My life as a "normie" this far

It's been 1 1/2 years....


I have always said that I use my surgery as a tool.  As of lately though I have felt I need to put forth even more effort.  I feel that my stomach is stretching a little and that I'm eating more.  I'll be honest.  I don't like it.  I want to still be eating only half a burrito.  Or half a salad.  That's not the case.  I feel myself eating more of the salad, more of the chicken.  That's where I have made the cautious effort to watch my portions.  Let me just say this, I don't clean my plate or come close to it.  I just feel myself eating more than I did.  It's not by any means pigging out or anything of the such.  The way I used my surgery as a tool prior to this is I would eat healthier things but the surgery helped me control my portions.  Now that my stomach has relaxed though, it's where I have to watch what I eat and how much I eat.  It's still good and not out of control.  It just starts to make me nervous that I have to really pay attention now.  I know I will never allow myself to be where I was, but in the back of my mind there is "what if...".  I can totally see how people who have had this surgery start having eating issues (i.e. becoming anorexic, etc.).  Because I am aware of this I feel that I won't fall into that category. 

Just got to take it day by day.....


I keep forgetting also that I can shop in "normal" stores.  That part makes me laugh.  I forget that I can purchase clothes at Dillards, JC Penney, Old Navy, etc.  The Old Navy freaked me out.  Only because you have to purchase the women's plus online only.  So when I went in one day and was looking at dresses and I thought "I think I can wear this...".  I make my way to the dressing room and try it on....it fits!  It was so exciting!!  Don't get me wrong, I'm kinda still in the "plus" side of things but definitely on the lower end :)

I don't like this....

I don't like that I have taken such a long break from blogging....

I seriously {LOVE} blogging.  I didn't mean to take such a long, crazy break from it.  I miss the friends that I made from it and sharing all the fun and amazing things going on in my life with everyone.

What's been going on in my life?  Well let me tell you....

I'll start with my weight loss update first.  I'm still at 180 lbs down.  I've stayed the same, which in a way is a great thing.  But the one bad thing is I'm content.  I {WANT} to go down more but the break has been nice.  After the 4th I am starting a {get my butt back in gear} plan. I ended my gym membership in the fall, but I plan on joining the YMCA in Odessa.  They have a really great facility and I like that people can get day passes so if anyone wants to go one day or go to a class with me they can.  I want to get on a schedule.  I have missed a schedule.  Don't get me wrong.  I have LOVED my time with Travis but we both need to get back on schedule with our work out routine.  I.can't.wait.

In February my family and I (mom, Craig, Cymbre, Mike, Ranston, and Kenner) went to Disneyland!!  I absolutely {LOVE} Disney.  It is one of the most magical places.  You can not walk in there and not just be happy.  We went for Ranston's 4th birthday.  I would say that is a pretty awesome place to spend it.  I also crossed something off my weight loss bucket list!  I rode my first ride in 20 years!  Probably a little longer than that lol.  My first ride was the Peter Pan ride.  It was awesome!  We rode so much but didn't get to ride some of the ones I wanted to.  We will definitely have to when we go back for Kenner's 4th birthday.  She is so cute when you ask her where she gets to go for her birthday.  She smiles real big and yells "DISNEYLAND!".  And conveniently her birthday is 8 days before mine.  So guess where I get to spend my 35th birthday??!! "DISNEYLAND!"

I am still in {love} :)  Every day it gets better and better.  I'm still so excited to see where it goes....

My Origami Owl business is still booming and I pray every day that it continues.  I am seriously so appreciative of all my customers.  The company is amazing and still such a positive influence for my myself and my amazing friends that I've made.  The 23rd I leave for our 2nd annual national convention!  I can't wait!  I need a get a way :) 

So that's a little bit of what's going on in my life :)  I am going to try and blog 3 times a week so we shall see how well that works out lol.

2013 I love you so.....

But 2014 I am so excited to welcome you into my life!

This past year has been one amazing year...

At the beginning of the year I hit my 100 lbs loss.  I was so excited for that.  I had never come close to losing that much before and there I was.  Down 100 lbs.  Wow...  In March I was able to take my 100 lb pictures and I released 116 balloons.  That was the most surreal moment of it all.  I really felt as though I had let it go and I would never see it again.  And I won't.   As of right now I am down 190 lbs.  I hope to have hit my 200 lb loss in the next few weeks.  I hadn't really been working at it to hard with the holidays being here so after the new year I will be working towards losing the 10 lbs I need to hit my next goal.  Then I will only need to lose 8 lbs to hit my next goal and that my friends....will be the most AMAZING goal and you do NOT want to miss that blog.  It'll defiantly be hard for me to write because it will reveal information that I haven't told anyone.  I got your minds going don't I?

This year also brought great things business wise.  I have promoted twice with Origami Owl.  First to Senior Team Leader and last month I promoted to Executive Team Leader.  In July I attended the first ever Origami Owl National Conference.  I learned so much.  It was an amazing time with amazing ladies.  This company is such a positive and uplifting company.  When I hear people gripe or say certain things I kind of take it to heart.  In January I am attending an event called SOAR and we will be having a leadership retreat with a presentation ceremony of Tiffany's bracelets to Senior Team Leaders and up.  It will be such an amazing time with my O2 {Love} Team sisters.

Something very unexpected but very welcoming happened as well.  September 8th I went on a date that would change the next 3 1/2 months.  He has been the most amazing man and I am so glad that we finally started chatting and was able to meet.  It's been an interesting 3 1/2 months because we've both been out of town quite a bit, but I wouldn't change anything.  I can not wait to see what 2014 has in store for us :)

I Can't Stop Smiling

I can't.....

I try......

But.... I can't.... :)

The past 6 months have been the most amazing consecutive 6 months I've had in a {REALLY} long time. 

Do you know how hard it is to be an open book, to be a blogger, and to date someone that wants nothing posted online?  Not on my blog, not on Facebook, not on Twitter....NO WHERE.  It's so hard!!!  There have been times I have wanted to blog about something but knew that he would be really uncomfortable with it.  Even though he has no idea what my blog address is (or that I even still blog)  I don't want to betray him and blog about it so I've just been quite.  Even though that is one downfall, I am so in {love} with this man.  He is everything I have prayed about.  I am so eternally grateful that he worked with my uncle that had mentioned me and that {T} asked for my number.  I'm not sure I've ever posted how exactly we met so here it goes :)

The first time I heard about {T} was the Monday before my uncle and his wife's craw fish boil in April.  I had said I was going, but I wasn't really all that sure that I was.  I had a vendor event with some friends that Saturday and wasn't sure if I would feel up to going.  That Monday evening I received a phone call from his wife asking if I was coming to the boil.  I told her that I wasn't sure and what was going on.  She responded with "Well we want to introduce you to a guy the Bruce works with..."  She told me his name, that he was an engineer, that he didn't grow up here, etc.  I told her ok I'd go.  It was 2013...my year of why not.  If someone wanted to set me up with someone I'd go.  Even if I had no attraction or want to, I'd go.  What did I have to lose?  Saturday, the day of the boil, rolls around.  I go to my event and the entire time I am completely nervous.  I have not gotten nervous about meeting anyone in a really long time so this was a bit odd.  I didn't even get nervous meeting people of dating websites.  I kept thinking "Well this is ridiculous...Why am I so nervous?  This is silly".  While I was at my event one of my bestie's was at the boil checking things out for me.  I would text Kristy and ask if she had seen the guy they wanted to set me up with, she would say no.  At 5:30 I finally made it to the boil.  When I arrived I kept looking around, looking for anyone new.  I did not see anyone I didn't know.  Any time a truck would pull up my stomach would hit the floor.  Wondering if that was him.  After about 2 hours of waiting I decided he was not coming and I was going home.  Kristy and I joked and said he was a myth.  He didn't really exist......Fast forward to Friday, September 6th.  Now, I'm a detailed person (as you can tell from my blogs :) so I remember the date because it was 2 days before our first day which was on a friends birthday.  So it makes it really easy to remember.  I was at home getting ready for another Origami Owl Jewelry Bar event and my phone rings.  It's Deirdre asking me if it's ok if Bruce gives my number to {T}.  I said sure!  I mean if he really did exist why not talk to him.  A couple of hours later I was texting with {T}.  We hit it off from the very beginning.  On that Sunday we were still texting and I just had a feeling and knew....He was going to ask me to dinner.  That afternoon I started getting ready, not saying anything to him about it.  Later that day (early evening) he said "Well Christy I've loved texting you but I'd love to hear your voice and actually talk"  I said "Ok, on the phone or in person?" ;)  "Well I was thinking the phone but in person works too".  We made plans to have dinner at Cork and Pig Tavern.  I finished getting ready and headed that way.  When I got there I was slightly nervous but found out right away that I really liked this guy.   It was the most amazing feeling.  I had not felt that way about someone in a long time, let alone on the first date!  After dinner neither one of us was ready to say good night so  we went to Starbucks and continued the amazing conversation.  Six months later we are still continuing our conversation (and we almost always have Starbucks when we are together....it's kinda our thing :) and I'm still getting butterflies in my stomach for this man.......

  This is at the end of our first date.  I always thought it was neat people who had pictures from their first date so I made him take one with me.


PS....He had no idea about me until September.  Bruce never mentioned me being at the boil and them introducing us.  He didn't show up because he had other stuff going on :)
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