here, there, and everywhere...

An update...

2011-12-05T20:57:00.000-08:00

After a 4 month hiatus from my blog, I thought I would update anyone who may still be reading this thing.

Calvin is still working for Apple and loving it.

We celebrated Calvin's 27th birthday in September by surprising him with a new 40'' screen TV!

I completed my first year of graduate school and will start my third semester on January 9th.

I also changed places of employment and am now working at North Star Hospital which is a behavioral health hospital for children and adolescents. I love it!

We moved into a town-home in September which gives us more room and the ability to host family gatherings and parties. It's been awesome!

We also adopted a puppy in early November! His name is Thor and he is a Lab/Australian Shepherd mix. He's about 13 weeks old right now.
We talked my friend Megan into moving to Alaska in August (more like staying here instead of going home). She's been living with us ever since.

I think that's about it. Hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday Season! Cheers!

My Dieting Experience.

2011-08-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

So due to some health problems I've been having for the last couples years, I've decided to try a diet. I have never dieted in the past and I never realized how difficult it really is! After discussing my symptoms with a friend and hearing about the diet she is on. I decided to give it a try!
The Candida Diet entails:
Veggies (except corn, potatoes, and carrots)
Meat-chicken, beef, turkey, eggs, etc.
Nuts and Seeds (except peanuts)
Brown Rice and Non-Glutinous Grains
Green Tea and other Herbal Teas
Lemons and Limes
Apple (only every other day)
And that's it!

So if you notice, I'm not eating any sugar, fruit, starch, gluten, dairy, and coffee.

So far I've been doing this diet just under a week (5 days to be exact) and in the short amount of time I've had better: Sleep, Skin, Nails, Digestion, Energy, and No Headaches!

Here are a couple photos of some dishes I've made that follow my dieting needs:

Tomato, Cucumber, Onion Salad

Homemade Chicken Cobb Salad with Olive Oil Dressing

It's still a struggle everyday to avoid the sugary fattening foods, but I know now that the rewards of eating healthy are pretty awesome. I'll keep you posted on my dieting journey and if I remember, I'll post more photos of the yummy dishes I make!

Hey I'm Back!

2011-08-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I realize I've been absent from Blogger for about 5 months, but I'm back! Many different things have happened in the life of Calvin and Victoria and I'm here to share them with anyone who desires to know!

Here's the gist of what's been happening over here!
June-
Megan Antioho came to visit for the summer!
Victoria finished her first semester of Grad School!
Calvin got a new job at Apple!
Camping in Alaska and spending time with friends and family.

July-
Calvin went off to training for three weeks.
Victoria and Megan volunteer at VBS at our church.
Victoria and Calvin meet up in Hawaii for one week while Calvin was still in training...Victoria was on the beach! :)
Bruce (Calvin's good friend) came to visit for 10 days.

August-
While Bruce was still here, we did lots of "touristy" things including Seward, Palmer, Alaska Zoo, etc.
Megan gains a boyfriend and decides to move to Alaska!
Calvin, Victoria, and Megan decide they need a bigger house...Moving on September 1st!!!
Victoria decides to go on a crazy diet to get rid of some bad health symptoms she's been having. No sugar, no carbs, no gluten, no fruit, and only certain veggies. Stay posted on her progress!

ZUMBA!

2011-04-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

I love Zumba! Every week for the last month I've been going at least once. This week I've made it my goal to start going twice a week. Every time I am surprised by the way my body remembers the steps from the last week. I'm hoping as I start going twice a week, I will not only remember the steps but also perfect them. With as many things going on in my life, I NEED Zumba to stay sane. It relieves stress, it's fun, and it's a great way to exercise. I hate sweating but i will do it for Zumba. If you have never tried it before, find a free or cheap class in your area. It's TOTALLY worth it!

Here's an update folks!

2011-04-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, obviously we've been busy. Here's our past 9 months in a nut shell:

August 2010: We move into our Apartment, my sister Ashley's wedding (8~7~10), Megan Antioho comes to visit, and Victoria is promoted to a Counselor position at The Salvation Army Clitheroe Center.September 2010: Work, Work, Family Birthdays, Work, Calvin's 26th Birthday.
October 2010: Work, Women's Craft Retreat, Family Birthdays, Work some more.
November 2010: Snow in Alaska, 1st Thanksgiving in Alaska in 5 years, Work.December 2010: Christmas Parties, My 23rd Birthday, Ashley's 21st Birthday, Billy's 21st Birthday, Jesus' Birthday, New Years Eve with Fireworks in Anchorage.January 2011: Murder Mystery Party with friends, Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary, Decide to apply for Grad School.
February 2011: Go to Chicago for Heidi and John Mueller's Wedding, Get accepted into USC's School of Social Work.March 2011: Start my first semester of Grad School, Moved down to Part-time employment, Did some house-sitting, Spring comes to Alaska.
April 2011: Midterms, Start going back to Zumba classes, Calvin buys an iPad and a bike, Snow melts in Alaska, AWANA....

Victoria

the last couple months

2010-07-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

Two months have passed since my last post! After a 10 day drive from Indiana to Alaska, Calvin and I have spent the majority of our free time with family and friends. It's been wonderful to be home in Alaska.

I am now starting my third week of work as a Counselor Assistant for a treatment facility. It's been nice to work and be in a field where I can use my college degree. The goal is to become a counselor at the facility within the next 6 months.

Calvin has accepted a job doing inside sales for an oil supply company. When large oil companies call in an order, he'll be making sure they get what they need. He's never done something like this, but he's confident that it will be a good placement for him.

Here are just a few pictures of us over the last 2 months!~

DONE!!!!

2010-04-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

I'M DONE! I turned in my last college paper this afternoon and now I just have to wait a week to get my diploma. It will most likely be one of the longest weeks of my life as I am extremely excited about next weekend. My family will start arriving on Thursday night and then into the day on Friday!

3 weeks from tomorrow, Calvin and I will be leaving the boring state of Indiana and driving 5,000 miles back to Alaska! We'll be staying with a few friends and family members along the way as well as camping. We are super excited and can't wait to begin our journey home!

Also, Calvin and I both have interviews on June 7th for jobs in Anchorage! We're hoping by the time we leave Indiana that we'll have a couple other interviews lined up!

For now, that's our exciting news! Check back for more updates later this month!

Time's Flying By!

2010-04-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

Well obviously my Spring semester of school has been crazy busy. Although I don't have as many classes as normal, my work schedule and commitment to other things has kept me away from blogging.

In a nut shell, here's what's been going on since the last time I posted: trip to New Orleans, Easter weekend in Chicago, warmer temperatures in Winona, sold our Ford Focus, got our Chevy S10 fixed, decided to drive to Alaska in May, spring cleaning the apartment, bathroom infested with mayflies, employee Christmas party in March, hanging with awesome friends, replaced broken mini-blinds, took down our Christmas lights in late March, and decided to eat more whole grain foods!

The countdown is on, only 19 days till graduation! My parents and grandparents will be flying from Alaska for the commencement ceremony and I'm totally looking forward to seeing them! After graduation, I'll be working a couple more weeks, we'll sell all our furniture, and we'll hit the road on our summer adventure!

God has blessed us over the last year of living in Indiana. We are looking forward to seeing what He has in store for us in Alaska.

Chao!

Catching Up!

2010-01-03T16:53:00.001-08:00

After Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years I finally have the chance to catch everyone up on our "exciting" lives!

Thanksgiving was a blast! My sister Ashley came to Indiana for her first visit to the mid-west. This holiday weekend was filled with cooking our first Thanksgiving meal without Mom's help, baking sugar cookies, cutting down a Christmas tree, driving to and from Chicago twice, and watching more movies than I had all Fall semester. We had such a good time!

Finals came and went and my second to last semester of college was over! Winter break started off with a trip to Maine to visit Calvin's family for Christmas. We spent the time there shopping, wrapping and opening gifts, cooking lots of yummy food, and watching movies. It was so good to finally spend time with family and get away from boring Indiana.
After a week in Maine we returned to Indiana to get back to our jobs. Unfortunately our first week back I was sick in bed with a head cold. I got a lot of reading in which was nice, but it's good to be back to my healthy self. New Years Eve was spent at home watching the Countdown with Carson Daly and New Years day we saw the movie Avatar.

Today was our one year wedding anniversary! We sort of celebrated by going to see Sherlock Holmes but we plan to celebrate more next weekend. It's been a great year and we're looking forward to another great one ahead of us. We hope you all had a blessed 2009 and have a great 2010!!!

Our "new" living room!

2009-10-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

We finally splurged and bought new furniture for our living room! After living in the apartment for 9+ months, it actually feels like a home. We now spend all our free time sitting on our new couch, entertaining friends, and playing the Wii (well at least Calvin does).

The fall colors are showing bright and weather is cooling off fast in northern Indiana. Calvin and I have yet to go out and take pictures of the changing season, but we hope to soon. Grace College campus is beautiful during this time of the year!

In the coming weeks I've got mid-terms, Fall break, and I'll be going to Arizona to see my dad get married. Calvin will continue to work and he will be getting our Ford Focus fixed before the snow falls. We're also hoping that Calvin's best friend Bruce will be able to come visit us from Texas soon!

September Happenings...

2009-09-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I updated our blog!

School has started so that keeps me very busy when i'm not working. Luckily the homework load is not too horrible. Work is going pretty good, but again, it's keeping me busy. Calvin received a raise at work, which was such a blessing!3 weeks ago, Calvin and I were able to fly to Minneapolis, Minnesota to spend some time with the Sheffrey's (my side of the family)! We were only there for 4 days but we were able to visit my grand-parents who had flown from Alaska to spend time with my aunt and uncle, AND, we were able to meet our new cousin Collin David Sheffrey! He's a little more than 2 months old and he's the most adorable baby I've ever seen!
Also in September, we celebrated Calvin's 25th birthday! I threw a surprise party for Calvin and he was totally shocked. He had never had a surprise party thrown for him before now and he LOVED it! We all had a great time eating food, playing games, and laughing the night away.

Saying Goodbye to Summer, and Hello to Fall!

2009-08-30T17:02:00.000-07:00

Calvin and I spent my last weekend of freedom with my best girlfriend Megan! She drove down from Illinois on Friday night and we spent the weekend watching movies, eating Mexican food, and exploring beautiful Winona Lake.

This week is the beginning of the end of my college career (for now)! On Tuesday I will start my senior year at Grace College. It's incredibly crazy to think that I have come this far in my education.

I will continue to work at Home Helpers as I finish out my education, but my hours will decrease to only 24 per week. Work has gone great this Summer and I am looking forward to what is coming for our company this Fall. Below is a picture of my bosses, Aimee & Bob Hartwiger.Calvin is still enjoying his job at the Pill Box. Tuesday marks his three months on the job and means we will start getting benefits! We'll be shopping around for health insurance during the next couple of weeks.

Other than school starting up, Calvin and I are both joining bible studies. My women's bible study is going through Break Free (a Beth Moore Study) and the husbands of the women in the study are still trying to figure out what they'll be studying. Calvin and I will also be flying to Minneapolis, Minnesota on the 12th for a mini-family reunion with the Sheffrey's. It will be quick but we are very excited for a break.

Last trip of the summer...

2009-08-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took a quick road trip to and from Baltimore, Maryland for our friends wedding! After taking a detour through West Virginia, we were able to make it to our hotel just after 12 hours of driving. It was wonderful to see our friends from Alaska and others from around the country.

The wedding for Evan and Sarah was beautiful! The ceremony lasted a little longer than planned as one of the bridesmaids fainted from locking her knees in the middle of the sermonette. Other than that, the wedding went off without a hitch. After the ceremony, we made our way downtown Baltimore to the 1840's Ballroom where the reception was held. We had a great night of eating, and dancing, and toasts!

Calvin and I snuck away for a couple hours before the wedding and got some sightseeing in! We went down to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and saw the ships in the pier. Calvin was most excited to see the U.S.S Constellation (aka Old Iron Sides). We also got to drive by Charm City Cakes (the bakery featured on the show "Ace of Cakes") and take a few pictures outside the shop.

10 Secrets to a Happy Marriage

2009-07-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

After reading a book by one of my favorite authors, I wanted to share something that she wrote in her book called Forever. If you are married or anticipate getting married, read through this list. It is true that if you follow these 10 secrets, you will have a long and happy marriage. It will take a lot of work, but the outcome in the end will be worth every minute of it. Good Luck!

Ten Secrets to a Happy Marriage
1. God has you here to serve one another. Love acted out is serving.
2. Women need respect and nurturing. Love your wife so she knows you’d lay your life down for her. Continue to date her and admire her. Share a hobby-find something you can do to have fun together.
3. Laugh often.
4. Be patient. Love crumbles quickly under the weight of unmet expectations.
5. Spend more time trying to fix yourself than your spouse.
6. Keep short accounts. The Bible says, “Do not let the sun go down while you are angry.” Make it a habit to forgive.
7. Determine up front that divorce is not an option.
8. Learn about love languages. Not all people show love or receive it the same way. You want a back rub and your spouse wants a clean kitchen. The love languages are fairly simple: acts of service, quality time, physical touch, gifts, and words of affirmation. Learn them. Love is better received when it’s in the language that person speaks.
9. Words of affirmation are a love language for all men.
10. Men are born to be leaders. He cannot lead unless she gives him the confidence to do so. If you love your husband, build him up. Confident men do not seek love outside the home.

~List written by Karen Kingsbury

Summertime...

2009-07-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Summertime is great for catching up on the latest books on the New York Times Bestselling List, or just those books that you bought forever ago and haven't had the time to read yet. Because of the job I have, (babysitting a 90 year old woman) I've had plenty of time to catch up on books from both categories. I started the summer off to a good start with reading the Twilight series. It's funny but most adults, especially males, are almost ashamed to be caught with a Twilight book. Is it because it's more geared towards young female teens? Or because it's become so popular that it's almost embarrassing to follow the crowd? Well, no matter what the reason, I found Twilight refreshing and fun to read. I'd definitely suggest it!

Summertime is also great for all the new movies that come out! My husband and I have not had the privilege of going to the actual theater yet this summer, but we are going to venture to the drive-in theater tonight to see The Proposal and Transformers 2. I'm excited to see both movies and have my first experience at a drive-in theater!

The 4th and beyond...

2009-07-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Calvin and I spent our weekend watching fireworks, spending time with friends, taking pictures around Winona Lake, and watching the Kosciusko County parade (at least what they consider a parade to be ).

Calvin had the opportunity to try wake surfing with some friends of ours. This sport includes a short surf board and the waves directly behind the boat. Calvin was able to get up a couple times and he said he had a blast. Hopefully, later this Summer, we'll both be able to go out and try wake surfing again.

Sunday afternoon Calvin and I took his scooter out for a ride around the lake. I remembered to take my camera with us, so I was able to play around and get some cool pictures! The flowers in Winona are gorgeous this time of year. Sunday's beautiful weather helped me capture the true beauty of God's creation.

Calvin and I are both enjoying our jobs and we have settled into a good routine. We both have Thursdays off, so we enjoy spending the day together. This week we hope to go to the Kosciusko County fair!

We miss Alaska very much this time of year, but in this season of our lives, we realize we are exactly where God wants us to be. We both help teach in the junior high youth group at our church on Sunday evenings and we are slowly but surely meeting new married couples to hang out with.

We hope you will enjoy the rest of your summer!

the first 6 months...

2009-06-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

Marriage is a fun, yet crazy thing in life. In our first six months of marriage, we have already lost jobs and gained new ones, driven from Indiana to Maine and back in 4 days time, seen Niagara Falls, gone camping, entertained guests, hosted the in-laws at our house 3 times, gone to friends weddings, got scammed on a new car... got a lawyer...got an older car, and thought very seriously about getting a dog. All in all, we've been blessed to have more good memories than bad ones.

With family strewn from Alaska to Maine and everywhere in between, we (my husband and I) have decided this blog will help keep everyone updated on the present happenings in our life. As life gets even crazier, I'm sure my time on this blog will become less of a priority, BUT I will try to keep it as current as possible.

For now, this is goodbye.