New Scenery

I'm still getting used to seeing things like this instead of palm trees and coastline on my daily drives...

Gloomy, Rainy Saturday

I have a feeling this weather will get to me eventually, but for now I am enjoying it. Today was dark, rainy, and 40 degrees throughout the day. I drove the 30-ish minutes to the Commissary and back without thinking to use the heat. I wasn't bundled up either (long sleeve t-shirt, barely there short sleeve knit sweater on top, skirt, tights, and boots). I didn't even break out the umbrella for the steady drizzle dripping on me as I walked in and out of stores. It was a pretty proud day for this Cali girl!

Today I was thankful for chunky sweaters and hot Starbucks. The combination is a must-have for driving to and fro in chilly weather. It makes for a very enjoyable drive!


Tonight was perfect for homemade chili and board games at a friend's house. I can imagine many more of these nights come Winter when even the thought of braving the cold just to get to the car and a 5 minute drive down the road seems unbearable. Once you get past the cold, it's worth it! We had quite a few heated battles. Who knew Sorry could be such a vicious game?!

Fitness Friday: Routine and Gear

Recently I decided it was time to get in better shape. Of course I would be happy to lose a few pounds, but my main concern is creating and maintaining a healthy exercise pattern (especially before having children). My main goal is to build endurance and to feel strong (I know weight loss will come along with that, so that’s a plus). I joined a gym a little less than 2 months ago. I’m working on getting there 5 times a week. Sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve been pretty easy on myself and try to not beat myself up if I’m not perfect about it. I tend to have a higher success rate if I take things slower and forgive myself if I fall off the wagon a bit.

For now, I feel accomplished if I get on the treadmill for 25 minutes and do my circuit training after. It doesn't sound like much, but I know I am getting my heart rate up for a good 45+ minutes. There are 14 machines included in the circuit training and I do 3 sets of 10 on each. I feel really good about my current plan. I am being challenged just enough to feel like it’s something I can commit to 5 times a week and complete it without feeling discouraged. Once my current plan no longer feels like a challenge, I will adjust it accordingly.

It's kind of crazy, but I haven’t weighed myself again since joining the gym. Again, it would be great to lose a few pounds, but I don’t want to get caught up on a number. Instead, I want to focus on how I feel and how my body looks. So far, I have noticed slimming and more definition in my arms and legs. Most recently, I have noticed the upper part of my abs slimming down (which is a great thing, but it makes my lower abs look that much worse). I noticed feeling stronger in my back and having slightly better posture (my mom would be proud). All in all, I think I am off to a good start and feel confident that I will be successful.

Here are a few of my favorite workout items that are currently aiding me in my success:

1. Skullcandy Headphones - These babies work like a charm. They stay put when I'm running, the sound quality is fantastic, and they are pink for goodness sake! What more could you want from headphones?!

(image via Google)

2. Pandora - Music is key for me and exercise to get along. I just cannot do it without some good music. Enter Pandora. I could make new stations all day long. My go to station at the gym is based off of Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster". Normally I am not big on electronic/techno music, but it's amazing how much it motivates me in the gym! Plus, every once in a while, I will get awesomely hilarious songs on my playlist. Last week Haddaway's "What is Love" (better known as SNL's Night at the Roxbury song) popped up. Try running on a treadmill and NOT bobbing your head back and forth... nearly impossible!

(image via Google)

3. Rubbermaid Sport Bottle - I am not a coordinated person. I am also slightly uncomfortable being on treadmills to begin with. Add trying to unscrew a water bottle cap while running and it's a recipe for disaster. That's right, this 26 year old woman needs a sippy cup for gym time. Seriously, though... it's convenient and environmentally friendly since I use it over and over instead of grabbing a disposable water bottle every time ;)

(image via Google)

4. Nike Dri Fit Shirt - My new best friend!!! How did I never try this type of shirt before??? I know I'm all sweaty while working out, but I cannot really feel it when I wear this shirt. This shirt is now a MUST for me since I hate sweating. I need to go out and buy 4 more ASAP!

(image via Google)

5. Anita Sports Bra - Support is a big deal for me. I have an unusual chest size (small band size and large cup size) and cannot find a bra in my size at Victoria's Secret, etc. Typical pull over sports bras that have sizes of small, medium, or large do NOT work for me. I need a sports bra with a band size, cup size, and hooks. I have this in white and I love it. The support it provides is incredible (and that's saying a lot coming from me)!

(image via herroom.com)

6. Freya Sports Bra - quite possibly the UGLIEST bra on Earth. Really, it looks downright hideous on me, but you know what... this is the most supportive bra I've ever owned. I can confidently run and not worry about lack of support. WONDERFUL!!

(image via herroom.com)

It may sound a bit silly, but knowing I have invested in the above items makes me WANT to go to the gym more. Sure, it may be a little out of guilt (if I buy it I better darn well use it). It's a little out of excitement to use my new "toys". All I know it that it keeps me motivated to regularly go to the gym, so it's all right with me ;)

Veterans Day 2010

Happy Veterans Day to my one and only Sailor! There are no words to describe how proud I am of you. Simply put, you are an incredible and honorable man. Here's to you, Mike, it's your day!

Coming home from deployment

Enjoying the view on deployment

Happiest day of my life

My Sailor, my husband, my best friend

Burn, Baby, Burn!

In trying to find positive things about living in Illinois, I found that I was quite taken by the changing of the seasons. Autumn here is nothing short of spectacular. Driving down long stretches of tree lined roads fuels my love for the season. From the deepest of reds to the brightest of yellows, the variation of color is amazing. Seeing leaf after leaf gracefully sway to and fro as they fell from the big oak tree in my yard made me smile… that is, until I realized that I was responsible for cleaning up said leaves.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for a little bit of yard work, but the task feels beyond daunting when a thick blanket of leaves has taken over what was once my yard. Granted, this would not have happened if Mike and I had been more proactive about the leaf situation instead of letting it get to this point. By “Mike and I”, I mean Mike because I did my part (which was telling him that something needed to be done about the leaves). I did “my part” numerous times this week, last week, the week before… you get the idea. All right, I admit the job should not be Mike’s responsibility alone. The man works hard all day and he wakes up at 4:30am for crying out loud!

Here’s the thing… I do not trust myself with large piles of leaves and fire. I have zero experience burning leaves and am not about to dive into it all by my lonesome. With daylight savings time, Mike doesn’t get home from work until it’s close to or after dark. Weekends are out of the question because… well… we are downright LAZY on the weekends. I have no issue with raking the leaves during the day and burning them as soon as Mike gets home, but it’s pointless due to the wind blowing them all over.

Imagine this x 1,000... ugh, they are EVERYWHERE!!!

Upon arriving home from the gym today, I realized we were THAT house. All of our neighbors seem to be seasoned leaf burners since their yards look nice and tidy. Our yard? Not so much! I’m not great with analogies, but it looks as if our tree had a night of drunken debauchery and upchucked leaves EVERYWHERE. I told you… I’m not great with analogies, but you get the idea. Did I mention that our tree happens to be massive (and possibly the biggest in our neighborhood)?

So, what’s a girl to do? I’ll tell you what… grab the jumbo box of trash bags and start stuffing leaves into them. Sure, it’s not the best solution, but anything that takes away our title as “Neighborhood Slobs” is okay in my book. Instead, it’s possible that I am now known as “that crazy lady who madly shoves leaves into trash bags”. It probably doesn’t help that I continued doing this well after dark (thank goodness for streetlamps and porch lights). An hour and 10 full to the brim trash bags later, I decided to call it a night. There is still the entire yard to finish, but at least the area between our fence and the street is clear and I’ve got a collection of leaves ready to burn. I think Mike got the message too. He has the day off tomorrow (yay Veterans Day) and said he would take care of the leaves after a celebratory breakfast he is attending. I must sound like a horrible wife making him work on his special day, but I promise he was actually looking forward to burning stuff and I intend to help him.

Hiding the evidence until it's time to burn it!

Yep, I just wrote a full 5 paragraphs about leaves. That is how much they are driving me insane. Congratulations to you if you made it all the way to the end. I’m impressed ;)

46 Days 'til Christmas!

I feel a bit like an elf at the North Pole lately. I’ve been in my little shop o’ crafts working away. I’ve been putting together some surprise gifts for my family and I just finished the cards my dear friend, Susan, ordered from me (yay for Etsy love)! The cards were technically finished over the weekend, but I kept going over them to scan for imperfections and to trim ribbon for the third time. I don’t know what it is about making something for someone close to me. I get a little stressed out and want it to be perfect.

The cards were really fun to make, though. All I had to do was follow the idea that Susan got here. It was a large order, so I set up an assembly line when I put the cards together. It makes everything go so much faster and I felt more efficient. I love picking up new ideas or tricks while completing new projects (ie: when trimming paper, you get a cleaner line if you turn the paper as you cut. Maybe that’s something that’s already well known, but I never gave it much thought until I was cutting out numerous ornament shapes). I’m off to the post office to send Susan her cards today. I hope she likes them :)

Cajun-Seasoned Vegetarian Gumbo

I decided to buy a slow cooker at the end of last year and used it maybe once or twice. When it started getting chilly here, I rediscovered it and am so glad I did. I get delicious meals with virtually no mess to clean… it’s heaven! Speaking of tasty meals, I have a new favorite to add to my top 5 recipes: Cajun-Seasoned Vegetarian Gumbo. There is so much to love about this meal: it’s vegetarian, I can easily alter this meal for Mike by adding shrimp to his bowl (he likes it so much that he said he was fine without having shrimp in his tonight), I can just dump it in the slow cooker before I run errands, it has FIVE ingredients total, and it has so much flavor!

I got the recipe from a cookbook Mike decided to “borrow” from his sister (in his defense, he did say “Hey, Sis, I’m going to steal this from you”). It’s called Better Than Mom’s: Slow Cooker Recipes. If you have a slow cooker, I highly recommend this cookbook! I will post the recipe for the gumbo below for those of you who are interested. I serve it with brown rice and a piece of sourdough bread slathered with butter!

Cajun-Seasoned Vegetarian Gumbo

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 16-ounce package frozen (yellow, green, and red) peppers and onion str-fry vegetables

1 16-ounce package frozen okra

2 to 3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (more if you like it really spicy)

In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker stir together all ingredients. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.