Just a little life update…

   
   

300+ days….and overjoyed!:)

Sorry it has been ridiculously long since my last post…life got so busy and hectic between my new job and my husband finally coming home that I barely have had time to think!

The biggest update of course is…

I am so ecstatically happy to have him home and safe! And so are the puppies…

Other than that’s it’s been work, life, workouts, and yoga all nonstop!

It’s a good life:)

Days 272-288…a whirlwind of exciting things!:)

 

I have been so out of the loop recently because life has been one big crazy wonderful whirlwind! Ending my grad school and assistantship and internship phases of life, getting rid of some toxic people in my life, a mini vacation, and starting a new job!

So let’s recap through pictures!

Lots of fun hiking adventures with the pups…as always!  On this day, a random dog offleash ran up to us and Chloe monster head butted him with her muzzle on…she was pretty mad someone tried to interrupt her walk!

On my last day at my assistantship, one of the supervisors gave me the prettiest rose bush!:)  I felt the love!

I was so lucky to have so many friends come and visit me throughout my vacation!  A full house!

Which included a fun girls’ beach weekend trip!:)  Just what I needed to destress after 2 years of grad school!

…and yoga on the beach is always needed…

Unfortunately, I had to kick out my roommate this month.  I tried to give her a chance to get her life together despite some tricky circumstances… let her live with me rent free for the year, was nice to her, tried to really help her out….then found out she was spreading lies about me, compulsively lying about many things, possibly wanted to break up my marriage and other nasty things.  I am generally very understanding, but REALLY?  That’s a little too much for me.  So I made the decision to cut her out of my life completely.  No hard feelings (or at least I’m trying to be all zen and harbor no bad feelings!), but bye-bye!

AMEN!

I’ve been thinking about getting a few tattoos since I’ve always wanted one and never gotten around to it…. I really want the sanskrit script for the yoga sutra 1.33… maybe on my shoulder? And I want to get “HOPE” possibly with a bird outline on my rib.  Also I’ve always loved the shakespeare quote “love all, trust few, do wrong to none”…maybe another rib idea?  I am really bad at making final decisions!

With all the guests this week, the pups had a FIELD DAY!

So many hiking adventures on my week off!

And I got two more rooms painted!  Brought a fresh clean new energy to the room I had been “renting out”…made it a happy and inviting place!

The pups helped by howling the whole time I was on vacation…

I took an old ugly pink lamp from the 60s and spray painted it more modern looking!

Am I on vacation or are THEY on vacation?

I also painted my husband’s future “man cave” room!  So much brighter and serene!  Just ONE MORE ROOM to paint before I can officially say I repainted the ENTIRE HOUSE while my husband was deployed!!!!  Feeling accomplished!

Been trying to keep up with my workouts and am feeling really strong and awesome!  I officially threw out the scale last month and have been focusing primarily on being and feeling healthy and strong!  Best decision ever!!!

I LOVE spring time and flowers!

More awesome hikes are always a plus!

And a nice day full of painting!

Literally I love being a crazy hippie who sits in the grass and paints!  I could do it all day!

I also took advantage of the nice days to go for a few nice runs!  This part of the bike path was nice, but I did accidentally find some not so savory parts of town on my run this day…I turned it into a speed workout!

So much fun laying out in the sun with my babies!

We found the most beautiful hiking spot on an old farm when my friend and I went for a hike.  I cant even begin to describe how incredible this field of flowers smelled!  It was like heaven!

I am obsessed with my crazy new yoga pants!  How were these on sale at TJ Maxx?  Did no one else see how awesome they were?

Yes, that is just THREE paper chains left until it is JUNE!  I am in disbelief!  Still no exact dates for hubby to come home, but it’s almost the MONTH that he will be here!

Me hiding in the corner with my secret drinking problem, since apparently there was a roommate rumor that I was an alcoholic…because yes, an alcoholic can totally carry a job and a 3.95 GPA in grad school…dear lord…

Three of our close friends came to help me complete my happy birthday/homecoming surprise for hubby!  A brand new floor and bedset!  It’s a whole new bedroom!  Goodbye to asbestos blue floor tiles and tropical sheets from college dorm days!

I started my NEW JOB as a mental health home based clinician on Monday!!!!  What a super hectic week as I got thrown right into everything!  With my mental health background I am happy to feel slightly at ease with a lot of the situations and paperwork, etc….but this is now a MASTERS level job and I’m definitely feeling exhausted after the first week!  Even though it’s Friday, I still have a 430 intake appointment coming up before it’s officially the weekend!  And thank goodness its a three day weekend for Memorial day!

I think my iphone wants to kill me….this is totally NOT what I asked Siri to remind me of, but somehow she came up with it herself…scary…

After work, I’ve been trying to hike the dogs since they arent used to being alone all day…look at that smile!  I think she appreciated it!

And just another reason I love my silly husband…he decided he wants to learn to play DRUMS when he comes home…so I come home from work to find a DRUM SET DELIVERED TO OUR HOUSE!  Hahaha…I dont even have words, but I’m excited for him to become world famous.

Update…blue dress!

The blue homecoming dress option…

Days 263-271…one more month!!!!!!

 

In less than ONE MONTH it will be JUNE and that is when my husband is coming home!!!!  It’s such a weird feeling, so close yet still far away…especially because we of course don’t have an exact date yet.  It’s so many weird feelings all at once.  I am finishing up grad school and ending my job of two years this Friday, then a week vacation, then my NEW JOB starts May 20th!!!  Of course all of these things are HUGE but it seems all I can think about is homecoming.  Being married to the military is the darndest thing.  We are also in that weird communication phase where we really have nothing to talk about.  He is so done with being there, I am so over him being over there, and I get stuck in the trap of complaining about things breaking around the house, etc.  I feel bad that our Sunday night phone call was so blahhh.  Oh well, staying positive, focusing on the small goals.  So much change and so many crazy things going on in the next month!  I’m excited/stressed/anxious/freakingout/strangelycalm at the same time!

Well, onto a recap of my last week or so… of course lots of relaxing hiking with the pups…but not as much as I would have liked, because it was actually too hot to hike some of the days! 

And I’m trying to decide on a homecoming dress!!!!

Blah…I’m too lazy to re-upload the pretty blue one that should have shown up HERE…but if you squint really hard it’s the one in between these two dresses in the pictures haha…it’s a shame toobecause the blue one is the one I’m really leaning towards!  Maybe I’ll have time next week to get a picture of me in each one to help decide…

 

I absolutely am obsessed with my dogs, and I am okay with that.

The grape vine is BLOOMING!  So cool.  I love spring time!

Our tractor broke, so I bought a nice eco-friendly lawn mower!  Took me three days to get the lawn done with a push mower, but I dont care what hubby says, I prefer a nice quiet electic lawn mower to a crazy gas guzzling power tool any day!

 

 

 

Little monster had tons of fun tanning with me all week!  She is TOTALLY addicted to the sun like her mama!

Tug of war with an old piece of fabric is more fun than all of their expensive toys…

“I steal your blanket!”

We found a great place to hike and of course had a photoshoot!

Country girls hike perfectly fine in flip flops!

Trying out some fun yoga on the rocks!

I DIDNT kill the plant like I thought I did!  It’s BLOOMING!  It’s ALIVE!  I’m sooooo happy!

And of course since they both had baths yesterday, they had to roll around in the dirt all morning…but they are cute so it’s ok…

Days 252-262…milestones!

So much has been going on!  Some HUGE milestones that I have been waiting for, as they are huge indicators that June is on it’s way and my hubby will soon be home where he belongs!  End of internship, finals for grad school, my half marathon, among other things…so busy yet a really happy kind of busy!

First I need to share this awesome mini path we found to a local beach.  My friend Tim came to visit and we decided to go to a seafood place a town over that my husband loves.  Now when hubby is home, he is way too excited for food to bother going for a walk around the town, so we have never found this awesome path before!  Excited to show him when he gets back!

My internship has drawn to a close!  300 hours in one year DONE!  I know 300 doesn’t sound like a lot, but when they are 300 unpaid hours that you are fitting in along with 2 parttime jobs and a fulltime grad class schedule, plus a deployed husband, it’s definitely a big chunk of time! 

My last day outfit…

The gifts I made for my supervisors…

The nice flowers my supervisor gave me:)

The weather has been fabulous and the puppies have enjoyed MANY hikes lately…gotta love the springtime!

In honor of earth day, I busted out one of my favorite qyotes from one of my favorite books…I would love to get this as a tattoo someday…

Or this…. can’t decide…maybe I’ll get both…

Been keeping up with eating healthy, mainly because I eat the same thing every single day…an example of my tuna burger and broccoli lunches…

I’ve started adding dinner into my routine…trying to get an extra serving of protein and veggies into my diet, especially on days I work out extra hard…

I saw this shirt on tumblr and I WANT IT!

 

Another hiking picture…just because it’s been a huge part of my week…

I think this is one of the greatest pictures ever….as soon as a lay out my blanket to tan, the little monster wants to join me…just as I went to take a picture of her she yawned and she looks like a total monster with her mouth open haha!

Little boy enjoyed the sun as well!

Really ramped up my training for my race…and I’m getting my awesome running legs back!!  Love feeling strong and fit!

 

I’ve been trying to master fallen angel pose in yoga…it’s not perfect but I’m getting there:)

THE COUNTDOWN IS GETTING SHORTER!!!!!! (this countdown is in no way accurate for actual homecoming dates….we only know he is coming home in June, so I have the countdown for June 1st…no security violations here!)

Another hike…this time to the giant field of sand dunes!

MY idea of a perfect day…puppies, sun, and a giant mug of tea!

Yesterday was my long awaited half marathon!!!  A beautiful early start at the beach!

 

Luckily my sister is law is smart and brought an extra long sleeve shirt…I wouldve been FREEZING waiting around in my tank top!

My old roommate came to run with us!  Note her post-race carbo fest…muffin and pizza haha!

I ran with my Pro Compression socks and OH MY GOD…not a single blister!!!!!!!!!!!!  Also my feet didn’t go numb…and my legs are SOOO not sore!  I am in LOVE with these things!!!!!!!

It’s SPRING! THERE ARE TULIPS IN MY YARD!!!!  I love spring, if you couldn’t tell:)

 

 

Look how short that paper chain is getting!  Remember when it went to both sides of the mirror and then over to the lamp!?!  So close!!!!!

And like a true nerd…had to wear my race tshirt to work today:)

Days 244-251…more random updates…

 

Can we tell it’s getting to be that time?  Even though it’s still far away in some regards, it’s also seeming more and more close….meaning it’s been harder and harder to concentrate and keep a train of thought.  My husband is coming home in roughly two months and I am too excited to sit still!  Maybe getting back into this blog, which helped keep me sane at the beginning of the deployment, will keep me sane for the end of it as well! 

Let’s start by introducing what I thought was a GREAT Yoga Journal article, by Coral Brown, a teacher right here in RI!  It is about strengthening your core, but she comes from the stance of your physical, emotional, and spiritual core…I really liked her paralels to strength and acceptance rather than the mainstream “Get a 6-pack now!” type articles in most fitness magazines.  Cool stuff, check it out!

I taught a fair bit of yoga the last two weeks…always the anchor that keeps me grounded!

I am super psyched to be feeling healthy and STRONG again, finally!  My muscles are back , I feel energized, able, and so happy and confident in my body again.  I credit so much of this with yoga.  Running has definitely been a huge factor, with getting my legs and energy levels and strength back, however yoga has been the biggest change in my life this year…teaching 4-5 times a week plus my own practice….my arms are stronger and more jacked than when I used to lift every other day.  I never realized the power of body weight exercises like chataranga and crow until now!  Love feeling strong and seeing new progress every week!

Sunny weather means lots of hiking for the puppies this week! (Also it was school vacation so I didnt have internship for five whole days!!)

 

 

I made them pose for a few pictures, they weren’t too amused haha.

By the end of the week, Chlo-chlo was EXHAUSTED, so she took a nice nap in the sun… MOST EPIC PICTURE EVER…

Every send some prayers out for our little foster pup who my mom adopted…he was attacked by a dog out on a walk and has a few puncture wounds:(  He is healing well, but it is such a shame that the other owner was so irresponsible…police are investigating and it looks like the owner may be charged with cruelty to the dog, which makes sense because dogs aren’t just vicious for no reason.  Sad situation, but I am glad he is feeling good…sending good vibes his way!

We went for a wonderful hike this weekend…well actually two…one to tire the dogs out, then another one to find this awesome view and climb some fun cliffs!  Of course I had to do yoga on every boulder…

 

And who can see a bridge without DOING a bridge on it?  Not this girl…

I also used my mornings off to finish painting the living room!  Yay for happy bright colors every where!

And…..surprise!  More hikes at my favorite place!!!  These sand dunes make me feel like I’m living the dream out West, so that’s what I pretend whenever I’m hiking there…

Poor pups were tired after all of my hiking adventures this week…they say “Ok, you can go back to internship now!”

 

I LOVE this mix on 8tracks…so perfect for this upbeat sunny weather we’ve been having!

We finally have a working LIGHT in our bedroom!  Since we’ve moved in we’ve relied on awkwardly placed lamps that have resulted in lots of stubbed toes…now let there be light!!  Next project before hubby comes home is a nice dark wood floor install and then our new bed comforter set…I think the dark browns will make the lavendar walls look less tacky..it didn’t look as ‘purple’ in the sample…

On a side note, this just about summed up my week….I made SO many cookies!

Took the pups for another hike today…then we got kicked out because apparently the air force uses the area to practice air drops of supplies on random days…super safe!  Haha.  I decided to go for a 4 mile run, which for some reason was a struggle…need to take some time off so I am all rested up for the half marathon….which is in less than two weeks!!!!  It snuck up on me fast, and my longest run has been less than 6.5miles…it’s gonna be rough…

On a side note, when I flipped to the back of YJ today, I saw this….how…is…this…even…possible….???? 

Days 240-243…slacking off! (but not really)

I’ve been slacking off on the technology front!  But only because everything else has been such a whirlwind…finding out I got my new job and will start in May, figuring out how I’m going to fit in my last summer class, taking over for my boss when she left on maternity leave, juggling classes and portfolio work and finishing up my internship hours (only three left!!!), keeping in touch with hubby and realizing how soon he’ll be home, and lots of house projects!!!  And of course tons of quality time with my kids, aka the doggies  

Let’s start out with a gratuitous shot of the pretty new shirt my aunt bought me on my way out the door with tons of caffeine for internship…

I got a super creepy letter in the mail…

Really “Greg”?! WTF?!?  I looked this creeper up and apparently he is a RI contractor or something so maybe he just tries to do real estate in a super unprofessional way?  Either way, a handwritten note seems pretty creepy Lifetime movie stalker of the week to me, so I was a litle freaked out for a while…

The dogs did plenty of weird silly things over the last few weeks…

We are all SO glad it is finally nice out!!!  Tanning in the yard was a must!

I got a new pair of Nike Airs…my favorite!  Well, a new old pair…these were an ebay find:)  And no, I’m not gross, I wash all the shoes I buy on there so it’s technically just me being a cheap broke grad student…

Stairs are DONE!  These stairs have been an eye sore since we moved in…first with the puke green carpet, then with the mismatched scuffed paint and old carpet nails.  I finally had the time and patience to paint them to a beautiful welcoming entryway:)

Looks like real wood!  Dont tell anyone I was super lazy and just picked a nice dark brown paint to look like wood. 

Chloe got a bath…

Puppies napped multiple times…

Days 229-239…When it rains it pours! Oh April showers!

There has been wayyyy too much going on lately for me to keep up with daily blogging!  I’ll just fill in on the highlights of the ten day span that life got hectic!

First, my lovely husband sent me this fraken-box full of awesome gifts from faraway lands…

Neat painitngs, scarves, a little lapis lazuli lion, another bracelet…I’m one lucky girl!!!

I have been inspired by some positive and calming quotes the last few weeks…I loved this piece of art I saw online…I kind of want it as a painting in my house!

I’ve been keeping up with my training to some extent…no super long runs, but a nice jaunt in the woods down to the water was a pleasant 4 mile loop.

Following my run, I enjoyed some coconut blueberry yogurt and homemade granola!

I really am enjoying my little ‘altar’ in my room…peaceful pictures, my little buddha statue, and nice candles…helps me relax before bed!

Homemade granola oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are the BEST invention.  Don’t judge me for making them the size of a small plate…

The weather is getting SO nice…hiking with the puppies is becoming a much more regular occurence!

And the crocuses have started to come up!!!

I had a few yardwork days, including starting a bonfire to burn off some scrap wood we had laying around!

The pups indulged me with some photoshoots, as usual.

 

Trying to get Chloe to pose for a cute picture…she said NO I WANT TO BITE YOUR HANDS!!!!

Saturday I went for a nice long run at a new park near Providence (well new to me!)  I dont know how I’ve lived here so long and never found this place before!!!!  So cool!

There were swans!!!

Well…it’s almost half way to the distance I’ll need by April 28th…this isn’t going to be my best half marathon ever, but I’m glad that I am still commiting to just get through it.  I think it’ll be a good motivator to keep up my training, and also such a great milestone to get me to May and graduation!

 

PS I love how McDonald’s advertises on the mapmyrun app…REALLY?! 

I am obsessed with my ProCompression socks!  wore these after my long run the other weekend and they are AMAZING.

More puppy spring weather photoshoots of course happened after my run!

Later on both dogs decided they HAD to sleep on my lap…no one at a time crap, both needed lap time RIGHT NOW!  Oh, pathetic attention hungry pups…

 

 

We enjoyed yet another hike at the sand dunes…love this place!

I absolutely love collecting little positive affirmations, especially regarding healthy body image…I found this gem on tumblr the other day and had to share…  I love this message, I have recently stopped weighing myself.  I am still focusing on eating healthy and working out every day, but I realized I was placing way too much importance on the number on the scale and for no reason.  No matter what I did, I couldn’t get the numbers I wanted, and it seemed the only time they changed was when I wasn’t even trying.  I decided it was time to put away the scale and just focus on how I feel and how I look.  I would rather be strong and healthy and doing all the things I love than be at a lower weight and be tired, miserable, and obsessive. 

My mom and aunt visited and brought up our little foster who they adopted…three amigos back together for the weekend!

Ultimate doggie fighting matches ensued lol…

We tried to relearn some basic obedience, but my mom has definitely spoiled him!

Many yoga adventures were had…and I got a new yoga shirt!  Time to play around with some balances!

 

 

 

Kindle decided that since he is big and strong now, he would play with a TREE BRANCH.

The deployment paper chain gets shorter and shorter…I feel like I’m climbing the walls!  It is so close yet so far away…I am just restless and a mess right now!  I know I need to focus on the small landmarks along the way…the half marathon, graduation, my new job, etc…but it’s hard to not just fixated on that homecoming day!!!!

Just for fun, a crazy chloe picture…

I decided to plant some flowers when I got out early from my internship…a new rose bush, azaleas, and some lavender!!

I’m hoping since they are hardy plants, I can keep them alive…I’m not the best at the whole gardening thing haha.

My big project has been redoing our stairway…phase one complete…check back for phase two!

It was in the 70s this week!!!!!!  Tanning on a blanket was a must!

And of course the epic Jack joined me…in all his epicness…

Days 222-228…everything is falling into place!

 

Once again, I have fallen almost a week behind on updates, but life has been hectic lately!  It’s like everything is falling into place at once the last few days!

Our new center beam is finally finished!  The living room is still in disarray, but it’s just good to know that the house is now safe! A fresh coat of paint and some creative furniture rearranging and we’ll be as good as new!

On a side note, our little monster dog ate the cage off of my spin bike pedal!  Evil! Her master plan for my workouts to all revolve around walking her…

My new obsession is looking up crazy awesome yoga poses I want to learn on tumblr and pinterest….some of my new favorite obsessions…

 

 

The pups love having their couch back!  Giant snuggle party as soon as the living room was free and clear!

I had a great weekend full of teaching yoga and meeting up with old friends!  And on Sunday I was able to meet up with an awesome yoga student/friend of mine for coffee to discuss an interview she had helped me set up at her workplace!  It was great and I’m really looking forward to it!

While at Whole Foods, I picked up some herbs that I’ve been reading about for helping with chronic allergies/autoimmune issues…I’ve only been taking them about a week, but wow, they really do seem to be helping!  I have read some awesome articles lately on how inflamation is the root cause of so many issues, especially in those with immune system problems!  (Kris Carr wrote another great article on this just this week you should check it out!)  The quercetin and tumeric are great antiinflammatories and the ashwagandha is an adaptogen, meaning it helps your immune system react to stress.

I’ve also started a new book by the Dalai Llama…I love books on Buddhist meditation if you cant tell…

Now, realistically I shouldn’t finish this book until the summer because I have about 6 other books I SHOULD be reading for school…..

Hubby sent an awesome handmade rug home and the dogs ADORE it….so of course we had a photo shoot…

I had such a puppy-tastic week!  The weather is finally getting nicer and we took full advantage with many fun yard play dates and hikes!

Chloe don’t take no trouble from no body!

Jack biting Chloe’s head…no big deal…

A wonderful view!

Posing with monster dog!

Yesterday was my first big interview of the week!  I am kind of torn because in an hour I will have my second big interview.  Both jobs are really similar…clinician jobs in the human services field.  One is dealing with foster kids and foster families, which has always been my area of focus and most interest…but it has a higher caseload and lots of responsibilties.  Job two is much more therapy focused and I would be specializing in MST therapy in home, which deals with kids at severe risk for placements.  It seems like parts of it would be more intense and clinical, however its a smaller caseload.  Both jobs pay the same and both have really interesting aspects to them.  Obviously I don’t know if I’ll get offered one or both or neither so I’m trying not to over-stress.  However, in the event I was offered both I really don’t know which one I’d take!

Anyway, here’s my pretty dress…I feel so professional!  I never get to dress up with my usual jobs so I felt super pretty and fancy the last two days!

And finally…my best friend sent me this hysterical ‘reasons to eat healthy’ picture last night….EPIC.