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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Wordless-ish Wednesday


Happy 12 weeks (and two days) to my beautiful Aubrey Rose, Little Monster!
Ya'll have no idea how happy I am to show these photos, even if they are from an IPod. I have been so sad, thinking that I didn't have any photos of me and her from when she was first born. Then Roy pulls these out to cheer me up because my first day back to work is today. I love that man!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Black & White Photo Challenge

I am linking up!
The Paper Mama

My first "baby" and my first baby~
Aubrey Rose, Little Monster (left) & Charlie Bug (right)


Thursday, February 23, 2012

Meet Roxy

Roy Rescued Roxy from the shelter when she was two years old. She is about seven years old now. She is my first Pitbull and I cannot say enough good things about this little girl. 
^This is a typical Roxy face
She is such a lover. 
She loves all things tiny and will 'baby' anything small that comes her way.
If Aubrey is crying Roxy is the first to reach her. She sniffs her and tries to lick her face. 
 I often wonder what kind of family she came from and why they would give her up because she is such a kind, loving dog. 
She is also a great protector. 

Proof Pits are NOT endangering my Monster!
Do not let her sweet little smile fool you, she does not hesitate to let us know when someone is passing by our gates. I wouldn't doubt for a second that she would protect us if anyone meaning harm crossed her path. 

She is also very, very lazy.
 She loves getting on the couch and often gets a stern talking to for doing so. 
When Roy leaves for work early in the morning she will wait until she hears the gate close and then jump up on my bed to sleep at my feet.
She snores. 
She loves treats.
And going "bye bye."
I call her Roxy Hart (like in Chicago) because she has a heart shaped patch on her head. You can kind of see it in the photo above.
Do not let her size fool you, either. 
This dog can jump up high enough to pass a six foot fence. 
She can also climb fences. 
Basically, she is an escape artist. We have caught her quite a few times trying to get out to roam the streets.

Up next we will have Charlie.
Stay tuned!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Wordless-ish Wednesday

90% of the reason why I put off doing things around the house:
She's not my Little Monster when she sleeps : )

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Meet the Family

We have a rather large family. We actually had four dogs before we got pregnant.
 My dogs are my fur-babies and in the days before Aubrey we would take them everywhere we could. Our dogs know what it means when we say "we're going on a bye-bye." They will line up by the door and wait. I buy them treats and bones and chews like it's no one's business.
 And, yes, I do dress them up (occasionally!)

In order to build an "About" section I am going to feature each fur-baby over the course of the next week!
I am super excited to introduce the members of my family!
But a brief overview:
  • We have two Pitbulls, a Yorkie and (what we think is) an Irish Wolfhound mix.
  • Two were rescued from the shelter
  • One was rescued right off the street 
  • Our babies names are: Roxy, Charlie, Oliver and Bruce
Stay tuned!!
Moe

Monday, February 20, 2012

Meltdown Monday

Pinned Image
Pinterest Link
With my tail between my legs I went back to getting my butt kicked by Jillian Michaels via the 30 Day Shred. It's crazy how quickly muscle memory works. I mean, it's still a bit tough and I definitely can't hang for the entire set of every exercise but I still feel pretty good. It must be working because I got a lovely comment about the way my legs look!
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Pinterest Link!

Again, I have (loosely) been eating clean. I find it really difficult to eat breakfast in the morning, especially when Monster wakes up in a funk. And I have noticed that if I don't eat breakfast in the morning that I am starving late at night. Perhaps it's because Roy is home and able to hold her while I (finally) eat...? Not only that but I am breastfeeding and all I think about is eating! I did make one small tweak to make eating clean easier. I chopped up the fresh veggies that I bought from the market and placed them in the fridge for easy, one handed access during the week. I also tried to make sure that I had easy things to munch on: hummus for my veggies if I wasn't feeling a salad, natural peanut butter, organic bread, fruit, string cheese, etc.
I feel like I am mentally in a place to get my weight down to where I want to be. I feel like if I have already gotten down to a size 8 which is what I was before I got pregnant then it is totally doable to reach my size 4 goal. All I have been doing in the 30 Day Shred (hardly) and eating clean (loosely), I go on a long walk with my brother once a week and that's about it. I can't wait to see what happens when I start back at work!
Until next time...
Moe.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Tea Party!

Saturday we attended a Tea Party themed bridal shower. I couldn't resist so I made Aubrey's hat:


"Ok Mama, that's enough!"


And, of course I couldn't resist the urge to edit them and play around with the different tools!




All in all I would say it was an awesome time! Aubrey kept her hat on the whole time. She even won "Best Hat!" 

Friday, February 17, 2012

That 2 O'clock Feeling

Lately, our afternoon routine usually consists of: wake up from nap, feeding, diaper change, tummy time and then we either read books, sing songs, practice sitting up and standing, have conversations or walk around outside and check out the world or we play on our play mat. The days we play on the play mat it looks like this:

Aubrey will grasp a toy in her hand and bat at the toys with her other hand and feet. She will coo and talk to the toys dangling above her. 
She can go on like that for a good chunk of time. I can either do a quick clean of the kitchen, living room or bathroom or I will sit and talk to her. But let me tell you - it can turn ugly really fast!

 Lately, once the clock hit 2 p.m. my sweet little Monster turns from this:

To this:

 Everyday from about 2 p.m. to 5-5:30 this little girl is not happy about anything. I go through the checklist: hungry? Nope. Wet? Nope. Cold? Don't think so. Hot? Don't think so either. 
Yes, my friends, I am almost certain she has Colic.
Everyday from about 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. I felt like I was going to lose my mind. Yesterday when I hit a wall I figured I would try swaddling her. 
Jackpot.
I swaddled her tightly, gave her a pacifier and tossed   placed her in her swing and BAM! Just like that she was out. And she slept for a good 3 hours. 
I love my little Monster to death but my goodness! I found myself thinking this is not my little girl; she was not like this last week. 
Sigh.
Just one more reminder to be flexible and open to her routine's ebbs and flows. 




Monday, February 13, 2012

Linking Up!

I am linking up with with Neely over at A Complete Waste of Makeup!

I have decided to really focus on growing this blog and seeing where it can take me...ready? Let's go!
A little bit about me:
I'm Marisa (the one on the left). Most people call me Moe, a nickname I somehow acquired in college.
 I am a 20-something year old first time Mum to a beautiful girl named Aubrey. She is the reason why I started My {Kind of} Life.
This blog is about me, my daughter, my boyfriend, our four dogs, work, life, life after baby, weight loss,  family. Basically anything that pops into my head.


A few things to know about me:
- My family is incredibly important to me. They come first.
- I work as a general manager for Jamba Juice, a smoothie place. But (hopefully) in a couple of years I will be a SAHM.
- I love running - the photo where I am rocking a bandanna is from my first half marathon two years ago
- I love taking photos of just about anything. My favorite subjects are Aubrey and my four fur babies.
- I love to cook. 
- I also love to eat!
- I love the beach, I don't go nearly as often as I would like
- I am semi-adventurous. I would at least think about doing anything once. If you tell me I won't or can't do it, chances are I will. 
- I would LOVE to move to Oregon.
- I would love to open an animal rescue
- I have a recent love of online shopping
So there you have it! I look forward to sharing more of my life with you!



Sunday, February 12, 2012

Giving In...

Keeping it short and sweet today. Giving in to Roy's not to subtle requests for me to go hit balls with him turned out nice, surprisingly. I was never the athletic or 'sportsy' type but I have to admit I had a blast hitting and missing each ball that came my way. Proof:
Good Night!

Voices Inside my Head

The voices inside my head make me sound like I'm some crazy lady who talks to herself and has a shopping cart loaded with stuff with live cats living beneath it all. I'm not that crazy (most of the time), I swear. I am talking about the negative thoughts that enter my head whenever I am about to attempt something or even just thinking about random wants/wishes/dreams. For today I am mainly talking about losing the dreaded baby weight. Once upon a time there was a girl named Moe who dated a gentleman dude in college. She thought he was oh-so right for her but little did she know he was mentally and emotionally breaking her down. In high school I was a svelte little lady that rocked a size 0/2 without even trying. There were some events in my life that took place during high school and after graduation which inevitably led to a depression that (I thought) was only curable by consuming way too much food. I went up to a 6. After meeting said dude in college I ballooned up about 35 pounds and rocked a size 10/12. He would tell me that I was never meant to be skinny and that I was supposed to be curvy and voluptuous. And you know what? I believed him. I would complain about my weight and he would hand me three doughnuts and then take me to Carl's Jr for dinner. It got to the point that I would avoid looking in the mirror when I would undress for a shower. It even got to the point (WARNING: TMI) that I once cried during sex. ...not to mention when I was even younger there were several instances of a few people that were close to me saying that I was fat. ...not to mention the fact that just the other day I had this flashback of me at about 7 years old thinking to myself that maybe if I fell asleep at night sucking my tummy in and that I would wake up skinnier. Seven years old! Looking back at pictures of those years I was itty bitty. Anyway, back to the point. Hear I am at about 10 weeks post-partum and I am in a size 8 which is actually where I was before I was pregnant. I should be happy, right? Right. No, wrong. I can't help but want to be smaller - like a size four. A few weeks ago I set out to start my weight loss journey via 30 Day Shred and then a week or so later I decided I wanted to include Eating Clean. I did the Shred for nine consecutive days and started feeling amazing. I was starting to lose the self-consciousness of being naked around Roy and there was a noticeable difference when I wore my jeans. I started feeling great when I was (loosely) following the Eating Clean lifestyle. I took measurements of myself and I kid you not I lost 1.5 inches in my thighs (the trouble spot for me). Suddenly, I stopped. For every positive thought that occurred in my head about my body I would hear someone say, "You're not meant to be skinny." For every positive food choice I made I heard, "Marisa, you could really afford to lose some weight before you wear that shirt and pierce your belly button." For every smile that came from my face upon actually looking in the mirror I would hear, "You seriously have thunder thighs, please stop wearing shorts." Those were just a few of the comments that I would hear on a semi-regular basis. So I stopped, just like that; I stopped. Somewhere in my head I seriously believe that I cannot ever attain my goal weight. Somewhere in my head there is a blockage and I can't get rid of it. I have started and stopped this process several times because once I start to feel better the thoughts pop in my head. I tell myself it is because I am lazy but in reality the voices in my past hold me back. I allow them to hold me back. I don't want to allow this anymore. I can't allow myself to not reach my goals because of someone else. Most of all I can't allow this anymore because I have a daughter now. A daughter who, if I cannot have a positive outlook on my body, may feel that way about herself. I do not want that for her. Starting now I will push past those voices that creep in when I am starting to feel good about where my body is headed. I no longer will listen to them and believe them when I hear that I will always be fat/thick/curvy/whatever. I can get there. I will get there.
I wanna feel the way this girl looks, confident, sexy. NOTE: I am not saying in anyway that a size 10/12 is unacceptable. I know that it is an average size. Now, I am not an average size woman (5 ft 1/2 in); my goal weight is technically where I should be if you look on the BMI.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Love Story

i am linking up! Thank goodness for this little 'challenge!' I can use this to add to my about me! 1. How long have you and your significant other been together? In May it will be 5 years! 2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?} I was moving to Oregon. Alone. I had picked out an apartment and even had some of my stuff up there at a friend's house. I had plans. I was going to finish up college at the university while starting up an event planning business. I was going to be like Carrie Bradshaw and live my life in an awesome city. The universe seemed to have other plans. I was working my way through college at 24 Hour Fitness. I worked at the front desk in the evenings and I would bring my books to study during the slow times. Roy would always come in between 6 and 8 p.m. My manager was the one who spotted him first but she had a boyfriend. I thought he was really cute but didn't really think anything of it because I already had plans to move to Oregon. And then he started to make small talk everytime he came in. It began with the typical greeting, "Hi! How are you?" He would hand me his gym pass and ID and that would be it. Slowly it turned into him making fun of me for studying at work. It was just innocent flirting so I didn't think anything of it. One day he struck up a long conversation and never made it past the front desk to work out. I started to think about him - I was crushing. It was so hard not to start thinking what if? One night I was closing the gym and I went in to clean up the free weight room when he asked me for my number. I couldn't help but be excited, even though I was moving in two months and even though I was leaving that weekend to take some more stuff up to Oregon. I told myself I would just casually date him. He called me that weekend while I was wandering around Portland and we talked for a good hour. Still, I told myself that it wasn't anything special and to think of it as just dating, period. We set a 'date.' I was going to go watch his softball game. He picked me up and he was driving a pickup (points!) and was playing country music (points!). After his game he asked me out for dinner that Thursday. We went to Friday's. Before the check came he told me he didn't want to take me home (points!). We walked around the mall. We played pool. He took me home...he walked me to my door (points!). Just as he was about to kiss me my Mum's dogs started barking (awkward much?!). We both laughed and called it a night. We have been inseparable since.
3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell} We aren't married. He is the man I will be with for the rest of my life. Whether that means we get married or not doesn't really matter to me. I would love to marry him because I believe in marriage and I would love to have that moment where we share sacred vows. I think he feels the same way so I always assumed we would get married....I guess we will see! I will leave that one up to him.
4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding? If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small? If/when we get married I want the ceremony and reception to be outside. I either want a woodsy-fairy land sort of wedding or somewhere where we can have a picnic sort of theme. I want it to be small maybe 60 people. He has a large family but I would prefer just close family and friends. 5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share! I call him: Panda, Babe, Baby, Roy Lee (in a southern accent!), Love. He calls me: Babe, Baby, Marisa Sue (in a southern accent)
6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey. Three?! I have so many. 1. He loves me for ME. He knows the crazy life I have had and that it has made a huge impact on who I am today and how I live my life and he still loves me. 2. He is a kid at heart. So happy go lucky and full of life. He balances me out. 3. He's cute. Haha, just kidding (not!). He is funny. No one can make me laugh the way he does and he can make me laugh at anytime. Most of our arguments are diffused because of his antics.
7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal? Ideal proposal....you know, I don't really have one. I used to be the girl who wanted the whole she-bang. I wanted the big, fancy, expensive dinner where he gets down on one knee or hides the ring in my drink or in my dessert. I wanted the big wedding. When I met him my idea of proposals and weddings all changed. As long as it is heartfelt I don't really care. 8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals? Either - it depends on the status of the bank account! 9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch? I don't care for dinner on the beach but I would love to just cuddle up and watch the sunset and then go home to a movie. 10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere? We would definitely travel - Australia, Italy, England, exotic beaches, you name it. 11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day. He apparently has something up his sleeve! I will report my findings.
12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day? I don't want anything. Just a nice day with him and our beautiful daughter. 13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love. Laugh often and respect one another. 14. Show us a picture of what love means to you. I have three
Marisa Sue
Roy Lee
Aubrey Rose You and me equal three!
 

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