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Leo Allen's Birth Story

The day my little Leo was born was truly, the best day of my life. Now I know, I'm supposed to say that about the day I married Jeffrey, but the day I married him was not the important part as much as the marriage we had/have ahead of us (which is still awesome by the way!)  The day I had Leo was truly the best day on so many levels.  Often times when I've heard people talk about the birth of their child, I think they are typically referring to the actual baby-comes-out and meeting them part.  What I am referring to is the whole shbang.  From the very first contraction to finally holding him in my arms.  It was hard, yes, but I don't think that holding him in my arms would have been nearly as amazing without everything leading up to it.  From start to finish, delivery and  labor were absolutely amazing! Now, I had been preparing for years for the birth of my child - researching, reading, and envisioning what would happen.  Birth has always been wondrously fascinating t
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here's to the men.

In December, Jeffrey and I will be celebrating four years of marriage.  I am happily married. Correction.  I am head-over-heals-love-him-more-each-day-blessed-beyond-measure-happily married! Ok, enough with the mushy stuff and on to the reason this post is titled, "here's to the men". As I think over my journey of meeting my husband and everything leading up to that, there are a number of factors that I know contributed to finding this wonderful man.  Everything from having a similar upbringing to great communication, are obviously apart of it.  But I wanted to focus on one of (I believe) the key factors.   Men. That's right, men.  We (as women) have all had our fair share of experiences, both good and bad, with men.  Whether we realize it or not, they have helped shaped our view of who we are as women and what we deserve in a boyfriend/spouse.  This starts at childhood and goes into our teenage and young adult years.  The statement, "you always e

Good Timing. God's Timing.

My, goodness.  How time flies! I have been working at European Wax Center for almost four months now!  I can honestly say that I still LOVE it!  It is such a fun, challenging, and exciting environment that I have yet to get bored with. When I think back on the last year and where I was, I am constantly amazed at God's timing.   One year ago, I was saying goodbye to my job as a nanny and beginning my esthetics schooling.  I was pretty sure I would end up at a spa or hotel in the area when I finished, so those were the places I applied after I graduated in November.  I had heard about EWC from a friend while I was in school but hadn't really given it much thought.  In March, I decided to apply and was invited to a group interview where I was able to meet the owner and manager and learn more about the company.  I was hooked.  After another interview shortly after, I was offered the job and wax a part of their launch in Lake Oswego!  I feel SO INCREDIBLY BLESSED to be w

jobjobjob

See this face?  Yes, that was about what I looked like the other day when I received the phone call that I GOT A JOB!!!  And no, it's not just any job, but an AWESOME one!  After an extensive hiring process, I have been hired on to start a new branch of the European Wax Center  as an esthetician in the Lake Oswego (OR) area.  This is an quickly-growing company nation wide that is doing great things in the waxing world.   I honestly wasn't sure about working for a corporate company initially, but after meeting my potential bosses and seeing their passion for the products and service as well as their organization and intentions during the hiring process, I was sold.  Not only is this a job in my field of practice, but it is a goal oriented, face-paced, team driven job.  I can't wait!  I start training next week and will be able to stay at my current job with the YMCA as well until I build up more hours with EWC.   I'm not going to lie, God seemed to cut this

Meditation

    Twice this last week I have been trying out a new practice in my mornings.  Meditation, sitting in silence, doing nothing. . .call it what you want, but I have been doing it.  Just for 2 minutes (yes, I set a timer) but that two minutes seems longer that I would have thought.       Since my whole job search/new business ventures (more on that another day), I've noticed in myself lately that I am constantly busy with something .  Even when I am eating breakfast or lunch I am constantly reading a magazine, checking/sending emails, perusing craigslist, working on my resume, etc.  When I'm cleaning the house and getting ready in the morning, I usually have music or TV on.  And then there is driving.  I LOVE listening to music while I drive to and from work!  This is so unlike how I used to be.  I am sure I am not alone in this craziness.  But all this has got to have a limit.       So, I have made a few minor changes that have surprisingly made a big difference.  First

Energy

Happy Hump Day!  So I think I had a bit of the flu bug this Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (seeing as everyone at work has had something similar).  Oddly enough, I feel pretty much back to normal this morning.  Whew!  That was short lived!  I honestly just think my immune system is super strong right now due to a few things: 1.  Working with kids: lots of germs = lots of built up immunity to a lot of things 2.  More intense workouts: instead of my daily cardio and weight sessions, I've been swapping in some high intensity interval and circuit workouts (think Jillian Michaels style mixed with Insanity).  Not only have my muscles been loving it but I have even more energy than ever! 3.  Regular sleep: I have made an effort to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night, often times closer to 9. This may be a bit more than the average person needs (7-8), but for me, it's just right =) 4.  LOTS of vitamins:  I saw a few documentaries a while back that disarmed the thought that y

weather ramblings.

Today, was hot.  I guess I really shouldn't complain about our 90 degree weather when over half the country is in 100+ weather.  But still, for us Northwesterners, it's hot.   THANK GOODNESS for our current living situation.  We are in a daylight basement (which doesn't actually feel like a basement at all considering the whole west side has huge windows all the way across) and have not yet had to turn the air on (which we so awesomely have!) during the day.  While it is currently 90 outside, it is a measly 72 inside.  I'll admit, I cracked the sliding door open for a while to even get it up to there from the 68 degrees we came home to after church.  We are wearing jeans and sweatshirts up in here!   But seriously, so thankful we have a cool and comfortable place to call home! One benefit to the hot weather, is that it has seemed to completely melt away the clouds.  There are still a few fluff balls up there (typical to Oregon) but the sky seriously cou