Niantic, CT Christmas Light Parade

As I told you all in a past post, I am going to start living my life and sharing a lot more of my experiences with all of you!

Last night Jamie & I attended the Niantic, CT light parade with my Grampa & JoAnn, My sister Bretta & her fiancé Adam, as well as JoAnn's daughter Colleen and her awesome 8 year old daughter Morgan!  This night was such a true reminder of what the holidays are all about...and what life is all about!  It was also my sisters 24th birthday..Happy Birthday Bretta!

We started off the event by heading an hour and a half south to Niantic, CT...which for those of you who don't know is right on the ocean coast in CT and its a very beautiful, peaceful community, a place I have always enjoyed!  We enjoyed watching some ice sculpture art before heading back to my Grampa's house, which is just a short walk away from the downtown setting!  We enjoyed some hot cocoa and great conversation before walking back downtown to find a spot where we could nestle in to watch the light parade!

I enjoyed the walk back with my new friend, Morgan, who might I add is such a wise little 8 year old goal..we spoke about her goals, of becoming a surfer, and how much we loved milkshakes and dancing and music.  She told me about her school field trip to see an orchestra and about how much she enjoys dancing and singing in her school's chorus.  She told me, "If we don't have goals, how will we know what we are working towards?".  I could have sat and spoken with Morgan for hours and hours, her little mind full of some very wise thoughts.  We spoke about how you keep the good people in your life (the nice friends) and how you stay away from the bad ones, she even sang me a song about finding good friends.  I learned a lot from this 8 year old little girl last night, and realized that, this is how I want to raise my children to be, one day.  It was like talking to a fellow like minded adult.  It brings me almost to tears to think about how a little girl can tell me something like this, but I know adults who can not even fathom what it is like to be truly happy!!

Once we got back to downtown, we found a great, central spot where we could watch the parade and the fireworks.

The light parade was spectacular, this community really went above and beyond for this event!  Floats that sang, moved, even some that were over 15 feet tall!  One of my favorite parts was watching all of the children in the dance troupes and sports teams come by.  I had been in parades as a child and it was always a very exciting time when the community comes together to celebrate you and the holiday season!

 

After the parade ended, we walked back to my Grampa's house and sat and enjoyed each others company for a bit to warm up before we headed back home.  We laughed about the thick RI accents that Jamie and My Grampa share and joked about memories from the past.

I had a really wonderful time last night with my family and plan to make this an annual tradition with my family and the family I plan to start soon.  I will be bringing my children to this parade for many many years to come!

Thanks for reading loves!

XOXOX,

Distilled Water & Why My Tastebuds Want To Cry..

Today marks Day 1 of my ultimate reset journey..I woke up, feeling exhausted from lack of sleep last night, but packed away my meals for the day all perfectly portioned out into containers, packed my Oxygenize, Alkalinize, & Soothe, grabbed my GALLON of water..and out the door I went!  

As I poured my first glass of distilled water, I was excited to try this amazing and pure water that I had heard about and before I knew it, i took a sip and cringed..how could water taste this awful?

So I did some research online to see if I was just abnormal or if this water truly did not taste right and I found this...

Myth: Distilled water taste "funny" or "flat taste"

"There are many reasons why people think that distilled water tastes "funny" or "flat". The main reason is that distilled water is very different than what they have been used to drinking. When people are used to drinking water with fluoride, chlorine, or iron, their sense of taste gets used to this type of water. When drinking distilled water for this first time, with nothing in the water to masked the true taste, it takes the taste buds time to get used to the new clean taste.

Another reason for the "funny" taste is from store bought water in plastic bottles. In order to keep costs down, bottled water suppliers use cheap plastic materials to store the water. It has been found that some of these plastics have been known to leach methyl chloride into the water which gives off a "plastic" taste.

Also a possible factor is the distillation process itself. In simple distillation, volatile organic compounds and some gases may be carried over into the distilled water which causes a "funny" taste. These distillation systems use carbon filters or other processes to reduce VOCs and gases, but such elimination is seldom complete (see next myth). 

Once used in cooking and drinking water, most people find distilled water tastes delicious and improves the taste of food."

So I guess it is just me..haha I decided to drink it with tea and add a little lemon and that helped!  I am thinking that over the next week my tastebuds should stop crying and start adapting to what water should really taste like.

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

XOXO,

What an eye opener!! Time to get back on track!

Time for a bit of a wake up call...During my egg donation, yes I gained weight, yes some of the weight I gained was from hormone injections and from my moderate OHSS that I got post donation and there was truly nothing I could do to keep that from happening.  However,  the rest of the weight was my fault.  I used my donation as an excuse to not work out (I could have walked up until a few days before my retrieval) and I used my donation as an excuse to not follow my clean eating, I had cravings, but I could have just said NO!  So here I am, about a month post retrieval and I have lost some of the weight that I gained, but I am still about 10 pounds heavier than I was before my retrieval.  I worked out 4-5 days a week for the past 2 weeks, before deciding that my body needs a RESET!  So here I am on Monday, preparing myself to start My Ultimate Reset Journey tomorrow.  I am both very nervous & very excited and plan to post daily to keep you all in the loop of what this is going to do for my health both mentally and physically.

This morning I took my pre reset measurements, which was a huge eye opener for me, since I gained inches from my last set of measurements on almost every part of my body.  So here they are:

Pre Reset Measurements:

Weight: 152
Waist: 38
Hips: 40
Chest: 39
Right Arm: 12
Left Arm: 12
Right Thigh: 25
Left Thigh: 24

I also have a very high body fat percentage.  To give you an idea of my body type-since people generally ask me for height, age, etc.  I am 22 years old, I am 5'1" and I have a very large chest (36DD that I am hoping to lose a lot of inches in as well).

My goals are not necessarily based on the number on the scale, although a large drop in that number would be great!  I am going on the Beachbody Success Club Cruise on March 24th and I would really love to be able to wear a bikini confidently, so that I do not feel self conscious on the trip that I earned for my boyfriend and I.  I would love to be able to buy a bikini top that fits, those of you who also have large busts know that this is one of the most frustrating things to buy, along with bras.  I am hoping to feel rejuvenated and rested, since lately I wake up still feeling exhausted...

Prior to my start date for the reset tomorrow I did have to do some planning, which I will tell you a bit more about in case you too, are planning on starting the reset soon!

I had to go grocery shopping, at multiple stores, to find all of the fabulous nutritionally dense foods that I will be eating on the reset, yes i said it, EATING!  You eat...ALOT on the reset!  This is not one of those starvation cleanses, because lets be real...I LOVE TO EAT!  So I am all stocked up on things like 1 gallon of distilled water for every day of the reset, coconut oil, and among other things lots of fresh produce that I buy at my local farmers market every week!  I highly recommend buying produce at your local farms or farmers market's as well, not just for the reset, but all of the time, I love supporting local businesses.

I will be posting before/after pictures on Day 21, which will be December 24th so keep your eyes posted, and please subscribe to my blog and follow me on my social media sites so that you can learn all about my ultimate reset journey!

Here is a great video that explains what the reset is all about:
http://www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/ckimmel?bctid=1534876093001

If you would like to purchase an ultimate reset kit, you can do so here: www.myultimatereset.com/ckimmel





FOLLOW ME ON MY FACEBOOK PERSONAL PAGE

FOLLOW ME ON MY BUSINESS PAGE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM: @chlsykimmel



XOXO,

Step outside of your comfort zone, the magic happens there!

Good Morning Lovely Readers...if you even exist..

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about how small my world really is.  Now, before you tell me how large the world truly is, lets chat for a minute about MY world.  My world is small because I have not allowed it to expand itself into other places outside of my comfort zone.

What is my comfort zone you ask, my comfort zone is that small little hole in the world where ordinary happens and i eat the same food, listen to the same music, talk to the same people, and do the same things..day after day!  But that is all about to change!  I have made a decision, in my head, as i often do without putting it down on paper to hold myself accountable. I made the decision to expand my horizons and start experiencing everything possible.  I only get to live 1 time, and far too often I see lives get cut way too short, and people never truly get to live.

My favorite quote is from Oscar Wilde, "To live is the rarest thing in the world.  Most people just exist, that is all."  This quote has come into my life when its been needed the most and I want to start practicing this idea that I say all of the time.  I want to start LIVING!

Here is my vow:  I, Chelsey Kimmel, vow to LIVE freely, happily, and to my highest expectation.  I vow to take every experience that is given to me, as a gift!  Whether it be something I have always wanted to experience, or maybe have not ever!  I vow to travel and immerse myself into other cultures and learn about how other people live.  I vow to blog about all of my new experiences...because my life starts NOW!


I hope you all will join me on this journey outside of the borders of my comfort zone and I hope you all will do something outside of yours!  I would love to hear about all of your adventures!


XOXO,

My Puppy Smells Like Poo!

There is no blog post to go along with this picture...since it speaks for itself!

This is my dog, Mazy! 

A Post Retrieval Post..

On thursday I had my retrieval..and yesterday when I woke up my abdomen was extremely distended and hurt..ALOT!  I looked..and still look...about 5 months pregnant..

I tried to rest a lot yesterday, since my doctor told me when she called, that feeling bloated and sore is completely normal with the amount of eggs that were retrieved (31).  I have been drinking Gatorade and resting for over 48 hours now and am still in pain.  My stomach still looks like this and I can not get comfortable..sitting, laying,standing...nothing feels good!  I am having a hard time walking upright, since the pressure in my abdomen is so strong.

My weight is still high(8 pounds more than it was the day before my retrieval).  I also have started feeling feverish and achey so I took my temperature, and have a fever of 99.8, I know it's not too high, but it has me slightly concerned.  I was going to call my doctor to see if this is normal but they are closed for the day, I could call the on call MD but I have decided to wait a bit longer and see how I feel.  I am going to take more Tylenol, even though it is not helping with the pain, it might help with the fever..although I'm not sure if I should take the Tylenol or monitor the fever without it..

Up until this point my experience had been pretty positive, and now I am second guessing my choice to donate again..I am still in a lot of pain and the pressure in my abdomen seems to have no relief.

:(

I hope I find some relief soon..

Retrieval Day Review :)

It is about 5:00 pm on Thursday, October 31st, Halloween!!

I am just about waking up from the in and out partial nap I took after  I got home from my egg retrieval this morning.  I'd like to give you all a breakdown of what my day looked like today, for anyone curious about the day of procedures...

First a quick recap of what the past month or so looked like for me: 3 weeks of BC pills(bled everyday) then 2 weeks of injections(2x/day) & then a trigger shot Tuesday night, Oh, and a car accident last night to top it all off. :)

So this morning...

5:00am: woke up from the most excruciating pain in my ovaries-think severe period cramps x100.  I was in tears and could barely walk the pain was so unbearable.  I took a shower & tried to relax, A nice cup of tea might have helped, but no liquid/food was allowed in my system after midnight last night.

6:30am:  6:30 seemed to take forever to come, as I sat in the living room, trying to get comfortable, and filling with anxiety, I finally heard my boyfriends alarm clock go off.  He was awake, half groggy and getting ready to hit the road for our 2 hour drive to the clinic, just outside of Boston.  As we got on the road the pain seemed to get worse and worse, every dip in the road, every bump caused shooting pain through my lower abdomen.  The 2 hour car ride, seemed to take forever and all I wanted to do was get out of the car and get some pain medications in my system.

8:30am: Finally, we were there, I started shaking from nerves as we walked into the clinic and were greeted by the receptionist..Upstairs we went to where they perform the egg retrievals.  I was feeling brave so I told Jamie, that he could sit in the waiting room, as I went in.  But when I walked in it hit me like a wall of bricks and the tears started flowing, so as quickly as I entered, I turned around and walked right out to get Jamie & bring him in with me.  Luckily, every other woman in there was joined by their significant other so i didn't feel so awkward, and we were not all donors...in fact, I'm pretty sure I was the only donor in the room since, the walls were just curtains I could hear all of the other couples speaking to each other about their dreams of babies, and it made me feel really great about what I was doing.  The nurse came in, introduced herself, put my IV in(I was already dehydrated & had a low grade fever).  I then met briefly with my anesthesiologist & doctor.

9:30am: 9:30 rolled around and it was time to head into the room where my retrieval would be done.  I walked into a room straight out of a movie, bright light shining right into where the doctor would be working & a mixture of nurses and doctors filled the room(about 4).  They helped me get situated on the table and the last thing I remember was my anesthesiologist telling me that he gave me some relaxation medications, my face felt tingly, so I asked if that was normal and then I was out.  I did not feel a thing during the retrieval.

10:00am:  I woke up in my recovery room in excruciating pain, crying a lot.  The pain was indescribable!!  I was told by the nurses that they were going to get Jamie and that I was crying and asking for my dog (mazy) I don't know why I was calling for Mazy, maybe because she is who I go to for comfort normally.  They gave me some pain medications through my IV and i instantly felt better.  It took me about 15-20 minutes to fully wake up and they told me that they retrieved 31 eggs! WOW!! They said that was a lot, and they were thrilled.  I was excited too, 31 eggs means that 4-5 families will get them, and hopefully all will conceive.  I donated to a frozen egg bank this time so I will not know who gets them or if they are successful, but I hope they are successful and I hope these families are grateful, although I'm sure they will be...

It is about 5:00pm and I am home now with some egg donation day gifts from my amazing boyfriend and his love and support by my side.  I have no regrets so far about this donation, although I am still in pain, so we will see how I recover over the next few days!



Thank you for reading about my day & learning about my egg donation!  Please, remember, if you have any questions please comment below or feel free to add me on Facebook.  As of today, I plan on donating again, so we will see where my life goes...I am definitely planning on taking a few months off though.  This experience has been truly rewarding, but also mentally, physically, and emotionally draining as well.

XOXOXO,