London 2012

I don't know about you but I LOVE watching the olympics summer or winter. Each have their sports that I love to watch. I am the least coordinated person you will ever meet so to see people who are the best in their sport compete and represent their contry is so fun to watch. I have always admired those talents in others because I know it's not something everyone is blessed with. One of the things I really enjoy is hearing the human stories whether its about the hosting nation or the atheleates themselves. I liked the focus that they made this year on the sacrifices parents and the atheleates make to get there. It made me think of the sacrifices I now see that my parents made for me and my siblings. It makes me very greatful for them and I know that I wouldn't be who I am if it weren't for them. Another thing that I love about the olympics is the love for ones counrty. As you know I was born in Mexico and grew up in the US, so I have two homes Mexico and the US. Although I have to admit I feel out of place when I visit Mexico because I have not lived there for so many years I always feel such a pride when Mexico is represented. So with that said I was so proud to see Mexico take the gold in soccer and I sang along as the national anthem was played. So proud to be able to call 2 wonderful countries my home. I think we all celebrated with the countries when they won and our heart broke a little when they didn't or they fell. No matter what country is our home for 17 days everyone in the world was united by the spirit of the olympics and love of their homeland, we became one which you have to admit it's a great thing.

Love hate relationship

Summer is here and in full swing in Seattle and with that the beautiful weather. I have been here in WA for 3 summers and I have enjoyed each one so much. I think anyone that has ever lived in the PNW or lives here they have a love/ hate relationship with WA. For 9 months we have non-stop rain which keeps our area so green and lush. I mean we are not called the "Emerald City" for no reason. And then we are blessed with the most AMAZING summers. So this past winter was the hardest one for me because I was so ready for this weather to be over and for some sun any sun really to come out. Well summer has not dissapointed this year I think it has been a great one. Today I went on a ferry to Bainbridge Island and headed to brunch and it was the perfect way to end the week. There are certain views that always make me smile and remind me why I love Seattle so much and the picture above is one of them. So although I am sure once the long winter comes I will be questioning why I moved to WA in the meantime I am enjoying the beauty of the area and all it has to offer. Hope everyone is enjoying their little piece of heaven where ever they are.

Has it been that long?

Well this year one of my goals was that I wanted to keep up on my blog and I just looked and my last post was back in January! I think what's more frightning is where has time gone? It doesn't feel like it's been that long since my last post. It's also made me think of what have i done in those months? I think the main positive one is that I decided to loose weight. When I was in Monterey I had lost quite a lot of weight which was nice. I was 20lb from my goal but then I moved to WA. Well let's just say that the weight I lost in a year I swear I gained that and then some within a year here in WA. It would be easy for me to sit here and blame the stress of the move, stress of life in general, or any other excuse. But I know that at the end that's all that would be an excuse. I know why I gained the weight and it came down to me getting lazy regarding my activity level. I mean come on if it comes down to going running in the Seattle rain (9 months of the year) or stay bundled up in the comfort of my house, I chose the 2nd option. Let's just say that it didn't take long for me to start seeing the gain. So what gave me the push? I watched a documentary with my sister-in-law Melissa called "Forks Over Knives" and it was a great motivator to encourage me to go back to my vegeterian diet. Although the movie encourages more of a Vegan diet I could never be full on Vegan, I love cheese too much even though Dairy doesn't like me as much (I'm lactose intolorent) What I liked about this concept was that it's actually based on years of medical research and the concept is the foundation of Whole Foods Store which happens to be one of our customers for the company I work for. So armed with that new vision a group of us joined Weight Watchers and to be honest I dind't take it seriously. I really only joined to support my group but the more I saw them loose weight and me staying the same the cometiveness in me kicked in and made me take the program more serious. I am actually enjoying the program and learning new things. As part of the program we decided to do a 5K a month (I love running) to keep us motivated to add activity to our plan. Let me just tell you going back to the gym was so hard and at time so discouraging. I couldn't even walk for the 1st few months. I couldn't wait for the day where I could walk up the stairs and not feel like death because I was so sore. I still get sore when I try new workouts or do it for longer times but again it feels GREAT to not feel like I'm going to die everytime I run. Now my running time is nowhere close to what it was before but I'm getting there little by little. There are days where even after you eat right and exercise you gain instead of loosing and you just want to say "F-this I'm done" but I have to keep reminding myself that I want to be healthy and that's what keeps me going. And fitting in smaller size clothes is a great perk too I won't lie. So if any of you are trying to loose weight and get discourage hang on because it does get better and easier. I always have to remind myself that I didn't learn these habbits overnight it's been years of making unhealthy choices so it's going to take more than a few weeks to retrain myself. So far I have lost 16lb which may not seem like a lot but it's 16lb less so I'm a happy camper :0)

DIY Projects

As previously stated we have been having a big snow storm here in the PNW. I have to admit I have not been going as crazy as I thought I would be or maybe this is the "Cabin Fever" talking :0).

My sister always teases me and tells me how she can't understand how we are related sometimes and why I'm such a "tree hugger". So with that intro the other day I was looking at this blog and it gave ideas about reusing your Christmas cards to make gift tags. I have been putting off doing this project although I saved the cards from work. But since I am snowed in I figured this is as good of a time as any.

I am quite pleased with the outcome of them. I will definitely keep other cards to reuse them for gift tags but maybe for B-Days and such.

Snow and more snow

One of the many things I love about living in the beautiful Pacific North West is having four Seasons. It seems every place I have lived really only had two types of weather. So living in Seattle has been fun for that reason.

This year there has been this freakish snow storm that hit WA and we have been getting snow for the past few days. It makes me laugh to think how a little snow really shuts the city down. But today we have actually gotten tons of snow. I have gotten a good 6 inches but in other parts of the Puget Sound there has been as much as 18 inches!

Here are some pictures I took of my backyard this morning.

Fear Not And Know that I Am God

Well it seems that 2012 is starting out with a bang for us and not to go into detail all I will write is how blessed I am in the knowledge that my Heavenly Father knows who I am.

Our trials come in all shapes and sizes. I always tell my sister how I'm flattered that the Lord thinks so highly of me when he puts a trial in my life that I feel I will never be able to overcome but somehow he believes I can. I have learned that it's during those times I am able to see the hand of the Lord in my life the most because I realize how without him I am nothing.

I love Seattle but I do miss my friends and that has been hard for me to adjust to. And when there are days that I'm freaking out I am reminded that I came here because of an answered prayer and not just by chance. This weekend has been a hard one but I have been so overwhelmed by the love of my Heavenly Father as well as my dear friends.

My friend Nathan once said " A diamond can only become a diamond until it has been put through extreme pressure to refine it." I have always remembered that and remind myself that this is our refining process. Life would be so much easier if we didn't have trials but if that was the case there would be no need for the Atonement and I don't know about you but I am nothing without the Atonement in my life.

There are many voices out in the world that tell us what we should be or how we are failing and are not enough but in that storm we can rest assured that the Master speaks to us giving us the peace we need saying "Fear Not and Know that I Am God."

I am always comforted by the beauty WA has to offer. I take the back roads to get to work which means I drive all along Lake WA and my view to work is the Olympic Mountains and on my way home if it's clear I see Mt. Rainer greeting me in all it's splendor. I'm comforted because if the Lord made something so beautiful for his children to enjoy then how can I doubt he is not mindful of me? I can't :)

Farewell 2011 Greetings 2012

I don't know about you but I feel like 2011 just flew by. It seemed as if I was just welcoming the year and now here I am saying goodbye. 2011 has been an interesting year for sure. I have been working a full year in one job this year which has been great! I went back to school which has been fun but stressful all at the same time.

As I look back I do wish I could have done some things different but I am also thankful that I am able to see my mistakes and hopefully learn from them and not make them in 2012.

As the year comes I always think of goals for the next year and to be honest this year I feel like I really want to take my time to make my goals. I always seem to make the normal ones everyone make such as "I will lose weight." Well I work at a bakery where we always have yummy treats around us ALL THE TIME! One of my co-workers told me "Don't worry they are all natural treats" to which I replied "Yes they are all natural but the size of my butt is not! :/" So with that these are the goals I want to work on for 2012

Spiritual:
- Attend the temple more
- Read my RS & Sunday School lessons BEFORE Sunday
- Make a real effort to attend ward activities

Personal:
- Eat healthier
- Exercise (I miss running & my old running times)
- Focus on school
- Build and nurture family/ friend relationships

So those are my goals for 2012, I hope I am able to achieve them and be better because of it. So welcome 2012 I hope we both enjoy the journey.

Merry Christmas to All and to All A Good Night!

I LOVE the Christmas Season for so many reasons. Everyone seems to be in a better mood, we seem more willing to help others without asking "What's in it for me?" And I don't know what it is about Christmas lights that just cheer me up.

This year my friend Darryel came to spend Christmas in Seattle. A little about Darryel and I, we both worked at DLI in the CPAC. He was a GS employee and I was a "NAFI". The CPAC was a black hole that sucked your soul out, and Darryel was my sanity there. He is so funny and we would have a blast hating on people or just keeping ourselfs from going crazy.

I left the Army and went to work at NPS but we always remained close friends. For the past year I kept telling him to come visit Seattle so I was so excited when he finally decided to come and to top it off he came for my favorite holiday, Christmas!!!

We didn't do a big thing to be honest we laid low at home, went to the movies, cooked and played board games. Although Darryel will insist I cheated at Battleship. Really he needs a hearing aid :)

So here are a few pictures from our holiday. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by people they love.