On Friday I completed one of the more difficult things I’ve ever done.  And I thought pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding were rough….Jillian Michaels made that all seem like a cake walk.

I’m officially SHREDDED.

A lot of people have been asking my opinion on the 30 Day Shred, so here you have it!

PROS:
-It’s a super short, super intense workout.  If you don’t want to spend 2 hours at the gym, this pretty much packs it in for you.
-Results.  It actually works!!
-You can do it in your underwear. (Ok, I never did, but I guess you could if you wanted?)
-It works out pretty much every single muscle in your body at once.
-There are different levels, and modified versions if you aren’t as awesome as Jillian.
CONS:
-I was a little dissapointed that I didn’t lose more weight.  I still have 10lbs of lingering baby weight and was hoping this would help a ton, but I gained so much muscle it pretty much all evened out.
-It’s pretty tough on the knees. Be sure and really stretch before you workout.
-You sweat a LOT.
-Your 4 month old baby laughs at you. Sometimes that just hurts my feelings.
-It’s an everyday thing, so it’s sometimes tough to squeeze a workout in if you’re super busy.
-For 20 minutes, you actually feel like you might die.

Before the 30 Day Shred, I could not do a push up, a sit up and could barely lift my baby.  Now I’m proud to say I can do push ups, sit ups and I don’t feel like I’m going to pass out just walking up stairs! I still have a long way to go to get back to my pre-baby body, but this has really helped me get so much closer.  At 4 months post partum, I’m well on my way!

I highly recommend this workout! But if you start it, keep it up & don’t quit!! Good luck!!

I got spoiled for my birthday! I wanted to share some of the awesomeness I received! My parents came out from Oklahoma to visit and Brook had a few days off work so we had a great time celebrating.  The munchkin decided it was time to start teething so she gave me the gift of spending a LOT more time with her…in the middle of the night.  Poor kid.

But I also got some stinkin’ amazing gifts from my outstanding family. From hubby…iPhone 4. Rock on. Love it so much! From the kid (and hubby and pup)…a super cute strap for my camera. It still hasn’t arrived yet but I can’t wait to get this on my camera! From the parentals…a blender. Because afterall I’m old and like to blend. From the in-laws…the Vintage Pearl necklace I’ve been wanting with the kid’s name on it.  Looking forward to adding more charms to this as we add on to our family!

Thanks for making it special! Birthday’s are awesome!

]]> http://karakaejames.com/2010/07/birthday-recap/feed/ 1 http://karakaejames.com/2010/07/not-about-my-birthday/ http://karakaejames.com/2010/07/not-about-my-birthday/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:58:33 +0000 karakaejames http://karakaejames.com/?p=2896

It’s amazing how when you have a child, it’s just really not about you anymore.  I love birthdays and have always been really excited about my birthday…but this year is just a little different.  All I care about is her and what is best for her.  I wish it was her birthday so we could celebrate her instead of me! (Ok, I really don’t wish it was because that would mean she was growing up and I’d like her to stop for a few minutes!!)

My First Birthday – July 8, 198(cough)

I’ll try to have fun and celebrate my birthday…but I can’t help but be thankful of the little blessing I have and that I get to enjoy her today! Best gift ever!

To say that we are 24 fans would be a bit of an understatement.  We. are. obsessed.  We have watched every moment of every show.  I mean come on…we even named our dog Jack Bauer.

Last night was a sad evening in our house when it all came to an end.  We said goodbye to Jack.  We said goodbye to Chloe.  It was an amazing run, and came to an amazing end.  Chloe cried…and I can’t let Chloe cry alone.

A huge thank you to my husband for getting me hooked on this show.  Unfortunately, I didn’t know anything about 24 when it began so I didn’t get started from the beginning.  But my hubby took care of that and quickly got me caught up as soon as he had a chance.  I seriously think I have 24 to thank for our relationship because of the 96 hours we spent watching this show together to get me caught up. A year later we were married.  Thank you Jack Bauer.

We’ll miss you Jack.  Thanks for saving the world.

I have been asking for your prayers over the last couple of days, and wanted to give an update.  Monday evening I started feeling bad, luckily it happened after 24 so I was alert enough to watch it.  Priorities people. I went to bed thinking I was just tired and woke up at 5am running a fever of 101.  I am a low temp person, where normal for me is around 96 – 97.  So even 101 is really high for me.  I took some meds and put in a call to my doctor.  Enter intense headache, dizziness, nausea and zero appetite.  Scheduled an appointment to see my doc Tuesday afternoon.  Took my temp at 10:30 am — 102.0.  Took it again at 12:00pm — 103.5.  Yikes.  Called the doctor again and she told me to go straight to the emergency room, so hubby rushed home to take me.

Luckily the pain killers worked that time and by the time we got to the ER my fever had broken and I was a sweaty mess.  Just lovely.  Vitals all looked good so we headed over to see my doctor instead of waiting to see an ER doc. My dr confirmed the infection, put me on antibiotics and told me to closely monitor the fever and if it got up to 102.5 again to head straight to the ER.

So we headed home, and I was able to get some rest.  Until around 10pm when the fever started climbing again.  100.5, 101.7, 102.2, 102.8…Back to ER. They gave me an IV, and ran a billion tests to rule out any thing else.  Luckily everything came back negative, confirming the infection as the only cause.  (If you are a woman you know what I’m talking about…if you’re a man, ask your wife). The good thing is that I’m not sick with anything that can be passed to my baby girl, so I can continue feeding her and don’t have to worry about her getting sick.

I’m on two different antibiotics now, and popping the tylenol like crazy to keep the fever under control.  Hopefully in a day or so the meds will start helping and I’ll begin feeling better.  I go in Thursday to run some more tests to check for a couple other issues, so please pray those come back negative as well.

Thank you for your prayers as we have dealt with all of this!! Mommy is a full time job and I don’t get to call in sick.  I need strength to take care of my precious kiddo, so please pray for my strength and rest.  Pray for rest for hubby since he’s been doing so much to help me (he was up for 24 straight yesterday…poor guy!) Pray for quick healing.

We sold my car just 3 days before the baby was due.  That was awesome.  However, leaving me carless. Yesterday (did I mention I was 41 weeks yesterday?) we went car shopping and bought me a car!! Woo! My first “mom car”. I refuse to drive a minivan just because I’m starting to have kids (no offense you minivan lovers…just not my cup of tea), so I chose a Jeep!

Here’s the deal.  I name stuff.  I like to name my cars.  I need a good name for my new Jeep.

So help me choose a name!!

A couple months ago, I blogged about an adventure that the hubs and I were taking.  We started reading through the Gospels and just finished up this weekend.  It was so great to do this together! After traveling to Israel last summer, we both wanted to read through the life of Christ again.  It seemed completely different this time around.  It is so much more real because we’ve been there! Can’t beat that!

What I learned:

Jesus was a tough guy. He told it like it was, and lived it. I love that.  He got out there, and hung out with the lowest of the low and wasn’t afraid to step on toes.  He was honest and real.  So many times as Christians we are so “careful” and avoid all things that we deem not “good enough”.  But Jesus would have been right in the middle of it it.  Yup…I wanna be more like that guy.

His disciples were total wusses. It’s true! They were exactly like us.  They were scared little girls half of the time, and Jesus had to slap them around constantly.  Even as the chosen ones to work right along side the Savior of the world, they were surprisingly just normal dudes and totally not up to par half of the time.  How much of an example is that to us? We are wusses, but we are chosen by Christ to be his disciples.  Thank goodness we don’t have to be perfect to be His!

As I took a look back on the life of Christ, I realize how much I have to learn.  I need to read these book about 500 more times and I’ll still never have a grasp on who Jesus was and all He came here to do.  All I need to know is that He came to die for my sins.  And that’s stinkin cool.

Ok…not OUR baby.  Unfortunately.  Well, it always could be but anyway.  Today is the big day.  The day I’ve been looking forward to for 9 months.  One of my very best friends gives birth to her child.

Pam Beesly Halpert.

Yes, we are best friends.  It’s been a blast being pregnant with Jim & Pam.

Not sure which baby I’m more excited about!! (Ok….I’m not THAT ridiculous!)

Bring on the baby!!

I’m guest blogging today over HERE! Go check it out!

I am in full swing Christmas Craziness!! In the next 15 days I have:

- 6 Holiday Parties left that I’m planning
- 3 parties at work
- 5 Christmas Events at church
- 2 Parents coming into town

…and a partridge in a pear tree.

Needless to say I’m BUSY. Unfortunately, a few of those events overlap and I’m missing a couple. Luckily, we are done shopping except for my parents. So at least shopping doesn’t have to fit in the next two weeks too!

What does the next two weeks look like for you? Just as crazy? Are you taking the time to remember why we actually celebrate this holiday??