hello diet coke, goodbye hair

i guess it's time for an update, on two things mostly.

first up: the whole
one-month-without-my-favorite-drink-in-the-world deal.

yeah, that.

today is the 4 week mark. 

i'll be honest - i cheated 3 times.

once at dinner at benihana - cause duh.

[even though that was really a diet pepsi (yuck)
so i don't think i'm going to count that]

second at the movies, cause we got popcorn. duh, x2.

third after cutting my hair, cause i thought it was the
only thing that could possibly calm me down.
(i was wrong, but it was worth it)

so here i am, 4 weeks later and barely any dc in my system.

do i feel different?

no.

am i going to start drinking it again?

absolutely.
do i sound like an alcoholic?
most likely.

i don't care, cause i love it that much.

on to bigger and better things...

the day i chopped 20 inches off my hair!

i'm going to try not to be dramatic by calling this
the biggest mistake of my life,

but it's important for you to know the thought has
crossed my mind once or twice.

the last time i really cut my hair (other than a trim) was roughly 8 years ago.

i cut it to my chin and cried.

for the past year and a half i've been thinking about cutting my hair but i always chicken out 

or say "i'll do it after <insert insignificant event>"

aannnyyywaaay

i finally got the courage, made the appointment,
and committed to the big cut.
i knew i would have to cut at least 10 inches to donate to locks of love,
but somehow 10 turned into 20.
fast forward to this moment:

and i felt like i was going to throw up.
if you've ever given birth to a baby, this analogy will probably offend you, but here goes...
when she cut off the braid and handed it to me, i felt like she was handing me a baby.
that hair was on my head for 8+ years,
(way longer than it takes to make a baby, i might add)
and in a matter of minutes i was holding it in my hands!
it was the weirdest feeling and i hated holding it.
(i probably won't feel that way when it's my actual baby)

too dramatic? sorry.

it's been two days and i'm still trying to get used to it.
i keep trying to remind myself that my hair will go to
someone who needs it more than me,
but that doesn't mean i didn't cry twice yesterday...
luckily i have a super sweet husband who is willing to tell me lies things like
"it'll grow back in 6 to 7 months"
and
"you have longer hair than most girls i know"
sure, i know those are lies,
but they make me feel a little better.
now please pardon this awkward self-portrait, but i figure if you've made it to the end of my sob story, you should at least get to see the end result:

#shorthairwishididntcare :(

2 weeks of a non-resolution

i'm not really one for new year's resolutions.

the last one i remember making was around age ten: 

my goal was to have $100 in the bank by the end of the year.

i asked for money for my birthday that year instead of presents.

tada! resolution complete.

{ok i spent it all right away, but to be fair, i did have at least $100 in my bank account that year. that's a win in my book}

anyway, i had absolutely no intention of making any resolutions for 2013.

buuuuut, after two weeks in utah, and 12 hours of junk/fast food on the car ride home, 

joe and i arrived home feeling...a little...well, disgusting.

joe decided that was the perfect moment to start 

informing me of how bad diet coke was for me.

i'll admit, the stories he was telling me freaked me out a little bit.

enough that when he said 

"let's go without diet soda for one month and see how we feel"

i fell for it!

{although, for me, no "diet soda" means no soda at all.

cause if it's not diet coke, what's the point?}

so we shook on it, and i woke up the next morning throwing up.

therefore, i broke our pact day one by drinking sprite and coke (but no diet coke).

that only lasted a couple of days, and then i had to commit to this no soda thing.

that was two weeks ago.

two long, excruciating, torturous weeks.

oh, and head aches. lots of em.

i was not expecting that side effect - i refused to believe i was addicted

i promise, food has lost its flavor without a diet coke by my side.

ok, so maybe i am was a little addicted...

but i haven't had one sip of the good stuff since jan. 2!

it's not $100 in the bank, but still, i've kept my non-resolution so far.

take that 11-to-23-year-old me!

two more weeks of my nightmare (notice the dramatics? that really helps.), 

then i'll update you on how amazing i feel after a month with no soda.

if that's really the case, then just disregard this post...but don't count on it.

wish me luck!

twas the season

after almost two full weeks in utah,

joe and i were welcomed home to california with the stomach flu.

aka, i still haven't finished unpacking and this post is probably so overdue that no one even cares about the holidays anymore.

oh well. 

going home for the holidays is so much fun. 

we spent time with family, caught up with friends, ate way too much (cafe rio 4 times in 2 weeks...whoop whoop! plus, the best home cooked meals we've had in a year), almost froze to death on a regular basis, and smothered our nieces and nephews as much as possible.

^^ notice joe in the background, pretending to be oblivious to how adorable we are ^^

kayden's note to santa killed me. he wrapped it in newspaper with an ornament as a gift to santa. 

good thing he's looking out for "kody"

i promise i'm not baby hungry, but seeing joe with kids kinda melts my heart

i miss the people.
i miss cafe rio.
i seem to be doing just fine without the snow...
>>..cheers to 2013..<<
this year is going to be great!