Monday Musings: Saying Goodbye to 2014

2014 is quickly coming to a close...and I must say I am ready! It has been a great year and all, with the addition of our sweet baby girl in May and all of the wonderful blessings that brought to our lives. However, once the Christmas holiday has come and gone, I am just ready for it to be over and return to some sort of normalcy! My mom visited from Tuesday to Saturday last week and I did what I said I wouldn't do, which is drop the ball on working out...we ate, we drank, of course all was merry and full of laughter, but my body is crawling now and I feel like I need a detox. Both Jake and I looked at each other and just wished New Year's Eve was like yesterday so we could be done with it already and get back on track. Here are a few fun pictures from over the holiday:

Mom and me at Battery Park

Mom and me at the Pineapple Fountain

Farrah in her new coral puffer vest and "F" headband

Gramma Lisa and the boys

Farrah's first time opening a present!

I've been spending the last couple of days getting our house cleaned and put back together, the new toys put away and all the Christmas decor taken down. I love having a house decorated for Christmas, but man, that tree sure takes up a lot of space in our humbly-sized living room that we were eager to get back after over a month.

Today I made it back to the gym and began the long process of sweating out all the wine, eggnog and calorie-laden goodies...and later this evening I will pick up where I left off with Body Beast.

A little leg day action at the gym this morning

Jake's brother had me in our Christmas gift exchange so he bought me my 20# dumbbells; and Jake got me a French curl bar, some adjustable dumbbells, 35# dumbbells and a weight rack, so I'm ready to rock and roll with it now. It's a lot better to have a lot of options for weight increments. This is what our little home gym is looking like at the moment:

I hope your Christmas was filled with love and laughter! We are hosting NYE this year at our house...looking forward to one last Hurrah! before the crackdown. :-)



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Thankful Series: The First Family I Knew

Today's Thankful post is dedicated to my immediate family - my dad, mom and brothers. I am so far from all of them...and I miss them all very much every day.

I am thankful for my dad because he was always a hard worker for our family. We never went without and we were blessed with the privilege of growing up in a beautiful home; each having a room of our own. We were able to afford extracurricular activities...such as my dance classes. Dance outfits and competitions were always paid for without issue. When I was in college, there were so many times I was strapped for cash, or something big would happen, i.e. my many car break-ins and wrecks {thanks, SoCal}, and he would help me out no questions asked. I also love that I got my spitfire wit and sarcastic disposition from him {my husband is not so thankful for that}. I love you, Dad!

I am thankful for my mom because she is always there for me...I can count on getting good advice whenever I need it and she willingly lets me vent when I just need someone to listen. She also managed not to kill me during my bitchy & self-absorbed teenage years. We have become close over the last decade and I consider her a best friend. She loves her grandsons and makes the effort to visit us from all the way across the US at least once a year. I love you, Mom!

I am thankful for my older brother, Jared. We have had our share of periods of closeness and periods of distance, but no matter where we are in life, we can always come back together and find our common ground. I enjoy talking with him and just shootin' the sh&t. He has always been able to make me laugh...and even though he teased me relentlessly when we were children, he always stood up for me if anyone else tried anything. He has a good heart and he will always have a place in mine. I love you, Jared!

I am thankful for my younger brother, Jeff. He has a heart of gold. Some people might see raggedy hair and too many tattoos when they first look at him, but if they don't get to know him, they are most certainly missing out on knowing an awesome person. Jeff has a wonderfully quirky sense of humor and is very generous. Just like with Jared, I enjoy our sarcasm-filled conversations and how even though we've lived apart for years, we can always come back together and it feels like we are adolescents again. I love you, Jeff!


 Because of my wonderfully sarcastic upbringing - this e-card perfectly describes my own parenting mantra:

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