Glasses & contacts.. oh my!

I wear contacts and I have glasses (blech!). I switch back and forth pretty regularly. My husband also wears glasses and contacts. We have lucked out with the kids. All have had eye exams and all have been great *knock on wood*.

In the military, service members get prescription glasses free. Family members need to purchase their eyeglasses. We do get a free eye exam. Some companies might offer a discount rate for tricare holders. But in general its all out of pocket costs. It gets so expensive! I have ordered my contacts online but never tried to order glasses.

Being stationed overseas the internet is my best friend. I get everything I need shipped here, since resources are limited.

I am actually due for new contacts and could use a nice new pair of glasses. I have some dark framed ones now and I think I want to branch out and try something different. Of course since I now have Dark brown hair instead of my natural blonde.

I've been browsing around and have found that GlassesUSA.com is an excellent place to get glasses from! They have high quality frames and lenses, offer a 110% lowest price guarantee and a 100% satisfaction guarantee along with a generous refer-a-friend program. You can't beat that!

I'm certainly going to give glassesusa a try! I hope you will too.

For my blog readers I have been given a special offer for you to use when you order from glassesusa.


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Happy birthday

Happy birthday in heaven mom! I got you this purple rose today to celebrate. Also watch for the balloons we are sending up to you.

The only snow

We get! Have to travel 2 hours into the alps to hunt snow down. but we've done it a few times now and had an amazing time.

Folgaria

Cozy in the backseat with my husband and brother in law on our way to snowboard in folgaria.

Hitting the slopes

Today we are checking off one of my 30 before 30 things. We are going to snowboard the alps.

I thought we were going to drive to the mountain. TO the mountain. Take a lift up and ski down. Well we have to drive UP the mountain. This gives me stress. You know when you watch tv a show and someone is trying to get over their fear of something and they literally freak out. That is how I am with driving up mountain. My heart starts racing, head pounding. It's terrible. I decided I couldn't go. I couldn't do it. But here I sit in the car on the way to the slopes. I took an anxiety pill in hopes that I would feel better about it. I don't.

I'm sure it'll all be fine. Crosses finger.

30 before 30

I am trying to finish my 30 before 30 list. As well as check off some of the things I have done from the list. This is rather difficult because I have done A LOT! Never realized it but I have!

:)

A nice little calorie burn before 10am. Now strength training. Loving the captains chair!

Now that I have the blogger app on my iPhone I'll probably annoy you with posts. Ha!

Ready!

My little girls look like little ladies! All ready to start back to school.

What a way to start!

I've never been so happy for school vacation to be over! All four kids are in school now so they were all home and after about a week they were bored! Granted Christmas gifts did help for the second week but their schedules were still out of whack! Mine too!

Last night they were all crashed by 830 and woke up this morning refreshed and excited to go to school. I even woke up on time!

I'm impressed as they were all ready and had breakfast by 6:30. I managed to brew some coffee, make the bed, do a load of laundry, unload the dish washer and get it loaded with breakfast dishes, clean up the kitchen, dining room and living room (granted my house wasnt a mess- just minor pocking up) Facebook for a few minutes, and get kids on the bus all by 7:15. Drove Boston to school now posting from the gym parking lot and it's only 8:40. Haha.

I think it's fair to say we've started out the new year pretty darn well! I sure hope the continues. I'm sure the kids will come home from school starving and tired, just as they should.

2012- Let's lose weight!

Go figure, another new year and everyone is going to make a resolution to lose weight. I do not make that resolution. The last time I went crazy losing weight, becoming a certified group fitness instructor/ zumba instructor I started in October. I did very well, maintained a very healthy weight and was very happy hanging out in my size 6 dress. Now.. moving to Italy kicked my butt! I gained some weight with the stress and depression. I have been back to going to the gym for a while. I am not doing classes which is how I lost so much last time (zumba, spin, core, kickboxing and a few others). I have lost some inches and am in my smaller pants. For me it isn't so much losing weight as inches. I am an inches person. I don't rely on the scale. It will discourage me.
I go to the gym 5-6 days a week. I go for a minimum of 60 minutes. I am there some days upwards of 3 hours. Between cardio and strength training. I am probably one of the few people who love the gym. I love waking up in the morning and going. It makes me feel so good, makes the day a whole lot better. I hate getting distracted from the gym because it screws up my entire day.
I also track my fitness and food on www.sparkpeople.com It helps me to keep everything in an organized place and they even have healthy recipes.
I invested in a camelbak straw water bottle. $11.50 The best investment ever! I am easily getting 80+ oz of water in my body a day and never even realize it. I also add some MIO to my water. Nothing in this substance to add empty calories and it enhances the flavor of the water. My favorite is Berry Pomegranate.
Since I am doing things at the gym I didn't do before- to include pull ups and dips on the gravitron, I went and treated myself to some gloves to protect my hands as they are getting rough. Now I just have to remember to bring them. HAHA!

We have always been a really healthy eating family except the occasional not-so-healthy treats.

Tonight however we have decided to cut vegetable oil out! We made brownies with apple sauce and cranberry bread with applesauce. They are baking right now. I'm sure they will be delicious.

I forgot!

I completely forgot! I am a terrible wife. In August my husband picked up rank. Just 13 months after picking up SGT. He was pinned Ssgt. E-6 in the army. Took long enough. He was an E-4 forevvvverrrr!

I was going through a moment the day he was due to be pinned, so I did not attend. He took cassidy and she pinned him.


Ssgt daddy and his girls!

Finally!

Well, Finally I got all those posts done. Phew! I'm sure there were little things I missed here and there. This post HERE is basically the reason I haven't posted in so long.

We are now a whole day into 2012. I can't believe it.

I made a few resolutions for this year:

1- Not to be so nice. I tried it for 1 year and got walked all over
2- Keep my command sponsorship and not get kicked out of this country
3- Blog more!!

I had a 4th one and forgot it!

Felice Anno Nuovo!!!!

So, Back when I got here I complained all the time about hating it. Care to know how i feel now??

Well.. I'm beginning to like it! No really! I'm enjoying more and more every day. Now, don't get me wrong there aren't things that go over well with me. But I am getting used to it.

We booked a cruise for october. We are going to Spain, France, southern italy and even Africa! With the kids! Can you believe it?

I'm still having my days about my mom. I still hate dan on a regular basis but he has put up with it well. We did do some marriage counseling back in sept & october. That seemed to help but once we stopped going it seem to get worse. It's really part of my grieving process and I think he knows that. He tries very hard and I do give him a lot of credit. I am lucky he hasn't left, I sure wouldn't want to hear the crap I dish out to him. It's not like I am a complete bitch every day but at least once a week I have a day where I am. I did get on some meds back at the beginning of december. I haven't taken them since I've been back in to the gym on a daily basis. I do feel better! I'm just stuck in a rut with losing her. We were close. I miss her.

I've been following THIS BLOG reminds me so much of the daily struggle my mom had. This poor little girl. Breaks my heart.

I'd like to share some pre-illness pics of my wonderful mom.

6 months in review

I will taking the time today to go through the last 6 months. What a whirlwind it has been. I wasn't blogging because there was so much going on and some of it was very difficult to discuss. So, I hope you take the time to catch up as I catch up with all of you. There will be 1 post for each month as I think that will be the easiest way to do it. I miss blogging so very much and hope that after I catch up I will be back in action full swing!

December

Although December was another boring month. At least we had Christmas. And we tried very hard to do many home things with the kids. We made homemade serving trays, and... yup that is about it. LOL.

It didn't feel much like Christmas at all here. It was warm. No snow. Not even a crisp cold smell in the air. This was not christmas at all.

Before Santa

After Santa

The new cat, Ollie the kids got from santa

Both of my girls got special gifts from me

My very happy kiddos

We got them Kodak HD video camera's. Best money ever spent lol. They love them. They played with my mother in laws in ny and wanted one ever since.

They even got an Xbox 360 with Kinect! Spoiled little turkies!

I got dan lots of boston gear, he had to show off his new pants, slipper- and include his tat in there. lol.

This is the special gift i got the girls. Necklaces that say "Nana is always close to your heart"

The frame my mother in law sent us. I love it! It is amazing! And gives us a reason to get new family pics done. Dan does not like that idea. HAHA

November

I was just talking with Dan about catching up on my blog and we realized that we had a few months that were pretty dull. He was trying to tell me what to post about each month. He is clearly not a blogger. HAHA!

In november we again, didn't do much. But it was dan's birthday. I did a birthday surprise for him. I got a sitter for the kids. In his card stated what we were going to do. I tormented him for days before hand. I even taped the card so he could not get into it and sat it right in the dining room.

We dropped the kids off and jumped on the Autostrada. At the first Autogrille I gave him his card. It stated his day.

Arrive and Lamborghini family museum where he would have a private tour with mr. fabio lamborghini. He is the nephew of ferrucio lamborghini, the creator.

After that, transfer to the location where he would drive a brand new lamborghini gallardo super light.

After his drive, we would be having lunch at a local restaurant.

Then head to the Ferrari museum to end the day.

I don't think I have ever seen him so happy. I felt like i owed him something because I was treating him like crap with my mother's ordeal. I also told him that he has to top this for my next birthday.

The museum with Fabio was amazing. I learned so much and I was actually interested. We got lambo wine! Dan drove the car, he was clearly the happiest man alive! The lunch was great as well. Now the ferrari place was so.. blah! It was all about showing off. Lambo takes much more pride in their cars and you can see this between the two places. This is the in car cam of dan driving the lambo


















We also had thanksgiving. With 20 people. I was going to fly to my sister for thanksgiving but I thought long and hard and couldnt do it. Thanksgiving was my moms favorite holiday and I wanted to spend it with my sisters but how could I leave my kids on the first big holiday here.

October

Well, october was alright! Stacey and her family were finally here. I'd been waiting since we talked on the phone months and months ago. I picked her family up from the airport and then it began. We did so much together. We went to venice and marostica. Spent a lot of time together. And since she has moved in her house we have not. I couldn't tell ya the last time. It sucks but it's whatever. It makes me sad because dan and her husband actually get along and dan hates everyone.

We hiked and made it to the top of marostica! That sign from before that i thought said do not enter- I was wrong LOL

Halloween!!! Grandma and Grandpa sent the kids their costumes! So sweet! And Dan and myself ordered costumes online. For the halloween party we attended i went as fred and he went as wilma. For the trunk or treating we went normally lol