Pump it up!

Weather
Well ironically enough we have been having bipolar weather here. Some days 50s, others 40s with cold winds and today it was sunny and in the 70s. I believe tomorrow it will rain and go back to the 50s and even colder by the weekend. I blame the winter weather happening in the northern states. Yes, my family is finally getting snow. Go figure huh! **Update: Since I wrote this a lot of changes in the weather happened. Not only in Texas, but also in Illinois. My family finally did get snow, yes, but not only that but very harsh winds and it went below zero, to negative 27 degrees and feeling or actually feeling negative 17 degrees. The state declared to tell everyone to stay home and if you needed to work then be careful being outdoors and do not talk. I think I have never had to experience that, but only heard of it since I left and I think it has occurred twice since I left my hometown. My family is ok and they did stay home from work and I am glad.**

"But I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more"
No copyright infringement intended there! Well we are getting there at least, but that's a lot of walking. So far, we have been staying in 2 1/2 miles, give or take a little. We decided to add a mile once we complete a week with the same miles. It feels nice after the walk because it seems we can do more, but the sun doesn't stay too long for us to continue and our dogs, Ok one dog... Puppy, tend to stop at every pole sign or fire hydrant, but what can you do. So we will continue to do this until we can manage to jog and then eventually run. 

We have also decided to cut back on ordering out or buying food from restaurants and also eating healthy. Now, anyone who knows me or has been around me growing up I am very very picky and don't like healthy things or vegetables. I have grown to enjoy certain vegetables now and adapted myself to with some since my husband, Eric, knows what I like and don't like. Oddly enough he has found ways to add those veggies that I don't like in dishes he created from scratch or let me have my glory of making them into bigger chunks for me to remove them in my time. But back to the topic at hand, we have found other things to cut back in and add into our eating habits for them to be healthier. We never thought they would taste yummy or come out great, but you just need to try them out and see. Ironically I read an article on CNN stating that its not the exercise you need to worry about to loose weight, as my husband is trying to do to get healthy, but its the food you consume. Found this article right around the time that we started and decided to get healthy and be healthy for the new year. One thing that was a big hit for us was Cauliflower rice. Google it and it has been a replacement for us for actual rice, something we both miss dearly, but its for the best. 

Goals

We both have goals for this new year. I'm sure some were mentioned or heck, even talked about in the last blog post I did here not that long ago. Yes, one goal is to actually get healthy, exercise, run, and basically be more active. Another goal for both of us is to be more social. Between both of us, I am the more social person, who likes to go out to stores and just be out and have fun and not be stuck indoors. Eric, on the other hand, is a homebody and can just stay home and play video games all day. We both need to become more social and the only way to do so is to go out or have date nights with friends or just have game board nights with friends. Sometimes some people just can't commit to meetings that were planned and I have been through that or knew of such meetings and never was invited. It sucks, yes I know, but now I believe we both have friends that can keep these commitments and heck even make plans thinking of us or just without a second thought invite us right away. So I do believe we have this goal already in great progress with the new friends that maybe soon enough can call family if not already there.

Another goal of ours is traveling. We already have several planned out for the first half of the year. As always we made it a tradition to go to C2E2 in Chicago and we have already booked all for it. Within that goal, for me, I will take more photos of cosplayers and hopefully they turn out great this time. We do have another convention to go to in June with friends and we will make it as a tourist type of mini vacation as well, with all of them. I also believe they have planned another outing with them, of the camping type. I never have done camping cause of the fear of bears and well bugs, mainly all due to my parents. I really don't mind experiencing an event of that sorts once in my life and then I can just take it off my bucket list or just be able to say that I have done it to someone else. Well at least that won't be a goal that's broken or can't be done since there's already steps or plans happening. Another goal of mine, with the help of my husband, is to organize and decorate my house to my liking in which is already also in progress. Being active & eating healthy, traveling, being social with game nights/study groups/vacations, organization and so much more that I'm sure I can't even remember are things being written for us and need to be planned and they are in progress.

The firsts of 2018!

Weather
Don't get me started on this topic! Everyone doesn't want to hear about it anymore and well, I don't blame them not one bit. So, since my last post our weather did go back up to the 70s and I do believe they stayed around there. Once it hit the week of Christmas, then its when it got worse. We plummeted to the 50s, then 30s and during those mornings we were at teens if not 20s and only made it to the highs of the 30s. I'm sure no one expected that and at one point, we did get snow, but it didn't last that long and in total we had 2 days that we got snow. They were not back to back though and not even close to 2 inches on both times. Right now, we are expected to be in the 50s as the high and by the weekend, we might get to normal temps for this time of the year in Texas, which I do believe they are around the 70s/60s. We shall see about that!

2018 
So its the new year and I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and safe New Year! I bet most of you have made resolutions and I hope that they are being taken care of and if you slip, then no worries, you can get yourself back up and start again. If you didn't make any or just don't want to call them that, then it's ok. Just be the best that you can be, fix what you want to fix within yourself and around you and if there's something new you're going to try, then I hope you succeed and it goes into your favor. I myself have made resolutions or things that I want to accomplish to change myself or improve myself. It's not a long list, but it's definitely a short one so if I slip or forget then I won't be so hard on myself for "forgetting" or "failing". My list is:

1. Exercising- by working from feet to head and I will focus on only one part of my body for one month and change on to the next month. I might do 2 days within the week, if possible. I just might decide to do this on Sundays, so I have something to do while my husband is away at work and work my butt off during them to make up for the other day I might have missed or not do.
2. Photography- I will be doing a challenge on this. I found a great one online and will be doing it weekly. There are so many of them out there, but most of them are daily and I know I don't have the time to do those type, so I found one that is only weekly and as well focusing on what I need to work on, portrait. I need to improve on that since I'm not well in that department and I do need to improve a bit more on it. I will still be taking classes soon for it in March, so I would like to know or have the knowledge on it before entering the class.
3. Writing- I used to come up with short stories like there's no tomorrow or my dreams would help me with this to create one, but recently I haven't had a good dream to make it into a story/novel. I would like to get back into writing and if need to, improve on it. So I also found a daily challenge to make me think and improve on my writing. The challenge I found is a daily one, but I will be making it into a weekly one. I can't keep up with daily challenges and its why I make them into weekly.

Most of the challenges I'll be doing I'll be putting my progress or what I am doing in my tumblr page. So if you would like to keep up, be a supporter, or join me find the challenges there. I have already added my first writing challenge, so be sure to read it when you can. Most of them I have found on Pinterest, while others I searched for in the internet. So join me, read along or just be a good support system in reminding me to do these things. I do need to get into shape, get my brain working when I have tons of time, and improve on what I need to improve on.

The other challenge I have for myself is finding another job. As easy as the one I'm working in now is, it doesn't have its perks. No raise, lack of communication, and any other departments/accounts around me are less pay than what I'm getting unless you're licensed or they are seasonal. The only raise you get around here is if you turn team lead, supervisor, or trainer, anything of that nature that you potentially are not an agent anymore. Evidently, I will be looking for somewhere else by this year. I have told myself that I don't want to stick around a negative place for more than 3 years, well, I am already in the 3 year mark sadly. Hopefully I find something after March, since the photography classes I'm planning on taking are in March and this schedule I have now is a good fit for it. Once I learn more of that trade, I can make it into a side business for more income and I might focus on product photography as well. My husband is trying to get a small business going as well and might as well be his photographer for his products. More on his small business later, once it picks up.

The X-Files
Well it is back! For you friends of mine who are fans of it as well, what did you think of the first episode of season 11? Were you disappointed in it? Happy? Shocked? Did you throw a big party and didn't invite me to it?

Well let's just say that I was happy it came back, but shocked towards the end of it. Although the opening title did give us a small clue or eye opener, I bet it is that. If you haven't seen it, then I'm trying not to disclose too much detail, but you should go and see it! I will be or wanting to make some pointers on this, but I think I shall wait on it. There are some other shows I'm waiting for them to come back up, like Handmaids Tale, Mindhunters, Humans and well luckily Black Mirror came back already, but I'm sure I have a bigger list on this. I will need to back track on it. Do you have any shows that you liked and would recommend to someone else? How were they memorable and why?

Well, we shall see what the new year will bring for my husband and me. Hopefully its more fun adventures of travel, of learning new things, and any other way possible and that God let us enjoy them as well. Hopefully for you, the reader, I hope its a better year than the last and that it brings you joy and well safe and healthy one too!

New Year, New beginnings!

So, it's the new year! I hope that everyone got what they wanted for Christmas and that 2016 is better and eventful, in a positive way, for everyone! I know everyone usually does a list of goals, also called New Year Resolutions. I try not to do such things since I know I won't complete them. I guess to not fall into the incrowd I made a list and have called it "Something Different 2016". Since the list has been written and made in my tumblr, I will post the link to it here so I won't have to write it again.

Something Different 2016

So what is different thus far?
*water, girlyness, reading, Caffeine, fruits & tv.

*Water: I have been drinking more of it,forcing myself to actually. I never cared for it, but needing to if I want to stay healthy.

*Girlyness: I cut my hair shorter than what I am used to & I'm trying to get into the styles that are out there with still going with my style (clothes wise), Good 'ole Pinterest for this and the help!

*Caffeine: I only drink decaf coffee now. I never realized how caffeine was affecting me and when I quit, I did go through depression and headaches. It was not fun, but it only lasted for like a week and a half.

*Fruits: they are next just like veggies. I never liked zucchini and others like it, but Eric has made them into ways that I would and are healthier for the both of us and that is in spaghetti form.

*Tv: It's getting there.. at least with substituting somewhat educational shows, but I still do need my sci-fi fix show wise! Speaking of shows..

Flash-backs
I wanted to see several shows that I stopped watching mid season. Why did I stop? Life or work got in the way at the time and I never was able to keep up after. Lost, Heroes and Fringe are some of the shows that I finished watching or just started watching on Netflix. I watched them when they first aired, but stopped and couldn't keep up, so now I finished Lost and Heroes. The endings.. what the hell?! On both!

I have seen Daredevil and Jessica Jones and both look promising and glad that they will continue. If anyone wants to discuss any of the shows that I have seen, I don't mind it. I am currently watching "Making a Murderer" and so far it irks me that the system is crooked, but also that Eric and me have pointed out several things or DNA evidence they never done and could do to prove it all. Anyways, let's see what else we can watch.

There are other things changing in our lives. We recently got a basketball and a basketball hoop by our garage and also some bikes and that's how we will get in shape. We both need to for a wedding coming up for us. Eric has been wanting to loose weight and get healthy, so hopefully it'll all work out. We also got in mind to organize the house more, add a bigger patio, just make it more homey somehow. Hopefully we can fix all this this year and get it done. Also I'm going to, or my best, is to get my photography up or learn it better and work on it. I need to get art in my life again, I miss it so. We will see how this goes as well.