Where you go, I will go.

Wow. A lot has happened since May 7th.

Two days after, I got engaged to the love of my life. Yep - Paul asked me to marry him and I couldn't be happier! Madi is excited as well and we can't wait to tell Addison.

A few days after he proposed, I was offered a job in Norfolk, VA. Talk about good timing!! I accepted and will start this coming Monday. I'm very excited about the new job and about Paul and I no longer having to do this long distance thing. It is not easy!! We will certainly not take our time together for granted after spending a year apart!

Madi is coping well with the move. She is five years old so to her it's about how she will get to spend more time with "the dogs," as she calls them (Jeff & Pam's dogs). I'm thankful that I found a job before she starts school in the fall - this way, she can start school in VA and we won't have to worry about that transition.

Everything is truly falling into place! It's amazing what a little faith and prayer can do.

I will try to blog more now that we will have many new adventures in VA!

Xoxo!

Hello, happy beginning!

I am officially DIVORCED!!! Going on 10 days since the official hearing. To say I was/am excited is an understatement! I've been waiting on that day to come so I can move on with my new life!!!

Court went smoothly. I was divorced in a matter of 15 minutes and a few "yes" & "no's."

Paul and I weren't able to celebrate together that weekend because he had already committed to a guys weekend in Outer Banks. I figure we will be celebrating constantly anyway since we can now officially be as we wish!

The day after the divorce was final Carrie & I went to Six Flags. Yes, I'm 29 years old, newly divorced and wanted to go to an amusement park. HA! Carrie & I are both huge roller coaster fanatics and sadly the only theme park we'd ever been to was Carowinds. So, we headed to Georgia and had some fun!

Unfortunately we only rode 3 roller coasters while we were there. The lines were insanely long and we didn't know our way around the park at all. I think we walked in about 10 circles just trying to find something to ride. We did lots of people watching, eating, shopping, and screaming!

image via

It was a very fun day and a great weekend! This past weekend was pretty amazing too. I went to Virginia to spend time with Paul. It was a nice, much needed weekend with just the two of us.  :)

This weekend I have Madi. I'm trying to plan something fun/different for us to do together. Any suggestions?

I kicked my 14 year addiction...

Let me preface this by saying this post is long. It contains a bit TMI and there are no pictures. I still hope you read it though because it's good information!

For people who have been living in a cave, or for those who just haven't visited my blog before, my name is Brittan and I used to be addicted to diet coke. I started drinking diet coke in high school. Ninth grade would be my guess. I drank it regularly for about 14 years. For the past three years, I drank at least three diet cokes a day. Some days I'm sure I drank 5-7.

About two months ago I decided to stop drinking diet coke. I was having a lot of health issues and a lot of people were pointing fingers at my DC habit. My intention was to stop drinking it so I could prove to them that wasn't the problem. I was wrong. They won.

3 reasons I'm glad I stopped drinking diet coke:

1. I no longer look like a middle school girl who just went through puberty.
I have had terrible acne since middle school. I'm 29 and yes, I still had horrible acne every single day. I used to laugh at my friends who would point out their one tiny pimple that would be gone in a day. I had acne on my face, chest, and back.

Now, I only break out a little bit when I'm PMSing OR if I drink a soda. (more on that at the end)

2. I have energy!!!
I don't know if my body had just had enough but about a month before I stopped drinking diet coke, I was absolutely exhausted. I slept for 15 hours one Saturday and like 12 two Saturdays later. I was dragging every day at work and just felt bad. It got worse, like I said, about a month before I stopped drinking it; but, I didn't have a "normal" level of energy until I quit.

3. The mystery symptoms are gone!
Those of you who know me, know that I have had stomach problems for years. Again, getting increasingly worse with time. Due to my family history of stomach problems (my dad & cousin had ulcerative colitis) I assumed it was related to genetics. My symptoms were all over the place: stomach pains especially at night, stomach pains worse when hungry, bloated, weight loss (oh darn!), constipation frequently & diarrhea occasionally (keeping it real!), fatigue, and acid reflux.

Over a period of two years, I had a colonoscopy to rule out ulcerative colitis and other intestinal diseases. I was tested for Celiac Disease, Hyperthyroidism, anemia and who knows what else. I had blood drawn frequently and went to the doctor at least once a month. I was prescribed all kinds of medicines to "see if this would help." I don't even want to think about how much money I spent.

And now...almost all of the symptoms that I had for years - gone. Adios. Sayonara. One downfall - the weight loss is gone too. Boooooo.


So - yes, I stopped drinking diet coke (and all sodas). I stopped cold turkey despite the advice to wean myself off of it. To me, that would have been harder. I didn't have any soda for two weeks. After that, I felt like I was no longer addicted to it and now I drink one when I want to - no more than one every 2 weeks. I find though, that when I do drink soda, I break out about two days later and I have stomach pains that same day. I also typically get constipated again for a few days. Needless to say, I really only drink a soda now if I'm desperate for a pick me up.

I have definitely increased my water intake. The first few weeks of just drinking water and cranberry juice I felt very bloated. I guess my body just wasn't used to being hydrated. I stopped drinking cranberry juice regularly because I realized that is very acidic, which irritates my stomach. I then started drinking sweet tea. I know -it's bad. BUT, I like my tea watered down with not much sugar so it's still better than soda.

Since I've kicked my DC habit though, I have gained weight. I'd say around 5 lbs. :( I think if I were to just drink water, I'd lose it but I'm a realistic person & I can't deprive myself of everything!

I never wanted to believe everyone who harped on me about how bad diet coke was, but I will say it - they were right. BUT if you're one of those people who say that diet sodas are bad and you drink regular soda - stop it! I have had regular sodas and diet sodas and they both make me feel like crap. Artificial sugar is bad, and so is tons of natural sugar!

Maybe I just gave you a New Year's Resolution idea...

Have you experienced something similar with sodas? Other foods that make you feel awful?

Are you an avid diet coke drinker like I used to be? What are your thoughts now?