Something different

So I am attempting something new. Well, sorta. It's kind of an experiment for me. I'm attempting to be vegetarian for Lent. Now, I'm not a "practicing Catholic", but that's neither here nor there and I will not discuss details. Don't ask. I don't speak religion on this blog. Get over it. Email if you have questions.

Anywhos, I've decided to try this new thing because I started noticing that my eating habits were becoming a huge life disaster. Bootcamp and running is not as effective when you don't have the eating habits to go with it. I am happy to say that I've enjoyed this vegetarian adventure so far. I have had 1 slip this past weekend that involved Sonic, a chicken sandwich and a corn dog but we won't discuss that. There aren't many vegetarian/non fried food options when you are in Gonzales, TX. So gotta roll with the locals. =) It feels like a different adventure. I have noticed that I am trying to eat more fruits and veggies and making better choices with portions and stuff. So that is a step in the right directions. My boss is a vegetarian so she let me borrow some cookbooks with some very yummy looking recipes.

Now, I will say that I wasn't much of a red meat eater to begin with. It's cutting out chicken that is painful. But I can do it. And cutting out fried food has been difficult too. But it's something I gotta do. It was just to easy to go down the street through the drive thru line. This makes me feel more accountable for what I'm eating. And for what I'm spending money on. As much fun as fast food junk food is, I'd rather save money, watch what I eat and then splurge a little at a few of my fav local Pville/Round Rock italian food places. =)

Hooray Veggies! LOL

You're asking me?

So this is super random but I've been getting a lot of people asking me how I do my hair because it always looks great. Seriously? You are asking me what I do to my hair? So, for the 2 people who actually wanna know, here is the process to super straight hair.... =)

1. I use whatever shampoo and conditioner is on sale i.e. on the cheap. They all do the same thing. I'll usually switch to a color treated hair shampoo/conditioner when I do get my hair colored/highlighted whatevs.

2. Towel dry hair a bit and then put about a dime size of this amazingness in your hair:

Image found here

This stuff is amazing. But only use a small bit or your hair might end up looking to oily.

3. Air dry. For me, air drying makes it look sooo much better than when I have to blow dry it. I tend to look like a lion when my hair gets blow dried. I will also say that I shower at night. I don't have time in the morning to be doing a lot of beauty prep work.

4. I spray a little of this before I straighten...

Found Here

OMG This stuff is awesome. I love love love it. If you have straight hair (or straight with the help of a straightener), get this. It smells good too.

5. Last but not least, straighten. Now, I am fully behind the idea of it's about the tools you use. I used to have a straightener I got at Target for like $30 bucks. Now, I'm not knocking Target, but I could do better. Chi's are ok, but I wanted to see if I could find something better. And oh did I find something. Presenting the Sedu.....

Found here

I'm sure plenty of people have heard about this brand. I never had. I compared reviews, asked friends, shopped around. I did drop a pretty penny to make this fabulous little gadget mind, but trust me, you will not be dissapointed. I also got a mini travel one included with I bought the regular sized one, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

So there it is. That's how I do. =)

Vivaaaaaaaaaa LAS VEGAS!

Lovey and I are going to VEGAS! Happy belated minimoon to us!!! I'm so excited. You just don't understand. I have a slight confession as to why I'm so excited.....I've never been out of Texas (ok ok, so I went to Kentucky to see family when I was 10 but that doesnt count & I went to Disneyworld when I was 6 but all I remember is the spinning tea cups so that doesn't count either) and........I've never been on a plane. Please don't judge. A former temporary aerospace engineering major and I've never been on a plane. Shameful. But either way, I'M GOING TO VEGAS!

So I need recs for places to eat, things to see and do! GO! We already got our hotel booked. We are staying at Paris! Look at us...being all swanky. Now, this is probably going to be a more "touristy" trip because I don't really gamble and the past times Lovey has come to Vegas was purely for gambling. So I think we are going to see a Cirque de Solei show, of course the water/light show thing at the Belagio, the shops at the Venetian and some other things I'm forgetting. But still...RECS!

13.1

So I accomplished a goal. I finished a half marathon! And the Austin Half Marathon at that! Oh my science was it hard! Now, I know its recommended that you check out the race route before you actually run it...but that's slightly difficult for me since the route was in downtown Austin. I live in Pville. It's kind of a trek down there. I thought I would be prepared. Doing a couple of 10 milers should have done it. But no. This course was wicked. I mean really? Who decided that the HUGE ASS HILL where Enfield becomes 15th street should be at the very end of the race?! Who's bright idea was that?

On top of that, of all days, my shoe didn't want to cooperate with my foot, so 2 blisters started forming between mile 8 and 9....which meant that more walking was happening for me that what I had originally planned for. Which in turn slowed me down. So I finished the Half in 3hrs 7 minutes. Not bad I guess for my first half marathon but I'll admit that I was slightly disappointed. BUT! I did finish and for my first half, that is the most important thing. I got a finishers metal and a finishers shirt. So that made me happy as a clam.

After the race, my body started to revolt. My knees were aching, my ankles were sooo tight! Felt like someone had hit me with a baseball bat. So off to bed I went with lots of meds (including sinus headache meds...effing cold front and the cedar pollen it blew in). So now I'm waddling like a little penguin. But whatever. Don't laugh. So that's all I got. How I was able to accomplish a long awaited goal that I was to chicken to do before. Lovey got some good pictures, so I'll post some of those as soon as he finishes doing the editing thing to them.

Possible changes to come along into this Crown Princess' Life.....what will they be? Depends on how the next few weeks goes. I've tried to make a promise to myself to let everyone in on the secret. AND NO! It's nothing having to do with being preggers or moving or anything insane like that. So quit with that kinda non sense. =)

Can Someone Explain?

**please excuse my negativity...it has been a rough couple of weeks**

Whhhhyyyyyyyyyyyy are there some stupid ass MF's in this world? It seems that I come across new ones every single day. In my job, at the grocery store (i.e. my arch nemesis), through stories from my friends. How can these people really believe that they understand the world so much better than me, when in fact they look like a douche. Now, I'm not saying I know everything. Because I don't....usually. =) But I do like to think I have some common sense.

For instance, why do people really believe everything they hear? I mean, honestly, you just look like a fool later on. Maybe, if you stopped for one millisecond and looked at the source of your information, you would see a poor soul that is trying to make themselves look better in their fucked up lie of a world. Those that talk trash and say that certain people are dramatic and this, that or the other are usually the ones that love the drama, just don't have the balls to admit it. I'm just sorry that your life is so shitty that you really need to keep bringing up shit from years ago to make yourself feel better about your miserable life. You are not hot. Get over yourself.

One of the other things that seriously bothers me is people who try to be bitchy towards me in an effort to 'intimidate' me. Seriously?! Have you met me? This happens a lot at work. A. Lot. And it makes me laugh. A. Lot. While I'm usually nice and chipper 98% of the time, the other 2%........yea, the gloves come off. They didn't give me the title 'Royal Bitch' for nothing in APO. (long story, college thing) I usually treat it as a game. See how far they really think they can go. I win. Almost always.

If you got through this blog entry, then congrats. Hopefully I didn't bore you to much with my irritated-ness. I was just talking to one of my best friends about the issues above and we came to the conclusion that most people are seriously stupid. And annoying. Oh, and ugly people cause drama. Now sure how that last one came about. But it sounded like a good idea at the time. I have a few examples, but I'm really not that mean......usually.

Did you miss me?

Wow, it's been awhile! Lovey's birthday was a loooooong time ago. Since my last post, the following has happened..

-I GOT MARRIED!!!
-Officially took over my property and survived the 1st month as manager
-have put off writing thank you notes (in my defense, see previous accomplishment)
-am in the middle of writing vendor reviews
-learned out to make zucchini and pumpkin bread
-Met up with the Austin Bloggers b/c Serena was in town!!! It was so great to finally meet her! We've been 'internet friends' for so long, but to meet in person finally was awesome.
-Changed my name (p.s. the social security office is a scary scary place)
-Signed up for The Feast of Sharing
-Lovey 'reserved' tickets for his company holiday party at Vintage Villas
-Did Race for The Cure (AND finished in like 31:33 or something like that)
-working on cleaning out the kitchen and the crap we don't need

Yea, it's been a crazy past month. I can't believe that it's November already! Lovey and I are trying to figure out what to do for Thanksgiving. I think we are going to Waelder but we haven't talked about it in awhile, so who knows if that plan will happen. What is everyone else doing for Turkey Day?

So I have 2 new lovely cookbooks in my life and I'm so excited that I got them. Now I just have to go to the store (my arch nemesis) so get ingredients to enjoy these books even more! (both images borrowed from amazon.com) Go buy these cookbooks. DO IT. And check out their blogs too: The Pioneer Woman & Crockpock365
Now, for 2 of my favorite sneak peak pics from the wedding. =) Enjoy!!!! (all images property of Inked Fingers Fotography. Don't steal.) Pics are from our wedding and 'We Did It' shoot.

Happy Birthday Lovey!

Happy Birthday Lovey! I can't wait to marry you this weekend.* =)
*y'all can stop throwing up now from the gushy-ness. Thanks! Oh Look! I'm starting to embrace the power of the asterisk!

Soooo Clooooose

It is sooo close the wedding. I'm so excited!! So, the tone of my previous post was a very pissed off, not so happy bride moment. We have gotten everything straightened out. Thank Goodness. But still, I am going to be giving a certain few guests at the wedding the Ojo. But the good thing that has come out of it, is that Lovey and I are actually going to be able to invite a few people that we wanted there, but couldnt because of *ahem* previous guest list issues i.e. people being stupid and not telling us if they are coming or just plain adding more ppl.

Now, I know what Mrs. Manners would say (possibly say?). It's not good ettiquette to invite people last minute that weren't on the original list. I saw screw the manners. She obviously did not have a huge Mexican family to deal with that has enough cousins to wrap around the world once or twice. But whatev, Lovey and I are throwing this shindig, so we get to make up our own rules. =)

A Letter to a Few

Dear Select Few Wedding Guests,

Where in the eff do you come off thinking that it's ok to assume other members of your family are invited? I did not invite your mom. I invited YOU. There was no '+ Mom' on the fucking invitation. I am not inviting some really good friends because Lovey and I are hardcore and paying for this shindig on our own. But please, feel free, bring all the people you want. I'll forget the detail that the invitation specifically had the number AND NAMES of people invited. I'll also forget that a certain someone was also a bride not to long ago and was bitching and moaning about this exact same thing. But of course, I'll let that all go. Because I want these random losers at my wedding. I would love to feed them, let them drink my booze and most likely not even get a fucking card. But please, join us. The more the merrier. FML.

Oh, and I swear, it really wasn't a headache at all trying to contact the missing 20 or 30 invites to determine if they were coming. I didn't realize that I should have had some sort of psychic ability to just KNOOOOW that you were coming. My mistake. I'll work on that.

Love,
Princess Selina
aka
The bride getting married in 9 days & trying to determine if we have enough room for everyone.

Oh Shit

The wedding is in 13 days......OOOOOOMMMMMMGGGGGGGG

Bachelorette party was this past Friday and holy shit I had so much fun. Visit Linda's site for pics, I am feeling slightly lazy. =) I love my girls!

Need Motivation? I Think You Need a Bootcamp..

So if you have attempted to keep up with my blog, you know that I have become a little obsessively dedicated with going to bootcamp. Like, to the point that I feel guilty if I have to miss. Anywho, I think introductions are in order.

Everyone, meet Bootcamp U of Austin, TX. And then go read the blog.
Bootcamp U, meet everyone.

Now everyone play nice, I don't have time to separate people.

And while I know there are days that I bitch and moan about dragging my happy ass to bootcamp, I'm still glad when I go. It has helped me with my running, which is going to be so key in the next few months.....that is because I am crazy insane and signed up to do the Austin Half Marathon Today with Jennifer. Yea, be jealous, I know you want to be just as crazy as we are. I can also say that bootcamp is going to be the reason I look so hot in the black dress I bought for Friday. I did have to go searching in a teeny bopper store to find it, which explains why the damn thing is so short, but whatev, beggers cant be choosers. I still rule.

Giveaway & A Sort of Rhetorical Question...

The always fabulous & highly entertaining Mrs. Newlywed is having a fantastic giveaway! I guess you should go check it out but don't enter though bc I want that in my house. She is giving away the Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Collection. Sounds all fancy shmancy. =) Good luck to those who enter!


Now, sort of rhetorical question time. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy can't my dog get her shit together and learn a lesson? A few posts ago everyone was introduced to Dakota aka The Bear. And I was so concerned for her well being......NOT AT THIS MOMENT ANYMORE! For those that don't know, my dog is a chewer. She ALWAYS has something in her mouth (I swear she's worse than a small child). If I gave Dakota a rock to chew, I'm fairly sure she would chew it. Now, most people don't know that she is destructive like this unless they have heard it from me, or have seen our house. It seems that her & the following items just don't get along so she feels she has to teach them a lesson by attemting to destroy them: corners, baseboards, linoleum, the upstairs couch, plastic, tv remotes and I'm sure many other things that I have yet to discover.

While she has torn up the things listed above, I did get mad but just blew it off. She did lose outside the crate priveledges when we weren't home though due to all the destructiveness. Well, this morning, as I was going to wash the NEW sheets that were bought AS A WEDDING PRESENT, I noticed one of the plastic packages open and wet. Upon further inspection, the plastic was ripped, the sheet was soaking wet and THERE WAS A RIPPED OUT PIECE ON THE EDGE OF THE SHEET. OMG I was livid. L.I.V.I.D. I just dont understand why she feels the need to do this????? I swear she has a death wish! And it was done while we were sleeping! This girl is about to be damned to her grate for every hour of the day! And she's an effin smart dog! How can she be so dumb????

Does ANYONE have any advice on how to get her to stop her chewing ways??? She has raw hides, compressed raw hides, the sterilized bones, ropes etc....all of which she uses on a daily basis but I have no idea why she transitions to stuff she knows she's not suppose to chew on. I'm at a total loss

Bootcamp Update

Yesterday was testing day again at bootcamp. I improved on almost everything....except I FAILED at something that should have been EASY to beat. I don't know what was up. I don't wanna talk about it.

Squats: 50? maybe 40? don't even remember. bottom line, not better than last time
Pushups: 40 real pushups! I. RULE.
Sit Ups: 30 or 35 (yea, my memory isn't working right now)
Core Planks: 3 min 37 seconds! Again...I. RULE.

Now I need to remember sign up for the Austin Half Marathon. Is early registration still going on? I'm cheap. I'd rather pay as as little as possible right now. Tonight Lovey and I are taking the dogs for a nice leisurely walk to get them out of the house. It should be fun.

Dakota Bear

Everyone meet Dakota aka Big Bear. This morning, I just about had a heart attack/panic attack because she did not want to eat. My Dakota Bear does NOT pass up a meal. EVER. I should have noticed when she was super calm, almost lethargic, laying at my feed while I ate my cream of wheat & drank my coffee. When she didn't jump up to tackle Lovey when he opened the food container, I knew something was wrong. I knew something was SUPER wrong when the bia growled at me. Dakota does. not. growl at me.

Now, I didn't want to be one of those puppy mommies that calls the vet when my dog sneezes funny. So I got ready really quickly (which is why I'm glad no one came into the office today..I looked rough), let The Bear out, and watched her from the window. She finally took care of business, ate grass, most likely coughed it up and then went on her merry way. I was sooooooooooooooooooo relieved. I have no idea what made her act like that. She is like a little kid and puts EVERYTHING into her mouth. No joke. So who knows if it was something she ate or if it was because she didn't *ahem* use the ladies room last night...

I don't think that anyone could seriously understand my relief when she started to play with me and tried to sit on my lap (yes, she is 54 lbs & truly believes she weighs 15 lbs), & jumping on and off the couch unless they have had this experience with their fur baby. I seriously wanted to cry when she wouldnt eat. I mean, what exactly can you do? They can't tell you whats wrong. I'm so glad she's ok. Even though she is big and crazy, I couldn't do without my Dakota Bear.

Up next, a post about the amazingness that is Ratchet aka Ratchito aka Chiquito Ratchito aka Cheeto =)

Wedding Talk

So, a few things wedding....or a lot. We'll see how far I get before I get bored of typing/thinking. Make note, the beginning portion of this post is religious related. I don't usually talk about religion on here, but it seemed appropriate right now. Nothing preachy, just thoughts.

Last night, we had the meeting with the Deacon that is presiding over our wedding. Walking into the parish offices, I was just like 'whatev' to all this church business. Ok, wait, let me back up....

Lovey & I are getting married by the church. Do we go to church? No. Do we think about going to church? Sometimes. Do we agree with the church? I'm going to have to check the 'Not Exactly' box. So you may be asking "Whyyyyyyy are you guys getting married by the church?" Very good question my friends. Let me give you my answer. Our families would not take kindly on the situation if we did not get married by the church. And while right now, I do not agree with the church, I know that I still have my faith. I went to church regularly when I was younger, but that was with my parents. Now I feel like I am still trying to find myself and I know that the church will still be there if and when I decided to go down that path again. I also want our future children to have the option to choose how they want to practice their faith.

Ok, back to last night. After meeting with our Deacon, I realized that I am looking forward to our wedding ceremony. Hearing the Deacon say our reading, the readings that will be spoken at OUR ceremony, really made it seem more real. Lovey and I are getting married on October 10. After hearing the Deacon read the readings out loud, really was a powerful moment. And the fact that he said we chose very powerful readings made it seem even more real. For anyone else that got married by the church, did you have a moment were suddenly things looked different? Does that make sense? I am not overly religious in any way (I guess at this point in my life, I'm more spiritual but I don't feel like going into all that business), but after hearing our readings from the Deacon and havng Lovey sitting right next to me, it just really moved me. It's so hard to explain.

Ok Ok, enough seriousness. Back to the real Princess thoughts at hand. Lovey & I came home from our last mandatory church class and found a box on our doorstep. I wasn't expecting anything so Lovey went and picked it up.....AND IT WAS OUR 1ST WEDDING GIFT! A box from Williams Sonoma. *swoon*.....of course, I had to txt Trish bc I don't know the ettiquette of gift opening since my bridal shower is on Sunday, but in the end, it didn't matter because the damn thing was wrapped in the classic ivory wrapping paper, pine green ribbon, and bronze acorn decoration that I know and love. It's staring at me. I want to open it. But I'm going to be good bc the guest that bought it will be at the bridal shower on Sunday. So it's just there...staring....

So Much To Talk About.

Jobbie: So it looks like I'm officially going to be promoted to manager on October 1. I wasn't ready to put it out there yet until it was 'official'. Well, I'm being trained for it, and in our little company world, that's pretty damn official since we don't really get to much real training. It's more of a sink or learn to swim type job sometimes. But the closer it gets, the more excited I am about it. Regional Bosslady has already given me current and past budgets so I can see what I have to work with and I already have set an expectation for myself on what to do with our property and how to get it where I want to get it. Hopefully I haven't set the expectations for myself to high, but I really want to prove that they made the right choice to promote me. =)

Wedding: The wedding is sooooo close. It's like 31 days or something crazy like that?! I'm so excited. This weekend will be my 2nd fitting at Alexia Gavela and I can't wait!! My mom is going with me and so is Liliana (guess I should remind her of that). And the great thing is that AG will keep my dress there until a few days before the wedding. Couldn't ask for more. Lovey & I are trying to gather and finish the last of the wedding projects, so hopefully we can knock all that out in the coming weeks. I'm just happy to see the to do list getting smaller. =) Now I just have to go shopping for something super cute for the bachelorette party and the bridal shower.....
(Random Note: Lovey's Bachelor party is THIS Saturday.....I wonder what kind of stories I won't hear about...)

Life: At this point, life is pretty grand. And pretty uneventful. I highly doubt people care that Dakota has a vet appointment this weekend and that I need to clean the house. And I seriously doubt that people care that I'm going to paint the master bath Behr 'Embellished Blue' and go buy chocolate brown towls and accessories to match. But that makes me happy. Oh! I also bought a new driver for $15 for my non-existent golf game. But I don't care. I'm excited to go to the driving range so I can try it out. I know I need a new putter though. But that means I need to learn how to putt. Peter Pan Putt-Putt here I come! Who wants to join? =)

Plans for tomorrow: not being a fatty (this weekend was so much drinking and food that I need to be super well behaved on the food front), going to bootcamp, painting the bathroom and maybe some online shopping.

Bootcamp Testing Day!

Yesterday was testing in bootcamp. I kicked ass. And I have the battle wounds to prove it. Usually it doesn't bother me, but coreplanks totally scrapped up right elbow bad. I look like I feel off a bike.

Squats: 55 (ish)
Pushups: 35 regular, 5 modified
Situps: 27
Core plank: 3:07 <---i so rule! but my elbow doesn't think so. =(

So now my ass needs to get to bed. I'm meeting Liliana for a 6:30am run....and still have bootcamp at 7pm. Whyyyy do I do this to myself?

Oh, and Owner Man is coming on Thursday. I might have news to relay to the followers of my little blog world...hopefully good news....

Not Your Momma's Tupperware Party!

I'm hosting a Tupperware party on Sunday, August 30 at 1pm! You know you wanna come (same rules apply from the Austin Bloggers GTG i.e. no creepsters). Leave a comment or email me (email on sidebar) so I can send you the Evite.

I'll have food, drinks and Tupperware! My friend is a new Tupperware rep and will present the new lines of stuff that you can check out! You are by no means obligated to buy anything, but once you see this awesome stuff, you'll want to add a few of these pieces to your storage container collection.

Ode To Polkadots

Everyone knows that cupcakes are a lovely weakness of mine. Ever since Trish surprised me with a sampler dozen of Polkadots cupcakes for my birthday when I worked at Temporary Job, I've been telling everyone about them. So what better occasion to buy another dozen but for a going away bbq for my brother. He had to try some of the best cuppycakes in Austin before he ventures away to Boston University.
So my reason for the Ode To Polkadots title? This place is a-freakin-mazing for customer service. I dont know if they usually do this, but they let me pick up cupcakes at 9am on Saturday even though they didn't officially open until noon!!! Now that is fantastic customer service. I look forward to the next time I need to pick up a dozen of these tasty treats.

Do I look Like A Yo-Yo?

Ok, so I tweeted earlier that I had a meeting with my regional. Well, the actual meeting never happened. What I did find out that I am apparently getting promoted to a manager position for another property..................starting Sept. 1. O.M.G.

Then, I got a txt from regional lady that owner man is suddenly thinking something different and that he's driving her crazy. So what does that mean? Am I having a week of intense, make you cry like I am cramming for a Real Analysis final training, or is nothing changing at all and he decided that I couldnt handle it. WTF is going to happen? I guess the only thing I can do is wait.........It's just hard. I don't know what to think. I'm excited, but I'm terrified. Will it happen, will it not? Tell Me!!!

Now, I'm still now sure how I feel about this development. I just started doing this jobby the last week of May/beginning of June. Most of the other managers had about a year and a half of training, maybe 2 yrs. Which is why I have the constant thoughts of can I do this or will I fail? And now that the opportunity has actually been spoken and then the owner not sure how he wants to proceed, I dont know what to think.

One good thing is that I am actually going to start training on Monday with the regional lady no matter what the final outcome is. She wants me to know what is going on when my boss leave in October. I really hope I don't go insane before the wedding....