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 Well Mayans, so much for the end of the world. It's been a quiet apocalypse; I don't know about you but it's been an average day. I picked up some stocking stuffers for Michael, he wrapped my presents, and we've been bumming around in our usual routine. I have to admit I was sort of expecting something, if only some rare cosmic event that was non-threatening but had been misinterpreted by the Mayans. I guess they just got lazy and figured 2012 was just so far away they need not continue. Makes sense.
 We finally found a new house to move into, and so last weekend and up until at least Monday or so was a blur of running around town and in between houses. Being our first move with no help, we weren't terribly organized. There are things we could've done differently. But we managed to get out of our old house in the time we were given.

Honestly after over a month of driving by house after house all over town, we found this one just over a mile away from our old place. It seems almost silly how close it is. But so far the neighborhood is so much quieter, and its so much cozier, not to mention more private. I've gotten used to it pretty damn fast. I'd put up pictures of the inside, but as you can imagine it's still an absolute mess, but we're getting it together day by day.

Being silly on the new equipment/pants that finally fit/Christmas ornaments/Anniversary dessert

  In the midst of moving we picked up a basically brand new elliptical from a military family that wasn't using it. I've used it almost every day this week and it's fantastic. Other than about two or three days (spent lifting heavy things back and forth for a few hours) I've kept up my workout schedule, and shortly discovered old clothes that haven't fit me in months finally do. It makes me want to work harder, and with the addition of the elliptical there's absolutely no room for excuses.
  One of the first things I did was unpack our small tree and some rope lights. I found some Christmas-y smelling candles, cinnamon scented pine cones at a craft store and immediately felt more in the spirit. We decorated with ornaments sent from Michael's sister and my parents, including the two new ornaments we picked out this year.

  On top of that, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary! It's been a year of really learning how to be a married couple, with the added military aspect. With the amount of time we've spent together you'd think we'd fight more or find regrets, but I can honestly say that any fights have been momentary misunderstandings and there are no regrets in sight. It's been a really good year for us. All of this moving and settling in to a new house has allowed me to put aside a lot of homesickness and allow me to focus on my time with Michael; seeing as he leaves next fall it's pretty important. We celebrated by driving to a nearby city to have some delicious sushi (there are no sushi restaurants in Lawton) and going out of our way to do a few things we don't normally do. I'm enjoying all of this us time a lot. Next year I'll get lots of time in Arizona to hopefully make up for some lost time here with friends.

  We had a momentary scare when we got the sudden news that part of Michael's unit deploys a lot sooner than he was told. Like, in the next two months. It would seem that thanks to the detail he's on and a few other small factors he's excluded. I thought, how much would that suck, we move to a new place, get all cozy and then he'd have to go all of the sudden! There's always something reminding me of our situation, and not to take anything for granted. I suppose it's a good thing in the long run. I hate every aspect of being in a military relationship except for the fact that miraculously it's brought us closer together than I could've ever hoped. It's a bond I know will last for a really long time.

 So happy holidays to all; love the ones you're with and make the best of it. 

An Annoyance; Plus More Alphabet Challenge

  I'm the kind of person who likes to look back at past entries, re-reading things, editing spelling errors, maybe just reflecting on what I wrote, and I noticed there were links where I didn't put any.
  Apparently now the internet is free to put ads into the things I write.
  There is no part of this that is okay. It greatly diminishes the quality of my blog with a tinge of annoying mindless trash that I can't figure out how to get rid of. I don't know how this is allowed, taking specific trigger words and linking them to spam, and if anyone knows how to fix it I'd like to know ASAP.
  I could go on a whole rant about how invasive media is now, and that advertisements seem to be geared towards those of lesser and lesser intelligence, but I won't.
  Nope.
        I – Issues

41. Do you suffer from depression or constant sadness/loneliness?
Pretty much. As long as I can remember. I'm not really sure why. I suppose there are a lot of reasons. 
42. Do you have any type of disease or disability?
Just a crippling inability to interact with 80% of people. 
43. Are you currently in a hard relationship or have bad luck with the opposite sex?
Nope, thankfully no more relationship trouble for me. 
44. Do you think that you are alone in this world?
I think when it comes down to it all things are temporary but yourself, yes. But you can't treat people that way. 
45. How often do you think about death, suicide or running away?
Way too often. 

J – Jokes

46. Say a word or phrase that would not be funny to anyone but you & one of your friends (an inside joke)
I'll stop doing it when you stop laughing. 
47. Are you usually the one who makes people laugh,Or the other way around?
There are certain people I meet that I just end up making laugh a lot. I don't know what it is, but I like it. But the ones closest to me make me laugh more. 
48. Do you cry when you laugh hard?
Definitely. 
49. Write down a hilarious moment you had with someone that makes you laugh to this day.
I have trouble remembering things like that. A lot of funny moments tend to be me laughing at other peoples funny moments. They usually have something to do with Michael and his friends. 
50. Do you ever get in trouble for laughing or talking a lot during class?
It depends on whether or not I have friends in that class. I have in the past, yes.  

And now examples of my friends' antics.

That time Chris and Tony handcuffed themselves together for a whole day.

Feeling left out and creating an invisible table.

Bri and DP posing for a strange cleaning/pizza photo shoot.

This photo speaks for itself.

Exercise Progress

June 2012-December 2012

  It's now been over six months since I started getting down to business and whipping myself into shape. I certainly didn't stop after P90X, though my routine changed and I took a break in October when we visited home and everything about our life was up in the air.
  I had to ease in to Turbofire. Even after P90X Lean, which focuses on more cardio than strength training, I was still pretty out of shape. There was so much movement; fast paced routines and occasionally getting both feet off the ground, something I still struggle with now. I had to stick to one or two classes and get used to them. Once I did, I pumped it up a notch and added longer classes. Now I'm starting to do two classes in a day.

Here's an example of an average week:
Day 1: Turbofire, Fire 45 Class
Day 2: P90X Shoulders & Arms, Turbofire HIIT 15 Class
Day 3: Turbofire Abs 10, exercise trampoline for 20 minutes
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Turbofire Tone 30 Class
Day 6: Turbofire Fire 45 Class, Stretch 10
Day 7: Rest

  I do tend to have two rest days, but I change it up all the time. I try to have two days of strength training, two or more days of abs, and a ton of cardio. I've started adding on cardio to my strength training days. It's kind of crazy when I think about what I could do even just a month or so ago versus what I can do now. I'd practically drop dead after a Turbofire workout, but now I'm ready for more.

This might be the biggest my biceps have ever been.

  My problem is I still have trouble with what I eat. Not that I'm stuffing my face with nasty things all the time; I still consciously make healthy choices. But I have a snacking problem, and I love food. I get cravings, and I give in to them. It's probably why I'm not at my goal weight yet. But I'm only on my second official month of my own routine, and with all the extra stuff I'm doing I'm hoping to make up for any crap I eat. Maybe I can work my way up to only having one rest day instead of two.

    I have a lot of days when I feel like I've gotten nowhere because I still can't wear that pair of pants I want to wear. But pictures say otherwise, and I still have other clothing that's fitting me better all the time. I still have that belly pooch, and some love handles, and I'd really like my thighs to be smaller, but then I realize I'm being picky. I'm still working on it, and I have made progress. My torso seems longer, shirts pull down lower, and my legs seem longer too.
   Bit by bit I'm getting back to where I'd like to be, where I'm more comfortable with myself. I think my goal for next year will be to get back to a size 7 and maintain that. I'd like to get an elliptical, and keep working out regularly. When Michael deploys, I'll be moving back to the land of the sun, where I can probably swim and without Michael I tend to eat much differently.
  On a more irrelevant note I'll also be chopping off most of my hair. After years of wanting super long pretty hair, and finally having it, I think the affair has about come to a close. I find myself mostly annoyed; it's heavy, hard to clean and gets in the way all the time. Every person who has ever touched my hair knows it's unusually thick as well. When I get a little closer to my goal weight, I'll be cutting off nearly twelve inches.
  So that's that! Still working hard and felt like telling; I can always write down positive things when I check in and it's good for me. After kind of hating and dreading it, I've started to really look forward to working out. If you're looking to improve yourself in multiple ways, P90X and Turbofire are the way to go!