{ my own season }

"To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

By now I thought I would have already been done with school and been somewhat on my way to my career. But school was put on pause, or should I say in slow motion, and my current career is changing poopy diapers and folding mountains of laundry...not quite what I had planned but still  -where I'm at now is better than anything I imagined (and I AM happy).

I've realized that just because something is the right choice, doesn't mean it's necessarily the right season for that choice. There's a time to every purpose...and sometimes your purpose for the time being is different than what you may have planned or hoped for.

I've accepted that what I'm doing and where I'm at now is in accordance to my season. And through faith, hope, and hard work my other seasons (finishing school, buying our first house, have my own hustle on the side, owning my own horse(s)...) will come to pass in due time.

Until then I'll continue to progress and move in my own time and my own season.

{ R&R: get organized }

New R & R (refresh & refine) goal for the week = selling these buggin' 22" rims and tires that are sitting in my bedroom killing space! (who stores 4 huge  rims/tires in their bedroom?!....WE DO! ugh, still irked about it) ...and to organize our entire place and throw out all the junk! Saf and I are both about to start school...more like, I'm about to be starting school for the both of us and I can't concentrate while looking at all this clutter!

As far as last weeks R&R, I did so good up until my husband did something that got my blood boiling--before I knew it I had a bowl of ice-cream in front of me. Talk about emotional eating! haha (that bowl of ice-cream just about saved my husband's life) But hey -I did pass up all the yummy chinese food at China Buffet and the dessert section. It's progress...

The bedroom makeover has begun...somewhat.(just waiting for these rims to  get lost and a little more dough in my pocket) I told Saf my plans for our room aaaaaand he 'says' he's NOT HAVING IT! Yeah right...you already know whose going to win this battle. I told him the person who cleans the house gets to decide how it is decorated! (sorry hun)

{ sprinting hills?...FUDGE! }

Today I had to take a break from P90x (and Tony's voice)...so instead I went for a run.

My inspiration for my previous post came today while I was running. I was at the bottom of the hill and thought, "ugh...wish i didn't have these stretch marks on my tummy!...how did i miss the 'no stretch mark gene' from my mom?!...it must have skipped a generation...FUDGE!!!..I may not be able to make the stretch marks go away but i can make the baby fat disappear, right?...RIGHT!" ...which then was my sudden, great motivator to sprint to the top of this steed, colossal hill (above) Yuuuup, not a good idea. This pic was taken right before I died!

{ battle scars }

I know this isn't the prettiest picture...and it may disgust (or petrify) most but I just had to post it.

...said so beautifully! 

Mothers sacrifice so much -even their own bodies. And if you were one of those women who looked like those beautiful-skinny-whose ankles were still smaller than their knees models you see in the MOTHERHOOD MATERNITY advertisments or you took those prego photos where you're rockin' a bare belly with out it looking like a tiger attacked you -I've decided you're NOT HUMAN, rather a clone-alien paid by the real mother to carry and bear her child while she takes a vacay to Cabo for 9 months! (or that's what I'd like to believe because the Palmer's cocoa butter didn't really work any miracles for me) I don't know what kind of water those lucky women were drinking when they were pregnant but I wish I had some of it!

When I look in the mirror at my battle scars (referring to the battle of pregnancy) I'm not going to lie -I feel like a piece of me (or my body) died after having a baby, and in a sense it did because it will never be the same. I asked my husband if my 'scars' bother him -he say's they don't (i mean, they better not because I did carry YOUR kid for 9 months AND gave birth to him) He's a man -all he's worried about is multiplying and replenishing the earth. 

Whenever I do start feeling a little down about it I think to myself:

-Does my husband still think I'm sexy? (yes)

-Do I work (as in, able to bear children)? (yes)

-Do I have a beautiful, healthy son who I just love to pieces? (yes)

-I can at least still have a flat, toned stomach, right?  (yes..well, maybe.. if you work your butt off and lay off the icecream)

But if I had do it all over again I would -in an instant! I carried a LIFE, I created LIFE...and having these battles scars to show from it is just a small price to pay.

(and just in case you were wondering...i've never had my belly button pierced -this is not an actual pic of my belly lol)

{ babies }

This picture makes me happy!

These two are total opposites but the love is still there...

...can't wait for the little princess to get here Friday! (or sooner)

{ R&R: No more junk }

Sundays seem to always be my refresh & refine day -so today I made a new 'refine' goal.

  - For the rest of August I'm giving up all sweets, anything with refined sugar, and anything white (as in breads, rice, and pasta) -

I realized if I'm going to break my back (almost literally) doing P90X, I need to cut the junk food if I want to see any results -Otherwise, I'm putting all this work in for FREE! (Abs are made in the kitchen, right?) 

So buh-bye Nutella...you will always be my main squeeze indulgence.

Adios Del Taco...I could always count on you, especially on those late night runs.

So long chocolate...Reese's, your still my chocolate HUNK. (shhh...don't tell my husband that)

 

 Sayonara rocky road ice-cream...I'm going to miss the way you melt in my mouth.

As long as I don't sleep-eat...I can handle this. 

*Note to husband: You better believe, if I'm doing this -your doing it too! I can't be having you coming home and eating the good stuff in front of me. Get wit' it or get lost!

{ how to work the system }

" D I S M I S S E D! "

...did I just get out of paying a $400 ticket?

HELL YA I DID! Take that you sorry, egocentric police officer!

This morning I went to my court appearance and got out of yet another traffic ticket, which would have been a whomping  $400 fine! If you know my husband or I, you know how many FA-rikkin' traffic tickets we get! Honestly, it's ridiculous!!!! Once we got three in one week! ...but I swear we're not bad drivers! The cops here are just delusional and must see a huge sign on the back of our car that says "PULL ME OVER, PLEASE". And we just have a higher percentage of getting pulled over than the average driver because we're forever driving around all of Southern California on a regular basis.

So this ticket was the fourth one we've gotten out of...I think...honestly, we've both lost count now. (ya -there's been that many) We've pretty much been to at least one courthouse in each county (the farthest in Ventura County) So we could tell you how each courthouses' system works (because they're all different)

Now if you want to be like every other American who gets a traffic ticket you can:

A) get got and just pay the fine in full amount
B) fail to appear in court/pay the bail amount and get your license suspended/have a warrant out for your arrest
or
C) work the system

Now this is how you work the system (mainly for speeding tickets):
-once you get your ticket in the mail read the paper or go online and know how that courthouse's system works
-you want to postpone your court appearance as long as you possibly can-that way the officer hopefully forgets about your case or looses his paper work for your ticket (depending on the courthouse. you can extend the date to pay the bail amount and then right before it's actually due -schedule to make a court appearance -but again, check with the courthouse first because they're all different)
-when you go to the first court appearance -always plead not guilty  (unless it's for running a red light in an intersection with a camera -you'll NEVER win on those, or something like you didn't have your license or insurance) If you were driving while talking/texting on your cell phone, you have a fix-it-ticket, or other -those offenses are pretty black and white so it will be hard to win NOT GUILT, so plead GUILTY (if the judge is nice enough they'll lower the amount you have to pay)
-when you plead NOT GUILTY you'll be scheduled another court appearance on a different day because they have to subpoena the officer who issued your ticket
-your next court appearance (usually a couple months later-again, if you can postpone this for as long as you can) is a gamble! -if your officer doesn't show up to court your case is automatically dismissed (you don't have to pay the fine or your refunded it in 4-6 weeks and you get no point on your driving record) If he does show up -that's where you have to get kind of creative with your plea.(if you have a 'lawyer friend' this is where you should get their advise -not mine! lol)
-so far we've never had to state a plea because we postponed our trial months, almost a year later, that the officer never showed up -so a "no show" (of your officer) is what your hoping for.
-worst case scenario -if you plead NOT GUILTY and are found GUILTY, you will not be able to attend traffic school (which will give you a point on your driving record) and you will have to pay the original amount of your traffic violation.

Oh ya, and when you go to court, dress decently. Don't wear a hat, sunglasses, a white-T, basketball shorts, and Jordan slippers (like my husband -he learned the hard way lol)

...but I guess the best advice in how to avoid going through all the above -follow the law or don't get caught.



**disclaimer: if your dumb enough to think I'm some type of lawyer -I'm not! So don't take this info too seriously if it doesn't work for you. This is just what has worked out for us.