Thanksgiving and Kynlee's 2nd Birthday

Whew... It's been a long couple of months. The kids have been sick off and on since Halloween. On Thanksgiving night, I took Gavin to the ER he had a horrible cough, turned out he had Bronchitis. Then two days later Kynlee spiked a fever of 102 that would not go down, we took her to the ER and she received a flu test and it came back positive for the flu. Then last week I was sick as a dog, turns out it was just a severe cold. Finally we are all getting back to normal. Kynlee still has a cough and s runny nose, but I think we're on the mend.




Thanksgiving with my side of the family 2014

On the verge of getting sick

The newest member of the Gilbreath clan, Nariahs 1st Thanksgiving

We celebrated Kynlee's 2nd birthday and it was so much fun! Her theme was of course, Frozen. Everything is Anna and Elsa with this girl. She had a great time and got alot of really nice gifts.

Oh yeah, and I'm a brunette again!

 

 

 We are really excited for Christmas at our household. Last weekend, we went driving around looking at Christmas lights. We went to a house that had lights that went to music on a radio station. It was all Frozen themed and even had a talking and dancing Olaf which was awesome. The kids enjoyed it so much! Not much else is new. I am excited that why Gavin is on Christmas break I will also be on Christmas break for 2 weeks during our winter shutdown at work. I've never had a whole holiday break off with my kids before and I am really going to enjoy it!!!!

She's been all about makeup and hair so Jen bought her a vanity for her birthday

My sweet littles!

-Ali

Ferguson

Ali Gilbreath 

I try not to be too political on here but this whole situation is just rubbing me the wrong way. So many people have such strong opinions on this topic. Here's my take on the Ferguson, Michael Brown situation. It's easy obey the law, do the right things and make the right choices in life. Thinking you are above the law is not the right thing to do and is not the right choice. It is guaranteed to hurt you in the end, whether you are black, white, asian, mexican, etc. Respect others and they will respect you in return. I'm tired of people pulling the race card. It would have been the same outcome no matter what race either party was. I'll tell you right now, if my husband or son were police officers and someone tried to grab their weapon or assault them and they feared for their safety, I would hope they would take whatever means necessary to protect themselves. If they were the victims I would like to know why they felt the need to break the law and disobey an authority figure from the beginning. Unfortunatly I think alot of people are brought up that they don't need to respect authority and that the cops are "bad guys" and "out to get them". No, they are here to protect and serve, and thats what I truly believe. Any civil person who was brought up right knows to respect authority and to fear lying or disobeying an officer. I was raised to always tell the truth and to obey authority no matter what the circumstance, and I have learned this lesson the hard way for myself as a teenager and learned not to lie to officers and the outcome of being honest and obeying them worked in my favor. This unfortunate scenario is not how you go about confrontation with police. It's yes sir, sorry sir (or ma'am!) I do not believe this officer just pulled up and was malicious for no reason. If he was being malicious, why didn't the victim or the friend diffuse the situation and obey authority instead of not getting out of the road way and running when ordered to stop. I also believe that the officer didn't need to take that excessive of force on the victim to get him to stop. I don't know the truth so I can't say either way but that's just my take on the situation. End of story the victim didn't need to die but he made the choice to break the law, to not obey a police officer and on top of that assault the officer. On the other hand I personally don't think the officer made the greatest choice on how to stop the perpetrator from disobeying by choosing to shoot to kill. No one did the right thing in that situation in my opinion. We are human, mistakes will happen. Try to make the right choices in life to prevent things like this from happening. All we can do is learn from these mistakes. I pray the victims family can find peace in this troubling time. A death did not need to happen that day, but the choices made by both parties in those moments created an outcome that was catastrophic. I know this was a long rant but this is my point of view if you don't like it I'm not sorry. All opinions are my own and you don't have to agree.

This is my post today from Facebook. I felt the need to share it on here as well. I feel very strongly about this topic and I hope we as the human race can move past these horrible chapters of history and lived united as humans and look past the color of each others skin.

Shopping, parades, and 80's party

Another weekend down in the books. Friday I went christmas shopping for my kids with my best friend. I was suprised at how many toys that were in the store last week, were nowhere to be found this week. I had to order those things online. Saturday we went to the Festival of Tree's parade, it was Kynlee's first time. She did really good and loved the balloons and all the entertainment. Saturday we went to a 80's themed birthday party, Austin went as Michael Jackson and I was just a super lame 80's chick. I am so glad I was an infant in the 80's!!!

I am so happy it's a short work week. I love Thanksgiving and I never really enjoyed it before because I worked holidays and would have to sacrifice family time to provide for my family. This year I will get to stay home and enjoy my family. I am really excited. I'm am going to eat all the yummy good amazing things, and then going shopping at around 11PM on Thursday to do our black Friday shopping. This will be the 2nd annual black friday shopping trip with my mom and sister. Last year we stayed out until 4AM and we were laughing and crying and getting delirious from needing sleep. It was a blast. Then on Saturday I will enjoy another family Thanksgiving. Then on Sunday I will be super upset because I will have to go back to work after all the fun of the holidays and sad my long weekend it over.

I hope all of my friends and family have an amazing Thanksgiving!

-Ali

Tumbleweeds

I've noticed alot of blogs that I read regularly have been pretty quiet. I'm sure I've heard crickets chirp and tumbleweed roll by. I can't blame them. It's been kinda of like that with me and my blog as of lately. Except here, you wouldn't hear crickets. They would all be dead due to this frozen tundra weather we have been having this week. You would swear Queen Elsa the snow queen had been in town. I am getting excited for the holidays. This year will be amazing because Austin and I both work at jobs that are closed for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've been christmas shopping and trying to keep the urge to put up my christmas stuff at bay.

This week was rough for me on the health side. I've had a sore throat and fever on and off all week, I think it is finally getting better thank goodness. Since I was sick I didn't work out this week. My body said no, so therefore I said no. I'm not even guilty or mad about it. My eating was pretty good this week so thats a plus.

Last week was my son's last football game of the season. He did really well this season. He worked hard, played harder, and really learned alot. I hope he plays again next year. I am so proud of him.

 

GO GATORS!

1st grade school picture.
( Not sure what this smile is!  LOL)

 

We went to dinner at my sister-in-laws house on Monday, and Kynlee spent the day with her and Nariah while I was at work, she took some adorable pictures of the girls together.

 

Then when Gavin and I got there the first thing he wanted to do was hold his baby cousin!

 

 

Now it's time for another weekend thank goodness. It was a long week. (Just like I say every week haha!) And because no post is complete without pictures of both my sweethearts....

Paging Dr. Kynlee

I love my kids!
 P.S. Never change girlfriend, your silly faces are to die for and provide your brother and I many hours of laughter!
 

-Ali

Moving along

I am feeling wonderful this week. I didn't consume any fast food all week, I didn't cosume one soda, and not because I wouldn't allow myself too, I just didn't want it. I stayed under my calorie goal and worked my butt off at exercising this week. I pushed myself and it felt really good. I'm not a runner, I don't aspire to be one, but for shits and giggles I decided to try to run for atleast 1 minute at a time every 10 minutes or so. I shocked myself when I pushed myself to run for 2 minutes straight. Then the next night I pushed myself further and ran for 3 minutes straight. It really made me super proud that I even shared it on FB which I didn't want to do, but I was so proud I couldn't help it. It's funny, I have the Timehop app and yesterday a status from last year came up it said, "Ok time to get real on this eating better and working out. When you start hating everything you wear and feel self concious every moment of everyday you have a problem. I'm over being a fatty." That was a year ago. At that time I was looking into purchasing T25 and I stuck with that for 3 months, but once I finished the program I started to dread doing it and got bored with it. I continued to eat whatever I wanted to eat. Luckily I've only gained back the 10lbs I lost, but sometimes I think, maybe if I had just stuck with it, I wouldn't still be where I am now again a year later. Seeing this kind of woke me up. Do I really want to waste another year in my 20's being overweight and unhappy with myself. Answer, no I do not. I feel really strong this week, and I wasn't really that miserble. I watched what I ate, tracked everything and pushed myself to move more. Honestly the worst part was the wait from lunch to dinner time. To help that I think I need to have a good snack in between to keep my hunger at bay.

On another note, I need to stop fat shaming myself. I do it all the time, and I know it's wrong, but sometimes I like to make light of my being overweight, it makes me feel better. It's just not a good thing to do, it's offensive to not only myself but to others who may be the same size as me or bigger. I was reading one of my new favorite bloggers Carly at Snack Therapy and her post called "This Body."  just hit me. Like really hit me. This girl, she just radiates awesome. Not only is she beautiful, but she's funny and just has this, "love yourself" attitude that I am envious of. We only have one life to live, there is no sense in spending it not being the way we want ourselves to be. I don't want to be miserable and hungry all the time, but I also don't want to be overweight. Somewhere in between there I need to find a happy medium. I don't aspire to be skinny, I like my curves.

(and so does my hubby!!!)

 

It was a wonderful week, I am hoping for another great week next week. This weekend will be spent cleaning, relaxing, and Gavin's last football game. I am totally sad I really enjoyed watching him play. It's also the big Bears VS Packers game this Sunday. Go BEARS! Tonight I will have my cheat meal, but I plan on trying to workout atleast one day this weekend.

 



The first couple of days

Day 1 of my journey back into living a healthier lifestyle went pretty good. I ate really good all day, I went to my mom and dads home gym and spent a solid 30 minutes giving it my all. Luckily my parents are also on the wagon and decided to cook healthy and invite me over this week to eat with them which is a huge help. It is literally taking everything inside of me to not have pop. I've never been a pop drinker but the past couple of years I've really become addicted. Especially to fountain pop. It took everything inside of me to not stop at Mcdonalds for my daily sausage mcmuffin for breakfast and a large diet coke yesterday and today. I've been doing really well with drinking my water and making sure to refill alot. I love my bubba cup because it's holds 32oz of water, keeps it really cold, and the straw makes it easier to drink and tricks me into thinking I'm having one of my beloved fountain pops.

I know I said I was planning on joining a gym, but I decided on just going to my parents basement gym to work out. They have a treadmill, an elliptical, a recumbent bike, and a bowflex. Last night I did a circut work out moving to a different machine every 10 minutes. I didn't use the bowflex because I need my dad to put it together and show me how to use it so I don't kill myself! It worked out perfectly, my parents were my babysitters and Gavin actually joined me and kept switching to whatever machine I wasn't on. My parents are literally right up the street from me so it's less of a drive, I can go over whenever I want to and it's free. If I decide this becomes too boring I plan on bringing my T25 over to use in the basement. I'm kind of feeling like I prefer T25 over just walking on the treadmill, however I love the recumbent bike. I may decide to do T25 tonight, I honestly miss doing it, and I feel like I got a better workout with it. I will just never be one of those people who can be on a treadmill for an hour, and go any faster than 3.0mph. I just won't do it. I'm not interested in being a runner. I need to buy a HRM so I can see which is a better workout for me.

My best friend Jen signed up for the gym and I am so happy for her. She will do great I just know it. I'm slightly jealous, I love being in a gym atmosphere. She works 2nd shift so she will be going when she gets off of work at 11PM. This girl goes to bed at 9PM so unfortunatly we can't go together. However on the days we do have off together she can bring me as a friend for free so we plan on utilizing that of course.

So today again I am doing really well and have already drank 32oz of water and going to refill now! A healthy dinner and workout session again tonight when I get home. It feels good to take control of this weight, and I am excited to see what I can accomplish.

-Ali

My Favorites (Part one)

My posts have been super heavy the last couple of weeks, so I thought I would do something fun today and post some of my favorites, quotes, products, gif's, books, celebrites, movies etc. So here it goes! (and in no particular order)

Movies:

 

 

This fight sounds familiar

Books:

 

 

 

Don't judge me...LOL

 

Male celeb crush:

 





He always has and always will be my biggest celebrity crush ever.
RIP Paul

 

Woman celeb crush:

 









Carmen girl you are smokin'







 

Quotes:

 

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”

― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

 

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

― George Eliot

 

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

― Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to You!

 

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

― Theodore Roosevelt

 

“You can't live your life for other people. You've got to do what's right for you, even if it hurts some people you love.”

― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

 

“I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours. ”

― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

 

Products:

 

 

 

 







Bubba cup 32oz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRESemme Climate control products

 

 

 



Forever 21 PLUS leggings

 

 

 



 Favorite meme's:

 

 

 

That is has my friend, that it has.... 3 day weekend this weekend! YAY!

 

-Ali

 

Happy Halloween 2014

This past weekend was my sister-in-laws birthday and her boyfriend Phillips birthday. They had a halloween party. This was my costume

Jigsaw from the movie Saw

 

That bike was not meant for a 200lb adult

Chuckie, Freddy, Jigsaw, V for vendetta, a witch and Beetlejuice



This is the picture that got me. WOW. Yuck. My friend Kelsey over at Keeping Up With Kelsey did my makeup. She is my own personal little makeup artist and I love her! Then Sunday we went to Bellevue for Trick or Treat where my sister lives and we had a great time and walked about 10 miles. We had Anna, Elsa, Pikachu and Tinkerbell!

 

 

That night Gavin came down with a sore throat and has been sick ever since. I took him to the doctor and they gave him a strep test, but it came back negative, so he just has to wait it out. I hope he feels better for Trick or Treat on Thursday night. We have a birthday party and another halloween party on Saturday, hopefully we can make it if Gavin is feeling better.

Recently I have been feeling more down and ashamed of myself than I ever have in my entire life. My weight literally controls my whole life, the way I feel, the way I look, the way I think others see me, and the amount of time I spend playing with my kids because I am always so tired. ALL THE TIME. Here I am 26 years old and in worse shape than my 50 somethin' year old mother. Not saying people that are 50 are old or out of shape, but damn mama making me look all bad next to you...LOL Trick or treat proved this as my hips started to hurt from all the weight I am carrying around. I'm in terrible shape. I look at my body and think, ok, that part isn't too bad, but that could definetly use some work. I know my weight effects my spirit in huge ways because I never look people in the face, I avoid eye contact, and walk around with my head down. It could be worse, much worse, but to me this is as bad as I've ever been. Some people probably wouldn't agree with what I'm about to say, but as a woman sometimes you need to get this harmless confidence boost and I haven't gotten it in YEARS. I remember when I was smaller, men used to turn their heads my way, sometimes cat call but that no longer happens. I feel like an ugly woman that people don't find attractive. I know my weight doesn't define me. I am a nice person, I am a good mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend. I know I am a pretty girl, but I don't smile much anymore because I am ashamed of my weight. I am always self conscience with how my clothes fit, how they lay on my body, and how I look to others when I am moving around. I wear alot of jackets, alot of black and anything to hold my stomach in. I fake that I am comfortable with myself but I am not. I look in the mirror somedays and think ok you look good today, then someone takes a picture and I look at that picture in total shock at how I really look. In my mind I still see myself as being about 150lbs so imagine my suprise when I see a picture of 220lb me, yes thats right 220lbs. When I run into people I haven't seen in years, I cringe at how they must see me. Yeah i've had kids, my body was destined to change, but I don't think thats an excuse. Alot of women have babies everyday and bounce right back to what they looked like before having kids or sometimes better (those bitches!) but that is not what's in the cards for me unfortunatly. I should have started to lose weight after I had Gavin but I didn't. I remember shortly after I had him, crying on my bed because my clothes wouldn't fit and right then and there I knew my life was never going to be the same, my body was never going to be the same. I kept all the weight I gained with him and the extra flab, for 5 years I just didn't care. Then I had Kynlee and gained more weight, not alot, but I gained and didn't worry about that weight either. I tried doing T25 and it worked great I lost 10 pounds, but I couldn't stick with it. I couldn't stick with eating good either. Mcdonalds and I have a love hate relationship and have for many many years. It's cheap, it's easy and it's open 24 hours. I am a busy full-time working mom of 2. Mcdonalds gets eaten alot. I'm frustrated I let myself go this bad. I'm frustrated that I can't just get in control of the situation and lose the weight.

 My friends and I decided we want to fight the good fight and join the gym and eat better. We did so well when we did it before, but I became pregnant with Kynlee and I stopped going, and everyone just kind of faded out unfortunatly. However, being that I am done having kids, and I feel like I am finally reallllly ready to commit, it would be a good idea to get everyone on board again, we even got a new friend to join, Donnie. Atleast this way with us all doing it, we can keep each other accountable, and make better food choices when we go out to dinner together. I really enjoy going to the gym versus working out at home. I tend to work out longer, and try harder when I see other people working so hard. I decided this time I refuse to post on FB/IG about going to the gym and that I am changing my lifestyle and eating. I hate seeing posts like that all the time, so I am going to strictly talk about it here on my blog to keep myself accountable. Nobody else has to see that unless they choose to come here, which by my follower count is absolutely nobody so thats good. So heres to another chance to be a better me. I really pray and hope that I can finally get in the right mindset this time, and really kick the weight off and keep it off. I don't want to be skinny, I want to be healthy and happy with myself. I'm not doing this for anyone but myself and my kids so they can have a more active and happy mom. Wish me luck!

-Ali