Motivational Monday: My best weekend yet!

Ok I had an AMAZING health weekend! Like, one of the best weekends I have ever had as far as "healthy" weekends go! Friday night I had my Boston 5K and then had a protein bar, veggies and crackers for dinner. Counted out my portions. Had an awesome calorie deficit for the day.

Then I went to my girls night with Suzie & Calli and we had SO much fun. We watched "Vampires Suck". Hilarious movie. And they had pie and I had NONE. BAM - GO ME!!

Pajama's are required at girls night!

Saturday, I woke up and got dressed and went straight downstairs to go lift weights. I did ChaLean Extreme Burn Circuit 3 and was shaking by the end. Then I had a banana & a protein bar and went to go visit one of my neighborhood bestie's Athina. And then, I went for a 6 mile jog in preparation for my half coming up. Other than on the treadmill in St George, this was my first time running since the day I ran my last half marathon back in October!!!

I wanted to drive somewhere and run home, rather than make a loop or to run to a point and then run back. For some reason, actually GOING somewhere makes it more fun for me. I just happened to choose a bad route. I started almost in City Center in Eagle Mountain and then ran to the highway and along it back to the Ranches. Once I got to Maverik, I would have done 6 miles and I could walk home from there.

Getting out of City Center sucked. It's flat. It's brown. It's ugly. There's no landmarks. So I just felt like I was running and getting NOWHERE. There wasn't any "ok run to the end of that street and then you can walk" because there are NO landmarks! And there was no shoulder so I either ran in the road or on gravel. Seriously, BAD route. I won't run there ever again haha. I walked more of it than I wanted to. But once I got to the highway it went much better. I was able to run the majority of the highway part and I was proud of that.

I read on another healthy blog that you should train for runs with a heart rate monitor. And even though you want to go a certain pace, you train at the optimal heart rate level and as you get fitter, you can run faster to stay at that heart race level. So I tried it and it worked pretty well! I was totally able to go at a good pace for me while still getting in a good workout. And that helped me mentally - because I was PROUD of how long I could jog at that pace.

With the warm up and the cool down walk, it was like 7.3 miles. So my time sucked but right now I am not too focused on time. Just want to get my lungs and legs ready for this run since I haven't been as consistent with my workouts the last month.

I was SOOO excited to see my house haha - that meant my run was done!

After my run, I drank about a gallon of water and then made an egg sandwich with mandarin oranges on the side. And half hour later was shaking still from hunger, so I had some tuna with hummus & crackers. Even though I burned over 1000 calories in my run and over 200 in my lift, I didn't want to ruin all that hard work and eat a ton of junk! After my second lunch I felt more stable. I did a quick stretch and then rested my muscles for a few hours before we ran some errands and then came home to eat Cafe Rio on the couch while we watched Motocross.

And I said before - if I work out on Saturday I can have Ice Cream. Well, I worked out. And it was Saturday. So I got me some ice cream.

Arctic Zero Ice Cream - 150 calories for the whole pint!

Sunday I did AMAZING on my calories. I ended up going over by a few, but it was on a salad and extra asparagus with dinner. I knew I was starving, and I knew I needed to eat something else or I would eat the pantry, so I added a light salad to my dinner and it totally fixed it - I was pretty close to full by the end of my dinner! And I didn't eat sugar afterwards - no ice cream, no Hershey's kisses, no brownies, nothing! BAM!!

This morning, I was able to get up and workout. I had enough energy, on a Monday, to do it. That hasn't happened in a WHILE! And I got on the scale.

And it said 178.6.

Yeah, I lost 6.4 pounds since Friday.

So either there was some water weight or I was bloated or I just ate AWESOME or something but yeah I was SOO happy to see that number go down so drastically! And it made eating healthy over the weekend SO worth it!!

I saw this on Facebook from a fellow Turbo addict/Beachbody Coach and loved it!! I've heard of the "jar" concept where you put money in one jar, and then as you lose weight you move the money to the other jar. With this concept though, you put in a motivational quote for each pound you want to lose. And as you lose a pound, you move it to the other jar. And on days you don't feel like working out, you read the inspiration in the "pounds lost" jar. What a good idea right?!

One thing I have noticed over the last few days is that I am hungry. Like all the time. I know on days that I lift weights I feel hungrier, and I lifted today & Saturday so maybe that's why? It's been slightly hard though - thinking you are hungry and telling yourself to ignore it is WAY harder than I remember! But it's ok. Seeing that lower number this morning was TOTALLY worth it!

Speaking of lower number. I have a new goal. So my highest all time weight was 292. January 1, 2012 I was 252. So I lost 40 through cutting out soda over a 1.5 year span. I want to ultimately get to half my original weight - so 146. But before that, I want to get to 152. 100 pounds lost since starting weight watchers & tracking my calories, since adding Turbo to my life. And even though those 2 numbers are super close, it'll give me 2 different things to celebrate! If I lose a consistent 2 pounds per week, that puts me at 152 on July 29. I can TOTALLY do that!! Just need to listen to my body and push it in my workouts, and acknowledge when I am hungry so that I don't "try to wait" and go nuts on calories when I do eat. And then I'll give myself another month to lose the other 6 pounds since those last few can be stubborn! I'm excited to have a goal. And I'm excited to see what I look like at 146 pounds - at half my weight. That's a LOW number. And I can't WAIT to see it on my scale!!

Extension Progress

Last Thursday I got my extensions tightened. Again. My hair grows SO fast - which is nice, except I have to get my extensions tightened more often than the "average" person. This time was the first time that we took the extensions all the way out and then put them back in "from scratch". Which means this was the first time I got to see how long my hair is getting!!

Definitely making progress - I can TOTALLY tell it's growing!

On the left it was straightened, on the right it's round brushed so the difference isn't QUITE as dramatic. The left was the day I got them put in

And a pic yesterday with them in - they are a little longer this month because of where we put them! LOVING it!

Like I said last month, I am ready for them to be out {mostly for financial reasons} but for now, I am LOVING how long my hair is and that I didn't have to wait for it to grow!

Running for Boston

2 weeks ago, there was a bombing at the finish line of the Bostom Marathon. It was almost like something out of a movie at first - there was a stand off and the city of Boston was on lock down for almost an entire day while they searched for the accused gunmen. But they caught the guys, so we're good there :)

A lot of people were injured from the bombs though. I have heard that it was only bystanders, and I've heard a few runners were affected. I've heard only a few died with smaller injuries to the rest, and I've heard that there was extensive injuries to almost everyone - like limbs being amputated. Either way, it's been horrible to hear about and think about.

To be a runner, and THAT good of a runner that you qualify for the Boston Marathon, and then lose a limb? That'd be devastating. And I've been reading on a lot of my "fitness friends" blogs about runs they have done and dedicated to those affected. And I just thought that was AWESOME! And then I saw that Eagle Mountain was sponsoring a 5K, and all the money goes to the Boston families, and I KNEW I wanted to do it!

I posted it on Facebook to see who wanted to do it with me, and my mom was all over it! I was SO excited that she did it with me!!

We met at my house and then drove over together. My mom suggested we wear Boston Celtics shirts - what an AWESOME idea right?! It was at Nolan Park in Eagle Mountain. After my mom paid our registration fees {thanks mom!} we walked around and waited for the race to start. And then we noticed this guy.

Yeah he ran the Boston Marathon. He was at mile 24 when the bomb went off. He had no idea what had happened until his wife called him in a panic. He didn't end up getting to cross the finish line because they shut the road down. To be THAT close to crossing the finish line at the BOSTON MARATHON would just suck!! But he had a good attitude about it - no harm came to HIM so he was ok with it. Good attitude Dan!

My mom pre race

Me :)

This shirt is 3 or 4 sizes too big for me - that's why I wanted to wear it. Despite the few pounds that I have put back on that I wasn't happy with, I still am WAY too small for this shirt. Gave me some good perspective 

Another view of just how big it is

The 2 of us pre race

Right before the race started, they had a little program. The boy scouts presented the flag...

We all said "The Pledge of Allegiance" and then a runner sang "The Star Spangled Banner".

And then my parents neighbor Aaron Asay played "Amazing Grace" on the bag pipes. Uh tear jerker much?!

After everyone regained their composure, they had the runners from the Boston Marathon line up at the finish line to start us out. That was SOO cool - I am SO glad they did that! There were 4 runners there with us.

And then, my energy just took over. I haven't had adrenaline like that before a run - like ever. I was SO ready to do it - to dedicate this run to people who couldn't run for themselves. My phone was SO close to dying - I was way worried that it might not make it through the run, but it did! My first song that came on was "Lose Yourself" from Eminem. Uh yeah - good song to start out!

About a mile or so into the run, we found our fan base! Rick, Jeannene & Buzz were waiting for us!!

Then I just HAD to get a running shot of us!

We finished the race in just under 40 minutes. Not a PR for me, but we wanted to race together so I decided not to worry about my time and just have fun. And burn like 450 calories in the process haha!

After we finished!

We found Dan after the race and asked if we could get a picture with him. Seriously - SO inspirational that he was there!!

Side note - the fact that my sleeves fell down {or something} makes me look like a BLIMP - I am NOT loving this picture haha

I had a girls night planned that night and chose to do the race AND girls night. That means I ate a healthy dinner on my own, and got a workout in {since I overslept that morning}. What an AWESOME way to start my weekend!

And I am so proud of the difference in those two pictures. Of what that shirt means to me. That I CHOSE to run a 5K. The day of. And didn't die. That I can do things like that on a whim. It's a REALLY cool feeling! :)

The best question...

4 years ago today, my amazing Jake asked me to marry him. And oh my gosh was I excited!! Figured since I've never posted the story before that I would post it today!

We had been dating for about 8 months and I was SOOOO ready for him to ask me. We {read I} talked about the wedding ALL THE TIME. We went to Las Vegas at the beginning of April for his birthday - my treat. And I just KNEW he'd propose. We had gone to Schubach Jewelers a few weeks before the trip and looked at rings and I found THE ring - it was gorgeous and the center stone was princess cut {just like I wanted} and turned at an angle. And it was pink. And it was $4000. But I figured I was worth it and that he should buy it for me.

So we're in Vegas in front of the Bellagio water show, at night, with music playing... And nothing. No proposal. And the next day, a few chances came up {like at the top of the Stratosphere} - nothing. I was determined not to say anything because I didn't want him to realize that I knew he was going to propose. Until we drove home - then I kinda let him have it for not asking me!

He told me he had gone to buy my ring but backed out because it was too expensive. I got defense because this is MY ring - I LOVED it and he knew it. Wasn't I worth that 1 time investment??

So of course I insisted we keep shopping since the one I wanted was a no. We went to Shane Co with a VERY strict budget and I found a ring I really liked - still pink. Wasn't love like the one at Schubach but I did really like it. It was quite a bit smaller and THAT'S what I was wanting - a big ol' rock.

We put it on lay away so that Jake could make payments on it and then we'd own it and get it, rather than making payments after we already had it. So I figured it'd be a whole before he asked me.

A few days later, Jake saw a catalog for Kay Jewelers on his parents counter. He flipped through it to the back where the men's rings are and was surprised to see they had a black wedding band. That's what he wanted and we'd looked EVERYWHERE to find one, with no luck. Seeing that SOMEONE really did make them got me excited, so we got in the car that second and drove to Kay.

We walked in and immediately found it. He tried it on and the display fit, so we wouldn't have to order one! I told him we were buying it, even though he technically hadn't asked me yet. He agreed, and we told the guy we wanted it. He noticed I didn't have a ring and asked if we wanted to look at some stuff.

I got annoyed {we already agreed to buy something - don't upsale!!} but Jake was the always polite one and agreed to look at a few. I was pretty snotty and made sure the guy knew we wanted pink, and I was SURE they wouldn't have anything. He immediately walked to the counter behind us and said "oh we have a case full!" Great.

And immediately one caught my eye. I pointed it out and tried it on. Perfect for. The main stone was pink with smaller pink colored sapphires underneath, and then had small diamonds leading up to the main stone. It was GORGEOUS. And HUGE - exactly the size stone I wanted. Jake looked at me with that "I don't want you to be mad but you've got a budget" look and we both knew it'd cost more than the ring at Schubach, let alone my ring on hold at Shane Co. I turned it over, saw the price and about fell over. I showed Jake and his eyes about bulged out of his head - it was WAY cheaper than the Shane Co ring. Like half the price. We asked the guy if it was right, and he let us know it was wrong {we both looked bummed at each other} because it was on sale and was cheaper than THAT!

Needless to say, we bought it. Both rings went in a bag in the closet and we agreed not to look at them until he had proposed. I was DYING knowing my ring was so close but couldn't wear it.

The next day, Jake asked me to get them out so we could look at them. I jumped up and grabbed them and handed the whole bag to him. He opened the box with my ring, pulled it out, and made a BIG show of putting it on my finger while laughing and said "Girlfriend, will you marry me?"

So he ALWAYS called me girlfriend. It was my name. And he always proposed. In the grocery store aisles. On the phone. At work. And every time I'd say "Can I put it on Facebook?" and he'd say no - he was just playing.

So I let him slide it on my hand and asked if I could post it to Facebook. And he said yes.

And I just stated at him.

And then I started screaming and called my mom. Without saying yes. Without kissing him. Just called my mom in the other room.

We screamed together and then I posted it on Facebook. Before we could call Jake's parents. Whoops....

And then Jake came out and said "Can I have a kiss at least?" I felt SOOOO stupid - got so excited to tell the world I was engaged that I neglected the amazing guy who asked.

We drove to see my mom that night at an event Brynne had in Lehi and showed them my ring. And 4 months later, we got married :)

I'll have to do a wedding re cap one of these days too! Yay for 4 years of getting to wear a gorgeous pink ring on my left hand!!

Disappointed

The last few weeks, but DEFINITELY the last week or so, I have noticed my clothes aren't fitting quite right. Little tighter than I remembered. And I pulled the whole "well I just dryed this - it must have shrunk in the dryer". But after EVERYTHING started fitting different, it made me realize something must not be right. I decided yesterday to bust out my scale again, even though I "broke up" with it and see where I am at.

Last time I weighed {and posted on the blog} I was at 168, about 6 weeks ago. And I knew I had gained from that. I just hoped I was still in the 170's. So this morning I got the scale out and got on. And seriously about cried.

185.

My lowest was 164 the week I turned 25. What an awesome birthday present to myself right?! I was 4 pounds from my original goal weight! 4!!!! I slowly gained some of it, like I said - I was at 168 6 weeks ago. So in 6 weeks, I have gained 17 pounds. Yeah that hurts.

And that's the thing - I'm not mad. At all. I'm sad. I'm disappointed in myself. But I am not mad, and I am not all that surprised. The way that I binge totally makes sense. It makes sense that the number would be that high.

And it's something measurable that I can work on. It can take a few weeks to see my clothes fitting differently. It takes a week or less to see the scale move.

So that's the plan - back to what I was doing before. And actually sticking to it this time. Even if I have a bad day. Even if I over sleep. Even if I am craving ice cream so bad it's painful. I am worth more than this.

So Monday's are going to be weigh in day again. And knowing that people do read this occasionally makes me really want to make that number go down so that I don't have to be embarrassed that it's not moving.

And I have a "deadline" - our sealing is coming. Like really coming. As soon as the date is concrete I will post it but I have got to get my buns in gear if I want to look good and feel good for that.

I don't think I look TOO different from before, just slight differences. But I feel WAY different and I don't like that. I know that I can fix that. And I'm going to. Stay tuned for the post on Monday saying that number on the scale has dropped!

A total bookworm

I haven't posted about what books I have read in a while so figured I would post them! I seriously LOVE how much I get to read at work - it's AWESOME! After I finished Breaking Dawn, I read "The short second life of Bree Tanner". Lindsey let me borrow it - it was really good actually. Gave vampires a different spin, and it was nice hearing something not in Bella's perspective. And it was short so I was able to get through it in a day or two. And then Lindsey, Spencer, Jake & I watched the Breaking Dawn movies. I really liked the filming in these ones - it looked so much better than the last few! But they SUCKED at sticking to the books. And that's a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Other than that though, pretty impressed.

Then I started reading the Hourglass Door series. Read the first one in a few days and was pleasantly surprised how much I liked them. I read the second one in a little less time and am waiting to read the third one {a girlfriend at work is letting me borrow hers}. It's different switching from the Twilight books to the Hourglass Door series to say the least - I'm used to Edward protecting Bella and being invincible and Dante lets Abby do things that put her in danger and Dante is NOT invincible so it's been a mind shift for me but I like the books a lot!

I also started reading "This Is Why You're Fat (And How to Get Thin Forever): Eat More, Cheat More, Lose More--and Keep the Weight Off" from Jackie Warner. Title jumps out at ya right? I got it before Christmas and just am now starting it. The main reason I want to read it is because she talks a lot about how to incorporate cheat meals so that this is for life. The Eat Clean Diet book was amazing, but I felt like there was no cheating - you do this for life and that means no dessert or chips or crackers ever again which lead to binging. So I like that this book talks about the importance of "relaxing" on the weekends. I've only read the first chapter but so far I really like it. I had no idea that hormones played such a big role in losing weight and maintaining it!

Once I finish the book all the way through I'll be sure to post how the rest of it was and whether or not it's something I can apply to my life :) And as soon as I'm done with the 3rd Hourglass Door book I'll be looking for recommendations, because I hate having down time in between books :)

Recovering

So I know I blogged like a ton last week, but I feel like I haven't blogged in a while. Probably because it was all about our trip and the fence - nothing about how things are going in our lives right now. And I have been debating whether I wanted to post about some struggles I have been having or not, since people actually do read this occasionally, but this is my form of a journal so here it comes.

I have been saying that a lot lately I feel like - "I can't decide if I want this on the blog or not". I think that's because I am going through some kinda personal, tough stuff {tough in my mind - I realize that people have MUCH harder trials in their lives, but these are my trials and I struggle with them} but I want to remember everything about my life - not just highlight the good parts.

My depression/mood swings are back. Like WAY back. Since I went off my mood stabilizer medicine in September I have noticed it a little bit, but my moods are controllable as long as I am working out. So for the most part, it's been totally fine. If I miss too many days working out, then I really can tell I am "losing it" and after a workout I'm back to the old me.

Working out releases endorphins, which helps with moods. That's why my doctor let me go off of my medicine in the first place - because I was working out and it was counteracting the depression side of my moods. So missing workouts is like skipping my medicine - it's not a good idea.

My doctor, Dr. Naylor, left his office here in Saratoga Springs. His office is literally next door to my work - talk about convenient! But like I said, he left. And I have been dragging my feet on getting a new doctor because I only had one prescription Dr Naylor was writing for me. And I thought that I could probably just go off of that medicine. I don't want to be on any medicine when I'm pregnant if I can help it.

That one prescription is for my thyroid - I have hypothyroidism. And I am on an INCREDIBLY low dose. And I was put on that dose 3 years ago, when they thought that was why I was falling apart in my life - work life, home life, social life - everything was taking a hit. We realized that my new thyroid medicine wasn't fixing everything and started a series of new mood stabilizers to see what would get me back to "me". It took 4 months and finding a new job after taking 4 weeks off of work {medical leave - never thought I'd need to take THAT for anything other than maternity} and I was back to feeling like me. Moral of the story - I was convinced that my thyroid really wasn't off. That they just misdiagnosed me and kept me on the medicine anyway.

My doctor insisted I need to stay on it while trying to get pregnant and once I am pregnant I might need to up the dosage, depending on how things go. So after he has left his practice, I decided to just go off of it. I don't think I need it anyway, so what would it hurt to stop taking it, especially with no doctor that would know?

Yeah bad idea. I noticed almost immediately how tired I was. Which being tired is one thing. Early morning workout sessions at 5:30 AM are the first thing that stops happening when you're tired. So I went from 5-6 days a week to 4-5, which turned to 3-4, and then 2-3 days a week. Right before our Vegas vacation, I worked out twice that week - one of them with Brynne at the Legacy Center for a Turbo night.

We got super sweaty and it felt SO good to sweat like that! I got REALLY sore though!

While we were in Vegas, I went to the gym at our hotels twice. Which is better than zero, but I could DEFINITELY tell that I wasn't working out like normal. And yeah we were walking around a lot but still - it was nothing like normal. And I was eating SO bad. SOOO bad. And that has an impact on my moods too. And I hate Nevada water - I won't drink it from the tap. Buying 7-8 water liter water bottles everyday would get expensive so by the end of the trip I was probably near the beginning of dehydration.

The next week {last week} the only day I worked out was Saturday. I missed every single day during the week. Pressed snooze for nearly 2 hours each day. Because I just could NOT get up. So I tried sticking to my healthy eating SUPER well. Did awesome, most days, during the day but would crash at night and binge. More days than normal in a week. There were a few days that I binged all day.

Frozen yogurt for lunch. That's NOT the best idea. Tasted amazing but I felt sick afterwards.

Workout on Saturday - rocked it at the Turbo Instructor Training with Shukria & Brynne, but still - only workout all week!

And that's when I realized that the only thing different the last 6 ish weeks {when I was cutting back on workouts due to lack of energy} is that I stopped taking that thyroid medicine. And the main symptom that got my doctor's thinking my thyroid was off 3 years ago was how exhausted I was. ALL. THE. TIME. No matter how much sleep I got - I slept nearly 14 hours a day most days and was still a zombie the few hours I was awake.

So I made an appointment with the doctor at the clinic at Jake's work. Seriously, I love my husband's job. LOVE that company - they treat their employees awesome, and they built a clinic on site specifically for the employees and their families. Not only for emergencies, but anything - the doctor and staff are just like a regular doctors office. But it's totally cheaper than a doctor because of a deal they made with the insurance company. So yeah, found a new doctor - Doctor Scoville.

I went in yesterday, and it was kind of a long appointment. We talked about my platelette count, about how my hematologist wanted me to off of prenatals since he thought there was a WAY slim chance that was what caused my platelette count to freak out, about going back on a mood stabilizer and about my self diagnosis of not needing my thyroid medicine anymore. I totally admitted that I was wrong for going off of it and he prescribed me the same medicine again, same dosage I was on before, and put me on a different prenatal to start on right away. We are going to wait to go back on the mood stabilizer - it isn't exactly safe while pregnant and he is thinking if exercise fixed it before, when it was consistent, then it could do it again. So I kinda have doctor's orders to exercise everyday.

In a way, it's a good thing this happened - now I KNOW that the thyroid medicine really is doing something. I really do need to be on it. And losing weight didn't fix THAT problem. And even though I had wanted to be 100% off of medicine, I am realizing that won't work for me. I know some people can do it and use oils or herbs and that is AWESOME - I so wish I could do that but I need medicine for some things. Not everything - I still use oils for most things, like headaches and such. I obviously am not on a mood stabilizer right now because of exercise and the "high" I get from that. But I do still need medicine.

Like I said, I so wanted to be one of those people that is an "oil" success story and needs no medications at all. To be all natural. But I'm not one of those people. And that's ok - I can use the oils for some things, but I was born at a time of medicine for a reason. That doesn't mean I need to take ALL medicines that are available these days by any means but I don't want to completely shun away from modern medicine. And I understand that some people do, like I said. And that's AWESOME and totally a personal choice for them.

I think it's the placebo effect but I already feel like the medicine is kicking in. I was able to get up this morning and work out, so that was a win since it's been almost 2 weeks since I was able to do it early in the morning. I am grateful for the high I get when I exercise. I am grateful for how I feel when I eat healthy. And I am grateful that I FINALLY relaxed on my eating a little bit. That I let myself eat wheat thins or fiber one brownies again. I went through a phase where I didn't eat ANYTHING processed like that, because I wanted to eat so clean. And while that's great, it led to me eating everything in site when I did screw up. Now that I am allowing myself to eat those things again, it is helping me to not want to binge because I know I can eat them again tomorrow. Why would I eat a whole box of wheat thins today when I know I can a serving again tomorrow? I'm getting rid of those "never" foods and it's making a big difference so far. It's still hard for me to write everything down that I eat on the weeeknds, but I am doing better. And this weight loss journey doesn't have a finish line - it's a constant journey.

I have a half marathon in 6.5 weeks and thanks to my lack of energy, my workouts haven't been where they should be to get me ready for it. But I am going to do it still. I had been thinking about backing out and I changed my mind. Even if it means I walk most of it, I am still doing it. Which I know I won't be walking most of it. But ya know what I mean. I know I won't be able to run the whole thing like I had wanted to. But I will finish it. I will get a better time than I did on my last half marathon. Training starts this week - doing lots of cross training and HIIT workouts to help build my muscles and get my lungs ready for those 13.1 miles. So there should be lots of posts coming about my runs and how working out and eating is going.

And hopefully no more posts about me having a hard time. Hopefully, with my medicine going again and my workouts {thanks to doc's orders} I will get back to being me :)

Going bald

Ok so this post is a little late, but I got my extensions fixed haha. Like 3 weeks ago - I go in next week to fix them again. But I am finally getting to the post about the last fix.

When we were in St George, I got a little rough on my hair and every time I combed through them I RAKED through them and then was surprised when I had a whole bunch fall out. Can't imagine why haha. Kariann, my AMAZING stylist, was SO awesome at getting me in earlier than expected because I was going bald on one side of my head - ALL of the extensions fell out of one side. Made doing my hair REALLY interesting for a few days.

Didn't look too weird - because it was straight. When I curled it, you could REALLY tell that one side was missing hair - especially towards the back

All the extensions that had fallen out

Another view of them

A lot of people have asked me if I took them out because my hair is looking lots shorter - nope, they are still in my hair. My hair is not even to my shoulder yet and these are well past my collar bone. I still love them, and love that I got long hair instantly. I am ready for them to not be in anymore, once my hair is at this length on it's own. I miss being able to run my fingers through my hair and not be worried I would tear them out. I miss being able to wear workout headbands {they pull on the roots too much and pulled a few extensions out}. So when my hair is at this length on it's own, I will go back to just having my hair. At the rate my hair is growing, it should only be a few more months! That'll be nice to not have to spend money each month on getting them tightened! This next week when I go in, we are taking all the extensions out and then putting them back in after we trim my hair, so I'll be sure to post pictures of what my hair looks like without any extensions in it!

Jake turns 26!

Jake just had a birthday! I have mentioned it in a few posts, but wanted to make a specific post just for his birthday. We started out the morning of his birthday REALLY early - around 2 AM to be precise. He woke me up and said he wasn't tired, I said I wasn't either so we decided to go sit on the couch and watch TV. Except I was hungry. So was he. So we decided to go to Beto's - because that's what normal people do at 2 AM.

In the Beto's drive thru

And then we wanted Ice Cream, so we went to Smith's and got some Ben & Jerry's. And then we needed a movie to watch, so we got Hotel Transylvania. It was ok, not my favorite but pretty cute. After we finished our movie & breakfast, we went back to bed. When we woke up, we worked on the fence for a few hours until we got rained out. Jake was hungry, so I ordered us a pizza from Pizza Hut - he loves them. We took it easy the rest of the day - I cleaned the house up and Jake took a nap. That was the weekend of General Conference, but Jake wasn't feeling up to Priesthood so he stayed home and slept. That didn't mean I couldn't have girls night though - Brynne & Jeannene came over and we watched Les Miserables on Blu Ray. Oh. My. Word. I hadn't seen it yet. Like ever. No play. No listening to the soundtrack. And I was blown away - I LOVED IT! I ended up buying the soundtrack and have listened to it SO many times haha. I can't wait until we buy it - just need to go to Costco and get it, since they usually have the best prices on movies.

After we finished the movie, we all went to Cafe Rio together for some dinner and then went to Smart Cookie for some cookies. I LOVE their cookies - we hadn't been there in a WAY long time so it was fun to go again!

Love my family :)

Overall, it probably wasn't the best birthday. Building a fence is NOT how I would want to spend my birthday, but Jake was a really good sport about it. I ended up getting him some stuff for his Go Pro - a head mount & a chest mount. That's part of why I wanted him to drive the Lamborghini so bad - I wanted him to get to do something memorable for his birthday. So I am SO glad he got to do that!!

Jake's mom's facebook status

My facebook status :)

Sunday after we finished the posts, we took Dustin, Mom & Dad to dinner at Applebee's. Where it "accidentally" slipped it was Jake's birthday so they sang to him!

He was thrilled haha can you tell?!

I am so grateful this guy was born, and that I get to spend the rest of my life with him. And that in a few weeks, I'll know that I get to spend eternity with him. He is the best husband a girl could ask for. He is so hard working, loyal, fun, spontaneous and just downright sexy. I love him SO much!

Happy birthday Jake - can't wait for all the birthdays we'll celebrate in the future!!