2014 in Review

2014 was a big year. So many fun things happened this year, and I loved getting to look back and re-live many of these moments. So here's to bringing 2014 to a close...

January

On the 19th, my mom and I ran the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon. This was my third half-marathon and by far my favorite one I've ever run. I loved sharing this experience with my mom.

February

 Our Family Fitness Challenge ended with a bang and a Brennan's Dinner Celebration. 

Matt and I enjoyed a mini Texas road trip and vacation. We went to my favorite resort, The Hill Country Hyatt and celebrated Valentine's Day there and then in Austin.

March

On the 14th, we celebrated Pi Day at school. Being a 7th Grade math teacher definitely has its fun days! And this was one of them.

 For Spring Break, we took our first trip to the East Coast. We visited Thomas Jefferson's house, Monticello while we were there. 

March also brought Rodeo season! One of my closest friends joined our Mutton Bustin' committee this year which made it even more fun. 

April

We took a little weekend vacation to Boston to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary. It was Matt's first time there, so we did all things Boston tourist- Freedom Trail, cannolis, Red Sox game, etc.

May

Bayhouse trips galore! I feel like we were in Galveston pretty much every weekend in May. Mom's birthday, Mother's Day, Memorial Day...

June

Summer Softball. Matt and my brother, Chase, have been playing in a summer league for at least three years. Avery loves watching her daddy play ball.

July

 We spent the Fourth of July at the bayhouse in Galveston. Matt and I took on a little project to help celebrate the 4th!

We participated in Mission 1:8 with our Sunday School class. We helped put on a small Vacation Bible School for some refugees, most of which had never heard about Jesus before.

My roommates from college and I had a reunion weekend. It is so rare that we are all together, so we took advantage of the time we had together. 

August

 On the 1st, we celebrated the wedding of our friends, the Debayles, and we got to spend time with some of our favorite people.

The weekend before school started, we visited Matt's family in Fort Worth.

On the 26th, I started my third year of teaching middle school.

September

On the 24th, many of our students gathered for See You at the Pole. I will never forget listening to their sweet voices singing songs of praise to our Heavenly Father at the flag pole of our public middle school.

October

 The fall brought Aggie football season, so we traveled to College Station for tailgates quite a bit throughout October and November.

Since I can't post pictures of my sweet athletes, here's a selfie of me before our big volleyball tournament, in which my team won 1st place!

November

 On the 4th, we made our voices heard by voting in the midterm election.

In the week before Thanksgiving, we took advantage of my time off of school, and we traveled to Washington D. C. for the first time. We loved it!

December

 On the 21st, my grandparents got baptized in the same church I grew up in.

We spent Christmas traveling around Texas and visiting all of our family :)

It was such a great year. I cannot believe it is now over. We learned so many things this year, especially me. I am constantly working on trying to be the best wife I can be to Matt. I have learned to be patient with God, that things are perfect in His time. I have been continually reminded of how abundantly blessed we are. God is so good! I know He has really big plans for 2015. I can just feel it. I pray that we continue to keep Him at the center of our marriage and trust Him in all things, and I pray that we cherish time we get to spend with family and friends.

Here's to 2015!

Fitness Challenge || Closing Ceremonies

I know you have all been waiting for this moment for a little more than five weeks now. Well, it's finally here, and I am going to give you all of the answers you are looking for...

Did the challenge end?

Yes! Thank goodness! (just kidding) The challenge was only five weeks long, and I say "only," but it did not seem like a short amount of time. In fact, it was the perfect amount of time. So many people say that they dislike New Year's resolutions, but this was not a resolution. It was a challenge that offered guidelines to kick-starting the year off right. Setting weekly goals rather than year-long, ongoing goals, definitely the way to go.

How was it?
Saying that you want to "be healthier in 2014" is hard to do if you don't have a plan. So, we made a plan, and it was great! I cannot speak for all participants, but I do know that for me, it was the perfect start to 2014. I am a very competitive person--always have been and probably always will be. (Bless my sweet husband's heart.) My competitive nature kicked in, and I was determined to finish the challenge and do it well.

Was it worth it?
100% yes! I think I could speak for any human--that accomplishing something like this, you would never regret. I felt great throughout the entirety of the challenge, probably because I was eating clean and getting at least 7 hours of sleep (both requirements of the challenge.)

Best Part?
Hands down, the absolute best part of the challenge was getting back into the daily habit of being in the Word. It had become so easy for me to let this small (but huge) part of my day slip past me, because I was _________. <--Insert any excuse here. To name a few: exhausted, coaching, lazy, cooking, cleaning, busy, etc. The best part was having no excuses. Yes, it was a requirement, but very soon became the best part of my day again.

Also, I ran the half marathon during the challenge. It felt great, and I loved getting to do it with my mom.

Worst Part?
I don't know that there was a "worst part" for me. The hardest part was having the chance to work out every day. But, that was only because of my teaching/coaching/tutoring schedule, but I made it work! Because there were a total of 37 possible points, and a maximum of 33 per week, there was a little wiggle-room for missing points.

Was there a winner?
Drum roll please... yes! There was a three-way tie. Now, let me just start by saying that we were all winners, and I don't mean that in the cheesy way that it sounds, but come on, we challenged ourselves to being the best we could be in all areas of our lives for five weeks. If you complete that, my thought is, you win--no matter how many points you end up with. However, yes, there were three of us that ended the challenge with the full 180 points. And yes, I did say "us!" I was one of the three. My mom and brother also ended with full points.

Overall, the whole thing was a success. I would and absolutely will do it again. Maybe just not too soon :)

My dad hosted "Closing Ceremonies" for all participants, and he took all of us to Brennan's of Houston and had made a reservation for us to sit back in the kitchen. It was one of the coolest things I have ever gotten to do, and the cooks were all so nice and excited. We were served six courses of delicious cuisine! For the last course, dessert, they brought out nine desserts for us to pass around the table. It was the perfect ending to our challenge.

Fitness Challenge || Weeks 3 & 4 Review

Even though I did not post a Week 3 Review, hopefully you saw what did happen in Week 3 here!

This has all been a really great experience and one that I would definitely recommend to anyone who is wanting to start a healthier lifestyle. It teaches you how to be more conscious about what you are putting into your body. Regardless of your weight loss, you feel better, your clothes fit better, and you hopefully will have a slew of new and healthier recipes that will hopefully take the place of some of your old ones.

With only one week left in our Family Fitness Challenge, there are still three of us that have full points,  with everyone else very close behind. I think it is safe to say that we have all won something with this challenge, even if it is feeling great about the changes that are made and will continue to be made.

Today is another "Snow" Day here in Texas. It is a whopping 32 degrees outside, and not snowing or sleeting or anything as of now. With all these days off of work, I have found more time to search for new recipes, and now that we are no longer cleansing, it is easier to find good ones that are still healthy. Here is one that I found, but then adapted a little for us last night. The best thing… lots of leftovers!

Turkey and Quinoa Enchilada Bake

Ingredients
-1 cup cooked qunioa
-1 package extra lean ground turkey
-1 green pepper, chopped
-1 onion, chopped (I like to use
  pre-chopped frozen onions because
  one of my least favorite things is
  chopping an onion)
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-2 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed    
  and drained
-1 (16oz) salsa (I used black bean and
  corn)
-1 (15oz) can enchilada sauce
-1 (14.5oz) mexican stewed tomatoes
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1 teaspoon garlic powder (or more)
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-8 corn tortillas (I used blue corn/flax
  seed tortillas, Artisan brand)
-2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
-1 avocado, diced or sliced

Preparation
-Cook quinoa according to package instructions. While quinoa is cooking, spray large saucepan with cooking spray. Cook turkey, green pepper, and onion over medium heat until turkey is browned. Add garlic, and cook for another minute. Depending on the meat you use, you may need to drain any grease. (If using extra lean turkey, you should not have this problem.) Then, stir in the black beans, salsa, enchilada sauce, stewed tomatoes, onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes. When qunioa is cooked, stir into the simmering meat sauce.
-Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9in. x 13in. baking dish with cooking spray. Pour about a third of the meat sauce into the baking dish and spread over the bottom. Top with half of your tortillas. Spread another third (half of the  remaining) of the meat sauce over the tortillas, and spread. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Top with remaining tortillas and then remaining meat sauce.
-Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese. Put back in the oven for about 10 more minutes or until you see the cheese bubbling on top. Serve topped with avocado (or sour cream if that is what you choose).

God is Good || Half Marathon

God bless MLK Day! This weekend was incredible and extremely full, and having today off just makes it all so much better. The women in our Sunday School class went on a retreat this weekend. It was such a wonderful time of sweet fellowship and time to "retreat". We had some great sessions and activities. One of the things we did while there was choose a word for the year that we wanted to focus on. After much prayer and thought about this time in my life, I came to the word, TRUST. Merriam-Webster defines the verb trust as "believing that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective; to place confidence in, to depend on or rely on, to have faith in". I want to focus on trusting God and his perfect plan for us which he has already laid out before us. I want to be able to give up control and let God do his work. Philippians 4:1-20 is my prayer. Yesterday, verses 6&7 were my prayer.

Have you ever accomplished something that you know full-well you did not accomplish with your own strength? I have--yesterday. About eight months ago, I signed up for the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, and I began training in July. I then stopped training in August--when school started. I was disappointed in myself, but I soon got over it because I knew I had already taken on too much. That said, I had come to the conclusion about mid-October that the 2014 half marathon would not happen for me, and to be honest, I was at peace with that. Fast forward two and a half months… some of you have read about our family fitness challenge, and that's where things began changing for me. It has been almost three weeks since the challenge began, and since the beginning, I have been running almost every day to get my daily work out. In order to receive a point for a work-out in the challenge if you are just going to run, it must be 3 miles, and that's what I did… almost every day. The farthest I ran was 3.5, and I'm pretty sure it was on accident. On January 9th, I sent my mom a text, "Would you maybe still want to run the half?" I was not with her when she received the text, but I can bet money she almost fell out of her chair, but I was 100% serious. Where did this confidence come from? The Lord. There is absolutely no other explanation. Fast forward again ten days…

Here we are (my mom and I) before embarking on this 13.1 mile run! The weather could not have been a bigger blessing! When we started, it was right at about 50 degrees. We both started in long sleeves (with plans to shed them at mile 3). I also started with ear-warmers, because my ears are very sensitive. Just waking up and getting downtown was an accomplishment. As odd as that sounds, it was for us. We were out there, doing it. With each step we took, we surprised ourselves. We hit mile 3 feeling really good, and then all of a sudden, we were at mile 6 feeling just as good.

My sweet dad and amazing husband were at each of the mile markers above cheering us on and encouraging us to keep going. Matt had a blast taking selfies at each of these mile markers, as well. He was such an encouragement. I told him it was even better than running with him, because I would look forward to seeing him at each of these places. My uncle picked us up at mile 3, and the three of us ran the entire way through mile 9. I was completely overwhelmed and blown away at that fact. But once leaving mile 9, I was hurting pretty bad--feeling the "not-training pain" in my legs and shins--so my uncle went on ahead of us.

That is where Philippians 4:6-7 came in. My prayer-warrior of a mom, truly an inspiration, started reciting these verses. It seemed like those last four miles all kind of blurred together. We could not believe we were at mile 12. And then at about 12.5, my uncle randomly appeared from behind us (after he had seen a friend and stopped), and the three of us got to finish together! We did it!! Praise the Lord! Although I would never recommend not training to anyone, I will say with confidence that with God's strength, there are so many things that we can accomplish. We truly can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.

To make it even sweeter, I got to trade in my old kicks (that have now been through two half marathons) for some much-needed and much cuter new ones! A gift from my parents for running yesterday. 

I wear a Fit-bit for those of you who know what one is. If not, it tracks my steps, mileage, sleep, calories (in and out), activity, etc. It connects wirelessly with an app on my phone, and before going to sleep last night, here are my results from the day… 

How crazy!

What can you accomplish with God's strength? 

Fitness Challenge || Week 2 Review

Two down, and three to go! …weeks, that is. It feels like this challenge has been going on forever, but it has only been 14 days. Oh well, I am feeling really great. I haven't been able to tell if that is a direct reflection of what I am putting into my body or if I am subconsciously feeling great because I know that everything I am putting into my body is super healthy. I may have just confused myself. Regardless, I haven't felt like I have been cleansing, which is the best way to cleanse. Amiright??

At this point in our challenge, we are able to add certain foods back into our diet. We are able to add small amounts of cheese and bread and other foods in moderation, but we actually have only had a little shredded cheese on one meal--Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers last night. I came to the realization that while I will eat bell peppers, I am definitely not in love with them. I was, however, in love with all the fixings inside of them. See the recipe here.

I also wanted to share two of my favorite recipes- one being my go-to green smoothie and the other, my favorite dinner recipe from this week.

Green Smoothie
-1 sliced banana (frozen)
-1/3 cup sliced strawberries (frozen)
-1/4 cup blueberries (frozen)
(I pre-package fresh fruit at the beginning of the week in freezer baggies.
That way, all I have to do is grab one from the freezer, and it is ready to go!)
-1 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt
-1 tablespoon almond butter
(especially if I am drinking this as a meal- it helps me stay full)
-2 cups spinach leaves
(or however much it takes to fill the blender)

Asian Lettuce Wraps

1 cup quinoa (cook according to package--about 4 cups)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 (1.25 lb) package extra lean ground turkey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 bag broccoli slaw

1/2 can drained and chopped water chestnuts

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (the healthiest you can find)

1 package edamame (cooked according to package)

lettuce leaves for serving

Cooking Instructions

Pour olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened. Add ground turkey, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Cook until turkey is browned and cooked through. Once it is cooked, add broccoli slaw, water chestnuts and teriyaki sauce. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes. Add in cooked quinoa and edamame, and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low until ready to serve. Serve on lettuce leaves. (I had not added the quinoa when I first served my meal, but I quickly realized it would be even better mixed in with the other ingredients. Therefore, I did.)

Honestly, the hardest part of this week was being back at work. After full days of being on my feet teaching and then coaching and then after all the other extracurricular activities, and after cooking some "elaborate dinner", it is hard to be motivated to work out or run. Thankfully, hubs helps me out in that area. I never want to go run in the dark by myself, so he takes on the role of my protector/he makes me run faster. He's wonderful. Also, my dinners are really not elaborate.

I hope this update finds you in the middle of your own fitness challenge. I hope you are doing well and feeling great. I hope you are finding what motivates you. For now, I hope this motivates you…

"Be STRONG and COURAGEOUS. 

Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you;

He will never leave you or forsake you."

Deuteronomy 31:6

Fitness Challenge || Week 1 Review

Made it through the first week of our Family's Fitness Challenge! If you missed my original post about the rules of our Family's Fitness Challenge, you can see it here. If you do know the rules, here is an update on Week 1. If you are looking for meal ideas or snack ideas while trying to eat healthy, keep on reading, because I am going to share some of my favorites!

Breakfast
Matt does not usually eat breakfast, but I am one of those people who cannot function without it. Some ideas include:

-Egg whites or Whole egg to Egg white ratio of 1:2 (for women)

-Fruit

-Extra lean turkey bacon (or sausage)

-Fruit or green smoothie

-Oatmeal topped with berries (and agave nectar)

Snacks
Because each of your meals is supposed to be between 200-300 calories, you are allowed snacks between meals. A few of my go-to snacks include:

-Almonds (or other nut)

-Apples (or bananas) with a tablespoon of almond butter

-Green smoothies

-Any fruit or veggie as a snack is also great!

Lunch
I sometimes just treat lunch as another snack, so some of the above items are things I have been eating for lunch. When I have more time, or now that I am back to work, the plan is:

-Lots of leftovers

-Salad with protein (i.e. grilled chicken) and any fruits/veggies I have on hand

Dinner
Dinner has been our favorite so far. It has been fun experimenting with recipes that fit into our eating plan, yet are still super delicious. Here are some recipes I have found that we have really loved:

- Turkey Meatloaf Muffins and steamed veggies (top left)

- Chicken Thai Stir Fry (middle)

- Slow-Cooker Chicken, homemade sweet potato fries (not pictured)

- Chicken Fajita Bowl, and instead of tortillas, just mix with brown rice and black beans (bottom right)

- "Spaghetti" Squash w/ extra lean ground turkey & all natural tomato sauce w/out cheese (bottom middle)

Favorite Recipes This Week

All of the above recipes really were very delicious! My favorite (and it was not easy to choose at all) was probably the chicken fajita bowl. I really did not feel like I was on a diet at all when eating it. I was being weird at the grocery store and bought the already thinned chicken breasts (because they're cheaper), but I shouldn't have. The recipe will make a lot, and it makes great leftovers, so I wished I had used more chicken in the beginning to make the dish last a couple more days. Matt's favorite was the spaghetti squash. He was a little hesitant at first, but afterwards, admitted to it being his favorite meal so far on the challenge.

All of this to say, so far, so good. Not that I would say this is easy by any means, however, it is very nice to have other people keeping me accountable, especially the one I live with. After all, misery loves company, right? Just kidding, it really is not miserable… yet.