Through the Looking Glass

These are my three favorite Christmas gifts I received this year...



My Grandma Sims has been collecting bells for a VERY long time. She has a cabinet full of them. I always stand in front of it, admiring them. I point out the ones I love most, and my grandma always surprises me at Christmas with my favorite bell. This Christmas bell is BY FAR my favorite gift - in fact, probably one of my favorite belongings.




A 'Money Tree' from my mom and dad. There's something really convenient about being able to pull some cash off my tree whenever I need it. My mom must have been fibbing when she said "Money doesn't grow on trees, Trina."



The cutest little Bambi figurine in the world, from my cutest little sister in the world.


And last but not least...


A beautiful necklace from my husband.



What were your favorite gifts this holiday?

Pumpkin has decided she prefers to drink from glasses instead of her water bowl. Even though her water bowl is full of fresh water...she'll go from glass to glass around the house, sticking her head, or paw, all the way to the bottom to check for water. So we've just resorted to leaving her a glass full of water on the counter from now on. (Sorry for the sideways video. I didn't realize my camera didn't automatically flip the image when I turned it)



What a princess...

I've started a new cycling class at the gym on base and it is FANTASTIC! I've recently started attending group exercise classes regularly and I'm already a HUGE fan because they really make me push myself a lot more than if I were exercising alone.

My numbers:
50 min
170 avg heartrate
800 calories
10 in HR zone (0 below, 40 above)

Wooooo...I can't wait until I start seeing improvements in those numbers. This was only my third class, but it already seemed a ton easier than the first.


This picture is kind of ridiculous....they are smiling WAY too much, and not sweating nearly enough :)

I talked to the instructor and a few of the women in the class for a bit afterwards. One of them has lost 65 lbs - she was about my age, I would guess. And the other has lost 75lbs!! I was so proud of them. I don't even know them, but I know what a struggle it is to lose weight. It was a big motivation to talk to them. Kind of gave me the refreshing boost that I needed - reminded me exactly why I am in these classes in the first place.

I'm ready for the next class!

A new blog template for a fresh start...

I feel compelled to give blogging another go!


Wish me luck. :)

So I noticed it's been 5 months since my last blog. I decided that is pretty ridiculous and so here I am!

I just discovered the cutest pair of birds outside my window. I'm on the 2nd floor and noticed them on the ground below - sort of scratching at the ground, obviously searching for food. So I pulled out my binoculars to get a closer look and they are definitely one of these --->


It's a White-crowned Sparrow! It's always exciting for me to identify a bird I haven't identified before.




My family just recently came and visited me in California. It was really good to have all of them here at the same time. We had the BEST time romping around Disneyland. We had a three-day pass and of course ended up spending almost an entire three days there. My poor parents - being drug around Disneyland for days by four 20-somethings! My dad took some really nice pictures which I will be posting more of as soon as he gets them emailed to me. The castle picture above was taken by my dad!




<3