Change is hard!

A lot has been going on in our crazy lives lately. A lot of change. I am not a huge fan of change. I mean little changes here and there like re arranging my living room, painting the walls, a new haircut, a different car, things like that I feel like I constantly have to do to keep me on my toes. I'm talking about major changes. I've experienced quite a few of those lately. None of them are bad at all just pretty major in my life. I, like most women, overanalyze EVERYTHING and end up with a ton of anxiety.

I Did It!

This post is short and sweet and to the point!

Ok guys..... I have some exciting news....... I opened an Etsy shop! I'm really excited! As of now I only have 2 items listed which are the Afghan the same size I made 63x48 and a baby size 40x30. I'm happy that I finally did it and I am looking forward to making a lot of cute things to share with everyone! I am definitely open to input on pricing as this is all new to me and I want to sell great quality products at a reasonable price.

Thanks for reading and please come check out my shop at REALizingJoyHandmade on Etsy!

XO Tristen

Chevron Afghan Tutorial Link Up

I remember when my mama taught me how to crochet. I was 10 years old, we had just moved back to the four corners area from Albuquerque, NM and while we were waiting for things to be final on our house we were living with my Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, my dads parents. Once I got the hang of how to do it, I couldn't put it down. I made a purse for my sister, a backpack for myself and a friend and a lot of other little pieces. I wish I would've kept them but I have no idea where they went. My mom learned how to crochet from her mom who learned from her mom. My dad's mom also

I'm having an affair.... with Target!

Yep! The cat is out of the bag! I'm cheating on my husband with Target! Ok Ok I wouldn't say cheating but Target is my vice. I love that place. I could spend hours in that store just browsing (although I don't think I've ever left without buying something which my husband hates). Anyway, I went to Target a few days ago to pick up some things we needed for the house and I also bought some little goodies for me and the house. I also love Cartwheel!

Refocusing on REALizing Joy

The other day I was talking to my sister who is the blogger at Sweet Sunlight Style, and does an amazing job by the way, and she was telling me that working out and my journey to fitness is just a part of who I am and that since there is a lot more to me as a person I should blog about more than just my workouts and my progress. I agree with her and that is the main reason I chose the name for my blog that I did.

Kennady's 2nd Birhday Party!

WARNING!!!! THIS POST CONTAINS A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF PHOTOS!!!!!

This year I had really high expectations for Kennady's birthday party because last year she was so sick for her party that everything I planned fell through. Kennady's actual birthday is this coming Friday but Jake has a work trip planned so we had her birthday party yesterday. I decided to go with a butterfly theme using blues and purples. I love rustic, shabby chic décor so I also used that style in her party. Some things I used were things I already had like the birdcage, the apple boxes, and the burlap and lace cloth. I made a few things like the ripped cloth and burlap backdrop, the happy

This that and the other

I officially start T25 tomorrow! I got it on Thursday and did the first workout on Friday to try it out. OH MY GOODNESS!!! It is hard! I had to switch back and forth between modified and regular and there really are zero breaks. My grandma came over for her medicine when I had about 2 min left in the workout and then I had the 2 min cool down to do also. She is so funny! She came and stood in front of me where I couldn't see the TV and started talking to me. After the workout I laid face down

Bored with workout...... T25 Here I Come!

I've been really discouraged lately because I haven't seen a significant difference in my weight or how my clothes fit. As I mentioned in my post here I'm a member of the Facebook group no excuse moms. One of the moms in this group posted her before picture at 160 lbs in January and she is down to 140 lbs now! I keep complaining to Jake that no matter what I do I can't lose weight and after

Getting Back into the Groove

I got bronchitis about a month ago and excuse or not, I couldn't do any cardio without coughing up a lung. I'm sure I could've figured something else out for my workout but I got discouraged and did nothing which only made me feel worse. I gained back my 3 lbs I lost. Jake on the other hand, hasn't worked out in years and just by counting calories has lost 30 lbs since November! It's so nice to see him feeling good about himself and he's already needing new pants again!

My "Tattoos" - A Post Inspired by Al Fox

I first read about Al Fox in an LDS church magazine at my parent's house. I was very inspired by her story and could relate to the "judgment" she described because of the person she used to be. If anyone is looking for an example of someone who is truly converted to Christ, Al Fox is THE example.

Although, as I wrote in my profile, I was raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I don't come from a family who has been in the church for generations.

Surprise surprise!!!

Jake and I knew we wanted to get married before we were surprised with the news that I was pregnant with AJ we just didn't know when. I've always been excited to get married but I wanted him to do it when he was ready. A few

I'm Back and a girl!

*the blog title comes from when I was little. I loved Patty Lovelace's song I'm That Kind of Girl but for some reason I called it I'm back and a girl. I would argue with my mom about what the song was called and I remember feeling so frustrated because she didn't believe me haha!

Puppy is home!

Since I made my goal yesterday to get my workout done as soon as I wake up from now on, I thought that it'd be a terrible start if I lounged around the first morning after making my goal. I did my 30 min workout on my elliptical. The workout is broken up into 2 minute intervals like this:

Organize, workout, and a shoutout to a great friend

I am on the go from the time the kids wake up until long after their asleep. So, in the morning, before Kennady wakes up and while my boys are getting ready for school I use that time to catch up on my DVR shows, read my scriptures, or craft ya know, just something for me. I feel like I could get a lot

Another Day

I am a fan of the shows the Bachelor and the Bachelorette but I haven't watched this season with Juan Pablo but I loved Sean's season so I recorded and watched Sean and Catherine's wedding this morning before taking the boys to school. It was a really pretty wedding and everything was great about it but really, it made me think about my wedding. I looked at my wedding pictures and thought I'd share a few of my favorite ones.

Week 1 Weigh in

As you've probably noticed, I gave my blog an overhaul, including a new name. I chose the name, REALizing Joy because I am a REAL mom, with REAL kids, a REAL husband, REAL weight issues, REAL setbacks, and REAL accomplishments. When I say REAL, I do so because I think a lot

Saturday is a special day.....

Saturdays are always busy in the Cockrell house. The kids are involved in sports every season and now that AJ is old enough to play sports we are running the boys everywhere. Luckily soccer hasn't started for AJ yet so we just have Noah's basketball games to go to. He has 2 of them every Saturday.

Cheat/Rest Day

Today I woke up with a huge kink in my neck. After I took the kids to school, I put a heating pad on it for a while and it didn't help much so then I iced it and it still hurts! Long story short, I decided today is my cheat/rest day. I still watched what I ate for breakfast and lunch. For breakfast I had a Fuji apple with almond butter. For lunch I had a tuna lettuce wrap. For dinner, we had the sister

Crushed IT!

look at my gross hair!

It never fails, every time I commit to working out something happens. The last time I made this commitment was in August. I was working out with a friend named Rachel Bossio (Crawford). I was so proud of myself because I would wake up at 4:30 am and work out with her from 5-6. Then, I pulled a muscle in my groin! I had to rest up and recover and then I got bronchitis. It lasted for a

Feeling yuck-o

Today was tough! I still didn't get to sleep at a decent hour last night and I really think the lack of sleep is catching up with me because I was EXHAUSTED this morning!!! My bed seemed extra comfy and I sooo didn't want to get up! AJ had peed the bed in the middle of the night again so on top of not being able to fall asleep, I also had to take care of that and had a hard time getting back to

A little about me....

I realized that I haven't really told "my story" yet so I'm going to do a bit of that in this post. I met my husband a couple weeks after I graduated high school in 2006 at a local plumbing supply store. We both grew up in the same town and graduated from the same high school however, we are 10 years apart so even though we are from a small community and knew a lot of the same people we had never

Flexibility and Commitment

Let me tell you about my night.... I went to bed at 1 am (lately I just can't seem to get to sleep at a decent hour), at 3:30 ish our 9 year old comes and crawls into bed with us. Our 5 year old was in bed with us not too long after also. If our daughter wasn't in a crib still, I'm sure she would've been in bed with us too. We do have a king sized bed but we may as well have been sleeping in a twin last night!

2014 Focus on Fitness

Let me start by saying that posting this really freaks me out. The thought of putting my insecurities and flaws out there for everyone to see is very scary but I have received a lot of inspiration by reading other peoples stories of their journey's to getting fit and I think by posting my own journey I'll be even more motivated.
I had my first biological child at the age of 20. 2 weeks after having him, I was back in my pre-