The Little Miss:: Maddie

In the last week of May, I started "nannying" this precious little girl two days a week. I had been working five days a week at State Farm and doing photography during the evenings and weekends, but I was feeling the need to shake things up a bit. Anyone who knows me knows that sitting at a desk all day is beyond challenging for me. I'm a child at heart and I would much rather be out having adventures than being a responsible adult. But, as life continues to fly by, the fact that I can no longer spend my hours daydreaming and pretending has become impossible not to accept. I still long to fill my days with laughter and fun, however, so when the opportunity presented itself to change up my schedule and spend two days a week playing and laughing and exploring with a sweet little 13 month old, I couldn't resist. I checked and rechecked my budget, worked with my boss to rearrange my hours at State Farm to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and took on my nannying position Tuesday and Thursday. I also took on a SEO job that I can work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help supplement some income (and still fill up my photography schedule as much as possible!). And I have absolutely LOVED it. It has been the perfect mixture for me of working my "adult" job, and doing something I am passionate about. I've loved being home more (and actually working to keep my house cleaned and somewhat organized - yay!), and I have absolutely fallen in love with the precious Little Miss: Maddie. Here are a few, or maybe more than a few, pictures of our time together. Maddie has been a huge blessing - she is so much fun to take care of, and we love playing all day long. Maddie is always ALL smiles, and she loves to snuggle up and read some books.

I've loved every second I've sent with this girl so far, and I plan on enjoying every second that I have left to spend with her! She'll be back to spending her days with Grandma once school starts up again in August - and while I know that will be very special for her AND for Grandma, I will definitely miss our days together!

On a side note - IT'S THE MIDDLE OF JULY! How did the year fly by so quickly?! It has been quite a year so far for me, and I hope it's been a great year for you too, whoever you are!

Thanks for reading.

Kortney Alacyn

Sore Throat Remedy

My sister Taylor and I bought our first house three years ago this summer. What are an eighteen year old and a nineteen year old doing buying a house, you may ask? Well. It seemed like a good idea, and I'd have to say so far it has been. We have a three bed, two and a half bath home on the east side of Colorado Springs. It's in a really great location, in an adorable neighborhood, and we fell in love the moment we walked through the door. We love doing home improvement projects, and in the last three years we've done quite a few. Some of the bigger ones being replacing the carpet, and laying hardwood floors. We have painted almost every wall at least once, added brick to the back wall of the kitchen, and spent countless hours working in our yard. We LOVE being homeowners.

 (thanks to my parents and good friend Chris we've got beautiful hardwood on most of our main floor)

My Dad (who happens to be the greatest man I've ever met) has been a continual blessing as we've hit snags (broken toilets, broken washer/dryer, strange bugs, ceilings bubbling up, etc.) and wanted projects done that exceeded our skill level. We definitely couldn't have survived the last three years without him. Or my Mom, for that matter, who has also been a huge blessing and has tons of knowledge including how to clean things I never thought about cleaning before. I'm so blessed.

ANYWAY. I tell you all of this simply to say that the one upgrade we've yet to do is installing A/C. So, throughout the warmer months of the year, we open our windows through the night in hopes of coaxing a cool breeze into our home. Sometimes this works great, sometimes we lay under our fans and sweat.

I've been sleeping with my fan on me and my windows open since late April. The result being that I wake up with a dry throat every morning(apparently I breathe through my mouth when I sleep..yikes). The last couple weeks it's been getting unbearably sore, and so I decided to ask my fave DC for some advice. "Gargle liquor." Two words I never thought I'd hear used in the same sentence. Yeah.... Well, I finally got up the courage to give it a shot, and it's just as unpleasant as it sounds. But it's been helping. It not only kills bacteria, after it stops burning it has an almost numbing effect for a while. I'm only on day two of this, but I'll keep you posted for how it goes. I'm also all stocked up on my vitamins (d, fish oil, b, zinc, probiotics) and will probably start taking garlic before bed.

thanks for reading.

The Beginning

Alright online world - here we go! I've decided to commit to being healthier. And I mean TRULY healthier. I've also decided to document my journey, my transition into a different life style - which I'm sure will have it's ups and downs.

Where I am:

I am 21 years old
I work two jobs - State Farm Insurance, Kalos Photography
I own a house, a car, and two dogs (Kodiak and Stark)
I live with my sister, Taylor, and a roommate
I go to church at Trilakes Church of Christ

My current "health" routine: 

I get a chiropractic adjustment once a week
I sometimes take my vitamins
I try to drink a lot of water, but I don't keep track of how much
I try to get 8 hours of sleep most nights
I do a workout here and there - nothing routine
I stress a lot
I get headaches from sitting at a desk and working on a computer/my laptop all day
I gain weight easily and it ranges from 117-124lbs regularly
My skin is bad
I don't plan my meals, and I eat out a lot
I drink too much cherry coke
I adversely react to excessive amounts of gluten and dairy


My First Goal:

Make a schedule/plan
 I want to plan out my weekly meals, a daily workout routine, and I want to start keeping track of how much water I drink each day. I want to start with a dietary cleanse/detox. I want to start each day off with time in my bible/praying.

Bed time for now - tomorrow a whole new life starts!

Living Simply