How I did on my 2010 Resolutions

Referencing this post, I'm going to let you guys know how I did on my 2010 Resolutions, and tomorrow, or Saturday, I'll let you in on 2011's Resolutions! Hooray!

2010 New Years Resolutions:

1. Finish the house... all of it... down to the last curtain. - Did Not Happen. However, we did finish the kitchen (almost), all the flooring, and curtains for the front room. We also added massive amounts of furniture. I'm hoping 2011 can make this goal happen.

2. Significantly reduce my sugar intake (i.e. pretty much take sugar out of my diet) - This DID happen! Seriously! I rarely eat sugar (OK I wasn't perfect over Christmas), I mean, we're talking a DRASTIC reduction.

3. Make more time for Akira, teach her new tricks. - I could have done better on this if Akira would stop peeing so she could be with the rest of us all the time. I try though, I really do.

4. Make new friends and maintain old friendships better. - This actually happened. I got rid of the baggage in my life, I have made new GOOD friends, and made most of my old friendships better. I haven't been great with long distance friends, and I do apologize for that. It's hard when you live such seperate lives.

5. Enjoy one of my last childless years with my husband. - I deem this the best year of Marraige yet!!!

6. Take a Yoga class. - FAIL

7. Take Pilates. - 'nother FAIL - but in my defense I did try Zumba, and SKY DIVING this year... those are adventurous.

8. Be a better wife. - Not to toot my own horn, but I have been putting in some serious effort in this department and I feel like I was victorious this year.

9. Aquire a wardrobe that actually fits/looks good on me/get some pants tailored rather than rolling up the cuffs. - lost some serious weight this year, gained a little back, lost it, gained it. Eventually I ended up at the perfect ratio for me (I think) and have a good wardrobe to match. Outlet malls saved the day!

10. See all 4 of my sisters at least once this year and call my brother more often. - I failed. I saw Meghan. I saw April. I saw Rebekah. I did not see Valerie (though I tried). However, I did see Jonathan, so you could call it a WIN!

11. Clean my house more regularly. WIN! I clean it, or my friend Kathy cleans it. Either way I win.

12. Become a Better Trainer. - I'm gonna give this one to myself cause I have worked my buns off to learn and grow professionally.

13. Figure out where I stand on my Religious Beliefs. - I'm working on this. I'd rather not discuss how I feel on the matter at the moment. It's a private and personal journey, but I'm working on figuring it out for myself.

14. Move to Denver. FAIL. My parents just moved to DC so that's not even something in the cards anymore.

15. Learn to cook more than just Broccoli and Salmon. WIN!!! I now can make muffins, scones, crockpot anything, chicken a' la' Caitlin (my own madeup recipe that is AMAZING), healthy cookies, etc! I'm lovin it!

Merry Christmas!

My First Flip Video Blog!!!

http://www.flipshare.com/ViewFbReshare.aspx?i=41c5562a-282b-46a9-a039-1d9533d3adf6&s=43704991&p=facebook

This year we went all out with our Christmas Decorations! We were given tons of lights from both my Mom, and Jeff's Dad. It looks pretty good, better in person.

Jeff's hilarious bunny footie PJ's:

My awesome sock monkey PJ's... I'm wearing them right now ;)Our tree with all the presents underneathThis year we had the Pajama Party Christmas Eve at our house. This is me putting the "healthy" cookies in the oven.

I asked Gabriella to take a few photos, so she took the one above and this one of Jason about to serve up some grub.

Here we are all around the table. I tried to take "honest" photos where no one knew I was taking them... Jeff's dad was on to me...
Jason, Gabby, and Merideth chatting... Susan chatting with Baby Adelaide :)

Jeff and Andrew discussing LOL, Dan listening intently, Dan's nephew chatting with Jason.

We tricked puppy into wearing his santa hat.. he's so cute/not pleased

But he defeated the hat and decided it was his friend.

Here are Akira's and My Stockings


Jeff's and Cloud/Puppy's Stockings..

My pile of Loot

Jeff's Loot

Puppy's Loot (Akira's is not pictured because she wouldn't pose)

Jeff digging in...
Me, waiting patiently
In the aftermath, Puppy got tuckered out and took a quick Christmas nap
He's just uncontrollably cute

But even more cute... Check out these guys. Chris and Adelaide fell asleep together at Jeff's Parents after Christmas Linner (Lunch/Dinner)

Look closely at this photo... do you see the evil Cat? That's not one of mine...


So cute.



Then we watched A Christmas Story and hung out and opened presents. It was nice.



Blog Out.

Happy Endings/Scary Beginnings

I found out this weekend that my brother almost died. He has a fractured C2 vertebrae, collapsed a lung, had a concusion, broke his wrist and had to get it plated, will be in a halo for the next 3-4 months, and a few other injuries I can't remember.

The point is, no one knew until I got an email on Facebook about it from one of his best friends. It scared the absolute crap out of me. The last time I got an email from a friend of a friend, it was telling me that he died. So naturally, I was terrified when I saw that this email was about my brother and him being in the hospital.

Lucky for all of us, but especially him, he is NOT paralyzed, and should recover reasonably well.

Today he got out of the hospital. I feel a great sense of relief and gratitude. I love my brother more than anything. He's such a treasure to me. He's the only brother I have. He's so happy and full of life and energy, I cannot imagine losing him.

In other WONDERFUL news, my officer client passed his test today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That means he's not scared of losing his job anymore, and that I did my job. It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment.

I also finished my christmas shopping today. Hoo-rah. Funniest part is how I wrapped my brother-in-law's gift. But that's for later.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, Robin Laid an Egg...

Look at my shiney Christmas Tree It's so sexy you're jealous.

Look at me and Kristen being sneaky and taking pictures while we're supposed to be training! Muahaha...

Here's me, putting on my shoes so we can walk the riverwalk all day in San Antonio. We had a blast, why do I have such a fun husband?

The coolest hat in the world. I found it. I did not buy it. Why me?

The 2nd coolest hat in the world. Also did not buy.

Christmas Time makes us so happy... this clown made us extra happy in San Antonio.

The End.

Just Stuff

It's been a great week for me. I went to Houston on Sunday with my Aunts and spent some time with my parents, and my sister, April, who just had a baby. That's neice #2 for me, and I am a happy Aunt. She's a beautiful little girl, sweet natured, and looks just like her brother. April is doing so well, which made me relieved.

The only issue with the trip was my Aunt's horrific snoring. I'm considering paying for her C-pap machine myself. It was horrendous.

Akira is doing really well. She's been peeing in her litter box like a champ. Cloud (aka Puppy), is also doing really well. He's just so dang clingy. He's also getting a little fat, so now I'm having to work on cutting back his food a little bit.

Jeff's work situation is still stressful. We're working on solutions to that. My work, on the other hand, is going great, and I can only hope to add more clients soon since the Christmas bug has left me with too much free time.

Speaking of Christmas... I bought myself something on one of those couture-for-less sites (I believe this one was Ideeli.com). I decided that for Christmas, I earned a new purse. Betsey Johnson is one of my favorite designers... so enjoy this little peice of eye candy I just got in the mail:

It looks better in person, this is just an iPhone shot.

I suppose it was a little lavish, but I feel like I have earned it, and I'll be toting it around daily, so I think it's worth the money. I got it for a steal.

I'm not sure what to get Jeff for Christmas. In fact, the only person I have any gifts for so far is Adelaide, and 1 stocking stuffer for Jeff.

Nothing else exciting is happening. No funny stories really. But if anyone is out there searching for some good sites for christmas ideas, I have some good ones for you, here they are:

www.fredflare.com

www.ooh-shiney.net

www.perpetualkid.com

www.etsy.com

www.vat19.com

www.thinkgeek.com

Good luck christmas gift hunting!!!

Blog Out.

Car Shopping...

We're in the market for a new vehicle. Jeff's commute back and forth from here to Killeen is costing us a pretty penny, due to the fact that he drives a Ford F350 Diesel engine automatic. Yeah. Ugliest truck on the planet by the way. So soon he'll probably be taking my Yaris, and I'll be driving something newer, hopefully bigger, to cart my equipment around in.

If any of you guys have suggestions on A) A fair car salesman/dealership I should try out, or B) A great car that you love and own/wish you owned, I am open to suggestions.

So far I have tried out the following vehicles:

1) Toyota Prius (LOVE)
2) Toyota Rav4 (also Love)
3) Mazda CX-7
4) Honda CRV
5) Hyundai Tucson

I did go to CarMax, but they are overpriced. The whole point of haggling is to get a good deal. With them, there is no haggling, and thus you pay a little more for convenience. Psh, I live to haggle.

I'm planning on checking out Kia, possibly Volvo although they are relatively expensive, and maybe even Volkwagen. I also considered Nissan, but found they were a little pricey as well.

These are my current thoughts.
That is all.

Thanksgiving, Christmas

Thanksgiving is over. I had a great time. I did the Turkey Trot with Merideth. I also made a vegan pumpkin pudding that (not to toot my own horn) was pretty incredible tasting (to me). Mind you, I have not been able to eat dairy or eggs for like 3 months, so anything complicated and sweet tastes great... consider how many things actually contain egg and dairy and tell me you don't feel sorry for me. :'(.

On to Christmas!

Tonight I made some stockings for Jeff and Me. I used some old stockings I think my mom made, and gave to me. I just added some fabric, buttons, and made some modgepodge stockings. Akira and Cloud with both be getting stockings too, I just have to find some more stockings.

I also decorated the house today. I put up 2 wreaths, several santa clauses, garland, flowers, etc. etc. I feel accomplished. I hope no one steals my outdoor wreath I put on the garage. It's pretty beautiful. I'd steal it.

Oh, what's that? You want photos? Well... sorry. I'm too lazy to get photos. Maybe tomorrow. Check my facebook page if you want to see the stockings. They aren't the coolest ever but I feel like they are pretty good for FREE.99!

I'm done with you blog.

Turkey 5K

For Thanksgiving, Merideth and I are going to do the Turkey 5K, sponsered by Thundercloud Subs. I'm not asking for donations, but if you live close by, I think it would be a fun thing to do for all my friends and family in the area!

Christmas Dreams...

I'm a dreamer. That being said, I really enjoy that quality about myself... here's a list of my dream gifts, if I were a millionaire's wife and he could buy me everything I ever wanted... it's more fun in picture form, so enjoy:

this first image is what I would want in my little girl's room. But for now I would let it be Akira's room :). This is the coolest treadmill I've ever seen in my life:

Definitely want Olivia Wilde's closet... and all the clothes in it...

Dream house. Or one like it. I'm not picky.

The Tesla Roadster... droooooool.

Oh Christmas Tree

A Client of mine, who quite possibly surpasses me in the love of all things Christmas, and holiday, and decorating, told me about a great sale going on at Garden Ridge on Christmas stuff... so naturally I went the next day!
I found this beauty, 50% off, normally $150, I got her for a smooth $75!! If you can't tell it's a black, 7-foot pre-lit Christmas tree. I also bought icicles and white and peppermint ornaments.
I also bought some "make it yourself" ornaments, and a bag of feathers. Here's what I came up with after making a cheap looking ornament with gold paint on it (too embarrassing to post a pic). I call it a feathornament. You're jealous you didn't come up with it first. It's ok. Let the jealously flow. Cause I'm not done yet.

Here we have what the tree looks like right now. I still need a topper, plan on taking OFF the mint ornaments (they just cheapen the overall look), and putting those in a bowl as a cute decoration. I'm also considering having each member of the family/friends that plan on being around for Christmas bring their own white or glass ornament to add to the tree if they want to have their own ornament on display. Still working on the topper but I'm considering doing a big white bird on top. I'm loving what's going on... this Christmas, the tree will be SO ME!!! Muahahaha.

I know Thanksgiving has not yet happened. And I was the 1st to get annoyed by people skipping it and going straight to Christmas. But this year, Christmas is at my house, and there is a lot to do. I just want to take care of it while I'm feeling motivated and excited and SCREW THE RULES, I do what I want!!! EEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHE!

Blog out.

Thoughts

I promised photos... so here they are.

Today I saw a very informative/scary video about the effects of sugar and fructose on our bodies and the obesity epidemic... which is now (by the way) even effecting small infants (ie 6 month olds). I posted a link to the video on my personal training blog, if you are interested in watching it. I will warn you it's an hour and a half long, but I think it's worth sticking out to the end.

I've been learning a lot about nutrition and how incredibly badly we eat in America. As the owner of Ambrosia (a local raw/vegan/vegetarian restaurant) put it, we are not eating the American diet, but the Corperate diet of America. We eat what people who are trying to make lots of money want us to eat. There is a science behind why we crave certain foods, usually it's due to addictive ingredients. There is a reason we have a population of obese 6 month old babies. It's not because they aren't getting enough exercise. I really want you guys to watch that video on my other blog. Real bad.

In other news I have also been learning a lot about how to help my future babies. I recently read a study about how a baby that breast feeds, rather than bottle feeds, is a lot more likely to NOT need braces when they are older, because the jaw is formed properly when feeding on a breast rather than a man-made bottle nipple. I also learned that a pre-disposition to obesity can be determined in-utero if you eat high amounts of sugar or fats. The earlier you expose your baby to sugar, the more likely they will be addicted to it and crave it well into adulthood. I now have a really good plan of action for when I have a baby of my own.

Do not mistake this for me judging mothers who don't do what I plan on doing, I think everyone has their own ideas, their own thoeries, and I don't have any right to tell another woman how to be a mother, especially considering I am not one myself. I just wanted to write down my plan, and figured my blog would be a good place to do it.

Caitlin's Motherhood Plan:

1.) Stop drinking Green Tea while trying to conceive and until baby is finished breast feeding (it's known to drain folate stores and can lead to folate deficiency which causes Nueral Tube defects).

2.) Limit sugar intake (now and while pregnant) to fruit, or high fiber foods, and avoid high fructose corn syrup at all costs.

3.) Also avoid foods with MSG, artificial sweeteners (except Stevia and Xylitol), and most processed foods.

4.) Make nutritionally well-planned meals while pregnant to ensure optimum nutrition to baby. I don't want to overeat nor undereat while pregnant.

5.) Breast Feed Only, no bottles - this may come back to bite me... I know it's a difficult thing to do when you're busy and you may need to leave your baby with someone... but if I can do this at least 90% of the time I will be happy.

6.) Teach Babies about Nutrition EARLY so that they don't have to go through withdrawals and addiction-like cravings like I have had to do. I want to give them all the tools to be healthy, productive adults.

7.) New Chapter Pre-Natal Vitamins - I take them now, I plan on taking them a little more religiously when I am actively seeking pregnancy... right now it's more precautionary.

8.) Maintain fitness level before, during, and after pregnancy because a fit pregnancy, is usually a healthy pregnancy, and it's a lot easier to give birth and then recover from birth if you are physically fit.

9.) No Milk unless it's Organic, Hormone-Free Milk... and even then... calcium comes in many forms other than milk.

OK... so far that is all I've got. Now it's saved in my blog so I can look back and see my old plans and expand or detract from this list when the time comes.

Hope all is well for everyone else. As for me, things are good. Work is getting busier, and life is getting happier. I'm loving my new furniture a lot, and I had a great halloween.

Akira is doing better. She hasn't peed in 5 days now. Yes!!! If she can keep this up we won't have to medicate her :).

Our Thanksgiving plans are shady right now. With my sister, April, having her baby on the 22nd, and my Mom moving, we will probably stay in Austin and have Thanksgiving either with some friends or perhaps not at all. Even Christmas isn't looking too hopeful as far as seeing my family, however Jeff and I will probably be hosting Christmas at our house for any family willing to come. I inherited some great christmas decor from my Mom, and will be decorating soon probably. Maybe even tomorrow cause I am such a Christmas Geek! Luckily we have a lot of friends who are like family to us, and we won't be lacking in love or enjoyment of this holiday season.

I will try to blog more often. Until then, Blog Out.

The Furniture Fairy came to visit! oh and Jonny too

Jeff and I flew out a few weeks ago to Colorado to see my brother, Jonathan, and my parents. We had a great trip, and meanwhile my parents managed to sell their house while Jeff and I were on the plane on the way there.

We had a ton of fun, we had a karaoke night, and a birthday party for my Step-Dad. We enjoyed the beautiful Colorado weather and I took several really nice jogs out there. If I could just pack up and move to Colorado, I am pretty sure I wouldn't hesitate, I love it there.

Then we rented a 35 foot rental truck, filled it with my parents furniture, and drove to Lubbock. We had dinner with my Dad and Step-Mom, dropped off Meghan's new loot, and then took off the next morning for Austin. The road trip was nice, and we had lots of (very appreciated) help getting the furniture inside.

My happiness at being home was short-lived when we found what Akira had done to an entire wall in her room. She peed so much she ruined furniture and even some of our engagement photos. I was extremely upset. Luckily this last straw forced me to take action. I called her vet and asked if he would take Akira, because I couldn't do it anymore. I was sick with the thought of it, akin to when we put Muffin down... I could barely eat. Instead, he told me to drop her off and he would see if something else was wrong with her. He told me nothing was wrong and that it had to be behavioral.

At this point I realized I could not give up. Who is going to take on a cat who won't use the litterbox? So I decided to get a behaviorist. I found a woman o the internet who seemed like a good option. However, upon calling her references, I found that she was not a true behaviorist but only a Vet Tech with a little intuition. One of her references was a vet who recommended another vet who takes a great interest in behavioral modification. So I made an appoinment with her, picked up Akira, and took her to the new Vet the next week.

Night and Day are the only words that can describe my experience with the new vet vs. the old vet. This woman had the magic touch. Akira really liked her. She never hissed or growled once. She let the woman handle her, feel her flank, look at her teeth, everything! The vet was patient, had a TON of knowledge on the urination problem, and recommended we eliminate all physical possibilities that may be causing her issue. She also had lots to say about behavioral modification methods we could try should the physical turn out ok.

The tests she wanted to run were going to cost me almost $500, but I was willing to make payments and make it happen. Anything for my baby. 2 hours after I left Akira at the vets, the doctor personally called me and told me she found something. Something my last vet SHOULD have found. Crystals in her urine... the pH of her urine was not on the right level, and basically Akira was peeing razor blades. She told me this was good because it meant she didnt need the blood test ( saving me $200 ). She then did the stool sample and found nothing, which meant that she didn't need to do the specialty test for a parasite she'd had as a kitten (saving me another $150). So basically my new vet is awesome, didn't end up charging me up the backside, and she figured out a possible cause for Akira's litterbox issues.

So the solution to Akira's problem is a change in diet. Easy. Peasy. Lemon. Squeezy.

And she called tonight to see how things are going. Holy crap. Can I ask her to marry me?

Back to my brother's visit...

So my brother came to visit and we had so much fun. I really love my brother a lot. He and I have always enjoyed hanging out, and so of course I had to show him 6th street!!! My next post will have pictures, or you can look them up on my facebook page. We also got to catch up on lots of movies together and enjoyed lots of good laughs and good times.

I'm also enjoying my new furniture. I have just been SO BUSY... I finally have some alone time cause I sent Jeff off to the gym. Hope all is well with all of you.

XOXO

Caitlin

I was a Model for Farouk/Chi...

It all started with answering a Craigslist ad.... I went to a hair model casting and was picked 1st!!! By Mickey and Bradley! And I'm so glad they picked me... because they took me from this:
to this:
See... Mickey originally wanted to take me blonder... but after I told him he could do anything he wanted, he decided I needed to be copper. And I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!! So Saturday was prepday! That day they dyed my hair 3x, and created the awesome color I have now. It took a long freakin time, but I was happy with the results.

SUNDAY: I was picked to be an updo model, but also to walk the runway with the other models. They did the coolest stuff with my hair. First, they flat ironed it into ribbons, using Chi's "Helmet Head" spray, and a Chi flat iron... if I didn't love my T3 so much, I would totally rock a Chi flat iron.
It ended up looking like an alien/edward scissorhands type of hairdo. Then I got to rock the runway with this look.

While Mickey and Bradley cut hair like fiends on the runway, we danced in the background and posed and whatnot.
Then, for the finale of each show (we did about 10, 1-hour shows), they put on the song "New York," by Jay-Z, and rocked my hair into an updo... one that looked very much like the Statue of Liberty.

And here are some shots of the various up-do's that were created... each one unique yet similar depending on the show...

And after each show, they then re-ironed my hair into ribbons and then re-updid it.

Another model go to wear the COOLEST outfit, and rock out with a guitar!!! That headpiece was soooo cool, and apparently very heavy as well.

This is me and Melissa, she was such a pleasure to work with!

Here's me... and then below, me and Gabriela, she and her husband hung out with me a lot and her husband, a budding photography student, took most of the good pictures I have on here. They are really awesome and we will probably be hanging out with them more in the future.And the final photo... Mickey, Bradley, Melissa and I ended the show with a great photo! So fun!
Overall, this was one of the best weekends of my life! I felt beautiful, glamorous, and totally happy to be a part of something. I really grew to respect the Chi/Farouk brand, learned a lot, and had a ton of fun hanging out with the awesome stylists. Mickey was a really fun, charismatic, talented hair stylist originally from Australia who currently is a superstar stylist in Canada. Bradley is a salon owner from North Carolina, he's more reserved than Mickey, but together they are hilarious and play off each other nicely. They even have action figures!

Everyone kept telling me how beautiful I was, and most people thought I was a real model. Haha. It got me thinking. I might try doing more of this type of thing in the future. Maybe even try getting paid for it someday. Who knows! All I know is, my self-esteem got a much needed boost, and I had so much fun making friends and being around people with great energy and a love for what they do. It was very refreshing! I think every woman has a right to feel as beautiful as I did last weekend.

I got to do something I have always wanted to do, one more thing I got to cross off my list. I think this weekend really recharged my batteries, and reminded me that life is too short to not try new things, and chase after dreams. I have always wanted to walk a runway, and this will probably be the last runway I, at 5'2", will ever walk... but I rocked that freakin' runway, and if I ever get the chance to, I'll rock it again!

Blog Out.