The day has finally arrived!!

Ahhhh!!!! The day has finally arrived! Joe is coming home. I couldn't be any more excited. I am starting to get really nervous. This past 9 months have gone by so slow and have been extremely tough. But with the help of my family, friends, and this blog I made it! I will be sure to keep you all updated and share photos once I have them! Thank you all for your continued support and kind words! 

xoxo, 

Steph

Cara Box - Fall!

cara (car-rah) noun : beloved friend
Awesome things in the mail + Meeting new women + Encouragement = Cara Box

Thanks to the wonderful lady of Wifessionals for creating this monthly box swap. 
I have had a very busy week with work. It was a nice surprise to come home to a package at my door. I mean, who doesn't like packages? It was my Cara Box!!! This Month I was paired up with 2 Stephanie's!!! Crazy right? I received my box from Stephanie who writes over at Army Crafter! She is a Army wife who loves to run, crochet, bake, and do all things crafting. I loved getting to know her better. I feel like we truly had a ton in common! The other Stefanie blogs over at The Husak Household! This Stefanie is Czech and loves her heritage. She met her Czech husband at a Czech event and even knowns how to play the accordion. Both ladies were fun to get to know and I look forward to keeping in touch with them! Go over and say hello!
Now to the box!

I think Stephanie really got a good feel for who I am as a person. She sent me the following items:

• Ear Warmer - She made me a really cute ear warmer to keep my ears warm here in Colorado. 
• Halloween Kitchen Towels - I am trying my best to get into the spirit of the Holidays and these will be a good addition to my kitchen!
• Paper Airplane - I don't think it's a secret that I love all things aviation. 
• Note cards - I am a sucker for a handwritten note (which Stephanie also included) and stationary. So these cards are absolutely perfect!
• Pumpkin Bread - Stephanie sent me some homemade bread! It was so yummy, it barely made the picture above :)
• Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Decoration - This was so cute and is still sitting on my porch! I love it. 

Thank you Stephanie for all of the lovely items!! 

Happy Sunday and I hope you all have a wonderful week! 

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Happy Birthday Joe!!

Dear Joe, 

Happy Birthday! I hope you are having a wonderful day today in lovely Afghanistan. Even though you are not here with me, I wanted to take the time to tell you how thankful I am for you. Thank you for being such a loving, caring, and supportive person. I'm often in shock at how involved you are in my life and much you care about the little things that are going on in my life, when I know you have way more important things to take care of while you are gone. I am so proud of what you do for me and for our country. I love hearing about your day to day life in Afghanistan and I am so proud about the great leader that you are. This has been a tough nine months, but you are worth the wait. 

I am getting everything ready for your return and can't wait to celebrate your birthday! I am also looking forward to our future! I am excited to see where the Army will take us and please know that I support you! Here's to you on your special day and here's to us and our future! 

I love you, 

Stephanie 

Everything is Ready...Almost

It has been nearly 275 days since I said good bye to Joe. He will be home so soon and I have everything ready! Well, at least I thought I did. I  have the house all set up, I have some of his favorite food and drinks ready, I have a photographer for his homecoming, I had ordered the perfect dress, bought the perfect necklace to go with it, and made signs for his return.

Yesterday, I checked my tracking number for the dress that I purchased and paid extra for express 3 day shipping to find that it had been delivered! Hooray, everything is ready... I went outside in hopes of finding my package waiting for me and to my surprise there was nothing. I checked my mailbox, thinking that it might have gone through USPS, because sometimes UPS delivers via USPS, and there was nothing. I called the 800 number and got ahold of a local UPS rep that sent a message out to the driver. I was suppose to get a call back within an hour, but it took closer to 2 hours. The new rep that called me had said that the driver had gone home for the day, but he was very familiar with my house (I may buy one to many things online) and he left the package at my door. Still no new information. I asked that she leave a note asking the driver to stop by my house today. This morning I got a phone call giving me the same information. I am aware what the tracking information said online. Thanks. The only new thing was that this rep was even more rude then the last. The only semi customer friendly "person" I got from UPS was from their twitter account. It's very sad when your twitter account has more customer service skills then your actual customer service representatives.

So now, I am still sitting in my house waiting for the UPS man to arrive. I am hoping it as miss delivered to a near by neighbor and my dress will be here by the end of the day. If not, I will be on the hunt for a new "perfect dress".  Just when I thought I was ahead of the game, something like this happens. Thank you UPS for adding unneeded stress to Joe's upcoming homecoming. I guess if this is the worse part of his homecoming I am doing alright.

On a happier note, don't forget to enter to win a $125 gift card to Zappos! There is only 2 days left!!

Have you ever lost a package before? Did it get back to you?

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Tiny Teatox Review - Update

Today marks day 19 of 28 on my Tiny Teatox. I have lost about 4 lbs total, have increased energy level, and can see a tiny change in my body. I must admit, I have not been working out like I should have been for the past two weeks. I have only ran a few times and that's about it. I have been eating clean for the most part, but I have reintroduced pasta into my diet. Pasta is one of Joe's favorite meals, so I have been working on different recipes for when he comes home.

Overall, I am satisfied with Tiny Tea. It has helped curb my cravings and has given me a lot of needed energy. I have decreased to drinking the tea twice a day. It is suggested that you drink the tea 3 times a day, 30 minutes before your meal. The reason I went down to 2 times a day is because I was starting to feel bloated at night. I have never felt bloated before, so it was strange to feel my pant get tight only at night. I am still a little shocked about this because one of the main reasons why people drink the tea is to cut down the bloating. Almost every review online has had positive feed back on how the tea has helped them with bloating. I thought it might be my diet, but I am not sure what it might be.

For the next 2 weeks, I plan of hitting my runs and working out hard. I also plan on eating really clean and seeing if I can achieve better results. I am still undecided on if I will go back to drinking the tea 3 times a day or if I will go past the 28 days with tea that I didn't drink. Everything that I have read says that it is ok to keep drinking the tea. Here are my before (pink shorts, day1) and after (black shorts, day19) pictures. I feel like I look the same, but I can see a small change in my thighs and from the side view my stomach looks a tiny bit flatter.

I know this tea is not going to be a miracle tea, but I am hoping that it gives me enough results to get me motivated to loss those last 10lbs and tone up. This past year has been struggle to get my weight under control. The stress of the deployment and moving has been a tough battle and I am so proud of how far I have come. I was going through photos the other day and found a picture that was taken right before the deployment, I cannot believe how much I let myself go and how far I have come. I really hope that I can achieve my goals and continue to live a healthy life with Joe here. 

Left: 2 weeks before the deployment // Right: 2 weeks ago 

What are your fitness goals?

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It's Finally Fall, win a $125 Zappos gift card!!

Happy Fall, y'all! The brisk Autumn weather is the perfect excuse for new fall footwear! Mal, 11 other ladies, and I are giving away a $125 Zappos gift card to one lucky winner so she can buy a new pair of boots, flats, or other shoes.

Giveaways are a great way to discover new bloggers, make friends, and possibly win a prize! Be sure to stop by and check out these pretty ladies who helped make this giveaway possible!

Mal// Mackenzie// Hannah

Stephanie// Tamara// Jane// Ashley

Erin// Samantha// Raewyn// Kaylin

Stephanie// Danae

The giveaway will run Monday, October 21st, 2013 through Monday, October 28th, 2013.

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter giveaway tool below. The winning entry will be verified so please be honest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Getting your Photo with Characters - Disneyland Secrets

Happy Saturday! I am just getting ready for work and my family is headed to Disneyland for the weekend to celebrate my little sisters 12th birthday! I was unable to fly home for the celebration so I figured I would be in the spirit and share another Disneyland Secret with you...How to get your photo taken with as many characters as you can in one trip to Disneyland and not waste your entire day in line!

I would consider myself a bit of an expert when it comes to all things Disneyland and Disney World. I have had an annual passport to either park (Depending where I was living) for as long as I can remember. I have spent countless hours at the Most Magical Place on Earth and LOVED ever minute of it. I stumbled upon these next few tips this year. I have never really wanted to wait in a huge line to get a picture with a character (well maybe a few times I did). But this past year I did a photo book for Joe that included a photo and signature from as many characters as I could get in one day and added it to his Disneyland Care Package. I managed to fill up the book in a few hours. 

On to the TIPS!! In no particular order:

• Get there when the park opens! - I know what you are thinking, if I go there so often, why would I want to get there when the park opens? Because that is when all of the classic characters are waiting to greet you and have a photo op! Most people are so excited to be there and get on their favorite ride that they just zoom on by all of the characters. I must admit, you can find long lines for Mickey and Minnie, but other characters like Donald, Daisy, Pluto, and Goofy are all just standing around with less then 10 people waiting for a photo. 
  
• Talk to the Cast Members - While I was waiting in line for some of the other characters, I made it a point to talk to the workers that were helping with line control. They were able to tell me where to go and when to go to different places to find characters. They really are your best source of information. They were even able to give me an exact time, to the minute, of when the next round of Mickey and Minnie and where to stand to ensure I was the first person in line! 

  

  Check out that line behind her! We were the first ones with Minnie!

• You have to go to the Royal Hall! - If Princesses are your thing, you have to go to the Royal Hall. It is still a fairly newer attraction that allows you to meet and greet 3-4 Princesses at once. Since it is still newer (and in my opinion, no one knows where or what it is) the line is never longer then 10-15 minutes. I have often just walked right in. It is located just to the left of the castle if you are looking at the castle.

• Woody's Round Up is a must! - Here you will find Chip and Dale, Woody, Jessie, and a few others! The lines are never longer then 5 people. You can interact with the characters and get a photo! The show is just ok, but the characters make it well worth it. Woody's Round Up is located at the Big Thunder Ranch, behind the Big Thunder Railroad. Bonus Tip: Don't say "Andy is coming" the toys will not fall to the ground. The cast members will just yell "no he isn't, Andy is at college". 

• Party at the Mad Tea Party - This is the best place to get photos will almost every random character you can think of. But, they will not sign anything. They just dance and pose for pictures. It is where the "B"list characters hang out. They come out in groups of 6 and dance for 15 minutes. I got so many pictures it as pretty awesome. The Mad Tea Party is located in California Adventure in the Hollywood Backstage Lot. 
  
• Random is sometimes best!- Sometimes, you are just in the right place at the right time and you get a photo op with one of your favorites! Character photo stations are through out the park. You can find the schedule on the map, go to city hall and find out, or just ask a cast  member. If you see a short line (less than 15 people) jump in it. It will take less then 10 minutes. 

Follow my tips and you will have so many pictures, you wont know which ones to post! 

I hope you enjoyed my pictures! These are all from one day and I have more from that day. It really doesn't have to be a huge time commitment if you plan correctly. 

No trip to Disney would be complete with out the one and only Mickey Mouse!

 (you just might have to wait)

Who is your favorite character??

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