Worst Blogger Ever

Sometimes life happens at lightening speed. It can flow effortlessly from morning to night, and then repeat on a rapid cycle. In these seasons of days, weeks, or months I find myself gasping for air. In these times I find myself striving for rest, peace, and just five minutes to be ALONE, which is something I never thought I would need so desperately as an extrovert. I've learned that being an extrovert doesn't mean you NEVER need alone time. Anyone who has a brain, soul, and beating heart needs alone time.

Living in New York is hard. When I say hard I mean it literally takes a strength that you didn't know you possessed just to do simple everyday tasks. Everyone who lives here understands this freakingly intense struggle, and it bonds you together in a way that no one else can understand. I've connected so well lately to people who either have lived in the City before, or frequent it often. It's definitely changed me, but in ways that are subtle and hard to define. I'm sure in the next six months I will have a clearer vision of what that looks like exactly, but right now all I know is that when I go home people notice a change. They look at me a little differently. Maybe it's a good thing.
I find myself resorting to the things that give me respite from the chaos. Most of the times those things consist of Netflix, my bed, lavender essential oil, and Candy Crush. Just bein' real, y'all.

**I long for the ability to RIGHT AWAY focus on Christ and HIS purpose for my life and HIS plan that makes so much sense (even if that sense is to great for my little brain to wrap around.) That is the only way to remain steadfast when my body, mind, and social ability starts to slip. **

This past week and a half in Virginia was amazing on many levels. I was able to record a music video with my musical counterpart Olivia Dyer (at sunrise in the SNOW. Yes, you read that right!) and work my little tail off, all while having time to spend with loved ones. Even though I enjoyed every second of it, there is still only so much one person can do, especially someone with endo. I refuse to blame my tiredness on endo fatigue, but the fact is that I just shouldn't put myself under the amount of physical stress that I do, even though my mind is keeping up with what's going on. The weekend after my time in Virginia was spent with all of my fellow Jamberry Nails leaders at our leadership retreat, and it was incredible. We were able to bond, share success stories, get real with each other and just flat out laugh and relax. It was work, but the kind of work that lets your body catch up on sleep and standing.

I also notice that my ability to act like Jesus is completely hindered when I don't sleep. I am NOT at all blaming my sin or foolishness on fatigue, I'm just saying my self control loosens up and I make mistakes that I probably wouldn't make when I'm in my right mind. THIS IS WHAT LACK OF SLEEP DOES TO ME PEOPLE! Whoa. I got a little passionate there haha! Anywho. If you are reading this and I offended you, please tell me so we can work it out. I'll be the first one to apologize for my dumbness.... then I read THIS VERSE : "It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones." -Psalm 127:2   and man, it got me. I totally try and take on the full weight of supporting Josiah in school, working any and every job I can, "toiling" away for what?! God knows what we need and He will give it to us as long as we are faithful to Him. I wonder how drastically different my life would look if I put as much effort into my faithfulness to God as I did trying to make money. I would probably look a lot different. Jesus, help me to be more like you. Seriously.

I have been combatting my bad eating habits while in VA (I am not even going to go there...just know that I am not a perfect person!) with fresh juice from Green Street, a hole in the wall juice bar by my workplace. They have an 11 ounce juice that they make right in front of you for $5!! Normally it's carrot, beet, ginger, lime, and apple. It tastes like candy :) So I try and get one every morning in place of the $5 I would've spent on coffee beforehand.

I will post more about my favorite endo-diet allowed foods soon! As soon as I find the time to cook up some new recipes I've been hoarding! Until then...

xo Wynt in the City

Day 4: Finding the Sweetness with No Sugar

Here I am! 4 days after I started this crazy lifestyle change. It feels like SO long ago when I last had coffee or sugar or BREAD! but it's been a very fun challenge thinking of full meals to eat that still taste amazing and make my body actually feeeeel amazing. Josiah keeps me on track during late nights where I feel like ripping my hair out, but during the days I have been feeling great with already improved energy and mood improvements.

I actually tried to go through with this diet a few years ago, and I only lasted a month. I think it was short-lived because I felt like I needed to eat super bland, simple foods to stay within the guidelines of the endo diet, but that's simply not true! It's nice because most Whole30 recipes are all refined sugar free, wheat free, dairy free, etc, so I've really enjoyed following some inspiring cooks on Instagram and drooling over their recipes.

My favorite meal thus far has been a chicken and brown rice dish I made. SUPER simple, but I was feeling creative and came up with a FAB sauce to pair these with. I have yet to come up with a name for it, but for now let's call it:

Spicy Coco-Tomato-Yum Sauce

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1 large organic Roma Tomato (diced)
1/2 organic Yellow Onion (chopped)
4 large crushed Cloves of organic Garlic
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne Pepper to taste

Basically just throw it all in a saute pan and simmer for as long as you would like! I let mine simmer for about 20 minutes for the tomatoes to really soak in.

It has the BEST coconutty, spicy, tomato flavor ever ever. and it's endo diet approved!

I've also had some great salads, of course! I've been using olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, with fresh basil to taste for dressings :) 

I have been craving PB&Js sooo so much at night for some reason (when I'm at my weakest and all I want is junk food!) so Josiah created this fabbbb PB&J substitute snack! It's just apple slices, organic peanut butter sweetened a tad with organic raw agave nectar, topped with a raspberry! Best. Snack. Ever. I ate a huge portion of it today because I loved it so much on Saturday night! 

All in all, it's been a good start. I'm just taking this one day at a time, always focusing on how this will hopefully help me beat my endometriosis. BOOM! 

xo Wynt in the City

Not Your Mother's New Year Resolution

I rarely talk openly about Endometriosis, except for with a select group of friends, and never over the internet...ever. Not about my personal struggles, the disease itself, or about the repercussions it can cause in life down the road. Most of the time I try to ignore it, as if my imagination dreamed up this nightmare. I have struggled with this ever since I was 15. As I grew up, the side-effects didn't touch my everyday life except for fatigue, and who in life doesn't have a little fatigue?!

Truth is, it's very real and it's very much getting to the point where I can't ignore it anymore.  

I remember being 18 years old and just getting back from Bolivia. I hadn't figured out what I wanted to do yet so I was living the good life, just spending time with friends and working part-time. I remember very clearly when my symptoms went from annoying to impossible to ignore. The pain I experienced at that moment was so severe that my mom had to pick me up from work right away. She took me to urgent care and after waiting for a few agonizing hours the nurse told me there was nothing they could do. I half expected that response, for I had been hospitalized with pain before and was only given electrolyte water for dehydration. During that week I remember feeling like this wasn't okay. That my body couldn't handle this type of pain anymore and that I needed to stop being lazy already and find. a. solution. I tried all the different solutions that doctors had for me. Lupron injections (extreme side effects including hot flashes, night sweats, and extreme fatigue), many different types of birth control (some that later stated that if take too long can cause infertility), and dieting. Dieting was the only outlet that I truly gave up on because the fatigue of having endometriosis and not drinking caffeine or having sugar while working two jobs and in school COMPLETELY threw me out of commission. All of this while my symptoms would worsen month after month. I hate hate hate the symptoms of endometriosis, specifically the pain. I felt like a baby because of how I acted about it, but I literally felt like my body was falling apart with no relief in pain meds. I never thought I would be that "sick girl" who called out of work or skipped classes because of pain. But here I was, month after month, in quiet agony only understood by the few girls I knew who also had this condition. 

ALL THAT to say...I am tired. 

I am tired of letting pain and fatigue rule my life. I feel the weight of needing to eat right and take care of my body, instead of ignoring a very real and very horrible part of my existence. I am tired of just ignoring the pain when I don't feel it and letting the pain rule my life when I do. 

So, I am making a New Years resolution. Not for a week, but as a lifestyle change. Starting January 1st I will be eating a clean, endometriosis focused diet to starve the phyto-estrogen that is allowing endometrial cells to grow all over my body. I am ready to have energy! I know that it will not be easy, but with Josiah's INCREDIBLE support (no really, he is the BEST!) I feel like this is doable!! 

The diet is simple: no red meats, no refined sugars or honey, no dairy, no caffeine, no wheat/gluten, and no alcohol. Whichhhhh basically means only dark leafy green veggies, lean meats, legumes, only organic eggs, nuts, seeds, and water. whooopieeeeeeeeee

I promise this will NOT turn into a complain blog, though! I plan to share recipes, challenges, victories, and stories of my health progressions with you all. If you think of it, pray for me! I hope in writing all of this out that I can encourage other girls who might have similar struggles. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or if you would like to know more about my diet or endometriosis! 

xo

Wynt in the City

Heritage: Journeying Forward and Back, and the Week to Remember

I am trying to not get overwhelmed with the thought of a blog post. Every time I sit down to write I get overwhelmed and then walk away.

Not today!! Here goes...


I had the privilege of having my dearest grandmother (Libby aka Nan-Naw) come and stay with Josiah and me this past week. It was a special trip for so many reasons. Nan-Naw and I have always had a special connection. My parents had me when they were teenagers, and for a while we lived with Nan-Naw in the house where my parents and sisters live now. She would always take me to broadway shows, plays, and operas when I was younger, and we developed a deep appreciation for going to plays and things together. Long before we knew that Josiah and I would end up living in NYC (still so surreal,) we had planned to take a trip to the Big Apple and see a Broadway play ON Broadway. Shortly after we completely decided on moving here, we planned for her to come visit the week of my birthday! This got me through the rough beginning of October, and onto the FUN part of having Nan-Naw here to explore with. She had never been to the City before, so she was as excited as I was!!

We had an amazing time. She was an energizer bunny when it came to being out and about! We did multiple walking tours back to back, saw the view of the City at night from the Empire State Building, saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, saw the amazing The Last Bison play live in the Lower East Side, and so much more. She is incredible, and I'm glad I got to experience a lot of those for my first time as well with her. :)

 View from the Empire State Building!

 My fave ice cream ever at van Leeuwen's

 Our oober excitement about her arrival!

Taking the East River Ferry from Greenpoint to Pier 11

Our friends The Last Bison rocking it out at Mercury Lounge

We got to check off "see a Broadway play" off our bucket list when we saw Beautiful: The Carole King Musical this week!!! It was everything we hoped it would be. The crowd was older and really TRULY appreciated the way Carole King's music had been incorporated into the show. It was pure magic and I loved every second of it. 

Our Broadway play attire

One of my favorite parts of spending quality time with Nan-Naw is the stories she will tell me about her past, and about her family history. It's like going back in time to a decade that I was never able to see with my own eyes, and getting vivid pictures and nostalgia for family members who passed before I could build relationships with them. This picture below is a picture of my great grandmother. Nan-Naw was raised in Mississippi, and still calls her mother "Mother," and it's the sweetest thing. I love hearing stories about Mother's grace and kindness, her beauty and her loving spirit.

I am so thankful to have such quality memories with my Nan-Naw. Heritage is a wonderful, incredible thing. One day, Lord willing, I will have children and grandchildren of my own, and I will never ever stop telling the stories of my Nan-Naw and Mother and what a beautiful heritage we were blessed to be given.


xo Wynt in the City

Sucre, The Honey Trees, and Merriment at Webster Hall (AKA all my dreams coming true)

Last night was pure magic.

I have followed the DuPree sisters for over 10 years, since I first heard of their music from my lovely forever friend Shelley at the YWAM base we lived at in Chico, California. I fell in love with their harmonies instantly. They loved Jesus, were from Texas, and sang about Trolley-woods and Brightly Wound things. (listen to their first album Room Noises here!) Shelley and I then saw them live for the first time in Northern California with Shelley, while they were on tour with Wesley Jensen. It was such an amazing and unique experience for me at 13 to hear these powerful women being excellent musicians and writers, with the most feminine and crafted vocal talent. You could hear people all over the room whispering to their friends "these are the most angelic sounds I've ever heard!" 

So, long story not-so-short, when Sucre came out with her first studio album A Minor Bird, I was hooked right away! Two weeks ago (just in time for me to memorize every word and tune to it ;) ) her follow up EP Loner was released. So seeing Sucre on her first solo tour IN NYC was just the best one-month-early birthday prez to myself. Merriment (sister of Sucre singer Christie, brother Colin, sis-in-law Karsyn, etc) was AMAZING. So so fun and happy and I bought their CD and they signed it 'cause they're just all peaches. and also The Honey Trees!! Becky and Alex, who are both models and rockstars. I bought the vinyl of their new album Bright Fire, and it's incredible. They also served as Sucre's band for this tour, and her harmonies with Stacy's vocals were superb! 

It was a beautiful night filled with such great music and magical moments and happy friendship times. I was so thankful that my dear new friend Liz could accompany me! I had bought two tickets for me and Josiah, but his parents came to town so he couldn't go. It ended up working out wonderfully. I also loved getting a hug from my dear friend Kelsie who was in town for the week and attended the show. (I also met Karsyn who sings in Merriment and has an online store called Bliss Branch, where I got a BlissBox and wore my dress from it to the show! She was the sweetest and had my name on her baby name list...literally, she showed me and it was on there hehe!)

If you're reading this, you should invest time listening and moneys purchasing these band's music! It's worth it. Then come chat with me and we can discuss the music and lyrics that move my heart :)

xox Wynt in the City

First Day "On the Job"

Well, hello blogging world! 

I have always loved to write. I write lyrics, poetry, and daily anecdotes all in my handy-dandy myriad of journals I've collected over the years. I LOVE my journals. I can read through old entries and feel things from so many years ago. Since we live in the 21st century, I thought I would bring my journaling to the world wide webs. I'm nervous. I'm excited. Most of all, I'm ready to embark on this crazy blogging journey even if it's just so that one day I could go back in time and read about my first years in NYC with my brand new husband and my brand new job. 

With that said!

After a month or so of training and shadowing I had my first day yesterday as a full-time stylist on the floor at the new Sam Brocato Salon (SBS) location, which is currently still known as Xena's Beauty Company!! It was an amazing time. 

One of my favorite parts about being a stylist in NYC is the dress code. IT'S ANYTHING I WANT. If you are reading this and you know me at all, you will know that I have had to wear nothing but black on black on black for the past 6 years of my salon life. It's been... interesting to say the least having to come up with cute and trendy and different outfits all from the same colored cloth! But now, the world of fashion has opened up to me and I am ready to embrace it head-on! (So look out for some crazy and funky ootds to come ;) )

Here is a glimpse into my first day outfit:

My first paying customer was a friend of mine, and she brought her hubby with her! Stephen went to college with my brother-in-law Phil, and Josiah and I are really happy that Aly and Stephen live in Queens and have taken us in as friends :) 

EXPLAINING THE WORK SITCH

So I know it's been pretty confusing to a lot of people hearing that I got a job with Sam Brocato, but the name of the salon I work for is Xena's. Let me explain! Xena has run her cozy hair salon in the heart of West Village/Greenwich Village for over 13 years. She is an absolutely fab stylist and she does color for a lot of Sam's styled shoots. Sam took over ownership of Xena's at the beginning of this year, and though I can't go into a ton of details YET, basically it will eventually be named Sam Brocato Studio X! I can't even believe I work for and with the stylists that I do. They are the most inspiring, uplifting, passionate, and talented hair magicians in the whole world. I might be a little biased, but for real they are so, SO good at what they do. I'm hoping that rubs off on me while I'm here. I'm excited to be here at the beginning of 158 (what we call Xena's!) and I can't wait to see what this place progresses to. 

That's all for now :) If you're reading this, bear with me. I am new to this and one day I'll look back and realize how simple and rambly this blog post is and I will laugh! 

xox 

Wynt in the City