… #tbt

Posted on May 3, 2012 by

Most days of the week have a reputation….
Not much is ever said about Tuesdays but Mondays, Fridays, and “the weekend” are the days we look forward to the most! We can’t forget Wednesday, or ”Hump Day”, because it just lets us know we’ve almost made it to “the weekend”!

Now.. there are THURSDAYS.
I’m an avid Instagram picture post-er (username: amayes) and I love, love, love taking and posting pictures on this addictive little app.
Well, this app has given Thursdays a new appeal, lots of attention, and a little “swag” if you will….

Instagram has instituted “#tbt or #throwbackthursdays….. YES! with the Twitter hashtag!

This day invigorates and excites us loyal picture posters… we Instagramers will dig up OLD school pictures and family photo’s with of us with our siblings and parents with our hair all over the place, dressed in bad clothes! Sorority/fraternity, vacation, and graduation pictures will reappear! This day causes us to walk down memory lane with in conflict because we don’t know if we want to hang our heads in shame or tag our family/friends with pride knowing that those days were the “good ol’ days” and worth every little bit of the memory and then some!

I love #tbt but rarely post any old pictures because I really don’t have access to them – they’re all stowed away at my mom’s house on the OTHER side of Houston! But, today I participated and was quite proud of my #throwbacks. Take a peek and see what memories they bring back for you!

First….
Were you NOT obsessed with passing notes in middle school?!?! I loved the simplicity and pesonalization of doing this today! It was sooo fun – I even sent it through another person, shamefully, it was a student! Best part – I was so surprised at how easily I remebered how to fold the note!

Then…..
I am a new comer to the world of thrifting and I absolutely love it! I went to one store today and was obsessed with the book section. There were sooo many Agatha Christie books… Biology, and Accounting books… (Please do not ask WHY I was tempted to purchase a couple of these!)….Cookbooks….. Children’s books….
But, then I came across these gems.

WOW!!! Are you serious?!?!?!?
Before there was the Twilight, Hunger Games, and Shades of…. series – there was The Baby – Sitters Club. TRUE inspirations!!! OMG! I called my sister from the cash register and she couldn’t believe it either! Obviously, we’re wanting our little sister to read them and all of our neices, too…. I’m not sure how they’ll compare to what they read now but what a reminder of all the days/nights I would just lay in bed and just read!

As I end my walk down memory lane……..

The day after my 3rd graders last STARR test (which happened to be a THURSDAY!!!) was a rest day for them! They’d worked so hard the two days prior and just wanted to rest. Which I understood and was prepared to pop in a movie when I came to class. Until, I walked in and realized they were making these…..

… and, I had to jump in! I could not help BUT to  loop and thread with them! It took me a bit longer to remember how to start the cords but once I got it down, it was over!

It’s absolutely true that nothing new is under the sun, but I don’t think it’s until your generation’s “new” comes back around that you really realize it.
Unfortunately, I don’t think The Baby-Sitter’s Club books or the letter writing will come back into play (much like vinyl records) but if they did……

Our children’s innocence is slowly being chiseled away……. (which makes me sound like the near thirty year old that I am) but the realization of how quickly our kids are growing up now due to technology and more common sense is scary. And, sad. Mostly, sad. But, that’s another post on another day!

…. here’s to #tbt, remembering the “old days”, and enjoying each simplicity that TODAY has to offer.

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… must. focus.

Posted on May 2, 2012 by

I have to say that I’m quite proud of myself for sticking with working out this long…… and for me, 5 months of working out consistently is a great feat. For the past couple of weeks, I have only been able to work out once a week during the work week and then the weekends come and I’m so exhausted from Monday – Friday that I couldn’t imagine exerting energy to do anything else.

BUT!!!!!

The summer commeth and I am tooo thrilled because I plan on hitting the gym SO! hard it is ridiculous. I am a bit disappointed because although I can tell I’m getting stronger and have lost a good percentage of body fat, I don’t see the muscle mass I’d like to see. Which means MORE weight on the bar and getting back to organizing my schedule in a way that allows me to hit the gym more often!

One thing I KNOW we must do is continue to work on our eating habits. We’ll do well for a little bit then fall off for a little bit. It’s our little cycle that we’ve got to stop. Another exciting aspect of summer is that we have so much more time to cook!! I love to try new recipes over the summer because I actually have time to find a recipe I want to try, mentally prepare, grocery shop, then prepare the meal. It’s a big deal. I’m not a very good “throw it together” kind of cook. That’s Thomas’ arena! Me, I’m a cook book/app gather all of the recipes, measuring spoons/cups, and everything you’ll need to cook with and cook everything one at a time- althought I’m getting better – kinda gal. I’m telling you it’s a process so when I have TIME….

Soooo…. all of this to say, I have two goals…
Goal #1: hit the gym incredibly hard over the next few weeks!
Goal #2: healthy eating, snacking, and healthIER cheating!

I’ll keep you up to speed on my progress!!!!
…. and for accountabilities sake, I am going to gym tomorrow and increasing my weight!!!

…. here’s to heavier commitment and increased muscle mass!!!!

Posted in fitness, food, marriage, school, summer, the plan, what I love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

… five down, more to go

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

I realized a couple of days ago that tomorrow Thomas and I will have been together for five years…. I think it’s tomorrow anyway, lol….

But, in leiu of the half decade we’ve been together…. here we are. From the youngsters we were to the more older, wiser couple we are….

This is one of our first pictures! And, def one of my favorites!


The picture below is one of our engagement pictures, the one following that is one of our trash the dress pictures…. both were taken by the wonderful Morgan of Morgan Lynn Photography!

 

… happy 5 years, dear husband of mine!!!

We have grown soooo much! LOL…… My goodness. I’m so thankful. For him. The growth. Our relationship. Our marriage. Expectant for our future!

… here’s to five more years!!

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… bzzzzz

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

That’s my bee sound as I’ve been quite busy…. and, loving it. So many wonderful and mind blowing things have been going on – things I never would have considered.
I am so grateful and moved… thankful for the growth and maturation that’s occured. The depedence I’ve come to rely on.

I’m so thankful. Looking forward to the weeks and months to come…..

… here’s to being thankful, more than anything for everything.

Posted in about me, aha!, faith, growth, summer, what I love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

… connected

Posted on April 15, 2012 by

God puts the most random people in the most random places at the most random times………………..

(…. if you follow me on Instagram (amayes) or twitter, you’ve seen this picture already. This picture has nothing to do with this post but I took it this weekend and it’s definitely on the top of my favorites list!)

It’s funny how a night of celebration with a friend leads to connecting with a stranger over shared heartache.

Saturday night, Thomas and I met a guy and our conversation started like any other conversation usually does. Both our group and his were celebrating – ours a birthday, his an engagement…. so the conversations moved from the celebrations to careers to family to renting vs owning your own home. We found out that our new found friend was a married man of four years who’s a broker and owns a couple of dogs….. So, while we’re talking about renting/owning and living the different parts of town, Thomas mentions our plans of trying to start a family and moving to a larger place in the near future.

So the conversation shifted.
Our friend and his wife are working on a family, as well…….
And, they’re struggling with infertility.

We literally talked through our procedures, surgeries,failures, feelings, frustrations, and plans…….. It still amazes me when we meet people who are going through the same things because you do feel very alone, very broken, and somehow ostrasized from the rest of the world. Almost like the kid chosen last for kickball during recess. You see your friends and family members chosen constantly….. and, although there are NO ill feelings and nothing but pure happiness for those around you, every time there’s an announcement, it’s just another reminder of what you’re unable to do.

Our new friends do want to adopt in the case that they aren’t able to have their own……. I’m not quite sure what we’re going to do but we have about a year to figure it all out.

I’ve been asked a lot recently if we’re done trying and, I assure you, we’re not. We haven’t tried for very long but I know our road is coming to an end quite soon and it’s scary. I’ve thought about what will happen if our treatments are unsuccessful – “what we’d do”….. obviously, the answer is “live our life” but still….. what would we do?
Living as D.I.N.K.S. (Dual Income, No Kids) doesn’t sound appealing at all. Not even a little bit.
Adoption is an option – I know Thomas is interested….. I’m going to start researching agencies and their procedures…….

I’m hoping for nothing but success for our friends while they go through their next procedure. I do understand. It’s not fun. I know. And, I’m with you.

Posted in about me, faith, fertility, friends, growth, marriage, recouping, the plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

… sneak peeks

Posted on April 14, 2012 by

Our weekends have are always busy and full but it’s just something about the tell tale signs of summer that just make life so much more exciting! LOL.

I LOVE the summer time!!!
Ice cream…

Playdates…

Patios…

Weddings….

Neices….

baseball games….

… the best part – NO WORK!!!
…..Late nights, late mornings! Two -a – days at the gym! Trips!! Layouts at the pool!! Books galore!! Lunch dates!! Cupcakes crawls…. the excitement makes me squirm! lol..

…… and, the sneak peeks we’ve gotten recently have just amped me up for the end of May!!! I can hardly focus at work – all I want to do is be outside!

… here’s to blazing through the last SIX weeks of school and coasting into the summer!

Posted in fitness, food, music, nieces, school, summer, the plan, what I love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

… less of this, more of that

Posted on April 7, 2012 by

For a while now, I’ve felt fairly good about our inability to get pregnant on our own. When I say fairly good, I mean no tears,  completely okay with our plan, and not bothered by not getting pregnant, lol…. I’ve really been quite okay with everything. Enjoying life…. loving my husband, the gym, and the sun…. hanging out… unable to wait to spend little lots of time with my sister and lounge by  a and pool and go on vacation…. as well as graciously jumping on every opportunity that comes my way. I’ve been good!

Then.

I have no idea what happened.
But, I feel like I’ve been hit with a ton of bricks.  I thought this thing had gotten a bit  easier. I was hoping it would at least. Hoping I wouldn’t feel the need to self medicate with shopping and more shopping…… or the gym which has become quite a large part of my life! That I wouldn’t go through all of the same things I went through almost a year ago when I was actually TRYING to get pregnant. Which doesn’t help the fact that a year later, we’re still in the same position. (Sidebar: I am down to 19% body fat which is almost a 10% loss from when I began my love affair with the gym!!! Woot – woot!!)

We are good right now. Happy with our life and working hard. I don’t really want to FEEL any kind of way about having children. I don’t want to deal with it. I want to tell my little heart, “We’re good!!!” and for it to actually believe me. I don’t want to be the emotional wreck I was last summer.

(I am still hoping against hope, in the very essence and definition of this word, that we are able to get pregnant on our own. I know our God CAN if He so chooses…… Just hoping that parenthood is His plan for us to bring Him glory.)

… here’s to HOPEfully enjoying the spring/summer without the emotional ups and downs…. more sun, more work, more of just enjoying life with the just two of us! That’s my plan.

(amazing photo taken by Christin Armstrong!! … check out her work her new blog or her facebook page!)

Posted in faith, fertility, fitness, growth, summer, the plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment