Fill In the Blank Friday

It's time for Fill in the Blank Friday!!! This week has gone by exceptionally slow - so it's nice to have something to look forward too. If you want join in the fun, jump on over to the little things we do :o) HAPPY FRIDAY!!

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1.  Blogging is   an escape for me to write about whatever I want… important or not.It’s also a way to keep our family in Oregon updated on all that is happening with my husbands recent Type 1 diagnosis –including our journey with food therapy.   

2.  A current fashion trend I wish I was brave enough to wear is   the harem pants. I love them – and I think they look great on long and lean models. But someone who is 5’1… I’m not sure the style is made for those of us with little legs. Not sure what I’m talking about click here .   

3.  My greatest accomplishment in life thus far is    earning my Masters while working full time.   

4.  If I had to choose between a mountain or a beach vacation I'd choose   any beach, any time, anywhere!!!  

5.  A talent I wish I had is   surfing!! I’m not sure if that is a talent or if it’s a skill. Either way I wish I wasn’t deathly afraid of sharks and could get my butt on a surfboard. That seems like sheer bliss to me.   

6.  A talent I do have is   is being the best shower singer in the entire world… just trust me ;)   

7.  This week   is almost over and I am counting down the last 48 hours of being in my twenties.  

praise and thanksgiving 1

On my drive to work today, I was listening to klove and they were having listeners call in for a day of praise.  It got me thinking... what is a praise in my life, and what am I thankful for.  If I started living every moment thinking of all that was going well, I would probably be a lot happier and much more content.  Of course, there are always the obvious... I am thankful for my husband, my family, my career, my house, etc.  But honestly, those are the standard responses anyone would say.  I want to really think about the small things that make my life better each day.  I thought this would be a great place to document and share... the little things that God has given me.

Today I am very thankful for Elana's Pantry Chocolate Chip Cookies!!  My mom makes us a batch almost every week {another thing I am thankful for} and we ADORE them!!  Honestly, they are better than any other cookie out there!!!  Now this may not seem like much of anything to be thankful for, especially for those of you who don't have food allergies.  But for us... this is BIG {and yummy}!!!

2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup agave nectar
1 cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Form ½ inch balls and press onto a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes
6. Cool and serve
 

Fill in the blank... Monday

For a while I have been blog stalking the musings of Lauren at The Little Things We Do. It's always a nice retreat from the day to day happening that we call life {and maybe, just sometimes... work}.  I decided that instead of continuing to be the cyber-stalker that I am, I may just take up one of her fun little activities called Fill in the Blank Friday.  As you probably know, its not Friday.  But lets face it, Friday was busy!  So I will start this just a little fashionable late.  And seeing that I am absolutely exhausted from a very busy and fun weekend, the coffee in this picture puts a nice little smile on my face.

1.  The first thing I do in the morning to start my day is    get in the shower and stand in the warm water until I have convinced myself that there is no way I can go back to bed.  Then I brush my teeth, make the bed, put on some clothes and rush out the door to go to work.  Writing this makes me realize that I need a more relaxed morning, because it really sets a tone for the rest of my busy day.    

2.  Today I wish I was   still in bed after getting home so late from last nights Jack Johnson concert. It was an incredible concert, and absolutely blew away all my expectations {especially since Zee Avi opened - and in case you didn't know I ♥ Zee Avi}.  

3.  If I had an extra $100 in my bank account today I'd   run to the mall to find something fabulous to wear at my Dirty 30 bash this Saturday.   

4.  Tomorrow   I have bible study with my Bible Babes.  I can't wait to spend some time in the Word and with my dear friends.    

 5.  Two things that don't go together are   grilled cheese and tomato soup.  I don't care who you are... that is just not right!! 

6.  Something I can never pass up at the grocery store is   US Weekly and People Magazine.  Thankfully Dustin has finally come to terms {after six years} that this is a mild, yet sick, obsession.  And he knows that if I am ever in a down mood and he brings me one of these, I will instantly be better.   

7.  The last time I tried something new was   last week when I started eating salads with only EVOO as a dressing.  This may not seem that adventurous, but I was really sad about it {since D and I have eliminated vinegar from our diet for a few weeks} until I realized that EVOO is really all you need.    

2 new loves

During our trip to Maui I came across two things that I now love dearly... Sanuks and Donovan Frankenreiter.

We spent almost every night at Donovan Frankenreiters bar right down the street from our hotel.  I'm not gonna lie... we spent almost every night there and I had never ever heard of Donovan Frankenreiter.  Come to learn he is good friends with Jack Johnson (my second husband) and he is a singer/songwriter/pro-surfer who lives in Hawaii.  Who would have known?!?!

The last day of the trip we headed to the Sanuk store in Old Lahaina Town.  A few of our friends, guys and girls, had purchased some when they were in Oahu before meeting us in Maui.  They were really cute, and looked super comfy.  One quick stop at the Sanuk store on our way to the airport and my life is forever changed.  Okay... that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but these are honestly the most comfortable shoes ever.  Maybe that is because the bottom is made of a yoga mat?!  Both Dustin and I bought a pair, and haven't taken them off since.  On the left is a link to they style that I purchased (and am wearing right at this moment).  Your feet will thank you... I promise!! 

Just to make it all a little sweeter, I learned that Donovan Frankenreiter is an official Sanuk spokesman.  Who would have known that two great things would join forces and become a shoe industry superhero  ;o)

Green Smoothie for Diabetics

Check out the Type 1 page for more information....

New Type 1 Post

Check out the Type 1 page for an update in our Type 1 world!!

Blessings!!

the POINTS paid off!!

For years Dustin has been accumulating points while he travels for his job.... hotel points, airline points, rental car points.  Anything that has points associated with it - he has been earning it!!  It seems like we have been waiting forever to reap the benefits of his travel (selfishly I have been waiting for the day when I would benefit from it).  And just recently it seems like we are using them... ALL!!!

This last month has been crazy!!  First, I had the opportunity to join Dustin in Europe for a week.  I was able to fly for free on his United points.  That trip was incredible - far greater than anything we could have imagined.  I know... I know... I still need to blog about it, share some of our favorite stories and pictures.  Believe it or not though, I/we have been so busy since returning from Europe that I haven't even looked at the pictures.  That post will come soon though, I promise!!

Last weekend we traveled to San Diego with some of my family.  Dustin and I stayed in the gaslamp district of SD with my cousin Maile and her husband Jeremy.  The boys combined their Marriott points and we were able to have all of our hotel charges covered!!  The reason for our trip was because my cousin, Zak, proposed to his amazing girlfriend Krystal on the beach in Coronado.  Dustin was the paparazzi that caught the whole thing on our camera, and we were able to celebrate with them the rest of the weekend!!  I had a fun part in the proposal and was able to help Zak make some of his creative ideas come to reality.  It was a really special day.  Zak has always meant so much to me - more than I think he even knows!!  He has been like a brother in every sense that there is!!  He has made fun of me, punched me in the face (literally when I was about 5 and he was 3), stood up for me, included me and loved me!!  I would do anything to see him happy - and I am so happy that I could be a small part of this special day for the two of them.  He found an incredible girl who loves him so much and has the sweetest heart in the entire world.  They are such a fun couple to be around, and I seriously couldn't feel more blessed that she is joining our family!! Here are just a few pictures

In two weeks we leave for Maui with 15 friends!!  Again, we are using Dustin's United points so that both of us can fly for free (which is a good thing since we are broke), and we are staying with friends/family to reduce the hotel costs. We haven't even had time to think about what we are going to do once we are there.  But as long as I can sit on the beach and ride on a catamaran I will be happy!!

It has been an incredible, and extremely tiring, month of travel!!  I am pretty sure we are going to be living off of salads and omelettes for the rest of the year just to save money - but we know it will be worth it!!

Outside of travel we have both been very busy.  Dustin is taking two classes towards his Masters in Material Science Engineering at ASU while finishing up his classes in real estate.  Don't worry, he won't be quitting his day job - this is just something that he has always wanted to pursue.  I have been busy as wedding season starts to gear up again.  I have a few post-processing jobs that I am working on.  I am also teaching a Freshman Seminar class at ASU this semester every Wednesday.  My Bible Babes group is meeting again every Tuesday, and every other Wednesday evening Dustin and I go to a small group bible study for newly married couples.  Some days I'm not even sure how we fit it all in... but we do, and thankfully our relationship isn't suffering because of it.

Hopefully my next post won't be too far from now  :o)