Baby, Baby, Baby OH!

Okay, so I thought after getting pregnant I would have SOO much to blog about, but apparently my life has grown more boring since putting a bun in this oven.. However,  I thought I'd go through all the ideas/plans/dreams I've been thinking about for the baby! Keep in mind, most of these are just ideas and may never come to fruition, but like I said -- I'm dreaming!

Okay -- Names!

This part is not dreaming, these are set in stone! For a baby girl, I've always always had this name picked out and coincidentally JJ loves it too, so we are going to go with Bailey Grace! I always struggled with how I wanted to spell Bailey, because I really like how it looks when it's spelled Bailee, but with my mom's name being spelled differently (Kandee) she's always told me whenever I name my children, to spell their name how it's supposed to be spelled -- so they don't have to spend their whole life spelling out their name for people or correcting them when they assume and spell it the "normal" way! Also, Bailey ended up being a family name on my Grandbuddy's side (his mother's maiden name) and obviously it is spelled the "normal" way.. So, I've decided we are going with Bailey!

For a baby boy, we've always gone back and forth on this as well.. because JJ is the 3rd of his name sake -- John Montague Averill III, but all the variations of this are mostly taken.. "Monta" is his papa (JMA, Sr.), "John" is his dad (JMA, Jr.) and obviously "John John" is him (JMA III). One name that was suggested was "John Monta", but we felt like that was too much. Like, we'd be at Christmas and someone would say -- "okay y'all, lunch is ready! Monta, John, John John, John Monta, come on!" HA! Too much! So, we kept thinking, and one day JJ came across the name "Duke", which isn't really a nickname for the IV (4th), but it's a nickname for the name John. I wasn't crazy about it at first, but it has really grown on me! I think it's very cute and unique, and let me tell you... it is NON negotiable! JJ is dead set on this name, so I might as well get acquainted! :)

Nursery...

So, I thought  Iwould be one of those mommies-to-be that had everything planned out, picked out, etc. but I cannot make up my mind on nursery decor! I found this fabric the other day and LOVE it! Actually, a couple friends of ours gave us a bib and burp cloth set and the burp cloth was in this fabric, so I went searching on the internet for it.

Michael Miller Giraffe Love

I was thinking we could do this for boy or girl, and either accent the pinks or the blues depending on what we're having... However, I was informed last night that this is apparently not appropriate for a baby boy :( -- side note, I hate  having to make joint decisions on this stuff! I wish I could pick out the name, decorate the nursery, etc. etc. BUT, I guess since JJ is the daddy, he should get a say so too! :)

So, this gets me back to square one on a boy's room.. I don't know what I like, and I feel like I've looked everywhere! If anyone has any suggestions, please share! I did find this one bedding set on http://www.polkatotdesigns.com/

"Bentley" bedding

The only thing I don't like about it is it's mostly black, and we are wanting to use mostly Cherry colored wood. Will this clash? P.S. Can you tell I'm obsessed with giraffes? Where the heck did this come from? I have no idea.. That just seems to be what catches my eye... weird, I know. 

I also went through all the fabrics that Polka Tot's offers and found these that  I think would make a cute design, but I'm nervous about ordering something without seeing how it turns out first, ya know?! Here are the fabrics...

    

Okay, ew... when I put them together like that, I don't like them. I like the solid colors, but not the prints. UGH do you see my dilemma?! I'm hoping this is a sign that we're having a girl haha! You know... a lot of people tell stories like 'oh, I couldn't ever think of a boy's name for if it was a boy, but I had my girl's name picked out from day one, and what do ya know?! It ended up being a girl!' Yeah, maybe that strategy works with being able to pick out bedding as well! :) A girl can dream, right?

Let me be clear about gender, I really will be happy either way, boy or girl. My only fear is that I'll never get "my girl". Of course, I'm sure JJ's fear is that he'll never get "his boy". I'm praying for patience and praying to be grateful for whatever we get -- boy, girl, sick, healthy -- because no matter what, it will be a blessing that God has given us!

Well, I guess that's all I've got on the planning front. I'm about 5 1/2 weeks along right now and thankfully, still not getting sick! We have our first ultrasound and Dr. visit set up for March 14th and I am SOO excited! I can't wait to see our little bugaboo! And I really really can't wait to see the look on Johnny's face when he see's our baby! :) He's going to be SUCH a great daddy!

Don't forget, if anyone has any suggestions on where to find baby boy bedding, hook a sista up!

xoxo

Good News, Bad News...

Well, I know when I'm in the situation where I'm going to hear good news & bad news,  I always want to hear the bad news first. Then, you hear it, deal with it, get over it -- and then you get the good news to overshadow the bad! :) So, here goes...

Bad news is, I won't be losing any more weight in the near future. I'll be gaining. Booo!!

However, GOOD/GREAT/WONDERFUL news is.........WE ARE PREGNANT!!! Yayyy!! I cannot even put into words how ding-dang excited we are!! I know there are so many other couples who go through this struggle of trying to get pregnant for far longer than we did, and we are so grateful that God has blessed us so early! But, we also feel very humbled and saddened for those other couples... I hope God blesses them VERY soon!

So, I'll go through and answer all the typical questions that people have been asking us....

1. When did we find out? This past Friday! My parents got into town Thursday night around midnight, so I took Friday afternoon off work so we could go to lunch & hang out a little bit! After lunch, we went home and I caught up on recorded shows like Grey's Anatomy while we all chit-chatted about what had been going on, etc. After Grey's was over, for some reason I had an urge to take a pregnancy test. I had one left over from last month and so I just did it. I wasn't supposed to even miss my "cycle" until Monday, so I just knew the test was going to be negative..but to my amazement, two lines showed up!! The second one was faint, but definitely there! So, the next morning, I went to CVS and bought two more kinds of tests and took those... they were positive too!! It was official, I had a bun in the oven!

2. How far along am I/When are we due? Just about 5 weeks. We are due around October 27th! Wouldn't that be cool if we had our baby on our 1 year anniversary!! (October 22nd)

3. What was Johnny's reaction? At first he said, "no you're not", and after I finally convinced him that I was indeed preggers, he said "hmm cool". I was like... um  excuse me?! I was expecting more of a reaction than that!! But, I quickly learned that guys/new daddys need time to let it all soak in, because by the next morning when we started telling friends and family, he was getting more and more excited and talking about it more often. He still doesn't like to discuss the baby as much as I do, but really, who does?! haha

4. How am I feeling? Feeling good so far! I have found that today, after each time that I eat, I get a small nauseous feeling in the back of my throat, but nothing major. It does make me aware that the worst is coming..... I am SO not looking forward to being sick! I'm such a baby when it comes to that!

5. Been to the Dr? I've gone to do bloodwork twice this week, but have not seen my doctor. After I get the results of this morning's bloodwork (I'll get results tomorrow), then we will see about scheduling an appointment. It might not be for three or so weeks depending on my levels because they don't want me to come before I can hear the heartbeat. They said that relieves the stress for most mamas! **side note, I cannot believe I'm going to be a baby mama!!! even more than that, I can't beleive JJ is going to be a Daddy...sooo sweet!**

Anyways, that's about all the information I have so far. I promise to keep you updated on ultrasound pictures, nursery design, names, gender, etc.! I want to keep all this documented so I'll have it to look back on, so if I'm too thorough or over the top with my info, let me go ahead and apologize now :)

Now I'm going to continue to skip and dance and dream of babies and rainbows!!


xoxo

Weekend Fun!

Hello friends! Well, we had a very relaxing weekend.. Didn't do too much. My parents came from Texas to visit and we had lots of fun with them!

On Friday, we went to eat at Daphne Lodge. To be honest, I was not impressed with my food. A lot of people say that Daphne's is better than the Olde Inn (both locally owned steak and seafood places near the lake), but I really think the selection, plus the quality of the food is better at Olde Inn. Maybe I'm just partial, but that's my opinion on that!

Saturday, mom and I went to meet some of my girlfriends and their moms for lunch! We all had SUCH a great time eating, laughing and enjoying eachother's company!After that, we went to the grocery store to stock up on goodies for the grill out at our house Saturday night! We had several friends over to enjoy some good food and had a blast! Everyone made fun of me because I went to bed at about 9:30 that night, but I was sooo tired! I had plenty of fun before 9:30 thankyouverymuch!

On Sunday, we went to eat lunch and went shopping a little in Macon. We didn't really get much except for some new makeup! (yay!) I swear my mom has better taste/style in makeup than I do. So everytime she comes, I go through her makeup bag and say "ooh! I want! I want!" Thankfully I didn't have to hijack her stuff...we just went and got me some! :) It's nice to be a little spoiled when your mommy comes to visit! For the rest of that day, we just hung out at the house and watched some TV. We did have a few fun visitors that evening, but other than that, we didn't get out anymore that day. Lazy. bums.

Sadly, my parents left this morning to head back home. But, my mom is getting her new puppy, Coco when she gets back and I know she's excited about that! Can't wait til she comes back again though! I know mom got a taste of house training a puppy while she was here this weekend. Baxter gave her a run for her money!

He is doing a LOT better though! I'm so pleased with his progress! He is already growing so fast! Makes me sad. He has finally gotten to where he'll run and play with our other dog, Riley. She is such a good big sister. She'll just sit there and take it while he chews on her ear or her leg. She looks at me like "mom, get this pesky child away from me.", but she doesn't do anything! So sweet!

See, we weren't the only ones being lazy this weekend.. the puppies were too!

Well folks, that was our boring weekend! Hope I have more for you later this week! Happy Monday!

Face Lift!!

Y'all like my new banner/logo up top?! I L-O-V-E it! I am not creative, so I leave my creativity needs up to Kristy @ Kristy's Custom Creations! She designs anything from logos to graduation announcements to party invitations!

She has a few samples of things she's done on her Facebook page, but if you don't see what you're looking for, don't stop there! I promise if you put her up to the challenge, she will deliver! She is super super talented and has great ideas to add to whatever project you have for her!

So, enjoy the blog's face lift and holler @ my great friend Kristy for all of your design needs!!


xoxo

Some More Wedding Pics!

Okay, so this is not even a fraction of all of them, but I thought I would share a few of my favorites so far! All of these were done by Jenny Evelyn Photography of Macon, GA. I cannot express to you how AMAZING she is! Thank you Jenny!

I'll also share a link at the bottom of the post where you can go to Photobucket and look at all of them! :)

Now, just a warning, this is total photo overload... so if you're not into pictures, you might want to skip out on this post! :)

This is my mom and I with the $50 bill she put in the ashtray of my car when I was leaving to move to Georgia! I still have it in my wallet and she signed <3 mom on it! Such special memories!

For those of you who don't know me, I am a complete dork! This was the first time I had put on everything (my dress, jewelry, shoes, etc.) and I was soooo worried for some reason that I wouldn't "feel pretty". So, when I finished getting ready, pretty sure I said something like "daaaanngg smokin' hott" or some other silly comment! I was so relieved when I did feel pretty on our special day! :)

I love this one because it shows my idea of "edgey". HA! I saw a hairstyle that had a braid down one side and wanted to try it out, but when we did the trial run, everyone else *eh em MOM* told me not to do the braid on our wedding day, but I told them I liked it because the hairstyle was elegant, but with a little bit of edge! So glad I did it though! It turned out great!

I love that the photographer did some black and white shots! I think they look so timeless!

Mm mm mm! How good lookin' is this boy?!

Don't my ladies look SO pretty?!

John John & his Aunt Jill "Auntie". This is one of my favorite women in the world, and of course, JJ's too! She is SO kind and thoughtful, and I don't think I would have made it through the day/night of the wedding without her! We love you Auntie!

This is Kathryn, our flower girl & JJ's little cousin. Sweetest girl you'll ever meet!!

Me & both of my dads right before we walked down the aisle! My heart was pounding at this point!!!

The Kiss!! :)

I think this shot is SO funny! We had two ring bearers for the wedding, but one of them was only about 2 years old, and just wasn't feeling it. He aaaalmost made it down the aisle, but then changed his mind. Some brides go nuts worrying about this kind of stuff, but I think it's these stories that make weddings funny and memorable! Plus, how cute is this little guy in his mini tux?! We were trying to get a shot of me, the flower girl and the two ring bearers and this is Braydon, mid-BOLT to his Mama! Was NOT having it! lol I think this is too cute!

And this was our other little ring bearer, Cade!! SUCH a sweet boy! He did his job so very dutifully! You could see his little arms getting tired holding his ring bearer pillow, so he'd shift his weight a little. He took his little job VERY seriously! I've known Cade since the day he was born and he has done nothing but get more and more handsome! And more and more sweet of course!

This is the BEAUTY that my dad gave me and re-furbished for my college graduation gift! This was the perfect addition to our big day! This is what we rode in from the church to the reception! LOVE this sweet ride and Johnny boy definitely enjoyed driving it! 

These were the cute little table arrangements at the reception! We went with a pumpkin and sunflower theme that definitely fit the fall surroundings! I like how the florist did different types of arrangements, but they all tied together. Very rustic, but pretty -- just exactly what we were going for! :)

These were the koozies we had designed for the special day! We obviously both graduted from and LOVE the University of Georgia, so we tried to incorporate our love for the Dawgs into our wedding! (As if planning our wedding AROUND Georgia football wasn't enough ;) )

Our first dance as man & wife! Love that the sun was setting in the trees at the perfect time!

Father/Daughter dance #1!

Father/Daugher dance #2!

Our beautiful cake!! Heather Bartlett @ Heather's Cakes & Confections does a FABULOUS job!!

Johnny wanted to change out of his "monkey suit" but I was determined to wear my dress all night long! And that is exactly what I did!

The Cole Taylor Band rocked out for the rest of the night and we had a fabulous time dancing our booties off!!

....and we lived happily ever after! :) just kidding, but the beginning to our story has been amazing! I can't wait to see what comes next!

If you'd like to see all of our wedding pictures, click on the link below:

http://s1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh490/jenniferhughesaverill/ 

I hope y'all enjoyed my walk down memory lane! I literally can't stop looking at these pictures! I am SO glad we have them to document our special day!

                    xoxo



Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day y'all! I love this day! It is just another opportunity for you to tell the most important people in your life that you love them! I mean, I think you should tell them EVERY day, but Valentine's Day is a good reminder!

So, a lot of people in the blogging world have been doing this questionnaire, so I thought I'd try it out!

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

We started dating in July/August of 2005, but broke up about a month later, then got back together December 20th of that yera and have been together ever since.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Johnny boy grew up with my cousin, Clay. They went to school together, played baseball together, etc. I would come visit my dad during the summers and would follow them around hang out with them (ha!) and watch them play baseball. One year when my family and Clay's family were at the beach, John John called Clay and asked us to come hang out at his beach condo. That night we walked on the beach, talked forEVER and just really hit it off! Unfortunately, I went back to Texas the next day so we didn't really have time to get acquainted. We tried the whole "long distance dating" thing for about a month, but it was my senior year of high school and his freshman year of college, so needless to say, we broke up. I came back to visit that Christmas and we rekindled things and manged to stay together for the last semester of my senior year. I surprised everyone when I announced I was moving to Georgia to attend college and give this long distance relationship a real shot! Over 6 years later, we are still together and now married! Who would'a thunk it?!

3. If married, how long have you been married?

We got married on October 22, 2011 - so almost 4 months!

4. If you are married, where did you get married? Big or small wedding?

We got married at Vienna First Baptist Church in the small town of Vienna. It was a medium sized wedding, I guess, with about 200 guests? It was the best, most FUN day of my life! Just exactly how we planned!

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

He calls me Buckwheat..ugh I honestly don't remember where that came from, but for some reason that's his "endearing" term for me! And I call him Johnny, JJ, Jonivan, etc. But mostly Johnny!

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

I love how he makes me laugh! Laughter is so important to me in any relationship and he definitely take sthe cake on that one! I love watching his relationship with God grow and flourish. I love that he loves me unconditionally.

7. Tell us how he proposed?

Oh Lord. Okay, so every year at Thanksgiving, we go over to one of our friends' (basically family)'s house for the "Annual Football Game". All the boys get out in the yard and run around like NFL players, while the dogs chase after them and bark, and the ladies sit on the porch watching and talking. I was turned talking to one of my friends, when suddenly I turned back to watch the game and there he was down on one knee. He asked me to marry him and all I could say was "are you for real right now?! Is this serious?!" We had been talking about getting engaged for almost a year at that point, but when it happened I was so shocked/surprised that it just didn't seem real to me! Definitely not the romantic mushy gushy story some people tell, but it was very "John John" and very "us"!

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

He's usually not either type. Now, the first year we dated, he sent me a dozen roses for my birthday and then again for Valentine's Day, but since then it's kind of died off, which is okay with me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE flowers, but I juts think they are so overpriced, especially on special occasions...when they're going to die anyways. But, he did shock me last year and sent me flowers at work on Valentine's Day. I would rather it be like that... a surprise that you don't see coming, rather than something you expect every year and don't really appreciate.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Although I love the beach, let's be real... who wants to sit in sand while they eat? Not me.. I am all about watching a movie at home while enjoying one of Johnny's grilled steaks.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant other one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

We have both always wanted to go to Italy. I really want to see the Vatican and eat authentic Italian food. Not really sure how we will make this happen though. He doesn't like to fly and I REFUSE to go by boat (it "only" takes a month to get there, according to some research he did! H to the no!)

11. Tell us what you plan on doing this Valentine's Day.

Usually, we cook a nice dinner at home and just hang out, so that we can skip out on all the hussle and bussle of the V-day dinner crowds.. However, this year we are hoping this is our last V-day as "just us". it might not be, but we're hoping like heck it is! And because of that, we want to go out to a nice dinner and enjoy eachother's company. So, we're going to eat at the Olde Inn, a local steak and seafood place that is De-Lish! I'm SO excited!

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's Day?

Nah, we are keeping this V-day simple and low budget. Probably a couple sweet cards! :)

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Number one, keep God first and foremost in your relationship! I'll be honest and tell you that Johnny and I don't do a great job of that, but I know that I continuously pray that we will get better at it and that our relationship as a couple with God will grow stronger everyday!

Also, communication is KEY! The biggest problems we have stem from communication, or lack there of. Either because we don't understand what eachother is saying, or because one of us *eh em, JJ* doesn't "feel like" talking about it... just keep the lines of communication open! And don't dwell on things.. Once you've discussed the issue, move past it!

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

I hope he ALWAYS looks at me this way! This was our "first look" on our wedding day, and it was definitely the outcome I was hoping for. Everyone gets all caught up in trying to look "pretty" and "classic" or "modern chic"...whatever look that bride is working towards.. but my goal when planning what I would wear, how I would do my hair, etc. was not to impress anyone else, but this sweet boy right here. The man who stole my heart. And I think I accomplished that. I was so happy in this moment and it makes me so happy even just looking back on this memory. :)

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope your day is wonderful! 

xoxo



Weekend Rundown..

• This weekend has been the BEST! It's been 50% lazy..50% fun stuff!!

• My weekend started at 5:01 pm on Friday.. I went to pick up the new puppy Baxter & he is the cutest thing ever! We are working hard on the house training thing. He's had a couple of accidents inside, but when I take him outside, he knows what we're out there to do, and usually gets "his business" done ASAP, which is a dern good thing b/c it has been COLD this weekend! Like 20 degrees last night..brrrr!! Here are a few pics of Baxter's weekend...(taken with my phone, so they're not great quality.

Oh yes, we did. As soon as we got him home, he was just SOO tiny that we knew he would fit in a hot dog bun! We had to tear the two sides apart, but it was still funny :) 

And this right here... is what he does most of the time! But when he's not sleeping, he does play and run/tumble around a little bit. So. Cute.

And this little beast has actually done reeeally well! I thought she was going to be jealous of the new addition, but we've really tried to make an effort to still pay her attention. She is cracking us up though. She's seriously like a mother hen to sweet Baxter. She's constantly checking on him. (i.e. next photo)

What can I say? She loves her brother! :) 

• So that's been Baxter's weekend. Lots of sleeping and LOTS of taking him outside to go potty! Livin' the life!

• After getting him home and settled on Friday, Cromer & I trekked on up to Warner Robins to eat sushi and see The Vow! Such a fun night, including getting lost on the way to the movie.. wow!

• Saturday morning/afternoon, we mostly hung around the house in our pj's. Johnny subjected us to many many episodes of Justified...hate that show... and we were worthless. We did muster up enough motivation to go get a pizza from the gas station for lunch, and it was Yummy! 

• Saturday night was a B-L-A-S-T! We went to my favorite for supper...Pat's Camp and had some yummy grilled shrimp! Then we all headed out to Booger Bottom to see Cole Taylor play! For those of you who don't know, that's the band that played at our wedding reception, and we are obsessed! So of course we all had to bust out in the cold to support our guy! Thankfully when we got to Booger Bottom, we discovered that he was playing inside. I would never admit this to JJ (who tried to warn us throughout the how cold it would be and we really shouldn't go), but pretty sure we would have frozen if we had to stand outside! :) Honey knows best I guess! 

• Looks like Sunday is gonna be a lazy day, and I have NO problem with that whatsoever! A little nervous about the weigh in tomorrow for our "Biggest Loser" challenge, but I think I've done really good this week on my "lifestyle change" so maybe I'll get some good results! 

***UPDATE: I weighed in this morning and have lost 3.2 pounds since last Monday! Can I get a Hallelujah!!!***

• I hope you all had a great weekend and that you're refreshed and ready for the week to come. Oh, AND, most importantly, my mom and dad are coming in on Thursday for a long weekend and I am BEYOND excited!! I'm sure I'll have lots to write about after that!!

• Happy Sunday Funday everyone!!

xoxo

 

End of the Week Tid Bits

• Okay, so I couldn't think of one specific topic to talk about today, so I'm just going to let y'all in on what's running through my head these days... here goes!

• I'm getting the new puppy today! His name is Baxter and I'm SO excited to finally bring him home! I will definitely be posting pictures of him very soon! I'm kind of nervous about going through the whole house training situation again, but hopefully now that I'm experienced in that department, it won't be so bad! I'm also nervous about what Riley is going to think about another canine in the house full time, but hey, we've got to get her used to sharing the attention before a baby comes along! :) 

• AH! A friend and I are going to eat sushi tonight and to see The Vow, and I am beyond excited!! I had originally asked JJ to take me for our V-day date, but quickly realized that I'll enjoy it much more with a girlfriend than him (love you Johnny, but you're not a good movie partner at a chick flic! :) )

• Body by Vi shakes are going great! My ultimate favorite shakes right now are the Cafe Latte' and Peanut Butter Banana (pretty much I have these two shakes everyday.. if it ain't broke don't fix it, right?!) I'm not gonna lie and say that I don't long to eat a "normal" lunch and actually chew on something sometimes, but for the most part, the shakes keep me full and I do feel a lot better! I'm not losing the weight like ultra-fast, but it is coming off little by little.. which is the "best way to do it" according to most people! I'm taking the advice of some of my friends and calling this a "lifestyle change" instead of a diet. I mean, I really do need to change my lifestyle for the long term and not just temporarily, so we'll see how permanent this becomes! We weigh in officially for "Biggest Loser - Akin Insurance Edition" on Monday, but as far as I can tell from weighing at home, I've lost about 3 pounds! :) yeeee I love it!

• Oh. My. Goodness! Biggest news of the week...... Wedding pictures are done!!! YAY! I mean seriously, it was so much fun looking through them all. It was like re-living the whole day! I woke up this morning feeling giddy about my love for John John and just really remembering what it's all about. People have told me in the past, when you're mad as fire at your spouse, look through your wedding photos and it will make you feel better and most of that anger will dissolve. Now, I wasn't mad at JJ when I looked through them, but I'm just saying it kind of put more of a spark in my feelings for him :) I will be posting some of the wedding photos on the blog soon! LOVE them!

• I made my first pound cake from scratch this week and it looked/smelled delicious! I was so surprised that I didn't just slice off a chunk and eat it! #willpower! I won't be posting that recipe, b/c there wasn't really much to it. I will say that if I didn't have my Kitchenaid stand mixer, it would have been a heck of a hassle!! I just let it keep mixing by itself and added ingredients as needed... I swear cooking with that thing is bliss!

• As far as the "baby situation", we are taking the approach of - if it happens, it happens - Especially with me trying to lose weight right now, I'm trying to stay focused on that, and really it's working. With all the planning you have to do to eat healthy, it takes a LOT of focus! I really would like to get to my goal weight before we get pregnant, but if I don't, believe me you will not hear this Mama complaining!! I'm sure now that I'm focused on something else, we will probably get preggers immediately HA! #iaintmadatcha!

• Anyways, that's enough rambling for now... Hope you all enjoyed a look inside my head. Maybe next time I'll have more of an interesting topic to discuss! Happy Friday everyone!! Oh, and I'll leave you with a teaser wedding photo! This is a funny one to me.. all the guys that were in the wedding gave JJ little "surprises" when they each walked down the aisle and shook his hand. This pic was taken after the ceremony and he was showing me all of his "goodies". Love it!

xoxo

BEST meal I've ever cooked!

**let me start this off by saying I took like 20 beautiful pictures while cooking this fabulous meal... however, stupid Blogger is messing up the pictures every time I try to upload them.. blah!**

So, towards the end of my first real week of trying trying TRYING to eat healthy, I was craving something GOOD! I didn't want a dang salad or another Subway turkey sandwich! So.. I went browsing on http://www.allrecipes.com/. I love that place! You can narrow down what you're in the mood for and it will give you a list of recipes in that category! Perfecto!

I knew I wanted chicken, and I knew I needed to eat something healthy..so I browsed through baked/grilled chicken dishes..and came across this piece of Heaven..

Honey Mustard Baked Chicken

(the recipe on the website is for 6 servings, but I made 4 servings, so my measurements are a little different than the webiste's)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup prepared mustard (I had to google what the heck "prepared" meant.. apparently it's just regular old yellow mustard, not the powdered kind)
1/3 cup honey

3/4 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


• Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste, and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.


• In a small bowl, combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika, and parsley. Mix well. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken, and brush to cover.


• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and brush with the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Let cool 10 minutes before serving

Next, the part that really MADE the meal for me.. for some people, green beans aren't that fantastic, but when you throw a little feta cheese in....W-O-W! This will knock your socks off!!

Fresh Green Beans, Fennel & Feta Cheese

(I didn't use the Fennel, because frankly, I don't know what the heck it is..and I tried my best looking for it in the produce section of the grocery store, but after about 10 minutes I got fed up and said I would just wing it without the dang Fennel!)

1 pound fresh green beans

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

salt and pepper & minced garlic to taste

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

• Fill a saucepan half full with water and bring to a boil. Add the green beans; cook until just beginning to become tender, about 4 minutes. Pour into a colander to drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.


• Return the empty pan to the stove and set heat to medium. Pour in the olive oil and let it heat for a minute. Return the green beans to the pan. Season with basil, salt, pepper and minced garlic; cook and stir until coated and warm. Transfer to a serving dish and toss with feta cheese.

I'm telling you... it looks like a simple little recipe with a few ingredients, but it will CHANGE YOUR LIFE! haha okay so not really, but this chick is hungry this week, so these green beans DID change my life! I hope they change yours too :)

Next up, is the epic fail of my night.. They tasted okay, but not the best thing I've ever eaten.. It might have something to do with putting the wrong spice in (story to come), but here's the recipe anyway.

Cajun Style Baked Sweet Potato

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (I realized after I put the potatoes in the oven that I used chili powder instead of paprika..big fat fail!!)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large sweet potatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).



• In a small bowl, stir together paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, onion powder, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.



• Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Brush each half with olive oil. Rub the seasoning mix over the cut surface of each half. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, or in a shallow pan.



• Bake in preheated oven until tender, or about 1 hour.

After I got them out of the oven, I cut them into little squares.. so they would look like the picture on All Recipes :)

So, that was my healthy meal last night. Like I said, I didn't love the sweet potatoes, but that was probably a plus, because I definitely ate 3 servings of green beans!! So that made up for it! But seriously, this was probably the best meal I've made in a long time and the good thing is, I didn't have to feel guilty about it afterwards! So if you need a pick-me-up during a week of dieting, this should be your go-to meal!

Another note on the dieting front..I'm starting the Body by Vi shakes this weekend and I'm SO excited!! I haven't been excited about getting back in shape and healthy in a very long time, but after putting forth some effort, I'm proud to report that I've lost 1.2 pounds this week! It doesn't sound like much, but it's enough progress to make me keep pushing through the hunger! I'm really hoping that the Vi shakes will give me a boost to start losing even more weight, and have no fear! I will keep you posted! :)


xoxo