Happy New Year 2013

The first day of the New Year is a groggy one for most! Most people around the world stay up WAY too late ringing in the New Year, maybe have a little too much to drink and usually wake up so exhausted their day just drags on. Not for me. Although I was sleepy from the 3am bed time! 

I welcomed 2013 with a great group of people! We played a fun game of laser tag, (sounds "teenagerish" but was REALLY fun!) watched the ball drop and enjoyed laughs and conversation. These amazing people I spent NYE with, I've known forever! Dave and I have been back in Oregon for three weeks, visiting our hometown and catching up with people we grew up with. One great thing about growing up in a small town (there are many) is meeting up around the holidays, catching up, and starting right where we left off when we saw each other last year. I love it! 

Such a GREAT group of people!

This evening Dave and I FINALLY got to meet up with our amazing friends Austin and Meghann and meet their adorable daughter, Emma, who is 5 months old.

Emma Grace

She is PRECIOUS. Lots of smiles, which of course, brought smiles to my face. Emma's mommy has been one of my best friends for 10 years and I was so blessed to be able to meet her beautiful daughter and catch up with their sweet little family.

We leave back to Hawaii on Friday the 4th, so our trip is coming to an end. Sad thought, but back to life, back to reality! I'm so blessed and this trip has been wonderful. Just the break we needed to refresh ourselves this holiday season.

xoxo -H

When Will These Sicknesses LEAVE?

Oh my goodness! It seems as though I cannot fight off these sicknesses going around! Yikes!

Over the last two months I’ve had the flu, two upper respiratory infection and the leftover is a dry cough that I can’t seem to get away from. Herbal tea at night, grapefruit extract in the morning, peppermint herbal supplements during the day. I’ve even stooped to taking OTC meds, putting chemicals in my body... {Can’t be healthy for you}.

What is this teaching me? LIFE GOES ON! We just have to press forward, because the world doesn’t stop for us to get better. Work, school, house duties.. The list goes on and on.These past few weeks definitely make me wonder how moms deal with this! It gives me a respect for them like none other. If I had kids in this mix, it would not be good. I’d survive though-- Because all moms seem to! “kudos to moms everywhere”

Anywho! Today was full of tests, homework and now I’m off to bible study. It ALWAYS makes me feel better when I meet up with other ladies. We are all in this together!

XO everyone -- Feel better!

-H

42 Days Left! Just “Stick With It”

Surviving the holiday festivities during my Challenge...

Well, it’s a Challenge!!

 

 

My goals when I started this (My 2nd) Challenge was to build muscle by adding about 5 lbs of lean muscle mass. I wanted to continue eating every 2-3 hours feeding my body with lean proteins, complex carbs, fresh veggies and delicious fruits. The foods have stayed the same, my diet is strict for the most part {Although, I don’t say no to splurges every now and then}. But my gym time has definitely gone down AND with all the hustle and bustle of the last month I’ve been eating only 3-4 times a day. I haven’t noticed my weight go up, but I’ve lost some of my “tone”. NOT GOOD! I don’t want to go backwards. I’ve already lost 30 lbs and 20 inches. I’m not willing to mess up my progress over a few lazy excuses.
So, I’ve revamped my Challenge, I’m not letting my non-progress get me down! The new name of my Challenge is Stick With It! Basically I know I’m not going to see amazing definition or weight loss through the holidays, but I can maintain ALL of my success so far and I can CHOOSE to not go backwards.
Holiday parties, traveling across the Pacific to visit family and of course tasty festive foods will not bring me down. I will accept them in moderation, keeping my eye on the goal!
When I step on the scale January 1, 2013. I will be PROUD of myself!

How great is that? Most people will not feel this way unfortunately, but if you’d like to join me--- I’d love to have some support! We need each other. Cheers to the New Year!

XO
Hannah

Loving the Sunshine with A Good Friend

I received a phone call the other day from a friend whom I've known and who has been a great friend of mine for 18 years. He recently graduated Nursing school and wanted to take a quick trip to Hawaii before he starts his new job. Basically, I received a phone call and 30 hours later was picking him up at the airport. {Great to have friends who live in Maui}

It's ALWAYS fun to have visitors! Our schedule is all messed up, we fall a little behind on our to-do list and spend more money than budgeted, but LOVE every minute of showing our guests this BEAUTIFUL island!

Dave, Matthew & I 



We hit up the beach, trailed through the jungle, tasted tropical fruits & enjoyed everything in the Aloha spirit :)

AMAZING! Sad that he leaves tomorrow, but it's back to the grind for us!

Aloha

xoxo -Hannah

Live Abundantly in Ephesians

I am a Christian. Christ is my first and foremost passion. As Christians or anyone really, it's so hard to get caught up in the things of this world! What we want others to see us as, our worth, our bank account, our looks, our stuff... All of these perishable earthly things. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against ANY of these things. I want to be worth something, I enjoy swiping my plastic knowing there is money in there, I love feeling healthy and having a body that shows it. What I often forget it is Who gave it to me. Who gave me these earthly blessings, my looks, my heart, my passions, my physical/spiritual wealth. Jesus did.

The world is constantly trying to trap us into thinking we are in charge of our own "beings" and the universe is what centers us, while yoga balances us and herbal tea restores us. PLEASE don't get me wrong, I enjoy yoga and drink tea like crazy!! But those things are not what fills me. The ONLY reason I am here right now is because of my relationship with my Lord and the ONLY reason I have the things I do is because of my relationship with my Lord. He is where I find peace, love, harmony, balance, restoration and my center.

This past week was a re-focus week for me. Getting right and remembering WHO I serve! Saying, "My Will for Your Will". There is nothing better. Period.

Having my father-in-law visit last week was great, he is a pastor and has a passion for Christ I have never seen in anyone else! Even though he is my father-in-law and has, over the years, done those "father-in-law" kind of things {I will leave it at that, LOL}... He remains my pastor and someone I respect very highly in my Christian walk. It was because of him 10 years ago, sharing his passion for Christ with his youth group that I began my {serious} walk with the Lord. So spending time with him this week was so nice and refreshing.

I'm currently doing a study through the book of Ephesians.

Do you do a daily Devotional? Tell me about it! Let's connect!

XO ~ Hannah

Sustainable Beginnings...

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!

I started a garden.

This news is HUGE! If you know me AT ALL, you know I am not the “gardener” type.

I grew up shadowing two beautiful women, my mother and grandmother. I shadowed them and embraced everything they stood for, except gardening. They both had/have flourishing gardens, have flown to other countries to visit flourishing gardens and know every singe name of every single flower/plant out there. A great afternoon to them is getting their hands in the dirt. This has never been me. I actually swore off gardening when I was a testy pre-teen. “I will NEVER EVER have a garden or buy a flower of ANY kind!” Now, I’m 25 and I’m going to humbly take back those words, re-open my memory bank and try to recall everything they spoke of when chatting about their gardens. They always said, “One day, Hannah. One day!” The day has come and I am so excited to get my hands in the dirt and make a garden, Vegetable Garden to be exact.

One of my New Years Resolutions is to be more “sustainable” in the year 2013. It’s so vogue right now! Everyone, everywhere is trying to be environmentally conscious and sustainable. I'm going to join in with the crowd on this one. When we moved into our little bungalo-style home. Our garden was full of grass/weeds/vegetables I will never use. So I decided to start fresh and pull everything out, except for the beautiful papaya tree. I LOVE papayas and I'm going to baby that tree until it makes me some tasty ones. And I left an amazing rosemary bush that I've been getting rosemary off of almost every night to cook.

Here's what my garden looks like now--- It's tiny & barren :(

My tiny garden plot...

This will SOON change! I have starts of different flowers and veggies (see pic below) and I've planted butter lettuce, Tomato plants, Basil, Cilantro, Cucumber, Peppers AND lavender. I'm really excited to see my little buds pop up and even more excited to have a garden I can eat out of!

Starts of something yummy :)

I'll keep you posted on my adventures with this garden and my all around excitement going green this upcoming year!

Do you have a garden? Tell me about it! Let's connect!

XO ~ Hannah

80 degrees in October??

Oh October, how you have flown by, you bring warmth and sunshine to us!
It’s my second year here in Maui, experiencing the tropical heat and perfect weather all the way into October! Growing up in Oregon, the LAST thing you experience in October is 80 degree weather & the possibility to sport a bikini this close to Halloween!
I am embracing it though. It’s an environment that is always comfortable, always beautiful and always flourishing with color. When we first moved here I thought I’d be sad to not have the seasons... Honestly, haven’t been sad about it yet!

My in-laws came and visited us for a little over a week. They got away from the dreary Oregon drizzle and joined us in the tropics for a little sunshine pick-me-up.
It was FABULOUS! So many women out there have in-laws they’d rather spend time apart from, not with. I have been blessed. We laughed, snorkeled, relaxed, played cards, drove around and chatted from the moment they landed to the time we said “see you later” at the airport. Such fun once-in-a-lifetime memories! Here's some pics of our wonderful vacation.

Dave, Tom(Dad), Me, Sherry(Mom)

Father + Son

So it’s late here! I have to get some shut-eye! I’ll chat with you tomorrow about an amazing new thing I’m trying... Stay tuned!