Cleaning House...

And by cleaning house I mean my, personal, power house.
I am set and on my way to becoming a better, healthier me.

Today was an extra good day.
I had no cravings for processed foods or sugars.
I had potentially one of the best work outs of my life.
and now I'm just relaxing.

I would have to say that the biggest difference for me
(between my previous lifestyle and my healthier lifestyle)
is the amount of energy I have throughout the day.
Normally I would start to feel tired by about 3 or 4.
I'm completely rejuvenated!
It really is a great feeling.

So here is what I have been doing:
I'm making a promise to myself to sweat at least 6 times a week.
That doesn't necessarily mean go to the gym for an hour.
I could take Reagan for a walk, do some work out videos, or play soccer.
Today, I went to the gym.
I started my workout with a 15 minute HIIT cardio session.
I hike the incline of the treadmill up to about 3 and jog at 5.5 mph.
At the beginning of every minute I sprint (about a 8.0 mph) for 20 seconds.
I also increase the incline by 1 each minute, and return to 3 every 5th minute.
It sounds like a lot...
But when you focus on making sure you hit the right time to increase or decrease your speed...
time sure does fly.

After that I hit the weights.
I'll admit lifting in a gym full of military men and women can be a bit intimidating.
I've just come to the realization that I'm not there for anyone but me.
So I shouldn't care whether people are laughing at the lack of weight I can lift.
I'm there to change that.

Also, good news.
The gym on base is going to start offering group fitness classes again in March.
I was getting tempted to start forking out some cash for some of these at The Peak.
No need to worry anymore!
I can't wait for some spin, yoga, and pilates classes :D
It's like my birthday.

One thing we all have to remember though is that the gym is only 10-15 percent of your progress.
The rest happens in the kitchen.
Tonight for dinner we had baked chicken with roasted squash and asparagus.
I'm lucky in the sense that I LOVE vegetables.
My husband....does not.
My main focus is to not necessarily count calories.
But to be cautious of what I'm putting in my body.
If there is an ingredient I can't pronounce...I don't eat it.
I'm staying away from white flours and sugars.
And trying to figure out the amount of carbs, fats, and protein my body needs.

Some of you are probably asking...
Who Cares?
Well I want to hold myself accountable for the goals I am setting.
I think that blogging about what I'm doing will help keep me on track.
I'm hoping.
My goal is NOT to be skinny.
I know I don't need to lose weight.
My goal is to be fit and healthy.
I want muscles not bones.
I don't want my health to ever be a factor as to why I can't have or do something.
So I'm not on a diet, I'm changing my lifestyle.

Cruisin'

Hello!
So we have made a lot of progress in the past couple days!
Sorry, still no pictures of the house :(
But...
In one of our rooms we have a bit of a window cove
So, we are in the process of building a window seat reading nook.
It's our first project together and so far it's coming together fabulously!
Every room is somewhat put together
(aside from final touches)
except for this one.
So any progress is great progress!

I applied for the Medical Coding/Billing program I talked about in my last blog.
And all of my financial assistance and my Goals/Plans have been ACCEPTED!
So 4 months from now I will be the proud owner of a Medical Coding/Billing license.
I'm pretty freaking excited to have yet another skill under my belt.
My next step is to try to find an internship
(Paid or not)
That will at least put some experience in the field on my resume.
Not to mention I just found out that a very close family friend of ours may be able to assist me in finding a job right after I finish.

It's kind of strange...
I have more of a drive to do well in this program than I did throughout college.
I'm not quite sure why.
I don't think I realized how crucial my college career was until I got out.
Don't get me wrong...
I'm extremely proud of my Graphic Design portfolio and what I accomplished.
But I feel like I could have pushed myself a little more.
So looking back, I guess that's the one thing I regret.

On that note...
I miss college.
Maybe not so much college but all of the people.
I miss Kristin Nugent like none other.
I miss our nights in an empty auditorium dancing our hearts out.
I miss comparing our ripped to shreds feet.
I miss sitting in the hall of the 3rd floor of Crabbe just talking.
I miss our trips to Francesca's and going to Patrick's.
There are obviously a number of people I miss but I haven't been able to see her or hear her voice ever since she left to Vienna.
So in that sense...
It's quite different.

I never dreamed I would have come out of college with a friend that I was this close to.
For a long time I thought that I would never connect with another female like I did my best friend of almost 10 years now (Rachael)
and my sisters of course
But within the last 2 years I've met a handful of girls I can throw into that category of a "best friend"



That's them!
It's a pretty awesome feeling
I wish I could throw them all in a suitcase and ship them to Mt.
For one, I'm not very good about opening up and I'm still not comfortable doing so with most people.
I think that is where my biggest obstacle lies.
So I either learn to overcome it, or find someone who accepts my need for privacy.
I'm just hoping that within the 4-5 years I spend here in Montana, I find myself a handful of girls that I can say the exact same thing about.
Making friends is harder than one would have thought.
But being a part of the military lifestyle...one is forced to find a way to do so.
So wish me luck!

Now...
the most exciting news of this all.
Our honeymoon is FINALLY booked!!!
Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!
On September 8th Ethan and I will be on our way on a massive ship...
to the CARIBBEAN!
It's a 7 day eastern cruise on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas.
Currently the largest cruise line floating in the ocean.
This is going to be Ethan's 1st Cruise EVER.
This will be my 4th (3rd on RC).
I absolutely love cruises and I cannot wait to share this time with my new husband :)
Even though by then we will have been married over a year.
All we need to do now is get our air fare, new swimsuits, so cute dresses, sandals, and our beach bodies!
Good thing I've got 8 months to prepare!

I'm thinking I will start to update you all on my workouts/eating plans.
I'm setting some serious goals for myself for this cruise.
I'm sick of people thinking that doing just crunches will result in a 6 pack.
So with my clean eating, mild cardio, and lots of weight training...
I think I'll take you on my journey of fitness :)


Well...
until then I hope everyone is enjoying their snow day in Colorado
I hope the High School dance teams are enjoying Nationals in Florida
(wish I was still doing it!)
and I hope all you Mt people are enjoying the lack of wind :)

Love Always