72 miles in 12 days challenge.

Goal: 72 miles (walking, jogging, running) in 12 days. Can I do it? Heck yea! :D

It's exciting setting a high goal knowing that it will be challenging, BUT empowering at the exact same time. The biggest challenge for me when it comes to working out is carving out the time while not sacrificing my already limited sleep hours (because I'm up nursing Zali at least 3 times EVERY night)... and also not neglecting my babies during the day to fit it in.

WHAT WORKS?
The moment my feet hits the ground, I get myself ready to workout. I do as much as I can before my kids wake up. When they wake up, it's time for kisses and then breakfast time. After breakfast, I get them ready for the day & straighten out the apt. I then hop back on the treadmill for a quick workout (30 minute max) Get lunch ready. Eat lunch with my kids. Change diapers (if needed) read books, etc. During Azaleas's nap time, I hop back on the treadmill while Addi joins me in exercising by jumping on the bed. I do as much (or as little) as I can until Azalea wakes up or until Addi needs me OR until I'm pooped! I do this throughout the day until I've hit my goal for that day. It's the only method that works for me. It forces me to stay focused during my day and complete tasks one by one and with much order.

I am so much more productive when I work out & my eating habits naturally improve when I bust my butt working off 5 calories and seeing how difficult it is! Multiply those 5 calories by 100 and you will get how much I have to work out when the day comes!

It is definitely not easy or convenient, but it IS necessary!

* 9 miles down. 63 more to go! :D

UPDATE: I managed to finish about 30+ miles or so, but life and cycles got in the way... and I ended up failing this challenge! :( But, ill keep on it... my fitness goals are a test of persistence and perseverance - not of perfection!

One Direction on Today!

I don't remember if I ever mentioned how much Addi, Zali, and my 10 year old sister LOVE the boy band sensation, One Direction. In fact, all of us - from baby girl to grandma and grandpa adore them - not excluding ME! I am a pretty huge fan as well.

This past week, One Direction performed in NYC on the Today Show & as any huge fan would do, we planned on being there!!! This meant that we planned to go to NY the night before the actual performance in hopes of finding a good spot by Rockefeller Center to see our favorite boy band perform.

When we got there, it was a little surprising to see how many teenage girls were already lined up and waiting. However, we were not about to turn back and go home.. we were there to stay! My husband and I agreed we would leave only if absolutely necessary and only because of an unexpected emergency pertaining to our kids.

That evening the forecast said that it was going to be a mild 50-60 degrees in NYC. What luck! This meant that we wouldn't freeze our booties off in the cold for hours... BUT the forecast also said that it would start raining around 3am. We hoped against it!

Around 3:45 am, the rain came! We did remember to bring umbrellas though. My mom told me she took them out of the car, but she was referring to HER umbrellas and not ours... ours were gigantic, but because of that little miscommunication, we were stuck in the rain with "pocket book" umbrellas.
It wasn't a big deal though because we were all covered and dry for the most part... UNTIL Addi woke up and said he was getting wet in his stroller!

Not cool... after seeing that his sweater was wet, we immediately left. Our babies are priority... and their comfort is our #1 concern. As much as we wanted them to see their favorite band, we had to leave even though we spent $50 on parking and had already waited hours outside Rockefeller Center in the middle of the night! I couldn't imagine my son getting more wet or being cold in the rain though. That thought breaks my heart because I personally HATE feeling cold.

After we hightailed it out of the crowd, reality set in that even with all our effort, we wouldn't get to see them or hear them perform and that was quite sad!

We did make it to my parents home in time to see them perform on TV though... which I guess was better than nothing. Knowing we were JUST right there was good enough, I guess!

Maybe you can tell that Im still a little bit bummed about it. Addi was SO excited on our way there... and he never got to see them! :( Now, Im really excited for him to see them in concert! He will be so thrilled!!! :) I think that is taking place sometime next year :D

Azalea's 1st birthday!

... it's 1:15 am and my birthday girl just fell asleep for the night.

It's so easy to reminisce about the moments leading up to her birth and the days following her arrival into my world. It was so beautiful. I remember sitting up in the recovery room moments after my c-section and asking Ash if I could hold her. I remember kissing her and being sooooo overjoyed. I remember attempting to nurse her for the very first time and puking moments after from all the anesthesia. I remember the pain of recovery & how every time she was brought into the room for me to nurse her, how I would just stare at her and tell her how much I loved her. I remember when she had an aggressive form of jaundice and had to stay under the yellow lights in the nursery for days and how I paced the floor trying to catch a glimpse of her until a nurse took me in to see her. I remember cherishing the struggle of breastfeeding because I didn't have that opportunity with Addi. I remember crying because everything and everywhere hurt. I remember looking at her & telling myself that it was all more than worth it. I remember swaddling her & smelling her & rocking her on the rocking chair & thinking to myself soon she will be 1...& 2...& 3... and here we are, on her birth day, exactly one year later... and I am still so overjoyed that she is a part of my world. I love her more and more with each second that passes & thank God for blessing me with her. He sure knows the desires on my heart because she is everything and more than I could have ever imagined my little girl to be!

I almost still can't believe she is now a 1 year old! Where did this past year go? Oh I know... it went to me being a supermom! Im not one to brag about my mothering capabilities, but the things I've endured this past year, I can truthfully say that even I have impressed MYSELF! :)

I have learned many things this past year and some are:

-Even if it hurts, it doesn't mean that something is wrong. Pain occurs, healing follows.
-Slow and steady wins the race.
-Don't give up - If something is for me, no one can take it away from me because its MINE.
-In everything, PRAY.
-I am slowing becoming like the "women" in my family & I am starting to understand them more.
-Trust in God, not in man. Man WILL fail me... God will not!

Angry Bird cake pop disaster!

Adonai and I had this wonderful plan of how we would make Angry Bird cake pops for his 4th birthday and I was SO excited to do it for him! I bought all the necessary ingredients and had a clear idea of what I had to do so the task didn't seem too intimidating. I had used the candy wafers before and they were pretty simple to use so I figured making the cake pops would be an easy task. Boy, was I wrong! I have so many reasons as to why it was such a FAIL!

First off, I bought a brand of candy wafer that I had never used before. This was mistake # 1. Only after I ran into the problems I did, I googled a solution for it - and stumbled upon countless complaints of the same "hardened and thick texture" that was the result of my melting process. That was a huge disappointment because it was the red candy wafers that this happened to & I planned on making many RED Angry Birds.

Mistake # 2 - I didn't have bowls/cups deep enough to dip the cake pop into and pull it right out. Every time I dipped it, it hit the bottom of the cup or bowl, which led to me having to sort of stir the cake pop in the melted candy to get it coated completely.. This was the biggest frustration because no matter how hard I tried, my cake pop would magically create a sort of suction on the bottom of the cup and stayed there when I pulled out the stick! I wanted to scream every single time it happened to me! After my 4th attempt, I gave up and accepted that I didn't have the patience nor did I have the energy to keep experimenting.

Mistake # 3 - I was not feeling very well and though any other time, I would have pressed on until I figured it out, this time was not that case. I felt so weak and exhausted that I wanted to cry... and the thought of ending up with crumbled cake mixed with icing was a huge disappointment to say the least!

Mistake # 5 - not stopping when the red candy melts failed to melt. I wasted so much time...


I so badly wanted to make those cake pops for my little guy. If they had come out the way I had imagined, he would have loved them! He was so excited for them too... I think he still is. My heart feels a bit broken tonight... mainly because now we don't have any cake pops or birthday cake made especially for him to celebrate his 4th birthday. He deserves only the best because he is truly an amazing kid... and I feel so incredibly sad that things didn't turn out the way they should have!


... I guess this will be a teachable moment for me to show Addi how things don't always go as planned or something philosophical like that.

p.s HAPPY early 4th birthday, Addi! I love you oh so very much!!!

Potty training adventures...

Life has a way of teaching us lessons at every twist and turn. With each new experience, a part of us that thought we had "it" all figured out realizes that it was truly a mystery up until that very moment. So many times in my life I have had to humble myself and accept that I thought I knew something that I truly had no idea about. Those moments are my personal teachable moments and those experiences are irreplaceable in my life. If it wasn't for me making a fool out of my so-called "knowledge," I would not have learned the important lessons I had to learn in this life.

Take for instance this situation: Before I got married, I had the privilege of being the nanny to one of the most intelligent and brilliant little girls I've ever met, whose parents were the most kindest, generous, & thoughtful people I've met to this day... So here I was babysitting: taking care of her making sure she didn't get hurt and was entertained etc... AND I thought I had it all figured out about potty training. I thought kids just needed to realize that they had no choice but to use the toilet once they hit a certain age or when their parents started the process of "potty training." I think back on this time & my experience potty training this little girl & I want to smack myself for being so incredibly clueless. Having my own son, who at the age of almost 4 is not yet fully potty trained has taught me so much about the process through a parents eyes. I have tried everything... and things that I was sure would work still have not.

I remember during nannying, I believed the little girl was ready since he showed all signs of being ready, but she still needed a little time... no pressure. I wish I knew how to just give her and her parents time back then. Instead, I wrote them this lengthly letter about how ready she was and how she feels she has a choice in the matter so that's why she's not fully potty-trained then and there! Ah, I still feel like smacking myself when I think about it. Clueless wasn't even the word to describe me.

As a parents, every situation our child faces has the potential to scar them in the process & we try our best to reduce trauma of any sort in our children's lives. We practice patience and "waiting it out" because we only want the best for them. We endure diapers full of poop for just a little while longer while holding on to the hope that one day... one day (soon, hopefully?) our child will all of a sudden get over the fear of pooping in the toilet. We let them be babies and toddlers for just a bit longer while enjoying the prolonged avoidance of torture of teaching them how to use public restrooms... yuck!

If there is one thing potty training has taught me, it's that it is best not rushed. From all that I have read and experienced through the years, it's best to let your child's enthusiasm lead the way and just be there as a parent to assist and teach when it's necessary. Potty training is a process for most kids - definitely not something that happens overnight!

I plan on encouraging my son every chance I get to do his pee & poop in the toilet, but I will not force him. I will not create an environment of fear in his life... fear tactics create more problems compared to solving problems. I will hold on to the hope that one day, something or someone will motivate him enough to give it a try. I think that day is right around the corner! :) Yay for us! He's doing pee fine, but poop is another story :D

Nostalgia

It's almost autumn and this particular season always stir up emotions within me that makes me want to cry, smile, and thank God for all that I have been blessed with. These memories remind me of the moments I hope to never forget for the rest of my life & the ones I wish to never remember. Both my babies were autumn-born babies. Adonai, my boy, was born on October 15th, 2008, and my little girl, Azalea, was born last year on November 4th.

The anticipation of giving birth, seeing my child's face for the first time and feeling so incredibly blessed are all the emotions that I try my best to recall. However, the reality I faced when I saw how much my body had changed, to feeling intense pain following a c-section, to experiencing the struggles of breastfeeding & sleep-deprivation are memories that rear it's not-so-pretty head as well. It's definitely a bittersweet season for me.

Seasonal changes often causes me to re-experience (due to the atmospheric changes) the life situations that occurred during that specific time the year and years before with the memories of those events.

Every fall season, I find myself so excited at the thought of celebrating my child's birthday... first it was only Addi's, but this year, I'll be celebrating both Addi's and Zali's. The anxiousness for their birth-date is often accompanied by all the memories I experienced during the weeks leading up to & immediately following their actual birth. Its excitement, vulnerability, and fear all rolled into one... and these feeling come alive with every cool autumn breeze that blows & the way the sun rises & sets during the fall season.

Am I the only woman who goes through this? Sometimes I wish my emotions weren't linked so closely to the type of weather changes I'm exposed to because I feel like I experience mood changes just because the weather bring me back to either a happy memory or a sad one.

Even though I experience these shifts in moods, I know that I have to be rational and accept that the bad experiences have made me stronger as a woman & mother and that I am no longer experiencing them! ... and this realization causes me to thank God for the blessings of life, health, laughter, joy, and the gift of family that make my life worthwhile!

This year, I plan on embracing this Autumn even more than I ever did before. My husband and I will be taking our kids pumpkin picking & I will be baking pies while sewing clothes and making girly hair accessories. I hope to put together a delicious, mouth-watering Thanksgiving menu & to have our home smelling of pumpkin, spices, and nutmeg! Im going to go all out so that I could recall all these
beautiful memories next year and hopefully feel absolute happiness at the memory of them <3

Breastfeeding: our journey thus far...

For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to breastfeed my children.  Any time I saw women nursing her baby, a part of me longed for the day that I could nurse my own.  What was that feeling? I choose to believe that it was my body and mind making the decision to breastfeed long before my young body was ready or even capable of doing such a "womanly" task.  There was something about the way the child relaxed in its mother's lap while the mom carried on a conversation or how the child gazed so lovingly into its mothers eyes or how the mom would stroke the child's hair or whisper to him or her while she nursed - this always captivated me.  It was a unique bond that I longed to experience one day... whenever I became a mom.

During the years before my children, whenever the topic arose during conversations with other young women concerning whether or not I would nurse my children, I was always the one to say "Yes! of course I would nurse my babies!!!" Did someone tell me that I had to do this? Did someone threaten me to nurse my future children? NO! No one ever told me I had to or that I should want to.  Along the years, I came to the conclusion that it was a normal part of life and for as long as I had life, I wanted to embrace every natural and joyful experience that came my way.  Breastfeeding was one of those experiences.  I wanted MY child to have that bond with me and for me to provide that comfort and security to them.  My philosophy was and is that "its only one time in their life that they are babies... and as their mom, I want to do my very best to provide for them and care for them the best that I can."  Breastfeeding seemed like the first step following their birth for me to show care towards them..

With my firstborn, Adonai, I longed so much to exclusively nurse him, but after he was given formula for jaundice in the hospital, I lacked the confidence to nurse him exclusively without fear of him becoming dehydrated.  Instead of nursing him and being persistent in making sure he was latched on, I chose to express breast milk with a pump.  I pumped 4x's a day and supplemented with bottles of formula in the beginning.  No one told me how much nursing would hurt or how sore and tender my nipples would be from getting him to establish a proper latch.  All I felt was pain, pain & more PAIN. My breasts became engorged because he was being fed formula even though my body produced enough milk to sustain him. I lacked support, knowledge, and perseverance - and being a new mom, I just wanted to make sure he was fed - whether by me or with formula.  I went through a bout of mastitis and tackled it early with frequent pumping, warm compresses, and tylenol.  BUT still, I longed to nurse him... and shed tears when I stopped trying to nurse and stopped the tiring task of expressing milk when he was 6 months. This experience left me feeling extremely emotional at the thought of him being fed milk that did not come directly from me.  I knew that I had to get over this sense of failure and stop blaming myself for the situation I was in and instead become educated on how I could ensure success with my next child.

A little over 3 years later, Azalea, entered my world.  What a joy it was to see her little face and embark on the journey of attempting to exclusively breastfeed her. Every article, book, and piece of advice I was offered, was about to be put to the test! So many questions would race through my mind in those first few days after her birth.  Questions such as: Would I be able to breastfeed her? Would she be able to latch on correctly? How long will she nurse for? Should I pump after any feeds to have some stored away for her? Will I nurse her frequently enough? Is she getting enough milk? Why does my nipples hurt so much? - Dont they say "if it hurts, the latch is incorrect?" Should I allow her nurses to give her formula for her jaundice? What should I do??!?!

Finding answers to those questions were difficult because specific answers didn't exist.  Every child is different and the dynamics of each mother & child vary... so I had to wait.  I had to wait to see if she would wet her diapers, wait to see if she would gain weight, wait to see if her jaundice would go away with breastfeeding alone, wait to see if my nipples would one day heal... wait to see if I could get through the sleepless nights.  I had to wait.  I had to trust in my body and trust that it would do what God created it to do. I had to pray and cast all my fears and burdens on Jesus and trust that no matter what Azalea and I faced, we would figure it out because we had no other options!  I had to trust that I could read all the clues that were there to signal she was no longer hungry and that she was satisfied.  I had to tell my husband "yes, she is full" when he would ask "did she eat enough?" I had to trust that as long as she wasn't crying and had frequent wet diapers, that she was getting the right amount of milk for her body.  I had to trust.  Trusting is hard for a mom because so much is at risk. Your precious little baby's life is at risk... and you fear messing up and making a tragic mistake.  Many times, the fears are heightened due to the many emotions that comes with bringing new life into the world and wanting to protect it at all costs.  Trusting in God allowed me to relax and survey the situation, only to find comfort in the knowledge that He blessed me with this child and she was indeed a blessing from Him and that her life is ultimately always in His hands.  Her health, growth, well-being & LIFE is in HIS hands.  All I could do was try my very best and do as much as I could with what I already know and with what I learn along the way. This realization eased so much anxiety within me and allowed me to truly embrace the joys of breastfeeding.  Was I not strong enough to endure the painful, tender nipples, or the sleepless nights, or the constant demands of a baby needing its food that came solely from my body? OF COURSE I WAS!

...Then came the sensitivities to food: milk, soy, wheat, eggs... At 3 weeks old, my baby girl started showing signs of food sensitivities. What was the major red flag? It was green, mucousy & sometimes bloody stools.  I freaked out! First, I thought it was overactive let-down because I had all the signs of that: strong let-down sensation as well as Azalea gagging MANY times while she nursed due to the abundance of fast flowing milk + the green frothy looking poop.  Sorry for all the visual details! ;)But, after block nursing her,(nursing from one side for a 2 hour time span then switching...) I realized that didn't solve our problem so I started eliminating foods.First was milk......Then wheat...Then soy...Then all the other common food allergens!

If you've never had to eliminate these ingredients from your diet, you would never ever understand how little food options you have available to you. My only options were: low allergenic fruit & veggie choices as well as lots of rice, beans, & quinoa... with lamb, veal, and chicken. Shopping was a task and being that this diet was so restrictive, I had to shop at a speciality food store. It was expensive!  I had to read EVERY SINGLE LABEL and sometimes the products that I least suspected to have allergens, had them. For example, my prenatals...they were loaded with soy!

After 8 months on this diet, I reintroduced myself to a regular diet when I believed that Azalea was no longer highly sensitive to these foods.  I wish I could say that I was careful how I re-introduced these ingredients, but I was not! I was craving normal food so bad that I ate whatever and stalked the details of her poop as though it would provide clues as to what foods she could now tolerate.  For the first few weeks following my transition back to normal foods - her poop was a little suspicious, but nothing too alarming, so I placed my trust in God once again that she would be fine.  Just around this time, Azalea also started showing interest in solid foods. We started her on rice cereal and then on veggies and fruits... and she still nursed exclusively.  Many times, she would only taste a few spoonfuls of solid food before she would blow "raspberries" and insist that she was DONE.  The introduction of solid foods to her diet changed her stools for the better. No longer is it showing major signs of food sensitivities, but rather looking pretty normal. 

...She is now 10 months old today and nursing her has been quite eventful, to say the least.We have endured nursing following a c-section, battling aggressive jaundice, painful bleeding nipples, sleepless nights, food sensitivities... and many stares & comments about our nursing relationship... which leads  me to point out some insightful information concerning why I do not feel compelled to always have Azalea under a nursing cover when I nurse her.  

During these past 10 months, I have nursed just about every where - with a nursing cover AND without.  In the first few months, I nursed Azalea while covering her and my breasts with a blanket.  This was NOT easy because I was often too concerned about whether or not I was fully covered, and suffered a lot of pain in my lower back trying to support her little fluffy body after major abdominal surgery while also making sure our latch was perfect,... and that my breast were fully covered AND that she was not gagging. I eventually ditched the blanket because it caused me so much stress since I couldnt relax enough to nurse her because I was too concerned whether it covered me where I wanted it to cover.  I praised God when I stumbled upon a nursing cover that allowed me to be fully covered as well as see her while I nursed. I was so excited to use it because the stress of holding and positioning a blanket was a thing of the past! YAY!!! But after about 3 months of using that cover, she refused to be covered with it due to the summer heat and her ever-budding curiosity. Now, what was a mom to do? I made the choice to breastfeed her without any  coverups other than her hand, my hand, or my hair covering most of my exposed breast.  Oh and it was SO liberating!!! Did I want anyone to see my breast as I latched her on or as I transitioned her to a sitting up position as soon as she finished nursing? HECK NO! But did I think that it was a risk I was willing to take for mine and her comfort and relaxation prior to nursing? YES! I do not personally know of any mom who wants to expose her nursing breasts to men or women and if such a mom exists, my only question to her would be "why?" 

The choice to (or not to) breastfeed is a personal one and though many may have opinions concerning it, the nursing relationship thrives if others keep their opinions about it to themselves.  Whether or not a mother should breastfeed in a public place should not even be questioned. She is feeding her child for goodness sake! A nursing mother's breasts are not on display for intruding eyes to see, but rather to naturally feed a baby the way he or she was intended to be fed.  If someone is offended or taken aback by the sight of a nursing mother's breasts, move your gaze elsewhere & get over it. Her breasts were never on display for you, but rather to feed her hungry infant.  Breastfeeding should be embraced more... and the sight of a nursing mother's breast should be so common that one doesn't find it inappropriate in ANY surrounding: public places: shopping centers, court houses, churches, public trans... etc.! 

HAPPY 10 MONTHS, AZALEA! You may never understand how much you have taught me through the journey of nursing you these past 10 months, but I hope to keep learning from you as you grow and grow and grow & hopefully one day you will make the choice to nurse your baby as well. I love you, baby girl... and I cherish the moments I get to cuddle with you and snuggle you and give you sweet kisses on your forehead as you nurse beside me <3

A few snapshots of my loves!

...some smiles and expressions for the month of August!

Creativity Embraced

For as long as I can remember, Ive always loved making things that I can use. I liked making jewelry necklaces and whipping up homemade scrubs and making potholders out of yarn as a kid.... and experimenting with face masks made out of yogurt or oatmeal or even avocados! There is a rush of excitement that I feel when I'm about to do something that allows me to be self sufficient.  If there is a way I can create my own lotions, soaps, scrubs, and hair products, I will be all over it! It makes me so happy at just the simple thought.  I guess that must be where my love of sewing comes into play as well.  Having the ability to create garments out of pieces of cloth is just so much fun to me.  I want to learn it all... how to do this and how to do that.

Being that I am a stay at home mom, I believe it is extremely important for me to stimulate my brain with tasks that I enjoy.  There are days and weeks that I feel like I am drowning... Drowning... DROWNING in housework & child-rearing & obligations and sometimes I just need to get away. How does a mom "get away" though?  Clearly, I cannot leave my kids and expect them to take care of themselves! So, this is what I do and what I plan on doing for as long as I am alive.  I plan on making a to-do list of things I want to learn. Whether it is to sew, or crochet, or the ins and outs of making candles... whatever it may be, I write it on my to-do list and when the opportunity arises, I jump for joy and DO IT! I cant sit around thinking that I have tomorrow to do it... whenever I have a free moment, I tackle the project that I am working on at that particular time. Yes, I am busy busy busy, but when I am busy doing something I love, it relaxes me instead of tiring me and I will take relaxation any time I can get it.  Its either I busy myself with another household chore or take a moment and devote it to learning something new that I can use for the rest of my life. I prefer the second option since option number one really isnt an option, but a non-negotiable everyday task! ;)

I am so excited to start on my never ending list of  projects that I want to do.
Here are a few:
-how to make scented candles
-how to make soaps
-body scrubs
-natural care products
-hair bows and hair bands
-cake decorating
-crocheting
-knitting
-canvas art (photos and sayings and stuff... I cant paint or draw to save my life! LOL)

Those are just a few. I have so many more... but these will keep me busy for now!

Park days <3

Sometimes I catch a glimpse of my son and my mind suddenly thinks "oh my gosh... THIS is MY son! That is his little face and those are his little legs... and look at the way he looks in his little hat... he's so freakin cute!" Yea, it may sound a little silly at first, but I'm sure most parents have had that "Ah-ha! moment" when time stands still and the image of your child in front of you plays out in slow motion & you are in complete awe of their existence and the role you play in their life and they in yours. These are the moments that make me most grateful for life... the moments when I thank God for all he has done and all he has blessed me with because I cannot imagine living my life any other way than the way it is in those perfect moments when I am staring at my son or my daughter in complete wonder at their sweet presence in my world.  

Doing What WORKS!

When you're a mom & you have little ones & you workout from home, a 45 min workout WILL take you at least 2 hours! ... it's just the way it is. My workouts are usually halted by my little baby girl who likes to nurse to go back to bed. Tomorrow it may be halted by Adonai wanting to cuddle... BUT whatever halts it should halt it only momentarily. I need to stick to my daily fitness goals and accomplish them!

Now, I'll set out a two hour time-span to complete my workouts because any other time span is totally unrealistic & DOES NOT work (for me)- ...unless, lets say, I'm working out outside! 

As I find solutions to all my hurdles, accomplishing tasks (...especially fitness goals) that frustrated me before in my life become much easier. I will embrace the unexpected and accept it as an inevitable part of life & get what I NEED to get done! No excuses for what is important. 

EXERCISE IS IMPORTANT! ... HEALTH IS IMPORTANT! I won't make excuses for not fitting it into my day. YAY for motivation!!!... <3