Bumatay Studio - Family Pictures

Our new family pictures.  Greg Bumatay did an amazing job!!  Thanks so much Greg.

The curse of CRUMBS cupcake

URGGGHH!! OK So my sister brings home 3 crumbs cupcake and I couldn't resist and I had to eat one!! OMG!!! After I ate it my stomach didn't feel to good. But I have to admit it was delicious!!

So now ask me how do I feel. LIKE CRAP!!! Shouldn't have eaten it!! I guess we are all entitled to one cheat day right??!!! Well that will be my first and last!!! Good thing I went to the gym today. So that means double time tomorrow!

So this is aftermath once me, the hubby and the sibling finished!

Yippeee Skippy!!!

So tomorrow will be the official day of completing my first week of Phase 1. Normally you should do Phase 1 for two weeks. But I plan to do three. So two more weeks to go!!!

But here comes the good news after vigorous running and working out I weighed in today and I lost 6 pounds!!! WOW!! I was amazed I didnt think I lost that much. I thought maybe a pound or two. So now I am motivated then ever!!!!

Thanks to Vanessa I did a 5 mile run along w/ super tiring turbo kickboxing class this weekend. And even thinking of doing the Run Forrest Run 5K run in Long Beach next month with her!! Thanks for being such a motivator and inspiration!!!

Day 4 South Beach

So i have been doing really well for the past 3 days but today I broke and cheated!!!! I had me a piece of a cheese danish!! Dang it !!! It was soo good at the time but after I consumed it I felt so bad!

Ohh well that was my one piece of pleasure!! Off to the gym to try to offset it !!! I guess that is the only way I can justify it.

Day 1 on South Beach Phase 1.... and I am EFFING HUNGRY!!!

Oh my goodness I am so effing hungry!!! Today is my first day of South Beach and I was doing really well up until now. I just realized how effing hungry I am!! I am craving for sweets to top it off!!

What I would do for one of these......

Besides my frantic rage for food. Since phase 1 menu only consist of protein and veggies with NO CARBS OR SWEETS!! I think I am doing pretty well. For breakfast I had 2 hard boiled eggs, a little piece of steak with a handful of pistachios, and a salad with shrimp for lunch with no dressing!! For dinner I made ground beef stuffed bell peppers w/ reduced fat cheese on it. I have to admit I might be hungry cause I haven't eaten dinner yet and really don't want to since its already late in the evening. I also did 30 minutes of cardio and lifted weights for 45 minutes at the gym. I really hope this will all pay off and I don't have the urge to break!!

Until then I can just dream of cupcakes and cookies!!!!

A weekend of relaxation

This weekend was a much needed getaway! The family and I decided to head down south and hang out with the parentals. We started the weekend by taking family pictures with the amazing Greg Bumatay. He is the same photographer who did our engagement and wedding pictures. I am extremely excited to see the outcome of the pictures. If you haven't already, you need to check out his blog!!!! His work is AMAZING!!! Once I get the proofs I will definitely make sure to share.

Saturday was started off by a 2.5 mile run with the hubby, followed by lunch with the family and ended with shopping downtown. Sunday was a day of eating, vegging out and spending quality time with the boys!!!

Family Lunch at Famous Dave's

Fun afternoon with the boys...

I love this shot of Jaylen holding the guitar...

So I have been thinking and I realized I really have to get on the ball and get motivated to lose weight. I was skinner right after I had Nolan then I am now.. SOOOO DEPRESSING!! So I made a commitment to myself.. Starting tomorrow.. Is the day that i begin my journey to obtain my goal!! The miracle of fabulous 15!! Why Fabulous 15 you ask? That is how much weight I want to lose by the end of the year. Which gives me exactly 3.5 months which breaks down to 5 pounds per month. Seems easy right?? SHOOT not when you LOVE food!!! Tomorrow will be the first day of Phase 1.. the strictest part of the diet, 2 weeks of protein and veggies, no carbs or sugar!! This will definitely be a struggle but I will try to be strong!!!

So stay tune for tomorrows update... Day 1 of South Beach phase 1...

"Proud to be an American"

So today was a big day, I finally got sworn in for my citizenship!!!  How ironic is the date huh?!?! Be naturalized on September 11.  That is exactly 7 years of the tragic event. Besides the fact that there are mourning people due to the anniversary, I was pretty excited about today.   

As of today no more carrying around my permanent residence card (not like I ever had it because I lost it years ago), no more hassles at the airport and standing in the immigration line for non-U.S. Citizens.  Being able to vote and of course everyones favorite... Serving jury duty!!!  An as of today no more FOB jokes from friends and family.  In applications I can mark the "I am a U.S. Citizen" box as well. 

When I first got my confirmation of my ceremony date I didn't think it was a really big deal but during the ceremony I had alot of different thoughts and emotions while waiting for it to begin as well as during the ceremony.  There were so many proud immigrants of all colors and all from different countries, repeating the dialogue of naturalization and pledge of allegiance with such pride.  Did I mention there were over 6000 Permanent Residence being sworn in.  At that moment I can honestly say that I was proud to be an American.  

The government sure knows how to add a touch of class to the ceremony and make a newly naturalized American feel special with a music video of I am proud to be an American as well as video message from the president.  I have to say I was awwed by the judge who sworn us in.  She was also and immigrant and in 1963 she took the Oath of Naturalization.  Coming from a country with no opportunities she was able to arrive to the land of free, go to school, support her family and become a federal judge.  It felt good to be sworn in by someone that many of the people there can relate too. 

So as a proud newly naturalized citizen I pledge this to my country:

Dear United States of America,

I promise to be a abiding citizen, to defend my country, to bear arms if required by law, to respect and practice the laws of the constitution, and especially exercise my right to vote so that the future generation can be lead by a worthy president and live a promising life. 

Sincerely,

Kaycee Ruiz

Congrats Mark and Fran!!!

Congrats to Mark and Fran!! On Saturday our close friends Mark and Fran had their first babyshower for little baby Halle! Ohh yah it was for the same couple I made the diaper cake for. I am so excited for them and can't wait to see her. It was a fun filled day of eating, watching t.v and hanging out with the crew.

Here is a pic of the mom to be resting her feet and taking a break from the fun filled day.

Here is a pic of the dad to be practicing before little Halle arrives!

Here are some pics of the crew enjoying the fun filled day.

A day in the park with Nolan

The Hubby and I decided to take the little coconut to the park yesterday. He had a blast running around, walking up and down the stairs to get to the slide and then finally sliding down the slide. The hubby's has been toying around with his new toy and have taken quite an interest in photography, take a peak at some of his random test shots of the little coconut.

Hey look at me!??!

You can't catch me!!

Ready, Set and GO!!!

Can this pose be any cutier??

OHH NO??!!! Time to go home?!

Nolan and his girlfriend!!

So it looks like Nolan got himself a girlfriend!! It was the cutest thing, Cherise would grab his face and kiss him and kept going and wouldn't stop!!

See for yourself!!

My first official Diaper Cake

So I was inspired to start blogging by one of my closest friend Aileen. It's like I was obsessed with reading her blogs especially since I dont talk to her on a daily. I figured by reading her blog I can see what she is up to on a day to day. Then I found myself reading other peoples blogs and thought hey this might be kind of fun.

So here it goes.......

Last night I completed with the help my of favorite artistic person Gina (Nolan's 2nd mom) a hand made diaper cake. This weekend is one of our close friends baby shower and besides the normal gift you give i wanted to make something a little special with my own personal touch. So I thought of a diaper cake. I started browsing websites to get ideas how other people made diaper cakes and types of designs. Since I hate reading instructions I figured why not youtube how to make a diaper cake. After watching the Youtube video, I thought WOW this is easy. The same night I made a list of things I needed and thought of how I wanted my diaper cake to look. So the next day I went to Michael's and Walmart and bought my supplies. Of course I dragged Gina along with me because she gets a kick out of this whole lets do crafts!! You should of seen us at Michaels, here I was stressed out because of colors I wanted to use and not finding the right shade down to the flowers I wanted to use as decor. While she was laughing and pushing the cart while telling me "Isnt this fun!!!" I told her "Are you crazy??!?!! This is stressful!!" Well after spending about little over an hour at Michael's we got everything picked out.

So I went home and started rolling diapers and before I know it Whala a hand made diaper cake.!! Thanks Gina for all the help!!! Couldnt have done it without you!!