December/January goals

Well December was not a great month for the ole' goals!

::December goals::

MOVE TO JAPAN!!
WOOHOO!!! Loving it :]

Run a 5k (there is one!)
Boo to this one! We were still in our ICR class so we couldn't participate. We did find out that they have a 5k almost every month here!

Swim at least 5 miles
Didn't even get close to getting back in the pool :/

Walk dogs everyday (excluding travel days and Christmas[unless the kennel is open])
oy...

Track food everyday
I think you are seeing the pattern. I did get back to tracking my food at the end of the month.

Get back to church!
We are really liking the chapel here and I really like the command chaplain.

Enjoy our new home/surroundings : )
Haven't done too much yet, but we are just happy to be here!


::JANUARY GOALS::

Run the MLK 5K

Take part in the 1K swim challenge

Walk dogs everyday

Photo a day on instagram {I will post the week of pictures every Sunday}

Continue to track food

Get a job!

Explore 2 new places

Take the conversational Japanese classes

Start crossfit!

Read at least 2 of the books I have sitting unopened


I should point out that I plan to officially start this months goals tomorrow since I am a little behind on even coming up with goals for this month.

iPhone//instagram dump

Goodies

I think we have a few new staples in our house. Yesterday I was in the kitchen all day baking (technically I should be in there baking cookies for our potluck at church tonight) up some healthy treats :]

First I made some healthy pop tarts (they do exist!) from mama pea over at Peas and Thank You. Mine look nothing like actual pop tarts as you can see.. sorry about the sideways picture. I rotated it but it keeps going back this way when I upload it on here.

I chose not to do any toppings to keep them sugar free (minus the natural sugars of the organic strawberry preserve.)

These are so amazing! I am very much against any store bought pop tarts because of the sugar content among other things.. but these I can get on board with :] 

Back in January I made some cinnamon and vanilla granola from Simply Sugar & Gluten Free. I was positive that I had blogged about it, but I guess that was when I had taken a hiatus due to no Internet and not knowing about the blogger app then. I had made a huge batch and took it to my military group at church.. it was a hit! I raved to Frank about it but of course he didn't care since he couldn't try it for himself. I had been saying since then that I was going to make some more. Yup, never got around to it... until yesterday.

When Keri did her grocery post I noticed that she bought coconut yogurt. She told me they make parfaits with it; berries, crushed almonds and I think she said some honey. We loved it but immediately Frank said granola would be best. Ding Ding Ding! I knew I had to make the cinnamon and vanilla granola.

This picture isn't the prettiest.. but oh man was it good!! Frank is in love with this granola, he would have taken the whole thing to work (which I'm glad he didn't!) but he's in a class this week so the granola stayed safe in my kitchen :]

The other idea for the granola that I had was using it as a cereal. We're out of stuff to juice and have to wait till next pay day to stock back up. So cereal it is for now. Lisa over at 100 days of real food always talks about how they do puffed brown rice cereal (a 1 ingredient cereal) topped with homemade granola, banana and milk (I used coconut this morning). I noticed the puffed brown rice cereal on sale at Sprouts so I decided to try it out. It was such a good, light cereal! Tomorrow I want to try the other "cereal" they do. Granola topped with berries and milk. Totally loving the healthy cereal alternatives when I can't juice.

I should mention that Frank has been loving the envirokidz cereal. Limited ingredients and much much healthier than the big name cereals (I actually just drew a blank on cereals to put down ha! Goes to show how much I eat them). If you haven't tried them you should, they are really tasty!

Back to reality

Vacation is over, Frank's family left this morning. We loved hosting them but I know after 2 weeks we all were a bit ready to get back to our daily schedules.. and their own beds for them!

Today we started a new series at church called "Exposed" LOVED it! So true and everyone can relate to it in one way or another. Have I mentioned lately how much I love The Rock? Well I do :] So happy for being able to watch live online or on my iPhone app when I'm away.

I just realized this post has turned into a random bullet point type post... hmm.

Frank and I are very proud of ourselves with how well we did with money while his family was here. We of course budgeted, but we didn't "plan" anything. We just had the money there to use and if we used it up, we used it up. Well we managed to not use it all. We have come such a long way since we were first together and stupid with our money and spending/budgeting.
We still have about $2800 (I think) left on our debt. So close yet so far away! We have been sitting around that amount for a few months now. Life came up so we haven't been able to put everything towards paying it off. All we can say is "Oh well!". We are still very happy with all we have done. I keep telling myself that because we have a few things we have to fix on the explorer this next pay check so we won't have much to put toward said debt... oh well... ha.

Because of the car issues (rather important when it is your only vehicle) we are unable to attend our churches marriage retreat. This was the year we FINALLY thought we were going to make it. Sadly it is not happening for us. I do hope to hear great things from our friends who do go.

Summer is almost here. LOVE <3

Frank and I are on a mission to hike as many new trails around us as possible by the end of summer.

Tomorrow (Monday) is our first day back to the gym in almost 2 months!! Craziness. We both have put on a few too many pounds and are ready to get our butts back in gear. We plan to start on the summer slam challenge that I did before he came home. It was so easy to follow and had great results, the only hard part for Frank is charting his eating. I'm excited to be back in training mode non the less though.

We found Better Buzz coffee shop and are hooked! Cheaper AND better than starbucks. I'm just sad that it took us almost 3 years to find them.

Listening to Pandora and snuggling with my girls is perfect :]

Randoms

• I've been back for almost a week now and every day has been busy for the most part.
• We're getting ready for Frank's family! They come in on the 21st, his mom will be here a week in a half and his brother and his family will be here 2 weeks. Frank just now realized we will have a very full house!
• We are now proud owners of a Kirby vacuum. So far loving it!
• Afternoons like today make me wish I was doing more with my life (It was a boring/lazy afternoon.. and now night). Hopefully soon though!?
• So happy to be back to juicing.. missed it so much.
• You MUST try THIS recipe from Edible Perspective. So good :]
• I am always happy to be back to our church after I've been gone for awhile. I heart THE ROCK!
• We are so close to having our debt paid off! It is so close that I feel like everything is getting in our way to make it happen. Patient is something I need to focus on ;]

That's it's for now! Maybe I'll get around to posting pictures in the next few days....

Oh Yes!!

A few weeks back one of the ladies in my military group at church brought some homemade tortilla chips and homemade guacamole for us to snack on. I'm pretty positive I consumed most of them on my own.. while hoarding the bowl :] I asked how she made the chips and she said it is the easiest thing ever. And she was right!!

Heat some oil (I prefer extra virgin olive oil for stuff like this, vegetable and canola never step foot in our house) over medium heat. Cut up corn tortillas into 3rds then drop into oil and cook for a few seconds on each side. Flipping with tongs. Don't fill the pan up with tortillas, leave some room so they don't stick. You also do not want to text while making these or you will burn them.. you know it's just something I heard ;]

A little crank from the pink salt to top them off, then dip them into this goodness...

Some homemade guacamole. Mine is pretty plain compared to others, but that's how I like it. A little bit of pink salt, and some granulated onion powder. Simple yet amazing.

I know right now freezing things in ice cube trays is all the rage. Well I have no extra ice cube trays so I went old school and froze mine in a small container. We had 4 avocado's that we didn't get to and I knew we wouldn't be able to eat them before they went bad, so I made up 3 (1 was trash ready) small containers of mashed avocado (I like small chunks) and lemon juice. I decided at the last minute to make these chips so I put the guac container under warm water for a bit, then I stirred it up and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds two times stirring in between. It was good to go at that point, but too warm for my liking so I put it in the fridge until the chips were made. Perfecto!

Was this a healthy meal that I should have been eating? No (the guacamole was though!)
Was this an amazingly mouth watering good snack? YES!
Does my stomach hurt after eating said goodness? Of course

This isn't something I will be making often, but man is it an awesome treat every once in awhile.

September goals.. OY..

I'm not sure how to put September into words... it's was a crazy, interesting month to say the least. I'm actually looking forward to getting back more into a routine in October. Needless to say my goals for September sucked! Although Molly was the reason behind them not getting to do much (she torn up her neck on some bushes at the beginning of the month and then it took almost all of September to heal because she wouldn't leave it alone). So lets see how horrid I did...
Run outside twice a week FAIL!
I did run outside a few times.. getting there!

Run a 5K FAIL!!
So disappointed in myself with this one. I had the option to run one and I chickened out at the last minute because I wasn't feeling too good.

Read the book of Matthew in full every week FAIL!
I did read it a few weeks.. but then I started slacking on any kind of reading.

Read two books FAIL!! This is just depressing to look at..
I have 4 books sitting on my nightstand... What the heck!!

Go to the dog park once a week FAIL
We did make it once... now I just need to add 3 more days to that :]

Take the dogs for a daily walk Half
I was loving our walks again but then after Molly wasn't able to wear a collar the walks had to stop

Start the 100 days of real food challenge YES! New way of life for me :]
This has been the best thing I could do for myself, I can't wait till Frank comes home and he can see why I love eating this way!

Pretty depressing to look at all the fails.. October we must redeem ourselves!

October goals:

Start the Hawaii Island swim challenge at the gym, swim 3 days a week (at least)

Run outside once a week (weather permitting)

Read two books

Read the book of Joel every day

Go sugar free

Take the dogs for a daily walk (weather permitting)

Go to the dog park once a week

Document one new recipe a week (not sure why I've gotten so lazy about this lately)

September goals

I've seen other bloggers put up monthly and yearly goals.. well for a long time. I have thought about doing it in the past but never got around to it. Well folks this is the month! I'm doing my first monthly goal list. For September this is what I have...

GOALS

Run outside twice a week

Run a 5K

Read the book of Matthew in full every week

Read two books

Go to the dog park once a week

Take the dogs for a daily walk (they have missed this one!)

Start the 100 days of real food challenge

That last one I'm super excited about :] Last week I saw an article on yahoo homepage about a family who cut out processed foods for a 100 days. The wife has a blog about all of it (they still eat that way for the most part and it's been over a year) and why they decided to do this. They even did a mini challenge where they only spent $125 a week for their family of 4 to prove that you CAN  eat healthy, fresh foods even on a budget. This number they used to shop by is also the amount a family of 4 in their area gets on food stamps. Surprising how much junk food really can cost you.

I'd love people to do the challenge with me.. it'd be fun :] So who's in!?

Well...

I hadn't planned on taking a blogging hiatus.. but I have nothing to really share :/ I have no idea what it is about Washington, but it makes me super LAZY! I have done pretty much nothing since I've been home. I love being busy.. exploring.. anything! I don't like the base gym at Everett, so trying to make myself go is a little challenging. I don't have warm work out clothes so I can't do outdoor work outs which are my favorite of course. I have been seeing family lots and it has been going great. Praise Jesus!!
Lets see... Frank put his leave in for August, YAY! We are one pay check away from having our last credit card paid off. So close to being DONE with credit cards :] I found a church I like and I have family that goes there as well, I didn't know it at the time when I decided to check it out.... I am back volunteering at N.O.A.H and loving every minute of it.

Life is still very much up in the air for us over the next year year in a half and it continues to scare the crap out of me :[ I know that everything will be okay... He doesn't put things in our life that we can't handle! But for someone (me) who has control issues it's not so easy. We'll gladly take prayers!

Here are a few pictures from when I first got home, I was meeting our newest nephew Zaedan for the first time.

NOTE: I just read this post and man is it poorly written! ha It's almost embarrassing... however, my mind does feel like it's all over the place these days....

It's been awhile..

Well it's been a busy few weeks! My parents came down to San Diego for a week over my birthday and I kept them busy sight seeing the whole time. Then my dad drove up to Washington with me which is where I'll be for a few months. I have no idea how long I'll be here for, but my goal is to stay till we get our debt paid off. If we're strict with our budget we can make it happen. So that is the driving force.
I miss San Diego but feel okay with being home. It made me realize that San Diego is our "home" now, no matter where else the Navy sends us San Diego is where we want to plant roots. For now it's the land of coffee stands, trucks, tanning and people wearing shorts the second the sun comes out. Oh and how can I forget, RAIN! I plan to get back into a routine with the gym on Monday. I was going to try for this week but I had far too much going on and didn't feel like stressing myself out.

The dogs are loving having my parents yard and Frank's parents yard to run in! I'm loving the cheaper gas prices ha.

Here are a few pictures from the last month.. I need to get better with posting them!

 Yup had to show off my little muscle :]

Beautiful sunset over Mission Bay during our small group Easter bon fire

Shelby, Marsha and myself at the bon fire. This picture is a fav because of the light off of the fire.

 Sun bathing at the beach! Our favorite past time.

Miss Ellie.

 This was from March, a few of us from small group met up at Cowles Mt and hiked to the top.

It was a first for them, I was happy that I got to show it to them.

St. Patty's Day, we made cookies for the prison lovers ministry. And by "we" I mean Maggie made them and we all drooled over the smell!

I have so many posts I'm thinking of for pictures.. be ready ha.

Blessed

When Frank and I started going to The Rock (one year this last weekend!) there were two things we really wanted to do. Attend the weekend marriage retreat and take the Rock Financial Life (RFL) class. Well we we weren't able to do either. Poo! So last month when I saw that they would be offering the RFL class again for the last time this year I of course jumped on that and signed up.

 It's a 6 week course that they only do a few times a year. And about two nights before the first class I decided to move. I have great timing! ha. I was able to attend the first two classes and man am I glad I made it to them at least. This is a class for EVERYONE! If you have money, or don't have it. Know how to budget it, or don't know how.. it's amazing and every person should take it. This is my new favorite saying "Live Today For THAT Day" yes this is nothing new, it's just not one I had heard before. I was sad that I wouldn't be able to finish the class out, but this is why I love our church. They have the whole class on DVD :] YAY.

At some point I'll buy it and share it with others, pair it with Dave Ramsey (who they actually quote in the work book!) and talk about being financially set and smart. I can't wait till next year when Frank is back and we can take the class together! Hey maybe we'll even make it to the marriage retreat next year!? ha.

Hello! My name is George...

... and I'm looking for my forever home!

Meet George, our (around) 10 month old foster dog. About a week in a half ago Frank and I volunteered, through the dog lovers ministry were apart of at our church, to work an adoption event with SNAP. Each person has there own dog for the event and George was Frank's.

When they brought George out of the truck the lady let us in on his story. Both George and his sister, Georgina.. ha yup the shelter named them, were left for dead in a park. When they were found they were half there body weight, dehydrated and hypodermic. There body temperatures didn't even read on the thermometer. Needless to say they were blessed with a second chance at life.

At first George was insanely shy and scared of everything. Over the three hours we were there Frank and George bonded, and Frank was able to bring George out of his "shell". At first Frank really wanted to adopt him, but it's obvious he needs a yard to run around in, but having him go back to the shelter was something neither of us wanted. So we agreed to foster him until he found his perfect family. Of course we fell in love with him, I mean who wouldn't look at him. He's adorable!

He's still very much a puppy, even though he looks much older because of his size. He's a boxer mix and by the size of his paws I'd say he still has quite a bit of growing left to do! Within a day of being home with us he learned "sit", although it took a few days before he would do it right away. He has learned to sit and wait before he's allowed to eat, again he still has his moment's but is good at stopping when I tell him to.

He is still learning basic obedience like not nibbling on us when he's playing, he IS NOT a biter! I just want to put that out there for anyone who might take the "nibbling" in the wrong way. He is also learning not to jump on people.. really I have three dogs I'm working on that one with, Molly and Ellie are horrible at it! One thing we have learned since having him is that he is NOT aggressive what's so ever. Molly and Ellie would prefer if he left, but while he's here they just tolerate him (they don't like dogs bigger then them. Little dog syndrome ha.). At times they will growl or go after him barking, he does nothing back. He just brushes it off like it's nothing! Whenever Ellie starts barking at something outside George freaks out and goes running for me or Frank or to the spare bedroom. He is still very nervous about things, and is nowhere near being a guard dog ha.

Something that George needs to teach Molly and Ellie is how to walk on the leash! He's amazing at it, I for sure thought that at first we would have problems with it but I was proven wrong. Molly and Ellie need to pay attention to him ;) A few days ago we took all three dogs out to the dog park since I figured George would love being able to run around and possibly socialize. He was scared out of his mind. Poor guy. If we threw a ball he would just stay right next to you, he'd only go off if he were with Molly and Ellie (go figure they don't even like him, but he loves them) or with us. We didn't stay for long but it got me to see that he needs short visits there to get used to it all, but not long enough to scare him away. He would go over to a group of dogs and start sniffing them, but as soon as they would all start playing he'd run the other way scared. It will take time but I see potential in him.

Whomever adopted George will be getting a great dog, one that has so much love to give. I will be sad to see him go, but I know that he's not meant for us. We were meant to be the buffer, getting him out of the shelter was our initial goal and I know for myself that I am very happy we were able to do just that. He still has lots to learn, but in the short time he's been with us so far he has opened up so much. George needs a family that has a big yard for him to run in and some very energetic teenagers or adults. He craves attention, not to be the center of it all, but just to have someone there with him. He needs a family that will be home with him and involve him in there daily lives and activities.

George is up to date on all his shots, microchiped and Neutered. If anyone in the San Diego area is interested in George, or want to know how you can help with other dogs feel free to contact me through comment (my email is down right now) or the Chula Vista animal shelter. You can also check out the other dogs they have for adoption by going HERE.