Baby Stuff :)

Be prepared for a pink overload tonight! While the main focus of my blog is based on living a healthy lifestyle, I can't help but have a post here and there regarding baby Larson. Only a few weeks left to go and we just had two baby showers last week, so the nursery is really coming together and I just have to share!

{The hubby set this up a couple weeks ago}

{Now we have all of the beautiful bedding, too!}

{Pink, pink, pink!}

The ultimate theme of the room is just pink and gray. I have a few elephants here and there as well as a this whole bedding set of little pink birds. It's just too cute! Once the nursery is complete, I will post more pictures.

In the meantime, my friends Amanda, Jenny, and Chelsey managed to throw me an amazing shower this past weekend:

{It's a Girl!}

{Check out the wall decorations!}

{A few gifts - Amanda created this bathtub complete with diapers and toys}

Last, but not least, I have to share a belly picture. These were taken a few days ago when I was at 32 weeks. I'm actually starting to lose track of how far along I am because it's getting easier to count down instead. So, in these pictures, I only have 8 more weeks to go before the due date!

{How much bigger can I get? :)}

Ok, that's all on Baby Larson for now. But I will still be doing updates here and there. I want you all to see what she looks like in a few weeks, of course! :)

*February Resolution*

February marks the beginning of my second resolution of the year: Organize, organize, organize! I have to admit, Cory and I are pretty organized people, but we have certain areas of our house that are... less than put together. (Namely my closet) :)

I'm using Pinterest to help me get some ideas on how to keep things accessible, yet functional. I'm all about efficiency!

Here would be my dream closet:

{Beautiful}

Sadly, I do not have an extra room in my house that I could selfishly turn into a closet, no matter how much I would love it.

So, here's more of what I have in mind for my (much smaller) closet:

{You can find just what you're looking for}

Well, I do have the month ahead of me, so who knows what I'll come up with. :) All I know is that the nursery closet will be reorganized after the showers this month, and my closet certainly won't be far down the list. I think some of the drawers and cupboards in the kitchen could use some TLC, too. Looks to be a busy month!

Financial Fitness

Well now that it's near the end of the month, I think it's time to share an update on how my January resolution is going. Bear with me... this might get long. I have lots of info to share!

So, here are a few things I have done to help save my bucks:

• Set a budget, and stick to it! I can not reiterate how important this is. Cory and I were always good at piecing together a weekly budget, but we weren't good at actually following it. Earlier this month we actually sat down and looked at a month as a whole. Once we changed to my expensive health insurance, we knew we needed to make some changes in order to keep our head's above water. Now we try to sit down once a week to discuss the next week's needs in order to budget and plan ahead. 
• Learn to say "no." As much as we love hanging out with our friends and wish we could do everything we're invited to, the simple truth is, it doesn't fit in the budget. Just this last weekend, our friends were getting together for dinner and night of bowling. We decided to do dinner, but skipped out on the bowling knowing we still had other purchases that needed to come out of our account. It might be hard to say no, but we both felt better knowing we hadn't blown a bunch of money in one night. 
• Mind the groceries. This has been the biggest one for me. I downloaded an app recently that has helped me immensely. It's called "Out of Milk" and it's really just an extensive grocery list. The best part about this app, however, is that I can list prices with each item. That way, as I'm shopping, I can tell about where my bill will fall. There will be no going over budget! An added bonus is that this has also helped me cut down on junk food purchases. (Which is hard for a pregnant lady) :) 
• Don't be afraid to use coupons.The Omaha World Herald does wonders for my tight budget. I couldn't believe how many coupons come each week! Every little bit counts.
• The last thing I did to help us organize our finances was to create a place for all of our bills that need to be paid. We needed a place where we could see the bills everyday without having to leave a pile on the kitchen table. (Pure tackiness.) So, I spent $6 on a few pieces of corkboard from Menards and combined it with the inside of my kitchen cabinet. 

{Four sheets for $6}

{I had to make a few adjustments to fit my cupboard}

{Fits perfect!}

{Finished!}

For those of you who know me, of course I'm not going to pin just bills to this board. And you should know that I put this board on the inside of our coffee cupboard. You can bet this one opens each morning. :)

Well that's all on my January resolution for now! I think with the budget changes we've made we should hopefully be able to afford diapers. And wipes. And formula. And clothes? Babies are expensive!

Love/Hate Stainless Steel!

Listen up, ladies! If you're anything like me, you're in love with your stainless steel appliances, but absolutely hate the smudges left behind.

Well, this weekend I finally found the solution: Olive oil on a soft rag. That's it. Seriously. I found it on the Natural Mommie blog through Pinterest and decided to give it a try for myself.

<The Before>

{Don't judge the smudges :)}

In the past, I have tried Pledge multisurface, which worked to a certain degree, but never really got all of the smudges out and it took a lot of scrubbing. I was about to head out to invest in a special "stainless steel cleaner" before I found this blog. And I never noticed how bad our fridge was until the sunlight shone on it so beautifully through the back door. Ick.

Anyway, I began by just taking a wet rag to wipe off the surface to get rid of any water spots and food particles. After that, I took about a tablespoon of olive oil and put it on a clean, soft rag and began rubbing with the grain of the fridge. I think I probably ended up using about two tablespoons by the time I was done with both the fridge and freezer, but keep in mind that a little bit of the oil goes a long way!

{The "buffer"}

{Halfway done!}

Here I have the top part above the ice maker cleaned. You can start to tell the difference already!

<The After>

{Beautiful!}

All done! Shines doesn't it? Cory saw how clean it looked and told me he was afraid to touch it. I hope he doesn't! No more smudges please! At least until we get a toddler running around the house. :)

I would suggest that everyone give this a try if you own stainless steel. I'm guaranteeing most of you already have Olive Oil in the house. It's fast, easy, and it naturally buffs out every mark! I'm no longer ashamed of my stainless steel. :)

Running Gear

We had a special guest at our house this weekend - Say hello to Miss Charlie! :)

{How can anyone say no to this face?}

For Christmas this year, all of us kids went in together to get Cory's parents a new yellow lab puppy. Isn't she adorable? And Cory loves having someone to wrestle with:

{Play time}

I swear he was a dog in a former life. Makes me excited to see how great he will be with Baby Larson in a few months!

Anyway, in all my talk earlier on resolutions, I completely forgot to brag up the gifts Cory got me for Christmas!

{He knows me so well}

I have been wanting a Garmin running watch forever and I finally got my wish. This is a more basic one (the Forerunner 10) that doesn't keep track of a heart rate, but it still tracks distance, time, pace, and calories burned. Exactly what I needed, and it's PINK! I've only used it to keep track of time at the gym currently, but as soon as I'm out pounding the pavement again, I feel like this might be my new best friend.

The hubby also got me a cold gear running shirt made by UnderArmour. It's perfect for those chilly morning runs! It also has not been used just yet (the medium size doesn't quite fit over my baby bump) but how can you go wrong with this shirt designed specifically for running girls? And the color is great, too! I think maybe my husband might just want his old UnderArmour shirt I stole from him a couple years ago and have not yet returned. But I think any sensible running girl needs at least two cold gear shirts, right? :)

Oh, and I forgot to show these shoes I found at Scheels last weekend:

{Too fun!}

How amazing are these?! Every time I go to Scheels I have to check out their running shoe selection. I think a post-pregnancy gift to myself will be a new pair. Perhaps these? Either way, I want something flashy and colorful. Like I would pick anything else. :)

.: 2013 :.

Happy 2013!

I just love the feeling of a new year. It brings forth such a feeling of hope to the world. What will this year bring? A new diet? A new workout? World peace? One can only hope. Either way, the new beginning gets every person around the globe excited and ready to bring on a fresh, new outlook for the next 365 days.

So, this brings to mind a "New Year's Resolution." Everyone loves to set one, yet few seem to make it last throughout the year. But let's be realistic - How can you set just one goal for an entire year and expect to keep it? So many things can change in a year, it's nearly impossible to remember what your resolution was 253 days ago.

So, I've decided this year to set 12 different resolutions - one for each month. How could I pick just one thing with so many expected changes in 2013? And there are so many little things I would like to change and learn, I would hate to take a year for each one. (And, I will admit, I am one of those people who tends to forget from year to year what my resolution even is. Usually by day 5. Seriously.)

So, January equals Financial Fitness. 

Different from my typical "eat healthier, run faster" mantra, right? This month I would really like to whip my checkbook into shape. It's in some dire need of help. With my husband's assistance, I would like to really set out a budget for each week, maybe do a few things on a cash basis (when it's gone, it's gone) and definitely find a way to save money on groceries.

I've got a few things in mind for the next couple of months, but for right now, I'm going to take each month as it comes and see what I'm feeling called to improve on in life. Keep in mind, the reorganization of my closet is also needing some TLC. February maybe? :)

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a fabulous new year's day so far and is just as excited as I am to usher in a new year. Welcome 2013! Can't wait to see what you have in store for my family and me!

Sunday Funday

Happy Sunday!

How has it been so long since i have last posted? I feel like there have been so many changes in my life recently that I don't even know where to begin! I suppose first things first:

Cory and I have purchased a home! The West Point park has never looked so great as it does from our big picture window.

Kinda homey, right? Well we have been enjoying it. And doing a few updates! But I will have to get into that at another time.

We've also introduced a new addition to the family coming March 2013!

25 weeks along in this pic! Can you tell? :) I would have to say the hardest part of this pregnancy right now is been the maternity clothes. Ick. I really need someone to start designing some inexpensive yet stylish maternity clothes before my next child comes along.

But, the hardest part of the pregnancy overall has been the lack of running! My poor Asics are getting so bored of walking and the elliptical... I actually feel bad for them. I found out from my Dr. that I probably would have been fine continuing to run, but since this is my first time and I didn't want to risk anything, I made a personal decision to take my workouts down a notch and stay active by walking instead. It has been a really tough decision and I am praying that I stay sane for the next three and a half months until the due date...

We also have a new addition to the kitchen:

 Isn't it beautiful? It can make anything (hello chai tea lattes) and even my doubting husband has fallen in love with it as he makes a vanilla-caramel cup of java for himself every morning. Unfortunately, it's half-calf for me right now, but I'm sure it will be worth it in a couple of months. :)

Anyway, on to my Sunday. I haven't had a Sunday this relaxing and inspirational in a long time. This morning was spent with Cory's family at church (which is always the best way to start a Sunday) and this afternoon was spent addressing Christmas cards and catching up on this season's movies (and a little bit of Sex and the City, too). I realize this probably doesn't sound too exciting to a lot of people, so here are a few pictures to give you an idea:

Well, there you have it. Another weekend ends as Monday peeks it's ugly head around the corner. Christmas is also coming on fast so I'm not sure I'll get another post before then, but I do promise that the next one will not need so many updates! :)