I’m Baaaack!!

Hellllllooooo!

Wow, guys. Wow. It’s been like, a million years since my last blog post. Life sometimes gets in the way of blogs though, but I really wanted to update and let my lovely followers know what’s been going on the last few months.

Last time I updated, I was a couple months pregnant and Mike and I were engaged. I’m now 7 months pregnant and Mike and I are MARRIED! Gasp! I know, I know.

It all happened so fast. We decided that we didn’t want a huge wedding. Not even a small wedding. We wanted to elope. And boy, did we. This past May, we went to Paris for 16 days and while we were there, got married beneath the Eiffel Tower. We were married on May 28 at 6pm (Paris time) and it was absolutely perfect for us.

So now, we’re married and in two months going to have a beautiful little baby! My pregnancy has been going well. I’ve had some painful times. Some restless times. Some crazy times. But also lots of great and wonderful times. Baby is kicking like crazy all the time! I also haven’t gained a whole lot of weight, and still working out and doing my yoga! I seem to have these bursts of energy through the day, which I take advantage of. I’m 7 months pregnant and my belly has finally just popped and STILL people don’t know I’m preggy!

All in all, it’s been a crazy year! And on top of all of that, Mike and I are moving! We’re staying in the same city, just wanting more space and moving soon, which is stressful with a capital stress!

So, that’s that. I’m sure there is way more, but that will be for another post 😉

xoxo

Becky

 

Big News!

Ello everyone!

I know, I know. It’s been like a million years. I took a little break from updating my blogs. Alot has been going on these past few months though, so I think I have an ok excuse 😉

First of all, I’ve been teaching more yoga classes which was great. I love what I do and that’s a wonderful thing to be able to say. Second, I’ve been trying to help my sweetheart, Mike, achieve his dream in writing his very own graphic novel. We’ve been bouncing ideas off of eachother and I know that whatever he comes up with, will be great.

And finally… drum roll… Mike and I are so very happy to announce that we’re having a baby! Yep, that’s right. Yours truly is preggy 🙂 I’m almost 11 weeks now and so far, it’s been a draining but amazing experience. I’ve had “morning” sickness all day, everyday since about week 5 and if anything, I seemed to have LOST weight. But I can’t wait to start showing, and I can’t wait for September when our little one is due to arrive. Mike and I (and our families) are so beyond happy and we can’t wait to be parents. I couldn’t have asked for a better father for my little one 🙂

So I hope you can all forgive me for not updating as much, but like I said, life has got in the way. In the most loveliest of ways ❤

Ps. This is how we announced our news on Facebook. Stick Dinosaur style 😉

xoxo

Becky

Break Down The Wall

What would you do if someone you loved was sick? I’m not talking about sneezing, coughing, runny nose with a fever kind of sick. I mean really sick.

This post will be a little different than my usual ones. I wanted to share with you something my family has gone through, and what we did to overcome and come through it all.

Just over three years ago, my Mommy went in for a physical. A routine, boring old physical. Her next appointment wasn’t nearly as boring. My Mommy was diagnosed with kidney cancer. They told her that the best option, was to have the infected kidney removed. So just months before my wedding (to my ex, back in 2010) she went in for a surgery that most people won’t ever have to think about.

The surgery went well, from my understanding. To be honest, I think some information regarding it all was hidden from me as I was a bride-to-be planning a wedding, and knowing my parents, they didn’t want to add any more to my plate. I think this because I remember not being concerned at all when she went in for the surgery. I remember thinking that it really wasn’t anything to be worried about, and I thank them for keeping it from me only because had I have known the extent of everything then, I may not have been so calm and collected all of the time.

So a year or so went by, maybe longer, I can’t actually remember. Some time went by though and she went in for her 6 month check up and the thing that we were told couldn’t possibly happen, happened. Doctors found a mass on her remaining kidney and believed it to be the same cancer. This time, I remember being more concerned. More aware. More everything. How could this already rare type of cancer, come back for a second round? Hadn’t she kicked it’s ass enough already?

Our family is a tough one. We fight, we taunt, we laugh and we love. We were all prepared to fight this out again, this time for the championship belt.

With the love, support and faith from family, friends and even strangers, my Mom overcame cancer again. She didn’t have to have her other kidney removed or go on dialysis and just a few months ago, they told her that any sign of the cancer had fled. Take that, cancer. You big stupid.

So again I ask, what would you do if someone you loved got sick? It’s not a bad thing to say that you have no idea, because if you were to ask me the same question years ago, I may not have been so quick to answer. Even now, the question for me is difficult to answer because every situation is different. There are others in my life who could potentially become sick. Some, who I love very deeply. All I know for sure is that if something like this or similar to this happens again to someone I love, I’ll never give up and I’ll always be there for them. Always.

Sickness in a loved one is like a brick wall. It starts off small, something you don’t really think too much about. But then the bricks of sickness begin to tower over you, to where eventually you just can’t see each other anymore.

…This is why, like me, you should always carry a sledgehammer.

xoxo

Becky

(Love You. Miss You.)

Have A Happy Day, Earth!

Happy Earth Day everyone 😉

xoxo

Becky

Vegan & Gluten Free? Say whaaa?

I’m pretty proud of myself. Recently, I decided to go totally vegan & gluten free. I did this mainly for health reasons, as I was finding when I ate gluten or any kind of cheese I was getting incredibly ill. It was borderline ridiculous. Also, it challenges me on a daily basis. I find myself always now checking the ingredients & opting out of ordering in or eating out, when I can. And I’ll be honest, I think it’s helping. It gives me a goal for the whole day. Not that I don’t have bigger goals, but this experience makes it so I have mini goals, every day. And I like that.

I’ve been a vegetarian for the last few years now, and I went totally cold turkey doing that. I can even tell you the day I decided to do it and what I was doing! But that was easy for me, as I never really ate alot of meat products anyways. I’mma good girl, I happen to like my fruits & veggies. (Except peas. Never peas.) But I knew going vegan would hurt. I knew giving up cheese, would be the ultimate test. Cheese is really the only dairy product I ate anyways, and even that was rare. But I found recently that I’ve been getting sick after eating it, so I said to myself, “HEY! SELF! We’re trying out the vegan way, sexy.” And that was that.

As for the gluten, well, again I noticed I kept getting sick. So since stopping the glutenous foods, I’ve already noticed a change in me. So, I think I’m going to stick this out and keep on doing what I’m doing. I’ve changed my whole way of thinking and looking at food. It’s not even food to me anymore, it’s what I’m putting in my body. That’s how I think of it.

Add on my daily yoga & me time, well I’ll soon be taking over the world!

(Or at least just my mind, body & soul… That’s good enough for me though.)

xoxo

Becky

10 Signs You Have The Haps!

Mentally Healthy Happy Person Syndrome (HaPS)

Generally characterized by a pervasive and persistent pattern of positive cognition’s and attitudes; a solid sense of self; stability and calmness in stressful situations; often serving to help others, as indicated by meeting seven or more of the following criteria:

1. Practices universal self acceptance, does not tie personal value to external factors including material objects, or the opinions of others.

2. Demonstrates humility, a natural offshoot of gratitude, never being self important, judgmental or thinking less of others.

3. Displays Self Identity Constancy, being the same person at work, home, play or generally within differing social groups (not chameleon-like).

4. Has the ability to be alone, while not being anti-social; can enjoy quiet time without distraction or interaction with others. May be seen meditating.

5. Able to accept criticism, evaluate it and process it appropriately.

6. Demonstrates emotional regulation skills, never denying or suppressing emotions, but mastering what is taking place within their own body and selecting the appropriate expression of those emotions, including basking in positive feelings.

7. Features a tolerance for uncertainty, setting intentions and goals but not trying to totally control all outcomes, situations or the opinions of others.

8. Engages in proactive problem solving versus letting issues fester.

9. Cannot tell a lie.

10. Has a sense of humor about life and themselves; often seen laughing, dancing, playing.

Now, get the HaPS!

xoxo

Becky

What It Truly Means To *Be* Healthy

I came across an article the other day by Tara Stiles and for some reason, when I woke up this morning I was reminded of it.

What it truly means to *be* healthy…

What does it mean to be healthy? Is it a number on the scale, blood pressure score, jeans size, a body free of disease, or something else? 

 

Health can be a touchy subject. We fight over what it should look like (Dove ad or Victoria’s Secret model). We fight over what size dress is healthy (16, 8, or 2). We bash and judge all who don’t fit into our ideal. We forgot to factor in the most important ingredient. What does it feel like to be healthy? What does that look like?

 

Living healthy involves a mix of physical, mental, and emotional components that make us who we are. We literally create our bodies from the inside out with what we put in, what we think, and what we do. Regardless of what we think picture-perfect health looks like, there is one thing we all have in common when it comes to health: Everyone wants to feel better. 

 

Wouldn’t the forest be boring if all the trees looked exactly alike? Why do we get so hung up, then, on how people look and what is healthy and what is not? Sure, we can agree that obesity is unhealthy. We can agree that eating junk and lazing around for days on end isn’t healthy. We can even agree that living with high stress leads to physical, mental, and emotional demise. Why is it, then, that we either want everyone to fit into the Victoria Secret or the Dove category? Why is it one or the other? Why are we so superficial when it comes to the most internal of all topics? 

 

Our health begins in our insides and doesn’t stop at our skin. Our health (healthy or not) radiates beyond our skin into the world in the form of our actions. How we live not only affects our body, mind and spirit, but also affects the body, mind, and spirit of everyone we encounter, and (soon to be commonly accepted), on an entangled mind level.

 

When we shift our thoughts, fears, worries, and insecurities about health from the exterior (how we look) to the interior (how we feel) we set ourselves up for the ultimate success in health and happiness. How about this for an approach to health: Eat clean and healthy, manage stress, and get regular physical activity. Seems pretty straightforward, right? 

 

However, the meaningful factor is the HOW. We can diet, count calories, and manipulate our experience with food into a frazzled tension inducing act. We can be obsessive about food. We can become crazy strict about eating healthy. We can engage in physical activity with tension and force or we can engage with ease. When we go after how we want to feel, and pay attention to how we feel right now, we’re able to enjoy ourselves in the process of living healthy.

xoxo

Becky