a month of thanks {thankful vol. 1}

I'm still trying to get over the fact that it is NOVEMBER!!!  How on earth is time flying by so fast?!?  Well, I'm not complaining because I love the holidays, and we are only getting closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas!

One thing I have always wanted to do in November is "A Month of Thanks" where each day I share what I am thankful for.  Our lives are truly a gift, and it is always a blessing to see what you have been gifted with verses what you don't have.  

To start things off I had to thank the #1 person who fills my heart with more love than I knew I possessed:

Oh yes, ladies...he's a stud!  And I'm in love!  Even when I'm about to have a nervous breakdown before friends show up for dinner because I'm worried dinner isn't going to taste right-he throws on his old costume and tells me, "You can't move until I get one smile".  As I attempted to purse my lips and give him the fakest smile of my life, I turned around to see him in his hotdog costume...my lips instantly unlocked and the biggest smile was on my face.  

I will never be able to truly express in words how thankful I am for this man.  He has changed me, motivated me, loved me for who I am, inspired me, relaxed me, and made me a better person.  Since he has known me since I was 16 there is no hiding anything, no family drama, no crazy moments...and he has always shown me what true love is-loving more than you think you can go and loving the other person for who they are.  He has been my biggest fan and my rock through good and bad times.

He is the icing to my cupcake...

the peanut butter to my jelly....

the cheese to my quesadilla....(that's for you babe!)

the milk to my cookies....

the hummus to my veggies (that's for me!)....

No one will ever make me shine brighter than he does, laugh harder than he does, smile wider than he does, or love more than he does.

Today I am thankful for my truest gift from God: my husband.  

( I may just have to thank him more than once in this monthlong thanksgiving, he's just THAT good!)

dreaming of pumpkin

Hello!  If you are joining in on the Fall Followers Fest, Welcome!!!  

So if this post didn't convince you enough that I'm completely and utterly in love with fall I hope this one will, or at least make you hungry!

Yes, I'm a Fall addict.  But there is just something about the change of colors (that I dream about happening one day in sunny San Diego), the pumpkin aroma filling my kitchen, the little decorations hear and there that create a welcoming home, and being thankful for everything in your life.  This post is dedicated to all of the delicious recipes that I have already made or am currently planning my grocery trip around.  

First, we are having some friends over on Halloween for a little pumpkin party!  I am so excited because I've always wanted to make these:

Chili in pumpkin bowls!

Oh yes, these are on the menu and I can't wait to post how they turn out.  

Tomorrow is my baking day.  I truly love to bake at least once during the weekends, it just makes me feels complete. 

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pistachio Bread

I got my bake on last week and made this:

Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake.  Holy YUM!  They were delish, and got the stamp of approval from the husband and the in-laws.  

The only thing to have these with is your homemade pumpkin spice latte!  I still haven't found the perfect recipe, but I did just get my mom's espresso machine to play around with so stay posted for my to die for latte!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

In the morning my oats warm my tummy, especially with a tablespoon or two of pumpkin puree added.  I just saw this recipe, and this would be amazing for my topping, or just by the spoon.  I mean who doesn't love chocolate+pumpkin+peanut butter?  The combination still has me a little skeptical but all the ingredients are already on my shopping list for tomorrow

And, last but not least...pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!  When I think of these I think about my amazing friend you came earlier this month and our baking session after a great day. 

I hope that your tummy is grumbling and you now have lots of pumpkin recipes to warm your kitchen with while the last of fall remains!

diy applique onesie

One of my room moms just had a baby boy, and I decided to finally get my craft on and make some appliquéd onesies.  I found this tutorial online and got busy!

All you need is:

-Heat N Bond

-Scissors

-Onesies 

-Fabric

It is SO easy, that my mind was racing with ideas for future projects.  Just follow these 4 easy steps and you will have your own, personalized onesie!

1. I first cut out my design from fabric (his name is Daniel). 

2.  Then, I ironed it onto one side of my head n bond.  

3.Next, I cut the design out of my heat n bond.  

4.There is a paper back that I pulled off next, and then ironed on the final design.   

Ta-Da!

I also made one with a little tie on it.  

On this onesie, I hand stitched around it to add a little more details.  

Now, they're wrapped up and ready for baby Daniel. 

 What do you think????

a reminder of who my father is

I have been thinking long and hard about this post.  This is probably going to be the most intimate post I ever write, and I want to preface it first.  I'm a firm believer that we are who we are because of where we have been.  Where I've been may not seem so horrible, but it has made me who I am today.  As I hesitated to write this, I prayed-and as I prayed I felt as though God was telling me at least one person might be encouraged today through this.  I also hope to show you just how amazing my mother is.

I came from a broken home.  My mom and dad divorced when I was only six months old.  The person I consider my dad was actually my step-dad, whom my mom married when I was 7.  He was around the the majority of my childhood, imprinted himself into all of my memories, and then destroyed who I thought I was.

All of my life I aimed to please him, I begged inside for him to say, "I love you, I'm proud of you", I strived for his perfection.  What filled those words was his drunken state for a majority of my adolescence.  When him and my mom divorced when I was 20 I thought I would be okay.  You'd think divorces would be harder on younger kids, right?  Through the divorce I had come to resent him, I resented him for his addiction, for not loving my mother the way she deserved, and resented him for not loving me.

God always has a plan.

"'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'". ~Jeremiah 29:11


My dad never chose to have a relationship with me after the divorce and I still to this day don't quite understand.  However, through the years I have come to learn that HE did not define who I was.  As a people pleaser, I pined after his affirmation and love.  God has been there, He has loved me and told me  He is proud of me.  One of my favorite verses is Matthew 29:3:


"And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven."

My dad had two children from his first marriage that I have always considered my brother and sister.  After my parents divorced, my mom continued to love them as her own.  My sister that was just married last weekend is actually my step-sister, and even though we have no legal ties-our hearts are bonded forever.  And here is the crazy part, my mom was still invited to the wedding and played a vital role.  My mom continually amazes me with her grace and selflessness.

With this wedding came having to see my dad for the first time in about 4 years.  I prayed about it quite a bit, and everything went surprisingly well.  I have God to thank.  He has taught me that my family history does not define me and make me unlovable by an earthly father, because what matters most is that my Heavenly Father has a deep and since love for me.

As the wedding took place I was perfect, everything was great.  Then, the father-daughter dance took place.  As I watched rocking my nephew in my arms I could feel it, my throat became tight and the tears welled up in my eyes.  It was all I could do to keep my composure as I walked away to find comfort from my mom.  My mind was flooded with the emotions I had been healing through for the past several years.

I realized in that moment that we will always need God.  No matter how much I pray for healing, grace, and comfort-I will always need God.  Just because I broke down does not mean I am still bitter and resentful towards my dad.  It means that we are human, we will feel emotion, we will be hurt, we will be upset.  And even though we think we are over things, God will continue to heal our hearts through trials.  

an apple a day...

This past weekend I finally ventured up to Julian for my first ever apple picking adventure!  I still can't believe that I have never done this before, given that I lived only 20 minutes away when I was growing up.  Sadly, the apple picking was very slim but it was still fun walking through the orchards and basking in the beauty of the day.  Plus, I loved spending my time with this lovely lady...

The trees had barely any apples on them, but we were able to try to find some and then fill our bags full with apples they had already picked.

We worked up quite the appetite with the long drive and all our apple picking, so we snagged some lunch at Wynola Pizza and shared some scrumptious sandwiches.  

After lunch we looked through a little antique shop across the street.  I'm still loving all of the antiques I see but am struggling with how to put it all together in my house.  What I love the most is just browsing and picking out what would be super cute.  Right now I'm loving the old ladders used in bathrooms to hang towels.

Now that I have SO many apples (did I forget to mention that I accidentally bought a big bag at the store yesterday forgetting we were going today?!?!) I'm thinking a big batch of homemade apple sauce is in order!

Now I'm trying to decide which recipe to try, crockpot or no crockpot????

the sweetness from this week

Holy Smokes!  Where did the week go???  Being that I was traveling last weekend, this week went by very fast and was pretty stressful trying to get back into the swing of things.  There doesn't seem to be a lot going on, but as I look back at my pictures I can't believe how much filled up this week.  

First, I loved my early birthday present, a new iPhone!  I have been dying for one, and I only have amazing things to say!!!  I love how quickly the camera takes pictures, I'm in LOVE with Instragram (if you didn't already know), and I love how it connects directly to my Mac Book.  We have a very happy marriage, in deed!  

Here's some of the sweetness that filled my week:

Brussel Sprouts!!!!  I know, I'm a dork...but I LOVE them.  I made the easiest dinner: roasted brussels sprouts and zucchini, leftover rotisserie chicken from Costco, and frozen brown rice from Trader Joe's.  

Kale + Spinach + Pear Mango Smoothie

This smoothie was delicious!  You would think that it would have a pretty bitter taste with all of the greens, but it was actually pleasantly sweet.  I revised the recipe just a touch, and will post it soon.  I even bought a big bag of kale while at Trader Joe's yesterday so I can made some more this week.  They are perfect for breakfast when I need to eat something quick on my way to work.  

I cleaned the fridge!!!  The rest of the house may be a mess, but at least I accomplished my cleaning goal for Saturday!  

  

Making an amazing Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake recipe from the one and only, Mama Pea!  My in-laws came over for dinner Saturday night and everyone was raving about it.  I'm telling you, that Mama Pea has some pretty awesome recipes.  If you haven't tried them out yet, you're truly missing out! 

Seeing little miss Calli!  Any day is spectacular when she is in it : )  Uncle D was teaching her how to use the computer, or he was posing her while she was tuned out to Toy Story 3.  Who knows???

Apple picking and spending the day with this gem of a friend.  It had been way too long since we had hung out, so I loved our day together!  

And, making this adorable onesie!!!  My room mom made just had a little baby boy this past week, so I decided to make some cute onesies as a gift.  I took step-by-step pictures of this super simple project, so be on the lookout for that very soon!  

Wow!  What a productive and joyful week!  Can you believe that we are almost done with October???

the night there was a mouse in the house

If you didn't think my husband was a funny man from my last post, this might finally convince you.  Last night we had the lovely Joey and Andrea over for dinner!  I have to first tell you why this was so special.  Andrea and Joey were married in July, then Joey deployed just 3 weeks later.  His expected return home was between late October and early November.  Well, Andrea got quite the surprise when Joey walked out of her parents' garage this past Monday-leaving her speechless!  We were so happy to have him home and enjoy some scrumptious pizza!

On the menu for the evening: BBQ chicken pizza, salad, and homemade breadsticks.  

Backstory: You all know we have a crazy cat!  One minute she is loving all up on you and the next she thinks she is a lion while attacking your arm.  

Okay, back to the story....

Joey looked over into the living room and noticed Minnie was playing with something.  It was a MOUSE!  The room was filled with screams, squeals, and lots of jumping up and down. (Maybe that was just me)  The boys decided that they could take the mouse on and get it out of the house, and I decided to video tape because what was unfolding before my eyes was hysterical.  

My favorite parts include: (1) the husband checking on the pizza, (2) my husband's chonies hanging out for the world to see (sorry mom!), (3) my husband's funny man dance as he proudly stated "get out of my house little mouse", (4) Joey's intense concentration, (5) Andrea's uncontrollable laughter in the background.  

Luckily the boys were successful and we could enjoy our pizza (if you couldn't tell that was a priority from the video).  

This is why I love this man: he continually makes me laugh harder than I ever have before.  

guest post by D. R. LaFuze

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Here is the much anticipated guest post from the one and only husband.  I do feel as though a caution is needed before you read it.  You see, we completely disagree on a couple of these items you will read about...but that's what I love about him.  The somewhat dorky yet humorous guy he is.  He continually makes me laugh, and I hope you get a good chuckle out of this one.
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Do you know what's wrong with America? Feelings. Everybody is too afraid to hurt another person or "mother natures" feelings that they don't do what needs to be done. We don't tell people the truth when they need to hear it. Sometimes the truth hurts, but really, just stop being so overly sensitive. As a country, we need to man up and tell people the truth about things. Like:


Crocs.
Crocs are the ugliest items that you could ever put on your feet. Yet somehow they became a huge sensation around the world. Are they shoes? Sandals? I don't know. They are a mistake that wouldn't have happened if America would have told their friends how stupid they looked for wearing them.

Skinny Jeans
If you are a male then you look ridiculous wearing skinny jeans. There is no reason for full grown adults to be wearing skinny jeans. It does not make your butt "look cute". It makes you look like you won the war on anorexia and forgot to buy a new pair of jeans afterwards. You look ridiculous. In a practical sense, they caught off your range of motion and prohibit you from running from a possible rabid dog.

I also feel that as a country we have become overly concerned with the environment. I get that we are saving the planet and all that but at what expense? I know that we have few and precious resources and I don't want to deplete them. Here are two examples of where I feel America has missed the mark as it concerns with the environment.

1. Organic Foods.
I know that everyone is still a little bitter about almost killing off all the bald eagles with pesticides but that was an accident and we've learned from our mistakes. That's not going to happen again. The eagles are doing great now. Another reason people are pro-organics is because its better for you. The way I see it, our health isn't really a factor at all: we're living longer now then in any other time in modern history. So why pay a high premium for foods that have bugs? A little pesticides isn't hurting me or the birds anymore.

2. All Natural Cleaners.
I love nature. I enjoy the outdoors and watching sweet video's like this one.

But, when nature sneaks its way into a bottle and makes false claims about its cleaning power I draw the line. Earlier this week, I started scrubbing the dirt and grime of my cabinet's with a "green" product. I don't know why I paid for it. I could have gotten the same results by filling a bottle full of water and adding green food coloring. It was terrible. So, I went to the store and bought a bottle of "Fantastik" (for $3 less) and it was amazing. Instead of scrubbing the dirt off, all I had to do was wipe/dry it off. Don't get me wrong, I got very light headed and a little dizzy using it but the cabinets are actually clean now. It was worth it.

the country wedding, part II

Here are a few more pictures from my sister's wedding this past weekend.  I had the job of carrying my nephew down the aisle so he was a part of the ceremony.  It felt so wonderful to see my nephews, my sister, her new husband, and be reconnected with family.  

I love these people!  My mom, brother, and sister are so unbelievably amazing.  

The family portrait.  Jaden was completely over taking pictures, poor guy. 

By the time the sun went down, we all headed back up to the house to change into warmer clothes and settle in for a bonfire.  

Sunday was spent over at my sister's house for more nephew and Auntie J time.  I seriously cannot get enough of this cute pie!

As I look through these pictures and write this post, there is so much more to be said.  Right now I'm at a point where I'm not sure how much to delve into with my blog.  I started this about a year and a half ago as a way to journal all of life's experiences and keep all of our family in the loop.  My mom and mother-in-law LOVE reading "The News" and knowing what we are up to...and we only live 40 minutes away from them (so sad, I know).  But, I have been thinking a lot about this blog-my purpose behind it-and where it should go.  

I truly love blogging, it brings me so much joy and happiness, and I love being able to look back at everything my wonderful husband and I have accomplished, celebrated, and enjoyed.  This is my personal little space where I like to showcase my passions and enjoyment.  At the same time, there is still quite a bit of privacy.  

As I look through these photos there is so much going on that is unsaid.  The family dynamics would make your head spin.  Should I delve into it all?  This question has been on my mind for quite some time this week.  This blog is about me, and a big part of me and why I am the way I am is because of my family and my upbringing.  

So, I will share a little bit...but not now.  I'm praying for God's wisdom and words, and soon enough you will get a peak inside this little lady.