A must-have in MY makeup case!

Mascara- I go through mascara like crazy. Well, I feel like I go through it often because the same one never has the same affect on my eyes for a long period of time. It gives me positive results to about halfway through the bottle, then my lashes just go to poo. No kidding. Because of this, I am constantly trying new mascaras.

Well a few weeks ago, it was that time again. To find me a new mascara that will give me what I want. Mr. Man and I went into the BX and we got everything he needed then we headed to the makeup section (which is horrible by the way). As I was walking around, I told Mr. Man, "I am looking for a lengthening, volumizing mascara." So I search around, but it did not take long for one to catch my eye. This one:

Now I must admit that I bought this one because of the packaging. I am not a "pink girl." But pink does look good on me, so I always attract to it. So I bought it. It retails for about $8. I have been using it for a few weeks now, and I love, love, love it! Seriously, I love it. (How many times can I tell you I love it? Oops.)It has a wider brush than normal, which grabs every little bitty eyelash that I have and makes them so long and pretty. Of course, I am not halfway through with the bottle so I can not say whether or not it will treat me the way the others have, but this one is so much different from the other ones I have used. It is going strong, and I do not have a single day where I am like, "UGH! Crazy mascara!" Before, I truly had those days. I think I have found my mascara! And it's even so pretty on the outside! 

I thought I would share this with you because I never buy mascaras that false advertise. I say this because I watch so many mascara commercials, and the girls are always wearing fake eyelashes. I can see wearing fake eyelashes, but if you are going to do that then do not make it so noticeable. It drives me nuts! Therefore, I won't buy the mascara if I see the commercial. Thankfully this time I saw the commercial right after I bought. Literally, I came home, unloaded everything, put it up, laid up on the couch, and BAM! the commercial. And guess what?! FAKE EYELASHES! I seriously almost did not even put it on my eyes the next day, but I was in desperate need of new mascara. And I am so glad I used it anyway because I adore it! It comes everywhere with me!

101 Things in 1001 Days: Update

I wanted to update you all on my progress with 101 in 1001 Days. I have accomplished a few things within the last few weeks, so I thought I would update it while I am thinking about it. My end date is the middle of February of 2013. I can't wait to see how far we have gone in life and how much of these I actually accomplish. This will be an exciting next few years. 

If you want to join in, you can create your list at http://www.dayzeroproject.com. I hope you enjoy my list and get inspired to create your own!

My Project:

1. Go horseback riding.

2. Get a job.

3. Go to a concert.

4. Go camping.

5. Dance in the rain.

6. Visit Egypt.

7. Buy a car.

8. Try 5 new foods.--Main dishes. 

9. Visit Italy. 

      -Rome

      -Florence

      -Siena

      -Pisa

      -Milan

      -Verona

      -Venice

10. Visit Germany.

11. Visit France.

12. Try 5 new vegetables.

13. Visit an aquarium.

14. Go biking.

15. Use only reusable grocery bags.

16. Crochet a scarf.

17. Eat at 5 new restaurants. 

        -Gandhi's (Indian Restaurant)

       -Teri-aki's (Sushi Bar)

18. Finish a scrapbook.

19. Buy new couches.

       -Purchased on Monday, June 28, 2010

20. Graduate from college. 

21. Donate to a charity.

22. Learn how to make sushi.

23. Visit 5 castles.

24. Try 10 new wines. 

        -White wine  from Siena.

        -White wine from Siena.

        -White wine from Milan.

        -Red wine from Venice.

25. Visit Ireland.

26. Paint a painting.

27. Host a BBQ.

28. Stretch everyday for a month.

29. Start a family.

30. Learn to Crochet.

31. Redecorate a room.

       -Started on our living room.

32. Learn how to eat with chopsticks.

       -Teri-aki's.

33. See a musical in London.

34. Go scuba diving.

35. Swim in a large body of water.

36. Find 100 things that make me happy.

37. Make 5 New Friends.

38. Clean out my closet and donate the things I don't use.

39. Run a 5K with others.

40. Go to church every Sunday for 3 months straight.

41. Have 2 sets of family photos done within 2 separate years.

42. Go on a last minute mini vacation.

43. Read 5 books (not including my school books).

44. Go on a fossil hunt.

45. Attend 10 museums.

       -I can almost guarantee I did this in Italy. I will put them all on here once I gather their names.

46. Pass the teaching certificate test.

47. Climb to the top of something high.

        -I did a lot of this in Italy. I will name the places once I gather their names.

48. Make all A's and B's in school.

49. Build a sand castle with Mr. Man.

50. Visit Snowdonia.

51. Print out pictures of vacations and put them in memory books.

52. Touch an animal that I am scared of.

53. Get a second Miniature Schnauzer.

54. Find 50 things that inspire me to be a better person.

55. Support a cause.

56. Collect refrigerator magnets or postcards from major places. 

       -Italy-(Siena, Rome,  Pisa)

57. Drink protein shakes regularly for a month.

58. Send care packages to troops from other military services.

59. Write a story about how I see and want my future and open it later in life.

60. Say No to people who ask me for favors when I am already busy.

61. Go to the eye doctor every year.

62. Celebrate my birthday in style.

63. Have movie night once every 3 months.

64. Get lost somewhere and find my way back.

65. Get fit! (The way I see it.)

66. Sell/Pay off our house.

67. Do not complain for a week.

68. Do not eat ice cream for a full summer.

69. Submit 5 photos to a digital photograph school.

70. Start Master's Program.

71. Renew our wedding vows in a Catholic Church.

72. Open a TSP or IRA.

73. Keep $10,000 in savings.

        -So far, so good.

74. Start a separate savings for our children.

75. Lay out at night with Mr. Man and look at the stars.

76. Crochet a pair of booties.

77. Attempt to learn how to play a PS3 war game. 

       -Accomplished on  June 9, 2010.

78. Only buy necessities for a month- 3 times.

79. Stay on Mr. Man's butt to finish school.

80. Take a fitness progression picture every couple of months.

81. Make 5 baby blankets.

82. Attempt to Ski or Snowboard.

83. Go hiking again.

84. Try 3 new fruits.

85. Learn how to use the weed wacker.

86. Drive somewhere using only a map.

87. Take professional bodybuilding pictures.

88. Give 10% of income to church for 5 months.

89. Recycle a Christmas tree.

90. Go canoeing, kayaking, or paddling.

91. Use no butter for a week.

92. Make homemade cards for an event or holiday.

93. Cook 26 dishes in a row from A-Z.

94. Do not eat Chinese Food for 6 months straight.

95. Volunteer at a local school or nursery.

96. Commit to a date night every 3 to 5 months.

97. Do morning cardio outside during the summer months.

98. Let 5 people know how much I appreciate them.

99. Go to Disney World, Disney Land, or Euro Disney.

100. Learn a new dancing style.

101. Donate a dollar for every thing on this list that I do not accomplish to any organization of my choice.

Wow, I have accomplished more than I originally thought. I hope I can keep this going this smooth.

I will be sure to keep you updated as I check things off my list!

 

"Signs That I'm in Afghanistan"

 First off, I want to thank you all for the kind and uplifting comments to my post yesterday. I definitely will keep you all updated on it all! I am beyond excited, and so is the rest of the family. They are already planning her a shower and giving her recommendations on products, and she is already talking baby names! The next best thing to being a Mommy, would be to be an Auntie!

As you may (or may not) know, Mr. Man just got back from a few months in Afghanistan. We are Air Force, obviously. Here is an email Mr. Man sent me today. I guess it is circling around his squadron, and I know enough of what goes on when they are deployed to laugh my little heart out when I read it! I hope you enjoy it, and please take it lightly.

"Signs That I'm in Afghanistan" 

1. You run in terror from a controlled detonation your first week, then
stand in the open to watch real mortars landing, a month later.

2. The most intimate contact you've had in months is with the shower
curtain.

3. Your most successful pick-up line is "I've got a vehicle".

4. All the Air Force people look like glow-in-the-dark Power Rangers and you
can't see the Army Folks.

5. Your 6:00 am wake-up call is "BOOM" Alarm Red, Alarm Red, Alarm Red".

6. They actually give loaded weapons to Air Force personnel.

7. You give directions using T-Wall & Bunker murals.

8. You realize AAFES is their own country, and can print their own money.

9. The amount of sand in your boots is only surpassed by the amount in your
nose.

10. Something as simple as taking a shower or going to the bathroom at 2:00
in the morning requires preparation equal to the Apollo moon landing.

11. The Texas Style Brisket is not from Texas, is not brisket, and has no
style.

12. You are watching a "chick-flick" with 300 guys with machine guns.

13. Your internet connection is twice as slow as your old dial-up connection
back home, and you're paying twice as much.

14. Your lying under your bed in your IBA writing to your spouse, "No,
nothing exciting happened today" and you mean it.

15. You can buy a car or truck from the on post AAFES, but paper towels are
nowhere to be found.

16. You live in a gated community, but your home is still a trailer. (Ha!
How about a tent?)

17. You are caught way over the speed limit and you are only going 22 MPH.

18. During an attack someone jumps out of the bunker to tell you to get your
hands out of your pockets.

19. Your idea of a night on the town is going to another DFAC.

20. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but you still
wouldn't want to be on that side of the fence.

21. Dusting the furniture has a whole new meaning.

22. "Pimp my Ride" means putting doors on your Hummer.

23. U2 is hitting the charts again.

24. The local community holds fireworks displays every night in your honor.

25. Driving over the curb seems totally natural.

26. The outcome of the war hinges on how you wear your reflective belt.

27. You see a guy in full battle rattle driving a Humvee trying not to spill
his latte'.

28. It feels normal to dry your hands at the DFAC with toilet paper.

29. Your idea of a clear day is when you can't actually see the air your
breathing in.

30. The dust on the dashboard of your vehicle is an inch think, but you're
not even aware of it.

31. You don't notice T-walls anymore.

32. Cold water from the shower is only possible after 1 Oct.

33. Getting your laundry back is a big deal.

34. A 105-degree day in the summer actually feels cool.

35. You don't even notice an F-16 taking off anymore.

36. You don't stop what you're doing when you hear automatic gun fire coming
from the perimeter.

37. Your first couple days, you thought F-16's doing afterburner take-offs
were cool.  Now it just pisses you off.

38. Without even looking outside, you know that the weather sucks, because
you weren't woken up all night from the roar of the F-16's.

Legend:

Controlled detonation = Our guys blow up captured ammunition & explosives

AAFES = PX (store) (gives cardboard chip money, instead of coins for

change)

IBA = Individual Body Armor

T-Walls= Cement barriers around buildings

DFAC = Dining Facility (Mess Hall) (the DFAC paper towels are toilet paper

thin)

Full battle rattle= Wearing your body armor, helmet, etc.

Successful Weekend

It has definitely been a successful weekend for us! It has been so busy, but a lot of fun!

The not so fun parts were 1.) I had to finish a math test. I had already spent 4 hours on it on Friday and I planned on finishing it by Saturday morning. I did, and I did good. But seriously 6 hours on a math test is outrageous! 2.) I had to finish a paper for one of my education classes. I basically had to interview a teacher then write a reflection paper on it. It actually was not so bad. The part that was so time consuming was the fact that this interview had to take place back and forth through email. Although I am thankful that I have so many teacher friends and family because now I won't have to bother one all the time... I can spread the love!

The very, very fun and exciting parts!

We have been wanting to upgrade our furniture. We still have what we were given when we got married. Truthfully, there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of it, but we just wanted to upgrade for specific "unknown" reasons. Well we went to Cambridge yesterday (Saturday) and went to every furniture store possible. We wrote down the things we were interested in and their dimensions. I really did not intend on finding the ones we wanted because I really thought we would disagree and ending up having to compromise and settle on something neither one of us were truly happy with. So our adventure started after I finished my test on Saturday morning. I drove out, with Mr. Man, to Cambridge. There was this one store that was having a sale, so we stopped there. There were two sets of couches that we liked, but they were not the "one." We knew we could settle on either one of them and they were definitely in our price range. Then I drove us to another little shopping area. There were two furniture stores within it. Both were quite big. We stopped at the first one, which originally was not on our list to go to. We went in and sat on a few couches. The very first one I sat on IS the one. At first, I was the only one that sat on it, but I did not really think anything great about it. Then I began sitting on others within the store. On our way out, I guess I spotted it again and sat on it again. After sitting on it the second time, I was raving about how perfect it was. So Mr. Man sat down, and he immediately was like, "Wow, I think this is it!" I told him we still had to go to the other one. So we wrote down the name of it, got price quotes, then walked to the other store. We went in and sat on a every fabric couch possible and none of them felt anything close to the other. I told Mr. Man we needed to go back to the other store and sit on it one more time to make sure. We were both very happy with it and really really wanted it. So on our way to the car, we popped back in and sat on it. THEY ARE THEM! For sure, they are for us. The sitting is perfect for us. The fabric is tough and pretty. It is not too hard, not too soft. It is a great laying couch without looking like a sloppy bachelor pad, and it is elegant and I can dress it up.

Guess what?!

I am calling and making it official tomorrow!! They said that it will be about 6 to 7 weeks for them to come in. I can't wait. I am super excited! Now Mr. Man and I can do snuggles on the couch without being so uncomfortable!! YAY!

This trip was a blast! We seriously would spread our arms out and fall back on the couches to test them out. We even cuddled on a "cuddler chair." We also tested the two seater automatic recliners, and raced! Despite what Mr. Man says, I won! And we even walked around singing... haha, we are crazy! We had a blast. It was the best "shopping" trip with Mr. Man ever!! Because we actually agreed! And we immediately knew they were the one!

Can I borrow you thoughts and opinions?

I have been having a dilemma lately. I have been working on redecorating our bedroom for several months now. I have the color theme that I want, but I can not seem to find the perfect set of bedsheets for us. I once found the perfect bedsheets and when I went back for them, they were gone. I was extremely upset, and have put it off since. Since I live overseas, I have to shop online. I am always paranoid about this because I really like to see these things in person before I purchase them. But it really is time for a bedroom up-do. Not more putting off.

Can you help me out? I am 100% open to suggestions, places to purchase from, ideas, do's and don'ts, etc.

Here are the colors I have chosen: Turquoise and Chocolate Brown. Now, it does not have to be ONLY these colors. It can have different shades of browns or different shades of blues/turquoises or whatever. Like I said before, I am completely open.

A few pictures for inspiration:

 

Truthfully, I am not bought on these colors until I find the perfect set of sheets.

So, once again, I am open to suggestions. 

I am a plain kind of girl. 

I like classy, but elegant.

Nothing too out there.

And I would prefer less dark colors and more of the lighter colors.

Am I being too picky for any of you to even make suggestions? :)

I hope not!

I reached 100 followers!

I just realized that I reached 100 followers. I feel horrible because I have tossed the idea around of doing a giveaway, but I have done nothing to prepare for it. And right now just does not seem like the time to do one, so I thought I would take a couple of suggestions, recommendations, and advice to help boost my blog.

Should I do a giveaway when I reach 125-150 followers? What would you like to see me blog about? Would you like the chance to ask me questions, any questions? And last but definitely not least, do you recommend anyone that I could do an exchange with to get an awesome blog layout, buttons, etc?

Thanks to all of you who follow me! You guys rock!

Fitness Friday:

This Friday I decided to finally tell you all a little about me, how I got started, and where my goals are at this part in my "fitness world."

First off, I have realized that I use "fitness world" a lot. I use that term because I literally feel that it is a world of its own for me. I am a completely different person in the gym than at my house, hanging with friends, etc. Majority of the time it is because I am focused and determined, but nonetheless, it is another world for me. Also, my fitness goals take up a lot of my time and day. Not because I "live" in the gym, but because it is also about my lifestyle, my eating habits, my health.

Growing Up:

When I was growing up, I was chubbiest child in the family. I was born the smallest baby of my siblings, but soon grew to be the chubbiest of all. Both of my other siblings lost a lot of their baby fat once they began school. Not me. It took me several years later, in to my high school years, to finally lose my baby fat. Needless to say, that explains a lot. I was always the larger one and told from a very young age that once I got older I would have to watch what I eat to maintain a healthy weight.

In high school, I slimmed down quite a bit. It was not until my Freshman year in high school that I slimmed down to my smallest. I loved the feeling, but my body had naturally did it on its own. 

How I Got Started:

In high school, there was always the talk of everyone that gains the 10 pounds after graduating from high school and beginning college. Then there was always the 10 pounds that people gained once they got married. Well, I was engaged by my senior year in high school. (Yes, you heard that right!) I was not only facing the 10 pound gain from graduating, but also the 10 pound gain from getting married. 

Since I had always worried that I would easily gain this weight, because I do gain weight very easily and very fast, I began thinking about things I could do. With Mr. Man just graduating from Basic and Tech School, he was already into the cardio routine and encouraged me to go with him to the gym. We did this for a year of our marriage and that was that.

Well, a few days after our 1 year wedding anniversary, Mr. Man deployed for what was suppose to be a 6 month deployment. When he left, I was working full-time. I quickly began shedding the pounds because I was going to the gym everyday in order to fill up my time, plus working many hours. I knew I wanted to loose more weight because I knew being so short, I still looked like I had extra pounds that I could leave behind. The StairMaster and Elliptical became my best friends. (Oh, and the sauna!) Mr. Man and I discussed the workout regimen and the eating habits (because I had horrible eating habits). He was working out there and wanted to get "big." He did his thing, I did mine. 

He came back from his deployment, and that is when we hit it off. I realized how obsessed I was with becoming fit, always improving myself. Once I would see one goal, I pushed harder realizing that it was all so reachable. One thing lead to another, and here I am today. We've been working out together as a couple for 3 years now. I am including the time he was deployed (the first time) because we were both working out, but obviously not together. Now, we had both thrown around weights and did cardio from the very beginning of our marriage, but we honestly did not have any idea of what we were doing and we were not as focused as we are now. So I can not and will not include that. 

The beginning was hard. I will not lie. I would get so sore and could not move that I would be so miserable. But I always reminded myself that if there was no pain, then there was no gain. It is hard, especially first getting started. It sucks. You have to train yourself, your mind, your thoughts, your body, everything. There were days where I would just want to give up, and Mr. Man was there to encourage me. Sometimes I would get so exhausted and frustrated where I would tell him that if he didn't love me for me without all the working out then oh well. It is not easy, but it is well worth the fight! Still to this day I get tired of it, frustrated, have a mental block, but after a week or two of letting go, I always have to go back. And when I do, I go back 100 times stronger than the last time. And really that is what it is all about. 

My Goals At This Point:

Originally my goals were to be healthy and lose weight. I lost some weight and began getting healthy, but then I started to see my muscle definition. 

I have a lot of people ask me what is my goal. They ask me because they say I am so small and I look so healthy, so why more. I really have a hard time answering this because I do realize that I am small. I do recognize that I look healthy. But that really isn't what it is about. It's about how you feel about yourself and what your own personal goals are. My goal is just to be happy and confident in my own skin. 

So right now, I can say that my goals are to maintain my size but lose more of my body fat and gain muscle in its place. This is something that takes time. Definitely does not happen over night. I really like to get back where I was with my lifting, but my schedule right now is not allowing that because it messes with my eating schedule, which in turn messes with my energy level. Overall, my most important focus is my legs because I have large hips and thighs. 

A new workout that Mr. Man showed me today that I really want to be able to do is Medicine Ball Crunch/Hit. I did it today to see if I could handle it, and it HURT! My abs are sore from yesterday, so I ended up having to drop the ball on myself so it would not hit as hard. And of course, I used a 6 pound weight ball and not a 12 like in the video!

Hopefully, I can post some pictures soon. I just got to remember to take my camera to the gym with me!