Happy Birthday to Me...I turned 23!!

Thank you everyone for all the fabulous birthday wishes. I spent my day not in my usual birthday fashion (i.e. shopping and eating) but it was still a great day.

What happened on my birthday?

1. I was supposed to work all day but ended up only working my morning shift. Which was so much fun. I was in the pre school classroom and the kids were great (they sang me happy birthday) and we made no bake pumpkin pie. It was soooo yummy. And then we  had pizza for lunch. Fantastic, right?
2. After work I took my dogs out to a field and played with them. They loved it, I loved it, and the best part was later that night I had tired dogs. The best.
3. I picked up some dinner from the commissary. I decided I didn't want to be eating horribly all month long, so we are doing our big, yummy, calories filled dinner on halloween in honor of both my birthday and trick or treating.
4. Ken picked up some peanut butter pie from The Sweet Shop here in town. SOOOOOO good. It is ridiculously rich though, and I didn't finish it. He did put 23 candles on my slice. So sweet.
5. We chilled the rest of the night...watching movies and just being homebodies.
6. The next morning I slept in and then got ready because it was Career Day here at Columbus. Basically...bunches of planes and jets come out for a static display and we get to walk around on them and explore them and talk to the pilots and crew. It was really fun.
7. We went over to one of Ken's friends house later and did dinner and a movie.
8. Sunday we just hung out and cleaned and played with dogs.

And now it is Tuesday. And back to work. And having to wait for another year for another birthday. Boo.

I realize I don't write much about my work...there really isn't much to say...but yesterday truly made me happy. I was out on the playground playing and talking with the 2 year olds when I stopped for a minute and crossed my arms and scanned the playground (keeping track of all those little nose slugs...eww...lol) when one of the little boys came up besides me, looked up at me, then crossed his arms across his chest and started to scan the playground to. Later he gathered me a bunch of little purple flowers. Love him. Moments like that really make me love my job. I can wait for little nose slugs of my own...It's nice giving them back to their parents at the end of the day.

So what's going on this afternoon? A run, exercising my dogs, commissary shopping, taking some tests at work, and working this after noon. Sigh,

Bulldozer

I love my dogs.

I love my dogs.

I love my dogs.

Does anyone want to take them? Seriously?

About 2 months ago Moose knocked out his first metal panel on our porch. Fine. Fixed it. Since then he  knocked out it's neighbor panel...and the original panel again...and the neighbor panel again...and the original panel...again. I finally, finally fixed them...again.

A week ago, after taking my dogs on a nice, long walk...I came home and Moose ran up the stairs, down the stairs and into the wall. Leaving a large dent.

Today the little bulldozer knocked out the stupid panel. AGAIN. I'm sorry. It's been one demolition too many. Seeing my dogs sprint around the backyard, unfazed by their reckless ways, made me frustrated. And I look like a crazy lady yelling at her dogs in the backyard. My hair added a nice touch to this...it was sticking up every way possible (note, do not wash hair before bed). So...I'm sure the whole neighborhood thinks I'm a mean person thanks to my depth perception challenged dog.

I love my dogs.

I love my dogs.

I love my dogs.

To top my morning off...the first thing Ken tells me is the cats caught a cockroach. Nice job cats. Except they didn't eat it. They just like to hit the dead insect around the floor. And of course my husband just leaves it to the cats aka leaving it for me to pick up.

UGH!!

Can we move out of the South now? I am so tired of it. I am so frustrated with the bugs. I hate our dust bowl backyard. And the shotty craftsmanship of our house is really getting annoying. Granted, my dogs are big and can be hard on things but they aren't THAT hard. Moose shouldn't have been able to dent the wall. Thin metal panels were not a wise material choice. Not to mention all the stains on my carpet from the past year are reappearing. Even the stains that were cleaned with a carpet cleaner...even the stains that were professionally cleaned. Really?! Does this happen to other people?!

Remaking Racheal #6

Alright, so a real substantial blog post regarding what is on everyone's mind...and by everyone...I mean my guilty conscience (Shhh, inner Racheal!)...my workout/eating regime over the past two weeks.

BASICALLY military pay is not an exact science...and we were overly underpaid a paycheck back. Overly. What this basically meant was no new food for two weeks. No fresh fruit, no frozen fruit, no fresh veggies, no frozen veggies. And while I was thankful to no longer drink my veggie shakes...my body rebelled and it rebelled badly.

The past two weeks my stomach has been werid, that place between upset and just gas, my face and back have been breaking out like no one's business. I haven't broken out like this since I was 13/14. And just when I thought I was getting nice adult skin. Nope. And my energy levels have been all over the place. Oh, and the pay was kind of a moral blow. All of this combined to make a less than achieving Racheal.

I know, I should push through, I shouldn't let these things effect me so much...but I find my diet and my exercise are directly related. The better I eat, the more motivated I am to workout. The more I workout, the more motivated I am to eat well. Also, when I eat well my body feels amazing. I don't think it works to eat junk and workout a lot...at least not for me.

So where does this leave me? Well, I still have been running over the last two weeks (unlike my personal timeline for p90x, I better be able to run in February. I can't push that back) but I have not been doing p90x regularly. I'm sorry, beachbuddy. =(

Today was supposed to be my day 30, with new measurments and pictures...but with how badly I've eaten over the past two weeks and not doing p90x regularly...I feel I need to push through for another 2 weeks. And I've lost my day 0 pictures and measurments when my laptop died. So...I don't think those pictures are happening today. I'm sorry blog world.

But all is not lost. I'm now drinking a health shake (yay!) which I believe I finally perfected.
Ingredients:
Banana
Apple
Orange
Broccoli
Spinach
Cucumber
Carrots
Avacado
Tofu
Green Machine (Naked Juice)
Acai Machine (Naked Juice)
Scoop of Super Foods

All you can taste is the fruit. YAY!

130 days to the Disney Princess Half Marathon!! Whoohoo!! I'm pumped and I am putting together my gear wishlist!

1. Injinjin Socks. These are toe socks that help keep your feet dry and prevent blisters from forming between your toesies...
2. The Ultimate II Running Belt from iFitness.
3. The Hydration Add On.
4. Women's 3/4 Stabiltyx Tights in Black & Raspberry.
5. Women's Ventilator Web Top Long Sleeve in Black & Raspberry.
6. A yet to be determined heart rate monitor.

I feel running would be golden if only I possessed these items. Well...for that I would have to really enjoy running and I'm not there yet. However, hopefully this would make running more comfortable.

Where have I been all my last three weeks?

WOW I have been neglectful to my blog. Someone should call protective services and get this blog a new blog master. I'm so sorry, I will try to be better about posting updates on my humdrum life.

1. We have run out of food. SOS (save our stomachs, I know, clever): Meaning, I have not been partaking in my daily shakes. On one hand, I am thankful. No more vile green shakes. On the other...it makes me really nervous for my first picture update on Monday...I wish my diet was still in line with my exercise. =(
2. Moose ran through one of our metal sheets on our patio. Again.
3. Moose ran into our wall...and made a dent. I think I'm seeing the beginning of a pattern. My dog needs glasses.
4. I ran 5 miles a little over a week ago! Since then I have been running between 3-5 miles every other day(ish)!! I'm thinking this half marathon idea isn't so crazy any more.
5. My hours have increased at work. Which is lovely to go from 0-15. Especially with the death of my laptop and Ken's car breaking down here and there. Life sure is fun. And expensive. Thanks for the hours working parents! Again, shouldn't we be using my hard earned dollars on more important things? Like wardrobe and shoes and books and workout gear and vacations?
6. I have FINALLY crafted the opening to my story. I still have a ton of research to do. If anyone knows a good skazka or basnya to tell me, I would love to hear one! I'm looking for Russia's most famous, most AUTHENTIC folk/fairytale. And reading Cyrillic isn't a strong point of mine...actually reading Cyrillic isn't an ability of mine at all...so the Russian websites with this information are hard for me to process. And my hubby is too busy playing pilot to translate. I think he has silly priorities.
7. Speaking of my story, I have come up with a list of why writers are the craziest people you will ever meet.
1. We have imaginary conversations in our heads all day.
2. And all night. We lose sleep over said imaginary conversations.
3. We eavesdrop on every one's conversations...not because we care who told who what or who did what or any of that...but how who told who what...we eavesdrop to pick up speech patterns and rhythms and flow and special little sayings. And no, we are not being rude, it's part of our job.
4. We will spend YEARS on a basic idea, MONTHS on the opening paragraph, WEEKS on the opening sentance, and DAYS over the opening word. For a lot of us, writing one paragraph can be a huge success on most days. You cannot evaluate a writer's work based on how much they write. I figure a writer only writes 20% of the time...40% on formulating ideas and 40% on research. Of that 20% over half of it is editing. Gross.
5. 90% of what we write, ideas and people we painstakingly craft into life, gets thrown away. And we start all over again.
6. We are constantly at war. We love to read. The best writers are the best readers. Personally I find a love/hate relationship with books. I obviously cannot live without written word. I'm addicted to it, I admit it freely. But I also get crazy jealous over other writer's and their work. I love it, I envy it. I can't live without it.
7. Imaginary characters are some of our bestfriends.
8. We are more at home in our minds than in...anywhere else. If we aren't talking or activly listening, chances are we are lost somewhere in our heads working on that damn story again. Yes, even when we are surfing the web, when we are cooking dinner, when we are working out, when we are driving, when we are eating, when we are showering, when we are playing games, when we are working, when we are dreaming...even when we are blogging.

I'm sure other people can be equally crazy, but I have my doubts. Maybe the artists.

Untimely Death

Sad news. My laptop died. Very very very sad news. I have been eyeing a Mac Book Air BUT...too soon for my laptop to die. So I am sharing a laptop with my husband...meaning less time to use a laptop...meaning less time to post about life. Goodness.

In happy news, I ran 5 miles on Monday. Of course it took me an hour to run it but still...I ran 5 miles and I ran an hour straight. It's a great starting point!

Seriously, America? Seriously?

Move over Snuggie and Pajama Jeans, there is new adult comfort wear on the block: The Forever Lazy.

We are glorifying this? Forever LAZY? Why can't we be something else? Forever Creative? Forever Inspiring? Forever Developing? But no, we Americans are Forever Lazy. I have quite a few problems with this.

1.) It's flattering on no one. Once you are 6 months there is no longer a need for you to be in a onesie.
2.) There are convenient pee and poop flaps. Because really, pulling off your pants to go to the bathroom is just too difficult and time consuming.
3.) Doesn't America have a problem with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc.? Shouldn't we as American's be moving and eating better and not wearing onesies while we raid the fridge for TV snacks? Why are we encouraging this?


I don't see how anyone can support America or Capitalism or any of our great ideals when we support this kind of product. If you order one please stop reading my blog. I now have a headache. And will be going to bed kind of shamed.

Pumped Up Kicks

I have the most wonderful parents. Why? The reasons are too many to list (though because they have a fantastic sense of humor, are deeply loving, and are my best friends, just some examples)...so I will just say this: When I sent pictures of my horrendous running shoes as a joke, they went out and bought me an amazing new pair.Yes. I know. Complete surprise and totally welcome. They finally arrived today and yes, it made my day! Hopefully it makes my workouts so much more enjoyable...guess I have to keep running now. Dagnabit!

*NOTE this was written 9/29...it is now 10/2. My computer hates me right now. I'm sorry.

I went from THESE:

To THESE:

Yes. Totally awesome new fancy running shoes. Notice the intact tread? My feet sure do. =)

The weather is FINALLY starting to cool off (though I still maintain it feels more like August than October, but hey, the South is weird that way). At least the bugs seem to be dying. Good.

We took the dogs out on a really nice walk yesterday. Afterwards we wanted to let them loose in the baseball fields across the street from us but there are signs posted prohibiting pets. This is unreasonable for 2 reasons. 1.) They are not our pets, they are furbabies. Okay, no. Really. They are dogs, I understand this. 2.) They NEVER use these baseball fields...they sit empty and lonely and without purpose. So instead of risking a reprimand from security forces, we went behind the houses where there is a play ground and a little loop set back in the field next to the tree line. We let the dogs off their leashes and walked the loop two times. I LOVE our dogs. They are so much better than yours. It's true, I'm sorry. They never stray, they run ahead but stay within a certain distance, they make sure we are okay, they are happy and silly and so much fun. German Shepherds are simply the best. They crashed when we got home.

Last night (while the dogs crashed) we went and saw 50/50. It was actually funny...and there were a couple of moments I wanted to cry (I didn't, but I wanted to). It really made me grateful for my minor problems in life. Ken and I also split a medium popcorn, though by the end of the movie over half the bag remained. Everything seemed fine, I was feeling good and not guilty at all, and the movie trip seemed like a great reward for all my hard work and healthy eating over the past 3 weeks. However, around 2:00 a.m. in the morning...I got ill. Violently ill. I spent the night camped out by my toilet.

Here's the odd thing about eating healthy: Your body becomes addicted to healthy foods, just like it becomes addicted to unhealthy ones. For the past three weeks I have been cramming my body full of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and dairy and my body adjusted to being loved. Last night the popcorn was loaded with butter and salt and my body felt violated and poisoned. I'm sorry body, I should have known better.

It amazes me...I used to be fine eating junk all the time. I guess your body becomes accustomed to being poisoned by excess salt and sugar and chemicals (and yes, I do call it poisoning). At least...I think I used to be fine...but last night was a wake up call. For the past three weeks I have slept soundly through the night. There is nothing odd about this statement except prior to cleaning up my eating habits, I used to wake up 3-4 times a week with horrible heartburn and extreme nausea. Since eating clean, nothing. No midnight throw up sessions. Do you think my diet had something to do with this? I do.

As much as I love eating out...I love feeling healthy more. I love having energy and not being sick. I forsee eating in a lot from now on. Yes, I still live off of shakes but I cook a couple of times a week. This week I'm going to be experimenting with a healthy chow mein recipe and a healthy whole wheat pizza recipe. Mmm...I'm super excited. Though I realize I need a chef's kitchen now. And chef tools. My new wishlist:

1.) Jucier
2.) Food Processor
3.) Pasta Maker
4.) Meat Grinder
5.) Bread Maker
6.) Stand Mixer
7.) Ice Cream Maker

And I really want to learn how to can and preserve my own fruits and vegetables. I guess I will have to grow those fruits and vegetables first. One day, not today. Or this year. Or this Columbus. Our backyard is sand. Like beachsand. Nothing grows in our backyard.

Time to get to work. Stories don't write themselves. Though they should. As a side note, why can't math problems really be about disney songs? I could be a math rockstar.