Being Fit vs. Being Skinny

This is going to sound weird, but last night I was showing Kevin my biceps and triceps because I am just so proud of how strong I am getting from boot camp! Then Kevin put his foot in his mouth and said, "Why do you want big muscles?" Then, of course, I got defensive. :). Which prompted me to write this blogpost.

I am dang proud of my muscles! I work hard for them every single day. I love being strong and I love being fit. I will never be "skinny." It's just not in my composition. And you know what, I don't want to by skinny. I'd rather be fit over skinny any day. I eat healthy and I work out everyday. I am happy to be in shape!

To end this rant, this is the workout I did today at boot camp.

To summarize, that's 200 push ups, 50 pull ups, 50 sit ups, 100 vertical jumps, and 50 squats. With a mile warm up run. I demonstrated all the exercises to Kevin and he said, "I don't think I could do all that." :)

I am proud to be able to do this! I've been doing boot camp for 4 months now and am in the best shape I've been in, even though I may not be at the lowest weight. Each cycle we get "newbies" who join our class. This cycle, we got quite a few guys to join. Big, tough, burly men who struggle through the workouts while some of our returning females kick some butt! 

If anyone needs help moving a couch, opening a pickle jar, or flipping a tire, I'm your girl ;)

P.S. If anyone in the Des Moines area is interested in joining my boot camp class, you can do so here! :)

I Love Love.

It's no secret that I love proposals and I love sharing them! I saw this sweet one today on Green Wedding Shoes and thought everyone needed to see it. I love proposals even more now that I've been proposed to because I know exactly what the lucky lady is feeling and it makes me sentimental about my own engagement :).

Anywho, enough of the jibber jabber, enjoy this sweet sweet proposal!

Patrick and Kimberly (The Proposal) from Shutter Life Productions on Vimeo.

Hope you all had a great Monday (as great as Mondays can go!) I started my long-term sub job today and am so so happy about it! I love the school and the staff and the students. It's the perfect place for me and I can't wait to go back tomorrow! :)

P.S. If you're new here or just curious and want to read my own engagement, you can do so here! :)

Melting My Heart

Yesterday was a bad day. My hopes were as high as they could have been and came crashing down after a very bad experience in a tattoo shop. I will admit I let it affect my mood for the rest of the night more than I should have. I tend to do this a lot, but I'm working on it. I should have said, "Screw you, man!" and moved on with my life. There are worse things in life. Much worse. I need to keep it in perspective.

I woke up today still a little down in the dumps and not real motivated to go to school. But alas, I must pay the bills! I went to school...and I had a fantastic day. The kids were wonderful and sweet and helpful and I just really enjoyed teaching and being with kids.

All day long the kids had been asking me about the locket necklace I was wearing and wanted to see the picture inside. Being as I got it last week at Forever 21, I had no sentiments to it, and it was empty.

In the middle of the day, a little boy brought me a piece of paper with two stick figures on it. He told me it was for my locket since I didn't have a picture in it, and he wanted to give me something so I will always remember him by. My heart instantly melted! It was such an innocent and thoughtful sentiment. Just what I needed today. I gave him a big hug and a gracious thank you. Soon, I had 3 other kiddos coming up to me with their own illustrations for my locket. I happily fit them all in there.

It's things like this that rejuvenate me everyday and make me feel so blessed to be in the profession I am. Even if I'm not in the best of moods, there will always be a child who will instantly brighten my day and warm my heart right up!

Bullied by the Tattoo Man

Welp folks, I had big plans to post all about my brand new (pun intended) tattoo tonight. I have been looking forward to this fateful day for a long time. I have been thinking of nothing other than this tattoo ALL WEEK! And then, I met the Big Bad Tattoo Bully Man.

I showed up for my appointment very excited but very nervous. I wasn't nervous that I would regret this tattoo...I am 100% certain this is what I want. I was nervous because this is my first tattoo and I was out of my element. I didn't know how I would be perceived, I wanted to be sure I asked all the right questions, and I wanted to feel like I could state exactly what I want and not feel bad about it. In hindsight, I was nervous for all the right reasons.

All my tattoo artist knew about this tattoo is generally where I wanted it (my shoulder blade) and the lyric I wanted, "hold on to who you love." He drew up a general idea and it wasn't what I had pictured, and that's fine. I kindly showed him a few pictures of tattoos I was inspired by. And then it all went downhill. I should note, when he showed me what he drew up, he said, "There's only one "o" in this "to", right?" ARE YA FRICKEN KIDDING ME?! I should have walked out right there.

"Well, that's fine, but it looks like generic computer font," was his passive aggressive response. He went back to his dungeon and came back with something different. At this point, Kevin arrived for moral support. It was very close to what I had in mind, but still not 100%. We decided to go ahead and see how it looks on my body and then go from there. I wanted a slight curve, the tattoo man suggested it go straight across. I explained I wanted it to look very feminine and delicate, nothing too crazy. We tried it 3 or 4 different ways on my body, but he wasn't understanding what I was wanting. Who knows, maybe I wasn't using the right tattoo lingo? Apparently my verbal descriptions and the two pictures I brought in was not enough to appease this man.

It was clear he was becoming frustrated, annoyed, and most of all, inconvenienced. He was very passive aggressive and short with me. I began to feel very uncomfortable, and bad even, that I wasn't happy with what he was showing me. This is exactly what I was nervous about--being made to feel uncomfortable or stupid for not 100% loving what the guy drew up. But then I looked to my moral support, and I could tell he was questioning it, too. I am so glad Kevin was there. He did a good job of not giving me his opinions as to influence me away from what I wanted, but he was honest when I needed him to be.

Then I started to think that maybe I was just being too picky. Maybe I needed to be a big girl and just DO IT! I liked the positioning, the size was good, I liked the font. I was already 100% sure of WHAT I wanted, it's just a matter of putting it all together. Let's do this! Here is the final mock-up he did:

So, I hesitantly go on the table and got all positioned to be inked.

Then, I started to panic.

WHAT AM I DOING?! This is NOT exactly what I wanted. I looked at Kevin, and I saw it in his face. It's good enough, but good enough is not something that I want on my body forever. So I said, "Question. Is there any way you can show me one more font? I'm just not 100% on this one and I want something to compare it to." And then the bully got angry. "Well, I can draw something else, but I don't know what difference it will make."

And then I looked at Kevin. "You know, you don't have to do this today, we can come back another time" is what Kevin said at the exact moment I was thinking it.

Then the man replied, "Well I'm going to have to charge you for the work I did already." Ohhhh, ok, well in that case, of course I'll let you and all your negativity half-ass a tattoo that will be on my body forever for the sake of not having to pay a small fee for the "work" you've done thus far. Go ahead!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I told him that today wasn't going to be the day (as I was laying on the table all ready to go, talk about ridiculous), and I'd live with the writing on my body for the night and make an appointment to come back another time. I think he was tired of us and said, "Eh, whatever, it's fine, I trust you'll come back."

SCREW THAT! After we left, I got more and more shook up about how blatantly rude this man was to me and how terrible of an experience it was. Kevin was very angry about how I was treated (although he stopped short of kicking his butt...probably a good call, this man was huge and hairy). I called Tonia on the way home and cried to her about it and she made me feel better and made me feel like I wasn't just being a baby (THANKS, TA!) I'm glad I didn't go through with it. I would have been happy with the tattoo but I don't want to remember that experience when I see it. This is Andy Hull from Manchester Orchestra (who I LOVE!). Unfortunately, the tattoo man could have been his [evil] twin.

Maybe the worst part of this is how excited I was about it. I was so stinkin' excited to be getting my tattoo TONIGHT, and in the end, I came away with nothing but a terrible experience. The next step is finding someone I'm comfortable with. Kevin's sister Heather had nothing but good things to say about her tattoo artist in Cedar Falls, so I think I may go that route.

All in all it was a disappointing experience and definitely not what I had in mind. This was definitely not the post I had in mind, but I'm glad I had enough sense to recognize when something wasn't feeling right. I came home and went on an angry run, and luckily mom sent me homemade Oreos so those are also helping me out right now, too (counterproductive, I know.) Hopefully this will be the last tattoo post I do sans tattoo :)

Mint On the Brain

Spring is here! I have been in the process of switching my winter clothes out for lighter clothes. I always "forget" about the clothes I wore a year ago and have a hard time putting together outfits at the start of a season. Anyone else have that problem? Just my weirdness? Ok, great.

In honor of spring I decided to put together a little post of my favorite spring color. You guessed it...mint! I was perusing my pinboards on Pinterest and noticed a defining trend in this lovely spring color.

 These pretty glass jars. This is exactly what I am envisioning for our wedding for flowers/decor.

 This beautiful mint bathroom vanity of my dreams!

 Yes! I looove these mint pants. Not sure I have the frame for them but they look lovely on this lady.

I would totally make this bookshelf. When I have my own home, I'm definitely doing it!

 This would be the most perfect dress for teaching during those awkwardly warm months at the end of the year.

 Love these strappy mint sandals

I would feel 1,000 times cooler if I had these headphones. Unfortunately they are $60 and from Urban Outfitters. A girl can dream, right?! LOVE!

Maybe these aren't the best for spring, but I do love these mint moccasins!

Swoon! This mint mantle is perfect. It's a thrifted antique and even comes it a DIY!  

Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh! I neeeed this dress! It's a beaut, isn't it?! You seriously don't get any better than lace AND mint in one dress.

Ok ok, to be honest, I recently found my OWN perfectly perfect mint lace dress. I happened upon Forever 21 when this beauty about smacked me in the face. My jaw LITERALLY dropped because when I saw it I knew it was meant for me. I don't have any decent pictures of me IN the dress because Kevin gives me weird looks when I try to take a picture of myself. Instead I did it in secrecy while Kevin was driving in the car with my phone. Not the best shots, but you'll get the idea. 

 I love it because it's long enough to wear without tights (those dresses are IMPOSSIBLE to find these days) and the top is just perfect. I want to wear it everyday. Sigh.

There you have it! My current love affair with MINT. (Don't tell turquoise, whatever you do...)

P.S. COME BACK TOMORROW FOR SOME EXCITING $#@&!!!

Weekend

Sadly, it's Sunday already. I had a really great weekend spent with family. My parents were in town this weekend for the JDRF Walk for the Cure. They came Friday night and we enjoyed dinner and some drinks. We took them to a few small town bars and it was a lot of fun.

Grandma and Grandpa were also in town and Grandma made us zucchini bread and scotcheroos! 

 On Saturday morning, we walked in the JDRF Walk to Cure downtown in the skywalks. So many people and such a great cause!

Saturday night we had some serious storms run through. Nothing serious came of it, but there was a lot of "hype" leading up to it. Here's a look at the radar. I like storms up to a point, then I get scared. When I was little I used to be terrified of tornadoes, and I ALWAYS had dreams about them. I still do to this day! I found out this weekend my dad also has lots of dreams about tornadoes. Could dreams be genetic?

 I was going to do something exciting Saturday night (more info to come later this week) but it didn't work out, so I decided to color my hair instead. I was in the mood to do something drastic (always a great mood to be in when picking out hair color, right...?) I usually dye my hair "Light Auburn Brown" but I decided to go "Rich Auburn" this time. It wasn't as drastic as I'd hoped, but I do love the outcome. I'm wanting to go lighter red, I'm thinking the summer sun will help with that.

And here's the final product! Definitely a more vibrant red than before. 

Today I pretty much bummed all day. I did make a trip to the mall with a gift card Kevin won at work. What a nice boy, letting me have it! :) I put it to good use and managed to come home with money to spare! I'm most excited to try out my new Sephora eye liner. I've never boughten anything there (remember, I'm frugal) but Tonia has been suggesting I try it and it is the same price as my Target-bought stuff that has pretty well dried out. I also got a light and summery cardigan, sunnies, and some other cheap-o accessories from F21. Word to the wise--F21/Heritage has super cheap cami's ($2.80 each!) that I love. You can never have enough cami's. Anyway, I'm sure you don't care about my adventures at the mall so I will wrap this up before you call asleep at the computer.

Kevin and I are off to the grocery store, which as become somewhat of a Sunday tradition for us. Exciting things are happening in my life this week, I'll be back Wednesday with exciting news! (Don't get your hopes up, it's not a job. I wish!)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and make it a great week!

P.S. I am always on the lookout for new blogs to love, so feel free to send me suggestions anytime! If you are on the lookout for new blogs, all the blogs I read daily are listed on the righthand side over there. I love taking a half hour of my day to relax and become inspired by other bloggers. My friend Kelli just started her own blog this month! I love reading it and I know you will, too. We are VERY similar, so chances are, if you like reading this, you will like reading hers, too. You can check it out her blog, Thrive, here!

Wedding Inspiration: Color Palates

It's no secret that I love color. I am visually drawn to anything bright and colorful. So, it's no shock to me that I'm having trouble coming up with a color palate for our wedding. I have decided not to limit myself to picking "purple and green" or "yellow and blue."I am confident in my decision to just pick COLOR! However, I know I can't just have a color free-for-all or our wedding will end up looking like a kindergarten classroom.

I have been collecting color palates on Pinterest for some time now. I thought it would be helpful to me to look at all the palates in one place that at one time inspired me to pin it. Without further ado...

 And here are some photos that had color palates that inspired me:

 

And of course, one of my favorite pins EVER... :)

I wanted to end with a sentence that said, "I think I gravitate most towards ____________," but I can't even narrow it down! I am in love with the aqua/purple picture of the table setting. And I LOVE the rainbow wedding party, but i don't think it will fit our vintage/rustic vibe. I think the softer tones will probably be best, but I think I am more attracted to the vibrant jewel tones.

For the record, I realize this is a minuscule problem to have compared to other problems in the world. Woe is me, whatever color palate will I use?! Blogging while watching the news is probably not the best thing for one's conscious. :)


All photos and their sources can be found on my Wedding Pinterest board. 

More Than A Teacher

Yesterday felt like kind of a bummer post. I just wanted to inform you all that today I had a fantastic day and made some important connections. I have high hopes. In the spirit of all this teaching talk, here is a little diddy I found online today that made me smile. I have a lot of teacher friends that read my blog, so this is for you!

currently.

Working On: Applications, applications, applications, applications. I filled out applications to all the large districts in the area months ago, and now I'm branching out to the smaller districts. Many districts haven't opened any jobs yet and I know I shouldn't be worrying, but I am. I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed and right now I just don't feel like I'm succeeding. I feel like I'm in limbo and I hate that feeling. I just have a lot of anxiety about finding a job, and I'm trying to be proactive about my situation. Not having a (full time non-sub) job secured for the fall is the one thing in my life that isn't working for me. I am having control issues, I'll admit it.

Loving: The lack of responsibilities in my life. When school's over, I have the whole night to myself. No papers to grade, no homework to do, nobody to cook for. Ok, nobody that I HAVE to cook for. I can do whatever I want. I can workout without having to think about a bajillion other things I should be doing. I can craft to my heart's desire. Even though I am a little anxious, I need to relax and enjoy this time of no responsibilities. I am also loving boot camp. I know I talk about it all the time, but I am down 4% body fat and I feel great!

Thinking About: Ok, to be honest, I'm always thinking about finding a job. But we already covered that. To get my mind off that, I'm thinking about all the fun events that are happening this summer! First, I'm getting my tattoo! I'm hoping to get it drawn up this weekend and then inked in the next month or two. I am so excited! Then, our trip to San Diego with Kevin's sister Heather. I am SO excited about that! It's been almost 2 years since I left for Italy, and I'm feeling an itch to travel. When I return, I'll start my summer job nannying for the best girls I know. This was my job last summer, too, and it was the best summer job EVER! Polly Pockets, crafts, and the pool. Repeat. I'm also excited for Tonia's wedding! My dress is being altered and I'm collecting material for my maid of honor speech. It'll be here before we know it! I'm also looking forward to spending quality time with my boy, grilling out, soaking up the sunshine, reading many books, and going to many local farmer's markets.

Listening To: Fantasy Factory. Man do I love that Rob Dyrdek! If I weren't watching TV, I'd be listening to Brand New. I have been listening to them nonstop since hearing they are coming to see me in the midwest.

Eating: Nothing. But I'm hungry. I think I may have a popsicle. Dole Fruit Bars are the best thing ever. I think there are only 60 calories in 1. Of course there is no nutritional value, but I have a sweet tooth and it satisfies my cravings!

Wishing: It were the weekend. My parents AND grandparents are coming to town this weekend. We are going to do the JDRF Juvenile Diabetes walk downtown to raise money for my sis! I'm also going to get my tattoo drawn up. The weather is supposed to be rainy but luckily I will have lots of people around and lots of activities to do! Oh...we're also going wedding dress shopping :) I'm very excited!! The first time I went with my mom and I wasn't too into it. This time I am PUMPED! I feel like I could even make a purchase. Ok, that's probably not true.

Feeling: Lucky. I know that I am "worried" about my lack of job for the fall, but I realize there is so much to feel thankful for. I am in a profession that allows me to always have a job subbing. I have a job RIGHT NOW. I have a job for the SUMMER. I need to relax and just let it be. It will all work out. I am thankful to have a loving partner who is supportive of my dreams and wants me to do what makes me happy. I also have family and friends who believe in me and my talents. Life is good.

(To read other "currently." posts, you can read Katie's, Allison's, and Danielle's.)