Is Vodka Yeast Free?

So today's Friday right? No? Okay then..

Ever since I've started my new job, I have been eating like absolute crap. We go out for lunch pretty much everyday and most of the time, our lunches look like mine did yesterday:

 

Then when I get home, Paul and I usually go out to eat because I'm in no mood to cook or we have nothing that looks remotely appetizing in the refrigerator.

I'd like to not look like a relative of Honey Boo Boo come summer so I've been looking for a way to eat better and lose weight in the process. Yesterday, I was doing my daily stalking and saw that Stephanie was doing something pretty fabulous. She was inviting people to go yeast free with her for 30 days. It was like she knew I was looking for a change. I swear.

Stephanie went yeast free in 2010 and lost 20 lbs by doing so.. Uh, sign me up! So.. I did just that. I went here and signed up for the 30-day yeast free challenge. It's free and you receive food guidelines, grocery lists, recipes and meal plans which I really need because I have no idea how to eat yeast free.

I do know that alcohol isn't allowed though (insert hysterically crying face here) and giving up vodka I can handle.. but wine?! DON'T TAKE MY WINE!! .. but it's only 30 days! And who doesn't love a good challenge?

 Famous last words? Probably.

So now I'm inviting you all to join too! The challenge starts Monday so we have all weekend to eat Pizza Bites and drink extra large margaritas. It'll be fun.. and we'll look extremely sexual in our bikinis.

Now go visit Stephanie because she's a yeast free expert and I have no idea what I'm talking about.. BUT I will in 30 days!

Jackson's Story

Recently, I've been in contact with a high school friend of mine who asked me to pass along some information about a very special 2 year old boy in his life. If you could just take some time to read about Jackson and maybe pass this along, I'd be incredibly thankful.

Jackson has a very rare skin disease, about 50 out of 1 million child births are diagnosed with generic EB with only 5% of them having Jackson's condition.

Epidermolysis Bullosa is a group of genetic conditions that cause the skin to be very fragile and to blister easily. Blisters and skin erosions form in response to minor injury or friction, such as rubbing or scratching. The signs and symptoms of this condition vary widely among affected individuals. In mild cases, blistering may primarily affect the hands, feet, knees, and elbows. Severe cases of this condition involve widespread blistering that can lead to vision loss, disfigurement, and other serious medical problems.

Researchers classify dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa into three major types. Although the types differ in severity, their features overlap significantly and they are caused by mutations in the same gene.

Autosomal recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, Hallopeau-Siemens type (RDEB-HS) is the most severe, classic form of the condition and is what Jackson suffers from. Affected infants are typically born with widespread blistering and areas of missing skin. Most often, blisters are present over the whole body and affect mucous membranes such as the moist lining of the mouth and digestive tract. As the blisters heal, they result in severe scarring. Scarring in the mouth and esophagus can make it difficult to chew and swallow food, leading to chronic malnutrition and slow growth.

Additional complications of progressive scarring can include fusion of the fingers and toes, loss of fingernails and toenails, joint deformities that restrict movement, and eye inflammation leading to vision loss. Jackson will eventually have webbed feet and hands and his armpits could even fuse together. He is completely “mummified” with bandages to prevent his skin from rubbing off.

Sadly, Jackson is in need of a few items that insurance will not cover. His parents have created a Save Jax fundraiser on an online fundraiser site known as razoo.com

Jax’s personal site is: https://www.razoo.com/br/causes/Savejax-Holiday-Fundraiser in which people can donate money directly to him.You can donate any denomination, which will directly help Jackson's family buy him the items he’s in need of.

Jax's family also has sites set up for “Jackson’s Story” at http://www.savejax.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/savejax

Just passing this along could really help Jackson and his family. Thanks guys.

To Whom It May Concern:

Dear Michigan,

             I just wanted to thank you for making my commute to work so enjoyable this morning. I loved having to dig my car out of 3 feet of snow in below freezing temperatures, just to get stuck again and have some toothless stranger laugh at me. The ride to work was also pleasant.. I couldn’t see a thing so I followed a tractor trailer and just hoped that he wasn’t driving off a cliff. Thankfully, he wasn’t. The broken windshield wiper was just an added bonus.

            I’m hoping you can sense my sarcasm here. If it wasn’t for your beautiful summers and craft beers, you and I would no longer be friends.

Sincerely,

Cortney

PS. The only cute thing about you right now is Remi.

Super busy at work today for some reason so this little letter will have to do.. Hopefully pictures of Remi eating snow makes up for it. Keep warm everybody. Is it June yet?

New Year's Recap

Whenever I'm having a good time, I forget to take photos. I don't know if I actually forget or if I'm just too busy hanging out with my vodka/soda to get my really expensive camera phone out and snap a few.. which probably explains why I took a total of two pictures on New Year's Eve.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I must've been having an exceptionally good time because I didn't even Instagram them until today. We actually had a pretty low key New Year's compared to others that I've had in the past but with the hang over I had on Wednesday, you would never think so. Woof. I guess just another sign that 26 year old me could never hang with 21 year old me.

PDiddy and I had his brother and his wife over for dinner and drinks.. Except I forgot to eat and just drank a bottle of champagne instead. Oops. Fast forward to midnight (which we spent inside a cab.. romantic.) and we went to a couple places down town where I thought vodka & Red Bull was a good idea. It wasn't. RBV's = death. We did witness a good chick fight though which was pretty amusing. Saw a lot more vagina than I would've liked to but I guess vagina just happens sometimes.

I spent all of New Year's day recovering on my couch with Netflix and discovered Orange is the New Black.. and again, saw a lot more vagina than I would've liked to. I don't think I moved once.. unless playing Candy Crush counts.. then I moved a lot.

Welp, TGIF folks. I'm about to do a whole lot of nothing this weekend and I'm actually pretty excited about it. See ya Monday.

Happy Hang Over.

Feel better.

Champs Is Important At All Times

Happy New Year!!   I'm being domesticated and cooking dinner for PDiddy and his siblings tonight.. then going out and drinking my weight in champagne.
& this is the first time in probably 5 years where I've actually had a plan before midnight.  









  Hoping everyone has a fun (& safe) night! Kiss somebody cute.

2013: Instagram Edition

I can't believe it's the end of the year already.. where does the time go? 2013 started out amazingly! I had a new love and a new life, living with the guy that I wanted to marry for the very first time. I started this blog in March in order to kind of keep a journal of our life together because I was so happy that I wanted to document it all. Then April came, and that meant that Remi entered our lives and things got a little cray. We love her to pieces though so all that puppy stuff is okay.. and I can now sympathize with the dad in the Beethoven movies. Then, July happened, my heart broke a little and I stopped writing because of reasons that will make me cry to talk about so I'm just going to skip that and show you pictures! Pictures of January-today.. before LTAV/during/hiatus time and now

How's that for a photo dump?

 

Happy New Year's everyone! Hope 2014 is your best year yet!