The Sweetest Game Plan | Moving to a New Place

No, we're not moving, at least not that I know of. But then again, Tate may throw me for another loop and make a decision to move last minute. But let's hope not. Now, if you haven't read my post yesterday, go read it so you'll know what The Sweetest Game Plan is all about.

A year ago Monday my mom, sister and I packed up my entire house in McAllen and brought me to Odessa. Tate had been gone for about 6 weeks at this point, only coming home every other weekend, and my family did not feel safe with me and B being that far away alone. Fine by me! A few weeks later Tate and I went back, loaded up the u-haul and brought it to a storage unit in Ballinger. A few months later we bought our house and moved everything once again. I've become an expert packer, but that's another story for another day. 

This was my second time to move somewhere knowing not a single person, no job, no day care lined up, no schedule - I was a hot mess of emotions, both times! Each town was very different. McAllen was much bigger than Odessa. I was a stay at home mom and Tate worked 35-40 minutes away depending on traffic. Ballinger is much smaller than Odessa, like way smaller! I finally found a job, have a toddler in day care, and Tate works less than 5 minutes away. Very different, very!

With the anniversary of our move being this week I thought this would be a good game plan to start with. Moving is a game plan with multiple parts - this is just the start!  

Part 1 - Do your research!

Google your new area | Seriously! Look at the data on schools, crime rates and good/bad areas! The city website should be able to navigate you around everything. If you have a realtor, don't be afraid to ask them! They have a ton of resources and will be able to help you out. While doing this you should be able to also figure out what area you want to live in.

Learn your way around | I'm a very hands on person and seriously spent days driving around McAllen. Ballinger was much easier because it was super small, but I did spend a day driving around. I just wanted to see what each place offered. Trust me, if it looked like I probably shouldn't turn down a street, I didn't! Within the first day I was able to know how to get to a park, grocery store, restaurant strips and the mall (haha!) It actually made me proud to have to navigate Tate somewhere.

Locate your emergency services | You need to know where the nearest hospital is. It may also be a good idea to know where the police department and fire stations are. And the phone numbers! Sure, 911, but it's always nice to have a direct line for reference. I'd hate to be stuck in an emergency situation and not have a clue where something is.

Find healthcare providers | Primary care physicians and pediatricians (crucial for us) are good to start with, as well as any particular medical concern you may have. It's nice to have references to ask around! See if there are local blogs or Facebook groups, but beware, some people are very opinionated so learn to take other people's (as in not some one you know personally) personal stories with a grain of salt. Find some one and trust your instincts you'll know if you shouldn't be there. 

Learn the weather in your new area | this one was huge for me! McAllen had a lot of rain and tropical storm type weather. Ballinger gets pretty bad storms and usually has a few tornado warnings (luckily none yet!) You need to be prepared for what you could possibly face and be prepared for it. Flood? Tornado? Extreme heat? Blizzards? Because of the rain in McAllen I told Tate I wanted to invest in a good pair of "weather items" - good rain gear, snow gear, etc. - for each place we lived.

Find home service providers | There's a chance you'll need pest control, a plumber, an electrician, or something of the likes at some point. It's better to go ahead and have a provider's name and number so you aren't searching for one when an event arises and you need one. This would be a good one to ask your realtor about.
   

So there's part one. What's coming up in the moving game plan? 

-finding a home

-moving in and getting settled

-meeting people and making friends (that's a tough one!)

Have you ever moved somewhere completely new?

Is there anything you would add to my list of things to research on before you move?

Have the best Wednesday!

xx - Leah

Operation Get Fit | The Start

Good morning friends! Tate had to get up and leave super early for the tournament so I had to wake up much earlier than normal. And, because of my few extra hours this post was completed. I've had it started for a while now but never really wanted to put it out there. However, it's something I needed to do for me. I guess you can consider it a confession, but on a serious note.

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  I really don't even know how to start this post. It's kind of a 'get real' post but at the same time I want to be motivational. I know we shouldn't let the number on the scale define who we are and we should be comfortable in the skin God gave us but the same time, I'm not happy with my body/health and I know I can do better. I look at clothes in the closet and think how nice it would be to wear those again - I'm talking things I know I should be able to wear, like jeans and tops I could wear in the first few months of being pregnant. Losing the baby weight is hard, but news flash, my "baby" is 3!

I have always been active - I was an athlete and I loved running so I was always fit. Even through my pregnancy Tate and I made it a routine to go walking every single night. But with my pregnancy also came preeclampsia. My blood pressure was always high and I never felt good. I was also so swollen and then just gained so much weight. I thought it'd be easy to get it off because of my active past. Wrong. After I had Brylee I had postpartum depression bad. It's something I've never really talked about, but I was put on antidepressants and just went through day to day life. Here I was with this beautiful baby girl who was very healthy considering my health during pregnancy and I was depressed. It made no sense, especially to someone who had never dealt with depression. I laughed at the fact that my social and happy self would every become depressed. Y'all, postpartum depression is real! Obvious right, but there are so many people who ignore it and they shouldn't. Talk to someone and try to avoid the antidepressants! I was almost numb.

I made up excuses for everything and just kept myself at home. I was somewhat of a homebody previously, but this was different. I didn't want to be around anybody. I even made up excuses to not do things with Tate and it put a damper on our relationship at a time when we really needed to grow and bond together. It wasn't until I had a complete break down while talking to him that I knew I needed to get it together. This was not who I was nor who I wanted to be. Things started to get better when I started back to work. I made new friends, started working out again and rekindled the friendships I had lost. I was getting happy again..

And then we moved - something I thought I was prepared for, but oh goodness no! I was excited for the move and maybe to get a fresh start somewhere but I didn't really realize how hard almost 9 hours away from home would be. It was tough! South Texas will always be marked as no doubt the toughest time in my life. I only knew a handful of people. The only friend I really made was one of the coach's wives but we only talked on occasion. I stayed at home with Brylee, which we thought would be best but I think it only made things worse. I was miserable. I tried to see the good in everything and I knew it was good experience for Tate but I was breaking. At one point I even thought about going back home to Odessa until we could figure something out - something neither of us wanted to happen.

And then Tate got a call one night almost a year ago that changed everything! I really consider it a saving grace. God never gives you more than you can handle and I'm absolutely certain He knew what He was doing. The whole moving situation wasn't the best and there were a ton of ups and downs getting here but life is back on track. I love this coaching staff, I've made great friends, and I'm working again. The only part of life that I'm not happy about is my health and body - which is totally something I can change!

Which brings me to this post (which I totally didn't mean to be taken over with postpartum depression and moving)! I decided I needed an outlet for 'Operation Get Fit'. I don't know exactly how I'm going to do these posts, but I need something to hold me accountable. I mean if I'm putting it on my blog that means I gotta stick with it, right? As of right now I'm thinking I will check in once a month with my progress, workouts, healthy recipes and motivation. I'm not dieting, so to speak, but more of a lifestyle change for the better and it's great that I have Tate on board too. I can absolutely do this!

Yes, we should love our bodies as they are, but we should also treat them right by what we put in them and do with them! I don't eat bad but I can't say my body gets everything it needs nutrition wise and oh how I'd love to have my shoes hit the pavement again!  And to anybody else struggling with postpartum depression or weight gain/loss, you're not alone! Talk to somebody - you'll be surprised at all the similar situations!




Thanks to y'all that stuck through all that. I didn't mean for it to be such a heavy heart to heart but the words were just flowing - just how I like to write! :) I'll be back tomorrow with some Friday Favorites!

Linking up with East Coast Chic and Home of Malones for Thoughts for Thursday!

Chasing Texas

Hey y'all, and welcome to Chasing Texas! I'm so excited to start this new little blog of mine and I hope you'll stay around and enjoy this journey with me.

My name is Leah; girlfriend to Tate, a high school football coach, and mom to Brylee, a sweet 3 year old with a ton of sass! I started blogging back in August of 2013 with Touchdowns and Sparkly Crowns as an extra credit project for a class I was taking in college. I just kinda half-way did it and never really thought I'd like it and just quit. About a year and a half ago (August 2014) Tate got a new job and moved us across Texas; almost 600 miles! That's nearly 9 hours away from home, if you're counting! It was my very first time away from home so I decided to start blogging again to keep everybody in the loop. I always forgot and once again let it slip. I've always loved writing and when we moved again in April of 2015 (yes, after only 8 months) I debated deleting that little old blog of mine. Truth is though, I love writing! It's an outlet for me. Whether I'm sharing the newest steal I found while shopping, a parenting confession or just the facts of this life, I love writing! I found myself in a new (tiny) town, knowing not a single person (other than us, of course!), and job-less so I decided to pick blogging back up. Although Touchdowns and Sparkly Crowns was my start, I knew it wasn't what I wanted.

 

That leads me to Chasing Texas. A career as a high school football coach can lead to you many different moves and changes. Tate dreams big, as anybody should, and therefore until he stops dreaming, we will be Chasing Texas! It get's extremely hard at times, but I absolutely love this life.

So, with that being said, here's goodbye to Touchdowns and Sparkly Crowns and hello to Chasing Texas.