Thankful, Grateful and Happy

Thanksgiving.

A time to take in all that you've been blessed with and thank the good Lord for it all.

I am super grateful for so many things. As sad as this might sound but one of my top listed would be my divorce. I remember being this happy before and I'm so glad that I was strong enough to take my defeat in a marriage I hoped would last an eternity and really really really found myself. I do still have a lot to learn and grow from. But as of now, I couldn't be any more proud of myself and the decisions that I have made for this year.

Things in my life have come together - again. Back to the single mom life and to honest, I wanna say that I am at my best when I am this way. I don't doubt that my super man is out there but I do know that before he can find me, I do need to find myself. Which I'm working on.

So this Thanksgiving, we will be celebrating in Vegas as a family. I'm excited and can't wait to take a nice little break with my family and kids. It is also the championship of my nephews football team. That's what chose the location. But overall I'm just so excited to take some time off and relax.

It's been quite a busy past few months with the kids in sports, back in school and me still working full time. I'm somehow managing just I did before.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones. I hope you find lifes bliss and allow it to change your life for the better.

XOXO Via

Intermittent Fasting - Week 2

Day 8 Monday October 30, 2017 = 201.6 pounds (morning weight)

                Woke up this morning and weighed myself at 201.6 and am super happy with where I am at. I look at myself in the mirror and simply feel good. Even though my number are coming down slow, which I think should be since I am not working out just yet – I can tell my body is changing.

Day 9 Tuesday October 31, 2017 = 200.8 pounds (morning weight)

                Thinking about all the changes that have happened with the whole Intermittent Fasting I can say that as of right now, I feel really good. Those headaches I had at the beginning are gone. The stinging feel in my nose are now gone. I want to say that my body has now adjusted to the new changes. The fasting period is now normal to me. I do continue to stay mentally focused on the timing of my eating window. Overall as of now – I’m loving this new change.

Day 10 Wednesday November 1 = 200.4 pounds (morning weight)

                So since yesterday was Halloween, I held out my eating window for 1 hour, up until 7 pm. All for what? One piece of chocolate. Lol Now I made this chocolate. It’s a recipe I found on Pinterest. It’s called Keto Chocolate. The ingredients consist of; unsweetened baker’s chocolate, real butter, heavy cream and stevia. It tasted like chocolate and my one little piece I ate had satisfied my Halloween sweet tooth cravings. Lol

                Today has been good so far. I did randomly wake up at 3 am and couldn’t go back to sleep which was surprising cause I was the one walking the kids around the neighborhood doing all the trick or treating. I wasn’t tired at all and we hit our entire neighborhood which also surprised me. But yeah, I wasn’t tired, I was just cold. I’m wondering if my sleep patterns might change now that I have adapted to an 18:6 Intermittent Fasting routine.

Day 11 Thursday November 2, 2017 = 199.4 pounds (morning weight)

                I woke up at around midnight and couldn’t sleep. As I said yesterday, I’m wondering if I’m going through a sleeping habit change. I stayed up until about 4 am and got a lot of house work done. I’m feeling good and I’m still going strong on my intermittent fasting. I don’t feel weary or tired right now even though I had a weird awakening early this morning. I feel strong both physically and even mentally.

Day 12 Friday November 3, 2017 = 199.4 pounds (morning weight)

                Today. I feel good. =)

Day 13/14 Saturday November 4 & 5, 2017 199.2 pounds/198.6 pounds (morning weights)

                Alright so this weekend was not bad at all. The timing and food option was actually completely on point. Saturday my nephews had championship football games and the games finished about 1 pm. Which afterward we all celebrated at King Buffet. Now this restaurant is one of my favorites. I have never loved string beans as much as I did this day. I had beef and chicken and shrimp also. I was soooo stuffed that I was sure I was going to gain the following morning. But to my surprise I lost almost a full pound. I was so ecstatic Sunday morning. I also tested myself to see where I am in Ketosis and tested in full Ketosis. I was happy about that too.

Sunday was Tamara’s Birthday and she loves chocolate cake. It wasn’t hard at all refraining from all the sweets that were around. The only thing that I do need to work on is drinking more water.

“Second Week was easy breezy! I really handled this week like a champ and didn’t have any weaknesses in cravings or over indulging in the foods that I am currently eating. Third week can Bring It On!”

XOXO VIA

It's Great To Be Eight!

My Dear Tamara,

I can't believe you are now 8 years old.

Not only is this huge to me as your Mom but it is also a major key point in your life as you are about to be Baptized. This point in your life really is important and I hope and pray that as you grow into womanhood you too can incorporate the importance of this milestone in your life. I hope that me as your Mom have done enough to help you reach this step and have prepared you for it also. I am excited for what is to come for you and how you bloom through this phase.

It's not easy glancing back on the past 8 years and all that I've been blessed with you in my life. There are so many memories rushing through my mind right now.

Like the time you said your first word - Mmmm!

Or the time when you took your first steps when we were living the Aunty Kuuipo.

Or the time you had bronchitis and all you could eat was Green Jello.

Or the time you left me and henele to go to Disney Land and for that entire week, Henele cried for you. (that was a trying week for me lol)

Or the time that I almost got into full on brawl at Winco cause some random lady was bullying you.

Or this past Summer when you finally learned to swim.

I can go on and on and on.

Tamara - I credit so much of who I am today: as a mom, aunt, teacher, friend and worker to YOU!

It's because of you that my life became so clear. You really have brought color to my world and I honestly couldn't be any more proud of you and all that you have accomplished thus far in your life.

I am so honored that I get to be your Mommy!

I love you with every bit of me.

And with all that you have taught me and have helped me grow to be, I will do my best to teach it all right back to you so you too can be as good as I have become.

I want you to be able to see the good in others - especially the ones that need it the most, whether they hate you or offend you or challenge you in ways that seem impossible to achieve.

I want you to know that YOU can do it! You can do anything in this world as long as your mind and heart are pure.

Happy Birthday Tamara Leethee Unasa,

You are the sparkle in my eye. =)

XOXO MOMMY

Intermittent Fasting - Week 1

Begin Date – Sunday October 22, 2017 @ 12 am (last ate Saturday Night @ 9-10 pm)

                First window of eating started Sunday @ 12 noon and went until 6 pm. I ate ribs, avocado, broccoli and a whole lot of ranch. Sunday’s eating was not bad. I am not counting calories. My stomach is telling me when to stop. After ending at 6 pm, just kept myself busy to get the time going.

Official Day 1 – Monday October 23,2017                                                            207.2 pounds (morning weight)

                Window of eating continued the same. 12 pm to 6 pm. From the hours of 9 till 12 I was super hungry. My stomach was calling for food. I did have a small headache and you know that feeling you get when you are upside down and the blood rushes down toward your head and you feel that sting in your nose, well that’s what I felt a lot of before I started my eating window and a little bit even after. I do think this is my body adjusting to the changes I am putting on it.

Day 2 – Tuesday October 24, 2017                                                                            203.8 pounds (morning weight)

                Window of eating continued the same. 12pm to 6 pm. The symptoms I felt yesterday morning are similar today just not as bad. I do have a headache and that sting in my nose is very minimal compared to yesterday. I do feel a little more alive to be honest. I feel a little more energy today. For my meal I had pork loin, steamed celery, an avocado and ranch dressing. I also did eat some strawberries. It is currently 3:30 pm and I’m feeling fine. 

Day 3 – Wednesday October 25, 2017                                                                     202.0 pounds (morning weight)

                It’s 8:30 am and I just got to work. Thinking hard about last night. From about 4-8 pm (let’s just say the whole evening) I had a huge headache. I never get headaches in general and I would say it’s simply cause I strong headed and hard headed. I’m the type that doesn’t allow shallow thoughts to cloud my judgement. I just don’t. But last night I had a headache. I hated it. I laid down on the couch and basically played on my phone cause the kids were not helping the need I had for sleep. So, I just laid there. Helpless. But snapchat was a good friend that kept me somewhat entertained. 

                Work is slow today. I been sitting for about 15 minutes and no call. I still work for an inbound call center. But in the comfort of my home is really what makes this job so easy and so great. I have prepped my meal for my 6-hour eating window. I have a California veggie blend and some salmon that is currently defrosting. I will season it in the next few hours.

                I’m down 5 pounds since official day 1 and overall – I’m liking the results, but the adaption is really what sucks. No headache this morning. I’m hoping it stays this way.

Day 4 Thursday October 26, 2017                                                                             201.0 pounds (morning weight)

                A few notes I want to jot down from last night. I was tired. I got off work about 5 pm and went to my niece’s volleyball game and throughout the game as attentive as I was – I couldn’t stop yawning. It was weird. I was there, alert and completely lost in the game, yet I was tired. When my niece scored the winning point kill – I jumped up and screamed at the top of my lungs and that’s when it really hit me. Major migraine. It was like, I there was way too much blood in my head that when I stopped screaming, I had to really stop and think about what was happening in my head. The stinging was so strong. I downed some water and on my way home I felt fine. So, I guess I may just not had enough water yesterday, although if I recall – I had tons of water. Idk. My 12-6-hour window remained the same. I ate Salmon, veggies and a piece of keto chocolate that I made. It was terrible! I threw it all away and relooked at the recipe I used, and it was way wrong. I didn’t put enough sweetener in it. I’ll attempt again here soon.

Day 5 Friday October 27, 2017                                                                                    201.2 pounds (morning weight)

                So today has been quite a good day. My eating window has remained the same. I don’t have any headaches or any off or weird symptoms. I honestly feel pretty good. Now with today being Friday and thinking back on my week, I have not incorporated any physical workouts in – yet. So with me downing about 6 pounds this week without any working out, lets give some workouts a try this next week and see what our numbers look like.

                Mentally, I’m content. I’m not like dying in thoughts of carbs and junk food. I actually have simply kept my mind on the results I want and where I want to be.

                This weekend will not hold any workouts – well I don’t think anyway. But still plan to hold my committed eating window to remain the same.

Day 6-7 Sat-Sun October 28, 2017             201.6 pounds – Sat / 203.2 pounds – Sun (morning weight)

                Ok. So this weekend was a challenging and not so challenging weekend. But I first want to go over Friday night. I got off of work at 4:45 and went with my two brothers to City Creek. We needed to fix a few broken Iphones at the apple store. So we dropped them off and they said that the wait time would be about an hour. This is 6 pm and after my window of eating. My brothers treated Great Steak and I ate a steak salad. So I actually closed my window of eating about 6:30. I didn’t mind. I didn’t push my window out a half hour later the following day, I just continued the committed 12 – 6 window.

                For both Saturday and Sunday – I was able to hold to the committed 12-6 windown and stayed complete keto with my meals. Now Saturday morning I ate a lot of cheese which is probably why I weighed 203.2 that morning. I have these Ziploc bags of cubed Colby jack cheese that are like my “carry around snacks” simply cause anytime I leave the house, food is just about everywhere. So I satisfy my watering mouth with my go to snacks. -=) But overall – Saturday was great!

                Sunday was also great. I ate a whole lot of sheep with keto ranch and grilled chicken with keto ranch. I haven’t had a sweet tooth yet which I am surprised with tomorrow being Halloween and all. I’m refraining just fine from all the candy the kids are obtaining through all these local Halloween parties and trunk-or-treats. 

“Overall – my first week, I am satisfied. It was rough in the beginning but I want to say that that was just me adapting to the changes both mentally and physically. I am happy with the results and can’t wait to see what this weeks challenges bring me.”

Coach Via

Oh Heyy!!

Things have simmered down since Tamara's last basketball game for the fall season. Her last game was last Saturday and it went just well. She scored once, not that we even keep score for her playing age group. But because she's my girl, of course I kept count. hahaa

Anyways. Coaching!

Coaching has been SUCH AN EXPERIENCE! There is way more pros then cons and that goes for the opportunity I had to coach Pre-K/Kindergarten and 1st/2nd graders. The two groups respond completely different but the fact that they are all just kids really did make my experience oh so much better.

I do have to admit - when walking into the Rec Center and the Staff sees me and yells, "Hey! Wassup Coach!" - I felt super cool. =)

Soccer is way more fun then basketball. Soccer was so simple and the kids had no issue following instructions but were WAY easily distracted. lol I remember joking with one of my sisters saying that our favorite play for soccer was - Stop chasing the butterflies! This soccer team has seriously been the best. I couldn't have had a more fun experience in this journey then being the coach for this little soccer team.

Leo - Leni - Isaiah - Hene

Now basketball on the other hand was little more challenging. One thing I learned about the ages of 1st grade/2nd grade is that they are harder to instruct and discipline. They have a different type of attitude when things don't go there way and they cry more. lol You would think I would be the other way around between the two age groups I coached but no. It was hard to simply explain that they have to work. That by itself. It's like a lot of them wanted to be an all star on the court without putting in hard work.

I had one player in particular that was so trying for me. He was the one that worked so hard but when things didn't work out in his favor, he would cry and get mad. There was so many times that he was fall to the ground and play the injured card even though he wasn't. This taught me a whole new kind of patience. I don't deal with this type of stuff with Tamara and Henele because that's just how I've diciplined them. But this is strictly basketball and I really had to be mindful of other parents and how they are upbringing their kids. So this type of patience really taught me some real empathy in the aspect of a mother. I don't judge other mothers and how they are bringing up their kids but when it reflect the outcome of my ability to coach, I felt I sometimes had to step in with "pep talks."

May have been challenging but it was definitely a learning point for me also.

Wesley - Sabdi - Tamara - Abram - Agustino

Overall, coaching has been amazing and absolutely loved the opportunity to coach my kids in their first sport seasons. Going forward, if I feel up to it, I do want to continue to coach. But for now, I think I will let others take care of the job. Not because this past round was too much for me but simply because I predict a few personal life changes occurring here in the near future and I want to make sure I can accommodate their sports lives with these predicted changes.

I'll save these changes for another post on another day.

XOXO Via

Fall-ing In Love

The world is beginning to turn on it's axis.
The world is becoming cold.
The crisp fall wind hits the tip of my nose and turns pink.
The sun shines all the while.
The sound of wrestling leaves as they fall to the ground.
The taste of pumpkin and smell of honeysuckle.

The time of year that I call love.

So, I ran into this quote.

One day it just clicks.

You realize what's important and what isn't. You learn to care less about what other people thnk of you and more about what you think of yourself. You realize how far you've come and you remember when you thought things were such a mess that you would never recover. 

And you smile.

You smile because you are truly proud of yourself and the person you've fought to become.

Makes sense right?

I honestly couldn't be more proud of myself then where I currently stand in life. I've found life's bliss - again. When I felt like life was just crewl and I felt so helpless, as hard as I fought to simply give "what I though" was what my kids needed. It took me a little while to finally grasp that fact that not everyone's happily ever after is fighting to keep a family complete. But living life happily. Even if it means letting go.

I know I've talked about this a few times. But I wish I can put words to blog to really express how incredible I feel. How absolutely in-love with life I am. 

I have a friend at work that struggles the same that I once did and think back on it, and am just so proud of all of it. Of trying a second time. Of filing my second divorce. Of simply - still going.

I'm proud of myself and can't wait to see what life has in store for me next. =)

Happy Fall Everyone. 

XOXO Via

The Twist

A few things.

I had been talking with this guy right? He's - whats the word? Driven.

He's constantly looking for ways to progress or move up in life. Talking, meaning, well going in a progressing direction I guess you could say. I don't know where it will go or if it will even go anywhere, not trying to sound cynical. I'm just in a place in my life where I'm simply happy re-finding myself. That's all.

Anyway, this guy has been so supportive of me and my decisions in life down to my daily tasks even. Just a big ball of positivity. Because of the type guy he is, he's sort of rubbed off on me and I've found myself doing things that I never thought I would be doing today.

Let's begin.

I was at work one morning, maybe last month. Just as school started for the kids. And it honestly came to me clear as the day. I was thinking about the kids and the new changes to our daily schedules with them going back to school. I've been dying to find a consistent gym routine that I know I can stick to and as I sat and thought about it all. The idea of "work from home" came to mind.

When I thought of it, it's like it wasn't even a question. It was a matter of how fast can I get home. This has always been an option with Sutter but I had this idea at work that I would work super hard and just promote to a high position and fast. But that isn't the case and life outside of work really plays a big part in work itself. They go hand in hand and need a really good balance. I've worked hard thus far with sutter since going full time back in february. My stats are meeting and I have no issue knowledge base. So I put in my request to work from home and it was approved this past week.

This is my little office space I've created in the back house for me to work from home. I am currently just waiting on my equipment to be delivered to me at work so I can bring it home and set it up and basically do it all from home.

Let's also add that Henele is playing soccer and Tamara is playing Basketball. The past few months have really been hard for me as a mom, they gotten a little chubby and you know me and my constant trying to get and stay fit. Well, they were growing in ways that I didn't want them to. lol So I signed them up for rec league sports and when I did, I offered the rec to be a parent volunteer. I was asked to come to the coaches meeting and I was all excited cause I figured going to this meeting I could persuade the coaches into a practice schedule that was accommodating for me and my work schedule. lol I get to the meeting only to find out that - IM THE HEAD COACH. lol and get this, I'm the head coach for both Hene and Tamara's team. lol

It's been a few weeks since soccer started and it's been going so good. I know nothing of the sport but after our first few games, I absolutely love soccer. I love hene playing it. I love running up and down the field with them. I love being active along side with him right there on the field. I feel soooo complete and happy. =)

Here's a little snippet of one our games last week.

With me coaching both teams, they've made sure our game schedules are scheduled so they don't overlap.

This morning we had our fist double game day. Hene's game was at 9 and Tamara's was at 10. Henel's games run close to an hour so right after soccer we run straight into the gym to get warmed up for basketball.

After today's double game day, I honestly felt sooo accomplished, tired, overwhelmed and inadequate all at the same time. The pressure of feeling like parents are hounding you because their kid isn't in playing is the hardest part.

Our weekly schedule goes like this.
Monday - sport break - homework/school
Tuesday - soccer game - homework/school
Wednesday - Basketball practice - homework/school
Thursday - Soccer practice - homework/school
Friday - sport break - homework/school
Saturday - double game day
Sunday - 24 hour sleep (with the exception of church)

This is what it will be like for the next few weeks up until jr jazz starts. jr jazz is a winter sport and I'm hoping both of them can be signed up for jr jazz. (without me being the coach of course.)

Well, there you have it.

Via is tired and busy and I'm simply LIVING. lol I love life right now. I couldn't be happier. Well I could but where I am at currently, it's great.

We all know I love the fall season. This is the season, my heart really beats. I can't wait to see how this all works out. Working from home.coaching and even thinking about getting involved with the PTA at school with a little bit of incorporating couponing back into the game.

If you dont hear from me in the next few weeks, clearly I'm busy. Life just took a major twist on me. lol

XOXO Via