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.

   

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!

Hair Rebellion

Every year or so I get this hankering to chop all my hair off. I'm pretty sure it's because I get so bored with long hair and I just don't have the patience to experiment (or the skills, frankly).  A few months ago, to feed my rebellion, I dyed my hair red.  I really thought this would help but alas I still feel like chopping it off!  I just love feeling the summer breeze run through my hair, cooling my scalp and volumizing it in magnificent ways.  I love having a few simple options when getting ready in the morning and only spending a few minutes doing it.  I just love it!  It's almost....liberating!
You might be thinking, "so then go chop it off!  Be free!" but I have only shared half of the story.  Every time I follow through with it I come home thinking, "it doesn't look like I wanted" or I wake up the next morning, "what have I done?" or the inevitable, "where's my hair!?" while in the shower.  Some of you may remember that the last time I cut my hair short, I looked a little too much like Justin Beiber.  I told the lady one thing and the followed through with another (I came out looking just like her, lesson learned).  But I've just gotta do something to feed this desire for hair rebellion!
This week I'll be dying it back to my natural color and making an attempt to get more creative.  With school out, work done, and a week long vacation with my awesome mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law, and sisters-in-law  I'll have more time and motivation to make an effort to do something with my long locks.  How will this feed my need for rebellion?  I've never dyed my hair at home before. :)
Do tell, how do you change up your hair?  Do you ever have this nagging need?  Am I alone in my rebellion?
p.s. here are some cuts that I just love, so tell me what you think.  I'll probably wind up chopping it off when we have another kid. Oh, and I'm totally open to suggestions!!  I love suggestions!

Movin' On Up!

The pictures in this post are all from this last week.  The turkey has become a regular and the deer come around usually at least once a day.  Sorry about the messy layout, I'm still trying to get some things figured out.

We got home from church today to find about an inch of snow piled up...and it continued to snow all day long.

He got caught under a chair (don't worry, I rescued him after taking a picture)

Mikey had a hard time recovering from getting his fingers smashed in a cabinet (his first injury).  My father-in-law decided to give him a taste of frosting....

 

 

 

 

He kept his lips locked tight and the frosting wound up as a mustache instead...he was still distraught

 
I mentioned in our January through March recap that Mike has a job at Sam's Club.  Not the most glamorous job for a recent graduate but there are far worse things out there at the same time.  He's been working there since the beginning of February and a lot of supervisors and managers have mentioned how awesome he is (finally people are getting a clue).  After taking a test, going through interviews, and having a very anxious wife, we found out on Tuesday that he got a promotion!  He went from being a cashier to being a cashier supervisor after working there for only 10 weeks!  That's just how awesome my hubby is (or it says a lot about the other people he works with, yikes).  Either way, I'm so proud of him.
Why be so excited about a career in a glorified warehouse!?  For those that don't know, we're saving up money for grad school.  Living with the in-laws is saving us hundreds of dollars a month already and this promotion gets Mike one step closer to being considered for a full-time position (i.e. more money. Go on, call me a gold digger...although at this point I'd be happy with some copper).  Hence, the excitement!
This last week the speech-language pathologist (SLP) that I've been working with, gave birth to her precious baby girl!  So I've started working a little early.  Working full-time, handling 15 credits, and spending as much time as possible with my family means I'll probably get behind on blog posts, but I still love you all!

My New Lifestyle

Some of you know that I gained quite a bit of weight during pregnancy on top of already unwelcome weight.  I've been really fluctuating with regards to dropping weight then gaining it back.  Being a part of Hot Mama's Biggest Loser (started by an old roommate of mine) and it has helped me come to grips with how I feel about myself right now.  Truth is, I don't like myself.  It's not just all about how I look, it's about how I physically and emotionally feel, it's about wanting to be as healthy as I can for my family, so I can be active with them, and so I don't have to keep buying clothes because nothing in my closet fits (as fun as shopping can be)!
In an effort to become more accountable I am disclosing my triumphs, fears, goals, and shortcomings with you all!  Lucky you!  It should be pretty entertaining though.  I'll be trying new recipes and exercises that I hope to share with you, along with an honest review, and hopefully someone out there will benefit in some way or another from me sharing my experiences.
 Here's recent pictures of me for documentation (just don't look too closely).

Mommy Workouts
I find that between homework, baby, and not wanting to exercise while people are home (I'm fearful that they'll want to stick hot pokers in their eyes after such a sight), and not wanting to rack up miles by driving 40 miles to town and back, I don't have the time to set aside for an official workout.  What I wind up doing, that works for me, is little bursts of workout throughout my day.  I've found several 10 minute workouts on Pinterest, like this one and this one, that allow me to either do something real quick or stop when I need to and pick up anytime, anywhere I need to.
Some other little things I do:

• Calf-raises or squats while blow-drying hair
• Figure-eights (hips) while washing my face
• Crazy dancing or jumping jacks while feeding Mikey (he gets a kick out of it and usually tries to dance too)
• Calf-raises while brushing my teeth
• Toss-ups with Mikey (holding him above my head and lowering him till our noses touch, he likes it too, but these only count if I do 50 of 'em)
• Running around while holding Mikey and yelling "Zoom zoom zoom zoom!" (like the Flash)

As you can tell, I'm not terribly creative but this is what I do.  As of today I've lost 5 pounds in the last week and a half and while I attribute a lot of it to counting calories using myfitnesspal.com I know that every little bit I can do to get active will help.

Up Next: Homemade Cafe Rio dressing on my makeshift Cafe Rio salad (under 250 calories!!!)

In a matter of four weeks...

Every Monday I sit down and write out all the homework, quizzes, exams, reports, and papers that I have due that week.  It's been kind of a juggling act recently with school, work, and the most important thing in my life...family.  Life got a little busy when I went back to school last August (which was a choice that felt right despite all , then it got crazy when I went back to work and started my calling at the same time as Relief Society secretary in our Rexburg Married Student Ward.  Mikey was only 3 months old when everything hit and I was so afraid of not giving him the attention and love that he needs.  I remember finding comfort in one thing: If I put my marriage and family first, everything will be okay.

It has been quite a learning experience but it has been so very worth it.  My family is my number one priority and I know that the only reason everything has turned out okay is because Mike and I have placed family first.  When it came time for taking the GRE, both of us having finals around the same time, moving, Mike getting in a rollover accident, and being worried about not having the money for school....it has all been okay, because family is first.  I have definitely gained a testimony about setting priorities.  It takes the guesswork out of a lot of life choices.  I've come to the realization that I will probably never have the awesome walk-in-pantry that I have dreamed up on Pinterest, or the latest and greatest when it comes to....anything. But I know that we will be happy, the eternal kind of joy.
I still worry about giving Mikey the love and attention he needs to grow properly in our messed up world, giving my husband quality time, and I still worry about my grades, I still worry about having enough time in the day to get things done, but Heavenly Father has given me this opportunity to trust in Him and the harder things get, the more I am reminded to trust Him. 

Now to the point of the post...as of May10th I will officially be free of homework.  Because of finances my next semester will be in the fall.  Do you know what this means for me!?  It means I won't have to cram in homework while Mikey is taking his infamous short naps, it means I get to be with my husband when he's home instead of having him watch the baby while I'm holed up in our room writing papers, it means we get to spend some solid time together as a family.  I am over-exuberant about this fact!  It makes me want to cry a happy cry just thinking about it!   I am so excited, in fact, that I just had to share it with all of you!  The next four weeks will be the busiest because of work, finals, projects, etc but it will be SO worth it!  

An Emett Family Update - January through March

Yay for finding a blog that is easy to use (and free, let's not forget the free part).  So here's the update for our family so far in 2013...

January
We came back from Christmas break to our new home in Montana.  Mike's parents have been absolutely generous in taking us in.  Mid-January my Grandma Wilson (my mom's mom) passed away.  I have so many wonderful childhood memories of Grandma.   The one thing I remember her telling me, when I was little, was about how important it was to her for all the cousins to know each other and be life-long friends.  I hope she knows that she instilled the importance of extended family relationships in all of us. 

Little Michael and I were able to fly down (by the grace of my in-laws) and go to the funeral.  To sum it up, I definitely would have regretted not going.  Mikey did awesome on his first plane ride (despite the negative vibes coming from all the anti-kids-on-planes people). 

While we were gone, Mike got a job at Golden Corral (woohoo?) and worked a few days until Sam's Club offered him a better job (cashier) with better pay (and a chance to become full-time), so he took it.  Needless to say, he's much happier now.

February
I turned 27!  We celebrated Valentine's Day by locking ourselves out of the house, eating frozen pizza and wings, and exchanging cards.melted!  Mike's parents got to celebrate by watching little Mikey so we could have some time alone.  By now I'm sure you're thinking, "wow, she has amazing in-laws" and you're right, I really have been truly blessed with amazing in-laws.  I couldn't have married into a more loving, accepting, accommodating family.  It has taken me time to really realize the extent to which they have welcomed me into their family and I'm just so grateful that I have been so blessed.
  Mike got me a card from him as well as a card from the little man with his hand traced inside!  My heart

Mid February we rearranged the furniture to accommodate our son who likes to roll everywhere.  While he was not yet crawling, he truly mastered the manly push-up.  People at church would comment on how strong he was.

March
Mike turned 26!  (yes, I am older than my husband)  Because of his work schedule we had to divide up the celebration over a period of three days (lucky guy).  On his actual birthday his mother and I were making his favorite dish (Lemon Chicken) when the power went out for 3 hours!  Luckily living in the Philippines has taught me how to cook without power and the lights came back on just before we sat down to eat.

We have a mobile baby!  Mid-March little Michael learned how to crawl!  It only took him a few days to get it down and now he goes everywhere and gets into everything.  His latest favorite is the laundry room (of course the only room without a door) and he has already figured out how to get someone's attention while in the bathroom.

I died my hair (dark) red.

I started working with a speech-language pathologist at a local elementary school.  She'll be on maternity leave for the last few weeks of school and I'll be filling in for her.  I have really enjoyed it so far and it has convinced me to continue pursuing my degree.  I'll be working with her again this month to prepare for the weeks that she'll be gone.

Baby's first Easter.  In my family it's kind of a long-held tradition that the "Easter Bunny" hides all the Easter baskets.  We hid Mikey's half under a blanket to spark his curiosity.  I filled some plastic eggs with Cheerios and he's still discovering Cheerios in some of those eggs.  It was fun and cute.  We tried getting some family pictures this month but as you can see it was tricky.

Lately...
Spring is finally here in Montana!  The weather is in that awkward stage (some days are shorts and t-shirt weather and others are still down right chilly!) so we're anxious for consistently warm (anything above 60) weather.

We've met our pediatrician and she is awesome!  She gave us a little tip for raising not-so-picky eaters...variety.  If we feed him a variety of foods now (especially from what's on our plate) then his taste buds will get used to different flavors and be more accepting of them as he gets older.  Cool huh!