Bootcamp

            I started bootcamp on Monday and so far it is not that bad. I thought having to be there at five in the morning was going to be much harder then I thought but it has not been that bad. Luckily I don't have to be to work until noon so I have been going to bootcamp, get home eat, shower then go back to bed for a little before work so it has worked out perfectly. After my first day I was feeling good and so proud of myslef for getting up and going, the next day however I was not feeling that great I was so so incredible sore. I did not even want to turn over in bed or get up for that matter I was tempted to buy adult diapers so I wouldn't have to get up during the day (Yes, I am that pathetic) but I didn't I sucked it up and even went for a walk that day. Thankfully on Wednesday when I had bootcamp again my muscles where feeling much better. Then came Friday and ever Friday is ball day, where we bring the big yoga type balls and I was thinking oh this should be a easy day how bad can it be if all excerises involve this ball, oh boy was I wrong! I now have a hate towards that stupid blue ball and no longer look forward to Friday ball day. I am looking forward to seeing how in the next three weeks of bootcamp I progress with being able to do more and my body change. Keep tuned for a update in a three weeks!

         Next post will be a baby front update!
          

Good Bye Tonsils

        I was completely terrified to go get my tonsils out but I did it! I was so sick to my stomach the week of my surgery I barely ate or slept and I was dumb and watched YouTube videos of people getting their tonsils out so not a good idea. The morning of the surgery I was so scared but was glad Kris was able to come with me I would have hated it if she wasn't there. Surgery went amazingly well and the doctor told me that it was good I got them taken out they were badly scarred and had a lot of holes in them, so I am glad that it was worth it! 
        Healing after was pure torture. He had told me it would be bad but me being me I was like no I got this I am going to be a tough on, oh man was I wrong. I was in so much pain and misery thank the heavens above for pain medicine. I was having to take it every 4 hours on the dot because I couldn't survive without it. On day three I was so miserable and was having trouble breathing so Kris took me to the ER where they gave me a steroids, fluids and morphine through and IV and that night I was feeling pretty good. (I wished they would just let me take some morphine home it was so much more effective). It took me a good week and a half to be fully off the pain medication and back to being able to eat regular food. I talked funny for a little while and I was afraid it was going to stay like that. I went back to work a week and two days after my surgery which shocked some people because normally people can't go back to work for 2 plus weeks, so I guess I was a tough one after all. I am now fully healed and back to my normal voice thank goodness. The plus to all this is that I lost 13 pounds in the process! I am working on keeping those off and even start my bootcamp in the morning at 5a.m which I am not looking forward to waking up so early but I promised Kris she would have a hot fit girlfriend soon so guess I better go. To anyone getting their tonsils out or thinking about it I would say it is worth it but be prepared it is not an easy recovery for adults. The doctor told me a 4 year old would recover in a few days but for some reason the older you are the worse it is, so not cool. 

Its Been To Long

   It has been far to long since I have posted on here and Kris got mad and said I need to start updating more often so I will try and work on that.
   My new job is amazing and I could not be happier with it. I love working with the children and wouldn't want to do anything else. Balancing a full time job and being a full time student is semi of a challenge but I have been doing pretty well so far. I am keeping my grades up and getting all my work done also. There are some days that I am just absolutely stressed and I just have to step back and breathe and Kris keeps me pretty grounded which I love! Working with my kids makes me so happy and I feel like I am helping other people. I had one of the kids dads tell me that he manages millionaires money but he feels like I have one important job and can change peoples lives. That made me feel amazing! Working with children with Autism and being a Behavioral Therapist is not easy, I have day were I just want to pull my hair out but seeing the kids make progress is the biggest reward ever!
    So besides the new job we have been doing amazing! We are attempting to get a couple of our dogs into training to that we can move in together permanently (we have 5 dogs between the two of us, yes we are crazy). Right now we practically live together but take turns going from my house to her house which is getting really old so hopefully we can get this dog situation figured out! If anyone has any helpful ideas it would be greatly appreciated.
   I have to get my lovely tonsils taken out this week which I am not to excited about I have heard horrible things about it especially with being older. Speaking of older I am now 24 years old which is depressing to me. It makes me feel a little better knowing that Kris will be 27 this year so at least I am not that old yet. I am so weird about getting older I have no clue why but I am terrified of turning 30 everything thinks I am ridiculous. 
   I am going to attempt to update on our life more often I love and miss blogging. So I will try to be more on top of it promise!

Happy as a Clam!

   I never really understood that saying "Happy as a Clam" how do people no clams are happy they have no ability to express emotion, but hey I like it. So I am in pure bliss and feeling so incredible blessed lately. I accepted my dream job I (Harper) am not working as an ABA Therapist and couldn't be more excited if I tried. I am so in love with my job and the company that I work for it is absolutely amazing! I will update more later but just wanted to throw a little teaser out there!

Determination!

     I am not working 2 jobs one full time and one part time job and going to school taking 15 units. My feet hurt, my body if sore, and I don't even know what day of the week it is more then half the time. My full time job right now is as a Hospitality Specialist/CNA and it is exhausting. Working 10 hour days for 4 days then 4 days off. My part time job I am still working with children with disabilities not as much anymore which makes me sad I miss my kids so much. I also just interviewed for an ABA Therapist job which I am praying I get. My true passion is working with children with disabilities.

      Keeping up with my school work on top of working is difficult sometimes. I have all my weekly calendars for all five of my class hung up on the wall in the bedroom so that I know what is to when and what needs to get done. It looks ridiculous and not so pretty, I told Kris it's how we will now decorate our room from now on.

      Staying on top of everything and working so much while trying to keep up with each other and have time with one another is not easy at all but worth it. When I wake up sore or am at work and my feet are aching I just remember I am working my but off because I am determined to save the money to get our babies. I imagine little faces, family trips, and just cuddle time and it all goes away. I am determined to get the money we need to get our babies no matter how much pain.

     On the side note my diet is not going to well but that too I am determined to get back on track. (Stupid PMS I swear) So for this week its all about determination!

Resolution In Full Affect!

    Well I didn't start my new years resolutions right at the beginning of the year but have started this last week and a half, better late then never right? I am determined to lose all this extra weight I am caring around. I have gained way to much after moving to Texas and going through all the infertility issues, so now time to get back to being healthy.

     After thinking about what I want to do to get healthy I finally decided on using Green Smoothies and Paleo to make this weight loss happen. My new daily routine is for breakfast I make a green smoothie and take my daily medication plus Flax Seed Oil, a vitamin, and a Pure Green Coffee Bean Supplement that Dr. Oz recommended. (Yes, I will try some things even if they sound ridiculous). If I want snacks I will have peanuts, almonds, tangerine, or pistachios and limit my amount to a small hand full. Lunch I eat a portioned meal that has a protein, vegetable and a fruit. I do not eat anything processed. Example of a meal I ate today was ground turkey with peas and corn mixed in and for my fruit I had a tangerine. Finally, for dinner I will make another green smoothie. Through out the day I drink a ton of water, drinking a lot of water will often times curve your appetite.

      For those that want to know for my green smoothies I use:
                  1 cup Coconut Milk
                   1/2 a Banana (can be frozen of fresh)
                   4-6 Strawberries
                   3 cups Spinach
                  1 tbs Flax Seed Meal
I put it all in the blender and blend it up then drink it. For those who want to try but don't like Spinach I am happy to tell you that you can not taste any of the Spinach (Kris hates Spinach and loved it, plus I didn't tell her there was Spinach in it). I have also used different fruits like Pineapple, Orange, and Pear but remember fruit is high in carbs so limit how much you put in. Also, the Spinach can be replaced with Kale if wanted. I am working on figuring out a good no fruit Green Smoothie but so far no such luck.

      For exercise I will admit I don't do a whole lot right now. I work with children so chasing them around is a work out most of the time. I have also been walking around the park near my house twice a day. I usually walk around it 2-3 times before heading home. I have yet to see how far that is so I am not exactly sure how many miles it it if I had to guess I think maybe 1.5-2 miles, but that is just a guess and I am not very good at measurements I am always off. I do however, plan to start maybe next week Insanity, I own it but have yet to try it. I figured after spending the money on it I should probably do it and get this body in shape.

    So, for now this is my routine and so far it has worked amazingly well! Once I lose more weight I will add in another portioned meal instead of the green smoothie or I will do 5-6 small meals a day depending on my work schedule. I will keep you all updated on my progress and if anyone has any questions or suggestions please let me know! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.

Winter Break Is Over And Food Experiments

   So, my school winter break is officially over back to school I go tomorrow. I have mixed feelings about this on one hand I am happy because means I am closer to getting school done and sad because I didn't miss all the studying, tests and note taking. This semester all my classes are on time which means I have to work hard not to get distracted my other things on the internet which is not always an easy task with me, I am very easily distracted. I am determined though to and ready to face it head on.

     During my break though I have been doing a lot of food experimenting. The first one I tried was garlic, parmesan crusted Edamame which was amazing and so easy to make. I love edamame and adding the extra flavor to it makes an amazing protein filled snack. My next new adventure with food was mashed garlic parmesan Cauliflower. This one is a healthier alternative to mashed potatoes and surprisingly didn't taste much different. They were not as whip like as mashed potatoes but the flavor and taste was all there. Even Kris who is a huge mashed potato fan, she would eat them everyday if I made them, thought that the mashed Cauliflower was good. Finally, my last completely not healthy recipe I tried was Birthday Cake Rice Krispie Treats. These were so good and luckily I still have some left. They were fast and easy to make and would be a great recipe to try if you have kids. I will put the recipe for the Rice Krispie below and feel free to message me for the others!


Ingredients 
Rice Krispie Treats 

• 6 tbs margarine* (3/4 of a stick) 
• 3/4 cup yellow cake mix 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 3 cups Rice Krispies 
• 1/2 10oz bag of marshmallows (5oz) 
• 1 tbs sprinkles 

Buttercream Frosting 

• 1/2 cup margarine* (1 stick) - room temperature 
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 
• 2 tsp vanilla 
• 1 tsp almond milk* 

Instructions 

Melt margarine in the microwave (about 45 seconds). Mix in marshmallows and return to microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between, until melted. Mix in cake mix and vanilla until combined. Add in sprinkles and 2 cups of Rice Krispies with a spatula. Add in the third cup of Rice Krispies.

Fill each well-greased muffin holder with the Rice Krispie mixture and press it in gently with the back of a spoon. Cool for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

For frosting, cream margarine in stand mixer with paddle attachment, then slowly add in confectioners’ sugar until well combined. Mix in vanilla, almond milk and food colouring if desired.

Remove Rice Krispie cupcakes from tin with a knife. Frost and top with sprinkles.

*Butter and regular milk could be substituted for their non-dairy counterparts.
**Makes 24 mini cupcakes. For a 9 x 13” pan, double the recipe.
***Note: Also try this out with a marshmallow cream frosting!