Detox

Ever since the "lack of water" incident, I have been trying really hard to be healthy. It's been going on for two weeks now....the healthy thing. I have been doing really well. I am LOVING my gym and eating healthier foods has been easier than I thought it would be. After a few days, my body got used to not consuming so much salt and sugar. It's like going through a detox. And it feels amazing! After work today, I went grocery shopping with an empty stomach. Everyone knows that's a bad idea, but I did it anyway; Call it a test. When I used to shop hungry I would jump straight to the frozen fat food isle. Yuck! Today, I spent most of my time in the produce isle. The junk foods I usually gravitate to didn't even catch my eye. I was only tempted once by my dearest fruit snacks and their colorful squishy wonder! I touched the box then said to myself out loud, "No, I don't need that." I was so proud of myself! That proud feeling is one that only a person who has had a lifelong issue with food, like me, could understand.

My fridge is now filled with strawberries, apples, carrots, spinach, etc. Yes, that is what I spent my tax return on! The only downside to eating healthy is that it isn't as cheap as the crap food :( It's just an adjustment I am going to have to make in my budget. And for the first time EVER, I'm okay with it :)

The value of water

I never realized how precious water was until I had to go a full 7 days without it. SEVEN DAYS! Imagine it. No shower. No drink from the tap. No flushing the toilet. No cooking. No washing dishes. For a week, I lived off of canned pineapple, peanut butter sandwiches, carrots, and yogurt. I think I've lost 10 pounds in a week.... okay not really but it feels like it. Based on my behavior this week I have come to the following conclusion: When I have easily accessible water I am fat and lazy. Here's why.

I couldn't flush the toilet. Therefore I couldn't go potty at my house! (well, sometimes I did go pee pee in the potty but imagine a week of mine and roomie's pee pee in the potty....STINKY....). I had to get my butt down to the 7-eleven down the road in order to use the bathroom. I, unfortunately, can't go outside because I don't have an "aimer" as the boys do and "popping a squat" isn't acceptable female behavior. That alone forced me to work more in order to go to the bathroom and to really appreciate having a potty in my own house.

I couldn't take a shower. So, I put my "thinking cap" on and signed myself up for a free 7-day trial at 24 hour fitness JUST so I could take a free shower every day. Since I had the membership, I decided to start working out. That triggered something inside me. I realized I liked working out! I got Josh involved and we both signed up for a membership through LA Fitness (cuz 24 hour sucks and was too far away from home). No water, essentially, pushed me to exercise my fat butt.

I couldn't cook. Now, when I say cook, I really mean "make macaroni from a box." I need water to make macaroni. Is macaroni healthy? Nope. No sir. And I used to eat it just about every day. So, without my precious water, I couldn't make my carb-loaded pasta. I lived off of veggies, fruit, yogurt and sandwiches. Waterless-ness made me eat healthier.

Water helped me become healthier because of my inability to cook, shower and potty. And now that I think about it, I appreciate water being gone for a week. It helped me realize how much I rely on water and how easy I have it (even though I'm beyond broke)! It also gave me thoughts such as, "Oh, no wonder Africans are skinny. They have to walk 5 miles to get a bucket of water from a contaminated well" (jk). Now that I know what it's like to live without water, I promise myself to NEVER go without it again. Though, yes, it was good for me in certain ways, it really really pissed me off. Waking up in the middle of the night and really having to go to the bathroom and having to drives 2 miles down the road just to go to the bathroom is NOT fun. So here's a tip: PAY YOUR BILLS ;) And appreciate all the simple things you have in your life that you wouldn't even think twice about. One day, it could be gone.

The ghetto life

I have a feeling my life is going to quickly be filled with things I have never experienced before. For example, I woke up this morning only to discover that our water had been shut off. The boys forgot to/didn't have the money to pay the bill. That means no shower, can't flush the toilet and can't drink... And I'm so sick! All I WANT to do is shower and drink water and pee every 30 minutes. When whining about it to my boyfriend, he said "You are so picky." He has had to live like this, "in worse conditions," his entire life---the whole being broke and forgetting/not having enough money to pay the bills. Then it dawned on me... for the millionth time...

I am so blessed to be born into the family I was and to have been raised the way that I was. I had parents who made plans. They were married 5 years before they had me. They saved every penny they had to ensure that their children could be completely cared for. They drove cheap, fuel efficient cars until they couldn't be driven anymore! They rarely went out to eat or to the bar or to a movie. They sacrificed a lot of "fun time" so that they didn't ever have to worry about bills. I grew up with a full pantry, health insurance, a clean house and parents who cared enough about me to make something of themselves BEFORE they had me. They educated themselves and they BOTH worked.

I take a look around at those people that have multiple cars, go out to eat all the time and buy a bunch of crap and suddenly it all makes sense to me.... It's all about priorities. Finances, safety, support and protection were my parent's priorities. Fun, expensive food, games and toys are priorities to others. In this moment I make the decision to NOT be the latter. I WANT to follow in my parents footsteps. It's not going to be easy. It's really HARD to think in the way my dad does, especially when I am surrounded by those who are irresponsible. But I have a choice. I CAN choose how I spend my money and how to rank my priorities. I refuse to live in this ghetto life forever. Things may be hard right now, but I swear to myself and to the kids I will ONE DAY have, that I will improve my financial situation and I WILL move forward in life. I owe it to myself, to them, and to future generations. I'm already a step ahead of others. I have a degree. I will be starting a job. I want to go FURTHER, and I WILL.

So think about it.... what are YOUR priorities? It's all about choices. Let's make the RIGHT ones :) Oh, and cheers to smart parents! The best thing you can do for your kids is to make something of YOURSELF BEFORE you have them. Otherwise, you're just being irresponsible and selfish....

Moving on and away

Yesterday I moved away from my parents. Such a scary thing to do, esp since I have been so dependent on them for 22 years. I still don't know how to do my taxes correctly or how to go about paying for my car insurance and cell phone etc. And goodness, losing my health insurance scares me! I need to get me some of that ASAP... Everything is hitting me all at once, but I knew this time would come. It's time to grow up and learn how to do things on my own. Still a scary thing... but I know that I'll always have my family and Josh on my side. 

I now reside in Lacey, WA. Basically right in Olympia, WA. I live with my boyfriend and his room mate. Moving in with a boyfriend was something I have never officially done before and never planned on doing. I always thought I would be engaged first. But plans don't always work. That's one of those "life lessons" I've come to accept. I live in a modern world. Plus, living 320 miles away from my boyfriend was not ideal. I couldn't stand it! After everything we'd been through together, neither of us wanted to waste anymore time. And luckily, I was at the point in my life where I could easily transition. So, I did. For me. For him. For us. For my career. And because I didn't want to get stuck in the trashy "city" I "grew up" in. There's WAY more opportunities on the west side of the mountain. 

Speaking of jobs and money.... I start work on the 13th! I'll be working at a place called Citizen Access Residential Resources. I'll be helping developmentally disabled people within the community. I am not sure how it's going to go or exactly what the job entails, but I guess I will find out soon enough! Even though I know it'll be hard work with low pay, I couldn't be happier to start work. I couldn't be happier to be here! This is my time to learn and to grow in the REAL world- Not like college at all. Sure, I learned A LOT. But, besides the going-to-class thing and doing hours of paper writing, that place was really just a play pen for little adults..... "Hello, I go to college. AKA: drunken orgies with occasional cliff notes!" (name that quote!!!!!!...... Night at the Roxbury). Oh, and that quote isn't true so don't freak out grandma... 

Anyway, enough of my blabbering and tangents. I have moved away and put everything that happened in high school and college BEHIND me. Spokane was just an unattractive reminder of it all. I couldn't be happier anywhere else besides where I am now! I've got my dog, my boyfriend, my job, my car, my new friends (with more to be made soon!), a roof over my head, food in the kitchen, fuzzy blankets and netflix. What else could a girl need? :) Cheers to growing up! 

Caribbean Cruise

So much has happened in the last 2 weeks that I can't even tell every detail. I'll just have to give an overview.

I spent 3 days in Florida before Gigi and I left for the Caribbean on Saturday Jan 21.
We set sail from Bridgetown, Barbados then went to Grenada, Carriacou, Tobago Cays, St. Vincent, Martinique, St. Lucia, and then back to Barbados-Took 7 days.
I was the youngest on the entire boat which, by the way, was an awesome pirate ship with 167 passengers and 103 crew! I was the most popular person on the boat. Everyone quickly learned my dislike for seafood. I decided to go with steak and fries for each dinner. I discovered that men love me-the young, old, foreign, small, big..... The locals love my eyes and smile and apparently I'm outgoing. People are so kind. I saw a monkey and a crab, and that was all the wildlife I saw because the fish in the Caribbean are lazy. I got a sunburn. I saw every star in the sky at night; the night sky is the most beautiful over the ocean. I got my grandma to zipline in St. Lucia. It was so much fun and she loved it too! The Caribs call rain "liquid sunshine" and they are so poor but they are the happiest poor people I have ever seen. They have so many bananas, coconuts, mangos, breadfruit and papaya etc. These countries may be poor, but they will never go hungry.
We flew back to Florida on Saturday the 28 and I spent the next 3 days hanging out there. I got to see my goofy uncle and beautiful aunt for a couple of meals. It was nice seeing family. I don't get to see my family much. We have always been apart and now we are even more distant. It's one of the downsides of a military family.

I got back to WA on Wednesday. I'm just hanging around Spokane while I "prepare" to take the GRE tomorrow. So far, life since graduation has been good :)