April 28, 2012: One Year Anniversary

A year ago yesteryday I married my soul mate... I didnt believe in soul mates until I met him and then I knew it was true, there is ONE special person out there for everyone, they dont complete you, but they compliment you and make you want to be the BEST you can be... the hubs was out of town yesterday, but he did what he could to make the day special. He had beautiful purple flowers sent to the house... purple is my favorite color, I actually had a lot of purple roses on our wedding day!

 

 

 

I wanted to share pictures from the day- it was the best day... gorgeous weather and great company!

 

We were married at Rosedown Planatation because I loved the row of oak trees leading up to the plantation. I am a true Southern gal and love the outdoors and gorgeous trees!!

 

 

Me and my MOH, aka BFF, aka baby sister.

 



 

 

the love of my life

 

our champagne toast and delicious cake!

bridal party in front of the plantation

 



 

being from South LA we had to have a second line!

 



 

my grandpa walked me down the aisle, love the sun in this picture!

 

another bridal

 

 

JUST MARRIED and so excited!!!

 

 

THE kiss!

 

 

I had showed the hubs this pic on Pinterest and he took it to surprise me!

 

 

Our first dance was "Bless the Broken Road" - its the first song we ever danced too, one night two stepping.

 

 

eating the cake!

 

 

after our first look

 

I cant wait to see what the years ahead have to hold for us, but I know they will be wonderful with him by my side!

Its go time and my half marathon plan

I dont know if any of you follow EFITMAMA on instagram, but I do and she always posts about workout plan deals and yesterday I ordered one! She sent me a questionaire to figure out what my goals are and what I was looking for- I sent her all of that this morning and eeek before pictures... in a bikini... its a 4 week workout plan and I am expected to eat clean the whole time... well here is time for my month of clean eating on my 30 before 30 list AND my sticking to a workout routine for an entire month too- since the Jillian thing fell apart for April...

I am also starting the squat challenge today, depending on her plan she sends me- I may or may not keep that up.

She is sending me 6 workouts per week- I am super excited and cant wait to start!

Tomorrow is the hubs and my one year wedding anniversary... cant believe its been a year already... I wish he werent working, but I am celebrating by going to the range with a friend to shoot stuff! A true Texas anniversary! :)

my grandma is in the hospital again... she is doing better but was rushed to ICU the other night... unable to breath.. I hate hearing about her suffering, I just wish there was something they could do to make her better... she is one of the reasons I am doing the half this October- I want to get a group of people together to run to raise money for the American Heart Association in memory of my daddy and in honor of my mawmaw... I am still working on the details but hope to get a good group together.. I even thought of a name for our group "Half Marathon for Your Heart"

 

I am excited about the idea and hope I can get a group of people interested in doing it with me and we can raise a lot of money to help fund research for the Heart Association. Would any of you be interested in doing it with me?? I will be running in the Jazz half in New Orelans October 12th, but we can run anywhere!!! :)

I am struggling with my food choices...

My fitness and working out have been great lately, but my eating... not so much.... I did so well on the cleanse and have just spiraled back into my bad eating habits lately, and keep putting off starting to eat well. My biggest problem is I will eat well all day and then go home and eat like crap for dinner...

I am stressed at work and just cant seem to de-stress without pigging out. I KNOW I can, but I am not... I know what to do but I am not doing it.

Its my own fault. I got on the scale this morning and was up... so today for lunch I had a salad and I had my oatmeal for breakfast... and I am going to the store to buy healthy snacks and foods so I can start all over again and get back on this bandwagon.

I get mad at myself because I will do so well all day and then in the evenings its on like donkey kong- the hubs and I de-frosted our anniversary cake this weekend and Sunday night we had it, I had a piece Sunday night, Monday night, and last night... we finished it last night thank God!

I dont need that around the house anymore... and Sunday after the ride I wanted pizza, so we ordered Pizza Hut... and I had that for dinner Sunday and again Monday.

I have heard a few people talking about Whole30. I really need to give myself a re-set and think that just might be what I need- I do better with plans, schedules, which is another reason why its so easy to eat well all day- I have a routine... it must be the engineer in me.

5:45 protein shake
9:30 oatmeal
1130-1230 gym
1230 lunch- salad usually
3 snack - greek yogurt and an apple usually
7 dinner... this is where I go crazy...

I have never been a meal planner, but when I did the cleanse I had to go shopping and meal prep for the week to stay on track, I think that works well for me, I need the pre-preparation to keep me on track.

One of my goals before 30 is to eat clean for a month- this is my time to do it... I HAVE to get out of this funk I am in... I need you ladies to hold me accountable!

I am going to the store tonight! This HAS to stop!

Biking 150 miles in one weekend

This weekend was the MS 150 ride - its not too late to donate to help research for multiple sclerosis!!


Here is the map for day 1- my team started in Waller, which makes it 150 miles total- the crazies that started in Houston ended up racking up 180 miles over the weekend... (cause riding 150 miles makes me sane... yes, I realize the irony)

 

a pic at one of the rest stops... it was CRAZY 13 THOUSAND Texans on bikes... and in spandex, year wrap your head around that one for a minute... we arent the most out of shape state, but we are all super fit either...

our team was a top fundraiser last year so we had our own finish on day 1- I did NOT like this, we were less than 1/2 a mile from the LaGrange finish- which is fun to do/see- people cheer you on and its great, instead we finished on the side of a highway and had to cross over it watching for traffic and other cyclists to a tent with our volunteers... disappointing yes, but it was easy to find our group so that was nice.. thats me in the middle of that group- the hubs came out and was my own personal photog this weekend...

 

 

official team photo at the start of day two- in our bright team jerseys! I am in the gray jacket in the middle on the back row... it was cold! 39 degrees morning 1 and 50 degrees morning two!

 

day 2's route- you could go a "challenge route" or the regular one, I went the regular route... biking 150 miles is challenging enough for me!

 

 

the hubs thought he was getting a video of me crossing the finish, but instead ended up with a picture of me ALMOST there... I am the rider all the way to the right on the white lines almost to the finish! You can see my red jersey and black knee brace... SO glad to be done!

 

 

at the end you are supposed to hold your bike up over your head and take a pic with the capitol in the background... I was spent and couldnt pick it up that high so this is what I got....

 

 

then the hubs was like, "hey, I can pick it up for you and you can just hold it once I get it there" balancing a bike over your head is much easier than hoisting said bike over your head and then holding it... I still dont like this pic because these childbearing hips and thighs look attrocious in spandex... but its THE picture to take, so here you have it

 

(speaking of my negativity here, has anyone seen the Dove Project videos???? - a MUST watch for any woman)

Dove Real Beauty Project

 

 

The weekend had amazing weather once the sun came out- the scenery was gorgeous, but I am in a lot of pain right now... although I am fine other than that: 5 miles from the finish I passed a man on the ground getting CPR- googled it to find out how he was doing and luckily they revived him after 2 minutes... he had a heart attack at the top of a big hill and when I passed him was dead, crazy! there were quite a few accidents- but all just broken bones and things- nothing major that I know of, so thats good.

Finish the Sentance Link Up!

1. I laughed so hard I cried when... I watched Bridesmaids for the first... and 50th time...

2. My high school...was a tiny private Christian school and we had our reunion this past May... at a bar, with almost everyone getting wasted...

3. It really pisses me off... when people drive like idiots, I have a long commute and Houston traffic is horrible... esp on 45, but there are some people who make you wonder how they remember to breath in and out most days...

4. In ten years... I hope to be successful in my career, have my property that we are trying to buy this week almost paid off and planning my dream home on said property, with two little ones to enjoy it all with! :)

5. If I could erase one thing... I try to live with no regrets, every decision I have made whether bad or good has lead me to where I am today and I love where I am today... but I do have one big regret... not many people know it, only a handful and I am not sharing it on here, I will tell you it happened when I was 8!

6. In 1999...  I was a freshman and had a lot to learn about myself and interacting with others... I was a quiet little nerd, and I dated a guy my sophmore and junior year and when we broke up my confidence flourished and I came out of my shell and had a blast senior year

7. Honestly... I wasnt going to post today, I didnt even want to get out of bed today, I am run down and tired... I am glad I have tomorrow off to sleep in and I have a massage planned... I am also a little bit nervous about biking 150 miles this weekend, but its for charity, so that is motivating me right now!

8. To me, Sushi... is gross, I dont like raw food and I am sure I would like the fried stuff, but wont eat it because I have enough fried food loves in my life that I am trying to avoid.. its a trend that I hope fades!

9. Someone really needs to invent... a machine that will get you ready while still half asleep like what was on the Jetsons, I have ALWAYS wanted one... I dont mind getting ready too much, but I hate drying my hair!

10. The first time I drank alcohol... I was a senior in high school and it was after my homecoming... it was some girly "beer-ish" drink, I think Zima- I had two and was buzzed and thought I was drunk, haha

11. The one question I would ask God is... over my lifetime I have had ALOT of questions for God... I have had phases where I have been LIVID at him and others where I know he is in control and I have to trust him, but I guess my question at the moment would be: why does he love us so much that he sacrificed everything for us? what did we do to deserve that?

12. Lindsay Lohan... is one of MANY reasons my children will never be child stars, I dont care how talented they are!!

Hill Country Anniversary Weekend Update

The weekend started on Friday morning- I took Friday off, and we headed out for the hill country... after we get in the car the hubs says "Hey can you check the glove box for me?" and I found this:

 

our actual anniversary isnt until April 28th, BUT this coming weekend is the MS150 and then the hubs leaves for his next 14 days in the field... so we decided to celebrate this weekend... and my gift was diamond earrings!!!!!!! I LOVE them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

so I immediately put them on and havent taken them off since!

 

We spent most of the weekend looking at property (saw 4), after a few hours of that Friday we went to dinner in Llano and ate on the patio...

 

 

it was a super cute restaurant..

 

the food was great other than the green beans soaked in oil...

 

the hubs got a cheeseburger and fries...

 

 

Saturday was even more property (I think 6 maybe).... still hadnt found anything that we were just sold on... which we wanted to have! This is a big deal, so we went to Fredericksburg and had a nice dinner at Crossroads Steakhouse

 

 

my filet- yes I am a Texan that gets her filet butterflied so its cooked well enough... I dont like steak thats still mooing!

 

got a pic of our B&B we were staying at- its so pretty at night... and you look up and can see millions of stars, I love it! We stayed at Walden Plantation just west of Llano- close to Fredericksburg, but far enough away that it doesnt cost your first born to stay there- and they are ALWAYS running a special on their website for a discount!

 

our view Sunday morning while  eating breakfast- they have an inside kitchen but it was gorgeous, so we sat outside... I love the view in the distance! it sits right on the Llano River!

breakfast was DIVINE, this is why I ran Sunday morning... Bananas Foster Waffles!! They were amazing!

 

 

a pic in front of the place before leaving...

 

we had one more property that we found online Saturday night that we wanted to see.. all the looking this weekend helped us nail down what areas were what we were looking for... and we were able to get an appointment to see it.... it looked perfect!

 

we stopped in Mason on the way over because we were running early and we found a fort that Robert E Lee himself was stationed at!!! This Louisiana girl was impressed... my maiden middle name was after him "Leigh" just in a girlier version!

 

This is a far away view of the property, you have to head down the road about 3/4 mile to get to it, but its beautiful, we drove around it and fell in love, there are great views (future places for a home site) and looks like good hunting too... we are in love with it! We are working on the loan applications and going to make an offer this week or next! I cant wait and I cant believe its really happening!!!!!! :)

 

after seeing the property we went to Fredericksburg for another day... had to stop at our fav pie shop, we split a piece of choc pecan pie- home made and yummy!!!

 

then had to hit at least one winery, so we went to a new one, Becker Vineyards- they are the most widely distributed Texas wine, so we hadnt been yet because of that, but they have lavendar fields that were supposed to be in bloom and thought it would be pretty... the fields were a let down... it was still to early to have a field of purple... but the wine was pretty good, we bought 3 bottles!

 

 

All in all an amazing first anniversary! I am one lucky gal and I love that man more today than I did a year ago when we said "I do"... and I cant believe we may have property in 4-6 weeks! :)

 

Run for Boston

Today at lunch I will be running instead of my planned weight session, I will run for those who cant anymore... and in memory and tribute to those affected by the horrible events that happened yesterday.





This world is full of pain and hurt and running to me has helped me with a lot of that. I actually signed up for my first marathon yesterday... I could not imagine what these people are going through. I have had to deal with loss, my dad died when I was nine. He left to go on his evening jog and never came back, he had a heart attack and didnt make it, but even though my story is similar, its so very different because what happened yesterday was not natural causes, it was hate and violence. It really saddens my heart... so today I run in memory of those affected... and as I always do for my daddy too!

I just signed up for my first Marathon... I'm crazy!?!

 

I am crazy... my cousin text me and then emails me a training plan and for some reason I agree... next February I am running the Nola Rock 'n' Roll Marathon.... I havent even done a half yet!?!?

 

So now I am also going to sign up for the half in Nola in October, gotta run a half before I try a whole, you have 7 hours to complete the marathon, so I figure I can do it... I WILL NOT get kicked off the course! I have almost a whole year to train, and I will need it...


I ran 3.65 miles yesterday- didnt have my brace or would have gone further... felt pretty good about it considering it was in the hill country and there were a lot of hills...

Weekend update will have to come tommorrow, but lets just say it involved DIAMONDS and was an amazing weekend... and we may have found our property!!!!!! ... if we did it means Ireland will have to wait, but thats ok!

My New Favorite Meal and Yesterday's Workout

Workout Summary From Yesterday:

stairmaster - 5 min- 17 flights

did each of the following 3 times:
15 reps chest press 30lbs
15 reps dead lifts 30lbs
15 reps tricep extensions 15lbs

treadmill 5 mins- 0.5 mile

did each 3 times through:
15 reps squats with shoulder press (16lbs)
20 reps lunges with bicep curls (24lbs)

I am BEYOND sore today... everywhere, I forgot how much I like to push myself on weighs, and those are heavy weights for me who has only been doing weight training with Jillian using 5/8lb dumbells! I am thinking yoga today for my muscles...


Have you been to Salata? I LOVE IT... I went for the first time a month ago and have been at least once or twice a week since... I know, obsessive much?

Katie has decided to start posting her meals, and as much as I hate to agree that its a good idea... it is, showing everything I put in my big mouth... and yesterday while eating all this stuff I didnt know I was going to do this, maybe it will keep me from pigging so much today! haha... I LOVE FOOD!

I eat the same thing for breakfast every morning that I work:

Lunch was SALATA!!! I picked it up after the gym... its long because I like alot of stuff in my salad!!

Dinner was something quick because the hubs got home last night, so we wanted QT and not having to cook or clean the kitchen... but then I wanted sweet potato fries because I resisted chips at Subway... and the hubs two chocolate chip cookies made me want the skinny cow sandwich...

 

Dinner is ALWAYS my highest calorie meal of the day when I dont eat filling snacks... see below empty carb crap because I wasnt prepared...

 

Today will be better... even though I did get a bagel top off a bagel in the kitchen this morning! OOPS!