Leftovers...

At the end of the week I have some many leftover pictures in my phone so I thought I would use Friday to serve them up! I don't know I'm really nosey and I like seeing other peoples stuff so I thought you might want to see mine! :-)

We are so the parents that buy Disney themed merchandise and bust it out at Disneyland! The girls loved their Belle wands and I loved the five dollar Target price tag!

The girls are super into my EOS lip balm and this was Penelope's first time applying by herself. It only took me 5 minutes to get it back, we are working on that!

 

While shopping on Tuesday w came across this great bench that I am obsessed with and would like to have a yellow bench for my dining room.

The sunset was GORGEOUS on the way home from LA on Tuesday and mike and I stuck our phones out of the car to get a pic. This was the best of the 5 or so ones of the roof, random cars, etc..

 

New APP for run/walk interval training! Plus the guys voice is exciting that tells me when to run/walk. I feel like he may be attractive so I'm like "okay, okay!" when it comes on, ha!

Mama and Pen plying with my new ear buds for when I run. She likes to try out everything!

 

This last pic was of the moon I think on Monday night but I just loved it!!!

 

 

We have such an exciting weekend coming up I am so glad its Friday,Ready to get it started!

 

 

Mahalo!

 

Dina

Thankful Thursday

So, all day yesterday I wanted to blog about something! Well, waking up this morning with my husband and girls next to me I began to just feel so overwhelmed with God's goodness. In the midst of my bliss praising The Lord for my blessings....bananahead city began. The girls went into nonsense meltdown mode over nothing! Like instantly! Hah! I started loosing my patience super fast. I felt like "what the heck happened! Here I am so thankful and now this!!?" But, here's the deal I can't be thankful just when times are good I need to be reminded I need to be thankful always!

This had been a rough couple months and I don't always share to much about stuff that doesn't make the "highlight reel" ;-)
I think so many times we can get caught up in showing all the good times we forget that it ain't always sunny! With Mike being gone poses so many difficult challenges that I often don't think about or plan.

I have an amazing family that helps me out so much. It also helps that my husband is so willing to listen, change and adapt both as a soldier and a husband.

Being thankful can be so broad and general but today I want and choose to be thankful for a couple specifics.

1. Gods love and mercy he shows me as he waits for me to fall and look to him after trying things on my own and not working. :-)

2. My husbands patience and unconditional love that he shows me and our babies daily. He loves me regardless of my actions and I see Gods love daily shining through him as my partner in life.

3. For my girls when they are having meltdowns. I'm blessed to hear them whine and complain on days when they are not their perfect selfs. This shows me 2 things. One, how God must feel when I'm complaining and wanting something that's not in his timing or will for me. Two, that there are so many people longing to have babies of their own and how blessed I am to have these 2 with me regardless of their current behavior.

These are things I'm thankful for today and I pray that God will reveal his plans for our family even more in the next months ahead.

Choose to be kind and be thankful regardless of what you are currently going through. I included a pic right now from the mall... Neither precious dumpling wanted to take it whining "no, no pictures!" Haha! It was perfect because I was smiling because I'm thankful for all this even the "bananahead city" days!

Mahalo,

Dina

Happy Monday!

What a delightful weekend for our little family! Friday I was blessed to spend all day with my Greenlee! We hit all the hot spots Starbucks, Marshall's, Nordy's and Corner Bakery for some lunch. I then got some time to go dancing with friends at The Ranch in OC. Which I'm always grateful for no cover with a military ID. It was nice to unwind and catchup with friends after an eventful week!

We have been prepping this week for daddy's return from Germany, yay! So, when ever Michael goes for the Army I try to do something around the house as a surprise for his return home. Last time I painted the dining room and kitchen. I love doing stuff at home and my style borders bo-ho, shabby chic-esque. I love feeling like we live in a little escape from reality in our little cottage.It's eclectic, comfy and it's where we call home.

So, the room that was next to handle was our bathroom. Greenlee wanted a pink bathroom, of course,Ha! Well, we did compromise and we settled on a coral pink color which we all seemed to like! I still need a new maybe paisley or busy, colorful print shower curtain to pull it all together!

I was so excited to go pick up my love and enjoy some time before we went and got the kids and headed home. There is a place in Echo Park I have been wanting to try called Mohawk Bend. It was just the place to get cozy with my man after being gone all month. They have a HUGE collection of craft beer and a great organic menu. I had a great burger with sweet potato fries and a yummy IPA called Rebellion. Mike had the fish and chips which were amaaaazing!

Upon our return home Mike gave us some gifts he brought back for us. He got me the most crazy, cool box of German chocolates that had different liqueurs. Let me just tell ya that the German version actually have liquid liqueurs in them not just flavored goo! You could breath fire after one of them! They were so yummy and mike knows my love of first chocolate but also my love to reuse cute,intricate wooden boxes which these came in!

We had a wonderful weekend and now planning a fun filled week together to enjoy being reunited. Time apart is hard but the best part is taking a step back and realizing the importance of sharing our lives together. How much we value and appreciate each other and not taking any time together for granted. Being married is a journey and just like any other aspect of our lives you get out of it exactly what you put in to it! With busy lives and so much nonsense in our world It's so important to make it a priority and give it the attention it deserves. I'm so happy he's home and can't wait for our next set of adventures!

Mahalo,

Dina

Currently..

Getting back to the blogging world! Things are shifting in my life and in our little family and I'm learning to find the beauty in change and knowing I am right where I should be.. That's huge for me! hah!

Currently…

Obsessing over: Painting the cottage powder room. That's a fancy term for painting the bathroom! Ha, doesn't the first part seem way more charming!?

Working on: Getting everything ready at the cottage for the return of my soldier! Can NOT wait till he is home!!

Thinking about:A lot of career moves for both me and my husband and how they will all unfold in our lives. #kindofabigdeal

Anticipating: Saturday, because he comes home!!!!yay!!! Also, my next race is coming up on 2/03 at the Huntington Beach marathon! So, ready to run!

Listening to: Florence and The Machine, I'm super into it right now and love the sorta laid back, strong lyrics and rhythms

Drinking:. Starbucks, of course! Sugar free hazelnut iced coffee,Yummy!

Wishing:I had way more money in our bank account to buy decorating nonsense for our house!

Happy Monday!!

Mahalo,

Adina

Pretzels

I spent the evening last night with my babies and my brother and his 2 kids, We had such a great time! My niece and my eldest daughter love to help in the kitchen even if its pouring water from one bowl to another. While on Pinterest yesterday I came across a recipe for "Hot Buttered Fluffy Pretzels"  I'm sorry, but, all of those words sounded amazing and I needed to be a part of them!

I read through the recipe and Joanne, over at Fifteen Spatulas, had this post which also included a great demo! Now, I have made pretzels in culinary school and at home a couple of times but let me tell ya...amazing!!! They had a great texture and they were beyond easy to make not to mention so delicious!!

You can find the recipe here

The girls loved to roll out the dough and shape the pretzels. This recipe is so beyond easy and there is so many different variations that you could do with it. I am dying to get back to play around and add some jalapenos and cheese to some of the next batch. I also didn't have real butter so I used margarine. Real butter would send these babies over the top!



 

Happy Sunday to you!

Mahalo!

Hawaii Marathon Recap!

Well, last week at this time I was in my hotel room in Waikiki contemplating the days events and that tomorrow I would be doing something most people will never do. I decided to share some more of my journey and let you know what goes on in my head when I'm running a race.

Ready to head out top is old navy skirt is a dress from Ross that I cut :-)

Sooooo can't believe I am here to do this!

I've learned what works for me with each race that I do and I love my Merrell's and a loose fitting shirt is best so I'm not messing with it during my race.

 

It was 4:30. I love how excited I am @4:30, can you say crazy runners?!

Amazing fireworks to start the race @5am

26,000 people ready to all accomplish the same thing has the most powerful rush. Its hard to explain unless you have done it.

Mele Kalikimaka!! Festive downtown for Christmas

Top of Diamond head. The elite runners were on the other side of the street this was about 2 hours into it and their mile 24. my 8ish,haha!

 

Gorgeous scenery was why I chose this race. I cant say I would do it again since I have done it. who knows, I have learned to never say never!

Mile 15 or so getting tired

These folks were on the other side of the street and at mile 18 when I was starting to have my whiny pity party of one, I looked over and just welled up! I cry a lot during races,ha! Not because of pain just because being such a young runner its still so overwhelming for me!

Mile 26.... .2 left....feels...like....FOOOOOOR-FREAKIN-EVER!!!

I had to walk to the finisher area to get my medal. I have never been so uncomfortable, happy, proud, humbled, grateful, etc.. I can't describe how amazing it feels to have done this.

 

 

I think back about my first 5k and really the feeling is about the same. Running is something that has changed me. I heard Oprah quote someone once and she mentioned that "Running is a great metaphor for life. You get back exactly what you put into it!" I COULD NOT agree with that statement more,at all! Was there times I wanted to say(PG VERSION) "Forget this stuff!!" haha! Of course and how many time is my life have I really wanted to just say screw it I don't want to do something or found a way to make it easier. But you know when you accomplish something in life it feels so much better when you know that you gave it everything you had! I could have easily cheated and skipped to the other side of the course and still "finished" but I would have always known I didn't really finish.

 

I am so grateful for the chance to have run this race and I'm thankful for people who inspire me daily to continue my journey. I'm a runner and no one can take that away from me!

 

Mahalo!

Saturday Night Dinner Recipes

Yesterday while I was perusing the yahoo feed I came across a link for different uses for "Creative Ways to Use Canned Pumpkin" much to my delight I saw the recipe for "Black Bean and Pumpkin Burgers." Now, this is a meatless option and a great way to use canned pumpkin. I love pumpkin and I love even more that on the Weight Watchers program its a power food and its also FREE for 1 whole cup! This site doesn't really give any exact measurements so I just sorta played around with it and it worked pretty well. I served these on sandwich thins with a variation of an  "Creamy Avocado Cole Slaw"which I found here was AMMMMAZING!!!

Black Bean and Pumpkin Burgers
Makes 8  1/2 c. portion Patties

2Points Plus Value

Prep time: 40 min

Cook time: 20 min

Serves: 8

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Ingredients 1 cup(s) canned black beans 1 large egg(s) 2 Tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs 1/2 cup(s) uncooked old fashioned oats 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp garlic salt 1/2 cup(s) uncooked onion(s), chopped 1 cup(s) canned pumpkin, mashed 1/2 cup(s) cilantro, chopped Instructions mix together ing. form 1/2 c shaped patties on foil lined baking sheet. Bake 400 deg 20 mins turning once. Avocado slaw, I added my adaptations on the side of each ing.in BOLD  if I varied from original recipe. this came out to be 3pp per 1/2c Creamy Avocado Cole Slaw Add some avocado goodness to your cole slaw for a creamier alternative. Recipe by Family Spice Ingredients: 1 avocado  (2 small creamy hass avo's) 1/2 cup cilantro, fresh, packed        (I used 1 whole cup) 2 TBS cider vinegar (I used white and a little seasoned rice wine) 2 TBS lime juice (I didn't have lime,lol) 2 TBS coarse ground mustard (I fogot this) 1 tsp honey  1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I only used a 1/4 cup) 1/2 head of cabbage, green, shredded 1 green onion, chopped Sweet Peppers, chopped Instructions: Purée in a blender: 1 avocado 1/2 cup cilantro, fresh , packed 2 TBS cider vinegar 2 TBS lime juice 2 TBS coarse ground mustard 1 tsp honey 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground Slowly pour into the blender and blend until dressing starts to whip and emulsify: 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil In a large bowl pour dressing and combine with: 1/2 head of cabbage, green , shredded Allow salad to sit 5-10 minutes prior to serving. Garnish salad with: 1 green onion , chopped Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 0 min Difficulty: Easy Servings:             8 So pretty close with a couple of changes to this great recipe. The bottom line when cooking...Play around and Be Creative with what you have on hand!