2013 Resolutions

Usually, I am not a big fan of resolutions. I don't think you should have to wait for a new year to try and change yourself for the better. But I have big plans for myself this year now that I have finally got into the swing of having a baby.

1. Try to eat healthier and exercise.
I suspect that this is 90% of America's resolutions for the new year. And has probably been my resolution every Monday since I gave birth. But I keep feeling that I need change in my health, or one day I will regret it. Not only for myself, but for Emma. If I can teach her good eating habits she won't have this constant struggle with food that I have had my whole life. Not to mention, I feel so groggy. And it isn't for lack of sleep. Its because of the crap I'm putting into my body. So I am not going to try and diet, I am just going to start making healthier choices when it comes to food and allowing myself the treats I crave every once in a while. I don't want anything drastic, I want a lifestyle change. This is supposed to be my temple, and right now, it is a trailer.

2. Get Emma into her crib at night.
This is a big one. I really don't actually WANT to do this. I don't think it is worth it with the risk of SIDS until a year old. But, her bassinet is starting to be much too small, and I think it is something that would be good to do for her before she really knows, any more than she already does, what cuddling with mommy all night would be like. I feel like it is the adult thing to do.

3. Consider getting a job.
This is another big one. When I got pregnant I refused to think about not being a stay at home mommy. My mom was a stay at home mom and I feel like I am a much better person for it. I spent all day with the person who had unconditional love for me and would do anything for me which was very good for me. So I am trying to juggle whether or not financial security (like being able to provide Emma with literally EVERYTHING she needs, pay off a lot of our debt, and be able to start a college fund for her) or being able to raise Emma all on my own is more important.

4. Trying to become a little more "adult."
I realized that I have not been very adult in my life so far. I'm lazy, the house is messy even when I have extra time to clean it, and I am making minimal efforts in most things in my life. I am doing the 'Murica way of life instead of how I always pictured myself being in my twenties when I was married and starting a family. So it is time to start being more organized, less lazy, and more on top of my commitments.

5. Remain in school. And keep good grades.
I loved being in school last semester. Not only that, but I loved getting all As (except that one B). So I plan on keeping that up this semester.

Day One: Abs and Diet

Okay, so like I said earlier, I am on a low-calorie diet and a workout routine. Here is my progress today:

I bombed the calorie nonsense. Like completely. I ended up just sitting around all day thinking about the next time I got to eat which was making me starving, so I made the hubz go get me a chocolate chip frappe from McDonalds (my weakness!) which is like 700 and something calories. So after working out, I still ended up being 108 calories over my 1260 limit. Whoops! I hope day two will be a little easier!

I did stick to my exercise routine though! So that is good. I ran on the elliptical for a mile and a half and then on the treadmill for a mile, which was a total of 2.5 miles. That's .5 miles over what I usually run but .5 miles under my ideal day. So all in all I say that was a good day.

I also played around in the ab area for a while. (Sorry for the crappy iPhone photos!)

 Sets: 5 Reps per Set: 5

 The first one I played around on was this monster. You put your back against the main black pad, put the bottoms of your upper arms on the two side mats and grab the handles. At that point you pull your legs up to your chest using your lower abs.

I specifically had a hard time with this one because I haven't really used my lower abs since I pushed Emma into the world. But the burn felt good.

Sets: 3 Reps per Set: 10

This is just a machine that helps you do better more productive sit-ups. You put your knees over the first round pads, your feet under the second round pads, and you lean all the way back in your sit-ups. These were particularly hard because I just worked my lower abs on the machine before. I think I'm going to start here next time. I only did 30 when I planned on doing 50. :(

 Sets: 2 Reps per Set: 25

This machine allows you to add weight to work out your upper abs. I LOVED this machine. The burn felt really good instead of painful and I felt like I was really getting some results from my effort. You simply sit down in the chair, put your arms on the pads, grab the handles and pull them down until your abs are crunched.

 Sets: 2 (One per side) Reps per Set: 25 

This machine was certainly a strange one! You sit on it with your knees bent, put your shoulders against the top pads, and basically twist, go back and repeat on both sides. I wasn't too big of a fan of this machine because I didn't feel like I was targeting the area strongly enough. However, I plan on trying again later.

All in all it was a good day, I can't wait to see how Day Two: Legs goes!

I just want to say I am in no way trained in any physical therapy, using exercise machines or weight loss, this is my own experience with trying them out for the first time and following the instructions on the machines themselves.

Also, I plan on going into more detail on the machines and how to use them at a later date, this is just my first experiences with them.

Weight Loss Goals and Plans

So, in case you did not know, six months ago, I had a baby. SURPRISE!

Also, in case you did not know, having a baby really effs up your physique. SURPRISE AGAIN!

I am someone who has always been incredibly physically conscious. I am not saying I was ever in the greatest of shape or looked amazing, but I always tried to be as healthy looking as possible.

It has never been easy for me. I do not have a high metabolism and I am not one of those awful girls (am I green yet?) who can eat whatever they want whenever they want and wear a size two jeans. If I eat gross food, or even if I eat a lot of healthy food, I have to exercise to keep my weight down.

So it was incredibly hard for me when I had a baby. I was always wanting to eat something, and not allowed to work out. I definitely packed on the pounds and stretched out the skin. Yuck. Now that I've finally got Emma into a normal bed time routine and purchased a monthly gym membership, I plan on trying to get back into a skin I will feel confident in.

Now let me say this, and STRESS this. I do not think a woman has to be skinny to be beautiful. Not in the least. I know several women who are overweight (to an extent that isn't hazardous to their health) and I think they are gorgeous because they own their weight and are not ashamed of it. They are confident and happy, and I think that is what makes them beautiful. Unfortunately, I am not confident unless I am in a certain shape.

So, I am going on a diet and starting a fitness plan. And I thought I'd share it with you so maybe you can give me some pointers or I can help you figure things out.

Diet:
Okay, so this sucks. I hate dieting and I usually fail at them. Miserably. I am firm proof of the theory that if you try to deny yourself something for so long (like chocolate) you will just end up eating more of it (like cookies.) However, I am going to try.

I am not doing anything unhealthy. I am not doing any crash dieting. I am simply counting calories for the next month or so if I can last that long. There is a great website (and if you live in this century and have a smart phone unlike me, you can even download an awesome app) called My Fitness Pal. You put in all your info and goals, and it helps you keep track of your calories and exercises so you can lose weight with a little less effort.

Exercise:
Like I said, I have a gym membership. I plan on running 2-3 miles at least 5 times a week and every night I go I'd like to work on another part of my body. For example, tonight I plan on doing only ab machines on top of running. Tomorrow I plan on doing legs, and the next day arms. That way I don't peak.

Right now I weigh 140 lbs, and my goal is to get to 125. Lets see if we can do it together! :)

The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It.

This is going to sort of be a diary post, if you don't like it don't read it.

Sometimes, being 21-years-old, married and having a six-month old child, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Even though I love my life, and never ever ever wish that it was any different, every once in a while I take a glance at what I think I would be doing if I hadn't been married or had a child. Usually this makes me feel really guilty, like I'm a bad mom or wife for even thinking about another life even though if it didn't happen this way now I would be wishing for it until it did happen, but today it made me feel really grateful.

I would definitely have more money. I would have more things, nicer clothes, nicer filming equipment. I'd have a nicer figure (because you may not know this, but having a baby does not give you a Victoria Secret body) and a lot more time to focus on me. My legs would be shaved and my eyebrows would be tweezed. I would probably spend a lot of time on the couch watching YouTube videos and reading books. Possibly a lot of time at the mall as well buying all those nice clothes and stuff I was mentioning earlier.

I'm sick right now, and I would be able to call off work and rest until I felt better.

But what does any of that really matter? Before I had a baby I never got the overwhelming joy I feel when I can work a smile out of my grumpy little girl. There is no way to describe watching her do something for the first time or taste a new food. Mornings that would have been spent sleeping in or drinking coffee at the table browsing through pinterest are now spent tossing a 15 pound hunk of cuteness into the air and pretending the passy is a snooze button to get her to go back to sleep for just five more minutes. If you think shopping for yourself is fun, wait until you get to pick out baby clothes and toys.

There is no bigger sense of accomplishment then getting to sit down in a clean house (although this happens rarely. Somehow, my five room apartment is a dumping ground of miscellaneous objects.) I really wouldn't trade my life for the world. And even though its nice to think about how much easier my life would be if it were different, it could in no way be better. After all, feeling hungover sucks.

Meeting John Green

So, even though I had to miss school AGAIN because my mother was sick on Monday, my mother-in-law was kind enough to pick her up on her way home from work so Stacy and I could still go meet one of our favorite authors/youtubers named John Green. John writes Young Adult fiction, which if you know me from Chapter Chicks, you know is my all time favorite genre.

We were line letter W, but at first we thought we were line letter M and were super excited. When we realized we were stupid, we were sad.
But, even though we had to wait until midnight, meeting John Green and getting our books signed was worth it.

Emma has two moms.

Seriously, how cute is this? This is our dog Juno, she is about three or four years old and even though she is so annoying sometimes, she is an angel. She is so smart, even though she has absolutely no common sense.

 If you're wondering what this has to do with Emma? That door is the entrance to Emma's room, and is about four feet away from the crib. I am trying to start getting Emma used to her crib for when we make the transition, so she has been napping in there. But I'm really nervous about it, because not once but twice now, Emma has choked on her spit up and if we weren't right there to get her she would have seriously choked.

And Juno is laying out there just staring at the crib, making sure she's okay. Our little family isn't a family of three, it's a family of four. One of us is just a little furrier.
 

Doctors and Love Affairs

Okay, so is she cute or what? We went to the doctor today (at 7am mind you, which is not fun for any mother!) and everything is going perfectly! I was a little concerned about a few things but the doctor made me feel tons better!

She's been spitting up a lot more than usual lately, which the doctor said could be related to one of my other worries: teething. That's right, my four-month-old booger has already started teething! I was wondering whether she really was or not since she hasn't had any cut yet, or really any swelling of the gums or anything, but the doctor said he thought she was as well from what I was describing. So mleh to all the people who made fun of me when I suggested it!

We were also worried because she isn't rolling over. She hates being on her stomach, so I don't know why we could expect her to try and roll over to it! But he said since she is rolling to her side at least, all the muscles are there. He also said she was doing better than expected at sitting and standing, so she may sit before she rolls!

The only bad thing was we got two shots today, she did amazing though, hardly cried at all. And I didn't cry at all this time! Last time I bawled for like ten minutes! Guess I'm getting tougher! Parenting will do that for sure.

So we celebrated by trying a new food: carrots! She absolutely had a love affair with it. We've tried apples and pears so far, and since those are so sweet and delicious I figured she'd hate the veggies. But she seemed to like them more than she liked pears.

We're spending the rest of this rainy day snuggling, doing homework and watching goosebumps. I'm a proud momma and a happy girl!

Flea Market Finds (1)

So I spent the weekend mostly shopping with my family. First we went to the mall and got Emma all set up for autumn clothes-wise. Which was amazing, because she was finally starting to grow out of all her stuff (We haven't had to buy anything except for extra stuff we just wanted yet! We had so much left over from the baby shower!) But finally, we got to go get her a little wardrobe of our choosing.

Then yesterday we went to a flea market about an hour from my moms house. I spent about 40 dollars and got some really cute things.

First, I got this slate sign that says, "Together is where our story begins." So cute, right? I've only been moved out for less than a year, so I'm trying really hard to build a strong collection of decorations. I couldn't refuse this awesome piece.

The next thing that I got was an adorable chalk board for the kitchen. They had so many cute ones that needed to stand up, and unfortunately I have the smallest kitchen in the world (you'll hear me complain about this on several occasions) and have literally no room to put anything else. So I had to buy one that I could hang on the wall. And again, they had a gorgeous one I really wanted, but it was $50.00 and I wasn't willing to go that expensive. So I got this really cute one that was originally priced at $17.95 but I paid $16.00 including tax. It says, "Home of the Brave" on it, but I think I may paint over it. Not that I'm not patriotic, but I'm planning on writing dinner stuff on it, so I may paint something related on it. This was made out of an old cabinet door. Nifty, no?

I also got this awesome recipe box. I have been struggling to figure out a way to keep my recipes organized, and I saw this and knew I had to have it. I didn't buy it at first, but went back and got it at the end of they day because I couldn't get my mind off of it. I only paid ten dollars and they were asking $13.00.

All in all, I'm going to say I had a very productive weekend for my little family! How was yours?

The Beginning.

The beginning can be considered the brightest part of any experience.

Everything is fresh, happy, exciting and new. Through many experiences, things begin to get old, you develop a routine and either get comfortable, or bored and soon the end draws near.I don’t plan on letting this happen with blogging.

I have been blogging about books for two years on a site called Chapter Chicks with my sister. If I can have as much fun as I’ve had talking about other people’s work for two years, I can’t imagine how much fun I’ll have talking about my own life and sharing my own work.

Forget about beginnings. I’m in it for the journey.

D.I.Y. Mod Podge

Okay, so pretty much everyone has seen the recipe for do it yourself mod podge. I just thought it would be a good idea to record my experience in making it. Mod podge company must be wanting to kill someone because people learned they didn't need to spent 20 bucks on glue. In fact, I bought two things of Elmer's glue for $1 at Wal-mart since it is getting close to back to school time.

What you'll need: 

Water
Elmer's Glue
Container for mod podge

Yep, that's it!

For my container I plan on using an empty pickle jar. I don't really know how well it will hold up, but it seemed like a good use for it.

So all you do is fill your bottle up halfway with glue. Then halfway with water.

Shake, stir, do what you have to to mix it.

And there you go! Mod podge everything! I even mod podged some fabric onto the jar and put some vinyl letters on it for a label. So you know it works great! I can't wait to get started on some awesome projects. Feel free to post links to your mod podge projects down below!

Snot Removers and Muffins

My little girl is sick today. This is her first cold where it has actually effected her. So needless to say she is going to be super spoiled with cuddles. Josh actually came in and woke me up (Sunday is my day to sleep in) saying that she was having trouble breathing. I was incredibly scared. After some serious booger sucking on my part she was okay, but I haven't taken my eyes off of her. He said she was laying on her play mat, and he noticed she was moving funny and her face was red, and when he picked her up she started coughing like she couldn't breathe. I'm hoping she was okay the whole time and he just moved around some fluids when he picked her up making her cough, instead of her just choking without making a noise.

So she is sitting next to me, looking hilarious while she sleeps.

Also, I am on this awful diet. It starts off with a ten day cleanse where I can only eat chicken, tuna, all fruits and vegetables, rice and water. Which I mean, isn't too hard, but it sure is awful. I am losing a ton, but I really want a muffin. And since I'm actually losing weight, I've stopped working out to lose weight, which is kind of counterproductive.

I really want to eat something that tastes delicious. But oddly enough, all the fast food and fried food I usually am craving is starting to sound pretty gross now that I've been eating incredibly healthy the past few days. Brownies and muffins still sound pretty good though, I'd kill for a blueberry muffin and hot chocolate from starbucks.

Everything has a purpose.

So, I have always wanted to start a personal blog. I have started countless blogs, only one of which I have continued doing for multiple years, but I wanted one that was about me. I need a way to creatively express myself, and not just focus on books. I am someone who has at least 1,000 interests, so it would be impossible for me to focus on only a few for my blog.

Now, I confess, the reason I am actually deciding to sit down and start this is because of my English class at my local community college. We are required to share our essays on a blog, and we have to start one for the class. I am much too excited to wait until Monday, and I want the blog to be more than just a place to share essays, I want to be able to share all the things I want to share. So I am starting this blog early, so I can give it my own personal flair, and perhaps utilize it over the weekend.

I plan on posting all kinds of things on this blog: the required essays, a journal of sorts, my new diet experiences and logs, organizing projects, pictures of my family, and some writing I feel like sharing. Don't like it? Don't follow. Interested? Please, stick around.