Holiday Photo Shoot

Here is a preview of our holiday pictures for 2009. No worries, this is not the one we will be putting in our card so it will be a surprise (: I got the idea of this picture from my good friend Sara & I am pretty happy with how it turned out!

Starting the day off right

Besides reading scriptures and saying your morning prayers, one of the most important things you can do is get a healthy breakfast to start the day off right! Just a couple of days ago, there was a segment on the today show about how type 2 diabetes is no longer referred to as "adult onset diabetes" because so many children are being diagnosed with it now. Reason why? They are obese. This makes me so sad that so many people in our country are careless when it comes to taking care of their bodies and also educating their children about how our bodies are a gift. We must set the example of how to do this by eating right and getting regular exercise. I could go on and on about this (as you can probably tell)but it is something I am so passionate about because I have lived both lifestyles. And the sweets and junk food are just NOT worth it!

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, tastes as good as being healthy feels. Nothing!

I have added quite a few recipes to my healthy living blog and some good tips that I have learned the past few years to enhance a healthy life-style. So if you wanna know more, go check out my healthy living blog

An amazing painting

Please go to this website to see this amazing painting about being "one nation under God". It will touch your heart. Scroll over each person to see the significance that person has had on our country. I especially liked how the painting shows certain types of people who are disregarding our inspired constitution. Makes me proud to be an American!

Click here to see it

How could I NOT be happy?

I am truly blessed.

I may not have everything perfect
but i have a family that loves me,
a husband who rubs my feet at night & does the dishes every. single. day.
friends who make me laugh,
a testimony which has saved me many many times,
an education that fufills me,
a hope that lifts me,
a tiny, yet very cozy home,
dreams that uplift me,
a job that warms my heart,
a bed to keep me warm at night
and a crisp diet coke that quenches my thirst,
and I get to look at this view each day as I drive to work.

So the way I see it...

Life is good.

Much needed day off

Today was supposed to be another normal day. But it turned out to be a really hard one. The fertility medications we have been taking did not work this month. I was 2 1/2 weeks late so we were really starting to get excited. Then the dreaded monthly visitor came.

Today, I am thankful for my Boss. She saw I was in distress, gave me a hug and she sent me home immediately to take care of myself. Geoff's mentor teacher did the same thing. So today we cried together, we watched a lame chick flick together, and we are just taking care of each other. I am actually thankful for crummy days like these. They always make tomorrow a better and brighter day.

A reason to my insanity.

I put up my Christmas tree & decor today.

And yes I realize what day it is. I did it for 2 simple reasons.

1. I love Christmas more than anything in this world.

2. We are moving at the beginning of December and I wanted a chance to enjoy my Christmas decorations.

So there ya have it!

New blog

So I started the new blog about healthy living which I am very very passionate about. I am deeply concerned about our nation and how little we care for our health despite the rise in obesity and weight-related diseases like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. I am not a size 2 but I am very healthy and want to share my story with others and help others who may be trying to change but do not know where to start.

I am not too big on how the blog looks right now, but I will be making changes to that shortly. I mostly wanted to share some of the things I have learned over the years as I made a huge life-style change that may help others who are trying to do the same thing. I am including lots of recipes, and lots of tips on weight loss. I would love feedback or even anything to add to the blog as it is obviously new and a work in progress! I am going to try and post a few recipes each week, I already have up a few right now so please take a look and let me know what you think!

This blog is NOT about how to get skinny... it's about living a healthy life and how to be the best you! (Sounds, so Oprah, I know).

www.healthylivingbycami.blogspot.com

Addicted to dresses

Ordered this dress for my Christmas dress. (Again very cheap because I save up on all those promo codes-- I swear it's the best way to online shop!)

Addicted to Dresses? Yes, yes I am. Don't judge me! At least I get super good deals on all of them.. (and I am talking about dresses that normally range from $75-200 for like $15-30). Online shopping is the best!

**Major Sidenote--- I am thinking of starting a blog on healthy cooking and some of the recipe alterations I have done to make them low-cal. Whadaythink?

A day in the life of Geoff Brown...

I was out with a good friend today and she was asking me how Geoff was doing and we ended up talking about how I never ever see him and she looked kind of puzzles as to why so I quickly explained his daily schedule (see below)

3:30 AM (yes you're reading that right) ALARM GOES OFF
4:00AM-8:00 AM-- AT WORK
8:30AM-3:30PM--- AT PRACTICUM IN AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLASS
4:00-7:00--- NIGHT CLASS
7:15-8:15--- WORKS OUT AT THE GYM
8:30-9:30--- HOMEWORK
10:00--- BED TIME

After saying it out loud I was kind of taken back just how crazy amazing my husband is. He literally get no time to just relax, like ever! Even though I work full time and go to school full time, having 2 of my classes be online certainly lightens my load!

One of my very first impressions of Geoff was how hard of a worker he is. Back in our single days we lived in the same apartment complex. Well sort of. He lived in a basement of a house right next to our apartment complex. Make sense?

Well, each summer all the residents in our complex had to move to a different complex so we could make room for the senior citizens who come from AZ to get away from the super hot summers down there. All the apartments were included in this move, except for Geoff's. So you can imagine the chaos of about 40 plus apartments all moving at the same time. Did Geoff hibernate in his apartment after working a 12 hour construction day? Certainly not. He was out helping all the other apartments lift, carry, pull and clean their apartments. At the time we were "just friends" and really had no romantic feelings for each other. But I vividly and distinctly remember how amazed I was at not only his incredible work ethic, but also his concern for other's.

I really did marry up. And I am okay with that. It gives me something to work for each day to be half as good as Geoff. Super cheezy, I know. But it's the cheese that keeps the spice in marriage, right? (:

Guilty Pleasure

Let's be honest, working full time and going to school full time leave you with very little time to watch TV. But I will admit, I make time each week for two shows and shows only. Usually having to watch them on hulu.com but I still find time to see them. First is of course the office and second (and I am scared to admit it) is the show GLEE! Does anyone else out there LOVE this show? I know it's over the top, but I live for the musical numbers. Maybe it's the choir/theater nerd in me that loves it, I don't know but I look forward to it each week. Check out this awesome song from the show! The video quality isn't very good but you get the idea.

And on a side note, just out of curiosity, has anyone ever seen Mariah Carey on TV with more than just a short dress on? Just wondering...