A Facebook friend of mine recently posted about all of his amazing friends. He has friends running for Miss America, America's Got Talent, and plenty of actors/actresses, body builders, and people who are "living their dreams". One of his other friends commented, "why are you friends with me again?" to which he responded, "Control Group".
I've got nothing against what he said, I know part of his response was just to be funny and I'm sure he finds that all of his friends have value. Right? I will however take the opportunity to remind myself that I AM living my dream! I remember being in my 7th grade English class, the question for our writing exercise was where we would see ourselves in 10 years. My response brought laughter from my classmates. I wanted to be married, have kids and be a stay-at-home mom. That was what I wanted. That was my dream. Sure I thought about stuff like becoming a professional actor or an awesome teacher that changes lives, but when I looked at what I would have to sacrifice to become those things, it didn't seem worth it to me. To some people, it is completely worth it, and maybe that is what's right for them. But then I think about what I sacrificed to become a wife and mother...TOTALLY WORTH IT! Essentially it's the kind of thing in which you need to sacrifice your self to be successful at. *Soap Box* People that look at motherhood as a hobby or side job simply don't comprehend and appreciate the amount of influence they can have. Women that look and lust after what men have don't comprehend and appreciate the power that comes with what God has given them, as women. Okay, I'm off my soapbox. All in all, I am living my dream. It's right for me. It brings me more happiness than any kind of public or earthly position or accomplishment could ever bring me. Charles Schultz had it right, "Happiness is anyone and anything at all that's loved by you." ("You're A Good Man Charlie Brown"). I feel extremely blessed to know that the things that will really make me happy in this life will give me joy for eternity. You can't beat a dream like that. To me, that is amazing.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Family Update
Summer flew by entirely too fast!
Mike had the opportunity of a lifetime to go Alaskan fishing with some guys from the ward. In preparation for the loads of fish they were expecting to bring back, they collected all kinds of Salmon recipes. One the first day Mike's dad caught the first fish of the trip, Salmon of course. Little did we (or they) know that it would be the only Salmon they would catch. Mike himself was getting mighty discouraged that he had yet to catch any fish by the 4th day. The night before the last fishing day, he told me that he had come to grips with the fact that he would come home fish-less. However, on that last day, he caught two fish! Yay! We were so excited for him. So they came home with loads of crab and a few fish. Definitely enough to last a while. They had a great time.
A week before Mike left for Alaska we had a milestone in the Emett house. Little Mikey said his first word! I had been working hard to ingrain "mama" and "dada" into his receptive and eventually expressive language so I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the first word. Well, one morning while I was rocking and cuddling with him he pointed to something on the ground and said his very first word. They say a baby's first word says a lot about their priorities and what they hold important, naturally I wanted to hear "mama" or "dada" but I cannot deny the word that came out of his mouth. It was as clear as day, I couldn't interpret it any other way... as accurately as possible for a child, he pointed to something on the ground and said, "book". Now, anyone who knows my husband, especially if you're friends with him on goodreads.com, will not be surprised and will know that little Mikey has surely been blessed with his daddy's love for books and reading. I'm really proud of my little guy.
To make me even more proud... watch this video to see what he did, just the other night. I had to catch it on video because Mike was at work and I wanted him to see it firsthand.
So as you can tell, little Michael has been busy reaching milestones, Mike has been working and got to have a little vacation, and I had a wonderful time with my little family over the Summer. Now, it's over (bummer!). I'm subbing (part-time) for another Speech Aide at a different school until November and my (online) classes started up on Monday (also part-time) so we're busy, but not too busy. I know where my priorities lie, family is always #1.
Pretty soon Mike will be getting ready to take the GRE and we'll both be getting applications together for graduate schools. So if you have any tips or tricks to either of these processes, we'd love to hear them!!!
P.S. brief weight-loss update. I've lost 15 lbs, last week I started hitting the gym before going to work (this means waking up at 5:30am on those days) and I'm still keeping up with drinking 2 liters of water a day. Things are going well!
Mike had the opportunity of a lifetime to go Alaskan fishing with some guys from the ward. In preparation for the loads of fish they were expecting to bring back, they collected all kinds of Salmon recipes. One the first day Mike's dad caught the first fish of the trip, Salmon of course. Little did we (or they) know that it would be the only Salmon they would catch. Mike himself was getting mighty discouraged that he had yet to catch any fish by the 4th day. The night before the last fishing day, he told me that he had come to grips with the fact that he would come home fish-less. However, on that last day, he caught two fish! Yay! We were so excited for him. So they came home with loads of crab and a few fish. Definitely enough to last a while. They had a great time.
A week before Mike left for Alaska we had a milestone in the Emett house. Little Mikey said his first word! I had been working hard to ingrain "mama" and "dada" into his receptive and eventually expressive language so I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the first word. Well, one morning while I was rocking and cuddling with him he pointed to something on the ground and said his very first word. They say a baby's first word says a lot about their priorities and what they hold important, naturally I wanted to hear "mama" or "dada" but I cannot deny the word that came out of his mouth. It was as clear as day, I couldn't interpret it any other way... as accurately as possible for a child, he pointed to something on the ground and said, "book". Now, anyone who knows my husband, especially if you're friends with him on goodreads.com, will not be surprised and will know that little Mikey has surely been blessed with his daddy's love for books and reading. I'm really proud of my little guy.
To make me even more proud... watch this video to see what he did, just the other night. I had to catch it on video because Mike was at work and I wanted him to see it firsthand.
So as you can tell, little Michael has been busy reaching milestones, Mike has been working and got to have a little vacation, and I had a wonderful time with my little family over the Summer. Now, it's over (bummer!). I'm subbing (part-time) for another Speech Aide at a different school until November and my (online) classes started up on Monday (also part-time) so we're busy, but not too busy. I know where my priorities lie, family is always #1.
Pretty soon Mike will be getting ready to take the GRE and we'll both be getting applications together for graduate schools. So if you have any tips or tricks to either of these processes, we'd love to hear them!!!
P.S. brief weight-loss update. I've lost 15 lbs, last week I started hitting the gym before going to work (this means waking up at 5:30am on those days) and I'm still keeping up with drinking 2 liters of water a day. Things are going well!
Friday, August 2, 2013
Such a LOSER!
It's been a while since I've updated you on my weight-loss journey and I'll tell you why...FAILURE! That's what it's been, a complete an utter failure. I keep telling myself, "this time I'm changing for real!" and I work my butt off to lose 5 pounds. Then I get lax aaaaand gain it all back. Just call me the yo-yo. I have honestly lost and gained the same 5 pounds at least 12 times, that's enough to make a small person! I could have been over half-way to my ultimate goal weight by now!
So, here's the good news. After having the time of my life on an Alaskan cruise (and gaining 8lbs of savory food and sweet dessert) I decided not to join any more weightloss groups. Just me, on my own. I realized that I have to do this for me, not for a money prize, or to be the #1 loser for 2 months only to take a week or two off before the next round and wreck all my hard work. I have to do it for ME.
The results... I've lost 11 pounds since the cruise. Whew! Ten of those pounds were in the last two weeks. (insert "Wow" and "You go girl!") To be honest, I only consciously changed one thing about my lifestyle but it had kind of a domino effect. My goal was to drink 4 liters of water a day. As I did this, I noticed a lot less snacking, naturally wanting smaller portions, less of a desire for junk food (it helped that I put crystal light into 2 of the liters), and *TMI ALERT* more regularity, if you know what I mean. It's been awesome!
I look forward to keeping up with my water intake. I want to focus on it hardcore so it's written on my bladder and then I'll add the next step EXERCISE!!!
So, here's the good news. After having the time of my life on an Alaskan cruise (and gaining 8lbs of savory food and sweet dessert) I decided not to join any more weightloss groups. Just me, on my own. I realized that I have to do this for me, not for a money prize, or to be the #1 loser for 2 months only to take a week or two off before the next round and wreck all my hard work. I have to do it for ME.
The results... I've lost 11 pounds since the cruise. Whew! Ten of those pounds were in the last two weeks. (insert "Wow" and "You go girl!") To be honest, I only consciously changed one thing about my lifestyle but it had kind of a domino effect. My goal was to drink 4 liters of water a day. As I did this, I noticed a lot less snacking, naturally wanting smaller portions, less of a desire for junk food (it helped that I put crystal light into 2 of the liters), and *TMI ALERT* more regularity, if you know what I mean. It's been awesome!
I look forward to keeping up with my water intake. I want to focus on it hardcore so it's written on my bladder and then I'll add the next step EXERCISE!!!
Saturday, July 13, 2013
I'm a Pinterest girl, in a Pinterest world
Pinterest!!! Now, you either associated those exclamation points with excitement or dread. Funny how that works. Most women associated it with excitement and most men, dread. I think those of us Pinterest users can agree that it is a marvelous way to share and get ideas pertaining to pretty much anything in life.
Before anyone gets their undies in a bundle, let me tell you, I have discovered a crafty, DIY, homemade everything kind of side that I didn't know I had. Over the years, I've tried to find "my thing". Some people are runners, some are dancers, photograpers, health nuts, savings savvy, artists, athletes, academics, etc etc. The list goes on! Truth is, I never found anything that I could really call a hobby. I've been into photography since I was little (my first camera was a 110mm that my mom got me at a garage sale) but comparing myself to others has made me feel some pressure to be the kind of "better" that requires time and money I don't have. I did band in school, I loved it, but renting/buying an instrument...again, time and money I don't have. Anywho, there's my back-story.
Pinterest has allowed me to create things I never thought I could! Everyone needs an outlet like that. It is in our very nature to create! Here's an awesome and inspiring video about that.
I wanted to know more about what some of my friends thought of Pinterest so of course I took my question to none other than...Facebook. Natalie said, "Pinterest can be a motivator or an idea creator. Many times when I've tried and failed at doing a craft or something else from Pinterest, I find myself creating my own way of doing things and learning something in the process. Self discovery maybe?" I totally agree! Self-discovery!
There are many pro's of Pinterest. It promotes creativity, going outside of your comfort zone to try new things or recipes, finally figuring out how to wash pillows or fold fitted sheets, cute and inexpensive date-night ideas, how to talk to your teenager, an obscene amount of work-out ideas, and the list goes on. Pinterest has a lot to offer. Sharing web sources and resources with friends and acquaintances, collecting and collaborating ideas or experiences, etc, etc! My friend Rachel says that she's developed and enriched many of her talents from Pinterest!
So what's the downfall? It can be overwhelming to say the least. There's a lot there! Katie summed it up quite nicely when she replied, "I feel the same about Pinterest as I do about Super Saturdays. I feel uncrafty, untalented, and its just a bunch of show-offs." Natalie says, "I feel as though Pinterest is a giant site full of unrealistic expectations. I feel as though it could potentially be damaging to our feminine youth because of the appearance of perfection in all things that it portrays." And I agree. Here's why...
With the recent celebration of Mikey's first year in the world I decided to try several pins. The cake mashing photo shoot, cute one year pictures with the number 1 and a single balloon, the sugar cookie tower cake with fruit in between the layers. I was gonna do it all! Well, I quickly got overwhelmed with how completely imperfect everything turned out and really, I was kind of depressed. "Why couldn't I do it right? I'm messing everything up! Now his one year birthday has come and gone, it's too late now!" This caused me to think about getting so caught up in the Pinterest world. There are many blog moms (like this one) out there that have daily picture perfect posts, and who wouldn't want that!? Twenty years ago, even just 10 years ago, you only saw that kind of stuff in the magazines. Now, it seems like everyone knows someone who seems to have a Pinterest perfect life. But what about the rest of us!?
This is my belief: Pinterest, like most things in life, can be used for good, and can be used for evil. It's easy to get wrapped up in it all. So here's some tips from some of my friends. These suggestions have been helping me to purge some of my Pinterest boards and have urged me be a little more careful and conscious of what I'm pinning.
- "I get on, look up a recipe for play dough (or whatever), pin it, get off an make it. That's the only way to survive pinterest. Get in, and get out."
- "I try to do two new recipes each week from the site...I don't take anything on it too seriously so I'm not discouraged by it. I look at things and laugh, ain't nobody got time for that."
- "I decide based on what I need in my house, or what I think I can actually do."
- "I
think everyone should pick one talent or so at a time. You'll go crazy
trying to be a master chef, learn crocheting, take up fashion blogging,
and do papercrafting as well. And when pinning a recipe, click the link.
Read the comments. Has anyone actually
MADE the recipe? What advice do they give? Google the recipe or craft
too-does it pop up on a pin fail site? If you stay realistic and do your
research, it's actually really cool what you can learn."
I'd love to hear more about how you survive Pinterest, what you use or don't use it for, and what tips you might have for a recovering addict or newb.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Watch Out! There's a 1 year old in the hizouse!
Family Update Time!
That's right! Our little Mikey is ONE year old! I'm going to be a typical parent and say it...he's growing so fast! In the last year this little guy has shown us what an easy-going baby is like (aside from the first 2 months when he wouldn't let us put him down and had stomach issues). He's still just as easy to travel with and really goes with the flow when it comes to, um, yea, pretty much everything. He gets fussy when he's over-tired but that seriously seems to be the only thing that gets him cranky. Yea, we're pretty lucky! We tend to get comments, wherever we go, from strangers about what a good and cute little guy he is. We are the most spoiled parents!
A little bit about our 1 year old...
Michael James Scott Emett
-crawls like he's being chased all the time (even strangers at church comment on how fast he gets those legs and arms pumping)
-has 9 teeth with at least 2 more on the way
-just had his 2nd hair cut
-loves classical music (and Les Mis)
-enjoys sliding things across the floor (imagine him crawling with skates on his hands)
-is OCD about things being in their place (every day he empties the movie cabinet, takes all the bottles out of the recycling bin, and always puts his pop-up animals in the down position...no matter how many times I pop them back up)
-pulls himself up with ease and is experimenting with balance
-loves to be upside-down, swung, tossed, and of course caught
-hide-and-seek is one of his favorite games
In other news...
Mike and I are exploring our graduate school options. We will be applying this December - February so we're trying to whittle down our options. I'll be pursuing a masters in Speech-Language Therapy online (and hopefully part-time) and Mike will be going for a Ph.D. in History.
Mike is still working as a cashier supervisor at Sam's Club and I've got the summer off from school so I'm enjoying spending lots of time with the little one. I'll start up my classes full-time again this Fall and I've also been asked to substitute for a speech pathologist aide for 6-9 weeks once school starts (part-time, thankfully!). We're excited to be planning for the next big move and I love doing the research.
That's right! Our little Mikey is ONE year old! I'm going to be a typical parent and say it...he's growing so fast! In the last year this little guy has shown us what an easy-going baby is like (aside from the first 2 months when he wouldn't let us put him down and had stomach issues). He's still just as easy to travel with and really goes with the flow when it comes to, um, yea, pretty much everything. He gets fussy when he's over-tired but that seriously seems to be the only thing that gets him cranky. Yea, we're pretty lucky! We tend to get comments, wherever we go, from strangers about what a good and cute little guy he is. We are the most spoiled parents!
For the little guy's
birthday we had breakfast for dinner (pancakes, ham, sausage, bacon) and LOTS of fruit. My goal was to get him trying some new things while allowing him to feed himself (which he loves to do) This kid will eat just about anything and everything. Often, right after feeding him, I'll get him out of his high chair and sit down with something to eat for myself. Without fail, EVERY TIME, he will crawl to me, pull himself up, and start smacking his lips like he hasn't eaten all day. He's more than willing to try anything up to three times and we have yet to find something he doesn't like.A little bit about our 1 year old...
Michael James Scott Emett
-crawls like he's being chased all the time (even strangers at church comment on how fast he gets those legs and arms pumping)
-has 9 teeth with at least 2 more on the way
-just had his 2nd hair cut
-loves classical music (and Les Mis)
-enjoys sliding things across the floor (imagine him crawling with skates on his hands)
-is OCD about things being in their place (every day he empties the movie cabinet, takes all the bottles out of the recycling bin, and always puts his pop-up animals in the down position...no matter how many times I pop them back up)
-pulls himself up with ease and is experimenting with balance
-loves to be upside-down, swung, tossed, and of course caught
-hide-and-seek is one of his favorite games
In other news...
Mike and I are exploring our graduate school options. We will be applying this December - February so we're trying to whittle down our options. I'll be pursuing a masters in Speech-Language Therapy online (and hopefully part-time) and Mike will be going for a Ph.D. in History.
Mike is still working as a cashier supervisor at Sam's Club and I've got the summer off from school so I'm enjoying spending lots of time with the little one. I'll start up my classes full-time again this Fall and I've also been asked to substitute for a speech pathologist aide for 6-9 weeks once school starts (part-time, thankfully!). We're excited to be planning for the next big move and I love doing the research.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Best 8 Days of My Life!
Over the last two and a half years Michael and I have been to 25 states. Our 26th state... Alaska! My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are both celebrating pretty monumental birthdays this year (neither of them look anywhere close to their age so I'll be keeping that a secret) and she decided to have a girls-only vacation to celebrate.
The six of us (mother-in-law, her mother, my 2 sisters-in-law, and the only granddaughter) We had the time of our lives on an 8 day Alaskan cruise! (My father-in-law was a saint and foot the bill. Without him, we wouldn't have these AMAZING memories!) Is cruising really all that great? Um, yes. We didn't have to worry about a single thing, aside from what kind of fudge to buy for our fudge party and whether to have breakfast ordered in or go to the buffet. It. Was. Awesome. The best part, without question, was the company. I had a blast getting to know my in-laws a little better! It was nice to be able to leave the men and kids and just be women! This ecard pretty much sums up the kind of fun we had.
To sum up the trip:
We visited...
-Juneau
-Mendenhall Glacier
-Skagway
-Part of Yukon train trails
-Tracy Arm Fjord (SO BEAUTIFUL!)
-Ketchikan
-Victoria (from afar...we didn't dock because there may have been issues with the ship)
My firsts...
-Cruise
-Leaving little Mikey for more than a few hours
-Flying in an airplane with propellers that look like they need to be wound up in order to get started
-Whales! (just one baby whale but still...a whale!)
-Escargot
-Being a ninja
-Almost doing Karaoke
-Being hit-on (post-wedding)
-Four desserts
-"Virgin" Shirley Temples
-Veal
-Nearly peeing my pants multiple times in one hour from laughing so hard
-Glaciers and Icebergs
-Actually gaining my sea legs!
-Being mistaken for a lesbian couple
These 3 men were the best! They were almost like a more refined set of the 3 stooges. Constantine (far left) was our waiter that hit on Sarah (my sister-in-law), Menandro (middle man) was the junior waiter who had a crush on my niece (Holly...age 13), and Yogi (far right) waited on the table next to us but simply couldn't resist our charm. We also caught him saying some funny things lost in translation (i.e. "Yogi make love tonight" which probably meant "Yogi is bringing love into the air tonight" because he was observing a flirtatious couple).
Another cool thing was that there were SO many Filipino workers on the ship and I was able to carry on a conversation that wasn't in my dreams (yes I still dream in Tagalog from time to time). I absolutely LOVED it! It reminded me of how much I love and miss the Philippines and especially the people.
Pretty much, the best, most relaxing 8 days of my life!
p.s. I really couldn't have handpicked better in-laws.
To sum up the trip:
-Juneau
-Mendenhall Glacier
-Skagway
-Part of Yukon train trails
-Tracy Arm Fjord (SO BEAUTIFUL!)
-Ketchikan
-Victoria (from afar...we didn't dock because there may have been issues with the ship)
-Cruise
-Leaving little Mikey for more than a few hours
-Flying in an airplane with propellers that look like they need to be wound up in order to get started
-Whales! (just one baby whale but still...a whale!)
-Escargot
-Being a ninja
-Almost doing Karaoke
-Being hit-on (post-wedding)
-Four desserts
-"Virgin" Shirley Temples
-Veal
-Nearly peeing my pants multiple times in one hour from laughing so hard
-Glaciers and Icebergs
-Actually gaining my sea legs!
-Being mistaken for a lesbian couple
Another cool thing was that there were SO many Filipino workers on the ship and I was able to carry on a conversation that wasn't in my dreams (yes I still dream in Tagalog from time to time). I absolutely LOVED it! It reminded me of how much I love and miss the Philippines and especially the people.
Pretty much, the best, most relaxing 8 days of my life!
p.s. I really couldn't have handpicked better in-laws.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Taking on Cafe Rio (my light version)
My husband can vouch for me, I crave Cafe Rio on at least a weekly basis. But if any of you have ever looked up the caloric values of Cafe Rio dishes you know that the good taste comes at a hefty price (yes, even the salad!). So in an effort to save some calories, and some cash, I've tried and personalized some of the copycat recipes I've found on Pinterest. Here's where I got the recipe for the cilantro lime ranch dressing, and here's where I got the recipe for the beans and rice (totally worth the extra effort).
I started out making just the dressing and putting it over some spring mix salad with Jack Daniel's pulled pork (from Sam's Club) and some fresh Parmesan grated on top, sprinkled with sliced almonds. This worked out to be just under 200 calories! Awesome lunch!
Last night I made the beans and rice to accompany the dressing and pulled pork in a burrito. Not exactly like Cafe Rio but still really good. Just some things I did differently...
Rice: instead of using lime I used about 2-3 tablespoons of the cilantro lime dressing (we didn't have any more limes).
Black Beans: I doubled the cumin and used tomato sauce instead of tomato juice (again, we didn't have juice and I really don't mind improvising a little, plus it made the burrito not as runny).
With the tortilla, beans, rice, meat, dressing, cheese, and about a tablespoon of diced green chilis (yum!) it came out to roughly 350 calories. Gimme a 'what what!' Does it taste exactly like Cafe Rio...no. Is it a low calorie substitute that captures the complex sweet and savory depths of Cafe Rio!? YES! Don't take my word for it, try it for yourself. Let me know how it turns out!
Last night I made the beans and rice to accompany the dressing and pulled pork in a burrito. Not exactly like Cafe Rio but still really good. Just some things I did differently...
Rice: instead of using lime I used about 2-3 tablespoons of the cilantro lime dressing (we didn't have any more limes).
Black Beans: I doubled the cumin and used tomato sauce instead of tomato juice (again, we didn't have juice and I really don't mind improvising a little, plus it made the burrito not as runny).
With the tortilla, beans, rice, meat, dressing, cheese, and about a tablespoon of diced green chilis (yum!) it came out to roughly 350 calories. Gimme a 'what what!' Does it taste exactly like Cafe Rio...no. Is it a low calorie substitute that captures the complex sweet and savory depths of Cafe Rio!? YES! Don't take my word for it, try it for yourself. Let me know how it turns out!
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