Fall, health stuff, and maybe some TMI

Oh, Oklahoma... Thank you for bringing in Fall weather... I hear you will get drastically colder this month,  that your leaves will change colors, and that there will likely be a lot of rain and even snow this year. Please, may it be so. It would be the warmest, perhaps coldest, welcome to me and you would have my heart for always!

The past couple of weeks have been pretty good. We are finally finding a rhythm in this new chapter of our lives. I am settling in at work and Eric at school. Last week was unusually busy for him because he is joining several clubs, networking, and getting involved in the law school, all while studying 24/7!  So proud of my man. That's really what he is... a man. I can only strive to be the best woman for him! 

Updates in my life: I am making some major changes for my health!

This is sort of a delayed update but...

First, I am DONE with birth control pills.. at least for now.

Don't worry, I will not be lecturing you for taking them if you do. They were a great contraceptive for me and I have no guilt or moral issues with them. If you've read my eating disorder story, you know that my doctor put me on the pill about 2.5 years ago because I wasn't getting my period (amenorrhea due to overexercising and under-eating). 

That said, it's been almost 4 years since I've gotten a real, natural period. (Sorry if that's TMI for some of you) 

The reasons I got off the pill are:

1) I want to regulate my hormones naturally and get my period back without pumping synthetic hormones into my body.

2) The pill gave me serious migraines... I had never had one headache in my life before the pill.

3) There's something in me that wants to know I can have a normal cycle without the intervention of contraceptives. Maybe that's silly, but I just need to do this. (perhaps this point is only repeating point one... you get the picture)

I've been off of the pill for about a month now. Still no period... but I have to be patient. Most women do not get theirs back for a few months after getting off the pill.. it may just take me longer. 

Trust me, this is something I thought about doing many times. I was just REALLY scared to do it. But here I am, synthetic hormone-free and I feel really great. The only issue has been breast stinging sensations (don't google that, I already did and was convinced I had Breast Cancer) and also a UTI which apparently can be caused by a sudden drop in estrogen levels. Never had a UTI in my adult life EVER and boy do they suck... Had to do a whole round of horrible antibiotics. (TMI again?)

My biggest fear in all of this is my acne returning with a vengeance. Trust me, my acne was BAD before getting on the pill. That's the one thing I absolutely loved about the pill was how beautiful it made my skin look. Thankfully, a friend of mine is a Rodan & Fields consultant and she hooked me up with the greatest acne treatment. I started using it right after I got off the pill, just to do some damage control and it is working wonders... so far, my skin is looking great! So that's a huge praise.

Also, before family and friends freak out and assume I am doing "natural-family-planning"... Trust me, no way! Condoms it is for now (sorry if that's too much TMI again:)) Just to reassure everyone. I am still trying not to get prego while we're broke okay?

Secondly, I am doing Beachbody's 21-day fix! My old co-worker's wife has convinced me... I mean, she lost 60 pounds doing this fitness & diet program! Crazy!

Her name is Katie and she is my coach now! I am doing it with a bunch of other women. We communicate and motivate each other via a Facebook group. I am loving it so far, although I'm sooo sore. It's only day 2 and I already feel lighter and tighter! Excited to shed and build muscle! 

 I think the fact that I work at a place where the topic of "death" is brought up on the daily has helped me come to understand that many times (definitely not always) people are dying from things that were totally preventable! From lung cancer to heart attacks to liver disease... Many of these people did not take very good care of themselves health-wise (i.e. overweight, high-cholesterol, smokers, heavy drinkers, etc.). This has been a wake-up call to me. I've always been active and health-conscious but I now see the value in doing it beyond just wanting to "look good". :) Woo, that sounded SO vain. ha!

Anyways, those are updates for y'all.  

P.S. Wanna hear a funny story? Today I called the helpdesk at work. I was the only one in the Trust department office at the end of the day and they put me on hold on the phone. Well, an Ed Sheeran song started playing in my ear.. "Thinking Out Loud", Yeah, you know the really adorable one. Well, I started singing along, getting really into it, ya know... and then... he took me off hold. Ha!! I hope he didn't hear me singing in my best sexy Ed Sheeran voice "Baby, we found love right where we are.." :)

xoxox, The Law Student's Wife.

I need to start writing more consistently...

Hi everyone!

I am sure you are waiting for updates, or not... but I figured I'd write a blog post since it's been a while.

Law school has kept Eric pretty busy but he seems to love it! Thankfully, he was well warned before school started. I am so proud of my guy... he really is chasing his passion! I can only pray that God opens doors and provides opportunities for him to fulfill this dream. I know He will provide...

I've been working a lot, as usual. I really love Arvest. I must note, it is NOT  the Walmart bank. The Walton family started Arvest before Walmart and they do not like it when people compare the two. Anyways, I have been learning a lot about Trust (not trusting people, Trust! silly:))... what an interesting aspect of banking! We basically manage millionaires' assets... which is super duper interesting! I have the freedom and ability to read and review hundred of Wills, Death Certificates, Trust Agreements, Trust Accounts, etc... it's all so interesting. But we do talk about death a lot, which is quite depressing, especially for a hypochondriac like me. Although, I can tell you that while looking over 50 different death certificates, the most common age I saw was death at 94 by heart failure. Interesting!

We've been getting some cool storms here and there which is super exciting for me! Okies think I am soooo silly when I rave about them but they need to understand that if they moved here from a place where it maybe sprinkled twice a year, they would react the same way :) It rained this morning! As I type, it is pouring outside and it's chilly! :) Fall is here.

Here's a photo an OKC photographer took of the storm the other day... (you know, the one that I freaked about)

Told you! Pretty big to me... this is the kind of lightening I saw on my way to the gym around 5:30 am.

Eric and I also have been spending more time meeting new people which is awesome. Everyone is so friendly!!

I, of course, am still obsessed with the cute homes and back roads... I will purposefully take back ways to work just to see the sun rise over the wheat fields...

Another thing I've noticed... Everyone here is obsessed with queso... every Mexican restaurant serves chips, salsa, and queso!  It's pretty yummy actually... but definitely not my favorite. When I tell people that queso is not served in ANY Mexican food restaurants (especially authentic) in CA, they are amazed.

Oh, on a totally random note... my hypochondria sky rocketed after my urgent care visit this week... Doc felt my groin lymph nodes and said they don't feel that swollen to him.. maybe I am just weird and can always feel my groin lymph nodes? I heard skinnier people can feel theirs but maybe I'm wrong. Anyways... I asked if it could be cancer and he said: " Wellll, it could be... but you never really know until you get a CT scan. But if you got one of those, you'd be exposed to radiation which would harm your future babies." Ummm.... NOT what I wanted to hear.... I pretty much convinced myself I had cancer and am just now starting to consider the fact that MAYBE I don't! I would love to one day believe what my doc tells me: that I'm healthy! But seriously, I do have an infection so I'm taking another round of antibiotics for that.. ugh I hate antibiotics... but gotta do what you gotta do!

I can't think of anything else to write, so I'll leave my new favorite artist and song below:

xoxo, Chelsey, The Law Student's Wife

First week COMPLETE. And I'm still breathing...

First week of class for Eric and first week of work for me!

We feel so accomplished and it's just the beginning.

Let's just say, I hardly saw my husband this week. My typical day went something like this. 

Wake up, go to work, go to gym after work, come home to find Eric in office studying, make dinner & do laundry & clean, eat dinner by myself, make lunches, kiss Eric goodnight and go to bed. He crawls in bed an hour or two after me. 

I am NOT complaining. I will have to keep reminding myself that this is only 3 years compared to the rest of our lives. We are investing in Eric praying that it will all pay off.

The nice part is I got Saturday and half of Sunday with him! So we had our quality time.

I LOVE my new job. Basically I am a Trust Administrative Assistant. Which means I help handle different trusts accounts... and let me tell you, most of our clients are millionaires. I had to go and hand deliver a $250 bottle of Scotch to one of our millionaire clients at this office on the 20th floor of a skyscraper in Oklahoma City. It was his birthday. Pretty sure the walls of his office were made of marble. I secretly wanted to ask him if he'd be so kind to donate money to our poor family. Law school is expensive, ya know?!

On another note, I've been driving myself and my husband nuts with my hypochondriac behavior. Yes, it drives ME nuts too! I've been experiencing some numbness and twitching and so of course I thought I was having a stroke. Doc has already told me a hundred times that it's anxiety... which I guess is probably true but I think it's likely a pinched nerve. Also, I check every lymph node daily just to make sure I haven't developed lymphoma overnight. Guys, I am a nut case. 

Eric and I have analyzed these behaviors of mine and are both pretty sure this is how it goes: 

1. I hear about someone famous or someone I know personally who died or has suffered from a disease.
2.  I convince myself I have the disease and all of its symptoms. 

 Why do I do this? I don't know. All I know is.. it is ruining my life! 

Do you know why I check my lymph nodes every day? Because I asked Eric a couple of weeks ago to find out if Bob Ross was still alive. One Google search later he says "Oh, he died of lymphoma!"

ALSO, my co-worker just told me about her diagnosis and fight with lymphoma!

So what do I do? I start fixating on my lymph nodes! 

I should really start doing yoga or something. 

My husband is especially helpful during one of my "episodes". He reminds me of the truth and that God is good! Even if something should happen to me... God is still good. 

So true. I need to remind my hypochondriac self of this daily.

Here is a perfect description of me: 

In other news, I learned that there are really scary spiders here. On my way out one day, I found a pregnant Black Widow on our door knob. Nice! I about died. 

We have found 2 giant spiders since. 

We also LOVE our new church. It's called Christ The King PCA... it's a smaller PCA church but we actually really like that. Everyone's been super friendly and we have gone to several different member's houses for lunch and have gotten to know many people. It's been truly wonderful and unlike any other church experience we've had. Everyone is SUPER hospitable which has helped us to get plugged in.

Welp, pretty sure my chicken is burning so I better go. Toodles...

xoxo Chelsey, The Law Student's Wife.

My fitness journey

I am going to be completing Jamie Eason's 12-week LiveFit Trainer!
Here is the link with more info: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html

Jamie Eason is a trustworthy, fitness spokeswoman who offers this program for free. It is 12 weeks long with 3 stages.

I am going to be focusing on building muscle and getting lean.

Why?

I was an athlete in high school and college and always had accountability and a goal to look forward to whether it was a role model teammate or a race in the distant future. Now that I am out of that scene, I need some fun motivation.

Before I got married, I started looking into fitness programs that would result in optimal fat-burning and muscle growth. I then stumbled upon bodybuilding.com 

This site not only provides excellent, scholarly information about fitness and health, but also has a member section where one can read about different individuals' fitness journeys where they share what they did to lose weight and/or gain muscle & strength.

From my research, I found that Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer had the most positive results for members.

I was attracted to this program for several reasons:

1.   It's completely free. All you need is motivation. Jamie doesn't try to sell you anything and DOES NOT require any of her own products in order to have success in the program. Although you can do the workouts at home, a gym environment might be best.
2.  It's not just a 12-week diet & exercise plan. As she says on the site, "I'm thankful for the opportunity to share everything I've learned about training, nutrition, and supplementation over the years in this 12-week program. LiveFit means what it says—adopting a healthy and fit lifestyle." The program is meant to help individuals adopt a healthy lifestyle. Meaning, you don't just go back to old habits after 12 weeks.
3. It's different than what I am used to. I have been a cardio-bunny my whole life. From my experience and research, cardio alone sets one up for failure. Your weight will constantly yo-yo, your metabolism will be shot, and you will be exhausted with a whole host of health deficiencies. Yes, this has been my experience. Not only have I suffered from tons of vitamin deficiencies, loss of period, hormone imbalances, and severe anemia... I do not have the optimal amount of muscle needed for a high-functioning metabolism. It has all been burned away by the amount of cardio I do.
   
   As women, we lose muscle as we age and we are told NOT to lift heavy weights or eat high protein diets because it will make us "bulky". This is just not true.
   
   We do not have nearly enough testosterone to get "bulky". Real, female body-builders work VERY hard to bulk up. It does not happen overnight. By lifting weights, women can actually lean out, contribute to bone health, and speed up their metabolism
   
4. Lastly, I want to work on developing healthy habits while I am young. I know, what you might be thinking. "You're already healthy!" No, I don't feel as energized or strong as I could be and I know I can be eating more protein and vitamin enriched foods. My exercise and eating habits are not always the best. You can read about my eating disorders here.
   
   I want to focus on strength and muscle instead of being "skinny" and eating like a rabbit.
   
   As I age, my body will only weaken. If I do not learn how to strengthen it now, I will find myself 20-30 years from now with the same old habits wondering, "What happened?".  "Where did my energy go?" "Why am I weak and tired?" etc.?

I also feel it important to note that I have strongly considered and am still working out my intentions and heart toward exercise and diet. 

Thought Process

I'll admit that when I was younger, my desire behind exercise and diet was perhaps vain and selfish. I only wanted to be in tip top shape for selfish reasons.

But I don't think it is wise to throw the baby out with the bath water. 

As I get older, (still young of course) I am realizing deeper benefits to eating and exercising properly.
I won't agree with the fitness models that live by the mantras, "Be selfish so that you can take care of others" That just sounds like an excuse to be primarily selfish.

I want to be active and healthy so that I can fulfill all of my duties as a working wife, future-mother (far future), and Christ-follower. But I don't ever want it to interfere with these things. Life is crazy and unpredictable. I just want to be a good steward of my body knowing that, while doing this is extremely beneficial to other aspects of my life, at the end of the day and in the grand scheme of things, it is not of absolute utmost importance.

I ENJOY being active. Partly because of my active upbringing, I have developed a deep passion for building strength and achieving new fitness goals. It is never easy and it takes serious discipline and hard work. And there is something so therapeutic about working out. It is an outlet for me.

I DON'T ENJOY feeling run down and tired all of the time due to improper care of my body.

But, like I said, this is an aspect of my life that I am still working through.

I want to honor the Lord in this. But I am going into it knowing that I am going to fail but also that He is gracious and patient with me as I work all of this out in my heart.

This site in particular has helped me to "Guard My Motives" behind all of this.

Today was day one and I am soooo sore. Also, I am going to have to get used to egg whites. Yuck. Any tips on how to make them tasty would be appreciated :)

Anyways, I felt like sharing all of this in case it may help or give insight to one or two people in their
fitness journey. I am no expert, but I am excited to start this program. I will be sharing my progress along the way.

We made it!

We are here in our new home state OKLAHOMA! 

We arrived last Tuesday thanks to my amazing dad who drove the Penske truck and my cute little sis who took on the passenger's role. Eric and I followed in the car behind. It was a scenic and lovely drive and the only trouble we ran into was a huge thunderstorm in Texas!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen! We love you all and would not be on this journey without your prayers and support.

I still cannot believe we are here... this is something we prayed for months and months ago. It is so surreal to be sitting on my couch in a new, unfamiliar place.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am not in CA anymore and that I can't just drive over to the beach or to my in-laws. Rather, different instances of culture shock are often a reminder that I am not in CA anymore.

Examples:

1) The painter that came to paint our place. Couldn't understand a word he said. His drawl was that crazy!

2) I have seen like 20 signs that say either "God Bless America"or "Jesus is Lord". Also, there is a church on every corner. I am NOT kidding. And they are all BEAUTIFUL buildings. Welcome to the Bible Belt!! (Not complaining) It's weird not feeling like a minority here...

3) When I go running in the morning, people actually say "Good mornin'!" In California, I would say "Good morning" to every person I passed and was hardly ever returned a smile or nod back. (with a few exceptions of some fellow regular runners who I miss dearly)

4) Neighbors sit on their porches. No, it's not just in the movies... Doesn't matter how hot or humid it is, I still see couples sitting on the front porch in their cute chairs.

5) EVERYTHING closes at 9pm. No exceptions. Eric, my dad, Kori, and I all tried finding a place to eat around 9:30 and there was only one place open. We were their last customers.

6) There's no Costco. Okay, this one makes me sad. We just gave in and got a Sam's club membership but it's not the same :( They don't give you boxes for your groceries and they don't have nearly as many samples!

7) The weather! Guys, it POURED this morning for about 10 minutes. I loved every second of it. Including the house-shaking thunder. Although, I am sure it was a "baby" storm compared to what Oklahoma is used to. And guess what. Now it is perfectly sunny and not a cloud in the sky.

Also, last week was HOT but I really didn't mind it at all. Besides, we have central A/C. Thank you Jesus.

8)  The prices! Gas is sooooo cheap! I'm talking even $2.05 a gallon.

9) Friendly people! On the roads, in grocery stores, in the bank, pedestrians, you name it. We went to a church on Sunday to try it out and there was NO WAY we were getting out of there without meeting 15+ new people. It was awesome! Right when the service ended, it felt like a line of people came up to meet us! I've never felt so welcomed. <3

10) Giant bugs! Eric told me to write this one. He is constantly outside taking pictures of new bugs. (I married the cutest nerd). He found a gigantic, weird-looking wasp thing the other day and said he's going to take it the biology department at OU to find out what it is. Ha!

Oh and those fireflies... (I think they call them lightning bugs here)... let me tell you, they are like moving Christmas lights. I AM IN LOVE.

11) The sun sets close to 9pm here and the sky and sunset = gorgeous. 

12) It is not uncommon to see mansions here. Every day, on my morning run, I find a new house that I fall in love with. Colonial, Victorian, Craftsman Style, you name it... they are beyond beautiful. This one's right next to the campus...

Those are just a few things I have noticed so far. VERY different here. But, we love it and don't mind calling it home.  I miss California and love that state for many reasons... but hey, I can't lie...You're doin' fine, Oklahoma! We like you already.

Oh, and I got an awesome job as an admin assistant for Arvest Bank in the Trust department. I am oh soooo excited about it. 

Until next time!! 

xoxox. Chelsey, the Law Student's Wife.

One more week at work

One more week in this awesome workplace. 

Oh, how I have loved it so.

In desperation of finding a job before college graduation, I searched and searched. By God's grace, my boss Cory found me on LinkedIn and asked me to join the team. I've been here ever since.

I love this place because there is hard work to be done, there is encouragement, there is grace, and there are my awesome co-workers. No other has laughed as much as my co-workers and I in cubicles.  

My boss is so easy-going and yet, he pushes me to excel and do my best. 

I've grown so much as a professional and as a person.

Although it will be tough to leave, I am so excited to see what's ahead of me career-wise. I sent some resumes out recently to some OKC companies. Just had an interview this morning with Farmers Insurance for a Total Loss Office Claims Representative. I want the job so badly but I know that it is all in God's hands. He is good, he has been good, and he will always be good to me.

P.S. Why is moving so expensive? We'll be spending at least $1,800. BLAH! 

Ha, I just went from proclaiming God's providence to complaining about money. 

Toodles, Chelsey 

Updates, because I know you all are scratching your heads...

Hi all! Maybe I should say "Ya'll" now...

It is two weeks away from our big move to Oklahoma and we couldn't be more excited. 

I know you were all shocked to see our big social media announcement. You were probably thinking, " Woah, I thought you guys decided NOT to go to law school a while ago." 

Well, we did. We decided not to go, settled down and made plans, and then, God intervened. 

Here's what happened: Eric and I were totally set on him attending law school in the fall, but we wanted to be sure we chose wisely. He had three solid options. Actually, more like 2. 

Nebraska and Kansas. While visiting both, he also visited OU which he had applied for. 

Well, after his visit to all three, OU turned out to be his favorite and he even said verbatim, "If I don't get into OU, I don't want to go to law school at all." I was a bit shocked by this statement but, after research, I understood why.  It's a great school with great faculty and a high success rate in graduates.

5 months later, Eric was not loving his job at Target as a Senior Team Leader. The money was good but, I mean, it takes a special personality to love retail. 

I will never forget it. He came home one day extremely bummed about his job. It just wasn't for him and I could tell he was still bummed about not hearing from OU and that this whole law school thing didn't work out. It was well past the deadline to commit to a law school and we knew, despite having never gotten a letter or email, that he did not get into OU.

Sooo, we made other plans and thought seriously about other routes. Seminary and the military were both options we considered seriously.

With Eric seriously considering Air Force OTS, I was becoming more and more regretful of our decision not to go to law school. "Why did I allow fear to overcome me and make my decision?" I even went so far as convincing myself that I was the one who snatched this law school dream out of Eric's hands because I feared it too much. I know that's not entirely true. It was a decision we both made, but I couldn't help but wonder "What if...?" It was really killing me. "We should have just gone to Nebraska!" I would think.

Weeks went by and Eric and I continued to pray to the Lord about the options and what we should do. We asked that He would clearly illuminate what it was that He wanted Eric to pursue. One morning, on my morning commute, I asked God to show us if Eric was meant to join the Air Force. I said, "If this is not what you want for us, please clearly show a different path."

I am not kidding... the same day, Eric received a phone call from the Director of Admissions at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. HE HAD BEEN ACCEPTED! And with a nice-sized scholarship as well.

"What?! It has passed the deadline!" I couldn't believe it.
We were so astounded by the Lord's answer to our prayers. 

I, being the more impulsive decision maker, was set on going right away, but with Eric, the wise deliberate decision-maker, we had to pray about it and seek wisdom.

So, here we are, following the Lord's call to Oklahoma. And we are so thrilled to see what the Lord has in store!

A number of reactions I get when I tell people the news:

1) Wow, aren't there tornadoes out there? 

Why, yes, there are. It's right in the middle of tornado alley actually. And Reed Timmer lives there... that should explain how exciting the weather is in Okie.

2) Aw, Oklahoma? Don't worry, it'll only be three years! 

Ha, this one is funny. Guys, law school is only three years but we are attending OU with the desire to live there long term. In the law school world, the state you study in, is the state you will most likely end up practicing in. And guess what, we have no problem with that! 

To be honest, I've never liked California much. Now, I love it because it's where I grew up but just hear me out:

It's got boring weather (75 degrees everyday, even on Christmas. *yawn*) It's crazy expensive... guess what our rent will be for a decent-sized two bedroom duplex with a yard? A third of what we were paying for our smaller-sized apartment in San Diego!

Lastly, when you live in a place where it's not so congested, smoggy, trafficky, and where you don't have to be a millionaire to have a backyard... it tends to be a decent place to live! Also, people are just friendlier! That's Oklahoma for ya. 

Many would disagree with me on that, and if that's the case, you can stay put. I'll be happy in our new home state. :) 

Now, I'm no expert on Oklahoma and I might be judged for being a California native (maybe I should keep that on the down-low) But I have a strong feeling I will fall in love with that place... and their football team. BOOMER SOONER! 

3) Woah! Won't you miss everyone? 

YES! That has been the hardest part about moving halfway across the country (potentially forever). But I know that the Lord will provide and that family and friends are always just a phone call away. It will be tough, but this is where God has us, and we want to be faithful to him. And not that family could ever be replaced, but we will aim to find some very close friends out there and we can't wait to get plugged into an awesome church.

4) But, Chelsey, I thought you wanted to have kids! 

Yes, I do!!! I want babies and lots of 'em. But my baby fever subsided instantly when I saw the look on my husband's face the night he came home from work and told me he hated it. My role as my husband's wife and encourager comes before any child we make. Even when we have children, my marriage comes first. By loving and supporting my husband in this endeavor, I am being faithful to the Lord and what he calls me to do. I am doing the most loving thing for my future child right now by waiting to have him or her. 

However, if God so chooses to bless us with a child earlier than planned, we will happily make adjustments for him or her. Also, I'm only 23 folks. Lord-willing, I'll be plenty fertile for many more years. There's time.

Oh, and you may be wondering why I renamed my blog "Law Student's Wife". This blog will be my way of updating family and friends on our journey. Oh and that's what I am... a law student's wife... Called to support and encourage my husband on this journey God has us on.

Until next time... Toodles!