From designer jeans to belly bands.

Remember the first blog I wrote?  The one about how my goal was to lose 22 lbs in the next 7.5 months??  Ok, keep that in the front of your mind for a moment.  First off, we're 2 months and 7 days into that 7.5 month time frame and oh how torturous it's been.  The torturous part is, of course, Chris being gone.  Gone, gone, gone... and while he's out enjoying the world/hating ship life what am I doing?  Well, I'm not losing 22 lbs if that's what you're thinking.  Yep, that's right.  The gym has become a thing of the past.  For now anyway.

I remember when my life revolved around designer jeans and shopping at Victoria's secret.  I'd plan out my vacation wardrobe to a T in order to ensure that I'd be wearing the "Dress to Impress" title proudly.  Missing a beat, or an accessory was a definite no no, and all the hair products and straighteners would be bogging up my bathroom cabinets in a surplus.  Well folks, I'm happy to say that I've officially started a new chapter in life and it no longer revolves around those things.  The next GREAT outfit is a thing of the past... dressing to impress has turned into dressing to be comfortable.  Pain for beauty?  No, no, no.  Comfort for beauty... or something like that.

Well, I say all of this because I had a serious.. well.. MOMENT yesterday.  As I looked in the mirror I thought to myself, "Wow, it sure is amazing how quickly things can change."  I've gone from overly expensive jeans and lingerie to belly bands and sports bras and I couldn't be happier.  Years ago (granted, I was entirely way too young to have any business thinking about these things) I never would have thought about turning the SOME DAY having a baby dream into a NOW reality.  I guess for some reason I thought that I'd be wearing those designer jeans and mile high stilettos for the rest of my life.  I mean, in a realistic sense I knew I wouldn't be doing anything of the sort but the thought never crossed my mind that I'd be 25, having a baby, marrying the man of my dreams, and becoming a Navy WIFE.  Yeah... wiiiiiife.  I've gone through an amazing journey of growth and development over the past five years and it all boils down to being 14 weeks pregnant and just stepping over the brink to the rest of my life.

So, that 22 lbs?  Good bye weight loss hello weight gain!  I know, for me, it'll be a struggle to accept weight gain but pregnancy is a blessing.  Children are a blessing.  My life is a blessing and I couldn't be more thankful that I'm alive and well enough to live it.

With that said?
EMBRACE THE BELLY BANDS!  (Afterall, they are pretty much a gift to pregnant women everywhere!)

When you know.. you just know..

All of my life I've had high hopes and aspirations for love.  I've dreamed of the type of man I'd marry.. the qualities that he would hold and the morals that would be distilled deep inside of him.  As I grew up I realized that what I wanted would be a lot harder to find than I'd like it to be.  Why can't love be found easily?  Wouldn't that make dealing with the world so much easier? I mean, surely it would at least make the world a better place.  

NEWS FLASH TO THE DREAMER INSIDE OF ME: If love, TRUE love, was something that is easily found then it wouldn't be as amazing as it truly is.  

During my journey to becoming who I am today I have crossed paths with many people who had claimed to find true love.  They said, "When you know.. you just know.  I walked in the room and saw him.  I instantly knew we'd be together forever."  My mind responded with two little tiny words, "Bull Shit."  Some would say that is a rather cynical outlook that I hold in my possession but in all reality (at the time) how was I to know that those people really did know what they were talking about?  Perhaps it's not the same for everyone in the world but for those who have experienced love at first site.. I'm happy to say I finally know the feeling.  I'd like to officially retract my previous (internal) statement.  Love at first site is not bull shit.. it might take a while to realize that true love is what you've got on your hands but that realization will come, in time.  =)

I remember getting ready for a night out with a friend.  I looked in the mirror and thought, "Alright, this outfit will work."  With a black mini skirt and tights, who could go wrong?  Hours later I saw him.  I looked up and there he was in a boring old grey t shirt, jeans, and 'man boots'.  I looked at my friend and said, "I am going to talk to HIM by the end of tonight."  I remember the first time we made eye contact, the first words he said to me, and the first time he helped me off the floor of the bar.  Classy, I know.  I remember our first real date, the food I ate, and the outfit he wore.  I remember his first text to me and how every other sentence would have a smiley face to follow.  I was enamored by him from the first second I laid eyes on him.  And now, after months apart, I've found him again.  Never once did I stop loving him.. never once will I ever stop loving him.  He is my soul mate and I can only hope and pray that we always love in the same manner, grow old at the same rate, and leave this world at the same time.  He is my world, my lifelong boyfriend and fiance, and forever my husband.  He is the man that I will forever owe my life to, my heart to, and my soul to.  

For all of those who doubt the power of love.. this once non believer is now in the believers club.  

I promise this: When you know.. you just know..