Clara - from A to Z

Hello fellow bloggers!

I'm so glad its Friday and the weekend is here! I wanted to share with you a little about me since I have some new fabulous followers. I saw this idea on my friend Kalyn's page and thought it was a great idea!

You might be slightly ready to go ahead and close out this page, but don't - we might have something in common you didn't know we had!  

A: Available or Married?

My hubby and I just celebrated this past Sunday one year of marriage! 

B: Book? 

I am currently reading The Power of a Prayerful wife by Stormie Omartian. It's a incredible book helping to pray for his spiritual walk, emtions, role as husband and more. 

C: Cake or Pie? 

Bah, really? Cake baby...chocolate. Why do you think I'm on a diet?!

D: Drink of Choice? 

I love tea - green tea, sweet tea, any tea. I have at least one cup of tea a day. 

E: Essential Item?

Hand sanitizer. I have it in the car, next to my bed, in my purse..everywhere.  The older I get, the more concerned about germs I get. Who knows how I will be when i'm 50!

F: Favorite Color?

I like blue and green equally I think. I'm not a pink girl even though Im a girly girl. Huh. 

G: Game to Play or Watch? 

I love my some Auburn football!  Im not athletic so  watching is much more enjoyable than playing. 

H: Hometown?

Mobile, Alabama baby! I love Mobile and so glad to have grown up there. I moved away when I went to college, came home for 6 months after graduation, then moved to Birmingham where I have been a 3 1/2 years.   

I: Indulgence?

Dresses. I love dresses. I have mentioned in the past that I love Jolie and Elizabeth.  I own four of their dresses now and want every.single.one.they.have.  

J: Job Title

Stay at home wife. I quit my job back in January and have since been enjoying babysitting and living life. 

K: Kids and Names?

No, not yet but fingers crossed in the next year! We already picked out names for girls and are weary on the boys names. Guess we will see when they come along :)

L: Life is Incomplete Without?

My adorable hubby. The macaroni to my cheese. The milk to my cookies.  The Tom to my Jerry. You get it.

 

M: Music Group?

With all my heart I love Mumford and Sons. I could (and do) listen to them all day long!! I just started with The Lumineers are my newest obsession. I am loving them to pieces:)

N: Number of Siblings?

I have 3 siblings. I am the youngest of four and adore them.  My oldest is Kami, then Justin, Nathan and me. Kami and her family live in the same city, Justin and his family live in Opelika and Nay Nay in Mobile. 

O: Oranges or Apples? 

Apples - cause you can add peanut butter. :)

P: Phobias/Fears?

Rodents, snakes, the dark and deep water. 

Q: Quote?

In high school we had to put our favorite quote in the year book and I put in a quote from the Bible and Clueless. Two opposites, right? Today, I'm going to go with ...

R: Reason To Smile?

There are so many reasons to smile. The Lord who reigns over all is my complete joy. The gift of family, friends, health, life. 

S: Season? 

I love fall when the leaves begin to change colors from green to red and orange. Jackets and sweaters are the coolest. 

T: Tattoos? 

No thanks. I'm afraid of needles and don't want something permanently on my body. 

U: Unknown Fact About Me? 

I always put my left contact in before my right. Always. I thought about changing it up, but couldnt do it.   

V: Vegetable You Love?

I love most veggies - I can even handle brussel sprouts. I think numero uno would be green beans. I feel like its a nice veggie and goes well with all foods. 

W: Worst Habits?

Sleeping in past my alarm, getting OCD about a clean house, biting my nails.

X: X-Rays? 

I have had them at the doctor and dentist, but not for anything major. 

Y: Yummy Food?

I LOVE shrimp, lobster, Talapia, crawfish, crab...that comes with growing up near the water. I am not a big fan of beef. I love pastas and basically anything full of carbs. Bread is my favorite - all types. 

Z: Zoo Favorites? 

I love the Tigers! They are scary but awesome!

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little from A to Z. Cheesy I know, but I had fun and want to learn yours! Send me a message so I can "meet" you and hear your story!

March Blate

This past week we had our second blate (blogger + date) and my friend Joy from The Sowell Life was sweet enough to host and make us an amazing meal! 

Last month, a bunch of Alabama bloggers and 1 Mississippi gal got together to chat about blogs, love and life. Check out our first blate in February here. All of us girls who met last month have been in constant communication - we email almost daily and I love knowing these bloggers I follow in real life.  We truly have become amazing friends and I am thankful I have such incredible girls in Alabama!

Anyway, this month Joy offered to do the blate at her home. She had her husband cooked up a delicious meal of grilled chicken, salad, spicy dip and pitas and Whoopie Pies! 

The other ladies brought Spinach dip, Cake batter dip and spicy cream cheese crescent rolls. I brought some Emi-Jay inspired hair ties for the girls. 

We sat down at the dinner table and chatted about families, husbands, boyfriends and laughed a lot. We moved to the couches for dessert and more conversation. I think we talked for 3 straight hours. It was like we had known each other for years!

 Of course took some pictures with adorable Shamrock glasses. Mine and Lauren's even lit up!

Joy//Nadine//Lauren//Me//Kaitlyn

I can't wait til next month to see these ladies next month. I love you all!

I highly recommend you doing a blate! Email/Twitter out to see who is around you and meet up. It's so worth your time!

Revolt, Week 2

Hey all,

What a difficult first week if I do say so myself.  If you missed my post last week , my hubs and I started our new Fitness/lifestyle change called Revolt.

Revolt was created by Nicole Huntsman, who wanted to lose weight, eat right and live a better life for her and her kids. She created this program and offered bloggers a chance to try it free.

Last week was our first week. We had whats called the detox week where we ate no sugars, flour, sodas - the stuff bad for you. We ate a TON of eggs, chicken, spinach, brussell sprouts, broccoli and more eggs. Did I mention we ate lots of eggs? I would say between Stephen and I, we ate well over 100 of em. Sheesh.

The first couple of days eating were the toughest, mainly because I was craving a Coke and something sweet! I didn't realize how addicted I was to some bad food and how much I missed it over the week.

I drank about a gallon of water a day and went for a potty break every hour. Good thing I like water otherwise it would have been awful. 

 Saturday was our "free" food day. You could eat whatever you wanted.
I have to admit, I was so glad when our free day came because I was all over the junk food! We actually cheated a bit too because Sunday was our one year anniversary and I had ordered 2 types of cakes and had a wonderful dinner at The Melting Pot. I did try to behave on Saturday, BUT we had our second blate (blogger date) and ate incredible food, including Whoopie Pie!

I just had to throw in a picture of us at The Melting Pot.
How cute is my hubby?! I just love him to the moon and back!!

Ok, sorry, I digress....

Well, after eating all the sugar and salt, I felt HORRIBLE. I over ate, felt ill and wanted to vomit up what I had eaten.  I guess it really makes a person think about what they are putting into their body when they feel as bad as I felt.

  After cheat day we were told not to weigh in because we would gain some water weight back from all the salt and carbs. We silly me decided to rebel and step on the scale. Dumb idea!!!!!!!! (I cant express this enough)

I had gained almost 6 pounds back in water weight!!! I started off at 136 and dropped down to 133 and went to 138. WHAT THE HECK!!!?????

Today and stepped on the scale and I was down again by 3 pounds so that was good, but that water weight will get you. I also am blaming my hormones and being almost that time of month. Thankfully, Stephen's weight didn't fluctuate like mine did and he has lost 5 pounds overall! I haven't taken any of our measurements again but will probably do that sometime next week.

The workouts have been just the right amount of intensity. I sweat and am exhausted while doing the workouts, but can bounce back pretty quickly after it. Each day has a different workout - either cardio, weight or a mixture of exercises. We use dumbbells and kettle bells and our own body mass. The workouts last about 20 minutes and give you the good burn. I have noticed some toning in my legs already, but its going to take a lot more to get my flabby arms into shape.

My goal this weekend is not to over eat on my free day and not overdo the salt and other carbs.

This week has been much easier than detox week and I feel great overall. I have ore energy and don't feel as tired as I used to.

Tomorrow will be a challenge because I am heading to my sister in laws to hang out for a couple of days. Cross your fingers I stick to eating well and not skipping my workouts!

Happy Wednesday!