Just a reminder...

Today, April 8, 2011 the government decided to stop paying those who are fighting for our country. Here's a reminder of what our founding fathers had to say about what our government should be based on:

Declaration of Independence
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Does this match? Do I care?

In all my years of life I have never really had the lust for fashion. Granted I strived to stay up with the latest trends. I shined in my stirrup pants in third grade, had the fanny pack with neon shorts while in Disney Land and rocked the overalls with only one strap buckled in high school. If none of you have ever worn those styles then you were not fashionable! Ha-ha

I must admit the only time in my life where I made a real effort to present myself in a fashionable way was when I was living at AOII. You start to feed off each other and I had 30+ girls to help me learn to curl my hair and walk in heals on ice. I just want to be clear that I did not wear heals every day. After changing my major, I decided that cowboy boots were a little more practical in the winter. When looking at pictures of me during my days in the sorority, I was looking good. I had the good outfits…what the heck happened?

Let’s get one thing clear. I’m not a slob and I don’t just throw clothes on in the morning. I do my hair and put makeup on but my work attire is very causal. There are days I wear hooded sweat shirts and I’m not ashamed that on days I workout at noon, I come back to the office sweaty. Behold the power of body spray and deodorant. This gets me to my main point and major issues I have with those trying to make a fashion statement.

DOES IT REALLY MATTER IF YOU MATCH WHEN YOU’RE AT THE GYM?

When I venture to the gym, I just make sure I have the following items:
Pants or shorts
Shirt
Sports bra
Socks (I’ve forgotten these before…nasty)
Heart rate monitor (this isn’t as essential but I like to have mine)
Gym shoes (I have my running shoes and my cross trainers)
Hair tie!!!

At night when I pack my gym bag I usually just grab the items above and don’t pay attention to what is going in there. During my workout I’m in the zone, doing my own thing, letting the sweat drip off my face, making the grunt sound when lifting my 20 pound weights, minding my own business. However, there are days my zone doesn’t shut off everything around me. For example when the little high school girls come bounding up the stairs in their shorty-shorts giggling looking around to find the little high school boys they are going to “workout with.” Other than the previous statement, this is what makes me laugh the most…it’s obvious they did their hair, put on fresh make up and strategically planned what they were going to wear. Now, if you are like me, you could give a rat’s ass what you look like at the gym because seriously, who am I trying to impress here? I have an amazing boyfriend and I have no intention of meeting a meat head while I’m dripping sweat. When I say I throw things in my bag it can be interesting when I get to the gym. My black pants with a teal stripe down the side and a hot pink tank-top goes great with my purple bra. A real fashion statement! Don’t worry it gets better…when I run I basically need a drop cloth to soak up the vast amount of liquid coming off my body. (NASTY IMAGE!) So I decided I could sport one of those sweat bands that girls wear. Usually they can tuck them under their pony tail and it looks cute. My issue is I have short hair so I can’t put it all up in a pony tail. It’s more like a half-pony keeping half my hair down so tucking the band under all my hair looks ridiculous. Now it’s time to improvise. If I can’t tuck the band in under my hair, then I’m going big because like I said, I’m not there to impress. I pop on that band around my head as Rambo would. As my dad said “You’re going to look like Lebron James!” Close except I’m not 12 feet tall and let me be honest, I’m white. Okay, let’s get a new mental picture of my gym outfit so far:
Black pants with teal stripe, pink tank, purple bra, white Rambo band

Got the picture? High class, right? I think so too! Now it’s time to top it all off, it’s the real kicker and the new addition….my Justin Bieber/Radioactive headphones. These babies are old school, around your head, puffy ear pieces and yep…HOT HOT PINK! Gosh I’m looking hot!

When I leave the locker room I love thinking how crazy I look and how people may mock me but again, I don’t care. I’m there to sweat and grunt, not to prance around with 2 pound weights in my hand looking for advice on how to accurately do a bicep curl.

To all girls who take time to get ready for the gym, I urge you to put down the bronzer and wear that faded t-shirt with neon shorts. Trust me, you’re workout will be much better!

Thanks and if any of you have questions about what a good outfit would look like don’t ask, just wear it!

**I need to add my one exception for looking nice at the gym. To all fitness instructors, I understand the importance of matching and looking good because you are representing the gym and your abilities to rock the house with your fitness styles. Matching is necessary in your case! **

You know you’ve become an adult when….

You love buying grown-up things!

Our washer went out a week ago and I wasn’t too worried because Shayner had an extra one at the shop he had been using to wash his coveralls. The dryer worked just fine but I really couldn’t go long without the washer. With my BF working on a farm and the weather warming up, let’s just say the frozen cow pies aren’t frozen anymore and they have all melted into one giant pool o’ crap. Adding to the poo-covered clothes is my workout gear. I usually try to hit the gym twice a day three times a week then once the other 4 days. If you recall from a previous post my body loves to sweat. Thus, I usually have to do laundry mid week to have clean gym clothes. Do you see the importance of a washer in our house? Oh, don’t forget Said Sarah lives with us too and she has clothes to wash. Back to the story, Shayner and I were doing dishes and I was talking about how I would go and help him get the washer from the shop. Then it was like a dream coming from his mouth…. “Why don’t we just go get a new set?” WHAT!?! I dream about the fancy washer/dryers that are red and trendy. I couldn’t believe that he wanted to fork out some money for appliances.

***Side note I had this small but powerful voice in my head that said “don’t get the new washer and dryer. That will take away from the money you’re saving to buy my engagement ring. Selfish I know. Hey, I’m just being honest here! ***

The next day I set out to do research on affordable front load washers. I got some great suggestions from my folks and my boss knowing that they have lots of laundry in their houses as well. After talking with Shayne over lunch and telling him about the options I found, we settled with these babies: ( I know they aren't red but the red ones were an addition $600. White is just fine with me!)

The brand is Frigidaire and so far I really like them. I'm still trying all the options on the washer and it's been nice to have such a quiet machine. The washer has a "steam" option that I used on my down comforter and it seem so much cleaner after it was done drying. It's been nice having the new set and they have been put to the test multiple times and passed. Charlie and Dee love them too because they can watch the clothes spin and see their reflections too. Charlie loves to jump on top of them and climb inside the dryer when I'm done because it's so warm. He's so weird but special!

Here's a funny story: two days after purchasing these beauties, I went to look on the Lowe's website to answer a question I had. Well...to my surprise they were on sale! Each of them had been marked down by $200 or more. I was so mad! We had just bought them and now they were on sale. I told Shayne and he didn't seem pleased about the ordeal as well. After work we went over and talked to Lowe's about the situation. First they denied they were on sale then I pulled it up on my handy iPhone and showed those suckers what I was talking about. After some unnecessary calling of the customer service line and dealing with Shayne starting to melt down because it was taking so long, we finally got them to return the set then re-sell them to us at the sale price. It saved us a little over $400!!! I am so glad that I went on and found that sale because 400 bucks back is $400 towards the ring! That's right, I haven't forgotten about it.

I do love me some new appliances though!

Day 30

A picture of you last year and how you have changed

My major goal for the past year or so was to get my weight under control and start working out to be more healthy. I'm not getting any younger and with the hopes of one day having children, I want to be healthy for them. I am still struggling with controlling my eating habits but food is my addiction and letting the deliciousness go has proven to be the most difficult part of this ordeal. Here is a picture of me in March of last year then again two weeks ago. (Please excuse the white complexion, I'm trying to stay out of the tanning bed)


This picture was taken in California when my boss and I attended a work conference. Don't mind the scandalous clothes in the back or the wacky peace sign and hat. We were trying to be cool!

The picture to the right is smaller but I promise it's just a different format, I didn't photoshop any of it. I'm proud of how far I've come but I still have a long ways to go.

I look forward to what this year will bring and I can only pray that I am able to keep up with my diet and exercise.

Thanks to all who have supported me through this journey!

Day 29

A picture that can always make you smile

When ever I'm driving to my parents house, this is what makes me smile. Montana has a very tight hold on my heart so I'm always excited to drive into the Big Sky State!

Day 28

A picture of something you're afraid of

Let me just tell you getting this picture made me shutter. I hate and am freaked out by hobo spiders. I didn't know what they were until I moved to Idaho. They are GIANT, fast suckers. I have another office I work in and I call it the "RR or Radiation Room" because that's where we keep all of our radioactive materials. I'm convinced the spiders are bigger out there because of the radiation. Starting in the summer, I keep that room sprayed every week with spider killer. YUCK YUCK YUCK!!

Day 27

A picture of you and a family member

I chose to post a picture of my entire family. Mind you, this was taken in 2005 because that about how often we all get together for a family photo.