Videos

I just figured out how to transfer videos from my Facebook page onto the blog site! Here are a handful of videos I've posted recently Christmas Eve Day... Christmas morning. Playing with and giving kisses to a gift from Granny & Grandpa... Just after Grace started walking... Playing with her favorite Christmas present...

30 Day Challenge Complete!

Ok ok, so I did not come through very well on my blog every day promise. I love blogging, really, I do. I love how it has become such an instrument of communication. Sometimes communicating to groups of family or friends, and other times complete strangers. I love how reading an old friends blog helps you keep up with their insight and lives, and how stumbling upon a strangers sparks your creativity or lets you know you are not the only person feeling the way you do. So yes, I love blogging. However nobody would ever know based off my previous less-than-frequent posts. I suppose I should set a realistic goal for myself, and say if I can post something I feel good about once a month, I'm doing alright =) So back to my 30 Day Bodyrock.tv challenge! It was awesome. It was hard. It was energizing. It was frustrating. It was fun. It was strengthening. It was slimming (Nothing major, but enough for me to notice. And yeah yeah, still need to cut back on my peanut butter intake) But most importantly, it was healthy. Day one was a fit test, and day 30 was also. In those 30 days, (ok fine, 35...I got a little behind) I cut my fit test time in half, and did more counts of each exercise! I've gained strength and flexibility, and am starting to work my way into some clothes that haven't fit since early pregnancy. So while only -4 lbs have changed on the scale, I'm calling it a win. Februarys 30 day challenge just went up about 15 minutes ago, so now that my body and diet are starting in a totally different bracket than before, I am super excited to see how things will be 30 days from now! Now for some extra fun stuff... <3 Ok note before the video... We had about 4-6 inches of snow that appeared overnight this weekend. The most snow we've had in our whole tour. First, I swear our dogs feel like they woke up from their nap and were somehow magically back in Colorado. Second, I wanted to make a snowman, until Bailey decided to attack my giant snow bolder. Jonny thought it was hilarious and wanted her to do it again, so he got to work...as did Bailey. Grace watched happily from her daddy-made snow bumbo seat.

Temple

Ok well I am day 5 into my "clean and green" eating and day 2 of the Bodyrock.tv 30 day challenge! Sadly, I ran out of spinach yesterday (wen't through 2 bags in 4 days!) so a commissary trip is on my (or my husbands) todo list today so I can keep up with my Green Monster Smoothies. Well a part of the 30 day challenge is to have a new word of inspiration meant to help keep you motivated to staying on track. They suggest putting it throughout the house to ensure you will see it as you go through your day. My word today is Temple and goes along with another goal I have in mind for 2012...Books. Along with a healthier lifestyle, I'm also trying to enjoy reading a bit more. Up until now, my previous reads consisted of Spark Notes throughout high school and The Twilight Saga. Yes, I LOVE the Twilight books...in all seriousness, probably the only 4 books I have ever fully completed. So as a way to begin reaching the goal of reading (and enjoying it) I'm reading Rick Warrens The Purpose Driven Life. Again, a book I began years ago, and well, never finished. This all began with a friend of mine suggested a few of us read it over the next 40 days. Thus, back to my word for today. Chapter 2 is all about how we were formed in Gods image. How He prescribed every detail, including every detail of our body. There are surely a few ways to go with that, but I'm going this way... Our bodies are a gift from God. They were carefully and precicely created. At times durable and resilient, but still fragile. A "Handle with care" sticker on the forehead would probably be appropriate. One of which is taking care of our temples, as they are a gift from God. If you were given some one of a kind, material gift that was priceless and irreplaceable, you probably wouldn't treat it as junk. Chances are, you would be overly cautious when it came to handling the item. We only get one body. Our bodies are irreplaceable. Priceless. So I've decided it is time to readjust my mindset on healthy eating and living. Before, it has always been "do it to look good". But now, it's more like "eat healthy because food is natural fuel from God, and exercise because it's good for you." Thus far, that new mindset has been super helpful mentally, physically, and emotionally. It is much easier, (and meaningful!) to live a healthy lifestyle with a healthy mindset. Temple.

2012

I kind of feel bad for New Years Resolutions. I feel that phrase has gotten a bad rap over the years and been labeled things like "flaky" and "wishy-washy" because most of them are apparently abandoned by February. However, I came across this awesome article in Fit & Firm's online issue XVII ( Found Here: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/4dfd7ae3?page=104&p9865=9985#/4dfd7ae3/22 )about how it only takes 30 days to break a bad habit or develop a new one. So with that in mind, I think New Years Resolutions deserve another shot in the Merritt household this year. FYI, I think you should take a few minutes to read the article, because like I said, its awesome. The focus is on healthy eating, but I feel the general theory could be branched out and molded into whatever "resolution" you are going with. So with that said, 2012 will be awesome. Personally, I have been waiting for 2012 for a couple years, and I am super excited it is finally here! PCS year, my best friends wedding year, visit Colorado year...election year...anyways... So yes, first, we move from England. Our tour has been 3 years and while it has been a wonderful and memorable experience, I am thankful we are in the home stretch. Come June, we will be heading to the tropical island of Okinawa Japan and we could not be more excited! The 67 mile long island will be our home for the next 4 years, (or 3, not quite sure of that small detail.) where we will enjoy sunshine, beaches, and more sunshine and beaches. And...the occasional typhoon, but that's ok =) We are excited about the opportunity to experience the life and culture the Asia/Pacific have to offer. Can. Not. Wait. Second, my best friend in the whole wide world is getting married in Cozumel Mexico this March. She is absolutely the most amazingly awesome woman I've ever met and I can not wait to stand up with her and witness the day she marries the man of her dreams. How lucky am I? Pretty lucky to have a best friend like her. Furthermore, I have some of my own 2012 resolutions, or lifestyle adaptations I'd like to implement into daily, or weekly, or monthly life. 1, LOOSE THAT BABY WEIGHT! Grace is now 8 months old and I am still retaining 20 of the 30lbs gained during pregnancy. Absolutely ready to say "peace out" to that. So this last commissary trip I loaded up with uber good foods and I've loaded my Pinterest.com Health & Fitness board with lots of challenging, but fast (yes with my munchkin, fast is an absolute must!) at home workouts to get my butt into shape. Through Pinterest.com I have come across this fantastic website,bodyrock.tv that is not only super motivational, it is cram packed with fast, intense at home workouts. I've been doing a couple of their workouts for the past few days, and that combined with 4 days of yummy Green Smoothies (2 bananas, 1/2 bag of frozen pineapple, 2 big handfuls of spinach, and almond milk to blend) the numbers on the scale have begun lowering. I've decided to do their newest 30 day challenge, beginning yesterday. So the scale is going away for the next 30 days, and I'm super excited to see where I'm at come February 1st! I say I'm going to try and post something daily about how its going, partially to keep myself accountable and motivated to not look like such a slacker. 2, Start school again I was planning on going back to school while we were living here in England, and well, here we are 2.5 years later, no school started. Things like a full time job and baby #1 ended up being big focuses, and with funding for military spouses being so "yo-yo" the past couple years. Plans didn't go, well, as planned. But that's ok, I'm super excited to get started, even if it is just with 1 or 2 classes this semester. I think it will make it easier to get focused in the fall once we are settled in Japan if I begin now. And with our visit to Colorado coming up in February, timing is kind of perfect with the abundance of babysitters that will be chomping at the bit to spend a much time with their grandbaby Grace as possible! So yes, there you have it, my two main goals for 2012. Here's hoping I can look back 351 days from now a few pounds lower and a few knotches smarter =) Happy New Year Everyone. Oh yes, and of course, a few recent pictures of our wonderful little girl who is now 8 months old and just days away from taking those first steps!

Moving Right Along...

Seems to be a phrase to sum up my life right about now. Moving right along. My 6 month old is moving right along, literally, like from one end of her crib & couch to the other, and (drum roll please!) our list of possible overseas assignments came out last week! So we are moving right along towards, well, our move =) Let me start at the beginning... Grace, quite the busy busy bee I have. I love it. Yes she is curious, determined, and into any and everything, but like I said, I love it. I think its awesome that she has that desire to learn and soak everything up. She is bold and brave, but also aware so isn't like, speed crawling into walls or anything. She is so big I am anxious to see how long she is at her next appointment. Curious to how much she weighs too, the kid will eat darn near anything. Currently having 3 "solid" meals of homemade purees a day and of course countless bottles, and is also adding in a sippy cup to the mix. Still working on those mechanics, but overall, doing very well. Furthermore, she is doing an awful lot of assisted standing and walking. Yes, walking. Walking with the help of railing, walls, and couches, but nevertheless walking.

We are planning on a trip to Colorado Springs in February and I keep telling grandparents and great-grandparents that she will be running in circles upon our arrival. She absolutely adores our two dogs, and they, especially with all 3 of them sharing a love for all things food, are starting to adore her more and more too.

And our can't-come-soon-enough move! Step 1 has finally happened. Basically a list of overseas bases that will be needing Jonnys job & rank at the time of our move in June came out to view the first week of November. What you do with that information is create a "Dreamsheet" or "Wishlist" and cross your fingers you get one of your top choices. Our list has Ramstein Germany

SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, NATO Base) in Belgium

Aviano, Italy

And all 3 bases in Japan. Okinawa

Yokota, roughly 30 miles outside Tokyo

And Misawa.

While I know those are only a few of many many possibilities, its still a fun and exciting start to the process! We have been told that December 15th is the last day overseas assignments will be given out, so if we will be heading to any of these destinations, we should know within 4 weeks. If we haven't received word by then, the stateside list of availability comes out in January and we will just go from there! There are of course tons of pros for both stateside and overseas assignments, so to be honest, we are happy with wherever we will be going. Except the south...(excluding Florida) because who wants to live in Arkansas? ;)

TTFN!

6 Months of Grace

Without a doubt, my most favorite gadget is my old Iphone. I bought a pair for Jonny & myself when he graduated Basic Training a few years back and it's been my buddy ever since. Now that we have Grace, I love it even more! Cameras are great, but rarely do I have one within reach just at the right moment, but the Iphone is always just an arm away. Usually I post pictures to facebook on a daily basis, but I know not everyone has facebook, so today I'm posting lots and LOTS of Gracie pictures in chronological order. I also think it would be super fun to just see all the photos laid out and see how much our little girl has changed. Seems like a fun 6 month old project as she just turned 6 months old this past Saturday. Crazy she will be 1 year in just 6 more months...