Well-Here-it-is

Hello, all! I have not blogged in a while because I've been waiting patiently to get my camera back from some friends but have not made a trip to Payson in awhile and therefore have no new photos from my camera to share with all of you. I guess I will have to show you photos of the SCA event at Estrella War located in Queen Creek a little later.
I do, however, still have a little camera attached to my phone so I have a couple randoms to share with you about any recent happenings- that is if any of you are still interested.

This month seemed to fly by. I'm still unemployed but I am making myself a very productive wife and homemaker until the time comes. I've been busying myself with cleaning and cooking and taking care of the puppy and that seems to be pulling my weight pretty well for now.

I've been trying new things in the kitchen and making sure our tummies are staying full of lots of nutritious meals and snacks. Today I made Black Bean And Sweet Potato Quesadillas. I would have never have thought of putting sweet potatoes on a tortilla but I did and it was amazing. The only changes I would have made would be to add maybe a little jalepeno or bell pepper into the blackbean/onion/garlic mix. Oh, and I used corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas. A Cheese-less quesadilla didn't make much sense to Dugan at first but he tried it and found that it was a masterpiece! Yum Yum Yum!

I'm still going to the Gym 3-5 times a week and on the days I don't do the gym i'm doing a video in my living room. Odin and I take long walks most days and the little guy still has loads of energy. Sometimes we go on runs too and he really enjoys that. I'm working my way up to a 5K Dugan and I will be doing in about a month. I can already go a solid 3 miles already no problem so I'm not really worried.

So, now I am going to bore you all with talk of the food I enjoy eating and then throw in some photos of my work out in the last 6 months so I can look back and see the series of photos and remind myself not to go back!

The things I like to snack on are usually fruit but I have to stop myself sometimes and throw in some protein, too. I keep a few hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator so I have a quick snack between meals and so Dugan can take one to work every once and awhile. I am currently obsessing over Yoplait Greek Yogurt (I don't know what it is about Yoplait I like so much). I make myself a lot of smoothies and a lot of oatmeal with peanut butter, banana, flax seed, and a dash of cinnamon in it. It's the best!

Today I made a pretty terrific sandwich with Chicken Breast slices, avocado(thats something else I eat a lot of too), spinach, and feta cheese. try it- you'll never go back to ham and cheese again.

So here is a series of photos starting with last February when I wanted to start working out in New York but didn't really know what I was doing just yet. I weighed 129 and wore a size 4 jean.

 

 I gained another 4lbs between February but then decided enough was enough when a new little stretch mark came to stay on my right hip when I was in California. 

As soon as I moved into my place in Flagstaff, I put my foot down and started working out about 2-3 times a week. I didn't think anything was happening but when Rachel moved in in August she said that she could see a difference in me and that made me feel pretty confident. As soon as she moved in, we were spending our time job hunting and working out so I was working out 6 days a week and we only went out to eat once every other week. By the way, that's one of the only way people can progress in their workouts. Eat healthy and work out a lot. It's not that complicated.

The inches started coming off...

September was more of 5-6 times a week at the gym and out on my runs. It started to get a little easier to JUST DO IT. I think I was finally starting to feel like I was shrinking. None of my jeans OR my bras fit anymore and that was both refreshing and somewhat frustrating because neither of those things are cheap. I was down to a size 3 jean by this point.

October  and November I felt like I needed to kick it up a notch because I have this hereditary "baby bump" that I could NOT get rid of. (see picture below). My tummy looked flat head on but from the side I looked three months pregnant. I was starting to think that it was just something I had to live with and quit trying to control. At this point I weighed 112lbs and was happy enough with that number but knew that I could push myself and do even better.

By the time Christmas rolled around I felt like I had defeated my "baby bump" and got it to be at least smaller than it ever had in my entire life. I mean, there's still a little pooch, but it was significantly less noticeable. I was doing a LOT of cardio and ab workouts 4 times a week. 3 light days of abs and one intense day where abs were my main focus. By Christmas I weighed 107.5lbs! I hadn't weighed that since probably before High School. And I was OK with that number because I knew that it was small, but I knew that It was not too small. I was doing lots of strength training, I was eating a proper diet and there wasn't anything unhealthy going on. 

Jan-feb were a lot of the same old same old. Trying to maintain how much I weighed and just focus on keeping myself toned and strong.



Now, in late March, I'm still hanging around between 106lbs and 110lbs depending on the day. I feel good and I am just keeping up with what I have already accomplished. I'm still struggling keeping my tummy looking flat but that'll be something I struggle with forever, i'm sure.

I'm happy with me. And, honestly, working out has become really special to me because it's a way for me to get away and have my quiet time and my ME time. It's been a really good outlet for relieving stress and letting myself feel vain for a couple hours out of the day. I need to blog about my journey so that is something I don't have to worry about ever going back to what I was. It was weird because I didn't know that I was so big until now- that I am small and can fit into a size double zero jean depending on the brand. I like feeling snobby about "needing" by minimum of 30 minutes a day to exercise. I feel better than I used to. I sleep better than I used to. I have better posture and I just feel better when I get into clothes.

I can...

My sister Amantha posted something like this on her blog and I just thought it was so uplifting and positive that I had to stop my life for a minute and do one of my own. So, without much thought, here is a quick list of things I can't do, followed by a list of things I CAN do.

I can't make anyone love me.
I can't make anyone else happy.
I can't stop commercials from happening.
I can't always get what I want.
I can't be any taller.
I can't keep the snow from falling.
I can't slow down time.
I can't give my family all the money in the world.
I can't always protect my twin brother, though that's all I want to do.
I can't take very long naps during the day.
I can't keep track of all my things all the time.
I can't keep bad things from happening to people.
I can't control anyone else's bad habits.
I can't stop people from dying.
I can't control the way people judge.
I can't fix a lot of my flaws.
I can't find money where there is none.
I can't keep everyone healthy and out of harms way.
I can't make anyone see things the way I see them.

I CAN have a good attitude.
I CAN eat as healthy as I can.
I CAN drive to see my friends and family as often as I can.
I CAN ask for help when I need it.
I CAN do my homework on time.
I CAN stay productive, even when I am unemployed.
I CAN pick my battles.
I CAN do all I know how to to make my husband's life easier.
I CAN smile every day even when I am grumpy.
I CAN tell my family I love them every day.
I CAN get 8 hours of sleep every night.
I CAN practice my manners.
I CAN pay my bills.
I CAN keep my house clean.
I CAN learn how to do almost anything I want by searching it on the internet.
I CAN type a paper, beginning to end, in an obscenely short amount of time.
I CAN tell people I appreciate them when I do.
I CAN kiss my husband each and every day.
I CAN beat someone at a boardgame or two.
I CAN keep good hygiene.
I CAN comfort the people who come to me for it.
I CAN pray whenever I don't know what to do.
I CAN trust myself to make the right decision most of the time.
I CAN call any member of my family and trust that they will be there for me.


There are a million of things I cannot do, but there are a million and one things I can do. I often need to remind myself that even though I cannot control a lot of things in my life, there are many things I can control that effect not only me, but everyone else around me. I am happy with my life because I CHOOSE to be happy with my life. I choose to do things that will make my life better, and I choose appreciate the good things instead of feeling sad over the bad things. There are a lot of bad things in this world, but there are many many good things, too. I hope that some of you out there look for the good things, and choose to be happy- no matter your situation.

This week:

 We've been watching marathons of lots of different things. Sometimes we fall asleep at 8pm and sometimes we can stay awake until 1:30 in the morning. It's cold, so we keep warm inside most of the time but when the sun shows itself, i've been going for runs with the puppy and taking him to the dog park. Still haven't found the strength to sit outside and read with my cup of coffee just yet. We'll get there. Daily, we drink a number of things: espresso, apple spice hot tea, cocoa, woodchuck apple cider and we eat lots and lots of cookies. We talk about books and about travel- the places we've been and the places we want to see. 

Our weeks all scramble together, but i've been saying that for years. We went to Payson last week for Jessika Kasl's baby shower and to celebrate Rd's birthday. We also went out to my Father in law's house and Dugan helped out quite a bit with moving things out of the house (it sold!) so there is quite a bit of work to be done. Next year is Estrella War in Queen Creek for the SCA. If you read my blog and don't know what the SCA is, it's a hobby of Dugan that involved mid-evil reenactments and camping. Sounds nerdy- it's fun.So next week we will be going camping and then seeing Seth's play, The Tenement and going to see my nephew for a belated birthday party.

I'm sure you're bored by now hearing my ramblings. So, here's a few photos and I'll sign off.

 Jessika and I at her baby shower. Such a glowing mama.

 Odin. Had a BLAST running around Dugan's dad's property in Payson. Getting this little guy a yard of his own soon soon soon!

Miss Geneva and I

 

Odin and Muttly out in Freedom Acres. Dugan grew up with Muttly. I think it brought him joy seeing them play together.


Have a great week everyone. I'll check back in with you after Estrella next weekend! 

On this freezing cold morning:

What do I do when it's negative 8 outside?

Gym time.

:)

Wait a minute, we're 21?

Last weekend was so fun! I am always... and I mean always... trying to find ways to see all of my friends and family. If i had it my way, we would all live in one place and I could see all the people I love each and every day. Sadly, that is not the world we live in and I don't think everyone I love will be living next door to me anytime soon. Or ever (shout out to Elyse!). However, for my birthday I said this year that I would not plan anything for hopes of not being stood up like I have been in the past but it didn't really work out that way. The closer it got to my birthday, and the more people who told me they were coming up here to spend our (mine and seth's) birthday up in flagstaff with us, the more I couldn't resist planning. Over all, for my birthday this year I said I wanted 3 things: French toast for breakfast, a pedicure, and a picnic with whoever happened to be there.

Friday was fun and simple- we went out to dinner and Seth and I went downtown with a few incredible friends for a little bit. Nothing too fancy or crazy. It was a late night and an early morning the next day. I don't have any photos of Friday night on my computer so you'll have to just believe me that it was a nice time.

Saturday, as we all woke up, my rockin friend Julia came over early from her hotel with baby Eli to make us all french toast. It was delicious, perfect, exactly what I wanted. The morning slowly rolled into the perfect mix of man-time for the boys and lady-time for the girls. Can you think of anything better? The boys went shooting out in the forest and the ladies took a trip up to the mall for some pampering time at the salon and a little bit of shopping.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, we were all pretty hungry. Seeing as it was late afternoon and we had pulled pork cooking in the crock pot at home, we didn't see any need in going on a picnic if we could just start the bbq at home early. So that's exactly what we did! I'm not disappointed we didn't go on a picnic. That can be for a later time when it's not quite so chilly outside. We all ate good food, drank good drinks, had laughs and had a really good time. Sunday morning was breakfast out at Mike&Rhondas(yummy cheap  restaurant here in flag for anyone interested) and we sadly parted ways.

So, here are a few photos from my birthday weekend. I want everyone who was there, and everyone who bothers reading my blog, that I had a really good birthday and I hope Seth did too. I really enjoyed every second with everyone who was by my side and If I could have that everyday, I would cut off my right arm to do so. I love all of you very very much and I am so very grateful to have so many people love and care about me the way you all do.

And now for a series of entertaining photos from the birthday boy and yours truly.

And yes, although it was our 21st birthday and It's hard to believe, we are sober in all of these photos.

 quick! Pretend you're sleeping!

 don't...don't lick me...

And my personal favorite due to levels of ridiculousness and scaryness:

Odin: the great and powerful

As most people already know, we adopted our very first puppy at the end of December. We've been having a bit of a "puppy" fever since summer time and we have refused to get a puppy because (1)we don't have much space. we live in an apartment and dogs need yards. They just do. (2) puppies need time and attention and exercise: all things we could give, but with very much sacrifice on sleep and other things. (3) money, training, potty training, and however Ramona would react made us very nervous.

Anyway, I continued to torture myself by looking at all the adorable puppies on Craigslist and swooning over all the baby Bulldogs, German Shepards, Bloodhounds, and Labs I saw. Long story short, we decided that the opportunity would just present itself when it's time for us to get a dog and we shouldn't look into it any further until we decide we're ready and the chance is there.

That being said a few days after Christmas, our friend, Alan, asked us if we were interested in a free Husky puppy. He bought him at full price and tried taking care of him, but realized he didnt have the time to give the little guy the attention he deserved. Remember when I said that thing about an opportunity presenting itself when the time came? I think that was opportunity knocking on our front door. Dugan's dream dog, pure breed, free, comes with shots and kennel and food. All we needed to do was commit to giving him the time and exercise he needed, and find a place with a yard by the time our lease expired in a few months. 

Done and done.

We are in love.

This is what he did for the first couple weeks we had him. Just a little tyke. 

 This is Odin waiting patiently in the kitchen to get fed.

aaaand, this is what Ramona and Odin do all day long. It looks cute, but they make incessant, annoying groaning noises. Its sweet that they love each other, but annoying that they need to make noise when they wrestle. I am so happy that they get along. Ramona pretends to hate him when we're around. But if she doesn't know we're watching, she licks him and snuggles him. I think she likes having a friend around.

So far, we are so happy we made this decision. We love having Odin around and we don't mind going for walks in the freezing cold ten times a day so he can go potty. At first, he peed a lot in the house, but he is a champion, now. He is SO well behaved and listens so well. 

Dugan LOVES having this little companion. He tells me every day how happy he is that we got him.

We love our Odin.

Today, I Miss My Family

I've found myself lately getting choked up at the sight of mothers snuggling their kids at the movies. I constantly think about when the next time I'm going to be visiting my sisters in Virginia will be or when I will have a chance to visit Phoenix or Payson to see the members of my family. I think about my twin every day and never wish we weren't living in the same city. 

I  miss my sisters, and my brothers, my nieces and nephews, & my mom and dad every day I am not next to them. But today. Today, i'm blogging about it.

Love you guys.

Miss you every day.