A Holiday Party Date - Finally The Freedom to Be Spontaneous

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone and should not be construed as medical advice. #TheMoodStrikes #CollectiveBias

Can I start this post off with “Ahhh!” today?? Today is just one of those days when you sit down and think about everything that’s going on the next few days and you just feel overwhelmed. It’s not that my schedule is any more challenging than normal, but I think it’s that final countdown to Christmas along with a non-routine lately that’s getting to me. There’s been kids’ activities pretty much every night, I’m working random days and evenings at my ‘real’ job, and I’m ready for some consistency…maybe that will be one of my goals for 2015! I’m glad not everything is routine all of the time though; I do appreciate the Freedom to be spontaneous too. J

 I’ve been talking about K-Y® Liquibeads a couple of times over the past month (Read about the challenge I took HERE), and I’ve got to say, for someone who has a crazy busy life they are helping so much! Wayne and I have actually had two last minute date opportunities this month (yes TWO! It’s been forever since we’ve been on two in a month!) The first date was a last minute invite to a media dinner at a new brewery (I’m working on those pictures next!) and then we ended up getting my friend to babysit last minute this past Friday and we attended my work’s company holiday party.

The pictures are definitely not the best here, but I didn’t want to be lugging around my big camera inside of my tiny purse for a ‘work’ thing…and I’m pretty sure my camera wouldn’t have fit in it anyways!

We had cocktails and wine with our dinner. I played it safe with the chicken and Wayne ordered the salmon.  It was a pretty big evening with probably about 1,000 in attendance. After dinner there was dancing, photo booths, and gambling to keep everyone entertained, yet at most events of this size, sometimes just sitting there and people watching is just as entertaining!

We hung out with my friend and her boyfriend, and ended up staying out until 3:00 am! It’s been a very long time since we had a night that late! (I drank lots of coffee the next morning during Anika’s basketball games).

I guess what I’m saying in this rambling post is that even though I crave a routine, sometimes life is better without one – sometimes life is better when things just fall into place and you can have that freedom to be spontaneous!  I’m glad I decided to take the challenge – if you want more information about the K-Y® Liquibeads and my previous posts take a peek:

Romantic Ideas and The Freedom to Be Spontaneous 

Taking a Mini Break and Having the Freedom to Be Spontaneous 

Then print this coupon for $1.00 any K-Y® product and head to Walgreens to take the challenge for yourself! (Unless you are pregnant or nursing – make sure to chat with your physician first!)

Until tomorrow my friends,

~Melissa

Taking a Mini Break and Having The Freedom to be Spontaneous

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone and should not be construed as medical advice. #TheMoodStrikes #CollectiveBias

Hey everyone! Like I said yesterday, this past week has been a busy one (what’s new, right?) But this week ended with a fun twist – an overnight trip to Seattle with a group of girls, most of which I hadn't seen in quite a while...as well as the freedom to be spontaneous when I returned home. 

My childhood friend turned 30 this past October and we finally got around to celebrating it two month later! She comes from a big family, so 4 out of the 7 of us were her sisters.  We hadn't all been together in years and it was nice reminiscing while having an adventure. We went out to dinner, checked out Pike’s Place Market, and attended a food demo event. After an entire week with an average of 4-5 hours of sleep at night, I was happy, but exhausted before we left, and of course we didn't get much sleep on our one night out, so yesterday I was really wiped out, so much so that I actually dozed off on the train home – which is really unusual for me.  I was only asleep for a little bit, and it definitely helped, but I was still tired when I got home last night around 10:45.

My husband happily greeted me and I noticed the house all clean. He was doing the dishes and our Christmas tree was in the stand all ready for us to decorate it. It was so nice to come home to a house that wasn't a complete disaster. It was refreshing.

When things get busy I’ll be the first to admit that the two of us don’t spend enough time to together, and even though I wanted to just curl up and fall asleep last night I stayed up for a while. We chatted and I told him about the adventure I had while he told me about Anika's basketball games she played.

We don’t talk together often enough.

Even though I was completely exhausted I took the time to sit and spend the time with him because I noticed just how much effort he put into making the house neat – he had even pre-made a dinner for the next day for us… things he doesn't often do.

 Sometimes when women are tired things like being intimate with their spouses just don’t happen as easily as they should because of many issues, including vaginal dryness… you may remember me talking about the K-Y® Liquibead Challenge I began before Thanksgiving, and it’s definitely been helping! Even though I was tired the Liquibeads still allowed me the freedom to be spontaneous. 

The K-Y® Liquibeads can be found at Walgreens and there are 6 OVULE Inserts in each package that you insert every 3-4 days that help provide vaginal moisturization – so in other words they help make intercourse more comfortable and enjoyable again. (Not to be used if you are pregnant or nursing though, always consult with your Doctor first!)

The K-Y® Liquibeads are super easy to use, you simply:
1. Open one Liquibead package and place it on one of the disposable applicators that are provided
2. Insert the applicator – it's pretty much like inserting a tampon – and that’s it!
3. Use as directed (every 3-4 days)!

If you’d like to take the challenge, here’s a coupon that you can print and use to save $1.00 off of any K-Y® product!

How was your weekend?

~Melissa

Romantic Ideas and the Freedom To Be Spontaneous

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone and should not be construed as medical advice. #TheMoodStrikes #CollectiveBias

Hey everyone! Tomorrow is the big day – and we are finally headed home after four nights in Southern Oregon visiting family. Since we've had dinners this week with my family we are just heading over to our friend’s house for a turkey dinner tomorrow. Even though I love the holidays, sometimes I feel like we get so busy that we don’t have enough time for ourselves. Between working, holiday events, dinners, and school events, I’m often left feeling just plain exhausted – and often times us women are so stressed out that we don’t take enough time to enjoy our partners and relationships and don’t feel like we have the freedom to be spontaneous.

Moms often feel the stress more than others during the holidays – trying to make things perfect and keeping everyone happy, and then one of the most important things gets left behind – themselves, and I have to admit sometimes I feel that way as well.

So I’m taking the K-Y® Liquibeads Challenge.

The K-Y ® Liquibeads OVULE Inserts provide vaginal moisturization – so they help make intercourse more comfortable. I know it’s a topic that many women are too afraid to talk about, but as a nurse stuff like this doesn't bother me. Moms who are having lots of stress, women experiencing menopause, taking certain medications, or many other reasons including chemotherapy and radiation can cause vaginal dryness which hello – makes spontaneous moments a little more difficult.

The K-Y® Liquibeads shouldn't be used by women who are pregnant or are breastfeeding, but for the rest of us it just helps moisturize and lubricate- so there’s never a ‘problem’ when a spontaneous moment arises.

There’s 6 Liquibeads that are included in the K-Y® package, and each one is to be used as needed every 3-4 days.

The K-Y® Liquibeads can be found at Walgreens in the family planning department.

In addition to the  K-Y® Liquibeads, here's a few other ways that you can plan for a successful romantic evening together:

1. Create an ambiance that will relax you. We try to ignore it, but it really does bother us when we look around and have so much stuff that we need to do! Keep bedroom clutter to a minimum and keep your work and children's conversations off limits in there. Keep some night scented candles in there and minimum electronics in the room.

2. Serve yourselves something special. Make the evening romantic by fixing up some bites to eat. Perhaps watch a little movie together and indulge on some cheese and crackers or whatever you have in the house. It really doesn't matter what you have, but the simple presentation of plating it will create something that truly is a little tastier and romantic. 

3. Take a hot bath. I know that I always feel more relaxed after a hot bath, and unfortunately most of us don't take enough time our of our day to indulge for 30 minutes to just relax, but it really does help.

4. Massage. Sore and tired muscles seem to be more of the norm for us moms and dads. Try giving each other a massage to relax those aches and pains, or if your partner isn't up to giving massages - splurge and buy a couples massage.

5. Time. I think what I've realized and many people already know, is it's just forcing yourself to take the time to relax so you're less stressed out. It may be tough at first, but sitting there for an hour doing nothing is perfectly acceptable and nothing to feel guilty about.

So, with Christmas fast approaching and a hectic looking schedule for next month, I'm going to take my own advice and really focus a little more time on myself - because I know spending the time taking care yourself ultimately will help allow you the freedom to be spontaneous!

I'll check back in soon about this and give you an update on how well I follow my own ideas!

Have you ever had any troubles because of stress/etc.? For more date night ideas check out my other posts on this topic!

10 Ways to Create the Perfect Date Night at Home

5 tips to Plan a Successful Date Night In

~Melissa