Warm weather Quick Takes

Joining Jen for another 7 Quick Takes

1.  You may (or may not) have noticed some changes 'round these here parts...I switched up the template for my blog....It's a "free" template...and I'm still trying to work things out with the code and what not.  But I certainly don't know all that I could about code so we'll see how that goes. Thoughts?  Like this better or worse than my other template?

2. I don't know where most of you live, but here in Maryland we've enjoyed quite a gorgeous weekend.  Chris and I spent some time in Lowe's and Home Depot getting a few herbs to start our (very small) herb box.  Mint, basil, and cilantro.  I'm hoping we can get a few more/maybe some veggies but we'll see how well we can keep these babies alive.

Day spent plantin' some herbs and sippin' some pomegranate martini

3. So I'm really hoping spring has officially sprung.  And am therefore beginning my spring cleaning.  I started today by cleaning out my closet.  Those skinny jeans (might as well be called sausage stuffers) that I've been holding on to, just assuring myself I'll fit into one day?  Yea, they're being donated so someone 1/2 my size can enjoy them.  That slim fit shirt that's become just a little too slim fitting?  Also getting donated.  Good Will is gonna love me.

4. Which leads me to my new found commitment to working out/eating healthier.  I'm using the My Fitnesss Pal app and have a gym membership @ Planet Fitness.  I am determined to lost that "newlywed 15"...2 years later.  The fact that we're going to Fl with Chris' family in a month is also a motivating factor.

5.  I'm working really hard at ignoring the fact that this month is yet again a month without a positive pregnancy test.  Trying reeeeally hard you guys.  And I hate complaining, because I know there are people who are suffering through so much worse, I know.  So I cover it all up, and pretend I'm totally ok with it.  I drink my pomegranate martinis and act like this is what I want.  Because I need to do that or I'll end a blubbering mess every month.  Especially when very well meaning old ladies remind you "not to wait too long" Uh, thanks.  We're not exactly in control over here, but thanks for that mini punch in the gut (well meaning, I know she meant well!)  Ugh, and just typing these words makes me feel like a terrible person because I feel like I don't have the right to be so upset by this.  I keep telling myself, and Chris does an amazing job of reminding me, that God  is in control and His timing is where we need to place our trust.  Your Will be done, not mine. (my latest mantra...seems appropriate for Holy Week)

6. Speaking of Holy Week, have you seen Kendra's post about how she does Holy Week?  I loved it, and think I'd like to incorporate some of what she does into our week this year.  My new company gives us a day off on Good Friday, and Chris has fought for his Good Friday off as well, so I'm still searching for ways to create new Holy Week traditions for our family.  Last year we attending the Holy Thursday mass, I went to the Good Friday service on my own (Chris' company wasn't so generous last year), and then we just did Easter Sunday with the family.  This year will probably be very similar, expect I'll have my husband by my side for Good Friday, which is so nice.  We usually also watch either The Passion of the Christ, of Jesus of Nazareth.  How do you keep the "holy" in Holy Week?

7. This article was trending on my Facebook news feed this week.  I'm so glad I decided to click the link and read it.  He makes so many fantastic points about modesty....like this:

                "Modest is hottest might work as a bumper sticker, because it rhymes and it’s three words long, but it makes for a woefully abysmal defense of modesty. The point of modesty isn’t to better achieve the intended results of immodesty. Modesty isn’t  virtuous because it’s ‘hot,’ it’s virtuous because it’s concerned with something far greater than being hot."

 I feel like with the warmer months coming up, and the great "bikini debate" that is sure to arise, this article is just another great way to look at modesty.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

And with that, I bid you a Happy Weekend :-)  I hope you're enjoying the nice weather as much as Chris and I are!

Soak Up Some Sun

*Cue Sheryl Crow*

This weekend we spent some quality time with some good friends at the Jersey Shore.  Chris' best man's parents (I'll give you a second to sort that one out in your head) got it? ok.  They have a shore house in Jersey and probably one of their favorite things is having the "kids" down for a visit.  Joe and his fantastic wife have in the past invited a larger group of couples to come down and enjoy the house, this year however, was a much smaller group, just three couples plus Joe's parent's.  We had so much fun and I actually got a bit of a tan.  We went for boat rides (it was Buster's first time on a boat!), we played a lot of corn hole, we enjoyed some delicious drinks, we marveled at Joe and Kathleen's fantastic cooking (seriously they are the best cooks and are a couple of the best hosts I've ever met!), we played games, and were amazed of the little lady doin acrobatics in-utero - she will be Chris' and my goddaughter so I may already be a little partial to her adorableness.  It was a fabulous weekend with some even more fabulous friends :-)

Pups ready for the boat!  And yes, those are life vests

In my most recent 7 Quick Takes I talked about runnin' out to get a new one-piece bathing suit.  I had success @ Target (that store will seriously be my wallets downfall) in the clearance section!  Score!

One piece.  Fun print.  Covers my butt.  Still looks modern and feminine while allowing me to remain a liiitle more modest that I would in a bikini.  Paired with a simple black cotton skirt (also on clearance) and I was set for the weekend!  

Now, I wish I could say that I never fell on the bikini bandwagon, but I did.  This is probably one of the first one-piece bathing suits I've owned in a very long while.  But if I'm being honest with myself, I have never felt comfortable in a bikini for a multitude of reasons.  I simply bought and wore them because that's "what girls wear" at the beach/pool etc.  Why else would everyone and their mother call this season "bikini season."  That dreaded season that girls prepare for months in advance with diets, exercise, hours of staring at yourself in the mirror wondering why you don't look like a Victoria's Secret model. (Because, *spoiler alert* I am not a VS model!)  I don't like that feeling of thinking you're body isn't up to par.  I am made in His image and likeness, so why did those two little pieces of clothing make me forget that?!

I guess I just finally realized that wearing a bikini makes me uncomfortable, bottom line.  I am that girl who wears a shirt and worries that there's too much cleavage showing, even when there clearly is not. My body is for my husband's eyes only. What made me think I would like a bikini??  Carolyn over at 4Life4Life talked about the dread of taking off the cover-up...and boy did she hit the nail on the head!  I would pretty much stay in my cover up for as long as I could because I felt waay too exposed when I took it off.  Even in a one-piece I still feel a little exposed but much more comfortable than my bikini days.  Although, I must say, you can still run into a less than modest one piece.  I tried on a couple and they had some plunging V-necks that made me feel like the girls were about to pop out and say hello, which is less than modest!

Now a days though (and maybe in the past this was true as well and I was just a stubborn teen) you can find so many more cute, trendy, fashoinable one-pieces and tankinis that it is much easier to wear them.  It sort of made me laugh when I walked out in my one-piece this weekend...I kept thinking to myself, gosh I must look like a prude, what's everyone going to think...and then my friend complimented my suit.  Why would anyone care what bathing suit I choose to wear, its a matter of preference.  I'm not a prude, I am simply choosing a style of suit that fits me better and makes me feel more modest, while remaining "in style," fashionable and still able to get a rockin' tan! Not to mentioned I am not lamenting over the fact that my body doesn't look "just right."  What do people always say?  When you feel comfortable in what you are wearing, you feel more confident, and in turn, attractive.  Amen sistah, Amen.  And for me, wearing a bikini has never led to that feeling of comfortable confidence.

My issue now, however, is what to do with the bikini's I no longer want?  I would love to be able to somehow sell them (thrift store maybe?) and then take that money and buy more one-pieces and tankinis...any suggestions?

And what are your thoughts on swimwear/suggestions for looking cute and modest on the beach?