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Floral Fridays

2.28.2014
My grandma is getting married tomorrow, and she asked my darling sister Rachel to do her flowers. I wanted to go along with her to pick the flowers out and attempt to arrange them, even if I did give up after doing one tiny bouquet to take pictures of the flowers instead. Interesting where our priorities are am I right? Anyway, I love flowers. Can't wait for my own wedding... (did I really just say that?)
Also, these glasses... I'm OBSESSED!! They are prescription :)  I can't take them off of my face. First thing I said when I put them on... "Do I look like a graphic designer?"
Life is good. I love being with all my sissies again. I have missed them so much. 
I hope you all have a good weekend!! 

Logan can be fun

2.23.2014

Hunter and I are pretty much inseparable. This weekend we went to a Mardi Gras dance party, sleepovers, watched Endless Love (so sappy), made healthy dinners, told each other we couldn't talk about our missionaries... that was a challenge, and went to the temple to walk around. Life is good up here in Logan. Hope everyone had a good weekend as well! Wish me luck on my midterms this week. And good luck to any of you that have tests as well!!
ta ta for now.

Addressing Envelopes

2.20.2014
These addresses have been altered, so no... you can not write my boyfriend ;)
You guys, having a missionary definitely does have its advantages. I mean, Who else would I get to send snail mail to? I really love using my handwriting to create art, and I love letters in the mail so this is kind of perfect. I have always loved copying fonts and trying to make my letters look just like the letters in the font. There is something about handwriting that is just much more special than printing an address on a sticker. If any of you need help addressing your letters for a wedding, party, etc. I am your girl! Contact me via email and we will work something out :) 

5 Easy Meals

2.18.2014
Salmon, Tilapia, Kale and Spinach salad with Balsamic, Olive Oil and Honey,
and baked Zucchini and Beets. 
Because my new diet (I'll go more into detail about it later) is focused on healing my body and putting my Auto-immune disease into remission, I am not able to eat a wide range of foods that are hard for the body to digest. Hunter and I have been cooking meals that I can eat. We make alterations to each of our meals so that we both get what we want or need. I can't eat tomatoes, but hunter can, so we add or take away things for each of us. These are a few of the meals we have made. 
Grilled Chicken Salad with Avocado, Celery, Cucumber, Kale, Spinach Romain
and a yummy cinnamon, apple cider vinegar and garlic Dressing. 
Lettuce wrap Burger with tomato (made before I cut out tomatoes), grilled mushrooms, Avocado
and Sweet potato fries. MY FAVE.
Tilapia. Baked Brussel sprouts, Avocado, Cabbage, and Cole Slaw with olive oil and lime. 
Grilled Chicken salad with Kale and Spinach, Avocado, Balsamic and Olive oil with Honey,
Sweet potato fries and pineapple. 

Valentines Weekend

2.17.2014
This weekend I went to Arizona for a soccer tournament to watch my little sister Laura play. Poor girl only got to play one half before she was injured and tore her ACL :( for you sports people you understand just how devastating that is for a soccer player. She was heart broken. 
^^ Baby girl on crutches^^
^^^ We stopped at Hoover Dam on our way home from AZ. Who knew that was there?^^
^^^Even though my Valentine was in Wisconsin this year, he managed to make my day :) ^^^
^^^My elder has been out for SIX MONTHS!!! Please tell me it will go by faster because I am like no.^^^
I hope that everyone had a nice weekend :) I sure did in the 85° weather. It was beautiful and I decided that I will live in California or somewhere sunny this time next year. K maybe not, but I wouldn't mind if that happened.
Thanks for reading. :)
Kar

Valentines Day Package

2.12.2014

You all know Hunter Kofford, well she is the queen of missionary packages, and since I am the worst at sending my boy packages, it was so fun to have a girls night with her a couple of weeks ago to make Valentines for our missionaries. I told Taylor I wouldn't send him treats (he requested I don't so he doesn't feel tempted to eat them all) but it is valentines day and I just had to send him candy anyway.
It has also been 6 months on Valentines Day! 1/4 done. Trying not to think about it, but it seems to have gone by pretty fast!!

In my package:
Chocolate dipped Oreos, drizzled in more chocolate
Kisses
A cake mix, icing and sprinkles to celebrate his 6 months
Candy
Cereal

I'm cheesy I know so I'll say goodbye.
xoxo

Serenity

2.09.2014



Feeling like this prayer could be more beautiful and true in all aspects of my life right now. I hope you all had a great weekend.

***That was a photo collage I did in Photoshop for an art project.

The Paleo Approach

2.08.2014
Recipe found HERE, I substituted chia for eggs, and cashew flour for almond flour :) 

It is a crazy thing that Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism is. I didn’t realize just how damaging it is. I also didn’t realize just how much it runs my life. It determines my plans for the night, because heaven forbid I go out on a night that I have a stomach ache. It determines the kind of clothes I buy. No one wants to wear cute, tighter fitting clothes when your stomach is so bloated and it makes you look pregnant, I literally only wear yoga pants and comfy shirts that aren’t too tight. Anything else irritates my stomach. It affects my non- existent dating life because I can’t eat anything and I am that high maintenance girl that must ensure more than once what exactly is in the food that I am ordering. I often find myself apologizing to those around me saying “Sorry I have to be that girl”. It is to the point now where I don’t trust any restaurant. I don’t want to risk cross contamination and risk losing all progress I have made. Cuddling isn’t comfortable; I would rather not be touched when I feel sick. I can’t sleep at night. My mind races and sometimes even when I am lying in bed trying to relax, I get really light headed and feel like I am going to pass out. It is the weirdest thing. And the worst part of it all; I am a 20 year old girl who eats like a champ and runs 6-7 miles a week (training for a half marathon) and I don’t lose weight, or if I do, it fluctuates from day to night.

 I pay the big bucks for my food because I realize clothes wont save my life, but my diet will. I was staying away from the things that my doctor told me to stay away from because I have allergies to these foods: Dairy, Wheat, Soy, Eggs, Oats, Peanuts, and Almonds. I thought that it would be enough for me to just cut these items out of my diet. But I still don’t feel better.This Auto-Immune disease is bigger than me. I needed help because over the last week or so, I felt like this would be how I would live my life forever, even with the few major changes I have made. (I’ll post all of my symptoms later down the road, still trying to figure out all of my symptoms and record them because man oh man, there are a lot.) It was discouraging and depressing. I thought that as soon as I cut out those few allergies that I had, I would be cured within 2 weeks. Well that is far from what happened. 

I recently called my cousin who is very knowledgeable about the subject and talked to her about my symptoms, and problems facing my Hypothyroidism. She suggested that I read The Paleo Approach: Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body. I only got it in the mail yesterday, but I am so excited of the optimism I have felt since diving in and reading it. It definitely seems overwhelming because I will be on an even stricter Paleo diet called the The Paleo Approach. I took a look at the list of foods that she suggest a person with an auto immune disease cuts out to get on the road to recovery. A lot of the foods she suggest I cut out I was still eating on a daily basis. For instance, I was eating Buckwheat every morning for breakfast because it was quick and easy. I ran out of it all last week and didn’t buy it until last night. I had a nice bowl of Buckwheat for breakfast, but about 20 minutes after I ate it, I felt more bloated than I have in a while. That means no more buckwheat to me. The book has a list of foods to avoid, and I look at the back on the list of foods that could contain gluten and sure enough, Buckwheat was one of the foods that could be cross-contaminated with gluten. You better believe I cut that out of my diet this morning. 

I was wondering why I was working out so hard, and not eating anything I wasn’t supposed to, but still not losing weight like I had hoped. I now can see that I am still feeding my body things that it can’t digest. Beans, peppers, chia seeds, and nuts are a only a few examples of the things that I will be cutting out of my diet starting tomorrow. So I apologize body, I will be better to you from here on out.  I am going to read this book, and start on the Paleo Approach Diet. I am really hoping this is the answer to all of my prayers. 

I have been very fortunate to have supportive people around me during this challenging time in my life. I am thankful for people with more knowledge than me about my Auto-immune disease. They give me hope that I will be able to pull my life together and be happy with how I feel. I am not going to sugar coat these blog posts, so I apologize if you are looking for an uplift to your day. I will try and do that with my posts that aren’t about my Hashimoto’s J. Also, I am still learning everyday. As you can see, just last week I posted about eating Buckwheat. When just today by the way my body reacted to it (Bloating, sharp pains, feeling hungry even when I know I am full) I know that it is now on the list of things that are no no’s for my body. This blog is about my journey and my road to recovery. I am reading and learning about it and talking about it with other people with similar issues, so it is not perfect. Auto-immune diseases are much more complex than just a simple diet change. It is a whole lifestyle change. I.e. learning about ways to cope with stress, necessary things for well-being, taking time for one’s self and much much more. This is just my way of keeping track of what does and doesn’t work for my particular Auto-immune disease. Everyone is different, this is just my approach I know all this talk about Diet isn’t fun for everyone, but I find that it is one of the things I talk about with most people. I can talk for hours about it. I love learning more about lifestyle and Paleo diet and everything to do with it. 

3 Giveaway Winners!

2.07.2014

Our winners for the Wild + Will giveaway are:

1. Brittany Bascom
2. Sydney Gillman
3. Rebecca Nielsen

Email me with your addresses so we can get you your ring!! :) (Click the envelope icon to the right)

Thank you all for playing along :) That was fun wasn't it? We are going to do another giveaway when
Wild + Will gets more letter rings in so I hope everyone enters that one as well!!

Tonight are the opening ceremonies, I am seriously so excited!! I am obsessed with the Olympics. I think I love the Winter Olympics so much because I grew up watching my dad play hockey, I did figure skating, my family lives in a ski town and we are big into skiing. ( Well not so much me... I don't really care too much to be cold) The winter olympics are just too good. I wish they ran for more than two weeks though. I am having some friends over to have an opening ceremonies olympics party :) Nothing better than being social and watching TV for hours. haha.

Thank you all for reading my blog!! Lots of love.
Have a good weekend :) 

Giveaway Update.

2.06.2014
Hey everyone! Thank you for entering our little giveaway! I realized that the K ring I got from Wild + Will was all sold out, and the etsy shop doesn't have any letter rings in right now. My cute sister is working on getting more of those in the shop. I will hold another giveaway when Wild + Will gets more cute letter rings! But thank you all so much for entering, and we will announce the THREE winners Tomorrow!

My First Giveaway!

2.05.2014

Today Keeping Up With Kar is doing its first giveaway ever and I am so excited! This one is sponsored by Wild + Will. It's an Etsy shop with the cutest daintiest rings. Today we are giving away one ring to one random reader. All you have to do is:

1. Follow Wild + Will on Instagram
2. Like Wild + Will on Facebook 
3. Pick out the ring you would want Wild + Will's Etsy shop
4. Leave a comment below on Keeping Up With Kar and tell me the ring you chose :)

It is that easy. Everyone do it! I wear my K ring everyday and I love it. 
Thanks for entering!  I hope you have a good day!
xoxo
kar

White Walls

2.04.2014

I literally feel like the most awkward person behind the camera. But thanks to Hunter for taking these pics of me!

I have been feeling so tired lately. Like I can't fall asleep until two hours after I get in bed. I am seriously confused. Lack of sleep makes me feel all sorts of random emotions that I don't feel usually. Anxiety as well. Thank heavens for Yoga. I have been looking forward to it since Thursday. I get to go tomorrow at 11! Then I am getting my first massage tomorrow evening. It will be a beautiful day and much needed relaxing day. What do you do to stay relaxed and relieve stress? All tips welcome :)

On my mind:
-People that chastise others for watching the Superbowl on a Sunday? I mean come on.
-I actually watched the whole Superbowl. I was bored out of my mind, but I thought that Taylor would be proud.
-I ran a mile and a half today. I wanted to do 2, but I was physically exhausted and hungry.
-Coconut and Avocado are my best friends
-Grocery shopping is one of my hobbies
-My brain is all over the place right now
-Going to Costa Vida because they are a food joint that actually knows what gluten is. I hate it when I am like at a restaurant and I am like "Is this gluten free?" and they ask me what that is. I immediately just say never mind and leave. I just can't risk it!!

Looking forward to my first giveaway!! It will be on Wednesday, so look back on Wednesday to see what you need to do enter!

Love to you all.
xo

Weekend Diary

2.03.2014

This weekend I got together with my cute friend Hunter Kofford from high school. We had a fun girls night and made missionary packages, took pictures and touched up my blog! Do you like it? You can thank Hunter. She did it for me. I have been wanting to fix my blog for a while, but just didn't know how to go about doing it. So thank you Hunter for making my blog look good! I love having girls nights. It has been too long. Also, Hunter makes every other missionaries girlfriend look bad with all of her cute packages. She is a crafty woman. 

I also had my most amazing workout ever on saturday. I ran 3.5 miles. I ran my first two miles in 9 minutes, then I did an arm workout, then I ran a mile and a half on the track. Who said you couldn't split your run up half way through? Next time I'll try to do it consistently, but this week I was honestly bored out of my mind! I hate running at the gym. I would much rather be outside getting fresh air, but I didn't feel like running in the snow, so I opted for the gym. Doesn't hurt that there are buff babes there either. And hey, if that is motivation enough for you, then go for it ;) 

I hope everyone's weekend was lovely. I have a giveaway coming up soon!!! The first giveaway on Keeping Up With Kar!! So check back later this week to see what my surprise is :) You will like it! 

Thanks for reading :) 
xoxo

Discouraged

2.01.2014

I have been feeling discouraged with my results of Hashimotos lately. I blame it on my need to read about the disease (I HATE calling it that...) constantly.
When I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, my doctor told me it might be beneficial to read the book Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal? He also told me to check out the website thyroidbook.com to get a better understanding of what it is that I have, why I have it, where it came from etc. From there I did more research, found blogs, instagram accounts, websites etc. of people who also have Hashimoto's. I looked up a list of celebrities who have it, or something like it... Oprah, Kim Cattrall (SATC), Jillian Michaels... and so forth. I wanted to fully understand it and know about it so when people asked, I would have answers. 
During this research I found that the results I wanted weren't happening as fast as some of the people I was reading about. Many of the stories I found were *Lady felt tired and other symptoms, went to doctor, found out she has Hashimoto's, went on the thyroid pill, felt better three days later.* blah blah. And here I am on the pill, (thyroid replacement 3X a day), on a ridiculously strict diet; No Wheat, dairy, Soy, Corn, Eggs, Peanuts, Almonds, Oats. I take 10 vitamins a day and I am getting so good at doing that, that I swallow them all in one shot. And yet, 4 weeks of this and I still feel about the same. Minus the fact that I have lost three pounds. Which I am grateful for because I have read horror stories about weight loss and Hypothyroidism. Again, another reason I should not compare my progress to anyone else's... This is my realization that I shouldn't worry about what other people are doing, I should just focus on my own progress in overcoming Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism and I will let my body work the kinks out while I am 100% dedicated to doing everything I can to help it on its way.
I just need to be thankful for the progress I have made. I know that my body is healing itself from the inside out. Even though I can't see it, I know that my body is thanking me. Two months ago I never thought I would find out what was wrong with me, so I am so incredibly grateful that I have that all figured out. I will work out the kinks along the way. I guess I just got too excited thinking I would heal in 3 days like people in the success stories I have read about, but my body has who knows how many years of damage from gluten, and other things that it is silly of my to think it would heal that fast. I will continue to learn about Hashimoto's, but not compare myself to other peoples progress.
If  this Auto immune disease is something you have never heard of... maybe check out thyroidbook.com to get more information :)
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