3 months into 2014

So as you all certainly know if you own some sort of computer, calender, phone etc....its already the last day of March! Which means it is time to check in on this year's resolutions so far. As usual my list of resolutions has changed dramatically in just a matter of 3 months.

Read 12 books: This resolution is one I have stuck to and frankly have been exceeding, If you follow my blog you have already read 5 book reviews this year. But I have actually already finished reading 6 books and am about 1/3 of the way through the 7th book :D

 

Blog twice a week: I have to say I think this has been the easiest one. With all these resolutions they gave me tons of fun adventures to share with you guys, and from the looks of it you are all enjoying following along on our journey!!

365 project: Okay okay this one flopped and I have started another similar one which hopefully and so far is being much more effective. So this resolution has changed to Photo a day for Kyra's whole 3rd year of life. (Life as a 2 year old)

 

Read and finish the respect dare This resolution thus far is still just sitting on the back burner I intend to do it but haven't had the chance to get around to it yet.

Run 2 5ks: So I did 1 day of the couch to 5k so far...Yeah this may be one of those things that I thought I was going to accomplish but....we still have 9 months you never know.

Get out of debt This is the one I am most proud of. We decided this year to use our tax refunds to finish getting out of debt so that all future refunds could go into savings to save up to buy a really nice house in the future. My student loan is officially GONE. And as of today we probably have like 200 left on the car, which is something Dustin is going to work on finishing off in the next couple days and we will be debt free. We are very excited about being weirdo's in this world!!

Get organized and declutter: I am sure that this resolution will be something I have with me for the rest of my life as I am the queen of collecting clutter and organization is certainly not something I am known for. But that being said I have made a pretty good dent into the laundry room and Kyra's room and getting rid of the things we don't need. Can't wait to have a garage sale this summer and have some of that stuff dissappear.

Maintain my 4.0 gpa So far this one has been going great. My Photography teacher however is trying his darnest to make this not happen however, docking points off my assignments for unknown reasoning.

Do 24 photo-shoots:  Uhm to say I have been an over-achiever in this area is to put it lightly. And actually I am not sure that is even the word I am looking for. Proud maybe more the idea. So many people have been coming to me to have their pictures done and I love love love doing them for them. As of today I am down to only needing 15 more for the year in order to reach this goal. And have 8 of those planned for April! And 3 in May and 1 in June. So if I some how manage to not reach this goal it will have to be because I totally gave up for some unforeseeable reason.

Go on 3 trips: So this goal may have been set a little low as traveling is our favorite thing to do. I am only including big trips into this one, so obviously our trip to Austria, and Switzerland was a check off the list. And I included the trip to Trier as one too!! But I will easily have done like 10 by the end of the year as we are likely to be moving come January. Gotta knock off everything else we wanna do here in Europe.

Reach 145 So when I originally planned to reach this I was so much closer to reaching it and have perhaps let that get out of control. But tomorrow begins the start of something new a kick start back into reaching my goals!!  So keep an eye out for updates and details in that area in the next week or two :D

 

Get pregnant This is one goal that is not going to even be started for a few more months...and I still have some weight to loose before hand so...onward.

Try new recipe once a week Uh I quit this resolution early on. If you read my blog you will see I have been trying new recipes still just not every week!

Colleen's Maternity Photos

I was super excited when I found out my friend hadn't gotten maternity pictures done yet, meant I got to snag her and do them for her :D And they turned out better than I could have imagined!! She is so beautiful and was amazing in front of the camera. I feel so lucky when my subjects are like models!! And she seems to love them as much as I do :D

Kyra is 2 years old already

Nicknames: Kyra Bug, Bug, Bunny, Boo

Clothing Size: 2t pants and 3t shirts

Personality: Well you hit those terrible twos with a passion!! You love to make sure everyone knows how you feel about everything! But you are such a social butterfly and so sweet! Asking everyone if they are okay and saying hi and bye to everyone you walk by. And singing songs about everything.

Things I Could Do Without:  Your sassy little attitude. And you running away from me when I ask you to follow me. I hate this most because I worry about you taking off toward a road.

Item/Toy We Love The Most: Portable Potty chair. It makes trying to get you to potty in public way easier than holding you on the seat freaking you out.

Item/Toy You Love The Most:  Books and your my little ponies. Or any animal figurine! You love animals!!

Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: Playing with you at the park and watch you enjoy the little things like the flowers, and ants on the ground.

Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: Running around and being free to do whatever you want. Playing with friends, and reading books with mom and dad each evening!

Getting back on the bandwagon!

I never thought I would be considered a yo-yo dieter. I think it's sad that most women have to fight to keep weight off. And honestly a full lifestyle change is really hard to obtain. Specially as a foody. I love food ANY kind of food and I swear I am always hungry!

I go months upon months of treating my body amazing I work out daily loose weight and inches and feel amazing about myself. Than I get busy and off track generally in the spring when its nice out and I want to be outside doing things all the time, which leads to not being home during meals and eating food I shouldn't!

So I am trying my hardest to climb back on the bandwagon starting the 1st of April with the encouragement of friends and family! We are starting a biggest loser of sorts competition amongst us as a 30 day challenge to get healthy for the summer season!!  Here is to hoping that I will stick with it and be proud of my body again, I am not happy with the way it fits in clothes again!

Book Review: Maze Runner

This book series really deserves a long drawn out review! But the thing about a suspense thriller like this trilogy is that if you do a review and people read the review they are gonna totally get spoilers and I think EVERYONE should read this book series with out having any idea what is going to happen on the next page.

I read this entire series in a matter of 1.5 months that is like 2 weeks each. I would sit down and just read for hours at a time. I even got Dustin really into this book. I can't tell you much about the story lines due to the fact that any hint will give away a lot of the story. But basically this book is about a boy named Thomas and his fight to survive.

I would rate this book series a 5 stars out of 5. It was suspenseful all the way to the end. There was action all the way up to the last page of the last book. I was sad to have the series end but the ending was actually satisfying! I think anyone who has the chance should pick up this book now. To make it even more exciting, they are putting out a movie this summer of the first book. So read it now so you can be ready to watch the movie in time!!!

Patrick's Playground Photoshoot

Patrick was just the cutest little guy!! And he had non-stop energy!! He loved just running from one playground to the next showing me how to climb over under and through all the obstacles all while still being a perfect little model!! He sure did make the beautiful spring day a blast for me!!

Fasching 2014

For those of you whom have never heard of Fasching it is Germany's way of celebrating Carnival. In Germany it is known as Fasching or Fastnacht. It is essentially the time where Germans and people around the world celebrate and go crazy before Lent begins and they must give up something...in the case of Germans not likely their beer ;)

Their biggest way of celebrating is dressing up in all sorts of costumes and going out on the town, and having giant parades too. They throw out candy and toys, and at least in the past they used to give out shots. But this year that seemed to not occur.

It is a lot of fun and as long as the weather permits standing in the streets lined with "fools" is a great adventure that will never be forgotten. Here is just a preview of the madness that is Fasching!

Trier Germany

I always try to get my posts out in a timely manner, but than I get behind and post them well weeks later!! But you still get to see them so I think it's still working out!! I love writing and sharing our adventures for you to enjoy and for us to remember years down the road!!

So a couple weeks ago Dustin, Kyra and I went to Trier, Germany. It is one of the oldest towns in Germany founded in 16 bc and even has ruins from the Roman era.

We visited one of these said ruins it was an Imperial Bath. It was really cool to run around in the underground hall ways and to see a structure that has survived the elements for so long.

If you follow this link: Imperial Bath you can read even more about how the structure was used so many years ago.

After the baths we found our way to the Palace of Trier. It was such a pretty structure and I really enjoyed all of the white statues found all around both the front gardens and the pond just to the right. Along with the beautiful gold details all over the building!!

We saw a few other random things along the way. Including a couple feet statues, lots of pidgins and an owl on a wall!!