This Side of Perfect

Like many of you, I created a New Year's Resolution. (I know! I know!) I stepped on the scale soon after Thanksgiving and I did not like the number I saw. So, I spent the remaining week of 2019 learning about Keto. What is Keto? Keto, or the Ketogenic Diet, is a diet that focuses on fat, protein, and carbohydrates. While there are variants in the amount of each macronutrient are eaten on the Keto diet, the percentages are typically as follows: fat - 75%, protein - 20%, carbohydrates - 5%. There are a lot of great macronutrient calendars online. I used this one : Should I track? How do I track? In a word: yes. If you don't track, you don't know what you're eating. For me, tracking (and measuring) has helped me get rid of portion distortion . Tracking is as simple as reading a label (no, really ). What you do with that information, is up to you. You can either track via apps ( Carb Manager and My Fitness Pal are two that are used frequently. Spark People

Yes, yes. This is yet ANOTHER New Year post. So what's one more? It's been while since I've brushed off the old "Create New Post" button. It's been so long that Blogger has completely updated their user interface for users (on this side of the screen; I don't think much changes on your end.) The blog has been through yet another overhaul. I just couldn't seem to find the right color combo, but I think a simple green and white suits me just fine. (Odd since my favorite color is red. But I didn't think red translated so well in blog terms. I think simple is best). I've spent all of Christmas break researching. Goal setting. Debt management. Diet. Exercise. Pretty much everything you research right before the new year. Y'all..I know this blog is trite. There's not much I can do about that. I want to stay that I'm knock out these goals and that will be the end of it. But the truth is, I haven't been so great about goal

Happy summer! I trust most everyone in the county is out for the summer? For those outside of the county, when does your summer begin? If you're subscribed to This Side of Perfect (thank you!), you've might have noticed that TSOP has gone through a few changes. It's been a process. I've been playing around with colors and format for the past month or so. I think I've finally settled on a theme. I like it. I hope you do, too. I hope it is gentle, but pleasing to the eye. I hope that as I slowly add elements to the blog, you're able to find what you're looking for. And if you ever have any questions or comments, please feel free to comment below or (if you prefer) email me. I'll get back to you promptly. 4 Ways to Plan for a Successful Summer Break Obviously, updating my blog isn't the only way I've been planning my summer break. I've actually created a list. I'd like to share with you six ways you can plan for summer. 1.  Res

Five years ago, Marie Kondo published a book called, The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up . It seemed as if all of my friends were picking it up and reading it, so naturally, I followed suit. And then, I was really excited to learn that Netflix had picked up her series and it seems like Marie is making a second go around. In fact, Baby Girl and I were at Books-a-Million Saturday and the what should smack us in the face as soon as we walked in but a display of Kondo's book. (She actually has two, but for the purpose of this post, I will refer to her first.) So, is it really all that it's cracked up to be? You don't have to search very far to see bloggers talking about it. Vloggers and YouTube stars are talking about it. (Word on the street, now is the choice time to do some thrift shopping at GW's or Savlos - Good Will and Salvation Army, respectively).  In a word, it has completely changed how I think about my belongings. Is my house tidy and kept up? No. As

Hello, friends. Long time no type, eh? I know. I know. It seems like at the start of every year, I spend the first couple of blog posts apologizing for not writing more frequently. (Assuming that 34 readers I have are still reading, that is. You are all still out there, aren't you?) For real, please comment below so I know the comment feature is working. Even if it's just a "Hey! Happy Monday!" So, yes. Let me begin by apologizing for not being consistent in my writing. I really have no excuse. Not really. I could say life kind of got in the way (it did). I could say that I was too busy (I was busy, but not *too* busy). Now, friends, if I were being completely honest (and I always am), I wasn't putting priority on my writing. And there it is. The ugly truth. And I could whine and moan about how life is just too hard and it's too hard to write, but that wouldn't be entirely truthful. Sure, life *can* be unfair and yes, it is hard to write. But it&

Use Freedom Filer for all of your home, office, and school filing needs If you've found this blog post, it means one of two things: 1. I invited you here via some form of social media. 2. I used the right tags and Google led you here. Either way, thank you for taking the time to click over and read what I have to say. While I haven't let you into my life completely on this blog in the past, this year that will change. This year, I commit to being honest and unapologetic for who I am. And it's time you all knew who I am. I am a very disorganized person. No, no. It's true. I've had make shift systems in place for years that have fallen by the way side. On occasion, a few have stuck. For example, I have a laundry schedule that is pretty solid. When I use it, that is. As I type this, I've had "fold and put away laundry" on my to do list for ... well, almost all of Christmas break. Another system that I used was a clip system for my bills.

This is the third installment of my homeless series that I wrote several years for the holiday season. It's not the holidays - YET. But you know it will be here soon. ABC Family has their 31 Days of Halloween and then Hallmark will begin their Christmas movies on November 1st. It's coming guys and it seems like it gets earlier every year. So, without further ado - Part III. Okay, by now, you're probably thinking - what were you thinking? Why didn't you get help? Why didn't you ask your family for help? First, if you've ever received help from the community, know this: getting help around the holidays is really hard. That's why I encourage anyone who gives, to give especially well during the holidays - your efforts will not go unnoticed. Second, and it's only now that I can vocalize this - I was really messed up as a young adult. I was never one for drugs or heavy alcohol use (alcohol doesn't agree me...and I don't care for it much