Corpus Christi, TX

Hello!  It has been a while! So much has changed and I fully intend to get this site really going…I know, I know, I have said that many times before!

Let me get you updated…

I stayed in Indiana and finished out my Bachelor Degree.  Over the summer I stayed as well and worked on applying to Occupational Therapy school.  Probably not going to get in this year, but we will see.  Then the best part!

A couple of weeks ago I packed up my stuff and drove over 20 hours to Corpus Christi, TX where I am now finally living with my boyfriend Jay.  Many obstacles got in our way, but here we are finally living together after over 8 years of dating!  (I know, long time right?!)

Anyway I am still getting situated and looking for a job.  Not being too picky as we might only be here 6 months, but I would still prefer to use my degree.

I plan to talk a lot more about our adventures and share some crafts!  I’m so excited to get Sun Soul and Wings going!!!!  How many of ya’ll have been to Corpus Christi?!

Adventure to a Happier Soul

It has been a while since I have written.  I have been busy but in reality, I have not known what to write about.  Today I want to discuss mental health.  No not depression or Multiple Personalities Disorder (I’ve been watching United States of Tara on Netflix, so it’s on the mind) but just pure healthy mind.

I’ve been leading a toxic life.  More so over the past couple of years.  I used to be care free and I didn’t care what clothes I wore or what I looked like.  I was perfectly fine being the weirdo I am and embraced it.  Then I went to college.  But I stayed home and commuted there.  I started to gain weight.  Although I was never skinny to begin with, I gained over forty pounds.  I started to compare myself.  Other people were smarter, why didn’t school come so easy for me?  I wasn’t as thin, my hair wasn’t as good,  I was/am terrible at makeup.  Why?  I would get on social media.  People I graduated high school with had new friends, were in sororities, were getting married, going on adventures, and bragging about their great lives.  I tried to convince myself I would have the advantage in a few years.  I would be debt free and because of that I would have a better wedding, go on better adventures, have an all around great life.  But that future reassurance just wasn’t cutting it.  I was getting depressed.  Lashing out at people when they wanted to talk about their lives by using sarcasm and putting them down.

And now, I am ashamed.  Ashamed at how this envy has taken over my life.  I’m scared for my mental and physical well being.  Jay moved to his first phase of training in Florida about a month ago.  It has really gotten to me.  I know I will be there in a few months, but the time is eating away at me.

I have decided to work on my mental health.  A few days ago I stopped checking Facebook as much.  I already feel so much better.  There is nothing to compare because I don’t see anything to compare to.  I have cut negative people out of my life the most I can.  I am slowly starting to forgive people.  This is the hardest for me because I feel I have been wronged by quite a few people.  People who were close to me and I thought were friends.  And now I have to learn how to let go in order to live a healthier, happier life.  I workout five to six days a week and have been incorporating Yoga every other day.

Yoga is not only great for the body, but the soul as well.  I am definitely at peace when I am concentrating on the moves and my breathing.  I know I have a long way to go, but this is just the start of my adventure to living a happier life.

Diet Bet

So for those of you who don’t know, Dietbet is this really cool site where you enter a game with cash and if you lose a certain amount of weight you split the pot with all the other winners!  I have only won once out of the three I have done, but I won $40 where I entered with $25!  So it is a fun way to lose weight if you are competitive and like to win money!

I just entered a new game today for $10.  Hopefully this will get me pushing to lose weight again.  I have kept my 20 pounds off and I’ve done well being active, but I haven’t been trying to lose more.

So they have two types of games: transformer and kickstarter.  The kickstarter is only 4 weeks and you have to lose 4% of your weight.  These are the only ones I have done and at my current weight that requires me to lose about 7 pounds, which is very doable in four weeks.  The transformer is 6 months and to win you need to lose 10% of your weight.  I don’t do these because I seem to go on a trip every couple of months and it is hard to lose weight while traveling.  I also don’t like that commitment! haha

You can also connect fitbit, facebook, twitter, and many other social networks and apps to share your progress.  Go to dietbet.com to try it out!

Living at Home During College

It’s your senior year of high school and you are counting away the days til you get to leave for college.  “I’m almost free!” you think to yourself.

This was me.  This was me 500% if not more.  I was ready for a new friends, new adventures, and a new start.  At first I thought I knew what I wanted.  I was going to go into video production.  I went and toured a college about three hours away from home.  It was like my future was being lit up.  Then I started thinking.  “Is this really what I want?” “Can I actually find a job when I get this degree?”  I didn’t think I would be good at it.  I already wasn’t as good as people who were in my high school production class.  Why would college be any different?

Discouraged and unsure of my future, my parents offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse.  They would pay for all my tuition, fees, and basically all living expenses if I stayed home and went to either the community college or a college I could commute to.  I was devastated.  They continued saying that as long as I did well I didn’t need to worry about getting a job and I would come out debt free.  I chose to commute to a college about an hour away.  I’m not going to lie.  It sucked! I hardly made friends because once the semester was over I didn’t really see them.  Since it was a commuter college, most people had jobs or families.  They weren’t there to meet friends and have fun, they were there for an education.  I saw my high school friends go off and join sororities and make friends.  Even Jay was going out and having fun with friends, given he came home just about every weekend to see me and his family, it still sucked.  I couldn’t have people over because it was my parents’ house and there wasn’t much room.  There are retired and having everyone at home all the time  hurt our relationships.

But here I am 5 years later…yeah 5…and I don’t regret it.  I am coming out debt free which is huge!! In a few months I will have a degree in health that opens up many options.  I still wouldn’t say this was my dream, but sometimes you have to have a plan B then pursue your plan A.

There are a few things I might have done differently.  I wish I got involved at a club or sorority at school to make friends.  I wish I got an actual job instead of babysitting for money.  (Great job, but not for being social.)

If this is your plan, I have a few tips for you.

• Create your own space.  I have a small room which is okay, but after my brother moved out I took half his room and made it into a crafting/study area.  It is so nice to have a place to go and concentrate or just get away and have alone time. I love being social but I love my alone time just as much!
• Join a group.  Join one of any kind.  The point is to get out so your not thinking about how much you’re not doing compared to others.  I have gotten so depressed looking at everyone posting pictures of them traveling or going out for drinks with friends.  Just think your time will come!  Joining a groups helps you meet people.  I did do a few community theater plays which were really fun and also kept me busy.
• Exercise.  It keeps you physically and mentally healthy!  Exercise lowers stress, releases endorphins that make you happy, helps with headaches, improves academic performance, and many more amazing things!

 

OCS Graduation

I know… I am about a month late getting to this!

So in the middle of the December we made the adventure out to Newport, RI to see Jay graduate Officer Candidate School.  We flew out Wednesday, explored and went to Hi Moms on Thursday, and on Friday we went to graduation and flew home in the evening.  We stayed at the Wyndham on Long Wharf because Jay’s parents have a timeshare with Wyndham.  It was a very pleasant place to stay!  They had a clean condo and delightful people.  In fact, everyone we met in Rhode Island was delightful!  I loved that little town.  The condo was right on the harbor, which provided a great view, but there was a sound buoy that kept my mom and I up a night.  In better weather, you could easily walk to places to eat, but the whole town is pretty big to walk it all.  I am so thankful we got a car!  We drove a lot more than we thought and taking a taxi could get really expensive really quick!  Taking one from the base to Providence Airport cost by boyfriend almost $100!  Renting a car was worth it, trust me!  We also were able to see Jay more with it and take his luggage.

Since it was December, we were worried about the weather, but it turned out to be very nice! It did rain a lot, but that is a lot better than snow or ice!  On Thursday we got up early and drove around to see the mansions, very cool!  It was foggy out so the mansions were covered in an eerie mist.  We didn’t go in any, but I definitely recommend driving by and stop to take pictures.  There is also a cliff walk that is cool to do on a sunny day.  It takes you right by the ocean behind the mansions.  Jay had some free time so we were able to go pick him up and drive around base.  He gave us a lowdown on what some of the buildings were and where he did certain things.  We weren’t allowed to go in any of them so we went to the coffee shop on base to sit and chat.  After an hour, we headed back to the condo to get ready for the Hi Mom dinner.

The Hi Mom event was classy.  Everyone was dressed in formal attire.  I wore a black lace dress and Jay had on his dress blues.  FAIR WARNING!!! The event said the doors would open at 5:30pm.  We entered around 5:37pm and everyone had already gotten food and drinks and were sitting down.  There were no more seats so we, and many others, stood in the back to watch the speakers and slideshow.  Also, there were no coat hangers left so I was stuck carrying my jackets, purse, and camera.  To say the least this was not my night!  On top of carrying everything, it was raining and windy when we came in so my hair was a mess, my panty hose were rolling down my legs and had a tear in them.  It was a hectic night, but I enjoyed meeting Jay’s friends, their significant others, and people in charge of Jay.  I am sure glad I splurged and got some super cute and comfortable heels! I had no problem after standing an hour and a half.  After we went out to eat at the Midtown Oyster Bar.  It was expensive and somewhat good.  I got the lobster roll, I wouldn’t get that again.  I guess for the price I wasn’t impressed, but it had a nice environment and it was a quiet place to sit and talk to Jay.

On Friday we went to see Jay graduate.  We got there early, but there was plenty of seating.  We got a seat right were the ensigns sat and got to see him come in.  The lighting was tricky for me, so I didn’t get as good of photos as I hoped.  It was a great ceremony, short and to the point!

Over all it was a great trip!  I loved the base and the town.  Flight school does not start til mid February, so Jay was fortunate enough to come home and work for the recruiter until then.  It is so nice having him around.  I will say it took a few days for him to get back to civilian habits and not be so serious.  It will take sometime to readjust.  I remember when we were at Newport and at home he would click his heel when he stopped walking.  Its kind of funny!

Ebates

I may have mentioned Ebates before, but that is because it is awesome!!!  They offer so many stores where you can get a percentage back!  I’ve made at least $10 just for my Christmas shopping.  The bigger your purchase, the more cash back you receive!

When I bought my new computer, I made sure to use this and got $25 dollars back! Not too shabby!

Here is a link to check it out!  It’s free and you can sign up with Facebook or another account, or make one with an email!

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=bq5JAl1aX6uN4Gh7a2oXZg%3D%3D&eeid=28187

Thanksgiving and Week 9

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! Mine was pretty great, I have a lot to be thankful for!

Luckily for Jay, Thanksgiving fell on week 9.  So he got his cell phone back Monday, his CandiO box on Tuesday, and he got Thursday and Friday off to go out to eat and explore Newport, RI!  The CandiO box made it in decent shape.  A few of the stickers in his name moved around despite gluing them with Modpodge.  I don’t think it would have happened if I had them in a different place or I would have gotten normal flat stickers instead of the thick letters.  Oh well, most importantly he got his goodies and he knows were thinking about him!

He got to go bowling on Saturday and then the new class they are in charge of came in on Sunday.  He is going to be super busy these last few weeks.  Only 17 days until he officially becomes an Officer!  I can’t wait to fly out and see him graduate.  These last two months have been hard, but also kinda easy.  See I lived at home during college and he lived on campus so I was use to only seeing him only on the weekends, if that.  I know it will be much harder when it is just me at home while he is deployed, but this time without him has shown me how much strength I never knew I had.  I thought I would be sad all the time and cry a lot, but I only cried about three times.  The key is to keep busy and stay around people.  My parents were with me so I never really got lovely like a lot of spouses/girlfriends do.  We will see how it goes when I am in a different living situation.

A New Career Outlook

Lately, I have been so worried about being swept up into the Navy lifestyle and just being known as a “Navy Wife”.  This scares me.  I am so proud of what he has accomplished so far, but I want people to look at me as successful as well.  More importantly, I want to see myself successful.

I have one semester left before I receive my degree in Health Science with a focus on Rehabilitation and Disabilities.  Before Jay even decided to go into the military, I was stressing myself out deciding what career to do.  With this degree there are so many options.  I didn’t know if I wanted to be on the administrative and business side of healthcare or actually work with the patients.

I have decided to become an Occupational Therapist.  I’ve had this on my mind for a long time and with Jay  in the military, it gave me the final push.  I am so happy with my decision!  Now I just need to get into a program! Haha

Occupational Therapists help people with disabilities, who have an injury, or who just need a little help doing tasks for everyday life.  I always have trouble explaining it, but an example is if someone would have a stroke and have trouble buttoning their shirt, they would come in and we would help them re-learn how to button it by using assistive devices and different movements.

What gave me the final push was thinking what kind of job can I do while moving around a lot while still making a decent income.  Healthcare is always a top job that you can move around with, but when you don’t work with patients it is harder to find as many jobs.  There are so many positions for OTs available anywhere, even on base.  If I opted to, I could even join the navy as well and work as an OT with them.  So many options!  It is a job that you know you are making a difference in someone’s life.

The plan is to wait until Jay knows where he will be the longest and apply to schools there.  Given I won’t wait too much longer, but hopefully everything goes as planned!  I am so excited for this new direction in my life!  Thanks for reading and God bless!

CandiO Box!

After week 8 the once Officer Candidates turn into Candidate Officers.  This is for their last part of training where they become in charge of the incoming class.  During week 9 and ONLY WEEK 9, they can receive something called a CandiO Box. CANDIdate Officer, get it? Plus it probably contains candy so its a play on words.  It is a way for the Candidate Officers to celebrate their achievements plus get some goodies they have lived without.

I don’t know what the maximum size box can be or how many they can receive for sure.  From what I have heard they can receive more than one, but if you get a good sized box they really only need one.  Plus by this point they only have a few weeks left and can go to the exchange if they want anything.  The exchange is like a store on base.

I found it best to get the large flat rate box from USPS.  It is 12 x 12 x 5.5 inches and can weigh up to 70 pounds and still only cost $15 to ship.  It was plenty big enough to put a lot of goodies in.

The best part is getting to decorate.  I blocked out J’s name because one, he doesn’t like to be talked about a lot, and two, his safety.  Who knows what he could be doing down the road.  I don’t want his name easily searched.

I decorated it and his parents and brother filled it with goodies.  Micheals Craft store has individual scrap book paper that fits perfectly on the sides and in the bottom.  I put little notes inside the envelopes too!  It takes about two days to get there with this box.  They will hold the box if it gets there early as long as you mark candio box on the outside.  Electronics can go in too.  We sent a pair of headsets in case he wants to listen to music.

20 Pound Weight Loss!!!

From the time I could remember, I have always been a little chunky.  I was always pretty active in sports throughout school so I was never super overweight, but I still had a belly.  I was slowly and steadily gaining weight.  I picked up unhealthy habits by going out to eat with my friends.  It was always Taco Bell Tuesday for my choir friends.  So by the time I graduated high school, I was a good 20 pounds over weight.

But it didn’t stop there…

When I started going to college, I found a new freedom.  A freedom of having money and being able to go eat wherever and whenever I wanted.  I commuted to campus so I would drive between classes and go get a large coke and fries or a full on meal at a fast food joint.  I love fast food…hell I still do!  It was bad.  And I didn’t even realize it.  Most of my life I never used a scale, until I had to keep going up in pant sizes.  I’ll admit.  I kept my denial going.  I didn’t FEEL fat.  I didn’t even SEE it in the MIRROR!  My parents, who I lived with, started to casually bring it up to make me aware.  Each time I got more mad.  How mean could they be to always bring up my weight or tell me not to eat something!?  I HATED them for it.

Jay had even brought it up once.  He said he didn’t want to make me mad that he was worried about me.  He said he was less attracted to me because of my weight gain.  My parents would force me to work out.  (I know your thinking how could they do that.)  Well they did it.  They said I had to come to the park and walk with them or they would drag me there themselves.  They had lost weight themselves, over and over again.  You could see how angry I was, here were these people who didn’t care for my feelings and weren’t the best inspiration for weight loss since they kept gaining it back.

I told myself I would NEVER go over 200 pounds.  Last year I took a trip to Washington, D.C. with my boyfriend to see my brother.  I took many pictures of the monuments.  The few pictures I had of me I was disgusted of.  When did I get like that?  I can’t be THAT fat, can I?  When I got home, I weighed myself.  There it was.  A few pounds over 200.  What?  How?  How could I go from this active relatively skinny athlete to this giant whale?!

That was it.  On top of that I got a kidney stone.  I finally hit my lowest point.  I had to do something.  The extra 60+ pounds I was carrying began to effect my health.  I started getting more into walking and joined a Zumba class at a local church with my mom.  10 pounds melted off fast!  I was like, this is so easy!  Then I got stuck.  I wasn’t losing as fast.  I wasn’t watching my diet.  Then our instructor decided to quit Zumba.  We were upset, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.  I ended up getting a gallstone and had to have surgery.  Why am I still having health problems when I’m trying to be so healthy!?  Well this stone had been there for a long time and it just decided to act up now.  Well, this was another good push!  I started counting my calories and doing better workouts.  I still walk, but I also do weight exercises and more intense cardio.  I mix in Jillian Micheal’s 30 day shred.  I love it, it is a great workout for only 30 minutes.

So here I am a year later.  20 pounds lighter and still going.  It took a long time, but I’m better off than I was a year ago!  Only like 40 more to go! haha

My tips for weightloss:

Do strength exercises!  This increases your resting metabolic rate! So you burn more calories while just sitting there!  Also, the days you do it you are slightly tearing the muscle to build more and that burns more calories to repair.

Don’t eat a few hours before bed!  Man has this helped me!  If you are super hungry eat a few almonds or vegetable and drink a ton of water.  If you go to bed full, your body has to burn that food before going into your fat storage.

Drink LOTS of water!  It keeps you full, replenished, and looking great!  I mean you are made up of 70% water!  It also helps flush those toxins that can keep weight on you!  A good rule of thumb is to drink half your weight in ounces.

Try to work out at least 4 times a week and mix up what you do! Too much Zumba can make you sick of the songs.  Switch it up and go for a walk/jog or a kickboxing class.  Make it fun! Once you start enjoying working out you will want to keep doing it!  Trust me, I went from being dragged to working out to craving it!