2nd Anniversary and Bucket List

2 Years Married!!!!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Observations from the first two years of marriage:

1. I have learned how incredibly lucky I am to have Cody.
2. He is an amazing leader of our little family.
3. Cody takes care of me so well and is a good good man.
4. He stretches me to be closer to God every day.
5. I see so much potential in him as a father.
6. I still learn more about him every day.
7. Cody is always moving forward, always looking ahead to the future, always bettering himself.
8. Cody treats me the way that he would want to be treated...even when I don't reciprocate that.
9. I don't deserve such an amazing man!
10. He supplements all of my shortcomings and steps in and fills the areas of need when I cannot. 
11. He is the sweetest most thoughtful man I have ever seen.
12. Cody is extremely slow to anger which is important to me ;).
13. Cody is very intelligent! 
14. We love spending time together.
15. Spending time together doesn't necessarily mean spending a bunch of money or going on expensive date nights, sometimes it means holding hands on the couch watching our favorite TV show after a hard day, or packing a picnic lunch at our local green way!
16. We feel extreme longing when we are apart; we are truly better together than apart. 
17. We do have differences but we complement each other extremely well.
18. Cody still snores 😅.
19. I love our love and our relationship!
20. We fall more in love with each other every day.💖
21. I love love love love marriage! One of the best gifts from God to us!

For our actual anniversary day (which was unfortunately on a Monday) Cody had many surprises up his sleeve for the day.

I came home from work to a bouquet of roses and beautiful pink and white flowers. Cody said he knew I loved roses and the pink and white flowers reminded him of my wedding bouquet 💗. He also knows how much I love pictures and cute little props so he took the liberty and thoughtfulness to get me a 'Best Day Ever' banner for the adventures to come in our marriage and future. Very sweet! (The picture frame is us from our church directory pictures taken back in February and I surprised Cody and got this framed for us)!

Next Cody said to get in the car because he had three places to take me and they were all surprises! I love surprises so I was psyched! 

We pulled up to Bonefish Grille (our absolutely favorite place) and I was ecstatic! We hadn't gone in over a year! Plus I had a gift card so that was extra unexpected excitement for the both of us;). 

After Bonefish he took me to Starbucks and we sat in our favorite spot outside! Just like old times!

Then he was going to take me bowling but it was getting late at that time (for a work night) and we decided to go on a short walk instead :). I feel like this was more a celebration for me than us, that is just how thoughtful Cody is always!

When we got home we opened each others gifts and Cody waaay outdid himself! He is a superb listener and knew for a year+ he had heard me talk about wanting to tent camp together and would always brush it off. Who knew he had been planning to get me a tent for us to create new adventures to come! 

He also knew how uncomfortable I always am from traveling and I have been traveling a lot for work lately so he got me a neck pillow for the plane rides! I had been complaining that I always get the crappy small movie-less airplanes without a way to sleep and he surprised me with the most useful gift ever! Thanks babe! :):).

Cody also knew how nostalgic I am about our future/past and how before we got married I bought the perfect decorative blanket and pillow for our future apartment and he knew I would want to do that for our house we will be building soon so he got me the cutest pillow that says home and that gift meant the world to me. Speechless. 

And last but not least, Cody got us some beach towels for our upcoming beach trip! This signifies the 'cotton' from the traditional wedding gift list for the second anniversary! (I got Cody this awesome looking cotton workout shirt)!

The weekend before our anniversary Cody and I saw Dead Pool 2. That movie.... that's all I can say ha. 

We ended the day celebrating our love and marriage, just talking, drinking our tea and coffee on our porch holding hands. One off my favorite things in the world. Just me any my hubby!

Upcoming Raborn Trips:

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Bucket List (all in no particular order): Updated 9/9/18

Was on my bucket list but already completed:

1. Rent a cabin in Gatlinburg (on our first anniversary)
2. Visit Austin TX with Cody (2015 to visit Dad)
3. Trick or treating (Cody had never done this)
4. Corn maze (2014)
5. Disney world (many times)
6. Biltmore House (2016)
7. Rock city (2016)
8. Mayfield dairy (Fall 2016)
9. Parasailing (went on our beach trip this year 2018!)
10. White Water rafting (2007)
11. Ark Encounter (went for my birthday this year 2018!)

Bucket List BK (Before Kids) ;)

1. Snow Skii Christmas 2020 (hopefully) (Colorado)
2. Kentucky Derby (I hope in May 2021)
3. Dolly Wood at Christmas (will be going this year, Christmas 2018!)
4. Lost Sea (some time soon)
5. Cruise (Gigi's Christmas 2020?)
6. Hawaii (future future baby moon)
7. US Open to see Venus or Serena (who knows, I will be lucky to ever go)
8. Washington DC (Christmas 2019)

When the kids are in high school:

World:
-Leaning tower of Pisa

-Great wall of China

-Eiffel tower

-Rome

United States

-Mt. Rushmore

-Yellowstone

-Washington DC (yes this is on here twice but want kids to experience too)
-Niagara Falls/Canada

-(kids elementary school age) Disney World
-(kids elementary school age)Panama City Beach
-(kids middle school age) snow ski in Sugar Mountain NC

Love,
Kayla Raborn
7/1/18

Weight Loss!!

WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY

My business attire! (I never get to dress in full business attire due to being in a manufacturing plant, but when I go to training, I take full advantage of it!).

Also, does it look like I have lost weight? I have:). Referring to my High Cholesterol post I mentioned I had lost 13 pounds in the last year. Well I have lost 17 pounds from the start and I am 19 pounds down from my highest weight ever. I started actively losing weight September 28th 2016, a year and a half ago. I could not get the ball moving and I figured out that no matter what I did, I could not lose more that 1 pound a MONTH. So that was quite shocking to me and sounds ridiculous right. Well it still hold true a year and a half later. I'm glad I can look back now because now I know that it wasn't that it wasn't working for me. I literally just took one month to lose a pound. Once I started figuring that out about around the 10 month mark in, I made peace with it. I accepted that it was going to be a loooong process and honestly it took all the worry and weight off of my shoulders and I was able to relax and enjoy the process of slowly making a lifestyle change. 

It took a year to lose 12 pounds and it took 18 months for someone to finally notice. They say anyway that the longer it takes for you to get it off, the longer it will stay off. The beginning was the hardest part because it literally took 10 months to reach that, down-10-pounds, mark. And I have made a vow to myself, to never go over 155 pounds again, even with my future pregnancies (Just my comfortable weight to never go over, and no unfortunately that wasn't my highest weight). 

The reason it takes me so long to lose weight is because I lost weight the unhealthy way in high school and DESTROYED my metabolism. I was never overweight (really in my whole life) but very very close. So in high school, I didn't just want to be in shape, I wanted to be thin like everyone else. Everyone else could eat whatever they wanted and stay stick thin and I couldn't. It made me really sad. So I was going to do something about it. Since it was my first time ever losing weight in my entire life, it came off easy, I barely had to try at first and I could lose 3 pounds in a week. So I figured that out and kept up that pace even when it got harder and harder. I lost almost too much weight (for my healthy BMI range) and had to stop. I slowly (more like in one year) gained all of the weight back and it about killed me mentally. And I was never able to really fix it because my metabolism was shot. So every time I tried to lose weight again in the past 9 years, I would do the same thing as before but this time nothing would happen. Literally nothing. Now I know it takes a month of up and down weight loss to lose an average of a whole pound. I wish I could have known that then. I just wanted to get back to the lower end of my healthy BMI range. The thing is, I don't think my body can handle or look good under 130. So I will just see when I get there. I am naturally an athlete and have a lot of muscles on my frame. I always have. I can work out twice and look like I have been training for months. I am very fortunate in that regards. I am very strong.

So, like my high cholesterol post, yes I have lost weight but I want to share just how I did it:

So before, I would add lots of exercise programs and cardio and cut down on food and all that left me doing was being constantly hungry and angry at myself for "messing up" and eating more than I should.

NEVER GIVE UP!

Don't derail your progress which is EXTREMELY easy to do. All it takes is one day to erase your week efforts and get in the 'gaining' rut. 

So like me, you may enjoy food too. And while trying to lose weight it is important to still have and enjoy that love but to do it in a smarter manner. I now experiment with making healthier dishes instead of experimenting by adding peanut butter to every kind of dessert.😅

Gum is the #1 thing that keeps the munchies away. It distracts me and gives me something to do. When I saw this mega pack I couldn't pass it up! How amazing! Over two packs in one convenient case!

Explore new delicious foods and drinks like above and above to keep things interesting while on your healthy journey. 

Moving on to another healthy alternative (especially for kids!) is the veggie tots! They are made with cauliflower instead of potatoes and taste EXACTLY like real tater tots but with like 1/6th the calories and a whole lot less carbs! Amazing!

Also I found these two bowls in the salad isle. They were surprisingly good! The one on the left you heat up in the microwave and it wilts the salad enough to enjoy a stir-fry, steamed-like taste! I take the salad on the right to lunch with me at work!

I was SO excited to see this healthy little box at Walmart because it is just like the Starbucks bistro box which I love! This little box was the perfect lunch for work. (I usually only eat one or two cubes of the cheese and take the yolk out of the egg to cut down on cholesterol).

I found this little spice on the baking isle. I believe you can add this to sandwiches and potato salad and such and it will add a dill pickle taste to it. I haven't tried it yet but am very excited to!

These little bites of goodness are kale and quinoa bites. They are cooked in the oven and are surprisingly tasty! They are vegetarian bites. 

For my guilty food pleasure I normally get Lindt 90% coco dark chocolate but they stopped making it😖. So I have found this which is 46% dark chocolate but has amazing acai berries within! So good!

On to yogurt because I am the yogurt queen :). I have found this butterscotch flavored OIKOS yogurt that tastes amazing!!! I just love the OIKOS brand. On the other hand, I have found a healthy yogurt 'alternative' made by Silk almond milk which is...interesting. It has zero grams of cholesterol which is really good for me but it also takes some getting used to. The texture is completely different and the taste is odd. But once you get used to it, it is just that, a healthy alternative. 

And last but CERTAINLY  not least, these amazing new bars I have found! These will blow you away! They are so delicious and have a good little bit of protein. They are not necessarily health foods but you have to live a little (and I am a sucker for anything peanut butter that I can get away eating with my cholesterol problems). 

Brown rice sushi with no cream cheese is a great healthy option on the go! Ask your sushi master if you can swap the brown rice with white rice. 

I don't believe in Detox teas but this tea has gentle grapefruit and dandelion to relax your body and cleanse the sodium from your diet. I tend to have a problem with water retention which can stubbornly hold onto weight. 

These are my favorite 'chips' ever!! They are chickpea chips and are so incredibly healthy!

These delicious acai bowls are all the rave right now! I couldn't help but grab them and blend them up! They look just like instagram acai bowls!!

These mixations are absolutely delicious! This cherry one is my favorite flavor! It is simply fruit pieces, like apple inside applesauce! 

Never be afraid to meal prep. It is the greatest planning tool to stay on track and eat healthy throughout your busy week! I like to meal prep simple bean burritos (whole wheat tortillas with just refried beans inside), and sweet potatoes! Great healthy meals for work lunches or quick dinners!

For eating healthy in restaurants, opt for Jasons Deli! You can put together this amazing combination from the salad bar!

I also added in lots of jogging, T25 workouts, other home workouts, gym workouts, and lots of walks!

All of these preparations of healthy eating have set the stage for my next healthy eating development called the whole 30 diet. To check out that post, click here!

I hope you enjoyed my little healthy food haul and I can't wait to see you in the upcoming posts!

Love,

Kayla 

7-15-18

Lookouts Game and Annual Camping Trip!

On May 12th Cody and I attended a Lookouts game on Starwars night, hydrocephalus awareness night, and fireworks night! It was a great game for a great cause! And the best part....we won! Great job Lookouts! You guys played amazingly!

It was a beautiful day and we loved our seats!

Fun fact: after half a month of dating, Cody and his family invited me to a Lookouts game (my first baseball game ever) and I loved it so so much! I was thrilled they invited me and had such a great time! I about died of hypothermia but that is a small part of the memory ;).

8 1/2 innings!

Fireworks at the end celebrating a big win!

We loved the Star wars music being played in the background to the fireworks show!!

...........

On memorial day weekend, Cody and I went to the campsite in Cedar Bluff Alabama where his family owns a lot (The Cove at Riverside Campgrounds). We love spending the weekend there and look forward to it every year! I was still in the middle of my whole 30 diet (blog to come :)) but I made it work! Also the fridge is out so we had to get creative with the campfire! 

I love the campsite so much! It's like the "beach" away from the beach (if that makes sense lol). Absolute paradise. 

This side is my father-in-law's fathers lot. 

Such beautiful scenery! It only stormed late the first night which left the next morning a little chilly. 

The first night we sat by the water listening to the crickets and watching the sunset. 

The next day we ate at the local restaurant and fished out hearts out! Cody sat right there in his chair almost the whole time :). And I caught a foot long catfish!! :):) (it was too dark outside for a picture unfortunately). We both 'caught' a terrible sunburn too but that's ok, I need some color to my pale skin ha. 

We saw geese out the window early in the mornings! There were three little families trotting along!

Such a cute little family!!

I loved making Cody peanut butter and honey sandwiches and reading my favorite books (again, more on the whole 30 diet in a blog to come)! I love how relaxing it is to get away sometimes! 

For dinner we roasted hot dogs (from the Piggly Wiggly) and grilled fruit and sweet potatoes over the fire :):). 

The next morning we made sweet potato hash over the fire and walked around the campsite. 

We spent most of the weekend there but came back Sunday night because I had to pack to travel to Wisconsin for my fourth business trip on Tuesday morning. 

Every year Cody and I look forward to camping and we can't wait to go back!

P.S. Stay tuned to the next posts about our bucket list, weight loss, whole 30 diet, and a huge surprise!

Kayla

6-9-18

EXCITING NEWS!!!

WE BOUGHT A LOT!!!

Cody and I are overjoyed to announce we have officially bought a lot as of April 23rd 2018 and we will be building our first house in September!!! Cody's dad is an amazingly skilled builder and will be building our house. We are absolutely honored to have him build our first dream home. We will be living in Apison Tennessee in a beautiful neighborhood at the end of a cul de sac.

We are thrilled for these next steps in our life and can't wait to share the building process with you! Right now we are looking at house plans!

Our little families next grand adventure! I sure love doing life with this man!

Our lot goes all the way to the back of this picture at the back of the tree line. 

This lot and future house means so much to me, every time I think about this house and our life living in it, I picture my hearts deepest desire, one day being a mama and walking our little baby around the neighborhood, watching our kids play in the backyard with our little dog running around. I see so much future and potential for our little family. There are so many amazing things coming up. May all the glory be to God, shout his praises! God is so good y'all!!!

Celebrate!

Our lot goes from fence to fence on the left and right. 

This is the aerial view of our lot!

We are in love with this find! We had been searching for months and God laid this lot in our path. It was an answer to our prayers. We started planning on this dream the day after Christmas last year and are so excited it is a reality!

Here are some previous pictures of us from the weekend after we officially got the lot (yes I coincidentally was wearing a similar outfit lol, go figure).

We now will truly be the newest Raborns on the block;)

With so much love,

Kayla Raborn

5/28/18