Creating our dream life ..

Whew .. yesterday was a big ball of happy emotion! My husband selected Maritime, which has been a goal of his since he started school. On top of that, I have been working endless hours to build a business and after 10 months of hard work, it's finally starting to show. I got a call yesterday inviting Mase and I on an all expenses paid trip to Cancun compliments of Team Beachbody! That now makes 4 trips in the next 6 months for my business. Is this real life? You see happy smiling faces and we are incredibly grateful for the opportunities that are approaching us, but the truth is, it's been hard freaking work to get here. We are both spending countless hours daily trying to reach our goals separately and together. We have both had failures, heartache, stress, defeat, but the difference is we never gave up. We still aren't giving up. It's hard being young today trying to find success in your lives, and I can promise that nothing is ever going to be handed to you. So if you live in the mindset that life isn't fair, and you're never gonna get a break, then get over yourself and start creating the life you want because that's the only way it's going to happen. 

10 months ago, I chose to stop feeling sorry for myself and put my energy towards something that made me happy. I chose to stop using being a military spouse to cripple my mind into thinking a career wasn't possible for me due to travel. The reality of it is that anything is possible. Those words are not made up and for the longest time I didn't believe in them. We are taught our whole lives to follow our dreams, but the minute we take a chance on something we are judged. It's not safe. we could fail. Am I really making the right choice? But I came to the point where I knew i'd rather try like hell and fail miserably doing something I love than to sit around and keep watching the days go by. 

That was a risk we were willing to take .. 

Success doesn't happen overnight, but it's important that your vision of what you want is crystal clear so that you can start plugging away daily at your goals. Mason and I have big plans for our future, but they are not gonna happen if we sit around and wait for a miracle. That's not how the world works. If you want something, you gotta work for it, and my husbands career is a perfect example. His job is NOT easy, and it takes extreme dedication on his part to do the best he can do so he can live the life we have mapped out. Again, it's about deciding what you want and then swimming like hell. PREPARE FOR NOTHING is one of my favorite quotes. You know what you want, and you know what you need to do to accomplish it, but at the end of the day it's not promised. BUT, if you are relentless in your daily activity, the odds 98% percent of the time are going to be in your favor. 

We've got a ton of exciting things happening in the next 6-8 months. Christmas with the family, relocating, Los Angeles, New Hampshire, Cancun, Winging ceremony, Birthdays, Anniversary's, another move, Nashville .. I mean the list goes on. The most important thing though is to never lose your focus on the big picture. Celebrating the pay offs, but continuing to move in the right direction with a strong mindset CREATING the life of our dreams. It can get pretty flashy and exciting over here, but at the end of the day we are just two normal kids with big dreams who spend their days hustling to make it work and our nights in sweats on the couch catching up on DVR. We chose each other first everyday, treat our dog like a queen, and find more enjoyment in FaceTime chats with our family over weekend parties downtown. 

We live, we love, we fight, we cry ( well I cry.ha!) . We put our pants on like everyone else. We don't try to be perfect we just appreciate life and all of it's lessons. We choose to learn from our mistakes instead of drowning in misery , and we open our eyes each day making it the best that it can be.

2 weeks until we are home with our family! Lot's of work to do before then! Painting our house, packing our house, and renting our house is in our immediate future as of yesterday.  Oh and finding somewhere to live in TEXAS! 

Time to grind.

PS. i've never painted

Thanksgiving Green Bean Casserole

Thanks to Team Beachbody we have access to some amazing recipes. Definitely incorporating this into our thanksgiving feast! 

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp. whole wheat purpose flour, divided use
½ tsp. paprika
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 medium onion, (½ onion thinly sliced, ½ onion chopped), divided use
3 tsp. olive oil, divided use
8 oz sliced mushrooms
½ tsp. onion powder
3 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed and chopped, stems discarded
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
½ cup nonfat milk
2 Tbsp. dry sherry wine
1 lb. frozen French-cut green beans
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Combine 2 Tbsp. flour, paprika, and garlic powder in a medium bowl; mix well.
3. Add sliced onion; mix until well coated. Set aside.
4. Heat 2 tsp. oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add sliced onion mixture; cook, turning once or twice, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel. Set aside. Wipe skillet clean.
6. Heat remaining 1 tsp. oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Add chopped onions; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 4 minutes, or until translucent.
8. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the liquid released from mushrooms is almost completely evaporated.
9. Add remaining 3 Tbsp. flour, onion powder, thyme, salt, and pepper; mix until vegetables are coated.
10. Add milk and sherry; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until bubbly and slightly thickened.
11. Add green beans; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until heated through.
12. Add yogurt; mix until combined.
13. Place green bean mixture in casserole dish. Top with onion mixture.
14. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until casserole is bubbly.

Enjoy! :)

21 Day Fix Challenge Group

So why now? The question really is why not now? What better time to get a kickstart on your health and fitness than right after thanksgiving? There is that gap in between the holiday where people feel like they just completely BLEW it. They feel they are too far gone, which is where the new year new resolution comes into play. But let's be honest with ourselves here, how many resolutions have we started and let fall through? How many times have we promised ourselves that this time would be different, and it wasn't? To me, it's not about the perfect time because at the end of the day there is no perfect time and if we sit around and wait for it, we are going to be waiting forever. 

This was me, last year, at this very time. I was the heaviest I had ever been and thanksgiving was right around the corner. I was absolutely miserable, had nothing that fit, constantly wanted to be covered up in the biggest sweats I could find, shopping for large sweaters to try and cover up that I wasn't taking care of myself. It was total nonsense, and yes I write this here today and make it sound so simple because I did come out of it, I did change my life. But what you are forgetting is that I was there. I've struggled for the last 4 years with my weight. I've tried dieting, i've tried gym memberships, I've tried it all. Why wasn't anything working? Well first of all, I was looking for a quick fix. I was looking to do whatever it is I had to do, which in turn made me completely miserable, but to me I felt like I knew the outcome was worth it. And to be honest, it was. But within a month I was back to struggling again, because I reached my goal, so I quit. I had zero balance, I went back to struggling and fighting with myself as to why this was happening to me. I played the blame game, I played the I don't care game. But at the end of the day I did care, I wanted to be healthy, I wanted to feel confident.

I run these groups because I can relate. I run these groups to let you know that someone is rooting for you. To let you know that we can work through this together, and that you have someone that will count on you every step of the way. I realized I didn't have this, and that's why I wasn't successful. I realized that I was easily peer pressured or influenced in other directions that were not allowing me to achieve the goal that I truly desired. 

So it's not about waiting. Because guess what? i've tried that too! It's about taking the opportunity you have right now and letting me work with you. Coming into my kitchen and learning my tips, realizing i'm far from perfect and I don't pretend to be, but understanding that i've found balance. I'm not here to push you, or slap your hand when you make a mistake. I'm here to encourage you like I was encouraged, to be the person that believes in you, because I do believe in you. I believe in everyone that I work with because I know that we as humans are limitless. It's helping you believe in yourself that takes time, but it does happen, and when it does your life will be changed forever. 

So this is an open invitation to you or anyone that you may know to benefit from this. Give me 21 days. 3 weeks to help you learn tips and tricks that are going to benefit you forever. Go into the New Year strong instead of waiting until it gets here to make a change to last you a lifetime.