Savoring Summer

Only a few days left of freedom; school starts Wednesday. I am excited, but nervous- I always am at the beginning of a school year.
Still no progress on the puppy plans, but another breed to consider when the time comes: the Shiba Inu.
Here are some pictures, enjoy :)

They are a small Spitz type. I like it.

Look at that grumpy little face.

My husband loves this breed, which is a plus. It isn't the fluffy type that I like (think Cavapoo etc), but it is a cutie, and quite portable.
We'll see. I'm a little worried that a puppy would be miserable home alone. Of course, I'd come home at lunch and it would get lots of attention during the mornings and evenings, but I think it would be lonely as a baby home alone. Anyway, we still have some time to decide.
Well, looks like my DIY projects are going to be quite limited for awhile, which probably means blog posts will slow down- I don't want to bore anyone with mundane matters. ;)
Here's to the last few days of summer and a productive semester after that!

Weekly Report

Well, it's Thursday. My new job started on Monday and- phew!- I have a lot to learn! I have some very sweet coworkers though and another "new girl" who started Monday happens to be a military wife who lives in my neighborhood! We carpooled to work today. ;)
The semester kicks off next Wednesday. I am super nervous. Can I handle four classes and a full time job? We'll see I guess.
Today my husband's unit had a bake sale. I made 2 dozen cupcakes and- errghh!- forgot to take pictures. The recipe was from Taste of Home and these Cream-filled Cupcakes were a hit! I actually made 48, but only filled and iced 28 (my husband ate four). I also added chocolate shavings to the top of mine- used a Hershey's "Cookies & Cream" chocolate bar. Delicious.
Tonight I made a yummy, buttery chicken dinner and afterwards realized how incredibly unhealthy I have been cooking. So, yeah, diet restarts tomorrow. Bad timing for a diet though: my birthday is this week. Yay for birthdays: Oh No! for cake and sweets. I think I will forgo our American traditional birthday for a healthier Angel Food Cake and Strawberries dessert. Again, we'll see.
Still want a dog. Still no dog.
No real crafting to report, but am planning on buying a sewing machine soon. The only trouble is, I don't know if I will have time to use it this semester!
Good news: I bought a fantastic skirt for work--> it.has. POCKETS.
Time to go: my cookies are burning. And, no, they are not for me. There is a potluck at work tomorrow.... Maybe I should start my diet next week.
Uhgh! Pray for strength!

Love,
 A Happy, Busy, Unhealthy Military Wife

At this time I would like to note that "wife" was accidentally typed "wide" but lately that feels appropriate.

Oh, p.s. my mouth is healed! No wisdom teeth troubles ever again!

And so, for one 1/2 hour, I don't feel guilty for not working out...

Inspired, I did some sit-ups and "plank pose" then walked to the nearby gym: completed 7.7 miles on a bike in 30 minutes. I have no idea where that falls on the good/bad scale, but apparently I burned 200 calories, plus it got my heartrate up for an extended period. Then I walked the neighborhood (15 minutes) I'm gonna say it: winning. ;)
(Say the following outloud in a movie announcer voice. Because we're cool)
This shall be the beginning of a new era of fitness!

Motivation?

How stupid is it that I wear workout clothes and look up fitness plans on Pinterest without actually getting down and dirty to workout?? I am a horrible self-motivator! I don't challenge myself nearly enough- or at all. I need to DO HARD THINGS, get SWEATY at the gym, make like a Nike and just do it!!

Yes, I am wearing workout clothes. No, I have not worked out today. Yes, I was just on Pinterest.

...But I did finish the laundry. So that's a win.
Okay, play time is over. Now I need to

"Work Like A Beast To Look Like A Beauty"!!

...Yes that phrase is from Pinterest.

Also, this may be somewhat provoked by the fact that I found out today that the majority of 2012 Olympic gymnasts are 4-6 years younger than me. Depression right there.

Alrighty, I'm going to go workout until I can't move. I've heard it takes 4 weeks to see results; that means the week after labor day. Let's do this thing!!

Hoy Es Miércoles

Nothing much to report. Today has been a particular "housewife-y" day. I got excited when I finished all the laundry (washed and dried, but not yet folded, mind you), and finally have a clean, empty sink. I also brought lunch to the husband at work and visited with him for a little while. And I bought milk and plastic sandwich bags. And I studied a whole lot of Spanish (hence the title). Fun day, huh? Yup, I am definitely turning into a housewife.

But then we ordered pizza for dinner and the clean laundry is piled on the couch waiting to be folded.  Wife Fail.

However, starting Monday I will be (for the first time) a 40 hour/week employee and, ten days later, also a full time student. Pizza dinners and laundry on the couch are about to get very common around here.
Now when am I supposed to find time to work out and cook healthy foods? Help me.

08-09-12 Edit: For those wondering, I had leftover pizza for breakfast this morning and the laundry is still waiting for me on the couch. I am regressing as a productive house-maker.

Summer Smoothie- You're Welcome

Day Four of mostly liquids and I have quickly tired of my usual fare of applesauce, yogurt, chocolate milk, and healthy banana smoothies. It's lunchtime and desperation drove me to do something I rarely do successfully: experiment. The result of this experiment was a sweet, pink smoothie; if you would like one, you will need the following ingredients (along with a blender).

• 1/2 frozen banana
• 2 cups of ice
• 5 large strawberries
• 1 cup of milk (I made a cup using one cup milk and 1/3 cup dry milk powder- I ran out of milk last night and haven't been to the store yet. I'm lazy, I know.)
• 1 container of Yoplait low fat, vanilla yogurt
• 1- 2 tsp of vanilla extract (obviously you will use one teaspoon for a lighter vanilla flavor or two teaspoons for a stronger vanilla flavor)

1. Put everything into the blender. 






2. Blend until smooth. 

See, I told you it was easy. 

NOTE: For my smoothie, I added the vanilla extract afterwards and simply stirred it in with a spoon. I don't know if this affected the flavor or not, but mine was a yummy experiment, so I'm sure yours will be delicious however you decide to blend it.

Also, I am sorry for the lack of "In Progress" photos. I was not confident that the result would be photo/blog worthy, so I only have the finished product. Although I do not think it is that difficult to imagine a blender and all the ingredients going into the blender whole and coming out as a delicious Vanilla Strawberry Banana Smoothie.

If it is a nice day (as it is here) you have my permission to enjoy your smoothie outside. I cleaned up my mess (oh wait, no I didn't, but I will in a minute) and took my laptop and smoothie out on the porch. My husband keeps the house ridiculously cold- I'm convinced he's part polar bear- so I am literally out here to warm up. But now that you've reminded me of my smoothie mess (gee thanks...though the mess isn't a bad one) I'm off to clean up the kitchen (and maybe get seconds of this smoothie). 

Oh yeah, for you curious souls, this recipe makes about 3-4 cups. I can't give you an accurate measurement because I "tasted" it before I saw how much smoothie I had made and the "taste" turned into a very large drink. 

This was me: *cautious sip* (surprised) "Mm!" *larger sip* (still surprised) "Mmm!!" *no lying gulp* "mm, mm, mm!!" *Pours glass* Thinks "I should share this very rare success with the Internet!" 

So I did. You're welcome. ;)

Sleep Shenanigans

My sleep schedule is going to be so screwed up after this weekend. I haven't gone to bed (in the sense that I have climbed into bed and turned out the light) since Thursday night, but I have gotten more sleep (on the couch) than, well, any weekend I can remember. Today, for example: my mouth was hurting (the healing process from having your wisdom teeth out is apparently a painful one) so I took some extra strength Tylenol and cuddled with an ice pack as soon as I got home from church/lunch- about 3pm. I slept for about four hours, until my sweet husband woke me up in passing with a gentle forehead kiss. I got up, took more pills, and went back to the couch. I didn't wake up until 11:30 pm. Even then, it was only for an hour to watch the "Curiosity" land on Mars (!!!). My husband joined me on the couch after we finished watching the NASA landing and we both took a 45 minute nap. Poor guy; that was probably the only sleep he's getting tonight (he's up working on a paper). Then I slept for another stretch.
See what I mean? CRAZY amounts of sleep. So I'm up at- what is it now- 4:13 am. I'm tired, because me body is freaking out that it is four am, but I know I have had enough sleep. Boy, wisdom teeth are a bummer. I think I'll grab my ice pack and hit the couch for awhile. Or maybe read. Probably to sleep, but we'll see.

Summer is ending; I don't have the luxury of sleep shenanigans anymore!

No More Wisdom

Well, it is finished. I had my wisdom teeth (all three of them) taken out this morning. After the surgery, I didn't- as I expected- have a crazy drunk-like experience. I just woke up, and was like "Ok, yeah, that was fast." Only nasty bit is my mouth is un-numbing (the worst part) and the pain is setting in. My husband is being a dear and very attentive, but there is really nothing he can do to stop the bleeding or the pain. Gross part is, I'm not allowed to spit (nor could I with my mouth being so numb) so I have to let the blood kinda drain out. I look like a vampire.
Fun stuff.
But, at least the surgery itself is over and I survived with minimal embarrassment. My hubby bought me a protein smoothie (NO STRAW!!) on the way home so I won't starve. We are also stocked up on yogurt, applesauce, and smoothie ingredients for our blender. It will be an interesting weekend. I'm so glad it's Friday and I am so thankful for a husband who will take the day off to hold me all afternoon...even though I now sometime drool.

That Darn Achilles

Seven weeks before my wedding, my then-fiance and I signed up to run a 10K that was the weekend prior to our wedding (I know, crazy us). For him, this was no big deal; as a military guy running is nearly second nature to him. For me, a city girl, this was HUGE. I couldn't even run one mile- let alone the 6+ that are in a 10K. But I figured I would be motivated so, what the heck. Two weeks later I was running 2 miles every morning and most evenings for a total of 4 miles a day. I was pretty happy. I even splurged on some fancy/functional running shoes (Asics). Then I went home for spring break, which meant no more gym, which meant no more treadmill...which meant running outside. I thought it was no big deal, but after only one run I was in so much pain I had to call a podiatrist (foot and ankle doctor). My appointment the following day came with some bad news: I had (have) Achilles Tendonitis and the very early stages of heel spurs. Basically, the tendons in my heel are only in the 75 percentile-- too short. Normally, I wouldn't have noticed a difference, but running strained them to pain. The developing heel spurs were a result of the unnatural distribution of weight on my feet and ankles when I run with not-completely-functional tendons.

Long story short, I am forbidden to run for one year (seven months left now) and I also can't wear high heels. I have to daily stretch my calves and ankles, and wear custom insoles in my shoes. Lots of hassle, no fun... and no 10K. (Secretly, friends, I was a tad relieved at not having to run it, but totally bummed about the rest of the prognosis).

Why am I telling this story?

Well, I was looking rather dismayed at my lack-of-abs tonight and, after a talk with my workout savvy husband, realized I needed cardio along with the ab workouts. Cardio, aka running. Well, we know that's out, so what's left? Yeah, I don't know either. Swimming? Bicycling? We'll see. Ideally, I'll lose ten pounds this month. Hey, it is August first, why not have a month goal?

Also, I saw some New Balance running shoes that I now want.