Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Thoughts & Prayers for Noel

Second post of the day for me, but I wanted to share something with you guys that is weighing very heavy on my heart and has been for a long time. 

A few months ago, me and a couple of my best friends got back into contact with one of our friends from College. We hadn't talked to her in a while and when we did come back into contact, we found out that her and her Husband were expecting their first child. We were all very excited for her and her Husband. 

At their 20 week ultrasound they found out they were having a little girl. Unfortunately at the same time, they were told that it appeared that something was wrong with her heart. To make a very long story very short, their baby girl was diagnosed with Hypo Plastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). This essentially means that the left side of her heart wasn't working. The doctors also suggested that they get an amniocentesis done to check to make sure that she didn't have any type of genetic defects. After the results came back, they found that she was missing a big part of her 3rd chromosome. This is super rare and there isn't a lot of knowledge out there about it. But from what the doctors did know of it, their baby girl would have mental disabilities and possibly some physical abnormalities that could require surgeries.

The doctors said that she could undergo heart surgeries, but that she may not make it out alive and if she did, she would still only have half of her heart working and may need a transplant later on in life. But because of the genetic defects, she would never be able to get a transplant. 

So my friend and her Husband decided to not put their little girl through the surgeries. They didn't want her quality of life to be horrible due to all of these surgeries. The doctors told them that because of all of her medical issues and not having the surgeries, that their little girl would probably pass away within a few hours of being born. 

Well this past Friday morning, they brought their beautiful little girl, who they named Noel, into this world. And eight hours into her life, she was still fighting strong. Her heart was beating on it's own and she was breathing on her own. So they decided to admit her to the NICU. The next day her vitals were in the normal range and she was more active and moving and her eyes were open. At this point, she had far surpassed any expectations the doctors had for her. 

Source
On Sunday they had an echo cardiogram done and found that the reason her heart is still going strong is due to a hole that is allowing blood to go to both sides. Unfortunately they said that with time the hole will close on it's own, which will lead to this precious little girl passing away. 

This little girl is an absolute miracle and her first few days of life have been miracles too. And it is so crazy to think that something that is usually a problem, the small whole in her heart, is actually what is keeping her alive. 

Her parents faith through all of this has been absolutely amazing and inspiring. Their faith in God is unfailing. And I admire that so much. I can't even imagine being in this type of situation and what they must be going through, but their faith has helped them through. 

My heart is absolutely breaking. So many tears have been shed. I would have never thought that years ago, when we were in College, that any of us would ever be in this type of situation. I have been praying every chance I get for this beautiful little girl and her family. And so have so many others. She has far surpassed what doctors said she would and I can't help but feel that it is because of all the prayers being said for her and her family. Prayer is a miraculous thing and she is a living testament to that.

And now I am asking for your thoughts and prayers for this beautiful little girl and her family. And please share this story with others. The more people that this little girls miraculous story reaches, the better. So again, please send all of your thoughts and prayers this families way. They are definitely in need and absolutely appreciated. Thank you everyone in advance. 





Megan

Weekend Recap

Sorry this is a day late. I was working on trying to get this post up for you guys yesterday, but unfortunately work got in my way, ha! It was crazy at work. Sorry for the delay. Hope you guys had a great weekend. 

Friday was a busy day. I spent most of the day watching my friends two little girls while they moved out of their house. It was a lot of fun spending time with them. We went and had lunch and then came home and watched The Lorax.



After the girls left I headed out to my Zumba Glow Party. It was a lot of fun and even more fun to see everybody dressed up in bright neon colors. And I won one of the raffle prizes. I won two free sessions with a personal trainer! Bad ass!

My outfit for the Glow Party!
Some of my Zumba friends!
After Zumba, I headed over to my friends house for dinner and to be her hair model for the night. She was going to be doing hair for these two girls for their prom the next day so she wanted to practice on my hair. It was a lot of fun and both hairstyles turned out really cute. 

Saturday morning we woke up and after eating breakfast we headed out into the yard to get some yard work done. It was finally nice enough to get out there so we took full advantage. We actually knocked one of our projects off of our summer project list, but I will share more of that tomorrow. 

After all of our yard work, we headed inside and got ready to go out for the night. We headed out to have dinner with some friends that we hadn't seen in a while. We went to this amazingly delicious pizza place called Il Vicino. After a delicious dinner, the guys headed back to our friends place and my friend Rochelle and I went and did some shopping. Ya know, girl stuff! 

Sunday morning, we were up bright and early again and were out in the yard doing work once again. The project that we started on Saturday was a lot of work and we couldn't finish it all in one day. So we finished it up Sunday morning. It only took us a few hours, but I was so exhausted at that point that I was having a hard time not complaining about everything hurting, ha!

Once we were done with our project, I headed inside and got cleaned up to go downtown to watch the Colorado Rapids game with my friends. When I got to her place to meet her, she had a surprise guest sitting in her front seat. It was an awesome surprise and it was so much fun to spend time with everyone while we watched the game. 

After the game, I had to do some grocery shopping so that we wouldn't starve this week. After that, I headed home and had some dinner with the Hubby and then just relaxed the rest of the night. 

It was a great weekend. I got to spend time with some awesome people and we got one of our projects done. I call that a win!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?


Megan

Friday, April 26, 2013

Friday's Letters

Today is the start of my three day weekend. So while I am out helping a friend move, I thought I would give you guys some Friday's Letters to read. 

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Dear Week,
You went by way too slow. Thankfully I only had to put up with four days of your nonsense. I don't think I could have made it through today if I had to be at work. 

Dear Insurance Guy at Work,
I have let it slide the few times that you have hit on me. But flat out telling me that I can't take a day off because you need me to be there for enrollment is not okay. And then asking me if I absolutely had to take the day off? Yes, I do. I am taking the day off to spend time with my Husband at a baseball game. Not that it is any of your business, but me spending time with my Husband is more important than having to help you with open enrollment that nobody wants to participate in anyways!!! 

Dear Louie,
Thank you for attacking me with kisses why I was trying to write this post. 


Dear Readers,
Don't worry! My dog looked over my post before I posted it to make sure that everything looked okay. 


Dear Zumba,
I think you are definitely the reason I hurt my back a few weeks ago. But, I love you so much that I couldn't stay away. I definitely enjoyed getting back in there and getting active again. 

Dear Zumba Party,
I am pretty excited for you today. I especially love the theme. I am definitely coming decked out in my neon colors so that I will glow under the black light!

Dear Best Friend,
We tried so hard to keep your internet/virtual baby shower a secret, but we had to tell you this week. Which is okay. It might actually be easier to plan with your help. I am so excited to do this for you and I can't wait to see how everything turns out. I love you so much and I am so happy that we get to do this for you!

Dear Pinterest,
You seriously have some cool stuff. Especially when I find out how to make the icons on my iPhone super cute. I appreciate it. 

Dear A & S,
I will be thinking about you guys and praying for you and Baby N all day today. 

Dear Weather,
Your crap at the beginning of the week was ridiculous. However, this 70+ degrees that you are sending us for this weekend definitely makes up for that.

Dear Bloggers,
I highly suggest that you go read Britt's post on how unfollowing blogs helped her. I know it helped me and I definitely did a blog purge of my own. I wanted to get back to actually reading the blogs that I love. And when my feed is filled with all of these blogs that I don't read (and may have only followed because of a giveaway) I tend to not see the blogs that I do really love to read. No offense to those of you that I unfollowed, but I am pretty sure that none of you follow me, nor have you ever commented on my blog, so sorry that I am not sorry.

Dear Bloggers Again,
I promise I am not a snob. I realize my above letter may sound like that. And don't get me wrong, I have found some blogs through giveaways that I do love to read. But those blogs that I followed for giveaway purposes usually didn't have any content that I was interested in reading anyways. Or if they did, they have a million followers and can't respond to every comment they get. Which I understand. That is fine. But at some point, you have to decide whether or not you want to read and comment on someones blog that can actually reach out to you and respond. And to me that is more personal. So I think I would rather stick to the blogs that I feel are more personal. 

Okay, sorry for getting a little deep on a Friday. Don't forget to go link up with Ashley. I hope you guys have a great weekend and enjoy the warm weather if you have some in your area. I definitely will be!


Megan

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Bringing Sexy Back! Week 5 Link Up

***Sorry this is so late. Blogger was being particularly stupid this morning and was making this post way more difficult than it needed to be.***

It's Thursday, which means it is time for this weeks Bringing Sexy Back Link up hosted by K from Down at Fraggle Rock and yours truly! So grab the button, link up with us and tell us how you did this week!

Grab button for Bringing Sexy Back!


I feel absolutely amazing about this week. It rocked. And even though the scale and my measurements didn't show any change this week, I am very proud of myself and everything that I accomplished. 

So like I said before, I saw absolutely no change in my measurements or on the scale. 


So what made this week so great for me? Let's start with the fact that I logged my food in myfitnesspal every day! And I am going on almost 15 days in a row with logging my food. That is definitely a big step for me. I always do so much better when I track my food, so I am glad that I am getting back on the band wagon. 

What else made this week amazing? I have been active or at the gym every day this week since Sunday. Sunday the Hubby and I took Louie for a walk around the neighborhood. Monday my friend and I did half an hour(or so) on the elliptical at the gym at her apartments. Tuesday I went to the gym and did the elliptical for a 15 minute warm up and then lifted weights (arms and shoulders) for another half hour or so. And yesterday my friend and I were able to take a walk around her neighborhood. The weather finally cooperated. And then I came home and took Louie on another walk when I got home. 

And I have even more plans to be active this week. Tonight I have Zumba and tomorrow I have a Zumba Glow Party that I am going to and then of course I have my Saturday morning Zumba class. Tonight will be my first time back at Zumba since I hurt my back, so lets hope it goes well. 

Even though I had no change on the scale or in my measurements, I am so proud of myself for getting back in the gym and staying active this week. I probably could have done a little bit better with the food that I consumed, but I did track it, so I am going to keep on with the positive thoughts. 

My goals for this next week are to continue tracking my food every day. Go to the gym at least five times and to be below 220 by next weeks weigh in. I know I can do it. I just have to set my mind to it and keep up all the good habits that are starting to form. 

How did you guys do this week? We want to hear all about it. And make sure you head on over and check out K's progress. Have a great day everyone and I can't wait to read about your progress!






Megan

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Springs Here? Where?

Once again this Tuesday, I woke up to snow on the ground. I am starting to wonder if we are even going to have Spring this year. We may go straight from Winter to Summer. 


And don't get me wrong, we need the moisture in the worst way, but these past two months have just been crazy. One day it will be 60+ degrees and the next day, snow. This picture pretty much sums it up.


And this weather is killing my posts. I have a bunch of stuff I want to post about, but they are all Spring and Summer things and it just feels stupid to write about them on days when it looks like this outside. 


Here's to hoping that tomorrow's weather is more Spring like. Have a great day everyone and I hope it is warmer where you are. 


Megan

Monday, April 22, 2013

Weekend Recap

Well Monday is here once again. Which means I am back to work and ready for Friday to quickly hurry up and get here. Only five more days. Sigh.

This weekend was pretty uneventful. Friday the Hubby and I went out to dinner at Carino's. It was of course delicious as it always is. Then we went to Best Buy and Dick's Sporting Goods so that we could spoil ourselves a little. Aran used his play money to buy movies at Best Buy and I used my play money to buy Colorado Rapids Gear. 



After our little shopping spree, we went home and just relaxed for the rest of the night. Saturday I woke up and headed down to my Brothers house to go spend some time with my family. On my way down there I stopped at Starbucks to try a frappuccino that I found on their Secret Menu. A Butterbeer frappuccino. The Harry Potter nerd in me could not resist this. 


And guess what? It was pretty spot on. Not quite perfect, but it was pretty close. I may have squealed with delight after my first sip. It was delicious and very fattening, I am sure, but I had to try it. 

I visited with my family for a few hours and then headed to Babies R' Us to pick up a few outfits for my best friends baby. There was so many cute outfits, it was so hard to just choose a few, but I managed to walk out of there without buying the whole store. 

Miss Rylei
After Babies R' Us, I headed home and watched the Rapids game. Unfortunately they lost and my favorite player got hurt. Hopefully he can get back to playing soon and hopefully they can win next week. 

After the Rapids game was over, the Husband and I went to get some dinner at this Chinese place that isn't far from our house. I had never been there, but it was delicious and I have now found my new favorite Chinese restaurant. 

The "Healthy Food" portion of the menu at the Chinese restaurant
After dinner we headed to Petsmart to buy some food for our fur babies and then stopped at Best Buy again to grab something for a friend of ours. Then we headed home and started watching the first season of Duck Dynasty. I have been hearing so many things about this show so we finally started watching it. And now I am in love. This show is so funny. I could not stop laughing the whole time. 

Sunday we laid around for most of the day. We finished watching the first season of Duck Dynasty. Then I went and did our grocery shopping for the week. Once I returned and we had all of the groceries put away, we took Louie for a walk around the neighborhood, since it was still nice out. 

We spent the rest of the night catching up on our DVR and having dinner. It was a pretty laid back Sunday and a pretty laid back weekend overall. 

How was everyone else's weekend? Did you do anything fun?


Megan

Friday, April 19, 2013

Friday's Letters

What's up Friday?! I have missed you so so so so much!!! I am glad that you are here once again.

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Dear Boston,
My heart goes out to all of you that live in or even near the city. This entire situation has just been awful and than add to that everything that is going on today. My heart is breaking for all of you. I am praying for all of you and for your safety. And to all of the first responders and everyone who has been involved with helping with anything in this situation, you are in my thoughts and prayers as well.

Dear Texas,
My heart goes out to you guys as well. For those that lost their lives in the Fertilizer plant explosion or those that were effected by it, my thoughts and prayers go out to all of you as well.

Dear Self,
You rocked this week. You were so good about everything that you ate and I am very proud of you. Almost down 12 lbs. That is awesome and I know that you can keep making amazing progress.

Dear K,
I am proud of you for rocking it this week too! We got this girl!

Dear Hunger Games,
I loved the trailer for Catching Fire and I can't wait until it comes out! I can't believe that I have to wait until November though. Ugh! I may not make it til then!

Dear Weekend,
Please have nice weather. I need to get stuff done in the yard and I need nice weather to do that, so please cooperate.

Okay, that is all I can get out of my brain today. CNN has me way too occupied. I hope everyone has a great day and a great weekend. And Boston and Texas, keep your heads up. I am sending all of my love and thoughts your way.


Megan

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Bringing Sexy Back! Week 4

It is Thursday, which means it is time for this weeks fitness link up hosted by myself and K from Down at Fraggle Rock. So grab the button and tell us how you did this week!

Grab button for Bringing Sexy Back!



This week was actually very good for me. I still wasn't able to work out due to my back. Although I did plan on going on two walks this week with a friend after work, but considering that it snowed and was like 20 something degrees, we decided not to go. Next week for sure though!

I really watched what I ate this week. And I logged all but two days into My Fitness Pal. I was under on my calories on each day that I did log my food in. 

Since it is week 4, a whole month since we started this link up, we decided to share progress pictures. Here are mine. 


I can see a little bit of a change. What's weird is I see more of a change in my face than anything else. Next time I will try to get a less blurry picture. 

Here is the side view. Dummy me didn't realize that I was taking a picture of a different side. Oops! But oh well. I can see a little bit of a change in my mid section. Hopefully next time we do progress pictures it will be even better!


And here are my measurements for this week. I had some more change in my measurements even since last week. See, eating right can do something for you!


I was down 1 lb this week and lost some inches in other places! Woohoo!! I can't wait to see my results once I can get back into the gym. It just goes to show that eating healthy is definitely a key part to this equation. 

How did you guys do? Don't forget to link up so everyone can see how you did this week. And make sure to head on over to K's to check out her results too! 




Megan

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Random Ramblings

I am a little too ADD this morning to be able to write anything that has substance. I think it has something to do with this view out my window.


And it is still coming down out there. This is nuts. We weren't even supposed to get anything. And then bam! 3 inches.

My office supply rep is freaking awesome! She brought me a present this morning and I love her even more now. 


How can you not love office supplies? And when something is cute and functional all at the same time, well that is a no brainer!

Also, my co-worker is awesome and saw this on sale this weekend and picked it up for me. I have hours of laughter in front of me for sure!


And I got the most exciting news this morning, but unfortunately I can't share it with you guys just yet. But I can't wait to tell you guys. And this has nothing to do with me, it is someone else's news, so I can't tell you until they tell everyone! 

Okay guys, that is about all I can handle this morning. I am having a hard time concentrating on any one thing. I hope you guys have a great day and I hope that I don't get snowed in at work! 

Happy Hump Day!


Megan

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

My Heart Goes Out To Boston

I told you guys yesterday that I was going to get my weekend recap up, but after what happened at the Boston Marathon yesterday, what I did this past weekend just seems so insignificant. So, I am taking the day off(except for this post of course) to honor all those that were effected by this horribly senseless act that happened yesterday.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those that were effected yesterday. May you find peace and comfort during this difficult time. And to all of my Boston blogger friends, I hope that you are all safe and that your family and friends are safe!

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With lots of love...

Megan

Monday, April 15, 2013

Crazy Morning

Hey guys! I just wanted to stop in and say hi this morning. I haven't had time to do a weekend recap, nor do I think I will, so I may have to postpone that till tomorrow. Sorry. My morning at work has been absolutely nuts.

Between trying to get payroll done and having three new hires filling out paperwork this morning, things have been a little crazy around here. But I wanted to let you guys know that I didn't forget about you. 

I hope that you all had an amazing weekend! And if I get a chance, I will try and get my recap up later today, but if not, tomorrow for sure. Enjoy your day everyone!

Megan

Friday, April 12, 2013

Friday's Letters

Sorry these are so late, but it is time for Friday's Letters.

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Dear Friday, 
I thought you would never get here. And holy crap! It is already almost 2!! Thanks for going by quickly today! I appreciate it.

Dear Paramore,
Your new album freaking rocks! I love it. It doesn't sound like anything you guys have ever done, but I still love it!

Dear Husband,
When I ask you to do something as small as vacuuming, will you please just do it so that I don't have to be mad at you later for not helping around the house? Thanks!

Dear Thirty-One,
Why is your stuff so cute? I seriously stared at my compute for an hour this morning trying to decide what to buy. There were too many great things and soo many cute patterns to choose from. $75 later and I have some cute stuff on the way! I am very excited!

Dear Starbucks employee,
I am not exactly sure what drink you made me yesterday. It definitely wasn't what I ordered, but what pisses me off is that it was delicious and now I have no clue as to what it was so that I can order it again! Grrrrrrrr!

Dear Blogging Community,
You guys are pretty amazing. I love the friendships that I have gained from blogging and I love knowing that I have a great group of people around me that support me. However, this week there has been so much drama in the blogosphere that it just makes me shake my head. Can't we all just get along and support each other again? And this whole thing about a blog going up that is pretty much being created for the sole purpose of bashing other bloggers? Really? I'm pretty sure that most of us aren't in High School anymore. And this isn't Mean Girls. Grow up people. If you have an issue with someone, address it with them. Don't take to an anonymous blog just so that you can bash them!

Dear Work,
What happened to the whole not being busy thing? I liked that much better. I am not a lazy person, but I don't like constantly having something to do. I mean, when I have to stare at the computer so long that I have a headache by the end of the day, something isn't right.

Dear Weekend,
Go by super slow please! I would appreciate it!

Okay, that's all I have. Don't forget to go link up with Ashley for Friday's Letters. And I hope that you all have a great weekend!


Megan

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Bringing Sexy Back! Week 3

It's Thursday which means it is time for this weeks Bringing Sexy Back! link up. Make sure to grab the button and link up with K and myself to share how your week went.

Grab button for Bringing Sexy Back!



Let's just say that this week had it's good and bad. So let's start with the good. 

I did a lot better job with watching my portions and my food all together. I did have a cheat meal, but for the most part, I did a lot better than previous weeks. And I did a little bit better with logging my food into my fitness pal. Not 100%, but better.

And now for the bad. I haven't been to the gym all week. I hurt my back at the gym last Tuesday, so badly that I left work early one day because I was in so much pain. So I have been taking it pretty easy and letting it heal. It is starting to not hurt as much, so I am hoping to get back into the gym next week. 

And now the measurements. I lost a total of .8 lbs since last week. So not quite a lb but, I am down none the less. I am down to 221.8 and that's almost 11 lbs total since I have been tracking since January. And here are the actual body measurements...


So overall, it wasn't an awful week. I am actually pretty proud of myself for going down considering I couldn't go to the gym. 

And now for my goals for the next week. Again, I want to log my food in my fitness pal every day. And actually complete the entries! And I have to get back in the gym this week. I am setting a goal of at least going for Zumba and seeing how my back does with that. And I am also getting ready to start taking evening walks with my friend two days a week, so it won't be a crazy hard workout, but I will be active. 

And I think my most important goal is to really watch what I am eating. If I can continue to do well with that, it will just make things a whole lot easier on myself. 

And for next weeks post, I will be posting progress pictures. And K will be posting hers as well. And we are encouraging you guys to do the same. We want to see how everyone is doing.

How did you guys do this week? 




Megan

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

I Guess I Should Write A Post

Yep! That's how this morning is going, haha! I am at a loss for what to write about today. I have some other posts I want to put up, but with the weather being so cold, it makes me not want to post about some of these things. That may not make sense to you guys, but it does make sense in my head.

So a few randoms again today for ya. First, there is so much good music out right now! I have bought three new albums in the last two days. What can I say, I love music! And each one of them is AMAZING!!!

The title on Paramore's cover actually looks like it could be like that in real life, haha! Thanks Picmonkey.com!
Yes, I have very diverse taste in music. I love country music, but I also love other stuff too. Paramore is one of my favorite bands and have been since I was in High School. There music has gotten me through a lot of tough times. So of course I stalked the clock until 10:00 pm on Monday night so that I could download this on iTunes as soon as it was available! And so far it has not disappointed! It is amazing!

And Blake Shelton's album is amazing and so is The Band Perry's! All great music!!! Which makes me a very happy girl. I have to have good music to listen to in the car on the way to and from work. So this week is definitely covered!

Also, and I don't know why I haven't said anything until now, but my best friend is preggers!!!!!! And they finally told everyone so I am finally allowed to tell someone! I have known since January and it has been killing me not being able to share my excitement! I am so excited for her and her husband and I can't wait to spoil that kid rotten! This is why I told you guys a while back that I was going to be going to Hawaii in September. I am hoping that I will catch the arrival of this little one. You hear that little boy or girl, you better decide it is time to arrive while I am there :) 

Okay guys, I know this was a very random post, but that is all that my brain can apparently come up with today. But I need to get going because I have a lunch meeting that I have to get to. Hope you guys have a great day and I hope your weather is much much warmer than mine here. 



Megan

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Blizzard?

You call this a blizzard Colorado? I think you can do better than that! 

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The wind however is awful. I barely slept at all last night. Every time I would start to drift off to sleep, the wind would pick up so much that it sounded like my house was about to get picked up and sent to Oz. And to show you how awful the wind is, look what happened about 45 minutes south of where I live.

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I guess if the snow does pick up and this wind sticks around, it really will be a blizzard. All I have to say is that I better be able to get home tonight because I am not about to stay the night at work!

Okay, time for me to get back to work. I have a ton of stuff to do. I hope you guys all have a great day. I will be trying to stay warm. I hope it is warm where you are. 


Megan
 
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