Happy New Year!

Happy 2014! Wow -- how can it be 2014 already!? And how pathetic is it that I have not done a blog post since July.....yes JULY, 6 months ago. Patty boy and I have been blessed in so many ways this past year and are truly beyond thankful for our health, love, family, and friends. Our relationship has grown in so many ways this past year, and I look forward to what 2014 brings us!

Thought I'd do a quick  recap of some highlights of the year, also because I'm losing my mind and find it hard to remember what I did last week...so it will just be nice to look back on this one day..:)

• 2013 started out with a bang and we (or should I say) Pat, began the long, never-ending, money sucking basement project. To say I'm sick of dust is such an understatement.

 

• In February I turned 27 (I already find it hard to keep track of my age...omg), and I had a great time with some fabulous friends on our progressive dinner.

 

• Shortly after my birthday we packed up our bags and made a long hike to Crested Butte, CO for a skiing trip over Valentine's weekend. It was only my second time to ever ski, and after that go around, I think from now on I will spend my time taking part in less dangerous activities:) However, we had a blast with some of our great friends!

 

• In April I had to make a trip to LA for my job so the hubby came along with me and we stayed for a few extra days. We spent time in LA, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Malibu. We had a great time shopping, hiking, celebrity spotting, and enjoying the awesome weather. :) We even had a chance to eat at the famous Ivy!

•  In June we drove down to Beaver Lake for a long weekend and stayed in a lake house with some of our great friends Nick & Ashley + LOTS of kids..:) We had a great time tubing, boating, and spending time with friends we don't get to see near enough!

• In August we turned around and headed south again, this time to Dallas to visit my cousins, attend Addi's first communion and do some shopping for the basement! We came home with a truck load of stuff so I call that a success! 

• In September, Pat and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary, his 10 Year Class Reunion, and went to the much anticipated Luke Bryan concert with Nick and Ash, he is my absolute fav and we had such a great time.

• October was another exciting month as we flew down to Phoenix with some friends, went on our first hot air balloon ride for our (late) anniversary, hiked the Superstitious Mountains and explored Phoenix and Scottsdale. I absolutely fell in love with Arizona and the heat and am already planning on retiring there:)

 

• Also in October, I started my first in-depth 10-week bible study with a very good friend of mine, Amanda. I don't really think either of us knew the time commitment we were about ready to jump into, but what an amazing experience it was. It not only brought our friendship to a new level, but it honestly changed my life. 2013 was definitely a challenging year for me in many ways, this bible study could not have happened at a more perfect time. The main thing I now know whole-heartedly (I knew this before I started, but I now know it on a whole different level)- God WANTS us to be happy, he hates to see us suffer, and he ALWAYS has the best intentions for us. I will continue to be patient, and let God guide me in life to where HE wants me to be. We are all guilty of this in life- we complain about everything, and take for granted the abundant amount of blessings we wake up to every day. So I have started a gratitude journal. Each day I write down 3 blessings, acknowledge them, and take a minute to reflect on why I am thankful for them. I truly encourage this. It has humbled me and opened my eyes to so many things. I am truly looking forward to starting the next study and can't wait to see where this one takes me.

• November and December were honestly such a blur. Between Thanksgiving, celebrating Pat's 29th birthday, going on our family vacation, and finishing the basement, it honestly seemed like we blinked and it is now 2014. We just got back from our family cruise which was a much needed, relaxing, never wanted it to end trip. Between all of the hustle and bustle it was so nice to turn off our phones, step away from the stress of every day life and just talk, spend time with the closest people and ones we love.

• The basement is now done, pictures to come of the final project but we are still finishing a few small odds and ends. I am beyond proud of Pat, he has spent grueling hours finishing the basement over this past year and doing it all on his own with some help here and there from family/friends. What an accomplishment! Even more reasons to love this boy.

• We were so blessed to have many Christmas' to attend, spending time with lots of family, and rang in the New Year with a great group of friends.

As for 2014, we actually have NOTHING planned..lol and you know what, I am totally okay with that. I'm sure stuff will pop up along the way, but we are looking forward to slowing down a bit this year, enjoying our basement, and taking life as we go. Happy 2014 to all!

Life Lately

Is it really April??? Not sure how it can be..but I will say I am more than ready for some nice weather, I'm totally not a cold weather gal.

 

I've had a lot of my mind lately, particularly the thought of what I should be doing with my life? Today's church sermon could not have been better, I felt that it was directed right at me. It was about living happy, as well as being emotionally and mentally happy. Our Pastor gave us a task this week and that is to make a list of everything we don't need in our lives. He made such a great point.

Happiness is not found by chasing new things, but by letting go of the things you don't need.We need to stop worrying about being the person we think everyone wants us to be, but be the person God made us to be.

 

Life lately has been pretty good, I've been working a bit more of a normal schedule, still not ideal but better so I'll take it. I've been really contemplating what I want to do with my life though...is it normal to do this when you are 27?? Please tell me yes. I've now been out of college for almost 5 years, sheesh. Yea- I'm proud of myself and feel that I have been pretty successful and am at a good point in my career, I work in the corporate world, wear suits every day to work (I always had dreamed of dressing up like this for a job) but is it what I really want to do?? Am I passionate about my job? No.

And I think this is the whole problem, I don't feel like there is a purpose, or I am making a difference. I want to be passionate about what I am doing, enjoy going to work every day (okay I know that is not realistic, but at least the majority of the time), have more of a flexible job/hours, and NOT wear a suit every day. Ha- boy have my thoughts changed. So what am I truly passionate about?

Fashion and Nutrition. My ultimate dream for as long as I can remember is to own a boutique. But of course that takes some funds, lots and lots of moo-lah, more than a 27 year old has. So..that is a good long-term goal. But what about now? I am intrigued by nutrition and health. I would have loved to become a dietitian, but never wanted to take those classes in college (aka science) so I pushed it aside. I absolutely love reading about food and what it does for your body and learning how different foods effect people. And I want to to help people, I want to make a difference in someones life. So that is where I am at.... I've been doing some research on different routes to take, so we will see where life takes me. I want to be the person God wants me to be, and I will pray that he will point me in the right direction and lead me to the field I need to be in.

 

So what else? Well we have been working away on the basement. I'm so proud of patty boy, he has been working his tush off and things are coming along. Pictures to come:)

 



Last weekend was Easter, God blessed us with an absolutely beautiful day. The hubs and I spent the day with family. We started out with Church, followed by brunch at my parents and then off to Beloit to visit his Grandpa.

 

 



My youngest sister, Paige and her boyfriend were also in town for Easter so we had my family over Saturday night to watch the WSU game.

 

 

 

This weekend was followed with some more amazing weather! I am loving the weather (however the allergies are not). I love when I have productive days, Saturday was one of them! We started the day with a great Title Boxing workout (I could not be more obsessed with this place), then made it to the Farmer's Market (first weekend it was opened). We picked up some fresh herbs and vegetables. We then headed to the grocery store to get our food for the week, ran to Lowes to get some grass seed and headed back home to get some yard work done. We got the flower beds all cleaned out, the house power washed, and planted my new herbs in my little herb garden. I took Buddy on a quick walk and then it was game time! 

Today will be spent getting some cooking done for the week, I hope to get in a good run to! Oh and clean out my closet, it's in dire need!

I've already made some fresh pesto, I freeze this in an ice cube tray and then can pop out a few cubes when needed for a quick dinner. Throw on some sauteed chicken and boom- dinner is served.

I'm also a girl who has a major sweet tooth, I won't deny that. I have found these to be the perfect sweet treat!

 



 

They are little protein truffles. Simply made with some protein powder, coconut flour, water, walden farms peanut butter spread, coconut oil, and water. Delish!

Happy Spring!