Running, A New Start

Erica over at Minner Winner Chicken Dinner and I are going to be virtual running buddies! That means no more slacking for me anymore! NO MORE EXCUSES! And really, I do have an elliptical in the basement and a double jogger so I shouldn't have any excuses, although it did snow earlier this week, which was totally weird.... At the end of the week I'll (hopefully) post and tell you all how it went this week and how I stacked up against my goals.

I had my hubby print out some inspiring pictures that I have put up on the front of the snack cabinet in the kitchen and some that I will post in front of the elliptical as motivation. They are a combination of pictures. Some are pictures of me from my healthy/thinner days when I was comfortable in my body. Sometimes it's easy to feel discouraged and feel like my goals are unattainable and this way I have tangible proof that my body can in fact do this!

Also there are pictures of some fun outfits (both casual and more formal) from Pinterest that I would love to be able to rock.

Pinterest:Style

Pinterest: Air Force Wife Clothes

I'm on the search for a couple of new running songs to add to my workout playlist so hit me up with your favorites! (just as an fyi, I try to avoid songs with lots of swears or innuendos) What songs keep you moving when you are exercising?

Weekly Recap

Finals for hubby were this past week and I am SO glad that they are over! Phew!! I almost feel like I was taking them also. With the hubs not having any window of time to fail a class and retake it he was under pressure to get good grades. He only has two more semesters before he graduates but with the time restrictions of the Delayed Entry Program he has to graduate in December. So, lots of stress, and late nights of studying around our house. But, finals are over and he passed all his classes!!
If you've spent ANY time with me at all you know that I am a stress eater, big time! That means that my goals of eating healthier and exercising consistently went right out the window this week. Add to that, Thing Two got sick and then Thing One got what Thing Two had and they were kind enough to share it with me. And it has been a terrible cold, the kind that makes you feel like you got hit by a truck and you don't have the energy to get up and move before the next truck comes by and whacks you again. Thankfully the hubby didn't start feeling sick until today, I was hoping he would be spared.
My friends, chocolate and sugar, stayed close by all week, unfortunately. They are determined to be my lifelong friends and I keep trying to break up the exclusive relationship we have but they are stubborn! Little do they know that starting tomorrow I will be dating around and sharing my friendship more closely with carrots, boiled eggs, cucumber and all things salad and lean meats. Pretty soon there won't be much room left for my old pals chocolate and sugar!

What snacks do you keep on hand to chase away the sugar cravings?

Moving With The Military

Recently a friend asked me how I felt about entering the Air Force and dealing with moving on a regular basis, especially with kids. This is something that I have thought a lot about and was one of the things that I had to reconcile in my mind before we decided on this new course for our life.

Something you may not know about me is that I moved quite a bit growing up and people always asked me if we were military and the answer is no. My dad has so many interests and things he wants to do in life that the next big opportunity was always somewhere else and so we moved frequently, chasing the dream. Making friends who had lived in one house their whole lives was always a bit surprising and seemed like the ideal to me when I was growing up and I envied them. I moved 11 times before I left for college, (lived in the same house twice) and lived in 5 states. Interestingly enough, I ended up marrying someone who had only lived in 3 houses before he left for college and two of those were in the same city. As I've grown older I've realized that moving a lot while growing up meant I was challenged and grew in many ways that my friends did not and I had opportunities that some of them never would have had. That being said, there were some pretty tough things about moving frequently and sometimes rather suddenly and unexpectedly as a kid.

The big moves growing up, my 5 mission moves and our 3 moves in one city since we've been married.

So, with all that being said, how am I okay with the Military lifestyle for my kids, you might ask?

 (get comfy as this might be a long post...)

Conundrum

If perhaps you've been wondering where I've been, I'm here to explain. I've had quite a conundrum going on in my mind. I have kept a family blog for the past several years and when I started this blog I thought I would keep it mostly Air Force/Military related to protect my family's privacy but now I'm not sure. I want people to be able to get to know me and connect on more levels than just Air Force information. How much do you feel comfortable sharing on your public blog and how do you know where to draw the line?

Social Media Stumbles

Almost a week ago I was reading through a milso's blog and one of the comments really surprised me. I've thought a lot about it and felt like I needed to get my opinion out there. I don't remember exactly what the blog post was about but I do think it had something to do with things that irritate people about facebook or social media or something along those lines, since I do remember something about people that take multiple selfies a day and post them. And hey, I can't manage to take a single flattering selfie so I gave up on that years ago so that one isn't an issue for me at all!

The thing that got under my skin was a comment that said how irritated someone was when people posted on their facebook walls about how awesome their husband is. They went on to say that it's been proven that the people that do this have failing marriages (not an exact quote, since I can't remember which blog this was on, but it's pretty close to the main idea). I am just going to go ahead and call BS on this! While I don't always appreciate super gushy, sappy posts on a daily basis from people I don't think that such a blanket statement about failing marriages connected to social media updates applies or is at all accurate.

Shouldn't people feel like it's okay to mention how awesome their husband (or wife) is on social media without feeling like their marriage is under scrutiny? MANY people post on social media about every little thing in their life. Sometimes it's a little TMI for me, but that's okay, I just try to laugh and remember that not everyone thinks like I do. Since people post about every aspect of their life, why would you expect them to leave out what should be the most important person in their life? My friends post about how proud they are of their kids and how much they love them, why shouldn't they feel comfortable posting about how much they love their spouse and how wonderful they are? Does this commentator really think that all these people have terrible marriages?

I have made a few posts on facebook in the past about how much I love my husband or how proud I am of him for some accomplishment he has achieved, or how I was reminded of just how awesome the guy I married is. Sometimes these happen on a normal day but these also happen after my hubby has done something super spectacular or gone out of his way to do something special for me or they happen on our anniversary when I remember just why this guy captured my heart.

I DON'T post such things in an effort to convince myself or anyone else that my marriage is better than it is. Nor do I know anyone who would do such a bizarre thing. The friends I have who post about their marriage or their spouse have strong marriages and want to share how happy they are (And I don't have many facebook friends that I don't know in person at least fairly well).  

I love my husband and am super proud of him. He is a talented guy and can achieve anything he sets his mind too. He's always learning new skills and talents just because he finds new things that he is interested in. He is the funniest guy I know and can make me laugh in ways no one else can and he just "gets me". He is a super hard worker and makes many sacrifices so that he can finish school and still provide for our family. He will never really know how much I admire and love him. 

My husband is a wonderful, inspiring guy, I love him, and I will shout it to the world and be proud of him! And if you think my marriage is on the rocks because I am proud of my husband and not afraid to share it then perhaps you should come over to my house and have dinner with my crazy fun little family and get a little change of perspective. So come on over, we don't bite! :)

What do you guys think? Is this way of thinking common and I've just been in the dark about it? Do you post on social media about your spouse?