Thursday, January 31, 2013

Project 52: Drink Up

     I took on this photography challenge as a way to get to know my camera. And I can say after only 3 weeks I am certainly learning A LOT. I have pulled out the manual learned the terms and am starting to put together how each factors in to how the other works. Now I really have got to get out and find better things to take pictures of. I had some great ideas for this but with a slightly rushed (NOT wanting to get further behind) manner; I had hubby bear make me some of his awesome, yet slightly messy looking Cocoa.

    This is my favorite drink of the winter time. I love it with a shot of Baileys and makes me feel all warm inside.






        I have learned how to take pictures in low light with out flash. By using my aperture and ISO. And now have learned when I have good lighting if I want my pictures to be clear not grainy I have to adjust my ISO back again. That was where I was faltering.

For complete list of all pictures from my Project 52 follow this link to Resolutions which has links to all of my project 52 blogs.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Finished The Asylum

So I have to say that I did quit the program like 2 days early due to my knees not being able to really handle the jumping around and squats. I loved the program but now we are going to work on doing some yoga, and Pilates to tone up more and take it easy.  So that being said I am so super proud of my progress!!! You can totally tell there is a difference. And according to the scale this morning I have finally lost 2 lbs yeah that is not much, but  you can tell I have gained muscle!!!

So here are the final pictures :) I'll show you a month from now how the new workouts are treating me too!! Thanks for sticking with me through Insanity!! I loved all the support I got!!


Friday, January 25, 2013

10 months old!!

Nicknames: Kyra Bug, Squishy, Bunny

Clothing Size: 9 months and some 12 months.

Personality:  So friendly and totally love meeting new people. But you have started being super shy and bashful in a super cute way!! You love to learn new things.

Things I Could Do Without:  You being super mad about being told no. And tearing up the house seconds after I clean it up.

Item/Toy We Love The Most: Books, you sit and read them and keep quite to let me have a break.

Item/Toy You Love The Most: Your blocks, you just love when I build them up and you knock them down, you even make the "aaaaahhhhh" like I do.

Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: How much you can do. I love that you wave bye bye to people when they leave, that you clap when you hear cheering, you know how to say dad, mama, and baba(bath). Your indian noises, and now that you are starting to stand on your own.

Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: Walking holding on to just one hand! And being held. We are working on breaking 4 teeth right now and you are not enjoying it.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Project 52: Made with Love

        Still working on catching up on the photography challenge. I feel like I certainly don't have enough experience with my camera. I need to take out my manual and start getting a better idea of how to use the important parts of my camera. Thank goodness my close friend is going to do a little class for a few of us to learn how to use them better.

         Here is week 2 tho I was happy to have the sun out today because I could take this picture without worrying about the weird shadows from over head lighting. This little box is something my Grandparents made for me. My grandpa works with wood and my grandma loves to paint. The color is perfect but what makes this so valuable to me is I had my wedding at their house. We were living in Hawaii at the time, and couldn't bring my bouquet back on the plane without probably destroying it. So I left it at her house as a center piece for her table. A couple months later I received this beautiful little box with all the flowers dried out inside of it! Such a small item so much meaning and love.

     I tried to get a close picture so you would be able to see the flowers inside of the box. And changed the aperture to use the sun light to get the color of the box too.


For complete list of all pictures from my Project 52 follow this link to Resolutions which has links to all of my project 52 blogs.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Project 52: Resolutions

          I was able to spend Kyra's nap time working on taking a picture of the week 1 theme!!! You all know my resolutions so they are hard to really photograph both Financial Stability and Positive attitude. I know that part of the challenge is to use your imagination as far as the composition of your photo. So I was working on Different angles and stuff to try and get the best picture of my Dave Ramsey book we are using to help get our money in order!! I really need to figure out how to use my camera better. I think this picture could be clearer, and I need to figure out how to make the background out of focus.


For anyone who would like to join in on the fun before you're too far behind here is the list of themes for each week!! If you do it I would love for you to post the link of your blog or picture wherever you post it onto the comments of the matching blog I write!! Would be very cool to look at everyone's choices of pictures. The possibilities are endless!!!


Week 1:  (Jan. 5th) - Resolution
Week 2:  (Jan. 12th) - Made with Love
Week 3:  (Jan. 19th) -Drink Up
Week 4:  (Jan. 26th) - City Lights

Week 5:  (Feb. 2nd) - I Dreamed A Dream
Week 6:  (Feb. 9th) - Fog
Week 7:  (Feb. 16th) - Still Life
Week 8:  (Feb. 23rd) -Water

Week 9:  (Mar. 2nd) - Self-Portrait
Week 10: (Mar. 9th) - Flowers
Week 11: (Mar. 16th) - Shadows
Week 12:  (Mar. 23rd) - Reflections
Week 13:  (Mar. 30th) - Details

Week 14:  (Apr. 6th) - Man-made
Week 15:  (Apr. 13th) - Fragile
Week 16:  (Apr. 20th) - Humor
Week 17: (Apr. 27th) - Rain

Week 18: (May 4th) - Opposites
Week 19: (May 11th) - Eyes
Week 20: (May 18th) - Silloutte
Week 21: (May 25th) - Animals

Week 22: (June 1st) - Laughter
Week 23: (June 8th) - Reading/Books
Week 24: (June 15th) - Street Photography
Week 25: (June 22nd) - Candy
Week 26: (June 29th) - Lips

Week 27: (July 6th) - Sunlight
Week 28: (July 13th) - Relaxation
Week 29: (July 20th) - Music
Week 30: (July 27th) - Defeat

Week 31: (Aug. 3rd) - Bokeh
Week 32: (Aug. 10th) - Black and White
Week 33: (Aug. 17th) - Textures
Week 34: (Aug. 24th) - Night
Week 35: (Aug. 31st) - Motion

Week 36: (Sept. 7th) - Glamour
Week 37: (Sept. 14th) -Patriotic
Week 38: ( Sept. 21st) -  Childhood
Week 39: (Sept. 28th) - Candid

Week 40: (Oct. 5th) - Fall
Week 41: (Oct. 12th) - Color
Week 42: (Oct. 19th)- Old
Week 43: (Oct. 26th) - Love

Week 44: (Nov. 2nd) - Make Believe
Week 45: (Nov. 9th) - Beverages
Week 46: (Nov. 16th) - Looking Out
Week 47: (Nov. 23rd) - Mother
Week 48: (Nov. 30th) - Food

Week 49: (Dec. 7th) - Perspective
Week 50: (Dec. 14th) - New
Week 51: (Dec. 21st) - The Kitchen
Week 52: (Dec. 28th) - Family

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Must admit

Well guys I must admit this week was not my best week. I ended up only putting in 3 days of Insanity. With my relief day on Thursday. Than we left town bright and early Friday. So bright and early that I simply packed workout clothes and well no gym shoes. So the idea of going to the gym while we were at the hotel went out the window. So I took the 3 days off and enjoyed the trip aside from a few quick laps in the pool, nothing worthy of being considered a workout. This being said I am not going to be taking any pictures of progress as I doubt there will be any.

This coming week I am going to be doing 8 days straight with no relief day, going to be pushing into the finish line as my last week until I graduate from The Asylum!!! After the Asylum I am going to go into doing a hybrid of Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred. If you are a long time follower you may have read I tried this once before. But that is why I am going to be doing it a bit differently so I don't get bored with doing the exact same video day in and day out. Well that is  a bit down the road so we'll get there when we get there.

On a totally different note. A great friend of mine is doing a thing called the 52 challenge or something like that. She is a professional photographer so my pictures will be no comparison so totally check out her link. http://armywifealongfortheride.blogspot.de But I am going to go ahead and try out doing the challenge also. As I am trying to become one with my camera!! Haha and taking 1 GOOD picture a week is more like something I can keep up versus any of the 30 day challenges. So keep an eye out for those. As I am already 3 weeks behind so they may come on different days until I catch up. But those will probably be a Wednesday or Thursday post :) See you all in a few days!!

And of course with that little hint at our vacation I will be posting about that too when I get the time!!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

2 weeks of Insanity done!!!

Another quick blog to see where I am going!!! This week's workouts although the same as the last weeks seemed so much easier!!! Today was a relief day and I enjoyed being able to just stretch. But makes getting back into the working out on a Monday that much harder :S. But I will get up and push play and not regret it!!! This week I did the Game Day video which is where the other videos are supposedly training you for. It was way longer and really hard but at the end I was super happy to have finished it with very few stops!!!

The results are starting to come in my opinion. And It is making all the work worth it!!  Here is the picture from before, and now at week 2 done :)

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Taco Casserole

So I have fed a few people this delicious meal and it was something I found a while back in a recipe book. I have no idea which one it was and so make this all from my memory. But it is a family favorite in our house as we eat it at least once a month.

Finally took a picture of it in all its glory!!
Taco Casserole

1 pkg Crescents
1 lb of hamburger or ground turkey(seasoning)
1 can of beans(we used to do refried, but we have moved to black beans)
Shredded Cheese
Doritos
Shredded Lettuce
Tomatoes
Sour cream and salsa(as toppings)



This is a simple recipe and could be made by anyone. I start by preheating the oven to 375* depending on what the package of Crescents say. Than begin browning the ground beef. Cook this until there is no more red, season as you feel needed. I do salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. But have done Taco seasoning also and that tastes good too. Than stir in the beans to get the flavor into them. Once this is all cooked up, lay the crescents out on the pan (9x13 in) in a flat layer. Than you start layering. You add the beans and meat mixture on top of this. Than you crunch up the Doritos and add them, than you layer it with a thick layer of cheese. Bake them according to the Crescent package.
Once this is done cooking take it out and layer the lettuce, diced tomatoes and more cheese on top and serve with Sour cream or salsa as you see fit. This meal is a great one to include both protein and vegtables!

I hope everyone enjoys our favorite meal!! So simple yet a crowd pleaser. I made this for a friend back in Hawaii and she was shocked to see her kids scarfing it down when they normally don't like taco's!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

1st week update

    This is just going to be a quick update. Finished the first 7 days of Insanity Asylum. I am very proud that I have managed to keep up with it. And I feel so much healthier it is wonderful. Plus every time I do each workout (2 if of which I have repeated already)  I feel more confident and able to finish it with less struggle. That allows me to push myself even more. Today I let my head touch the ground doing push-ups and the puddle that ensued would normally gross someone out but I felt so happy about knowing I am working my ass off literally! Just as a way to track my progress I am going to post pictures from before, and one current to see when/if you can start seeing the difference. 3 more weeks til I graduate Asylum Stay tuned to see how things continue to go.





I don't feel that there is much difference. And I haven't lost any weight yet but, that will NOT discourage me from pushing just as hard everyday!!

Friday, January 4, 2013

Controversal Parenting

So this blog is about the topic of parenting that can often be very controversial. I wanted to write about them as a way for people to see where I stand on things. But I really hope that it will not cause people to start any drama or be rude to each other. Honestly I think any choices that you make as a parent as far as how you choose to raise your children is what works for you. Not everything I do is going to work for every family!  This is a tag so meaning its a starter topic for discussion, the idea is for you to read than converse over how you feel, which does NOT mean bash on others opinions. For me it was interesting way to Learn about the different options more than anything.



Pro-life Vs. Pro-choice: This topic has probably been one of the most controversial topics that has been an issue for a very long time. And to me having an opinion on this is something you can't really have until you are faced with the choice. So being a man and never having to give birth to a child you should have no opinion in the matter. I am really not sure where I stand on this topic. I don't think that you should use abortion as like a form of birth control. You should NOT be able to go in and get an abortion because you just don't want to be pregnant. Specially when you should just use a condom. But there is also the situations where someone was raped, and having that child would only bring the pain of the rape back to memory every time they saw it and that wouldn't be fair for the mother or child.  And the other thing would be if a medical doctor were to say that it was deemed necessary to abort a pregnancy when the mother was absolutely not able to bear a child.

Baby Wearing: Well this topic if you follow my blog at all should be an easy one to answer. I really didn't know that much about it before I moved here to Germany but after attending the annual baby convention thing with Danielle, I was set that I was going to wear Kyra EVERYWHERE. And since my mom was awesome and got me one of the BEST brands in baby-wearing, I was set to go. And living here specially during the holiday season I don't know what I would do it I wasn't a baby wearer. I would NOT have wanted to push a stroller through the crowded streets with people everywhere.

Circumcision:  This isn't something I have had to deal with yet since Kyra is a girl and my only. But I feel like this one is kind of confusing. I have been listening to a lot of different opinions on the matter and have yet to decide where I stand. This is something I will certainly need to do more research on when the time comes that we are expecting a boy.

Adoption:  I am 100% pro adoption for not only the case that there are 1000's of families out there that simply can't have kids of their own, but also that I think making the decision to put your child you carried up for adoption is completely selfless. This is the choice I hope that anyone who becomes pregnant unexpectedly and know they won't be able to provide a great home for the child would do. They should always consider this option over abortion or trying to raise a child they know they don't have the means to provide for. You as a mother or father should know what is best for the baby you conceived if you know you can't provide the right care be honest with yourself and do the right thing.

Baby Piercing:  Now this topic I can't say I am against because it is your choice if you wanna pierce your baby's ears. We chose to simply not until Kyra is old enough to ask for it. If at age 6 she comes home and wants her ears pierced we will sit down and explain to her that it is going to hurt and show her how she will have to take good care of them. And if she still wants to get them done we will allow her to. As it is her body and she can decide what to do with it. That being said I will be strict about other piercings lol. Don't think she will be a metal face by age 10 or anything :)

Breast Milk Vs. Formula: This one is also a no brainier if you know me. I have been exclusively breastfeeding Kyra since day one. I knew I would always breast feed as I know the benefits of breastfeeding that totally out weight formula infinitely. My opinion is that breastfeeding may be a lot of work at first and can often cause people to quit but its a very selfless way to provide the best for you children. I think every mother should at least try to breastfeed their children because how can you know its not for you if you have never tried? I know there are some mothers who can only do it for a little while and their bodies dry up or simply are just unable to produce at all. And for that I am glad there is such thing as Formula to provide a nutritious supplement to the baby.

Spanking: This one is something that I have had a lot to think about. My husband is pro spanking as that was how he was raised. I was raised the same way.  But I think that spanking caused us to simply fear my dad more than anything. We knew if we messed up we were gonna gets spanked so we tried to behave but I would rather not have my children have any fear in us. I really want them to be able to trust us and respect us instead. So I am pro trying other ways to instill good behavior in your children before spanking. I intend to be very strict about time out and getting down on their level to explain what they have done wrong. I think being disappointed and speaking calmly will cause them to listen and behave better. But all of this is just in thought and we will have to see for ourselves when we reach this point what works and what doesn't as every child is different.

Co-sleeping: For some people co sleeping is the right thing for them. For us it was never an option. We like our sleep too much and I felt like if she was sleeping in my bed I wouldn't sleep well at all for the fear of rolling onto her and hurting her. Also now that she is getting older she needs her own space sometimes during the day. And she has learned to love her own bed. In my opinion co-sleeping causes issues later in life when they are old enough they should be sleeping in their room every night and they still think they should sleep with you. This is something we didn't want to have to deal with.

Home Vs. Public Vs. Private Vs. Charter Schooling: This is one of the topics where I am not sure what we will do. With all the craziness that is our world there has never been something so tempting as home schooling. But I know that for my child to be social the best is to go to school with other students. I grew up public and never had any problems with it. But I would also consider private school if I could afford it. As the security and advanced classes they are able to provide would be nice for my children to have access to. But this topic I need to look into a lot more before I can decide. And we certainly have sometime to do that.

Vaccinations:  As a military family it seems like it is kind of required to get your children vaccinated. But I  am sure you are allowed to not if you choose. But I think for your child's safety and the safety of the children your kids are around vaccinating against diseases is only the smart thing to do.

Medicating Children:  I don't know if this is referring to like Tylenol and stuff like that or bigger issues like ADD/ADHD. One I am pro the other I am against. I don't see that giving your child Tylenol or cold medicine is a bad thing. If you baby has a fever you don't want them to just have to suffer when there are things that have been invented to help relieve the symptoms. So as far as over the counter medicine that has been tested and proven to help I don't mind it one bit. But if you are going to take your child to the doctor because they seem to have a lot of energy and you just aren't sure how to deal with it. Putting kids on addictive drugs is not a safe or smart solution. Maybe your child just needs a more disciplined schedule or to get involved in something more physical that will allow them to use their energy in a more productive way. Again all kids are different and not all are going to be able to sit still and read, and not all are going to want to be chasing a ball up and down a field either. Learn your child's ways and do what you can to make them happy.

Cloth Vs. Disposable diapers: This one is something I don't find all that controversial. It is obvious that Cloth diapering saves you money and helps the environment. That being said it isn't for everyone. I does take a bit more work and time but can be done. I am a part time cloth diaper-er I wish I had the energy to do it always but we do try to do it when we are caught up on washing clothes. But that is not as often as it should be.  We tend to live out of the clean baskets and not get them put away lol. And I am not comfortable with doing it out and about cuz I don't wanna have to carry the dirty diapers around with me until we get home. But we have gone weeks at a time just cloth diapering when we are home to stretch out the amount of time a package of diapers last, when we are broke. I have even made wipes too! It wasn't that bad at all. I think with the next baby I may try to collect some more cloth diapers and do it exclusively for them.

CIO Method: This one to me is a matter of how long you do it. I don't think you should let your baby cry all the time. They probably need something if they are always crying and you need to be responsive so they know they can trust you to be there for them. That being said we do do the CIO method at night time because I know she can sleep through the night and often wakes up just because its a routine, or won't go to bed because she wants to be up with us even when she is tired.  But our routine is we let her cry for 5 mins than go in rock her for no longer than 2 mins, and than lay her back down. Than if she continues to cry we wait 10 mins and that rock her again for 2 mins. And continue to do this but if after 15 mins of crying she hasn't calmed down and slept instead of trying to rock her we just let her get back up for a while. If she hasn't slept she probably isn't tired and doesn't need to be stressed out by being trapped in a crib!! And normally by this time she will be so exhausted that she will come out to play and will only last maybe 15 mins before she is ready to be laid back down it just calms her down to know that we are still there and paying some attention to her.


Well those are my opinions and how I feel about the top topics in parenting. Feel free to comment and leave your opinions but lets play nice and not bash each other. Every individual is different and not everything will be the same so be respectful!