Kanapaha Gardens

   Yesterday I drove up to Gainesville for pre-Thanksgiving, although we did not have a Thanksgiving meal, but I liked the family day. My mom and I made sweet potato soufflé (so I could take some of it home for today with Michael and Emma) then we went to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens so I could take more pictures since I've been in a big "Canon mood" lately. After that we went with my dad and brother to David's BBQ for dinner before I drove home.
   Here are my favorite pictures of the ones I took, and we only saw 1/3 of the gardens!

Emma's Thanksgiving Cards

   So in case you didn't know.. WE HAVE A BABY!! Well she's almost 18 months now, but with her Meier-Gorlin Syndrome/ primordial dwarfism, she is only weighs 15 pounds and is 24 inches. Her name is Emma McKenzie and she was in the hospital for the first 10 and a half months of her life -- and you can read all about her/our journey through that on the blog I write about her -- but has now been home for almost 7 months. She still currently has a trach and is ventilator dependent, with a G-tube in her stomach and is formula fed solely though there.
   I am writing this post here because two weeks ago when I made the Turkey Hand Card post on her page, Michael felt like there were way too many "photography" pictures of the cards and the photos were not focusing as much on her, so I am moving them to here so they can still be viewed:

 This is my favorite one- the one we will keep. :)

The original post and more picture of Emma on her blog can be read... ---> here! 

  I really love looking at pictures, portrait or landscape photography, and I love depth of field, when something in the foreground or background is blurry, and the main focus being so crisp. I think that if I could have any job besides working at the Sheriff's Office, which I do like, I would definitely still want to work on movies as the 2nd Assistant Director or the BTS Photographer. I was lucky when we worked on Blood Widow that I was able to have both jobs!! However, being paid to blog about our family and take amazing vacations and write reviews about products that we use all the time, like Naomi Davis gets to do, would be more realistic and extra amazing.

Here are a bunch of links to other favorite Canon photos I took before Emma was born:

Dudley Farm with my friends ~ December 2013.

A maternity session of my friend Miriam, her husband Garth & their son, Wes ~ January 2016.

Pioneer Village Museum with Peyton ~ February 2016.

Dudley Farm in Gainesville with Peyton ~ August 2016.

The children of my cousin, Jessica, back when she only had three! (She is currently pregnant with baby #5!) ~ August 2016

Meeting my friend Tonia's daughter, Ashlyn, at two months old ~ August 2016.

Fun times at the Florida Aquarium with Peyton ~ September 2016.

The Renaissance Faire where Michael and I rode an elephant!! ~ March 2017

At the Jacksonville Zoo with my nieces, Peyton and Helena ~ March 2017.

Helton Creek Falls, GA during our "Babymoon" ~ April 2017

Our baby shower that my mom through for us and Emma ~ April 2017

And here is a link that has more links to other posts I have written using Canon photos.

   I was recently looking up professional photographers in Orlando and found one woman who photographs kids/ families with special needs, but she charges $550!! The other photographer I found seemed like her pictures weren't any better than mine and her fee was $200 per hour. Wow. We have a Rebel T2i which we got in 2011 after we graduated from Full Sail and I often wish that we had a better, newer camera, but also don't use it enough to justify spending $800. Although sadly that is the equivalent to just two months worth of Emma's formula. Yikes! ;)

Honeymoon Marriage Tips

Michael and I have been married for almost 7 years, and for the past month we have definitely been in a "lovey dovey" Honeymoon Mode, really enjoying each other's company, laughing a lot every day, and barely getting into any disagreements. And this is all while being far from home with our 8 month old daughter, Emma, in the hospital in Michigan. Overall things have definitely been the best in our marriage over the past two years since we started trying to have a baby around Christmas 2015. I know a baby can sometimes hurt a marriage or make things more difficult, so don't use that as a tip from us. However, we have talked several times about how we should write a book because sometimes being married seems sooo easy and really just like hanging out with your best friend all day, for your whole life!! But for now a very long blog post will do. ;)

For us some of the main things fall under these categories:
*Patience (Michael is much better at that one)
*Communication/ Bids
*Honesty = Trust
*Knowing Yourself and Understanding Love Languages

*Pick Your Battles

Michael follows a few different pages with "fun facts" and likes to read some of his favorites out loud to me. One he read the other day was about how in Transylvania, Romania there was a church with a "divorce room". Any couples who wanted a divorce had to live together in that room for two weeks. It only had one small bed, one chair, one table, one plate, and one spoon. In 300 years, only one couple still wanted to get divorced after their time in the room together. I thought that was a really great and interesting idea.

Bids: The part about him reading that info to me is called "a bid". I read an article recently about a bid study. We give bids to people all day. Most of them start with Michael reading me a random fact, or laughing then turning his phone towards me to watch the video he just watched. Anything that has an underlying meaning of "I think this is interesting/ funny and I would like to share it with you because you might like it too and I enjoy when we laugh together/ have something in common." The article I read did a study with a certain amount of couples. (If I can find the article again, I will add the link.) The couples who accepted or replied positively to their spouses bids at least 66% of the time had a stronger likelihood of staying married and making each other happy. The other couples ignored the bid or did not show interest, causing the bidder to feel alone. So one thing I have started to work on or pay attention to is when Michael is talking. If it is something that I believe he wants me to listen to, I will turn towards him or look up and listen, and he does the same. That has been working well for us.

Other times our phones get in the way of paying attention, and I would say "okay" or some type of response to let him know I was listening even though I was not. Usually I would go back to him later, asking him to repeat it, in case it was important or something he needed me to do. When I was the one talking and he didn't listen because he was watching another Fail video on YouTube, I would put my hands on his face and lift his head to make sure he was looking at me before I told him the important reminder. Because of this issue with always being on our phones and distracting us from each other, I eventually (maybe a year and a half ago?) stopped bringing my phone when we went on dates. And three months ago we started "Amish Time", which is when one of us walks into the room and says, "Amish time!" This is a bid for the other person to put their phone away (preferably in another room) and we spend the next hour or however long just talking and laughing about whatever. These end up being nice times, especially if we're snuggling in bed, maybe we even throw in a little bit of kissing. ;)

I'm not going to write a sex paragraph, although that's very important too! But I have noticed myself being counter intuitive in the past, for example: Michael asks, "So would you like to do anything tonight?" *obvious winks* I reply, "I can't right now. I'm reading this book about how to have a better marriage." When I hear myself say that out loud my conscience slaps my brain. I throw the book aside and quickly change my answer, "Yes, I do!" And that brings me to the topic entitled Don't Be Lazy!!

This is my biggest personal problem. Michael might say it's something else, like how terrible I am about interrupting while he talks and I don't even notice. Dang it. But a lot of my complaining (when he asks me to do chores/ yard work) comes from the fact that I just don't like doing chores. I know I need to so our house looks nice, but I didn't like doing them growing up when my parents told me to vacuum, dust, clean the bathroom and pick up pine cones, and I don't really like doing those chores now. Even though -like in everything- you always feel much better and productive or accomplished after its done. Usually when he asks me to do chores (and he does them half of the time too, okay maybe 60%?), it's because I recently sat down to watch my show and was planning to have a mini marathon, aka being lazy. Obviously watching TV or Netflix is not important, but sometimes it is nice. But since we have been in Michigan for the past two months, we canceled our Internet and Netflix. We haven't had cable since 2014 and that has been fine for us. There are so many better things to do with our time now, especially since we have a sweet baby. 

Patience: I believe a huge chunk of why our marriage is so good is because Michael is such a patient man. His advice is, "Being patient is not easy. It is something you have to work at. I know Rachel takes a while to get ready in the morning, or if she says she is ready, it really means she still needs to brush her hair, go to the bathroom, and put her shoes on. So instead of getting cranky about her not really being ready when she says she is, I try not to be cranky because that could ruin the day." One thing he often tells me to do is to go with the flow. It is easier for him, but since I have such a Planner Brain, I picture how the whole day will go and when something goes wrong or changes, I get cranky. There are some days I wake up and I tell myself that I will go with the flow, since we don't have very much control over what happens or what other people do. On the days I go with the flow, my day tends to be better because I did not have expectations. I do control the things I can like whether I go for a walk that day, or what I decide to eat and what clothes to wear. 

Communication: This is probably the biggest topic, a lot to talk about in the talking category. :) I think it is best to talk about EVERYTHING. You are supposed to marry your best friend, so this should make you happy and feel so comfortable to tell them everything, and ask them anything. A lot of mornings Michael asks me what my dream was about while I was sleeping, or he will just start telling me about the one he had. We tell each other "I love you" probably 30 times a day. Sometimes we say it because the other person just told us something sweet or special. Other times we say it to fill the space if we are both on our phones and not talking, or we say it as we walk through the house. If I'm just sitting there staring off (this mostly happens while we're driving somewhere), he will ask me what I'm thinking about. Other times I ask random things like, "How was your poop?" For real. That's more to be silly, but also to show him that I care about everything he does. 

My mom liked to use the phrase, "He can't read your mind," and then later said she wished that my dad could read her mind. I watched my parents have a conversation a year or two ago, me being married for a handful of years and understanding what tones actually meant. From what I remember, my mom asked my dad if he wanted to do something, and he said no. I can't remember what is was now, but we'll say she asked, "Do you want to open the windows because it feels nice outside?" My dad said no. Then I translated for him, saying, "By her asking that, she actually meant she wanted you to do it." So we should just be more precise about what we mean. Why do we beat around the bush? It can be confusing and wastes our own energy. We always hope the other person will say yes! When was the last time you asked your best friend to hang out and then were relieved when they said they were busy? Maybe never! Take away the "Do you want to" and say "Please" instead. Michael's example would be to say to me, "Please go to Lowes/ Homes Depot with me". Asking it in question form, gives people a yes or no option. Of course the person being asked could still say no, but at least then the asker's intentions are understood. "Please walk to the store with me because I love when we spend extra time together and we can hold hands." One kind of sarcastic quote that I like from The Office that Kelly says is, "What kind of person tells you exactly what they are thinking? What kind of game is that?" No game. It's what we should all do. 

Another important thing is to be open and honest. None of this "I'm fine!" garbage, in and upset or angry tone. The person asking was trying to be nice, let them be nice, because if you say I'm fine enough times, they may stop asking. I am so lucky to have a husband who "pushes me" to tell him what is wrong so he can either let me vent or help fix the problem. I love that if I tell him I'm fine, he gives me a look, and a few years ago I would even say "I'm fine" again just because I didn't feel like talking about it, but holding the anger in never made me feel better. A year or so ago I think he told me something like, "You know that if I ask you what's wrong four times you will eventually tell me, so how about we just skip to that part so we aren't wasting time." His bluntness made me laugh because he was so right. I love that he knows me so well. So now when he asks me what is wrong, I tell him. One night I complained that every time he asks me what is wrong, it's always about the same stuff. Stress about our baby still being in the hospital/ us not eating healthy/ wasting money/ wish I was exercising more/ spending too much of my life scrolling through negative Facebook posts, etc. Michael told me that he always likes me telling him what's wrong because he likes me confiding in him. Awww. 

Do not waste your time asking your friends why your spouse is upset with you or what they think you can do to be a better spouse, etc. I have done this far too many times in our early marriage years. The person who will always have the best answer is that person. Only Michael (and myself) knows what I can do to be a better wife. Only Michael knows why he is upset or anything else. One thing that happened a few years ago, back when we argued more, was that Michael would ask his friends (who are all unmarried, or divorced) what he should do about all our arguing. They were quick to suggest that we should get divorced. Thankfully Michael definitely knew that was not the right answer. We have never been to counseling, but we did attend a Marriage Encounter weekend (before our second anniversary when we were still marriage newbs). That helped a lot because they gave us a booklet of questions to ask each other and get to know each other better, so we learned several new and important things. 

Know Yourself: Let's be honest, a good portion of the reasons we are upset does not have anything to do with our spouse. It is because there was traffic, or we got in trouble at work and it was a long day, we are tired or hungry, or usually in my case, it is because my pants are too tight and I feel gross. So obviously in my example, I am just mad at my current situation. So sometimes you just need to dig in to the little kid part of your brain and continue to ask yourself "why, why, why"? All the way down until you get to the root of the problem. When I saw the movie La La Land (***SPOILER***) it made me so sad that they broke up when the whole root of the problem was that they simply missed each other. It made them sad that their jobs kept them apart longer than they liked, but they were having the argument while they were in their apartment together. I have done that in the past, but it is something I try to avoid now: Don't complain about how you don't spend enough time together while you are together! Obviously it is important to discuss and plan date nights, but enjoy the time you have together and talk about nice things, such as how you fell in love. That is one of my favorite things to talk about with Michael, plus imagining all the fun things we will do with Emma when she finally gets out of the hospital. I love him telling people how we met, the first time we held hands, talking about his proposal, and our wedding. It definitely floods all those sappy, flirty memories back into our brains and hearts. 

One thing I have learned about myself over the years is that I DO need to go to bed angry. I know a popular tip is "Never go to bed angry", and Michael agrees with that instead of my tip, so it depends on what type of person you are. I used to always just walk (or drive) away from an argument, but after we actually had a discussion about the "best way" to argue, I learned that Michael feels better talking everything out. So instead of me walking away or slamming doors like an immature teenager, I sit there with an angry face and listen. So after doing that, I go to bed maybe still upset, BUT in the morning I realize that I just needed sleep and realize that the thing I was mad about really wasn't a big deal. I get mad about dumb, little things. I am always glad about keeping my mouth shut instead of continuing to argue because I am an "exploder" and tend to yell really rude things that I don't actually mean, it's just to throw an insult back. But Michael does not forget the things I say. 

Love Languages: The five love languages are Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, and Quality Time. I believe Words of Affirmation is my number one (there are a few quizzes online if you want to check your order) because I love compliments. I love Michael telling me I am beautiful, that he likes my outfit or makeup, that I am a great writer, and a great mom and wife. I love when he looks through my scrapbooks and tells me how great I am at putting them together. I love when I clean the house and texts me saying, "Your the best!" Yes, he always writes your instead of you're and it drives me crazy, but I love the compliment. 

Michael's Love Language is Acts of Service. He often asks me to do favors for him, like to do his laundry on my day off when he has to work. But we tend to also "give" others our language. So I often think that Michael will be happiest if I give him compliments, so I do, but it is important to know and remember what your spouse's love language is. Michael does so many acts of service (favors) for me, from little things like getting my drink when we go to Panera, to picking up my cousins from the airport when I didn't feel good. And lately he has done so many for me, that I am constantly asking if he needs me to do anything for him, even if it's making his coffee in the morning, or running errands for him to pick up his favorite face wash. The other night he asked me to refill his water bottle, but then said, "Never mind, you don't have to. You've done so much for me lately." To which I replied that I was doing so much for him to make up for everything he does for me! And then I filled up his water bottle. :) 

Honesty = Trust: When we were in college for two years, Michael often said that he didn't like me hanging out with other guys and often wanted to know where I was and who I was with, although we were together 90% of the time. For a while I didn't mind, but then it started to feel controlling, especially not letting me even talk to other guys, but what it came down to was he wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to start liking someone else or that other guys weren't flirting with me. One time we even broke up for two weeks because I never felt "free". So when we got back together (we continued flirting with each other during those two weeks), I told him how much I loved him, but that he needed to chill. Later on, after we were married, when he still wanted to know every time I got to work and every time I was leaving work or running errands, I talked to my mom about how it annoyed me. She explained that it was probably because he loved me so much that he just wanted to make sure that I was safe. I later asked him about it and he said the same thing. It made me feel better (especially since I work answering 911 calls and the callers rarely know where the person works or where they were last). And since then I have not minded telling him where I am and when I'll be home. Sometimes now he forgets to tell me when he is leaving from work and I worry about him if he is not home by his normal time. I also think a lot of people feel like they are being "controlled" or kept tabs of, and the main reason it bothers them is because they are lying. Even if I have a surprise for Michael that he is not expecting, I can't help but act weird. Obviously lying because of cheating or doing something else wrong is different from trying not to spoil a fun surprise, but I think that is the main reason people don't like telling someone where they are. 

Pick Your Battles: Do yourself a favor and read the book "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***" by Mark Manson, or at least the article he has on his website (MarkManson.net). It is about how offended we get and how much emotion we put into things that aren't important. I read the whole article, but not the whole book, just enough to get the point and feel better about rationing my emotions. There are lots of things in each day that we could get mad about, either at our spouse or another person or ourselves, but if we save our emotions for a few top things that we really care about, we will be a lot more chill and not start so many stupid fights. Some things are never changing and we need to learn to accept them about the other person. For me, since before Michael met me, I am basically obsessed with being healthy and losing weight, while he is the opposite and is not a fan of exercise. Of course I still ask Michael to go on walks with me on weekends or after work, but instead of always getting mad at him, I just expect him to say "no", that way I'm not really disappointed. Sometimes he does say yes and that's super wonderful! I will always say "no" when he asks me to go to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal each year, even though I did go a few months into our relationship (October 2009). But now that I am positive that I don't like it, that is something that I will not change my mind about, and he knows that. I actually just asked him on a scale from 1 to 10 how much it bothers him that I won't go to Halloween Horror Nights and he said zero!! Phew! :) 

I would love to write a full Money category, but since we have received such generous "donations" over the years (from Michael's parents), we definitely have more money in savings than we would if they did not want to help us as they do. We would definitely have zero money in savings now though with how much Emma's hospital bills have cost this far, even after insurance deducts a whole bunch. So I feel like I cannot write a fair paragraph about it. However, I still suggest, and I'm sure Dave Ramsey would agree with me ~ put as much money into a savings account as you can. Michael is big on living life, rather than eating rice and beans every day just to have money in savings. And I agree with him. We definitely splurge when we want to (we fully paid for our week long Babymoon last April before Emma was born), but we are also good at setting goals and will stay on a budget when we decide that we have been spending too much or want to get our savings back to a "safer" amount. During our whole marriage I have always stressed about money. I freak out and tell Michael that we won't have enough to pay all of the bills, when in reality I mean "we won't have enough money to pay the bills without taking money out of savings." And also "Why did we think it was a smart idea to go to Olive Garden three times last week?!" We have a lot in savings, so obviously we're always more than fine, and I need to learn to chill out on that level. It is all about balance. 

Figure out what you fight about most and then talk about how you can reduce that. If you argue about not being able to pay bills, and you barely have any savings, maybe having another baby is not a great idea. Making sacrifices is not a bad thing. You don't need cable, or the Internet. We don't need to go out to each three times a week just because we are too lazy to get groceries. **Be responsible, say what you mean, be nice, keep dating each other, and hold hands.** That is basically the whole point of this post. Don't make things more difficult than they need to be. Michael says I am great at that. He is so right, but I wish I wasn't, so I really try to go with the flow and let God take care of what we have no control over. Also don't get offended so easily. Michael loves to do impressions of me. I could get offended and mad, but they are so accurate and hilarious, and it helps me see through his eyes how dramatic I can be. Now I like when he does impressions of me because I know I'll always get a good laugh from it! 

Side bar: I know both people have to want to change and better themselves. And being in an abusive relationship is not healthy, nor is living with someone who has substance abuse problems. I understand that some people need to get divorced in order to be safe, although some of them probably should not have gotten married in the first place, especially if there were several warning signs while dating. But I think having a 50% divorce rate is waaay too high. My post is simply to explain how Michael and I have figured out over the years to have an easy/ fun/ terrific marriage. Maybe I'll write another one in another seven years if we have learned more by then! 

Reasons Why Michael is the Best Husband

1. He doesn’t try to change me.
2. Doesn’t mind/ goes along with when I change myself (eating vegan for three months, dabbling in meditation/yoga) 
3. Wanted to marry me even though he knew I get cranky a lot about dumb / little stuff.
4. He is a great dad! 
5. He lets me get away with being lazy at least 75% of the time.
6. He calls me out on my laziness and lets me know when I need to be better -clean up the house/ help with chores
7. He is hilarious & does super dramatic yet accurate impressions of me.
8. He has an amazing smile, especially when he is laughing or when he has made me laugh/ watching me laugh.
9. He likes to make me laugh & he is super good at it. 
10. Very proud of him for getting down to 185 pounds in Dec 2016-March 2017 by eating healthy/less & jogging!
11. He has never told me I’m fat.
12. Tells me often how beautiful I am (even without makeup) or that I smell good (even before I take a shower)
13. Tells me that I am a good writer 
14. Likes the things I scrapbook
15. Really great to talk to and have long conversations with, especially laughing and kissing in bed
16. He flirts with me when we’re driving separately or blows me kisses
17. He catches my eye and winks at me
18. He always asks whats wrong and really wants to know, and listens even when I’m upset about the same things
19. He talks so sweetly to Emma
20. Often thinks of nice things to do for other people (getting Brian and his girlfriend a little Christmas tree and lights/ornaments when they didn’t have extra money for one)
21. He tells me his dreams in the morning 
22. He can build awesome stuff: dining room table, bookshelves, deck
23. He is very crafty and creative: making door wreath, plus Star Wars costumes
24. Handy around the house: changing light bulbs, fixing sprinkler heads, etc
25. Likes the house looking/smelling nice
26. Gives good massages (at least for Valentines and my birthday)
27. He always offers his arm for me to hang on to when we walk in the snow (in Michigan) and says he likes me holding his arm
28. He is open with communication and asks lots of questions (what am I thinking about, how do I feel)
29. A really hard worker: never takes sick days even if he’s tired or feels sick 
30. Trusts me with our money/ budget
31. Does a lot of things I want to do (including exploring old pioneer farms)
32. Does lots of little things to make me happy
33. A super good friend to other people & goes out of his way to make them feel good (decorating VAMP classroom for Brian’s birthday)
34. Fun sense of fashion for himself and is good at picking out my outfits
35. Tells me his biggest secrets!!
36. He reminds me that we are perfect together and that he couldn’t ask for a better wife
37. He never “makes me” have sex & was sooo patient when I didn’t want to much during pregnancy or couldn’t for 10 weeks after Emma was born
38. Did the Catholic Engagement Encounter required for marriage 
39. Did the Catholic Marriage Encounter in California to help our marriage 
40. Never took me seriously (in a bad way) when I mentioned divorce the first few years.. knew I was a dumb fool and was just really stressed
41. Kept liking me during Full Sail (college) even when we broke up twice and we didn’t start dating or kiss anyone else during those weeks
42. Called my mom for advice about me when I was cranky
43. Does nice things to make up after a fight even though I am often the one who should be apologizing first
44. Took 2 “high school jobs” he didn’t like so we could pay my student loans: worked at Salvatore’s Pizza and Academy sports
45. Makes sure he is a good husband and asks what he can do to be better 
46. Grabs my hand when we are walking
47. Wipes my tears and holds me when I am crying
48. Asks what he can do to make things better when I’m stressed or sad about Emma/ hospital stuff
49. He helps calm me down and be positive after I’d work myself into a lot of overdramatic/ irrational stress
50. Can tell if I sound “off” on the phone at the end of a conversation and calls me back 30 seconds later to check
51. Very “go with the flow” so he doesn’t complain about my crazy brain when one day I say we need to put $4,000 in savings but the next day I suggest we go out to eat
52. Fine with having only one TV in the apartment/ house

Reasons I First Liked Him ~

1. Believes in God
2. Handsome (tall and skinny with glasses!)
3. Funny
4. Smart/ street smarts
5. Really nice
6. Doesn’t cuss often
7. Wears his seatbelt/ safe driver
8. Doesn’t really care about sports or politics (just like me!)
9. Doesn’t play video games 
10. Doesn’t smoke or do drugs
11. Has good relationship with family 
12. His parents are super great/ fun and his dad is a good person “to become”
13. Cute dog
14. Great kisser with soft lips
15. We are both creative people
16. Same humor/ likes poop & fart jokes
17. Likes Harry Potter movies/ going to Universal park for “HP Land”
18. He lets me take a lot of pictures and always smiles for them
19. Sleeps with the fan on and uses two pillows
20. Calls me “Love” like a British man

BONUS: when I read him these lists and said “So I should never have anything to get mad at you about, right?” He said “No, thats not true”.

My Young Husband

  Michael and I make jokes around our birthdays about how I'm so much older than him. It feels that way more from June 11th to October 11th while I'm "two" years older than him in numbers. Until last Thursday, I was 30 and he was 28, but now he's catching up again and is 29. But 30 doesn't seem that old anymore and even 60 doesn't seem old since that is the age our parents are in the area of. Now 90 seems old, so we have a ton more years to keep being young. And I often feel "Full Sail young" (age 22), especially when I'm dancing to music in my car at red lights. Tired half of the time and paying a mortgage, but still young. =)

Hubba hubba!! *heart eyes emoji* (photo taken by his mom)

   Anyway, this post is about my amazing husband! ☆  ♡  ✞
On Thursday after walking with Jackie, I met Michael at VAMP for birthday lunch at Panera. I felt kind of bad after, kicking him out of my car because I had an hour to get home and pump before getting to the hospital at 2:15 so I could hold Emma before the nurse started feeding her at 2:30. That night we went out to eat again since he wanted to go to Chili's. The next day his mom drove down, but I barely got to see her since I worked all weekend. They invited me to dinner at Bahama Breeze, but I went to the hospital instead due to the scheduling. On Saturday they went to the Farmers Market so Michael could get more juicy mangos, then they saw Emma, went for a bike ride, and out to eat again at a Thai Place Michael likes, then to see Emma again. On Sunday they saw Emma, ran errands to Target and Babies R Us where they picked up curtains for Emma's room, a cute bathing suit for her to use later when we can play in the baby blowup pool outside at home, and a "big girl" bathtub to use at the hospital. She's too big for those little gray buckets now!  On Sunday they saw her two more times, then made dinner at the house. Luckily his mom was still there when I got home after work, so I got to see her for 45 minutes before she drove back to her hotel and then left early this morning.

   I was really glad that she got a picture of him with some of his presents. She made the best photo album with a ton of pictures of Emma starting with when we told them I was pregnant last November. He opened the ones from me and my parents on Friday night. I got him The 100, Season 1 and Hook.  I also made him a card telling him how he is such a great husband and dad. Sometimes I feel like he needs (and wants) those reminders. He often asks Emma how we got so lucky to have her, but its us who are the lucky ones because we have Michael! I put two of our recent favorite pictures of us with Emma on the front and back of the card so he could take it to work as a make shift picture frame.

   I like to link back to previous related events in my posts, so here is the post from Michael's 28th birthday, but I never wrote about what we did for his 27th birthday in 2015. That might have been the year that he went to see a movie by himself because I didn't want to go. I'm not sure why I didn't since it was a cute kiddy movie (Hotel Transylvania 2) and not something scary and creepy, but later that night I felt bad and got dressed up then met him at the theater when the movie ended and "made him" go to dinner with me.. still makes the day sound like it's about me.. I need to work on that, but hopefully I've gotten better about it in the past two years!! Michael still asks me to go to Halloween Horror Nights with him every year, but I can't do that again.
   So in 2015, to make up for being a tooty pop head, the next day I asked him what else he wanted to do to celebrate, and he suggested kayaking at Shingle Creek in Kissimmee. I only have two pictures below from that which were saved in my email- thank goodness they were titled decently since I forget where on my laptop that I put my million of pictures years later. (We've been backing up all of our Emma pictures in several places and I try to keep those organized by month.) In the third picture with us wearing gray, I can only assume it was around the same time since it was in the same email.

   This year Michael said he wanted to go kayaking again, but found a different area. We woke up early and he drove us to Wekiva Island (close to Wekiwa Springs, and no that's not a spelling error. Half of the names in that area are Wekiva with a V and the other half are with a W.. confusing!). It had free parking which was wonderful since the springs cost $6 per car, although the kayaking was not cheap! But since it was for his birthday, his parents paid for it. They are super generous that way. I also love how his mom keeps complimenting me on my strength during the past four months- how strong I was in my C-section recovery, how we are learning so much medical stuff for Emma, and how I've been dedicated and have lost almost all of the baby weight already! Go me!.. I promise this post is about Michael! :)

  We rented the kayaks for almost 4 hours!! I tried really hard to keep a positive attitude when my arms were sore and we had to paddle against the current on the way back and I couldn't stop or I'd be pushed backwards. One arm felt sore the next day, but it wasn't bad. Michael said he didn't have any soreness, and I was so proud of him being responsible about applying more sunscreen every hour so he didn't get burnt! After kayaking Michael stopped by the food truck in the parking lot and ordered chicken tenders with fries and mango coleslaw. I loved that they had five vegetarian options and the veggie burger did sound good, but I waited until we got home to eat. We napped when we got home, then he said he wanted to go to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. Ooooh, now who is trying to stretch out a birthday extravaganza?! ;)  We also have plans to go to Typhoon Lagoon on Saturday. I hope the weather is as clear and sunny as it was out today. Woooo, fun life!!

 And so much love from me, Emma, and Sasha!! You are the best ever. Like, for real. Other people may think that they have the best husband in the world, but they don't even know!!

Tru Nature

  I think 117 may be my new normal weight. That's what I have been the past couple of times I've weight myself. It's definitely not my wedding weight, but last summer I was 116, and with doing a lot of exercise videos, I thought I looked really good. ;)  My body works well in a way that once I switch from junk like pizza, chips, cookies, and ice cream (yes, those all do sound amazing) to real food like fruits, veggies, salads, and sandwiches, it likes what I'm putting in it and I can quickly lose ten pounds. And it has done so several times. Thank you, body.

  It's been 20 days since I've eaten meat and over 6 weeks since I've really had dairy (just a small amount of cheese or Ranch dressing on a rare occasion). I'm not really trying to do a "vegan challenge" for a certain amount of days, it also just seems normal for now. Yesterday I thought about stopping to get a chicken pesto wrap, but then thought about the chickens crammed together in cages so they can't move with their beaks cut off and getting pumped with stuff to make them at least twice as big and their skinny legs not being able to support their bodies. I went home instead and had a quinoa burger with hummus, lettuce, sprouts, and peppers. I've learned recently that I like red peppers!

  I will admit that going to Chevy's Fresh Mex will be difficult because I love the chicken flautas there. When we went last weekend, I got the vegetarian wrap (lots of crunchy veggies with rice and beans), but I probably would not order it again. Although I would be fine eating all of the crispy chips and dip. Those chips are so thin and flaky, it's easy to pile through three baskets!! In one of the vegan books I was reading, it mentioned a term called "flexitarian" which I had never heard of before, so I looked it up. "The flexitarian diet is increasing in popularity especially with people who do not want to commit to a full vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. It allows them a flexibility that they can adapt to their lifestyle, social life or health conditions." I told Michael about this and his accurate response was, "So they are just regular humans! If they want a salad, they eat one. If they want a steak, they eat it."

  My new favorite foods lately have been acai bowls. Last weekend I found a new (its been there at least a year according to the reviews on Yelp) smoothie and juice place called Tru Nature. I had never had an acai bowl before, but loved it so much. It's basically a smoothie in a bowl with toppings. I went back the next day and tried one of their pitaya (dragonfruit) bowls. It was even better and more beautiful than the first one!!  Michael got the pina colada smoothie when he went, but he said it had too much coconut and not enough sweet pineapple, so it tasted bland.

  I also was trying to be creative with more meal options and made avocado toast one morning which was good and bruschetta Triscuts for lunch using vegan mozzarella. Wow, I ate a whole lot of those!! I would make more but I'm out of mini tomatoes for now. I work again tomorrow so I've been thinking of what kind of easy meals I can bring to eat. I love my loaded veggie burgers, but they are messy and would be hard to eat when I'm talking to the deputies at the same time. I think soups, pita sandwiches, nuts and fruit will be the way to go! Maybe spaghetti and I love my quinoa salads too.

I call this the Big Veg (instead of a Big Mac)!!

  Michael and I just got back from a local farmers market that I've been wanting to go to for a while. There are a lot of vendors selling food, soaps, and other decorative things and it wasn't just fruits and vegetables. I was pleasantly surprised to see Michael paying for three mangos while I waited for a smoothie to be made. He just whispered "yes" to himself as he cut open the perfectly ripe and juicy mango. When he gets them from Publix they have to sit out for a while because they are too hard to eat. I got two bananas and a handful of green beans, which only cost me $1.24! On Monday, Michael went with me to try a small restaurant we hadn't been to before called That One Spot. He has been such a sweetie lately when we plan to go out to eat, he lets me check the menu for vegetarian or mostly vegan options before we pick a place. It's so nice how he goes along with everything rather than saying, "You're not really vegan. Don't be dumb. We're going to (insert name of restaurant without healthier options)." He got a regular burger, I got a black bean burger, and we shared a side of sweet potato fries.

   My mom visited a couple weeks ago, which was great and we walked two miles along one of the nearby trails, then stopped into two of the lunch spots before deciding to eat at home. I was impressed with myself and all of the ingredients available for her since usually the only thing I have to offer is chicken nuggets and cereal. I laid all of the fruits and vegetables out on the counter and it looked beautiful!

 Trying different food choices is definitely a learning experience. One I am happy to dive in to. Sometimes I love it because it helps me explore different parts of a menu for familiar restaurants, sometimes it helps me find new places to eat, and sometimes I waste my money on fake meat that turns out to taste like dog food.. I'm looking at you fake bacon, but there have also been several non-vegetarian meals I have ordered at Cooper's Hawk that I did not enjoy, giving Michael leftovers to take to work. Plus it never hurts to have something keep me occupied that way I have less time to think about being sad that I'm not pregnant again yet.