calorie counting & zumba.

i LOVE zumba! it's probably one of the best workouts i have tried. they offered zumba at searcy fitness center, but i have always been afraid to try it. mostly for the fear of looking really dumb and out of shape. however, my mom bought the at-home zumba dvd package and gave me a few of the discs.

the first try: the first 10 minutes kicked my butt!

the second try: i didn't even get through the first 10 minutes! :(

the third try: i'm working up to doing to the full routine in 10 minute intervals. :)

maybe i will be a zumba-doing fool before too long, and hopefully shed some of this unwanted weight!

i've JUST started calorie counting again. i'm only trying to consume 1,200 calories a day. this is the average amount of calories that a person my size and my activity level needs to consume a day to maintain weight. i have done this in the past, and lost almost 20 lbs. i gave up on it because i became entirely too obsessed with it...almost to the point of dropping caloric intake to 700 calories a day. so, please keep me in your prayers that this past demon does not creep up on me again. i know it's risky to be calorie counting again given my past with it, but i have decided that when God is in control, it gives me the power to be in control.

i've been keeping a food journal for a day now. it is amazing how much it helps to write it down! this gets me in the habit of checking nutrition labels and ultimately, really keeping an eye on how much i am putting into my body.

well, that's all for today. :)

mother's day.

mother's day is an especially sad day for me this year. this time last year, i was the mother-to-be. i was starting to talk myself out of the what-ifs of the situation and really start to enjoy the moment of what joy was coming my way december 15, 2010. there are times that i have found myself wanting to break down this week. i've had constant reminders that i will not be celebrating this first mother's day with my bouncing babies, and every time it makes me want to just lay down in my bed and cry all day. but, i cannot do this.

i have to continue to walk by faith and not with doubt. my God will deliver the sweetest gift to me when i am ready and when those around me are ready.

"If you don't take your stand in faith, you won't have a leg to stand on." --Isaiah 7:7

the art of distraction.

the art of distraction.

it's what the devil does to take our attention away from our goals that we have set for ourselves, and i have fallen victim to to it.

i have to admit that the last few weeks i have not been on point with my "bustin' for a bump" plan. thus, why i have not posted very much. i am really ashamed. :(

i have eaten horribly, failed to work out, and blamed all of this on a horribly busy schedule. i am currently working 3 jobs, we are still children's pastors at our church, i am heading up relay for life at the church, and we have had some complications arise in our schedules. it's not been an easy journey to really even start. but, i know i have to get through this and start looking not only to my future but to the future of my family.

on sunday morning, we have a great sunday school class for twenty-somethings in our church. our teacher is AMAZING. every sunday, she gives us the bible verses we are studying that day in class. this sunday, one in particular really struck me. 1. Corinthians 9:24-25. 

So, here I am. I will continue to run for the prize--a precious jewel to call my own. I will not be discouraged. I will forge on.

What I've Been Reading:



You'll be surprised about some of your favorite foods.
My favorite breakfast food was on the "Not That!" list. :(

What I've Been Watching:

Yo Gabba Gabba! We are sneaking these programs into our house,
so we can get used to them before we have a little one.

You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally.

--1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (The Message)

hello, diet and exercise. i haven't seen you in a while.

starting off, i have to say that i am extremely fortunate to have been placed with a job with the perk of a free gym. i've started a daily exercise routine by walking and running intervals on the treadmill. i have not exercised regularly since i was in college, and i was SO sore the first day. but, i am going again tonight with a few friends, so wish me luck!

my whole life i was the chubby kid. i have always been great at maintaining my weight. however when i lose weight, i tend to yo-yo and end up back where i started. when i was in college, i lost a LOT of weight by diet and exercise. i should be well equipped with knowledge for this journey, because it was my major in college for three years! lol. sometimes i used  EXTREME methods for diet and exercise, but nonetheless, i lost the weight. i am going to try to do that same type of diet and exercise regimen just not as extreme.

micahel and i announced that we needed prayer on sunday for this whole process. i think my friend, brittney, nearly peed her pants when she heard that we were ready to start preparing for a baby. she is more ready for it than we are! :) she just had her second child, sweet baby cohen, and we absolutely love big brother cooper! but, if you are reading this, please throw a quick prayer up for us. this is going to be a hard journey, but we are ready to take it.

" i know what i'm doing. i have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." --jeremiah 29:11

bustin' for a bump.

this time last year, i was finding out i was pregnant. i was outrageously scared and such a hypochondriac. michael and i ended up losing the pregnancy at nine weeks. our hearts were lost. ever since that moment, i have longed for a bump of my own. after many months of discussing the options, i finally came up with the perfect plan to finally get that bump.

i have always been the girl that it could never hurt to lose a few pounds. so, when i decided that i wanted to start trying for a baby again, i decided i couldn't really let myself do that until my body was in better shape to do so. now, i have a purpose to lose the weight and be healthy. i'm not doing it just for me, but for the child God has planned for me to have. hopefully, a little girl. :)

so, i'm doing it. i'm bustin' it for a bump. my goal is twenty pounds by fall. when said weight is dropped, i will be ready to start the journey to being a mother again.  i will dedicate all posts from here on out and renaming the blog to this very purpose. not only will this be about weight loss, but it will be about the preparation before the preparation to be a parent. all of the things it takes physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually.

starting weight: 170



the great baby mystery.

in the past month...
*a friend had a baby
* my cousin, candace, announced that she was pregnant to facebook
*two sundays in a row, someone (other than the two mentioned above) called to announce that they were pregnant

am i getting punked?

seriously...

i have wondered if i am the only one from my class without a baby or one on the way. many of my former classmates have two or three. i haven't even started baking one. i was always the type to be perfectly content with being the "aunt". spoil them and send them home. :)

i never even considered the possibilities of having children until i was married and pregnant. actually, i usually stuck my fingers in my ears like a five year old whenever someone ever mentioned baby. but, after the miscarriage, i considered how great the job is of being a mother. i immediately became immersed in all things baby. well, really to the point of obsession. & just recently did i somewhat come out of that obsession being perfectly content with my quiet house and my dog.

i can't help but believe this may be some sort of sign. i know my God is always moving and always carrying out his plans even if it isn't our own. i've been prepping myself for some time for motherhood, and i can't wait until michael and i can officially call ourselves "mommy and daddy." but, don't think this blog means that we are actively pursuing this adventure in life. it just means that i have decided that it's not my time, but God's time.

& i still think i'm being punked by the stork.

Relay for Life

I am SOOOOOO excited to say that I am participating in Relay for Life this year in Burk. I am team captain for our church, and promoted the cause last weekend. Unexpectedly, I had 31 people sign up for this event! I was only expecting 10 to 15 at most, so I was super excited and surprised that so many members of our church decided to participate. So, I thought in today's blog, I would share a little about why I decided to participate in Relay for Life.

The reason I Relay.

 In September of 2008, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Small Bowel cancer and expected to live only a month more at last. She passed away in February of 2009. My grandmother was an amazing woman. She loved her children and grandchildren more than anything. She always came to every function and supported us in everything we pursued. She was an amazing Christian woman who always taught us to have good Christian values and the morals of excellent people.

I used to think my grandmother and I had nothing in common, but as I get older, I see a lot of resemblances in myself and her. I'm proud of that. :)