Friendships

Just missing my girls back in California and thinking of them all!

Lisa & me! My very best friend of 17 years!


My two dear friends, Jen & Jenny!


Out to dinner celebrating Lisa & Aaron's 1st pregnancy and my engagement to Karl!
September 2005


Jen's visit to L.A. right before our move out to Atlanta.

Healthy Living

For those of you who know me well, know that I am very passionate about healthy living, great nutrition and treating your body like God's temple. If I ever go back to school it will to get a degree in nutrition.

I am not perfect, but I try my best to live a healthy life style. I do love to indulge in sweets every now and then. I do believe that sweets are ok in moderation. naturalnews.com is one of the best websites out there about living a healthy lifestyle. I believe that God has given me wisdom and having my husband go through chiropractic school has opened my eyes to a lot about how our body works and the best ways to treat our body when we become ill. I am learning vicariously through Karl and his amazing education! HAHA!

First of all eating a healthy, well balanced diet is most important. Lots of raw fruits and vegetables! Second, getting daily exercise is very important to great health. It gives you energy, helps reduce stress and anxiety and just makes you feel great... and keeps those pounds off. Third, chiropractic care!

Before meeting my husband I used to believe that chiropractic was for people who have had injuries or been in auto accidents or have had back pain or suffer from head aches. Although, chiropractic care is great and has helped millions of people, probably billions of people with pain, it is a wellness care too. People take the spine which is a vital component of our body for granted. Getting regular chiropractic adjustments helps to maintain a healthy balance in our body and keep the physical, chemical and mental stress of our day to day lives under control. If you get adjustments on a regular basis your body is much more likely to fight off diseases and sicknesses. Your spinal cord is attached to many organs and parts in your body. If your spine is out of place or sublexated there is a greater chance that your body and immune system will not fight off sickness. I have heard this saying before, "The power that made the body can heal the body." This is so true!

I am so passionate about chiropractic care. Not just because my husband is becoming a chiropractor, but because I truly believe it is one of the best things you can do for yourself! For those of you who have read my blog this far, I hope this has opened your eyes and you consider getting proper chiropractic care! If your insurance does not cover it or if you don't have insurance, most Dr.'s will work with you on a payment plan and are very affordable. Keep your spine aligned!:)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I am a super huge fan of soup and I usually make this soup once a month! Even in the summer months. It's that good and healthy too! It is even great to eat for lunch the next day!

Ingredients:
3-4 organic chicken breast
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large organic onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 organic green bel pepper, chopped
1/2 bag of frozen organic sweet corn
2 boxes of free range organic chicken broth
1 14 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
14 oz of raw black beans (pre soaked and pre cooked before hand)

ground chili powder. as much or as little as you like.
2 organic limes juiced and more for garnish
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large wheat tortillas cut into thin strips and grilled with grape seed oil spray
2 avocados cut for topping on soup
sour cream
organic mexi-style cheese blend

Heat a pan to med heat and cook the chicken breast until cooked all the way through. In a large pot heat olive oil and cook onions and bel pepper and garlic. Add the broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let the soup cook for 25 minutes. Add lime juice and stir. Add chicken and cook on low heat for another 10 min. Serve soup in a bowl and top with cheese, tortilla strips, sour cream and avocados and enjoy every bite!

Celebrating 4 Years of Pure Bliss

Wedding Day

March 4th marked our 4 year anniversary! Time has certainly flown by indeed! Our first year of marriage was a great experience. Learning to share our little full size bed and tiny little bathroom in our cozy 1 bed 1 bath apartment in San Pedro, CA. Adjusting to having a man in the house, making sure I did not fall into the toilet in the middle of the night if the seat was up (but glad now that Karl is very good about putting the seat down), cooking dinner together and trying new dishes, going for walks along the harbor in San Pedro in the cool summer evenings and having the best conversations. It was a great first year! We have been on an adventure together this whole time and even though times get hard, we always have each others back and together, we make the perfect team! Right before our 1st wedding anniversary we felt God pull on our hearts to visit a chiropractic school in Marietta, GA. We took a trip to Atlanta where we fell in love with the beautiful south! Not to mention the wonderful Life University campus and the great philosophy that Life stand by. Karl was accepted, so we packed up our life and took a 3 or 4 day road trip out to Georgia. I never imagined moving away from California or even across the country, but God had plans for us. For our 1st wedding anniversary we wanted to have a nice dinner in Atlanta and made reservations at a seafood place that was al a carte and before we knew it, our bill was around 100 dollars. I still am sick to this day that we spent that much, but hey... you only live once! For Valentines Day in 2007, we celebrated by going out for Chinese food in midtown Atlanta. I remember having a cocktail and it was my last one for a very long time! We enjoy eating those fortune cookies and I remember that night having one that said, "Good things come in small packages." A few weeks later Karl and I found out the best news! I was pregnant!!

1st Anniversary


For our 2nd anniversary we went to a favorite Italian place called Scalinis! They have the best bread rolls smothered in olive oil and fresh garlic! They are to die for! Literally! If you go there on your birthday and show your ID, you get a free meal! What's better than that?!?! Our second year together was probably the best so far being that God blessed us with a healthy baby boy born in November of 2008.

2nd Anniversary


For our 3rd anniversary Karl, Everett and myself took a lovely trip down to sunny Destin, Fl. Gorgeous! It was not my first trip to the gulf coast. Karl and I went down to Pensacola before to Scott and Janelle's wedding, but I got sick on that trip and did not get an opportunity to enjoy the beaches. I was bummed, but I am thankful I got to go again! The white sand is just beautiful! We had a really nice stay and got our share of the sun for 5 years! Karl and I left looking like bright red tomatoes! Even with sunblock! Everett liked the feel of the sand on his toes and we got some great shots on the beach!

3rd Anniversary












For our 4th anniversary this year we took Everett to the park by our house and Everett had a blast walking around and playing "catch me" with Karl. It was a windy day, so we did not stay long. Came home and barbecued burgers for dinner! This is what happens when little children come into your life and you live across the country from family. We don't get much alone time or many nights out. That's just how it is for now, but we are getting by. So, reflecting back on our last 4 years together has been a lot of fun. It has been an incredible journey being married to Karl and I would not change one single thing. We are so in love and I believe that being far from "home" has made us stronger and has made us rely on each other so much more. Here's to many more years of pure bliss! Cheers!

4th Anniversary