High Class, Leopard Prints, and Loveliness

So last Friday we went to the class Dining Out/Formal/Ball (please ignore my fatty McFatterson bingo arms!).

It was an okay night. I definitely recycled a dress that I wore about 6 years ago (since I've gained weight I fit in it again) but whatever.

We dropped Little Butt at a friend's house so she could play with her BFF Z-man for the night. She got to play outside for a while and had a blast. At one point I received a text message from J telling me that the kids went into the shed to get toys. Z-man grabbed his bike. Little Butt?? She grabbed...

A leopard print broom of course! I mean...what kid wouldn't want one of those right??? I figure she's my daughter so anything leopard print would catch her eye. That's my girl!

Oh...and do you notice her new princess shoes?? They are pink and sparkly and she picked them out herself. We went into Payless because I wanted to maybe get her some sneakers. She grabbed those off the shelf and put them on right then and there. Then she refused to take them off her feet. I had to pay for the box. I'm just glad she happened to have grabbed the correct size because that would have been awkward.

Anyway. Back to the Dining Out. Since we are in the middle of nowhere I don't know why I was shocked to pull up to the VFW in my pretty ballgown and have to wonder if we were supposed to go in the "bar" side or the "bingo" side. Hmmm...

It was pretty awesome to walk in and see all the locals staring at us in our finery. It was even more awesome when we had moved to the bingo side and had to walk past the karaoke-ing townies to get back outside.

I sat next to a chick who was just downright unhappy the ENTIRE time. I'm guessing that is her default setting but it kind of gets to a person sometimes. Especially if you are generally happy like I am.

What was even more wonderful about this Dining Out was that it was buffet style! We were the last table to go get our food so we got the scraps no one else wanted. No green veggies were left, just corn. And the rolls were nice and...toasted??? LOL! But whatever. My favorite part was that I was in a ball gown and heels carrying my two plates of food (the salad and the meal) back to my table across the room. Neat huh??

Once the formalities were over, we did have a nice time. Especially when the General stood on his head to take a shot and started having beer chugging contests with the guys. We are high class here people! LOL!

No...in all honesty, it's pretty neat to see the higher ranking guys being able to connect with the students here. The upside down shots were pretty spectacular and is not something I will forget any time soon.

It was nice to see all my friends dressed up and it was a great night out without Little Butt no matter how "country" the evening was.

When we went to go pick up Little Butt she was fast asleep so we ended up having some wine and watching Lord of the Rings with J and J.

The boys ended up going outside and me and the female J hung out inside and watched an episode of Dexter Season 3. I've watched the first 2 seasons and am trying to get The Hubble into the show. I borrowed the first season from J and I hope to get The Hubble watching it when he graduates this Career Course in a couple few weeks.

While I'm here. Let me also mention that the lovely K over at Uncork and Unwined bestowed upon me this lovely award! (How much are you loving my use of the word "lovely" in this sentence???)

Thanks for this award K! It was very thoughtful of you!

I guess that's it for now. I am about to have a battle with my house...it desperately needs cleaning. Boo-faces!

I hope you all are enjoying this last day of September. See you next month!

What the Deuce???

Many of you may not know this but...I have a crazy obsession with makeup. It's pretty bad actually.

I am a member of Sephora's Beauty Insider club. What's worse...is that I am a V.I.B. That means, I spend at least $350 per year at Sephora.

Yes, I know. I alredy admitted it was a problem didn't I??

What's more is that I cannot walk into a Dillard's or Macy's without hitting the MAC counter. Oh I love me some MAC.

Here in the middle of nowhere I don't wear makeup as often as I do when I'm living in a big city. It's just so out of place here. But I love the stuff.

Even though I have this obsession...and I know children emulate their parents...you would think that I wouldn't have been shocked when Little Butt came to me looking like this:

Oh Little Butt...what did you do???

Can you hear my sigh of despair and the resounding "uh-oh"???

At this point...an investigation got under way.

Oh no!!! Not my favorite Urban Decay palette!!!

My new MAC bronzer, my favorite Stila eyeshadow (luckily that was already empty) and another MAC eyeshadow...

It sure looks like Little Butt was having a good time doesn't it???

How are kids so fast?

She was only gone for a few minutes!

These little guys ended up on the floor somehow...

How could my beautiful little girl do this??

Did she have help??

Could she have possibly thought of this all on her own?

NO! She had an accomplice I see...

Mickey. The mastermind behind this destruction I'm sure!

He corrupted my poor innocent little girl and convinced her to do the unthinkable!

Though the guilt and evidence may be written all over Little Butt's face....

That evil smirk isn't fooling me Mickey! You better watch yourself Mouse. I will get even...oh yes, I will get my revenge!!!

Moving So Fast I'm Forgetting My Purpose

Photo by Nathan Eal Photography

I feel like I've been going a mile a minute lately and just need to slow down!

I seriously can't believe that it's been over a week since I have updated my blog. And unfortunately, it has been almost that long since I looked at my Google Reader. 

I just kept ignoring it because I was scared to look and it just got worse and worse. So...I want to apologize to you all. There is probably no way I'm going to be able to read and comment on every blog post that has been published in the last week and a half to 2 weeks. 

So I'll ask you this...has anything really awesome happened in your life? Anything you would like me to know about?? A post you would like me to read? If so, please leave a link in the comments and I will get over there and read it.

So what's been going  on with me lately you ask?? I know, I know. You didn't technically ask...but you are here and so am I (fancy meeting you here) so I'm going to tell you anyway!

I'm going to break it down into days because that will just help me catch up. Hopefully after this catch up post I'll get better about being here with you more often again. So here goes...

Thursday ~ I recently joined a Spouse's Club here at the post and they have a monthly luncheon. Thursday was the first luncheon. My friend C came and picked up Little Butt for play group and to watch her while I went to this luncheon. The luncheon was okay. They charged $10 for a side salad with a thin chicken breast on it and 4 little cream puffs with chocolate and raspberry drizzle for dessert. I left hungry. Some lunch. But it was a decent time so I'll try it out again. They had some clubs for us to join and I thought about joining the book club but I didn't. Don't ask me why not. I may still. We'll see. 

After the luncheon I went to C's house to grab Little Butt. We ended up talking for a while then she extended an invite for dinner since The Hubble would be in class that night. I accepted. Little Butt and I ran to the store and grabbed a fruit tray and headed back. Dinner was delicious and fun. Got home around 9pm.

Friday ~ 2 mile walk in the morning with M. Little Butt and I stopped at the playground afterward. Finished at about 10:30am. Showered and dressed in time for The Hubble to get home. Drove and hour and a half to "town" and met up with some friends for a bit of shopping and dinner. Got home around 10pm.

Saturday ~ Mad dash to clean up the house and cook before our Italian potluck dinner party that started at 4pm. Potluck was a huge success. Tons of delicious food and amazing people. I love those dinner parties and I think they are even better for large groups when you make it a potluck. Then everyone can contribute and lots of recipe ideas are passed around. That ended at about 11:30pm. 

Sunday ~ Pretty chill morning. Bummed around the house and ate leftover pasta and Italian sausage for breakfast. 2 mile walk and playground with B, her daughter Princess, and Little Butt. Home for dinner, tubbies and bedtime.

Monday ~ 2 mile walk with Emily (yay she's back!), playground with Little Butt afterward. Came home, showered. Set up a couple posts for Jolts & Jollies. Spent the entire afternoon and evening baking! 

Tuesday ~ Had a spouse's panel that I was invited to attend. That lasted until the afternoon. Hung out with my friend The Marine's Wife and her son. Ran home to finish up some birthday stuff for B and headed over for a girl's night with Little Butt, Princess, B and me. We had pizza, cookies, cake and sangria and tried to watch a movie. Unfortunately, everyone got a bit tired and we only got about 30 minutes into the movie. So now I desperately need to watch Letters to Juliet so I can say I watched the whole thing. I do love those types of movies. Yes...I know. You don't have to say it. I hang my head in shame. I cannot help myself! I can literally recite the entire Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama movies to you if you would like. Anyway. Got home around 9pm-ish.

Wednesday ~ It was raining so didn't get to go for a walk. C posted on FB about wanting volunteers to join her for breakfast so I jumped at the chance. I am obsessed with Cracker Barrel's Apple Struesel French Toast! Yum! Had breakfast then decided to go to C's house. Ran by the store and grabbed stuff to make dinner. Ended up making it all at C's house and just having The Hubble meet us there. It was SO good. I made this garlic chicken and I tried my first artichoke with Hollandaise sauce thanks to C. Delicious dinner! Got home sometime after 9pm.

Thursday ~ Started reading blogs but had to go to and orientation at CDC (more on that later). After orientation, Little Butt and I went to the library then home around 5pm. The Hubble had to go to class so I made a nice "girl dinner" (meaning no meat) and had a delicious dinner with a glass (or more) of wine. I'll be sharing that dinner on Wednesday over at my food blog.

So that brings us to today. I had to cancel my walk because I had a migraine approaching so I took meds and laid back down for a while. Thankfully that's gone now.

I've been working on my Google Reader for a couple days and it's still in the 100's so I think I'm officially giving up. I'm sitting here with hair color in my hair and writing this update. 

I have a Dining Out/Formal/Ball (whatever you want to call it) tonight so I'll be busy tonight too. Then tomorrow I'm watching Princess so B and her hubby can go on a date. 

Maybe Sunday will allow me some down time?? We'll see.

Anyway. Thanks for getting this far. I just have to remember to breathe. I hope you all had a great week!

Wordless Wednesday: The Cupcake Edition

I participated in Jesstagirl's Bake-n-Blog. I made #24: Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting. Want to learn how to make them? Check out Jolts & Jollies.

We Got a Good Thing Going

 Photo by Seyed Mostafa Zamani

Eight years ago today, I woke up in my mother's house to the sun shining brightly through my window. I laid there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, trying to convince myself that it was just another normal Friday. But I knew that my life would drastically change that day and I couldn't fight that feeling. I got up and sleepily stumbled out of my room.

At that point, it felt like someone had pressed the fast forward button.

I knew that we all had to be ready and at Michaelangelo's by 5pm. Everyone was meeting us there. There was a strict time line because the party started at 6pm.

I have 2 sisters though. And getting a bunch of girls done in time is difficult. Hair. Makeup. Dresses. You name it.

We jumped in the car a few minutes late and prepared to race to the event. No worries. We were doing good...until we hit standstill traffic. Ugh!!

Panic started to set in.

I called The Hubble to see how close he was to Michaelangelo's. He was stuck in traffic too.

I called the party planner. She said "don't worry."

We finally made it and rushed upstairs to finish getting dressed. The Hubble was nowhere in sight.

My brother in law, The History Teacher, walked into the room as I was lacing up my pink and white Adidas sneakers. I looked at his face and became more panicked. I walked up to him and asked him several times "He's going to be there right? He won't change his mind? He won't run?" I think I asked him those questions all the way up to the big French doors. He kept reassuring me. I'm sure he was annoyed with my worry and questions. I was so nervous.

The music started to play as I walked through those doors and rounded the corner. Stairs?? Whose bright idea were stairs?? As I held my dress, held onto my Jer-Bears arm and tried not to fall as I walked down the stairs I took a glance at The Hubble. He had tears streaming down his face and the biggest grin I had ever seen.

I immediately knew that all my panic and worry was for nothing. There was the man in whose hands I was about to entrust my heart.

When we finally descended the steps, I hugged my Jer-Bear and turned to look into The Hubble's eyes. We held one another's hands and in front of our families and friends pledged our hearts, souls, lives and futures to each other.

The last eight years has been a crazy journey. We've moved many times. Endured a couple deployments. Had a kid. Have fought and made up more times than I can remember.

But through it all, my true love has never wavered. He has been there through it all. The good times. The bad. The poor times. The not so poor times.

He has held my hand, my heart and sometimes my hair.

He is my hero. My rock. My everything.

Baby, I have cherished the last eight years and look forward to so many more. With you in my corner I know I can conquer the world. You are my biggest supporter and biggest fan and for that I am thankful. I love you more than words can ever express. I pinky swear!

You are my hunka, hunka burnin' love and my big piece of man cake!

I will follow you to the ends of the Earth and back.

I love you.

Happy Anniversary baby!

I've Been Tagged...and So Have 8 of You!

I found this blog recently called Uncork and Unwined. This blog is all about a couple who are stationed in Germany and how they are making their way through Europe while drinking plenty of coffee, wine and beer! I, of course, became immediately enamored with this blog. I mean, coffee??? Yes please!! Wine??? Oh heck yeah! Beer??? Drooling here! Then throw in all the traveling and pictures of Europe and I was a goner!

I may have scared K a bit when I mentioned being the possible president of her fan club and I may or may not have eluded to a possible Single White Female encounter that she and I have to have soon. But she moved past my insane ramblings and tagged me in a bloggy note thing.

Well, naturally, being her biggest fan and all, I have to comply with her wishes and answer these questions. Then I get to tag 8 of my readers to answer these questions as well! So here goes.

1. If you could have any superpower what would you have? Why?

I think I would want to have that cool "water to wine" trick. I mean, who wouldn't want to invite me to a party then right?? Also, it would definitely save me some money in the wine department. Because we all know how much I like wine.

2. Who is your style icon?

Hahaha!! There are people that I wish I could dress like. I am obsessed with the Kardashians right now. They all look great all the time. I absolutely LOVE pin-up girls and would love to look like one all the time! So Marilyn Monroe would definitely be a style icon for me. But I don't dress like her. I also super duper love Gwen Stefani and her crazy eclectic look. But if you want to think about who I most often dress like...it's probably more like Drew Barrymore because I often wear jeans and t-shirts and that's pretty much it!

3. What is your favorite quote?

I have a quote journal and I love quotes! Here are a few of my favorites that pertain to certain passions in my life:

Book/library quote: "A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone." ~ Jo Godwin

Coffee quote: "Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as Death, and sweet as Love." ~ Turkish Proverb

Inspirational quote: "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

4. What is the best compliment you've ever received?

That I am a good mother. 

5. What playlist/CD is in your CD player/iPod right now?

I don't really do playlists because I love shuffle. The CD in my player right now is one for Little Butt. The book we checked out from the library had a CD with it. It's Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble. The song I have paused on my iPod is Everywhere by Michelle Branch. I have extremely eclectic taste.

6. Are you a night owl or a morning person?

I'm an all the time person. I don't really sleep. I sometimes stay up until 3am and wake up at 7am. I think sleep is a waste of time. 

7. Do you prefer dogs or cats?

I don't really care for animals in general. We had a cat for a while and it was annoying to me. But I really want a big dog. I fell in love with a Great Dane in December and a Rhodesian Ridgeback in February. I can't wait to get my own Ridgeback.

8. What is the meaning behind your blog name?

I grew up in the Army. I always say that my blood runs green but I thought having "blood" in a blog title wouldn't be the best idea. So I came up with this blog title. It's a bit about me and a bit about my life but my life is constantly and has always been touched by the military. 

Now. For the tagging. Here are my 8 choices:

Devil Dog Darling
Goodnight Moon!
I Could be Fake
Postcards from Oblivion
Scatterbrained Wife of a Soldier
This American Wife
Within a Mile of Home
{Mis}Adventures of an Army Wife

For Further Reading Check Out:

• Tag! I'm It!

Wordless Wednesday: The Fire Hat Edition

Linked up at A Beautiful Mess.

For Further Reading Check Out:

• Wordless Wednesday: The Boots Edition
• Wordless Wednesday: The Adios Edition
• Wordless Wednesday: The Drama Edition

Wild Mind Monday #1

Welcome to Wild Mind Monday! This is a virtual writing group in which we are going to be working our way through Natalie Goldberg's Wild Mind. The link each writing assignment will be posted here the first Monday of each month and will remain up for the duration of the month. If you are interested in joining in, leave a comment with your email address and I will send you this month's assignment. I also ask that you go to each linked blog and make comments on each other's work. When critiquing and making comments, please remember there is a person on the other side of the computer and we need to be kind and respectful while helping each other develop our writing skills. So let's have fun! 

This week we are supposed to write for 10 minutes using the prompt "I remember." Walk around for a few minutes without talking then sit back down and write for another 10 minutes using the prompt "I don't remember." Here's mine:

"I remember when things were easier. I remember that life didn't just take over. I remember happiness and playing and just having fun. I remember. I remember. I remember summers at my grandma's house. I remember my older sister. I remember seeing pictures of us just being kids. I remember one picture where we are on my grandma's front porch and we are laughing our butts off because one of us, I think it was me, was barely flipping off the camera. I remember the field across the street with the huge ditch. I remember it was so hot and humid that you could barely stand to be outside. I remember laying in front of the air conditioner in the dining room next to the long formal table that was never used...unless it was a holiday of course. I remember Thanksgiving. I remember all the kids would go into my mom's old room and watch television or play the Nintendo. I remember my mom's room. I remember it was pink. I remember the bedspread was a pink and white quilt that my grandma made. I remember the middle room had this dark furniture in it that was really tall and the room was green. I remember the garage. I remember the garage was always clean. I remember the red rubber ball that hung by a string from the ceiling. I remember my grandma and grandpa always gingerly driving the car into the garage until the red ball touched the windshield of the car. I remember my grandpa's tools. I remember that each tool had its place and that the peg board the tools hung on had each tool outlined in masking tape. That way there could be no confusion as to which tool went where. I remember their dog. I think her name was Susie but I'm not sure. I remember one summer my grandpas introduced me to a little girl. I remember he told me he had met her when she was walking her dog past their yard. I remember we played that summer until she had to go visit her own family. I remember sitting on the steep hill on the side of my grandparent's yard. I remember the hill was on the outside of the fence and it was fun to roll down. I remember sitting on that hill wearing my black Debbie Gibson shirt with the lime green plastic shirt tie thing. I remember those used to be so awesome. I remember we would always buy our t-shirts a size or two too big so we could tie them off to the side with those plastic circles with the line in the middle. I remember the hair wave. I remember trying so hard to get my hair as high as possible. I remember a school picture I took one year. I remember I had a piece of gum in my mouth. I remember thinking that if I just pushed the gum to the side of my mouth no one would notice it and it wouldn't mess up the picture. I remember getting the pictures back and wishing I had spit out the gum. I remember my cheek looked pretty lumpy because of the gum. I remember hating almost every school picture and wishing I didn't have to do them. I remember. I remember. I remember high school. I remember getting someone else to do my homework sometimes. I remember. I remember being with psycho boy."

............................................................................

"I don't remember. I don't remember much of my childhood. I don't remember feeling loved. I don't remember what it was to live in my house. I don't remember much. I don't remember. I don't remember. How can you write about what you don't remember? I don't remember a lot of what I read and I think it's annoying. I don't remember people's names. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember last year sometimes. I actually sometimes find myself thinking about last year and realizing I was alone the entire year. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember the guy's name in high school that I kissed. I wish I did. But I don't. I don't remember how we started talking. Maybe it was gym? I don't remember why I felt the need to stay with psycho boy after he found out about that kiss and went and jumped the guy. I don't remember. I don't remember. Wow this one is hard. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember most of my friend's names over the years. I don't remember all of the childhood boyfriends I had. I don't remember some of my best friend's names. The only reason I remember the name of my first kiss is because he had the same name as psycho boy. I don't remember seeing the truth of all the crazy stories I hear about my father. I don't remember ever feeling loved. My father recently gave me a scrapbook with a bunch of letters and drawing I had done for him when I was little. I was shocked because I absolutely do NOT remember writing or drawing them. I've always said I don't remember anything (except my grandma's house) up until around the age of twelve or so...but that scrapbook blew me away. Seeing my handwriting and reading those letters and knowing how much I really don't remember scared the crap out of me. I don't know why. I've always thought it was no big deal that I don't remember. But that brought it home. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember how my sisters and I used to be. I don't remember my younger sister as a baby. My mom says I used to want everything my older sister had. Even if it was the exact same toy I would always want hers...I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember where the time goes. I don't remember details of a lot of things. Often, when I would leave a classroom, I didn't remember what the professor had said. I don't remember half of the things I learned while earning my bachelor's degree. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember what happened to The Hubble's car registration. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. Man this sucks. I don't remember. I don't remember. I may have to write this sentence for another full minute. I don't remember. I don't remember all the friends I had in high school. I honestly figure they don't remember me either. I don't remember. I don't remember. Boo! I don't remember. I don't remember."

2010 Goals: August Update

Do you ever set New Year's goals or resolutions for yourself?

I usually don't. I tend to believe that New Year's resolutions only set someone up for failure. However, this year I did set some goals for myself. I had been keeping up with the goals with monthly updates but have gotten out of the habit the last few months. It's time to get back to my goals...

- Make my own sushi
March: Waiting until I have my own kitchen. Already making sushi plans for MO.
April: Still inspired and ready. Need a kitchen but that should happen soon. Have found several recipes
May: I'm finally in MO and have my own kitchen. I think I need to choose a month to get it done. Need to look around grocery stores in the area and find out my seafood options.
June/July/August: Still have not made sushi. Realized the other day I'm running out of time and need to step it up. Have talked about having a sushi night with the girls. I WILL get this done this year.
- Lose the rest of my weight and maintain
March: Currently a work in progress.
April: Am 3 pounds away from original final goal. Will reassess when goal is met.
May: Well, I was a little over 1 pound away from my goal and now I'm like 9 pounds away. Oops! LOL!!
June/July/August: Well. I'm a definite fail here. I am back up to 155-157 and it's annoying. I was at 141 back around April but being here has definitely changed that. I've even been talking about buying bigger jeans. Boo!
- Run a 5K
March: I did not run one but I did walk/run one. Race for the cure on 2/21/2010. Still working up to the 5k.
April: Still working on building up to running a 5k but running has been sporadic.
May: Running has ceased for the moment but I'm glad I walk/ran that one 5k in February.
June/July/August: I've been walking again lately. Running isn't really happening but it needs to. I did the Run for the Fallen last weekend (walked most of it, ran a bit) so that's another 5k but still didn't run the whole thing like I want to.
- Cook (cook more healthy foods and experiment with new recipes)
March: Doing fairly well considering I don't have my own kitchen. Doing what I can.
April: Recently made a delicious and healthy meal for my in-laws (All recipes from this episode). Tried quinoa for the first time: delicious!! Also made lower fat cupcakes for Easter by using applesauce instead of oil.
May: I finally unpacked my cookbooks and magazines and have a grocery list going. I made my first meal in my new home tonight. Penne with Italian sausage and marinara sauce. Yum! (I somehow burned the toast though. :-/ )
June/July/August: I've definitely been cooking a lot more. My food blog is up and running and I'm loving it. However, I could probably make the meals healthier and or stop eating so dang much of it!
- Bake (try new recipes and baked goods, do not eat though, send with O to work/school)
March: I baked a yummy cake recently.
April: Made cake balls, tried a new cake decorating technique, and made cupcakes for Easter.
May: Working on putting together a distance type baking club with some friends. Tres leches cake is on my agenda this month. Also made Little Butt's third birthday cake and a cookie cake.
June/July/August: I've been really good at this! Though I've kind of fallen off a bit lately but I have plans for something soon. I'm thinking this is complete. Will cross off the list.
- Take more cake decorating classes and work on the skill
March: Super proud of my most recent cake but have to wait until I'm settled somewhere long enough to take a class.
April: Bought the Wilton Course 2 kit and booklet. Haven't started on it but have plans!
May: Hoping I will be able to take some more courses here. The nearest store is an hour to an hour and a half away but it is only once a week.
June/July/August: I did it! I've taken the courses! However, the first and second courses have been revamped so I'd like to take them again. But I'm considering this goal completed!
- Do more yoga/pilates and possibly take classes
March: Definitely haven't worked on this at all. I did look for JM's new Yoga Meltdown DVD that came out today but it wasn't at Target. Planning on doing some yoga this week. It's a JM challenge for the week.
April: Ordered JM's Yoga Meltdown DVD from Netflix and tried it. Really enjoyed it! Need to buy it. Had planned to do Pilates today but did other things.
May: Haven't done any since the Netflixed DVD. Was thinking today that I really want to buy that Yoga Meltdown DVD.
June/July/August: Another fail. A friend sent me the Yoga Meltdown DVD but do you think I've done it more than a couple times?? No. Man I suck.
- CONTINUE WORKING OUT
March: Has been sporadic but I haven't stopped completely. Getting back into it.
April: Been using my HRM to track calories burned. Going to focus this week on burning 3500 extra calories each week.
May: Definitely stopped for a bit but started up the 30 Day Shred Challenge today.
June/July/August: I did the 30 Day Shred for 30 days straight and felt awesome. Then I pretty much stopped. I've been going to the track 3 times a week but that isn't enough.
- Define arms
March: Did 800 tricep exercises in one week. Still working on it.
April: Did 100 push ups today. Going to do 100 tricep dips tomorrow. Need to focus on this area still.
May: Haven't worked toward this but hoping the 30 Day Shred Challenge will help.
June/July/August: I'm noticing a theme here because this is another fail. I was doing great when we first got here but have lost it.
- Get swimsuit ready
March: Again...still working on it.
April: Feel back on track. Have lost 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks.
May: Took a hiatus but is hoping the 30 Day Shred will help!
June/July/August: Fail. Fail. Fail. I'm worse off now than before.
- Lose baby belly (flat abs??)
March: Have been trying to run more since that's supposed to be the best for belly fat.
April: Have regained my focus and am working on this. Need to do tons of cardio and ab work. Pilates would be good!
May: Haven't been working on this just yet but I will probably add some more ab work to the 30 Day Shred Challenge because I don't think it offers enough.
June/July/August: Though I probably won't lose the full on baby belly without surgery, it was better. I was excited that I fit nicely into my size 6 jeans with no sucking in or spanx and I felt awesome. Now talking about getting a size 8. Blah.
- Read 60 books (or at least 50 that I've never read before)
March: Have pretty much changed this goal. Not going to focus so much on the quantity, rather the quality of the book.
April: Have now read 8 books so far this year. No longer going to focus on this goal.
- Eat healthier (snacks and meals, more fruits, MORE VEGGIES)
March: Have been incorporating spinach in a ton of food and have definitely been eating more veggies than I usually do.
April: Loving more fruits and vegetables. Have been counting calories and am feeling much better. Even munched on some delicious watermelon with Lilz earlier today.
May: I was doing great and then I took a break. I ate healthy today though and it felt good to be back to it.
June/July/August: Again, was doing great when we first got here but lately it's been nothing but Taco Bell, McDonald's, KFC, etc. Gross!
- Eat "clean" foods
March: Have been cooking more and trying to do less processed foods. Have bought more organic than usual.
April: Still working on this. Need my own kitchen. Would like to grow my own herbs.
May: Fighting The Hubble on this issue currently. Need to change his way of thinking. ;-)
June/July/August: See this update for the above goal. Enough said.
- Take more pictures
March: Pulled out the camera and started taking more pictures.
April: Doing all right here. Not as good as it could be but better. Even took Lily for her very first Easter Bunny picture.
May: The Hubble has taken over the pix taking recently. I'm okay with that though. As long as we have pix I'm happy!
June/July/August: I've taken some pictures. Not as much as I'd like. I take a lot of pictures of food for my food blog. Does that count??
- Blog more
March: Doing good so far I think.
April: I have some things I've been meaning to post but I've done a lot better this year than in previous years.
May: Need to get better at updating my baking/cooking stuff. Should get better once we get the house situated.
June/July/August: Moved from LJ to blogspot. Doing pretty good. Picked up my paper journal the other night too. It felt good to just write.
- Read more self improvement personal development books
March: My next book I have lined up is The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin.
April: Read The Happiness Project, read The Last Lecture, ordered and received a couple parenting books. Making good progress.
May: Have been reading the same book for a few weeks now. I am working on the personal development books. I'm even considering working through (and blogging about) The Artist's Way.
June/July/August: Haven't read any recently. Would like to get back to it.
- Run!!
March: Ran today actually.
April: I run whenever I have a sitter for Lily. Even when I think I'm just going to walk, I end up running instead.
May: Nope. Been sitting instead.
June/July/August: I've been walking. Was trying to do intervals. If I ever get Little Butt into daycare it is on!
- Conquer the push-up (final goal: 100 consecutive push-ups)
March: Need to get back to this.
April: Haven't worked on this yet.
May: For some reason I keep forgetting about this!
June/July/August: Yeah...not so much.
- Embrace Missouri
March: I'm ready. Let's go!
April: Almost there. Talked to a realtor and may have a place set up. If everything goes well, O should be here next week and we will be there by the end of the month.
May: I'm finally here and so far I'm pretty happy. I need to give it more than just a couple days though I'm sure. We'll see. But I'm pretty excited to be here.
June/July/August: I am having a blast! I've met some of the best people ever here. It kind of makes me sad that this is only temporary. Everything is what you make of it. I'm going to say I have conquered this goal!
- Acquire more patience (basically have none so any would be more than I have now)
March: Work in progress.
April: Kind of have to have patience with this "hurry up and wait" game we like to play so much.
May: I think I'm doing okay so far. Give me a little more time with The Hubble and we'll see how it lasts.
June/July/August: Still working on this one. Kind of mandatory given our situation. I get frustrated at times but I'm doing all right I guess. Let's just not ask The Hubble his opinion.
- Acquire running shoes for me
March: Done! Went to a technical store and got my foot fitted for the perfect shoe!
April: No longer a goal since it was completed. Need to make sure I replace my shoes regularly though.
- Acquire new work out clothes
March: Done! I have 2 pants, 3 shirts, 2 sports bras, 2 special socks, and new shoes.
April: Another completed goal. My MIL even gave me some capri workout pants for the warmer weather.
- Do not let fear of the unknown beat me
March: Haven't so far! Even forced myself to go for a walk/run in a new neighborhood because it scared me.
April: This isn't really a goal but I'll leave it as a reminder.
May: I'm here aren't I?? I think I'm doing pretty good with this one!
June/July/August: This is still an awesome reminder. I still have to tell myself this every day.
- Be kind to my body and my self
March: I'm doing pretty good here too.
April: I've refocused on me and what makes me happy. I'm watching my food intake and working out again. Need to get more sleep though.
May: I definitely need to take care of myself again. It started again today. Just a minor blip in the road.
June/July/August: I'm hoping that talking about all my failures of these goals will be my wake up call. What am I doing. Did I feel great after KFC last night? No. I felt disgusting. Get it together woman!
- Play it smart
March: Shins!!! I've definitely been taking care and making sure I do this.
April: Shins have been great! I know better than to screw up now. So I'm going to call this done!
- Continue reading "word a day" calendar
March: Fail. It's in the car and has been since we left NY. I should probably find it and start again.
April: Pulled it out of my car and have been working on it but it's sporadic at best. Getting better though.
May: Hahahaha! Where is that thing anyway??
June/July/August: Again, Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Let me go see what day it's on....I'll be right back....it's on June 26th. I am AWESOME at this!
- Write book reviews!!!
March: Fail! I've thought about it...does that count???
April: Haven't written any reviews that are "publishable" but I wrote a little blurb on the last book I read. I think that's decent.
May: Nope. I've thought about it though, does that count??
June/July/August: Yay! Finally something I can say I've been doing! I've done a couple lately and I do love it so. I don't know why I stop.

Okay. So this month I'm definitely noticing that I've fallen off the wagon quite a bit. I need to get back to my goals and remember what I'm doing. I need to regroup and refocus. I have had enough time sitting and being lazy. There is no reason why I shouldn't be accomplishing and flying past these goals. FOCUS! 

Wordless Wednesday: The Boots Edition