Tommorow I start my 21 day cleanse! I am really excited and actually looking forward to it! Today I am going to make a trip to Whole Foods and get my groceries. My plan is to never feel hungry or deprived. Some of the things I am going to try actually sound pretty yummy. I am so excited that my husband is going to join me in his own way. If anyone knows him, you know that he doesn't like to change things up too much. He has packed a ham sandwich in his lunch every day for the entire 12 years we have been together! His contribution is to give up pop, caffeine and alcohol for 21 days. I am so proud of him. If you'll recall (check out my post from 4/24/11) the cleanse suggests no sugar, caffeine, alcohol, glueten or animal products for the 21 days. I'll keep you posted on how it is goes. Wish me luck:)

In honor of the royal wedding and to wish Will and Kate the best...what would be your advise to them? A young couple with intense media scrutiny trying to make their way in the world or to any couple for that matter. The advise I always remember is one I read from Kevin Bacon, yes, Footloose Kevin Bacon.  

"Keep the fights clean and the sex dirty." 


Also, my wonderful cousin Amy posted on her Facebook a question about what your royal wedding guest name would be... Start w/Lord or Lady. Your first name is one of your grandparents' names. Your surname is the name of your first pet, then finish with the name of the street you grew up on. William and Kate proudly welcome

Lady Dorothy Miss Kitty of 7th Avenue.  

to the royal wedding!

What advise would you give Will and Kate and what would your royal wedding name be?

Today I spent the day with my family...My mom, sister, 2 nieces and 3 great-nieces. 4 generations of women. A house full of females and my husband Matt (poor thing but he handled it just fine!) I am blessed that we were all able to get together and enjoy each other's company. We haven’t always been close, and have definitely had our ups and downs, but as I get older I am learning to forgive and accept. Not always an easy thing to do is it?

We ate a yummy, filling meal, had an egg hunt, played cards and flew a kite. This Easter, decide to change, to be reborn, to think about something in a new way. It's not easy but anything worth it never is. Happy Easter and May God Bless you!

Beginning in May I am going to start the Quantum Wellness Cleanse. Don't worry, this cleanse isn’t one of those crazy things where you only drink pickle juice and eat Ritz crackers or something. For 21 days, it asks that you refrain from caffeine, sugar, gluten, animal by-products (yes that includes dairy and meat) and alcohol. For the most part, these are things that aren’t really good for our bodies anyway! I am hoping this will help with my Crohns disease and give me more natural energy, as well as kick-off a more natural approach to my diet and life! The cleanse is not rigid at all, allowing for mistakes and doing only what you can and not being hard on your self. If anyone would like to get the book (I got mine at the library) and try it with me, it might be fun! Gasp! You say? That's the response I keep getting from everyone.  I tell myself if I can't
control what I put in my own body for 21 days, do I control anything in my life? Visit www.kathyfreston.com for more information on the cleanse. She does advocate for vegetarianism and veganism but I feel she is very matter of fact and non judgmental about it. Let me know what you think! It's only for 21 days!

Living with an invisible disease is strange. It's like you have one foot in everyone else's world and one in your own. When you look just fine on the outside, it's hard to explain why you need to sit down because your body is so weak and exhausted. When everyone is scoping out their menu at a restaurant, you are scoping out the nearest bathroom and stressing on what you can eat with out looking, well, odd for not ordering anything. I have Crohn's disease. My body literally fights itself within my intestinal lining and the symptoms are just not fun enough to talk about. And sometimes the hardest part is the fact that there is no cure. I take very expensive medicine...I mean EXPENSIVE, even with insurance, just to try and make the time between flare-ups as long as possible. So when people hear I have a flare-up, they often say "Aren't you taking your medicine?" Well, yes, but like I said, there is no cure, just pills that hopefully keep me healthy for longer periods of time.  When I am sick, I always tell myself "this too shall pass." But the scary thing is when I am healthy, I know that "this too shall pass" as well. Either way, sometimes I feel like I just can't win.

Visit www.ccfa.org for more information about Crohn's and colitis.

Hello Blog Friends! It's been a while. I am embarrassed to say I misplaced my password to get into this site, so I have been unable to blog for a while. I finally reset it, so I am back!  Aren't you just so excited! I keep all my passwords in a special spot, but just hadn’t put my blog one there yet! It gets so frustrating to have to have a password for EVERYTHING! Why does Jiffy Peanut Butter need a password, for crying out loud! Just kidding, I know they need them but sometimes it just gets a little crazy. QUESTION TIME: Has anything been crazy in your life lately? I sure could go on and on...but we'll save that for another day, another blog.

My most amazing grandmother, Dorothy Mae Schlairet Kempton, otherwise known as MomMom, will turn 94 on April 15. Born in 1917 (1917!!!) in Mt. Vernon, Ohio to Mary Margaret Denni
 (who came to the States from Germany) and EA Schlairet.

MomMom married my Pop (Elmer Sylvester Kempton) on August 8th, 1939 and they were married for nearly 60 years (60 years!!!) before he passed away in May of 1999 (Miss you Pop.)  They have 8 children together (and too many grandkids, great grandkids, and great-great grandkids to count!)

Last year I had a charm made with MomMom's fingerprint. We had an interesting time getting it done. First I had to boil a little dab of wax, and then MomMom would push her finger on it before it cooled completely. We did a few takes before we got it just right.  I then sent it away and got this amazing piece of jewelry (the picture doesn't do it justice.) I can always keep MomMom close to my heart!  I have always been amazed by her strength and ability to make me feel loved, even when I made mistakes in my life. I put this post up before her birthday in hopes that you'll help me out...If you are feeling oh-so generous with your time...I would love for you to send her a birthday card. Her address is:
Dorothy Kempton 303 1/2 East Hamtramck St.  Mt. Vernon, OH 43050. 
Happy 94th Birthday MomMom. You are loved.

Lately I have been finding some really amazing deals using a wonderful website. If you’re looking to save some money in these crazy economic times visit www.hip2save.com. My friend Gretchen clued me in on this website (Thanks Gretchen!) What makes it so nice is that they do all the work for you when it comes to finding a bargain!  Simply sign up to receive their emails or “like” them on Facebook. You’ll get a list of bargains quite often. Click on the bargain that you want to take part in. It tells you the store to shop at if it’s on sale as well as a direct link to any coupons that help you save even more.  They also share any freebies that companies are giving away & deals that restaurants are having. In the last 2 weeks I have gotten a FREE bag of Iams dog food, a dog dental bone, a dog bandana, a $5 gift card to Starbucks, a makeup bag with full size samples from Target and 2 free deodorant samples. All of these came with high value coupons as well. I learned through this website that Target has their own coupons that can be stacked with manufacturers coupons, so you can save even more. I paid .36 cents for a 20 count bottle of Excedrin by doing this! Excedrin is my go-to cure for my migraines, so I printed the coupon off twice and got 2 bottles at that price! The thing to remember is to only take the time signing up for things and printing coupons you will actually use. It can become very addicting when there is a great deal to be had, but if it isn’t something you would normally buy anyway, don’t waste your time and money! There is a new show on TLC called Extreme Couponing. This show is about hoarding and materialism, NOT about sensible savings. Groupon.com is another great way to save on area restaurants, venues and experiences. Thanks again Gretchen for being an inspiration to sensible savings! Gretchen’s website is www.liveonadimeorless.weebly.com
QUESTION TIME! What steps have you taken to save money in today’s economy?

Recently I have been getting a ton of free things by signing up through www.hip2save.com This awesome website is great for connecting you to amazing coupons and free things. For a girl who loves a bargain, it can't be beat! I will be sharing more about my adventures into couponing later this week. I thought I would share one of my recent free goodies with you for being so supportive during my first week of blogging. All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question: If you were stranded on an island, what three things would you bring? I would bring a Starbucks, a Target and it's a tie between my dog or my husband:) Comment here and I will randomly pick someone tommorow. I will follow up with an email to the winner to get their mailing address & send it out. You can get an extra entry by posting on your Facebook about my blog.(The more followers the better!) Just leave another comment that you did so. Thanks and good luck!