Motivation, Dedication, & Work!

Motivation comes in all different shapes and sizes, just like us. But where does it come from?! 

Everyone has different things that motivate them.. For some they look at pictures of themselves and decide "That's it! I'm going to change!", some listen to music, some look up motivational quotes, some look at pictures of others that motivate them, some workout with others to keep them accountable, and some motivate others and in turn it helps keep themselves going. Whatever works for you, USE IT! Motivation comes and goes, some days are harder then others..  

Everyone has lazy days! There are going to be the days when you don't feel like getting ready and driving to the gym. Those are the days that are the most important that you get yourself there! I promise, you will walk out thanking yourself and feeling proud because you did it! 

It's easy to get discouraged especially when you are a visual person like me. I want to SEE results ASAP, when I don't see results when I think I should I get disappointed & discouraged.. I have a bad relationship with a little thing called the scale! About a month after I started my "transformation" I figured hey I'll jump on the scale and see progress.. I was sadly disappointed, I only lost a pound. I was so bummed out, I vented to my husband and he said "Babe, it's only been a month.. You need to give yourself more time and STOP weighing yourself!" 

After seeing that ^ picture, I thought you know what.. yeah it was only 1 pound but its GONE! I decided to be happy with it, after all I did make some progress toward my goal! 

I have been serious about my transformation for about four months now.. all together I've lost 13 pounds and 10ish inches from all over my body. I'm have not reached my goal yet, but I am determined to get there so I can say I DID IT!! 

NEVER EVER give up on yourself! You deserve nothing but the best and you can achieve your goals! Yes, it takes time. You didn't put the weight on overnight so why would it come off overnight? (It'd be nice if it would! lol) Anything worth having takes motivation, dedication, and work!  

Only 4 Months Left... YIKES!!

I can't believe it, our life as we know it is about to change drastically! I am scared shitless to say the least.. Excited, but scared! Our Army Life (I say "Our" because everyone's experience in the Military is different) has lasted 8ish years & for the most part it has treated us pretty good! I will hold every memory very close to my heart.. even the ones that have threatened to break it. 

I have mixed feelings about moving on, I can't imagine myself not being an Army Wife.. It's all I know really. I've been an Army Wife since I was 20, I grew up with the title and it's crazy to think I won't be one anymore. The last 8 years has changed me & molded me into the person I am today. It has made me stronger & wiser. If you would've asked me 10 years ago if I'd be able to handle multiple deployments, move all over the country with 3 kids & take on all the curve balls that life throws at me along the way... I would've said Hell NO! There's a saying "It always seems impossible until it's done!" And that's exactly how I would describe my life and the many things that I have dealt with as an Army Wife!

I've done SO many things in the last 8 years that I never thought I'd do in my life! lol 

- Put up Mini-Blinds.. By Myself! (that's hard! lol)

- Moved My Family During Each Deployment (3 times without my Husband).

- Cleared Multiple Houses.

- Changed out the cord on the back of my dryer.. Twice. (Thanks Dad for helping me over the phone!)

- Ran all over Post to do JPPSO Paperwork & Finance Paperwork.

- Took care of the Kids by myself for a year (sometimes longer) at a time (Shout out to all the single parents! My hat goes off to you!!).

There's more, I know there is but this is what I could think of off the top of my head.. Oh yeah one more thing.. If you hear a baby crying in a store, instead of judging the parent & saying "ugh, I wish they would shut their kid up" or "if that was my child I would beat him" (the second thing has been said about my child by a stranger in front of me.. shit didn't go well!) put yourself in their shoes for just ONE second! Maybe they have no one to help them with their kids and they just need to get a few things from the store.. People need things even if their kid is screaming! And it's not like they left the house thinking "Ahh, I have a great idea! I'm gonna take the kids to the store and have them scream the whole time I'm trying to shop!" 

There have been many times that we've talked about getting out and moving home.. All of those times we've reenlisted and stayed in the Army. This time is very different from the last couple times. The first reenlistment it was that bonus that got us.. always remember, THE MONEY ISNT WORTH IT! LoL The second reenlistment Fort Carson was FINALLY open so we jumped on that like the bandwagon was going to leave us if we didn't! Don't get me wrong, I am SO happy we jumped on the bandwagon.. I LOVE COLORADO!! The sign coming into Fort Carson says "Best HomeTown in the Army" & that is not a lie folks! ;) This time, I believe we're finally ready to step away.. We are ready for the next chapter in our lives!

I believe we didn't get out any of those times because we weren't ready, we still had growing up to do and lesson's to learn. I always knew that my husband was my best friend, but being away from home and only having each other made our bond even stronger.. & I love him to death! Over the years I've learned many things, seen many places (that I wouldn't have seen if it wasn't for the Army), & met so many great people! I've met some of my best friends being an Army Wife & the bond that we have will never and could never be broken!

Getting out of the Army is a lot like going into the Army.. You don't really know what to expect, you don't know how things are going to be or how they're going to turn out.. You just know that God has a plan. With that being said... Bring on the Next Chapter, Here We Come Wisconsin! :)

Setting Goals..

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." -Muhammad Ali 

Goal setting is an important thing in life, and it’s also something I’m not very good at doing. Well, I should say I'm good at setting goals, but I often give up before I reach them. I’m the type of person that is pretty quick to give up if I’m not good at something or if I think it’s going to be “too hard” for me I’m over it really quick! This is one of my downfalls as a person. I wish I wasn’t like that, I often need to get pushed & encouraged but if I get pushed too hard then I think “hmm, yeah no I’m not doing that because you’re getting on my nerves”.. I’m stubborn, to say the least!

Through the years, I’ve looked at other women and thought “oh my gosh, she’s hot.. I wish I looked like her!” or “wow, look at her body.. I wish I looked like her!” You know how girls are, they’re always comparing themselves to others that in their eyes are "better" then them & it often results in feeling bad about yourself. This is one thing that me as a person is trying to overcome for me.. I’m sick of comparing, I’m tired of making myself feel like I’m not pretty enough, I just want to love what I see in the mirror.. That’s it! The only person that can help me, is me! I don’t want to be Skinny.. I want to be Fit & Healthy!

One thing I’ve learned is that if you make your goals public, you feel more accountable.. So in this blog that’s exactly what I am doing! I’m sharing my goals with you to make me accountable for me! One of my goals that I have made within the last year that I actually have met is making it to the top of the Manitou Incline! This one was a huge one for me, I actually went for the third time this weekend & beat my time from last weekend! Woot Woot! J

Alrighty, onto My Fitness Goals!

Short Term Goals

1.   Eat Clean! I’m good with this one 3 out of 4 weeks in the month! The 4^th week all I want is chocolate! lol

2.   Continue to do my weekly routine at the Gym.

3.   To up my weights every week.

4.   Push myself daily to get the most out of my workouts.

5.   Instead of weighing myself, look in the mirror and see the progress I’ve made & be happy with myself & what I’m doing!

Long Term Goals

1.   I want to be a Runner! I want to be able to run at least a 5k without stopping!

2.   I want to have lean, sexy muscles!

3.  I want to be a fitness role model for other women!

4.  I want to be fit & healthy!

5.  I want to finish all 3 phases (currently on phase 1 week 3) of Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Program!

6.  To be a CrossFit Girl!

Everyone sees beauty in a different way, as long as you see yourself as beautiful and are comfortable in your own skin I believe you hold your head a little higher and strut a little sexier! Be the best You that You can be! Set goals no matter how small & go for them! XoXo

What is STRONG?!

There are so many quotes out there about being STRONG.. but, what is it?! What makes a person STRONG? Muscles, Willpower, Confidence, Being High on the Corporate Ladder, Being Successful, Being a SAHP (Stay at Home Parent), Running your own Business.. How would you define STRONG?!


There isn't any right or wrong answer.. I believe everyone has their own STRONG! There are many journeys that shape us into the person we become.. Some bad, Some good.. They're all lesson's that we learn from. As most of you know, I am an Army Wife (& very proud of it!).. We have been through 3 deployments in the last 8 years. For me, this is a part of my STRONG! Being an Army Wife has given me a confidence & self assurance that I never would have gotten otherwise. When I look back at all the things I went through & did, I'm proud of myself! 


**I'm gonna go off on a story real quick! ;) lol 


The deployment before the last was a 15 month-er.. This was the LONGEST 15 months of my life!! We had just moved in 3 months prior to the deployment.. I had no friends.. & my husband had just left for at the time we didn't know how long. As they were loading the busses, FB (my youngest) who was 2 at the time had a fit! Not a little fit a HUGE fit! All he wanted was his Daddy & he couldn't have him.. My neighbor (who is now one of my Best Friends) came over to check on how we were doing after we all got home.. Her Hubby had just left with mine. We became friends, then best friends, then attached at the hip! Between the two of us we had 6 kids & we took turns being the "sane" one! LoL 


Fast forward to October, I had put our name on the New Housing wait list in June.. I received a call from housing on October 4th telling me, "Your New House is Ready, Come get Your Keys!!" I'm SO excited I can hardly stand it, we lived in old housing, so I couldn't wait for my new house! I call M2 (I have 2 friends with the same name so I'll refer to them as M1 & M2) :) & say Guess What?! I got my NEW House!! She had already moved to new housing, Lucky! So as we sit on the front porch we are looking at each other & I say "How in the Heck are we gonna do this?!" M2 says, "We got this! Even if its just the two of us.." And that's exactly what it was, the two of us with SIX kids moving a 2 story 4 bedroom house.. But guess what?! We Did It! Big Furniture & All!!


You know that saying "It seems impossible until it's finished"... That's how every deployment has been for me! Some of the things I've been through and dealt with I thought were gonna kill me.. But here I am! Still standing tall! 


Another part of my STRONG is being a Mother.. Being a parent is the hardest, most rewarding job on the planet hands down!


Working on getting myself in the best physical shape & making myself better as a person is part of my STRONG! 


So I'm curious.. What is Your STRONG?

Be (YOU) tiful! A Challenge for You & Me!

                               So many times we get caught up in what we "should" look like.. 


We're all made different, that's the point right?! To be different.. we don't all want to be the same, that would get boring really quick. Why are we always wanting to be something else or look like someone else?! I often say, "If I could just make this part of me better, I'd be happy" but that's not usually the case. Once I "fix" that part there's something else that needs to change in order to make me "Happy".. 


I'm not sure about you but I am my own worst critic. I'm always picking myself apart and beating myself up about things, especially my body! I can say with confidence that I am getting more and more comfortable in my skin.. I feel confident saying that because when I see a girl at the gym with a rockin' body, I say to myself "wow, look at those legs" or "wow, look at her arms" before I'd say "ugh, why can't I just look like her?!" or I'd sit and beat myself up about how much better she is then me.


Don't get me wrong, there are times when I sit in front of the mirror sucking in my stomach and think if I could just lose this gut like NOW I'd be so happy or times when I pick at my face (I have adult acne which TOTALLY sucks!!) & wonder why I never stop breaking out, or at my thighs.. why can't they just not touch in the middle?! The truth is.. Until you love your body for the way it is, you will never be truly happy with yourself (I'm still coming to terms with this saying).


I go to the gym for ME, I go for runs for ME.. No one else! I want to be in my best physical shape & there are many reasons for that. I want to be able to run around & play sports with my kids, I want to inspire others to be healthy & active, I want to be 100% HAPPY in my Skin & know that I am the best that I can be! I still have a ways to go, but I'll get there.. I know I will!


This is my challenge, to you and me.. Everyday for the rest of the Month when you look in the mirror, pick something out that you love about yourself! Everyday it has to be something different! It doesn't have to be a physical feature, it can be anything you want but it has to be something you love about YOU! Ready.. Set.. GO! XoXo