Happiness

A month ago, a Marine vet in Illinois pulled a beautiful photo off my friend's Instagram and put it on a facebook site, ridiculing my friend's partner for being a gay 1stSgt. The post was quickly removed but as you can likely imagine, my friends had to work hard to brush off the negativity from that experience.

I just want to say, I am so proud that I live in such a open and wonderful community and it warms my heart to see more people be warm and welcoming, even when they personally disagree with another's lifestyle. Oh yes, we can always improve but at least here, we truly live the american dream, "...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

See more of my photos here and here.

Changes

With seven children in our home, my partner J and I decided to celebrate the New Year with the East Coasters. I finished up my nightly portion of homework with four minutes to spare and we ran downstairs to join our wonderful neighbor’s celebration. Casually ringing in the New Year with my sweetheart’s lips on mine, toasting with dear friends and laughing with our children was honestly one of the best holidays I've ever had. 

J and I are absolutely GIDDY about our future together. We've started merging more of our life together and preparing for a life of debt free living, investing and travel. I’m over the moon to have found a man who is everything I could ever ask for.  Instead of aimlessly spending all of our income, J and I came up with a plan to give us direction.  We started by laying our all of our debt, smallest to largest; by using an Excel spreadsheet that shows us how long it will take us to be debt free. Along with our financial goals, J and I came up with a year full of monthly progressive goals to accomplish. J will be sharing our financial goals on his blog, http://cswsiggy.blogspot.com/ and I’ll be updating on the progress of our other monthly goals here!

Here’s the layout of our monthly progressive goals we designed to enrich our lives as a couple.

I hope you had a fabulous New Year. I'm wishing you and yours a peaceful and prosperous 2014!

One Love,
Heathery

My Friends… I love you.

I posted this on my Facebook today, but since I can't seem to link my Facebook and Twitter on this ******* site, I'll just transfer it here.

 My life is tough right now, I'm definitely dealing with a lot of stressors, but when I count my blessings I see that I'm quite a lucky girl. 

I have some amazing people in my life who build me up when I break down, who distract me when I need distraction, never judge me and who help pick me up and motivate me to go do what needs to be done. 

You are worth your weight in diamonds to me. I grew up with the ability to walk away from anyone I ever knew. I have two emotional settings, happy and numb... Over this last little bit of time, you guys have been able to make me feel more. For the first time in my life, I don't feel completely alone. I feel like I have a home. I feel like I belong, and for that, Thank you.

When I tell my life story, most think it sounds rough, but my life is actually a fairytale, granted, not a traditional one, but I have no doubts that my story will have a happy ending. My God has always provided for me, and when my faith is shaken, I have a few amazing friends hat constantly remind me of my blessings. I have much love for you.♥

Happy Valentine's Day (two weeks late)

Here is a photo of my lovely daughter, G. 

Momma's Fresh Fish Snack

Okay, as promised, this is my original recipe for a yummy and (mostly) healthy fish appetizer or snack.

What you'll need:

• About 5 lbs of Salmon
• 1cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1box of Triscuts 
• about 3 cups mango salsa
• 8oz Philadelphia cream cheese 
• About half a block of thinly sliced Tillamock Pepper Jack cheese

I'm originally from (Waythefrickupthere) Northwest Washington, where fresh salmon is easy to find, but if you happen to live in a place where fresh salmon is difficult to find, I highly recommend just buying one from Costco. I usually find a $17-$20 fish will feed my family and have additional left over.

After you've cleaned your salmon and have laid it in a lightly oiled glass casserole dish, lightly salt the top side, sprinkle brown sugar and pour about a cup and a half of orange juice over it. Cover with tin foil and bake for about 45 minutes on 400 or until a light shade of pink, baste often to achieve maximum flavor and moisture.  Set to the side and let it cool.

Yea.. It IS as good as it looks (if you think it looks delicious).

 While the salmon is cooling, prep the rest of the snack by spreading the cream cheese on the cracker and placing them on a baking sheet, and slicing up your cheese. I recommend sipping on a frosty alcoholic beverage (unless you are underage, live in a dry county, are recovering or just prefer not to).

  

My "frosty beverage" of choice

Next, layer on the flaky, tender fish

Ladle on the mango salsa, top with cheese and stick back in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Voilà!