2014: Overwhelmed

2014 has been a year.

Not necessarily bad, but not entirely filled with greatest days ever. I wouldn't say any year is worse or better, but that it is a year. A year I am overwhelmingly grateful to have lived. That's the word I would use to sum up 2014: overwhelming.

I was overwhelmed with:

2014 brought me my husband, tons of baby family members, our sweet pup, our own bun in the oven and so many new friends. I lost my grandfather and my beloved childhood dog Crash to heaven. I've lost some friends to drifting apart. I've learned a lot and got through apartment drama, friend drama and my mom's cancer diagnosis.

Some days I blogged twice a day, every day a week and some days I couldn't bring myself to this piece of serenity. I planned amazing events, attended amazing events and made amazing colleagues. Stories have moved me to tears and some to laughter. My heart has soared and filled.

I learned a lot about myself, what I consider to be "ok" in the world and things that bother me. I have eliminated clutter from my life - though that is still a work in progress. I have big plans for 2015.

Last year's goals were quickly forgotten as the year progressed. They are still my goals, but they got pushed aside as I focused on more immediate things. Luckily, Iman and I are working on some things that should make our lives more efficient and fuller in 2015. I can't wait to real my word of 2015 :)

Last year I picked a picture that I thought summed up each month. Here is 2014!

January:

Babies sum up my January 2014. I want to say within that month 4 babies were born into my life. I began the month co-hosting this adorable baby boy shower, which is actually my most pinned post ever. 

February:

My Februarys are always crazy, and this year was no exception. I absolutely adored this shirt we designed, and my blog post about Self-Love. I think I wrote the most posts I've ever written this month, including guest posts.

March:

March was my bachelorette and bridal shower and they were so, so amazing. This picture is with some of my girls. My amazing friend Britney (on the right) planned the entire shower herself. 

April:

Duh. April. Wedding. Emotions. So.Many. Emotions.

May:

This picture may have technically been the last week in April, but May was pretty lowkey. We packed up and moved. Our honeymoon in Holland was definitely the highlight. Oh and my tattoo...which...see below..

June:

June is always crazy and fun because it is our birthday month. I think this picture totally sums it up though because I am literally jumping for joy. Photo cred: Jess Angeles from Jess Loves This Life

July:

July was a lot of time in Vegas, a wedding and this baby shower!! I absolutely love throwing parties and baby showers, especially! 

August:

August brought our roommate and so many fun times. This is also the month that I went on anxiety medicine. My niece was born as well :)

September:

September began with the worst week of my life. The rest of the month wasn't horrible, but it definitely left a mark on me. 

October:

I love this picture! October was relaxing and I had a lot of fun getting pumpkins from a real farm. Then we painted them together. October is also when I got pregnant! (But I didn't know it)

November:

November we found out we were pregnant and desperately attempted to keep it a secret all month long. Thanksgiving we spilled the beans! Also, I slept most of this month. 

December I spent less time taking pictures and more time living life. We actually didn't take any pictures on Christmas besides my bumpie. Instead, we lived each moment, hopefully with intention. I've been able to finally see my friends that I haven't seen since summer. 

How was your year? Are you doing a year recap? I'd love to see your posts, share them below!

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Fresh Produce Delivered to my Door? I'm in!

Thank you Farm Fresh to You for sponsoring today's post! All opinions are my own. 

I am absolutely horrible at eating my fruits and veggies. To be honest, I get most of my daily fruits from my trips to get a smoothie or acai bowl from Jamba Juice or Juice it Up! So when I remembered that my mom used to get Farm Fresh to You, I realized I should probably try it out.

Farm Fresh To You is made up of local farms in Northern and Southern California. They pack up various organic fruits and vegetables and deliver them directly to your house, apartment or, even, office building. Not only is Farm Fresh to You healthy, but it is fast and convenient.

You will receive a box every week, on your doorstep between 8pm and 8am. The delivery window is at night, to ensure your box is delivered while you are home. If you're sleeping, it's much better to leave your box outside in a cool-er night than in the hot day.

Signing up is easy, especially with the refer-a-friend program! If you follow this link, you can begin to fill out the form - which first verifies that you live in a delivery area. Don't forget to use my code: RAEW5859

I didn't know that you could choose different box types, and then customize your box a few days before it arrives. Because I am so bad at cooking regularly, I opted for the "No Cooking" box, which is full of ready to eat fruits and veggies, as well as a few veggies that cook up relatively quick.

I was sort of skeptical about customizing my box, because I wanted to be surprised by it's contents, but I'm such a picky eater I knew I should customize it. That process was easy yet again. I checkmarked the items that I wanted and unchecked the items that I didn't want. You  can even add extra stuff to the package - like organic apple sauce or almond butter.

I added both of those to my box, and anxiously awaited it's delivery. Of course, me being me, they ran into a problem delivering my box to me! My apartment office say they accept any packages for us, so I naively thought things would go smoothly. Because you need a key to our gate, I opted for them to drop off at the leasing office. My management told them they could not accept an open container of food. I understand why, but it was still super frustrating. Luckily, Farm Fresh To You was super quick, efficient and awesome about it. They sent me a couple of emails giving me a few options - including mailing them a copy of the key to the gate. I didn't want the food to get delivered and someone take it, so I opted to change the address to my mom's. Less than a week later, a new box arrived at my mom's house.

I forgot to customize that box, so I was indeed surprised by it's contents. Nevertheless, our tummies are very happy with the results. I did receive ONE item that I know I will never eat, but my dad was really excited to receive them along with his Christmas gifts. (Radishes, I've just never figured out how to like them).

Broccoli, my favorite

Radicchio and Lettuce

Carrots!!

Radishes

Naval oranges, apples, pears, kiwi and a lemon - for my lemon water!

As you can see my box was filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables. The boys and I are very excited to take these healthy snacks to work - especially with our roommate attempting to be vegan. Of course I can't get over how affordable it is for me to get local organic fruits and vegetables. We've tried going to the farmer's market, but I always end up spending way more on less food.

My mom used to get the boxes a few years ago, and I was always excited to see the different things she would receive - like romanesco broccoli, which I had never tried but is absolutely delicious!! If you're looking for an easy, efficient and healthier way to get your fruits and veggies for you and your family, follow this link and use my code. RAEW5859 You can also click on the banner below. Did I mention you get $10 off your first order??

USE CODE: RAEW5859

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Weekly Wishes #17

I have really been slacking on my goals and to-do lists. I have just been making goals and then forgetting they exist as I go through the motions of daily life. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm having fun - it isn't a horrible thing - just not very productive with my goals and ideas.

I'm hoping to be better in the next year. I'm not going to berate myself for not sticking to my goals, but I am trying to find a way to be more accountable. When I was in high school I was so productive because I would take the sticky notes with lines on them and put them in my planner with my assignments.

I can't even remember what my last weekly wishes were, but let's guarantee that I didn't get them all done. Life's just been crazy. I'm back to craving stability. But what I've learned since the last time I felt that way, is that I can actually create my own stability. I never realized that we could do that. #LifeLessons.

So in creating my own stability - for myself and for my family - we  can thrive. I've lived more in surviving mode than thriving mode in recent years. Oh, it has been filled with the most wonderful moments, but as a whole, my mentality has been to survive.

So, to end 2014, here are my weekly wishes.

1// Clean out my car and pick up the apartment again.

2// Make real progress and launch the WordPress. 

3// Finish our thank you cards.

That's it. Simple things that are also incredibly complex, especially for me and my personality. I know that having a clean home and car will make my life easier and better. I know that having my WordPress, I will feel like I am working more toward my future. I love this blog, and this blog is not disappearing, but I have been wanting it to morph and haven't had the drive or energy and that has pushed me away from blogging. Also, those thank you cards...I mean...it's been almost a year...those need to be sent out!!

What are your weekly goals? I'm linking up with Melyssa for Weekly Wishes!



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Bumpdate: Week 12

I'm not going to lie, when I was just a blogger (not a wife, or a mommy-to-be), I would get giddy about other's bumpdates. I always knew I wanted to post them, even though they really have little to do with my Warrior Queen blog. Well, actually, let me take that back. They have tons to do with it!

I'm a woman (hear me roar) and this is how my pregnancy is going. This is who I am. This is me embracing my womanhood and all aspects of me. Duh, that's what being a Warrior Queen is all about.

Alright, now that I cleared that up with myself, I am excited to post my first ever bumpdate. The baby ages a week every Thursday (does that mean I conceived on a Thursday??) so, Friday's are the perfect day. Plus I like to just mosey around on Fridays so less serious posts are wonderful.

In typical blogger fashion, I scoured the internet for some fun questions to answer and I found these at Always Katie (who is just a few weeks ahead of me!) Also, maybe I love bumpdates so much because I get to answer survey questions and anyone who was friends with me on MySpace and Facebook know I have a PROBLEM. Also, when my Xanga was up, that thing was covered in surveys..

Baby

How far along?

12 weeks!  It was a nice little Christmas present :)

Gender?

Our appointment is officially set for February 20.

How big are they?

According to my mom's phone (she has an app, how cute is that??) The baby is the size of a lime. All of my apps (obsessed, much?) say lime or "large" plum. Basically, 2.5 inches? 

Changing Momma

Have you started to show yet?

YES! Which actually sparked a lot of debate at all of my Christmas festivities on if there are two in there...I mean, twins run in BOTH of our families. Maybe that "yolk sac" in the ultrasound pic is a second baby? Which led Iman to panic that one baby is less developed than the other. I just laughed. One or two there's no changing what's going on in there! Also, maybe my belly is just big because I have no room for a growing uterus in my teeny body??

Weight gain?

So, this one always confuses me because I think I've gained 3 lbs since I found out I was pregnant, but I never used to weigh myself regularly. A few weeks ago I was 129, but last night I was back at 125 so I'm thinking the bloat was on? 

Maternity Clothes?

Yes! I got my first maternity bra and I love it (Iman says it looks like an old lady bra) and maternity work pants. I'm mostly living in maxis, yoga pants and leggings, but I did get a maternity Christmas dress that I wore yesterday that is BEAUTIFUL

Stretch Marks?

Nope!

Belly Button In or Out?

So this one makes me laugh. I have an outtie to begin with, though it has gotten much more inward as I've grown older. So it's in...or as in as it's ever been...but still kinda out.

Momma's Feeling

Cravings:

I crave random things, randomly. In N Out is a weekly staple. I eat spicier food now, too.

Anything making you queasy or sick?

Don't hate me, but I have felt nauseous a total of ONE day of my pregnancy. It was last week and I think it's because I waited to eat and took my prenatals on an empty stomach. Besides that, I just feel blah after eating, and gag whenever I cough too much...that's awkward.

Happy or Moody Most of the Time?

I would like the happy hormones please! I keep getting REALLY mad, which I never get mad so that is fun. Definitely irritable. 

Movement:

Not that I know of! Though I have been feeling weird feeling things but everyone says I shouldn't feel the baby yet.

Sleep:

I am starting to feel less tired (surviving without naps!) but sleep still sucks. I am learning that it is much easier to fall asleep on the couch than in our bed. And if Iman gets into bed after me, it always wakes me up and then I can't get comfortable. 

What I Miss:

I miss trying different cheeses and DRINKING! Not like heavily drinking, but we always do some slight drinking at the holidays - er, by slight I mean we do a trivia game that involves shots...this year they did RUMCHATA and I had to sit and watch. Also, why is everyone drinking cider near me. BAN the cider. Luckily, Jimi keeps buying me Martinelli's. Such a sweet roommate.

Other Symptoms:

None! Whenever people ask how the baby is I always end up saying something like "doing it's thing." It's still hard to believe I'm pregnant since I don't have any symptoms.

Highlights and Coming Soon

Best Moment of the Week:

Getting to see all of the family I hadn't seen yet so they could love on the baby bump! 

Looking Forward To: 

Ultrasound on Tuesday, doc appointment on Wednesday  and picking a date f or my maternity boudoir photoshoot!! I met with my photographer friend today :) 

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I'd also like to introduce you to another sponsor of mine!! Sara owns and runs a beautiful shop called Maidens of the Pacific. 

She begin by learning screenprinting and was inspired by folk designs and mermaids. Her designs are her interpretation of Pacific folk art. For now, she sells online, but Sara dreams of turning Maidens of the Pacific into a commercial shop and local cooperative.

Of course, I'm always interested in what motivates people to create, so I asked Sara where she gets it all from. She says that the ocean inspires her everyday. 

While she mostly screenprints shirts, Sara also loves to paint and work with fibers and wood. 

I can't get over her gorgeous designs (which you may have seen me sharing on FB and Twitter this past month!) Here are some amazing pictures: 

Check out Sara's website // instagram // pinterest

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