Most importantly, I'm really late in giving the final update on my dad. Let's just say.. he took the really scary and expensive route of getting a check-up. They did the catheter and found no damage or blockage. After that.. they didn't really know what to do with him and released him. He went to his long time, trusted family doctor on Tuesday and was told that the first diagnosis (before all of this heart crap) was correct. Vertigo. While we are EXTREMELY thankful that his heart is in tiptop shape, that was a little much!
I just saw that someone was led to my blog by searching for "13 weeks pregnant fat belly at bottom". Really? Awesome. Way to remind me that my belly is stretched beyond recognition and jiggles like a bowl full of jelly. I hope you found what you were looking for.
My husband and I celebrated our 4th anniversary this week :)
He spoiled me like never before. Thanks to him I will be enjoying a 4.5 hour day at the spa next week and sporting a new Welker jersey come football season. He also took a week of leave from work. We also dropped Drew off with a trusted couple we are great friends with here last night and had an adult dinner that did not include a highchair, baby food, picking toys up off the floor or diaper changes. The weather was gorgeous and we were able to drive with the windows down. Went to Starbucks then enjoyed a movie. At the movie theater. I can't tell you the last time I've been to a movie theater. It was an amazing night spent with my best friend. While we both did talk about that sweet boy of ours from time to time and it was wonderful to have a night just to ourselves (first one in 9 months that didn't have anything to do with work), we wouldn't trade him in for the world. One night was nice. We like having him around too much to do more than that :)
Remember to come back Monday morning for our Weight Watchers post. The topic this week will be, what motivates you? It can be anything and I can wait to hear from everybody!
June 5, 2011
May 31, 2011
It all started as a normal day..
complete with a walk in the park with a friend (3 miles.. go us), a few naps (for Drew, not me, pinky promise), lunch, and playing with toys.
It ended with a court date in my near(?) future. Let me back up..
Right after Drew's second nap (around 3pm) we're sitting on the living room floor, goofing around when I hear a bunch of ruckus out by the side of our house. I look out the window and there are two HUMONGOUS dogs that seemed to have gotten my neighbors gate open. I freaked a little because they have an older basset hound that I kind of consider like 1/18th mine. He's always outside and barks to let me know when someone is coming. Sometimes annoying, but always comforting. Anywhoo..
The two dogs were terrifyingly big, have I mentioned that? They are running away, but houndy is now out. I don't have the neighbors number and I sure wasn't going out and risking my life with those two beasts running around. I called the police and when finishing up with them, manned up a bit and went out to make sure the hound was okay. I canceled the police call because I saw the owner of said beasts grabbing the dogs from the yard across the street and herding them into the back of his pickup. They drive away and I think all is good. Until...
Neighbors are outside. Wifey is by the front door and assured me the hound was now in the house. Hubs is across the street in above mentioned yard. I asked her if she saw the beasts, yes she had, she says... and did I know that.. grab a tissue... they KILLED the little pup across the street!!! Mauled it to death. My heart still breaks.
We saw the house that the owners of the two dogs lived at.. we see the guy tell his lady about the sitch, she freaks, and walks down to us. She's all worked up until she learns what dog it is that was killed by her dogs. Then says "she doesn't f'ing care" and "she has told that woman to keep her dog inside two times". REALLY?? The poor pup was in it's own yard. And it doesn't matter how annoying the little pup was that roamed the streets. You're dogs violently killed it. That's someones dog. Take responsibility and show some heart. The family wasn't home. They have kids of all ages. They are going to come home to that.
She struts back home. And this is where it gets hard for me. We discussed what to do and it didn't take long to know we had to call Animal Control. That could have easily been any number of the little kids that play outside all day. Andrew and I sit in the driveway quite often (He has a big obsession with cars and it keeps him entertained. With a yard full of rocks.. the driveway is the spot to be).
I had to run to the store and told the neighbors to come right over if they needed anyone else to talk to Animal Control. When I get home, the dead dog neighbors and the ones next to us are all outside. I head over and those kids had just found the dog. Next door neighbs tried to talk to the mom before the kids had seen it, but it was too late. The kids were bawling. It was heartbreaking. The mom walked down to the killing dogs house and chicky completely denies she even has dogs! Can you believe it??
Animal Control guys shows up and after not too long, one of the girls knocks on my door and asks if I'll go and talk to him. Since home girl denies everything (not sure how she thinks she'll get away with that.. the poor fam got pics of the dogs through her window) they are going to need witnesses to testify in court. I couldn't tell that family that I wouldn't do it.. I'm glad to help them.
It's just a sucky situation though. I know it's going to mean putting those dogs down. I know they were vicious. I know they did very wrong. But I still can't help but feel a little bad about helping to put them down. I even feel bad for that stank woman who's going to get her dogs taken away. But when it comes down to it.. I know it has to be done. Unfortunately they got out. What if it happened again? And what if next time it's not "just" a dog that caught their viciousness? They were getting into people's fenced backyards. That's scary.
So.. yeah... blahhhh
It ended with a court date in my near(?) future. Let me back up..
Right after Drew's second nap (around 3pm) we're sitting on the living room floor, goofing around when I hear a bunch of ruckus out by the side of our house. I look out the window and there are two HUMONGOUS dogs that seemed to have gotten my neighbors gate open. I freaked a little because they have an older basset hound that I kind of consider like 1/18th mine. He's always outside and barks to let me know when someone is coming. Sometimes annoying, but always comforting. Anywhoo..
The two dogs were terrifyingly big, have I mentioned that? They are running away, but houndy is now out. I don't have the neighbors number and I sure wasn't going out and risking my life with those two beasts running around. I called the police and when finishing up with them, manned up a bit and went out to make sure the hound was okay. I canceled the police call because I saw the owner of said beasts grabbing the dogs from the yard across the street and herding them into the back of his pickup. They drive away and I think all is good. Until...
Neighbors are outside. Wifey is by the front door and assured me the hound was now in the house. Hubs is across the street in above mentioned yard. I asked her if she saw the beasts, yes she had, she says... and did I know that.. grab a tissue... they KILLED the little pup across the street!!! Mauled it to death. My heart still breaks.
We saw the house that the owners of the two dogs lived at.. we see the guy tell his lady about the sitch, she freaks, and walks down to us. She's all worked up until she learns what dog it is that was killed by her dogs. Then says "she doesn't f'ing care" and "she has told that woman to keep her dog inside two times". REALLY?? The poor pup was in it's own yard. And it doesn't matter how annoying the little pup was that roamed the streets. You're dogs violently killed it. That's someones dog. Take responsibility and show some heart. The family wasn't home. They have kids of all ages. They are going to come home to that.
She struts back home. And this is where it gets hard for me. We discussed what to do and it didn't take long to know we had to call Animal Control. That could have easily been any number of the little kids that play outside all day. Andrew and I sit in the driveway quite often (He has a big obsession with cars and it keeps him entertained. With a yard full of rocks.. the driveway is the spot to be).
I had to run to the store and told the neighbors to come right over if they needed anyone else to talk to Animal Control. When I get home, the dead dog neighbors and the ones next to us are all outside. I head over and those kids had just found the dog. Next door neighbs tried to talk to the mom before the kids had seen it, but it was too late. The kids were bawling. It was heartbreaking. The mom walked down to the killing dogs house and chicky completely denies she even has dogs! Can you believe it??
Animal Control guys shows up and after not too long, one of the girls knocks on my door and asks if I'll go and talk to him. Since home girl denies everything (not sure how she thinks she'll get away with that.. the poor fam got pics of the dogs through her window) they are going to need witnesses to testify in court. I couldn't tell that family that I wouldn't do it.. I'm glad to help them.
It's just a sucky situation though. I know it's going to mean putting those dogs down. I know they were vicious. I know they did very wrong. But I still can't help but feel a little bad about helping to put them down. I even feel bad for that stank woman who's going to get her dogs taken away. But when it comes down to it.. I know it has to be done. Unfortunately they got out. What if it happened again? And what if next time it's not "just" a dog that caught their viciousness? They were getting into people's fenced backyards. That's scary.
So.. yeah... blahhhh
At a loss!
It's our 4 year anniversary on Thursday.
My husband is horrid at surprising me. Don't get me wrong he has spoiled me this year, big time, but he's very very bad at actually making anything a surprise.
With that being said... I have nothing for him. Zilch. Nada. I've been waiting for a creative idea to hit me and with 2 days left.. that idea I've been waiting for hasn't even tapped me on the shoulder.
Ideas? (is it pathetic that I'm coming to blogger for this? I think so, but it didn't stop me from doing it, clearly)
My husband is horrid at surprising me. Don't get me wrong he has spoiled me this year, big time, but he's very very bad at actually making anything a surprise.
With that being said... I have nothing for him. Zilch. Nada. I've been waiting for a creative idea to hit me and with 2 days left.. that idea I've been waiting for hasn't even tapped me on the shoulder.
Ideas? (is it pathetic that I'm coming to blogger for this? I think so, but it didn't stop me from doing it, clearly)
May 30, 2011
Weight Watchers Mondays
Happy Memorial Day everyone! I know most of you are off spending some QT with families and friends, feel free to link up any day this week! I hope in the midst of all of the fun times, hamburgers, hot dogs, lakes and pools, that you've taken a moment or five to remember and pray for all of our fallen soldiers and humbly thank them for their ultimate sacrifice. I know we have.
This week our focus is going to be on breakfast ideas, but first, I want to share my.. errrmmm.. progress with you all. I was excited to jump on that scale, but also a little unsure. It was very anticlimactic. I lost .2 pounds this week. Not 2 pounds.. just wanted to make sure you saw that point before the two. Yeahhh. I think I snacked a little too much this week. I used a lot of my extra weekly points, but didn't go over which I guess is why there was a teeny tiny bit of loss. I went out to dinner with some girlfriends one night too. To Olive Garden. I thought I was choosing wisely by ordering off of the appetizer menu (got the Grilled Chicken Flatbread), but not so much. My meal was 29 points. And that's only because I didn't finish the whole thing. Would have been worse. I'm still not very comfortable with eating out.. clearly.
I did get 3 good walks in over the week, but I need to do better.
It was disappointing, but also motivating. I got a little slack with the extra points. Yes, I know they are there.. but that doesn't mean I need to use them quite as much. I used at least 1 or 2 every day. I need to drink more water (gosh that is so hard for me) and get at least a walk in every day. I've been thinking more and more about starting Couch to 5K in again as well. We'll see about that! And even less snacking. Hopefully I'll have a more exciting update next week!!
Breakfast ideas...
I'll admit something - I do a lot of frozen breakfasts. I have a baby that.. at the moment.. is not very happy when 100% of my attention is not focused on him. Yes, it's every bit as fun as it sounds. Some morning I could get away with making a nice breakfast, but most I can't. Yes, he's the boss around here. He's running things. Soo.. it's much much easier for me to throw something in the microwave. More expensive? Yes. Less time consumed? Yes. Very tasty? Yes.
I never use more than 6 points on breakfast. If I can get it in in 5.. even better. Jimmy Dean Delights are spectacular. Turkey sausage breakfast bowls.. yum. Canadian bacon sammies on a honey wheat english muffins.. delish. Both of those are 6 points. The bowls even have a few potatoes in them. Bonus. Smart Ones has a few tasty things that I've tried as well. Breakfast quesidillas (5 points and I LOVE them) and they have a breakfast skillet that is just alright. I don't know if I'll try that again.
When I do have time to make my own I either have a fried egg (just use Pam.. zero points) or scrambled with one whole egg and one egg white. Always, always add in a splash of hot sauce. Canadian bacon and a slice of white bread. I really love oatmeal and would love to find a way to fit that in to mix it up a bit, but I haven't found a way to make it without blowing points.
Anyway.. eggs everyday? I could use some other suggestions! How did you all do this week? Link up and let me know :)
This week our focus is going to be on breakfast ideas, but first, I want to share my.. errrmmm.. progress with you all. I was excited to jump on that scale, but also a little unsure. It was very anticlimactic. I lost .2 pounds this week. Not 2 pounds.. just wanted to make sure you saw that point before the two. Yeahhh. I think I snacked a little too much this week. I used a lot of my extra weekly points, but didn't go over which I guess is why there was a teeny tiny bit of loss. I went out to dinner with some girlfriends one night too. To Olive Garden. I thought I was choosing wisely by ordering off of the appetizer menu (got the Grilled Chicken Flatbread), but not so much. My meal was 29 points. And that's only because I didn't finish the whole thing. Would have been worse. I'm still not very comfortable with eating out.. clearly.
I did get 3 good walks in over the week, but I need to do better.
It was disappointing, but also motivating. I got a little slack with the extra points. Yes, I know they are there.. but that doesn't mean I need to use them quite as much. I used at least 1 or 2 every day. I need to drink more water (gosh that is so hard for me) and get at least a walk in every day. I've been thinking more and more about starting Couch to 5K in again as well. We'll see about that! And even less snacking. Hopefully I'll have a more exciting update next week!!
Breakfast ideas...
I'll admit something - I do a lot of frozen breakfasts. I have a baby that.. at the moment.. is not very happy when 100% of my attention is not focused on him. Yes, it's every bit as fun as it sounds. Some morning I could get away with making a nice breakfast, but most I can't. Yes, he's the boss around here. He's running things. Soo.. it's much much easier for me to throw something in the microwave. More expensive? Yes. Less time consumed? Yes. Very tasty? Yes.
I never use more than 6 points on breakfast. If I can get it in in 5.. even better. Jimmy Dean Delights are spectacular. Turkey sausage breakfast bowls.. yum. Canadian bacon sammies on a honey wheat english muffins.. delish. Both of those are 6 points. The bowls even have a few potatoes in them. Bonus. Smart Ones has a few tasty things that I've tried as well. Breakfast quesidillas (5 points and I LOVE them) and they have a breakfast skillet that is just alright. I don't know if I'll try that again.
When I do have time to make my own I either have a fried egg (just use Pam.. zero points) or scrambled with one whole egg and one egg white. Always, always add in a splash of hot sauce. Canadian bacon and a slice of white bread. I really love oatmeal and would love to find a way to fit that in to mix it up a bit, but I haven't found a way to make it without blowing points.
Anyway.. eggs everyday? I could use some other suggestions! How did you all do this week? Link up and let me know :)
May 29, 2011
9 Months
Little Andrew,
Or not so little, I should say! I'm clinging on to these last few months of you being a "baby". Of course, you will always be my baby, but soon you will technically be a toddler and I just can't wrap my head around that fact. How is it even possible? You don't even look like a baby to me anymore. You look like a (very adorable) little boy with all of your hair (your daddy thinks you need a haircut, but I'm not allowing it yet) and 5 *almost 6* teeth! You have two bottom teeth and three top teeth with one more on the way!
You are so much fun these days! I sat down to do a post earlier in the week about all of the funny little things you do, but then realized how close it was to your 9 month post and thought I'd wait. You do things every day that just make me laugh so much!
- A lot of the times when you find yourself on your back and get too excited, your legs just kick a mile a minute. Up and down, over and over again.. and with such force! It's crazy. I know that once you figure out how to do that when you are on you belly.. there will be no stopping you! I think that I'm in trouble when I have to keep up with you!
- My goodness.. in the bathtub.. you are a spazz! You LOVE being in the water more than anything (well maybe not more than eating dirt!) You can't get enough of splashing. You kick your legs up as high as you can reach them, hold them there for a second, then kick them down as hard as you can. I'm a sopping wet mess by the end of your bath. That's while I'm washing you. When you sit up to play you do the same thing with your hands and then wait and watch all of the bubbles you make.
- You think it's the funniest thing when I tilt my head to the side real far to look at you. You have the sweetest little laugh!
- You also love to look at pictures of your family. You look at them and smile and giggle. You love even more to look at pictures of babies. Your whole face lights up.. with real babies too. You LOVE little kids!
- I had Ellen on the other day and at the end there were a few people waving at the camera saying "bye Ellen". You about lost it. Laughed and laughed and laughed!
- You have this look where you tilt your chin down and look up at us with your eyes cut upwards. I've been perplexed as to where you learned this, until I caught myself giving you that very same look when you were acting up in your high chair. Woopsie! I better start being more aware of the things I do around you!
- You love to play "catch" with the foam ball Daddy bought for you or one of those colorful rings you stack up. We sit across from each other.. I roll it to you, which delights you.. and you kinda of fling it back. It's your favorite game.
- You've started to play with your toys a little differently. Instead of just holding them, switching them from hand to hand and shaking them around excitedly (well you still do all of this), but now it's like you're starting to realize they actually have a purpose. You'll take almost any of them (rattles, plush football, plastic planes, boats, cars.. whatever) and slowly move them along on the floor back and forth. Sometimes you make that classic, little boy brrrrrrrr sound like you're driving them. It's too cute. You're also realizing that you can make them touch. If we are holding one, you like to take your toy and touch it to ours. This may not sound like a big deal, but it's definitely a big difference I've noticed this month.
- You're into sharing now. You want me to try your bottle a lot. I really appreciate that buddy. You also want me to chew on your toys. It's a lot of fun.
- You are very interested in mommy and daddy's mouths. You're amazed that we too have a tongue and teeth and you always want to find them. I have to remind you a lot that it's not okay to pick mama's nose.
You are still wearing size 4 diapers, although they are getting a little tight on you (how far do those things go up?? He has a long time left in diapers and we are already up to almost a 5!). Definitely 12-month PJ's. Mostly 12-month clothes as well but I can fit a few 9-month outfits on you. We went to the doc with you about 3 weeks ago and you were 20.5 lbs.. you have to be at least 22 now. You are SO heavy!
You still aren't crawling. I'm thinking you are going to skip right over that phase. You roll around everywhere. You can sometimes go from laying down to sitting up. You can definitely go from sitting up to laying down. You'll get on all fours, in crawling position, rock back and forth, then lay down and roll to where you want to go. You're trying to pull yourself up now. I've turned into a jungle gym over the last 2 days. Ohhh boy is that fun! Needless to say, today we bought you little musical table today for you to climb all over that.
You are such a noisy little baby. But mostly happy noises. You are so very happy. Except if I leave your sight. Ohh Drew.. you do not like me to leave your general vicinity and I'm waiting patiently (for 3 months now) for you to get over this stage. It seems to be getting worse though. I need to enjoy this time.. one day you won't want to be anywhere near me!
We love you more and more and more by the day, sweet boy! We thank God for you every chance we get. You've brought more joy into our lives than you will ever know. I'm enjoying every second with you and really look forward to the future. Before we know it you are going to be walking around and talking... I can't wait!
We love you sweet Drew baby!
Or not so little, I should say! I'm clinging on to these last few months of you being a "baby". Of course, you will always be my baby, but soon you will technically be a toddler and I just can't wrap my head around that fact. How is it even possible? You don't even look like a baby to me anymore. You look like a (very adorable) little boy with all of your hair (your daddy thinks you need a haircut, but I'm not allowing it yet) and 5 *almost 6* teeth! You have two bottom teeth and three top teeth with one more on the way!
You are so much fun these days! I sat down to do a post earlier in the week about all of the funny little things you do, but then realized how close it was to your 9 month post and thought I'd wait. You do things every day that just make me laugh so much!
- A lot of the times when you find yourself on your back and get too excited, your legs just kick a mile a minute. Up and down, over and over again.. and with such force! It's crazy. I know that once you figure out how to do that when you are on you belly.. there will be no stopping you! I think that I'm in trouble when I have to keep up with you!
- My goodness.. in the bathtub.. you are a spazz! You LOVE being in the water more than anything (well maybe not more than eating dirt!) You can't get enough of splashing. You kick your legs up as high as you can reach them, hold them there for a second, then kick them down as hard as you can. I'm a sopping wet mess by the end of your bath. That's while I'm washing you. When you sit up to play you do the same thing with your hands and then wait and watch all of the bubbles you make.
- You think it's the funniest thing when I tilt my head to the side real far to look at you. You have the sweetest little laugh!
- You also love to look at pictures of your family. You look at them and smile and giggle. You love even more to look at pictures of babies. Your whole face lights up.. with real babies too. You LOVE little kids!
- I had Ellen on the other day and at the end there were a few people waving at the camera saying "bye Ellen". You about lost it. Laughed and laughed and laughed!
- You have this look where you tilt your chin down and look up at us with your eyes cut upwards. I've been perplexed as to where you learned this, until I caught myself giving you that very same look when you were acting up in your high chair. Woopsie! I better start being more aware of the things I do around you!
- You love to play "catch" with the foam ball Daddy bought for you or one of those colorful rings you stack up. We sit across from each other.. I roll it to you, which delights you.. and you kinda of fling it back. It's your favorite game.
- You've started to play with your toys a little differently. Instead of just holding them, switching them from hand to hand and shaking them around excitedly (well you still do all of this), but now it's like you're starting to realize they actually have a purpose. You'll take almost any of them (rattles, plush football, plastic planes, boats, cars.. whatever) and slowly move them along on the floor back and forth. Sometimes you make that classic, little boy brrrrrrrr sound like you're driving them. It's too cute. You're also realizing that you can make them touch. If we are holding one, you like to take your toy and touch it to ours. This may not sound like a big deal, but it's definitely a big difference I've noticed this month.
 |
| playing with his super heroes |
- You are very interested in mommy and daddy's mouths. You're amazed that we too have a tongue and teeth and you always want to find them. I have to remind you a lot that it's not okay to pick mama's nose.
You are still wearing size 4 diapers, although they are getting a little tight on you (how far do those things go up?? He has a long time left in diapers and we are already up to almost a 5!). Definitely 12-month PJ's. Mostly 12-month clothes as well but I can fit a few 9-month outfits on you. We went to the doc with you about 3 weeks ago and you were 20.5 lbs.. you have to be at least 22 now. You are SO heavy!
You still aren't crawling. I'm thinking you are going to skip right over that phase. You roll around everywhere. You can sometimes go from laying down to sitting up. You can definitely go from sitting up to laying down. You'll get on all fours, in crawling position, rock back and forth, then lay down and roll to where you want to go. You're trying to pull yourself up now. I've turned into a jungle gym over the last 2 days. Ohhh boy is that fun! Needless to say, today we bought you little musical table today for you to climb all over that.
You are such a noisy little baby. But mostly happy noises. You are so very happy. Except if I leave your sight. Ohh Drew.. you do not like me to leave your general vicinity and I'm waiting patiently (for 3 months now) for you to get over this stage. It seems to be getting worse though. I need to enjoy this time.. one day you won't want to be anywhere near me!
We love you more and more and more by the day, sweet boy! We thank God for you every chance we get. You've brought more joy into our lives than you will ever know. I'm enjoying every second with you and really look forward to the future. Before we know it you are going to be walking around and talking... I can't wait!
We love you sweet Drew baby!
May 26, 2011
Update on Dad and a WW List
*Be sure to check the bottom of this post for a list of weekly WW topics!*
A big huge Thank you and hug to everyone who left your thoughts and prayers on yesterdays post. I've been holding up okay.. but I've definitely had my moments. It's hard being so far away. You feel useless. Feel like you're be a nuisance to everyone when texting and calling to get updates and just check-in, but that's the only think you can do really. It's been especially hard because Trey has been MIA with work.
He is still in the hospital. I've been getting conflicting reports.. from his labs came back clear and there is no sign of heart attack, then heard last night that that was not the case and some level of whateveritscalled was high which means there was a heart attack. He did the nuclear stress test yesterday, which was four hours long and they were told there was damage seen at the tip of his heart (bottom I guess) I talked to him last night and he sounded much much better than he did on Tuesday. He was perfectly content with his bed positioned just right, his table pulled up with Cheez-Its (his staple) and whateveritwasthathewasdrinking and the remote, the Bruins game (which I'm guessing in the end didn't make him quite so happy) and the prettiest nurse in the hospital waiting on his every beck and call. So yeahhh.. hearing him with his normal outlook was reassuring.
They did the catheter this morning and he is already done with that.. results are good. No blockage and no sign of any previous heart attack. He is in recovery now and when I asked how he was feeling, he said, "not bad I guess" and he is ready to go to the beach and have a margarita. Ha! I don't know what comes next. On one hand, it is GREAT that it wasn't a HA, but now what? I just pray that they do find something (he knows something is off) and that it is very simple and very, very treatable.
On another note..
I've been thinking about subjects we can chat about on WW Mondays. Thank you so much for all of you who took the time to comment and link up. I'd love to see more participation, but I don't think we did so bad for the first week! Here's what I have thrown together.. feel free to add suggestions of what you'd like to hear/talk about!
And of course on every Monday be sure to share your progress!! That's the most exciting part :)
May 30th: Healthy breakfast ideas
June 6th: What motivates you? (someone in your life, health reasons, an upcoming event, etc)
June 13th: Healthy lunch ideas (I really need help with this one!!)
June 20th: Exercise tips
June 27th: Healthy dinner ideas
July 14th (I figure no one will want to do this on July 4th weekend!): Inspiring quotes
That's all I can think of for now. Like I said, feel free to add your ideas!
A big huge Thank you and hug to everyone who left your thoughts and prayers on yesterdays post. I've been holding up okay.. but I've definitely had my moments. It's hard being so far away. You feel useless. Feel like you're be a nuisance to everyone when texting and calling to get updates and just check-in, but that's the only think you can do really. It's been especially hard because Trey has been MIA with work.
He is still in the hospital. I've been getting conflicting reports.. from his labs came back clear and there is no sign of heart attack, then heard last night that that was not the case and some level of whateveritscalled was high which means there was a heart attack. He did the nuclear stress test yesterday, which was four hours long and they were told there was damage seen at the tip of his heart (bottom I guess) I talked to him last night and he sounded much much better than he did on Tuesday. He was perfectly content with his bed positioned just right, his table pulled up with Cheez-Its (his staple) and whateveritwasthathewasdrinking and the remote, the Bruins game (which I'm guessing in the end didn't make him quite so happy) and the prettiest nurse in the hospital waiting on his every beck and call. So yeahhh.. hearing him with his normal outlook was reassuring.
They did the catheter this morning and he is already done with that.. results are good. No blockage and no sign of any previous heart attack. He is in recovery now and when I asked how he was feeling, he said, "not bad I guess" and he is ready to go to the beach and have a margarita. Ha! I don't know what comes next. On one hand, it is GREAT that it wasn't a HA, but now what? I just pray that they do find something (he knows something is off) and that it is very simple and very, very treatable.
On another note..
I've been thinking about subjects we can chat about on WW Mondays. Thank you so much for all of you who took the time to comment and link up. I'd love to see more participation, but I don't think we did so bad for the first week! Here's what I have thrown together.. feel free to add suggestions of what you'd like to hear/talk about!
And of course on every Monday be sure to share your progress!! That's the most exciting part :)
May 30th: Healthy breakfast ideas
June 6th: What motivates you? (someone in your life, health reasons, an upcoming event, etc)
June 13th: Healthy lunch ideas (I really need help with this one!!)
June 20th: Exercise tips
June 27th: Healthy dinner ideas
July 14th (I figure no one will want to do this on July 4th weekend!): Inspiring quotes
That's all I can think of for now. Like I said, feel free to add your ideas!
May 25, 2011
My Dad
It's times like these where it really SUCKS - for lack of a better word - to be away from family.
I got a call yesterday from my mum saying she was at the hospital with my dad. Not to freak out too much, but it was his heart. He was awake, hungry and complaining. I was on my morning walk with Andrew and was stopped in my tracks. "Don't freak out too much".. I don't know why people bother telling me that. Of course I'm going to freak. I kept on with my walk all while texting trying to find out more info. (Of course this is on the one day during the week that I can't talk to my husband).
I don't know much more information. I was able to talk to him. He was transferred yesterday to the heart hospital and they are doing tests.
He's had issues with his heart before. His father did as well. He already has a pacemaker that was put in a while back. It's working just fine, but his heart beat is still irregular. They did labs and he didn't have a heart attack. This morning he was brought in for a 4-hour nuclear stress test, and they are hopeful we'll have some answers by this afternoon.
It's hard to hear your dad in obvious pain or discomfort. It's hard to imagine him in the hospital. My heart really hurts, not being able to be there. To give him a big hug and kiss. To be there for my mom. It just plain sucks.
Please lift my family up in your prayers! Pray for his comfort, my mom's peace of mind, and for those doctor's to find some answers.
*One thing that really made me smile last night, was to hear that he was very upset that he couldn't watch American Idol at the volume he would at home. He would usually have it cranked up to 60 and can't really do that in his hospital bed.* Always a sense of humor in this family!
I got a call yesterday from my mum saying she was at the hospital with my dad. Not to freak out too much, but it was his heart. He was awake, hungry and complaining. I was on my morning walk with Andrew and was stopped in my tracks. "Don't freak out too much".. I don't know why people bother telling me that. Of course I'm going to freak. I kept on with my walk all while texting trying to find out more info. (Of course this is on the one day during the week that I can't talk to my husband).
I don't know much more information. I was able to talk to him. He was transferred yesterday to the heart hospital and they are doing tests.
He's had issues with his heart before. His father did as well. He already has a pacemaker that was put in a while back. It's working just fine, but his heart beat is still irregular. They did labs and he didn't have a heart attack. This morning he was brought in for a 4-hour nuclear stress test, and they are hopeful we'll have some answers by this afternoon.
It's hard to hear your dad in obvious pain or discomfort. It's hard to imagine him in the hospital. My heart really hurts, not being able to be there. To give him a big hug and kiss. To be there for my mom. It just plain sucks.
Please lift my family up in your prayers! Pray for his comfort, my mom's peace of mind, and for those doctor's to find some answers.
*One thing that really made me smile last night, was to hear that he was very upset that he couldn't watch American Idol at the volume he would at home. He would usually have it cranked up to 60 and can't really do that in his hospital bed.* Always a sense of humor in this family!
May 23, 2011
Weight Watchers Mondays
Yeahhh.. I couldn't think of anything clever to go with Mondays, but there you have it.
I'm starting a weekly meme for any of you (the more the merrier) to contribute to. Weight loss is hard.. a lifestyle change is even more so. I know I can use all the motivation possible, so I'm sure you all could to. What better way for us all to get together and help each other out?? So, be sure to link up at the bottom of this post! (this is very new for me, so if it doesn't work, try not to be too annoyed! I'll figure it out)
I've decided to do Weight Watchers as you all know from last week, but feel free to add in tips that have worked for you even if you are taking a different approach!
This week, let's share how much you have lost since you started your journey, how much you have to go to meet your goal, and the biggest thing you have learned so far that you were doing all wrong.
On Friday, I did my first weigh-in (they will normally be on Saturday) and drumroll please.....
..... I LOST 5 POUNDS. Yay yay yay!! I'm so very proud of myself. I went in there only expecting to see a loss of 2 at the most, so you can imagine my surprise. A big "Are you kidding me????", was said and the sweet lady assured me that no, she was not in fact kidding. I gushed and gushed and she gave me two stickers. Which only added to my excitement. I'm a child still, I swear it.
My first goal is 5% of my weight, which is 8 pounds, so I am almost there. I have 31 pounds to go before I get to my ultimate goal. A long way to go, but I KNOW I can do it!
For me, this week.. I think the biggest thing I learned was portion control. Holy moly, does that make a difference! And I was eating wayyyy too much! It has really helped to measure everything out this week. Especially salad dressing. Two tablespoons is A LOT less than I thought it was! The second biggest thing I think would be... no mindless snacking. Before WW, I would get everything out to make a sandwich, and snack on an extra piece of cheese while I made it. And that can be applied to anything. Always munching on something. Those little extra things during the day really add up!
During this week, I will work on compiling a list of weekly topics so you can be more prepared (if this even works!) Please participate, y'all! Don't make me feel like the loser blogger that I probably really am that has no friends ;) And let your friends know about it as well! I'm telling you.. I'm really going to need the motivation!
I can't wait to hear from you all!
I'm starting a weekly meme for any of you (the more the merrier) to contribute to. Weight loss is hard.. a lifestyle change is even more so. I know I can use all the motivation possible, so I'm sure you all could to. What better way for us all to get together and help each other out?? So, be sure to link up at the bottom of this post! (this is very new for me, so if it doesn't work, try not to be too annoyed! I'll figure it out)
I've decided to do Weight Watchers as you all know from last week, but feel free to add in tips that have worked for you even if you are taking a different approach!
This week, let's share how much you have lost since you started your journey, how much you have to go to meet your goal, and the biggest thing you have learned so far that you were doing all wrong.
On Friday, I did my first weigh-in (they will normally be on Saturday) and drumroll please.....
..... I LOST 5 POUNDS. Yay yay yay!! I'm so very proud of myself. I went in there only expecting to see a loss of 2 at the most, so you can imagine my surprise. A big "Are you kidding me????", was said and the sweet lady assured me that no, she was not in fact kidding. I gushed and gushed and she gave me two stickers. Which only added to my excitement. I'm a child still, I swear it.
My first goal is 5% of my weight, which is 8 pounds, so I am almost there. I have 31 pounds to go before I get to my ultimate goal. A long way to go, but I KNOW I can do it!
For me, this week.. I think the biggest thing I learned was portion control. Holy moly, does that make a difference! And I was eating wayyyy too much! It has really helped to measure everything out this week. Especially salad dressing. Two tablespoons is A LOT less than I thought it was! The second biggest thing I think would be... no mindless snacking. Before WW, I would get everything out to make a sandwich, and snack on an extra piece of cheese while I made it. And that can be applied to anything. Always munching on something. Those little extra things during the day really add up!
During this week, I will work on compiling a list of weekly topics so you can be more prepared (if this even works!) Please participate, y'all! Don't make me feel like the loser blogger that I probably really am that has no friends ;) And let your friends know about it as well! I'm telling you.. I'm really going to need the motivation!
I can't wait to hear from you all!
May 20, 2011
Just a little teaser
I had to weigh in a day early this week and I have some exciting news...
... that will have to wait for Monday's WW post.
I'm making some progress with the linky set-up, but I'm not quite there yet. Hopefully I can get it all figured out over the weekend! Either way, come back on Monday for lots of weight loss talk :)
Enjoy your weekend friends!
*Edited to add*
I have my post scheduled for Monday and I'm pretty sure the link up is working :) Be ready to post about how much you have lost so far in your weight loss journey, how much you have left to go (if you want to let us all in on that!) and the most important thing you've learned so far that you were doing all wrong to begin with! I'm so excited!
... that will have to wait for Monday's WW post.
I'm making some progress with the linky set-up, but I'm not quite there yet. Hopefully I can get it all figured out over the weekend! Either way, come back on Monday for lots of weight loss talk :)
Enjoy your weekend friends!
*Edited to add*
I have my post scheduled for Monday and I'm pretty sure the link up is working :) Be ready to post about how much you have lost so far in your weight loss journey, how much you have left to go (if you want to let us all in on that!) and the most important thing you've learned so far that you were doing all wrong to begin with! I'm so excited!
May 19, 2011
Why we blog
Have you ever found yourself trying to explain blogger to a non-blogger?
I found myself trying to do just that yesterday and I actually had a hard time explaining. Let me set the scene...
I was on the phone with my SIL chatting about this or that. *That is how 80% of my time is spent during the week while I'm doing other little odd and ends things, but that's neither here nor there* At some point, I don't remember exactly how, my blog came up. I talk about it all the time. Like a lot. So, it comes up rather frequently between us. I've given her my link before, but she is really not into things like this... I knew she never read it. And when I bring up my blog, it's kind of just excepted as a fact of life and we move on. She has never really asked me too much about it.. until yesterday.
She was kind of giggling (okay really giggling) because she cannot fathom why I (we all) would spend so much time on our blogs. What the heck do we talk about. "You have HOW many people that follow your blog?" I told her that was small cookies compared to some other people. She couldn't understand why I would take time out of my day to follow other blogs. Read about peoples lives that I don't know. *For the record, I know she wasn't making fun of us... too much.. she is really just curious about something that is such a big part of my life*
I had a hard time explaining our breed of people. It was hard for me to put into words why I blog other than I like to write. I like to have that connection with you girls (but again, that is soooo hard for some people to understand). I mean.. it does sound a little crazy, right? I love that I've gotten to "know" some of you, but that doesn't sound right to non-bloggers. Why would you want to get to know these people when you have your own "real life" friends. Maybe it's not something I can explain, but I truly do value those of you that have taken the time to read about my life and share your viewpoints and let me into yours.
For me and the little military niche that I am in, that aspect is easy. I can identify with you girls. None of my "RL" friends can relate to me when it comes to this lifestyle. Why I packed up everything I knew (my family, job, friends, etc.) to follow my husband around the world. Why I join an FRG. The crazy hours and acronyms.. you know.. all of that good stuff. A "RL" friend will always be sympathetic and will always listen.. but you guys get it. You've been there. That's nothing against those that don't, but it's nice to have you all.. who have been there. Not to mention, no matter where we get sent, I'll most likely already have a friend at our new home.
So I guess that is my reasoning. It's a hobby. An online, very public, story of our life. Something that helps me connect to people that can relate to me. Something that I'll always be able to look back on and remember the little and big moments. Something that gives me an outlet.
How about you? What are your reasons for being the "crazy" blogger that you are?
I found myself trying to do just that yesterday and I actually had a hard time explaining. Let me set the scene...
I was on the phone with my SIL chatting about this or that. *That is how 80% of my time is spent during the week while I'm doing other little odd and ends things, but that's neither here nor there* At some point, I don't remember exactly how, my blog came up. I talk about it all the time. Like a lot. So, it comes up rather frequently between us. I've given her my link before, but she is really not into things like this... I knew she never read it. And when I bring up my blog, it's kind of just excepted as a fact of life and we move on. She has never really asked me too much about it.. until yesterday.
She was kind of giggling (okay really giggling) because she cannot fathom why I (we all) would spend so much time on our blogs. What the heck do we talk about. "You have HOW many people that follow your blog?" I told her that was small cookies compared to some other people. She couldn't understand why I would take time out of my day to follow other blogs. Read about peoples lives that I don't know. *For the record, I know she wasn't making fun of us... too much.. she is really just curious about something that is such a big part of my life*
I had a hard time explaining our breed of people. It was hard for me to put into words why I blog other than I like to write. I like to have that connection with you girls (but again, that is soooo hard for some people to understand). I mean.. it does sound a little crazy, right? I love that I've gotten to "know" some of you, but that doesn't sound right to non-bloggers. Why would you want to get to know these people when you have your own "real life" friends. Maybe it's not something I can explain, but I truly do value those of you that have taken the time to read about my life and share your viewpoints and let me into yours.
For me and the little military niche that I am in, that aspect is easy. I can identify with you girls. None of my "RL" friends can relate to me when it comes to this lifestyle. Why I packed up everything I knew (my family, job, friends, etc.) to follow my husband around the world. Why I join an FRG. The crazy hours and acronyms.. you know.. all of that good stuff. A "RL" friend will always be sympathetic and will always listen.. but you guys get it. You've been there. That's nothing against those that don't, but it's nice to have you all.. who have been there. Not to mention, no matter where we get sent, I'll most likely already have a friend at our new home.
So I guess that is my reasoning. It's a hobby. An online, very public, story of our life. Something that helps me connect to people that can relate to me. Something that I'll always be able to look back on and remember the little and big moments. Something that gives me an outlet.
How about you? What are your reasons for being the "crazy" blogger that you are?
May 18, 2011
Favorite New Things
No, no.. I haven't gotten contacted or paid to do any of these reviews. I'm not that cool.. YET. These are just a few things that I've tried lately and really, really liked. And I really like you too, so I thought you should know.
Mio
Zero calorie flavoring you can add into your water. It's better than Crystal Light because it comes in a little container and you can squeeze out as much as you'd like. Want just a little something something to your water.. just a quick squeeze will do. Want to feel like you're drinking a Hi-C? Go ahead and squirt it 5 or 6 times. It's up to you. And for $3 something (Target) you can get 24 squeezes. With flavors like Berry Pomegranate, Strawberry Watermelon, and some other Mango flavor I have... I'm in love. If you really want to get crazy you can mix the flavors. Watch out now!
Pop Chips
One day, hubs and I are casually strolling through Costco (one of our favorite past times) and I'm searching high and low for all of the best samples when I came across something called Popchip. I non-comitally taste said "chip" with no intention to buy a bag when YUMMMO... my taste buds were sure surprised by that little ditty. We tried the BBQ flavor and I was immediately instructed to buy a bag.
They aren't fried or bakes.. not really sure what they are to be honest, but delicious and better for you than your normal chip alternative. Since I have no idea what I'm talking about technically, I'll let them tell you..
All natural.
Nothing fake or phony.
Our all-natural pledge: no fake colors, no fake flavors, no preservatives, no fluorescent orange fingertips, and no wiping your greasy chip hand on your jeans. No, really. We only use ingredients you can feel good about eating. And we leave out the bad stuff, like hydrogenated oils and msg, that give snacking a bad name. Because popchips™ brand chips have no preservatives, make sure to get a good chip clip after opening the bag to keep our popped chips fresh. Or better yet, just eat them all at once.
I've seen them at Target too. Get them.
The Ninja
A month or two ago my blender broke. It was great quality.. I just clumsily knocked it off the counter. Nothing is THAT great of quality. It broke into 100 tiny pieces. Yeahh.. it was just as fun as it seems. Normally, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but I've been make most of Drew's food. The blender worked just fine for that, but since I needed to buy SOMETHING, I wanted to see if I could make the food pureeing process a little smoother (ha.. get it?). I did lots of lots of research and finally decided I wanted to try this Ninja thing out.
You've all seen the infomercials, right? I promise, it's as AHmazing as it looks. Ohhh my gosh! I cannot rave enough about this thing. So quick and much more quiet than the blender. And I can make a lot more at one time. It comes with two different sized pitchers so you don't have to use (and clean) the big one if you just want to make a little salsa or something. Very powerful. To puree, you push the little motor thing (again.. not so swell with the technical terms) down for about 10 seconds a few different times. Viola.. you have puree. Want something chopped? Oh, that will only take about .5 seconds. Seriously.. hold that little bugger down for like a nano second and you have perfectly chopped whateveritisyouarechopping. $44-something at Target. (see a trend?)
EOS Shaving Cream
Stands for Evolution of Smooth.
So true. *turns out they have a whole line of products.. just found that out while getting the link. Excites me*
Anywhoo.. I will never use another shaving cream again. Normal priced. Not normal results. First of all, the smell will cause you to salivate. The only one I've tried is pomegranate raspberry. Delish. Sometimes I smell it just for fun. It will help you shave when you don't really want to, but really should. And then.. when you do shave those gams... it will newly define smooth for you. Wow! I think that if you didn't live in the bone-dry desert like I do, you may not even have to use lotion afterwards. Yeah.. it's that good. This, I've seen everywhere. Feel free to buy this at Target while you are shopping for above items, but you can also venture out to Walmart, Walgreens, etc.
That's all I can think of at the moment. I made a list of items and lost it. Go figure. But I'm pretty sure there were more things listed. Don't you all think that I should get paid for this, or at least get a lifetime supply of these products? I sure do :)
Mio
Zero calorie flavoring you can add into your water. It's better than Crystal Light because it comes in a little container and you can squeeze out as much as you'd like. Want just a little something something to your water.. just a quick squeeze will do. Want to feel like you're drinking a Hi-C? Go ahead and squirt it 5 or 6 times. It's up to you. And for $3 something (Target) you can get 24 squeezes. With flavors like Berry Pomegranate, Strawberry Watermelon, and some other Mango flavor I have... I'm in love. If you really want to get crazy you can mix the flavors. Watch out now!
Pop Chips
One day, hubs and I are casually strolling through Costco (one of our favorite past times) and I'm searching high and low for all of the best samples when I came across something called Popchip. I non-comitally taste said "chip" with no intention to buy a bag when YUMMMO... my taste buds were sure surprised by that little ditty. We tried the BBQ flavor and I was immediately instructed to buy a bag.
They aren't fried or bakes.. not really sure what they are to be honest, but delicious and better for you than your normal chip alternative. Since I have no idea what I'm talking about technically, I'll let them tell you..
All natural.
Nothing fake or phony.
Our all-natural pledge: no fake colors, no fake flavors, no preservatives, no fluorescent orange fingertips, and no wiping your greasy chip hand on your jeans. No, really. We only use ingredients you can feel good about eating. And we leave out the bad stuff, like hydrogenated oils and msg, that give snacking a bad name. Because popchips™ brand chips have no preservatives, make sure to get a good chip clip after opening the bag to keep our popped chips fresh. Or better yet, just eat them all at once.
I've seen them at Target too. Get them.
The Ninja
A month or two ago my blender broke. It was great quality.. I just clumsily knocked it off the counter. Nothing is THAT great of quality. It broke into 100 tiny pieces. Yeahh.. it was just as fun as it seems. Normally, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but I've been make most of Drew's food. The blender worked just fine for that, but since I needed to buy SOMETHING, I wanted to see if I could make the food pureeing process a little smoother (ha.. get it?). I did lots of lots of research and finally decided I wanted to try this Ninja thing out.
You've all seen the infomercials, right? I promise, it's as AHmazing as it looks. Ohhh my gosh! I cannot rave enough about this thing. So quick and much more quiet than the blender. And I can make a lot more at one time. It comes with two different sized pitchers so you don't have to use (and clean) the big one if you just want to make a little salsa or something. Very powerful. To puree, you push the little motor thing (again.. not so swell with the technical terms) down for about 10 seconds a few different times. Viola.. you have puree. Want something chopped? Oh, that will only take about .5 seconds. Seriously.. hold that little bugger down for like a nano second and you have perfectly chopped whateveritisyouarechopping. $44-something at Target. (see a trend?)
EOS Shaving Cream
Stands for Evolution of Smooth.
So true. *turns out they have a whole line of products.. just found that out while getting the link. Excites me*
Anywhoo.. I will never use another shaving cream again. Normal priced. Not normal results. First of all, the smell will cause you to salivate. The only one I've tried is pomegranate raspberry. Delish. Sometimes I smell it just for fun. It will help you shave when you don't really want to, but really should. And then.. when you do shave those gams... it will newly define smooth for you. Wow! I think that if you didn't live in the bone-dry desert like I do, you may not even have to use lotion afterwards. Yeah.. it's that good. This, I've seen everywhere. Feel free to buy this at Target while you are shopping for above items, but you can also venture out to Walmart, Walgreens, etc.
That's all I can think of at the moment. I made a list of items and lost it. Go figure. But I'm pretty sure there were more things listed. Don't you all think that I should get paid for this, or at least get a lifetime supply of these products? I sure do :)
May 16, 2011
Linking up help!
There seems to be a lot of interest in doing a weekly topic on everything weight loss, which really excites me. I was hoping it would turn into something like this.
I'd like to post on Mondays. I'll think of some clever name (maybe). Every week I will share my progress with WW, any tips I've learned, recipes we've tried and enjoyed, etc.
I want it to be one of those link posts where everyone can join in and link to it and that's where YOU come in. Yes you :) I have no clue what I'm doing. I've made an account at Simply Linked, but that's about all I could figure out.. making my account.
I clearly need help.. anyone up for the challenge?
I'd like to post on Mondays. I'll think of some clever name (maybe). Every week I will share my progress with WW, any tips I've learned, recipes we've tried and enjoyed, etc.
I want it to be one of those link posts where everyone can join in and link to it and that's where YOU come in. Yes you :) I have no clue what I'm doing. I've made an account at Simply Linked, but that's about all I could figure out.. making my account.
I clearly need help.. anyone up for the challenge?
Weighty Issues
I did it. I done joined Weight Watchers.
I never imagined myself like this 8 months after having a baby. I don't know why. Actually, I do know why. I compared myself to other girls I knew that have had babies. Good friends, acquaintances. Some that bounced back with minimal to NO effort. Some that somehow found the time to exercise all hard core - all while caring for a newborn, keeping up house and home, and working full time. Talk about determination.. geesh!
You can't do that though. Compare yourself to people that aren't in your gene pool, that is. I should have known better. I've struggled with my weight my entire life. The majority of my time has been spent on the overweight side. One time I lost it in a very unhealthy way (aka pretty depressed and therefore not eating much of anything and working out excessively) and the other time being from.. duh duh duh.. you guessed it. Weight Watchers.
So after struggling for a few months now, trying to find the time to work out, going from diet to diet, I ended up being far more confused and frustrated than ever. What really works? Counting calories? But it has to be more than just that, right? The type of calories you eat have to matter. Do I get rid of all carbs, some carbs, sugar? That's not reasonable, for sure! I'm bound to fail with that (and I did). Is real sugar better, or fake? I need to choose all of the"light" options to stay in a respectable amount of calories a day, but if the bottle says "light", that just means the sugar has shot up. Gahhhh! These are the thoughts that have plagued me for months now. Multiple times, I couldn't take it and just gave up all together. Only to gain those 5 pounds back, get disgusted with myself and start some other diet.
Enter WW. I know it works. I've done it. It's realistic. It's changed over the years, and incorporates more of the lifestyle Trey and I have been trying to live. Instead of doing a calorie counting based point system, it's all based on high protein and fiber, low fat and carbs. Win win! Trey gets meals cooked that work for his weight loss efforts, and I can FOCUS on the low carb foods, but add in little bits here and there based on points. Make sense? I probably didn't explain it well enough, but it works in my head. I'm excited.
Here's the ugly truth. I weighed in today at 164.4 pounds. I'm 5'3. This isn't okay. I'm very unhappy with the way I look and feel. I dread going on walks with my little family.. isn't that horrible? So not how I pictured myself. But, I'm changing it. I'm doing something about it and that's what matters. I have a destructive relationship with food. My life revolves around it. Borderline obsessive. So, not only do I want to change the way I look and feel... I want to be able to think about daily life and how food mixes in without breaking out into a cold sweat. In fact, I want to think about my weekend plans without thinking about food at all. Food needs to hold less importance in my life.
I plan to surround myself with supportive, encouraging people. I know Trey will be so very supportive. I know I need to actually GO to the meetings. The online option wouldn't work for me. I need to be held accountable. So between supportive friends, a loving husband, weekly support and weigh-ins, seeing results and hopefully feeling better about myself, I have to be on to a winning combination!
I'll keep track of how I'm doing here. Are any other of you girls out there doing WW? If so, let me know! We can help each other along and share recipes. I know I'm going to need help with meal ideas for sure.
I never imagined myself like this 8 months after having a baby. I don't know why. Actually, I do know why. I compared myself to other girls I knew that have had babies. Good friends, acquaintances. Some that bounced back with minimal to NO effort. Some that somehow found the time to exercise all hard core - all while caring for a newborn, keeping up house and home, and working full time. Talk about determination.. geesh!
You can't do that though. Compare yourself to people that aren't in your gene pool, that is. I should have known better. I've struggled with my weight my entire life. The majority of my time has been spent on the overweight side. One time I lost it in a very unhealthy way (aka pretty depressed and therefore not eating much of anything and working out excessively) and the other time being from.. duh duh duh.. you guessed it. Weight Watchers.
So after struggling for a few months now, trying to find the time to work out, going from diet to diet, I ended up being far more confused and frustrated than ever. What really works? Counting calories? But it has to be more than just that, right? The type of calories you eat have to matter. Do I get rid of all carbs, some carbs, sugar? That's not reasonable, for sure! I'm bound to fail with that (and I did). Is real sugar better, or fake? I need to choose all of the"light" options to stay in a respectable amount of calories a day, but if the bottle says "light", that just means the sugar has shot up. Gahhhh! These are the thoughts that have plagued me for months now. Multiple times, I couldn't take it and just gave up all together. Only to gain those 5 pounds back, get disgusted with myself and start some other diet.
Enter WW. I know it works. I've done it. It's realistic. It's changed over the years, and incorporates more of the lifestyle Trey and I have been trying to live. Instead of doing a calorie counting based point system, it's all based on high protein and fiber, low fat and carbs. Win win! Trey gets meals cooked that work for his weight loss efforts, and I can FOCUS on the low carb foods, but add in little bits here and there based on points. Make sense? I probably didn't explain it well enough, but it works in my head. I'm excited.
Here's the ugly truth. I weighed in today at 164.4 pounds. I'm 5'3. This isn't okay. I'm very unhappy with the way I look and feel. I dread going on walks with my little family.. isn't that horrible? So not how I pictured myself. But, I'm changing it. I'm doing something about it and that's what matters. I have a destructive relationship with food. My life revolves around it. Borderline obsessive. So, not only do I want to change the way I look and feel... I want to be able to think about daily life and how food mixes in without breaking out into a cold sweat. In fact, I want to think about my weekend plans without thinking about food at all. Food needs to hold less importance in my life.
I plan to surround myself with supportive, encouraging people. I know Trey will be so very supportive. I know I need to actually GO to the meetings. The online option wouldn't work for me. I need to be held accountable. So between supportive friends, a loving husband, weekly support and weigh-ins, seeing results and hopefully feeling better about myself, I have to be on to a winning combination!
I'll keep track of how I'm doing here. Are any other of you girls out there doing WW? If so, let me know! We can help each other along and share recipes. I know I'm going to need help with meal ideas for sure.
May 12, 2011
Days 26, 28 and 29
I'm really ready to get back to regular posting!
26
My dream wedding? I had it. I was surrounded my an indescribable amount of LOVE. I felt beautiful. We had a blast. But. Most importantly? I married my best friend. And. In ways I never could have imagined on THAT day? We're better than I ever could have predicted. Sometimes crap got in the way. We've had our bad moments/spans. But right now? Right now, I count myself lucky to say that... almost to the day 4 years ago... I made the best decision of my life by choosing that man to be my husband. I'm thankful that he chose me too. Planning a wedding can be extremely stressful and a PIA to be honest, but if you can come out on the other side of that day and KNOW in your heart that it was the best thing you ever did... you had your dream wedding.
I don't have a good original picture of the city I live in, so I'm skipping day 27.
28
Do we have a year to sit and read about everything that stresses me out? No? Okay, I'll just list a few things. Not having enough time in the day. Money. When I KNOW something is just not right with my baby and I can't figure out what it is. Getting lost. Worrying about when/if I'm every going to live in the same city as my parents again.
29
Three wishes.
1. I wish I could magically lost 34 pounds without having to do any of the work.
2. I wish either ourselves or my parents were rich so they didn't have to work and could fly out and see us whenever they or we wanted.
3. I wish/hope that I'm the best mum ever and I'm doing all of the right things for Drew. That he will grow up to be super smart, never make bad decisions because he will instinctively know better, and will be a well-rounded individual with no emotional hangups caused by his parents.
I may or may not do Day 30. I did well enough on this challenge, right? Even though it took twice as long as it was meant to and I picked and chose the days I wanted to complete? Yes, I did wonderfully? Thanks, I thought so too :)
26
My dream wedding? I had it. I was surrounded my an indescribable amount of LOVE. I felt beautiful. We had a blast. But. Most importantly? I married my best friend. And. In ways I never could have imagined on THAT day? We're better than I ever could have predicted. Sometimes crap got in the way. We've had our bad moments/spans. But right now? Right now, I count myself lucky to say that... almost to the day 4 years ago... I made the best decision of my life by choosing that man to be my husband. I'm thankful that he chose me too. Planning a wedding can be extremely stressful and a PIA to be honest, but if you can come out on the other side of that day and KNOW in your heart that it was the best thing you ever did... you had your dream wedding.
I don't have a good original picture of the city I live in, so I'm skipping day 27.
28
Do we have a year to sit and read about everything that stresses me out? No? Okay, I'll just list a few things. Not having enough time in the day. Money. When I KNOW something is just not right with my baby and I can't figure out what it is. Getting lost. Worrying about when/if I'm every going to live in the same city as my parents again.
29
Three wishes.
1. I wish I could magically lost 34 pounds without having to do any of the work.
2. I wish either ourselves or my parents were rich so they didn't have to work and could fly out and see us whenever they or we wanted.
3. I wish/hope that I'm the best mum ever and I'm doing all of the right things for Drew. That he will grow up to be super smart, never make bad decisions because he will instinctively know better, and will be a well-rounded individual with no emotional hangups caused by his parents.
I may or may not do Day 30. I did well enough on this challenge, right? Even though it took twice as long as it was meant to and I picked and chose the days I wanted to complete? Yes, I did wonderfully? Thanks, I thought so too :)
May 11, 2011
Day 24 and 25:
Blah.. I'm skipping Day 22 and 23. I've already covered both of those things. We already know that I have way too much crap in my purse/diaper bag and I've definitely already talked about my favorite movies.
Moving on -
Day 24: Something I've learned?
I work better when I take the time to be organized. I swear I have undiagnosed ADD. It's way too easy for me to get distracted when trying to stay on a task. (I just had to turn the TV off because I couldn't choose whether I wanted to pay attention to The Doctor's or blog... blogging won). There are so many things I want to get done throughout the week and if I don't write it all out by days, it will never get done. I have to break it all down. If not, I'll start something and never finish it because with my mind racing, thinking about everything else I want to do... if I go into another room.. forget it!
Knowing this about myself and accepting it, we bought a dry erase board with the days of the week on it. On Sunday, I can write out what I want to get done on which day and my week runs much, much more smoothly.
Day 25: Ipod
This is either going to be funny or embarrassing, depending on how you take it. I'm very random with my music taste. I'm supposed to put my Ipod on shuffle and let you know what the first 10 songs are... here we go!
1. Flashing Lights - Kanye West
2. Lot of Leavin' Left To Do - Dierks Bentley
3. Santeria - Sublime
4. You Are Not Alone - Michael Jackson
5. Calling You - Blue October
6 Poker Face - Lady Gaga
7. Good Directions - Billy Currington
8. The Bucket - Kings of Leon
9. Prom Queen - Lil Wayne
10. Patience - Guns N' Roses
*that was really fun for me, so I think I'll do 10 more, yes?*
11. Fairytale - Sara Bareilles
12. Songs About Rain - Gary Allan
13. All My Rowdy Friends (have settled down) - Hank (haaa!)
14. Red Sam - Flyleaf
15. Paper Planes - M.I.A.
16 - Falling Slowly - The Frames
17. Lose Yourself - Eminem (greatest song to work out to ever)
18. Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
19. ATLiens - Outkast
20. Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas
I loved that! Off to go sweet and mop with the Ipod going strong!
Moving on -
Day 24: Something I've learned?
I work better when I take the time to be organized. I swear I have undiagnosed ADD. It's way too easy for me to get distracted when trying to stay on a task. (I just had to turn the TV off because I couldn't choose whether I wanted to pay attention to The Doctor's or blog... blogging won). There are so many things I want to get done throughout the week and if I don't write it all out by days, it will never get done. I have to break it all down. If not, I'll start something and never finish it because with my mind racing, thinking about everything else I want to do... if I go into another room.. forget it!
Knowing this about myself and accepting it, we bought a dry erase board with the days of the week on it. On Sunday, I can write out what I want to get done on which day and my week runs much, much more smoothly.
Day 25: Ipod
This is either going to be funny or embarrassing, depending on how you take it. I'm very random with my music taste. I'm supposed to put my Ipod on shuffle and let you know what the first 10 songs are... here we go!
1. Flashing Lights - Kanye West
2. Lot of Leavin' Left To Do - Dierks Bentley
3. Santeria - Sublime
4. You Are Not Alone - Michael Jackson
5. Calling You - Blue October
6 Poker Face - Lady Gaga
7. Good Directions - Billy Currington
8. The Bucket - Kings of Leon
9. Prom Queen - Lil Wayne
10. Patience - Guns N' Roses
*that was really fun for me, so I think I'll do 10 more, yes?*
11. Fairytale - Sara Bareilles
12. Songs About Rain - Gary Allan
13. All My Rowdy Friends (have settled down) - Hank (haaa!)
14. Red Sam - Flyleaf
15. Paper Planes - M.I.A.
16 - Falling Slowly - The Frames
17. Lose Yourself - Eminem (greatest song to work out to ever)
18. Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
19. ATLiens - Outkast
20. Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas
I loved that! Off to go sweet and mop with the Ipod going strong!
May 7, 2011
Day 20 and 21
I didn't feel like I could write enough about nicknames and since I'm more than a little behind, I figured I'd combine two days!
This nickname section is going to be pretty boring. My name is Jessica..duh.
My husband calls me Jess.
Most of my family calls me Jessie, which is only excepted by them. I will look at you like you're insane if you are not a member of my family and you call me Jessie. It's happened only a handful of times in my life, and it's weird.
Except my brothers... they call me Jess too.
Then there's this other lady that calls me Corky sometimes. Yes, Corky as in Corky from Life Goes On. Remember that show? She's a little Corky-ish herself.
And that's about it!
I have two favorite pictures of myself. That are saved online at least. Here they are :)
This nickname section is going to be pretty boring. My name is Jessica..duh.
My husband calls me Jess.
Most of my family calls me Jessie, which is only excepted by them. I will look at you like you're insane if you are not a member of my family and you call me Jessie. It's happened only a handful of times in my life, and it's weird.
Except my brothers... they call me Jess too.
Then there's this other lady that calls me Corky sometimes. Yes, Corky as in Corky from Life Goes On. Remember that show? She's a little Corky-ish herself.
And that's about it!
I have two favorite pictures of myself. That are saved online at least. Here they are :)
 |
| Minutes before I was to walk down the aisle to my hubby. I love the anticipation you can see all over my face |
 |
| Me and my boy. So happy. Self explanatory. |
May 6, 2011
~ 8 Months ~
Here we go.. another month post. I still say time has gone by at lightening speed. Is there a fast forward button on time once you have a child? I heard that somewhere recently, and I'm starting to believe it's true.
You are getting so big, sweet boy! We very much enjoy watching you learn and grow. You are such a great joy in our lives and everyone's lives that you are a part of. You are very loved! A sweet lady at Walmart said the other day that you were her angel sent to her for the day. You love people.. I think you are going to be quite the social butterfly! When I'm carting you around from store to store, I swear sometimes I think you're just waiting for someone.. ANYONE.. to glance your way so you can flash them that big, beautiful smile of yours. And everyone just eats it up! I can't go anywhere without someone commenting on how precious, cute, happy, you are. And "ohh my goodness, those big blue eyes!". You are something else little Andrew! I hope you continue to be a happy, people loving, sweet boy!
You had a doctor's appointment about 2 weeks ago and you were 19.3 pounds and 28 inches long.
You are still wearing size 4 diapers.
Clothes: 9 month onsies and pants. 12 month Pj's and some shortalls. You're a big boy! My body is starting to feel it. Something has got to give. Either I need to start pushing weights, or you've got to learn to walk ;)
You're eating more and more foods and you are getting better at using your two fingers to pick stuff up. You're a pro at the puffs!
You are still only saying da-da. Sometimes I think you are waving hi and bye-bye, but I don't know if you are intentionally doing it. You sure do that a lot though!
You are so close to crawling! You rock back and forth when you are on your hands and knees and have learned to go from that position to sitting. You're trying really hard to go from sitting to crawling position, but most of the time you fall flat on your face. This morning you were successful at it for the first time, so we'll see!
You love the pictures on our wall with all of our family members. You look at them and smile all the time. If you aren't looking at them, all I have to say is, "Where's your family" and you look straight the pictures and start cheesing. It's precious :)
You've found your tongue this month and you love to stick it out and try to find mine. In fact, you seem to be quite obsessed with my facial features. When I give you your bottle, you touch from nose to mouth to eyes while I tell you which part is which. You also try to pick my nose, which is not socially acceptable.
If you are reclined you can hold your bottle by yourself, but make a mess of the formula if I give it to you sitting up. Your car seat has seen this! You are just OKAY with your sippy cup, but definitely an improvement from last month. You're actually much better with a straw than a sippy cup!
You LOVE to be outside and that can cure the most fussiest of moods. Your favorite thing to do is watch cars and trucks pass by. It excites you greatly. Your favorite toy is also Chuck the Truck. I do believe we have a typical boy's boy on our hands :)
We love you sweet boy! More than you will understand until you have a child of your own. Especially as my first mother's day is around the corner, I'm more thankful for you than ever.
You are getting so big, sweet boy! We very much enjoy watching you learn and grow. You are such a great joy in our lives and everyone's lives that you are a part of. You are very loved! A sweet lady at Walmart said the other day that you were her angel sent to her for the day. You love people.. I think you are going to be quite the social butterfly! When I'm carting you around from store to store, I swear sometimes I think you're just waiting for someone.. ANYONE.. to glance your way so you can flash them that big, beautiful smile of yours. And everyone just eats it up! I can't go anywhere without someone commenting on how precious, cute, happy, you are. And "ohh my goodness, those big blue eyes!". You are something else little Andrew! I hope you continue to be a happy, people loving, sweet boy!
You had a doctor's appointment about 2 weeks ago and you were 19.3 pounds and 28 inches long.
You are still wearing size 4 diapers.
Clothes: 9 month onsies and pants. 12 month Pj's and some shortalls. You're a big boy! My body is starting to feel it. Something has got to give. Either I need to start pushing weights, or you've got to learn to walk ;)
You're eating more and more foods and you are getting better at using your two fingers to pick stuff up. You're a pro at the puffs!
You are still only saying da-da. Sometimes I think you are waving hi and bye-bye, but I don't know if you are intentionally doing it. You sure do that a lot though!
You are so close to crawling! You rock back and forth when you are on your hands and knees and have learned to go from that position to sitting. You're trying really hard to go from sitting to crawling position, but most of the time you fall flat on your face. This morning you were successful at it for the first time, so we'll see!
You love the pictures on our wall with all of our family members. You look at them and smile all the time. If you aren't looking at them, all I have to say is, "Where's your family" and you look straight the pictures and start cheesing. It's precious :)
You've found your tongue this month and you love to stick it out and try to find mine. In fact, you seem to be quite obsessed with my facial features. When I give you your bottle, you touch from nose to mouth to eyes while I tell you which part is which. You also try to pick my nose, which is not socially acceptable.
If you are reclined you can hold your bottle by yourself, but make a mess of the formula if I give it to you sitting up. Your car seat has seen this! You are just OKAY with your sippy cup, but definitely an improvement from last month. You're actually much better with a straw than a sippy cup!
You LOVE to be outside and that can cure the most fussiest of moods. Your favorite thing to do is watch cars and trucks pass by. It excites you greatly. Your favorite toy is also Chuck the Truck. I do believe we have a typical boy's boy on our hands :)
We love you sweet boy! More than you will understand until you have a child of your own. Especially as my first mother's day is around the corner, I'm more thankful for you than ever.
May 5, 2011
Day 19: Something I miss
I'm going to be real honest here.
I MISS waking up when I WANT to wake up.
Trey and I were laughing the other day about this. Joking around *kind of* that I have the most demanding boss in town. We pictured him in a little Stewie voice:
"I'm awake, come get me mother"
Feed me, I'm hungry
I'm sleepy, put me to bed.
Fetch me that toy.
I've peed myself... change my undergarments.
Ha! I love being Andrew's mother, but yeahhh... just for one day I'd like to do things (specifically, sleep) on my time.. not his. I know this is just a time though and before I know it, I will be missing these times!
I MISS waking up when I WANT to wake up.
Trey and I were laughing the other day about this. Joking around *kind of* that I have the most demanding boss in town. We pictured him in a little Stewie voice:
"I'm awake, come get me mother"
Feed me, I'm hungry
I'm sleepy, put me to bed.
Fetch me that toy.
I've peed myself... change my undergarments.
Ha! I love being Andrew's mother, but yeahhh... just for one day I'd like to do things (specifically, sleep) on my time.. not his. I know this is just a time though and before I know it, I will be missing these times!
May 4, 2011
Day 18: Eating out!
I LOVE to eat. Really, it's one of my favorite past times. Which is why I'm joining Weight Watchers on Saturday. It's the only thing that works for me. I've tried multiple things since having Andrew, and really most of my adult life. Weight is something I always have, and I believe always will, struggle with. And WW... is my answer. I'll be going to meetings every Saturday morning for a while. After a few weeks maybe I'll just do the weigh-ins, but this girl needs the accountability. WW online would not work for me. I plan (you all know how that goes, so don't hold your breath) to do weekly updates... even starting by telling you my starting weight (eeeks... that will be embarrassing), but wish me luck.
Anywhoo... sorry! Got off on a little tangent.
Right now, I would have to say that my favorite place to eat is Taco Cabana. I really have simple taste. This place is cheap, but oh so amazing. I eat there at least once a week. I need to get that in in the next few days one more time... after that I'll have to look at the dreaded nutrition information. Lord, please tell me that the #2 meal, which consists of 2 beef tacos in a soft tortilla shell, plus chips and queso are only 2ish points! :)
Calm down mum, Andrew's 8-month post is coming soon!
Anywhoo... sorry! Got off on a little tangent.
Right now, I would have to say that my favorite place to eat is Taco Cabana. I really have simple taste. This place is cheap, but oh so amazing. I eat there at least once a week. I need to get that in in the next few days one more time... after that I'll have to look at the dreaded nutrition information. Lord, please tell me that the #2 meal, which consists of 2 beef tacos in a soft tortilla shell, plus chips and queso are only 2ish points! :)
Calm down mum, Andrew's 8-month post is coming soon!
April 30, 2011
Day 17: I can't wait!
Today I'm supposed to blog about something that I am looking forward to. Easy!
We have been on the waiting list for housing for almost a year now and we are so close to the front of the list! I always knew that I wanted to get the experience of living on post at least once. If we don't like it, fine, but we have to try it, right? And there is no better place to try it out! The officer housing here at Bliss is amazing and I don't think it can be beat. Not for lower ranking officers at least. They are beautiful, stucco homes!
When we moved here last year, it was very hard to find a home to rent. The market is crazy here with the rate that the city is growing, they can't keep up! Landlords are taking advantage of the situation and raising the prices of rent. Sadly, they can get away with it I guess... we all need a place to live! We were lucky to find the home that we did, but we aren't overly happy with it. We only have about 1000 square feet and the neighborhood isn't the greatest. Very busy area and we have to dodge broken beer bottles far, far too often while walking. Plus, we have no storage areas besides the garage. Not even a linen closet! No bueno!
When we move on post, we will gain at least 700 square feet. Trey will be closer to work. We drive on post at least once a weekend, so we'll save some gas and time there. We'll be closer to everything... doctors offices, the hospital, commissary, etc. We'll be right in the middle of the city, so it won't be as big of a deal to drive "all the way over" to the west side (we LOVE it over there). I'll feel like I'm a bigger part of the Army community. We'll have GRASS IN THE BACKYARD! Air Conditioning! No more swamp cooler :) :) I'll have a nice 5-mile track to walk. I cannot wait!
I'm not so much looking forward to the whole moving process, but I really think it will be worth it!
We have been on the waiting list for housing for almost a year now and we are so close to the front of the list! I always knew that I wanted to get the experience of living on post at least once. If we don't like it, fine, but we have to try it, right? And there is no better place to try it out! The officer housing here at Bliss is amazing and I don't think it can be beat. Not for lower ranking officers at least. They are beautiful, stucco homes!
When we moved here last year, it was very hard to find a home to rent. The market is crazy here with the rate that the city is growing, they can't keep up! Landlords are taking advantage of the situation and raising the prices of rent. Sadly, they can get away with it I guess... we all need a place to live! We were lucky to find the home that we did, but we aren't overly happy with it. We only have about 1000 square feet and the neighborhood isn't the greatest. Very busy area and we have to dodge broken beer bottles far, far too often while walking. Plus, we have no storage areas besides the garage. Not even a linen closet! No bueno!
When we move on post, we will gain at least 700 square feet. Trey will be closer to work. We drive on post at least once a weekend, so we'll save some gas and time there. We'll be closer to everything... doctors offices, the hospital, commissary, etc. We'll be right in the middle of the city, so it won't be as big of a deal to drive "all the way over" to the west side (we LOVE it over there). I'll feel like I'm a bigger part of the Army community. We'll have GRASS IN THE BACKYARD! Air Conditioning! No more swamp cooler :) :) I'll have a nice 5-mile track to walk. I cannot wait!
I'm not so much looking forward to the whole moving process, but I really think it will be worth it!
April 29, 2011
Day 16: Dream House
Oh heyyy... the last post was my 400th post. 400th!! Never would I have thought :)
So, my dream house. I think about this all of the time. Trey and I talk about this all of the time. We have big plans.
We don't want to buy again until we are settled somewhere. Selling our house in SC was a nightmare and we don't see the need to put ourselves through that mess again when we know we'll be moving every few years. That being said... we have a while until we get to live in this dream house of ours.
I've never put all of our thoughts together to organize,so this will be good for me!
It has to be somewhere between in the middle of nowhere and in civilization. Trey would be happy if we didn't have neighbors for miles. I need to be pretty close to at least a grocery store and would like to live in general vicinity of people. I want our child(ren) to be able to ride their bike to a friends house. Sooo.. yeah..that's where we'll start.
A wrap around porch is a must. Two rocking chairs. Very comfy patio furniture in the back with a built-in grill and lots of shade in the backyard. My mom will plant me a beautiful garden.
I'd like 5 bedrooms. A luxurious master suite with the perfect bathroom.. must include garden tub. I've still yet to have one of those. I'd like a bay window where I could have a little reading nook. A bedroom for each kid. A playroom. And a guest room.
The kitchen will be very big and open. I would like an island with that thing that will hold your pots and pans above it.
Trey wants a fireplace in the living room, it needs to be open (so you can walk around it). I'm not sure which room will be on the other side of it. Dining room? Another sitting room? We'll see.
And that's all I have for now!
So, my dream house. I think about this all of the time. Trey and I talk about this all of the time. We have big plans.
We don't want to buy again until we are settled somewhere. Selling our house in SC was a nightmare and we don't see the need to put ourselves through that mess again when we know we'll be moving every few years. That being said... we have a while until we get to live in this dream house of ours.
I've never put all of our thoughts together to organize,so this will be good for me!
It has to be somewhere between in the middle of nowhere and in civilization. Trey would be happy if we didn't have neighbors for miles. I need to be pretty close to at least a grocery store and would like to live in general vicinity of people. I want our child(ren) to be able to ride their bike to a friends house. Sooo.. yeah..that's where we'll start.
A wrap around porch is a must. Two rocking chairs. Very comfy patio furniture in the back with a built-in grill and lots of shade in the backyard. My mom will plant me a beautiful garden.
I'd like 5 bedrooms. A luxurious master suite with the perfect bathroom.. must include garden tub. I've still yet to have one of those. I'd like a bay window where I could have a little reading nook. A bedroom for each kid. A playroom. And a guest room.
The kitchen will be very big and open. I would like an island with that thing that will hold your pots and pans above it.
Trey wants a fireplace in the living room, it needs to be open (so you can walk around it). I'm not sure which room will be on the other side of it. Dining room? Another sitting room? We'll see.
And that's all I have for now!
April 28, 2011
Day 15?: Faith
Ohh my gosh... who woulda thunk that it would take me so long to get through this? Ohh.. all of you? Because I never really follow through with anything I start? Grrrrr... I WILL finish this. I'm determined.
Anywhoo...
Favorite Bible verse. To be honest, I'm not as disciplined and studied as I'd like to be with the Bible, so I had to look a few up (because you know I can't just do one). There was one I was specifically looking for and haven't been able to find, but when I do find it, I'll let you know!
Psalm 91:14-16
"Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."
Ephesians 2:8-9
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."
Romans 8:38-39
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angles nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
1 Peter 4:9-10
"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."
I could go on and on and on really, but here is one more..
1 John 8-10
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."
Anywhoo...
Favorite Bible verse. To be honest, I'm not as disciplined and studied as I'd like to be with the Bible, so I had to look a few up (because you know I can't just do one). There was one I was specifically looking for and haven't been able to find, but when I do find it, I'll let you know!
Psalm 91:14-16
"Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."
Ephesians 2:8-9
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."
Romans 8:38-39
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angles nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
1 Peter 4:9-10
"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."
I could go on and on and on really, but here is one more..
1 John 8-10
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."
April 26, 2011
Day 14: Reminiscing
Today's post calls for a picture of me from this time last year. Here we are at his BOLC graduation:
Trey looks like a fat bastard. His words, not mine.. ha! I think he looks adorable. He's pretty hot now though. I was five months pregnant and, ironically, in better shape than I am now! How's THAT for motivation??
Beyond our appearances, this was such an exciting time for us! Finally finishing up BOLC, which Trey was miserable through, and for the first time, on our way out into the big world of the Real Army. This seems like it was just yesterday.
We have been feeling very nostalgic, realizing that it's coming up on a full year that we have been here in El Paso! Armed Forces Day is in a few short weeks. That time last year, we had just been here for a few days and still living in temporary housing on post, not having a single clue where we were going to live. Fort Bliss did a big outing to celebrate that day (including a chili cook-off, which I love) and were able to walk down to the park for our first Fort Bliss "event". They are holding it again this year, over at Biggs Park, and we can't wait to go. Last year, we were so new to the area and I was wobbling around with Drew in my tummy.. this year we can walk around with him in his stroller and celebrate being in the same place for a year!
Beyond our appearances, this was such an exciting time for us! Finally finishing up BOLC, which Trey was miserable through, and for the first time, on our way out into the big world of the Real Army. This seems like it was just yesterday.
We have been feeling very nostalgic, realizing that it's coming up on a full year that we have been here in El Paso! Armed Forces Day is in a few short weeks. That time last year, we had just been here for a few days and still living in temporary housing on post, not having a single clue where we were going to live. Fort Bliss did a big outing to celebrate that day (including a chili cook-off, which I love) and were able to walk down to the park for our first Fort Bliss "event". They are holding it again this year, over at Biggs Park, and we can't wait to go. Last year, we were so new to the area and I was wobbling around with Drew in my tummy.. this year we can walk around with him in his stroller and celebrate being in the same place for a year!
April 20, 2011
Day 13: Goals
First and foremost - lose 30 pounds. It's awful. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I need to change this lack of motivation ASAP. I refuse to have another child on top of all this weight.
Get my Bachelor's degree. I have my Associates, but never finished because I didn't know what I wanted to do and wasted enough time as it was. I think I have it narrowed down now, so hopefully this will be in the near future!
Volunteer more with Trey's unit and other functions I've gotten myself involved in. Here's my secret.. I really am shy deep down. I know.. those that know me best are probably laughing right now, but it's true. It's hard for me to put myself out there. Fear of rejection, maybe? I'm not quite sure. I desperately want to get over it.
Find a home church here in El Paso and really get involved as a family and better my faith. Learn more. I've started going to a weekly Bible Study with PWOC every week (which I'm skipping this morning, but that's neither here nor there)
There you have it!
Get my Bachelor's degree. I have my Associates, but never finished because I didn't know what I wanted to do and wasted enough time as it was. I think I have it narrowed down now, so hopefully this will be in the near future!
Volunteer more with Trey's unit and other functions I've gotten myself involved in. Here's my secret.. I really am shy deep down. I know.. those that know me best are probably laughing right now, but it's true. It's hard for me to put myself out there. Fear of rejection, maybe? I'm not quite sure. I desperately want to get over it.
Find a home church here in El Paso and really get involved as a family and better my faith. Learn more. I've started going to a weekly Bible Study with PWOC every week (which I'm skipping this morning, but that's neither here nor there)
There you have it!
April 18, 2011
Day 12: I will not leave the house without..
Usually, the baby. He's on my hip at all times.
Luckily, my purse doubles as a diaper bag. It's pretty sassy and awesome for a diaper bag.
In that contraption, there always HAS to be the following: diapers, wipes, food of some sort for the monster (#1 - he's always hungry. #2 - what if we broke down or locked ourselves out of the car and were stranded for hours. Fed baby = Happy baby), toys, water bottle, wallet with debit card and Mil ID, Berts Bees chapstick, cellie, keys, and sunglasses because I live in the sun city.
Y'all... I'm getting better, but it does take me about 15 minutes to get out of the house. And that's after we're both dressed and "ready".
Luckily, my purse doubles as a diaper bag. It's pretty sassy and awesome for a diaper bag.
In that contraption, there always HAS to be the following: diapers, wipes, food of some sort for the monster (#1 - he's always hungry. #2 - what if we broke down or locked ourselves out of the car and were stranded for hours. Fed baby = Happy baby), toys, water bottle, wallet with debit card and Mil ID, Berts Bees chapstick, cellie, keys, and sunglasses because I live in the sun city.
Y'all... I'm getting better, but it does take me about 15 minutes to get out of the house. And that's after we're both dressed and "ready".
April 17, 2011
Day 11: TV
I don't watch as much TV as I used to before Drew was born. The ones I STILL won't miss though..
Army Wives
Parenthood
Modern Family
The Office (I don't know if I'll still like it as much with Michael gone. I'm usually a big Will Ferrell fan, but I'm not sure if I even laughed once during his first episode. We shall see..)
So You Think You Can Dance (coming back soon!)
That's it! A year ago this list would have been a mile long.
Army Wives
Parenthood
Modern Family
The Office (I don't know if I'll still like it as much with Michael gone. I'm usually a big Will Ferrell fan, but I'm not sure if I even laughed once during his first episode. We shall see..)
So You Think You Can Dance (coming back soon!)
That's it! A year ago this list would have been a mile long.
April 15, 2011
Day 10: Scaredy Cat
I have strange fears. I think we've touched on this a few times, so I won't dwell. But for the sake of any new readers, here's my list:
1. Insects. This is a huge fear. It effects my quality of life. Ask my SIL about the bee that decided it liked our flowers and tormented us as she is saying her vows. I about ran away. It would have gotten the same reaction had it been a fly or moth though.
2. Clowns. Creepy.. 'nuf* said.
3. Bridges. I do feel like I am overcoming this one. I can look at the pretty water if I'm not driving with only mild hand sweat. I'm convinced a simple overpass is going to come crashing down if I'm the one driving though.
Those are my biggest fears, so we'll stop there. Losing the people I love most are back there nagging at my mind, but I don't know if that could be quite labeled as a fear.. maybe more so something I dread.. because it's going to happen, right? Although, I could list losing Andrew.. because that's NOT supposed to happen and I can't even fathom the thought.
What a depressing note to end on.. Off to watch Just Wright. The husband is thrilled. Serves him right for making me sit through Hot Tub Time Machine last weekend!
*'nuf is a real word according to spell checker.. whoddathunkit?
1. Insects. This is a huge fear. It effects my quality of life. Ask my SIL about the bee that decided it liked our flowers and tormented us as she is saying her vows. I about ran away. It would have gotten the same reaction had it been a fly or moth though.
2. Clowns. Creepy.. 'nuf* said.
3. Bridges. I do feel like I am overcoming this one. I can look at the pretty water if I'm not driving with only mild hand sweat. I'm convinced a simple overpass is going to come crashing down if I'm the one driving though.
Those are my biggest fears, so we'll stop there. Losing the people I love most are back there nagging at my mind, but I don't know if that could be quite labeled as a fear.. maybe more so something I dread.. because it's going to happen, right? Although, I could list losing Andrew.. because that's NOT supposed to happen and I can't even fathom the thought.
What a depressing note to end on.. Off to watch Just Wright. The husband is thrilled. Serves him right for making me sit through Hot Tub Time Machine last weekend!
*'nuf is a real word according to spell checker.. whoddathunkit?
April 14, 2011
Day 9: BFFs
In this area, I am beyond blessed :)
This is Sara. We've been friends for 25 years. Yeahh.. a long time! Our families were close before we were even born. She lives in Massachusetts. We were in each other's weddings. I.love.her.
My SIL, Melissa. We've been through a lot together. She is definitely my sister in every sense of the word. We have a lot of fun together.. sometimes too much fun. We can talk to each other about anything and everything.
Julianne is another friend that I've had for a very long time! For almost 10 years now actually. We started dating our current husbands within months of each other and the four of us have many, many fun, wonderful memories to last us for quite a while. I can go to her with anything.. she has many a times been my shoulder to cry on. I love our inside jokes. The things we could laugh for hours about that no one else would understand. Strawberry Wine will forever be "our" song. Look at us as mamas now!
Here is Emily circa 2007 (not quite sure why the photo says 2006) at my lingerie shower. I met Emily when she was 17? 18? Trey's BF, Brandon, pretty much robbed the cradle (but that's okay because they are married now and expecting their second child) and I met her very early in their (2nd) relationship. It was love at first sight. She's one of my favorite people ever. I love everything about her, but especially how much she values the people (like me) in her life and her sense of humor.
Second person from the left (like if you're looking at the picture, left) is Ashleigh. (I could not get the only picture I have of us one on one to upload quickly enough, Ashleigh, and I just got too impatient) I met Ashleigh in quite the same way that I met Emily. She started dating Trey's other BF, Matt. She wasn't always around because she went to college in Charleston, but she has grown to be one of my dearest friends. She quite possibly could be the sweetest girl that I am lucky enough to know. She makes sure that her friends know just how much they mean to her. Trey and I were beyond touched that she and Matthew flew out to see us after Drew was born. Now she is expecting a sweet little girl of her own and I cannot wait to meet her!!
Jennifer!! Jenn and I were friends back in high school. We had some very memorable moments working at CVS together. Life got in the way and throughout college and life afterwards, we lost touch. Thanks to FB we were able to catch back up. As fate (or the Army) would have it, we were placed back into each other's lives when Trey and I were stationed at Ft. Bliss. Jenn ended up marrying a soldier and came here less than a year before we did and we now live within walking distance from each other! God knew what he was doing when He brought us back together. I'll never ever forget how much her and her poor husband were there for me when Drew was born. She was right by my side in the hospital so Trey could go to the hospital Drew was transferred to and I wouldn't have to be alone. Her poor husband got to know me real quickly and lets just say there aren't many secrets between us any longer. He was such a trooper and will be very prepared for the after-effects of birth when they have a baby of their own! Jennifer makes being miles and miles away from my family bearable! Side note Jenn: We need to take more pics together.
Another side note: Jenn makes the cutest things for children. Dresses, bows, boys clothes.. anything. Girl is super talented. You should check out some of her stuff here
Another side note: Jenn makes the cutest things for children. Dresses, bows, boys clothes.. anything. Girl is super talented. You should check out some of her stuff here
April 12, 2011
Day 8: Travel
I'm so behind! It's not totally my fault.. our internet has been down. Turns out a few wires were going bad down the street. To anyone that happens to live in my general area, you're welcome if your internet is running a little smoother now.
I'm just going to pick up where I left off instead of putting all of those days in one post. I know.. I know.. my month long assignment will probably take three months. This is why I never excelled in school.
Sooo - A place that I've traveled to. I'd have to say that the most exciting place we've been to would be Cancun, Mexico for our honeymoon
Sadly, I have no pictures uploaded on my computer of our 7 days there. Trust me when I say it was the most amazing, relaxing, fun 7 days of our lives. We never wanted to come home. Who would?? All-inclusive is the way to go! (but you will gain at least 10 pounds) Beautiful resort, friendly people, loads of entertainment, never-ending free drinks, more food than you can even picture in your head, gorgeous pools, swim-up bars in said pools, cabana boys who come to serve you drinks while you're sprawled out on the beach, fun excursions.
Is it time for a second honeymoon yet??
I'm just going to pick up where I left off instead of putting all of those days in one post. I know.. I know.. my month long assignment will probably take three months. This is why I never excelled in school.
Sooo - A place that I've traveled to. I'd have to say that the most exciting place we've been to would be Cancun, Mexico for our honeymoon
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| We stayed at the Moon Palace Resort - great choice |
Is it time for a second honeymoon yet??
April 7, 2011
Day 6 and 7:
Today, I'm supposed to post a picture of something that makes me happy. Only one is not possible for me :)
Day 7 - My favorite movies.
I was a little busy yesterday and couldn't finish the Day 6 post, so we're just cramming these in together, okay?
I have other favorites. I love hang-on-the-edge-ofyourseats thrillers, but these are three that I could watch over and over... and over again!
Today, I'm supposed to post a picture of something that makes me happy. Only one is not possible for me :)
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| Getting to see Trey as a Daddy. He is wonderful with Drew and it warms my heart to no end |
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| Gerber Daisies are my absolute favorite flower. How can you not smile when you see those bright, fun flowers? |
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| Fireworks! They are just magical to me :) "ooohhh" "ahhhhhhh" |
I was a little busy yesterday and couldn't finish the Day 6 post, so we're just cramming these in together, okay?
April 5, 2011
Day 5: A song to match my mood
I love my music.. so I couldn't just pick one!
First is Michael Buble. I play this song to make my mood match it!
And one more. Toby Keith because I just saw my husband get promoted and I'm feeling sorta proud :)
First is Michael Buble. I play this song to make my mood match it!
And one more. Toby Keith because I just saw my husband get promoted and I'm feeling sorta proud :)
April 4, 2011
Day 4: My Parents
Where do I even begin? I betcha my mum is nervous wondering what on earth I'm going to write about her.. teehee
My parents are two of my favorite people on the face of this earth. They met young.. my mum was still a teenager. I came into their lives when they were still young. They defied the odds and raised me in a loving (although slightly psychotic) home and added my two brothers into the mix.
They don't take life overly seriously..not as in they are irresponsible parents.. we just always had/have fun. (besides those few short years where I was rotten to them). We laugh. A lot. My dad is hilarious. One thing I think of that always makes me laugh is one year when he decided to tell his entire side of the family (including my grandmother) that Trey and I were having a baby and had to have a quick courthouse wedding. My grandmother cried. He let it go on the entire day. It was an April's Fools joke that he forgot he made in the first place. I found out by getting an excited/shocked email from my cousin.
My mum has a heart made out of gold. She wants to fix the world's and everyone in its (I don't think that's grammatically correct and it's driving me crazy, but I just have to let it go and move on) problems. She's very much a mother hen. We all go to her for a shoulder to cry on or to have someone just listen to our problems, and as much as I appreciate it/her, I hate it at the same time. She will take your problem in and it will then be her own. She will feel your pain just as much as you do.
There is so much more to them, but we'd be here all day.
Both of them - transplanted northerners living in the south due to my dad's company.
Dad - sarcastic, smartass, funny-man, Redsox and Patriots watching, beer and Waffle House lover, nothing-is-too-hot-for-my-taste-buds man, who thinks Bose is the greatest speaker system in the entire universe.
Mum - kind, too kind, fabulous cooker, silly, wine and book lover, would live on her back deck if she could, will probably one day live on the beach, flip flop wearing, just sayin' sayer, who loves her family more than anything.
My parents are two of my favorite people on the face of this earth. They met young.. my mum was still a teenager. I came into their lives when they were still young. They defied the odds and raised me in a loving (although slightly psychotic) home and added my two brothers into the mix.
They don't take life overly seriously..not as in they are irresponsible parents.. we just always had/have fun. (besides those few short years where I was rotten to them). We laugh. A lot. My dad is hilarious. One thing I think of that always makes me laugh is one year when he decided to tell his entire side of the family (including my grandmother) that Trey and I were having a baby and had to have a quick courthouse wedding. My grandmother cried. He let it go on the entire day. It was an April's Fools joke that he forgot he made in the first place. I found out by getting an excited/shocked email from my cousin.
My mum has a heart made out of gold. She wants to fix the world's and everyone in its (I don't think that's grammatically correct and it's driving me crazy, but I just have to let it go and move on) problems. She's very much a mother hen. We all go to her for a shoulder to cry on or to have someone just listen to our problems, and as much as I appreciate it/her, I hate it at the same time. She will take your problem in and it will then be her own. She will feel your pain just as much as you do.
There is so much more to them, but we'd be here all day.
Both of them - transplanted northerners living in the south due to my dad's company.
Dad - sarcastic, smartass, funny-man, Redsox and Patriots watching, beer and Waffle House lover, nothing-is-too-hot-for-my-taste-buds man, who thinks Bose is the greatest speaker system in the entire universe.
Mum - kind, too kind, fabulous cooker, silly, wine and book lover, would live on her back deck if she could, will probably one day live on the beach, flip flop wearing, just sayin' sayer, who loves her family more than anything.
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| At my wedding :) |
April 3, 2011
~ 7 Months ~
Here we are again! * Almost a week late, but you keep me pretty busy these days! * These months just fly by and this one has been quite the busy one for you, Mister.
You're wearing size 4 diapers. Mostly wearing size 6-9 month clothes still, but can fit into some 9 month rompers. (I'm going to be reorganizing your clothes tomorrow.. again) I'm sure you need to be wearing 9 month pj's.. we just need to go out and buy you some! Maybe if any of your Grandparents are reading this they will send you some ;)
You eat really well, like always. Now you eat in your big boy highchair. We've got you on more of a structured schedule now though. You're eating three meals a day and an extra bottle before bedtime. You love your fruit and oatmeal in the morning! On top of all the normal fruits and veggies that you've been eating, we've added meats (shewww.. your body is taking a while to adjust to that!), strawberries, corn, granola, YoBaby yogurt... I think you've tried everything except mixed berries and starches. You love it all.
You finally figured out how to roll from back to tummy and let.me.tell.you... you are all over the place now! We knew you could do it... you just had to want to, I guess! For the most part, if you want something.. you can get to it. Unless you're too tired.. then you resort to you infant days and cry until we give it to you :)
Yesterday, you hiked yourself up on all fours and started rocking back and forth (which I guess technically belongs in your 8 month post...) so I don't think it'll be long before you start crawling! Lord help..
You're also sitting up really well. Still not comfortable leaving you sitting up unless you have pillows around you.. but you'll sit there for a very long time. You can reach out pretty far for a toy and still not fall over. You're even in the big bathtub now! You love that.. splash around in there likes it's your job. Mizzy taught you that.
You were left with childcare for the first time this month (again.. really 8 month post) so mommy could start going to a Bible study every week. It's just for a little over 2 hours, but it seemed like you really enjoyed yourself. You jumped right in, started playing, and couldn't have cared less when I was waving bye-bye to you. I'm glad that you seem to be so sociable. We are enrolling you in CYS (Child Youth Services)* tomorrow so I can bring you in for hourly care when I need to get other things done without you. It's not that I don't want you with me 24-7 (promise).. you have just gotten so curious and it's getting harder to do some things with you attached to my hip (doctor's appointments, OCSA (Officer, Civilian, Spouses Association) luncheons, etc). Plus, it's good to get you out there and learn that you can survive without me for a bit.
Speaking of which... this has been your month to be hit with Separation Anxiety. From birth until 6 months (for you), you didn't really know that we existed if we left your sight. Out of sight, out of mind if you will. That was cool. I could set you down with your toys and get stuff done (like potty). Not anymore. You see us leaving and you don't know if we'll be back in a minute or.. never... maybe we left you forever and ever you are thinking. Which is not even a remote possibility.. but you're little brain doesn't know that. So.. you scream. And scream and scream until we are right by your side again. I thought I had this under control.. but not so much.
We rode on a plane together by ourselves. You did pretty well. You loved talking and playing with everyone on the plane.
You still just have your two bottom teeth. I thought for sure you'd have the top two by now.. seems like you have been teething for a while, but to no avail. Hopefully I haven't been feeding you Tylenol for no reason..
You love to Skype now and probably think that your loved ones live in the computer screen. It may just be that you love to try to get to the keys on the computer, but regardless.. you're a lot more fun to Skype with. You jump up and down and laugh a lot.
You've been saying "da-da" quite a bit now. I taught you thought while your daddy was in the field for a week and you haven't stopped yet. I don't think you know what you are saying yet, but we like to think you do. You can start saying ma-ma any day now :)
We just love you to the moon and back. It's so much fun watching you become the little boy that you are and seeing that wonderful personality emerge. I looked back at some older pictures today (just from 4 months) and I can't believe how much you have changed in just a few months. We are very lucky to have you in our lives... I can't imagine life without you!
*Mum pointed out to me that I use the Army abbreviations too often and she never knows what I'm talking about. I'm going to attempt to be better about that :)
Day 3: First Love
I would have to say that my first love was this man:
There is not much that tops the love between a Daddy and his daughter. He was the number one man in my life for quite a while (and is still a very close 2nd). We even danced to I Loved Her First so I guess he agrees :)
But then I grew older and hit those awful, awkward teen years. I was totally that love-struck (pathetic) teenage girl. How I wish I could go back and tell my younger self that she did NOT know what love really was. That you'll know the real meaning of love when you meet your future husband at 19. It won't compare to anything you've felt before.
And then.. then... you will set your eyes on your first born child. Your heart will fill with love you didn't know you had in spaces you didn't know existed to fill.
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| notice the terrified look on my face |
But then I grew older and hit those awful, awkward teen years. I was totally that love-struck (pathetic) teenage girl. How I wish I could go back and tell my younger self that she did NOT know what love really was. That you'll know the real meaning of love when you meet your future husband at 19. It won't compare to anything you've felt before.
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| Right after our ceremony in 2007 |
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| The first picture we took of our sweet boy |
April 2, 2011
Day 2: Learning As We Go
The name of my blog is Learning As We Go.
I originally created this blog because one of my friends made one and was loving it. That got me started reading blogs. I was pretty much stalking these people and felt like a total creeper. I felt like I knew them in real life, but they had no clue who I was. Creepy, if you ask me.
So I made a blog. Not knowing what on earth I was going to write about and never imagining anyone would find my life interesting enough to follow me. 170-something followers later.. here we are!
A few months after I made my little corner of the internet is when the Army talk started up. Before I knew if, my husband was heading off to Basic Training and I had tons of you wonderful ladies out there to walk me through every step. This is around the time I changed to name of the ol' blog to Learning As We Go.
I had NO CLUE what to expect from the Army Life. I knew that it was unpredictable and too much to learn in one sitting.. hence the title. Over the past few years, I've just applied that meaning to everything in life. Army, moving, parenting... I'm just taking life one step at a time and learning as I go.
There you have it :)
I originally created this blog because one of my friends made one and was loving it. That got me started reading blogs. I was pretty much stalking these people and felt like a total creeper. I felt like I knew them in real life, but they had no clue who I was. Creepy, if you ask me.
So I made a blog. Not knowing what on earth I was going to write about and never imagining anyone would find my life interesting enough to follow me. 170-something followers later.. here we are!
A few months after I made my little corner of the internet is when the Army talk started up. Before I knew if, my husband was heading off to Basic Training and I had tons of you wonderful ladies out there to walk me through every step. This is around the time I changed to name of the ol' blog to Learning As We Go.
I had NO CLUE what to expect from the Army Life. I knew that it was unpredictable and too much to learn in one sitting.. hence the title. Over the past few years, I've just applied that meaning to everything in life. Army, moving, parenting... I'm just taking life one step at a time and learning as I go.
There you have it :)
April 1, 2011
Day 1 - trying to be interesting
For those of you that don't know me well YET, my name is Jessica. My husband is a part of the big, bad U.S. Army, we have the most adorable 7 month old little bambino on the planet, and this is where I write about our life (well.. the bits and pieces I choose to share)
Now for my 15 interesting facts... I'll do my best. No promises that this will be thrilling!
1. I'm half Yankee and half Southerner. I lived in Massachusetts until I was 13, and spent the next 13 and 1/2 years of my life in South Carolina. I claim both places. It's never a simple answer when someone asks me where I'm from.. they should be prepared to hear my life story.
2. We almost lost our son when he was born. None of his vital functions were working. Wasn't able to breath on his own, control his BP, eat..nothing. It was the scariest, saddest, most unreal part of my life. Luckily, he is a champ and improved quickly.. he was out of the NICU in a week and 1/2. That was a miserable week and a half.
3. I don't like plain milk. Only chocolate milk.
4. I'm attempting to grow my little own garden of Cilantro. I love it that much. I put it on everything.
5. I'm very sarcastic. It used to be almost to a fault. I've simmered down.. but only a little.
6. I put an ungodly amount of pepper on my food. So much so that people give me strange looks when they see this happening and it makes me a little self conscience. I get it from my dad and my brothers are the same way. I think I used to see my dad doing it and probably wanted to be cool like him. I don't really even taste it anymore.
7. I have 2 brothers. I'm the oldest child. One brother, Charlie, is 7 years younger than me. The other one, Steven, is almost 14 years younger than me. I want one more child semi-soon. I want my kids to be closer in age. (my brothers and I are very close despite the age difference)
8. (my husband is helping me with this because I can't think of much... this one is from him) I've never in my life met a stranger, even though I get nervous when I'm meeting new people. Give me an hour with most people and I will know their life history and we'll have a coffee date for the next week.
9. In most ways, I'm married to my polar opposite. I'm very optimistic and will see the brighter side in most things.. glass half full kind of gal. He tends to focus on the negative... he's finally improving after knowing me for 9 years. He makes me laugh almost constantly though.
~ Ohhh my gosh.. I still need 5 more??? ~
10. I bite my nails and I'm not even remotely worried about the germs I'm consuming while doing so.
11. I'm a great story teller.
12.I'm terrified of the dentist and haven't been for a cleaning in two years. (feel free to leave comments motivating me to go).
13.I'm also scared of any type of insects (PETRIFIED actually.. as in it alters my quality of life), clowns, bridges, the dark.. basically a lot of stuff.
14. This is really weird, but I'll put it out there. I can't touch cotton balls. I find it hard to type this.. my palms are sweating. The feeling of them stretching and the sound they make give me full, complete body chills. Even some things that are made out of cotton.. like those blankets people make that have the little taggies on the end. I tried to make one once and couldn't finish. I couldn't tie the little ends together without going into convulsions. Echhh...
15. I 100% believe in ghosts, but not at all in aliens.
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| being introduced at my SILs reception to Bringing Sexy Back... cuz that's how I roll |
1. I'm half Yankee and half Southerner. I lived in Massachusetts until I was 13, and spent the next 13 and 1/2 years of my life in South Carolina. I claim both places. It's never a simple answer when someone asks me where I'm from.. they should be prepared to hear my life story.
2. We almost lost our son when he was born. None of his vital functions were working. Wasn't able to breath on his own, control his BP, eat..nothing. It was the scariest, saddest, most unreal part of my life. Luckily, he is a champ and improved quickly.. he was out of the NICU in a week and 1/2. That was a miserable week and a half.
3. I don't like plain milk. Only chocolate milk.
4. I'm attempting to grow my little own garden of Cilantro. I love it that much. I put it on everything.
5. I'm very sarcastic. It used to be almost to a fault. I've simmered down.. but only a little.
6. I put an ungodly amount of pepper on my food. So much so that people give me strange looks when they see this happening and it makes me a little self conscience. I get it from my dad and my brothers are the same way. I think I used to see my dad doing it and probably wanted to be cool like him. I don't really even taste it anymore.
7. I have 2 brothers. I'm the oldest child. One brother, Charlie, is 7 years younger than me. The other one, Steven, is almost 14 years younger than me. I want one more child semi-soon. I want my kids to be closer in age. (my brothers and I are very close despite the age difference)
8. (my husband is helping me with this because I can't think of much... this one is from him) I've never in my life met a stranger, even though I get nervous when I'm meeting new people. Give me an hour with most people and I will know their life history and we'll have a coffee date for the next week.
9. In most ways, I'm married to my polar opposite. I'm very optimistic and will see the brighter side in most things.. glass half full kind of gal. He tends to focus on the negative... he's finally improving after knowing me for 9 years. He makes me laugh almost constantly though.
~ Ohhh my gosh.. I still need 5 more??? ~
10. I bite my nails and I'm not even remotely worried about the germs I'm consuming while doing so.
11. I'm a great story teller.
12.I'm terrified of the dentist and haven't been for a cleaning in two years. (feel free to leave comments motivating me to go).
13.I'm also scared of any type of insects (PETRIFIED actually.. as in it alters my quality of life), clowns, bridges, the dark.. basically a lot of stuff.
14. This is really weird, but I'll put it out there. I can't touch cotton balls. I find it hard to type this.. my palms are sweating. The feeling of them stretching and the sound they make give me full, complete body chills. Even some things that are made out of cotton.. like those blankets people make that have the little taggies on the end. I tried to make one once and couldn't finish. I couldn't tie the little ends together without going into convulsions. Echhh...
15. I 100% believe in ghosts, but not at all in aliens.
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