Friday!

Happy Friday gals! I am getting off early today and heading out to join Tate at his tournament this weekend. Go Lady Cats!


 

{ONE}

First off, why can't I sit in a pool on my pink flamingo and drink tea? Oh, that's right, I'm not Lisa Vanderpump! But, I can have a pink flamingo float of my own. Yes ma'am I can! This just might be headed my way as we speak! Do we have a pool? Nope. But I am in the works of convincing Tate we need one. Maybe this giant flamingo will set him straight. On second thought, maybe I should order Brylee one too. Then he has to say yes to a pool. ;)

{TWO}

I've mentioned that we got a new (used) fridge and it's definitely a favorite this week. It's so much better than that eyesore we did have. Just ignore our magnets and Brylee's artwork. :)

{THREE}

My new sandals from Target. I love them and I'm getting another pair this weekend. I just can't decide if I want cognac or turquoise. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up with both! :)

{FOUR}

I finally bought and ordered the Tone It Up Premium workouts. After taking all weekend (seriously) to download, I've been able to do each one. Yay me! I started with the yoga one thinking it would be easiest - it totally kicked my butt. These have become my favorite workouts.



{FIVE}

When I did my Day In the Life post I talked about drinking lemon water. I love the taste of lemon water but it also has so many great benefits. Read the full article here! And if you don't just want lemon water, check this article out for 15 different fruit infused waters. Citrus and cucumber is another one of my favorites.



 
{SIX}

Did y'all catch the lip sync battle last night? I don't watch it regularly but if a preview happens to catch my eye I'll watch it. As if I didn't already get enough Nick Carter on DWTS - Gigi Hadid had to bring him out and I loved it!




{SEVEN}

I can't go a week without talking about The Bachelor. I mean when Jojo's mom started drinking from the bottle, I lost it! And to make it even better her dad asked her to put it down! If you didn't catch that- go watch again! I'm totally team Jojo but he is way too smitten with Lauren. #jojoforbachelorette :) Sheaffer always has the best Bachelor recaps; even if you don't watch the show you're sure to laugh!

{EIGHT}

Some of my favorite posts this week:
// I had a somewhat heart to heart yesterday.
// Heather posted Things I Would Tell My 20 Year Old Self - Love this!
// Christina and Biana both shared some great travel advice!

As always, linking up with my favorite Friday gals!

Erika | Narci | Andrea

 
April | Christina | Natasha

 
Karli | Amy

 
 Amanda

 
Heather

Have a great weekend! I'll see y'all Sunday for my #dailyleah post! :)

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.

~~~

  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!

Daily Leah #2

It's time for another #dailyleah post! If you don't know what I'm talking about, I explained it here, but it's basically one picture a day that makes me happy/thankful/etc. It can be anything from a happy moment to getting a good parking spot. Anything! I post to instagram and then gather them all up here. 

January 10 to January 23

Day 10

Chicken & Dumplins! This is my favorite way to make these. Recipe coming soon.

Day11

I finally got my new planner in! I'm loving it so far.

Day 12

 I started the Organizing Challenge with A Bowl Full Of Lemons. Wish me luck.

Day 13

 I gave Tate the ultimatum, he was cleaning out his side of the closet or I was doing it. We compromised and did it together. Some progress was made.

 

Day 14

 Yay for getting my new curtains up! Finally! And yes, I see the lovely baseboards on the bottom; that's a project coming up.

Day 15

All alone at Target. This doesn't happen often.

Day 16

 Fall Sports Banquet.

 

Day 17

 We went to Lowes to pick out our new floors (refer to day 14) but all Brylee wanted to do was drive the 'little tractor'. ha!

 

Day 18

 Brylee was 'toning it up' with me. Her yoga poses are fantastic!

 

Day 19

 National Popcorn Day. I didn't even know that was a such thing. But there is. And I celebrated it.

 

Day 20

Chocolate heart candy! I didn't need it but oh I so wanted it.

 

Day 21

 Bored waiting on Tate. He works late a lot due to coaching so this girl and I have lots of one on one time and I love it!

 

Day 22

 Pink Pancakes. Need I say more? 

Day 23

 We took Brylee to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. How cute does she look with her own snack pack of popcorn! Heart eyes! And as far as the movie goes, we loved it!

So there's Daily Leah #2! I'm changing this to every Sunday instead of every other Sunday.
I can keep this up.
Repeat.
I can keep this up.

Happy Sunday!

Monthly To Do | February

Yay for February! Bring on all things hearts and flowers, oh and football! I've said it before, I've been cheering on the Panthers all season long, but I am a Broncos girl, always have been!

Before I dive right into my February to do's, let's see how I did with January!

1. Lose 2-5 lbs - I lost 3! Considering I started late in the month and I cannot seem to lay off the oreos, I'd say I did pretty good! From the day I actually got serious about it, I'd say I was averaging a little over a pound a week.

2. Read January in Bible Challenge - yeah, this didn't happen. First of all, I couldn't find the challenge I had initially started with and spent so much time looking for another one that it was almost February when I realized it. I would like to read the bible chronologically so if anybody has a plan they like, help a girl out. I did, however, start the Jesus Calling daily devotional and I love it. 

3. Read 2-3 Books - I kinda checked this one off. I read PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern and started reading The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. I'll have a small little book review thing in a few months or so when I have more than one book to talk about.

4. Workout at least 3-4 times a week for at least 30 minutes a day - Same as goal number 1, I started a little late on this, but once I committed to my daily workouts, I kicked some butt! I'm still doing the Tone It Up challenge and still love it. The trainers are great. It's by far my favorite plan.

5. Finish the living room - I really shouldn't have expected this to be finished within in the month because of what we plan to do with it. We did pick out the new floors (yay!), I finally got the curtains hung and I'm almost finished with the collage wall. I still need to purchase new pillows, a rug, replace the fireplace screen and figure out what to do with the pocket door. 

6. Register for school - Another thing that I didn't get checked off. I waited too long for spring so now I get to start with Summer classes. Oh joy! I seriously need to get finished.

7. Valentine's Day decor - I can totally check this off too! Maybe one of these days I'll get a post up on my decor and maybe a tutorial of the cute wreath I did. And as figured, Brylee loves it and has totally forgotten about the Christmas tree.

8. Make a hair appointment - I tried. My hair stylist is back in Odessa and we just can't seem to get a weekend together. I'm hoping something will be done this month so I don't have to find another one. (insert crying emoji!)

9. Update my blog - Check. Check. and check. It's even prettier than I hoped it would be. I still have things to add to it, but for the most part the (new) blog is updated!

10. New morning routine - Again, I kinda got to check this off too. I wanted to start getting up at 5, read the bible, my books, workout and even have a nice breakfast cooked before 7:30. I've been getting up anywhere between 5:30-5:45 and slowly making progress. On days that I don't wash my hair I have more time (obviously) but on days that I still have to blow dry my hair, forget it! 

And now for February. Short month, short list.

Pssstt.. ya like that notepad underneath? $$ Section at Target!  :)

1. Oily skin remedy - My face has dramatically cleared up after using Rodan + Fields; I really noticed the change when I was out of it for a week - yikes! I hoped that after clearing up my face, the oiliness would go away too but nope, still there. If anybody has any remedies they love, help me out!

2. Appointments: Eye, Dentist, Hair - This goes for me and Brylee. Tate is all for himself. I could make him the appointment but I would have to drag him there. No thanks. I really need to get my eyes check (it's been 4 years!), I'm due for a teeth cleaning and refer to January #8 for hair. I would like to get Brylee a trim, take her for her first teeth cleaning and hopefully get an eye exam in there also. Her pediatrician doesn't think the eye exam is exactly necessary but I think the sooner I start her having regular exams, the better.

3. Activities with Brylee -  She really, really, really wants to do dance or gymnastics but where we live we would have to drive 30-45 min to one of the bigger towns on a week day at night. That's not exactly what I'm wanting to do. I've got to figure something out before she drives me complete nuts!

4. Organizing Challenge - Well I started the organizing challenge with A Bowl Full of Lemons and that's about as far as I got, day 1! Ha! I quickly figured out I needed more than a week to complete each task so I'm going to continue her challenge but at my own pace, starting with: Kitchen/Laundry Room (their connected) and Dining Room.

5. Keep up with January - I did so well (mostly) with these last month so I might as well put them here too to keep me accountable.

• Read 2-3 books
• Lose 2-3 lbs
• Morning routine
• Workout 3-4 times per week
• Daily Devotions/Bible reading

I hope you guys have a fantastic Wednesday and good luck to any monthly to-do's you may have!