Weighing In

Warning!  If the thought of looking at my stomach does not appeal to you, you should probably consider turning back now!


When I got pregnant with Aria back in March of 2011 I weighed in at a respectable 127lbs. I'm pretty certain that overnight I gained 10lbs (or so it seemed). During my pregnancy I was honestly not concerned with my weight. The ONLY time I stepped on a scale was when I made a visit to the doctor and even then I really didn't pay attention to what it read. My philosophy was that as long as I was healthy and not being scolded for weight gain by my doctor I had nothing to gain by looking at a scale.  I’m not exactly sure how much weight I ended up putting on but I know I had to have weighed around 152lbs (maybe even a little more) by the time I went into labor.  Honestly, I don’t think I ended up too bad off.

 This picture was taken about 2 weeks before Aria was born.

 

My initial thought was that as soon as Aria arrived and my body was back to normal I would jump right in to working out, cutting my calories, and getting rid of that excess weight.  But the more reading I did on breastfeeding, the more I grew concerned that if I began my workout routine and cut my calories I could face the possibility of my milk supply drying up before Aria turned one.  So I opted to sacrifice my body for another year to make sure I could reach my goal of not spending one dime on formula!  I lost a little weight after she was born but I stayed pretty steady around 145lbs for the majority of her first year of life.

 This picture was taken at my best friend's wedding in August 2012.

 

As soon as Aria turned one it was game on!  The first step for me was cutting my calories and getting used to not eating every dessert in site.  I saw a little change in my weight and after the holidays I added working out to the mix.  I am excited to say that so far I’ve lost about 11lbs!  I’ve still got some work to do to re-shape and get those last few pounds off, but it is really encouraging to see progress being made. 

So these aren't exactly before pictures, but I think this is a good starting point.  I’ve got to be honest, I’m not really comfortable putting my stomach on display for everyone to see, but I think it’s important to have some accountability.  I mean do I really want the last picture you see to be my “before” picture?? 

 

 

While I know that I will probably never have “washboard” abs, I definitely think I can shave off a little more of that muffin top.  So here’s to making good choices!


Stats:
February 26^th, 2013
Weight: 132.8lbs
Waist: 36 inches
Resource: The Daily Plate (I mainly use the free mobile app)

 

Change of Career

Over the past week I've been doing a lot of thinking and it is clear that I have chosen the wrong career.  If only I would have put more thought into the proper career path maybe I could have predicted recent trends and clearly seen that I should have made a career in the ammo making business!

Jason and I are taking our concealed carry class this coming Sunday so we began seeking ammo to practice with and use to for our qualification test.  After visiting multiple places it was clear that we were going to have a difficult time finding enough because no one can keep their shelves stocked!  It came down to standing in line with 30 other people just to get 1 box a piece!

Now I don't typically make political statements mostly because I can honestly say that I don't have all of the facts.  But I'm kind of sick of all of this gun control talk.  Here is my opinion - you can like it or not.  Doesn't matter to me because that is why I call it my opinion and not yours.

1. Cars kill people, not drunk drivers.  Such a ridiculous statement!  Well so is guns kill people, not the people holding them.
2. Violent video games and movies cause people to kill people.  Seriously?  While I agree that these two things should be viewed in moderation, I again cannot believe that a mentally sound person is going to up and decide to pull out a gun and shoot someone just because they played a video game or saw a movie.
3. You know how they say locks really only keep honest people out?  I think the same goes for banning certain guns.  You're keeping the honest people out and the dishonest ones will still find a way to get in.

Today I heard on Fox News that someone made the statement that women should not be allowed to carry guns on college campuses because the only self-defense they need are a whistle and knowledge of the nearest safe zone.  Maybe you don't believe that guns should be on college campuses, but please don't tell me that a whistle and a safe zone are going to protect me should someone decide to rape me.

It is clear that guns are going to be a source of debate for a while.  And while I don't feel the answer is to interfere with our rights to bear arms, I don't think it is a good idea to rely solely on guns for our safety.  Get educated on other methods to defend yourself because one day that may be your only option.

Inspiration

Many people have come into my life and I have been blessed to be inspired by a lot of them in some form or fashion.  One such inspiration is my friend Amanda Joiner. 

Amanda and I met while working together about 6 years ago and as fate would have it we were assigned to share an office.  Her amazing sense of humor along with the fact that she knew the lyrics to the entire RENT soundtrack meant that we were destined to hit it off right away.  But even though I enjoyed our mid-day RENT duets (which sometimes included dance routines), I feel that God had a plan for bringing her into my life.

When Amanda and I first met, I was struggling with my faith.  It's not that I didn't believe, but more like I had a lot of questions that were unanswered.  Amanda is such a strong Christian woman with an unwavering faith and as I got to know her better, I began to feel more comfortable discussing my questions with her. And when the day came for her to get married and move away to Houston I was sad, but I knew she had done something great in my life.

As time moved on and I got married, my chats with Amanda in our office in many ways helped to shape the foundation for my marriage.  Not long after I got married, I learned that Amanda and Brian had been having trouble conceiving a child.  So when it was time for me to make the call to tell her we were expecting a baby, I really struggled trying to find the right words to say.  I was relieved when she sounded genuinely  happy for me and thanked me for telling her rather than trying to avoid the topic.

She and Brian continued to try everything they could to get pregnant and you can read all about their journey on Amanda's blog.  One thing you will learn about Amanda from her blog is that she is not one to hide her emotions.  She is very open and honest with her feelings which I think helps others struggling with the same issues to realize they are not alone.  While Amanda and Brian's journey was nothing short of an emotional roller coaster, the overall theme has always remained that they will continue to trust in God.  What an amazing inspiration for anyone struggling with anything in their life!

In August of 2012 Amanda announced that they were finally pregnant!  And just when you think it can't get any better, they find out they are having TWINS; a boy AND a girl!  This past weekend I attended a baby shower for Amanda (see photo below) and as I sat there watching her open presents (By the way she is a great present opener.  It takes skill to put so much care into opening each individual gift while staying excited the entire time.) I couldn't help but feel so in awe of God's amazing work. 

Photo credit to Allison Oliver

Amanda's story and strength are an inspiration to many.  But what is really an inspiration to me is to see that throughout it all her faith has remained as strong as it was 6 years ago when we shared an office together.  Congratulations Amanda!  I know I will continue to be inspired as I watch you skillfully raise two babies at the same time!!

If I Can Just Get Through This Week...

I feel like my life is in a vicious cycle of "If I can just get through this week, life will slow down a bit!"  After being absent from the blogging scene for almost 2 years, I think it is safe to say that life will never slow down and I will forever live in a dream world where I imagine a full day of doing nothing but sitting on the couch eating Reece's Peanut Butter Eggs.  Surprisingly I'm okay with this!

Between a full-time job, a 1 year old daughter, and assisting my husband (who also has a full-time job) with running his Taekwondo school, I've had to redefine my definition of normal everyday life.  It can get hard at times, but I wouldn't change it for the world and I'm pretty sure it will only get crazier from here!

On December 4, 2011 I gave birth to the most amazing little girl in the world - Aria Ann.
My husband and I are fairly particular about posting pictures of her online, so I wouldn't count on seeing very many of them.  She is 1 now and is such a fun little girl.  She talks and laughs a lot and loves everyone she meets!

 

 

In September of 2012, my husband and I decided to take a chance on his dream of opening an Olympic style Taekwondo studio called Apex Martial Arts Academy (feel free to like us on Facebook).  What an adventure it has been so far!  We are learning a lot and have such an amazing group of students that I feel God hand-picked for us.  The picture below is actually of our "old" facility.  We just got word today that we are moving to an even more amazing location so I'm sure we will have more pictures to come!

 

 

 



So as this week comes to an end, I am under no illusion that next week I will be able to take it easy.  We are so blessed in our crazy life and I don't even know what normal is any more, but I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in our ever-changing life!

 

 

 

  

Starbucks Here I Come!

So today is the last day of my 31 day H2O challenge and I couldn't be happier!  It has been a really long month, but I must say that I am very proud of myself.  Giving up everything but water for 1 month was a lot harder than I thought it would be. 

I will admit that after much debate I did make ONE exception.  Jason and I brought back a bottle of wine from Australia for our 1 year anniversary and I of course did not take this into account when I decided to take this challenge.  I did have 1 glass to celebrate with my wonderful hubby!  Though I was very conflicted about whether or not to partake in the wine, I decided that it would be okay because overall I was doing an amazing job with my 31 day challenge.

Health-wise, I didn't feel any different, maybe just a little more hydrated.  My teeth did seem to naturally whiten a bit which was nice.  I saved a lot of money for sure (an estimated $75 because since I didn't make trips to Starbucks, neither did Jason)!  And every time I felt weak and wanted to give in, I remembered why I was doing this and felt a renewed strength.

Now that I've completed this challenge, I hope to use this as an opportunity to be aware of times when I may be overindulging and put a stop to it before it gets too crazy!

Starting tomorrow I'm giving up sweets for the month of February.  I expect this to be difficult but I know I can do it!

The 31 Day H2O Challenge

I am not a strong believer in New Year's resolutions.  I think by using the label "New Year's resolution" we tend to think short term, or at least set goals that turn into a change that lasts only a few weeks.  There are a few people out there who can make resolutions each year and remain devoted, but let’s be honest, how often does that happen?

I've decided to make a few "changes" starting this month.   For the month of January, I've decided to give up all beverages besides water.  I knew this would be a difficult endeavor, but I think I may have underestimated exactly how hard it would be!

I've noticed over the past year I've been taking in a lot more caffeine drinks and a LOT less water.  For those of you who know me well, I enjoy my Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks two-three times per week.  I enjoy tea with some meals and diet coke with others.  It is so much tastier to reach for any of these things rather than water.

The first day wasn't horrible but I got a headache later in the evening.  My headache lasted ALL day on Sunday.  Monday was a lot better and though the headache was gone there was still a bit of pressure in my head.  Today no headaches but the cravings are still there and I know they are there simply because I want what I can't have.

There are several reasons as to why I decided to make this change for the month of January.  One reason is of course because water is much healthier than most other beverages.  Another reason is because I will save quite a bit of money.  The reason I feel keeps me going is that I look at this as a type of fasting.  I'm doing without something that I love and every time I think about how much I want to drink something other than water, it reminds me of God!

At first I thought I would just give up caffeine drinks, and then I realized there were a lot of ways around this.  Instead of a latte, I could get hot chocolate or I can reach for the caffeine free diet coke and tea.  How would this really be of benefit?

I am going to stay strong and make it through the month!

Next month…sweets!

Count Your Many Blessings

As a follow up to my previous post I wanted to take time out of each day to remember that even during the sometimes negative parts of my day/life, God is at work.  Below are ways which I took something negative and tried to see the positive.  This exercise was a really great way for me to become more aware of how many negative thoughts I have throughout the day and try to channel them into something more positive.  Though I did this daily, I realized that this post was going to be WAY too long so I decided to leave a few days out. :)

11/28 – Jason had knee surgery so we can't really go out which meant we had to miss church and small group.  The blessing is that we got to spend all day in bed together watching Supernatural and just enjoying each other’s company.

11/29 – Had a very stressful morning at work.  Though I had a very stressful morning, I was able to knock out all of the stressful items and be much more productive in the afternoon.

11/30 – Today I was on my way to lunch and was behind someone driving 10mph and at times even stopping completely to turn.  I was getting so frustrated and angry.  When I got out at the restaurant I noticed that the car in front on me held a cute little old lady and her husband.  What a blessing it was to see them together.  He dropped her off in the front and she waited for him at the door before going inside.  I imagined that they have been together for many years and this changed my attitude immediately.  Once I got inside I ran into an old friend who now lives out of town and we had lunch together.  Had the elderly man in the truck gone faster I might have arrived sooner and missed my friend.

12/1 – Today I had to wait patiently for an answer on something from someone at work.  It wasn’t really too hard to do since I didn’t feel impatient about it but I knew that it was important and a high priority so I took it very seriously.  Because I worked with my supervisor to resolve the issue and stayed clam, it was recognized.  I just happened to be told I was going to be given the associate of the month award for CS in the same day and that after the work I had done over the past two days it was well deserved. 

12/2 – So I had a difficult time coming up with something which I felt negative towards today because it was my birthday and it was great!  So I thought I’d look back at something I used to complain about growing up.  Ever since I can remember on my birthday, my Mom and Dad have woken me up at 6 am to sing the loudest and most off key version of happy birthday in the world.  When I was younger I would complain and get angry that they woke me up so early and with something so awful sounding.  After complaining year after year my parents decided not to sing to me anymore.  When I woke up one birthday morning to discover that it was daylight outside and I had not been awoken by my birthday song I was devastated.  I called my parents upset and they were surprised by my reaction. They never missed another birthday song again and to this day I still get my birthday song, although it is usually through a phone call since I no longer live with them.  I’m so blessed to have such an awesome family tradition.

12/3 – Today I complained about the cold.  I hate the cold because it makes me tense my muscles and hurts my neck and back.  The cold however is a blessing because my utility bill goes down by 2/3.  Another great thing to come from cold weather is tulips!

12/4 – Today I came home to find Jason staining the doors in our bedroom.  We’ve been meaning to do it since July and haven’t gotten around to it.  When I took a look at the carpet I noticed Jason had dripped stain all over the carpet.  I was not very happy.  We are however blessed to be able to afford to do renovations and I am blessed to have a husband who is willing to take the initiative to do work around the house without me asking.

12/5 – Today I listened to friends talk about how they wouldn't want members of their own family around when the day came for them to give birth.  They talked about how certain members of their families think more about themselves than anyone else and that if an event revolves around someone other than themselves, they get upset.  Though my family can sometimes be frustrating, I know that they would never make something like a wedding/baby being born etc, about themselves and would be very understanding of my wishes.

12/8 – I felt annoyed that Jason had to work late because we had some things we wanted to discuss about finances and future plans.  When I got home I found our new living room furniture completely set up!  Because Jason had to work late he got to take a longer lunch and went to set everything up at the hose to surprise me when I got home.

12/9 – Jason and I got in a small disagreement about how to handle a certain situation.  I was frustrated and couldn’t understand why he reacted the way he did.  The blessing that came out of it was that he was able to take some time to explain the way he felt.  It helped me to understand more about him. Marriage is always a learning process J

12/12 – Went to Petsmart and was annoyed that for the billionth time no one was there to help me get crickets.  The positive side to this trip to Petsmart was that when I was finally able to track someone down to help me they tried to make it right by following me to a closed cash register and checking me out right away.

12/17 – I was not looking forward to making a drive to Magnolia at night for a work Christmas party by myself.  The drive wasn’t as long as I'd imagined and I had a great time with co-workers!!

12/18 – I got to the Honda dealership at 8:15 am and they said it would take 2 hours to change my oil.  I already had plans to drive to Cynthia’s house to see baby Jack.  I left the dealership annoyed that I couldn’t get it done right then.  This turned out to be a good thing because instead of waiting at the dealership while my oil was being changed, I was able to come back later and drop my car off while we visited my family.  It ended up saving time in the end!

12/19 – The house was trashed after Jason’s poker party.  I was annoyed that I had to clean up after it, but Jason had a great time with his friends.

12/20 – I went to the dentist and learned that they no longer carries grape fluoride.  This is always my favorite part of the dentist visit!  I decided that this is a great opportunity for me to try something new – strawberry!

12/21 – I was dreading the fact that we had to leave on our Michigan trip so late in the day because I had to work ½ a day.  Because we weren't able to leave until later, we were still in town when a good friend's father passed away and we were able to be there with our friend at a very difficult time.

12/22 – One of the gas stations we stopped at on the way home was disgusting.  Blessing is that at least bathrooms are free??? :)

12/23 – Today I was annoyed that we had to wait until 12:30 for lunch.  I was hungry and didn’t want to wait that long.  The blessing was that the timing was perfect for Jason’s sister to join us and we ended up having a pleasant lunch with Jason’s grandfather and his friends.  Also because we ate a later lunch I was able to hold up for a later dinner.

12/24 – I wanted to get Jason one of his favorite beers for Christmas.  This beer is not something we can get in Texas, but it can be found in Michigan.  I became saddened when his aunt and I drove around for almost an hour trying to find the beer only to discover that no one in town carried it.  Luckily one of Jason's cousins (whom I'd never met) was on his way into town for the family Christmas party and agreed to pick some up for me.  It was wonderful to see that even though I was their family by marriage they were willing to help!

12/25 – I was not overly excited about having lunch at Jason's sister's in-law's home (that was a mouth full).  Mainly because I didn't know them.  We ended up having a great meal with good company and since we didn't know them very well, we felt more okay with leaving a little earlier than we had planned.  We were able to get in an extra 5 hours of driving time!

12/26 – While driving home from Michigan I got annoyed that Jason kept getting frustrated over the Lions game.  He’d got especially frustrated at certain plays and also when we would lose internet access to his phone.  Got to see the joy and happiness he had when they won their 3^rd game in a row – the first time since 1995.

12/27 – Today I should have had a full day off of work, but I ended up having to go into work for 1/2 a day.  The morning went by very fast and I was able to get a few things done that would have piled up for Tuesday.  Because I worked 1/2 a day I get to take 1/2 a day off on Thursday to honor the life of Big Bob at his memorial service.

12/29 – This day went by SO SLOW!  All day all I could think about was how much the day was dragging.  Though the work day took a while to end, we got to end the day with a wonderful praise and worship service at church and dinner with some great friends!

12/30 – Today I was helping out a co-worker by contacting their applicant's for them while they were out of the office.  I am not very familiar with the company or position for which I was contacting applicants about so it was very frustrating when they would ask me questions I didn't know.  The benefit to this was that it made me get out of my comfort zone and will hopefully lead me to know a little more about the company so that in the future I will be even more comfortable answering applicant's questions.

12/31 - Today I am not looking forward to the amount of work we have to do around the house.  Lots of cleaning, laundry and house repairs.  In the end it will all be worth it because we are going to have a great New Year's Eve with a few friends and can relax as we start a new year tomorrow!