I will..... I do!

Happy Wednesday to all my beautiful little readers! It is a happy one here indeed. For no specific reason except that I have a lot to be thankful for! As I was driving today I had one of those moments. You know those moments where my mind just kind of stopped.... took a little breather.... and said wow I'm pretty lucky!! and indeed I am my friends. 

A few months ago, before summer even started, Kevin and I decided that we were going to have "the talk". You know that talk you think you need to have about when would be the right time to jump into some big life changing decision??? I know for most of you it was or probably will be "the baby talk" but no big surprise we skipped that conversation a while ago. No for us it was "the wedding talk". You see we've been engaged since March 19th (my birthday) of 2011. But with all the hustle and the bustle of buying a new house and having a baby we decided to put marriage off. We wanted to hold on to one special thing that we could say when and where since a lot of our major milestones were happening all at once. So fast forward a year and some change... add a couple glasses of wine {or maybe a bottle... I can't really remember :)} And yes we decided to have "the wedding talk" We had a lot to consider here... or so we thought. When it came right down to it, there really wasn't much to consider at all. So after a few back and fourths and a 48 hour span of wanting a Vegas get-a-way we decided on our original plan that we set back in 2011. Although we didn't discuss it much with anyone else back then, we surely discussed it with each other during those next few weeks that followed the proposal. We decided on the Fall of 2013 to be exact! 

So once we set a date we were uncertain of how to tell everyone. Most couples have engagement parties but we were so far past our engagement period we just weren't sure how to spread the word. Since we like to break the barriers of tradition a bit we decided on a "we set the date" party! We really just wanted to bring all our friends and family together to celebrate our decision!! We wanted something casual and fun! We love getting dressed up for swanky cocktail parties and fancy black-tie affairs ...... we just didn't want this to be one of them!! I spent some time searching about what we could serve that would be unique but easy! So often the hosts of large gatherings end up spending the party working and not enjoying themselves. And since we decided to host the party at the last minute..... I wanted something easy!! Then I came across the most adorable idea here: Hot Dog Bar Not only were there tons of pictures to give me ideas but they also provided all the cute signs and prints for free!! SO AWESOME! So with this creative little cookout idea I went ahead and created my own hot dog bar!

This picture does not really do the whole set up justice! I really am bad at capturing special moments on camera! I vow to start snapping away for my memory's sake! We had a bunch of appetizers, side dishes, and set up an alcohol bar outside too! Plenty of booze can make any party a great time!! Played some corn-hole, took some tequila shots, shared a ton of laughs, and had a really awesome night!!

We also took the evening as an opportunity to ask some special people to be apart of our wedding party!! We had such a blast with this I will have to give this topic its very own post!

A little sneak peak!

So for all of you who weren't there ....

I will say I do: September 14, 2013 <3

And I am so excited to share the ups and downs of this entire year with all of you!

A Sweet Personal Victory

Good Early Morning!!! I have vowed to squeeze this blog update in before the weekend, even if that means typing it at 6:30 a.m. with my morning coffee. Excuse me in advance if my thoughts are a little groggy.... I stayed up past 11:00 last night and well that RARELY ever happens!!!

My creative juices haven't quite started flowing yet so I am just going to jump right into what everyone is probably wondering..... THE MUD RUN!! And I will not beat around the bush here... FREAKIN AWESOME!!!

Morning wake-up came at 4:45 a.m.... Y'all know I have to have my coffee and the news before I start any day and a race day is no exception here. Even if this means the wake-up time must be before 5:00 a.m. After my little morning routine we quickly got our butts in gear and out the door by 5:50!! It was recommended by another veteran mud run racer that we leave early and get to the base right when the gates open or we risk getting stuck in traffic. So that is exactly what we did and boy am I glad!! We got in quickly with no problems but that was not the case for most of the racers. The traffic was so bad and moving so slow the race was actually delayed a bit to give people a little more time to get into the base! CRAZY!!

GETTING READY TO WALK TO THE RACE

SHOWING OFF MY NUMBER

READY TO ROCK IT OUT!

We were scheduled to take off in the 4th wave which was about 15 minutes after the first group. I will not lie, when our turn came around I was a little nervous. We had checked out the course map on the flyer but I still wasn't sure what was ahead. And more importantly I was anxious about hanging in there for 5 miles. "I can do this" " I can do this" "I can do this" repeated over and over in my head as the gun signal to start rang through the air. We took off for a mile on the beach....but little did we know that 90 percent of the race that lie ahead of us was also almost ALL SAND!!! Running in sand is a bit tougher than running on the pavement..... this definitely made it more of a challenge!!! But I was in kick butt mode (as I usually switch to in any form of physical challenge) and I was not going to let the sand beat me!! I was not going to walk!! I was going to run (jog at a steady pace is my definition of running here)  the entire course!! So no fluff here people..... THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE DID!!! We rocked this race considering it was our first race ever! We ran the last stretch towards the finish line holding hands as observers cheered us on!! Strangers were hollering for us and commenting on how great it was that we were finishing together hand in hand!! The support was amazing.... the feelings that came over me as we crossed the finish line were um amazing!!! I didn't know if I wanted to cheer, laugh, or cry.... to be honest I think I may have done all three!!! Out of 143 couples we came in.......... 24th place!!! AND we looked where I would have placed if I was running in the women's only wave..... I would have come in 16th place!!! I could not be happier with our performance and those results!! Now where we placed in comparison to other people is not important to me, although we impressed ourselves! What matters here was how far I have come. My challenge was with myself and I could have come in last place and still been happy because I did it!!! Simple as that.... I gave it 100% and I did it!!! Last year this race would have been extremely difficult for me. It is magical what a difference a year can make!!

CROSSING THE FINISH LINE.... BEAMING WITH EXCITEMENT!!!

ALL WASHED OFF.... FEELING GREAT!!!

Feel free to check out more pictures on the link below... Just type in 1881 as the bib number and voila!! I must say I got pretty lucky with the candid shots!!

Check out some muddy pictures here!!

We are so pumped to run more races....we are getting ready to sign up for the TOUGH MUDDER that is coming to Virginia Beach in June. This race is designed so that you must complete it with fellow racers.... so we'd LOVE to complete this with some of our friends. What do you think... are you up for the challenge?? Any races you think I should check out now that I've caught the racing bug??

Until Next Time,

Tatiana

A Year From Now.....

Happy Friday my bloggy friends!! August is such a jam packed month in this household I just know time is going to fly by! Our weekends are completely booked up and the weeks filled with preparing for weekend festivities. I can't wait to share with you the exciting things we have planned this month.

I'd like to start off by taking you back to the beginning of last summer. I had just become a new mommy and was experiencing all the challenges joy that comes along with new mommy hood. {Adjusting to my new life took some time but if you want my opinion and you must because you're here.... I think I've done a pretty darn good job!!} Anyway.... one of the less enjoyable experiences of this time last year was getting into summer attire. As you can imagine most of my clothes didn't quite fit yet and getting into a bikini was NOT an option. Now I really behaved myself while pregnant and did not gain a whole lot of extra weight. I gained around 23 pounds and I acquired most of that at the VERY end. Not to mention....once you have the baby you automatically drop their weight and extra "water weight". {I'll call it water weight because after birth and all associations isn't a pretty picture} So yah yah yah I know I was lucky compared to a lot of other first time mommies who gain 30-50 extra pounds, but still 10-15 extra pounds on a 5'4 frame can really make or break your spirit. I didn't venture to the beach or the pool very much, but the few times I did I was so uncomfortable! {Even in my sexy retro ONE PIECE} Now I've mentioned in previous posts my concern with my weight and how I look. I don't see it as shallow... No I'd like to think of it more as being conscious. And the truth is.... I never wanted to feel that uncomfortable at the beach, pool, or in any other attire again. I vowed to get it into gear and not only lose the baby weight but the extra drinking/eating poorly weight I have occurred over the past couple years.

   

Now I don't really enjoy working out.... much less RUNNING! Last year's me could barely run a block before I was winded...tired...cramping...and convinced that distance must have been a mile!! But I was inspired by my sister over at Learning to Love Running {maybe a shout out and link up might get her posting an update} She turned me on to the Couch to 5k. The couch to 5k is a 9week program using a series of podcasts that tell you when to run and when to power walk. I'm sure you're getting the picture but if not.... as the weeks pass the podcasts have you running more and walking less. So this time last year I put my butt in gear and started my journey to lose weight and gain back my confidence. And I did just that.... until the holidays came around! I, like most of us, just got right into the holiday spirit with delicious foods and treats! All my hard work over the past couple months flew right out the window and before I knew it I was almost right back where I started. So again, like most, my new years resolution was to get it back together! Lose the recently gained holiday weight.... gain some muscle... tone up....continue training myself to run.... you know the WHOLE SHEBANG!

And I am happy to report my bloggy friends that I have stayed strong. I am part of that small percent of people who actually kept their New Years resolution!!! Now I haven't ACTUALLY weighed myself because I try not to put too much concern on the number itself. But I can tell by how my clothes fit....my dropping of sizes.... muscle definition..etc etc etc!! When you're feeling/looking good you know it... so who cares what the scale says!!! AND the big kicker is...... drum roll please..... tomorrow I am running in my FIRST RACE EVER!!!! OK OK OK....so it is only an 8k BUT the "I can barely breathe" "I hate running" "I could never run a race" persona that existed last year is officially gone!!! The "I love running"  "I can breathe" "I could keep going" "Running is a release" me of today will take part in the MUD RUN  tomorrow with my hunny by my side!! I am really excited and proud of all I have accomplished over the past year to get to this point!!

So my point to all this rambling on {yes there is a point here} is that , whatever your goal is, you have to start somewhere!! And a year from now you will be so glad you started today!!! Seize the opportunity...stop putting things off... make the most of the moment..... and you may surprise yourself at how far you can go!!

                                                     

I hope you can find inspiration.... motivation....determination.... whatever it is you need to get out there and accomplish that one thing you've been putting off!!! Wish me luck on my race tomorrow!! I can't wait to get muddy!!!!

Tatiana

A Blogger Award!

I decided to take a break from the last bit of my summer school assignments to type up a new blog post. This is my LAST summer school semester of my bachelor degree endeavor and I could not be more excited to begin my last year as an undergraduate. It only took me hhhhmmm 8 years to get here but the end is in sight and I can barely contain my excitement. As I said in my last post my friend Lauran...at Real Young Housewife nominated me for a blog award..... which I am convinced she did to get me to post an update about my RAOK!! And what do you know....it worked! :)

The Liebster Blog Award recognizes an up and coming blogger for their writing (surely she was mistaken...I'm full of punctuation and grammatical errors) and gives them a little shout out. (Yep... she was definitely trying to get me out of my blog slump) The nominated blog must have less than 200 followers (UH check) and "abide" by the following rules.

1.            Thank the blogger who nominated you and link them. {You should really follow her REAL YOUNG HOUSEWIFE if you are not already! She has tons of fun posts AND she posts 5 days a week consistently, which is more than I can say for myself! haha}

2.            Post 11 random facts about yourself.

3.            Choose 11 deserving bloggers and tag them in your post.

4.            Tell them you've tagged them.

5.            Answer 11 questions the tagger has asked you and give 11 questions to the people you've tagged.

6.            No tag backs.

SO...here goes!

11 random facts about myself

 1. I absolutely LOVE music, but I am so musically challenged it is sad.

 2. My celebrity crushes would most definitely include James McAvoy AND Joseph Gordon Levitt. I have a "TYPE" and funny enough my fiancé is the farthest thing from it!!

3. I am shy. What has often always been mistaken for being "stuck-up", "bitchy", or "too good" is actually REALLY shyness/insecurity. Don't be so quick to judge someone.... if they don't approach you or immediately engage in conversation it is not always because they think they are better than you!

4. I care about the appearance of my body. I feel better about myself when I eat healthy and stay active. I feel better about myself when I work out. I am Italian, I like to eat, and I don't like working out.... staying thin does NOT come easy for me. I kick my butt daily as I bike ride, run, do insanity workouts, weight lift, AND watch what/how much I eat. I get annoyed when people accuse me of not having to worry about weight issues.... I do worry...that’s why I am small!

5. I have dance parties with my daughter and often my fiancé daily. I think it might be one of his favorite things about me as I have some pretty sweet moves!

6. I believe in abortion because I don't think all people should be parents. I believe everyone should be allowed to marry and have a family. I also believe that the rich shouldn't necessarily have to fund programs for the poor and our right to bare arms should never be taken away! I don't think socialism OR capitalism is the answer. I support the military but not always the war. This can make it very difficult for me to back any one political party.

7. I don't condone making fun of people..... and I rarely do. {I say rarely because surely I'm not perfect....and I have made fun of Kevin plenty!!}

8. I like getting up early. I cherish quiet early mornings when it is still dark outside and it is just me with my coffee watching the news. A little peace before the madness of the day begins.

9. I am terrified of snakes. Shaking... brought to tears petrified.... unless they are in a tank at the zoo then I am very much intrigued.

10. I considered my dog of 13 years my one true best friend. He may not have been able to talk but I am convinced he always knew what was going on!

11. I love to shop but I am very frugal. I will shop around for the best price...I will bargain shop... discount shop...wait for deals. I also like name brands and will not skimp on certain things like shoes... make-up....and purses. 

The 11 questions I have to answer

1.What is your full time occupation? MOTHER, STUDENT, HOUSE"WIFE"

2. How did you get to the place/location where you currently live? I'VE GROWN UP IN VB. ALTHOUGH I DON'T PLAN ON STAYING HERE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, MY FIANCE DOES. WE HAVE SOME NEGOTIATING TO DO. 

3. What is one thing from your childhood you miss the most? MY DREAMS. IMAGINATION, ABILITY TO MAKE BELIEVE. I WAS DREAMER WHO HAD BIG PLANS FOR MYSELF.... FUNNY HOW WE LOSE SIGHT OF THOSE DREAMS AS WE GET OLDER.

4. Do you have allergies? If so, to what? YES...TO POLLEN UGH!

5. What is the best feeling in the world to you? WHEN MY DAUGHTER GIVES ME A KISS OR HUG FOR NO REASON. JUST MELTS MY HEART!

6. What kind of person were you in high school? I WAS A CHEERLEADER AND ALTHOUGH I WAS STEREOTYPED AS SO, I WAS NOT THE STEREOTYPICAL CHEERLEADER. 

7. Are you doing what you love with your life? I AM TORN WITH THIS QUESTION. I GUESS I AM CURRENTLY IN LIMBO....I LOVE MY LIFE AS I LOVE MY DAUGHTER, MY FIANCE, AND MY HOME. BUT I HOPE TO GRAB A HOLD OF SOME DREAMS I LET GO OF A WHILE BACK AND EMBRACE LIFE AS WE ONLY HAVE ONE OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE.

8. How would you describe your style? I AM A COMBINATION OF FUNKY, TRENDY, AND CLASSIC. I LOVE ALL SORTS OF LOOKS AND WOULD NEVER CONFINE MYSELF TO ONE GENRE. I LOVE TO BE EDGY AND PUSH THE BOUNDARIES A BIT. WHY FIT IN WHEN YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT? :)

9. Do you have MAC or a PC? MAC ALL THE WAY.

10. Do you follow college football? If so, who is your team?! NOPE AND I PROBABLY NEVER WILL.

11. What is your favorite season and why? FALL! WHATS NOT TO LOVE ABOUT FALL??? THE TEMPERATURES, THE COLORS, NFL, THE FOOD, THE HOLIDAYS. I LOVE LOVE LOVE SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER. 

Ok now I have unloaded tons of information and you may have gotten to know me a whole lot better!! Now I don't have 11 blog friends to nominate because I don't even follow 11 blogs yet! SO I'm going to break the rules of the Liebster award a bit here. Here are 11 questions I'd love to read YOUR answers to in the comment section as well as 11 random facts about yourself!! Feel free to make it all about YOU down in the comment section as I enjoy getting to know more about my family, friends, and strangers!

11 QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO ANSWER

1. What is your favorite dessert?

2. What is your favorite movie?

3. What is one piece of fashion you could never live without?

4. One song that never gets old is?

5. The most inspirational piece of advice, quote, or thing you've read is?

6. The thing you like most about yourself is?

7. If you could tell your high school self ONE thing it would be?

8. If you could dine with someone from history who would it be?

9. What is the best restaurant you have ever dined at and what did you order?

10. What is the thing you love most about your best friend?

11. If you could do one thing in your life and you knew you couldn't fail what would it be? 

I really hope y'all answer these questions as I'd LOVE to hear your responses!!!

Back to reality for me.... one last paper to go!!

Tatiana

Hey Remember Me?

So its no big surprise I haven't posted an update in a month and several of my friends have noticed. I have been meaning to take the time to sit down and whip up a new post but I just haven't set aside time in the the day to do so. Yes you read that right....days have gotten so I need to set time slots for things that are not apart of our daily routine. Then my friend Lauran nominated me for a blog award over at Real Young Housewife....surely she is trying to drag me out of my blog slump? But secretly I'm honored and can't wait to fill out the questions!

The truth is July just got so busy and before I knew it the month was over. Seriously it feels like with a blink of an eye we went from July to August. My little brother came into town on 4th of July to surprise my mom....which was the driving force behind all my patriotic excitement. My little brother is not so little anymore as he as been putting all of his time and energy into his military career. That was the second time we have seen him in well over a year. He has missed out on so many family milestones: Ruby's birth, Tasha's wedding, Ruby's first birthday party, our upcoming engagement party, etc etc etc and while at times it can make us all sad he is not around, I could not be more proud of him. Not many young men {I use the term "men" very loosely these days, as in my opinion our society is no longer raising men, but rather immature, spoiled, mama's boys.... more on that some other time cause I could really go off on a tangent here haha} But anyway, yes there are not many young men in {our area at least} that would quietly enlist in the military before telling anyone, spend his 21st birthday in bootcamp, and willingly leave his family, friends, and girlfriend for an unknown amount of time. Its hard to believe my bratty little brother isn't so bratty and little anymore! {ok ok maybe a little bratty still? juuuuuuust kidding} Needless to say I'm very proud of him and was very excited about the secret visit!

So I'm sure you are all wondering about the rest of the RAOK in my 30 day challenge. Well Ruby came down with a fever for multiple days during the first week of July, then Kevin was sick the following couple of days, and yup you guessed it....I came down with whatever summer cold sickness was passing through our house. I became a little overwhelmed with the abundance of summer assignments I had to complete {I have 2 papers and 2 tests to knock out this week and I'm finally finished until the fall semester starts in two weeks woooohoooo} We had more family come into town for a week which kept us on the go go go!! Yes.... I know what you're probably thinking..... excuses excuses these are all excuses! And you're right! While they are all true, they are simply just that EXCUSES. The truth is I fell off the wagon and I used every other thing on my plate as an excuse to make myself feel better. As silly as it sounds and I'm maybe even a little ashamed to admit it, but coming up with RAOK and putting forth the effort to complete them daily became very time consuming. My days started to revolve around the RAOK and what I needed or where I needed to go to complete them. I supposed I was a little ambitious to shoot for 30 days..... perhaps I was better off aiming for a week or even 2 but 30...30 days became a chore challenge.

The truth is I'm ok with it! Its part of life you see...... to set goals, challenges, resolutions. Sometimes we succeed but not always. No.... a lot of the time we fail  fall short of our original objective. It's a fact of life and I wouldn't be real or honest with you if I tried to paint it any other way! I promise to still continue with RAOK and document them along the way..... but I'm not going to hold myself to completing one EVERYDAY. If I can continue to be real here... there are days when I don't even have to leave the house! Shoot as a stay at home mom/ student ....there really are days I COULD stay in my pajamas all day, not brush my hair, and hibernate in front of the television. I surely DON'T do that....but I see how it could be very easy as a stay at home mom with few mommy friends to stay behind closed doors. While I have been MIA from the blogging world, I have also spent WAY less time in the internet. Which again.... I'm ok with. I have thrown myself into several other daily activities with Ruby as well as more yard and house projects. July has been a really self satisfying month in so many others ways than performing RAOK. It is so easy to get caught up on the internet with facebook, pinterest, blogging etc etc etc. and I like to put some effort into what I'm typing here {which can also take up a good amount of time from our day}. It has become very important to me that I limit my time here in cyber space.... especially while Ruby is awake and present. I'd rather play and interact with her than surf away on the internet as she occupies herself. It is impossible to truly LIVE if we spend all our time on the internet, on our phones, using apps etc. Technology can interfere with our ability to really experience life..... so remember to get out from behind the t.v/computer/phone screen and live a little!

Alrite.... now I've already taken up more of my morning than I intended to! I promise to complete the award questions on my next post.... and it will not be another month before I get to it!! :)


Tatiana