#1 of 51 - 2017

Did you guys read my post about my goals for 2017?  Well I am doing great at them, the one week it has been, and today I am sharing with you my first new recipe of 2017.

We eat a ton of the same things, over and over again.  Partly because we are busy and partly because I am picky and do the cooking.  We were both excited to start new recipes and this one was no disappointment.

The first new recipe of 2017 that we tried was homemade Chicken Chow Mein! :)  Now, I don't ever eat chow mein but Ryan loves it and it looked simple, easy and most of all, yummy!

The recipe was simple and we could make any modifications we wanted.  We used Angel Hair pasta and pan seared chicken breasts.  We couldn't find a vegetable mix that we both liked so we just opted out of the veggies for the first time.

This was by far a delicious and easy recipe that made a ton of food for a really great price!  We saved half of it for another meal and will be adding it to our rotation for sure!  Next time we will add some veggies that we both agree on to add some more nutrients to it.

Goals for 2017

2016 was great to our family, we added Eric and spent some great time together.  But it wasn't the best year.  We had a lot of trials and tribulations that made us struggle and made us stronger of course.

For 2017, I want to do everything possible to help our family THRIVE...not just survive!

Our goals for 2017 might be extreme, but if we can achieve them, I think it will get us one step closer to our ultimate goal as husband/wife, parents, a family...THRIVING!

I plan on doing monthly updates to keep myself accountable and fill you all in on how we are doing.  I also am hoping that this means I will keep up with blogging more err, better too.

Are you ready to hear our goals?

1. Pay off $25,000 in debt by 12/31/2017
     Now I know that this number is probably really scary and you are already thinking that we are crazy, and we might be just a little, well I might be at least.  But I really think we can do this, if we put our hearts and minds to it.  Like I mentioned above, 2016 was hard on us with some things and we didn't do well on paying off debt due to these things, but with all of this debt we won't be able to thrive.  In order to achieve this goal we will have to pay $490 per week for the rest of the year or $2,083.33 every month of 2017.  When it is written out, it is scary.  I won't lie.  Typing those huge numbers is overwhelming and would make any one quit for good reason, but you see, I want to thrive more than anything with my family!  We chose to have these little boys forever and I want to be able to provide them with the best lives possible and all this debt we have just will not help us do that.  Right now we have approximately $342,500 in total debt with $37,500 of that being revolving debt ::debt that we don't have a set amount to pay like cars and mortgages::  If we can pay off that $25,000 in the next 51 weeks we will only have about $12,000 total to achieve for 2018 and then we can focus on cars and house and college funds more!  I know it seems scary and really unattainable, but I am ready!

2.  Keep a constant $1000 in savings for emergencies
     I have always tried to make this a thing for us, but an emergency comes up and we need the money and then one thing after another happens and we never end up being able to put the money back.  I want to get $1000 for emergencies in our savings account in the next 3 months.  I realize that this will put us back on paying off the debt as mentioned above, but without a small buffer of $1000, if we have an emergency we will end up putting it on a credit card which will only increase our debt listed above.  I'd rather buckle down harder for 9 months after getting the emergency money then not have it at all.  For the next 3 months we will need to put $333.33 in a savings account each month.  Completely doable!

3.  Eat dinner at home minimum 5 nights per week
     We love to eat out but with 2 adults and 1 toddler, currently, ordering meals our average meal out costs us at least $40 every time!  We have been known to eat out up to 3 nights a week which is about $120!  That's insane!  If we didn't eat out at all for one month where we were averaging 3 meals out per week that would equal $480 saved!  That's over the amount we need for one month to put into savings to get us to our $1000 emergency fund goal and almost half of what we need to be paying towards debt to reach our $25,000 debt pay off goal!  It amazes me how fast it can all add up and I know that if we just start by eliminating at least 1 night out per week we will be that much closer.  I am not going to say that we aren't going to ever eat out, but we need to make better decisions on which restaurants we choose and what we order.  We need to not order sodas/teas or alcohol at all as those are huge money wasters while eating out!  Also, Caleb rarely eats while we are out so we need to think more about just ordering a bigger portion for one of us and splitting it with him rather than ordering him his own meal for an average of $7.  We have set a rule for eating dinner at home, or someone else's home ::we are talking to you parents :) :: 5 nights per week for the next year.

4.  Make 1 new recipe per week
     I tried this a while back and it really worked and I even blogged about the new recipes until I got "too busy" or "forgot" about it.  But with our goal of eating at home 5 nights per week and the fact that Ryan can only stand my tacos probably twice a month along with my other go-to meals, we are going to need to come up with new recipes.  My MIL got me an awesome Crock Pot Cook Book for my birthday and Pinterest is always a good option for finding new recipes.  With this, I am also hoping that I get back into blogging the new recipes each week and let you know which good ones we have found or what modifications we will make for the next time, or if there won't be a next time :)

5.  Meal Plan
     I am a terrible meal planner.  Well I shouldn't say I am a bad meal planner, I should say that I have a harder time sticking to the plan.  We are a busy family of 4 and we both drive a lot during our day and coming home to cook for 30+ minutes isn't always going to work for us.  I am hoping that by having new recipes and utilizing my crock pot more that I will be able to plan out our meals each week and stick to the plan!  The other hard part about this for me will be the grocery shopping.  I am going to have to either plan for 2 weeks at a time or make sure I have time to go to the store each and every Saturday/Sunday,  We always say we will buy groceries for 1 or 2 weeks at a time and then by the time that time frame comes up we stretch it another week or so and it throws everything off.  This is where sticking to the plan will really come into play, and hey!  Maybe it will mean I get some solo shopping time??  Even if it is only for groceries.  LOL

6.  12 days of no spending per month
     Have you guys ever gone on spending freezes?  The point is to not spend any money on anything but essentials ::i.e. gas and bills::  Well I have talked and talked to Ryan about it and we finally agreed that every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we will not spend money on anything that isn't essential.  Now that doesn't mean that Ryan gets to not like what I packed him for lunch on Tuesday and instead buys lunch, that's not essential!  I don't have an option for food at my work so readily so spending money on snacks and such isn't a big thing for me, but with Ryan working out of his truck all day every day he has more temptation to pick up a drink here or a cheeseburger there.  My tricky part will come into play with Target.  We all know that I love a good Saturday morning Target run and although Saturday isn't a "frozen" day, I don't need to be going to Target just to go while we are trying to achieve these goals.  I figure that by doing the freeze 12 days per month we should save about $100-$150 per month!  That money should all go to bills and paying down the debt!

7.  1 craft with the kids per month
     All of my goals for 2017 don't have to be such downers - LOL!  I really want to start doing the crafts that I pin with the kids!  Caleb is finally getting to an age where he doesn't mind finger painting and Eric will do anything as long as there is food waiting for him!  I want to be able to have these memories to hang around my house and give out to family members as little gifts from the boys.  12 projects isn't too much to achieve right?

8.  Date my husband once a month
     If you have been around you will know that we used to do this right after we had Caleb and it was amazing!  A fun night where we didn't have to wait for a table to fit a high chair or we could go to a movie or loud bar and not worry about the kids.  I miss these days and as it will be more difficult now that we have 2 kids that will need to be watched, I am determined to make this a high priority.  I want to continue to date my husband, it is essential for us to thrive in our marriage, for our kids and our goals.  This goal will be one of the harder ones to achieve due to our crazy schedules and obligations, but I am determined to do it, even if it just means running up the street to get ice cream for 30 minutes one night.  I plan on finding us cheaper dates to go on and to utilize any and all gift cards so that we don't jeopardize our debt goal for this one.

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8 Goals for 2017.  Completely doable if we set our hearts, minds and souls to them.

I heard someone say on Tuesday that in order to achieve your "resolutions" or goals you need to have discipline, not motivation.  Motivation will die, but discipline to stay motivated and complete your goals is what it is going to take.  It resonated so deeply with me and I have told myself this at least 100 times since hearing it.

I am disciplined enough to stay motivated all year long.  I see the end result and that is THRIVING!  I will do whatever it takes to provide the best life for my family and 2017 will be the making of a great rest of our future.

I hope you set some goals for 2017 whether it be personal, family or business.  Having goals is a great thing.  Some may see it as a way to realize your failures at the end, but for me, it is a great thing to keep working towards.  If you don't have an end to try and reach, you won't ever take the first step to get there.

Keep up with your goals and come back each month when I update you on how ours are going!

Body After Baby #2

Here we are, 11 weeks since we became a family of 4 and our little baby Eric joined our family.

As amazing as pregnancy is, it is always hard for me to accept gaining weight.  I have never been a confident person when it comes to my body and image.  I have battled my own brain for the past 10+ years on the constant, "you're fat" "you need to tighten up here" "you have a flabby tummy".

4 weeks with Caleb

Well becoming pregnant with Caleb was so exciting and wonderful, but I worried about my weight gain each and every day.  I swore I was going to only gain 20 pounds during my pregnancy and eat the best I could and exercise every day.  Well, winter came and then tired mama days hit, and I ended up gaining 33 pounds with Caleb.  Not terrible, but not the 20 pounds that my doctor wanted me to gain either.

Night before Caleb was born

After having Caleb I was determined to lose the weight, fast, and get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight and even less if possible.  I dealt with other mamas around me losing weight a lot faster then me and I would get upset with myself and my body.  I was really proud of myself, although I knew I could have done better, for losing all of my baby weight 3 months after having Caleb and lost an additional 5 pounds by the time he was 6 months old.

Fast forward to Caleb turning 1 and us knowing that we were wanting to try again for another baby.  I had maintained by weight from when Caleb was 6 months old and pretty much knew that that would be my weight.  I was happy, not thrilled, but not upset with myself either.  I had grown a human, a freaking human!  My body was amazing for what it had given me and I couldn't blame it for not getting smaller or thinner.  I was content.

1 month before finding out I was pregnant with E, probably a few days pregnant here.

I got pregnant with Eric and life was crazier then ever!  I started showing right away and Caleb was learning how to walk and be more independent.  We were in for a ride over the next 10 months.

Baby E - 13 Weeks

I gained a total of 21 pounds with Eric.  I once again was concerned about my weight gain but knew that I would gain what I needed and would work my butt off after he was born to get where I wanted to be.  I would like to think that my lower number of weight gain this pregnancy was due to the major fact that I was chasing a toddler, working full-time while trying to get a promotion and hire someone for my old position, and keeping our lives moving while Ryan was gone a lot more for Army.  Everyone told me that I wasn't gaining as much also because he was going to be tinier than his big bro, well they were wrong when he came out an inch longer and 4 ounces heavier. LOL.

Was pregnant for 11 more days after this picture was taken

We are now 11 weeks postpartum and I am thrilled to say that I have lost 29.5 pounds since having Baby E!  I honestly am not one to ever want to put it out there because I absolutely hated the feeling that I felt when other moms lost weight faster then me or looked better then me so much sooner, but for me, I am at the lowest weight I have been since Ryan was on deployment, 3 years ago!  I honestly credit most of it to breastfeeding.  I wasn't able to exclusively breastfeed Caleb ever and with Eric I got to do it for 3 weeks and I think it made a major difference.  Also, I have gone on a walk at least 4 days a week every week since Eric has been born.  We have to get out of the house and walks are the easiest way to make both of my boys happy, plus it gives me an excuse to go get a Pepsi or a donut some days :)  Another thing that has helped lose the weight faster is having a toddler.  Caleb is very busy.  He doesn't sit still for any amount of time unless he is ready for bed.

I still have plenty of room for improvement on my body, as in toning and tightening up, but for now, I am so proud of myself for losing the baby weight and then some.  I have now passed my goal weight from 2014 and am trying to go for another 5, but not pushing it.

I hope that all you soon-to-be mamas or new mamas out there understand that this is in no way meant to discourage you or make you upset with me, but to maybe encourage you, better yet remind you, that you can do whatever you set your mind to and that includes losing the baby weight.

Move Your Booty Challenge!

I'm joining my favorite farmer wives Karli and Amy for a wonderful fitness challenge for the month of July!

I have talked about it many times how I want to be a fit mom, not only for my kids and husband, but for me.  I want to feel good about myself.  I want to feel as though being a mom doesn't mean I can't still feel good when we go out to dinner or for a walk around the neighborhood.

I joined the gym in town - hilarious that we have a gym and yet no fast food right? Anyways!  Joined the gym back in February, do you think I've ever gone? NOPE!  Big waste of money!  But we are in a 1-year contract and it isn't too outrageous so there it sits, waiting for me to go and taking my lovely $19 each and every month for nothing!  Bitter?  Me?  NO WAY!!  So since I haven't set foot in that gym I haven't been necessarily on it with my fitness.

I am happy though that I did manage to lose every bit of my baby weight, plus 3 extra pounds just 6 months after having Caleb!  I am not one of those that loses weight easily, so for me, losing almost 40 pounds in 6 months is something I am ecstatic about!  But with that being said, I still want to lose another 5 pounds - and hopefully before we have another baby.

This gets me to my point!  Karli and Amy are awesome and encouraging and set up a fitness challenge that utilizes what we - those who joined - all have already and do on a daily basis!  WALK WITH OUR PEDOMETERS!  The goal is to log 200k steps in the month of July!  That's right, 200,000 steps!  Seems daunting?  Well not really when you break it down.  It breaks down to just 6452 steps a day for the entire month.  Technically everyone should be walking around 10000 steps everyday, and I don't know about you, but that it terrifying to me!

I have an office job.  I sit at a desk from 7-3:30 M-F getting up to go to the bathroom or back and forth from the printer/copy machine.  On average, before this challenge started, I was walking an average of about 4500 steps a day - HOW PATHETIC IS THAT?!?

I am in no way proud of this fact and it was even more encouragement for me to join in on this challenge.  PLUS, the winner gets money!  We all paid $1 - ONE DOLLAR - to join and in the end out of the people who complete the challenge one person will win all of the moolah!  I think I heard that there are about 60+ people involved so I could potentially win $60+ dollars just for getting my booty in motion, like I should have been all along!

Since starting the challenge I have already noticed a huge difference in my commitment to this.  I have told Ryan everyday that I need to strive to get at least the 6452 steps in and he is encouraging me more then ever to do it also!  

I am so excited to see how well I do with this and hopefully it gets me in a better routine to make me walking, and fitness in general, more of a priority since it is something that I really want.

Here's to another 149,232 steps in 23 days!  I can do it, right?!? :)

January, Date My Husband [+ G I V E A W A Y]

One of my goals for 2015 is to date my husband more.  This may seem silly but since we have gotten married, gone through deployment, got a dog, got pregnant, bought a house and had a baby, our dates have slowly taken a back burner.  I'm sure this is a normal transition of things, but I'm not ready for it.

Ryan and I never really "dated" before we became a couple.  He was deployed and once he got home we were an item and things went on as if we had been together for years.  I have made it a goal every year for us to go out and do fun things more often together and sadly, they usually don't end up happening.

Well, this year, I am determined, especially since having our little, that we will go out on dates, for my sanity and the health of our marriage.

This past Sunday was our first date.  We have a new movie theater in town and it is amazing.  Talk about a genius idea, this place is it!  Dinner, drinks and a movie all at the same time.  Studio Movie Grill in Rocklin is on it.  You buy your tickets for assigned seats, order your meal and beverages from your seat and enjoy them during the movie.

I bought us tickets to see American Sniper and arranged for us to leave our little with his Mima for the night.  Yes, you read that correctly, we left Caleb for the first time overnight on Sunday also.  When I plan a date night, I am going all out. :)

Our movie started at 3:55 and they recommend that you get there 30 minutes before it starts so that you can get seated and order before the previews start.  We did and although they didn't let us into the theater until 15 minutes before the movie started, we still had plenty of time.  They had a 2 for $25 deal that we were all over that included an appetizer and 2 entrees.  Ryan had the BBQ Bacon Burger, I had the Blackened Chicken Salad and we started with the half order of cheese fries.  The food was okay.  Not the greatest we have ever eaten, but there are plenty more items on the menu that we can try next time.

Probably the biggest selling point for Ryan and I is the fact that you can have an adult beverage while you watch your movie.  Before we had our little, when we would go to the movies, we would make sure to eat dinner at the restaurant closest so that we could get a little buzz going before we walked into our movie.  At SMG you don't even have to plan that much.  You can order an drink you want and they bring it right to you.  Why did my husband and I not open this place?!?

Overall, our date night was amazing.  As much as we missed our little boy, he was safe and happy with his Mima which meant that we could enjoy our time together.

We didn't have too much fun without you baby boy though, we still went to bed at 8:30!  yes, we are old, we know.

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Goals...For November and Beyond

Oh my gosh!  I can't believe that it is November already.  Where has the time gone?  Just the other day I was pregnant and then had my little boy.  Now he is almost 2 months old and we are almost done with 2014!

I am determined to get some major stuff done before I go back to work - in 4 weeks :(

There are some major projects on the list that might take longer than just the month of November, but for the most part I want all of these items to get done by the time I go back to work in exactly 1 month.

Goals for November:

1. Frame and Hang Caleb's Painting
2. Hang Caleb's letters above crib
3. Hang "Daddy and Me" Iron above crib
4. Pack away Caleb's newborn clothes - so sad that he no longer fits in these little things
5. Pack maternity clothes away
6. Wash all clothes
7. Organize closet
8. Organize dresser
9. Organize office
10. Put new sheets in guest room
11. Organize pantry
12. Get rafters ready for storage
13. Go through all tubs in the garage
14. Get both the quad and my car in the garage
15. Plug in extra freezer in garage
16. Set up TV and DVD player in front room
17. Hang barn painting in front room
18. Hang shelves in living room
19. Complete 2 canvases for living room
20. Pack away Halloween decorations
21. Prun lillies in backyard
22. Plant succulents around tree in front yard
23. Pull saplings from front yard
24. Fill Hank's hole to China in the backyard
25. Seed and fertilize backyard
26. Clean fireplace
27. Dust all 6 ceiling fans
28. Go through and gather items for donation
29. DONATE!
30. Sort cans and bottles - recycling
31. Order Christmas Cards
32. Print family pictures

Wish me luck!  The hubs and I will be busy for the next 4 weeks :)

Operation Pre Baby Body

Hi there!

So we are officially 4 weeks post partum and feeling great!

I have decided that it is time to get my butt in gear ::slowly of course:: and start getting back into shape.

Now when I say "getting back into shape" I guess I should really just be saying get into shape. I wasn't in the best shape pre-baby but I wasn't the worst either. I had some extra fluff here and there but overall I was fine. I'm not a twig but not a rollie police either.

During pregnancy I was really concerned with gaining weight. I have never been super impressed with my body and the idea of gaining weight had a little effect on me mentally. I stressed about weight gain at each doctor's visit and that they would tell me I had gained too much weight.  In the last month of pregnancy I decided that my baby and I were both healthy and that was all that mattered. I stopped worrying about weight gain and in the end gained a total of 33 pounds.  This is only 3 over what my doctor wanted so overall I was thrilled.

Now that our precious little boy is here and Mama is healing well I have decided to start getting in motion.  Me and the babes will be walking everyday that the weather permits us. I also will be using my Jillian Michaels DVDs and let her yell at me and I will yell back - well only loud enough to not wake the sleeping prince of course. I also have a Danskin Pilates box set that I bought on Groupon a couple of years ago and have never used. I can't wait to start using these helpful tools.

I also will be tracking my walks with MapMyRun. I love this app.  I used it everyday during my maternity leave before baby came and loved seeing how it tracks your workouts. It tells you distance, speed, average, mapping and how many calories you burned. I also love it because you can link it to you MyFitnessPal app. This is a wonderful app that tracks your calorie intake per day as well as your water intake and workouts. I am a person who needs structure and reinforcement. These apps keep me focused and disciplined. Although they are just apps, they will let me know when I am doing a good job and a poor job.

I can't wait to start meal planning for us again. Meal planning is good for us on multiple levels. It keeps our bank account happy by us not eating out as much and it is healthier. We can control the sodium and fat levels in every meal if we stay home and make them ourselves. I need to look up some tasty recipes and get some variety going for the hubs. If you have any good ones, please send them our way :)

I want to lose all of my baby weight and possibly an additional 10 pounds over the next couple of months. Ideally I would like to be 10 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant by the first of the year, my birthday :) I know that it will take a lot of hard work and discipline but I am motivated. I don't want my husband to forget who he married ;)

Wish me luck!!

August Goals - And A Failed Recap From July

Another month has come and gone.  Here is a recap on my June goals and my new goals for July :)

JULY GOALS 2014 RECAP:

1. Get car in garage
   So this didn't happen.  Once again, another month has passed where good ol' Tori the Taurus is still in the driveway at night.  :(
2. Enjoy our anniversary weekend
   This definitely happened!  I talked all about our amazing time here and I can't wait to spend a million more anniversaries with my hubby!
3. Put together Baby Hughes' nursery
   So this partially happened.  We got his furniture arranged how I want it and got all of his bedding washed.  We didn't get around to painting the changing table yet, but we still have a little time.
4. Pack hospital bag
   Failed!  We haven't packed anything to go to the hospital.  I have my lists of what we need to pack all ready and the bags picked out, but the whole assembling them thing, not so much. 
5. Wash all baby items
   We did this!  My mom came over and we washed the heck out of some baby clothes.  We washed every single item of his from blankets to bedding to sock and mittens.  We just received more items though so those now need to be washed, but the majority, done!
6. Save more money
   This didn't happen this month.  It was a little rough for us this month in the savings department but with our anniversary we didn't want to punish ourselves.  
7. Drink more water
   I have been doing so well on this.  I really can't stand it and I am so over water, but I know that it is what is best for the little so I am putting my best foot forward.
8. Don't be such a hoarder
   So I haven't gone through anything in the garage yet, but I think I have been doing better about bringing things into the house.  I don't think I've added to the pile, so it is somewhat of a win in my book! 
9. Print and hang maternity pictures
   Failed!  I am so sad about this!  I want pictures up in our house so badly!  I want to get crafty again!
10. Work on Gallery Wall in living room
    This didn't get any attention this month either.  I have sat there staring at the wall everyday thinking about what I want where and it just hasn't happened.

AUGUST GOALS 2014:

1. Get car in garage
   This needs to happen!  I don't want to be putting Baby Hughes in and out of the car when it is sitting in the sun in the driveway all day!  I need to make this happen this month!
2. Paint Changing Table
   His nursery is so cute, but the clashing woods are too much for me to handle.  Solution?  Paint the changing table to match the accent colors from his bedding.  This will happen this month!
3. Finish Baby Hughes' nursery
   We need to hang things on his walls and get him a laundry basket and then it is complete.  I can't wait to do a post on his room.  I love it so much!
4. Pack hospital bag
   Obviously this has to happen this month.  It needs to happen this week in fact.  I have my lists ready and can't wait to write a post on what I chose.  Keep an eye out for that one :)
5. Wash all baby items
   We have received more baby clothes and blankets so I have a little more laundry to do for Baby Hughes.
6. Save more money
   As always.  With Baby Hughes coming this month, fingers crossed, we will need to start saving as much as possible.
7. WALK WALK WALK
   Starting today, we will be walking everyday as a family.  The hubs is on board and Hank loves being outside so I don't think he will complain.
8. Don't be such a hoarder
   A constant goal of mine, but this month we are pulling a huge operation with the garage clean out so my hoarding will be put to the test.  I just need to throw the shit out.  I don't need a letter to some kid I don't remember from 3rd grade anymore.
9. Print and hang maternity pictures
   Must get these done!
10. Work on Gallery Wall in living room
    We are making our living room wall a complete gallery wall with all black and white photos and items.  I cannot wait to get this started/finished.  An obvious post will be coming to go along with this one :)

Good luck to you on your goals and have a fabulous August!!!

July Goals - And A Recap From June

Another month has come and gone.  Here is a recap on my June goals and my new goals for July :)

JUNE GOALS 2014 RECAP:

1. Get paperwork organized
   Totally did this!!! :)  My mom came over and helped me decide what we needed to keep, shred and recycle.  It is one step closer to being an organized home over here! :)
2. Host Baby Shower with Baby C's Mima
   We totally did this!  It was awesome too if I do say so myself :)  I will have a post on this and everything we did to prepare and what we received.
3. Get car inside garage
   This didn't happen yet :(  I am still hopeful that it will happen though.
4. Work on the house
   This ongoing goal went fantastic this month.  We got a screen door for the back slider and planted a tree in the front yard.  A home update will be coming shortly as well as we have done quite a bit on our lists :)
5. Go on more walks
   We failed at this again. :(  The summer heat here in California is definitely rearing it's head and making it hard for us to get out and walk.  My feet are swelling from the heat and walking on them wouldn't help at this point.
6. Drink more water
   I have been doing great at this!  I have been drinking all of my water at work and even more once I get home.  I have been having quite a bit of sugary drinks too lately though and I need to cut those out once again.
7. Save more money
   So for the first time in quite a few months we were actually able to put some money into our savings account!  I couldn't be more excited and can't wait to continue this.
8. Go on at least 2 dates with the hubs
   Ugh...once again this didn't happen. :(  Why is life so busy?
9. Plan anniversary weekend
   So we totally can't wait for our anniversary weekend!  It is only 2 weeks away!  I can't wait to relax and enjoy time with my hubs!
10. Stop being a hoarder sentimental teenage girl and throw ya crap out
    This didn't happen as stated above by me not being able to park in the garage yet.

JULY GOALS 2014:

1. Get car in garage
   I am super hopeful that this will actually happen this month.  I want to be in the garage before I start maternity leave - and that is in just 5 short weeks.
2. Enjoy our anniversary weekend
   We are planning on getting massages and going to a wonderful dinner.  I can't believe it has almost been two years.  I can't wait.
3. Put together Baby Hughes' nursery
   We have his dresser, changing table and crib already set up, but I want to get the finishing touches done.  We need to put his bedding on and paint the changing table.
4. Pack hospital bag
   I know that this seems silly, but I want to be prepared.  I am really hopeful that he won't be overdue and might even grace us with his presence a few days early :)
5. Wash all baby items
   We have so many clothes, blankets, bibs, washcloths, etc. to get all cleaned and ready for our little boy's arrival.
6. Save more money
   As always.  I  hope we can save at least 10% of our income this month.
7. Drink more water
   I have been doing so well with my water intake and I don't want it to end.  I will be keeping this as a goal to keep me motivated.
8. Don't be such a hoarder
   I need to clean my stuff out of the garage.  My mom will hopefully help me with this just like she did with the papers.
9. Print and hang maternity pictures
   Since we just received our pictures I can't wait to put them up in our house.  I have a few DIY projects planned for them.  :)
10. Work on Gallery Wall in living room
    We are making our living room wall a complete gallery wall with all black and white photos and items.  I cannot wait to get this started/finished.  An obvious post will be coming to go along with this one :)

Good luck to you on your goals and have a fabulous July!!!

Hughes Home - Interior Edition

Hello lovelies.

I know that I have been somewhat absent lately, but life is busy and seems to be flying by.  My job apparently wants me to actually work while they are paying me so blogging has taken a backseat during this time.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I told you all about the things we want to do to our backyard?  Well I thought that it would be fun to make a list of the interior projects we would also like to accomplish.  Some of these we have already completed - I will act as if I wrote this a while ago - and some are longer-term goals for around the house.

Shall we begin?

HUGHES HOME - INTERIOR EDITION

• Paint Nursery  Completed by my wonderful Father-In-Law before we moved in
• Paint hallway  Completed by my wonderful Father-In-Law last week while we were at work
• Buy a new couch  Completed!  We bought a new couch the day we moved in.  A little crazy?  Yes, but we love it and couldn't be happier
• Replace kitchen counter tops - This is a long time goal.  This will be completed within the next 5 years.
• Buy knobs/pulls for all kitchen cabinets/drawers - Needs to happen sooner than later.  I cannot stand cabinets without pulls/knobs
• Buy a new TV for our bedroom  Completed.  We went to the BX and bought one last week and had Comcast already come out and set us up.  Now to just get our old tube TV off our floor and into the garage for the hubs
• Organize the garage
• New kitchen sink - Another long time goal.  Will most likely happen with the counter tops.
• Clean hard water spots off of master shower doors - the previous owners never cleaned them and it is obviously 10 years of built up hard water stains on the doors.  It drives me crazy, but it will be handled.
• Decorate master bathroom
• Decorate guest bathroom
• Organize the office-mancave-craft room
• Hang all of our pictures around the house
• Get canvases made - or make them myself - for the walls
• Buy a screen door for back slider - Will be happening very soon!  I need a back screen door.
• Buy a screen door for front door - I don't understand how houses don't come with screen doors?  I need to get a breeze going through my house without letting every bug in with it.
• Replace the gold doors on the fireplace - they are outdated and I would love newer modern doors one day

We have quite the list - which I love - and can't wait to tackle.  Nothing needs to be done right now in order for us to live, but it is a nice starting point of what we want done inside.

Do you have any tips for new homeowners and completing tasks around the house?

June Goals - And A Recap From Last Month

I cannot believe that we are down another month in this amazing year.  I am so excited because it means we are one month closer to bringing home baby, but also terrified!  We have so much to do still before he comes and since having a list is always helpful I will try and continue to do this.  Plus with it being on the blog, I feel like it holds me more accountable for actually getting things done.

So before I move onto my goals for June, lets see how I did with May shall we?  Forewarning, I don't think it went as well as I had hoped, but there is always this month :)

MAY GOALS 2014 RECAP:

1. Pack up our house
   Our lease is officially over - as of Monday actually - so we are moving on up...literally...we are moving North of where we live now. Awesome!  We did this!  It was slow and somewhat painful on my end, but we got it all packed up and out of there.
2. Move into a new house
   As stated above we are moving this month and we couldn't be more excited.  I hope unpacking goes better than packing has so far. :) I get a tad bit dramatic overwhelmed when it comes to packing. We moved into our new house!  And I LOVE IT!!! I can't tell people enough.  We are still unpacking, but for the most part we have stuff together. :)
3. Register for Baby Stuff
   We are rapidly approaching the Baby Shower date and soon after that the arrival of our little guy.  I need to get on the registry :)  Plus who doesn't love to register at stores??   Oh man, so I knew that this was an easy task to get off my list for this month.  I couldn't wait to register and it was a blast!  I still find myself going through them online and adding/deleting things.  I can't wait to see what Baby C gets. :)
4. Decorate the Nursery
   Along with moving we will now have the perfect bedroom for our little man.  My father-in-law and hubs will be painting it to match the furniture we are bringing in.  Once painted we will just need to organize and get things ready for him. So I am going to say that we got this done.  His room is painted and we even have two pieces of furniture for him already.  
5. Save more money
   Always a goal of ours.  Especially now that we are having a baby.  I hope to save at least 10% of our checks each payday.  We will see how this works out.  So this didn't work out how well I wanted it too.  We tried to put some money away this month as planned, but with moving into a new house that isn't newly built there are always things that you need.  We didn't save any but we also didn't have to transfer out of savings to cover expenses either.  I call this a partial win.
6. Plan a Babymoon
   Ryan and I really want to just get away for a weekend before I get too big and the baby is here.  As I have stated before we don't have bottomless wallets and can't do anything huge, but we are planning a very nice spa day for the both of us.  I want to have this planned and booked by the end of this month so that we can go at the end of June or early July.  So I have decided that since we are trying to save money and did just buy a fabulous house that we are not going to go on a Babymoon.  As much as I would love to, it just isn't ideal for us right now.  I do plan on making sure we go have a spa day at least though because this Mommy-to-be needs one!
7. Go on at least 2 dates just the two of us
   The hubs and I eat out our fare share amounts but it isn't ever really what we consider dates.  It's happy hour at Claim Jumpers after a doctors appointment or pizza because we don't want to cook.  I would like us to plan at least 2 nights where we get a little gussied up and paint the town red. :)  So we didn't do this either.  We ate together plenty, obviously, but not anything that I would consider a date.  It is good to keep this as a rolling goal though.  Better luck this month Hughes'.
8. Get our paperwork organized
   We are both guilty of just throwing our "important" papers in our spare room on top of a filing cabinet.  A filing cabinet, mind you, that hubs brought into the relationship and has never been cleaned out most likely.  So with all the changes this month we are also going to change how we organize our paperwork :)  I am so looking forward to this.  I love organization :)  I am so sad to say that we did not get this done either!  :(  I did go out and buy the stuff to get organized, it just didn't happen.  I have already asked my mom to help me with this though so it will be getting done in June!  
9. Drink more water
   This is always a goal for me, even before I was pregnant.  I just get so tired of the taste and I wish I would just crave water like some people.  So this entire week I have been doing great at drinking close to 80 ounces a day and I want to make it a goal for this entire month to get at least 60 ounces in while at work.  Wish me luck!  Definitely kicked ass at this one.  I'm sure my doctor would like me to drink a little more, but I definitely increased my water intake for the month of May and I am proud of myself for that.
10. Start walking more regularly now that it isn't raining anymore We were doing so good with walking until Hank went off to school.  We were taking family walks nightly after dinner and it was great for all of us.  Now that he is gone we have stopped completely and it saddens my heart.  This month we need to get back in the walking game :)  Man we totally suck at my goal list...We didn't do this.  The entire month we went on one walk and it wasn't that intense. :(

Okay, so that kind of blows to see the above results.  Makes me motivated to actually kick ass in June though.  So here we go...

JUNE GOALS 2014:

1. Get paperwork organized
   This WILL happen!  I bought cute color dividers that I will be putting all of our stuff in to.  I definitely need a file for House Stuff, Car Stuff, Tax Stuff, Medical Stuff, and Personal Documents.  I am sure I will find more things that need to be in dividers and luckily my mommy will definitely be able to help me with that.  I cannot wait!  :)
2. Host Baby Shower with Baby C's Mima
   So it might sound weird that I am hosting my own baby shower, but I am a control freak and can't handle not knowing what is going on.  I would have loved for someone else to throw one for me, but I just couldn't wait.  What if Baby C comes early and I am not prepared?  Worry Wart party of 1 step right up :)  So with the help of my wonderful mommy, Baby C's Mima, we are going to throw the best damn shower anyone has ever seen! :)
3. Get car inside garage
   So this is a big goal of ours for this month.  We still have a lot of boxes and what not in the way in the garage which is preventing me from being able to park inside of it.  This month we will get the garage tidied up and my car inside :)
4. Work on the house
   This is an ongoing goal now that we own a house and we have been kicking some major ass.  We still have a long list of things we want to do, so this will probably be a continuous goal each month for a while.  This month I would at least like to get all boxes unpacked and knobs on the kitchen drawers/cabinets.
5. Go on more walks
   So as you saw from up above, we failed at this.  But with this mama getting quite large and in charge, we need to make sure that it is just baby weight I am gaining and not anything extra.  We will be going on family walks at least 3 nights a week this month! :)
6. Drink more water
   My goal this month is to drink at least 48-60 ounces of water while at work M-F.  I figure if I drink that amount while at work that I will have no problem getting at least 60 ounces in a day and more of what my doctor wants me to be drinking a day.  Wish me luck, this is the hardest goal for me by far.
7. Save more money
   As always.  Who doesn't want to save more money??  I am hoping that we can actually put some away this month.  It is very nice that we don't have a mortgage payment this month so that we can get on track and start fresh in July with mortgage payments and bills in general.
8. Go on at least 2 dates with the hubs
   I pray that we can do this.  Our weekends are filling up quickly, in fact, if I'm not mistaken I think we only have 2 Saturdays that aren't booked already.  We shall see and cross our fingers that the hubs and I can get fancy one night, just the two of us :)
9. Plan anniversary weekend
   So since we aren't going on a Babymoon anymore, as stated above, I want to do something extra nice for our anniversary weekend.  Our wedding anniversary in on a Monday this year, and since Ryan wasn't home for our anniversary last year, I want the weekend before to be extra special.  I can't wait to see what happens.  I can't believe it has almost been 2 years.  The best 2 years of my life for sure!
10. Stop being a hoarder sentimental teenage girl and throw ya crap out
    So this is part of the garage project and a real thing.  I am not a hoarder, well I am according to my husband, but not by my definition.  I like to call myself overly sentimental.  I can't throw stuff away without someone - A.K.A. my mom - telling me that it is okay and that I don't need it.  She has agreed to help me go through the 20+ boxes that are in my garage and help me dwindle them down to only necessities.
    
    

So there ya have it folks.  Wish me luck on my June goals and I can't wait to see if this month goes a little bit better than May did. :)

May Goals

I can't believe it is May 1st!  Where has the year gone already???  We are now working on month 5 out of 12!  2014 will be over before we know it!

Although, I am happy time is flying by on one hand - closer to meeting my little boy - I am also sad because I want to enjoy the time Ryan and I have left as a family of 2 humans and 2 fur-babies.

May needs to be a productive month for us.  And I really won't hold myself accountable unless there is a list! :)  And we all know how much I love lists :)

So here it goes...

MAY GOALS 2014:

1. Pack up our house
   Our lease is officially over - as of Monday actually - so we are moving on up...literally...we are moving North of where we live now.
2. Move into a new house
   As stated above we are moving this month and we couldn't be more excited.  I hope unpacking goes better than packing has so far. :) I get a tad bit dramatic overwhelmed when it comes to packing.
3. Register for Baby Stuff
   We are rapidly approaching the Baby Shower date and soon after that the arrival of our little guy.  I need to get on the registry :)  Plus who doesn't love to register at stores?? 
4. Decorate the Nursery
   Along with moving we will now have the perfect bedroom for our little man.  My father-in-law and hubs will be painting it to match the furniture we are bringing in.  Once painted we will just need to organize and get things ready for him.
5. Save more money
   Always a goal of ours.  Especially now that we are having a baby.  I hope to save at least 10% of our checks each payday.  We will see how this works out.
6. Plan a Babymoon
   Ryan and I really want to just get away for a weekend before I get too big and the baby is here.  As I have stated before we don't have bottomless wallets and can't do anything huge, but we are planning a very nice spa day for the both of us.  I want to have this planned and booked by the end of this month so that we can go at the end of June or early July.
7. Go on at least 2 dates just the two of us
   The hubs and I eat out our fare share amounts but it isn't ever really what we consider dates.  It's happy hour at Claim Jumpers after a doctors appointment or pizza because we don't want to cook.  I would like us to plan at least 2 nights where we get a little gussied up and paint the town red. :)
8. Get our paperwork organized
   We are both guilty of just throwing our "important" papers in our spare room on top of a filing cabinet.  A filing cabinet, mind you, that hubs brought into the relationship and has never been cleaned out most likely.  So with all the changes this month we are also going to change how we organize our paperwork :)  I am so looking forward to this.  I love organization :)
9. Drink more water
   This is always a goal for me, even before I was pregnant.  I just get so tired of the taste and I wish I would just crave water like some people.  So this entire week I have been doing great at drinking close to 80 ounces a day and I want to make it a goal for this entire month to get at least 60 ounces in while at work.  Wish me luck!
10. Start walking more regularly now that it isn't raining anymore We were doing so good with walking until Hank went off to school.  We were taking family walks nightly after dinner and it was great for all of us.  Now that he is gone we have stopped completely and it saddens my heart.  This month we need to get back in the walking game :)
    

I think 10 is enough to get us started.  I don't think these should be too hard to accomplish.

Wish us luck!

Happy May 2014!

Budget Friendly February

Hello lovelies! 

It has been a while since I last posted.  I was doing so good there for a while and then jumped on the freeway in personal life and am just now making it back - kind of.

I thought I would update everyone on how our month is going.  We are trying really hard to purchase a house and just be more budget conscious.

We have decided that we will each start saving a certain percentage of each paycheck no matter what.  We have a bad habit of pulling more out of savings than we put it.  It kills me a little inside pisses me off every time I see our savings number go down and I decided that we couldn't do it anymore if we wanted to buy a house and have a family.  Ryan and I both compromised on what percentages we will contribute and have made an agreement that we will be saving 20% monthly of Ryan's checks and 20% monthly of my checks.  We are hoping that this will give us a better security blanket and allow us to be more aware of where we are spending our money.

Speaking of being more aware of budget, the Army told us about this great website to use when tracking our money after this last deployment and we absolutely love it!  It is Mint and we use it all the time.  It uploads your bank accounts each time you open it and it tells you exactly how much money you have where.  It also breaks it down into categories for you and shows you where you are spending the most of your money.  It gives you an estimated budget for each category and will send you emails when you are going over or getting low on a bank account.  We have found it very helpful, although it is very honest and makes you really think about what/where you are spending your money.  Go check it out!  It's free and they have apps for you phone or tablet. :)

As you can see we are doing pretty well with the minor hiccup of Movies & DVDs.  We went to one movie and those suckers are expensive now!  

To also help us not spend as much money we have been eating at home more this month.  We have planned that instead of eating out 6-10 meals a week we will only eat maximum 3!  We have changed our eating out days from Friday - Sunday, with the occasional night that we don't want to cook, to just Saturdays.  I know that this is hard for both of us, especially because Ryan gets tired of sandwiches for lunch and loves going out and I do not necessarily cook the best, but we are making it work.

We have come up with some fun dinners and have even tried new stuff, which is always exciting and terrifying at the same time.

I want to start sharing my recipes on here soon and I hope you all enjoy them.  I think that we take the best of both worlds and make something delicious.  I DO NOT hand-make everything we eat and I think that is where some people will be able to relate.  We use everyday items out of our pantry and make it the healthiest and best tasting that we can.  We are in no way, shape or form dietitians and have no real ground to stand on when it comes to what is "healthy" 

Here are some of the recipes that we have eaten most recently that I plan to share very soon :)

Hamburger Pizza - my mom's recipe that she has been making since I was a little girl

His and Hers Calzones

Raviolis with meat sauce

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

We are headed out to Colorado this Thursday and are so excited!  Can't wait to spend some time with our fambam.  We have been really good with our budget so we can indulge a little bit while we are there :)

Do you have any fun new recipes we should try?? :)

Weekend Recap and New Goals

Hello All!

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend!  Ryan and I had a very busy one, but fun.

Our weekend started on Friday night.  We made dinner at home - and by make dinner I mean he had a skillet thing and I made a bowl of chili - and then went to see a movie.  We went to see Lone Survivor and it was amazing.  I didn't know how I would do considering that Ryan just got home from Afghanistan and the thought of him going back is always around, but, surprisingly, I did pretty well.  I did not cry - SHOCKER - but was very moved by it.  It was intense and detailed and I recommend it to anyone.  I am so glad it came out after Ryan was home and that I was able to watch it with my own hero.  He was very quiet and still during the movie and I could tell he was captured by it.  An amazing story of how life can be is over there.  Thank you military! :)

Saturday we woke up were awaken by our lovely baby Hank and started our day.  We planned on looking at some houses and continuing this home hunt.  There was something wrong with each of them and it had me defeated (yes, I know, a little bit dramatic) and determined that we were being too picky or there just isn't a house for us.  After multiple conversations we concluded that we aren't being too picky and that the right one is out there.  Ryan thinks that it will come to be in the next week or so and I am truly hoping that he is correct!  We ended our day with dinner with a friend and hit the hay.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!  We were once again awaken by our darling littlest one and started our day much earlier than we had wanted.  We lounged around most of the morning watching back to back episodes of Property Brothers and Diners, Driver Ins and Dives.  Super exciting huh?  We made our way to lunch, Petco for more dog food (it seems that we are there every week!) and then up the hill to a friend's house for the Super Bowl.  We had a good evening there full of football, cocktails, yummy food, horseshoes, fire pits and good company.  We ended the night slightly after the slaughter game was over and went home to go ni-night.

I have to mention the only commercial from the Super Bowl that I loved and in case you missed it, I included it right here :)

Overall, it was a great weekend and I couldn't have been happier.  Any time I get to spend the days with my love and babies is great.

Now onto the goals.  The hubby and I have a few goals for this month.  First, we are going to eat dinner at home every night except for maybe Saturday.  Now, this does not exclude going to the parentals for a free, home-cooked meal, so if you are reading this Mom, we are available any night! :)  Because of this, look out for some recipes and most-likely failed attempts at me cooking.  Second, I would like us to really watch our spending.  We definitely live a good life and we aren't poor, but inevitably I get upset about money every month.  I want us both to be more budget conscious and do better at this.

Wish us luck!!

I hope you all have a great rest of your Monday and have a splendid week :)

Last 5 on Friday for January!

Today I am linking up again with Darci for 5 on Friday. 

{ONE}

It is the last day of January!  How is that even possible?!?  I swear we just got Hank yesterday (December 20th) and had my 25th Birthday (January 1)  I am in amazement with how fast this month flew by!  Well we can only hope that it means that we were just having so much fun! 

{TWO}

Ryan and I will be having a fun-filled weekend full of grocery shopping and cleaning house! :)  LOL  I am sure I am much more excited about this than he is.  We are in desperate need of food in our house and we have slacked on the house cleaning for the most part since the beginning of the month.  Laundry, dishes and vacuuming are on our list of things to do!

{THREE}

Ryan won't be completely bored this weekend!  It is the big game and we will be making a few stops at some friends' houses for the event!  We are very excited to go see some people and enjoy the game and commercials! :)  I am rooting for Mr. Peyton!

{FOUR}

Currently I have an obsession with Mac N Cheese.  Now I always love me some BlueBox, but lately I could eat it what seems like everyday and for every meal!  It is just so dang good!  And my favorite is, of course, the spirals!!!

{FIVE}

We are just two weeks out from our Colorado Winter Family Escape and I am so excited!  We are going to try for the next two weeks to eat in every meal except for the two Saturdays!  We are looking to stick to a budget this month and I am confident (thanks to my husband being so optimistic) that we will!  

Happy Friday Y'all!