Lean in 2018

I realize it has been 2 weeks since I posted a blog, although I doubt many of you really care. There just wasn't much to say. I'll start off by saying that Bryan is doing well. The pic above is of VP Mike Pence visiting some of his squadron at another deployed location. Bryan wasn't there. I didn't post it on my regular newsfeed because I realized "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". I mean here he is, visiting the troops, trying to lift morale, while they are working for free during a government shutdown. So, while I recognize the unique opportunity to meet the VP, I just didn't have anything nice to say about him. Bryan also participated in a Spartan Race this past week. He said it was really hard, but fun, and he'd do it again for sure. If you look closely, Bryan is on the far right in the pics below.

My job search is still pretty much a fruitless endeavor. I called Alteristic again and was told they'd be in touch "in a week or so". A week was Friday. I guess I'll call again this week. I was also turned down for another job specifically because I don't have a security clearance. I did have coffee with a former coworker and he gave me some good contacts. He's also going to get me on the list for the local VSO meetings so I can network there. I'm still working for Military Child Education Coalition. I'm doing a little freelance research for them for a stipend, and I'm headed to Charleston, SC in February for another training.

In the meantime, I've been trying to keep busy. A group of us girls have been going to trivia. We named our team Dependas (we're all military spouses). Twice now, we've come in fourth place out of about 12 teams. We're pretty proud of ourselves, and vow to make it in the top three eventually. I went to a pretty fun wine and food tasting with Rachel and attended my neighbor's daughter's birthday party. We also had another Geek Girl Brunch (Stranger Things theme) and a girl's game night.

On the Key Spouse side, I coordinated a spa night for some of the spouses on Valentine's Day. A Day Away Spa will be opening after hours just for us and providing champagne and chocolate covered strawberries since we can't be with our Valentine's that day. I delivered a couple meals to some mom's of new babies, and have a key spouse meeting tonight.

I received my Annual Pass magic band from Disney and have some plans to visit coming up. I've also been chatting with Casey about a Disney trip in October. It's always nice to plan for something fun when you're not currently having any.

My biggest source of happiness and fulfillment right now is the gym. I've been sticking to a routine, not missing any days, and giving it my all. I have a goal of doing a handstand pushup by the time Bryan gets home. On the off days, I've been going to spin and yoga. The local yoga studio, Navarre Living Yoga, has community yoga every Sunday evening. They run the class on donations to local charities. This month it was a women's shelter, so I love that I can go to yoga, and donate goods that the shelter is going to use.

Today we started a new challenge at my gym, Coastal Fitness Training, called Lean in 2018. It's a four week challenge where participants earn points for things like attending class, drinking enough water a day, getting 10k steps a day, posting pics of healthy meals, and improving on three endurance exercises. It's honestly the one thing keeping me happy right now so I'm determined to put my all into it while I can.

I'll try to stay on task and post weekly. I really didn't mean to miss a week. I'm headed to my mom's the weekend for my grandfather's celebration of life and I'll post when I get back on Monday. I'll leave you with this fantastic, and extremely accurate comparison of my selfie and some fine art. Enjoy.