No Longer A Wife

  This is being written on Tuesday. But posting today. (Friday) so if you follow me on Twitter and are now confused. This is why. lol

It's hard to grasp that I'm not married anymore. That I'm not a wife. I'm just a single mom and on my own now. 

Never did I think that I would be saying this at 25. I don't think anyone does, especially the single mom part.

To me that's the hardest part of today. I walked out of the courthouse stunned at how fast it was over. I drove over the bridge and it hit me that I'm not married anymore. I don't have my rings on anymore. When I make phone calls I won't be saying "my husband".

Not that I want to but for four years that's what I've done. It's been my routine. My life.

It's amazing to me that you spend so many months and so much money on this one day of your life that's supposed to last forever and in literally five minutes it's declared over. You can claim single now.

Bright side is that I get to start a completely new chapter. I get to move on and move forward. I'm not in limbo anymore. I also have a gorgeous little lady out of it and can't wait to see what life brings her! She is already making me one proud mama.

Edit: I do this a lot apparently. It's Thursday now and I can say that it's been a lot harder than I thought it would be. It's almost like you're dealing with a death.

I suppose you are in some way since you've lost a husband. A family. A life you used to have.
While it's all good things in the end, it is still hard to deal with in the moment.

I've had my bouts of crying. Ugly crying. I've had my bouts of anger. Of being emotionless. Of eating a lot of chocolate. Of laughter. Really I've turned bi-polar with this. So in a lot of ways you are mourning. Good thing I look good in black!

Good news is that I'll be on the West Coast in two weeks. I'll be running another 13.1 miles in 3 weeks which is a long time to have to myself and try not to die think. It'll be good! Lord knows Mr A needs me to run 13.1 miles for 4 hours so I don't go cray cray on him ;)

Let's hope I do better than 3 hours this time.

Now excuse me while I have some fudge to eat, coffee to drink, and a race to dread.

Happy Friday!

Things I Didn't Know Until I Became A Mom

There are a million things that going through your mind when you first find out that you're pregnant. You think you know what you're about to go through. You think you know how this little person will be once they arrive.

In reality you don't. At least I didn't.

Miss K amazes me every single day with whatever new things comes out of her mouth or whatever new skill or habit she picks up on.

So in true Running In Pearls fashion I give you a bullet point list of things I didn't know would happen or how I know I'm a mom now.

• No matter what you're doing or how big of a hurry you're in in the mornings, your child will always lose a shoe before you walk out the door. Even if you just put them on her. Always.
• Remember when you were growing up and your parents told you that you're children will be just like you? Truth.
• It doesn't matter if she is only a one year old. She can and will sass you.
• Watch what you say because again even though she is only a one year old, she can still repeat what you say. Thanks GiGiPa for getting her to say "Bubble Butt".
• She will know how to work a remote, an xbox, dvr player, direct tv box, computer, an iPad, and an iPhone. Any "i" device is her favorite.
• She will know where her snacks are and get them herself.
• She will try to put her shoes on when you ask her to go get them. Then get in a huff when you try to help her. At one she's already trying to be independent.
• You will know exactly what she's doing when all you hear is "uh-oh".
• Sometimes you will have to have Superman speed to catch things before she notices that you see what she has so she doesn't drop whatever it is and breaks it.
• They like to walk backwards everywhere and especially walk backwards then sit on your head.
• You ARE a horse, a chair, a bed, a rug, a drum, and a ladder.
• They think every animal and small child they see is a "puppy".
• When you turn corners in your car and a teapot starts singing.
• You have a sticker for her private school on your car and she.has.a.teacher.assigned.to.her.in.July.

Holy crap I'm a mom.

Oh! How Pinteresting!

Excuse the blog right now. It is under construction. Please bear with me!

 Thank you! xo

I'd appreciate a golf clap for being on top of posting this week.Also in case you missed it. Here is the Coffee Bean Mason Jar project! what can I say? I'm proud.
Onto pinning:

That clutch! Those shoes! Where can I find them?

Minus the jean jacket. I'm not convinced I can pull that off.

I believe I need a coral pair

literally laughed out loud

ahem. 

these are adorable for Miss K!
That's all y'all!
Happy Hump Day!
Follow Me on Pinterest!

Storyline

A few days ago Gina posted on her blog about a Storyline that her and other women in her "Women's Class" were given to do.
I was intrigued. So naturally I waited for the questions to be posted and answer them myself.
Gina talks about her "aha" moments. I had a lot of "Oh shit" moments.
You see. When I was writing down the questions I allowed myself certain amount of room to answer them.On the "Positive" side I wrote the questions down and only left one line to answer.On the "Negative" side I left a good three or four lines to answer.
That right there tells you I think I have more negative than positive to my storyline.
As I got deeper into the questions I got to thinking more and more "holy crap..there IS a theme."  I have been more effected by my growing up and my mothers death than I really thought. I've been "glossing" it over apparently. I didn't think about it until answering the questions. It was my "aha" moment I suppose.  I also noticed that I experienced more joy after having Kinsley.While I had joy growing up, I think it was overshadowed by the fact that my mother was an angry alcoholic. Therefore, I don't really have "joyous" memories of that time.   In my storyline, the things that make me happiest are watching Kinsley grow, seeing myself grow, and seeing myself be able to hold my own all while still having a big heart. 
Edit: It's a few days after I started this post. I was kind of taken aback by what I realized.You might think "why? what's the big deal they are just questions."
That they are but they are also eye opening questions, especially this time in my life when I'm wondering the what ifs and the what nows. 
You don't really grow to know yourself when you're with someone. You are too busy focusing on them, on that relationship.
During the beginning of my separation and the end of my divorce I've learned a lot of things about myself.I learned that I do have a heart.Maybe it was Kinsley that brought it out but none the less I'm no longer a tin man. ha!
I've learned that I don't actually have to have control over everything.
I thought I did when I was married but that was because his personality was so dependent and so different than mine.I don't actually have to have it. I'm okay not wearing the pants most of the time.It's actually refreshing.

What I already knew was that I'm feisty. I'm a little bit abrasive. I'm strong minded.
There were more eye openers and "a ha" moments but I'm not ready to share those quite yet.
I suppose I can say this to more than one person who has shaped me in some way.
You've made me stronger, wiser, made my skin a little bit thicker, and you've made me smarter.
Thanks for making me a fighter.
(extra points if you know what song that is!)Today is the last day to enter the UPrinting Giveaway!   

Coffee Bean Mason Jars

Last week while on Pinterest, I found a gorgeous get up for an entertainment center that involved mason jars and hydrangeas.
edit: now that I see the pic again it in fact did not entail mason jars however I must have had them on the brain because that's what my project used. sooo..never the less. Moving on.
Mason Jars and Hydrangeas.
You had me at Mason Jars.
Following yet?
I hit up Michaels. Everything was on sale! 50%-60% off!I also went to Publix for the coffee beans because they had a certain brand Buy One, Get One Free.Meant to be!
Before I get to the project, let me just show you how eye pleasing it was not.

yeah. about that.
As soon as I got home I started putting them together.

I filled them all with the coffee beans.

After trimming the hydrangeas they were put into the jars.

I chose the green color because I thought it would be better year round until I figure out something else to do with them once Fall and Christmas comes around.

The after. 
I'm really happy with how it turned out and the smell is amazing!It feels like I'm walking into Starbucks every time I go into the bedroom. ha!
I also was getting tired of seeing the clutter on the side shelving area so since Michaels was having a 50% off sale on their baskets and storage organizers, I bought several baskets to put on the shelves.
Here is the before:

Horrendous right? Yikes.
Here's the after:

The OCD in me is very happy with how things look now.
The Mason Jar project was really easy and cheap!Total for everything? $50. Most expensive things were the bags of coffee at $6 something a bag (bogo).
This weekend I'll be tackling a burlap wreath! Since AP didn't bring me on at Blissdom! ;)

  

The Happy Train! Guest Blogger-Erin

It's Friday woo! I'm working. You're reading. Yada Yada.

Today we have Erin from Confessions of a Magnolia Mom.

One of my favorite ladies so please give her a warm welcome!

I'll be back later with a Pinterest Project how to!

Hello, Running in Pearls readers! Sonja has graciously let me take over today and I am quite excited!

Before we get ahead of ourselves, I'm Erin. Mama to J. Wife to B. 

On a typical day, you'll find me documenting our life over at Confessions of a Magnolia Mom. 

With a mess of a one-year-old there is no shortage of catastrophes entertainment to be shared! 

Feel free to stop by and introduce yourself, I'd love to hear from you!

 

Now that we've been formally introduced, let's talk about the Happy Train.


If we're being honest, on top of suffering from Early Onset Adult Exhaustion {read more here}, I've had an awful case of the Mondays every day this week!


It's as if the happy train is flying past my stop each morning without a second thought.


Um, hello, I want on!

So, what's a girl to do?

I've been pondering over this seemingly simple question for a couple weeks now and have come to only one conclusion...

Pamper yourself.

And ladies, with Mother's Day around the corner, this is the perfect time for some pampering! Who are we kidding, any time is good for pampering!

With a ticket to the happy train in grasp, it's time to get to work. But how should one overly exhausted mama treat herself? That's easy...

First up, a hair cut. I realized this week it has been one year and one month since I've had my hair cut. Yes, you read that correctly. I have not had my haircut since before having Jackson.

Next? A mani-pedi. Whether I do it myself or go to the closest salon, a little color on the nails always puts a pep in my step. And as the South has apparently decided to skip Spring and jump right to Summer, a few new dresses are in order.

Squee...I feel like a new woman just writing out my plans!

However, the final event to secure my seat on the Happy Train? It might just be ice cream for dinner, as Jenn so wisely suggested earlier this week. Because sometimes you've got to quit calorie-counting and indulge.

A little pampering can go a long way, something we should all remember. Far too often we spend all of our time pampering our families. Well, I'd say it's time for someone to pamper us.

Thanks to Sonja for letting me visit your space of the blogland today!   

Thanks Erin! and you ARE welcome :)

Don't forget to enter my UPrinting Giveaway y'all!