A Little About Me

So, I'm bored and wanted to do a survey. :) Enjoy!

What time did you get up this morning?

I didn't roll out of bed until about 10:45.

How do you like your steak?

Medium well.

What was the last movie you saw at the theater?

What is your favorite tv show?

Hmm. Saved By The Bell, Boy Meets World, Kardashians, House Hunters, Cake Boss, Cupcake Wars, etc.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I miss my home island! Oahu, Hawaii.

What did you have for breakfast?

Hot cocoa, cottage cheese, and toast.

Do you wear glasses or contacts?

None.

What food do you despise?

I'm not a picky eater.

Favorite place to eat?

I don't have a favorite place. (but I do love sushi)

Favorite dressing?

Italian or Caesar.

What kind of vehicle do you drive?

My baby!

What are your favorite clothes?

In the summer I love sundresses. In the winter skinny jeans, loose tops, and cardigans :)

Where would you visit, this weekend if you had the chance?

Hawaii. I'd really like to see family!

How many tattoos do you have?

Four.

Where would you want to retire?

Hawaii! 

What is your desktop photo?

Colorful wooden textured stripes.

Where were you born?

Honolulu, HI

What is your favorite sport to watch?

Love some Falcon football! ATL RISE UP.

How many siblings?

Two sisters. Malia is 17 and Kiana is 12.

Favorite pastime/hobby?

Blogging, shopping, movies, taking pictures

Coffee drinker?

Yes.

Are you a morning person or a night person?

Well I don't really know how to answer that since I definitely am not a morning person but I also don't stay up "late". Sometimes I stay up until 2:30AM (like last night) but I also had a two hour nap. Hmm...

Do you have any pets?

No.

What did you want to be when you were little?

A singer.

What is your favorite color?

I like aqua, yellow, mint, and coral.

Are you a cat or a dog person?

I want dogs but I love all animals.

Are you married?

Yep. 4+ years. (October 30, 2007)

Always wear your seatbelt?

Yes! Okay wait, I don't if I'm in the back seat.

Been in a car accident?

Noooo.

Any pet peeves?

When people don't use they're/there/their/ and to/too correctly.

Favorite pizza topping?

Pepperoni mushroom

Favorite flower?

Tiare!

Favorite ice-cream?

Strawberry cheesecake or Rocky Road

Favorite fast food restaurant?

I really don't have one. Like I said, I'm not a picky eater.

XOXO,

Tiare

Love.

Love is such a huge word. Maybe even the biggest word I use? Definitely.

When I was younger, I remember imagining what life would be like when I found the person I loved. It was too hard to imagine. I didn't know him, I didn't know what he looked like, what he liked to do, how he dressed, what his personality was like.

I remember when I was in high school saying things to my friends like, "Can you believe that in probably EIGHT years we will be married!?" 

I get to cuddle with this guy I know and hang out with him any time I want, we cook together, we have a baby together, we have fun together. We love together. All the time we look at each other and say, "Can you believe we are married?"

For those of you who haven't heard our story (long story short) we met when I was in the 12th grade, he was out of high school, in the army, and he was on leave from his 1st tour in Iraq. We had the same group of friends, so that's how we initially met each other. He wasn't my type (and at the time I had a boyfriend, so I really never paid much attention to him... later on, that relationship ended several months later). When I graduated high school, I was browsing through myspace and recognized him and added him as a friend. He myspace messaged me (keeping it classy of course) and we talked and he told me he had been back in Iraq and was coming home to the states in a couple of months. From that day on we have talked every single day. 

We started dating August 30, 2006.

We were engaged on March 17, 2007 (seven months after we started dating -- cray cray, I know!)

We got married October 30, 2007.

 

Love. You have to compromise, be selfless, and much much more. It's the easiest thing I have ever done, because I know I wouldn't rather do those things for any other man in the world, and I know no man in this world could love me like he does. 

(Please excuse the dorky hipster glasses)

I will never be able to wrap my mind around the fact that I married Micheal Johnson. He's my best friend. I am overwhelmingly in love with this one single person. God chose ME to be his wife.

XOXO,

Tiare

SERIOUSLY!?

I found this little youtube-er! Her name is Connie. She was on Britain's Got Talent when she was only SIX years old. 

WHAT!? Her voice is amazing for such a little girl! (and she can play the piano too!)

She's seriously amazing! I LOVE HER VOICE! Lol.

XOXO,

Tiare

How I Dropped 25 Pounds

That was me in 2009... and then in 2010. I thought I'd write a detailed blog post about it, because it's actually something I'm pretty proud of :)

Before I start, I also just want to add a little disclaimer because I truthfully believe that not everyone is supposed to be just one size. For anyone who really wants to shed a few lbs, maybe this will be of some motivation. This is also a motivation post for myself because after my pregnancy last year, I gained it all back... and would like to go back to that when that time comes. Don't set out to be thinner just because someone else told you to. You need to want it in order to achieve it.

I didn't lose a ton of weight at all, because I didn't need to. I went from 145 lbs to 120 lbs, and a size 13 to a size 9. (I'm 5'0'' by the way.) I was a lot more comfortable with how I looked after I lost the weight.  So, again... pictures...

Me at 21 years old (weight around 145 lbs) Sorry for not having a full body pic, I couldn't find a good one!

Me a year later at 22 years old (weight around 120 lbs)

Here's how I successfully lost 25 lbs:

1. Cut out sweets: I ate absolutely no sweets whatsoever. Not a chocolate bar or ice cream scoop, etc, passed my lips. It actually wasn't that difficult at all. I was eating healthier stuff, so I never felt deprived in anyway.

2. Eat at least 3 times a day: I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. If I was still hungry, I would have a snack in between meals... but no matter what I always made sure to eat 3 meals. They were something like this:

• Breakfast - Oatmeal with peanut butter and a glass of soy milk
• Lunch - Healthy sandwich with chicken, tuna, or turkey, mayo, mustard, swiss cheese, lettuce, pickles and water
• Dinner - Whatever my parents had cooked that evening and a glass of water (I drank mostly water! Except in the mornings, I had milk.) My husband was deployed that year, so fortunately I was able to stay with my family and my parents cooked everyday. We had a variety of things... pasta, fish, meat, etc. I would eat a normal proportioned sized meal every time. I definitely did not get any seconds!

3. Drink lots of water: I drank a lot of water! It's really good for your skin and your health in general! I did drink tea or coffee, but never soda. Never ever ever!

4. Have cheat days: This part is fun! These days were generally on holidays, because we had family parties :) Obviously I'm not going to refuse any good food at parties! Of course, I also didn't go overboard though. 

5. Exercise 3 times a week: This is a touchy subject because some people need to work out more or less. Diet is more important than exercise, but both are definitely needed to lose weight. Keeping fit is important. I didn't make those excuses, "I have no time to work out." I made time to work out. I was going to school full time and had a part time job and still made it to the gym. I suppose there are people who are way busier than that, but that doesn't give an excuse to not work out. 

I really hope this post will motivate someone who is trying to lose weight, because I know how difficult it can be. Keep in mind though, I am NOT a nutritionist or a doctor so take everything with a grain of salt... this is just what worked for me! 

XOXO,

Tiare

My Week in Pictures!

Maybe I will make this a regular tradition! I think it's a fun way to recap on the week that just passed! So here is my week in pictures that I snapped with my phone via Instagram! -- My Instagram name is @tiare_808 by the way :)

Monday, July 2nd morning breakfast -- I put this on my scrambled eggs that morning.

Black Adam nails -- Got a manicure. My husband suggested I get 'Black Adam' nails. He's a DC comic book character. Black and gold are his colors and the lightning bolt is his logo.

Tuesday, July 3rd -- The weather! There was hail, rain, lightning, and thunder... and my husband still wanted to go see The Amazing Spiderman.

Wednesday, July 4th -- 4th of July barbecue pic! We grilled filet minon kabobs and chicken for some chicken tacos :)

Thursday, July 5th -- Leftovers. Chicken and filet minon tacos with homemade pico de gallo... delicious!

Saturday, July 7th -- Funfetti cupcakes! 

Monday, July 9th -- Chicken noodle soup! Afternoon lunch.

I hope you enjoyed my week in pictures! Have a great week.

Love,

Tiare

Sick Morning, Soup, and Tea

Sick morning...

My mug filled with hot water and Lipton Tea. I battled some kind of food poisoning, stomach virus, thing this morning and it was not pretty. 

I woke up with this empty, burning feeling in my stomach. I thought it was heartburn or something, so I took some Tums and that didn't work. I thought maybe it would feel better if I ate something, but I really didn't have the strength to get up and eat, so I laid there in pain waiting for it to pass. All of a sudden, **TMI alert** I had an urge to go to the bathroom and I had diarrhea. I laid in bed some more and still didn't feel any better. I had to go to the bathroom again, ugh... my stomach wasn't feeling it this morning for some reason. After I was done going #2, I instantly felt nauseous and felt like I had to throw up... but I ended up just dry heaving. I felt dizzy and weak, it was horrible. I laid back down in bed and a few minutes later, I felt all better. The whole episode lasted about an hour or so. I seem to be doing better than I was this morning though.

I poured a yummy bowl full of chicken noodle soup for me... I love a bowl of warm soup. 

To anyone who might not be feeling well, I hope you start to feel much better!

Bowls of yummy soup and a get-well hug,

Tiare

A Picture of Me From High School and 10 Things...

Christmas time, a very long time ago.. I think I'm about 15 or so in this picture.

and here are 10 random things:

1. That is my natural hair color.
2. I loved that shirt, it was one of my favorites.
3. Those are my younger sisters in the picture.
4. I wish I could go back and tell myself what I know now -- to not be shy.
5. I'm not exactly the same person -- I have bigger numbers in my age, I wear a bigger size pair of jeans now, and I'm not as shy as I used to be.
6. I loved decorating the tree as a kid. I thought it was so fun, then I grew out of it. Now I can't wait to have my own Christmas tree with my husband and decorate it the way I want.
7. I never played sports in high school -- or at any age for that matter. I'm not the athletic type.
8. My best Christmas childhood memory was getting a Playstation from my grandpa. I was 10 years old.
9. We always open Christmas presents at midnight. It's a tradition. Then we go to bed and wake up to our gifts from Santa.
10. I want to spend Christmas at Disneyland or Disney World one day.

Older and wiser than in that picture,

Tiare