Oh Vegan!

So, at the end of Janurary of this year, George and I decided to forgo meat and dairy and become vegan!! I'm not going to lie it has been HARD but we made it so far!! George has lost 15 pounds so far and I have lost 10 pounds so far!! We also cut out all sodas, white sugar, and started biking everyday!! so that played a BIG factor in our weight loss :)
We decided to become vegan because we watched Forks over Knives. A documentary that explained that meat did not belong in our body! Too much protein!! So, George and I decided right then and there that we were vegan! No more meat or dairy! I would go into more about why we are vegan but...I GOTTA GO BIKE 14 MILES!! I'll update ya'll later :)

Oh New Stuff!

So, I haven't written a blog in a year and a month. Yay me? I get the worst blogger award that's for certain!
So, I wanted to share about what has gone on for a year and a month! Here I go!

We got pregnant in October of 2010 after a year of trying! We were so excited!!! Things were going great till my 5th week of pregnancy. I developed Hypermesis Gravidarum, which is a severe form of morning sickness. I had to go to the hospital 3 times during my pregnancy for this because I got so badly dehydrated from throwing up 5-6 time a day. This condition led me to quit my job because I was consistently running to the bathroom to heave up my poor lunch. I was sick until my 33rd week of pregnancy...then I made sure to make up for all the food I had thrown up haha! I indulged in every craving!!!
I had a ultrasound at 37 weeks and found out my water had been slowing leaking for awhile and I barely had any in there, so off to the hospital I went to deliver Jacob! I was induced at 6:00pm (I was supposed to get induced at 5:30pm but I begged my doctor to let me shower and shave my legs (hey. I wanted to feel somewhat decent while giving birth))
By 10:00pm I had just started getting the contractions that made me want to break George's fingers off!! I was scared to death of an epidural so I kept apologizing to the nurse for yelling (not at her, I was yelling OW!)and she kept telling me to get an epidural. I was only 3cm at 2am so I told her to get me an epidural (before I murdered someone. I have never felt pain like that before. It was intense.)
Well, besides the fact that my epidural dude was a complete jerk, it went smoothly in. 5 minutes after the epidural, things got interesting. I all the sudden got extremely sleepy and then an alarm went off in my room. 7 nurses come bounding in and I'm confused but still extremely sleepy. They are grabbing an oxygen mask and filling syringes up with something and injecting it into my IV. Then they keep turning me side to side. Apparently, my blood pressure went to the floor. And so did Jacob's heartrate. My nurse looked visible shaken which freaked me out more. I laid there watching the screen for Jacob's heartbeat for an hour. In that hour, his heart beat stopped 6 times. Each time, nurses would bound in, inject me, and keep turning me over and having horrible, shaken looks on there faces. Then the talk about a C-section came up. Jacob was not handling labor well at all. They were worried about his safety. I was scared out of my mind. Then my contraction pains came back and the doctors couldn't figure out why the epidural had stopped working. I knew it was God. God turned it off because He knew it was stalling my labor. My nurse went to check how far along I was dialated at 4:40am. I was ready and Jacob was well on his way on coming out!!!! My nurse was freaking! She ran out and started yelling at the doctor and the nurses and 13 minutes later... Jacob was in the world :) I was dubbed the incredible pusher by the hospital haha. So, The Lord knew it was time to get Jacob out or else we may not have had him come out ok.







In April of 2010, George quit his job and started working at Marriott Hotel in Denver, CO. The commute was horrid, so in October 2011, we moved into an apartment in Denver so that George wouldn't have a 4 hour commute everyday! He loves his job and actually has just got a promotion after only being there less than a year! I'm so proud of him! He has such great work ethic and is such a great Godly example to everyone :)

Jacob is currently 7 months old!!! It is hard to believe that he's grown so much! He has two bottom teeth and eats like a champion! He's growing up too fast...







So, next month is a huge month for us! We move to a bigger apartment! And here's the kicker: we're selling our car and are going to live car-free for 1 year!! We are hoping to pay off all of our debt from that! The Lord showed us the way and we're going to trust in Him about it!! We are also getting rid of our cell phones, but don't worry we are getting a landline so we won't be disconnected from the world!! The apartments have a huge dog park so we're extremely excited!! Pictures to come!

Also, in February, we celebrate 3 years of marriage bliss! I love being married to George. He makes me laugh, smile, and love my life everyday. I'm deteremined to live long enough to see our 75th anniversary haha!!!

Well, that's all for now. God bless!

In Him,

Sabrina and George Castaneda

Oh Baby < 3

Well, I am the worst blogger in the world! I write so few haha! Well, George and I have some news! We're pregnant...well I am, but you catch the drift :)

We had been trying for about a year and in Oct we found out we were expecting! George and I were so excited!! I think we screamed for a while haha. We're due in June!
A lot of people were shocked and asked, "So, you were done with your newlywed couple life? No traveling? No fun?"
Now why in the world should you honeymoon phase ever go away?? It should be there till your 120 years old! Never let that fire die!
Traveling? George and I have been to Australia, Guam, Philippines, Japan (just the airport, but it was still valid lol), and a couple places separate (him Peru, me China). We will always have those memories! We never lost out as a lot of people keep telling me that we're doing.
No fun? Kids are the definition of fun!
Parenthood here we come!

Life as we know it <3

Lately, my heart's been troubled about...well life...Life as we know it. Work is such a HUGE part of life. Without it you can't pay bills, have fun, support a family, and so many other things. But the bad part of work is it limits time with your loved ones, it tires you out, it sometimes depresses you, it makes you schedule your life around it. Work for me is fun yet tiring. I love my coworkers so much, but the actual work of being in the foodcourt and the hours make it hard. George sometimes has the exact opposite schedule as me, he works days and 3/4ths of the time I work nights. And the funny part is when I do voice a complaint to ANYONE, they say: Welcome to life. How horrible is that revelation??
I can remember when all my life was about was school, homework, going outside to play with friends, reading a good book, and playing Neopets on the computer. Life was so...well simple. When I met George I was/am so excited to start a new life and have a fun one. Then BAM bills. Soon I had to get a job to help us support our life. It was funny because before we got married, we both decided that I would stay home and be a housewife, you know clean, cook, take care of our house, run errands, etc...Now I struggle to feel like a good "wife". I get home from work and I'm exhausted, I don't feel like vacuuming, I don't feel like making a nutruious meal for my dear, tired Hubby, I don't feel like a wife. Now, you say "but I thought you said you work nights. Why can't you do it all during the day" well yes. I struggle to get up with George in the morning to make him breakfast and lunch and most of the time, he just lets me sleep....then I wake up and start cleaning, run errands, walk Abbi, and get ready for work. See?? It's like a never ending circle. But sometimes I get lucky and work mornings, but...it's the same thing, but those are my favorite days because I can see George and make him dinner :)
Yesterday, I was thinking, How great would it be to live back in the day when men worked 9 to 5, women stayed home: cooked, cleaned, and took care of the children. How simple. But nowadays both the man and woman have to have jobs in order to pay rent, bills, and everything else. It's so much harder...Welcome to Life. That's not really a good welcome haha.
You all must think I'm complaining...but I believe most of you have the same desire in your heart. Women just want to make life easier for their hard, working husband, but work in our lives complicate it. NOW I know that some women LOVE working, it empowers them. I'm just not that person...all I want to do is make George happy and comfortable at home. I guess...that's just who I am.
On the positive side...those days when you have the same day off are so precious. You realize how much you love that person and how you love to spend quality time with them. Life is so random and great at times..I guess it weighs out the bad at times.
Ok, I'm done :)
The end...oh and welcome to the random thing called Life...

Labor Day Fun <3

Hey all,

So, this was our first Labor Day married :) It was so fun! First off, we just slept in till 10am, hahaha...we don't get to do that a lot, but we did that day and it was nice! Since we missed breakfast, we just ate lunch and cuddled on the couch and watched some Design Star (a designer show). We then took Abbi to the Bear Creek Dog Park (it has a creek that dog's can swim in) and we tired her out and then we took her to another dog park lol. We met a friend at the second dog park and our dog's played together and soon after Abbi was dying so we took her home :) For dinner, we had a BBQ and ate soooo good :))) I'm sure we both gained weight. We had such a fun day and we ended it with watching a James Bond movie, while eating the best Banana Spilt ever!

So, the rest of this week, is going to be crazy :o George has an interview tomorrow, so we're going shopping tonight for a spiffy tie and shirt :) He's gonna look so nice...well he always does :)

This weekend we're going on a hike with another couple and there baby girl Acacia (5 months old!!! she's so cute!!) so I'll post some pics from that!!

Well, I still haven't gotten a job, but I have an interview with Costco at the end of this month, so that's my prayer request today!!

So, George and I just started in 1 Samuel now and we just finished Chapter 1 last night and BOY was that a great chapter!! What I got from it and what God showed me was how easily now we can say a promise or vow and not go through with it. You know we say: "God if you helped me today with *this and that*, I PROMISE that I will invite that unsaved neighbor over for dinner and share with them. Well, God helps us...but we don't go though we what we promised. Hannah, Samuel's mother, wanted a son so bad, so she promised God that she would give him to Him and he would dedicate his life for God. Hannah got pregnant and bore a son, Samuel and as soon as he was weaned she took him to the Temple and gave him to God. We can barely keep our tiny promises to God, but Hannah gave her SON to God. What a testimony and example. We need to keep our word and follow God with all our heart! I can't wait to read the rest of 1 Samuel!! Chapter 2 tonight!! Woohoo!!

Have a blessed day everyone :)

=Sabrina and George

P.s. Look what the Barber girl did to George, she cut him 5 times with the razor she used o,o Poor George.

Pancake Rocks Hike <3

Hey all,
George and I went on a 6 hour hike today!!! It was a hike called, Pancake Rocks (named after the rocks on the picture above). It was quite hard, but worth it! George and I are suupperrr sore. Surprising we're still awake, it's midnight here! *gasp* this is the lastest time we have stayed up in 6 months!!! Crazy, yeah? Yep, we're the new "elderly" definiton.

Abbi practically died on the way down. Poor baby. So, we're not taking her on anymore super hard hikes for a while!! But in the beginning, she found a stream and fell in love! She played in it for about 15 minutes! Then we found a marshy area that she swam around in. Yeah yeah, we know about the parasites she can get, but...seriously that dog loves water, we can't stop her.

The views were simply amazing! Breathtaking! God made the earth so beautiful and unique! It was a wonderful hike thinking about what God created!! The rock formation were crazy on this hike!!

Well...I think we're finally off to bed! Woohoo! Time for some sweet slumber :) Goodnight everyone!

--Sabrina and George + Abbi

Missing Family <3

Hey all,

Family. The most important thing to me. I miss them with all my heart :( All of my family is in Hawaii, Washington, and California and here I am in Colorado Springs...without them. It's weird how many times in the day that they pop into your mind. A song reminds me of them, a picture, a memory, a joke, or just looking at my face (I have some features of my mommy). You think that you can be big and strong without them...WHILE you're with them, but when you leave homesickness creeps in and plagues you...
So, yes, with all my heart, I miss them. Hope to see you all soon! Love you :)