7/20 Aurora Shooting

(source)

Sad sad news about Aurora. We were just there less than a month ago visiting my family, and it's heartbreaking to hear such tragic news. I used to go to that movie theater all the time during high school, and in fact the school that they took all the witnesses to was the one my little graduated from in June.

My trip to Vietnam really opened my eyes about the important things in life and not to take things for granted, but this tragic incident in my hometown makes me even more thankful for life, and that it's precious and can be taken at any moment.

The last few months have really changed me and made me a better, grateful person. I am sorry for everyone's loss, and everyone affected that dreadful day. I know Aurora is strong, and in time of crisis, Coloradoans know how to pull it together and support one another.

I am thankful my family is safe.

Rustic

Seriously in LOVE with these.

My Cutesy Non-Baby Girl

Nautical

I've been into gold jewelry lately, and whats better than a gold anchor? Probably nothing. Except maybe when it's vintage and free.

It belongs to my husband from when he was a little boy. Makes it even that much more special <3

What about you guys? Ever go through some old stuff just to realize you have some pretty awesome things that just needed to be re-discovered?

Douangphila's Family Photos

Also while we were in Colorado we managed to sneak some time in to get family photos done!

I really wanted something different this year for our photos. Last year we did studio ones for Miniboss's 1st birthday, and since we didn't go this year for her birthday (we did the aquarium), I knew we had to make it up.

We called up our good friend Franciz and he managed to squeeze us in and took some amazing photos for us!

These are just a few of the ones I loved.

I love them!! They turned out more than perfect. I wanted them to be like a glimpse into our lives and I showed him a ton of different photos I loved and he gave me exactly what I wanted. He was sooo good with Miniboss too! Normally we always get mean mugging "Walmart" looks lol, but as you can see, she's super cheesy in these.

I can't wait to blow up a few of these for the living room!

Thank you for capturing these beautiful photos for us Franciz!

My little brothers graduation

I've gotta back track on some posts and important events!

My little brothers Jason's Graduation from Gateway High School! The same high school I graduated from (class of 05'), and my older sister (class of 02') as well. I didn't think we were going to be able to make it in time to see him graduation but our leave got approved last second and we got some extra time off to make it :)

He graduated ranked #6 of his entire school. My parents moved around a bunch during his high school years, and I think he's been to a different high school every year, so it's such a huge accomplishment! Here's to the real world Jason! I love you!!

Right after the ceremony. That's my entire family!

& of course a silly one :)

Mom and Dad with Jason

Dad so proud of his only son! Poor guy had 5 sisters to live with lol!

Speaking of all his sisters..Me and all my sisters! lol!!

Jason with Miniboss

The Douangphilas

It was so much fun to hangout with my family and spend time with them. We see each other once a year for a big reunion, and it always feels like I've never left! I love my family. Congratulations again to my little bro! :)

I'm back!!

Gosh its been a while. I've been soo busy. We just got back home from a very long vacation and I can't even tell you how glad I am to finally be home! I never thought I could learn so much about myself in a months time, but I did and it's made me a better mother, wife, and person overall. I really appreciate everything I have, my family, and I am definitely counting my blessings from now on!

We have about 11 months left in Texas, we got our orders finally and we're moving to Kansas next year! I've been not so patiently living in our tiny apartment since we've been outgrowing it and it's soo much harder to be on a top floor with a 2 year old constantly running and jumping around. I feel awful for the people downstairs of us, and I'm always telling Miniboss to quit jumping, but we all know 2 year olds do whatever they want either you agree or not. =/

I'm just glad to move. It might be to Kansas, which wasn't my ideal base, but I know things all work out in the end. It will either be a great thing, or it'll make me even stronger as a person, which Texas has done...so in the end it's all about how you make of what life hands you! :) #yolo ...lol kidding :)

The trouble maker

Having a two year old is completely different than say...a baby. She is NOT a baby anymore. I can't even bust out the camera anymore without her being silly and making her own poses up lol. She's talking all sorts of jibber jabber and some words I understand. This little girl has TONS of attitude too. Trust me when I say I needed to lose all that weight cuz I need to be able to keep up with her!

So grown now. She keeps us on our toes, and she is still the Miniboss! Only older..and more bossier! And yea that's a fake cheese lol. She only did it for the bribe of "pop" which is popsicle lol! Hey I gotta do what I gotta do for a decent photo!

Weight loss

I've lost 16 pounds since December! I've been working very hard to get back into my pre-baby pants, and I'm finally there! Not only that but now I weigh even less than my pre-pregnancy weight. Ladies, if you want something hard enough, you will push yourself to do so :)

I used to be so weak, and I remember in high school we had to run "the mile" and it was a mile long square around the outside of the track and field of my high school, and I could barely finish it and when I did I would be dying! It took me 25 to 30 mins just to do 1 mile! Lol So embarrassing =X

But now I'm seriously in the best shape of my life, and I plan to continue pushing myself to get stronger everyday. I want to be able to keep up with my two year old and be healthy! :) Loving my "new" body as well ;) I don't think I've ever been able to do one push up or planked in my life, and now I can do it all! I'm feeling amazing, and I'm loving it.

Sorry the flash was on..so theres a weird shadow in the back opps!

Well now that I can cross weight loss off my list of my big life overhaul plan, now I'm onto de-cluttering my home. I wanted to have a better life for my little family and I, and now that Mommas back and full of positivity, I can now tackle the home, and start living minimal. :) Wish me luck as I go through room by room and toss and clean everything. The less stuff we have, the less cleaning and organizing I have to do and the more time to spend with the kiddo and hubby!

I'm finally headed in the right direction! :) I'm over just sitting, wishing, and wallowing. I'm making things happen!

Happy Easter!

We may not have had the bunny stop by, but we found an Easter Yorkie! hehe. Have fun today everyone, we are going to be dyeing eggs and eating chocolate cake :)

I cut my hair!

I cut my hair yesterday! Super short too.

Here I am at the salon all ready to chop it off.

I cut off about 10 inches and donated the hair to locks of love.

Gah that's a lot huh?! I didn't realize I had grown my hair that long til I saw the braids.

and here's the haircut I went with...

Big difference. I think it makes my face look fat and older! But I like that it's out of the way and sooo much easier to take care of. It was always so much harder to run and do zumba with a huge bun or a long ponytail getting gross and sweaty..eww lol. Plus my hair feels so much healthier and no more slit ends :)

PS I know I haven't been updating as often as I should be..but trust me changes are going down! I just got rid of more junks and we got our own spin bike so I could workout at home on days where I can't get to the gym. Plus I bought some small hand weights so I could tone my arms, and I am getting stuff done! Wooo go me. Life outside the blog is healthy and great ;)

Life Overhaul

A Picture of me 9 months prego, and what I look like now.

I'm far from done. I got a few trouble spots I want to work on, and overall I just want to be toned and in shape. Weight isn't a huge indicator to me, but waking up and feeling great about my body and how hard I worked is awesome!

With all this recent weight loss and spending time improving ME, I realized it was time for a whole life overhaul. We've been in this weird funk since we've moved to Wichita Falls.

I think for me it was being pregnant and being so busy being a Mom I left myself behind and now that I'm finding the old me again (everyday slowly at the gym through each bead of sweat and tears) I realize that my home and hubby are still stuck in the funk and it's time I pull em out! I know the hubby has been in his funk ever since he messed up his knee and isn't able to do much physical things, but I'm dragging him up and out of his funk too, and I had a big convo with him about how I'm changing our lives :)

Not gonna lie, since I've moved here I got all hoarder and I love to shop. I guess I kinda filled the void of no family and friends, with belongings. I started coupon shopping, but before that I would go to thrift stores and garage sales and buy all sorts of stuff for crafting.

I want to be able to not worry about sales or buying things, and spend more time out with the hubby and daughter and use that money on vacations and doing family things.

Well since now I'm more active and pulling myself out of this funk, I've finally opened my eyes and I'm going to make my life how I dream it to be, and not wait wait wait, until "one day". One day is not soon enough..sometimes you just gotta do things now or it'll never get done!

I've been obsessed with a dream of one day owning a small house. Like tiny tiny small! & Decorate top to bottom how I want. I want to gut it, and finish it all by myself (or w the help of hubby). & I want a garden in the back with cute patio furniture, and some chickens and yorkie(s). That's my dream. I'm downsizing our apartment, and as soon as we know where we are moving next, I am going house hunting, and I'm making my dream come true!

I'm so excited, and I'm doing whatever it takes. I'm cleaning out our storage room, whatever we use stays, what I've been saving for "someday" is getting tossed or donated. I'm gonna live the minimal life. I'm not waiting for someday anymore. I'm living in the now, and I'm happy to say I'm really really ecstatic with how our futures looking. I can finally see a small light at the end of the tunnel :)

I don't need luck in this journey, I just need my own strength! :) (btw I totally skipped 90% valentines day sales because that's how determined I am!)

A healthier me!

Woo just wanted to give an update on my progress! :)

I'm midway through week two of going to the gym 4-5 days a week + eating cleaner/healthier and I've lost 3 pounds! I've lost a total of 7 pounds since December!

I have to lose 2 more pounds to be pre-baby weight!! After that I need to lose 5 more pounds to be pre-husband weight :) hahhaa

I'm just having fun doing zumba and cardio classes and just pushing myself to be healthy and have fun at the gym though. It's a life style change and I look forward to going to the gym..it's my time and I love it! Not only that but I've met tons of new people at my classes who all are so supportive and helpful. Something about sweating and slightly dying makes us all feel closer hahha :)

I'm definitely happy with my progress so far I'm I'm proud of myself for pushing myself to do things I thought I couldn't do because I was too weak. Now I can feel my body getting stronger and I feel amazing!! :) Loveeee it <3

Healthy Recipes: Apple Crisps/Chips

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.
Core apples, then slice apples as thin as possible
Spread the apples in a single layer.
Sprinkle lightly with a cinnamon.
Cook in the oven for 1 hour.
Turn over, sprinkle again with cinnamon and bake for another hour until lightly browned.
Store in an air-tight container to store.

Makes a great snack for when you want something crunchy but healthy! Makes the whole house smell wonderful too when you bake them :)

Sorry for lack of posts, I've been at the gym!

I've been spending some ME time lately to do DIY makeovers on MYSELF! I've been dieting and exercising. I have been telling myself that I needed to get back into my Pre-Mommy pants and I would say it but not push myself to actually do it. Well now that I'm done nursing, and Miniboss is getting older, it's time I spend a little time on improving myself!

I started by changing our diet. I switched all sorts of stuff to low cal, or a healthier alternative to our everyday foods. We used to use vegetable oil to cook, now we use extra virgin olive oil (EVOO as Rachael would say). Mayo, to lite mayo. Ranch dressing, to lite dressings. A salad for lunch and a side salad with dinner. Mashed potatoes to baked cauliflower. Soda to drinking water. Chocolate candy bars to skinny cow bars.

Things were going great, I lost 4 pounds just from switching our food to lower calorie ones. Then I was at a stand still! The scale just wasn't budging anymore so I knew it was time to start going to the GYM! Yea that horrible place were you sweat lol. And to keep myself motivated I hooked up with a gym buddy! And not to be mean, but if you want a gym buddy who's gonna keep you on track, you need someone equally motivated or even more. Otherwise you're just setting yourself up for failure. I've been going to the track and running there on weekends or after hubby gets home from work. Nothing major just a mile a day until my muscles got used to it. Then I felt like I could do more, so I went to the gym and with my gym buddy, she pushed me super hard and I was there for like 2 hours! My legs felt like freakin jelly and I was so exhausted. But then the next day my body didn't feel bad at all! I thought I was going to be in pain, but I wasn't. So naturally I kept pushing myself and so I tried Zumba for the first time yesterday. An hour long class of dancing and working out. Let me say, I freakin loveeeddddd it! I hadn't a clue wtf I was doing and looked like a fool, but it was so much fun and no one cared that I didn't know jank haha! I'm definitively going to keep it up and stick with my goal of working out 5 days a week.

To keep myself on track I even bought a pair of vibrams five fingers, and let me tell you, I freaking love them!! My feet don't hurt and I feel like I can run better in them! Best investment ever for my fitness :)

It's been tough and time consuming no doubt, but it's for ME. I love it, I love being able to get out of the house and just focus on myself and my health. The husband is fully supportive and watches Miniboss. I can't wait till the end of summer and show you guys before and afters! So sorry, no I haven't been crafting, but I have been spending my time sculpting my body ;)

DIY Cupcake baby shower gift

We went to a baby shower for one of our friends in January but I haven't had a chance to post it because of Minibossuary..so now that it's over, I can post it :)

Our friend was having a boy, so I made her these cute "cupcakes".

This gift didn't cost much at all, I spent less than $15 making these, thanks to some great Target baby clearance!

Supply list:

ribbon
coffee filters
rubber bands
receiving blankets
baby socks
pom poms
and a cute box to put these in (I got mine from Walmart in the bakery for free!)

First I started out by making fork pom poms. Instructions on how to make them HERE.

Then you take you receiving blankets and baby socks and take the tags off.

You take a pom pom and lay it in the two baby socks. Roll them up tightly and then roll the socks up in 1 receiving blanket. Use a rubber band to keep things nice and tight.

Put it in the coffee filter and use a rubber band to keep it tight.

I added a ribbon to hide the rubber band but I didn't take photos! Opps, but you can see it in the box that there is ribbon around the coffee filters. It finishes off the cupcakes and looks adorable!

Then you close it up and decorate the box as you wish! That's it, it's super easy and almost fail proof ;)

We actually had a second gift, and that's whats the black box under the cupcake box is :) The tags were all handmade and printed on card stock. It's a little hard to tell but the tag is blue polka dotted to match the ribbon :)

These would be even cuter if it were girl colors, since well, we all know I excel at girly crafts hahah. Boys are kinda foreign to me! Anyway these made such a great gift, all the ladies were ooohhh and ahhhh-ing over these cute "Cupcakes" :) It was a huge hit!!

Anyway Congrats to the Mama and the rest of the family, she just had baby boy Tatum yesterday! :)

The Dallas World Aquarium

Here are the pictures from Miniboss's Birthday adventure at the Aquarium.

My favorite would be the shark lol! His face was so cute haha. Lexi seemed more interested in the birds and monkeys and was scared when we saw all the big fish in the tanks lol.

She was soo tired that she fell asleep before we even finished going through the entire place. I think we had more fun looking at all the animals more than she did lol. I thought it was very cute and it was set up so that animals were everywhere you looked. Lots to take in! The only bad thing was that the path ways were so small and there were soo many kids running around it felt chaotic at times. You got your head up looking at animals and you gotta look down at other animals and watch out for kids as you try to take photos..good thing we only had one kiddo to watch and one of us was carrying her the entire time. My Miniboss may be naughty, but at least she's good when we're in busy places!

Miniboss

We spent the weekend in Dallas for Miniboss's Birthday. We took her to the Aquarium and I got tons of pictures. We had a completely non-traditional birthday for her but it's okay, she had an awesome time still. We are a not a normal family and so her not having a normal (cake and kiddie party) Birthday is kinda normal ;)

Anyway I have tons of photos to edit and go through, so for now here's a preview!

Happy 2nd Birthday our beautiful Miniboss! We love you!

áo dài princess

Slacking on posts! This was Miniboss's Vietnamese New Year outfit. She's wearing a traditional Vietnamese outfit, that her Granny, (my mom) bought for her from Vietnam last year! Isn't she adorable heheh :)

I wish she would have given me actual great shots, but she was tired and fussy so I just quick ones and called it good. We are entering the terrible two's and its true. She's starting to throw temper tantrums at the store! *sighhhh

Anyway, her birthday is this weekend!!! EPPP This year is flying by already. We have all her birthday gifts bought and we're taking her to the Aquarium in Dallas for her birthday! Should be a fun weekend for all of us :)

Vietnamese New Years

It's almost Vietnamese New Years and I always get home sick! It was always my favorite holiday growing up and it makes me sad Miniboss won't get to enjoy a REAL New year with the red envelopes, the family, the foods, the Dragon dance, and games! This year her Poppa is working so we won't be able to make it to Dallas for the Dragon dance so we are going to make a mini New Years for her :)

I'm busy cleaning the house and getting rid of junk and organizing. Gonna have a perfectly clean home to start the new year right!

If anyone is interested in Vietnamese New Years, they are having food, entertainment, and a dragon dance at the local Buddhist temple in town. Everything starts at 7pm Saturday night! It's open to everyone. Hubby works so maybe Miniboss and I will have to go at it alone!

I've got the envelopes all ready to go and filled with the best kind of money there is, $2 dollar bills :)