Thankful Thursday 5/31/12

Normally, for my Thankful Thursday posts...if I remember to make them...consist of 4 or 5 things I am thankful for. Today, I'd like to focus on two.

First of all...my husband. What an incredible man! He is loving, kind, sweet, HILARIOUS, sexy (ahem.), forgiving, understanding, slow to anger, patient, empathetic, sympathetic, giving, serving, selfless, courageous, self-evaluating, honest, compassionate, tender, etc. etc. etc. He gives of himself so so much is often taken for granted by those around him. He does his best to provide for our family and hates that I have to work, though really...I don't mind because I'd be super bored if I didn't work! (Plus, my student loans don't pay themselves, ya know!) Vance is an amazing husband. Hands down. My co-workers at Old Navy CONSTANTLY compliment him and talk about what a sweet man he is. I have had several women tell me they hope to marry someone just like him someday. What a compliment to me! What praise for him! What a proud wife I am! Vance is truly my dream come true, and I am exorbitantly grateful that he is in my life! We've been married for almost two years and known each other for three years. These have been three of the best years of my life! I look forward to many many more with him by my side!

Secondly, my job nannying for Max. He is SUCH a cutie pie! I love Love LOVE this kid! He keeps me laughing on a daily basis! I never know what he's going to say next...except that he's in the repeating phase, so he'll pretty much say back to me whatever I say to him...which can be extra fun! For instance, I said, "Thank ya, Bay-bee!" the other day and he said, "Thank you, Bay-bee! Haha....funny!" in reply. Now, it's a game with us. A game which he thoroughly enjoys! He is developing a very funny sense of humor, too! He'll say things sometimes then says, "Hehe....funny!" Even if what he says ISN'T funny, the funny part is when he giggles at himself and says it's funny! I love Max's personality! He is so funny, snuggly, and compassionate! I stubbed my toe the other day and said, "OHHHH OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!" (Seriously. I don't swear, so that's about as strong of language as I use...haha...) Max came over and said, "Ok???" And said, "Kiss it! Kiss it!" He then planted a big ole slobbery kiss on my big toe. It was the sweetest thing he's done in a long time! (It was also kind of gross!) Max is so smart! He knows all of his colors, can recognize his name when it's written out, can find the letter M (and usually the A and X as well) in a sea of magnet letters, knows all of his animal sounds, can count/say the alphabet with a little guidance, knows every type of car that can be a part of a train, knows the name of pretty much every type of vehicle/farm machinery out there (seriously...he's taught me a thing or two!), etc. etc. The kid is smart! The kid is funny! The kid is adorable!

I linked up with my sweet friend Cami's blog, First Day of My Life and Julia at Black Tag Diaries! You should, too! What are you thankful for today?

If you could take 2 seconds and give this a click, it would mean so much to me! Thank you!!

Sorry For My Silence

Ok ok...I know. I KNOW! I've been silent on here for a few weeks. I promise, it is not without reason, though! So much has been going on in my life these days, so unless you follow me on Instagram (angelsingin4jc) or are my friend on My Fitness Pal (angelsingin4jc), then you probably think I've been MIA!

Here's what's been going down...

• Vance burned his hand. He grabbed the handle to a stainless steel pot that had been over a burner that was on. (He turned on the wrong burner.) He had 1st and 2nd degree burns. He was in a lot of pain for a few days, but healed VERY quickly and had no infections! (Praise!) 

• I had a pinched nerve/pulled muscle in my neck that hurt so terrible bad, that I was practically paralyzed for 24 hours. I could NOT move at all one day. It was BAD! I eventually worked through it and now it's 99% better!

• We are 8 (9 on Saturday) weeks into our weight loss journey and doing SWELL! At the 8 week mark, Vance has lost 20.9 lbs and I have lost 26.4 lbs! Woo hoo! We both lost our first 20 lbs WELL before our July 7th goal. I'm hoping to lose another 10-15 by my cousin's wedding on July 14th! Vance is in the wedding as her fiance's groomsman. P.S. This is the 4th summer I've known Vance. This is the 4th summer he's had to wear a tux and be in someone's wedding (including ours in 2010.) 

-26.4 lbs (5-11-12) 

-20.9 lbs (5-11-12)

• We are MOVING! I am so excited to get out of the house we're currently renting. It has one TINY bathroom...that has no outlets!! The house is 110+ years old and has all the charm and the quirks of a home that age. It needs some major renovating, to say the least. It has no dishwasher. NO DISHWASHER! Two years of having Vance as my only dishwasher (and my own two hands when the blue moon occurs) makes me say enough is enough! We've been apartment searching for several months now (Vance is also tired of mowing the lawn) and I finally found one that's in an excellent location, has a fantastic price, and is swanky! Seriously. They're nice apartments. I was scared because of the prices they have online, but when we went in we found the deal of a lifetime for their 2 bedroom, 2 bath floor plan! I am so excited! My own bathroom! A dishwasher! A pantry! A fireplace! A large fenced in patio! A laundry room! Outlets in my bathroom! Walk-in closets! Almost 1000 sq ft! YES! So excited! Oh and it also has a pretty awesome gym, a dog park, a pool, etc. etc. Plus, it's two minutes from the mall and about 7 minutes from Max's house. Pretty exciting stuff! We officially move in June 4th!

• I am working all the freaking time. I get a day or half a day here or there when I don't have to work one or both of my jobs, but let me tell you...I don't get paid enough for all the time I spend working! Haha. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful I have two jobs...some people don't have one!!...but it's exhausting at times!

• Still no luck on the baby front. It's more difficult at some times than it is at others, but I try not to dwell on it. On Mother's Day, I focused on my mom, Grandma, and mother-in-law, so I didn't have time to focus on my babyless self. Oh and we played 2+ hours of volleyball...which I did in a skirt, leggings, and tank top. Hahaha! I was perfectly dressed for sports! (I played volleyball in a dress and leggings at Thanksgiving. I'm beginning to develop a trend....) OH! We were supposed to have a make-up doctor's appointment next week, but I'm watching Max while his grandma is out of town. I don't really want to take a 23 month old with me to the doctor, so we are rescheduling. It's my 6 month follow-up to my initial appointment back in December. I'm really looking forward to being like "So yeah...I've lost 30 lbs since I was last here!" 

Setting up the picnic area! 

Grandma opening her present from Vance and I!

• We redeemed my Christmas present last weekend! Vance's Christmas present to me this year was two tickets to see the traveling Broadway show, WICKED!! I seriously cried during parts of it! It was SPECTACULAR!!! I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present! We're thinking of doing this every year for our Christmas present to each other, since we both loved it so much. We're thinking of either going to Mary Poppins or Sister Act next year, since we saw posters about them at DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center) while waiting for Wicked. Before seeing the show, we ate at Cuban Revolution. Great food with a fun atmosphere! After the performance, and to gear up for the hour and a half drive home, we got some food/milkshakes from Steak 'n Shake! Seriously! Best. Christmas. Present. EVER!!!

Ticket

Menu 

Outside on DPAC Campus

Waiting to go in!

Curtain/stage before opening!

Aaaaand...I think that's all the major news as of late! What have you been up to these days? I'd love to hear from you! I've missed you all!

If you could take 2 seconds and give this a click, it would mean so much to me! Thank you!!

Thankful Thuesday 4-19-12

I haven't done a Thankful Thursday in a couple of weeks! Not because I have nothing to be thankful for, but because I haven't had the time to write a post!

1. Weight Loss
I'm down 16.5 lbs as of Monday morning! Woohoo! I am well on my way to my 20 lbs down by July 7th and 50 lbs down by December 31st goals! Pretty excited about it! I've never stuck with a weight loss program this long and I've never lost this much weight during one program. Pretty awesome! Also, I feel pretty great due to exercising Mon-Fri for at least 30 minutes. :-)

2. Vance
He's a spectacular husband. He cooks. He cleans. He shops for groceries. He mows the lawn. He takes care of me. He encourages me and joins me in my weight loss. He loves me unconditionally. He's wonderful.

3. My jobs
Working at Old Navy is obnoxious at times. The schedule is inconvenient sometimes. The customers are a pain sometimes. The co-workers are lazy and/or gossipy at times. However, I am grateful for my job there and that I like it 95% of the time! I LOVE watching Max. He's hilarious, charming, adorable, and sweet! He says some funny things and repeats almost everything I say. Good thing I don't swear! He brings a lot of joy to my life!

4. The NC Zoo
Vance and I invited my mom and youngest sister, Hannah, to go to the zoo last Saturday. We had a blast! It was a nice day and a lot of the animals were active! The NC Zoo is one of the best in the country. I'm so blessed that it's so close to where I live! Elephants are my fav, but the giraffes were sooo cool that day!

What are you thankful for today? Come link up over at my sweet friend, Cami's blog, First Day of My Life!

If you could take 2 seconds and give this a click, it would mean so much to me! Thank you!!

Thankful Thursday 3/22/12

Today I am thankful for...

1. myfitnesspal.com. It helps me keep track of the calories I've eaten/will eat through the day and how much I'm burning with exercise. :-)

2. Losing approx. 6 lbs this week. Official weigh-in is Saturday morning, but as of Tuesday, I had lost 5.5 lbs, so maybe it'll be more? Even if it's less, it's still SOMETHING! I have a long journey ahead of me, but am encouraged by such a great start!

3. My husband, Vance. He keeps me encouraged and is working along side of me to lose weight! I love him dearly and am grateful he chose me as his wife.

4. My doggies! Petey and Cinnamon hung with us for 2 miles when we walked the other day. We tied them to the fence (we were walking a track) for the last mile. They were so tired afterward, but were happy!

5. My jobs. I've been working a lot (worked 55+ hours last week) between them both, but I am grateful for having not one, but two jobs, in an economy which is STILL trying to recover! Every little bit helps!

Max Snuggling

Did you write a Thankful Thursday post? Link up with us at First Day of My Life's blog!

If you could take 2 seconds and give this a click, it would mean so much to me! Thank you!!

Things I Say A Lot These Days

Take your hand out of your mouth, please. (Max)
Take your hand out of your pants! (Vance)

Say "Please..." (Max)
Say "Please..." (Vance)

It's not 'deering.' It's during! (Vance)
That's a waffle, not toast. (Max)

Did you just poop? (Max)
Did you just fart? (Vance)

Eat a little more, please. (Max)
Are you sure you want to eat that? (Vance)

Please don't pick your nose. (Max)
Stop picking your nose! (Vance)
(Vance is usually scratching the side of his nose...just FYI.)

Time to clean up the toys! (Max)
Will you PLEASE take care of your clothes? (Vance)

I don't understand what you're saying! (Max)
What did you just say?? (Vance)

Please use your words. (Max)
Please stop talking. (Vance)

Go play with your toys while I make lunch. (Max)
Will you please put your phone down and snuggle with me? (Vance)

If you could take 2 seconds and give this a click, it would mean so much to me! Thank you!!