Married | Mother | Millennial
Last weekend I dedicated a few hours of self-care to myself. I took a nice long bath, washed my hair, did a face mask, and drank a glass of wine. It was heavenly…while it lasted. About an hour and a half into my self-care session my oldest daughter, Jordyn, invited herself into the bathroom to ask me fifty questions. Oh, and to remind me that I’m a Mom of two small children, which means time to myself is limited. Ha!Read More
September 27th, 1988 is the day and year a star was born.
OK, now that I got that out of the way I can be serious now hahaha.
Today is my 30th birthday and I couldn’t be more grateful or full of love. I’m grateful to have made it to see the age of 30. There are many who never did, or will, and for this I am forever thankful each year God allows me to grow a year older.
I decided to take a break from blogging earlier this year due to my pregnancy. It was an exhausting pregnancy and I struggled with staying awake the entire day let alone run a blog in the process. I’ve had plenty of time to plan and have some quality blog posts coming your way soon. From recipes to personal stories to DIY projects. They’re all coming soon.Read More
Self care Sunday is one of the major parts of me taking better care of myself this year. Self care Sundays concentrates mostly on my physical outward appearance, but this ultimately connects to my mental and spiritual health as well. As they say, “when you look good you feel good”, and Read More
One of my favorite activities to do for the new year is a vision board. Not only are they fun to do, they give you a visual goal to aim for and accomplish, in the new year. I usually make mine before the new year begins, but this year I finished it 5 days into the new year. Better late than never, right?Read More
Hello everyone, and happy (third day of) April!
I’m sure most of you noticed it’s been well over two weeks since I have posted any content. I decided to take a last-minute break from blogging during the remainder of March due to life being pretty crazy busy. Between birthdays (happy belated blog shout out birthday to my awesome sister, Taylor!), Easter, Spring, friends visiting etc. March was a pretty crazy month. I did some serious deep Spring cleaning around the house while my husband was gone for a few days traveling for work. Even he came back home and almost didn’t recognize the house himself. Ha!
Easter sort of snuck up on me this year and I wasn’t even a little prepared for it. I wanted to make Jordyn’s Easter basket myself, but like I said before, I was completely unprepared and ended up buying her one. It came with a basketball (which she loves) and some cute head bands, so it could be worse. Our awesome friends, the Jones’, were in town this Easter, and we threw together some last-minute Easter activities for the kids and an Easter dinner for a group of our friends.
For the month of March I almost completed all of my monthly goals. I fell short by ONE goal, my cooking Periscope broadcast, but it went hand in hand with me taking a break from blogging for a bit. I will try to do two Periscope broadcasts for the month of April to make up for the missed broadcast last month, though. However, all of my other goals were completed and I’ll share them below :-):
Date Night:
Our babysitter was pretty busy between school and work in the month of March which means we had a family date night instead of just a date night with the hubby and I. We went one of our favorite restaurants in town, Bert & Ernie’s, and had a great time eating yummy food. Jordyn is always added entertainment when we are out and about haha.
New Recipe:
I saw this delicious meal floating around Facebook and decided to give it a try while we had friends in town. It was SO good. The only downside was the Facebook video had no instructions or measurements besides the ingredients listed on the video. So thankfully it turned out so good!
DIY Project/Jordyn Activity:
Jordyn and I did another “joint project” for the month of March. During my Spring cleaning of the house I noticed the upstairs bathroom had too much empty space on the wall. I went to Michaels the following day and Jordyn and I bought some canvases (they were a BOGO free sale too!) and created these masterpieces. Mine is on the left, Jordyn’s on the right, and in case you’re wondering: yes, Jordyn’s looks better LOL.
Twitter Chat:
As usual, I participated in the #blkcreatives Twitter chat in March, regarding multiple streams of income. Although I could not personally contribute to the conversation, I still followed along with the chat, because I’m sure it’ll be useful to me one day in the future. It never hurts to learn more before jumping into things.
Natural Hair Style:
I did bantu knots for my natural hair style in March and they did NOT turn out the way I wanted them to which is why it was put into the ponytail on the right haha. A for effort, right? I’m not sure what happened, but hopefully my April natural hair style turns out a lot better.
Nail Color:
For March I chose my only darker green color for the theme of St. Patty’s Day. I love the sparkle of this emerald-green color. The color is called “Here Today…Aragon Tomorrow Suede” by OPI.
New Book:
I finally jumped on the John Grisham bandwagon (20 years later) and LOVED this book. Talk about changing your life and perspective of everyday life for people who are fighting different battles than ours. I highly recommend this book be read by any and everyone because we as a society so easily judge those in different circumstances than ours.
Workout Reward:
I actually worked out 21 days of the 31 days in March and felt so accomplished. I’m also only 22 seconds away from my half mile goal time. Seeing results always motivates me to keep going. I believe it’s also safe to say after three consistent months of working out, 20 days plus per month, working out has officially become a habit. Yay!
The goals I don’t have pictures of for March are my husband love/Kris appreciation gift and my random act of kindness. For my kind gesture for my husband I bought him some new hookah flavors. He loves his hookah and figured I would get him a gift he wouldn’t expect me to buy for him. Needless to say: he loved it.
For my random act of kindness, while at Dairy Queen one night getting my Oreo and Heath blizzard (it is amazing) I paid for the meal of the car behind me. I hope whoever was in the car enjoyed their ice cream/meal and pay it forward to someone else out there.
I hope all of your small and large goals you aimed to accomplish for the month of March were accomplished. Sometimes it’s hard to stay on track and work towards our goals but we just have to remind ourselves why we do it in the first place. I will be back next month to update you on my prayerfully 100% accomplished goals for the month of April.
Happy Sunday everyone and I pray you have a great upcoming week!
Brie <3
[04.03.16]
We are now 8 days into the new year and I have already shared my 16 goals for the year. If you didn’t get a chance to read them you can click here to check it out. I took it one step beyond the yearly goals and decided to plan out 12 personal monthly goals. The goals range from self care (which was discussed in my first blog post of the year) to taking care of those around me. The goals range from pure fun to helping spread love to complete strangers, and I think I am thoroughly going to enjoy aiming to accomplish each goal every month. You’re probably wondering “is she looking to accomplish 12 different goals every month”? and the truth is…yes, I am. It sounds a lot more daunting than I believe it will be.
My 12 monthly goals to accomplish in 2016:
1) Date Night
My husband and I have done a terrible job of going on date nights since having our daughter. We’re new parents, who live far away from family, so we don’t trust many people with her. Thankfully my neighbor is awesome, amazing with children, and loves Jordyn too. My goal is to go on one date night a month.
2) New Recipe
I thoroughly enjoy cooking. I also enjoy discovering new delicious recipes. Every month this year I will try (at least) one different recipe a month. This already sounds delicious.
3) DIY Project
As most of you know from previous posts I love do-it-yourself projects. It’s a great down time and allows me to find my creative side. I will aim to do one new DIY project every month.
4) Twitter Chats
As a blogger who is looking to make my blog a profession, I need to get more involved on social media to work on/promote my brand. There are plenty of blog chats held by other blogging Twitter sources who give tips and exposure. Twitter chats will help increase my blog traffic.
5) Natural Hair Style
I’ve been natural since August 2007. As much as I love my natural hair it takes a bit of work. I usually opt for the easier flat ironed hair, thrown into ponytails and buns 98% of the time. With the theme of taking better care of myself this year, I will try at least one different natural hair style every month.
6) Cooking Periscope Broadcast
I’ve had Periscope for a few months and I used it all the time when I first signed up. For some reason I have hardly used it as of late, and one way to get me going again is to start live broadcasting. I love cooking so why not broadcast Jamieson Diaries recipes, live? It will be trial and error, but hopefully it’s as fun as it sounds.
7) Nail Colors
I haven’t painted my nails in over a year and a half. So every month I will paint my nails a different color to go along with the seasons. It may be small, but I’m looking forward to this!
8) Random Acts of Kindness
Have you ever had someone randomly pay for your meal? Or even do something as simple as let you skip ahead in line? When people show us kindness it makes us feel good so why not be the person spreading that same joy to others? Don’t expect to see this part posted on social media much, if at all.
9) Read A Book
I will read one new book every month this year in conjunction with reading my Bible more. I love reading and always have loved reading. I haven’t made the time to sit down and read lately a.k.a. I’ve been watching too much TV. I’m super excited to get back into my books!
10) Workout Reward
I’ve been trying to keep a steady workout regimen going. The ultimate way to get yourself to do something is knowing there’s a reward for you at the end. The catch: I have to workout at least 20 days out of the month. Say a few prayers for me that I remain disciplined and engaged.
11) Jordyn Activity/Craft
I love creating adorable crafts with Jordyn. Not only are they fun, but they’re engaging. I want to do at least one new activity or craft with her every month. From the Children’s Museum to homemade Play-doh, the possibilities are endless. Plus, anytime I get to spend having fun with my munchkin is time well spent.
12) Love For My Husband
I love my husband and we make a pretty awesome team. In learning how to take care of myself I also want to take care of my husband/marriage. My husband knows I love randomly buying him gifts occasionally, but why not do something sweet for him each month? It can range from a gift card to his favorite restaurant, to a simple card saying, “I was thinking of you”. Whatever it may be seeing him happy makes me happy.
It made me happy to write these goals out and see the changes to come this year. I believe these goals will for sure work on my goals of the “you, us, we” model I’m wanting to follow this year.I will also be posting pictures and videos as I can of my goals on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Do you have any goals you are looking to achieve in general? If so, comment some of your goals below, and how you plan to hold yourself accountable. If not, and you would like to set some goals, it’s never too late!
Happy Friday!
Brie <3
[01.08.16]
Happy 2016 everybody! I hope you all brought in the New Year surrounded by love and people you want to bring closer to you in 2016. We spent the evening at dinner with family and bringing in the New Year, at our home, playing games and having tons of laughs. I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend the evening.
2015 had it’s ups and many downs (especially towards the end of the year). With losing multiple family members to various health issues, the end of 2015 took a toll on my loved ones and those closest to us. However, as always, we try our best to come back up swinging, because we know joy will come in the morning. In November of 2015 I decided to take a blogging hiatus because to put it simply: I needed a break. Not from blogging itself, but just a break to collect my thoughts and come up with ways to improve myself, which in turn, includes my blog.
As you all know I enjoy watching the daytime talk show “The Real” during the week. The last few weeks, Tamar Braxton, who is one of the regular co-hosts had been out sick, and to keep things interesting the show had been inviting other celebrities to guest host the show with them. My favorite co-host by far this season was Tisha Campbell-Martin. Apparently the other viewers really enjoyed her as well, because she was invited back to guest host a second time only a few weeks later. I’ve been a Tisha Campbell-Martin fan since the “House Party” and “Martin” days, but she particularly brought insight to the girl chat discussion I think most women can benefit from. In my case, specifically: married-mothers. Tisha has been with her husband, Duane Martin, for twenty plus years, and this information was shared when Tisha was asked by the ladies at the table how she has managed to have a successful relationship. She stated they have a house rule her husband came up with called “You, Us, We” that has kept them going and successful. She broke it down for everyone to understand: the “you” is Tisha. She has to take care of herself first because as she stated “you can’t pour from an empty cup”, which means she can’t benefit her husband or her children without taking care of herself first. The “us” is Tisha and her husband Duane. If they aren’t taking care of their marriage it will fall apart and cause issues that trickle down to their children in the long run. They want their kids to see the best image of a successful marriage through themselves. The “we” is in regards to the children and the entire family. If Tisha is taking care of herself, and enjoying her marriage, she will then share the abundance of love and happiness she feels with her entire family. We are able to take better care of others when we are truly happy in all aspects of our lives.
I knew right away I was going to write a post about these “household rules” because I already understand how important they are (due to the lack of following this model) and I’ve only been married for close to three years. About a week prior to watching Tisha on The Real I had noticed how drained and run down I was beginning to feel. I was trying so hard to take care of everyone else and everything else in the house I was leaving myself last in the equation…it doesn’t work. So although I don’t care for resolutions I told myself I was going to actively do better in 2016. I wrote out a detailed guide of how I will do better each month by concentrating on a closer relationship with God, taking care of myself, my marriage, and my family, in that order. There will be a blog post to follow this weekend explaining the detailed changes, how I plan to implement them, and hold myself accountable.
2015 taught me to love my loved ones while they’re here, love myself as much as I love others, and find a way to bring my plans to life through organization and planning. I hope 2015 was great to you and your loved ones. I hope 2016 brings you all of the positive love and prosperity your heart can handle, and I pray you do His will above all else.
Happy New Year from my family to yours!
Brie <3
[01.01.16]