Oh what fun!

This is how excited the kid gets when we go camping!  It is so amazing to sit back and watch him grow with every adventure.  He can list off all the parks we have been too and what we have done there.  Like in Ludington, we visited the lighthouse or in Holland we visit The Captains (an ice cream spot where he gets a baby cone with sprinkles with a cherry on top).  This past weekend, we split the Saturday/Sunday between Holland State Park (beach side) and Grand Haven.  It was amazing.  It was our first time staying at Grand Haven but it will not be the last.  The people were so friendly there.  It's nice to be surrounded by like minded people.  Our campsite was just off the beach.  The weather wasn't the greatest on Sunday but we experienced how well the camper would take a thunderstorm.  Needless to say, the T@DA did terrific.  We were supposed to spend the whole week in Grand Haven for the Coast Guard Festival but Chris has court for work so we had to cancel our vacation.  We were kind of sad that we had to cancel but I keep on reminding myself that we can do a trip to Maine next year.  We bought the camper in New Hampshire so we will stop and visit with the former owners.  They were amazing.  I just feel so lucky to have such an amazing trailer.  It's wonderful.  It's usually the smallest in the park and we get a ton of verbal kudos from people who remark it's adorable.

I have to say with having Chris busy with court for possibly the next two weeks, I never knew how much I depended on him for support.  I have to say that I am fully appreciating him a ton.  All I can say is, can the weekend get here fast enough?

Congrats to my sister.  Today, she received her first job offer with benefits and retirement.  She was a stay at home mom until the boys went into school.  She went to the local community college and earned a certificate and did contract work for a bit.  She was able to find a job in her town so she and her husband do not have to move and she could even walk to work.  It's such an exciting time for her!  She and her husband have created an amazing life for their family because they have been available to the kids, have two rentals, and paid cash for their current home.  My brother in law is extremely handy and lucky the market is good where they live.  My folks live in the same town so it's great that they will all be together.  It's such a nice town to visit and the awesome thing is that my nephews will not have to move either.  Woot Woot for good news!

I'm still experimenting with my style.  Thanks to Gwynnie Bee, I keep on moving outside of my comfort box.  The one thing I have learned that it is so funny how sizes in women's clothing works.  In the picture, I'm wearing a 1XL Cherry Velvet.  I really liked the look of it on me but I am swimming in it.  I threw on a belt to cinch my waist a tad.  So a 1XL can be big on me, while in another brand it can be too tight on me.  I just don't get it but I will keep on learning.  I bought some accessories from the Coldwater Creek that was going out of business.  It's sad to see that company go under.  Their items held up so well.
 

I knew it!

The one amazing gift I truly have is the ability to get an accurate assessment about people very quickly after meeting them.  I've always had the ability to do this but I didn't necessarily understand it when I was younger.   Now, I'm in a spot that I use it daily and I continue to get better and better at it.   It does come in handy when you are a social worker too.  Last week I was in a room with some people, I wanted something really bad at that point in time but right when I assessed the situation only being in for less than a few minutes, I knew, it wasn't going to happen.  The universe was like "hell no, this one's not for you".  Funny that has happened in my life a few times where I have tried to convince my gut otherwise, like "you silly girl, you are just reading things wrong" but deep down inside, I knew it wasn't going to happen. I can remember my last job when I got there.  I knew right away, that it was not going to be a fit.  I remember crying on my way home from the interview and thinking "it will be okay" but deep down inside, I knew it was not going to be okay.  When I arrived on my first day at the job, I thought "oh shit, what the fuck did I do?".  I convinced myself that it was going to be okay that I took the job because we needed to transition down to Kalamazoo.  Needless to say, my reaction to my new boss/coworkers was true that it was not going to be good, despite me noting that it would "be okay", it wasn't.   Hell I do have to remind myself that I don't need a crystal ball...when I know things are not going to happen, they are not going to happen.  And that's okay.  The universe tends to lay things out how they are supposed to be.  Sometimes, I just need to sit back and just let things unfold without being too anxious about it, because what will be will be.  Just trusting that it will be okay, well, that's an interesting process.  So I'm pigeoned holed for a while and it will be okay.   The bright spot now is at least I am in a better place now mind frame wise compared to what I was. And I will take that!

Exploring...

One of the coolest things that I get to do lately is to explore the new area that I work in.  I'm really digging the South Bend, Indiana area. I'm always hunting to do awesome activities with kids so finding some in the area that I work is always fun.  I was out last week and I look over and there's a pottery shop.  Having some time on my hands, I decided to go in and just browse.  After seeing the awesome prices, I decided to do some painting.  For the first time in my life, I got to paint some pottery and it was an absolute blast.   Growing up, I never had anything with my name on it.   When I saw the coffee cup, I was like "Oh yeah!".   I'm not artistic what so ever but I have to say, it was one of the most relaxing experiences ever.  To spend a Friday afternoon, relaxing, and just having a new experience is amazing.  It's what every Friday should be like, right?  My creation will be done in 7-10 days after they fire it up so I cannot wait until I see the finished product.

Today was an interesting day.  The morning was filled with a meeting to discuss wither or not my work opts back into social security.  To watch the emotions going on around me was amazing because I saw true fear from others that they will not be retiring like they thought they would.  I have to say, thank goodness for all of the wise saving we have done.  I can't even begin to imagine being 62 and "having to work until I die" (which one co-worker reported).  One of the reasons that we went with Chris's job is that not only does his company have a defined pension, which is truly rare in this day in age but he also has a generous 401 that his company contributes to.  I can only hope that we will make it to retirement to enjoy it :)

I sported the lip print maxi dress from Gwynnie Bee today.  I must say for 90 degrees, this was the perfect dress for me.  I spent half the day outside/in warmer areas so it was perfect.  I also sported my Taos Shoes that had a slight heal and I was rocking it out. Though, by the end of the day, my feet were saying "WTF Kellie?"  Yes, I'm 38 years old and probably on one hand could count how many times I have worn something with a heel.  They were amazing and comfy but by the end of the day, I feel like I am losing my toe. Not a good feeling at all!

The kid was in an amazing mood today.  I have to say that this age is absolutely fun.   Three is good! To hear what he feels and what his joys are in life just warms the heart.  We have been taking him to swim lessons since the spring and to see his confidence grow in the pool is amazing.  Watching him glide from one side to another just keeps me in awe.  Like this proud moment of "that's my boy".   Awe what a feeling!

Needle in a haystack...

I swear I was dodging people at work today because of my dress.  I know it was kind of risky to wear this today because it doesn't essentially fit the culture but I had no intakes and I was stuck to my office all day.  My office has two crowds, the under 27 crowd and the over 55 crowd so everything is kind of funky when it comes to dynamics, expectations, and dress.  Then you have me, right smack in the middle of that age demographic.  I just had to wear this Hell Bunny dress today because it was going to be 90 degrees and I've been staring at the dress for 3 weeks in my closet.  I'm making more of a conservative effort to dress better.  Since having the kid, gaining the weight, I have to admit my self confidence hit an all time low.  I wasn't feeling comfortable in my skin.  Which is a horrible feeling to have. Everything was sort of just, erh...not fun.  A few months back, I saw that a friend on facebook joined Gwynnie Bee and I was curious.  I did some poking and thought, hey this would be awesome.  I used to love dressing up when I was smaller but since being larger, it's more of a challenge.  Finding clothing when I am my current size is like finding a freaking needle in a hay stack.  I figured WTH, I decided to use some of my oncall money to off set the subscription price.  And voila, I hit clothing utopia.  I'm feeling better about myself and I'm getting out of my comfort zone of trying items that I normally would not touch.  Plus actually finding clothes that fit me properly and beautifully is an amazing feeling.

We haven't been able to be weekend warriors for the past few weekends and that has been somewhat bummy.  We love getting out of Kalamazoo and exploring along the lakeshore in our adorable camper.  Here it is mid-July and it feels like the summer is going to slip by quickly...which makes me sad.  Chris's schedule for work has been up in the air because he has one definite court appearance and two pending court cases that he could potentially needed for in the upcoming weeks.  I'm totally bummed out about one trip we already had to cancel because we had Lake Michigan camping reservations during the Coast Guard Festival.  I had visions of sitting on our lawn chairs looking up and watching the fireworks but alas...it wasn't meant to be.  We are trying to plan some get aways in the coming weeks but we'll see.  I'm also being picky about using my annual time.  I only earn 4 vacation hours every two weeks and have 3 floating days.  For me to take a day off of work must equate for something truly worth it.  I miss the days when I had annual/sick time all rolled into one.  Before I never had to worry about taking time off but now, I'm like "is this really worth a months of vacation?".  Though, I do have to think about my mental health and camping sounds good about now...

The house that got away...

Two years ago when we were transitioning down here, there was this GORGEOUS home.  The house was stunning...it was out of our budget at the time so we didn't even pursue it but looking back, I kicked myself to see that it did eventually sell for a price within our budget.  It was like "why didn't we look" "why didn't we try"?  Then today, I was glancing through the paper and saw that they had an open house from 12:30-2:30.  We had to go and see the house that got away!  We headed over and the area is absolutely lovely compared to our area which is transitioning.  There were mature trees and just this feel of a neighborhood.  With our neighborhood being built up, we lack that character that an established neighborhood has to offer...we have farm land that has been ripped up and ticky tackies being built all over.  Our saving grace is that we are one of the few houses in the 'hood that has color to it...the rest are tan's, grey's, etc.  Anyways, we start rolling towards the house.  I notice with different eyes that it's not everything I had built it up in my mind.  The streets are very narrow and it gives off this cool presence.  Not that warm inviting feel of "come live in me".  Funny how, in my mind, I built this house up to be the "one that got away".  Looking at it now, I can say "no thanks".  That's kind of how life is like right now.  I'm in this phase of looking at things as "this is the one that got away".  I have to keep on working on "it did get away but there was a reason it wasn't mine".   I'll remind myself of this when I hear some news that I may or may not like this week!

We had to stick around the house this weekend because I was oncall yesterday.  I haven't been so fortunate with oncall shifts for the past six months so straying away from the area would not be good. Luckily, it was quite so free money, yea!  We were able to deep clean the house because we have been bad lately with keeping things up...I had the flu last week and with all of the stuff going on in life, it was last on the list to get done.   I finally had Chris hang some stuff up in the house.  Prior to yesterday, I had only two things hanging in the house.  I know, bad, but this didn't really feel like home.  I had him put up a few pieces that I had in our old home that were favorites.   It's nice to have them out again, gracing the walls.  And possibly this is going to start feeling like home instead of a transition place...we'll see.

Crystal ball...

The one thing about life lately is that sometimes I wish I had a crystal ball.  Life continues to send us some curves, not bad curves, but just curves that we want to know...what's next? Last week, once again, Chris's job announced more re-shuffling.  Which is always an adventure...which one the of shuffles that got us living where we are now, so needless to say, I'm tired of the shuffles.  We thought the worst but it's looking like it's actually going to work in his favor this time.  He getting inline for the next position that he wants and he couldn't be happier about grabbing this new slot but the waiting to hear what is going to happen is the worst.  For myself, I too, am playing the waiting game.  I'm trying to not feel pessimistic about things but I'm convinced I'm pigeoned holed for a while.  I know I have to be patient but argh....though, if the universe is wanting something different for me, it will be.  In the end, I just have to see where everything lands.

I had some me time tonight and it felt wonderful.  I haven't had any major amounts of me time in a while so I decided to grab a meal and do some shopping.  I've been neglecting myself too long so it felt good to pamper myself.  I hooked myself up with some new shoes and other items.  It felt terrific to just get out and do some shopping therapy :)  Sometimes a gal has to do something for herself and for this gal, it's been a while...

Great 4th of July!

 I have to say that this little man is an amazing hiker.  We spent the 4th of July up north at Ludington State Park and we hiked everywhere.  This little trooper was right there just hiking along with us.  He even climbed the stairs to the top of the light house.  All I can say is that he amazes me everyday.  It's nice to see how he is really getting into the outdoors.  We were impressed with the park because it had so many options.  3 days was not enough so hopefully we will be able to go back soon.

I'm getting pretty creative with the camping food too.  I marinated some flank steak and it turned out amazing.  We had some asian slaw, grilled zucchini/squash, and some kimchee so it hit the spot.   Who says camp food is all about hot dogs and hamburgers?

It was a terrific weekend :)

Hey...

Hey, what's up? It's been a while.  Life is very different...very different.  I don't know if I will be ever settled into this "new life" but I've been in a funk for a bit.  You know that kind of funk that you know that life is passing you by but you don't really care because everything is status quo.  It is what it is...has been my motto.

I'm overweight again (as you can see)...the lack of movement has not been good for me.  Ever since being pregnant with the kid, my gym days have been over.  Eating, well, that needs to improve too.  The good thing is that I haven't gained any weight in a year.  Though, on the other hand, I haven't lost any weight.

I haven't been digging the move to Kalamazoo.  I had a great life in Grand Rapids, great job, awesome friends, and my dream home.  Kalamazoo, well it's not Grand Rapids.  The positives is that Chris is loving his new job.  He's moved into a different sector of his company and he is digging it.  He's digging it so much that he is going back to school at Penn State for computers....and his company is paying for it.  Now how awesome is that?  His company also took very good care of us with the relocation down here.  I just have to grow to enjoy this area, which doesn't feel like it will happen any time soon but things are looking better maybe?  We will see.

The awesome stuff that is happening right now is that we are enjoying our kid.  He is absolutely the most amazing little man ever.  He makes me giggle every day and he's as spunky as all get out.  Love being his mom.

After this long Michigan winter, we have been able to enjoy the summer.  We broke down and bought a 2008 Dutchman T@DA after realizing that tent camping with a young child = no fun.  We've been able to hit quite a few  parks around the region.  I never knew camping could be this much fun.

So this is where we are right now.  Could it be better, yup.  Could it be worse, yup.  

Switching up the breakfast...

I am switching up my breakfast today. Usually I blend up a smoothie in my vitamix but I am going to start switching it up a bit. Today I made an egg white omelet with mushrooms, spinach, garlic, and feta cheese. I love egg white omelets and what you can put in them is endless.  

I spent last week doing workouts at home. It was a nice break but I was happy to return to the gym this morning and it felt terrific. I was also surprised that the gym traffic was not too much more. There were some new faces but not too many. When I worked out at the Y, there were so many new faces in January but here not so much. It's a much cheaper gym so I guess I was expecting more turn out. New faces are always good! 

We signed the kid up for gymnastics. The kid is something. He will jump off the couch with no issues. He will yell "TWO" and boom, he is landing on us.  We thought maybe we need to channel this and have him learn some fun ways to bounce around and have a good time.  Plus it exposes him to sports :) which is awesome. We wanted to do a swim class with him but we are going to wait until spring to do that so that we are not overloading the little guy.  The one good thing about the classes is that they go in 8 week lengths so this will put us into March.  Now that is nice to hear...March = spring.  

Hi....my name is Kellie...

Hi, my name is Kellie and it about time to blog again. I've lurked on a few sites lately and finding out that more and more people have lost their inspiration to blog. I know what that feels like. Life gets busy, you have a ton of stuff to do, lots of stuff going on, and blogging, well, it's not fun when you can't feel like you can be anonymous. So why bother....? Well, it's a great tool. It's kind of nice looking back to where I was, who I was at a specific time, and where I wanted to go as a person. In this case, I want to find who I am today.

I was not prepared for what life had in store for my during the past year. We moved from our dream home which was rough. In the long run, I knew it was the best for our family. The truth was, we lived in a charming home in Grand Rapids, which unfortunately had one of the worst school districts in Michigan. We had a house loan which we were upside down in because when the market crashed, our house was not valued at what it once was. We couldn't refinance because we were upside down in it. Chris's company gave us the most amazing relocation package ever and we simply could not say no. It was truly that good. His company was relocating all the individuals from Grand Rapids to one main office in Michigan and after finding out that he would have an unreasonable commute, we decided to go forth with a move. I had to find a new job. That was a trip that I don't want to re-live. It was a weird process and I was lucky to be offered a few jobs that I had to say no to but I found one that was a decent fit. We were able to find a new home that suited our style. We didn't want to go with a charming older home because I would compare it to my GR home. Our home sold to the first couple who saw it and they offered above listing price. Which is unheard of in our economy. We moved and said goodbye to our old life...now we have this new life.

New house, new job, and really a new life. Our new life is different. Q...u..i...e....t... More family time. I have a 30 minute commute vs an hour. We have time at night and in the morning with our kid. We are not running as much and it feels different. My whole life I had this super fast pace, now it's slow. We are adjusting to the new community. Luckily, we have some close friends who live nearby but we will need to meet some more people so our support system would be a tad larger.

We are still trying to get orientated to the surroundings. During the past two years, I honestly can say is that I totally sucked with my fitness. After having the kid, I was able to go back to the gym but then I injured my foot because I felt that I could run again. Bad choice because it took me six months to get over that. Then the sleep deprivation of an infant. Not fun...in fact 8 months of seemingly bad sleep was no fun at all. Then I became shut down about all the changes in my life. I didn't want to move and lose what we had so I ate...ate...ate. Luckily, I am not larger than I am now but I am at the same weight as when I first entered Weight Watchers back in 2002.  Though, I have to say, I look better :)

I recommitted myself to Weight Watchers back at the end of October.  I also have been going to the gym since then which is the cheapest gym ever but also the nicest.  My weight loss is incredibly slow.  So slow that I was getting to the point of frustration that I was eating well, working out five days a week, and nothing.  But then I noticed that the pants are fitting better and finally I am losing.

Here I am...recommitting like I always do and hoping that things will change.  The thing I like about the new WW program is that it reminds me of classic cognitive behavioral therapy.  They are really attacking the emotional aspects of eating.  Trying to target where you are putting that bad foods in your mouth and focus on moving both emotionally and physically.

My goals for 2013...
1. Focus on the moment, not past or future, just look at the day.
2.  Gym 5x per week.
3.  Becoming more acclimated in our community.
4.  Being at peace with where I am currently.  Which is where I am supposed to be.

Happy 2013. It's great to be back.  Take care all-Kellie

Our kid is way too cute, isn't he?

Could not help myself...had to post another pic of the little one (LO). He is so freaking adorable that it's not even funny and wow, already, his personality is showing through. It's nice being a mom. I had to laugh some because we found out that 3 friends are expecting right now. Before LO, I would have gone and thought "yikes" but now I'm like "wow, how exciting" and I actually mean it.

We are taking him into visit his daycare next week so I'm excited for that. They have 2 other babies starting so it's an exciting time for the place. He'll be in the infant room with 9 other kids. It's a great place and we like their approach with kids. What really shocked us when we went there to visit that the kids were using sign language at nine months. If the kid needs to be in daycare, it feels good that he will be learning something. Plus, if we really like the program, he can be slotted to go to school there when it is time.


I started walking this week at the gym and it feels terrific. I take LO and his pimped out stroller to the gym after I feed him. Isn't it cute? You know you have to maximize those feeding times! I have my six week check up next week so I'm hoping then to get the green light to resume activities. It's been since August that I have not been able to work out due to the pregnancy and that was hard. He's worth it though. I did gain a lot during the pregnacy for an overweight person. They wanted me to gain about 25-30 due to being overweight but despite my good intentions and eating well, I put on about 40. The notion of eating 300 extra calories a day for a pregnancy is not exactly true for overweight women. When I saw the dietician in the fall, she noted that I was overeating on healthy food (greek yogurt, fruit, lean protein, etc.) because I was eating about 1800 calories a day. I should have been eating 1500 calories. I guess I will know next time.

Chris and I joined Weight Watchers again. They changed the program with the points so everything that I used to know is well...not the same. This time around it's free. My hx insurance is paying for it. We just need to attend 11 out of 13 meetings. That is saving us a ton of money :) I'm not too sure how I did this week. Our first weigh in is tonight so wish us luck! I know the program works because it worked for me before it's just the committment needs to be there and I'm 85% committed right now...too much socializing lately. Which is always our downfall. There's got to be a balance. We'll find it.

Had an amazing delivery! It was a total piece of cake and I did it without any drugs. Chris was an amazing coach :) So here is our little boy. We are a lucky set of parents because this boy is amazing. I would totally do it over again. We are settling into parenthood and getting to know our little guy. We are so in love with him.

29 weeks :)

Howdy...the pregnancy is just cruising right a long. I still feel great, energy is there, and we are looking forward to meeting Baby H. Chris finished up the house a few weeks back and it looks terrific! It's wonderful to have such a creative husband. I really appreciate it. He's been a huge help.

Things are great here. We are cruising right a long now. I'm taking a week off of work to relax. Initially, I was going to just work until Thursday but last week I was like "why should I?" so I took the week off. This is the week I always take off to get prepared for the holidays so I decided to take the much needed break. After January, time will probably fly by and March will be before I know it. I plan on taking the full 12 weeks off of work so if baby comes on time, I will be out of work until June. We still have to line up daycare. I figure in January we will start looking. There's 3 places that I really want to look into. Two centers and 1 home (recommended by friends).

Eating wise, well doing good here. I'm taking my gluclose test tomorrow to see if I have the GD so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully, I will pass. I gained a lot of weight initially because I was told to eat an extra 350 a day but when my weight shot up quickly, I went to see a nutrionist and I was to back down the calories to 1500 because I was overweight to begin with. When the baby comes, Chris and I will be on weight watchers again. Looking forward to that. I hear the new program is doing well. The gym is going to look a little different but it will happen. I miss my workouts but that's okay, they will come soon :)

Huge week this week :)

The pregnancy has been terrific so far minus the early spotting. Chris is totally in nesting mode fixing up the home for our new addition. I love being married to a handy man. Plus he actually completes the work, unlike some guys out there. Next room to prep is the nursery. We picked out an outdoor themed room. Our scan is later on in the week. We are opting out of finding out what we are having. We'll find out when the baby is born. In life, there's only a few surprises :)one of them is the gender of the child. Since it doesn't matter to us, we'll have the ultimate surprise when the baby is born.

We are busy again but it's a good busy. Lots of people to see and events happening in our life. This week also marks our 6th anniversary. It's been an awesome six years. We have a lot of fun together. One thing I appreciate is that we really did everything we wanted to do before having kids. We don't plan on stopping living either once baby comes. Pacing may be different but will we stop having fun? Nope!

Slowing down...

Our pacing for the last year has been run run run run run. Now we are being extremely mindful of slowing down so that when the baby comes, we will not be in total shock. Chris and I have a no travel August where we cannot be away from the home the whole weekend. It's been good but so different. We really cleared out our calendar this month to make it happen. It's been terrific so far. We have had some family time, house transition time, and some couple time. We can't believe how long the weekend feels when our pace is a tad slower.

I hit 12 weeks today! Yes, another sigh of relief. I'll feel really good in two more weeks. So far, it's been a good pregnancy minus the spotting that I had a few weeks ago. Doctor took me off my workouts so I'm hoping in two weeks, I can get back to something. Haven't gained too much weight so far but I'm monitoring what I eat so that my mini meals are balanced and healthy. Luckily, I have been blessed with limited morning sickness...thank goodness!

Ultrasound Picture

This is the little bean growing inside of me. Nice huh? We are really enjoying this time. Life continues to be great. The pregnancy is going well so far. I had some spotting but that cleared up about two weeks ago. I'm not getting hit with morning sickness really. I will occasionally get hit with nausea but that comes in waves. Two and half more weeks until the second trimester. Can't wait.

I'm going to blog again. I need too, I miss ya Anji and all my old peeps out there (well minus you lurker, no love for you...you're just sad....oh and if you are doing anything illegal towards us, I swear I will sue your ass. I hope your wifey is still not obsessed with having a girl. It's kind of sickening thinking that someone wants to play God over what they are having. Be glad with what you have and what God grants you).

Update :)

We'll I'm off the weightloss journey for now. I'm pregnant :) So Ella or Ian will be joining us in late Feb. or early March. So the journey is a different one. The cool thing is that I'm entering this pregnancy without being on any type of medication. My bloodpressure has been under control for the last year from working out (medication free) so it's been well worth the time and effort to be as healthy as I can be. We ran the Chicago Shuffle in March and that was amazing. Then we ran a local race in May, which was another amazing feat. I love running. Life is good. Working out is good.

Chris and I just got back from Quebec City from a music festival. We got to see some major bands and had a blast. We saw Black Eye Peas on Friday and Rammstein on Sunday. Quebec City is just an amazing place. Sorry I missed you Anji...did I tell you how much I love Canadians? It was great to see concerts without the fist fighting that we usually see hear in the states.

Next challenge is a biking trip in September. We are going with a group of friends at Boyne Mountain to complete a 46 mile trip. Chris and I have been training for it and he's getting a new road bike in August. I love hanging with a group of friends that challenge you to be better people. We have a great circle going right now, spread across the state. In fact, we haven't had an available weekend, in, well, forever. Life is a lot of fun...and it's only bound to get better, isn't it?

It's always good to check things out...

Lately, I've been focusing on two things. Making it through the 8K in March and then our trip out west in May. It struck Chris the other day that he should check on his vacation time because he assumed he was getting 3 weeks this year. Well, thank goodness he did because he found out that he will not be getting 3 until next year. Bummer! So needless to say, going to California, Washington, and Oregon are out this year. That threw us both for a loop. After some brainstorming, we decided that we are going to go to Germany for Oktoberfest. We have been wanting to go abroad but haven't so we figured this is the time in our life to do this before we settle down and actually try to have kids. It is a little bit of a bummer because the training has been good but hey, I like the back up plan. Meine Duetsch ist nicht so gut but maybe it can get better...lol...Germany here we come :)

Feeling good...

I'm up to 4 miles running, nonstop! My pace averages between 9.33-11 for a mile, which is awesome for me. I'm seeing a ton of changes in my body since adding in the running and just feel good. I look forward to my running days. We're at the gym six days a week, which is amazing for us. Though, we don't have hard bodies yet changes are occurring. I just took some measurements and they are looking good. I'm still attending WW meetings for my "therapy" though I'm carb cycling and the results are great. Energy level is good and I'm never hungry.

Life continues to be awesome but busy. Finding a balance is hard when you are having as much fun as we are. We kind of need to slow down but it's winter so it's nice to hang out with people when we would normally hibernate. I can't imagine what summer is going to look like with our schedule. I'm sure we will find a balance because one could never have too much fun, right?

Congrats to Chris, he is a Godfather! Isn't that awesome? We're excited to see our friends new baby next month but what an honor for him. He'll make an awesome godfather. Chris is also enjoying his new job and 12 minute commute. It's amazing because I get to come home to a home cooked meal every night. Like I said, life is good :)