I'm Starting P90X!

My mom bought me the P90X system as a birthday present. She originally was going to give me another Ulta Salon gift card, but I already have enough makeup and skincare products to last me till next year, so I asked her for P90X instead and it's supposed to be delivered this Monday!

I'm kind of excited, yet apprehensive because I know it's going to be tough, but I promised myself I would not waste my mom's hard earned money and give up after a month. Since high school I've always wanted to tone up more and sculpt some serious abs. I played field hockey, ran track (not good at it though) and am currently taking fitness classes to maintain my weight. I have an average body. I weigh 110 lbs and I'm 5' 3", so I'm kind of on the thin side but am always looking to improve my figure.

I hope by the end of this system I will be able to do 30 regular push ups, gain a nice six pack and build up my ass. Is that a realistic expectation? Lol. I will definitely be posting pictures of my results, though I'm not sure if I will do it on a weekly basis or just after each round I make it through. Also, I will be following the nutrition guide, so hopefully that will make a big difference. Until then I am anxiously waiting for my package to arrive!

Cute Jazzercise Purse

So today after Jazzercise class my instructor gave me a mystery prize that I had earned back in December when I attended my 20th session. It turned out to be a cute, red shiny rectangular purse with a zipper that goes around it like so:

It has another pouch for money.

And a place to put my id's and credit cards.

I had been needing a new one for a while to replace the old green dingy wallet I had in my bag forever and this is perfect! Another reason to join Jazzercise. Get fit, and get cute things!

Dining At the Broadmoor Hotel

I meant to blog about this a long time ago, but I'm just now getting around to it, sorry. So back in January while I was visiting home in Colorado I received a gift card from my aunt to eat at the one of the fancy smancy restaurants at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. My mom, sister, and I ate at the Lake Terrace Dining Room for brunch. It was one of the most expensive meals I've ever eaten in my entire life lol. As for recommending it to others who are thinking of eating there for a special occasion, I wouldn't say it's the best choice, but if you do have the money for the nice atmosphere and a buffet that features over 100 items to choose from while a live grand piano plays in the background, I suppose it's worth forking up $125 lol. Keep in mind that's for three people. The food was okay. Presentation of the food and the experience of dining at a five star hotel was probably the best part of the whole meal, but I don't plan on going back again, only because I'm a rather cheap person and think I could find a restaurant just as nice that charges a fraction of the total cost. Anyway, here are some pictures from the Broadmoor. These were taken mid January of 2011:

As you can see from the pictures, the food does look quite nice, I'm actually getting hungry again lol. The Broadmoor is a very lovely place to visit, so if you're a local or happen to be in the area you should at least stop by for the beautiful scenery. :)

More Pictures from the Panasonic Lumix LX3

David and I took our dogs Red and Shiba and went to Strike Dam yesterday, where I got to really test out the new camera. There are so many different features on that baby I have yet to try them all. This post will be more picture heavy and less wordy lol. These were all taken in the scenery mode. Here we go:

Our German Short Haired Pointer, Shiba

David climbing a rock

Red and Shiba looking out at the lake

Fetch

Shiba swimming

And diving lol

Action shot

Another action shot

David trying to coax Shiba into going in the water

Half of Red and beautiful Idaho scenery

More beautiful scenery

If you've still been looking for the perfect camera, then this is it. Seriously, it's worth it. <3

New Camera!

My 23rd birthday was last Tuesday, and baby upgraded my Kodak camera to the Panasonic Lumix! It was pretty pricey but well worth it. I've had my Kodak camera for about five years. It's pretty much a beginner's camera that looks like this:


        

        Here's a picture I took with my old camera.

 

 As you can see, the quality is decent, okay looking, except my face is rather washed out. Then when I took a picture of my face with the Panasonic Lumix in soft mode, this is what we end up with:

 

So much more clear and the colors just pop out at you! No more graininess either, and perfectly smooth skin lol. This camera's definitely a keeper. Anyway, I'm kind of lazy today so I think I'll just keep this entry short and sweet. And if you're wondering where I got my new camera, I bought it off Amazon. Here's the link:

                                                                                                                                                       

The Long Hair Community

I love this site. Since I'm currently growing my hair out to waist length, I often visit this forum for tips and suggestions on how to maintain my wavy hair. I registered for an account last week and finally got approved, so now I have my own little profile where I can add photos and statistics about my hair length, type, volume, etc. Also, I can post on the many threads other people have started.

If you're looking to grow your hair out and are in dire need of support, definitely look into joining this forum because they do have a lot of helpful tips and it's always fun to look at other people's progress as a lot of them do post pictures of their hair growth journey. A couple things you should familiarize yourself with are the terminology and the hair typing system that the Long Hair Care forum uses to classify hair types. It could be confusing at first, especially if you are a newbie, but once you read through it, you'll start to pick up on the lingo really quickly.

They can be found here:

http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=8954

and here:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=10

 And that's pretty much it. Enjoy perusing the site, there's a lot of helpful information. :)

Basque Food in Boise

As a pre birthday meal, David took me to Boise where I had my first taste of Basque food. The restaurant we went to is called Bardenay Restaurant and Distillery, which is located on the Historic Basque Block in downtown, Boise. It's a full service restaurant and bar where you can get a tour of the handcrafted liquor  being created on site.
 

The wine distillery is to the left of the bar.

For lunch I ordered the chimichanga with red bean and chorizo soup.

                                 

Downed it with a chocolate martini.

Baby's bardenay club sandwich and fries

The food was really good. I did end up getting a little tipsy from the chocolate martini, but other than that, I would definitely go back again!!

When My Husband Gets Hit On By Other Women

It didn't bother me at first. I was quite flattered that women find my husband attractive, but then after a while it became annoying to the point that I've wanted to say something to them. Before my husband entered the Air Force, he was a little on the chubby side, still handsome, and had that whole country boy look. He's not into fashion. White t-shirt and jeans is usually what he prefers to wear because he loves being around animals and working on cars. His best feature (to me at least) is his ass. Pardon my French. He has got the most voluptuous behind I've ever seen on a man, and it is quite....grab worthy.

Anyway, I got sidetracked lol.....back to what I was saying. After he finished basic training, he lost a lot of weight. He was a lot leaner, his arms and legs became sculpted, and the love handles disappeared. He looked like his head was pasted on a different man's body. Since then, it's seemed to attract a new breed of women. The kind that don't seem to care that he's already taken and yet still try to lure him in. I remember the first time it made me mad was when David was at tech school. We were still dating at the time, and one particular woman asked him if he was interested in having sex with her and instead of being like those typical what-my-girlfriend-doesn't-know-won't-hurt-her  bastards in the military, he said, "I have a girlfriend already who I love." You think it would've stopped there, but then she asks, "How much do you love her?"as if trying to be coy. The more she would try to coax him, the more he would talk about me and how wonderful I was and that he'd never want to lose me.

At least that's what he told me he said lol.

Honestly, I know David wouldn't cheat, but I was still fuming over how persistent that bitch was. Eventually she finally gave up and went and slept with his friend. Other than that one incident, most of the women that have hit on him have backed off upon finding out his relationship status. Granted, my husband does have his flaws, which I have yet to discuss in future posts, but he definitely knows where to draw the line. And I love him for it.

Hair Growth Process

I said I would post an updated picture of my hair after recently changing my hair care regimen.....

Obviously not straightened, I've been wearing it in its natural state for the past couple months. I can't really tell if I've gained any length since I haven't straightened it in a while, but I'm trying to put it off until June just for the sake of my hair. It's been tortured for years lol. I do trim the ends when I see split ends, but a VERY little amount. I guess I'll wait a couple more months before I post another picture, one with my hair in its natural state again and one with it straightened. Until next time, my hair journey continues.

Update on Favorite Hair Products

An update on my favorite hair products! I've been trying to grow out my hair for about a year, thus have limited my use of heat to once a month! CRAZY! I've gone from straightening my hair almost everyday to practically never. I did a lot of research and there really is no way to get waist length hair unless you abandon heat so that's what I've been doing. My hair feels a lot healthier now that I'm not frying it everyday, but then again it could be due to the new regimen I've created for myself based on advice and suggestions gathered up from other people. Soooooo, here are all of the products that have really been helping me obtain cute hair without the heat. I'm also including a couple things I tried that I didn't really like and ended up returning.

1. TiGi Curls Rock Amplifier

The main reason why I always used to straighten my hair is because it would POOF every time it dries out of the shower. I have bushy waves that get really dry at the ends, but this product is a Godsend!! In a previous entry I wrote about the Dream Curls Curl Perfecter Spray. Let me just say that the Curls Rock Amplifier works ten times better. I get the same results everyday: Defined, frizz free curls that are soft and SHINY. The Dream Curls spray made my hair soft, but it was dull. However I still use both products, alternating each day. Curls Rock costs more and it comes in a small bottle but you only need one pump on damp hair. It's sticky on the hands and spreads easily throughout the hair. Use too much and it makes your hair dry crunchy and hard, but you can easily scrunch the stiffness out and your hair will be soft and still have defined curls.

The only thing that sucks about this product is that I heard they were discontinuing it and replacing it with a more expensive version, which I also have, and it looks like this:

2. Tigi Catwalk Curlesque Curls Rock Amplifier

Honestly, I don't see the difference between this new version and the old one, except for the fancy packaging and it costs more. The ingredients are still pretty much the same, nonetheless I prefer the old one to save the extra four bucks.

3. Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum

I bought this too because I read a lot of good reviews on it and I wanted to try a new serum for the days that I use heat on my hair. Sadly, it didn't work too well. It must have been the Benzyl alcohol in this product but after I blow dried my hair the ends felt really dry, and it proceeded to get worse when I flat ironed my hair. While I do like light products, this did nothing in terms of smoothing or moisturizing. It also left my hair very dull and still a little frizzy. I returned it after a week.

4. Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum

I've been using the Garnier Fructis serum for years, and it's still my favorite drugstore product. Very cheap, only 3 or 4 bucks and you can get it at any store. It definitely makes my hair a lot smoother and more moisturized than the $17 Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum. I use Garnier in conjunction with the Curls Rock to seal in the moisture and it never fails. Great product, that's all I have to say.

5. Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide

Another heat protectant I ordered online. I've been using this for almost a year too and I wasn't really impressed. As far as protecting my hair goes, I don't think it offered much protection at all when used by itself. It also made my hair feel greasy and weighed down. I still use it paired with my Garnier Fructis Serum on days when I use heat, mainly because I don't want the $15 I spent to go to waste. However, once this is finished, I will not repurchase.


These are all the products I have gone through, and am currently considering changing up my shampoo and conditioner once I run out. I'm using Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo and Dove conditioner. I also use a deep conditioner about once a week from L'Oreal's new sulfate free line. The conditioner is called L'Oreal Paris EverSleek Smoothing Deep Conditioner, which hydrates my hair and keeps it looking healthy throughout the week.

My Dog Broke Out In Hives

My poor yellow lab broke out in hives last night! URGH I still have goosebumps thinking about it. I don't know exactly how it happened and probably never will, but my husband and I were just sitting in the living room watching Family Guy and Red was laying on his side under the coffee table as usual. I didn't notice anything at first, except that he seemed to be scratching a lot more lately. Here's a picture I drew of what he looked like before the hives. Excuse the elementary art lol. I didn't bother to take a photo of him last night as I was too busy freaking out and frantically searching Google for remedies.

He literally went from this:

To this in about 20 minutes:

So SAD!!!!! I baby my dog so much, so when I saw him in that state, I immediately started panicking and crying. Of course, David was telling me crying wasn't going to fix anything so he called his mom and asked her for advice, which was to give him a couple Benadryll and start a Green Tea bath for him. We had neither so we ended up driving to the shoppette to get the medicine and tea bags as it was already late and everything else was closed.

It was the worst experience ever to have to sit there and watch Red in his pitiful state. All I could do was touch his face and rub the huge welt on his nose and the smaller lumps on his head and cry and get more goosebumps. If there is anything that makes the hair stand on the back of my head, it's hives. And cockroaches.

Anyway, I gave my dog two Benadryll pills which I had stuck in a piece of hot dog and waited about a half hour while I filled the bathtub about halfway with warm water. David seeped a couple tea bags until the water turned completely green. Red was a bit hesitant to get into the bathtub when he saw the green water, but eventually he gave in and I soaked him in there for a good hour, letting him drip dry once he got out. Then we went to bed and when I woke up this morning, the hives were gone but the left side of his face was swollen.

He looked like a hunchback doggy. :( David now calls him Mr. Hives. I ended up giving him another bath and a Benadryll wrapped in a piece of cheese and the swelling went down rapidly by lunchtime. Other than a couple bumps still left on his body, he seems to be doing well, thank God. Still playing and breathing normally, but still itchy and when I brushed him he lost a lot of hair. That was the first time I've ever had to deal with hives, and I hope whatever bug that bit Red (I'm assuming it was a spider in our house or whatever) got sucked up into the vacuum bag and died a horrible death. I paid over $400 for Red, God forbid I lose him to a damn insect!