5 things that could make April fantastic

Well, today, morning sickness got the best of me. I had been a bit queasy since my 8th week off (currently 10w3d) and on, but nothing that made me feel like I was going to hug the toilet bowl. Until today. Brushing my teeth has put things in a whole new perspective for me. I called in to work, unfortunately, and slept most of the day. I'm feeling well enough to sit up now and play with the puppy, so I figured I could take this time to obsess over things I really want.

Sleep. Lately, I just can't seem to get comfortable! I wake up with nausea and the frequent urge to go tinkle. It's not that the baby is pushing up against my bladder, just yet. It's caused by the blood flowing through the bladder eliminating waste much more frequently. I'm not prepared for the 3rd trimester which I hear is worse!  Then on top of that I have been having the most outrageous dreams ever! No idea what is causing that. So needless to say, I spend a lot of my nights tossing and turning. Oh joy, it's only the beginning.

Storage. I mentioned that Ryan and I moved in together at the beginning of March didn't I? Well, this place we are calling our first place is a cozy, read tiny, 1 bedroom back house in Inglewood. Which is ok cause it's really super cheap which will allow us to save monies. There is absolutely no room for anything extra in here. We've learned to start living with the bare minimum. On days when I feel well, I get this urge to clean organize. But I can't do much with the things that we aren't currently using but afraid to give away because this home is only temporary. Come October, we will need the space! So in the meantime, over the next couple of weeks, I'll be seeking inspiration for storage options for our teeny tiny space. I don't want to feel claustrophobic forever!

BHG.com

The Miranda Draped Jersey gown in Purple. I mean seriously, I fell in love with the green one but there is something about purple lately that has been calling my name. It's not a color that I'd normally wear, but this gown just screams royalty! This looks like an amazing piece that will carry me until this "B" belly turns into a "D" belly and quite possibly even beyond.

The Sturgis Dog bed for Sammy. Once upon a time, Sammy had a small puppy bed of his own and he tore it to shreds when I was at work. Since then, I've not replaced it, I've simply given him a cozy blanket to put in his crate. Apparently Sammy thinks he's a real boy, and whenever he wants to go lay down, he goes and plops in OUR bed and actually has the nerve to get under the covers. Silly puppy! If he had this, I'd try my best to lay on it and show him how it feels. Er, or not. But this little dog bed is awesome and damn near the price of a nice bed at Ikea! If our place was bigger and I could splurge one good time on him, I totally would.

Shoes! Thanks to Monique at Curves and Chaos, I'm now lusting over the Harlow Wedges that she mentioned on her site. I'm not a huge wedge gal, I tend to think they make my stems look more like tree trunks, but these are so damned cute that I may have to may an exception in April. Hmm, what do you think?

What are five things that would start your April off right?!

Reality Check; Overweight and Pregnant

Finding out that one is pregnant can be quite the exciting time. Moments after those pink lines changed my life, one obvious factor suddenly hit me. How am I going to handle this pregnancy as a plus size woman?

image from pregnancyandbaby.com

I was a month into my Insanity Workouts and had lost 14lbs. My first initial honest reaction was, "I don't want to gain back all this weight I worked so hard to lose." If you know me, then you know I have absolutely nothing against being a fat girl. I just prefer to be a healthy fat adult. It's quite possible.

I started Insanity because I was tired of having no energy and my feet bothered me like crazy. Not to mention, I found myself slowly going up in pant sizes. I also wanted to be in the best shape possible to hit the ground running with modeling in 2012. So after I found out I was pregnant, I couldn't help but feel a slight bit of sadness. I knew that my body was preparing to change and I'm afraid I won't be able to control it.

According to WebMD, an overweight woman should only gain about 15-25 pounds. According to my midwife, I shouldn't gain any weight. Ehh, yeah, I think that's a bit unrealistic. Especially considering that I'm growing a very small human inside of me.

My first question to my new health partner was, "Obviously, I can't continue to do my Insanity workout, so what do you recommend?" She suggested that walking was the only thing I could do until my 2nd trimester (mostly due to spotting off and on). Then she went on to talk about how I'm not eating for 2 people. I need to cut out white bread, white rice and junk food. This frustrated and angered me. I don't want my weight spiraling out of control just as much as my assigned midwife. But why do you automatically assume that my eating habits are out of control? I only eat wheat bread and brown rice. I know how carbs break down into sugar and are stored into the body as fat. Many fat adults aren't fat because we sit around eating Twinkies and McDonald's every day.

Needless to say, every time I've had a slight craving for anything sweet, I've immediately felt bad and attempted to shut it down with fruit. Some days it works, and other days I just want what I want. On top of that, Ryan is still doing his workouts and completed the 63 for Insanity and lost a total of 30 pounds. Meanwhile, at almost 10 weeks, I've already started gaining the weight back that I lost. *insert sad face here* Everyone tells me to not deny myself and of course I know all about moderation.

So this is where my journey begins. Plus size and pregnant (I'll come up with a catchier slogan later). Anyone out there have any experiences with being overweight and pregnant? What are some of the difficulties that you've faced?

 I haven't decided if I want to create a separate blog for my pregnancy ramblings or if you all want to read about them here. Of course, I'll still update about fashion and beauty for the plus size woman.

Life happens (3 month mini update!)

Welcome, welcome everyone! Oh how I've missed you all! Gosh, there's been so much going on since the new year started. There have been a few instances of tragedy, but also so many blessings.

In January, I realized that my jeans were getting tighter and smaller.With some encouragement from Ryan and a friend of ours, I started the Shawn T. Insanity Workout program. It was a group challenge with some people that I knew. The support that I received in the group was amazing and within the first week, I lost 5 lbs. I was so amazed at what my body could do once I challenged it. This workout became routine and I developed a love/hate relationship with Shawn T. There were a few days that I questioned if I could even make it through the first month.

Oh, I forgot to mention the boudoir shoot that took place with Chanel Rene and makeup Artist Sophia Pickle.

And the shoot with Domino Dollhouse for the Rebel Rebel Spring Collection.

In February, I continued the Insanity workout program while Ryan and I celebrated 2 years of love. That same day, I got news that my Aunt Dot joined my Uncle Willie on his birthday with our Father. Needless to say, it was quite emotional for me.

I was so emotional and stressed out during February, that I failed to realize that my monthly visitor was late. My cycles have been very regular since I settled into California. I figured maybe this new strenuous workout had something to do with it so I waited it out. I woke up early on the morning of February 22nd with a lot on my heart. I laid in bed thinking, and wondering, could I be pregnant? I was taking thermogenics to power through my workouts and I was concerned. Not to mention that the last couple weeks of my workout I had been exhausted instead of the energized feeling that I had in the beginning. I immediately hopped out of bed and drove to CVS.

I could barely contain myself as I struggled to pull my pants down and pee on this little stick. That second pink line on the First Response Early Response showed up so quickly that it startled me! I took one more test later that day before I revealed the news to Ryan, and with my best friend on the phone, I watched the digital test read, "pregnant." I was so happy and so very nervous at the same time. My Pink Pad period tracker estimated my due date from my last period as being October 29.

Later that night, I gave Ryan what I called a late Valentine's Day gift, and handed him a giftbag with the two tests wrapped up in a bib that simply read, "I love daddy." Ryan was speechless. He hugged me and cried a bit and we celebrated by going out to dinner. We immediately started thinking of boy and girl names. We were both just so very happy about the news.

Fast forward a couple of weeks to March, Ryan and I have moved in to a small cozy (temporary of course because of the size) home in Inglewood. Living together, along with being pregnant has proven to be an adjustment, but more on that later. I feel as if I've already exhausted the character count on this post.

Don't worry, it's a lot to take in. Trust me! I know! I have so much more that I want to share with you, but I'll let you gather your thoughts. I hope you all don't mind coming along this journey with me as I share some things from my plus size pregnancy.

Whew! That's it for now. BTW, I now have access to a computer so we shall continue to speak on a regular basis again. :)

Hello, testing 1, 2 1, 2

Anybody with me? I'mmmm baaaaccckkkkk!

Stay tuned ;)