Quarter-Year Resolutions!

Well, 2013 has been more than I could have asked for so far :) Things have been amazing!
I figure since we're entering the 4th month of the new year, I might as well take another look at my new year's resolutions for 2013 and see how things are going and what adjustments I need to make:
1) Get out of credit card debt: not going as great as planned...haha once my roommate moves in, I'm planning on taking the money that I'll be saving from rent along with the money that I make from dive time and putting it towards my card, so that should help! Not sure if I'll be able to get it done by the end of the year, but I plan on making a serious dent in that sucker and getting it paid off by this time next year
2) Lose those last 8 lbs and start toning up: Well, I did that AND some more! At the beginning of my weight loss journey last year, I was 158...and now I'm proud to say that instead of reaching my weight loss goal of 13 lbs to make it to 145, I was able to lose 22 lbs and now I'm holding steady at 136!!! It has taken a lot of time and hard work to get here, but now that I am here, I vow to NEVER let myself see the numbers on the scale get that high again, and now healthier eating and working out has become more of a lifestyle than just a phase :) which brings me to my last resolution...
3) Compete in a sprint triathlon: Already signed up for the Jax Tri Series!!! I'm getting all set with my gear too now that the first race is less than 3 months away now! Thanks to my parents, I got my road bike, Blue Steel!!! I'm so thankful for all of the support that I've been getting for taking on this challenge and I'm getting more and more excited every day!


I'm definitely looking forward to the month of April when I will get my new roomie, Dani! :) Then lots of fun stuff going on in Fernandina Beach, the weather starting to warm up, and an extended weekend visit from my army dive buddy, Andy! Not to mention the fact that Papa & Uncle Marty will be coming to visit at the end of the month too!!!

So much exciting stuff going on and I'm loving every minute of it! :)

Get it right, get it tight!

I had the Pandora Pop/Hip-Hop Workout Station on today and "Miss New Booty" came on...OMG I haven't heard that song in years and I forgot how funny it was haha hence the comical title for this post

Anyway, things are still going great! As far as triathlon training is concerned, I really need to try to get to the pool and get some solid workouts in, because swimming at work doesn't really count...I have been keeping up with my arm/shoulder exercises though, so hopefully that will help!

I have some new motivation for the next month to hit the gym a little bit extra since my army dive buddy will be coming to visit in April! :) Hopefully by the time he gets here the weather will be much warmer and we can chill out at the beach!

Other than that, I can't believe we're already 3 months into 2013! That means my first race is only about 3.5 months away now...so crazy! I really need to start saving up to get some gear...especially a bike haha

Things are looking promising! :)

Here's the tentative training plan I will be following for the next 3 months:

 

I'll keep ya posted on how it's going!

Life is GOOD!

2013 has definitely been a much better year that 2012 was, and I hope it keeps up that way!

I absolutely LOVE my job!!! There are days when it get tough and the work is hard, but it always pays off getting to work with the animals :)

My new apartment has been good to me! I love this area and I can't wait until summer when I can take full advantage of being only 10 minutes from the beach!!!

Also, I've been keeping up with working out a lot better than last year; I think this motivation for the triathlon series has been extremely helpful! On my next paycheck, I will finally register and then it will be crunch time! Then I'll have to wait a few paychecks after that to get a bike...

I've also had the chance to read a few books that I've been wanting to for a while now! P.S. I Love You was the first, Warm Bodies second, and finally The Lucky One...I was not disappointed in any of them and they were all SO good and entertaining and great reads :) It's nice to be able to sit on the patio, enjoy a glass of wine, and curl up with a good book after work!

Anyway, things have been better than I could have imagined and even in the love-life department things have started looking up ;)

Can't wait to see what the rest of this year has in store!

Resolution Solutions!

All right, so last post I said I didn't have a game plan for my resolutions yet but I'm working on it!

First off, I found a sprint triathlon SERIES that is going to be held in Fernandina Beach...in the wise words of Barney Stinson: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!
I found a good, solid training plan that I will be following, and it's actually an 8-week plan, so I should be ready to compete hardcore after 6 months of training! ;)
I also really like going to the gym on base...let's just say, it's very motivating! hahaha
As long as my schedule stays the way it is now, I'm planning on going on base about an hour and a half before work to squeeze in the gym time.
Fitocracy and MyFitnessPal are going to be my helpful training tools too for logging workouts and meals. Hopefully this training will help me shed those last 8 lbs!

As far as finances go, I'm still working on a perfect spreadsheet for budgeting...it's not quite there yet, but it's getting closer! One thing that I am going to need to invest in for the races is a bike, so I'm going to have to figure that in somehow too...eventually haha

Things have been going great so far and I'm really loving it here; I know it's only been a week, but I love my job, I absolutely love my new apartment, and I LOVE this fresh start!!!
2013 has been pretty good to me so far...let's hope it stays that way! :)

I'm going to start trying to blurb about my training plans each day, so if it gets too annoying just ignore me ;)



PS: This article TOTALLY made my day! Turns out I have a man-magnet car AND dog!!! ;)

New Year, New Home, New Job...NEW LIFE!!!

I had my first day of work today!!! I'm so excited to start with the REAL work, today was just paperwork, training, and orientation...pretty much what this whole week will be. It kills me to know that I won't be able to post the things I'm doing, or tell anybody details, or have any pictures from my time here...but it's pretty amazing knowing what I'm doing and how it helps protect this country :) If you want, you should check out the declassified stuff on Youtube!

Anyway, 2012 was a really rough year...but there were highlights: graduating from UCF with my dual degree, having an internship at Disney for 6 months, landing my dream job here as a marine mammal assistant trainer for SAIC, meeting an army boy who ended my self esteem issues, and having the greatest dog in the world to help me through all of the tough stuff that happened this year :)

Here are my top 3 resolutions for 2013:
1) Get out of credit card debt!!!
2) Lose those last 8 lbs and start toning up!
3) Compete in a sprint triathlon!


Still working on a game plan for all of those...things have been crazy lately with unpacking and trying to get organized and starting this new job. I'm not going to wait for things to settle down to tackle these though....BRING IT ON 2013!!! :)

No time to slow down!

All right, so I'm moving in less than a month...which means this is going to be a crazy few weeks with packing, finishing my time up at Disney, trying to get settled into a new place, starting my new job on January 7th, 2013!

It's perfect timing with the new year :) New job, new place to live, new adventures waiting!

And new challenges as well!

This year, I am going to compete in my first sprint triathlon! I'm planning on doing the Cocoa Beach Tri http://cocoabeachtriathlon.com/ 
which will take place on April 14th, 2013...I think that is sufficient time to train and prep! I want to get registered soon...but right now every penny counts with having to move :( LOTS of expenses...but soon, I will be back on my feet and financially stable again and I will be able to sign up for this race!


Gonna be a short entry tonight since it's late, but just wanted to give a quick update!

ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE! :)

Wow...so the last week was a complete whirlwind! But it was an amazing experience all around, one I will NEVER forget and one I can not wait to experience again :)

I'll start off with leaving for San Antonio last week: I got to see my Aunt Marydell, Uncle Chuck, and cousin Chuck! They treated me to Whataburger and Rudy's while I was in Texas...DELICIOUS!!! I can't thank them enough for everything they did for me :)

So the day of the swim test: I was SO nervous...it was already cold outside (37 degrees...CHILLY!) and there were 10 other girls in my group...some of who had already done a swim test before, some who already worked at the park...but I was still excited nonetheless! It all felt completely surreal, going backstage when the park was closed, so early in the morning; hearing the belugas and dolphins whistling as we walked past! I couldn't believe that I was standing in one of the same stadiums that I had always pictured myself in; I was standing on the other side of the stadium this time though, about to dive into the cold water :)
Of course we went in alphabetical order, so I was up first for all of the events! I was pretty happy about that though, because then I didn't psych myself out comparing my performance to the other girls.
So the 250 ft freestyle swim went all right; I'm not sure what my time was, but I sprinted my little heart out!
The underwater swim could have gone better, but I still did decently well! I made it to the wall, but I was about 10 feet away from the platform, but I made it to the wall still! Next time, I will make sure to find the second drain so I don't go off course. It was so hard to orient myself when I felt so blind without my contacts! It was absolutely incredible hearing the dolphins and belugas vocalizing; it felt like they were cheering me on!
The 6 ft platform dive could have been prettier; I will definitely be practicing that one more before the next time I swim test :)
I did REALLY well during the surface dive to retrieve the weight! It was easy diving to the bottom and clearing my ears, but when I got to the bottom I couldn't find the dive weight!!! Luckily, I didn't panic because I realized that my eyesight was terrible without my contacts, especially underwater haha so I used my instincts and felt my way around the bottom and I FINALLY found it! Got back to the surface and held it over my head like a trophy! ;)
After that came the "microphone" spiel which I did really well at too! I think it was my best performance during the entire swim test...even though it had nothing to do with swimming ;) hahaha
Last was the 5 minute water tread; which was surprisingly easier than I expected! I guess I never really realized how buoyant you are in the water and it was a nice surprise!
Then they announced that everyone passed the swim test part!!! I couldn't believe that I passed on my first try :) I was elated! Even though I didn't get the position, it was my childhood dream come true :) I can't wait until I can do it again and be more prepared than ever for my interview! That part didn't go so well...I was so nervous and still so cold that it was one of my worst interviews...I was babbling and talking in circles...I was so disappointed in myself! But the questions they asked I was not expecting at all, so now I know what to expect for next time :)

But as luck would have it...as I was heading back from the swim test, and I got the call from San Diego offering me the position with SAIC in Kings Bay as an assistant marine mammal trainer!!! I accepted and now I will have a full-time job after my internship!
...which unfortunately requires me going absolutely broke breaking my lease here and having to move into a new place...but I have my amazingly wonderful parents to thank for bailing me out...again...I can't wait until I can get back on my feet again.

After this year, things finally started turning around :)

2013 is going to be the year that I get back on my feet again: healthfully, financially, and responsibly...and socially!

I know this job isn't going to be easy, but I know that it is going to be an amazing experience and a chance for a fresh start. This has been one hell of a year, but it has made me stronger than I could have ever imagined and I know that is going to help me in the long run :) It definitely makes me appreciate the blessings that I have in my life and I couldn't be more thankful<3

Here's a sweet article about the base I'll be stationed at!

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-08-01/story/sea-lions-dolphins-enhance-security-kings-bay

THIS IS GOING TO BE ME SOON!!! :)