Excuse me, can I get some sexy arms with a side of Abs of STEEL?

So a friend of mine, Marian, turned me on to a new work out video. I am not a workout video kind of girl, normally. I've tried pilates dvd's, belly dancing, strip tease with carmen electra, and even a workout with barbie video (Melissa, Aubrey, and Lorraine might know what I'm talking about with that)... but, she sold me by showing me this lady's DVD, because the lady on the cover is only 5'1", like me, and has my same body shape... but a lot smaller. So I was like, holy crap if she can look like that, I should look like that because we're built the same, you can tell. So I watch the part of the DVD where she explains her method and basically says that she's greek and built to be larger, but has dedicated the past 10 years to researching and developing a method of workout that actually makes you smaller, but tighter and leaner. Why did she dedicate such a long time to that? Well, she was an incredible dancer, but gained weight around 18 years old and wasn't allowed to dance professionally because she was built like a GYMNAST, also like me. Not the dancer part but the being built like a gymnast part. So I decided to research her online. Found a few things about her past that were kinda weird, but people are stupid when they're young. I also found a 9-page review of her DVD on a fitness website, and it gave her a really good review, saying the workout was hard, very unique, and it worked! So I bought 2 of them, they are called:

The Tracy Anderson Method Mat Workout DVD; and
The Tracy Anderson Method Dance Aerobics DVD...

So yesterday I finally tried out the Mat Workout because it's the one that is supposed to be most beneficial, and I was lazy that day... boy was I in for it!

Not only did my legs light on fire, but she does this arm workout that absolutely kills you! And there are only 3lb weights involved... wow. I mean, she has you holding your arms up for what feels like 10 years, and when you finally get to stop, you can hardly lift the water bottle to your lips for a quick thirst quencher. Ok, so I give her mat workout DVD 5 stars because not only did I get a kick-butt workout, I actually enjoyed it too. Although parts of it were hard to follow cause she's not the best at explaining what she's doing every step of the way. So to seal the deal and make you guys go out and buy this (and no, I don't get any credit if you go buy this DVD, I just think every woman should own and use it)... I am going to tell you the last seller. Gweneth Paltrow, and Madona, are trained by this woman... and swear by her... and if nothing else, you can look at those people and see what wonderful bods they have. Madona is finally starting to lose that creepy bodybuilder bod, and leaning up... and Gwen Paltrow just looks great like always. Seriously, try it, I'll keep you posted on what changes I see in my own physique! What's also an added bonus, she's got a pregnancy workout! For when I have mini-Caitlin/Jeff's!!!

Here's her official website:
http://www.tracyandersonmethod.com/
You can buy her DVD's here: http://tracyandersonmethoddvd.amazonwebstore.com/
and if you want to read the same review I did:
http://www.ventpark.com/reviewspark/tracy-anderson-mat/p1/

C

C

Stole this from Ali.

Rules: Answer all with the first letter of your name.
1. What is your name: Caitlin
2. A four Letter Word: Clam
3. A boy's Name: Charley
4. A girl's Name: Cecily
5. An occupation: Crack Dealer
6. A color: Canary Yellow
7. Something you wear: Clothing
9. A food: Crumpets
10. Something found in the bathroom: Ceramic Toilets
11. A place: Cancoon
12. A reason for being late: crapped my pants
13. Something you shout: Chlamydia!
14. A movie title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
15. Something you drink: Cranberry Juice
16. A musical group: C-Span
17. An animal: Cookoo bird

The Fetching Cat and so on...

I died my hair brown... you probably all know that from my facebook, but it wasn't supposed to be brown. It was supposed to be my natural shade of dark blonde, but the guy went 1-2 shades darker cause he said it would fade into the right shade. We'll see. Either way, I like it. I think it suits me.

In other news, I've been learning how to apply eyelash extensions with my Mommy Hartung. I got them myself, and love them! I don't feel I learned the technique that well, though, so we're both going to take a second class in February to get our skills honed. I really enjoyed that time with her, though, and I think it will be REALLY fun once we start doing lashes for money! By the way I might need a few guinea pigs, so anyone who wants free lash extensions let me know.

The best part of this post is saved for last. Akira, my gorgeous Bengal, can now fetch. I learned this a while ago but forgot to post it. I was sleeping in my bed, next to my husband, happily in dreamland... when I awoke to this most annoying crinkle noise. *crinkle crinkle* POUNCE *crinkle crinkle* So I look under my bed, and Akira is going crazy trying to eat this crinkle bird of hers (In case you're wondering what a crinkle bird is, it's a bird shaped wad made of really thin sheets of aluminum or something, it sounds like a wrapper being wadded up). So, being a loving mother, I take away the bird, and hide it under Jeff's leg. Soon, she begins pouncing on his leg, so I throw it so she'll let him sleep. Promptly, she comes back with the bird, lays it on my leg, and pounces it again. So I pick it up and throw it, and she brings it back yet again. Annoyed, I took the bird and hid it behind a picture frame on a shelf she can't reach. This was the beginning of my realization.

So, the next day I sit on the couch and prepare Akira for our daily dose of CSI. She jumps off the couch and goes after her crinkle bird again, and I watch her. Soon, she brings the bird onto the couch and plops it in front of me. So I take the bird and I throw it, to see if she'll chase. She does, and brings it back to me, waiting for me to throw it again! SHE FREAKING FETCHES!!! I LOVE this cat!!!!!!!!!! In secondary news, she also knows what "face rubbies" means, and when I say it, she nuzzles me with her face. It's so cute!

My Teacher, in translation...

So today was my first day of school. Yep. I was pretty excited about it, ready to get back to normalville instead of wasting everyday in CSI land. Besides, I finished CSI, so I had no regrets. The morning started out well. I had a good dream, Jeff was in it, which is rare, so I was happy he finally joined me in dream land. Don't worry, it wasn't a dirty dream, so get your minds out of the gutter! gross...

So I got out with barely enough time to make it to class on time if ideal conditions existed. They did not. There was an accident northbound and southbound on I-35, so I took the backway, which was backed up with traffic as well. I ended up getting there about 15 minutes late, but the teacher wasn't mean about it at all, which made me feel better. Unfortunately, I was less than thrilled when I found an open seat, open because there was nasty fuzz all over it... like, that stuff you pull out of the dryer after you finish a load. So I tried getting it off but it clung to the seat, so I just sat down before I drew more attention to myself. Then my teacher began talking... and here is a sound clip of what he sounded like:




haha just kidding...

he really sounded like the guy in this clip who has the huge bottom jaw... you'll understand when you push play:



k... 'nuff said... it's gonna be a difficult semester, seeing as the lecture is the MOST important part of the learning process for MICROBIOLOGY/CELLULAR BIOLOGY. And to top it off, there is some smart aleck kid in there that raised his hand 50 million times on the first day... we weren't learning anything except how the teacher grades and what his plans for this coming semester are... I almost killed him and we were only in the same room together for 30 minutes... it's gonna be a long, hard ride...

Circuit City Crap

So today I went to check out the new Circuit City Closeout sale... since they are going out of business. I want a new camera desperately since the shutter on the one I use now popped off and I have to take pictures using a pen or something to push down the shutter... ugh... anyway, I went to Circuit City hoping to find a good deal since they're outta here, and what did I find??? HIGHER PRICES??? So... my advice to anyone thinking they're going to get a good deal, compare shop with Best Buy.... maybe that's why Best Buy isn't bankrupt? That is all.

My Newest Blog

http://makemeaskinnybiatch.blogspot.com/

This is a diet blog I have created. Since I started working out like a mad feind, I have found that losing weight has not been as easy as I thought it would be. I realized that even though I was working out, I was eating so much that I have been unable to lose the last 10-15 lbs that I wanted to. So I decided that I am going to use this year, 2009, to find a diet that works for me. Once I find the way of eating that keeps me as trim as possible, without starving and killing me, I will use that eating plan for the rest of my days. So I started my journey today and if you'd like to follow along, go visit that site and add it to your regular blogs!

Utah/Vegas Vacation!

So I know we took this trip almost a MONTH ago... however, I just got the 5 pictures I took developed lol, and decided to post a little about our trip to Vegas... I'll start with the trip to Utah, though...

We flew in to Utah on Saturday after going to my brother's graduation from boot camp in San Antonio. I had stayed up the whole night before talking to Valerie and catching up (which I will cherish forever because I love my sister more than anything!). When we got to Utah, we went straight to our lodgings at the Sky Lodge ... which were AWESOME!!! I won't brag too much about them, but I have to say they were above and beyond any accommadations I have ever experienced. Then, we went to Jeff's paternal grandmother's house. It was ok, I just sat around and talked to his aunt for a while and then we left, short and sweet. After that we went to Jeff's Mom's family reunion where I made a fool of myself by falling asleep at the table because I'd only gotten 2 hours of sleep the night before. Other than that it was fun, we played bingo and exchanged gifts with Jeff's mom's family, she has 11 siblings I believe. So it was a HUGE party. I won a Monopoly game, and then our family gift was Cranium and this CSI game. After the party, we went back to our awesome Sky Lounge and brought one of Jeff's best highschool friends, Mathew, and his wife with us. We stayed up even later and played games until we could no longer put sentences together. I think we played a card game, but honestly I was so tired I can't remember.

Finally we went to sleep, and I did not awaken from my sleep-deprived coma until the next day around noonish. We all decided to go look at the shops around Park City, and enjoyed ourselves very much. One of the most hilarious discoveries we found was in a fur shop. It was, brace yourselves, a FUR JOCK STRAP!!!!! As you can barely see, it also has a butt flap tail! And it was relatively cheap ($19.99)! AHAHA... almost bought it but couldn't bring myself to spend the money on a gag gift. The rest of the trip is kind of a blur we just went and visited people in Jeff's family and looked at shops and watched tv and got in our hot tub on the balcony... just random stuff. Although we did discover this one late night show called "bounty hunters" and it was awesome! Then Jeff's parents left us to fend for ourselves on our last day in Utah. So we took their rented Escalade after we dropped them at the airport, and we rolled out like high ballas! Jeff and I were staying at his friend Matt's house that night, but had nowhere to go that day, so we decided to go to the mall. We shopped around there for what felt like eternity, until I finally had the master plan to call up some of MY homies, whom I hadn't been able to see at all the whole trip, and get together. So I called up Melissa and thank goodness she answered her phone, and was free!

So we rolled over to Melissa's house, big pimpin in our escalade lol, and it was SO GREAT to see my girl! I love her! We laughed and recounted numerous stories of our devious ways as younger versions of ourselves, caught up on life, and just had a good time chatting. Then we took the Escalade on another trip to pick up her husband, Theron, and he joined in our fun and conversation. I have to say, this evening was probably the highlight of my trip for me. It was so great to see Melissa and Theron, to see that they were doing well and happy, and realize how much fun we could have together just sitting and talking. I wish we lived closer, because I could definately see Jeff and I hanging out with Melissa and Theron on a regular basis. Soon, Ali called and let us know she was in SLC, so we all jumped in the escalade and bling blinged our way (sorry I can't help myself when I talk about the escalade) over to The Pie. The Pie has many memories for us, especially Ali and me... so that was the obvious choice for dinner. I ran in and found Ali, and her new hubby Jed, and sat down and caught up. Ali looks great, so does Jed, they still have that newlywed glow about them! It was a really fun night having Melissa and Ali with me, like old times, only our lives RADICALLY different. We laughed and talked about future plans and old times and it just made me feel really happy to see everyone I have missed so much!

It makes me contemplate how radically different my life is now, and it's not a bad thing, but I do miss my time with the girls just being free and carefree, but I was also careless and somewhat selfish. So I am glad we have all matured and moved on the way we are meant to move on with our lives. It makes me proud of my friends and their accomplishments! And also mine!

******************************

So the next day we set off for Las Vegas!!!! It was so crazy, we got stranded in the air because it was SNOWING, which is unheard of! When we finally landed, we realized that cheap room we got was not actually on the strip but in a casino south of the strip. It was ok, though because our room was actually really nice, considering we paid less than what it normally costs to stay at Motel 6, and got a room worth at LEAST $100/night. Probably more, I'm not good at knowing what a hotel room is worth. So we got to our hotel and realized Taxi's are still ridiculous. We put our stuff away and decided to play one dollar each at a slot machine in our hotel. On our first try, I lost a dollar and Jeff won $25. So we decided we'd use that $25 and play one dollar at every casino we went to on the strip. Mainly we played penny slots, though. So we played a few more dollars and I ended up winning $20 more dollars on top of Jeff's now $20. So we had $40 to kill the next day. After that we went and got dinner and went to bed cause it was late and we were tired.

The next day we were dropped off at one of the first Casinos on the strip and started trekking. Unfortunately it was awefully cold outside so we weren't as keen on walking the strip as I usually am. We took the inside tunnels as often as possible. We went to the M&M factory, looked inside some of my favorite Casinos at the shops (like the Venetian, Paris, etc) and Jeff repeatedly turned down my pleas to buy things lol. Near the M&M factory we found a half-price ticket place that sells last minute seats to shows. We got tickets to Cirque du Soleil's KA, and wen't that evening. It was AMAZING!!! I LOVED every minute of that show! Jeff was going nuts about the architecture, and the moving stage, which was incredibly impressive, I loved the special effects and the acrobatics of the whole thing! AWESOME show... I recommend it to everyone who goes to Vegas! I'd say it was the highlight of our trip.

A few days into it, we were ready to go, and it was a great trip, but Vegas was kind of dead due to the economy. So... all in all, we had the most fun of the trip with friends in Utah, and at the Cirque du Soleil. I also very much enjoyed my time with Jeff, I love him so much, he's my boy and I had fun on our second alone vacation ever!

Here we are playing the big slot machine...

Most of the photos we got were at the M&M factory...

This was one of our favorite GAUDY stores... holy crap... look at my throne!

******************FIN*******************

Good and the Bad all in one day

Tuesday, I spent the whole day inside with Akira, watching CSI together (yes, Akira actually watches TV... love it!) about the Miniature killer, and we had a good time together. All of this was in anticipation of Wednesday, when I had to betray my poor unsuspecting kitty...

So yesterday I took Akira in to get Spade... when they Spay a cat, they take it all out... thus preventing pregnancy and any ovarian or uterine cancers later in life. I hear it prolongs the life of the cat, but I still felt horrificly guilty. I'm not one that deals with others in pain well, I can be in pain and be fine with life, but I HATE it when others are in pain. Especially when it was because of a phone call I made, and then I drove her to the Cat Hospital, and then I signed the consent forms to let them cut her open. Ugh... a guilt ridden day for me. However, with that said, everyone at the Cat Hospital loved her and said she was one of the sweetest kittens (especially for being a bengal) that they had ever encountered. She is too, she doesn't bite or scratch and is very affectionate. However, when I got her home yesterday she was so hopped up on pain meds that she refused to let me anywhere near her for more than a few seconds, adding to my guilt. She also would only watch CSI with me from a good distance so as to punish me further... She is still hiding out in her little cat carrier bed. Ugh. But she's doing ok and will hopefully someday forgive me.

Meanwhile, I had girls night! Marian came over and we watched the new "Sex in the City" movie and ate Creme Brulee! It was fun! We also had girl talk and really I very much enjoyed her company. It's nice to have a friend here finally that I can talk to and have deep thoughts with. She's a really nice girl. So we're definately going to have girls night again, because we had so much fun!!!! So that was the good in the bad day... the end.

Happy 2009!

Happy Late New Year! Ours was an unplanned, unexpected, but really enjoyable one! The day before New Years Eve, I went to my aunts' house so that my cousin could fix my horribly cracked windshield. He did a great job, for a GREAT price, and I was very thankful! He has an adorable little girl, she's 2, and her name is Naudia. So I stayed inside and played with Naudia with my little ducky keychain that quacks. She really got a kick out of that. I also chatted with Naudia's mom, Erica, she's a sweet girl. My aunt sherry fed me some delicious food, and we chatted about whatever is new with us. Then, just as I was about to go, my aunt Didi woke up, so i wanted to see her and talk to her. I helped her create a facebook, and had a really enjoyable time catching up with my aunts.... I really need to hang out with them more often.

Anyways, while there, they invited me to dinner the next night, and I forgot it was New Years Eve, but said sure! I can't pass up a free meal, you see, especially when it's my Aunt Sherry's cooking, yum!

So New Years Eve, we went over and my cousin Tommy was still there (he's the one that fixed my windshield), and then my cousin Jeremy and his girlfriend came over. We had a great dinner and then played cards! I thought that I was gonna win, so I went ahead and played for nickels... unfortunally the Skip-Bo gods were not on my side, and I owed Jeremy 30 cents or something by the end of the game. Then I lost round 2 to Erica, and gave her 40 cents. So I decided that was enough losing for one day. Meanwhile, Jeff was playing for free at the other table, and doing fairly well, although their team lost the rounds I watched. They were playing Spades or something. We laughed, enjoyed each other's company, and then when the clock hit midnight, we watched the ball drop an hour later than it really had, and then watched Evil Kinevils son jump the Vegas volcano. We were hoping he'd land in the volcano so we could have something cool to talk about from our New Years.... but alas, he made the jump and so there is nothing to tell. lol.

All in all, we had a very enjoyable new years! Happy 2009!!!

Christmas

I realized I have failed to discuss my Christmas/New Years Eve experiences...

So when Jeff and I got back from Vegas, my mother-in-law was very excited to inform me that she found a kitten for me! The kitten, you all now know her has Akira, was in Corpus Christi, so I called the breeder and made plans to have her shipped on the day after Christmas! That was Christmas Surprise #1!!! I must say, as far as Christmas Presents go, my mother-in-law in one Christmas gave me the best present I may ever receive! I love my little Akira so much!

Then on Christmas Eve, we all went over to the Hartung's house, mommy-in-law made a yummy dinner, and we had a pajama party. Apparently this is a Hartung Tradition! What was awesome is that we all got silk pajamas, and they were all really pretty. Mine had a really cool jungly pattern with cheetah spots and tiger stripes (probably so I could match Akira). We also got robes with them. After dinner, we got to open one present. Mine was from Liz, she got me a magnet that said "Chillin with my gnomies", a really funny bank with a little girl holding a match that said "saving up for therapy" or something to that extent, and some monkey key toppers to put on my keys. Cute stuff. Jeff got a new headset for his phone, which he was very excited about. Then we stayed up and played games, we got a game called Cranium at Susan's family christmas party, so we played that and it was super fun! Plus I was kinda on Liz's team and Jeff's team, so either way I won! muahaha. Score 1 for Caitlin on strategy! Then we all went to bed, hoping to hear Santa's sleigh so we could catch him putting presents under the tree!

The next morning we all got up around the same time, came out in our Jammies, and got to make a big pile of our loot. Then we each got to open one present at a time, and then went nuts! I'd go down the list and tell you every present, but we'd be here a while, so I'll highlight the ones I remember. I got a new outfit, complete with 2 shirts, a hat, a scarf, and a gorgeous bracelet, I also got 2 new purses which I DESPERATELY needed, a new wallet which I LOVE, a pedicure set with everything possibly needed and a foot soak/massager!!! I also got a new work out DVD, which I also needed, and mainly the kitten was my big present. Jeff got that headset, a gift card to Walmart, money, new underwear (the good kind lol), etc. Andrew got a FLOWBEE!!! AHAHAHA. Actually he'll probably use it, but I never thought I'd see the day I'd encounter a real live flowbee. He also got Guitar Hero the new kind where you can add instruments. Liz got a bunch of clothes, jewelry, a huge massive amount of crocheting stuff because that's her new passion, we got her a set of bird salt and pepper shakers because she loves birds, etc. I can't remember what Scott got aside from some DVD's and a Glenn Beck book he really wanted from Liz, and then Susan got an awesome new touchscreen computer that looks really cool.

All in all, we made out pretty good this year, and i really enjoyed being with Jeff's family. Their home has a nice happy family-oriented atmosphere, and I feel like a belong there, which is a really great feeling. So... Merry Christmas!!!

New Year Pees

Akira... She's a wonderful little ray of sunshine in our lives. With that said... she's a lazy, lazy bum. We bought the booda dome litter box for her to use, it's great because it has a filter on the top to keep the stink away. Soon after she came to live with us, we found a strange occurance... Akira was pooping in the litterbox, but peeing all over the wall and basically everywhere but the litterbox. All we can figure, is that she put half of her body in the opening and then let loose so that a multi-directional spray coated my recently cleaned bathroom with urine. Lovely eh? This happend 4 times before we realized we really did not want to clean the floor a 5th time... so we set out to buy a new litter box. To those of you considering buying a cat... this one is a genious idea... they have to go into the hole in order to use the litterbox, so once she's in that hole halfway, she's got to finish the job... thanks to this ingenious plastic bin with a hole in the top (Which we bought for $40 dollars) we are now able to walk on the bathroom tile without worrying about hitting a wet spot! If only we'd thought to just buy a $5 plastic bin and cut a hole out of it ourselves... until next time... this has been adventures in pet-ownership land.