Happy New Year with $100 Lululemon Gift Card!

Happy New Year!

Hope you are all enjoying the time spent with friends and family this season, and really soaking in the fact that we all are able to see another year! 

2014 is bound to be great! 

Last night me and A had a great New Years at home. We made crab legs and scallops which were delicious! We then had an ice cream desert, of course we had to have something sweet! I found this delicious caramel ice cream with pecans, chocolate and praline. I could not resist. We then watched the ball drop in Times Square on TV and I had a sparkling drink to bring in the New Year!

One thing I can't wait to get back to after the baby comes, is getting my bod back! I am excited to see her pretty little face but I am focused to hit the gym hard to fit into my dress in July (eek!).

For all of you like me who have fitness goals like me, I've teamed up with some lovely ladies to bring you an awesome giveaway to jump-start the New Year!

How about $100 to Lululemon?

Visit these ladies:

 Aisha, Renee & Barbie 

It's always fun to look good while working out, right? It totally motivates me when I have new workout gear! Here's your chance to win some of your own picks from a great brand!

Here are a few of my personal picks from Lululemon:

So, what are you waiting for?

Enter using the rafflecopter below! Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cheers to a Year in Review

Happy New Year's Eve! 

What better way to top off the year, than a review of 2013. There were so many great things that I experienced and learned this year that I couldn't possibly put it all into one post. 

So I'll spare you the details and give you the short and sweet version of 2013 in review. 

Found my spiritual father and began my life in Christ. 

'A' proposed

Me and A decided to make it official.

Bought a new car. 

Celebrated 26 years.

Started Blogging again. 

Graduated.

 Found out we were pregnant.

'A' turned 30. 

Family trip to Six Flags

Saw Beyonce in Concert.

Booked our ceremony site for 2014's 'belated' marriage celebration.

Went to our first Twins Game together.

State Fair with the family. 

Started a new position!

Lupus Walk with family and friends. 

Got through most of my pregnancy without killing anyone.

Had a rockin' baby shower!

Spent valuable time with my family.

Met New Blogger Friends

Hosted 12 days of giveaways for December :)

Overall, it was a pretty great year for me! I am so excited to ring in the New Year with A tonight! 

We are making dinner, then going to recap the year together, and top off midnight with a bowl of ice cream and maybe some sparkling juice :)

Sounds like a fab New Years to me! 

What are your plans?

New Year Resolution: Following God's Will

Time flies. 2013 flew. 

And while in past years I would have been beating myself up over what I didn't accomplish or coming up with ludicrous lists of things I want to complete in the next 365 days; this year something is different. 

This past January something changed in my life. I found true life. I found the Christ. I found my true identity and stability in Him. And in accepting Him as my Lord and Savior this year, I discovered that His plans for my life were much greater and better than any plan I had ever put in place. 

2013 has been absolutely amazing, and I am excited for what 2014 has in store for me.

Oh, when negative thoughts came my way this year and things didn't look the way I expected them to look, I would have normally thrown in the towel and fed into negativity. Talked about how life was unfair, and why did I have to endure this 'struggle.' But I learned that got me nowhere! In fact, I learned that I shouldn't look at the situation, because it can look bad but as long as I love God and keep Him first everything works out to my benefit!

This year I learned standing on God's word, no matter what came my way, and keeping my faith in Jesus showed me how faithful He is to me! 

For 2014, I plan to put my focus on getting more out of my relationship with Jesus. I know that He is the reason for all that I have and all that I am. 

His word shows me:

I will keep my focus on Jesus and everything that I need will be fulfilled! 

Everything I desire He will give me; everything according to His tremendous plan for me! See, ifs you seek Him first and His righteousness, all of those things will be added unto you, too!

I'm filled with joy and excitement on what I will give to God and others this coming year, and what more joy and fulfillment in my life I will receive from Him!

Winter Wonderland + Bump Update: Approaching 37 Weeks!

Admiring a winter wonderland... 

Me and A decided to venture out to some local walking trails to capture a few shots after running some errands. He's never really down to get behind the camera, because he says "I'm not a photographer!" But as long as I keep asking, I know he will do it for me because he loves me! Ha!

Not to mention, today is was 42 degrees out! 

Which in Minnesota, is quite warm. 

We definitely enjoyed the beautiful day!

It's really amazing to see the beauty in this earth. All the colors and wonders of each season that our Lord has created for us to enjoy. 

And the mystery of birth, the process in which our bodies know exactly what to do and how the perfect combination creates an embryo that grows into another human, growing inside of me. 

Just like our God, its all quite amazing!

Jesus is truly showing me the magnitude of who He is, and who I am in Him. The mysteries of this world are just a glimpse of the mysteries I will discover in Him. In approaching the new year, I am excited to see what God has planned for our new family. But first, to get through this pregnancy :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update on the Bump!

How far along? 36 Weeks 5 Days

Total weight gain: 18 lbs

Maternity clothes? I am no longer comfy in jeans, and mostly wear leggings and oversized sweaters. That's my uniform now. But luckily this time of year, that's everyone's uniform :)

Stretch marks? Yes, a few on my belly. Don't get me started on the itchy belly!

    Sleep: Hardly, acid reflux and heartburn keep me uncomfortable and Baby L is most active when momma is trying to catch some Z's!

Miss anything? My small belly! Haha. I'm getting over lugging this thing around. 

Food cravings: For the past week or so I have wanted to eat everything in sight. I know they say the baby is supposed to double in size in the 3rd trimester, but whoa. It's like I can devour everything :) I gained most of my weight in the last month. 

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Thankfully no!

Gender: Girl :)

Labour signs: Still having Braxton Hicks all the time now, they are mostly uncomfortable! Also pretty bad pelvic pressure.

Symptoms: Fatigue, backaches, pelvic pain, starting to swell -_-

Belly button in or out? In or more or less flat lol 

Wedding rings on or off: Still On.

Happy or moody most of the time: Moody LOL - Ready to meet her!

Looking forward to: Kissing my baby girl, a few months off with her, watching her and A bond!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have a great weekend!

School Blues...

Happy Friday!

Hope you all had a very enjoyable holiday spent with family and friends! 

Today I am gonna sit down with you and share a little more about my journey through college and some true advice all you students should definitely use, that helped me!

For those of you who are enjoying your winter break, and don't want to be reminded of how you have to go back to class, I apologize now!

Life had happened to me, it got in the way of me going to school like the traditional student. I went to an out of state school, Northern Illinois University, and ended up coming back home after finishing my first year there. In the fall I became really sick, and with trying to figure out my diagnosis with Lupus and figure out the disease, as well as time in the hospital, I decided to stay closer to home for school. 

It took me quite awhile to finish college, but I made it. Jesus taught me throughout my journey that it was never a race and it was always a journey. Much like life! Many people that started never ended up finishing, so the fact that I was 25 just finishing my undergrad didn't bother me. He taught me to be faithful and it would pay off!

I had a full-time job & became a full-time student. 

Little did I know, most of my college life would like this. Coming from quite a large family, (seven of us!), I was putting myself through school and had to take on the financial responsibility of the role as well!

One of the major ways I saved on expenses was by discovering a book rental service, like CampusBookRentals.com. Every semester I would buy books for well over $500+, and then the end of the semester be able to only sell back and get a portion of the funds back! While I was excited when I got that $200 back, I had a net loss of $300! Not okay! 

Well, I never went back to buying books, unless needed! I would spend $50-75/each renting most of my books each semester - maybe totally $200 which was so much less than buying!

Perks of renting: First off, you save 40-90% off of bookstore prices by renting used books! And with CampusBookRentals.com you get free shipping both ways, you can highlight in the books like it's your own, they have flexible renting periods, and the icing on the cake is that they donate to Operation Smile with each textbook rented from their site!

(Operation Smile is a charity that helps heal children's smiles through medical procedures; dealing with cleft lip and palate)

They also have a new service, RentBack, that allows you to rent out those textbooks you own to other students! Hey you could start a business with this, just sayin :)

ON TO THE GOOD STUFF...

For any of you who are interested in trying this out, I've got something special for you!

I am teaming up with CampusBookRentals.com to give one lucky reader a $25 credit towards your book rental from their site!

Just enter by using the rafflecopter below! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway