Feels so great to finally have neighbors that we can get along with. This week another amazing military sign the lease to live in our apartment building. They will only be living here on the weekends for a while but they are pretty great. Also a new Army Guy moved in up stairs. I happy to say that I think Christopher has finally competition when playing the Wii. THis past Sunday we did a Cook out with the neighbors which was amazing. WE had Bar-b-cue ribs, baked beans cooked over hot coals, grilled corn on the cob and great potato salad. I personally did not get to eat very much of the meal because of the amount of starchy foods but I did get to enjoy a little bit of everything and loved it.

I did not loose any weight this week but I am okay with that since I did loose the inch in my waist and hips (plus I am a woman so I am bloated this week). i had a great first day of my new work out schedule and as soon as I get off here I will happily start Day Two.

Christopher and I will be once again Carving pumpkins this weekend since our first two decided to die last weekend. I was very proud of our first two, Motto Pumpkin and Goof Ball Pumpkin went every well together. Chris is also going to to a pumpkin carving contest this weekend or next ( can't remember)

Can you Guess who did which one?

I am so in love with how close to perfect my life is right now... I am so blessed. Thank you God for being present in my wonderful life that you gave me.

Sweet sweet Rain

This is going to be short and sweet but I was too excited to wait for more to write about. I did my first weight in today and I have lost one inch in my waist and hips!!!!! Everything else is the same but It shows that I am making progress. I can't believe I can see a change after one week of trying. I count calories, keep an exercise and nutrition log, and make sure I stay motivated. I can feel improvements in my bust... my pants don't exactly fit yet (but that is because I am a little bloated for being a woman with water weight) and the one bra that fits me is starting to feel too loose.

Another Amazing thing that is happening today is RAIN.... That's right actually rain in Monterey, California. I wish it was an actually storm with thunder and Lightening, but this works. I never thought I would be so happy to see rain.

Feeling Good to Motivate

Walk 3:14pm, October 14, 2010

Distance: 2.11 miles 

Time: 0:47:50 

Speed: 2.6 mph

** Posted from BiM Active

I have started to track my walks again and will be posting my performance afterwards (above). I hope this will help to keep me motivated. Any feed back would be great. I am not giving up this time not even my Plantar Fasciitis can keep me down. 

Today I feel the need to add a little more information about what Plantar Fasciitis is and how it affects my life.

Plantar fasciitis is irritation and swelling of the thick tissue (Plantar Fascia) that hold up the bones of the bottom of the foot. This Fascia can become inflamed and painful, making it more difficult to walk. The most common complaint is pain in the bottom of the heel. It is usually worst in the morning and may improve throughout the day. By the end of the day the pain may be replaced by a dull aching that improves with rest. Most people complain of increased heel pain after walking for a long period of time. This irritation caused me to completely stop walking for over a month. I could barely walk around my apartment, let alone down the street. But relieving the pain was a simple fix for me thankfully. I bought inserts for my less supportive shoes and Christopher surprised me by buying me a pair of reliable walking shoes. I always try to remember to to my leg stretches and take it slower if I start to feel any pain. This is not something that is not tolerable but I will have it for the rest of my life and if not properly taken care of could lead to surgery and limited mobility.

*** This information was provided by Google Health

The road we choose to travel

(I wrote this quickly so I would not be surprised if it has errors, but I had to get this out)

Today I am suddenly walking down memory land and thinking about where my life is now compared to a few years ago.

A few years ago I started my first year of College, every highschooler's dream But I let the freedom get to me. I cheated on a long time boyfriend with a guy who only saw me as an easy target and never wanted a relationship (though he promised me one). I didn't handle rejection well and was convinced I would one day win my ex back (HE is now my best friend so in the end I kind of did). During the duration of that year I was constantly drinking, blaming everyone else for my pain. Smoking was a big part of what I did too; if I had a bottle of alcohol in my hand I had a cigarette in the other. I also was dated around and had several rebound relationships (even though I said they weren't). I also had a roommate who made my life harder. We hated each other in the end because I decided to watch my own back and stop taking care of hers. After she threatened my life and we were done for good.
My life did not improve right out of that first year. I did transfer to a college closer to home. After I moved back in with my parents, I kept the same attitude from school. still hung around my ex hoping that he would rediscover that he loved me (never happened). I still drank with a cigarette in my hand. I lost the trust of my mother and my dad was clueless of everything I did. I still relied on my ’rebounds’ to comfort me. And I never went home.

I didn't know it then but God was at work in my life. I rekindled old friendships and found a church that I love dearly. I asked got into my heart on July 8, 2007 and was baptized a week later. Life was perfect as perfect can be.

I did hit another rough spot and it let to me drinking again and I tried dating after one guy broke my heart. But that's when Christopher came in to my life. We dated and hit rough spots. He left for boot camp and I fell in love. We got married and now we are the happiest.

Think what you want but I am happy everything happened because I believe some amazing things came out of it; I have made some amazing improvements in the past year and it is all thanks to God placing the right people in my Life, the people I know call my best friends. I gained a best friend who no one can ever take from me, I learned limits and where I didn’t want to be, and the best one of all I learned a little bit more about myself and I received the greatest gift ever, my husband. The love of my life.

New horizons and an update

So I have been falling behind on my blog posts but what can I say... nothing really going on that would produce and fun or interesting blog post from me. But I have been busy and that I am excited about. I started my new job last week and I am absolutely thrilled. I am now a daytime Nanny (AKA babysitter). Nanny sound so much cooler than babysitter to me.

Lily is a wonderful 4 month old little girl who loves to pose for the camera and believes she is more independent than she actually is. As I sit her typing she sleeps with her favorite pink baby doll and dreams of something beautiful.

Let's see what else is going on in my slight if not always boring life. I have once again gained weight but this is the last time I will do it. I have set my mind to a goal and I hope I can keep it. 20 pounds before my husband and I go home for Christmas this year. Think I can do it? I do and believing in myself is one thing I didn't have last time. I am tracking my progress every step of the way and I am determined to get healthy. The last doctors appointment/blood work scared me to much not to. I have never had to be on medication and now I have to take something every morning and I don't like it. My doctor said that I could be come Diabetic which is something I do not want or need.

I want to be as healthy as possible so that when we start our family I am ready and know that I will be fit enough to keep up with a child. SO far I feel stronger and more motivated to get out there and fight my battle with weight. I am not ashamed that I gained the weight but I do want to get it off as quickly (at a healthy pace) as possible.

Tree of Support

Some times hings are said, some feelings can be hurt hurt, and some people can be torn apart. I am not writing this post to comment on any particular incident or give my personal opinion. But I am bothered by what I hear and see women doing to each other. (I do include myself) I wanted to do something big, but I didn't know where to start. So I started at the beginning, The definition of what I believe support is...

Support is the ability to endure bravely or quietly, to keep from losing courage (to comfort), and to keep (something) going.

I cannot always be strong woman, its just not possible to be perfect. And I do not strive to be more than who I am. I like to be messy and imperfect and a good cry is always healthy. I know that I have the ability to be extremely passionate, what wife doesn't. (I believe that Marine wives have just as much, if not more pride for our military lives than our husbands sometimes.) Deployments, trainings, and everyday frustrations of the Marine Corps will have me at my wits end with my emotions soon enough. And I have always been someone who wears my emotions on my sleeve but never knows how to express them which causes me to become bitter and angry.

My original hope for this blog was that it would help me form a better understanding of my emotions and help guide newer wives through the tougher times. I am hoping that in my moments of emotional weakness that I will have other strong USMC women surrounding me, to life me up, and to support me when I fall.

I have never been more PROUD to be the wife of a Marine. I have never fit in so well with such a loving supportive... sisterhood. Our men have their brothers and I have my sisters. As Marine Wives our Lives are quickly thrust together and we are forced to create everlasting bonds. We have a formed an informal Sisterhood that is special and dear to only the Few and the Proud. USMC wives need each other for support, and share the love/hate relationship that is the Marines.

Sometimes there will be a difference of opinions, and when when it happens, I hope we will be able to remember that we all go through similar hard times (even if not at the same time), we all need to vent, and eventually someone will say something that could be taken wrong out of context or mistyped. And that is okay... all sisters fight, but the downer is that women do not find it to easy “Forgive and Forget,” or at least I do not.

I'm not only "Semper Fidelis" to my husband, but to all of you. That is why I want to start a Tree of Support. Each wife, girlfriend, or fiance I meet becomes a branch of my tree. I hope that as time goes on my tree will grow. I know that all things need a little TLC (tender, loving care) to grow and that is why I promise that every woman that I add to my tree will get my support whenever needed. I promise to hold you up when it gets a little to hard to handle alone. And I promise to answer when you call and will listen as long as you need me. I may not always understand but I can try.

I hope that my Tree continues to branch out and my wonderful sisters begin to create their own trees. I could never begin to name the women who have already touched my life. And to think it all started back at Boot Camp when we needed more support from each other than ever before. I thrived on the message boards and made countless friends that I will keep forever. But is does not end there. Now that I am living with my husband I have taken to married Military life like a duck to water but it was made easier by the incredible women in my area. (Ya'll know you are)

Day 28 & 29 Year and Lots of Years

This year has been a mix of comfort, new experiences, and amazing moments. Not many people can say they have had my year. In the past year I have gotten married, moved cross country, and experienced what motherhood may be like. Starting from last September I got married to the love of my life and we have been happily married since. In October we moved to Monterey, California for Christopher's Language Program. November was simple we enjoyed the 234^th birthday of the Marine Corps and the Thanksgiving Holiday. December we had the chance to go back to Georgia for a visit. January through April was not that exciting a few birthdays and couple night started which was the In May the In-laws visited and I went home with them to take care of my niece and nephew while my SIL was in the hospital 'cooking' Baby William. For the two months that I was at home I worked for my old boss at Cotton Woods Pool and had an amazing time teaching swim lessons. And then I moved back to California and I have been trying to get back in shape and ready for the next year

Which leads to my hopes, dreams, and plans for the next 365 days....

I am happy to say that my hopes/dreams and plans for the next year are simple year so very exciting for me. My husband and I will move at least two more times once to Texas and the other is unknown either East Coast or West Coast. We also want to get a dog and would like to start our family. But other than that I pray that my husband and I stay healthy and safe.