2nd Business Trip and Easter!

I went back to Wisconsin for Shaw! Second business trip ever is down in the books! And when you are reading this, I will be on my third business trip to Wisconsin again! I have really taken a liking to traveling. The second trip I took with my co-worker was quite productive and actually fun! We were visiting to help launch a new product of ours!

On this trip we had a smooth airplane/flight experience on the way up but the way back proved to be trying again as our plane almost broke down while trying to take off. At least we weren't in the air yet and they let us switch planes! We have really bad luck. Last time on the way back we ended up in Texas 😳. Just how does that happen?

I don't know why, but it was still a shock for me to see snow on the ground. I should have expected it but it had been 70+ degrees back at home and it didn't even cross my mind. It was beautiful though!

We worked three 19 hour days in a row again doing physical labor but we came back with some great product! In the mirror above it was the start to the first day, I was fresh, excited, and eager to succeed on this trip!

The best part about this part of Wisconsin we were in is that it reminds me of back home...just with snow. There were a lot of open roads and beautiful fields of cows. It was very pretty!

And of course, this time we couldn't leave without some cheese, the company we worked with joked that this was our lunch 😂, I LOVE it! Sounds good to me! Well we were in the place of the cheese heads weren't we!?! When in Rome do as the Romans do!

On our way out we drove by the Wilderness Water park on the way to the airport! I mean, you only hear about these amazing things on TV but I saw it in real life!!! I was SO EXCITED! 

One of the exciting parts about this trip was that we got to stop at the mall of America on the way to the airport. HOW AMAZING IS THIS PLACE. I could absolutely live in this mall forever. It is crazy amazing. I had never heard of it and I just thought it was just that, a big mall. Boy was I wrong. THERE IS AN AMUSEMENT PARK INSIDE!! I had no idea! Someone told me after the fact that that was the mall that Mall Cop was filmed in!! How did I not know this! So I was in absolute heaven walking through this heaven-in-mall-form mall. I went inside as many stores as I could and I even saw a Lush store!!:D. So cooooool!!! 

I also found a store that scooped cookie dough instead of ice cream in ice cream cones. I wished I hadn't just eaten or I would have DOVE into that store to eat some. 

The best part about the amusement park was that it was Nickelodeon themed! So Sponge bob was one of the main attractions and that just made my world. I couldn't stop watching and taking pictures!

Flying Dutchman ropes course!!!!!!

And finally, getting ready for our 2:30am flight out. 6 hours of sleep in almost 4 days. I was about ready to travel home at that point but had a blast and felt satisfied with our progress. 

.......

The next weekend mom took us to Ijams nature center, run some much-needed errands, ate her birthday dinner, and we all went to a Disney Orchestra mom had set up for us/her. 

Ijams was so much fun! We took Sasha and hiked for 2 1/2 hours. We even managed to dodge the rain! It is so much fun to be outdoors and be in God's creation together exercising. 

Best friends!

Mom's buddy!

My twice-annual bridge picture! Can't leave without it! The weather is so odd now that our spring trips feel more like fall and vice versa.

On the way to run errands after the long hike! Who knew we ever had another "sister". :)

We had to leave Sasha in the car while we ran into places (very quickly). Don't worry, it was 35 degrees outside and we left the back windows open! She always gravitated to her rightful seat (or so she thinks 😅).

We went to the orchestra later that night after eating delicious Buddy's BBQ and boy, that Disney orchestra was an absolute blast! The Knoxville symphony was so talented! It's amazing to see the gifts God has given some of us. They played the main songs to all of the main Disney movies right now and had a video playing in the background with live singers. The sheer talent in that room is breathtaking. I am so grateful for mom letting me, Morgan, and Nana tag along on her birthday adventure. 

The next weekend was my mom's actual birthday. See, we told her we were going to Chop House to celebrate her birthday for dinner but we took her to me and Cody's apartment and we had cooked her favorite dinner she had been asking for for MONTHS. She was so surprised to say the least! I even had her a small little present and her favorite brownies made. She is such a sweet woman that deserves the world. I wish I could do so much more for her. She is my greatest role model and I strive to be like her every day. I love you mama!

Everyone wants to celebrate mama! Gigi and Granddad has this set-up when mom got home! Day of celebrations!

The three Dyar girls!

Gigi and Ada even made mama a cake even though Gigi wasn't feeling very good! I wish I could have been there!

Me and the birthday girl!

LOVE this picture. Has a lot of meaning!

Cody was such a trooper to make this all happen. This couldn't have all worked out like it did without this man. Cody dropped everything and pitched in to surprise mom with his famous bacon chicken cheese ranch wraps while we were out. Thank you so much Cody, you have a sweet heart!

...........

The next weekend was palm Sunday and then Easter! Of course we decorated our house full of bunnies and eggs! (Bears and bunnies are my favorite:)). Easter was such a sweet time spent with Cody preparing for my next business trip and Cody coming back from his. It was a quiet time filled with time with the Lord and in prayer. Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for us, his life for our sins. I can't even fathom how difficult even for Jesus this must have been to go through. He still felt pain the same way we did. He was completely selfless for what, man? We fall short every single day and he knew that, but whole heartedly followed out his and Gods plan, giving up his life for us. 

On Easter day we weren't able to travel to Knoxville but my mom was so sweet, she still gave me a sweet Easter basket! She is so thoughtful and always thinks of Morgan and I. I am forever grateful for her!

Our island decor!

My sweet Mama and Gigi bought this Easter decorations for me and I am absolutely in love with them!

My cute little chickie!!

And our glittery egg! I can't wait to have kids one day so we can dye eggs!

If you want to refer to my lent post feel free to click here.

The day before Easter Cody and I hiked at Harrison Bay State Park. My grandfather used to take me and Morgan camping there all the time growing up and I have some of my finest childhood memories here because of him! We loved it. It was so much fun showing Cody around our favorite spots and trails! I love this trial above because of the hay blowing in the wind. It was gorgeous. It reminds me of Fall and how much I wish it was haha.

This was the view from one of our island trails that is usually covered in water in the summer. It is so incredibly rare to hike here so it was so special to venture this side of the island!

So peaceful! PERFECT for a photo shoot one day ;). *I love pictures so much* And I love how active outside Cody and I are!

Cody snapped this while I was tying my shoes lol!

Also later that night I was so jealous, my dad got to see the final four in person and man that is a dream! By the way, isn't my dad so cool! He looks so young and fit! I am fortunate to have young fit parents inside and out! I value that and hope to be just like them one day!

Easter morning we got up and went to Easter service and Sunday school to celebrate what a glorious day. We then came home and opened our baskets! Cody and I got a little something (candy) for each other and Mama, Morgan, and I skyped as we opened our Easter baskets! We were so excited!!!

He is alive! Our savior has risen!

I wish we could have spent the day with my family too in Knoxville but just couldn't be two places at once unfortunately. But Gigi sent a little Easter care package for Cody and I and it was just the perfect thing! Gigi is so sweet and thoughtful and never leaves anyone out. She has one of the biggest hearts I have seen in people. She is beautiful inside and out. This picture of her is the prettiest picture in the world! I wish I had as much love to share as she does!

I was so excited to finally be able to wear my Easter dress that I got for last Christmas from my mom!

PERFECT for Easter and super comfortable! (I'm all about that comfort)

After Easter service we went to Cody's grandparents house to have Easter dinner with the family! I even brought a pink lemonade pie! It was my first pie and I was so proud of myself! It was so delicious and everyone loved it! It is 3 ingredients (besides the pre-made pie crust): pink lemonade coolaid pack, a 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk, and an 8oz tub of cool whip. You just mix those three ingredients together and dish it out into the pie crust and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving. *Keep cold

We had a very pleasant time at Cody's grandparents house with the Raborn/Wamack clan. I really wish we could have stayed longer but I had to get ready for my third business trip to Wisconsin the next morning. I really enjoy their company. They are so sweet and always so welcoming to me. They make me really happy!

Also one of my favorite gifts is the journaling bible from my mom. There are columns on the side to right notes, and special highlighters and pens to highlight text and not have them bleed through the pages. I love taking notes in my bible but never have enough space. This is a perfect bible for that and can't wait for my first scripture reading in it tomorrow morning!

Cody and I gave each other a small little collection of Easter candy which we love! I found this awesome carton of Reese's Easter eggs and immediately thought of Cody! He of course loved them!

My all-time favorite gift was these Enso stackable Silicon rings for me to wear on my business trips and to work. I finally can visually be married in public when I am working. I get so sad without my wedding rings. I have to go without it most of the week :( but that's ok. Mom was so thoughtful to pick out my wedding colors for the bands!!!!! I was in heaven!!! This was very important to me. 

A close up! :)

One of my favorite presents is my new vlog camera stand! I have been wanting this for a while now so I can start my family vlogging. Mom is so thoughtful and had been listening to what I have been wishing for. She is so sweet! I have had this video camera around since I was little and wanted to pick it up and use it. My grandfather actually gave it to me so it is very special. Also I have been giving some serious thought into starting a youtube channel to film some big moments of me and Cody's lives. What do you think? Would you be interested? I love blogging more than anything so I think I might love vlogging (video blogging). I might be nervous, who knows until I try!:)

For our surprise beach trip coming up early this July, I asked for this sweet new swimsuit! I love it! Boy do I wish I was always on vacay. I wish that now but know it won't be vacation if I am on vacation 24/7 for years, ya know. 

My favorite candy in the WHOLE world! I love Cadbury eggs so incredibly much!

I also got some wicked sweet mesh workout leggings that I can't wait to put to good use in the gym! So cool!

Easter baskets and bunnies are fun and all but we must not forget the real reason for Easter, our savior conquering death and dying for our sins. He is waiting for us in heaven. He gave up his life and experienced grave suffering just for us. We are so undeserving and ungrateful for his sacrifice but even with him knowing that he gave his life up just for us. Even when we make mistakes and sin, he still loves us and saved us from our sins. It is absolutely mind blowing just to think about the amount of selflessness and sacrifice he gave. Can you imagine even being able to be just a little more like him, how amazing that alone would be! I always strive to be like my savior but fall short every day. I love my relationship with the Lord. I ask for forgiveness daily 😌.

Happy Easter Everyone! God bless! 

Love,

Kayla 

4-1-18

P.S.- Stay tuned for posts about life updates, and career/self development posts!

P.S.S.- Today is Cody and I's 7 year dateiversary! More on the next post! 7 years ago today we went on our first date! :) Time sure does fly!

P.S.S.- The last time Ash Wednesday was on Valentine's Day AND Easter was on April Fools Day was the year 1945! Wow! I looked that up the other day! The next time that happens will be in a few centuries! This is a very special year!

Lent and Growing Closer to God!

LENT:

So every year since I was about 4 years old I have participated in Lent. We grew up Methodist and my mom always encouraged us in some way to give up one big thing (a lot of the time food related, ex: chocolate) and add one positive thing in our spiritual journey. Lent is originated in the catholic faith but anyone is able to participate in Lent! If you are unaware of what lent is or what it partakes view the info below:

So I have always been used to the idea of lent and following the special 40 day spiritual journey. When I was little, a lot of the time I would give up chocolate, brownies, or ice cream and add in more bible scriptures and prayer to my day. One year I went as far as giving up all forms of TV for the 40 days. That was so challenging for a 7 year old but I am so proud to say I did it 100% along with my sister! 

I so look forward to the journey of Lent every year because it forces you to stop and commit to your sacrifice and in that, turn to God in the times of weakness and keep him in your mind throughout the day more than you might think to the rest of the year. This allows the hope and desire to incorporate the aspects of lent and new good spiritual habits continuing on into your daily life. Lent is a special, personal, spiritual journey that allows you to grow closer to the Lord especially in the times of weakness. When you are really craving or desiring the item you gave up, you turn to God to give you strength. It creates a close spiritual connection that is just so vital. That alone is the aspect of Lent I look forward to the most. God is the way, the truth, and the light.

For my spiritual journey of Lent this year, I have decided to give up completely the main foods that wreck havoc on my cholesterol (which kills two birds with one stone) and to add in daily bible time to my morning routine along with daily prayers before bed. I always purpose to read scripture and pray every day but I am imperfect and fall short constantly on those goals. So that is what I love about these 40 days forcing me to live up to my promise and goals spiritually. So every morning at 5:30am before work, I crawl out of my bed still in my pajamas and find a nice cozy place with my bible and journal and highlight my favorite versus from my passage for that day and write down my thoughts on the readings and how they resonate with my and my life. 

Before Lent this year, I wanted to have a structured scripture list to follow by to help give my a direction and an easy way to dive into reading so much of the bible in one sitting. So below is the scripture list I found on Pinterest of what I read each day :) What a blessing! I just wanted to share with you guys in case you were looking for something similar! I went through a few list ideas such as the one below and this one was by far the best. The versus chosen were so good and so closely correlated to Jesus's journey in the dessert 40 days without food and his sufferings, and just all things insightfully about sacrifice, dedication, fellowship, faith, prayer, and just Lent itself. I also found a prayer list below that to help guide me in a prayer topic of the day. I loved it! (Don't mind the dates on the list, I think it was created for Lent dates 3 years ago).

The prayer topic list to correlate with the scriptures and your prayer focus of the day! Enjoy!:)

Enjoy your own specific Lent journey growing closer to the Lord and the ability to even have something to give up and sacrifice! We are all very fortunate to have what we have and the blessings God has already given us in life! God is so good!

With so much love,

Kayla Raborn

3-17-18

P.S. On a completely unrelated note, Cody asked me out for the first time (actually to prom) 7 years ago today! Incredible how time flies! 7 years of bliss! :)  <3

Valentines Day and Very High Cholesterol

Valentines Day! One of my favorite holiday's of the year! Cody and I love Valentines Day and go all out (especially with decorations)! So this year, we kicked off Ash Wednesday and Valentines day with exchanging gifts and just having a nice quiet relaxing evening together and finishing the night with an episode of our favorite tv series right now, Criminal Minds. It was a wonderful night.  (P.S. more about Ash Wednesday and lent in my next blog post).

For Valentines day dinner itself, we actually didn't go out until the Monday after because one, to avoid the crowds, two, because I had an important blood work appointment the following Monday and had to be extra good the week before to get the numbers I needed (more about this below). Due to us not being able to have our special Bonefish dinner until 6 days later, Cody bought me beautiful roses the Monday before Valentines day so I could feel special all week and not just for one day *his words exactly*.😍

But for work we had a baking competition and fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen race for the cure. It was a really fun fundraiser for such a good cause. Everyone got involved and I baked for like two days straight preparing for it lol. Thank goodness I did that because the Reeses bar I made (above) was terrible! So I did my fail-proof classic, symphony brownies (basically brownies with a Hershey's Symphony bar baked into the middle, very good)! I didn't win the competition but that's ok!

On a side note I finally fixed up my office area at work! I love my desk! (I also added a cross but brought it the next day) I have pictures of my Cody and my engineering mug and my beautiful clock that my mom got me for my college graduation present that says, "All I need is possible" my motto in life; persevere!

Cholesterol Update:

So onto my next topic, my cholesterol. The little secret I had been living the past year was that my cholesterol/triglyceride levels were that of a heart attack patient. The doctors told me that if I didn't fix it, in 2-3 years I could have a heart attack. That really woke me up especially because I didn't understand the magnitude of this and I had really never had this problem before. I have always had slightly high cholesterol due to strong genetics but NEVER like this. I was very scared and didn't know what to do. I immediately visited dietitians, did a lot of research, got opinions from other doctors on how to lower this, etc. 

The worst part about it was the doctors were trying to put me on cholesterol regulating medicine at only 23 year old (at the time)! No way! That is when I put my foot down (to myself) and said no, I am not going to do that. I know some positive changes I can make in my life and I can fix this, all I need is possible ;). So that's just what I did. I believed in myself, for my life's sake. So I made a deal with my doctors to give me a year and if I can cut my triglyceride number in half they won't put me on medicine and I will do the same thing the following year until it is in the normal range. The doctors agreed and hoped I could possibly make the right changes to fix this even though I am fighting some serious genetics. They helped by suggesting I lose solely 7% of my body weight and that alone can sometimes have the best effect. So literally the day after my appointment I got to work. I did a total flip of my diet and lifestyle. I tossed all of the bad things for me in my eating, like junk food, bad processed foods, candy, deli meats (surprisingly high in cholesterol), red meats, went cold turkey on ice cream and cheese (my absolute favorite), white breads and white potatoes desserts, eggs, and peanut butter. I added in more fibrous foods, more olive oil, peanut butter (with the only ingredient being peanuts), fish oil pills, more actual salmon, grapes, ate more veggies, drank apple cider vinegar, ate more almonds, ground flax seeds, plain no fat Greek yogurt, 90% dark chocolate, garlic, PLAIN oatmeal (almost every day) PLAIN cheerios, avocados, I ate less, I added in more cardio any chance I could (got a cheapo home exercise bike) and of course prayed. I worked to lose one pound a month for the next 12 months. 

So fast forward to a year later on my blood draw day (February 19th 2018). I was a NERVOUS WRECK to say the least. I was having thoughts roll through my head, what if I couldn't do it, what if it is not only better but worse😭, I was getting myself worked up as I sat in the chair waiting on my nurse to take my blood. Then I had to wait a grueling 2 days to get my results. So two days later I dared to look at the results online. I was in absolute tears. Not only did I get 4/5 of my numbers into normal range but my triglycerides dropped 311 points! I was supposed to only cut it down 231 points to ward off the medicine but I cut it down waaay past that to only 3 points above the "normal" triglyceride range. My triglyceride level is now 153 (healthy range is 150 and below) I DID IT... I ACTUALLY DID IT. I was so incredibly proud of myself. I actually did it, I believed in myself and put in the hard work. It only kept getting better as I read. My LDL dropped from 143 to 128, one point under the top of the normal range and my HDL raised 3 points (that is good) from 79 to 82 (anything higher than 62 is good) and my total cholesterol went from 254 to 241! It went from extremely high to just high (that is not a huge difference in total cholesterol but definitely moving in the right direction)! And not only did I lose 7% of my body weight (11 pounds) I actually ended up losing 8.5% of my total body weight (13 pounds)!! I am so proud of myself! I am now officially in the healthy range in my BMI! It was so exciting and so overwhelming. The doctor knew how hard I worked and was so surprised at the numbers, he personally wrote me a note attached to the numbers online sharing how proud he was that I did it! That made me shine inside! 

Now to keep moving forward, this next year I will do the same thing. I plan to lose 13 more pounds putting me closer to the middle range of the healthy range for the BMI for my height and I will continue to make the healthy eating changes I need to get all of my cholesterol numbers to well in their healthy range. Here's to the next year! :) I got this!

Here's a reflection of the past years food alone:)

I ate a lot of plain baked veggies with olive oil (no salt), Josephs low carb 100% whole wheat low calorie wraps filled with either baked chicken or egg whites.

Smoothie King became my restaurant go-to filled with perfect protein without eating animal protein cholesterol or a lot of calories. It was so delicious and so perfect!

I would make my own "trail mix" for work, breakfast, or snacks. It consisted of plain or multi grain cheerios mixed with yogurt melts and reduced sugar craisins. Don' knock it until you try it!

I ate a lot of high protein foods such as above and when I had my dessert cravings I would eat either Arctic Zero protein "ice cream" or Quest bars/Lenny and Larry cookies. The peanut butter in the picture isn't cholesterol friendly with the oils but you have to live just a little bit and this lifestyle change has to be achievable long term.

To get my veggie intake up when I didn't feel like eating veggies I would drink these pure vegetable juices from time to time. 

And of course I incorporated a lot of yoga (mainly for fun and relaxation) because it is and was one of my favorite exercises growing up. Without saying, the Pioneer Woman always has to be on in the background ;) #lovethatshow.

Sorry to keep everyone in the dark about my cholesterol problem, I knew if I told anyone (besides Cody) it would be a panic and people would try to intervene. I knew I could do it myself and needed to. And if for some reason it hadn't worked, I would have gotten on the cholesterol lowering medicine and of course told my family but luckily that wasn't the case:) God is so good!

I can't wait to write a cholesterol update post in February of 2019!

With so much love,

Kayla Raborn

3-4-18