Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day 2012 was mostly uneventful. The best surprise came that afternoon when there was a knock on my door. I was laying awake in bed, assuming it was the postal person so I was going to ignore it. The knocks kept coming so I got up and found my best friend and her 4 darling kiddos standing there with a Valentine's treat. Noah and Jack were still very excited about the parties they had at school and Lucy was her slightly she self. Jess apologized over and over for "waking me up" but I assured her she didn't (I swear! you didn't!!!). Even if they had, it was a perfect thing to wake up to. I just love those LaTours!

How cute is this?!?! She hand stitched that heart! Jess, you are uh-mazing! Jared and I each had one of those YUMMY cookies over coffee that afternoon.

I took the time to make my co-workers some sweet n salty Valentine's. I made "party popcorn". Recipe to follow in another blog. Super duper easy!

I was really wanting to make conversation heart cookies and experiment with piping slightly more inticate designs. I had a couple sweet people in mind while making these.

Happy 80th Birthday Nana!!

On Februrary 13th, Jared's Nana officially turned 80 years young. We had a small party for her on the 11th and she had a wonderful time. I cherish Ariel and Loretta (Jared's Grandmas). I miss mine desperately and I soak up every moment I can with these two.

Nana cracks me up. Everthing and everyone is "darling" and "precious". Nana will be your biggest fan, no matter what. She constantly tells me how cute I look in my work uniform. Only a Grandma could love you in head to toe Navy Blue :)

I think my favorite part of the day was watching Nana interact with her friends. She joked, laughed and talked about all sorts of things. Jared and I had the best time sitting back and watching her enjoy every minute of her day.

 There was lots of family to go around, including my parents. I love that my family and Jared's family have become close. It was a wonderful day celebrating a beautiful and loving woman!

Ali's Surprise

Ali is my partner at work and a dear friend. She started with Cal Fire in 2008. She became my partner in 2009 when she was permanently moved to night shift. From the moment we met (about 6 months before she started w/ the department), we were instant friends.

Our working relationship is unique. We help each other without even talking. She will answer my radio when needed, I will call someone for her when she needs me to. All without asking the other person to do it. It is pretty amazing.

We work 12 hour shifts so we spend half of our week together. During that time you are most likely going to get to know the other person quite well.

We've celebrated birthdays, her wedding, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and all of the holidays in between. We've talked about relationships and counseled each other. We've cried tears when she filed for divorce and we've stood by each other through it all.

Ali has had a rough couple of years. She's faced a marriage that lacked love and respect. She's had medical problems and gone through a divorce. Through it all she put on her brave face and road the roller coaster of life. She is one of the most loving, caring, giving and kindest people I know. She will put others before herself. Even if that means she must go without. She's hugged me when I cried and squealed with me during the good times. We make dinner once a week for our work crew, watch the Bachelor, Lifetime movies, Biggest Loser etc.

Ali has never really had good birthdays. Her ex-Husband forgot every year. It made her sad but she would just go with it. This year I wanted it to be different for her. She's been through so much and deserved a good birthday. I got into my planning mode and planned a surprise birthday party for her. She thought she was going to our friend's house for a "House warming party".  I was terrified that she would figure it out but somehow we all kept the secret from her.

When she arrived, we all yelled "SURPRISE" and told her it was a birthday party for her. She was speechless and had tears in her eyes. That made all of the planning worth it. We laughed ( a lot!!), played Wii bowling (Ali kicked our butts) and had tons of food. It was a great night!

Happy Birthday, dear Ali. I hope you know how loved you are!

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes made by Becki!

A special signature drink for the birthday girl

Ice Cream Sundae bar for dessert!!!

The birthday girl and I

The "ladies of the night"... and clay

The 50/50 Plan Update: Week 4

This week was much better. I did ok with the no sweets policy. The one thing I am not giving up is my coffee creamer. I don't like the sugar free stuff... yuck!

I did "oops" one night with the no sweets. I sat down on the couch with an It's It and enjoyed every bite. Literally the minute I finished the ice cream it hit me.. duh Shannon! no sugars. Woopsie Daisy! Oh well.

Overall I had a great week. Logged some miles at the gym and on the road, drank more water and looked to God for strength in getting fit.

Starting weight: 191.3
Final weight: 188.8
Total Loss: 2.5 lbs (cue happy dance!)

Total lost so far: 7.2lbs!!

Focused in February

I am happy in my life. So happy, in fact, that sometimes I can't believe this is my life. God is so good! That's not to say that there aren't daily struggles or trials etc. but I am remembering more and more that we have a Lord and Savior that holds us in his hands every single day. He knows what He is doing, even if we can't figure out what is going on.

In February I want to focus on a few particular things. Things that are important to me and that I feel need a little more attention than I have been giving them. It's like I know I should be giving it more attention but I am waiting for it to happen on its own. It is said that after 3 weeks (or 21 days), something becomes habit. I want better habits in my life.

*God: reading daily devotions and spending more time in prayer
*Jared: praying for him daily and encouraging him as much as I can
*Nutrition: Saying goodbye to processed sugars. i.e. cookies, candy, cakes etc.
*Cross Training: working out 6 days a week. Whether it is push ups and sit ups at home, a long run or hitting the weights at the gym

What are some things in your life that need more of your attention than you've previously been willing to give? I challenge you to focus on those things during the month of February.

To remin myself of what I need to focus on in the coming month, I've written myself little notes. One to put by my bedside , one in my wallet, one on my fridge and one in my bathroom on the mirror.

The 50/50 Plan Update: Week 3

This week didn't shape up exactly how I wanted it but I am ok with that. The important thing is consistency. Whether the numbers go down or not, I feel great and I know I am working hard. I still struggle with sugar cravings. Especially this week. PMS can really put a wrench in your healthy eating plan.

I am happy to say the sugar cravings are waaaaayyyy less than they used to be. I simply feel healthier and strong. I am loving it. So, the number isn't what I wanted but that's ok. I'm onto a new week and it is all about looking forward, not back.

Thank you , dear friends, for  your constant encouragement and support!

Week 3 :
Starting weight: 191.5
Ending weight: 191.3
Total weekly loss: 0.20

Total weight lost: 4.7 lbs

The 50/50 Plan Update: Week 2

Week 2 wasn't stellar for me. I slacked quite a bit, wasn't diligent in watching what I ate and definitely didn't work out as much as usual.

Honestly, I didn't feel guilty about indulging at Bucca Di Beppo. It was my guy's birthday celebration and I wasn't going to eat celery and brown rice while he chowed on Eggplant Parmesan. We ate and enjoyed.

Wednesday was the worst food day by far. The other days were ok but not great.

Mentally I feel clear and ready to keep going on this journey. I am happy and proud of myself. I still have confidence in myself that I will reach my goal of 50 pounds.

I decided that I need a reward system for myself. At first I thought maybe pedicures and a massage. Maybe a new shirt or new pair of pants. What I finally decided on was a new wardrobe. After I lose 50 pounds I want to toss out all of the clothes I have (donate, not throw away) and start a new wardrobe. By that time none of my current clothes will fit me.

I've opened a second savings account and I am putting $10 in for every pound lost. So for week 1 I put $50 in there. During the weeks that I gain or lose 0, no extra money will go into the account.

So here it is... the numbers:
Starting weight : 191.00
Ending weight: 191.5

Gain: 0.5lbs
Total Lossed: 4.5lb in 2 weeks

I am not stoked about that half pound gain BUT that just keeps me going. I can't change anything from week 2.What's done is done. Now I move on and keep pressing towards the goal.

Iron Mountain

A few friends/co-workers and I decided we wanted to hike Iron Mountain. Most of us had never done the hike so we were excited (and a little nervous) to give it a try.

Suzy brought her dogs, KME and Layla. The pups were so excited to be out and about. We figured they would pull us up the mountain if we got too tired. Much to our delight the guys in the group, Clay and neil, took the dogs and set off on their fast pace up the trail.

Suzy, Ali and I took our time and really enjoyed the conversation and the view along the way. We were relieved to know that if things went bad, there was a designated helipad on the side of the mountain...

About 3/4 of the way up, we noticed a bunch of guys running down the mountain. We figure they were Marines or Army. Something along those lines.

The trail is very rocky and the type of dirt can be somewhat slick. I don't know how anyone could run the trail without tripping and bashing their head open! I tripped plenty of times but never came close to falling. Thank goodness!

The trail is 6 miles round trip, 3 in and 3 out. We were about to the 2.5mi marker when Clay, Neil and the pups came back down the mountain to meet us. In the fire service (namely wildland fire) they do hikes most days. Whoever gets to the top first turns around and meets the person that is last in line, whether they are 1/2 a mile behind or 2. They encourage them to keep going and remind them they aren't alone. It was pretty cool that the guys came down to where we were and went to the top again.

The view from the top of Iron Mountain was beautiful! We could easily see Poway and Ramona.
Here's a view of Mt. Woodson from the top of Iron Mountain

This is Lake Jennings:

The control burn on Cuyamaca Peak that day:

And the boys being... well... boys:

We had so much fun! It took us about 3 hours, including the time we took at the top to rest and refuel with water and snacks. We can't wait to do it again!

Happy Birthday, Love

For Jared's birthday I surprised him with a trip to the Discovery Center in Santa Ana to check out the Star Wars exhibit and get our nerd on. We didn't have a ton of time there but we were able to look around at all of the displays and read many of the placards.

Afterwards we went to Bucca Di Beppo for dinner and ended up sitting at the exact same table we did two years ago when we were in Anaheim. our waiter had a very thick hispanic accent and he was somewhat difficult to understand. His name? Billy.
We got all fancy and ordered dessert and everything. Neither one of us had tried Cannoli so we ordered their Chocolate Chip Cannoli... so.freaking.good! If you've never tried it, you should.

Dinner was enough to put un in a food coma until I took Jared's final gift out of my car. Wrapped in a small box he found an Anaheim Ducks authentic practive jersey and tickets to not one but THREE Anaheim Ducks hockey games! The Ducks had a great holiday bundle pack that I just couldn't pass up! We loved every minute of the game that night. Normally hockey is a low scoring game. Each team will usually bring home 1-3 points per game, max. The Ducks won that night 6-2. It seemed like we were jumping up and cheering more than we were sitting in our seats. The game was a blast. In fact, the whole day was!

Jared,

Three days ago you turned 29. Almost one week ago I took you on a surprise date to celebrate your birthday. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. From the smiles at the discovery center and the cheers at the Ducks game, I think you did. You make my life complete and you love me so fully. Happy 29th birthday my sweet sweet love. You deserve all you have and so much more!

Peyton turned 4!

On January 8th, 2012 my youngest niece , Peyton, turn 4 years old. I am just wondering how she went from this tiny little bundle on the day of her birth:

 To this hip one year old :

 To this angelic 2 year old:

 And this cheesy 3 yr old (who was so sick on the day of her birthday party but kept smiling anyway!):

 And has ended up this 4 yr old little lady:

How is this possible????

Peyton, Auntie Shannon loves you so much! You crack me up every time I am with you. You come up with the most random and funny things to say, you still like to dance around my living room to music and take naps on my "big bed". You love your brother the way I love my brothers and that makes my heart so so happy. I love your hugs and giggles more than anything. You really really love your uncle Jared and often ask where he is if he isn't with me when I visit. happy 4th birthday sweet girl! Quit getting so big! :)
Love,
You favorite Auntie Shannon