My chest is on fire!

Wow my chest is on fire this morning...but it is a good feeling. I worked chest and tris last night and hit is pretty hard. I am really enjoying my workouts and the time with hubby. As always, our time in the gym is not only important to us but also "our" time. No kids, no dogs, no phones...just us and the weights.

It is nice because we have a 30+ mile drive to the gym each way and it allows us to spend time talking about our workouts, retirement, our search for property to buy, what we want to build, our daughter and tons of stuff. It gives us time to laugh also.

I am going to change up my workout exercises and add some different ones, just for the chance. I think I am going to throw in some romanian dead lifts, cable crossovers, reverse crunches, more skull crushers and more lunges. That is not the big issue for me right now as much as my diet is...it is getting warmer and I tend to eat less. This is not good as I want to be eating more! Trying to force down a minimum of 2800 calories a day is near impossible. But I will not give up...I will eat more each day.

I got a new picture of my grandson in the mail yesterday which tickled me. I am amazed at how much he has grown. It is now time to start my birthday shopping for him as he turns three on April 17th. YAY. Son is doing well back in NC and I miss him. But I am very proud of him also.

More later...back to work here.

Some great workouts have been happening!

Hubby and I have been hitting the gym hard...we have had a great Leg workout on Tuesday, Wednesday was a day off and last night it was shoulders, traps and Abs. I love working my shoulders and traps.

I did 3 sets of everything I did, hit is hard and lifted heavy. I did overhead barbell presses, DB lat raises, DB front raises, DB shrugs, Knee ups, twisted knee ups and straight leg knee ups. It felt great!

Tonight is Back and Bis...I love working my back so this will be another great night. I am still struggling with increasing my caloric intake and getting the food down. Eating clean and trying to cram 2500 - 2800 calories down per day is not easy. I wish there was some way I could stimulate my appetite during the warmer weather. Sounds like a new research project for me.

This weekend should be fairly relaxed but next week is going to be crazy! Thursday is a trip to the VA hospital with hubby and then drive to Washington state and load up the remainder of our stuff there. Whew! Then the fun part starts...unpacking and sorting through all of that stuff.

More later...

Things as usual are heating up with the military and finally I have made some headway in getting hubby's retirement pay corrected, the VA has finally made a decision and I can now start getting his medical care taken of again. I also learned that in a very short few months, he must be put back through all of the horrid testing he went through before getting out of the military. I am not looking forward to giving him that news. They have no idea how upsetting it is to continually be tested over and over for the same thing...of which nothing has changed since 2003! He worries me some days because of his depression levels but, we will fight our way through this as well. Eventually, maybe, one day they will just stop this ridiculous stuff and fully retire him so I can finally stop getting some normalcy into his life again.

Our anniversary was a bust with sitters pulling a no show...but we had a nice evening at home as a family and are making plans to spend at least one evening by ourselves soon. Meanwhile everything is status quo...still trying to sort through the gunk to find our new life after the military. The more the days pass and the more soldiers I come across who have been royally abandoned by the military, the angrier I become over it. Their medical treatment botched, the discharges and retirements botched and getting little assistance after they leave active duty. It is just so wrong in so many ways. Not all of them have wives who are still there and supportive and some never had wives. It is very sad indeed.

Well onward and upward...tomorrow is another day!

Finally an update!

Well 2007 has not been off to a snappy start. So much has happened, so much has changed and a major loss suffered.

We are still in Oregon and now have a cute little place we rented, hubby is wonderful, Cheyenne is in a neat school and loving it and I am embarking on a new enterprise here at home. But on January 30th I had to say goodbye to my 13 year old wolf. He had an inoperable bladder tumor and I had to have him put to sleep. I would not see him suffer or be in pain yet, it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I was with him the entire time and right to the end. Even after he was gone, I stayed there with him, finding it hard to hear the thought of leaving him. He has been cremated and is in a nice box on a special shelf with his lead...so I am adjusting to him being physically gone.

Hubby and I are still lifting weights and embarking on a new bulking cycle so I will get even BIGGER....yay. I have my eyes set on a competition in October in the bodybuilding division and if I am not ready I will try for the Emerald Cup in the spring of 2008. Marriage is great, retirement great & frustrating and hopefully freedom from the fight with the Army will appear somewhere on the horizon.

Another trip approaches....

The last minute details are being handled for the next trip to Oregon. We will leave tomorrow morning and spend two or three weeks down in Cave Junction. Meanwhile, I have begun searching for property up in the Rainier and Yelm area of Washington as well. While I love Cave Junction, I am fast coming to realize that there is not much there for children and this causes me concern.

They have just announced due to county budgets, all the libraries (21 of them) are to be permanently closed down effective Jan 2007. In three months law enforcement in Cave Junction will no longer be open or funded. These things concern me in having a young daughter and having no library for her as I view reading to be a valuable and important part of her education. If the county cannot afford to have libraries open then why would I want to invest 300k or more into buying property there? I have also come to learn that schools are rated poorly also and it is my intention to put Cheyenne back in public school in the middle school grade levels.

Meanwhile, the fight with retirement pay continues. Eventually, and hopefully before I must get too nasty with them, they will get their act together and get hubby's retirement pay correct. VA on the other hand is totally ticking me off. They were to make their decision within 90 days of his last retirement date and I am told when I called that they are running behind because of the holidays and it will be another 40 days...and yes they understand it is a law that they have it done within 90 days but it is what it is. Grrrrrrrr Incompetency and Laziness are my trigger buttons for sure. If you cannot do your job then get the HE** out and let someone else who can do it, do so. Sheesh.

So, I will post when I can during the next two - three weeks. Hopefully when we return, we will have located property either here or there...at a minimum, located a rental for awhile.

Meanwhile, I am about to begin my new 12 week workout cycle. This is going to be 12 weeks targeting major mass gain, lifting heavy and super setting. I cannot wait to get started and see how it goes. I am also increasing my calories to a range of 2000 - 2300 per day. So onward and upward!

Stay safe and happy everyone until next post.

Honoring Everyday Life

Cause for Celebration ~ Honoring Everyday Life

We all know someone who keeps plastic covers on his or her couch in order to protect it. The irony is that many of these people may live their lives without ever having actually made contact with their own furniture! This is a poignant and somewhat humorous example of the human tendency to try to save things for special occasions, as if everyday life weren’t special enough to warrant the use of nice things. Many of us have had the experience of never wearing a particular piece of clothing in order to keep it nice, only to have it go out of style in the meanwhile.

It’s interesting to think of what it would mean to us if we let ourselves wear our nicest clothes and eat off the good china on a daily basis. We might be sending ourselves the message that every day we are alive is a special day and a cause for celebration, and that we are worth it. There is something uplifting about treating ourselves to the finest of what we have. It is as if we rise to the occasion when we wear our best clothes and set the table beautifully, as if for a very special guest. We are more mindful of where we place things, what we are eating, and who is with us. Using the good china, eating in the dining room, and taking the plastic off the sofa might be an invitation to be more conscious of the beauty and grace inherent in our everyday lives.

If there are things you’ve stashed away for a special occasion—a bottle of special wine, a gorgeous pair of shoes, an antique lace tablecloth—consider taking them out of their hiding places and putting them to use tonight, just because you are alive now to enjoy them, and that’s a great cause for a celebration.

A Tit-n-Tat of happenings...

Christmas has come and gone and it was a very nice weekend. There was plenty of munchies and homemade honey mead, red spumante and peach sparkly stuff. We celebrated the day with Cheyenne having her gift opening on Christmas morning and then it was an open-house sorta day. Other couples and kids spent the day playing games, munching and enjoying the time together. The adults participated in a white elephant gift exchange which was totally fun. I ended up 'stealing' the gift I wanted from another couple. It was this adorable basket with candles, milk bath, a whip, a soft silky nylon rope, liqueur chocolates and a board game. I was tickled and husband was cringing. *smirk*

Later that evening my best friend's husband got to play with his newest toy...a brand new camera. We turned her livingroom into a photo studio. He loves erotic photography and has been interested in doing the muscle shots so I volunteered my muscles for the shoot. I need to get over my camera shyness and what better way to do it than with a photographer you like and trust, your hubby right there and your best friend with her wonderful girlfriend? We spent several hours taking pics, changing props, changing clothing and just having a great time. At the end of the shoot, we were all anxious to see the photos. I was very happy with the majority of mine which ranged from wearing antlers and a red evening gown with a red whip all the way to black leather with a sword to nothing but a g-string. It was empowering, confidence building and liberating to be able to have fun and get wonderful shots taken. The bonus was that I now have my before pics for my upcoming 12 week workout cycle...so Aaron will get to take more pics in a few months and capture what I hope to be a lot of progress and change.

There is still a heavy feeling of being unsettled and along with that the accompanying worries. I had a rough week leading to up to Christmas with the death of my new horse on the 14th and then the day before Christmas, the death of the elder who gave me away at my wedding. My best friend is going to do a cleansing ceremony for me this evening to try to rid some of the ick and negative which surrounds me like a cloud lately. I am hoping that the cleansing ceremony goes well and that I find a new, stronger attitude underneath the ick.

Well more later.....

Heading to Oregon!

We will be heading to Oregon in a few hours and then the fun begins. We have a small place off the grid to spend the next couple of weeks while we look at property, spend time with my new horse 'Doc' and check out the area. Hubby think that this is the area he wants us to settle in so we want to check out the area as a family for more than a couple of days.

We will be out of touch for a couple of days while we are there and every few days I will hit the wi-fi cafe and check in on email, damily and friends. Not to mention the numerous forums.

I think overall the Clan here will be happy to have some time without the little one underfoot. It is hard on them having an adult household and suddenly having a 10 year old living underfoot. LOL. It has been interesting for them to say the least. But the freedom of their normal household routine will be a welcome return I am sure. And we, as a family, will enjoy having our family time alone again. It has been fine being here and I am always happy being here but I think everyone needs a small break. LOL. The boys will enjoy having 12 acres to play on also.

So, more in a few days after we get down there and get situated. It is going to be interesting dealing without internet handy. It is amazing how reliant upon some things we become. :)

A new week begins....

Monday is here and we are readying our stuff and selves to head to Oregon until just before Christmas. Cheyenne and I are looking forward to being able to be with hubby as well as check out the property he has located and would like to purchase. So our schedule will be filled wiht looking at property, meeting realtors, talking to VA and mortgage brokers, meeting my new horse and getting to knonw him and spending time together as a family.

I am going to scout the area for local gyms or a place to get equipment. We decided that if we purchase this place we would like to turn the garage into a gym area for ourselves so we can workout whenever we want and not have to hassle with the drive, weather, and time of day.

It has been great seeing hubby so excited about something, so I cannot wait to see this property and walk it myself. He does not normally get excited about stuff like that but he has been exclaiming how perfect it is and how it is just what he wants. Plenty of room for my horse and others he would like to purchase (8 fenced acres), a koi pond for me to which he is cure I would turn into a small japanese garden area, a pond for the horses, a small guest cottage that I can spend my free time renovating, plenty of room for the hot tub, a garage to turn into a gym and a cozy 2 bdr 1.5 bath house. So, I shall spill the beans once I have seen it and I shall take pictures as well. :)

So off until later in the week. We are leaving Washington on Tuesday and will be in Cave Junction Oregon by sunset. YAY!

December 7th...a day to remember!

It is officially my best friend's birthday. Happy Birthday Phoenix! I am so blessed to have her in my life, for so many reasons but most of all because she is intelligent, beautiful, caring and has the heart and soul of an angel and yet, she can be as tough as nails when it is needed. Most certainly a strong woman. She is enjoying her retirement from the military immensely but I catch her worry about 'her soldiers' every now and again as well. As a 1st Sgt and Sgt Major, her career existed in daily dealing with and working with the soldiers in her command. She was superior, mother, nursemaid, counselor, confidant, friend and foe to each and every one of them. She felt their loss in the deepest part of her heart and very being. There are not any like her within in the military, there might be a few that come close to stacking up, but none like her for sure.

December 7th is also the 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. To think back on where this world has come and gone since that day in 1941, is astounding to say the least. It is on days like this that I think about our men and women in the armed services that are so far from home and constantly in harm's way. The holidays are approaching for us and we will spend them with family and friends, safe and warm...they however will be far from home with only their fellow soldiers, they will be cold and in harm's way...in a place where they are anything but safe. Hopefully everyone will stop and take a few moments and remember that fact and say a little prayer for them.

Hubby is nearly home, he should be arriving in the next half hour from Oregon and we have much to discuss to prepare for us all going back down to Oregon on Monday. But I am so looking forward to the next couple of weeks with him and having him with us in the evenings.