacent and just have my phone glued to my hand at all times. When I get in the car after a Target run, I often grab my phone to see what happened while I was 'away'. Writing that actually makes me feel the need to get a grip. It's become such a natural thing that it will really take work to NOT do this. I just miss the good 'ol days when I had a boring flip phone and I texted all the time. Even THAT was less distracting than a smartphone is. So, if you're reading this and you feel like you can relate, try to become more aware of what you're doing...when you pick up your phone, ask yourself why? If it's for no other reason than habit, or worse, because you need to see what people are doing on Facebook...then get a grip. Really. In all seriousness, try to avoid complacency - be aware of what you're doing and why you're doing it. If you're in the car with your husband, talk to him. If you're sitting on the couch with your significant other, ask how his or her day was. If you're at dinner with friends, ask what they've been doing lately. Just stay away from the horrible distraction called technology! ;)

Benefits of Juicing

The topic of juicing can be controversial, depending on what you're reading or watching. I, for one, do not support juice cleanses or fasts - our bodies are made to run on whole foods, preferably those with high nutritional values. With that said, I think that juicing can be a healthy addition to your normal diet. I always eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner - skipping meals is so unhealthy. I still follow the Tone It Up plan, though rather loosely at times. 

Source

I tend to overlook the TIU-recommended mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack, which I'm going to make an effort to get back into the habit of! Feeding your body 5-6 small, nutritionally valuable meals per day is a really good way to keep your metabolism and energy levels high. The TIU girls recommend fresh juice on their Beach Babe Edition of the TIU plan, and they even have some great recipes! A mid-morning snack (or mid-afternoon snack, if I plan to work out later in the day) is a great time to enjoy a fresh juice. This means that you're still getting the protein/healthy fats/healthy carbs that you need in a day by consuming whole foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - but you're getting the added benefit of concentrated vitamins and minerals by consuming a fresh juice as a snack. 

What can juice do for you? Well, for starters...

• Your skin will glow
• You will have more energy
• You may see a decrease in allergies
• You may lose weight - although this should not be your primary reason for juicing!
• Your mind will be clearer
• Reduce the risk of illness and disease (Go watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead...NOW. I don't recommend a juice-only diet like he does, but the point is, a healthier lifestyle incorporating juicing can dramatically improve health.)

Why does juicing have all of the above benefits (and then some)? As you know, fruits and vegetables contain an abundance of antioxidants, which play a major role in regulating our organ systems. When you juice fruits and veggies, you are extracting some of the most concentrated vitamins and minerals. Essentially, it's like making a huge salad and then putting everything in a juicer and drinking your salad! That may not sound too appetizing, but trust me, if you incorporate the right blend of fruits and veggies - it tastes amazing! 

Source

With all of this said, I stand by the principle of consuming whole foods as a majority of your diet. It's absolutely a good idea to consume whole fruits and vegetables, too - after all, when you juice, you are losing some of the fiber content of the fruit and veggies. I think the best way to look at juicing is: 

Juice is a SUPPLEMENT to a healthy diet, not a MEAL REPLACEMENT. Follow this principle, and you'll be on your way to improving your health!

Here's another great recipe I made the other day...although I will warn you, once you mix it all together, the color is not so pleasant. However, it tastes AMAZING.

Stawberry + Pear + Spinach Juice

Serves 2 or 3

Granny Smith Apples, 2

Pear, 1

Strawberries, caps removed, 1 cup

Lemon, peeled, 1/2

Ginger, 1/2 to 1 inch

Cucumber, 1/2

Spinach, 2-3 cups

Nutrition Facts (1 serving)

Calories 153

Fat 0.3g

Potassium 549mg

Fiber 7.9g

Protein 2.6g

Vitamin A 61%

Vitamin C 139%

Recipe {Sweet Green Juice}

I alluded to it on Instagram, but I never really shared on the blog that I finally got a Breville juicer for my birthday! My parents liked theirs a lot, and they knew that I had wanted one for a while, so that was their gift to me. I was away for three weeks after my birthday, so I didn't even have an opportunity to take it out of the box until last week when I got home! 

I've been experimenting with different types of juice, but there are many more I haven't tried yet. Here's a recipe for a really great green juice that I adapted from various sources to make it my own:

Sweet Green Juice

Serves 1

Celery, 2 stalks

Grapes, about 1/2 cup

Granny Smith Apple, 2

Lemon, 1/2 peeled

Lime, 1/2 peeled

Ginger, 1/2 to 1 inch

Cucumber, 1

Spinach, 2 to 3 cups

This makes a really bright green juice, and the fruit and citrus really balance the flavor out and give it some sweetness! It's a great way to get plenty of vitamins in one glass. 

I read an article on Livestrong.com about how to count calories in fresh juice, and it suggested that you can deduct approximately 10% of total calories if you remove the core from fruits and 13% if you remove the skin. I input this juice recipe into MyFitnessPal and it has approximately 220 calories. So, if I were to deduct 10% of calories after removing the core - this juice would ultimately have 198 calories.   

Nutrition Facts

Calories 198

Fat 0.5g

Potassium 788mg

Fiber 9.5g

Protein 2.6g

Vitamin A 119%

Vitamin C 156%

{Wedding Day: Reception}

As we're about to hit our six month wedding anniversary, I remembered that I never recapped our wedding reception on the blog! So here goes...

Other than the actual wedding ceremony, the reception was the most important part of our big day. We both have fun families and friends, and some of the best weddings we've been to were ones that had fun receptions! We knew from the start that we wanted ours to be a big party, obviously keeping it classy, though...nothing too wild. Since I had already been planning our wedding before we were even engaged (thanks to Pinterest!), I had some great ideas. I actually chose my color scheme thinking of the reception, not necessarily of the ceremony. I ended up going with navy, green, and white - with touches of pale pink flowers. I loved the colors and found plenty of ideas using this color scheme. 

We really wanted our reception to show our personalities - so we wanted it to be fun, of course, but also sentimental and romantic. I paid close attention to detail, from the striped signature drink straws to the embossed cocktail napkins to the music selections, and everything in between. Our reception was a compilation of nine months of hard work and dedication to make it everything we wanted it to be. The best part was, we did a pretty good job of creating our dream reception on a budget! Given enough time to plan, it's pretty easy to shop around and find the best prices and selection.

I did not hire a wedding planner or even a day-of coordinator, mainly because I'm a planner at heart and knew that I could make the wedding & reception everything I wanted it to be. After all was said and done, I would suggest that brides-to-be either hire a day-of coordinator or ask a very trusted friend or family member....or even a Mistress of Ceremonies may be able to step into the role. Luckily, our church had a wedding planner that was provided to us for the ceremony, which was great! However, after the ceremony, it was up to the wedding party to hold it together. We were so so lucky to have a great family friend as our DJ, and he has done so many weddings that he graciously stepped in and acted as coordinator for the rest of the evening! If you're in the Hampton Roads area, check him out here. I cannot recommend him enough - he's so fun and really knows how to get the party going!

We were very blessed throughout the entire process of planning our wedding & reception because we have so many talented friends & family members who helped us make our day special. As I mentioned, our DJ was a family friend, our florist was a family friend, our caterer was my MIL's company(!), and my parent's were the ultimate DIYers - they helped with so many of my Pinterest-inspired ideas! Not to mention our photographer was amazing and became a great friend to us during the planning process - oh yeah, and our videographer was a co-worker of my mother...who made a wedding video for us, gratis. If you're planning a wedding, I encourage you to think of anyone you know who may be able to help out with your big day - chances are, if you ask, they will be more than willing to help you! 

Enough about the planning - onto the fun stuff! We were slightly late to arrive to the reception venue because we got caught up taking lots of gorgeous post-ceremony pictures, but everything came together smoothly. The bridal party made an entrance to "Bust a Move"....and we made each of the couples, including our parents, actually do a dance move as they were introduced! Then, we were introduced as Mr. and Mrs., and we began our first dance to "Marry Me" by Train. We had taken several dance lessons at a local studio, and made the decision to dance to this song a few months prior to the big day. This is a very meaningful song to us, and I'm so glad we chose it. Now, whenever we hear it on the radio, it brings us back to that moment. After our first dance, it was time for the long-awaited Father-Daughter dance. I literally didn't make a song choice until the week before the wedding, because I really wanted to find the right song. I wanted it to be special, not only to me, but to my dad. I had narrowed it down to two songs, and the one I chose ended up being perfect. True story, I was hesitant to choose this one, because I knew it was beyond perfect and I knew it would probably make BOTH of us cry. We danced to "My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw. Listen to that and tell me you didn't tear up thinking about you and your dad! After my dad and I danced, it was time for the Mother-Son dance. Michael and his mom danced to "And Then They Do" by Trace Adkins. Country music is great for a sentimental dance song. ;)

After all of the dances, we had our Priest offer a blessing, then dinner was served. One thing that I'd heard over and over was to set aside time to actually eat, because if you don't, the night will go by and you'll end up starved at the end. Truthfully, the entire day was a whirlwind, and I wasn't even hungry at the reception. However, I made an attempt to eat a little, and we actually had a bit of time to enjoy dinner with our bridal party. After dinner, we headed up to take a few pictures in the gorgeous venue with our photographer. While we were taking photos, our youngest guests (cousins, nieces, nephews) headed for the dance floor. When we were done with photos, we ended up dancing with the kids. It took a bit longer to get the adults on the dance floor! 

Our ring bearer doing the robot. Adorable!

Someone is going to make a great dad one day ;) 

After some dancing, it was time to cut the cake. It really is amazing how quickly the evening goes by! Our Best Man and Matron of Honor gave sweet speeches before we cut into our gorgeous cake. Then it was time...Michael and I had talked plenty of times about how we would do the cake cutting. It was decided that there would be NO cake-smashing onto each other's faces. However, my lovely brother-in-law told Michael he should go for it after all, so he did. Which meant that I smeared cake all over his face, too. Payback!

After a lot of socializing and more dancing, we did the bouquet and garter toss. Things started to get funnier and slightly more inappropriate as the night went on...but we all had fun! The best thing about being the bride is, everyone makes it their mission to keep your wine glass filled the entire night - even the priest! He actually got me my first glass of wine earlier in the evening when we got to the reception. I think he could tell my Type A nerves were coming out before the Grand Entrance...so wine to the rescue! ;)

Yep, that's the man I'm married to.

We had so much fun, but finally it was time for the night to come to an end. It always seems like receptions fly by as a guest of a wedding, but as the bride - it literally flashes by in a blur! We had so much fun, and I didn't even realize how exhausted I was until the party was over. We were so blessed to have a wonderful day with all of our family & friends - but we were so looking forward to the next 8 days of relaxing in paradise. Stay tuned for a honeymoon recap!