A Visit From Uncle Damion

Several weeks ago we received an email from our sister-in-law regarding a surprise trip to West Virginia. Damion's birthday was soon and she had planned to surprise him with a ticket to visit us. We were all so excited but Derek was super excited, he and his brother are so close (the talk to each other almost every day).

It was a short trip but it was so much fun. We've been living in West Virginia for three years and we still get homesick during the holiday's. We didn't get to go home for Christmas so having family visit is just what we needed.

Pittsburg, PA 

Damion flew in Friday morning, Derek had the day off so it worked out great. We spent a few hours in Pittsburg, we discovered an amazing street that had a variety of ethnic foods and stores. I found the Latino market and there was a taco stand near by so of course I had to order my carne asado tacos, Derek and Damion found the local Middle Eastern market and ordered Gyros and our little American boy Acalias enjoyed some french fries and nuggets from the McDonalds (Yup, I took my boy to a place that I myself haven't eating at for over 9 years...I'm so bad I know but it was also the only place we could sit down indoors). The streets were flooded with Pittsburg, Steelers paraphernalia  and cheap stuff. We stopped by the fruit market for some fresh healthy treats and we had to get a treat from the dessert shop too.

There are a lot of Italians here, therefore cannoli's are a big hit. 

Good thing I'm not a big fan of them, they aren't worth the calories.

I really don't know why we felt like we needed a treat after eating so many sweets during the holidays...and setting goals to eat healthier.

We ended up getting a white and dark chocolate dipped cookie and a coconut macaroon, chocolate dipped cookies...both were very yummy.

At home these two wasted no time in catching up with hugs and goofing around. 

Skofeild was very jealous and and wanted in on all the action.

On Saturday we visited Valley Falls, it was such a beautiful day. 

We spent the day there and had a picnic.

These two couldn't get enough of Damion.

Acalias was thrilled to have an Uncle to play with him. The weekend flew by way too fast. 

This was the last few minutes before Damion departed at the airport.

We had a great weekend.

Here's a few love letters to Acalias from this too week...

Goals 2012

Each year I create a long list of things I need to improve, things I want to do and goals I wish to accomplish. In 2011 I accomplished 75% of my goals, I completed three major sewing projects, ran 1060 miles, made my weight loss goal! 

I wish I could say that I accomplished every goal but sadly, I did not. I failed in speaking to Acalias in Spanish everyday, I did not cook 4 vegetarian meals a week (they all tasted like cumin and I lost my fire to continue cooking them) and we didn't have Family Home Evening every Monday.

 In reflecting over the year, I realize that the goals I achieved were the goals I was persistent with. I was accountable and I assessed my goals on a regular basis. For example, the weight loss was hard and now that I'm at goal it's even harder to maintain. People are curious about the overall loss, America seems to be obsessed with the number on the scale ( I admit that I'm guilty of it at times too). I guess what I'm trying to articulate is that that it truly took persistence, patience and vigilance. It's what you do on a continual basis that will affect the overall outcome. I compare goal setting to obtaining an education, one of the things I loved about school is knowing that the efforts I put into a class revealed itself in the grades I received. In weight loss if I decided to eat an entire pan of brownies, fried goodies and candy on one day but was good the remained of the week with out slipping up It was like earning 85% on an exam and I'd still lose a pound. If I decided to track all my calories and workout without slipping up at all I'd earn 100% and I'd lose 2.5 to 3.5lbs in one week. Get the idea? This is what makes motherhood hard for me, there's not really a measurement of my efforts but that topic deserves an entire post to itself. With that said, this year I will be persistent and assess all my goals on a regular basis. Hopefully next year I will report that I accomplished all of my goals.

Nativa's Goals for 2012 

#1 A few of my running buddies invited me to run the New York City Marathon...which entails running a pace of 6.59/mile whoa, I've never dreamed of running that fast. I will strive to improve my pace, and I've increased my mileage to 2000 for 2012. I have several marathons scheduled for this year I will report back to you on a regular basis so look for the label "2000 in 2012".

#2 Take more pictures. Acalias will be my main subject for this years project, so look for the the label 365 Love Letters. Here are a few of my favorites, to see more photos check out 365 Love Letters To Acalias, I will try to keep it updated weekly.

#3 Create a line of super hot clothing for my family and some more dresses...ok a lot more dresses. How will I fund this on our non existent income you might ask? Photography!

#4 I know there are thousands of photographers to choose from in Utah but in West Virginia, the options are limited and severely over priced. I admit that I have a lot to learn but I'm confident that I can take good enough pictures to receive monetary compensation for it. Unlike other photographers, I won't be charging too much because really it's just a hobby that I enjoy, rather than my livelihood. This year is the year to make a few bucks from my talents. I'm working on my website, it should be up and running by March 2012. 

Good luck with your goals this year!