Weekend Photo Dump

My husband decided to take a bubble bath so I thought I'd whip up a quick little post showing you my weekend in pictures. Long story short: my last days at work were very bittersweet but lets be honest... being my own boss is a dream come true. It's about to be go time on some pretty exciting things. I can't wait to see what we can do. The movers came and everything went perfectly! I didn't have a meltdown and it took less than 3 hours. I am so THANKFUL for that. We are now "camping out" in our apartment. All of our possessions are gone and we have no TV to watch but strangely it's enjoyable. I never sit with just music playing anymore and I'm finally listening to the Serial podcast so it's been nice. 

My last work selfies,

On Saturday the movers came and picked up all our boxes and drove away.

How many boxes can you fit my life in? 61 Then I went to get my hair done one last time by the beautiful Breyana and on Sunday I had my last massage before the Seahawks game. Now, we have no TV in our house so what's a girl to do? Well, she goes to her apartment gym and eats Mini Reese's while sitting on the medicine ball watching the game. Hey, it was rest day and I had a few candies left from Friday night. The holidays are hard but everything in moderation still isn't that bad.



Oh and YAY for another WIN for the Hawks! #beastmode fa life.

Freaking Friday.

I can't believe it is Friday December 19th. This day is a big deal for several reasons:

1. It's my Mothers birthday! Happy Birthday Mom - I love you!!! 
2. It's my LAST day of "working for the man" and Saturday I'll be officially self-employed.
3. The movers are coming-- the movers are coming! (This weekend) 

I've sorta been running around with my head cut off the last two days getting everything ready. I've also been working out like a crazy person because I'm sad about leaving and I want to eat cookies next week. I did a double both Monday and Tuesday night along with a MMAXOUT class on Thursday so I'd say it's been a damn good week. I also keep walking into stores and thinking, "This is the last time I'm going to be at this Trader Joes possibly for the rest of my ENTIRE life." CRAZY.

BUT I'm also really excited to get home. I can't wait to start the next chapter in our life! Things are really good right now and I'm really looking forward to enjoying some time off with my husband. Although, I have to say that I'm even MORE excited about starting a business with him. Big things ahead for us!

Before all that happens though we've got a tour to do. We are starting our eleven day road trip/tour the day after Christmas and while I plan on blogging along the way - please forgive me for sporadic postings.

In other news this week - did you know that FAT leaves your body by breathing it out!?! I am blown away at this and I can't believe no one told me sooner. I spent all last night in MAXXOUT making SURE I was taking deep breaths in and deep breaths out. If that's all it takes I'll be the girl in the back of the room sounding like she's in labor. WHATEVER IT TAKES YO.

Oh and my friend took her dog to the groomer this week and this wouldn't usually be news worthy but apparently her dog is crazy and has to be stabilized to get her feet trimmed...

Hahahahahaha I can't stop laughing at this. I love that dog. Terra and I actually met at the dog park one random day a few years ago in Washington and now we are best friends. I'm going to miss these two but I'm pretty sure I can convince them to come visit Mississippi. I'm pretty bossy. 

Enjoy your weekend! I'll probably be on an air mattress without a TV to watch. 

Christmas Photo Tease

I was very unsure if we would be getting Christmas cards out this year at all much less one with a picture of us on it. Scheduling a day that Chad could be off work with me and hoping it wouldn't be raining like crazy tested my sanity this year. We were way late to the game... Thanksgiving came and went with no photo shoot but then Chad was able to get off work on a Saturday (CRAZY because those are his busy days at work) and the rain stayed away long enough for us to get a few cute shots. So, Monday night I ordered our cards and we are in the process now of getting them all addressed and mailed out. With us preparing to move across the country again this my friends is a certified Christmas Miracle!

Here are a few shots for a little tease:

 

We picked two different photos for our Christmas cards and I'll share those along with a special extra we did this year for my Christmas day post! It was super windy when we took these which sucked because my hair is a hot mess but I think they turned out pretty good. One of my best friends Terra took these - she is an EX wedding photographer but somehow I still trick her into taking photos of us every once in awhile. I love her style and she is the most fun to shoot with - THANK YOU TERRA! She also did our photo shoot from last year  (when I had purple hair!) and if I can get her to come visit us in Mississippi she'll be doing a few more shoots through the years as well.

Does your family send out Christmas cards every year? 

*Chad also just recorded one of my favorite Christmas songs - Happy X-Mas by John Lennon and its up for FREE DOWNLOAD until Christmas! I wanted to share it with all of you guys - Download it here free until 12/25/14 and be sure to LIKE Chad's page on Facebook to keep up with the TOUR!

Thanksgiving Recap

I've enjoyed reading all of the weekend recaps from several of you lovely bloggers and I thought, "Hey, why not me?" Two snaps if you get that Russell Wilson joke. Speaking of.... GO HAWKS. In case you are wondering I am a Seattle fan as well as a New Orleans fan (Yes, they all hate on me and say I jumped bandwagons but I don't care because I think living in Seattle for over 3 years gives me a right to LOVE THEM TOO) and I recently started REALLY liking football in the last five-ish years. I just love the athleticism. It makes me want to go workout and I support anything that makes me want to go and do that. So, just so you know who I'm talking about in case you live under a rock here is the dreamy, chocolaty sweet, Russell Wilson.

 
Oh and he chills with Jay & B all the time ... no big.

 
He is basically a saint... he goes to visit sick children at the Children's hospital in Seattle every Tuesday (his off day) and he is just always doing nice things. Stand up guy that one! Anyways - he WAS a part of my Thanksgiving as he almost made Colin Kaepernick cry when he beat his ass in San Francisco Thanksgiving day. Man that was a GREAT game - hopefully this means Seattle is back to kicking ass... the start of the season wasn't that hot. I mean we LOST to the Cowboys... ugh.

Before the game though we did a whole bunch of stuff in prep to head to our friends house to spend Thanksgiving with them. Not sure how it happened but I ended up having one of the BEST Thanksgivings ever and I didn't even cook that much. I started my day off with a killer kickboxing class and then I promptly went home and made sausage balls and homemade pop tarts. Holy crap, it was all SO GOOD and I am obviously rusty on this blogger business... I forgot to take a picture of my pop tarts and chocolate pie. #FAIL

After that we loaded up our treats and headed to Carnation, WA which reminds me so much of MS I can't handle it. It's in the valley about 35 mins to the East of Kirkland, WA so you are surrounded by mountains, the most beautiful land and a tiny little town. We love it and all our friends out there. I'm pretty bummed that will probably be our last trip to see them but I'm definitely taking great memories back with me. Below are some pictures from the day...

Sausage balls! 

 Safety first!

 Jarred's 100% Organic

 The aftermath of cracking over 10lbs of Alaskan King Crab!

 Did I mention we had King Crab, Turkey, Ham, and DUCK... yea I totally felt like an adult and Chad was given the task of cutting all the meat! Butchers come in handy during carving season. There was also about 20 people there... of course I took pictures of no one... ugh.

 Acting like I eat like a bird... *Not pictured* PIE.

Thanksgiving was my cheat day and I think I did pretty good! I ate about 3 more rolls, hummus, cheese, pie, cake, mac n cheese, and some other things that I can't quite remember. I gained a little over 4lbs but I'm so not worried about it. My scale is actually not working right now as the battery has died and while a tad panicked, I feel it's for the best. Chad better fix it before this weekend though or I WILL GO INTO MELT DOWN "I'M GAINING ALL THE WEIGHT" MODE. I just have to know... it's such an unhealthy relationship.

The rest of the weekend was spent trying to work out, (I left all my crap in the wrong car so didn't make it to kickboxing on Saturday) painting, packing, cooking, and cleaning. I didn't know what day it was a couple of times and I read like 5 crap books because I like reading the free ones Kindle gives me. Although, I just started Gone Girl... should finish that this week if I don't get distracted by anything else... oh look glitter.

The day after Thanksgiving I made sure to pour soap into the leftover frosting and I sent Chad to work with all the leftovers. Other than a run in with some rogue semi-sweet chocolate chips Sunday night I have been back on track! A few doubles at kickboxing this week should have me back in action. (More on Kickboxing tomorrow!) My end of year goal is to lose only 4 more little pounds. I've been stuck in the same place for awhile so I'm hoping with the ramped up workouts and strict eating I can finally break through and start of 2015 40lbs LIGHTER than I did 2014. I just gotta hit that 40! ONLY FOUR MORE POUNDS.

It was a great weekend and now I only have 3 weeks left in the PAC NW... so bittersweet. 

A Snowy Sunday

On Saturday night we got a nice little surprise! SNOW! I was so excited for this little Winter treat that we got up early Sunday morning and took Olive out to play and take pictures. She loved it. If you follow me on Instagram you might have already seen a few pictures but here are the ones that I got with the 60D. I just realized my camera needs a name.... maybe Dolly. Yes, I think I like that... Dolly it shall be!

Action shot of her eating the snow. Baby bear loves eating snow.

 

 

 

 

Oh how I love my little model. I'm so glad we got up early before all the footprints ruined the fresh snow. There is nothing I love more than taking Olive out to play. Her little belly gets covered with ice cycles and if there has been several inches of snow she has to literally jump in order to walk. It is by far the cutest thing I have ever seen.

 

Snow just makes everything look magical. The world always seems quieter covered in snow. All you hear is the soft crunch of it under your feet and when you look around everything just seems fresh, crisp, and clean.



It's a Wonderful Life

 

The holidays have been fantastic so far. For example this weekend we went to a "Silly Hat Christmas Party"and I won a rubber chicken for least effort. I suppose it's true since my hat is adorable and not silly at all. Haters.

I have been so happy lately... like ridiculously happy. Nothing drastic has really happened and you'd think I'd be sad that this will be our first Christmas spent away from home but I just can't get sad. I feel all of these blessings happening in my life and my heart is so full of love that I could just explode. I have wonderful friends that I do fun things with, I'm so in love with my husband that even when he forgets to plug my phone in to charge at night I don't get mad, and the closeness I feel to God right now is stronger than I have ever felt before in my life. This past year has been such an interesting one full of situations that have really tested my emotions and I can honestly say God has lead me through each one of them. Each choice that has brought me to where I am at this moment has been the right one and while I have cried, bitched, moaned, screamed, etc. many times it was all part of my process.

One huge part of my process has been learning to love myself. I've always struggled with weight and the need to please the people that I love most and this year I really learned that the only person I have to please is myself. (Sometimes Chad) I've started to change lifelong habits (such as drinking soda) and to move towards a more realistic life. I put down the MyFitnessPal App and started to LOOK at food and see it for what it is instead of counting it. It took 6 months but I've lost and kept off 17lbs and I hope this next year that number doubles. I still eat pizza, I still eat cake, but it's just different now. Portion is key and I think letting go of the GUILT for eating those things has been the biggest change of all. Another thing is working out, learning that my body really loves yoga and that cardio and weights are quite fun as well. The importance of getting my body into a healthy place has also made me a believer in massage. I have been carrying such stress around with me for what feels like years and after four massages in two months I finally feel un-wound. I know so many people that have never gotten a massage and I have no idea how anyone lives their life that way. Between my work stress and working out I don't think I could make it without getting the occasional massage and I have found the most AMAZING masseuse in Washington. I feel like the Seahawks should hire her but then she wouldn't have time for me so hopefully none of them see this blog post.

I wanted to tell you guys about Diane so that if you are in the Lynnwood, WA area you can get a crazy good deal and check her out. I love to share really good services with people and I give her my 100% backing as the best masseuse I have ever been to. (And I've been to a lot) She really has a knack for reading your body and where you carry your stress but the best part is how tuned in she is with your energy. Now, I know that sounds crazy but it's true! My right forearm has been tight for months and I could never figure out why. Then I go to Diane and she notices and then tells me that in Eastern medicine the right side of the body is thought to be the male side and that tightness might mean I'm holding onto an issue with a man and I need to just let go. WHOA, I thought of a personal situation the moment she said that and I took the advice. Two months and three massages later my arm is no longer tight. It's very rare to feel like someone is in tune with what you're going through in life and I feel like she knows exactly why I'm stressed and then she gives you affirmations and guides you to let them go. I'm about to snag this deal right now and if you're smart you will too! Two 90min Massages OR Three 1 hour massages for $100! (Normally $180!) That is crazy good and she doesn't jip you like everyone else with only a 50 minute massage she has always given me a full 60 minutes for an hour and Sunday I ended up getting 67 minutes of pure happiness just because! It was so lovely that I had that half asleep/half awake massage because I was so relaxed and what she does that is so different from any other one I have ever had was the "Healing Energy" part which basically means she whispers to you about breathing in and out and other chants to focus on instead of thinking about having to go to the grocery store for the third time in four days. Diane is such a delight, I always leave so relaxed and refreshed. Check out these deals on her website that are only good until December 31st and get ready to feel brand new!

The San Juan Islands

Back in early May the hubs and I took a little weekend trip to the San Juan Islands. To give you a little info about this area it is in northern Washington and located directly across from Victoria, B.C. You have to take a Ferry from Anacortes, WA and when you arrive in Friday Harbor you literally feel like you have stepped back in time.



You can hop islands with free ferry trips but we just stayed on San Juan Island this time. I did want to go to Orcas but the ferry times didn't work out with us and we really wanted to take our time exploring our island this trip. We took our car with us on drove around the entire Island (even getting lost a few times) but as you can see it wasn't tons of ground to cover.

Here are some highlights:

We stayed in Friday Harbor which is a tiny town with no chain restaurants or big stores. There were 3 gas stations on the entire island 2 of them being in Friday Harbor. (They were all Shell stations too. Odd) It was so nice to disconnect from the city life for a few days... and it made me miss that slow easy island/country life that we grew up with. Fun Fact: Shaw Island is home to the Our Lady of the Rock Benedictine monastery and has no stores or eateries on it's 10 mile area.

Friday Harbor

 

The Whale Museum

The museum was really neat and when you arrive you get a Whale Card (that you can find on my Instagram) which has your whale that is a part of the resident pods that live around the islands. I got Muncher. How appropriate.

 

After we finished up at the museum we started driving around the island.

It was all rolling island farm land. Such a weird combo but it was so stinking pretty.

 

Our first stop was Cattle Point. The Cattle Point Lighthouse is a short hike away and I'm obsessed with Lighthouses so we decided it was time to scale some cliffs.We both forgot our tennis shoes (along with jackets, my makeup, and Chad didn't bring any pants - it was 50 degrees the entire time mind you) but that wasn't going to stop us. HA!

You see that high hill/cliff. Yea I climbed up that, in Toms, WITHOUT falling! I am by far the clumsiest person... I was so proud I didn't twist an ankle.

I hope you enjoyed that photo shoot. Chad knows to take 3 pictures at once for 3 different poses so that you have enough choices. Choices people. It's all about choices!  

 

 

Wanna know how Cattle Point got it's name? Back in the old days the ships would come in with cattle and instead of pulling into the harbor to dock the boat they would get close to the shore and push the cattle off of the boat into the water. The shore was so shallow that the cows would safely swim to shore at the lighthouse. Viola! Cattle Point. Sad news is that it was perfectly normal to lose a cow or two to a whale during this process!

Walking back to our car through a field of flowers.

 

Then we went to Roche Harbor where Theodor Roosevelt stayed in the 1900's and we saw his signature in the hotel guestbook inside the Hotel De Haro.

 

Then we checked out the Historic Park full of expensive structures.

The hands of God holding the world.

 

Lastly, we saw the camel, Mona.

 

 

 

Later that night we ended up at a Karaoke bar, met some locals, and had a really good time. The next day we went on a whale watching tour which changed my mind forever about those big beautiful creatures. More on that tomorrow!