Hi everyone! I am so sorry for the disappearance….again. Between school, moving into my new home and working I have had zero time to come here and write about my adventures and what has been going on in my life! We’re already almost finished with December and into the year 2023! It’s amazing and crazy to see how fast time flies sometimes. I hope everyone has been enjoying the festive holidays and keeping safe and being healthy. I just wanted to stop by and hopefully write more in the next upcoming weeks! Until next time (:
holiday
The Last of the Tea 🍵
The journey of my tea advent calendar has finally come to an end. I finished the last of the teas. I enjoyed this advent calendar more so than the traditional chocolate ones. One of the reasons is because each day was something new to try and look forward to. A new flavor and a new saying that goes with each one.
- Day 13 – wild apple & cinnamon – From old orchards apples come with sweet and spicy cinnamon. Perfect Christmas heaven.
- Day 14 – peppermint & licorice – Minty cool, sweet with delight. The perfect post feast treat.
- Day 15 – lemongrass & ginger – Herbs to bring a little Christmas zing to your day- a lemony kick to stir your soul.
- Day 16 – relax – Find a quiet moment. Let marshmallow root and chamomile flowers be your gentle calm.
- Day 17 – Chamomile vanilla & manuka honey – dusky vanilla infused chamomile. Sweet manuka to bring a smile.
- Day 18 – licorice & cinnamon – Cinnamon and cacoa- sweeter still with licorice. No more heavenly brew than this.
- Day 19 – tulsi clarity – For when all is frantic. Let sacred herbs bring clarity to your Christmas.
- Day 20 – three chamomile – Sit back on a bed of flowers. Chamomile will let the hours gently flow.
- Day 21 – cleanse – Here is a tea of cool mint green. Sparkle and glow with a Christmas sheen.
- Day 22 – after dinner – Tea for after dinner.
- Day 23 – three licorice – As sweet as sweet can be with three forms of licorice blended beautifully for tea.
- Day 24 – three fennel – Only Santa need be awake. These are the herbs to magic you to Christmas Day.
I hope everyone had a safe and amazing Christmas. With New Years on the way stay safe, celebrate and ring in the New Year! To trying new things, and always looking forward to new things.
Freshly-cut Christmas trees smelling of stars and snow and pine resin— inhale deeply and fill your soul with wintry night.
– John J. Geddes
Tea of the Day!
Day 4
Todays tea was, Pukka English Breakfast tea! I added a little bit of milk and had it in my Christmas mug. The saying today was :
At this time of year, breakfast should be special as this tea!
💚 Kat
Happy Holidays!
Let the festive Spirit…Begin!
I hope everyone has been having a fun, safe and happy year. This is my favorite season to celebrate. The festivities of Halloween leading into Thanksgiving, celebrating Christmas and then ringing out the New Year. So many events packed into just a few months. Celebrating Christmas has always been a festive and cheerful time for my family. My family has always liked to give small gifts or tokens through the month of December. This year I was gifted an advent calendar but with a twist: Tea. I love tea, and my mom actually found an advent calendar that has a different tea every day. Now, I can try out different flavors of tea and buy them if I like it. Each day of tea also gives a small saying behind it, which is cute. I was also gifted some comfy socks and a sloth ornament!
What are some of your Christmas Holiday traditions?
- Herbs to help you feel like new for mornings after or nights before. Day 1
- Cool mint and delicate rose. Perfect partners for a winter’s day. Day 2
- This is the cup that’s the carol singer’s friend. Sing loud with herbs that ease and tend. Day 3
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”
― Edith Sitwell
Happy Valentines Day ❤
Love doesn’t make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”
– Franklin P. Jones
January 18th 2021
“The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
I am imPRESSED
Being in the military and working EMS, I use my hands ALOT. From turning wrenches to helping patients, my nails always become chipped or smashed. I like to have nice looking nails because it makes me feel good and a lot of people would be seeing my hands. I used to just paint my nails with regular nail polish, but then they would chip and look a little ragged.
I ended up trying the gel or shellac manicures. I loved these because not only did they come in a variety colors (which helped me stay within military regulations) but they also ended up saving my nails. I say saved because I would smash my fingers or get them caught and the nail underneath the gel would be saved. I would be able to peel the gel off and still have a whole nail left, cracked and split nails are so painful. While I did love the gel nails, there were some cons to them. I would have to get them done every 2-4 weeks because your nails grow out and so does the gel. The cost of gel nails became to costly and the cost began to add up. They also made my nails weak underneath, mine felt flimsy and thin.
When I started the Reserves after active duty and started my EMS career, I ended up trying different false nails. I personally was never into the longer acrylic nails because I didn’t like how they felt. I wasn’t able to work properly with them on so I needed a more natural short nail when possible. With the Kiss imPress nails, I had so many choices to choose from. They are also sold at many stores including Target, Walmart, Walgreens and Kroger. Since they’re inexpensive, have fun designs and don’t tear up my nails I can constantly change my nails if I would like.
Pros:
- They last anywhere from 1-3 weeks
- They have many colors, styles, sizes to choose from, even for you toes! I love the holiday styles, especially Christmas.
- They don’t ruin your nails. Click HERE for a step-by-step process.
- They are durable and can withstand tough situations, and can even save your nails.
- They look cute.
Cons:
- -If the Kiss imPRESS nail isn’t aligned properly with your nail it may feel uncomfortable and eventually pop off.
- Sometimes when they wear down, when you comb your fingers through your hair it can get caught in the nail.
Overall, my imPRESS-ion of these nails are they feel healthier in the long term for your nails if you want to wear fake nails. I have been wearing these for over a year now and I absolutely love them. They last about 3 weeks for me when I’m working in EMS and on military duty. For military duty I like to use the French tip nails because they are within the regulations for nails. When I want to feel festive I try to find the Halloween styles or the Christmas ones.
Happy New Year
Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021?
This year has been a whirlwind of emotions for myself and I’m pretty sure the same for a lot of people. This year was filled uncertainty, fear, loss but also with love and determination to get through it. It was tough and filled with many ups and downs. From the happy times of graduating Navy Corpsman school, getting a new EMT job, being able to visit Chris a few times, being overly excited about becoming an Auntie to my friends having babies, finally finishing up my Associates in Fire Technology all while still being able to celebrate holidays with family and keeping our health including Rex. Some of the heartbreaking times of this year for me was losing my beloved Monkee after 15 years, seeing the world become sick and dying. It has been a year of stress, no doubt. I have grown and and I will continue to grow in 2021. Another year to love and learn.
Some goals for next year:
- Keep positive even in trying times.
- Continue to learn
- Be accepted into Nursing school
- Keep getting healthier
- Work more and be more dedicated to my blog
- Get back into streaming video games
- Still continue to keep myself and my family’s health a priority
- Go hiking and adventuring more
Today on New Years Eve, I will be sitting back doing a movie marathon with Chris and the family all while ringing in the new year quietly and safely with dinner and champagne. What are some of your goals or resolutions for the New Year? Happy New Year’s everyone! May you stay safe and positive. See you in 2021!
💚 Kat
“I hope you realize that every day is a fresh start for you. That every sunrise is a new chapter in your life waiting to be written.”
– Juansen Dizon
Happy Thanksgiving 2020
“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”
– John F. Kennedy
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you were able to enjoy a day filled with laughter, love and delicious food. I know 2020 has been a rough year for us all but I am thankful for my family, loved ones and friends. Stay safe everyone, the New Year is just around the corner. 💚
Happy Veterans Day 11/11/20
I think of every Veterans day as a time to relive the memories I have had in the U.S Navy. I love to reflect on what I learned, the family I made and the memories that I will always cherish. There were times where I wanted to give up and just get of the Navy, but I pushed through them and became the woman I am today. I am thankful for everyone I have met on this journey so far and I can’t wait to see what’s still in store for me. Seven years down, many more to go! Thank you to all my brothers and sisters who I have had the honor of serving with.
Love ya’ll,
HM3 (SW) Kat
“A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace.“
President Theodore Roosevelt
Katie Writes 