I owe you an explanation.

So,  let me start by apologizing to anyone who was going to join me in this 60 day challenge by telling you that I am Sorry. In the last few weeks i've had some of the WORST anxiety i've had since before my wedding and I even had to go see a therapist. I just got too caught in my thoughts and just got super overwhelmed with a lot in my life that I just needed to relax and not put more onto my plate. I am feeling a whole lot better thanks in par to my wonderful and supportive husband, my wonderful and understanding family and the members of my amazing Church. They put so much positive into my life on a daily basis! I have no idea how much more of a head case I would be without the gospel in my life.  So from this day forward I will take things one day at a time because right now, I need to. Anxiety is seriously no joke for me, I have gotten it since I was in high school and I can vividly describe to you my first panic attack. It was no fun what so ever and it isn't now. Let me explain to you that anxiety is very common, it's one of the most common of mental health issues people seem to deal with and it makes me feel so great that I am not alone. I'm  currently going therapy to get to the root of this wonderfulness so I can manage it without taking any medication! I have opted out of anti depressants due to the fact that I do not want to 1.get hooked 2. become worse  and 3. actually become depressed (which i am NOT)- anxiety to me is completely different than anything i've heard about depression, my anxiety does get me sad at times but i feel like its something that just runs in my blood and I can totally do it on my own and with family because we all have it. JOY. Any who, I felt like i owed you an explanation to my inconsistency with the "60 Day Challenge." I hope if any of you who have or have ever experienced anxiety and panic attacks not just your common "worry" can find solace that there are people out there with the same issues and YOU CAN GET THROUGH IT! Just find the right outlet of your stress and PRAY, oh goodness PRAY for comfort and you will be in good hands! I am still in my recovery but this week has already been such a progress for me  from 1 panic attack a day (SO NOT FUN) to mayybe some anxiety here and there..

I love you guys, and remember, you are NEVER alone!!

Mayra S.

day 3.

So, I cannot lie to you, I made you a promise but last night i was having some major anxiety so i was not able to do my insanity BUT i can tell you that I did get some exercise in and although it wasn't insanity kind of exercise, it was exercise! So with that off my chest i can tell you that today I did insanity and I felt like i was going to DIE! lol. My anxiety hadn't worn off from last night, actually I've had anxiety consistently the past few weeks, i'm not one to use medication so i just do some relaxation exercises that I found on Kaiser's website that really have helped me out these past few days! ANYWHO, I realized today that not only is meditation and prayer an amazing stress reliever SO is exercising! It was nice to get out my frustrations at my own self for having anxiety and so forth so it felt good to get those emotions out, i also tend to randomly cry which helps too. Any who, today was such a progress for me, I now know what I can do to make me feel better and I love it! I've been watching my portions as well on food and have been substituting soda's for agua! I'm excited to be able to share this with you and I find comfort in knowing that I have your support! Thank you for all your kind motivations, this is only the beginning of the battle but here we go! :)

xoxo

Mayra

Day 1.

Like I promised you all, here is my first post! After a few hours of being lazy and cuddling with the cutest puppies in the world, i put on my sports bra and regained control! Statistically and on paper, my body does not show well what so ever. with a starting weight of a whopping 180 lbs (YIKES!) i am not at all content where i stand, sit or even lay for that matter! My hips are wider than a tow truck and i can go on and on about how my measurements just arent appealing, but i wont. I will start by saying that this is the end, this is the end of those pesky pounds sitting so unappealing on my hips, goodbye to the backfat that loves to make a cute top look like the ugliest shirt you've ever seen. farewell. i know that this progress will NOT be overnight,i will HAVE TO work hard, i will HAVE to stay motivated, but i made all of you a promise, so here i go trying to keep it! Insanity is not for the sane, i sit here sweating my face off just from the fit test that i so greatly did terrible at! Here are so pictures of me, large and in charge, but hopefully next time i post some pictures, 2 weeks from today, you will notice a difference...

xoxo

Mayra

the 60 day challenge

We all know that after graduating high school you are, at some point wether it be right after graduating or in your first years of college will gain the freshman 15!After high school i managed to keep my weight where i had been but shortly after I started my gain! I was pretty active at work and all but it was nothing compared to my high school softball days kind-of-active. After starting a new job after disney i had gained some MORE weight putting me up to the 170's which was so uncomfortable that I needed to change! I started a job where walking was part of my job, i'd say around 8  miles a day because it was just so much back and forth that i never ever sat down. That was in 2008 and along with a fun social life i managed to loose some extra pounds, putting me down to the 160's which was still well over 15 pounds over my high school days. I have never ever been a skinny girl, if you had all the women in my family line up and find a common denominator, it would be our BIG butts and wide hips! After getting settled into married life back in february and realizing that dancing every weekend would no longer be your form of entertainment or weighloss option anymore, along with getting a sedentary job i easily shot up to my first time, so extremely uncomfortable but i will tell you 180's. yikes. being 5'2 i should be down at the glorious 120's because its where my body is supposed to be. Therefore i have challenged myself to changing my ways of eating along with adding exercise to the mix. I had started insanity back in May to start working out but i only lasted 4 days. Then i restarted again in July hoping to be more motivated to get down the weight but after 7 days, my old self and laziness took over so i stopped. That week i had eaten healthy and worked out was great! I noticed some weight loss specifically in my face and I really liked that I was accomplishing the challenge i had made for myself! After that stint wore off i went back to my ugly ways and those glorious few pounds came back with a vengeance. I have decided to re-challenge myself  with insanity and getting down some pounds, i want to loose 20 pounds to start and after that I would love to aim for my high school weight of 135. That is probably the lightest i've ever been so i'll aim for that! I want to be able to look in the mirror and feel like i look good, i don't want to feel like a slob any more. I want to be able to have some sort of control of my own body! So my challenge begins tomorrow, i have eaten the last of my cookies and drank the last of my cocoa-cola! I will also do the best I can to write about my progress every monday wednesday and friday! I will keep a diary of my weightloss so i can see the overall progress and post pictures every friday! I CAN do this! I WILL achieve this challenge! I hope that those of you reading this, you few you, will join me in a challenge of your own, to aim for a goal and try your hardest to achieve it! Today i sit here, with a bowl of grapes by my side, my three gorgeous nephews and my husband making you this promise that i will try with all my heart! 


here are some blast from the past pictures... along with some recent fat girl pictures ;)

 

                                        

With love,

Mayra

Thankful.

This week has been pretty tough on me, somehow my anxiety decided to creep up on me and take me back a step in control. Thankfully i have an amazing husband and some great listeners at work that let me talk about how i feel and make be feel better! While I hate having anxiety and the feeling that takes over, it definitely makes me thankful for having the gospel in my life. One of the most important things in my world is my belief in Jesus Christ. This past week i've been reading over at http://presleyfam.blogspot.com, they sadly lost their adorable boy this past week. I cannot express the sadness i feel for them, but at the same time It is so comforting to know they'll all be together again some day. I'm so thankful for the knowledge that I have. I have been telling my husband that we need to find time in our opposite work schedule to head to the Temple. I miss going to the Temple, its been about 2 months since we've gone so to me its too long! I feel like when you have the opportunity to help someone, do it. Take the chance and make your time worth it! At work lately i've noticed that the way you are with people determines the way they are with you. Maybe its my Disney training but i've always felt like i have to be extra polite to people, and being at a bank, not all personalities are like mine so it can be difficult to get people happy to come into the bank. One of the things i love to hear from my customers say is "muy amable" in spanish, basically stating that you've been really nice, but in a very humble and sweet way! It makes my day every time i hear a customer say that and it makes me feel like i'm making a difference. Although we are not allowed or not really advised to talk about religion at work, sometimes inbetween transactions and conversations pop up we discuss what we do on our free time. The other day I helped this man who had taken some missionary lessons and had attended some church meetings before, He had nothing but great things to say about the church but he wasn't baptized and he said he still had to decided where he stood. He went on to say that his girlfriend doesn't believe in God or religion at all. It made me really thing about how lucky I was to find someone who has the same faith as me, the same beliefs as I do and the same will to do good in the world.I'm so thankful for the life i've been blessed with, words could never describe how peaceful it is to have my loving heavenly father to pray to and to console me in times of need. I'm so thankful for adversities, because without them, i wouldn't enjoy the goods as much as i do!

With love, 

Mayra S

Six Sweet Months.

Well, the time has flown by SO quickly! I cannot believe that this month marks our halfway point of our first year of marriage! We have had some laughs, some cries, and everything any couple goes through! My favorite part of marriage is always having him here, always having him by my side! building our lives together and getting through things! I love the fact, in all honesty i do, that we are not perfect. i love the fact that we have had our challenging times, our fights but we have gotten through them. That is my absolute favorite! I love the bond we have, no one at all knows me better than my husband does, and no one knows him better than I do. This past weekend we went out to Las Vegas with my family to just get away for the weekend! We had a good time just walking down memory lane, we went to Vegas for our honeymoon so we just revisited some places we had gone through!

My mom and dad were there as well so it was really nice to just have a good time with the people I love most! 

The last few months have been really well with work! :) My job is going great, not so much pressure and i feel like i'm really growing a fun kind of bond with my co-workers! We're pretty silly sometimes!

They've even started training me so i can someday become a lead! Wahoo that makes me so excited because I love moving up within a company! Anywho, life is going really well! Mona is really loving his job, i'm really happy that he's happy! We have pretty awesome callings at church so i'm having a blast working with the young women in our ward and he's the secretary in the EQ! 

I've been trying to get into sewing, i mad a few skirts a while back but i have yet to tackle making a dress and i have this really adorable polk a dot print that i'd love to make into a dress! Anyone have any dress pattern ideas? I need modest, cute, versatile and comfy!

Anywho, that is all... hopefully next time i write i'll have some fun news to share :) 

<3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

Mrs. Stevenson 

d.i.y Journals

So since getting married, Monty and I have moved into the bellflower ward and after 1 month i received my first calling as a Young Woman Advisor! This past week i had to teach about personal records which was so perfect for me. I've been keeping a journal since i was about 10 years old, from simple entrys about days spent with mom to teardropping ex boyfriends breaking my heart! I was so thrilled to teach this lesson and I thought it would be such a good idea to get the girls some journals of their own. Well since being a newlywed with a new car and a new job and new bills to pay, it isn't that easy to just buy fun things anymore SO i resorted to the next best thing! I made these adorable lace trimmed cereal box journals that cost me no more that 1 dollar each and all the things i used were recyclable!

I started with an empty cereal box that we were just going to toss!

I cut down the sides splitting the box in half and tried my best to keep it even! 

                                                                 almost there!

                                               
                                      so now we have half a box and with this, i made 2 journals!

I traced my book of mormon :) and made a square and then used that

as my legend for the rest of the journals so they'd all be the same size!

I rounded the corners a bit to add a little bit of pretty! 

Then of course, follow the lines and cut straight!!

voalah! a perfectly cut little journal!!

After I cut it, I folded it straight down the center and used my ruler to make the fold as straight as possible! I did notice that cardboard is harder to flatten out so don't be afraid to use your scissors to press down the cardboard since you'll be covering it with lace! 

folded...

the inside!- i also want to add that i left the inside just like this so that the girls could glue some pass•a•long cards or favorite scriptures that mean something to them!

                                             i used the cardboard cutout and traced it on pink
                                          paper and then stapled it from the outside stapling ALL
                                                              of the papers together!

after doing so, i used glue dots to place the lace along the rim of the journal. I only glued on the outside and glued the lace trip onto both sides.So basically you just put the rim of the book in the middle of the with of the lace and each side gets equal amount of lace!  I purchased 1 1/2 yard of lace from joann's fabrics for $1.50! I also found a corner punch on sale for $5 dollars so if you feel more comfortable using a corner punch it would definitely work around the edges!

The girls absolutely loved their little journals and were so excited to write their adventures or scriptures! They loved the journals so I hope that if you ever use this tutorial your girls love their journals as much as mine did!!

xo

Mayra!