this year

this year i want to....

• simplify 
• continue to maintain my soda free streak. 
• strengthen and hopefully heal my wrist {tendinitis with a side of my ulnar nerve pain...}
• write
• improve my health and loose weight
• and hopefully be blessed with a pregnancy

national tragedy and dreams for the future

last week was a challenging week for the nation.

monday there was a double bombing at the boston marathon near the finish line.
3 lives were lost with numerous injured.
it's a tragedy. i don't understand how people come up with such evil thoughts and act upon them.

wednesday in texas there was a fertilizer plant that exploded.
they are still searching for survivors and sifting through the rubble.

friday they finally tracked down the suspects in the monday bombings.
boston city had been on lock down,
law enforcement searched each home in the area....

my heart breaks for everyone who had been effected

but there are evenings i prefer to turn the tv off and focus on my world, my family and my home.
there is plenty of evil in the world if we look
there is also an abundance of good and many blessing if we search for that too.

with all that is happening in the world,
the more i want our own homestead in the middle of nowhere.
life will consist of sun up to sun down
taking care of our needs.

thursday i went with my momma to pick up some probiotics for mitchel
and i was talking to her about my dreams for the future, living in the middle of nowhere...
she said we'd need to live semi close to town so our {future} kids could attend school and have friends.
i responded... eh. they can tend to the livestock and play on the farm.
then i said - you'll probably laugh... but i'd consider homeschooling

for all the years i swore i'd never follow in my own upbringing....
i've swallowed another round of nevers
chickens, orchids, canning, homesteading....
i want all of it

day dreaming

i think it's natural to day dream whenever you are traveling. imagining living in the place you are visiting and exploring. as mitch and i drove through ventura we passed this gorgeous home and wondered what it would be like to live a few blocks from the beach. living in such a beautiful coastal town. taking the boys to play in the ocean everyday.... the pace of the town was calling to us. we even pulled up mitch's property app and looked at home prices.

we loved walking the pier/boat harbor. listening to the sea lions, the tourists, and watching everyone and their dog enjoying the evening. it was magical if you asked me.

but when it really comes down to it... i'm in love with my home. born and raised here in utah i don't know if i could ever find another place that speaks to my heart the same. not to mention there is no yards to speak of in california. i think that my quarter acre corner lot may be small for my grand goals of gardening... but coming home to my yard it seemed ginormous. yes i may be envious of california's growing conditions... however i'm 100% in love with my home, my yard, and being near family.

when i really dream of our future, i dream of property. never in a million years did i anticipate my heritage, my upbringing, my roots to surface in such a manor. i want to have a homestead. mitch wants enough property to have a 'go cart track', i want plenty of space to garden, raise chickens and some livestock {mitch hasn't fallen in love with my ideas yet....}. the more we watch the news and hear of the unfortunate events world wide, the more we want our little place of heaven. a place that we can develop and grow and tend.

so as appealing as california can be. how amazing the coast line is. our dreams keep us here. growing together and building our future in our home state.

a mini getaway to california for spring trials

one of my goals this year was to make it to spring trials in CA. luckily mitch indulged me. {perhaps it was because we had sky miles that needed to be used and it was practically a free ticket for one of us.} either way i was excited to see 2014 plants. i spend practically every day at work so far this year.{the perks of being double duty manager and the only full time employee}. i made sure the store would be well staffed for the saturday i was gone. bright and early april 6th, mitch and i got up and headed to the airport. we arrived in LA around 9:30, headed to the rental car shuttle, picked up our rental car and headed north to santa paula. we had the option of upgrading from a full size sedan to a mustang convertible... of course mitch made the upgrade. partly because seeing how traffic was, he figured he'd be able to maneuver better. who are we kidding though.... a convertible mustang in CA!?! who wouldn't. we arrived in santa paula right around 11:30 and enjoyed a few hours touring ball's facility and previewing plants. so maybe i was the beside myself with excitement  {hello plant nerd}. once we finished at ball we drove into ventura and checked into our hotel. mitch felt underwhelmed with the trials. he wished we were able to see the growing facility too. i wished i had made arrangements to stop in at a couple other suppliers and see more plants. i guess there is always next year....

we freshened up a bit at the hotel and than headed to check out the beach and ventura pier. the sunshine was delightful and we fell in love with ventura and santa paula area. we day dreamed about living their and visiting the beach everyday. plus CA is so dog friendly. i wanted to love on every dog we walked passed.... i was obsessed with watching them play on the beach and chase the waves. the sound of the waves was heavenly. i was smitten with the all the plants too. perhaps i was {and still am} a tiny bit jealous of their growing conditions. the downside is there is no yards!! houses 6-10 ft apart from each other.... no thank you.

at the pier we enjoyed walking past all the docked boats, listening to the tourists, the sea lions, the water moving.... it was delightful. we had dinner at blackbeards {?}. we sat on the porch and watched everyone walk past, ate amazing food and realized we had a little too much sun. hello minor sunburn.

back at the hotel we curled up in bed and realized how exhausted we were. i kept trying to talk myself into getting back up and enjoying our evening {it was 6pm}. i couldn't manage though. i kept dosing. mitch was a sweetheart and let me sleep.

sunday morning we got up early again and decided to drive the coastal hwy back down to LA. our flight was at 6pm and we wanted to make the most of our day. we put the top down and the mustang... and soon realized that it was too chilly to keep it down. i'm pretty sure it screamed tourist to all the CA residents. lol. the coastal hwy was breathtaking.

i'll have to share more pictures from our trip and all of our mini stops along the way....

gardening and a set of new skills

mother nature was really rude on saturday. we woke up to snow.

i'm trying a new way to grow potatoes. our new gal jodi, at work told me how she grew potatoes in reusable grocery bags last season to grow her's. i'm not ready to give my ideal garden space for potatoes this season, so i'm determined to give them a go this way.

i also learned how to kill and butcher a chicken and then turn it into my dinner. i'm determined to become more and more self sufficient. this is another step in the right direction. it was a new experience... Russell {Abby's husband} joined me last week. i never knew how DARK real chicken meat is..... it makes me wonder why our chicken meat from the grocery store looks the way it does..... if only i could eat my own home grown meals every day.... it has been a blessing learning about my food and putting a face to what i am  eating.

some day i will have my own farm.....

it's so good to see you February

There are two really great things about today
#1-- it's Friday
and #2 it's February!!
We survived the long freezing month of January....


on another note.... today marks my first day of no more carbonation
i'm trying to be more aware of everything i eat and hopefully incorporate more whole foods into our diet.
plus the scale tells all.... the numbers are climbing upwards
gratefully i 'carry' the extra weight well {?} or so i've been told lately
but i would much rather be told how amazing i look.
what better way to start in the right direction then to start with the elimination of sugary carbonated {pepsi} drinks...
baby steps
plus we'll revive our juicing habit
and since i was unable to workout during january due to my graceful fall on my steps..
february is going to be better

i'm curious to see what lbs i'll be able to lose by just eliminating the sodas
{february 1st i weighed in at 136.... I'll keep track every week and hopefully see progress....}
good bye pepsi

my desires for 2013

today is one of those days where i need an extra extra dose of caffeine. which may be odd considering i've been able to spend the morning in bed. our church time has changed to 1. lets be honest, it is not our most favorite time.


however.... i've been putting a lot of thought into the new year and some of the things i am hoping to accomplish. however you wish to call them - resolutions, goals, wishes.... here is a list of things i hope to check of during 2013.

-practice yoga regularly
-cook more {i'm very focused on what i am eating and the health benefits. home cooked meals is my goal even if it requires more effort and time. i honestly feel that it will be worth it.}
-manage my personal garden better {i'm determined to grow primarily if not 100% heirloom varieties. being able to harvest and preserve my harvest for the winter months = canning. and learn recipes to correlate with what is being grown in my garden.}
-gather fresh eggs from the chickens at work. {i haven't been able to convince mitch of raising chickens here at home... until i do at least i will be able to take advantages of grandpa's chickens}
-continue to nurture my marriage
-learn photoshop elements. {along with learning the program, i plant to improve my photography skills}
-continue to read more
-sew curtains for my office
-make homemade biscuits for the boys
-minimize caffeine {everyone needs  lofty goal....}
-become more happy
-be more grateful
-visit pack trials in california in april {plant show for new varieties}
-compete in the tough mudder or spartan race
-vacation to disneyland with mitch, nanna and we will be taking hope along too.

i'm sure as the year continues so will my list of goals/wishes will too.

in the words of my grandpa "dream big for it has the power to stir one's soul"

a start to my goals for the year

there are quite a few things i'm dreaming about accomplishing this new year. one of which is to learn photoshop. i'm so excited to have received photoshop elements as one of my christmas gifts and i really want to learn how to use it. and use it well. plus i finally switched my camera into raw mode and look forward to learning the benefits of shooting pictures that way. there are endless possibilities in the photography world and i really want to make some progress this year. thankfully there are fantastic tutorials online.

thank you technology. 

i do plan on writing down more of my goals, wishes and resolutions for 2013...
but it's time to get ready and head to work.

update on this years goals....

2012

- finish the new flower bed along the south of the front yard. including a stone path a bistro table. -- i continued to work on the corner but didn't get the opportunity to polish it off.
- i wanted to get our photos taken professionally. -- didn't happen
- build a pergola over the back patio. -- far from happening. but mitch did build a big gate into our fence.
- be more creative and artistic. -- i made small progress here. i managed to make a few cards, craft here and there and even learned how to crochet this past week.
- scrapbook our wedding. -- i didn't even come close to accomplishing this goal. i did manage to get some photos printed off though. not necessarily wedding photos though. baby steps {?}
- read more books. -- check. granted it wasn't as many as i had hoped but more than i have in past years :)
- maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet. -- with mono and being hypothyroid, i started the year of needing to jump start this area. i feel like i incorporated new habits like drinking more water and being more active.
- exercise. go to the gym 3x a week. working out with mitch. be consistent in walking the boys and help jake lose some weight. -- i started the year off strong. i got into the habit of working out but slacked off during the busy season. i managed to keep my side of the goal for most of the year. jake still needs to lose some weight... 
- finish decorating my office. -- i'm not ready to check this off the list but progress has been made.
- paint our living room wall. -- check!
- finish decorating our home. -- didn't make too much progress here.
- nurture my marriage. -- i feel like i've made good progress here. naturally it will continue to be a goal of mine through the years.
- compete in a triathlon with mitch. -- no luck here.
- hike mt. timpanogos. -- no luck here either.
- hike the subway at zions. -- we checked this off our list. it was a grand adventure!
- vacation to disneyland. turned booked a cruise to the caribbean instead. -- no luck on either account. the cruise line cancelled our cruise and refunded us. we are planning on disneyland in 2013 though.

one snake at a time

yesterday i got the fabulous job of redoing everything i did on saturday.
the joys of my job.
so i spent the majority of my time re-tying and bundling corn stalks along the fence line.
i didn't think it was too bad
gratefully i was in a calm happy mood, nothing is going to upset me kind of mood.
{thank you yoga}
i finished around the play ground and headed back towards the animals.
i noticed that the pile of cornstalks had dwindled and what was left was tucked up nicely next to wood pile
do you know what lives in wood piles?
i do. so i looked at the pile of corn stalks and figured i might as well continue with my job....
i kicked at it hoping to scare away anything i might unfortunately pick up.
nothing moved so i pulled that pile out in the middle of the road
i continued on with fixing everything
as i was finishing up i was back down toward the peacock pen and figured i'd use the stalks down there
so i walked back up to were my water bottle and twine was
and there in the road was a snake.
i looked at it and thought about killing it {it's my go to urge with them lately}
then i realized my heart hadn't started to race and that my mind was thinking everything through.
usually my body goes into fight or flight mode when i come across a snake.
this time nothing happened.
i watched as it made it's way under the fence and i then walked past it,
got my things
and walked past it again.
my heart still hadn't raced.
i was so surprised by it all
taking advantage of my calm state.... i finished up with the corn stalks and walked inside.

i don't know if i've successfully conquered my fear of snakes
but i'm taking it one snake at a time
and of course super proud of myself.



on another note. i woke up to a rain fall morning.
having the windows open, listening to the rain and curling up in bed to stay warm....
i'd have to say that is a pretty awesome way to start the day.

mornings

i'm not necessarily a morning person. however i've learned to love the few moments i have with the boys between 6:30 and 7. even if it's a brief potty break. i get a peak at the sunrise and a breath of fresh air before i  crawl back into bed to rest a few minutes at least. i usually don't get the chance to enjoy those moments for more than a few minutes........ however i do enjoy them.no matter how short they may be. i bask in those moments.... me, myself and i.

i'm looking at morning shifts this fall. not that i'm complaining. i prefer taking the morning shifts and getting off early. perhaps i'll be able to make it to the gym more frequently. i miss the spring when i was managing 4-6 trips to the gym a week. amazing. hopefully with a more steady scheduling i can make it happen more frequently. {wednesday i've got my mind set on pilates}

sometimes it all comes pouring out

I don't recall the last time I sat down and really wrote down what was rolling around inside of me. I've been so busy for the past couple of months that I can't remember the last day off I had besides Sunday. It's probably been at least 2, maybe 2 and a half or even 3 months. Luckily I had been feeling really well. Because of that though I kept pushing myself.

So far this year I've been holding true to many of the goals I had set for the year. Spending less time on the internet, spending more time with the ones I love. Working on myself and my health. focusing on actually living my life to the fullest. I wonder if perhaps I may have lost a few of the things that added meaning and happiness along the way.

Since the middle of January I have been consistently going to the gym at least 3 times a week. Adding exercise into my routine wasn't easy at first but I started loving it and relying on the benefits I was receiving. May is our busiest month of the year and the past 2-3 weeks has been more demanding on my time and body. I hadn't been able to squeeze time into the gym. After 8-10 hour day my body was in need of rest. {Not that I was able to sufficiently give it the rest I needed. This week started with a long Monday, a short day on Tuesday but I spent the middle of my afternoon swimsuit shopping with my sister Abby. {Hell must have frozen over because I came home with a gorgeous new one piece. it was a pretty penny too} Once I finally made it home I quickly started on yard work. The lawn needed to be mowed, and with the forcast predicting rain I couldn't put it off much longer. Watering came next and planting a few things too. As Mitch and I crawled into bed last night he asked what my plans were for the morning since we had a dentist appointment mid morning. I told him I was going to yoga. I needed it and it's been far too long since I had been.

Between the insane wind storm that blew through the night and Cezar's restlessness, I had a lousy night's sleep.7 am my alarm goes off like it does every morning. after letting the boys out for their morning business, Cezar and I crawled back into bed to enjoy the quiet of the morning. I debated if I should fall back asleep or make it to yoga. Yoga won. It was the best decision I made today.

Perhaps with pushing so hard lately I have accidentally put myself in a funk. I need to find a perfect balance. There are days that I rush myself with trying to get everything accomplished and it doesn't leave me in a happy place. It wears me down day after day. On a rare day I find the perfect pace and am able to enjoy the moments and breath a little deeper.

Blogging is a place for me to keep record of our daily lives. It has been a wonderful outlet for me for so long and with the past few months I just haven't been feeling it quite the same. Today as I was sitting at the dentist  everything inside of me started rolling around and bubbling up.and because I haven't exactly felt the urge to spit up my thoughts lately, it caught me by surprise. I'll roll with it though. Maybe letting everything flow out is a start in the right direction.

Next weekend {the 1st} will be my first day off in who knows {march?}. It will be spent with my sweet hubby celebrating his birthday. I don't know what we'll do on Friday and Saturday but it will be wonderful because it'll be spent together {not a work}.

Hopefully I'll continue to let my inner self pour out more often.
maybe even get caught up on some good rest....

This evening when I got home I let the boys out and watered my collection of plants on the patio. I grabbed my camera and spent a bit of time playing. Oh how I loved shooting in manual mode. It felt good.

starting Monday off right

I was never one for exercise growing up.
I ate what I wanted when I wanted
Drank way too much soda
I was small and I loved it.

When I got married I was a size 2.
I loved it :)
I felt confidant and was incredibly happy with my body.

Over the past two years I had gained weight.
This winter was a low point for me.
With finding out I'm Hypothyroid and had mono on top...
I was constantly exhausted. {I'm not even exaggerating.}
I never wanted to do anything but sleep or lay down.
And along with the horrid fatigue I was experiencing....
the scale began to climb....
I had enough in January.
135 was too heavy for my personal preference.
I didn't feel good about myself
and I wanted to make a change.

Mitch and I joined Gold's gym
My goal was to make it there 3 times a week.
2 months later I'm pleased too say that I've kept that goal and have made it 4-6 times most weeks.

There are two things that are making a wonderful difference in my life and the way I view myself.
Yoga and Pilates.
It's seriously one of the best parts of my week.
Monday and Friday mornings I've been going to yoga.
It has been the perfect way to start and finish the week.
Monday and Wednesday night I attend Pilates.
I've seen a difference in my body and strength.

I've discovered that working out not only boosts my self image...
but also my energy and mood.
I never thought I'd be someone to fall in love with exercising....
It has become something I love and need.

This morning I got up and headed to yoga just after 8.
It was a beautiful morning.
Mother nature decided to wait until March to grace us with snow....
I enjoyed the beauty of it as I drove to the gym.
Happiness flooded through me.

Yoga was absolutely perfect.
My body needed it as always.
I left energized and eager to start my week.
{Monday's are a million times better after yoga}
Grabbing breakfast burritos for Mitch and I
Looking at my snow covered flowerbed....
Changing and hurrying to get to work on time...



Hello Monday.... Thanks for the fabulous day!

taking a step forward

A part of January is spent reflecting about how the previous year, the new year, about ourselves and are we happy with everything. I've been thinking a lot lately. My goals have been set. Looking at last year I would consider it a good year. For 2012 I'm wanting to be better. In both health and mind. I want to nurture my marriage. As I've been rolling everything around in my mind I've come to a few conclusions....

Being constantly exhausted is extremely challenging. 

I need to focus on serving my little family. 

I need to be present in my life. 

Balance is going to be incredible important and key to becoming a better me.

I've read some beautiful posts about balance and rearranging priorities the past few days. Those darling ladies put to words exactly what I've been thinking about. I believe I'm too 'plugged' into the internet/apps. For example Facebook. I think it's a great way to keep in touch to friends and family. BUT I can't count the times I refresh my feed on my phone because I am bored during the day. How often Mitch and I are relaxing in the evenings and we are both glued to our phones.... I can't say I'm proud of it. Yesterday I was at work and finally deleted my Facebook app. It was very freeing. Twitter followed this morning. I need to remind myself that it doesn't matter if I know the recent updates of statues. The internet can wait. I am going to allow myself to check all the status updates from my computer if I so feel inclined. I believe this will be a step in the right direction.

Another goal is when Cezar, Jake or Mitch need attention I need to put down anything that I am doing and focus on them. 

If I need to rest, I need to allow myself too. Turn of the TV, set down my phone, close the blinds and rest. 

My goal for my little blog... It will stay true to me. The good, the bad, the challenges, the beauty. 

I need to do more things that I love!! I don't want to waste my life not enjoying every moment.

all these things will allow me to move forward... allow me to become a better me. 

I look forward to being a better me this year! 

hello new year and thoughts running through my head

Mitch and I brought in the new year at home. We celebrated with Cafe Rio to go, cuddling, video games for him, a chick flick for me, snuggled the little one - he injured his front paw/leg someone, and we managed to stay awake til the drop of the ball this time. I think I'm a major fan of staying home :)

I spent Sunday with Cezar making sure he was comfortable and carrying him around. He wouldn't walk on his leg and whimpered frequently. My heart was so sad. Luckily we had a vet visit scheduled early Monday morning so I was able to relax a little. We still aren't sure what he did to his leg, but with some pet pain reliever and keeping him on 'bed rest' {as much as possible} he's starting to use his leg. Cezar has a check up visit next week to see how he's doing.

The past few days I've been thinking about my goals for the year. My main focus will be nurturing my marriage and making improvements with my health. I need to prioritize my life and make my marriage number one. Hopefully working on my health will allow me to do that. I have good days and bad days... and its hard for me to stretch myself at times. Mitch and I had a deep conversation the other night and it gave me the ability to understand him in a new way. My husband is the love of my life! He is truly the most amazing man I know. Mitch treats me a like a princess. I need to be better for him. 

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4"

Goals for 2012

I haven't exactly been the best at new years resolutions.
I have high hopes... but life seems to happen.
This year though, I think approaching resolutions more as goals I want to accomplish... might be the trick to success.

• Finish the new flower bed on the south side of our lawn. with stone path and bistro table
• I want to get our photos taken again - Photography session
• Build a pergola over our back patio 
• Be more artistic, creative
• Scrapbook our wedding 
• Read more books
• maintain a healthy diet, lifestyle 
• Exercise. go to the gym with Mitch {our goal is 3x a week} and walk the boys more consistently. {help Jake lose weight.}
• finish decorating my office
• paint our living room wall.
• finish decorating our home. I would love it to feel 100% cozy
• Nurture my marriage
• compete in a triathlon with Mitch
• Hike Mt. Timpanogos
• Hike the Subway at Zions
• Vacation to Disneyland

I have a feeling it's going to be a good year.

What are some of your goals/resolutions for the coming year??

Goals for the week

Christmas is almost here!! I'm 24 and I still get super giddy for Christmas. I can hardly sleep Christmas eve and am up at 7 ready to run down to the Christmas tree. Lol. Mitch told me im not allowed downstairs with out him this Christmas morning. I told him he'd have me and the boys bouncing on him trying to get him up ;)

My current goals for this week:
- finish painting the banister
- give jake a really good brushing
- give cezar a bath
- do laundry
- finish Christmas shopping - stocking for Mitch and goodies for the boys
- and of course getting lot of rest


Are you ready for Christmas??

Hump Day

{something about this pic.... absolutely love it}

Today was one of those days.... the long and 'off-ish' days.

I had the closing shift. I feel like I'm always more productive when I start my day earlier. I prefer the 8 am opening shift. I get more things done.

I weighed myself yesterday. Felt like I needed to know my starting weight. 

127.5

It's the most I've ever been!!

I don't like it. 

I am proud to say that I food logged and kept my calories in check.

one point me.

For dinner I had one small stuffed chili and one ear of corn. 

one point me.

I am determined.

For me I believe it a lot of it has to do with cutting out sugars {i'm going to one pepsi a day. kudos} being super aware of what I am eating. Snacking better. drinking lots and lots of water. Plus 2-4 days of exercise.

what are some of your tips and tricks to shedding off a few inches/pounds?? Please share!!

Mitch is commuting to the Gateway up in SLC for the next few weeks. He's in training for his new position. 

I'm so proud of him!! 

Unfortunately it means less time with him

{big frowny face}

Luckily it's only a total of 3 weeks.

YAY.

Well happy hump day. 

I'm going to go hop on my bike like a determined little girl ;)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Also I'd love to put the offer on the table -- sponsor swap for the month of October.

Anyone interested??

Email me -- dannylynntaylor{at}yahoo{dot}com

1 month

Today our fabulous new exercise bike arrived on our driveway. Mitch's work reimbursed us. How sweet is that!?!!

As I watch mitch work his magic and put it together, I saw a commercial for VS. I had a brilliant idea... I should get a new bra and panty set when I lose my unwanted 10lbs :) great idea right?!!! Mitch liked it but the countered the idea with - if you lose the 10 lbs by our anniversary I'll get you a surprise gift. Who doesn't love surprise gifts?!! I sure do. But now that just means I need to kick my butt into high gear.

Plus I'll feel a million times better on our anniversary getaway if I say good bye to those unwanted lbs.
Any one want to join me in my -10lb goal?? I'd love some company :) who's with me?!!

1 month starting tomorrow.

A lazy morning

I remember as I was growing up, my mom loved her peace and quiet.... even if it meant the kids were making a mess. This morning I've enjoyed sleeping in til 8, watching the Good Wife off the DVR, I'm on my 2nd Vanilla coke already and just like my mom - I've enjoyed the quiet at the expense of this mess. LOL. I think its time for me to find them some new toys :)

I'm proud to say though that I have been doing well with my goals. I've managed to cook the last few days :) Last night I came home and put some bacon in the oven to cook {I hate cooking it in a pan, Mitch is the only one who will cook it that way} and then made my favorite waffles! YUMMY!!! As for my other goals... I'm working on 'em.

Recipe:

Hart Oh Boy Waffles

2 1/4 sifted flour

4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 T sugar

2 beaten eggs

2 1/4 C. Milk

3/4 C salad oil

Combine and enjoy!