Something Fun - Announcing Bloguray

Lookie what Kent got me for Christmas!!!!!!!
Yep a new laptop……eeeekkkk! I’m super pumped!

My old laptop has been broken for awhile and really wasn’t worth fixing. I’ve been wanting a new one but with a new baby and a tight budget this year a laptop was the last thing I thought the hubs would get me.

The ole blog has been a little sparse.
As many of you know I work from home. I live in my home office especially during high season. Naturally the last thing I want to do at the end of a long work day is stay in my office longer than I already have so my blog has suffered.
Thanks to Kent I’m now mobile! I can blog from bed, the living room, a coffee shop. The world is my oyster! Which is pretty exciting because I’ve missed blogging on a regular basis.

My mother-in-law watches Weston while I work which is awesome. She’s amazing with him and he loves her. Sadly she’s heading out of the country for 2 months and we’ll be without help so I’m taking on a super light work load in January and February. Since I won’t be working as much and I have this new fancy doodad I thought it would be fun to do something a little different in January……….DAILY BLOGS!

I’m calling it……..

 “Bloguary”

 

I have so many things I want to share (*Weston’s birth story, *his nursery tour, our most used and loved baby products, and I still want to finish those gosh darn “Our Story” vlogs) sooooo I thought this would be a fun way to go about it.  

? What to Expect ?

Daily content! Yep a new post everyday for the month of January and in true Domestic Princess in Training fashion the nature of the post will be totally random and even a few vlogs thrown into the mix!

It’s going to be fun! The 1st post is all ready to go and will be up January 1st, tomorrow! I hope you’ll follow along!

Our Story: Part 4 Vlog

If you’re new to the “Our Story” vlog series you can get caught up by clicking HERE  

I intended for this to go up this morning but I completely forgot how long it takes to load videos to YouTube (soooo sloooooow). Hopefully y’all are still teetering around on the computer and catch this post!
My goal is to have a new clip posted 1st thing Monday mornings so check back early next week!

For those of you that are all caught up let’s get the ball rolling!

What it’s Like to Workout for 6 Hours–Shaun T’s STRIDE Certification

 

                                              I’m kind of in love with my cutup Kelly K. workout shirt.

 

1 fitness certification down why not go for an second one!

This time around I got certified to teach S.T.R.I.D.E which is Shaun T’s (as in Insanity and Hip-Hop Abs guy) new toning/hip-hop format.

Holy mother of Francis

We had to earn that certification……

6 hours of dancing, squats, pushups, planks

Oh my

I work out a lot BUT I even shocked myself. I had no idea I could survive 6 hours of that. We’re talking Biggest Looser last chance type of workout. Okay maybe not that cray-cray but it was challenging for sure!

I HAD A BLAST!

My certification is good for 2 years but I had so much fun that I wouldn’t be upset if I had to do it again.

 

My friend and workout buddy Allison took the course with me.
It’s always more fun when you have a buddy to do things like this with am I right?

 

 

Our course instructor Danielle

 

The S.T.R.I.D.E format ROCKS!

 
You get your groove on then drop to the ground and hold a plank. Get your groove on and throw in some squats. Get your groove on then break it down with s series of pushups.

Yep it pretty much has awesomesauce all over it!

 

Little clip we recorded during the certification

 

 

 

Watch this so you can see what class is like.
I’m wayyyyy in the back last row all black with light shoes.

 

Doesn’t that look like fun?

 

Our closing thoughts on the experience.
We were a little giddy and delirious at this point.

 

If you live in the DFW area work in the fitness industry and are looking
for new formats to add to your location let me know!

 

 

 

I’m linking up with:

Flirty Girl Fitness: My Journey Begins

Last weekend was my Flirty Girl Fitness certification! I didn’t take one stinking photo but I did record pre and post videos. You know kind of like a before and after with my thoughts from the day! 

Before we get to those I want to tell you a little bit about why I started working out…………

Before

During

Many people don’t know this about me and are shocked when I tell them but I suffer from anxiety.

It didn’t hit me until couple years ago but man it sure rocked my world. High blood in stressful moments, dizzy spells, hives, stomach problems, sweaty palms/feet, debilitating fear, worry, insomnia.

I didn’t feel like myself.

I was one to never fear a thing and always up for a fun and new experience. To go from being a social butterfly completely comfortable in my own skin to living with a constant uneasy feeling I knew something was wrong. 

After a doctor visit over a year ago he suggested that I start working out to help lower my anxiety OR get on medication.

Since I didn’t want to get on medication and I could afford to lose a pound or 80 I hit the gym! It was time and I was ready to tackle this anxiety bug and get back to my old self.

I knew she still in there……….somewhere.

As I started working out and seeing changes in my body I began to make changes in my life as well.

I changed my eating habits.

I cut as much negativity out of my life as possible. I say as possible because honestly it’s always around us. You have the power to make the decision to feed into it or turn your back on it and it’s not always easy to do that.

As time went on I started to feel more like my old self….happy (not just on the outside but the inside as well).

I was motivated and ready to reach for my goal of becoming a fitness instructor. Not just any fitness class, for me it was ALWAYS cardio dance ever since I was in high school. It was something I hoped to teach one day!

Annnnnnd here I am a year later 60 pounds lighter and lower anxiety levels! Don’t get me wrong it’s not perfect and it still raises its ugly head from time to time but I have chosen to work through it by keeping up with my medication aka exercise and continuously placing myself in uncomfortable situations.

I’ll chat more about anxiety and how it’s affected me in a different post but for now the reason I’m sharing this with you this is to let you know just how hard this was for me and to show you that if you are letting fear run you, you have the power to overcome it as well!

People see me as this energetic bubbly person and I am but I had to fight to get back to the place I’m at today.

I had to fight to get back to the old me! 

Okay no on to the fun stuff!

Before the Flirty Girl Fitness certification: A ball of nerves

 

 

After: Proud and ready to do a victory lap

 

During Our Course. 
Big thank you to Kari for letting me share this with y’all!
You have to be looking hard to see me. I’m in the back with a white name tag on my hip.

I was serious about what I said at the end of my last clip! I talk about a lot of random nonsense on this ole blog here. If you take away anything from my blog my hope would be that I’ve inspired you in some way to live less fearful life full of positivity! You have the power to do whatever it is that set your mind to. It’s not always going to be easy you will hit bumps along the way. Take ownership in that but keep on tucking because the finish line is sooooo worth it! 

I’m looking for a place to teach soooo if you love in the DFW area and would like Flirty Girl Fitness at your studio or gym shoot me an e-mail!

If you would like to read more about my weight loss journey please visit the links below:
Friends and Fitness
On Choosing to be Happy 
How I like to Burn Calories

 

Hodgepodge

 

Definition
Hodgepodge- a jumbled mixture

Yep that’s exactly what this post is going to be.
My brain works best when it’s a jumbled mess.

 

My fall shooting schedule starts in 18 days.
I’m excited and scared at the same time.
Last year was hard.
I was a walking zombie and under a lot of stress.
Me and stress are NOT BFFs.
My body just doesn’t handle stress well.
I gain weight even though I’m busting my butt at the gym and eating a good diet.
My skin breaks out.
I zone out a lot.
My eyes which are already big get even bigger and well it’s just not pretty.
I’m dead set on making a change this fall.
Remember? I wrote all about the change here!  
I’m getting better about saying no, and setting boundaries!
I think it’s going to pay off.
This fall you’ll see me skipping down the streets loving life and doing cartwheels instead of hooked up to coffee IV looking like a scary mess.

 

Speaking of cartwheels I decided to do one the other day.
I ended up pulling something in my back and neck.
Kent was there to witness the awesomeness. 
I will not be defeated cartwheel! 

 

I’m crossing something off my bucket list!
At the end of this month I’m getting certified to teach a cardio dance class!
I’m soooo excited!!!!!
I 1st started working out to help with my anxiety but ended up getting so much more out of it!
I’ve lost 60lbs……
changed my lifestyle……
been motived by MANY others…….
It’s time for me to pay it forward!
I can’t wait to teach and use my class as a platform to help motivate and inspire others in their journey.
Sometimes a workout is so much more than just a workout!

Y’all know I love to dance!
The class I’ll be teaching is called Flirty Girl Fitness. If you’re in the DFW area and want to give it a try I’ll keep you in the loop as to when and where my classes will be! I would love to see you!

 

 

I was planning on doing an Instagram How-To post.
Yeah……
I worked on it off and on all last week BUT
I’m just not good at explaining things through type.
Sooooo I thought I could answer a few questions in vlog form.
Now talking…..
THAT I can do!
So if you have any Instagram questions throw them at me!

 

We’re still making pointless random videos.
I like them.
I think one day we’ll look back and get a kick out of them!
So we keep on…….

PS…..We have a new family member which I’ll be introducing to you later BUT you can see a little glimpse of him in the clip below. If you follow me on Instagram you already know allllll about him!
Instagram folks get the inside scoop!

Kent Wants a Man Cave

Kent wanted to talk to me about football.
I say Football shmootball!

 

I think that’s enough randomness for today.
PEACE!

Don’t forget to leave your Instagram questions!

Our Vacation: Carnival Magic Cruise

Are ya ready……no I mean REALLY ready..........it’s going to be a long post and there may or may not be a quiz at the end. Just saying!

Sooooooo you might want to grab a cup of joe, glass-O-wine, cup of tea, whatever you like to wet your whistle with.

 

Go on I’ll wait for you.

You’re you back! 
Picture and story overload here we go!!!!!!

Not a photographer on this trip:
I left my big girl camera at home and borrowed my friend's waterproof point and shoot camera. I was totally on vacation mode! Although I was constantly saying “Oh the light here is perfect.” or “Oh man I wish I had my camera this would be a great shot.” It was actually kind of nice to take a break.

No stopping to change my exposure or think about composition nope I decided I wanted to take a break from being the girl who is always taking pictures. I just wanted to chill and take it all in.

 

 

We cruised out on the Carnival Magic for a 7 day cruise stopping at Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

A few of our friends joined us for the adventure. Say hi to…….

*Marcus*, his better half  *Ashley *, annnnnnd the beautiful *Ginger* or as I like to call her Ginga. If you’ve watched some of our You Tube videos you’ve seen this folks before.

 

We had a blast on the boat
-We stuffed our faces. Eating becomes a hobby when you’re cruising. Yes, my typical eating went out the window. I had carbs, ate dessert every night, and a pretty much anything my little heart wanted. I also came home with an additional 2 pounds. Eh it was worth it.

-We laid out…..tons! I know it’s crazy and as you know I am crazy so this may not be a shocker to you BUT out of everything we had planned I was the most excited about laying out and reading. I know LAME…….right? I just wanted to be still and not think for several hours….or maybe days and that’s just what I did. It was nice.

Yes I wore sunscreen!

 

-We had tea! This was one of my favorite things we did on the boat. A hot beverage and my sweet addiction united into one chill event……HELLO!

 

 

 

-We took tons of annoying pictures that WE thought were hilarious! I was too cheap to buy them so I took a picture of them with my phone…..shhhhhhh.

                  

 

This is without alcohol. We don’t need no stinking liquid courage to let loose and have fun. We’re naturally this annoying.

 

 

 

-We danced. Oh because there is always dancing! I now know I should NEVER wear that dress again. I looks like a big sack on me.

 

-We enjoyed the balcony. Kent decided to upgrade up to a balcony room. I gave him a hard time about it in the beginning. This is our 3^rd cruise and we’ve always been fine with the doll size rooms. I didn’t think we should spend the extra cash but boy was I wrong. WE LOVED IT! We got to watch the boat dock in the different ports and had coffee out there in the mornings. I was told once you go balcony you don’t go back. Umm yeah I think they’re right!

 

I also got to do this from our balcony!

 

 

I gave Blossom a run for her money in my big floppy hat!

              

 

1st Stop: Jamaica

 

 

It was super relaxing! We had a lot of down time on this excursion so we just chilled and took in the sights.

 

 

-And we ate: Wish I would have taken more pictures of formal night. It’s was kind of neat for us. Kent wore the same suit, tie, and shirt, we were married in and I wore the dress I changed into at our reception. I had to get it altered since I’ve lost quite a bit of weight since our wedding. Getting something altered because it’s way to big is a gooooood feeling!

 

2nd stop: Grand Cayman

I didn’t take 1 stinking picture and it was beautiful! The water looked like pool water. We went to the beach hung out and snorkeled. Now that I’m watching Shark Week it’s totally freaking me out because we swam pretty far out. No boat to swim to if we saw a shark so we were pretty much SOL if a shark was feeling hungry. Love swimming in the ocean but I always get a little freaked out.

 

 

Last Stop: Cozumel
We drove doom buggies through the rainforest, jumped off a cliff, and went to a top secret bat cave. It was definitely an adventurous day.

 

 

 

See those little black things in the water. Those are baby Piranah. I know….we’re so brave! Okay maybe they were baby tilapia but still sooooo scary!  

 

To get to the bat cave you had to swim under stalactites. It was pitch black and the water was 66 feet deep. I’m certain we were swimming with a bunch of monsters. 

I would just like to toot my own horn for a little bit: Out of our whole excursion group we were the only ones that jumped off the cliff and went into the scary bat cave. We had our own little private tour in the bat cave which was pretty neat although I couldn’t  see a thing so the tour guide could have told me mermaids lived in there and I would’ve believed him.

 

After Cozumel we were at sea for a day then back home….poo.  
Talk about culture shock. Who was going to make my bed, leave me clean towels shaped like little animals, cook us 4 course meals and do the dishes. I want to go back! 

 

And that’s all she wrote!

 

I was kidding about the quiz don’t be scared.