Over the past 6 months, Seth and I have started to make little changes in our lives.

Some of our little changes:

At the first sign of a sore throat/cold we take Black Elderberry Extract.  This stuff is AMAZING!!!

We cut out Hydrogenated Oils and High Fructose Corn Syrup from our diet.

I use Olive or Coconut Oil for cooking now.

We purchased  a juicer, which means every Sunday morning i have fresh squeezed orange juice.

With our dehydrator,  i  have all the dehydrated fruit, fruit roll ups and jerky i want.

Another change came about after i read a blog called Girl on Bike. Here is a little about her, in her own words:

Hi, I’m Kendra. I live in Oakland, California on my own little urban homestead.  I ride my bike everywhere, cook from scratch, grow my own produce, make as much myself as possible, swap for things I need, and urban forage. I like to blog about these things as well.

The first post that i read was about  how she no longer shampoos her hair, i was definitely intrigued and had to read on.  I thought i could never use Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar to wash my hair.  (I still haven’t tried it, i am so nervous)

Then I  saw her link for homemade deodorant.  I immediately went out and bought the supplies (coconut oil, corn starch, baking soda), but couldn’t bring myself to make it (again nervous).  I was afraid it wouldn’t work.  So i told myself I would make the homemade deodorant when I ran out of the store-bought kind. Well, that day was today!

I got out all my supplies and followed her directions.  It was very easy to make.  The true test will be when i use it tomorrow.   I will have to let you know how it goes…

That obsession has turned into my mailbox being full almost everyday now.

What kind of free stuff have i received?

• This week alone I received:
• Shape Magazine
• Muscle & Fitness Magazine
• Metropolitan Home Magazine
• Town & Country Magazine
• Loreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara (full size)
• GloMinerals eye shadow in Cheerful (full size)
• Olay Total Effects Body Wash (2 oz size)
• Engo Blister Prevention Patches
• Clorix Disinfecting Wipe (single use)
• Loreal Ever Pure Sulfate-Free Shampoo & Conditioner (single use)
• Garnier Skin Renew Daily Eye Cream (2-3 uses)
• Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo & Conditioner (single use)

That was just this week!!! I have received calendars, tons of cereal samples, mini toothpaste, full size jar of Olay Professional Pro-X Night Cream (which is amazing!!), bunch of different shampoo and conditioner samples as well as lotions and body washes.

I have signed up with a couple companies where I try new products for them.  I try the product, then i tell them how i liked it, what i would change.  They give me samples and a bunch of coupons to pass out to my friends.

I also signed up with a survey company that pays me $3 for every survey!  With the economy the way it is, every $3 counts!

I will post the blogs that i read that have freebies, coupons and other giveaways!!!  Many of them are limited (ie the first 25,000 people to respond…), so you have to act fast.

I enjoy clipping coupons and find great deals to get the best use out of the coupons.  Its interesting to know that people spend their time researching which stores have certain items on sale price, which if you use a coupon when the item is on sale you get the item for really cheap!!

I miss my family and can’t wait to be there in 25 days!!!!!!

Then we went to meeting! My congregation finally got to meet my mom!  It was great!

After meeting, we drove up to Austin and went to OASIS for dinner.  Oasis is a restaurant overlooking Lake Travis.

It was crazy!!  We got there and there was NO parking.  The restaurant seats 2,500 people and we were there on a holiday weekend…We were nuts!   Once seated, we ordered.  YUMMY food!!

After we ate, we walked outside the restaurant and there was a guy taking pictures of people on the Longhorn.  We  decided to all jump in for the picture. 

Seth got to sit on the Longhorn…It was fun and yet scary at the same time.

Monday we went to the Guadalupe river with Seth’s family.

My mom finally got to meet Aunt Pat, Cousin Bill, Jen, Ava, Bella and Wyatt!

Jilly is helping Wyatt over to “mermaid island”

We had a great time relaxing!!

Tuesday, Seth and I took mom and Jilly to the airport.

Greatest weekend ever!!!

We drove out to Lockhart to go to dinner at Black’s Barbecue.  Good food!!

Friday morning I had to go to work, but everyone was up early that morning… They picked me up for lunch and we went to Palmer’s.  Yummy food and beautiful atmosphere!!

Friday night we went to Landa Station for Karaoke!  It was so much fun! We started off the night by singing the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song!!!  Too much fun!!!  I sang More Than Words by Extreme, Seth sang Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd and Jill sang Against All Odds(take a look at me now) by Phil Collins.  We had a great time!

Saturday we went thrift shopping, found tons of good stuff!! Jill bought 3 hats (sailor, straw, train conductor’s hat).  I won a piece of art at an auction at Goodwill.  Mom  bought a book.

We went to  Allen’s Boot Shop on South Congress!!  It was so much fun trying on tons of different pairs.

It was so much fun, we decided to all get a pair!!

Mom’s have stars, Jill’s have flower and mine are motorcycle boots!!!

to be continued….

I nannied and worked for a temp agency in San Diego.

When we moved here in July, I started to work part-time watching Ava weekday mornings. Bella was born in November, so i got to watch both of them.

In November, I added some hours by working part time (evenings/weekends) for L’Occitane at the oulet mall.

I have been looking for a full time job ever since we moved here.  Today I got a call from Texas State University offering me a position!!!

I start July 13th and it will be full time with benefits!!!

The position is Data Entry-Prospects in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

I will find out more about the position when I start on Monday. Here is where I will be working, my office is in the “sunroom.”

I will try to keep my blog updated regularly.

Seth & I got to go to the cabin in Canyon Lake with the family.  It was so beautiful and relaxing!  Here are some pictures from our day…

Seth and Uncle Steve relaxing with a beer while the steaks cook!

Ava and Aunt Pat

Bella enjoying a bottle …Wyatt in the background

Aunt Pat, Cindy and Ava making the sides for dinner…

Cindy, Bella and me at the river…

Close up of Bella…

Steve & Pat in the paddle boat  and Wyatt in the water…

Brad in a kayak…

Seth in kayak…

Ava doing some fishing…

The boys…

Great picture of Uncle Steve and Aunt Pat …

A wonderfully relaxing day….

The bride rode up in a horse drawn carriage.

The wedding was outside of the barn.

I snuck inside the barn to take this picture of the kiss!

The amazing bouquet!

The cocktail hour and food was inside the barn..

The dinner was out in the tent behind the barn.

have a look inside…

The tall centerpieces…

And the short centerpieces…

Rachael also fixed up the cake…

and my favorite picture…

What a fun wedding!!!  After the wedding we went to Inoz in Wimberly for dinner.  We had a great dinner and conversation.

Jill arrive on Thursday evening!!!  We took her to Stubbs for dinner.  We had some bbq!  Then we dropped Seth off at school and headed to The Domain to meet up with our aunt Kendra and cousin Lauren, who is stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen, TX.  Kendra is in town this week because Lauren is about to have her baby!!  We can’t wait for Aiden Mike Thompson to arrive!!

We enjoyed some coffee while sitting in rocking chairs outside…what a perfect night!!

Friday we did some  shopping in Austin.  We went to Monkey See Monkey Do, Parts & Labour, and New Bohemia.  Then we headed to the Hula Hut for dinner and drinks!  It was great sitting above the lake enjoying the company!!

Saturday we relaxed around the house.  Then i had to go to work for a few hours.   Jill took Max to the river!  Max did some swimming and had fun with the other dogs.

Yes, Max has a life vest!

After I got home from work, we went to  TX Red’s  Steakhouse for dinner with Aunt Pat & Uncle Steve.  This is probably the best steakhouse in San Marcos! Good food, great conversation  with amazing people!

Sunday morning we went to Lake Austin (aka Lady Bird Lake) to do some canoeing!  I was skeptical at first.  But i must admit, i had a blast!

It was such a beautiful day!  It was cool and overcast!

View of Downtown Austin….

Downtown Austin

Jilly taking a break!  lol

Finally, a picture of all 3 of us on the lake!

After canoeing, we went to Chuy’s for lunch.  Chuy’s is yummy tex mex food.  We went to meeting,  then went to Grin’s for dinner with some friends.

Monday morning the news said:

The National Weather Service (NWS) has placed Hays County under a tornado watch until 1 p.m., and a flash flood watch until 4 p.m.

Oh great!  Last time Jilly was here Hurricane Ike was the threat!  Now this!

Jilly got packed up and we headed to Austin.  We stopped by Urban Outfitters, then to the airport.  It was pretty rainy and trafficky.   We got her to the airport in time and there were no delays!  We said our goodbyes.

I think we accomplished our 3 goals for the weekend.

Love ya Jilly!

Me and Rachael on Saturday:

Rachael,Tamra and me on Sunday:

Saturday morning was wet and humid, so everyone’s hair was frizzy…lol

But it cleared up for lunch time.  We all ate outside at the picnic tables.

These are some of our new friends Gaylin and Misty, they just moved here from California!!  Instant bond!!!

Here are their cute kids, Micah and Ezra:

Here is another great family in my congregation! Dana & Sharon and the kids are Trevor and Maddy!

Me, Zita, Yvette and Michelle….why do the guys always have to mess up the good pictures??