Let's Get Personal: A life Update

I was so busy the majority of this year, doing life, traveling and experiencing milestones, that throughout my posts, I forgot to post about some of the great things that happened this year!
 
So, first off, April 2nd was the 1 year anniversary of me dating my boyfriend (at the time!)


2 weeks later, right before my birthday, we bought some chickens, and 2 days before my birthday, on April 15th, 2016, My boyfriend proposed! And then he was called Fiancé :) 5 months and 2 days after the proposal, on September 17th, 2016, we got married! Immediate following, from September 18th-24th, we went on our honeymoon!


Check out my instagram for some Wolcott Wedding Pix and Honeymoon Pix :)
All of our wedding photos can be found here.

At the end of October, we celebrated 1 year of being in our house. And what a great year it has been. Super trying, super rewarding, and now my boyfriend turned fiancé turned husband and I have a wonderful life. We're still not perfect at the marriage thing, afterall, it's only been about 2 months, but I'm happy. He's happy :)

I definitely fell behind on the PfWo (Pfisterer-Wolcott) House to Home project series. Now it's just the House to Home since I'm no longer a Pf, and there's no need to distinguish the fact that there are 2 bodies in the home, "the 2 will become 1 flesh". We haven't done a TON of remodeling, so there's still hope for the series.

Definitely fell behind on the reviewing front, but planning a wedding kind of took precedence. And my husband uses our 1 computer for editing his photos, so when I want to blog, it seems to come at the most inopportune time, so it's been set aside and I haven't been able to blog much.

I won't set a schedule for myself with the holidays coming, but I hope to find some sort of regular schedule to post and hopefully build this blog into something amazing :)

Until next time

-S

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I know Halloween just got over and done with, and by the title, I'm wagering you're cringing in your seat, awaiting the onslaught of Christmas cheer.


Well fear not my friends, for the only Christmas cheer in this post, is simply just a wishlist.

"An online blog post wish list? Really Samantha? Tacky."

Ah, you say tacky, I say convenient, and here's my reasoning why. Year after year, person after person, "What do you want for Christmas?" Rather than repeating myself time after time, or forgetting what I tell who, I figured for everyone's convenience, a list would help everyone out. Besides, years from now, how cool will it be to look back on this and reflect, either on how it was a good choice, or I probably could have asked for something "better" (but c'mon, some of this stuff is pretty rad). 

And of course, as a Type A person: I love lists, so it just makes sense.

So, if you're all ready, here we go.

Samantha's 2016 Christmas Wish List (in no particular order)

• Michael's Gift Cards (Because who doesn't love getting crafty?! Planning supplies, Washi tape, canvases to paint on...ahhhhh)
• Etsy Gift Cards (Stickers for my planner, and other awesome stuff!)
• InkJoy Gel Pens (all black)
• Pair of rain boots (Who knew October could be so rainy!)
• Another Pair of Tieks (no patterns, already own the grey pair, seriously comfortable shoes! LOVE THEM) 
• Ulta gift cards (because Professional Hair Care that actually does something good to your hair other than build up crap is more expensive than the drugstore)
• A nice gym bag because my high school bag is....well its high school)

This list is not complete and final, it's a draft I'll be working on throughout the next month and a half. So in the meantime, I hope you're inspired to create your own Christmas wish list. :)

Let's Get Personal: Jesus in my Heart

In today’s society and whirlwind of social media, it’s hard to just go about your day and just be you, and just do you. We’re taught somehow that if we don’t get enough likes or comments, our posts just aren’t valuable. If we don’t get his attention or her attention, we’re not worth it. If we don’t become the next top model, the next big band, the next great American author, the next Addy award winner, that our opinion, work and personality aren’t worth knowing.

But that’s not true.

We’re already famous. We’re already known. We’re already applauded.

By our Father.

Francesca Battistelli’s song “He Knows My Name” has been my heart’s song the past month or so.

Spent today in a conversation
In the mirror face to face with
somebody less than perfect
I wouldn't choose me first if
I was looking for a champion
In fact I'd understand if
You picked everyone before me
But that's just not my story
True to who You are
You saw my heart
and made
Something out of nothing

[Chorus:]
I don't need my name in lights
I'm famous in my Father's eyes
Make no mistake
He knows my name
I'm not living for applause
I'm already so adored
It's all His stage
He knows my name oh, oh,
He knows my name oh, oh

I'm not meant to just stay quiet
I'm meant to be a lion
I'll roar beyond a song
With every moment that I've got
True to who You are
You saw my heart
and made
Something out of nothing

[Chorus]

He calls me chosen, free forgiven, wanted, child of the King,
His forever, held in treasure...
I am loved

I don't need my name in lights...
I'm famous in my Father's eyes...

[Chorus]

How cool is that? We don't need to do anything but simply let Him love us. He's chosen us to be where we are, doing what we're doing, with the set skills...and He loves us and knows us by name, so much so, he knows the amount of hairs on our heads. Or, if we're older, how many hairs were on our head. Who would take the time to care about that trivial bit of information? Someone who loves us very deeply.

I don't know that there's a ton of encouragement here, but I hope it's simple enough for it to hit home with someone. Comment below what you're struggling with and let me and others pray for you. If you never tell, we'll never know how to help <3

PfWo Project: House to Home - Painting

As nice as the light yellow walls, and the blue walls, and the purple walls are, it's just not our style. Our goal for the house? An elegant and classy home, with neutrals and shimmer (think Carly Cristman's loft).

So phase one of house to home: Repainting! Our goal is greys and blues.


All the common spaces have gone from yellows to grey.











This was all done the day before Halloween, before we officially moved in. Since then, we've done a lot to the house. I really sucked at posting House to Home updates. I'm working on some more posts, so be sure to keep an eye out for you!


What's your favorite part of remodeling? Comment below!


(Update 11/4/16) All of the pictures have disappeared and I'm not sure why. I will look in to remedying this situation asap!)

Product Review: Quaker Breakfast Flats

I feel like my life has calmed down enough that I’m finally able to accept  VoxBoxes from Influenster again. I usually am on top of accepting their surveys and trying out their products that they send and writing a review. But with how busy life has been recently, I haven't wanted to get busy and forget about doing them!

This last time, I forget what the survey questions were, but the box was a pack of the Quaker Breakfast Flats. I got a cranberry almond flavor. 3 flat bars come per pack.

I ate all 3 within 10 minutes probably as a mid morning snack between breakfast and lunch. They were a bit dry, and makes me wish I had some coconut milk or almond milk to go with it. But they were super tasty, and not as crummy as the Nature Valley bars (where crumbs go EVERYWHERE). I do like them, and with some further research into how healthy they are (for my diet goals, not diet like cutting out food, but changing the diet to healthier options)

Here are the bars peeking out of the package. They were the entire length of the packaging, so well worth what the price would be, I think.

Probably could have cropped this picture, but I wanted to take the picture before I devoured the food, and at work, I didn't have much time to make a nice background.

So, after eating these, I definitely have to say "Thanks!" to influenster for opening the door to a new product I may not have otherwise purchased to try.

Product received complimentary through influenster, I did not pay for the product. Opinions are my own, I am not being asked to provide anything specific other than my opinion.

Get it Right Get it Tight: Kickboxing

Last time we talked fitness, I was raving about Kaia Fit, and how amazing it was and how amazing I felt. I still stand by those statements. It is a great program, however, it's not for me. What I wanted was to gain strength and muscle. What I got was cardio workouts that equaled body shredding of fat and endurance; Not a bad thing at all, just not what I was desiring out of a workout.



So I stopped going. I cancelled my VIP membership and just went line dancing. I lost a lot of endurance I had, and while dancing is great, again, it wasn't doing what I needed to change about my body. I couldn't quite pick up running again. A few things contributed to that. First off, when I was doing squats in Kaia, no one mentioned to not drop your knees over your toes. I had my weight in my heels yes, but my knees had leaned forward over my toes, rather than sitting back like I was sitting in a chair. Secondly, I danced so hard and frequently in the beginning of the year in addition to Kaia, so I think the combination of improper squats and dropping it like it's hot to a few line dancing songs killed my knees.



I've been trying to let my knees heal, but in that song Whiskey Drinking SOB when they say "One step two stepping out on the floor, you pop lock and drop it till you can't anymore" it's hard to not drop it when everyone else around you is. I've gotten better about it. Just need to keep telling myself if I don't stop dropping it, I'm going to have to have my knees replaced. So that's a process.



So, my new form of working out? Kickboxing. One of my coworkers talked about a banging deal for 3 kickboxing classes for $20 ($19.99 if you wanna get technical with it) and a free pair of gloves through ilovekickboxing.com. I thought that it was a good deal and decided to sign up. Well if you go through Yelp.com, there's a deal for 5 classes for $30 and gloves. Groupon is also running a special for the Reno classes. So it's a great way to test and see if you like it.



Sure enough, I did. There's a great grueling 15 minute warm up, which the more I go, the shorter it seems. Following that is stretching, which I think could use a little improving maybe? Its always the same stretches but I don't know what other ones could target the same muscles. And then the rounds begin. Rounds are varied with punches and kicks. Based on ability level, you can control your own workout. You can hit the bag has hard or as soft as you want. A few girls have kicked the bags over. I'm surprised that in the classes I've taken, no man has yet.



After the rounds, there's a short partner workout for a couple minutes, followed by a final round of stretching.



It's a great workout, and I truly enjoy it. I see the type of results I want. I know I'm not getting a ton of strength in my upper body, that would come from the gym and lifting. But I'm happy coming from where I was and getting to where I am. I got a full year membership there. But with all the moving and what not, finances weren't really supporting my working out, so I put it on pause. And Feb 9th, 2016, I made my return. Life had finally calmed down enough to where I can make time to go work out again. And let me tell you, I had forgotten how sore I was. Hoooo baby. I'm feeling it. But, it just means I need to keep on plugging to get back to where I was before I paused. (Can't say I quit, because I'm back!)








I'm really excited for the results I've seen, and excited for what's to come!

Until next time
-S

PfWo Project: Moving Day!

I'll let you in on a secret. I hate moving. I really do. As nice as it might be to some to pack up their life and go through things as they're putting them away nicely, I don't. Trying to pack plates and cups and all that flatware...utterly stressful!

I'm all for tips and tricks and hacks to make moving and packing easier. While I know I have plenty of friends who would probably gladly help me move with their trucks, I'd rather just fork out $80 to rent a UHAUL and put all my stuff and move in one fell swoop.

The day we closed was a Thursday evening, Max and I grabbed our dog, stopped by Jimmy John's, my go to for first meals in new places, and went to the new house and had dinner.

Did I mention it was in the dark because I forgot to schedule the power turn on for that day. Whoops.

Friday, we did a mini move of some items. And we began the painting process.

But Saturday, that was the big move. Happy Halloween to us.

These pictures were taken a couple days before. Max helped with the packing (Thanks to his UPS skills). I was so caught up in directing the move, that pictures were scarcely taken.

The first of the packing began October 25th, 2015.

The living full of boxes for sorting.

 

The bed which was a sorting spot.

 

THIS IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE PACKING HACK! Saves so much time. Just use trash bags to bundle your clothes. Then it's easy to just get them rehung at the next place!

 

Ruger was very concerned that we were going to leave him. Actually, he had no idea. He'd never gone through a move before. After all, he was only about 6 months old. He just had fun hopping in and out and darting around the boxes. That's a collie for you.

 

Amidst the chaos, this was the ONE picture I managed to get on moving day. Max just backed the truck into the front yard of my old place so we could load all right from the door into the truck, which he oh so strategically packed. He was amazing.

 

 

Aside from Max, we had our friend Lance help, and my friend Cody. Great team of people. It didn't take us that long to move, ok, well maybe 3 hours. But we made it in one trip! Oh, the only thing that didn't fit in the Uhaul was my couch, which Lance was able to fit in his truck. And some breakables we could have fit in the Uhaul, but didn't want to because they were breakables.

 

Overall, great easy morning. The hardest part was the unpacking...which to this day, isn't done. We had some other obligation that day where we were gone most of it. And by the time we got home around 9, we had trick or treaters. We ran out of candy...who knew there were that many kids in the new neighborhood?! Yeesh! we'll plan better for next year :)

 

So, guess that's it for now. Until next time...

Let's Get Personal: The Lenten Season

Lent is just for Catholics.
You can't eat meat on Fridays.
You HAVE to give up something luxurious.


These are just a few of the things I have heard over the years regarding Lent. It wasn't until this year, that I decided I wanted to participate in Lent, and know why I was doing it. So I researched, I talked with my friend who researched it. And, I ordered the study book from shereadstruth.com to go through. And so far, today is day 2, but already I've learnt so much.


This season of Lent isn't just giving something up to better yourself. I think it varies from person to person, and thanks to Jesus, we're free to partake, and we're free to not. So I've chosen to give something up that could be considered 'bad' for me, and add something to the 40 days to better my walk with God.


I'm giving up Facebook. I spent A TON of time on there, just wasting time. Scrolling and scrolling and scrolling on my feed to read pointless articles about this news trend, or that cute animal video, etc. When that time could have been so much better spent: with Jesus, cleaning, running, etc. So I won't be on FB until late March. I'm taking that time to grow my relationship with Jesus, to stop letting the world distract me from getting to know my God.


And the addition? I've decided to add a daily gratitude. Philippians is full of "Rejoice" and "joy" so many times, and that key verse most seem to know "Rejoice in the Lord always". So many times at the end of the day, I moan and groan and bitch and gripe about that aspect of work, or this person, or that defendant, or that pooper on the freeway. How much more joy would there be if I stopped focusing on the negative and focused on the positive?

I kind of failed yesterday in my abstaining from Facebook, but, then again I didn't. I popped on real quick to post in the kickboxing group I'm part of asking a question, then only popped on to check the notifications until I got an answer. And then I was off the rest of the day. So we'll see how the rest of the 40 days go.

I'm stoked to see what God's going to do, what I'm going to learn, and how much closer my boyfriend and I will grow, Oh, did I not mention that we're doing this together? He's got the hereadstruth.com version of the Lent study. We've done the Philippians and Colossians together, so it'll be cool, as it was before.

So, are you participating? What are you giving up? Why? Are you adding anything in?

Until next time

-Samantha

PfWo Project: House to Home - The Introduction

I think I'll call this series about the house PfWo Project: House to Home. We'll see how well the title sticks, or if Max likes it too. [Maybe he'll be a guest blogger. Though his blogs are more poetic here's how I feel posts. Less the DIY, Tried it and here's how it turned out, Fashion posts.]

Title derives from our last names. First two initials of our last names, mine being "Pf" and his being "Wo". And then since it's our first house, it'll be how we take it from just a house, to our amazing home. (Eventually the names in the title may change, if I'm lucky!)

So first off, welcome to the PfWo house when we moved in eons ago (Being October 2015). These were the pictures I took on our final walk through before we moved in:

Here's the kitchen and laundry room. Hideous color! Blech.

 

We have plans to remodel this bad boy and make it more efficient. Now after living there 3 months, we have a good idea of what we want to change. (By the way, that handsome devil is Max, the awesome boyfriend I have in my life :))

 

Our living room. Still a weird yellow color. We have since painted the whole house.

 

The unique full bath in the hallway

The tiniest room in the house, it's 8x9. Max and I think we're going to make it workout/prayer room. And we're going to repaint it. But we haven't decided yet which color we're going to.

This is the master. It isn't a horrible color. But we've repainted since we've moved. Look for future posts to see the aftermath.

 

 

This is the unique half bath in the master.

 

Walk in closet in the master. I have since taken over the left side, and Max has the backside.

 

This is the guest room. We've left the color as is so far. And it's also my cat Smidge's room lol.

 

This room will be the office. We're not going to keep the purple color. I've ordered a desk (last week) and I'm assuming Max and I will paint it before the desk gets placed.

 

The house wasn't awful. But does need a little TLC and conversion from the way the previous owners had it, to the way we want it. There are also some big renovation projects to be done: aka big money depleters. But Max and I will work on saving up for those. :)

So until next time...