The Other Side

I haven't been blogging much. I want to be a blogger; a savvy and chic wifey who effortlessly encapsulates her life in a beautiful blog and inspires the world...Yeah, ain't no body got time for that! At least I haven't. Ha. Nevertheless, I am attempting to get "back into it". We shall see how that goes.

Lately I have been reflecting on seasons of life that I have been through, and the faithfulness of God seen in hindsight through those seasons. I've been through so many seasons that looked grim and fruitless, with no end or escape in sight. Yet, somehow, I have come through them barely scathed and stronger than before. I want to relive a few of the most significant seasons from the past 4 years here to explore the similarities and the character of God throughout these tough times.

2012. Newly married and moved our lives to Sydney, Australia. Following the call of God on our lives, believing He would sustain us and taking a huge step of faith. Through negative patterns of thinking and a bad habit of worrying, anxiety crept back into my head and body. Things were hard our first 6 months in Oz, and it was hard to see a better way of living through the massive rent cost and expense of living. Could God still reach us here? Would He reward our faithful step out to follow where we heard Him call? Of course! It was so hard then, but God provided every small step of the way and made the impossible possible.

December 2012. Alex needed a job. We needed a car. No money, and my work closed for a few weeks over the holidays. We were able to buy a car and Alex was able to work when I couldn't and we made ends meet and then some. We are so blessed, and God is so faithful.

2013 & 2014. A few times throughout these next few years, we came to the point where we had no way of paying rent the next week. What with hefty bills due and car registration every year as well as medical bills (Alex had pneumonia at one point). However, we have never not been able to cover all costs we needed to. God keeps coming through in the most amazing ways. We have never been without.

2015. Need a new visa to stay in Australia. First application didn't work out. Then assuming we could get the $2,100 refund, somehow we needed to come up with money for medical insurance to cover two years up front and all of this before the school term starts in April. All this, and I am not eating, not sleeping, and trembling with anxiety as that worry habit creeps back. Finally, God wanted me to work through this and learn to trust Him. And of course, He came through. Every single expense was taken care of by miracle after miracle. We could not have done it by ourselves. He is faithful!

Now, its June 2015. And we are in a position financially that feels eerily similar to these previous accounts. Somehow, even though we've been working hard, wise with our money, and living pretty much at bare minimum to try and save, bills and other expenses have us at a low point again. And with Heart for the House, our church's big over and above offering coming up and a big number God has put in our hearts to give, we don't see how we will make it through this month.

But, neither of us are stressing this time. Why? Because we can look back at the seasons we've been through before and remember that God will always bring us through to the other side of the season and we can face any other seasons that come our way. In His strength and with His provision, we know so well now that God will never leave us without. And you can also trust that He will take care of you, I hope that our story encourages you if you are in a hard season.

"Those who look to God for help will be radiant with joy. No shadow of shame will ever cover their faces."

Psalm 34:5

DIY Project This Week!

I was scrolling Pinterest last week and I came across a post (which I can't find now, otherwise I'd link to it!) and I got the idea to make my own headboard for my queen size bed. I had never thought of that before, and it looked like you could make it for only $30-40 (better than $300 for one at the furniture store!) I then went on a mission to look up other tutorials for headboard making and I found quite a few! I found this tutorial on Thrifty & Chic which explains really well how to go about making a headboard and even how to make it cheaply! Then I went even further and looked at this blog, in which the headboard was made with cardboard instead of plywood. I decided I could do the cardboard, and then realised that if I did that, it may not cost me a thing. Sa-weet! So I gathered my materials and got to work.

I would advise doing some more research before getting to work, because I had to spend more time figuring out the measurements and size after I was already set to just start building! I ended up measuring 61" wide by 60" tall (it stands on the floor behind the bed and is not wall mounted, although you could wall mount it and save money by making it shorter). Materials I used were: two large heavy duty cardboard pieces I got for free after a kids camp at church, egg-carton foam I took from my hubby's drum cage in the garage (I asked nicely:) which he was using for sound muffling but I decided he'd be ok without it.. (I think he got it for free from a friend), one of our old sheets (also free, wedding gift but don't fit our bed anymore), duct tape (already had), needle & thread and staples & st
apler (also already had), and buttons which were $10 from the craft store.

Here is how I did it in picture form, but check out one of the above tutorials if you want really good steps for making one yourself!!!

 

 

 

 

And here is the final product!!!

 

 

What's For Dinner?

...this is the usual question I find myself asking. I've just dipped my toe recently into meal planning, but still find myself behind sometimes!

This week I'm sharing a quick, easy dinner recipe that my friend sent me on Pinterest. It's from this site if you want it and 13 other awesome meal ideas, but my friend knew that this would be a winner with my pizza loving hubby! (I only just noticed that on the site it is listed as a good children's meal... guess we're kids at heart!)

I literally took one look at the picture and then got what I had from the cupboard and fridge for toppings. We even made it "healthy" with barley/wholewheat wraps!
I give you, The Pizzadilla!

 

Ingredients:

Whole wheat burrito wraps

Shredded cheese

Red Onion

Green pepper (capsicum)

Pizza sauce (we used Italian herb red sauce)

Olives

Pepperoni

(Any other toppings you desire!)

Red sauce for dipping

 

How to:

Prepare your wrap using only one half of it.

Add sauce, then any toppings you desire!

Fold the wrap over the half and flatten gently

Spray a flat pan with oil and have it over medium high heat

Pop the wrap with toppings inside into the pan and cook until cheese melts and wrap is crispy, flipping once

Cut into slices when cool and dip in red sauce to eat!





 

 

Vwa-lah! This one definitely goes into my recipe book as "Husband Approved". He ate two pizzadillas and one filled me up! It was fun putting on all the toppings together and making our own. Hope you try it and enjoy!

...and they continued to live happily ever after!

I really can't believe that it's been so long since I've updated this blog... oops! Well, I've decided it would be good for me to get back into it so no better time than the present, eh?

This post is truly an 'adventure in love'! It's about how Alex and I just celebrated the third anniversary of our wedding!

I was sure that we wouldn't do much to celebrate because, well, our bank account looks a bit sad! But little did I know, he had a spectacular surprise planned! He actually sold one of his cymbals so that he could fund raise to do something nice for us... cue "Awwww!!!"

I worked a full day on the 10th, so he picked me up from work and we headed off into the sunset! Literally. We drove for two hours and I was still in the dark about what we were doing. We arrived about 6:45pm at Ettalong Beach, and the Mantra resort was our destination. "What!?" I exclaimed over and over. "Whatever!!! How did you do this!?" Alex just smiled cheekily. He had booked us a room for the night in this super nice place ("and came under budget!" he proudly exclaimed). So this was the surprise! Except there was more. We checked into the hotel, and then he drove us to our dinner destination; La Fiamma, a delicious woodfire pizza place in town. He had done all of this research beforehand so he would know where to take me for meals! We enjoyed our room for the night, popping popcorn in the microwave and enjoying a bubble bath in the Jacuzzi tub!

The next morning we enjoyed a sleep in and then rushed off on a walk down the beach. Ettalong doesn't have any good swimming beaches, but it was still beautiful. We ended up leaving the hotel late for whatever Alex had planned so we walked a bit briskly. I was thinking, "All this town has is little boats and a measly beach, what could there possibly be to be late for!?" Nevertheless, I trusted him to lead me to the next surprise. Which included stopping at a cute local coffee shop (Coast 175) for coffees! Next stop was the end of a dock. Hmm. What did that mean? He explained that he had wanted to stay at Palm Beach because he remembered that I wanted to go there some time but that there wasn't any nice accommodation over there. So he got our place in Ettalong, which has a ferry service that takes you across the bay to Palm. Genius! So in a few minutes we would board the ferry and spend the day at Palm. Which ended up being amazing and fun, including eating lunch at the famous Boathouse (can you say giant prawn feast!?)

We dipped into the water a bit and enjoyed some throwing of our American football in the sand. We took some time in the sun and peaceful breeze to reflect on how much we've grown in the past three years and talk about where we see ourselves in three more years (kids, eh?). It was a bit hard to admit that I didn't really trust him to handle things when we first were married, and to hear him say that I was much harsher and more stubborn back then. But it was god to see that we've both grown out of those habits and grown more loving and encouraging of each other. In the late afternoon we took the ferry back and packed up the car to head home from our amazing beach getaway!

Alex truly blessed me and blew me away with his planning of this surprise getaway. He put so much effort into it and it was such a success. I realised that I have a bit of an issue with not knowing what is going to happen, as waiting for the surprises had me a little anxious, but it is something I want to work on because surprises should be fun! We had a blast and it was so nice to get away from people (we live with 5 others) and have some space and quiet to ourselves! It was also so fun to explore a new place in Australia. Here's to three years and many more to come! I truly have the most amazing husband!! Here's some fun pictures from our getaway!

The 7 Day GM Diet

As some of you know I've recently tried this seven day cleanse called the GM Diet (yes, GM does stand for General Motors). It's a quick diet that lets you eat all you want each day, but you can only eat what's allowed for that day. Like day 1 for example is all fruit, all the fruit you want but only fruit. I won't be explaining everything about the diet here, so if you want to read up more about it and how it works, you can visit gmdietworks.com.

I had done this about two months ago and had amazing results. It was really hard for me the first three days because I have a bad habit of just snacking constantly...and my belly knows it! It was hard for me to go an afternoon without crunching on some carb-y snacks like pretzles or popcorn. But since I kept to it so well, I had amazing results.

Keep in mind that I was working two jobs as well as working out along with tis diet. Here is my day-to-day diet journal.

Day 1: Fruits
I ate mostly melons, berries, and apples
I found that crunching on Ice helped my craving for munching on things
I set aside the berries as a sweet treat when I needed it
I really realized that most of the time in my day I am thinking about food and am focused on what I will eat next. It was weird to not have that to focus on so I had much more free thinking time
I drank 12 glasses of water (very important for the diet to get enough water intake)
Went to bed tired and cranky!

Day 2: Veggies
Woke up feeling amazingly rested and happy
Ate the potato for brekky reluctantly (ew)
Just ate raw veggies all day until later when I ate cooked corn and veggie soup
Air popped some popcorn to ease the craving (its a veggie right!?)
Drank 10 glasses of water
Didn't do any working out yet
Went to bed early tired and with a headache

Day 3: Fruit and Veg
Not as hungry this day
Less craving carbs and sweets
Fruit salad all morning, veggies for snacks
Got creative and made mashed cauliflower for dinner (yUM!)
Ate raspberries for dessert (my fav!)

Day 4: Bananas!
Down 4 kilos already!
Made a banana shake with milk, so gross, bad idea (I don't like bananas in this form)
Had to have a popcorn snack (air popped, barely any calories)
Had some of the soup as well which is allowed
Ran for 12 minutes straight and felt so alive!
Bananas for snack, not even hungry for dinner

Day 5: Tomatos and Beef
Feeling really great, energy and alive!
Ate tomato for brekky (gross, I hate tomatos)
Ate beef and seasoned diced tomatos for lunch
Not craving much, less hungry than previous days
Beef and tomatos again for dinner but not even very hungry

Day 6: Beef and vegatables
Already so skinny! Tight tummy and 5 kilos lost
Carrot for brekky
Beef and corn for lunch, hot dog for dinner (had to, I was babysitting and forgot my food)
Veggies for snacks
Feeling amazing, so much energy

Day 7: Veg and Fruit (+rice)
Apple for brekky
Veggies salad for lunch
Not even hungry for snacks or sweets

Conclusion: 13 lbs lost
I ended up with so much energy, less craving, less hungry, greater portion control (who knew I needed to only eat so little to actually be full and I didn't have to stuff my face all the time?!) I was able to run and exercise with all the energy I had. I feel so awesome!

I was able to continue eating well after this diet was over. The main thing about this diet, since it is a crash diet that loses a lot of weight quickly is that you have to want to keep the weight off by using the diet to kickstart a change of eating habits. If you just go back to the way you were eating before you will definitely gain everything back. I continued with the principles I had learned from the diet and was able to keep all of the weight off and continue to feel great and healthy. (That is of course until I went home to the States and ate my heart out on American food. When we got back I did the diet again with similar results!)

I recommend this for people who will actually commit to making the sacrifices all week and who want to jump start a healthier lifestyle with awesome results right off the bat! And what you've all been waiting for, here is my before and after collage! Tell me how you go if you try this!

Recipe of the Week: Stuffed Zucchini!

What's that in the oven smelling so good? Oh, you know. Just some stuffed zucchini I whipped up. What's that you ask? Well I'll tell you!

I was going through Pinterest (I know, the P-word. I start so may sentences with "I was on Pinterest, and...") as I do every once and a while to actually write down the recipes I've pinned into my recipe notebook on my fancy little tablet. I LOVE to organize things, and my recipes are definitely important. As I was looking at this recipe online, my hubby was sitting next to me and happened to glance over. I usually try to cook new things every week so he is used to seeing "weird" recipes. (He's into simple meals; pizza or canned soup is what he'd eat without me!) But when he looked over and saw the picture for this meal, he said, "I'd actually eat that!" Which surprised me and made me super pumped to make it this week.

Here it is! It was SO delicious, I'm definitely making it again.

Ingredients:

3 large zucchini
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chorizo sausage, chopped
pinch of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup feta cheese, chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped

Instructions:

"Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
In a skillet, add the ground beef and cook until it's no longer pink. Add the cumin, salt and pepper to it and stir well. Add the chorizo sausage and spaghetti sauce and cook for another 5 minutes, over medium heat.
Wash and cut the zucchini lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh.
Fill each zucchini half with some of the meat mixture. Top with shredded cheddar cheese, feta and tomatoes.
Bake for 15 minutes. "
I found it hard to figure out how to scoop out the zucchini but finally got the hang of it. Also, I chopped up the innards that I'd scooped out and heated it with the rest of the filling because I felt like it was a waste not to, and it made it more veg-tastic!

Hope you try it and enjoy!


Credit: Recipe from http://www.jocooks.com/main-courses/pork-main-courses/stuffed-zucchini/

Remembering Home

If you don't know, Alex and I have recently returned to Australia from a 6-week holiday back home to America! We spent the time catching up with friends, visiting family, eating (A LOT), and relaxing. God truly blessed our trip; flying was smooth sailing the whole way through customs and everything, we were blessed financially beyond belief, and built friendships and greater family relationships.

We weren't sure how the cold would feel to us tropical climate acclimated folk, but it wasn't too bad. I was so excited to have a REAL Christmas (chilly, snow, tree hunting, family, cocoa, etc) and it didn't disappoint.