twenty six

So I turned 26! My sister and John took me to Coach Insigina in the Ren Cen in Detroit, it was the fanciest dinner I have ever had! It is on the 72nd floor, it was beautiful to ride up the elevator over looking the city, our table which over looked the Ambassador Bridge also wasn't too bad of a view! We had a delicious dinner and Natalie surprised me with a whoopie pie for dessert because she knew thats all I wanted for my birthday! My friend at work Laura had flowers waiting for me on my table, they were beautiful :) It was a great day, I felt very special and loved! Thank you!! :) :) :)

Not a bad first day in fl....

I cant wait for her to see this picture.... :)

This was Christmas eve who knows how long ago at my house....clearly Lori was having a super fun time :) hahahahhahah ohhh Lori sorry I had to post it! love ya!

Do u think my dad knows there is a kitty in the house?

Dinner tonight!

Guess the list!

"like us"

"LIKE" the Lululemon Athletica Somerset Facebook page and look for "Nikki's Notes" I am doing a more health and fitness type blog on our store website and you should be reading it!

Maybe one day...

I love journals almost as much as I love recipe books and stationary...but I feel nothing I have to say is good enough to go in a journal this cool....

no fun...

So I have some aggravated disks in my back...the pain started Friday and to be in the worse pain of my life couldn't have come at a better time...my sister had a 4day weekend and the NCAA tourney was going on so that meant laying on my sisters couch while she took care of me watching basketball ALL day for 2 days straight....Good thing gunner was in the mood for cuddling....Thanks Nat and John for letting me be a houseguest this weekend :)

Birthday fun :)

Irish celebration!

I spent St.Pattys with some of the best peeps around!

Happy Birthday!!!

Today my big sister turns 28!! Happy Birthday to the best big sister there is :) The reasons listed below are all reasonsshe is a good big sister....

Natalie:

- likes to make all of the decisions

- is bossy

- buys the best presents

- shares all her cool stuff

- lets me borrow her car for long road trips

- drives me to all of my races and will sit in the cold/rain/heat and cheer for me

- lets me use her house likes its my own :)

Happy Birthday Nat! I am happy you are mine!

Put it in stone!

Sweet treat

Happy Birthday Biggby! .99 cent lattes all day!

Lookin good, first chemo!

Makin' strides!

Where did the film go?

I don't know what year it was but I remember it very clearly....my dad bought my sister and I the very first Kodak easy share camera that hit the market but I decided I wanted something more fancy to take artsy pictures. We went to the camera store and I picked out the camera pictured above and I remember my dad saying to the guy "Now, this a film camera....is this going to be around in a few years?" and I remember being embarrassed and thinking; oh my gosh dad its film where is it going to go?!?!? The guy echoed my thoughts agreeing film was not going anywhere...Fast forward to today when I want this exact same camera... but digital...and throw in the fact no one uses film.

So I am going back old school, I am breaking out the film and just seein how it goes!

corktown

Gunner and I ran the St.Pattys Corktown race in Detroit yesterday, it was so much fun. Natalie, John and Shelby all came to cheer us on. Gunner got sooo many compliments he was on a high! While running Gunner was:

- high-fived

- cheered at

- petted

- complimented

- offered and accepted a sip of beer

-offered but refused a shot of Jameson

- the most handsome pup running

The race was really run went by super fast since my cousin and I have been training for a 1/2 marathon 3 miles felt like nothing! I also ran in my five finger shoes, and besides an initial frozen foot problem everything went great!

dinner tonight

In search of protein I decided to make a fish soup and since I have like a 10lb bag of tilapia I picked up at Costco I decided to put it to use and found this Tomato Tilapia soup from Women's Health mag.

1/3 C thinly sliced baby carrots

1/3 C red onion slivers

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp thyme

2 C chicken broth

1 C water

12 oz tilapia fillets, cut into large chunks

1 1/2 C chopped broccoli florets

1 C canned diced tomatoes, with juice

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

In a large saucepan, combine carrots, onion, oil, thyme, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring over medium heat, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add broth and water. Bring almost to boiling. Add tilapia, broccoli, tomatoes, and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer until tilapia is cooked, about 8 minutes.

an unprocessed life...

It is proving to be more of a hassle than a challenge to eat unprocessed foods.... I find it annoying that foods that are marketed as healthy really are not. For instance chicken broth that you assume is made of, well, chicken broth has MSG in it and my Dannon Light and Fit Yogurt has aspartame in it, which has 92 side effects including everything from heart palpitations to blindness to Alzheimer’s. Giving up processed foods makes me stop and think about exactly what I am eating.... So start reading your labels .... Can you pronounce the chemicals you are eating? Just a lil food for thought :)

Hypnotist Day 1

Moms's pre thoughts: "Excited, he says he can go back in my memory; every emotion every experience like a tape in my memory, we are going to go back and visit that and find out what started my MS. I feel hopeful for the healing to begin."

Stay tuned....

My mom is meeting with a hypnotist today who says he can cure MS....stay tuned...

Lent...

I am trying to embrace the spirit of Lent and really do something that would be challenging....I decided to give up processed foods and Facebook!!

Here is an awesome granola recipe that has no processed ingredients!

3 bananas

2 T all natural honey

1 Egg

2 C whole oats

Then 2 C's combination of anything you want! almonds, flax, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, go crazy! You can even add cheerios or a fiber cereal

-Spread on baking sheet and cook @ 350 for 20 min or so until the ends start to turn brown...Enjoy!

HAPPY5.

Spending 5 years with the same boy has got me to thinking why I like him and how we made it to the monumental mile stone that is 5 years :) ...

1. We trust each other

2. We have the same hobbies

3. We have different hobbies that we like to share with the other

4. He will watch Biggest Loser with me and I will watch documentaries with him

5. He doesn't mind (too much) that I go to bed early and I don't mind (too much) that he stays up late...and most importantly....

6. When I am insisting on eating ice cream and cookies, he knows when to say "babe do you really what that??? but he also knows when to just come home with a pint of Ben & Jerrys for each of us.

Happy 5!!

!

Stinky turns 3

First of all, you have to understand my sister and brother in law are not planning on having any kids....Gunner is the closest I will potentially come to having a nephew....so with that in mind:

Happy Birthday Gunner!!! 3 years!!!

Facts about Gunner.

1. he likes to play tug with anyone willing to participate

2. he is everyones friend

3. he loves his sister and cousin

4. he does not like squeezing through any tight space or loud noises

5. he is my running partner and pace setter

6. his real name was Ranger and he is from East Lansing

7. he is a stinker

here's to 5!!

Jonathan and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary last weekend in NY...well the actual date isn't until this Saturday, the 29th...but we celebrated early because it was our last weekend together. Here are some pics from the weekend....and a quick recap....

-It took us 2 days of driving and 17 hours to make a drive that usually takes 10 hours and didn't accelerate over 50mph until the end of Pennsylvania....

-We stood still on a Pennsylvania Highway for 2 hours straight, Jonathan talked to truckers, peed on the side of the road and we downloaded a police scanner on my phone to keep up to date with what was happening.

- We saw a 9 semi truck pile up

-We studied together at a cute coffee shop

- We had dinner at The Melting Pot and the waiter brought us cheesecake with a candle on it for our anniversary :)

- Jonathan got me a heart shamrock shaped necklace and he got a compass from me, it was engraved with the quote "So you always know where you are and where home is" :)

- Now on to the next 5!!

home sweet homestead

In the winter, The Homestead is my favorite place to go in Michigan...It is right on Lake Michigan and is just the perfect place :) I am thankful to Jonathan's family for including me on their winter ski trips!

perfect timing

Tonight my work had a post Christmas get together at my coworkers fabulous home....Everyone knows what has been going on with my family and were offering their encouragement, prayers and support and it was so uplifting to see these amazing women after a long 2 weeks away.

One of my coworkers and party host who I truly love offered this advice..."All you can do is take care of today, do what is right for now and have the faith that the rest will work out."

Those weren't her exact words but you get the gist...well as I was driving home I felt really comforted by this. I was beginning to feel strong and confident that all we can do as a family is what needs to be done and what is for the best right now and give the rest to God.

This is not advice I usually like... I like a plan and "it will all just work out" does not sound like a great plan to me. Jonathan is famous for offering advice such as "it will work itself out" or "don't worry you will figure it out" I never really considered (or appreciated) that advice until today it seemed to be the perfect answer....

Well short story long, after a little googling and inspiration seeking I found this little website and realized that my friend (and reluctantly Jonathan) were right and trusting it will all work itself out and offering it up is sometimes the best answer. The title of the site is perfect, and is set up and explained in almost a Bible Passages for Beginners sort of way (which I appreciated), and I really enjoyed reading what I found....

Matt 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." NIV

a limitless life

Jonathan gave me this book for Christmas.... the subtitle is "Inspiration for a ridiculously good life." The cover speaks for itself, but here are some of my favorite quotes so far...

" There is nothing wrong with looking ahead and planning for the future, but know that your worst fears could just as easily be your best surprise. Very often life works out for the good."

"Your can't wait for that miracle, or just the right opportunity, you should consider yourself the stick and the world your pot of stew. Stir it up. "

"Don't ever forget that God never gives up on you. Keep moving ahead because action creates momentium, which in turn creates unanticipated opportunities."

More to come ... :)

Lets try this again.....

Well since my last entry was in April of 2010 it is clear I ran out 0f things to talk about....but I figured there is no time like the present to get going again, and as it just so happens I now have a lot to say! And since the only people probably reading this are my cousins ( and Erin) .....I hope you 3 enjoy! :)

2010 recap

- We almost bought a cottage up north...but then didn't

- We lost Grandpa Galas :(

- Jonathan and I spent out first Thanksgiving in 5 years together

- Gracie is not anymore trained than she was in 2009

- I spent the year back at school pursuing an associates degree to be a Physical Therapy Assistant....About 1.5 years left!

- Dad got diagnosed with colon cancer after Christmas...we are still awaiting a lot of details...

- My cousin Kyle moved home from silly Arizona!!!

I will add more as they come to me :)