Traveling to Iceland Part 1

It's been about a month since Joe and I got back from our amazing trip to Iceland. We had such an amazing time and I am so excited to share with you some of our highlights! I know what you are thinking...Who goes to Iceland in the middle of the winter? Joe was thinking the same thing but went with me anyways.

Preparing for Iceland
Iceland is such a beautiful country and it was really inexpensive to get there and to stay in a hotel there. I was a bit shocked by the cost of food, but other then that everything was affordable. The weather was much nicer then the weather that we were experiencing in Colorado so I think we may have over packed. We took a ton of base layers, hiking pants, snow boarding pants, sweaters, and 2 snow jackets. GoLite and Colombia were the 2 shops that we got most of our clothes from. I highly recommend GoLite if you are planning any type of out door adventure.

Our Flight
We left Friday in the afternoon and arrived in Reykjavik  bright and early on Saturday morning. We took Iceland Air and our flight was amazing. We were greeted at the door of the plane with a happy flight attendant  who gave us a whole bottle of water and snack. Each seat had blanket and pillow in it and a personal t.v. for everyone that was FREE!! There were free movies, free tv shows, and free clips about Iceland! The flight attendants were very friendly and helpful. It really couldn't have been any better.

Our Hotel 
We stayed at Hotel Odinsve in Reykjavik! We got a really good deal on Orbits for $70 a night (half off regular price). The hotel was in a perfect location, we were able to walk almost everywhere in Reykjavik. It was a boutique hotel with a great staff. There is an amazing restaurant  on the first floor and Bjork can often be found there. The room was a bit small, but not smaller then our NYC hotel room. Overall I was very pleased with the hotel and I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Iceland.

Day 1 - Northern Lights Jeep Tour
I was really excited to see the northern lights. It was on of the main reasons why I wanted to go to Iceland. Joe had booked a Jeep Tour with one of the best companies there was and we were waiting in the lobby of our hotel, it was getting close to our pick up time, so I asked the concierge if they knew anything about the tour company. He had told me that our tour has been canceled. This didn't make any sense because we could see the northern lights from the city earlier that evening, why would it be canceled? He quickly booked us on another tour, but it was a bus tour. I was beyond upset, but tried to make it seem like everything was fine. I had been talking to another couple who was very disappointed with their bus tour of the northern lights. So I was disappointed to learn that we would be taking the same tour that night.

Joe can always tell when I am not happy, so he went back to the concierge to fix the problem. By this time most of the tours had already picked up their passengers and were already headed out to see the lights. But he managed to have a company pick us up, in their personal car and take us to meet the rest of the group. We met the group just outside of the city and we saw the lights!! They were so beautiful. I quickly took out my camera and realized that I needed a tri-pod for the log exposer needed to capture the lights on camera. Luckily the tour company, Super Jeep, had a photographer there that was able to capture all of the photos we wanted. The company puts the photos on their facebook page and you can email them to you!

We stopped at a few locations and were able to see the northern lights. It was amazing. They served us hot chocolate with vodka to keep us warm. After the sweet treat they took us on an off roading adventure. It was a rush of excitement as we went up and down piles of snow and ended up over looking the city.

This is what happens when you don't have a tripod!

A View of the Lights

Another long exposer photo. 

On top of the Mountain

Day 1 - Icelanders like to party!

After the tour we went out for a few drinks. A fun fact about Iceland is that beer was illegal until the 1980's. So they are making up for the lost time. Most of the time they don't go out to drink until 11:00 pm - 2:00am and stay out until 06:00am. We only stayed out until 2:30 and the crowds were still coming. Everyone was so friendly and the dancing was....uh...entertaining. 

Be sure to check back for more of our trip to Iceland. We went Ice Climbing, Glacier Hiking, to the Blue Lagoon, and hiking in a Lava Tube. 

Have a great day!! 

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Up and Down

Ever since I have moved to Colorado I have been struggling with my weight (I have struggled with my weight my entire life). I came here very fit and active, the best shape I have been in a very long time, to only gain it all back. I was going through photos on my friends photography website and came across the photo below, it was taken from my trip to Hawaii this past year.

I was mortified to see how much weight I put on. I know I am not "fat", but I am out of shape and it shows. To give you some perspective, I have gained about 10-15lbs since I've moved here. I am only 5'4" so that small amount of weight is really a lot on my small frame. I gain most of my weight in my stomach. My stomach has always been my trouble area and for the first time, in a very long time, I was feeling great about myself in a bikini. I know that many women struggle with their weight and I am no different. I know I should be thankful that I am healthy and I am still on the smaller side and I am. But, how did I let my nice tone mid section, that I worked so hard to get, go? Why does my weight fluctuate so much? Why can I not commit to a workout plan here?

I've decided that I am going to recommit to getting in shape. Wish me luck as I set out on another fitness journey. I am going to try to focus getting back to where I was at in the photo above. I was happy and loving working out. I loved going for a run and going to the gym. I loved the food I was eating and most importantly, I loved my body. I felt fit and confident. I didn't have my dream body, but it was good enough for me.

Anyone have any tips on how to get back on track?

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2014!

Joe and I have been talking about what we want to do this year, so I put together a list of things that I want to do! I will be adding a tab on my blog with a list of these things and I will be sure to blog about them as I do them! This is just a rough list and I will be adding to it as I have ideas. Maybe I'll do these things this year, maybe next, who knows. I am just excited to see what this year has to bring!

This is what I have so far:

Run a 5K

Run a 10K

Run a mud run

Run a 1/2 Marathon

Run a Marathon

Try Cross Fit

Get back into yoga

Take a photography class

Take a cooking class

Take a make up class

Organize my scrapbook supplies

Finish my 2013 scrap book

Go to Disney World

Go to a country overseas

Go to somewhere in the US that I have not been to

Go snow boarding

Volunteer

Do a 21 day vegan diet

Go white water rafting

Read one book a month

Try to make something that I have pinned from Pintrest

What do you want to do?

Do you have any goals for 2014?

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2013 in Review

First, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year!

Last year was filled with many good times, challenges, and changes.

January

I rang in the New Year with Joe at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! I was living in Los Angeles and able to spend so much valuable time with my family. During this time I was working 2 jobs and flying back and forth to visit Joe in Arizona. 

2013 New Years

February 

February came around quickly and marked the beginning of Joe's 9 month deployment. It was so difficult to say goodbye to my best friend. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the deployment or even where my relationship with Joe would go. I am so happy that I was able to be home with my family during this tough time. A few days after Joe left, I celebrated my 27 birthday at Disneyland with my Family by my side. 

The day Joe left

My 27th Birthday

March 

I spent most of March working and started sending Joe his care packages. I worked 7 days a week and began to make working out a priority. All of my free time was spent with my family and I could be found at Disneyland at least once a week. 

My first care package

April 

I decided that I would make small trips to visit my friends and I visited Nikki, one my close friends, in Vegas! We spent most of our time baking and hiking. I had a blast and it really helped take my mind off of the deployment. Her husband was deployed at the time as well, so it was nice to talk to someone who knew what I was going through. This is also when I started to see some results from all of my hours at the gym.

Nikki and I hiking in Vegas

May

May was one of the best months of the year. I pushed my working out into high gear to prepare for a trip to Hawaii to visit my best friend from college, Amanda. I spent time with my sisters exploring the Los Angeles area and crossing off things that I wanted to do. Of course we spent many days at Disneyland, but we also hiked to the Hollywood Sign, and went horse back riding! May was also the month that I began to Blog!!!

My sister and I hiking at the Hollywood Sign

Horse Back Riding with my sisters

Stevee, Amanda, and I in Hawaii 

My sister and I on top of Koko Head

June 

Next on my list of people to visit was my amazing friend Brittany! We met up in San Antonio, TX to go wedding dress shopping. I will be in her wedding this year and I had so much fun going dress shopping with her. June also was when I decided that I needed to try out microdermebrassion. I ended the month with surgery on my eye. 

Britt and I with her dress!!! I can't wait to post a pic of it. 

I'm so LA! 

July

Most of my time in July was spent working at Van Nuys Airport! I loved every moment of my time there. The people I worked with became my friends. Going to work was fun and I never was bored. I enjoyed the summer at Disney and loved food truck fridays. I received a job offer from Denver International Airport mid July, so I packed up my stuff and traveled to Colorado!! I had an amazing road trip with my mom. 

Just another day at work!

I love food Trucks!

Somewhere between CA and CO!

I made it to Colorado!

August 

I started my job at Denver International Airport. I also met my blogging friend and real life friend Mal!! We have been good friends since. 

Denver International Airport

Mal and I at a race we ran in Nov

September 

The time had finally arrived for my 1/2 Marathon at Disneyland! I ran the race with my mom and sister. 

Disneyland 1/2 Marathon 2013

October 

I spent most of my time working at DIA. I was finally signed off! 

November 

Joe finally came home!! I was able to successfully fill up my time with trips, work, and working out. I was beyond thrilled to have Joe home and I am so thankful for what he, and all other men and women, do for our country. The deployment was long and stressful, but it made up closer then ever. We hired a photographer to capture this special day!

Joe and I

December

Joe and I traveled to Iceland and had my family over for the holidays! Iceland was amazing and I will be sharing pictures over the next few days. We hiked on a glacier, went in a lava tube, swam in the blue lagoon, and saw the north lights. We got back home a week later my parents and sisters came to visit. 

Iceland!

Thank you Joe for this year. Although most of it was spent away, you were always there for me. I love you and I can't wait to see what next year brings. 

Thank you family, for being my rock. I will always treasure the trips to Disneyland and all of the fun moments we shared in LA. 

Thank you friends, for the amazing trips and for supporting me when I needed someone to talk to at night. 

And lastly, thank you readers! I truly believe that this blog and all of the encouragement that I have received from it helped me get through the deployment and this past year. 

I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2014 and I am excited to continue to blog and share my journey with you all! 

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Tips for a Successful Re-Deployment

Joe has now been home for almost a month and it has been amazing to have it home. I wanted to share with you some tips for a successful re-deployment. I did my best to have everything ready and planned for his homecoming and of course there were some hiccups, but in my opinion everything went perfect.

1. Have the house stocked with your soldiers favorite food - Joe and I have very different tastes in food. So I made sure that the house was stocked with his favorite foods. It is easy to forget about this and it is a very nice touch to make sure that his favorites is waiting for him when he gets home. They travel for almost a day, so food in the house is a must.

2. Make the perfect Sign - I searched the internet looking for the perfect sign. I looked at everything from random google searches, Pinterest, to Instagram. I invited Mal over (her artistic talents are amazing) and we made the best sign ever! It even made the front page of the Ft. Carson paper. Having a sign is a great and easy way for your soldier to find you in the crowd.

3. Find a great outfit - It always shocks me that you go to re-deployments and no one is dressed up. Your soldier has been gone for 9months to a year, you would think you would want to look good for him. It's also a place that you might meet his boss and his co-workers. I searched a ton of websites looking for a dress and ended up going with a Loft dress that I found on clearance for less then $30. 

4. Bring someone with you to take pictures - I hired a photographer, but you can also just bring a friend to take some pictures! This is a special day and you will want to remember it. You can see some of the photos here. 

5. Let your soldier sleep - Joe traveled for over 24 hours and he was tired. This is normal. It's going to be tough to sit there as he sleeps but it will be worth it to give him some time to rest. I was able to adjust my schedule to work really early in the morning so that by the time the redeployment ceremony was over I was exhausted as well. 

Re-Deployment is a very exciting and stressful time. Be flexible and just go with the flow. 

Do you have any re-deployment tips?

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Cheers to Mal!!

This week I am sending my cheers to my good friend Mallory! Mal Smiles was one of the very first blogs that I ever followed. Mal has always been one of the kindest people in the blogging world. She has given me advice on how to get the most out of blogging and how to make my blog the best it can be.

Mal / Kaitlyn / Stephanie 

It was a very fortunate turn of events when her husband DLW got stationed at Ft. Carson. I admire Mal's commitment to work, she moved to Colorado a month early so that she was able to maintain a career as a teacher, while still being a supportive army wife. Mal and I moved around the same time and she was one of the biggest supporters during Joe's deployment.

It was so nice to learn that we have a ton in common.  Mal and I both love to do anything outdoors and active. We have hiked up the incline and ran a 10K. We are also able to just hang out. It is nice to have a go to friend here in Colorado. Since Joe has returned we have been able to hang out as couples. Joe and DLW also have lots in common and they also have become friends. 

So cheers to you Mal! Thank you for being a great friend. Here is to many more years of friendship! 

Link up with Casey for Cheers not Jeers! 

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I'm Running a Marathon!!

I am excited and very nervous to share, that I am RUNNING A MARATHON!!! Joe and I will be running the Walt Disney World Marathon. This will be my 3rd Run Disney event and I am very excited that it will be my first full marathon. I always knew that I wanted it to be my first. (maybe my only)

I can't believe that a few months ago, Joe and I decided it would be a great idea to run a marathon. Looking back on it, I have no idea why we thought that. I have always wanted to run at least one marathon and I am so happy that I am going to be able to share this run with Joe, my biggest supporter. But after my last 1/2 Marathon  I was having second thoughts.

Nothing about running feels right here in Colorado. I can't make it past 2 miles without wanting to turn around and walk home. The furthest run I have done here in Colorado is a 10 mile run. I have a long way to go and not a whole lot of time to prep. I am really hoping that I can get out and put in the miles need to run a successful marathon. Wish me luck!

Have you ever ran a marathon?
Do you have any cold weather running tips?

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