Whoa....

Oh my...

I guess I should update?

Well I've been keeping myself crazy busy.

No time to write blogs...

Without giving up my much needed couch potato hours from time to time.

My recent shows include the usual...puke

(As my grandfather would put it)

The Bachelor, Jersey Shore, New Girl, Big Bang Theory

and

Ethan and I finished all of the seasons of Modern Family AND caught up.

If you haven't or don't watch that show...I highly recommend it.

Ethan is back to work about every day now.

9-4 ish seems to be the staple.

So I have been getting A LOT of my school work done.

I am not going to lie...learning medical terminology is like learning a new language.

The program I am using makes studying pretty easy though.

So, I am thankful for that.

I'm thinking about getting a part time job while I'm doing this...

We will see.

As far as the gym goes recently.

I log in at least an hour a day.

I've been trying to get my running done in the morning and my weights done in the afternoon.

I have started running 4 miles 3 times a week.

( I used to HATE long distance running )

I'm starting to really love it.

The other days I do HIIT for 15 minutes.

Ethan and I also do a workout called Spartacus MWF.

It definitely kicks my butt but it's fun at the same time.

This past weekend we were pretty laid back.

Friday we hit the gym, came home, ordered food, and just hung out.

Saturday we decided to try a 7.1 mile hike close to where we live.

Sadly, we got ALMOST there to find out the road was closed until Thursday.

Luckily for the dogs the dirt road was along a river.

We let them out and they went crazy.

Reagan just loves the water.

So, it wasn't a complete waste of a drive.

We then grabbed a drink with a couple of friends at the Tap House Lounge.

They have a HUGE selection of martini's

and a pretty decent dinner menu.

So for the first time in a long time...

I actually had a drink.

Today, we got up and went to the great falls shooting sports complex.

We shot Ethan's new 9mm and the 22.

It got a bit windy though so we left after a few rounds.

Took the dogs to the dog park and now, here we are.

He's playing golf with Blake, and I'm doing more school and updating you.

On another very exciting note...

We will be traveling back to Colorado April 5th-9th.

Ethan's Dad is now officially a Major General.

We were lucky enough to have leave approved for his promotion ceremony.

It's also the weekend of my littlest sister's 19th birthday and Easter.

So I'm so very, very excited.

As far as how I am adjusting to being here...

It isn't too bad.

Luckily, I am pretty good about keeping myself occupied.

However, I am terrible about making the effort to meet people.

I don't know what it is.

I guess I'm just a chicken.

I wouldn't mind finding a group of people to hang out with though...

I'm hoping a job might help me?

I'm not going to worry about it too much though.

In due time.

So, 24 days until Colorado

and

180 days until our Cruise!

I'm so excited!!!!

Love Always,

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

Malmstrom AFB

It's about time a wrote another post...

Last I left you, we had just visited Disneyland.

Well, now we are in good ol Montana.

We have successfully made the move to Malmstrom AFB.

We didn't have to wait even a day for our home!

(The wait for our stuff to get here is another story)

-18 degrees...that was the temperature the day after we arrived.

A nice warm welcome to say the least.

But, after a few days of the freezing cold, we are back in the 40's.

I must say I love it here so far.

It would probably be a whole different story if we didn't know other people living here.

Ethan hasn't had to work since we have gotten here.

It's been all about hanging out and setting up shop in the house.

I'm so thankful for this time.

I imagine it would have been a much longer process had he been working.

Our house is the perfect size for the two of us.

And definitely has some room to grow for the future ;)

Don't get too excited! That won't be for a little while.

We have what is considered a 2br 2 ba house.

However, this is quite deceiving once you take your tour.

We have a kitchen and living room downstairs.

There is also a bathroom, HUGE laundry room, coat closet and walk in closet.

Upstairs we have the master, a guest room, an office, a bathroom, and a random GIANT room.

We have NO idea what we are going to do with it.

I plan on turning it into a seating/craft/office area for now.

But that room is the last of our priorities at the moment.

So as you can see...

It's more of a 3 bedroom + study home.

I think Reagan might finally realize that this is his home.

We have never lived with just the 3 of us.

So you can see why he would be a little skeptical.

He has his own yard, and his own bed, and loves the big empty room for tail chasing.

And NO ONE steals toys out of his toy box.

All of our stuff is looking great so far.

The walls are a bit bare at the moment.

Once I get everything a little more home-y I'll be sure to post pictures.

As far as the base goes...

This place is like a little card board box compared to Vandy.

In Cali, it would probably take you 30+ DRIVING to get from one side of base to the other.

Here, you can walk from one side to the other in that amount of time...or less.

None the less, it's pretty nice.

They are building a new BX and while the commissary is lacking in it's produce department, it still provides.

The best part so far is the gym.

It's GIANT.

So giant that the equipment looks a bit awkward in the sense that its all so spread out.

A few things that I'll miss is watching gossip girl on the treadmill.

(No iPod connectors)

and being able to run on the beach

My main focus now is to find a job.

I've applied and sent my resume to a couple of places in town.

No one seems to be in the need or looking for a Graphic Designer in this town.

This wouldn't surprise you if you drove down the main road.

Everything looks like it stepped out of the 1970's.

I don't think a single building has been updated in years.

I have been doing research on tuition assistance given to military spouses.

There is a program known as MyCAA which gives military spouses up to $4000 worth of tuition.

There's a small catch in the sense that you can't pick absolutely anything you want to do.

This isn't bothering me too much though.

I'm thinking about taking online classes in medical coding and billing.

The great thing about this is that I can take classes at my own pace.

(I can take up to a year)

But if I study full time I can finish the classroom and certification within 4 months.

The other great thing is that medical coders can work both within a hospital and from their homes.

So, once that time comes, and mini Rego's are running wild.

I'll be able to work from home.

Which is my ideal scenario.

I'm going to go talk to the education office here on base before I make any huge decisions.

But a free education and certification sounds good to me.

Especially if it means a second income for Ethan and myself.

We can get his loans out of the way and start saving, saving, saving.

Since we have been here we haven't done too much.

We spent about 4-5 days in Helena with Sarah's family.

They were so sweet to let us stay with them while we were waiting for our stuff.

We hung out, watched her sister hold a master's dance class, went out to eat, and took a spin class that nearly killed me.

Sarah and Blake are really the only people we have spent time with so far.

They also came over for our first cooked meal in our house!

Oh yea!

Ethan's a local celebrity already.

Haha, the story that was in the Vandenberg paper about him and his dad was just posted in the Malmstrom AFB newspaper.

Well, that's about it for now.

I'll update you as time passes.

For now, things are pretty boring :)

It's Snowing!

It was Disneyland weekend!

And, as promised, blog update!

It was a wonderful and very perfect weekend with my hubby

I only took pictures on my phone

Since it probably would not have been very fun to haul my camera around

It was MUCH colder than I expected

and should have packed up some close toed shoes

But I was a trooper and only complained 60% of the time

One thing I wish I could change about Disney...

the number of people that decide to go each day!

I was constantly dodging and apologizing to people

Also...

After years of Indiana Jones disappointing me with their large abundance of technical failures...

you would think they would have figured it out by now

And because they haven't quite done that...

I missed out on my favorite ride.

But 2 times on my second favorite

(Tower of Terror)

Made up for it.

Now Disney finds a way to touch my heart every time I go...

This time was probably the most touching of them all

During both the lighting of the Christmas tree and the Castle,

they toss fake snow out of large hidden machines!

I never would have realized how exciting snow is if I hadn't moved to California.

It was adorable watching all of the little kids screeching,

"It's SNOWING!"

I should really stop taking the fact that snow comes my way each year for granted.

It really is beautiful.

Especially if you are enjoying the view from inside :)

Here are a couple of pictures from our stay...

During one of the "snows" :)

The Castle all lit up

After fireworks

Right before Space Mountain!!!

The HUGE tree!

Right after our day of Disney on Sunday we ventured about 30 minutes South

And had a DELICIOUS dinner with the Page's at Blake's parents' house

We took all of the dogs for a walk

(4 of them!)

And visited with their new little puppy Baylor.

Sarah is going to her home until we get back from Christmas Vacations.

They were so sweet to think of us at an ornament store

(I'll have to get a picture)

They got us a Chocolate Lab ornament!

It's Reagan....bedazzled! As Sarah put it.

I'm so glad we've met such a great couple!

Well that's about it!

10 days until Colorado

1 month until graduation

and

Just over a month until our move :)

I have so many countdowns...

I need to make a list.

Can't wait to see ALL of you over the holidays.

Love Always,

The Rego Family

2012 excitement...

I MUST blog

(for once)

Husband has a late ride today...

so I'm home alone.

I'm cooking dinner for ONE

let's hope it doesn't burn as I write this...

Prioritize.

So many super, fantastic, and wonderful things have happened in the last 2 days

I've been slightly nervous about our move to Montana

Not the move itself but the realization that I'll actually be living there

I've heard some great...

and NOT so great

things about our base.

One of the bad things I hear about,

is the drama between spouses.

I've heard it on more than one occasion now.

SUPER

I thought once you got married...

the competition between women subsided

NOT

I've never been one for drama, though

so with that being my MAIN concern

I think I'll do alright

...avoid the crazies.

I am 150% more at ease as of yesterday

The 2012 commissioning class from UNC found out their base locations.

David and his girlfriend Rianna will be joining us!

I couldn't be more excited

And then our other friend Sean found out he will also be joining us

It's going to be a fantastic party

Like the night of our wedding all over again

And I'm so glad I'll be able to be there for Ri

Because all of us military women realize how hard the first assignment is

Especially when you don't know anyone.

If I hadn't met Mrs. Sarah Page here

I would have gone crazy by now.

And I look forward to the friendship that develops with her throughout these 4 years.

By the way...

I definitely burnt one side of my dinner

Fail

At least my husband isn't here to suffer through this meal

We all know he would complain

...Pickiest eater E-V-E-R!

We also got great new from the Rego household in CO.

Ethan's dad will be pinning on his second star!

We are so proud and happy for him...

and hopefully my Mother-in-Law

will eventually get the move she has been waiting for.

Somewhere much warmer...

The best news about this news...

ANOTHER trip to Colorado :)

that we will hopefully get to make for his change of command

Now the only things left that need to happen to complete my wishes for 2012 are:

a six pack (who doesn't?)

a visit from Kristin Nugent when she returns home from Europe in 8 months

less than a month wait for our housing

an awesome, long overdue honeymoon

a job (preferably with my degree and involving an actual salary)

and a couple of others I'll slowly add as 2012 actually begins!

Until then...

just over 1 month until my wonderful husband's graduation

and our big move!

We love you all!

Might I add that our dog now puts himself to bed when he gets tired...

in our bed.

Spoiled...

Worst Blogger in History

So I realize that I haven't "blogged" in over a month.

Is it obvious that I'm new at this?

Or is it more obvious that my life doesn't involve anything too exciting?

A little of both I assume.

Well this last month wasn't incredibly boring.

I got to go home to Colorado for 2 weeks over the Thanksgiving holiday!

Sadly, my poor husband was only there for 4 days.

But it was a fantastic 4 days at that.

I arrived in this beautiful state on the 16th of November

without telling my youngest sister...SURPRISE!

I scared the unmentionables out of her

I wish that I would have remembered to take pictures

(another blog fail)

I rang her doorbell and hid behind the wall

(don't forget...they already think this house is haunted)

While she stood there for a good 2-3 minutes debating the venture out the front door

I plotted my ambush, jumped out from behind the wall, and laughed while she transformed from terrified to thrilled.

As expected,

she and I made multiple trips to our favorite local tea shop

(In-Tea)

and we shared a lunch in Fort Collins with Alyssa.

The rest is all quite boring...

A lot of sitting around, visiting with old friends, and shopping of course.

Now Shopping...

Black friday, and the day after was a great success!

Is it sad and possibly proof I'm getting old,

that I am beyond excited about our vacuum purchase?!

We got the Dyson Animal Ball vacuum and now I can't wait to get to Montana just so I can vacuum the already cleaned carpets?

(Once our name makes it down the wait list of course...humbug)

They are looking at a 3 month wait currently

So I check AHRN daily for the possibility of an affordable rental instead.

I'm not even discouraged by this...

We are getting out of my grandparents house

and our "official" married life will have begun.

Back to Thanksgiving weekend...

We also bought a toaster (since we oddly didn't get one for our wedding)

the duvet cover and pillows from potterbarn that I love! (at a 50% discount)

and 50% off soccer ball for me, and football for Ethan.

I'm so excited!!!

Ethan's graduation from tech school is a little over a month away

During the rest of our stay here in California we have a weekend trip to Disneyland planned

And another trip to Colorado planned for Christmas.

This time is going to fly by and I couldn't be happier.

We're also planning on driving the long way to Montana.

Taking time to stop in areas of the States that neither of us have been.

Seattle being the main one.

So wish us luck and I'll try to stay on top of this blog thing a bit more.

We'll make sure to take pictures at Disneyland this weekend :)