Sunday Social, Part Two.

Last week, I participated in my first Sunday Social. It was pretty fun, so I decided to do it again! Here are the questions for this week. If you decide to participate, here is the link-up for Sunday Social. Its a great way to meet fellow bloggers + share your interests!

01. What are 3 items you can't live without on a daily basis (water, food, shelter, and clothes don't count). My Erin Condren Take Note! Notebook/Planner, iPhone, + fun, colorful pens!

02. What is your all-time favorite book? Why? I really love Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. I've read it over a dozen times since I was seventeen - there is such a strong connection to the characters + their lists. Oh, the lists. Read the book + you'll see what I mean. There is a film as well, which I also love.

03. What is something you'd like to accomplish before the end of 2012? I would really love to secure a full-time job, either in the field of writing or teaching. I love both dearly, but at the moment, my luck hasn't been so wonderful. Everything happens for a reason, though, so I try not to stress about it. 

04. If you could go back and relive any year of your life which year would it be? Gosh, I don't know. Maybe I've seen Back To The Future one too many times, but changing anything, even if it is minuscule, could result in catastrophic events. But, if I could change things without altering my current reality, I would relive the year, starting in November 2007.

05. What do you wish people knew about you without you having to tell them? I wish people would stop asking me if I am applying for teaching job, or teaching related positions. The answer is yes, I apply for at least three jobs per week. I am still in grad school, so I have to apply to places that are within an hour drive from my school, so I don't miss class. I feel like this is something I address at least three times per month. 

Sponsor Spotlight.

Friday has finally arrived! I can't wait to test out my new camera, celebrate my friend Irene snagging a full-time teaching job + to get some schoolwork done. Yes, I am looking forward to academia. Crazy, right? I wanted to introduce you all to a few new sponsors on the blog before I am MIA for the weekend.

Kaitlyn, Wifessionals

Hey everyone! First off, I want to give a huge thank you to Michele for having me here today (: I recently started Wifessionals after I found myself in a completely new life from what I've been used to. I just married the man of my dreams, who happens to be in the Army. A week after we got married, we packed up everything in Nashville and moved all the way out to The Middle of Nowhere, Arizona. It's been a big change and I REALLY miss the South, but it doesn't look like I'll be headed back any time soon! We just found out we're now moving to Colorado!

I post everything from:

Delicious recipes - The crazy world that is the Army - Mishaps with our new boxer puppy - Fashion tips and tricks - The highs and lows of daily life - Random ridiculousness - Tips to save money - SO much more!

Basically, these are my confessions of being a wife....or rather, Wifessionals. So come stop by and say hello! I love meeting new people. I'd especially love to hear from you if you know anything helpful about my new home in Colorado!!

You can also find Kaitlyn over at Pinterest.

J, An Unstyled Life

Hey, y'all! I'm J and I blog over at An Unstyled Life. I'm a part-time bail bondsman, a full-time event planner, a full-time social media manager and a full-time wife and momma. *deep breath* I mostly blog about our life, but I've been known to blog about trashy reality shows (I'm addicted!), maybe a little fashion, and pretty much anything that strikes my fancy. I love finding new blogs, so come say hi so I can visit yours!

You can also find J over on Facebook, Pinterest + Twitter. 

Make sure to swing by and say hi to these sweet gals. If you are interested in sponsorship, head over to the sponsor page.  

Teach Me Something Thursday, Volume Two.

The second post in the TMST series comes from my pal Sally, a Classical Pilates instructor, mom, wife and pen pal coordinator (seriously, she's the girl behind our pen pal brigade I talk about on the blog + Instagram). Her blog, forwardfromtheheart, is my go-to when I'm in need of a dose of wellness + warmth. Today, Sally teaches us how to properly stretch the neck, in order to increase flexibility + to decrease stress.

Every couple of months I tend to get a stiff/sore neck. Not just a little ache, but the kind of pain that keeps me from looking fully from side to side, hurts terribly when I go to do little chores like unload the dishwasher (sorry, hubsy!) and makes teaching quite tedious. Massage therapists and Physical Therapists have worked on my neck, always exclaiming how many knots I have, and calling other PT's in to "show me off." Because of this I try to be kind to my neck and add lots of stretches throughout the day. In addition to this, as a Pilates instructor, I meet and talk with people of every age that talk about having neck problems. Neck flexibility is also one of the first things older individuals say they lose and are trying to get back.

Think of your daily activities...sitting in a car, sitting at a desk, looking down at a phone, book, or game system. All of these put a stress on the muscles that support your head. Here is a quick, easy stretch that I think EVERYONE should do. You can do it seated or standing, once a day or a couple times throughout the day. Pair this with my chest-opening stretch for an energizing yet de-stressing pick-me-up :)

Step One: Relax your head, neck and shoulders. Gently tilt your head to the left, like you are placing your ear to your shoulder.  You will feel a stretch on the opposite, right, side of your neck. It should be a gentle stretch, not painful or pulling. Hold for 20 seconds.

Step Two: Keep the "ear to shoulder" form and then turn your gaze down, like you are looking in to your back left pocket. This stretch continues to help stretch the neck muscles and now adds the stretch all the way towards the base of the skull, relieving tension from that area. Hold for 20 seconds. First lift your gaze forward and the return your head to the center.

Repeat on the right side.

 

Trainer's Tips:

 - Take deep, even breaths while you are doing the stretches.

 - This is a two-part stretch, not two separate stretches. Ear to shoulder, then, holding that position, turn your gaze gently downward and hold. Then turn your head gently upward, returning to the ear-to-shoulder position, then return upright.

- If the stretch hurts, ease up a bit.

- Try to do this once a day, moving towards three times, morning, afternoon and evening.

Let me know what you think!

Check out more of Sally's fantastic feel-good posts over at forwardfromtheheart.

Things I'm Loving Lately.

Sometimes its simple things in life that make you smile. Here are a few things (besides my friends + family - because that is a given) that have made my day this week!

Call me a cat lady if you want, but you can't deny that this Cute Cats Jumper from Romwe rules. I just saved 20% on my first order + so can you!

My partner in crafting has recently started Meme for Monday on her blog. I don't know about you, but Monday's are usually the suck over in my neck of the woods. Thank you, Sarina, for making Monday more bearable! 

Floral Halos from That Madonna Girl. I'm obsessed with The Kimmie (shown above), The Lainie + The Marie. 

Danielle over at Sometimes Sweet has a really awesome feature called Literate + Stylish. Yours truly will be featured in the upcoming weeks + I am stoked to be a part of something so awesome. 

My pen pals! I have over a dozen across the country + its so great to connect with them outside of the 'net. Every day, I can't wait to check the mail box to see if I have a letter. If you guys are reading this, you seriously make my day every time I read what you write to me.

Drinking coffee or tea out of cute mugs is the best way to enjoy your beverage, in my humble opinion. I just came across this fun Uglydoll mug + I definitely want to add this to my growing mug collection!

I have been watching this video for weeks + it never. gets. old. Psy is the man + I can't wait to learn the dance. He was recently on Ellen + gave watchers these words of wisdom, "Dress classy + dance cheesy." I'm working on the classy part, but I've got the cheesy part down part, in more than just the dance department. If you love it as much as I do, you can download the track here for under $1.

I hope you are all enjoying your week - I can't wait until the weekend arrives, so I can sit down + get a few hours of schoolwork under my belt. Sounds silly, but I'd rather get it done now, so I can pay more attention to the blog + studying for my state examinations.