Talking About Bright & Shiny Things

Well helllloooo there today, bloggy.

I think this might be the first Tuesday since I have lived in Las Vegas that I haven't woken up on the wrong side of the bed.  For some reason, Tuesday is just uglier than Monday, especially because it's the day that I have to go to work :P

I really used to love my job, but it has turned into a place that I don't like to be. Not only do I not like being here, but I feel like I am at a dead end and it is time for something new now more than ever.


But I woke up on the bright and shiny side of the bed, so I should talk about bright and shiny things instead of dull ones like worky work.

So for some reason that I am not quite aware of, pretty much e'ry one one of my Facebook friends is in love with this picture and I really have no idea why! I don't know what is so special about it. I snapped a selfie because I put a tiny bit of effort into making up my face yesterday, and then everyone goes liking this photograph...Otay. I won't complain.

I don't think I've ever had this kind of response to a photo of me. So there you have it, my face is a hit and I don't know why. 

What else...? Hmmm...I'm running 40 miles this month. Maybe even more!

I'm joining Hannah from Hannah, Here! in her quest to walk/run 40 miles in the month of November. I used to be a total PT stud and now I can barely force myself to run two miles. So I think this will help me out. 

While Hannah is taking beautiful nature walks, I'm running on a treadmill and a track more than I am outside. In fact, I'm kind of scared to run outside. Las Vegas is a scary place. But it is still a really awesome goal that I'm working hard to meet! Want to join Hannah and me? Use hashtag #40milesinnovember to track your progress with us!

I got to see my "inspiration board" for my new blog and I am so so excited about it. For a minute I was rethinking it. I didn't know if I should do it, and I was second-guessing myself all over the place. All of my apprehensions are gone after seeing the ideas for my design. I'm having Jane from Poppiness Designs create my look and I could not be happier with my choice.  

I think that's about it for today! 

But before I go, I think you should run over to Kylie's Blog!

Kylie Smiles

She is new to my sidebar! Head on over and give her blog a read. I would recommend starting with this post!  It's one of my favorites that I've read from Kylie.  She's from Arizona, but living in my home-state! She write awesome posts that are truly inspiring for me to read! I highly suggest you head her way and check her out. 

Don't forget about my November sponsor Metal Marvels! It's never too early to start your Christmas shopping! Put in your order today!

Semper Stylish [fitness edition]

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Welcome to the Semper Stylish link-up!
Just link up your style or fashion related post here and leave some comment love on other participants' posts!

It would also be super nice if you follow both hosts and grab a Semper Sylish button!
 

<center> <a href="http://semperwifey.blogspot.com/2012/10/announcing-semper-stylish-link-up.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Semper Wifey" src=" http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m531/semperwifey/SemperStylishButton.jpg" height="200" width="200"/></a></center>
 
  Today, I'm talking about style in the gym! Personally, I don't think that the gym is the place to show off how cute you are. I think it's a place to get down and dirty. You sweat, you work hard, and you grow.  But I'd be lying if I said that I don't do a lil' hair and make up check pre gym.

I like to go there looking...appropriate. So this is my gym-style!

These are my favorite pants to wear to the gym. They are comfy, tight and they have a splash of orange down the side (that's my favorite color!) I don't like to have anything bouncing around on me while I'm running on the treadmill, so yoga pants or running pants or whatever you want to call these are perfect. And I'm not gonna lie, they make my butt look fantastic.

I bought these shoes a few months ago and I'm so in love with them. Not only are they adorable, but they're light weight, they breathe, and they make me feel like I'm running on a cloud. That is something I greatly appreciate when I'm on mile number two...

Puma socks...I cannot stop buying more and more puma socks. I have a bunch of different kinds but these ones are my favorite. They are the athletic kind with the arch support band dealy. It is...heavenly.

So, I go to the gym looking...well I wouldn't say glamorous, but I always try my best to keep my boobs in my shirt and my head held high, which is a lot more than I can say for most women at the gym...

Speaking of most women at the gym, why the hell do so many of them work out with their hair down? If you are breaking a sweat at all it feels gross to have your hair all sticking to you. Or it gets in your arm pits. You can't jump, run, bounce...without it being annoying. I don't understand it and I never will. 

I also hate it when they wear just sports bras or like fitness tops that are like sports bras...whatever they are...and all they do is look at themselves in the mirror AND yesterday, I saw a girl taking pictures. Like ten of  them in the mirror...Serious, you have a hot bod, so obviously, you did something to get it, but it must have been steroids because you waste you time at the gym...

Source: personalfitnessforyou.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Go home...ya'll don't deserve to take up space in this crowded place.

And now that I have ranted sufficiently please link up.

You can post anything style or fashion related!

OK, now link up your cuteness!

Progress Report!

It feels like I haven't blogged in forever! Don't forget about my "50 Followers" DefineBliss giveaway! Today is the last day to enter!

She was at a show this week! Here is what her booth looked like!

Adorable!

Today's post is a bit of a mish-mash of everything. Usually, I throw down the Sunday Social, but I was tied up this weekend so I didn't get around to it.  And also, I wasn't really in the mood to blog. I've promised myself that I will never blog when I don't feel like it.  Blogging shouldn't be a chore, right?

I had drill with my reserve unit this weekend.

This month, we did an APFT. If you follow me on Twitter (@camocolored) you know that I passed!

Push-Ups: 26 ( I did 32, but only 26 of them counted...)

Sit ups: 60. (I could have done more. Next time, I will!)

2 mile run: 17:06 (my goal was 17:00!!)

I was sooo proud of that. I was more worried about the run than anything and I completely surprised myself. I think that I also surprised the soldiers around me. The SPC. That was counting for me sounded completely shocked every time I did a push-up. It sort of pissed me off a little. You should never judge a book by it's cover...But at the same time, I got satisfaction out of being a surprise.

I also looked much better in my hand-me-down uniform.

See that fuzzy patch in the center where my rank insignia is supposed to be? Well, because I passed my APFT, it won't be fuzzy anymore!! Woo!

I also "adjusted" my patrol cap so that it fit me a little bit better.

Yay for safety pins!

 I also got to see one of my old friends from the Marine DEP that is stationed in North Carolina. We had a good time talking politics and hanging out. We agree on like...everything so it was pretty easy to talk about. No warfare with words.

Plus, the other day, I got to Skype with one of my other Marine buddies who's on deployment right now. That was awesome. I don't realize how much I miss him until I get to see his face and it makes my week. It's great, but it is also hard to have all of my best friends so spread out...

So that's about it. I'm still living life, kicking ass and taking names, having a little bit of fun, and working like a dog to be the best that I can possibly be.

Happy Monday, Bloggy World

(if there is such a thing as a happy monday...)

It's Time To Grow

First of all, have you liked my Facebook page? No? Well there's a cute lil' icon to the left that you can click to like it!

Are you following me on Twitter? Well there's an icon for that too! Follow me. :)

Instagram? That one is my favorite! Follow me! And I want to follow you too. It's the bomb.

And that's all the shameless promotion for today!

Usually, this number on the scale would be one that people would see and be like "Wooooo! I'm awewsome!" Not me. My minimum is 107 for my height and it's definitely a problem that I'm weighing about this much on average.

When I originally enlisted this was my biggest problem. I was running like a maniac and not eating enough food.  Well, it looks like we meet again!  I think that it's probably even worse this time...Before, it was just kind of natural, but this time, it's different.

When J and I broke up almost two whole months ago now, I stopped eating. Not by choice. It wasn't anorexia...It was just hard to eat. I didn't ever want anything. Nothing looked good and when I started to eat, I couldn't finish anything.  It's getting a little better and my appetite is returning, but I'm still working out more than I'm eating.

It also doesn't help that I've become insanely competative. I don't know where it came from, but all of a sudden, it's not enough for me to just be good or okay. I have to be the best. I must be the fastest, strongest, most motivated person in the world in order to come out on top. So I spend all of my free time in the gym burning calories...

This is how I'm going to fix it!

I bought myself a little present a few days ago.

Yes, I bought a fridge. I got the toaster over for Christmas. So I basically just installed a kitchen in my bedroom.

The idea is that I'll be able to have all my own food that won't get eaten by my family. It will be more accessible, and uh, I can toast things without leaving my bedroom. I toasted myself some lil' bagel bites last night just to be awesome.

I know, I'm awesome ;)

I also downloaded the app MyFitnessPal. I am in love with it.  It tracks my calories and it shows me how long it will take me to reach my goals if I eat as much as it tells me to.

I freaked out when I saw this after I finished my food and excercise entries for that day.

I was like....AHHHH! Bad bad bad...So. I now know what I have to do to get heavier. Basically triple my calorie intake and never stop eating.

It's a good thing that it's payday!

Raising The Bar

In prepartion for "basic", as all the cool kids call it, I've started this little fitness log in a journal I found while tearing my room apart. I wrote in dates thinking it would force me to actually do the PT tests... Hopefully it works. I want to blow those minimum requirements out of the water by the time I leave for basic in January.

This little fitness log is also going to include one of these "What I Ate Today" type things. I'm kinda scared to start it. I don't know what the heck I eat and I have a feeling it isn't good...I'm starting it on Monday (because of course, you can't possibly start anything new on any other day of the week...). I've also started a really mean work out at the gym and I have begun using...the eliptical. I hate that stupid thing, but it makes me hurt and that has to be a good thing. I'm about to become a major gym-rat...

Also, I'm giving up one of my new favorite things...It's sad because I just barely found out that I love it.  It's...Pepsi Throwback. I am a Pepsi-hater and a strictly Coke-Drinker. But I decided to give this stuff a try and I love it. Sadly, it has to go. I don't care if it is made from real sugar, it's bad for me and will make me run slower. I'm sure of it.  Along with the soda, I'm changing my eating habits completely. I've been planning on doing it forever, and now I've got some major motivation. Hopefully I actually stick to it.

In other news, check out my cute little garden! It's kinda hard to see in the picture, But it's really flourishing and I'm so excited to harvest! Because I got it in the ground a little bit late, I won't be able to harvest until the end of August maybe early September. But I'm really proud of that thing and how it turned out. It was very theraputic to do it and it may have saved my relationship...They really mean it when they say that gardening is cheaper than therapy!

And that's that. See you next time!

Love Hate Realtionship

There are a lot of things that I love. On the flip side, there are several things that I hate. And sometimes, I both love and hate things.  All of the below photographs are things that I both love and hate.  

I really love to cross stitch. But it makes me horrible sat when I make a mistake and I have to either cut my thread up and waste a bunch, or I have to un-stitch  inorder to save the thread...It drives me crazy and makes my very relaxing hobby stressful.

Even more then having to un-stitch or waste thread, I hate knots. Because the floss is stored on small rectangle bobbins, the thread gets kinked in that shape. It's also three strands of thread, so if you aren't paying careful attention to every single stitch, you get a huge messy knot that you have to untie. And if it isn't fixable, sometimes you have to cut it and yet again waste thread...ugh.

I also love projects. I think it's fun to find something that needs improvement and make it better. But sometimes, I bite off just a little bit more than I can chew. My latest project is called "Operation find the missing socks spread all over my home". This is just the first basket of socks that I found and then folded. Currently, the room I took half a day cleaning has about 50 pairs of socks without buddies spread across it...and I have a whole other basket and then some left. I hate that

If I'm being completely honest, there is nothing that I hate about this little vacuum. I love this thing. I have hard wood floor in my room and it is just a pain to sweep. but this little guy picks up everything. I love it so much that I instagramed it...Yes, I love a mini vacuum cleaner...

I absolutely love cooking and eating my delicious meals...but I hate that I can't just eat a small portion, I have to eat half of the Cream-a-Soup concoctions. It's not helping the whole negative body image issue that I've got going for me...

Don't ask why this picture is upside down...because I'm not really sure why. But these three beauties are my biggest weaknesses. I can't stay away from them and they are making me gain weight...all that extra sugar is no good so I really love and hate them a whole lot.

What I Learned At Work Today

I have been neglecting this  little dealy so here I go!

Lately, I've been working really hard to get healthy (okay, so I've been fantacizing about how I would get healthy and not really doing what needs to be done...) so I have been learning some stuff about healthy eating habits, cooking, and more fitness stuff.

I've had an extremely negative body image lately and I feel like getting healthy would help that to go away.

So this is what I've learned about healthy eating and fitness:

1. Bake things instead of frying. It takes out the oils and is typically just as good as if it had been fried.  I think that I'm going to try these baked cheese sticks for a snack instead of picking up the kind from Arby's. It will not only save money, but it will be heathlier.

2. Cook! When you don't eat out, you will eat healthier. That's just the facts.

3. Don't ban certain foods. Instead wean away from them to where you don't crave them. When you ban food, it automatically makes it more desiralble.

4. Eat more fruits and veggies. In general, they are better for you. They have nutrients that you need and are the foundation of a healthy diet.

5. Try more protien instead of carbs. It give you energy for longer.

(#s 3-5 found here)

FITNESS

1. Work out 6 days a week with one rest day.

2. Focus your work out on certain muscle groups, don't just wander the gym and expect something to jump out at you.

3. Set goals. They make it easier to get up and go and you feel accomplished when you reach them.

4. Don't give up. When you give up, you have to start all over.

5. Fight to be healthy, not to be skinny.

I'm going to try really hard to pound these lovely facts that I learned today into my skull so that I can actually life a healthy lifestyle. :)

Bumps In The Road

It seems that lately, I've been hitting a whole bunch of bumps in the road, but my attitude has changed a lot. Instead of looking at the bumps and thinking about how crappy it's going to be to have to drive over, picturing the jostled papers, the tiped over bag and the drink I'm going to have to hold as I go over every bump I've been thinking about how to just avoid them altogether. Take a detour, if you will. Can you tell I like metaphors?

Bump #1:
I've been gaining weight like crazy!
It's truly crazy. I have always been a very naturally thin person. I had to gain weight to get into the Marines for hell's sake...And now, I look in the mirror and for the first time in my lifek, I am so unhappy with what I see. I think it's partly from being away from J. Food is a very comforting thing and with him gone, I want some comfort. I've never been much of an eater, but recently, food is one of the things that I think about most.
The fix?  I've decided that I'm not going to eat less, I'm going to eat different. I love to eat a lot of healthy things, it's just a matter of doing it. And not eating out so much...I eat out way too much. This month, I get to do the family grocery shopping and I'm planning on getting a wonderful variety of things that will be a welcome change for me and for my family. I think it will be a double whammy too. It will give me some experience in shopping (you know how I like to learn about saving money!) So that should be nice. I'm also going to have to start working out a whole lot more...I have been very lazy lately. I did a run and some PT yesterday and now I am dying here in my desk...time to work out!

Bump #2:
My 5 year engagement.
Okay, so maybe it's not...and it won't be...hopefully. But It feels like it. I've been looking at some places to get married and was getting so frustrating because no one was willing to work with the fact that I could possibly have to make changes and move dates if things ended up not working out because of permissions and leave etc. They were simply just...unreasonable. It was getting very discouraging. On top of that J is getting...jittery about the upcoming deployment. Which is completely understandable, but it makes me not want to talk to him about anything dealing with our wedding because it stresses him out. And we don't need him stressed...
The fix?
Yesterday, we went to a reception center called The Woods on Ninth and it is just absolutely beautiful. When I walked in, I felt like I had found the place but was instantly a little sick because I knew it wouldn't work out. It would be too difficult without a date and all these litlte complications.
Well, I was totally wrong. The manager lady got all excited and made me feel so much better and told me that we could figure something out and make something work. That it wouldn't be a problem if I had to change things around and that she would do her best to make everything completely refundable. I'm in love...I feel so much more relaxed about it all knowing that I won't have to worry anymore. Hopefully.

Bump #3:
What the crap am I going to do with my life?!
I don't know...
The fix?
I still don't know....

What I Learend At Work Today [Week 3]

I learned a lot of things today.

I did some cross stitching and I read some blogs of other people who are in my similar situation. They are married to, or are in realtionships with men in the military. Each one of them seem to have different struggles. Sometimes it's that they are raising a child alone. Sometimes they are surviving a deployment. Other times, they are just dealing with the every day struggles of loving a man in the military.

Well, I think that I learned something from these ladies, is that this is not as good as it gets. I read all their stories of how much fun they have in exciting new places and I see how wonderful  (and have felt how wonderful) it is when you see your man for the first time in so long. I learned that I need to try and see the bright side of my situation. I'm not alone in this and I have a whole lot to look forward to. I need to be more excited about it and less anxious.

I also read something that was...kind of strange. I saw something on Pinterest that was about "Fitspiration" I had never heard that word before Beauty Redefined told me about it. Basically, it's all those picutres you see on FB, Twitter (I don't tweet, but that's what the article was saying...so I guess I believe it.) and Pinterest that have a photograph of a very fit person with something "motivational" next to it such as "No matter how slow you are going, you are still lapping everyone on the couch".  They likend it to "thinspo" (the stuff that promotes eating disorders) and made is sound bad...This article was basically saying that we shouldn't be encouraging these types of Pins, tweets, etc. because they promote negative body image towards oneself. It makes you think that one body type is better than the other or even one type is "correct" when put next to another.

Personally, I like those motivational pictures. I don't really pin a whole lot of them. I have a few but they aren't exactly like the ones that are being described, but I feel like this article only saw one thing in these pictures:  The "perfect" bodies of the women. It's like they ignored the fact that the things that the little quotes say are not negative things most of the time. They are just trying to say, Hey, get up off the couch and do something active. It's good for you. The people that take that as "my body is not acceptable" should take a second look. Becase it's not about having a body that is right or the best, it's about feeling good about the way you look. And If you aren't happy about it, do something about it.

But of course, that is only my opinion...What do you think about "fitspiration"? Is it motivational, or does it make you feel bad about yourself?

I learned something else today, but it's really boring. I heard something on the radio this morning about it being the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 this year and I realized I couldn't remember what it was about. Well, in case you were wondering, I found out that the war of 1812 began becasue Great Britain didn't want Napolean's France to trade with anyone so they started trying to regulate the trade from other countries including the US. The US having only just gained independence and not wanting to be threatened by the "Mother Country" began to defend themselves. They fought many battles that eventually ended with the Treaty of Ghent (Modern Belgium) that settled their issues and ended the war. Unfortunately, news of the Treaty didn't travel fast and another battle began against Andrew Jacksons' soldiers. They won their battle and it boosted U.S. Morale and was really a good thing for the US. So Cool. 200th anniversary of a pivitol war that no one knows anything about!  To learn more, I got my info from History.com. It's

And that! Is what I learned at work today.

What I Learned At Work Today [Week 2]

so this was supposed to happen on Wednesday, but I got a little carried away pinning things for my wedding...Oops. So this got a little waylaid. But never fear, I shall tell you what I learned at work today!
So, on Monday, I had to go pick up a perscription after work. I had to hurry to the pharmacy before my doctor's office closed. I made it in the nick of time and put in my perscription and had to wait for over an hour to get it filled so I went home to do some chores and figured I'd go pick it up later. Well, the phramacy called and the perscription was ready. Awesome.
So I jumped in the car, turned the key, and my car would not start! Now, my car is pretty old. I've said before that I drive a 76 Ford Maverick. But up until Monday (my BIRTHDAY!) I have never had a problem. My cute little Franc has always been pretty reliable. Unfortunately, my dad can't figure out what's wrong.  That meant that I got to drive the van to work today. The van isn't a bad vehicle, but when your dad has been driving it for the past year and the steering wheel has this awesome grimey man-film on it and the seat belt got my white dress all dirty...So the first thing I learned today (okay so it was yesterday now...), was....

 That I was crazy when I decided I wanted that car in the first place! Don't get me wrong. I loooved that old guy since the day I got him. But I really should have considered the fact that I was going to have to sell him off later to get something else...Now I'm stuck dropping off my dad every day and driving the dumb old van. : P at least I have something to drive though, right?

Hmmm....well it's still early, (my shift doesn't even start for another 30 minutes...I'm always really early) so I might need to cruise pinterest and yahoo for a minute to learn some more things to share with you today.

Later on...

Wow. Pinterest has a lot of things dealing with fitness and motivation to get fit and quick little "Get a bikini body after working out for 20 mins every day" dealies. And I most definitely learned that I need to go to the gym...You know that if you are reading the 10 exercise work out that takes 20 minutes and you feel kinda tired just thinking about it, you have been away from the gym far too long...

Also, I discovered Sandwich Art (what the hell?) Sure, It was cool when my mom used the flower cookie cutter to make my PB&J more interesting but really? These things are like...crazy intricate and it looks VERY time consuming. You can see it here on one of my pinterest boards. Holy moly moms are getting creative these days. If I ever start making cartoon characters out of sandwiches, stop me before it's too late...

Well, I have another post to write before this day is over. So. Until next week!