Home: Part 1

Home, is where the heart is.

Well, home is where our family is but I'd say my heart is pretty much in Seattle. We flew home 2 weeks ago and got to spend a lot of time with our families. No holidays, no events, it was amazing. It's still extremely exhausting having to try and see EVERYONE while home; along with Chad playing two shows in two different cities but I really don't think we would have it any other way. We've gotten used to being busy, to always being on the go and well the pace is just a lot slower in Mississippi which always leaves me time to get bored if I'm not booked up.

This last trip taught me two things: We are extremely lucky that we have such a loving family and friends that travel miles just to see us when we are in town and that moving away really was the best choice we have ever made. I get sad when I hear people that we visit talk about how they wish they could move or wish they could be where we are. The first thought in my head is YOU CAN! It's not some magical thing that just happened to us, we worked really hard to get where we are and I am so thankful everyday that things have turned out like they have. Our life in Washington is very fulfilling and I just wish that everyone could feel that about theirs. It was always my goal in life to really search out and find what makes me/us happy. I never wanted to settle. I feel like some people have lost that spirit, that hope, and the drive to go after whatever it is that you want. DON'T LOSE THAT! I know I might sound like a PSA but GO AFTER your dreams. It's the only way they ever have a chance of coming true in the first place.

Okay, enough of my pep talk.
I mentioned the 2 shows that Chad played and here are some pictures of the first show at Nick's Ice House in Hattiesburg, MS. This place is probably my favorite "bar" in Hattiesburg. I say bar loosely because they only serve like 3 types of beer and no liquor. However, they are always okay when I bring my own in and Ralph the bartender is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. If you're in Hattiesburg and you've never sat on a commode seat as a bar stool or (for the men) peed in buckets full of ice you really should go here...immediately.

Oh Bridgett oh I love you!

My beautiful sister in laws and us. I like to call this the family shot.

Then we got a little wacky.

Such a good time.

 

I do need to mention that BEFORE we went to Nick's we had a little preparty at Red Dragon to Tiki bowl. The owner which I haven't seen in YEARS remembered me from my college days (we used to Tiki bowl a lot)... then he found out I moved and tried to talk to me for an hour about his kids maybe moving away to find jobs because, "there are not jobs in Mississippi" I'm all like... ummm can I just get my Tiki bowl now!?

 

What's a Tiki bowl you ask? Only the most amazing thing ever:

 

All the clear liquors... mixed with any color Hawaiian punch and a shot of everclear in the middle that they light on fire. The goal is to drink the bowl before the fire goes out. What you do though is blow that light out and mix that everclear in there to enjoy! You order these by size and color. Our order always goes something like this: 1 Large Blue then after that one is gone 1 Medium purple AND YOU'RE DONE. Don't get anymore... I warn you now.

 

My drinking partner that night was my sister in law Apryle who JUST had her 21st Birthday!

I Love me some super long straws.

 

We had to race to finish these puppies but it was the start to a really fun night.

Michelle, Nicole, Me, Apryle.  Did I mention that we were the only ones there? Yea, turn up that 90's rap music Mr. man and BRING ME ANOTHER BOWL!

Our group minus Chad who had to go to Nick's and set up. Austin (Whose 21st birthday was that night as well!) Michelle, Drew aka Jace from Duck Dynasty, Nicole, Me, Apryle, and my mom!

 

Has anyone else ever noticed that the word Dynasty is like Dye Nasty or take it a little further- stay with me on this one... Die Nasty? Maybe it was the bowling, maybe it was just the fact that I was with my best friend and we are ridiculous but this spawned a new quote. Live fast, Dy-Nasty.

That's us...living fast and dy-nasty.

 

Haha it was such a good night. I'd like to relive it over and over again. Well, except for the part where Nicoles back started hurting her. That's a long story in itself but my little Twilight Sparkle had back surgery a while ago and she has to be careful not to re-hurt it. That was cause for concern and her back still isn't back to normal yet so I'd like to throw a little request out for everyone to send her good thoughts/prayers/vibes/whatever it is you do.

 

Part 2 to come... it's just such an adventure when we go home that it would be impossible to fit it in just one blog.

 

 

 

 

A fresh Start

A fresh start!

Okay, so I have let time get away from me these last few weeks but while doing that I took time out to refocus on my goals for this year. This is my year. I've been saying that for the first 4 months of this year and I still really believe it. I want this year to be my year to focus on myself and to get really healthy. I'm sick of being overweight and I'm REALLY sick over not being able to do yoga better than I am because I have this big ole belly in the way. My struggle is with food! It just tastes so good and with a few other bad habits I have, my year has been stalled with losing weight. Now, I guess I have to be positive in the fact that I have been losing inches but damnit the scale should be showing some results too and it hasn't been. I've only lost like 5lbs in 4 months which is better than nothing but overall a failure in my eyes. I know why. I know how to change it and I've just recently made up mind to go ahead and do it. I'm so excited to really stop my bad habits and focus on all of my good ones. I enjoy working out and I'm going to start running again trying to build up to the elusive half marathon. I'll be honest and say that in my life when I lost the most weight was when I was running. It's just so easy for me to get burnt out with running but I know that once I really start back again and I start seeing those results it will get addictive. At the peek of my running success I ran 5 miles straight. I remember that day... I remember that feeling and I want that damn feeling again. So, it's time to go get it. As of today I'm kicking my bad habits out of the door and embracing the good ones. Life isn't about how good chocolate tastes or how many pizza slices I can eat it's about how quickly I can move and how good I can feel. Even though I'm never going to fully give up pizza and chocolate... I mean really what kind of life would that even be!?

If you're wondering what my plan is it's really simple: Cut out the bad habits (binging, booze, etc.) and embrace the good ones (running, veggies, water, portion control, etc.) I have a lot of things I want to accomplish this year but this is my main focus and I know I can do it. I just had to finally make up my mind and start.

8 months left... lets see what I can do...
Ready GO!

The Human Water Bed

Me at every one of my husbands shows...
Talking to my husband mind you. I'd never speak to a waitress like that.

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Last night, I went to my favorite class at my gym: Body Works Plus Abs. It should just be called, "Squats, Lunges, Satan, and Abs class" but I guess that might scare some people off. Anyways, I LOVE this class. Every time I go I have to say a little prayer before walking up the steps to our 2nd floor apartment at the end of the night due to the sheer beating my legs, butt, and arms take. Last week we worked out abs so hard I couldn't sit up straight later that night on the couch. IT HURT TO BREATHE! Now, why do I love this class you ask? Because it's freaking fun and super hard. So hard I silently mouth very bad words and sweat like a pig constantly. Some nights, however; I end up feeling like a failure. I'm taking next week off from working out while on vacation (Yes, I know I'm supposed to work out while on vacation but well, I just wasn't raised to believe in such a thing.) and I wanted to have a really good/strong/hard/intense week before. Well, if you honestly want to know how I felt about class last night...


I am bloated, miserable, bitchy, sweaty, tired, and cranky. Have you ever tried to work out while your stomach is bloated? The stupidest thing I've ever done. I literally felt like a human water bed while "attempting" several different cruches. Disgusting.

However, what they say is true... just go do it anyway because I'm pretty proud I got that workout done last night even though I still feel like a human water bed that someone has now beaten.