Goodbye Soulful Saturdays

This will be my final post for Soulful Saturdays. When I started it, I thought it would be interesting and I was looking for things to blog more often. It's a learning experience. Here are the final ten questions. I'm only finishing them because I started.

If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
This is hard and not because I believe in Heaven and that we will all be together again. So I would have to say I would spend my last day with my family and a few special others. Then we would move onto the next life and be together for eternity (personal beliefs here). I would still be very emotional on this day though.

Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
Absolutely not. That is the most ridiculously shallow thing I have ever heard.

What is the difference between being alive and truly living? 
Well, everyone who has been born and is breathing with a heartbeat is alive. Truly living, to me, is having fun, experiencing new things, loving, making mistakes and learning every day. 

When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
It depends on the situation. You have to use your head in some situations and in big decisions in life.

If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
Because mistakes are not always fun. I'm going to be completely honest and say sometimes mistakes are fun at the time, but then you learn. 

What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
I would probably do silly things like go to the store without a bra. Seriously. 

When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
Um, just now because as soon as I read this question I took a deep breath. 

What do you do for love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
I do things I don't want to do. I do things that I don't even notice. I get up at any time if my baby needs me.  I work because my child needs diapers. I text family and friends to check on them. I hug people. I pick up my husband's favorite things at the store when he doesn't ask for them. It's simple things really.

In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?  What about the day before that?  Or the day before that?
I doubt very seriously that I will. I will remember the big moments and the way my son giggled when I blew on his belly. 

Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
Some decisions only affect me and I make them myself. Other decisions affect my family so my husband and I make them together. I think it's important to include loved ones in decision making. 

If you have any ideas on a weekly Saturday post that you would be interested in reading, please let me know.

Healthy choices

Since I really started trying to change how I eat, there are basically trades I make. I wanted to not give tips because I'm no expert, but just tell you a little about what helps me.

My family has always eaten a lot of chicken which is good because it's lean meat. When we do eat red meat it is usually ground beef in things like casseroles, tacos, hamburgers. So one trade we are making is ground turkey instead of ground beef. When we make tacos, I simply brown the ground beef and mix with the seasoning and voila! Turkey tacos. You can use light sour cream or even healthier plain yogurt. I was iffy on the plain yogurt, but it really tastes good.

Secondly, I drink a lot of water. Now that I gave up soda, the only other thing I drink is a cup or two of coffee in the morning. I use light or sugar free creamer too. Giving up soda just makes me feel better and honestly gives me more energy.

I have never been a big fan of wheat bread, but I'm learning to like it more. I am a lover of breads and bread is a carbohydrate and you really shouldn't have much. So when I do, I try to have wheat
bread.

I like potato chips, but I can live without them and for the most part don't crave them. When I do, I eat the baked ones. They are actually really yummy.

My snacks are becoming raw veggies, fruit and yogurt instead of potato chips, chocolate and ice cream. I don't let myself get too hungry. I eat a snack.

Some people say you should completely cut out things like sweets. Like I said I'm no expert but I believe you can have stuff every now and then. There are also better choices if you have a sweet tooth. I have a few recipes for healthier desserts that I enjoy. And once in a while, like a couple of weekends ago, I actually had some peach cobbler with ice cream. GASP! It won't kill you and totally ruin your diet.

I have only lost a pound so far. But I feel better about the choices I make. I don't eat a giant Wendy's hamburger and then feel like a fat disgusting pig. I eat a giant salad with grilled chicken and feel great. And I love salad!

Small changes can make big differences in the way you feel and hopefully eventually the way my body looks. I won't lie and say I'm working out because I'm not. But that is next. Things are harder with a little one who sometimes won't nap, but I'll get it done.

I'm not only doing this for me and my health, but as Cooper gets older I want him to make good food choices. I'm not going to deprive him of birthday cake and ice cream, but I want him to like vegetables and fruit. I want him to eat better than I do.

5 months old!

As of yesterday, I have a 5 month old! It's so hard for me to believe that it's been 5 months since my sweet boy came into this world. It has been the hardest, sweetest, most adventurous, most fun time of my life. He is learning every day and I am blessed to be able to see it. I am blessed to be his mommy.

After our beach trip, which you can read about here, Cooper had his 4 month check up and shots. It went well. Just as his 2 month shots, he briefly cried and I think it was harder on mom and dad than him.

Next month, we're looking forward to celebrating half a year with our little one with his first  professional photo session.

 
5 months old: September 2, 2013

Weight: 15 lbs. 1 oz.

Height: 26 inches

Size: most clothes 3-6 months

Eating: About 4 oz. of Formula at a time, rice cereal and trying all sorts of fruits & veggies

Sleep: About 6-8 hours at night before waking to eat, then goes back to sleep for a few hours (most nights)

 
What's going on?: Trying to sit up on his own, loves to stand up (with help, of course), and as of last week is sleeping in his crib in his own room!

Soulful Saturdays: Number Four

 The fourth set of questions from "50 questions that will free your soul." Next Saturday will be the final post. This week's didn't challenge as much as I would like. When I started answering this questions I thought they might be more interesting.

At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
After I gave birth to my son.

If not now, when?
Probably tomorrow. I'm an awful procrastinator and I hate it. I try not to be, but it doesn't work.

If you haven't achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
I'm not quite sure I understand this question. Some of these are weird this week. I guess if you haven't achieved it, you can fail. But that happens.

Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
Sure.

Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
I will never understand that myself. My God and Christianity teaches love, not hate. I think people have the wrong idea and that's why it causes war. 

Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
No, I don't think so. 

If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
Honestly, I don't know. Money goes quickly and after paying off debts, buying a house and new car, I would have to see what was left. And then decide from there. I would also want to put some in a college fund for my son and donate to charities close to my heart.

Would you rather have less work to do, or more work that you actually enjoy?
Work like a job? Probably more work that I enjoy. I don't know. I'm indecisive today. I also can be lazy.

Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
Not at all.

When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
I absolutely don't know.

Check out tomorrow's post on Cooper at 5 months!

 

I don't like this body

This time last year, I was about 8 weeks pregnant with my beautiful baby boy. My body was changing on the inside in ways I could never imagine. But the outside still resembled my petite self at 5'3" and average weight. My belly grew slowly and didn't really pop out until over the half way mark. I was doing well with my weight gain and baby was healthy.

Last November

Then it started to pile on. And what did I eat when I was pregnant you ask? Salad? Sometimes. Veggies? Some. Chocolate, Soda, Potato Chips? Yes, yes, and too much! I had this crazy idea that I was pregnant and was going to enjoy that double cheeseburger at midnight because I could.

But, I couldn't.

It didn't help that at about 6 months along, I stopped working. And I felt so sick, tired, dizzy, etc during my pregnant that I slept a lot. My doctor never said I was gaining too much and I figured if I was, that he would tell me.

I ended up gaining a whopping 45 pounds. Eek! The average is 25-35 and I had hoped to stay in that range. I was careless. And my doctor at 36 weeks said "Oh, you might want to watch your weight." Really? I'm about to pop this little man out and you want me to watch it now?

Now, today I have a baby boy that is 6 days away from being 5 months old and I am not happy with this body. Three weeks after having him, 30 of the pounds dropped right off. But the other 15 lingered and lingered. I now weigh 4 lbs. more than I did 3 weeks post-partum.

About a week and a half ago, I told myself, it's time to get serious about your health. It's not just the weight and the saggy belly. It's the way I feel. My first step was to give up soda and sweet snacks (mostly little debbies). I haven't craved too horribly. I had half a soda one day to quench my craving.

I am semi-following the weight watchers point system to help me learn portion control and the right things to eat. I'm drinking only water except for my cup of coffee in the morning. I'm snacking on yogurt, cheese, fresh fruits & veggies. I honestly already feel better and I haven't even lost anything yet.

My goal is to get 10 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight, but I most importantly want to be healthy and teach Cooper to eat the right things. It's okay to indulge sometimes, but in moderation and not all the time.

Follow me and encourage me on my journey to get healthy! Next step is finding exercise I enjoy!

Soulful Saturdays: Part Three

My third set of questions from "50 questions that will free your soul".

Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
I'm rather fond of intelligence and I am already a worry wart, so I will go with worried genius. I do not believe ignorance is bliss.

Why are you, you?
First of all, I am me because of genetics. I have many traits from my dad and many traits from my mom. I also have some traits, like my messiness, that is just me. While genes play a part, I believe I am mostly who I am because of my experiences in life. I would be a completely different person if I had made different decisions.

Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend? 
Yes, but I have made mistakes and probably been unfriendly at times.

Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
Losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you. Good friends are hard to come by in life. The best friend I have ever had lives almost 1,000 miles away, but she is always there for me. And you can always visit.

What are you most grateful for?
My faith. Without my faith, I don't know how I would have made it through tough times especially when I lost my dad. 

Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
I don't know who wrote these questions, but this is a terrible one. If I lost all my old memories, I would lose those people who aren't with us anymore. On that thought alone, I will say I would rather never be able to make new ones. I really didn't want to choose though.


Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
Of course.

Has your greatest fear ever come true?
Yes, sadly, it has.

Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
No. The thing I remember most about five years ago is meeting my husband.

What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
Spending a week at the beach every summer with my family. I realize that is several memories, but it is special because it was always such a great time. It was something we looked forward to every year and it's also where I have a lot of my best memories of my dad. 
 
 

Confessional Friday: My perfect day

Today, I'm linking up with Leslie over at A Blonde Ambition for Confessional Friday. Today's topic is how you would spend your perfect day. I went over in my head a few times what I would do before I decided to write it down. So here goes nothing.

I actually don't like to sleep my day away anymore since becoming a mother, so I would probably sleep in about 9:30. I'd have a non-healthy breakfast of maybe a giant chocolate muffin & a Venti White Chocolate Mocha (that someone brought to my door). I'd relax for a bit and watch my baby play.

I would then kiss my hubby & son goodbye and head to the spa. It would be one of those we provide lunch, massage, mani and pedi deals.

Then I would head home, grab my bathingsuit, my son & hubby and head to the beach (which by the way we don't live near in reality). We would swim and sunbathe and take lots of pictures. 

After dropping my son off with grandma, hubby and I would head out to dinner at the best and our favorite restaurant in the world: The Melting Pot. If you haven't been, you need to go. Fondue is amazing. 

I would end the evening by getting my baby ready for bed and cuddling him until he fell asleep. Then a little time with hubby before going to bed ourselves.

Now if only I had some extra money and lived near the beach.