bam bam bam

after three big events three saturdays in a row:

brother's wedding

Chiso's birthday party

my baby shower

and birthday parties, graduations, etc. sprinkled in between, i'm ready to sit down and just be pregnant.  i don't even know how to do that but i've got 2.5 weeks left to figure it out.  and as soon as i do, Odego will just be like 'OOOOOH NO YA DON'T', so it's whatever!  just taking this thing one day at a time and enjoying solo time with my 1st born until ... it's time.  i gave today my best shot and ended up in Ikea pricing bunk beds with Chiso. and hey, i got this blog post in and even started packing my hospital bag, so i'd say it was a pretty productive day.

this past sunday was baby shower day! been looking forward to it ever since my sister-in-love Michelle offered to host one for me.  it's no secret that we're having another boy, and i saved so many of Chiso's things (mainly clothes) that i didn't even consider having another shower.  however, God knew what we forgot we needed and provided for us, as He promised.

after church and a family workout sunday morning, i went and got jazzy to the best of my abilities to celebrate this little ball of energy in my tummy.  bring on the belly rubs!!!!!!

the braids are back and so is the high bun! normally after 1 or 2 stores, i'm DONE with clothes shopping for the day, but i have my go-to dress places and usually find something super quick. sooo, imagine  how disappointed i was to walk into the Houston Galleria to find both Zara AND French Connection UK....closed!? (fyi Zara will reopen in October but i needed them RIGHT THEN!!!). wasted gas indeed. the next day i tried again closer to home and was ELATED to have found this coral Calvin Klein number in the first department store i visited.  that never happens. ok, not to me. i paired it with my nude Steve Madden pumps, some gold jewelry from Forever 21, and got up outta there.

i appreciate and humbly thank each and every woman who came to celebrate with me.  the Egwuatus take what we can get during the week, but sunday is family day for us. (and sometimes you just want to have a day to do your OWN thing, especially if your work week begins on the following day...i get it!) so when i have to be away from my boys for any reason, i'm always anxious to get right back to them. which means i understand completely when people shift their schedules and take time out of their day to come support, spend time with, and even bring unrequested gifts to and for someone else.... it means absolutely EVERYTHING to me.

   i thank my family, friends, & Sorors for simply being there. and for those belly rubs!!!!

a special, heartfelt thank you and BRAVO to my hostesses who did an amazing job putting everything together. my sisters:  Michelle, Ogechi, and Kara!

 aaand, i especially appreciated the gifts given to our 1st born, Chiso. how thoughtful!  just WOW. blessed beyond measure and i just want to thank God as it is all because of Him. all of it.

thanks for reading! 9 month update post coming right up.

le

P.S. YEP, i put my cooking classes on hold in prep for those 3 big weekends and since Odego will be here super soon, the classes will be back when i am! for now, let the hardcore nesting resume.

knock, knock

it's me. so if i'm going to be a nationally known blogger, i might need to blog then, huh. hi. my head is spinning with a full to-do list all day every day and i can't even begin to tell you how much i miss blogging consistently!  even though i haven't blogged consistently since i started :lol: anyway, i have given my all to these ebooks for the past few months and i am sick of them!! i'm waiting on one last mandatory piece to this puzzle before i put these bad boys on out there. i do thank you sincerely for being so patient with me.  if you've been with me for a while, you know how me and the balance thing goes...  i'm still growing, learning, and getting better.  i'm not even gonna attempt to try to play catch up with yall this time smh, but hopefully you've been following me on Instagram and keeping up with me there!

and if you are, then you would've  seen my 1000th photo!!! like you haven't seen all of these photos at one time or another :roll: they're just all in one place now for this nice little transformation collage.

what's new?  the Fit Foodie Finisher silicone bands are finally IN. i am super pleased at the way they turned out!  they serve as a token of appreciation for each person that commits to run with me, and hopefully they serve as a reminder to keep up the running habit.

the Esprit De She 5k went down this past Thursday night juuuust before the rain storm moved on in. it was super humid at 6pm but that's Houston for ya.   it was a great turn out despite the weather and it being their very first year!  this brings the Fit Foodie Finisher's total to 40k for 2013 so far. AWESOMENESS.

during my last visit to Walmart, i went extract crazy on accident-  i just kept seeing different flavors i wanted to try!  i got coconut, strawberry, lemon, butter, almond, vanilla, maple, and raspberry. after i got home, someone posted an IG pic of peanut butter extract. i would have gotten that too had i seen it.  anyway i've been trying them in my recipes:

i tried the strawberry extract in yesterday's bowl of oats.  i cooked them in water, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, vanilla extract, strawberry extract, cinnamon, and stevia, then topped them with fresh strawberries.  Chiso ate that UP!

divine.

next, i tried some of the maple extract in those cakes up there. this recipe is featured in my ebook!  maple banana oatbran pancakes...and check their stats:

245 cals - 4g fat - 10g fiber - 12g natural sugar - 16g protein

so this pic got a lotta IG love, wow! i'm as excited about this super healthy, low-calorie, sweet potato pizza crust as you are.

i topped my pizza with low sodium pizza sauce, yellow and orange mini peppers, cilantro, zucchini, extra lean ground chicken, and jalapeno jack almond cheese.

and ate the entire thing, solo.

did i EVER picture myself  as a published author? heck no!  but when you follow your passion and do what truly makes your heart happy, that's when the magic happens.  this book is just one of the many doors health and fitness has opened for me... i'm extremely excited, nervous, yet READY for whatever the future holds!  THANK YOU for reading, supporting, and being apart of my journey.

le