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March Goals: Accomplished?

April 3, 2016 Leave a Comment

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]

2016 Monthly Goals

January 8, 2016 Comment : 1

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]

All Posts, Dear Diary, Health & Fitness, Meal Prep, Workouts

My Go To Clean Eating & Workout Resources

September 14, 2015 Comment : 1

It has almost been a year since I have seriously started working on living a healthier lifestyle. I am by no means anywhere NEAR my health and fitness goals, but I am A LOT closer than I have been in years. I have tried the “healthy” lifestyle on multiple occasions prior to last year, but I was not as dedicated and educated on living a healthier lifestyle until I did the 28 Day Fit Girl Jumpstart Challenge in October of 2014. Since then, I have slowly been taking baby steps to teach myself the difference between diet fads and unnatural weight loss schemes, to the actual act of changing my lifestyle, and making cleaner eating choices and committing to working out regularly.

Clean eating is not a diet. I actually have learned to despise the word “diet”, and understand changing how I eat has to be a lifelong commitment. The changes will not happen overnight, but it will definitely start to show in the long run. The biggest fact I’ve learned about clean eating is, at no time should you starve yourself. When you’re hungry, you’re supposed to eat. You’re just supposed to eat healthier food vs. junk food, or not eating any food at all (leads to bingeing on unhealthy foods). In terms of working out, I learned any activity is better than no activity. You also don’t need an expensive membership to a fancy gym to stay fit either. There are so many at home or outdoor workouts available these days, which makes getting fit a lot easier.

Below I will share my favorite websites and social media people who got me started on my journey, kept me motivated on my journey, and continue to teach me how to do better along the way.

Jersey Girl Talk is a website I discovered through Pinterest while searching for lifting routines. I had been reading up on the benefits of lifting for women, and wanted to jump into it. I had lifted all through high school while running track, but it has been quite some time since I’ve lifted weights and wanted to find a beginners program of some sort. I stumbled upon Adrienne’s (the website owner) lifting for beginners pin, and really liked the sound of it. I’ve loved it ever since. I also follow her on Instagram and Twitter, where she is extremely personable, and responds to your tweets and posts if she is mentioned in them. I haven’t tried any of her recipes yet, but will be giving them a try sometime soon!

I found Fit with Curves through a friend’s post on Instagram. She had re-posted one of the exercises Tatiana (the blog owner) had shared on her own Instagram page. I’m all about seeing people doing healthy things so I clicked on her name to check out her page. I instantly loved the page, and not only because of the workouts. I loved seeing her acknowledge being fit means different things for different people. A woman with curves who is fit will not look like a woman who is fit without curves, and that is okay. Embrace it, and focus on how to become healthy in your own body. I enjoy some of her mini workout videos, and have occasionally added a workout here or there to my routine at the gym. She also has clean eating recipes on her blog I have not tried yet, but plan to in the near future. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter as well.

I’m actually not too sure how I found out about Get Fit with Nic, but I’m happy I did! I do know it was through Instagram somehow. Either way, if you’re looking for great at home and/or outdoor workouts, she is the person to follow. Gym memberships and/or finding the time to go to the gym can often be unattainable for some people. Her works are perfect for those of you who run into these issues. She often posts mini-videos of her workouts, which are perfect for those of us needing the extra “umph” to get our butts off of the couch in general. She has recently started a traveling workout session in major cities for a low fee of $10 which is pretty awesome. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

This is my FAVORITE meal prepping website at the moment. I found this gem of a website while searching for clean eating meals on, Pinterest. My Body My Kitchen, has SO many delicious recipes, broken down into separate categories, to make it easier to search for the type of food you want to eat. What makes this website the best for meal prepping is the amount of food options (so you never get bored), the amount of flavor used in the dishes (to keep you coming back), and how much he loves to make food spicy. If you aren’t a huge spicy food fan, just omit the use of the cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes in your recipes. My husband HATES spicy food, so I modify his meals, and he still loves them. You can follow this page on Instagram as well.

This is my number one go to resource for clean eating and working out, because this is what got me started on the correct path to making healthier life choices. My friend Charelle told me about it back in September of 2014, and her, my Grandmother and I did the month-long challenge. The results were unbelievable for it to have only been a month. For anyone else looking for a great jumpstart to their healthier life goals, I suggest you start with the Fit Girls Guide. The major take back I got from this challenge was how to measure my food and calorie intake, correctly. Did I mention not only is the food really good, the exercises are extremely easy, and can be done at home. You can find the Fit Girls support groups on Instagram and Twitter as well.

If you decide to give any of these resources a try, I hope they are beneficial, enjoyable, and fun to do! Also, let me know what you think about them and what you like and didn’t like. Good luck on your journey and I hope these resources are helpful to someone out there. 🙂

This picture shows my results of the 28 Day Jumpstart Challenge last year.

Brie <3

[09.14.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary

Modern Day Celeb-session

January 21, 2015 Comments : 2

It doesn’t matter if I turn on the television, open one of my countless social networking applications, or walk past the magazine section in any store, it is damn near impossible to avoid seeing headlines about celebrities. I’m not talking about headlines such as “______ gives money to save school from closing” or “_______ tells us about the importance of education and family,” I’m talking about headlines such as “______ joins Twitter!”

SO. THE. F. WHAT?

I like to call this the modern-day celebrity obsession or “celeb-session” as I have personally named it. What worries me about this ridiculous obsession is the fact that people ACTUALLY care about what these celebrities are doing. And I don’t mean caring about them being awesome people, I’m talking about them caring that they use the bathroom and eat food like us regular folk. You know, because it really shows how down to earth these celebrities are when they sleep in beds, and pump their own gas just like regular old me! [I’m currently rolling my eyes]

I remember going back home to Illinois a few summers ago to visit, and watching the 6pm news with my Grandma. One of the big news stories was “Katy Perry visits Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL.” At first, I thought, “hmmm random that she is in IL to go to Six Flags, but Six Flags is awesome, so sure.” Once they went into detail of the story, they elaborated on her being there for a concert for her biggest fans. No big deal, but I get why they would mention it at the end of the 6pm news hour. What ended up making me realize how sad people are was HOW they ended the segment. After giving details about happy fans enjoying the concert, they ended the segment saying something along the lines of “after the concert, Katy got on rides, and even enjoyed a plate of funnel cake just like the rest of us.” [insert corny new anchor smile and fake laugh here] I just stared at the screen and was trying to figure out why Katy Perry eating food and getting on rides painted her as a “human being.”

I had known for some time the obsession with celebrities was going waaaaay overboard in my generation, but it has become even more evident, today. A few months back, I remember getting on Twitter during my lunch break at work, and seeing people retweeting and/or personally tweeting that Rihanna had joined Instagram again. Oh, and don’t let these celebrities announce pregnancies. A new king or queen is being born to some of these folks the way they react. A simple “congratulations” doesn’t suffice anymore. Now, it’s “OMG! So-and-so is pregnant! They’re going to have the greatest baby in the whole world and nobody else better hate on them.” You know, because women don’t have babies everyday, but whatever. One of my favorite examples (favorite as in the terrible way) was a story about two weeks ago. There was a picture going around of Beyonce and Jay-Z taking pictures with their phones of some scenery while they were on vacation (I’m assuming). I-kid-you-not…the caption read “look guys- Jay and Bey are tourists just like us!” If you think that’s bad, the comment section made me want to throw up. “They are so real and down to earth,” or “see I knew I was like Beyonce somehow lol.”

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

Does my generation (and younger) seriously lack THAT much self-esteem? Do we lack real life hobbies? Do we lack the understanding that we were created to be our own person and not imitate someone else? Do we lack being able to see these PEOPLE who just happen to be rich as regular people? Do we lack knowing the difference between being a fan of someone’s talent vs. worshiping said person with the talent as some deity? I see these little girls trying SO hard to act or be like Beyonce, Rihanna, Katy Perry, or the Kardashians (this one STILL blows my mind), that they are going broke trying to live a lie. I know so many young people who don’t have enough money to live on their own or pay for necessities without the aid of their loved ones, but they would sell their blood to buy concert tickets or spend $300 on shoes and/or a purse because someone famous has their name on it. Don’t get me wrong, these are tough times, and there is nothing wrong with needing help from others, but it becomes an issue with your personal goals and priorities when you’re more worried about a celebrity vs. getting your own life on track.

I used to go crazy for celebrities when I was in elementary and middle school. You know, the Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, B2K, and Lil’ Bow Wow days. Or when I was “young and dumb” as they like to say. At 26 years old, if any of you EVER see me talking or putting these celebrities on a pedestal for simply existing, you have my permission to slap me and tell me to act like a grown woman with common sense. I have heard people say “well so-and-so wears this brand” or “so-and-so likes this color” so naturally they have to as well. Maybe it’s just me, but when people say these things out loud, I immediately feel sorry for them, because that is an exhausting and mindless way to live.

I can’t be mad at the people who report the stories, because they are only reporting what is in demand. They are only telling what people actually want to hear. All I’m asking is we all become better at educating ourselves on what really matters in the world, because knowing every single detail of some celebrity’s life isn’t it.

End rant.

Brie <3

[01.21.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary, Health & Fitness, Physical Health

#28DayJumpstart Challenge Results

November 24, 2014 Comments : 2

Twenty eight days ago, I started the #28DayJumpstart challenge from Fit Girls World Wide. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, or how much I would enjoy it, but because I had people to participate with me (Grandma, Charelle, and my friend Charna later on) it was easier to stick with it.

I AM SO HAPPY I DID!

It is insane the change I have seen in my body in only twenty-eight days. The challenge food (for the most part) was SO good, and extremely filling. The exercises were very doable. Although I added on extra exercise throughout the challenge. And it was the first clean eating/workout plan that I ever enjoyed doing. All of the help and encouragement from fit girls all over the world makes it even easier to stay on track. They are doing one more #28DayJumpstart challenge before the end of the year, starting December 1st. If you would like to join, you can contact me for the information, or go to the website http://fitgirlsworldwide.com/.

If you would like to continue watching my fitness goal journey, you can keep following me on Instagram at “bjamieson88” or on Twitter “@BrienneJamieson”. (Both links or both accounts are listed on my main page. Just click on the icon) If you aren’t already following me on my public Instagram and Twitter accounts- you should 🙂

Happy and Blessed Monday!

-Brie <3

[11.24.14]