Monday, January 30, 2012

OH SO SILLY - photo challenge

gettin' down with my bad self!





















Monday Weigh in

I am still adjusting the format on how I am going to be posting these weight ins, so if you can bear with me while I figure what I like the best. :) I think I might start taking some pictures of myself as well.... eeks.

Jan 23rd-Jan 29th

weight loss this week: -1.5!

Total weight loss: -2 lbs

Average: 1 lbs/week

Exercise- I walked twice for about 20 minutes each time. Definitely not what I wanted, but a 200%improvement over last week! I have been working my tail off at work and been doing lots of overtime, so when I am home, which seems to be never I definitely don't want to do anything! This upcoming week is going to be a tough one too, but after that I am thinking things will calm down quite a bit.

Juicing- I juiced my regular carots and zucchini and pear 2 or 3 times this week. And twice I blended banana,strawberries,blueberries and spinach. I hope that blending those things help my body just as much as juicing does, because I really enjoyed the break from my "normal" juicing.

My pills- I have been a tiny bit more consistent compared to last week, but I definitely have a long way to go to actually become good at taking them!

update on my cycle status-  You need to totally skip over this secion if you aren't interested in my reproductive organs and the situation on them. That is your warning. (My husband feels I have tramatized my readers through these updates) I am on cycle day 17 today, no ovulation. Last month I ovulated on day 27 or 28, butI blamed such a late ovulation due to inconsistancy in juicing. I feel I have been much more consistant on my juicing this month. I am curious to see what will happen, and if i will ovulate earlier, I thought maybe I would ovulate this past weekend, but I was wrong. So much for hoping for a 28-32 day cycle! I honestly still am ecstatic that I am even having cycles! I really am! It is a miracle from God! And I am loving it! I feel a little more normal. :)

overall- I am getting more used to ignoring the hungry feeling that I get on the days that I eat the amount of calories I am supposed to.I am really wanting to this, and am feeling good that I accomplished this weeks goal by losing 1.5 lbs and still eating bad twice this week!! I tried to make up for the bad eating the next day, and it really seemed to work!! I am so grateful for that! I can't wait to see what this week brings! I hope another 1 lbs weight loss! I am so excited to be going down on the scale!! This really was awesome feeling!

Friday, January 27, 2012

watermarking and a really adorable newborn!

 I have been really trying to come up with a consistant watermark. And I just haven't. I haven't came up with anything that I absolutely love and want to use it on every.single.picture. I love the color behind my name, but I like to change the color. My business name always comes up different size on the picture. I don't like that. I feel like it is inconsistant, and as a business I need to be as consistant as possible.

Here are two examples of me playing last night. They just don't look the same. ya know? Similar, but not the same. Anyone got any ideas?
Isn't this baby adorable! She is so sweet! The pink tutu and headband are mine I bring with sessions and I just can't help it. I love it! :)


Submitting in shoot.Edit.Submit


PS- the pictures have been downsized to fit on this blog  ( I think the bottom one is a little too downsized)



Thursday, January 26, 2012

The best Quinoa Black Bean Salad recipe !

Seriously. I love this stuff! I have been craving it since I had it the first time 2 or 3 weeks ago. The husband is making it for me tonight!  my mouth is watering at the thought of it!

It makes me so happy that I am finding meat free and vegan dinners to eat! I have breakfast down, and lunch I have been eating left overs from the night before dinner and the husband and I have been trying new recipes, and I absolutely love it! I am really hoping to see some weight loss soon from all this healthy stuff! Now I just need to get my snacking under control.



cell phone picture. Sorry its crappy. :)



INGREDIENTS

- 1 cup quinoa
-1.5 cups cold water
-1.2 tsp salt
-2 cups cooked black beans. if using canned beans, drain and rinse well.
-1/2 cup chopped celery (or any veggie of choice)
-1 jalepeno pepper seeded or minced (optional)
-1 garlic clove minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
-1 red pepper diced
-1 green pepper diced
-1 tsp cumin powder
-1 tsp coriander powder


DIRECTIONS
- the quinoa can be made ahead of time and refridgerated
-soak the quinoa if you didnt get the pre washed kind (we did)
-place in 2 qt pot with 1 1/2 c water and 1/2 tsp salt
-bring to a boil, turn down to low, cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes
-remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes covered
-fluff gently with a fork and set aside to cool
-blend dressing ingredients with a whisk or shake in a jar.
-gently combine veggies, black beans quinoa and dressing in a large bowl
-adjust salt and pepper to taste, stir in cilantro, scallions and olives and serve or cover and chill for later

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Can I get an amen...

I have to share this post from http://www.irocksowhat.com/with you guys! I have recently started learning this exact same thing! And continue to learn it! It is really so important for business owners with small companies.

I LOVE LOVE this post!

Photobucket


a quote from her post:

"I hope this helps anyone afraid to take the plunge. Have self respect and you will reap the benefits!"


Having self respect and realizing what you are worth is key in my opininon!

Underpricing is not what you want to do. You are working for less, devaluing your product, AND  not getting the clients that you really want.

 Clients are what keeps your business running. You don't want to have clients that only are choosing you because you are the cheapest. You want to create lifelong clients. Clients that respect and value your work and are willing to pay what you deserve.


Monday, January 23, 2012

Monday weigh- in

Every week on Monday I decided that I am going to "weigh in" on the previous week (monday to monday) to evaluate how I am doing in my weightloss journey (that never seems to be ending). I think it will be good for me to be held accountable, and I am feeling really positive about 2012 being my year!

Jan 16-Jan 22
- I lost .5 lbs this week! I will take that! :) way better than maintaining or gaining!

I had a couple really good days and a couple of not so good days this past week. I ate some really healthy things but I snacked WAY too mcuh.

 I didn't exercise, at all. Which is something I am really wanting to change, even if it is just starting by walking (last summer I ran 3 5k's.. need to get back to that)

My water definitely needs to be taken up a notch! I have definitely have been slacking in that area!

My pills also need to have a much needed improvement! I am on metformin for my PCOS and I don't even take them. I haven't been taking prenatal vitamins, which I need to because the egg is 3 months old when it drops so my prenatal vitamins do me good 3 months later. My allergies have been acting up again, so I definitely need to be more consistant on that. Bottom line: overall need to improve on my pill taking.

Juicing: This week was not a good week for juicing. but I am putting that behind me and moving forward!

My husband and I have worked out a fabulous routine this past week! I make a meal plan, and he cooks it! It really is the answer I need. I am queen of ideas, not queen of follow through. He is king of following through. So I know when I put something on the meal plan he will make it the night it says to. PERFECT.

Last week was rough because it was just getting started, but he made quinoa black bean salad. TOO DIE FOR. We had it at a friends house and it was just so good! and I still feel that way! ( I will post a recipe) we also tried vegetarian chilli. I think we are taking that off the menu. I felt like I was eating mushy vegetables. My husband thinks he will change it up a bit and see if we can't figure something out to make it more tasty! Hopefully! So for the next couple weeks we will be doing a lot of trial and error on food! I can't wait! I really hope this week I can lose 1.5 lbs. Just so I can have a 1 lbs/ week average! :)


Quinoa black bean salad

I am so excited that the husband is doing this for me. You guys hvae no idea! I can't thank him enough. It is the perfect combination, it isn't him pushing me to lose weight and exercise  (I tend to run away from it when he does that) it is me planning and him helping me execute it. PERFECTION. And he does it without a word of negativity. which I love him for even more!

 I am so excited that I am starting to get on track and really feel like this healthy lifestyle is going to really sink in this time with him helping me like this. I hope to be 30 lbs lighter in 30 weeks! :) (well ok I would like to be 30 lbs lighter tomorrow, but that just isn't going to happen)

This year I am really trying to focus on making attainable goals, and only asking myself to do what I know I can accomplish, instead of hoping for miracles!

2012 is going to be a great year! I can just feel it!!

PS- WHERE DID JANUARY GO!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S JAN 23RD ALREADY! 

PPS- I am also tracking my calories on sparkpeople.com, I am not really active on the site, but use it just as a calorie counter.

Feet

I love me some baby feet! I tink they are so adorable. I can't help it! I just sit and stare. Especially chubby little baby feet! I'm a freak. But I blame my mom and sister. When I was little they used to stare at my feet all the time and apparenlty I would say "what are you doing, quit staring at my feet" and my mom would say " I can't help it they are just so cute"

They created this baby feet lovin' monster. :)





check out more adorable feet


http://www.thepapermama.com/  (the button I copy and pasted doesn't seem to be working?)



and
 then, she {snapped}”The




Sunday, January 22, 2012

brain dump

I feel like poo-poo. I am not sure why. I woke up and had a great time with the kids at my church, it has been awhile since I was with them and I really enjoyed it! After church I figured out a schedule for working my overtime that I was happy with and was feeling really positive and motivated.

I got to work and was immediately overwhelmed. I wasn't balanced (work talk, accounting type thing) which I needed to balance before I could move on. It took me way to long to fix my mistakes and then I wasn't moving as fast as I thought I should, which stressed me out, and then there was freezing rain so I thought I would leave work early because I just envisioned the roads being sheer ice. Well they weren't, they weren't great but not awful. Now I am just feeling blah. I don't feel good and I can't pin point it. I am not sure if it was something I ate, lack of water, stress or if I am actually getting sick. I hate that. I wanted to be so productive and I  just want to go to bed.  What is my deal?

On a happier note I had a realization that my husband is perfect for me!! For years I have wanted to be healthier. But I just don't do it. I know how to do it, I have all the tools, but I just haven't done it (well a little off and on)

My husband took over the grocery shopping and cooking dinner and it has worked out great! I give him my recipes I want and meal plan and he cooks me dinner! The healthy stuff that ideally I want to eat (but never did because chips and dip sounded so much better)   I am so thankful for him! With his help I know I will lose weight and be healthier! and today it just hit me, he really is making it all possible for me! He really teaches me to not let my emotions take over but just to do what I want (ideally) to get done. Now I just need to learn the application part.

I think another reason I am feeling like poo poo today is because I always have these things I want to accomplish in a week or in that day, and I just never do. It wears on me. Why can't I just do it? Why don't I just complete my daily list that I want to complete?

I also have so many things I want to do with my photography business I get stressed about that. I want to be out there and there are so many photo shoots I have not put on my facebook page, and I still have to work on designing my website! I need to finalize my contracts. I need to contact the state. I need to buy the website domain.

Oh and on top of that i want to work 55 hours  a week for the next couple weeks and then go on a trip to wisconsin dells for the weekend. So maybe in feb? But then I know something will happen in feb that will keep me busy and not allow me to do all the things I need to do! Isn't that how life always goes?

How do you guys keep your to do list realistic? How do you keep yourself from beating up on yourself for not completing all the things you want to complete?

I hope this post doesn't sound depressing or super negative because I am far from that, but just dumping my brain! :)

Sorry for the lack of pictures... ya know another thing to add to the list of things i want to do!

I do realize they are all WANTS and not things that I NEED to get done. And that does help, but just like a sliver.

Friday, January 20, 2012

I dreamed a dream

project 52 p52 weekly photo challenge my3boybarians.com


I just saw the prompt for week 3 project 52 over at my3boybarians and I decided I wanted to jump in! :)

This is a little hard for me because I may have a couple lives I want to live... :) Well 3 to be exact.






1. I dream to be a stay at home mother with 3-4 kids. I dream I that I always know exactly when to be patient, when to be firm, when to give loves, when to discipline, when to teach, when to let them learn. I dream I wake up with tons of energy and zest to make each and every day count for the husband and kids. ( I  know you moms are snickering a little.. waking up with tons of energy... but this IS a dream. :) )



he is my one and only baby right now.


 
2. I dream to be a top 10 photographer. I dream that I am wanted so much that I  do client sessions once a month because I charge so much, I dream that I go to photography conferences world wide and talk at them, but only a couple times a year because I am so wanted that I only do the best. In this dream I also am humble and not stuck up or anything like that, but mainly I get to spend time at home because I don't NEED to work so much and so when I do a client session or talk at a conference I fully enjoy every second of planning it and doing it. ( I currently enjoy every second of photography, but right now it is hardly a part time job, so it doesn't count yet. :) )




3. I dream to travel and go on mission trips a couple times of the year with my husband. Haiti, China, Vietnam, Africa, Africa, Africa, everywhere! I mainly dream about helping the kids, but also helping villages, getting to learn and witness all these different cultures and helping them get clean water, teaching them things that will help them forever! I dont know exactly what a mission trip entails for the details, I just know I selfishly want to go on one to help others and I say selfishly because I know it would be one of the most amazing experiences.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

marriage

Patience is something I have always struggled with. I can let the silliest things drive me crazy. For example, my husbands jaw clicks when he eats certain things. Not his fault, nor can he control it. But one day I got up and moved spots so I didn't have to listen to it. I would have been so hurt if that was me. I can't believe I let such a small silly little thing allow me to get up and move, and insult anyone, let alone MY HUSBAND, like that.. That is ridiculous on my part. Why should it bother me? It is simply a noise. I am embarrassed that I let that get to me. How trivial.

That is just one example... and I have thousands of things I have done because I don't have much patience. And it is quite embarrassing.

I have noticed so many AMAZING changes since I have really started to focus on my relationship with Jesus. I really have. I wake up in a better mood, I don't get ridiculous over as many silly things as before ( " I am no where near where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be" Joyce Meyer quote) I can honestly love and appreciate my husband 10 fold what I was before. And I am so thankful for that. Marriage is hard, and I didn't realize how hard it would be, at times, but oh man IT IS TOTALLY WORTH IT! I love my husband more and more every day!

Today, at lunch I came home quick and he made me a candle light lunch!! How sweet is that!! seriously. I love him to pieces.

 I remember when we were dating, we went on a retreat through our church at the time, and I was sitting there thinking and praying that I would marry this man. And oh how badly I wanted to be married, to him, and thinking to myself "he was so amazing".

I may have went through a little time here and there where I didn't think he was all that amazing, but that was my craziness. I wasn't appreciative of what was right in front of me. I didn't appreciate him for who he was. Which is a shame, and all I can say is I am glad I figured it out so quickly in my marriage. I feel like some never figure it out.

 Out of the 2.5 years we have been married I can honestly say I love him more and more every day, and I cant imagine the crazy love relationship we will have in 50 years from now!


Michelle Huber photography



HE IS MY LOBSTER.
(from an episode of friends... Phoebe says it) :)


PS- Now just to get this straight, my husband isn't normally a candlelight dinner kind of guy. Nor is he perfect. So if you are reading this and thinking "I wish my husband was like that" I can assure you, I could tell you things about my husband (or anyone other than your husband) and you would really appreciate your husband. It has been really hitting me hard, how important our attitudes are. It is all about perspective. Appreciate what you have, and be thankful for it, each and every day. period.

LOVE this quote. (got this from pinterest)
photo source

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

self portraits

I decided to do some self portraits tonight. I had one shot in mind, and it DID NOT work out. I think for what I was thinking I needed someone in front of me directing me a little bit.. because it was hideous! haha. 

NOTE TO SELF: next time you do a self portrait... BRUSH YOUR HAIR!!





















































and then I felt the urge to sing and dance...

























Photobucket

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

I am back to calorie counting again. I really hope I can stick with it. It isn't that hard. The hard part is stopping when you have reached your calorie range... that is hard!

I still have between 600-900 calories left to eat. But that is good, because I am still hungry after my salad for lunch. I am going to try and wait like an hour and eat again if I am still hungry. My goal is to get to my goal weight by October. I think that is totally doable, because if I really tried I could get to my goal weight by June, but I have tried that for the past 2 years and it didn't work, so this year I am going slow. And I have some awesome people behind me supporting me and motivating me. 2012 is going to be an awesome year, I can just feel it!

image taken from google images

Monday, January 9, 2012

best face 2011

when I saw the challenge posted on I heart faces I instantly thought of this picture. The emotions that were going on at this time were just amazing. It was amazing. Seriously. Amazing.


Dont forget to check out more entries for best face of 2011

http://www.iheartfaces.com/

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Whats on my mind

  • I need to straighten my hair tonight for work tomorrow
  • I need to wash all the newborn props I have
  • I need to walk 40 minutes a day
  • I need to go to bed
  • I need to read my book
  • I need to make my breakfast and lunch
  • I need to remember to juice tomorrow
  • I need to call my sister
  • I need to go to bed
  • I need to read more
  • I need to fill my inspiration board
  • I need to clean my craft room
  • I need to give my husband a kiss
  • I need to relax.
  • I need to stick to a schedule more often
  • I need to make more photography props
  • I need to spend more time with God
  • I need to spend more time with my mom. 
  • I need to visit my mom and dad
  • I am bringing them to the airport at 5am one day in the near future... can't forget. 
  • I need to clean up my house
  • I need to do to pinterest projects
  • I need to track my calories
  • I need to start running again
  • I need to print pictures
  • I need to return an outfit
  • I need to bring in my bag of stuff I bought from my car
  • I need to stop this post and go to bed before I have a mental breakdown.

Night! 

Friday, January 6, 2012

So long 2011!

I totally thought I posted this like a week ago... guess not! Just checked... scheduled at 7 AM on 12/30/11... lame.



Hasta la vista 2011! ( totally outdated .. I know, I'm awful)








2011... what can I say about you? You were a rollercoaster of a year for me!

-I turned 26 (meh)
-I was diagnosed with infertility due to PCOS (boo)
-we celebrated 2 years of marriage ( 99 more to go!)
-celebrated porkchops 1 year birthday (happy birthday love-y)
-I ran 3 5ks (go me!)
-hubby was sick 6 months out of the year and spent almost a week in the hospital (boo)
-we sold our condo (woohoo!)
-I witnessed a baby being brought into this world! (amazing)
-started a photography business (awesome!)
-developed a much closer relationship with Jesus Christ (amazing)
- made some awesome new friends  (awesome)
-developed an even stronger bond with my husband (brown chicken brown cow)




 The most valuable lessons I learned in 2011
-God works miracles every day
-communication is key in a marriage, and is a wonderful tool in general
-nutrition is key to healthy living and I believe the key to me being able to have children one day
-worst fears can come true, and you realize regardless you will be ok
-don't base decisions off emotions, base them off what you know is right.