A Boredom Killing Blog Survey

While In San Francisco Oct 2013

 

"50 Questions You've Never Been Asked"

• 1. What's your favorite candle scent? Fall and winter scents
• 2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister? Ellen Page
• 3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother? Dylan O'Brien
• 4. How old do you think you'll be when you get married? Well since I'm married now, I'll tell you I really didn't think it would happen till I was closer to 24 or 25
• 5. Do you know a hoarder? Yes. Several. The kind of people where you can barely walk through their house they have so much stuff? It's frightening.
• 6. Can you do a split? Despite my improvements in flexibility the last year or two, no.
• 7. How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike? I really don't remember. Maybe seven?
• 8. How many oceans have you swam in? Just one.
• 9. How many countries have you been to? Only Mexico unfortunately.
• 10. Is anyone in your family in the army? My husband, as everyone knows. 

  

  Lucky me

• 11. What would you name your daughter if you had one? Sofie, Sofia, or Amelia.
• 12. What would you name your son if you had one? Xaijah Quinn
• 13. What's the worst grade you got on a test? Failing it.
• 14. What was your favorite TV show when you were a child? Invader Zim
• 15. What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight? Wow I have no idea
• 16. Have you read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series? All of them honestly. Harry Potter being the favorite. Duh.
• 17. Would you rather have an American accent or a British accent? British.
• 18. Did your mother go to college? Yes.
• 19. Are your grandparents still married? Yes both sets of them. They're kind of my relationship role models.
• 20. Have you ever taken karate lessons? I think I went to a few of my cousins to see what they were like but it wasn't a long term thing.
• 21. Do you know who Kermit the frog is? Of course I do, it makes me sad that some kids don't.
• 22. What's the first amusement park you've been to? Disneyland. 

  

  San Francisco was really cool

• 23. What language, besides your native language, would you like to be fluent in? Arabic. I studied it for a while. It's difficult but really beautiful.
• 24. Do you spell the color as grey or gray? I've caught myself doing either so I really don't know.
• 25. Is your father bald? Nope.
• 26. Do you know triplets? I know of quadruplets. I was in Brownie Scouts with them and they went to the same schools I did.
• 27. Do you prefer Titanic or The Notebook? Hm. I suppose The Notebook since it technically had a better outcome.
• 28. Have you ever had Indian food? I LOVE Indian food.
• 29. What's the name of your favorite restaurant? Thaifoon
• 30. Have you ever been to Olive Garden? hah, I work there.
• 31. Do you belong to any warehouse stores (Costco, BJ's, etc.)? Actually no.
• 32. What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender? My brothers name I guess. Kyle.
• 33. If you have a nickname, what is it?Short version of my name plus whatever people come up with on the spot. It's always funny. Chlo. Chlo Chlo. Chlobo, Chloboat, Chlomosexual, my friends just keep making them up.
• 34. Who's your favorite person in the world? My husband, definitely. I mean yeah that seems obvious but seriously. He's my best friend. He's there for me when no one else is.

  

  In Chris' sunglasses!
• 35. Would you rather live in a rural area or in the suburbs? Rural for sure.
• 36. Can you whistle? In fact I can.
• 37. Do you sleep with a nightlight? When I was little I did. But now I need complete darkness and silence to sleep.
• 38. Do you eat breakfast every morning? I have to. It ruins my day if I don't. I feel all sick and dizzy.
• 39. Do you take any pills or medication daily? Just the ones to prevent babies, not ready for that business yet.
• 40. What medical conditions do you have? Manic depression and anxiety. Some days are better than others of course but the combination of the two is a nightmare.
• 41. How many times have you been to the hospital? Probably less than five for anything related to myself.
• 42. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo? So many times.
• 43. Where do you buy your jeans? Ross, almost always.
• 44. What's the last compliment you got? That I have really awesome muscles, which was great to hear.

  

  October 2013

• 45. Do you usually remember your dreams in the morning?Yes, I have super vivid lengthy dreams often.
• 46. What flavor tea do you enjoy? Breakfast, detox, green, chamomile, sleepy time, blackberry...a lot of them.
• 47. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own?I don't know off the top of my head, but I don't wear hardly any of them and most of them I've had since high school or earlier. I should really get rid of them.
• 48. What religion will you raise your children to practice? I figured I'd tell them what several main religions believe in and let them decide what they want, if they want any of them. No way I'm dragging them to church, considering I don't go myself.
• 49. How old were you when you found out that Santa wasn't real?Strangely I don't remember. You'd think it be devastating but it wasn't, I just kind of secretly hoped he was still real for a while then realized he was more of a symbol than anything.
• 50. If you had to delete one year of your life completely, which would it be? Probably seventh grade. Just to make that whole middle school nightmare shorter.
• 51. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to? I've liked people I knew I shouldn't, or hated them first, or knew they were bad for me and liked them anyway. Who hasn't been there?
  
• 52. Is your life anything like it was two years ago? Two years ago Michael and I were on the verge of getting married. He officially proposed thanksgiving in front of his family.
• 53. Did you ever pass notes to your friends in school? Quite a bit. I kept a lot of them and as a result one day my mom found them and thought I was a lesbian.
• 54. Favorite part of your daily routine? Watching an episode or two of whatever show I'm fascinated with while I eat breakfast before I go to work.
• 55. Would you change your gender? Sometimes I really would. If I could be the opposite gender temporarily or switch at will I totally would. Permanently I'm not so sure. 

Finally Finishing The Alphabet Challenge

           Took me long enough!

W – Wishes

111. If you had three wishes, what would they be? I've done this before, but probably 1: the power to teleport 2: a billion dollars and 3: to no longer have anxiety issues or long term depression
112. Would you rather wish yourself to be happy, or your loved ones? my loved ones
113. Do you believe that wishes come true if you really believe in them? actually yes, thought is powerful. Sometimes by thinking something so hard you end up taking action to make it come true without realizing it.
114. Have you ever had a wish come true? If so, what was that wish? Absolutely, and it was really cheesy but I'll never forget it. I saw a falling star and wished for a second (and last) chance with Michael (this was when he told me he wanted to join the army and we broke up). So, that worked out.
115. Do you find wishing for things a waste of time because everything that’s meant to happen, will happen? Not necessarily, you can't always sit back and let things happen. Sometimes it's okay to wish for something, but you gotta put in an effort to make it come true, too.

Y – You

121. Are you more independent or social? independent
122. What is something that makes you very mad when you see it? ignorant tweets from dumb people who can't spell
123. Do you think that you have potential to do great things? yes, but I think I'm afraid of failing so I give up easily :/
124. Do you think people are born a certain way, or develop their personalities based on what they go through in life? nature vs nuture? I really think it's a mix of both.
125. Do you think people are generally good ? I'd like to think so, yes.

Z – Zest

126. Are you currently happy with your life? Why or why not? For the most part, yes. I got a new job and we have a short vacation fast approaching. We're slowly learning how to be adults.
127. Do you go on websites to get blog survey’s and quizzes like this one? haha yes, just when I'm really bored
128. When change occurs, do you get scared or are you excited for it? If I did not want or plan for said change it really scares me. I don't like moving, I don't like plans changing, or anything like that.
129. Do you like to try new things, meet new people? I actually love trying new food and I've been open to meeting new people lately, although all I really want to do is go home and connect with old friends.
130. What is the most motivational thing in the world? It's hard to say, but what's motivating me to get through this awkward time in my life is that once Michael is out of the army we can get a home in Arizona and live like normal people and be near our friends and family. I really can't wait for that.

Jobs; Out With The Old, Etc

  Last month I finally decided enough was enough; I had to get away from that awful job at that Greek restaurant I stuck it out as long as I did simply thinking the length of time would look good on a resume, but I sacrificed a lot just to have a "steady" job. I know I wrote about some of my experiences there before, and in reality I should have quit a whole lot sooner. I do not recommend working at a small family owned business unless they really have their business in order and know exactly what they're doing; not to mention are kind people, as opposed to abusive gay haters who will expect everything from you and tell you to your face your feelings don't matter as long as you just keep working for them.
  I want to keep this to a minimum, despite the fact that I could go on and on. My status there was indeed like having an abusive relationship. I became the only dependable employee with the most availability, and  even though they gave me weekends off my boss would not let me forget this and waved it over my head on several occasions. If no one else could come in on a weekend, it was unspoken that I was expected to. I felt so much pressure to do everything right all the time and took blame for things I didn't have to; worked alone most of the time and was witness to many screaming battles between the owner and his wife, who would leave in a fit even after offering to relieve me of my shift.
  Good days were good; when everything ran smoothly, there were no mistakes on my or the chef's (boss) part and we actually joked around once in a while. Although being a small business in a sketchy part of town I was lucky to make $50 bucks in a shift. I usually brought in roughly 30 a day from a seven to eight hour shift, two or three of which sometimes involved me doing absolutely nothing but waiting for customers. I went many extra miles and took care of as much as I could, making sure everything was stocked, cleaned, counted etc. I did whatever they asked, including making grocery lists and sometimes going to the store to get an ingredient the chef needed.
  Why all this for such little money? (Did I mention server wage here is 2.13/hr?) I really don't know sometimes. I guess I pitied the boss' wife, who was actually a really sweet woman intent on staying with this horrible sexist unappreciative man and sometimes reminded me of my mother. But the bad days were really bad. I got yelled at in front of customers, as did his wife; most employees quit in the first few days, most leaving in tears, and I was left to pick up their too-soon scheduled shifts. I suppose I learned a lot. I learned the job itself quickly. I learned how to talk to strangers and get them exactly what they need and want to eat. And yet I kept putting up with being treated badly. I stuck it out out of some sort of twisted pity or something.
  When the bad days started outweighing the good, I realized I had to get out whether or not I had another job. However, I started looking immediately, and waited about a week after applying for a handful of jobs before putting in my notice. My boss called me into his office and, with minimal eye contact, did his best to apologize and asked me to stay and "start over." In no way was it tempting. I almost laughed. But I wanted to quit with dignity. I wanted to be kind where he hadn't and I didn't want to storm out and leave things badly. So I thanked him for giving me the opportunity to learn so much, but told him I had to move on.
  I believe it was the same day or shortly after when I got a call from Olive Garden and had landed an interview. My boss had been making comments he thought appropriate or somehow comical, like "you're not going to get hired right away" or "you'll come back, you'll see." So, on the day of the interview, when the GM shook my hand and offered me the job, I went straight to the Greek house and handed in my shirt. It felt fantastic. I made it, I got another job and left this horrible one as smoothly as I could.
  Olive Garden training was extensive. But finally, I'm in a place with many people I get along with, and managers who are humans and treat employees as such. There's always someone to turn to for help who is willing, and everyone knows what I'm going through just starting out. It was of course a shock to go from a small time restaurant to a big one, but the environment really makes up for the chaos of the job. I feel safe. I'm already making more money in fewer shifts and hours than I was at my last job, and I'm still not on a full section yet. I'm hoping to work here for a long time, probably transfer when we move home again, and not have to quit unless I'm unchallenged and unhappy again. I'll be going back to school one day and working towards a career of course, but in the meantime I hope to make this a steady long term thing!

Before and After

  Hello blog world! I haven't been around since June and that's been okay with me. For a while there really hasn't been anything worth blogging about. Things are mostly the same here. I go to work, Michael goes to work, we figure out what's for dinner, watch some shows and go to bed.
  But there have been some recent changes worth talking about, including the new workout program I'm halfway through that has seriously whipped me into such shape I've realized I hit my goal, and am now working towards that last little bit that'll leave me in the best shape I've ever been in, period.

Excuse the messy room, but otherwise check it!

  I started logging workouts in September 2012. I hadn't found any programs yet, and I was trying, but it wasn't sticking. I started doing P90X and it was hard but by the end I knew I had accomplished something, even if I wasn't near my goal. It had really gotten me started and I was beginning to enjoy working out. I picked up little habits along the way and this year it snowballed in a serious way, and I noticed a big difference from January to March alone.
  I've slimmed down so much. I can't describe how miserable I was before when my clothes were too tight, I always felt sluggish and weak; now I feel the complete opposite. My clothes are loose, I'm strong and my stamina is ridiculous. My day doesn't feel right if I don't workout. I'm lifting weights, doing exercises that were next to impossible a few months ago and always trying to improve. Not to sound like a commercial, but I have to thank Chalene Johnson and her Chalean Extreme program. Turbofire was good in a different way. It helped me shed some fat for sure. But then I plateaued and I needed something new.
  Chalean Extreme has three phases over three months: Burn, Push and Lean. I'm currently halfway through the Push phase. Each phase consists of four weeks of three weightlifting circuits, two cardio days and one specific ab day (added to a cardio day). You work on endurance, flexibility and strength. It's really working for me!
  I want to jot down a quick disclaimer, I'm about to post two photos that make me semi uncomfortable, one being because it's the worst photo of me I have right now. I hadn't started working out yet, I was all chunky and awkward and I hated it and didn't have the motivation to stop it yet. The second I took the other day and I look fucking fantastic, but I am a little half naked. Who cares, it shows how far I've come!

  The angles are different, yeah, and one is closer up and you can't see my legs in the first (but I'm seriously okay with that because ugh) but I mean damn. I've come a long way. It's taken me over a year, but it's been worth it. I'll tell you one thing I'm definitely due for some new pants. I have a bunch of all difference sizes and at the moment none that fit me perfectly. Most are too big. It feels kind of great though. Two and a half sizes gone, tons of muscle gained. Super excited to see how I look after the Chalean Extreme challenge!

More Tattoos For Me

 If you're familiar with Adventure time, you may or may not have heard of a little YouTube only series called Bravest Warriors. It's a series of super short episodes with the same random (but with more freedom of creativity, since it isn't on a network) awesome comedic style. It doesn't take long to catch up so I highly recommend it! This is a little character named Catbug from the show. Before you go judging me for committing so hard to a cartoon character on an internet show that only has one season so far, let me explain.
  Catbug does actually represent a lot to me. I've been trying to think of how to get a ladybug worked into one of my tattoos for ages, and all I could think of was a little one on a flower petal of a much larger piece, making it more of a side note than a main attraction. I lived in Oregon for two years as a child and it's where some of my first memories reside. We had lots of vibrantly green plants and there were always tons of ladybugs around and I found them the least frightening and cuter of the bugs I'd seen in my few years of life. I just remember the smell of rain and being really excited to have a ladybug in my hands.
  And the more obvious element is the cat; I've always had at least one cat in my life since I was born. So this adorable little character embodied two of my favorite elements of my childhood. I decided what better way to remind myself to be happy and retain a childlike sense of wonder than with something like that?
  It came out great, so vibrant, although this time the healing process was really rough! He still looks pretty good but I'll no doubt get a touch up when I go home again.

  Yet another piece of my childhood is Sailor Moon. I had been playing with the idea of one of Usagi's talismans but it hit me one day that she isn't necessarily my favorite or the one I relate to the most. In fact Sailor Mercury is. People thought she was weird for being smart and isolating herself with her nose in books and technology all the time. Mercury also happens to be the planet of my star sign Gemini, so I had my artist work it into the handle of Sailor Mercury's first wand.
  It also came out wonderfully, though healed rough, and reminds me to strive to be a strong (and maybe a little magical) woman. I love that so many types of girls are represented on the show. Be who you want to be and you can still kick ass. Bake cookies, be a lesbian, be a ninja, who cares? Pretty great message.
  I believe that makes 13 tattoos now. Oh man. And I still have so many plans!

Oh Yeah This Blogger Thing (A Lazy Update)

Once I got back to Oklahoma you may or may not be able to understand the fact that I had no urge to use the internet. For the few days I had before going back to work I sat in a puddle of self pity, lazily posting on instagram and hardly leaving my couch. (Although I have at least attempted to get back to exercising, more on that later.)
And of course once I was back to work blogging just wasn't appealing at all. It was a busy week back; I brought home over $200 which was undoubtedly nice. Oklahoma drained me pretty hard and I haven't been able to get away from my own thoughts, but work keeps me busy and when I'm not stressing about it I know it's good for me.



My favorite bits of being home can mostly be represented by the pictures I threw up on Instagram. From best friend reunions to giant smoothies from Robeks, I was pretty obnoxious about every little thing.

I turned 22; rewarded myself with lots of fruit and a second new tattoo during my trip. (Also more on those later.)

  I learned how to shoot all of these guns with my cousins. Having never shot before it was a pretty eye opening experience, and also pretty fun. Turns out I enjoy revolvers and shotguns, and will probably end up buying my own someday soon.

  We enjoyed a 50's themed party thrown by Michael's parents (during which Michael looked adorable, winning the costume contest). I finally met the new addition to the family and spent a lot of time playing Cards Against Humanity.
   There was usually something going on just about every day, even if it was just having dinner with family or being lazy with friends. I did however spend a day on the Cook's couch after a very sick night I blame on some bad fish. At least I wasn't sick in Oklahoma by myself with no comforts of home.
  Anyway, after all that it's been a real let down being back "home" again, trying to adjust to once again having little to no social life outside of work where all I do is wait for Buffy comics to come in the mail and play Fire Emblem on my 3DS like it's the only (but really really good) game in the world.
  I may make separate posts about my new tattoos and review some games for fun, we'll see.

Some Supai Photo Favorites/Home Again

  As always, Supai was a worthwhile experience. I took over 600 photos, and that was before I dropped my five year old camera in the water. Twice. I was just insanely photo happy and even though I took a lot of stereotypical photos that everyone takes, they're still my photos and I'm really happy with how a lot of them came out.
  Being exhausted from hiking helped me get the best sleep I've had in weeks. I was so stressed working all the time and worrying about our trip I was incredibly sleep deprived. I was responsible for my friend Justin's first experience with Nutella; we all ate a ton down there. It was great to slow down, be in nature and play games with friends and family.
  It's just great to be back in general, but I have this constant feeling like I need to be up moving around while I'm in town. Like must. keep. having. fun. I have to remember I'm here for a while. We've mostly just been hitting up our favorite restaurants. It's all about the food. Although today I bought myself a new phone case and some shorts because the ones I brought with me are ancient, so I threw them out. Felt good.
  I know it's going to be hard to go home, so I'm just trying to enjoy the now!

Crunch Time

Packing for what is just a few days short of a month isn't easy, especially when you're also going camping, and therefore need twice the stuff. This trip has jumped on us out of nowhere. One day it was two weeks away, suddenly we're leaving in two days.
Last week was probably one of the worst I've had in a very long time. Since high school, since Michael left for boot camp. It was a combination of the two. I worked every single day without a day off for two weeks. I was sleep deprived and I couldn't seem to eat right, and my anxiety was so high I couldn't sleep right despite being so tired. Adrenaline kept me awake to work and simultaneously try to enjoy myself afterwards.
My curse kicked in and I made a friend just as they were leaving, so on top of being physically ill I was (and am) pretty damn sad. I've been doing my best to keep in touch but who knows what'll happen. There's nothing like those people who come into your life for a short time. It's heartbreaking but also enriching. Just imagine me sighing and shaking my head. Life, man.
We had to order a seat belt last minute online, and thankfully it arrived today. We have to clean up the house a bit as well as the car, buy a few more things and figure out how everything will fit in our little car. I've packed most of my clothes but there are some non-clothing items I have to wait to pack. Since I've saved nearly everything (and I mean, I spent very little on food and gas) I've made at work, I have over $1300.
So...we're kinda ready. I'm sure we'll be okay. I'm just trying not to panic!

Happy May!

  Two weeks till our trip! I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed with the stuff we still need to do. My passenger seatbelt stopped working properly a while ago and we have to find a part soon! I don't particularly want to take a super long road trip without a seatbelt. That's pretty important. We'll be doing some of our Supai food shopping here, but some at home. I just hope we'll be ready! There's so much we have to pack and then figure out how it's all going to fit in the trunk of our car.
  I'm just so happy it's May! This month is going to be great. And most of June, too! June is my month. It feels like my birthday lasts the whole time. So ready!
  Just for fun, I thought I'd do a little more of that Alphabet Challenge I occasionally post. Last time I just did R, but I think I'll knock out a few letters this time.

S – School

91. If you are still in school, what grade will you be going into? I'm not in school right now, but I miss it.
92. When will you graduate high school/college? I graduated high school about four years ago now, which is crazy. Time flies. Not sure when I'll finally accomplish something in college. Life has taken me elsewhere.
93. After high school, what did you do/are you planning to do? Dated a boy, married him and followed him to Oklahoma. Loving marriage, not loving Oklahoma.
94. Do you like or hate school? What do you like/hate about it? I kinda love it. Especially after high school, but even then and before then I was pretty good at it. I always get at least one really nice teacher that likes me and lets me do extra things/get things done my way. I just hated all the crazy rules of high school, like dress codes, PDA, no mp3 players etc
95. Have you ever been suspended, expelled, or dropped out of school? I stopped going to college after my fifth semester. It wasn't a drop out but I wish I was on track and graduating something like some other people I know. Oh well, can't compare yourself to everyone.

T – Temptation

96. Have you ever done something wrong, knowing it was wrong, because something inside of you said it was okay? Most likely. Yeah, probably lots of things.
97. Has anyone ever pressured you to smoke or drink? Did you do it? Welcome to my freshmen year of high school. And then I smoked cigarettes for six years.
98. Did you ever cheat on someone? Why did you do it? I kissed somebody else during a game of spin the bottle, since I figured it was just a game and didn't matter. The person I was dating thought otherwise for some reason. I was fourteen, also. Other than that I'm incredibly loyal.
99. Did you ever want to do something sexual with someone you didn’t really know or love? What did you end up doing? I have plenty of fantasies of good looking strangers but honestly I'm too terrified of people I don't know to ever really do anything like that. So it's usually absolutely nothing.
100. Do you give in to temptation easily, or are you more independent and strong willed? I tend to give in to food cravings a lot :/

U – Unique

102. Do you do a lot of things because your friends are doing it? Not really. If everyone is doing it sometimes I'm the one who's bored and wants to do something else.
103. Do you follow trends, wear whatever you want, or wear really unique pieces? I just wear whatever, sometimes pieces of trends but I'm too poor to keep buying and keep up with everyone. It doesn't matter.
104. Do you give in easily to peer pressure? Do you do things such as smoke, drink, or have casual sex? Newp. I drink if I want, I quit smoking, and casual sex has always been out of the question. We're either a committed couple or I'm not givin' it up.
105. What makes you different from people your age? I don't want to pop out baby after baby and my husband and I have a great relationship. Compared to everyone around me, I'm a freak. I also just seem to have more common sense and care more than a lot of people my age.

V – Value

106. What’s the most expensive thing in your room? I guess the TV my dad gave us? Or maybe my 3DS XL. That cost a pretty penny.
107. What’s more valuable: your life or the lives of your loved ones? Would you sacrifice your life for other people? My loved ones. And yes.
108. What is something you value not because it cost a lot, but because it means a lot to you? I have a lot of little items like that. A feather from the turkey Michael brought home for thanksgiving, monster tabs from all those lunch adventures in high school, polished rocks my mom gave me...I'm a sentimental hoarder.
109. If there was a fire in your house/apartment, what is the first thing you would grab? My shoebox of sentimental things.
110. Do you think past memories and experiences are more valuable than what could possibly happen in the future? Well, yes. They make you who you are and you should always remember them and what you learned from them. Maybe they'll even influence future decisions. 

 

 

Countdowns and Plans

COUNTDOWN CLOCK WEBSITE

  I've really been meaning to add one of these sooner, but there's still time to be excited about a countdown! My sister in law has one on her website and has even been our secretary of sorts, letting us know events and keeping track of exactly when we'll be there. When I get excited I make lists, and using our Avocado app we can edit lists together! We probably have five lists related to our vacation and going home. Things to bring in our bags, things to bring for Supai, things to buy, things to do before we leave...It's crazy.
  We will of course be bringing our pets and driving. Three weeks is a long time to be gone and the only person we know and would trust to watch them has plans of her own. But no worries! We've done it before, and not only are they pretty easy to travel with, but our families graciously watch and take care of them for us while we're there.
  I'm just so ready to go. I've saved probably a good 90% of the money I've made working and am still saving. (I haven't quit, things have settled and I'm waiting to see how things go for a while.) I want to make sure this can be a lavish vacation, and I plan on coming back with more than one new tattoo if possible. There are so many things we want to do! Places to go, food to eat, people to see...And my birthday is June 7th! I'm so glad I'll be home to celebrate it.
  As always we'll be leaving as soon as we can. Packing the night before, getting up super super early (like 4 am at least), packing everything into the car and heading out! We always have coffee and snacks at the ready and a fully stocked music collection. We have to stop a few times to get gas of course, and I know we both want to stop at the Welcome To Arizona sign to take some cheesy pictures. It's a fifteen hour drive, most of which is just straight I 40 road. But it's not so bad. It's the drive back that sucks, but I don't want to think about it.

  I can't wait to get back to Supai! We'll only have about a day to relax and get settled before heading out to the canyon. It's gonna be so so good to hang out with some awesome people, hike, tan, swim, and just forget about stupid ugly Oklahoma.
 
    Three weeks!!

More Progress, Work Updates

March to April. Smaller torso, more definition!

   I keep feeling like I'm not getting anywhere lately, because the changes have been smaller, but they're still there, and thanks to these pictures I can see them! This is a much more satisfying form of watching fitness progress than taking measurements and weights. I not only want to look thin but feel strong, and it's obvious I'm getting there. I still have nearly a month left until I go home, which is plenty of time to make another jump in progress just like this one.
  In longer terms, I have made huge leaps of progress just in 2013 alone. If I take the picture on the right and compare it to a few months ago, the result is amazing to me.

January to April

  There I was in January thinking I'd made serious progress then, and I'd made some since I started, yes, but compared to April I was still pretty far away from my goal. Now I'm so close to where I want to be, and so addicted to this lifestyle I think I'll be able to maintain and hopefully never get as unhealthy as I was last year again.

  On a sadder less triumphant note I am already completely miserable at my job and hating it. I know since it's a dead end job and a service job nonetheless, I'm not really supposed to be looking forward to it or liking it a whole lot. But I did when I started. Now, the dramatic atmosphere has only increased, and the chef/manager has decided he has some sort of problem with me and I honestly don't understand why.
  He hired a dishwasher on the spot one day, and only three days went by that they had some kind of confrontation and he fired him. The next day, the kitchen plumbing was flooded. The previously employed dishwasher fully admitted to doing it on purpose, but not before calling a health inspector. The manager doesn't speak great english, and kept asking me to explain things to the inspector. I wasn't even sure what the plumbing problem was, so when he asked me a question about it I didn't fully understand what he was talking about. We have a leak in the dishwashing sinks and water sometimes builds up by the back door. I said so, thinking that was what it was.
  He apparently took this as me trying to make matters worse for him, when I was just trying to be honest and figure out what he was asking. The next day he brought all the waitresses in and said he didn't trust anyone anymore, he doesn't care about anyone's feelings, and made a different waitress the shift leader, a position we've never had before, and flat out said he knew I had seniority over her, but he didn't care.
  I guess he has diabetes, because when he gets extremely moody and ill tempered it's "because of his blood sugar." He blames everything on it and uses it as an excuse to say he can treat us however he wants because he's paying us. I walked out of the "meeting" feeling like I'd been stepped on and dehumanized. I wondered if this was allowed, if other people have gone through this, and how much longer I was supposed to "not let it bother me" (as everyone else told me to do) and continue working for someone so unpredictable and angry.
  Needless to say I think I'll be looking for a different job, one that isn't family owned, with higher ups I can talk to about mistreatment and not be told to just keep my head down. For now, I want to continue earning money. I just have to try to go into work today ignoring this soul crushed sensation in my chest and utter disappointment in the people in this town. 

 

A Cute Little Post About A Cat

The night we took her home.

She was so small and her markings were so light.

Her collar was so big on her!

She was (and is) curious and playful.

Her markings became darker, and she turned spoiled.

But only because we still babied her like a kitten.

Now she's this gorgeous cat, over a year old already!

  Time flies. I kind of miss her being a kitten. It's weird how small she used to be! She doesn't sleep with us like she used to, and she's a bit of a brat, but is still such a sweetheart anyway. Her name is Ramses, but we mostly just call her Kitty. She likes to sit in windows (and ruin our blinds), steal my jewelry from my dresser, chew on plastic, and other mischievous things. But it's so hard to be mad when she is so insistent on cuddling and otherwise begging for attention. Silly thing.

Being a Server/Life Lately

  I was intentionally cutting down on blogging as it was, but I've been working six days a week for nearly a month now, so it's been pretty low on my priority list. It's been a huge learning experience and kind of crazy at times. I've learned about the pains and the gains of being a server; dealing with people of all kinds, working hard and having a wonderful payoff or a very disappointing one.
   I've been really unlucky this week; several large parties decided not to tip me (they blamed it on their culture, being from another country, and didn't come back) and I was faced with an extremely rude customer who took my simple explanation of the menu prices in what I assumed was an innocent tone and threw it in my face and called me names until I burst into tears. On top of that, the owners (a married couple) have had problems that have affected the entire business and made it a very tense environment indeed.
  And yet, it would seem I'm one of the more useful and longer standing waitresses. They continue to tell me how well I'm doing and how much they need me and I can't help but stay. More than a few waitresses have worked less than a week (one, only a day) and been fired. I hope not to get too tangled up in it all and just keep doing my job every day until things around me improve.

We used Easter as our egg painting day.

   Besides all of that not much is going on. As of yesterday Michael has been in the Army two years. Towards the end of the year we'll reach the halfway point in his contract. If things keep going for us the way they are, it's highly doubtful he'll re-enlist and if all goes well we'll finally be able to settle down together in Arizona and likely never live anywhere else, which I'd be perfectly happy with.
  Without our family (once again), Easter wasn't a big deal. We hadn't painted eggs yet and I finally felt strange without it so at the last minute we decided to go for it. Our friend Ashley came over and did a few of her own, including a cute little drawing of us on one of the eggs. See it on my Instagram. She's so talented; much of her art looks just like Adventure Time!

  And here's us with Ashley! She's our only non-military friend, which kind of means she's our only friend. I've had a lot of trouble relating to any body lately; without kids and a southern heritage I don't really fit in with any of the wives. It's been really great to hang out with someone who knows how miserable this town is and easy to get along with.

  We went for a short trip to "Mount" Scott (poor excuse for a mountain I say, as an Arizonan) and discovered most of the trees were covered in ice! We were also accompanied by a pretty chilly wind. Despite it being officially time for spring, it hasn't quite arrived. We've had numerous thunder storms and weather below 50 degrees. Although, it does do what Prescott does and have one beautiful 70 degree day followed by a shit storm of unfriendly weather the next.

  Fitness wise, I'm working on losing this last bit of weight I desperately want to get rid of. I've been so tired lately but really determined to keep my routine, even if it means getting up before seven to make sure I get my workout in. I've been slipping food wise because it's a lot more difficult to eat right when you're too tired to make a meal. All I can say is I know I'm burning extra calories at work with all the running around I'm doing, and I still consciously correct my diet after I notice a bad meal or two. It's been a difficult adjustment but I'm doing what I can! I still believe I'll have made progress by the time we take our much needed time off to go home.
  Speaking of, it's getting closer and closer! Just over a month now and we'll be packing a ton of stuff for us and our pets and beginning that 15 hour journey home. We're anxiously counting down. It's going to be fantastic to be home for three whole weeks; it's all I can think about.
  That's all for now!

Finally, A Job

  It's been beyond stupid trying to find a job in this town. I gave up for a period of time because after every place I applied, called, and emailed, they hardly gave me the time of day before promising to get back to me and never doing so. And most times I checked available jobs, there were two options: Pizza Hut or Home Depot. Not very appealing. I just wasn't that desperate, I don't know.
  My employment status seems to come up in every conversation we have with anyone in our family or close friends at home. I know there's not that much to talk about per say, but do you know how annoying it is to hear "so are you working anywhere yet?" every. single. phone call. If I was, I'd say so pretty quickly, because it's news. But as if I didn't feel like enough of a lazy mooch who can't get a job, everyone had to remind me constantly that I wasn't doing anything.
  So stop the presses! It's finally happened!
  Anyway, I'll stop being sarcastic.
  We went in to this new Greek restaurant for a meal, and somehow I came out with a job. I noticed someone else coming in to apply and decided to give it a shot, honestly expecting to be shot down like everywhere else. But instead I was put on the schedule immediately! So that was really surprising.
  It's honestly one of the best places to eat here, for a few reasons. The first is that people just don't seem to care quite like they do in Arizona. Both the service and the food quality is just lower than expected. It's littered with fast food places, and it's hard to sift through them to find places that are decent. Even when we were recommended some place, we were still disappointed. But at this Greek house I suddenly find myself employed by, the food is handmade and authentic and amazing.
  The job itself is not even close to difficult. I haven't quite gotten a hang of the register, but I had my first table on my first day. I still remember how hectic things got at the resort restaurant, and knowing it will never be like that puts it in perspective. The place isn't even very big. As of now I have a pretty good feeling about it all. I'm still in that beginning crash course paperworking phase, but by next week I think I'll really have a hang of things.
  So that's that...I'm officially a waitressing food slave. But hey, the food is tasty!

More From The Exercise Diaries

  I haven't posted much about fitness in the last while because I felt like I hadn't made much progress. None worth mentioning anyway. But when I compared a picture from today to just two months ago I was so surprised! I knew some of my clothes felt like they had a little more room in them, but I don't own a scale. I still don't want one. I'm not a number and I don't want to get sucked into looking at it every day.  
  But holy crap! This is probably the most progress I've made since I started. It's been slower than I wanted it to be, that's for sure. Though I've been feeling up to more and more and doing things that challenge me, raising the bar all the time. It's about time it paid off. Michael told me this morning that one of the guys in his unit we saw this weekend said I'd lost a lot of weight. I don't think I'd seen him since sometime last year, but it was really awesome to hear.
  This week is the 20th week of my own exercise regimen. I've also been trying pretty hard to eat better. I hardly ever eat red meat and I've been adding tofu to certain dishes. Anyway, this is a recovery week, something I picked up from P90X. Every fourth week I cut out strength training and focus on cardio and core. On weeks that aren't recovery weeks, I dedicate certain days to certain muscles. Last week looked like this:
  1. Fire 45 EZ, Lower 20
  2. Elliptical 37min at Resistance 18, Distance of 1.178 miles, Tone 30
  3. Fire 60
  4. Elliptical for 23min at Resistance 18 0.729 miles, Hiit 20, Abs 10
  P90X Shoulders and Arms, 10lb weights, minimum of 15 reps each exercise
  5. Rest Day
  6. Fire 45, Core 20
  7. Abs 10, Stretch 40
So even though it's taken what feels like forever, it seems I'm finally doing something right. I still have a goal size I'm working towards, and I'm also hoping that going home for almost a month won't totally ruin me. It's easy to eat lots of fattening foods and be lazy. But there's also a lot more outdoor activity possibilities. We'll see how I handle it.

New Ink

  I've been wanting to get matching tattoos with my husband for a while. We keep talking about a ring finger tattoo but we can't seem to come to a firm conclusion, and he isn't sure about getting another visible tattoo while he's in the army. Finally I brought up the idea of the red string of fate. It's said that people who are meant to be in each others lives are connected by a long red invisible string by the gods. No matter how far away or how tangled the string gets, it will never break. It's kind of our promise that no matter what happens we'll be there for each other. So far I've always liked having Mikey in my life since the day I met him, friends or more. I'm happy with how they came out. Simple and cute.

  This one was all for me. I've been entertained by lip tattoos. I love what people choose to put there. It's something others won't see unless you want them to. I chose this phrase from a tv show I like, honestly. Archer. It's hilarious. I thought it was also a fitting phrase because I tend not to have a filter when I talk. It's my danger zone, and I don't care what you think.
  Pain wise, the toe hurt so much more. Getting my lip done was awkward for sure; the artist stuck a paper towel in my mouth to dry it out and had to get a pen to finally work in order to make the outline. Some parts of it I didn't feel at all, others I definitely did. Mostly it was just strange. The string I wanted done as soon as possible and cursed loudly all the way through it. But they're done! I'm proud of both of them.
  The only issue is inner lip tattoos don't always stay. It's a strange spot; they can often rub away just in the first few weeks. I'll just have to wait and see if I need to get it touched up, and if I do, if it'll be worth getting done over and over. Of course, it can also go the other way, and it may stay forever.
  I plan on getting a tattoo when we visit home as well later this year, but I'm not sure what. Tattoos are so addicting!

Letters R and S

R – Respect

86. How do you show respect? When I don't argue and I go out of my way to do what I'm asked.
87. What can someone do for you to lose all respect for them? Not much, honestly, if it personally affected me. It depends though. It might just take a conversation and an act that counteracts whatever made me lose respect for you. But in most cases I never really gain it back.
88. Do you respect your teachers, parents, and other authority figures? If they seem intelligent and confident, yes.
89. When you are disrespectful to your parents, what is the punishment? Used to be I'd be grounded, get my cell phone taken away, wouldn't be able to go to whatever party or friends I was invited to.
90. If someone is mean to you, are you mean back or do you kill them with kindness? My first impulse is to be mean back. But now I stonewall, meaning I don't do anything and just let them wear themselves out.

S – School

91. If you are still in school, what grade will you be going into? I don't even know anymore. I haven't been in school for a while. I'm at a strange point in my life where I'm not sure what I want to do.
92. When will you graduate high school/college? Couldn't say.
93. After high school, what did you do/are you planning to do? I originally wanted to be a therapist. Now I'm thinking about being a fitness instructor. Maybe I'll do both? No idea.
94. Do you like or hate school? What do you like/hate about it? I actually like school. It's just enough stress (usually) to motivate me.
95. Have you ever been suspended, expelled, or dropped out of school? I guess I kind of stopped going to college. But only since I moved to Oklahoma. I left my last school with notice and did it right, I didn't enroll and abandon it. I've never done that. 

   Stole this from Tumblr. I feel like there can be a fine line between judging someone and losing respect for them because of something they did, but I have a hard time respecting someone who can't be strong enough to respect themselves. Obviously I don't judge race, sexuality or religion, but I'm just so disappointed by people who can't seem to leave a situation that makes them unhappy. I know it can be hard, especially if it's something you're comfortable with/incredibly used to; change is scary. But if you're unhappy and can't seem to fix it, why force it? I can't stand seeing people just letting themselves be unhappy because they think its some kind of sacrifice just to have something stable. Find the strength to walk away, because you know you deserve better.

  That's my blurb on respect for the day.

February via Instagram

Classic Valentine's Day treat/Hubby bought me my favorite flowers/Our own s'more station at a restaurant in OK City

  I don't know why but for some reason February really zoomed by me. Michael doesn't agree, but I think it's because this month was actually fairly eventful for us, and you know what they say about time and having fun and whatnot.

My first buffalo sighting/The Parallel Forest/A really sweet spot to relax

  This month I admitted to enjoying Oklahoma a little bit. We finally made a friend who has been showing us the sights and introducing us to new people. We had a great Valentine's Day weekend. Finally, we got out to see the nature side of Oklahoma, too. Of course it all involved driving away from the town we live in, because even the locals admit it's not a great place.
  We went a little nuts after the tax return and bought a ton of camping gear because, and I am SO GLAD to be saying this, we are officially going to Supai in May! The leave packet is in and we will be in Arizona for a few days short of a month and it takes a lot of strength to push down the excitement until it gets a little closer.

Boyish 80's haircut/Feeling confident

  I also got the balls to chop off most of my hair this month. It was over twelve inches, I checked. (That's what she said, right?) Anyway it was a huge relief and I wish I'd done it sooner! I thought I'd be weepy and regretful but I can honestly say I'm so happy I did it. It literally took weight off my shoulders (you wouldn't believe how thick and heavy my hair was) and seeing someone different in the mirror has really perked me up. Everything is easier without all that hair in the way.

First attempt at the longest cardio class/A really long workout day/Loose pants are fun

     This month has been really good for me fitness wise. Just when I felt like I may be reaching a plateau, I decided to crank it up and challenge myself yet again. This week was one of the roughest so far, and I plan on repeating it. My workouts have been well over an hour and if I'm not satisfied I'll keep going. I tried the Fire 60 class and made it to the end, struggling at first but reaching a second wind and being proud by the end. I'm starting to see some serious results week by week, and I think I can see my goal in the next month or two. When I started working out last year, I was having trouble with a lot of things; I couldn't even do a few pushups on my toes. I've made so much progress, it's ridiculous. I can tell when I reach my goal size, it'll probably be the best shape I've ever been in. I just hope I can keep up good habits while I'm on vacation.

   So even though February had a slow start, it really picked up until suddenly it was Valentine's Day, and now March is just a few days away! I really hope this keeps up. May cannot come sooner.