Life Lately

Hi there!   It's been a while since I've written and I've been pretty busy!    Considering that lately I only write about exercise and wellness, I'm guessing that my personal life is of little interest to most of you, but I've seen other bloggers write about themselves so I'm following suit.    Plus, it feels good to write.    I've stopped blogging regularly these last couple of months, so here I am with lots of stories and photos to show for it all. I won't tell too many stories today but I will ask a bunch of photos to do most of the talking.  

It seems that all we do is travel!     Since our anniversary on 4/26 we have been to four beautiful weddings!    Chicago:

 St. Joseph, Michigan:

 Hometown!

 Chicago:

 

It is so wonderful to watch dear friends tie the knot. We are beyond thankful to have witnessed such beautiful ceremonies and celebrate with our buddies. Weddings are the best! I love to see my girlfriends looking incredibly gorgeous and to take in all of the details that made their day uniquely theirs. Dressing up and dancing with my husband is pretty great, too. ;)

We have a few more weddings this year, too! SO FUN!

In addition to weddings we have had the pleasure of visiting friends and family for two long weekends!

Memorial Day Weekend in DC:

DC was wonderful. It was the perfect getaway, especially since we saw some of our best friends in our favorite city. I know I've mentioned this before, but we miss that city, our friends and our lives there so much.

Niece's Baptism in Atlanta:

I can't write enough about this occasion. Andrew and I are honored to be Scarlett's Godparents. We were so thrilled to be there and celebrate with the whole family (my side). We savored every minute with our two nieces and can't wait until we are all together again (with both sides!). Living so far from our amazing families (both sides) is so brutal.

 

  I've mentioned before that I have migraines and TMJ (a jaw-popping thing that's pretty unpleasant).    I'm going to keep it real and write a little update in that department: I'm seeing two physical therapists and one orthopedic doc for my head, neck and jaw pain. As a result from the painful treatment, I'm almost always hurting. It's affecting everything I do: I had to stop boxing, I almost always have a headache which makes me annoyed and when I get frustrated from them I have a negative attitude and just want to crawl home. Sometimes our home is my sanctuary and it's hard for me to leave. Most days I force myself out of bed. Thankfully I workout but I can't lose weight. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm bigger than I've ever been and that adds to my defeated attitude. So annoying.   Things could be worse, of course, but if anyone out there is also feeling this nearly constant pain and wants to swap stories/treatments/advice I'd love to connect.    Don't worry, I'm still working out 5-7 times a week for 30 minutes a workout or longer, and I really attempt to eat healthy.   Work is going well. I am continually counting my blessings to work with such awesome and smart people. The smarter I realize they are, the more I accept how dumb I am much I have to learn.     Here's a big update for me to actually admit to myself and write for you to read: Even though life is overall good and God is great, as far as the rest of life goes I'm ready for some change. We watch house flipping shows regularly, puppies and babies seem to be everywhere, and maybe it's the I-just-turned-30 thing, but I want all of those things: a house, a yard, a dog (who loves Teddy, of course!) and a family. There was a time when I never thought I'd be ready to grow up. That time expired and I want that life now.   Just not in the suburbs. Shudder. (No offense to anyone reading this who lives in the suburbs. You do you!)    Well that's about it, folks! What's new with you?  

Ooof. Busy.

Hi there!

You guys. Wow busy. I don't want to bore you with my excuses. I also don't want to post to just post, you know?

OK fine, I'm kind of doing that today.

With my birthday, work, working out and traveling, this blog has taken the back-burner. Maybe I'll do a "Life Lately" post next week if you're interested?

I also need to share a really cool cookbook that a friend wrote.

The ideas are in my head I just need the time to execute!

OK fine, I need to MAKE the time to execute.

Whatever.

I miss you. And love you. And I will write a solid post soon.

Promise.

DC Bloggers!

Hi to my DC blogger friends!

Are you in DC over Memorial Day Weekend? Shoot me a message! :)

Work it Out Wednesday: On My 30th Birthday!

Hi gang!

It's my Birthday!
I'm now 30!

Whaaaaaaatttt?!?!?! How did that happen?

I guess I should grow up now? 

Eh, I'll get around to it.

I'm keeping it short and sweet today: just a little workout from me to you to enjoy. Many of my favorite moves are in this workout, meaning there's barely any cardio and it doesn't include burpees, push-ups or mountain climbers.

What? It's my Birthday and I'll workout how I want to!

I completed my custom workout this morning and it sure is great! I even have a playlist for you, too!

Weekly disclaimer:
Remember what I said about my lack of qualifications? Please keep in mind that I am aware that I am chubby and have no fitness/nutrition authority. I'm just trying to spread some wellness love as I fight the battle to live well myself.

Weekly Workout:
 

How I made it harder: I'm just happy I worked out on my Birthday, so I did all of these, some with dumbbells, some without. Boom. Done.
Overall impression: Tough and awesome and yay me!
Sweat factor (on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is when I look like I just got out of the shower): Definitely a 10!
How I felt when it was over: Fantastic!
Would I do it again? Obviously! Better question: will YOU do it? Please tell me if you do and what you think!

Playlist:

You have every right to make fun of me for these choices.
Enjoy!



Crank up the jams and this will be over in no time!

Now please excuse me while I enjoy some sweets and treats today to celebrate the next decade!

Have a good one!

Wah.

I hate my head.
I hate my body.
Everything hurts.
Most of the time.
People at work have been consistently asking me what's wrong. It's not a good feeling to know that how I feel is expressed in everything that I do.

I'm struggling today and I feel really bad about it, considering everything going on in the world.

I'm trying to have happy thoughts because I have a lot upcoming to look forward to. I'm just not feeling 100% and it's a big bummer.

Product Review: Firmoo! Half Off for You!

So I'm basically blind without glasses or contacts. It's not fun. Even though I prefer how I look sans specs, I almost always wear them since I stare at a computer screen all day and my eyes get dry.

I know, I know. This is SUCH a cool story.

I mean, why didn't I blog about my dry eyes sooner, right?!?!

Joking aside (for now), I was pretty pumped when a rep from Firmoo contacted me to try out a pair for free. Yes, I'm reviewing glasses given to me for free, but opinions are my own! I have a couple pairs of glasses already, one black and one brown, so I thought this would be a great excuse to try some wilder hues. 

The process was really easy. I needed to get my prescription from my doctor and all I had to do was enter in the info on the Firmoo site before ordering. Easy peasy. I also enjoyed uploading my own photo to see how the frames may look on me.

Within days I received my pair of purplish/reddish frames and I wore them immediately. The fit is perfect and the frames look cute. My co-workers all noticed my new look and paid me compliments (thanks for that, friends!!).

 

Bluuurrrrrrrryyyyy. Ooops.

My only gripe about the experience is actually with my doctor, who thought it weird to give me certain measurements. I think it was the bridge distance. That was a silly exchange, but they gave me the measurements since I still give them business. Aside from that it was a very easy process. I didn't realize the package was coming from China, though, so it was interesting picking up the box in my building and trying to figure out what it was! Silly me, I clearly order things online too often and forget what I order! The package included a pair of glasses, case, spectacle pouch, cleaning cloth and tiny screwdriver. Not a bad deal!

Would you like to try out Firmoo??
They are so kind to offer my readers a 50% off code on the frames site wide: http://www.firmoo.com/z/new-50-off.html. 

Have fun and let me know which frames you choose!!

Work it Out Wednesday On a Thursday: Week 27

Hi gang!

How's everyone doing this week?

I love 21 Day Fix. So, so, so much. After the first 21 days I lost 6 pounds and 7.5 inches, two of which were around my waist. Then I took a few days off of the eating plan (and probably gained it back if I'm being honest lol) and I'm doing the whole shebang again. I guess most people do multiple rounds of the 21 Day Fix until they hit their goal weight. It's tough for me to stick with the meal plan 100% of the time but the workouts are great and fast so I've been doing them religiously.

I realize that not all of you have access to the workouts and meal plan, so I found some great videos by the same trainer, Autumn Calabrese, on her YouTube channel. This way we can all feel the burn together!

Weekly disclaimer:
Remember what I said about my lack of qualifications? Please keep in mind that I am aware that I am chubby and have no fitness/nutrition authority. I'm just trying to spread some wellness love as I fight the battle to live well myself.

Weekly Workout:

How I made it harder: Considering I already did my official workout of the day in the morning, I was surprised at myself for doing each of these workouts three times as suggested after work. That was hard enough for me!
Overall impression: The leg video made me sad since she was on a beach haha but overall I liked both. In fact, I LOVED the triceps video!!
Sweat factor (on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is when I look like I just got out of the shower): Definitely a 10. It was also warm in my apartment.
How I felt when it was over: Fantastic!
Would I do it again? I'm honestly thinking the triceps video will be a weekly workout addition for me. I really loved it!

Weekly recipe:

{via}

I want to try these for my lunches next week, but I will add the cheese each time instead of when I originally bake them to make them seem fresh. I'll also add some green onions and tomatoes on top!

Weekly Motivation: 

{via}

This is so true! Balance is key...which stinks since I'm such a klutz. ;)

Weekly workout sass:

I adapted a quote I saw on Pinterest :)

Have a good one!