upward focused.

This week went by really quickly. (Do I say that every week??)  On Monday,  Jackeline said she needed to go shopping in Naha, and due to the fact that we got lost and couldn't find anything the day prior, we obliged to go with her.  She took us to this really fancy mall filled with stores like Coach, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Michael Kors, etc.  So we browsed and laughed at all of the outrageous prices, and then went to the one place in the mall that we could afford:  Godiva.  MMM.  We all got chocolate milkshakes that were delicious.  We sipped them as we went on to a mall down the street that was way more affordable.  It had tons of cute clothes and it was pretty crazy and busy with Christmas approaching.

"Ohayo Gozaimasu" translated means "Good morning".  However, "Thank you" is translated "Arigato Gozaimasu". Can you see how that could be confusing?!  Well for me, it simply means that when Arthur and I go shopping late at night, buy something, and leave by saying "Ohayo Gozaimasu"... It just leaves the store attendant to laugh at me, and me not realize it until Arthur says "What did you just say??".  Learning Japanese already has proved to be pretty difficult, and at times embarrassing.  But it's also fun! It's fun trying to say hi to the locals and they sure appreciate the effort.

Sunday.  Day 6.... of 730.  It already feels like we've been here for a while, considering how busy our first week has been and how many things we have already done.  I am so thankful for Jackeline because without her, I think we would be pretty lost.  Already in one week, we have got our CAC cards (access to base and everything on it), we bought a car, signed papers for our apartment, explored pretty much all aspects of base, completed our orientations, explored the island a little bit, met a ton of people, and got our driving licenses. And that's just to name a few.... As sunday rolled around, Jackeline let us use her car for the day because mine wouldn't be ready until Tuesday.  SO, we woke up early (still jet-lagged), hopped in the car, and took off to the northern most part of the island.  

Our first Saturday here was spent adventuring for the beginning of the day, and ended with a four course meal at the brand new Hilton Hotel off base.  Arthur worked for a couple hours in the morning, as I decorated for Christmas and cleaned up our room.  After Arthur got off work, we walked off base to look for some food.  We stopped at a cute little bakery and bought a couple pastries, and then found a little Japanese restaurant.  It was such a nice day, and Okinawa is such a great place.

It's Friday, 7:46 in the morning, and we've been up for about 2.5 hours.  It's safe to say that the jet lag hasn't gone away just yet.  The first week has been crazy busy, but so much fun.  Tuesday was our nap day.. like I said in my previous post, we napped for 6 hours, woke up and went to the food court, then went back to bed.  Arthur woke me up at 2AM that morning because he couldn't sleep any longer... and from that time until we had to wake up at 6:30, we were in and out of sleep.  We met Jacqueline (Current PenFed manager) at 7:30AM, toured the branch, and then got checked into our newcomers orientation.  We learned a LOT there.  The orientation lasted until about 4PM.  Arthur and I both passed our license tests and now we can drive!  After orientation, we went home for a little, then grabbed dinner and walked around the BX, and still feeling jet lagged, we headed back home and went to bed.  Our wifi here has been pretty bad so Facetiming and Skyping our famil

Konichiwa!! Today marks the second full day here in Okinawa, Japan.  For those of you who don't know, I just got married in August to the love of my life :).  About a month later, he accepted a job in Okinawa, Japan.  He will be the Branch Manager on Kadena Air Force Base for Pentagon Federal Credit Union.  It was a huge decision we made to come here, but I truly believe it will be one of the best decisions we made... for a couple of reasons.  1- I think it will help us grow in our marriage.  We will only have each other at first to depend on, something we wouldn't have experienced staying in Eugene around all of our friends and family.  2- We will be able to travel around, let alone just spend time on this beautiful island.  Something that in a few years when we have kids, would be way more difficult to do.  And lastly, 3- We can learn about new cultures and maybe learn a new language (hopefully!).  Plus, make friends from all over the world.  

So you've seen my Coral themed bridal shower (For those of you that haven't, you should definitely check it out here ) but as my duties as a maid of honor, I was given the opportunity and privilege to host my cousin's bridal shower.  When I asked her what she wanted as a theme- she knew instantly.  "Breakfast at Tiffany's".  I had no idea how many great ideas I would find on Pinterest under this category, but let me tell you- there was millions!  It was so fun.  We had it this last saturday at the same place I had mine at- so some of the things look pretty similar, just in a different color.  Everyone was asked to wear black which was adorable, and the bride wore a black and white dress so she stood out.  She looked so beautiful.

Wow.  I am slacking majorly. I have not posted a blog post in a couple months.  I guess that's what happens when you get engaged.... or when life gets busy.  The past couple months have flown by.  I walked at my college graduation, had my bridal shower, threw my cousin a bridal shower, moved into my mother's house, planned a wedding, and planned some more. I really had no idea how much went into planning a wedding.  I've noticed I will catch myself daydreaming about eloping on a beach-the ease and AFFORDABILITY of it sounds wonderful.  Man are weddings expensive.  But when it comes down to it,  I really am so excited to have all of my friends and family experience this huge life step for Arthur and I.  The ones who have encouraged us, loved us, supported us, been there for us.  It will be such a special day.  And to think there are only 25 days left.  Holy cow.  Excitement.  Anxiousness.  Joy.  (and a little stress sprinkled on top).

Time has been speeding by lately. After my juice cleanse, on Easter Day, my mom, brother, and I left for Hawaii for a week. The weather was perfect, the water was perfect, Hawaii was perfect. It's so beautiful there. I got back towards the end of April and since then, it seems as if each day goes by in the blink of an eye. There are 96 days until the wedding. It seems like a lot, but I have a feeling those days too will speed past. Now I'm in the process of looking for a job. Life is funny. It's hard. It's messy. And the unpredictable can feel like it could kill you. Change is hard to accept, but not knowing what will happen is so much harder.

Well I finished the juice cleanse... AND I feel really good!  My body felt more energized and my mind more clear.  As soon as the cleanse was done, it was like my self control disappeared. I started eating cookies and rice krispie treats, granola bars and peanut butter.  Ergo, I have decided to continue on this clean eating streak.  I am going to try to do a clean food diet-- well, not a diet exactly.  I feel like the word diet has a bad rap, because it's usually associated with losing weight.  I am not doing this to lose weight but rather to feel healthy, strong, and fuel my body with GOOD and NATURAL foods.  I am starting with 10 days.  Only eat clean, natural foods and see how I feel.  Because I am not restricted to certain juices or foods at certain times, I think it will be easier than the juice cleanse I did.

1.5 days left!!! I cannot wait.  I'm hungry.  This JUST juice cleanse is pretty difficult. Obviously because I have been eating fruit and veggies when I should just be drinking juice :(... FAIL.  Oh well, those things aren't unhealthy.  I'll probably try and finish off today and all of tomorrow with just juice and see how I feel.  I just have to avoid them BEETS because they are NASTAYYYY.  Overall, I have lost 8 lbs, I feel healthy and energized.  Yesterday Arthur had Taco Bell and it looked delicious. I had apples and broccoli.  It was good. I guess.

So I've been slacking on blog updates but the good news is...I've stayed strong and haven't cheated or stopped doing the cleanse! Friday ended my food AND juice cleanse and since Saturday I have only had juice.  I have decided to end the just juice cleanse early however because I'm constantly hungry and think that the short 5 day cleanse will be good for my body, but then I can just continue to eat healthy. (but more...so I'm not always hungry haha, or HANGRY).

Day 3 wasn't too bad at all!  I'm finding that I don't have much energy in the morning time, but after I get up and get ready I seem to have quite a bit of energy.  My self control with eating candy (I have the biggest candy addiction in the world..no joke) has been so good!! My cousin asked me the other day what is different because usually I can't control myself on any type of diet or cleanse... and honestly the only thing that is different is I prayed! I prayed for strength and self control and it honestly has worked better than anything I have tried before.  Some may think that's silly, but it has been awesome!

Day 2 hasn't been too bad... I was pretty hungry around lunch time but that's because I always get busy so there is always a while in between my breakfast and lunch.  PLUS- I watched Arthur eat Panda Express, which always sounds good to me haha.. Today I had an apple with cinnamon for breakfast, a pear-cucumber-kale-celery juice (EW), a delicious kale salad with balsamic and tomatoes and avocado, some more of the same juice, and some carrots.  I have a lot of energy tonight, I don't know if it's from what I've been eating though. This morning I tried to do a workout and felt a little weak.

Day one is almost done!  Today I had two juices, one salad, some sweet potato and carrot fries (interesting), and a berry-apple-cinnamon breakfast that was pretty good (at first).

I've decided to do a juice cleanse!  I've heard great things about them, and all the benefits it can bring to your body.  My biggest challenge however will be: self-control.  I figured if I blog about it, maybe I will be more willing to stick with it.  I'm going to do a 15 day juice "reboot".  5 days will be eating and juicing, and the other 10 days will be only juicing.  Juicing has many benefits, such as it helps boost your immune system, it can help clear your skin, it helps with digestion, and it resets your system to reduce unhealthy cravings, as well as many other things. The cleanse I am going to do is through "Reboot with Joe" which you can find here . 

Names are only so helpful--> but pictures! That's what draws people in.  Could be a memory of a time, or the feeling you get when you picture yourself in that situation.  The power of photography is huge . Pictures can take you back to a moment you had-- one that you could never go back and repeat, and it gives you joy.  Photography can also cause laughter, and quite frequently--embarrassment.  For those pictures, thankfully there is a delete button.  But compare this post to my last one.  Instead of the names of all of the cities and countries to visit on a Eurotrip , try pictures .  See if it entices you more.  These pictures correlate with the list of cities in my previous blogpost... but I will have to split it in half and show you the first fifteen in this post, the last 16 in the next.. :)

I found this on Pinterest and decided that if Arthur and I do decide to trek across Europe, this is definitely the route we would take. Also, the next blog post will be pictures of all these beautiful places, so stay tuned!

So amidst these wedding plans... Arthur and I stepped back and tried to ask ourselves... Would we rather spend a couple thousand on one wedding day, or would we rather travel Europe for 2-3 months.  At first I think we were kidding, only hypothetically speaking.... Now we are actually questioning it.  What to do, what to do.....

Well, the moment almost every woman waits for in her life occurred for me at the beginning of this month. No, it wasn't getting my license.  No, it was not graduation high school.   No, it was not turning 21.   No, it was not graduating college. 

I love to-do lists.

A verse that has really been on my heart today is in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

The last two months have been CRAZY! I'm thankful for every moment of them... or trying to be... because I have grown, and I have learned, and I have worked on the person I am, and am becoming.  But it's so insane how life can go from seemingly flawless to difficult, sad, and even  exhausting at times . 

Well the new year is here and the holiday season flew by. I actually cannot believe how quickly November and December went by. They were great months, and much did happen! For example : I quit my job and started a new one. Arthur and I had our one year. My cousin had a baby girl. Arthur got sick. Then I got sick. Three Christmases took place. A trip to Odell lake with my family. My roommate got engaged. Love strengthened, family relationships were challenged and grew, my patience and determination were tested, God revealed places I needed to grow in, and lastly, I got an amazing, beautiful, fancyyy camera that I love to use from my wonderful boyfriend.