Where did the time go?

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted!  I am really slacking off on this blog thing, and I will try to be better.  A lot has gone on in the last few weeks, so I will try to catch everyone up.

We had a terrific vacation in Texas, and we were sad to go.  We THOUGHT we were moving there in November for a year while Chief is in Iraq, but the Army had different plans for us.  The kids and I will be staying in Hawaii while Chief is gone, and we are OK with that.  The kids will have stability for school, stay in their current home, and keep their current friends.  We will make it back to Texas for Christmas though!  This does make the year a little harder on us, but we have fantastic friends here that will make it easier on us.  I hope everyone will come and visit us to make the time go by quicker though! We should be here until June 2012, and then we will hopefully be moving to Wiesbaden, Germany for 3 years.  I am excited to be able to live in 1 house for the next 2 years, and then I am very excited to move to Germany!  What a great adventure for us and the kids!  The places we will see and the culture we will experience will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I dream of the day that I can tell Jeremy that I want to go to Paris for lunch, and off we go!

We had a terrific 4th of July that we spent with friends and had a huge BBQ at our house.  Schofield had a celebration right here on post, and it was fantastic!  We sat around and listen to the band, Smash Mouth (think of the theme song from Shrek, and that is what they sing),  chatted with lots of friends, danced, and watched the fireworks display. It was really really good!

We have been spending quite a bit of time at the beach since we got home, and we are loving it!  We went to Shark's Cove last week, and me and some friends snorkeled all the way from Shark's Cove to 3 Tables Beach and back.  It took us about 1.5 hours, and it was a beautiful trip!  Monkey Doodle has really taken off with snorkeling as well, and he goes out really far with us while not even holding on to us.  I hold his hand about 50% of the time, even though he doesn't need me to.  That is the helicopter parent in me, I guess.

Miss Priss had an accident on the trampoline a few days ago.  She hit her mouth on Monkey Doodle's head, and she has a fat lip, some bruised and cut gums, and 2 loose teeth!  Chief took her Urgent Care, and they said she should be fine and not lose the teeth. It has been a few days now, and they are definitely tightening up, PRAISE GOD!  I would have hated to see her lose one of her 2 front teeth along with the one next to it.

We also added a 12 week old kitten to our family!  Isabella Claire is a Blue Point/Snowshoe Siamese, and is absolutely beautiful!  She is exactly the kind of kitty we wanted, and is a great addition to the family.  She took to us right away and already sleeps with Chief and I.  Her and Lucy are already the best of friends, and Lucy treats her as her baby.

Chief's niece is here visiting along with her girlfriend, and we are having a great time!  We will get to enjoy them until July 22nd!  Then, BOTH kids start back to school on August 2nd!  I cannot believe the summer is more than half over!  I already bought a lot of the kids' school supplies, and it was bittersweet.  I cannot believe we will have both kids in school!  What in the world will I do with my free time?  Gym, running, beach, yoga, cooking??  The possibilities are endless, at least until 2:00 PM everyday!

I will work on getting up another post on our Texas trip along with pictures soon.  I also need to post pictures of our house all finished and decorated!  That post is a few months late, but my friend at www.chelseamckinleyphotography.com took some pictures for me on 4th of July, so I hope to post them soon.

Pondering 2009

I have such a wonderful husband that made me this amazing cake for my birthday! He spent all morning and part of the afternoon doing this for me. We had such a good time with all of our friends celebrating my birthday and the New Year.

 

I have decided that I am going to stay 29 forever, so I am 29+5 this year! It is amazing to see the difference in my life over the past year and how much change this year has brought.

1.  Living in Hawaii when I used to hate walking on sand and hated the heat.

2.  Snorkeling and swimming at least 1/4 to 1/2 mile of the shore to swim with dolphins.

3.  Making my Dr's weight loss goal of losing 100 lbs.

4.  Completing my weight loss journey by having reconstructive/plastic surgery to fix the damage from the weight gain. 

5.  Transitioning from a working mom to a soccer mom/baseball/chef/organizer/maid and LOVING IT!

6.  Hating chickens to loving and embracing the wild chickens that frequent our yard everyday.

7.  Living without air conditioning or heat for the 1st time in my life.

8.  Taking up Yoga and thinking about becoming a Yoga instructor.

9. Transitioning from a processed food diet to cooking everything from scratch and fresh foods and veggies. 

10.  Reorganizing our day to day lives and learning to keep us on a stricter budget.

11.  Finally accepting my body and being confident of my looks.  I finally feel like I look like I feel on the inside!

These are just a few things, and I think some of them are huge accomplishments!

What changes did you make in your life last year, and what are your plans for the upcoming year?

Aloha Friday!

I have to say that I am glad today is Aloha Friday! It was just an emotional week for some reason, and I am glad that is almost over.  Chief has the day off tomorrow, I have Yoga in the morning, homemade pizza in the evening, and I think some beach time is also warranted somewhere in there. What a great way to start the weekend!

Have I told everyone how much I love Yoga?  It is such a great way to relieve stress, relax, and get a terrific workout! I have really contemplated on becoming a Yoga Instructor because I love it so much.  After being in banking and management off and on for the last 13 years, I would like to do something different.  Don't get me wrong, I love being at home with my kids.  But, they will both be in school next year, and I would like to have a job that I love, that has some flexibility, and also keep me in shape.

I have also thought about becoming a Professional Planner/Organizer.  A lot of working moms don't have the time to sit down and make a monthly grocery list, monthly meal calendar, print coupons, or even cook healthy, balanced meals. It would have been awesome to have premade homemade meals that were made specific to my family and their tastes, and I didn't have to make them!  I know I would have paid someone to do that for me if I knew it was even an option!  It would have relieved so much stress knowing that I could go home, take a complete meal out of the fridge or freezer, and pop it in the oven with practically no prep work.  Plus, I could plan the meals according to their current diet. (IE: low carb diet, low sodium, more protein etc.)  Both of those 2 job options are portable also, and I could still do them no matter where the Army takes us!  Heck, I could even complete meal calendars and grocery lists virtually!

I am so thankful to have a husband that is supportive no matter what I do.  He is content with me staying at home and being beautiful and happy(words right out of his mouth!)  So, where will my new body and life take me in the future?  I have no idea, but I am going to make sure it will be fun and exciting!