Unexpected challenge

Happy Monday Lovies! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the beautiful warm weather! I know B & I sure enjoyed plenty of pool time!I am just doing a quick update on the #whole30; holy moly it was tough! It requires so much more meal planning than I anticipated. I have fallen short but not feeling guilty because in the short 2 weeks I have been trying to do it I have learned so much about myself. When I take care of myself, myself takes care of me. I am trying so hard to not eat fast food or processed foods and its a lot easier to do when you prepare and pay attention. I also learned that I am okay without sugars and sweets! Amazing right?! I can go without them and turns out I feel so much better without all that junk in my system, who would have thought?! I have also learned that portion sizes play such a huge role in healthy eating. It's super important to eat healthy and to eat those healthy things in appropriate amounts!I would like to try the #whole30 again and complete the entire 30 days but I think I want to do it with better meal prep and when things in my life aren't so crazy! 

Now to attack working out and finding a workout plan right for fitness level and lifestyle. Any suggestions? 

The whole 30

This post is going to be raw, honest & real. I need to be honest with you but mostly because I need to be honest with myself. I have always struggled with my weight because of various health reason but mostly from poor choices and pure laziness. I could always justify my weight with excuses and looking at others who were heavier than me and telling myself "well I'm not that big" but I'm finally realizing I am that big. October of 2015 I went to my Dr because I just was not feeling well most of the time. I was always nauseous, dizzy and sweaty. After some tests and talking she told me the devastating news I NEEDED to hear. At 24 years old I was prediabetic. I needed to make a life change. If not for me than for my two year old son.

I made changes right away. I ate better I started working out 4 or 5 times a week. I started feeling good and I could tell a difference in my body. Then the holidays rolled around and I made excuses about eating poorly and being lazy and went right back to my poor ways. I went back to the doctor for a follow up and she got real with me. She told me if I don't start taking better care of myself I was going to become type 2 diabetic and insulin dependant. This scared me. I didn't want to lose my life to this. I want to be around to watch my grandkids grow up. I want to be healthy and have energy to play with my son. To run, jump, climb rocks and play trucks. I wanted to better myself for him and as well for me. I owed myself that much. I started making changes and doing better but it seemed like when something little happened I went back to my old eating habits. I never made it a priority to stay in routine.

Well the time has come. The time is now. I'm done with excuses and being lazy and justifying my laziness. I am over weight and I'm ready for that to not define me. I want people to see me for me and not my weight.

So here I am. I am starting the 'The Whole30'. I think it will be a struggle and I fully expect to mess up but I think this will be the perfect change to Jumpstart a healthier new life style. I'm so ready to begin and do this for me. I'm ready to learn how to love me.

21 day challenge

21 day challenge to becoming a better me.
"It takes 21 {consistent} days to make a habit. So for 21 days, i decided to focus in a little more on improvements i want to make. I am going to work on just one for 21 days & move onto the next making it 6 months..to alter my life a little. I honestly think this could change my life for the better. Each are little things that add up to big things."

Day One: Don't complain. Today I will not complain. I will be grateful and positive.

Road Rage from a One Year Old

Pack, drive, breathe and repeat. That is my life for the past 3 months. That is all I do. I live out of bags, haul my kid around like a wondering gypsy, and spend obscene amounts of money on gas. So here's the deal. I live in Lacrosse. My internship is in Warsaw and my boyfriend, Justin, lives in Garrett. So let's break this down a bit? Shall we? LaCrosse is north west. Roughly 70 minutes from Warsaw. Garrett is east towards Ft Wayne about 65 minutes. My internship is during the week but no set schedule. I see Justin on the weekends. So I drive. All the time. My poor child spends so much time in the car and after a few days of a plethora of driving you can tell he is just over it. But boy does he handling it like a champ. Which I can't help but thank God for such a carefree boy. Bennett's life has been less the routine since he was about 4 months old. We moved, he changed sitters, I changed jobs, we moved again, again, new sitter and we moved again. Now luckily he stays with me all the time but still, we are rarely in the same place for more than a few days, we rotate between my grandparents, our house and Justin's house. He is usually pretty happy at either of the three places. He just goes with the flow even though I know its hard on him. It shows. It shows every time I put his little booty in his car seat and he looks up at me with those big blue eyes with his mini-Stef face "like really mom? This again?" Haha. He's such a trooper. I could not imagine my life without his spunky little spirit always making me laugh. I am truly a blessed Momma. 

Captured memories

Tomorrow isn't promised. Such a small phrase that packs a powerful punch. Even as I am reminded lately of how short and precious life can be I often find myself forgetting the little things. I asked for a "big girl" camera for Christmas and I got one. So now I am making it my goal to use it. To over use it. To make people sick of seeing pictures of my son and my life. I want to be able to look back on my journey and remember the little things. I want Bennett to be able to look back and see the memories he and I made before he could remember. Because he may never know it but all these little things he and I do everyday mean the world to me. I want tangible imagines for us both to remember. To cherish.

Stress less..overall happier and healthier me!

I stress. I stress about everything and anything. I stress about work. I stress about money. I stress about school. I stress about Bennett. I stress about my relationship. I stress about myself. I stress about everything. This said stressing has caused some problems over the years...nasty dirty habits like nail biting and jaw clenching. Stressing is pointless. It changes nothing and nine times out of then I am stressing about something that never actually becomes an issue. I vow to myself and the poor soles who take the blunt force of my stressing that I will in fact learn to stress less and better deal with stress.

Which brings me to my next point. I want to be healthier. Right right a new years resolution to lose weight?! Who ever hear of such a thing! But I promise you that is not what I'm doing. I'm less worried about the number on the scale and more so focused on the way I feel about myself. I want more out of life like being able run around with the boys and not be tired or find cute clothes without the struggle of it not being in my size. So far so good. I'm making better choices and started doing yhis satanic workout called insanity. And to prove I'm so focused on being healthy, I started the program and didn't get on a scale and still haven't. I just want to feel good for me. I couldn't care less what a scale says.

I'll tell you kids what attitude really is everything. I have been trying to be more positive and appreciative of the blessed life I have and when you focus on that and enjoy everyday....life is beautiful!

Better Mommy-ing

"Do more with Bennett"


I'll admit that sometimes I'm guilty to just getting though the days by keeping Bennett, my year old son, busy and quiet. He's a bit of a handful and always has been. I'm trying to remind myself that he's only going to be this age once and his little mind is absorbing everything. I need to spend more time with him, playing, reading and helping him grow and learn. Other things can wait, other things are less important. This is the time where it's important for him to learn, explore and right now he needs me to help him do that. There's some many things I can do with him to help him. I want to start setting time aside everyday to do things with him that help his development. He deserves more from me, he's here to learn and grow and not just get through each day.

That's something else I want to be better at. I need to learn to appreciate each day. Not just get through the day to get to the weekends or to whatever but appreciate each day and all the little things in it.

I am feeling so positive about the future and about the choices I am making.