Self Image, Weekending, & Loving Others

I have a lot on my heart and mind today, so I'm just lump summing it all together in this space as it comes to mind.

Self Image: 

Ahhhh, to be a man and not have self image issues. Can I get an amen? I'm sure guys have issues too, but I've been dealing with this since I delivered Liza and it's something that crosses every woman's mind at some point in time. 

I wore a swimsuit for the first time in public over the weekend in a looooooong time. And you know what? I didn't die. Yup. It wasn't near as hard as I anticipated. I wasn't super thrilled with my pooched out tummy or my slightly dimply legs, but I was proud to be a mom taking her kid swimming rather than sitting out because of my body image. Go do something that makes you feel beautiful...swimming wasn't necessarily that but it was an obstacle I overcame and that in itself makes me feel pretty darn special :)

Weekending: 

The weekend was aweeeesome, stressful, tedious, and fun. We have been searching for a new car online for a few weeks and we finally found one I [thought] I wanted. So Jojo, being the doll he is, said let's go get it! 

We prepared a last minute trip to Austin and headed out Friday. When we arrived, my mom watched the girlies while we shopped for cars. We originally test drove the "one" [i thought it was the one] and I didn't like it. It was black and just underwhelming. So the salesman showed me like the luxury edition and of course I fell in love! But I was not in love with the price. We decided to sleep on it and were feeling super frustrated that car shopping is soooo expensive and also so time consuming. Four hours at the dealership with no new car felt like a waste. 

The next day we headed to Carmax to test drive a used edition of the overpriced sucker and I ultimately decided that used is better for us right now. We were able to get the exact same car, two years older, without the King Ranch interior, which was fine by me, because it was way more affordable. It's awesome! Bigger than my old 4Runner, has fun upgrades (butt coolers and warmers!), and has DVD players in the headrests for the girls! I'm so happy with our choice and now can't wait for Jojo to get a new car too (like in a year...we aren't millionaires ;)

See...

My mom got a new car tooooo! 

And Charley wanted this one: ;)

Shopping at Carmax was a great experience. They gave us $1500 more for our trade in than the dealership and gave us a better interest rate too! It was still a time consuming process, but it was worth it in the end. 

The weekend wasn't a total car shopping trip though. Jojo went to the Texas game with Wes (sorry they lost babe), and is girls had time in at the hotel with my mom. We also got to see Stephanie twice!!!!! It wasn't near enough, but she was working and we haaaad to understand :) I am majorly bummed that this was a "business" trip though, as we have so many Austin friends we would have loved to have seen. 

Can't make a trip to Austin without a trip to Cabelas!

Loving Others: 

To me, God is love and it's what Jesus did best. He loved people. So it's one of my favorite things to do. I love to make people feel special. These are old but some photos of when we decorated moms office for her bday. 

I went on a "date night" with one of my close older gal pals, Crecia, and she really inspired me to delve into relationships with people that I do life with. She has a ministry, as she calls it, where she just ask questions and loves on servers. Like waitstaff. How brilliant. I worked in restaurants for most of my adult life and people can genuinely be so dang rude. This can get sooo exhausting and I'm so happy that Crecia is standing up for the little people and saying, you know what, your not just a server, you are loved. She exudes this love tremendously when she goes out and has family friends just about everywhere she goes. It's awesomeness!! 

We have two servers at two local restaurants that are sisters, and tonight we got to see both of them. It's such a treat to bless them and learn about their lives, their children, their trials and tribulations, and experience their joys too. One is going to be a new grandma soon and she shared tonight how she has always dreamt of making tortillas for her grand kids! How sweet! I love these moments and encourage you to reach beyond your comfort zone and ask some questions to make someone feel loved. It's what makes the world go round :)

Love on, dear readers, love on! 

Weekending & Randoms.

The weekend was absolutely spectacular! Living in different towns, my sister and I get to see each other roughly five times a year. Maybe more if I've had a baby that year ;) This weekend Steph, Wes, and their dog Zoey came to visit and we did a whole lot of family hanging out time...something my soul seriously needed!

Friday I cleaned house and "organized" my Harry Potter words on the fridge! Nerd alert! Haha...but seriously it made me so happy! 

My friend Nicole told me how she gets up with her hubby early early early in the am, does her quiet time, has tea by herself, works out, and just plain has time to herself! I'm NOT a morning person (or a night owl either, for that matter :) but Friday morning Liza had a late/early feed (4:30am), and by the time I got her back to sleep, I figured I'd just stay up. 

It made me feel so awesome! I had coffee, read some of my favorite blogs, did some soul solitude time, and cleaned without little pattering feet behind me dragging out the toys I'd just organized. It was bliss and definitely something I would love to get in the habit of. :)

We had a nice family dinner with Jojos parents Friday night at our favorite Mexican food restaurant, and an answered prayer as well! I've been fretting over what to do with all my leftover baby stuff, and now we will be able to gift it to our favorite waitress' daughter who is about to be a very new  mom. Basically everything we have for the kids was gifted to us, so it makes sense to pay it forward. This makes me a happy mommy!  

After dinner we came home and put the babes to bed. Then Steph and I worked on bringing our dreams to life by "planning" a future business. Haha. It was great fun and just being with Steph, just me and her, totally reminds me of when we were little girls playing school. 

Saturday was an awesome lazy day around the house. Momma came over and we spend the day "building neckwaces", playing outside, dance parties, being goofy, and then Jojo cooked us dinner. Sometimes the best medicine is just being around all the people you love. 

Sunday we decided to take an outdoors outing to the duck pond where we melted and walked. It's so sad they don't let you feed the ducks anymore, but I suppose their health is rather important ;)

Steph and Wes had to leave Sunday afternoon and after we just lounged around. It was just what I needed after a long weekend away and being busy with chores. 

This week is the beginning of new goals. New motivation. New choices. And a healthier lifestyle. Bla. Bla. Bla. 

Joseph bought me an awesome treadmill and spent the entire evening putting it together last night. In addition, I'm committed to eating healthier and doing a ten day cleanse to jump start this change. Let's get that baby belly flab gone! I'm excited for the change! 

I hope you all have a great week! 

Weekending & Dreaming :)

This weekend Joseph and I had our first ever, parent-of-two-girls-no-girls-getaway, to which was a welcomed break from our day to day routine and time we both needed to settle, rekindle, and relight a fire that has been in us for some time.

We headed to New Braunfels for Joseph's "birthday weekend", which was actually after his birthday, but, hey, he turned 30 so I'll cut him some slack! He has always wanted to see Dwight Yoakum in concert, so when we learned that The Dwight was going to play at Whitewater Amphitheater in NB, we jumped on the opportunity to go. We met our friends Spencer and Nicole there and stayed at the sweetest little bed and breakfast in Gruene. It was such a nice break and we were able to eat, shop, and sleep with no kiddos in tow. Haha...if you're a mom (or a dad), then surely you can appreciate this :)

A couple of things we learned about ourselves, as aging people, along the weekend:

1) The tiniest bit of humidity = super sweaty upper lips. Gross McGrosserson.
2) Getting our drank on ain't like it used to be :)
3) Midnight is midnight and that's just too late. I almost fell asleep standing up at the concert around 11:30!
4) After seeing The Dwight, we now want require seats at concerts. General admission sucks.
5) A meal eaten with both hands tastes a million bazillion times better :)

It really was so refreshing to just be with Joseph and as a couple, we learned a ton from Spencer and Nicole over the weekend. They are taking major steps to eliminate debt and work towards their dreams, and we were truly inspired to do the same. On our six hour drive home, Joseph and I dreamed about our long term goals. How we want radical change to happen in our family and how the only people that can make that happen is us. How we want to raise our girls differently than what society tells us is normal. How different is good. How radical is good. How we just desperately are tired of dreaming and we want to start doing. (Hello Home Depot commercial...) How we want the land, the cows, the garden, the little house that we built with our own hands. A goat. How we want to be self-sufficient. How we want to teach our kids culture and life skills. How we don't just want a handful or houseful or garage-full of stuff. How we want more. How we want change. But the only people that can make that change happen is us. And we essentially have to get up off our asses and make it happen!

And that's exciting. It's both exciting and scary. Yup. A LOT of scary right there.

The unknown absolutely terrifies me. I bask in the glory of my tidy house with my things that I've worked hard for, my solace in this place that is my life, and the comfort that the life I've created and built brings me. But all of that could change in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow oil prices could plummet. Tomorrow new hardships could occur. Tomorrow is tomorrow and anything could change and totally rock this little world of mine that I hold so dear. So the unknown of the changes to come that Joseph and I so desperately want is really scary. But...

“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” --Theodore Roosevelt

So I guess, bring it on, let's do this. We only have one life, might as well make the most of it while we are here.

Cheers to dreaming and doing. But let's toast with sparkling soda or juice...remember, I'm an old fart!

Also, on a side note...I just realized that I misspelled traveling as travelling on every-single-California-post. Damn it. Palm slap to the forehead!

Weekending

I'm really delinquent in posting, so here's a picture recap of our past few weeks and this weekend: 

Giant sunflowers and a fake cheesy face. 

Drinking "coffee". 

Impromptu fireplace and easy art makeover and rearranging this room :)

A Target run with the wee baby big enough to sit in the cart! 

The "frog head" outfit choice and accessory... (?)

Little goofballs drinking some milk together! 

Little Liza trying to crawl :) (still no luck, but she has the knee burns to prove her efforts!) 

A fun play date with our favorite buggies! 

A happy bathtub baby! 

A jam session with her daddy while playing. "We in a band!" 

Some new fancies for my red door :)

Blue sparkle fingernails and (always) messy hair. 

A rash on mommy. 

A crown for "Queen Elsa". 

A broken bottle of Cajun Chef and the cut I got while the bottle fell. 

 

A bit of Matilda Jane shopping (this dress is sold out by the way. I know, I cried too). 

Baby headstands!!

 

This adorable hat that is too tiny now :)

Some Barbie car driving. 

Backyard swimming :)

And backyard lounging :)

We hope your time spent with family and friends is meaningful and sweet these last few weeks of summer!