Wedding Planning So Far.

So since it's 2:30 in the morning and I have to wait until 3 to wash off my self-tan stuff I figured I'd write a blog on how the wedding planning is going. A LOT of people ask me how it's going and I never know how to happily say, "I'm spending so much money but I'm excited" correctly.

Seriously though, so much money.

Walker and I aren't into fancy, over the top events, no matter what they are. We like to be ourselves and feel relaxed, so obviously when I started thinking about the wedding I had to keep that in mind. Sadly, my inner girl kicked and all I could think is how badly I wanted nearly everyone we work with there and how perfect it's all going to go and OMG I'M SO EXCITED.

Let me tell you something, for me, it has worn off to an extent. This isn't a bad thing in my eyes. I put an extensive 200 people guest list together that included people I saw maybe a couple times a week and talked to as an acquaintance. I started looking at venues and realized why weddings are typically so expensive. I had to seriously think about who I wanted in my bridal party and why. The list of things you have to think about go on and on and on and on AND ON AND ON. 

One day it hit me and all I could think was, "This is one day for me and Walker and I'm making it about other people." 

We're both going to be 20 whenever the wedding day comes. We don't have a house, we aren't working the job that we'll be working 10 years from now, and our income isn't bad but it isn't banking either. We are at one of the hardest times in our lives and we decide to get married in it. When I say hardest, I really only mean that whenever that awful realization sets in of, oh my gosh I'm 20 and I'm not entirely sure of what I want from life or when I'll be able to get a house or when I'll feel like I have it all figured out. Now earlier I kind of made a joke saying that we decided to get married while things are so tough, don't take that the wrong way. I'm honestly so glad that we are. If there's so much chaos in life and the unknown, I'm grateful to say one of the biggest steps of life will be known while I'm 20. It's easy to forget how lucky you are to have found the one whenever life gets in the way. I really think the wedding is perfect timing for us.

Now, back to the actual wedding planning. I had to really ask myself what was important to me and Walker. What do we care about and what do we not? It might sound selfish, but taking the time to actually plan your wedding for you rather than the guests I think will make it much more memorable for everyone down the road. It makes your wedding unique, it makes it yours. 

I chose a venue that is absolutely awesome, it's in a nice area of town and takes care of nearly everything for me on the day, I just show up with flowers for the tables. I cut my wedding list down from 200 to 130. So far, these are the only two big decisions I've made that I think have grown me so far, let me explain why. 

I have enough to worry about on my wedding day, and having someone else take care of most of the rest is fantastic (that was an easy explanation, huh?) Now the guest list. I really started to question what mattered to me and Walker now, and what will matter 10 years from now. I had to go through and see who we actually spend time with outside of work/school/etc. and if that relationship was good enough to think of them there on our wedding day. It was a very hard decision, but in the end I'm glad I made it.

Planning this wedding (with the help of my awesome bridal party and Walker) has made me grow up a lot. I never in a million years thought something like this would do that. But I feel like I know what's important to us as a couple and individuals for now and the future. I've gained confidence in our relationship because of these decisions.

Oh, and only 110 days until the wedding! :)

New Apartment Post!

So if you read the title correctly..or follow me on facebook, instagram, twitter, etc., or maybe you remember from my last blog that we were moving into a new place May 3rd (kudos to you...and slightly creepy of you for remembering :p) WE GOT A NEW APARTMENT!

What a week it has been though! Wednesday I was feeling extremely sick, so much so that I went to the doctor, which I haven't done in a very long time. Turns out I had an upper respiratory infection or something like that, all I know is the doctor told me it could turn into strep and it was good I came in that day. Unfortunately that meant missing two days of work, and with higher rent now I can't really afford that, so I picked up a shift for the Sunday after we moved in. Monday I had a final in one class and then went to finish Lord of the Rings in the other. Yes, my World Lit class was spent studying LOTR and I'm very okay with that. Then today Walker and I went to the old apartment to clean it, and I ended up laying on the ground with my face in a pillow because I was (and still am) 100% over this moving process. I just want to sleep a full day and watch House, is that too much to ask?

But, let me go over the more awesome things that have happened while moving! We had a ton of friends and family come help move us in which we are both incredibly grateful for. We now have almost double the square footage we had in our old place so in general things just feel better if that makes sense. Our apartment also came with a washer and dryer...we did 3 loads in the first day, partially from excitement and also from not wanting to use the community ones any longer haha! Things in this apartment are nicer, and I think without the studio apartment we might not of appreciated how nice this place really is. I don't regret that apartment, but I don't recommend it either :p

Oh, and Rocky and Minnie absolutely love it. Minnie was very skeptical at first but loves having the doorstops to play with, and Rocky loves ignoring us at the bark park while he sniffs everything else. The clubhouse has a gym in it and Walker said he would go with me once or twice a week to it and I've already held him to his word and made him go once. We also got our first dining table today, $50 from Goodwill for a table that can be extended and it came with 4 chairs, we did pretty good huh?!

It's just nice to come home to something nice. It makes working 40 hours a week much more worth it. 

I feel like Walker and I are pretty much on the same page when it comes to goals, and we have a lot. Here's a peak into them:

• get stuff together for the wedding (flowers, cake, invitations, etc.)
• save money like nobody's business
• possibly get a couch, but that'll probably take a while
• keep this place clean (having to go back and clean the old one reeeally sucked because we didn't take good enough care of it)
• and most importantly, grow in our relationship with God both individually and as a couple

Okay,after typing them out it doesn't seem like a ton, but they're all pretty big commitments that we want to take. So say some prayers for us to follow through with these things, and let us know if you want to come over and see the place..maybe wait a while so we can build our energy back up though :p

Also, I need some recipes. I have a few good ones but I'm always down to try something new. We love pretty much anything, except I loathe seafood.

Thanks for reading :)

Being Engaged.

Hey everyone!

So pretty much I tried to type this in a condensed version on a Facebook status but couldn't bring myself to word it right without it feeling too long for just a status update. That's why I love this blog, I can type forever and still not feel annoying haha.

Today was really awesome, Walker and I took our engagement photos. It hit me this month that our wedding will be happening in about five months. FIVE MONTHS. Seriously, nearly seven months ago Walker came home and proposed to me?! It feels like forever ago and just yesterday at the same time.

Now, I don't want to say that being engaged lost it's spark or importance, but being nineteen and twenty years old, our lives seem to be forever changing and little daily happenings can sometimes override the fact of a wedding that is happening further down the road.

Am I saying this right? I guess what I'm trying to say is being engaged just became normal. Not in a bad way, but not in a good way either. It's a really cool time in a relationship where all the ideas and dreams for you life are okay to think and aren't too out there because I mean hey, they're just ideas for now. But things like the move, work, etc. can sometimes get in the way of our thinking and valuing the state that we're in in life. We're about to get married. Like, changing my last name, gonna have babies with this guy one day, married.

I think being engaged can change a lot of things. 

I keep typing this all out and the words just don't make sense. I'm a little annoyed by that.

Whenever we got engaged I looked at everything in a more serious light. At first I would be afraid when we would argue because oh my goodness what if it's like this forever?! But at the same time when things would be awesome it's I can't wait to have this forever! Forever. That's what changes it. The idea of marrying Walker and being with him forever was always a thought and hope, and when it became real I over analyzed every little thing because, that my friends is what I do best.

I think now I'm to this point in the engagement that my hope for us is huge. One perk is us being so young, but in general there is so much confidence in our future together. The bad things have time to change, and we no longer have to feel like we're changing them all by ourselves. The good things will be there forever, and we'll have even more as the years go by.

Y'all, I'm so excited to see what God does in our relationship. 

I feel that we fit together like a two person puzzle, we challenge each other and help the other pursue their dreams or simply keep their fire going while all else seems dim.

This session today was a good reminder of the man I have in front of me and how blessed I am to have him. I think having the engagement session so late in the engagement helped us in that little plateau we were experiencing.

I love him, and I love being with him.

*sappy, slightly confusing and not well planned out post over*

Yay for a sneak peek of the session!!

Happy April!

I really can't believe this year is already a quarter of the way through. Nothing has really changed much in my life, which is a really weird thing for me to say because normally there's something new around every corner. It's definitely a blessing because my life needed a good rest. School, work, and time with family/friends/Walker are the things that are most important to me right now.

I'm going to take this post away from nutrition, and just talk about my life. I love journaling and writing down my days, I just get so bored writing down on a daily basis.

First off, the wedding! We have our venue, The Shady Valley Golf Club in Arlington, and it's pretty awesome and beautiful. Hopefully on that day we'll have nice enough weather to have it outside! I have my dress and shoes, and an idea for what the guys are going to wear. Any day now Walker and I will go cake testing to see what we really want, and you know, to have an excuse to eat some awesome cake. In March I didn't do much planning, but April I can hopefully get some more done. On the 13th we'll finally be getting our engagement pictures done which I am so so so excited about!

Let's see...oh! Our new apartment!! Oh my goodness y'all, I am beyond excited for the move. When we went and searched for our first apartment (the one we're currently in) we lucked out and only stopped by one place and went with it. Now looking back, I'm not sure if lucked out was the right phrase...if there's any advice I can give anyone it's this: don't live in a studio apartment, it isn't worth the price. Space is a thing every human needs. Now, onto our new one! We were really scared we wouldn't be able to afford it and had other apartments in mind, honestly we just went to these to look at them..kind of like window shopping. We loved the area, the management, and the layout of the apartment so much, not to mention if you signed the lease the same day you viewed the apartment you got your application fees and admin fee waved, saving us about $100-250 more dollars! We went home and added up all of our expenses that are there and unchangeable/necessary and found that we could live there comfortable which was surprising to both of us.

After living nearly a year in a studio apartment I have to say moving onto not only more space, but a nicer complex is huge to us. We both work full time and it's nice to see that what we've been working for has earned us something greater. I really hope any of what I'm saying does not come off as bragging, whenever I'm excited I tend to not shut up about it haha. If anything I hope you see how important it is to us and how proud of ourselves we are to really be reaching a big "growing up" part of our lives.

Lastly, work! Walker didn't get into SORM (school of retail management), but he remains hopeful and proud of himself for what he's accomplished only in a year of being with the company. I have to say, seeing him remain optimistic is a huge reason why I love him. He's still working on ways to grow in his department so whenever he feels ready to apply again he'll have even more experience behind him. As for me, I love my department and I think about growing myself in it every now and then, really I just want to wait until the wedding is done before I throw any other thing on myself. Both of us are so incredibly thankful to work for such a good company, especially at a young age.

So if you know of any awesome cake places in Fort Worth/Arlington let me know so me and Walker can go stuff our faces with cake haha. Also keep us in your prayers as we take a big step on in moving to a new complex and grow ourselves in work.

Thanks for taking the time to read :)

The Dreaded Scale.

Hi everyone!

This is kind of an impromptu post, only because I planned to do it another day but looking at my schedule I can't really find the time other than now.

I wanted to sit down and type something you've heard before, not because I'm unoriginal, but because I think no matter how many times you see it, it doesn't always click.

Weight doesn't matter. I'm writing this on a health/fitness blog and even mention the fact that I've lost weight, and I'm saying this. To hold my own on this, I'm going to reflect on the year 2014 diet wise for myself.

I started my nutrition class that turned my diet upside down. All of a sudden red meat wasn't scary anymore, as long as it was grass fed, and butter (without preservatives or additives) is better to cook in than oils, and the list could go on forever and a day. Honestly I plan to make separate blogs just on what I've learned, but those are two ways of showing how crazy, almost unthinkable things when you're trying to lose weight worked for me, and still are.

Now to stay on the topic of weight, let's talk about how this food as affected my life. Notice I'm not just saying my body, but my existence in general. I feel better, I actually have energy, I'm not starving every two hours, my workouts are so much better, and in general life is good when I stay on track with this.

Guess what eating like this and the better workouts caused? A weight gain, and a pretty substantial one in my eyes now that my body has gotten smaller, at about 5 or 6 pounds. I freaked out. I didn't understand how my weight went up even though I know in the back of my mind it's muscle, it's muscle, it's muscle.

It's a hard thing in a society where weight matters so much to believe that even when you know it's true, especially being a girl in her twenties.

It took a lot of talking to friends that workout and I trust with these insecurities to talk me into the fact that if I feel better and I'm making healthy decisions this shouldn't matter. You know what matters to me? As I said before, I feel so much better on a daily basis. And a pair of jeans I could barely button are fitting just a little bit better, and jeans that fit perfectly at one point are starting to fall off a little.

Now I'm not saying I was fat/overweight/etc. before at all, and I'm not hating on myself for what I put into my body before because I'm still not perfect, but it's a really cool thing to see and feel the changes.

What I hope to encourage is is if you're trying to lose weight, don't obsess over weight, just don't. Honestly, obsessing over anything isn't necessarily good because, at least for a person like me, it becomes something that really messes me up if I don't get it perfect and I'm really hard on myself.

To go with the Nike slogan, just do it. Once you have found what works for you and your diet don't think too much on it, just go and make it happen. Make small changes that make huge impacts over time Changing your diet and adding fitness into your life shouldn't feel like a burden, it should feel good, and if it feels any thing else you may want to reevaluate what you're doing and how you could possibly change it.

These are meant to be steps forward into life, that's a big deal, don't focus on weight more than what you put into your body.

As always, I'm here for anyone interested. I'm not an expert, but I can help where I feel confident any time. This is my passion, and it is literally life changing.

HIIT #1

Hi everyone!

So, as I was starting to run on my parent's treadmill today all I could think was, "I really do not feel like running today.." which honestly tends to be a common thought that passes in my mind. Some days I love running, some days I loathe it. Since I'm not at a gym today I got a little created my own HIIT workout (High intensity interval training). You can find these nearly anywhere online premade, but whenever it comes to MY fitness I like MY plan.

It went really well and was really challenging, not to mention it left my covered in sweat, so I figured I would share it! The way it works is easy:

30 seconds of cardio

1 minute of strength

Also, out to the right I'm putting the time that you should be done with this move, and I include a 10 second break between each move as well!

Ready?! :)

30s jogging in place     :30

1m arm circles (30 sec. forward/30 sec. back)     1:40

30s burpees     2:20

1m mermaid abs     3:30

30s plank jacks     4:10

1m reverse lunges     5:20

30s jumping jacks     6:00

1m downward dog push ups     7:10

30s skaters     7:50

1m leg raises     9:00

30s jog in place     9:40

1m squats     10:50

30s burpees     11:30

1m tricep dips     12:40

30s plank jacks     13:20

1m plank     14:30

30s jumping jacks     15:10

1m clamshell leg lifts (30 sec. right/30 sec. left)     16:20

Aannnd you're done! My favorite thing about HIITS is you aren't doing the same thing over and over again but you are DEFINITELY getting some awesome toning in!

If you don't know what any of the moves are you can find them by googling them, or you can ask me and I'll send you a video/picture of what it looks like!

After I did this I wanted just a little more so I did an abs & obliques video by Fitness Blender

Click here if you want to do  it too!4

If you do this let me know how it was! I love keeping my workouts creative and different to avoid boredom!

One Week Free From Sodas!

Yes, you read that title correctly! I've been without a soda for a week now! I honestly used to never care, soda was the one thing I couldn't and wouldn't give up. It even took about two months in my nutrition class for me to decide maybe I shouldn't be drinking them. Dr. Pepper was my chosen poison, and one day I was looking at the back of the label of a 20oz. bottle and saw a total of 66 grams of carbohydrates. SIXTY SIX. That's more than I try to go for when putting a meal together. It's giving you absolutely no protein or fat. You are literally putting sugar into your body that your body doesn't know what to do with other than it right on your love handles...or at least that's where mine likes to go.

Thinking of it now puts me in pain, even after just a week. 

I have always hated taking pictures of my body like this, no matter what size. I hope anyone that reads/sees these knows I do it only as personal update for myself and I share it to possibly help others. 

Now, I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like my waist line looks a wee bit smaller. I put on this pair of jeans that used to suffocate my waistline and they were easier to button than normal so that was really cool to me!

If you're waiting for how many pounds I've lost, I try not to keep up with it too much. I weigh myself weekly, but I'm trying to lean on it less. The power of the scale can often trick your mind into thinking you aren't doing good at all when really you're turning your muscle into fat, but let's save that  for another post shall we?

Anyways, I just wanted to share this accomplishment with y'all and encourage you to decrease or limit your intake of sodas. From personal experience I don't even find myself wanting one very often as long as I have water beside me to drink instead. Keep a bottle with you and I think you'll do fine! As for headaches/drowsiness, it does happen and yes it sucks. Just take some medicine and make some coffee (sugar free haha) and you'll be okay!