Weekend recap!

This past weekend was soo wonderful! Jake and I had a blast! Friday, Jake took me to Bellows beach which is next to where Jake and I got married and spent the afternoon out there. It was so nice but a little windy and cloudy. I am really trying to work on my tan so I was kinda bummed out. We came home and just relaxed. Saturday I was wanting to go to the outlet malls but it was so nice so Jake offered to take me to the beach again! (this is a big deal for my husband who does not like the beach!)Saturday we spent the entire afternoon at the beach here on base and it was like we had it all to ourselves which was so wonderful! So we had a little subway picnic on the beach and just watched the tide come in ;)
Yes it was very romantic

That night we went running. It was so hard because the sun totally drains me! I did not want to go but I knew I would regret it if we didn't go. We walked up our little hill behind our house and started our jog. Since Jake had been home, I never got around to doing the laundry so Jake had to wear long shorts (he likes to wear shorter shorts to run in... ;) ) so they were not cutting it for him so I had to go bymyself. This is the first time in a month! It was so mental for me to keep going but I knew I had to. Before I knew it I was already at the gym, did 2 miles on the bike again, and ran another mile back home! 3 miles!!

Sunday we went to the outlet malls. Jake actually got something! My husband hates to shop. He will wear the same thing everyday just so that he wouldn't have to pick anything out or choose anything to wear. He likes the basics. So when he said, "Hey, sweetheart I found a really cool belt that has a cool little latch on it and some new swim trunks" for some reason it just made me so happy inside. I guess I just want him to have that special feeling of shopping sometimes also. haha. He bought me a cute maxi dress (mainly because he said it made me look tall....and it was on super sale..and a CUTE little bathing suit cover because it made me look tan). We went to chilis (thanks momma for the gift card) and came on home.

Yesterday we went and saw a movie (we had a free movie ticket!! Yay for being a movie club member) and got some awesome frozen yogurt! Came home and was seriously not wanting to go on my run ...again....what has gotten into me??! Jake has to train for his pt test so I cannot keep up with his pace so I was just going to stay home and do laundry...but I didn't! I went and felt so good! It was only 2.5 miles or so but I just love the feeling afterwards. We did look for me some new running shoes specifically for pavement (mine are more for trail runs...which are completley fine) but $5 off of the original price doesn't cut it for me.

I woke up this morning and was feeling a little discouraged. The stupid scale hasn't moved one blessed pound so I sent a picture to my sisters (where one is brutally honest...i'll let you guess which one) to see if they could see any difference.
I don't have a before picture or anything because I don't like taking pictures of myself. I am soooo shy! I don't know how people can have whole albums just dedicated to themselves....I just could never do it! So it was stepping out of my comfort zone this morning sending it to them but they were soooo encouraging! It's really stepping out of my comfort zone to post this but maybe it will help me stay accountable!

I know I still have a ways but one day at a time!

I am really striving to get to 3.1 miles with no stopping breaks so I can do a fall 5k. Is it bad that I just want a tshirt more than the actual accomplishment??? Maybe...but....

MY PUPPY IS GETTING BORN THIS WEEK YOU GUYS!!! Ugh, I am so ready! I will be calling the breeder again to see how everything is going and I hope to get some pictures soon. We should be getting our orders in this week ( PLEASE LORD) and get our moving dates in the next couple of weeks!

Big things are happening here, I just hope everything works out :)



Don't ever take for granted...

Tonight was a personal best record for me! I actually ran a full 3 miles! We started off with the warm up brisk .3 of a mile but I did not count any of the walking, we just turned off the mapmyrun app everytime I needed a break and turned it back on when I started to run (which Jake says I am running since I average 12.5-14 min miles...I really don't know if that is good or bad but for me its a 'way to go girl!'). I walked .8 of a mile and ran the other 3!
When we were closing in on the last .1 of the 3 miles I looked over to a group of men and saw a man in a wheel chair missing both of his legs.

....missing his legs....

I know in Greenwood AR we don't ever see anything like this. I never had. Colors started to play and while Jake stood to attention I. JUST. WEPT.

I don't think I am able to communicate how proud I felt...how completly HUMBLED I felt and also how ANGRY I felt at all the ignorant people out there who just shame themselves trying to put down the military.

I sit here with tears streaming down my nasty sweaty face and am so so so proud of the freedom that I have and for that man to have sacrificed for me to sit here and share this with you all.

Next time you see a wounded warrior pray for them, thank them, and bless them.
Next time you think Fort Chaffee is getting a little bit too loud and start complaining, ask for forgiveness of your ignorance and selfishness.
Next time you want to talk during the football game when the anthem is being played please remember this man here missing his legs because he gave them up fighting for your freedom.

and this weekend coming up, please remember that it isn't just a 'lake' day or vacation day, but remember what it stands for.

LIMBO

Well Jake and I are just waiting on our orders for now so it feels like we are just staying in the waiting period. I know in a couple of months we will look back and say," Wow, that really did go by fast." As for right now, its pretty stressfull and full of patience filled days. Take yesterday for example, one of the lawn workers decided to hit and run over our dish causing it to crack, chip, and disalign. Direct TV charges $50+ to come out and realign the dish (this has happened before by moving crews who were SO AWFUL). Jake witnessed the man doing it, took pictures, and can describe the time and what the man looked like. However, our Forest City managment told me today, and I quote, "Don't get your hopes up on a reimbursment..." UGHH. It would be cheaper to just go ahead and suspend or cancel our contract.
Jake is NEVER mad....well he was mad last night I can tell you that!

Waiting for paperwork, orders, flight dates, moving dates, packing dates, and everything else is stressful but I have to be grateful. I am scared to death tho that someone is going to steal our stuff because it is 'common' around here from the movers....very reassuring.

Woke up this morning feeling horribly dizzy. I have never felt like this before. Jake told me to drink a lot more water because we lost alot of fluid from last night run (2.8 miles!!) but I have had 3 glasses so far and still fill sick. I wasn't even able to go to my last bible study meeting on James.

I've been reading the runforcookies blog that can be found on pinterest for inspiration on running and keeping up the motivation. I completly realize that it is as much as a mental game as it is physical. I did receive some great advice about weather running so I feel better about Arkansas. I guess I am just spoiled here. :)

On another note, I have not gotten my hair cut since March 2010 (besides a trim last May) because I do not want to pay for it....is that the most pathetic thing you have ever heard?! I called the local salon here at the mall (Trade Secret) and asked how much it would be for a trim.....$45...I said, "Oh, I don't want my hair washed or styled"...oh ok...$40.

I think I'll wait.

Jake is supposed to get his hair cut once a week...thats $10 a week for his hair....which just seems funny to me.

I am SOOOOO excited about our puppy! He is due now at the beginning of June so that should work out perfect for his 6week weening period.
We thought about naming him Mississippi. I have always loved that name after watching El Dorado (John Wayne). I mean I LOVE it. I wanted to name my little boy Mississippi Dean but I would feel so bad for him in grade school. Jake was totally for it but we will see whenever we see him. I have a feeling Copper is going to stay tho.

I sold my second cow today. Actually, my dad sold it for me but it was still my cow. Jake and I just had a little cow born last month and he is precious!
I think I remember sharing that while in my first year of college, my mom advised us to invest in something either in stocks, guns, or cattle. I chose cattle. I started with a momma cow who had a little one and then that one had a little one and now we have 4. Well, we just sold one but we should be expecting another next year.

I am very grateful to have a daddy that will take care of my cows for me....seeing as how I don't know how.


Can't wait to see everyone soon!  Sorry for the random post :)

Pinterest and Products

With wanting to eat cleaner I have found some really good products that have worked for us. However, being on a budget is so hard while trying to do this! Take for example the cream of anything soups. You can buy the cheap brand here 72 cents a can; however, for the clean stuff it is $2.99 each! :( I love the Pacific foods brand of the version:



They have 2oz more than the can and you can get a 12 pack on amazon for $30.48. But that is still $2.54 a carton..which is cheaper than on a military base?? anywase. The ingredients are simple (only 4 or 5 compared to the can) and it tastes so fresh! But that price is just absurd. So I think I found a solution! On pinterest there is a site where you can make your own cream of anything soups yourself!

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1/2 cup main ingredient, diced
• 1/4 cup butter or substitute
• 1/4 cup flour or substitute
• 1 cup milk or substitute
• 3/4 cup broth

This is great! The author suggests to just quadruple the batch and store them in the freezer.Or just can store it in a jar up to 4 days in the fridge. Her link is here. With crock pot recipes, your gonna come across some of these soups and I recommend going for some of the substitutes in the ingredients and making your own healthy soup!


Another product Jake and I both are loving is the Cascadian Farms cereal. Jake really REALLY loves cereal. I don't blame him but cereal is expensive here and he can go through a box in 2-3 days. The cereal he LOVES is about $3-$3.50 a box here but they are all full of GMO's. Who cares right...they taste goooood! But, I have found that the Cascadian Farms cereals are only $2.50 a box and all ORGANIC! I know that still sounds expenisive but cereal for some reason is a lot more expensive here. They have some that if I would just pour in a bowl and not tell Jake what box they came out of, he couldn't tell the difference and his happy/healthy tummy is none the wiser. We also like the granola but looking online, it is super expensive (like $4.58 a box!). The box lasts us about 2 weeks and we put it in our yogurt or just grab a handful for a snack. If anyone sees the prices in local stores let me know.


Another pinterest find that really does work is the lemon on hard water stains. You just cut up a lemon and scrub the heck out of your facets and it makes them all shiny without having to spary clorox on it and get the scent stuck in your nose hairs. :)
When I did this I was fustrated because we have an older house on base and I know its been used and abused but that still doesn't mean I want it to stay nasty. But the water stains on some of the facets are just permanent; however, I bet if you lived in not so old or nasty of a house, the lemon would work wonders. It helped to a large degree on the sink facets.

Also, I cleaned our mattress. I have never once done this before in my life. So I took a cup of baking soda in a mason jar and dropped about 10 drops of lavender oil and shook. Then I strained the mixture over the matress with a strainer from the kitchen and let it sit for a couple of hours while I washed the linens. SMELLED GREAT!! The mixture is supposed to lift all the nastiness out of the mattress and bring it to the surface...did it do that? I don't know if it did or not, but mentally I felt better about our mattress while I vaccummed everything up and it smelled excellent. :)

Jogging Journal:2

Ok ya'll we did it! I met my goal of 3.1 miles!!! I know that is like a 5K so it was as if Jake and I had our own personal 5k ;).
Saturday we were both not in the mood to go running (which I really do have to make myself go upstairs and change and then walk out the door) and it was a complete mental game. It seemed I was too hot, or my toe hurt, or something else BUT we kept going. Jake kept pushing me and we made it to the gym. It was only 1.8 miles to the gym so we went inside to get some water and then we did 2 miles on the stationary bike for a rest. Back outside I felt another burst of energy so we ran back through the neighborhood. When we got back to the house I just knew I could go more so I asked Jake how much more do we have and he said .3 of a mile. I knew I had to do it, I was so close! So we did! I felt liberation...as Jase Robertson would say.

Anywase we went again last night and did 2 miles which I was still really proud of. It is week 5 of this new journey and it's great. Last night was sooo hot tho, it was in the 80's yesterday and it just seemed too humid. That is what scares me about Arkansas weather so if anyone has any tips on how to stay motivated with hot weather please help! There is something strangely satisfying about having sweat pouring off of you tho...I know gross...but awesome! haha

Things I have GOT to remember:

• DRINK WATER!!!!!!
• Don't just pay attention to the scale
• Stretch
• Motivation
• Thick socks
• KEEP GOING EMILY!! YOU CAN DO IT!
• Drink my green tea every day!
• Don't push too hard or you'll burn out.
• DRINK WATER!!!!

Jogging Journal

Ok, so I thought if I kept a journal about my jogs it would help me be a little accountable. My bible study only has 2 more weeks left so I need to have some somewhere! Last night we went through the calender and marked off the days we went and how far. I read that if we have something visibly in front of us it would help with encouragment.
First of all I just want to say that I am so excited that I am in my 4th week! I read somewhere that in order to create a habit, you need to do something for 2 weeks? If thats not true than maybe it's 4. haha

After looking past the 4 weeks I have noticed a small improvement:

April 20-2.5 miles
April 22- 2.45 miles
April 25-2.27 miles
April 28-2.55 miles
May 2- 2.3 miles
May 4-2 miles
May 6- 2.7 miles
May 8-2.6 miles
May 10- 2.92 miles -woo hoo! Almost there

Last night was brutal! I drank water all day because Jake texted me with little reminders to drink my water so that I wouldn't be dizzy. On Tuesday it didn't seem so bad but last night was hard! We trecked up a monster hill and then jogged back down and through the neighborhood and I could have just tripped by husband everytime he said "Just a little more"! We stopped at a rest station and grabbed some water (really cool thing about living here is that they have rest stations around base with water and disposable cups) and we were off again. I literally wanted to sit on the ground and cry! Which its super hard to do when you have a husband who thinks you look cute instead of serious when you try to cry! He just laughed and encouraged me to go a little further again until we got home. 2.92 miles! Again I know it sounds like such a small number but we burned 400 calories and I feel amazing!

Climbing up the hill was just as hard as jogging on level ground. I think of the reward at the top of the hill and it makes things better. The view ya'll is amazing!


This is the view from our house of the hill...




I live in one of those little houses :)

there are saliboats out on the harbor but they look like tiny little white triangles just floating on the ocean and on the jog down....I mean it is def. a reward! The little hike there is also so pretty! We go through a trail between the woods and last night they had jets and huge airplane take offs. They looked so close that they looked as if coming right out of the trees on the left of us!

Why did we wait so long to do this?
I don't know if this is going to be a new hobby for us, but I would really like for it to be. It will def. be hard when we move but as for right now I'm going to enjoy it!

Getting motivated!

I mentioned last week I believe that Jake and I started to go jogging during the evenings, well this is my 4th week at jogging and I feel so good! Ever since we started eating cleaner and less processed foods and exercising, I feel my mood just lifting. I pray I never get out of this habit because afterwards I really do feel amazing even if I want to throw up in the middle of it. Jake is so encouraging when we go out. He constantly tells me good job and those little words help me keep going. Last night we jogged a full 2.5 miles! This is a big deal for me considering the last time I probley jogged was in 8th grade track with Coach Casselman. Or was it in basketball?? Anywase, I am getting out and doing it! The hardest part is getting out the door, once your out the door you can go for it. We take a break when colors is being played and the flag being taken down while Jake stands to attention and then we take a water break but afterwards we keep going. We have been doing some different trails but my favorite is the sunrise/sunset hikes up KT hill behind our house. It is a pretty big hill and once you get to the top your surronded by the ocean. We jog down and back through the neighborhood and the smell of the ocean and wind just envelopes you! It truly is such a blessing. I have told my bible study to help keep me accountable with this. I really want to go every other day and so far it has been great.
Something funny that really does help me is looking at my motivation board on Pinterest. ha. Isn't that funny?
A couple of the pins are these:









These are just a few that help. I love the prayer that is listed even tho I am by NO means a runner I love how the prayer is written and pray this while outside.

I thank God for blessing me with two legs and the ability to go jog and also for a husband that is able to run more and longer because he truly encourages me! I would love to get to 3 miles so we can do a 5k! How awesome would that be?!

Get motivated today! I promise you won't regret it. .... now I just need to remember this haha!

Is anyone of you sick? He should....

This morning during my quite time, I felt a shift inside of me to share a story with ya'll.

Almost 2 years ago exactly, I was walking down the spice aisle at the commissary when I got a phone call from my 20 year old husband. I remember being kinda annoyed because once I get a phone call I almost always forget what I need down that aisle and the next and the next...I answered the phone and Jake tells me, "I was just getting a check up and I am going to have to go get some x-rays done so I might not be home for lunch." Ok, I thought wondering if this sort of thing was normal. I knew awhile back ago Jake had tested positive for TB when they tested him and still to this day has a nasty scar on his arm where it never healed. I just assumed it had something to do with that.

I believe it was during the end of May because I knew he was about to leave for his 7 month deployment in August. I suppose those xrays sat on the desk awhile before someone saw them because Jake was called back to have more x-rays done in June.
I was sitting on this red couch in our front room when Jake came home and walked up the stairs. He sat down beside me and looked at me and quitely said, "Everything is going to be ok. Do you believe that?" I start to cry. "The doctors found something on my x-rays that they are very concerned about. There seems to be a large mass on my lungs in the x-rays they have been taken and they want to start treating whatever is wrong immediatly."

Of course I just stare at my healthy, strong 20 year old husband whom I have been married to for a total of 4 months and could NOT believe it. We call his mom and share with her what we know while I call my family.

I remember being mad at the military but I don't ever remember being mad at God.

We start making appt. for more bloodwork and tests up at Tripler to have a cat skan ran.

During this time we were going to our church each Wednesday night for bible study. Jake wednesday night group consisted of several men a 'few' years older than him. Jake ran across this verse and afterwards decided to call these men up and have them pray over him:

"Is any of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord....the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5: 14, 16b

After that night we went to the hospital for the tests. I was so angry because Jake literally left for Japan in 2 WEEKS! Not as much angry with God, as I mentioned before, as I was with the military. The man left me in this little waiting area all alone while Jake went down the hallways for his tests. I remember sitting there, I was freezing because it was such a cold place, and listening to some soap opera on the tv. I kept thinking, "why is everyone so mean here? Don't they realize Jake is leaving? Don't they realize how scary this is?"
I was NOT the best christian example that day to any who spoke to me. After the tests, we left and called his mom again. 
They said they would call us back the next afternoon.

As you can probley tell right now what the outcome was. But that afternoon we didn't know. Do you want to know what my husband did? He prayed. He was calm. He silently cried and held me and was so much stronger than I would EVER be. We watched some movies I think, I can't really remember and we must have eaten dinner but he constantly prayed not for him....but for me...
what a man I married!

The next morning the tests came back. Completley clear.

I believe with everything inside of me they came back clear because of what Jake did. He followed Christ's words of love and had the elders pray over him. God tested Jake and knew the outcome already.

I know many people would say, "oh, that is just a coincidence, something must have messed up the x-ray. God doesn't do miracles anymore, that's just in the Old testament. or something ignorant like, Well, he was lucky!"

NO, we serve a great a merciful God! A Lord who is full of compassion and mercy!-James 5:11b

I don't know why I felt the need to share this this morning. I know there are many people out there with hurts and sickness. I just thought our story could shed some hope and I urge you to pray and have other gather and pray around you because God is the greatest doctor of all!