Wedding Video!!

Just posted our wedding video on our other blog! Click here to check it out!

Fall Plantings

Just a short little post showing my happy little flower bed. It's got kale and cabbage, violas and mums. Can't go wrong with combinations of bright yellow, deep purple, and calming green. The pumpkins and gourds were given to us by a friend who grew them in her garden! I love fall time :)

Phoenix!!

Girl Bonding Time!!!!!

I was able to go hang out with these awesome girlies for a whole week!! So much fun!! My trip to Phoenix was for business, but when I wasn't working it was all play!! Anndalyn and Melissa were great hosts and took me to see all the sites. The zoo being one of my faves :) These pics were taken on our girls night out for dinner and a movie. We saw Fame (fabulous I recommend it) and ate at an awesome restaurant that was right up my ally!

Married women can still have fun and act like goofs :)

Great organic food grown right there at the restaurant in their greenhouses!! I had a fabulous, maybe even best I've ever had, portebello mushroom burger with fresh beet salad. Yum!!

Went to visit the Mesa Temple on Sunday after going to church with Mel and her hubster. Their ward was baby crazy!! Can you believe 7 nurseries!! On the church records there are 300 kids under the age of 12!

We got to talk to the sister missionaries and they were so excited to hear that we had served as companions in France together. They let us listen to the Christus recording in French! We were both crying by the end because it brought back so many good memories from the mission :)

The trip was also filled with great physical activities! Mel and I played a match of tennis in the sweltering heat and worked out at the gym she works at and Anndalyn, the kids, and I went for a beautiful morning hike in the mountains right behind there house on another morning.

Aren't her kids so adorable!!! I loved spending time with them, singing and laughing and playing!

I could just eat her up!

It was fun to watch the kids when daddy got home!

New Horizons

While Shanam goes to work every morning, I get to do something a little different...I play :) To some it may be work, but to me, it's what brings me happiness! For the past four months I've been a gardener/landscape designer for a woman in our town. She owns 20 acres and is building a new house and I got to design the new landscape while freshening up her old one. So much fun! However, something new is on the horizon! Together with the county extension agent, I'm putting together a HORTICULTURE PROGRAM for the community! We had our first meeting on Tuesday this week and had a pretty good turnout of about 20 people. I was interviewed on the local radio station to advertise the program and the word is getting out!! I'm so excited and can't wait to do a little movin' and a shakin'!

Raindrops for the Soul

I love the rain...and more specifically, I love rain in West Texas! Do you know why? CUZ IT NEVER DOES!!! But, right now, it's raining and I feel like my life is complete :) Inside my heart, I can feel every green living thing singing! I look out my window and watch the grass, imagining the joy it feels to finally recieve pure, natural water. I watch as the dry, red dirt becomes darker and the green grass gets greener. Rain always brings a sense of peace with it and always leaves behind a sense of new beginning. After a good rain, I love going outside to take in a deep, long breath, filling my soul with new beginnings, then exhaling with a peaceful knowledge that I can keep moving forward.

Why do we over eat?

I wasn't able to embed the clip, but on Democracynow.org there is an excellent 45 min segment on overeating in America. It's very fascinating and I encourage you to take a look!! Dr. David Kessler is the guest speaker.

Veggie Tales

I love a fridge PACKED with fruits and veggies!!

Back in September of '08, after months of research, I decided to cut out meat and dairy from my diet and focus on whole grains, organic fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds. My diet has adapted a little since then, but that is still the foundation. I have not had fast food since that day and I have not purchased chicken or beef at the grocery store since that day. Also, since that day, I have not had any sicknesses, no colds, no flu, I have not had heart burn or indigestion, I have not felt so full I could burst, my blood pressure and cholesterol levels are excellent, and my body feels great ALL THE TIME! My skin has cleared up, my pant size has decreased, and menstrual cramps have almost disappeared completely. I don't have cravings for greasy, salty food anymore and my body thanks me everyday for what I feed it. That was the best decision I could have made! Despite the weird looks people gave me, despite the negative comments I received from my friends, despite what our society perceives as normal, I knew what I was doing was best for me and my health and I've never felt better. The greatest thing is, life only gets better from here :) I want to live a long life, I want to provide all the healthy nutrients to my baby when I'm pregnant, I want to raise a family that understands the importance of being good stewards over their bodies. Live beautifully and life will be beautiful.