Happy New Years!

Yea. Yea. Yea.

I fell of the face of the earth.

Let's start fresh!

New Year's Resolutions!

2012 New Years Resolutions were:
1) Weigh 140 pounds
2) Get a job
3) Get pregnant

Well, we all know how the weight loss goal went. I actually weigh more now.  I did get a job!  A great one! And we decided that we weren't quite ready to grow our family yet. We're looking at 2014 now.

Here are my resolutions for this year!

2013 Resolutions
1) Lose weight
2) Pay off debts
3) Practice my photography
4) Learn to cook from scratch

This year I would also like to figure out ways to bring home more money.  I'm thinking of starting to donate plasma for grocery money.  I would also like to pick up a hobby, maybe run a 5k or learn to crochet.

As always, I hope to make time for my little family and make sure they feel loved everyday.

Trim Down Tuesdays

This week went really well! 

My diet felt doable.  I never really felt deprived of anything.  Weight Watchers gave me a tip to put down my fork and take a drink of water after every bite. It really helped!  It made eating take a little longer and it was boring, especially when I just wanted to shovel it in. But, I got fuller faster and without needing to go back for seconds.  I didn't even use all of my allotted free points for the week despite having a few desserts.

I hit the gym everyday except Sunday.  I am not a natural runner but it is going well.  I've gotten up to running a mile straight through.

Yesterday, I was plagued with terrible leg cramps when I slowed down but I felt fine while running which is strange. Now, I just have a very sore spot to the right of my left shin bone.  I'm not sure what that means.  I hope it doesn't effect my workout today.

So, here are my stats.  I'm a little disappointed that I only lost 2 pounds but when I think about how much a pound is I feel better.  My measurements are super encouraging. I think I need to add in an ab workout too.

Here are my current stats:
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 184 lbs
Waist: 36"
Hips: 43"
Thighs: 26.25"
Bust: 38."
Arms: 13"

Also, I have always been terrible about drinking enough water.  I've always drank 1-2 cokes a day and not much water at all.  I've been doing great this week getting at least 60 oz of water a day and I only had one cup of coke at a party.  But, it's like a full time job!  I've got to bring my water bottle everywhere and then I'm constantly peeing!! haha

Aurora's Birthday Party

Well, it's been a week and half so it's probably about time I did a recap of Aurora's birthday party.

We had a group of our closest family and friends over to our home on Saturday afternoon.

The party was Yo Gabba Gabba! themed, because Aurora is obsessed with that show.  I kinda like it too...

We decorated the heck out of our living room and kitchen.  We had streamers, balloons, banners, and a big wall hanging.

I think I'll just photo bomb you!

 

Every year we like to take a group picture of all of the guests who came so Aurora can look back on who celebrated her birthday with her!

 

 

Here is our little family of 3 with some Yo Gabba Gabba in the background!

 

 



Oh, How Pinteresting!

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Source: alongtimealone.tumblr.com via Vicki on Pinterest

Source: shutupimtalking.com via Vicki on Pinterest

I just think this grumpy cat is so funny!

Source: littlewhitelion.com via Vicki on Pinterest

Source: slowrobot.com via Vicki on Pinterest

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Trim Down Tuesdays

Ok. I'm starting a new project. 

I really need to lose this baby weight. And by calling it baby weight I'm actually being easy on myself.  Here's the low down.

Before I got pregnant with Aurora, I weighed 140 pounds.  Let's just skip over the fact that I thought I was fat. Ugh.

I gained 32 pounds while pregnant, finally weighing in at 172 the night my water broke.

Aurora was born November 24 and by Christmas I was down to 150.  (I just noticed that Jaymes is wearing the same shirt in both of these pictures.)

Then I sank into my new life as a stay-at-home-mom.  I got really into baking.  On any given day I would have muffins and brownies and cookies.  On top of this, I spent my days sitting on the sofa holding a baby.

I had never had to work on staying slim before.  I realize now that I was a server, which basically means I spent 40 hours a week walking.  Pretty good cardio.

So, slowly but surely I crept up and up and up.  Then I realized that I was now heavier than I was the day I gave birth.  Que emotional spiral.

So, now is the time to kick this fatty gut into shape. 

What is my motivation?  Well, this might seem a little backward but I want another baby.  I know that if I get pregnant at my current weight that by the time I give birth I will be over 200 pounds. I am afraid I would never get back down again. 

So, a squishy little baby is my motivation.  Not to mention being healthy!

Here are my current stats:
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 186 lbs
Waist: 38"
Hips: 44"
Thighs: 27.5"
Bust: 38.25"
Arms: 13"

Wowza! Wake up call!

My goal weight is 140.  But, I also have a fitness goal of being able to run a 5k.

My strategy is diet mixed with exercise. 

Because I need this to be as dummy proof as possible, I'm getting all the technological help I can.

I'll be using Weight Watchers online to track my diet.
I'll be mixing some fitness classes and time on the eliptical with the Couch to 5K app.

Wish me luck!

I'll be weighing in every Tuesday.

The Proposal

Three years ago, today, Jaymes proposed to me.

It was a total surprise.  Just a couple of months earlier Jaymes had taken a job in Tulsa which is 2 hours away.  We were rocking the long distance thing. 

On this day, Jaymes had driven back to Joplin after already working all day long and went to my parents house to ask my Dad for my hand.  My parents hadn't really approved of Jaymes for the first few years of our relationship, so this was a big deal.  They apparently talked for over an hour and then my parents gave Jaymes their blessing.

I would have said yes regardless.

My Mom called me and asked me to come over to the house to sign some insurance papers for her work. I walked in the door and Jaymes stepped out of the laundry room and got down on one knee.  As you can see in the pictures, I was completely shocked!  Jaymes said a lot of sweet things, I think, I actually can't remember anything he said, and then asked me to spend the rest of my life with him and I said yes!

My Mom, Dad, brother and sister were all watching. And my brother took photos.  They are some of the worst photos ever, but I treasure them.

So here they are.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

I got Christmas crazy up in here (up in here) Sunday. 

Aurora and I put up the Christmas Tree and I spread some holiday cheer around the rest of the house while Jaymes put the lights up outside.

 

 

Our plan is to add a little to our outdoor decorations every year.  This year we focused on white lights all around the house.  We'd also like to trace the windows, bushes and roof lines.

 

We have an artificial tree.  I've always had one my whole life, I'm not sure I could even figure out what to do with a real tree.

Although, one year when we lived in Tennessee, we went out into the woods and chopped down our own tree.  My Dad picked out a 20 foot or more tree and then cut off the top.  We put it up in our living room and within days all of the needles turned orange.  So, that was strange enough, but then they all fell off.  Are you supposed to water Christmas Trees?

There are a few very meaningful ornaments on our tree.  I hope to someday have a tree full of homemade ornaments and ones we've handpicked instead of a bunch of random bulbs.

I also decorated our china shelf in the dining room (if you can call it china, or a dining room).

And hung some stockings, but since we don't have a fireplace I hung them by the bookcase with care.

Joy to the World!