Look Alive People!

Oh blog you've been on my mind for a while.. just time to sit down and get to it!

There is always SO much I want to share and write and remember - I have to set aside the time to do it. I am going to be "back-posting" some entries I think.. dating back to meeting our new nephew, my mom's stay with us over Mother's Day, Travis's birthday, job changes, our 2 year wedding anniversary and strides in my health.

I am looking forward to catching up on here and sharing all the fun goodness with those who check out this little personal space of the internet I have.

*I love having a cup or (2 or 3) of tea in the morning .. such a lovely way to get going on the day.

Share + Tell About February

It's been a recurring theme that I have been letting a few weeks lapse before I blog - eeesh! 

I feel like I have lots to write about, then I'm not sure who reads this and then realize that it's my blog (hello!) - doesn't matter who reads it, it's my own little public journal anyway. ;)

I'll share some February sparkly moments to recap the last 4 weeks or so.. (I like to think I forget the snarky moments). Plus the happy is always worth re-telling I think. :)

Sparkly: to be brilliant, lively, or vivacious.

1. Taxes Filed. Ba-bam! We did our taxes ourselves this time and it was so much simpler than I expected it to be!! If you want to know the site we used (it's totally legit), message me and I'd be happy to give you the details!

2. Financial Blessings. So after filing our taxes, we got our tax money which is pretty awesome.. but we also had a few other prayers answered. For the past year we have been really getting serious about our debt repayments (credit cards, student loans, etc.) kicked to the curb. I have definitely been one who has stressed about money and how in the world we will save for a house, our future family, etcetera etcetera. Well, we are seeing a few prayers get answered! We paid off a credit card last month! Yeah!! We also have been given "breaks" on a couple medical bills for both of us. Nothing we sought out or asked for, just blessings that were total surprises for us.. example: I called my dental office to get clarity on my latest bill that seemed a little bit higher than usual. The billing person on the phone waived nearly half the bill. Just Because. Amazing.

3. Travis's foot. It's healing!! On the outside it looks totally normal and healthy. Although the bone break is a slow heal at this point, there is progression and we are so thankful that surgery was not required and that Trav can get around okay and still do his work as well! We also got a surprise on the medical bill we were anticipating this month too. There was more credit (billing money) on a medical card that is through T's work so we didn't have to pay as much as we thought we would on our end. Praise the Lord!

4.  Sweet Valentine's. Knowing that Trav was still on crutches and not driving when that lovely day rolled around. I didn't anticipate flowers or anything really. And I was totally okay with that! As I pull up to his work to pick him up, he was standing outside crutch under one arm and flowers in the other. He had someone at his work take him to the store so he could surprise me with my favorites. Yellow daisies. :)

5.  We have been getting more involved in our church community. I said before how we were getting involved in a new group of 'young marrieds'. (Couples married 5 years or less led by a couple who've been married 20 years.) It's been so cool! We get together with about a dozen or so couples for dinner and talk about married life and how to encourage each other to still fulfill the mission of God in our relationships.

6. We booked our Anniversary trip for the summertime! July 10 is our wedding anniversary and this summer we are going back to where we Honeymooned because we loved it SO much! The San Juan Islands. We cannot wait to go back and visit and play on the islands up north. I'm already looking forward to wearing sun dresses and enjoying the water in the evening time.

So that's a fun recap of our February goodness. I also am going to add this super cute link because it is just too darling not to share and I'm sure you will smile - in fact I'm quite positive you will say "aww" within a minute of the video. It's that adorable.

Anxious.

That word has been in my life since I was 14 years old. I'll be able to share more of my "anxiety" story in later posts, but wanted to just post what I will call the 'prelude' of how anxiety has affected my life. I am someone who is/was 'diagnosed' with panic + anxiety disorder the summer after my freshman year of high school. It was fairly a new thing at the time and I remember not knowing what the doctor was really talking about, but I knew what I was feeling and thinking through the whole episode(s). It was not until 2007 I really started to be a believer in God. And with that I started to learn more about the Bible and how much other people have been affected with anxiety too! I remember coming across a verse through different venues and only in the last few years has it become a personal influence on me.

Phillipians 4v4-7

(Sorry for the blurry affect on the sides there.) This verse has been one that when I look at my Bible at the notes and underline marks and such, I can see that I have personally written around it, underlined it and noted it on the margins at least 3 different times. Each time I read those couple sentences I am reminded that it will be okay. Really. It will be o.k.a.y. Give it to God and just release the tensions, anxious feelings, racing thoughts, etcetra and instead turn those feelings into prayers of peace and contentment. 

I feel like I'm being so vague in this, but I want to just start opening up about how anxiety has been a big obstacle for me and I feel that I'm at a point where I am really starting to kick it to the curb! It's been a long, super bumpy and very windy road but I am finally starting to feel a bit of release from it and am hoping that with my sharing other people can also know that they will be okay and that they are not the only one dealing with it.

This is such a big leap for me and I typically only talk about my anxiety with folks who have known me for a long time or whom I trust greatly. After almost 13 years, I feel ready to open up about something that I had been embarrassed about. So, if you're reading this, just know that everyone has battles that they deal with - some just are not as easy to see.

I'm also excited to share the things that helped turn that anxiety into feelings of joy, happiness and enlightenment. I also feel super blessed to have a super amazing husband and fabulous family that supports me and encourages me when things get panic-like for me. I also hope that one day I will be able to reach out to someone who deals with anxiety too and be able to tell them that it will be okay. I would love to be that person in someone's life. Maybe I already have been.. how amazing that would be.

Happy New Year!!

I'm a total fan of fresh outlooks, fresh starts and fresh beginnings. So, it's really not a surprise that New Years is one of my favorite holidays. The beginning of a new year gives an opportunity to help become a better person (although you really could do this at any point in the year.. but follow me on this). It is cool to see what all went on good or bad in the past year and having a renewed hope about the upcoming year. 

In 2011, Travis and I moved to our first place as a 'married' couple. (We were living together already when we were engaged and lived in the same spot after we were married.) We took a great vacation to Bend in the summer and visited my California family in the fall. Needless to say we definitely want to head back for another trip! I got promoted at my job and have been welcoming the challenges and responsibilities my new position has in store for me. We found a church to call our 'home' and have a few goals of becoming more involved at Solid Rock and focusing more on our faith too. We also taught August and Weger how to dance! Just kidding, but it'd be pretty cool right? : )

For 2012 I want to take better care of myself. Overall, I eat fairly healthy but need to keep up on the work out train and be nicer to myself (I think some will understand that we tend to be our own worst critic when it comes to our bodies). 

I want to get set in some great habits not only for myself but with Travis too. I want to learn how to cook some great healthy meals for us. Yes, this means I need to get my booty in the kitchen and use a pot and pan every now and then! : )

I want to continue to kick our financial debts to the curb! We have made progress in 2011, but I think we can do even better in 2012. Plus after paying off those debts, that money will get set aside for our future house purchase!

Reading. I love this and miss doing this. I have a book on my nightstand that I'm 3/4 of the way through and still haven't touched it in probably 3 or 4 weeks. I also have borrowed the whole Hunger Games series (thanks Teresa!) to get in on what that series is all about. Plus, I'm totally stoked to use my Powell's gift card to purchase a new book I've been eyeing.

I want to enhance my personal prayer and devotion time. Making time for this daily and getting involved with our church will be super helpful in this. I want to get to know Jesus and have conversations daily with him. : )

And of course, I want to keep steady on weekly date nights with Travis. We are fairly consistent with this, but we should try some new restaurants, check out movies or take a dance class (I totally want to take him with me to a salsa class!). I love spending time with my husband, and making that quality time together without phones, computers and tv is definitely important.  ; )

Cheers to 2011 and Welcome 2012! Lets see what you have in store for all of us!

Ideal versus Real

Sitting cozy on the chaise with a big fleece blanket wrapped around me. This is me winding down from the day in the evenings. And you know what? I wouldn't change it. As I have transitioned into a new position at work, I find that I am using a lot more energy than before in my job in the office (and burning more calories!). It's interesting to me how one change to your day to day routine can totally affect the rest of your day. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy what I do, it is just interesting to see how my day to day activities are changed since my new switch. And it's a good change! I wonder what it would be like if we had kids and how that would change the mix as well! Just means I gotta manage my time a bit better.. let me explain with a visual. 

My-Ideal-Amazing-Having-Everything-Work-Out-Day

5:30am: wake up

6am: after a small snack - hitting the gym for 45 minutes

7am: shower

7:20am: breakfast and dressed

7:40am: leave for work

8a-12p: work

12p-1p: lunch hour - eat the lunch that I packed from home.

1p-5p: work

5:20p: wash a load of clothes

5:30p: help prep dinner + follow up on load of clothes.

6p-6:30p: dinner with Trav <3

6:30p-8p: lounge, tv, blog

8p: make lunch for next day

8:15p: some cleaning (dishes, straightening up things)

8:45p-9:30p: Bible time + reading

9:30-9:45p: get ready for bed

10p: lights out!

Yeah, um that whole wake up at 5:30 and gym before 7am will probably never happen unless I have this sudden amazing surge of energy at 5:30 in the morning. No way Jose. I so prefer our cozy, snuggly and warm bed in the wee hours of the mornings. But in my ideal world I would definitely be at the gym to start my day and get that part out of the way. After the work day would pass I would still be energized to throw in some laundry and (gasp!) help cook dinner. I'm far blessed to have a man that enjoys cooking and loves making good dinners for us. On second thought, maybe I wouldn't change that part.. ; ) I would love to have more time to get involved in The Word and do some type of a Bible study. This I feel is definitely one thing that I could involve myself in daily and I need to work on this for sure. I think it would be fair to say that a few of these things would not happen each and every day but again - this is my Ideal. I enjoy a good routine. I have no idea how my parents (mom especially) worked 40 hours a week, kept up on laundry, cooked dinners and made sure we had all our needs met. 

Moving along though, this is more how my day goes..

6:30am: first alarm goes off..

6:50am: second alarm goes off.. hit snooze.

7am: alarm off again - turn off and wake up.

7a-7:10a: wash face, browse internet and think about what's going on for the day.

7:15a: get dressed 

7:20-7:30a: instant oatmeal and news

7:40a: leave for work

8a-12p: work

12p-1p: lunch hour - run out to grab something (subway or grocery store)

1-5p: work

5:20p: home! change to cozy clothes and chat with my love.

6p-6:30p: dinner with Trav (something he cooked)

7p: shower

7:30p: tv, lounge

9p: get ready for bed

10p: lights out!

I can be hard on myself, but I see the current day to day as less productive on the home front. Chores and cleaning that were easy to get done before tend to get pushed to the end of the week or just happen at half-pace. Though we keep a fairly clean and polished home, sometimes I wish I could keep it 'House Beautiful' all the time. I treasure the evening time to lounge and relax with my guy since it's our time in the day to be together (Travis leaves for work before I wake up). So to me, I'd rather leave the vacuuming to Saturday to sit and relax with T on the couch for a little bit.

I still find myself in the mindset of "what did I accomplish today? what could have gone better?" But in the end it is about how you spent your day and with whom. Life is too short to fixate on the to-do's of the day and what didn't happen. I need to remind myself of this and to spend my 'free' time doing things that will enrich my day to day more and not necessarily result in making a mental check mark on a list that repeats itself each week. You know what I mean??

And with that, it's time to snuggle up with the kitties and lounge because you know what? That is what is important to me in the moment. And that is what should matter most.

6 more months until summer time!

Whoa nelly!

I absolutely love this image and quote from Curly Girl Designs. It's my wall paper on my work computer and it makes me smile every time I sit down. Speaking of which, work has been going well so far but can make it hard for me to wind down (I'm quite active all day long in my new job) and do some blogging lately. My goal for probably the last 8 days has been to take some time to sit and blog about how life is, what's going on and just all things life. : )

But to help move that process along, I'll just let you in on a few goings on as of late in our little abode.

1. My mom was here last weekend which was super fun! We took her to California Pizza Kitchen, The Nutcracker (love that ballet!!), church, had some home made spinach lasagna, brunch and saw Breaking Dawn. My mom is so great - she even got in the kitchen with Travis to do some cooking. I truly hope to one day be just half the mother/wife/sister/daughter that she is.

2. I have done zero - zero! - shopping so far for the holidays. Pretty sure if I had a little button labeled "start to panic" I would have pushed it this morning. Oh - and we haven't done anything towards our photo Christmas card yet.. maybe a New Year's card this year instead??

3. Travis was super sick with food poisoning the other night. : (  Needless to say it was awful. I felt so bad for him and am thankful that he is doing much better now. 

3. My work is teaching me a great lesson on Trust lately. I will elaborate more on it in a future post.. I am letting the thoughts percolate a bit, but it has been such an amazing life lesson for me.

4. Travis and I did some investigating online of Portland homes for sale the other evening. It was fun playing "house hunters" for an evening seeking out neighborhoods we like and dreaming up what we'd like our future home to have. It feels like owning a home could actually be a reality! : )

5. I'm craving a vacation right now. I'm hoping that in February we can take a weekend away and stay in the mountains or something. I've never been skiing or snowboarding.. I know I know.. I live down the way from Mt. Hood and have lived in Oregon all my life - but I blame it on the fact that I'm from a beach family (which I would never change!). But now, I really would love to go and stay in a cabin or lodge and try out surfing on a snowy mountain and be away from computers, cell phones, traffic, etc. Doesn't that sound good?

6. I want to make some peppermint bark this weekend. It's so yummy and tastes like Christmas. If Christmas had a taste it would be peppermint bark. Yes. I believe that.

7. One of my favorite ladies who I talked of in a previous post is now our neighbor! Carla lives across the way and I love that we can hang out and catch up. Which reminds me, I need to make her "welcome to the neighborhood" cookies this weekend. ;)


What about you ?? Are you excited for the holidays but feel way behind on your to do list like me? Any favorite holiday recipes you'd like to share? I'm in a baking mode and would love your input!

What's My Age Again?

 

 

26 years old. Sometimes I really don't feel like it, and still think I can pull off looking like I'm 18 when I wear a college hoodie, flip flops and bun up my hair. Don't get me wrong, I love that people often think I look younger than I am (I am told I will love this in my 30's). Lately I've felt like I'm in transition from 'young adult' to 'real adult'. Given, I have had a couple life experiences that not many of my peers have gone through, but does that mean I should "feel" older? A few weekends ago I was looking through my closet to clear out some clothes and couldn't let go of a few college hoodies and my favorite jacket from high school tennis (still fits!). I still feel like I dress and act like I'm in college; which wasn't that long ago. But I guess I thought growing up that once I was done with school I would all of a sudden become this 'amazing REAL adult'. But at 26, I still could have cereal for dinner, feel the urge to pat stray animals, Rollerblade and sleep in like nobody's business. 

When we got married, I felt this all of a sudden funniness that I was now a "Mrs." I absolutely LOVE being Mrs. Waltz - but I remember being little and referring to "old" people as Mr and Mrs. I wonder if anyone else feels like that when they get married? My husband is 5 years older than me and sometimes I tease him that he's 'old' and doesn't understand silly things but really he is quite mature and if anything has encouraged me to feel that I can be a grown up but still be who I am. Does that make sense? In my head it totally did.

This past weekend we ventured to IKEA. Well let me back up - it was a lovely Sunday date that T didn't even realize he had started. We had Sunday morning church group with our other 20-30 year old friends. Then went out to Starbucks for our weekend coffee habit. (Peppermint hot chocolate - delish!) Then went over to IKEA. I was easily one of the happiest wives (or Mrs.) in the store. I felt Full. Like my heart just felt Full. So much so, that I felt convinced to purchase this welcome mat for our little porch. Do you see the heart? It is super cute up close in person.

love ikea.

 But then part of the real reason we were there was due to cleaning out the kitchen on Saturday we realized that our tupperware was in really bad shape. Like the kind of shape that I would rather a guest not go home with left overs in it tupperware. So we decided to venture over and see the good deals and pick out some. (yes they are BPA free too - thanks for wondering!) But that was kind of a funny turning point. I was excited about new tupperware. New tupperware people. This is how I know I am growing up. Instead of purchasing the super cute chandalier just 'cause or the funky print of a skyline (husband could make an even better one at his work) I helped make a more responsible decision and purchase new kitchen supplies. 2 points for me.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel like I'm in that stage of I want to stay fresh out of college just a little while longer and push off the 30's for just a little longer (even though they're already 4 years away). Many of my friends have newborns or little toddlers and I feel like we have our hands full with our 4 legged furries. I admire that we are all at different stages of our lives, but guess that's what makes us all different. 

I'm excited for what lies ahead though. The past 3 years with Travis have been pretty radical-amazing, I wonder what the next 3 years has in store. Hopefully I'll still be getting carded, he keeps chasing August and Weger, and we'll finish off our evening with a bowl of cheerios.