December 26, 2020

Christmas Cookie Box


Throughout the year I baked a lot... I baked when I was sad, baked when I was happy, baked because it was a Tuesday, and baked to perfect my craft. So for our Christmas presents this year I decided that baking would be a heartfelt gift! 

It all started with a list of cookies I wanted to add to my box...

Christmas Cookies Box:


1.gingerbread 

2.sugar cookie

3.baklava

4.crinkle cookies

5.chocolate peppermint cookies

6.molasses

7.linzer cookies 

8.buckeyes 

Then I took to the internet to find the best rated and most used recipes. Being that it was my first time making some of these recipes I wanted to make sure I had it down the first try. 

Starting with the Baklava:

a dessert originating in the Middle East made of phyllo pastry filled with chopped nuts and soaked in honey.

We used this recipe from fifteen spatulas  and out of all desserts this is the one I was a little afraid of trying. It’s probably because we eaten so many delicious versions over the years and thinking that it would so hard to replicate. If I’m honest with you, it turned out just like the ones from the restaurants! PS: you do have to wait 8 hours before you can eat but totally worth it!




Then I made an assortment of cookies for the boxes.after making the dough for each cookie I added the gingerbread, molasses, and the sugar cookie to the freezer to set because I feel like it keeps it’s shape better when you let it cool. 


Chocolate crinkle cookies

Molasses rolled in sugar

Chocolate peppermint dipped in white chocolate 


The gingerbread recipe I think is probably one of my favorites and I’m not a gingerbread fan. So that’s saying a lot! I found it on YouTube from the channel “stay at home chef” Rachel is awesome and so is her recipe!





 
My favorite part of baking all these treats was seeing
how excited my family was over these! Their happy faces while eating them brought me so much joy. I loved how they said it was delicious. It is now going to become a Christmas tradition and I hope that for 2021 my cookie game is even better! 

Do you have a Christmas tradition?






December 13, 2020

Happy 4 months baby Olive

Dear baby Olive,

What an eventful month it’s been! You are now 4 months old and continuing to bring us joy on the daily! 

You’re not going to believe this but you are almost 13 pounds which is a huge difference from your last doctors appointment!

You are getting chunkier by the minute. And we are loving it!

Sitting down is your favorite thing to do. We think that it is because you see your brother and sister better. You look around and get so happy!

I absolutely love dressing you up in different outfits! It’s so much fun and you are the best little doll.

You are obsessed with pandas and I think that mama had something to do with it! You love holding your little panda bear and wearing your panda slippers. 

We celebrated your first thanksgiving this month and you got to hangout with Uncle Rafa and Aunt Nina. You love them! 

Mama has so many wonderful dreams with you in it. I see you growing up. Being the best little girl at sports and dance. We can wait for you to do all the activities.

Right now though, breakdancing seems to be your favorite thing! We will lay you down on your mat one way and you will flip all the over to the other side in a matter or seconds. 

You have this singing owl that we got as a gift for when you were born. We take it every with us because you love listening to those lullabies and they put you right too sleep. PS: you know how mama loves pandas? Well dada is a little obsessed with Owls!

You found your loud voice and you love screaming whenever you get the chance. Our favorite thing is when you are a hungry hippo. You get so mad and cry so loud but Mae the cutest faces!

We aren’t sure what happened but you don’t like your binky anymore. Instead you would rather chew on any toy that you a chance to.

Baby girl the year is almost over and we made it! So many wonderful memories with you!

Thank you for making my life so much better. I’m the luckiest! 



December 10, 2020

A little throwback Thursday

São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brazil

One of my favorite things to do is find old pictures of me from when I was a little girl... I’m still missing a lot of them but here some of my favorites I’ve found:

My first birthday 1988

Fest junina with my mom and cousins 1990

At the beach with my cousins 1992

                   With my godparents in 1987

Ugh I miss my family in Brasil so much... Thank goodness for all the amazing memories and journal entries I have from all different stages of my life.

Do you have a favorite childhood memory?



November 13, 2020

Happy 3 months baby Olive

 

Dear baby Olive,

Today you are 3 months old! And your many faces tell your how excited you are to be growing so much. 

We love the fact that you are smiling so big and making faces back at us when we call your name or make funny sounds! 

You are now about 9 pounds and your doctor was happy that you are moving up the curve. We are going to have to check back with her soon just to make sure we are going the right direction with your weight.

Mama can see the difference though... All I have to do is look at your chubby cheeks and tummy to know that your gaining weight.

This month was a little emotional for your mama because we made the hard decision to start formula feeding you more. My milk never came back enough for me to keep feeding you and I could tell you were hungry. And even though I cried a little bit because I was so attached to our bonding time, I know that it is for the best and FED is best!

Your sissy follows me around and wants to hold you every chance that she gets. Sings to you and tells you all about how when you are 3 years old you will both be playing so much! 

Taking baths is still not your favorite but we are working on that. 

When it’s the weekend, daddy and I bring you to our bed and lay you between us. You get so happy and start to wiggle your little body. 

You met your Tia Bia for the first time and you are in love with her. She was able to put you to sleep right away when holding you, and that made you so happy!

Baby girl, mama is still waking up a couple of extra times in the middle of the night to check on you. I love how deep you sleep. I love the fact that people around you can make noises and you are sound asleep.

Oh! After trying a few different formulas it looks like you love the smiths brand. Which is great for mama and dada because formula is expensive and somehow you love the cheap one! 

We just love our growing baby girl so much,



November 2, 2020

Calculating MACROS



Need a quick snack idea? 

Try rice cakes with your favorite nut butter, fruit, and chocolate chips. I’ve mentioned this snack before but today I wanted to teach you how to actually look at the food labels and count your caloric intake correctly. 

It’s time to do some math to show you how easy it is to calculate your macronutrients: 

Here is what each macronutrient has: 

Carbs: 4 kcal/g  
Fat: 9 kcal/g  
Protein: 4 kcal/g 

The daily recommendation for carbs is 45-65% fat 20-35% and protein 10-35%

For you to calculate what your percentage for each day should be all you have to do is the following:

Say you are on 2,000 calories a day plan. You will then complete the following formula to get to your recommended caloric intake:

Carbs: 2,000 x .45 = 900 calories 
Fats: 2,000 x .20 = 400 calories 
Protein: 2,000 x .10 = 200 calories 

To determine the number of grams for each nutrient we need to divide the calories above by their nutrient density.

-Carbs: 900/ 4 = 225 grams
-Fats: 400 / 9 = 44.4 grams 
-Protein: 200 / 4 = 50 grams 

From here it all depends on what your nutritional goals are. If you are trying to gain muscle then you would up your carbs. If you are trying to lose fat then you would up your protein intake. 


October 13, 2020

Happy 2 months baby Olive

Utah, USA

Dear baby Olive,

Today you are 2 months old. Life with you in it just keeps getting better and better! 

I love that mama can carry you around the house while doing chores and you just sleep away!

You are slowly gaining more weight which is good. So far your doctor told mama to keep doing what I’m doing. 

My milk production has slowed down a little ever since we started feeding you one bottle of formula before bed time. I’m hoping that I can still breastfeed you! 

Breastfeeding you is one of my favorites. I get to massage your little bald head, smell your baby smell, and just take a deep breath and relax while you do the same. 

It makes mama so happy that I can contribute to your growth! You are going to be such a strong little girl I can already tell.

You are now noticing things around you. Lights make you so happy! You are little moth (as daddy calls it) just go towards the light every single time. 

Bath time is still not fun for you as you dislike being cold! Mama realized that you do love taking showers with me. So I hold you against my chest and you can feel my heart beat and I think that it makes you so happy!

You are loving your binky and it’s helping you soothe when you are a little upset but now hungry. 

One of my favorite thing I noticed this month is that you absolutely love listening to music! I think it has do to with the fact that I listened to music every single night before going to bed when you were in my tummy.

Sometimes, when you fall asleep in my arms, you drop your little head to the side and I can see your little neck and chubby cheeks. 

October is your big brothers birthday and this year we went down to vovó and vovós house to celebrate. We needed to get a little sun and you went on your first beach trip and you love it! 

Baby girl your personally is changing every day and it’s adorable! From your little sounds that you make to your little grins. You are the happiest most calmest baby.

We are so blessed to have you little angel.

Love you, 




September 25, 2020

My love-hate relationship with Social Media

so·cial me·di·a

/ˌsōSHəl ˈmēdēə/
noun
  1. websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. (via google.com)



    There was a time where waking up and checking all my social media channels was my first priority in the morning. I distinctly remember waking up this one morning and getting the worse migraine after mindlessly scrolling through my Instagram. At the time I didn’t think there such a correlation between the two. 

    In 2020 I gave up most of my social media channels. It all started with Instagram. It was due to my mental health. I was catching myself comparing my looks, my life, and just being jealous of all the “picture perfect accounts”. The stay-at-home moms that were sharing how perfect their days were with their 4 plus kids. Or the fashion accounts with their perfect outfits (made me think of how much they must spend to have a new outfit for each picture). Lastly, the fiftfam community, which has been a huge part of my Instagram journey and who I used to be. I couldn’t bear looking at all those perfect bodies and muscles (while I was miserable and pregnant). So yes, you could say that my mental health played a big reason I deleted my Instagram from my phone.

    At this point Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were still part of my life. The difference is that my usage was very moderate compared to Instagram. 

    It wasn’t until the pandemic hit hard that I decided to quit all the other social networks. There was something about reading the same stuff over and over and just me getting tired of the bad news on the daily.

    My pregnant-self just couldn’t handle it. I’m pretty sure I told my family members not to talk to me about pandemic related news until after baby was here. 

    So as we reach the end of 2020, here a few things I’ve learned about my social media cleanse:

    I’ve been posting on the Internet for almost 11 years (blogging being the main platform) so with this in mind it is okay to take a break.

    It’s okay to be different than others and not try to follow every single trend out there. I never created a TIKTOK account and probably only ever will if it is for my baking business.

    Instagram was once a huge part of my life, but it’s not my passion. And if I don’t want to focus on that platform I don’t have to. I never was an Instagram influencer but more of a blogger anyways so I’m not missing out there.

    When you work on social media, you most definitely can pick your favorite platform and post on there only. Mine being my blog/Pinterest/YouTube.

    I learned this from a blogger that I interviewed once. We were talking about being creators and what platform made more sense for our craft. I told her that Instagram just wasn’t the same anymore and my blog at the moment was the only thing that was bringing me joy. She then told me that I should do that! I should just focus on my blog if that’s what made me happy. It’s was a great conversation and I’m glad it helped validate my feelings.

    YouTube was also another platform I turned to this year. The reason was all to better myself and my business. I spent hours watching cooking channels. Perfecting my craft. Learning from the pros. It also helped me create 3 business plans for all my businesses. 

    So, here we are, almost a year later and I don’t regret my decisions. My love-hate relationship with social media has gotten better. I’m loving the creativity I’ve had all year. I’m loving the fact that I’m doing me. 

    If I ever decide to get back on Instagram it won’t be for the likes and competition. It will for the content that I truly want to share. There won’t be a schedule or me refreshing my account every 5 seconds to see if got new followers. 

    PS: Thank goodness for blogging. If I wasn’t able to put my emotions out there, my mental health would not be the same.

    There you have it, 

    Have you ever done something extreme like this before? Did you regret it? What were the results? 










September 13, 2020

Happy 1 month baby Olive

Utah, USA

 

Dear baby Olive,

Today you are one month old! 

Please time slow down... our baby girl is just growing so much. 

You have been sleeping through the night most nights. Mama is the one waking up in the middle of the night just to make sure you are still breathing. You are always sounds asleep and content!

After having to go visit your pediatrician a couple of times because you were a little bit jaundice and lost a lot of weight. We started to supplement moms breast milk with formula.

That seems to be helping you a lot and you are gaining your weight back up!

Today you were at almost 8 pounds so about 2 pounds gained since your birth. The doctors said I’m doing a great job.

You are so sweet and sleep pretty much all day and night until you are hungry. Then you let us know! 

You have found your voice and we hear you loud and clear. It’s adorable when you cry because you scrunch up your forehead and put your lips. 

Even though mama is very tired because you are very attached to me. I wouldn’t change a thing. It makes my heart happy and I just want to cry tears of joy! 

Your daddy is back at work fighting this whole covid thing along with other military guys. It’s such an interesting time that you were born in. The year you were born in will be a huge part of history down the line.

Your Vovós and vovôs love you so much and are obsessed with your cuteness. 

Happy one month baby girl! Here is to a growing and healthy baby!

We love you so so much,







September 9, 2020

A simple Texas Sheet Cake Recipe

Texas Sheet Cake

Earlier last year Daniel got to live in Lackland AFB Texas for 4 months. During those months it was just the kids and I. To pass time most of my days were spent in my kitchen doing one of my favorite things: baking!

I took this time to really work on my craft and perfect each of my recipes. After all, I’ve been working on this secret project that involves lots and lots of baking.

So back to Texas, Daniels experience was a little different because he wasn’t aloud to leave his base and therefore he wasn’t able to indulge in all the delicious Texas food we have been hearing about. 

While I was baking away in my kitchen I came across this old recipe from Lemon Poppy Cake.  A simple cookbook for easy recipes. That’s when I decided to make the famous “Texas Sheet Cake” in hopes to get Daniel excited to try when he was back home. 

This recipe never fails me, and I’ve been making it for a very long time. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do:



The "BEST" Texas Sheet Cake:


Ingredients 


1 cup butter 

1 cup water 

2 cups sugar

4   T of cocoa powder 

2 cups flour 

1 t. salt 

2 eggs 

1 cup sour cream 

1 t. baking soda 


Directions 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter, water and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a low boil. Remove from heat and pour into large mixing bowl. Add sugar, flour and salt and mix. Add eggs, sour cream and baking soda and mix again until smooth. Pour into large greased cookie sheet and Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick before pouring frosting over cake. comes out clean (do not over-bake).


Frosting


4 Tablespoons of Cocoa

1/2 cup of butter 

6 Tablespoons of milk

1 Tablespoon of vanilla 

3 cups of powdered sugar


Heat butter and cocoa in a medium saucepan until a low boil. Remove from heat and milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Mix with hand mixer for about 10 minutes and let it cool for a little bit before frosting your cake. 







 

August 27, 2020

How to put your life in order

New York, NY, USA

This short story is taken from my self-published dating book... I've decided to add parts of the book to my blog so that you'll get to enjoy reading all my fun stories!


How does one put their life in order? Well you start by making a list of things that you’ve got going on in your life right now. 

The first item on this list is: To have a reliable transportation. I’m in no way bashing you and telling you that you need to go spend all your money on a brand-new car but, I do think that if you don’t have a car/bike/public transportation/Lyft to get you from point A to point B then your future partner might not take you seriously. If you live in New York City or San Diego for example: it makes no sense to spend money on a car when you could either walk to places faster or take a Lyft. One of the most unattractive things in the World is having to pick up your date because they just don’t have a reliable transportation (or they got arrested for a DUI and got their license revoked). More on this story later!

Do you have a dream Job? I remember when I was a little girl I used to dream about being a veterinarian (I eventually found out that I would have to take care of all animals and not just cuddly ones and my opinions changed quickly). You see, I have ophidiophobia and you should totally look that up because I can’t even type the actual word. When it comes to figuring out your career I want you think of something that makes you happy. I want you to be happy to wake up each day and go to work. If that means going to college full time and getting that degree you have always dreamt of then do it! It is never too late! No matter what people tell you. If you must get a job in the mean time that is just “okay” make sure to do anything in your power to show up and get work done. I know I keep going back to things that a partner might find “attractive” but I must because you need to understand that looks do fade. Having an education doesn’t! Say it with me: COLLEGE DEGREE=SEXY!


Now I saved the best for last because I find this extremely important:

“Schedule me time” and I mean it! I think that girls are usually a little better at doing this but guys, not so much... I want you to take at least 15-30 minutes of your day to do something for yourself. You can choose whatever you would like during this time whether it be “mani-pedis, a massage, read a book, watch your favorite show, eat a dessert, go to best-buy, go on a hike, go to the gym” honestly the list could go on and on.

There is something about taking the time to re-group and reconnect with yourself. Unplug from your social media if you can too!

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how precious the time is you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.” 

What do you think? Are you ready to put your life in order? 



August 13, 2020

Birth Story: Happy Birthday Baby Olive

5063 S Cottonwood St, Murray, UT 84107, USA

Documenting as much as I could during my pregnancy journey was one of the main goals I had. Mainly due to the fact that this is my last pregnancy and I really wanted to take it all in (the growing belly, the heartbeat checks, the first kicks, and even the sickness). 

For this journal entry, I'm sharing baby Olives' birth process, but you can also check out my recap of the first trimester, second trimester, third trimester, and the fourth trimester(coming soon). 

Tuesday, August 11 - 9:30 am

Today I'm 39 weeks and my OBGYN has officially scheduled me for an induction. This visit was my last in-office visit and I couldn't help but feel this bittersweet feeling. This is the last time I'll go over this routine (check-in, give a pee sample, get my blood pressure, and weight) then chat with her about how close we are. Lastly, hear babies heartbeat and get checked for dilation. (She checked me today and I was close to a 3 yay) So we were able to get me scheduled for an induction at 39 +2 weeks. 

The hospital had called me the day before to tell me that I’m number one in line and they would call me the day of between 6:00 -11:00 am. The husband and I had a relaxing night of watching the frank Sinatra documentary. Enjoying a yummy dinner in our quiet little home. We finally were able to get some sleep at around 11pm. I think that both of us were too excited to sleep! 

Thursday, August 13 - 5:30 am 

Today our alarm woke us up around 5:30 am. I quickly got up and started to get ready for the day! Even though it is early, I'm feeling such peace and excitement! I get dressed and take one last belly picture for my weekly photo updates I'm working on. Looking at my big belly for the last time and rubbing my hands over gets me a little bit emotional. Once again, I can't believe that this is the last time I'll have a big belly. The last time I'll feel a little human inside me. (don't mind me casually bawling my eyes out).

It's around 6:00 am in the morning now and we still haven’t heard from the hospital so we both decided to take a nice little nap for a couple of hours. Daniel is sound asleep and I'm just looking around our bedroom thinking about how this is the last time it will just be the two of us in here. That baby bassinet will soon have our little human. Ahh! My sister just called around 7:30 am to see how I'm feeling. I just love her so much and the fact that we are the best of friends. I told her that we are waiting for the hospital to call us. I was finally able to get some sleep...

It's 8:30 am we finally get a call from the hospital and they asked me if I was ready to deliver this baby. I exclaimed YES!! At this point, I'm running around the house making sure everything is good to go. I quickly wake up Daniel and tell him it is time so off to the hospital we go. We get checked in and finished the registration process and were in our room by 9:40 am.



Our nurse came in and got all my IVs hooked up and went through all the routine questions to get us ready for birth. And if you read my pregnancy posts then you know that IVs were a huge part of my pregnancy and those little bags kept me going when I thought I was going to die of dehydration due to hyperemesis. The nurse asked us both about our birth plan and to be honest with you, our birth plan has always been pretty single: get baby out safely and try to avoid a C-section. Also: YES to an epidural and yes to skin to skin. 


10:40 am our OBGYN came in to get us pumped and told me that she was going to have the resident come in to break my water. The nurse then put me on Pitocin to get the contractions going. Right before they broke my water I asked for my epidural. See, with both Logan and Lia I knew that it would be best to get the epidural beforehand. So the anesthesiologist came in and got me all set up for the epidural. I squeezed Daniel's hand so hard because I was so afraid of the pain but this doctor was amazing! He did such a great job of keeping me calm by talking to me throughout the whole process. He had me lay on my side which was different from my last two pregnancies as they had me sit up. I honestly didn’t feel a thing besides the initial poke from the numbing injection. Daniel let me hold his hand and squeeze really tight! Once that was over the resident came in to break my water. I'm telling you, get the epidural! 


It’s now 11:20 am and I’m waiting for contractions to pick up and me to be dilated so that we can get our baby girl out! 


Around 12:20 pm our nurse comes in to see where I’m at. She checked me and I'm at 5 1/2. She told me this is great progress and that she would be right back since I'm dialing so quickly.  I tried to sleep but I couldn’t help but look over at Daniel, the man of my dreams. Just sitting on that uncomfortable couch and watching me and being there for me every step of the way. I started to get teary eyes because I’m so damn lucky! (honestly bawling right now just thinking back at all of the things we have gone through these last few months: him being a tech school and not sure he would make it for the birth, me being so sick and him being there and checking on me as much as he could all the way from Texas. Then, to him making me delicious meals when nothing sounds good).


It's 1:40 pm the nurse comes back and this time I’m dilated to a 7 almost 8. She gets really excited and tells our OBGYN that I’m doing so great on my progress and that soon I should be ready to push! 


So around 2:40 almost 3pm, I start feeling sick due to fact that I had yet to eat anything since 7:00 am, and with gestational diabetes, I’ve been so used to eating every 2 hours. I let her know and she gets me some more IV and Zofran. I start to feel better as I take some sips of water. 


At 3:00 pm my OBGYN walks in and says let’s get this baby out! Daniel and I both look at each other and get really excited. I suddenly have all these feelings going through my mind from the last 9 months and can’t believe that it is finally time to meet our little princess! I didn’t care that I have been so sick and had all these issues through this pregnancy because I already knew that she was going to be worth it when I get to see her little face. 


At this point, I’m crowning and get ready to push. My nurse is holding my leg on one side and Daniel is holding the other leg. I told him to look the other way because I know how he doesn’t feel good when looking at blood and such or me in pain. Plus I didn’t really want him to look down there anyway. Haha, so we start the count down to 10. I suddenly remember how I need to push ( It has been 7 years since my last baby) so I start pushing but I start getting really nauseous due to hunger and not having any energy. Right as I turn over to tell the nurse I throw up. It’s okay though, soon after I feel this great energy coming over me and I'm ready to push! So we do the count down two more times and baby girl is out. 


As they lay her on my chest she lets out the sweetest cry and I feel this relief over me. All that anticipation, all the hard work leading up to this moment, and it's finally here. We did it! She is perfect! Baby Olive was born at 3:20 and weighed 6 pounds 10 oz. Just a little bit over her sister but around the same weight! I forget how tiny they are. Feeling her little heartbeat over my chest as she lays there brings all the emotions out once again. Daniel cut her cord with such pride! 


My OBGYN then tells me I did great and no stitches needed or tearing. She gets the placenta out and then goes off to help another momma give birth. The nurse makes sure I'm comfortable and leaves the room to let Daniel and I enjoy skin to skin for the next hour. We both were smiling so big. I enjoyed having her just lay on me where once again I felt her little heartbeat. It's honestly the best feeling in the World! The human body is amazing you guys! 


4 ish pm After being overcome with emotions, taking lots of pictures of baby, it was time to get to our new room. They wheeled us over and we got to get situated while they checked her vitals for us. The next 24 hours were spent at the hospital bonding with our baby girl and thanking our lucky stars for this precious little gift! 



Daniel: Thank you for being the amazing life companion that you are! I can't imagine life without you in it. We make the best team and I appreciate every little thing you do for me and our little family. Olive is so lucky to have a daddy that will be there and shower her with love and affection for many years to come. So hashtag blessed! 


love, 




August 9, 2020

Day trip to Antelope Island - Utah

Antelope Island, Utah, USA

UTAH BUCKET LIST: ANTELOPE ISLAND

Antelope Island is the perfect place for a quick day trip with your kids! We woke up early on a Sunday morning and my husband suggested we would go check out the wild buffalos, bison, and antelopes. 

We stopped and got some drinks and snacks for the drive and hit the road. From where we live it took about an hour to get there but it wasn’t too bad at all!

Once you get to the gate before going over the bridge to the island you can already see how beautiful the view is. The price was $15 dollars per vehicle and if you have someone 60 and older it is only $10 dollars. They gave us a map of the island and off we went to explore.



There are a few different routes you could take when you get to the island. One leads you to a beach where there is also a burger joint, different hiking, and biking trails, while the other leads you to all the wild buffalos off to either side of the road.

There were a few other families there and the best part about it is that everyone we keeping their distance and taking their time while parked on the side of the street. We started driving on this winding road when we spotted the first heard. The kiddos got so excited to see them up close! 





The island also has hiking trails that you can go on and you can even go camping there which I think would make it for a fun weekend with the wild bison!

Here are some fun facts about Antelope Island found on the interwebs:

Description

Antelope Island, with an area of 42 square miles, is the largest of ten islands located within the Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States. The island lies in the southeastern portion of the lake, near Salt Lake City and Davis County, and becomes a peninsula when the lake is at extremely low levels.

A balloon festival is held yearly, around Labor Day. Birdwatching on Antelope Island is well known. Observing wildlife is also popular on Antelope Island, especially the large numbers of bison which are part of the Antelope Island Bison Herd. Coyotes and antelope are sometimes seen close to the main roads and campsites, and bison often wander across the roads, though the bison are most often found towards the south end of the island near the Fielding Garr Ranch.




One of our favorite parts of the trip was when we were driving down the small road and this huge herd of mamas and babies decided to cross the road right behind us. We just all watched it right from our rear window as they went by. It was a fun experience to have them that close to us. 

As a reminder, it is not recommended for you to get out of your car when they are this close as they can charge towards you or your car and you can potentially get injured. They are wild animals after all!


Address: 4528 W 1700 S, Syracuse, UT 84075
Hours of operation: 6:00 AM - 10:00 PM (Sunday-Saturday)
Price: Entrance fee: $15 per vehicle up to 8 people (Visit the park site for more information)

Make sure to add a day trip to Antelope Island to your bucket list! If you aren't sure how to start a bucket list I have written a helpful post on it so that way you know exactly what to do



August 6, 2020

BEFORE I LOVE SOMEONE ELSE, GOT TO LOVE MYSELF.

Peru

This chapter is taken from my self-published dating book... I've decided to add parts of the book to my blog so that you'll get to enjoy reading all my fun stories! You can also read about how I found my forever love, my first kiss, and how I gave up dating for lent



What if I told you that failing is part of the journey? What if everything that you have gone through has happened for a reason? Would you give up? Would pick up the pieces and try again? I say YES! Don’t ever give up on yourself! Don’t give up on your journey!


BEFORE I LOVE SOMEONE ELSE, GOT TO LOVE MYSELF.


How are you supposed to let someone into your life without fully loving yourself first? This is easier said than done. I struggled with what some call “closet depression” what this means is that you are going through all those depression symptoms, but you are very embarrassed and ashamed of letting others know. I didn’t take any pills that my doctors wanted me to take. I didn’t feel comfortable doing so. Instead, I opted for something more natural such as getting high on endorphins. Every time I would walk through that Gold’s Gym I would feel better and better.


I loved the person I was becoming. At 26 I was finally figuring out my identity. It wasn’t until 2016 when I decided to take the trip of a lifetime with my sister to Peru & Brazil. I learned a lot about myself then. I experienced the culture and saw things that made me cry, smile and ponder on. This trip was just what I needed. I’m not sure if it was when I reached the top of Machu Picchu and finally got see one of the 7 wonders of the World that I realized just how lucky I was to be alive and well or the fact that I was I FREE! I was letting go of all that built-up resentment and anger.


PERU TRIP with my sister and college friends - 2016