I'm Going To Roll A Weeks Worth Of Posts Into One, Because You're Only Getting One This Week.

Happy Memorial Day, e'ryone!

I would be partaking in the BBQ festivities, but surprise surprise, I have to work. Oh well, at least we are giving free wings to Military and Dependents in honor of the day. Makes me feel like I'm doing something for the fallen.

This Memorial Day is the first time that I directly know a fallen soldier.

Source: northjersey.com via Janna on Pinterest

Joseph D'Augustine was my friend Brandy's Fiance, and was killed 15 days before he was supposed to come home. I had only met him once, and can't pretend to know him well, but I know the love that he left behind and that...is what breaks my heart for every soldier that we lose. I am just thankful that we have a day to remember. It's honorable for them, and necessary for us.

Gone but not forgotten...

As for the rest of the weekend, it was a lot of relaxation, the usual gym time, great food, and dinner out on Friday. I thought we were just going on a little double date, but come to find out, it was the first time Buck met this girl via Match.com. Someone should warned me so that we didn't act our normal crazy selves. Too late now! Hehe

I really wanted a nice photo of the two of us that wasn't from arm's length {emphasis on the word nice}. Thank goodness one turned out.

You know that I was just excited that I got to rock my boots. I am in LOVE with them, so the rest of the outfit was planned with them in mind.

Top: Target || Leggings: TJ MaXX || Boots: Zulily || Arm Candy via the hubby

I was also happy that my curls were holding up from the night before. I hate wasting voluminous hair, so I rocked it all the way. I can't even believe the curls stayed in the first place. It is sooo long and heavy that it's impossible to get them to stay. As Chelsey was curling it, she commented no less than ten times about how much hair I have. She used a straightener to curl it, so I'm going to have to try that. Everyone says that I'm not aloud to cut it, which means I'm going to have to learn to handle it.

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Now that it's warm enough, the hubs has been embracing the grill. He made me TWO amazing dinners this weekend, 'cuz he knows that my stomach is the way to my heart. Oh how I love a man that can cook! MmmmMmm.

Similar recipes: 

Avocado Salsa || Spinach Stuffed Chicken

Last, but not least, I need to explain why you will only be getting one post this week. The CEO {that would be me} of this here blog corporation, has decided that it's time for me to have a blog vacay.

 I'm so behind that I haven't even blogged about Will's promotion for gosh sakes. I'm going to take this time to visit your blogs (duh), edit/sift through all the photos from the past few months, and document all the fun things that have been going on in our lives. First and foremost, this blog is for my family and is a digital scrapbook, so I would really like to document all the amazing memories we have made post-deployment. I have been trying to post them sporadically, but y'all know life has just been too hectic. Now that it's slowing down, it's just time for me to take a breather.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and that you take time for yourselves, as well. We all deserve time to stop and smell the roses. Catch ya on the flip side! 

P.S. Happy Birthday, Kelly! Love ya guhh, and glad you loved your package!
PPS. I got top 10 in the contest! I promise that will be one of the recaps when I come back ;)

I Really, Like Seriously, Want To Go To France

With a sad, but full heart, I tell you that LoLo is no longer feeling pain.

At least she went out with a bang, and accomplished everything she wanted to in life. My thoughts are with her family, and particularly her son Bryan. I hope that one day I can tell him all the crazy shenanigans that his mom and I got into. He needs to know how cool she was. Love you, LoLo!

Now onto a brighter note...meet Patricia!                                                                                         

I don't know about you,  but I am ALWAYS sucked into blogs that are written by bloggers in another country. Whether they are natives of said country or Americans abroad, I am always intrigued. Today, I'd like to introduce you to a Newlywed Beauty, who is sharing an intensely romantic story.

My name's Patricia and I'm a happy little American blogger living in France.

At 19, I was young, curious, and just itching for adventure. A year long

study abroad program in France seemed glamorous and thrilling. So I stuffed

everything I could into one little suitcase and bought a plane ticket. A

few months later, completely excited, jet lagged, and a little naive, I

showed up in a city that I'd never visited before, not knowing any one or

even if I'd be able to find my apartment in the morning. I barely spoke the

language.

It wasn't long before a sweet lady from church decided to "adopt" me for

the school year. I fell in love with her son the first day we met. I know

how cheesy that sounds, but that's really what happened. He was tall, dark,

handsome, and barely spoke English. At the time we could only see each

other on weekends, when his mom invited me to Sunday dinners. He lived

three hours away from us in the south of France. At the time I thought that

was tough, but he quickly became my world, my first real love.

That school year passed quickly and the end of summer came. I had to go

back to my home university to finish my senior year, because throwing away

my education for a boy that I'd known for less than a year was out of the

question. He promised wait for me, but when he dropped me off at the

airport I couldn't stop from self from crying. I remember being slightly

embarrassed to be sobbing in front of so many strangers while he held me in

front of Geneva airport's Burger King. So not glamorous.

I'm not going to tell you that living oceans apart was easy, because we

were so in love. People who tell you that are lying. Long distance

relationships suck. I'm also not going to tell you it was the hardest thing

I'd ever done. He was still my best friend, my closest confidant, and

always just a phone call away.  I had a lot to be grateful for.

We learned so much about are selves and our relationship that year. It

allowed us to grow in ways that we wouldn't have been able to otherwise.

When daily Facebook messages and the occasional call on Skype are your only

methods of communication, you learn to be more direct about what you want

to say and how you're really feeling. You also learn how much the other

person really means to you. There's a French proverb that says "Distance is

to love as wind is to fire. If it is a weak love, it will be quickly blown

out. If it is a strong love, the winds will only make it stronger."

We only saw each other in person once during that nine month separation,

one week right around New Year's. He was supposed to come to Nevada to meet

my family, but he broke his ankle the week before and the doctor told him

that he couldn't travel. I hopped on a plane as soon as I heard and went to

go see him.

Just so you know, happy endings do exist :) . After graduation I dropped

everything, bought a plane ticket back to France, and married that boy. We

still appreciate every day that we get to spend together, because we spent

so many days just wishing that we could. Even though I wouldn't ever want

to do the long distance thing again, I'm so thankful to have had that

experience!




Blog || Twittwer || Bloglovin'

Welp, I'm off to Denver. I might even have a drink in LoLo's honor!
Catch ya on the flip side.

Will Passed His Test!

TGI...W?
This week, I'm just happy that it's halfway over, because my stress is almost over! Next Tuesday should be my LAST managing shift, so it will be back to 25 hours/week and normalcy. No more stress for Will, no more stress for MEEEEEEE.

+ You might have noticed that I've been talking about Will studying lately. It has basically taken up all his spare time, but hallelujah, it paid off! I think I was more of a wreck than he was waiting for the results. I knew that he would pass, but I also knew that he wanted to score high overachiever. He did extremely well, and hopefully it will help his dreams come to fruition. It's amazing to see him working so hard toward something. Hard work WILL pay off, and no matter what, he is going places ;)

+ It would have been nice to celebrate last night, buuuuut...
A normal job let's your husband come home for dinner. The Army had my husband crawling into bed at 2 or 3AM. - all I know is that I was asleep. Poor thing, I hope he has today off, and at least he's getting to sleep in.

+ I got my costume mostly done for the pageant, and I feel pretty dang crafty. I made angel wings from SCRATCH, like bending wire and e'rythang. That was the last piece of the puzzle, so now I'm pretty much ready for tomorrow. Thank goodness.

+  The last and most annoying, is that I tend to bloat.
And not just the "Omg! I'm so blooooaaattted" where people overeat and blame it on the bloat. I seriously get a ball in my midsection and I HATE it. I have been trying to blame it on anything and everything:

Obviously, I'm not pregnant, so it's time to nail down the culprit.

So here is what I'm doing this week:

1. Going GLUTEN FREE. So far it's WORKING!

2. Cutting back the calories.Trying for somewhere between 1,200-1,500.

3. Avoiding processed, spicy, and anything containing sugar alcohols.

4.No alcohol
5. No gum.

It's only been three days and I'm really seeing and feeling a difference. I hadn't put much stock in the whole Gluten Intolerance thing, but I think I'm jumping on the bandwagon. If anyone is interested in more about my Gluten free results, lemme know. I'll be happy to share!

References

Easy Ways To Flatten Your Belly In A Week

20 Fittest Foods

Are any of you Gluten free? I wanna know!
I'm trying to learn as much as I can about it, and I trust y'all more than the interweb ;)

Making Up Is Fun To Do

Hello, hello. Guess what?

I got called into work on Saturday, which somehow I knew was going to happen!
Whatevs. I made some money and only ended up a little late for the BBQ. This particular event was in honor of our friends that are PCS'ing {military move}, so essentially it was a going away party. There was a great turn out, lots of AMAZING food, and many many shenanigans. Let's just say...some of the guys are not going to be in great shape for work on Monday. Good thing we did it on Saturday and not Sunday.



The truck with the grill in the back may or may not be one of our vehicles...

I didn't take a ton of pictures because the temperature was dropping quick, but I took the girls on a walk to the back of the park where we usually go, and love these:

I went to the gym and ran errands on Sunday, so to be honest Will and I didn't get much time together. That is never good for us, and especially not when we are both stressed. He has a big test this week and I have a million things going on, so the last thing we needed was time apart. It put us both on edge, and ended up becoming a little thing on Sunday.

I know there is a problem when "Aww he rolled over onto me" turns into "If he throws his arm over me one more time...", waking up before the coffee pot starts puts me in a mood, and weekends are full of more work. Luckily, we don't know how to be mad at each other anymore, so we had just enough of a thing that we got to have make up sex and then make dinner. Not gonna lie...it was worth it ;) Even now...he just punched me in the boob while rolling over in his sleep and it's back to cute.

What isn't cute is that my legs seem to be getting worse instead of better. I seriously have no idea what is wrong with them, but after a few recovery days, switching to the elliptical, heating packs, and tlc, they STILL ache. Unfortunately, there is no break until after this weekend, so I am running on. So far, it doesn't hurt while I'm working out, so I don't feel the need to stop, but I know that I am going to have to give myself more recovery time after this week. I am straight up addicted to running, but a break is going to be necessary to continue. Wow. Never thought those words would come out of my mouth.

If you need some inspiration, visit Jess for running tips from the anti-expert, and as Erica says, Just do it. Yes, I know Nike says it too, but her thought process backs it up ;)

Linking up with Sami today!

I Think I Rocked Those Knee High Boots

Woah. Two fashion posts in one week?
I'm sensing a trend here, or perhaps just a phase. We shall see.

I'm not gonna lie, I donned the outfit and waffled between loving it and feeling scared of judgement. I'm not normally the one to care what other people think, but this was a daring shoe choice. As such, I tried to dress conservatively up top to balance it out, and I think I achieved that. I didn't get any side glances that I saw, I got a lot of compliments {mostly in the restroom}, and Will liked them. We were celebrating our anniversary, so his opinion was the most important.

Now I'd like to know...what do you think?

Leather Jacket and Peplum top: TJ Maxx || Skirt: Forever 21 || Boots: ASOS

It's funny, if I didn't have a blog, I would have probably saved these for Halloween and most certainly wouldn't have had the balls to rock'em with this outfit. Somehow I feel that blogging gives me an excuse to push the limits, a chance to learn more about my own style, and the inspiration to try it all.

Source: google.com via Janna on Pinterest

Everyone have a good weekend and push some fashion limits! We only have a BBQ planned, so I probably won't, but hey...you never know. I just hope that I don't get called in to work. That would be nice...

Let's Play A Game...

In this game, you skip through Pinterest and pick every 10th, 20th, or whatever-eth pin on the "Pinners You Follow Page" and share them on your blog. You can share non-bloggers, but I chose to show pins from bloggers, so that I could shout them out and send them some love. Enjoy the pins, the bloggers, and the connections!

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If it weren't for Holly, I wouldn't know that LC had a blog. I'm not sure why, but I kinda love Miss Conrad, and am quite flattered when people say she's my doppleganger. It only makes sense that I follow her blog! I also checked out this bikini boot camp, and it is pretty spot on. Check it.

Source: laurenconrad.com via Janna on Pinterest

Pamela showed me how wrong I have been living. But...er...I don't wanna be right. You see, I AM the person that walks around with an umbrella in case it rains. I also carry clippers, a nail file, tweezers, I have extra sweaters and sunglasses in the truck, iPhone charger, gym bag, etc., and I am that person that everyone goes to when they need something, because they know I will have it. I blame it on my old gypsy ways of living out of my car in college, but either way it stuck. I am comfortable knowing that I'm prepared.

Source: theyeartochange.tumblr.com via Janna on Pinterest

Helene makes me miss the beach! I NEED this in my life. How 'bout we plan a blogger vacay instead of a conference? I think Helene and I could plan a bad@ss trip ;)

Source: heleneinbetween.com via Helene Sula on Pinterest

Tiffany is always an inspiration, and the following resonated with me. You can apply it to all aspects of life, but it's the most helpful for me in the gym.

Source: fitfabcities.com via Janna on Pinterest

Shanna is a fashion expert to us all, so I love when her outfits pop up on Pinterest. It's like she's a celebrity, and she's gorgeous from the inside out!

Source: becauseshannasaidso.blogspot.com via Shanna on Pinterest

And one of the best parts about Pinterest is bloggers supporting bloggers. Samantha is in a little contest {vote because it's easy and she's cute} and Jessica repinned her to help her out. Great sisterhood, ladies! I applaud you.

Source: hooahandhiccups.com via Jessica on Pinterest

If y'all play along let me know, so that I can check it out. I'm always happy to find new bloggers and pinners to follow. Pinning party!!

Spring Appropriate...Finally

Since y'all were so kind yesterday, it is fashion time!

I actually feel like I cheated, because this outfit took five minutes to throw together. I had recently purchased the shorts so I grabbed 'em, snagged the first top that caught my eye, and miraculously an outfit was born. I LOVED the overlay that the top had and felt like it offset the high waist.

The bag that I carried was purchased from Just Fab, my new go-to for shoes and accessories, and the new boots are from Zulily. The boots are usually over $100, and I paid $12. Baller!



I like Just Fab because everything is $39.95, and even though it's a membership it costs you nothing. I like Zulily because they basically buy products in bulk, and pass the discount on to the customers. Both seem pretty genius to me, and have already won me over with quite a few deals that come straight to my inbox.

What fun online sites do you shop from?

Would You Tattoo Your Head?

Well, hellerrrrrr....

Let's pretend that today is Monday, meaning that I will now give you a weekend update. Sometimes {like this week} the weekend keeps going until Sunday night, so getting a recap done is just not in the cards.

1. Will ordered me a Tonneau Cover for my truck, and it is awesome.
2. He also made his world famous ribs, so he scored even more brownie points.
3. I somehow hurt my leg, so no running for me for a few days :(
4. Check this dudes tattoo out. BEST EVER.
5. We watched Skyfall and it ended in a hickey fight. Will won.

So, as you can see, the majority of the weekend was pretty chill, and normally we NEVER make plans for a Sunday night {unless Sunday Funday spills into Sunday night}, but this time we couldn't say no. My co-worker Brooke is moving away to be with her soldier and getting married, so we had to go to her going away dinner! Plus it was at Bonefish. I never say no to Bonefish even after I promised myself I wouldn't eat out until after the pageant. Whoops.



The air was still a little chilly, but we enjoyed the heated patio. It made for the perfect setting.



Bye Brookie!
We will miss you, but know that you and Lucas are meant to be. Well, you better be since baby Massau is on the way! I kid, I kid. But seriously...Will was taking the picture of us and said, "Everyone say 'Janna's pregnant!" There were a lot of surprised faces, and now there is probably a rumor going around that I'm pregnant. Thanks, love. Haha.

If y'all are interested I may do a little outfit post tomorrow and show off my new boots I got too. I actually LOVED my outfit Sunday night, so I took a few pictures. Humor me?

An Old Grudge.

About five years ago, my family had a storage unit.

It held expensive furniture, art pieces, and even my mother's high end couture. One would think that it would be important to protect the treasures within, and yet...

My mother just stopped paying the bill. Maybe she forgot, maybe she didn't care, or perhaps she was having one of her vindictive moments that always ends in something bad. All that I know, is that I had my treasures in there too. Photos from my childhood, furniture that my parents bought me that was supposed to last me forever, family heirlooms, and even knick knacks that my grandfather made me before he passed away.

All gone.

I cried and cried and allowed a grudge to distance myself from my mother about it, a lesson learned. She was human, and makes mistakes just like us all, albeit a pretty darn big one. Now, enough time has passed  that the loss has become less and less prevalent, and I've learned that you can live without every material possession, memories or not. Would it be nice to have those pictures, to have that furniture with me today, and to display the knick knacks? Yes, but that's  just not an option.

Source: parsleypagerosemarythyme.tumblr.com via Janna on Pinterest

We are creating new moments every day, every time we move, and to be honest, all of our "things" are what makes the moves hard and weighs us down. When I think that I can't part with a particular object, I remind myself that I can live without anything. Slowly we are cleaning out our house to make our lives less cluttered, and it feels good. Less is more.

Source: endless--summer.tumblr.com via Janna on Pinterest

I'm thinking that newlyweds always end up going through this. Combining both partners things, gifts from the wedding, over purchasing to decorate the first (or second) home, and random "stuff" that you collect in the beginning are bound to pile up before you know it. At least it's only taking us three years to realize that we don't need that George Foreman grill, enough food for the zombie apocalypse, or three of the same thing- i.e. Magic Bullet, Stick Blender, and food processor. I still don't want to get rid of the food processor.

Who knows when our next move will be, so it's game on in regards to downsizing. I even told Will that he can pocket the money he makes selling ANYTHING that isn't nailed down in this house. Let's just say, he's rollin' in the dough lately. I've also sold furniture that we weren't quite done with yet, and guess what? We are surviving without that one extra dresser. The best part is that we are donating along the way too. I have taken truckloads of stuff to our local God's Pantry and it feels SO good. I like this particular place because they give stuff directly to those in need, and that's where it should go.

I also plan on selling some of my nicer clothes and accessories again soon, so I may share them on here or on that site called Poshmark. I have an entire closet ROOM, and have no business having that many clothes. I love them all dearly, but it's time for a closet cleansing. Less is more, less is more, less is more. Haha
It's either that or another year of no spending. We shall see.

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I almost turned comments off today, but then I wondered, would you rather me post and turn comments off or just not post at all? Sometimes, I have a specific comment about a post that has comments turned off and then I feel let down when I can't share, or other times, I'm annoyed that I wasted my time reading a post when I can't comment. Mostly I understand that a blogger probably needs time to catch up on emails, wants to share something without having a backlash, or simply just needed to clear their mind. I'm not promising I'll never post with the comments off, but I am curious how bloggers feel about it.

Happy Friday, peeps. It's about dayuum time!

Sometimes A Hair Tie Holds My Britches Up

Last Friday we went to a BBQ, and blogger fail- I didn't take many pictures. Luckily, I snapped a few before we hit the sack. Just excuse the "stool in the bathroom pic". You know I do not claim to be a fashionista, but I'm getting better at posting fashion-y type things. I think.

This particular outfit was inspired by my love of all things mint and wanting to wear my new boots a little longer. I guess that's one good reason that we still have this cuckoo weather.



Now what you don't see, is that these jeans that don't fit anymore ride REALLY low when they are buttoned, so I found a new trick that allows me to get them up a bit higher over my bootay. Don't judge me.



I believe I have seen button extenders on infomercials, but who needs 'em when you have hair ties lying around? It worked great, was convenient, and best of all, it was cheap. In my defense, I have been looking for new skinny jeans in this color, but have yet to find any that fit the way I like. At least now I can take my time.

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Did you know that Friday is Military Spouse Appreciation Day?

In case you know one, visit the following blog to find 101 ways to thank a MilSpouse ;)

Source: militaryblog.militaryavenue.com

Just so you know, "Thank you for your service, too." means more than you can ever possibly imagine from the outside. It's the little things that keep the men and women on the home front going, so focus on the ones with the deployed soldiers this Friday. I have my soldier home, so I already have the best gift anyone could give me ;)

Get It Right, Get It Tight!

I am feeling more at peace today.

+I made it through yesterday without any major issues for the first time in awhile.
+I got some training out of the way, so that I made it home at a reasonable time.
+I gave my body a rest, and didn't hit the gym for the first time in weeks
"recovery time" makes me sad and antsy
Who am I?
+Hubs and I agreed to eat out minimally for the next three weeks, and maybe even throw in some extra gym time. That equals possible two-a-days...I think we are going crazy.

Why the insanity, you ask? It's Pageant time.
One more pageant, and possibly the last one, because I'm getting to old tired of the pomp and circumstance. I know that I'm not going to win this one, and probably won't even place because this one is all for show. Political, one might say, but I'm okay with the politics because there is a GOOD chance that one of my girlies is going to take home the crown.

Mark my words, this girl is going to win:

I still have to put my best foot forward, though, which means it's crunch time!

The plan is to continue the workouts, and High Intensity Interval Training like the one below.

I am seriously OBSESSED with the interval workouts, and highly recommend them. It is like they are a magic combination, and you see/feel almost instant results.

However, as great as the workouts are, it all starts in the kitchen. Or in our case, the grill. We plan on grilling meat and veggies for most of our dinners or even just snacking for dinner instead of having large meals. We both eat a good bit during the day to sustain energy and keep the food monsters at bay, so at night we really don't need as much food.

And since I haven't shared any "Secret Ingredients" for awhile:

Salsa...It just may be one of the most fabulous condiments in the world.

It obviously goes hand in hand with any Mexican dish.

It is not just for chips. I've been known to dip zucchini, carrot medallions, or red bell pepper in it. I love dipping veggies into my veggies. WinWin.

And my new fave... using it in lieu of dressing on a salad.

Something like this:

via

You can customize it however you want, but I like mixed greens, pico de gallo, black beans, corn, cheese, hot sauce, and of course SALSA! It's a party in your mouth, filling, and yet low calorie. Just try it, and you will be hooked. I also recommend keeping it mind when you go out to eat. Sub the salsa for calorie laden restaurant dressing, and you will honestly shave off 500-600 calories from those seemingly "healthy" salads. You. Are. Welcome.

Now wish us luck on the next few weeks ;)