13 weeks

1st trimester.

This first trimester has been really interesting.  I am beyond excited to be adding to our family and having a little bean growing inside of me.  People are always asking me how I feel about it and of course I am beyond excited. I think I have heard so many stories of  other peoples experiences and mine just does not seem as exciting as theirs.  Apparently there is supposed to be this "wow" moment when the clouds part and a giant beam of sun rays shine down on me..... Yeah ugh NO!! I must just be lame bc aside from my few symptoms I don't feel pregnant at all. I have experienced my fair share of emotions so far, from crying at seeing the little heartbeat and wanting to kill my husband simply because he was breathing my air. Needless to say this has been a pretty easy going 1st trimester.

1. Amazon I'm Pregnant and What to expect when expecting- The first couple weeks of pregnancy I could tell no one and I was going CRAZY.  If you know me I am some what of a hypocondriate. I spend way to much time watching The Doctors and searching things online, which can make any sane person crazy.  So to help keep myself off of the internet I bought these two book and found them to be very helpful.  I'm Pregnant is a week by week guide and has lots of pictures which I love :).  Every pregnant person I know has bought or read the What to expect when expiating, so of course I wanted it too.

2. Water- Ugh, I hate I repeat I hate drink water!!  Prior to the pregnancy I literally could go a whole day and not drink anything. Its just not something I ever think about and I am never thirsty.  After visiting with the doctor last week I was told I am still not drinking enough water so since then my husband has turned into the water natzi! I understand he is trying to help but I feel like I could float a small yacht in my stomach. So because I know I am supposed to drink it and LOTS of it this is a must have. 

3. Motherhood Collagen Boosting Body Butter- I was given this as a gift and I love it so far.  Immediately after finding out I was pregnant I started searching which creams where the best for stretch marks.  Well, there are like millions and I had no idea where to start.  This lotion smells great and goes on awesome not leaving behind any sticky residue (which is a must for me).  I know stretch marks are inevitable but surly if I bath in this stuff daily something will get "boosted".

4. Target C9 by Champions Bra- This was a life saver.  I found out I was pregnant a week after raiding the bra section at the New Year's Dillard's sale.  Needless to say by the time I got them home nothing I had was fitting in them.  This bra is so comfortable and has enough padding that I can wear it with regular tops and not look like I am packing a bread loaf under my shirt.  SCORE 

5. Pepsi- I know I know, I am not supposed to have caffeine. Well, after expressing my 4 day headache pain on Facebook multiple people told me to try some caffeine. So I did and BAM it worked. I can count on one hand the number of sodas I drank in the last year prior to pregnancy. I just don't drink it so I would have never guessed this helped my headache to go away. 

6. Walmart One-A-Day Prenatal- This was the first thing I went and purchased and let me make on thing clear, I got the first one I saw on the shelf.  I had no idea which one was "the best" and all that jazz but this one seems to work really well for me.  I have had no sickness, little to no burping, and I feel great. 

7. Walmart Eggrolls- I have eaten more egg rolls the last 2 months than I have eaten in my whole life. Oh man, they are so yummy.  Pop them in the microwave for 45 seconds and BAM...... heaven. The ones I get are in the deli section at Walmart by the pre made subs (just incase you want to snag some).  The brand pictured is not the brand I purchase but since I couldn't find a picture this one will have to do. Want an egg roll now?

Please ignore my husbands inability to focus the camera. I only have so long and so many shots to get before he looses patients so had to go with this one. On the bright side by the end of this 9 months surly he will have it figured out.

How far along?  13 weeks! 

Total weight gain/measurements: 1-2 lbs. My weight fluctuates between 123-125 normally so it is hard for me to tell what is actually baby gain or food gain. 

Maternity clothes: No, but I have a feeling I will be breaking out the rubber band trick on my jeans a lot sooner than later. 

Stretch marks: None

Sleep: Pretty much normal besides the crazy dreams that I talked about last week.

Best moment this week: Getting our first baby gift in the mail. This was a total surprise to me and I was a emotional basket case when I opened up the box and saw the baby wrapping paper. 

Miss anything? Not at the moment, feeling pretty normal. 

Movement: Nope, I have read in my book that some people (in most cases women who have already been pregnant) can feel a little butterfly feeling. I have been paying attention pretty hard the last week and haven't felt anything. 

Food cravings: Chef salad but I better have hard boiled eggs and ham on it.  Thank goodness it is a healthy craving.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Still Nate's nasty hot sauce

Gender: Your guess is a good as mine. Daddy is praying for a boy. :)

Labour signs: Heck no!!

Symptoms: Headaches galore!! Holy cow have they been bad this week. 

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: warm weather :)

xoxo,

Brenda 

Baby Breland Coming September 2014

Well, the cat has been let out of the bag. Nate and I are expecting! Baby Breland will be here in September and we are both so excited.  We found out at the beginning of January and waited till after our first appointment to tell our parents and family. It ended up working out perfect because Nate had baseball games in Conway, AR on Valentines day which meant that we got to give our moms the best Valentines Day present ever. But first I had to tell my sister. Somewhere along the way she made me promise to tell her first when we were pregnant, so I did and this is what happened.

Every time I see this video I crack up laughing. Poor Chris just stands there smiling with a "what the hell is going on" look on his face. PRICELESS

This is how we told our mothers. I found these adorable little things on Etsy and couldn't resist. Both little boxes also contained a note with the announcement and due date. There were lots of tears, jumping, and screaming following the realization of what was inside their "valentines day presents".

 I am right at the end of the 12th week now and thus far I have nothing to complain about. I have little to no symptoms what so ever aside from fatigue and having to go purchase some new bras (my doctor informed me that I had received the "golden ticket").  I have continued my same workout regimen as I had prior to pregnancy, although I will say some days were a little harder than others. Fatigue hit me hard at week 8 and didn't want to do anything let alone go workout. Also at this point all I wanted to eat was egg rolls, which is strange seeing that I rarely ever eat them in general.

We had our 12 week appointment on Wednesday and got to hear the little heart beat again.  Every time I hear it I am amazed that there is a little heartbeat inside of me and get quite emotional all at the same time.

The first picture of our little bean at 8 weeks. 

How far along? 12 weeks (wow crazy)

Total weight gain: None at the moment. 

Maternity clothes?  Nope, I am honestly hoping that I can avoid buying any though out the whole pregnancy. (think its possible?)

Stretch marks?  Not yet. I already have stretch marks just from when I started college so something tells me I won't be able to avoid them but in the mean time I will bath in my collagen  boosting body butter. 

    Sleep: Oh sleep, it's been interesting I am not feeling tired thought the day but my crazy, scary, and somewhat blushful dreams wake me up quite frequently throughout the night.  

Best moment this week: Getting to hear the little beans heart beat again. 

Miss anything?  Not being bloated constantly. 

Food cravings: Nope none really.  

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Yes!  ALOT OF THING. Fish and the nasty hot sauce that Nate has to put on EVERYTHING he eats are the two that are the most prominent. 

Gender: I have no idea...but I would definitely be happy with either :)

Labour signs: No!

Symptoms: Food aversions are pretty much it for this week. 

Belly button in or out?  In!  Ugh my belly button is a giant whole I would be surprised if that thing every gets even close to popping out. 

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: I'm happy, extremely happy!

Looking forward to: 8 weeks from now finding out the gender so I can start to SHOP!!

Well that is it for the 12 week post. We are beyond elated to FINALLY be able to share our exciting news with everyone. 

xoxo, 

Brenda

Back to school

Tomorrow my life is about to get even more crazy. 18 hrs of classes on top of all the other craziness I have going on. Of course I had to create a cute little binder cover for each subject. So I decided I would share it with you all. Find me on Instagram @itsmypurelife and share pictures of your binder. I hope you all have a great fall semester!

I used Archistico  font from dafont.com. You can find all kinds of cool free font on this site so go check it out. Click on the images and save, open up in word and type in your subject!

xoxo,

Faux Cucumber Sushi

What fake sushi.... YEP! I really am not a fan of sushi at all, really the only time I eat it is when I visit one of my best friends in Arkansas. So this recipe was a throw together because I had cucumber that I really needed to use so this is what I came up with. Very yummy, light, and full of flavor. I will give your directions on how to make each separately. LETS DO THIS. 

What you will need: 

- 1 cup quinoa 

- 1 cucumber (try to get one the same size all the way though)

- 1 avocado 

- 1 can of tuna 

- red pepper flakes 

- chili powered 

- salt and pepper

Make the quinoa as directed on the box. While that is cooling place avocado in a med bow and smash, after it is fully smashed add the can of tuna,  dash of red pepper flakes, and chili power (set aside). Cut your cucumber in half use the largest side and start to scoop out the middle where the seeds are. I just used a butter knife and scrapped them out. With the other half start to peel on one side till you have enough at least 5 strips, cut in half.  

(you can use a mandolin or a hand peeler which is what I used) 

Small Roll) Once the quinoa is finished and cooled spread think layer on cookie sheet or cutting board. Roll avocado and tuna mixture into little balls and roll continuous on one side, you want to try and leave the two ends free of quinoa. Place roll in cucumber slices, this part is kind of tricky you have to be gentle but still get the cucumber wrapped tight. Continue till you have no mixture left. 

Large Roll) Once the quinoa is finished and cooled mix about half a cup into the avocado tuna mixture.  Then start stuffing the hallowed out cucumber. You will want to make sure it is packed in there pretty tight. Then slice and enjoy. 

ENJOY

xoxo,

Sweet potato nachos

I saw a pictures that someone had posted to Instagram, whoever you are I am sorry I tried to find the image again to give you credit and could not find it. Since I couldn't find the images with the recipe I just dove right in and tried to create something similar.

This is probably one of my favorite meals to date, it is so yummy and full of flavor. By the time you get done reading this post your mouth will be watering I am telling you :)

What you need:

- 1 med sweet potato

- Olive oil 

- salt/pepper

- half an onion chopped

- 1 tbs minced garlic

- 1 whole jalapeno minced

- 1 bell pepper chopped

- 1 can of black beans (half the juice drained)

- 1 package of ground turkey 

- 1 package taco seasoning 

- Lawry's seasoning salt

- Garlic salt

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Cut sweet potato into half inch slices, toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper till they are well coated. Place on lined cookie sheet or stone and place in the over. Watch carefully and tune as needed till they are brown and crispy. 

In a skillet combined garlic, onion, and jalapeno let sweat down till they become translucent. Then add the can of black beans place on low heat and let simmer for about 5 min, set aside. 

Cook ground turkey in a skillet and add half a package of taco seasoning, Lawry's seasoning salt, and garlic salt before the meat is fully cooked.

Top ground turkey with bean mixture and surround with sweet potatoes. Top with Greek yogurt and salsa. ENJOY

xoxo,

Strawberry shortcake protein shake

If you guys spend as much time in the fruit and vegetable section as I do you will notice they have a lovely display of EVERYTHING you would possible need to make strawberry shortcake.  In my urger to resist purchasing the pure sugar filled cakes I decided to make a protein shake vision.

This recipe is super duper easy all you need is:

-1 scoop vinilla whey
- 8 oz almond milk
- 6 large strawberries
- 1 tsp sugar free/fat free vanilla pudding

Place it all in the blender and boom you have a yummy healthy alternatives to strawberry shortcake.

xoxo,

I'm human, believe it or not.

When I started out on this fitness journey 2.5 months ago I never realized the impact it would have on me as a person and my view of others.  Starting this blog a month or so before my journey began my intention was to use it to keep me motivated and accountable throughout. In doing so I found that posting to social media in general had kept me motivated and staving to reach my goal with an even bigger passion than I intended. Thus leading me to the point of this blog post, I am human I make mistakes, I fall, I post like a mad women to facebook, and I love taking pictures of myself. SO WHAT!

My Facebook and Instagram post are annoying, pointless, and conceded.

I have started on this journey for myself no one else. Like I said before though this journey I have realized how my point of view of others has changed. We all know that we care what we look like but I didn't realize just how much others care what you look like. I feel like as teenagers we grow up with this judgmental point of view, from what brand of cloths peoples are wearing to how much they weigh. NEWS FLASH it doesn't go away when you "grow up" everyday you are judging someone weather it be intentional or not. My post are a simple motivation to keep myself on track and document my progress, if I can motivate myself and maybe motivate just one other person it is worth it.  So please do what you need to do to motivate yourself, those who don't like it will ignore it and those who care will help to empower you along the way. I j challenge you that next time you look at someone or their social media post and think the slightest though it in your head about them remember you don't know their story. Life is full of insecurities don't feed them. 

I act like I am perfect. 

Woah, this makes me laugh. If you know me at all you know I am so far from perfect it is unreal! I feel that some people think that with my post I am trying to make people thing I am this crazy healthy nut who eats only healthy things and wants to be super skinny. WRONG for starters just in the last 24 hrs I have eaten Reese's peanut butter cups and a grande Carmel macchiato. If you want to take the time to look up the amount of sugar and calories in two things you will find that I am not perfect. I have cheat days (usually Sunday) and some days when I just totally abandon what I am working toward. Sure some days I am like "damn I really should of eaten that" and others I think "I am working my ass off I can have a candy bar if I want it". We all have these little things that we fight with any journey SUGAR happens to be mine. So if you see me in the store stocking up on fruit this is my way of trying to defuse my crazy chocolate or sugar carvings. I do not want to be perceived as perfect, I want people to know that being healthy is a journey a lot of people start down and ultimately fail. If we open up and accept each other we can all be imperfect and reach our goals together. 

BOOM the proof and I enjoyed every last bit and drink too!

(Comment below tell me what your favorite cheat snack or meal is)

To those of you working toward a goal.

No matter what the goal is don't let others judgments or self thoughts set you back. I saw a quote the other day that was so perfect. "Your setback is a platform for your comeback" so if you have a small or big setback in your goal just keep going. Unless you give up there isn't any goal that is out of reach. 

I may not get to my fitness or even my business goal in the time frame I wanted who knows I may never get there (yeah I said it), but I can tell you one thing it is that I am going to continue to do it for me and kicked ass the whole way. 

xoxo,