Let's Go Niners!

Today Michael is happily watching the 49ers playoff game with Michelle. They are in heaven when a football game is on - it's their special time. The cheering, excited atmosphere, and jumping keeps Michelle especially entertained, and Michael loves having a buddy with him while watching his favorite team.

Watching them together makes me smile, and I'm so grateful to have a husband like Michael, and more importantly, I'm happy my daughter has a father like Michael. Mish even has a little touchdown stance she likes to do. I hope she continues to like football, and they'll have a fun way to bond as she gets older.

Right now I have a pot of homemade vegetarian chili bubbling away on the stove, baked potatoes crisping up in the oven, and hot dogs (veggie for me) steaming up. I also made some iced tea, and Michael has some craft beers from Oregon cooling in the fridge.
The only thing that's missing is the loud craziness of Michael's family - he loves watching games with them because his family is a group of loud and proud 49er supporters! His mom and brother are especially fun to watch a football game with. I can only imagine how loud and crazy their house is right now (and how good it smells because my mother in-law is the best cook and always has something delicious cooking). Hopefully my small (but great smelling) spread will make up for it :)

Let's Go Niners!!!

TRX

In sticking with my resolution to better myself and have more adventures, I joined my sister for my second Saturday TRX training class. Oh man, these classes are hard, but so much fun. I really like how it is all based on your abilities and using gravity and your body weight as resistance.

The only thing I hate is that afterwards I feel really sick, like my muscles are releasing toxins into my blood. I feel weak and ill. Maybe it's just because I'm super out of shape. Just because I'm smaller than I used to be, doesn't mean I'm fit! And it's definitely evident in my performance in class! Haha. I am so happy I went, and I am so happy my sister Nikki invited me. I can't wait to move home and workout more at gyms. Yreka doesn't really have a set up I can use because I have Mish and we are away from anyone that I would trust to watch her. Michael could, but he works full time and I don't want to head to the gym late at night. So, I will stick to at-home workouts and jogging.

Today we head back up to Y and it's very bittersweet. We are excited to see the cats and get back to our normal routine, but we are going to miss everyone and being in the home we own. We love our house! It's so hard to drive away from its warmth and beauty, to a small rental house that is freezing and just isn't ours. 7 1/2 more months and our lives will involve a lot less travel and a little more home renovations.

A New Year

2013 was such a great year! There were some big ups and downs, but if life has taught me anything, it’s to focus on the positive, and work out the not so great things as best you can. And especially, don’t let others' negativity steal your happiness. Life is too short to spend even ten minutes of your day focusing on any crap you can’t control or change (of course, this is easier said than done, and I'm still working on doing this all the time).

There are many things I want to work on in 2014, but the biggest is to better myself on the inside. Last year Michael and I worked on our bodies, but this year, in addition to continuing that, I want to better my mental space. I want to work on being more patient, mellow, and understanding. I want to be stronger mentally, and less focused on negativity. 

In addition to being a happier, better me, I want our family to do more things together - have fun adventures, go on family outings, spend time together unplugged. I want to spend more time with my husband, do more fun and educational activities with Michelle, and give myself a break when I'm not feeling like the perfect wife, mother, daughter, friend, or person. 

2013 included watching Michelle morph from a sweet chubby little infant, into a crawling, then walking, then running little girl, with big personality and an amazing sense of adventure. We took Michelle on her first plane ride (to Southern California for a fun vacation), then out of the country to Mexico on a family vacation. We celebrated our second wedding anniversary, made-over our backyard into a gorgeous oasis, lost a combined 100 lbs (and counting) and bought a new car! Yes, we were forced to move to Yreka for a year in August, but it made it possible for us to play in the snow with Mish (her first time seeing it), go into beautiful Oregon and explore new places, and be greeted by deer every day. Don't get me wrong, I really can't wait to be done with this whole Bay to Yreka thing and get my life back together (and to makeover the inside of our home when we are back full-time), but I'm not going to dwell on it or waste an opportunity to make it a great year! 

These are just a few things I've been thinking about for a few days, and wanted to share. I really hope 2014 brings a happier, healthier, cleaner, and more organized Jessica. 2013 was wonderful, but I'm ready to make 2014 even better!

Yuletide Fun

We had the busiest weekend when we went home last weekend. Every day was filled with a fun Xmas event, and we got to spend time with both of our families. It was really nice, even though we were more tired than we’ve been in a year!

Christmastime is here!

Friday night we went to my parent’s Christmas party that they throw with their best friends. It’s definitely an adult party, but we dragged Michelle there anyway. It was crazy, but I had a fun night! I haven’t seen 80% of my friends/family friends since losing weight, so Michael and I got a lot of complements and acknowledgements about our weight loss (some were SO nice, some were very rude. Lol! Like saying we look great, and they’ve known us for years and didn’t know we could look so good-looking! Hahaha, thanks).

The next day we went to the Christmas Tree farm with my in-laws to cut down their tree. We’ve gone every year for a while now (5 years? I forget!) It was Michelle’s first time there outside of the womb (last year they closed early so she missed out), and she had so much fun! 

My little family

Auntie Rach, Nona and Gramps

My little family

Yearly Xmas photo

After pretending to be lumberjacks and drinking cider, we got ready for an Ugly Christmas Sweater party. It was my first time attending one, and it was fun to decorate our sweaters! I made Michael, Michelle, and myself matching sweater vests. Ha! It was also an adult party, but there was one other baby there for Michelle to play with for a while. 

Matchy matchy!

Michael's ladies - his mom, wife and daughter (can I just add that Michelle keepts yelling "NONA!" at this picture. Haha)

Caging the other little kid at the party. LoL!

Sunday we had breakfast with my sister and two nieces, then went back to my in-laws so they could decorate the tree. My hubby’s family all have special tree ornaments they like to hang (childhood ones, baby’s first xmas, and sentimental ones), so his parents like to have the kids decorate. We got home pretty late, and then got up and left for Y at 5 am! We hate that early morning drive, but what can ya do? It was worth it.

Cousins!

 

Relaxing with Daddy after he got home from work

SNOW!

I have always known something about myself. I am a mild weather kind of girl. Not too hot, not too cold, and I’m peachy. I’ve always told Michael I have no interest in staying anywhere it snows longer than a 1-2 day vacation. Fast forward to today, when I’m living at a house that’s covered in snow and ice…and I don’t hate it!

Michael warned me that it was going to snow, but I kept thinking it would just be a light sprinkling that wouldn’t stick. Boy was I wrong – the sky dumped 6 inches within hours and our house transformed into a freezing winter wonderland. 

Michelle loves it. Every time her eye catches the bright white landscape that is our backyard, she yells “SNOW!” which sounds more like ‘nnyo!” She loves watching the deer sleep in the snow in our yard, and danced in the falling snowflakes. She never cried when snow got in her Uggs, and laughed when I threw snow in the air above her head. 

Charlie actually liked the snow and ran like a madman all over the yard. He did start to whimper after about 45 minutes, but it was freezing and he doesn’t have snow boots ;-)

Michael’s been working in the snow, and his work truck is a rear wheel drive (the worst thing to drive in the snow), so he’s been driving my Subaru to work. Great for him - it’s the best car ever (Forester – with all-wheel drive), but not so great for us because we’ve been stranded during the day. It actually wasn’t too bad; I ended up online shopping and getting a ton of Xmas stuff out of the way. 

Today we got home from a weekend in the Bay Area to find the snow is melting. I’m sad to see it go, but happy that we’ll be able to safely drive around town without the threat of accident at every turn. I just wish we made a snowman when we had the chance!  

 

Los Cabos!

For the week of Thanksgiving, my little family joined my in-laws for a vacation in Los Cabos, Mexico. We spent the week swimming at beaches, shopping, and eating delicious food. 

Ready to go, Mom and Dad!

Welcome to paradise would have been more accurate ;-)

Michelle has flown before (over the summer on a quick mini-vacation to SoCal), so we weren’t too worried about how she’d be on the plane. Luckily for us, our 100% booked flight had an extra seat, and the woman in our row decided to be the coolest person ever, and give up her seat to Michelle. She offered, and we ended up getting three seats for the price of two! I really hope that nice lady had some positive karma go back to her :) 

Our private row! Lol

Nursing on the plane to pop those ears

Our hotel was in San Jose del Cabo, and it was very beautiful. We roasted marshmallows at the hotel’s fire pit, swam in the pool with a swim-up bar, and lounged in the hot tub. Michelle had so much fun in the water, and loved being able to play with her cousin Nichole. 

Michelle and Nichole sitting by the fire

Roasting mallows

Sitting by the pool - little cuties!

My sassy girl, posing on the beach at the hotel

We went to Chileno Beach a few times, and it was by far my favorite spot! The waves were high, but gentle enough to swim in, and there were SO many fish. Michelle’s Nona held her the whole time in the ocean, so Michael and I were able to play in the waves. It was awesome!

Swimming with Nona

Mama and Mish

Gorgeous!

Watching the waves

Move over Coppertone Baby! There's a new cutie in town!

 

On Thanksgiving day, we had a fish dinner that the men caught, and Michelle and Nichole wore matching dresses (a gift from Diann, Michelle’s Nona!). 

Michael, his uncle John, and dad (Gramps)

Festive girls!

All in all, we had a great time, and we are forever grateful for the generosity we experienced. Michael’s family likes to take care of each other :)

Kisses and cuddles from Nona and Grandpa

We had a whole day layover in Dallas Texas, so we thought we’d make a mini-vacation out of our home trip. Well, it was horrible and Texas left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to visit – it was dirty, ghetto, and frustrating in the town we were in. We tried to make a trip to downtown Dallas to shop, but we experienced a horrible cab ride and things kept preventing it. Boo. We had high hopes, but it was a bust. Thankfully we had such a fun time in Mexico! The Texas trip can fade into the ether. Lol