Happy International Women’s Day | Inspiring Change

When I found out today was International Women’s Day, I quickly began to think of who I would blog about. I thought of important women in history and thought I should find one that really inspired me and blog about her. But then I thought about it some more and I realized, I am surrounded by so many inspiring women on a daily basis, let’s talk about them for a bit. Let’s honor the working mom who wakes up every morning at 6am to start her day packing lunches, folding laundry, dropping kids off at school, then go to work every day. Let’s honor the moms who homeschool their children. The women who own their own businesses. The mom who finds time in her busy schedule to take care of herself too. Let’s honor the women who follow their dreams and pursue their passions in life. Let’s honor the girlfriends who will stay up all night with you when you’ve had a bad day and need someone to vent to. Let’s honor our mothers for the sacrifices they’ve made to raise us to be strong independent women. Let’s honor each other. We are all inspiring.

This year’s theme for Women’s International Day is: Inspiring Change. Well, I am here today to tell you that you can make a difference. You can change your life to be what you want it to be. Your choices, your actions, your words can inspire someone to make positive changes in their life too. Then their changes will inspire someone else and so on and so on. You can be the start of something amazing.

This goes out to all of us: mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, aunts, nieces, grandmothers, granddaughters, girlfriends, women, girls. Today on Women’s International Day, I ask that we be aware of our actions, that we be aware of our words. That we not put ourselves down. Let’s be proud of where we come from, where we’ve been, and most importantly, let’s be proud of who we are! We have the power to inspire change.

Here I am with the most important and inspiring women in my life. My sister, my mother, and my daughter. Who inspires you?

Happiness, Love, and Imperfection

My life is not perfect. It’s far from it. My kids fight too much. Their rooms don’t look like a picture out of a Pottery Barn ad. Heck, not even a corner of my house could be in a Pottery Barn ad. At any given moment, when you walk into my bedroom you will see a basket full of clothes to be folded at the foot of my unmade bed.

But, with all these little imperfections, comes a life I am proud of. A family I love. A husband I’m in love with more every day. A love that is based on trust and honesty. We argue, sure, we aren’t perfect remember!?! But, with this imperfect life, comes so much happiness and so many good times, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I wouldn’t trade it for a cleaner house, a brand new car, or all the Lululemon a girl could dream of!

photography by The Happy Family Movement

Happiness and love come from within. Not from the exterior things we own or all the cool facebook and instagram pictures we share. It comes from the struggles, the sacrifices, and hard work to make our marriage and family life work. How do you measure your happiness? Your love? Is it measured by your career success? The size of your house? The size of your diamond ring? These things, albeit nice, do not equal happiness. What’s the point of a big house if there is no love inside?

I’ll admit it, there was a time in my life when these things mattered to me a lot. I was competing with “friends”, and I wanted more than I had. Was I happy? Maybe thought I was, at least for a moment. But the truth is that these things weigh you down. They steal your happiness and love.

Happiness is about making memories with those you love! It’s about not caring what other people think of you because you know your own worth. Being able to find love and happiness in our imperfect lives takes courage, it takes hard work, but it is so, so worth it. Wouldn’t you agree? Now, let’s all go out and choose happiness and love over all else.

Enjoying the Great Outdoors | Red Rock Canyon

One of the best things about having friends and family visit us in Las Vegas, is getting to show them the parts of Las Vegas that most people don’t know about. I’m not talking about the sketchy side of town, but rather the great outdoors! Las Vegas offers a ton of opportunities to get outside, enjoy some beautiful scenery, and hike! One of our favorite spots is Red Rock Canyon.

The day before the Rock N Roll Half Marathon, we took my cousin and her hubby to check out Red Springs at Calico Basin, which is within the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. This is a great spot for picnics and hiking with the family. There’s a boardwalk that goes all around the area and trails that are easily accessible from there and the parking lot. We chose to walk around the boardwalk a bit, then make our way to one of the trails that connects from the boardwalk up a hill and among the huge rocks. It was a little chilly & windy that day, but once we started walking we all felt great. Getting outside and taking in the fresh air is such a great for our family to connect. It really helps that there is no cell phone reception out there too 😉

I am so grateful to have such an amazing family that I can spend time with! Here’s to enjoying life and being with our loved ones.

ps. Be sure to check out my Sweaty Bands Giveaway going on right now!

Dedicating My Miles…

Earlier this year, I came across a blog that was talking about how some runners dedicate their race or or their miles during the race, to family, friends, organizations, etc. This helps the runners keep their momentum going and to really focus on something or someone to get them through the miles, especially the tougher ones. This really resonated with me. I remember reading and thinking that I’d do that if I ever ran a marathon. And then thinking, “Yea, like I’d ever run a marathon!” Well, here I am, I’m running my first half marathon (baby steps, people) on Sunday. I’ve had so many people believe in me and support me through this newfound passion and this amazing journey I’m having transforming myself from the inside out.

Well, with out further ado, here’s my list of people I’m dedicating my first half marathon to:

{Miles 1-2} My parents. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. Literally, yes. But, my parents have never discouraged me from following my dreams. They’re always there when I need them. And, they’ll be watching the kiddos on race day! I love them so much!

{Mile 3} My friends. The new ones and the old ones who’ve stuck with me through thick and thin. The ones who believe in me. The ones who encourage me to keep going and don’t think I’m crazy for trying new things. Ok, maybe they think I’m crazy, but they’re rooting for me anyways. I love you, guys!

{Mile 4} Ashley. My trainer. She’s so encouraging and has helped me get stronger by focusing on my individual needs and pushing me to try harder. She believes in me and I don’t want to let her down.

{Mile 5} It’s A Messy Life blog readers. Yes, I know most of these are friends and family, but I’m still happy to have a place to share my experiences with people and motivate others to keep trying to improve and live happy lives. Thank you for your support & I look forward to growing my little blog into a fun community to share, uplift, and laugh about our messy lives together!

{Mile 6} My aunts and uncle who passed away too soon and can’t be here cheering me on but I know they would be if they could. Especially my aunt Norma. I know she’d be front and center cheering me on from the sidelines.

{Mile 7} My crazy fun and awesome family! For my cousins who no matter how long we go without seeing each other, when we finally do get together it’s always like we were never apart. I love that. I love laughing and being myself around them. There’s no drama, no comparing, no agendas, it’s family and we’re always there for each other. Thanks, primas 🙂

{Mile 8} My cousin Anel, although she will always be Nelly to me 😉 She is flying out from Texas today to come run my first race with me. Talk about supportive, huh! She’s even dragging her husband with us. She’s been motivating me and training with me via text messages. Love those sweaty post-running photos she shares with me. And, even though I say she’s crazy for all those miles she runs (she’s training for a full marathon next month) I really do admire her dedication and secretly wish I could run like her 😉

{Mile 9} My sister, Norma. She is my bff. She gets me. She is the one person who I know will always be there for me. She has to be. She’s my sister. I love her for putting up with me, for always being there for me. We can lean on each other and stand tall together knowing that we’ll never be alone.

{Miles 10-11} My kiddos, Diego & Elysse. I want to be a strong female role model for them. I want them to know that they can do anything. I want to be a good example for them and help them become healthy, active adults. I want them to be proud of me.

{Mile 12} My husband, Jason. I’m so grateful for his immense support. For believing in me wholeheartedly, even when I don’t believe in myself. Fo never complaining when I need to go on my runs, but rather encouraging me even when I’m grumpy! Thank you seems so little a phrase for all he does for our family. I love you, babe.

{Mile 13} This one is all mine. This one is to prove to myself that I can do it. I never imagined that I would be running a half marathon. Never. Yet here I am. It’s so amazing to know we all have it in us to make changes for the better. We can all become the person we are meant to be, even if we didn’t know we had it in us. It’s there. It’s just waiting for you to make the first move.

Thanks again everyone for supporting me in this and all I do! I am so grateful to have so many amazing – awesome – caring – funny – uplifting – loving – people in my life. xo

Family Fun | A trip to Gilcrease Orchard

Yup, an orchard in the desert! I wish Gilcrease Orchard was closer to us, but sadly, it’s on the opposite end of Las Vegas from where we live and we don’t go very often. Like I said, I sure wish we did because we had a great time picking our own vegetables and of course, getting a pumpkin! We missed picking apples this season (I’ve vowed to go apple picking year!), but we did grab a bottle of their homemade apple cider and apple cider donuts! Yummy 🙂

Here are a few photos from our morning at the orhard.

Family Fun at the Festival

We love to have fun together as a family, but with school starting and getting back to our routine it’d been a little bit since we’d done a family outing. So, about 2 weeks ago we made plans to go to an Italian food festival that was in town and had a bunch of carnival rides for the kids. We took off Saturday afternoon and as we’re driving, we see a very large ominous looking cloud right over the area were we were going. As we got closer, we saw it was right over the festival! We went to Target (woohoo!) instead to see how the weather played out. It began to pour and thunder almost as soon as we walked in the store. Our plans for the day were a bust and the kids were not happy about it. But, we promised to go back the next day and so back we went Sunday afternoon. This time, the weather was sunny and warm and the kids got to get on some rides, play carnival games, and eat some treats! It turned out to be a pretty fun afternoon together as a family and we made some good memories. I think fairs/carnivals are a ton of fun for families. There’s something about all the bright colors, the noise, the crazy characters you see, and the smell of all that food that just makes me feel nostalgic. What kinds of things do you and your family like to do together?

Finding the Balance in Our Lives

Is this even possible? I ask, because we all seem to struggle with it. I don’t think I’ve ever met a single person that has said they live a perfectly balanced life. We are always striving for a perfect balance between our work, family, hobbies, responsibilities, etc. What does having a balanced life really mean, anyhow?

I’ve struggled for a long time with this. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate the freedoms and perks that come with being a mom who works mostly from home. But, it’s very hard to work from home and have “working hours”. When I’m doing laundry, I feel I should be working. When I’m at the gym, I feel I should be working. When I’m playing with my children, I feel I should be working. But then, when I’m working on my computer, I feel guilty that the dishes aren’t done or that my daughter is playing alone in her room. Or better yet, watching way too much Disney Jr. Also, with social media being such a big part of our lives and in my case, a big part of my work, I feel like I’m always “on”.

There are days, when things feel completely chaotic and out of control mostly because I’m trying to juggle too much at the same time. On those days, I feel unaccomplished and stressed out. I find that when I get to this point, I need to step back and prioritize. I need to figure out what’s most important, what’s truly urgent and tackle those things first. This means some things just don’t get done or don’t get done right away and I have to be ok with this.

Maybe having a balanced life does not necessarily mean a stress-free life. Maybe a balanced life isn’t so balanced after all. There are things that will take priority over others, like our family. Or things that will take more of your time. There are things we just prefer doing over others. Instead of looking for a perfect balance in our lives, maybe we should just look for some balance. Maybe balance is more about being flexible and able to change directions. Balance may not always be about giving everything or everyone equal priorities. Maybe balance is about letting go of the things that hold us back and weigh us down and keeping what makes us happy and fulfilled.

What does having a balanced life mean to you?

I was really struggling to keep my balance during Tough Mudder!