Things I love at the moment.

Doesn't this bed look so cozy?!! I could lay in bed with my babe all day in this thing!!!

I've always been a huge fan of bohemian peasant tops, this one, I adore... 

I know it's summer and 90 degrees already but I love these MASSIVELY chunky scarves.

 Um, this chair is beautiful! So simple but so chic and fabulous and the same time- a motto I strive to live by though chic and fabulous may not always be appearant.

 Navajo beads...I know, I'm Choctaw but still...I love this necklace! Wouldn't this look great with my many pairs of jeans and white T's?? Yeah, I thought so too.

 I want this quilt! I'm a huge fan of cozy'ing up in a good blanket no matter what time of the year it is and this one is adorable! I love these colors. I need to learn to sew...BAD!

 I need a place to go so I can wear this dress, pronto! SO FABULOUS and this just so happens to be my favorite style/fit of a gown. In love!

 Oh my, serenity! I could not live without a bath tub and this my friends, I MIGHT just die whether I do get one or not!
 

You might say I have too much time on my hands but I have replaced spending the majority of my free time on Facebook to looking at the things that make me happy and help me use my creative juices! I have an entire list of crafts that I NEED to complete by the end of the summer! Ooh, it makes me so happy...

Where has the time gone?!

It's been awhile since I've had actual events take place to blog about...usually it's just my ramblings! Where to begin...

My parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle came to Utah a few weeks ago to celebrate my sister, Devin's graduation from Dental Hygiene school. My mom booked a vacation home for all of us at the Sundance Resort and had so much fun! It was so good to have everyone together and to just chill out and enjoy being together. As of late, all of our get togethers have consisted of weddings where everything is so rushed that we hardly get to sit down and enjoy it! Dad took some family pictures...

Josh and I also finished up a semester at Weber State. I have to say that Weber is by far the best school to attend. I have nothing but good things to say about it. I took a few of my harder classes and still managed to get nothing less than a B+. No need to ask Josh how he did though because he'll probably tell you he got a 4.0 before you even ask! I'm so jealous...I wish it was as easy for me! ha.

We also, right after my family's visit and finals, packed up our lives and moved again. Yes, again! Our lives are never boring, thats for sure. But we are finally back in Texas. After much excitement and anticipation, it feels SO GOOD to be back home. We are living in Lewisville which is about 30 minutes north of downtown and 30 minutes north of my parents. We're all settled and are managing to put together our summer routines again. This summer is going to be an amazing summer! We have so much hope in meeting our goals this year and it's completely comforting. Josh is loving his transition to the new alarm sales comapany, Elite Home Security and they have been nothing but great and so accomodating for us. We also have some other really GREAT news that has to do with this job but I won't share just yet until it's finalized and Josh gives me the okay to announce it.

My sister, Dev and her husband, Dallas will be moving here in the next few weeks as well!!! They will live in Plano which is 20 minutes north of where we are. SO CLOSE!!! We have tons of plans for crafts and pool days...it's going to be so fun to spend this summer together since we were always so busy before that we rarely got to see one another.

Yes, we still have Leo. He travels where ever we go...he basically doesn't leave our sides. Literally. Even when you take a shower, he's sitting on the bath mat until you get out. We still love him to death and it's so funny to see Josh and him "bond" after Josh has been at work all day. He's still currently our only child and will be for the next little while. Our home would be empty without him.

Other than this, it's all I can think of at the moment...there's bound to be more posts soon. Summer's are always full of good times.

Oh, the places we want to go...

White Villages in Santori, Greece

and here...

Italy

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” 

Henry Miller

Vegan? What is that? and why?!

When I was in middle school/high school, I was very conscious about what I put in my mouth. Some people might think, "that's too much to think about" or "that takes the fun out of eating." I'll be the first to attest that "no it's not" and "no it's not." Even if it was, isn't that a good thing...I mean, HELLO?! You're putting that stuff in your body! That's what keeps you alive...or what's going to kill you, I'll let you decide. I have never felt more active/energetic and more content with my body than I did during those years. Those are the years that are most awkward for us but I took pride in how I looked, felt and most importantly, my eating habits.

Well, here I am, give or take 10 years later and feeling so unsatisfied with myself. Not necessarily my looks (because that's not necessarily what this is about) but more in my energy level, the realization that aging is going to start kicking in any day now, and especially because I'm going to bear children in the not too distant future. I feel the need for change. I need to step it up and off the laziness scale and get with it again.

Don't get me wrong, I have loved a good burger or a good sandwich...but in almost every instance, I get the nagging feeling that "I shouldn't have eaten that" or "I'm going to have to work out 5x's as hard for that 5 minutes of pleasure." It's to the point that those thoughts aren't worth what initiated it to begin with.

With that said, I have decided to alter my eating habits. Starting this morning for breakfast, I became a vegan. Something I've wanted to do for years but since marrying a carnivore who loves to cook, almost made it impossible. Well I'm doing it anyway. I need to do it for me. Don't worry babe, Ill still cook you meat...I just don't want any part of it. I won't miss it. I haven't been the biggest fan of meat for a long time so I don't feel like I'm going without at all. The only thing I won't have is meat, dairy and eggs or anything that contains animal products. Totally fine by me! It's almost like a detox really, because most of the fat American's eat is from those things I'll be cutting out.

I've had a few people bring up the point, "isn't that against the commandments" or "that's why God gave us animals." Well murder, especially the way today's factory farmhouses "prepare animal products" is against the commandments. I'll spare you the details but really, the production of today's animal products is, what I'm sure, the way God didn't intend.

I'm not looking for disputes, or reasons why I shouldn't do this; I simply wanted to share why I CHOSE to do this. :)

A little about me at this moment...

Candy: DOVE Milk Chocolate or Chewy Sweet Tarts. The Sweet Tarts are long time favorite; my daddy always buys me one...)

Soda: strictly Coca-Cola! Although, I don’t have one everyday. Absolutely none of that diet stuff...

Show: anything on HGTV, I get so many good design ideas! I love the Kardashians too…

Favorite I-Pod Playlist: “Current Fav’s”

            Sia- Breathe Me

            Mumford and Sons- entire “Sigh No More” album

            The Asteroid Galaxy Tour- The Golden Age

            Better Than Ezra- Breathless

            Katy Perry- ET & Fireworks

            Ke$ha- Crazy Beautiful Life & Blah Blah Blah

            Matt and Kim- Daylight

            Natasha Bedingfield- Strip Me

            Adele- Rolling In the Deep

            Flickerstick- Beautiful (long time favorite- Dallas local band)

Lady Antebellum- I Run To You & Need You Now

Time of the Day: evening. LOVE my baths and chilling out

Snack: Swiss Miss Chocolate Swirl Pudding, fruit or chips and salsa

Cosmetic: Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm and Mascara

Websites: online magazines- Real Simple, Women’s Health, House Beautiful

Dream Job: Interior designer/organizational expert or apart of the creative team for Nordstrom’s or Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas.

Pet Peeve: clutter and things on the floor

Restaurant: Whataburger (Texas) or Toscano’s Italian Bistro

Things that are important to me: accept & befriend those who are different than me and to forgive.

I’m proud: to be Mormon, to be an American, to be Native American and to be a domestic abuse survivor so that I can experience and appreciate my amazingly loving and devoted husband.

Book: The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews

Thing to do: 4-wheeling with Josh in the mountains when the suns going down or lying in bed at night talking.

Makes me laugh: Josh’s little voices he makes, Leo getting as close to me as he can whenever I sit down or when he yells at me for his treat.

Hobbies: Cleaning/organizing, decorating and finding as many cute clothes as I can for my money (i.e. bargain shopping) Why the hell would you spend $200 on jeans?! Waste.

Something I wish I was better at:  not being so OCD about little irrelevant things.

Vacation: I LOVED Hawaii and do plan to visit again soon! Turks and Caicos/ Nassau were pretty fabulous too…

Quote: “Life is not waiting for the storms to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”- Vivian Greene

P.S. I do this for journaling purposes only...and so my kids can look back years from now and realize how normal I used to be. ;)

The Latest...

It's been a few weeks since I last posted anything but not a whole lot has really happened! This past week I have been SO SICK! I think I caught Bronchitis from my sister and it seemed to hit me HARD! I ran fever for 3 days, body aches like you wouldn't believe and lungs that burned with every breath. It was NOT FUN. Yesterday was the first day that I felt decent and managed to make it to the doctor. He said it should be clearing up because my lungs didn't sound too bad anymore, thankfully! Today I feel great except that I get winded pretty easily and I can't shake this cough for the life of me!

Also, news to post is that we're headed back to Texas this summer! I'm sure everyone already knows but it's still blog worthy because afterall, I'm headed back home! We will be in Lewisville which is about 45 minutes north of my family and I could not be happier. Last year, we we're in Houston which is a 4 hour drive; I did not complain about that one bit because I was at least in the great state of Texas. I'm just happy that I'll be in the metroplex! HALLELUJAH! I love the sight of this skyline...Home Sweet Home.

This last news update is a sad one. On Friday, March 11th; Japan suffered one of the most devastating natural disasters in it's history. A 8.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Sendai, Japan and was soon followed by a massive tsunami that just about wiped Japan off the map. As of today, 2 days later, an estimated 10,000 people have been killed. Not to mention that the death toll will still continue to climb through the coming months as rubble and debris get cleaned up. To add to the devastation, they are expecting a few more severe aftershocks as well as several unstable nuclear power plants. It is so sad and my heart goes out to those affected by this tragedy.

Japan, you are in my prayers!

I LOVEEEEEE YOGA!!!

As most of us know, I'm not very athletic or coordinated when it comes to anything athletic but I have become quite the believer in Yoga! I have been taking a Hatha Yoga class on campus this semester, we meet for an hour twice a week and just in the time that school has started, about 7 weeks ago; I have so much more flexibility, I don't get stressed out as easily, I physically feel better, I have toned up a lot and have better posture and I even sleep better at night.
It's a lot easier than some people might think. I thought we had to be super flexible going into that class to be successful but I've learned that these poses are made to improve flexibility even if you don't have any at all. I seriously suggest taking a yoga class whether it's from a gym, school or a yoga studio...I'm not kidding when I say it's probably the best thing since Nutella! (we all know how much I love Nutella.)

Here are a few of my favorite poses:

Downward Facing Dog:

 

Benefits: Strengthens arms, shoulders, quads; stretches shoulders, chest, hamstrings, calves; keeps spine flexible  

Helps: Fatigue, mental alertness

Any of the Warrior poses- I, II, III or Reversed Warrior

Benefits: Strengthens core, legs, ankles; lengthens spine  

Helps: Poor posture, weak knees, endurance

 Side Plank:

Benefits: Strengthens wrist, abs, legs  
Helps: A scattered mind

Half Moon:

Benefits: Strengthens back, glutes, legs; keeps spine flexible  

Helps: Insecurity

 

Crow  

 

Benefits: Strengthens arms, shoulders, chest, abs, upper back  

Helps: Poor balance, a scattered mind

I found on WomensHealth.com a whole section dedicated to Yoga with all the benefits, poses, ailments it cures...EVERYTHING! Look it up and give it try!

Namaste!