Fathirthday

So I combined Fathers day and Birthday to create Fathirthday...creative? I know.

My birthday and fathers day landed on the same weekend this year. Not really fair that i don't get to celebrate my day all weekend, but one cannot be selfish, correct?

Besides, Mark deserved a day to be recognized. He is such a great daddy to our sweet little Lily. She loves being held by her daddy and they are so cute together. Makes Mark even more attractive now! He takes such good care of her while I am at work and I know that she is safe when she is with him. She is going to be a daddies girl for sure! I am so proud of Mark for juggling a family, work, school and still makes time to take care of himself physically. He makes it look so easy. I love him so much and am so blessed to call him husband and father of our daughter.

My birthday was on June 16th.  I am now 28 years old. Inching closer to 30, which I am told that everything goes down hill at that point, depressing. So I guess I'm going to have to really enjoy these next two years in my 20's.

Had a great birthday, still went to the gym and worked out...yeah, dedication. Then Mark took Lily and I to Phoenix to have some fun.

We went to a place called 'Reyes de las Tortas' for lunch, which is a Mexican restaurant we saw on the travel network. We got the 'King Carlos Torta'. The thing was MASSIVE! Mind you, Mark and I have been eating paleo the last three months, so I wanted to eat what I wanted for my birthday...yeah, unwise. I managed to eat only a quarter of the Torta, Mark ate half, but it was very tasty.

We then went to Ikea for me to spend some birthday money. Got some decorative things for our new place and looked at our dream rooms. Mark was loving the kitchens, while I was loving the family room displays...kind of funny since I am mostly in the kitchen and Mark is in the family room, but oh well. Lily got a little stuffed animal, which is her favorite toy now, only cost $1. Nice.

 I saw a commercial on TV and thought 'hey, they look like their having fun, lets go there for my birthday'...so we did. The place?  Dave and Busters. It was so much fun! It was like being at a Casino, just not as fancy. They even had buckets to hold your tickets and your tokens were called 'chips'. We played our favorite game, Deal or No Deal and yet again got hardly anything in return. We were pros at Connect Four...but that's probably cause we were playing each other. We won a Dave and Busters Beer mug, and only paid $30 for it! lol!

We did not get home from Phoenix till 2 am, but it was worth it. Lily was a trooper on the trip and I got to spend the day with my two favorite humans in this world. How could the day have been any better?!

Mark got me a pair of Nike Free 5.0's. They are a cross fit type of shoe, supper light and bright pink. I love them! Also got  a shirt I really loved, it says 'my feet hurt from kicking so much ass.' Makes me feel like a true bad ass when I wear it.

 I loved my birthday and am excited to see what year 28 holds!

Me at the age of 28!

Time Fly's

It's been a while since I last updated our blog. Not because nothing has been going on, but just because time fly's and I forget how much has happened!

Lily is now 4 months old, can't believe how much she has grown.She is now 14.5 lbs, and growing every day. She is inching towards rolling over, she gets to the point of her elbow and flops back on her back. She'll get it soon...just better be when I'm watching!

She is a very happy baby! Always smiling for mommy and daddy and loves to play. I've started singing opera to her and she thinks its hilarious, so there are a lot of 'made for Lily' songs.

She has out grown her cradle and is now sleeping in her crib. Makes me sad that she is sleeping right next to me all night...but I still get her out of bed at 6 am for cuddle time in our bed. I just can't help it, I'm addicted!

I was cuddling with her and Mark this morning, feeding her and playing with her hands and thought, 'this is my happiness' cuddling with the two loves of my life...I want it to last forever. I still have a hard time going to work and leaving her. Even though she is being watched by her family who loves her, I miss her so much! It especially makes me sad when I hear from family the things she is doing, actually, it makes me angry...but I need to get over it.

Our beautiful Lily

Can't believe how chubby she is getting...love it!

This is why she is now in a crib. She was trying to roll over in her cradle...she was not going very far

Mommy's little princess!

I'm still meeting with a personal trainer at the cross fit gym. I am 5 lbs short of my weight when I married Mark. So we are getting there. I am a lot stronger then I've ever been. I was able to do pull ups with only one band assisting me. When I started I was using four, so i'm pretty pumped. I still have 20 lbs to go for my goal weight, but I am feeling great.

haha! My muscle woman poses

Mark is continuing with his weightloss and looking awesome! He is such a hottie.

Before: September 2011                      After: June 2012

We are moving in two weeks to a bigger place. Can't wait to get out of our current place! So ready for a change. I don't like the moving process, but it'll go fast. Lily will finally have her own room...but I think I'll have her sleep in our room for a little while longer, I'll miss her!

Overall things are going great. We're happy, healthy and loving our family. Yes there will always be moments of discouragement and frustration, but that is just life. It's easy to dwell on the negative, because your can't avoid noticing it. But it feels better to notice how good things really are.



Its Okay To Eat

If you haven't checked out my new healthy food blog, then you are missing out! Please visit my blog, become a follower and enjoy the recipes that will be posted weekly...hopefully daily.

I am trying to get people to share their favorite healthy recipes so we can all gain more ideas when it comes to eating healthy meals. If I don't get participation, then the blog may be a flop. So support me my amigos!

blog is: http://itsokaytoeat.blogspot.com/

You can also comment on how you may have liked or even disliked the recipe. And you can share recipe ideas with me by emailing me at: blingalily@gmail.com

Thanks guys, and I hope you visit the blog!

Perspective

Okay, I'm about to lay it all out there...

I had a weigh in today. I have lost about 6 more lbs (scale pounds, not body fat) since my last weigh in. Last month I lost 4 scale lbs. I passed a pound thresh hold (ie. going from 200's to 90's) and now weigh the same as when I got prego with Lily. So I should have been happy, right? Well, I was pleased. Not happy, but pleased. As in, 'that's nice, now lets get on with it so I can reach a real goal' kind of reaction. Most people would be happy with any kind of weight loss, but I expect more out of myself. In talking to my trainer, who by the way is proud of my weight loss, says that most people are excited when they see the hundreds again. I told him that until I weigh the same as when I married mark, then I will be 'happy'.

As I was driving home, being upset at myself for even gaining the weight when I got married. I started to bring my mind back into perspective.

When I left for Spain six years ago, I weighed 225lbs...yeah, yikes. It took me TWO YEARS to get to 175. I felt great, looked great, but it took me two years of walking all over Spain and eating fish for me to get to that weight. So a total of 50lbs in two years. I had no other physical training other then walking, so I was kind of soft.

Present day, starting weight after baby (3 months ago) 215lbs. Now with working out and diet, down to 195lbs after 3 months. If I continue to lose about 5 lbs a month, we are looking at 50lbs in 10 months. Pretty awesome considering it took me two years to do it before!

So I think my trainer is right. I do set my expectations to high for myself and I am to hard on myself. I need to be proud of my accomplishments. As long as I am trying and making an effort to follow the diet and exercise, I won't be disappointed. Physically, I feel better then I ever did at this weight, which counts for a lot.

I guess it is just all about perspective!

Try it!

Made a really tasty meal tonight using a recipe I found on: www.paleoplan.com It is called Turkey and vegetable meatballs. Tastes good and very healthy, how could you go wrong?!

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey or chicken

2 medium carrots (or a handful of baby carrots)

1 red or green bell pepper

5 large mushrooms

handful of fresh parsley

1/2 yellow onion

1 clove garlic

2 tsp granulated garlic (garlic salt)

2 Tbs Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions Preheat oven to 350℉.

Combine carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms, onion, garlic and seasonings in a food processor and blend until well chopped.

Empty the food processor into a large bowl, add the ground turkey and mix together completely.

Form meatballs and place on a non-greased baking sheet (about 1 1/2" - 2" each).  

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until completely cooked.

Easy to make!

OUCH

Today, I thought I was going to die doing my workout. No, really, I saw stars.

Today I accomplished the 'Dirty Thirty' or also known as the 300.

This is what it consisted of:

• 30: Belt runs (running the treadmill 30 laps with the treadmill off, seems easier then it actually is.)
• 30: Squats
• 30: Jump up pull ups
• 30: American Swings (26lb kettle bell being swung between your legs and over your head)
• 30: Push ups
• 30: V-ups (a type of sit up)
• 30: Lunges
• 30 calories on the air bike
• 30 calorie row
• 30: Belt Run laps to finish

All of this was timed. And because I am so competitive, I tried hard to not rest and to push it as hard as I could. My time? 22 minutes. Now I have a time to beat. Korey told me that next month we will do it again, however it will be 40 for 400 instead...yikes.

I can definitely tell that my endurance has increased. But right now, my body hurts ALL over! I have another workout tomorrow...hope he goes easy on me. Or not ;)

Mothers Day #1

Every year since marrying Mark, I have recieved a mothers day gift for being a potential mother. But this year, I actually got to celebrate it for reals! Felt very nice to be recognized for all I do for my family. I love them very much, and I don't need recognition for taking care of their needs, but I won't reject the offer.

Mark made me breakfast and wrapped my present around lily's arm so that she could be the one to give it to me. It was very cute. They gave me a charm with Lily's name and birthdate on it for my charm bracelet. Her birth stone was also added.

Best part of mothers day? Being able to cuddle with my husband and baby in the morning, it was so nice. Lily also started laughing for the first time! Couldn't have been any better then that! I think I'm going to really like this holiday...for completly selfish reasons of course ;)