Weekend Review and Currently

We had such a great week and weekend. So many fun things happening all around us.

This weekend we started a couple projects with the girls and got to spend so much time together. 

The first project we did was the girls ABC books. Greens loves tracing her letters and reciting the appropriate words with the matching letters. Pen enjoys using a marker and being creative. 

We also introduced the girls to scissors. They have their very own training scissors and did pretty well for their first go at it. 

The project for this weekend was our paper chain. I love doing countdowns and this was a great way for the girls to visually see the days before we go on vacay. We leave in a couple weeks to visit our family in Indiana! I'm so excited and cannot wait to spend time and make more amazing memories with this group I married into. I am so truly blessed and look forward to so many different adventures with my hubbs and dumplings.

           Here is our countdown!!!!!

Saturday night after the girls went to sleep I got the chance to watch a Redbox movie I had been waiting to see FOREVER! The movie was "Intouchables" It's a foreign film based on a true story set in Paris. It has subtitles and just a great feel good foreign film. 

 

I also tried a little hair project...

I am a Groupon fan and love buying stuff that I would love to try but don't want to pay the full cost for. I found these "Goody Summer Wave" rollers. I had seen these before and groupon had them for about $5.00. So, I bought them.I tried them. Verdict: Ehhhhh.... They are okay the wave was a little tight and if I used more hair they would not close all the way because of the length of my hair. I would use them again and play around with them a bit.

 

 

Currently....

Working on: Being more creative! I have sooo many delightful areas in my life to use my creative skills. I looove cooking and baking and I love being able to use it in my personal life and not my career right now.

Obsessing over: Rachel Khoo!!!! She's British and a crazy, amazing chef and creative gal! Need to buy her cookbook and blog my way through the recipes. 

Thinking about: Remembering that "today is the tomorrow you were so worried about yesterday" not to stress!

Listening to: if you have seen my spotify activity it's been all jazz lately! Sydney Bechet- Parisian jazz/blues is the background music I hear if my life were a film! 

Eating: nonsense,lol! I have been such a carboholic lately. Challah( rich egg bread) doesn't stand a chance if I see it in sight! 

Thankful for: my 2 little girls with whom i get to enjoy,learn from, teach, mold, dance, sing, list goes on! I am also thankful for my jobs. One is easy going and serene. The other is lively and fun! It's a great balance to keep me enjoying both.

Planning for: VACATION I'm so excited to just spend precious time with my loves and escape the back and forth's and everyday stuff we do here. :-) 

Have a great Week, Mahalo!

Recap :-)

Things are settling down in our schedules and starting to find some more routine and peace in our daily lives. We try to squeeze in as much family time as we can!

We went to the local Catholic church carnival this past weekend. The girls had a blast these are some pictures of them on the rides...

No, Its not a turkey! Its a big 'ole chocolate cake that I won for my dad! They have a "cake walk" you walk around squares when the music starts and then when the music stops they draw a number and if your standing on that square you win!!! Well, I won on the first try! wooohoo!

 

 

Greenlee turned 4 on Monday! We went to Chuck E. Cheese's. This was cool on so many levels! My first job when I was 15 was working at CEC. It was great experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So, now all these years later it was so cool to bring my own little and celebrate her!

Do they look excited? Yeah, not so impressed by this roller coaster simulator,ha!

 

This is my Penelope. She makes even hand washing fun!

I found this picture online and I loved it! Minus the cigar and add some tacky gemstone rings...I can only hope to be this fab! To be able to maintain my zest for living and carefree style! 

I simply adore Asian babies. Like looooove them!!! So, I saw this and melted. I love her!



Mike and I have been faced with some issues this week and remembering God is in control isn't always easy. Praying first for patience and peace and letting go and letting God work. Using these tools has also helped to have God reveal his plans for us!

 

Here's to a wonderful weekend! Get out and live and enjoy life!

 

Mahalo!

Currently

When I don't blog for a little bit I love to do currently post, Kinda sums up everything! My blogger friend Hanna over at bouffe e bambini just did one and I love them!

 

 

Reading: Bob Harper's "Jump start To Skinny" I purchased the hardcover book for a whopping $25.00 and then got home and was like "Oh, yeah! I have an Ipad! I wonder if its cheaper on an ibook?" oh, well big surprise. It is it was only $12.99!,Yay! Starting the program on Monday if ya wanna start too. I will be documenting progress as this book just came out and no one else,that I can see, has started one.

 

Starting: Another round of Jillian Michael's 30 day shred! If you haven't done it before it is a great 20 minute workout that is killer and does amazing things for your body! I have taken about 2 weeks off cross training so pretty pumped to start it up again on Monday!

Feeling: Special. I have really great people in my life. I am blessed with friends who fly across the US to hang out with me. People who stop by just to say hey! Call to see how I am doing! These are the same things I do with people so I love to feel that it really does make a difference.

 Planning: We have a trip to the Midwest coming up this summer that I am ecstatic about (I know that may be a funny statement,ha!) But, I love my husbands family so very much and CANNNNOT wait to spend time with all of them and just enjoy that time with my husband and my dumplings!

Wishing : That time would freeze for a bit and my little dumplings wouldn't grow up so darn fast! My Greenlee will be turning 4 next week and it just blows my mind how amazing, beautiful and perfect she is and what a little girl she has become.

Thankful: This is actually quoted from Hanna's "Currently"  but its my thoughts exactly! "For my mom! Oh I would not survive with out my mom. She loves my kids so much and she helps me A LOT! I am eternally grateful to her."

Craving: Cupcakes... Its always cupcakes! Oh, and craft beer :-)

Learning: Balance.Balance.Balance. I am now working 2 part time jobs and although they are both super awesome. I am constantly praying for The Lord to guide me and show me how to balance it all. Its very simple really; We prayed and God provided. He will see us through as he always does.

Thinking: I need to sew more. I love dresses. If you follow my Pinterest I pin a lot of dresses. (Because, my husband loves his me and the girls in dresses!) My usual dress budget is no more than $25 per dress. So, its not like I spend that much on each one but I could probably make 2 or 3 for that cost. That goes for the girls clothes too I can make them so many more. That's what we all need is more clothes right? ha!

Loving: Time with my husband. Like with anything in my life whatever I put time into and make a priority, I find success. I'm just grateful for little moments we get together where we get to focus on eachother and enjoy time together.

 

Mahalo!

 

40 Days

So, I took some time away from Facebook. Why? Because I did a spiritual fast. I gave up something and the thing I chose was Facebook.

My church started the 40 day fast and at first I was like yeah sure! Then when I thought about it I realized it could be way harder than I think. My choice to give up FB was something I knew I would definitely miss and would actually be a challenge. A couple of my reasons for being on FB is mainly stemmed from shifts at the hotel where there is nothing going on so FB is how I connect to friends and family I have all over the U.S.

Things that changed in 40 days:

• I realized how much time other people spend on FB. Ha, my family, my husband, friends, random strangers. Having extra free time its the first thing I see most people do
• My mother in law actually signed up for FB!
• I realized how much time I would spend on it pre fast
• The first days were hard then it got a lot easier
• I missed connecting with people I don't get to see everyday and seeing what they are doing that day.
• I will not put the app for FB on my phone again, at least for a little while

I really have worked on being more present and being more real. People have said to me before you have such a charmed life. I do,but its because of my relationship with the Lord. I am extremely blessed. But, I do have crappy days and its not always walking on sunshine. But, my faith allows me to be positive and thankful regardless and even in the moments where its bleccck and gross. Those are the times when the Lord carries me through.

I'm not perfect, my kids are not perfect, my marriage is not perfect. But, no one's life is perfect. Never compare your life or aspects of your life to others. Don't Judge others. Live your life for God not for other people. Be Kind. Surround yourself with like minded people. These are lessons I have learned and I am grateful for that.

Mahalo,
Adina

Currently

Oh, what a great week. Ha, it feels like my lesson in contentment is a work in progress. God is constantly revealing his abundant blessings on our family an me individually. I think that being a child of God makes life so much more worth living and I don't know how peeps can wander this earth without a relationship with him.

Obsessing over: Claremont,CA this is a town about 2 miles from my house. It's the cutest little village and the restaurants are amazing. Super cute shops. Just charming!!! I love spending time here and love how close it is.

Wrapped up in: Family time! I love having my Hubbs home and we actually get another week with him home,yay! Being all together for all the fun, nonsense and shenanigans we get into makes my life so wonderful and I'm thankful for the time we get wrapped up in each other.


Working on: looking back at my accomplishments physically and being grateful for my journey of being healthy. Instilling a healthy and active lifestyle for me and for my girls is my focus. Not to obsess over their bodies but how they will live and enjoy their lives while implementing activity and healthy living.

Thinking about: how I can spend some time volunteering with my family. We have a different schedule and not very traditional. This should be really labeled,praying about. Because, I really am praying about this more and that God will just show us how we can give back more.


Anticipating: some more traveling and getting my passport renewed :-)

Listening to: Springsteen and guys next to me at Starbucks who are going over a plan for shooting a commercial or film about youth athletics.


Drinking: SF hazelnut iced coffee! I just went on a run and the sun is peeking through my little village!

Happy Wednesday!

Mahalo,

Dina

Happy Monday: race recap

Oh, what a glorious Monday! I got out of bed, feet hit the floor and thought "hmm, just a bit sore." Yay, for ice baths and foam rollers! They are both annoying, especially ice baths but the make the next day sooooo much better!

My race yesterday was amazing! It was the third in the "Beach Cities Challenge" in Southern California. I started in May 2012 with the Orange County half and then did Long Beach in October and finished up with the Huntington Beach half yesterday.

I don't really "train" for these races. But, I do run consistently every week about 15-25 miles depending of my schedule. I will usually get in a 8-10 miler the week before and then race the following weekend. I started last week with a 6 miler and decided to do 4:1 intervals of running and walking. This makes for such an amazing race! Because I can run about 10 miles with out any problem but at mile 10 I'm pretty spent. Yesterday, I was able to run easy through 10 miles then turn it up and run straight through the last 3.1! So amazing!

The course takes you through a beautiful scenic route of pacific coast hwy. The half course is an out and back with about a 3mi detour through some pricey residential. There are some inclines in that portion but nothing to crazy by my standards and I'm not a pro-incline type of gal,ha!

I usually go through so many emotions while I run but yesterday I only had a teeny little, almost breakdown. For me the fact that my run felt easy bc of the run/ walk intervals I didn't really focus on anything other than when to run and when to walk.

My amazing Hubbs was at the finish line to see me get my medal and also I actually got to visit my first post race beer garden since my mama was watching the dumplings. It was so nice to just enjoy that afterglow race moment with Mike and talk about how exciting the course was for me. He is and always has been so encouraging and his support with running has been so wonderful to have! Running can be a little time consuming and finding a balance is something he has really been a part of with our little family.

I don't run for a time goal. Maybe one day I will. But, right now I run for the experience, I run because I can and most importantly I run because it makes me so happy. I never was an athletic child or teenager. So, as an adult the while medal receiving is a big deal!

This race I got two!! One for HB and a monstrous one for completing the challenge! I was so happy to be a part of this series and I can't wait for my next race!

Mahalo,

Dina

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