Simply Real: It's A New Year!!! {For me at least...}

Hellooooo!  I'm alive!  I'm sooo sorry that I've been MIA.  This pregnancy is really taking a toll on me (mostly morning sickness [all day long...] with the occasional migraine...).  But we're truckin' along... It'll all be worth it in the end.

Anyway... Today's my birthday!  As I was falling asleep last night I found myself reflecting back upon the past year.  So much has happened and changed!  It's been almost an entire year since Thomas and I both lost our jobs... just two months before my due date.  Even though my 23rd year may not have started off on the best of terms... The circumstances really gave Thomas and I the time to develop our faith and our marriage.  We were blessed to have such an amazing support system of friends and family who really helped us when Chloe was born.

Little Chloe-Ann... Probably the best thing that happened during my 23rd year.  Time really does speed up once you have a baby.  She's the most amazing blessing that Thomas and I have ever received and she honestly amazes us every single day.  In fact... Her birthday present to me was that she finally gained the confidence to stand without holding on to anything (I think she also likes the fact that Thomas and I cheer her on every time she stands with no hands). ^_^

The next biggest blessing had to have been the opportunity for my family and I to move to Washington.  We absolutely love it here and God has been setting everything up for us at the perfect times.  We can't wait to see what else the world has to offer us!

I have found that lately I've been setting more and more goals for myself... I don't know if it's because we're really on our own now and it's what's keeping me on track... or I'm just getting older and that's what grown ups do?  Anyway... I started thinking about things in my life that I could improve and make even better than it already is.

*Clears throat*

Here's my list of goals that I want to accomplish in the next year.

01 - Continue to build my relationship with God. 

Over the past year and a half I have truly found my faith and I am beginning to really feel happy and comfortable with what I believe in.  I now see how God plays a role in every aspect of my life... And that he constantly wants to shower us all with his love and blessings, while also teaching us very important life lessons.  I feel like I've learned a lot about patience and gratitude over the past year.  After losing our jobs I found myself truly putting my faith in God... that even when it seemed like we were about to stumble He would come through for us.  My relationship with God has really blossomed over this past year... And I look forward to continuing my beautiful spiritual and religious journey.

02 - Keep up with my blog!

I know... I didn't keep up with my New Year's resolution of putting up one post every week.  But I think I got pretty far for my first true shot at blogging... especially given the circumstances.  You know: moving over 2,000 miles away from all our family and friends, having a tough pregnancy thus far... I know... these are excuses.  But that's why I'm renewing my resolution for my New Year ;)

03 - Thomas.

Thomas and I have grown so much over the past year... not only as individuals, but also as a couple and as parents.  No relationship is ever perfect... and Thomas and I are constantly pushing each other to be the best that we can be.  I will admit that at times it can be a bit overwhelming to think that in six short months we will be welcoming Peanut into our family, but knowing that I have a strong and supportive husband quickly helps to calm my restless mind.  I look forward to everything this upcoming year has to offer Thomas and me. ♥

04 - Follow my heart.  Speak up.  Megan first.

What starts a lot of stuff between Thomas and I is the fact that I constantly put aside what I want to do just because I know it would make things easier for him or because I know it's what he would want.  I always joke with Thomas that couples sometimes fight about one person only thinking of themselves... Not because they're thinking of everyone but themselves.  I do see his point though... The more I try to do what only pleases others... the less I'm feeding my own happiness.  And your soul needs happiness.  Thomas keeps trying to explain to me that those who truly love and care about me will ultimately care about my well-being and happiness... If something doesn't truly make me happy then in the end those who matter most will understand.  I really want this next year to really be about finding myself as a mother, a wife, and a woman.


Well!  I guess this is a pretty beefy post... but I feel it was necessary.  I've honestly missed writing here!  Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to wish me a happy birthday, whether it was on Facebook, Instagram, or phone call, or text.  It truly meant a lot to me!  Thanks for sticking around through this journey with me!

The perfect song for this time in my life:

Photo Dump:

Exciting things are in store for our family!

More chances for Thomas to mess with me (he may stress me out but I always end up laughing).

More road trips and adventures!  This was to Bend, OR to visit an old friend of mine.  Hawai'i certainly is beautiful... but it's just a tiny drop in a lake when you think about what the rest of the world has to offer!

We got a kick out of this sign...

On the days that I'm feeling up to it... Thomas and I have been putting our food skills to the test!

Here's to more adventures and yummy eats!

Simply Honest: May Goals

I can't believe that I'm writing this post already... I feel like I just posted my April goals!

Anyway... Here's a go at a few new goals for this month.


1-  Be the Bigger Person.  I'm at a point in my life where I find myself doing a lot of reflecting... I think about how fast Chloe is growing up.  How fast our time in Hawai'i is coming to an end... and I think holy moly... it's really time to put the big girl pants on.  I think I've done a pretty good job at cutting down my excuses this month... but sometimes I lose sight of my goal and I give in to the urge of proving my point.  I know that there's no need to always argue my point... especially with Thomas.  So I need to be the bigger person... and I need to learn to move on.

2- Transition (as smoothly as possible) from Life in HI to Life in WA.  This is going to be a very big change for us... but we really couldn't be more excited and ready.  We know that home is always going to be here... and that provides us with a lot of comfort.  Now that we've gotten so far in making this dream a reality we wouldn't be able to forgive ourselves if we didn't take the leap.  We are determined to give this our all and we know that we always have our faith & family.

3- Put my Pinterest Boards to Use.  If you've read a few of my posts, you know I have an obsession with Pinterest.  I was telling my Mom and sisters that I pin all this crap and I barely use any of it!  Well... nows the time for me to put it all to use!  I've pinned so many yummy, healthy recipes... so many home decor DIYs... how to budget... how to meal plan etc etc etc... so I want to make it a point to put them all to use!

4- Improve & Keep Up with my Blog.  I cannot express how proud I am of myself for keeping up with this blog for this long!  I can proudly say that ever since the beginning of the year, I have posted at least one new post a week (and just last night I told Thomas we're one month away from being half way done with this year...whaaaaat?!).  Yay me!  I want to keep rolling with this forward momentum and make sure I see this through.  Now more than ever, it's important for me to keep up with this blog.  I know Gramaw Kathy will be faithfully reading every week and I don't want to disappoint her. ^_^

I'm going to be focusing a lot on making sure our move is a smooth one.  That's really one of my biggest goals for this month... But I promise to keep up with my New Year's Resolution of posting regularly and keeping this blog active.  Anywho... Chloe is getting anxious and wants to go hang out outside.  Have a great week everyone!

Here's a few pictures from this week!

Thomas grew up eating shave ice from John's Store in Liliha... so we had to take Chloe before we left.

We also wanted to have Tanioka's one last time.

My {crazy} sister, Shannon, has tempted us all into doing yet another monthly photo a day challenge... Today's word is "us". This is us over the years from dating, to marriage, and finally Chloe. So much as happened and changed over the ten years that Thomas and I have been together and we wouldn't change any of it. We're really excited for what God has in store for our little family!

April Goals

They say in order to break a bad habit (or to form a good one) you need to constantly remind yourself about what you're trying to accomplish.  So... that's what I'm going to do!  I want to start posting my monthly goals here so I can see them regularly, while listing smaller weekly goals on top of my monthly goals in my Erin Condren Life Planner.

Speaking of my Life Planner (which I'm still anxiously waiting for...), that leads me to the first of my goals: be more organized.  Last year, I did a pretty awesome job at keeping up with my planner.  I listed all of Thomas' and my appointments/meetings/when bills were due etc. etc.  When Chloe was born I sorta stopped using my planner and started to lose track of things.  Of course a large part of that was the fact that I was a new mommy and I had a newborn... but 7 months later, I think it's time to reorganize our lives and figure out a new system that works for all of us!

Next is to stop making excuses.  Thomas noticed that I said "I wanna do this..." or "I wanna try that..." a lot but I never actually did it.  When he asked me why not... I always had a list of excuses.  One day he told me that I'm full of excuses and that if I keep living that way I'll never get anything done.  So!  When I find myself about to make an excuse for why I'm not going to do something or why I should do it later... I tell myself cut the excuses and just do it.  It's amazing how much has changed since I took on this new attitude.  I find that I'm starting to do a better job at keeping up with things around the house (of course it's not perfect but I'm working on it!)... I get more done in a day while using my time wisely... and most importantly I make sure I (or if Thomas is home we all go) take Chloe outside for at least an hour.  One of our New Year's resolutions was to lead a more active lifestyle... and so far we're doing a pretty good job!  Chloe loves being outside... and we all get to spend more time together without sitting in front of a TV or computer.

This leads me to my next goal... I want to be active.  I want to make sure that I do some kind of activity that will benefit my mind and body... and essentially my soul.  Thomas started meditating a while back and he recently taught me what he does... it's nothing crazy technical.  Just focused breathing... and really focusing on relaxing and tensing certain muscles.  If I finish everything I need to do, I try to meditate while Chloe is down for a nap.  It's amazing how fast 10 minutes or even half an hour can go by.  Another favorite activity we love to do as a family is to walk...  And we'll walk anywhere!  The mall, the park, all around our hill.  If it's just Chloe and I... I'll walk for at least an hour to an hour and a half or I do an exercise my sister-in-law, Val, taught me.  What you'll need is a good area to run, with evenly spaced "markers".  These markers can be light poles... fence poles... anything that stretches a good distance with these markers consistently spaced the whole way.  So... What I do is I walk around a bit just to get warmed up.  Then I walk to this stretch of road near my house.  When I reach the first light pole on that street I start sprinting as hard as I can... as soon as I reach the next light pole I stop sprinting and I walk.  I walk until I reach the next light pole, which is where I begin sprinting as hard as I can again.  You continue to switch off sprinting, running, sprinting, running.  I try to do this for at least half an hour.  I try to make sure I go outside and exercise whenever Thomas works... which is usually five times a week now (we have a jogging stroller and Chloe loves to go running with us).  This is what works for us right now... and I want to make sure I keep it up and keep pushing myself to be healthier.

My last goal is probably going to be a life goal for me... I want to make sure that I do everything for a reason.  I don't want any of my actions to be wasted.  I have this one life to live... and I want to make the best of it for myself and my family.  I guess this goes a long with my goal of stop making excuses.  If I have the time and energy to improve myself or improve things for my family... I want to do it.  At the end of my life... I want to look back and know that I gave everything I had to live the best life that I possibly could.

Do you set goals for yourself?  If so... what are your goals for this month?

Until next time...