Monday Musings

I'm in need of a good, solid nap after this weekend. I went out both Friday and Saturday night...managed to get back on the right track with weight training sessions on Saturday and Sunday...and I grocery shopped, meal prepped, did a bunch of laundry...and also went to meet this little guy...

Meet the newest member of the Smith clan...he won't be ours for a few more weeks yet, but we had to meet the breeder and put our deposit down to hold him for us. We have named him Badger {Jake's a Wisconsin guy} and he is currently about 6 weeks old and already weighs 10 lbs! He is an Olde English Bulldog{ge} and he may get somewhere between 70-90 lbs! Hard to believe seeing him this small right now.

Did y'all watch the Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia fight? We didn't watch it, but I've watched some old fight videos of Rousey and that girl is a BEAST! I am so glad she knocked that girl out in under a minute...she had been going to far with her sh**-talking from what I heard. I also loved a clip from an interview with her in which she made this quote:

Amen to that, am I right?

And honestly, I had a bit of a hiatus from weight training the last couple of weeks. I had been so bogged down with house selling/buying and the move coming up that I just lost focus for a bit. I also was sort of nursing my hamstring...turns out it's tendonitis and every time I was running, it was getting inflamed, causing pain to radiate from my knee to hip...sometimes even just walking. I did leg/glute day on Saturday and for whatever reason, at least for now, it actually has felt a little better since. I'm hoping it's on the mend.

A little pre-workout selfie on Sunday...I did my back/shoulder workout at home that day in the interest of saving time {you can see a video with short clips of some of the exercises I did on my Instagram}. I've still got some work to do, but I'm proud of what I've accomplished since having Farrah. I'm definitely ready to take it up a notch though.

And in the spirit of taking it up a notch, I've been keeping good with my clean meal prep. Here's a view of what my evening looked like last night:

Hope y'all have a great week!

Linking Up With:

Mondays: Life Of Meg // Still Being Molly // Lipgloss & Crayons // B Loved Boston // Fizz & Frosting // More Pieces of Me

Tuesdays: Bless Her Heart Y’All // 2 Cats & Chloe // Style Elixir // Designed Décor // Enjoy The View // Olives 'n Wine // Confident Twosdays

Wednesdays: Pampers & Pearls // Fitness Blondie // Because Shanna Said So // The Pleated Poppy // Get Your Pretty On // Let It Be Beautiful // Tucker Up // Pumps & Pushups // Shopping My Closet // Cappuccino & Fashion // Classy Yet Trendy // Book of Leisure

Thursdays: Home of Malones // East Coast Chic // Living In Color Style // Stylin’ In St. Louis // What I Wore To Work // What Wives Wear // Look What I Got // ThrowBack Thursday
Fridays: Hello, Happiness! // The Good Life // A. Liz Adventures // Carolina Charm // Lauren Elizabeth // Meet @ The Barre // September Farm // The Farmer’s Wife // All The Joys // Momfessionals

Five on Friday

{one}

I got an offer for a permanent position at Boeing this week. It will be for a different manager in a different organization though. I am so happy and relieved to finally be in a company with great salary and benefits...this will be pivotal for my family. After all the contingencies are taken care of, I will know when my start date is. In the meantime, I am still working my contractor position there.

{two}

There were lots of Insanity workouts, running and eating clean this week...it's amazing what a difference I can feel even after just a few days. My new meal prep service has been well worth it.

{three}

I'm hosting my neighborhood wine night tonight for the first time...should be a lot of fun as usual! I am making my night the karaoke night...I may have to post a video here shamelessly soon.

{four}

I made a few small changes to my entryway decor...and I'm trying to decide what to do with this mirror. I'm leaning toward metallic gold, but maybe white? What do you think?

{five}

Check out my post on The Gym Bunny today about why you should wear weight gloves when weight training.

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Linking Up With:

Mondays: Life Of Meg // Still Being Molly // Lipgloss & Crayons // B Loved Boston // Fizz & Frosting // More Pieces of Me

Tuesdays: Bless Her Heart Y’All // 2 Cats & Chloe // Style Elixir // Designed Décor // Enjoy The View // Olives 'n Wine // Confident Twosdays

Wednesdays: Pampers & Pearls // Fitness Blondie // Because Shanna Said So // The Pleated Poppy // Get Your Pretty On // Let It Be Beautiful // Tucker Up // Pumps & Pushups // Shopping My Closet // Cappuccino & Fashion // Classy Yet Trendy // Book of Leisure

Thursdays: Home of Malones // East Coast Chic // Living In Color Style // Stylin’ In St. Louis // What I Wore To Work // What Wives Wear // Look What I Got // ThrowBack Thursday
Fridays: Hello, Happiness! // The Good Life // A. Liz Adventures // Carolina Charm // Lauren Elizabeth // Meet @ The Barre // September Farm // The Farmer’s Wife // All The Joys // Momfessionals

Thoughts For Thursday: Pigtails and Splurges

We're almost to the weekend! I swear this week has been draaaagging. I've been up at 4am each day, so maybe it's just that the days seem longer when I do that. I'm back to my Body Beast workouts. I really need to keep with it this time because when I'm doing it, I do love it. I just seem to find a day or two where I fail to get out of bed and then it just throws me all off.

I've also been trying to run with this little girl every evening. We had a storm the night before last so I missed that evening. I got her hair into it's first set of pigtails this week too! I seriously die. I didn't realize she could actually GET any cuter...but I was wrong.

I made some pretty random purchases this week. My sweet friend picked up an awesome pair of palazzo pants at Buckle when we were shopping a couple months ago and ever since then, I've sort of been aching for a pair. They just look so comfy {especially for a mom!} and they can easily be dressed up for a nice night out, or down for hanging out at home or the beach. I ran a search late at night {when my inhibitions are at their lowest} and found these.

{via}

They're a bit "loud", but paired with a white tank and a classy necklace, I think they will be adorable. I love Aztec prints and pink, so this is a win-win. I'm glad I've finally come around to palazzo pants! What do you think of palazzo pants?

This top was a deal at $19.99. Saw a blogger post about it and it just looked like something I would wear...so I will. I try not to just randomly purchase in that way, but at under $20, it's nothing I'll feel guilty about later. They also have it in white or black, but I feel the blush has a sweet and romantic look to it.

{via}

Anyway, that's my splurging for the week.

The first week of summer break has been good...the boys are loving Karate camp...Breckin even broke his first board! He was so stoked about it. Farrah is still at her normal daycare. It's always summer when I wish I wasn't a working mom because I'd love to have this time with them and go to the pool, beach and parks all week. I am definitely aiming to get to the beach every weekend, weather permitting. So far, so good.

Have a great remainder of the week!

Linking Up With:

Mondays: Life Of Meg // Still Being Molly // Lipgloss & Crayons // B Loved Boston // Fizz & Frosting // More Pieces of Me

Tuesdays: Bless Her Heart Y’All // 2 Cats & Chloe // Style Elixir // Designed Décor // Enjoy The View // Olives 'n Wine // Confident Twosdays

Wednesdays: Pampers & Pearls // Fitness Blondie // Because Shanna Said So // The Pleated Poppy // Get Your Pretty On // Let It Be Beautiful // Tucker Up // Pumps & Pushups // Shopping My Closet // Cappuccino & Fashion // Classy Yet Trendy // Book of Leisure

Thursdays: Home of Malones // East Coast Chic // Living In Color Style // Stylin’ In St. Louis // What I Wore To Work // What Wives Wear // Look What I Got // ThrowBack Thursday
Fridays: Hello, Happiness! // The Good Life // A. Liz Adventures // Carolina Charm // Lauren Elizabeth // Meet @ The Barre // September Farm // The Farmer’s Wife // All The Joys // Momfessionals

Postpartum Update: One Year Later

I feel like I'm constantly updating people on my postpartum weightloss status {because it's all I can fucking think about - kidding, kidding - or am I?} But in any case, I thought I would do sort of an official update. I mean, Memorial Day weekend has passed, it's the unofficial start of summer and it's been a year since I had Farrah, so this is as good of a time as any to put it all out there.

This last year has been a mental and physical struggle. I've worked hard...I've fallen off the bandwagon a couple times {no longer than a week}, but for the most part, I've eaten clean and I've been dedicated to my workouts, be it 4am or 4pm, or both some days. I sincerely cannot believe how hard it has been this time. My body is fighting me so hard...or at least it's making me put up a good fight to get it where I want to be. I don't remember it being so hard before. When you go from having babies at 22 and 27, to having one again at 31, it's amazing to see the difference. I've always kept myself healthy and in good shape, so I never thought my metabolism would become an issue. I won't call it any sort of medical issue, as it's certainly not that drastic, but when you are constantly in a mode of health and fitness, you definitely notice the subtle changes in your body and the way it performs, or reacts to your performance. I've come to accept the reality that my body in its 30s needs to be clean-fed a lot more than it used to in order to maintain the size I want.

So all that said, I can proudly say I am at my pre-prego weight. 57 lbs in one year is no joke and no easy feat. I have to allow myself to be so proud of that accomplishment. However, I've been better than this and getting back to that was always the goal. So while I fit in my old clothes, I know I could look a lot better in them, so I definitely am making no plans to stop and maintain here. I truly have about 10-15 lbs-ish to go. I say "ish" because I don't generally use weight as the defining point, as I know that it really all depends what I have muscle vs. fat. But I know that getting where I want to be will likely having me weighing somewhere in that range less than I do now. And we all know, those last crazy 10-15 lbs, just to get you tight and toned are THE HARDEST to lose and require the most effort. Daunting when you feel like you've been giving pretty damn good effort for the last year.

Here is what I know now...I'm fairly happy in a bikini. This is a major milestone in this journey. I can bare it all and while it ain't perfect, it also ain't half bad. And hey, my super cute husband likes it...that's all that matters, right?

So that being said, I had a bit of a cheat week last week...it was a holiday weekend, I was enjoying myself and letting loose and I wasn't worrying about my weight as much as I have been for the last 365+ days. But as all good fitness fanatics do, we get back on track. It's all about balance.

I am stoked about Farrah's new single jogging stroller that should be on my doorstep today when I get home. I sold the double last week, so was without one that could even go on sand {which hurt me a bit this past weekend at the beach}. The plan is to take her on a 30+ minute jog each evening after I get her all in her jammies in order to help wind her down so she hopefully doesn't whimper as much when I put her in the crib for bed. {It has been a harder transition getting her to bed now that she doesn't have formula to help knock her out...she definitely gives me a guilt trip each night now and it breaks my heart.} I think these strolls will be nice for us together and running 30 minutes a day definitely will help my figure!

Additionally, I'm back to my weekly workout planning. I hadn't written one out the last couple of weeks and sort of winged it, but it definitely helps me to see my plan written out and know what I'm doing next. I'm a visual person and I think visualizing myself going and doing the plan I've set out for each day helps me to actually go and do it.

Anyway, it was a year ago to the day that I wrote my first postpartum update post and these were the pictures of me I posted back then. When I see these, I think "what a difference!" Sometimes I forget where I started and it's always good to look back and get some real perspective. I'm going to keep kicking ass, y'all!

This is a picture I took of myself the other day, not really a good profile picture to compare, but you can definitely tell I've made progress. Here's to another year of continual improvement! xo

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Monday Musings

It's my birthday week! And spring is in full swing 'round here...so my spirits are high.

This weekend was fun...Friday night I had my girlfriend, Suz and her kids over. We had a little fun with my karaoke machine {we are seriously addicted...and dorks}. But, OMG...Farrah loves to sing already...just check out this little karaoke queen:

Jake had USCG duty, but he was in Charleston instead of Georgetown, so he was home in the evenings.

On Saturday, I had my Barre instructor audition...I was nervous, but really pushed through. I feel like the group of girls I was auditioning with all did about the same...we had nerves, but we all made it through...so basically, I have no idea if I got the job or not...and I feel like it could go either way. It will depend a lot on everyone's availability and how many they end up hiring. I'm just crossing my fingers at this point...I know I have it in me...and if I don't get it this time, I'll take their constructive criticism {I'll definitely be asking for tips!} and just learn from it and keep focused on my goal of teaching.


I'm actually switching up my fitness routine to include more barre classes...and a little more cardio via running. Swimsuit season is here...and I'm not 100% so I want to keep working hard through the summer.

I totally fell off the clean eating wagon this weekend...I just feel blah. I spent a good portion of Sunday evening prepping my meals for the week...and Jake's too since he too has fallen off the wagon.

I also bought a glass water bottle so I can start taking essential oils internally. I am doing the weight loss trio - grapefruit, lemon and peppermint. I've read about some great results from it and it really is an overall healthy detox.

Anyway, my 32nd birthday is tomorrow, so tune in for 32 randomly awesome bits of information about me in celebration of it...you know you want to know it all.

P.S. Any of you that may have doubted Farrah's high favor in resemblance in of me...you're about to get schooled!

Hahahahaha...Happy Monday!

Linking Up With: Life Of Meg // Still Being Molly // Lipgloss & Crayons // B Loved Boston

 See where I like to Party.

Become a Fashion Designer