February Fun!

A month's review through pictures & Santi-isms. February was cold & snowy, but we managed to have fun & stay entertained.

Though Santi's eyes:

I celebrated my friend, Miles' 2nd birthday dressed as a tiger!  And for a week after the party I asked to go see Miles every morning on the way to school. 

I got to pet a long skinny thing that looks like an arm with bitty eyes & a tongue that hisses. I loved that thing, but was scared of the slowest moving animal that carries around his own house everywhere. Guess I'd be slow if I had to carry my house around too. 

I stayed up past midnight for the first time, hung with the big kids & got cozy in this comfy "pillow fort" at my friends' Brody & Beckett's house. 

I learned to do all kinds of stuff my parents would usually say no to. Guess mom was trying to be cool around her friends. #peerpressure #bealeadernotafollower #yesihashtagat2 #advanced

I fixed the motor in my truck. 

In my PJs. 

Before 8am

Told you I was advanced. 

I had a sleepover at Aunti Marie & Uncle Dave's. This was just us having our morning coffee. And milk. 

Yes, Uncle Dave puts milk in his coffee. At least Auntie Marie & I drink ours straight up like real men...or ladies...never mind. 

I got to play with my friend Jax. I don't get to see him too often since he lives in Canton, but we're buds no matter what. Especially since we both like backpacks so much!

He taught my mama the love an almond butter sandwich can bring to a kid. We're besties for life now, Bud. 

This began my love for my "shubel". We're inseparable. 

Try to pry it out of my hands. Double dog dare ya!

My first day of gymnastics was this month. It was a little rough, but has since gotten so much better! I can walk on the beam, jump on the trampoline & swing on bars all by myself now! 

I still hate running...like my mama. And I hate trying to pull my big booty up on the bars...also like my Mama. 

Just kidding. I'm already better than her. 

My first day started like that ^^^ but ended like this. 

I had to turn on the cuteness so they'd bring me back. There's lots of pretty girls in my class & chicks dig muscle (ups). 

We finally got some nice fluffy snow that was perfect for sled riding, especially with my neighbor Neela. She's pretty. 

So what if I walked like the Marshmallow Man. 

I fell off the sled a few times since I can't quite shift my weight. Or maybe I'm top heavy. Either way, face planting is not funny...even though my mom couldn't stop laughing. 

I had a photo shoot with "Mommy" making funny faces & giggling. I also grew up all of a sudden and started calling this lady Mommy instead of Mama. 

Geesh Mom. Cut me a break. My friends check Facebook now. 

On a rare 60 degree day I insisted on wearing my tiger hat. It's essential for exploring bulldozers, construction, rocks & dirt. 

Plus I was having had bad hair day. 

I also had my first (and hopefully last) ride in a police car with my buddy Logan. 

My parents were giving away these big huge boxes with a dark mirror on the front. I have no idea what they used them for, but I sure like looking at myself. 

Did I mention how much I love this shovel?

February was fun but we're ready for sunshine & shorts!

A Trip Down (Blogger) Memory Lane

This weekend, a conversation with some friends over a beer reminded me of a “blog” post that I had written well before I ever had a real blog (even though, I'm still not sure I consider this a "real" blog). I would write things & save them to my hard drive, with no intent of ever really sharing them.  This one was quite a while ago.  I was only 29 when I wrote it so I know it was a long time ago!

I went back to some of the stuff I had written & reread it.  It’s pretty amazing to go back and read something you had written, yourself.  It pulls out memories & emotions that you may have forgotten about.  It made me really happy that I started blogging so I have something to look back on down the road. 

I really enjoyed going back down memory lane, so I figured I’d pull one out and share it with you.  I thought this would be a good one since it’s probably the first I had ever written, and tells a lot about me.

I hope you enjoy!
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I’ve been wanting to blog for a long time, but the thought of having to go back & give the history of the past 29 years was daunting for me.  It kept me away from something I thought I’d enjoy.  So, I’ve decided to capture a few key highlights in 1 post, call it a day & move on!

I have been lucky enough to have my life changed forever on more than one occasion. Meeting my husband, beating cancer, bringing Santiago V into the world & Crossfit are all life changing occasions in my world. And, I’m thankful for all of them.

Meeting the love of my life. Check.
Being diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease & beating it. Check.
Giving birth to the most perfect little baby. Check.
Crossfit.  HUH?! Crossfit is a life changing occasion? Yes, it is.  Check.

Over the course of the last 6 years all of these amazing things have happened in my life, and I couldn’t be more thankful for each one of them.

Let’s start with my other half.

If you don’t know “our story”, here are a few fun facts:
1. We met online
2. He was kind of a bet
3. It wasn’t love at first sight & he thought he’d never see me again after our 1^st date
4. Our teams (Steelers & Longhorns) won the Superbowl & National Championship respectively, the year we met
5. We had a long distance relationship for >a year
6. Our first 4 dates were in 3 different states & 3 different countries
7. I didn’t know his real name was Santiago & not Jimmy until after he had already purchased a plane ticket to come meet me

My husband has shown me a new way to look at the world by letting me learn & understand that there really is this ‘thing’ called unconditional love.  That he has my back & I have his, that our strength individually is less than the power we have together, that he is my person.  We can do anything together & we are a perfect balance of each other.  We are the captains of Team Guerra (well, I’m the captain & he’s the co-captain, he’s the CFO & I’m the CEO…you get the idea), and there’s no other team I want to be a part of!

Santiago Guerra IV, you have done so many things for me in our life together already that I couldn’t possibly thank you enough.  I love you every day, and like you most days too.  That’s pretty impressive!

Oh, and by the way…he kind of saved my life…

Our 1st Date!  

The “C” Word-

Yes, I’m thankful that I had cancer.  Sounds strange, but I had a defining moment that seemingly changed my outlook on many things that have come along since then.  I was diagnosed on Saturday March 14, 2009.  I was also released from the hospital that day.  The entire day I distinctly remember thinking, “How am I ever going to go back to living a normal life?”  The idea of work, cleaning the house & just hanging out with friends seemed like monumental tasks that were previously minutia.  I felt like everything just stopped.  That nothing & no one could make me feel “normal” again.

But then later that night, Jimmy asked if I wanted to do anything or go anywhere, probably suggesting that he’d go pick up some take out or something casual.  “What did I want to do?” I thought to myself.  I wanted to crawl in a hole and cry, and not look at anyone or talk about anything for a long time.  But instead, I told him I wanted to go out for sushi.  Sushi?  I think he thought I was crazy.  In the past 36 hours I just had a pretty major surgery, couldn’t move my neck & had gotten news that I had the C-word…who thinks about raw fish at a time like this!? 

I realized later that it wasn’t about the fish.

It was that it made things feel normal.  Sushi was something we would usually do on a Saturday night.  It was not going out of the way to do things differently.  It gave me peace of mind that we could continue living the next 6 months as we had the last 6 months, and that is exactly what we did.  We played co-ed softball & flag football.  We went out with friends.  We went to the Kentucky Derby.  We planned a wedding (that happened <2 weeks after I finished chemo & radiation). We lived life as though the cancer didn’t exist, and this taught me a very important lesson that no one could have explained to me (even though I’d probably already heard it a million times)…

Situations (and life in general) are what you make of them.

You can sulk.  OR   You can have sushi. 

I will forever choose sushi.

At this point, chemo was over & I was getting to the rough part of radiation.  The sharpie on my chest had to be redrawn everyday because I didn't want them to "tattoo" me because of the strapless wedding gown I'd be wearing in ~3 weeks.  Also, I'm usually not a hat girl.

Santi Cinco-

How do I even begin to explain Santi-Cinco?  Well first, let me just say that his nickname is Santi Cinco because his name is Santiago & he is the 5^{th (Spanish)}…get it now?  Anyway, to me he is this beautiful miracle baby that I never thought we would have on our own.  He is perfect in every way & he is a reminder to me of amazingness that Jimmy & I can do together.  He has added a new title for me as his Mama & I will forever be grateful & thankful.  His smiles melt my heart & even his cries make me appreciate him.

Because of the chemo & radiation we weren’t sure if we would have a biological baby of our own.  After a lot of “come to Jesus” talks (with myself), I was at peace with the fact that our baby would come via adoption.  God had another plan.  Every day I think how lucky we are to have that sweet, destructive, loving, little tasmanian devil in our lives.  He tests our patience & runs us ragged sometimes, but he is exactly what we needed in order for our lives (and family) to feel complete.  He makes my heart whole.

I love the way he is snuggled into my silliness :)

Crossfit-

Crossfit, oh sweet Crossfit.  It sounds like an X rated movie with terms like snatch, jerk & box, but it is the most amazing suckfest I’ve ever experienced!  You’ll work harder, lift more, get personal fulfillment & feel like part of a community more than you ever thought possible by working out.  It’s a chance to see where you were & how far you’ve come. 

If you don’t know anything about it, look it up. 

If you've heard of it but haven’t tried it, try it (at New Cov Crossfit). 

If you've tried it then you probably are an addict like the rest of us, so tell your friends about it! 

If you've tried it and aren't addicted, you probably were confused that day…try it again ;)

Crossfit has not only made me physically healthier, but it’s done so much for me mentally as well.  If you know me, you know I’m a list maker.  I have a whole big long list of goals that I’ve achieved through Crossfit.  It’s made me care much less about how much I weigh, because I care more about how much I’m lifting.

I hope that I’m still doing Crossfit into my 50s & 60s & 70s...I can’t imagine my life without it. 

*Disclaimer* Most workouts end something like this

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I hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane as much as I did!