Long Time

I cannot believe it's been nearly a year since I last posted.  So much has happened in my Journey to My New Me.  Let's see if I can recap in a nutshell.

• My husband got offered a full time position with his dream job in the early part of 2015.  He's a software engineer and he's working for a great place.
• The kids finished well the 6th and 9th grades with straight A's for the year.  
• Both kids now have 2nd degree brown belts in Karate.
• We bought a new car near mid year and also a used car around that time, too.  So, yes, we now have 2 car payments.  Went from zero car payments to 2, but they are affordable for us.
• Moved out of my dad's home and into very our own home - a very comfy and nice 3 bed, 2 bath home in a great neighborhood that is closer to our kids' school, my husband's work, and church.
• I finally have a good handle on eating, exercise, and sleep like I never have before.  It's now very balance.  Since Jun'15, I have exercised or done some good physical activity for my body every single day.  At the end of this month, it will be 6 months of daily physical activity without fail.
• The kids are now in 7th and 10th grades and they are flourishing in academics.  Our son has received many trophies in Chess.  Both are doing well in karate.  Both kids are in choir.  Our daughter is in her 3rd year of Speech & Debate.  Our daughter tutors in college math.  Our son tutors in chess.  They have very busy lives.  Our daughter dropped a couple other extracurricular activities she was doing last school year because it's just too much as she prepares for college exams.
• I have been going through EMDR counseling since April to get rid of unhealthy brain programs and replace them with good programs and making great strides here.
• Been fairly aggressive with getting my soul wounds healed.  Have been learning a lot of stuff from Katie Souza on this, so if you want to know more, go to Expected End Ministries.
• Been doing Beachbody workouts since June.  Put my Zuzka workouts on hold as I'd been doing her stuff for years and just wanted a change.
• Learned about body rolling called Yamuna to compliment trigger point therapy work, as well as yoga and stretching.  This is really a very gentle way to release tight muscles.
• Started working on my dream actively.

I am really enjoying living closer to the kids' school as it really cuts down on my commuting time and allows the kids to be home and study more.  It's cut down on my husband's commute a lot, too.  Though, we still drive a lot of miles often.

We take period day trips and longer trips just to relax, for my husband to take pictures.  Another dream and hobby of his is his photography.  He has started to get into astrophotography on top of the landscape, animal, insect photography he does.  I do more life and people photography, and I like minimalist photography.

 

 

Now that we have our own kitchen and living room, dining room, most nights we sit together as a family to enjoy home-cooked meals I make most evenings during the week.  Love that my family can come home to a good home-cooked meal each day.  Love having our own kitchen and that we don't have to share.

I'm sure my dad is happy to get his house all to himself, even though I know he misses us.  I visit my dad at least once weekly, if not more and I get to enjoy my dad differently now.  My husband and kids try to visit at least once every other week.

And I go to my mom's once every other week, too.  I am learning to appreciate my parents more and just enjoy them.

God has been good and I hope I can share more with you in the months to come.  My time is a bit limited now as there is just too much on my plate.  But, if you want, you can check out my Facebook page (at the FB link) for more recent updates.