Back to the Basics

This week and last week I feel I have gone back to the "basics" on a few things...

Him

The past week I have been working on a grocery list for him of his favorite beer, dinners, snacks, etc. And this might sound absurd for someone who supposedly knows him better than anyone, but I find myself trying a little too hard to remember what I use to buy for him.

My friend Leslie mentioned "everything" bagels the other day. I could not believe I forgot his FAVORITE breakfast. See I use to eat bagels all of the time, but stopped buying them once he left.

I hope more come to me in the next week.

My girls

If you follow me on FB, you noticed some of my updates reading "walking the girls" instead of rollerblading. While rollerblading tires them out super fast and we have rollerblading down to a science, they are acutally AWFUL walkers.

My poor mom. Whenever she puts them on the leash to walk, they think they are rollerblading and go darting down the driveway. This past week I rollerblade them in the morning and walk them in the evening. I have seen quite a bit of progress.

I also realized my forearms are ridiculously strong as when I rollerblade and walk my two 60+ puppies, I have no problem controling each of them.

Anyone have any tips to get your big dogs to stop pulling?

Studying/Career

I came to the realization a few months back, I needed to find a "portable" career. While looking ahead at our future, I realized we are going to move 3 times in just the next 5 years. Lovely for someone who wants a perfect sports business related job.

After talking with my parents, his parents, and of course him, I decided to go ahead and get my personal trainer's license and start up my own business. I am actually quite excited about it. I already picked a name, blog, website, and started on my business plan. My family always told me I should go into it since I constantly train them whenever I get a chance. I also have to thank P90X for so many things including new workouts and noticing results after a certain amount of time.

We decided for me to not try and find another job since we were so close to R&R and for me to spend my time studying. I also plan on subbing in the fall for some kind of additional income for this household.

I take the test August 3rd, just a few short days before he is suppose to arrive. I figure it would distract me and I really wanted it all said and done before he gets here.

I am a little nervous and was hesitant to post it on my blog. Afterall, you are suppose to take 3 months to study and I am knocking it out in 1.5 months. I just finished outlining the book and now will take this week to review. So here goes nothing!

A Patriotic Tornado

I think I have a love/hate relationship with July 4th. While I love my country, love our soldiers, especially my soldier, spending the holiday without him isn't fun. This would be our 10th holiday as a couple and we spent 1 together. July always fell under back to WP or back to work or back to summer school. I find it to be a romantic, patriotic holiday and I prefer to be patriotic and romantic with him....haha, obviously.

I did spend the 4th with some great girls (and a few of their husbands). Instead of fireworks last night, we watched a tornado warning/weather advisory on TV.

I will admit, its the most fun and most I laughed in quite some time. The news encouraged viewers to send in their "weather" photos. They also mentioned on several occasions for residents to seek shelter in the closet or stated, "Its now safe for X residents to come out of the closet". We could not stop laughing. For a little fun on our 4th of July, we decided to send in a photo of MG and I hiding in the closet asking if it was safe to come out of the closet.


Good times.



Tomorrow is Day 59 of my P90X program and I will be posting my Day 1, Day 30, and Day 60 (close enough) pictures so make sure to take a peak tomorrow.

The good (sore) life.

Today I realized I did some kind of workout for 15 straight days. If I wasn't doing a P90X workout, I ran or did some kind of light cardio. While doing my leg & back workout this morning, I felt my body screaming for a day off. So tomorrow I promised my body I will take a day off.

How do I know this program works:

1) I ran 4 miles yesterday, no problem, with only running 4 total miles in the previous 4 months.
2) I tested my body fat at the gym on Wednesday...16.3%! And I feel like bragging a little because I tested this many times before and no matter what kind of shape I was in (running half marathons, kickboxing, pilates) I have never been this low. The trainer at the gym wants to test me again in 6 weeks when I am done with the 90 day progam. She and I both wished I would have tested before I started.

Katie, my little Doctor of Physical Therapy in training, stretched me out this evening. I cannot even begin to tell you how badly I needed a good stretching and how amazing it felt.

After a good stretch, long bath, and glass of wine...I am feeling very relaxed. Life is good.

Hot in here.

Today reached 94 degrees. Not fun considering the AC did not work. I also found out today I need to replace my entire air conditioning unit. Ah, lightning struck somewhere it shouldn't have and messed up our circuit board.

So even though I break a sweat standing and walking in my house, there are many things I found I am grateful for over the past few days.

1) The FURiminator

Actual FURminator session with a Siberian Husky:

Seriously, where have you been all my life, or at least the past 10 months?! I decided to share this particular picture because that dog is seriously Daisy's twin. I am not saying I do not have hair in my house, but the amount of hair that finds the garbage can instead of my clothes, couches, and even vacuum cleaner makes me a lot happier.

2) Carpet Cleaners- Even through the revolving door of electricians and AC repair men today, I still managed to clean my carpets. I love the feeling of cleaning carpets.

3) P90X- Yesterday I decided to take my workout to the gym. I filled my notebook up with all the necessary exercises. I did a 40 minute workout and managed to belt out 120 push-ups in that workout. My favorite comment coming from the sterotypical "meathead", "Whoa, that seemed like an intense workout".

I feel my body getting so much stronger and I absolutely love it. While I may not be able to run like I use to ( I did get in a 1 mile run), I am loving the changes I see in my arms, stomach, and even back.

4) His sister- I love having her around. I, of course, got her on board with P90X so its nice to have a workout partner not to mention we take turns making dinner so its nice to always have a cooked, healthy meal.

What is cilantro?!

I do have to admit since he deployed, I am quite proud of myself and my adventures and sometimes misadventures in the kitchen.

I laughed today as I used my garlic press and chopped up the cilantro. Mostly because a year ago, I did not even know what this stuff looked like or that Kitchen Aid dedicated and developed a kitchen utensil soley for its purpose.

Paying a decent amount for P90X, I now believe it was worth every penny, especially for some of these receipes. I used four of them already and loved all four of them.

Tonight I invited Barrett over for vegetable soup and we both agreed it tasted great and bonus...its actually healthy for you!

Recipe:

10 cups of chicken broth, low sodium
4 red potatoes
4 cups of onions, quartered
1 cup of carrots, sliced 1 inch thick
2 cups of zucchini, sliced 1 inch thick
8 oz can of tomato sauce
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 bunch of cilantro, chopped
dash black pepper

I definitely recommend it.

Deliver me from cupcakes.

Last night I baked cupcakes. I love baking. Its an instant source of happiness.

I love baking cupcakes because I love passing them out to random friends, clients, etc. Today I passed out 15 cupcakes to clients and made sure I saved 3 for Super Jeni and her two kiddos.

In what might be a huge break through...I only ate ONE cupcake.

HUGE accomplishment considering I normally eat close to 4-5 each time I bake. (Did I just say that out loud?)

My mom always tells me if I didn't work out, I would probably be the largest woman ever to weigh in on the Biggest Loser. I am a horrible eater.

And since I am very much into P90X, I convinced myself I should probably eat well too. Hey, only 2.5 months to R&R. I can do this.

In other self-control news, no coffee this week! Only orange juice or protein shakes. I typically NEED to have at least 1 cup a day.

Although fighting off cupcakes took a lot more "self-talk" than the coffee.

Nightly Routine

My nightly routine:

Wash face
Brush teeth
Face moisturizer
Chap-stick

My new routine:

Wash face
Brush teeth
Face moisturizer
Chap-stick
Hand lotion

Why hand lotion? Calluses are beginning to form on my hands from lifting weights. Ah, I hate calluses and I am too stubborn to go buy gloves.

His other PL is now home on R&R. With no family or significant other around just yet, I invited him over for dinner tonight. I made a yummy pan seared chicken with veggies.

In return, he brought over a pull-up bar for me to use while he is away. Setting up the bar was the highlight of my night, by far. I even did a little dance.

What is wrong with me?

So lonely

I am beginning to notice how much I miss company. Do not get me wrong, I have amazing friends here, but everyone does have their own life. I admit it, I get lonely at times.

On Wednesday, one of my dear friends Leslie called. She and her husband are moving down here in a few weeks. Her hubby, Barrett, is one of my love's very, very good friends from WP.

She asked if Barrett could stay with me for the weekend. I, someone who loves company, responded with an enthusiastic "Yes!".

And let me just say how nice it was having a man in the house again.

He cut the grass for me on Saturday (Yes, that is right, I cut the grass on Monday and it needed it already on Saturday), changed a few light bulbs and bought me dinner on Saturday night.

Now this might sound crazy, but I slept like a baby knowing Barrett, a big strong Army Ranger, was sleeping in the other room.

I also made him do P90X this weekend and even he woke up sore this morning :)

Time to get ready for another long week at work.

P90X Week One

I just completed my first full week of P90X.

Now you may think its the muscle confusion that produces results. I disagree. Its actually the ridiculously hard workouts. I did not take a picture on the first day. I ended up taking a picture today because I just got my camera back this week.

I would love to show you my "before" picture, but let's face it, it will look much better next to the "after" picture.

My favorite workouts:

Kenpo- It takes me back to my kickboxing days. And I find this to be one of the easier ones becuase my kickboxing class was sometimes insane.

Core Synergistics- The entire workout concentrates on the core, whichout you really noticing.

Yoga- I hated yoga. I walked out of 3 yoga classes in my life because I thought they were just plain boring. The basketball/soccer player in me wanted more.

However, I do love Jennifer Anniston (and her body, geesh!) and I convinced myself I will like her if I continue to do yoga.

My least favorite:

Ab Ripper X- Only 18 minutes. Only 11 moves, 25 times each. But even my new boyfriend Tony collapses after this workout. Hate is a strong word, so I hate you Ab Ripper X.


I workout upstairs in our office and the girls love looking out that window so they usually hang out with me while I do my workouts. However, sometimes they get too close to me and over the past week, I probably kicked Dakota and Daisy around 3-4 times each.

All grown up

Being an adult....very overrated at times.

Like when it comes to cutting the grass. I changed into my mowing the yard clothes and could not find the keys to our shed anywhere. I hauled my butt over to Home Depot to see what they could do and apparently my lawn mower in our shed is more secure than our home.

How about when you're not only an adult, but an alone adult in the military? Last night around 2:30am, my good friend and neighbor called. I heard her house alarm going off in the background. I jumped out of bed, grabbed Dakota, and headed a block down the street.

I did not even blink an eye when she apologized for waking me up. Are you kidding me? We are in this together. I know what its like to live in a big house by yourself. Turns out her fire alarm suffered a malfunction. Better safe than sorry.

And to think, a year ago, I lived at home and worked at my dream job making some good money. I bought whatever I wanted. My mom, the laundry nazis, kept up with my dirty clothes, and my daddy definitely protected me from the bad guys.

With work, the economy is beginning to hurt our business. They shut down 5 locations and of course our branch is on the radar, meaning I am on the radar. I NEED to be on top of my quotas and paperwork. I am feeling the pressure. To put icing on the cake, our Regional VP will be visiting tomorrow morning. I worked last night for a few hours and again today. I am very nervous.

I wouldn't change where I am at for the world, but adulthood is responsiblity. I hate changing lightbulbs (random, I know) and cutting the grass every 5 days. Our conversation today:

Me: I cannot wait until summer.
Him: Why?
Me: Until the sun kills our grass and I no longer have to cut it every 5 days.
Him: What?!
Me: You heard me right. I am not watering our grass. If I water it, then I have to cut it.
Him: You are forgetting about Big Tom
Me: DANG IT!

Big Tom = His father, a man very obsessed with yards including mine.

Being an adult can be fun. Yesterday morning, I finally completed my boudoir photos. The amazing photographer gave me a sneak peak last night and I love them! Let me tell you, getting your picture taken for 2 hours, very exhausting.

And this might sound crazy, but it flelt like an intense ab workout for most of the photo shoot.

Speaking of workouts, I am still going strong with P90X and am finally in the addicted, kind of enjoy it phase. Once I hit 90 days, he will be home for R&R :)

Week Twenty

While talking last night about deployment, my two very good friends and I agreed how time seems like it is flying by since the guys left.

Except when we look at the big picture. They come home in December.

I promised myself and convinced myself I will thrive during this deployment by having things to look forward to each month. And let me just say, its going to be an amazing two months.

May 5th- Cinco de Mayo Book Club
May 9th- Jazz on the Lawn

May 22nd- My college radio station's alumni basketball game
May 24th- BRET MICHAELS!

I am a classic rock girl at heart. During college, I ran a classic rock radio station. That and I am addicted to Rock of Love (whew, admitting I have a problem is the first step)

May 30th- Pool opening and throwing my friend Tiff a birthday pool party

June 6th- Super Jeni's Baby Shower

June 7th- His sister moves in with me for the summer.




Over the years of traveling to WP, holidays, etc., we became best friends. Katie is a year away from her doctorate in physical therapy and needs to complete 3 clinicals. She actually picked FC for her first clinical to live with me while he's away.

June 13th- CMA Festival


Oh so many good things coming my way. I love summer.

I started P90X a week ago. Yes, I did say I would start May 1st, but I hate Monday Moring Dieters (I will start exercising on Monday). And let's just say, I wanted to cry during yoga this morning. Muscles I did not know existed hurt me today. And if I stand for too long, my legs start shaking. I love this feeling.