A Weightloss Story....

Hey guys! I am doing a post today on how I lost weight and kept it off. This is probably the #1 question I get asked by people when they see my pictures so I wanted to share my story with all of you! No, I’m not some fitness guru who does specific techniques or buys hundreds of dollars’ worth of products monthly to achieve my goals or to stay at a certain weight. I am just a real person who lost a significant amount of weight over a realistic period of time and has managed to keep it off. So here is my story from the beginning….

I have always struggled with my weight since I can remember. I was never really taught the importance of a balanced diet or portion control, and it was obvious. I was probably my heaviest in high school due to always eating out with friends and not having enough time to exercise due to a part time job and a boatload of homework. This period was a miserable time for me. I always dressed in layers and avoided swimming pools at all cost because the thought of wearing a bathing suit was my worst nightmare. 

I continued to be obese up until I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome at the age of 20. I was a few months into being a newlywed and even though we weren’t thinking of conceiving at the time I knew I would eventually want to try. The thought of not being able to have a baby due to my weight was a reality check. I then started following a low glycemic diet and working out for 60 minutes at least 4 times a week. I never checked the scale and only went by the feel of my clothes. About 6 months later, I found out I was pregnant with Noah and also down 40 pounds. I was thrilled at my progress, but that was short lived as the thought of gaining all the weight back during pregnancy was a constant worry in the back of my mind. Luckily though, I only gained 20 lbs during my pregnancy and was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight within the first 2 weeks.

After Noah’s rough entrance into the world, I took a little break from making a real attempt to lose more weight. My goal was to focus on Noah and try and get through his first year whilst maintaining my progress. After his first year though I started making real attempts to try and reach my goal. I found this concept, easier said than done. I never realized how much my body would change after having a baby.  My stomach wasn’t nearly as toned as it was before, my thighs seemed like tree trunks, and I won’t even go into what breasts start looking like after breastfeeding.  I kept feeling this way for months after Noah’s first birthday. Then I was introduced to Isagenix. I know you probably think at this point I’m going to go on a huge spiel about my results with Isagenix and try to convince you to buy from me. This is far from the truth though. I’m not a good salesperson and I admit that very honestly; the thought of trying to take someone’s money so that it profits me just doesn’t give me a warm feeling. Plus I don’t like feeling responsible in case the product doesn’t work for you. I will tell you this though, Isagenix did work for me. I started out on a 30 day package and within that 30 days I noticed more energy and I was able to lose 15 pounds and 30 inches from my body.

You might be asking how I have been able to keep the weight off. At first I was able to lose weight with a low glycemic diet; this was the recommended diet I received when I was diagnosed with PCOS.  I then started Isagenix, which has helped me kickstart my weightloss again. I still do buy specific Isagenix products because of the success I have had with them. I am now venturing into keeping track of my macros and following an 80/20 rule; 80% healthy and 20% what I want (within reason ;P). I have been successful in keeping the weight off by regular exercise, portion size, and paying attention to what I am feeding my body. I am a big believe in eating a balanced diet and to me that includes not ridding myself of things that I love such as chocolate and pizza, this is part of the reason why I pay attention to my macros. I am able to fuel my body while realizing that it’s ok to indulge sometimes.

As of today I have lost 75 lbs all together through my weightloss journey. I am proud of the fact that I was able to continue to lose despite pregnancy and having PCOS, but I am still not where I want to be. As I continue to progress on my weightloss journey I am always learning new things and trying out new ways to push my body the way I couldn’t a few years ago.

Ending on that note, if anyone has  their weightloss story you want to share or any advice to give please comment below.

If you are interested in Isagenix please contact me on the right side of my page and I will get back with you J.

NYC PART 2: TOP THINGS TO DO

Hey guys! So this is the second part of my NYC series. This part is about all the sites you should see while visiting the Big Apple. I’ll be honest with you, even though we were here for a week, we did not get to see everything we wanted to. You never realize until you start walking around Manhattan and all the other boroughs just how enormous everything is and you think to yourself, “How am I ever going to experience everything with such an insignificant amount of time?” Well, unfortunately, you probably won’t. That’s ok though! New York City is probably one of the liveliest and and unique places I have ever been.  There are new and exciting experiences in every district and basically around every street you turn onto.  So basically what I am trying to get at is that even though you probably won’t hit up every site you want to go to you will still have a blast!! Here are the top sights/districts we recommend to check out when you visit the Big Apple.

1.       Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island – I put this as our top because I really believe this is the top place you have to go when you visit New York.  Both of those sights are grained in American history and culture and as such, should be appreciated. ***Fun tip: The building across from the main site on Ellis Island was a hospital for the sick who docked into the port. The hospital is said to be haunted and can only be reached with a private tour.

2.       Empire State Building or Top of the Rock – If you’re looking for views go to either of these buildings. They both offer incredible views of the city and both are very established landmarks in New York City. The only difference I would honestly say about the two is that if you go up to the Top of the Rock if has more than one balcony you can check the view of NYC out on.

3.       Museum of Natural History- Out of the three museums we checked out, this was MY ultimate favorite. If you are a huge history nerd (like me ;P) you will believe you have died and gone to heaven in here. This museum has every awesome exhibit you could possibly think of: Space, Ocean Life, Cultures of the World, and DINOSAURS!!!!!

4.       MOMA-If you are a huge modern art lover like Ryan, then MOMA is definitely the right museum for you. They have all the great modern artists in here such as Picasso, Dali, and Warhol. The views from MOMA of the New York streets are also great J.

5.       The Metropolitan Museum of Art – This was a love and hate experience for both Ryan and I. We LOVED it because it combined both of our favorites, art and history. We HATED it because of we did not plan our time there very well and before we even got barely half way through the exhibits we practically thrown out on our butts because it was closing time. As a young girl who used to work in the service/hospitality industry I completely get this concept, but as a history buff I was left feeling unfulfilled by my experience there.  This leads me to a helpful, but obvious TIP: GO TO THE MUSEUMS IN THE MORNINGS AND PLAN TO SPEND AT LEAST A HALF A DAY IN EACH. I’m not even kidding you….that is how massive these museums are.

6.       Brooklyn Bridge/DUMBO neighborhood – This was probably one of our favorite walks in NYC, we did it in early evening so by the time we got across the bridge we could see Manhattan from across the river.

7.       Meatpacking District/Chelsea – This is an awesome part of the city that you should definitely check out. While you’re down there also check out The High Line which is an elevated park about a mile and half long that runs from the Meatpacking district up to 34^th street.  ***TIP: Check out Chelsea Market and go to Ronnybrook Dairy, you can get farm fresh ice-cream and believe me, you will never think of ice-cream the same way.

8.       9/11 Memorial Site – Memorial sites are always a love hate relationship with me. I hate them for obvious reasons; I am typically a happy and laid back person and would love to believe that we live in a peaceful uncomplicated world. Unfortunately we do not and when tragedy happens it’s amazing to see how a community and a country can come together.

9.       Times Square – I don’t think an explanation is really needed as to why this is a place you should go and see when you visit NYC. My only advice for when you explore the Times Square area is to check it out during the day and then at night to see how exponentially different it is. It’s literally like night and day (pun was definitely intended there).

10.   Central Park – Some of you are probably thinking, why on earth is this at the bottom of her list? Well, it’s partly because I’m biased when it comes to parks and nature because our geographical location is surrounded by at least 5 national parks not to mention state parks and then of course city parks. I will give credit where it is deserved though Central Park is very beautiful with some great attractions inside the park itself including: Belvedere Castle, the obelisk, and the Central Park carousel. Those are just to name a few.

So there are just a FEW of the places we checked out during our stay that we really think are definitely worth a visit too especially if you are a first time visitor to NYC. If this is not your first time however and you want to experience New York as a whole, go and check out some of the other boroughs and sites such as Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Coney Island, Chinatown, etc. Manhattan is only one part of what makes New York City and its surrounding areas definitely deserve some recognition.

If you guys have any questions feel free to comment and if you liked this post check out NYC ON A BUDGET and follow along for more Complex MOMents. J

NYC PART 1:NEW YORK ON A BUDGET

So you want to go to New York City and are hoping to come back with money still left to your name? This is how a young, broke, married couple budgeted with money leftover in one of the world's most expensive cities.

AIRFARE

So unless you are within driving distance, can take the train, or are lucky enough to work for an airline, you're only feasible option is to fly. This for us, and most likely for you, will be your biggest expense. If you are lucky, an amazing deal will just spring forth out of the pile of overpriced flights. For us though, it took hours if not a few days to find the best deal with the dates of travel we had available. There are a few specific sites we look at when finding cheap prices for flights.

1.Kayak-Kayak has an option called Price Alerts that allows you to set your own search parameters for when you want your flight to be and the max price you are willing to pay for that flight whether it be round trip of one way. This option is great for people who are able to travel with a flexible schedule.

2.Matrix-ITASoftware-This gem is one of my favorites. It is made by google and it allows you to search with a lowest fare calendar as well as more advanced filters such as which class you prefer and how many stops you prefer or not prefer to make. I love the low fare calendar as it shows me what the prices will be for the months before and after my trip if I haven't set a specific date yet. ***Tip: Google Flights seems to be more of a user friendly version of the ITA software.

3.JetRadar-Jet Radar is also another one of my favorite sites to check out for flights. It is a website that complies all the your lowest fare options from each carrier.

4.Travelzoo-We don't use this website much, but sometimes you can find good seasonal deals on airfare so it's definitley worth taking a peek at.

ACCOMODATION

New York is not cheap....nowhere near it. Especially for places to stay. Hotels in Manhattan will range anywhere from $150-$500 a night. These prices are not cheap and if you don't want to end up paying more on accommodation's than airfare, check out the websites before.

1.Airbnb-We love Airbnb! We had a great experience with it in NYC and we paid half as much as we would have if we had chosen a hotel. Plus if you choose to get an entire apartment through Airbnb, you will have a kitchen to cook in, which will SAVE you money in New York. Food is NOT cheap there.***Note to fellow travelers though. If you see a good deal on accommodations in one of the other boroughs such as Queens or Brooklyn just remember to think about where you will be spending most of your time visiting. If you are planning on staying in Manhattan most of your visit then it would most likely be cheaper to spend that little bit of extra money to stay in Manhattan versus taking a $60 taxi back to the hotel or apartment you are staying at.

2.Hostels-I have never personally stayed at a hostel, but am definitley open to the idea of them. They are affordable, especially for the solo and budget travelers. Just make sure that if you do get a hostel though that you find out if they have free amenities such as free wifi and breakfast because hostels can be notorious for charging for ridiculous things, such as sheets :/.

TRANSPORTATION

I cannot stress how ridiculous I believe driving in New York is unless you are a taxi driver or work for Uber. NYC has a very established subway/bus system called the MTA. You can basically get anywhere you want to from any of the boroughs and around by train or bus, it is very convenient and much more affordable than the famous yellow taxi.

1.Subway/Bus-When Ryan and I first got to New york one of the very first things that we did was purchase a Metrocard for $30 which was a 7 day unlimited as we were expecting to be using the train the majority of the time to get around. Plus the subway is a great way to experience the real NYC and hopefully you'll get to meet a few memorable characters along the way.

2.Taxi-Taxi's are expensive and are not our preferred method of transportation. When you are stuck in an area of the city that you are not familiar or comfortable with though, you should have no problem coming across a Taxi if you feel that you would be more comfortable with that option. **Word to the wise though, taxi's are not created equal!!! Avoid the taxi's that are not the typical “yellow cab”, these are what some people would refer to as “gypsy” cabs. Per the TLC commission these cabs are for-hire cabs and should not be hailed from the street. If you do happen to get into one though make sure you ask them for the price to reach your destination BEFORE closing the door.

ENTERTAINMENT

Our entertainment and sightseeing budget was the easiest to figure out because whenever we go to a new destination we always like to check to see if they have a city pass. Then from there we calculate the costs of the sights we want to see vs the price and sights that the city pass offers. I'm gonna go ahead and save you from all those calculations and tell you to purchase the NEW YORK PASS. It offers 80+ attractions including all the popular ones such as The Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building for a very affordable price considering what you would be paying for each landmark or sight you go to separately. We paid $150 for a 3 day pass and we're able to get in every landmark/sight we wanted to see WITHOUT paying anything extra. For all that we saw, this was honestly a great value and I would recommend it for people who are going to New York for the first time.

So, now that I have given you all an overview of how we budgeted for New York you are probably curious as to how much we actually spent huh? Well..you're lucky I'm generous enough to give you all that information :P.

Airfare: 600.00 (Roundtrip for 2)

Accomodation and Food:310.00

Transporation: 60.00 (30 per person for 7 day unlimited pass)

Entertainment: 300.00 (150 per person)

TOTAL: $1270.00 for two people visiting for 6 days in New York City

I hope this helps any of you readers out there who are looking for a few different ways to go about saving money whilst planning a trip to the Big Apple!! If you have any more specific questions please feel free to comment below :).

New York City

Hey All!

A few months ago Ryan and I decided to cross one of our travel destinations off of our bucket list, New York City. We decided to make this our anniversary destination, romantic right? We spent a week in the Big Apple and had a blast. If you haven't gone there yet, do it! This trip for us, coming from the laid back west coast, was a culture shock. The concept of one city having so much intensity and culture was an adrenaline rush, which we love :). Also, in case you were wondering, we did not bring Noah on this trip with us for two reasons.

1. It was our anniversary vacation (parents deserve a break once in awhile)

2.We felt at the time New York City would have been too overwhelming for him.

We will definitely come back with him when he is a few years older :).

In the days and weeks before and after our trip to NYC, we were asked a lot by friends and family how we can afford to travel to what is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Not a surprising question though as during this time we were only surviving off of one income. This question has inspired me to write a two part series of our New York trip:

1. New York on a Budget

2.Top Things To Do

I will also be posting pictures of our NYC adventure as we have not had the chance yet to compile them all and put them out there.

In the meantime enjoy this beautiful picture :)

Travel Bound....

Hey guys!

So as I said before I do not own a passport (yet)! This does not mean that I haven't traveled though or that I don't like to travel.

I have the fortune of living in one of the most beautiful parts on the North American continent, the Pacific Northwest. The reasons I consider it one of the most beautiful geographic areas are numerous, but the thing I love the most about the Pacific Northwest is the sense of connectivity you feel to the world around you. As you roam through the lush evergreen forests that are covered with moss you almost forget about the hectic life you had originally brought in with you and start to realize that life truly is, simple. 

So, these are reasons that we are inspired to take our next adventure to VANCOUVER, BC!!! I have spent my whole life living in Washington state and have never had the opportunity to explore one of the most livable cities in the world.  Also, we have decided to take Noah along with us for this adventure!

 This will be his first big trip with us and we will be documenting every Complex MOMent along the way :). So if you have any suggestions on places to check out or maybe any good hiking spots please leave a comment!

Complex MOMents?

So to all my future readers, you may or may not, be wondering about the reasoning for the name of this blog. In my first post I described myself as a simple and straight forward person, which I am. So why Complex MOMents (get it, cuz I'm a mom :P)? I chose this title because my life really never was complex until I had my son, Noah.



My pregnancy was uneventful. Every appointment turned out great and the doctor's had no worries. On March 13th I was induced due to Noah having low oxygen levels. I did not pull through with the natural labor I had hoped due to having to be hooked up to oxygen which kept me bed-ridden. According to doctor's Noah seemed to be getting better throughout labor so the need for a c-section did not arise. At 4:55 PM, after a 19 hour labor, Noah was born full term weighing in at nearly 7 lbs. They sent him straight to the NICU as he was not breathing when he arrived into the world. I did not get to see Noah until later that night where I was told he would be rooming with me as soon as the observation was over with. That morning I woke up and Noah was not next to me, so my first stop was the NICU. That morning was the start of our 3 week stay in the NICU, where we found out that Noah was having seizures. An MRI was done during his stay, giving us news that new parents never plan or imagine hearing. Noah was born with "global diffusion" brain damage, which basically means both sides of his brain were equally injured. The neurologist told us that Noah would most likely have mild to moderate cerebal palsy. They also told us that he would be delayed in all aspects of his development. Ryan and I were beside ourselves in grief at that point. We still had our child, but all of our hopes and expectations seemed to be crushed at that point. We knew this would be the ultimate test for us as parents and as a young married couple. So from this point our only goal was to get him out of the NICU. On March 29th, we were finally able to take him home. A week later, Noah started therapy and has been in it since he was a month old.


Fast forward to present day 2015, Noah is a happy and healthy 2 year old boy. He loves Elmo, any form of technology with a screen on it, and being outside and around other people. Yes, Noah does have delays. He cannot walk yet, he does still need help feeding himself, and he does not form sentences yet. Noah is a very determined kiddo though and is able to find new ways to work around or with his delays. For example, he may not be able to walk yet, but he scoots around across the floor. Even though he cannot do these things yet, we are very proud that he TRIES.We are very fortunate that we have a child who is very alert of the world around him and who is determined to do the same things his peers are doing.


 What I have written is a very personal part of my life that I still to this day have a hard time talking about for a few reasons.

1. I do not like people feeling sorry for Ryan and I.
2. Doctors can't or won't tell us what really happened.
3. I want people to see Noah for his ABILITIES and not his DISABILITIES.

If you are a parent of a special needs child, you know these reasons all too well. Even though our version of parenthood has different obstacles, it is still very much the same as everyone else. We all wish for our children to experience this life to the fullest and ultimately be the happiest they can be.

Hello world!

Hello social media.....that is what the title of my first post should be. As I'm sitting here typing away, I can feel my husband's eyes lurking next to me, craning to read every uncreative word I write. I'm not even sure why I started this blog in the first place, my social media skills are basically non-existent. In fact, they comparable to my husband's 70 something year old grandpa. If Instagram wasn't linked to my Facebook I don't believe that any one would even know what my toddler looked like. I like to consider myself a pretty simple and honest person, so since we are on the topic of the things I basically fail at here goes nothing: I am not a DIY-er, I am not a fitness guru, I am no Gordon Ramsey in the kitchen, and I do not even own a Passport (yet). The one thing I suppose I am though, is a decent mom, and that is where I start my blogging journey. These posts will be about life and it's Complex MOMents.