Talking About Under Wears

This post is dedicated to what I wear UNDER my cute clothes, so if you aren’t cool with looking at pics of me in my bra then click away now. You’ve been warned ☺ Seriously.

I think everyone knows by now that I had some ginormous boobies. I think my biggest size was a 40 F. When I was larger I LOVED bras from Lane Bryant, they were not only comfy, but they were CUTE.  I spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on bras because I was always on the hunt for the best bra, you know the one that made my boobs look smaller. Guess what, when you are that big it’s pretty much not possible.  Still I was in my 20’s and I wanted to wear cute bras like everyone else my age.
Some of my Favorites!

Not so great on me now.

 Now I am a 34D, which makes me even happier than wearing a smaller size jean! I seriously HATE my boobs with a passion. They used to hurt when I ran, made it impossible to shop for button up shirts, and made bra shopping very expensive.  I can’t just wear any old bra from Target, I did buy a few cheap ones from Kohl’s while I was losing weight, but you can totally tell they are not doing a great job.

I went to Dillard’s and decided to bite the bullet and buy 3, a nude, a black, and a strapless.  After trying on about 12 different pairs I came home with 2 winners and one loser.

Winner: Black with a slight push up.

Winner: Strapless with convertible straps

No joke, I've tried LOTS of strapless bras and this one is HANDS DOWN the best one ever!! No pulling, tugging, adjusting, it was so comfortable!!!
The cute dress is Kiki La Rue :)

Loser: Nude push up

I am just not a fan of true 'push ups' every time I bent over they kinda fall out the top. I'm going to exchange this one for one I tried on and didn't get because it seemed a little 'granny-ish' but I think will be better under t-shirts and such.

Sorry, I can't remember the brand!

If you haven’t yet, please please go get a bra fitting from a reputable place.  I will be honest, not a big Victoria Secret fan {at least for big booby girls} their stuff is cute if you are looking for more fashion than function.  I thought Dillard’s was awesome, I had great service and I think they got my sizing just right the first time. Soma is another good store to check out; I ADORE their stuff, so comfy!! I know Dallas has a great specialty store called The Maddox Shop, they carry pretty much any size {it’s very basic no bright colors here!}  and their staff is very knowledgeable. My only complaint is the wait time, they are always busy!

Now, you’ve all seen me pretty much naked so you know I’ve got some lumps and bumps {don’t we all!} . I’ve tried Spanx’s and they annoy the crap out of me, I have to work up a sweat getting them on and off, considering how much I pee, no thank you. I randomly bought this shaper at Wal Mart one day and I have to say for 15 bucks it’s pretty freaking awesome.

1. No rolling down my stomach when I sit
2. Wasn’t hard to get on or off
3. No cutting into my thigh and making a ring or lump
4. Looked good under the clothes

I also saw this GENUIS idea on Pinterest the other day, to wear a ruffled slip under a too short dress. Umm, yes please! So naturally I immediately went to Etsy and found some. The Slip Shop has TONS of options, colors, fabric, and has adjustable lengths. I may have found a new addiction, hoping mine come in ASAP.

Ok enough about the underwear’s ☺

Don't forget about my Workout Wednesday Link Up tomorrow!

<p align="center"><a href="http://www.skinnymeg.com/"><img src="http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z468/suit1/meg-1_zps3193d205.png" alt="button" width="321" height="423" /></a></p>

Meet  Lyndsey from Football and Glitter she is a sweet Mama to her precious daughter, Peyton.  Her and the hubs just bought a new house and are busy fixing it up in between working full time and caring for a toddler, whew, no envy here ☺ Be sure to stop by and check out the fabulous color they painted their porch!

Pinkalicious Weekend.

Happy Monday morning! I was supposed to be having a teeth cleaning this morning, but the had to reschedule....again. Not that I mind, I hate the dentist :) We had another packed weekend that went by far too quickly.

Saturday we headed out to a small little vendor show called Pinkalicious.

It was a super cute little show with lots of goodies and cute booths. What I love just as much as as the good are the vendors, they are all so cute in their spunky little outfits! You've never seen such cute boots and hats!

I totes would have bought this hat if I had anywhere to actually wear it! 

I found a cute peacock wall hanging thing from the 50's and a adorable chevron Texas wood sign for my office.

I'm not sure where to hang her just yet, but I'm thinking I want to spray her a glossy white. I love when I find unique items like this!

Saturday afternoon we went to a crawfish boil at Amber's house. Madison and her BFF Kaylee always have such a great time together, little cuties!!

I do NOT eat crawfish, ewww. No, I just can't.

Sunday was soccer and a  wedding shower.  My game was an hour away so I had no choice but to change into a dress at the field and brush my sweaty hair into headband.

It was the hottest day we've had so far, I think it's safe to say winter is finally over which means I will need to spend next weekend pulling my summer clothes out of the attic and putting the winter ones away. I bought some huggable hangers, but I guess this is a good a time as any to buy enough to switch out my entire side of the closet. Oliver HATES those hangers, he can't just pull his shirt off. I love them because my clothes don't fall off and end up on the floor, especially my light weight summer stuff. 

I am glad it's nice enough for us to spend our evenings outside playing. 

We jump on the trampoline, ride bikes, and we always practice our soccer skills :) I think Miss M is going to be a great little soccer player, good eye and foot coordination!

Ok, enough about me me me me me.

If you are needing some 'I need to wear a swim suit in like 4 weeks' motivation, then you need to stop by Journey of a Dreamer. She's been doing the Whole 30 and has lost 10.5 inches so far! I'm also super jealous her and the hubs just announced they are opening their own Crossfit Box in St Louis, so awesome!!

My Story {Part 2}

Part 1

I went back to school full time the fall after I had Madison, my Mother in law came to my house to watch her while I was gone. School was hard and finding time to study with a young child is even harder, but it was also nice that I got to ‘stay home’ with her a lot. I had flexibility, I could go to Mommy groups, and play dates. I was taking 12-15 hours a semester, but it still took me about 3 years to finally finish college.

 It was not my choice to stop working before I had Madison, it was just a bad situation, but after she came I couldn’t imagine leaving her every day.  I was glad I got to spend so much time with my new baby even though it was stressful living on one income. I was there for all her firsts, smile, laugh, steps, and words.   It was amazing to see the little tiny person I made turn into a toddler and I feel blessed I was fortunate enough to be there for her.

 I think around the time she turned 2 is when I really started to miss my ‘other’ life. The one where I had a reason to get dressed in more than yoga pants, the one where I had adult conversations daily, the one where I had friends {most of my good friends worked so I was alone during the week}. I missed my structured days and I sure missed having a second income.  Oliver was working at a job making jack shit {less than 50k} and he was unhappy there, an opening came up at a very well-known {read: hard to get into} company in Dallas. He applied, but with several hundred other applicants his chances were slim. I love my husband, but with some many people looking for jobs I had little hope that he would get picked. He went through 7 interviews and it finally came down to him and one other guy, I have never prayed so hard in my life. This position at this company would be a life changer for him and he deserved it. My prayers were answered and he got the job and we were able to breathe a sigh of relief that we could make it on his paycheck until graduation.

Besides the times I went to school {usually with a lot of people younger than me} I was alone with Madison. If you are new here and don’t know me then let me tell you, I’m a people person. I’m bubbly, talkative, and enthusiastic pretty much all the time. I love the be around other people and I really started to feel isolated in my life. With graduation approaching I was very much looking forward to going back to work, I needed to fulfill that area of my life. I know a lot of Mothers who are amazing at ‘staying home’ with their kids, I did not feel that way. I felt Madison was behind in her learning, speech, and social interaction skills and I certainly felt that was my fault. I was teaching her incorrectly or not teaching her enough, this made me feel like a terrible mother.  I felt the best decision for all of us was for her to go to preschool and I would go back to work.

I graduated in December 2012 and started working in January 2013. She currently goes to school 3 days a week from 9-2 and my Mother in law watches her the other times. I work full time, but my husband works a later shift so he’s with her every morning.  She has matured so much this year, in large part I think to her going to school.  I don’t feel guilty for going back to work; I think it’s the right choice for me and my family. My husband has a decent job, but it’s nice to know that we have a backup plan, should anything happen to him I could support us.  Maybe I would feel differently if Madison had to go to daycare, but honestly most of my friends’ kids go and they seem to love it. They get to hang out all day with their friends and play, who wouldn’t want that? I’m sure Madison would hate to stay home with me now, I KNOW I’m less fun than her teachers and classmates. I’m sorry, but Mommy can only play My Little Pony so much before she wants to scream ☺

Overall I would say I'm happy with our situation, there are times I wish I could take off and take her to the Arboretum or the Zoo. Next year that would be feasible, but this year I just don't have the extra time off. I would say I was pretty trepidacious when I actually got a job just because it was such a change for all of us, but I think we are settling in nicely and everyone seems happy. Working and fitting it all in is not easy, but neither is staying home. Everyone has their challenges and I'm doing my best to be the most for everyone in my life, INCLUDING MYSELF. I think a lot of the reason I seem to handle so much is because I make time for me, even if it's at 5 in the morning :)

To be continued....

Workout Wednesday

I'm starting a new series called Workout Wednesdays where I will post a new workout each week. I'm having my 2nd husband Jack make me a button and I'm hoping to turn it into a link up if you guys would like to share a weekly workout too. I think it would be a fun way to change things up and learn some new stuff! Leave me a love note if you're into that idea :)

Today's workout is a leg and arm routine.

Sorry my video isn't great quality, iPhones can only do so much :)

Usually on mornings that I'm in charge of my own workouts {aka no classes} I make up a circuit and do cardio mixed with weights.

1. Bicep curls with a 35 pound bar.
2. Dead Lifts with a 25 pound weight. {hold the weight and bend to your toes and back up keeping your legs straight}
3. Upper Back {bent over slightly pull weights up as you squeeze your shoulder blades together}
4. Dreaded Stairmaster level 8 for 10 - 15 minutes increasing the level every 5 minutes

Do  1-3 for one minutes and repeat 3x's

My favorite workout shirts from Abundant Heart are having a year anniversary sale and you can get 15% off with the code "Celebrate" until Friday the 26th!

Also Mama Laughlin and I have started a Facebook page for you gals local to Dallas, it's called MaMeg :) We did this to make it easier to plan meet ups and get togethers for races, so if you live in or near Dallas and would like to get in on the fun hop on over and introduce yourself!

Enough about me me me me......

This is Amanda from My Very Own Modern Family! She has, count them, FIVE daughters. That alone would drive me to the mad house!!! You have GOT to read her A-Ha post, it may be the best 'I finally figured out I needed to lose weight' story ever. Plus, I'm pretty sure every time I click on her blog she gets skinner :)

Happy Hump Day!

Eating Out

Sometimes no matter how good your intentions or how well you plan, things happen and you have to eat out. Don’t panic and don’t throw away all your hard work on a plate full of pasta or a juicy cheesy burger! Here are some of my go-to restaurants and what I normally choose along with the calorie count.

Panda Express: 460 Calories

I love that they started serving brown rice, steamed and fried! I get the plate with steamed brown rice, mixed veggies, and a low fat chicken option {like the peppered, they are labeled}

Subway: 

220 for salad and 320 for JUST THE dressing {if you get it their way}

I like their double chopped chicken salad with the chicken heated up. I either bring my own dressing or I get it on the side and use it sparingly. 

Olive Garden: 

Pasta Fagioli: 130 calories

Salad with no dressing: 60 I get the dressing on the side

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia: 470 and sooooooo good.

TGI Fridays: 650

Balsamic Glazed Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad with low fat balsamic dressing. Skip the bacon bits, saves calories and you don’t even miss them.

Genghis Grill: 460

Depends what you get, but I like the bowl with steamed brown rice, chicken, veggies, and a low fat sauce.  

Wendy’s:

Chili: 310 sometimes I add some sour cream on top for another 60 calories

Potato: 320 calories with sour cream and chives

Applebee’s:

I like going here every once in a while, they have a good sized healthy menu that’s tasty. 

Any Mexican Restaurant:

I LOVE Mexican food and I always order the same thing. Grilled Chicken Fajitas with black beans and corn tortillas.  Averages around 450 calories. 

Chipotle:  400-500 calories

Depending on the day {if I’ve worked out and need the extra calories} I will either get a salad {Chicken, black beans, corn, pico, guac, salsa on lettuce} or the bowl {brown rice, black beans, chicken, corn, guac, salsa}

What are some of your favorite healthy dishes when you eat out?

Meet Kimmmmmmyyyyyyy from That's the Thing About Destiny. She’s freaking HISTARICAL, like all the time.

If you don’t follow her on Instagram you are missing out {@kimmyyy1}.  She is about to be old, like Dirty Thrity years old, which I guess isn’t REALLY old considering I’m 32 {and I STILL look younger than friends of mine, you know who you are}  Oh wait, Kimmy, right. She is doing her 30 before 30 this week so stop by and check it out, I’m SURE you will bust out a laugh….or two.

This is Jennifer from Fat Chick to Fit Chick, she is one awesome lady. Look at this transformation!!

What I love about her story is that she not only changed her life, but that of her family. They are in this together and it’s pretty freaking amazing. Make sure to stop by and check out her  Choose Your Hard post, it really hits home!

Weekend Recap

Friday started off not great, I was sleeping soooo good and I knew as soon as I woke up something wasn't right. My stupid pos iPhone turned itself off during the night and my alarm didn't go off, which meant no gym time. Any other time I wake up right before it goes off, but not the one time it reboots. Ugh.

Ah well, Madison {aka Twilight Sparkle as she wants to be called now} was happy to see me and insisted she wear chevron like her mama :)

Her pants are Old Navy and my top is Kiki La Rue.

After work I had soccer, I signed up to play on a co-ed team which is close to my house. I also love that I can bring the kid, she had fun and made some new friends.

Saturday I hit the gym for Step/ Turbo and Body Pump, I haven't been to BP in a few weeks due to getting in some long runs and my half. It pretty much kicked my ass, my arms were SHAKING, the new bicep track is killer.

The afternoon was spent shopping with Twilight Sparkle, my Mom, and sister. We were doing family pics on Sunday and I really wanted to do navy blue and yellow colored clothing. My Mom thought yellow pants would be cute, I was not on board, usually light colored skinnies really make my thighs look horrible. We went to Dillards and I saw a cute pair, perfect length and color so I tried them on. I didn't even look at the price tag because I was trying to corral the kid, she likes to play with the mannequins :)  We headed down to the shoe department and I found the BEST flats, Gianni Bini. OMG they are so cute and sooooo comfy, where have they been all my life??  I'm dying for some of their heels now, I may have a new obsession!

I go to check out and the lady was all, that's 230 bucks, at first I thought I misheard her so I just paid and checked my receipt on the way out. Yeah those cute yellow pants were over a 100 bucks, I'm  not keeping them even though they are adorable. I may love to shop, but I just don't pay that for one pair of pants.

The top I'm wearing is Kiki La Rue and I LOVE it, the buttons down the back are so perfect and it's longer so it covered my booty.

Saturday night I went with Brandi to her Boudoir Photo Shoot, I didn't do any pics, but I had a chance to meet some readers and it was really a LOT of fun!! These girls were SMOKIN' in their outfits and we had a great time hanging out {half naked} and then heading next door for some Mexican food {aka skinny ritas}.

Top is from Fash Forward

Sunday I finally broke down and bought another Shark. Remember months ago when mine broke?? Yeah, I haven't washed my floors since then, yikes. I wanted to go with another brand, but that's all they had at Home Depot and I just didn't have the energy to shop around.

At least I have a good helper :) However she was a pain during pictures, she has this fake smile where she scrunches up her face and her eyes are closed. Ugh. I hope we got a few decent ones because she wasn't having any of it.

I bought her a blue and white dress, but she cried for half and hour to wear this one so we did a few shots in it too. My life is nothing but compromises anymore!
Ah well, gotta pick your battles with the toddlers.


Happy Monday!

Classy N Sassy Giveaway!

Fun giveaway for you guys today!! Classy N Sassy Creations has LOTS of fun stuff and here are some of my favs!

Brittany has some of the CUTEST jewelry and clothing, I loooove me some bling and color. She has sizes s-3x AND stuff for kids. I'm so dying for this matching Mommy/ Daughter t-shirt set!

She's giving one reader a bling shirt of their choosing, the giveaway will end next Thursday.
I might have to become a Rangers fan just so I can sport this shirt and necklace!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Fertility Story

Honestly this infertility is quite shocking to me, I mean my own Mother got knocked up FOUR times on accident. I’m healthy, I eat right, I exercise, I just don’t understand where the disconnect is!  When we first started trying I was so excited, I knew for sure I’d be pregnant within 2 months and pop the kid out right after graduation and everything would be fine.

Me at my appt yesterday. The 'wand' is NOT your friend.

3 months in I thought, ok something’s not right let’s try some tricks:  sperm friendly lube, pillows under the hips, temping, and ovulation sticks, etc. Jesus, I’m pretty sure I spent all my free time on the internet researching way’s to get knocked up. Let me tell you if you love drama just join a birth club on BabyCenter, those girls are cray. No offense, I did meet some of my great friends there! I seem to make a lot of real life friends off the internet…. Anyways…..

5 months in I realized something was wrong with my temping charts; I was ovulating on day 21 and getting my period on day 29. {For those of you not familiar with this kind of stuff you should have 12-14 days between the two} . I became obsessed with figuring out a way to lengthen my luteal phase, B12 or was it B6, I can’t remember?? I tried teas, creams, whatever I could and EVERY SINGLE MONTH I was sure it was going to work and EVERY SINGLE MONTH i was devastated.
I remember the day I got my period and realized something was wrong, it was Fourth of July and I was waiting for Oliver to get home so we could go to a party. He was late, my period started, and I was PISSED. I was pissed about my body and I took it out on him, we had a terrible fight and I cried most of the night, he just didn’t understand why I was so upset. The next day I made an appointment with my gyno.

On my first visit to the gyno they did a sonogram to check my stuff, I don’t really know what, but the tech said ‘Oh well that looks weird’. Thanks, way to freak a girl out! I found out I had a large cyst on my stomach lining and had to have surgery to have it removed.

7 months in I started taking Clomid to hopefully make me ovulate better/sooner, honestly gyno’s can only prescribe a few things to help with getting knocked up, but most of the time you need to have been seeing them about the issue for a YEAR before they will refer you to a fertility specialist. I find that very annoying, what’s the point of putting me on a medicine I may not need just to waste time until I can see the person who CAN figure out what’s going on?

12 months in and no progress. The clomid did nothing; they also prescribed me progesterone supplements for a month which had zero effect on me. FINALLY I was given the ok to see a specialist! I had just started my new job and I was concerned about taking time off to go to the Dr, I found one within 15 minutes of my office and my boss is very flexible so that was one less thing for me to worry about.  The Dr was very nice and the first visit all we did was chat about my history, I expressed concern over my exercise routines and whether they were affecting my cycles. He said it’s possible, but he didn’t think that was what was going on. He did a sonogram and I found out my uterus lining was not very thick so I had to wait a month for my cycle to start and take a panel of blood work. I do have a few hormone levels that are low, but nothing they could fix.  I had to wait ANOTHER month for my cycle to start so they could check my uterus, I did have some scar tissue inside, but THANKFULLY he was able to remove it without me having to have surgery. I probably would break down if I have to have another surgery, I don’t have the time off at work and it’s so effing expensive.

Now I have to wait ONE MORE MONTH {storyofmylife} to have yet another test done before he can decide a course of action. He needs to check my tubes with a dye test and it has to be done within 7 days of your cycle starting, I think? Haha. All I know is I call them up and they tell me when to come in, that’s about all the effort I’m putting into this right now.

The first 6 months were the hardest, and then I started forcing myself to focus on other things. I was graduating, I had to find a job, I signed up for a half, I started lifting more weights. Anything besides sitting around wondering if every sign my body was giving me was one of pregnancy. No more peeing on sticks, no more tracking days, no more forcing sex because it’s baby making time.

So PLEASE don’t tell me to stop trying, I have. I know a lot of women are going through/ have gone through this and I honestly don’t mind sharing, in fact I have an easier time sharing with strangers than I do with my husband. I don’t tell him much and he doesn’t ask, which is why I can’t get mad when he makes comments like ‘so are we still having another kid or what’.  All he really wants to know is when to drop trough and if I’m actually knocked up, which is totally fine with me, I don’t want to sit around gabbing about it either.

Even after over a year of this I still think NEXT MONTH IS MY MONTH.