Might be a little bit down in the mouth....

First, the good news! I went for a mile run yesterday and shaved over 1 minute off my mile time! This makes me really excited for the virtual 5k I'll be running tomorrow! Team Voice is running a virtual 5k and I'll be putting in $10 for our Make-a-Wish fundraiser. I'm actually pretty excited about the challenge.

You know you're an adult when you have the chance to see a big name movie, but turn down a midnight showing so you can go to bed early.  Last night, the local drive-in movie theater that we love so much was playing the both of Harry Potter Volume 7 movies back to back for one night only. But with My Sailor's increased duty schedule lately, he's really tired lately - and I'm still wrestling with some exhaustion issues of my own. So we opted to go to bed early (like, the-sun-was-still-out-early) instead of go to the movies. Now, I'm not THAT much of a Potter fan, but I enjoy the films so we'll probably go see it tonight sometime, but it's funny how something like being tired wouldn't have stopped me a few years ago!

So the Down In The Mouth part I think I have to face that I might be wrestling with a tiny bit of depression/adjustment reaction to life right now. See, I'm a long term planner. With My Sailor's schedule right now, long term planning is out of the question and it's hard. Not to mention there is NO way to make EVERYONE happy. My family feels we should have a very small wedding in California or Washington. They are under the impression that either of those options would be less expensive.

Actually, they aren't less expensive. I've done the research.

Yes, if we got married in California in the San Diego area, most of my family and friends wouldn't have to travel, so it would be cheaper for them, however this would probably increase the attendance list, and make it more expensive for the couple throwing the party - namely, us. We'd still have to travel. (Nowhere around here is a)in our budget range and b) nice enough.) All of his family would have to travel.

Now, My Sailor is also against the whole California idea, largely due to the added expense for his family - but he wants to Honeymoon on a Mexican Rivera cruise - which all leave out of LA.

Does your head hurt? Mine does.

So we're back to being settled on Shades of Green, in Disney World, in the Fall of 2012.

But "fall" is a big time of year. Anything more specific, I don't know. Nothing is booked and we have no idea what his schedule will look like next year.

So we had a good heart to heart last night -
And I found out a few things that were really comforting.
I'm not alone in my frustration with our inability to set longer term concrete plans.

I mean, I would LOVE a vacation - but that isn't really in the cards until sometime next year.

Only a few more months to go until "next year"!

But at least all of this also helps explain my problem sleeping (or oversleeping)! I'm sure "this too shall pass". I really have such a good life that it's difficult to complain, but overall - I've been feeling a bit down in the mouth lately.

Hopefully tonight's date night/dinner w/ some of his Navy friends will boost my spirits!

Another Work Out Update!

So here's what's happened for the last month:

I've eaten under my calories (but over my 1200 min) all but 1 day in the last 40. I've worked out (walks of 30 minutes or more, or elliptical random hill training on a setting of 5-7 for 20+ minutes, or 30+ minutes of Just Dance 2).

Within the first month, I quickly lost 5 lbs, going for 211-207.
However, during the next month, with no real changes to my diet, I put back on most of that.

These measurements were taken on June 16th when I was at 210 lbs:
Here was June 13th - where I weighed in at 210 lbs that day:
Neck  13.5
Waist 40
Chest 42
R Arm 14
Hips 50.5 (UGH!!!!!! Applebottom Jeans anyone?)
R Thigh 29.5
R Calf  17

As of this morning ( a month later) I'm down to 208 and these are my measurements:
Neck 13.5 - No Change
Waist 36 - -4 inches!!!!
Chest 42 - No Change
R Arm 13.25 - -.75 inches!!!!
R Thigh 29.5 - No Change
R Calf 16 - -1 inch!!!!
Hips 48 - -2.5 inches!!!

Total change: -6 inches!!!!

So I lost half a FOOT OF FAT!!!! Though as of this moment, I'm only down 3lbs from my heaviest (211) last month. I've actually stopped really recording my daily weight, because I'm seeing a change in my figure. I can wear clothes that were uncomfortably snug, so it's paying off. I just wish it would pay off on the scale. But I'm sure if I keep it up, it will be in time.

While it hasn't really shown up on the scale, it's shown up elsewhere!  It's only a matter of time before it melts off!

I must love him... A LOT....

I just cut off my nails after FINALLY getting them long and even. While I'm not really a "girly girl", it was nice to have my nails in good shape - for a while.

Why, you ask, did I cut them?

Because I promised My Sailor that we'd do an indoor rock climbing wall this weekend.

UGH!!!
Okay, so part of me is excited about taking on a new challenge. But that part of my brain that says, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" is screaming VERY loudly as well. I keep hearing it tell me that I don't have the upper body strength, that I'll fall and get hurt, that I'll hurt myself because I'm not conditioned for this, etc etc.

But you know what? That's just the irrational fear talking.

So what's the rational side saying?
"You completed TWO TRIATHLONS WITHOUT COMING IN LAST and survived, and you're afraid of THIS?! REALLY?! You're going to let fear hold you back from a SAFE little rock climb? I thought you were uber adventure woman?!"

Yeah - so I've clipped my nails and WE'RE GOING. Most likely it'll be Sunday sometime, but we're going - and oddly enough, I'm getting a little bit excited about this.

Blog question of the Week + a little weekend preview

First, the quickly - WEEKEND PREVIEW!

 My Sailor and I have had an AWESOME weekend. I ended up getting Saturday off of rehearsal for Into The Woods. We spent most of the day kicking around a mall in Seattle. I picked up new running shoes which were sorely needed and will no doubt be featured later.  We also picked up some Magic Cards and the Zombies board game. Once we got home, we played our new boardgames, but more on that in a later post.

BLOG QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Comes from The Less Than Domestic Goddess. "Do you like your name?"

I'll say that I'm used to my name - finally - after 30+ years. I was named after the Bionic Woman. In Washington, where most of the population speaks English, my name has proven to be far less of a headache, though it's misspelled on the regular. In my native land of Southern California, where a large portion of the population speaks Spanish, my name was FAR more problematic.

More than once I've been mistaken for a hispanic or Mexican guy just by people reading my name.

That's when the J came in. Instead of trying to correct people, I decided to just use my initial. A few old friends and family members still call me by my full name, but for the most part, "J" is what I'm known by.

On the upside, it's a unique name among people born in the 1980's especially women. I can count on one hand the number of times I've another gal in my age bracket with my name.


However, I will NEVER name my child after a TV character.

A Few Minor Adjustments

Since I've moved to the North, I've noticed that I'm not only adapting, but I'm enjoying life out here for the most part. It's BEAUTIFUL, green, and cool! But I still haven't mastered this sleep thing.

For example, all week long I've been needing to take naps, because the 6-7 hrs I'm getting at night isn't enough. But these aren't the quick 15 minute power naps. I could literally sleep for a couple hours. In fact, 10 hours would be great for me. Today, I slept a restless 5-6 hrs last night, and then another 4 this morning!

I'm starting to think I'm fighting off a bug, but it's just hard to sleep when it doesn't get dark until after 10pm - which is about half an hour before bedtime! I'm used to Southern California summers, where sunset is no later than 9:30 most of the time.

I've added in daily working out, which is definitely helping the whole adjusting thing. Clydas walks with me nearly every day, and we've both lost fat! Which is great - though the scale hasn't reflected much of a change lately which is another argument for "fighting off a bug". But I know my body is changing. It's most obvious in my swimwear, but yesterday I was able to comfortably wear a favorite top that had gotten too tight a few months back, and I was able to wear a hoodie today that used to be too tight in the upper arms! Now, they are both comfortable additions to my wardrobe! I still need new running shoes BADLY, but I just hit payday and the trip to Michigan has been put off until September, so I'm going to grab a pair.

Speaking of September -

Me and The T, 2006

 I'm pretty excited to report that September will be my LAST PAYMENT on The T! (The T is a 2006 Pontiac Torrent, which is been an AWESOME CAR! Not a single major problem in over 110k miles!) I'm so excited to be one step closer of being out of debt. With an extra $476 to put on a few credit cards, there is a very good chance My Sailor and I will be out of our debts by the time we get to honeymoon next year!






But back to current day -

Clydas and I are flying solo tonight, so I'm looking forward to working out tonight and following it up with some great jacuzzi time with a good book.

The Cure for The Blues

July 4th was nearly perfect.

I got to spend it seeing My Sailor and watching fireworks going off all over the penninsula. It was magical, if a bit cold.

But life has picked up and once again we're swept up in the business of being busy adults. It makes me long for the childhood days of summers off, playing out by the pool, or enjoying a good video game, and nights writing by candle light while sitting out under the stars (hey, child poets are a strange breed, what can I say).

The adult summer is filled with sunlit days spent inside behind a desk. The pool has been replaced with errands to run, and the starlit evenings are filled with dishes to do and laundry to fold.

The summer time blues begin!

So when I get these summer-time blues, the cure is right at my finger tips.

Or should I say, right in the back of my mind.

It's easy to sit and complain. Blogs are the perfect places to whine about what we don't have, to vent and complain. But ya know what?  Despite the fact that it's sunny and 80 degrees outside and I'm inside working away, I can't help but feel grateful for the way life as panned out for me. (And it's not even close to over yet!) Sure, there are things I'm still working on, but:

I have every window in the apartment open, letting in the beautiful sunlight and fresh air in.

I have this wonderful snoring boxer dog on the couch next to my desk.

I have an amazing guy that I can have fun with no matter the circumstances. I know I can openly love, respect, and be proud of him everyday.

I get to work from home.

I have a fridge full of fresh veggies and meats for meals.

I have a great little work out room in our gym.

I have family (and in-laws) that have wrapped their love around me.

I get to be part of a great Disney fan community - there is just something special about Disney fans.

I get to play Jack's Mother in Into the Woods - my favorite musical.

We are going to see Aladdin the Musical (the newest Disney musical, which just opened in Seattle) this weekend!

So it's really hard to be too blue when the world is looking up. :)

I highly recommend the gratitude list to help brighten up any funk.  What's on your list today?

Independence Day means more this year.

January 17th, 2011 -

My Sailor and I were walking around The Animal Kingdom in Disney World, Florida. We'd just gotten engaged the day before. It was pouring down rain and we were decked out for the weather. I had borrowed his rain jacket and wore the black baseball cap that said "Recruit" across the front of it. He'd sent it to me when he finished Boot Camp. He wore his black "Navy" hat he graduated to once completing those hard months in Chicago. We were on our way out of the park that afternoon, after having a great time with friends and being completely soaked through the skin, when a cast member ducked out of her shelter and stopped us.
"Are you really in the Navy?" she asked My Sailor, as the cool pouring rain quickly soaked her uniform.
"I am. She's not, but we just got engaged," he answered.
She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a good strong hug. "Thank you for all you do. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you." She released him and wrapped her arms around me. "And thank you for keeping the home fires burning."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," I returned the hug - and will admit to being a little misty eyed as she left for shelter under a near by awning and I caught a glimpse of the pride and smile on My Sailor's face.

July 4th, 2011 -



 As I look around at all the people wishing each other "Happy 4th of July", it has a lot more meaning for me this year. See, I've always had friends who did the "military thing". Even my dad "did the Navy thing," though he rarely discusses any of those days. I considered doing the AirForce thing myself after High School.  But now that a large part of my heart is employed by the Navy (My Sailor), I finally have a deeper understanding of what it means to be one of those military families. It means not knowing when you can plan things, and when you can't. It means making just about any time together "quality", because you never know the Navy will call again. It means spending holidays without your loved one, but knowing that your hearts are together when it's physically impossible to be together.



I don't regret it for a minute. I'm very proud of My Sailor. We knew this was going to be hard, so it's not too much of a surprise. But sometimes it's harder than we thought. Having America safe isn't free. The cost can't be measured by dollars and cents. It's in all those holidays, birthdays, and special events missed by hardworking fathers and mothers. It's in the families who visit the graves of those lost to war. It's in the challenges taken on by our military and our law enforcement so we can listen to the music we want to listen to, wear the clothes we prefer, believe whatever we choose to, and live in relative freedom.

This experience has changed me. Even though I grew up in a town where Marines often made their homes, I still have a much deeper respect for our military and all they, and their families, give up.

The "Thank you's" we receive from time to time may seem small to those who say them, but they mean a lot.


So Thank You military men, women, and families. Have a safe and happy 4th of July.