Foodie penpal!

Do you like food? Do you like trying new foods? Do you like getting a package in the mail? Now how about receiving a box of foods personalized to what you like? BAM! Here you go. Foodie Penpals sets the whole thing up for you. You sign up, you're assigned someone to send a package to, and someone is assigned to send you a package. You email each other, find out what each others likes/dislikes, and then ship a box of goodies to them based on what you think they would enjoy. This is what I got from my Foodie Penpal and, man oh man, she hooked me up.

Kiva

I came across 366 Random Acts which is a blog about a guy who is performing acts of kindness every day this year (366 days this year!) and recording the acts of kindness on his blog to share with others. Wow. This blog is super awesome to follow because EVERY SINGLE DAY he is doing something, small or big, to make a difference in someone's life.

Here's his post on the Kiva organization which brought me to make a donation myself. Also, if you follow THIS LINK, you can receive $25 free to donate to a person or group of your choice. But why stop there? If you're able to do more, donate more, and if not,  $25 will make a difference for someone. AND, you can also share this site with others and that will be helpful as well. :) Below is the woman I donated to and her story via Kiva.

Lourdes is 43 years old and is a hard-working and, above-all, enthusiastic woman. She lives with her 17-year-old son who she loves very much and who is her happiness and purpose in life. She also lives with her husband who is her right hand and above all supports her in all that she undertakes to do. He works on his farm where he harvests corn. Together with Lourdes they contribute to the household expenses. Their house is located in the city of Pisco, which is characterised by beautiful beaches, and is also near the Ballestas Islands, which receive an infinite number of tourists all-year-round to see their fauna and amazing landscapes.

With a lot of hard work, and saving a lot, she works in her business selling chicken soup and other dishes on her menu. She works around 8 hours a day and receives up to 20 customers a day. She has been working in her business for 2 years. It was a bit difficult for her at first, but as the days passed it improved.

She believes her business is going well because she is very friendly with the customers and above all because she is a good cook.

Lourdes is very grateful to the Kiva lenders since thanks to their help she will be able to buy tables, chairs and a freezer. In this way she will be able to provide a better service to her customers and maintain better food supplies for the preparation of her dishes. This will improve her income and allow her to continue fighting each day to make her biggest dream come true: to give her son a good education.        

class of 2012

 We've had a lot of attention go to this guy here. In the past few weeks he's had his senior prom, received his Eagle Scout, graduated from church seminary, and yesterday, graduated from high school. It's been an exciting month for him and we couldn't be more proud of him. I LOVE YOU ZACH, you are so AWESOME!!!!

Newport Beach

The Girls.

We're working on starting a Wives Club since all of our husbands work together. Official Wives Club name T.B.A.

Me, Dina, Britt

The Boys.

Trevor (the one in the middle) was pretty much in the ocean the entire time. I finally snapped a shot of the boys as we were leaving to head back to AZ and he finally decided to come in to say good bye. Which explains why David and Ryan aren't standing any closer to Trevor who is cold and soaking wet. And I guess it's not "cool" to stand closer like us girls do. :) And does Ryan look black? Or is it because he's standing next to Trevor who applied SPF 50 every hour on the hour? Ha.

David, Trevor, Ryan

 One of the couples (David and Britt) asked Ryan if he would get a few pictures of them out on the beach. Trevor thought Ryan looked funny taking pictures of the couple so Trev got a picture of Ryan taking a picture of David and Britt. I saw Trevor, taking a picture of Ryan, who was taking a picture of David and Britt, and had to take a picture of the WHOLE thing. Hilarious. For anybody who didn't know we all knew each other, I can see how extremely CREEPY that must have looked. HA!

newport temple

We made a trip to the Newport L.D.S. Temple this weekend and oh gosh, how beautiful. Here are a few snapshots we took before leaving. :)

Memorial weekend

Happy memorial weekend. We will be off to Newport with friends, our body boards, beach towels & umbrella, and of course our cooler of food.

First and foremost though, I'm grateful for our veterans and those who serve this country today. I was listening to a talk show radio this morning and they had a retired seal on. One thing he hoped for was that while enjoying our 3 day weekend (whether we are bbq-ing or going to the beach) that we truly stop and reflect those heroes. While we are going about our day-to-day, know that someone is fighting for our country that very moment...
Saying thank you doesn't seem like enough for the sacrifices they make, but I am grateful. God bless you all.

my EAGLE

Last night was my little brother's Eagle Court of Honor.

I'm sitting her looking over pictures and I still have this warm feeling of happiness and pride in my little brother and the gentleman he has become. He stood up to speak and share his thoughts on the scouting program and I was in complete awe. He said through scouting, he's developed skills and characteristics that have brought true happiness into his life and has provided, and will continue to provide, an example of values he aims to have in his life.

 Gosh, my little brother is freakin awesome!!!!!I'm so proud of him and love him so much! Congratulations little bro.

almost oatmeal

I don't know why I think anyone would care to see what I ate for breakfast. But if there's one person who's looking for a simple breakfast recipe, Paleo approved might I add, then here's what I had this morning and this post is specifically made for you. :) If you could care less, well.....don't read on. Ha. 

1 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce

4 tbs raw chunky almond butter

2-3 tbs unsweetened coconut milk

cinnamon & vanilla to taste

stir over medium heat.

I ate it all up before I thought of topping it with some fresh blueberries or something. Doh! Next time.

Battered bruised and i have the evidence!

This is my third week with crossfit. I'm loving these classes because crossfit pushes me and accomplishing these workouts are super duper rewarding. I never thought I would picking up a barbell and doing clean and jerks, back squats, kettle ball swings, double unders, dead lifts....well, you catch my drift and yeah, i'm throwing some CrossFit lingo at you. You really need to try it! Now! Do it!

Yesterday when i threw my purse over my shoulder I had some pain on my shoulder. Turns out, as you can see by the evidence, the barbell has caused some bruising on both shoulders and collar bones.  

At first I thought, "What the heck is this class doing to me?" But then when I answered that question seriously, the answer was "it's making me do something I never thought I could" and that is an excellent feeling my friends. And now I look at these bruises as war paint. :) No pain, No gain.

Andrea my dear

 Happy Birthday to this girl here. Not me, the one on the left silly. My dear friend Andrea who I met back in the early years of high school. We talked about how old we are.... being graduated from high school for 6 years now. Sheesh! Both of our little brothers are graduating this Thursday too so DOUBLE whammy. We really are getting old.

Anyway, she's the best and I'm glad I get to be her friend. I sent her a text this morning at 630 and apparently she couldn't fall back asleep. Oops. Oh well, more time for her to celeberate HER DAY!!!!!

Dinner at Postinos. (Wish I would have started this whole Paleo thing AFTER her birthday dinner. But it's ok.) My dinner was still delicious and filling. Turkey breast with tomato and spinach. Chicken and cranberry salad. Dressings on the side because more than likely they aren't "paleo approved" :)  See? It's possible to eat out on Paleo. :)