We Are Finally 1/2 Done! - Deployment

It's official, we are over 1/2 way done with this deployment. Some days it feels like Joe has been gone forever and other days, I can't believe how quickly it has gone by. The anticipation leading up to the half way mark made the last few days drag. I feel like I told Joe "we are almost to the half way mark" a million times. But, it has come and it has past. Now the true countdown begins! We also have a more realistic date for homecoming! But, as some of you may know, that date will change. The Army gives you a date and it is very rare that they stick with it.  I guess it's just one of those things that I will have to get use to. I am a planner at heart, so that is one thing that I know I will continue to struggle with.

I can not wait to see that pie chart be filled with green. But at the same time, it makes me nervous. I have so much that I need to get done before he gets back. One big goal is to find a house in Colorado Springs, move, and set up the house for his homecoming. Although it feels like I have plenty of time, I know I will be rushing to get it done. 

Here is small list of things that I need to do/look forward to before Joe comes home:

• Bruno Mars Concert - End of July. I won tickets on the radio
• Get moving on my charter broker business
• Work on making my blog amazing
• Run the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon
• Go to the San Diego Zoo with my sisters
• Enjoy the beach while I can 
• Go to Disneyland as much as possible
• Visit my friend Nate in Houston
• Find a house in CO
• Move to CO

Do you have any other suggestions on what I should do while I am still living in LA?

High Five For Friday!

I am very excited to participate in my very first H54F!

1. I am so happy that I was able to spend the entire weekend with my bff Brittany! She is a very good friend of mine from college and I miss her so much. 

2. We are finally at the 1/2 way mark for the deployment!! I am so excited. Only 20 more weeks. ha

3. I made and sent 3 care packages for Joe and 2 of the soldiers in his office. Everyone loves the care packages that I send to Joe, so I decided I would spread the love!

4. My first surgery ever! It went well, but I am still not feeling so well. If you spend any time in the sun, please go read this post! My Joe was by my side the entire time.

5. My check up at the eye doctor went well! He said my eye should be back to normal in 2-4 weeks! He also told me that I am a funny fun person when I am on anesthesia. haha I don't even remember seeing the doctor at all the day of my surgery. 

Link up with Lauren Elizabeth of H54F! 

Enjoy your Friday!!

What's a Pterygium?

About 2 months ago I noticed a red bump growing on the surface of my eye. I quickly did what any other 20 something year old would do,  I went to the internet. After many google searches I narrowed it down to a pterygium.

According to WebMD " A Pterygium (pronounced tur-IJ-ee-um) is a common eye condition that affects people who spend a lot of time outdoors. People with pterygium have a growth of pink, fleshy tissue on the white of the eye. It usually forms on the side closest to the nose."

 This had to be it. I was born in Southern California and moved to sunny Florida to go to college. Then after 7 years of spending summers on a boat or floating down a river, I moved back to Southern California. I am an avid runner, who's favorite time to run is the middle of the day (I know, not the best but, I stay well hydrated). I love to hike! I love to go to the beach or go to the pool and just layout. I just love to be outside in the sun! The one thing that I don't like is a good old pair of sunglasses. I am the girl that can't keep a pair for longer then a week. I am not comfortable driving with them or wearing them while I run.   

After another round of google searches, I found 2 specialist that remove them. I decided that I would go  to both to see what each of them had to say. After my initial consultations I knew I found my doctor! Both doctors confirmed that I had a pterygium in my left eye. They both explained to me how they can grow, but one doctor stood out. Of course it was the more expensive one, but I only have 2 eyes and I felt it was worth the  money. He said that with his technique that there was a less than 1% chance of it growing back. 

The procedure took place this past Wednesday, I was put completely to sleep by an anesthesiologist and it took about 1 hour total. The doctor would remove the pterygium and place a graft from a piece of my eye that you can't see when I open it. He put amnionic membrane tissue on it  and I was good to go. Click here for a more detailed explanation of the procedure.  

My Joe stayed by my side

This is me trying to be a pirate

Today, my eye is a little bit sore and I can see perfectly. It is very red and it will be red for about a month. I am very lucky that I caught it early and found a specialist that is well known for removing them. 

Moral of the story, wear your sunglasses. You only have 2 eyes and it can happen to you. 

Texas!

I am so happy that I was able to take the time and head over to Austin to see my bff Brittany. I headed to Texas to help her pick out a wedding dress! My first day at Austin was filled with dress shopping and a day out in Austin.

We had great success at the bridal shop, Brittany found her dress, we found bridesmaid dressed, and her mom found her mother of the bride dress! I really wish that I could post a picture of her dress on here, but you just have to trust me, it is beautiful!! I can not wait to see her on her wedding day and get a ton of amazing photos. So, instead of showing you the dress I will share this photo! It was a very close second choice ;)

 After we found the dress we spent some time wondering around Austin. Of course we had to have a mini photo shoot, that is starting to become my thing. I am so lucky to have a ton of people in my life that love taking pictures! Brittany shot these beauties.

 We ended the day with a trip to Congress Street bridge to see the bats come out at night! It was amazing, there had to be millions of bats that came out.

Now, off to the bars with my boots! See y'all later! (that doesn't sound right coming out of my mouth haha)

I'm so LA! - DNK Skin Care

 As part of my initiative to become a better, happier me I decided that I would try out microdremabrasion. I am in my 20's and my  mother has always told me the importance of taking care of my skin. I wish I could say that I have perfect skin, but that is not the case. I have gone to bed many nights with my make up on and I have skipped many applications of my moisturizer. I have always been interested in microdermabrasion but I always thought I was too young to start worrying about it. The LA girl inside of me wanted to try it anyways and I am so happy I did. I was very excited to try this out and found a great deal on Amazon Local for DNK Skin Care. 

DNK Skin Care is a very cute skin care studio in the heart of Beverly Hills! It is owned by the sweetest girl, Danielle. She is very knowledgeable about all things skin and even has her own skin care line!

Yesterday was my second treatment for microdermabrasion. I was very happy with the results of my first treatment and could not wait to go in for my second one. According to Danielle's Website: "Diamond microdermabrasion is a method of exfoliation to remove the dull outermost layer of the skin, creating a youthful appearance, and may help counter the effects of aging, acne scars, oily skin and sun damage." This statement is so true! My skin feels smoother and tighter (but not in a bad, I just had work done way). My makeup looks better and goes on easier. I have had facials in the past but have not had results like this. I have been getting many compliments about my skin and have been going without makeup many days! 

The procedure is amazing. Danielle starts with a facial cleanse, then does the microderrmabrasion, she follows it will extractions, another cleanse, a mask, a nice massage, a few different treatments, and then applies her great products on your face. It takes about an hour and I felt so relaxed.

Danielle is also the creator of Solutions by DNK. I purchased the toner the last time I was there and love it! My face feels so clean after I use it. This time around I purchased the moisturizer and eye cream. I have never used eye cream, but she had said that area of my face was getting dry and I wanted to give it a shot. I was in need of new moisturizer and I am always very excited to buy local.

Turns out you are never too young to take care of yourself. I am so happy with the results and the service that I get from DNK Skin Care! I will be back for sure, even when my special expires.

Have you ever tried Microdermabrasion?
 Have you ever purchased anything off of Groupon/Amazon Local?

Communication durning deployment

One of the toughest things to deal with during a deployment is not knowing when you will be talking to your soldier next. I am so happy that technology is where its at today and I am able to keep in touch with Joe almost everyday. It really varies based on what's going on with his job, but I am able to talk to him on the phone daily, email multiple times a day, skype a few times a week and he sends me cards weekly. When he has access to wifi, I can even receive texts from him on an app from his iPad.

 A lot of people are shocked that we keep in touch so much, but I believe that this is very important to any relationship and very important to me while he is deployed. Please remember that the amount of communication varies based on many things. Such as, where they are deployed (some FOBs don't have great internet or cell phone tower access), what their job is, and what their schedule is like.

We have been able to work out at least one night a week (morning for him) that we dedicate to "date night". Right  now our "date night" is every Thursday and Saturday night. The day of the week has changed a few times since the beginning and we have missed a few because something comes up, but it is always nice to have that to look forward to. "Date night" is the one night a week that I know we will Skype (unless of course the internet is down, but it has been really reliable where he is). We often share stories about our past, talk about our future,  or just send each other funny videos that we have seen on the internet. It's really nice because I don't feel rushed when talking to him and I know that he has set aside that time just for me. I know that I have been very lucky that Joe has had the flexibility that he has had and I do value the time that we spend talking.

Ways to keep in touch:

• Phone Calls - I would highly recommend that your soldier buy a cell phone when he gets there
• Skype/Google+- A must 
• Care Packages - To let him know you care
• Letters - It's always nice to receive a hand written note, they do take more time to get to them then a care package
• Emails- Since I have my email on my phone, Joe always emails me first see if I am free to call/Skype or I email him to see if he can call me
• Texts- There are many apps out there that allow texting, we just use  his iPad and do iMessage, the only problem is you need wifi

Friends and Fitness

I feel like friends and fitness go hand in hand. I have found that my closest friends are people who I workout with or have worked out with in the past. I guess it is kind of a no brainer, you like people who like things that you like. I really thrive off of working out with someone. I feel like it keeps me motivated and helps keep me committed. I am so lucky that everywhere I go, I can always find someone who is just as excited about fitness as I am.

We didn't plan to match, it just always seems
to work out that way. 

My current fitness bestie is Ana. She is a co-worker of mine who I go to Zumba with 2 times per week. She invited me to Zumba around the same time that Joe deployed and I thought that it was  a pretty lame form of exercise. How much of a workout could I get from 1 hour of dancing? I am not the best dancer either, so that didn't help. Boy was I wrong. I have lost inches with Zumba. I am a smaller person and sometimes it's very hard to see results, but adding Zumba was one of the best things I have done.

Ana is crazy unique, she always has a ton of energy and is very fun to be around She is a wife and mother of 2 adorable kids and often has great advice on life issues. She gives me a different perceptive and I really do value her opinions. She is a fighter and will always do what ever it takes to take care of her family and friends.
I have so much respect for who she is and am so happy that we have been able to build a strong friendship.

We are two very different people, yet we have many things in common. She is a strong believer in eating healthy and always has great fitness tips. We spend a lot of time just chatting about whatever is going on in our lives. She also great for a good laugh too! Whenever I am feeling down about something, she knows just what to say to make me laugh until my checks hurt. I am so thankful that I have been able to workout with her and get to know her better. I really hope that this will be a friendship that will last through all of my moves.

Week 2 - My 1/2 Marathon training schedule

I am just starting week 2 of my training for the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. I am training with my sister most of the days and Joe has also decided he will keep up with the training while he is in Afghanistan. I have put together a 5 days per week running schedule. When I trained for my first 1/2 marathon a few years ago, I didn't run as often, but my runs were longer. I am hoping that I can work on my speed/time with these short runs. Here is what I have come up with.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Week 1	Rest	3 Miles	3 Miles	3 Miles	Rest	3 Miles	4 Miles
Week 2	Rest	3 Miles	4 Miles	3 Miles	Rest	3 Miles	4 Miles
Week 3	Rest	3 Miles	4 Miles	3 Miles	Rest	3 Miles	5 Miles
Week 4	Rest	3 Miles	5 Miles	3 Miles	Rest	4 Miles	6 Miles
Week 5	Rest	4 Miles	5 Miles	4 Miles	Rest	3 Miles	7 Miles
Week 6	Rest	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 Miles	Rest	4 Miles	8 Miles
Week 7	Rest	4 Miles	6 Miles	4 Miles	Rest	4 Miles	9 Miles
Week 8	Rest	4 Miles	6 Miles	4 Miles	Rest	4 Miles	10 Miles
Week 9	Rest	4 Miles	6 Miles	4 Miles	Rest	3 Miles	11 Miles
Week 10	Rest	4 Miles	5 Miles	4 Miles	Rest	4 Miles	12 Miles
Week 11	Rest	4 Miles	5 Miles	4 Miles	Rest	3 Miles	6 Miles
Week 12	Rest	3 Miles	5 Miles	3 Miles	Rest	2 Miles	13.1 Miles

 


I am sure that I will not run all of these miles, I have a surgery and a few small trips coming up, but I am going to try my best to keep up with this schedule. I am also going to continue to go to Zumba and try to get a few days at the gym in as well. I am already seeing much better timing for my mile and I think that is because I am more physically fit. So far, my best mile is 8 minutes and 11 seconds. I really want to maintain a race pace of 8 minutes and 30 seconds per mile.  I am really looking forward to this race and running in general. The days are longer and the weather is beautiful. Now is such a great time to train.