Cherishing Moments & Creating Long Lasting Memories

I've found myself cherishing my loved ones more so lately. I don't know if it's cause I'm getting older, but I hold those dear to me very close to my heart. At the top of that list are definitely my children. And it might just be due to the fact that I have always chosen to take a more active role in their lives. Their success has always been very important to Hoko & I. We try to stay as involved in their lives as possible without smothering them or doing things for them.

These past couple of weeks I've taken the initiative in incorporating healthier options in not just our eating, but in giving my kids the option to be more involved. They're always cooking with Hoko in the kitchen cause I was always too impatient with them, but I've loosened up a little & am slowly letting them into my domain. Lol. Baby steps, right? I've also created a 'jogging crew' that's totally volunteer based. 👍It consists of Lote Si'i, Polu Marie, Jordan & I. It doesn't get any better than this.

They used to ask to exercise with me all the time, but we would always get in each others way & I'd always end up so frustrated. Now that I've been doing it for a while & the sheer fact that their interest in it hasn't lessened, I've come up with win/win solutions for all of us to succeed. And not just in the physical sense. I'm finding that we're bonding on a whole different level now. They confide their current emotions & their everyday insecurities with me. I think it's so easy to forget how it feels to be a little girl at their age going thru all these different things. The physical changes as well as the emotional ones that are tied so closely together.

Well, this little 'jogging crew' of mine has blossomed into such long lasting memories with my girls. Lote Si'i was telling me that she's decided to come running with me every night cause she's not happy with herself. She said that she knows she shouldn't be as big as she is & she wants to do something about it. *tears* This is our child that has been our 'fatso' since birth. In that moment I felt so proud of her for taking the initiative to do something about whatever it was that's making her unhappy. And at the same time I couldn't help, but reflect on this decision that I made back in 2008 to become the BEST me both spiritually & temporally (physically) as I can be & the absolute tangible effect it's having on not just me, but also on those that I cherish most. My kids. My lil Lote continued to share with me her hopes of joining a track team this next school year & I was amazed with this lil blessing in my life & her courage to face her fears right dead in the eye & do something about it. I love & admire her so much. I feel this way about all of my kids. It never ceases to amaze me how much they continue to teach me without their even knowing. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father's blessed me with such amazing kids. And even more so...with ones that know that I'm here for them no matter what. I hope & pray that my relationship with my kids grows continually in alliance with that of the gospel & all the wonderful blessings that come from living an honest, true & chaste life. I plan on creating countless memories with my beautiful blessings. #mykidsROCK

Shhhh. . . .It's A Secret

I just got done watching Beyonce's interview from last night's MET Gala event.  I love her honesty in it.  She's asked by the interviewer how she got her amazing body back which she doesn't skip a beat in answering:  HARD WORK.  She continues to say that there's no secret.  It's just discipline.  I'm always asked what my secret is to being my size.  And I say it like that cause I'm not at my goal weight/size so I'm not comfortable to say 'in shape.'  Plus, I don't have abs yet, either.  Lol.  So I CAN'T say that anyway.  Hahahaha!!  But I love the pure HONESTY on Bey's face when she answers: 'Hard work.  There's no secret.  Discipline.'  She's now been given the chance to experience motherhood.  All the joys that come with it as well as the sleepless nights, weight gain, first time mom over protections, fatigue & so forth.  Cause in all this, she's also still working.  


There's no secret to having a great body.  The key to it has always been exercising & eating right.  It's absolutely discipline that sets you apart from the rest.  I just recently turned 29 and I don't take for granted the fact that my time is ticking so I'm taking the necessary steps to give my body what it deserves:  Great Health.  As you age, your metabolism slows down.  Eating right & exercising daily gives you that increase in metabolism your body needs in order to burn unwanted fat.  I'm getting myself used to eating every 2-3 hours.  It's been a little bit of a challenge for me cause I'm so used to just doing 3 meals/day, but with the intense workout regime Insanity entails, I've succumb to giving my body what it needs so that it will give me back the results that I deserve.  I've added a gallon of water a day cause I read in a magazine that that's how much Bey drinks.  Lol.  And I know it's only benefiting me.  Staying hydrated is great for your skin, too.  Anyways, this was something that inspired me & I want to post about it.  :D


And P.S.:  Pay attention to food labels.  Read the ingredients label so as to know exactly what's going into your body.  This is something I do all the time.  No hydrogenated anything.  Even if it's just partial.  That kinda fat is deadly.  It's banned in some countries around the world including Denmark.  It should be banned here, but we love our fast foods too much.  Terrible. 

Grateful

I know it's a new month and all, but I have to document this since it means so much to me. I'm extremely blessed to have the people that I have in my life. There are only a handful of you that I honestly consider true friends/girlfriends. And even more so, the fact that you guys are my sister inlaws makes it that much more special. Fine & Sheena....I love you guys. Thank you for being there when I really just needed to talk or vent or laugh or cry or sing or be mad or chill or whatever.....thanks for making time for me in your lives. Thanks for knowing me well enough to be able to get me gifts that I would absolutely love n use!! I love you two so much & cherish the bond we share. We're pretty much girlfriends that act a fool no matter what the occasion when we're together. I appreciate you both. I'm grateful for the both of you. :) I don't take for granted the relationship that has developed between the three of us & I appreciate the good times, the bad times, the fun times & more so...the personal times. Here's to it only getting better. I love you two!! :)

Getting. In. Shape

I've been laser eye focusing on my health & fitness since giving birth to baby #7. It's something that's always been important to me. I want to be the number ONE example in my children's eyes of living a healthy lifestyle.


I remember growing up in Tonga, my dad would take us running with him & I swore nobody was as fast as him. I would stand in awe of how fast he could run. He woke up early every morning & ran 5 miles without breaking a sweat. My mom & I would sit at the wharf & watch him swim out so far & then turn around & swim back like it was something anyone could do. He was AMAZING!! I love my dad for being my prime example of healthy living. He still actively workouts every morning & night at home.


When I gave birth to Jordan back in October of last year, I felt so grateful to have such an amazing & sacred blessing in my life. I was also in the middle of fall semester so my life was a bit overwhelming, to say the least. I gained a total of 52 lbs & I was not looking forward to losing it. Lol. Who would?? But I've never been one to wallow in my sorrows for too long so I sucked it up & got to work. Back in December, I saw a post on pinterest of a mother with before & after pics over the course of a year and her body looked like mine. It's what caught my attention. She'd been doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Her 'after' pics didn't look like some total transformation of an unrecognizable body, but it still looked great. Her stomach was flat with small stretch marks along her lower abdomen and she had definitely lost weight & it looked REAL. It totally inspired me & I found myself at Walmart buying this at home workout DVD. I'm so glad I did. Jillian Michaels started slowly transforming my body and my eating habits. What I loved most about this particular DVD is the fact that the workouts were only 20 min. It's what got me thru days & nights of no motivation at all & bad eating. Knowing that it was only gonna be 20 min kept me religiously faithful to this workout regimen. There's three different level. Easiest to hardest. I'd recently been doing level III (hardest) & was feeling great. I figured once I'd mastered it, I would move onto her latest dvd's that have just recently been released. But to my surprise, my sister inlaw, Sheena, bought me Shaun T's Insanity dvd's. So I started doing those this past week.


It's a 60-day program that I plan to stick to. I measured myself before I started & then again at the end of the week & I'm psyched to be down a couple of inches overall. I love the Insanity series. It pushes me to my limit, but I'm able to take the needed breaks. I also love that it's all about speed & endurance. We do intervals & then stretching which can I just say that I sweat a ton more during the stretching than from the workouts. It's intense!! But I love it & I'm absolutely sticking to the WHOLE 60 days. I'm already seeing results, but I want more. I feel so great about GETTING. IN. SHAPE. I plan to be around for a very long time so I can enjoy watching & being involved with my kids as they grow up.

29??

Yup. Last week I turned 29 and to be honest....it feels GREAT!! I feel like I'm getting in the best shape of my life.  And that's not just physically. I've created a very tight knit circle of people in my life who I can say love me just as much as I love them. I'm continuing to grow in my relationship with Hoko and I cherish every moment we have together cause YESSS....that saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder is definitely our truth at this point in our lives together. We started out so young, inexperienced, flawed from head to toe, insecure, naive, foolish, blind to the obvious and just full of going where the wind blew. Pathetic, right?? Wrong!! Cause with all our experiences in life, we've become thee strongest we've ever been. I love this man with all my heart and am so grateful for his continuing sacrifice that he makes for our family of nine. I'm hopelessly in love with him. 

I'm continuing to learn so many different things as a mother to my children. I've never learned so much in my life then when I became a mom. People are always telling me that they don't know how I do it with seven kids and Hoko working out of town, but my kids are really pretty amazing on their own rite. I swear they teach me soooo much more than I have or will ever teach them period!! I'm so patient because of their innocent nature in pointing out the simplicities that the Lord has blessed us with. I'm so in love with Hoko because they bring out the BEST in him as their dad that flies kites with them, eats late night desserts with them and then gets up bright and early to make them a hot breakfast.  He stays up 'til the wee hours of the morning completing school projects with the girls, and most importantly....loving their mom so unconditionally that I get butterflies just writing about it. I've heard my daughters conversating with each other on more than one occasion about how they want to marry a man that loves them as much as Hoko loves me. *tears* It's a good thing that it's only gotten better with time. ;)

I'm learning that I need to be *HAPPY* with myself and stop looking for people's approval as a NEED in order to be happy. I continue to discover things that I love to do and I do them. Whether it's by myself or with a friend....it doesn't matter. As long as it makes ME happy. I'm all about enjoying life to the FULLEST so I'm trying my best to make thee best out of the cards that I'm dealt with and surprisingly?? I am absolutely content. I have outlawed a lot of people in my life and am enjoying my choices thus far.

At 29, I have this newfound feeling of urgency in not having time for things and people who don't have my best interests at heart. I'm indulging in the sacredness of being a woman who will stop at nothing to achieve her dreams/goals. A woman who will protect and honor her family at all costs. And a woman who stands up for what is right because there just aren't enough women in the world doing it. I love my relief society sisters. Their examples help me get thru the day/week.

29 has brought so much more sentimental feelings of gratefulness for the people that are in my life. My birthday was spent with the ones I love MOST. Hoko and our kids. We had dinner at my favorite steakhouse. Texas Roadhouse. I always get the 12 oz NY Strip. It's my fave!! We had such a great time. Jordan sat in a high chair for the first time and I was that annoying mom taking pictures of his every move. Lol. I don't care. I love my babies!! All eight of them. And yess, that includes Hoko. :) Earlier that day, we took the boys to my mom's and Hoko was planning to take me to do my most favorite thing in the world: SHOPPING!! Hahaha...but I didn't feel well so we went to lunch at Red Ginger and picked Jordan up and headed back home (baby Hoko and Savou stayed w/grandma per their request). When we got home, I threw my sweats on, got my comforter out, popped some redbox's in and knocked out on the couch before the movie even started. I was famished!! We woke up a couple of hours later when the girls came home from school, got ready and headed out to dinner with them. We had such a great night. Nothing fancy. Just Hoko and our kids. That's all I needed. It's all I've ever needed. They are my everything. They are ME. :)

Homemade Babeh!!

This past Christmas, my sister made me a vanilla body scrub courtesy of Pinterest. :) What's better than a homemade gift?? Uhhhh....nothing!! Things that actually consist of someone's time and effort is absolutely priceless to me. I love her so much. From the very first use, I could see/feel the difference on my skin. I was immediately SOLD!! I recently ran out and had to get the recipe from her. Here's to my very first HOMEMADE SCRUB!! And guess what?? It's Dr. Oz approved!! Woohoo!! :D

"We Must Have Those Blessings"

   My girls performed their Tahitian number at a wedding on Saturday.  The bride is Hoko's first cousin, but more or less a sister to him.  We both LOVE this family very much and were so happy to be a part of her special day.  Of course, due to our polynesian culture, they each received money from it.  They totaled it up and I told them to hand it over so I can hold it for them so they're not walking around flashing their money like they're tight or something.  Lol.  Seriously, tho.  Kids can be so annoying sometimes.  As they unwillingly handed them over, I told them we'd talk more when we got home.  We got home really late  that night so the talk was delayed until the next day.  They all asked for their money and I told them that they had to pay their tithing before spending on anything else.  They all nodded, but as they walked off, my lil Lote turned and said, "But we shouldn't waste money on tithing when we have to save for our cruise."  My immediate reaction was anger cause I couldn't believe what I just heard.  I turned around and said, "What did you just say?  We have to pay our tithing cause we NEED those blessings!!"  Only I can say that last sentence in an angry voice like that.  Who does that??  Total parenting #FAIL# moment!!  As I contemplated my reaction as well as the words that came out of Lote sii's mouth, I realized that she obviously doesn't understand the principle of tithes and offerings.  I later asked her if she knew why we paid tithing and she replied 'no.'  I explained that first and foremost, it's a commandment from God and we do it out of obedience.  I continued to explain that our tithing is used to build temples, churches, the Bishop's storehouse for families that fall into hard times and for all the missionaries out there preaching the gospel to all the world.  She innocently nodded her head and I could tell that she understood, but things still didn't click as to WHY.  As great as all those things sounded to her 9 year old brain, I knew she was still wondering why when we don't get anything out of it.  We're actually losing money by giving it away.  


   Later that night I felt prompted to log onto the lds.org website so I can re-read the talk that was given by Elder Boyd K. Packer this past conference.  It was one of my favorite ones.  But as soon as the website pulled up, a link immediately caught my attention.  It said 'Tithing Brings Blessings.'  I clicked on it and came across this story that I can say with absolute conviction that I was supposed to read.  Here it is:

Elder Oaks says paying tithing is, first of all, an act of faith. He tells of a time during World War II when his widowed mother worked as a schoolteacher and earned a meager salary to support her three children. When he became aware that their family was going without some desired possessions because they didn’t have enough money, he asked his mother why she continued to pay tithing.

He has never forgotten her response: “Dallin, there might be some people who can get along without paying tithing, but we can’t. The Lord has chosen to take your father and leave me to raise you children. I cannot do that without the blessings of the Lord, and I obtain those blessings by paying an honest tithing. When I pay my tithing, I have the Lord’s promise that he will bless us, and we must have those blessings if we are to get along.”

   I absolutely LOVE that story.  With Hoko working out of town these past couple of years, this is exactly how I feel about many different aspects of the church.  Tithing is definitely one of them.   We need the blessings that come from the obedience of being a full tithe payer.  I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life.  It continues to help me get through days when I just need a reminder of my father in heaven's love for me.  :D

C.R.E.A.T.E

This word has been floating around in my head for a while. I've always believed that if I wanted something in life or even if I wanted my circumstances to be a certain way, all I had to do was C.R.E.A.T.E it. It's one of the most crucial words in the English language. It attracts everything you want in life into it. And although we encounter bumps and hiccups in the road, we learn from them and our loving father in heaven continues to bless us with the wonderful talent(s) of creating things in and around our lives.

I've busied myself these past couple of months with projects. Both for my home, family and myself. It makes me happy so I continue to do so. I've only shared these with a select few so this is my first time publishing them as a whole. Enjoy :)

Just One of Those Nights

It's just one of those nights that I really miss my baby. I've been really spring cleaning my surroundings and have realized how much I cherish the people around me. The REAL ones. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm so content with the person I am (always room for improvement). And who I am has everything to do with who I have in my life. My baby's definitely at the top of my list. I love him so much for always loving me for me. I don't ever have to front when it comes to him or feel like I have to be something I'm not. He's always accepted me the way I am. Flaws n all.

I've been feeling super CREATIVE lately as well. Really soaking in the fact that I am a daughter of God. Thee supreme creator of all things so I should be able to tap into a fraction of it. A very small one at that, but I'm super content with that. As long as I get to keep the creative process rolling so as to fulfill that longing. I love my baby and all seven blessings that have come from our dysfunctional, yet unconditional love for one another. Sunday can't come soon enough. #countdown

I held on so tight before he walked out the door :(

Newest Obsession

So I've come to terms with the fact that I absolutely suck at keeping up with my blog. I mean, come on. . .my last post was last year and we're already well on our way to the halfway mark of 2012. Wow! Where has the time gone?

Anyways, I'm here to talk about my newest obsession. I have too many to count so I figured my newest one is a pretty good place to start.

C.U.P.C.A.K.E.S

Never in my life have I ever been a fan of these little suckers, but moving to Ogden and discovering this place

has changed all that. Hands down thee best cupcakes you will ever eat in your life! We're pretty much regulars at this place and they're pretty pricey. So my #frugal# intuition has taken over and convinced my #whocaresabouttheprice# personality that I need to try my hand at making these lil suckers at home so we can stop wasting money on something that's only adding to our waistlines. Blahhh...and yet, since my discovery of this piece of heaven on earth, I can't imagine my life without cupcakes. Wow! Totally having a #fat# moment right now. I'm a little particular about the way I make things...ok ok I'm VERY particular about the way I make things especially when it comes to food. One of the many AMAZING things about the cupcakes that come from the Vintage Cupcake shop is the way she makes her frosting. None of that canned stuff or even whipped. It's seriously the creamiest, exploding with taste frosting you will ever taste. That is, of course, if my practicing ever pays off and I can re-create these absolute beauties. So far it's been a total fail, but no worries. I'm making time to keep on keepin' on, while secretly hoping Hoko gets it and buys me a Kitchenaid/Bosch mixer soon. Never give up, right?

I've come to a place in my life where I live my life everyday doing whatever makes me HAPPY. If that means not working out all week, but still watching what I eat then that's what's going to happen. If it means stacking up so many projects and not getting to a single one today because all I have time for are my kids, then I'm more than content with that. And if I've done nothing, but make cupcakes and frosting all day and still not have worked out, then guess what?? I'm still absolutely HAPPY with that. :D

Here's to my newest obsession and more posts to come since I finally put the app on my phone. Lol. Enjoy...