Wanna See Baby Photos? Part II

And I'm back today sharing some more baby with you all to highlight that the things I did as a baby haven't left me.

Let's begin with watermelon, loved it then as evident in these photos and love it still now, more like addicted to it. 

I liked fashion or putting together outfits with long necklaces back when I was a baby, hey I still enjoy doing that today.

And the most photographed activity I found myself doing when I was a baby was baking,
is that any surprise?

A baker always tastes what they are making

I am peeling the bananas to make banana bread

Tasting the finished product

What I want to know is where did my art talent disappear to from when I was a baby to now? I have absolutely no art talent now but what happened from these photos to now?

So there you have it, photos that are evidence of how I got my start whether it was baking, being athletic, etc. Hope you enjoyed it!

Wanna See Baby Photos? Part 1

Today I have for you all a real treat.

I am totally embarrassing myself here today on the blog. I am showing you some of my baby photos. The fun part of visiting my parents is getting to browse through baby photos and viewing all the cuteness of me when I was a baby. 

I found a few photos of when I was a baby that prove where I got my start or indicate what I wanted later on in life.

I knew I wanted to be a bride later on in life, minus the veil.

I knew I wanted to drive later on in life, here I was 16 months with a broken arm.

When I was in elementary school, I really enjoyed gymnastics, does this photo prove I enjoyed it when I was younger?

I have worked several desk jobs, my first job ever was a desk job and I guess I was destined to work at a desk because of this photo.

I guess I was destined to be athletic later on in life because of these photos.

And maybe I was destined to be a blogger because of this photo.

Come back again tomorrow for some more embarrassment.

If You Really Knew Me...

I liked the idea of If You Really Knew Me posts and had been tagged by a couple of people (Leeann, Stesha) so I thought I would add in my post. I'm not gonna make it very deep but more of a personal, get to know me more type of post.

So here it is:

If you really knew me, then you would know that I was born in Japan, and if I wanted to run for the Office of President of the U.S. of A. then I couldn't yet for two reasons, I am not 35 and also because if a US citizen is born outside of the United States, you have to have 14 years physical presence in the US before you run and I haven't hit that mark yet. How crazy?!

If you really knew me, you would know that growing up my brother and sister, both born in the US, teased me constantly that I would never return to the land of my birth. Little did they know the joke was on them! We moved back before I started high school.

If you really knew me then you would know that I was an Air Force brat, moving to another location every three years. Here are the places I lived in order from birth until I graduated from high school: Japan, Colorado, Kansas, back to Colorado, California, Japan.

If you really knew me, you would know that deep down I am a funny, goofy person and sometimes my quiet outer shell is what you get until I am really comfortable with you and I feel you won't judge my crazy, goofy nature.

If you really knew me, you would know that I drink a cup of coffee each morning with Coffeemate Creamer and I eat the same breakfast, yogurt and fresh fruit. Nothing is better.

If you really knew me, you would know how much I care about all of my friends and I think that distant is not a legitimate reason for friendships to end.

If you really knew me, you would know that my maiden name is Mouch and that it still weirds me out two years later to say my maiden name, gosh it makes me sound old. Oh and Mouch was never pronounced correctly ever in my entire life.

That's all folks!

Hugs and Kisses XOXO

Be sure to enter the giveaway for $25 to sneakpeeq by clicking on this specific link, this is the only entry  http://bit.ly/AjpwQX (well besides following henning love)Did you know there are actual physical effects your boy gets from a hug? Whether it is your mom who gives you a hug, your dad or your spouse, there is no doubt that a hug does improve your mood overall. God designed us to be social creatures to have relationships with others and hugging is part of those social relationships, when it is acceptable of course. A few effects that hugging provides I found are:

Boosts your immune system

Builds self-esteem

Fosters self-acceptance

Alleviates tension  

via

I remember when I was single, had a long hard day at work and I would just go to my empty apartment. I remember longing for that hug, for that embrace that would just seem to melt all my frustrations of the day away, and because I didn't, I would carry it around on my shoulders and that was a heavy weight to carry. Even being married, however, I sometimes find it hard to ask for a hug sometimes, for an embrace from my husband. I will be working on that to be more open with embraces, to accept physical touch more easy.

For today, I found some beautiful images that hope to remind you to go hug your loved ones, hug your friends and let them know how much you appreciate them and I am also posting this because Valentine's Day is on the brain!

Source: google.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Meg on Pinterest

You know the saying, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, 

I think the same true can be true for a hug.

With Valentine's Day next week, make sure you stay in a hug just a little bit longer, find an extra reason to give someone a hug, or just give a hug for no other reason than to express I love you. Your happiness and health will thank you!

Today is...

My birthday. Blowing out 28 candles today.

Source: mstwirlyskirts.com via Emily on Pinterest

What am I doing today? I gave myself a great present by taking the day off from work! I will be getting pretty by my hairstylist, and enjoying the day, every single second that God has given to me.

Wounds...

I'm going a bit deep and personal here today, talking about wounds, wounds that last for years, not the physical type of wounds obviously but emotional wounds, that you may or may not realize you are carrying around. Whoever said words can't hurt isn't telling the truth, words do hurt, statements that may seem rather innocent, maybe somewhat truthful to another individual do hurt. There have been wounds I have been carrying around for years, these wounds have controlled me and have pushed me down and continue to push me down. 

For years, I have let these wounds even though I didn't realize it at the time determine how successful I think I could be, how confident I viewed myself, and how I viewed myself as a person in general. So when people say sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me they are seriously wrong.

It doesn't matter who said the things, it doesn't matter the exact things that were said but what does matter is what I choose to do with them. For several years, like I said without realizing it, I let those words affect me in how I performed or how far in this life I could go. 

So I choose today not to let those words affect me any longer. I have been carrying this yoke for so long and it has gotten so heavy.  I choose to break free from the words that have held me down for so long. And guess what? I don't have to do it alone. I have my heavenly Father to guide me, to give me confidence when I ask for it, to help me break free of these words that have held me down for so long. 

Galatians 5:1 tells me so. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 

My yoke of slavery are the words said to me so long ago, and I have let them define me who I thought I was and what I thought I could accomplish.

This is my challenge to myself to not listen to those wounds, the yoke of slavery I have been carrying around and not let them define my future anymore. But let God define who I am, to allow Him to show me who I am in Him, a beautiful creation, a child of God. I want to feel like this photo, to let go of those wounds that have held me down, to be free and not carry this yoke any longer!

Do you have wounds you are still carrying around? Holding a grudge against someone that was said to you? Do you let these wounds define your self-image?

Dear Readers...

I am back from my min-vacation up to Oregon. Seriously all of you bloggers who live up there Erika Lee, Kira, Mandee and many others you are all lucky Oregon ducks ;-) or maybe Beavers if you root for that team, for getting to live in such a beautiful state. 

I had a post planned for this morning that included some recently found beautiful purses, I have a slight obsession with purses. But I need to write what is on my heart today or lest I am not doing any of you a favor but not being real and honest with you.        

I am struggling... 

I am struggling in life right now for a variety of reasons, so there isn't one specific thing I can pinpoint out, solve that and then everything would be a-ok. I will start with my job since that is a big portion of my time each week. I struggle because I feel like I go to a dead-end job with no way out, I have been sending in resumes, making contacts, and nothing is working. I know the economy isn't the best right now, but I refuse to let that bring me down. However, I take a day off which I did on Friday and I struggle with having to return this morning. It is a cyclical situation, I don't like my job but I lack the motivation to do much about it. And that is where I get stuck because I have no idea what God wants me to do with my life. I look at a job description, get excited for a bit then realize I don't have what they are looking for or the job sounds really interesting but could I do it? My head is filled with so many doubts and questions. 

I struggle to be the wife that my husband needs as well. Many of you know he is a college cross country and track coach, and it has been difficult on me, his schedule, the hours he has to put into it, and the time he is gone. I don't understand why I can't be more supportive and understanding to his job, and what he needs from me. I just know I don't do a very good time and as a result, I have done and said some things I am not very proud of...

As I write this early in the morning with my husband gone, and my puppies to keep me company, I just want you to know I am a work in progress every day, but behind the recipes, the DIY projects, and the smiling photos, is a girl who is struggling, who has a lot of self-doubts and insecurities. But that is me and today I am being real...

I have to go now because Kip is gently whining at me to get out of bed and feed him breakfast, that boy talks food and is led by his stomach!

Gonna really start over..

Hi y'all, 

Ok this is me starting over again. I know I posted awhile back staying I was starting again and really going to stick to blogging last time. But this time I truly from the bottom of my heart mean it. there were a few things holding me back from truly committing to blogging last thing. Silly little things like do I really have interesting things to say, what approach will I take this blog, dumb stop me in my tracks thoughts. 

Anyways I am back!

So this is me, newly married 10 months actually and while it hasn't been all roses and castles, it has been a lot of learning, love all with the patience of the great man I married. I live in a cute condo with our adorable dog named Kip. Kip Keino is his full name but he only gets called that when he has really misbehaved and with a jack russell, that can be pretty frequent, but he is all too adorable for us to be mad at for too long. That is me in a nutshell, learning how to be a wife, have a full-time job, a great social life and keep my sanity or not :-)

One feature I know that will a permanent fixture on my blog each week is what I am titling Tuesday Treats. My husband and I host a weekly bible study at our place on Wednesday so Tuesdays is my baking day for all the wonderful couples we meet with weekly. So look out for Tuesday Treats with lots of photos it might make you drool or get the sudden urge to suddenly run to your kitchen and start baking.

Other than that as this blog develops I will add more features so for right now, welcome board as I take this journey!