Time is a scarce commodity that, in so many ways, is taken for granted. I know that I have a hard time holding on the the present and worrying about what's past and what's to come. Then it's day's like today when I have an entire 24 hours to celebrate and reflect on some of the choices I've made in my life and the perpetual outcome of those choices. Thank Heaven that on the 9th of August, 2006 I made a choice that altered my life for the better. I said YES.
Now a fantastic 4 years later (geez-time flies) I'm celebrating one of the smartest decisions I've made in my life time. **Warning-This post WILL be a mushy/love-dovey/incredible-cheesy-that-you'll-probably-regret-reading-it, post....don't say I didn't warn you.
Why do I love Tristin? Here are a FEW reasons why:
-He's incredible sensitive and intune to his emotions as well as others and he's NOT afraid to show it (HUGE plus!!) -He's incredibly loving -He's my biggest fan (and I'm his) -He's my best friend -He's very intelligent that it sometimes blows my mind -He's SO patient (and even more so when I'm not) -He's very supportive of my dreams and visions to the point that he sees them more clearer than I do -He's a great listener and advise coach -Just being with each other makes me happy, even if we're just lying on a couch together -He's a hard worker -He is SO funny! I have NO idea where he comes up with some of the stuff he says but he keeps me laughing almost every day -He's all mine!
Babe, thank you for the most wonderful (and sometimes terrifying, lets be honest) times of my life! You've been there with me through thick and thin. Thank you for adding to the happiness in my life! I look forward to the many years to come! I'll love you for forever...and then some.
So my parents and I have just passed our 5th year of being permanent residents here in the USA. Our next step is to apply for citizenship. However, the USA makes that very difficult. But it's not the process that annoys me, it's the questions they ask. Have a look and see what I'm talking about:
Have you ever:
a) Been a habitual drunkard?
If I was, I probably wouldn't be sober enough to fill out this application
b)Been a prostitute or procured anyone for prostitution?
HAHAHAHA- Seriously? Would an illegal prostitute even bother filing for citizenship?
c)Sold or smuggled controlled substances, illegal drugs or narcotics?
I once tried to smuggle imported honey past TSA. It didn't go down so well....
d)Been married to more than one person at the same time?
I've been asked this question FAR too many times in my 23 years of living
e)Helped anyone enter or try to enter the United States illegally?
No...
f)Gambled illegally or received income from illegal gambling?
Haha-Right. I don't have those kind of hook-up
Being foreign is SO fun sometimes!
Santa was good to us this Christmas! He was nice enough to buy us a new uber-fast laptop (due to our other ones being destroyed) so I could learn how to do PhotoShop on it! Here are my first creations! They took HOURS to do! Everyone says the huge learning curve with PS is worth the wait...I sure hope they are right!
Thank You, Tristin, for being so patient with me and teaching me how to use this program. Heaven knowns I'm not the most patient person in the world.
Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating with friends and family. And I'm sure those of you who could talk to your missionaries were over the moon!
YES... It truly IS the most wonderful time of the year! December is my FAVORITE month because not only do we celebrate Christmas, but Tristin and I get to celebrate BOTH our birthdays and our wedding anniversary! (yay us!)
December 10th I turned 23! My birthday was a BLAST! No joke, I felt like I was a little kid again playing games and getting spoiled! After work I got home and saw these beautiful flowers waiting for me with a Charades Card attached to it saying "Give this to Nicholas or Dimitri to act out where the next clue is!" It was a Charades Treasure hunt which I learned I was pretty bad at. Bodily actions can be so ambiguous sometimes!
Sona also made me a Carrot Souffle (to substitute for a birthday cake) which was to DIE FOR! Sadly I ate most of it. Poor thing didn't even have a chance *thank you, Sona*
Later that night we went to the Ward Christmas program which was STUNNING! My very good friend, Rebecca, put pretty much the entire thing together and on the back of all the Christmas Programs she printed this:
"And last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Juanique. I love you. thanks for giving up your birthday night for my program." That in itself was a great birthday gift
Sunday morning (yes, the celebrations keep going on) we had a Birthday Breakfast with our Colorado families: the Gourgouris's and McDonalds. I'm not joking when I say my birthday celebrations were so much fun. Everyone made me feel really special and loved. and just when I was starting to think I was getting to old to really enjoy birthdays. Tristin and I are so blessed to have surrogate families out here that really feel like true-blood family to us.
Then finally, today (Tuesday) was Tristin's Birthday. Happy Birthday, babe!
The Gourgouris's took he and I out to dinner to celebrate where Tristin got sung to while wearing a sombrero
When we got home he too had a treasure hunt but instead of acting, he was given clues that he had to figure out, ie: The princess could still feel that pea, no matter how many they stacked up of me! Answer: A Mattress!
...and that's where the next clue would be! (This is definitely a tradition I'm gunna do with my kids. It's so much fun having to search for your birthday gift than it is to just be given it)
*make sure to watch for Nicholas's classic facial expressions in the pictures! He managed to photo-bomb practically all of them.
Thank you everyone for all your wonderful birthday wishes and gifts! We had such fun on our birthdays!
I realized that I take a lot of videos of my family's and friend's animals. Here are a few dogs in my life that certainly make life more interesting when humans are monotonous and boring.
This is Halloween! And with it comes the ward parties, the fun costumes and the crazy house decorations!
Saturday Tristin and I helped my friend, Rebecca, set up for the Halloween Ward party. No we aren't on the activities committee but she was seriously low on helpers so we pitched in our day to help her out! The party was AMAZING! I wish I had pictures but I didn't take any! How sad is that? I DID, however, dress up for the party. I swore I wouldn't but gave in to the spirit of Halloween and asked Sona if she had any costumes lying around. she did...she had an entire closet full of costumes! In a moment of haste I picked the outfit that seemed the easiest to put on....a Devil's outfit! I had a pitchfork, horns, EVERYTHING....that I didn't take pictures of! GRRRRR....
Sunday we went with the Gourgouris's to see this one guys house which was just OUTSTANDING!! I thought I was in Disneyland! The entire cul-da-sac was completely fogged out, the detail in everything was crazy and the decorations were just creepy! Not to mention the statues that weren't really statues but little boys that would jump out at you at random moments! This house was insane!! We must have spent an hour walking around and looking at all the decorations!
We finished off the evening watching clips from The Nightmare Before Christmas and singing along to the songs.
What a fun weekend. I think this whole Halloween thing is actually growing on me. I can't wait til next year!
My cute sister-in-law, Aly, found out of Friday that they are having a boy!!!! I'm so excited for them! I can't imagine how happy they must be!
Congratulations Conryd and Aly! Who would have thought 3 years ago, when you guys would play games in our very first apartment, that 3 years from then (when you weren't even engaged yet) you'd be going through this in your lives?
We are SO happy for you guys!!!
Baby Salvesen, we can't WAIT to see you next year!!
Yes, this Beautiful Bombshell of a woman is my mother and she is 60 today!
So what gift do you get your mom to really show her how much you love her? What gift really says "Thank you for being the best mom-you mean the world to me and I love you?" I asked myself this last week Thursday while I was working. Then it hit me!!! That night I got on the phone with my family members and started planning like crazy! I had 2 days to get this project together and it had to be perfect!
My conversations with my family went a little like this: "Guys!! I need photos of you and your kids from all ages in your life and theirs. Please email them to me before Saturday 12pm. Also, I need you to write mom a letter about why you love her and what it is you love about her. Say what you'd want to say to her. Just make sure I get it by Saturday!!!! Ok? Great! GO GO GO!!"
Lets just say my family pulled through! They were AWESOME. Although my deadlines for their part of the project were rigid, they did their fair share and then some! You guys are amazing! Happy birthday, Mom! I hope it was a good one and that you felt a lot of love from your family!
Below is a link to the Birthday present I made for her! 22 hours worth of work withing 35 hours and only 6 hours of sleep in 2 days....it was totally worth putting this together for her though.
Click the picture below to go to mom's birthday book.
So It's been close to a small eternity since I've blogged. I'm sure many of you haven't really notice and I'm sure it hasn't altered your universe by an means. The past two-or-so months have been a crazy, busy -blur in my opinion so time to blog has been non existent.
So I think this will be the briefest blog I'll write. And lets be honest, we don't have kids, animals or any missionaries to write or brag about. Our lives right now, although busy, are pretty average for the time being. Needless to say, it seems like everyone else's worlds are going 100 MPH! We love hearing the news about everyone's lives and wish we were there to celebrate it will you all!
So for some announcements and commentary on our lives for the past 2 months:
My Brother, Conryd and my sister-in-law, Aly, are PREGNANT! YAY! I'm so uber thrilled for them I could scream! They're going to have an adorable half Asian baby! Congrats you guys.
As of late I am now applying for citizenship! Woo hoo! No more harassment for me at the airports! I'm seriously sick to death of being frisked and thoroughly searched every time I walk into an airport! So hold thumbs for my family and I that get it please. I don't want to give away my SA citizenship but life will be a lot more convenient when I do. No more Alien ID numbers for me!
Tristin and I went to our first Rockies Baseball Game in August! I think that I can really call myself a TRUE African-American now that I've been to a Rockies Game! They may not have won, but it was awesome to be there and enjoy the music and energy of the stadium! My favorite part was definitely the individual music that played for 10 seconds before each Rockies player went up to bat! Tolowitsky's "theme music" was "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. I busted up laughing every time he went up to bat because that music would play for him.
Tristin is enjoying school this year, he says it's challenging but very worth it. We found out that after his Masters Degree here at Naropa, he can continue to get his PhD at BYU! So in 2 years time Tristin and I might be back at BYU....just like old times. Haha. Man, are we going to feel old when we go back! (I'll be going back to finish my Bachelors Degree in Nutritional Sciences).
So....yeah, that's pretty much our life right now. You really haven't missed much and there really isn't a lot to tell. I'm not going to lie, our lives are extremely busy, me burning out with work and Tristin burning out with school, but there's really not much more going on in the world of the Colorado Roneys!
Still loving the married life, still loving each other, still loving our lives...What more is there, really?
What's to say about Cayman? It was just wonderful! No schedule, no obligations, no nothing. Just peace and rest and relaxation. And for once I actually have a tan. Amazing. The last time I was tan was probably 4 years ago.
Any way, the pictures speak for themselves. Sleep, wake up, eat, swim, read, swim, snorkel, eat, read, swim, sleep. Our days went a little something like that. Oddly, Cayman reminds me of South Africa and Durban. The plants and humidity are so familiar to me. I loved it! We all did!
So I'm going to try a new approach to this. I don't know how many family members read our blog but I'll put it out there anyway.
The Cayman trip is one week away (YAY!!!!). In the past I've put aside time to do massages for family members on the trip. This year I'm thinking I'm going to do between 6-8 massages during the time in Cayman.
If you'd like to get a massage, pop me an email and I can put you down for one. This time round I'm probably only going to do the massages on Monday and Wednesday. If you want longer than an hour massage I'd be more than happy to oblige. If the days don't work for you let me know as well and we can figure out something else. I'm just listing my ideals but I'm pretty flexible.
$70 for an hour and $100 for 1.5 hours.
Pop me an email at juaniqueroney(at)gmail(dot)com if you'd like to get a time in or you can call or text me. Kim has my number if you need it (I'm not posting it on here due to spammers).
Can you say Bliss? Oh, it definitely was bliss and SO much more! I forgot how much I loved Powell! I also forgot how much I love being with our family. This living-away-from-family thing is not all that it's hyped up to be!
Anywho, Powell was amazing! Sleep, eat, surf, eat, nap, eat, swim, eat, swim, play games, read...Yup, that sums up the entire week! Gotta love it!
And just BTW, the house boats name was "Livin the Dream." So no, I didn't just put that phrase there on the picture to sound cute :P
We had so much fun in Utah this past weekend! need I say more? Yes, I worked (but still enjoyed myself) while Tristin went boating but, nevertheless, being in Utah again makes me so happy. On the 3rd we went to Janenes birthday Braai and afterwards watched the fireworks at Tristin's uncles house.
The 4th of July seemed like it was going to be a cold day but by noon we had our sweaters off and lay out in the sun and played Banana Grams. My mother made us a HUGE brunch that I wish I had taken a picture of. I didn't realize how much I missed her and Aly's cooking! You guys rock in the kitchen!
My mother absolutely spoiled me by taking me shopping and getting my toes painted. I refused at first but she's sometimes very persuasive. I told her that just spending time with her was enough.She got her way in the end. I love you Mom! You're amazing!
So Happy Birthday Janene and Happy Birthday America! I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July celebration with your families and loved ones!
You think you have bad luck? Read the rest of this blog post to realize how lucky you are! 2 weeks ago water started dripping out of our ceiling on the 1st floor of our apartment. In our bedroom there was a damp spot on the carpet that kept getting worse and worse. We emailed the landlady immediately with pictures and descriptions of what was going on. The next day some guy came out to inspect the leak (this was about 2 weeks ago!!) He said he found nothing but will report to his superiors and get back to us shortly. One week later we hadn't heard ANYTHING from anyone...and the dripping got worse making the ceiling drape heavy with saturation. Friday afternoon we noticed the dripping had gotten A lOT worse. Mind you this was a sudden turn of dripping events. We took video and stressed the concern to our land lady as well as the HOA that this was a very serious problem and something had to be done SOON! This is what we saw Friday:
Saturday came around and the bottom floor looked like the ceiling was going to explode. I felt like I had woken up to a swamp. the wet patch on our floor in our room had gotten considerably worse and I was getting a little bit livid with the inaction of others not doing anything to fix this problem. But I'm not plumber or contractor so I was powerless. We had planned to go on a hike that morning so we set off to do just that.
Around 10:20am we got back from our hike. I ate some food, made some phone calls, rested on the couch and started to look up recipes for fried rice when I heard an alarm sound.
"Sounds like one of our neighbors alarms is going off again," I had remarked to Tristin. About a minute after than Tristin and I heard something like buckets of water falling in the next room over. We went to see what it was.
Gallons and gallons of water was pouring from the ceiling all over the living room! We ran up stairs to where the source of the now-loud alarm was sounding. The sight we saw was something I'll never forget. Niagra Falls was being spewed from out our bedroom wall and across the room! Everything was getting ruined with the never ending flood of water. Confused and in shock I asked myself, "What is the most expensive thing in this room and is partially salvagable?", grabbed our TV and ran to the next room over. I then went back to try and comprehend what I was watching. Still the water was spewing from our wall like CRAZY and pouring out of the window like a waterfall. I grabbed our already drenched laptops, realizing they were probably done for and left everything else behind to flood.
Tristin and I exited the building to see dozens of people outside of our apartment. The neighbors hurridly asked if we were ok and told us they had already called 911. We then joined the crowd and watched as our apartment overflowed. Uselessly we stared, with the rest of the neighborhood, and watched our entire 3.5 years worth of possesions get utterly destroyed.
The fire department came in about 10 minutes and switched off all the water. HOA people kept talking to me and telling me who they were and what to do. Endless people kept asking me who I was and what happened. I felt as though my brain was swimming in a tidalwave of emotions and questions.
Thank heaven for Sona! She was our saving grace. I called her and asked if we could stay with her family for a while. After 5 minutes of talking to her she called me back to tell me she had called several people that were coming to our aid to help.
About an hour later we had probably 15 people with 4-6 cars (I don't remember specifics at that point. I was still in shock) help carry all our stuff into cars and lug it all to our now-place-of-refuge. It was the miracle of the day for me. We had moved out 90% of all our possessions in a matter of 3 hours!
this is the apartment after the fire department had left.
By the time we had gotten to Sona's house (we were the last people to leave the apartment), almost everything was unpacked and put in a temporary storage spot. I wanted to cry but was mentally in a state of numbness. I was so grateful for what everyone had done! There were neatly folded clothes and shoes in a closet, a bed and some of our salvaged pictures in our room that we are now staying in. It felt like a minature refuge from the storm we had just experienced.
The rest of the evening was a little bit hazy but we lived through it. I'll probably go more in detail but at some other time.
So that's the news of our apartment. thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Throughout this aweful experience we have seen the tender mercies of Heavenly Father. We are truly blessed. Things could have been a lot worse. Next to the computer I'm using is a sign that says, "If it doesn't matter ETERNALLY, does it really matter?" what an appropriate question for the past 24 hours. One day we will look back on this and say, "Hey, remember the time our apartment and belonging got completely destroyed?".
God is good, He is loving and I know that without his help things could have been a lot worse for us! I'm grateful to have seen his hand in all of this. From the angels that were there to help us move, to the angels that are supporting us morally and emotionally. We are thankful for all our friends who helped us through this experience. Words cannot express our gratitude for you!
Thank you a thousand times! My heart is overflowing in gratitude!
Sunday night Tristin and I went for an evening walk. The late sunset was simply stunning. Boulder takes my breath away sometimes. I may not live close to my family in Utah, but Boulder is definitely the next best place to be.
Actually, maybe Cayman would be the next best place to be :) Grand Cayman Islands, boy how we miss you!
(yes, Tristin DOES know how to smile he just doesn't like to do it for cameras)
It's official! We are finally in our new apartment! This is our 4th move in 3 and a half years of marriage! I wonder where we'll move to next year- JUST KIDDING!
The next time I move, it will be back to Utah! I'm on the count down. Only 24 months to go :( Moving away from family is totally overrated in my opinion.
However, it wouldn't be normal day in the life of Tristin and Juanique if the entire moving process actually went smoothly.
Last week Thursday morning (May 20th), I received a text from my boss saying that his wife was in labor which meant no work for me that day. Good news because we had to be out of the apartment by Friday night, so I could spend the day helping with the packing and cleaning. Tristin and I are loading boxes into our cars when suddenly I hear a thumping noise. I go to check it out to see Tristin laying on the floor with that deer-looking-in-the-headlights look. He then tried to move but couldn't because he was overwhelmed with pain....Uh Oh!
I had no idea what had happened. Tristin's back had obviously been injured and he couldn't walk, stand, move, NOTHING! Any type of motion was overwhelmingly painful to him. REMEMBER, we're suppose to be moving our stuff during the next 24 hours! *GASP*
6 hours later we get him to a Chiropractor. Getting him from the apartment to the car took about 30 minutes. I almost cried I was so scared for him! It turns out he sprained a facet joint in his lower back (facets are parts of the vertebra in your spine), and was on strict bed rest. He was going to be anyway seeing that he could hardly walk, never mind carry things.
The next day (Friday) I had to be back at work. Thankfully, 4 of Tristin's friends from school, one from church and the Elders helped him move all our boxes and furniture so he didn't have to really strain. We then spent the next 3 days unloading, setting up, painting and nesting into our new place. I definitely felt like the man in our relationship that weekend with moving the boxes, carrying the heavy stuff, and having Tristin organize the easy and light things.
End result: We love the new place. It feels like home. It's bigger, cheaper, closer to my work and Tristin's school, has a GREAT view of the Flat Irons, and we live IN Boulder. I love Boulder!
Latest picture of us at the Boulder Creek Festival
View from the living room! There are hiking trails just up the road from our apartment!
So here's a list of a few things I LOVE LOVE LOVE:
1) Family 2 )Friends 3 )HOME 4) Weddings 5) Great Weather 6) Dressing up and feeling girly 7) Reading 8) Pedicures 9) Sleeping in
I got to have a fat dose of ALL these things this past weekend! How lucky am I?
Brienne's wedding was STUNNING. The weather was perfect for her happy day and she looked amazing. As soon as I see her wedding pictures I'll post some up. For now I'm stuck posting iphone pics because we forgot our proper camera.
I got to, do my hair, dress up all weekend, hang out with family and celebrate Mothers Day with my moms! The weather was to die for and before we left I got a pedicure!
I love coming back to Utah. I have so much fun that going back to Colorado is sometimes really hard for me. If you can imagine a Mother rigorously trying to pull her Child off the play set at a playground while the Child, who desperately doesn't want to leave because he's having WAY too much fun, firmly grasps his hands around the swing set, that's exactly how I feel. Except I am the Pulling-Mother AND the Reluctant-Child in that instance.
This is the closest thing I could find to my scenario I had in my head. Replace the door for a swing set and an outdoor playground and you have what I imagined.
I'm not normally a pessimist but I'm pretty sure life has played a very VERY cruel trick on me. Maybe Colorado just doesn't like me, I don't know, but right now I really DON'T like Colorado... at all.
After an AMAZING weekend of beautiful weddings, great food, family time, and a little bit of R&R, we flew into Denver airport to be met with this:
Yes folks, that IS SNOW and 40 degree weather! It snowed Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Tristin here. I haven't posted anything in a long, long time. Unfortunately for all of you, now that I am posting it is going to be pretty much useless. See, I like to solve problems, and I tend to obsess over them until I have a satisfactory answer. For the last few hours I have been obsessing over a particular problem, and now that I have figured it out I can't help but force it on the intertubes. So here goes:
The Problem
The Internet allows for approximately 10 different typefaces to be used, which is not cool. Not that there is anything wrong with Arial, Times New Roman, and Verdana--they are great--but it seems that blogs could be a lot more interesting if they were able to use more variety.
Granted, there are solutions for this. One is to use pre-rendered text (in the form of picture files). This allows for a huge range of stylistic modifications. However, it can get messy when you try to upload the file to your blog. You cannot make quick modifications without having to reopen your original picture file, editing it, re-saving it, and re-uploading it. Blah!
Another option is to use flash. It allows for lots of customization right in the webpage. However, you have to have programming skills, it doesn't work in mobile browsers, and it really doesn't work that well in any browsers. So I'm not a fan.
The Solution
The best solution I have come across is a little javascript code called Cufon. It allows you to use any typeface you like without having to make major changes to the way you already blog. You just assign a tag (such as "< h 10 >") to the font and insert the tag whenever you want to use your custom font. This post, for example, is done in a Didot typeface, which is not available to browsers normally. Here's how to do your own:
The Instructions
1. Go to the Cufon font generator and fill out all the boxes using your font of choice (you do need to have the file on your computer and know where to find it). Pay special attention to the hints by the boxes and don't worry about filling out all the optional things unless you feel comfortable doing so.
2. Click on "Let's do this!" at the bottom of the page and save the generated .js file to your computer.
3. Find a good place to upload the .js file online. I recommend Google Docs, Microsoft SkyDrive, or DropBox. If you don't have any of them I recommend getting at least one of them, as they are invaluable to have.
4. Once you have uploaded your .js file, find its new web address (click on the file, then choose "Share this" or the equivalent). Copy this address.
5. On your blog's website, go to the settings, choose Layout, and then choose Edit HTML (I'm assuming most people use Blogger, but the steps are similar for Wordpress).
6. Insert the following code somewhere after the < "head" > tag and before the < /head > tag:
7. Make sure you have replace the address in the second line with the address of your typeface's .js file. Also get rid of the spaces following each "<". Finally, note that you can change the "h10" in the second-to-last line with any tag name you would like. To avoid problems I recommend leaving it at something similar, such as "h1," "h2," etc.
8. That's it, you should be set now. When you want to use your new font, just add the tag "< h 10 >" (or whichever you chose) to the front of it and remember to close it with "< /h10 >" (or whichever you chose).
The Conclusion
I have only just got this method working for me, so I'm sure there is a lot about it I still don't understand. However, it seems to be working well for me so far. There is one minor problem with it that I have noticed, and that is that the text is not highlightable in the new font, which means you couldn't copy it and search engines may not be able to index it (I'm not at all sure about this last part). Also, the Blogger Preview button may no longer work for text in the new typeface--I'm getting mixed results. This could be somewhat frustrating.
One great advantage is that once you have it set up you really don't have to worry about it ever again, as long as you remember which tag you assigned it to. Plus, you don't have to use the new typeface unless you want to, so you won't get frustrated with irreversible changes. Overall, I highly recommend it for anyone that wants to add some variety to their blog and break out of the frustrating limitations of the Internet.
This weekend was dedicated to keeping 4 children alive, happy and healthy. I think I did pretty okay. They're all still alive and breathing so I consider that a job well done.
Rebecca was out of town for 3 days and asked if I could look after her kids while her and her husband were gone. I've babysat these kids quite a few times. I know them pretty much inside and out. This was SERIOUSLY the thought that went through my mind when she asked me: "Oh sure, that'll be a piece of cake".
Full Time Moms-I take my hat off to you! Kids are anything but a piece of cake when you have them full time.
So babysitting started after work on Friday, I was able to get a menu plan for the kids for the entire weekend, shop for those items and then start preparing them. This was probably one of THE hardest parts mainly because everything I bought for them to eat, I couldn't eat myself. Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to prepare food you cant touch? Not fun BUT I endured it :)
Alas, the hard work really only started Saturday. During that day I cooked, clean and learned karate (yes, I did seriously learn karate). Jordan had to learn his karate steps (after about an hour of convincing him to and trying to find his karate clothes) for class via a video online. I found out that he didn't want to go to karate because he didn't feel prepared. So we were going to get him prepared then! I must have watched that video with him 20 times and memorized it so that I could go over it with him. Needless to say he was uber-confident and TOTALLY prepared for his karate class. I watched him during his class and I think he did a SPLENDID job.
After lunch I took the kids to the Rec Center to swim. On the way there Parker, who is 4, and I had this conversation:
"Juanique?"
"Yes, Parker."
"why do you live in such a small house?"
~suppressing a laugh I replied thus~
"Because, Parker, I don't have kids so I don't need a big house. When I have kids I will get a big house for them to play in."
"Oh, Ok, that makes sense. Juanique?"
"yes, Parker."
"I want to play at your house soon. Maybe we can play on the Wii"
Rachel and Aubrey helped me prepare the food throughout the day. Rachel asked me to tell her a bit about my childhood in South Africa, so I did. I told her about my best friends, growing up and about the schools, school uniforms and stuff I used to do for fun. Aubrey helped me SO much with absolutely everything. I'm pretty sure she could have tackled the kids on her own. She's the epitome of a perfect older sister!
SUNDAY:
Finding church shoes is really hard! If Aubrey wasn't helping me I would have been lost!! I walked into church (late) holding Parker,who wore no shoes, in one arm and his shoes in the other. I'm pretty sure my cheeks were bright red from embarrassment.
After church I got their lunches ready. I made sure they had at least a few veggies on their plates that they had to eat. Parker, who detests vegetables, thought he was being sneaky by taking his plate of cucumbers and carrots and dumping them in the draw in the lounge while I wasn't look. That probably explains why I kept finding random items of food throughout the house. However, I was looking....I was watching the entire thing. As soon as he looked up to see he had been caught I gave him my serious face (which was hiding my "I-want-to-crack-up-laughing" face) and asked, "Gee Parker, That wasn't very cleaver. You know you're in trouble, don't you?"
"Yes,"
"So do you think trying to hide your food from me in the draw is going to make matters better or worse for you?"
"Worse."
"Okay, so what do you think you should do right now so we can make this better?"
He picked up his carrots and cucumber, put them on his plate and walked back to the table. We came to an agreement that he only had to eat 3 carrots instead of 5. Kids are SO funny!
Lastly, Parker and I had this conversation in the car:
"Juanique?"
"yes, Parker."
"I wish you were a part of our family."
I almost cried right there in the car.
I loved babysitting this weekend. It was definitely an adventure but those 4 kids were just so fun to be with! It's hard but its worth it when you love the little critters! I sure do love them, even though I make them help clean up when they don't want to :)
You see, my best friend, Thobeka, has be asking me for WEEKS to post some of my favorite recipes and healthy desserts that I make. I've told her since February that I'd put it up for her. But because I didn't write that down on my To-Do list, it slipped my mind over and over as other daily things occupied my attention.
So Thobs, THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!!
These 3 recipes are my FAVORITES right now. 1) because I have a very sweet tooth so eating health AND getting my sugar fix is a definite plus and 2) I've been looking for ways to get my daily serving of vegetables in but I wanted to make something I'd actually enjoy eating and not think to myself "UGH, I'm eating this because I have to, not because I want to." Healthy food CAN be SOOOOOOO Delicious! So here we go:
Recipe 1:
RAW CASHEW CREAM:
Just an FYI: I prefer my cream to be a lot thicker than this but this consistency (in the pic) would probably work as well
-4 cups raw organic cashews
-between 4-6 tbs organic agave (measurement may change according to how sweet you want your cream to be)
-1.5 tsp vanilla essence
-1.5-3 cups water (depending on how thick or thin you want your cream to be)
Toss all ingredients into a blender. Blend until you get a creamy substance. Eat with your favorite fruits. It's great for snacks and desserts and any company that may come by is sure to LOVE it!
some fruit recommendations to go with your cream are: strawberries, blueberries, mangoes and peaches.
RECIPE #2:
SWEET BUTTERNUT SQUASH DESSERT::
-1 Medium to large sized organic butternut squash
-1/2 cup of organic raisins
-about 6 tbsp Organic agave or honey (measurement will change according to how sweet you want your squash to be)
-1/2 cup of cut of organic walnuts (how big all small you want your walnut chunks is up to you)
-.1/2 tbsp of organic cinnamon
-1 tbsp organic coconut butter/oil
Cut your squash in half, take the seeds out and bake it on a flat sheet (face down) at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Scrape the squash into a bowl (preferably glass. Plastic heated up can leech harmful chemicals into your food) and mix it until its mushy.
Add the rest of the ingredients in and mix. You are welcome to add more or less of the other ingredients to suit your preference. Tristin loves raisins so I typically add more raisins. Those measurements will also change according to how big your squash it.
Eat and enjoy as you get a large serving of a delicious vegetable for dessert!! Your kids will never know any different (unless you tell them it's a vegetable) :)
And Last but not least.....Recipe 3
MIXED VEGETABLE AND CHICKEN SOUP:
This is the picture I took of all the ingredients that go in my pot
-Organic Chicken Broth (64 oz). So two boxes of broth, like the one you see in the picture. -1 and 1/2 cup rice noodles (or normal noodles, the rice has no gluten in but is YUMMMMMMMY!!) -1 or 2 cans of beans (beans of your choice. I LOVE black beans. Great protein and great energy source) -2 cans of diced organic tomatoes (like the one in the pic. Don't get the tomatoes that or preserved with sugar or have high fructose corn syrup -HFCS). HFCS is CRAP and makes you put on weight a lot quicker than other sugars. -1 1/2 cups finely sliced celery -1 1/2 cups of sliced carrots 2-3 cups of broccoli (I get the frozen organic broccoli from costco. YUM) -1/2 cup sliced mushrooms -2 cups mixed veggies (A frozen corn, carrot, green beans mix is what I get from costco. You can see the bag of veggies in my pic. Again, you don't have to have this exact combination. You could do just frozen corn or frozen corn and green beans.) -about 2 thawed chicken breast diced to the size you want int -1/8th Braggs liquid aminos or soy sauce or namashoyu
So here's the process. It may seem complicated but it's not. I promise. And I think the end product is worth it. Make sure to have a VERY LARGE pot. This makes a lot of soup. It will last Tristin and I 3-5 days.
Pour broth in pot. Put the heat just a little bit above medium. Add the chicken and pasta and let it cook. The broth will take a while to start boiling. let it boil for about 20-25 mins. Add the lid and start to prepare the veggies.
Start to slice the celery, mushrooms, chop the carrots, open the cans of beans and tomatoe, etc. Wash the beans but dont let the juice out from the tomatoes. You want to keep that. Put the carrots and frozen broccoli in a blender. Add some of heated up broth to the blender. blend until you get a vibrant green, watery substance. Put that aside for later.
Once the noodles and chicken are cooked add the celery and sliced mushrooms and let cook for a few minutes. add the Braggs liquid amino (or soy sauce or namashoyu). Add the mixed frozen veggies (the corn, green beans and carrot mixture) and let it sit for a few minutes. Add the the tomatoes, beans and blended broccoli and carrot. Mix and let it sit and heat up to your desired temperature.
And now you're done! Serve, add some salt if you like or more sauce, add your favorite seasonings if you like. You can do what ever.
I hope this help anyone looking for a few healthy food ideas. If you try any of these let me know what you think. Again, all these recipes I've never really measured, I just mix the ingredients to the consistency or sweetness I want it, so feel free to mix up the measurement.
FACT: I did NOT know my husband was legally blind until a few months ago. I knew his eye sight was bad, but not that bad.
FACT: I LOVE his glasses. I think he looks cute in them *ahem* I mean sexy. He looks sexy in them :)
I really do love the glasses though. I was always a sucker for smart, nerdy guys. And of course I think he's hot as well so the nerdy-cute look I'm really REALLY liking.
BUT I want our kids to inherit my eyes. I do have perfect vision and never had to wear braces. So I guess I want them to have my teeth as well...but his brains. Actually, scratch that, I'll love them no matter what (and will plan on having good health coverage).
FYI: Still not planning on the kiddos yet so I hope this post doesn't mislead anyone.
Once again, our diet has being modified...for the better of course. We've been eating this way for some time but we have slips ups now and then. But no more...
Tristin and I are now GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE!! It's been a little hard but we feel a lot better when we cut these things out. also, I realize that there are a TON of really good foods out there that are really healthy for us and still really tasty.
In the past 6 months or so I've said good bye to my beloved sweets (goodbye Chocolate, my love. May you rest in peace), my beloved whole wheat home-made bread, my beloved cereals and now my beloved cheeses and milks. With our change in diet over the past months Tristin has lost almost 10 lbs and I've....well kind of stayed the same. I'm now trying to put some weight on (muscle of course) but this is proving to be harder than I thought. As soon as we get my thyroid to start working like it's suppose to then the weight gain will come too (cross fingers)
So bring out the greens and veggies and gluten free foods!
I'll have to post some recipes of some of the stuff I've made that's really healthy and still really tasty.
Anywho, this post isn't all that exciting but it's fun to keep everyone updated I guess.
PS:Aly, my mouth still always waters whenever I read your blog. I think I'm going to have to ban myself from reading it. those Rolo cookies look AMAZING!!!
I'm tired of Colorado and so we are moving back to Utah!
HAHA, totally just kidding...
But we are moving....AGAIN!!!! (UGH). I've decided that enough is enough! Paying almost $1100 for a one bedroom apartment is absolutely absurd! our first apartment was a one bedroom and it was only $550 a month. You can get a new 3 bedroom townhouse in Utah for $1100 a month!! Our apartment is a money pit! it's nice and fancy BUT we (meaning Tristin) are students and right now I'm more interested in a savings then living in a very fancy neighborhood and apartment.
so we will be moving again. This will be the 4th time in the 3 years and 2 months we've been married. Yes, we would have lived in 4 different places come June!
Don't you envy us right now? You shouldn't if you do! Moving is a pain in the backside and I'm NOT looking forward to doing it again! But it will be worth it if we can save hundreds of dollars a month.
Besides, all I really need is food in my fridge, clothes in a closet and a roof over my head (Oh, and my intelligel mattress for my tired and aching body. I LOVE my bed!!)
So that is the latest with us! Obviously I'm not too thrilled about this but that is life and sometime life requires change, a little bit of sacrifice and a little bit of sweat.
Every met one of those people that can listen to the same joke over and over and over and still laugh at it every single time? I'm one of those people.
Earlier this week I saw this video (and a few more like it that I'll also post) on my best friends blog and I thought it was just so freaking hilarious! Obviously I looked for more videos that were similar to it and then shared it with everyone I knew because I'm slightly obsessive like that (is "slightly" the right word?).
I wish there were people out there that actually spoke and had facial expressions like this guy!
Tristin is home!! Can you believe it?!?!I can NOT express how happy I am to have him home! Life just got a little morebubbly for me....if you cant tell!
One of the first things I told him were "you can never leave me again!" which is absolutely ridiculous to say because he has to do this again next year and I know that. But he's home and I am so over joyed! I love that man so much!
Unfortunately our reunion was not just between myself and the man of my dreams. A few little stragglers join our private circle of happiness.
Meet Mr Flu and Mr Coli. Mr E Coli!
Flu virus: top e coli bacterium: Bottom
Yes, the flu/cold/weird-thing-I'd-been -suppressing-for-3 -weeks had finally broken completely free and reeked havoc ALL OVER my body! I had to cancel all my appointments at work for the next 2 days and return home to a husband who was probably planning on spending that time trying to mentally situate himself in his unfamiliar lifestyle. Well WELCOME HOME HONEY!!! Now you have to take care of your sick wife! e coli then decided to present itself to my weakened immune stystem and set up camp a day after mine and Tristin's romantic reunion. Unfortunately he wasn't the friendliest of bacteria to my body! 3 days later and 5 lbs less I can finally say I am on the rise to eating food and being healthy again.
Tristin is not, however. He woke up this morning complaining of a sore stomach :(
Thankfully he's not to the point where his body is aching and he's shivering uncontrollably. right now I think it's more mild (and thank the stars for that!!!) Please pray that it doesn't get worse!
So how's that for a "WELCOME HOME TRISTIN" gift? And to share my bug with him on VALENTINES DAY! How romantic am I???!!
I did not really imagine our reunion looking like this at all but a sick reunion is better than none....I guess. I wish it hadn't gone down the way it did but in the end I dont care because I'm just so elated he's home!
.jpg)
