Good Habits

Been thinking about my goals lately and how directly related they are to my habits. My sleep schedule, my work out schedule, my diet. All these little things all go hand in hand with each other and I came to the conclusion this morning that if you don't WANT to work at something enough, it's not going to get done. I can have a goal of waking up early, but if I go to bed without the drive to do it, chances are I will press snooze a few times. 

So, my point is that I want this. I WANT to do the things in my life that will make me happy- just wanting to be happy isn't enough. You have to DO.

Okay, moving on. Here's my breakfast this morning- it's part of my new meal plan so I figured i'd share it with anyone out there who care's to hear about it.

Smoothies are my favorite quick and healthy meal I like to make when i'm not feeling starving but still need something nutritious in my tummy to boost my energy for the day. The hardest part about it is cleaning the blender. All it is- Frozen veggies (raspberries, Blueberries, and strawberries mostly) with Naked Juice's Green Machine for added nutrition and to squeeze in some veggies, a couple big spoon-fulls of organic vanilla yogurt, and a bit of flax seed. Blended all together with a couple mint leaves on top from our garden for a little minty taste. Easy, Delicious, Nutritious. 

Lastly, I want to mention my Mama in today's post because today is her 55th birthday! I'll be taking a short trip to Payson this evening to take her to the movies. I hope she knows that I love her with all my heart and I could never imagine anyone better to've raised me and taught me so many of the life lessons I know and live by each day. 

Happy Birthday, Mama. You deserve the World!

Inconspicuous Kitty Box

I know I showed this to everyone who has come into my house already, but I am very proud of it and I haven't got to brag about it on my blog yet... til now!

So. Let's start with a photo.

This ^ is a litter box. Ramona's litter box to be exact.

In our last apartment, we had a big laundry room to put this thing to keep it separated from the rest of the house, but now we're in a smaller place and don't have that option anymore. This litter box would be fine here in this spot in the family room, but I hate the smell of cat litter and that other stuff litter boxes smell like... So, I needed to find some kind of barrier between the litter box and the rest of the house that didn't look silly.

I bought a small curtain rod from target ($2.00) and some super cheap material I found at a yard sale for no more than a quarter and decided I was going to make a curtain.

I don't know how to use a sewing machine still, but I didn't mind sewing by hand. It only took me a couple of hours and I had done it!

The best part about it is that you can't even tell there is a litter box back there. it just looks like a fancy curtain.

Just wanted to share my idea for anyone out there who shares a hatred for the smell of litter boxes with me and doesn't have a big room to tuck it away in. It's fancy, it's secret, and it works as a barrier between the smell and the rest of the room.

Happy Tuesday Everyone! 

A Week in the Life of Us.

Hello, World!
Happy Monday
This last week these things happened:

1. I signed up for classes at the community college.
 According to my graduation year, this should be my Junior year in college but it is not. I am just beginning my freshman year of college and I don't feel bad for it. Starting out with some college level algebra (big whoop), English101, and some introduction to Psychology. For those of you who don't know, I am going into study nutrition and dietary studies.
2. Began my 2nd week of work- watching 2 adorable kids
LOVE my new job. Even though i'm just watching these kiddos for a couple days a week for right now until things pick up, I am really enjoying it. It keeps me busy, and keeps the days flowing. I love playing games, snuggling a sweet baby boy to sleep, and baking cookies every once and awhile with a pretty awesome little girl. I am very grateful to have found this sitting job.

3. Started waking up at 6 am
At one point in my life, I thought waking up at 9am on my day off was early. But now, I've began to really enjoy waking up with the sun. For awhile, Mr and I were waking up at 7am but now that I have these kiddos to watch at 7:30am, 30 minutes just isn't enough time to prepare. Especially if I want to get in a little work out... which leads me to my next subject.
4.Created a Work-Out and Diet Plan
"Diet" is the wrong word. I don't really believe in diets. I believe that there is a healthy way to live and there is an unhealthy way to live and there is little space in between the two. I believe that when I eat healthier and work out regularly I feel better, and feeling good is the only way to live. SO... I organized a meal plan for me and my darling friend Kelsey (who has her own blog, too) and decided that (as soon as my flippin headphones arrive from amazon) I am going to start each morning with a jog. For now, Jillian Michaels work-out dvds will have to do.

This next week I will be going to get Rachel's butt kicked into gear and help her get motivated to pack and get up here! There is a little family reunion going on in Camp Verde in which my extended family has yet to meet my husband, so we've gotta go to that. After that, our friends the Nielsens and their friend Koos will be coming to spend some time with us as we seek adventure.

Hope you all are having as much of a busy, chaotic, incredible, fun-filled week as we are!
Peace&Love

A little Inspiration

Started on a project the other day and had to find a place to set up my easel- what better place than outside on our balcony? It's always nice to have a place I can go to be inspired. Our balcony is in a very poor location out looking the parking lot, but we have made the best of it by planting fresh flowers, a few veggies, and even a small apricot tree. I think I'm going to really like doing some creative work out here. (you too. Rachel)

It doesn't get much better than this...

Denied By a Baby

Well, I got me a job! It's a babysitting job for a very nice family. 3 to 4 days a week I will be watching a sweet 5 year old girl named Jillian and a very handsome 14 month old boy named Griffin. They are both great kids and I like this job so far! There is one catch though, Griffin has decided he likes Dugan more than me. It's not that he doesn't like me, it's just that he really likes Dugan. Maybe it's the beard... who knows. It's adorable and a little disheartening at the same time. I did get a couple sweet photos of the two of them today. They're a little blurry but it's hard to take photos of a 14 month old that aren't blurry. You know?

I'm sure he'll grow to love me too. I do feel a bit boring since I don't have very many coloring books or kid games or puzzles or anything like that so i'll have to acquire those things over time. I am excited for this job and happy I landed a job doing what I love. Dugan is still looking for employment and I am still going to put in a few applications to work another couple shifts a week.

We're loving our life up here in Flagstaff and we just can't wait for Rachel to move in!

Getting Comfortable

I know, I know. I am really slacking on uploading some photos of our apartment. But, I've been wanting to wait until it's all done to share it with you. If you're impatient on seeing it, then just come visit me!

To make ourselves feel at home, we took some time out of our day yesterday to do some "gardening" and by that I mean we were just replanting the flowers and what not into some prettier pots to set on our balcony for everyone to look at and admire. Seth came up here yesterday to spend some time with us to he took a couple crafty photos of us with my camera. We always like having him around.

We don't have internet just yet so please excuse my lack of blog posts recently. I'll get on it soon and start posting more often of what we're up to.  So far, we're loving Flagstaff, loving our new home, and loving life.

Lastly; just a little shout-out to my fluffy friend, Miss Ramona. She turns one today. Happy birthday you brat.